Category: Messianic 101

Salvation From Both a Jewish and Christian Perspective- Part 5

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In part 4 of this series, we learned how these different perspectives evolved. Today we will look at ways that we can try to reconcile these vastly different ideologies to come to a singular, correct understanding of who the Messiah is and what we can expect from him.

If you prefer to watch a video, please click on this link: Watch the video.

To truly understand the Messiah, we need to look at what we are told about him from the original source, which is the Tanakh (the “Jewish” Bible) and with a proper interpretation of the prophecies we find there. When I say a proper interpretation, I am referring to the dual prophecies regarding the salvation of Israel. In some of the Messianic prophecies, the rabbinical interpretation has been that the prophecy is about Israel, the nation and is not about the Messiah. However, this teaching (looking back in history) is only half-true.

Prophecy can be both spiritual and physical. For example, Isaiah 9:6 (about the child being born and the government on his shoulders) was referring to King Hezekiah- no doubt about that, but that was the physical interpretation. The spiritual interpretation was for the distant future and clearly points to the Messiah. The prophecy in Matthew 24:29 (actually this comes from Isaiah 34:4 and Haggai 2:6 and 2:21) physically means that Jerusalem will be destroyed by Rome, but spiritually refers to the final Tribulation when Messiah returns.

The “New Covenant”, which we find in Jeremiah 31:31, refers physically to the return to Jerusalem of the exiled Babylonian Jews under Cyrus, and the covenant that we can have through Yeshua ha Maschiach (physical return and spiritual salvation.)

One last example: In 2 Samuel 7:12-13, God tells David that he will establish his kingdom forever through one of his descendants who will build a house for his (God) name. The physical prophecy is about Solomon and the spiritual side is about Yeshua. The house Solomon build did not last forever, but the house Yeshua has built, the spiritual house, is an everlasting dominion.

Now that we have established prophecies can be dual, we need to first approach Jews who reject Jesus and Christianity with the truth about Yeshua and his teachings, as well as the truth about Christianity. The first rule of approaching a Jewish person with the Good News of Messiah is this: do NOT use anything from the New Covenant.

First off, Jews do not recognize it as scripture. To use verses from the New Covenant to convince a Jew about Jesus is no different than using verses from the Quran to convince a Jew Allah is their God. Ain’t gonna work:  no how, no way!

Next rule: do not use “Christian” terminology, especially the term “under the blood” because this is a filthy thing to the Jewish mindset. Do not use the name “Jesus Christ” because of what that name represents to Jews (as we discussed in Part 2 of this lesson.) Instead, use Yeshua ha Maschiach when you talk about the Messiah. And, again, use “Messiah” not “Savior” because Jesus Christ is a Savior, but Jews expect a Messiah. I know they mean the same thing, but Jews rarely use the term ‘Savior” so it will help them stay open to hearing you.

The most important thing is for you to know the prophecies about the Messiah that are in the Tanakh. If anything comes up from them about the New Covenant refer back to the original prophecy in the Tanakh.

You can also use extra-biblical writings to help. The works of Josephus are considered to be historically accurate and trustworthy, and he mentions in his history of the Jewish and Roman Wars about Yeshua (referred to as Jesus in some manuscripts) and even how he rose after the third day.

Most Jews, as we have discussed, expect one appearance of Messiah. To offset this we can use Isaiah 9:6 and Isaiah 53: Isaiah tells us the kingdom of the son of David will be established and rule forever, yet he later says that the Messiah will die. The only way to have a dead person rule forever is for that person to make two appearances, or (more accurately) to be resurrected.  We can also find this in Hosea 6:2-3, where Hosea prophecies that after being torn we will be healed and that after 3 days we will be raised up (physical Israel and spiritually the Messiah.) There are also the prophecies in Zachariah: Zachariah 9:9 tells of the king of Israel riding into Jerusalem on a donkey and Zachariah 14:4 tells us about the return of Messiah in the Acharit HaYamim (End Days) and how God will rescue his people. There is also the reference here of the humble king and the fierce king, which coincides with Talmudic prophecy.

In the Talmud, Succah 52a it says the Messiah is the son of Joseph who must be slain, which coincides with Daniel 9:26 declaring that the Messiah will come and be put to death. The Talmud, the Targum and even the Zohar (which Judaism considers heretical) all agree that the Messiah will be both a suffering servant and a conquering king. You cannot have one Messiah fulfilling two totally opposites roles at the same time, so there have to be two comings.

The last thing to cover today is to know the Jewish roots of Christianity so that you can show where today’s Christian thoughts and beliefs about Messiah are similar, if not the same, as the Jewish beliefs. Here are some of those similarities:

  • Through the work of the Messiah the people will be reconciled back to God by the forgiveness of their sins;
  • the miracles that the Messiah will perform;
  • the regathering of Israel in the End Days (use “Acharit HaYamim” and get some extra points!) and all will live in peace;
  • there will be a one-world government, a Theocracy, with Messiah as King over all the world;
  • death and sickness will be done away with; and
  • there will be a great battle that Messiah will win.

We are getting close to the end of this lesson. The next time we get together for this we will continue to learn how to approach the Jewish people with the truth about Yeshua by debunking the many misinterpretations of New Covenant writings which have contributed to the rejection by Jews of anything Christian.

 

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Thank you for being here, please don’t hesitate to comment (just be nice) and until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Salvation From Both a Jewish and Christian Perspective- Part 4

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Up to this point, we have reviewed what salvation means and that it comes from faith in a Messiah. There are certain expectations (based on biblical prophecy) regarding what the Messiah will do, which we have examined from both a Jewish and Christian perspective. In doing so, we have seen a vast difference in what each religion expects, even though this is supposed to be the same Messiah. In this lesson, the fourth part of our series, we will look at how these different viewpoints and beliefs developed over the millennia since Yeshua (Jesus) walked the earth.

If you would prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

When Yeshua was with his Disciples, traveling and teaching in the Synagogues and towns throughout Judea, he was preaching from the Tanakh (the “Jewish” Bible) because that was the only “Word of God” that existed. After he was resurrected and returned to heaven, the Disciples continued his teachings. Eventually, they died out and Shaul (Paul) was one of the last of the (divinely appointed) Apostles who taught, and he went mainly to the Gentiles, although he always taught in the Synagogues first.

Back then there were, as there always have been, many more Gentiles than Jews, and once the Jewish population had been separated into those that accepted Yeshua and those that didn’t. It is very important to know that both groups were still practicing Judaism- there was no “conversion” event, but what started to happen is that the newer additions to this movement would be mainly composed of Gentiles. As these formerly pagan worshipers accepted Yeshua as their Messiah, they were the ones converting- to Judaism! There were no other religions around- you were either a Roman pagan worshiper or a Jewish God worshiper, and the Jewish ones were obeying what is written in the Torah.

