Earlier today I was browsing Facebook pages that belong to people who are on my friends list when I came across a sister who uses the Hebrew word "YAHshua" to describe our Master. This is the message I sent her. I would love your comments below – especially if you disagree with the conclusions of this note. However, I ask that you respect this conversation and take the time to review my references.

My dear sister,

I noticed your profile just now and it brought a smile to my face to read Jeremiah 6:16 and how we are to walk on the ancient paths. That is a wonderful verse.

Next, I noticed that you call our Master by the word "yah-shua" (יהשוע). I have something very, very important to share with you about that Hebrew construct.

First, it isn’t even a word in Hebrew. It isn’t found once in Scripture, but the real Name of our Master, "Yeshua" (ישוע) is found 30 times in the Tanach (29 times in Hebrew and once in Aramaic). It is something that someone fabricated and it has spread throughout our circles.

You may know that it is supposed to mean "YAH" and "saves". You may have heard that "shua" (שוע) means "saves". Actually, the Hebrew verb for "to save" is "yasha" (ישע). The word "shua" (שוע) does mean something, but what it does actually mean will shock you.

The two words are related. The verb "shua" is the PUAL form of "yasha". A pual verb form takes the verb and intensifies it and shifts it’s focus to the subject. Instead of the verb describing something the subject is doing, the verb describes something that IS BEING DONE TO THE SUBJECT. That is what a Hebrew pual verb form does. The following document will introduce you to this concept: Introduction to Hebrew Verbal Patterns, Stems, Binyanim PDF.

What "yah-shua" actually means is not that "YAH saves" us, but that "YAH cries out for help", God forbid. It means the opposite of what our Saviour’s name actually means. Do you understand the significance of that? It is blasphemy. When someone says "YAHshua" in Hebrew they’re actually saying that "YAH cries out for help". They’re saying that YAH needs someone to save Him, God forbid! It is foolishness and wickedness. I’m sure that hasatan laughs whenever he hears someone say such a blasphemous thing.

I don’t know the origin of this blasphemy, but I hope that you will carefully consider your involvement with it. I realise that this will come as a shock to you, since so many are using this word and are convinced that it is perfectly right. You will be skeptical of what I have told you because you probably have never heard this before and I’m some stranger you don’t know.

So, I hope that you will invest a little of your time to listen to the following lecture in two parts. It will help you to understand this better.

The Name of the Messiah Part #1

The Name of the Messiah Part #1

The Name of the Messiah Part #2

The Name of the Messiah Part #2

If you are convinced that what I have told you is true I would appreciate a short reply to tell me that you have received this message with the love it was intended.

Peace and grace,

Writen by Bryce Henderson

PS: Something I forgot to mention in my letter to this sister is that this Hebrew word, "shua" (שוע) appears in Job 30:24b.

See also: Mashiach’s Name / מה-שמו ומה-שם-בנו

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph5aZIcDkic

Many people asks us or assume who we are through the historical understanding of historical Christianity. Nothing can be further from the truth. Here is a small sample of what we believe.

The unity of God. We do not believe in the trinity. God is one. Maran Yeshua HaMashiach said: "One of the Soferim came up, hearing them reasoning together. Thinking that Yeshua had given a good answer to the Tzaddikim, he asked Him, "Which commandment is primary over all of them? "This is the primary commandment," Yeshua said. " ‘Shema Yisrael HaShem Elokenu HaShem Echad. [Hear O Yisrael, HaShem our Elokim, HaShem is One."

On Praying: We do not pray to any one else but to God, the God of Israel (we do not believe in three gods, or any other formula). We do pray however in the merit of our Rabbi, Maran Yeshua HaMashiach, we do not pray to our Rabbi Yeshua (that would be avoda zarah / idol worship). Maran Yeshua Himself told us how to pray to the Father in his merit (even rabbi Nachman said the same thing). Nowhere did Maran Yeshua say to pray to him.

The person of messiah: We believe that messiah was born of a woman, and that he is a man. Man sinned therefore a righteous man, who never sinned, a tzadik had to die in our place (read Yeshayahu / Isaiah 53 in the Hebrew Scriptures, and the Targum Onkelos, and many other places). We believe that our Rabbi, Maran Yeshua is a descendant of King David. His genealogy was never contradicted, disputed in his time, nor was ever a point to discuss, since it was well known. 

We believe that the Jewish messiah has been revealed, and his name is Maran Yeshua from Nazareth. We believe that he is a Rabbi (he is not dead but hidden for now, soon to be revealed again), an orthodox Rabbi (as understood in the context of 2000 years ago), a Pharisee, in today’s standards, a true Jewish Israeli settler who believed that the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people, who lived by the same Torah given by Moshe in mount Sinai. We believe that Maran Yeshua commands his followers to follow the Torah of HaShem as a way of life.

Our Rabbi does not abolished Torah, he upholds it. He expands Torah deeper, he does not cancels it (heaven forbid). We believe that Maran Yeshua came first in the office of the suffering servant according the scriptures and Jewish traditions (Mashiach ben Yosef), and we believe that Maran Yeshua will return in the office of messiah, the conquering king (Mashiach ben David), according the scriptures and Jewish traditions. We believe that Maran Yeshua kept the shabbat, kept kashrut laws, celebrated all of the Jewish holidays, and commanded us to do the same as he did. Any person who does not keep any of these commandments (like our Rabbi told us to do) and thinks that he is following HaShem, and His messiah, that person is sorely wrong. The messiah should provoques us to do HaShem mitzvot (commandments) not to turn us away from them.

We believe that thousands of Jews believed and have believed in Maran Yeshua to be the Jewish messiah through out the generations. From Rabbis, to doctors, from teachers and students, thousands have come to believe that he is the Jewish messiah. We know, and acknowledge Orthodox Rabbis, Yeshiva students, and many learned people of today believe that he is indeed the hope of Israel,  Melech HaMashiach (we do not believe that they need to come out of their Synagogue of their choice if they choose not to, meaning they do not have to come to a Messianic Jewish Synagogue if they choose not to).

We believe that a Jew going to church should get out of there, and rejoin his people Israel. A good Jew never goes to Church but to teach the people from there to give up their paganism.

We believe the WHOLE Torah of HaShem is for us to do. Although for lack of Beit HaMikdash (Temple) and the present exile we can not perform some of its mitzvot (commandments), we are to do the most to do every mitzva that we can at all time.

Messianic Jews practice (at least we try) their faith in a way they consider to be authentically Torah-observant and culturally Jewish. We believe that Messianic Jews who are ethnically Jewish continue to be Jewish, since belief in the Jewish messiah is a Jewish biblical right / truth. We practice Judaism as we understand it, and seek to learn more concerning a life under the tutorship of the Torah, and Jewish tradition (We do not reject it, but welcome it, but seek to understand it in the light of the traditions of our messiah, his mesorah / tradition).

The Bible; The Tanach and the Besora Tova HaGeula / Good News of Redemption (Badly called New Testament or Re-new Covenant / Brit Hadasha) are inspired Biblical scriptures by Messianic Jews. We believe that we need to understand the Besora Tova HaGeula through Jewish eyes, this book was written by Jews to Jews, within a Jewish cultural setting (later on given a spin away from Judaism by anti-Semites non-Jews), thus we seek to redeem our Scriptures and teach them in a way that the historical context is restored, and shed of the goyish (gentile) interpretation that has been assigned for about 1800 years.

We believe that the Torah will be fully re-established when messiah returns. We believe that the messiah of Israel will teach Torah from Zion (as it is written). We strongly believe that if you seek to understand the Besora Tova HaGeula in its fullness, you need to know the Torah very well, the Jewish prophets, and Jewish writtings of 2000 years ago.

We are Zionist. We believe that a true believer in the God of Israel loves the land of Israel, loves the God of Israel, loves the Jewish messiah of Israel, loves the people of Israel (Jewish people). We believe that the land of Israel belongs to the world wide Jewish community (which will make aliya soon).

We believe that the holy Temple will be re-build in its proper area, and the Islamic structure (the abomination that causes desolation) in the temple area will be torn down (may it happen very soon in our days).

We believe that not ONE inch of the holy land should be given to terrorist or any one who does not stands for the interest of the Jewish people, this land is the homeland of the Jewish people. We believe that Jerusalem is the holy city, and Israel the center of the world. We support the government of Israel insofar does not violates the Scriptures of Israel. We do not agree with the giving away of Gaza, Hebron, Shechem, or any other territories to any one but those who love and respect the people of Israel. We do believe that some non-Jews can and should live in the land of Israel insofar they help the people of Israel to settle the land of Israel. We believe that when messiah is revealed a second time, he will help / inspire Jews to return to the land of Israel.

