Author: Steven R. Bruck
Parashah V’yikrah 2021 (And he called) Leviticus 1 – 5
We now enter into the Book of Leviticus.
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
In this book are many of the laws, commandments, regulations, and ordinances that God gave to us through Moses, which define how we are to worship God and treat each other.
These laws have been split into two categories: ceremonial and moral. As far as I am concerned, it doesn’t matter how we wish to categorize them but only that they are what God said we should do. That’s enough for me.
Instead of going through the different types of sacrifices and regulations for each, which are contained in this parashah, I would like to talk, in general, about these instructions from God.
Christianity has spent two millennia trying to separate itself from the Jewish roots from which it sprouted, and has been very successful at doing that. It has managed to grow into any number of different religions and sects, none of which seem to have anything in common with the others other than they profess to worship God and that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah.
Oh, wait a minute….they also have this in common: they teach that the Son of God said whoever accepts him as their Savior doesn’t have to obey the commandments that God gave in the Torah.
Actually, they can’t reject all of them, of course: the “moral” commandments still are valid, such as don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, and don’t worship or bow down and pray to any graven image (the Roman Catholics still have a problem with this one.)
But what did Yeshua say, really?
In Matthew 5:17 (a favorite Christian verse to proclaim the Torah is null and void), Yeshua says he has come to fulfill the law, which (as I mentioned) Christianity loves to quote as their justification that having fulfilled it, he did away with it. But they ignore the first part of that sentence, where Yeshua says he did NOT come to change the law.
Now, at that time in history, the usage of the word “fulfill” with regard to the Torah did not mean to perform but to interpret. Matthew 5:17 should really say that Yeshua came not to change the law but to interpret it correctly. This is confirmed with the Sermon on the Mount, where Yeshua “fulfilled the law” by teaching the deeper, spiritual meaning of it (called the Remes). He starts with “You have heard it said…” then tells the people the literal meaning of the law (called the P’shat), which was all the Pharisees had ever taught. And then he goes further, saying “But I tell you…” teaching them the deeper, spiritual meaning.
For instance, he said that we have been told not to murder, but if we hate in our heart, we have already committed murder. He taught that we have been told not to commit adultery, but if we lust in our heart, we already have. Can you see? He fulfilled the law because he taught us the spiritual meaning of it, which is why so often in the Gospels we read how people said that he taught as no one ever had before.
Christianity has also misinterpreted the statement made by a man, they call Paul, who told the Messianic congregation he started in Colussus that our sins were nailed to the cross with Yeshua. Within Christian teachings, they say that this means the law (Torah) was nailed to the cross, but that is just plain wrong. Read Colossians 2:13-14: Paul never said the law was nailed to the cross, only the sins we had committed.
The ongoing and (I believe) never-ending argument about are Christians subject to the laws in the Torah will never be settled until Messiah rules the world, at which time everyone will be forced to acknowledge that whatever Yeshua says we should do, we had better do.
But I would like to ask those who have been taught the Torah is only for Jews to consider the following:
- If Yeshua is the Son of God; and
- If disobedience to the laws in the Torah were, at the time Yeshua lived, a sin; and
- If Yeshua taught people to disobey his father and obey only him …
Then wouldn’t that make Yeshua a traitorous son and a disobedient, sinful Messiah?
Where else in the Bible does a son, a prince, try to overthrow his father’s kingdom and replace him as king? (I really shouldn’t have to tell you, should I?)
If Yeshua taught anything that was against the laws God had given to the people, then he would be in sin and a traitor to his own father. He would not have ever been an acceptable sacrifice, but since we know he WAS an acceptable sacrifice, then he (obviously) never did anything against his father or break the law, nor did he ever teach anyone else to break the law.
The only justification that Christianity has used to show where multiple times someone has taught that the Torah is not valid or necessary for Christians is from the letters of Paul to his congregations throughout the Middle East and Asia.
Paul was not a prophet, he was never contacted by God telling him, as God did with Moses or the Prophets of the Tanakh, to tell anyone anything. He was a missionary who said and did whatever he needed to in order to get people to listen to the Good News of the Messiah. He never converted to Christianity, he never changed his name from Shaul to Paul, and he never went exclusively to the Gentiles. In fact, he always went to teach in the synagogues first, then he went to the Gentiles.
