Hitch Your Reading Shovel
By Arlene Bridges, Juicy Ecumenism ---- Hitch your reading shovel to The Copper Scroll Project and dig into a story about the most renowned treasure hunt in history! Remembering the excitement of childhood treasure hunts, I eagerly read Shelley Neese’s landmark book,...
Why was Moses Chosen?
Exodus is the most supernatural book in the Hebrew bible. But it is also the climax, the pinnacle of Israel’s story. All roads in the Torah either lead to the Exodus or link back to the Exodus. Before earth-shaking plagues and parting seas, however, the patriarchs...
Jethro’s Legacy
By Shelley Neese The 54 weekly Torah readings, or Parashat Hashavua, each get their own title. The titles are commonly derived from the first meaningful word or words in the text. Mostly, the titles translate to unrevealing phrases like “And he called,” “Elevate!” or...
The Temple Mount and Mentos
By Shelley Neese Over the last seven years, Jewish visits to the Temple Mount have increased from a paltry 2,000 visitors in 2004 to 30,000 in 2018. While that uptick pales in comparison to the numbers of Jews who pray at the Western Wall, it is a real and noticeable...
Wall Street Journal and the Dead Sea Scrolls
By Shelley Neese Archbishop Mar Samuel, head of the Syrian Orthodox Monastery of St. Mark in Jerusalem, was one of the first to purchase Dead Sea Scrolls off the black market. Unlike the other scroll dealers, Mar Samuel didn’t like dealing directly with Israelis. To...
The Scapegoat and Atonement
By Shelley Neese In 69 CE, Roman legions circled the walls of Jerusalem, poised to attack. Nervous Jewish factions fought among each other, clashing over the best way to prevent a violent end to their four-year rebellion. Amidst the turmoil, the holiest day of the...
Martin Luther, Revisited
By Shelley Neese At 34 years of age, the Martin Luther of 1517 was a little known Augustinian monk plagued by thoughts of his own sins and failings. Luther, in his own words, suffered from an “extremely disturbed conscience.” When his private meditations on the...
UNESCO’s Folly
By Shelley Neese In October 2016, UNESCO’s executive board ratified a resolution that attempted to erase 3,000 years of Jewish religious history in Jerusalem. The resolution was drafted by Jordan and submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and...
Christmas Carols
Last week, I talked about the story of Hanukkah. In general, my goal is always to impart knowledge of Jewish feasts, festivals, traditions, and commentary to Christians who are trying to dig deeper into the Bible and to understand the Jewishness of their Messiah and...
The Story of Hanukkah
By Shelley Neese I co-teach a Sunday School class at my church. Actually, I go to an Anglican congregation so we call it the "Rector's Forum." I intended to give a 2,000 year broad sweep of Temple Mount history. Since it was Hanukkah, I thought I would introduce the...