With the advent of more and more Gentiles being added to this group of Messianic Jews, and because this conversion was such a paradigm shift in lifestyle, the Messianic leadership (Elders) in Jerusalem decided to make it easier for them. In Acts 15:20, by a suggestion from Yacov (James, the brother of Yeshua) it was determined that Gentiles converting to Judaism through Messiah Yeshua immediately had to change their lifestyle in this way:

1). no fornication;

2). no eating of blood;

3). no eating of anything strangled to death; and

4). not eating anything that had been sacrificed or devoted to an idol.

The important thing to note is that these were not the only requirements, they were only IMMEDIATE changes that had to be made. James’s suggestion ended with the statement that these new converts would be hearing the laws of Moses in the synagogues every Shabbat.  That clearly indicates James expected that eventually these converts would learn and be obedient to all of the Mosaic Law, completing their conversion to Judaism.

In other words, there was never to be any difference between how Jews rejecting Messiah and Jews and Gentiles accepting Messiah would worship God.

The practice of Judaism was allowed in Judea because Rome had originally been invited into the land to help the Jewish people get rid of the Seleucid kings. Because the religion was well established and an integral part of the society and government, Rome allowed the people to continue to practice it. However, by the time Yeshua arrived, the Jewish population wanted (as discussed earlier) their Messiah to free them from Roman rule. When this expectation went unmet, they began to revolt themselves. This was not viewed favorably by Rome, and there was the beginning of political persecution by Rome against the Jewish people. The first Jewish-Roman War (70 CE) resulted in the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, and the depopulation of the Jewish people (and renaming of Judea to Palestine by the Romans) was the result of the Bar Kochba revolt of 132-135 CE.

BTW– The Western Wall was not a part of Solomon’s temple- it was the remaining section of the wall built by Herod which surrounded the court of the original Temple.

As the population of “Believers” continued to grow, there were many more Gentiles joining than Jews, and eventually (as the original Apostles died out and were replaced) the leadership of this movement was populated by Gentiles and through wrongful interpretations and desire to separate from the Jewish population (which was having its own problems with Rome) led to a separation from Judaism of this new movement being called Christianity.

Let’s go back in history for a moment: when the 9 1/2 tribes of Israel living in the land God promised were split under Jeroboam into the Northern and Southern tribes (Shomron, also called Israel in the north and Judea in the south), the split was as much spiritual as it was political. In the north, idol worship took over and they rejected the Torah and the God of their fathers to worship the many Semitic gods of the surrounding peoples. This was as much a political move as a religious one; by doing this, Jeroboam ensured that his people would not be enticed to return to the southern kingdom.

Now we return to the end of the first century and see the Christian leadership following the example of Jeroboam. By separating themselves from the Jewish population, spiritually, they could try to avoid the Roman persecution by showing they were not Jews. This started with Ignatius of Antioch, one of the early “church” leaders. In 110 CE he changed the Sabbath day to Sunday.

Later, under the rulership of Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nicene (third century), the doctrine of modern day Christianity was formed which completed the total separation of Jews and Christians.

Some examples of the Christian doctrine are the changing of the Sabbath day, the ideology of the Trinity, the festivals of Christmas and Easter, and the idea that salvation was available universally and not centered on Jerusalem. These changes, as well as many others, resulted in the total separation between Jews and Christians, which were now totally different religions. Yeshua was no longer a Jewish Messiah- he was now the Christian Savior.

For over two thousand years, between Jews and Christians, there has been animosity, bigotry, and ignorance. During these times the doctrine of the “Church” has been progressively hateful and derogatory towards the Jewish people. Ignatius, who already changed the Sabbath day, also declared (circa 110 AD) that where there is Christianity there cannot be Judaism. In or around 200 CE, Origin declared that because the Jewish people rejected Jesus Christ, it is right that their nation was destroyed and that God now offered his joy to the Christians; this is the beginning of Replacement Theology. And we get still more from Ignatius, who also said that living in accordance with Jewish law means that one has not really received Grace. This is still being taught today, which I can personally confirm as I have (more than once) been told that if I do all that “Jewish” stuff I am still “under the law” and not really saved.

When it comes to separating Christians from Jews and fostering hatred and fear, let’s not forget to mention the Crusades and the Inquisition, which (as we learned earlier) led to the death of hundreds of thousands of Jews by Christians who believed they were doing God’s work.  Spain, the progenitor of the Inquisition, was the world power in the 15th Century when Queen Isabella exiled all Jews from Spain. However, by the end of the 18th Century Spain was not even considered a viable threat, and has never recovered her position as a world power (didn’t God tell Abraham that those who curse him will be cursed?)

As we have already learned, Nazi Germany also thought they were doing God’s work- their belt buckles had “Gott mit uns” engraved on them (God is with us), and from the Jewish perspective, they were no different than Christians.

Lastly, Replacement Theology is a rampant right-wing Christian movement that says, essentially, because the Jews rejected Christ God has rejected the Jews and Born-Again Christians are now God’s true Chosen people, the “real Jews! Of course, the Bible is totally against this, as we can see in the following verses:

Matthew 19:28- Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jeremiah 30:11-I am with you and will save you,’ declares the LORD. ‘Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. 

Isaiah 49:16- Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.

Jeremiah 30:31-At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.

In the letter to the Romans, Chapters 9 through 11 Shaul confirms the Jewish people will always be God’s chosen and will one day be grafted back onto the tree of Salvation. He warns the Gentiles not to become proud, which (apparently) they never paid attention to.

One last point regarding Replacement Theology: if they are truly God’s chosen people and the “real” Jews, then why didn’t they speak up during the Holocaust?

This ends lesson 4 of our series. In our next lesson, we will discuss methods we can use to try to reconcile the differences between the Jewish and Christian Messiah.

 

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Thank you for being here and please don’t hesitate to make comments- all I ask is that you be nice.

L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Salvation From Both a Jewish and Christian Perspective- Part 3

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So far in this series, we have looked at the meaning of salvation, the Jewish expectations of the Messiah, and why Yeshua ha Maschiach (Jesus Christ) was and has been rejected by “mainstream” Judaism since his first appearance on earth.

Today we will delve into the Christian expectations of the Messiah, who is usually referred to as “Savior” and not “Messiah.”

If you prefer to watch a video teaching, click on this link: Watch the video.

One major difference we should point out right at the start between Jewish and Christian expectation and knowledge of the Messiah: Jews were, and still are, waiting and looking forward to the coming of the Messiah; however, Christians never looked forward to his coming- he was already here before Christianity started. Christians have always known who their Savior is, whereas Jews have never known who their Messiah was going to be.

Christian expectation of Messiah is not really an expectation, but more like 20/20 hindsight because what they believe about their Savior is what they have already seen.

