Although I was born physically into a Jewish family, my family was not immersed into Jewish doctrine. My father and mother could speak a little Yiddish, and maybe they had some semblance of Jewish morality but for the most part they were secular Jews.
I remember when I was a little boy; my family would travel to the east side of Bronx, New York each year to partake of the Passover ceremony with the rest of my more orthodox Jewish side of the family. Because I was a silly, foolish little boy, and didnīt know any better, I would breakout into hysterical laughter when my grandfather would be praying and speaking in Hebrew. I just thought that, that was the funniest thing I had ever heard. Little did I know just how important knowing my Jewish roots would become! It was only after 35 years of being a completed Jew (accepting Jesus as my Messiah) have I just begun to appreciate my rich Jewish heritage. And by the way, my grandfatherīs father was, in the 1800īs, a Rabbi.
Since Peggy and I have been married, (23 years) she has become more of a Jew in her heart and in her understanding of Jewish culture and history than me. Peggy was studying to be a Nun before I knew her, when she was a young woman. She became disillusioned with Catholicism and was considering converting to Judaism when I first met her. Since then, she has had a bent toward knowing more about the roots of her Christian faith. Peggy had been reading books by Zola Levitt, Monte Judah and a few other leaders in the Messianic movement. She has gotten involved in various Christian and Jewish ministries through the years to help the Jewish people. She even started trying to learn the Hebrew language. She has had a natural inclination toward languages.
By the way, since Peggy has been buying up CDīs and books written by leaders of the Messianic movement, Iīve been sneaking her books and CDīs into my collection. Now she has to ask me where "her" books and CDīs are. Arenīt I terrible??
Since becoming more familiar with my Jewish roots I am discovering how very funny and cute Jewish humor really is. Many Jewish believers have an incredible sense of humor naturally, not that Iīm prejudice mind you, really! I have not found in any other culture people quite like the Jewish people. They really are a peculiar and wonderful people once you get to know them.
Diverging just a little, and meaning no disrespect or disparagement to my Jewish family and friends, I would like to tell you about this music CD. Itīs poking in fun, about this typical "traditional" Jewish family. They have to deal with their son becoming a believer in his Messiah. It really is a priceless entertaining story set to music, and does accurately portray (I think) a genuine picture of contemporary Jewish culture.
Have you ever listened to the music of the Messianic group from Jews for Jesus organization, called the Liberated Wailing Wall? If you havenīt you are missing out on a real blessing? You can buy or download many of their older and some newer songs free; including the one Iīm describing and going to tell you more about below, by going here: www.jewsforjesus.org check it out.
In this particularly classic and hilarious song that I started telling you about, is worth downloading or buying just for this one song called "Tradition" from the CD titled "Liberated Wailing wall favorites." The story starts out with this one young Jewish believer singing about how he has become a believer in the Messiah, and he is witnessing to his secular Jewish family, and handing out Christian tracts to people on the street. Heīs singing about his liberally minded sister Shelia who is so opened minded and involved in trying so many different philosophies and things, he says of his sister in his cute Jewish way:
"According to her itīs Jewish tradition to be liberal and open minded. My sister Shelia is so open minded that one of these days her brains are going to fall out!"
Sheīs singing about her overzealous newly converted brother, and she says in typical Jewish slang: "my brother the fanatic."
His father Mr. Matzcowitz who has a certain business called Matzcowitz & Sons, is singing about his son and he says in a loving, caring and confused way: "my son the preacher" "Now you picked a different trade, you preach the "gospel"??
The son is singing about his motherīs reaction to him becoming a believer and he says: "my mother, God bless her, is having a very difficult time understanding me lately. She doesnīt seem to realize that a real Christian is born again, and now she calls me:"my son the gentile." He goes on about his mother and says," thatīs all she knows; she thinks all gentiles are Christians, uhaac. She confuses the Pharaoh and the Pope, Billy Graham and Billy Carter. To my mom they all fall into one category "them." To her thereīs "us" and "them." "Us" meaning the Jews, and now she thinks Iīve become a "Them."
