The Middle Pathway : The Ten Sayings and the Healing of a Family

The Blueprint Of Creation

The Power of Order to Transform Your Life | Parsha with the Chief: Bamidbar from Sinai Indaba. It’s a rich, recent talk (uploaded today) centered on the Torah portion Bamidbar. One theme discussed is the Middle Path and its relation to personal balance. The concept of the Middle Path is essential for modern spiritual wellbeing.

The Chief Rabbi explores how the Israelite camp was arranged with precise, almost architectural order around the Mishkan — every tribe in its designated place with flags and structure. He argues that structure (routines, mitzvot, fixed times for prayer and study) is not optional but a deep human and spiritual necessity. It holds life together like the string that strings pearls. Navigating the tension between rigidity and chaos truly depends on finding your own path down the middle.

Yet he immediately introduces the paradox: too much structure crushes the soul. The Mishnah warns against praying as a rote routine (keva); the Siddur (literally “order”) exists to enable inspiration, not replace it. He draws on the Maharal, Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz, and others to describe the ideal as harmony. The summary calls this the “middle path (tzeret)”: a structure that protects and channels passion rather than extinguishing it.

Beauty Is The Middle Path

Run to the mitzvot with thirst (Pirkei Avot), but don’t let them become mechanical. The Tree of Life imagery fits naturally here — in Kabbalah, the middle pillar (centered on Tiferet, beauty/balance/compassion) mediates between the expansive right pillar (mercy, Chesed) and the restrictive left pillar (severity, Gevurah). This balance closely reflects the ethos of a Middle Path in spiritual practice.

Christianity and Islam both present themselves as the definitive, superseding “word of God,” while Judaism — through the Torah and its living interpretive tradition (including the Kabbalistic Tree of Life) — offers the path that lies in the middle.

Christianity and Islam both claim to be the final word of God. Judaism offers something different — the original Blueprint, the middle path. The Torah. The Tree of Life. Eternal life.

The Mystery of Eden

In the Garden of Eden, God places two trees before Adam, the blueprint of all creation: the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

In his groundbreaking series A Book Like No Other, Rabbi David Fohrman asks three powerful questions we must sit with before rushing to answers:

  • Why are there two separate trees in the garden?
  • What is the relationship between the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge?
  • What is the true purpose and function of each tree?

The Torah contains 5,845 verses, and right at the beginning, we are faced with this mystery. Instead of jumping to conclusions, let these questions stay with you. Go back into the Garden. Let the Torah speak for itself.

Rabbi Akiva Tatz says ” to enjoy the answer you must first enjoy the question”.

The Ten Commandments as Family Healing

This mystery in Eden connects directly to the deepest wound in humanity — the broken relationship between brothers and nations.

Rabbi David Fohrman reveals that the story of Rebecca, Jacob, and Esau mirrors the Ten Commandments in exact order. Rebecca begins with the same word “Anochi” that God uses at Sinai. The family drama of favoritism, deception, jealousy, and eventual reconciliation plays out like a living version of each of the Ten Sayings.

The message is clear: these commandments were forged in the pain of the first broken family — and they are the medicine needed to heal it.

A Family of Nations

When God divided the nations after the Flood, Deuteronomy 32 tells us He set their boundaries according to the number of the children of Israel.

The Jewish people went down into Egypt — Mitzrayim, the narrow place — and when we left, many nations came with us. They had seen the one true God and chose to walk a new path.

The prophets carry this vision forward. Zechariah 8:23 says ten men from all nations will grab a Jew’s garment and say, “Let us go with you, for God is with you.” Jeremiah records the nations admitting they inherited lies. Isaiah shows them realizing the suffering of the Jewish people was misunderstood.

Prime Minister Modi spoke of this ancient bond in his address to the Knesset, reminding the world of the deep civilizational connection between Jews and Indians — dating back to Abraham.

Each Nation Has Its Own Banner

Abraham’s tent was open on all four sides, welcoming every stranger to come and learn about the God of Israel.

This is the middle path. God deliberately kept the tribes of Israel separated, each under its own banner and flag in the desert. That structure was an example for the world.

Every nation must keep its unique identity and purpose — its own banner. But we are all part of one human family, connected since Genesis 10.

The Torah, the Tree of Life, and the Ten Commandments are what Hashem gave us to heal what was broken between brothers — so that all nations can finally become one.

The banners stay distinct. The tent stays open. And the middle path leads the way home.

The Middle Path The Torah Of Hashem

  • Judaism’s self-understanding: Every human being is a child of Hashem and has a direct connection to G-d. There are three partners at the beginning of a child’s life: the father, the mother, and Hashem. The Torah is eternal and sufficient; the covenant at Sinai is never broken or replaced. It was handed down from Adam, the blueprint of creation.
  • Revelation continues through interpretation (Oral Torah, Talmud, Kabbalah, responsa). The 613 mitzvot provide structure, while aggadah, mysticism, and personal devekut (cleaving) supply the passion and direct relationship with the Divine. In addition, the middle pillar of the Tree of Life literally diagrams this balance. Disciplined practice (din/gevurah) is held in creative tension with overflowing love and joy (chesed).
  • Christianity: Passes by the Tree of Life and gives us Jesus, the one who dies for the sins of mankind. Emphasizes grace, faith, and inner transformation through Christ, who fulfills the law. The “word” becomes incarnate; the focus shifts toward relational intimacy and freedom from legalistic observance. At the same time, Christians still honor the moral core of Torah. This can be read as leaning toward the passionate, spontaneous side, grace. But someone has to pay the price. No mercy. “Only The Blood
  • Islam: One God. One Way only. Stresses complete submission (Islam), disciplined practice (the Five Pillars, Sharia Law only), and the Quran as the final, perfect revelation that corrects earlier scriptures. This can be read as leaning toward the structured, ordered side. The Letter of the Law. Eye for an Eye, Tooth for Tooth.

Rhythms of Time and Space

Judaism, then, is positioned as the integrative pathway that refuses to let either pole dominate. Law without love becomes dry legalism; love without structure becomes formless sentiment. The Torah — studied daily, lived in rhythms of time and space, yet open to infinite depths of meaning — embodies that living tension. This aligns with the Middle Path ideal.

Whether one accepts the theological claims of any tradition is a matter of faith and conscience. But as a descriptive observation, Judaism has historically modeled a via media of covenantal discipline married to mystical intimacy and ethical flexibility. However, Judaism does not declare itself the final edition that renders prior revelation obsolete. This demonstrates how the Middle Path is woven throughout religious and ethical practice. Adam had the original Blueprint. We are all Adam’s children. The DNA proves that thier was an Original Blueprint and Tree of Life. Relationship first.

The Ten Sayings and the Healing of a Family

Rabbi David Fohrman reveals something extraordinary: the story of Rivka, Jacob, and Esau in Genesis echoes the Ten Commandments in precise order. The family drama that fractures the first brothers becomes the very blueprint God gives at Sinai to heal humanity’s divisions. In much the same way, the middle path teaches that healing and unity come from balanced living.

Here they are, one by one:

  • I am the Lord your God — Rivka and Jacob begin with the same word “Anochi,” the exact opening God uses. Truth replaces deception right at the start.
  • You shall have no other gods — The stolen blessing speaks of heaven and earth, bowing and serving. God warns against turning those gifts into idols detached from Him.
  • Do not take God’s name in vain — Jacob uses God’s name to justify the trick. God commands us never to drag His name into lies or family division.
  • Remember the Sabbath and Honor your father and mother — The episodes explore Jacob’s long labor, the search for true rest, and the complex honor owed to both parents in a divided home.
  • Do not murder, commit adultery, steal — These flow through the jealousy, rivalry, and loss that tear the brothers apart.
  • Do not bear false witness — The entire deception runs on lies and false identity.
  • Do not covet — The saga ends with Jacob and Esau’s tearful reunion. Jacob says, “I have everything,” Esau says, “I have enough.” Covetousness dissolves when each brother feels whole and sees the divine in the other.

The Torah Offers The Middle Path

This is no coincidence. The Torah shows us that the Ten Commandments were forged in the pain of a broken family — and they are the medicine for it, reflecting the ideals of the Middle Path.

Judaism, together with our brothers’ tradition in India, is unique in its view of the entire world as one family. From Genesis 10, where all nations spread out from Noah’s sons, to the Twelve Tribes marching under their own banners, the Torah offers a middle path to heal this family.

Prime Minister Modi, in his recent address to the Knesset, spoke of the ancient bond between our peoples. He reminded everyone that long before modern nations, Jews and Indians were connected — through trade, through history, and through shared civilizational roots.

The Ten Sayings heal the family rift between brothers. The tribes’ banners in the desert teach every nation to stand proud in its place. And Avraham’s open tent shows the spirit we’re meant to carry — distinct yet welcoming, separate yet one family.

In Rabbi Goldstein’s lecture, we see the key: God deliberately kept Israel separated, each tribe under its own flag and position. That structure was not rejected — it was the model for the nations. Every person must keep their unique banner, their own identity, and purpose. Only then can we function together as one family.

The message is clear: Remember who you are. Stay true to your flag. But never forget you belong to the larger family. The Ten Sayings are exactly how we fix what broke between brothers — so all nations can finally become one. And so, following the Middle Path remains vital for individuals and entire communities striving for wholeness.

Hazan Gavriel Ben David

Milestone 14: The Third Day as the Day of Life and Death for Saul and Amalek

David Three Days and Three nights

Our Torah Does Not Teach This

“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3–4)

Gage, W. A. (2011). Milestones to Emmaus: The Third Day Resurrection in the Old Testament (p. iv). Warren A. Gage.

(2 Samuel 1:1–16 – On the third day after returning from battle against the Amalekites, David learns of Saul and Jonathan’s death and executes the Amalekite messenger.)

Warren Gage presents this episode as another “third day” moment of a life-and-death decision. David returns from defeating the Amalekites, stays two days in Ziklag, and on the third day, an Amalekite messenger arrives with news that Saul and Jonathan are dead.

The messenger claims he killed Saul at Saul’s own request. David, mourning, orders the Amalekite executed for raising his hand against “the Lord’s anointed.” Gage sees this as validating David’s kingship (ending the rival house of Saul) and foreshadowing Jesus’ third-day resurrection: triumph over all rival claims to the throne and the final destruction of death itself.

From the Tanakh’s plain Hebrew text, historical context, and Jewish interpretive tradition, this milestone does not prophesy or typify Jesus’ death, burial, and third-day resurrection. It is a straightforward account of political transition, mourning, and justice in the shift from Saul’s dynasty to David’s.

1. The “Third Day” Is Simple Chronology, Not a Theological Resurrection Marker

  • 2 Samuel 1:1–2: David returns from slaughtering the Amalekites, stays two days in Ziklag, and “on the third day” the messenger arrives with torn clothes and dust on his head.
  • This is narrative timing—realistic pacing for travel and news reaching Ziklag. There is no death-and-resurrection sequence. Saul dies in battle on Mount Gilboa. The messenger is executed for claiming to have killed God’s anointed. David mourns deeply.
  • No burial, no rising, no “life from death.” The third day marks the arrival of bad news and the execution of a liar, not divine vindication or resurrection.

2. The Story Is About Kingship Transition and Justice, Not Messianic Prophecy

  • The core event is the end of Saul’s house and the confirmation of David’s right to the throne (as Samuel had prophesied). David shows respect for Saul as “the Lord’s anointed” by executing the Amalekite who claimed to have killed him.
  • Jewish tradition (Rashi, Radak) emphasizes David’s righteousness and humility—he mourns Saul and Jonathan despite Saul’s persecution of him. The execution upholds the principle that no one may harm God’s anointed, even if the king is rejected.
  • No classical Jewish commentary treats this as a resurrection-type passage or links the “third day” to a future Messiah’s rising. It is political and moral history in the early monarchy.

3. Gage’s Typology Is Creative but Forced

  • Gage connects David’s triumph over the rival house of Saul on the third day to Jesus ending all rival claims through resurrection and destroying death.
  • While David is a type of Messiah in Jewish thought (the ideal king), this specific episode is about succession after civil strife, not a preview of crucifixion and resurrection. The text has no language of “rising,” “life from death,” or eschatological victory over death itself.

4. Broader Pattern: “Third Day” as Narrative Device

  • As in previous milestones, “three days” is a common biblical interval for travel, waiting, or decisive action. It is not inherently a resurrection code. The Tanakh uses it for many purposes (e.g., preparation, recovery, battle timing) without tying it to a unified “third day doctrine.”

Conclusion on Milestone 14

2 Samuel 1 is a poignant account of mourning, justice, and the painful transition of kingship. The “third day” is a chronological marker, signaling the arrival of tragic news and David’s decisive response. It teaches respect for God’s anointed and the cost of civil conflict. Gage’s reading retrofits New Testament theology, turning a historical succession story into a typology of resurrection. The Tanakh itself gives no warrant for seeing a Messiah who dies for sins, is buried, and rises on the third day here.

