Author: Steven R. Bruck
Is the Whole New Covenant Really Necessary?
Many Christians have been taught almost exclusively about God and the Messiah from the New Covenant writings. This is like reading the sequel to a book without reading the first book.
By the way, there won’t be a video today because I am not home.
The New Covenant, in Hebrew called the B’rit Chadashah, starts with the 4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and then has letters written by Shaul (Paul), James, Luke, and John. The letters written by Shaul make up nearly 2/3 of the entire B’rit Chadashah.
The letters written by the Apostles (known as the Epistles) were written to new Messianic congregations throughout the Middle East and parts of Asia. They were addressed to specific congregations to help them overcome specific problems they were having. As such, unlike the Gospels and Revelation, these letters are about God, Messiah and the Torah but are not from God or from Messiah. They are from the leaders of the Messianic Movement (mostly from Shaul), reminding and leading these troubled congregations back into proper worship and social behavior.
This is important to know: their inclusion as scripture and God inspired writings was a decision made by Gentiles who had been taught that Christianity (which is what the Messianic movement of the First Century had become) was separate and unique from Judaism.
The Gospels are absolutely necessary for us to have because they complete the story God began with creation, and the promise to Abraham that his seed would be a blessing to the entire world. After all, what better blessing could there be than the Messiah who provides forgiveness of sin and the opportunity to be with God for all eternity?
The Old Covenant, known in Hebrew as the Tanakh, is also absolutely necessary for everyone to know because it is God’s story of creation, and in the Torah (the first 5 books) God gives us his instructions regarding how we are to worship him, and how we are to treat each other. It is the ultimate User’s Manual for salvation.
In the Tanakh we have the story of creation, how God chose a righteous man and made a nation of priests from him, whose purpose was to bring to the entire world God’s instructions, which he gave in the Torah. The Tanakh also tells us of how God saved his people from slavery and attack, over and over, so that they would survive to fulfill their purpose. Even when they sinned and abandoned their God, causing him to punish them with dispersion throughout the globe, he always maintained a remnant. That remnant eventually was returned to their homeland, Israel, waiting for the Messiah God promised throughout the Tanakh.
This is now where the New Covenant, the B’rit Chadashah comes in. The Gospels are each an eyewitness account of the beginning of the ministry of the Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus), of his teachings, and his eventual death by crucifixion. That death was a sacrifice he allowed in order to replace the need to bring an animal to the Temple that was in Jerusalem.
Here is a good example of why it is so important to know the Tanakh if you want to really understand the Gospels. In the Tanakh we learn the sacrificial system is a 5-Step process:
- You have to sin (not that I encourage it, but there can be no forgiveness of sin without a sin, right?);
- You have to recognize that you have sinned and “own” it;
- You have to repent of having committed that sin;
- You then bring an animal specified in the Torah to the location where God has placed his name, which from the time of King David was in Jerusalem; and
- You then ask forgiveness of that sin by means of the blood of the sacrifice.
Because you know the Tanakh, you can now see that when Yeshua sacrificed himself, he did NOT replace the entire sacrificial process, but only the need to bring an animal to the Temple where God had placed his name. And that was essential because within a single lifetime after Yeshua’s work was done, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and remains that way today. No Temple, no chance for forgiveness under the Torah, but through Yeshua, that forgiveness is made possible.
Back to the main message: Revelation is also needed so that we can understand what will happen in the End Days, called the Acharit HaYamim. As for the rest of the New Covenant, I really don’t think it is necessary to know in order to understand God’s plan of salvation.
I know that many are thinking I just blasphemed, but I don’t think I have. There has been so much misquoting, misunderstanding, and wrongful teaching from the Epistles that have led people to sin when they think they are being righteous, that I really think all we need from the New Covenant is the Gospels (I would even consider leaving John out, altogether) and Revelation.
All we need to know is that God is in charge and created us to worship him, but gave us free will to chose whether or not we will. He provided the instructions we need (in the Torah) to live as he wants us to live and a Messiah so that when we screwed up (as he knew we would), we could still make it right.
The letters that Shaul and the other Apostles wrote help us to understand some of the issues that the new Believers faced as they converted from their paganistic lifestyle to one that was righteous, but are not direct commandments from God. They are men telling other men how they should act based on what they know of God, which was (by the way) solely from the Tanakh. There was no New Covenant when the New Covenant stories were happening.
