Parasha Beha'alotcha (When You Set Up)

from Rabbi Jack… Bible link
We all desire to have and do many things. But there is usually a special desire we have above all others and this desire will affect our lives and how we live them. If our special desire is centered around our family, then that is what we will work hard for, hope in and expect satisfaction from. If financial security is our special desire, then that will be what we will work for, hope in and look to for satisfaction. What I am saying is that whatever is our one special desire, that will be our god. That is what we will work for, hope in and expect satisfaction from and that is what we will end up worshipping and living for. We become slaves to our special desires, many times without being aware of it. As Believers in Yeshua, our special desire is supposed to be to know God and to worship Him. As humans that is what we were created for and as Believers that is what we were redeemed for. Unregenerate mans' desire is not to worship God. They choose their desires foolishly and slide into decisions that draw them away from God. The sad part is they do not even realize it is happening. A new car, bigger house, career, job and such are all desires that suck them into a downward spiral, unawares. So, the most important question we could ever ask ourselves is: "What is my one special desire? What is it that I work for, hope in and expect satisfaction from?" This question is just another way of asking, "Who is my god?" Who is your God? Who and what are you working for, hoping in, and expecting satisfaction from?" Mark {10:16} And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. {10:17} As Yeshua started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" {10:18} "Why do you call me good?" Yeshua answered. "No one is good—except God alone. {10:19} You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.' " {10:20}"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." Here is a young man who knows the importance of keeping Torah. He knows the importance of eternal life and is aware of his own shortcomings. He came to Yeshua as the Teacher sent from God. Mark {10:20} Yeshua looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," He said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me." Why did Yeshua talk to the man about money? Because it was his hidden special desire. Yeshua saw the need in this man's life to deal with our question. "Who is my god?" With divine insight Yeshua reveals, not just to the young man but us as well, who his real god was!
from Ellen… Bible link
Hi Ellen here…It is a very honorable thing to have creative ideas and put them into action. As a congregational leader we are so blessed when one steps forward and says "I want to serve!" Now comes the reality of the whole thing. First, we pray and ask the Lord if it is of Him. We then ask Him how to implement it and if the creator is mature and responsible to lead. Sounds easy but it is not, because we have to be very careful to be sure we are hearing from the Lord. This sometimes offends the not so ready party to lead, and their pride steps in and if they are not mature enough, they usually blame it on leadership and before leaving enjoy putting down those in authority. Then there are those who begin a ministry on their own without consulting leadership and come out like a bull but soon enough they cannot live up to their or anyone else's expectations. Isaiah {8:20} says: "…for teaching and instruction? For they will indeed give you this unenlightened suggestion." They draw in those who are equally immature with their charismatic manner, only to shut down the ministry they started on their own, because they just cannot live up to their own unenlightened suggestion. To sum up this quirky situation I would like to state the following… "All that glitters is not gold and let your yes be yes and your no be no!" I can recommend a very good book for all your questions and instructions and it is called The Bible! It is a best seller and you will be blessed as you read it!
Yours in Messiah Yeshua, "…while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Messiah Yeshua." (Titus 2:13) Rabbi Jack & Ellen
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Parasha Naso (Take)

