This week the annual Torah portion cycle begins the fourth Book in the set, Numbers in the English, or Bemidbar (‘In the wilderness’) in Hebrew.

Join Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship for a two-part look at the parsha (Numbers 1:1 – 4:20) which gives the Book an appropriate name in BOTH languages.

The Erev Shabbat reading and outline of the parsha not only explains why, but ‘who’, and ‘how many’. But the key to understanding is to know those are just elements of the real lesson.

During the Sabbath day teaching this week, Mark goes into more depth on why “lift up the head” of EACH individual, each with a name, is such a better translation of the original Hebrew than any of the words He could have used instead that merely mean “count”. But it’s the connection with the haftorah reading, from Hosea chapter 2, and why that is such an excellent choice to be paired with “In the wilderness,” that should be of such great comfort to us today.

And it’s also a wonderful prophecy of what we should look forward to – as we return to being His people.


“Bemidbar: Numbers matter, but there’s much more to His love”

The combined two-part podcast is here: