Messianic Life

MESSIANIC LIFE MAGAZINE

PUBLISHED BY TREE OF
LIFE MESSIANIC MINISTRIES

an ezine on the lifestyle for those who follow Messiah and Torah

V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7

Tekia...Tekia…Tekia...

INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:

Upfront 2

Torah 3

Practical 5
Torah

Common Sense 6
Torah

If you love me keep My commandments...John 14:15

Mirror Images 8

Following the 10
Living Torah

Sukkot 12
Welcome to the first issue of Messianic Life: an ezine on the
practical application of Torah for everyday life...
Read on...
 P AGE 2
Upfront with Mordecai Silver
Shalom and welcome to
the first issue of Messianic
Life magazine. I have had on
my heart for sometime the
desire to do this but every
time I tried to start putting
it together I felt a stop in
my spirit and I knew it was
the Lord telling the time
was not right. Then re-
Mordecai Silver
cently I really felt a nudge in
Rabbi of Etz Chayim-
the opposite direction
Tree of Life Messianic
where the Lord was telling
Congregations of Las
me now is the time for this.
Cruces and Alamo-
So I put out feelers to
gordo, NM and Di-
my e-mail lists and I felt a
rector of Tree of Life
particular nudge to contact
Messianic Ministries...
certain people directly. The
result was an overwhelming
affirmative that the time
was right for this.
Messianic Life is
The premise of this
published every
other month by magazine, also called an e-
Tree of Life Messi- zine, due to its being an
anic Ministries. electronic publication, was
to offer practical advice
Donations to our
from a personal standpoint
work are appreci-
ated and can be to those of you in this walk
sent to: called Torah and lest we
forget Messiah Yeshua.
Tree of Life
Messianic Ministries
Our movement is going
PO Box 467
Organ, NM 88052 through changes, ones that
we hope are a result of
growth and maturation.
People need help
through guidance
and that is the pri-
The Lion of mary goal of this
the tribe of publication. We
Judah— want to help! To
Yeshua achieve that I have
attempted to gather
HaMashich
together a diverse
group of people
who have the de-
sire to help others in this
walk. Some of you may be
new to this Yeshua-Torah
based walk and some of
you are at an intermediate
level while others have
been at this for a long time.
Together we hope to
take you on a journey with
us and help you to avoid
some of the pitfalls we have
encountered along the way.
We will share with you
from the Word and from
our everyday lives. This will
be a practical application of
the Torah through our faith
in Yeshua. We will ap-
proach this from several
different directions. The
best thing about this e-zine
is that it is free and you
may print it out and share it
with others or pass on the
e-zine in electronic form or
just send them to www.etz-
chayim.org/cgi-bin/dada/
mail.cgi and choose a list
then choose messi-
anic_life_dlist.
One of my favorite
Scriptures has always been
Joshua 24:15: And if it
seems evil to you to serve the
Lord, choose you this day
whom you will serve; whether
the gods which your fathers
served on the other side of
the river Euphrates, or the
gods of the Amorites in whose
land you dwell; but as for
me and my house, we will
serve the Lord.
If what we offer to you
in the pages of this maga-
zine helps you to
maintain a bal-
anced walk before the Lord
and keeps you holding to
your faith in Yeshua we
have done our job, but at
the same time, we also
have a burning desire to
help you to learn the Torah
and apply to your everyday
lives. The Torah is the
foundation for all of Scrip-
ture. The Torah is the
foundation for all of life.
The Torah is meant for
each and everyone of us no
matter what our back-
ground or where we have
come from.
Many of you know me
and know that I put out a
weekly commentary on the
Torah, Haftarah, and the
Apostolic Scriptures. I have
done this for many years
because I love the Torah
and my heart’s desire is to
share what I have learned
over the years as well as
what I am still learning.
Keeping Torah will not
bring you salvation. Let us
be clear about that, but
keeping Torah will lead you
to Yeshua and will help
keep you on the narrow
road as you remain focused
on Him.
It is my heart’s cry that
Messianic Life helps all of
you as you walk out the
Torah principles Yeshua
lived in His own life. He set
the path and paved the way
for the rest of us. We are
called to imitate Him in all
things. At the center of
what He did was Torah
because He is Torah!
V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE
Is Yeshua God? By Rav Mordecai Silver
Is Yeshua God? Is He
God in the flesh? There are
some in the Messianic Jew-
ish Movement who believe
that Yeshua was only a man
and not God. Their belief
follows after a traditional
Jewish view put forth by
Rabbi Abraham Maimonides,
also known as the Rambam,
a rabbi and physician during
the Middle Ages. Modern
Jewish thought and belief is
based, for the most part, on
the teachings of Rambam
but that it should be noted
here that there are those in
traditional Judaism, espe-
cially among the Chassidic
or Ultra-Orthodox Jews, who
believe in a multiple God
that they describe as being
the three pillars.
What I hope to accom-
plish from this article is to
present from Scripture, both
Hebrew and Renewed, that
Yeshua is God. Now I know
that some will not accept
the writings of Rav Shaul-
Paul as authoritative but we
are instructed to take the
whole counsel of Scripture
not just bits and pieces. So
to you who reject the writ-
ings of Rav Shaul I can only
say that you are no better
than those in Christianity
who reject the authority of
the Torah based on the writ-
ings of Rav Shaul and not
on the authority of the Mes-
siah.
To you I can only quote
from the Book of John-
Yochanan 14:15:
“If you love me, you will
keep my commands…”
And again in John-
Yochanan 14:21:
“Whoever has my com-
mands and keeps them is
the one who loves me, and
the one who loves me will
be loved by my Father, and
I will love him and reveal
myself to him.”
And if your gut reaction
to this is that I follow what
Yeshua taught in the Re-
newed Covenant, then I say
to you what you are follow-
ing is the Torah.
We begin our journey to-
wards the truth with the
Book of Ruth-Rut. Let’s look
at Ruth 4:4 and 4:6.
“I resolved that I should
inform you to this effect:
Buy it in the presence of
those sitting here and in the
presence of the elders of my
people. If you are willing to
redeem, redeem! But if it
will not be redeemed, tell
me, that I may know; for
there is no one else to re-
deem it but you, and I am
after you.” And he said, “I
am willing to redeem.” The
redeemer said, “Then I can-
not redeem it for myself,
lest I imperil my own inheri-
tance. Take over my re-
demption responsibility on
yourself for I am unable to
redeem.”
The first concept that we
need to understand is the
idea of what redeem means
in these two verses of Scrip-
ture. There are two uses of
the word redeem here and
one applies to the person
referred to as the redeemer
and the other refers to the
actual act of redemption.
la;G' (gaal) redeem,
avenge, revenge, ransom,
do the part of a kinsman
yl;WaG. (giulay) redemp-
tion
hL'auG> (giulâ) redemption,
right of redemption, price
of redemption, kindred
laeGO (goel) redeemer
The act of redemption or
to redeem as used in these
3
passages of Scripture is ga-
al. The person who is per-
forming the redeeming is
the go-al. As you can see
these are both words that
originate from the same
root.
1350 la;G' ga'al {ga-
al'}
to redeem, act as kinsman-
redeemer, avenge, revenge,
ransom, do the part of a
kinsman, to act as kinsman, The opinions
do the part of next of kin,
expressed by
act as kinsman-redeemer,
by marrying brother's the authors
widow to beget a child for
him, to redeem from slav- throughout
ery, to redeem land, to ex-
act vengeance, to redeem this magazine
(by payment), to redeem
(with God as subject), indi- are those of
viduals from death, Israel
from Egyptian bondage, the individual
Israel from exile, to redeem
oneself, to be redeemed writers...
We need to understand
the concept of the kinsman
redeemer as practiced in the
Hebrew nation of Israel and
probably other nations in
the Middle East. The kins-
man redeemer was a blood
relative who had the right to
redeem, avenge, revenge,
ransom, etc. We see this
role played out between
Abraham and Lot when Lot
and his family were taken
captive. Abraham goes and
frees his nephew. In the
case of Ruth, Boaz was a
relative to her deceased
husband and her mother
-in-law Naomi. But in
this case it turns out
that there is one relative
who is closer than Boaz
and therefore he has the
first right of redemption.
What happens here is
that the relative realizes
that in accepting the role of
kinsman redeemer he will
have to give up his right to
inherit the property of Ruth
 P AGE 4

and Naomi as his own and the role he plays Job 19:25: But I
because he would have let’s get on with showing know that my Redeemer
to purchase the property how this role ties in Ye- lives, and that He will be
from both Naomi and shua to God and in do- the final one remaining
Ruth and Ruth’s name ing that we can show upon the earth.
would remain attached that God and Yeshua are Once again the con-
to the inheritance. Why entwined and that one cept of the Redeemer
is this important in the cannot exist without the but in this instance it is
context of what we are other and that they are reaffirmed that the Re-
studying here? joined ‘at the hip’ as deemer is a direct refer-
The concept of the they say. ence to God. Why? Be-
kinsman redeemer ap- Exodus-Shemot 15:13: cause even in the Ortho-
plies to the Messiah Ye- With Your kindness You dox translation of the
shua because He is the guided this people that Tanach the word Re-
only begotten Son of the You redeemed; You led deemer is capitalized
Father so therefore He with Your might to Your indicating that the Re-
inherits the right to the holy abode. deemer is God.
And again in role of kinsman re- This passage of This idea is re-
Isaiah deemer through His Fa- Scripture lays out that it enforced in Psalm
41:14: Fear ther God. So how would is God who redeems. He 78:35: They would re-
not, O worm that affect us? It affects has redeemed His peo- member that God was
us because if we grasp ple and His people is their Rock, and the Most
of Jacob, O the concept of the kins- Israel. Now what we High God their Re-
men of Is- man redeemer we real- need to consider at this deemer.
rael, [for] I ize that if we were cre- point is who is Israel? Is And again in Isaiah
help you— ated by God through His Israel just the Jewish 41:14: Fear not, O
Son Yeshua then we are people? Many would worm of Jacob, O men
the word of
ALL, each and every have you think so be- of Israel, [for] I help
the Lord and one of us, related by cause the House of Eph- you—the word of the
your Re- blood to Yeshua. And if raim was scattered to Lord and your Re-
deemer, the that were not enough in the four corners of the deemer, the Holy One of
Holy One of and of itself each and earth and only Judah Israel.
every one of us who ac- returned from their exile Isaiah 44:6: Thus
Israel. cept Yeshua as Messiah intact. But let us look at said the Lord, King of
become further en- Deuteronomy 29:13-14. Israel and its Redeemer,
twined with Yeshua Not with you alone the Lord, Master of Le-
through the Ruach of do I seal this covenant gions: I am the first and
God in that we become and this imprecation, I am the last, and aside
spiritually connected to but with whoever is from Me there is no God.
Yeshua. So this extends here, standing with us He is the Redeemer
the idea of the kinsman today before the Lord, and God! This is from
redeemer right on down our God, and with the mouth of the
from Yeshua to you and whoever is not here prophet Isaiah put there
me and everyone who with us today. by God Himself. Could it
will ever be or has been. The covenant that be made any plainer
It is only through the was established between than this? God is the
rejection of Yeshua as Israel and God involved Redeemer and He is
Messiah which causes us each and every person God.
to then reject Him as that was standing before Isaiah 49:26: And I
our kinsman redeemer. God that day and each will feed your tormen-
When we do this we are and every person who tors their own flesh, and
acting just like the rela- was not there that day. they will become drunk
tive in Ruth who re- What does that mean? on their own blood as on
jected the role of kins- The implication is very sweet wine; then all
man redeemer because strong that all who flesh will know that I am
he did not want to forfeit joined themselves to the Lord, your Savior
his own inheritance. Israel would become and your Redeemer, the
So having laid out part of Israel and enti- Mighty One of Jacob.
the premise for under- tled to the covenant that
standing the concept of God made with Israel. Continued on page 32
the kinsman redeemer That means you and me!
V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE 5

Practical Torah with Hank Ramirez

The Conflict between
being at work and
In that same hand, G-d is more
concerned with the perfection
of our heart than the perfec-
tion of ritual performance
[Note 3]. Then, on the other
hand, there is also that need to
keep the bill collectors at bay.
Lastly, my wife is so much
more fun to be around when
she sees paychecks come in the
mail.
Being I am a “part time”
employee I can request to get
the week off without pay. Or I
can request to be put on the
early shift, which will allow
me to go to work AND attend
through all of the clouds of
indecision and chooses a
course of action you were in-
clining toward anyway. Then
again she might come up with
a third option that again clears
up what should be done. It is
to be understood that she is a
major part of our participation
in the Feasts and if you want
life to be worth living you will
consult with her [Note 6].
Having done all of the cal-
culations concerning the loss
of pay for the time off and de-
termining the best work sched-
ule I can ask for, it is decision
allow me to rest and
fully participate in the
Feast as G-d intended
me to. Lastly, I will be
able to be a blessing
through my teaching
commitment.
[Note 1] Exodus 23:15,
Exodus 34:24,
Deuteronomy
31:11
[Note 2] Luke 10:33
[Note 3] 1Samuel
15:22, Isaiah
1:11-12, Isaiah

