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Halloween is almost here, and social media is buzzing. Some believers say stay away. Some say it's harmless. Others say it's fine as long as we bring it into the church and call it a "fall festival" or "trunk-or-treat." But can we take something unholy and make it holy just by renaming it?

In this teaching, Mikha'el sets the origin stories aside and lets the Scriptures speak. We walk through the Torah's commands to Israel not to walk in the ways of the nations, then through the warnings of the prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos and Micah), and land on Paul's call in 2 Corinthians 6: "Come out from among them and be separate."

Along the way:

- Avodah zarah (Hebrew, "foreign worship" or "strange service"): the term for any idolatrous practice.

- Kadosh (Hebrew, "set apart" or "holy"): what it means to belong to Yehovah, and why separation from forbidden worship is one expression of holiness.

- Belial and anomia (Greek, "lawlessness," literally "without Torah"): what fellowship does Yeshua (Jesus) have with lawlessness?

- One law for the native-born and the stranger. These commands were never "just for Israel."

- Why "the building sanctifies it" has no Scripture behind it.

Whether you're settled on this or still wrestling with it, we pray this blesses you and helps you walk in the light.

Scriptures in this episode

- Leviticus 18:1–5, 18:24–30

- Leviticus 19:26, 19:31

- Leviticus 20:6–7, 20:26–27

- Deuteronomy 12:1–5, 12:29–31

- Deuteronomy 18:9–14

- Isaiah 1:21–29; 2:6–8; 44:9–20; 57:3–13; 65:2–7; 65:11–12; 66:3–4

- Jeremiah 2:5–13; 3:6–10; 7:9–11; 7:17–20; 10:1–16; 11:9–13; 17:1–4; 19:4–6; 32:29–35; 44:15–25

- Ezekiel 6:3–7; 8:3–18; 14:1–8; 16:15–22; 20:27–32; 36:16–18; 44:23

- Hosea 2:5–13; 4:6–10; 4:12–14; 4:17–19; 9:10; 10:1–8; 11:1–2; 13:1–4; 14:1–3

- Amos 2:4–5; 3:14; 4:4–5; 5:21–27

- Micah 1:5–7; 3:5–7; 5:12–14

- Song of Songs 2:15

- 1 Corinthians 6:12, 10:23

- 2 Corinthians 6:14–18

- Revelation 12:17, 14:12

> "Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness and lawlessness? And what fellowship has light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14, TS2009)

> "Therefore, “Come out from among them and be separate, says יהוה, and do not touch what is unclean, and I shall receive you." (2 Corinthians 6:17, TS2009)

> "And they are to teach My people the difference between the set-apart and the profane, and make them know what is unclean and clean." (Ezekiel 44:23, TS2009)

> "Do not do as they do in the land of Mitsrayim, where you dwelt. And do not do as they do in the land of Kena‛an, where I am bringing you, and do not walk in their laws." (Leviticus 18:3, TS2009)

*Scripture quotations from The Scriptures (TS2009), copyright Institute for Scripture Research. Used by permission.*

A few small corrections

In the flow of teaching, a couple of references came out a little differently than intended. The passage on the cakes for the queen of heaven is Jeremiah 7:17–20, and the verses about those who keep the commandments and hold to their faith in Yeshua are Revelation 12:17 and 14:12. The Halloween quote around 36 minutes blends language published by the Church of Satan and The Satanic Temple, two separate groups. Also, our email is the weekly Monday Meditation, and you can sign up at https://torahawakenings.com.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:23 Welcome and what's new at Torah Awakenings

01:10 The Halloween buzz: "fall festival," "trunk-or-treat," and rebranding

03:16 A different angle: letting the Tanakh speak for itself

05:03 How does Yehovah see paganism? Avodah zarah

05:58 Leviticus 18: Don't walk in their laws

09:28 Divination, mediums, and being kadosh (Leviticus 19–20)

12:07 Deuteronomy 12: Don't even ask how they served their gods

14:59 Deuteronomy 18: Abominations to Yehovah

17:04 The prophets' warnings: Isaiah

19:14 Jeremiah

22:12 Ezekiel

24:25 Hosea

26:14 Amos

27:20 Micah, and why Israel went into exile

29:16 The holy and the profane (Ezekiel 44:23)

30:21 2 Corinthians 6: "Come out from among them"

31:36 Separate vs. holy, Belial, and lawlessness

34:46 Is God in it? Trunk-or-treat and the four walls

36:07 What Halloween means to those who celebrate it

37:21 Final thoughts: Can you say yes to God on this?

