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Shalom Friends in Yeshua's Love, It's Purim and almost time for the debut of another biblical new year! Soon, the flowers will begin blooming, the birds singing and the earth (at least in the northern hemisphere) will be coming alive after a cold, gloomy, and wet winter. Doesn't it make more sense to start the new year at this time? YHVH knew what he was doing when he gave us his calendar punctuated by the spring annual appointed times or moedim starting with Passover (Pesach), which signifies spiritual rebirth. Praise him for the wisdom of his Torah's highway! A heartfelt todah rabbah (thank you very much, in Hebrew) for all those who were able to give financially to Hoshana Rabbah this past month! A special prayer and blessing for you. Also, a big thanks to all who have taken an interest in our ministry by lifting us up in prayer and by following our efforts to water YHVH's people with his precious and life-giving Word. It is hard to believe it, but it is true: this ministry originates from a remodeled 80-some-year-old chicken coop in our backyard and from our dining room table! Our computers and the internet do the rest, by YHVH's grace. A few ministry updates of note before I share a message from my heart. Hoshana Rabbah now has a Twitter account so that you can be updated about new teachings and upcoming events listed on our website. If you are interested in staying in touch, you can follow Hoshana Rabbah on Twitter by signing up on the link on the homepage of our website. Also, we have enlisted a service to help us with our newsletter. The fact that you are receiving this indicates that you have probably signed up (if not, one can do so on our website homepage) to receive our email newsletter. (If you're receiving this by postal service, we encourage you to sign up for the email version, so that you can be assured of receiving this each month). We are happy to announce that my paper, "When Does Ephraim Return to the Land of Israel?" is finished and being proofread and edited by several people. The title may seem rather bland and engender a "so what" response in the minds of some, but, in this paper, I deal with some critical and relevant issues to our spiritual movement. I assure you, many in the Hebrew roots movement, in response to the numerous biblical prophecies about Ephraim (whom we generically refer to as Christians, for reasons which I have, I believe, adequately proven in previous published teachings) returning to the land of Israel, feel led to sell all and move NOW to Israel. Commendably, this response is born out of a passionate love for the land of Israel, the Jewish people, the love of the Torah, and a faith in the Word of Elohim. We applaud them for this, but the question remains, "Is now the time to be moving to Israel?" We discuss the answer to this important question (by carefully analyzing end-time biblical prophecy) in this 24-page teaching, which will be online shortly. In this teaching, we answer the following questions: What will YHVH's people be doing just prior to the return of Yeshua, our Master and Redeemer, and where do they fit into end-time prophecy? So stay tuned! Finally, for the local crowd, Hoshana Rabbah hosted a marriage strengthening week-end for husbands seminar in January, called The Garden of Peace. It was taught by Scott Diffenderfer and Ed Harris, who are leaders in the Messianic Israel Alliance. Our ministry felt especially privileged to be able to host this seminar—the first of its kind in our region. If you will indulge me for just a moment, I will step up on my soapbox and say that one thing the Hebrew roots/Messianic Israel Movement doesn't need is more useless ego-building head knowledge—or as Batya Wootten eloquently states in her recent book entitled, The Voice—Hearing the Almighty, "the idol of intellectualism" (p. 52). Without strong marriages and families there is no Messianic Israel. Period! What's more, we can proudly shout "Torah, Torah!" all day long, but without stable marriages and spiritual community comprised of strong families, our cries ring hollow. By strengthening marriages and families, we will strengthen Messianic Israel, which will hasten the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21) and the return of Yeshua! This is what we as a ministry, as well as the Messianic Israel Alliance (of which we are a part), stand for. To be sure, having this as a high-priority emphasis is our Father in heaven's heart! The next step in YHVH's order of things after strong marriages and families is a strong spiritual community. The latter is an outgrowth of the former. But sadly, many in the Messianic community are purposely not planted in a spiritual community or congregation. This reality is painfully illustrated every time a "big-name" Messianic speaker makes an appearance in the city where I pastor our Messianic fellowship, Congregation Elim. At times, literally hundreds of Messianics come out of the closet to hear the latest speaker, yet few of these people