Biblical Heritage Center Blog

One of Jesus’s earliest memories was no doubt watching and listening to his family when they gathered to pray the Shema at sunrise before the day’s work began and after the working work day was over at sunset . He also heard and participated in praying the Shema at their synagogue. He was surrounded by neighbors who also prayed the same prayer in their homes every day. The Hebrew word for prayer is tefilah . It is derived from the root Pe-Lamed-Lamed and the word l'hitpalel, meaning “ to judge oneself .” This surprising word origin provides insight into the purpose of Jewish prayer. The most important part of any Jewish prayer, whether it be a prayer of petition, of thanksgiving, of praise of God, or of confession, is the introspection it provides, the moment that we spend looking inside ourselves, seeing our role in the universe and our relationship to God. Read the complete Real Yeshua Blog & Take The Real Yeshua Challenge at -- http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2015/02/th...

A group of armed fighters surround the convent, demanding the nuns leave the premises and renounce their faith. When the sisters refuse, they are publicly beheaded, saying prayers and singing hymns with their last breaths. Although it sounds like the latest atrocity from the Islamic State group, it’s actually a scene playing out nightly here in “Dialogues of the Carmelites,” a 1957 opera by Francis Poulenc now featured at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The opera is based on the martyrdom of 16 members of the Carmel of Compiegne convent killed in 1794, during the French Revolution. The stirring and brutal portrayal contrasts with the romanticized revolution of “ Les Miserables ,” and reminds us that as many as 40,000 French citizens were killed — many beheaded — in just one year during the Reign of Terror. A disproportionate number were priests and nuns, killed by their fellow citizens in what was officially a Christian nation. Read complete article at -- http://w...

02/27/2015 Real Yeshua Tweet : -- Today, before the beginning of Shabbat at sundown, was when the weekly task of baking bread took place. It would last the whole week . If you would like to receive all of The Real Yeshua tweets , Follow it at  -- https://twitter.com/RealYeshua

In the earliest centuries of Christianity, many different writings were copied, shared and circulated among the different churches located throughout the Roman Empire, Syria, Asia, Egypt, and other place. Some recorded the life and sayings of Jesus, Paul’s writings to different churches, and writings by other apostles and church leaders. There were so many writings in circulation that some of church leaders became very concerned. Read complete blog at -- http://fromonejesus.blogspot.com/2015/02/why-are-there-only-four-gospels-in-new.html

Once the largest library in the ancient world, and containing works by the greatest thinkers and writers of antiquity, including Homer, Plato, Socrates and many more, the Library of Alexandria,  northern Egypt, is popularly believed to have been destroyed in a huge fire around 2000 years ago and its volumous works lost. Since its destruction this wonder of the ancient world has haunted the imagination of poets, historians, travelers and scholars, who have lamented the tragic loss of knowledge and   literature. Today, the idea of a 'Universal Library' situated in a city celebrated as the center of learning in the ancient world, has attained mythical status. The mystery has been perpetuated by the fact that no architectural remains or archaeological finds that can definitely be attributed to the ancient Library have ever been recovered, surprising for such a supposedly renowned and imposing structure. This lack of physical proof has even persuaded some to wonder if the fabulous...

Yeshua said, “Not one jot shall pass from the law.” (King James Version) The above words are from Matthew 5:18. It is a good example of verses that people “religiously” without having a clue for what they just read means – and they will claim that the thing they are clueless about is the inerrant and infallible word of God! What is a “ jot ?” Let’s begin by making sure one thing clear is very clear – Yeshua never uttered the word “ jot . Read the complete Real Yeshua Blog at -- http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2015/02/did-yeshua-really-say-jot.html

Yeshua did not describe the opposite of God as the evil inclination as other rabbis did, or as being Belial as the Essenes, but as mammon, or wealth .  Sign up & Follow The Real Yeshua on Twitter at --   https://twitter.com/RealYeshua -- and you will receive all The Real Yeshua Tweets .

