Category: Guest Authors

 

Delitzsch: John 13:35

The following note was received this morning from Bill Beyer. Bill is a Lutheran pastor in Wisconsin. Vine of David (a ministry of FFOZ) is slowly releasing the new Delitzsch Hebrew Gospels (DHE). For more information or to place an order please visit the DHE landing page at Vine of David. *** My First Sabbath with Franz Delitzsch When FFOZ first introduced me to Delitzsch I was very intrigued. As...
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Legends of the Apostles: Fact or Fiction?

As I drudge through the writings of the ancient Church, I find many exciting details about the Apostles, Yeshua, and the early believers not found in the four canonical Gospels or the book of Acts. (It goes without saying that some--if not most--of it is simply fabrication and baseless legend). These stories can be found mostly in the apocryphal Acts of the Holy Apostles. Each Apostle is attributed a work...
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Take FFOZ with you on your trip!

Recently, I had to make a trip that involved a lot of driving. Just before I left I looked up on my book shelf and there sat my Beit Midrash audio teachings for "Hallowed Be Your Name" and "Knocking on Heaven's Gates." At first I thought that I would never use them, but after an hour of listening to the radio I put one of the CD's in the player....
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Keep The Feast

Today I'm starting to put up the sukkah. I have a special affection for the Festival of Sukkot. Not only is it now fall, my favorite season, but it's a festival that's basically all about hanging out. Sukkot is yet another example of the differences the Torah makes between those obligated and those not obligated. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths....
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Prophet Margin

Tags:  Prophets, Torah, Torah Club forum

I was joking around the other day when I wrote, "I am reading a book on the Prophets and just learned that the time from the first Prophet to the last Prophet is called your "Prophet margin." I got a couple of laughs and ALOT of groans from people. But, recently I have been fascinated by the study of the Prophets. Beginning after the fall festivals the new reading cycle...
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Close Call

Jennifer seemed to be an answer to prayer. I met her last spring at a church Passover seder-ish event. Eager to share her story with a kindred spirit (me), she wept and explained how lonely she felt, stranded between Christianity and Judaism. She really thought that she was the only person to both believe in Jesus as Messiah and believe that the Torah was for her. She had never heard...
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Counting the Omer the old fashioned (electronic) way...

When I was a child I used to use a pencil and piece of paper. That seems old fashioned now that I have a computer and printer. When I was a child I use to ride a bicycle with training wheels. Now that I have a "big boy" bike the training wheels seem so old fashioned. When I was a child I can remember having to look at a map....
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Learn Hebrew...stay young!

Tags:  Hebrew, midrash, Torah

As a moderator on the Torah Club Online Forum I have found that we often have discussions that focus on different Hebrew words and their meanings. More than once I have heard people say, 'I really should learn Hebrew.' Well, now you can!! First Fruits of Zion is offering an at home study program called "Getting Started in Hebrew". This twelve session class (with videos and study helps) will give...
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Boundary Stones

Tags:  Boundary Stones, Torah

My wife and I have a good friend whose daughter is deaf. Whenever we got together with them I found it very hard to communicate with her since I did not speak her language. I decided it was time to learn sign language. Now that I can sign (a little) communicating with her is much easier. Many of us have family and friends that we try to share the Torah...
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And God said, 'Let there be light...'

Tags:  light, Messiah, parasha, Torah, Torah Portions

Last week in my inbox I received this story. (I have condensed part of it for space.) In 1907, when Rabbi Sholom DovBer of Lubavitch was staying at a health spa in Wirtzberg, Germany, a group of Chassidim came to spend a Shabbos with the Rebbe. Reb Yosef Yuzik (one of the guests) asked, "Rebbe, What is a chassid?" Replied the Rebbe: "A chassid is a lamplighter. The lamplighter walks...
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FFOZ on YOUTUBE!

As one of the moderators of the FFOZ Torah Club Online Forum I like to explore all the possible ways that we can make the most of that little place in cyberspace. This summer we have been doing an ongoing study of the Pirkei Avot and continue to walk with each other through our questions. But, I still do not think that we as Torah believers have begun to really...
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Walking Alone Together

There has been an interesting conversation going on at the Torah Club OnLine Forum. One of our members wrote a comment about how lonely it can be at times when we live the Torah. For many of us we are not blessed with supportive, thriving communities to be a part of. Many of us live in remote areas, where God's widsom has penetrated our hearts and there is no one...
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Forum people have faces!

