Parashat Eikev 2025: Our Kehillah

Torah Deut 7:12-11:25

Haftarah: Is 49:14-51:3

Brit Chadashah: Heb 11:8-13, Rom 8:31-39

Main Sections

-Moses issues blessings and encourages them not to be afraid.

-He reminds them to remember their God and obey his word.

-God gives the reason that he is sending them, stating that it is not because of their own righteousness, but because of the wickedness of the nations and to confirm the word that he swore to the Patriarchs.

-Moses gives a history of Israel’s rebellion and striving with God.

-Moses pleads for Israel to circumcise their hearts. They were to fear him, walk in his ways, love him, serve him, and keep his commandments.

-Moses tells them that God himself cares for the land and his eyes are always upon it. Moses then gives them the boundaries of their land as being from the wilderness of Lebanon, and from the Euphrates, to the Mediterranean.

In Parashat Eikev, God is telling Israel that the land he is granting them is not an end to itself, but a continuing journey of how he is partnering with his people to bring about the fulfillment of his word. Keep in mind, God was not just establishing Israel so that he could judge the pagan nations in Canaan, or simply to fulfill his promise to the Patriarchs. He was also setting up a means of communicating his presence, power, and purpose to all of the nations of the world. Israel would be a part of that purpose and for that, they had to be a holy people.

Have you ever thought about what God was trying to do in you, as being connected to others? He filled us with his Spirit and person. He set his love on us and showered us with blessings so that he could reach others, inspire their faith, and call them to repentance. When God establishes his blessings, he just does not do it for the person, he is building a testimony for the entire world to see. That sense of interconnectedness is something we can miss if we are not looking at our trials and circumstances in faith. It is one of the reasons God calls us to holiness. His presence cannot rest on a sinful, unrepentant life and the only way people get an unobstructed view of God dwelling with us is if we are walking in his ways.

God always has a purpose and that purpose feeds life and hope to everyone around us. It is all interconnected. We tend to be self-centered and can view the workings of God in our lives as happening independently of anything else. The truth is that much of what God does with us happens in conjunction with what he is doing in our community. If you have a sacred family of faith, you are blessed. Our spiritual communities have a character and calling that is reflected in the people who attend.  Not all congregations are geared to reach every type of person. God ordains specific Rabbis to fill specific places so that an entire city can be reached. Some congregations appeal to the lost and are absorbed in “seeking and saving” those who do not know God. These congregations provide a starting place for people to begin their walk with God and focus on the fundamentals of Messianic life. Other congregations are focused on discipleship and are places of dynamic teaching. There are also more missions-minded congregations that train and send people into the field. Some are places of renewal and deliverance, while others are engaged in multicultural ministries. Some congregations are strong voices for righteousness in the city, state, and even the nation. They may have connections in politics and in various nonprofit organizations in the community and seem to have the gift of influence. There are also many general congregations where the pastor balances and mixes the whole purpose of the congregation to get a little of everything done. Wherever you are, your interconnectedness to your community, its mission, and character figures into your trials, prayers, and challenges. In the end, God is building the body of Messiah, all of us, and we need to love our kehillah as the craftsmanship of God’s ongoing purpose, both the corporate body and the people in it.

Our kehillah is the place where our spiritual lives are organized and carried out. It is one of the main places we express our faith with like-minded people and connect. It is difficult to walk in strong faith without others. We need our community to challenge us, inspire us, strengthen us, and support us emotionally, spiritually, and sometimes physically. Our community is a place for healthy spiritual discussions and even some argumentation as well as correction when our spiritual lives are getting cold.  It is in our community that God calls us to serve him and others. Loving God is only part of our faith.

In our kehillah, we celebrate life together and create a shared destiny as we serve God in community. We gather for weddings, funerals, births, bar/bat mitzvahs, graduations, and significant events. It is in our kehillah we serve the broken, pray for and tend to the sick, help the hurting, impoverished, and those in prison. As a community, we have the power to stand against a sinful and wayward society and be a voice as well as a shelter of protection. We have a responsibility to help further the purpose of our kehillah, make it a beautiful, spiritually healthy place, and protect its sanctity. It is a place of study and prayer individually or with a chavrusa (study partner), a chavurah (small group), or a va’ad (small group that studies Mussar). Many of these come with opportunities to nosh, schmooze, and schlep around. The ideal way to Jewishly connect.

The small group (chavurah) offers many opportunities to experience life with a group. Many of them are focused on Jewish cuisine, walking, exercise, knitting, canning, planting, or sewing. The chavurah can be a talk-it-out group where the Torah portion is discussed in group fashion or one that is focused on intercessory prayer. A chavurah can also be a group focused on grief, addiction recovery, emotional abuse recovery, or divorce recovery. Each chavurah has the challenge of incorporating Messianic Jewish experience into their group and many are formed with a group covenant (brit) that defines their mission, purpose, and norms. The chavurah gives the opportunity to be mobile where the people can meet in coffee houses, parks, or restaurants. When the people also wear t-shirts that identify them with a specific congregation, it is a powerful witness and an excellent form of evangelism. They are geared to encourage involvement, share ideas, life solutions, experiences, and foster friendships. The format and information for some small groups are based on books, but in some cases, the synagogue/church creates material that is unique and specific. The small groups help the kehillah be diverse and meet more ministry needs.

The kehillah is also a good place to fellowship or just to hang out. Many congregations have prayer gardens, play areas, and places for families to get together or just have a picnic (complete with a BBQ pit). Some have youth rooms with video games, movie nights, and youth fellowship events. The kehillah has always been a focal point in Jewish life. If we love what God has given enough to develop it, it will be the best place to go, to do life. Hopefully, as the love, mercy, and blessing of Hashem abound in us, our neighbors and people in the surrounding area will be drawn to join in.

Shabbat Shalom

Rav Calev

Next Feasts

Rosh Hashanah begins at sunset, Sept 22^nd and ends at sunset on Sept 24^th.

Yom Kippur begins at sunset, Oct 1^st and ends at sunset on Oct 2^nd.

Sukkot begins at sunset, Oct 6^th and ends at sunset on Oct 13^th.

Hebrew words to know:

Chavrusa- Study partner.

Chavurah- Small group.

Va’ad- Small group that studies Mussar.

Nosh- (Yiddish) light meal or snack.

Schmooze- Slang from the Yiddish (schmues) which comes from the Hebrew (shemuoth). It means informal, personable talking.