from Rabbi Jack… Bible link

Genesis {3:16} To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." {3:17} And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; {3:18} thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. There are many misunderstood verses in the English translations of the Bible and this passage is one of them. What we have here is God placing a curse on Eve and Adam for their disobedience in eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. However, one part of the curse placed upon the woman, as it is translated in English, is not a curse at all. “Your desire shall be for your husband…” The English version took the Hebrew word “T’SUQA” and translated it as “DESIRE” which is a valid translation. However, readers of the Bible have taken it to mean, “The desire of a woman for a man.” For a woman to desire a man and for a man to desire a woman is something natural and cannot be taken as a curse. It is not uncommon for Hebrew words to have multiple meanings and such is the case with “T’SUQA.” Of the three possible meanings of this word only one fits the category of being a curse and that is “The desire of a beast to devour its prey.” In fact, the root word of ‘t’suqa’ is ‘shuq’ with means “stretch out against.” God cursed woman with a jezebel spirit (the desire to devour her husband), and He cursed man with having to earn his living with hard work. You might say, “Yeshua redeemed us from the curse.” Yes, Yeshua redeemed us from the curse of sin and death but not from the curses mentioned in our scripture passage. Prior to my salvation I had to work hard, long hours to support myself, it was a drudgery having to wake up early and work late so as to make ends meet. The morning after I was saved, Born Again, I was not redeemed from having to work hard for a living. I still had to wake up early and work late. The difference came in my attitude towards my work. I now viewed my work as a ministry for the Lord and viewed God as my boss, this made all the difference. Forty-five years later although I still work long and hard it is now a blessing and I have overcome the curse. I was not redeemed from the curse through salvation but my whole outlook toward having to work was redeemed. The same principle applies to women. Yeshua did not redeem them from the jezebel curse. They are redeemed when saved, Born-Again, because their attitude towards men takes on a different meaning and expression, which defeats and overcomes the jezebel spirit in them. The same principle applies to child birth. It becomes something beautiful instead of painful. In other words, through the Holy Spirit believing men and women are able to rise above and overcome the curses of hard work, weeds, thistles, painful childbirth and desire to devour. Sadly, however, many Believers resist the Spirit and are still stuck with the curses.

Parasha Bamidbar (In the Wilderness)

from Rabbi Jack… Bible link

Matthew {5:33} "Again, you have heard that our fathers were told, `Do not break your oath,' and `Keep your vows to God’ {5:34} But I tell you not to swear at all -- not `by heaven,' because it is God's throne; {5:35} not `by the earth,' because it is his footstool; and not `by Jerusalem,' because it is the city of the Great King. {5:36} And don't swear by your head, because you can't make a single hair white or black. {5:37} Just let your `Yes' be a simple `Yes,' and your `No' a simple `No'; anything more than this has its origin in evil." What Yeshua is saying here is linked to honesty. This is why Yeshua said that we are not to vow at all. If we do not vow, we cannot be dishonest and vow falsely. “Keep it simple” He says; the less said the better. We live during a time where we have more legal documents and contracts which mean less than at any other time in history. It used to be that agreements were sealed with a handshake, and they were far more binding than the reams of paper generated by legal experts today. We used to say, “A person’s word is his bond.” But now we have prenuptial agreements, sales agreements, employee contracts and all kinds of other legal documents which are only as good as the character of the people who sign them, which in most cases makes them worthless. Do you really think that a prenuptial agreement will help a couple keep their vow to, ‘love honour and cherish each other untill death do them part?’ Of course not! Marriage is the highest commitment that we make outside of our commitment to God. It is the place where honesty is more important than at any other time in our lives. Honesty is a characteristic of God; therefore, it should be one of our characteristics as well. It would be sad if at the end of our life we end up like the man in Michelangelo’s painting of the “Last Judgment.” He painted a man being dragged down to hell by demons, one hand over one eye and in the other a look of horrible anguish. At that moment it was too late for him. I pray that before it’s too late for you, you will recognize honesty, believe in honesty and live honestly by living with simplicity, transparency and integrity. Proverbs {5:2} Don't speak impulsively – do not be in a hurry to give voice to your words before God. For God is in heaven, and you are on earth; so let your words be few. {5:3} For nightmares come from worrying too much; and a fool, when he speaks, chatters too much.

Parasha Bahar - Bechukotai (On Mount - My Statutes)

from Rabbi Jack… Bible link

I think we all need to understand how God works things out in our lives; this should explain it! 1 Samuel {9:3} Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, "Please, take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys." {9:4} So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them. {9:5} When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, "Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us." {9:6} And he said to him, "Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So, let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go." {9:7} Then Saul said to his servant, "But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?" {9:8} And the servant answered Saul again and said, "Look, I have here at hand one fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way." All of Israel asked Samuel for a king. God told Samuel to heed their voice. Samuel had no idea who God wanted him to choose, but God did, and look how He brought His choice to Samuel. Saul’s father’s donkeys happened to get lost, so Kish send his son and servant to find them. They travel around from place to place looking, with no success. Finally, the pair arrive near a city where Samuel was evidently staying. Saul was reluctant to go and consult Samuel about the whereabouts of the donkeys, he did not have a gift to bring Samuel, but as it happened, his servant did. The day before Samuel was told by God to expect Saul. Upon seeing him God said, “There he is,,,” Moral of this story. Nothing in our lives happens by accident. In relation to God, the means always brings us to His desired end!

Parsha Emor (Speak)

 

From Rabbi Jack… Bible link
In Deuteronomy chapter 28 we read God’s list of blessings and curses. I would like to focus this teaching on the blessings and curses that relate to our finances. Many of us are experiencing financial hardship, can it be related back to a curse? First, I want to encourage us, that as Believers in Messiah Yeshua we have been redeemed from all curses; Yeshua became a curse for us. Galatians 3:13 “Messiah has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree),” The poverty curses Deuteronomy 28 lists are; hunger, thirst, nakedness and lack of all things. However, Scripture assures us that Yeshua became poor so that we might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). Is there still a possibility then that as Believers our difficult financial situation can be the cause of a curse? 2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” Grace is received by faith and we are told that; “Without faith it’s impossible to please God.” We are also told that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him by faith. Faith and righteousness go hand in hand and only righteousness based on faith is acceptable to God. Sadly, my experience is that many Believers do not exercise faith in the area of finances. Consequently, they do not demonstrate a righteousness based on faith. It does not matter how we earn our living, as an employer or employee, we must still exercise faith when it comes to our finances otherwise, we limit God. However, faith is demonstrated not only in receiving but also in giving. Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." Notice that this verse starts with GIVE and then ends with, IT WILL BE MEASURED BACK TO YOU. So, we are not to wait until we receive before we give! We are to give first and then we will receive. Nor are we ever to think that we are too poor to give and thus hold back from giving. God’s condition for receiving is giving, whether we are poor or rich. It is the sow and reaping principle given to us by Paul in: 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” Yes, Yeshua redeemed us from the curse of poverty but He also requires us to demonstrate righteousness by faith. Romans 14:23b … “for whatever is not from faith is sin.”
From Ellen… Bible link
We have shared this before but I will reiterate.  Jack and I over the years have taken various kinds of medicines and supplements, as I am sure we all have.  On the bottle or box of pills it indicates that the medication should be taken 3x a day, for the most part.  We trust in God as our healer so we have since the beginning of shutdowns due to covid, started to take the GOSPILL after every meal.  What a joy and illumination it has been to take a chapter in and ingest it just as we would a pill or spoonful of medicine, but better!   Jack and I have just started the Book of Revelation as our GOSPILL and this is what I would like to share…Chapter 2 and 3 talk about the “churches.”  John states their spirituality or lack of and I noticed one thing written in each account.  It ends with, “he who overcomes or to him that overcomes.”  We who are born again of God are overcomers!    The kehillah the Lord has given Jack, myself and the elders in Kenya has but One Leader and His Name is Yeshua.  Let us read in John 16.33 (NIV) “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”    Will you not join Jack and me in following the only One and True Leader, Healer and Father by not forgetting to take our GOSPILL!
Yours in Messiah Yeshua, "…while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Messiah Yeshua." (Titus 2:13) Rabbi Jack & Ellen
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Read parasha	Commentary	Sermon of the week “Controlled By The Spirit"
If you are being blessed by the teachings and commentaries we share, please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. We support the needy, the hungry, the elderly and new immigrants (Olim). Most of all we teach and preach the Word of God in both countries and throughout the world. Contact us for more information: daatbina@gmail.com To Donate using PayPal click this link: https://paypal.me/kenyamission If you do not have PayPal and would prefer using another donation method, please contact me and I will send you other donation options.
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Parasha Achrei Mot-Kedoshim (After the Death)