When Mashiach is fully revealed, he will bring world peace like, King Salomon did.

Biblical end times. Messianic Jews hold all of the following eschatological beliefs: the End of Days, the second coming of Maran Yeshua as the conquering messiah (according to Jewish tradition, messiah was going to be revealed then hidden, then again revealed just like Moshe did), the re-gathering of Israel, a rebuilt Third Temple, a Resurrection of the Dead, and the Millennial Sabbath, the world to come. We do not believe in the pre-tribulation rapture (it was invented by a Catholic Jesuit named Manuel De Lacunza 1731–1801).

We believe that because we have accepted the works of messiah in our behalf, that our demonstration of faith is following the commandants of God. We do not follow the commandments of God as a replacement of faith. We have faith, therefore we do the commandments of God.

We believe in the return of lost Jews back into the fold of the congregation of Israel. We believe crypto-Jews must be help to return to the congregation (many Jews were force to convert to other religions). We believe that there are crypto Jews in Muslim countries as well as Christians countries, e.g.: Latin America, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, etc. We believe that for them to return properly, they must circumcise themselves and their children, follow the kashrut laws, learn to observe all the holidays, etc., in short to re-learn to live a Jewish life through belief in the Jewish messiah of Israel.

We do not uphold the idea of Benei Noach (Sons of Noach), we believe that any one who wants to have a serious relationship with God, should learn from Abraham, and do what he did. We believe that the idea of Benei Noach was invented fully when the Emperor Constantine forbade Jews to convert non-Jews to Judaism under the penalty of death.

We believe that Messianic Jews follow Judaism as we undesrtand it, and do not and should not follow Christian practices (we should not), BUT we do understand that is our duty to teach Christians concerning the Jewish roots of the faith, and reject all forms of paganism (we stronly believe that Christians should reject all pagan roots and practices). We believe in observing all Jewish feasts and fasts, including the Sabbath, or Yom Kippur. We believe that when the Jewish messiah is fully revealed,

We believe that Christianity as a religion will have not more use. We believe that Christianity has not future. There is not a word in the Holy Scriptures where Chritianity survives, only Biblical Judaism.

A key difference between Messianic Jews and Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Jews (except with the Chabad movement) involves their beliefs about the messiah. The Chabad movement and us believe strongly in the Mashiach. We happen to disagree in who messiah is, but we believe that many chabadnics have come to believe in Maran Yeshua as the Jewish messiah (We met a few, from simple people, to Rabbis).

We are not Jews for Jesus. Nor we are affiliated to that or similar organization. We believe that a Jew who comes to believe in Yeshua, their Jewish messiah should live a closer life to Torah. Jews should not pray to Jesus (Heaven forbid), nor acknowledge him (the Christian Jesus is NOT the same as the Jewish messiah). We believe that Jesus and Yeshua are two different persons. One is anti-Torah, non-Jew (Jesus), the other one is an Israeli Orthodox Rabbi (Maran Yeshua), a Jewish settler who brings us closer to Torah, to love Israel, and the Jewish people. We believe that Jewish people going to Church should come out from there and learn to live a Torah life.

We reject the testimonies of thousands of people who said have believed in the messiah of the Bible, but acted contrary to his ways (anti-semetic). We reject anti-semitisim, force conversions, persecutions done in his behalf (even when they did not know him, nor the Jewish messiah ever asked them to do so). Any one who says loves the God of Israel and the messiah of Israel but hates Jewish people is deceived, rejects the rights to the Jewish people to the Holy Land (like Nutri Karta), he has come to believe in the anti-messiah. It is imposible to love the God of Israel, love the Jewish messiah, and yet hate the Jewish people, and their right to the land of Israel.

We reject all possible rejections of our Bible heritage. The Scriptures of Israel are Jewish, from Genesis to Revelations, and need to be understood within a Jewish context to be understood correctly. Any attempt to understand the scriptures in any other light will provoque errors (like people trying to understand the Besorah Tova HaGeula through Greeks eyes, when all the writters of this amazing revelation are all Israeli Jews!).

We believe in redeeming our messiah from the hands of those who have the wrong idea of who he is (this is why Jewish tradition says that he is sitting at the gates of Rome).

In short, we want Mashiach Jewish. We believe that he is Jewish, and he did not create a new religion. He left to heaven an Israel Jew. After the return of Eliyahu, and Enuch, Mashiach will return as he left, a righteous Israeli Jew who should be listen, and followed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcoBbVqnUTU

Shabbat (sabbath) is the only ritual observance instituted in the Ten Commandments. Primarily a day of rest and spiritual enrichment, the word ‘Shabbat’ comes from the root Shin-Bet-Tav, meaning ‘to cease, to end, or to rest’.

The injunction to “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy” is the fourth of the Ten Commandments recorded in the Torah (Shemot / Exodus 20:8; Devarim / Deuteronomy 5:12). The commandment continues: “Six days you shall work but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto HaShem.”

The Hebrew word for ‘holy’ implies ‘separate’. Shabbat is a day set apart. In Jewish literature it is often called ‘a taste of the world to come’. Shabbat is seen as a gift from G-d to the Jewish people; as a sign of the eternal bond between them.

Shabbat is to be a time for peace, harmony, tranquility, community and spirituality that is unmatched by any other day. Shabbat is the time when we meet the King of the Universe. He set Shabbat as a moed (an appointment in the Scriptures). Shabbat has been the Jewish oasis in time.  To connect with Shabbat, you have to get in touch with your sixth sense, with your soul.

People who do not observe Shabbat think it must be a day filled with stifling restrictions. But to those who do observe it, Shabbat is a precious gift from G-d. It is a day of great joy eagerly awaited throughout the week, a time when we can set aside all our weekday concerns and devote ourselves to higher pursuits.

Shabbat is more than a day of rest. It is an experience that is often described as ‘stepping outside time’. All the labour of the week is merely preparation for the sanctity of Shabbat.

Shabbat is designed to facilitate the soul’s contact with spirituality ― with G-d. We free our attention from the pressures of the workday and focus on our spiritual goals, which are built into the fabric of the day through the prayer services, the festive meals, the learning of Torah, time spent with family and friends.

"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and HaShem’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in HaShem, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of HaShem has spoken. Yeshayahu / Isaiah 58:13-14

There is one tried and true, guaranteed activity that will draw you closer to G-d, fortify your faith in HaShem, strengthen your marriage and build a health family. What is this activity? The ancient Jewish tradition of celebrating the Shabbat! In Hebrew this is called the kabbalat Shabbat dinner or the "Welcoming the Sabbath" dinner. This is referring to the special, weekly ceremony that follower of HaShem employ to welcome the festival of the Sabbath. If your goal is to have a healthy, functional and spiritually strong family, then I encourage you to make this weekly tradition a part of your family activities!

Much of what Sabbath-observant believers do during Shabbat takes place outside the orbit of home and family. As much as Shabbat may be an opportunity for nuclear families to spend time together, it is also a chance to enjoy the company of extended family and community in a relaxed atmosphere. During the work week, considerations of profit or advancement often dictate with whom we spend our time; on Shabbat, we can choose for ourselves with whom to spend our time.

The synagogue is the focus of much of the public observance of Shabbat. A ceremony to welcome Shabbat precedes the formal evening service on Friday nights. Most often the worshippers disperse to private homes for dinner, and it is common for individuals and families to have dinner guests.  In many communities, the evening prayers are followed on occasion by a communal meal at the synagogue. Some synagogues regularly put off their Shabbat evening service until after the dinner hour and follow it with un-programmed socializing over light refreshments, often calling this event oneg Shabbat, the traditional term for "the pleasure (or delight) of Shabbat."

Preparing for Shabbat. Since it is a special day of rest, preparations normally occur throughout the week and especially during the day, before sunset. The house is cleaned, the food is cooked and other chores are finished so that everyone can relax and enjoy the sanctity of time apart from their normal routines. The Sabbath is to be an jubilant time of eating and drinking. In Jewish homes, families sing songs, set the table with china, dress up a bit and prepare a special meal. There is wine, laughter, smile, rest and refreshing. An evening when the TV, the cell phone and the computer is turned off. There is not discussion of work, bills, troubles or anxieties. Truely a taste of Olam Habah (the world to come), indeed, Shabbat is described as “me’eyn olam ha’ba” – a small degree of the experience of the next world. There is an idea that all spiritual realities have at least one tangible counterpart in the world so that we can experience them: it would be too difficult to relate to the abstract if we could never have any direct experience of it. Sleep is a sixtieth of the death experience; a dream is a sixtieth of prophecy. Shabbat is a sixtieth of the experience of the next world.

