Rabbi Steven Bernstein

When I am asked to intercede for people in prayer, I usually pray in Hebrew. I recently had someone express disappointment in this practice. “I don’t understand what you are praying,” they exclaimed. My response was “good!” In reality, I was confused by their desire to understand what I was praying.

The role of an intercessor is to aid someone else in opening their heart to HaShem. This can take several forms, one of which is for the intercessor to try to read what is in the heart of the intercessee and present it to HaShem. This is a good and valid practice, except that intercessors sometimes make mistakes and read the intercessee incorrectly. Even when the intercessor gets the ‘read’ right, there are other problems. The tendency is for people desiring prayer to focus on the intercessor and what they are praying. Instead, they should be focusing on HaShem and opening their own heart to Him. The words of the intercessor can be very distracting whether they are in error or even if they are right on. The energy, however slight, a person expends in concentrating on the intercessor, is energy they are taking away from concentrating on HaShem.

When I pray in Hebrew for others, I try with all my heart to help them open their Ruakh (soul) to HaShem. If they do not understand what I am saying while I pray for them, so much the better. Truly, this is the advantage in praying in tongues also. The point is concentrate on HaShem, not the intercessor. When you pray with an intercessor, let them lead you in opening your heart to HaShem. Don’t worry about what they are saying. Whether they are praying in Hebrew, in tongues, or whatever, focus on HaShem. This is time to concentrate more fully on HaShem than you otherwise do. Keeping this in mind can help your spiritual life take a step forward.

Deuteronomy 8 (Complete Jewish Bible)
3 He humbled you, allowing you to become hungry, and then fed you with mann, which neither you nor your ancestors had ever known, to make you understand that a person does not live on food alone but on everything that comes from the mouth of ADONAI.

Matthew 4 (Complete Jewish Bible)
1 Then the Spirit led Yeshua up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Adversary. 2 After Yeshua had fasted forty days and nights, he was hungry. 3 The Tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order these stones to become bread.” 4 But he answered, “The Tanakh says, `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of ADONAI’”

Here, in Deuteronomy 8, HaShem tells us why he fed us with Mann. Then, Yeshua explains to haSatan why He will not be tempted by quoting the same passage. At first glance, the passage does not seem to be translated in the same way in both texts. The reason for this can give us some insights into what our Messiah was saying.

The word lekhem, in Hebrew, means bread, or food, or a meal or meals. So when Torah teaches that man does not live on lekhem alone, it means man does not live on physical sustenance alone. Life is much more than that. The wandering in the desert, when the children of Israel were rising in spiritual understanding, between Pesakh and Shavu’ot, was a period when HaShem stripped us of everything, even food, to make certain that we understood that we were completely dependent on HaShem for our very lives. It was the primary lesson we needed to comprehend before we could receive the Torah.

The Hebrew word davar can be translated as either word or thing. “But on everything that comes (out) of the mouth of HaShem” does not mean the Bible alone. Rather, the phrase hearkens back to creation, and the fact that all existence is from the mouth of HaShem. His first action of creation was to speak, “Let there be light…” and from there everything in creation came from the mouth of HaShem. It reminds us that all of creation, every ongoing minute and second, comes from the mouth of HaShem. As Yeshua did with us so often, He took the temptation of haSatan, and turned it into a much deeper lesson. The lesson, in fact is a call to worship, in submission and servitude. Love HaShem with all our hearts, Souls and strength because He is everything, all knowing, all powerful, and all present.

Tu b’Shvat, the fifteenth day of the month of Shvat, is coming a week from Tuesday evening. It is one of the four New Year’s we celebrate. It is the New Year for fruit bearing trees. This celebration, dating back to Sinai, is how the Children of Israel have marked the age of our newly planted trees. Torah teaches us that fruit of trees less than three years old is forbidden (orlah.) Four year old fruit must be donated to the Temple, and after that the first fruits (bikurim) must be donated to the Temple and we may eat the rest. After a tree sees 3 Tu b’Shvats, we donate the fruit to The Temple and the following Tu b’Shvat marks the time we may eat the fruit.

In addition to the bikurim, 10% of the produce of the trees must be donated. This is called the first tithe. We do not, in modern day, usually associate tithing with fruit, but, back in Tabernacle/Temple times, the tithe that came in was predominately food. So, for practical reasons Tu b’Shvat became the New Year for the tithe as well.

