Category Archives: Judaism

Blessing of Sabbath versus Selfish Self-Sacrifice – Isaiah 58:13

Posted on September 28, 2012 by yourphariseefriend

Blessing of Sabbath versus Selfish Self-Sacrifice – Isaiah 58:13 Living a sacrificial life can sometimes be an extreme expression of self-centeredness. People don’t like to see themselves as “takers” – they enjoy thinking of themselves as altruistic “givers”. In pursuit … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Judaism, Scripture | 2 Comments

Yom Kippur 5773 – Isaiah 58

Posted on September 23, 2012 by yourphariseefriend

Yom Kippur 5773 – Isaiah 58 Man has an amazing capacity for self-deception. People could sometimes define their efforts as reaching out to God when in fact they have done no such thing. They see their activities as the holiest … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Judaism, Scripture | 10 Comments

Tower of Truth

Posted on September 11, 2012 by yourphariseefriend

Tower of Truth Man’s need for self-validation is very deep. Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. The deeper the need – the more powerful the desire to invent and to fabricate. Not that there is a true … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic, Judaism | 6 Comments

Love, Law and Jeremiah 9:23

Posted on June 22, 2012 by yourphariseefriend

Love, Law and Jeremiah 9:23 God’s holy Law and His love are seen by some as to conflicting factors in our relationship with the Divine. Loving God and observing the Law are understood by these people as two separate approaches … Continue reading →

Posted in Judaism | 16 Comments

Ramifications of Shema IV – Isaiah 41:10

Posted on June 14, 2012 by yourphariseefriend

Ramifications of Shema IV – Isaiah 41:10 In the Shema we declare that the Lord is our God. What do we mean when we say that God is “ours”? Is the Lord not God over all of creation? How is … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic, Judaism | 3 Comments

Weeks of Harvest – Jeremiah 5:24

Posted on April 27, 2012 by yourphariseefriend

Weeks of Harvest – Jeremiah 5:24 The Bible does not explicitly describe Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks, as the day of the giving of the Torah. We can calculate that the date of the festival coincides with that historic revelation … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays | 3 Comments

Excerpt from Vol. 4 – Sabbath

Posted on April 26, 2012 by yourphariseefriend

If we focus on what God teaches us about the Sabbath in the Jewish Scriptures it will become obvious that not only did the followers of Jesus do away with God’s Sabbath (something that they never tried to hide), but … Continue reading →

Posted in Judaism | 9 Comments

Fire, Offerings and Passover

Posted on April 1, 2012 by yourphariseefriend

Fire, Offerings and Passover There is no Hebrew counter-part for the English word: “sacrifice”. The terms that the Bible uses to describe the sacrifices in the Temple are: “olah” – a word that represents the burning of the offering with … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Judaism | 202 Comments

Forming a Nation

Posted on March 29, 2012 by yourphariseefriend

Forming a Nation Exodus 13:8, Psalm 78:5 The exodus from Egypt was a foundational event in the history of our nation and the retelling of the story is an important aspect of preserving our heritage as Jews. On the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Judaism | 1 Comment

Passover – Genesis 17:7

Posted on March 27, 2012 by yourphariseefriend

  Passover – Genesis 17:7   The commandment to partake of the Passover offering is unique in that circumcision is a necessary prerequisite for participation in this observance (Exodus 12:48). The Scriptural narratives that describe the observance of Passover in … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Judaism | 3 Comments