 Within this week’s HafTarah we have the verse:
לָכֵן יִתֵּן אֲדֹנָי הוּא, לָכֶם--אוֹת: הִנֵּה הָעַלְמָה, הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת בֵּן, וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ, עִמָּנוּ אֵל Lachen yiten Hashem hu lachem ot hine haalma hara veyoledet ben vekarat sh`mo Eemanu El. The JPS renders: “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14; JPS) The Orthodox Jewish Bible renders: “Therefore Hashem Himself shall give you an ot (sign); Hinei, HaAlmah (the unmarried young virgin) shall conceive, and bear Ben, and shall call Shmo Immanu El (G-d is with us)” (Isaiah 7:14; The Orthodox Jewish Bible) Most Christian Bibles render: "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14; NASB) Why the difference between “young woman” and “virgin” (or as the OJB says: “the young unmarried virgin)? Why such a difference? And which is correct? You will have to bear with me because my first statement maybe rather shocking but hang in there with me. Out of all of these translations from a literal translation the word עַלְמָה found in the verse, does literally mean “young woman” and not what the Christian Bibles or the OJB renders. So technically, from a literal sense, the Jewish Publication Society Tanach is correct on this. But does this necessarily mean the others are wrong? Let’s investigate. First of all, we have to be good scholars and ask without bias, ask, why do other Bibles render עַלְמָה as “virgin” in this passage? How long does this go back? Now, first of all we have to reconcile Sotah 49b where it says: "The Sages taught: During the siege in the Hasmonean war, Hyrcanus was outside [the walls of Jerusalem] and Aristobulos was inside. Every day [the Jews] would send out a box of dinar coins and they would send the daily sacrifice in return. [Inside Jerusalem,] there was an old man who knew Greek wisdom. He spoke [with the beseiging forces outside] with Greek wisdom and said to them, 'As long as the Jews are involved in the Temple service, they will not fall into your hands.' The next day they lowered the box of coins and they sent them up a pig [instead of the daily sacrifice]. When it reached halfway up the wall, it dug its hoofs into the wall and the land of Israel trembled four hundred parasangs. At that time they said, 'Cursed is the man who raises pigs, and cursed is the man who teaches his son Greek wisdom.'" (Sotah 49b) The reason we have to reconcile this is because we are going to be looking at the Greek Septuagint (1-3rd Century BCE). The reason the rabbis of the Talmud took great issue with the Septuagint is because of the fact Greek was not only the language of the enemy of Israel. But also because Greek is a Germanic language that cannot fully contain Semitic thought, when you have a word such as ܡܠܬܐ in Aramaic which has 5 meanings, all of which are accurate meanings that bring out the whole meaning, the Greek equivalent is λογος and means only one thing. So the text is flattened with the Greek and it takes away its Semitic nature. But the Greek does help us in terms of looking at theology through time. It allows it to be pinned down to how it was rendered by a majority of the community. Now, keep in mind, the Greek Septuagint was not written by Christians. It was written between the 3rd and 1st Century BCE, before the time of Yeshua’s birth. Now the Septuagint renders ἡ παρθένος which is not the Greek equivalent of “young woman” rather it is the Greek equivalent of “virgin”. Now the world’s leading anti-missionary, Tovia Singer claims that the “Christians changed Isaiah 7:14” in his tape set “Let’s Get Biblical”. If this were true then they would have had to have had Doc Browns time traveling Delorian to influence the rabbis 100-300 years before the birth of Yeshua to change it because the Septuagint was not a Christian Translation it was a Jewish Translation that predated Yeshua’s birth. So now, we have to ask why was עַלְמָה seen in this passage when the word for “virgin” in Hebrew is בְּתוּלַה (betulah)? How did עַלְמָה become translated to “virgin”? The reason is Isaiah 9:6 לְםַרְבֵּה הַמִּשְׂרָה וּלְשָׁלוֹם אֵין-קֵץ עַל-כִּסֵּא דָוִד וְעַל-מַמְלַכְתּוֹ, לְהָכִין אֹתָהּ וּלְסַעֲדָהּ, בְּמִשְׁפָּט וּבִצְדָקָה; מֵעַתָּה, וְעַד-עוֹלָם, קִנְאַת יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, תַּעֲשֶׂה-זֹּאת. lemarbe hamisra ulshalom eyn ketz al kise David veal mamlachto lehachin ota oolsaada bemishpat uvitzdaka meata vead olam kinat Hashem Tze`vaot ta’ase zot. “That the government may be increased, and of peace there be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it through justice and through righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts doth perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6; JPS) Within the verse we have a textural anomaly. It is the word לְiםַרְבֵּה the thing that is odd about it is the letter ם. Now the ם has two forms. When it is at the beginning or inside of a word it is written as מ. But it only takes it’s sofit form (ם) when it is at the end of a word as the last letter. Here we see it as he first letter of Marbeh or the second letter of L’Marbeh. Now we will investigate why this is. Interesting enough the Gutnich Chumash (which is from Kol Menechem, a part of Chabad) says this: לְםַרְבֵּה הַמִּשְׂרָה וּלְשָׁלוֹם אֵין-קֵץ Much authority and peace without end. According to Chasidic thought, the "open" letter mem (ם) alludes to exile, whereas the "closed" mem (ם) alludes to redemption. Thus, in one verse that speaks of exile we find an open mem uncharacteristically at the end of a word ("the walls of Jerusalem, which were [הֵמ] broken down"—Nechemiah 2:13)', and in our verse, which alludes to redemption, we find a closed mem in the middle of a word ("much authority" לְםַרְבֵּה הַמִּשְׂרָה). The shape of the two letters actually depicts their message graphically. The open mem remains unsealed on one side, indicating that there is an "opening" for negative influences—hence the state of exile. The closed mem, on the other hand, is totally sealed, suggesting a state where a person is totally protected against sin, as will occur with the redemption. It is also interesting to note the Talmud begins with an open mem and concludes with a closed mem, suggesting that through the process of observing all the laws that are detailed in the Talmud the world becomes spiritually refined, thus reaching a redemptive state. Likewise, we find that the name Menachem (מְנַחֵם), cited by the Talmud as one of the names of Mashiach (Sanhedrin 98b), begins with an open mem and ends with a closed mem (Sichas Shabbos Parshas Vayikra 5749, par. 6; Hadran al Hashas 5749, note 122). Now let’s look at the entire context of Sanhedrin 98b and we will see that even though Kol Menechem claims the passage is speaking of Schneerson (they get that idea from the passage on Sanhedrin 98b and the phublishing company provides this footnote for the reason of proof that Schneerson is the Messiah) we see that it is actually speaking of Yeshua of Nazareth. “What is his name? The school of Rabbi Sheila says: Shiloh is his name, as it is stated: “Until when Shiloh shall come” (Genesis 49:10). The school of Rabbi Yannai says: Yinnon is his name, as it is stated: “May his name endure forever; may his name continue [yinnon] as long as the sun; and may men bless themselves by him” (Psalms 72:17). The school of Rabbi Ḥanina says: Ḥanina is his name, as it is stated: “For I will show you no favor [ḥanina]” (Jeremiah 16:13). And some say that Menaḥem ben Ḥizkiyya is his name, as it is stated: “Because the comforter [menaḥem] that should relieve my soul is far from me” (Lamentations 1:16). And the Rabbis say: The leper of the house of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi is his name, as it is stated: “Indeed our illnesses he did bear and our pains he endured; yet we did esteem him injured, stricken by God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4).” (Sanhedrin 98b) Now does any of the other sages say anything on this subject? Oh yes: “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end (Is 9:6). R. Tanhum said: Bar Kappara expounded in Sepphoris, Why is every mem in the middle of a word open The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to appoint — ?)