“What are the different Jewish festivals in the Bible?”……There are seven Jewish festivals or feasts outlined in the Bible. While they are mentioned throughout Scripture we find instructions for all seven laid out in Leviticus 23:2 refers to the seven Jewish festivals, literally "appointed times," also called "holy convocations." These were days appointed and ordained […]

…A yad (Torah pointer) is used to keep one’s place while reading from the Torah scroll toprotect the parchment and handwritten text. Shabbat Shalom John! Welcome to Ha'azinu (Listen), this week's Parsha (Torah Portion). Please join us as we focus on the Torah portion that will be read in synagogues around the world during this […]

“What are the origins of Easter?”……Answer: The origins of Easter are rooted in European traditions. The name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre (or Eostre) who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe. A festival called Eastre was held during the spring equinox by these people to […]

Shalom John, “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day…until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.” (Exodus 12:15) With Passover (the Festival of Unleavened Bread) beginning next Friday, all…over Israel, every […]

Do not let anyone judge you with regard to a religious festival … these are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. ~ Colossians 2:16-17 Passover Jesus died at Passover. Perhaps if the event were remembered by Christians at Passover every year the church might have […]

Happy Sukkot, John! 1st October 2012 …Praying on Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) toward the TempleMount…where the HolyTemple stood in Yeshua’s day in Jerusalem. “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For […]

“The Sign of the cross – the meaning? Should Christians perform it?”……The practice of tracing the sign of the cross is most prominent in the Roman Catholic Church but is also practiced among the Eastern Orthodox and Episcopalians. The history of the sign of the cross goes back as far as Tertullian, the early church […]