So, to finish this, we all need to know the Tanakh to be able to understand the New Covenant. We cannot know what Yeshua meant when he taught from the Tanakh unless we know the Tanakh.
For the record, and to be “fair”, there are parts of the Tanakh I would question whether or not we really need them, but that’s for another message.
Look…I am not saying to throw away the entire middle of your New Covenant Bibles. I am saying that what you need to do is make sure you read the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. But in the New Covenant you should concentrate on the Gospels and Revelation.
Once you know the Tanakh, when you read Shaul’s letters you will correctly understand the issues that Shaul wrote about to his fledging congregations, and how they did not change any of the instructions or requirements that God gave us but only helped these newly converting Believers to slowly work their way into proper worship.
After all, if you want to talk about a paradigm shift, think of what is was like for someone following the decadent, sexually uninhibited and gluttonous Roman lifestyle to become a righteous person! Really, who could make that change cold turkey?
Thank you for being here and please, if you like what you read, subscribe and share this ministry with others. I also welcome your comments… just be nice.
Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
Every Family Has One.
Every family has one, and that “one” I am talking about is the “Black Sheep”; the one member of the family that has wandered off, done wrong and as a result has ostracized himself (or herself) from their family.
Today’s message is based on an event that recently happened to a family I have known for a long time.
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
From this large family, one brother had lied, cheated and even stole from his siblings, and abandoned the children he produced from different wives. After years of this type of behavior, he ultimately lost the trust and friendship of every one of his siblings, exes, and children. Essentially, he had used up his ability to mooch off his family. When that happened, he re-connected with a woman who had stalked him for many years (she also had her own issues) so that he was able to find the ultimate Meal Ticket. For nearly a decade no one in the family had heard from him.
This past week one of the family members was contacted by the police in the area where he was living to advise them that he had been found in his apartment, deceased.
Not one of the family wanted to claim the body, yet all were saddened by his passing. He died alone, he never married his partner who had died years before (he never let anyone know this), and they know almost nothing about his life for the past 10 years.
I want to quote just the first 4 verses from David’s Psalm 36 (CJB):
For the leader. By David, the servant of ADONAI: Crime speaks to the wicked. I perceive this in my heart; before his eyes there is no fear of God. For, the way he sees it, crime makes his life easy that is, until his wrongs are discovered; then, he is hated. His words are wrong and deceitful; he has stopped being wise and doing good. He devises trouble as he lies in bed; so set is he on his own bad way that he doesn’t hate evil.
This morning when I read this psalm, I thought of this man. A man who had been a friendly, sweet and gregarious person as a youth, but who somewhere had turned from that path. He became solitary, self-centered, irresponsible, and so lazy that he believed everyone else in the world was responsible to make sure he got whatever it was he wanted. And if that meant to cheat, lie or even steal from them, that was OK. His moral compass wasn’t pointing in the right direction; in truth, he had no morals at all. He had given in to evil and subsequently ostracized himself from his entire family, all of whom loved him.
They wondered how he could have done this to himself, as well as how he could have done this to them. He was such a fine brother at first, but he changed.
Do you remember what Adonai (God) warned Cain about in Genesis 4:7? He said:
If you are doing what is good, shouldn’t you hold your head high? And if you don’t do what is good, sin is crouching at the door – it wants you, but you can rule over it.”
The reason I am sharing this story with you today is that this could be about any one of us! Sin is always there, like a stalking lion, and it takes very little to turn from the path of righteousness. The world is an evil and cursed place, where sinfulness is not just accepted, but expected! It is so easy to do evil, and so hard to do what is right, and once we choose to do evil it becomes easier to do more evil.
Yes, Virginia- there is a Dark Side.
But we can overcome the darkness with the light of the Lord, the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) which we can receive simply by asking for it, with an open and humble heart that wants to do good and be obedient to the Lord. Accepting Yeshua (Jesus) as the true Messiah God promised to send, we can then find forgiveness for sin and be led by God’s own spirit.
But there is a catch. Before we can receive forgiveness through Messiah Yeshua, and before we can receive the Holy Spirit, we first have to do something: we have to repent. And not just for what we have done, but for all time- we have to do T’shuvah (turn from evil ) and only desire to do only what is right.
To be saved from yourself, you must choose to want to do good: not good as the world sees good, but good according to God.
