By Joseph Shulam.
Shalom from Lebanon, Tennessee.
I am writing this Jerusalem Prayer List sitting near my wife in the hospital in Lebanon, Tennessee. Marcia has been hospitalized since we arrived in the USA, and her situation is not simple or easy; in fact, it is very serious and complicated. We trust in God’s mercy and goodness and pray for Marcia’s restoration to everyday life. Please pray for us, especially for Marcia, my wife.
Her condition has improved some, but dealing with Dementia is undoubtedly one of the most difficult and painful medical issues to deal with for all the members of the family. Barry, our son, is faithfully helping to take care of his mother, and we take turns sleeping in the hospital and assisting with the care of Marcia, my wife, and the mother of our children. We would greatly appreciate your prayers as we trust and honor whatever the Lord has in store for us and our family.
The Torah reading on this next Shabbat is Chukat, from Numbers 19:1-22:1.
From the Prophets, the reading is from Judges 11:1-33.
From the New Testament, the reading is from John 2:1-12.
The word “Chukat” translates to “ordinance” in English. The verse that starts the Torah reading for this next Shabbat:
“This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD has commanded…”.
These chapters of the Book of Numbers are among the most interesting in the entire Torah. Of course, every word of God is holy and interesting, but in our Torah reading this week, we encounter some of the unique stories in the Torah and perhaps some of the more interesting ones from the entire Torah.
Several vital points and commandments, focusing on purity, the roles of the Levites, and key events during Israel’s journey in the wilderness, are found in Numbers. Here’s a summary of the main themes and commandments found in these chapters:
The Red Heifer (Parah Adumah):
Did you know that the story of the Red Heifer also applies to Yeshua in the New Testament? Yeshua is our Red Heifer, and only because of this can he continue to forgive our sins even today and all around the world. This chapter describes the commandment for the ritual of the red heifer, which was used for purification from sin. The ashes of the red heifer were significant for priests and people of Israel who were particularly in contact with a dead body. Without the ashes of the Red Heifer, those who would be defiled from contact with a dead body could not be purified and have to be in quarantine for some days. The red heifer had to be entirely red, without blemish or defect, and it was to be sacrificed outside the camp. The body of the red heifer was burned, and the ashes were used for purification from touching a dead body. Here is the text from the book of Hebrews that connects Yeshua, our Messiah, and his death with the red heifer ceremony and use.
“For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore, Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.” (Hebrews 13:11-14 NKJV)
Please, dear brothers and sisters, the importance of this text in the book of Hebrews chapter 13 is beyond comprehension. The power for the forgiveness of sins that comes from the death and resurrection of Yeshua is not from the sacrifices of the temple, which were allowed only to be performed by people from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of Aaron, and his family. Yeshua is from the tribe of Judah, a descendant of King David; he was not a Levite. Yeshua was crucified outside the gate. The Book of Hebrews was written during the siege of the Roman tenth legion, the same one that crucified Yeshua. The writer of the Book of Hebrews invites the disciples of Yeshua to follow Him outside the camp, thereby breaking His reproach. The reason for this invitation to leave the “camp” is
“for we have no continuing city, but. We seek the one to come.”
The place where the ashes of the Red Heifer were placed was near the shore of the dead city in a place called Qumran. Qumran was the location where the Essene community settled and where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. The book of Hebrews was written explicitly for the community of disciples who lived in Qumran. If you ask me how I know, the answer is that my teachers at Hebrew University taught me so. The proof is so clear that it can’t be denied. I will probably record a Mind Candy that will prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was written to a community that did not recognize the temple in Jerusalem and did not worship in the temple in Jerusalem. There is much more, but this prayer list is not the platform for a detailed scriptural discussion. Think about these few points.
- Jerusalem is not mentioned by name.
- There is no mention of the temple in Jerusalem.
- There is a different priesthood. No Levites were mentioned, nor Aaron the High Priest.
More points prove that it was written for a very religious Jewish community.
Most crucially, the priesthood, according to the order of Melchizedek, is mentioned in the Book of Hebrews and the writings of Qumran. The only two places in the Bible where Qumran is mentioned are Genesis 14 and the Book of Hebrews.
Miriam’s Death
The chapter begins with the death of Miriam, Moses’ sister, marking a moment of loss for the community. One of the most memorable stories about Miriam, the sister of Moses, is when she follows the baby in the basket along the shore of the Nile River, watching what will happen to baby Moses. Just imagine a young Hebrew girl following a basket floating on the Nile River, maintaining eye contact with the baby inside. Pharaoh’s daughter, with her handmaids, was doing something strange in the river. She didn’t go swimming. The text states clearly that she entered the water alone; her handmaids were walking beside her on the shore of the river, not with their mistress in the water, but outside the water. Miriam boldly walks up to Pharaoh’s daughter and, without flinching, offers the Egyptian Princess a Hebrew wet nurse to care for the baby that she recognizes as a Hebrew child. Pharaoh’s daughter, who most likely knows the law that her father passed about the Hebrew children, ignores the law of Egypt and agrees to have the Hebrew wet nurse feed the baby. She does all this fully aware and informed of what she has fished from the Nile, a Hebrew baby. She gives the baby an Egyptian name: Moses, meaning “Son of the water.”
