Brandermill Torah light

10/03/2025

09/26/2025

Have a blessed and holy shabbat!

09/19/2025

Revelation 20:12
And I saw the dead, small and great, STAND before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Rosh Hashanah, yom teruah, approaches after this shabbat. Will you be standing? This is from a rabbi I follow. Thought it was a great shabbat message.

May you have a blessed and holy shabbat.

This Shabbat is a big one. Not because of the menu or the weather (that too), but because it's the very last Shabbat of the year. The grand finale before Rosh Hashanah!

Usually, the last Shabbat of the month is called Shabbos Mevorchim, which means “the Shabbat of blessing.” On those Shabbats, we add a special prayer asking that the new upcoming month be filled with good things, joy, health, and peace.

But this Shabbat is different. Even though it's technically Shabbos Mevorchim, we don't say that blessing, asking for a new month of blessing.

Why not? Because G-D Himself blesses the month of Tishrei. And that blessing is so powerful, it actually gives us the strength to bless all the other months of the year.

So what's the blessing that G-D gives? The Torah tells us in the Torah portion of this week: 'Atem nitzavim hayom', meaning Today you are standing.

At first that doesn't sound like much. We're standing, great. But when the Torah says “today,” our sages explain that it's actually referring to Rosh Hashanah, the day when we all stand before G-d in judgment.

Imagine a courtroom. The judge is about to announce the verdict. If it's guilty, the person slumps into their chair, eyes low, shoulders drooping. But if they are “not guilty,” they spring to their feet, standing tall, head high, face shining with relief.

That's what the Torah is telling us. On Rosh Hashanah, G-D blesses us that we don't stand bent and broken. We stand upright, proud, and joyful.

The Torah then adds one more word: 'Kulchem', meaning all of you together.

Because it's not enough for me to stand tall, or you to stand tall, it's about all of us standing together. When G-D sees His children united, shoulder to shoulder, with love and care for one another, that's what brings Him the deepest joy.

It's like any parent, you can buy them gifts, you can send cards, but nothing makes a parent's heart melt more than seeing their kids getting along.

That's really the secret to this Shabbat, the last one of the year. G-D Himself is giving us a blessing: Stand tall, stand proud, and stand together.

So as we step into Rosh Hashanah, walk in confident, joyful, and united. When we come like that, we can be sure that the coming year will be overflowing with health, happiness, peace, and sweetness.

Wishing you and your family a Shana Tova, may you be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet year.

09/12/2025

Have a blessed and holy sabbath!!

08/29/2025

Have a blessed and holy shabbat!!!

08/29/2025

In him...

08/29/2025

IN HIM. RIGHTEOUSNESS. FAITH. LIFE.

I saw an extremely erroneous teaching this morning. A deceiving teaching. It had a bunch of likes, a bunch of “amen brother” comments. The original poster had the comments either restricted or turned off interestingly. Go figure. The theme of the post was something like “we can never be right righteous ourselves, only IN JESUS can we be righteous and nothing we do matters”. That is simply wrong and will lead many astray from what scripture instructs us, ultimately to destruction. Why is this a serious matter?

A major proof text used by many authors to discuss faith, righteousness, and life – eternal life – is in Hab 2:4. The very fact that a Tanach (OT) verse is used as a proof text tell us the meaning and conditions of that verse continue to be in effect. Hab 2:4b …but the righteous shall live by his faith. The verse connects the condition of “righteous” to eternal life. This is SALVATION language. I will make the claim that righteous is simply and ultimately a term for saved. Ask yourself the simple questions – can someone be saved and not have eternal life? Can someone have eternal life and not be saved?

The righteous have eternal life. They have eternal life because of their FAITH. They are righteous because of their faith. Oh but wait. We have some other verses that use different terms for this same righteous condition. Let’s look at some connected verses.

Rom 2:13 For not the hearers of law are righteous before God, but the doers of law will be declared-righteous.

People who DO, PERFORM the law, the Torah, are righteous.

Matt 19:17b …but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Per Jesus, eternal life is a result of obeying the commandments.

Those who obey the commandments are righteous and have eternal life because of it. But faith leads to righteousness also. What does this tell us? FAITH is KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS, obeying the Torah.

Let’s look at a verse that without question is written AFTER the resurrection of Jesus. No one can claim “well that is before the cross and is no longer effective”.

1 John 3:7
Little children, make sure no one deceives you. The person who practices righteousness is righteous, in the same way that Jesus is righteous.

One who PRACTICES righteousness is righteous. What is “practicing” righteousness? The word for practicing #4160 – to make, do, perform, work… Those who WORK righteousness are righteous. The righteousness in our verse is something to do, to work, to perform. What is this righteousness that we can PERFORM??
In the same way – I like “in the same way” here as the translation. This is #2531 and has the dictionary meaning as: The KJV translates Strong's G2531 in the following manner: as (138x), even as (36x), according as (4x), when (1x), according to (1x), how (1x), as well as (with G2532) (1x).
according as
just as, even as
in proportion as, in the degree that
since, seeing that, agreeably to the fact that
when, after that

But we do have writing about being right “in Jesus”, “in him”. Does this simply mean those who intellectually accept Jesus is the messiah are righteous?

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Let’s look closer at this term “IN HIM”. What condition has to be satisfied to be “IN HIM”? Say a sinner’s prayer?

1 John 2:6
He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

“Abide” is #3306.
The KJV translates Strong's G3306 in the following manner: abide (61x), remain (16x), dwell (15x), continue (11x), tarry (9x), endure (3x), miscellaneous (5x).

The phrase “in him” is present in the Greek text. Greek en - “In, by, with, etc”. Translators haven’t simply added “in” to make it sound better. To be “IN HIM” is to walk, live, behave as that Jewish rabbi walked. To be "in him" is to keep the commandments.

1 John 3:24
And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

What is this spirit that is given, that is connected to obeying the commandments? It is written:

Ezekiel 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

It is a spirit, a desire, to keep the commandments. If you don’t have a desire to keep the commandments – to keep them as Jesus also did – then you don’t have the spirit. Well, you may have a spirit just not the spirit of holiness from God.

08/29/2025

"In him"...

08/29/2025

What does "even as" mean here? Whay does it mean to "DO" righteousness?