What does God see as good? It’s simple- love God and love each other. When we truly love someone more than we love ourself, we will do for that person what we would like them to do for us. The “Golden Rule” is a great start, but we need more than that. There also has to be obedience to God’s word, the instructions he gave us in the Torah which define what he sees as “good.” Yeshua said no one is good but God (Luke 18:19), and God tells us many times throughout the Tanakh (Old Covenant) that we should be holy as he is holy; for me, this means that even though God is the only one that is truly “good”, he wants us to emulate him as best as we can.
There will be more for this family of the “black sheep” brother to suffer through. They need to decide how to dispose of the remains, to find out if he even has an estate, and if so what to do if that estate is worth trying to salvage from being escheated to the State he lived in. Someone will have to go through his possessions, and it will be very hard because of all the remorse they feel. There is remorse over the fact that that he did not change his ways and return, as with the Prodigal Son; remorse that he died all alone; and, I am sure some (if not all) feel remorse that they didn’t do more to intercede in order to put him on the right path. I am sure they feel they shouldn’t have lost contact, that despite what he did and what he was they should have at least kept in touch, somehow.
I can tell you that if it were up to me, I would tell them they did all they could. I know that each sibling was lied to and cheated, and some were outrightly robbed. He chose to be that way, and there was nothing more they could have done- it wasn’t anyone’s fault but his own that he ended up that way. Despite our best efforts, we can’t change people. The best we can do is try not to be hurt by them, and let them know that we are always there for them when they want to repent.
I know for a fact from my personal contact with this family that each sibling wanted him back in the family, and I believe their brother knew that.
I pray that by sharing this sad story we can all remember and be aware of how easy it is for anyone to fall from grace. And once we have fallen, it is very, VERY hard to get back on the path of righteousness. Even with friends and family that love you, when you constantly misuse that love you will end up cutting yourself off from what could be the best chance you have to be saved from eternal damnation.
Perhaps, in the last minutes of his life, this poor soul was able to repent and ask forgiveness. We can only hope that he did so- no one knows what the last moments of life are like, and perhaps God, who is so understanding and desiring to forgive, gives us all one last chance. That is a wonderful thought.
Personally, I don’t think that’s how it is so I will do everything I can to stay on the right path! If you know someone who is a “Black Sheep”, try to keep in touch with him or her. Don’t allow them to separate themselves from your life; you never know- they may choose to repent. And for someone trying to get up out of the pit, it really helps to know there is someone’s hand reaching out to grab hold of yours and help pull you up.
Thank you for being here, please do not hesitate to comment (just be nice) and share this story out to others, and please subscribe to this website and to my YouTube channel, as well.
Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
PS: Please pray for this family to forgive this man so they can have peace in their heart.
Video for Every Family Has One
Parashah Emor 2019 (Speak) Leviticus 21-24
These three chapters deal with three topics: the cleanliness of the Priests who serve in the Sanctuary (as well as the sacrifices brought there), the Holy Days God instructs us to celebrate, and the rules regarding punishment for blasphemy and murder.
As always, I find so much in here to talk about, all of which may be edifying to us and help us better understand what God requires of us. Yet, so that you don’t fall asleep during this message, I will choose just one topic to discuss. And this topic has been so zealously argued that I don’t think anyone will be yawning. At least, I hope not.
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
For the purposes of this message, let’s separate Holy Days from holidays. A Holy Day is a festival or celebration which God has instructed us to observe, whereas a holiday is a man-made celebration. God’s Holy Days are found in the Torah, and holidays are found in the other books of the Old Covenant and in traditional religious doctrine.
The 7 Holy Days God has commanded we must celebrate are:
Shabbat, the day of rest;
Passover (a pilgrimage festival);
Feast of Unleavened Bread (7 days);
Shavuot (the second pilgrimage festival);
Yom Teruah (Day of Trumpets, later turned into Rosh Hashanah, a rabbinic celebration);
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement); and
Sukkot (Tabernacles, and the third and final pilgrimage festival.)
Pilgrimage festivals are the only ones where it is required to travel to the location where God places his name. During the time of the Judges and up until King David moved it, that place was Shiloh, where the Tent of Sanctuary was located. King David moved the tent to Jerusalem and once Solomon completed the Temple, the Temple was the place to go. After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, Jews worldwide have had nowhere to go to bring a sacrifice so they can be absolved of their sins or celebrate the pilgrimage festivals as God instructed us to do.
To those of us who have accepted Yeshua as the Messiah God promised to send, his sacrifice replaced the need to bring an animal to the Temple in Jerusalem so we are able to receive forgiveness; however, we have to settle to go to Shul (Synagogue) instead of Jerusalem to celebrate the pilgrimage Holy Days.