If you are a true believer in the Messiah you canīt help loving the Jewish people.
Getting back to what I was saying previously, because of Peggy, I began to realize that there was much more to my Christian experience and understanding of Godīs word. Through Peggyīs hunger and steady persistence in wanting to understand the minds of the Bibleīs authors, she and I are discovering rich insights. These insights are found through learning the word meanings of each Hebrew letter. Each Hebrew letter has many word meanings that are not translated in our contemporary English Bibles.
According to Monte Judah a Messianic leader who teaches these word meanings through his messages on the Torah, (instruction) a messianic believer is one who believes that Yīshua of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and keeps Torah, whether a Jew by birth or a gentile. "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God" .. "Then Peter replied, īI see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right.ī (Torah instruction), (Acts 10:34&35) Jesus also said that He "did not come to abolish the law (Torah instruction) but to fulfill it." So if He did not come to abolish the law (Torah - instruction) then maybe we should still be studying, following and being instructed in it? The Torah is the five books of Moses, which consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. A Messianic believer also reads the rest of the Christian Bible as well.
It would be most beneficial to expose yourself to the teachings of a Torah teacher like Monte Judah, to really understand what the gentile Christian Church; (non Messianic believers) have been missing for many, many, hundreds of years. It will round out your understanding of the Old Testament by light years. Also, I believe that being exposed to a Torah teacher like Monte Judah, will through the scriptures reveal to you important Biblical instructions such as how to make it through the "Great Tribulation" (prophesied in the Christian New Testament) or the greater exodus (prophesied in the Tanakh) which is coming, and what important signs to look for, especially for its beginning.
Continuing in the same vein of what has just been said, below is a small portion from a very important book: Listening to the Language of the Bible, Hearing it through Jesusī Ears by Lois A. Tverberg, and Bruce M. Okkema from the En-Gedi Resource Center, www.egrc.net. Their book is an indispensable tool; it helps to unlock deeper and richer insights into some of the Old Testament scripture text found hidden in the Hebrew language that our English translated Bibles leave out.
Partial Introduction
Listening Through Jesus Ears
"Anyone who studies the Bible will notice right from the start that it often speaks in words and phrases that are difficult to understand. We need to remember that the scriptures come to us from languages and cultures very different from our own. Most of us use translations that have brought the text into modern English so that we barely notice its foreign "accent". We might be perplexed when its message doesnīt quite make sense to us, or we may think we understand it, while a deeper idea escapes our grasp.
If we delve further into the minds of the Bibles authors, we often discover that their strange-sounding language actually contains rich insights that are not always apparent in the English translation. These insights are often key to understanding the text and applying it to our lives. We also discover rich poetry, humorous irony, and timeless wisdom when we hear their thoughts more clearly. This is especially true as we read Jesus' Bible, our Old Testament, which reflects an ancient culture very different from our own. Besides making the Bible come into clearer focus, hearing its words as they were originally meant is a tremendously enriching experience, giving us wonderful new insights into God's Word"
A small excerpt from chapter 4:
Torah
Law and Instruction
"The Hebrew word torah is derived from the root word yarah, which means "to point out, teach, instruct, or give direction." Torah could best be defined in English as "instruction," that is within the bounds of the definition of torah, but not really its main emphasis. Our Bible translations tend to reinforce our thinking by translating torah as "law" most of the time. The Jewish Tanakh instead translates torah as "teaching" most of the time. For example, the New International Version reads:
"But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2)
while the Jewish Tanakh says:
"Rather, the teaching of the Lord is his delight, and he studies that teaching day and night, (Psalms 1:2, JPS)
What a difference it makes to think of the primary emphasis of God's word to us as loving guidance, rather than as burdensome law! Certainly there are many laws within the Bible, but even those are given to form us into people God wants us to be"
The spiritually fatal problem with the contemporary Christian church is their considering the "Torah" (Old Testament) to be a burdensome cursed, law which is vastly different from the concept of "Godīs" loving "instruction" for successful living.
