Shalom everyone, A friend recently asked me about the topic of, ‘Our Purpose in Life’, and specifically its negative effects on people who are unable to divine their purpose in life. I have to admit that I wasn’t previously aware of this phenomenon. Apparently, some...

The twenty-ninth passage of the Sefer Yeshua is based on Lk 15:8-10. As a result of having compared the notes of various commentaries, the last verse here is slightly different from the one currently in The Exhortations; I will update it in the next edition. The...

I occasionally get asked why there are no miracles mentioned in the Sefer Yeshua. The simplest answer is that I wanted Yeshua’s own words to justify themselves, without distractions. If you could read a ‘red letter’ edition of the Sefer Yeshua, you would see that the...

The twenty-eighth passage of the Sefer Yeshua is based on Lk 15:11-32. The scholars of the ‘Jesus Seminar’ voted it as category pink – that is, that Yeshua probably said something like this, but the scholars had some reservations. 28. 1There was a Zealot who...

Tonight, being the start of the Fourth-month, we begin the 3-day countdown to Theophany Day (9th-10th July 2024). Theophany Day is when we celebrate and remember the manifestation of God’s Glory on Mt Horeb in the presence of all the Israelites, and the Giving of the...

Shalom everyone, Most of the laws of biblical Shavuot – that is, the Festival of First-Fruits – only really apply to produce grown or animals raised in the Holy Land. This may be why, as a festival, it has fallen from relevance for those of us who do not live in the...

Shalom my sisters and brothers, For those of us preparing to celebrate biblical Shavuot on Sunday, I just wanted to say a little about food – Jewish festivals inevitably have some food connection, because they are a celebration of the bounty that Adonai provides for...

The twenty-seventh passage of the Sefer Yeshua is based on Mt 13:16-17 and Lk 10:23-24. The likeliest source is the Q-Gospel. 27. 1A poor man came to Yeshua and spoke to him of his new understanding of the kingdom of God.      2And Yeshua...

The twenty-sixth passage of the Sefer Yeshua is based on Mk 4:3-9, Mt 13:3-9, Lk 8:5-8, and Thomas 9:1-5. Mark and Thomas have similar versions, and Mt and Lk seemed to be based on Mark. Luke’s is the shortest. It is possible that the parable was a well-known and...

Following on from the central focus of biblical Shavuot as celebrating the Covenant, one of the sub-themes of Shavuot is the acceptance of converts into God’s Covenant with Israel. For this reason, the Book of Ruth is traditionally read at Shavuot. It is a short book,...