Now let’s get into that heated topic I referred to earlier, which is this: because God instructed us to observe only these 7 Holy Days, is the observance of any other holiday a sin? Especially those created by Christianity, whose origins are found in paganistic celebrations.
I suppose we should begin with identifying what sin is: a sin, for the purpose of this discussion (and I believe it is a good definition for any discussion), is when we do something that God says we shouldn’t do, or, conversely, don’t do something that God says we should do.
So, with that in mind, let’s look at other holidays and test them against our definition of sin.
Let’s start with the Jewish ones, of which there are many. How about Rosh Hashana? The Jewish New Year, according to God, is the first of Aviv (now called Nisan), but the rabbinical or civic celebration is on what God said is the Day of Trumpets, a day to be a memorial. From that day on the 10 Days of Awe begin, in which we all look introspectively to determine how close, or how far, we have been from obeying God over the past year. Since Rosh Hashanah is a form of a memorial, I don’t see celebrating it the way we do as being sinful. There’s also Sh’mini Atzeret, also known as Simchat Torah, the 8th day of Sukkot. We honor God and his word by celebrating the turning back of the Torah from the end to the beginning so we can start reading it all over again. That doesn’t go against anything God said we should or should not do, and it is respectful, thankful and honoring to God.
There’s Purim (biblical but not commanded), the different fast days, the 9th of Av, and any number of lesser holidays, none of which dishonor God or go against anything he has decreed. So, since we celebrate God, honor him and his word, and aren’t doing anything against what he says, according to our definition of sin, celebrating these man-made Jewish holidays is not sinful.
Let’s now take a look at the major Christian holidays of Easter and Christmas…Oy Vey!! -now we are in for it.
Here is where the majority say celebrating them is sinful. The Maypole (a leftover from the Asherah pole), bunnies and eggs (paganistic fertility symbols), the name Easter (the pronunciation is the same for the fertility goddess, Ishtar), the use of a tree and ornaments to celebrate the birth of Yeshua (Jesus) is similar to graven images and Druidic practices…all of this is considered sinful. And the intention of the ones that worshiped false gods on these days and using these items was sinful.
But did God say we cannot celebrate the birth of the Messiah? Did God forbid us from celebrating the fulfillment of the work of the Messiah, demonstrated by his resurrection?
It is clearly a sin to celebrate and worship Ishtar, Molech, Ba’al, or any Semitic gods or the gods of other religions; but, if we are desiring to honor the one, true God and his Messiah with thankful worship in our hearts, will the paganistic origins of those days and items used overrule the current intent of our celebration? In other words, just because once, long ago these days were paganistic rituals, does that mean when we worship God and Messiah on these same days that they are unacceptable to God?
I don’t think so. God is clear that we are NOT to worship any other God but him, and if someone puts up a tree, adorns it, and does so solely to honor Messiah and God, they are NOT worshiping another God. Yes, maybe the things they are using and the way they are using them was once the way someone would worship a false god, but that is not what Gentiles Christians are doing. They are doing so with the intention of being worshipful and celebrating God’s gift of salvation through Yeshua.
For the record: I, myself, do not celebrate any Christian holidays because I am Jewish, but if I was a Gentile Believer, I most likely would still celebrate Easter and Christmas for the reasons I state above, to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to celebrate salvation through Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ.)
Throughout the Bible, both Old and New Covenants, God constantly makes it known to us that he is not interested in anyone just “going through the motions” but in what is in our hearts. He constantly told the Israelites that their bulls, sheep, and other offerings meant nothing to him because their hearts were not in it. I interpret this to mean that so long as what we offer to God is with a grateful and worshipful heart, God will accept it from us.
I absolutely believe that when we celebrate a day to honor and thank God, he is more interested in why we are doing it than in the way we are doing it.
Therefore, in my opinion, celebrating Easter and Christmas with the intention and desire to be thankful to God and the Messiah is not a sin. If you eat ham at your Easter or Christmas dinner, well…that is different. That is clearly something that is a sin because God said pork is off the menu, forever. But having a Christmas dinner, being with family and enjoying each other, celebrating God and his Messiah…really, how can that be wrong in God’s eyes?
Finally, it comes down to individual choice. If you don’t want to celebrate any festivals other than the ones God gave in the Torah, that is great! So long as you do that because you want to, and not because you are trying to earn anything with God. Likewise, if you give up something you like for Lent, celebrate Easter, put up your Christmas tree every year and do so solely with the intention of honoring God and Messiah, I believe God’s is fine with that.
There is, however, this caveat: if you do not celebrate the festivals God commanded in Leviticus Chapter 23 because you have been taught they are “Jewish” and not important to Christians, then you ARE in sin! Remember that our definition of sin is not doing what God says we should, and he clearly instructs us to celebrate these festivals. Even Yom Kippur, asking for forgiveness, is not done away with by Yeshua- we all sin, we all need to ask for forgiveness, and doing so in accordance with God’s instructions is never going to be wrong.
So, nu! There you have it! The bottom line, the Acid Test to determine if celebrating a man-made holiday is not a sin is this: if you celebrate a day to honor God and you do so with proper worship, desire, respect, and thankfulness in your heart, you will be OK.
Thank you for being here, please don’t forget to subscribe and share me out to your friends and family. I always welcome comments so long as they are respectful.
Tonight begins the Shabbat, so I wish you all Shabbat Shalom, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
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How Should We Really Pray for The Peace of Jerusalem?
In the Gospels, when Yeshua (Jesus) is in the garden praying to God, he asks if the cup can be passed from him. He was asking, “Lord? Do I really have to go through this? Isn’t there a Plan B?”
And the answer he gave himself was, “Thy will be done.”
Do you know where we commanded to pray for the peace of Jerusalem? Nowhere. There is nowhere in the Bible we are commanded to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. The Torah is where we find God’s instructions and there are none telling us we must pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
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We are asked to pray for the peace of Jerusalem by King David in Psalm 122:5-6, where he says:
For there the thrones of judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you prosper. May there be peace within your walls, and prosperity inside your fortresses.”
This psalm is asking that we pray for peace in Jerusalem so that there is peace in the house of David, and also in the house of Adonai.
Since its formation as a state in 1948, Israel (and Jerusalem as its capital) has been attacked daily by her enemies, which surround her on all sides. These attacks aren’t just military or terroristic; Israel is also being attacked economically, it is being lied about in the media, and it’s people are attacked throughout the European nations through anti-Semitic activities, such as in France and many former Soviet Union states, to name a few.
Even in the Congress of the United States, there is a New York Representative who is blatantly anti-Semitic! New York has always had a tremendously large Jewish population, yet here is a New Yorker who is obviously against Israel. Let’s not forget to mention there are some representatives from other states who also demonstrate a public persona that is anti-Semitic.
With regards to Jerusalem and Israel, we have prayed and prayed until our tallitot are frayed, and yet there is no peace. Is God ignoring his people? Does God want the enemies of the Jews to succeed? Are we praying the wrong way?
I believe we are praying the wrong way, or maybe I should rephrase that: I believe we are praying for the wrong kind of peace.
First off, let’s all see if we can agree on this: whatever God wants to happen, will happen. Are we all OK with that? Good.
Next, let’s see what God intends for Jerusalem and Israel, so we know what he wants to happen:
Zechariah 12:3– On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.
Luke 21:24– Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Isaiah 34:1-2- For the Lord’s anger is against all the nations. And His anger is against all their armies. He has destroyed all of them. He has given them over to be killed.
Revelation 21:1-3– Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
These are just a few of the many verses telling about Jerusalem and Israel in the End Days, called the Acharit HaYamim. God has punished Israel for her sins, and since the re-establishment of the State of Israel, the regathering promised throughout the Tanakh by nearly every prophet has been underway. The time of Israel’s punishment is over, and the time for the punishment of the nations is starting.
However, that doesn’t mean Israel is going to have peace- not yet.
God’s plan is that all the nations of the earth will come against Israel, and when the end of Israel seems to be certain, Messiah Yeshua will return, land on Mount Carmel and then (as we Marines say) he will kick butt and take names.
And when he kicks butt there won’t be any names left to take.
God’s plan for Israel is that it be attacked and decimated, nearly to the point of total destruction. We don’t have to like it, but that is what it is. He had the same plan for Messiah, who was insulted, beaten, whipped, tortured, and crucified. Israel will have to undergo the same treatment, and just like her Messiah, who rose triumphant and resurrected in a perfect body, Israel and Jerusalem will also be resurrected as a perfect place, and we will live in the presence of God, forever.