And he never said that we could ignore the Torah, only that within the Gentile congregations who were having issues with their faith, that they should learn the Torah and obey it a little at a time and not have to become converts to Judaism all at once.
Just the same way that Isaiah told the people in the Northern tribes of Israel, who were constantly at odds with their faith, that they are so spiritually weak they need to learn God’s ways little by little and line by line (Isaiah 28:10.)
I don’t want to get into an argument about whether or not Shaul’s letters should be included in the Bible, or whether or not you have to obey the Torah- these are decisions that you have to make for yourself because no matter why you decide how you worship, when you meet God you will be held accountable for what you do or don’t do.
My advice to everyone is that you best make sure whichever way you chose to live your life and worship God be an informed decision based on your own research because, as I said, you WILL be held accountable for that choice.
If a cop wants to give you a speeding ticket and you say you didn’t know what the speed limit was, he will tell you that ignorance of the law is no excuse. I believe God will have the same attitude.
Thank you for being here and please don’t forget to subscribe here and on my YouTube channel, as well. I hope you will share these messages with everyone you know and remember that I always welcome your comments.
That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and Shabbat Shalom!
Video for Parashah V’yikrah 2021
Who Are We to Say?
Do you remember in the Book of Job what God said regarding all the advice that Job’s three friends gave him? God wasn’t very happy that they had been telling Job all about what God does, how he feels, and what he thinks. In fact, let’s see what happened, in Job 42:7 (CJB):
After ADONAI had spoken these words to Iyov, ADONAI said to Elifaz the Teimani, “My anger is blazing against you and your two friends, because, unlike my servant Iyov, you have not spoken rightly about me.
I bring this up because recently I have posted something that resulted in my being told I wasn’t really saved. And you know what? … this wasn’t the first time.
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
So how does anyone know who is “saved”? What is salvation? Is it something we can touch? Is it something that we can see? Is it visible to others, like a certificate on my wall or a medal I can wear? Can anyone know someone is “saved” simply by what they write?
We are told we can tell righteous people by the fruits they produce (Matthew 7:16), but how can we really know their “fruit” if we only see what they post on social media? Or only hear what they say now and then?
On an apple tree you will find the occasional rotted or misshapen apple, so does that mean the tree, itself, is no good? Is every single grape in the vineyard perfectly formed and juicy? If a pear tree produces a few pears that are not tasty, should I destroy the tree?
I believe salvation is a spiritual relationship between the person and God, and the only ones who can truthfully say what the condition of that relationship is… is that person and God.
So, why is it, then, that there are people who think they know what that relationship is? I have been told, on more than one occasion, that I am not really saved because of what I have said in one of my ministry messages.
I have been told I don’t have a true relationship with Jesus because I believe the Torah is still valid. I have been told I am not really saved because I do not believe that most of the things written in the New Covenant writings are “God-breathed” divine instructions. I have been told I am not really saved because of my beliefs about certain holidays or my refusal to pronounce the Tetragrammaton.
Look…I accepted Yeshua as my Messiah many years ago, and the constant blessings in my life have confirmed that I am in good standing with him, as well as in good standing with God. I pray constantly, I fail constantly, and I ask for forgiveness constantly.
And not to brag, but for the record, I have had many people over the years confirm that I have a definite gift for teaching and understanding of God’s word, so when I get told I am not really saved, I tend to ignore it. However, I will listen, just in case, I have made a mistake. Despite praying every day to only say in this ministry what is right in God’s eyes, I can’t trust myself to always excise any personal feelings or not notice a personal peeve that might sneak its way in.
And when someone tells me I am not really saved (which, I am happy to say, rarely happens) I have to ask, “What makes them think they know?”
Are they God?
Do they have a Bat-phone connection with God where he confides in them who is in the Book of Life and who isn’t?
Can they see into my heart, as God does?
What divine power have they been given to discern the status of someone else’s personal relationship with the Almighty?
And most important of all, what makes them think they can speak for God?
Job’s friends thought they could speak for God. That didn’t work out very well for them, did it?
