Did you know Yeshua’s first act of public ministry included a Torah reading?

As described in Luke 4:14-21, Messiah’s ministry kicked off with giving a public reading of the Jewish scriptures! If the Torah reading was central to the worship of Yeshua and His first-century followers, should it not be central to our worship as well?

As Christians, it’s easy to disconnect from our roots, studying the life and ministry of Yeshua without an understanding of His background. But by taking a look at the context from which He came, and the Jewish history that influenced Him, we can more deeply understand — and worship — our Messiah.

Are you ready to take steps toward a more vibrant, colorful faith as you grow in your understanding of the Torah? Here are a few things to think about on the journey.

WHAT IS THE TORAH?

The Torah is God’s Word, as spoken to the Children of Israel. It contains five books, known also as the Pentateuch or the books of Moses. The Torah begins with creation and continues to follow the Israelites through their enslavement in Egypt and their arrival at the Promised Land.

Scripture as a whole is a powerful and necessary resource for learning about God and His plan of redemption for His children. It’s how we learn about the God we were created to love! But the Torah in particular holds the historic, cultural, and prophetic context for everything we read in the New Testament. The journey of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land sets the stage for us to celebrate Yeshua for who He is and all He has done!

In other words, without an understanding of the Torah and the Old Testament, we can never fully grasp the New Testament! The two go hand in hand and are meant to be read as a metanarrative, or one, complete story.

HOW IS THE TORAH READ BY JEWS?Jews throughout history have sought God through the reading of the Torah, which was given through moses. Contemporary Jews still include a Torah reading in their prayer service as a way to honor God. Because the Torah is a sacred text, it is kept in the Ark. At the time of the reading, the master reader removes it from the Ark, then a group of men are called to the bimah, where they, in turn, recite blessings before and after the Torah readings, at a table at the center of the synagogue.

The master reader will then read that week’s Torah reading in a special, reverent tune known as a trope. Before and after the reading, a group of men are called to the bimah, where they recite a short blessing to bless the Torah reading.

There is no right or wrong way to read the Torah,

but a greater understanding of Jewish history with Torah reading can inform and enliven your own engagement with God’s Word.

The weekly Torah Portion is a great first step to partaking in the rhythm of scripture reading with God’s people. Here’s how it works: The five books of the Torah are broken up into 54 portions, also known as Parshah or Sidra. Each one is read on a specific week of the year, so the entire Torah is read annually.

Since Jewish holidays like Passover and Shavuot (Pentecost) are also of great importance, there are also special Torah portions dedicated to those. For example, on Shavuot, we would read the portion of the Torah where Moses is given the Ten Commandments.

I was just a teenager when I met Yeshua for the first time.

Even after growing up in a devoted Jewish home, I was hungry for more of God. After months of seeking, I had an incredible encounter with Messiah, and from that point on, everything about my faith was different. The Jewish holidays I had grown up with took on new significance. All the customs and teachings were suddenly vibrant. Illuminating my faith with the life and ministry of Messiah was like watching TV in HD for the first time: Like the man Yeshua healed, I was blind but now I could see!

My testimony is a story I tell often, because it so powerfully illustrates the importance of a full, contextual understanding of God’s Word. When we connect the old with the new, we can experience the entirety of our inheritance, as God intended! The Weekly Torah Reading is one powerful way to partake in God’s abundant plans for His children.

Curious how connecting with the Jewish roots of your faith can impact you? Here are a few of the most important reasons to read the Torah.

Worshiping the Lord begins with the heart, but it must involve the mind as well. We are called to love God with our entire selves! When asked which of the commandments in the Torah was the greatest, Yeshua responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37, Deuteronomy 6:4).

Where do we start the journey of loving God with our whole selves? Worshipping the Lord with our entire being starts with knowing Him through His Word, the Torah.

The word for “disciple” in both Hebrew and Greek literally means learner or student. To become a true disciple of Messiah, we must demonstrate our love for God through learning His teachings as rooted in the Torah and scripture in general. This is what it means to be a disciple: When we begin to understand who God is and all He’s done throughout the narrative of scripture, our hearts will grow in love for Him.