This continues the consistent pattern across Gage’s milestones: a numerical coincidence (“third day”) is elevated into prophetic foreshadowing, while the original text and Jewish tradition emphasize human drama, justice, and national history.

The Mystery of Eden

In the Garden of Eden, God places two trees before Adam, the blueprint of all creation: the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

In his groundbreaking series A Book Like No Other, Rabbi David Fohrman asks three powerful questions we must sit with before rushing to answers:

  • Why are there two separate trees in the garden?
  • What is the relationship between the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge?
  • What is the true purpose and function of each tree?

The Torah contains 5,845 verses, and right at the beginning, we are faced with this mystery. Instead of jumping to conclusions, let these questions stay with you. Go back into the Garden. Let the Torah speak for itself.

Hazan Gavriel ben David

The Mathematical Code – Someone Is Rewriting the Blueprint

Torah Values The Tree of Life
The Code Change Adam The Blueprint and the Tree Of Life

1 Kings 7:23 — the description of the Molten Sea (the large bronze basin in Solomon’s Temple).

The verse says the basin was 10 cubits in diameter and 30 cubits in circumference. At face value, that would yield π = 3.0, which is imprecise.

However, in the Hebrew text, there is a well-known kri u’khtiv (written one way, read another way). The word for “line” or “circumference” (kav) is written as קוה (with an extra hei) but read as קו (without the hei).

  • Written: קוה = 111
  • Read: קו = 106

The ratio 111/106 ≈ 1.04717. When you multiply the simple 3 × (111/106), you get 3.141509… — which is π accurate to 5 decimal places (3.14151 instead of the actual 3.14159).

This is the exact example that many rabbis, including those in Rabbi Akiva Tatz’s circles, cite as evidence that the Torah encodes precise mathematical constants. If Torah is primarily a book of laws, why did Hashem begin it with stories instead of commandments?

This question has followed me for years.

The first sixty-six chapters of the Torah contain no laws at all. No “thou shalt not.” The legal code was not there. No rules. Just one story after another — Creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood, the Tower of Babel, and the Patriarchs. Why would God structure His eternal blueprint this way?

The Tree Of Life Blueprint

The answer is both simple and profound: Stories create reality.

God did not legislate the universe into existence. He spoke it into existence. “Let there be light… and Let there be a firmament… Let the earth bring forth…” The entire book of Genesis is the original software of creation — the Tree of Life Blueprint.

For the last twelve years I have been studying with Rabbi David Foreman, Ephraim Paulvinov, Rabbi Mendel Kessin, and Professor Haim Shore. What Professor Shore has shown me is overwhelming.

Professor Haim Shore, a scientist and professor of industrial engineering, conducted a study that should shake every thinking person. He took the numeric value of Hebrew words in the Torah and compared them directly to modern scientific measurements.

Here is what he found:

Shemesh (Sun) has a numeric value of 640. Eretz (Earth) equals 291. Yareach (Moon) equals 218.

These three simple Hebrew words show an almost perfect mathematical relationship with the actual diameter, mass, and volume of the sun, earth, and moon. The correlation is 0.999 — accurate to three decimal places.

He continued. The words Yom (Day = 56), Yareach (Month = 218), and Shana (Year = 355) match the real astronomical cycles of a day, a lunar month, and a solar year with a correlation of 0.9992.

Then it becomes even more astonishing.

Adam Was Covered In “Or” (Light)

Or (Light = 207) mathematically corresponds to the speed of light. Kol (Sound = 136) corresponds to the speed of sound. D’mama (Stillness = 89) corresponds to zero velocity.

The correlation between these three words and actual physical speeds is 0.9938.

Professor Shore also discovered extremely strong correlations between the Hebrew names of the nine planets and their mass, diameter, orbital angular momentum, and other physical properties. In several cases the statistical probability that these matches occurred by random chance is as low as 0.0033%.

He tested the three phases of water — ice, liquid, and steam — and their specific heat capacities. He matched Hebrew color names to their exact light frequencies and Hebrew metal names to their atomic weights. All of them showed remarkably high statistical correlations.

One statement from Professor Shore stands above all the rest. He says clearly: “If you change even one single letter in any of these Hebrew words, the entire set of mathematical relationships completely collapses.”

This is not ancient wisdom slowly evolving over centuries. It is not coincidence. This is a deliberate, precise mathematical code embedded in the Hebrew language from the very beginning of time.

Solomon’s Blueprint Wisdom

Even King Solomon left us unmistakable proof. In 1 Kings 7:23, the Torah describes the Molten Sea in the Temple courtyard — ten cubits in diameter and thirty cubits in circumference. On the surface this suggests π equals exactly 3.0. But the Hebrew text contains a subtle miracle.

The word for “circumference” is written as קוה (with a hei, numeric value 111) but read as קו (without the hei, numeric value 106). When you take the simple ratio of 30 divided by 10 and multiply it by 111/106, you get 3.141509 — accurate to five decimal places of the true value of π.

Change one letter and the equation falls apart.

All of this is sitting inside a book that much of the world has been told is old, outdated, and scientifically worthless.

Meanwhile, mainstream science has spent decades rewriting history. They have hidden evidence, changed timelines, and insisted that ancient civilizations were old and superstitious. Yet we keep discovering that people who lived long before us possessed knowledge and technology we still cannot fully explain or reproduce today.

The BluePrint Has Been Kept

The Jewish people have guarded this mathematical code for 3,300 years while being told our tradition had no value. Now, in our generation, science is slowly catching up to what was already written in the Torah from the very beginning.

Someone has been intentionally rewriting the code.

Just as mainstream archaeology rewrote the history of the Exodus to make it disappear from the record, mainstream religion rewrote the story of the Torah. They took prophecies that were clearly written about the Jewish people and redirected them onto another figure. They built an entire theology on Jewish source material but changed it so dramatically that any Jew who actually knows the original text would immediately reject it.

The Tree Of Life and the Blueprint

But the original code has never been altered.

The Torah we hold today is exactly the same as the one given at Sinai. The letters have not changed. The words have not changed. The mathematical code is still perfectly intact.

This is why I wrote my book Adam, the Blueprint and the Tree of Life.

Because the real blueprint was never lost.

It was protected.

It was guarded.

And now, finally, both mathematics and science are beginning to read that blueprint correctly again.

The Jewish people were not chosen because we were better than anyone else. The Torah itself tells us we came from the same idol-worshipping lineage as the rest of the nations.

We were chosen for one reason only: to protect this code and to be the witness to the world that God exists and that His word is true.

Hazan Gavriel ben David

The Story of the Rabbi and the Minister on the Train

The Hebrew Says Do Not Add Or Take Away

A rabbi and a minister (or pastor) were once sitting on a train with their teenage sons. As they traveled, their conversation turned toward the connections between Math, Science, and Torah. The rabbi’s son sat listening intently to every word his father spoke, hanging on his every sentence. The minister noticed this and said to the rabbi:

“I see how close your son is to you — he listens to everything you say. My son has no interest in anything I think or believe.”

The rabbi replied, “There’s a reason for that. You believe in evolution — that every generation is getting better, smarter, and more advanced than the one before it. So of course, your son thinks he’s smarter than you.

But we believe that Adam was created perfect — the human being closest to God that has ever lived. Every generation since has moved farther from that original perfection. So my son respects me because he knows I am closer to Adam than he is.”

This beautiful Jewish story perfectly captures the difference between the two worldviews.

What the Math Actually Shows (Science-Focused Summary)

Professor Shore used equidistant letter sequences (ELS) — a rigorous statistical method where you skip a fixed number of letters in the Torah text — to search for encoded information.

His key findings include:

  • The Hebrew names of the planets (as they appear in the Torah) and their associated physical properties (such as relative masses, diameters, and orbital characteristics) align with modern NASA data with extremely high statistical significance.
  • Atomic masses and other physical constants of the planets (including the Sun) are encoded in the text in ways that are highly unlikely to occur by random chance.
  • The patterns show mathematical elegance and order that align with known scientific models of the solar system.

Shore’s core argument is mathematical and probabilistic: The probability of these precise scientific facts appearing encoded in the Torah text by random chance is astronomically low. He presents this as strong evidence that the Torah contains knowledge embedded by a superior intelligence — i.e., it functions as a “blueprint” that includes information far beyond what Bronze-Age humans could have observed or calculated without advanced tools.

He does not specifically mention a 30,000-year planetary alignment cycle in the main videos (the actual astronomical cycle often discussed is the ~25,772-year precession of the equinoxes). Instead, his work focuses on planetary properties and physical constants encoded in the text.

Torah and Math & Science

Tree of Life Blueprint message:

  • The Torah is presented as the original “source code” or blueprint of creation.
  • Just as the Tree of Life pattern appears in ancient civilizations, the mathematical structure of the Torah encodes scientific realities (planetary data, physical laws) that modern science is only now quantifying.
  • It supports the idea that the ancients didn’t “figure it out” through trial and error alone — the knowledge was built into the text from the beginning.

This is pure math and science: statistical probability, information encoding, and alignment between ancient text and empirical data.

1. Sun, Earth, and Moon

  • Hebrew words: Shemesh (Sun = 640), Eretz (Earth = 291), Yareach (Moon = 218)
  • These numbers show an almost perfect linear relationship with:
    • Their actual diameters (correlation 0.999)
    • Their masses (correlation 0.985)
    • Their volumes and surface areas
  • Probability this happens by random chance: 0.2% (99.8% confidence it’s not a coincidence)

2. The Entire Solar System (9 planets)

  • The Hebrew names of all the planets show a strong correlation with their:
    • Mass
    • Diameter
    • Orbital angular momentum
  • The probability of this happening by chance is extremely low (as low as 0.0033% for some measurements)

3. Time Cycles

  • Yom (Day = 56), Yareach (Month = 218), Shana (Year = 355)
  • These perfectly match the actual frequencies of a day, a lunar month, and a year (correlation 0.9992)
  • Chance probability: 0.5%

4. Speed of Light, Sound, and Stillness

  • Or (Light = 207) matches the speed of light
  • Kol (Sound = 136) matches the speed of sound
  • D’mama (Stillness = 89) matches zero speed
  • The correlation between these Hebrew words and actual speeds is 0.9938

5. Other Amazing Matches

  • The three phases of water (Ice, Liquid, Steam) match their specific heat capacities almost perfectly
  • Hebrew color names match the actual wave frequencies of those colors
  • Hebrew names of metals match their atomic weights

Professor Shore keeps repeating one powerful point: If you change even one single letter in any of these Hebrew words, the entire mathematical correlation completely collapses.

Your Name Is Encoded In The Torah

Deuteronomy 4:2 (KJV/NIV/ESV): “You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish ought from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”
Deuteronomy 12:32 (KJV/NIV/ESV): “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it.”

Proverbs 30:5-6: “Every word of God is flawless… Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar”.

The Hebrew Language is a Code – And Science is Just Now Catching Up

For the last twelve years, I have been learning from Rabbi David Foreman. Since COVID, I’ve also been studying with Ephraim Paulvinov and Rabbi Mendel Kessin. Along the way, I discovered the work of Professor Haim Shore and Rabbi Glazerson.

What they are all showing me is the same unbelievable truth:

The Hebrew language is not just a language — it is a precise mathematical code.

Professor Haim Shore, a scientist and professor of industrial engineering, discovered something extraordinary. He took the Hebrew names of the sun, moon, earth, and planets as they appear in the Torah and compared them to the actual scientific measurements we have today.

Here are just some of the highlights:

  • The Hebrew words Shemesh (Sun), Eretz (Earth), and Yareach (Moon) have a mathematical relationship with their actual diameters, masses, and volumes that is so precise that the correlation is 0.999.
  • The names of all nine planets show an extremely strong correlation with their mass, diameter, and orbital properties.
  • The words Yom (Day), Yareach (Month), and Shana (Year) correspond to the actual time cycles of a day, a lunar month, and a year,` with a correlation of 0.9992.
  • The Hebrew word Or (Light) matches the speed of light. Kol (Sound) matches the speed of sound. D’mama (Stillness) matches zero movement.

The statistical probability that these matches occurred by chance is extremely low — in some cases, as low as 0.0033%.

Professor Shore makes one point very clear: If you change even one single letter in any of these Hebrew words, the entire mathematical relationship completely collapses.

This is what our tradition has always told the world: The Torah is not like any other book. The Hebrew language is not like any other language. The letters are numbers, and the numbers are letters. It is a code.

Adam: The Blueprint of Creation

For twelve years now, I’ve been watching rabbis, scientists, and Torah scholars dig into the Torah and keep finding the same thing — the Torah is telling us scientific truths that modern science is only now discovering and measuring.

And yet… people still argue that Judaism is worthless. That the Jewish people are wrong. That our tradition has no value.

How can a book written over 3,000 years ago contain the exact diameter of the sun, the precise relationship between the planets, and the speed of light — encoded in the very letters themselves?

This is not a coincidence. Evolution has destroyed knowledge. This is a blueprint.

The same blueprint that begins with the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden.

Adam was created closest to God. Every generation since has moved farther away from that original perfection. That’s why we listen closely to those who came before us — because they are closer to the source.