are planted in any congregation, yet all the while claiming to be Torah-observant. Let me be blunt: One cannot be fully Torah-observant unless one is part of a spiritual community that is ordered according to biblical protocols. In saying this, I know that some people may not able to find a local pro-Torah, Yeshua-centered Messianic community in their region. But why not host a Bible study group in your home using one or both of Hoshana Rabbah's free published Torah study guides? They have been specifically designed for not only individual, but also group studies, and we have plans to keep updating them by adding new material. (You'll find them at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/parshiot.html.) Yeshua encouraged small group studies when he declared that where two or more are gathered together in his name, he is there in their midst (Matt 18:20). If this doesn't work for you, then pray in faith that our Father in heaven will open up for you some other fellowship possibilities. He will do so! What do I mean when I say that one can't be fully Torah observant without being part of a local community of believers? Let me explain. The Israelites of old were part of a nation. They weren't lone rangers! They came out of Egypt as a nation, trekked through the wilderness as a nation, built the tabernacle as a nation, worshipped YHVH as a nation, and entered the Promised Land as a nation. Israel was also a family comprised of tribes and were collectively called the children of Israel. They were also a congregation or kahal who were called out of this world, and were divinely given a common purpose (to worship and obey YHVH by following Torah) and a common destiny (to enter the Promised Land and to be the light of YHVH to the nations). The glue that held this community of families together was the weekly (seventh-day) Sabbath and the annual biblical festivals. Without these, Israelites tended to drift away from YHVH and his Torah such that the catch phrase "and every man did what was right in his own eyes" become the norm in Israel to describe their spiritual declension toward Torahlessness, spiritual lukewarmness, idolatry, and finally, total apostasy. A quick review of the Book of Judges will confirm this fact. Can one properly observe the Sabbath and feasts and be Torah-observant without being part of a community? Affirmatively no! Leviticus 23 is very clear on this point. The Sabbaths and biblical feasts are divine appointments (Heb. moedim) when YHVH's people are commanded to suspend their worldly routines and meet together with him. Furthermore, these days are also called holy convocations (Heb. miqrei kodesh) or literally "a set-apart time when YHVH's people are called together" to meet with him and each other (Lev 23:2). This was the "church" in the wilderness to which Stephen makes reference in Acts 7:38. At every turn, the apostolic writers emphasize the continuity of this spiritual community. From its very inception in the upper room, the "New Testament church" was a united community that met on the Sabbath and annual festivals. The Book of Acts is an historical record of this. The early Messianic believers were spiritually empowered together on Pentecost, prayed, broke bread, received spiritual instruction, sang, worshiped and suffered together (Acts 2:42; Eph 5:19; 1 Thess 5:14). Paul likens the community of believers to a human body comprised of various interdependent and indivisible parts that can't exist independently and expect to fulfill the purpose of glorifying Elohim, manifesting the light and love of Yeshua to this world, and otherwise, edifying, comforting and exhorting one another (see Eph 4:11–16; 1 Cor 12 and 14). Brethren, these activities occur when redeemed Israelites assemble together on YHVH's appointed times: the Sabbath and biblical feasts. Not only that, but the biblical record is clear that the local congregation was:
The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews foresaw a time when believers would forsake the assembling of themselves together—presumably on the weekly Sabbath and feast days—and he warned against doing this. In fact, the author admonishes the people of YHVH to be more dutiful about getting together as the day (of Yeshua's return and judgment) approaches. Do you believe that we are living in the end times and that the day of Yeshua's return is imminent? Do you want to be obedient to the commands of YHVH as revealed in his Torah (YHVH's instructions in righteousness)? Do you want to be an active, growing and life-giving part of the spiritual body of Yeshua? Do you want to face the perilous times ahead alone, or with a community of like-minded people at your side? Then forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhort one another, and so much more so as you see the day [of Yeshua's return] approaching (Heb 10:25)! May you grow in the grace, and in the knowledge of our Master and Savior Yeshua the Messiah. To him be the glory both now and forever.
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