This is the section of the website where you will find articles relating to the family and also news of events at The Cedars. Our purpose is to encourage the strengthening of our families through mutual support and provide educational opportunities for both parents and children together.
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Fifty-One.
Dr Clifford Denton. Ha’azinu: Deuteronomy 32:1-52. 5th October 2024/3 Tishrei. Then He inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you.” (Deuteronomy 31:23) Picture by Helen McNeill. We […]
From Netivjah, Jerusalem.
By Joseph Shulam‘ The Torah reading of this Shabbat is from Deuteronomy 32. This chapter is also called the Song of Moses. There are two songs of Moses in the Torah. The first is found in Exodus 15. Here is the last verse of Deuteronomy chapter 31: “Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all […]
Family – God’s Priority in all Creation.
By Clifford and Sally Denton. If we read the Bible carefully, this truth is not difficult to see. Yet if we consider the priorities of mankind in the world today, it is a truth that is […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number One.
By Dr Clifford Denton.
Introduction to the Series. Since before the time when Jesus (Yeshua*) came into the […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Two.
By Dr Clifford Denton.
Noach: Genesis 6:9-11:32. 21st October 2023/Cheshvan 6.
Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Three.
By Dr Clifford Denton.
Lech Lecha: Genesis 12:1-17:27. 28th October 2023/Cheshvan13.
Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left. Genesis 13:9 […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Four.
By Dr Clifford Denton.
Vayera: Genesis 18:1-27:24. 4th November 2023/Cheshvan20. And Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering (Genesis 22:8) Picture by Helen McNeill Herein is God’s profound commitment to […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Five.
BY Dr Clifford Denton.
Chayei Sarah: Genesis 23:1-25:18. 11th November 2023/Cheshvan27. …he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her (Genesis 24:67) Picture by Helen McNeill For the greater part of the 175 years […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Six.
By Dr Clifford Denton.
Toldot: Genesis 25:19-28:9. 18th November 2023/Kislev 5.
…Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you! (Genesis 27:29) Picture by Helen McNeill Last week’s Bible study ended with the way Ishmael’s sons were […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Seven.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Vayetze: Genesis 28:10-32:2. 25th November 2023/Kislev 12.
And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Eight.
By Dr Clifford Denton.
Vayishlach: Genesis 32:3-36:43.
2nd December 2023/Kislev 19.
Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. (Genesis 32:24) Picture by Helen McNeill Two things are clear from […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Nine.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Vayeshev: Genesis 37:1-40:23.
9th December 2023/Kislev 26. 2nd Day of Chanukah.
There we were binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed, your sheaves stood […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Ten.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Miketz: Genesis 41:1-44:17. 16th December 2023/Tevet 4
Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. Genesis 41:42 Picture by Helen McNeill The subject of the making of a man of God […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Eleven.
Dr Clifford Denton. Vayigash: Genesis 44:18-47:27. 23rd December 2023/Tevet 11 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. Genesis 45:3 Picture by Helen McNeill We consider family on two levels in this week’s Torah portion. Both relate to […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Twelve.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Vayechi: Genesis 47:28-50:26.
30th December 2023/Tevet 18
And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days.” Genesis 49:1 Picture by Helen McNeill This week, we come to the end of Genesis. The Hebrew Bible appropriately calls this foundational book of all […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Thirteen.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Shemot: Exodus 1:1-6:1.
6th January 2024/Tevet 25
And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. Exodus 3:2 Picture by Helen McNeill 400 years passed between the events at the end of Genesis and those at the beginning of Exodus. This is according […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Fourteen.
Dr Clifford Denton. Va’era: Exodus 6:2-9:35. 13th January 2024/Sh’vat 3 So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river. (Exodus 7:20) Picture by Helen McNeill To gain perspective on the momentous days when Israel was in Egypt, let’s continue to consider what it was like for individual families. The […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Fifteen.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Bo: Exodus 10:1-13:16.
20th January 2024/Sh’vat 10
And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. (Exodus 12:7) Picture by Helen McNeill Our theme of family is clear in this week’s portion. When the Lord struck the firstborn of […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Sixteen.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Beshalach: Exodus 13:17-17:16. 27th
January 2024/Sh’vat 17.