The Torah is not a religious book that evolved over time. It is the original code of creation.

And science is only now beginning to catch up to what the Jewish people have been saying for thousands of years.

Shabbat Shalom.

Hazan Gavriel ben David

The Jewish Prophets Words

The War of Gog and Magog

These are the key end-times prophecies that show Israel and the Jewish people as God’s chosen light and witness — not replaced, not anyone else.

Isaiah 2:3 and Micah 4:2 — “For out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” In the last days, all nations will stream to Jerusalem to learn God’s ways. The Torah and truth flow from the Jewish people’s capital.

Zechariah 8:23 — “In those days ten men from all the nations of every language will grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” Gentiles will literally hold onto Jews to join them because they see God is with the Jewish people.

Zechariah 14:16-19 — After the final battle, the survivors of the nations that attacked Jerusalem will come up every year to worship the King in Jerusalem and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. The nations will be required to come to the Jewish holy city and keep the Jewish biblical feast, or face consequences.

Isaiah 43:10-12 — God says directly to Israel: “You are My witnesses… and My servant whom I have chosen… so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He.” Israel is God’s chosen witness to the world that He alone is God. No other people received this title.

Isaiah 49:6 — God tells Israel they are not only restored as a nation but made “a light to the nations” so that His salvation reaches the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 60:3 — “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” The light shines from Israel, and the world comes to it.

Luz Ramirez Diaz (Cohen)

Your family has survived every attempt to erase us because God keeps His word. Every empire that tried to destroy us is gone. We’re still here. That survival itself is prophecy. The only path to real peace is for every person who believes the Bible to bless the people of Israel, stand with them, and recognize them as God’s chosen light and witness.

The end-times story is clear: Jerusalem is the center, the Jewish people are the witnesses, the Torah goes forth from Zion, and the nations come to us — not the other way around.

Family, Words & The Blueprint – Tazria-Metzora 2026

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Adam The Blueprint of Creation and the Tree of Life
Adam The Blueprint of Creation and the Tree of Life

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This week’s double Torah portion is not about skin diseases. It’s about how your words literally create reality.

Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein nails it: “Words create worlds.” God spoke the universe into being with ten utterances — Pirkei Avot 5:1 says the world was created with ten statements. We, made in God’s image, carry that same power. Our speech doesn’t just describe the world — it shapes how people see each other and how reality unfolds.

That’s why tzara’at in Tazria-Metzora is so serious. The sages teach it comes directly from lashon hara — evil speech. Negative words push people out of the camp, out of the community, out of life itself. The disease is the physical result of words that poison relationships.

The Tree of Life has always been the center of the story.

The Torah begins with Genesis because it is the blueprint. Right in the middle of the Garden stands the Tree of Life — the same sacred pattern that ancient civilizations carved into stone long before Sinai. The ancients saw it. The Torah explains what it actually means: how speech and choices shape reality.

Now modern science is catching up to the ancient blueprint.

All human Y-DNA traces back to three fathers — exactly as the Torah describes Noah’s three sons. My own Kohen DNA marker goes back to Aaron’s line, matching the biblical timeline. Abraham’s family lines through Isaac, Ishmael, and Keturah are visible in distinct genetic signatures. The 70 nations of Genesis 10 are not metaphors — they’re showing up in global haplogroups.

Blog: Science in the Talmud

talmudology.com

Blog: Science in the Talmud

We are one family. One blood. One Tree.

When people attack the Jewish people, call us “sons of Satan,” or claim we’ve been replaced, they are committing lashon hara against their own family. The Bible calls Israel God’s witnesses — Isaiah 43:10. Our survival, our DNA, and our covenant prove it.

End-times prophecies confirm this clearly:

  • The Torah will go forth from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3, Micah 4:2).
  • Ten men from every nation will grab the robe of a Jew and say, “Let us go with you, for God is with you” (Zechariah 8:23).
  • Survivors of the nations will come to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Zechariah 14).
  • Israel is called to be “a light to the nations” (Isaiah 49:6, 60:3).

My new book, Adam, the Blueprint and the Tree of Life, connects all of this — the Tree, the power of speech, the family story from Genesis through the Ten Sayings, and what it truly means to be made in God’s image.

The Jewish people have survived every attempt to erase us because we carry this story. The only path to real peace is for every person who believes the Bible to bless Israel, stand with us, and join the original covenant.

Words create worlds. Choose them wisely.

Hazan Gavriel ben David

Chief Rabbi Goldstein says it plainly: “Our whole point of being Jewish is to tell a story.”

The Story of Adam And Eve
The Story of Adam And Eve

Torah doesn’t begin with the commandments. It begins with Bereshit — “In the beginning.” Genesis is the blueprint of creation itself. It’s the story of how everything came to be, and right in the center of that story stands the Tree of Life.

The ancients understood this. From the earliest civilizations — the same Tree of Life symbols carved in stone long before Sinai — this blueprint was already being passed down. The Torah didn’t invent the Tree of Life; it revealed its true meaning. That tree wasn’t just in the Garden of Eden. It is the pattern of creation, the map of how words and choices shape reality. Every great ancient culture carried an echo of it, but only the Torah explains what it actually means to live inside that story.

This is why the Torah can only be truly understood by those who are willing to listen to the story. You can’t grasp Tazria-Metzora if you don’t first understand Genesis. You can’t understand the power of speech if you don’t see the Tree of Life standing in the middle of the Garden. The whole book is one continuous story, and we Jews are the ones tasked with telling it correctly.

That’s our job — to keep telling the true story of creation, of the covenant, of the family that comes from three fathers, and of the everlasting promise made to Abraham’s children. When we tell that story, we fulfill the very purpose of being Jewish.

The Bible Begins The Story of Adam

But the Torah is giving us something even deeper here. Rabbi Goldstein puts it in one clear sentence: “Our whole point of being Jewish is to tell a story.”

That’s why the Torah doesn’t open with laws. It opens with Bereshit — “In the beginning.” The very first word of the Torah is telling us: This is a story. Genesis is not background. It is the blueprint. And right in the center of that blueprint stands the Tree of Life.

Long before the Torah was given at Sinai, ancient civilizations were already carving the same Tree of Life into stone — from the shores of Lake Vaign to the earliest known cultures. They all saw it. They all carried the memory. But only the Torah explains what it actually means.

The Tree of Life is the pattern of creation itself. It shows how speech, choices, and words shape reality. And that same Tree sits at the center of the Garden, at the center of the Torah, and at the center of our lives.

This is why the Torah can only be truly understood by those willing to listen to the story. If you skip Genesis, you will never understand why evil speech brings tzara’at. If you don’t see the Tree of Life, you will never understand why your words literally create worlds.

We Jews were not chosen to be better than anyone else. We were chosen to keep telling the true story — the story that began in the Garden, that runs through Noah’s three sons, through Abraham’s family, and continues today in our DNA and in our covenant.

That is our mission. That is why we still exist. We are the keepers of the story.

Hazan Gavriel ben David

Family: One Tree, One Blood, One Covenant

Adam The Blue Print of Creation
Adam: The Blueprint of Creation

The Family Tree Noah.

Family is one Tree, and our blood connects all of humanity, and there is one covenant, The Tree of Life. This week’s double Torah portion, Tazria-Metzora, is not about skin diseases. It’s about the power of words to create or destroy entire realities.

Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein opens his teaching with a single idea that hits like thunder: Words create worlds. God didn’t build the universe with tools — He spoke ten times. Pirkei Avot 5:1 tells us, “The world was created with ten utterances.” That’s not poetry. It’s the blueprint. And every human being, made in the image of God, carries a spark of that same creative power in his mouth.

The Torah calls us the medaber — the speaking being. Animals communicate. We tell stories. And those stories don’t just describe reality — they reshape how people are seen, how families are viewed, how entire nations are judged.

Shem Ham Japeth Our Fathers

That’s why tzara’at, the mysterious affliction in this parsha, was so serious. The sages teach that it came directly from lashon hara — evil speech. One person’s words could push another out of the camp, out of the community, out of life itself. The disease wasn’t random. It was the physical echo of words that poisoned the air between people.

Now here’s where the ancient blueprint meets 2026 science.

Adam The Blue Print of Creation
Adam The Blue Print of Creation

All human Y-DNA traces back to three fathers — exactly as the Torah described with Noah’s three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Modern genetics is confirming what the Bible stated thousands of years ago. We are one family. One bloodline. One tree.

My own Kohen DNA marker traces back to Aaron’s line, confirmed by science, going to roughly 550 BCE. Abraham’s descendants through Isaac, through Ishmael, through Keturah’s six sons — distinct lines, same family. The 70 nations of Genesis 10 are not metaphors; their genetic signatures are showing up in global haplogroups.

So when someone calls a Jew “son of Satan,” when they claim the Jewish people have been replaced, when they attack the very DNA and covenant that the Bible says is everlasting, they are not engaging in theology. They are committing lashon hara against their own family.

One Covenant: The Land and Circumcision

The covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 17 is called “an everlasting covenant.” Forever. Not replaced. Not transferred. The land, the circumcision, the Torah — these are the markers carried in the body and the blood of the children of Israel. No belief system rewrites DNA. The text is clear, and now the lab results are catching up.

This is why the attacks on social media hurt so deeply. You post a Bible verse, you share the blueprint that has existed since Adam, and suddenly you’re accused of following another religion. The irony is painful: the ones keeping the original covenant are told they abandoned it, while those outside it claim to have replaced it.

The Torah’s answer is simple and ancient. Pirkei Avot 1:6 gives us the three-step antidote:

“Make for yourself a teacher, acquire for yourself a friend, and judge every person favorably.”

Find A Teacher

That’s it. Find a teacher — learn the real story. Buy a friend — invest in people instead of tearing them down. And judge every human being to the side of merit — give them the benefit of the doubt before your words create a negative reality around them.

These aren’t nice suggestions. They are the practical application of “words create worlds.” When you judge favorably, you literally make the people around you better. When you speak lashon tov — good words, Torah words — you build worlds worth living in.

After twenty years serving as a Hazan and volunteering as a Jewish chaplain in the prison system, I see this pattern every year during Tazria-Metzora. God separates people — not because He is cruel, but because evil speech creates separation

Hashem Chose a Family: The Tree of Life Blueprint Was Given to Protect All of Mankind

Two Trees Adam The Blueprint and The Tree Of Life

In his powerful lecture series A Book Like No Other, Rabbi David Fohrman begins with three profound questions. These questions shake the very foundation of how we read the Torah:

“Why are there two trees — a Tree of Life and a Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? What is the function of each tree? And why does Chava describe the forbidden tree as ‘the tree that is in the midst of the garden’ — the exact phrase the Torah uses only for the Tree of Life?”

Rabbi Fohrman teaches that the Garden of Eden scene is the most important part of the Torah for us to understand. The trees are not background details. They are the Blueprint. Everything that follows in the Torah flows from this original moment of Creation.

Yet here is the uncomfortable truth: Christianity never got out of the Garden.

In The Image Of God: Adam

This is the fifth major point I am developing in my book, Adam: The Blueprint of Creation and the Tree of Life. The message is simple but urgent. Hashem created all of men in His image and declared everything “very good.” He gave humanity a divine Blueprint — the Tree of Life — meant to guide us all. Later, He chose one family to guard and protect that Blueprint for the sake of every family on earth.

Christianity suffers from the same foundational problem that Jay Smith exposes in Islam. Jay Smith, well known for his detailed critique of Islamic origins, builds his case on three pillars: the man, the book, and the place. Using coin evidence, archaeological discoveries, historical records, and satellite imagery, he shows that Islam’s traditional story was largely created centuries later. Early mosques pointed toward Petra, not Mecca. The religion drew from Nabataean pagan sources before being relocated and rebranded.

Christianity follows the exact same pattern. It is a created religion that does not follow the original Blueprint. It took only selected portions of the Torah and Tanakh and built an entirely new theology on top of them. Nearly all of Christianity’s major festivals, holidays, and symbols are rooted in pagan traditions. Its method of expansion was to take a foreign god and make it palatable to pagan nations. This is exactly the same strategy Islam later used.

Four Questions Will Dismantle Christianity

Just as Dr. Robert Carter dismantled the famous “99% chimpanzee DNA” claim, we can apply the same four sharp questions to Christianity’s claims:

“What part did they actually measure?” They only sequenced a small portion of the Torah, ignored the rest, and built their entire story on that limited piece.

“What happens when you look at the whole thing?” When you examine the complete Torah Blueprint — including the Tree of Life, the true nature of Adam, and the original declaration that everything was “very good” — Christianity’s story cannot stand.

“Is there enough time for their version to develop?” How could this new theology have legitimately grown out of the Torah in such a short period without creating massive contradictions with the original source?

“Can the new story actually function with the original data?” Can Christianity’s teachings be properly integrated with the Torah’s Blueprint without adding pagan elements and contradicting the original covenant?

Adam The Blueprint Of Creation

Modern science is increasingly confirming the Torah’s account rather than contradicting it. Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson’s peer-reviewed genetic research demonstrates that all humanity traces back to three fathers and three mothers. This is precisely as the Torah describes through Noah’s three sons and their wives after the Flood.