Roman Emperor Diocletian began to consider himself a living god, demanding people prostrate themselves before him and kiss the hem of his robe. He wore a jeweled diadem and sat upon a magnificent, elevated throne. In 297 CE he demanded that all soldiers and members of the administration sacrifice to the gods; those who would not were immediately forced to resign. Next, in 303 CE he ordered the destruction of all churches and Christian texts.  Read the complete article at -- http://www.ancient.eu/Diocletian/

One of the things that made this country different from any other country was that from its beginnings, it was conceived as a nation founded on the Rule of Law . Those who came did not find a monarchy or theocracy controlled by a church. They found a nation ruled by law, but the power of their old memes was still very influential. ( A MEME is a piece of information that exists in human minds; this includes beliefs & doctrines .)  Read Rabbi Leynor’s Blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/02/are-your-memes-tearing-our-genes.html

Two important roots of Yeshua’s teachings are basic ethical doctrines that stem from Pharisees & teaching related to society from Essenes. Follow The Real Yeshua on Twitter at --   https://twitter.com/RealYeshua

On Shabbat, seven readers were chosen to read from the Torah in the synagogue, and in Luke 4, Yeshua was called to read from the Prophets. Follow The Real Yeshua on Twitter now at --   https://twitter.com/RealYeshua

Follow The Real Yeshua on Twitter now at -- https://twitter.com/RealYeshua

The Shabbat began at sundown today. In the morning Yeshua would go to a synagogue.  Find out what that would have been like by clicking here .

I recently read an article by Asra Q Nomani , a former Wall Street Journal reporter and author of " Standing Alone: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam ." She is an American Muslim, born in India. From a young age, she broke the rules, like praying close to the males during Ramadan prayers. An all-male tribunal tried to ban her and scare her off. They demanded that she stop writing and criticizing the way their faith was practiced. This has become more common in the past decade. She explains that this is largely because of the rising power and influence of the " ghairat brigade ," an honor corps that tries to silence debate on extremist ideology in order to protect the image of Islam. Islam has never gone through a religious reformation in 1500 years . I've always maintained, that America is good for religion, it allows for debate, free thinking and new interpretations. Read Rabbi Leynor’s complete blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015...

Yeshua lived with his parents in Nazareth , a Galilean village which was ruled by Antipas , one of Herod’s heirs. Samaria and Judaea were ruled by Archelaus , another Herod’s heir. Antipas was the ruler of Galilee for all of Yeshua’s life, except for the earliest period of his life when Herod ruled. Read the complete Real Yeshua Blog at -- http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2015/02/where-yeshua-walked-and-taught.html

The dearth of information about the formative influences on towering biblical figures such as Moses and Jesus has invited some skeptics to question whether they actually existed. ● Scriptures give sketchy incidents in the lives of Moses and Jesus, but why weren't the descriptions more extensive? ● Indeed why so many blanks? ● Wouldn't the details of their early lives explain how experiences shaped their personalities and the way in which their lives played out? These questions reflect modern thinking about human development and personality but not the view through most of history. Read complete article at -- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bernard-starr/why-we-know-so-little-abo_b_6608472.html

The divers initially thought the gleaming object they noticed on the seafloor off the Israeli coast was a toy coin from a game. But they quickly realized they had stumbled across something a whole lot more valuable in the ancient Mediterranean harbor of Caesarea. Their chance discovery a few weeks ago led to a trove of nearly 2,000 gold coins that had languished at the bottom of the sea for about 1,000 years, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Tuesday. It's the biggest hoard of gold coins ever discovered in Israel -- and it could lead to further archaeological finds. Read complete article at -- http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/18/middleeast/israel-gold-coins-discovery/index.html

