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8/24/08 - No excuses this time, other than to say I've been rather busy, as usual.  I've updated another benediction of the Amidah, and uploaded my notes from Romans for the last two months, bringing us to chapter 4.  I've also installed a Bibliography--instead of using endnotes, I'll be simply listing the author's last name, a shortened form of the book or article's title, and the page number.  Those who want to find out more about my sources can look them up in the bibliography, where I'll be including not only full publishing information, but linking reviews.
 

6/3/08 -  Long delays are turning into a regular thing for me, aren't they?  My apologies.  I had a two-night debate with Matthew Janzen of the Assembly of HaShem (their real name employs the Divine Name; I prefer not to use it so lightly) on whether Yeshua is Divine in nature (the answer, in case you are wondering, is yes).  We have recordings that we're editing now and which will be put on the website for your perusal shortly. 

Speaking of debates, I've posted my closing argument in my debate with Myles.  It has been a pleasure to get to know him over the last year, and I look forward to many years of fellowship to come.

I had meant to get back into the Torah commentary, but I've started teaching a series on the book of Romans at synagogue, and a good chunk of my study time is being taken up by that.  My teaching notes are being posted here, soon to be connected to the audio tracks from our Cyber-Synagogue site.

I also have two more benedictions of the Amidah commentary posted.
 

4/28/08 - Whew!  My apologies to everyone for the length of time between updates--and moreover, for forgetting to put a note here explaining why in advance.  I have not, as it turns out, been idle:

In early April, I spent two weeks in pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  I'm currently pulling together pictures for a full travel report, but in the meantime, I've posted the thoughts I wrote down on the plane ride home.  I've also posted a new link to the website of a friend we made in Jerusalem: Shorashim.com.

Immediately after that, of course, came Passover.  Our synagogue put on two Seders this year, one for the family which totaled some 120 people, and one for our Sunday brethren that hosted nearly 70 people.  Both events were a rousing success.

Right after that, I had the opportunity to speak to a group at the Prince of Peace Catholic Church.  The primary part of my lecture was on the types of The Messiah in Genesis, and I've posted my notes here on the website for others to share.  If the audio and video come out well, I hope to post those as well.

I've also included another update to the Amidah commentary, and Myles has posted his closing argument in our debate.  I'll have my closing written and posted shortly.

Shalom!
 

3/11/08 - First, a prayer request for our readers:  Rabbi Gavri'el's mother was checked into the emergency room over the weekend.  We don't have the full details yet, but please pray for her recovery.

On to the updates:  As usual, we have another Parashah and another Benediction.  I've also posted my fourth and final rebuttal in my debate with Myles Davis on the Torah.  Next up will be our closing arguments.
 

3/4/08 - Okay, I'm getting this weekly update thing down now.  First up we have two new items in our debate section:  First, Myles has finally posted his fourth and last rebuttal in our Torah debate, and he has also posted his opening argument in a new debate on the necessity of Baptism which he is holding with Jeremiah Lanier, one of our promising young people at Beth HaMashiach.

I've also posted notes for Parashah P'kudei and the Sixth Benediction of the Amidah.  Shalom, and have a blessed week!
 

2/26/08 - Hmm . . . only nine days this time.  I'm getting better at this, I think. 

I've gotten caught up on the parashah readings, including having the one for this upcoming Sabbath, and of course I have another benediction posted.  I've also started a new book review section, starting with a joint review of Tim Hegg's Fellow Heirs and D. Thomas Lancaster's Mystery of the Gospel. 

In upcoming projects, I'm working on an explanation of and response to two teachings that are making their way through the Messianic movement:  Two House Theology (also known as Ephramite Theology) and Sacred Name theology.  We believe that both of these represent errors in teaching that need to be addressed in detail. 
 

2/16/08 - This update-every-two-weeks thing is starting to become something of a pattern for me, isn't it?  A lot of it has to do with the way my week is organized; Sunday ends up being my best chance to study and work on the site, but when Sunday fills up that throws me off.  I'm working to get ahead and to shift my workday to Wednesday or Thursday, since Sundays are getting more, not less, busy.

