For the week of May 17, 2025 / 19 Iyar 5785

Emor
Torah: Vayikra/Leviticus 21:1 – 24:23
Hafatarah: Ezekiel 44:15-31
Originally posted the week of May 5, 2018 / 20 Iyar 5778 (updated)

Thus Moses declared to the people of Israel the appointed feasts of the LORD. (Vayikra/Leviticus 23:44)

According to Wikipedia, “Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity.” When cultural appropriation first came to my attention some time ago, I thought the strong objection to it was a bit strange, not because I don’t understand the concern, but because I am so used to it – sort of!

As a Jewish believer in the Messiah, whose spiritual relationships are mainly among non-Jews, I encounter cultural appropriation constantly. In fact, Christianity is and has always been an exercise in cultural appropriation. Generally, Jews and Christians are not aware of this, however, since most Christian cultural expression wouldn’t be recognized as Jewish. The fact is there is almost nothing within Christianity’s core beliefs that isn’t derived from the Jewish world. Some are more obvious than others. The primary document for Christians is the Bible, both Old and New Testaments written almost exclusively by Jews and focused on activities happening to or done by Jewish people. Even as global outreach developed, its development and implementation was in Jewish hands. The God of the Christians is the God of Israel. The religious and theological concepts adhered to by Christians are all Jewish in origin, such as sin, righteousness, sacrifice, and holiness. Then there’s the very center of all core concepts, the Messiah. While the Jewish and Christian worlds have traditionally been divided over the Messiah’s identity, Christianity is founded on the conviction that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Jewish Messiah. Using Greek-oriented instead of Hebrew-oriented terminology obscures the cultural connection. That many Jews and Christians aren’t conscious that Christ and Messiah, for example, are synonyms doesn’t negate the Jewish nature of the messianic concept.

Other key Jewish components of Christianity are not as obvious. Most people don’t realize that baptism was originally a Jewish custom that was done as part of the conversion process as well as when an estranged Jewish person wanted to return to God. The development of the church as the place of community teaching and prayer was based on the synagogue. Communion, also called the Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper, is taken from Passover. The hope of the resurrection of the body was an exclusively Jewish concept. We could go on.

The early Jewish believers went out of their way to allow the Good News about the Messiah to function freely and fully in a non-Jewish context. Through God-given wisdom they freed the core of biblical faith from Jewish cultural control, allowing the nations to work out the essentials of biblical spirituality within their own contexts. What I don’t think the early believers envisioned is how far from a Jewish frame of reference the Church would go.

Many non-Jewish believers over the past hundred years or so have sought to re-contextualize Christianity within a Jewish frame of reference. Some correctly understand that the freedom to adapt biblical teaching within foreign cultures, while helpful in many ways, can tend to skew biblical truth, especially when cut off from its Jewish roots. At the same time, however, the passion to restore biblical faith to its ancient roots can go overboard. This is where appropriate cultural adaptation can become misappropriation. This happens in two ways: first, by confusing Jewish culture with biblical truth. Not everything that is Jewish is necessarily biblical. Much of Jewish culture found in the world today is recent in origin. While we don’t know the tunes of King David’s psalms, we are fairly certain that they were not anything close to what is thought of as Jewish music today. Similarly, Jewish foods are normally adaptations of local fare throughout the world where Jewish people have lived. Apart from the limits of kosher laws, there is nothing intrinsically biblical about the vast majority of Jewish cuisine.

The second type of misappropriation is in regard to actual biblical material. For example, take the feasts as listed in this week’s parsha (weekly Torah portion). It is tragic that this key component of the Books of Moses, like most of the Hebrew Scriptures, has been virtually ignored by Christians. There is so much to learn from the feasts as they teach us about God’s character and activities. Yet it is easy to go from a healthy renewed focus on Scripture to a misguided emphasis on cultural expression. Much of Jewish festival observance today is based on tradition, not Bible. Tradition isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it is culturally bound to the people who developed it. People don’t often possess the level of sensitivity necessary to adapt cultural forms. That doesn’t mean it should never be done. Perhaps what needs to be done, be it non-Jewish Christians in relation to Jewish people or between other cultural groups is to truly get to know the people whose culture it is before we treat it as our own.

