Posts by Aaron
The meaning of Hanukkah in the New Testament
From the roots, all the way to every stems of the tree of Judaism, there is something that can be learned. From the stems of Judaism comes Messianic Judaism and Christianity, including a festival with only one Biblical reference. “Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple”…
Read MoreLent
As one might have noticed by reading my blog, I am by no means a fan of jumping on the bandwagon just for fun. In fact, if people are jumping on such a wagon, it makes me question it even more so. Call it skepticism if you will, I do. I have the same degree of…
Read MoreMy son’s Upsherin
Here is the “official” Wikipedia blurb about an Upsherin: Upsherin, Opsherin or Upsherinish (Yiddish: אפשערן, lit. “shear off”, Judaeo-Arabic: חלאקה, ḥalāqah) is a haircutting ceremony observed by a wide cross-section of Jews and is particularly popular in Haredi Jewish communities. It is typically held when a boy turns three years old. The picture I have…
Read MorePictures on Jerash, Jordan on our 2014 Tour
These pictures were taken in May. You can tell a major difference between our November tour pictures and these. They are well lit, the other have shadows because the sun sets around 5:00 and we arrive around 4:00. Nonetheless, the site is quite simple and serene, there are rarely other groups there.
Read MoreRethinking with a Jewish perspective
It is all about roots. I’m a relatively nostalgic guy and as loyal as a golden retriever. I like the same stuff I did when I was 15. I still listen to the same bands and rarely add artists to my collection. I’m still somewhat of a vegetarian-no pork or beef in 23+ years. It is…
Read MorePictures from Nazareth, Israel 2015 Tour
Here are some pictures I took in our November tour. My sister taught on the top of the hill, in the rain. Last time we were there it was so windy Kent (a friend and a teacher we brought on the tour to help lead) had to teach sideways so he could read the scriptures.…
Read MorePictures from Jerash, Jordan 2015 Tour
This was the third time I was able to visit Jerash, Jordan. There are some good things and bad things about visiting in November. I like some of the lighting that some of these pictures have, but it also makes them slightly darker than I would want. The other two times I visited was in…
Read MoreWhat happened to Dan and Ephraim?
Subtitled: The 14 Tribes of Israel. On our tours we take the group to Tel Dan. It isn’t the most amazing site until you know the Biblical teaching that can take place. It becomes a great object lesson. Tel Dan is in the Northern section of Israel and it is where one of the pagan…
Read MoreRosh Hashanah: acceptable paganism in Messianic Judaism
This holiday, named Rosh Hashanah, bothers me every year it rolls around. A lot of truth with just a little paganism is not truth at all. What does God honor when it isn’t pure? After service today I asked a friend “Why do you celebrate Rosh Hashanah?”. His response was logical and acceptable. His response was “Well,…
Read MoreThe Koran is not peaceful
The Abrahamic religions contain a vast array of books, traditions and beliefs. They all stem from the story of Abraham and Abraham’s son of promise. There are three main religions which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. There are so many sects and denominations, offshoots of offshoots, but these main religions teach very different things. The…
Read MoreYom Teruah or Rosh Hashanah
This post isn’t going to have a lot of explanation of the holidays mentioned in the title. Maybe in the future I will write about the spiritual significance of Rosh Hashanah (if any), but this post poses a question to ones who celebrate Rosh Hashanah. Why do you celebrate it? We, as believers, are called…
Read MoreEffectiveness of Israeli Operations in Gaza
The U.N. is in the forefront of condemning the nation of Israel, and are almost the definition of anti-Semitic. Israel is constantly having to defend themselves with troops and missiles, and the have to defend their usage of such things in the following days. It is a never ending process. Hamas or Hezbollah shoots rockets,…
Read MoreThe Ninth of Av (Tisha B’av)
Tisha B’av means “The ninth of Av”. It isn’t just an average date on the Jewish calendar, it is a day of mourning for the Jewish people worldwide. For 2014, the ninth of Av lands on the evening of August 4th and ends on the evening of the 5th. There a long list of tragedies…
Read MoreOur Previous Trip to Israel in May 2014
On May 17th we started off on our 27th “Holy Land Tour”. This trip was going to be difficult because I did not have my dad with us. Actually, I wouldn’t even have been on this trip if my dad were still around. In December of 2013 he passed away. At that point, he and…
Read MoreThe Palestinian Problem
This post (or really my personal web site) is prompted by what has been happening lately in Israel. I have been bombarding FaceBook with news clips and articles but I feel like other people’s opinions isn’t enough. I’m wanting to post my thoughts about it. It is amazing how little I understood about this place called…
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