There is a much more convincing explanation and deeper revelation in the commentary than can be brought out here, but for the sake of not breaking copyright laws unfortunately it must be limited. It is not very often that one comes across a priceless gem. Just like the parable of "treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field", you will feel the same way once you discover whatīs in this book. You will just have to buy and read the book yourself to discover more of the treasures that have been hidden from view until now. Itīs well worth the small price of the book. You can order the book from the En-Gedi, Resource Center if you are interested. www.egrc.net.
By the way, learning this new knowledge about our roots comes along with our being misunderstood and thought of as being legalistic and going back under the "law." Peggy and I understand how others could misunderstand where we are coming from, and what we have discovered. Because what we are learning has not been known and taught in most of the Christian community for a very long time. From what we have heard, this is also true of the Jewish community as well. This knowledge has been lost but is now slowly being re-discovered by more and more believers in the Messiah, those wanting to know more of their Judeo/Christian roots.
Peggy and I also read the New and the Old Testament in our new Interlinear Bible, Hebrew-Greek-English. The Hebrew text in the Old Testament is the Masoretic text. The Greek text in the New Testament is the Received Text. We also have been studying the Tanakh, and the Chumash. The Jewish Bible, the Tanakh contains the Torah, and goes from Genesis through Malachi, but not in the same order as our contemporary Christian Bible.
The Chumash is both a translation and commentary, and based upon the ancient oral tradition (e.g. from Adam to Noah to Abraham and his descendants). The translation follows the Hebrew as closely as possible. The commentary is drawn from Talmudic literature and classic Rabbinic commentators from ancient times to our day of the Torah (instruction), but it is original in its choice and blend of material. The commentary also includes insights of Torah leaders of the last generation.
I want to share one treasured nugget of oral history that Peggy found from among the many others in the Stone Edition of the Chumash. On page 45, in the commentary of BEREISHIS/GENESIS, 9:28-29, Noahīs death: "Noah was born in the year 1056 from Creation, the Flood occurred in 1656, and he died in 2006, ten years after the Dispersion (chapter 11). Abraham was born in 1948; thus he knew Noah and was 58 years old when Noah died. It is fascinating that from Adam to Abraham, there was a word-of-mouth tradition spanning only four people: Adam, Lemech, Noah, and Abraham [see Time Line, P. 53]. Similarly, Moses, through whom the Torah was given, saw Kehath who saw Jacob, who saw Abraham. Accordingly, there were not more than seven people who carried the tradition firsthand from Adam to the generation that received the Torah" (Abarbanel).
The books that I have mentioned in this article, if you are interested in purchasing, can be found at the following addresses:
Stone Edition Chumash:
http://www.amazon.com/Chumash-Stone-Artscroll-Nosson-Scherman/dp/0899060145/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211294796&sr=1-2
Hebrew Interlinear Bible:
http://www.amazon.com/Interlinear-Bible-Hebrew-Greek-English-Jay-Green/dp/1565639774/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211294543&sr=1-1
JPS Bible:
http://www.amazon.com/TANAKH-Jewish-Bible-Publication-Society/dp/0827608551/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211295293&sr=1-9
Hebrew Word Pictures by Dr. Frank Seekins:
http://www.amazon.com/Hebrew-Pictures-Bebrew-Alphabet-Prophetic/dp/B000JI4CHU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211295397&sr=1-1
This is not current available by amazon.com but they have a list of
affiliated sellers that carry it - just click on the link "Available
from these sellers." Hope this helps.
We also study our many translations, Hebrew Word Pictures by Dr Frank T. Seekins and various other devotionals and magazines from other Christian/Jewish ministries that we support as well. We watch the CBN world news on our computer, to keep us up on what is happening around the world, viewing our world through a Christian worldview lens.