סתום( whilst this is closed ,)פתוח( Hezekiah as the Messiah, and Sennacherib as Gog and Magog; whereupon the Attribute of Justice (מדת הדין) said before the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘Sovereign of the Universe! If Thou didst not make David the Messiah, who uttered so many hymns and psalms before Thee, wilt Thou appoint Hezekiah as such, who did not hymn Thee in spite of all these mira- cles which Thou wroughtest for him?’ Therefore [the mem] was closed. Straightway the earth exclaimed: ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Let me utter song before Thee instead of this right- eous man [Hezekiah], and make him the Messiah.’ So it broke into song before Him, as it is written, From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the tzaddik (Is 24:16). Then the Prince of the Universe said to Him: ‘Sovereign of the Universe! It [the earth] hath fulfilled Thy desire [for songs of praise] on behalf of this tzaddik.’ But a heavenly Voice cried out, ‘It is my secret, it is my secret’ [Play on Is 24:16 רזי לי רזי לי “I am wasting away, I am wasting away!”] To which the prophet rejoined, אוי לי ‘Woe is me, woe is me: how long [must we wait]?’ The heavenly Voice [again] cried out, ‘The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously’ (Is 24:16) which Raba — others say, R. Isaac — interpreted: until there come spoilers, and spoilers of the spoilers.” (Sanhedrin 94a) “And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The merit of the Patriarchs ceased since the days of Hezekiah, as it is stated: “For the increase of the realm and for peace without end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice; from now and forever the zeal of the Lord of hosts performs this” (Isaiah 9:6). That is to say, from this point on, the merit of the Patriarchs will not protect Israel, leaving only the zeal of the Lord.” (Shabbat 55a) “The name Adam CONSISTS OF THREE LETTERS: THE Aleph OF ADAM ALLUDES TO the supernal world WHENCE THE RIGHT COLUMN ORIGINATES. The closed (final) Mem is the letter that appears in the phrase, "Of the increase (Heb. Lemarbeh) of his realm" (Yeshayah 9:6). ALTHOUGH IT APPEARS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WORD, IT IS WRITTEN TRADITIONALLY AS FINAL MEM, IN ITS CLOSED FORM. FROM IT, THE LEFT COLUMN IS EXTENDED. The lower Dalet is concealed in the west, and this is the entire MOCHIN of above and below. AFTER this had been established above, IN ZEIR ANPIN AND HIS FEMININE PRINCIPLE, it was established below AS WELL, IN ADAM HIMSELF." (Zohar 1:34b Bereishis) "Rabbi Shimon said, Aleph OF AMEN is the depth of the well, whence all the blessings flow and come out and exist. Open Mem is the river that emerges and flows, WHICH IS YESOD, and is called Mem. This is the meaning of what we learned that open Mem IS YESOD, closed final Mem IS BINAH, as we established BY THE VERSE, "for the increase (Heb. lemarbeh, spelled with final Mem) of the realm" (Yeshayah 9:6)." (Zohar 3:285b Vayelech) One thing that is amazing as well is the symbolism in Judaism of “open” and “closed” like that of the מ is related to the idea of virginity in Semitic thought: “Rav Avdimi from Haifa said: Before a man eats and drinks he has two hearts but after he eats and drinks he has one heart, as it says, A hollow man is two hearted, the word nabob (hallow) occurring also in the text nebub luhoth, which we translate ‘hallow with planks’. R. Huna, the son of R. Joshua said: If a man is a wine drinker, even though his heart is closed like a virgin, the wine opens it [saying a full stomach of wine and bread opens one to the Torah], as it is said: New wine shall make open out the maids.” (Baba Batra 12b) The closed מ in לְםַרְבֵּה deals with a closed womb, symbolizing virginity. Thus, this is the reason why the Jews who brought about the Septuagint wrote the translation as “virgin” and not “young woman/young maiden” because of the symbolism of the closed ם. Anti-missionaries do not want you to learn lashon kodesh, nor the words of the sages for these very reasons. They rely upon half truths when it comes to these concepts and they rely on ignorance of both of these things in Jewish thought. When the functions of Judaism are applied and not hyper-literalism we can clearly see that the “young woman” mentioned in Isaiah 7:14 is indeed a virgin. Outside of the Hebrew language, and the textural anomalies of it as well as the words of the sages is the only way the words of the anti-missionaries can make sense.
4 Comments
 In Exodus 14 we have the story of the Children of Israel crossing the Red Sea by the mighty hand of HaShem and Moshe as the mediator to divide the waters so the Jewish people could cross over. This story should tell us much of ourselves.
The term עִברִי (Ivri) has multiple meanings. It means “to cross over” it means “to break through the spiritual barrier” and it also represents the start of Jewish conversion which is also known as עִברִי. But let’s analyze this story and see what is happening here. “And when Pharaoh drew near, the Bnei Yisroel lifted up their eyes, and, hinei, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were very terrified; and the Bnei Yisroel cried out unto Hashem.” (Exodus 14:10; The Orthodox Jewish Bible) Our sages say in Arachin 16b that if a person goes 40 days and 40 nights without trial or tribulation they may have lost their share in the world to come. Kiddushin 40b tells us that the righteous receive tribulations in order to merit a lofty place in the world the come. This sounds reminiscent of what we read in Brit Chadasha. “Because from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. Lo HaKavod l'Olamim. Omein. (" To Him be glory forever. Amen.")” (Romans 11:36; The Orthodox Jewish Bible) We can all look through our lives and see times of trouble, of trial and tribulation we can find ourselves pleading with G-d over the situations brought forth to us. When we are at our times of weakness, our hearts of stone becomes a heart of flesh. During that time we gain comfort from Ruach HaKodesh, and we are more susceptible to G-d. Think of the story of Jacob and Esau: And the nearim grew: and Esav was a skilled hunter, an ish sadeh; and Ya'akov was an ish tam (quiet man), dwelling in ohalim. And Yitzchak loved Esav, because he did eat of his wild game; but Rivkah loved Ya'akov. And Ya'akov cooked stew: and Esav came from the sadeh, and he was famished. And Esav said to Ya'akov, Let me eat now some of the adom (red stew); for I am famished; therefore was shmo called Edom. And Ya'akov said, First sell me today thy bechorah (birthright, right of the firstborn). And Esav said, Hinei, I am at the point of death; and what profit shall this bechorah do to me? And Ya'akov said, Swear to me this day; and he swore unto him; and he sold his bechorah unto Ya'akov. Then Ya'akov gave Esav lechem and adashim (lentils) stew; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way; thus Esav despised his bechorah. (Genesis 25:27-34; The Orthodox Jewish Bible) We see an antithesis to this story in the Gospels: Then Yeshua was led up into the midbar by the Ruach Hakodesh of Hashem to undergo nisyonos (temptations) by Hasatan. And, having undergone a tzom (fast) for arbaim yom varbaim lailah (forty days and forty nights), afterward Yeshua was famished. And the tempter came to him and said to him, If you are the Ben HaElohim, then speak the command that these avanim (stones) become lechem (bread). But Yeshua answered, Katuv (It is written), Lo a halechem lvodah ycheyeh Haadam, Ki al kol motzah fi hashem. (Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of Hashem), Then Hasatan takes Rebbe, Yeshha to the Ir Hakodesh (the Holy City) and set him atop the pinnacle of the Beis Hamikdash, and says to Yeshua, If you are the Ben HaElohim, then throw yourself down, for katuv (it is written),malachav ytzav veh lach (His angels he will command concerning you) and upon their hands they will lift you up lest you strike your foot against a stone. Yeshua said to Hasatan, Again, it is written, lo tenassu es HaShem Eloheichem (Do not test Hashem your G-d). Again, Hasatan takes Yeshha to a very high mountain and shows him all the mamlechot (kingdoms) of the Olam Hazeh and the kavod (glory) of them. And Hasatan said to Yeshua, All these things I will give to you, if you will fall down v’tiahtachaveh (and you will bow down to) me. Then Yeshua says to him, Depart, Hasatan! For katuv (it is written), es HaShem Eloheicha Tira voto ta’avod (The L-rd your G-d you shall fear and Him you shall