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Discerning the value of traditional teachings that are not part of scripture is not an easy task. As I write my 47 lessons of Torah, it would be easy to get lost in the traditional teachings of the Sages. However, only a small fraction of what is written has direct relevance to our purpose as a messianic congregation; even that aside, only a small fraction has relevance to issues that would shed light on these Torah lessons for my bar and bat mitzvah kids.

Of course, if anyone thinks it’s easy to teach 10-13-year-olds, I have some North Carolina land for sale. While I greatly enjoy it, it is a challenge to get kids at that age to pay attention enough to learn something, though it can be done.

Relevancy is the trick. So many lessons talk about adult concerns in their examples, rather than kids’ concerns. An illustration of how a certain passage of scripture relates to marriage or paying off a mortgage, for example, isn’t as relevant has an illustration that compares a certain passage to dealing with bullying or peer pressure, or making a choice between Bible study time and videogame time.

Yet even kid-appeal doesn’t guarantee relevancy. In writing my lesson on Genesis, I came across a writing of the sages that expands on the day of creation when all underwater life was brought forth by the words of Adonai our G-d. The passage was filled with stories of G-d creating monsters that could destroy the earth if he’d made more than one of them. Such a story from the sages would have held great youth appeal.

But the truth is, it’s complete legend, never mentioned directly in the passage we were studying and, therefore, problematic at best, if not downright confusing the mythology of Torah from the historical Torah passage itself. Better to leave such a story aside for an older, more discerning age. That was my feeling, anyway.

Picking out Nike golf clubs has to be a lot easier than writing a 47-lesson Torah cycle curriculum for my bar and bat mitzvah kids, and yet that is exactly the task I’ve taken on for the coming year. It will be quite a challenge. Not only must I study up on my Torah well enough to teach it, but I must study up on connections to the Brit haDasha as well as the writings of the Jewish sages, gathering the good from each source and discarding the not-so-good.

So far, I’m producing these lessons quite close to deadline. Uncomfortably close. I’m hoping to find a creative burst that will launch me 2-3 lessons ahead of deadline so I have more time to look at, pray over and consider the writing I am doing before having to finalize it.

Already, the rush has produced a possible oversight on my part. In my enthusiasm over the first two chapters of Genesis, I may have misinterpreted the order of events. My traditional understanding of Genesis is that on the sixth day of creation, Adonai’s work was devoted exclusively to the creation of humankind.

However, it appears the L-rd also created some other mammel life on the sixth day as well, a fact I didn’t catch until the lessons were already printed up. I was disappointed in myself, not because I expect to always be right, so much as I expect better results of myself than that.

Sure, I suppose the point might be open to some debate; but I think a clear reading of the text points out that it was simply an oversight on my part. Fortuantely, it’s a small one, easily corrected. If that’s the worst error I make over the next 46 lessons I must write, I’ll be doing well, I think.

Natural remedies are all the rage these days. Some of them even work.

For example, my problem with post-nasal drip and congestion has at times been eased by taking a tonic of apple cider vinegar and honey just before bed. Other people look for more complex solutions to things that have no real cure, but which are believed to have important properties, such as how the Astragalus plant is looked to as a source of antioxidant Selenium.

I’m not convinced all of these things work. But then again, I’m not convinced they don’t. Often, natural cures are simply watered-down, less concentrated forms of prescription medicines, and in fact are the place where prescription medicines go for their inspiration, and sometimes even the source of prescription medicines, with the difference being that prescription meds are far more highly concentrated.

Is there much utility to all this? Sometimes.

But what I can say is this: when looking for real healing, I do prefer acknowledging the author of all healing, Adonai. Through Yeshua the messiah, G-d can and often does heal us of afflictions, whether we acknowledge his role in it or not.

I’m not one of those who discounts the value of doctors or medicine, though. Often, those doctors and medicines are the very tools Adonai chooses to use to deliver our healing. Sometimes, he does so by purely spiritual means, as well. Yet no matter the means, the source of our healing is always the same: Adonai our G-d, from whom all blessing flow.

Did you know most pastors and rabbis spend an average of only two hours a week in prayer?

That was a wake-up call when my rabbi shared that during Erev Shabbat a few months ago, during a series of messages on prayer. It’s certainly far less then the efforts of Johnathan Edwards, that sparked a revival in America, prior to delivering his classic sermon, Sinners In the Hands of an Angry G-d. As history tells it, Edwards, no dynamic speaker of any particular note, prayed for weeks leading up to that one sermon, and his prayer was simple: “L-rd, give me New England.”

Several hours a day for several weeks led to a revival. If most pastors and rabbis put in less than two hours a week, is it any wonder that it’s been over 150 years since America has seen a revival like that which Edwards initiated?

