The instructions given to the Israelites are sometimes referred to as ‘The Mosaic Law.’ Though that delineation differentiates the Torah from other laws like man-made traditions or even the ‘law of sin and death,’ it has been wrongly interpreted to mean ‘the law that came from Moshe that has nothing to do with anyone who isn’t Jewish.’ In truth, Moshe was only the intercessor between Elohim and the Israelites and did not make any commands or instructions.
Tag: menorah
Hanukkah, the Fourth Night
When the Temple was defiled by Antiochus, the holy oil was poured out and the Golden Menorah was seized. Once the Temple was reclaimed from the Syrians, Judah Maccabee ordered the Levite priests to construct a new Menorah to sit in the Holy Place. This Menorah was seized by the Romans in 70 CE (Common Era) and no one knows where it is. Today, the Temple Institute has constructed another Menorah that sits in the Old City of Jerusalem overlooking the Temple Mount.
The history of the Hanukkiah or eight-branched menorah used at Hannukah is a little obscure. Josephus, the Jewish historian, mentions light in reference to Hanukkah, but not the Menorah. The Mishna, the writings of Jewish law, has nothing about a Hanukkiah even to 300 CE. Somewhere sometime, the Hanukkiah developed and was lit. The rabbis codified it in the Talmud, the written oral laws. It was also during this time that the story of the miracle of the oil came about along with many of the traditions found in the eight-day celebration. For a complete hard copy and study questions for each night of Hanukkah, please purchase the complete study guide Yeshua in His Father’s Feasts.
Revelation Chapter 2 – Ephesus
To the credit of the Ephesian community of believers, they hate the Nicolaitans. In Greek, nico means ‘conquer,’ and laitan refers to ‘lay people’; Nicolaitan means ‘conquer the lay people.’ This implies there is a hierarchy in Ephesus –– those who rule and those who submit. Yeshua hates this hierarchy because he is to be the only Shepherd over his sheep, King over his Kingdom, High Priest over his Priesthood, and Bridegroom for his Bride.
Bubbe’s Hanukkah Poem
In the Jerusalem Temple the killing of pigs
Left an ugly mess that was very, very big
The Levite priests went to work that day
To clean the whole place until they could say
The Holy Temple was ready to worship Yahweh.