Yehuda Bachana: Biblical Remembrance and Joy: Keys to Bearing Fruit – Ki Tavo [2023]

Read the transcript below, or watch a video of the teaching by Yehuda Bachana.

SThis week’s Torah portion begins with the commandment of the first fruits, in which we bring tithes and gratitude to God for the good land,

“The land flowing with milk and honey” (Deuteronomy 26:15)

The land that God gave Israel as an inheritance, as He promised to our fathers.

The commandment of the first fruits shows and expresses the close connection between the People of Israel and the Land of Israel. This specific commandment, is spread out over 11 verses that describe the different elements of the commandment, step-by-step.

However, only together, do these elements complete the commandment.

First of all, the first fruits are presented to the priest, and placed before the altar of God. After that, the one bringing the first fruits, has to tell the story of Israel’s redemption to those around him. The story concludes, by re-telling how we received the Promised Land. It then mentions the joy of this fertile and blessed land that we received. Verse 11 truly summarizes the feeling we should have at that very moment, namely:

“You shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.”

The New Testament, and Yeshua in particular, compares us to fruit trees, while our main calling is the fulfillment of our destiny. Meaning, the establishment of justice and righteousness, and bearing fruit.

Now, what kind of fruit does the New Testament talk about?

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness” (Galatians 5:22)

However, bearing fruit could also mean being obedient to God, and declaring His word. In one of His parables, Yeshua compares Israel - or the community of believers - to a fig tree that is planted in a vineyard:

“A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9)

This parable reminds us of the Song of the Ben-Shemen Vineyard, from Isaiah chapter 5. In Yeshua’s parable, the owner visits his vineyard every year in order to enjoy the fruit of the fig tree; however, he comes in vain.

The fig tree in the parable does not bear fruit. Therefore, the owner of the vineyard wants to cut down the useless tree. The vinedresser, who represents Yeshua, asks to invest in the fig tree: to fertilize it, to till the surrounding soil, and to provide enough water for the tree.

In the same way, the vinedresser in the parable of Isaiah, also really invests, by digging around the vineyard and removing stones; after which, he plants choice vines.

And yet, Isaiah explains that the vineyard, even after all the work, did not produce good fruit. After all, the walls around the vineyard are removed, which allows strangers and enemies to enter the unprotected vineyard.
This connects to the second part of this Torah portion, that talks about the curses and the victory of our enemies. A thing that could happen to us, too, if and when we abandon the commandments of God.

These parables are written down, both in order to warn us, as well as to give us hope. To tell us that there is still time to correct our actions and repent. Yeshua’s parable of the fig-tree, shows how patient God truly is, and how willing He is to invest in us. There still is hope, there still is time for us to repent and bear fruit. The fruit symbolizes a lifestyle that is righteous and obedient God; as well as, preaching the Word of God - His Torah - to the entire world.

This leads us to the requirement to declare the Word of God. It also leads us to the story that every parent must tell their child.
Which is the story that begins with the terrible torture that our ancestors suffered in Egypt. And yet, alongside the suffering, God truly blessed the birthrate of our people, as it is written at the beginning of the Book of Exodus:

“But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread” (Exodus 1:12).

There, in Egypt, the people cried out:

“Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice (…) And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm (…) And he brought us into this place and gave us this land…” (Deuteronomy 26:7-9)

The story of our nation, continues throughout the long journey through the desert, up until and including, the entrance to the Promised Land.
The purpose of this story, is to pass on our identity and our collective memory to the next generation. And then, the highlight is, when I present the first fruits of my harvest to God, and thank Him for everything.

The ability to tell our collective story to the next generation is very important. In fact, it is a fundamental part of instilling the Jewish identity. Our story is documented in the Scriptures, and answers even the most basic questions, like: Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here?

The commandment to tell the story of our salvation and redemption to the future generations, is not unique to the commandment of the first fruits, nor to this Torah portion. Indeed, such story-telling appears multiple times in the Bible, and in most cases, it is connected to the Exodus from Egypt.

Our feasts, too, are built-up as stories, that include activities for the kids, like building and decorating the Sukkah, during the Feast of Tabernacles. Passover, too, is celebrated with more than just a ceremony to commemorate the holiday.

Pesach is surrounded by extensive activities, and the special atmosphere can be felt weeks before the holiday even begins. The Children play an active role during the reading of the Passover Haggadah, including the search for the Afikoman. The Pesach Haggadah tells the story of our redemption, and includes quotations from our Torah portion:

“And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders.” (Deuteronomy 26:5-8, which is also quoted in: Passover Haggadah, ‘Go and learn’).

Why is it so important to tell the story? Yes, our story is a story of redemption, a story of a miracle, of hope, vision and success against all odds. Our story has made numerous award-winning movies, such as: ‘The Ten Commandments’, and the animated ‘Prince of Egypt’.

However, the point isn’t whether our story is beautiful, special, and if it could create more bestselling movies… Of course, there are other great stories, and better movies, too. So, the real question is:

Why are we commanded to tell the story? Why is it so important to tell it to our children?

Our story, the one we are commanded to teach from generation-to-generation, gives us a sense of belonging, identity, the right to exist and meaning in life.

All of these, are very important issues that should not be taken lightly. The religious obligation to tell the story, and to preserve the collective memory contributed greatly to Israel’s refusal to be destroyed and disappear from the world. Even when there was no hope, and even when objectively, we had no chance at all. Yet, here we are today: living in the renewed City of Jerusalem.

Our story is faithfully handed down, from generation-to-generation, with the help of religious customs. Actually, that ongoing tradition of story-telling has caused Israel to return to the Promised Land.

Also for us, as Messianic believers, the idea of remembering is very important. According to the commandment, we remember the Exodus, because our faith is grounded in the Jewish roots of the Bible. God redeemed Israel from Egypt with His mighty hand and His outstretched arm and we remember that every day of our lives. In addition, we also remember the rest, the story of the complete redemption. We remember Yeshua the Messiah Who redeemed us, and granted us hope for eternal life.

The Promised Land, the Tabernacle, the service of the priests – all of these are the important first steps in the process of our complete redemption. This process ends after death:in the coming world, where the righteous will receive their reward. We believe that Yeshua is the Messiah. He is the Messiah promised throughout the Bible. He is the Messiah Whom all of Israel and the world is waiting for. He is the One Who redeems us, and Who ensures us entrants to the eternal Promised Land.

That is why remembering and studying – as a continuation to the story we tell - is so important for us as believers.

Studying the Word of God is a fundamental part of our faith and our way of life. In addition, we have ceremonies that serve as a living memory, that solidifies our identity in faith.

Let’s take the Lord’s Supper as an example of such a ceremony. The Lord’s Supper is somewhat similar to the ‘Kiddush’ of Shabbat, and includes a blessing over bread (or matzah) and over wine. This ceremony is sanctified - set aside - as a memory of Yeshua’s act of redemption. Such ceremonies preserve our identity as believers.

Let’s return to the commandment of the first fruits. This commandment has to be performed with joy:

“You shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household” (Deuteronomy 26:11)

What does that mean?

Truly, this joy comes from serving God. Now, how do we serve God with joy? Or How do we serve God, at all?

Part of serving God, includes studying the Word of God, and prayer, too. Yet, in my opinion, the main part is for us to live our day-to-day life, according to the moral standards of the Scriptures. The Torah was given to us, in order to maintain a proper and fair life-style, between ‘man and neighbor’, as well as between ‘man and God’.

Observing the commandments of the Torah ‘between man and neighbor’, requires a professional to be: reliable and honest at his job. While, ‘between man and God’, requires our family to continue to tell our story, by: building the Sukkah, remembering the Shabbat, giving the first fruits and blowing the Shofar on the Day of Trumpets. Of course, we should do these with joy, meaning: with good will. This joy enables us to continue to serve our society and community faithfully, and also, for us to continue to give to God.