Water from the Rock
The next story in our Torah reading on Shabbat, July 5, 2025, is a blockbuster. Here is another situation Christians misunderstand from A to Z. Why do I say that Christians misunderstand the story of the Rock that gives water in the wilderness of Sinai? Christian preachers often condemn Moses for striking the Rock. Why is there such a misunderstanding of the story of the Rock that gave water to the thirsty children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai? The reason is simple: people forget that there are two stories of water from a Rock in the Torah. The first story comes from Exodus chapter 17:1-7:
“Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah. Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped in Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore, the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.” So, Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the LORD?” And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So, Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!” And the LORD said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also, take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the Rock in Horeb, and you shall strike the Rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So, he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?” (Exodus 16:36-17:8 NKJV)
As you read this text from Exodus 16:36–17:8, you will see that there was an earlier incident involving Moses, a rock, and the people of Israel, who complained that they needed water to drink. In this case, God Himself told Moses to strike the Rock and not to speak to it. Much more than this, Moses was commanded to take elders with him to the Rock to witness that what he did was a command from the Lord.
In our reading of the Torah portion, God instructs Moses to speak to the Rock, not strike it with his wooden rod. Moses didn’t do what God commanded him. If I were Moses’s lawyer, I would have argued in defense of Moses that many years had passed, and God had confused the older man, Moses. In the first incident in Refeidim, God spoke clearly to the elders of Israel, who were witnesses for Moses, instructing him to hit the Rock with his wooden Rod. In the second incident, God instructed Moses to speak only to the Rock, and the water would flow for the children of Israel to quench their thirst. I would plead that God was too harsh, and God confused an old man who had gone through many hardships to save Israel from slavery that holding him guilty and punishing him so harshly seems to me contrary to God’s heart. I would plead for Moses in front of God and say, “Lord – Moses has walked with you from his youth and has been an obedient servant to you and Israel. Maybe, Lord, you should review your anger and harshness and show your loving kindness and grace to this old man who has suffered at the hands of his fellow Israelites whom he took across the Red Sea on Dry Land and marched through the Sinai desert and pleaded for them before you to show them mercy after the building of the Golden Calf at the foot of Mount Sinai.
I am sure that God would have found some sophisticated legal argument to justify his action against Moses. On the other hand, we know nothing about God’s grace, mercy, and wisdom beyond our imagination. In response to the people’s complaints about the lack of water, God instructs Moses to speak to a rock, causing it to bring forth water. However, Moses strikes the Rock instead of talking to the Rock.
Balaam and the Donkey
Among my favorite stories in the Bible is the tale of Balaam, the Son of Beor, a world-famous prophet and magician. Balaam was a professional, but it seems like his donkey was more experienced and wiser. The donkey knew to be quiet all through the journey with Balaam on his back. The donkey knew when to be silent and did not share his encounter with God. Only when God gave him the signal did the smart jackass open his mouth and put the famous prophet and magician in place, talking to Balaam.
This act leads to God telling Moses he will not enter the Promised Land due to his disobedience. This story in the Torah opens up a very significant chapter for my education. Some donkeys know when to “hold them and when to fold them” much better than many men with PhDs and even Nobel Prizes. I often pray for God to give me the wisdom to know when to speak and when to be quiet. Above all, when I do talk, I have the same wisdom, at least that of Balaam’s donkey.
There are some intelligent and privileged donkeys in the Word of God. We can all learn from them. Even a dead Donkey is worth something when God uses it to bring victory to His people. I am talking about Samson’s donkey. All that Samson had of that donkey was the jawbone. You can read this fascinating story in Judges 15:14 – 17, from which we can learn some interesting and inspiring lessons. When God is on your side, He can use the jawbone of a dead donkey and kill 1000 Palestinian men with a dry jawbone of a dead donkey. Samson’s Declaration after the battle,
“With the jawbone of a donkey, I have killed a thousand men.”
The jawbone of a donkey was considered an unassuming and useless item. Still, in the hands of God, it became a tool of divine intervention in the battle against Israel’s enemies. In Israel’s history, there has been more than one instance where God intervened in wars and battles, giving Israel victory over great and powerful armies that served the enemies of Israel and God.
When God withdraws his hand from Israel and the battles of Israel, it is a clear sign that God’s favor is withdrawing from the children of Israel.
Israel needs your prayers now more than ever and your political support. Call your senators and representatives in the parliaments and tell them to stand with Israel and fight against Antisemitism in their districts and their parliaments. For whoever touches the children of Israel with evil intention is touching the apple of God’s eye! You all know how sensitive and important Israel is for the return of the Messiah and how much God wants to fulfill His promises to the nations. When He does fulfill His promises to the nations and Israel, those who did righteousness and stood with the people of Israel will find themselves in a good spot that God has prepared for them.
We must all remember that God’s promises are without fail, and all of Israel will be saved. Don’t forget us in Netivyah International and also Netivyah in Israel. We are all doing unique and special work to spread the good news and, at the same time, to fight the battle against antisemitism and Jewish hate. This second battle is as important as the war with the terrorist organizations in Gaza and the world. Both Netivyah International and Netivyah Israel are doing unique, special, and meaningful work and deserve your prayers and support.
Joseph Shulam
P.S. Please continue to pray for Israel and the highly complex situations and challenges that stand before Israel these days. Pray for Israel and for the Israeli leadership and government to have divine guidance of what to do, how to do it, and when to do it to end this horrible long war with Gaza and the terrorist organizations and rogue states that support and encourage terrorism and Antisemitism. Christians remember our Lord is not only a Jew but also He is the King of the Jews.
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