Gratitude - Day 3 - Mishpacha

My mishpacha at Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles)

(Day 3 in my series on Gratitude for November)

Mishpacha is Hebrew for family.  Not only am I blessed with a large number of relatives through my family blood lines, I am blessed with my grafted-in family.  My mishpacha through Judaism is even larger, and the loved ones at our synagogue, Ma'gen Da'vid, are just as precious as the ones I wrote about before.  I am so thankful to be a part of such a wonderful group of people. 

We worship, celebrate, and serve Hashem together.  Oh, and of course, we laugh a lot!  Rabbi sees to that.  What a wonderful, loving family they are, too.  Always willing to help when there's a need.  Always loving and caring of each other, and abundantly kind and loving to Rabbi and me.  We are honored to worship and serve alongside them.

Our Erev Shabbat (Friday night) services often don't end until 10 or 11 pm, because we linger to talk and enjoy each other's company during oneg (food and fellowship after the service).  We eat and drink and the time flies by. 

Believers share a special bond that is just as strong as blood.  We are bound by faith in G-d, and in Judaism our beliefs and traditions bind and unite us with mishpacha all over the world.  We have in common Hashem's Feasts and Festivals, love and honor of His Torah, and so much more. 

As a Messianic Jew, I am also connected with those believers who accept Yeshua as the Messiah.  They, like myself have been grafted into the olive tree (Judaism).  They really ought to get to know their mishpacha.  So many blessings await them.