Sandi Wells - a Holy Language tribe member - recently sent me this note for you. Enjoy! And let me know if you have any useful resources for the tribe and I'll share them too.
Did you know that the free app from bible.is will read the Scriptures to you in Hebrew? Download the app and choose the English version you want.
If you are a beginning student in Hebrew like many others, it's easier if you first find the portion you want in English, then change the language to Hebrew. One version has the NT only, and the other has both New & Original Testaments. It goes a little fast, but gets a little easier to understand with repeated listenings.
Thanks to fellow tribe member Amy Cheung for telling me about this resource. We are studying the Songs of Ascent - Psalms 120-134 with Rabbi Derek Leman on Thursday evenings. Please join us for class at www.holylanguage.com!
Mark's Story
Mark is following Yeshua in a Hebrew way! Here's his story.
I’ve been following Yeshua for (counting), for 24 years now. In 1991, God called to me when I was looking at the stars, yes I’m serious. I was wondering where it all came from when I was out drinking one night on a mountain in the Los Angeles area and I asked into the heavens, among the stars, “If You live and exist, and are real and alive, do this thing for me and I will give you the totally of my life!” I really meant it, but thought I would be free if He didn’t respond.
He gave me exactly what I requested, the way I asked for “it” and the time, day etc. It scarred me very badly, because now I knew there was a real living God, a God Who could reach into time and space and respond to my request. My next prayer was, “make Yourself known to me, I don’t want to learn about You from men, I know all men to be liars (and untrustworthy). I want You to speak with me and teach me about You directly from You, the Source.”
Now, I still had no idea Who I was really dealing with, and thought I had maybe ‘gone off the deep end’ when I would walk into a book store and hear the voice and mind of Yeshua through the Ruach HaKodesh telling me, for example, what books to read (about religion) and what books not to read etc. I spent about 2-3 years just reading Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim, B’rit Hadasha and whatever else HaShem told me to read, before I ever walked into a Church.
Church was a shock, as I realized not everyone had this kind of “relationship” with our Creator. I started to pray that He would introduce me to other people, like me, who knew Him also. In answer to my prayer, most of my early friendships in HaShem, were with somewhat orthodox believing Jews. Yes, I have friendships with ‘gentile’ Christians also, but not on the level that I did with Jews that knew Messiah. I am still close with a handful of those Messianic Jews.
Through the ebb and flow of life, I’ve gone through good and bad times where HaShem has “felt” near or far, but have had a time of unparalleled closeness and growth over the last two years. I’ve known enough Hebrew for the last 20 years to use it for exegesis of Torah and study but was not fluent enough to pray the Siddur out loud with others and decided I needed to be fluent with Biblical and Prayerbook Hebrew, as well as be conversational. That is how I found your ministry.
I’ve attached a picture of my wife and I taken on New Year’s day and a picture of my Tallit. I was so excited after 1300 years, to be able to fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzis with Tekhelet. I finally got convicted enough to buy a set and replace the other tzitzit in my Tallit. In the photo you see I’ve used the Rambam knot called a Chulya. The tzitzit are longer than I desire, as Yeshua speaks against it, but I ended up with the 13 Chulyot Tekhelet version. Every morning during Shacharis I love the feel and sight of the Tekhelet in my hand knowing that for 1,300 years we’ve been unable to fulfill that mitzvah,… and now we can! Messiah is coming for us soon, but there are hard times ahead to test us and the world.
I want to say, “thank you, and keep doing what you are doing. If anyone else is blessed by your work as I am, you have something to be proud about”. I would love to write more, but I’m at work and have a Master that expects a 30, 60, or 100 fold (LoL) return on His investment in me! My time is not my own.
Mark Baugh
Are you following Yeshua in a Hebrew way? If so, the Holy Language tribe would love to hear your story, and we would love to help you tell it! Here's how.
new lessons
Modern Hebrew with Elihana Elia this Monday evening, watch here!
Biblical Hebrew with Rabbi Derek Leman this Thursday evening, watch here!
Live Shabbat services this Friday evening and Saturday morning, join us here!
Make your own Hebrew meme here or here and send it to meme@holylanguage.com and we'll share yours too.
In Messiah's love,
Izzy Avraham
Executive Director
P.S. I'm here for you and I would love to hear from you. But this email is unmonitored - so instead of replying to it, please contact me here. Thanks so much!