Starting after Sukkot 2024, Hallel Fellowship switched to a three-year cycle of Torah and parallel Bible readings (2024–2027), outlined by TorahResource. While there’s ancient evidence for a triennial cycle, a major benefit is to provide more time to mine more of Scripture for lessons.
Readings
- Genesis 12–13
- Joshua 24:3–18
- Hebrews 11:1–10
Shabbat Chanukah/Hanukkah
- Numbers 7:18–29
- Zechariah 2:10–4:7
- John 10:22–42
In John 10:22–30, Yeshua (Jesus) is in Jerusalem during the Feast of Dedication, known as Chanukah/Hanukkah. This festival commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple after its desecration. During this time, Yeshua declares, “I and the Father are one,” asserting His unity with God. This statement leads to tension with some Jewish leaders, who accuse Him of blasphemy. Yeshua emphasizes His divine identity and mission, aligning Himself with the festival’s themes of light and dedication.
Learn more about why Yeshua (Jesus) celebrated Chanukah and why it isn’t just a Jewish holiday.
Corresponding reading in the 1-year Torah cycle
Studies
God’s unwavering love: Foreshadowed in Abraham, realized in Messiah (Genesis 12–17)
This study on the Torah reading לֶךְ-לְךָ Lech Lecha (Genesis 12–17) explores the spiritual lineage of Abraham and how it emphasizes God’s faithfulness and love, irrespective of human failings. This faithfulness and love reaches its fullness in Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ).
Being a true descendant of the covenant the Creator of Heaven and Earth made with him means embodying the trust — faith — he had in Heaven’s promises, not just sharing his DNA. We explore the importance of spiritual commitment over rituals such as circumcision, biblical criticism toward religious figures’ service without sincerity, and the necessity for…
Torah reading Lech Lecha (לך לך): Genesis 12:1–17:27
Apostle Paul called Abraham the “father of us all,” those born in Israel and those who have faith like his (Rom. 4:16). In this week’s Torah passage, Lech Lecha (“go forth,” Gen. 12:1-17:27), we see Abraham’s first move of faith in leaving his homeland for some unknown destination Heaven was leading him toward. His response is an inspiration to us all.
Where everyone knows the Name (Genesis 12)
In the Torah reading לֶךְ-לְךָ Lech Lecha (Genesis 12–17), we are introduced to Abram (later renamed Abraham) when he is called to leave his hometown to for a new land.
God calls us into community, not only with Him but with His people. This is why He establishes a land, a place of rest where people can focus on fellowship with Him, whether one is in the land or not.
This Promised Land, originally occupied by Abraham, is meant to be a “home” for all of His people. It’s where God put His name, where the Word became flesh, died and…
Oppressing others oppresses your soul (Genesis 13–14)
The Torah reading לֶךְ-לְךָ Lech Lecha (“go forth,” Genesis 12:1–17:27) introduces us to Abram, a descendant of Shem, who God calls to leave his homeland in Ur of the Chaldeans and to emigrate to Canaan. This is the start of the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob historical trilogy.
This trilogy is so important to the understanding of the Torah that God introduces Himself to future generations as the “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” And Yeshua (Jesus) taught that this name for the Almighty is a key witness of the resurrection to come.
And Lech Lecha also introduces us to the evils of Sodom…
How Abram learned faith, fought fear and become a friend of God
In the Torah reading Lech Lecha (“go forth,” Genesis 12–17), we see some key motifs from Abram/Abraham’s life that are repeated or echoed elsewhere in Scripture. Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) is the ultimate expression of these messages from Heaven.
Genesis 12:1–17:27: Why God cannot be bribed
When you are called to move, what is your first question? Do I move to the next town, next state, across the country or to a foreign land? We usually want to know our exact destination before we move.
We also prefer to plan how we will transport ourselves? Will we go by car, train, bus or plane?
In the Torah section לֶךְ-לְךָ Lech Lecha (“get going,” Gen. 12:1-17:27), Abram was not given a destination. It’s a strange place to be when you don’t know where you’re going. It takes trust to make the first step. And this is the beginning of…
What is the ‘order of Melchizedek’?
The Torah portion לח לח Lech-Lecha (Genesis 12-17) includes Abraham being called out of Ur of the Chaldeans. But there’s a specific event in Genesis 14 that deserves special focus: Abraham’s encounter with the mysterious Melchizedek. We meet this ancient pre-Israel king of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) again in the books of Psalms and Hebrews. Why is he so important, and what does he have to do with Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ)?
Genesis 12–17: Instant gratification is never instant or gratifying
It’s not easy to leave one’s family, even at 75 years old, but God called Abram out of his father’s house for his own good. This was Abram’s first test.
In the Torah passage לֶךְ-לְךָ Lech Lecha/Lekh Lekha (“go forth,” Genesis 12:1-17:27), we learn that Abram’s faith came from both hearing God’s instruction and doing it. Doing matters, not just hearing. Hearing is easy, doing is much more involved and more difficult. When our life is smooth and we get instant gratification, it’s easy to continue walking in a way that brings a quick blessing. But when we are doing something that is…
Genesis 12–17: Abram’s ‘slaves’ aren’t like American slavery
God is not an American. As we study the Torah reading לֶךְ-לְךָ Lech Lecha (“get going!” Genesis 12–17), we should remember that the Bible He divinely inspired should not be interpreted through the lens of American history.
Conversion by circumcision vs. by the Spirit (Galatians 5)
Paul’s discussions of circumcision, mainly in Galatians, Philippians and Romans, have been interpreted as being condemnation against the Torah, because the Law calls for circumcision for newborns and those wanting to participate in key parts of worship of God.
However, it must be remembered that circumcision by the first century A.D. had become an “identity marker” separating Jews from non-Jews. Like observance of Shabbat, circumcision was listed among the “works of [the] law” in the Dead Sea Scrolls that defined those separate from the corrupt religious system around the time of the first century. The rite of circumcision could be behind…
Mature believers and the Torah: Meaning of ‘Sarah’ and ‘Hagar’ in Galatians 4
Galatians 4, with its discussion of freedom from being “under [the] law” and not of the Jerusalem related to the flesh, is often cited by those who argue that observing the Torah is a backward step for believers in Messiah Yeshua. However, considering what Paul already wrote in chapters 1 through 3 and the parallel discussion in Romans 5–7, his point in this chapter is that both Jews and non-Jews are in the same situation without God’s method of salvation, which isn’t God’s Law. Yet God’s goal for humanity long-term is heart-led obedience to His Law.
Who is Malakh YHWH (the Angel of the LORD)?
A common perception of an “angel” is a cute winged chubby baby, something as innocuous as a fairy, or a passive messenger. “The angel of the LORD” — Malakh YHWH in Hebrew — is a quite different figure that shows up throughout the Bible with massive power and authority. Who is he?
You want to be one of God’s firstfruits
Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) is called the firstfruits of the resurrection (1st Cor. 15:20), and why are we called firstfruits of creation (James 1:18)? Pentecost originally was a celebration of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest and followed 50 days after the celebration of the firstfruits of the barley harvest. What is God teaching here about Yeshua and us?
Discover more from Hallel Fellowship
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.