Because of the condition for much of the "church" and its leadership, and because of the price of fuel, Peggy and I are not able to find or go to a place of worship that our conscience and our pocket book will permit us to commit to, on a regular basis. We donīt have much confidence in the ministries that we have seen and that are available to us. That doesnīt mean that we donīt occasionally go to a "church," but we have decided to have our devotions and fellowship mainly in our small isolated community, at our home. This involves listening to CDīs by Monte Judah a Messianic Torah teacher of Lion and Lamb ministries, and watching him on our computer. You can watch the program on the sixth day of the Jewish week (Friday) at sundown (depending on where you live, around 6pm) by going here: www.lionlamb.net E-mail: info@lionlamb.net
This doesnīt mean that we are backslidden Christians or have "fallen away" or are involved in a cult because of our personal choices. We are determined now more than ever "as we see the īDayī approaching" to have a deeper, richer, relationship with Jesus, regardless of what we see or hear happening around us. We are not perfect but we still reach out to others "in season and out of season," and try to walk close to God. This choice that Peggy and I have made to study our ancient roots is born out of time and conviction.
It is my belief that just as the scriptures talks about the last days and how "people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity will accumulate [accommodating] teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths."(N.A.B.) Just as peopleīs ears will be "itching" to hear what they want to hear, there will be those that will want to "Shema" (hear or listen, understand, taking heed, being obedient, doing what is asked.) only what God wants. I believe that in these last hours of these last days, before the Jewish Messiah returns, He will be raising up a particular people that will be re-discovering their connection to their ancient Jewish roots. They will not be looking to have their ears tickled by false teachings or "easy" grace, but they will be learning secrets that have been forgotten and buried since time memorial. "And I will give you the treasures of darkness, even treasures in secret places, that you may know that I am Jehovah, who calls you by your name, the God of Israel." Isaiah 45:3, the Interlinear Bible.
You donīt have to be Jewish or have a Jewish background to receive new understanding and insight into Godīs holy word. You just have to be opened to considering new things that you may not have heard or been exposed to before, and hungry for more of Him.
In closing, Peggy and I just wanted to share our excitement and personal discovery with you the reading public, so as to encourage you to continue to investigate deeper into Hashem, (the "name" or Lord) "the author and finisher of our faith."
"May HASHEM bless you and safeguard you. May HASHEM illuminate His countenance for you and be gracious to you. May HASHEM lift His countenance to you and establish peace for you."- Numbers 6:24-26 - The Chumash. Shalom!
Copyright by Bill Haymin, 2008
I remember when I was a little boy; my family would travel to the east side of Bronx, New York each year to partake of the Passover ceremony with the rest of my more orthodox Jewish side of the family. Because I was a silly, foolish little boy, and didnīt know any better, I would breakout into hysterical laughter when my grandfather would be praying and speaking in Hebrew. I just thought that, that was the funniest thing I had ever heard. Little did I know just how important knowing my Jewish roots would become! It was only after 35 years of being a completed Jew (accepting Jesus as my Messiah) have I just begun to appreciate my rich Jewish heritage. And by the way, my grandfatherīs father was, in the 1800īs, a Rabbi.
Since Peggy and I have been married, (23 years) she has become more of a Jew in her heart and in her understanding of Jewish culture and history than me. Peggy was studying to be a Nun before I knew her, when she was a young woman. She became disillusioned with Catholicism and was considering converting to Judaism when I first met her. Since then, she has had a bent toward knowing more about the roots of her Christian faith. Peggy had been reading books by Zola Levitt, Monte Judah and a few other leaders in the Messianic movement. She has gotten involved in various Christian and Jewish ministries through the years to help the Jewish people. She even started trying to learn the Hebrew language. She has had a natural inclination toward languages.
By the way, since Peggy has been buying up CDīs and books written by leaders of the Messianic movement, Iīve been sneaking her books and CDīs into my collection. Now she has to ask me where "her" books and CDīs are. Arenīt I terrible??
Since becoming more familiar with my Jewish roots I am discovering how very funny and cute Jewish humor really is. Many Jewish believers have an incredible sense of humor naturally, not that Iīm prejudice mind you, really! I have not found in any other culture people quite like the Jewish people. They really are a peculiar and wonderful people once you get to know them.
Diverging just a little, and meaning no disrespect or disparagement to my Jewish family and friends, I would like to tell you about this music CD. Itīs poking in fun, about this typical "traditional" Jewish family. They have to deal with their son becoming a believer in his Messiah. It really is a priceless entertaining story set to music, and does accurately portray (I think) a genuine picture of contemporary Jewish culture.