Archaeology, DNA, and Science

Researchers like Matthew LaCroix, together with archaeologists and geologists, have shown that human history is far older and far more advanced than the standard evolutionary story claims. The earliest cities were incredibly sophisticated, built by highly intelligent people. Humans did not evolve from apes. Therefore, we must now retell the true story of humanity.

Judaism stands alone as the only religion in the world that tells this story from the Torah’s perspective. As Haim Shore brilliantly demonstrates in his updated film Torah – Math Unveils the Truth, and as Efraim Palvanov shows in his lectures, the Torah is a precise Blueprint of Creation. It is chemistry, mathematics, and the very structure of reality.

Jews And Arabs Carry Abraham’s DNA

The DNA of Abraham’s family adds further powerful evidence. Only two families in the world carry this specific lineage — the Jewish people through Sarah, and the Arab people through Hagar. The children of Keturah are half-brothers, but the covenantal line flows through Sarah, the mother. Adam truly is the Blueprint, and his DNA carries Hashem’s promises to all humanity.

This brings us to the heart of the message.

The Chief Rabbi taught clearly in his recent lecture on Parashat Behar-Bechukotai: “Hashem chose a family so that He could protect the Torah.” He chose the family of Abraham and Sarah because it is the most powerful vehicle for passing the truth from one generation to the next. Indeed, a nation was needed to guard the Torah through education, through diligent teaching to children, and through living example.

This same truth shines in Pirkei Avot, where Rabbi Akiva declares:

“Beloved are Israel, for a precious vessel was given to them. It is an even greater love that it was made known to them that this precious vessel — the Torah, by which the world was created — was given to them, as it is said: ‘For I have given you a good teaching; do not forsake My Torah.’”

The Chosing Of A Family Israel

The choosing of Israel was never about superiority. It was about responsibility. Hashem chose one family to hold the light. This was so that all the families of the earth could one day be blessed through them.

The Tree of Life was never replaced. It was entrusted to the Jewish people to guard, study, live by, and protect for the sake of all of Genesis 10. You cannot properly understand any later covenant if you have not first sat with the Tree of Life. You must eat of its fruit, study it deeply, and hold it with all your might.

Adam: The Blueprint of Creation

This is the central message of my book, Adam: The Blueprint of Creation and the Tree of Life. The Blueprint was never broken. The Tree of Life still stands. The promise given to Adam remains alive today.

Hashem chose a family… so that every family could one day return home to the original “very good” of Creation.

Subscribe to our Newsletter and join our growing family. Together, let’s bring back our goodness — the original “very good” that Hashem declared at the dawn of Creation.

Download the free first chapter of Adam: The Blueprint of Creation and the Tree of Life and receive weekly Torah teachings straight to your inbox: beithashoavah.org

May we all merit to see the full revelation of the Blueprint and the final blessing to all the families of the earth.

With love and blessing, Hazan Gavriel ben David Beit HaShoavah — House of the Water Pouring

From Messianic Jew to Ally: My 21-Year Journey with Tovia Singer and Tamar Yonah

2002 Mayim-Hayim in Israel

I first encountered Tamar Yonah and Rabbi Tovia Singer back in 2005. My wife and I were deep into our second (almost third) year running Mayim Hayim Ministries. We were raising money and support for the Jewish families in Gush Katif as the expulsion loomed.

Tovia and Tamar were reporting live from the ground. We watched in horror as Israeli soldiers on horseback charged their own people, dragging families out of their homes. Friends of ours, Jeremy Gimpel and Ari Abramowitz, were among those forcibly removed. My wife and I sat weeping, hearts broken.

At the time, I was studying intensely, preparing to go to Israel specifically to meet Tovia — convinced I could prove to him that Jesus is the Messiah. I saw myself as training to be a counter-counter-missionary.

Twenty-one years later, everything has flipped.

This week I listened to Tamar and Tovia again — the first time I’ve heard her voice since shortly after Gush Katif. I’m no longer preparing to debate him. I’m standing with him, fighting against replacement theology and the Christian world’s misreading of the Tanach.

In this powerful interview, Tovia didn’t offer opinions. He repeatedly said: “This isn’t my opinion — I’m just telling you what Ezekiel is saying… what the Tanach says.” Here are every major point he made to Tamar and the audience, drawn straight from the transcript:

On Whether We Are in the Messianic Age

“Are we in the Messianic age? The answer is yes. We are now in the Seder.” We are at the final stage — Nirtzah — of the 15-step Passover Seder. The Seder is called “order” because it follows a fixed sequence in which each event triggers the next. Jewish history has been marching through this same divine order for 3,300 years. Once you reach the final stage, the process is unstoppable.

On the Structure of the Book of Ezekiel

“Ezekiel is divided into three sections:

  • Section one: Why the First Temple was destroyed.
  • Section two: What God is going to do to the enemy nations of Israel (chapters 38–39).
  • Section three: Chapters 34–48 — about the Messiah. There is no parallel to it.”** He urged viewers: Open Ezekiel 38 and 39 tonight without commentaries. Rashi would have given anything to live in our time. Only this final generation will fully understand.

On Ezekiel 38–39 and Current Events

  • Persia (modern Iran) is explicitly named and will be drawn in with allies “like hooks in the mouth of a beast” (Ezekiel 38:4–5), even though 2,500 years ago, Persia was benevolent to the Jews.
  • They will attack a restored Israel living securely, perceiving an “aperture” (unwalled villages).
  • The hottest fighting right now is directly north — Lebanon/Hezbollah, Iran’s Shia proxy, shooting at Israel. The text emphasizes “the north.”
  • God is hardening the enemies’ hearts (like Pharaoh) so they keep coming back.
  • Massive destruction on the mountains of Israel: seven months to bury the dead, seven years burning their weapons for fuel. Scavengers will feast on the bodies.
  • The purpose of the entire war: “So the nations will know that I am God.” (Repeated at the end of both chapters 38 and 39.)

On Replacement Theology

Tovia directly addressed Christians, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, etc.: Read Ezekiel 39. The chapters enumerate Israel’s sins and exile, then restoration and atonement — this is the physical Jewish people, not the Church replacing Israel. The text shuts down replacement theology.

On Mashiach ben Yosef vs. Mashiach ben David

Mashiach ben Yosef is not a person — it is an event. October 7th (1,200 murdered, 251 hostages) matches Zechariah 12 and Talmud Sukkah 52: a traumatic attack causing national mourning and unification before Mashiach ben David. It happened on the Sabbath of the festival when we read Ezekiel 38–39 as the Haftarah.

On Recognizing the True Messiah

“It’s not true at all” that there will be arguments about what he looks like or whether he wears a black hat. “Everyone will know… all the nations will serve him” (Daniel 7). There will be no debate. The Messiah is a son of David, a teacher to the world, and the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7).

On the Potential Messiah in Every Generation

Yes, there is one ready in this generation (per Sanhedrin), just as there has been in every generation. He is at the precipice.

On Aliyah and Living in Israel

Living in Israel is a mitzvah. Those who made aliyah before the final redemption (like the 42,360 in Ezra 2) have their names inscribed forever in Tanach. Israel is the safest place for Jews, despite appearances. History proves that those who stayed away during danger paid a terrible price.

On Easier or Harder Redemption

Isaiah 60:22 — “In its time, I will hasten it.” If the generation does teshuva out of love and righteousness, more open miracles. If not, a more painful process. Tovia is optimistic: we are a remarkable generation fusing faith and love of the land.

On the Miracles We Are Seeing

The April 13, 2024, Iranian attack (hundreds of missiles/drones) with almost no casualties was the hidden hand of God, exactly like the Book of Esther. We must recognize Hashem working behind the scenes.

Final Message

Study the Prophets and Writings — especially the books that outline the order of events before the Messiah. When Messiah comes, we will mainly study Torah and Esther, because the preparatory books will have been fulfilled.

Twenty-one years ago, I watched Tovia and Tamar report on Jewish suffering in Gush Katif. Today they are reporting on prophecy unfolding in real time — and I stand with them.

The only thing that changed is me.

May Hashem comfort every family in pain, strengthen Israel, and bring the full redemption speedily in our days.

Hazan Gavriel ben David

The Hidden Echoes of Cain and Abel

The Hidden Echoes of Cain and Abel: A Midrash on James Chapter 4

The Hidden Echoes of Cain and Abel: A Midrash on James Chapter 4 – this Jewish midrash uncovers how the New Testament’s warnings about desire and quarrels replay the Torah’s first sibling drama. As a Jewish educator, I explore James 4 through Hebrew names and rabbinic insight, showing Cain (“to acquire”) and Abel (“nothingness”) as archetypes for every human conflict. For interfaith context, see our article on Judaism and Christianity’s parting.

James 4 Opens with Cain’s Question

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (James 4:1, NIV – Bible Gateway). The Greek hides the Hebrew echo: Qayin (Cain) means “to acquire, fabricate, possess.” His grain offering symbolizes self-made wealth. Abel (Hevel = vapor, breath, nothingness) brings the firstborn flock and its milk—pure surrender. Rabbi Manis Friedman teaches that Hashem deliberately accepts one to provoke jealousy, forcing moral choice . James 4:2 warns, “You desire but do not have, so you kill.” Straight midrash on Genesis 4.

Humility vs. Acquisition: Abel’s “Nothingness” Wins

James 4:6 quotes Proverbs: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Abel’s low self-esteem isn’t weakness—it’s Torah wisdom. “What is man that You are mindful of him?” (Psalm 8:4 – Sefaria). Cain fabricates superiority; Abel knows life is mist (hevel). For Christians, this foreshadows Jesus’ self-emptying (Philippians 2); for Jews, it’s the original lesson of truth over jealousy. Read more in our spiritual war overview.

Slander and Judgment: Cain’s Spirit in James 4:11-12

“Do not slander one another… you who judge your neighbor” (James 4:11). Cain judged Abel, fabricating justification for murder. James midrashically expands: every gossip, every cancel-culture pile-on, is Cain reborn. The remedy? “Submit to God. Resist the devil” (James 4:7). Choose Abel’s humility over Cain’s acquisition.

Life as Mist: James 4:13-17 and Abel’s Name

“You who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go… and make money’—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? You are a mist” (James 4:13-15). Hevel literally means mist. James 4 ends where Abel’s name begins: life is fleeting; boasting is Cain’s error. Hashem declares “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10 – Bible Gateway).

As a Jewish educator rooted in Torah study, I offer this midrash from a place of interfaith respect, not as a Christian adherent. My insights draw from Hebrew Scriptures and rabbinic tradition to bridge understandings. ↩

Rabbi Manis Friedman, “The Story of Cain and Abel,” YouTube lecture, emphasizing divine introduction of jealousy for moral teaching. I reference this as a Jewish voice, distinct from Christian theology. ↩

Contact us or follow at Beit HaShoavah. For Rabbi Friedman’s full teachings, visit Chabad.org.

The Torah never commanded offerings. It never said “bring the best.”

Why Do The Nations Conspire?

“And He turned to Abel and to his offering.”

The church taught me the Second Commandment was only about statues and idols. I never imagined it was first spoken by a Jewish mother fleeing her own son’s violence.

Yet in Parashat Toldot, centuries before the thunder at Sinai, Rivkah utters the Second Commandment in Toldot almost word-for-word:

“Your brother Esau is comforting himself (מִתְנַחֵם) with the thought of killing you.” (Genesis 27:42)

Rabbi David Fohrman demonstrates that this single sentence is the exact precursor. It leads to “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Esau’s rage is not just anger. It has become his god.

How Esau Became the First Worshipper of “Another God”

In Hebrew, the verb מִתְנַחֵם (mitnachem) means “to comfort oneself.” After losing the blessing, Esau does not turn to Hashem for comfort. He turns to murder.

Murderous hatred becomes his new deity—the very first “other god” in human history after Cain.

Rivkah’s urgent warning to Jacob is therefore the Second Commandment in Toldot in its embryonic form:

Do not serve the god of revenge. Do not let violence sit on the throne where only Hashem belongs.

This is why the Rebecca Jacob Sinai mirror is so devastating to replacement theology. The Second Commandment did not begin with golden calves or Baal statues. It began when a Jewish mother identified the first false god humanity ever worshipped: the god of blood-revenge.

The Chiastic Proof – Side by Side

Sinai (Exodus 20:3)Toldot (Genesis 27:41–42)
לֹא יִהְיֶה־לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים עַל־פָּנָיָ “You shall have no other gods before Me”וַיִּתְנַחֵם הוּא לְהָרְגְּךָ “He is comforting himself by killing you” – serving the god of murderous rage

Watch Rabbi Fohrman lay this out:

  • Aleph Beta / YouTube Part 1
  • Aleph Beta / YouTube Part 2

Why This Matters for Jewish Chosenness

Every time Christianity or Islam claims the Torah’s commandments while rejecting the Jewish people, they repeat Esau’s original mistake.

