by Dr. Marty Maketansky Who has ever personally witnessed a miracle? When I was growing up there are two events that I remember that were and still are called miraculous. Were they really miracles? I leave the answer to you,…
Category: Holiday Messages
Light Over Might
Listen to an audio version Hanukah is perhaps the most cherished Jewish holidays, celebrated by both religious and secular Jews. While much of the Western world celebrates Christmas, Hanukah has become the Jewish alternative, replete with gift-giving, “heart-unfriendly” holiday foods,…
Fire and Water: Heaven on Earth
Sukkot is a season overflowing with meaning. It’s a time of joy, gratitude, and celebration — a time when we thank HaShem for His abundant provision. The harvest has come in, the storehouses are full, and the people rejoice in…
Ha’azinu – If Life is a Journey
At the end of his long discourse, Moses breaks into song in Ha’azinu, painting a poetic picture of Israel’s journey into the unknown. It is a song of warning, a song of memory, and a song of hope. In the…
Shabbat Shuvah – Scandalous!
The Bible is the best-selling book of all time—and one of the least read. Even those who profess deep love for Scripture, quoting chapter and verse with ease, rarely read it from cover to cover. We tend to skip the…
Nitzavim – Life, the Gift That Keeps on Giving
In just a few days, the shofar will sound, Rosh Hashanah will dawn, and the Days of Awe will open before us. The Jewish calendar, in its divine wisdom, does not wait for tragedy to remind us of mortality—it sets…
Chazon – A View from the Rubble
People don’t always get along. It’s not just a modern problem — it’s a human problem. We are often tired, stressed, or overwhelmed. And when someone cuts us off on the highway, lets their kids run wild in a restaurant,…
Passover Lambs and Chesed Community
Among messianic Jews much has been said concerning the parallels between the sacrifices of the paschal lamb and that of Yeshua. After all the paschal lamb was the Korban Pesach, the essential sacrifice which God commanded the children of Israel…
Vayeshev and Hanukkah – Servants of the Holy, Servants of the Light
Sometimes it would seem that the focus within American Judaism is on impressive edifices, building funds, synagogue attendance, and business protocols – and why not? These values merely mirror those of our everyday lives. Sadly, Judaism appears to have forgotten…
A More Intimate Gathering
Listen to an audio version When I was a boy growing up in New York our family gatherings were like a scene out of the Barry Levinson movie Avalon. On Thanksgiving and Chanukah especially our get-togethers would involve not only…