being at the
Biblical Festivals
I have a new job that re-
quires me to work rotating
shifts and come in at odd
hours like 5:30 AM, 1:30 PM,
and 9:30PM. My boss affords
me some leniency in that he
tries to ensure I have Friday
evenings free so I can lead the
Erev Shabbat Torah Class.
With Sukkot coming on the
event horizon at the end of
September I am faced with a
conflict. On the one hand I am
confronted with the fact that I
need to provide for my family
and do my best to ensure that I
am an indispensable asset,
assuring continued employ-
ment. On the other hand it is
my heart‟s desire to participate
in the mitzvah of keeping the
Feasts of the Lord. Feasts,
which are not “attendance
optional” according to Scrip-
ture [Note 1].
On the one hand, G-d is
more concerned with life than
he is with ritual [Notes 2].
the Evening (Erev) festivities.
But what about the Sab-
baths (Shabbatim) and the
commensurate days of rest? If
my boss agrees to assign me to
the morning shift I will still
need to coordinate to have the
Shabbatim off. Somehow I
have the impression that going
through all of these adminis-
trative gymnastics would put
a bit of a frown on my boss‟
face. So to be a blessing to him
[Note 4] I need to make things
as simple as I can and boil
them down to one of two sim-
ple options.
My particular situation has
a small twist in it in that I have
been asked to teach in the
morning at a remote location
an hour and a half away from
where I live. So if I request to
work just mornings and ask to
have the Shabbatim off, I will
have to also ask for an addi-
tional day off on the appointed
day OR I will have to grace-
fully decline the invitation to
speak.
The Sages admonish us to
keep the home as peaceful as
possible [Note5] and to do this
I need to consult with my wife.
You may find that she cuts
time. What do I value the 29:13
most? Income? Fulfilling and [Note 4] Romans 12:18
living out Torah? Doing what I [Note 5] Shalom Bayit
can to work and participate in or Shalom
the Feasts? Such is the sharp
edge of the Word of God [Note
Bayis
(Hebrew: ‫שלום‬
7], which side of the line am I? " ; ‫בית‬peace at
Am I soulish or spiritual? home") is the
The sages tell us that Jewish reli-
heaven has accorded us a spe- gious concept
cific amount of income each of household
week, nothing more and noth- harmony and
ing less [Note 8]. This means good relations
that our decision to work, between man
whatever it is, will not gain or and wife.
lose us anything. Which could Tractate Shab-
mean that the money I earned bat (23b)
might have to pay for the re- [Note 6] 1Samuel 25:2-
pair of a car accident incurred 37
on the way home from work. [Note 7] Proverbs
On the other hand, G-d 21:19, Prov
BLESSES us when we partici- erbs 27:15,
pate in His Feasts [Note 9]. Hebrews 4:12
My final decision? I will ask [Note 8] Rabbi Pin-
to be taken off the schedule for chas, “a per-
the week by explaining to my son‟s suste-
boss the importance of the nance is meas-
Feasts to me. It is a blanket ured for him
move for him, simple and ele- from Rosh
gant. It simplifies the week for HaShanah”
me so I can actually relax and [Note 9] Deuteronomy
REJOICE in the Feast without 12:6-7
Having to sweat bullets about
getting enough sleep and get-
ting to work on time. It will
 P AGE 6
Common Sense Torah by Ran Ricard
What an honor I have
been afforded to be a
part of such a group of
Torah loving folks. It
shall be my singular
privilege to offer you all
what I will call a „Blue
Collar‟ perspective on
Torah apologetics, or
better yet … Common
Sense Torah.
The restoration of
YHVH‟s people Israel,
reuniting the House of
Ephraim and the House
of Judah (Eze 37:15-28)
has begun. I believe
those embracing the Mes-
The
sianic movement today
are indeed the vanguard
in that restoration proc-
ess. We are the Peace-
Proper makers who bear the title
and the blessing of His
children. (Matt. 5:9)
Standard More and more folks
are being touched by the
Ruach HaKodesh (Holy
Spirit) and awakened
with a hunger for the
Hebraic roots of their
faith in Messiah Yeshua.
But as exciting as that is,
for many of us it‟s almost
as if we‟ve awakened in a
foreign place and that
can be more than a little
disconcerting, it can be
downright scary. Some
awaken angry, some con-
fused and bewildered,
but all of us have awak-
ened hungry for the
truth.
It is my desire and
will be my welcomed
task to bring you your
first cup of coffee, or
maybe a refill and then
hand you off to others
with greater knowledge
than I, so you may be
strengthened and con-
tinue your new and
closer walk of obedience
with Messiah Yeshua.
Now with that said, let‟s
begin;
Standard weight;
measure, model, quality,
etc. to which others must
conform; criterion; pole
with a flag; flag esp. ensign
of war; royal banner; up-
right support; a. serving as
established rule.
(Webster‟s New Encyclo-
pedia of Dictionaries)
One of the first things
I discovered as I began to
wipe the „sleepy bugs‟
from my eyes was that to
be obedient to The Fa-
ther‟s instructions I had
to change the standard
by which I measured and
examined The Word.
The Apostle Paul‟s writ-
ings, for the most part,
had always been that
standard to which other
writings in scripture
must conform. Espe-
cially when examining
and understanding the
necessity of obedience to
the law. Paul‟s words
have been the standard
by which I have weighed
and examined The Word
since my youth. How-
ever, now that The Holy
One has nudged me
awake, I find that stan-
dard „stands‟ in contra-
diction to my Master,
Messiah Yeshua.
So how do I explain my
transition from Paul‟s stan-
dard to The Messiah‟s? I
reckon the first thing I try
to do is remember that
not long ago, I slept just
like those who might
question me now. I can
choose to either throw a
bucket of ice water on
them or gently nudge
them awake. When my
brother and I were chil-
dren and he was tasked
with waking me for
school, there were lots of
shoes, socks and other
laundry items thrown in
anger when he used the
bucket of ice water ap-
proach (and oh how he
relished the ice water
approach). I‟ve found
my sleepy brethren will
wake a bit cranky too,
when I use the same
method.
Since most comments
and questions will arise
because of your new de-
sire to be obedient to the
Torah, those questions
will most likely center on
the law and whether it is
to be obeyed. When that
happens, I tell my friends
that because I believe
exactly what Yeshua says
concerning the law, that I
have a choice to make;
Mat 5:17-18, "Do not
think that I have come to
abolish the Law or the
Prophets; I have not
come to abolish them but
to fulfill them. For truly,
I say to you, until heaven
and earth pass away, not
an iota, not a dot, will
pass from the Law until
all is accomplished.”
Either I can believe
that the Apostle Paul is
making the words of Ye-
V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE
shua null and void or I can
believe that the Apostle Paul
loved The Messiah literally
to his death and would never
stand opposed to what He
says and teaches. Then I tell
them that I choose the latter.
Paul loved Yeshua and rec-
ognized that He was The Son
of the Great I AM; He would
eventually give his life in
service to Him. He would
never, ever contradict what
The Son of The Living GOD
says and teaches. And nei-
ther should I.
The fact of the matter is
that Paul was a staunch be-
liever in Yeshua. The fact of
the matter is that Paul‟s ene-
mies had to resort to lie about
him; Act 21:21, “and they have
been told about you that you
teach all the Jews who are
among the Gentiles to forsake
Moses, telling them not to cir-
cumcise their children or walk
according to our customs.”
But Paul tells us in his
own words that he has done
nothing to violate God‟s
commands or contradict any-
thing Messiah Yeshua has
said; Act 24:14, “But this I
confess to you, that according to
the Way, which they call a sect,
I worship the God of our fathers,
believing everything laid down
by the Law and written in the
Prophets”
Then I tell my friends I
believe every word Yeshua
has spoken to be the truth
and know they believe the
same. Then I ask if it rings
true to their common sense
to use the words of Paul, or
Peter or James or anyone for
that matter to nullify any-
thing The Messiah has al-
ready spoken and taught as
truth (again referencing
Matt. 5:17-18). Then I sug-
7
gest that perhaps we don‟t friend came into my office
understand what those great one day and dropped a copy
men are really saying and it‟s of Batya Wootten‟s book,
time to put on our Berean “Who Is Israel” on my desk
robes and seek GOD‟s glory, and challenged me to read it. But a few,
“It is the glory of God to conceal Not being one to ever shy
things, but the glory of kings is from the proverbial „thrown who have
to search things out.” (Pro gauntlet‟ … I read it.
25:2) Without telling my Bride the ears to
And some will clear their anything about it, I then chal-
throats and watch the birds lenged her to read it. About hear, will
devour the seeds you cast. three quarters of the way
Others will listen and get through, she abruptly closed listen and
excited, but then fall back to the book, looked at me and
sleep as the seed finds only said, “Well now, this changes
protect the
rocky soil. A few will think everything.” In our lives
hard on what you‟ve said, together, I don‟t think there
seeds you
but their traditional teaching has ever been a greater un-
will not allow the seedling to
cast. They
derstatement.
grow. Like many of you, The
But a few, who have the
will nourish
Father has led us into a wil-
ears to hear, will listen and derness experience; into a
them and
protect the seeds you cast. season of learning, growing
They will nourish them and and relying on Him like they will
they will grow … and grow never before. It has been a
…. and grow. time of transitioning from grow...and
milk to meat. Like many of
From our house to yours you, we have no fellowship grow...and
SHALOM! save that over the internet,
Ran the telephone and what peri- grow...
P.S. And now a little about odicals we receive in the mail
me. from our beloved teachers.
I was raised and taught in I currently
a traditional fundamental live in Clever,
Southern Baptist manner (yes Missouri with
that includes heapin‟ helpin‟s my beautiful
of fried chicken and „tater Bride and com-
salad). After graduation rade in life
from High School, I enlisted Brenda. We
in the United States Navy, have three
serving two tours of duty in grown chil-
Viet Nam in the „Brown Wa- dren, two
ter‟ portion of that service. grandchildren
After discharge, I chose and two little
the field of law enforcement noisy fur balls
for my career, serving 20 known as York-
years with the Riverton, shire Terriers,
Wyoming Police Depart- Boomer and
ment / Wind River Indian Twink, and a
Reservation and four years great motorcy-
as Chief of Police in Buffalo, cle for cruising
Wyoming. While serving in the Missouri back roads.
the capacity of Chief, a dear
 P AGE 8
Mirror Images by David Pennington
I am persuaded that
what has been, will be
and that especially
through the ministry of
the Messiah this concept
has been carried out
more times than we
probably have perceived.
It is not my pur-
pose to just try to per-
petuate the message of
the virgin birth because
most still believe this to
Mirror be actual fact. What I
want to project into your
thoughts is why the vir-
Image gin birth, among other
events that transpired,
which should also be
Effect greater evidence of the
truth of the virgin birth.
Without the birth being
through a virgin, there
could not be the birth of
believers since the resur-
rection.
If we deny the truth
of the virgin birth we in
turn deny our faith. For
we are conceived and
born through a woman
espoused to her
future husband,
Messiah Ye-
shua yet she
remains a
chaste virgin.
Just like Joseph
and Miriam
(Mary).
Ecc 1:9 The
thing that hath
been, it is that
which shall be;
and that which is
done is that which
shall be done: and
there is no new thing
under the sun.
Ecc 1:10 Is there any
thing whereof it
may be said, See,
this is new? it hath
been already of old
time, which was be-
fore us.
Ecc 1:11 There is no re-
membrance of for-
mer things; neither
shall there be any
remembrance of
things that are to
come with those that
shall come after.
The above quote is
one of the major reasons I
have been guided into
the concept of what I call
the "Mirror Image Ef-
fect". The reason of call-
ing it mirror image is
because in the reflection
of the mirror, everything
appears to be exactly the
same, which it isn't.
When you face the mir-
ror, your right hand be-
comes the left hand of
the reflection you have
projected.
In the following
verses this projection has
been witnessed by the
words of the beings that
appear to the disciples
after the ascension of Ye-
shua. They said that in
like manner, as he went,
so he shall come again.
The difference, is that in
the ascension, the disci-
ples were scattered
amongst the nations and
in his return there will be
a gathering of his disci-
ples from the four cor-
ners of the earth.
Act 1:9 And when he
had spoken these
things, while they
beheld, he was
taken up; and a
cloud received him
out of their sight.
Act 1:10 And while they
looked stedfastly
toward heaven as he
went up, behold,
two men stood by
them in white ap-
parel;
Act 1:11 Which also
said, Ye men of
Galilee, why stand
ye gazing up into
heaven? this same
Jesus, which is taken
up from you into
heaven, shall so
come in like manner
as ye have seen him
go into heaven.
In the next two
verses the Greek word
translates as virgin. As
we, the body of believers
(the body of Messiah) are
presented as a chaste vir-
gin, this is mirroring the
birth through Mary
(Miriam).
The new believer is
born through the blood
(offering of Messiah) and
water (the mikvah that
designates our rebirth).
Mat 1:23 Behold, a vir-
gin3933 shall be
with child, and shall
bring forth a son,
and they shall call
his name Em-
manuel, which be-
ing interpreted is,
God with us.
2Co 11:2 For I am jeal-
ous over you with
godly jealousy: for I
have espoused you
to one husband, that
I may present you as
a chaste virgin3933
to Christ.
G3933 παρθε?νος
V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE
parthenos - par-then'-os -Of
unknown origin; a maiden; by
implication an unmarried
daughter: - virgin.
Another aspect is that
the bread of the offering
could not be partaken of
unless the man had refrained
from sexual relations with
his wife. In the case of
Miriam and Joseph, she had
not only been a virgin but
they refrain from any sexual
activity throughout her preg-
nancy. Once again mirroring
the idea of a chaste virgin.
Mat 1:25 And knew her not
till she had brought
forth her firstborn son:
and he called his name
JESUS.
Just as Yeshua entered
into the Holy of Holies
through tearing the veil in
two, so He entered into this
world through a veil when
he was born. This was one of
the reasons that Mary
(Miriam was to be a virgin)
and the reason that the Torah
was so demanding on the
precepts of the virgin and the
signs of her virginity.
Deu 22:13 If any man take a
wife, and go in unto her,
and hate her,
Deu 22:14 And give occa-
sions of speech against
her, and bring up an evil
name upon her, and say,
I took this woman, and
when I came to her, I
found her not a maid:
Deu 22:15 Then shall the
father of the damsel,
and her mother, take
and bring forth the to-
kens of the damsel's vir-
ginity unto the elders of
the city in the gate:
Deu 22:16 And the damsel's
father shall say unto the
elders, I gave my daugh-
ter unto this man to
wife, and he hateth her;
Deu 22:17 And, lo, he hath
given occasions of
speech against her, say-
ing, I found not thy
daughter a maid; and
yet these are the tokens
of my daughter's virgin-
ity. And they shall
spread the cloth before
the elders of the city.
The womb represented
the Holy of Holies and the
"hymen" symbolized the cur-
tain (veil) that was before
this Holy place. The only
way to enter into the Holy of
Holies was with blood
through this veil. Yeshua in
both his birth and his death
(his descending and ascend-
ing) broke through these
veils and the sign of this was
the water and the blood.
When the soldier took
the spear and pierced the
Messiah‟s side, out came
blood and water. The same
took place at the birth of Ye-
shua, when he broke through
the hymen and exited the
womb, he was brought forth
in the water and the blood.
Mat 27:50 Jesus, when he
had cried again with a
loud voice, yielded up
the ghost.
Mat 27:51 And, behold, the
veil of the temple was
rent in twain from the
top to the bottom; and
the earth did quake, and
the rocks rent;
When Yeshua was born,
the first major event that
transpired after his emerg-
ing from the womb (Holiest
of Holies) and the tearing in
two of the hymen (veil) was
his initial intake of lifegiving
breath. This is the spirit that
makes the child a living soul.
When he died on Golgotha,
he gave up this spirit of life
and the veil (representing the
hymen) was rent in two.
Gen 2:7 And the LORD
God formed man of the
dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nos-
trils the breath of life;
and man became a liv-
ing soul.
The first thing to be torn
in two when he entered this
world was the veil (hymen)
and the last thing to be torn
in two upon leaving this
world was the veil.
As you may see, it is as
Ecclesiastes says, “What has
been, will be”. It appears that
nearly every move, every
action, nuance, and word
that Yeshua gave us was to
fulfill the words of Torah.
My first choice to use in this
column was the birth and
death because it began and
ended his earthly mission.
Following the words of the
angelic beings and sensing
that if he shall return as he
went, isn‟t it only plausible
that as he came, he would
