Hanukkah - Freedom, Light and Oil

by Joseph Gray, Canadian Director

Hanukkah is certainly one of the most joyful of the Jewish festivals. Families gather around the brightly glowing Hanukkah candles, one added for each of the eight nights of the festival. Eight joyful nights of songs, story telling, and thanksgiving for the great miracle God performed in the days of the Maccabees.

At Hanukkah we commemorate the great victory Judah Maccabee and his small band of Jewish zealots had over the tyrant Antiochus IV and his armies. We remember also the greater miracle of the small flask of oil which, although a supply sufficient for just one day, burned for eight days in the newly liberated, cleansed and rededicated Temple in Jerusalem.

Among these reasons to rejoice, three themes emerge as we celebrate Hanukkah, freedom, light and oil. Why is each of these important for us today?

As we study and retell the story of Hanukkah, some people of today might find it hard to relate to the zeal of the Maccabees and their freedom-loving band of followers. Why, we might ask, would someone be willing to risk his life and security for what many might consider a minor religious or philosophical disagreement? After all, the Hellenistic culture Antiochus was trying to impose upon the Jewish people had much to offer. Hellenistic art, philosophy, architecture and poetry were sophisticated, modern and impressive. In fact, the influences of Hellenistic culture continue to impact our culture to this day. Some influential Jewish voices at the time of the Maccabee revolt argued for compromise and inclusiveness. Why make such a fuss over this alien culture? Couldn’t a compromised, modern version of Judaism emerge as a hybrid Judeo-Hellenism? Certainly it wasn’t worth losing your life over, was it?

Having to choose between unadulterated biblical faith and the worldview of the prevailing culture is something the people of God have always faced. Joshua challenged the children of Israel at Shechem, “If following the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves whom you will serve. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Later in Israel’s history, Elijah the prophet also called for a choice: “How long will you waiver between two opinions? If the Lord is God then follow Him. If Ba’al is God then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). Like Phinehas, who stood up and took a radical stand against Israel’s compromise with the immorality of the Midianite culture (Numbers 25), there have always been faithful voices in Israel to call us to teshuvah (repentance) and to turn back to God. These brave voices, like the Maccabees, have often been in the minority; to most people, their convictions have seemed unenlightened and out of touch with modern culture.

For those like the Maccabees who took their stand for God, even at the cost of their lives, the choice was clear. The human soul is created for God. To live in disobedience to God’s Law is suicide. The choice is as simple as that. Those who stood faithfully upon the promises of God, even at the expense of shedding their own blood in martyrdom, fully understood what was at stake. In the hands of God, the precious offering of one life can be used to perform great miracles. Like that small flask of pure temple oil, our seemingly small lives can burn brightly with God’s Spirit when we fully offer ourselves to Him.

Yeshua (Jesus), the Messiah of Israel and of all mankind, taught in Jerusalem at Hanukkah. He said, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. For this reason my Father loves me, because I lay down my life for the sheep. I lay it down only to take it up again” (John 10:14-17). Yeshua also taught, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

At Hanukkah we celebrate the miracle of the oil and God’s gift of freedom and light. May you and those you love be blessed this year with the greatest gift of all – freedom, joy and the light of Messiah Jesus.

The High Holy Days

By Joseph Gray, Canadian Director

At this time of year, Jewish people around the world enter into the most solemn and holy season in the Jewish calendar. Known as the Days of Awe, these ten days begin with Rosh HaShanah (the New Year and the Biblical Feast of Trumpets) and ends with Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). The Days of Awe are a time of personal reflection, repentance and turning to God, culminating with Yom Kippur, a solemn day of fasting and prayers of repentance.

A Good Question
Since the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE (AD), the rabbis have taught that personal prayer, repentance and good deeds are sufficient to replace the biblical sacrifices required on the Day of Atonement. A good question we should ask as Jewish people is whether this rabbinic explanation is consistent with the instructions found in the Torah.

In Leviticus 17 we read, “I have given you the blood to make atonement.”

In chapter 16 of the same book, we read God’s original instructions to Israel concerning Yom Kippur. On this most holy day, the high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies to intercede on behalf of the people of Israel. The high priest could only enter into this holy space once a year on Yom Kippur. Before entering the Holy of Holies, the high priest had to prepare himself by ritual washing in the mikvah and personal sin sacrifices to atone for his and his family’s own sin.

This is important to remember. God gave Yom Kippur to Israel not out of His judgment for sin, but out of His deep grace, mercy and love for Israel.