Rabbi Gavri'el was out sick last week, so I got to do two teachings--both of them on the fly.  That means that anything good in there is from the Spirit; I take full credit for the goofs and mediocre material, however.  I covered his material on the Life and Teachings of Yeshua for Friday's service, and did a teaching on communicating our message properly on Saturday.  Both will be posted on Cyber-Synagogue; I'll post direct links when I have them.

For those who don't know, Cyber-Synagogue is the audio portion of the ministry.  Pretty much every Sabbath teaching goes up there--and the best part is, it's FREE.  If you want to know what we actually teach as a synagogue, it's all right there.

On to the actual updates, then:  I've got another benediction of the Amidah, as well as the last several weeks' worth of parashah readings done.  I've also put a search form on the menu bar, fixed a couple of email links on our About Us page and added an item there that, if anyone spots it, should cause some wonderful controversy.  It doesn't quite make up for the long absences, but it's moving in the right direction at least.
 

1/29/08 - Sorry for the lack of an update last week, and for the lack of parashah readings this week.  I'd cite busyness, but in truth part of that is my fault for not budgeting my time as well as I should have.  I did however have time to put up another benediction as well as the introduction to a commentary series that I started for the blog, but didn't finish due to the limitations of that forum.  It's called "The Good News According to the Inner Circle."  Hopefully it'll interest some of you.
 

1/15/08 - Just the two updates this week, I'm afraid:  Another parashah reading (sorry for the lateness), and another benediction of the Amidah.  Also, I've started posting on TheologyWeb under my old screename "Buggman." 
 

1/7/08 - Hmm, three updates in a week.  Not bad, especially for me.  I've posted two articles dealing with Biblical prophecy, which are largely excerpted from my unpublished (as yet) book on the subject.  The first deals with basic issues of interpretation, while the second is simply a description of the different schools of thought that have evolved in the Ekklesia. 

I've also posted our second Parasha reading, Bo ("Go").  I'm going to try to get ahead on these so I can have them posted at the beginning of the week for use as a study guide for those who might be developing Midrashes (teachings) for their Torah readings in their own synagogues and/or churches.
 

1/5/08 - I posted our first Parashah reading and commentary today.  I'll try to go back and get the first Parashah for Exodus later.  For those who are wondering what the heck a Parashah is, read our introduction here.

I've also posted the first part on a series on the Amidah, the traditional prayer of the Jewish people, and its similarities to Renewed Covenant doctrine:  Taking a Stand For Yeshua.
 

1/1/08 - Happy New Year!  I did a bit more cleaning up, including rearranging the top banner (which we're working on some new graphics for) and organizing the articles by subject a bit better. 

Also, I keep forgetting to mention that Myles Davis has not dropped out of the debate.  His life has been very hectic of late, so his answer has been delayed, but rest assured that we will be completing it.

And finally, there's a (hopefully) amusing entry in our blog.  Enjoy, and Shalom!
 

12/28/07 - It's that time of year for resolutions, and I'm resolving to better utilize and expand this site, starting with doing a bit of site redesign.  I'm keeping the basic shape for now (though I'm playing with some different options which may eventually find their way on the web), but I'm organizing things a bit differently.  The various debates are now listed in their own section rather than among the articles, and I'm working on a new section which will contain chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse commentaries on the Scriptures.  I'm currently working on the book of Galatians, the most "problematic" of Sha'ul's letters for Messianics, and I plan to have commentaries of the weekly Parashah readings online shortly as well.

I'm also doing some redesign of the front page in order to make certain articles more accessible, especially those that I think are foundational to understanding Messianic Judaism and the Hebrew Roots movement.  And as you can see, I'm using the What's New section for more than just a simple listing of new articles.  It's almost a secondary blog entry now.

And finally, we have a new article.  While not strictly speaking part of this site's mandate, I think it gives some good insight into the proper (and improper) use of the Talmud as a source:  Did God Reject the Sacrifices Because of Yeshua?  A Response to Rabbi Singer

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