So here’s the message for today, from someone who may or may not be saved:
Don’t speak for God!
If you think someone is wrong, tell them why you think so with compassion and respect. Show the biblical justification for your opinion and where you believe their understanding has been misguided. But when it comes down to someone’s relationship with God, I strongly suggest you leave that between the person and God.
There are many traditional Christian teachings I passionately disagree with: I have issues with the letters Shaul wrote, about Christian denial of the validity of the “law”, about the “Once Saved, Always Saved” doctrine, and I definitely have major problems with the Replacement Theology lie. And it isn’t just Christianity- there are also many issues I have within Judaism regarding Talmudic regulations.
I have argued (nicely, for the most part) with people I like and respect about calendars, holidays, and other topics that aren’t necessarily salvation issues, but important, nonetheless.
However, no matter how heated these discussions have become, I have NEVER had the audacity to tell someone they aren’t really saved.
To those who feel they can tell someone whether or not they are saved, there is one, and only one, who can decide which of us is written in the Book of Life; and, if I may be so bold as to say, it ain’t you!
Thank you for being here and please subscribe, share these messages with everyone you know (saved or not), and if you like what you hear then please consider buying my books.
And remember: I always welcome your comments.
That’s it for now, so l’hitraot and Baruch Ha Shem!
Video for Who Are We to Say?
Where Paul Went Wrong
First off, let me state that I deeply respect Shaul of Tarsus (Paul) and what he did, all he suffered through, and his knowledge and understanding of the Word of God.
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
That being said, I also think that none of the Epistles he wrote should be considered scripture or included in the Bible because although he often quotes from and refers to the Tanakh, his letters are written in order to micro-manage his congregations.
They are not missionary- they are managerial.
When he said he would go to the Gentiles from now on (Acts 18:6), he was talking to the people in that town, and only in that town. Shaul always went to the synagogues, bringing the Good News of the Messiah to the Jews first, then to the Gentiles; in other words, only after the Jews in a town rejected him did he then go to the Gentiles in that town.
He never stopped preaching to Jews. Ever.
What happened later was that his letters became a source of confusion because each one was written to a congregation that had specific problems, and Shaul dealt with each congregation differently. And when he wrote to a congregation, he “tweaked” the message about obedience to the Torah to meet their specific situation. This led to his letters being misused and misinterpreted to the point where modern-day Christianity is based almost exclusively on what he wrote instead of what God said, in the Torah.
Let’s not forget that Shaul was a Pharisee trained by Gamaliel, one of the greatest Jewish Torah scholars of all time, so, nu? … how could he have allowed this to happen? Where did he go wrong?
He tells us, himself, where he went wrong, and it’s here in 1 Corinthians 9: 19-22…
For although I am a free man, not bound to do anyone’s bidding, I have made myself a slave to all in order to win as many people as possible. That is, with Jews, what I did was put myself in the position of a Jew, in order to win Jews. With people in subjection to a legalistic perversion of the Torah, I put myself in the position of someone under such legalism, in order to win those under this legalism, even though I myself am not in subjection to a legalistic perversion of the Torah. With those who live outside the framework of Torah, I put myself in the position of someone outside the Torah in order to win those outside the Torah — although I myself am not outside the framework of God’s Torah but within the framework of Torah as upheld by the Messiah. With the “weak” I became “weak,” in order to win the “weak.” With all kinds of people I have become all kinds of things, so that in all kinds of circumstances I might save at least some of them.
What Shaul is telling us is that he adjusted his message in order to meet the needs of his audience, instead of giving the exact same message to all the people. Now we know that God is never changing, and his word is never changing, but what Shaul did was to change Gods’ words in order to make them appealing to whomever he was talking to.
Add to that the fact that he talked using Jewish Logic and it becomes obvious why there is so much misunderstanding of what he wrote.
“Jewish Logic” is how Jews express their thoughts. Being Jewish, I know that a Jew will tell you everything that something isn’t before they tell you what it is. When you read Romans, you see a perfect example of what I am saying: Shaul goes through listing all the reasons that the Torah would be considered invalid, then comes back with “Heaven Forbid!” when he proposes that what he just said is true. That is why Romans has been used as a polemic against the Torah when it is, in fact, an apologetic FOR the Torah!
