In this second parashah of the annual Torah reading cycle, we read about one of the best known biblical stories, one which is found in nearly every civilization: the Flood. If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video. God is fed up with the
How many of you are familiar with the movie called “The Manchurian Candidate”? It is about a man who was conditioned (in the old days we used to say “brainwashed”) by the Communists to assassinate a United States figure in the hope of taking over the United States. If you
What do you think of when you hear “Give up?” If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video. Do you think that it means to quit trying to do something, like in a prizefight when one contender throws in the towel and by doing
The High Holy Days are over for this Gregorian calendar year and will start again with the real Jewish New Year on April 8, 2020, when Pesach (Passover) begins. If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video. We have turned the Torah back to
For those of you who may not know, I was a First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. And, as such, I was very well trained in combat skills, including all types of attacks and counterattacks. One thing I learned is that it is very important to pre-organize a
The New Covenant, not the scriptures but the actual promise from God, is found in Jeremiah 31:31, and it will be fulfilled through the Messiah. It is a promise made by God, through the prophet Jeremiah to the Jewish people. God has also said, through other prophets, that the Messiah
This Shabbat is the Shabbat during the days of Sukkot, and the traditional reading is from the parashah Pinchus, specifically the chapter dealing with how to celebrate this festival. The Haftorah portion is from Ezekiel, where he relates the future of Gog and how Israel will conquer them as they
In the book of B’midbar (Numbers), Chapter 22 tells us the story of how Balak, the son of the king of Moab, hired a man named Bilyam (Balaam is how most Christian Bibles spell it) to curse the Israelites, who have just defeated the Emori and now are on the
How many of you have heard the expression that salvation is the free gift of the Lord? It is something that we cannot buy, cannot earn, and can have simply for the asking, so it certainly does sound like it is free, doesn’t it? If you prefer to watch a
We are now very close to the end of the Torah. Moses is going to teach the song that God gave him to the children of Israel, so that when they go astray in the future and wonder, “Why has this happened to us?” they will remember the song, and