leave?
Another reason for this
thought is because many
have not grasped the impor-
tance of knowing some of the
concepts behind the virgin
birth. We may say that it is
important, but fail to have
the reasons that it is. He
came forth from an earthly
womb and the veil to bring
salvation but returned to the
Heavenly Womb through the
veil to give salvation. After
his ascension, he gave gifts
unto man and the greatest
gift of all was our salvation.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore
9
come boldly
unto the throne
of grace, that we
may obtain
mercy, and find
grace to help in
time of need.
Eph 4:8 Wherefore
he saith, When
he ascended up
on high, he led
captivity cap-
tive, and gave
gifts unto men.
A hint of this
very fact is evi-
denced in John‟s
gospel account. Here
is a question to those
that read this. Where
in John has the hint
of this event been
recorded?
In the next issues I
want to give more
evidence of this mir-
ror image design
and how perfectly it
is woven throughout
the pages of the Bi-
ble.
David Pennington is
married to wife Rita
with a son Jared and
daughter Jessica
(with five grandchil-
dren). David has
been evolving in the
Messianic fold for at
least fifteen years.
He started in the
church over thirty
years ago and was
ordained into the
ministry about
twenty years ago.
David can be
reached at
Tanakh
@embarqmail.com
 P AGE 10
Following the Living Torah Rabbi Daniel Klutstein
Prayer is a key element in
our spiritual walk. Here is
what Isaiah says: “Then
shalt thou call, and the
Lord shall answer; thou
shalt cry, and he shall say,
Here I am. 14th verse: Then
shalt thou delight thyself in
the Lord; and I will cause
thee to ride upon the high
places of the earth, and feed
thee with the heritage of
Jacob thy father: for the
Rabbi Daniel Klut- mouth of the Lord hath spo-
ken it.”-ISA_58:9
stein leads a Messi-
Rav Shaul (Paul)
anic Congregation
says: 1Th 5:17 “Pray with-
in Hawaii and out ceasing”.
works with other What is prayer,
and how can one pray with-
groups...
out ceasing?
The Hebrew word
for prayer is Tephilah from
the root Palel . It means
supplication, intercession.
Prayer is asking the creator
to answer our cries and de-
sires by his grace, even
though we surely do not
deserve it. Prayer is com-
municating with our maker.
Therefore what Rav Saul
says is “Always communi-
cate with YHWH “ and 2
Cor 10:7 “bring to captivity
every thought unto him “
The Lord also pro-
vided His Spirit to help us
as he Rav Saul says in Rom
8:26 “Likewise the Spirit
also helpeth our infirmities:
for we know not what we
should pray for as we
ought: but the Spirit itself
maketh intercession for us
with groaning which cannot
be uttered.”
Which is the main
function of the gift of
tongues.
Yeshua told us that
prayer open the gates of
heaven Mar 11:24 For this
reason I say to you, all
things whatsoever you ask
for in prayer, believe that
you will receive them, and
they will be yours. And
also Mat 7:8 “For everyone
who asks receives, and he
who seeks finds, and to him
who knocks it shall be
opened.
How many bless-
ings do we robe ourselves
from by not asking with
belief (Emuna). This He-
brew word is loaded with
meanings, trust, and obedi-
ence, trained by the word,
belief. Only an emuna
prayer is effective.
Yaakov (James)
teaches.
Jam 5:13 Is any of
you suffering evil? Let him
pray. Is anyone in good
spirits? Let him sing
psalms. We need to realize
that 2Co 4:15 for all things
are for your sakes that the
abundant grace might
through the thanksgiving of
many redound to the glory
of God.
Jam 5:14 Is anyone
among you sick? Let him
call for the elders of the
assembly, and let them pray
over him, having anointed
him with oil in the Name of
the Master.
Jam 5:15 and the
prayer of faith shall save the
sick, and the Lord shall
raise him up; and if he have
committed sins, they shall
be forgiven him.
However this is
qualified by Yaakov
(James) the righteous Jam
4:3 ye ask, and receive not,
because ye ask amiss, that
ye may consume it upon
your lusts.
He also add the
requirement of righteous-
ness which comes from our
turning away from sin and
accepting the atonement of
Yeshua.
Yeshua also told
us not to use it for religious
show
Mat 6:5 And when
thou prayest, thou shalt not
be as the hypocrites are: for
they love to pray standing
in the synagogues and in the
corners of the streets, that
they may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto you, they
have their reward (men re-
spect). Mat 6:6 But thou,
when thou prayest, enter
into thy closet, and when
thou hast shut thy door,
pray to thy Father which is
in secret; and thy Father
which seethe in secret shall
reward thee openly.
Mat 6:7 but when
ye pray, use not vain repeti-
tions, as the heathen do: for
they think that they shall be
heard for their much speak-
ing. We see this in the us-
age of the rosary, which is
common to Catholicism,
Islam, and Buddhism. Un-
fortunately this also influ-
enced the rabbis like repeat-
ing a psalm seven times to
forces YHWH to listen to
us and bind Satan.
Yeshua than
teaches us how to pray in
the so called Lord’s prayer:
Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore
like unto them: for your
Father knoweth what things
ye have need of, before ye
ask him.
Mat 6:9 after this
manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in
heaven, Hallowed be thy
name.
Mat 6:10 Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be
done in earth, as it is in
heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us
this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 and for-
give us our debts, as we
V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE
forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 and lead us
not into temptation, but deliver
us from evil: For thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and
the glory, forever. Amen.
Mat 6:14 For if ye for-
give men their trespasses, your
heavenly Father will also for-
give you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye for-
give not men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive
your trespasses.
From verse 8 we un-
derstand that God does need our
prayers to know our need. We
need the prayer not God.
In a traditional Jewish
way using the Kaddish as a
model, Yeshua tell us to start
with praise. By so doing we
realize before whom we stand,
and gain confidence, so that our
needs are no longer a mountain
but a small hill.
Only then can we pro-
ceed with our petition, and end
with thanksgiving. The subject
of the prayer is also a lesson in
itself. First we should concern
ourselves with God’s kingdom,
and as Yeshua ambassadors
represent our Father’s interest,
not ours. We also reaffirm
God’s sovereignty.
Our request should be
for our needs not our cravings.
We can only receive
God’s blessing when we dealt
with our sins. We need to show
the forgiveness we received
form God to others. We need
YHWH help to pass the test,
realizing what Rav Saul said
1Co 10:13 There hath no temp-
tation taken you but such as is
common to man: but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you
to be tempted above that ye are
able; but will with the tempta-
tion also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it.
Rom 8:28 And we
know that all things work to-
gether for good to them that
love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose.
Verse 9 tells us that we
need to build relationship with
God as a Father respect love
him and obey him. Deu 10:12
And now, Israel, what doth the
LORD thy God require of thee,
but to fear the LORD thy God,
to walk in all his ways, and to
love him, and to serve the
LORD thy God with all thy
heart and with all thy soul.
Verse 10 Speaks of the
central teaching of Yeshua ”The
kingdom”. God already reigns
in heaven. We need to establish
his kingdom on earth by accept-
ing the yoke of heaven. This is
called in Judaism Tikun Olam
(World fixing). We need to
become a new creation by put-
ting of the old man.
Verse 11 Teaches us
that only when we center upon
our Father, can we then attend
to our needs knowing his
loveand care for us, although
testing us at time for our sake.
Deu 8:16 Who fed thee
in the wilderness with manna,
which thy fathers knew not, that
he might humble thee, and that
he might prove thee, to do thee
good at thy latter end; Verse 12,
14-15 teaches us the importance
of forgiveness. We need to real-
ize that the Lord will deal with
us as we deal with others, as
Yeshua parable teaches when
the king throw in prison the
debtor who persecuted his
debtor after being forgiven by
the king Math 18 23-35.
Verse 13 is our prayer
that we will not be tested to the
point of failure Heb 2:18 For in
that he himself hath suffered
being tempted, he is able to suc-
cour them that are tempted.
In conclusion: we need to com-
municate with our heavenly
father, and putting him first, and
obedient, we will be blessed as
he seeks to bless his children.
I was borne to a Chas-
sidic family in Paris France
11
My grandfather of blessed
memory was France Orthodox
chief rabbi.
I grew up with the
Love of the God, people and
land of Israel.
After the early death of
my father, we immigrated to
Israel.
I was later trained to
become an orthodox rabbi, but
lost my faith at 16.
In my twenties the
Lord reached out to me, and
called me to him through Ye-
shua on the mount of Olive. Prayer is a
The Father than called me to
lead his people. He provided key element
free training at London Bible
College followed by Paris Uni- in our
versity Jewish studies.
I was ordained in Paris spiritual
as a messianic rabbi, and lead a
walk…
congregation.
I was then called to
Rav Shaul
represent Israel and France to a
messianic conference, which Paul) says:
lead to an invitation to become
associate rabbi at one of the 1Th 5:17
largest messianic congregation
in Maryland, where I also found “Pray
my wife.
The Lord led me to without
return for a time to Israel, and
than back to the US. ceasing”.
I was used in leader-
ship in major congregations in
Maryland, and later to lead my
own
I accepted a call from
the messianic congregation in
Hawaii where I serve as their
rabbi.
In Hawaii we aim to
bring all closer to God in their
Hebraic understanding.
I also oversee two mes-
sianic congregations in Amarillo
Texas, Australia, and India.
I am currently being
used to reach out to the body of
believers, and bring them an
understanding of their roots
I visit different congregation,
and monitor internet discussion
group.
God bless
 Meaning and Celebration of the Festival of Sukkot
P AGE 12
‫סוכות‬
or the coming back
of the Great King
The angel said to me,
"Write: „How blessed are
those who have been invited
to the wedding feast of the
Lamb!‟" Then he added,
"These are God‟s very
words. Revelation 19 :9
Gilbert and Sa-
brina Suard live in
Israel and formerly
Sukkot ‫סוכות‬
means booth or tent, a
resided in France... temporary dwelling, re-
minding us of the wan-
derings of the people of
Israel in the desert. It also
reminds us that we are
« sojourners in the earth
Gilbert and ».
Sabrina Suard,
It is during the festival of
Israel booths that we eat and/
or sleep for seven days in
www.soucatdavid.is our own hand-made
raelinet.org booths. The roof must be
made of tree branches so
as to be able to see the
The Renewed sky to remind us that it is
Covenant by the G-d who protects us dur-
light of the Torah ing our stay on earth.
It is the third festival that
has a solemn convocation
and to which the Jewish
people are to attend by
going up to the Temple.
It is a rejoicing festival
with two holidays; the
first and seventh days. It
is celebrated on the 15th
of the month of Tishri.
“You are to keep the festival
of Sukkot for seven days
after you have gathered the
produce of your threshing–
floor and winepress.
Rejoice at your festival––
you, your sons and daugh-
ters, your male and female
slaves, the L‟vi‟im, and the
foreigners, orphans and
widows living among you.
Seven days you are to keep
the festival for ADONAI
your God in the place
ADONAI your God will
choose, because ADONAI
your God will bless you in
all your crops and in all
your work, so you are to be
full of joy! Deuteronomy
16 :13-15
A particular command-
ment requires us to tie
together four fruits,
forming the Lulav, also
the name of the tallest
specie, the palm. It is to
be shaken in front of the
Sukkah.
These four fruits are:
The Palm
The Willow
The Citron
The Myrtle
These four species repre-
sent the different types of
Jews, both pious and non
pious but all indivisible
in G-d‟s eyes:
The citron (etrog) is deli-
cious and smells good; it
represents the scholarly
Jew in the Torah who
practices what he studies:
But those sown on rich soil
hear the message, accept it
and bear fruit! –thirty,
sixty or a hundredfold.”
Mark 4:20
The myrtle (hadas) also
smells good but is not
edible; it represents the
person who “forgets
what he was taught”:
Likewise, those receiving
seed on rocky patches are
people who hear the mes-
sage and joyfully accept it
at once; but they have no
root in themselves. So they
hold out for a while, but as
soon as some trouble or
persecution arises on ac-
count of the message, they
immediately fall away.
Mark4:16-17
The palm (lulav) is edible
but has no smell; it repre-
sents the one who owns
the knowledge but not
the works:
You believe that “God is
one”? Good for you! The
demons believe it too – the
thought makes them shud-
der with fear! But, foolish
fellow, do you want to be
shown that such “faith”
apart from actions is bar-
ren?
James 2:19-20 De 6:4
The willow (arava) has no
taste nor smell; it repre-
sents the one without
Torah and without
works, but who still is
part of the Jewish people
and needs to become in-
tegrated within the com-
munity so as to provoke
in him an awakening that
will bring him back to his
faith:
My brothers, if one of you
wanders from the truth, and
someone causes him to re-
turn, you should know that
whoever turns a sinner
from his wandering path
will save him from death
and cover many sins. Prov-
V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE
erbs 10:12 , James 5:19-20
Therefore, the festival of Suk-
kot is a call to fraternal unity,
and it is a duty to invite one
another under the Sukkah to
rejoice together for G-d‟s
kindness. It is the festival of
fraternal love!
It is also the festival of water
and rain. Prayers are said to
bring the first rains, blessings
for the dried earth.
For this occasion, during the
period of the Temple, sev-
enty bulls were offered for
the atonement of the seventy
nations of the world!
The portion of the prophets‟
writings read at this time is
the messianic celebration of
Sukkot in Zachariah 14.
The eighth day is called Sim-
chat Torah, the joy of the To-
rah, a convocation to cele-
brate the end of the annual
reading cycle of the Torah.
What about the body of the
Mashiach, the Kehila
(assembly) of G-d today?
The good news is we are all in-
vited to Jerusalem to celebrate
the coming back of the Great
King and His Reign together
with the people of Israel. He is
the source of living water and in
Him we find the true fraternal
unity, in the shelter of His
wings. On that day, the earth
will be filled with His knowl-
edge. He will be proclaimed
ONE.
Then ADONAI will be
king over the whole world.
On that day ADONAI will
be the only one, and his
name will be the only name.
Zachariah 14:9
G-d‟s plan to gather every-
thing in Him will be fulfilled
so that we are one in Him,
Jew and Gentile, the Two
Houses reunified under the
same G-d and His Torah. But
before anything, He has to
come back to Jerusalem, the
city of the Great King, and to
invite us all to celebrate Suk-
kot and to celebrate Him, the
Living Torah!
It was also on that date that
Yeshua decided to come in
flesh to bring us the Light
(see our study on the birth of
Yeshua)
Pesach: the deliverance
Shavuot: the gift of the Holy
Spirit
Rosh Hashana: His coming
back
Yom Kippur: our sins have
been forgiven
Sukkot: His messianic reign
Chanukka: He is the Light of
the world
Purim: the defeat of Amalek
Let‟s prophetically celebrate
Sukkot while awaiting the
glorious celebration to come,
with Yeshua!
____________________
Celebration of the
festival
 Build a booth keeping
the sky and the stars visible
 Make decorations about
Israel; add garlands, kids‟
drawings, symbols of the
twelve tribes of Israel… Jeru-
salem.
 Prepare a festive meal.
Sfaradic Jews start the meal
with couscous which re-
minds them of the manna in
the desert because of its nu-
merous seeds.
 Pomegranate is the typi-
13
cal fruit for Sukkot because
of the seeds that are a re-
minder of the manna and
because of its crown, remi-
niscent of that of the Great
King.
 If you were able to ob-
tain Lulav, shake it in front of
the Sukkah to symbolize fra-
ternal unity.
Start with the blessing upon
the wine, Kiddush
(sanctification) then on the
bread motzi (taken out of,
dragged). Sukkot
« Blessed are you Hashem, means booth
our G-d, King of the uni- or tent, a
verse, Who created the
fruit of the vine » temporary
« Blessed are you Hashem, dwelling,
our G-d, King of the uni-
verse, Who brought forth reminding us
the bread from the earth »
of the
May the L-rd bless you in wanderings
this day of joy and fraternal
unity, while we are awaiting of the people
that day when we can rejoice
together in Jerusalem! of Israel in
the desert. It
Chag Sameach
Happy festival! also reminds
‫חג שמח‬ us that we
are
sojourners in
Unless otherwise noted,
Scripture quotations are from the earth...
the Complete Jewish Bible
Copyright © 1998-2004 by
David.H.Stern. Published by
Jewish New testament Publi-
cations.inc.
www.messianicjewish.net/
jntp Distributed by Messianic
Jewish Resources Interna-
tional. All rights reserved.
Used by permission.
P AGE 14