Shaul did what he considered the right thing to do in order to get the message about the Messiah out to as many people as possible. And, in fact, he did a great job of that. The problems came later when the letters he wrote to these different congregations, to help them manage themselves and stay on track, emphasized what each group needed to hear instead of sending the same exact message to everyone.
And that is where Shaul went wrong. Since then, his letters have been more of a stumbling block to the proper obedience to God, meaning worshiping and living the way God said we should, than almost anything else, other than (maybe) Constantine’s creation of modern-day Christianity.
Since we can’t get rid of these letters, when you read them please remember that Shaul was a Torah-observant Jewish man who was trying to do whatever he could to get both Jews and Gentiles to accept Yeshua as their Messiah. He said he wanted to get the message to as many people as possible in the hopes that some might be saved.
I think he assumed, as James did (in Acts 15:21) that all his new converts to Messiah would become more Torah observant as they grew spiritually.
Unfortunately, after Shaul’s death, the new leadership of these Gentile Believers decided they should break away from Judaism; that, however, is another story.
Thank you for being here and please subscribe, share these messages to help this ministry grow, and also check out my books. And remember- I always welcome your comments.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
Video for Where Paul Went Wrong
Parashot Vayakhel-Pekudey 2021 ( And he assembled / These are the accounts) Exodus 35 – 40
These last chapters complete not just the detailed narrative of the building of the Tabernacle, but the book of Exodus, as well. And, as you may have noticed, this Shabbat we have a double parashah.
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
The details of the Tabernacle,. from the itemization of the articles to the size and breadth of the coverings, to the number of support beams, is exacting. We are told about every single item in such detail that it is almost easy to picture them in our minds.
Moses asks the people to voluntarily give the materials needed, and they give so willingly that he later has to tell them to stop because they gave so much more than was needed. The workers were also volunteers, and God gave divine wisdom to them in order that they could perform all the work required.
Once everything was done and put in place, Moses saw that the people had done everything, just as God said, and he blessed them.
The book ends with the Tabernacle completely put together, and God’s shekinah so filling the tent that Moses could not even enter it.
And when we come to the end of a Torah book, we say:
הזק חזק ונת חזק
(Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened)
Every time I read these last chapters of Exodus, and drag myself (sorry, but that’s the truth) through every, single, exacting detail of the Tabernacle, I always wonder why such a detailed listing? Why do we need to know exactly how many beams, how many footings for the beams, how many rings in the curtains, etc.? Will knowing this help me to become saved? Will knowing the exact number of pomegranates that were attached to the Cohan Gadol’s robe secure my place in heaven?
Obviously, not. So why do we have to know this? And while we’re at it, why do we have to know such exacting details in Ezekiel and Revelation when the temple is measured?
If you think that now I will give you the answer, well…you’re wrong. I don’t have an answer: that’s why I keep wondering about it. DUH!
But I do know one thing, and that is this: it is there for a reason.
Just because I don’t know what that reason is, doesn’t mean there isn’t one, and my acceptance of this condition, i.e. I have no idea why but I know it is for a reason, is what we call faith.
Maybe one day, who knows? I might read this and find some divine revelation in the numbers that are there. Now don’t get me wrong- I do not believe that Numerology is a legitimate form of biblical exegesis, but I do recognize that God often plays around with words and numbers, so there can be a meaningful message somewhere in all these details. I just don’t see it, yet.
And the reason I said I don’t see it, yet, is because I will not allow my not understanding today to interfere with trusting that one day I will understand. It may not be until I am dead and resurrected, at which time it probably won’t matter to me, but in any event, I will know. Someday.
And until then, I will keep reading it, no matter how boring or tedious it feels at the time. And yes, I confess, there are things in the Bible I find a little tedious to get through, but I read them, anyway. It comes back to that faith thing, trusting that one day God will reveal to me whatever message he has in there because he wouldn’t have put it there if it didn’t mean something.
And that is all we need to know.
That which is referred to as The Word of God– the Bible- is not entirely the words God said. In fact, the places where God actually speaks directly to the people are mainly in Exodus and Leviticus. Throughout these books we read at the beginning of almost every new chapter the words, “And God spoke to Moses, saying…”, indicating that what Moses then relates to the people are the exact words from God. We also read God’s direct words in the books of the prophets, where he tells the prophet exactly what to say to the people. Almost everywhere else we read where people relate that which God has said in the Torah. The New Covenant has absolutely no direct instructions from God, other than in Matthew 17 when he speaks at the transformation on the mountain and tells the Apostles with Yeshua to listen to him. That’s it!
Everything else in the New Covenant, especially the Epistles from Shaul to his congregations of newly converting Gentiles, is a person relating what God said in the Tanakh, but it is not God speaking.
Faithful trusting is demonstrated by accepting that you won’t understand everything in the Bible, not now and maybe never, but knowing what is in there, especially where God himself is talking, is important.
So, nu… if you have been raised as a Christian and found your biblical training mainly within the New Covenant, you really need to consider giving the “New” a rest and getting into the “Old” for a while because that is not just the word of God, but the only place you will find the very words FROM God!
Thank you for being here and please share these messages, subscribe, and I always welcome your comments.
That’s it for this week; l’hitraot and Shabbat Shalom!
Video for Parashot Vayakhel-Pekudey 2021
Sorry to Disagree, But the Flesh is Strong
We read in the Gospels, such as in Matthew 26:40-42, that after their Passover Seder together, which is called the Last Supper, Yeshua asked some of his Talmudim to stay awake and pray with him in the garden, but each time they kept falling asleep.
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
Yeshua commented that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, meaning that although they wanted to, they weren’t as strong as their desire to obey him and so they fell asleep.
I am the last person on earth to want to argue with Yeshua, but in this case, I have to say I disagree with him: the flesh isn’t weak, it is strong.
The “flesh” is our humanity, our iniquity (the innate desire to sin), and our egocentric personality. Egocentric doesn’t mean we think we are better than anyone else, it means we see ourselves as the center of the universe, not caring that much for anyone else but concentrating only our our own needs and feelings.
For example, I know some people who seem to be so nice, offering their help and offering to give things to others but after a while, I can see that they are doing this not from a legitimate desire to be of service but to generate compliments for themselves and to hear people tell them how wonderful they are. The conversations they are involved in always seem to come around back to them, what they have done, what they know, etc. This doesn’t make them “bad” people, just egocentric.
In all fairness to the Disciples who were in the garden with Yeshua, they just finished a large meal with a lot of wine. Anyone who has been to a Seder knows there are 4 glasses of wine each person drinks during the meal; not only that but between reading the Hagaddah and eating in the middle of the narrative, these meals can take a few hours. So, naturally, full of lamb and wine, staying awake while sitting in a dark garden would be a real challenge to anyone.
With their flesh just dying to sleep, even though their spirit desired to pray along with Yeshua, their flesh was stronger.
If the flesh was truly weak, then we would be able to overcome it, wouldn’t we? Sin would be an easy thing to control and do away with, yet the facts of life show us, conclusively, that this is NOT the case. The flesh, the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination), the desire to do that which is pleasurable and easy is obviously stronger; otherwise, we wouldn’t really need the Messiah, would we? No, if the flesh was weak, we would be able to overcome our sinful desires and allow the Ruach (spirit) to control what we do and say.
But, as I have already pointed out, that isn’t how it is in real life. Why do you think Yeshua says the road less travelled and the narrow gate is the pathway to salvation?
So, all I am saying is it seems to me that the flesh is not really weak, but strong enough that we find great difficulty in overcoming it.
Again, far be it for me to argue with the Messiah, but in this case, I would change that statement in Matthew to read “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is strong and difficult for people to overcome.” Then I might follow that up with a statement Yeshua made earlier to his Talmudim (Matthew 19:26), where he says: “…With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
So if you want your spirit to be stronger than your flesh, you need to strengthen it with spiritual exercise. The way to do that is to pray, read the Bible, and obey the instructions God gave us in the Torah, which is the ONLY place where God tells us how he wants us to act.
And like any good exercise program, you must do this on a regular basis.
Thank you for being here and please subscribe, share these messages, and I always welcome your comments.
That’s it for now, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!