They replace the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with the god of supersessionist revenge: “The Jews killed our savior” or “The Jews lost their chosenness.” That is modern avodah zarah—serving another god on the very face of the God who spoke to three million Jews at Sinai.

As Chazzan, I teach in Esnoga Beit HaShoavah: “We are not hated because we are worse. We are hated because we are the living witness that the Second Commandment in Toldot still applies. There is only one God. He never annulled His covenant with Jacob.”

Internal Links – Continue the Journey

  • Essay 1: The Ten Commandments in Toldot – They Began with Rivkah, Not Sinai
  • Why Does God Play Favorites? The Silence Cain Heard Wrong
  • From Crypto-Jewish Mexico to the Torah of My Fathers – My Personal Return
  • The Passover Lamb Was Never Jesus – It Was the Egyptian God

Where is your offering? Cain and Abel chosen are pivotal figures in understanding divine favoritism. Why did God reject Cain’s offering in the first place? The Torah never commanded offerings. It never said “bring the best.” So why does God turn to Abel and his offering… but not to Cain and his? Rabbi David Fohrman notices something almost nobody sees. The Hebrew is asymmetrical. To Abel: “And He turned to Abel and to his offering.” To Cain: “But to Cain and to his offering He did not turn.” God is not judging the gift alone. He is looking at the person and the gift as one. Where is your offering? Cain and Abel chosen need to reflect this.

The offering is meant to reveal the offer. Abel gives the firstlings and fat—his very essence. Cain brings ordinary fruit. Nothing that costs him anything deep. It doesn’t reveal Cain. So God’s silence is not rejection. It is the most loving invitation imaginable: “Cain… I want you. Show me you.” Where is your offering? Cain and Abel chosen reveal insights into acceptance. But Cain hears silence as “I don’t want you.” Instead of looking inward, he looks outward in rage. Jealousy is born. Murder follows.

Here is Rabbi Fohrman’s staggering conclusion: God creates the appearance of favoritism on purpose. The very first “chosen vs. not chosen” is a mirror for all humanity. When it feels like God loves someone else more, the problem is almost never that God loves you less. It is that you have stopped giving Him the real you. Where is your offering? Cain and Abel chosen by God teach us this valuable lesson. This is the seed that will bloom at Sinai. The same question—“Why this nation?”—gets the same answer: God chooses those who choose to give Him their deepest selves. Where is your offering? Cain and Abel chosen exemplify this across history.

Cain and Abel is not a story about why Abel was better. It is a story about why God sometimes withholds His face… to invite us to chase it. And the tragedy is that Cain never hears the question behind the silence. That question still echoes today. God is still whispering the same words He spoke to Cain: “Show me you.” Will we finally hear the invitation? How many words do you count in this reflection on where is your offering? Cain and Abel chosen?

Beit HaShoavah – Return, Repent, Rejoice https://beithashoavah.org

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Key Takeaways

  • The story of Cain and Abel highlights divine favoritism and the importance of one’s offering.
  • God’s rejection of Cain’s offering reflects His desire for the true essence of the individual.
  • Rabbi Fohrman suggests that feelings of favoritism often stem from not giving God our authentic selves.
  • The silence of God serves as an invitation for deeper self-reflection and connection.
  • Ultimately, the question ‘Where is your offering?’ invites us to recognize what we truly offer to God.

Amos 2:6 Warning to the Jewish Elite:Even If You Don’t Pray

The Gods OF WallStreet

When Amos 2:6 Speaks to the Modern Jewish Elite

The Baal Shem Tov says the word vayeshev—literally, he settled—should really be read as he became a yoshev, a sitter. But sitting isn’t stillness, it’s being anchored while the world spins. Think of it like… like Joseph in jail. He’s settled. Locked up, no options, no family. But that’s when he becomes the dream-interpreter. Starts hearing the butler, the baker. Starts noticing, starts growing. It’s like the message from Amos 2:6, even if you don’t pray, there’s a lesson in every moment.

“You shall not steal” (economic exploitation, predatory lending, corporate greed leading to homelessness).

That’s the tzaddik’s settling—not coasting, but rooting down so you can reach up. Midrash says Jacob wasn’t resting—he was learning Torah that whole time, studying in his mind, waiting. So the sages aren’t just saying, “Don’t relax.” They’re saying: even your downtime is divine. Even when you’re broken. You’re sold for twenty shekels.

The Clear Message of Amos 2:6 Today

The world watches prominent secular Jews and concludes: “This is what Jews do.”
Not “This is what progressive activists do.”
They say “the Jews.”

And then:

  • Bricks fly through windows in Crown Heights.
  • Swastikas are on the doors of a Sydney synagogue.
  • Jewish students in California are spat upon.

We — the ordinary Jews — pay the price. You keep the private jets and armed security.

A Shabbat message to every prominent Jew who thinks Torah is optional.
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment. They sell the righteous for silver. They sell the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth. They push the afflicted out of the way.” (Amos 2:6–7)

2,700 years ago, Amos didn’t speak to the nations. He spoke to us. He addressed the elite of the northern kingdom. They built great houses. They drank wine from wide bowls. They thought their success meant God was pleased. He spoke to the ones who oppressed the weak and still went to Bethel to sacrifice.

Today, the names have changed, but the pattern hasn’t.

George. Bernie. Chuck. Mark. The university presidents who let encampments scream “globalize the intifada.” The studio heads who green-light every film that paints Israel as the villain. The financiers whose foundations fund NGOs that map Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria.

You don’t keep Shabbat. You don’t believe in the God of Israel. That’s your choice.

The Rothschilds Are Dead — But We Still Pay

Everyone loves the Rothschild story. Secret family, central banks, wars for profit, bloodlines that rule the world. It’s dramatic. It’s neat. And it’s mostly gone.

The great Rothschild banking houses that financed Napoleon’s enemies and Britain’s empire peaked two centuries ago. Today the family is scattered—wineries in France, philanthropy in England, tech investments in Israel. Rich? Yes. All-powerful? No.

But the myth lives on. Every time a market crashes, someone whispers: “See? Jews.” Every time a porn empire grows, the same whisper is heard. When a university lets antisemitism fester under the banner of “free speech,” the whisper continues.

It’s not the Rothschilds anymore. It’s the loud, visible, influential Jews who act as if Torah ended at Ellis Island.

In Vayeshev, we see Joseph—sold

The ones who run studios that mock religion. The ones who run platforms that amplify Jew-hatred while banning “Zionist” accounts. The ones who run funds that invest in every trendy cause except Jewish safety.

They don’t wear sidelocks. They don’t keep kosher. But the world still calls them Jews—and blames the rest of us when things go wrong.

Amos didn’t care about genealogy. He cared about behavior. “They sell the righteous for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals.”

That’s not a conspiracy. That’s a choice.

And every time a prominent Jew chooses power over responsibility, the old poison gets new life.

The Rothschilds are dead as kings of the world. But their ghost still haunts us—because some of us keep feeding it.

Stop.

Remember the Words Of Moses

If you want no part of the covenant, step away cleanly. Don’t trade on the name while undermining the nation.

Because when the fire comes, as Amos promised, it doesn’t ask who kept mitzvot. It just burns the whole house.

But when you use your platform to undermine the only Jewish state, it affects the rest of us. When you stay silent while campuses become unsafe for Jewish students, it affects the rest of us. When your money flows to causes that endanger Jewish lives, it affects the rest of us—don’t pretend it doesn’t.

The world watches you and says, “Look what the Jews are doing.” Not “Look what these secular progressives are doing.” They say “the Jews.”

And the bricks fly through windows in Crown Heights. The swastikas are on synagogue doors in Sydney. The Jewish student in California gets spit on.

We pay the price. You get the private jets.

Israel. The blessing of the Cohanim. Jews praying at the Western Wall wrapped in festive white Tallit. The ceremony at the Western slope of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The concept of religious and photo touris

Isaiah 53 speaks of a servant despised and rejected. He is acquainted with grief and is wounded for transgressions not entirely his own. We always read that as Israel suffering for the nations. But sometimes Israel suffers because of Israel—because some of us forgot who we are.

You want no part of the Torah? Fine. But stop speaking in our name. Stop hiding behind “as a Jew” when it suits you. Stop letting the ancient libel live on because your actions feed it.

Amos didn’t ask if you believed. He just warned that the fire would come.

Repent—not for God, if that’s too much. Repent for your people. Because we are still one nation, whether you like it or not.

And the sandals you sold us are still on our feet when we run.

Hazan Gavriel ben David

The Abandonment: Why I Left Messianic Judaism.

Haym Salomon: Polish-Jewish immigrant, spy for the Revolution, and broker who loaned the Continental Congress over $650,000 (huge sums then—equivalent to tens of millions today). He funded Yorktown, paid soldiers when the government couldn’t. Arrested twice by the British, escaped, lost everything. Died in 1785 at 44, bankrupt, with massive unpaid government debts owed to him. Family left destitute; America never repaid. Classic: Jew saves the nation, the nation forgets him. –

Oppenheimer (and Manhattan Project Jews): Film nails it—Oppenheimer, Jewish refugee scientists (Einstein, Szilard, Fermi, Bethe, etc.) fled Nazi persecution, brought genius to America. Built the bomb, won the war. Then? Red Scare betrayal. Oppenheimer’s security clearance was revoked in a 1954 kangaroo court—old ties exaggerated, Hoover’s FBI spied illegally. Stripped of influence, publicly humiliated.

Why I left Messianic Judaism: Our Messianic Synagogue Used To Write Checks With Five Zeros Behind Them.

Not because we had money, but because we had a sense of gratitude. The gratitude said, “They gave you the truth; now give.” So Eddie Chumney came, Brad Scott came, Rico Cortez, Monte Judah, Joseph Good, and Tony Robinson. They came to our building—the one I opened in two-thousand-two after the Synagogue in Tiberias—and they taught me Judaism. What the Jews could not see or understand.

Torah scrolls on the table, shofars on the wall, and a crowd of Christians who thought they were finally doing the Torah and Judaism the right way. They loved the Jews, they said. The Jews have kept the Truth all these years, so we could see Yeshua, they said. They loved the Torah, they said. As long as it agrees with what they teach. They loved the Word, they said. And I believed them. Until I started reading it without their footnotes. I started asking the people at the Mountain of Horeb. My Jewish family had a different story, and there was no one in the Jewish family who knew anything like the Christian Bible proclaimed.

Torah Scrolls, Shofars and Christians and Jews.

Two House Does Not Work When Your Messiah Replaces Israel.

Eddie told us Lazarus was the Northern Kingdom—Ephraim, dead for four days, raised on Yeshua’s command. Mary at His feet: Judah, studying. Martha rushing around: Ephraim, serving. Neat, right? Fits the Two-Houses theology like a glove. But when I opened Hosea without the Messianic decoder ring, all I saw was God screaming at a people who forgot Him. No resurrection coupon. Just return or perish.

Eddie didn’t like it when I brought that up. He just smiled and changed the subject. Let’s focus on restoration, brother. Brad Scott took ayil in Genesis twenty-two. The ram is God Himself, he said. Aleph-yud-lamed. Power. Strength. The substitute on the altar is divine. I stared at the page. I knew enough Hebrew now. Ayil is a ram. End of story. Brad shrugged when I told him. The Holy Spirit shows things more deeply, he said. Translation: don’t argue with revelation.

When Jews Become Christians, It Is Never Good.

Rico Cortez taught on the temple. Joseph Good taught on the feasts. Monte Judah taught on Islam as Esau, the red-red hair, the sword in hand, coming against his brother Jacob. We wrote the checks, bought the books, and sold the tapes. And when my daughter Elishiva lay in ICU for one-hundred-twenty-one days, they prayed over the phone. Worldwide prayer chains. French to German. English to Hebrew.

But when I converted—when I returned to Judaism—those same voices went quiet. No calls. No texts. Not one mazel tov. Tovia Singer says it all the time: every yeshiva in Israel has a line out the door. Christians showing up, saying, I was told this was the faith, but the Torah doesn’t match. And the rabbis look at them and go, Welcome home. Let’s study.

I watched Tovia’s video last week—Calvin Murray, NFL player, Ohio Buckeye, Hall-of-Fame hopeful—crying on camera. I gave up millions, he said, because I realized the whole league was playing the wrong game. He was raised Baptist, drafted by the Jaguars, and one day cracked open Isaiah fifty-three for real. Not the version printed in every church bulletin. The Hebrew. And he saw what I saw: it’s not one man on a cross. It’s a people in a diaspora. Wounded. Despised.

Bearing sins they never committed. And when he told his pastor, the pastor said, You were never one of us. Same words. Same silence. No statistics because no one keeps them. The Israeli rabbinate doesn’t advertise converts. The churches don’t track backsliders. The Messianic orgs? They just erase the record. But the lines are forming. Not because Judaism is trendy. Because it’s true. And when you live it, the bridges burn behind you. Not by accident. On purpose.

I Just Ask, if I am Wrong, Prove It, Call Me 806-670-7136, same number.

