by Julie Almanrode
The catalyst for publishing the book Open My Eyes – Wonders of Torah came from the myriads of people who, in these last days, are denying the deity of Yeshua (Jesus’ name) and his sonship to the Father. I wanted to create a Bible study of the first five books of the Bible or Torah that revealed Yeshua throughout its written words, its language and its shadows.
When Yeshua became flesh and walked on earth, he only had the Hebrew Scriptures – the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings to teach about repentance and the Kingdom of God. The Torah contains the history and foundations of a Biblical faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Isra’el. Since the Torah is the most obvious place to begin learning about the Creator, His Kingdom, His family, His chosen nation, His plan of redemption through Yeshua and His restoration of Isra’el, many non-Jewish followers of the Jewish Messiah use the weekly Torah portions to delve deeper into Yeshua and his teachings, the Scriptures that testify to him, his ministry and his Father’s plan of redemption.
Each Torah commentary includes a section with the words or actions of Yeshua that correlate to the parashah (portion) and show his faithfulness to his Father’s instructions and prove his divinity as the Son of God. Some of the commentaries come from questions my family asked, searched out and may even still have. Other commentary comes from rabbis and sages from the centuries until today. At the end of each parashah, traditional readings from the prophets as well as the new testament are listed along with a springboard for a discussion or midrash. Because Biblical names and words have unique meanings different from English, Hebrew Word Pictures are included to illuminate those ideas. Selah, meaning ‘pause and think about this,’ are also found throughout the text.
“I have been using this book as the basis of teaching my congregation – new to Torah – some of the more unique understandings of Hebrew and the Jewish faith. It is so full of information and my congregation is learning so much.” (P. Hadley)
“Great source for one to have a deeper understanding of our Jewish roots. Our churches today have missed what is expected in order to be truly grafted in! We can’t throw out the Old Testament if we really want to be Christ-like in our walk. I encourage others to really spend time gaining knowledge so they can see the Light!!” (L. Brown)
“An absolutely amazing book. Very easy to read and follow. This opened MY EYES to so much! The Author speaks the truth and backs everything up with scripture! I liked this book so much we purchased two others from the same author. You won’t be disappointed!” (M. Burton)