We do not have a Temple now (I pray we will, soon in our day!) What we have is the Synogogue, which is a commemoration of the Temple itself. Hebrews 10:25 reminds us not to stop going to Synagogue (the Greek word is Synogoga.) So even though it is not a tithe as HaShem commanded us, it is a commemoration of that tithe.

This New Year of the tithe is a great time to remind ourselves of the role of the Synagogue in our lives and how we can support and enlarge that role. The Synagogue helps us learn and grow in Yeshua, it enables us to pray together as a nation, it provides a venue to teach those not yet understanding, about Messiah Yeshua, and it is a warm safe place for us to come together and celebrate with each other. Let us use this time to renew our commitment to HaShem and to help strengthen and build our Synagogue. We do not know what this year will bring, but we do know we are one year closer to the return of our Messiah!

We love Yeshua our Messiah. We want to be His disciples, but what does that really mean? There are, in fact, many steps involved. First, we must read about Him and His disciples, the Brit Khadasha. Then, we must realize that reading an English translation of what was written in other languages 20 centuries ago, does not necessarily inform us of what our Messiah meant or was trying to teach. To be a true disciple, one must dig deeper. One must strive for Khakhma, wisdom, binah, understanding, and da’at, knowledge. Our Messiah taught us how to live a life pleasing to HaShem, how to obey His commandments. To understand what He meant, we must be able to put His lessons into the context of the 1st century Jewish world He lived in. Every word He said had a purpose and a meaning. His interactions with His disciples are instructive. Our initial understandings of all these things are frequently inaccurate. Pausing to learn the better understandings is what begins to make a disciple out of someone who just reads the Bible.
After gaining a more real understanding, the next steps involve doing what He said and did, that is, living a life pleasing to HaShem. So discipleship really is a combination of learning and doing.
Stay in prayer!

The world we live in is filled with an enormous number of distractions. Coming off this American Holiday Season, it is readily apparent that there are many things around us that can take us away from HaShem in our lives. Not only things in the world around us, but also things within Messianic Judaism itself are frequently distractions. Let us remember on what we should be focusing, G-d. When we focus on all the things happening in the world, politically, in entertainment, with our jobs, our relationships with each other, we lose our focus on HaShem. Even when we focus on what may or may not be happening now or our interpretation of what may happen in the future according to our understanding of Prophesy may become a distraction. One of Yeshua’s great underlying messages was to not lose focus on what is important. Love G-d and love each other. Follow HaShem’s commandments and be good to one another. Politics come and go. Relationships change, even our understanding of Prophesy is different generation to generation. Only HaShem is immutable.

So do things to raise your G-d consciousness. Say Blessings, sing praises to Him, give thanks to Him continually. Maintain your open prayer relationship with Him continually. Keep up your end of the dialogue. Recognize His miracles, large and small. “Na’ar ha’iti, gam zakanti, v’lo ra’iti tzaddik ne’ezav.” “I was a young man, now I am old, and I have never seen a righteous man forsaken.” Through the Messiah Yeshua, we are righteous in His eyes!

Life is a mix of joy and sadness. Even during an occasion of utmost happiness, we remember that not everything is happy all the time. During a wedding, when the celebration of the joining of two souls brings unfathomable joy to the community, we break a glass to remember our sorrow at the destruction of the House of HaShem.

So, we have just finished Hanukkah and we are heading toward Tu B’Shvat, Purim and Pesakh, times of incredible joy, and yet on Thursday, the Tenth day of Tevet, we fast. We go without food or water from sunrise to sunset in remembrance of the Babylonian army beginning their siege of Jerusalem. We fast as Yeshua and His Talmidim did, recognizing the start of the season of the destruction of the Temple and the suffering of our people from the siege. We fast knowing that when Yeshua returns, this fast of the tenth month will become a time of joy.
Zechariah 8:19 CJB
“ADONAI-Tzva’ot says, ‘The fast days of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months are to become times of joy, gladness and cheer for the house of Y’hudah. Therefore, love truth and peace.’

John 10:22-24 (Complete Jewish Bible)
22 Then came Hanukkah in Yerushalayim. It was winter,
23 and Yeshua was walking around inside the Temple area, in Shlomo’s Colonnade.
24 So the Judeans surrounded him and said to him, “How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us publicly!”