Have you ever listened to the music of the Messianic group from Jews for Jesus organization, called the Liberated Wailing Wall? If you havenīt you are missing out on a real blessing? You can buy or download many of their older and some newer songs free; including the one Iīm describing and going to tell you more about below, by going here: www.jewsforjesus.org check it out.
In this particularly classic and hilarious song that I started telling you about, is worth downloading or buying just for this one song called "Tradition" from the CD titled "Liberated Wailing wall favorites." The story starts out with this one young Jewish believer singing about how he has become a believer in the Messiah, and he is witnessing to his secular Jewish family, and handing out Christian tracts to people on the street. Heīs singing about his liberally minded sister Shelia who is so opened minded and involved in trying so many different philosophies and things, he says of his sister in his cute Jewish way:
"According to her itīs Jewish tradition to be liberal and open minded. My sister Shelia is so open minded that one of these days her brains are going to fall out!"
Sheīs singing about her overzealous newly converted brother, and she says in typical Jewish slang: "my brother the fanatic."
His father Mr. Matzcowitz who has a certain business called Matzcowitz & Sons, is singing about his son and he says in a loving, caring and confused way: "my son the preacher" "Now you picked a different trade, you preach the "gospel"??
The son is singing about his motherīs reaction to him becoming a believer and he says: "my mother, God bless her, is having a very difficult time understanding me lately. She doesnīt seem to realize that a real Christian is born again, and now she calls me:"my son the gentile." He goes on about his mother and says," thatīs all she knows; she thinks all gentiles are Christians, uhaac. She confuses the Pharaoh and the Pope, Billy Graham and Billy Carter. To my mom they all fall into one category "them." To her thereīs "us" and "them." "Us" meaning the Jews, and now she thinks Iīve become a "Them."
If you are a true believer in the Messiah you canīt help loving the Jewish people.
Getting back to what I was saying previously, because of Peggy, I began to realize that there was much more to my Christian experience and understanding of Godīs word. Through Peggyīs hunger and steady persistence in wanting to understand the minds of the Bibleīs authors, she and I are discovering rich insights. These insights are found through learning the word meanings of each Hebrew letter. Each Hebrew letter has many word meanings that are not translated in our contemporary English Bibles.
According to Monte Judah a Messianic leader who teaches these word meanings through his messages on the Torah, (instruction) a messianic believer is one who believes that Yīshua of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and keeps Torah, whether a Jew by birth or a gentile. "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God" .. "Then Peter replied, īI see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right.ī (Torah instruction), (Acts 10:34&35) Jesus also said that He "did not come to abolish the law (Torah instruction) but to fulfill it." So if He did not come to abolish the law (Torah - instruction) then maybe we should still be studying, following and being instructed in it? The Torah is the five books of Moses, which consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. A Messianic believer also reads the rest of the Christian Bible as well.
It would be most beneficial to expose yourself to the teachings of a Torah teacher like Monte Judah, to really understand what the gentile Christian Church; (non Messianic believers) have been missing for many, many, hundreds of years. It will round out your understanding of the Old Testament by light years. Also, I believe that being exposed to a Torah teacher like Monte Judah, will through the scriptures reveal to you important Biblical instructions such as how to make it through the "Great Tribulation" (prophesied in the Christian New Testament) or the greater exodus (prophesied in the Tanakh) which is coming, and what important signs to look for, especially for its beginning.
Continuing in the same vein of what has just been said, below is a small portion from a very important book: Listening to the Language of the Bible, Hearing it through Jesusī Ears by Lois A. Tverberg, and Bruce M. Okkema from the En-Gedi Resource Center, www.egrc.net. Their book is an indispensable tool; it helps to unlock deeper and richer insights into some of the Old Testament scripture text found hidden in the Hebrew language that our English translated Bibles leave out.