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of May 10, 2025 / 12 Iyar 5785

Aharei Mot & Kedoshim
Torah: Vayikra/Leviticus 16:1 – 20:27
Haftarah: Amos 9:7-15
Originally posted the week of April 24, 2010 / 10 Iyar 5770

You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. (Vayikra / Leviticus 19:17-18)

The Messiah was asked the question, “What is the greatest commandment?” (See Matthew 22:35-40; Mark 12:28-34; Luke 10:25-37). It was popular among Jewish religious leaders to attempt to summarize the Torah. Here is Yeshua’s answer:

The most important is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:29-31)

Some people take this to mean that unlike the people living under the Old Covenant, followers of Yeshua have only these minimal requirements to follow. But that completely misses the point. Yeshua’s summary statement is intended as a perspective by which to view God’s requirements, not a recipe by which to ignore them. Yeshua was reminding a people who had become obsessed with the Torah as an end in itself that its directives were intended as the means of loving God and other people. Losing sight of these primary commands results in the failure to properly keep the others. Loving God and loving people is what God’s commands are all about.

Hearing Yeshua highlight “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” should draw us to the context of what he was quoting, some of which we read at the beginning. Loving our neighbor is not a vague sentimental concept based on emotion. It has very practical and far reaching implications. For example we read, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.” This tells us first that when difficulties arise with someone with whom we have relationship, we are not to hate them. Hate is not simply negative and angry thoughts toward another person. It is the tendency to disregard them or not care about them. This may occur with very little emotion. God instructs us that instead of ignoring issues we have with others, we need to deal with them through open and honest discussion and thereby avoid even greater issues arising between one another. This is what “love your neighbor” is all about or it is at least one example.

It could be that “but you shall love your neighbor as yourself” sums up a larger Torah section (see Vayikra / Leviticus 19:9-18) that includes being mindful of the poor among us, not stealing, having fair business dealings, not lying to others, not using God’s name to justify wrong, not oppressing others or robbing them, paying wages on time, showing respect toward the physically handicapped, demonstrating justice in court without partiality, not slandering, and not taking vengeance or bearing grudges against others. This is not a complete list, though it makes it clear that loving our neighbor is far more and much deeper than what we may normally think it is.

Loving our neighbor is not just having warm affection toward others or showing kindness to them, though it may include those things. God’s version of loving others involves a deep understanding of his ways and how they relate to how we are to treat others. To love is to be true to our God-given responsibilities towards those with whom we have personal and work relationships, business and legal dealings, as well as the needy and vulnerable around us. Let’s not cheapen God’s Word by reducing it to anything less.

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of May 3, 2025 / 5 Iyar 5785

Tazria & Metzora
Torah: Vayikra/Leviticus 12:1-15:33
Haftarah: 2 M’lachim/2 Kings 7:3-20

This day is a day of good news (2 M’lachim/2 Kings 7:9)

This week’s Haftarah (selected reading from the Hebrew Prophets) includes one of the Scriptures’ most surprising turnarounds. The northern kingdom of Israel’s capital city, Shomron (English: Samaria), was under siege by the Arameans (ESV: Syrians). The famine was so severe that the people were eating their own children! Eventually, the prophet Elisha prophesied a sudden end to the siege and a complete economic upturn. In the natural, this was impossible.

In the meantime, four men afflicted with leprosy decided to surrender to the Arameans, thinking they had nothing to lose given their desperate situation in the city. The mention of these men is likely why this story was chosen for the Haftarah, since the parsha (Torah reading portion) refers to leprosy. To their surprise, when they arrived at the enemy’s camp, it was deserted. We read:

For the Lord had made the army of the Arameans (ESV: Syrians) hear the sound of chariots and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us.” So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their lives” (2 M’lachim/2 Kings 7:6–7).

As the men helped themselves to the goods left behind, they realized they shouldn’t keep this turn of events to themselves. They said to each other, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king’s household” (2 M’lachim/2 Kings 7:9). The Hebrew word, translated as “good news” in the English Standard Version and others, is b’sorah.

Interestingly, the Septuagint (LXX), the ancient, standard Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, translates b’sorah here as euangelion. This is the word used in the New Covenant Writings (the New Testament), which in English became “gospel” or “good news.” Surveying b’sorah in the Hebrew Scriptures demonstrates that the news so proclaimed wasn’t necessarily always “good” for everyone. It depended on how you related to the particular news being announced.