The word ‘joy’, appears once more in our Torah portion. However, this time as a warning:

“All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees, he gave you. (…) Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity.” (Deuteronomy 28:45-47).

You did not serve God joyfully in the time of prosperity.

But, why don’t we serve God joyfully?
There are all kinds of reasons, and one of these reasons is mentioned at the end of this passage, with the word ‘prosperity’. When we are doing well and we’re successful, the thought that goes through our mind, is:

“I do things from my own strength and my own efforts.”

Then, little by little we begin to lean on our own strength and forget about God. We are busy with our things, and we no longer have time for God.

We slowly divert from His Word and His principles that are supposed to guide our lives. As mentioned before, both Isaiah’s Song of the Vineyard, and Yeshua’s Parable of the fig tree, made it clear that it is God Who cares and takes care of us.

That is why Moses adds the following, clear-cut choice to our Torah portion. We could either serve God joyfully, faithfully and willingly.
And This is the way we are advised to choose, and that way leads to the following blessings:

“All these blessings will come on you (…) You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country (…) You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out (…) The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.” (Deuteronomy 28: 2-13)

The second way, is the way without God and without His blessing, and that way leads to these frightening curses:

“You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country (…) The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out” (Deuteronomy 28:16-19)

“Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” (Deuteronomy 27:26)

We’ve talked about these verses before, in Parashat ‘Tzav’, and those interested, can learn more from that Torah portion, to learn more about the salvation and redemption that the New Testament offers us through Yeshua. Yeshua redeemed us and paid our debt, through which, Yeshua wiped out these curses.

We will end with joy. A people capable of rejoicing, even in the shadow of hardships, suffering and loneliness, like the Jewish people, is a people that cannot be broken or defeated.

And that is why we are commanded to rejoice.

Joseph Shulam: The Source of Our Salvation[2023]

The reading of this next Shabbat is named Ki Tavo, from the Torah we read from Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8. From the Prophets (The Haftarah) is from Isaiah 60:1-22 and from the Gospel we read from Matthew 4:13-24.

Last Shabbat as we rolled the Torah Scroll, I notice that the right side of the Torah Scroll was getting very close to the end. This reminded me that in just in a few days from now, this year, according to the Jewish calendar, 5783 will soon become 5784. As Bob Dylan (Baruch Zimmerman) said in his song, “Times are a changing!” In these last days so much has changed all around our world and also in Israel, both inside and outside.

Israel is going through a very difficult and very challenging time. Our government needs help from God. Our nation, the nation of Israel, needs God’s grace and serious introspection, from our prime minister to the last member of our parliament (Knesset) and every civil servant in this country. This whole nation needs to do some soul searching and learn from our past history that divided, the Jewish nation cannot stand. Very similar circumstances brought about the fall of Jerusalem in the year 70 C.E (A.D).

The radicals led by Elizar Ben Yair, were looking and were desiring the absolute perfect, free and independent state of Israel. Such a state never existed. From the day that Abraham and his group arrived in this part of the world and until now, Israel has been the salami between the empires. Israel was always connected and dependent to one of the two empires that surround this land. We were always connected to the empires on our north, Assyria, the Babylonians, even earlier, on the Hittite empire. Remember that Abraham had to buy the cave of Machpela from Ephron the Hittite. The Hittites were holding all of south Judea and also most of the Eastern Galilee. Later it was Egypt and later it was the Babylonians.

Now, with all the bravado that Israel is broadcasting, the truth is that we are dependent on the USA, and on the prayers of many Christian Evangelicals who pray for our country and stand with the Jewish people. It is a total farce to think that we are an independent self-standing Jewish country.

As the Kings of Israel in our ancient history had to run to Assyria and Babylon and beg for help, so we are doing now! We are running and begging the President of the USA to invite our prime minister to the White House in Washington and sometimes even begging Mr. Puttin in Moscow for help. Just like in the good old days of King Hezekiah of Judea, the kings of northern Israel went to Babylon and to Damascus to seek help.

Israel needs help and needs your prayers. We, the Jewish Disciples of Yeshua in this land of Israel need your help in so many different ways. In the late 1970’s when my family was horribly persecuted, I and my family went through attempted murders. Only after we appealed through Mike Adams, who was the congressional aide to Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee, and reached all the way to the President of the USA, and he called the Israeli Embassy in Washington, did the persecution end. The same dependency and need of support are true now. I realize that out of pride many Israelites live in LA land and don’t see or confess or admit that Israel as a country, needs help and support both political and financial.

It is important for our brothers and helpers and supporters to realize that the solution is like the prophet said a long, long-time age:

“I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? Look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. “But if you say to me, “We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?”’ Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part, to put riders on them!” (Isaiah 36:5–8 NKJV)

In short dear brothers and sisters, Israel is in deep trouble! For the last 30 weeks hundreds of thousands of people have been rioting all through the country against the judicial reformation that the government of Israel is trying to pass. The reality in my opinion, is what some ministers in the present government are trying to do is to castrate the Supreme Court of Israel so that the present government would have complete freedom and control to legislate and do whatever it pleases. These demonstrations and the action of the present government are splintering this nation and forcing deep division between the supporters of the present government and those who oppose the limitation of our democracy.

This deep division put many of the Israeli army leadership, former generals and heads of Israel’s glorious intelligence agencies, military pilots and executives of major successful Israeli industries and professors with international acclaim, to take sides and deepen the divide in Israeli society.

In sort dear brothers and sisters, Israel needs your prayers. We the disciples of Yeshua our Rabbi, Savior and the King of the Jews, need your prayers and your support.
We have the opportunities to do good and feed the poor of Jerusalem and publish interesting and inspiring materials. In print, we publish the
Teaching from Zion magazine and send it to thousands of brothers and sisters around the world, for free, and if you don’t get this magazine by mail, you can always download it from here.

We are feeding close to 180 families who are sent to us by City Hall of Jerusalem to receive food; good food of very high quality with four different Kosher levels. We have a scholarship fund that help Jewish Disciples of Yeshua study in the Universities in Israel without extra financial strain, and succeed. Over the years we have blessed hundreds of disciples of Yeshua to study and succeed in to become lawyers, and doctors, and social workers, psychologists, and engineers.
This part of our ministry is a kind of insurance for the future of the community of disciples of Yeshua in the land of Israel. You can see that Netivyah has not made appeals for funds very often, but we have some financial challenges that are not a result of mismanagement, but a result of new opportunities to do better and become a bigger blessing and improve our outreach in the media and do better and feed more needy citizens of Jerusalem, while we continue to bless the Jewish disciples who are serving in the Israel Defense Forces. This time I am asking you to make some extra effort to help us be a help and a blessing to the people of Jerusalem and to the disciples of Yeshua in the land of Israel and to many in the world who need and want good basic and solid teaching from God’s Word.

Now a few words from our Torah Portion that will be read in the synagogues this next Shabbat, September 1st, 2023.
This Torah portion starts with these words:

“And it shall be, when you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it…” (Deuteronomy 26:1)

The first thing that has struck my interest is that this text has full assurance that this is something that will happen. It doesn’t say “If you come into the land…”. It says

“When you come into the land.”

