We as the group of people on earth who believe in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the world, are referred to as His bride. The Hebrew word here is Kalah – כלה . Kalah particularly refers to a bride betrothed before the wedding. In this way we are betrothed now by covenant but have not yet consumed the marriage.
Kalah also is the affectionate term for the wife after marriage, as a husband still refers to his wife as “my bride.”
There is a sense of bridal intimacy and pleasure as during the “honeymoon” period. The root of the word Kalah is found in Jeremiah 2:2 as God saying He remembers our bridal intimacy when the people of Israel followed Him in the first stages of love in the desert.
In Hebrew the word Kalah also means daughter in law. So each of my sons’ wives is his Kalah – bride but she is also a Kalah to me and Betty as our daughter in law. Some call this a “daughter in love.”
So the identity of the Kalah is twofold. The first is to the husband and the second is to the son’s father.
In this way we all have a twofold identity as well. We are a beloved Kalah to Yeshua and we are also a beloved Kalah to our heavenly Father.
Asher serves as president of Tikkun Global family of ministries and congregations, dedicated to the dual restoration of Israel and the Church. He is founder of the Revive Israel five-fold ministry team, and oversees both Ahavat Yeshua and Tiferet Yeshua congregations in Israel.
He and his wife Betty share a passion for personal prayer and devotion, local evangelism and discipleship in Hebrew, and unity of the Body of believers worldwide.
Asher was raised in a conservative Jewish home and holds degrees from Harvard University, Baltimore Hebrew College and Messiah Biblical Institute. He has authored numerous books, tracts and articles.