In Leviticus 10, Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, had just been destroyed by fire from heaven because they entered into the Holy Place in a casual way. A few chapters later, God gave Israel the Day of Atonement as a sign of a greater atonement yet to come. God acted in mercy to restore the broken fellowship between Himself and Israel.

A Temporary Solution
The atonement sacrifices required on Yom Kippur could, however, only be temporary solutions, since the high priest himself was a sinner in need of continual atonement along with the people of Israel. The Yom Kippur sacrifices were also imperfect sacrifices, a sign of a more perfect sacrifice yet to come.

In addition to the special sacrifices on the Day of Atonement, the Bible commands that two goats be set apart for Yom Kippur. Lots were drawn and one goat was sacrificed for Israel. The other goat was chosen for Azzazel. Upon this second goat the high priest laid his hands and confessed the sins of the children of Israel. Then the goat was driven into the wilderness to die. According to tradition, a red ribbon was tied around the neck of the Azzazel goat, symbolic of the sins of Israel. Again, according to tradition, each year at Yom Kippur the ribbon miraculously turned white as a sign that Israel’s sins had been forgiven by God. Interestingly, this same tradition records that the Yom Kippur ribbon stopped turning white during the last generation that worshipped at the Temple.

The destruction of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans in 70 CE (AD) was and continues to be a traumatic moment in the history of the Jewish people. How could worship and atonement continue now that the temple had been destroyed?

As I mentioned earlier, many of our rabbis reached one conclusion. Prayer, repentance and good works, they taught, would now replace the temple sacrifices.

A Permanent Solution
But another voice arose at the same time, a voice that, perhaps, was more consistent with what the Hebrew Bible and the God of history had been saying all along. The writer of the Book of Hebrews, a Jewish follower of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), encouraged the scattered exiles of Israel with these words:

“We have a better sacrifice and a better High Priest!”

Yeshua, Who is like us in every way, yet with out sin, offered His life as a complete and final atoning sacrifice. He is both the perfect sacrifice and Israel’s perfect High Priest. He lives to intercede for us before the throne of glory. Unlike the ancient temple sacrifices, His sacrifice does not need to be repeated each Yom Kippur. That’s a Yom Kippur that we can believe in and even celebrate with joy!

May you and your loved ones, be blessed with a sweet New Year and the assurance that your name has been written in the Lamb’s (Yeshua’s) Book of Life.

Tisha B'Av ... From Sorrow to Hope

By Joseph Gray, Canadian Director

Tisha B’Av (the 15th of Av) is a Jewish fast day that falls this year on August 10. Other than the fast of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), Tisha B’Av is the most solemn day of remembrance in the Jewish calendar. What is it that makes this day so somber and why do Jewish people fast on it?

According to both history and rabbinic tradition, at least seven great tragedies befell the Jewish people on this date in history.

1. The rabbis teach that, on this day, God decreed the generation of Israelites in the desert would not enter the Promised Land because of their disbelief and willingness to accept the bad report of the unbelieving spies.

2. On this day in 587 BC, Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the armies of Babylon.

3. On this day in 70 AD, Herod’s temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman army.

4. On this day in 135 AD, the last remaining Jewish stronghold of the Bar Kochbar rebellion was defeated by the Roman army at Betar.

5. On this day in 136 AD, the city of Jerusalem was completely plowed under by the Roman occupiers and Jews were forbidden to settle there by Roman law.

6. On this day in 1095 AD, the first crusade was launched, bringing great suffering and bloodshed to the scattered Jewish community across Europe and the Mid-East.

7. On this day in 1492, King Ferdinand expelled from Spain the 170,000 Jews living there under his rule.

Were all these tragic events simply an unhappy coincidence? Not according to many voices from the rabbinic tradition.

The book of the Bible traditionally read on Tisha B’Av is the Book of Lamentations. Tradition says that this book was written by the prophet Jeremiah at the time of the Babylonian exile. As well, the Hebrew name of Lamentations, “Aikah,” implies a plaintive dirge, “How could this happen?”

The rabbinic commentary on the book of Lamentations found in the Midrash Rabah draws an interesting parallel between the disobedience of Adam and the disobedience of Israel. Adam, whose Hebrew name may also mean “man” or “mankind” is representative of the human condition. In the opening chapters of Genesis, we read that God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden and gave him His (God’s) commandment. Adam disobeyed God’s commandment so God punished him (Adam) by driving him from the Garden. Interestingly, the same Hebrew word, “Aikah” (the title of the book of Lamentations), is spoken from the lips of God at the time of Adam’s disobedience (Genesis 3). This word is usually translated “Where are you?” and becomes God’s lament for the human condition after the fall. God lamented over Adam.