worship) Then Hasatan leaves him, and, hinei, malachim came and attended to Yeshua. (Matthew 4:1-11; The Orthodox Jewish Bible) Here we see both the Messiah, and Essau desperately hungry, desperate for food. We see a different reaction however. We see that Essau takes the first offer given to him out of desperation. And we see the Mashiach has his sights focused upon the Creator of Heaven and earth. Essau gave up something holy (his birthright) for soup. Some look at the passage from Malachi and say “this is kinda harsh”. V’ohav es Ya’akov v’es Esav saneiti (Ya'akov have I loved, but Esau have I hated). (Malachi 1:3; The Orthodox Jewish Bible) The reason this is said is because it was not the actions persay. But the evil of the soul that was rooted in the here and now, the finite physical world and not the things of HaShem. For some reason Essau thought that HaShem was not gonna sustain him, thus He didn’t look to HaShem, instead he came to Jacob and sold his birthright, essentially spitting in the face of G-d and essentially saying to G-d “you are not here for me”. Yet HaShem put oxygen in his lungs, gave him the rain for water, gave him food all around him for his consumption. He was like the angry child who curses his parents and say that his room is not big enough to fit a movie theater into, and yet he feels entitled to have a 100 seat movie theater in his bedroom. But in terms of the Mashiach it was different. 40 days, His sights were upon HaShem. This is when the breakthrough begins. This is when someone is considered עִברִי. When they have broken that spiritual barrier and have had that change of heart, and they choose to live for HaShem. As we continue one in the story: “And Moshe said unto HaAm, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the Yeshuat Hashem, which He will bring to you today; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more ad olam. Hashem shall fight for you, and ye shall keep still.” (Exodus 14:13-14; The Orthodox Jewish Bible) The Mechilta says in terms of Exodus 14:13-14: “While standing at the edge of the sea, terrified by the advancing Egyptians, the Jews broke into four camps, each advocating a different course of action. The first camp said: "Lets plunge into the sea," preferring to drown themselves than return to Egypt. The second camp said: "Let's return to Egypt," willing to accept the yoke of bondage again. The third camp said: "Let's wage war against them” hoping that they would be victorious. The fourth camp said: "Let's cry out to God” appealing to God in prayer.” So we had different camps offering up different solutions to the situation. Each of them signify where they were spiritually. Who and what their reliance was upon and was the rest to see if they had truly chosen a life for HaShem or if they just wanted to be a part of the outcast cool kids busting out of Egypt. Their spiritual condition was exposed at this time of either being likened unto Mashiach or likened unto Essau. As the story goes they crossed the Red Sea, and then what happens? They travel for 40 years. Through this time as we will see in Parshas Yitro we will find them building a golden calf while the Torah was being given. We will see them make several missteps along the way. We will see them preparing for the Promised Land. As we progress we read in verse 21: “Then Moshe stretched out his yad over the yam; and Hashem caused the yam to go back by a strong east wind all that night, so that the yam was made dry land, and the mayim were divided.” (Exodus 14:21; The Orthodox Jewish Bible) Earning a livelihood is as difficult as the Splitting of the Sea (Pesachim 118a). "Towards morning, the sea returned to its strength"—"morning" corresponds to Abraham, and thus to kindness and love. When a religious Jew engages in business honestly, he fulfills the mitzvah to "Love God" (Deuteronomy 6:5) in the sense that he "makes God beloved to others," since they associate his religiosity with ethical behavior (Yoma 86a). Having tuned into the resonance of "love," this Jew is also in tune with the unforced dynamic of the sea as it returns to its natural state. Therefore he, too, can earn a living in an effortless, unforced manner.” (Likutey Moharan i. 210). “If someone truly wants to perform a mitzvah, he will certainly face obstacles. Yet he can overcome them all if he truly desires. For example, let's say he decides to travel to the Holy Land. If he arrives at the port and there is no ship- or if he has no money left to pay his fare, nevertheless, if he truly desires he will see see miracles happen that allow him to complete the mitzvah and make the trip In certain ways. these miracles are as great as those that accompanied the Splitting of the Sea. Though that miracle was very great, it lasted only for a short time. If a person opens his eyes to the Divine Providence that brought him to where he is today, he will clearly see God's guiding hand every week and even every day! (Likutey Halakhot I, p. 142a-284). It is complete and utter trust in Hashem with a responsibility attached. In the Talmud it mentions “to make a livelihood”. For we read in Brit Chadasha: “For the Kitvei HaKodesh says, lo tachsom shor bedisho ("You shall not muzzle the ox while he is treading out the grain"), and "Worthy is the workman of his wages." (1 Timothy 5:18; The Orthodox Jewish Bible) The reason why “livelihood” is mentioned we can see through product of the salvation given to a person. There is then a job to do, there is a product that must be produced, which is referred to as pri tov (good fruit). What is this good fruit? Well, it is a part of the “works” propagated in iggaret ya’akov (letter of Jacob/James). The “works” that are a part of the product of our salvation. And it goes beyond mitzvos. This is even said by our Mashiach, who said: “For I say unto you that unless the Tzedek (Righteousness) of you exceeds that of the Sofrim and Perushim, you will certainly not enter the Malchut HaShomayim.” (Matthew 5:20; The Orthodox Jewish Bible) Now I don’t see the OJB as a being a primary source for the New Testament because Phil Goble tends to insert Hebrew variances into the Greek text in terms of the New Testament. But I find it interesting he uses the term מִצִּדְק and Franz Delitzsch has מִצִּדְקַת both mean the same thing and they are the words for “righteous” or “righteousness” but they are also the word for “charity”. Was Yeshua propagating the same idea in the original Aramaic? In the Aramaic Khabouris Codex, we get a greater scope through the word kinuthkun (ܟ݁ܺܐܢܽܘܬ݂ܟ݂ܽܘܢ) where the later Hebrew has מִצִּדְקַת. The word ܟ݁ܺܐܢܽܘܬ݂ܟ݂ܽܘܢ in Aramaic means “righteousness, uprightness, charity, godliness, rectitude, and justice.” In both of these Semitic forms of the gospels we see something that is less about the idea of how many mitzvos, chukim, and mishpatim are fulfilled in terms of Torah law. But it is more of a change in self and a giving of one’s self over to the Creator. When one gives themselves over to HaShem what essentially happens is a person then has a focus on the Malchut HaShamayim (Kingdom of Heaven) as opposed to the things of the world. There is a transformation. Now this transformation is not instant. As the transformation of the children of Israel wasn’t instant, they suffered many trials and tribulations from the external and the internal they had to battle before they made their way into the land of Israel. Thus is the same with our lives. Perfection is not gonna be obtained. Fulfillment of all mitzvos will never happen, but with each trial. With each time we come to the Red Sea and we feel as though certain death is imminent we are offered a choice. A death to self? Or a death to the constriction by the constriction? Esau, and some of the Jews chose a death to the constriction of the world, and the limits of it. However, some of the Jews and Moshe chose the death of self in terms of the words of the Satan speaking to them and saying “you are constricted”. Trust in HaShem, acts of tzedakah, a death of self and the voice of the serpent, which is our own yetzer hara (evil inclination) is what gives us a clearer vision when faced with trial and tribulation and it allows us to cross the Red Sea.  The word מִצְרָיִם (Mitzrayim: meaning Egypt) also has another definition. It also means “restriction”. It should be striking to us that the name of Parshah this week is בּׂא which means “Go”.