This means that if one lives Shabbat correctly one tastes the next world! Who does not want that?

Synagogue worship continues on Saturday. Shabbat morning services usually begin at a later hour than is common on workdays, when participants commonly proceed from the synagogue to their workplaces.

At many synagogues, services are followed on some occasions or every week by a communal Kiddush ("sanctification" of Shabbat)–a very short liturgy recited over wine or another beverage–followed by light refreshments. Some communities have a communal lunch at the synagogue following Kiddush.

Mincha, the afternoon service, is enriched on Shabbat as well–this time by a public Torah reading that offers a first taste of the following week’s Torah portion and by reciting the prayers in a wistful musical mode especial to that one weekly occasion. After dark, a weekday evening service is recited in the synagogue, most often followed by a public recitation of havdalah, the liturgy that ends the Sabbath.

Perhaps the most unique feature of Shabbat is that it teaches us how to make time holy. We are accustomed to considering places and object sacred, but Shabbat is holy time. It the modern secular world, where "time is money" and no one every has enough time, Shabbat comes to deliver a message we all need to hear: We are the masters of our time and our lives; we are not slaves. As Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, "The higher goal of spiritual living is not to amass a wealth of information, but to face sacred moments." (The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Our Time, p. 6). While others build cathedrals of bricks in space, Jews build cathedrals in time, by sanctifying holy moments such as Shabbat. Shabbat permits us, indeed bids us, to separate ourselves from the ephemeral physical world (at least somewhat) one day each week so that we can taste eternity.

The freedom we experience on Shabbat is a suggestion of the time in which we will be completely free; free of exile, free of evil within ourselves, and free of evil in the world.

One can say without exaggeration that more than the Jew has kept the Shabbat, the Shabbat has kept the Jew." This is true today, as it was in ancient days. When we gather each week to celebrate Shabbat in the synagogue, we reconnect with our community and strengthen one another.

13 principles of faith

Doctrinal Statements, or Statements of Faith, are supposed to be summary statements of what an organization or individual believes the Scriptures teach about specific subjects. In order to be effective, a doctrinal statement should address each area of theology that an organization holds specific beliefs about, and should summarize everything that the Scriptures have to say about that subject, particularly if the organization requires its members or adherents to subscribe to that doctrinal statement as a condition of fellowship.

It should be noted as a practical matter, however, that very few organizations write Doctrinal Statements that accurately reflect what they actually teach. Therefore, when reading an organization’s doctrinal statement one should be careful not to accept it as actually authoritative for the organization that produced it.

Messianic Jews are unique among other observant Jews in that we look to the Torah and Messiah and Messiah’s disciples for guidance and doctrine and theology. The rabbis of Judaism play also a role in our lives than in the lives of other Jews. Rabbinic rulings come after Messiah’s and the disciples’ halakah, their interpretation of how to live a Godly life according to the commandments.

We look at some of Judaism’s guiding principles and how we Messiah-believers relate to them. Moshe ben Maimon, better known as his Greek name, Maimonides or by his acronym Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon), formulated what became the basic statements of faith among many observant Jews.

We hold that there are three principles that each Believer should follow concerning their belief system:

1. Know what you believe.

2. Know why you believe it (be able to accurately cite Scripture to back up your stated beliefs).

3. Know how to teach your beliefs to others.

Maimonides, in his commentary on the Mishnah, compiles what he refers to as the Shloshah-Asar Ikkarim, the Thirteen Articles of Faith, compiled from Judaism’s 613 commandments found in the Torah.

Judaism’s halacha remain an essential reference point for us as we can look to Judaism to help solve issues left unresolved by Scripture.

The Thirteen Articles of Jewish faith are as follows:

Summary Statements

1. I believe with perfect faith that God is the Creator and Ruler of all things. He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.

2. I believe with perfect faith that God is One. There is no unity that is in any way like His. He alone is our God He was, He is, and He will be.

3. I believe with perfect faith that God does not have a body. physical concepts do not apply to Him. There is nothing whatsoever that resembles Him at all.

4. I believe with perfect faith that God is first and last.

5. I believe with perfect faith that it is only proper to pray to God. One may not pray to anyone or anything else.

6. I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true.

7. I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses is absolutely true. He was the chief of all prophets, both before and after Him.

8. I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah that we now have is that which was given to Moses.

9. I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be changed, and that there will never be another given by God.

10. I believe with perfect faith that God knows all of man’s deeds and thoughts. It is thus written (Psalm 33:15), “He has molded every heart together, He understands what each one does.”

11. I believe with perfect faith that God rewards those who keep His commandments, and punishes those who transgress Him.

12. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah. How long it takes, I will await His coming every day.

13. I believe with perfect faith that the dead will be brought back to life when God wills it to happen.

Maimonides refers to these thirteen principles of faith as "the fundamental truths of our religion and its very foundations."

I believe Yeshua Ha’Nazaret is the Messiah of Israel. I believe Yeshua came to call Israel to do T’shuvah (come back to Adonai and His Torah). We as Messianic Jews believe in the return of the Messiah and await His coming everyday. We believe in Yeshua of Nazareth, honoring him as Messiah.

Jewish Roots: Nothing can be more Jewish than believing in Yeshua as Messiah. The culture that the Scriptures of the Tanach and Besorah Tovah were written in were totally Jewish. A full and complete understanding of the Scripture requires an understanding of the writer’s Jewishness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6SVSUxYEEk

The earliest followers and disciples of Rabbi Yeshua of Nazareth believed that Yeshua was the promised Mashiach (Messiah) of Israel and the Redeemer of all nations. However, they did not believe that Yeshua came to start a new religion or to abolish the Torah (Teaching, Instruction) of Moshe; instead, they continued to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as participants in the ancient Israelite faith, now called Judaism. To be clear, the first known Christians in fact were Messianic Jews. Messianic Jews still practice Jewish law and tradition but also follow the Jewish Messiah. A Christian does not follow Jewish law and tradition.

Are Messianic Jews really Jews? This is one question that has come up that I find especially curious. While Jewish interest in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sufism is so commonplace as to have given rise to terms like Bu-Jus, Hin-Jews, and Jufis), a Jew who finds himself attracted to Yeshua (who was after all a Jew) is somehow weird. The issue isn’t theological. Buddhism and its absence of God, Hinduism and its plethora of gods, and Islam and its final Book and Prophet, are each completely opposite to Judaism. If we can have Jewish Buddhists, why can’t we have Jewish believers in Yeshua?

The first followers of the Messiah were all Jews. The first century movement was one hundred percent Jewish movement. The Besorah Tovah (Good News) is a Jewish book, and Yeshua was nothing if not Jewish; all his teachings are kosher, and understood within a Jewish historical context. So if was good enough for all the early Jewish believers, why not today’s Jews?

Yeshua taught Torah, as did His disciples after his death and resurrection. He never told them to start another religion and He never broke Torah law. Why would His true followers want to be a different religion than He was?

On the other hand, any Jew who cuts himself off from the destiny of his people and from his God by denying the revelation at Sinai, in which God taught all of the Jews that He is the one and only God, and that His Law is binding on the Jewish people forever, there by definition ceases to be a “good Jew”. A Jewish person can be a wonderful person, doing acts of man-to-man kindness all day long, but such is only half of a whole picture that includes decency both in man-to-man relationships as well as man-to-God relationships. The whole package is required to be a member in good standing of the Jewish community.

So, Messianic Jews consider their primary identity to be "Jewish" and belief in Yeshua to be the logical conclusion of their "Jewishness." They try to structure their worship according to Jewish norms. They uphold the Torah of HaShem as their main constitution and the teachings of Rabbi Yeshua HaMashiach as the main Torah teacher.

They circumcise their sons. They abstain from non-kosher foods. They observe the Sabbath, and the Feasts. Most do not use the label "Christian" to describe themselves. They also have a strong desire to pass on their Jewish identity and culture to their children. In a nutshell Most Messianic Jews are much more "zealous for the Law (Torah)."
Messianic Judaism is a biblically-based end-time movement of Jewish and non-Jewish people who have come to believe that Yeshua is the promised Messiah of Israel.

We know Sadly, Jewish brethren who have been assimilated into the mainstream church, we do not agree with that, and wish them back to the true Torah of Mashiach.

Our hope of the world is that Messianic Jewish movement will unify as believers in Yeshua and doers of the Torah by laying down our differences and forming a unified community. Thereby becoming the light of the world that we are expected to be.

Rabbi, Yeshua HaMashiach thought us, in Mattityahu 5:17-19: "Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah – not until everything that must happen has happened. So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9HuIDF7qtQ

To some, the concept of a Jew believing in our Rabbi Yeshua seems to be a contradiction. The reason is, many people have a dichotomy set up in their minds. On the one hand, you have Jews and Judaism and on the other hand, Christians and Christianity.

You are either one or the other…..so the thinking goes. But this simple dichotomy is in reality not so simple. If we go back 2,000 years historically, we find that our Rabbi Maran Yeshua was a Jew living in a Jewish land among Jewish people. All of His followers were Jewish as well as the writers of the Besora Tova HaGeula (Good News of Redemption) and for many years this faith in our Rabbi Yeshua was strictly a Jewish one.

From the Besora Tova HaGeula and other historical evidence, many believe that in the first century there were literally hundreds of thousands of Messianic Jews. In addition, there were Messianic Congregations/Synagogues scattered throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. These first-century Messianic Jews remained highly loyal to their land and their people.

Whether it was Jewish to believe in our Rabbi Yeshua was never an issue. Of course it was Jewish! What else could it be?

The biggest question back then was whether Rabbi Yeshua had been sent for the Gentiles also. When God miraculously showed the Messianic Jews that He was the messiah for both Jew and non-Jews alike, then non-Jews from every nation began to pour into this Jewish faith.

Through the years, as the numbers of non-Jews believers increased, they began to predominate in this Messianic Jewish faith. With the passing on of the Jewish Hash’lichim (emmisaries) and the early Messianic Jews, the Jewish roots of the faith were eventually lost. This “De-Judaizing” process continued until one of the greatest paradoxes in history; it became alien for a Jewish person to believe in Rabbi Yeshua as his Messiah.

A Jew should know / believe that Mashiach is one of his own, therefore believing in him is the natural thing to do! They (non-Jews) should became like us (following the Torah of HaShem), not us like them (breaking the Laws of HaShem).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pyQzUUyp6U

In the Talmud it is written, "When will the Messiah come?" And "By what sign may I recognize him?" Elijah tells the rabbi to go to the gate of the city where he will find the Messiah sitting among the poor lepers (Sanhedrin 98a). ‎"The Messiah — what is his name?… The sages say, the Leper Scholar, as it is said, ‘surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God and afflicted…’" (Sanhedrin 98b).

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi met Elijah standing by the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. He asked…Elijah, "When will the Messiah come?" "Go and ask him," Elijah replied. "Where is he seated?" Rabbi Yehoshua asked. "At the entrance to the city of Rome," Elijah answered. "How will I recognize him?" Rabbi Yehoshua asked. Elijah replied, "He is sitting among the poor lepers, all of them bandaging their wounds…" (b.Sanhedrin 98a)

Of all the traditional titles and names traditional Judaism applied to Messiah, one of the strangest is the Talmudic title, "the Leper Messiah." The title is derived from Isaiah 53:4 where it says, "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted." In reading the prophecy of Isaiah 53, at least some Sages understood the suffering servant character described therein to be the Messiah. They interpreted the phrase "he took up our infirmities" to refer to leprosy.

And the rabbis say: "[The name of Messiah] is The Leper of the House of Study, as it is said, ‘Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted.’" (Sanhedrin 98b)

Perhaps this is one reason why the Master’s ministry often focused on the healing of lepers. In Matthew 10:8, He tells His disciples that healing the sick and cleansing lepers are signs of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whenever Yeshua healed lepers, He instructed them to go and present the sacrifices prescribed in the Torah for their ritual purification.

On the one hand, biblical leprosy was a real disease, a fearsome affliction equivalent to a sort of walking death. On the other hand, biblical leprosy can be understood as an archetype for all human disease and mortality. It can be understood spiritually as the corruption of our human flesh. In all of the above cases, Yeshua offers the solution. He is the suffering servant of the Isaiah passage. Through His ministry, He fulfilled this passage exactly as the Talmud interprets it. He took up the uncleanness of the human condition in order to heal. Thus it is written in Isaiah, "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)"

To the followers of the Suffering One, his afflictions, described in Isaiah 53, are the agonies of one dying to provide atonement. Let us praise the God of Israel, our Redeemer, who has provided his Messiah to take the just punishment for his people so that we might be forgiven our sins! Isaiah 53 must be understood as referring to the coming Davidic King, the Messiah. The plain reading of the text makes the position that Israel is the Suffering Servant, impossible, only Mashiach could be the one that the text is speaking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dzKlmOSCPk

Weekly Sidra: Shemini (Eight)
Torah Portion: Vayikra / Leviticus 9:1-11:47 
Haftorah: Sh’muel Bet / II Samuel 6:1-6:19

This week’s Parasha is called Shemini, which could be translated the Eighth. The number eight represents a level that is higher than nature, and above time. This is the level of the miraculous, which is not bound by the laws of nature. The number eight is also associated with the revelation of Mashiach. It is also commanded that when a son is birth that we are to perform the rite of circumcision on the eight day of his birthday.

This number is also related to the world to come, which can be viewed through the shadow of Shemeni Atzeret which is the “the Eighth [day] of Assembly” , which is a day after the last day of Sukkot, which is celebrated the eight day. So the number eight is not an end but the beginning of some thing new. With the eighth day we leave the area of creation and even step across the boundaries of the passing the messianic age to a whole new level. The eighth day does not fall within world history and the human task to sanctify time.

World history goes on six days, until a period of rest which is the Shabbat or Sabbath day of creation called “ yom shekulo Shabbat” the day that is all Sabbath (the Sabbath is rehearsal for the future world. Each week we have the glorious opportunity to partake in the world to come), then comes the reset button which is the eighth day. From then on people will not longer toil on the fields of world history. After the seventh day, the eight day will begin, a day without an end. This day is described as the endlessness day. It is within this frame that we receive from heaven the New Jerusalem, Yerushalayim Shel Zehav. Hitgalut / Revelation 21:2 I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband.

Shabbat is Me’ein Olam Haba – a Taste to the world to come.

Shabbat signifies not only that HaKodesh Baruch Hu (the Holy One blesed be He) rested at the end of the creation, but it signifies the end of this world as well. Why did Hashem specifically rest on the Seventh Day? Could He not have created for three days, taken a day off, and then finished the work? Shabbat as the Seventh Day is the day of rest not only because it represents the creation but also because it represents the Next World. As this world approaches its end, we move towards a “yom shekulo Shabbat umenucha lechaye haoloam” “a Shabbat and rest day for eternal life”. Shabbat is not only a holy day but will represent the holy era called the Next World. Shabbat in that sense as well gives meaning to the creation.

The rabbi’s of old tell us: “This world is like a lobby before the World to Come; prepare yourself in the lobby so that you may enter the banquet hall” (Avot 4:21). The main purpose of this world is as a means of entering the Next World. Of course this world is a place where we can learn Torah and fulfill Mitzvot, but our main goal is to strive to arrive in the Next World, to a “yom shekulo Shabbat” where “HaShem alone shall be exalted in that day” (Yeshayahu 2:17), everything else will be null and void.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B37Mp6mhs3A

One of the Sages from the Mishnah is quoted as this, "May you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi." Rabbis are passionate and animated. They would spend their days taking their disciples around teaching them, and as they traveled from place to place, they would literally kick up a cloud of dust. And because the disciples were following the Rabbi, at the end of the day, they would actually be covered in the dust their Rabbi kicked up.

The idea was that if you followed behind your rabbi on the dusty roads, you would get covered in his dust. Meaning, you were following his so closely to be so much like him that you are glorified to be covered with the dust he left behind. That is how close a disciple wanted to be to his rabbi.

This is from Mishnah,known as Pikrei Avot, "the sayings of the fathers." Yose b. Yo’ezer (a man) of Zeredah, and Yose b. Yohanan [a man] of Jerusalem received [the oral tradition] from them. Yose. b. Yo’ezer used to say: “Let your house be a house of meeting for the sages cover yourself with the dust of their feet, and drink in their words with thirst.” Mishnah 4

When the rabbi believed that you were call by HaShem to be his talmid (student), He would say, “Lech Acharai – Come, follow me.” And you would leave your family. You would leave your family compound. You would leave your village. You would leave the local synagogue where you had been studying. You would leave everything and you would follow that rabbi. You would become a talmid, a disciple, a student. You would give your life to being exactly like that rabbi. And you would follow him everywhere.

You wanted to be so much like your rabbi that when your rabbi would pick up a piece of straw and put it in his mouth then you would do the same.  And you would follow this rabbi everywhere. Because the rabbi believes that you can be like him.

Now, with all this in mind, look at Matthew 4:18. As Yeshua was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Shimon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. Then let’s look at the rest of the conversation: Mattityahu (Matthew) 4:19-20. "Come, follow Me," Yeshua said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed Him.