I don’t hate these teachers. I paid them enough not to. But love isn’t love if it’s conditional on me staying lost. And loyalty isn’t loyalty if it stops when you go home. So yeah. I left Messianic Judaism. Not because I stopped believing in God. Because I started believing Him instead of them.

And if you’re reading this, and your hand’s on your wallet, your heart, your siddur—ask yourself: who gets the check? The one who brings you closer to Torah… or the one who only wants you closer to Jesus? I already wrote mine. And bounced the rest. One blog. One truth. One return.

I will be addressing every Christian tale I was told and how my family, the Jews, had been answering these tales thousands of years ago.

Hazan Gavriel ben David

The Torah: A Book Like No Other – October 7 Prophecy & The Tree of Life Blueprint

Adam The Blue Print of Creation
Signature: Mr3VdWA78uQM7qZnr1/uFRqDCb0tAwRiEhX5YawEzDfStNckfvn2d/3ujCffQYaJKAc7tvjgDJXjUyer5vIIgQG4gvvXB4k3ibEPSq/Qq1KuVGEdoPgibPa0SYkL3QDianWuvU7BLF1fdBN4OO1gdwEfRxRVMsW5sHjRgjgFxDBldkgTY2evTswxADQdbb/wagjgRBIZHdPJ28EVaqjPALQCYGRT1dQ090a6BST8EFfAFhU7BNgjIkp8JB0N+C0TxtqOFkg15JYs8nMebiHrog==

The Tree of Life isn’t just a mystical diagram — it’s the actual blueprint of all creation. In the Zohar and Sefer Yetzirah, the entire universe flows through ten divine emanations and twenty-two Hebrew letter paths.

The Torah is that blueprint in written form. Every law, every story, every letter carries the structure of reality itself. That’s why everything — past, present, and future — is already written inside it.

And right now, that blueprint is lighting up.

In the brand-new J-TV video “MIND-BLOWING October 7th Biblical Prophecy REVEALED!” they show how one verse from the Song of Haazinu — Deuteronomy 32:29 — aligns perfectly with the Hebrew year 5784, the year of October 7th.

29 If they were wise, they would understand this; they would reflect upon their fate.	 	כטל֥וּ חָֽכְמ֖וּ יַשְׂכִּ֣ילוּ זֹ֑את יָבִ֖ינוּ לְאַֽחֲרִיתָֽם:

The verse says: “If they were wise, they would understand this; they would reflect upon their fate.” The chapter describes a “non-people” attacking with a “non-god,” firing rockets at a tiny outnumbered nation, taking captives, and triggering divine judgment. It matches the exact pattern we just lived through.

The Outsiders

The non-people are the ones Yasir Yafat created. Jordanians, Syrians, Egyptians. Again, the DNA tells the truth. Their names are Egyptian, Jordanian, Syrian, and many of our cousins. What god would celebrate the murder of innocent men, women, children, grey-headed and suckling,

From outside, the sword will bereave, and terror from within; young men and maidens, suckling babes with venerable elders.	 	כהמִחוּץ֙ תְּשַׁכֶּל־חֶ֔רֶב וּמֵֽחֲדָרִ֖ים אֵימָ֑ה גַּם־בָּחוּר֙ גַּם־בְּתוּלָ֔ה יוֹנֵ֖ק עִם־אִ֥ישׁ שֵׂיבָֽה:
Devarim (Deuteronomy) - Chapter 32

Who are these outsiders who attacked us on Oct 7th, 2023? Our enemies go-camed every atrocities they committed and the terror they caused at the Nova Feastival.

Moses wrote this song 3,300 years ago and commanded us to teach it to every generation. Why? So that “when many evils and troubles come upon them, this song shall testify before them as a witness” — Deuteronomy 31:21. No other book has a built-in prophetic song that its own people are required to memorize as courtroom evidence for future events.

What Other Book Even Tries This?

None. The Quran, the Vedas, the New Testament — none combine legal code, narrative, poetry, prophecy, mystical commentary, and mathematical encoding into one document that keeps proving itself across millennia.

Dr. Haim Shore discovered Hebrew words that encode scientific facts unknown to the ancient world: pregnancy equals 271 days; a standard year equals 355 days; the word for “ear” shares its root with “balance” because the inner ear controls equilibrium. These aren’t coincidences — they’re systematic.

The Zohar peels back the layers of that Tree of Life, revealing the spiritual mechanics behind history. The Prophets deliver specific, named predictions: seventy years of Babylonian exile, the return, the rise and fall of empires, the final ingathering of Israel.

Historian Francisco Gil-White shows Israel is historically unique — the only ancient people who lost their land, language, and sovereignty for two thousand years and got every single one back while surrounded by enemies sworn to destroy them. The Torah predicted both the hatred and the survival.

Rabbi Glazerson’s Torah codes from over twelve years ago already cluster “Gog and Magog,” “Mashiach,” “Iran,” “Hamas,” and “October 7” in the same matrices. Professor Haralick’s stats put the odds at one in fourteen thousand.

Why This Book Is Truly Like No Other

  • It encodes the future in verses, years, gematria, and hidden letter sequences.
  • Its language contains advanced scientific knowledge millennia ahead of its time.
  • It has infinite depth — plain meaning, legal, prophetic, and mystical — all from the same text.
  • It self-authenticates through fulfilled prophecy and statistical codes.
  • Its people are the only ones in history to return after total exile.
  • It tells the end from the beginning — then hands us the song to testify when it happens.

The Torah isn’t ancient history. It’s a living document whose Author stands outside of time. The Song of Haazinu is singing right now. The Tree of Life is unfolding exactly as drawn.

The only real question left is the one the Torah itself asks: Are we wise enough to understand this?

Headline: The Torah Predicted October 7th… 3,300 Years Ago

Mind-blowing. One verse in the Song of Haazinu matches the Hebrew year of October 7th, word for word. The Tree of Life blueprint, Hebrew science codes, Torah Codes, and the only book that tells the end from the beginning… and proves it.

This isn’t religion. This is evidence.

Click to read “The Torah: A Book Like No Other.”

Hazan Gavriel ben David

Jordan Peterson Proves My Point: The Christian Bible and the Tanakh Do Not Belong Together

I’ve listened to over 500 hours of Jordan Peterson’s lectures. One statement he made on the Rubin Report with Ben Shapiro has stayed with me more than almost anything else.

He said: “Judaism is a religion where an entire people accept a constitution from God. The whole nation lives by it. As a collective, they bear both the suffering and the blessing together, like the servant in Isaiah 53. Christianity, on the other hand, is individual. One person can fulfill everything for everyone else.” Then he said it plainly: “Those two books do not belong together.”

The Fundamental Difference

The Tanakh does not include the category of prophecy used by Christianity. Judaism has no concept of one individual who is supposed to personally fulfill dozens of scattered verses from different books. That framework simply does not exist in Jewish thought.

Why the Torah Begins With Stories

The very first commandment the Jewish people ever received was in Exodus 12:2. “This month shall be for you the beginning of months.” God commanded us to keep perfect time from the moment we left Egypt. That commanded calendar is why Jewish history and prophecy have remained consistent for over 3,000 years.

Tim Mahoney and the Patterns of Evidence

In 2008 I sat in a theater in Jerusalem. I was with Avi Lipkin and watched the very first Patterns of Evidence film by Tim Mahoney. I’ve followed every series he has made since. His work consistently shows that the physical evidence on the ground supports the Torah’s timeline.

Dr. Doug Petrovich and the Pure Language

Dr. Doug Petrovich has proven that the Hebrew alphabet is the world’s oldest alphabet. The Israelites developed it while in Egypt, and Moses had written the Torah in Hebrew. This directly relates to Zephaniah 3:9. It is the only verse in the entire Tanakh that includes all 22 letters. It also holds the five final sofit forms. God promises to restore a pure language so His people can call on His name.

Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson and the Three Fathers

In his book Traced, Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson uses Y-chromosome DNA. He also applies population growth mathematics. Together, these show that every male alive today traces his paternal line back to exactly three fathers. These are Shem, Ham, and Japheth. This is exactly as Genesis records after the Flood.

Only Two Peoples Carry Abraham’s DNA

Science has confirmed that only two people groups carry the specific Y-DNA marker of Abraham: Jews and Arabs. While Abraham had other sons with Keturah whose descendants went east, the covenant of the land and the chosen status passes only through Isaac.

Living Proof of the Covenant

God chose Abraham because he would teach his children “the way of Hashem” — HaDerech. My rabbi, Rabbi David Foreman, connects this directly to the Tree of Life. I am living proof this covenant is still alive. I am a descendant of a Kohen. My grandfather, Luz Ramirez Diaz, traces our priestly lineage back to at least 500 BCE, confirmed by the Cohen haplotype in our DNA.

My Daughter and the Museum of the Bible

My daughter recently visited Washington, D.C., and the place that moved her the most was the Museum of the Bible. She saw how deeply the Hebrew Bible shaped the founding principles and values of the United States. It reminded her — and me — that America’s Constitution was built on the same covenant ideas found in the Torah.

The Two Ancient Enemies Rising Together

Today we are facing both of our ancient enemies at the same time: Ishmael (radical Islam and the Psalm 83 coalition) and Esau/Edom (Christianity). Our sages have warned this would happen in the end of days.

Understanding Edom – Rabbi Ephraim Palvanov

My rabbi, Rabbi Ephraim Palvanov, has a five-part series called “Understanding Edom” that traces Esau from the biblical figure, through Herod and Rome, to Constantine, the Catholic Church, and ultimately to the Christian West. He shows how traditional Jewish sources have long identified Edom with Christianity as a spiritual rival to Jacob. You can watch the full series here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS68IUQOA2iuXBU5HQyTZSSLfuH-D9Wkp

Why Iran Is So Complicated

Iran is not a simple enemy. It has two souls living in one body. The Persian people have one of the oldest friendships with the Jewish people, going back to Cyrus the Great, Esther, and Mordechai. Yet after the Arab conquest, Persia adopted Shia Islam on top of its ancient Zoroastrian foundation. This creates the “bipolar” tension Simcha Jacobovici describes in his videos. Trump is not just fighting Islam — he is facing a nation influenced by Britain, Europe, China, and Russia, all layered on top of Iran’s complex identity.

Hosea and the Third Day

If Jesus is a picture of Israel, then Hosea 6:2 becomes very interesting.

The prophet says: “After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.”

In Jewish thought, one day with God equals 1,000 years. The “two days” represent roughly 2,000 years of exile after the destruction of the Second Temple. The year 1948 — the rebirth of Israel — falls right at the beginning of the third day.

Many see the Holocaust ending in 1945 and Israel rising in 1948 as the literal fulfillment of “after two days He will revive us.” We are living in the third day that Hosea spoke of. The resurrection has begun, but the complete fulfillment is still unfolding.

Jewish Prophecy Is Unfolding Before Our Eyes

October 7th, 2023 marked the beginning of the War of Gog and Magog. The Zohar (Book 3, 212b) speaks of a star rising from Jacob, fulfilling Numbers 24:17. Zechariah chapters 12 and 14 describe end-time events that are unfolding now.

Every prophecy the Jewish prophets gave still awaits the rebuilding of the Third Temple. Zechariah tells us a war is coming where men’s eyes will melt in their sockets and their tongues in their mouths. Our sages teach this final war will last only about twelve seconds.

My Christian friends, this is the only thing we are still waiting for.

And when that moment comes, God is not going to point to a man who lived 2,000 years ago.

God is going to point to His people — Israel — and say: “These are My witnesses.”

The Star of Jacob

Chapter 10:

Torah Codes Rabbi Glazerson

Blindness in Prophecy – Why No One Knows They’re Living It. 

This section delves into the themes in Star of Jacob, Chapter 10, and explores the idea of unrecognized prophecy in everyday life.

Chapter 10: Blindness in Prophecy –

Why No One Knows They’re Living It. 

For thousands of years, people have lived through biblical prophecy without realizing it. The Israelites witnessed the ten plagues and walked through the parted sea, yet days later they were complaining in the desert. Jeremiah warned Jerusalem for decades, but the people mocked him. The prophets themselves often did not fully understand the words they were given.

This same blindness is happening right now.

We are watching Ezekiel 38 and 39 unfold in real time. Persia (Iran) has been struck, Damascus lies in ruins, and the nations are aligning exactly as the prophets described. Yet most people — both Jews and Christians — do not see it. Why? Because everyone has their own script for how the end should look, and almost no one is using the Torah itself as the blueprint.

The Christian Endgame Most Won’t Say Out Loud

Many Christian Zionists genuinely support Israel. They donate, they cheer, they stand with us. But there is an unspoken belief behind much of that support: one day the Jews will “look upon Him whom they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10), realize Jesus is the Messiah, mourn, and convert. In that theology, Judaism as we know it comes to an end.

The problem is the verse itself. In Hebrew it does not say what most English translations claim. The phrase “et asher dakaru” uses a plural verb — “those who were pierced.” It is not about one man being crucified. It describes Israel mourning its own losses in a future war, the way a family mourns a firstborn. Then the nation turns back to God. There is no requirement for Jews to accept Jesus. That idea only appears when the Hebrew is changed.