So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. (Exodus 14:22) Picture by Helen McNeill I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously sang […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Seventeen.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Yitro: Exodus 18:1-20:26. 3rd February 2024/Sh’vat 24
All the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking (Exodus 20:18) Picture by Helen McNeill Let us consider the similarities between events in this week’s portion and our lives as believers today. In many ways we are in […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Eighteen.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Mishpatim: Exodus 21:1-24:18. 10th February 2024/1 Adar1.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them. (Exodus 24:12) Picture by Helen McNeill The Ten Commandments set the […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Nineteen.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Terumah: Exodus 25:1-27:19. 17th February 2024/8 Adar1
Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. (Exodus 25:2) Picture by Helen McNeill We are with Moses on the mountain, reading the clear instructions for the building of […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Twenty.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Tetzaveh: Exodus 27:20-30:10. 24th February 2024/15 Adar1
And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. (Exodus 28:2) Picture by Helen McNeill Last week we suggested a family project based on the construction of the Tabernacle. It is a project that can take place over several weeks […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Twenty-One.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Ki Tisa: Exodus 30:11-34:35 2nd March 2024/22 Adar1
You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood. (Exodus 30:1) Picture by Helen McNeill The seeming silence of God can be a testing time for anyone. In Israel’s case, Moses was away so long without bringing God’s […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Twenty-Two.
By Dr Clifford Denton.
Vayakhel: Exodus 35:1-38:20. 9th March 2024/29 Adar1.
Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. (Exodus 35:21) Helen McNeill’s illustration recalls the widow who, observed by Yeshua, also gave from […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Twenty-Three.
Dr Clifford Denton.
P’kudei: Exodus 38:21-40:38. 16th March 2024/6 Adar2.
Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. (Exodus 30:34) Picture By Helen McNeill Picture again the community of Israel. The Tabernacle, the meeting place with God, is at the centre of the camp. The family home is a tent. […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Twenty-Four.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Vayikra: Leviticus 1:1-6:7. 23rd March 2024/13 Adar2.
If a person commits a trespass, and sins unintentionally in regard to the holy things of the Lord, then he shall bring to the Lord as his trespass offering a ram without blemish from the flocks (Leviticus 5:15) The picture by Helen McNeill looks forward to the suffering of […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Twenty-Five.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Tsav: Leviticus 6:8-8:36. 30th March 2024/20 Adar2.
Also, Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them (Leviticus 8:10) Picture by Helen McNeill Many Christians have been brought up to consider the Old Testament and the New Testament as two separate books. This […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Twenty-Six.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Sh’mini: Leviticus 9:1-11:47. 6th April 2024/27 Adar2
…that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses. (Leviticus 10:10-11) Picture by Helen McNeill The message of holiness runs continuously […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Twenty-Seven.
Dr Clifford Denton.
Tazria: Leviticus 12:1-13:59. 13th April 2024/5 Nisan.
He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp. (Leviticus 13:46) Picture by Helen McNeill The theme of holiness continues in our portion this week. Our challenge in […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Twenty-Eight.
Dr Clifford Denton. M’tsora: Leviticus 14:1-15:33. 20th April 2024/12 Nisan. And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose in the open field. (Leviticus 14:7) Picture by Helen McNeill We continue, in our portion this week, […
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Additional thoughts for Passover.
Dr Clifford Denton. Pesach: Beginning in Exodus, fulfilled in the Gospels. 20th April 2024/12 Nisan. And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”. (Exodus 33:14) Picture by Helen McNeill We are coming to the end of Passover Week. Christians have celebrated the sacrificial death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus for many […]
From Jerusalem Israel.
By Joseph Shulam. Normally, the Passover Feast and Holiday has at least one Shabbat within the seven days of the Holiday. The name of this Shabbat in Hebrew transliteration is Shabbat Chol HaMo’ed Pesach. “Chol HaMo’ed” is a Hebrew phrase made from two Hebrew words. “Chol”: חול “ common – not holy – […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Twenty-Nine.
Dr Clifford Denton. Acharei Mot: Leviticus 16:1-18:30. 20th April 2024/12 Nisan. Thus Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering. (Leviticus 16:3) Picture by Helen McNeill Holiness is an ongoing topic in Leviticus. God made it perfectly clear what the Children of Israel must […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Thirty.