The weekly Torah reading cycle symbolically represents the spiritual journey that Bnei-Yisrael, which means the Children of Israel, has been on throughout the generations to enter into the fullness of the God’s covenantal blessings and promises. God’s covenantal promises to Abraham were passed on to Isaac, then to Isaac’s son, Jacob, and subsequently to the Children of Israel. But it took four hundred years of slavery in Egypt, forty years wandering in the wilderness, and seven years of conquest under Joshua before they saw the initial promise to Abraham even partially fulfilled. Why so long?

One reason is that God’s promises cannot be obtained apart from a spiritual process. The process prepares us to receive the promises by purifying, sanctifying, and strengthening us. The Torah reading cycle symbolically represents this spiritual journey that Bnei-Yisrael has been on throughout the generations to enter into the fullness of the God’s covenantal promises. Through participating in the weekly Torah reading, we embark on this journey with all of Israel and experience the process of transformation along with them.

This transformative journey was never meant to be limited to Bnei-Yisrael alone, for through Messiah Yeshua, Gentile believers have been “grafted in” and become the Children of Abraham by faith (Ephesians 2:12-13 & Gal. 3:7-8). As such, all true spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham have become partakers of the promises to Israel and are called to journey with their Messianic Jewish brothers and sisters to ignite transformation and prepare the way for the Messiah’s return!

Not only does reading the Torah ignite transformation in our lives through the renewing of our mind, but it also unites us as a people. In fact, real, enduring transformation and unification are inextricably bound. This is seen with the giving of Torah itself.

In Exodus 19:2, just before receiving the Torah, the Jews had finally reached a point of true oneness. Rashi, a famous Jewish commentator, writes, “They were in a state of total unity, as if they were one person with one heart.” The process of God’s loving redemption from Egypt created in His people a transformation and subsequent unification. This reading of the text underscores the fact that God’s manifest Presence and the revelation of Torah is inseparably connected to the unity of God’s people.

In the same way that Torah has united Israel, the reading of the weekly Torah portion has the power to foster greater connection and unity between Israel and the Nations. God gave both the Torah and Spirit on the same day, Shavuot, in both the Old and New Testament, but did not do so until the people were united (Exodus 19:2 & Acts 2:1-2). Since God’s Presence, power, and provision is always proportional to the unity of His people, this is no small matter. Israel and the Nations must unite for the sake of Kingdom transformation! The weekly Torah reading is a great means for helping to make this unity a reality.

Was the weekly Torah reading, which was introduced by Ezra the Scribe after the return of the exiles from Babylon (see Nehemiah 8), important to Yeshua and his disciples? In order to truly grasp Messiah’s identity, we must understand His Jewish roots, which are powerfully reflected in His ministry. Our Messiah’s public ministry began, as described in the Gospel of Luke 4:14-21, with His being called up to a public Torah reading. If the Torah reading was central to the worship of Yeshua and His first century followers, should it not be central to our worship as well?

In Matthew 13:52, Yeshua said, “Therefore every Torah scholar discipled for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure both new things and old.” We should never neglect the old for the sake of the new, or vice versa. All are God’s priceless possessions, neither one more or less valuable than the other. However, together, their value increases dramatically! Why settle for half an inheritance? By engaging in the weekly Torah reading, we help to unite Old and New Testaments, connect to the roots of our faith, increase our biblical literacy, follow Messiah’s example, and experience spiritual transformation.

If you’d like to join us in engaging with the fullness of God’s Word together, start by signing up for our weekly Torah Portion emails. Each Thursday, I’ll send an email with a reading summary for that week’s Torah reading, along with commentary that connects the reading to a life with Messiah. I encourage you to take the journey for yourself and experience the full blessing God has for you!

◆ Jewish custom doubles Festival days outside of Israel. Rosh Hashanah is doubled both inside and outside of Israel (Simchat Torah and Shimini Atzeret are combined into one day on Tishrei 22 In Israel). *The Torah and Haftarah Chapter/Verse numberings are taken from the Hebrew Bible (Christian published chapter/verse numberings are indicated within parenthesis). ▲The Gospel readings are keyed to themes found in the corresponding Torah or Haftarah readings for that week.