Small Business Hebrew Gift Ideas

Honestly, this post could be much longer. In the last couple of years more and more small businesses selling Hebrew products have opened up. I couldn't be more thrilled! It's exciting to see people make an income from items that point to YHWH. For me having objects that build up faith is essential. Maybe encouragement can come from a mug with a verse on it or a printable; or faith can be shown on a YHWH hat or menorah sticker on a laptop. Many of these items would make a nice gift for those who have expressed interest in the Hebrew faith. Whether for yourself or someone else get ready to add a few things to your wish list!

Menorah Sticker from Torah Institute - $.75

Loved + Forgiven Sticker from Walk in Love - $1

Less Sunday More Shabbat Printable from Isralove - $5

YHWH Echad Pin from Milk & Punny - $7

Stone Tablets Pin from Chai and Home Shop -$9

Shabbatoms Up Coasters from Milk & Punny - $10

Doodle Portions Coloring Book from Torah Sisters - $12.95

Shalom Clay Dish from Turtle Lane Pottery - $15

My Cup Runneth Over Mug from The Farmhands Studio - $15

This Kid Keeps Shabbat Shirt from Messianic Marketplace - $19

YHWH Reigns Pennant from Milk & Punny- $25

Shalom Y'all Wall Hanging from Isralove - $27.90

Light the Menorah Pillow Cover from Peace Love Light - $29

YHWH Snapback from Art of Homage - $30

 Besorah of Yahusha Natsarim Version from Torah Institute - $30

Modern Menorah from Starling Vintage and Home Decor - $68

Is there a Hebrew item that you love? Send me a link.

Keeping the Torah Printable

Who has heard this verse before, "It makes no difference if a man is circumcised or not"? Usually the speaker goes on to explain that it doesn't matter at all if we follow YHWH's instructions. We are 'free' to do whatever we want, without any consequence is the line. But the very next sentence of the same verse says, "Keeping the Torah of YHWH is everything."

Sure, granted that translation is from the Restoration Scriptures and not something more mainstream. But even the NLT reads, "The important thing is to keep God's commandments." Keeping his instructions is important.

To understand the seeming contradiction in this text (circumcision is something YHWH commanded) we can read the verse this way, "It doesn't matter if you're circumcised or not - you still need to be obedient to YHWH." Many of us have treated our heritage as an exemption from keeping YHWH's commandments, thinking the instructions of Scripture are only for a different people group. And there was contention over this in ancient Israel as well. The use of the words 'circumcised' and 'uncircumcised' alludes to the two houses of Israel - Judah being the circumcised and Ephraim being uncircumcised. There was much confusion over how these distinct groups should behave and Paul is clarifying that here.

He is saying:
Even if you're circumcised and following the Torah, you need the Messiah.

Even if you have the Messiah, you need to follow the Torah.

The message here is that it's not enough to be circumcised out of family tradition or to celebrate Passover and then not wholeheartedly follow YHWH. We should honor the commandments because we love YHWH and want to serve Yahusha. We aren't to treat Torah observance like a free pass to get to Heaven. The point is love the Messiah and live in the way he instructed.

I made this printable because I want to be reminded of how important my obedience is to YHWH. While he knows my heart, he doesn't just ask of me that I love him or mean well. He wants each of us to truly follow him and walk in his ways. I hope this will remind you of that truth as well.

Click here to download. This printable is free for your personal use.

Free Ten Commandments Printable for Shavuot

Because Shavuot is a special time of celebrating both the giving of the Holy Spirit and the giving of YHWH's instructions I thought a printable of the ten commandments would be fitting. Recently I admired a simple ten commandments piece of art in a friends home and decided to make a more Hebrew version of that. My free printable uses YHWH, as well as Shabbat. The structure of the commandments is also a bit different. I studied wording in various versions and arrived at an amalgamation of my own.

Did you know there is some dispute over the ten commandments themselves? For the most part, Christian teaching and translations start the list of ten commandments off in Exodus 20:3 - "you shall have no other gods before me." But the Hebrew movement would argue that the first and most significant commandment is found in the second verse. "I am YHWH your Elohim who brought you out of the Egyptian house of slavery." Because knowing the name of the God we serve is incredibly important, right? This goes along with the third commandment of not forgetting the name of YHWH or bringing it to vain emptiness and ruin.

I am really happy about this new piece of art in my home! Hanging the ten commandments is a great way to learn them by heart, and keep your focus on how YHWH wants us to live. It also shows visitors that his word is important to you. While I think this is especially fitting for the Shavuot season, I plan to keep mine up year round. In a cute frame this would also make a great gift!