Rabbi Abbahu, writing in his commentary on Lamentations, draws a direct parallel between Adam’s fall and expulsion from Eden and Israel’s disobedience to God and expulsion from the Land into exile.

* Citing Hosea 6:7, he writes that the Israelites, like Adam, have transgressed God’s covenant.

* Like Adam, God placed Israel in the midst of a beautiful and bountiful land (Jeremiah 2:7).

* Like Adam, God gave His people Israel commandments (Deuteronomy 4:1).

* Israel, like Adam, transgressed those commandments (Daniel 9:5).

* God punished Israel, as He did Adam, by driving them from the Land (Hosea 9:15).

* As with Adam, God laments concerning fallen Israel’s condition.

How could this happen (Aikah)? Another Jewish rabbi, named Saul (the Apostle Paul), gives us the answer.

* Each of us, like Adam, has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

* The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Messiah Jesus (Romans 6:23).

In the midst of our sad remembrance of these tragic historic events from Jewish history, we are reminded of hope! Here is the greatest hope of all. Yeshua (Jesus) our Messiah has come that we might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10).

The temple in Jerusalem has been destroyed. We lament its destruction on Tisha B’Av. Like Yeshua’s first disciples, we long for the day of His return and the full restoration of Messiah’s Kingdom. Now as we wait that glorious day of Messiah’s return, we wait with hope and assurance. God has given us His living Spirit to dwell in us; we are His holy temple and dwelling place (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Like Yeshua’s disciple Yochanan (John), we see past this earthly veil of tears and begin to see clearly, descending from heaven, a renewed and glorious temple, shining with the light of Messiah in the midst of the New Jerusalem.

From Passover to Shavuot ... A Journey from Bondage to New Life

By Joseph Gray, Canadian Director

From Passover to Shavuot? From Easter to Pentecost? Do these two springtime journeys have anything in common? As believers in Yeshua, both Jew and Gentile, what can we learn from this coincidence of the calendar?

Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, is now behind us. It is the feast that commemorates God’s miraculous redemption of the Jewish people from bondage in Egypt. Beginning on the second night of Passover, observant Jews fulfill the ancient tradition known as the Counting of the Omer. This tradition counts successively the 49 days between Passover and the next great spring feast, Shavuot; this year, Shavuot begins on the evening of Sunday, June 8.

What is the significance of this ancient custom? There are two major explanations for the Counting of the Omer. (There are more, but space will only allow for the two major most common explanations).

The first explanation is rooted in history and rabbinic tradition. The ancient rabbinic tradition says the 49 days mark the time of the journey of the children of Israel from redemption in Egypt to God’s great revelation at Mount Sinai. Accordingly, every Jewish person is encouraged to utilize this period of counting to further their own personal journey toward God and greater Torah observance in his or her life. The season becomes not only a time of remembrance of Israel’s journey but a symbolic picture of the human soul’s longing and journey toward God.

The second explanation is agricultural. Shavuot, following 49 days after the beginning of Passover, is also the great spring harvest festival. In the Land of Israel, it was the time for gathering in the spring grain harvest and for giving thanks to God for His provision. In Leviticus 23, we read that a measurement of grain was to be offered up on the second day of Passover as a First Fruits offering. This offering was also a symbol of the harvest yet to come. The First Fruits offering was presented after the Passover ‘Sabbath’ (the first day of Passover) was concluded on the second day of Passover.

Because no work – such as harvesting – could be done on the Sabbath, this ceremony’s offering of grain was set aside prior to Passover. In the year that Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) was nailed to the tree there were, most likely, two consecutive Sabbaths: the weekly Sabbath and the first day of Passover (a day kept as a Sabbath). This meant that the First Fruits offering was probably reserved on Thursday and then not offered until the third day (the first day of the week or our Sunday).

Suddenly God’s purposes become clear as we study this amazing alignment of holidays. A Jewish believer named Sha’ul (the Apostle Paul) wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:20: “Messiah has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of the resurrection!”

He goes on in verse 23 to clarify, “Messiah is the first fruit of the resurrection. Those who belong to Messiah are part of the resurrection harvest to come!”

I believe that, in the year Yeshua our Passover Lamb was sacrificed, at the very moment the Jewish priest held up the symbolic First Fruits offering, Yeshua was being raised by His Father from the grave.

What amazing good news! Yeshua has overcome sin and death by His sacrificial death and resurrection. But even better news is coming! Just as we carefully count the omer from Passover and, 49 days later, see the great spring harvest festival of Shavuot or Pentecost, we can remember that Yeshua is just the first fruits of the resurrection harvest to come!

