Did Jesus celebrate Chanukkah? When we look closely at the elements in John, chapter 10, familiar themes from the prophets emerge, giving us a clue to the messianic tradition behind this winter holiday.

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https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/the-good-shepherd-and-the-chanukkah-connection/

Did Jesus reject Jewish dietary laws, declaring all foods clean? In this episode, we unpack the discussion in Mark 7 to challenge the popular tradition that Jesus abolished Torah-given commandments, showing instead how ‘traditions vs. commandments’ reflects a misreading of first-century Judaism.

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https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/traditions-and-commandments/

Materialistic science emptied the heavens of meaning, but Scripture and Jewish tradition insist the cosmos is alive, conscious, and populated by angelic beings, like the Nephilim and Divine Council, as numerous as the stars.

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https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/the-living-heavens-angels-stars-and-biblical-cosmology/

There is one practice of character development that can radically transform your spiritual development, yet it may be one of the more challenging to correct. Fortunately, we have an ancient tradition with tools and tricks to help us judge others favorably.

"Dan L'kaf Zechut" (דָּן לְכַף זְכוּת) translates to "Judging others favorably." This ancient ethic instructs us to give others the benefit of the doubt:

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https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/soul-refinement-judging-others-favorably/

Are all religions connected to an original source? In this article, we explore the surprising parallels between Jewish and Eastern traditions, the surprising path to redemption, and Abraham’s lasting legacy.

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https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/the-children-of-the-east-the-connection-between-eastern-religions-and-abraham/

When Jesus said, “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s,” he wasn’t only sidestepping a political trap, he tapped into a rabbinic debate on coins bearing idolatrous images.

But beneath the surface lies a deeper theme: coins as symbols of the soul, each human being stamped with the Divine image that connects with the creation narrative.

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www.thehiddenorchard.com/render-unto-caesar-the-rabbinic-discourse-on-idolatrous-coins/

What did Jesus mean when he mentioned the "living water" during the festival of Sukkot? What is Hoshana Rabbah? Discover how this final day of Sukkot connects ancient Jewish rituals, the pouring of living water, and Jesus’s words in John 7.

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https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/hoshana-rabbah-and-the-living-water-jesus-teaching-during-sukkot/

In this article, we explore John 4 through the lens of Rabbinic Midrash and its links to Ezekiel 16 and 2 Kings 17. Is the Samaritan woman a creative representation of Ezekiel's prophetic narrative, and if so, how does this change the way we read the Gospels?

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https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/the-woman-at-the-well-johns-midrash-on-ezekiel-and-2-kings/

When most readers of the New Testament think about biblical holidays, Passover and Shavuot usually come to mind first. In this article, we'll see how Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur may be the most important for understanding the context of the Gospel message.

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Is the New Testament antisemitic? Scholars like Amy Jill-Levine would argue, though it wasn't intended, the texts have been read to that conclusion.

Who is to blame? Is it the authors for leaving out clarifying information? Is it the interpreters who have failed to communicate the cultural, linguistic, and theological context?

To answer these questions, we must be willing to confront our knowledge gaps and maybe some underlying assumptions.

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https://www.thehiddenorchard.com/antisemitism-in-the-new-testament/