This is the elephant in the room. Jewish voices who receive Christian support — whether Yishai Fleischer, JTV, or others — cannot openly correct this misunderstanding. Their platforms depend on that support. So the truth stays quiet on both sides.

DNA Proves Who the Heirs Actually Are

The Torah is clear: the covenant was given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If this is true, then the descendants should carry evidence of that line.

They do.

The Cohen Modal Haplotype (a specific Y-chromosome marker) appears in 96% of Ashkenazi Cohanim and 62% of Cohanim overall. My own grandfather carries this lineage — a Kohen whose family line traces back to 500 BCE. This same marker is shared with many Arab populations, consistent with Ishmael also being a son of Abraham. Archaeology and ancient DNA from Canaanite remains show that modern Jews and Palestinians share significant Bronze Age ancestry.

Christians, by contrast, carry no trace of this Abrahamic Y-DNA. Their claim is spiritual, not genetic. The Torah, however, speaks of a physical covenant passed through blood and seed. The science lines up with the Torah, not with replacement theology.

The Fingerprints of Hashem – Rabbi Rietti’s Three Lectures

If the Torah were written by men, it would contain mistakes. Yet it does not.

In his three-part series “Fingerprints of Divinity,” Rabbi Jonathan Rietti shows how a simple shepherd in Midian gave the world information no human at that time could possibly have known:

  • The Torah lists exactly four animals that have only one of the two kosher signs: the camel, hyrax, hare, and pig. Modern science confirms these are the only four mammals on Earth that fit this description. No fifth animal has ever been found — not in Africa, Asia, the Americas, or even the isolated Galapagos Islands, which have no native land mammals at all.
  • The order of creation in Genesis matches the scientific sequence discovered thousands of years later.
  • The Torah predicts patterns in history that repeat — from Haman to Hitler, both connected through the number ten and the date of Purim.

These are not coincidences. They are fingerprints — clear signs that the Torah comes from an intelligence beyond human capability.

We Are Living Ezekiel 38–39 Right Now

The prophets described Persia joining a coalition against Israel in the latter days. In February 2026, Israel and the United States struck Iran directly. The regime was shaken. Missiles flew back. The players named in Ezekiel are moving into position.

This is not a theory. This is news.

Yet many are still waiting for a future seven-year tribulation, a rapture, or an Antichrist to desecrate a Third Temple. While they wait, the events described in the prophets are already taking place.

The Torah does not speak of a dying Messiah who atones for sins. It speaks of national repentance, return to the land, and God making His name known through the Jewish people. That is exactly what we are seeing.

The Real War Is About the Jewish People

Behind the politics, the real question the West is wrestling with is ancient: “What do we do with the Jews?”

This spirit of Amalek has existed since Sinai. It appeared as Haman, as the Inquisition, as Hitler, and now it moves through Iran and its proxies. The Talmud warned about “Germamia” (Germany) centuries ago. History proved it right. The same spirit is active today.

The difference now? The Jewish people have returned to their land, exactly as the prophets said. God promised He would gather us from the furthest corners of the earth — and He has. My own life is proof of that promise: born to a Black father and a Levite mother whose father was a Kohen from ancient times.

Closing: Prophecy Is Quiet

The greatest proof that we are in the days of prophecy is that most people still don’t see it.

Just like in Egypt, just like in Babylon, just like in the days of the prophets — life continues. People argue, donate, cheer, criticize, and wait for their version of the story.

But the Torah keeps its perfect record. The DNA matches. The science matches. The patterns match. And the events on the ground continue to match.

The Star of Jacob has risen. The silence has been broken.

Now it is time to open our eyes.

Hazan Gavriel ben David

The Blueprint in the Code: What DNA, Coins, and Ancient Words Reveal

The Tree Of LIFE
Signature: 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

They lied. We Are Not Even Close

For decades, science has told us that humans and chimpanzees share 99% of their DNA. That claim came from incomplete genomes. The original Human Genome Project in 2003 covered only about 92% of the genome accurately. The full gapless sequence — the Telomere-to-Telomere project — was completed in 2022.

Geneticist Dr. Robert Carter, who has studied primates for decades, now shows that when you compare entire genomes, including insertions, deletions, duplications, and structural rearrangements, humans and chimps differ by roughly 15%. This is fifteen times more than what textbooks taught for forty years.

Science sold an incomplete story until better tools revealed the real numbers.

Jay Smith: How To Prove A Religion Is Created

Jay Smith applies the same standard of evidence when examining Islam. He demands early, contemporary, eyewitness documents. What he finds instead is a “hundred-year silence.” The earliest Arab coins and inscriptions after the traditional date of Muhammad show no mention of him, the Shahada, or Mecca. Furthermore, clear Islamic symbols only appear decades later, under Abd al-Malik, around 692–696 CE. By Jay’s own method, the classical narrative lacks the contemporary documentation it claims.

Now apply that exact standard to Christianity. Christians point to the New Testament as eyewitness testimony. Yet the 27-book canon we use today was not settled until centuries later. Athanasius listed those books in 367 CE, but official church councils —

Hippo in 393 and Carthage in 397 and 419 — came even later. The Council of Nicaea in 325 had nothing to do with the canon. The version presented as an original eyewitness record was standardized long after the events it describes.

If the physical DNA blueprint needed decades of correction, and early historical claims for both Islam and Christianity show similar gaps, we should examine the original code the same way.

Answers In Genesis- Nathaniel Jeanson

Nathaniel Jeanson’s Y-chromosome research traces male lines back to Noah’s three sons. The Jewish paternal line sits on the Shem branch, running through Arphaxad, Terah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. My own DNA report shows 5% West Middle Eastern ancestry, consistent with ancient Levantine origins.

My documented genealogy reaches back through Kohanim lines to Aaron and Gamaliel — exactly the pattern Jeanson’s model places on that branch. These are measurable genetic markers. They align with the biblical family tree and use the same tools that corrected the chimp story.

But the strongest evidence comes from the text itself.

Professor Haim Shore, a scientist and industrial engineering professor, examined the numerical values of simple Hebrew words from the Torah (HNV — Hebrew Numeric Value, in which each letter has a fixed value). To do this, he compared them to modern scientific measurements using linear regression.

The results are striking:

  • Hebrew words for Sun (Shemesh = 640), Earth (Eretz = 291), and Moon (Yareach = 218) match the actual diameters, masses, and volumes with a correlation of 0.999.
  • Words for light (Or = 207) and sound (Kol = 136) align with the speeds of light and sound, with a correlation of 0.9938.
  • Words for water phases — water (Mayim = 90), ice (Kachav = 308), steam (Kitor = 325) — match specific heat capacities with a correlation of 0.9995.
  • Color names match wave frequencies with a correlation of 0.9981.

The Torah’s Code

The probability of these alignments happening by chance is extremely low — often 0.2% or less for individual sets, and near zero when combined. If you change one letter in any word, the perfect correlation breaks. This is the kind of precision you expect from an encoded blueprint, not random ancient text.

This is the same Torah that Proverbs 3:18 calls a tree of life to those who grasp it. The only thing the text itself ever labels with that title. Not a later document compiled centuries afterward, not a replacement narrative — the original code given to a specific family line.

My journey started as a Christian searching for truth in the Old Testament. When I learned my Jewish heritage at 35, I tested everything against that original blueprint. The DNA, the genealogy, the numeric code in the Hebrew words, and the corrected scientific data all point back to the same source.

If we demand rigorous evidence — as Jay Smith does for Islam, as Dr. Carter does for genome claims, as Professor Shore does with statistical analysis — then the Torah stands as the only blueprint that has held up under that scrutiny. It claims to be the code that created everything, containing chemistry, mathematics, and physics from the beginning. Moreover, modern tools are now confirming those claims with levels of precision that are statistically improbable by chance alone.

Closing

In closing, the prophet Zephaniah (3:8–9) states that in the end of days God will restore a pure language to the peoples. This is so that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve Him with one consent. Archaeologist and historian Dr. David Petrevek identifies Hebrew as the earliest recorded language in human history.

The Hebrew word for light — Or — has a gematria value of 207. The word for image — Tzelem — also equals 207. The tradition holds that Adam was created “in the image of God,” carrying that same numerical signature of light. Furthermore, when he chose to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tradition says the Aleph (א) of “Or” was changed to an Ayin (ע), turning light into “skin” (עור). From that moment, humanity’s task became the repair of the world.

This same language — the original code that names light as 207 and image as 207 — is the one the Torah calls a tree of life. It is the language in which the blueprint was written. The same blueprint modern DNA studies, full-genome sequencing, and statistical analysis of Hebrew numeric values are now confirming points back to one specific family line: the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — the nation God took out of Egypt.

The evidence is no longer theological. It is measurable. The original language, the corrected genetic data, and the numeric precision encoded in the text all converge on the same conclusion: the blueprint God left in the world has never been replaced. It remains exactly where it was given — in the hands of the people who carry both the DNA and the language of that first light.

Hazan Gavriel ben David

From Counter-Missionary to Ally: My 21-Year Journey with Tovia Singer and Tamar Yonah

The War of Gog and Magog

I first encountered Tamar Yonah and Rabbi Tovia Singer back in 2005. My wife and I were in our second (almost third) year running Mayim Chaim Ministries, raising money and support for the Jewish families in Gush Katif as the expulsion loomed.

Tovia and Tamar were reporting live from the ground. We watched in horror as Israeli soldiers on horseback charged their own people, dragging families out of their homes like enemies. Friends of ours, Jeremy Gimpel and Ari Abramowitz, were among those forcibly removed. My wife and I sat weeping, hearts broken.

At the time, I was studying intensely, preparing to go to Israel specifically to meet Tovia — convinced I could prove to him that Jesus is the Messiah.

Twenty-one years later, everything has flipped.

This week I listened to Tamar and Tovia again — the first time I’ve heard her voice since shortly after Gush Katif. I now stand with him against replacement theology and the Christian world’s misreading of the Tanach.

In this powerful interview, Tovia repeatedly emphasized: “This isn’t my opinion — I’m just telling you what Ezekiel is saying… what the Tanach says.” Here are every major point he made to Tamar and the audience, drawn directly from the transcript:

On Whether We Are in the Messianic Age

“Are we in the Messianic age? The answer is yes. We are now in the Seder.” We are at the final stage — Nirtzah — of the 15-step Passover Seder. The Seder is called “order” because it is a fixed sequence where each event triggers the next. Jewish history has been marching through this same divine order for 3,300 years. Once you reach the final stage, the process is unstoppable. Ezekiel 38–39, written 2,500 years ago, describes today’s war with Persia (Iran) so precisely it sounds like it was written last week.

On the Structure of Ezekiel

“Ezekiel is divided into three sections:

  • Section one: Why the First Temple was destroyed.
  • Section two: What God is going to do to the enemy nations of Israel (especially chapters 38–39).
  • Section three: Chapters 34–48 — about the Messiah. There is no parallel to it.”**

He urged every viewer: Open Ezekiel 38 and 39 tonight without commentaries. It is easy to read. Rashi would have given anything to live in our time. Only this final generation will fully understand.

On Ezekiel 38–39 and Current Events

  • Persia (modern Iran) is explicitly named and will be drawn in with allies “like hooks in the mouth of a beast” (Ezekiel 38:4–5).
  • They will attack a restored Israel living securely, seeing an “aperture” (unwalled villages).
  • The hottest fighting is directly north — Lebanon/Hezbollah, Iran’s Shia proxy. The text repeatedly emphasizes “the north.”
  • God is hardening the enemies’ hearts (like Pharaoh) so they persist and keep coming back.
  • Massive destruction on the mountains of Israel: seven months to bury the dead, seven years burning their weapons for fuel. Scavengers feast on the bodies.
  • The entire purpose of the war: “So the nations will know that I am God.” (Repeated at the end of both chapters 38 and 39.)

On Replacement Theology

Read Ezekiel 39. The chapters list Israel’s sins that caused exile, then atonement and restoration. This is the physical Jewish people, not the Church replacing Israel. The text explicitly shuts down replacement theology.

On the Kingdom of the North

It is the active northern front right now — Lebanon/Hezbollah shooting at Israel. Tovia refuses to speculate beyond the text: “I’m simply telling you what the text says… take a compass — due north is Lebanon.”

On Mashiach ben Yosef vs. Mashiach ben David

Mashiach ben Yosef is an event, not a person. October 7th (1,200 murdered, 251 hostages) fulfills Zechariah 12 and Talmud Sukkah 52: a traumatic attack on Sukkot (when we read Ezekiel 38–39 as Haftarah) that causes national mourning, unity, and separation of men and women in prayer/mourning — exactly as happened before October 7th. This precedes Mashiach ben David.

On Recognizing the True Messiah

“It’s not true at all” that people will argue about his appearance or clothing. “Everyone will know… all the nations will serve him” (Daniel 7:13–14). There will be no debate. He is a son of David, a teacher who rebukes the nations, fulfilling the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7).