38:45 "Why don't you do a teaching on that day?"

40:34 Closing and blessing

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Shalom, and Yehovah bless you.

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New chapter: Season 13 begins. (Season 13, Episode 1)

Why do we keep praying and fasting over the same struggle, only to see nothing change? Mikha'el opens Romans 7, where Paul admits, "For the good that I would I do not," and shows that many of our battles aren't attacks from the enemy but habits rooted in our own thought life. Paul isn't cursing God's law here; he calls it holy, and it is what lets us recognize sin. Prayer is vital, but there is always a part for us to do: guard the mind, resist, and build habits of righteousness.

Key scriptures (quotes from the KJV)
- Romans 7:19: "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do."
- Romans 7:23: "But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind..."
- Romans 7:7: "I had not known sin, but by the law"
- Romans 7:12: "the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."
- Romans 7:8-15, 21-22
- Romans 12:1-2: "be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind"
- 2 Chronicles 7:14
- 2 Corinthians 10:3-5: "bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ"
- Philippians 2:5: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus"
- Genesis 3 and 6 (this week's parashah, Bereshit)

This week, read all of Romans 7 for yourself.

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This is a re-recording of a message I did on September 12, 2026 (Yom Teruah)

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This is a re-recorded message from a message I did today commemorating the 250th anniversary of the greatest nation in the world

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In this episode of Torah Awakenings,  we explores how modern Christian theology evolved over centuries from its original Hebraic foundations into a system heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, Roman culture, and later church traditions. 📜✡️ Through historical analysis and Scripture, this teaching examines how early believers in Messiah once walked in continuity with the Torah and the faith of Israel, while later theological developments gradually separated Christianity from its Jewish roots. From concepts of law and grace to the influence of councils, creeds, and replacement theology, this episode challenges listeners to reconsider long-held assumptions and rediscover the biblical worldview that shaped the faith of the first-century disciples. 🔥📖

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In this episode of Torah Awakenings, we take a deeper look at one of the most debated aspects of Torah observance: the biblical dietary laws. Many believers who are beginning to see the relevance of Torah often struggle with the issue of clean and unclean foods, frequently pointing to Peter’s vision in Acts 10 as proof that God changed His dietary instructions. But when we examine the full context of the passage, we discover that Peter himself explains the vision was not about food at all, but about how Jews viewed Gentiles. From there, we explore the Hebrew concepts of sin, transgression, and iniquity, the call to holiness in Leviticus 11, and the idea that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. While Scripture ultimately grounds these dietary instructions in simple obedience to יהוה, we also consider possible health implications and the broader spiritual principle behind God’s commands. The question ultimately becomes one every believer must answer: when revelation brings understanding, will we adjust our lives to align with God’s instructions—or ignore the light we’ve been given?

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In this episode of Torah Awakenings, we confront the question most believers rarely stop to ask: What is the true standard of righteousness? If righteousness is not defined by God’s revealed Torah, then it becomes subjective — shaped by culture, pastors, or personal opinion. Tracing the biblical pattern from Sinai to Paul’s words in Romans 12:1–2, we explore how transformation requires intentional effort — the conscious decision to “be” set apart before we can “become” what God has called us to be. Righteousness is not mystical; it is cultivated through disciplined alignment with the Word, pressing toward the mark — Messiah Himself. Faith in Yeshua and obedience to God’s commandments are not opposites but inseparable pillars of covenant life, forming the path into the high call of sonship

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Re-recorded from a teaching done on February 7th.

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This teaching reflects on conversations with Christians who struggle to see Torah (God’s instruction) and faith in Yeshua as inseparable, arguing that this tension stems from later church theology detached from its Hebrew roots rather than from Scripture itself. By examining Moses’ promise of a prophet like himself, the biblical definition of a false prophet, Yeshua’s own words about Torah, the apostolic instructions in Acts, and the language of commandments (entolē) in the New Testament, the case is made that Yeshua neither abolished Torah nor taught against it, but rightly interpreted, embodied, and taught it. From a first-century Jewish framework, fulfilling Torah meant living it out faithfully, not ending it, and the apostles continued this expectation for both Jews and Gentiles as part of one covenantal walk. Ultimately, Scripture consistently presents God’s commandments and faith in Yeshua as united realities, and the resistance to this idea often arises not from the text itself, but from the discomfort of confronting long-held theological assumptions that call for real change in how one lives and obeys.

More more teachings, find us at torahawakenings.com

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