That’s certainly true for Israel’s turn of events in this story. What was good news for Israel was bad news for the Arameans. Messiah’s b’sorah is different as its universal goodness is based on how we relate to it. If we receive Yeshua on his terms, then it’s good beyond comprehension. However, not only will it not go well for those who reject him, but also how such people regard this otherwise good news becomes warped and severely misconstrued.

There’s other news this week that functions similarly to Messiah’s b’sorah. Like the story in the Haftarah, it has to do with a remarkable turnaround in the history of Israel. But like Messiah’s b’sorah, its goodness depends on how we relate to it. Tragically, many people’s view of this, like the Gospel, is entirely obscured by all sorts of misunderstandings and conflicting values. I am referring to Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day. This Thursday marks seventy-seven years since the birth of the modern State of Israel. The return of the Jewish people to our ancient homeland is b’sorah, which should be proclaimed and celebrated worldwide if only people understood it correctly.

Some of the remarkable aspects of this include: the modern state of Israel was established after 2000 years of exile from our ancient homeland in the wake of attempted genocide (two-thirds of the European Jewish community, half of the worldwide Jewish community, died in the Holocaust). After Israel declared independence, Israel survived the united onslaught of five Arab nations and, within the next three years, absorbed 700,000 Jewish refugees and immigrants, doubling its population. Through it all, it integrated a vast array of languages and cultures and revived Hebrew as a living everyday language after more than two thousand years. Despite ongoing existential challenges, Israel has thrived in so many ways, including being an extraordinarily pluralistic and democratic society and a world leader in agricultural, medical, and computer technology.

I could go on, but that won’t change the fact that a great many people don’t regard Israel’s miraculous rebirth as good news—anything but. This tragic misunderstanding reflects a view of the world contrary to God’s plan and purposes. To navigate the world effectively and be the people God desires requires a biblical view of Israel, one that can celebrate the good news of another anniversary.

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of April 26, 2025 / 28 Nisan 5785

Sh’mini
Torah: Vayikra/Leviticus 9:1 – 11:47
Haftarah: 2 Shmuel/2 Samuel 6:1 – 7:17

As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart. (2 Shmuel/2 Samuel 6:16)

Many years ago, a good friend mentioned that when contempt invades a marriage, the marriage is doomed (for a brief, professional take on the matter, see The Gottman Institute’s article on this subject). It is a frightening thought that such an invasion is possible. I don’t know why my friend brought it up that day. I don’t think we were discussing our marriages at the time, and, for the record, we are both still married. In fact, my wife and I will be celebrating forty-five years in a few weeks!

Modern psychologists are not the first to notice the devastating effects of contempt on relationships. This week’s Haftarah (special reading from the Hebrew Prophets) vividly illustrates the point. The version I read says that David’s wife Michal “despised” him in her heart. The Hebrew word for despised here is bazah. Other translations use contempt, disgust, and hatred. It was how Esau considered his birthright in Bereshit/Genesis chapter twenty-five, when he came home exhausted and traded his birthright to his younger twin brother, Jacob, for a single bowl of stew. In other words, he couldn’t care less about his birthright. This is the kind of disdain that Michal felt towards David, having seen him unabashedly celebrate  along with the servant girls as he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. For the record, there is no indication that David was dancing naked, as some believe. Instead, it appears that he was dressed in a most simple manner, like a commoner, not in royal garb. This seriously irked his wife. His childlike exuberance, his mixing with the common people, and his simple appearance diminished him in her eyes. She may have been embarrassed as she herself felt diminished by his child-like humility.

Whatever the reason, her husband became very small in her eyes. She no longer saw him for the man he was. Not only did she disregard his God-given position as King of Israel and a man after God’s own heart, but she could no longer grasp his innate value as a fellow human being equally made in God’s image. Instead, she looked down on him and greeted him with insults.

The result, according to the passage, was that she never bore children. Note that while it doesn’t say that God punished her for her attitude, this may be implied. Don’t get me wrong. Infertility isn’t necessarily a punishment from God. But in this case, Michal’s disdain for her husband damaged their relationship. Her not having children may not have been due to divine intervention, but perhaps due to their not having sexual relations again.

Obviously, there are details about David and Michal’s relationship that we don’t know. And that’s part of the brilliance of biblical storytelling. The lack of detail allows their story to resonate with our own. It should be clear that contempt is a relationship killer, be it contempt for a spouse, a parent, a child, an employer or employee, a customer, or a political or religious leader, and so on. This is in no way to say we should ignore differences and problems. Far from it! Contempt signifies an unwillingness to address them. We might be afraid to call others to account. Or we don’t want to acknowledge that there might be aspects of our own lives that need attention. Whatever it is, it’s much easier to look down on others and criticize than to work through our issues. Is that really what we want?

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of April 19, 2025 / 21 Nisan 5785

Pesach
Torah: Shemot/Exodus 13:17 – 15:26 & B’midbar/Numbers 28:19-25
Haftarah: 2 Shmuel/2 Samuel 22:1-51
Originally posted the week of April 11, 2015 / 22 Nisan 5775

You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread (matza), the bread of affliction – for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste – that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. (Devarim / Deuteronomy 16:3)

If you attended a Pesach (English: Passover) Seder the other day, or any other time for that matter, you most likely heard the following words when the matza (English: unleavened bread) was uncovered near the beginning of the evening: “This is the bread of affliction that our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt.” But perhaps you didn’t know that calling the matza “the bread of affliction” is taken directly from the Torah.

The word for “affliction” in Hebrew is “a’-nee,” and refers to being in an oppressive state, such as hardship or poverty. Matza as a key symbol of Pesach would always serve as a reminder of the great suffering in Egypt with or without referring to it as the bread of affliction. But the verse I quoted at the beginning makes it sound as if the matza is not a reminder of the slavery experience but of freedom: “eat it with matza, the bread of affliction – for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste – that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.”

Indeed it was the rush to leave Egypt following the tenth and final plague that is the reason for the eating of matzah. We read:

The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders (Shemot/Exodus 12:33-34).

So if the matza is connected with leaving Egypt, why is it not called “the bread of deliverance?” The answer is found a few verses later. Regarding the preparation of the unleavened dough they took with them,

And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves (Shemot/Exodus 12:39).

Even though the exodus from Egypt was a momentous liberating event, in its own way it too was a hardship. Anyone who has been released from long-term personal or corporate abuse knows how difficult such transitions can be. Free from slavery, yes, but Israel had to endure a harsh, unknown wilderness with little to no prepared provision. This resulted in all sorts of next-to-impossible challenges to the point that some would eventually pine after their former slavery. Unless they learned to depend on God, they wouldn’t make it. And many didn’t. Almost the entire adult generation that left Egypt were kept from entering the Promised Land due to their unfaithfulness to God (see Bemidbar/Numbers 13 – 14).

After the initial euphoria of newfound freedom subsides, the harsh realities of strange and perhaps hostile environments, a lack of familiar social structures and personal and communal resources must be faced with tenacity and hope for a better future. Whether it be an immigrant from a worn-torn land or someone newly distanced from an abusive situation, denying the reality of the new challenges faced by freedom can create unnecessary obstacles to the benefits of freedom.

The matza does more than simply remind us of the hardship of liberation, however. It assures us that the God who frees us will give us all we need to face the challenges of newfound freedom. It’s not always easy to walk in freedom, but he who rescues us from bondage, will also equip us to live free.

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of April 12, 2025 / 14 Nisan 5785

Zav
Torah: Vayikra/Leviticus 6:1 – 8:36 (English: 6:8 – 8:36)
Haftarah: Malachi 3:4-24 (English 3:4 – 4:6)
Originally posted the week of March 28, 2015 / 8 Nisan 5775 (updated)

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying “Give Aaron and his sons this command: ‘These are the regulations for the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar.'” (Vayikra/Leviticus 6:1-2 [English: 6:8-9])

For most of us, the concept of sacrifice is foreign. We don’t offer God animals, grain, and so on. Yet, sacrifice is a central element of the Torah and one that has ongoing relevance to us.

While sacrifices of this nature have become redundant under the New Covenant, there is much to be learned by studying them. Let’s look at one basic concept that will help us better relate to God and life.

The sacrifices prescribed by the Torah for individuals were to be taken from things the people themselves already owned. When you sacrificed something, you gave of what you yourself had. In fact, provisions were made for the poor so that they, too, could give of what they had. You could not borrow something to sacrifice or offer something on behalf of someone else.