The Torah portion talks greatly on the plagues placed upon מִצְרָיִם and the parshah is called בּׂא. Thus we can see deep spiritual and practical usage out of this understanding. In the parshah we see that the Jewish people, made a choice. For it is said in Shemot Rabbah 17:3 it says: “And I will make you a legend unto myself, even though you are as low as a moss, that is said (Exodus 19: 5): And you shall be my glory from all the nations. What is the Holy One, Blessed is He, to protect them with blood, in order to remind them of the blood of the word of Abraham? And in two blood, Israel was saved from Egypt in the blood of Passover and in the blood of Milah....” (Shemot Rabbah 17:3) We see we are told the blood of the circumcision was mixed in with the blood of the Passover lamb. Symbolizing the redemption from the land of restriction (aka Egypt), מִצְרָיִם. How so? In my article “Was Yeshua Really the Passover Lamb”, we established the fact that the Passover Lamb didn’t represent the Messiah of Israel but instead it represented one of the pagan gods worshipped in Egypt. The people were מִצְרָיִם (constricted) because of their worship of pagan gods and the ways of Pharaoh. The circumcision represents the covenant between us and HaShem. The blood from circumcision mixed with the blood of the lamb represents essentially the death of the old ways and the redemption through the blessing of the Torah of HaShem through HaShem and acknowledgement and consecration unto HaShem. It is through this, when they decided to בּׂא (Go) from the land of מִצְרָיִם (Egypt: Constriction) of those pagan gods stayed in Egypt as well, and the Jews ran from the constriction found in the land. Think of it in this way. Say a man, is deathly ill. He goes to the doctor, the doctor sends him to the hospital. On his way into the hospital he was worried. In the hospital as they prep him for surgery he is worried, he is also constricted. He is unable to watch the pay per view fight on tv that night at home, he is unable to toss the football with his son, he is unable to sit at the dinner table with his wife. During surgery and during his recovery he is constricted. No walks, no going to Subway for a footlong sub. He is eating hospital food and has to even get permission to use the rest room. Then he leaves the hospital, his condition has improved and he is able to leave. His family takes him home but he still is slightly constricted for a period of time till he fully heals. Then he is better than new. He has broken from his constriction he is better than new. The hospital stay is likened to the Jews in Egypt. One may ask, was this stay and the slavery in Egypt necessary? The answer is yes. When one is without freedom can they fully appreciate their freedom? Of course and they do so with more gratitude. This is key. Along the way, we have Baal Peor, we have the golden calf we have the bad report from the spies we have Moshe getting frustrated and striking the rock. We have all these instances where the children of Israel are making great gains and then they do something incredibly stupid. This is like the patient going home but he is slightly restricted by the surgery from the hospital. Moses goes to Sinai, receives the Torah and they thought they were doing a good thing by creating their own god with the Golden Calf. The stitches were still in their body, they still had part of the hospital within them. But then, we see them come into the land. Was it appreciated more because of the restriction and because of the stumbles along the way? You bet they were. The Messiah tells us: “If therefore HaBen (the Son) makes you Bnei Chorin (free men), you shall be Bnei Chorin (free men) indeed.” (John 8:36; The Orthodox Jewish Bible) This statement in its context from leaving Egypt. The people were free to observe the Torah of HaShem. And no longer restricted fully by Egypt. The Torah of HaShem brings us freedom and life. As it is written: “In that I command thee today to love Hashem Eloheicha (HaShem your G-d), to walk in His ways, and to be shomer (guardians) over His mitzvot (commandments) and His chukkot (statutes) and His mishpatim (judgements), that thou mayest live and multiply; and Hashem Eloheicha shall bless thee in ha'aretz (the land) whither thou goest to possess it.” (Deuteronomy 30:16; The Orthodox Jewish Bible) Life is found in the Torah, observance of it is life and freedom. It is the freedom to receive Hashem’s blessing or to be restricted and not receive His blessings from the Torah. Thus, one has to shed Egypt each and every single day, if one is going to strive for tzedikim (righteousness). Each day we must strive to battle yetzer hara (the evil inclination) and to leave Egypt. Through each day and each week and each year we stumble, we fall, we build our golden calves, we put ourselves in restriction. But each day, each week, each year, we are restricted a little less. We must constantly בּׂא (go) out from Egypt, and leave restriction behind. Every day we reach a new level, we reach a new understanding but also each day we grow in chochmah (Wisdom) and da’as l’Elohim (knowledge of G-d). It’s a constant progression we never perfect. We leave Egypt each day and every day we get further. Upon our last breathe however is when we reach Gan Eden (The Garden of Eden).  “And Hashem said unto Moshe, Stretch out thine yad toward Shomayim, that there may be choshech over Eretz Mitzrayim, even choshech which he can feel.”
