Abstract of the Commentary by Michael Schneider,
israel today, Jerusalem:
In our Torah portion, ‘Va‘Yeshev,’ last year, we discussed Joseph. Through Joseph’s brother’s rejection, he was sent to Egypt where he attained status of being second to Pharaoh and regarded as a deity. The Egyptians also used the concept of the trinity with three Pharaoh’s. He became a stranger to his brothers because he was now ‘Egyptian’ and they could not recognize him.

David, like Joseph has a similar story. Both were shepherds and despised by their brothers. Samuel anointed David as king at 17, but it wasn’t until age 30 when he reigned over Israel. Joseph’s life in Egypt began at 17, but he didn’t sit ‘at the right hand’ of Pharaoh until 30. Both, Joseph and David, were sons from another mother, which Jewish scholars claim was the reason for David’s ‘red’ look and why “Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons…”

Chapter 38 interrupts with a different story: the deceitful affair between Judah and Tamar, his daughter-in-law. Judah, in the chapter before intervenes and saves his brother’s life (37:26-27). One interpretation says it’s the reason his descendants are of the royal line in the kingdom of Israel. Judah (where the word ‘Jew – yehudi’ comes from) desired for his sons to produce offspring so they could continue his forefather’s blessing.

When Judah’s oldest son, Er, passed away, his wife Tamar was given to Onan. “Lie with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother” (38:8). But, after Onan died, Judah told Tamar to go back to her father’s home until the third son Shela grew up.

Many years passed and the agreement was forgotten. But, when Tamar saw her father-in-law she sought revenge. She took off her widow’s clothes (38:14), which were a sign she was waiting for Judah to fulfill his promise, and covered her face so he couldn’t recognize her. Once protected from evil she was now covered with the mask of sin and deceit. Out of rage and revenge she dressed like a prostitute and Judah fell into ‘her snare’ (Proverbs 7).

Once her sin was made known, Judah confessed, “She is right, I am to blame.” Tamar went on to give birth to – again – twins, Peretz and Zerach (38:25 – 26). Again, the younger (Peretz) struggled to be born first, like with Esau and Jacob.

Another similarity we find is that Tamar shows Judah his three belongings: his ring, cord and staff. She says, “Recognize please…” (Hebrew haker-na; 38:25), which reminds us of the same words used in the chapter before as Judah himself deceived his father with Joseph’s coat and said: “Recognize please…” (37:32). What Judah did to his father through deceit Tamar did to him.

We can ask ourselves why the LORD allowed the marriage to be ‘legitimate’ even though it was incest and allow the heirs to be a part of the Messianic line of David? God allowed it to happen! Tamar even became one of the four ‘non-Jewish’ mothers along with Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba.

That was answered in our reading in Zechariah 2:14-16: “Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the LORD… “The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem.”

Eternal peace between Christians and Jews, or even more? …Meditate about holy matters! Suddenly stands that, what belongs to God (in the Bible called „holy“), in opposition to what mankind made for herself, made herself sanctified. To celebrate my self-made feasts, but am I happy with it, without God? HIS feasts – for Ever holy – HE has called them „moed“ in the Bible/Tanach, which means translated stated appointments. Was it not me myself, who stated new times, on which I wanted to have „a date“ with HIM and wonder now, that HE does not turn up and simply no peace will enter me – and where is the „peace on Earth“?

HE is already here, in you, everything premeditated from the glorious Creator God before all time, in unsearchable love, if we just want to recognize the beauty of His thoughts. For instance, there is Friday – Shabbat – Sunday. Friday has been sanctified by the Ishmaelites to be their holy day, the Christians the Sunday. And in between lies – some day reconciling – the Holy Day of God. Actually from the beginning, as the creation history (Genesis 2:3) shows, He gave „complete rest“ (hebr. Shabbat) for all mankind. Could one not conclude, that Christianity moved as much away from God, as the Ishmaelites? Listen to God:

“In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.” (Isaiah 19:23-25) – New Jerusalem, did you not feel it? Is „you longing“ not even finding home in every name of God? Pastor Rolf Piller had once the joy to translate some of them (Names of God, PDF).

We wish you a peaceful season, a shining kind light, a soul that touches your longing desire and shares it with you, as well as a blessed start into 2008.

John 10:22-23 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Yeshua walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. (NKJ)

As the secular year rapidly approaches its end, Jewish people in Israel and around the world, are preparing to celebrate Chanukah, the Festival of Lights. This non-Levitical feastival commemorates the defeat of the Greco-Syrian dictator Anitochus Epiphanes 180 years before the birth of Yeshua. Antiochus was definately an anti-Christ and earned his place in the line of evil men who attempted to destroy Israel and the Jewish people. Antiochus banned circumsion and other Jewish practices. His ultimate affront was to sacrifice a pig on the altar of the Holy Temple. The Jews were frozen in fear of the tyrant and the great majority submitted to every ungodly command of Antiochus and his soldiers.

At the height of Greco-Syrian occupation a Jewish zealot, Judah Macabee and his brothers refused to bow down to the pagan occupiers and began a revolt that ended in the defeat and subsequent departure of their far stronger and better equipped oppressors. I am not too familiar with the details of the Jewish victory, but I am sure there were supernatural beings involved, and the hand of God must surely have been the primary reason behind the Jews regaining rule over their own nation. Just to leave His mark on the defeat if His enemies, the LORD performed an undeniable miracle when He supernaturally kept the Eternal Flame burning after the Temple had been cleansed and rededicated. There was only enough oil on hand for one day, but the flame burnt for the full 8 days that it took to produce a new stock of oil. Surely YHVH had His hand on the situation – the same hand that has been on the Jewish people since the time they became a people, continuing until this very day.

As we prepare to celebrate Chanukah 2007, the Annapolis Peace Summit is now behind us. The outcome will not really be known for some time. But the object of the calls for Israel to give away her legitimate hold on Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) including East Jerusalem is not very different from the object of Antiochus 2100 years ago – to abort the plans and purposes of God as spoken through the Hebrew prophets. The ultimate plan for the Jewish
people is to welcome back the Son of God with the words “BARUCH HA BAH B’SHEM ADONAI - Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord”- to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. to sit upon the Throne of David in an undivided Jerusalem, capital of the Jewish state.

Israel and Judea and Samara are the heartlands of Israel. Almost every pro Israel commentator has described the calls for Israel to give away Judea and Samaria as a veiled attempt to bring about the end of the Jewish state , thus aborting the plans of God to re-establish Jis Kingdom on the Earth. The same outcome hoped for by Pharaoh, Haman, Antiochus, Herod, Hitler, Arafat and now Armedinejhad. We, the modern day people of God, need to learn a lesson from the Chanukah story. While the unbelievers bow down, consciously or sub-consciously, to the plans of the evil one, we need to be the modern day Macabees and resist the un-Biblical demands of the Annapolis summit.
We need to rise up in prayer and intercession to meet the threat against the Kingdom of God head on ! We also need to make our voices heard in our churches, in our government halls and in our news media.

As we partner with the LORD to defeat His enemies, we can look forward with renewed hope that at a Feast of Dedication not too far away we will see Yeshua walking the temple, in Solomon’s porch.

The Lord bless you as you bless Israel by standing in defense of her right to exist on the land given to the Jewish people by the God of Israel . Lets pray that Israel will turn back to their God. Do not be silent, but share this with your fellow Christians, share it with your pastors, and with anyone you have a chance to speak to. Lets also pray for that breakthrough to the Muslims, and please remember to pray for our son Jordan, and all of his fellow soldiers in the IDF.

Shabbat Shalom
David & Josie