Boker Tov!!! (Good Morning)

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I hope you have your Bibles out because we have a lot going on this week, as you will see. First of all, we are in the fourth day of Chol’ Ha’moed “an intermediate day, where regular work is permitted” of Sukkot “The Feast of Tabernacles” or “Booths.” On Wednesday Night is Hoshana Rabba “The Great Salvation.” We will also conclude our regular Torah Cycle with Vezot ha’Bracha “This is the blessing” and also begin the new one on Simchat Torah “Joy of the Torah” which is also Shemini Atzeret “The Prayer for the Latter Rain” which is the Eighth and Final Day of Sukkot which falls on Thursday. Finally we have our first Parashah reading for the new cycle called B’reisheet “In the Beginning” this Shabbat “Sabbath-Saturday.” You follow? Good, I am glad.

Readings for Chol’ Ha’moed Sukkot day 4-6

Like I was saying, we are in the Forth Day of Sukkot which are the intermediates days of the festival, where regular work is acceptable.

The Readings are as follows:

• Sukkot 4: B’midbar (Numbers) 29:20-25
• Sukkot 5: B’midbar (Numbers) 29:23-28
• Sukkot 6: B’midbar (Numbers) 29.26-31

To review or read more on Sukkot “The Feast of Tabernacles” or “Booths,” here is a great article from Hebrew for Christians: Here

Hoshana Rabba “The Great Salvation”
Hoshana Rabbah which means “The Great Salvation,” is the Seventh Day of Sukkot. It is a climatic day of praise to the Lard that was also viewed by the rabbis as a “Mini Yom Kippur,” meaning the day on which the heavenly decree made on Rosh HaShanah and sealed on Yom Kippur are actually sent out to be fulfilled.

It was this day when Yeshua stood and cried, saying, ‘If any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water,’ (John 7:37-38).

Let us picture this scene. It was on Hoshana Rabbah “The Greatest Day of the Feast”. Picture the crowds in the Temple Court, the white – robed priests carrying a golden vase of water they drew from the well of Siloam (quite a climb) to the Temple. They pour the water into the basin near the altar. Then as the priests stands there with his empty vase, this man who has been watching cries out “If any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” Those would be strange words anywhere but on Hoshana Rabbah in the Temple, we can see the impact. This was the celebration of the liberation of Water that was God’s provision in the wilderness and when the rock gushed water Yeshua is pointing at Himself, giving Sukkot a Great New meaning.

Sukkot 7:B’midbar (Numbers) 29.36-34; Yochanan (John) 7
To read more on Hoshana Rabba “The Great Salvation,”and customs, here is a great article from Hebrew for Christians: Here

Shemini Atzeretz “Praying for the Latter Rain”
The Seven Days of Sukkot the end with Hoshana Rabba are immediately followed by another Holiday called Shemini Atzeretz referred to in Numberes 29:35 simply as The Eighth Day of Assembly. The Sages interpreted this to mean that God asked all who made pilgrimage for Sukkot to tarry (hold back) with Him one additional day.

Shemeni Atzeretz Sukkot 8: D’varim (Dueteronomy) 14:22-16:17; B’midbar (Numbers) 29:35-30:1; M’lakhim Alef (1Kings) 8:54-66; Mattityahu (Mathew) 17:1-9; Mark 12:28-33
To read more on Shemini Atzeretz “praying for the Latter Rain,”and customs, here is a great article from Hebrew for Christians: Here

Simchat Torah “Joy of the Torah”
That which begins must also end. Moses, the servant of the LORD, was dead. God personally attended to his body.

“He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows his burial place to this day.” (Deuteronomy 34:6)

That which begins must also end. As certainly as that which goes up must come down, a beginning leads to an ending. Not so with God. He is without beginning and without ending.

“‘I am the alef and the tav,’ says the LORD God, ‘Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty.’” (Revelation 1:8)

In our annual readings of the Torah, we learn this principal is also true regarding God’s Word. On the same day that we finish reading the Torah, we begin it again. No sooner is the reading of the book of Deuteronomy finished then the scroll is rewound and the reading of the book of Genesis is begun. The celebration that accompanies the ending and beginning of the Torah reading is called Simchat Torah “The Rejoicing of the Torah.” It is traditionally done on the ‘Eighth Day‘ after the seven days of the festival Sukkot.