These men just dropped everything and followed Him at a few words from this Rabbi. They drop what they are doing and they follow the Rabbi. Then we read a bit later:  Mattityahu 4:21-22. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, Yacob son of Zebedee and his brother Yochanan. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Yeshua called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

Why did Yeshua choose these men? Because He believed they could become like Him. Yeshua said: Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me. “A disciple doesn’t just want to know what the rabbi knows. A disciple wants to be like the rabbi and wants to learn to do what the rabbi does.”

Yeshua wants to be your rabbi. He wants to be your teacher, your master. He wants you to be His disciple, His student, His talmid. He is calling you today,“Lech Acharai – Come, follow Me.” It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter where you are. It doesn’t matter what company you work for.

The most important thing is not how much you can memorize. It’s not about how much you know. It’s all about who you follow. You can be like the rabbi.” Became a Torah man like him!

Our Rabbi said: “Do not think that I have come to loosen Torah or the prophets, I have not come to loosen but to fulfill. For truly I say to you that until heaven and earth pass away not one Yud or one stroke will pass from Torah until everything happens. All who loosen, therefore, from one of these small commandments and teach thus to the sons of man, will be called little in the Kingdom of Heaven, but all who do and teach this will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Mattityahu 5:17-19

Our Rabbi said: Mattityahu 28:19, "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations,… and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Teaching the Torah of our Rabbi, Yeshua. Read Tehillim / Psalm 67

We recommend you to take Torah living as taking “baby steps” for those seeking to enter a more observant life or another way “one mitzvah (good deed) leads to another”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgSMTFZEvW8

The Jewish people for thousands of years have looked forward to the coming of their Mashiach, the hope of Israel. The Torah describes King Messiah: I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. Devarim 18:18-19 

Was the Mashiach (Messiah) to come to destroy the lifestyle of Torah? Was he to come and abolish it from the lives of His people?  Free them from the “Law.” Was he to abolish the Torah? No, He was to teach Torah, to speak it with authority as if we were in Mt. Horeb even today! He is to be the second Moshe!

Mashiach is to speak the words of our Father in heaven, he is to be in total and 100% agreement with the words of the Torah from HaShem. This means Torah faithful!

Suffice it to say that the role of the Mashiach was / is not only to come and live a perfect righteous Jewish lifestyle, but to teach others to do the same. One of the greatest expectations of the Jewish people was that the Mashiach was to teach Torah from Mt. Zion during the Messianic Kingdom, this is what he would do when He comes back in the office of Mashiach Ben David (King Messiah) In His first coming Maran Yeshua fulfilled the office of Mashiach Ben Yosef / Suffering Servant (See Yeshayahu / Isaiah 53).

Rabbeinu Maran Yeshua the Mashiach made this clear to His Talmidim (students), the Torah and Prophets speak of him (Mattityahu / Mathew 5:18). "Therefore if the Mashiach from the Hebrew Scriptures does not measure up with all these requirements that we have set from the Scriptures, then for sure that person is not the Mashiach, but an impostor, the Anti-Messiah.

Therefore “The goal or aim of the Torah is the Mashiach.” Waiting / seeking for / longing for / reading concerning Him in the Hebrew Scriptures, anticipating His coming, is not simply a virtue but a religious obligation, a must! The Rambam thus rules that whoever does not believe in — and whoever does not await the coming of Mashiach, in effect denies the whole Torah, all the prophets beginning with Moshe.

Mashiach is the goal of Torah, not Judaism by itself. Do you want Mashiach now? Get active! Tell some one concerning the hope of Israel – Melech HaMashiach!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldfen4cwnRg

The Messianic Jewish movement currently finds itself in the midst of a rabid identity crisis. From its inception, Messianic Judaism’s primary goal has been to be a home and way of life for Jewish followers of Yeshua. However, if we are honest with ourselves we must admit that our efforts have largely been a failure. In the decades since our recent inception, we have not yet succeeded at creating a JEWISH Messianic Movement.

Where did we get distracted?

First, let me clarify what I am not saying. I recognize there is a definite place for non-Jews who are legitimately called to Messianic Judaism. We applaud the efforts of those non-Jews who have chosen to sojourn among the Jewish people and who have sacrificed greatly in order to be a part of our communities. However, by our own fault, and the simple overwhelming number of non-Jewish followers of Yeshua, the result of Messianic Judaism has largely been reduced to being a Torah revival for Christians.

Now – please hear me out before your start throwing rocks …

I bring this up because it is detrimental to our future. We have largely missed why we should exist and for what purpose. We have been distracted, chasing controversies that only continue to marginalize those Jews we seek to embrace. Although there is a place for discussions like “the role of Torah for non-Jews,” the overwhelming attention placed on these issues affecting non-Jews carries very little weight for Jews. For most Jews being Jewish and living a particular Jewish way of life (the way they so choose) is a no brainer. So why would an intelligent Jewish person want to get mixed up with our baggage? Afterall, many of the issues we seem to find ourselves wrapped up in have very little to do with someone who is Jewish.

And it is not just those on the “outside.” We are loosing young Jews even within our own ranks who have not yet been compelled with a good enough reason to remain Messianic. It is not faith in Yeshua that is largely the stumbling block keeping us from effectively being a home to Jewish believers and seekers – it is our own hang ups. If we do not come to grips with a clear purpose and vision for Messianic Judaism we will find ourselves extinct.

Nearly 95% of all Messianic congregations’ websites state the purpose of a Messianic congregation is “to be a congregation of Jews and non-Jews worshiping together.” Really? That is the sole purpose of a Messianic congregation? In my opinion, this is exactly where we got distracted. Although I value Messianic congregations as being places where Jews and non-Jews can worship together, this should not be our primary purpose. Rather, it should be a byproduct.

We believe a Messianic congregation should exist for only three primary purposes:

1. To be a home for Jewish followers of Yeshua;
2. To be a welcoming environment for Jewish seekers open to exploring our claims that Yeshua is the Messiah;
3. And a place to raise our children as Messianic Jews.

All other efforts and programs are secondary to these primary goals. We must exist to be vibrant spiritual homes for Jews. Otherwise we fail to accomplish our prophetic purpose.

Directing our primary focus on Jews does not in and of itself alienate non-Jews. For any congregational growth specialist will note that no specific congregation can be all things to all people. In the past we have tried to do it all – and it has not worked. We need to come back to our primary purpose. However, at the same time we must be careful not to purposely alienate non-Jews in our midst. Regardless of a person’s background, if a person shares a commitment to the above primary values they should be invited to pursue this prophetic task along with us. Jews and non-Jews worshiping together may be a byproduct of a much clearer purpose, but should not be the primary purpose.

We must first and foremost be vibrant spiritual homes for Jews and directing our efforts as such. If we do this, hopefully everything should fall into place.

Written by Rabbi Joshua

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_PRaUbRZuY

Por que nos escogiste de todas las naciones – Asher bajar banu mikol ha-amim.

Cada porción de Jumash (cinco primeros libros de la Biblia) tiene su propio significado y tema prescrito por el Eterno. Para comenzar me gustaría darles una definición de que es la Torá del Eterno: propiamente traducida al castellano Torá significa instrucciones y no ley. La Torá del Eterno ayuda a definir y separar a una gente que puede considerar Suya, en carácter y creación. El termino en castellano “santo”, no tiene el significado completo para describir la palabra hebrea Kadosh, ya que la palabra kadosh es una atributo del Eterno que transmite a los que son Suyos. Y claro esto es lo que la Torá del Eterno nos provoca. Comemos diferente por que la Torá nos ordena como comer, alabamos como El Eterno lo determina, por que El ya lo escribió, vestimos diferentes, pensamos diferente, etc. Su Torá es buena, y sus preceptos traen luz. Solo lean Tehilim / Salmo 119 para darse cuenta como El Eterno piensa concerniendo su Torá.

Tehilim 119:1 “Alegres son los íntegros de camino, los que andan según la Torá de HaShem. 2 Alegres son los que guardan sus testimonios y con todo el corazón le buscan. 3 Pues no hacen iniquidad los que andan en sus caminos. 4 Tú mandaste que tus ordenanzas fuesen muy guardadas. 5 ¡Ojalá fuesen estables mis caminos para guardar tus mandamientos! 6 Entonces yo no sería avergonzado al observar todos tus mandamientos. 7 Te alabaré con rectitud de corazón, cuando aprenda tus justos juicios. 8 Tus leyes guardaré; no me abandones por completo.”

No somos esclavos de este mundo, somos forasteros, dependientes de las promesas de completa redención, por medio / en el merito de las manos traspasadas del que El Eterno nos mando, el Rey Mesías, nuestro Rabino, Yehoshúa de Nazaret.

