I became curious about the word “church.” Why would the Jewish men who wrote the Bible from Genesis to Revelation use the word church? (Greek term: ekklesia) It starts to look like another replacement-theology translation habit that can quietly feed anti-Jewish assumptions because nobody questions it. Here’s the plain meaning first. Ekklesia most literally means an assembly, a gathering convened for a meeting. In the wider Greek world, it could even mean a civic citizens’ ass

“When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it travels through waterless places, seeking rest, and finds none.” (Luke 11:24, idea-paraphrase) At first glance, “waterless places” sounds like simple geography: a dry field, a cracked riverbed, or a desert. With rabbinic ears, “places without water” represents the spiritual condition of a life without Torah. Water is one of the most potent images for Torah. A world without water is a world without life. A soul without Torah is

Because I was raised in a Jewish home and had 11 years of Jewish education, closing my eyes when praying is foreign to me. I either read from a siddur (prayerbook) or look up, as my usual way of praying. Yesterday, as I was working on this draft, I asked my husband to pray for me, and my mighty man of G-d prayed a great prayer with his beautiful eyes wide open.  Closing eyes may seem holy, but in scripture, the most detailed pictures of prayer show open eyes, lifted toward he

From Avraham’s tent to a nighttime prison in Jerusalem, the pattern is steady: messengers appear, speak, guard, deliver, and worship. The hospitality that met three travelers under the oaks of Mamre becomes a template that the later writings make explicit. “Some have entertained angels without knowing it” echoes Avraham’s welcome (Genesis 18–19 // Hebrews 13:2). The Scriptures’ promise of protection, “He will command His angels concerning you”, is not poetry alone. After test

The Torah’s quiet parting line is small and weighty: וַיֵּאָסֶף אֶל־עַמָּיו—“was gathered to his people.” Two words, "gathered" and "his" carry a powerful explanation of what our friends and relatives who have passed away have experienced. It also gives us a glimpse of our own future. Gathered — אָסַף. To gather, collect, bring in, take into safekeeping. In the notices of death the verb appears in passive forms—וַיֵּאָסֶף, יֵאָסֵף, נֶאֱסַף, הֵאָסֵף—and it moves אֶל, toward. N

Spoiler Alert… Okay — I’m just venting here. And if you’re someone who finds deep meaning in communion, and some of this rubs you the wrong way, please forgive me in advance. You might be right to feel that way. This is me processing my own journey, through my own lens, flavored with Jewish kishkes and some sarcasm. From the beginning, I knew Hashem wouldn’t want me drinking blood. That’s a forever  prohibition, for all our generations. It’s not vague. It’s not flexible. It’s

I choose to call the Anointed One by his real name: Yeshua. Why? Because there’s nothing more intimate, more honest, than using the name...

The Devil Made You Do It? When I Trick Myself: How Self-Deception Breeds Sin The Bible’s first confession, made after the first sin,...

As a Jewish believer in Yeshua, I always wondered why some people think that Yeshua is the father. I realized that my youngest understanding of the God of my people was when I was 4 years old in a Jewish nursery school. I had a relationship with him for 32 years when I came to understand that Yeshua is the son of Hashem. That realization made me wonder if that is why I knew the son of God could not be the father. I had a relationship with the father and then I also had a rel

Yeshua's heart was always for directing kavod (glory, honor) to the FATHER . When he watches his followers in a synagogue praise and...