from Rabbi Jack… Bible link

Nehemiah {8:10} "Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”’ This passage of scripture tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength, but many people confuse joy with happiness. Joy is something inherent with salvation. There is a certain joy in knowing and receiving Messiah Yeshua as Lord and Savior that truly surpasses all understanding. It allows a believer to have joy in the most difficult circumstance because salvation brings along with it the knowledge that no matter what the situation God is in control and has us covered, so there is no fear because He has promised: Jeremiah {29:11} "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Based on this promise a Believer in Messiah Yeshua will never lose their joy. Happiness on the other hand is a human emotion that is easily affected by circumstance, attitude and emotion. It is often difficult to maintain happiness because our minds are constantly inundated with deluded thoughts and we have to constantly seek outside sources to replenish the emotion of happiness. It is a state of wellbeing that ebbs when good things happen or when we get our way and wanes when bad things happen and we do not get our way, it is also dependent on the moment. Not so with joy, it is not dependent on anything external nor can anything external affect or change it. It is totally internal and comes from the Holy Spirit living inside of us. Joy for a Believer is constant throughout life, simply because “…the joy of the Lord is our strength.”

Parasha Tazria-Metzorah (She Bears Seed - Infected)

from Rabbi Jack… Bible link
A favorite topic of discussion by religious people and religious cults is biblical prohibition of cooking on the Shabbat. I would like to address and clarify this topic. Numbers 15:31-36 is about the man gathering sticks on the Shabbat. Clearly, from reading these verses of scripture we see that Moses and the elders did not know what the man’s intentions were, whether it was to gather sticks to light a fire for cooking or to light a fire for working.    Numbers 15:34 “There was no clear instruction about what should be done to him…” The question that Moses and the Elders had, was, ‘was gathering wood a violation of Shabbat?’  Exodus 35:2 “For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of Sabbath rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death.” We can see from this scripture that working on the Shabbat carried the death penalty but from the next verse we see that lighting a fire on the Shabbat did not carry the death penalty. Exodus 35:3 “Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.” This verse does not give any indication of the death penalty being required for lighting a fire for cooking. So, we have to conclude that this man was put to death, not because he wanted to cook on the Shabbat but because he intended to work on the Shabbat. Most likely the work he intended to do was related to the building of the Tabernacle. God had just commanded not to light a fire on Shabbat with the intention of working and the work that was implied was building the Tabernacle on the Shabbat. Many people would have been involved in the Tabernacle’s construction; silversmiths, goldsmiths, carvers, tanners, dyers of wool and so forth, most if not all of these tasks would require fire to accomplish. In their zeal to get the job done and knowing human nature, I believe God was reminding the children of Israel that they were not to light a fire on Shabbat to do any work associated with building the Tabernacle. In fact, He felt so strongly about it that He attached the death penalty to it, a penalty, like I said, that was not attached to cooking on the Shabbat!
from Ellen… Bible link
Today we throw words out too quickly.  Sometimes we do not think before we speak and things go haywire. We have thoughts, good thoughts but at times there is a disconnect in how we translate them into words.  The other week was not only Passover but also Easter.  Even though we do not celebrate Easter I kept hearing and reading one word popping up numerous times.  The word was “passion”.  When you hear this word what do you think of?  So, I asked this question of myself and did a little research.  Sadly, the world sees passion more times than not, in a sensual sense, so I did not want to go there.  Where did I go?  I went to the Scriptures and here is what I found.  In John 2.13-20 Yeshua had a great passion for His Father’s house, so he cleared it of man’s corruption.  Martin Luther King Jr. and Eleanor Josaitis were passionate about freedom and equality for people of color. Yeshua had and continues to have the greatest of all passion for His people to be saved, that is his name, SALVATION!  So, I am asking you today…”what is your passion?” I have two wonderful sisters that have a passion for people to be well in more natural ways than with medications.  They study and research their passion continually (BTW they both received Yeshua, hallelujah)!  My husband desires that there be salvation throughout the world, so he studies and researches the Word with insight and passion.  There are chefs who have a passion to continually study food; there are specialized medical doctors who have a passion to research disease and bodily functions; there are gardeners who have a passion to research seeds and flowers; lawyers that continually study loopholes, ha-ha just kidding. So, again I am asking you, “what are you passionate about?”  I ask you to ponder this and take a look at yourself as I looked at myself. I do have one final scripture to share and it is in Titus 2.11-13S: “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”  I encourage us all to pursue godly passions!
Yours in Messiah Yeshua, "…while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Messiah Yeshua." (Titus 2:13) Rabbi Jack & Ellen
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If you are being blessed by the teachings and commentaries we share, please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. We support the needy, the hungry, the elderly and new immigrants (Olim). Most of all we teach and preach the Word of God in both countries and throughout the world. Contact us for more information: daatbina@gmail.com To Donate using PayPal click this link: https://paypal.me/kenyamission If you do not have PayPal and would prefer using another donation method, please contact me and I will send you other donation options.
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Parasha Shemini (Eighth)