Muchas gentes han tratado de entender la Biblia Hebrea (desde Bereshit -Génesis- hasta HaHitgalut –la Revelación-) sin tratar ni siquiera de entender a los autores de estos libros. Esto en mi opinión y experiencia es un grave error, el cual se podría corregir fácilmente con solo visitar la comunidad judía de cada uno en su ciudad con el motivo de entender, y aprender y no a provocar al Judío con molestias, sin amor y antisemitismo, sin al final reveler al Mesías Judío tal como es, Judío, acuérdense que nuestro Rabino Yehoshúa NUNCA FUE CRISTIANO, NI LO SERA.

También con solo buscar en la Internet gente como Mesianicos.com que dedican su tiempo y recursos a dar a entender las escrituras de Israel desde un punto Judío Mesiánico, proclamando a nuestro Mesías como el único camino al Padre, sin poner al lado las santas Instrucciones del Eterno, las cual nos promueven a imitar al Eterno en todos sus aspectos santos.

Para entender el punto que El Eterno trata de enseñar con el Sefer de Shemot –Libro de Éxodos- tenemos que entender primero cual fue el significado del Sefer Bereshit –Libro de Génesis-. Cuando uno lee el Sefer Bereshit, uno puede notar un motivo único para este libro, el cual es creación, primero del mundo (Sefer Bereshit también es conocido como “sefer ha’yetzira”, cual significa el libro de creación), y después la creación de una gente separada, la cual se le selecciona por medio de la voluntad del Eterno. El proceso de escoger se le llama en hebreo “Bejira”, esta bejira comienza con individuos, por familia, y eventualmente una familia. Por ejemplo: Adam, Noaj, Shem, Abraham, Yitzjak, Yacov, y eventualmente sus hijos.

La bejira continúa con una nación que es seleccionada para ser el instrumento del Eterno, pero en una categoría menor con dos tribus, con Levi, hasta llegar al Kohen y Levi (Sacerdote, y Levita), y en la Tribu de Yehuda –Judá-, cual continuo hasta Maran Rabeinu -nuestro Rabino de Rabinos- Yehoshúa. Por ejemplo Yehuda, Boaz, David, Shlomó, Zerubabel, hasta llegar a Maran Rabeinu Yehoshúa. La bejira de Yehuda termino su uso hace 2000 mil años, aunque hay hasta hoy miles de judíos que claman descendencia Davídica. La bejira de los Kohanim (Sacerdotes) continúa hasta que el Templo Mesiánico sea reconstruido, en el cual ellos servirán. Inclusive, hasta hoy la única línea judía que se conoce es la de los Kohanim, y Leviim (Sacerdotes y Levitas). Claro no podemos ignorar que inclusive hasta hoy también existe una bejira entre familias, los que ponen emuna –fe- en El Eterno, y otros no. (la bejira puede ser positiva, o negativa)

Leyendo todo el Sefer Shemot, nos damos cuenta que también en este libro se encuentra un tema especial. El de crear / implementar un pueblo, el comienzo de la redención de este, así como El Eterno lo profetizo a Abraham avinu –nuestro padre- en Sefer Bereshit, en el pacto de las piezas conocido como “brit bein ha’btarim”/ Bereshit 15:13-18. 15:13 “Entonces Elohim dijo a Abram: –Ten por cierto que tus descendientes serán extranjeros en una tierra que no será suya, y los esclavizarán y los oprimirán 400 años.  15:14 Pero yo también juzgaré a la nación a la cual servirán, y después de esto saldrán con grandes riquezas. 15:15 Pero tú irás a tus padres en paz y serás sepultado en buena vejez. 15:16 En la cuarta generación volverán acá, pues hasta ahora no ha llegado al colmo la maldad de los amorreos. 15:17 Y sucedió una vez que el sol se puso y hubo oscuridad que he aquí, apareció un horno humeante, y una antorcha ardiendo pasó por en medio de los animales divididos. 15:18 Aquel día HaShem hizo un pacto con Abram diciendo: –A tus descendientes daré esta tierra, desde el arroyo de Mitzrayim hasta el gran río, el río Éufrates;”

En parte, podemos apreciar que la primera parte de Sefer Shemot y Yetziat Mitzrayim –salida de Egipto- como parte de las promesas del Eterno a Abraham Avinu siendo cumplidas, las palabras y promesas del Eterno siempre son hechas, tarde o temprano, en Su tiempo.

Sefer Shemot puede ser visto como la primera parte de sus promesas y el cumplimiento para esta nación que escogió desde el comienzo. Estas promesas requieren que El Eterno los mueva al lugar que necesitan para sostener una vida prolongada, y segura. Comenzando con el final de Sefer Bereshit, y la llegada de Benei Yisrael –hijos de Israel- a Mitzrayim, y ahora en Sefer Shemot convirtiéndose en una nación oprimida, a la cual HaKodesh Baruj Hu (El Santo Bendito Sea) redimirá, y salvara, y removerá de una tierra que no les pertenece, para redimirlos, limpiarlos, y llevarlos a la tierra de Israel, donde existirán como nación modelo al mundo. (Esta nación será el modelo del mundo cuando el Rey Mesías sea revelado a todo Israel, y los enemigos de Israel perezcan en la batalla conocida como Har Guido – Armagedón-, y el Templo Mesiánico sea construido)

Claro que esta nación que El Eterno, bendito sea su Nombre, redimio no puede ser libre sin instrucciones. Estas instrucciones convierten a una nación esclava, a diferencia de una nación libre con una constitución hecha por la inmensa sabiduría del Eterno. Y claro mas adelante en Sefer Shemot podemos apreciar la historia conocida en hebreo como “matan Torá” la entrega de la Torá. Después de esto, tenemos un símbolo que representa la relación que Israel tiene con HaKodesh Baruj Hu, la cual viene en la forma del Mishkan –Tabernáculo-, el cual recuerda a Israel, y a todo el mundo que El Eterno de Israel vive entre ellos.

Claro que el matan Torá también representa cómo el Eterno, bendito Sea Su Nombre, cumple otra promesa con Avraham, la cual es y viene en la forma de la “brit mila” –circuncisión- la cual delinea que con brit mila uno acepta en fe, que El Eterno es su Elohim, y que uno viene a hacerse parte de su pacto, así como Avraham hizo: Bereshit 17:7 “Yo establezco mi pacto como pacto perpetuo entre yo y tú, y tu descendencia después de ti por sus generaciones, para ser tu Elohim y el de tu descendencia después de ti. 17:8 Yo te daré en posesión perpetua, a ti y a tu descendencia después de ti, la tierra en que resides, toda la tierra de Canaán. Y yo seré su Elohim. 17:9 Elohim dijo de nuevo a Abraham: –Pero tú guardarás mi pacto, tú y tus descendientes después de ti, a través de sus generaciones. 17:10 Éste será mi pacto entre yo y vosotros que guardaréis tú y tus descendientes después de ti: Todo varón de entre vosotros será circuncidado. 17:11 Circuncidaréis vuestros prepucios, y esto será la señal del pacto entre yo y vosotros. 17:12 A los ocho días de nacido será circuncidado todo varón de entre vosotros, a través de vuestras generaciones; tanto el nacido en casa como el comprado con dinero a cualquier extranjero que no sea de tu descendencia. 17:13 Deberá ser circuncidado el nacido en tu casa y el comprado con tu dinero. Así estará mi pacto en vuestra carne como pacto perpetuo. 17:14 El hombre incircunciso, que no haya circuncidado su prepucio, esa persona será borrada de su pueblo, porque ha violado mi pacto.”

Hay una de las bendiciones que se hacen antes de leer la Torá en los shabatot –sábados- que dice, “asher bajar banu mi kol ha’amim, ve’natan lanu et Torato” que significa en castellano, “por que nos escogiste de todas las naciones, y nos diste Torá.” Esta bendición en particular es interesante que puede ser entendida en dos sentidos, pero me enfocare en uno solo. El sentido que quiero que entiendan es que El Eterno construyo un pueblo separado de muchas gentes, miles de ellos no fueron Israelitas de nacimiento (¿quien argumentaría que Eliécer, el ayudante de Abraham no era creyente en El Eterno?). Pero como han leído hasta ahora, todos aquellos que son escogidos por El Eterno, vienen a hacerse parte de la nación separada, la cual solo hay una, Israel. El único Israel, que heredo Israel la tierra de leche y miel. El Eterno solo tiene una nación.

