NOTES
When the devil tempted Yeshua, He responded by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:16, and 6:13-14. Interestingly, He didn’t respond by saying anything else but Scripture. A month ago, that began rolling around in my mind. I thought about the fact that Yeshua could have said anything, and I assumed it would have the same result, yet He chose to quote Scripture. The more I thought about that, the more I thought of the fact Yeshua said He only did and said what He heard from the Father. I thought of His words that He didn’t come to abolish the law but to fulfill – that expression meaning, to rightly teach the Scriptures. With all that in mind, look at these two passages from the end of Deuteronomy:
Deuteronomy 30:10-14 CJB “However, all this will happen only if you pay attention to what Adonai your God says, so that you obey his mitzvot and regulations which are written in this book of the Torah, if you turn to Adonai your God with all your heart and all your being. 11 For this mitzvah which I am giving you today is not too hard for you, it is not beyond your reach. 12 It isn’t in the sky, so that you need to ask, ‘Who will go up into the sky for us, bring it to us and make us hear it, so that we can obey it?’ 13 Likewise, it isn’t beyond the sea, so that you need to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea for us, bring it to us and make us hear it, so that we can obey it?’ 14 On the contrary, the word is very close to you — in your mouth, even in your heart; therefore, you can do it!”
Deuteronomy 31:12-13 CJB “Assemble the people — the men, the women, the little ones and the foreigners you have in your towns — so that they can hear, learn, fear Adonai your God and take care to obey all the words of this Torah; 13 and so that their children, who have not known, can hear and learn to fear Adonai your God, for as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Yarden to possess.”
Those verses seem to pack more of a punch in light of the New Testament’s use of the Tanakh (Torah, Prophets, and Writings). The truth is, we could only have a New Testament with the Tanakh. Jeremiah chapter thirty-one even tells us that the New Covenant is the law written on our hearts.
I pray that even before we begin this year-long adventure, a love of the Torah has already started to grow in your hearts over these last few months and will continue to grow throughout your walk with the Lord. For us to have a fruitful year of study, some tips and tools are in order.
First things first: the Bible itself; I like to consult multiple translations, but my favorites are the Complete Jewish Bible, New American Standard Bible (1995 edition), English Standard Version, New King James, and Classic Amplified.
Each week on Sundays, I will post that week’s reading, a Sunday through Saturday Schedule, on social media. It is late now, but you can still order this year’s Messianic Daily Bread Journal with daily assignments and historical facts from Ariel Media.
As you read each day, pick a verse or two to think about. Joshua 1:8 CJB “Yes, keep this book of the Torah on your lips, and meditate on it day and night, so that you will take care to act according to everything written in it. Then your undertakings will prosper, and you will succeed.”
As you read, note words, topics, and questions that stand out and come to mind. Underline, highlight, and write in your Bible; journaling and wide-margin Bibles are great for this purpose. You will need a Strong’s Concordance or Vine’s Dictionary for a Word Study. The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge is a great source to connect different parts of the Bible, and the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary is excellent for learning about people, places, artifacts, and more.
Books and commentaries are tools to assist us in our Bible study, but we need to make sure they don’t become our study. When it comes to our specific survey of the Torah, I recommend the following books to help you gain a footing: Torah Rediscovered by Ariel and D’Vorah Berkowitz, The Way Into Torah by Norman J. Cohen, and The Seventy Faces of Torah by Stephen M. Wylen.
Two other helpful Jewish sources are The Mishnah (Translated from Hebrew with Introduction and Brief Explanatory Notes by Herbert Dabny) and Everyman’s Talmud by Abraham Cohen.
I will also share other books and commentaries that I find helpful throughout the year. Two internet sources I recommend are First Fruits of Zion, Torah commentary from a Messianic Jewish perspective, and Chabad.org for writings from an Orthodox Jewish Perspective. You can sign up for Parsha emails from both websites.
I hope these resources will be a great help to you as we dive into the endless world of the Torah. In Jewish teaching, three things have no limits: Torah study, the service of God, and kind deeds. May your Torah study and love of Torah grow with no limits, leading to endless service to God and kind deeds for your neighbor.
This Weeks Reading
Sunday: Deut. 33:1-34:12; Gen. 1:1-2:3; Jos. 1; Psa. 1; Matt. 1; (Js. 1)
Monday: Gen. 2:4-19; Jos. 2; Psa. 2; Matt. 2; (Js. 2)
Tuesday: Gen. 2:20-3:21; Jos. 3-4; Psa. 3-4; Matt. 3; (Js. 3)
Wednesday: Gen. 3:22-4:18; Jos. 5; Psa. 5; Matt. 4; (Js. 4)
Thursday: Gen. 4:19-22; Jos. 6; Psa. 6; Matt. 5:1-26; (Js. 5)
Friday: Gen. 4:23-5:24; Jos. 7; Psa. 7; Matthew 5:27-48 (1 Pt. 1)
Saturday: Gen. 5:25-6:8; 1 Sam. 20:18-42; Jn. 1:1-17
Readings are taken from the Messianic Daily Bread Journal. New Covenant reading in parentheses is optional to read through the NC twice in the year.
Casey D. Bell 
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