from Rabbi Jack… Bible link

Galatians {2:20} "I have been crucified with Messiah and I no longer live, but Messiah lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." The other day during our visit with a good friend and sister in the Lord, somehow the conversation turned to speaking about grafting. Our host told us that she knows of a person that grafted one kind of fruit tree to another kind of fruit tree and when the graft grew the tree produced two different types of fruit, one type below the graft and another type above the graft. I would have passed over the conversation and probably forgotten all about it, however, the next morning when Ellen and I were listening to a short message by Watchman Nee he spoke about grafting. This farmer had an orchard of plum trees that produced small plums with large pits and were not good for marketing. However, in his orchard was one tree that produced large luscious plums with small pits. So, he decides to graft branches from the good tree onto the bad trees. When the grafts started to grow the bad trees produced large luscious plums with small pits above the graft, while still producing small fruit with large pits grew below the graft. Is this not the principal Paul is teaching us in Galatians 2:20? Before we were saved, Born-Again in Messiah Yeshua, our lives were sin-filled and we produced bad fruit, fruit of selfishness, immorality, gossip, evil speaking and the like. But then when we received Yeshua as our Lord and Savior and He was grafted into our lives, well, “We have been crucified with Messiah and we no longer live, but Messiah lives in us.” The fruit we now produce after salvation is not of our old selves, bad fruit, but it is the fruit of Messiah Yeshua, His good fruit being produced in us!

Parasha Chol Moed Pesach (Passover Intermediate Day)

from Rabbi Jack… Bible link

1 Corinthians {15:17} "and if the Messiah has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins." Passover deals with the death and resurrection of Messiah Yeshua. The fact of the resurrection is essential to our belief as Believers. Sadly, there are many that deny the resurrection and subsequently there are many theories like the "swooning fable," the "stolen body fable" and many others like them. But the fact is the tomb was empty, and the lives of Yeshua's disciples were changed in one day. But the greatest proof of the resurrection is that belief in Yeshua as the risen Messiah has survived 2100 years of doubt and persecution. It has outlived the Roman Empire, Russian Communism and everything in between. As Messianic Believers we remember Yeshua's victory over death for all who believe in Him as Messiah, the Son of God and God in the flesh. But sadly, not everyone believes. Why should we believe in the resurrection? Why should we believe in Messiah Yeshua as the only way to heaven? Do we have to believe in the resurrection in order to be Messianic Jews, Christians? Is the resurrection of Yeshua really that important? There are scholars that say, "it really doesn't matter if Yeshua actually, physically rose from the dead." Is that true? Does it really not matter to us if Yeshua actually, really rose from the dead? Will living in the fullness of life as a Believer be affected if Yeshua rose from the dead or not? Is the resurrection really necessary? I think most of us can agree in the essential belief that Yeshua is the Messiah, which means we recognize Him as our King, the Son of God and God in the flesh. This belief is essential to being a Messianic Believer. Failure to believe these things is failure to believe in Messianic Judaism. But what is also essential to being a Messianic Believer is the belief in the resurrection New birth and living hope are only available through the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua from the dead. As we read in 1 Corinthians, if the resurrection did not happen, then our faith is useless, there is no hope. But He is alive and we do have hope and by hope the Bible means a confident expectancy. We live a better life today because of the confident expectancy we have based upon the truth and realities we have experienced ourselves through the resurrected Messiah. We know NOW that we have a retirement nest egg awaiting us in heaven. We know NOW that our eternity is set with a resurrection that is assured and proven and that enables us to live life in a way that is glorifying to God and a benefit to us.