Si tu eres Zera Yisrael (semilla de Israel), es tiempo que tomes tu posesión, tu derecho, y proclames al mundo que El Rey Mesías ha venido (lee las escrituras hebreas, y lo veras). Si no eres semilla física de Avraham, pero has sido escogido, es hora que visites la sinagoga cercana. Lee Ma’ase Hashlijim / Hechos 15:19 “Por lo cual yo juzgo que no hay que inquietar a los no judíos que se convierten a Elohim, 15:20 sino que se les escriba que se aparten de las contaminaciones de los ídolos, de fornicación, de lo estrangulado y de sangre (leyes de introducción). 15:21 Porque desde tiempos antiguos Moshé tiene en cada ciudad quienes le prediquen en las sinagogas, donde es leído cada sábado.”

No solo es un mandamiento que vaya a la sinagoga, pero también que la atiendas los sábados! Aprende de las instrucciones buenas del Eterno, son para tu beneficio, para tu bien, para darte un futuro en la nación que te han incluido. (No existen en las escrituras de Israel una noción de benei Noaj, ni tampoco Israel espiritual).

Para terminar, es importante considerar ésta advertencia: “o te incorporas de completo con las cosas del Eterno, o serás cortado”, pues así lo dicen las escrituras de Israel.

Queremos al Mashiaj ya!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-kONChBnjE

Every believer desires to grow in the knowledge of HaShem and His Messiah. The first Psalm tells us that if we will delight in the Torah and meditate upon it, we will grow like a tree planted by a river.

In the religious world today, one often hears the mantra, “God is doing a new thing!” This catchphrase is usually offered to explain the latest popular fad or charismatic CHRISTIAN wave to wash up on the shallow shores of modernity.

 We believe that “God is doing an old thing!” God never changes, and is pouring out the same message He has always delivered through his Holy Prophets, Return to My Torah. Obey My Commandments!

Many believers in Messiah, Jewish and Converts alike, are feeling a deep longing to return to the biblically-observant lifestyle founded in the Torah.

Why? is this? The Scriptures say, Now it will come about that in the last days… many people will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of HaShem, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways, and that we may walk in His paths. For the Torah will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:2?3)

Quantifying Torah. Study Can the time for the obligation of Torah study be quantified? It cannot. The time of each person’s obligation of Torah study is different, and varies according to personal circumstances.

The unique thing about Torah study is that it is a never-ending mitzvah. A Jew can never claim to have finished studying Torah, for there is really no end to the number of ideas that the Torah includes.

In addition, the purpose of studying Torah is not merely to know how to behave and how to view the world; rather, the act of study itself is considered a most elevated mitzvah (knowing the character of HaShem).

In the act of studying the Torah, a person engages with the Divine word itself, bonding him with HaShem to a greater degree than all other mitzvos (Derech Hashem, Part 1, Chap. 4, no. 9). Therefore, unlike other mitzvot that are bound by time, place, and person, the mitzvah of Torah study is universal, applying to all Israelites, at all times, and in all places.

Reflecting the unbounded nature of the Torah, the Rambam explains that the obligation to study Torah never wanes: “Until what age is one obligated to study Torah? Until the day one dies, as the verse states: ‘Lest they [the words of the Torah] leave your heart all the days of your life.’ And when one does not study, one forgets” (Torah Study 1:10).

The Rambam adds: “Every Jew—rich or poor, healthy or sick, young or very old and weak—is obligated to study Torah. Even a destitute person who lives off charity and goes begging from door to door, or a husband and father of children, must set fixed times, day and night, for studying Torah, as the verse states: ‘You must meditate upon it day and night.’”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czqaRTW1c3I

There was a game show many years ago called “To Tell the Truth”. It was a show that had one real person and three other imposters pretending to be the same person. The panel would ask questions and then try and determine the true one from the imposters.

That is the argument made by Jews and anti-missionaries who try to dissuade Jews from believing in Yeshua. The argument goes that since Yeshua “Jesus” started a new religion any Jew who believes in Yeshua is no longer a Jew. So, it is time to tell the truth.

Firstly, I think it is important to note that most Jews have Yeshua confused with the Jesus of Christianity. The following paper will illustrate the difference between Yeshua the Jew and Jesus the Christian.

1. Jesus abolished the Torah of Moses and its commandments.
2. Yeshua, our Jewish Rabbi kept the Torah.

Maran Yeshua said: “17 “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. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.(Matt. 5:17-20)

Firstly, Yeshua did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. I know what most Christians are saying: by fulfilling the Law “Jesus” abolished it. I am married, and when I stood before Hashem and man I made vows to my wife. Now, if I am to fulfill those vows does that mean that I am no longer obligated to love and honour my wife, Heaven forbid!! In the same way, Yeshua, by fulfilling the Law is keeping the Law to its utmost.

Secondly, Yeshua tells us that the Law will not pass away until Heaven and Earth pass away. The last time I checked Heaven and Earth were still here, so there goes that argument.

Thirdly, Yeshua says anyone who sets aside even one of these commandments or teaches others to do the same will be least in the kingdom. The Christian will say that “Jesus” is speaking only of his commandments, or those in the “New Testament” (here after called the Good News). The Good News had not been codified yet and so it cannot just apply to those commandants. Also, Yeshua begins by talking about not abolishing Torah or the Prophets. This sentence is a continuation of that argument, ergo; anyone who teaches someone to break Torah will be least in the Kingdom of heaven.

Finally, Yeshua states that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees we will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. I know of many Christians who love to bash the Pharisees. The term Pharisee has been used derisively to denote a self-righteous and sanctimonious person. I think most people miss the point. The Pharisees were righteous people. The word Pharisee comes from Hebrew פְּרוּשִׁים pĕrûšîm which means holy ones. Yeshua, I believe, was emphasizing that unless our sense of holiness is even greater than the Pharisees we will not enter the kingdom.

1. Jesus allows his followers to worship him on Sunday.
2. Yeshua, our Jewish Rabbi kept the Sabbath.

First of all God commanded us to keep the Sabbath. See Ex. 20:8-11 and Deut. 5:12-15 It says of Yeshua that he worshiped in the Synagogue on the Sabbath as was his custom. They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Yeshua went into the synagogue and began to teach (Mark 1:21-similar verses: Mark 6:2; Luke 4:31; 6:6). He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read (Luke 4:16).

Many Christians will argue that the Sabbath was abolished by Yeshua’s death. Sunday was instituted, in part, because of his resurrection on “Sunday”. If this is true let us examine what the disciples did after Yeshua rose.

The women who had come with Yeshua from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment (Luke 23:55-56).

On the Sabbath they [Paul and believers] entered the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak" (Acts 13:14-15).

As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath (Acts 13:42).

"Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.[2] For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day" (Acts 15:19–21).

As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures (Acts 17:2).

Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks (Acts 18:4).

Then never let anyone criticize you for what you eat or drink, or about observance of annual festivals, New Moons or Sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what was coming: the reality is the body of Messiah (Col 2:16-17).

There must still be, therefore, a seventh-day rest reserved for God’s people, since to enter the place of rest is to rest after your work, as God did after his (Heb 4:9-10).

I think it is clear from the many references above that Yeshua’s disciples kept the Sabbath holy.

1. Jesus allows his followers to eat pork and other non-kosher food.
2. Yeshua, our Jewish Rabbi kept all the kosher and Jewish dietary laws.

The two passages which Christians love to misquote are in Acts 10 and Mark 7; let us take a moment to look at these passages from our Jewish Rabbi’s perspective.

Mark 7 (From the Besorah Tovah)

And there assembled together unto him the Pharisees and some of the scribes, coming from Jerusalem. 2 And when they had seen some of his disciples eat bread with common, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews eat not without often washing their hands, holding the tradition of the ancients. 4 And when they come from the market, unless they be washed, they eat not: and many other things there are that have been delivered to them to observe, the washings of cups and of pots and of brazen vessels and of beds. 5 And the Pharisees and scribes asked him: Why do not your disciples walk according to the tradition of the ancients, but they eat bread with common hands? 6 But he answering, said to them: Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 And in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and precepts of men.

I want to focus on two main points. First, the passage has nothing to do with food, but instead with the ritual washing of hands. Notice that on this point the Pharisees are not accusing Yeshua, but that some of his disciples do not wash their hands.

Secondly, Christians seems to link verses 15 and 19b. They argue that it doesn’t matter what you eat and that “Jesus” declared all foods clean. Let me address the second point since that is the one relating to food.

I believe Yeshua addresses the “not what goes in, but comes out from verses 20-23. 20 "It is what comes out of a person," he went on, "that makes him unclean. 21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come forth wicked thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, arrogance, foolishness… 23 All these wicked things come from within, and they make a person unclean."

Notice, Yeshua did not mention food here in these verses. As to the second part where he declares all food clean; we must look at that in the historical context. First, look at all the parties involved: Yeshua, his disciples, and the Pharisees. What does these three have in common? They were all Jewish! So, therefore, their understanding of food would have been in the Jewish concept of the dietary laws found in Torah.