Of course, non-clergy are even worse on average; usually, aside from blessing their meals, even most church and synagogue attendees spend less than an hour in deep prayer each week. Many less than that.

In times of tragedy, such as floods, hurricanes or even personal tragedies like finding out you have cancer or mesothelioma, many folks wonder why G-d isn’t listening. I’m suggesting that perhaps it’s the other way around; perhaps it is us who have turned a deaf ear to Adonai.

Call it evil speech, gossip or lashan hurah, but careless words can lead to the destruction of a congregation. The problem comes when trying to determine what is evil speech and what is speaking honestly when wronged by a fellow believer.

In any community of faith, people often prefer to do business with members of their own congregation when they can, whether it be buying insurance, stair lifts, or looking for someone to do auto repair. As long as the quality of the work or service provided is solid, this usually benefits all concerned.

But what happens when something goes wrong, or the quality of the work or service provided isn’t where it ought to be? Let’s imagine a scenario where you have a person who repairs PCs. Let’s call him Chuck, after the popular NBC character on the show of the same name.

To lure business, Chuck decides to cut his prices to members of his congregation. But because he’s earning less for that work, rather than put in his best effort as he would for any other customer, Chuck either repairs PCs for congregational members on the cheap, or has a less-skilled friend do it for him, one who is prone to make mistakes but needs the work.

Now, Chuck isn’t necessarily a bad person. He’s using cheaper parts to give folks he’s close to a better deal; or he’s giving work to a friend who needs to learn the PC repair trade, and by doing so, hopes to help out both his congregational customers since this trainee won’t be paid as much for his time, while also giving the trainee much-needed experience. Chuck’s heart is good.

But because the trainee’s less experienced, or because cheaper parts are being used, the quality of the work done for congregational members goes down. Hard drives crash more frequently. Motherboard problems arise. Computers repaired don’t stay repaired as long. Some PCs even fry.

So here’s the philosophical question: If you were a congregational member whose PC fried under such circumstances, how do you handle it? Is it evil speech to warn people away from Chuck’s PC repair? Is it wrong not to warn them? Is it better to simply take your business somewhere else, or do you confront Chuck about the quality of his PC repair work?

There are few easy answers. It is for situations like this, I believe, that people turned to rabbinical interpretation. However, I do tend to think that the Brit haDasha standard for resolving conflicts among believers would probably be the starting point for a correct messianic response.

I’m learning that studying the Torah is only one small aspect of being a congregational leader in a messianic community. While it is a rabbi’s first and most important duty, it is rarely one that can take place uninterrupted.

I’ve been working in the office of my messianic rabbi of late, and I’m deeply impressed by the business aspects of running a modern ministry. The CD ministry requires proficiency in editing audio files, burning and packaging audio CDs, Web expertise, some financial knowledge and good customer service kills. This is not like selling personalized pens. One is handling recordings of messages that some people rely on to take the place of church attendance for the purpose of recharging their spiritual batteries, and so the task requires dedication, passion and professionalism.

Even simple tasks require expertise in advanced computer skills, such as putting together the church bulletins or children’s ministry support materials. Preparing to transform old ministry messages into tightly edited radio programs is also a daunting challenge. One must also be good at keeping a paper trail of what’s been done, what still needs to be done and what’s been left in the middle of the task and still needs finishing up.

It’s a lot of work, and that’s why the rabbi of any decent-sized ministry needs help, because all of that is enough to take up an entire week, and the list above hasn’t even begun to touch on the actual, felt ministry needs of attendees. It’s a broader endeavor than I knew before working at my messianic synagogue’s business office, but doing so has left me feeling more invested and energized in the ministry than ever before. Unlike some of my temp assignments, at this job I finally feel I’m doing work that matters and makes a difference.

Rather than believing that Moshe wrote the five books of the Torah, the popular trend among so-called “serious” Bible scholars is to believe in fractional ownership of the Torah, with certain parts being attributed to between three to five authors - none of them Moshe himself. Of course, far be it from Bible scholars to posit any belief in the truthfulness of the document they claim to be experts in.

I’ve read their theories and ramblings, and I’m sorry, but I’m just not convinced. While they may be brilliant and creative minds, they’re just a bit too brilliant and creative for their own good. Considering all the evidence in light of the unique unity of Adonai’s written Word, the Torah, it is far easier for me to believe in an historic Moshe who wrote all, or at least 99 percent, of the books attributed to his authorship.

While scholars can imagine fanciful alternative scenarios, the bottom line is that there’s no solid proof for their theories any more than there is for the traditional line of thought that leads to Mosaic authorship. I think I’ll stick with the theory that’s stood the test of millenia, and not some Bible brainiac’s trendy theory, thanks.