Derek Thompson wrote an essay in The Atlantic Magazine . He talks about "branding", that marketers seeking to sell products understand, as do cult leaders, that we often find our individuality in a crowd ! He defines "brand" as a signal, good or bad, that influences a consumer's decision to by a product. . . What does this have to do with TOV? Thompson goes on to mention that bringing people together to share what they love leads to a big spike in activity. What they realized is this -- people aren't really motivated by companies, they're motivated by Other People . People are what make the product cool . Read Rabbi Leynor’s complete blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/02/doing-tov-is-my-brand.html

Watch this short video (less than 2 min.) and see what you think - -  http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/scientist-have-proven-that-god-is-protecting-israel/

I recently taught a module on Integrated Health in the Texas Health Presbyterian Nursing Program. In our society, "Health" has come to mean the absence of disease. I see people who exercise, pardon me, "religiously." They eat right, take vitamins and herbal concoctions and that is wonderful. But, something seems to be missing in many cases, and I believe it is feeding, nourishing and nurturing their spirits. We live a "McXistance" -- we run from work to, school, to childcare, to projects, to networking, to home, and even to the gym. Read Rabbi Leynor’s complete blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/02/tov-sabbath-and-integrated-health.html

Last Sunday, the business section of The Dallas Morning News had a great article that provides a model for using TOV principles – protecting life, preserving life, making life more functional, and increasing the quality of life . Autistic Workers Bring Sweet Results is an article about a small bakery owner who hired a group of autistic workers and how they are helping her business grow. Read the complete article at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/02/seeing-tov-in-action.html

I've been seeing flurry of communication lately about Sharia, Islamic Law. There are all kinds of articles and absurdities floating around. One in particular caught my attention; it concerned Muslim men being allowed to kill their wives. I'm sure that this is now being hotly debated among Muslims. There was a FB posting about a Muslim man using this as a defense for killing his wife. This may be true, maybe not, but I wouldn't put it past a number of people who think like this. Read the rest of Rabbi Leynor’s blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/02/murder-is-still-murder.html

“Hamas &   Sharia   law have taken over UC Davis,” proclaimed   Azka Fayyaz, a member of the University of California, Davis' student senate, after a vote by the student government calling on the university to divest itself of companies that do business with Israel. “The student senator’s statement that Hamas and   sharia law are taking over UC Davis is alarming," said the international spokesman for the Jewish campus organization, Hillel.  Read article at -- http://www.clarionproject.org/news/hamas-sharia-law-have-taken-over-uc-davis-student-senator

I was having lunch recently with a pastor friend of mine. When we're together, we discuss everything about "Religion", no subject is taboo. He asked me why Jews are not concerned with their "Salvation." I answered, that for many reasons, our Sages steered away from that issue. In fact, it is one area that really does separate Judaism from Christianity. Jesus followed the path of the Sages and his focus was on how to live here in this world, but after the Romans executed him, his movement began to diverge from his path. Read Rabbi Leynor’s blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/02/i-dont-do-tov-to-get-to-heaven.html

A new exhibition of ancient clay tablets discovered in modern-day Iraq is shedding light for the first time on the daily life of Jews exiled to Babylon some 2,500 years ago. The exhibition is based on more than 100 cuneiform tablets, each no bigger than an adult's palm, that detail transactions and contracts between Judeans driven from, or convinced to move from, Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar around 600 BC. Archaeologists got their first chance to see the tablets -- acquired by a wealthy London-based Israeli collector -- barely two years ago. They were blown away. Read complete article at -- http://news.yahoo.com/ancient-tablets-reveal-life-jews-nebuchadnezzars-babylon-174318332.html

I was looking on FB and saw a quote from Stephen Fry, Top Gear, which set me off! He said – "Why should I respect a capricious mean-minded stupid God who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?" Get a GRIP! The Creator created a beautiful, pristine, balanced world. God didn't turn it into a poverty stricken, war ravaged polluted toilet, full of greed and injustice -- HUMANS DID! Read Rabbi Leynor’s latest blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/02/stop-blaming-god-just-do-tov.html