Christopher analyses Shemos 14:13-14 in the light of the commentaries of Mechilta and the 4 camps of 4 decisions argued among the Children of Israel. Christopher discusses each of the 4 attributes in the light of the words of Messiah Yeshua and his Apostle Paul.

Christopher discusses the transport of Joseph's bones and how this is a parallel to the coming redemption from the 5 redemptions mentioned in Rabbinic literature. Also discussed is the Messianic parable taken from Exodus Rabbah in relation to this Torah Portion

Christopher was asked to participate and teach on the Torah Portion Beshalach this week at Century Church's weekly Bible Study conference call by Pastor Stefan Beck.  Christopher got the opportunity to talk with and answer questions on the Torah Portion from those in the congregation.  Century Church's website is ​http://www.centurychurch.org

Christopher was asked to participate and teach on the Torah Portion Beshalach this week at Century Church's weekly Bible Study conference call by Pastor Stefan Beck.  Christopher got the opportunity to talk with and answer questions on the Torah Portion from those in the congregation.  Century Church's website is ​http://www.centurychurch.org

A few weeks ago, Christopher and Jeremiah entered into a recording studio to have some fun and play around with some Van Halen tunes in a possible project called "Jew Halen".  They decided to switch off on singing duties, and Jeremiah sang on two songs (Dreams, and When it's Love) and Christopher sang on one (Right Now).  In these three recorded and mixed tracks Christopher plays piano and guitar on each track and Jeremiah on bass and a drum machine on 2 tracks (When it's Love and Right Now).  Today (January 17th 2016) we received the final produced versions of these tracks.  We are proud of the quality of the recordings and musicianship of these three tracks and decided to do some good with these tracks.  Over the duration of the next three weeks one of these songs will be released for download and can be obtained through a donation that will go to the organization "Autism Speaks".  You can donate any amount, from one penny to a thousand dollars.  100% of the proceeds will go to Autism Speaks.  You can choose to make the donation through the PayPal button below the video or by showing us a recent receipt from Autism Speaks through an email.  

About the Recording:  Jeremiah and myself being big fans of the Sammy Hagar era of Van Halen, were playing around with songs such as this one, as well as some of the lesser known songs such as Take Me Back (DeJaVu), Not Enough, and we even played around with a cover of It's The Right Time, which was an early version of the Gary Chorine led Van Halen's, That's Why I Love You.  When I played acoustic gigs in my early 20s, if there was a house piano I would often play Dreams by Van Halen, or John Stamos' version of Forever or November Rain by Guns N' Roses.  But with Dreams, it was one of the first songs I learned on the piano after Open Arms by Journey and For The First Time by Kenny Loggins.  So, considering how well I knew the song and how long I had been able to play it, I felt comfortable after many years to kinda change up the piano part and give it a fuller sound and a different personality.  Waiting for Jeremiah in the studio we rolled tape, and I played down this piano part of Dreams on the first take.  Jeremiah enters in around the time I was 3/4 done, after finishing he told me the way it was played reminded him of Jouney's "When You Love a Woman".  Given the fuller sound I could understand that, and I said, "maybe you can sing it like Steve Perry" jokingly, and with tape rolling he does just that.  I said it like a goof, and he took it seriously and it became this amazing version of Dreams.  When asked if we wanted to add other tracks to it, I was asked if I knew the guitar solo, and we tried it with a Gibson Epiphone and it didn't really work, so I tried it on a cheap, Washburn Oscar Schmidt acoustic, and the sound man screamed "that's it!" after the track was laid down.  
Even though out of the three tracks we are releasing, this one is the least produced out of all of them, our producer for this project said there were minimal effects used in the final mix of this song, and no flashy vocal or instrumental adjustments.  He said he added a slight echo, and normalization to the tracks and that was it.  If this song was to ever be played live, this is exactly how it would sound.  Despite all of this, I think this is my favorite track out of the three we recorded.  I pray each of you enjoy this inspirational song, "So baby dry your eyes, save all the tears you cried, cause that's what dreams are made of" 

Be very careful if you make a woman cry, because G-d counts her tears. (Bava Metzia 59a)

Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll -- are they not in your record? (Psalm 56:8)

Most in the "Hebrew Roots" and "Messianic" community advocate against the idea of conversion. Was this always the case in Messianic Judaism? Orthodox and Hasidic Judaism have also taken a similar stance on the issue in recent years. But what does the Hebrew of Exodus 12 say? Also, what do the sages and the New Testament say? Christopher digs deep into this premise found in the pages of this week's Parsha and says (to not only the Messianic faith and the Hebrew Roots, but also Hasidic Judaism) go back to what it is you originally taught on this premise.

Christopher discusses Exodus 6:2-3 where Hashem makes a rather peculiar statement to Moshe Rabbeinu. Christopher analyzes this statement with the help of the sages and the Hebrew letters, words and idiom to break down the difference between Shadai and Hashem (Havayeh). This teaching also serves as a teaser to Christopher's upcoming Hebrew classes he will be teaching in March of 2016.

Christopher discusses the shadows of the Messiah from FFOZ's Torah Club in chapter 7 of Exodus.

Christopher discusses 2 main points in Shemos. He discusses the error of the sacred name movement who says we must try and pronounce the 4 letter name of G-d. Christopher also discusses how one's disability is actually a hidden blessing from Hashem.

In this week's study Christopher gives a short preview of what is to come in this week's studio teaching in terms of the errors of the sacred name cult and why we don't use the 4 letter name of G-d. Christopher discusses sections of the FFOZ study for this week (The Shadows of the Messiah vol 2). He discusses the symbolism used in parishes Shemos in terms of the ayir (donkey) and how it relates to Messiah on many levels. He also discusses the claims of certain passages in parishes Shemos where the anti-missionaries claim it is not talking of the Messiah but rather Israel and how the sages and the Hebrew language says otherwise.

(Recorded 1/10/15 at Kehilat Melech Mashyach in Morganton, NC)

Rabbi Baw'naw discusses the history of the sacred name movement and the misconceptions brought about by those who do not know Hebrew or Aramaic but who claim to know how to speak the 4 letter name of G-d phonetically.  Rabbi Baw'naw also discusses how many misinterpret the passages that seem to "command" that one pronounce the 4 letter name of G-d because they don't know what the word "shem" actually means and how the english cannot really do it justice.  In the final part of this teaching Rabbi Eh'bed Baw'naw discusses the ties between the prohibition of the 4 letter name and the New Testament that many do not see as significant because they are unfamiliar with the history of a particular Kohen Gadol that is mentioned in the book of Luke.  ​

(Recorded 1/9/15 from Kehilat Melech Mashyach in Morganton NC)

Rabbi Baw'naw discusses a passage often overlooked in Parshas Shemos resides in Exodus 4 which deals with overcoming hardships of disabilities and how everything, including one's disability is used by Hashem for one's own good and how it works as a blessing as opposed to the world's perception as an affliction.  In this short message, Rabbi Baw'naw discusses his battle with Autism, and type 1 diabetes and how Hashem has used both in amazing ways.  He also looks at the words of our Melech Mashyach Yeshua where he shows the proper way to look at a perceived disability.  ​