The text identifies clearly which land is in question: “The land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it.” Nowa days it is so important for all those who believe the Bible to be the word of God to review and understand that there is no question and it is beyond reasonable doubt that God has given this land, the Land of Israel, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River as an inheritance to Israel. The third point is the words that the person who is coming to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple and is bringing his first fruits states: The next point that this text clarifies is:

“I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’”

We must remember that this whole conversation is taking place in the Temple of the Lord and in front of a priest of the Lord, who is there to receive the first fruits that this Israelite man is bringing on the day of Shavuot (Pentecost). The unique thing about this text is that it is the only text in the whole Bible that we learn what the worshipper said with his mouth when he came to offer this special sacrifice and gift to the Lord of his first fruits. Now to the words that this worshiper says:

“And you shall answer and say before the LORD your God: “My father was a [lost wondering Syrian], about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me.’ “Then you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 26:5–10 NKJV)

What we have here is a very short synopsis of the history of Israel from the patriarch Abraham until the exodus from Egypt and they settled in the Land. The thing that interests me is this phrase “a lost wondering {Syrian} Aramean. This text reminds me of the following text from Isaiah the prophet.

“Doubtless You are our Father, though Abraham was ignorant of us, and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.” (Isaiah 63:16 NKJV)

This text from Isaiah is extremely interesting and it has the same spirit like our text in Deuteronomy. It diminishes the importance of our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the history of salvation and gives God only the credit and glory for our salvation and fulfillment of His promises. With these words the prophet refocuses and credits the LORD only as the source of salvation and faithfulness to His promises. “Abraham didn’t know us (was ignorant of us) and (Israel (i.e., Jacob)) does not acknowledge us.).

This is what the rabbis said about this text from Isaiah 63:16ff:

“In the time to come the Holy One, blessed be He, shall say unto Israel, ‘Go now to your forefathers, and they will reprove you.’ And they shall say before Him, ‘Sovereign of the Universe! To whom shall we go? To Abraham, to whom Thou didst say, know of a surety [that thy seed shall be a stranger ... and they shall afflict them ...], yet he did not entreat mercy for us? To Isaac, who blessed Esau, and it shall come to pass, when thou shalt have dominion, and yet he did not entreat mercy for us? To Jacob, to whom Thou didst say, I will go down with thee into Egypt, and yet he did not entreat mercy for us? To whom then shall we go now? [Rather] let the Lord state [our wrongs]!’ The Holy One, shall answer them, since ye have made yourselves dependent upon Me, ‘though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow’.” (Babylonian Talmud – Tractate Shabbat 89b.).

This text has the same attitude like the text in Deuteronomy 26:5-10. The dependence of Israel on our pedigree being the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel), our racial I.D. Is according to Deuteronomy and Isaiah; not the source of our success. Nor is our pedigree as Jews and Israelites something that we can rely on. Only our relationship with the Almighty God, the creator of the Universe, is the source of our salvation and our blessing to receive and hold on to the inheritance that we have in the Lord Himself. He, the Almighty alone, is our savior and He alone has the power to say to us, like to all the nations of the world:

“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow!”

Just as a reminder of what is written above – the words in Deuteronomy about Abraham and the words of Isaiah 63:16 are the most significant words especially for Jews, but also for Christians and all mankind. For the Christians it is of great importance to realize the following:

1. Your church (no matter what church you attend) will not save you and it doesn’t have any authority to forgive your sins. Only God can forgive your sins!

2. Your reliance on the founders of your church denominations – is powerless and hopeless and damaging your relationship with the Almighty God of Abraham who created the Heavens and the Earth. God alone is your savior and He loves the world so much that He sent His Only Begotten Son to save you and me and all who die with Yeshua in Baptism and Resurrect into a New Life!”

3. Race and pedigree will not help us in our relationship with the Creator! Our relationship will help us if we do have a relationship with God the Almighty Creator.

a. Relationship is first and foremost a communication, and I would say here that it is always a two-way communication. The simplest way to understand this is this: God gave us the book – the living Word – the Manuel of discipline for a good life and a course that will guide us if we follow it to eternal life and a relationship with God.

b. Obedience to the road map of our lives and following the map of what to do and how to do it and the why we need to do it, all done with gratitude and understanding that although the road is a long and hard road – it does lead to life eternal with the almighty God and creator and Yeshua our Messiah our brother.

4. We put our life on God’s altar by serving our fellow men like Yeshua said to those renegade disciples that worshipped him, but ignored the poor and needy and the widows and the orphans:

““Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’” (Matthew 25:41–45 NKJV)

Our relationship with the Almighty God our Creator and our relationship with Yeshua (Jesus), who participated in the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, is based is based on our relationship and attitude and service to our fellow man, and especially to each other as brothers in the faith and family and community of the saints. It is based on our love for God and for Yeshua and for each other as human being, the Children of the King of Kings!

Joseph Shulam: Never Forget Our Humble Beginnings [2022]

The reading this Shabbat is another one of my favorite Biblical narratives. The previous Shabbat was Ki Teitzei, “when you go out to war”. This Shabbat the reading is from a Torah portion that is called Ki Tavo, “when you come in”. The reading is from Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8.

The scripture gives instructions to the children of Israel how to enter the land of Canaan. The first instruction when you enter the land of Canaan, the land that the Lord has given you, is to gather the first fruits of the land and the trees, and put them in a basket, and take them to the house of the Lord, and dedicate your first fruits gathered in your new land to the Lord.

The setting of this event is on the day of Pentecost, Shavuot — the feast of weeks. The feast of weeks falls exactly 50 days after the Passover. If the Passover is in the end of March or the middle of April, Shavuot/Pentecost is 50 days later. In fact, that is why the feast is called Pentecost, because Pentecost means “50” in Greek.

These days are commanded by the Torah to be accounted for from the day after eating the Passover to the 50th day. This counting is of such importance, and it is called “the counting of the sheaves” (in Hebrew, “sephirat ha-omer”).

We must remember that it is no accident that the apostles of Yeshua gathered on Mount Zion on the feast of Pentecost and waited on top of Mount Zion for the power of God to be poured out on them, as Yeshua promised would happen. Why specifically on the day of Pentecost? Because the day of Pentecost is the day of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, exactly 50 days after they left Egypt.

But, there is another element of great importance related to Pentecost, and that is the promises given by the prophets of God that the Gentiles will come to Jerusalem, and that the Gentiles will say to each other:

“Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” — Isaiah 2:3 [NKJV]

This prophecy by Isaiah is a prediction of two things:

1. The giving of the Torah from Jerusalem and Mount Zion.
2. The gentiles will come up to Jerusalem and Mount Zion to worship the God of Israel.

It is not indicated in any biblical text that the giving of the Torah from Jerusalem and Mount Zion will be a different and totally new Torah (God’s instructions), but a renewal of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. In fact, what happened in Jerusalem on that Pentecost around the year 30 CE (AD — as Catholics indicated the counting of the years) is very similar and parallel to what happened at the foot of Mount Sinai when Moses came down with the tablets of the Ten Commandments.

There were torches of fire over the people. There was a revelation of God’s words in different tongues, and the splitting of the tongues — the languages — had also a physically-visible aspect. The One God spoke from the mountain, and His voice split into many tongues.

Because the English translations, and even earlier Latin translations, of the biblical text didn’t associate what happened on Mount Zion with what happened many years before on Mount Sinai, they couldn’t understand the setting of the event and they didn’t associate what is happening with the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. Therefore, they had a deep lacuna (gap) in their interpretation.

One of the most interesting and intriguing things that happened during the feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) in our texts is that we have the only text in the Bible that tells us how and what was said by the worshipper, when he brought his basket with the first fruits of the land and the gifts to the Temple, and presented his offerings to the priests:

“And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us.’” — Deuteronomy 26:3-6 [NKJV]

This is one of the most intriguing texts for me in the Torah. Here is seemingly a successful farmer who is bringing his offering of the best of the best of his produce of fruits and vegetables and cereals, a basket full of good things dedicated to the God of Israel. And he says:

“My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us.”