I just returned home from the First Fruits of Zion National Conference entitled "Shabbat Shalom." Although, having met people from Canada, Sweden and Australia I think we can easily say it was an "international" conference. It was a great blessing to be able to be there and I had the opportunity to learn a lot. One of the things I learned was...forum people have faces! As one of the moderators...
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Forum Pirkei Avot

It has been a tradition that from Passover to Shavuot that the Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) are studied in homes and Synagogues. The Avot is the only tractate of the Mishnah that is not Halachic in nature, but is a collection of wisdom and proverbs designed to assist the student of Torah to grow in his application of the Torah with others. In recent years the study of...
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The Good Part: Keeping Passover in Perspective

With Passover fast approaching and preparations in full swing, it is easy to become overwhelmed and anxious about coordinating two nights of Seder meals all while continuing to honor the weekly Sabbath. In my opinion Passover is the best and most joyous of all Hashem's appointed times--food, festive meals, the Exodus story, celebrating our freedom, the renewal of life, the onset of Spring, family togetherness--what could be better! This is...
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The Opportunity of Passover

Tags:  Passover

For the past 10 years of my ministry I have been conducting Seder meals. Often times Passover has been in close proximity to the celebration of the resurrection of the Master as remembered by those in the Church. This has given us an opportunity to celebrate the Passover in the context of also remembering the crucifixion and Resurrection of the Messiah. However, this year we have a very unique opportunity....
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Anticipation

I have always been one who has enjoyed the emotion of anticipation. When I was a little boy my mother would tell me that my Uncle Bob and Aunt Judy were coming to visit. This gave me something to look forward to. It also gave me a reason to clean my room. But, I have always liked the feeling of knowing something great was about to happen and we never...
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Avot 4:16

The Pirke Avot is one of my favorite pieces of study material outside the scriptures. I go over and over the proverbs and I am amazed at how many of them still speak to the situations we encounter on a day to day basis. True wisdom is timeless. And the Pirke Avot is an example of such timeless wisdom. One of my favorite teachings is Avot 4:16: R. Judah said,...
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Bo and the plague of the Firstborn

"Bo" is the Hebrew word that begins the parasha for this week. It means "come" and is found in the first sentence of the section of scripture beginning with Exodus 10:1 and concluding with 13:16. This section of the Torah has become a topic of discussion this week on the Torah Club Online Forum. The Torah Club Online Forum is a great place for discussion and conversation. Some of you...
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Raking my Roof

I just finished raking my roof. Now for those of you who are not blessed with snow, let me explain what "raking the roof" means. When significant amounts of snow build up on the roof of a house it creates little ice jams along the edge of the roof. If this pressure is not relieved, then as the snow melts the water cannot flow off the roof in an easy...
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Hodu L'Adonai

(Credit to this blog goes to Sarah Croswell, a volunteer for First Fruits of Zion) I was thinking about the goodness of God this morning and trying out an exercise I read about in Sara Rigler’s new book, “Lights From Jerusalem” on recognizing the good in our lives and being thankful for all that Hashem does. It came to my attention that God moved in two amazing ways in our...
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The Sea Captain

There is a story told of an old sea captain who looked out over the water one day and saw a ship headed in his direction. He summoned his signalman and had him send this message, “Change your course 10 degrees to the south.” A few moments later the approaching ship sent back the message, “Change YOUR course 10 degrees to the north.” You can begin to sense a little...
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So what do you talk about?

Some of you who are new Torah Club Members or are possibly thinking about becoming a Torah Club Member might be wondering what it is that we do on the Torah Club Online Forum. Here is a small sampling of some of the questions we are currently learning about and struggling with. + How does one observe Sukkot in a Northern more cool, wet climate? + Does anyone have any...
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Lutheran Sukkah

Many of you know that God has placed me in a very strange and unusual ministry. Years ago God called me to bring the message of Torah to the people I was called to serve in the Church. I am allowed to daily live the mitzvah of returning to my neighbor that which he has lost. Mainly, I get the opportunity to teach and live the Torah. This year I...
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Sho-far Sho-good

As a pastor in a small town I often get the opportunity to be invited into small groups to give a talk. I often use this opportunity to educate people in the Torah or the Hebrew heritage of the Christian faith. This gives people the opportunity to hear things that they would not often hear. This past week I had the wonderful opportunity to go to an adult day care...
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All Together

In the book of Acts we get a look at what the community of believers was like after the ascension of the Master. One of my favorite passages is Acts 2:44, "And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common." Can you imagine how wonderful that must have been? What a beautiful thing, the community of believers all together in one accord. (Which I recently...
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God meant it for good

When I lived in South Bend, Indiana, I had a great opportunity to provide worship serivces for residents in a nursing home. Every month, I would give them a “technology update.” I would share with them things that were happening in the world of technology – things that were changing our world. I recall one day I shared with them this new thing called the “Internet”. Most of them were...
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Helping others understand

Since I have been on the Online Forum, a commonly-asked question has been, “How can I help my family and friends understand my interest in the Torah in a spirit of shalom?” This is indeed a concern for many of us who have family and friends who have been raised with a different understanding of the place of Torah in the life of the believer. Many of you are probably...
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Online TC Forum Tool

Tags:  online community, online tools, Torah Club forum

There is an old joke about a couple of hikers who got together to talk about what they would need in the event that they were ever to get lost. Three of them talked about things like a compass, water, matches, etc. All these things would help them to survive in the wild in the event that they lost their direction. The fourth agreed with all of this and added...
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