Click here to download my ten commandments printable. It is free for your personal use.
You can get a large print of this at a local printing place to have it as more of a statement piece. Mine was printed as an 18" by 13" for about $8.00. Or this prints great at home in a regular printer as an 11" by 8" or even smaller if you prefer.

A very happy Shavuot to each of you!

Scratch Off Omer Counter

I'm excited to share with you a new way to count the omer...with scratch offs!

Why count the omer? This is actually something we are instructed to do in Leviticus 23:15-16. The fifty days we are to count link the Feast of Unleavened Bread to Shavuot or Pentecost. This is the time period that the Messiah spent still on earth after being resurrected from the dead. What is an omer? Omer is the Hebrew word for sheaf - which is a bundle of grain. First Fruits during Matzah Week is when part of the barley harvest would be waved to YHWH, and then at Shavuot the same would be done with sheaves of wheat.

This is an easy DIY to put together since it's really just two things, a print and stickers. There is also some flexibility with how you use it. I liked the large size of this, but there's no reason you couldn't print this as an 8" x 11" in a normal printer if you would prefer. If you don't have time to order the scratch off stickers, using regular stickers to cover up the days as they go by would work. Or even just cross them off with a pen. It's up to you!

You will need:
Printable omer calendar
One inch scratch off stickers (I used gold ones from here)

Directions:
Print off the omer calendar. I got an 18" x 24" engineer print at Staples, which at $2.99 was the most cost effective option I found. The paper is thin, so it's not ideal for photographs, but works just fine for our purposes.
I used scotch tape to place my counter on the wall. You could also glue it to a foam board or attach to canvas if you prefer.
Then place your scratch off stickers above the numbers and you are set to go! Each day scratch off another sticker until we get to Shavuot.

Update: A friend told me she is going to take hers to an office supply store to get it laminated. Her plan is to mark the days with dry erase markers and use it each year!

The past couple of years of counting have brought me more than a few days where I'm not sure if I already did my omer count or not. I remember doing it, but maybe that was yesterday? Anyone else with me? So I decided to put seven days in each row to make it easier to double check. Just make note of what day you started counting on and things will add up. You could also make a habit of counting at a certain time each day or even saying the traditional blessing of, "Blessed are You, YHWH Eloheinu, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments, and commanded us concerning the counting of the omer."

If you look closely in the photos you may notice something is amiss. Funny story about assembling my counter: I expected to be left with one of my fifty stickers when I got done, but there were strangely two left. How could this be? Every row has seven numbers...with the exception of the second row which somehow has only six. Upon closer inspection of the photos I discovered that I had inadvertently left off day 13! I have no idea how that happened, but it is corrected in the downloadable version. Ha! 

Other ideas for counting the omer:
DIY Flair Calendar
Making a paper chain
Printable Cards from Torah Sisters Magazine
Kids Counter
Kosher on A Budget's Omer Counter
Writing the count in your planner

Hebrew Holiday Dates + Printable

Hebrew holiday dates for 2017...drum roll please.

Once again here are two sets of dates! I've done the traditional calendar dates and also the dates from Torah to the Tribes that are based on the start of the year, without an extra month. They are fairly close (of course there is some debate about when First Fruits is), mostly within a week of the other. So how do you choose?

I really can't make that decision for you but if you are in community with a group of believers the best option might be sticking together to celebrate. While there are pros and cons to both options, the fact is we really can't be certain of the dates until Yahusha returns. We can do our best now and be willing to change as we learn more. Keeping the feasts can be easier and more meaningful if you are able to do that with a group. So if you attend a congregation or at least can visit one for the feasts I would encourage you to embrace the dates that they are using.

Update: It came to my attention that I switched around the dates of the months for Shavuot and Yom Kippur on my first run of the Torah to the Tribes calendar. I have corrected the printable to show the accurate dates of May 28 for Shavuot and September 25 for Yom Kippur. So sorry for the confusion!

Get these dates and write them on your calendar. It takes intention and planning to honor YHWH by celebrating his feasts. Now is the time to prepare by scheduling vacation from work, budgeting for a celebration, and so forth.

A couple of things to keep in mind:
-The traditional calendar goes by sundown to sundown. Meaning Passover starts at sundown the evening of April 10.
-The Torah to the Tribes calendar goes by daylight to daylight. So Passover starts the morning of April 2.
-Not all set apart times are no work days. 