(Exodus 10:21; The Orthodox Jewish Bible) The darkness became matter, a tangible thing (Rashi). Why was there a Plague of Darkness? There were wicked Jews who refused to leave Egypt. They died during the Plague of Darkness and were buried at that time [so the Egyptians would not see the Jews suffering] (Rashi on Exodus 10:22). There is a body. there is a soul. There is matter, there is form. There is darkness, there is light. There is death, there is life. The first of each pair are all one concept, as are the second (Likutey Moharan I, 37:2). Those who pursue the material—the body—are actually pursuing matter and darkness. Those who pursue spirituality merit to form and light. Therefore the Egyptians, who were steeped in bodily lusts, literally felt the darkness envelop them. And the wicked Jews who did not want to leave the materialistic lifestyle of Egypt died, since matter, body, darkness and death are the same concept. But those Jews who sought spirituality and anticipated the salvation had light in their homes, for spirituality and light are synonymous. In fact, they merited to the light of the Future, which is similar to the light of Creation that enveloped the entire world (see Rashi on Genesis 1:3) (Likutey Halakhot V, p. 149a). Our material sense work as a boundary, a wall, between us an G-d. The focus of the believer should always be “for the sake of Heaven” and the Malchut HaShamayim. The palatable things, the things that are tangible wither away, they are not long for this world. Because the world itself is not infinite. For HaShem has always been, HaShem created the heavens and the earth but He has always been in existence. The world, is only approx 6,000 to 6 billion years old depending upon who you ask. But HaShem always was and always will be as he says in Exodus 3:14, אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (I Am that I Am) which the Zohar refers to as אין סוף (Ayn Sof) meaning the never ending. Think about this. Here soon, the new cell phone, the new video game system, the new television with the most pixels to date, the new laptop or tablet will be unveiled by your favorite company. There will be much hype around it. People will flood the stores to get it, and it will be pandaemonium. Next year, that device will be out of date and considered obsolete when the new version comes out. When I was a child, around 5 years old VCRs were close to $1,000 dollars, jump to 35 years later, a VCR is not considered revolutionary anymore and you can get one with more heads and more features, more lightweight and much more advanced for only $50 than the one released only 35 years ago. The Israelites, made a wage that would be considered middle class by today’s standards. When we look at slavery we tend to think of America on the 1800s, but slavery was much different in Egypt. They were indeed worked hard and under a rule where everything they did was dictated to them. But they made a very good wage. This was the slavery of Egypt. Now imagine that you were making $100,000 a year at your job, your boss is a tyrant, you hate your job with a passion but you do it because it puts your children through private school and allows you to have the big house and the big sports package on your cable subscription. Now say, you were given the opportunity to break free from the bondage of the tyrannical ruler, you no longer had to serve his gods but....you would totally, 100% lose that wage that kept you afloat and allowed you a degree of privilege. Even the most religious of people would would have to think long and hard about this or say, “I can’t, I have obligations.” One may ask, is it a sin to be wealthy? We can examine the words of Yeshua here and we can almost come to that conclusion. (Aramaic from the Khabouris Codex in Swadaya Aramaic Script) ܬܘܒ ܕܝܢ ܐܡܪ ܐܢܐ ܠܟܘܢ ܕܕܠܝܠ ܗܘ ܠܓܡܠܐ ܠܡܥܠ ܒܚܪܘܪܐ ܕܡܚܛܐ ܐܘ ܥܬܝܪܐ ܕܢܥܘܠ ܠܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܕܐܠܗܐ (Transliteration of the Khabouris Codex) Toov deyn amarna lchoon; dadleel hoo l’gamala, l’me’al bachroora d’amkhata, aw athiyra dne’ool l’malkutha dalaha Now furthermore, I say unto you, that it is easier for a gamala (heavy rope) to enter into the akhrura d’amkhata {the hole of a needle}, than an athiyra {a rich man} that he might enter into The Malkutha d’Alaha {The Kingdom of God}.” (Matthew 19:24; the Aramaic Scriptures) We could also source verses such as Matthew 6:24, and Mark 10:21 and come to that conclusion. But, what about the prominent figure in John 3 whom Yeshua spoke to about Eternal Life? I am talking about Nicodemus ben Gurion who is spoken of in Lamentations Rabbah, the Talmud and Avot Natan. Nicodemus was a very wealthy man. Paul of Tarsus was as well. The thing we see however is their wealth did not serve as a hinderance to their spirituality, nor did it cause them to put their trust into the material things. The Sadducees were a different animal all together however. The Sadducees didn’t believe in the Olam Haba, they felt that if they achieved wealth in the world that it was Hashem’s blessing to them and that their reward was not in the Malchut HaShamayim but rather it was in the here and now. So they held tightly to what they felt was their salvation which was their material possession or endless cash flow. Nicodemus however, had a different approach. He used his immense wealth for good, he funded additions to the Holy Temple he payed for the food of the poor in his entire village. He was not bound to his wealth and new he couldn’t take it with him. Nicodemus broke that spiritual wall, much in the same way Paul of Tarsus did. In Acts 21:22-24 we see him take a Nazarite vow with 4 men. Most scholars claim there is evidence that Paul paid their fees for this which was the wages they would earn during the duration of the vow. Paul took it upon himself to do this. We see that Paul traveled to the nations not on the dime of the Pharisees but upon his own dime. So in the words of Yeshua in the above passage in Matthew 19:24 it was not that the people had to become poor but instead they had to not be bound by the material possessions. For a person who cannot break away from it, it is better that they are struggling so they can then not be bound to the luxury but rely upon HaShem. This is why the Noahide laws deal with the aspects of the flesh and the finite. For a person to walk with HaShem they have to shed their fleshly desires. This is what the Noahide laws set out to do, because a person must shed their fleshly desires if they are gonna live a life that is truly for HaShem. The words of Paul reflect on this as well: (Aramaic from the Khabouris Codex in Swadaya Aramaic Script) ܘܥܡ ܡܫܝܚܐ ܙܩܝܦ ܐܢܐ ܘܡܟܝܠ ܠܐ ܗܘܐ ܐܢܐ ܚܝ ܐܢܐ ܐܠܐ ܚܝ ܒܝ ܡܫܝܚܐ ܘܗܢܐ ܕܗܫܐ ܚܝ ܐܢܐ ܒܒܣܪ ܒܗܝܡܢܘܬܐ ܗܘ ܕܒܪܗ ܕܐܠܗܐ ܚܝ ܐܢܐ ܗܘ ܕܐܚܒܢ ܘܝܗܒ ܢܦܫܗ ܚܠܦܝܢ (Transliteration of the Khabouris Codex) w`am Meshikha zqeef ana, wmekeel la hwa ena chay ana; ela chay bee Meshikha, whana dhasha chay ana bavsar; bhaymanootha hw davreh dalaha chay ana, haw dachvan, wyahv nafsheh chlafayn, And I have been crucified together with Meshikha {The Anointed One}, and now, I'm not alive, but rather, I live in Meshikha {The Anointed One}, and now, this which I live in the flesh, I'm living by The Faith of The Son of Alaha {God}, He who loved me and gave His Soul for me. (Galatians 2:20; The Aramaic Scriptures) Considering that “Darkness” (materialism) in the parsha is the antithesis to “light” this should give us new context into the statements of the Messiah when he says: (Aramaic from the Khabouris Codex in Swadaya Aramaic Script) ܐܡܪ ܠܗܘܢ ܝܫܘܥ ܩܠܝܠ ܐܚܪܝܢ ܙܒܢܐ ܢܘܗܪܐ ܥܡܟܘܢ ܗܘ ܗܠܟܘ ܥܕ ܐܝܬ ܠܟܘܢ ܢܘܗܪܐ ܕܠܐ ܚܫܘܟܐ ܢܕܪܟܟܘܢ ܘܡܢ ܕܡܗܠܟ ܒܚܫܘܟܐ ܠܐ ܝܕܥ ܠܐܝܟܐ ܐܙܠ (Transliteration of the Khabouris Codex) amar lhoon Eshu`, qaleel achreen zavna noohra `amchoon hoo, halechw `ad eeth lchoon noohra; dla cheshoocha nadrechchoon, wman damhalech bcheshoocha, la yada` layka azel Eshu {Yeshua} said unto them, “Another short amount of time, The Light is among you, walk while there is Light for you, so that the darkness doesn’t overtake you. And whoever walks in the darkness doesn’t know unto where he goes. (John 12:35; The Aramaic Scriptures)  (Article by Rabbi Eved Banah of the Brutal Planet Radio Program) In