Torah with Jonathan

11 Adar 5786. Today's reading is Exodus 30:1 to 30:10. This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " The Inner Life ." On 28 February 2026 at 7:56 AM EST, Jonathan writes: My thoughts this morning are on the sudden but not unexpected breakout of war between Israel and Iran on this Shabbat. What does today's Torah reading say to us about this? Hashem directs my attention to Exodus 30:10 . “Once a year Aaron must purify the altar by smearing its horns with blood from the offering made to purify the people from their sin. This will be a regular, annual event from generation to generation, for this is the LORD’s most holy altar.” (NLT)  I turn to Gemini AI.  Q1. I'd like to better understand Exodus 30:10 and the contemporary observance of Yom Kippur from a Messianic Jewish perspective. Q2. I'd like to focus on Intercession for Israel in a Messianic service on Yom Kippur. Does salvation in this cont...

10 Adar 5786. Today's reading is Exodus 29:38 to 29:46. This is the link  to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " Rewards ." On 27 February 2026 at 6:13 AM EST, Jonathan writes: As I read this section of Exodus, I cannot help but imagine that I am in a Jewish Christian Yeshiva on the Emmaus Road.  On one hand, Christian sages in the Yeshiva are explaining how these words were revealed to Moses by Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father. The morning lamb was John the Baptist, and the afternoon lamb was Jesus in the flesh. From the beginning of time, it was planned this way. As we read further, to Exodus 29:42-46 , we have to imagine that it is Jesus speaking ahead of time through Moses about the events of 30-33 AD: "For the generations to come, this burnt offering shall be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you. I will also meet with the Is...

9 Adar 5786. Today's reading is Exodus 29:19 to 29:37. This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " The Power of Holiness ." On 26 February 2026 at 7:22 AM EST, Jonathan writes: We read in Exodus 29:37 , "For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will become most holy; whatever touches the altar will be holy." (BSB) Question for Gemini: "What in this model might be the symbolic significance of the seven days required for the sanctification of the priests and the altar in Exodus 29:37 - is there any kind of ceremony after a new rabbi has completed seven years of leadership service to the community, or should it take seven years of practical rabbinics to achieve a certain benchmark?" Answer: Let's see where  Torah with Jonathan  stands after seven weeks, then after seven months, and finally after seven years, if this is how long God is ca...

8 Adar 5786. Today's reading is Exodus 29:1 to 29:18. This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " Holy vs. Secular Intellect ." On 25 February 2026 at 7:22 AM EST, Jonathan writes: We read in Exodus 29:1 , "This is the ceremony you must follow when you consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams with no defects." (NLT) Could we reasonably argue today, based on Philo's interpretation, that the consecration of a rabbi involves the sublimation of the physical drives (the sacrifice of the bull), the purification of the intellect through Torah study (the sacrifice of the first ram), and training for group religious leadership (the sacrifice of the second ram)? See Gemini's answer and the full thread here: https://share.google/aimode/k37aJJILLG95xwKzv   Heavenly Father, we thank you for the holy opportunity to study your Torah today. We ask that you po...

7 Adar 5786. Today's reading is Exodus 28:31 to 28:43. This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " The Necessity for Jewish Unity ." On 24 February 2026 at 5:27 AM EST, Jonathan writes: The Rebbe's teaching is wonderfully wise and heartwarming. Is it grandiose, religious - or perhaps a bit of both - to imagine ourselves called to serve in the sanctuary as the high priests of our people? Let's assume it is not grandiose, but a natural inclination of the Yetzer Tov to want to serve our people in the sanctuary. Who are your "Jewish" people? Who are my "Jewish" people? If I am indeed now called to be a high priest, is it more as a representative of the American nation (my birthright citizenship), the ancestral English church (my biological forefathers' thousand-year origins), the Aquarian tribe (my natal Sun sign), or the supersessionist Christian "new Jew" (accordin...

6 Adar 5786. Today's reading is Exodus 28:13 to 28:30. This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " The Sublime and the Mundane ." On 23 February 2026 at 6:49 AM EST, Jonathan writes: My attention is drawn this morning to Exodus 28:21 .  "There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes." According to Rashi, these stones were arranged according to the birth order of the sons of Jacob. Not so according to Rabbi Isaac Luria: https://share.google/aimode/yAasibdJvdR2azIEI Cf.  ZODIAC - JewishEncyclopedia.com . Heavenly Father, we thank you for the holy opportunity to study your Torah today. We ask that you pour out your blessings on all those who precede us, join us, and follow us in this effort, and that you make us good round-the-clock examples and emissaries of the Noahide Laws.  Amen and Shalom. 

