Congregation Shema Yisrael

This week Rabbi Jerry records a Bible Study on the important topic of celebrating the diversity of God's Community. He discusses the importance of identity in Messiah and what it means to remain as we were called.

Rabbi Loren continues his series in Jude (Judah). Believers are urgently warned about false teachers who infiltrate the church, twisting God's grace into a license to sin while masquerading as faithful members during fellowship meals. Jude exposes these leaders as spiritually dead and destructive, reminding the church through the ancient prophecy of Enoch that they face certain divine judgment. Ju...

Parasha Naso highlights God’s call for His people to be meticulously organized and completely devoted to His presence. Naso teaches the strict purity laws required to maintain a holy camp, the voluntary Nazarite vows for those seeking a deeper personal walk with God, and the foundational Priestly Blessing.

This week Rabbi Jerry discusses Luke 18 and 19, which contrasts different responses to God's Grace. He compares the self-righteous Pharisee and the hesitant rich young ruler against the deeply humble tax collectors. Ultimately, Believers are challenged to emulate Zacchaeus by responding to the Lord's invitation with immediate, joyful obedience and genuine, life-altering repentance.

Rabbi Loren preaches on the problem of legalism, prioritizing external rule-keeping and Sinai Covenant obligations over a living relationship with God. Pointing to Yeshua's ministry and the teachings of the early church, he emphasizes that believers are saved and made complete entirely by God's grace through faith, rather than by observing the Torah, Sabbaths, or dietary laws. Ultimately, true rig...

This week Rabb Jerry continues his discussion of God’s infinite and unchanging love through His deep mercy for the distressed, His unearned grace for sinners, and His patient persistence. Through the work of Messiah Yeshua, believers receive the unmerited gift of salvation and forgiveness, demonstrating that God moves toward our suffering rather than away from it. In response to this limitless com...

Rabbi Loren continues in Jude and discusses false teachers who infiltrate the community by twisting God's grace.

In Bamidbar we find the details of the initial census of Israel's fighting men, the arrangement of the tribes around the Tabernacle, and the specific, reverential duties of the Levites.

Rabbi Jerry discusses God's love and emphasizes that God's infinite, unchanging love is an unearned benevolence that serves as the foundation for His relationship with creation. We must base our understanding of God's love on Scripture and the sacrifice of Messiah Yeshua, rather than on our personal experiences. Click here for Rabbi Jerry's notes.

Rabbi Loren continues his series in Jude. Judah warns believers to defend their faith against false teachers who quietly infiltrate the community to distort God's grace into an excuse for sexual immorality and self-rule. To demonstrate that experiencing God's blessings does not grant immunity from His judgment, the letter recalls the destruction of the unfaithful Exodus generation, the imprisonmen...

The double parasha of Behar and Bechukotai concludes the book of Leviticus by outlining God's commands for the Sabbath and Jubilee years, alongside a clear contrast between the blessings of obedience and the severe, escalating punishments for breaking His covenant. Although Israel historically suffered the prophesied exile due to their persistent disobedience, the Lord demonstrated His unchanging...

This week Rabbi Jerry continues his study on God's Attributes. He discusses how God's righteous wrath and perfect justice demand that human sin be met with the consequence of death and eternal punishment. However, out of His immense mercy, the Lord willingly took this punishment upon Himself through Messiah Yeshua's death on the cross, fully satisfying the demands of His own judgment. In response...

Rabbi Loren continues his series through Jude. He discusses how Judah initially intended to write about the magnificent salvation shared by all believers. Instead, the infiltration of false teachers made him write about the importance of defending unchanging, core biblical truths. Because this faith was delivered "once for all time" without room for cultural revision or new doctrines , God's peopl...

Parasha Emor outlines God's strict holiness requirements for the priests, the unblemished offerings, the appointed feasts, and the perpetual care of the tabernacle's lampstand and showbread. Ultimately, these meticulous standards and ancient rituals foreshadow Yeshua, who serves as our perfect High Priest, the ultimate sacrifice that completely removes our sin.

This week Rabbi Jerry discusses God's righteousness and justice. He shares how the foundation of God’s throne is built on His perfect righteousness and justice, which flow directly from His holiness. God requires all of humanity to follow His standard. Since we cannot achieve this through our own power, we must rely on Messiah Yeshua to satisfy God's justice. Click here for Rabbi Jerry's notes.

In this introductory message on the letter of Jude, Rabbi Loren emphasizes that our truest identity is found not in earthly status, but in being devoted servants of Messiah Yeshua. Jude also reassures Believers that despite the spiritual and internal dangers of a fallen world, they are deeply loved, called, and safely kept by God's multiplying mercy, peace, and love.

Holiness. This single word bridges our two parashas for this week. Acharei Mot ('After the Death') and Kedoshim ('Holy Ones'), which cover Leviticus 16–20. These parashas contain many commandments from the Yom Kippur service to the command to love our neighbor. This morning, we will examine Adonai’s holiness and what it means that He calls us to be holy as well.

This week Rabbi Jerry discusses the practical application of God’s holiness. He emphasizes that while we are justified by grace, we are also called to a lifelong, active journey of progressive sanctification. By intentionally turning away from sin and pursuing moral purity in our daily actions, we demonstrate the genuine evidence of our salvation and experience a richer, more joyful relationship w...

This morning Rabbi Loren gives a different type of message. Rabbi Yeshua taught in unexpected ways that surprised His audience - using parables and vivid images, and following His example, this teaching comes in the form of a story, inspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters , which uses fiction to expose spiritual realities. This title of this story is Instructions From A Principality .

Roman Clark shares his thoughts on both of these parashas. He discusses how God's righteousness and mercy is seen in His commands concerning lepers and those who are ritually impure.

Rabbi Jerry teaches on God's Holiness. He discusses two different aspects of God's Holiness, His majestic holiness and pure holiness. Click here for Rabbi Jerry's notes.

Rabbi Glenn warns followers of Messiah against the dangerous tendency to slip into complacency and "spiritual auto-pilot" following major victories. To avoid the disastrous consequences of a lowered guard, Scripture urges us to intentionally remain vigilant by redoubling our spiritual disciplines and setting new, faith-driven goals.

Rabbi Jerry contrasts the world’s shallow pursuit of material wealth, with the true, abundant life offered by Messiah Yeshua, the Good Shepherd. He discusses how lasting peace, joy, and spiritual fulfillment are found only through faith in Messiah Yeshua's sacrifice and resurrection.

Shemini , contrasts the joyous revelation of God's glory during the priests' ordination with the severe consequences of disregarding His divine instructions. Rabbi Glenn highlights the tragic fate of Nadav and Avihu, who offered unauthorized "strange fire" and were struck dead, illustrating the profound peril of approaching infinite holiness with self-willed religion. Shemini urges Believers to ba...

Rabbi Glenn discusses the Land of Israel and how it was permanently given by God to the Jewish people through an everlasting covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He argues against "Replacement Theology," claiming instead that biblical prophecy foretells a physical return of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland, which will then be followed by a spiritual restoration through the Messiah...