Partial Introduction
Listening Through Jesus Ears
"Anyone who studies the Bible will notice right from the start that it often speaks in words and phrases that are difficult to understand. We need to remember that the scriptures come to us from languages and cultures very different from our own. Most of us use translations that have brought the text into modern English so that we barely notice its foreign "accent". We might be perplexed when its message doesnīt quite make sense to us, or we may think we understand it, while a deeper idea escapes our grasp.
If we delve further into the minds of the Bibles authors, we often discover that their strange-sounding language actually contains rich insights that are not always apparent in the English translation. These insights are often key to understanding the text and applying it to our lives. We also discover rich poetry, humorous irony, and timeless wisdom when we hear their thoughts more clearly. This is especially true as we read Jesus' Bible, our Old Testament, which reflects an ancient culture very different from our own. Besides making the Bible come into clearer focus, hearing its words as they were originally meant is a tremendously enriching experience, giving us wonderful new insights into God's Word"
A small excerpt from chapter 4:
Torah
Law and Instruction
"The Hebrew word torah is derived from the root word yarah, which means "to point out, teach, instruct, or give direction." Torah could best be defined in English as "instruction," that is within the bounds of the definition of torah, but not really its main emphasis. Our Bible translations tend to reinforce our thinking by translating torah as "law" most of the time. The Jewish Tanakh instead translates torah as "teaching" most of the time. For example, the New International Version reads:
"But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2)
while the Jewish Tanakh says:
"Rather, the teaching of the Lord is his delight, and he studies that teaching day and night, (Psalms 1:2, JPS)
What a difference it makes to think of the primary emphasis of God's word to us as loving guidance, rather than as burdensome law! Certainly there are many laws within the Bible, but even those are given to form us into people God wants us to be"
The spiritually fatal problem with the contemporary Christian church is their considering the "Torah" (Old Testament) to be a burdensome cursed, law which is vastly different from the concept of "Godīs" loving "instruction" for successful living.
There is a much more convincing explanation and deeper revelation in the commentary than can be brought out here, but for the sake of not breaking copyright laws unfortunately it must be limited. It is not very often that one comes across a priceless gem. Just like the parable of "treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field", you will feel the same way once you discover whatīs in this book. You will just have to buy and read the book yourself to discover more of the treasures that have been hidden from view until now. Itīs well worth the small price of the book. You can order the book from the En-Gedi, Resource Center if you are interested. www.egrc.net.
By the way, learning this new knowledge about our roots comes along with our being misunderstood and thought of as being legalistic and going back under the "law." Peggy and I understand how others could misunderstand where we are coming from, and what we have discovered. Because what we are learning has not been known and taught in most of the Christian community for a very long time. From what we have heard, this is also true of the Jewish community as well. This knowledge has been lost but is now slowly being re-discovered by more and more believers in the Messiah, those wanting to know more of their Judeo/Christian roots.
Peggy and I also read the New and the Old Testament in our new Interlinear Bible, Hebrew-Greek-English. The Hebrew text in the Old Testament is the Masoretic text. The Greek text in the New Testament is the Received Text. We also have been studying the Tanakh, and the Chumash. The Jewish Bible, the Tanakh contains the Torah, and goes from Genesis through Malachi, but not in the same order as our contemporary Christian Bible.
The Chumash is both a translation and commentary, and based upon the ancient oral tradition (e.g. from Adam to Noah to Abraham and his descendants). The translation follows the Hebrew as closely as possible. The commentary is drawn from Talmudic literature and classic Rabbinic commentators from ancient times to our day of the Torah (instruction), but it is original in its choice and blend of material. The commentary also includes insights of Torah leaders of the last generation.
I want to share one treasured nugget of oral history that Peggy found from among the many others in the Stone Edition of the Chumash. On page 45, in the commentary of BEREISHIS/GENESIS, 9:28-29, Noahīs death: "Noah was born in the year 1056 from Creation, the Flood occurred in 1656, and he died in 2006, ten years after the Dispersion (chapter 11). Abraham was born in 1948; thus he knew Noah and was 58 years old when Noah died. It is fascinating that from Adam to Abraham, there was a word-of-mouth tradition spanning only four people: Adam, Lemech, Noah, and Abraham [see Time Line, P. 53]. Similarly, Moses, through whom the Torah was given, saw Kehath who saw Jacob, who saw Abraham. Accordingly, there were not more than seven people who carried the tradition firsthand from Adam to the generation that received the Torah" (Abarbanel).