5 Adar 5786. Today's reading is Exodus 27:20 to 28:12. This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " The Priest Within ." On 22 February 2026 at 7:00 AM EST, Jonathan writes:  Most of us are not called to be priests and rabbis on a full-time basis, but all religious Jews and Christians are called to be priests and rabbis on at least a part-time basis. For example, in my case, the call to channel my inner rabbi is strongest from 6 AM to 8 AM each morning, when I settle in at my desk for Torah study.  In the Bible Hub commentary on Exodus 28:1 , we read that priestly service involves offering sacrifices, burning incense, teaching the law, and blessing the people.       My reading in the Torah and associated commentaries is my offering up of the morning sacrifice. Praying formally at the appropriate junctures, drinking my caffeine-free herbal tea, using all of my medications properly, and maint...

Shabbat. 4 Adar 5786. Today's image is a copper cross-shaped stake hammered into the desert ground, with a crown of thorns at the top. Today's reading is Exodus 27:9 to 27:19. This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " Infusing Divinity ." On 21 February 2026 at 7:00 AM EST, Jonathan writes:  Shabbat Shalom, for those of you who are reading me on Shabbat. I am not sure yet if this is a long-term transformation of my character, but I have been reading the Chumash with Rashi and the Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe every day since my 54th birthday on 25 January 2026, which was also the last Sunday of the MJTI PEP class titled "What's Bothering Rashi's Community?"  Every day from Sunday to Saturday I am in the chair at my computer workstation, which is my digital tabernacle, and I am engrossed in Torah study from 6 AM to 8 AM. This is unusually structured for me, and it seems t...

Today's reading is Exodus 27:1 to 27:8. This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " Consecrating Our Inner Animal ." On 20 February 2026 at 6:21 AM EST, Jonathan writes:  Exodus 27:1 is our focus verse in today's reading.  “You are to build an altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high." (BSB) From the Bible Hub study notes, we read:  "God’s straightforward instruction to Moses establishes that worship never begins with human ideas but with divine revelation. An altar is a place of sacrifice, atonement, and fellowship with God. Here, the Lord commands - not suggests - the building of a physical structure that will define Israel’s worship life in the wilderness and beyond (Exodus 20:24; Leviticus 17:11). The command underscores that forgiveness and relationship with God require a God-ordained mediator and sacrifice, anticipating...

Today's image is from  The Parochet on the Aron Kodesh: Why is There a Curtain Covering the Ark in my Synagogue? | Chabad.org . Today's reading is Exodus 26:31 to 26:37. This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " Transcending the Intellect ." On 19 February 2026 at 6:43 AM EST, Jonathan writes:  Shalom, Rabbi Klayman. Your encouraging feedback means so much to me. I have been treasuring it all week. And also feeling slightly trepidatious. I am on holy ground here with my daily Torah study at Chabad as further illuminated by Bible Hub and Panim el Panim classes with MJTI. I think I need to order a new kippah just for these 6-8 AM Torah study sessions (even though I am a Gentile). But even if I submit to the kippah and the respect for Hashem and the Torah that the kippah symbolizes, I wonder if perhaps I will still be desecrating the memory of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Is it wrong for me to seek deep rel...

Today's reading is Exodus 26:15 to 26:30. This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " Holy Foolishness ." On 18 February 2026 at 6:15 AM EST, Jonathan writes:    Chodesh tov.  See Bible Hub on Exodus 26:15 and Exodus 26:30 for a further foundation of insight into today's reading. Shalom.

Today's reading is Exodus 25:31 to 26:14. This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " How to Light Up the World ." On 17 February 2026 at 6:54 AM EST, Jonathan writes:    There is much to study in the Menorah. Consider the discussion of  Exodus 25:31  at Bible Hub. “Make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. Make the entire lampstand and its decorations of one piece - the base, center stem, lamp cups, buds, and petals." (NLT) Consider also the Wikipedia article on the Temple Menorah . According to Chabad's interpretation of Exodus 25:37, which contrasts significantly with the interpretation for this verse provided by Bible Hub, the six branch lamps of the Menorah should focus their light on the central lamp. Should we understand this central lamp to mean Saturday, Sunday, or Wednesday?  The Menorah certainly represents the divine light of the seven Noahide laws. Respect for the unity of God is t...

