Torah Portions

Abraham, the Father of Faithfulness, was tested in the same ways God tested Israel and describes a journey we all take. Many types of adversaries grace each Torah Portion; however, you should be able to find a common thread that none of them are celestial or otherworldly. Lech Lecha, the Torah Portion from last week, […]

“What did the mama tomato say to the baby tomato? Ketchup, baby tomato!” My son told me this joke when he was about four, and I am trying to “ketchup” to the current Torah Portion. Noach is the next Torah Portion for us to unpack and is found in Genesis 6:9-11:32. Just as in Beireshit, […]

Long time no smell! To say that this year has been challenging would be a massive understatement. I don’t believe I am out of the woods yet, but I see the light peeking through, allowing me to return to my favorite form of worship: studying the Bible. This year, I decided to walk you through […]

You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. ~Deuteronomy 16:18 In this Torah portion, Moses commands Israel to place judges within their gates. It can also be a personal command since the Hebrew […]

Deuteronomy 13:5;7: But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord […]

Are we are in Devarim, or Deuteronomy, already? If Deuteronomy is considered a “repetition of the Torah”, then Words is the greatest name for it. Words are only the most important thing in the Universe. Words created the world and are the very first action of God, He spoke and brought things into existence, then […]

The end of Numbers, or Bamidbar in Hebrew, recounts Israel’s journey from Egypt to Canaan. I can see the creation process unfolding for the Israelites over their life-long journey into a Promised Land. God is establishing His Kingdom and teaching the Israelites how to be subjects of this Kingdom. Day One– The Israelites left Egypt the day […]

Numbers 22:22: Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary (a SATAN) against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. If the only definition of satan is a rebellious angel, then the […]

This week’s Torah Portion is about a Levite who gathered a company of Israelites to contend against the Lord’s anointed, Moses and Aaron, in the wilderness. They pierced a God-given boundary and reaped dire consequences.   This rebellion is unique because the earth opened and swallowed up the rebellious congregation, their tents, and their families. They […]

At the beginning of Genesis, in chapter one, verse one, we have two things present when Light was born. The Word of God was present and spoke, “Let there be Light,” and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. At the appointed time of Shavuot, which we just celebrated a few days ago, God […]