The books that I have mentioned in this article, if you are interested in purchasing, can be found at the following addresses:
Stone Edition Chumash:
http://www.amazon.com/Chumash-Stone-Artscroll-Nosson-Scherman/dp/0899060145/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211294796&sr=1-2
Hebrew Interlinear Bible:
http://www.amazon.com/Interlinear-Bible-Hebrew-Greek-English-Jay-Green/dp/1565639774/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211294543&sr=1-1
JPS Bible:
http://www.amazon.com/TANAKH-Jewish-Bible-Publication-Society/dp/0827608551/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211295293&sr=1-9
Hebrew Word Pictures by Dr. Frank Seekins:
http://www.amazon.com/Hebrew-Pictures-Bebrew-Alphabet-Prophetic/dp/B000JI4CHU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211295397&sr=1-1
This is not current available by amazon.com but they have a list of
affiliated sellers that carry it - just click on the link "Available
from these sellers." Hope this helps.
We also study our many translations, Hebrew Word Pictures by Dr Frank T. Seekins and various other devotionals and magazines from other Christian/Jewish ministries that we support as well. We watch the CBN world news on our computer, to keep us up on what is happening around the world, viewing our world through a Christian worldview lens.
Because of the condition for much of the "church" and its leadership, and because of the price of fuel, Peggy and I are not able to find or go to a place of worship that our conscience and our pocket book will permit us to commit to, on a regular basis. We donīt have much confidence in the ministries that we have seen and that are available to us. That doesnīt mean that we donīt occasionally go to a "church," but we have decided to have our devotions and fellowship mainly in our small isolated community, at our home. This involves listening to CDīs by Monte Judah a Messianic Torah teacher of Lion and Lamb ministries, and watching him on our computer. You can watch the program on the sixth day of the Jewish week (Friday) at sundown (depending on where you live, around 6pm) by going here: www.lionlamb.net E-mail: info@lionlamb.net
This doesnīt mean that we are backslidden Christians or have "fallen away" or are involved in a cult because of our personal choices. We are determined now more than ever "as we see the īDayī approaching" to have a deeper, richer, relationship with Jesus, regardless of what we see or hear happening around us. We are not perfect but we still reach out to others "in season and out of season," and try to walk close to God. This choice that Peggy and I have made to study our ancient roots is born out of time and conviction.
It is my belief that just as the scriptures talks about the last days and how "people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity will accumulate [accommodating] teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths."(N.A.B.) Just as peopleīs ears will be "itching" to hear what they want to hear, there will be those that will want to "Shema" (hear or listen, understand, taking heed, being obedient, doing what is asked.) only what God wants. I believe that in these last hours of these last days, before the Jewish Messiah returns, He will be raising up a particular people that will be re-discovering their connection to their ancient Jewish roots. They will not be looking to have their ears tickled by false teachings or "easy" grace, but they will be learning secrets that have been forgotten and buried since time memorial. "And I will give you the treasures of darkness, even treasures in secret places, that you may know that I am Jehovah, who calls you by your name, the God of Israel." Isaiah 45:3, the Interlinear Bible.
You donīt have to be Jewish or have a Jewish background to receive new understanding and insight into Godīs holy word. You just have to be opened to considering new things that you may not have heard or been exposed to before, and hungry for more of Him.
In closing, Peggy and I just wanted to share our excitement and personal discovery with you the reading public, so as to encourage you to continue to investigate deeper into Hashem, (the "name" or Lord) "the author and finisher of our faith."
"May HASHEM bless you and safeguard you. May HASHEM illuminate His countenance for you and be gracious to you. May HASHEM lift His countenance to you and establish peace for you."- Numbers 6:24-26 - The Chumash. Shalom!
Copyright by Bill Haymin, 2008