This is an Israelite worshipper coming to Jerusalem, or to Shiloh, to worship God with a basket full of fresh fruit and vegetables, the first fruits of the land right after the summer harvest, and what he has to say is, “My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation…”

If I analyze this statement there is in it the classical “immigrant” paradigm. “I came with nothing, almost perishing, and in this new land, I became great, mighty, and populous.”

But, the person who is saying these things to the priest in the Temple or in the Tent of Meeting is a person who has land, prosperous land, and a harvest of wonderful first fruits. The summer wheat harvest is finished. His storehouses are full and his barns are ready for the winter months. He could dance and rejoice and show off his successful year and his full bank account.

But, no! He remembers the humble beginning of his family! He remembers Abraham his father (several generations earlier). He remembers that Abraham was a wanderer, lived in tents, had to go out of the country that God promised him as an inheritance and outside of His own land, in Egypt under the horrible conditions of a harsh slavery that lasted more than 200 years, where Israel became a great nation.

What can we learn from this Torah portion?

We must always remember our humble beginnings. We must always remember that our success is not based on our stability and wealth, but our success is based on the hardship of bondage and affliction.

The next verses in Deuteronomy 26:7-9 give us the secret of our success, and ought to keep us humble and full of gratitude, and above all give all the credit of what is good and faithful and prosperous to the Lord only:

“Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey…’” — Deuteronomy 26:7-9

This text has built in it three things that, if we ever forget them, the Lord makes sure that we repeat our ethos, and the story repeats itself. Much to my regret we have had to do this exercise more than one time in our history.

In conclusion, let us not forget where we came from and who the father or our nation and the father of all the faithful is: a man who left the great cities of the ancient Middle East, Ur and Haran, to follow God, and came down to the land of Canaan that was a very messy and difficult place, because everyone who lived here in this land at that time was a foreigner (“the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite”).

This was not enough, because Abraham, and after him Isaac his son, and after him Jacob and his children, all had to taste the exile the diaspora before they could settle in the land and repeat this school of hard knocks more than once: in the Babylonian exile, and then the fall of Jerusalem and the exile after the fall of Jerusalem by the Romans, an exile that we are still in the process of restoration and return from — a cure of this nation of Israel and preparation for the return of the bridegroom to take His bride.

The members of the nation of Israel, the physical children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, must remember, as in the days of Moses and Israel dwelling in the land of Canaan, a prosperous and successful nation, that our stability and success are only when we are dependent on God and His promises. An attitude of humility and repentance and awareness that our good life in this land is only dependent on God’s goodness and not on the charity and support of the nations.

Our recognition that our future is based on our recognition and dependence on God, and our faithful relationship to Him whom He sent to be our teacher and the fulfillment of our destiny to be the light of the world is based on our humble submission to the Creator and His instruction!

We must remember that the words of Hosea the prophet in the process of our repentance:

“O Israel, return to the Lord your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity; Take words with you, And return to the Lord. Say to Him, ‘Take away all iniquity; Receive us graciously, For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips. Assyria shall not save us, We will not ride on horses, Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, “You are our gods.” For in You the fatherless finds mercy.’ I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from him. I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily, And lengthen his roots like Lebanon. His branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, And his fragrance like Lebanon. Those who dwell under his shadow shall return; They shall be revived like grain, And grow like a vine. Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’ I have heard and observed him. I am like a green cypress tree; Your fruit is found in Me. Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; The righteous walk in them, But transgressors stumble in them.” — Hosea 14:1-9 [NKJV]

Joseph Shulam: Brad TV Video Teaching – Ki Tavo [2022]

Read the transcript below, or watch a video of the teaching by Joseph Shulam.

Shalom from Jerusalem. My name is Joseph Shulam, and I’ve been recording together with Brad TV, the Torah portion that are being read in every synagogue every week on Shabbat. This next Shabbat, the reading will come from Deuteronomy 26:1 to 29:8.

The name of the portion is Ki Tavo, which means, and you shall be when you come into the land. When you come into the land, Ki Tavo. The previous portion was when you go out to war. So now it’s when you come into the land. Shavuot is one of the three pilgrimage holidays that the Torah commands to Israel. And these three holidays are still practiced and still celebrated, not only in Israel but in every Jewish community around the world. These were known as pilgrimage holidays because the people of Israel were commanded to come to Jerusalem to worship in the temple on Shavuot, the feast of Pentecost. They were commanded to bring their first fruits and dedicate their first fruits to God in the temple and pass it on to the priest and to the Levites.

Today, of course we have no temple, but Shavuot is a very, very important holiday. And believe it or not, at the beginning of springtime and beginning of summer, Shavuot, the end of the wheat harvest in the land of Israel, and in our communal farm on our Kibbutz, Shavuot is still celebrated. Pentecost is still celebrated in every Jewish community around the world, especially in the land of Israel because it has to do with, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and you dwell in it you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground and you shall bring them from the land that the Lord your God is giving you and put it in a basket and go in the place where the Lord you God has chosen make his name abide. Okay.

So, clearly this portion starts with the feast of Pentecost. Now, isn’t it strange, dear brothers and sisters, isn’t it strange that the holidays that are in the word of God, commanded in the word of God, practiced by Jesus himself, and by the apostles, and celebrated the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost in Acts 2, are totally ignored by the church, all 38,000 of them? Denominations, groups, sects, call themself Christians, ignoring the examples of the apostles and the commands of the Torah and the practices of Jesus himself. What he celebrated; Christians don’t celebrate. What the apostles celebrated; Christians don’t celebrate. What the Holy Spirit gave them on Pentecost, they don’t celebrate. What do they celebrate? I’m not going to say it. You can guess it, but here is the rules and this fantastic text that is unique in the whole Bible in which we know what the worshipers that came on Pentecost bringing their basket of first fruit said to the priest that received them in the temple. We have the words. I think that this is fabulous and fantastic and very important.

Let me read again a little bit further down. I’m starting again from verse one. “And it shall be when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. You possess it and dwell in it.” You, means Israel here. It doesn’t mean anybody else. The Lord your God, who created the heavens and the earth, has given you, the people of Israel, that were slaves in Egypt, and came out of Egypt, to possess the land, the land of Canaan, as an inheritance. “You shall take some of the first fruits of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land, that the Lord your God is giving you and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make his name abide,” meaning the temple in Jerusalem. That’s a code word in the book of Deuteronomy for Jerusalem, “the place that God has chosen.”

“And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, here are the words that the worshiper that comes to Jerusalem on Pentecost is commanded to say to the priest.”

I imagine he doesn’t have to say it word for word, but the gist of it, he has to say:

“I declare today to the Lord your God, that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us. Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hands, and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God;’ my father was a Syrian, (a lost Syrian in the Hebrew), about to perish. And he went down to Egypt and dwelled there, few in number and there came out a nation, great, mighty and populous.”

“But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression.”

“So, the Lord brought us out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs and with wonders. He brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

“And now behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which you, oh Lord, have given me. Then you shall set it before the Lord your God and worship before your Lord your God you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.”

“When you have finished laying aside the tithes of your increase, in the third year, the Lord of tithing, and give it to the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled. Then you shall say, before the Lord your God; I have removed the holy tithe from my house and also have given it to the Levite, and to the stranger, and to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all your commandments, which you have commanded me; I have not transgressed your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for an unclean use, nor given any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, my God and have done according to all you have commanded me.”

“Look down, from your holy habitation from heaven and bless your people Israel, and the land which you have given us just as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

This is the only text we have, of what a person that came and brought his tithes, his first fruits, and dedicated them to God.

But let me back up. When he gave it to the priest, what happened with that basket full of first fruits, the best of the field, the purest, the most beautiful? What happened to it? Notice, it wasn’t only for the Priest. It was for the fatherless, the orphans, for the strangers; which means the non-Jews living in the camp of Israel. It was for the widows, for the orphans.