the Torah Portion Bo we are introduced to the gods of Egypt, and the plagues that Hashem placed upon Egypt to mock those gods. Yet, the final plague is tied to the ritual associated with killing the lamb that is spoken of the most in the Bible and the lamb representing one of the pagan gods worshipped in Egypt and yet......we overlook those passages and when Pesach approaches we claim Yeshua is our passover lamb because of one out of context verse in the New Testament. The verse reads as such: (Aramaic in Swadaya Script from the Khabouris Codex) ܕܟܘ ܡܢܟܘܢ ܚܡܝܪܐ ܥܬܝܩܐ ܕܬܗܘܘܢ ܓܒܝܠܬܐ ܚܕܬܐ ܐܝܟܢܐ ܕܐܝܬܝܟܘܢ ܦܛܝܪܐ ܦܨܚܐ ܓܝܪ ܕܝܠܢ ܡܫܝܚܐ ܗܘ ܕܐܬܢܟܣ ܚܠܦܝܢ (Transliterated Aramaic from the Khabouris Codex) dakaw menchoon chmeera 'ateeqa d'thehwoon g'veelta chadtha; aykana deethaykoon pateera, peskha geyr deelan; Meshikha hoo, dethnches chlafayn. "Purge from you the old leaven, so that you are made a new lump, in such a way that you become unleavened, for Our Peskha {Our Passover} is Meshikha {The Anointed One}; He who was slain for us." (1 Corinthians 5:7; The Aramaic Scriptures) Now this is obviously contradictory to Luke 22:7-8 (Aramaic in Swadaya Script from the Khabouris Codex) ܘܡܛܝ ܝܘܡܐ ܕܦܛܝܪܐ ܕܒܗ ܐܝܬ ܗܘܐ ܥܝܕܐ ܕܢܬܢܟܣ ܦܨܚܐ ܘܫܕܪ ܝܫܘܥ ܠܟܐܦܐ ܘܠܝܘܚܢܢ ܘܐܡܪ ܠܗܘܢ ܙܠܘ ܛܝܒܘ ܠܢ ܦܨܚܐ ܕܢܠܥܣ (Transliterated Aramaic from the Khabouris Codex) wmatee yawma d'phatiyre; dveh eeth hwa `yada dnethnches peskha, wshadar eshu` l'kepha wyukhanan, wemar lhoon; zelw tayevw lan peskha dnel`as, "And the day of The Phatiyre {The Unleavened Cakes} arrived, during which there was the custom that The Peskha {The Passover Lamb} should be slaughtered. And Eshu {Yeshua} sent for Kepha {The Rock}, and for Yukhanan {John}, and said unto them, “Go, prepare The Peskha {The Passover Lamb} for us, so that we may eat it.” (Luke 22:7-8; The Aramaic Scriptures) First of all the Passover lamb is eaten the 14th day of the month of Nisan/Aviv and is customary to do so before the Passover Seder. The Scripture tells us that the "Last Supper" is indeed Passover Seder. The Scripture explicitly tells us that the day which Yeshua said to "prepare the Passover" was the same day the Passover lamb was slain. So here presents a huge huge problem for the talking point. Now many may also cite: (Aramaic in Swadaya Script from the Khabouris Codex) ܘܠܝܘܡܐ ܕܒܬܪܗ ܚܙܐ ܝܘܚܢܢ ܠܝܫܘܥ ܕܐܬܐ ܠܘܬܗ ܘܐܡܪ ܗܐ ܐܡܪܗ ܕܐܠܗܐ ܗܘ ܕܫܩܠ ܚܛܝܬܗ ܕܥܠܡܐ (Transliterated Aramaic from the Khabouris Codex) walyawma dvathreh, chza Yukhanan l'Eshu` dathe lwatheh, wemar, ha emreh d'Alaha; haw dshaqel chteetheh d`alma And the day which followed, Yukhanan {John} saw Eshu {Yeshua}, who was coming toward him, and he said, "Look! The Emreh d’Alaha {The Lamb of God}, the One who takes away the sin of the alma {the world}! (John 1:29; The Aramaic Scriptures) Seems we have yet another contradiction. But we are given a clue, when John says, "ha emreh d'Alaha; haw dshaqel chteetheh d`alma" we then see the lamb that Yeshua is and what his job is. so let us investigate the lamb that takes away sin. Now we have one that seems to fit the bill in terms of John's statement. (Hebrew from the Masoretic Text) וְהֶעֱמִיד הַכֹּהֵן הַמְטַהֵר, אֵת הָאִישׁ הַמִּטַּהֵר--וְאֹתָם: לִפְנֵי יְהוָה, פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וְלָקַח הַכֹּהֵן אֶת-הַכֶּבֶשׂ הָאֶחָד, וְהִקְרִיב אֹתוֹ לְאָשָׁם--וְאֶת-לֹג הַשָּׁמֶן; וְהֵנִיף אֹתָם תְּנוּפָה, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וְשָׁחַט אֶת-הַכֶּבֶשׂ, בִּמְקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁחַט אֶת-הַחַטָּאת וְאֶת-הָעֹלָה--בִּמְקוֹם הַקֹּדֶשׁ: כִּי כַּחַטָּאת הָאָשָׁם הוּא, לַכֹּהֵן--קֹדֶשׁ קָדָשִׁים, הוּא. (Transliteration of the Hebrew from the Masoretic Text) Veheemid hakohen hamtaher et haeesh hamitaher veotam lifnei Hashem petach Ohel Moed. Velakach hakohen et hakeves haechad vehikriv oto leasham v'et log hashamen vehenif otam tenoofa lifnei Hashem. Veshachat et hakeves bimkom asher yishchat et-hachatat v'et haola bimkom hakodesh ki kachatat haasham hoo lakohen Kodesh Kodashim hoo. "The priest who is performing the ritual purification should place the person who is to be ritually purified (together) with these (things) before God, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. The priest should take one (male) lamb and bring it as a guilt-offering, along with the log of oil, and wave them as a wave-offering before God. He should slaughter the lamb in the place where the sin-offering and the burnt-offering are slaughtered, in the holy place (north of the Altar), for this guilt-offering is like (any) sin-offering (in terms of the service performed) by the priest. It is a holy of holies." (Leviticus 14:11-13; The Gutnick Chumash) Now the Passover lamb is described much differently in the Scripture but first lets get a little bit of a background on the lambs in Egypt: "Yosef said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and inform Pharaoh, and I’ll say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household who were in the land of Cana’an have come to me.’ I’ll also tell him, ‘The men are shepherds, and they’ve always been owners of livestock, so they’ve brought their flocks and their cattle and all their possessions,’ so if Pharaoh summons you and asks you, ‘What is your occupation?’ Say, ‘Your servants have been owners of livestock from our youth, until now, both we and our ancestors. You should do this in order to live in the land of Goshen, because all shepherds are adhorrent to the Egyptians since they worship sheep." (Genesis 46:31-34; The Gutnick Chumash) Hmm this is rather interesting but let us look at this further in the Scripture: "Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aaron, and said, “Go slaughter to your G-d, but do it in this land. Moshe said, it would not be appropriate to do that, for we will be sacrificing the deity of the Egyptians to our G-d! As if we could sacrifice the deity of the Egyptians before their eyes, and they wouldn't stone us? Let us go on a three day journey into the desert and sacrifice to G-d, our G-d, as He is going to tell us." (Exodus 8:21-22; The Gutnick Chumash) This seems rather cut and dry but let us as well go to the Oral Torah as well to make sure we have our basis and history covered: "G-d then said to Moses: "As long as Israel worship Egyptian gods, they will not be redeemed; go and tell them to abandon their evil ways and to reject idolatry." This is what is meant by: Draw out and take you lambs. That is to say: Draw away your hands from idolatry and take for yourselves lambs, thereby slaying the gods of Egypt and preparing the Passover; only through this will the L-rd pass over you. This is the meaning of In sitting still and rest shall you be saved. When the Holy One, blessed be He, told Moses to slay the Passover lamb, Moses answered: "Lord of the Universe! How can I possibly do this thing? Do You not know that the lamb is the Egyptian god? As it says: If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?" (Exodus 8:22) G-d replied: "As you live, Israel will not depart from here before they slaughter the Egyptian gods before their very eyes, that I may teach them that their gods are really nothing at all.'" This is what He [G-d] actually did, for on that night He slew the Egyptian firstborn and on that night the Israelites slaughtered their Passover lamb and ate it. When the Egyptians beheld their firstborn slain and their gods slaughtered, they could do nothing, as it says: While the Egyptians were burying them that the L-rd had smitten among them, even all their firstborn; upon their gods also the Lord executed judgment." (Midrash Rabbah Exodus 16:2-3) So far we have established the theology of the Passover lamb being different than the "lamb who takes away the sins of the world" through the religious documents and the evidence classified as internal. But to be good scholars we also have to look at external evidence. Good scholars must always not only look within their own faith based system but they must also look at the secular history, which in this case should be easy to find. So let us look at archeological evidence. Below we see statues and hieroglyphs symbolizing lambs that they worshipped in Egypt, validating the accounts from Exodus and Genesis.
