Beth El of Manhattan, Two-Testament Synagogue

On 9th of Av in the Jewish lunar calendar, both the 1st and 2nd Temples were destroyed on the same date: the 1st in 586 bce and nearly 700 years later, the 2nd in 70 ce. The Sages of Israel attribute God's choice to erase our Temples and scatter our nation primarily due to "seenát ḥeenám" (baseless hatred). This Shabbat, we seek to understand "baseless" as a description of truth being lost and rep...

The story of the reaction of Pinchas reveals to us how we can be in lock-step with God and how that condition manifests in action! INCLUDED BONUS: a brief teaching on "A Tale of Two Spellings," resolving the movement-wide issue of "Yeshua" vs. "Y'shua" – is there a genuinely, clearly correct first-name spelling of The Messiah? Happily, the answer is, "Yes." A VIDEO of the "Tale of Two Spellings" (...

Bil'am heard and knew the will of God – and connived to do otherwise. King Saul did the same, and was told, "because you have rejected the word of The Lord, God has rejected you from being king." Being religious, but "rejecting the Word of The Lord" is how Bil'am and King Saul met their fates we all hope to avoid. So, this week, let's learn from their "anti-models" – and strengthen our relationshi...

The song entitled, "Cover Me In Sunshine" by contemporary songstress, "Pink" on her album "All I Know So Far" was the inspiration for this attempt to get to the core of what every heart expects from God – how we handle "the real world" as we grow past youthful fantasies of life as a kind of Disneyworld-on-Earth – and how evildoing often arises from people simply trying to get enough of a slice of...

It is basic human "hardwiring" to weave stories giving us a sense of safety, starting as children believing our parents to be all-wise and all-powerful - thus creating a sense of perfect safety. This natural instinct both SERVES and HARMS us. How do God-followers & truth-seekers escape this trap, when we are commanded to "speak truth in our hearts" and "cease lying, and speak (only) truth to one-a...

This week's parasha contains the source of our Manhattan synagogue's logo since 1993: the image of Joshua & Caleb bringing back the "eshkol" – the huge cluster of fruit of The Land; and in our logo, the central fruit has a Jewish star embedded in it. The symbol is of 2 people out of 10 who "got it." They had the clarity, the courage, and the trust in God to GO TO where God wanted them, and DO WITH...

We explore via the commandment in this portion to the Levites, that they be "cleansed for fitness to serve God," and Peter the Shaliakh's mandate that to be healthy spiritually, our godly qualities must grow, not stagnate ... we celebrate Asian Jewishness in our synagogue and the world at large - and the multiracial nature of both the Jewish nation and all humankind. In age of increased "Othering"...

God is a Person. He cannot only be "known about," but "known." Far too many "Believers" relate to God as if relating to or liking ideas about Him is the same thing as the "knowing God" Scripture holds forth as necessary. This sermon explores the two primary ways God communicates with human beings interested in being governed by Truth. (There a bonus at the end: a song based on Psalm 95 called "Ki...

Peace in The Middle East? Really? With 3000 rockets fired by Hamas from Gaza onto Israel – and things heating up again for the nth time in memory - is there ANY GENUINE HOPE for peace between Israel and the hundreds of millions of Arabs surrounding her, and living inside her borders? Thank God, the answer is YES – a long future of peace is FORETOLD in the Scriptures - and we will look at those enc...

The Rabbi gives a from-the-heart sermon for Mothers' Day 2021, having grown up without his mother from 18 months old. What the presence of a mother means, as learned by living in the absence of one; and living the New Testament triumph over bad experiences, as spoken in advance by the prophet Jeremiah (31:29-30), "In this New Testament (covenant), no longer will it be said, 'The parents ate sour g...

The Haftarah's injunction that the priesthood actively teach the people of Israel the difference between holy and ordinary, pure and tainted, is explored for the positive effects of understanding these differences, and the consequences of ignoring them.

Centering in on this caveat in Proverbs 21:30: "There is no 'wisdom' and no 'understanding' and no 'counsel' against the Lord" –– making sure we fulfill the "Shema" (hear/obey) by making sure we ask – and then wait for a clear answer. "You do not have because you do not ask." vs. "Ask, and you shall receive, seek, and you shall find." King David's model after the raid on Ziklag, making sure he ask...

This week's Haftarah, starting with a group of lepers thinking through their situation for maximum benefit, takes us into ways our minds work on the human and spiritual levels. We explore reason, faith, and courage/boldness applied in the real world - especially when we are facing an "impossible" situation – which is often, merely a bad forecast coming to us first out of the gate.

The sources of authentic joy and, identifying and avoiding its placebos. How to recover lost joy and how to avoid the traps of false comforts.

The 2nd Sermon in 2021 by Rabbi Bruce L. Cohen via "Zoom" at Congregation Beit Ariel of Cape Town, South Africa. There are 7000 Jewish people remaining in Western Cape – and they have inherited the false idea in Passover that "afikomen" is a Hebrew word for "dessert" – when it is actually a Greek word meaning "I arrived." So – WHO ARRIVED - AND WHEN? And WHY do we remember that arrival EVERY Passo...

"Returning" is the heart and soul of the historical moment in which we all live. From the time of Deuteronomy until now, God has been speaking about our exiles and our returns – from Himself, from our Land – from our very selves. This sermon is a mediation on the Haftarah's question this week "How shall we return?"

How to be "spiritual" when the situation you face makes you feel inadequate, "on empty," and bankrupt of sufficiency. Where the "sufficiency" comes from ... and how.

How genuine interaction with God, and cooperation with his rightful place as Ruler of The Universe ("Adon Olam") translates into rescue – salvation – "Yeshua" – in this life and the next.

The difference between your active connection to God radiating and changing people – and – merely being religious, with no God-connection radiating anything. Core idea from this week's parasha, when Moses descended from Mt. Sinai after being in God's Presence - and his face beamed.

A heartfelt outpouring via "Zoom" from our Rabbi in New York City, who, from 1986 to the year 2000, as an official "shaliakh" (envoy) of the MJAA - Messianic Jewish Alliance of America's "International Outreach Committee to Israel, South Africa, and Russia, became a vigorous participant the founding of, and life of, this synagogue of Two-Testament Judaism at one of "the ends of the earth." (See De...

Parashat Mishmpatim orah: Exodus 21:1 - 24:18 7th aliyah: Numbers 28:9 - 28:15 | Shabbat Shekalim (on Rosh Chodesh) Maftir: Exodus 30:11 - 30:16 | Shabbat Shekalim (on Rosh Chodesh) Haftarah: II Kings 12:1 - 12:17 | Shabbat Shekalim (on Rosh Chodesh)

Parashat Yitro: Torah: Exodus 18:1 - 20:23 Haftarah: Isaiah 6:1 - 7:6; 9:5 - 9:6

Torah: Exodus 13:17 - 17:16 Haftarah: Judges 4:4 - 5:31

Parashat Bo Torah: Exodus 10:1 - 13:16 Haftarah: Jeremiah 46:13 - 46:28

Parashat Vaera Torah: Exodus 6:2 - 9:35 Haftarah: Ezekiel 28:25 - 29:21