That was the purpose of the tithing folks. That was the purpose of the blessing that God gave this man. And he, on Pentecost is bringing them, and dedicating them to the Lord, on the altar of the Lord. And then the priest takes that, and divides it to the fatherless, to the widows to the strangers, to the poor, to those who are sick, to those can’t work in the fields, and produce fruit. It’s fantastic!

But the most fantastic part of it, in my opinion, is what the guy said about our origin as Israelites, as Jews. How he describes who Abraham our father is. Abraham, our father is a lost Syrian, a lost Armenian, who was about to perish, according to the English translation. Because he was about to perish, he went down to Egypt. Not only Abraham, but he is expanding Abraham into Isaac, and Jacob. All went down to Egypt, because of the hunger that was in the land of Canaan, because they were about to perish. And in Egypt, the nation grew from a few people, according to what he’s confessing here, into a great and mighty nation. And the Egyptian mistreated us, afflicted us, laid us into hard bondage. And then we cried unto the Lord, and the Lord heard our cry and delivered us from Egypt and gave us the land, which he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

I am just so touched every time I read this text. Yes, it might be because I’m a Jew. It might be because I live in the land of Israel. It might be because I know God, and I know his son Yeshua, our Lord, our divine Messiah, savior of the whole world. But these words are emotionally touching my heart, and teaching me as a disciple of Yeshua, of Jesus, about giving, about tithing.

Tithing is coming here from a man who is humbling himself and humbling his origins as an Israelite, as a Jew, as a member of the 12 tribes, the sons of Jacob. He says “our forefather”, meaning Abraham, “came out of Syria.” Humble, about to perish. We are children of a lost Armenian. Literally that’s what the Hebrew says. But we are racially proud of something. We have something to be proud, because we are Jews, because we’re Israelites. No, not according to this word.

On the contrary, we are indebted to God, and to our society and to our community. We are indebted for all the blessings that we enjoy from God. And I say this not only because I’m an Israelite and I’m a Jew, but I say it to my Christian brothers and sisters. We are all under the grace of God, and we have nothing to be proud of ourselves, but only proud of the God who loves us, and has given us a great inheritance on earth and in heaven. That doesn’t give us a right to have our nose up in the air. It gives us a right to be humble. Obligation to be humbled from our origins, whether you are a son of a king of England, or a son of Genghis Khan, or a son of Pol Pot in Cambodia, that murdered hundreds of thousands of people, it doesn’t make difference.

We are all indebted to God for any goodness, for any fruit, for any money, for any house, for any job, for any family that we have, we are indebted to the almighty God for everything. And we need to be grateful and humbled with the privilege of giving tithes, with the privilege of giving gifts, with the privilege of supporting missions and churches, and synagogues, and the fatherless, the orphans and the widows, which we are commanded in the law of Moses, in the prophets and in the New Testament, to take care of these less fortunate than we are.

I think that this is a fabulous portion, very important, because of the words that the worshipers say when they come to Jerusalem. Sometimes they come from the Galilee, sometimes from the Negev, sometimes from Cypress or from Greece or from Assyria, or from Persia, from all over the ancient world. This portion of the Torah, this is the flag of tithing. What it means, the signal, what it means to tithe on Pentecost. When the worshiper comes to Jerusalem.

Let me read one more verse. Verse 11 of the same chapter. “You shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given you and your house, you and the Levite, and the stranger who is among you.” Again, “you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given you.”

What does that say? To me it says that nothing that I have, I have earned on my own. Not even my life, not even my breath, my eyesight my ability to speak, my family, my children, my wife, my house, my car. Nothing, that I have received from God, I have earned; as the Western paradigm of America, of being a self-made man, doesn’t exist in the Bible. None of us are self-made men, whatever we are, academically, educationally, financially, family wise, is all something that we should rejoice for every good thing which the Lord your God has given you, and be grateful for his gifts, and for his mercy. That gives us breath and life and everything that we enjoy.

This is in the book of Deuteronomy, it’s not in the New Testament, although the same principles are in the New Testament, but this is in the book of Deuteronomy.

And I think that verse 15 of the same chapter 26 of Deuteronomy, also has a message that I would like to end this teaching for today.

Look down from heaven. He’s praying to God now. It says, in verse 14,

“I have heard your voice oh Lord. And I have done everything that I could in doing what you asked me to do in keeping your commandments. And now Lord, I am begging you” verse 15, “look down from your holy habitations from heaven and bless your people Israel, and the land which you have given us, just as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Gratitude to God is absolutely necessary. We can complain, but even in our complaint, we need to be grateful. Think about Luke 17, about the 10 lepers that were healed by Jesus on the way from Galilee to Jerusalem through Samaria and only one returned. The Samaritan returned, bowed down in front of Jesus, kissing his feet. And Jesus says, oh, I’m glad you came to thank me, but where are the other nine?

And I’m asking you, dear brothers and sisters wherever you are, where are the other nine? Look at yourself, ask yourself, am I that Samaritan that came back to Jesus, and was grateful? And thanked him? Or am I one of the other nines that enjoys the blessings and forgets the gratitude?

May God bless us all. And forgive us, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.

Joseph Shulam:We Must Get Humility [2021]

The reading for this Shabbat is from Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8, and from the prophets we will be reading this very important chapter of Isaiah 60:1-22. From the New Testament we will be reading from Matthew 4:13-24.

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for my brothers and sisters around the world to read these readings every week together with Israel. I will share with you how I see this simple and very beneficial act It is so simple and so important both for you and your family and for the big picture.

By reading together with the Jewish people the same texts from the Torah and the prophets on the same Shabbat – you are joining the Israel team on the same side of the stadium and cheering the same team, God’s team, and wearing the same color t-shirt with God’s people.

Yes, it is only symbolic and only a token, but it is a token that will bless you and give you information from reading the word of God that you are not going to get by going to church, any Christian church, because the sermons and the teaching, although can be wonderful, are not organic but canned fruit, good, but not personally yours. Reading the word of God for yourself it makes it yours, fresh and systematic.

Deuteronomy chapter 26 gives us something that is so very special and unique. It shares with us what a worshipper said to the priest on the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) when he brought his basket of first fruits to the temple on the 50th day after Passover, after the spring harvest started.

I find it fascinating to read, and to hear, the words that the person says bringing his gifts to the house of the Lord. Here is a short but important analysis of the following text:

“And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a Syrian, about to perish [a lost Aramian], and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God. So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.” – Deuteronomy 26:3-11 [NKJV]

Here are some of the very special things that we can learn from these words that the worshiper says to the priest, when he brings the best and the first fruits as dedication and gratitude to the Lord for His provision and blessings!

First, the place where I live was given to me by God! No matter where on God’s good earth you are living, it could be a mansion or a small room in a slum or in the woods.

You are living and walking and moving on God’s Earth, on His real-estate. You and I and all that walk on this Earth don’t own anything not even the six-foot grave in which our bones are going to be buried.

When you realize this, that all that we own, and all our possessions, are just given to us to be used for a season and all that we have and all that we are, is from God – that will make us much more modest and humbler.

“My father was a nomad, a wondering lost Aramean (Syrian)” – He is speaking of Abraham our father. The worshiper coming now with the basket for the Lord is saying I am really “nothing” and my pedigree means nothing. This too is of great importance.

I have been around God’s Earth a few times in my life, and I have been with some very rich people and most of them were humble and simple and generous brothers and sisters. However, every so often I have met people who are very wealthy, and they are generous, but they are mentally and emotionally “slaves who have become kings.”

They are so full of themselves, and they want you to know that they are full of themselves. These people want to receive the credit for their generosity here and now, from you before they hand you the check.