Dr Clifford Denton. K’doshim: Leviticus 19:1-20:27. 11th May 2024/3 Iyyar. This Torah Portion contains many references to God’s holiness and the requirement for His people to be holy. Sixteen times in Leviticus Chapter 19, a principle of Torah is, as it were, “signed off”, with such phrases as I am the Lord your God. We […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Thirty-One.
Dr Clifford Denton. Emor: Leviticus 21:1-24:23. 18th May 2024/10 Iyyar. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. (Leviticus 23:40) Picture by Helen McNeill The Feasts of […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Thirty-Two.
Dr Clifford Denton. B’har: Leviticus 25:1-26:2. 25th May 2024/17 Iyyar. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement, you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. (Leviticus 25:9) Picture by Helen McNeill What an awesome pattern for the life […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Thirty-Three.
Dr Clifford Denton. B’chukotai: Leviticus 26:3-27:34. 1st June 2024/24 Iyyar. If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. (Leviticus 26:3-4) Picture by Helen McNeill Chapter 26 […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Thirty-Four.
Dr Clifford Denton. B’Midbar: Numbers 1:1-4:20. 8th June 2024/2 Sivan. Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male individually. (Numbers 1:2) Picture by Helen McNeill From time-to-time God instructed Moses to take a census. This was more […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Thirty-Five.
Dr Clifford Denton. Nasso: Numbers 4:21-7:89. 15th June 2024/9 Sivan. Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel….’ (Numbers 6:23) Picture by Helen McNeill God gave many detailed instructions to the Children of Israel through Moses. A number of them are found in this week’s […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Thirty-Six.
Dr Clifford Denton. Beha’Alotcha: Numbers 8:1-12:16. 22nd June 2024/16 Sivan. Speak to Aaron, and say to him, ‘When you arrange the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.’ (Numbers 8:2) Picture by Helen McNeill This week’s portion reveals how far the earthly life of God’s people sometimes is from the perfection of […]
B’har/B’chuktai from Netivjah.
by Yehuda Bachana. With this double Torah portion we conclude the book of Leviticus. Leviticus starts with the description of different offerings and sacrifices. Then it continues with the order of the priestly service in the sanctuary. Later, in the land of Israel during the rule of the kings, this sacrificial system shifted to the […]
From Netivjah Jerusalem Israel
By Joseph Shulam 4th May 2024 The book of Leviticus is one of the books that is studied least in the Christian Churches. Yes, the book of Leviticus at first sight indeed gives the impression that it deals mainly with issues concerning the worship in the Temple (Tent of Meeting in the Wilderness). But it […]
Torah portion from Jerusalem.
7th June 2024. By Joseph Shulam. We are starting the Torah reading this Shabbat with the Book of Numbers. The names of the books of the Bible are very different in the Hebrew Bible than in the translations to other languages. Usually, the Hebrew names are taken from the Book’s first words. Genesis is Bereshit, […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Thirty-Seven.
Dr Clifford Denton. Shelach Lecha: Numbers 13:1-15:41. 29th June 2024/23 Sivan. Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole …… There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Thirty-Eight.
Dr Clifford Denton. Korach: Numbers 16:1- 18:32. 6th July 2024/30 Sivan. Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds. (Numbers 17:8) Picture by […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Thirty-Nine.
Dr Clifford Denton. Chukat: Numbers 19:1- 22:1. 13th July 2024/7 Tammuz. So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. (Numbers 21:9) Picture by Helen McNeill In this week’s portion we read about the […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Forty.
Dr Clifford Denton. Balak: Numbers 22:2-25:9. 20th July 2024/14 Tammuz. I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Sceptre shall rise out of Israel. (Numbers 24:17) Picture by Helen McNeill The spiritual power to bless or to curse is shown through the Torah portion […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Forty-One.
Dr Clifford Denton. Pinchas: Numbers 25:10-29:40. 27th July 2024/21 Tammuz. On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls; you shall not do any work. (Numbers 29:7) Picture by Helen McNeill Coming to what will seem like wilderness days in today’s world, we will do well to consider […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Forty-Two.