This teaches us that Torah is a continuous cycle, without real beginning and without real ending, a continuous expression of God’s Word. If it were less in scope, if it were somehow finite, it would be less than the expression of the infinite God. Because it is the Word of the infinite God, it too is without beginning and without ending.

Yet, there is an end for which the Torah reaches. In the Epistle to the Romans, the Apostle Paul said, “Messiah is the end of the Torah,” (Romans 10:4) and again in his epistle to the Galatians he wrote, “The Torah was put in charge to lead us to Messiah.” (Galatians 3:24) In this sense, Messiah is the goal of the Torah. He is the destination at which the journey of Torah arrives. Is Messiah to be understood as the ending of the Torah then? No. He is the ‘end,’ but not the ‘ending,’ for with God, our endings are beginnings. He is the goal of the Torah but not the termination of the Torah. In fact, He Himself has said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Torah...” (Matthew 5:17), and He has said, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last.” Without beginning and without ending, the Alef and theTav. The Eternal Word of the Eternal God has declared it.

Torah (First 5 Books Of The Bible): D’varim (Dueteronomy) 33:1-34:12; B’resheet (Genesis) 1:1-2:3 (Partial Only); B’midbar (Numbers) 29:35-30:1

Outline for this weeks TORAH

• Dueteronomy 33:1 | Moses’ Final Blessing On Israel
• Dueteronomy 34:1 | The Death of Moses
• Genesis 1:1 | Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath

Maftir (Last Few Verses of Torah Portion): B’midbar (Numbers) 29:35-30:1

Outline for Maftir

• Numbers 29:35 | The Eighth Day

Haftarah (Prophets): Y’hoshua (Joshua) 1:1-18

Outline for this weeks PROPHETS

• Joshua 1:1 | God Commissions Joshua
• Joshua 1:10 | Joshua Assumes Command

Brit’ Chadashah (New Covenant): Revelation 7:22 1-5

Outline for this weeks new covenant

• Revelation 22:1 | The River of Life

To read more on Simchat Torah “Joy of the Torah,”and customs, here is a great article from Hebrew for Christians: Here

B’reisheet – בראשית : “In the beginning”
The Hebrew name for the first one is B’reisheet (בראשית). It is also the first word of the book in the Hebrew text, as well as the name for the first parasha (the first week’s reading).B’reisheet means “in the beginning.”

The English name Genesis comes from the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. Genesis means “origins.” Therefore, the Greek name for the first book of the Bible means “The Book of Origins.”

Genesis describes the origins of everything. It begins with the origins of the universe, focuses on the origins of man and then explores the origins of the nation of Israel.

As we study the first week’s reading from the book of Genesis, we will learn a great deal about God, but even more about ourselves. After all, this is the story of our origins. When properly understood, the story of our origin helps us find our destination.

Torah (First 5 Books Of The Bible): B’resheet (Genesis) 1:1-6:8

Outline for this weeks TORAH

• Genesis 1:1 | Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath
• Genesis 2:4 | Another Account of the Creation
• Genesis 3:1 | The First Sin and Its Punishment
• Genesis 4:1 | Cain Murders Abel
• Genesis 4:17 | Beginnings of Civilization
• Genesis 5:1 | Adam’s Descendants to Noah and His Sons
• Genesis 6:1 | The Wickedness of Humankind
• Genesis 6:9 | Noah Pleases God

Haftarah (Prophets):

• Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 42:5-43:10

Outline for this weeks PROPHETS

• Isaiah 42:1 | The Servant, a Light to the Nations
• Isaiah 42:10 | A Hymn of Praise
• Isaiah 42:21 | Israel’s Disobedience
• Isaiah 43:1 | Restoration and Protection Promised

Brit’ Chadashah (New Covenant): Yochanan (John) 1:1-18

Outline for this weeks new covenant

• John1:1 | The Word Became Flesh

For further reading on B’reisheet, please follow this link: Here

For more info on The Weekly Parashahs in general, please follow this link: Here

References and Links:

• The Complete Jewish Bible
• The HNV Bible
• Torah Portions (A division of First Fruits of Zion)
• Hebrews for Christians

Keep in contact with me via:

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• And YouTube http://www.youtube.com/wordmillah

I would love to hear from you: we shivered in our tent by a stream

Shav’ua Tov!!! (Have a Good Week!!!)
Word מלה Millah

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