We see that Yeshua and His Talmidim celebrated Hanukkah. Why? Hanukkah is not in Lev 23; in fact, it is not in the Torah at all. It is not in the Major or Minor Prophets, nor is it in the Writings. The lesson for us is that Yeshua and His Talmidim commemorated all the National occasions of the Children of Israel. These include not only Hanukkah, but Purim, fasts of the 4th month, 5th month, 7th month, and 10th month (Zech 8:19) as well.

And so, have a joyous and wonderful Hanukkah. It is a time to pause and truly see the miracles of HaShem and be thankful for them. In America, many of our families celebrate Christmas. Just because we don’t does not mean it is correct to condemn them. Instead, take the opportunity to enjoy the family time together and let the Light of the Messiah shine through you.

Barukh atah HaShem, Elohaynu Melekh ha’olam, she’asah nisim lavotaynu, byamim hahaym bazman hazeh.
Blessed are You O L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, who did miracles for our fathers, in those days at this season.

December is here and with it all the Christmas stuff. We are inundated with decorations in stores, at work, even in our neighborhoods. Being Jewish in America at this time of year can be very challenging. Our children get hit even harder than us adults. It is so difficult explaining to children that because we are different we don’t get gifts in December, that the practice of gift giving on Hanukkah began not very long ago in the US. Non -Jews in America really have trouble conceiving of life without Christmas; so they assume that Hanukkah is Jewish Christmas. For new Messianic Jews that have recently come out of the Church, there is a risk of condemning those that choose to celebrate Christmas. In discussing this with my wife, she reminded me of ex-smoker syndrome. That is, the people least tolerant of smoking are former smokers. Please remember we are not to judge others. Judgment is for HaShem. Millions of non-believers have come to faith in our Messiah through the Christmas celebration. Instead of condemning, we can embrace the joy and beauty of the festival, and though we do not celebrate it, we can still let the light of the Mashiakh shine through us.

Matthew 7 (Complete Jewish Bible)
1 “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. 2 For the way you judge others is how you will be judged — the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure to you. 3 Why do you see the splinter in your brother’s eye but not notice the log in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, `Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ when you have the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite! First, take the log out of your own eye; then you will see clearly, so that you can remove the splinter from your brother’s eye!

Talmud – Tractate Sanhedrin 81a
“Do not speak that way to your father, for it has been taught: If one sins, his son must not say “Father, you are sinning,” but say “this is what Torah says.” But, after all does it not mean the same thing? He must also say this, “Father this verse is written in the Torah.””

Matthew 14 (Complete Jewish Bible)
3 For Herod had arrested Yochanan, put him in chains and thrown him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip; 4 since Yochanan had told Herod, “It violates the Torah for you to have her as your wife.”

Here we see the oral law giving an explanation of what is written in the Brit Khadasha. The oral law was simply understandings of the Torah that were passed orally, they did not begin to be written down until about the year 250 ce. The ideas were common in Yeshua’s day and Yeshua supported them. Here we are confronted with the difficulty of judging others without judging others. Clearly we are to guide rather than judge. When we see someone else sinning, first we must address sin in our own lives. Only then may we help others. Then, Talmud gives us some help, don’t say” you are sinning!” That is judging. Say rather, “this is what Torah says,” and then indicate the verse(s). We see that Yokhanan was doing precisely that when he spoke with Herod. If we follow these simple rules, we will be able to help each other without judging each other. That is what love is all about.

Proverbs 2 (Complete Jewish Bible)
1 My son, if you will receive my words and store my commands inside you, 2 paying attention to wisdom inclining your mind toward understanding 3 yes, if you will call for insight and raise your voice for discernment, 4 if you seek it as you would silver and search for it as for hidden treasure – 5 then you will understand the fear of ADONAI and find knowledge of God. 6 For ADONAI gives wisdom; from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.

In this season of our joy, what greater joy is there than in pursuing the wisdom and understanding of HaShem? Read the weekly parsha, and then study it. What does it say, what does it mean? Read this week’s section of the Prophets. Why is this section connected to the Torah portion? Did Yeshua speak of this part of Torah directly or indirectly? What greater joy can there be than that of pursuing the wisdom that comes from HaShem? Reading the Bible is a first step. The wisdom of HaShem requires effort. Study, learn, and pursue understanding. There is joy to be discovered beyond anything the world can offer.

James 3 (Complete Jewish Bible)
17 But the wisdom from above is, first of all, pure, then peaceful, kind, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.