Like the weekly Shabbat, YHWH sets apart specific days of the year as times when no work should be done. This includes professional and household work. For the longer festivals there are days when work is permissible, giving us opportunity to labor over food preparation, shop for supplies, etc. Professional work is also allowed during this time, but if it's at all possible I would encourage you to take a few extra days off to focus on these set apart times. If vacation time is limited definitely prioritize taking off the no-work days.

No work days are as follows.

For the Torah to the Tribes calendar:
Days starting at sunlight.

Passover
April 3 and 9

Shavuot
May 28

Yom Teruah
September 16

Yom Kippur
September 25

Sukkot
September 30
October 7

For the traditional calendar:
Again, days starting and ending in the evening of the listed dates.

Passover
April 11-12
April 17-18

Shavuot
May 30 - June 1 (this is traditionally observed as two days even though Scripture mandates one)

Yom Teruah
September 20-22 (this is traditionally observed as two days even though Scripture mandates one)

Yom Kippur 
September 29-30

Sukkot
October 4-5
October 11-12

Click below to download the calendar to print. These work best as 5x7 or 8x10 prints.

Hebrew Holidays 2017 - Torah to the Tribes
Hebrew Holidays 2017 - traditional

They are completely free for your personal use.

Yom Teruah Printable Card

The first of the Fall Feasts will be here in just a few days! Either this Sunday or Monday evening as we wait to see the new moon. I hope you are going to celebrate this Festival of YHWH. A couple of you sent me projects you're working on inspired by Music & Moonlight party from a few posts back, and I can't wait to see more pictures!

I put together a printable card you can download to wish someone in your life a joyful Yom Teruah! Just print off, fold in half width wise, and then fold width-wise again. This printed best for me when the 'fit picture to frame' option was selected in the normal printing preferences box in Windows. I used a thin type of card stock paper to make this card a little more sturdy, but regular paper will do the job as well.

Download my printable Yom Teruah card here. It is free for your personal use.

Have a very happy Feast of Trumpets! Make a joyful noise!

Shabbat Shalom Printable

I wanted to make a printable as a fun way to celebrate Shabbat, YHWH's set apart day. No matter what season of life you are in or how many things you are juggling, Shabbat is a day for shalom. Print it off and set it out in your home to remind yourself of YHWH's peace.

Click here to download my Shabbat Shalom printable. It's free for your personal use. I hope you like it!

Spring Feast Printable Roundup

My first Passover was more than ten years ago. It was new to us and we had no idea what it was supposed to look like. I remember scouring the internet for something, anything to get a better idea of how to celebrate and finding almost nothing of help. You could hardly find anything online about Passover, let alone the Feasts of Unleavened Bread and First Fruits. Today it is so exciting to see other bloggers sharing their creativity to help us celebrate YHWH's feasts! Today I am sharing with you a few free resources that will help you celebrate the Spring Feasts this year, whether or not you are new to it.

1. Passover Printable - Land of Honey
- I shared this last year, but it's still a great way to decorate!

2. Passover Busy Book for Kids - Torah Sisters
- With puzzles, coloring pages, and mazes this will keep kids occupied at the Seder table or use it for fun throughout the week of Unleavened Bread.

3. Why Is It Place Cards - Almost Makes Perfect
-A quick way to make your Seder table a little more sophisticated and have the Ma Nishtana at the ready.

4. Ten Plagues Finger Puppets - Tori Avey
-Tori thoughtfully made two versions, one is in color ready to print, and the other is black and white to color yourself.

5. Happy Passover Cards - The Climbing Tree
-Since Passover things aren't easy to find, this is just what we need to spread the joy of the Spring Feasts and say, "Chag Sameach!"

6. Find the Afikoman Game - Joyfully Jewish
-This sounds so fun! Go on a treasure hunt and work on your Hebrew. Print off a set in a different color for each child participating.

7. Seder Plate Labels - Chai and Home
-An elegant addition to your Seder Plate that will teach a little Hebrew.

8. Four Cups of Wine Printable - Hebraic Roots Network
-A fun decoration to remind us of the Seder meal.

9. Unleavened Matzah Verse - Land of Honey
-Keep this up for the duration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

10. Count the Omer Calendar - Kosher on a Budget
-A simple way to count the days until Shavuot.

11. He is Risen Printable - Kraft and Mint
-Use this to celebrate First Fruits!

12. Passover Matching Cards - The Climbing Tree
-Two activities in one. Decorate the cards, then play memory games.

I would recommend printing on a thicker cardstock type of paper. It's sturdy and gives it a better look I think. Of course you can also opt to have these professionally printed if that works better for you. If you know of any other great printables for the Spring Feasts please share with us below!