We should be following Yeshua’s example of praying, which means not praying for the avoidance of the terrible things to happen, but for God’s will to be done. We should not pray for the peace that men design, for we have seen throughout the history of Mankind that the peace men create is not lasting. Forget about peace with Jordan, or Syria, or any other nations. It ain’t in the cards! Pray that the attacks against Israel and her people be ended by the return of Messiah.
That is the way I pray for the peace of Jerusalem: I pray that Messiah’s return happens swiftly because that is the only thing that will bring everlasting peace to Jerusalem.
We cannot go against the plan of God, and his plan is that Israel is attacked until it is nearly destroyed. We can’t stop that and we shouldn’t- it is what God wants, therefore I say we must not pray against it but for it to be done speedily so that the fewest number of people will have to suffer.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, but not for a man-made peace, which is a waste of time. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem that God has planned for it by praying for the speedy return of Messiah Yeshua.
Thank you for being here and please subscribe and share this message to everyone you know who believes in God. I welcome your comments, just be nice, and until next time…L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
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Give the Argument About Shabbat Rest a Rest
Every Friday and Saturday I see posts all over the Hebraic Roots and Christian Discussion Groups I am a member of about the Sabbath (Shabbat, in Hebrew), which is the 7th day. Most decry the Christian moving of the Shabbat to a Sunday, and many are very confused about what can and what cannot be done on the Shabbat.
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The Bible tells us all one, definitive thing about the Shabbat- it is to be kept holy. Holy, as I have said many times, simply means to be separated, and the Shabbat is to be holy, i.e. separated from our regular activities and dedicated to rest and to God. There can’t be any reasonable argument against this simple definition of what the Shabbat is: a day to be separated from our regular scheduled activities and dedicated to resting and to God.
The next question is: what, exactly, does it mean to rest? And, as Shakespeare wrote, “There’s the rub!”
I will not tell you what you should do on the Shabbat. I will also not accept anyone telling me what I should do on the Shabbat; anyone, except God, of course, and he told me that I should rest from my regular work. To me (and you each have to determine what this means for you), resting is not doing that which I normally do on a regular basis that is not restful for me. As for dedicating the day to God, I dedicate every day to God and in this, I may be guilty of not separating the Shabbat from the rest of the week.
Will I follow the strict limitations that are found in the Talmud? No, I will not. I don’t believe that God thinks walking a certain distance is not work, but going a few feet further is work. I do not believe that driving my car is forbidden, and if I want to do work in the garden or around the house, which I don’t normally do during the week, although I will work up a sweat and it is often hard toiling, it is also restful for me in my spirit and my body (I love a good workout.)
Why is driving a car forbidden? We are told not to light a fire on the Shabbat (Exodus 35), and when you drive you are lighting a fire every time the spark plug creates the spark to ignite the atomized fuel in the cylinder.
There are so many rabbinic restrictions on people regarding the Shabbat, and I see neophytes in the Hebraic Roots Movement confused about them. The pressure from others to conform to strict restrictions is a new form of the legalism that the Galatians were being subjected to. Look- if you want to spend the entire day in a Synagogue or sit quietly at home, not walk very far, not spend any money or doing any kind of physical activity at all (not even making the bed), I do not think that is wrong or a bad thing IF it is what you believe God wants from you.
Personally, on Saturday I will ride my bike, I will spend money if I need to go to the grocery store and I wil go out to brunch with Donna if we feel like it. I will drive my car if I need to go somewhere, and I will do many other things that many people (especially Orthodox Jews) would say I should not be doing. Do I do this in order to purposefully sin against God? Of course not! I do what I do on the Shabbat because I find it restful; if Donna and I want to see a movie on a Saturday, we will go. It is time together, it is restful, and it is not denying God our attention and devotion. That I give to God 24/7/365…and 366 in Leap Years!
I am not telling anyone that they can do whatever they want to do on the Shabbat, but if what they do is restful, enjoyable, connect’s them with family, and includes worship of and communion with God, then as far as I am concerned, that can’t be a bad thing. Maybe I am wrong, and if so, then I will have to ask forgiveness from God for misunderstanding him. I believe he will let me know if I am really off the mark.
If you don’t feel comfortable doing something on the Shabbat, then don’t do it. But don’t not do something just because someone else told you that you can’t. Ask God to show you what he wants from you, and always remember that it is our intrinsic nature to avoid God’s instructions, so filter what you want to do from what you think God wants you to (or not do), and when in doubt go with what you think God wants.
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And I always welcome comments, so long as you are nice.
Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch Ha Shem!