These words of a man who has just gathered his grain and filled his storehouses with wealth, and his vats are full of new wine, knows what King David knew well when in his last prayer he said:

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You. For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, as were all our fathers…” – 1 Chronicles 29:14,15 [NKJV]

Notice David’s words after the long list of his donation for the building of the house of the Lord, and the preparation of the gold and other materials for the Temple in Jerusalem that his son Solomon will build. His words in this last prayer are so similar to the words of our text from Deuteronomy 26.

All of us need to know and confess and act humbly because, like King David, all that we are and all that we can give God is already from His own that we give. This is true for physical and spiritual gifts.

Humility is one of the most needed ingredients that leaders, rabbis, pastors, politicians, and rich people need and ought to be seeking to buy in the marketplace of things of high value that are desperately needed.

We all need to spend much more of all that we are and we must buy humility and simplicity, because at the end of the day, all that we have and all that we give will be useless if we don’t give it with simplicity and humility and generosity – and secretly. Yes, secrecy is also a very-needed and God-required ingredient for our spiritual wellbeing, and for the judgement day.

Joseph Shulam: Israel's Humble Narrative [2020]

The reading this Shabbat is approaching the end of Deuteronomy which means that the High Holidays are quickly approaching. From the Torah we are reading from Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8 (9). The name of this Parasha is Ki Tavo (“when you enter the land”). The reading from the prophets is from Isaiah 60:1-22 and from the New Testament we will read from Acts 7:30-36.

In Parashat Ki Tavo there are some very important pearls that we all need to learn and take seriously. The first part of this reading is dealing with the procedures for each family when bringing their first fruits to the Tabernacle (Temple) and when presenting these first fruits to the priest.

This happened one time a year during the feast of Pentecost (Shavuot). The importance of this text is that we have for the first and last time the words that the worshiper says to the priests during the presentation of the first fruits.

This is of great importance for us today. We read so much about the sacrifices in the book of Leviticus, and also in the New Testament in the book of Hebrews, but we don’t have much of the dialogue that went on between the worshiper and the priest that received these first fruits.

Here is the dialogue between the worshiper and the Priest:

“Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God.” – Deuteronomy 26:4–10 [NKJV]

These words are short, but they contain the essence of the story of Israel then and now! Let me analyze the words of the worshiper to the priests.

First, confession of and revelation of our ancestors’ weakness: we did not come from a proud and aggressive family. We are not a people that takes pride in their origin. We didn’t come from a powerful and great nation. The origins of the Israelite nation are humble and totally dependent on the Lord’s grace.

Second, we became a nation in Egypt. This is no small detail, and it is of great importance. What does it mean that Israel became a nation in Egypt and on the way out of Egypt during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. This point is important to me as a 21st-Century disciple of Yeshua.

What made a bunch of hostile and contrary cousins into a nation is the persecution and suffering that they had to pass through during the years of slavery in Egypt: “the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us.” For the church of today this message ought to serve as medicine.

The race to make Christians more comfortable and to not offend the people who are sitting on the padded benches (pews) and to make the church services more user politically correct has not and will not produce stronger Christians and more unity, and more healthy growth.

The pattern of history for the growth of strong, convicted, fighting the enemy, disciples of the Messiah, has been and cannot be the more comfortable and more politically correct church.

Strength comes from pain, and dedication to the cause and exercising the muscles in resistance to the difficulties. A church without challenges, demanding sacrifice and the exercise of self-discipline, will become a despondent church and will become selfish and one that is seeking internal conflicts.

Each year that an Israelite came to the priest with his joy and pride, the first fruit, the best fruit, the products of his labor. He came with every reason to be proud and self-content with his great success.

The Torah tells us that the Israelite worshiper has to verbalize a humbling narrative that puts him back on the right track - I come from a poor background of suffering and degradation that forced me and my fellow Israelites to unite and become a nation, and it is all with gratitude and through the goodness of our Lord.

Only after these words are spoken does the priest accept the basket of first fruits and dedicates them to the Lord and blesses the worshipper with another year of prosperity.

I believe that we can all get so much from this narrative and can implement some of these principles in our lives: of humility, the confession of who we really are, of taking off our masks of being a successful and proud people, and of returning to the reality of our total dependence on the goodness and mercy of our Lord.

Then it will be the time to bring our first and last fruits to the Lord as an offering of our lives as a living sacrifice which is our reasonable service (see Romans 12:1).

Joseph Shulam: The Words Spoken Upon Bringing Firstfruits [2019]

The Torah portion that is read in the synagogues in Israel this next Shabbat is Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8). The haftarah (reading from the prophets) is Isaiah 60:1-22. From the New Testament, we read from the Gospel of John 13:1 - 15:27.

The Ki Tavo portion has the only words that a worshipper spoke upon coming to the Temple, while presenting a sacrifice and the firstfruits of his field and his flock. This is what the worshipper said on the day of Pentecost (Shavuot), when he came to the Temple to bring his firstfruits:

“And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God. So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.”- Deuteronomy 26:3-11 [NKJV]

This same text is repeated on Passover eve in the Seder meal. Since these are the only words that we know were spoken by the worshipper when he came to Jerusalem to bring his firstfruits and his sacrifice, it is important for us to understand them.

1. The first thing that the worshipper confesses is that he has come to the country that the Lord did swear to Abraham our Father. This confession is an affirmation that we are strangers and pilgrims in this world and in this land. Confessing that we have this land of Israel as a gift promised by the Lord to Abraham is of great importance. This land and this world are not our permanent home. We are tourists, guests, in this land and in this world.
2. “My father was a lost (wandering) Aramean (Syrian) and he went down to Egypt (Egypt was like the United States – a big empire that was rich and powerful).” The worshipper confesses that the father of the nation, Jacob (Israel), was a small family that went down to Egypt, and there became a nation great and mighty.
   • The function of such a confession, every year when the worshipper comes to Jerusalem to bring his firstfruits and his tithes, is of great psychological value. In this moment of worship and of dedication of his gifts to the Lord, the worshipper confesses and humbles himself and his origin.
   • The words of the worshipper are humbling. In the moment of euphoria and generosity, bringing his gifts and sacrifices dedicated to the Lord in the Temple, this self-humbling is a very powerful psychological medication. There is no room for pride when you worship the Lord, even if you bring rich and extraordinary gifts.
3. “But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression.” Yes, when we became a nation, rich and powerful in Egypt, the reaction was that the Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us.
4. This is the history of Israel, and the history of every nation or group of people who rise up, and grow and become powerful in a land that is not their own. When we know this principle. We can keep a humble attitude and see the hand of the Lord in our history, and be encouraged in the difficult times, knowing that they come when we are successful and blessed by God. The pagan empires will persecute us, but the Lord will deliver us in His good time.
5. When we are in trouble and persecuted and we cry to the Lord, He hears us and sends a deliverer to deliver us from the hand of our enemies. It is so important for us to know that our cries and our prayers are not falling on deaf ears. God hears us, and you, and every sincere soul that calls upon the name of the Lord. The Lord saved us and delivered us from our enemies.
6. Now I am bringing to the Lord my firstfruits, I am worshipping the Lord with the good things that He has given us. Just like King David prayed in his last prayer: “Lord from your own we have given you.” This attitude is a key, a very important key, for sincere and true worship that brings glory to the Lord, and also puts the worshipper in the right place and frame of mind.

I find these words to be so very inspiring and encouraging. It shows the attitude of a true worshipper, and a generous giver of what the Lord has blessed him with. An attitude of humility and submission, giving all the credit to the Lord. There is no “self-made man” here. All that you have is those who worship the Lord and confess and know that it is the Lord that has made us a nation, and made us mighty and powerful, and has blessed us to make us great and humble servants.