Today's reading is Exodus 25:17 to 25:30. This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " The Inner Child ." On 16 February 2026 at 7:01 AM EST, Jonathan writes:    At the end of his luminous teaching this morning, the Lubavitcher Rebbe explains: "G‑d contracted His infinite wisdom into a form we can understand and digest, much as an expert teacher contracts his grasp of a subject in order to convey it to his pupils.  The fact that the cherubim’s wings were spread protectively over the Ark alludes to the fact that the Torah-education of young children ensures the preservation and continuity of the transmission of the Torah." For childlike Messianic vegan students of Yeshua, this calls to mind both  the importance of teaching the principles of the Noahide vegan Torah early, and the verses of  Matthew 18:1-14. Here is the passage from the Berean Standard Bible: At that time the disciples came to Jes...

Today's reading is Exodus 25:1 to 25:16. This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " How God Dwells with Us ." On 15 February 2026 at 6:55 AM EST, Jonathan writes:    The Lubavitcher Rebbe's sublime insight into Exodus 25:8 gets to the heart of today's Torah portion. The Bible Hub commentaries on this verse add vital supporting interpretation for believers in Yeshua. Jeremiah 31:33 and Hebrews 8 are also quite worthy of study in this context. How is Hashem calling you to contribute to the sanctuary at this time? Search your heart. Each one of us must answer in our own way, at our own time, in light of inner and outer circumstances that only Hashem knows.  Personally, I started making a modest monthly donation to Chabad this morning. I also just subscribed to the ad-free version of Bible Hub, since it now looks like I will be digging deep into this excellent resource every day. I attend 8+ virt...

Today's reading is Exodus 23:26 to 24:18. This is the link  to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " Unconditional Commitment ." On 14 February 2026 at 6:53 AM EST, Jonathan writes:    Rashi and the Lubavitcher Rebbe agree that the Noahide Laws were ratified in Exodus 24:7-8. The complete 613 commandments of the Torah were provided later. He took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. They responded, “We will do and we will learn everything that God has spoken.” Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people. He said, “This is the blood of the covenant that God has made with you regarding all these words.” Exodus 24:7-8 (Chabad Translation) In this sense, perhaps Israel's acceptance of the Torah was not entirely unconditional. Israel could see that the Noahide Laws were a good foundation. Nothing in the 613 mitzvot contradicts the Noahide Laws. On the other hand, the Rebbe's profound explan...

Today's reading is Exodus 23:20 to 23:25. This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " Supernatural Living ." On 13 February 2026 at 6:52 AM EST, Jonathan writes:    Today's portion can be read as God's instruction to the vegan vanguard of a contemporary Commonwealth of Israel. “See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy them completely. You must no...

Today's reading is Exodus 23:6 to 23:19. This is the link  to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " The Sin of Cruelty ." On 12 February 2026 at 7:44 AM EST, Jonathan writes:    May we infer from the Rebbe's authoritative words and from subsequent scientific developments that a vegan Seder is the new climate change Passover? According to Google Gemini, this radical messianic interpretation is already firmly established in some Jewish circles, where "proponents argue that Passover’s themes of freedom are incompatible with the 'slavery' of animals and the environmental toll of animal agriculture. A vegan Seder connects the ten plagues to modern crises like climate change and biodiversity loss." But we must approach this interpretation with caution. Is it human control of the climate system or God's control of the climate system that we ultimately have in view? Do we embrace vegan Passover as a w...

Today's reading is Exodus 22:7 to 23:5. This is the link  to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " Helping the Body Help the Soul ." On 11 February 2026 at 7:44 AM EST, Jonathan writes:  Very deep. I have nothing to add after the Lubavitcher Rebbe at this time, except my thanks to Hashem and all of his emissaries, and my continued prayers for the shalom of Jerusalem and the world.

Today's reading is Exodus 22:4 to 22:26. This is the link  to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad. The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled " Fixing Previous Incarnations ." On 10 February 2026 at 7:44 AM EST, Jonathan writes:  Thank you so much, Rabbi Klayman and Rabbi Michael Hillel, for your private words of encouragement and prayer! While I don't expect you to follow me every day, I will nonetheless try to keep you both at the top of mind as I write my entries, so that this evolves as a living conversation between myself and all of those who have in some way been enlightened by the fine work of the Messianic Jewish Theological Institute and its associated scholars and rabbis. My focus in today's reading is on Exodus 22:20 (Exodus 20:19 in the Hebrew numbering system): "Whoever sacrifices to idols must be put to death. Worship is permitted only to God alone." (Chabad translation)  Let's begin with the simple, literal level of meaning....