Beth El of Manhattan, Messianic Synagogue

The "Aaronic Benediction" is described by God in the verse following it as "how you (the Aaronic Priesthood) shall put My Name on the children of Israel." It invokes God's very presence, His "face" to shine on us. When His presence shined on Moses, the face of Moses beamed light for long afterwards. How shall we "shine" in era in which God has caused us to be born and reborn? We ponder this together.

The statement in the opening of this week's parasha is in the Hebrew future tense, which can read as either a statement of a future event, or a command. Most read it as a command: but it takes on a very different flavor when it is read as a predication of the natural result of spending time with, and following God, echoing Messiah's teaching, "Every student who has been fully trained will (inevitably) be(come) just like their teacher." (Luke 6:40)

Rabbi Bruce's first sermon back from his six-month sabbatical. [NOTE: Please forgive the sound quality: the air conditioner above the podium was mistakenly set on "high fan" and loud fan noise had to be filtered out of the mix, affecting the overall tone while making the words understandable. This will not be the usual sound quality of the podcast.] Shalom!

"These are the things the Lord has *commanded* (not suggested for) you to do."

In this sermon for the weekly Torah portion "Terumah" (Voluntary Offering), Rabbi Bruce explores in deep detail and with personal examples how to replace unhelpful complaining with constructive realism.

Starting from the Haftarah for this week in Isaiah chapter 6, our own heartbreak and that of others is pondered for wisdom and appropriate engagement/action.

During last Shabbat (8 Feb 2025), the service leader made reference to Rabbi Bruce's sermon "Hard Hearts, Soft Hearts" given on 18 January 2006. Since that sermon was the driver for the leader's comments, and no sermon was given last weekend because the congregation was saving the time for group-study after the service ... it seemed fitting to rebroadcast the sermon to which he referred from 19 years ago for another go-around. :-) We hope you find it nourishing. Shalom!

We present ourselves to God ... what happens then? How does it unfold? What results?

During the rabbi's sabbatical, every 2nd Shabbat of the month is not recorded so the congregation can have after services an on-site "Nosh & Drash" in which the week's Torah section ("Parashat Ha-Shavu'a") is discussed while we eat together. So – this week, in lieu of a recorded sermon from the service, we offer the pilot episode of an experimental podcast Rabbi Cohen and Beth El's social media team recorded in December 2018. We feel the pilot has genuine value for anyone interested or involved in Two Testament Judaism. We hope you enjoy it, and pray you are nourished by it. Shalom!

A mental health-care professional gives us a very insightful glimpse into the relational dynamics presented by the Biblical scenario of our patriarch, Joseph - a victim of terrible harms - reacting to seeing genuine repentance and change in his brothers who did him those harms.

Hanukkah is Hebrew for "dedication" – and dedication as service to God and to Humankind is role-modeled for us by Messiah Yeshua, who was "The Light of The World" – and urged us as His followers to live as "lights to the world" and to "shine in the darkness."

Joseph was an ethically better and exponentially more capable man than his eleven half-brothers; and they hated him so much for it, they conspired to murder him. Yeshua of Nazareth told us, "Blessed are you when people hate and revile you for (your faith in) My Identity's sake (as the true Messiah)." What makes goodness or commitment to the truth lead to being hated?

A very personal sermon built around an actual recent experience of a long-prayed prayer suddenly being answered.

Sermon from streamed service on 7 December, not In-Person Service. That sermon will be podcast next week. Enjoy, and may it all be for shalom!

God, at times, puts us out on the end of a ledge – and then causes the ledge to evaporate under our feet. As we start to fall, with nothing visible between us and the ground below - at some point in the fall, "The Everlasting Arms" of God show up, and we are rescued. What IS this aspect of God-following?

A stirring look at the utter disruption of a family's entire status quo, leading to greater self-realization, long-unfulfilling goals – and challenges along the way that boggle the imagination.

Since last Saturday morning was Simchat Torah, and no sermon was given in the Shabbat morning service in Manhattan - so we offer Rabbi Bruce Cohen's sermon "in" Congregation Beit Ariel of Cape Town, South Africa - given via video the evening before for Erev Simchat Torah there. We hope you enjoy it! Shalom.

In North Carolina last week, people of both political parties, facing Hurricane Helene's recent damages impeding their ability to get to voting stations, became a shining example of what America can be if her citizens decide to be the non-adversarial, right versions of themselves. Let us feast together on the encouragement coming from a great real-life example of many Scriptural precepts about partly-agreeing/partly-disagreeing members of a community working as a team.

How Yeshua the Messiah's atonement provided by God is not just "'a' way to God," but "'THE' (exclusive, single, only) way" to God ... given there were countless people who lived and died before His arrival in Israel; and there have always been human beings far out of reach of hearing about, or knowing of the faith of Israel.

Handling things of the highest value in ways their value deserves; and avoiding toying with things in life not meant to be toyed with.

Shabbat "Shuvah" is the "Sabbath of 'Return'" after Yom Teruah (aka, "Rosh HaShanah") and before Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. Returning to God is taught to us by Messiah Yeshua in the form of the parable of "The Prodigal Son." It is a powerful model of how return from irrational separation into relational joy is enabled by rational and spiritual erasure of ill-founded shame.

Creating rightful newness by removing what IS, which has no or lesser merit - and replacing it with what SHOULD BE, having greater merits as to accuracy or truthfulness. Specific example: assaying for merit the system of "trope" - the tradition of singing the Torah scroll's contents –– rather than following the one clear model Scripture gives us (per Isaiah 8:20) of how to run a Torah service. (Nehemiah 8:8).

From the Parasha, as to how the Levites became the priesthood. Don Quixote style, they saw things others did not see, and so acted in ways masses of other others did not act. Human history's heroes are such. We explore this idea together.

The ceremony of the First-fruits commanded in this parasha has the impact of connecting FORWARD parts of the Jewish journey in God's will with the PREVIOUS legs of the journey. As Yeshua of Nazareth taught, "Others before you have labored, and you have entered into their labors." Healthy connection to the past is important to the present and future. We explore this in the parasha "Ki Tavo" today.

The path of God-following offers us guidance at times seeming supremely wise, and at other times, outright folly. How shall we find our way forward with such polar opposites of possibility?

The ritual at the end of this Parasha ends with a statement of the impact of "doing what is 'yashar' in the sight of God." Yeshua our Messiah taught us often, saying, "The kingship/dom of God is like ..." followed by a parable to open up how God's reign "works" in the real world. We use these Scriptures and others to open the idea of seeking God's view of what is "yashar" in any given situation.

In this week;'s Torah parasha, "Re'eh" – are commanded to see. This by the God who made us capable of "scotoma" - the willful blanking out of relevant ideas and rational thought leading to healthy conclusions, and replacing them with ill-formed prejudices, gaslighting, and other unhealthy psycho-gymnastics. What is a human-being trying to find and walk in truth to do?

Parashat "Ekev" - a study in the nature of, and results from, hearing God, when He calls to each of us.

It is natural for human beings to seek comfort: relief from stress, or healing from harm. In this, as with all human appetites, we are prone to both accuracy and error. CAN genuine comfort be found? And if so, WHERE? What IS it? WHAT does it feel and look like? What placebos try to replace it? This week's parasha "V'Etchanen" and its Haftarah (from which the Shabbat's title, "Nachamu" derives) propel us to explore these ideas.

Essentially, this sermon is about living during season of history when shalom is in short supply. In an era of conflict, how do we, as believe ... live, and do more than just survive? How do we love, enjoy life, do meaningful work that brings us personal satisfaction ...? All these, during times of crisis or war? We explore.

This week's Haftarah shows how far into folly we humans can go when we invent "religion" from of our own ideas. How do we avoid falling into the traps of false religion, and end up with genuine "revelation" – knowledge or direction from On High?

The central concept in this week's parasha is rightful "zeal," as demonstrated by Pinchas ben Eliezer. We look this week at such zeal in modern Zionism - in Hemda Ben Yehuda, the 2nd wife of Eliezer ben Yehuda, and partner in the resurrection of the Hebrew language, whose unpublished autobiography of the life she and her husband lived for the sake of their work was, "The War With Satan" – clearly, not a tale of life in any kind of Disneyland. A tale of unflinching commitment. Zeal.

From the Haftarah for "Balak" (Micah 5:6-8) - a stunning portrait of Israel's sojourn in Exile, easy to read past because of the poetry within which it is expressed; and the uneasy subject of human jealousy as it influences Antisemitism and other behavior from ancient times up to the present day. We dive in - deep.

After our People lived 430 years next to the Nile River - a four thousand mile source of always-flowing fresh, drinkable water -God led us into a terrifying desert: "The Tzin Wilderness." It was a landscape appearing void of water, food, and safety. Then, Miriam the prophetess died, so our leadership team was down from 3 to 2. Our People were being tested to the limit of their endurance. What can we learn from the Torah's record of this season in our history? A great deal, indeed. Let's dig in.

In this week's Torah portion, we see the standard for genuine spirituality set - Aaron's almond branch budded: the only one to do so among all the tribes; and this singular token, God directs to be put "on watch" in the Tabernacle, to quench the complaints of the "B'nai Mey-ri" (sons of rebellion). We are directed to the immense importance of genuine truth-seeking vs. self-exaltation by outwardly "noble" appearing conduct, as the rebel Korah displayed it. The difference is profoundly worthy of study; and so, study it, we do. Enjoy!

Directly inspired from this week's Haftarah in Joshua 2 in the story of Rahab. The Founders of The United States of America chose to separate themselves from the greatest military power on earth - and on this date in 1776, openly published why. The courage and clarity it took to choose this "treasonous" path is an inspiration to every generation since - and was quoted by Golda Meir on 14 May 1948 after she had signed the Israeli Declaration of Independence! Let's feast on this concept on this 4th of July 2024 - just short of 250 years after that fateful day in Philadelphia that LITERALLY saved the entire world from falling prey to tyranny 166 years later. Huzzah!

God says in this week's HAftarah, "I'm arriving now ... and here's what will happen as a result." We explore what this Haftarah opens up about the reality of God's שְׁכִינָה "Shechi'nah" - his manifest, dwelling Presence, which the Messiah Yeshua's atoning sacrifice made available to us without our judicial debt of sin before God blocking the way.

The Gershonites were given a dismaying assignment by God in this parasha: the exact same kind of labor they did as slaves back in Egypt. We never read of one word of complaint from the Gershonim ... how did they do it? How did they accept their assignment from God in a "good spirit?" The Kibbutz Mentality, as expressed in this sermon, is a clarity as to VALUE: "A community of THIS kind MUST rise HERE." All focused action follows such clarity.

In this parasha, we read "in the wilderness of Sinai." We were taken into the desert. But ... what about when God allows the desert to close in on us?

The Jewish People, and all God-following Two-Testament Believers, have gone through many seasons of history during which "big" problems – like being enslaved, being in exile, being exploited, or hated, or hunted, or blamed en masse - have gone unsolved by prayer and the "arrival" of God's "mighty hand and outstretched arm for years, decades, or centuries – and yet, within their personal capsules of community and context, God-followers are being met by God and led by Him, and having their prayers for smaller scale in their immediate sphere answered. How are we Believers supposed to navigate such seasons? We study this.

From the Haftarah paired with the Torah portion, "Behar," we look at the idea of how things can be rightly counted, and how God and people can rightly be counted upon. This focus was propelled by the Counting Of The Omer leading to Shavuot.

In this week's Torah portion, the "Eternal Lamp" is described, that hangs over synagogue altars all over the world. It is a "God Idea." It came from God and was transmitted to humans to manufacture. This is a massively different thing than human beings making up religious ideas or practices, and naming them to be from, or of, God. We will ponder this through the modern lens of "Virtue-Signaling."

In this parasha we see Moses crying out for true comradeship in his calling and journey - while already well into the journey, and already surrounded by people. He cries out for real, deep connection - to people - and to God's direct presence. What is the meaning of these outcries from a man already deeply into God's Presence and already surrounded by family and 'friends?'

This week's parasha is entitled, "Metzora" – The Leper. As it worked out, our rabbi was away this weekend, and one of the synagogue's pulpit leaders happens to be ... a dermatologist! :-) It seemed ideal serendipity. So - here is Dr. Sherry Shieh-Poticha, MD - dermatologist - teaching on the Torah portion with the title of a skin-disease: "Metzora" / The Leper. May it all be for shalom!

In the Haftarah paired with this week's parasha "Tazria," we see two stories of apparently opposite behavior by the prophet, Elisha (the successor of Elijah). A very "relaxed" standard toward a certain instance of idol worship by Naaman, followed by a very severe standard his servant Gehazi when he sought to enrich himself. If we read deeply, we find clear reasons for the vast difference in kindness vs. severity.

[Guest Speaker, Scott Poticha] In this week's parasha, "Shmini," a great day for Israel is followed instantly by a tragic one. At other times in Scripture, a terrible day turns into a great one. How do we navigate as Believers in a life that can so suddenly vary this much? We ponder this, especially in light of the October 7th Hamas Pogrom against Israel.

The old song goes, "In every age, a hero or sage comes to our aid."Why?Because we need them! Let's explore having the clarity to see what is needed in our era, and rise to do it!Kadima! Am Yisrael Chai!

In the Haftarah with this week's Torah portion, "Pekudei" we see the character trait modeled in God that He almost never needs to "swear" or "promise" anything: just saying "it will be" is enough. This is a character trait we, as God-followers, are commanded to emulate: both Messiah Yeshua and his half-brother Ya'acov ("James") command us, "Do not swear. Let your 'yes' mean (only) 'yes' and your 'no' mean only 'no.' Anything other than that comes from evil." WOW. That is a character-standard worth exploring, and applying to our own words! So - let's.

Why are you ... you? What does your combination of strengths and weaknesses, abilities and inabilities all mean? This week's sermon is a "fusion" to two core ideas: from the Parasha "Vayakhel," the extremely specific intention with which God created the artist Bezalel, and placed him in the time and location to fulfill the reasons for his createdness – along with Yeshua the Messiah having assured us, "I will not leave you as orphans: I will come to you," giving us the "Paraclete" – God's spirit "called alongside" to guide us into all truth, help us. This all leads to the assurance we can "know the things freely given to us by God." We can know. We have not been left here on earth to wander aimlessly. We can live "the guided life."

Sound doctrine is built from learning what Rav Saul called "the whole counsel of God." We pick up this week where we left off last week with "whole counsel of God" theme in Haftarat "Tetzaveh." We see this week commands from God to, "Tell Israel the *whole* Temple design, *all* its facets and *all* its laws." This is echoed in Messiah Yeshua's command, "make disciples (by) teaching them *all* I have taught you." This runs counter to creation of "sound-bites" – memorable catch-phrases. "Sound doctrine" cannot be built out of one or a few catchy audio-tidbits.

Rav Saul wrote, "I did not shrink from declaring to you 'the whole counsel of God.'" Why would any spiritual leader "shrink from" declaring to his flock "the whole" of God's prophetic output? This week's parasha commands us to "see to it you build according to the pattern." The whole pattern. How do we get it, and what traps can we avoid that would leave us with only part of it?