Exciting!

I have finally reached someone in my beloved Ireland! Thank you for reading! I hope that you will stay with us for a long time...

For Every Season

For every season in a person's life, one must think about the expectations that are set before them. This blog, will have a new name in the coming week. It is my hope and prayer that you will continue to read it and be encouraged by the stories here.
No longer can I call this blog "Torah Rocks!" While yes, the Torah is good, it is not the ultimate good which is only found through Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashaiach).
Please stand by for this new season of ministry and photography. I know that God is going to do great things for this blog and it's followers!

To follow Jesus; you will loose things that are dear (for NIKO)

Saying goodbye is never easy. Especially when it is to someone you thought was not only a friend, but also a part of your family. As Christians or Believers, we often look at each other as family. Some of us are the goofy cousin; others the well educated, over informed annoying brother, and yet others are the over protective parenting types. But we are family none the less. So when we say goodbye to those we love, and care for, it leaves a hole in our hearts.

Recently, just under a month ago, I lost my dearest friend. We have known each other since 1998/1999. He's Finnish, who wants to be Israeli. I am American with Irish ancestry and a family history that goes back to the tribe of Judah. We had previously parted ways due to an argument about religion.  We had been parted for about 3-4 years. I had grown over those years; my grandfather passed on, my dog had died and I had some life struggles.

When we decided to talk, it was like nothing had changed between us. It was easy to speak to this friend again. So this time when we parted ways, it was much more difficult. I knew that he had been rejected by his former Rabbi and I had been accepted by my local Jewish congregation as a "true friend of the Jews." Yet, our friendship wasn't meant to last.

It wasn't until today, that I realized fully why our friendship ended. You see for years I had been a fan of Jesus, but I hadn't really been a follower of Jesus. You see Jesus wants all of our lives; not just those things which we want to give him. Instead He wants all of it; and for Him to have all aspects of our lives we loose something. For me, it was my best friend and former brother in faith.

So to Niko:  I say that I love you, I still pray for you. However, I am not sorry that I have given my life to Jesus, and that I am called a Christian. I hope that someday, you realize that Jesus loves you and you'll fully turn your life over to Him.

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur...a time to fast and pray.  Every year between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, Jews are called upon to engage in an introspective process known as heshbon hanefesh, an accounting of the soul, to assess where we have missed the mark in the past year. We observe the Ten Days of Repentance by becoming conscious of our wrongdoings and asking God for forgiveness. Yet no amount of synagogue attendance or prayers will grant us forgiveness for sins that we have committed against one another. The Talmud teaches: “The Day of Atonement atones for sins against God, not for sins against man, unless the injured person has been appeased.” For that, we must go directly to the person we have wronged and ask for forgiveness. The rabbinic outlook on the subject may be most simply expressed as "God is just"; He rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked (Principle number 11 of Maimonides' 13 principles of the Jewish faith). Only the unrepentant sinner incurs His wrath; the sinner who repents is always forgiven. Thus the Talmud states, "He who sins and regrets his act is at once forgiven" (Ḥag. 5a; Ber. 12b) and the Midrash states, "Says the Holy One, even if they [your sins] should reach to Heaven, if you repent I will forgive" (Pes. Rab. 44:185a; see Yal. Ps. 835). The rabbis go even further in the ethical demands made upon the injured party, for not only must he be ready to forgive his injurer, he should also pray that God forgive the sinner before he has come to beg forgiveness (Yad, loc. cit.; Tosef., BK 9:29; Sefer Ḥasidim ed. by R. Margalioth 1957, 267 no. 360). This demand is based on the example of Abraham, who prayed to God to forgive Abimelech (Gen. 20:17). The reasons the injured party should be ready to forgive the injurer are mixed. On the one hand is the self-regarding consideration, already mentioned, that forgiveness to one's fellow wins forgiveness from Heaven. As Philo states: "If you ask pardon for your sins, do you also forgive those who have trespassed against you? For remission is granted for remission" (ed. by Mangey, 2 (1742), 670; see also Yoma 23.

The Christian teaching is much the same as the Jewish, in Colossians 3:13 we are told "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

So I must ask this, if one does not forgive another? What right does he/she have to ask the Almighty to forgive them?

If there is anyone you have wronged this year, and it's possible that the wrong that you have done has arisen from a misunderstanding, have you asked that person to forgive you? Have they hurt you and asked your forgiveness? Are you willing to extend that forgiveness and hit your mark this year?

