Shalom Macon: Messianic Jewish Teachings

Genesis ends. Exodus begins. But the story isn’t just about leaving Egypt — it’s about becoming something new. Before Moses ever confronts Pharaoh, he makes a quieter, riskier decision when no one else will act. Was this moment impulsive… or foundational to his calling? What does Torah expect when injustice unfolds right in front of us? And what does it mean to “be a man” when no one els...

Jacob was renamed Israel—but did he ever truly live as Israel?
In this teaching, we explore how regret reshapes memory, distorts identity, and quietly becomes the lens through which we tell the story of our lives. Drawing from Parashat Vayechi, the life of Jacob, and the example of Joseph, we confront a haunting question: are we surviving, or are we truly living? Why do we cling to pain ...

Vayechi begins unlike any other parashah in the Torah—without a break, without a pause, without space to breathe. Our sages insist this detail is anything but accidental. Could blessing itself sometimes conceal danger? Could success, legacy, or even prosperity quietly dull our spiritual awareness? From Jacob’s final words to the haunting end of Genesis, this portion forces us to ask whet...

Jacob stood before Pharaoh blessed, chosen, and carrying God’s promises — yet when asked about his life, he spoke with regret.
Why do painful memories so often outweigh blessings?
Why does loss feel more honest than gratitude?
And how can a life marked by God’s faithfulness still feel “few and evil”?

This teaching confronts the subtle danger of regret — how replaying the past reshapes me...

What happens when the brother you betrayed turns out to be the one who holds your life in his hands?
When Joseph says, “Ani Yosef — I am Joseph,” terror fills the room before healing ever begins. Why doesn’t Joseph seek revenge? How does bitterness give way to redemption? And what does Judah’s willingness to step forward teach us about repentance and transformation?
In this week’s 5 Minu...

Why did Joseph put his brothers through suffering when God never told him to?
Where is the verse that commands Joseph to test them—and what does its absence reveal about forgiveness, trauma, and reconciliation?

This teaching wrestles honestly with one of the most emotionally charged moments in the Torah. Is Joseph seeking revenge, justice, or healing? Why does he weep again and again? An...

Nearly every year, Parashat Mikeitz is read during the festival of Hanukkah — but is that just a calendar coincidence? Or is there a deeper connection we’re meant to see? Joseph stands before Pharaoh as a lone candle in the darkness of Egypt, refusing to claim credit and shining God’s light instead. Centuries later, Judah Maccabee stands against a crushing empire with the same radical tr...

Hanukkah isn’t just a winter tradition — it’s a bold declaration of light in a world growing darker by the day. Why did Judaism survive when every empire around it collapsed? What made the Maccabees fight back instead of assimilate? And what does their courage demand from us now, when hostility toward the people of Israel is rising again?

In this Hanukkah message, Rabbi Damian uncovers t...

Joseph’s brothers threw him into an empty pit… but the Torah adds a strange detail: “there was no water in it.” If it was already “empty,” why say more? Ancient Jewish commentators insisted this wasn’t just a dry hole — it was filled with snakes and scorpions. But why hide that detail? And how does this surprising insight reshape Joseph’s story and our own spiritual lives? Join me to exp...

Jacob isn’t usually imagined as a warrior — yet the Torah reveals a side of him we rarely acknowledge. Why does he prepare for battle? Why does he divide his camp with military precision? And what does his mysterious struggle at Peniel reveal about the kind of strength God calls each of us to walk in?

In this teaching, we uncover three surprising insights that reshape not only how we see...

Jacob’s reunion with Esau wasn’t the only moment of danger in Vayishlach. Hidden in this portion is a deeper struggle — one that still reaches into our lives today. Why did Dinah stay with Shechem even after the harm he caused? What makes us return to the very things that wound us? And how does temptation disguise itself as love, comfort, or immediate gratification? Discover the subtle s...

A viral message is reshaping how many Christians talk about “Israel” — but is it telling the truth? In this teaching, Rabbi Damian tackles a rising trend that redefines who the children of Abraham really are. Why is this message spreading so quickly? What did our grandparents understand that we’ve forgotten? And how can we stay grounded when popular teachings distort Scripture and identi...

What happens when a righteous person leaves a place? Why does the Torah repeat Jacob’s departure from Beersheba—not once, but twice? Rashi says the answer reveals a profound truth about the kind of presence a disciple of Yeshua is meant to carry, and the kind of vacuum we are meant to leave behind.

Does your life bring beauty, splendor, and light to the spaces you enter? And when you’re ...

A spiritual storm is forming over our nation — and Derek Limbaugh argues it’s all rooted in Jacob and Esau. Is Western civilization the newest face of Edom? Has Christianity unknowingly carried both the light and the danger of Esau for 2,000 years? And what happens when the “remnant of Edom” finally returns to the tents of Jacob? In this powerful message, Derek confronts rising extremism...

For centuries, people have obsessed over the idea that Yeshua had hidden descendants—a secret bloodline passed through the ages. But what if the real “offspring of Yeshua” isn’t a conspiracy to decode, but a calling to embody? This week’s parashah, Toldot, may hold an unexpected allusion to the spiritual DNA of those who truly reflect their Messiah. Isaac unmistakably resembled Abraham—b...

What is prayer, really? Is it just asking God for things — or entering the presence of the King Himself? In this Lunch & Learn session, Darren and Sabrina unpack the Jewish roots of prayer, the meaning of avodah, and why Yeshua’s teachings challenge our assumptions about “vain repetition.” Why did the early disciples devote themselves to the prayers? What makes the Amidah the “Holy o...

Did God cheat Abraham? The Torah says he died “satisfied,” yet the promises God gave him — countless descendants, a nation, a land — seemed painfully unfulfilled. One son. One burial cave. A lifetime of wandering. How could a man who received so little of what he was promised die completely content?
This week, Rabbi Damian challenges our deepest assumptions about entitlement, faith, and ...

Abraham stood in the very land God promised him—yet he called himself a foreigner. Why? What was he trying to tell us about where we truly belong? Centuries later, a rabbi’s strange reply to a simple question revealed the secret behind Abraham’s words—and a truth we desperately need to remember. Have we become too comfortable in a world we were never meant to call home? What will it take...

Why did God choose Abraham—and what does that choice say about us? In this powerful teaching, Rabbi Damian explores Abraham’s bold dialogue with God over Sodom and what it reveals about true righteousness and justice. Was Abraham simply obedient, or did God want something more—a partner in repairing the world? Discover how Abraham’s test becomes our own: to seek the righteous even among ...