Weekly Bracha #1

I go through many Messianic, Jewish, and Christian blogs and podcasts. Every week, there’s a few gems that are deserving of a greater audience. To shine the light on these gems, I’m starting a weekly series of posts called the Weekly Bracha (Hebrew: blessing, bounty). Enjoy!

• Acts 15 study podcast, part 1 – The topic of gentiles and their relationship to Torah has been the subject of much controversy in the Messianic movement as late. John McKee gives it a dose of his usual intellectual, scholarly study as he dissects the apostles’ ruling on gentiles and Torah in Acts 15.
  
  
• Israel and Messiah’s Return – Is God done with Israel? Are Israel the failed people of God? Messianic rabbi Derek Leman underlines Israel’s centrality in Messiah’s return and the age to come.
  
  
• Whose Mashiach is it anyway? – Rosh Pina blogger Yeze shows a video of anti-missionary Judaism-shaming group Yad L’achim harassing an Israeli Messianic congregation by infiltrating their services and starting a riot. The authors then ask, “Why aren’t the anti-missionaries opposing Chabad messianists missionaries?” That is, Chabad Orthodox Jewish groups that proselytize Jews to believe that the late United States rabbi Schneersohn is the messiah with divine qualities.
  
  
• Jerusalem Post ignoring Ami Ortiz case – Now that virtually all of Israel – secular, Orthodox, Ultra Orthodox – have condemned the murderous acts of anti-missionary Jack Teitel, Israeli media outlets have been omitting Messianic Jews as one of Teitel’s victims. The Ortiz family says,

  Now many news sources and especially the Jerusalem Post to name one, are omitting our case completely and saying only that the attacks were against homosexuals, and left-wing people.
  

  The family urges us to pray, and also to email editors@jpost.com and ask them to tell the truth and not forget Ami Ortiz’s case. (Update: The Jerusalem Post has heard us, and have edited one of their articles in response.)
  
  
• Yahrzeit of Rabbi Daniel Zion – First Fruits of Zion remembers the 20th anniversary of the death of chief rabbi of Bulgaria who saved an untold number of Bulgarian Jews from the the Nazis, while holding faith in the Messiah Yeshua. “Rabbi Daniel Zion's story is a testimony to us all. He lived a 100 percent Torah lifestyle, and he was a 100 percent follower of the Messiah Yeshua. He did not compromise faith for money, nor did he succumb to the pressures of the chief rabbinate to deny Yeshua. He chose the difficult path, not acquiescing his beliefs in order to fit into the norm. May we learn from his tremendous example.”
  
  
• Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is heckled – Giving a speech at the General Assembly of Jewish Federations, some hecklers interrupt the speech and heckle the Prime Minister of Israel. Aussie Dave has the video, which includes Netanyahu’s humorous response: “I have to say, I was received at the United Nations better than here.”
  
  
• Acts 15 from a Christian perspective: Professor of religious studies and authority on the New Testament Scot McKnight discusses Acts 15 from a Christian perspective.
  
  
• What should Christians do with Jehova’s Witnesses? – Those too-well-dressed door-to-door religious salesman – McKnight asks, how do you deal with them?
  
  
• Kristallnacht – The Yinon blog remembers the 71st anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, when German and Austrian rioters stormed and destroyed Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues, all with government approval.
  
  
• Aventures with the Apostles: Thaddeus – Jeremiah Michael shows some surprising information from the Acts of the Holy Apostle Thaddeus: annointing and baptizing Hebrews, Greeks, Syrians and Armenians, instructing them to heed to the apostles words and observe the law of Moses.

Shabbat shalom!