And so, when an offering was made, you were giving back to God that which God had first given to you. Whatever benefits were derived or obligations were met due to a particular offering, you were always acknowledging, consciously or unconsciously, that God had a right to what you possessed.

Grasping this concept enables us to relate to our possessions as God intends. We often define ourselves by what we have. While the rich may be the objects of resentment, we tend to have the highest regard for those with the most material goods. Don’t we refer to these people as “well off,” even though they might be miserable? Parting with our stuff forces us to find our identity and well-being elsewhere.

We also believe that our possessions are for us to do with as we please. Children learn the meaning of “mine” from a very early age. Yet the very first chapter of the Torah establishes our role as stewards of the planet. God is the possessor of everything. We are called to care for, not own, things. How easily we fool ourselves! Unless we learn this lesson, the more stuff we have, the more they will possess us. The sacrifices of the Torah release our grip on what we have. Giving back to God helps us realize that we do not depend on what we own as we thought.

By calling for sacrifice, God exercises his claim upon more than just our possessions—he is claiming us. The whole purpose of the Torah was to restore people to a right relationship with him. What happened in the Garden of Eden was a misuse of God’s provision. Our first parents failed to accept that we have no right to do with the creation however we please—a lesson we still have trouble learning.

God wants us to give ourselves to him in every way. He is not really interested in our stuff. He wants us.

God knew sacrifice was the only way to bring us back to himself. The ancient offerings never made much of a difference, so God himself offered his own sacrifice: his Son, Yeshua the Messiah. God gave us what he had so we could fully give ourselves to him.

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of April 5, 2025 / 7 Nisan 5785

Vayikra
Torah: Vayikra/Leviticus 1:1 – 5:26 (English: 1:1 – 6:7)
Haftarah: Isaiah 43:21 – 44:23
For the week of March 19, 2016 / 9 Adar II 5776 (revised)

If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD. (Vayikra/Leviticus 1:3)

When reading the descriptions of the various sacrifices in the third book of Moses, it becomes apparent that the emphasis isn’t so much on why various sacrifices were offered, but rather what the requirements were for each sacrifice. This includes which animals were allowed, since certain animals were acceptable for some sacrifices and not for others; which offerings included portions for the cohanim (English: priests) and which did not; when the people were to keep parts of the animal for eating and when not to; which offerings included grain and/or drink; which ones allowed for less expensive items when given by the poor, and so on.

God was very particular about the regulations surrounding the sacrifices. People were not to offer to God whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, or however they wanted. How God was to be worshipped was determined by God, not by the people.

Someone might want to point out that God was never really interested in the external aspects of worship. Didn’t the prophets make this clear, as in this example from Isaiah, which Yeshua quoted several centuries later?

And the LORD said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men” (Isaiah 29:13, compare Matthew 15:8).

Performing our duties while our hearts are actually distant from God is hypocrisy. God is not fooled by our simply going through the motions. But the prophetic warning against the trap of heartless submission to God doesn’t imply that it’s all about the heart. Scripture never gives the impression that God accepts anything and everything we choose to offer him. Faith in God is never to be a cover-up for evil.

Our acceptance by God due to Yeshua’s final sacrifice for sin doesn’t mean that how we approach God no longer matters. In fact, the restrictions upon us are greater than ever before. While the sacrificial system is no longer in force, he now calls for the offering of ourselves. The New Covenant Writings see this as the only reasonable response to God’s great mercy toward us in the Messiah. Paul writes:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (Romans 12:1).

And just as Torah carefully outlined the requirements for the sacrifices, so Paul reminds us that we should take similar care in how we offer ourselves:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).

Certainly, our inner motives are essential, but so are the externals. We don’t live godly lives to achieve God’s acceptance. Rather, because of God’s acceptance of us in Yeshua, we strive after godliness—a godliness according to his design.