How wonderful it would be to keep a humble attitude, and give the Lord the credit for all that we are, and all that we have, and all that we can give to Him. The honor and glory for the goodness and deliverance that He has done for us. Yes, even when it is hard, and even when the enemy is persecuting us, and affliction is our daily bread, even then, giving the Lord the honor and gratitude is always the right thing to do.

Joseph Shulam: The Act of Thanking God for the Good in Our Lives [2018]

The Torah reading this upcoming Shabbat is Ki Tavo. It means “when you come into the land”. These chapters of Deuteronomy are programmatic chapters. They are now giving instruction to the children of Israel about the program that the Lord has for them in relationship to dwelling in the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession.

Deuteronomy chapter 26 is of great importance, because it is the only chapter that reveals to the reader what the worshipper who comes to Jerusalem to worship the Lord must say in front of the priest (the Cohen) who serves the Lord in his day. The circumstance is the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost), the occasion is the bringing of the firstfruits that have grown and ripened for the season, the spring season.

This text is of great importance because it gives us a glimpse of what was going on in the Temple behind the doors. The worshipper comes with his gifts to God through the auspices of the priest. The priest receives the gift (sacrifice), and the worshipper says the following strange things:

“Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a lost [wandering] Syrian [Aramean], about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God. So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.” - Deuteronomy 26:4–11 [NKJV]

Here in this grand occasion, when the Israelite worshipper comes to Jerusalem, in his hands are the firstfruits of his labor, the best of the best of his fields and orchards. He hands the basket of the firstfruits to the priest, and this is what he says: “My father was a lost [wandering] Syrian [Aramean].” This worshipper is speaking about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These are the fathers of the nation of Israel, and he calls Abraham a lost [wandering] Syrian [Aramean].

Is this Israelite worshipper minimizing the importance of of Abraham by calling him a lost Syrian? Yes, and No! Let us look at another document from a period close to the appearance of the book of Deuteronomy on the scene:

“Look down from heaven, And see from Your habitation, holy and glorious. Where are Your zeal and Your strength, The yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me? Are they restrained? Doubtless You are our Father, Though Abraham was ignorant of us, And Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Lord, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.” - Isaiah 63:15,16 [NKJV]

Here in Isaiah, the worshipper claims the Lord God as the father of Israel, not Abraham. With all of Abraham’s greatness, both in this passage in Isaiah and in Deuteronomy 26, Abraham is not the father of the nation, or the savior of the nation of Israel, or the deliverer of Israel from Egyptian slavery. God Himself is the Savior and the Redeemer of Israel, “…from Everlasting is Your [God’s] name!”

Here are some of the implications of this short text that allows to look into the words that were spoken by the worshipper during the highest moment of his yearly encounter with the Lord, through the priest and the gift of firstfruits to the Lord.

1. The worshipper approaches worship with great humility. He is not the benefactor of the Lord. He is the recipient of God’s goodness and mercy. He confesses both his own and his father’s total dependence on God. King David did the same in his last prayer: “Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: ‘Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You.’” - 1 Chronicles 29:10–14
2. The worshipper brings to the Lord the firstfruits, the best fruit, and not the leftover fruit of the field and from the fruit trees.
3. After giving God the best of the best, the worshipper is invited to thank God for the good things that God has given him. This phrase is worded in a special way. The worshipper is not invited to thank God for everything that has happened in his life during the past year, but the good things that happened in his life. The not-so-good-things that happen in our lives have many sources and causes. The good things that happen to us and to our households are all from God and His goodness.

There is a question that I am sure many will ask, “What are the other sources in our lives that cause us some hardships and grief?” I will answer this question in a short way because this is not a theological thesis:

1. Our own stupidity and mistakes. This is probably one of the main sources of grief and sometimes suffering in our own lives. There is no one else that we can blame other than our mistakes and stupidity. If we drive too fast around a curve, and the physics of the centrifugal forces throw us off the road, and we have a bad accident, it is not the devil, it is not a demon, it is our own stupidity and lack of foresight and wisdom that has caused the accident.
2. Sin in our lives can have painful consequences that can cause pain and grief, and even illness.
3. Nature, the very nature of all flesh is to age and decay.
4. God at times wants to educate us and equip us for a higher challenge, and like a boot camp, he takes us through a series of obstacles courses in order to build our abilities and train our minds and prepare us, through suffering, for a greater task and success in life.

This last one is one of the most difficult for us to understand, and at times we think that our whole world is collapsing and we can’t take it even one more day. The sun comes up the next day, and we understand that, despite the great hardships and difficulties, in the end, like the apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 8, “all thing work together for the good of those who love the Lord.”

Paul is basing this statement on several passages in the Psalms and in the prophets. The main passage is from Psalms 145:14-20:

“The Lord upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. The Lord preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.” - Psalms 145:14–20 [NKJV]

The Key phrase is in Psalms 145:17, “The Lord is righteous in all His ways.” In other words, if you separate one of God’s actions (in the bible or in history or in your own life) you might think that He is unrighteous, but if you look at the big picture you will see that He is righteous and all His ways are righteous.

Joseph Shulam: A Physical Reminder of Israel's Obedience [2017]

This week’s Torah portion is called Ki Tavo (when you enter in). The reading is from Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:9. The first part of the reading is very interesting, because this is the only text in the Torah that tells us what people said when they came to the temple to worship and offer sacrifices.

The occasion that this is speaking of is the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost). I have already written about this before.

The next part of the reading (Deuteronomy 27:1-8) is God’s command to Moses to build an altar on the top of Mount Ebal. This altar was a special altar, because of the size of and the architectural features that were commanded by God.

There are several specific features that this altar was to have. The stones were specified by God. The stones that had to be used had to be whole, and not broken. The stones were not to be cut with iron tools. On the stones, there had to be the inscription of God’s laws.

We have the record of Joshua and the children of Israel building this altar on top of Mount Ebal:

“Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: ‘an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.’ And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.” - Joshua 8:30–33 [NKJV]

As you can see in the pictures that were taken about 30 years ago, the altar that Joshua built, in obedience to the command that the Lord gave Moses, was still standing. It was standing right on the top of Mount Ebal. The size, the type of stones, and the location all fit the description.

Mount Ebal was the mountain from which the curses were being pronounced. This high mountain, right above the city of Nablus today, is right across the valley from Mount Gerizim. This is the place where the blessings were pronounced on the children of Israel.

Mount Ebal has been basically barren, dry and on the East side overlooking the Jordan Valley. Mount Gerizim is on the West side. Looking West, you can see the Mediterranean Sea. It is a fertile mountain, very green almost year around. Even today, the Samaritans celebrate Passover and offer many lambs as Passover sacrifices on top of Mount Gerizim.

I remember well going up to Mount Ebal, only one time. In order to get up there we had to have a heavily armed military escort. We had two military armored jeeps in front and a military armored jeep in the back.

I wanted to see this altar that was still in place. It is a rare thing to be able to read a document that is at least 2600 years old, and describes exactly what God required from Joshua and the children of Israel, then in the book of Joshua describes what Joshua and the children of Israel did, and now 2600 years later man can go and see and measure and photograph the very place and altar that you read about in the Torah, in the Word of God.

I believed that this was true and real before I went up to Mount Ebal with a military escort, but it was extremely exciting and wonderful to go up there and climb on top of the altar, and walk around it and touch it. As Yeshua said, “blessed are those who did not see and believe” (John 20:29).

However, I am blessed also because I have seen the place, and have been in the place, and have climbed on top of the very place that the Word of God states that Joshua built the altar. For me, this was a real faith-building experience.

Not far from this altar, an Israeli fighter jet was shot down. A monument was erected on top of Mount Ebal for the young Israel pilot who died there during the war. For me, there were two altars of sacrifice on top of the barren mountain of where the curses of God were read aloud, and the people in the valley shouted in unison, “Amen”, in agreement.