Dr Clifford Denton. Matot/Massei: Numbers 30:1-32:42/Numbers 33:1-36:13. 27th July 2024/21 Tammuz. Everything that can endure fire, you shall put through the fire, and it shall be clean; and it shall be purified with the water of purification. But all that cannot endure fire you shall put through water. (Numbers 31:23) Picture by Helen McNeill. Next week […]
From Netivyah, Jerusalem
by Joseph Shulam. The readings from the Torah are the portion, Chukat from Numbers 19:1-22:1. From the prophets, the reading is Judges 11:1-33. From the New Testament, John 2:1-12. The Jerusalem Prayer List history didn’t start with Joseph Shulam! It began in the late 1930s with an Orthodox Jew who accepted Yeshua as his messiah and saviour, Moshe Emmanuel Ben-Maier. Moshe was […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Forty-Three.
Dr Clifford Denton. Devarim: Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22. 10th August 2024/6 Av. On this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law. (Deuteronomy 1:5) Picture by Helen McNeill, including imagery linking to the Haftarah portion for this week, Isaiah 60:1-22. Remembrance is a major theme in Scripture. It occurs in […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Forty-Four.
Dr Clifford Denton. Vaetchanan: Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11. 17th August 2024/13 Av. Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. (Deuteronomy 3:27) Picture by Helen McNeill. On Tuesday of this week, Tisha B’Av […]
From Netivyah, Jerusalem.
By Joseph Shulam. Our congregation in Jerusalem is Roeh Israel. The English translation of our congregation’s name is Shepherd of Israel. Last Shabbat, When the time came to open the Torah cabinet and the Torah Scroll was taken out of the iron fireproof metal safe, my eye caught the difference between the two poles of […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Forty-Five.
Dr Clifford Denton. Ekev: Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25. 24th August 2024/20 Av. At that time the Lord said to me, hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain and make yourself an ark of wood. (Deuteronomy 10:1) Picture by Helen McNeill. The central and earnest instructions and pleas from Moses […]
From Netivyah, Jerusalem.
By Joseph Shulam. Every week, we read the Torah portion and the text from the prophets, which usually corresponds thematically with the Torah portion and a section from the New Testament that has some connection or reference to the Torah reading of the same Shabbat. This next Shabbat is the last Shabbat of August 2024. […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Forty-Six.
Dr Clifford Denton. Re’eh: Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17. 31st August 2024/27 Av. But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwellingplace; and there you shall go. (Deuteronomy 12:5) Picture by Helen McNeill. (Emphasising Yeshua at the centre of our worship, here featuring the pouring of water […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Forty-Seven.
Dr Clifford Denton. Shoftim: Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9. 7th September 2024/4 Elul. The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear. (Deuteronomy 18:15) Picture by Helen McNeill. By dividing the Books of Torah into portions (parashot) the 5 Books of Moses can be read systematically […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Forty-eight.
Dr Clifford Denton. Ki Tetse: Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19 14th September 2024/11 Elul. When you build a new house, then you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring guilt of bloodshed on your household if anyone falls from it. (Deuteronomy 22:8) Picture by Helen McNeill. This week, we will continue to consider […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Forty-Nine.
Dr Clifford Denton. Ki Tavo: Deuteronomy 26:1-29:9. 21st September 2024/18 Elul. These shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have crossed over the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin; and these shall stand on Mount Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. (Deuteronomy 27:12-13) Picture by Helen McNeill. […]
By Joseph Shulam. Here are the readings for this next Shabbat in all the synagogues (without the text from the New Testament reading—which is only read in messianic congregations). The Torah portion is a double portion – Nitzavim-Vayelech, from Deuteronomy 29:9 – 31:30. The reading from the Prophet’s “Haftarah” will be from Isaiah 61:10-63:9. One reason this reading from Isaiah 61 is significant […]
Developing the Theme of Family through the Torah Portions. Number Fifty.
Dr Clifford Denton. Nitsavim/Vayelech: Deuteronomy 29:10-30:20/31:1-30. 28th September 2024/25 Elul. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. (Deuteronomy 30:4) Picture by Helen McNeill. Our theme is family. Mostly, in our studies this year, we have applied the teaching to […]