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of March 29, 2025 / 29 Adar 5785

Pekudei
Torah: Shemot/Exodus 38:21-40:38; Shemot/Exodus 12:1-20
Haftarah: Ezekiel 45:16 – 46:18; 1 Shmuel/1 Samuel 20:18-42
Originally posted the week of March 12, 2016 / 2 Adar II 5776 (updated)

Then, the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses could not enter the meeting tent because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. (Shemot/Exodus 40:34-35)

Who likes interruptions? We live in a busy world—places to go, things to do. But interruptions are a fact of life these days especially. Phone calls, text messages, social media posts, and emails all vie for our attention. I know we could all do a better job resisting the buzzes and bells of these attention grabbers, but you know how it is.

Some people are better than others at not being interrupted. They are the very focused individuals who are so keenly aware of their responsibilities that nothing will get in the way of their goals—

Hold on, my daughter is texting me. Okay, I’m back. Where was I? Oh yeah, focused individuals—

Focused individuals can be so good at resisting interruption that they might actually be missing what God is trying to do in their lives. You might wonder how that could be possible. If God is God, then how can he be resisted? We’ll get to that in a minute.

In this week’s Torah portion, God interrupts Moses. After completing the building and setup of the mishkan (English: tabernacle), we read that God’s glory filled it so that it prevented Moses from going into the special tent where he normally met with God. This tangible manifestation of God kept Moses from doing his regular duties.

I imagine most people reading this would consider it amazingly wonderful that God’s presence would be among people in such a spectacular and awesome way. But that’s the perspective of an objective reader. It’s another thing when you are in the middle of it. In Moses’s case, he may not have had much of a choice, but how about when God interrupts our lives in other, not-so-obvious, ways? When great unexpected events happen to us—the kind that has the potential to change the course of our lives completely, what then? I am not saying that every such event is a divine interruption, but I wonder how much we might be missing—or worse—resisting.

The greatest divine interruption in history was the coming of the Messiah Yeshua. God had prepped the Jewish people for centuries for his arrival. By the time he came, messianic expectation in Israel was at a fever pitch. As he began to teach and perform signs and wonders, crowds of people started to wonder if he might indeed be “the One.” The leadership was hesitant, just as established leadership tends to be. But then, most of the leadership became more than hesitant. They became outright resistant, hostile, in fact. Even though they were the ones who had taught the people about the Messiah in the first place, he was interrupting their lives by not doing things exactly as they expected. They had successfully built a community of survival within a very oppressive society and were legitimately afraid that change would undermine their rule. Therefore, interruptions could not be tolerated. They may not have been conscious of how much their insistence on staying on course blinded them to God to the extent that most of them failed to see that the Messiah was in their midst.

This should be a great warning to us all. These leaders, for the most part, acted out of a good motive as they sought to fulfill their God-given responsibilities. But if experts and keeners, out of their earnestness, could resist a divine interruption, how much more could we? Do we think we are not susceptible to being so focused on our agendas, plans, and ways of doing things that we wouldn’t completely ignore God when he shows up?

This is not to say that every interruption in our lives is from God and should be wholeheartedly embraced. But let’s be careful that in our desire to stay focused, we don’t miss how God might be trying to get through to us.

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of March 22, 2025 / 22 Adar 5785

Vayakhel & Parah
Torah: Shemot/Exodus 35:1 – 38:20; B’midbar/Numbers 19:1-22
Haftarah: Ezekiel 36:16-38

Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:22-26)

This week’s special reading from the prophet Ezekiel foretold a miracle of which we are witnesses today: the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel. It grieves me to no end to think of how many people cannot see this wonder. Age-old prejudice, historical theological misrepresentation, and misguided social justice ideologies have obscured what are perhaps the most remarkable developments in history. That the Jewish people have survived at all—empire after empire, devastation and exile, not just once— is noteworthy. Contrary to popular misconception, through the centuries, there was always a small, virtually powerless remnant who remained in our God-given land, while the majority of the nation lived throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe and eventually the Americas and elsewhere, where some longed for the day of return, promised by Ezekiel and others.

But return we have. When the British took over responsibility for what was then known as Mandatory Palestine, there were about 60,000 Jewish residents. Despite facing existential threats from its founding until now, the Jewish population of Israel today is over seven million. That’s about 11,567% growth! . Half of the world’s Jewish population lives in our ancient homeland today and is perhaps one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse societies on the planet. Despite propaganda to the contrary, Israel is a religiously and culturally pluralistic society in one of the most intolerant and dangerous regions of the world. It is also a hub of innovation in various areas, including agriculture and health.

Some might point out, however, that Ezekiel isn’t simply speaking about unusual political and cultural events, remarkable as they are, but also about a spiritual awakening among the Jewish people. Yet, just as many are oblivious to the remarkable nature of the return to the Land, there is a lack of awareness of God’s transformative work among us. I do not think it is a coincidence that the emergence of what was then known as the Hebrew Christian movement in the 1800s coincided with Restorationism, later named Zionism. Then, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a great number of Jewish young people came to believe in Yeshua as Messiah, this time along with an earnest desire to retain our Jewish distinctive. It is not far fetched to connect this with the surprising repossession of the Old City of Jerusalem and the acquisition of biblical Judea and Samaria in 1967.

While many ignore God’s current, multi-faceted workings among his ancient covenant people, others miss the intents of his heart by insisting on their particular preset formulas. They claim that God won’t or can’t do this or that with the Jewish people unless this or that happens first. Tell me, how much of the Bible do we need to read before we realize that God isn’t constrained by our systems? The power of the Good News of the Messiah is for the Jews first and foremost. It always was and always will be. Let’s pray and act, expecting to see God’s word through Ezekiel fully fulfilled in our day.

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of March 15, 2025 / 15 Adar 5785

Ki Tissa
Torah: Shemot/Exodus 30:11 – 34:35
Haftarah: 1 Melachim / 1 Kings 18:1-39
Originally posted the week of February 27, 2021 / 15 Adar 5781 (revised)

And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14)

These are the words spoken by Mordecai to his cousin Esther, who had been selected queen of Persia after the former queen had been deposed due to insubordination. Only God knew the circumstances that Esther, Mordecai, and the rest of the Jewish people in Persia would find themselves in. At some point after Esther’s installation, the king promoted Haman to the highest bureaucratic position. One of Haman’s perks was that people were to display deference towards him whenever he passed by, which everyone did, except for Mordecai. This infuriated Haman to the extent that he wanted to put not only Mordecai to death but also all of Mordecai’s people—the Jewish people.

Before this, Mordecai instructed Esther not to make her Jewishness known. But now, realizing by God’s providence she was in a place of influence, he sent a message to her entreating her to approach the king on her people’s behalf. It was obvious, at least to Mordecai, that God’s hand was at work in Esther’s becoming queen, and he helped her to see that perhaps she had come to her role in the kingdom for such a time as this.

As readers of this story, what Mordecai discerned about Esther’s role is obvious. Of course, we also have the benefit of knowing the rest of the story. Anyone who approached the king uninvited would be killed unless the king extended his scepter to that person, a risk Esther decided to take. Not only did the king extend his scepter to her, Haman’s devilish plot was exposed, and the Jewish people overcame another existential threat. This is why we celebrate the festival of Purim (this year: Thursday evening, March 13).

I don’t know how many people find themselves in such a position. After all, this is an extreme case, both in terms of the threat and the unusual place that Esther found herself in. I hope that if I were in such a unique position to help, I too would be willing to do what Esther did.

But how about when the situation isn’t as dramatic as this, when the place in which we find ourselves isn’t as obvious as it was to Mordecai? What about when life seems normal: family, work, home, school—day in, day out, same old, same old—what about then? Could it be that wherever we may be and whatever we may be doing, opportunities for which we are uniquely positioned are staring at us, but we are distracted by normal? What if we were more aware of what is really going on around us? What would happen if we were more sensitive to the Lord’s promptings? Maybe life wouldn’t seem so normal most of the time.

And what if we are not in normal times? We live in a world troubled by a great deal of social and political challenges. Yet many are just trying to cope, waiting for this to all be over. But what are you waiting for? This might be your time.

Esther’s initial reaction to Mordecai was “What can I do?” seeing that she hadn’t been summoned to the king in a while. However, she wasn’t in her position simply to accept the way things were, but rather to risk her life to make a difference. She needed to challenge the status quo and put herself in a dangerous situation to bring about the essential change.

This is not the time to sit back and do nothing. You may believe you don’t have any other option. That’s never the case with the God of Israel. What you might be called to do may not have the same impact as what Esther did, but you’ll never know until you are willing to step out in that direction. It might be nothing more than a phone call or an email. But as God leads you, there’s no telling the difference you might make. Perhaps this is your time.

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version