![]() "And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying, Speak thou also unto the Bnei Yisroel, saying, Verily My Shabbatot ye shall be shomer over; for it is an ot (sign) between Me and you throughout your dorot; that ye may have da'as that I am Hashem Who doth set thee apart as kodesh. Ye shall be shomer Shabbos therefore; for it is kodesh unto you; every one that is chillul Shabbos (desecrates Shabbos) shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that nefesh shall be cut off from among his people. Sheshet yamim may work be done; but in the Yom HaShevi'i is Shabbos HaShabbaton, kodesh to Hashem; whosoever doeth any work in the Yom HaShabbos, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the Bnei Yisroel shall be shomer Shabbos, to observe Shabbos throughout their dorot, for a brit olam. It is an ot between Me and the Bnei Yisroel l'olam; for in sheshet yamim Hashem made Shomayim and HaAretz, and on Yom HaShevi'i He rested (shavat, ceased working), and was refreshed." (Exodus 31:12-17; The Orthodox Jewish Bible) Oh the Shabbos, a popular part of conversation in the faiths associated with the Lapid Jewish faith. Each and every teacher in the Hebrew Roots faith and the Messianic faith have a copy and paste sermon you have heard over 1,000 times as to “when is the Sabbath”. Have you noticed however the actual application of the Shabbos is rarely discussed? Yeah many may cite that, one is not to do any work, nor is one supposed to buy or sell. But what exactly is the Shabbos? Does “rest” really mean binging on Netflix from sundown Friday to sundown on Saturday? Does it mean to be a lazy putz? Does it mean to go to schul then come home and be a lazy putz? Why does the pasek tell us to not start a fire on the Shabbos? Does this mean to not cook to not have electricity, to call up your Shabbos goy to turn on your reruns of Matlock? What does the pasek mean? “Ye shall kindle no eish throughout your habitations upon Yom HaShabbos.” (Exodus 35:3) The word for fire is אֵשׁ considering it speaking of you inhabitants we must then take the words associated with those within the inhabitance. So, the word for man is אִישׁ and the word for woman is אִשָׁה. These two words are important to understand what בית or inhabitance is. In Judaism peace in the home and marital bliss are the same thing, this is why the pasek says “in your inhabitance”. Notice anything in terms of the three Hebrew words mentioned? Both contain a א and a ש which make up the word for fire. The word for man (ish) has a י while the word for woman (isha) has a ה. These two letter name up one of the 72 names for G-d which is יה. The י represents the humility one must have for his wife. The ה represents the vitality and honor of the woman. When a man is not representing the י which feeds her honor and vitality, his י is taken and her ה is taken. Which cause them both to become an all consuming אש (fire). This is why when you go into an Orthodox home you hear zero argument on the Shabbos. Because it is known and understood, Shabbos is not going to the schul, Shabbos is not lounging, it is not a day off really. What it is instead is a change of focus and it is an investment to merit the י and the ה to dwell among those within your home and to sanctify and edify your family. For G-d to recharge the spiritual batteries. It is the collection of instances of positivity that allow changes to come into one’s situation with marital problems or problems associated with coworkers or friends. This is a time when halakha is magnified and the חי (life) is brought into the world because of the maintaining of שלום (peace). What does it mean to delight in the Shabbos? Well our sages have much to say on this one. "Rab Judah said in Rab's name: He who delights in the Sabbath is granted his heart's desires, for it is said, Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Now, I do not know what this 'delight' refers to; but when it is said, and thou shalt call the Sabbath a delight, you must say that it refers to the delight of the Sabbath. Wherewith does one show his delight therein? — Rab Judah son of R. Samuel b. Shilath said in Rab's name: With a dish of beets, large fish, and heads of garlic. R. Hiyya b. Ashi said in Rab's name: Even a trifle, if it is prepared in honor of the Sabbath, is delight. What is it [the trifle]? — Said R. Papa: A pie of fish-hash. R. Hiyya b. Abba said in R. Johanan's name: He who observes the Sabbath according to its laws, even if he practises idolatry like the generation of Enosh, is forgiven, for it is said, Blessed is Enosh that doeth this … [that keepeth the Sabbath mehallelo from profaning it]: read not mehallelo but mahul lo [he is forgiven]. Rab Judah said in Rab's name: Had Israel kept the first Sabbath, no nation or tongue would have enjoyed dominion over them, for it is said, And it came to pass on the seventh day, that there went out some of the people for to gather; which is followed by, Then came Amalek. R. Johanan said in the name of R. Simeon b. Yohai: If Israel were to keep two Sabbaths according to the laws thereof, they would be redeemed immediately, for it is said, Thus saith the Lord of the eunuch that keep my Sabbaths, which is followed by, even them will I bring to my holy mountain, etc. R. Jose said: May my portion be of those who eat three meals on the Sabbath. R. Jose [also] said: May my portion be of those who recite the entire Hallel every day. But that is not so, for a Master said: He who reads Hallel every day blasphemes and reproaches [the Divine Name]? — We refer to the 'Verses of Song'. R. Jose said: May my portion be of those who pray with the red glow of the sun. R. Hiyya b. Abba said in R. Johanan's name: It is virtuous to pray with the red glow of the sun. R. Zera observed: What verse [intimates this]? They shall revere thee with [i.e., at the time of the sun [rise], and before the moon [shines],throughout all generations." (Shabbat 118b)
