Money is art, and it tells stories. We put people's faces on it, and little phrases that say big things. Israeli money is no different, especially the new "holy half-shekel" coins! Let's look at Israeli money together! This is a takeaway from my newest Mishnah Snapshots study. We also talked about whether Purim was celebrated in the time of Jesus, why the "two-drachma tax" story is my personal favourite, the historical context of "sounding the trumpet" when giving to the poor, the Hebrew expression 'to have the upper hand', a fight between the sages about Hebrew and Greek letters, the principle of satisfying God and people, fifteen jobs people held in the Temple and their Hebrew names, and Hebraisms like "mammon" in the Greek New Testament. Watch the full lesson and check out this ongoing series by clicking through this episode or by going to holylanguage.com > learn > mishnah snapshots.

In our previous discussion, I explained how Sacred Name teachings drastically misinterpret Scripture. In this talk you're going to see how these teachings are also based on a misunderstanding of language and how it works. We're going to get a little analytical here for a minute, so hang on to your hat. The first thing Sacred Name teachings don't understand is that language is a representative system of communication. In other words, a word represents a thing. The word isn't the thing itself, the word just represents the thing. Another way of saying this is that words are not reality. At their best, words are just vague reflections of reality. This is true of names also. Your name isn't you. It just represents you. Similarly, the name of God isn't God. It just represents him. Of course that doesn't mean we treat the Sacred Name in an irreverent way, but it's important to understand that God's name isn't God himself...To watch this whole series, go holylanguage.com > resources > translation reviews.

I love history. It's one of the reasons I love the Mishnah - it's packed with historical snapshots from the world of Yeshua and his disciples! Here's an example, along with a couple bonus rants on how you can prove that the Jews really are Jews and how James called the meeting places of the early Christians "synagogues". This is a takeaway from my newest Mishnah Snapshots study. We also talked about these questions: ~If synagogues aren't commanded in Torah, where did they come from? ~How can you prove that the Jews are really Jews? ~How old are Jewish liturgical rites like Mussaf and Neilah? ~What do the events of 4.17 and 5.9 tell you about the Hebrew calendar? ~Why remember "family over beauty" when watching dancing girls? Watch the full lesson and check out this ongoing series by clicking through this episode or by going to holylanguage.com > Learn > Mishnah Snapshots.

You know more Hebrew than you think. Check out these similar Hebrew and English letters. Pop Hebrew words you already know including Abba, menorah, amen, shofar, and Satan. Hebrew names in the Western world and Judeo-Christian tradition. Hebrew words in the New Testament. Chinese Fish Proverb. Form over function. Audio and visual learning. Multisensual and kinesthetic modes. Heightened emotion. Social dynamics and study groups. Making it special. Left and right brain learning. Long and short term memory. Brain research from Harvard, Stanford, Cambridge. How to transfer info to your long term memory.

Welcome to Holy Language Institute's series reviewing Bible translations from Orthodox Jewish, Messianic Jewish, Hebrew Roots, and Sacred Name perspectives! In this introduction, founding teacher Izzy lists 5 reasons translations are good, 5 reasons they're bad, puts in a plug for Hebrew study, encourages you with the biggest thing about Bible reading in any language, lists the translations in this review and the 20 questions he'll be answering, and explains from his own story why he gets emotional about Bible translations. Watch this ongoing series by clicking through this episode, or going to holylanguage.com > resources > translation reviews.

Translations reviewed in this series:

Artscroll Stone Edition Tanach (AST)

Koren Jerusalem Bible (KJB)

Jewish Annotated New Testament (JANT, in NRSV)

Jewish Study Bible (in JPS)

Shocken Bible

Alter Bible

Delitzsch Hebrew-English Gospels (DHE)

Complete Jewish Bible (CJB, also CJSB, JNT)

One New Man Bible

Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

Archaeological Study Bible (in NIV or KJV)

Names of God Bible (in GW)

The Scriptures (ISR)

Aramaic English New Testament (AENT)

HalleluYah Scriptures

Hebraic Roots Bible

Restoration Study Bible (RSB)

Messianic Aleph Tav Scriptures (MATS)

Eth-Cepher

Besorah of Yahusha (BOY)

Questions this series answers:

1. What's the name of the translation, who's the publisher, and when was it published?

2. Do you recommend it? How many thumbs? Primary or secondary?

3. If recommended, who's this translation best for?

4. What's this version's relationship with the Jewish people? Traditional Judaism, messianic Judaism?

5. Who translated it, and what's their story?

6. Where on the spectrum of literal to paraphrased? More word for word, or thought for thought?

7. How does it write Hebrew names?

8. How does it write the names and titles of God?

9. How does it translate words like torah, chesed, church, baptism?

10. How does it interpret the difficult words of Paul and Yeshua?

11. How does it interpret the messianic prophesies?

12. What does it have for notes, appendices, and extras?

13. Does it have the Tanach, New Testament, or both?

14. Does it also have the Hebrew text?

15. Are the books in the Jewish or Christian order?

16. Are the chapters and verses in the Jewish or Christian order?

17. Does it open from left to right, or right to left?

18. How's the general layout and navigability?

19. Summary of positives and negatives and who best for

20. If recommended, which formats can I get it in, and where?

Learn more about the Jewishness of Jesus, his apostles, and the New Testament, in these Hebrew Verses studies with Izzy reading through this letter from the apostle Paul to the Romans. Watch this ongoing series by clicking through this episode, or going to holylanguage.com > learn > hebrew verses.

What you'll get in this lesson:

~Praying and reading the Hebrew Bible with Izzy

~Elephant in the room: why read the New Testament in Hebrew?

~Saul's name wasn't changed to Paul

~Calling Gentiles "saints" was a Jewish bombshell

~You can't love someone you're not listening to

~The Hebrew phrases for abunch of things

We all know Yeshua's teaching about giving charity in secret. But did you know there was a room in the Temple especially dedicated to giving in secret? This is a takeaway from my newest Mishnah Snapshots study. We also talked about how the Jerusalem Temple and Messianic Community both had seven "deacons", the account of a Priest who found the Ark and died before he could tell anyone, an example of how the "takanot and ma'asim of the Rabbis" aren't evil, and about holiness and how it's all about accomplishing your mission in concrete ways. Watch the full lesson and check out this ongoing series by clicking through this episode or by going to holylanguage.com > learn > mishnah snapshots.

Sacred Name teachings always cause trouble. The same goes for when you have somebody in a congregation who starts using a Sacred Name Bible. I've seen this happen many times on both a local fellowship level, and on a movement level. In fact, if I could pick one phrase to sum up the fruit of Sacred Name teachings, I'd say "fights about words". What's crazy about this is that Messiah explicitly commanded us through his apostle not to fight about words! Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God's presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them." (2 Timothy 2:14)...To watch this whole series, go holylanguage.com > resources > translation reviews.

Parallel between chromosomes as the building blocks of the body and Hebrew letters as the building blocks of communication. Visionary synergy resulting from the combination of the Word and the Spirit of God. Prerequisites to vision, including integrity and consistency. Living with a foot in the olam hazeh and a foot in the olam haba. Literal versus allegorical hermeneutic. Early Christian and Jewish eschatology. The thousand year reign of Christ. Yeshua as the source. Vision in leadership in the home, workplace, congregation, and civic and political office. Tips to effective communication. Yeshua the prophet like Moshe. The tzaddik in Jewish thought. Restoration movement. The Hebrew rennaisance movement. Hebrew as the pure language of Zephaniah. Quote from Panarion by Epiphanius on the Nazarenes or Notzrim. The first language and mother tongue of Yeshua. The Bible that Jesus read. Saul the Hebrew versus Paul the Hellenist.

Most people would say the Mishnah is dry and boring and to be honest I agree. What keeps me going through its thousands of pages is how it's the backdrop to the story of Yeshua. These writings came from the same world as the New Testament, and while they're not Scripture you can definitely hear the voice of your beloved and see reflections of his beautiful face if you look and listen closely. Here's one example of many. This is a takeaway from my newest Mishnah Snapshots study. We also talked about these questions: ~Do you know what the Hebrew word "Pharisee" literally mean? ~Why do Jewish people say their mission is "Tikkun Olam" and where's that in Scripture? ~Are Yeshua's "greatest/least commandments" and "weighty matters of the Law" in Mishnah also? ~What did the sages do with the 'literal six days' and 'conflicting creation accounts' controversies? ~What can the Jewish institution of discipleship teach us about our relationship with the Master? ~How did the centuries-old leadership structure in Israel change around 30 A.D., and why? ~Did you hear about the old Essene named Menachem and his prophecy to boy Herod? Watch the full lesson and check out this ongoing series by clicking through this episode or by going to holylanguage.com > Learn > Mishnah Snapshots.