“there are two different timelines in the Synoptics and John for when the Paschal lamb is eaten: On the rst day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Y’shua and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” So the disciples did as Y’shua had directed them and prepared the Passover. When evening came, Y’shua was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.” They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely not I, Master?” Y’shua replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Then Yehuda, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Y’shua answered, “Yes, it is you.” While they were eating, Y’shua took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:17-29). This passage, along with parallel citations in Mark 14:12-31 and Luke 22:1-21, clearly indicate the evening of Y’shua’s arrest is just after a Passover Seder. But, on the other hand, John seems to mention a different schedule: “When he had nished praying, Y’shua left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it. Now Yehuda, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Y’shua had often met there with his disciples. So Yehuda came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some of cials from the chief priests and Pharisees...Then the Jews led Y’shua from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover” (John 18:1-3, 28). There seems to be a contradiction between these two accounts. John says the Pharisees have not yet had their Passover even the morning after they arrested Y’shua from his own Seder! Can both accounts be right? As it turns out, the answer is yes, but not for the reasons that most think. Some theologians are split on whether they should keep the rst or second night of Pesach (or both) as a Seder. The reason for both this modern tendency and one explanation for why the Pharisees did what they did in Y’shua’s day, comes from this a “confusion” of understanding the Tanakh: Now we still have to reconcile the words of Paul that are often quoted. Knowing what we know now, lets go back to his statement in 1 Corinthians, but this time in context. (Aramaic in Swadaya Script from the Khabouris Codex) ܠܐ ܫܦܝܪ ܫܘܒܗܪܟܘܢ ܠܐ ܝܕܥܝܢ ܐܢܬܘܢ ܕܚܡܝܪܐ ܩܠܝܠ ܟܠܗ ܓܒܝܠܬܐ ܡܚܡܥ ܕܟܘ ܡܢܟܘܢ ܚܡܝܪܐ ܥܬܝܩܐ ܕܬܗܘܘܢ ܓܒܝܠܬܐ ܚܕܬܐ ܐܝܟܢܐ ܕܐܝܬܝܟܘܢ ܦܛܝܪܐ ܦܨܚܐ ܓܝܪ ܕܝܠܢ ܡܫܝܚܐ ܗܘ ܕܐܬܢܟܣ ܚܠܦܝܢ ܡܛܠ ܗܢܐ ܢܥܒܕ ܥܕܥܕܐ ܠܐ ܒܚܡܝܪܐ ܥܬܝܩܐ ܘܠܐ ܒܚܡܝܪܐ ܕܒܝܫܘܬܐ ܘܕܡܪܝܪܘܬܐ ܐܠܐ ܒܚܡܝܪܐ ܕܕܟܝܘܬܐ ܘܕܩܕܝܫܘܬܐ (Transliterated Aramaic from the Khabouris Codex) la shapeer shoovharchoon, la yad`een antoon dachmeera qaleel koolah gveelta machma`; dakaw menchoon chmeera `ateeqa; dthehwoon gveelta chadtha; aykana deethaykoon pateera, peskha geyr deelan; meshikha hoo, dethnches chlafayn, metool hana ne`bed `ad`eeda; la bachmeera `ateeqa, wla bachmeera dveeshootha wadmareerootha; ela b achmeera ddachyootha wadqadeeshootha Your boasting isn't good! Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens all the lump? Purge from you the old leaven, so that you are made a new lump, in such a way that you become unleavened, for Our Peskha {Our Passover} is Meshikha {The Anointed One}; He who was slain for us. On account of this, perform The Festival; not with the old leaven, and not with the leaven of wickedness, and of bitterness, but rather, with the leaven that is of purity, and of holiness. (1 Corinthians 5:6-8; The Aramaic Scriptures) The proper context we that Paul is not saying that Yeshua is the Passover lamb, instead he is likening Passover for the Jews in Egypt to the new beginning for the gentile believers. The Corinthians were the 1st century version of today's secular humanists, their motto was "if it feels good do it" there was an absence of morality among those who lived in Corinth. Paul is likening the life in Mashiach to the life to the new life of being a part of G-d's family after they had slaughtered the passover lamb in Egypt. Because the killing of the lamb in Egypt symbolized killing the gods of Egypt and those gods being dead to the Jewish people. Much in the same way, leaving a life of paganism of the secular society for Mashiach. The fact is, when we see the statement, "Yeshua is our Passover Lamb" this statement, by the unlearned is a rather blasphemous statement because it is saying that Yeshua is a pagan god worshipped in Egypt. The Passover lamb NEVER represented the forgiveness of sins, instead it was the lamb in Leviticus 14:11-13 that symbolized the lamb that John was speaking of in John 1:29, not the one in Exodus 8 and 12. Upon completion of this article I was challenged by a friend by the name of Matthew Bartlett and Matthew said: "Doesn't John 18 make it clear this was NOT the night of the Passover? After all, v28 (If I recall right) says the priests wouldn't entire the house of Pilate and risk defilement so they could eat the passover… This seems to imply that Yeshua celebrated a day prior to the actual sacrifices and passover seder. Which is how i've already read that- they sacrifice the lamb on the afternoon of the 14th, eating it as evening (beginning the 15th and unleavened bread) is beginning… and in Exodus they left in the morning- without a full day between the sacrifice and the departure." Wonderful question by brother Matthew. As good scholars we always have to welcome a different view. So lets look at the verse in question: (Aramaic in Swadaya Script from the Khabouris Codex) ܐܝܬܝܘܗܝ ܕܝܢ ܠܝܫܘܥ ܡܢ ܠܘܬ ܩܝܦܐ ܠܦܪܛܘܪܝܢ ܘܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܗܘܐ ܨܦܪܐ ܘܗܢܘܢ ܠܐ ܥܠܘ ܠܦܪܛܘܪܝܢ ܕܠܐ ܢܬܛܘܫܘܢ ܥܕ ܐܟܠܝܢ ܦܨܚܐ (Transliterated Aramaic from the Khabouris Codex) atyiihy deyn l'Eshu men l'wath qayafa l'apretawreen weethawhy hwa tsafra, whenoon, la alw l'apretawreen; d'la nethtawshoon ad achleen paskha "NOW they led Jeshu from Kaiapha into the praetorium, and it was early. But they would not enter the praetorium, that they might not be defiled, until they should have eaten the petscha." (John 18:26; John W Ethridge's translation from the Aramaic Peshitta) So we seem to have a chronology issue with the death of Yeshua and the day of Passover that seems to contradict our previous citation in Luke 22. But is it really a contradiction? Those unfamiliar with Judaism would say, "yes, one gospel is right and the other use wrong." Then we have to have the two gospels duke it out based on our own personal bias to see which one wins out in the end. But, if we acknowledge who wrote the gospels and who they were written to, we then look into what was known by authors because of their religious faith we can see that the two gospels do not contradict one another. Now, it is well know that John was Jewish, John wrote on the level of hermeneutic called "sod" which is the level of Kabbalah. To understand this level of interpretation one has to know Hebrew and Aramaic very well and they have to know the mishna, the gemara, tosefta, sefirot etc like the back of their hand. There is no question as to how Jewish John was. Luke had a gentile name, but most scholars cite that he wrote on the level of Remez, which is the hint level of interpretation that uses 13 Jewish hermeneutic rules within Judaism. Most scholars, given Luke's writing style in both his aramaic and greek say there is a good chance that Luke was a jewish convert because he follows the semitic formula much better than any gentile could dream of. So