Yeshua’s Birthdate by Gilbert and Sabrina Suard

Was YESHUA really and they had few reli- of the John‟s birth:
born on December 24th ? ability. So Luke used, to In the days of Herod,
locate the events in time, King of Y‟hudah, there was
The Bible doesn‟t say several unmovable signs a cohen named Z‟kharyah
anything about it; instead like Thora prescriptions who belonged to the Aviyah
many pagan divinities and natural events like division. His wife was a
anterior to Yeshua were pregnancy time etc… descendant of Aharon, and
worshiped at the winter her name was Elisheva.
solstice, and especially Luke starts his letter with Both of them were righteous
on the 24th of December. a declaration that leaves before God, observing all
For example, in the Baby- no place for doubt about the mitzvot and ordinances
lonian TAMUZ cult (Ez his intention to write the of ADONAI blamelessly.
8: 14), the temple dedi- maximum reality on the But they had no children,
cated to the divinity had facts: because Elisheva was bar-
side windows in the di- ren; and they were both well
rection of the sun. Dur- along in years. One time,
Dear Theophilos: Concern-
ing the three lowest day- when Z‟kharyah was fulfill-
ing the matters that have
light of the solar year , taken place among us, ing his duties as cohen dur-
the sun did not shine many people have under- ing his division‟s period of
service before God, he was
through the windows taken to draw up accounts
chosen by lot (according to
and the divinity was based on what was handed
the custom among the co-
mourned as for a down to us by those who
hanim) to enter the Temple
dead .Three days later on from the start were eyewit-
and burn incense. Luke 1:5-
the 24th of December the nesses and proclaimers of
9
sun was visible again the message. Therefore,
through the windows Your Excellency, since I
« belonged to the Aviyah
and the pagan god was have carefully investigated
division » (Luke 1:5) and
worshipped as a resur- all these things from the
beginning, it seemed good « his division‟s pe-
rected one. riod» (Luke 1 : 8), are two
to me that I too should
write you an accurate and temporal signs that Luke
Our L-rd was born on had chosen to situate his
Sukkoth ordered narrative, so that
you might know how well– narration: sufficient
founded are the things enough and clearly
The Bible gives clear in- showing the time in
about which you have been
formation about the L-rd which those events oc-
taught. Luke 1:1
Yeshua‟s birth date in the curred. Indeed these two
Book of Luke, the be- timely details lead us
Many commentators said
loved physician who was
that there was no other back to the book of
a very accurate chroni-
track or historical docu- Chronicles, in which the
cler; we can see it in the
ment speaking about this divisions King David
Book of Acts in the narra- established to schedule
Theophilus. The transla-
tion of the journeys and
tion for this Greek name the work of the priest
travels of the apostles. and the soldiers at the
is “the one who loves G-
Luke was very worried Jerusalem Temple, are
d”, so we can think that
about letting the next
Luke addresses his re- clearly explained.
generations after him
port to any present fu-
universal and solid infor- There were 24 divisions
ture reader who loves G-
mation. By the time of
d and seeks His truth. of priest all divided by
Luke there were many
lot:
calendars in use in the
Text follows immedi-
Mediterranean world They were assigned (periods
ately, relating the history
 V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE
of service) by lot, the one group
equally with the other, since
both the descendants of El„azar
and the descendants of Itamar
had officers of the sanctuary and
officers of God. 1 Chronicles
24:5
the seventh for Hakotz, the
eighth for Aviyah, 1 Chronicles
24:10
There were also 12 army di-
visions also divided covering
all the months the months of
the year.
The people of Isra‟el, registered
according to their clan leaders,
were drafted for army duty un-
der captains of thousands and of
hundreds, and officers serving
the king, in divisions of 24,000
each, for month–long terms of
duty covering all the months of
the year. 1 Chronicles 27:1
This repartition of the divi-
sions of service at the Temple
established by King David
was still in use in the time of
Herodius at the second Tem-
ple period. This is the reason
Luke uses this chronology to
situate the birth of John the
Baptist. John‟s father, Zacha-
riah, was on duty at the Tem-
ple according to his division,
on the 2nd part of the 4th
month, the first month being
the month of Nissan up to
the biblical calendar .
(Ex12 :2) .
1 NISSAN 1st 1st et 2nd
division of
priest
2 IYAR 3rdet 4th
3 SIVAN 5th et 6th
4 TAMUZ 7th et 8th
division of
Aviyah
15
During his service, Zachariah of complete rest for remember-
is visited by the Angel ing, a holy convocation an-
Gabriel, the guardian of Is- nounced with blasts on the sho-
rael far. Leviticus 23:24
But the angel said to him, This convocation is also
“Don‟t be afraid, Z‟kharyah; called Rosh Hashanah, which
because your prayer has been means: “head of the year”,
heard. Your wife Elisheva will traditionally admitted as the
bear you a son, and you are to birthday of the Creation. It is The Bible
name him Yochanan. Luke 1:13 the traditional Jewish New
Year although the Bible says doesn‟t say
Elizabeth becomes pregnant:. that Nissan is the first month.
anything
When the period of his Temple Second holy convocation:
service was over, he returned about it:
home. Following this, Elisheva “The tenth day of this seventh
his wife conceived, and she re- month is Yom–Kippur; you are instead
mained five months in seclu- to have a holy convocation, you
sion, saying, Luke 1:23 are to deny yourselves, and you many pagan
are to bring an offering made by
10 TEVET è Elizabeth 6th fire to ADONAI. You are not to divinities
month of pregnancy do any kind of work on that day,
because it is Yom–Kippur, to anterior to
11 I make atonement for you before
SHVAT
ADONAI your God. Anyone Yeshua were
who does not deny himself on
12 I
ADAR that day is to be cut off from his worshipped
1 NIS- I people; and anyone who does
SAN any kind of work on that day, I at the
2 IYAR I will destroy from among his
people. You are not to do any winter
3 I è Miryam‟s nine
SIVAN kind of work; it is a permanent
month of preg-
regulation through all your gen- solstice, and
nancy
erations, no matter where you
4 TA- I especially
MUZ live. It will be for you a Shabbat
5 AV I of complete rest, and you are to
deny yourselves; you are to rest on the 24th
6 ELUL I on your Shabbat from evening
7 the ninth day of the month until of
I è Yeshua’s birth
TISHRE the following evening.” Leviti-
Y cus 23:27-32 December...
This is Yom Kippur, the Day
This seventh month is the
of Atonement. It is the holiest
month of Tishrey; it is a time
day of the year when the L-
of holy convocations, there
rd grants forgiveness of the
are three of them:
sins. Until today the Jewish
people had observed this
First holy convocation:
Day of Atonement with a
great reverence and it is a
“Tell the people of Isra‟el, „In
day of deep silent and devo-
the seventh month, the first of
tion in Israel.
the month is to be for you a day
P AGE 16
The third holy convoca-
tion:
“Tell the people of Isra‟el,
„On the fifteenth day of this
seventh month is the feast of
Sukkot for seven days to
ADONAI. Leviticus 23:34
This Feast of Tabernacles
is Sukkoth; it is part of
the three feasts called
shalosh regalim, the pil-
grimage feasts. Sukkoth
is one of the three main
convocations of the year
with Pesach (Easter) and
Shavuot (Pentecost).All
the men adult had to go
to Jerusalem to celebrate
the L-rd and offer sacri-
fices.
This is why there was no
more room in the inns in
Jerusalem and why the
shepherds brought a big
amount of animals for
the sacrifices and had to
watch them outside the
city all night long.
The eighth day of Suk-
koth is Simchat Torah,
the joy of the Torah. We
celebrate the end of the
Torah reading cycle and
the new starts with
dances around the Torah
scrolls. There is a great
rejoicing in the streets.
Yeshua said about Him-
self that He came to fulfil
the Torah and His deeds
are fully in synchronism
with the appointed times
of the Torah. He was
born on the month of
Tishrey for the Feast of
Sukkoth and was circum-
cise the eighth day (Luc 2
-21) for Simchat Torah.
If we count back the nine
months of pregnancy of
Miryam until the concep-
tion by the Holy Spirit,
starting from the 15th of
Tishrey (Sukkoth), we
obtained the end of
Kislev. It is during this
period that the eight days
of Chanukah are cele-
brated: Chanukah is the
Feast of the Light and the
consecration of the Tem-
ple:
He is the light of the
world
The L-rd’s birthday:
If Pesach has been re-
placed by Easter, Sha-
vuot by Pentecost and
the Shabbat by Sunday,
the Feasts of Tishrey
(Yom Kippur, Sukkoth
and Simchat Torah) re-
mained intact and un-
changed .They are a sign
for us:
He is the head of the
Creation (Rosh Hasha-
nah).
He is the ultimate sacri-
fice for all the people
(scapegoat of Kippur)
And He invited all the
nations of the world to
rejoice with Him, for the
Feast of Sukkoth, in Jeru-
salem at the end of the
times!
Finally, everyone remaining
from all the nations that
came to attack Yerusha-
layim will go up every year
to worship the king,
ADONAI–Tzva‟ot, and to
keep the festival of Sukkot.
Zechariah 14:16
Gilbert and Sa-
brina, French and Israeli,
Ephraim and Judah cou-
ple, four children, back to
Israel a year now. We
started a Messianic web-
site in France and we
teach people Torah and
Hebraic sources for 7
years.
We wrote different
books: Messianic Passover
Haggadah; Shavuot: the call
of Mount Sinai and the
gifting of the Ruach Hako-
desh; Messianic commen-
taries of the weekly Parasha.
We started a couple of
years ago an International
Distance Messianic Yeshiva
and have French speak-
ing students from differ-
ent countries. Our Ye-
shiva material will soon
be translated into English
and Hebrew and our
goal is to reach our peo-
ple here in the Land.
www.soucatdavid.israeli
net.org
The Renewed Cove-
nant by the light of
the Torah.
V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE 17

Killeen 1st Assembly of God

Jewish Roots Department

Overall Objectives:
To provide a venue for all those in the county who have a calling and a desire to
explore what it means to be Biblically Jewish as defined by Romans 2:12-29.

To teach and inform Christians that there is much to be gained by understanding

Jewish Biblical teachings as understood in Romans 3:1-2.

To provide a welcoming community for disfranchised Jews and Christians that they can
participate in - without the requirement of membership.

