REMEMBRANCE AND REDEMPTION
Preface: A Shared Tapestry of Tears and TrumpetsAs the crisp air of autumn heralds Rosh Hashanah, Jews and Christians alike pause to reflect on themes of remembrance, repentance, and renewal. For Jews, this sacred festival, the Day of Remembrance, is marked by the soul-stirring blast of the shofar and the poignant stories of matriarchs like […]
SINAI ECHOES THROUGH THE SHOFAR
The Blast of the Shofar, Rosh Hashanah, and the Hidden “DNA” of Jewish Trauma and Identity Imagine a majestic Mount Sinai, radiant beneath dramatic thunderclouds pierced by lightning flashes. From its summit, concentric powerful sound waves ripple outward in glowing, ethereal waves, represented by the blast of the shofar. These sound waves pulse with […]
Eyes Into the Divine Realm
Depiction of Jacob’s Ladder,” from the Bible (Genesis 28:10-12) of a ladder or staircase reaching from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your […]
LEARNING FROM OUR MISTAKES
1 Samuel 8:21-22 — When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.” The biblical history of Israel is not pretty. To the contrary, it is down right brutal and idolitrous at times. But it is rich with lessons […]
THE LAST BATTLE AND A NEW BEGINNING
Evildoers foster rebellion against God; the messenger of death will be sent against them. Proverbs 17.11 I just finished a great book by Barry Strauss on the history of the “Jews and Rome.” It covers two centuries of Jewish revolts against the Romans. This period of history had profound impacts on the world which are […]
REMEMBERING THE SOUND
With Rosh Hashanah coming up, I am thinking about the sound of the shofar. These are the verses from the Torah that are the basis for the Hebrew New Year, Rosh Hashanah: Leviticus 23:24 (NIVl) — “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of […]
THE ETERNAL JOURNEY
This blog post is inspired by the powerful relationship between this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Re’eh, and the current events unfolding in Israel today. AS THE IDF DESTROYS HAMAS, WE ARE REMINDED IN THIS WEEKS TORAH PORTION… “For you are to cross over the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that […]
SONGS OF ASCENT
Introduction Patterns in the Hebrew Scriptures (Tanakh) often reveal deeper meanings that can be missed without attentive, spiritually-minded reading. These patterns may take the form of literary structure, thematic progression, symbolism, repetition, or prophetic foreshadowing. Such a pattern can be seen in The Songs of Ascent. See the Forest for the Trees The Songs of […]
THE ONLY KING
The first and only Jewish king, 3000 years ago, to unite the biblical land of Israel was King David. While Saul was the initial king who brought together the tribes politically, it was David who successfully united all the tribes for a prolonged period, established the capital in Jerusalem, and founded a royal dynasty. David’s […]
Eyes to See and Ears to Hear — Awakening Spiritual Perception
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 This verse makes perfect since in ancient biblical times very few people could read and even less had access to written scriptures. People would listen to priests, pharisees and rabbis. Those people would speak or read what the prophets […]