They know he was born in a miraculous manner, being of a virgin who was impregnated by God through the Holy Spirit.

They know that he died for their sins, but since most Christian teachings are from the New Covenant, instead of referencing the Tanakh, they look to the Gospels and Epistles for the justification of their beliefs. So, instead of using Isaiah 53 to understand the sacrifice of the Messiah, they refer to 1st Corinthians 15:3. More specifically, within Catholicism, they quote John 20:21-23 not only to state that forgiveness of sin can only come through belief in Jesus but also that Jesus gave men the power to forgive sins through the priesthood. To further confirm forgiveness is only available through Jesus, Christianity references Ephesians 1:7 and Corinthians 5:17.

According to Ephesians 3:19 the Savior is all about love and complete acceptance, which lends itself to another Christian belief, which is that there is no need for the Torah or the laws God gave to Moses.

In my opinion, one of the most anti-Semitic teachings within Christianity is that Jesus did away with the “law” (the Torah) and that the “Jewish Bible” is just for Jews and doesn’t really have any meaning to Christians. It is still scripture, but they concentrate almost exclusively on the New Covenant writings.

Whereas Christians have been taught that the Jewish laws are not valid for them, one sect of Christianity takes it to the extreme. Their belief system is called Replacement Theology. This is the most virulent anti-Semitic sect of Christianity because they believe since the Jews rejected Jesus as their Savior, God has rejected the Jews as his chosen people! Christians (specifically “Born-Again” Christians) are now God’s “real” chosen people, the “Israel of God” that Shaul talks about at the very end of Galatians.

Most Christians haven’t gone this far and have been taught that the Law is really split into two types of law: Moral and Ceremonial. The moral laws are still valid for Christians, but the ceremonial laws are not. For instance, the laws of Kashrut (Kosher) are ceremonial so only Jews have to follow them, whereas murder and adultery are moral laws and they are still valid and must be followed. This belief system is justified by Matthew 5:17. This is where Yeshua said he came to fulfill the law, which has been interpreted to mean the (Mosaic) law was completed in him and therefore is no longer necessary to be followed. It is also confirmed by the teaching that when Shaul (Paul) says that our sins were “nailed to the cross” (Colossians 2:14), that meant the law was also nailed to the cross, i.e. done away with.

This is the same as saying if the car ahead of me makes a complete stop at the stop sign, thereby fulfilling the law for stop signs, then I can just go right through it. Or, if I live my entire life without murdering anyone, then murdering someone will be acceptable and not a sin when I die because I had fulfilled that law. Ain’t that da silliest thing you evah hoid?

Let’s get serious again…Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected and returned to his father in heaven, and will return to destroy the Antichrist and rule over all the earth, forever. And when this day finally arrives, Christians (and many Jews, as well) believe that they will be lifted up and live eternally in heaven.

As we can see, there is a very significant difference between Jewish and Christian understanding of who the Messiah is and what to expect from him when he arrives. How this vast chasm of belief in the same personage came about is what we will examine now.

As far as Jews are concerned, the advent of the Messiah’s coming has always been seen as a national event. He is not here for you or for me, but for Israel…for all Jews, everywhere. Christians see the relationship with their Savior as an individual and singular event: the Savior is here for me and you have to have your own relationship with him. This is a major difference in expectation: the Jewish Messiah’s relationship is with the entire nation of Israel, but the Christian Savior has a personal relationship just with me.

Judaism expects that the changes the Messiah will make will occur at or before his actual coming, and when he is here they will all come to completion. Christians believe that after someone accepts him as their Savior, then there will be some changes that happen (such as indwelling of the Holy Spirit) but most changes in the world won’t happen until his second coming.

Finally, Jews believe that Yeshua did not fulfill or meet the prophecies about the Messiah and Christians believe he met almost all of them, and the ones that he did not fulfill will be fulfilled with his second coming.

This ends our third segment in this series of teachings. In our next lesson, we will review the origins of these vastly different expectations and learn how they developed.

If you like what we have covered so far please “share me out”, and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so you will be notified when the next lesson is posted. Thank you for being here and I welcome any comments you may have, and remember to please always be nice.

Until then, l’hetraot and Baruch HaShem!

Salvation From Both a Jewish and Christian Perspective- Part 2

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In Part 1 of this teaching series, we reviewed the meaning of “salvation” and the Jewish expectations of what the Messiah will do when he comes, based on both the Tanakh and the Talmud.  Today, in Part 2, we will examine why Yeshua was not, and still isn’t, accepted as the Messiah by the majority of the Jewish population.

If you prefer to watch this as a video, please click on this link: Watch the video.

For the purposes of this discussion, when we talk about “the Jews” during the time of Yeshua’s ministry we are referring to the main portion of the Jewish population living in and around Jerusalem during the First Century. And we need to remember that these people were mostly “Am Ha’aretz“, which means people of the land. The reference is not very complimentary and refers to those who are not well educated regarding the Bible or Jewish tradition. At that time, people looked to the Sanhedrin and their local Levites for instruction and guidance in their worship and how to live. Even today, most of the Jewish people look to their Rabbi for instruction and interpretation, and not to God through the guidance of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit.)

As we are told in the New Covenant writings, Yeshua performed many miracles and taught in a different and more meaningful way. Yet, he was not accepted by the majority of the Jews. And, even with the publication of the B’rit Chadashah (New Covenant), in modern times “mainstream” Judaism still rejects him, not just as the Messiah but some even reject the idea that he ever existed! And, as we will soon see, the actions “Christianity” has performed against the Jewish people over the millennia have made it nearly impossible for a Jewish person to believe anything a Christian says.

The Jews living during the time of Yeshua’s ministry rejected him based on his inability to meet the expectations they had been taught regarding their Messiah.

First off, Yeshua had no father. The Tanakh tells us the Messiah will be a son (i.e., descendant) of David, and because Judaism is a Patriarchal religion, one’s heritage comes through the father’s line. Because Yeshua was not conceived by Joseph he had no father, therefore he couldn’t be a son of David.

Another reason for the Jewish rejection of Yeshua is because the Bible says that God will raise up a prophet like Moses; however, Jewish tradition stated that the age of prophecy ended circa 300 BCE, centuries before Yeshua was born. Because the Talmud taught there were no more prophets, Yeshua could not be a prophet like Moses.

One of the major expectations was that the Messiah will rebuild the Temple and reestablish the Levitical service. Well, when Yeshua walked the earth, the Temple was there! The service was actively being performed! Therefore, how could Yeshua be the Messiah? Besides, this, there was no peace throughout the world, and under Roman rule there most certainly wasn’t a world government that recognized God as the one and only King of kings ruling from Jerusalem.

