The Jewish Holiday of Purim celebrates God’s deliverance for the Jewish people as found in the Book of Esther. Purim occurs in the month of Adar. When Adar comes, there is a season of joy. This is what the Jewish sages say, “Just as we decrease joy in the month of Av, so should we increase joy in the month of Adar.”
Are You a Wannabe or a Maccabee? “It was now winter, and Yeshua was in Jerusalem at the time of Chanukah, the Festival of Dedication.” (John 10:22) What the world needs more than ever are heroes. There are many Wannabes but few Maccabees. Let me explain. The story of Hanukkah reads like a fairy-tale. A wicked, Greco-Babylonian […]
Taken for a Spin “And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be—“The Lord is one, ”And His name one.” (Zech. 14:9) One of the main messages of Hanukkah is for us to examine our hearts and ask: What are we trusting in? Are we trusting in our own abilities […]
Get Lit “It was now winter, and Yeshua was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication.” – John 10:22 In John 10, Yeshua is in Jerusalem for the celebration of Hanukkah. Prior to that, in John 9, he performs a miracle for the man who has been blind since birth. Right before […]
Stay Lit “You are the light of the world–like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden” Matthew 5:14 Hanukkah and the celebration of the light of the Messiah must remind you that He has hand-chosen you before the foundations of the world to embark on a journey into the fullness of your destiny. […]
Why We Light the Hanukkah Menorah Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights and celebrates a great miracle G-d performed for our ancestors. After defeating Antiochus Epiphanies, the Jewish people led by the Maccabees cleansed the Temple in Jerusalem of pagan idols and re-lit the Menorah, the seven-branched candelabra. There was only enough oil […]
The Mystery of the Hidden Light The first time God speaks in Genesis He says, “Let there be light, and there was light.” (Gen. 1:3). But what light is this referring to since the sun, moon, and stars were not created until day four? One answer that the ancient Jewish commentators give to this question […]
This week’s Torah portion, called Terumah, enumerates in great detail (almost agonizingly so) all the aspects of the building of the Tabernacle. Why so much attention to detail? Almost the entire final third of Exodus is devoted to this one topic. What is even more strange is the fact that the Tabernacle was only a TEMPORARY […]
Still Spinning You are not far from the kingdom of God. – Matthew 19:16 Once we understand that the focus of Hanukkah is re-dedicating ourselves to God, we can begin to go deeper and get a better picture of how to re-center our lives on the Messiah. Let’s explore the Hebrew letters on the four […]
I’m so excited to share that the book I’ve been working on with Kathie Lee Gifford has finally been released! Kathie Lee shared her story on TODAY of how ‘The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi’ came to be. Read the description of The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi below, As a lifetime student […]
Why Celebrate Purim? | Rabbi Jason Sobel
Are You a Wannabe or a Maccabee?
Taken for a Spin
Get Lit