we can conclude that Luke knew Aramaic atleast and also knew the mishna. Given these facts we can easily say that both of these men were familiar with this: “a festal offering derives from the flock of the sheep or from the heard of the oxen from lambs and from goats, from males and females. And it is eaten FOR TWO DAYS and the intervening night [to the night of the 15th of Nisan].” (Mishnah Pesachim 4:6) The second night's eating then of what is also called the chagigah, or obligatory burnt offering that (he Pharisees must consume, and this chagigah is "the Paskha" that they are afraid they will not be able to eat if they are defiled. Otherwise it seems John's timeline is contradicting the Synoptics and is a day behind. If the Paschal lamb that is slaughtered on the 14th is meant here, this clearly contradicts the Synoptics accounts that the Passover Seder had happened already when Yeshua was arrested, as opposed to here in John where the Pharisees are waiting to do this the next morning. So it seems we have some issue here. Now, I have a friend whom I disagree with just as many times as I agree with him but in terms of chronology and understanding of the mishnaic passage cited above, he hits the nail on the head. “Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twentieth day. For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an alien or native-born. Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread” (Exodus 12:17-20). These instructions seem straightforward at first glance: 1) Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are interchangeable terms for a ceremony that begins on the evening of 14 Nisan. (For con rmation of a 6 day Feast of Unleavened Bread, please see Deuteronomy 16:8) 2) The combined feast lasts seven days, from the 14th to the 21st, during which time yeast is totally prohibited. However, when we examine other passages in Torah, it’s not so easy after all: “These are Hashem’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: Hashem’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the rst month. On the fteenth day of that month Hashem’s Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast” (Leviticus 23:4-6). “On the fourteenth day of the first month G-d’s Passover is to be held. On the fteenth day of this month there is to be a festival; for seven days eat bread made without yeast” (Numbers 28:16-17). Here the scenario is: 1) Passover is a separate occasion, beginning late afternoon on 14 Nisan. 2) Passover is then followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasts an additional seven days. Additionally: “On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present an offering made to G-d by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.” (Leviticus 23:7-8) The “first day” mentioned here in Leviticus 23:7 is the same “first day mentioned in the line before, 15 Nisan. So now, technically speaking, we have three sacred occasions running together: 1) Passover, just in the twilight time on the 14th. Begin eating unleavened bread, and also bitter herbs, etc., for the Seder. 2) The Feast of Unleavened Bread, from 15-21 Nisan, where unleavened bread is eaten for 6 more days, totaling 7 in all. On the 15th also there is a “sacred assembly” (Annual Shabbat) in which no work is to be done. 3) At the end of the six additional days is separate “sacred assembly” (also an Annual Shabbat) where again regular work is prohibited. It takes several references to piece everything together, and we can easily see why some references would add the 8th day (the second sacred assembly) to the overall holiday, and others might be more precise and say it is a separated occasion that simply happens the very next day. This “over flowing” from Passover on 14 Nisan, directly into the Feast of Unleavened Bread on 15-21 Nisan and the nal Annual Shabbat on 22 Nisan is responsible for much of the controvery on the “Passover” timing! In Y’shua’s time, eating the Paschal lamb sometimes got confused with the burnt offering/meal called a “chagigah” that happened a day later, as Alfred Edersheim explains: We have already explained that according to the Rabbis (Chag. ii, 1; vi. 2), three things were implied in the festive command to ‘appear before Hahem’—’Presence,’ the ‘Chagigah,’ and ‘Joyousness.’ As specially applied to the Passover, the first of these terms meant, that every one was to come up to Jerusalem and to offer a burnt-offering, if possible on the first, or else on one of the other six days of the feast. This burnt-offering was to be taken only from ‘Cholin’ (or profane substance), that is, from such as did not otherwise belong to Hashem, either as tithes, firstlings, or things devoted, etc. The Chagigah, which was strictly a peace-offering, might be twofold. This first Chagigah was offered on the 14th of Nisan, the day of the Paschal sacrifce, and formed afterwards part of the Paschal Supper. The second Chagigah was offered on the 15th of Nisan, or the first day of the feast of unleavened bread. It is this second Chagigah which the Jews were afraid they might be unable to eat, if they contracted defilement in the judgment-hall of Pilate (John 18:28). In reference to the rst Chagigah, the Mishnah lays down the rule, that it was only to be offered if the Paschal day fell on a week-day, not on a Sabbath, and if the Paschal lamb alone would not have been suf cient to give a satisfying supper to the company which gathered around it (Pes. vi. 4). As in the case of all other peace-offerings, part of this Chagigah might be kept, though not for longer than one night and two days from its sacri ce. Being a voluntary offering, it was lawful to bring it from sacred things (such as tithes of the flock). But the Chagigah for the 15th of Nisan was obligatory, and had therefore to be brought from “Cholin.” The third duty incumbent on those who appeared at the feast was “joyousness.” This expression, as we have seen, simply referred to the fact that, according to their means, all Israel were, during the course of this festival, with joyous heart to offer peace-offerings, which might be chosen from sacred things (Deut. 27:7). Thus the sacrifices which every Israelite was to offer at the Passover were, besides his share in the Paschal lamb, a burnt-offering, the Chagigah (one or two), and offerings of joyousness— as Elohim had blessed each household. (The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, Chapter 11, “The Three Things”) So here is the real reason why John’s account appears to be “running a day behind.” The reality is, as Edersheim asserts, the Pharisees were still on the same schedule as Y’shua and his disciples were in the accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke. On the other hand, the Pharisees could point to the daylight period from dawn to sunset on 15 Nisan also technically as a “day of preparation”! As a result, the timing of the “day of preparation” terminology can be applied to the daylight periods of 14, 15 or even 16 Nisan, assuming the 16th was a Friday, the “day of preparation” for the regular weekly Shabbat! We will see how this pattern actually manifests in the Good News record a bit later.” (Andrew Gabriel Roth; AENT 2nd Edition, p 1035-1037) |
Torah Portion ArticlesArticles on each week's Torah Portion Archives
June 2018
Categories |
RSS Feed