Put another way, in North American culture, we do not eat dogs and cats. However, in some cultures they do eat those animals. We in this culture do not consider dogs and cats as food. I would make the same argument for the passage in Mark. The Jews in their culture would have not considered non-kosher animals to be foods. Thus, when Yeshua declares all foods clean he is stating that all kosher food is clean even if you don’t do the ritual hand washing.

Acts 10 (From the Besorah Tovah)

13 And there came a voice to him: Arise, Peter. Kill and eat. 14 But Peter said: Far be it from me. For I never ate anything that is common and unclean. 15 And the voice spoke to him again the second time: That which God has cleansed, do not call common. 16 And this was done thrice. And presently the vessel was taken up into heaven…. 34 And Peter opening his mouth, said: In very deed I perceive that God is not a respecter of persons. 35 But in every nation, he that fears him and works justice is acceptable to him.

This passage, especially verse 15 and 16 are used by Christians to proclaim all non-kosher food as clean. However, I believe one has to look at the historical context to understand the meaning behind the passage.

Peter, a Jew, kept so kosher that when God tells him to eat he says “No, sir! Absolutely not! I have never eaten food that was unclean or treif." (verse 14)

I believe that the answer to the vision can be found in verses 28 and 34-35. When Peter explains the vision he does not talk about food, but about people. For those Christians who would still say this is about food let me make this point. We have already seen Peter’s response as to never eating unclean food. As a Jew, his food would come from the dietary laws in Leviticus. If God were proclaiming a new dietary law, don’t you think Peter would have mentioned it in his explanation of the visions?

However, he does not because after all it would have been a revolutionary experience for Peter, the Jew, to change his dietary habits. I believe, the three visions are in reference to the three non-Jews who were about to become part of the group.

Therefore, this passage does not refer to food at all, but to the acceptance of non-Jews into the Jewish community.

1. Jesus celebrates the pagan holidays of Christmas and Easter.
2. Yeshua celebrated the Biblical holidays as outlined in the Torah.

Firstly, nowhere in the Good News did Yeshua ever command his disciples to celebrate his birth. The fact is that the only two instances of birthdays are mentioned in the Bible; both represented pagan situations and were related to the killing of people.

The first mention of a birthday is in Genesis when Joseph was in Egypt and he interpreted the meaning of a dream. The dream included, among other things, the hanging of the chief baker on Pharaoh’s birthday (see Gen 40:20-22). In the Good News, the other mention concerns the beheading of John the Baptist when Herod was celebrating his own birthday. During the party, Herod promised Herodias’ daughter any gift she wanted, because he was so pleased by her dancing. At her mother’s urging, she asked for John’s head and she received it on a platter (see Matt. 14:6-10).

This is not to say that birthdays cannot be celebrated, but simply that Yeshua never commanded that we celebrate his birth. The fact is though that both Christmas and Easter are pagan holidays having to do with fertility rights. These pagan holidays were introduced by Constantine when he “converted” to Christianity.

There is a passage in Jeremiah 10 which warns Jews not to celebrate pagan holidays.

Hear what the L-RD says to you, people of Israel. 2 This is what the L-RD says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified by them. 3 For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. 4 They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. ” (Jeremiah 10:1-4)

I will explain why Christmas and Easter are pagan view the website for more details. Yeshua, our Rabbi kept the biblical feast days of Passover, Sukkoth, etc. It appears clear that Yeshua and his disciples did eat the Passover supper. Two things make this apparent.

First, he promised the disciples that he would “keep the Passover” (Mt. 26:18), which is the equivalent of “eat the Passover” (Mk. 14:14). He appointed the place for that event and gave instructions for the preparation (Mk. 14:12ff). The Synoptic texts (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) then harmoniously flow toward the evening of that very day, and depict Yeshua as “eating” with the disciples (Mt. 26:21; Mk. 14:18).

Additionally, the law of Moses was still binding at this time, and Yeshua was very careful to do all that the law commanded (Mt. 5:17-18; Jn. 8:29). Since the Passover was a part of the law’s requirement, Yeshua obviously partook of that feast. The testimony of the Synoptics is clear and decisive that Yeshua and his disciples observed the Passover.

There is so much more that could be said. I personally believe that Yeshua was the Messiah and that he died to atone for our sins and was resurrected. I do NOT however, believe in the Jesus of Christianity. I reject Jesus and I would urge all Jews to do likewise. I reject Jews for Jesus and other such ministries which proclaim that Yeshua and Jesus are one and the same.

As they say at the end of the game show “Will the real Messiah please stand up?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XotNrDtY3Jw

The Torah: Never Changing but Always Refreshing. (RAMBAM 13 Principals of Faith – Principal Nine, Lesson Eight Excerpt; Page 269)

The Spiritual identity of the Torah appears, at first glance, to present us with two contradictory themes. On the one hand, we are taught that the Torah is static: “This Torah of Moshe will never be revoked and no other Torah will ever be given by G-d.”

But there is also a principal that, spiritually speaking, the Torah is given anew every day. Consequently, when we make the blessing on the giving of the Torah we use the present tense, “Blessed are You, O G-d, who gives the Torah,” to stress that Sinai is an ongoing process. Therefore, Torah demands that we always grow in our personal spirituality, so as to keep apace with the constantly expanding spiritual revelations that are occurring. These two elements to the Torah provide us with two different thrusts in our observance of the commandments. But nevertheless, “it must be new in your eyes everyday” (Rashi to Devarim 26:16), our observance should not be dry and static, but inspired and charged with the knowledge that the Torah was just given today anew. (Based on Sichas Shabbos Parshas Shemini 5747, par. 44)

This teaching from the RAMBAM 13 Principals of faith regarding the eternal relevance of the Torah gives us a very deep understanding of the Torah in our lives today. Many who have read the Torah whether secular Jew or Christian, may see it as irrelevant for us today in our modern 21st century society. However this is not true at all because God intended the Torah to be just at relevant to the children of Israel at Sinai as it is to us today. We are blessed to have the Blessed and Holy Torah in our possession, both written on our hearts as believers in our Master Yeshua and within our Bibles in our homes.

Anciently, access to the Torah for the general public was during public readings at the Synagogues because they were written on scrolls, just like how we have also today in our Synagogues across the world. For us today to have the Torah in our homes, whether the Chumash in an Orthodox Jewish home or the King James Bible in a Christian home, we are very blessed to be in the period of time when God said: (Havakuk/Habakkuk 2:14) “For the earth will be as full of the knowledge of HaShem’s glory as waters covering the sea.” Rashi said (Rashi to Devarim 26:16) “it must be new in your eyes everyday”, Torah means instruction/teaching and God embedded within it instructions for all of us on how to live our everyday lives. Every day we face different situations, some good and some bad, but no matter what the case is, we can be assured that there is an instruction within the Torah regarding the matter and even if we have read the same verse 10,000 times, on the 10,001 time it will have a completely new and profound meaning for us and shine a new light on a former darkened area of life.

We need to pray daily for God to open our eyes to the instructions within His Torah because just as Rabbi Shaul said (2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living.” At the time of Paul, the only Scriptures available were the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings (Psalms, Proverbs, ect.). If at the time of Paul, the Torah was still relevant and the same as given to Moshe at Sinai then it confirms that it is good for us today as believers in our Master Yeshua because as we have learned from the lesson excerpt above, there will never be another Torah given and the one we have will never be changed.

In the above teaching it was said “Torah demands that we always grow in our personal spirituality, so as to keep apace with the constantly expanding spiritual revelations that are occurring.” Every day we grow a little more in faith and deepen our personal relationship with God, remember these are not mindless and vain acts of religion to satisfy an empty void in our lives, but rather it is a relationship with our Heavenly and Eternal Father who hears our every word and is more than willing to answer His children’s prayers and guide them through this corrupted world we live in today. As it is said, constant expanding spiritual revelations are always occurring and we cannot become deaf to the voice of God speaking to our hearts revealing the Holy Torah written on it, we need to study Torah, we need to eat and drink Torah. We need to live Torah because our Messiah and Master Yeshua is the living embodiment of the Torah and the Torah is just as alive as our Messiah is today, living eternally and returning soon to establish the Kingdom of the God of Israel on earth, proclaiming this very same Torah to the four corners of the earth from Jerusalem.

Once again, we need to pray every day for God to open our hearts, minds, eyes and ears to His Torah, for us, the Torah needs to be new and fresh in our hearts every day, with new insights and deeper revelations of our Messiah Yeshua and how we are to live Godly lives in His footsteps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoUnyeYhwXQ