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Parashat Masei
On the Move To the untrained eye, this portion like so many appears to be a humdrum list of places and movements with some arcane references to cities of refuge. In the middle of this we find that Moshe is commanded to recap the journey so far, mentioning in detail the 42 places or stages of the journey that has unfolded before them as we wandered in the wilderness. How…
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Parashat Balak
G-d is on my side… whose side? Balak King of the Moabites is honoured with this portion named after him, so again there is a key truth to learn from him as a role model. He looked at Israel and realised the writing was on the wall, destruction was assured due to our might and power, so he tried to get a little extra help against us. On comes Balaam…
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Making Time for G-d
Shabbat Emor In Vayikra (Lev) 21:8 we are told that it is G-d alone who makes us holy. He then wants us to BE holy in our walk with Him and before the world. G-d moves us from the camp of the unholy to the camp of the holy, and only He can do that. But once you’ve come into that camp you have to live out what this new…
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The Importance of Ritual Purity
Shabbat Tazria/Metzora This double portion deals with the purity laws (tamei and tahor). Some have attempted to understand these laws in light of health or hygiene. Perhaps. However, this view should be exercised with caution as other things such as excrement didn’t make you unclean, even though it had to be disposed of outside the camp. Others define these areas along spiritual lines and this is perfectly acceptable and true:…
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I did it my way!
We have a fundamental choice in life: doing things G-d’s way or our own. The whole purpose of this portion is to show us that we need to do everything His way, not what seems good to us or as we think it ought to be done. The fire that descended from Heaven to the altar to consume the offerings brought in obedience to the commandments only did so because…
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Parashat Pekudei
Approaching G-d This week’s portion is one of the most profound we can have, an almighty, eternal and utterly ‘other’ G-d, of pure Spirit and normally invisible, comes, visibly and tangibly to fill the completed Mishkan. The G-d who created everything material, yet who is Himself not material, dwells, exists in time and space in the heart of this construction. We get used to this idea and think it’s fine…
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Parashat Tetzaveh
There are a number of key themes running through the building and equipping of the Mishkan (tabernacle), the altar with its incense and impact on the senses designed to remind us of the need for constant prayer, and the eternal light filling the area with light indicative of G-d’s presence eternally with us. We also now read of commandments to make garments for Aaron, for the priesthood. The Mishkan in…
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Parashat Yitro
Setting boundaries for protection This portion begins with our people waiting before Mount Sinai, encamped 3 days, expectant, having been commanded to go out and worship Him ‘on this mountain’. They had purified themselves and the encounter with G-d and Moshe is about to begin. Curiously Moshe is told to do something, read Shemot (Exodus) 19:10-13 and 21. He is told to ‘set bounds’ or build fences around the mount,…
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Parashat Vayechi
The long term historical aim of British society has been to develop a multicultural model of existence where all value systems are equal and to be exalted as valid and worthy of contribution. Alongside this we have seen the concept of individualism as a high ideal and a cultural rebuttal of the age old dictum ‘no man is an island’. In the face of this we see community breakdown, family…
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Parashat Vayigash
Stepping closer to redemption This week the final part of the Yosef story unfolds: the most crucial bit which is the unveiling of his real identity. The summary of Josef’s life is difficult reading: his mistreatment, abuse, sold into slavery, the incident with Potiphar’s wife, in prison for 2 years, and at the end of it all was he bitter? No, he forgave and saw that there was a bigger…
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Favouritism or Choice?
We all like to go and see a good film. So there you are, popcorn in hand, choc-ices dripping, the film rolls and it reveals a handsome young man who is despised by his brothers, a family racked with internal jealousy, plotting and intrigue, a father who is trapped in the past, locked still in family personality and character traits which should no longer exist. There is an attempt on…
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Facing up to the enemy
Shabbat Vayishlach: In this portion we see Ya’akov returning to the land after 20 years, returning to face all the issues he had so quickly avoided on his departure. Ya’akov, the one who fled from his brother, unable to confront what had happened, the fear of reprisals, the fear of the unknown, all this dogged his footsteps. We see now a changing Ya’akov, slowly beginning to learn the spiritual lessons…
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Parashat Chayei Sarah
A woman of valour, who can find? This is a very important portion. It speaks of so many things that are historical patterns that have echoed throughout the ages since, the battle between Yitzchak and Ishmael, the choices made in the fleshly, carnal, physical realm rather than in the spiritual, and the lives and legacies of Sarah and Rivkah. Yet it’s named after the life of Sarah, the only Matriarch…
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Time to rejoice!
It’s a great time of year; scarcely are we past the ‘New Year’ and Yom Kippur with its deep inward soul searching, than we’re straight into a birthday celebration! So Happy Birthday Yeshua! Yosef and Miriam went up to Jerusalem as commanded at this Pilgrim festival. Miriam didn’t have to but did anyway, even in her condition, which tells you something about her devotion to God. Think about it –…
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Be Strong
Moshe’s whole life’s work and calling was about to conclude. His concern to the bitter end was for the future of his people and God’s faithfulness to them and to us. Both he and Joshua are called to go before the Lord in Deuteronomy 31, where they hear some unpleasant things: V.16: “go astray or play the harlot”. The Hebrew is strong here and refers to sexual immorality tied to…
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Becoming Truly Spiritual
Parashat Emor states the broad design for God’s people: “Be ye holy as I am holy”. Indeed we learn a profound lesson – repeated for us twice here in Leviticus 21:8 and 22:32-33 – that it is God Himself who makes us holy. He is intimately involved in the process and status of our sanctity; as with so many areas of our faith, we discover that everything comes from Him,…
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Annual Mashiach Conference 2012
[nggallery id=15] The annual UBMS Mashiach conference took place in Oxfordshire over the weekend of 24th-26th August 2012. After months of careful planning and prayer the conference brought together the Synagogues in membership of the UBMS, as well as Synagogues drawn from the now emerging Union of European Messianic Synagogues (UEMS). We had representatives from Belgium, Romania and the Ukraine, with the leaders and rabbis from these Synagogues teaching and preaching during the weekend, alongside the UBMS…
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