Praise God, we who have trusted in Yeshua are a part of the great harvest that God has promised in Messiah!

Have a wonderful, joyous, Spirit-filled Shavuot!

A Passover Marriage Proposal?

By Joseph Gray, Canadian Director

On the first evening of the Passover Festival (first two nights outside of Israel) Jewish people gather in their homes to celebrate the Passover Seder. This gathering has its roots in the ritual meal commanded by God in Exodus 12 and 13. In each generation Jewish people participate in the miracle of redemption from bondage in Egypt, through the tastes, sounds, songs, story and symbols shared at the Passover Seder. It is as if we ourselves are reliving the redemption from Egypt (Exodus 13:8).

In addition to the key symbols of the matzo (unleavened bread) and the roasted shank bone (symbolic of the Passover Lamb and sacrifice), there are many other symbols, ritual dippings and tastings which help us to relive the exodus event in every generation at Passover. Among those beautiful and rich Passover traditions are the four cups of wine that are blessed and drunk during the Passover Seder.

There are a number of marvelous rabbinic interpretations regarding the meaning of the four cups of wine. One of these traditions ties the four cups to the four “I will” promises made by God to Israel in Exodus 6:6-7. “I will bring you out.” “I will deliver you.” “I will redeem you.” “I will make you my own.”

As Messianic believers in Yeshua (Jesus), we recognize that it is the third cup, the Cup of Redemption traditionally blessed and drunk after the meal, that holds particular significance to our faith. It was most likely this cup that Yeshua lifted, blessed and said to His talmidim (disciples), “Take and drink. This is my blood of the New Covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28).

Interestingly, there is a fifth “I will” promise made by God to Israel in Exodus 6:8. "I will bring you into the Land.” This is a promise rich in both prophetic and messianic hope. If one understands and interprets God’s fourth promise, “I will take you as my own,” in the apparent marriage betrothal language it represents (God is proposing to His “beloved” Israel), then the full picture of this beautiful redemption event begins to emerge.

Yeshua, our beautiful bridegroom, has shed His own blood to redeem His “beloved” Israel and those from every tribe and nation who have been grafted into His covenant people by grace through faith. In accordance with the custom of the ancient Jewish bridegroom, Yeshua tells His beloved bride, “I go to prepare a place for you. I will come back and take you to be with me” (John 14:3).

Yeshua, our Passover Lamb and beautiful bridegroom, is coming back for His bride. At Passover we celebrate, not only the past remembrance of redemption from bondage in Egypt, but we look forward with great hope and anticipation to the coming joyful wedding feast of the Lamb (Hosea 2:19, Revelation 19:9).

Chag Sameach! Have a joyous Passover!

PS: Chosen People Ministries is holding a Passover Seder banquet on Saturday, April 26 (11:30 am - 4:00 pm) and we'd love you to join us! Tickets are $35 each (advance purchase required). Everyone is welcome. Call us at 416-250-0177 to reserve your seat.

Purim, the Festival of Lots

By Joseph Gray, Canadian Director

Purim was always one of my favourite holidays as a boy growing up in a Jewish home. Everything about Purim seemed delightfully designed to please children. This, after all, was the only time of the year when we were actually encouraged by our parents to make noise in the synagogue!

During Purim we dressed up in costumes and put on Purim plays and Purim bazaars complete with games and food. The whole holiday took on a spirit of make believe and joyous fun. Hamantaschen, a special three-cornered Purim pastry, would add a sweet taste that was enjoyed by all. In the synagogue, Megillah Esther (the Book of Esther) was read while the audience loudly whirled their groggers (special Purim noise-makers) to drown out the name of Haman each time he was mentioned in the story. These holiday activities are still enjoyed in every synagogue today.

But, how does one make sense of a holiday where up is down and down is up? Even the name, Purim, is not a Hebrew name like the other Jewish festivals; it is a Persian word meaning lots. The holiday got its name from the lots that Haman drew to determine the day on which he would carry out his evil plan to destroy the Jewish people.

The story of Purim, recorded in the Book of Esther, is one of suspense and intrigue. It reads like a modern mystery novel, complete with surprising twists and turns and high drama.

The story recounts how God chose a young Jewish girl, raised her up to become queen of Persia and eventually used her to help save her people from destruction. The plan to destroy the Jewish people (one of many throughout history) was devised by the wicked prime minister of Persia (modern day Iran), Haman.

Haman’s hatred for the Jewish people was rooted in pride and jealousy, but there is a much deeper spiritual drama going on the story of Esther that is still going on today.