The Pharisees, who saw Yeshua as a threat to their political power over the people, also spread lies about him that last to this very day. One of these was that Yeshua changed the Torah because he violated the Shabbat (see John 9:14.) The Rabbis since then have added that Isaiah 53, one of the strongest and most accurate prophecies about Yeshua found in the Tanakh, was not prophesizing about the Messiah but about Israel. They say the references to the suffering servant are a metaphor about the nation of Israel and should not be taken as a literal prophecy about a person. In fact, in modern times this one chapter from the book of Isaiah is not even read in the Synagogue!

One of the strongest and hardest to refute arguments against Yeshua being the Messiah is that the Messiah was to bring salvation to the world, a universal redemption for the people of Israel. Yet, while Yeshua lived that did not happen. There was neither spiritual nor political nor even a social redemption of any kind.

It is easy to understand why it was so difficult for the Jewish people at that time to accept him: he didn’t perform many of the expected events the people had been taught by the Rabbis he was supposed to do, and he was rejected by the leaders of the people.  As we are told in John 12:42, even those in leadership who accepted him as their Messiah kept that fact a secret out of fear of retribution by the Sanhedrin.

But what about since then? What about all that we have learned, the additional events recorded in Acts, the miracles of the Gospels that many other Jews have been able to read about who didn’t know about it then? Why, with all this historical evidence, haven’t the Jewish people readily accepted Yeshua as the Messiah God promised to Israel?

The reason is simple: early Christianity totally separated itself from Judaism at the Council of Nicene, and since then has been such an enemy of Judaism that no Jew in his or her right mind would accept anything “Christian.”

Huh? What could they have done that was so terrible? Good question. Here are some examples:

  1. During the Crusades hundreds of thousands of Jews were slaughtered because they refused to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and reject Judaism (even his name was changed from Yeshua to Jesus to remove any trace of “Jewishness” from their Messiah);
  2. The Inquisition also saw the torture and slaughter of thousands upon thousands of Jews, not to mention all Jews being expelled from Spain, if they refused to reject Judaism and accept Jesus as their God (by now God, himself, was being left behind as Christianity gave all glory to Jesus);
  3. Because to a Jew, all non-Jews are Gentiles, a Gentile is the same as a Christian. During the Second World War, the Nazi’s (really, only a select group of them) murdered millions of Jews, but do you know what was inscribed on their belt buckles? “Gott mit uns”, which means “God is with us.” This statement of divine hatred for Jews was no different than what had been heard by Jews being killed by Christians since the second century; and
  4. The on-going persecution of Jews by the Gentile (Christian) world.  The Pogroms in Russia, the rejection by America of Jews trying to escape Nazi Germany, and even today we see the constant unjustified accusations by the media against Israel through the use of fake news and purposefully not showing the Israeli side. Don’t even ask me about the unbelievable injustice against Israel being done at the United Nations. As far as I am concerned, it should be renamed “The United Nations against Israel!”

To conclude today’s lesson, let’s review why the Jewish people haven’t accepted Yeshua as their Messiah.  The answer is two-fold: first, during his ministry, Yeshua did not perform many of the activities that the Messiah was supposed to perform based on Talmudic interpretation of the Tanakh, and he was rejected by the power elite of the Jewish people.

Secondly, and I believe even more influential in why Jews have rejected Jesus, is the historical and continual hatred for and persecution of Jews by “Jesus-loving” Christians that began as early as the end of the First Century. That was when the Gentile followers of Yeshua first began to separate themselves from their Jewish roots and reject the Torah. This separation was “set in stone” with Constantine and the Council of Nicene in the Third Century, which created the dogma and traditions of modern Christianity.

Should we really be surprised that Rabbis throughout the centuries have taught against Jesus Christ and the religion he created, which has tried to destroy Judaism? Why would any Jew even think of accepting or believing anything that is in the Christian Bible?

The rejection by the Jewish people of Jesus Christ as the Messiah is completely understandable when we consider the above reasons.  I was, as most every Jew is, brought up being taught that Jesus Christ was a Jew who rejected the Torah and Judaism, creating his own religion that wants to destroy Jews.

Next time we will look into what Christians believe their Messiah will do, and why there is such a difference between the Jewish and Christian expectations.

 

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Until then, l’hitroat and Baruch Ha Shem!!

 

Salvation From Both a Jewish and Christian Perspective- Part 1

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This is the first time I have tried to give a teaching that will be formatted in a series of small lessons. I would appreciate any comments, either during or after the entire lesson is completed, which will let me know if any of you like this form of teaching. I will continue to post my normal “Drash to Start the Day” individual messages, but if you like these more in-depth lessons posted a bit at a time, please let me know.

 

To watch this as a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

 

Before we look at the different views of salvation that exist between Jews and Christians, we should agree on what we mean when we talk about “salvation.” Salvation is the forgiveness of sin, meaning we are freed from the consequences (which could be either spiritual, physical or both) of the violations of God’s law that we have committed, which also means redemption from spending eternity in Hell (whatever form that takes) enabling us to have eternal life in the presence of God.

Since salvation is redemption from a crime or a sin, how do we achieve it? Well, in the case of a Civil crime, if we go to court and the judge finds for us, we are saved from paying a fine. If a corporation is suffering failure and a larger one comes along and merges with them, injecting new funds, that corporation has found salvation from bankruptcy. And what about life insurance? If a spouse passes away, there are many expenses that must be incurred and life insurance can be a real (pardon the pun) life-saver by providing the needed funds which could be salvation from debt.

These are types of salvation we find in the physical world, but we want to discuss the “religious” kind of salvation, which is first and foremost given to us in the Torah: we call it the Sacrificial System.

In Judaism as in Christianity, the shedding of innocent blood is the only way to atone for sin, and God outlined in the first 7 chapters of the Book of Leviticus the different types of sacrifices to be made in order to receive forgiveness for the different types of sin we commit.

In Christianity, the way to receive salvation is not through this sacrificial system but by means of the sacrifice performed by the Messiah, Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus Christ), which we receive when we profess faith in him.

Ultimately, salvation comes from faith. Just as with Abraham, whose faith was credited to him as righteousness (meaning sinless in God’s eyes), the way we find salvation is through our individual repentance and faith in God and the Messiah; a faith that inspires obedience.

The one thing about salvation that is agreed upon in both Jewish and Christian theology is that salvation, meaning forgiveness from sin and eternity in the presence of God, will come about through the intervention of a Messiah.

Judaism is the progenitor of the idea of a Messiah and is also from whence the Messiah will originate. The Tanakh (the “Jewish” Bible) has over 130 different references to the Messiah, and there are also many references to him in the Talmud, all of which tell us what to expect of him so that when he arrives we will be able to recognize him. In order to understand the Jewish expectations of the Messiah, let’s review some of these now.

Even before the Messiah comes, there will be specific events that signal his arrival. In Ezekiel 38:16 we are told there will be wars and suffering before the coming of the Messiah. The prophets Isaiah (11:11-12), Jeremiah (23:8 and 30:3) and Hosea (3:4-5) prophesied that before Messiah arrives God will regather his people back to their land (Israel.)

Because of what the prophets have said, Jews expect other things from the Messiah, as well. For instance, there will be the restoration of the religious courts of justice and we will have a one-world government (Isaiah 2:2-4, 11:10, and 42:1; Jeremiah 33:15.) The prophet Zephaniah (3:13) said there will be an end to wickedness, sin, and heresy. There will be rewards to the righteous, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the restoration of the line of David and one of the greatest of all Messianic (Jewish) expectations: the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem and the temple service (Jeremiah 33:18.)

Besides the general expectations we have seen already for what the Messiah will do, the Tanakh gives us very specific instructions on how to recognize the Messiah.  Micah 5:12 tells us he will be born in Bethlehem, Isaiah 7:14 tells us he will be born of a virgin (there is an on-going argument about the use of the word “almah” in this passage), Isaiah 35:56 and 42:18 tell us that he will have the power to heal people, Daniel 9:24-26 tells us exactly when the Messiah will come (which has been mathematically worked out to the day Yeshua rode into Jerusalem on the back of a colt), Zachariah 11:12 lets us know he will be sold out for 30 pieces of silver, and (finally) Isaiah 53:5-7 and 53:12 give us the best news of all- his death will atone for the sins of all mankind.

This ends the first portion of this teaching, which is to identify the Jewish expectations of their Messiah and how they should recognize him when he arrives. Next, we will discuss why within Judaism, at that time and since then, the Jewish people (as a whole) have not accepted Yeshua as their Messiah.

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I welcome any comments you may want to make- just be nice.

Until the next time, lehitraot and Baruch HaShem!!

 

 

Is Absence of a Commandment a Commandment?

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Once again we are celebrating the holiday of Hanukkah. This is the celebration of the military victory the Israelites had over the last of the Seleucid kings, Antiochus Epiphanes who was instigating Hellenism- the obliteration of any religion, language and culture that is not Greek. It also celebrates the cleansing and rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, which had suffered what Daniel prophesied as the abomination of desecration caused by the Greeks sacrificing pigs to their gods using the altar in the Temple. The miracle of the one day supply of holy oil lasting for 8 days is why we call this the Festival of Lights.

Here’s something to consider: if it wasn’t for God’s intervention and the Maccabees leadership, it is possible that the Enemy of God, that old lion HaSatan, could have wiped out not just the Jewish people, but Judaism, altogether! And, because the Messiah comes from the Jewish people, if Antiochus had been successful, there would be no salvation for the world.

This event occurred roughly 165 years before Yeshua’s ministry, and Yeshua, himself, celebrated it in Jerusalem (John 10:22), yet it is not a festival that God commanded us to observe (the celebration of Hanukkah at that time is also confirmed by Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews 12.7.323-326.)

The story of Hanukkah, found in the books of the Maccabees (1 and 2) are not in the Tanakh, but in the collection of extra-biblical books called the Apocrypha. These are not considered to be scripture by any of the Judeo-Christian religions, except Roman Catholicism. The celebration and rituals for Hanukkah are Talmudic, meaning Hanukkah is a man-made tradition created by the Rabbis of old and found in the Babylonian Talmud tractate Shabbat 21b.

For this reason, there is some contention whether or not we should celebrate it at all. The main reasons for ignoring it are that it is not a commanded Holy Day and that it is a tradition, and Yeshua said that we should not follow the traditions of men.

So…let’s take a look at these objections, and let’s start with the latter objection: Yeshua said all traditions of men are bad. The only thing wrong with this argument is that it is, well… wrong!

One of the most quoted New Covenant verses to justify that all traditions of men are wrong is Mark 7:6-13. That chapter starts with the Pharisees complaining to Yeshua that his Talmudim (Disciples) do not wash their hands before eating, which is a violation of the tradition of N’tlat Yadayin. Here is Yeshua’s answer to them:

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules. You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother, and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

The complaint Yeshua had was not against our traditions, but that the Pharisees were using these traditions to nullify God’s commandments. In other words, Yeshua is not against our traditions but when they are used to nullify God’s commandment.

And you might be surprised to know that the Talmud agrees with Yeshua!! Here is an excerpt from a report on the website yashanet.com regarding this topic:

The Talmud states that the ritual of hand washing (Netilat Yadayim) is invalid if the mind and heart is not also “cleansing.” In the Talmud, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, stated: “In life it is not the dead who make you unclean; nor is it the water you wash your hands with, but rather the ordinances of the King of Kings that purifies.” Much later, Rabbi Maimonides (Rambam) made a similar comment, “For to confine oneself to cleaning the outward appearance through washing and cleaning the garment, while having at the same time a lust for various pleasures and unbridled license … merits the utmost blame.”

Sounds like whitewashed sepulchers full of dirty bones, doesn’t it?

This report goes on to cover many other issues of Yeshua and the Talmud, and the general conclusion is that Yeshua was a Torah observant man who also followed the traditions of the Rabbis (I am adding-when they did not nullify God’s commands!)

Here are other conclusions from that report:

Rabbi John Fischer, Ph.D. Th.D wrote: “The Gospels provide sufficient evidence to the effect that Jesus did not oppose any prescription of the written or oral Mosaic Law.”

Finkel; G. Friedlander wrote: “In effect, Yeshua built a “fence around the Law” – as indicated by the Aramaic and Hebrew underlying “fulfill” – much as the earlier sages cited by the Talmud did (Pirke Avot 1.2). And, his fence is remarkably similar to that of the sages.”

Tim Hegg wrote: “Yeshua certainly follows the halachah of the Sages in spite of the fact that such traditions are not explicitly stated in the Written Torah.”

Shemayah Yardin wrote: “There is no evidence that suggests the Netzarim abandoned their Orthodox Judaism, and there is no evidence that proves the Netzarim rejected the Oral Torah. There is however, ample evidence in scripture and history, as shown extensively, that Rebbe Yeshua, his Shlichim (Apostles) and all his followers (the Netzarim) all supported, endorsed, taught and lived according to Written and Oral Torah, and the halachot, customs and traditions of the Sages.”

David Stern wrote: “Based on all of my research, myself and my colleagues, have found without any doubt, that Yeshua’s teachings and life style was closer to Hasidic Judaism than any other form of Judaism.”

So it is clear when we look at the Talmud and the research of biblical scholars (Jewish ones, to boot!) that Yeshua was NOT against traditions. He was against those people who used traditions to overrule what God commanded from us.

Now that we know traditions are not bad and that Yeshua did not reject all man-made traditions, we can look at the first objection to celebrating Hanukkah: it is not a festival created by God.

Since we know that tradition is not unacceptable when practiced correctly, the real question regarding celebrating anything that is not specifically defined and commanded in the Torah is this- is the absence of a commandment a commandment?

In other words, if we are not told to do something, does doing it automatically make it a sin?

Well, we know the converse is true- if we are told not to do something and we do, that is a sin. No problem there, right? We all agree? Good.

But…if we are NOT told, for instance, to celebrate a particular event, is celebrating it a sin?

Sin is a violation of God’s commandment, but if God doesn’t give us a commandment about something, then what?

There are many verses in the Torah about which animals are allowed for the different sacrifices but there is nothing telling us how to kill them. Based on other laws about treatment of our animals we can infer that the Torah would require that we kill them humanely, but (again) God does not give us a specified procedure. However, we do have one- it is called the Shechita, and it is found in the Talmud. It is a man-made tradition. However, it is obvious that God allowed it since that is how the sacrifice was performed by Aaron and his descendants up to the time Yeshua taught at the Temple in Jerusalem and even past that time until the Temple was destroyed.

And all that time these sacrifices had been accepted by God.

There is no specified or commanded procedure for performing the B’rit Milah (circumcision) but God has accepted it from Abraham’s day onward. The procedure is outlined in the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbath 133a and b.

Here we have looked at two of the most important elements in the Jewish worship of God, and how we are to perform them is not commanded in the Torah. The Talmud defined how we are to perform them and this has been accepted by God- even though they are man-made traditions.

It is clear that Jewish traditions are not unacceptable to God and that Yeshua did not deny the validity of man-made traditions. These wrongful teachings were designed and propagated by the Enemy to separate us from God, and it is my passionate opinion that anyone who universally denies the validity of the Talmud or Jewish traditions that do not specifically nullify God’s commandments are doing the work of the Enemy of God.

Those celebrations and traditions which are man-made and designed to give thanks to God and demonstrate a heartfelt worship and love for him are acceptable to God. It is not the tradition that is the issue, but the manner in which it is practiced.

Washing of hands before the meal is not a sin, but telling someone who doesn’t wash their hands before eating that they are sinning is a sin. Celebrating Hanukkah as a way to give thanks to God for his intervention which caused the miraculous salvation of his people is certainly acceptable to God. Celebrating Hanukkah as nothing more than a day to exchange gifts and eat latkes (I believe) is not acceptable to God as a form of true worship.

I certainly hope this settles the matter for people, once and for all. As Isaiah said (which Yeshua quoted), it isn’t what we do that is the issue, it is what is in our hearts when we do it. Following the Torah exactly with a heart bent on simply following the rules is nothing more than legalism, and celebrating or practicing man-made traditions with heartfelt thanksgiving and to show our love for and worship of God is righteous and acceptable to God.

Is This Really the Image We Want to Project?

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Every Friday I usually give a message on the Torah reading (parashah), but I saw an article in the local paper this morning and feel I need to talk about it, instead.

Some of you may take what I say here the wrong way so please be patient and do not allow yourself to jump to conclusions based on a word or phrase I use. I pray that I will say what I want to say in an effective way.

The article showed a gay pride parade with some of the marchers taking pictures of people on the other side of a police barrier, taking pictures of them. Those on the other side were wearing shirts with words on them such as, “Jesus is the Lord” and “Gay is an abomination.”

The image is clearly that “Christians” don’t like gay people. I believe this is not the image we should be sending.

There is an immediate and effective argument that anyone who is being protested against can use, which is the fallback excuse that the person protesting is “racist.” That word used in that context will almost always deflate the protester’s argument. When we add to it the somewhat extreme actions of wearing shirts that declaim the people and exclaim a “religious” attitude that will only add fuel to the fire of accusations.

I have family members who are gay, and I never stopped loving them for a second. I also never felt “devastated” by their lifestyle. I do not agree with that lifestyle and do not condone it, but I accept that that is who they are. Is homosexuality a sin? Of course it is! …so is lying, so is cheating on your taxes, so is taking that ream of copier paper from work to use at home, and so is gossiping about the neighbors. All of these are sins, and as far as God is concerned, one sin is as bad as another.

There are those that sin on purpose without any sense of remorse or repentance, and they are not going to be forgiven (that makes sense, doesn’t it?); and there are those who sin but don’t want to, and when they repent and remorsefully ask for forgiveness they will receive it (by means of the sacrifice of  Messiah Yeshua.)

The world says we should be tolerant of each other, but the world’s idea of tolerance seems to be not just acceptance, but support. I think the world doesn’t really understand what “tolerance” should be. To tolerate something doesn’t mean that you agree with it or that you condone it, and certainly should not in any way indicate support of it; for me, it depends on what we are tolerating. What I mean is this: I tolerate a friend who has a good heart but can be a real pain the neck to deal with sometimes. I tolerate a co-worker who may be lazy but will eventually get the job done with some prodding. I tolerate my cat waking me up 1 hour earlier than I want to be woken up.

What I don’t tolerate is someone who is cruel and unfair. I don’t tolerate injustice or cheating on your spouse. I don’t tolerate bullying or speaking against God. And by not tolerating I mean I will speak up against it, I will take action to stop it, or I will simply walk away and ignore the one doing it.

As for homosexuality, I see it as sin and will not tolerate someone forcing it on another, or someone denying another their right to choose how they will live. And yes- it is a choice; whether it is caused by hormones, it is genetic or for some other reason, the truth is that everything we do in our life is a choice. If someone feels that they are not the gender their body has, they can choose to go with their feelings or to submit to their physicality. I do not say one or the other is right or wrong, only that feeling the way they do they have a choice what to do about it.

I would rather have seen those “Christians” that were protesting the gay rights parade wearing regular clothes and holding up signs that would be more compassionate and understanding. Signs that said, “You do have a choice” or “We don’t love what you do but we can still love you”, or things similar to that form of compassionate disagreement. Protest the sin and do so not in an accusatory way, but in a compassionate, understanding way that still gets across the idea that their lifestyle is not acceptable to God.

Just as with any sin that we come against, we should protest the sin but leave any judgment of that person who sins between that person and God.

The image of a Believer, whether a Christian, Messianic Jew, Hebrew Roots, or whatever should be one of compassionate understanding with intolerance of wrongdoing. It is a delicate balance, a thin line to walk on, but with spiritual maturity and biblical understanding, we can achieve a dialog that will not be accusatory or support a claim of racism.

If we want to stop sin, we must do so in a way that will not turn away the sinner but attract them.

And I don’t know what that is- it probably needs to be determined case-by-case. But I trust in God that the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) will lead me in a way that can accomplish God’s desire for everyone, which he tells us in Ezekiel 18:23:

Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD; and not rather that he should return from his ways, and live?

God wants everyone to have eternal life…it’s our choice whether we choose that or not.

Parashah Chayei Sarah 2018 (The life of Sarah) Genesis 23:1 – 25:18

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This parashah begins with the end of Sarah’s life. Abraham buys a burial cave and after the mourning period, he has Eliezer, his servant and guardian of all he owns (like Joseph was for Potipher’s household) go back to Abrahams’ old village to find a wife for Isaac from amongst Abraham’s own family. God goes ahead of Eliezer and Rebekah, the daughter of Abraham’s brother, Nachor, is the one God has chosen. After she is brought back and joined with Isaac, the parashah ends with a note about the other sons Abraham had through his second wife, Keturah- 6 more sons. Finally, we are told of Abraham’s death and burial. The last lines of this parashah give us the names of the sons of Ishmael, who become 12 nations.

I need to confess some pridefulness on my part in that I have always thought that the numberless amount of descendants that God promised Abraham would beget (Gen. 15:5) are the Jewish people. I never really thought of anyone else that came from Abraham’s loins as being part of that number. Oh, yes- I recognized that the Arab peoples were brothers, way, way back somewhere since they also came from Abraham, but I always thought the descendants that counted were just the Jewish people.

Lately, I have had discussions with other people who claim they are one of the tribes sent into the Diaspora and are just now tracing themselves back to their Israelite tribe. The 10 tribes that have been dispersed throughout the world have also lost their origins, having been assimilated into the culture and bloodlines of the geographical locations to which they went. And these locations are worldwide, from Asia through Africa, in Europe- all over!

We all know that Abraham had 2 sons, Ishmael and Isaac- one became the Arab nations and the other the Jewish nation. But do you recall that in this parashah we are told of 6 other sons that Abraham had? He gave them all gifts and sent them on their own way, and since his first two sons grew into nations that numbered (and still do) in the millions, it only seems reasonable to believe that God’s promise to make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens would also be fulfilled through these other 6 sons. That means that we know of at least 24 tribes from Ishmael and Isaac, alone, and who knows how many more tribes from the other 6 sons?

Over the past 5 Millennia, that’s a heck of a lot of people! Even when we consider that some of the Semitic tribes have been destroyed, such as the Assyrians and Babylonians, that still leaves plenty of descendants.

My point is that God’s promise to Abraham may not have been restricted to just the Jewish descendants. There may be more “sons and daughters of Abraham” around than I ever thought there were. My “special” condition, being a Jewish descendant of Abraham, may not really be oh-so-special, after all. And I confess I felt a little let down by that realization; on the other hand, after I thought it over a bit more, I started to think this is a good thing.

God promised Abraham his descendants would be more numerous than the stars, more than the grains of sand on the beach, and when we think about that promise as including the adopted children of Abraham, that fits in perfectly with what we are told in the Bible.

John 10:16– “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd” 

Gal. 3:29– “For if you belong to Messiah, you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” 

Isaiah 56:6-8 –“Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants, everyone who keeps from profaning the Sabbath and holds fast My covenant; even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” 

Psalm 86:9– All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and they shall glorify Your name.

Hosea 2:23– “I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, and I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!'”

That verse in Hosea is, contextually, dealing with the regathering of Israel, but the adopted sons and daughters will be the regathered, as well.

There are many other verses throughout the Bible, Old and New Covenants, which indicate God’s plan to bring all the nations- not just those that are the direct descendants of Abraham- into his salvation.

I have met many people over the years, especially those that have seen my testimony, who have stated they wished they had been born Jewish. Others have come to me or have posted that they are just now finding out that their grandparents were Jewish (many European and Sephardic Jews hid their Jewish lineage for fear of being persecuted or killed.)

The truth I have now accepted is that being a “Jew” is not so special, after all, since I have many brothers and sisters who are all children (either directly or adopted) of Abraham, throughout the world. And they are, indeed, as numerous as the stars in the heavens.

The conclusion I have come to is this: being a Jew by birth is not what is special. What is special is to accept Yeshua as my Messiah and to live my life as my Messiah did, worshiping the Holy One of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through obedience to his Torah.

Why Christianity Has Ignored the Torah

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Today I am doing pretty much an opinion piece but the historical references are accurate.

I have two theories about why Christianity, in general, has ignored the Torah. In truth, most of the Tanakh is ignored, but the Torah, which has been misidentified as “the Law”, is taught to have been done away with by Yeshua’s sacrifice. As such, Christianity has been focused on love and forgiveness, and has marketed salvation through the Blood of Christ as a “Come as you are” party, after which you can “stay as you are.”  

First, we must remember that in First Century Jerusalem there were two religions: Judaism and Roman paganism. When a Gentile repented of their pagan ways and accepted Yeshua as their Messiah, they were converting to Judaism- there was nothing else. When a Jew accepted that Yeshua was the Messiah, he didn’t convert to anything because Yeshua was (and still is) Jewish and taught from the Tanakh, which included the Torah. So, Jews were still Jews and Gentiles were converting to Judaism.

The Elders in Jerusalem gave the new Gentile Believers some time to wean their way (so to speak) off of paganism and into this very different lifestyle by only having 4 absolutely “You can’t do this anymore” items on the list of immediate changes they must make (see Acts 15:19-21.) Soon, there were more Gentiles accepting Yeshua than Jews, and the distance between a Jewish lifestyle and the changes Gentiles had to make was growing further and further apart.

To add to the problem, Rome was persecuting the Jewish population because they were rebelling against Roman rule. This was not a religious persecution, mind you- it was a political one. To the converting Gentiles, though, it didn’t matter- the closer they were associated with Jews, the more under Roman persecution they came. Let’s not forget that the power elite in Judea also was persecuting this new sect of Judaism(it isn’t Christianity yet) because the teachings of Yeshua eroded the power base of the Pharisees, which was a performance-based salvation through which they could control the people by use of traditions they created.

By the end of the 1st Century leading into the 2nd Century, the majority of Believers were Gentiles who changed the rules of worship. The Sabbath was changed to Sunday and Ignatius of Antioch proclaimed Judaism and (now called) Christianity were unable to exist together. At this time we see most of the commandments in the Torah being ignored and the (mostly) Gentile Believers no longer had anything to do with Judaism.

NOTE: this back-fired on the Christians because to the Roman government, what was even worse than rebelling was forming a new religion. The Jewish persecution stopped sometime around the time of the first Jewish-Rome wars (60-90 C.E.)  when Rome had killed thousands of Jews and destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. The next devastation of the Jewish population was about 60 years later during the Bar Kochba Rebellion, and by then Christians only had to worry about Rome.

The second reason, in my opinion, that Christianity ignored the Torah is because of a terrible misunderstanding of the “Great Commission”, which is considered a commandment by Yeshua to go out and make disciples of everyone in the world. This is found in Mark 16:15 and Matthew 28:19.

I call it a terrible misinterpretation because it has been used as the justification for slaughtering thousands upon thousands of Jews and Muslims over the centuries (the Crusades and the Inquisition are the best-known means of performing what can only be called a “religious genocide”, but Nazi Germany and the Russian Pogroms are an indirect result of this.) The idea of going throughout the world and spreading the Good News was meant to be a benevolent ministry, not a military incursion where people are forced to convert or die. Any condemnation for rejecting God and/or Yeshua was to be administered by God, not people.

At some point, people realized that instead of the threat of death, to make the “Great Commission” successful market it as a “Once saved, always saved” program, and to sell the idea that “God loves you just as you are, ask forgiveness in his name and go to heaven.” Now that is an easy sell!

“Wow! All I have to do is proclaim Jesus is the Messiah, I am sorry I have sinned, please forgive me in Jesus’s name, Amen…and that’s all? Really? Just repeat the “Sinner’s Prayer” and I will be guaranteed a place in heaven forever? Where do I sign?”

See what I mean? Now, if I came to you and said you need to repent, accept Yeshua as your Messiah and follow the 613 commandments in the Torah, you might want to think about it for a while. Like, maybe, for the rest of your life think about it! It’s not an easy thing to just jump into a completely different lifestyle. There is a Shabbat where you aren’t supposed to buy or sell anything, you aren’t allowed to work on many festival days during the year, and you can’t eat any pork or shellfish. You can’t fornicate, you can’t lie, and you have to do this for the rest of your life! In fact, even after you have repented, if you return to your old ways of sin you will lose the salvation that you were given.

See what I mean? If I am trying to convert people from a gluttonous, sexually free and hedonistic religion to one of moderation, sexual purity and servitude to others, I will not be very successful. However, if I say just proclaim faith in Jesus, ask forgiveness and you are set for eternity, I will get many more people to join the club.

Following the Torah is being made holy, which means you are separated from the world and that results in the world not accepting you. People, human beings, want to be accepted. We are a social animal, and so the true religion that God gave to the Jewish people to bring to the world is not going to be a popular choice. Christianity, especially after Constantine, was and still is being sold as something very simple to change to.

Throughout history, Jews have not encouraged anyone to convert to Judaism- but Christianity is all about converting, and the easier it is to convert without really changing your current lifestyle, the more converts you will get.

So there you have it! Christianity has rejected the Torah because:

  1. they didn’t want to be part of the persecution of Jews by Rome; and more recently
  2. it makes it easier to get converts.

Let me again state that these theories are my own ideas. I expect that most Christians raised and accepting typical Christian dogma will vehemently disagree with me, and most Messianic Jews and Hebrew Roots Christians will agree with me, or at least accept that it is possible things happened this way.

 

Sukkot 2018 Intermediate Shabbat Reading

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This Shabbat is known as the Sukkot Intermediate Shabbat. The Torah has already been read to the end, but we don’t turn it back and restart until the 8th day of Sukkot, which is called Sh’mini Atzeret. It is also known by another name, Simchat Torah, which means Joy of Torah.  

This reading takes place right after the sin of the Golden Calf has occurred. God told Moses that he would no longer dwell with this people because they are stiff-necked and rebellious, but Moses intercedes (as he did all the time) and convinces God to stay with them; otherwise, says Moses, how will the rest of the world know that they have been chosen as God’s unique and select people? God relents to Moses’ request, and then Moses takes it one (big) step further and asks God to show his Glory to Moses. God, confirming that he knows Moses well, agrees but states that his face cannot be seen. He places Moses in a cleft in a rock and as he passes by he pronounces himself to Moses while covering Moses’ face with his hand allowing him to see only his back. 

This part of the Torah (Ex. 34:5-7) is known as the 13 Attributes of God, which God proclaims to Moses as he passes by him (I am paraphrasing from my Chumash):

  1. The LORD– God reveals his “name”, which the Rabbi’s state is his character;
  2. The LORD– this repetition is explained in the Talmud as meaning that God is the same merciful and forgiving God before a person sins as he is after a person sins;
  3. God– the all-mighty Lord of the Universe, ruler of nature and mankind;
  4. merciful– full of affectionate sympathy for the sufferings and misery of human frailty;
  5. and gracious– assisting and helping, consoling and raising up the oppressed;
  6. long-suffering– slow to anger, not hastening to punish the guilty but giving them time to repent;
  7. abundant in goodness– plenteous in mercy, granting gifts and blessings even when underserved; 
  8. and truth– eternally true to himself, rewarding those obedient to his will;
  9. keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation– remembering the good deeds of one’s ancestors and reserving reward to the most distant descendants;
  10. forgiving iniquity– bearing with indulgence the failings of people;
  11. transgression– evil deeds from malice and rebellion against the Divine;
  12. and sin– shortcomings due to heedlessness and error; 
  13. but will by no means clear the guilty– he will not allow the guilty to go unpunished. 

Do you realize how amazing this sentence is?  It is God telling us all exactly who he is and explicitly what he wants us to know about him so we can know how he wants us to behave. After all, how many times does he tell us to “be Thou holy, as I am holy?”  Well, right here are the instructions for how we can accomplish that goal.

And you know what I think? I think they aren’t all that difficult to do. 

Obviously, we aren’t the LORD, the Lord God and if someone was good to us we won’t be around to remember their kindness to their thousandth generation.  Other than those two things, though, I think we are all capable of emulating these other qualities of God. 

The reason this specific reading is done now is to demonstrate that God wants to be with us- the whole idea of Sukkot is to remember the way God dwelt with and cared for our ancestors in the desert. It is a way of bonding with them and God. God always wants us to be in his presence. In fact the festival of Sukkot, according to Leviticus 23: 33-36 is to be seven days long, and the 8th day is a Shabbat rest.  The Rabbi’s explain in the Talmud (somewhere) the 8th day was added by God because he so enjoyed dwelling with his people that he extended Sukkot for another day.  I know that is unsubstantiated by the actual scriptures, but it is such a nice thought and it does fit in with what we know of God and his love for his children, that whether it is absolutely the truth or not, it is not dishonoring to God and a wonderful expression of God’s love.

We can never be as God is, but we can always be closer to how he wants us to be.  He tells us in this section of the Torah exactly what we need to know about him, and as far as I am concerned, that is all I need to know. Frankly, for me (at least) just trying to emulate these attributes of God is more than enough of a challenge for me. 

Are you up to the challenge? 

May your remaining days of Sukkot be a blessing to you.