Weekly Torah Commentaries

By UMJC - Union Of Messianic Jewish CongregationsReligion & Spirituality Christianity Judaism

Weekly Torah Commentaries episodes

January 04, 2024 God’s Calling is Greater than Our Fears
This week we read of Moses’ first encounter with God at the burning bush.
In this conversation on the mountain, Moses finds himself wrestling with
the great battle of the saints: Faith vs fear. And his fear nearly won the
day.
10 min
December 28, 2023 Finding Life in Egypt
Our parasha begins, Vayechi Yaakov, “Jacob lived in the land of Egypt
seventeen years.” The language of this opening line is somewhat unexpected.
Why say that Jacob lived in the land of Egypt? In English translation it’s
unremarkable, but there are other verbs that might have worked in Hebrew.
9 min
December 21, 2023 The Courage to Rise
Hundreds marched behind Martin Luther King and beside him, Abraham Joshua
Heschel, who famously wrote later, “Legs are not lips and walking is not
kneeling. And yet our legs uttered songs. Even without words, our march was
worship. I felt like our legs were praying.”
10 min
December 12, 2023 A Life in Technicolor
Joseph was a dreamer and interpreter of amazing dreams, full of meaning. He
was in an Egyptian prison after a convoluted sequence of events triggered
by a gift–the Technicolor Dream Coat (Gen 37:3)—the resulting jealousy of
his brothers, and his own dreams of his brothers bowing to him.
9 min
December 06, 2023 Servants of the Holy, Servants of the Light
As we commemorate Hanukkah this year, let’s focus on the shamash candle,
the servant light that brings light to the rest of the menorah and sheds
that light to the entire house. Let’s focus on Yeshua the quintessential
servant, who through his sacrificial life brings light to the entire world.
9 min
November 30, 2023 You Know, You Are Also Right
Probably about once a month, I will think about this famous scene in
“Fiddler on the Roof.” Tevye is observing a conversation between two men,
arguing about whether we need to read the newspaper and be aware of outside
events or not. He agrees with each one in turn by saying “You’re right.”
9 min
November 22, 2023 The Twelve Tribes and Beyond
Our tribal history contains the classic elements of being chosen, having a
special legacy, and being different from (and perhaps superior to) the
Other. But in typical fashion for the Torah, the account of tribal origins
points beyond the usual motifs to hint at hope and transformation to come.
10 min
November 15, 2023 Keep Digging Those Wells
The Jewish spirit is a productive spirit. It works for the future and
believes against all hope that the desert can indeed bloom. The Jewish
spirit believes that through the diligent application of hard work in the
land where we sojourn, we will not just survive, but we will thrive.
13 min
November 09, 2023 Taking the Long View
This week’s parasha brings us the account of the very first land purchase
in the Land of Promise. Seeking a place to bury his wife, Sarah, Abraham
approaches a local landowner to purchase the cave of Machpelah, which was
on his property.
10 min
November 02, 2023 Shake, Rattle, and Roll
The Bible may be the world’s most surprising book. Just when you thought
you had God down, you will read something that causes even the dead to rise
up and say, “What was that?”
10 min

About Weekly Torah Commentaries

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Reflections on the weekly Torah portions from a diverse group of Messianic Jewish rabbis, scholars, and lay people. Our contributors bring fresh insights to familiar texts, drawing connections to…