According to the Book of Esther, Haman was an Agagite, a descendent of Amalek. Amalek you may remember was the wicked king who came out against the children of Israel as they wandered in the desert. Amalek took no pity on Israel, destroying the weakest among them – those who fell behind. For this reason, God commanded the children of Israel to “blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven” (Deuteronomy 25:19). The first king of Israel, Saul, failed to fully obey this commandment from God. Seeking compromise, he allowed Agag (Haman’s ancestor), king of Amalek, to survive after God had delivered him into his hands.

The story of Esther is a story of invisible spiritual warfare and miraculous deliverance and victory. It is a battle that continues to this day. In our daily lives, each of us faces and confronts Hamans from within and without. Haman tells us to believe the lie that God cannot help us. God, he says, is far away, distant. Haman declares that God’s promises cannot be counted on today. The only thing that matters is human power, intellect and achievement.

This is why the story of Esther is so important. God turns our human reasoning upside down. Using an unknown, powerless Jewish girl, He acted to save the Jewish people from Haman’s evil plans for destruction.

It is even more interesting that, in the Book of Esther, the name of God is not mentioned even once. God seems to be invisible in this whole drama. But here we discover the main point of the story of Esther. At those moments when things seem darkest, when God seems to be invisible and distant, get ready for the surprise ending. Our God is a living God Who saves.

“In the fullness of time God sent His son to redeem those who were under the Law that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galations 4:4-5). Yeshua, whose very name means God saves, continues to surprise us with His saving love.

Have a happy and joyful Purim.

(This year, Purim begins on the evening of Thursday, March 20.)

Tu B'Shevat, the New Year of the Trees

By Joseph Gray, Canadian Director

Have you heard of the Jewish festival of Tu b’Shevat? You may have wondered about this minor Jewish festival. Is it biblical? How did it begin? How is it celebrated? Does it have any significance to us as believers in Yeshua (Jesus)?

Scriptural Roots

Tu b’Shevat is the Jewish New Year of the Trees. It is a holiday found in Jewish and Talmudic (or rabbinic) tradition, but certainly has roots in the Torah (the five books of Moses).

Let me explain. In D’Varim (Deuteronomy) and elsewhere, we read of the commandment of the tithe in the Land of Israel.

“And it shall be to you when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and you possess it and dwell in it, that you shall take some of the first fruit of the produce of the ground which the Lord your God is giving you and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His Name abide” (D’Varim / Deuteronomy 26:1-2).

According to the rabbis, it was from the 15th of Shevat (or Tu b’Shevat) that the fiscal year for the accounting of the tithe of the fruit crop ended and began again – hence, the New Year of the Trees.

Also according to tradition, this is the time of the year in Israel when the sap begins to run again in the fruit trees, signaling the renewal of life, the coming hope of spring and the prospect of a new harvest season.

The Meaning for Followers of Yeshua

Although the feast does not have a scriptural mandate, it does have deep spiritual significance for us as followers of Yeshua.

For example, in D’Varim / Deuteronomy 20:19-20 we find God’s commandment regarding the sanctity of life even during times of war. When Israel was engaged in a lengthy siege of an enemy city, God commanded them to protect those trees that bear fruit and not to harm them in any way. Beyond the obvious implications of this command – that all life is created by God and is therefore precious – why would God give such an odd commandment? Was Israel to understand that fruit-bearing trees must be protected even in time of war, but other trees that do not bear fruit are less worthy and may be destroyed?

The answer to this question and the deeper spiritual significance of this commandment comes in the second part of verse 19, “For man is a tree of the field.”


Many centuries later, Yeshua Himself made clear what these verses teach us about spiritual growth when He said:

“I am the vine and you are the branches. If you abide in me you will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me they are cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned” (John 15: 5-6).

You are precious to God. You have been created in His image to bear fruit in this world. If you are a disciple of Yeshua, His living Spirit dwells within you.

Like the running sap of the fruit trees, His Spirit within in you may not always be visible to the naked eye, but He is there. His Spirit at work within you is the hope and promise of new life (resurrection!) and the down payment of the fruit harvest yet to come.

Abide in the life-giving root, Yeshua of Nazareth. He is a tree of life for all who will cling to Him!

Celebrate Tu b'Shevat

Modern Jewish people who celebrate Tu b’Shevat often joyously sample the various fruits of the Land of Israel while studying passages from the Torah.

This year, Tu b’Shevat falls on January 22. I encourage you to sample some of Israel’s fruit harvest and spend some time dwelling in God’s Word on that particular day.

May the taste of Israel’s fruit serve as a sweet reminder of the eternal fruit we have been created to bear in Yeshua.

Have a fruitful Tu b’Shevat!