On the Messiah in Every Generation

Yes, there is one ready now (per Sanhedrin). There has been a potential Messiah in every generation. We are at the precipice.

On Aliyah and Living in Israel

It is a mitzvah. Those who returned before the final redemption (the 42,360 named in Ezra 2) have their names inscribed forever in Tanach. Israel is the safest place for Jews. History shows those warned “it’s too dangerous” often suffered terribly elsewhere.

On Easier or Harder Redemption (Isaiah 60:22)

“In its time, I will hasten it.”

  • Righteous generation doing teshuva out of love → more open miracles (like Hezekiah’s deliverance).
  • Otherwise → more painful process. Tovia is optimistic: we are a remarkable generation fusing faith in God with love of the Land.

On the Miracles Happening Now

The April 13, 2024 Iranian barrage (hundreds of missiles/drones) with virtually no deaths was the hidden hand of God — exactly like the Book of Esther. We must recognize Hashem working behind the scenes.

On What We Should Study Now

Study the Prophets (especially those outlining the order before Messiah). After redemption, we will primarily study Torah and Esther.

Twenty-one years ago I watched Tovia and Tamar report on Jewish suffering in Gush Katif. Today they are reporting on prophecy unfolding in real time — and I stand with them.

The only thing that changed is me.

May Hashem comfort every family in pain (including mine right now), strengthen Israel, and bring the full redemption speedily in our days.

Applying Jay Smith’s Standards to Christianity: The Mirror Test

Adam The Blueprint of Creation and the Tree Of Life

Applying Jay Smith’s Standards to Christianity: The Mirror Test

Jay Smith has spent decades using archaeology, inscriptions, manuscripts, carbon dating, and source criticism to argue that Islam’s traditional 7th-century origin story is largely a later construction.

He asks tough, straightforward questions: Where are the contemporary sources? Why is Mecca invisible in early records? Why do the earliest qiblas all point toward Petra rather than Mecca? Why do the first biographies of Muhammad and collections of hadith appear 200–300 years after the events they describe?

These are fair historical questions. So let’s do exactly what Jay does — but turn the same lens on Christianity. What happens when we apply Jay Smith’s standards to Paul, the New Testament, and the origins of Christianity?

The results are remarkably similar.

The Geography Problem

Jay Smith repeatedly shows that the Quran’s geography doesn’t match Mecca at all. He points out that Mecca is not in a valley with streams running through it. It has no olive trees, no fields, no grass, no clay or loam. It’s not even on any known 7th-century trade route. Most damaging of all, the earliest mosques — including ones built in China, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen — all had their qibla facing Petra, not Mecca.

The Christian Bible has the same kind of geographical and historical problems.

In Genesis 33, it says Jacob bought a piece of land in Shechem. But then Joshua 24:32 and Acts 7:16 both say that Abraham bought that same piece of land. That’s a straight-up contradiction — two different people credited with buying the same property.

Luke chapter 2 says Jesus was born during a census taken under Quirinius, governor of Syria. But Roman records show Quirinius didn’t become governor until 6 AD — a full ten years after Herod the Great died in 4 BC. That means Luke’s timeline is off by an entire decade.

The Gospels also treat Nazareth as a real, established city where Jesus grew up. Yet after decades of digging, archaeologists have found no evidence that Nazareth even existed as a town in the early first century. The only early references to Nazareth come from the Gospels themselves.

These aren’t small mistakes. These are exactly the same kinds of problems Jay Smith points out about Mecca — the geography and timeline in the text simply don’t match the real world.

The Silence of Contemporary Witnesses

Jay Smith points out that the earliest Arab inscription mentioning the name “Muhammad” doesn’t appear until 691 CE — almost 60 years after he supposedly died. The first full biography of Muhammad doesn’t show up until 833 CE, over 200 years later.

Christianity has a very similar problem with silence from people who should have seen it all.

Philo of Alexandria was a well-educated Jewish writer who lived from about 20 BCE to 50 CE. He lived right in the Jerusalem area and wrote detailed accounts of Jewish life and major historical events happening in Judea. He was even there during the huge crisis when the Roman emperor Caligula tried to put his own statue in the Jewish Temple.

Yet Philo never once mentions Jesus. He never mentions any miracles happening in Jerusalem. He never mentions a group of disciples following a man from Nazareth. He never mentions a crucifixion under Pontius Pilate. Nothing.

This is a man who was alive at the exact time and in the exact place the Gospels describe — and he says nothing. That silence is very loud.

Late Sources and Textual Construction

Jay Smith’s strongest argument is that virtually everything we know about Muhammad and the Quran was written down 200–300 years after the events. The first complete Quran manuscripts only appear in the 8th and 9th centuries, and even those contain thousands of textual variants and corrections that continued for centuries.

The same pattern appears in Christianity.

Professor Nina Livesey argues that the Pauline letters are not genuine 1st-century letters written by Paul. She believes they are 2nd-century fictive compositions, most likely produced around 144 CE in or near Marcion’s school. These letters read like carefully crafted rhetorical exercises — full of self-promotion, exaggeration, and repeated disjunctive pairs such as flesh versus spirit, law versus faith, and slavery versus freedom.

Tovia Singer, a well-known Jewish scholar, points out that Paul repeatedly misrepresents the Hebrew Bible. In Romans 10, Paul actually cuts Deuteronomy 30 in half. He removes the part that says the commandment is “not too difficult” and can be done. Singer calls this a deliberate distortion designed to diminish the value of the Torah.

The Jesus Words Only ministry takes it even further. They show that Paul doesn’t just say the Torah was given through angels instead of God — he goes on to call those angels “weak and beggarly” and “no gods.” That is a triple insult that has no parallel in any Jewish source.

Borrowed Elements and Pagan Roots

Jay Smith shows that many core elements of Islam trace back to pre-Islamic pagan sources centered in Petra. The name “Allah” itself comes from the Nabataean god Ilaha. The Black Stone in the Kaaba, certain rituals, and many stories in the Quran have clear antecedents in earlier pagan and Jewish-Christian traditions.

Christianity shows the exact same pattern.

Much of Pauline theology — the idea of a divine Son, the concept of the Logos, and the foundations of what later became the Trinity — draws heavily from Hellenistic philosophy and the surrounding mystery cults of the Roman world.

As Tovia Singer has repeatedly pointed out, Paul’s writings feel far more Greek than Jewish. He often seems to be “thinking in Greek” and appears to have only a superficial knowledge of the Hebrew Bible. His interpretations frequently twist or remove key passages from the Torah to support his new theology.

When you apply Jay Smith’s same critical lens — tracing ideas back to their actual historical and cultural roots — both religions show heavy borrowing from the pagan and philosophical ideas that surrounded them, rather than being pure restorations of Abrahamic monotheism.

Political Construction by a Later Figure

Jay Smith identifies Abd al-Malik (685–705 CE) as the key figure who standardized Islamic identity. He builds the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, mints coins with the Shahada, and uses strongly anti-Trinitarian inscriptions as imperial propaganda against the Byzantine Empire. This is when the full narrative of Islam really begins to crystallize.

A very similar process happened in Christianity.

The version of Christianity that ultimately prevailed was shaped far more by the Roman/Greek world than by Jerusalem. Paul’s theology largely displaced the more Torah-observant Jerusalem church led by James. The full doctrine of the Trinity wasn’t settled until centuries of church councils — long after the events described in the New Testament.

In both cases, a powerful later figure (or movement) standardized the religion, gave it its final theological shape, and projected that final form backward onto the founder.

The Mirror Test

When Jay Smith applies rigorous historical criticism to Islam, he concludes we have “the wrong man, in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing, at the wrong time.”

Apply those same standards to Christianity, and many scholars reach parallel conclusions about Paul: the letters appear to be later literary creations. The theology diverges sharply from the Hebrew Bible. The geography and timeline have problems. Contemporary witnesses are silent. The texts show signs of heavy editing and rhetorical construction.

Both religions claim to restore pure Abrahamic monotheism. Both show clear signs of late theological development, borrowed elements from surrounding pagan cultures, and political standardization when examined with consistent, rigorous historical criticism.

This is the mirror test.

Jay Smith’s method doesn’t just challenge Islam — it challenges the foundations of Pauline Christianity with equal force.

The evidence doesn’t bend to tradition. Tradition eventually has to bend to the evidence.

Hazan Gavriel ben David

Values — Parshat Emor: The Pathways to You Are Always on Their Heart

The Exodus

This past week, that question stopped being theoretical for our family.

At three o’clock in the morning, I received a call that my granddaughter had been grazed by multiple bullets at a party. Her boyfriend was shot in the head and murdered, and one other killed, and five others are in critical condition, and four were injured.

In the middle of that kind of pain, Rabbi Goldstein’s question suddenly becomes very real: What are your values actually worth?

When death walks that close to your family, you stop asking what you say you believe. You look at what you’ve actually been living for. You look at where your time, your money, and your heart have really gone.

Because in the end, values are proven in moments like this — not in comfortable conversations, but in the choices we made long before the phone rang at 3 a.m.

The Receipts- Not Just Words

“Ashrei adam oz lo bach, mesilot bilvavam” — Happy is the person whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to You. (Tehillim 84:6)

Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein asks: What are your values truly worth? When we claim “family, honesty, integrity,” are we willing to sacrifice time, money, comfort, or ego — or are they just nice-sounding opinions?

This brings us back to the Garden, and to the very first test Hashem gave us after leaving Egypt.

The Mean God Of The Bible

Many Christians say the God of the Old Testament is mean and angry. But look at the facts. Pharaoh was cruel. He called us lazy, stopped giving us straw, yet still demanded the exact same number of bricks from every person. The strong gathered more straw, the weak gathered less, but the quota never changed. Those who fell short were beaten.

Hashem’s very first test after the Exodus was the manna — and it was literally impossible to fail. If you gathered more than an omer, it still measured exactly one omer. You could not gather less than an Omer because it still came out to one Omer. If you tried to keep some overnight, it turned into worms.

If you went out on Shabbat, there was no manna at all — but you had received a double portion the day before, so you could rest. Every single person received exactly what they needed. No beatings, no impossible demands. Just perfect fairness and built-in rest. Hashem was proving to us: “I am not Pharaoh. I am a loving Father who provides for everyone equally.”

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What Kind of Construction Did the Israelites Do in Egypt? - TheTorah.com

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Parsha Emor Not By Your Hands

In this week’s parsha, right in the middle of the holidays, the Torah places the Omer offering. Rabbi David Fohrman shows us a beautiful intertextual triangle. The Omer in Emor connects to the manna in the desert and to the moment in Joshua 5 when the people first ate from the produce of the Land — the day the manna stopped forever.

The Omer is Hashem’s bridge. It reminds us that even when we plant, harvest, and bake with our own hands, Hashem is still the One who provides. The land is simply a new form of the wilderness. The moment we forget that, our values drift away from their Source.

That’s why the laws of pe’ah and leket — leaving the corners and gleanings for the poor — come right after the Omer. Just as no one could hoard the manna, we are not allowed to hoard our harvest. God still retains a stake in what we produce.

Today, many Jews say the Third Temple will simply descend from heaven when Mashiach comes. But Rabbi Fohrman’s lesson echoes the words of the prophet Haggai: we cannot sit and wait for some philosophical ideal.

Our Heavenly Partner

We must begin the work with our own hands, exactly as our ancestors did when they entered the Land. The Omer teaches us that Hashem partners with human effort. He fed us with manna, and now He feeds us through the work of our hands — but only if we remember Who is really providing.

Nathaniel Jeanson’s book Traced proves with DNA that we are literally one human family. We all descend from Noah’s three sons. If we are one family, we need one Father’s house rule—the Ten Commandments.

Rabbi Fohrman shows that Hashem at Sinai deliberately echoes Rebecca’s words to Yaakov in Genesis 27: “Listen to my voice.” The family story is redeemed. The Ten Sayings become the constitution for one united human family.

עץ (tree) equals 160 in gematria — the same as צלם (image). Only by holding onto the Etz Chaim, the Tree of Life, do we truly live up to being created in God’s image.

The Table Is Set

Pirkei Avot makes it clear:

“Let your house be a meeting place for the Sages, sit in the dust of their feet, and drink their words thirstily.”¹

One who learns even a single letter must honor his teacher.²

“Let the honor of your student be as dear to you as your own… and reverence for your teacher like reverence for Heaven.”³

“If there is no Torah, there is no derech eretz; if there is no derech eretz, there is no Torah.”⁴

This Shabbos in Emor, as we count the Omer, ask yourself honestly: Do I truly study the word of Hashem, or do I just say I love Him? Do my actions — my fruit — show that I remember Who feeds me every day?

The pathways to Him are always on our hearts. We cannot wait for the Temple to fall from heaven. Like our ancestors, like the generation of Haggai, we must begin the work with our own hands — remembering the manna, living the values, and repairing this one human family together.

Shabbat Shalom. Chazak ve’ematz.

Footnotes ¹ Pirkei Avot 1:4

² Pirkei Avot 6:3

³ Pirkei Avot 4:12

⁴ Pirkei Avot 3:17

House of The Water Pouring