Review of "The Gospel According to Isaiah 53"

The Gospel According to Isaiah 53*

Edited by Darrell L. Bock and Mitch Glaser

Perhaps you have wondered about the interpretations held about Isaiah 53. Maybe as a Christian, you think “Why can’t a Jewish person read Isaiah 53 and see that it’s pointing straight to Jesus as Messiah?” Maybe as a Jew you are thinking “Why do Christians automatically point to Isaiah 53 as a prophecy that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah?” No matter, if you are Jewish or Christian, this book is a valuable addition to your library.

As a Biblical Studies student, I am constantly looking for books that will help me expound upon the themes in the Bible. Bock and Glaser have provided any seminary student with such a book. This book doesn’t come across overtly “Christian” nor does it deny the Jewish stance of Isaiah 53. This book isn’t written at such an academic/professional level that a lay member couldn’t read it, however, there could be some difficulty if you have never studied the Jewish roots of the Christian faith or are not at least familiar with Judaism and its history.

There are several questions that are answered within this book and by giving clear answers this book is one that will really help anyone who is interested in learning more about the interpretations of Isaiah 53. Christian or Jew, this book, is one that any seminary student or professional minister will benefit from; especially in helping to understand the ancient context of which this book and chapter was written.  

*This book was sent free of charge for a non-biased opinion of the book. No money was exchanged for the above review.

Literary Focus of the Olympics!

The focus of the London Opening Ceremonies was not about out doing Beijing, it wasn’t about Satan, religion or boundaries that separate us. No, the London Opening Ceremonies was about the contributions to society that have been made via the British people. 

I am proud of my English heritage, though many times it looks like I am a bit more proud of my Irish and Scottish ancestry. I am proud that members of this great country have made contributions that I as an avid reader have benefited from. If not for the British, I wouldn’t have adversaries like Lord Voldemort, the Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland), Captain Hook, etc. I wouldn’t have had much childhood happiness beyond learning about the Royal family. 

So when I witness people putting on Facebook that the moment when Lord Voldemort shows up during the opening ceremony was “Devilment”; I get a bit ticked. I don’t see it that way, I saw it for what it was, a celebration of the “contributions of the British to the Literary world.” Books like Harry Potter made reading “cool” again amongst children. Think about that the next time you think VOLDEMORT is Satan and all you can do is complain that your children won’t read...maybe they just need some British encouragement!

Olympic Peace

I don’t typically write rants. Mainly because I find them completely uninteresting, dead common and unbecoming of writers. However, today, I have been placed on my soapbox. I know many will not agree with my stance, and that is completely fine. I know that my Israeli friends will think I have went off the deep end, that I am anti-Israel and pro-Arab. This however, isn’t the case. My plea isn’t that Israel give in to so called Palestinians. My goal isn’t that my Jewish friends lose their homeland, rather that instead of focusing solely on the negative that instead they devote more media time to the positive. 99.9% of the world knows the plight of the Israeli citizen, be they Jew or Muslim. 

Today is July 28, 2012. Last night, London hosted the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics. First thing I wake up to news wise is YNET’s complaint that the Lebanese team doesn’t want to train along side of Israel’s team. While this may be news worthy in Israel, Lebanon and other middle eastern countries, it is not news worthy to me here in the States. Do I see a team not wanting to train with another team as a problem? Yes, of course, but why are we giving them media attention? Is the TEAMS who are PARTICIPATING nicely not good enough news? 

In Psychology we are taught that if you give certain behaviors attention, then they continue. These behaviors can have positive or negative consequences, but either way they continue. However, we have also learned that if we ignore certain behaviors, then those behaviors go away. Now, I certainly am not speaking of acts of terrorism. That should never be ignored. However, why are we giving attention to a select group of people because they can’t, won’t or possibly have and this is just been made up to tick off society, train with another team? 

The real story of the Olympics is one that fosters for peace for 17 days. The Olympics truly isn’t about Michael Phelps becoming the most decorated Olympian of our time, or Team Israel getting more medals than her Arab neighbors. The real story is that for 17 days, the world unites to cheer on it’s athletes and for 17 days, we forget that religion and boundaries separate us all. For 17 days, we become citizens of the world. 

I don’t ask that you stand behind me in my efforts to forget YNET’s story which focuses negatively on the Olympics, I don’t ask that you support me at all, rather I ask that you look into your own hearts and seek what the 2012 London Olympics means to you. 

I do encourage all media outlets to focus on the positive and not the negative...because whether we like each other or not, we are stuck on this great big planet called Earth and the Olympics aren’t about who dislikes who; it’s about celebrating and fostering peace among the nations.