What is up there these days? Not much! The Palestinian mobs took apart that ancient monument that was built by Joshua the son of Nun, and the children of Israel, after crossing the Jordan River.

This altar was standing there for over 2600 years, a silent witness of biblical truth. A witness to the obedience of faith, that these men and women, who survived the wilderness of Sinai, with murmuring, rebellion, and complaining, when it came to the “doing”, they lived up to the command and built this altar. I confess that I was very sad when the news came that vandalism and hate had a part in destroying this ancient witness and monument.

We can live without the stone witnesses, we can’t live without the human witnesses. The witnesses who, from generation to generation, stand up and speak and witness with their lives the power, the love, the grace, and the truth of God’s Word.

The enemies of truth and love and grace and hope will never win. There will always be men and women who will read the Word of God and believe it. And as often we are frail and weak, out of our weakness and sin we stand up to do the will of our Father who is in Heaven, but also down here on Earth.

Yehuda Bachana: We are Required to Rejoice [2018]

Read the teaching below, or watch a video of the teaching by Yehuda Bachana.

Shabbat Shalom. Our parasha opens with the commandment of the firstfruits. This commandment of bringing the firstfruits expresses, perhaps more than any other commandment, the connection of the Jewish people to their land, to the Land of Israel.

The Importance of Firstfruits

At the beginning of our parasha we are commanded to offer the firstfruits, the commandment consists of four main components:

• Bringing the firstfruits - the act of bringing your firstfruits to God.
• The speech that the giver of firstfruits must make.
• Bowing to God after the end of the speech, and after giving the firstfruits.
• A special addition to the commandment: “Then you… shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you…” (Deuteronomy 26:11)

That same Israeli worker who works hard all year, prays every day for optimal conditions of rain at the right time, or sun when necessary, is finally enjoying a wonderful sense of satisfaction and great achievement when the firstfruits of the labor appear. As it says, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”

And here in this act of giving to God the first and the newest, after man works hard throughout the year, the first produce, the first fruit is the most intriguing part.

Here we see how the crop turned out after much work. The first fruit has the greatest significance.

It is precisely this part, the most precious thing, that man has to give up and give to God, the main meaning of which is to strengthen generosity and to lessen the desire for food and money.

We are commanded to control our desires, and give up the best for God's sake.

The Commandment to Rejoice

The last element in the commandment of the firstfruits is the joy that accompanies the fulfillment of the commandment:

“Then you… shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you…” - Deuteronomy 26:11 [NIV]

Thanking God is not only a matter of courtesy, but of fulfilling a duty. The person should feel great joy that he can give thanks for the good things.

Both as individuals and as a state we have things to be thankful to God for, we have a reason to rejoice, we live in all the goodness and blessing of God, we are free in our country to worship God and work the land.

Israel is a world leader in agricultural innovations.

Joy Helps Us Not to Forget God

Joy appears once again in our parasha, as a warning:

“All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity…” - Deuteronomy 28:45-47 [NIV]

Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully.

This passage has several meanings, the first is found at the end, with the addition of “in the time of prosperity”. When things are going well, we forget God.

When we are hungry or suffering, we remember God. We remember to ask from God. This isn't always the case when we are not hungry or not in trouble.

I learn from our parasha that it is my duty to serve God with joy. It is not enough to fulfill the commandment, it is not enough to be a believer - joy needs to seep into our inner being.

Joy Holds Us to a Higher Standard

If we compare this commandment to serve God with joy, with the Sermon on the Mount, I think we can learn something new. Jesus declares in Matthew 5:

“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” - Matthew 5:20 [NIV]

What is Yeshua saying here?

Do we need to strive to observe the commandments and to be more strict than the Pharisees and the scribes? Do we have to be even more devout?

No! I believe that Yeshua is speaking here of fulfilling the Word of God with joy and love. Yeshua is speaking here about our relationships, with our neighbors, and between us and God.

Yeshua teaches us that it is not enough to fulfill the commandment. There is no such thing as, “Hey, I finished, I'm done!” No! God is interested in the heart's intent. We are required to serve God with joy.

We give importance to the faith - the Body of Messiah speaks endlessly about what we should believe. The real question is not what's in our head, the question how much love, how much joy, do we have in our hearts.

From this parasha, and from the words of Yeshua, I learn that if I am a believer and I'm living in bitterness, if I'm a bitter person who does not live according to how God wants, my faith is not enough. Period.

The Curse of the Law

As we continue to read the parasha, we encounter many curses. The word “cursed” appears 16 times in our parasha:

“You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.” - Deuteronomy 28:16 [NIV]

“The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land…” - Deuteronomy 28:18 [NIV]

“You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.” - Deuteronomy 28:19 [NIV]

“‘Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.’ Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’” - Deuteronomy 27:26 [NIV]

From here the Apostle Paul gets the concept of the curse of the law. And what does Paul mean when he says that Yeshua redeemed us from the curse of the law?

Some go further in their interpretation of the expression “curse of the law”. They propose that the Torah itself is a curse to all those who uphold it.

But that is not Paul's intention at all when he says that the Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the law.

The Curse Allows Redemption to Come

Paul understands that the entire nation is in a shameful legal situation, where there is no one who does not sin, and so we are all under the curse and we are all condemned, we, the work of our hands, our families, are all under the curse.

Paul takes this very seriously and he asks himself and us, how can one escape from this situation? And he replies, thanks to Messiah, who bought us with his blood, who took the curse upon Himself and nailed it to the cross.

Here we have a concept of redemption, in the Bible, the work of he who is called the redeemer, and the classic act of redemption, are equal.

A redeemer is someone who pays the debt of someone else, and thereby extricates him from the situation he is in. The redeemer does not forcibly break the prisoner out of prison in order to release him. He pays the debt of the redeemed until the last cent.

Can We Just Forget About the Law?

So what now? What is my relationship to the Torah of Moses?

There are those who claim, “because we can not keep the whole Torah, we are therefore exempt from it.” Or: “If we want to keep the Torah, then we will have to observe the entire Torah, and disobedience to even one commandment will bring a curse to those who are under the Torah.

As it is written in our parasha: ‘“Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”’ (Deuteronomy 27:26 [NIV]) So the Messiah exempts us from the burden of Torah.”

I agree that the whole Torah can not be kept, even if we very much wanted to, but then even the “commandments of Yeshua” in the New Testament will not be kept, and no person is capable of keeping them. So is it possible to “give up” on them, because it is impossible to keep all of the instructions in the New Testament?

Yeshua’s Standard is Higher

In Matthew 5:21,22, Yeshua said:

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” - Matthew 5:21,22 [NIV]

And whom amongst us has never cursed his or her brother or sister? Whom amongst us has never gotten angry at his or her brother or sister?

In Matthew 5:27-30, Yeshua said:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” - Matthew 5:27-30 [NIV]

This goes for women as well. Whom amongst us is not guilty of this sin? Who has gouged out his or her eye, and has never sinned by looking?

In Matthew 19:16-26, Yeshua was asked by a man who kept the Ten Commandments how one's name can be written in the Book of Life:

“Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’” - Matthew 19:21 [NIV]

Even Yeshua's disciples were shocked by His answer. They asked, “Who then can be saved?” Whom amongst us has sold all of their possessions?

Fulfill the Law - With Joy

I believe that the whole Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, is sacred, good, and true. And we must learn and observe the Word of God as much as is possible in today's modern life.

I will conclude in saying that this parasha and Yeshua the Messiah teach us the importance of the fulfillment of the word of God with joy and love. This is the lesson and the main point.

I will not stand here and demand strict observance of the law - but I will demand that what we do will be done with a radiant face. With a smile.

Shabbat Shalom.