To celebrate the God given Sabbath and Feasts as best we can with a whole heart,
as taught in Exodus 20:10-11 and Leviticus 23:1-44

Friday Nights, 7PM

502 N. 38TH Street,
Killeen, Texas 76543

For more information

Call: (254) 394-1499 or 768-3593
E-mail: ourplace4@earthlink.net
 P AGE 18
Living out Torah and Spirit in my Life
I begin at the
beginning of my faith
journey. I had no reli-
gious affiliation when I
entered the Air Force in
1959. My dog tags sim-
ply read “protestant”.
Since I was born in
“Christian America” and
since I was not Catholic, I
assumed I was protes-
tant. I had attended Sun-
day school with a
neighbor on several occa-
sions and Easter Services
a couple times, but I had
never heard of being
“born again”.
From the very
beginning I had an inde-
By pendent relationship
with YHVH. My conver-
“Koray” sion experience was
unique in that it was not
(Cory) J. associated with evangel-
istic meetings, pastors,
lay ministries, tracts or
Lemmon even Churches. One eve-
ning in 1962 while on
military duty in the Far
East and alone in a bar-
racks, I came face to face
with myself. I didn‟t like
what I had become. All I
knew about Yeshua was
that if I sincerely ask He
would forgive my sins. I
repented and experi-
enced YHVH forgiveness
and His saving grace that
evening in the name of
Yeshua. I didn‟t even
know His true name.
Yeshua turned my life
around at that point.
My faith has
never been bound to a
particular tradition, de-
nominational creed or
belief system. Yeshua set
me free from the bond-
age of sin and I had ex-
perienced my first new
beginning. All the won-
derful ramifications of
the salvation experience
were years down the
road. I had little knowl-
edge of scripture. I had
no road map or instruc-
tions. I had no founda-
tions and no walls of pro-
tection. I had begun
building at the roof of
salvation instead of at the
foundation of knowl-
edge. I took many side
roads that led away from
truth. I got stuck in the
muck of layers of tradi-
tions. I learned that the
safest place to walk was
right in the center of His
will, but it was still a
mystery to know for cer-
tain what His will was.
A couple of times I
nearly drowned in the
wastewater of denomina-
tional legalism. But, He
was faithful to point me
back, “this is the “Way”
walk in it”. So, I stum-
bled along drifting first
to the right and then to
the left like a drunken
sailor. Finally my jour-
ney led me to investigate
the feasts of YHVH and
the rest is history.
It was not until I
saw Yeshua in the
broader context of the
whole Bible that He
made the final leap into
the very fabric of my life.
Torah shows me sin and
what I needed to pluck
up, tear down and toss
from my life. The Ruach
personalizes the Word
and teaches me through
the study of Scripture.
YHVH sanctifies us dur-
ing this process separat-
ing through us to Him-
self through thought,
word and deed.
This is what it
means to be in Yeshua
haMashiach. This is
what it is to have the
mind of Mashiach. This
is what it means to walk
in Torah and Spirit.
Mashiach Yeshua is more
than the principle charac-
ter of an interesting
Book. He is the Book.
He is Truth and Life and
the Way to it. He is more
than an anointed prophet
that spoke words of
depth and lasting truth.
He is those Words of
Truth. When we take the
Words in we are taking
Him in to our lives. He is
more than the perfect
example of Torah obser-
vant living. He is the life.
It seems as though each
denominational teacher
has discovered some
jewel of truth and than
abandoned the search too
soon. I was never satis-
fied with little pieces of
the truth.
Matthew 11:25: At that
time Yeshua answered and
said, I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
because thou hast hid these
things from the wise and
prudent, and hast revealed
them unto babes.
The hardest peo-
ple to share Truth with
are those who have their
theology welded in place
by years of “scholarly”
instructions. These are
the comfortable and com-
V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE
placent, who have no need
for new understanding or
their sleep disturbed.
Hebrews 5:12: For
when for the time ye ought to be
teachers, ye have need that one
teach you again which be the
first principles of the oracles of
God; and are become such as
have need of milk, and not of
strong meat.
It is hard for me to
understand how so many can
teach “Replacement Theology”
and that the Torah is done away
with. There are still those who
teach that the Lord’s Day is
Sunday and Sunday is the
Christian Sabbath. There are so
many errors that live on and are
held up only by men’s words.
My heart goes out to those who
have closed their minds. With
all the learning tools we mod-
erns have at our disposal, how
will anyone have an excuse for
perpetuating these falsehoods.
Matthew 7:22-23:
Many will say to me in
that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name?
and in thy name have cast out
devils? and in thy name done
many wonderful works? 23And
then will I profess unto them, I
never knew you: depart from
me, ye that work iniquity.
During my journey I
served in prayer groups, on
Church boards, in choirs, quar-
tets, as an evangelistic crusade
counselor, a local hospital night
Chaplin and I was a pastor for a
small church for 6 years. I
served in a Baptist Church,
Nazarene Church, Brethren
Church; I even had a short flir-
tation with Catholicism, all the
Saints and Mary. I even learned
the rosary mantra. I studied
other Eastern Religions in col-
lege. Even while I served I was
still a babe. I needed the foun-
dation. I was told that the New
Testament was all I needed and
that the Law had been done
away with. I was missing the
foundational words of Moshe,
the teachings of Solomon in
Proverbs, the Psalms of David
and the writings of the prophets.
1 Peter 2:2: As new-
born babes, desire the sincere
milk of the word, that ye may
grow thereby:
After experiencing the
“Church System” first hand as a
“Lay Minister” I decided to
walk away from mainstream
Christianity and search for the
“old paths”. I joined with a
faith community that some re-
ferred to as Amish, but were
actually Anna Baptist Brethren.
They stated they walked in obe-
dience to the entire Bible, liter-
ally where ever possible. They
had uniform dress codes and
fences all over the place. This
was a community of believers
who did many things according
to scripture, but like all the other
denominations they were yoked
to the dictates and traditions set
up by man ( Sunday Worship,
Easter, ect.,).
During the course of
my faith journey, I was baptized
7 times, according to different
tradition. One denomination
only recognized their own bap-
tism as valid. Another accepted
all baptisms. I was baptized
twice indoors and once outdoors
in moving water during freezing
weather. I was dipped back-
wards one time for the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, which
symbolized death, burial and
resurrection. I was baptized by
two difference denominations
that dipped me frontward one
time forward for each entity of
the Godhead separately. The
KJV bible puts an “and” be-
tween each. Father and Son and
Holy Ghost and the dipping had
to be forward because Jesus
bowed his head and gave up the
ghost. Each denomination has
developed justification for their
particular traditions.
19
Finally, after literally
40 years of wandering in the
wilderness of tradition and cir-
cling the mountain of worship-
ing on Yom Rishon (Sunday), I
faced it with Truth and it crum-
bled before my eyes. Like Is-
rael, I had traveled a long way After stumbling
to get there, but was home at
last. from pillar to
Deut. 2:3: Ye have compassed
this mountain long enough: turn post searching
you northward.
for truth I
YHVH guides us in all
“Truth” if we search for it. discovered the
When we live in Truth we live
in Yeshua haMashiach for He is Hebrew roots
Truth. I’m O.K. now I can rest
in Torah. He is Torah. The of our faith
Ruach is my teacher. He shows
and who I am
me what to pluck up and pull
down. in the big
When I left worshiping
in Church on Yom Rishon I be- picture. A
gan Sabbath worship with To-
rah observant believers. When I friend shared
gave up eating unclean things I with me a copy
was prepared already to eat
what YHVH declares as clean. of Dean and
When I backed away from
Easter…I replaced it with Pass Susan
Over and the list continues to go
Wheelock‟s
on.
Anytime we reject a “Hebrew
pagan falsehood we need to
incorporate the truth into our Roots”
lives. Batya’s books, Sterns
Complete Jewish Bible and a newsletter and
good Jewish calendar have been
a book by
helpful to my wife and I for
these things. The entire Bible Batya
seems new and exciting when
we read it with a Hebrew per- Wootten…
spective.
After stumbling from ”Who is
pillar to post searching for truth Israel”.
I discovered the Hebrew roots
of our faith and who I am in the
big picture. A friend shared
with me a copy of Dean and
Susan Wheelock’s “Hebrew
Roots’ newsletter and a book by
Batya Wootten….”Who is Is-
rael”. Thus began my second
new beginning.
Now I study scripture
P AGE 20
with excitement and pur-
pose. I worship with a
multi-racial Torah obser-
vant spirit filled faith com-
munity. There is true joy
there and it comes forth in
Hebraic dance and praise. I
enjoy an intimate relation-
ship with YHVH and the
Ruach speaks to my heart
all the time. These are
things I had never experi-
enced before. I sit under
the teaching of Pastor Terry
Swedlund at Shalom Al
Yisrael
(www.shalomalyisrael.org).
His wife Shoshana
operates a Judaic gift shop
in the storefront meeting-
house in Englewood, Ohio.
It is a great little congrega-
tion with wonderful teach-
ings and leaders with a real
commitment to teaching
Torah and Spirit. I praise
YHVH for such an oasis.
I know who I am.
I am part of the remnant of
Israel, an alien in this land,
but a citizen of the
“Commonwealth of Israel”.
I am part of the body of
Mashiach, the chosen and
espoused bride of Yeshua.
I am learning how to please
Him from “Torah”. He
honors my study as the
highest form of praise and
He communicates directly
to my heart through revela-
tion. There is no other book
or writings that can be
trusted completely. There
is not one man who’s words
are always true and without
error. The Bible is true in
it’s original form and lan-
guage and it belongs to the
believer, cover to cover.
I need no man -
made fences to keep me
from sin. I have YHVH’s
boundaries presented
clearly in Torah. If I stay in
Torah I will stay in Him
and if I am truly in Him I
will be in YHVH’s family,
the place of safety, my ref-
uge.
In the end I learned
there are several levels of
understanding in Torah. I
learned about the spiritual
significance of numbers in
scripture. The Ruach used
this knowledge to change
my life. I believe since my
wife of 34 years had passed
away in 1998 that a man my
age should be resigned to
living alone probably for
the rest of his life. In Au-
gust of 2005 I realized that I
had been grieving the loss
of my companion for seven
years. My new scriptural
understanding of numbers
told me that my grieving
was complete. I also realize
that the eighth year that I
was entering biblically
represents new beginnings.
For some reason I felt re-
lease and encouragement
from this understanding.
Maybe YHVH is really
concerned about every as-
pect of our lives? Maybe
He is beginning to guide my
life in a very real and prac-
tical way?
A short time there
after I met Sharon a won-
derful Torah observant Isra-
elite believer. We began
eating dinner together and
sharing Erev Shabbat. We
believe YHVH placed us
together. The THIRD
NEW BEGINNING had
been given to me. I have
never known any couple
more compatible or happier
than we are. It was a mira-
cle that we even met. So, I
can’t share how I live out
Torah without this account
of how we met. When His
“Way” became our Way
YHVH blessed. Sharon and
I were married under the
chupah with joy and danc-
ing. Sharon is a dancer and
YHVH has turned my
mourning into dancing.
Psalm 30:11
Thou hast turned
for me my mourning into
dancing: thou hast put off
my sackcloth, and girded
me with gladness; He had
turned our mourning into
dancing. . I look for
YHVH in everything. I
purchased the wedding ring
before I knew the spiritual
significant of numbers. The
ring has eleven tiny dia-
mond points on each side.
In scripture the number
eleven means disorder.
There is a small cluster in
the middle that connects
both sides. Together the
two sides add up to twenty-
two which means light.
Yeshua is the light that
brings order from chaos.
There are six small points
that make up a star in the
cluster with one in the cen-
ter adding up to seven the
number of divine comple-
tion, or perfection.
The point is
YHVH’s hand is guiding,
cautioning and encouraging
me now in new ways since I
began walking in the Torah
and Spirit.
V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE
Torah by Terry W. Hayes
Greet-
ings
in the
Name
of our
be-
loved
Mes-
siah
Ye-
shua;
and
welcome to the Lev HaTorah
– Heart of the Torah. Our
corner of the magazine will
be looking into the heart of
the Torah and its application
for us today. Many coming
back to the Torah struggle
with the issue of, „How does
the Torah and the Cross
work together?‟ It is our
hope to help bring light to
this important issue in com-
ing articles. We also will be
looking into the various 613
mitzvot and having discus-
sions on application. We will
be discussing Hebraic termi-
nology to help you gain a
better understanding what
you may be hearing, reading,
and much more.
There are a lot of
questions that a non-Jewish
person has when coming into
the Torah and the Hebraic
communities. We want to
help do our part in address-
ing them. The beauty of this
section is that I am non-
Jewish Israel, the congrega-
tion I attend is one that has
recaptured a lot of the He-
braic forms of worship and
we use a lot of liturgy and
have a men‟s minyan that
meets once a month for tradi-
tional prayer. We are mostly
a non-Jewish community but
our hearts is to restore the
ancient paths of our forefa-
thers, therefore our commu-
nity has taken on a more
Jewish flare. The beauty of
this is; I feel I have a lot to
offer from our experience. If
you are one who is new to
the Torah and may be non-
Jewish, welcome to the jour-
ney.
For our first teaching
we are going to look into,
„What is the Torah?‟
What is the Torah?
Most people when
they hear the word Torah,
they have one or two percep-
tions in mind.
1. The Torah is the first five
books of the Bible, written by
Moses.
2. The Torah is law and I am
now under grace, therefore
the Law has nothing to do
with me.
Both of these percep-
tions are somewhat right.
Their limited statement lacks
the complete understanding
of what Torah truly is.
It is our goal in this
teaching to begin to open the
doors to the Torah, so one
may look inside and see
what wonderful things that
our God gave us to live by.
HaShem even told us in His
own words that His Torah
would be our “wisdom and
understanding before the
21
nations” in Deuteronomy 4:6.
So what is the Torah
and what is it all about?
The word „Torah‟
comes from an archery term
“yara”, which means to “hit
the mark” – to “shoot
straight”. In understanding
this then one will see that the
obedience of the Torah will
cause you to, shoot straight
and hit the mark.
Most equate the
word „law‟ and „Torah‟ as
being the same because of Most equate the
some misunderstanding of
word „law‟ and
the word „Torah‟ by some
translators in the past. Torah „Torah‟ as being
does contain law within its
writings but all Torah is not the same because
law. Within the Torah you
will find a few other things of some
like, history, covenants, and
laws. misunderstanding
The laws contained of the word
within the Torah are broken
down into three groups. „Torah‟ by some
1. Testimonies: These are translators in the
commandments that are
given by God that could not past.
be invented by man but are
rationally comprehensible.
Such as, Shabbat, Festivals
and dietary laws.
2. Statutes: These are the
commandments that tran-
scend our understanding and
which we obey simply be-
cause they are the word of
God. Such as, the ashes of the
red heifer, or laws of jeal-
ousy.
Judgments: These are com-
mandments that man would
have compelled man to de-
vise even if they were not
P AGE 22
given by God. Such as,
the laws of restitution, “If
you borrow something
from your neighbor and
it becomes stolen or lost
you are to make restitu-
tion unto your
neighbor”.
Now to give full un-
derstanding to what the
Torah is all about from
its own description you
will begin to see that the
Torah, are the “Teachings
and Instructions of
HaShem”.
In our culture the
words “law” and
“commandments” have
become negative. The
Hebrew word that is
translated into the Eng-
lish as “commandment”
is „mitzvah‟ singular or
„mitzvoth‟ plural. The
word mitzvah can mean
commandment but it also
connotes much more.
Stated in the book, Mitz-
voth – A Sourcebook for
the 613 Commandments,
author Ronald H. Isaacs
writes,
“Judaism has always
been a religion of action
and deed than belief and
creed. Learning was in-
tended to lead to doing.
To that end, Jewish con-
duct has been governed
by a series of command-
ments, known in Hebrew
as mitzvoth. The scope of
meaning of the word
mitzvah is a wide one. It
denotes commandment,
law, obligation, and
deed, while connoting
goodness, value, piety,
and even holiness.”
Looking into God‟s first Messianic novel and
Torah, we will find that faith based short story
He asks us to do many series.
things. But the sum of
Torah is to love Adonai Ministry contact info:
our God with all our Way of the King
heart, soul, and resources ministries
and to love our neighbor
114 Stuart Rd. NE
as our self. All the Torah
falls into these two cate- PMB # 235
gories. In future articles Cleveland, TN 37312
we will look deeper into
these two great mitzvot.Y Email address:
wayofthek-
“HaShem (The ing@yahoo.com
Name) and or Adonai
(My Lord) is used in ref-
erence to the Sacred
Name Y-H-W-H in all
our articles. This is done
out of personal convic-
tion.
Out of personal con-
viction the Lev HaTorah
department uses
“HaShem (The Name)
and or Adonai (My Lord)
in reference to the Sacred
Name Y-H-W-H in all its
articles.
Terry, his wife
Doyala and their two
daughters Amber and
Allison attend Bethavara
Hebraic Assembly in
Cleveland, TN where
Terry is one of the Torah
teachers of the Bethavara
community.
In 2005 Terry began
Way of the King Minis-
tries. The ministry is a
teaching ministry reach-
ing out to the Christian
and Messianic world.
The ministry has pro-
duced one book,
„Counting the Omer a
Daily reflection and Jour-
nal Vol. 1”. Terry is cur-
rently working on his
V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE 23

We extend you an invitation to join us when you

are in the Las Cruces, New Mexico area.

We have Torah study on Tuesday evenings and

Shabbat service on Saturday morning at 10:00am
followed by a pot-luck Oneg (lunch), and Bible
Study. We close out Shabbat with a short
Havdallah service.

We would be happy to have you join us and if you

are considering relocating to our area give us a
call or drop us a line.

Las Cruces has been rated as the #1 small city in

the nation. We are blessed with an abundance of
sunshine, mountains, desert, clean air and mild
winters.

Etz Chayim-Tree of Life Messianic Congregation

 P AGE 24
Founding Fathers of Faith by Jeanette Cabrera
As Fall ap-
proaches each year
my thoughts turn to
the first settlers that
stepped upon this
new land. It was
taught to us in
school that aboard
the vessels these
pilgrims brought with
them the many Christian
Pilgrims signing the
Mayflower Compact, in practices and traditions
founded from Europe’s
1620, on board the May-
great Myths and legends.
flower. The compact is a I have encountered those
landmark in U.S. consti- who when finding that I
tutional development. have abandoned my an-
From an engraving by cient Christian traditions,
Gauthier, after T. H. Mat- chiding me for disregard-
teson. (Courtesy, Library ing the sacrifice made by
our founding fathers for
of Congress.)
the traditions they were
so willing to die for to
the future generations.
I found this eloquent
rebuttal, to be worthy of
study and research. After
all my fourth and fifth
grade information on the
subject was sparse at
best, and my recall of
those studies I realized
was even worse.
Christians frequently
refer to the Puritan Pil-
grims as the “Founding
Fathers” of their faith.
Christian youths boast
this proudly whenever
the State appears to
come into conflict with
religious ideals. Let us
examine exactly in his-
torical documents what
religious rights these Pu-
ritans were being perse-
cuted for in their home-
land of England.
Here is a brief
summary of the escalat-
ing division culminating
in a historic event.
" The 24th of Au-
gust 1662, is the date of
what Church History has
called "The Great Ejec-
tion". It was on that day
that almost 2,000 minis-
ters of the Church of
England were ejected
from their churches, and
pulpits, and homes, be-
cause, "for conscience
sake", as they put it, they
could not bring them-
selves to submit to "An
Act of Uniformity" drawn
up by Charles 11 and his
bishops.
Under Henry, the
Church in England had
been "reformed", but it
wasn't long until many
were beginning to ques-
tion whether or not the
reform had gone far
enough. These people
became known as
"Puritans". It was the Pu-
ritans' desire to move the
Reformation right to the
point where everything
that had been added to
the Church during the
middle ages by the
Popes of Rome would be
cast out, and not only the
doctrine of the Church,
but the practice and the
discipline of the Church
be "purified"; so they
were called the Puritans.
The main body of
opinion in the Church at
this time was that "things
indifferent, which are nei-
ther contrary to Scripture,
nor forbidden by it, may
be imposed by the
Church or some lawful
power". The "things in-
different" referred to
were things such as
candles, crosses, vest-
ments, and altars. The
Puritans held that noth-
ing that was not entirely
consistent with the
teaching of the Bible
should be maintained;
"for, if they be kept in the
Church as things indiffer-
ent", said John Hooper,
who has been called "the
father of Puritanism",
"they will at length be
maintained as things
necessary."
-Mayflower.com
We see here that the Pu-
ritans rejected Crosses,
Candles, altars and vest-
ments that made up the
liturgical articles of the
Church. Could candles
and crosses be enough
to load pilgrims aboard a
ship making a journey
with known perils of dis-
ease, scurvy, food short-
ages and often
death? Let us examine
further their holy day
observance according to
the historical site of Pil-
grims.Org;
"The Pilgrims did not
celebrate Christmas and
Easter. They believed
that these holidays were
invented by man to me-
morialize Jesus, and are
not prescribed by the
Bible or celebrated by the
early Christian churches,
V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE
and therefore cannot be con-
sidered Holy days. "It seems
too much for any mortal man
to appoint, or make an anni-
versary memorial" for Christ,
taught the Pilgrims' pastor
John Robinson." - Pilgrim
Hall.org
The Puritans rejected the
most Holy and revered days
of the Church, and this they
knew was no small issue for
already many believers had
previously been martyred for
this very reason. Once the
Puritans disembarked the
Mayflower at Massachusetts
Bay they enacted this law
regarding the Christmas Holy
Day;
" For preventing disor-
ders, arising in several places
within this jurisdiction by
reason of some still observ-
ing such festivals as were
superstitiously kept in other
communities, to the great
dishonor of God and offense
of others: it is therefore or-
dered by this court and the
authority thereof that whoso-
ever shall be found observing
any such day as Christmas or
the like, either by forbearing
of labor, feasting, or any
other way, upon any such
account as aforesaid, every
such person so offending
shall pay for every such of-
fence five shilling as a fine to
the county."
From the records of the
General Court,
Massachusetts Bay Col-
ony
May 11, 1659
Banbury's ancient
High or Market Cross was
demolished by the puritans
25
years ago.
Ecclesiastes 1:9
“What has been will be again,
what has been done will be My journey
done again; there is nothing
new under the sun. Is there into these
anything of which one can
say, “look! This is something founding
New?” It was here already,
The first Thanksgiving, long ago; it was here before fathers,
our time.”
October 1621, by Brown-
remarkedly
scombe
resemble the
on 26th of July 1600. It stood
on a section of the Market very faith I
Place in Banbury where it is
now commemorated by a am also
plaque. Other Crosses previ-
ously in the town were de- embarked
molished about the same
time. Although Banbury was upon.
without a cross for over
250 years, the memory sus-
tained no doubt by the
rhyme, “Ride a Cock Horse to
Banbury Cross,” remained
with the local population Banbury Cross, Banbury
throughout that period. It Massachusetts
became a physical fact
again in 1859 when the
corporation of Banbury
erected a new cross in
decorated gothic form at
the most prominent road
junction in Banbury.
My journey into these
founding fathers, remarka-
bly resemble the very faith
I am also embarked upon.
I feel the edifying voices of
those first settlers who
recognized that the faith
of Christ and the Apostles
was even then being bur-
ied under ancient Pagan
Myth and folklore.
Let us now be encour-
aged and inspired to con-
tinue in the work started
for us in this land 400
 P AGE 26
By Hadassah Veirs
The Shunam- Obedience to Torah
mite Woman ~ In Hebrew Shunem
Lessons and The Nameless means “double resting
encourage- Hostess place”.It was in very
ment for 2 Kings 4:8-37
close proximity to the
Via Maris, an ancient
Messianic trade route still in exis-
Women tence today. It linked
Egypt with Damascus
Today and is also known as
the International Costal
Highway, and in an-
cient times - Way of
the Philistines. At the
Philistine Plain, the
road branches off into
two directions. One
The story of the Shu- continues to follow the
nammite woman is an Mediterranean, while
excellent illustration of the other heads more
how we as women are inland towards the Jez-
to live our lives before reel Valley. Shunem
YHWH. Her story takes was located close to
place at the city this road, and for those
Shunem, located in traveling this may have
northern Israel in the been the perfect place
territory of Issachar. to rest and refresh
(Avishag who nursed yourself before con-
King David in his old tinuing on. Here we
age was also from find the Shunammite
Shunem.) Scripture de- woman at the very be-
scribes her as “a great ginning of the passage,
woman”, probably in obedience to Torah.
wealthy, highly re-
spected and well It fell on a day, that
known in the area. Her Elisha passed to
husband was an older Shunem, where was a
man and they were great woman; and she
childless. These are constrained him to eat
things that the casual bread. So it was, that
reader will learn, but as often as he passed
there is so much more by, he turned in there
to our nameless host- to eat bread. (2 Kings
ess! 4:8)
The prophet Elisha was
passing to Shunem,
probably from the Via
Maris, and there was a
great woman who con-
strained him to eat.
Please take note that
Elisha was not asking
for bread, but the Shu-
nammite woman in
obedience to Torah
offered and encour-
aged him to eat. I
would go as far to say
that she did not do it
for him alone. Showing
hospitality is a Torah
command.
(Deuteronomy 10:18)
In Biblical times hospi-
tality was extremely
important. Travel took
days, sometimes weeks
and water was pre-
cious. There was also
robbers and unsavory
individuals to contend
with. One never knew
who to trust - pretty
much like today. In
these days we can
travel quickly from one
place to another, how-
ever that does not re-
lease us from helping
one another. The Shu-
nammite woman obvi-
ously took this obliga-
tion seriously since she
was in a location where
she could see people
who were passing by
to offer them suste-
nance.
The definition of hos-
V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE
pitality is the friendly
treatment of guests or
strangers. I am reminded
of our Messiah’s words
when he said, For if you
love those who love you,
what reward do you have?
Don't even the tax collec-
tors do the same? If you
only greet your friends,
what more do you do than
others? Don't even the tax
collectors do the same?
(Matthew 6:46-47)
In the parable of the
Good Samaritan, the ulti-
mate example of hospital-
ity, the victim was robbed,
beaten and stripped. His
garments, either by color
or the way they were
worn, would have identi-
fied him, or where he was
from, but they were stolen.
The men who passed by, a
priest and a Levite, un-
doubtably would have
helped the stranger if he
had been one of them, but
they did not know so they
passed him by. The Sa-
maritan, not having any
idea who this man was, or
what his beliefs were, got
him off the road, cared for
his injuries, and made ar-
rangements for his future
care.
At some point in during
Elisha’s going back and
forth past Shunem, the
woman sensed that he was
a prophet of God. She said
to her husband, See now, I
perceive that this is a holy
man of God, that passes
by us continually. Let us
make, Please, a little
chamber on the wall; and
let us set for him there a
bed, and a table, and a
seat, and a lamp stand:
and it shall be, when he
comes to us, that he shall
turn in there. (2 Kings 4:9)
It is said that woman are
more spiritually discerning
than men, and perhaps
this is how she recognized
Elisha was a prophet of
Elohim. When we live for
YHWH and strive to do His
will we are able to recog-
nize this in others.
She then takes Torah
obedience a step further
by suggesting to her hus-
band that they provide
him with a comfortable,
and private place in their
home where he rest for a
time before continuing
on. This reveals to us her
compassion and love for
YHWH by seeking to aid
His servant. Just from what
we know of her so far, El-
isha’s room was not some-
thing that was hastily
thrown together by his
hostess. He would have
had everything he needed,
and I imagine his room
would have been very
pleasant and comfortable.
She would not have given
the prophet of YHWH any-
thing less!
Respect for her Husband
The Shunammite was a
woman who also had re-
spect for her husband.
27
Even though she was a
woman of wealth and was
respected herself, she did
not fail to show respect to
her husband by involving
him in the matter and
leaving the final decision The
to him. Very often women Shunammite
see a thing that needs to
be done, and immediately was a woman
we dig right in and do it. who also had
There is nothing wrong
with this. YHWH made us respect for her
this way. However, we husband. Eevn
should always show re-
spect for our husband’s though she was
position in the home. This a woman of
does not make us subser-
vient - it makes us part- wealth and
ners. In marriage we are
was respected
two halves working to-
gether and complimenting herself, she did
one another. The relation-
not fail to
ship between the woman
and her husband was one show respect
of mutual respect, as we
to her husband
see in the narrative that he
trusted her judgement. by involving
This trust did not come
him in the
from seeking to satisfy her
own whims, but in making matter and
her husband a part of
leaving the
whatever happened in
their home. final decision
to him.
Contentment
He said to him, Say now to
her, Behold, you have
been careful for us with all
this care; what is to be
done for you? would you
be spoken for to the king,
or to the captain of the
host? She answered, I
dwell among my own peo-
ple. (2 Kings 4:13)
When we are obedient,
P AGE 28

content in it. own. However, the

(Philippines 4:11) prophet Elisha did not
deceive her, and she
Humility did indeed have a son.
our Father says He will We can only imagine
bless us. By showing This was also a humble the joy of this woman
kindness to the woman. Even though along with her hus-
prophet, the Shunam- she was a wealthy, and band, that her simple
mite woman is now in Scripture refers to her acts of kindness and
a position to be as isha Gadol (a great generosity led to the
blessed for that kind- woman), when she ad- gift of a child.
ness. Instead she asks dresses Elisha, she re- Some years
for nothing. We are fers to herself as his later the chid fell ill
not obedient because handmaiden - his ser- when he was with his
of what we will gain vant. Humble your- father. (2 Kings 4:18-
from it, but because selves therefore under 19) The father had the
we love our Father. the mighty hand of servants take him to
When we help others God, that he may exalt his mother, where he
we may sometimes you in due time . 1 Pe- died on her knees at
expect them to do the ter 5:6 noon. Her anguish
same for us, however most certainly would
we should have no Faith have been unbearable
such expectation. The when she realized that
ability of another to Last, but certainly not the child had died, but
repay, or to do for us least, the Shunammite we do not read that
should not come into woman had great faith. she grieved at all. In-
question. ...but you When she is first told stead, she took him to
shall surely open your that she will have a the room that Elisha
hand to him, and shall son, her first response stayed in and laid him
surely lend him suffi- may seem like a lack of on the bed. When dis-
cient for his need [in faith: He said, At this aster strikes or we im-
that] which he wants. season, when the time mediately seek YHWH,
(Deuteronomy 15:8) comes round, you shall and those who are
We are to give suffi- embrace a son. She close to him. For the
cient for the need, not said, No, my lord, you Shunammite woman it
holding back, remem- man of God, do not lie was a perfectly natural
bering that our re- to your handmaid. (2 thing to lay her dead
sources come from Kings 4:16) Her re- child on the bed of the
YHWH - not to sate on sponse here is not a prophet.
our own lusts and de- lack of faith as some At this point we
sires, but in order to would suppose, but do not know if she has
help those in need. the cry of a woman revealed her son’s
Our being content who month after death to anyone, but
comes from the knowl- month experienced she did ask her hus-
edge that our creator disappointment, and band for a servant and
supplies all of our then as the years a donkey so that she
needs. Not that I speak passed, came to the could go quickly to the
in respect to lack, for I crushing realization prophet. Her husband
have learned in what- that she would never immediately ques-
ever state I am, to be embrace a child of her tioned her, He said,
V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE
Why will you go to him
today? it is neither new
moon nor Sabbath. (2
Kings 4:23) This verse lets
us know that people did
indeed gather together on
these days to hear the
Word from the prophets
and teachers. Her re-
sponse was a simple one,
but the strength and faith
behind those words was
powerful. It shall be well.
The distance from
her home to Mt Carmel
was at least 20 miles. To
us that may seem minimal,
but she was going by don-
key. I was curious as to
how long it would take a
donkey to travel that dis-
tance, and was surprised
to learn that they can go
as fast as 30 mph on rocky
terrain. It was very possi-
ble that she was able to
reach Elisha at Mt. Carmel,
and then return with him
before nightfall, since she
told the servant that ac-
companied her, “Drive,
and go forward; slacken
me not the riding, except I
bid thee.” (2 Kings 4:24)
Gehazi, the servant
of Elisha saw her coming
while she was afar off.
(Could she have been
wearing something that
identified her to him?) He
informed Elisha, who sent
sent Gehazi to inquire if all
was well with her, her hus-
band and the child. Here
Elisha was probably think-
ing as her husband was - it
is not a new moon or a
Sabbath. Again she re-
sponded, “It is well.”
Was it well? We
wouldn’t think so ! Her
son was dead, but she
knew that the God who
had miraculously given
her the child, could also
restore him. Because of
her faith she could say
with assurance, “It is well.”
How do we react
when disaster strikes?
Does our faith get lost in
the panic? Our first reac-
tion should be to seek
YHWH, and those who be-
lieve in Him to pray with
us and for us.
He went up, and
lay on the child, and put
his mouth on his mouth,
and his eyes on his eyes,
and his hands on his
hands: and he stretched
himself on him; and the
flesh of the child grew
warm. Then he returned,
and walked in the house
once back and forth; and
went up, and stretched
himself on him: and the
child sneezed seven times,
and the child opened his
eyes.
He called Gehazi, and
said, Call this Shunammite.
So he called her. When
she was come in to him,
he said, Take up your son.
(2King 4:34-36)
There are some
who are unaware that the
dead were raised before
Yeshua’s time on earth.
Those miracles were per-
formed before, during,
and after Yeshua. He does
not change, and will al-
ways come to save, heal,
and stand in the way for
29
those who are righteous
and faithful. Just as the
Shunammite woman ex-
pected a miracle, so we
also should expect YHWH
to act on our behalf, what-
ever the circumstances.
The Shunammite Hadassah
woman was kind and gen-
erous, with a humble Veirs has an
heart; who showed respect
for her husband, was con- online
tent, and had great faith in
YHWH in the midst of per- magazine
sonal tragedy. Her faithful
for women
actions regained the life
of her son. Although we called
are never given her name,
everything that is impor- “Sarah‟s
tant about her is revealed.
This is a woman who is Tent.”
focus is on YHWH and it
shines through in every
thing she did.
Hadassah has been mar-
ried to husband James for
25 years. They are the par-
ents of six children, and
we have home schooled
for 12 years. They cur-
rently reside in northern
Ohio. As she searched the
Internet for information
she realized how little
there was specifically for
women who believed in
Yeshua, and were being
called to Torah obedience.
It wasn't long before
Sarah's Tent (an online
magazine) was born.
YHWH has sent some
wonderful women to work
with her, and it is our
hope that this publication
will encourage, support,
and inspire as you walk in
obedience to the Father.
P AGE 30

Founding Fathers of Faith by Jeanette Cabrera

Sarah's Tent
www.sarahstent.info

An E-magazine for Messianic Women

Sarah's Tent is a quarterly online magazine

with information and resources for women
of the Messianic faith.

