FFOZ Blogs : Guest Contributors

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Guest Contributors

Forum Pirkei Avot

By Bill Beyer
Posted on April 16, 2008

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...
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The Good Part: Keeping Passover in Perspective

By Sarah Croswell | Comments (4)
Posted on April 10, 2008

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...
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The Opportunity of Passover

By Bill Beyer | Comments (5)
Posted on April 2, 2008

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...
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Anticipation

By Bill Beyer | Comments (1)
Posted on March 13, 2008

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...
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Avot 4:16

By Bill Beyer | Comments (1)
Posted on February 12, 2008

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...
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Bo and the plague of the Firstborn

By Bill Beyer | Comments (2)
Posted on January 10, 2008

"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...
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Raking my Roof

By Bill Beyer | Comments (4)
Posted on December 25, 2007

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...
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Hodu L'Adonai

By Seth Dralle | Comments (4)
Posted on November 20, 2007

(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...
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The Sea Captain

By Bill Beyer | Comments (0)
Posted on November 16, 2007

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...
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So what do you talk about?

By Bill Beyer | Comments (1)
Posted on October 30, 2007

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...
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Lutheran Sukkah

By Bill Beyer | Comments (2)
Posted on October 17, 2007

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...
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Sho-far Sho-good

By Bill Beyer | Comments (2)
Posted on September 24, 2007

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...
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All Together

By Bill Beyer | Comments (1)
Posted on September 3, 2007

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...
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God meant it for good

By Bill Beyer | Comments (1)
Posted on August 15, 2007

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...
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Helping others understand

By Bill Beyer | Comments (1)
Posted on August 13, 2007

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...
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Online TC Forum Tool

By Bill Beyer | Comments (1)
Posted on August 9, 2007

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,...
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