Torah studies by Messianic teachers* kosher

information and recipes*

Feast information* timely and encouraging

articles* resources for children*

Study and encouragement for women who

are unequally yoked, and coming soon in our
Fall 2007 issue, the first of a four part series
 V OLUME 1, ISSUE
THE BIBLE AND HEALTH by Dr. Art Lee
3 John 1:2 Beloved, I
wish above all things that
thou mayest prosper and be
in health, even as thy soul
prospereth.
What is single He-
brew word that summarizes
this verse? I believe it is
"shalom". John seems to rec-
ognize that total shalom in-
cludes success in all aspects
of life including health of
body and mind. In this series
of articles we will examine
verses in The Scripture that
emphasize these themes and
see how closely we can apply
them to contemporary health
issues.
With the exponential
rise in health information out
there, there is also the risk of
a lot of misinformation. Who
would have thought that
physicians would have the
added pressure of TV ads
that encourage patients to
tell their physicians about
new medicines for certain
health conditions?
"Consumer oriented health
care" is being discussed.
What does this mean? Is it a
marketing technique? Does it
mean that the consumer now
determines the best treat-
ment for personal health is-
sues?
In the last few years
the Human Genome Project
has been in the news. To
some it is the potential for
the greatest advances in
medical science that the
world has ever seen. To some
it is frightenly close to
"playing God". Between these
extremes there are profound
implications for personal
health. We will discuss some
1 P AGE 31
of those things. cular benefits, according to
A note about the the results of a study re-
tone of these articles. I will ported in the October issue
try to be very balanced in my of the Journal of Behavioral
approach to issues raised. I Medicine.[8]"
do have personal biases and I
will freely admit them when  Dr. Lee is a Family Physi-
appropriate. I am also not cian with a range of interests
too shy to say "I don't know." from individual to public
I will welcome input from all health and medical ethics to A
who are interested in health integrating nutrition and
issues. I will, because of wellness principles with the Forgiving
medical ethics, refrain from best of mainstream and com-
making diagnoses. It is also plementary medicine. nature
downright dangerous since I
can't have personal contact lowers blood
with you. However, when
 The lead facilitator
there are issues about the
(teacher or "betlan") for Bible
Study Messiah's Congrega- pressure
implications of new medical
discoveries I will help outline
tion in St. Louis, Missouri.
major issues and direct read-
ers to additional information  Husband and father of 3.
sources that I believe are Happy to be a part of The
credible.I also welcome read- Restoration of Israel.
ers sharing with me informa-
tion that may be beneficial. I
will also remain flexible
enough to change things
when it seems to fit your
changing interests.
Finally, consider
this portion of an article on
my favorite professional
website:
Forgiving Nature Lowers
Blood Pressure
Hypertension Highlights
Type A, Race, Anger, Forgive-
ness, Plus Stroke, HRT, and
Hydralazine - The Bad, the
Good, and the To-Be-
Avoided. [1]; "People who This is not a picture of Dr.
have a forgiving nature and Lee
are able to forgive a per-
ceived offender after an in-
terpersonal conflict have
lower blood pressure levels,
with consequent cardiovas-
 P AGE 32
Continued from page 4:
In this passage we see
God referring to Himself
as not only the Re-
deemer but as Savior.
This is very important
because the Hebrew
used in this passage is:
Is %[e y vi A m Moshiach
Yeshua which is the Hebrew
word for anointed one
God? and while it can be used
to identify a king,
prophet, etc., it is used
in this passage to iden-
tify the Lord, God, as
both Savior and Re-
deemer and this is from
the Orthodox Jewish
translation of the
Tanach. The concept of
a Savior was not a for-
eign idea to the Israel-
ites of old. It is a foreign
idea to the Jewish peo-
ple of today in the sense
that it relates to Yeshua
but in Orthodox Judaism
the idea of the Messiah
is one that is prayed for
daily. So in their own
Scriptures God identifies
Himself as both Savior
and Redeemer taking on
the aspects of the kins-
man redeemer (blood
relative) and Savior, the
Messiah. Can it be
shown any plainer than
this that the Lord is God
and as God He has cho-
sen to take upon Himself
both aspects of the re-
quirements for redeem-
ing His people and sav-
ing them. But I know
that you might be saying
at this point that he has
not shown us that Ye-
shua is God. Is not Ye-
shua accepted as the
Messiah and if so then is
not God identifying Him-
self as the Messiah in
this passage of Scrip-
ture?
Isaiah 60:16: You
will nurse from the milk
of the nations and from
the breast of kings will
you nurse; then you will
realize that I, the Lord,
am your Savior and your
Redeemer, the Mighty
One of Jacob.
Isaiah 63:16: For
You are our Father;
though Abraham may
not know us and Israel
may not recognize us,
You, the Lord, are our
Father; “our Eternal Re-
deemer is Your Name.
5769 ~l'A[ `owlam {o
-lawm'} or ~l'[o `olam
{o-lawm'} long dura-
tion, antiquity, futurity,
for ever, ever, everlast-
ing, evermore, perpet-
ual, old, ancient, world,
ancient time, long time
(of past), (of future), for
ever, always, continuous
existence, perpetual,
everlasting, indefinite or
unending future, eter-
nity
God has always been
and will always be. He is
our Father and Eternal
Redeemer forever. This
idea of forever means
what has been, is and
will be which perfectly
describes the nature of
God. He has always
been. As He said Him-
self—I AM! So from this
we must conclude that
Yeshua has always been
because He is the
Moshiach, the anointed
One. He has not simply
been chosen by God for
a purpose but He has
always been the same
as God has always been.
So they are one and the
same yet different. Now
please do not jump on
me for that statement.
You are probably saying
to yourself, if he is say-
ing that they are one yet
different, then he is say-
ing that there is more
than one God and if he
is saying that then he
buys into the trinity con-
cept.
Please keep in mind
that just because a con-
cept or idea has become
tainted with paganistic
trappings that it does
not mean that the whole
concept of idea is bad.
Remember that the To-
rah has existed from the
beginning and that pa-
ganism has its birth in
Babylon with Nimrod.
The truth of who God is
preceded the paganistic
ideas that came later.
Why does the nature of
God have to line up with
our thinking? Why do we
find it necessary to put
God into a limited box or
confine just so that we
can be comfortable with
our thoughts or beliefs?
God is God and can do
whatever He desires.
Corinthians 1:30: It is
His doing that you are
united with the Messiah
Yeshua. He has become
wisdom for us from God,
and righteousness and
holiness and redemption
as well!
629 avpolu,trwsij apo-
lutrosis {ap-ol-oo'-tro-
sis}
a releasing effected by
payment of ransom, re-
demption, deliverance,
liberation procured by
the payment of a ran-
som
This is the same con-
cept as the Hebrew word
for redeemer or redemp-
tion. That one has
bought the redemption
for a price.
Ephesians 1:7: In
V OLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P AGE
union with Him, through the
shedding of His blood, we
are set free—our sins are
forgiven; this accords with
the wealth of the grace.
859 a;fesij aphesis {af'-es
-is}
release from bondage or
imprisonment, forgiveness
or pardon, of sins (letting
them go as if they had
never been committed),
remission of the penalty
Now I am beginning to
present the concept that
along with redemption and
saving comes the idea of
forgiveness. This forgive-
ness is for sin and only God
can offer that forgiveness.
So if God refers to Himself
as Savior, Redeemer and
the Forgiver of sins and Ye-
shua took this upon Himself
then is this a mere empow-
ering on the part of God of
a mere mortal or is this that
part of God that is the Mes-
siah?
Colossians 2:9: For in
Him, bodily, lives the full-
ness of all that God is.
Isaiah 43:25: I, only I,
am He Who wipes away
your willful sins for My sake,
and I shall not recall your
sins.
Only God can wipe away
our sins. So if only God can
remove our sins and Yeshua
can do the same then Ye-
shua cannot be a mere
mortal empowered by God
for this purpose but must
be without a shadow of a
doubt God! I am not making
this assumption based on
my interpretation of Scrip-
ture but I am basing my
belief on the word of God.
And who is the Word of
God?
John-Yochanan 1:1-5:
In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word
was God. He was with God
in the beginning. All things
came to be through Him,
and without Him nothing
made had being. In Him
was life, and the life was
the light of mankind. The
light shines in the dark-
ness, and the darkness has
not suppressed it.
D e u t e r o n o m y - De va r i m
32:15: Jeshrun became fat
and kicked. You became
fat, you became thick, you
became corpulent—and it
deserted its Maker, and
was contemptuous of the
Rock of its salvation.
Interesting enough the
title of this Book of the
Torah is Devarim, which in
the Hebrew means words.
Where the word Maker is
used here in the Hebrew it
actually says Elohah, which
means God or god. Who is
the Rock of its salvation?
Here in the Orthodox Jew-
ish translation the word
Rock is capitalized indicat-
ing that Rock in this pas-
sage is referring to the
Messiah. The Messiah is a
Jewish or Hebrew concept
not a concept unique to
Christianity alone. Christi-
anity draws its roots, its
nourishment from Judaism
and Hebraic customs, tra-
ditions, beliefs and teach-
ings. So the idea that Ye-
shua is God is a Jewish or
Hebraic one not just a
Christian one.
2 Samuel 22:2-3: He
said: The Lord is my Rock,
my Fortress, and my Res-
cuer. God, my Rock in
Whom I take shelter, my
Shield, and the Horn of my
Salvation, my Stronghold
and my Refuge. My Savior,
You save me from vio-
lence.
33
6697 rWc tsuwr {tsoor}
or rcu tsur {tsoor}
rock, cliff, rocky wall, cliff,
rock (with flat surface),
block of stone, boulder,
rock (specific), rock (of
God), rock (of heathen
gods) Rock
4043 !gEm' magen {maw-
gane'} also (in pl.) fem.
hNgIm. miginnah {meg-in-
naw'} shield, buckler Only God
4 498 sAnm' ma now c
can wipe
{maw-noce'}
flight, refuge, place of es-
cape, flight, refuge, place away our
of escape
sins.
3467 [v;y" yasha` {yaw-
shah'}
to save, be saved, be de-
livered, to be liberated, be
saved, be delivered, to be
saved (in battle), be victo-
rious, to save, deliver, to
save from moral troubles,
to give victory to
This passage just about
sums it all up about who
God is. And after reading
this passage you don’t
come to the same conclu-
sions that I do that God
and Yeshua are the same
or share the same attrib-
utes then nothing much
beyond what I am saying
will sink in. We need to
drop our preconceived no-
tions about God and accept
what He says about Him-
self in Scripture. He could
not make it any clearer
that God is Yeshua and
that He and He alone can
forgive sins and is Salva-
tion and our Redeemer
1 Chronicles 16:23: Sing
to the Lord, everyone on
earth, announce His salva-
tion daily.
P AGE 34
At['Wvy> Salvation in dearly but who are we to
say that we understand
this passage is in the the nature of God so
Hebrew Yeshuato which clearly that we can
is translated as His sal- make statements that to
vation. His is capitalized believe in three separate
once more to indicate Gods is to believe in a
that this is referring to paganistic belief. Are we
God. Once again the so sure of ourselves that
translation that I am we are infallible to the
using in all the Old Tes- point of making judg-
tament or First Testa- ments about our fellow
ment Scriptures are brothers and sisters. I
from an Orthodox Jewish would be very careful
translation from about making state-
Artscroll. Clearly in this ments that condemn our
passage we can see the brothers and sisters
Name of Yeshua being while lifting ourselves up
used here. If we are in- as the absolute source
structed to sing to the of the truth associated
Lord and to announce with understanding the
His salvation daily what nature or composition of
are we being instructed God.
to do here? Are we be-
ing told to announce the Only God knows His
salvation of God in nature. He allows us
terms that this salvation glimpses of it now and
is something separate again but leaves room
from God and He is just for speculation within a
the Source of it or are Scriptural boundary.
we being instructed that Whatever way we want
the salvation is the Lord to envision the nature of
and we are to praise God we have to assume
Him every day for it? that because He is om-
Well to my mind and nipotent and omnipres-
understanding whether ent that He can darn
or not it is God or God’s well do whatever He
salvation it still comes chooses to do and we
from Him and its Source are the last ones He has
is contained in Him. So to explain Himself to.
Yeshua is the salvation Whatever way we
of the Lord and is God. choose to approach the
concept of the nature of
Not too long ago a God is there an absolute
brother in the faith right way and an abso-
wrote an article about lute wrong way?
the oneness of God. In it
he stated that God is Luke 1:69: By raising up
one and that Yeshua for us a mighty Deliverer
comes from the Lord. I who is a descendant of
have no problem with His servant David.
that concept. He went
on to say that if accept Acts 4:11-12: “This
that Yeshua is separate Yeshua is the stone re-
from God then we are jected by you builders
invoking the belief in a which has become the
triune God or the trinity cornerstone [Psalm
of three separate Gods 118:22]. There is salva-
which is a pagan con- tion in no one else! For
cept. I love my brother there is no other name
under heaven given to
mankind by whom we
must be saved!”
How can it be said
any plainer than this.
There is salvation in
no one else! If there is
no salvation in anybody
except Yeshua then is
this not a statement that
Yeshua is God. Think
about it. If Yeshua is not
God then would He not
be blaspheming and
breaking His own com-
mandments, His own
Torah, by making this
claim? Of course these
words being spoken here
are not direct quotes
from Yeshua Himself but
are accepted to have
been written by Luke a
talmid (student) of Rav
Shaul-Paul. But in an
accepted teaching style
of the rabbis of old it
was allowed that one
could quote from the
Scriptures and then offer
an opinion on that pas-
sage of Scripture. Ye-
shua did this Himself
when He went to the
synagogue in His home
town and read from
Isaiah and then made
the statement that He
was the fulfillment of
that prophetic passage.
Could a man have said
that? Would not have a
man or a false Messiah
been proven wrong in
that? Have not false
Messiahs risen up
throughout the millenia
and been proven false
time and time again?
Many say that the
death and resurrection
of Yeshua was a plot by
His talmidim to affirm
His statements about
Himself and their intent
to confirm Him as Mes-
siah. Some say that he
did not really die on the
V OLUME 1, ISSUE
tree that He just passed
out and that His followers
took Him away and He
lived His life in seclusion.
And people believe this!
How amazing is the delu-
sion that hasatan can place
upon us. The only one that
can benefit from this lie
straight from the pit of hell
is satan! How can we
benefit from a lie of this
magnitude except to deny
who Yeshua is and what
His purpose was and is.
Revelation 7:10: and
they shouted, “Victory to
our God, who sits on the
throne, and to the Lamb!”
Now, of course, you
can make the claim that in
this passage it is referring
to God, the Lord, sitting on
His throne and to Yeshua,
the Lamb, standing at His
right hand and if so then
Yeshua could not be God
because He is separate
from God.
It says this in Psalm
110:1: Regarding David, a
psalm. The word of the
Lord to my master, “Wait
at My right, until I make
your enemies a stool for
your feet.”
In other translations it is
commonly rendered as The
affirmation of Jehovah to
my Lord: 'Sit at My right
hand, Till I make thine
enemies thy footstool.'
3068 hw" ho y> Yehovah
{yeh-ho-vaw'}
Jehovah = "the existing
One", the proper name of
the one true God, unpro-
nounced except with the
vowel pointings of 0136
0113 !Ada' 'adown {aw-
done'} or (shortened)
1 P AGE
doa' 'adon {aw-done'}
firm, strong, lord, master,
lord, master, reference to
men, superintendent of
household, of affairs, mas-
ter, king, reference to God,
the Lord God, Lord of the
whole earth, lords, kings,
reference to men, proprietor
of hill of Samaria, master,
husband, prophet, governor,
prince, king, reference to
God, Lord of lords (probably
= "thy husband, the Lord"),
my lord, my master, refer-
ence to men, master, hus-
band, prophet, prince, king,
father, Moses, priest, theo-
phanic angel,captain, general
recognition of superiority,
reference to God, my Lord,
my Lord and my God, Adonai
(parallel with the Lord)
The Jewish interpretation
here is that the second refer-
ence to Lord is to mean not
Lord by master, a secondary
meaning to imply that the
Lord, who they acknowledge,
is the first reference is not
the second reference be-
cause if they acknowledged
that the second Lord was the
same as the first then they
would have to be acknowl-
edging that God is more than
one and they will not do
that.
2 Samuel 22:32: For who
is God besides the Lord, and
who is a Rock besides our
God?
The Lord is God and the
Rock is God.
Matthew-Mattityahu 16:18: I
also tell you this: you are
Kefa” [which means „Rock‟],
and on this rock I will build
my Community, and the
gates of Sh‟ol will not over-
come it.
Is this Rock Peter? Not in
the context of 2 Samuel
22:32. The Rock is God and
therefore Yeshua and Yeshua
! is making a statement about
Himself to Peter in this pas-
35
sage from Matthew based on
this passage from 2 Samuel
and many other passages in
the Tanach that speak about
the Messiah being a Rock
and that Rock being God.
It says this in Colossians
1:14-17: It is through His
Son that we have redemp-
tion—that is, our sins have
been forgiven. He is the visi-
ble image of the invisible
God. He is supreme over all
creation, because in connec-
tion with Him were created
all things—in heaven and on The Lord
earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones, lordships,
rulers or authorities—they
is God and
have all been created
through Him and for Him. He the Rock
existed before all things, and
He holds everything to-
gether. is God
If this is not a description of
God then you tell me what it
is. Of course, once again, if
you want to disregard this
passage, because it was
written by Rav Shaul-Paul
then by all means please be
my guest. People, just open
yourselves up to the truth of
what God’s Word has to say
to you. How God manifests
Himself is His concern alone.
He does not need any help
from us to describe just who
God is and how He chooses
to show Himself. If this pas-
sage of Scripture has one
thing in common with the
Tanach (Hebrew Scriptures)
it is that they acknowledge
and accept that God is the
Source for all things in crea-
tion. All that this passage is
going further with is to say
that Yeshua is that manifes-
tation of God who existed in
the beginning as God, who
created all things because He
is God and that we have re-
demption, forgiveness for
our sins because He is God
and only God can offer that.
To be continued next issue...
Until next time... with Mordecai Silver
We trust you have enjoyed this first,
of what we hope and pray, will be many
more issues of Messianic Life magazine.
The articles will vary and our desire is
that they will uplift you, educate you, help
you, and most of all, bring honor to our
Master, Yeshua and His Father.
Torah is not just a word to me, one that
can mean several things to different peo-
ple. To some it implies the Law given on
Mount Sinai and now having been done
away with through Messiah Yeshua. The
problem here is what was Yeshua talking
about when He said: John 14:15 "If you
love Me, keep My commandments.”
The question you have to ask yourself
is what commandments was Yeshua talk-
ing about?
1785 evntolh, entole {en-tol-ay'}
Meaning: an order, command, charge,
precept, injunction, that which is pre-
scribed to one by reason of his office, a
commandment, a prescribed rule in ac-
cordance with which a thing is done, a
precept relating to lineage, of the Mosaic
precept concerning the priesthood, ethi-
cally used of the commandments in
the Mosaic law or Jewish tradition
(emphasis mine)
Note the Strong’s meaning, especially
the part that I placed in bold type.
Though it is the last definition of the
word, just by its being there at all, tells us its His custom was, He went into the
importance that the Strong’s editors could synagogue on the Sabbath day, and
not leave it out. While the definition talks stood up to read.
about the Mosaic law, which of course is ref- Yeshua went into the synagogue on
erencing the Torah, it also takes into account the Sabbath day, as was His custom.
Jewish tradition. Some may say, “Well today the Sabbath
This is very important because it is a posi- day is the first day of the week.” I would
tion I have upheld for many years. One can- have to strongly disagree because the
not remove the Jewishness of the Messianic only one who can change the Sabbath
walk without removing the heart of our walk. day is Yeshua or His Father and I find no
Yeshua was Jewish and lived as a Jew. Scriptural evidence telling me either one
Whether one defines the traditions as being did so. In fact, if we take to heart what
Jewish or Hebraic it all comes back to one Luke 4:16 is telling us, it should be suffi-
thing and one thing only: WHAT WOULD cient enough for us that Yeshua hon-
YESHUA DO? This is not referring to the ored the Sabbath day on the seventh
ethical and day in accordance with the Torah.
moral teach- Exodus 20:9 Six days you shall
ings of our labor and do all your work, 10 but
Master. We the seventh day is the Sabbath of the
are also talk- LORD your God. In it you shall do no
ing about work: you, nor your son, nor your
our Mes- daughter, nor your male servant, nor
siah’s lifestyle your female servant, nor your cattle,
as well. The nor your stranger who is within your
Gospel ac- gates.
counts con- Yeshua is in obedience to the Torah.
tain many a He is our example and the One we are
story about to follow and imitate in all things. The
how Yeshua Sabbath is usually one of the first things
lived and the new-comers to the Messianic Walk or
world in Hebrew Roots are exposed to. It is not
which He lived and ministered. Here is one an easy thing to follow the ways of To-
example: rah. We have all been there and have
Luke 4:16 So He came to Nazareth, faced what each one of you who is new
where He had been brought up. And as to this walk have faced. Hang in there!
Rav Mordecai Silver
PO Box 467
Organ, NM 88052
treelife@etz-chayim.org
505-382-0193
Fax: 866-800-2390
We’re on the web
ww.etz-chayim.org