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![]() The Bible reminds us often of the importance of unity. Whether it is in the days of Adam and Hava when the Torah states, “Therefore shall an ish leave his av and his em, and shall cleave unto his isha: and they shall be basar echad” (Genesis 2:24). Or when G-d is giving his instruction to the Children of Israel, “And in the yom harishon there shall be a mikra kodesh, and in the yom hashevi'i there shall be a mikra kodesh to you; no manner of melachah shall be done in them, except that which every nefesh must eat, that only may be done of you. (Exodus 12:16). We see this as well in the New Testament: “There is not Yehudi nor Yevani (Greek), there is not eved (servant) nor Ben Chorin (freedman), there is not zachar (male) nor nekevah (female), for you are all echad in Moshiach Yeshua.” (Galatians 3:28) There are several other places we can cite this ideal of unity that are outside of identity, tribal affiliation, region, world view etc. This Torah portion, Tetzaveh, reminds us of this. “And thou shalt command the Bnei Yisroel, that they bring thee pure pressed shemen zayit (olive oil) for the ohr, to kindle the Ner Tamid (Perpetual Lamp).” (Exodus 27:20) The term תצוה (Tetzaveh: meaning “you must command) shares the same root as צות (Tzevet: meaning “join”). By joining people in unity, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov says: “you can cause the Menorah to shine G-d’s glory to the entire world” (Likutey Halakhot I, p. 500) The past year and a half I have been studying what is called bilateral ecclesiology and also what is called radial ecclesiology. In the associated faiths as mine, the Lapid Jewish faith, we also have the Messianic Jewish faith and the Hebrew Roots Movement. I want to speak to all these communities in this writing here today. First of all we have to establish where our salvation comes from. Our salvation and foundation is within the Messiah of Israel. The Torah is something we strive for but it is not our salvation. I think that is incredibly important to understand. During the times of Paul, we had communities of people who worshiped many other gods that were apart of the culture of the region in which they lived in. Then, they hear of the Messiah of the Jewish people. They want to come into the community. They want to be a part of the Jewish people who worshipped the Messiah. But there was a problem. At this time we had more Gentiles coming into the synagogues than Jews. This was troubling to the Jewish people because these Gentiles had worshipped other gods and they were afraid, and rightfully so, of outside influence making their way into religious life and defiling the Holy places. Some, decided conversion for all is the way. Conversion is not for everyone. Not everyone is able to do it. Some are not meant to convert and some are. Others agreed with the apostles in Acts 15 and handed down a ruling that was an early form of the laws of B’nei Noach. Luckily the apostle that Yeshua chose was a student of Gamliel and not one of the followers of Shammai. Otherwise, we would not have 2.7 billion Christians around the world today being such wonderful advocates for the Jewish people today. Now, I realize our Christian brethren get a bad rap from many in the associated faiths. But let us remember what our sages said, R’ Bachya said, “a B’nei Noach, can be just as precious in the eyes of HaShem and achieve loftier presence in the eyes of HaShem than a Baal HaTorah.” Despite our differences we must be mature and realize that those reading this may not have the same halakha I do, nor the same hashkafa. And I don’t expect you to. We must all realize, despite the variances in halakha or the levels of observance each of us connect with HaShem in a different way. We all believe that the Bible is true and the infallible word of G-d. Our religious expression may differ a little, or it may differ a lot. But despite this, one thing we can all agree on is that Yeshua HaNotzri is our salvation. He is the center of our faith. Once we realize this. We have reached a maturity level that is required for us to be a part of the Jewish people, to be a part of Israel. The egotist wants to be validated, the egotist has a “my way of the highway” mentality. We are not to be this way. Instead we are to be servants, we are to be meek and humble and as the words of the Messiah say: “By this will kol Bnei Adam have da'as that my talmidim you are, if ahavah you have one for the other.” (John 13:35) The verse continues and says: “that they bring thee pure pressed shemen zayit (olive oil)”. This alludes to us in many ways. In our lives we go through trials and tribulations that shape us into the people G-d has ordained us to be. Through our trials we gain great wisdom from HaShem but only if we realize that G-d is indeed the Ayin Sof (the limitless one involved in every single instance of life). We must learn that G-d has His hand in the most minute of things that we rarely even think about that cause our actions to go one way or another. A split cup of coffee even has significance in G-d putting everything into it’s place. Shemot Rabbah says: “Why are the Jews compared to olives? The olive sits upon its branch. It is plucked, squeezed, ground and crushed, and only then does it give it’s oil. So too, when the Jews endure suffering they show their mettle.” (Shemot Rabbah 36:1) The Apostle Paul says: “Not only so, but we also glory in tzoros (troubles, afflictions), knowing that tzarah (trouble) produces zitzfleisch (patience), Zitzfleisch produces tested character and midos, and tested character and midos produce tikvah. And tikvah does not in the end lead to our being meyayesh (despairing) in disillusionment and bushah (shame), because the Ahavas Hashem (G-d's love) has been poured out in our levavot through the Ruach Hakodesh given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5) Nachman as well says: “Only after much self sacrifice can a person merit to see his purity illumine his soul.” (Likutey Halakhot II, p. 63a) We often ask ourselves, who do bad things happen to good people. It is because those who get the most trials merit a loftier place in the Olam Haba if they learn from the trials in which they are presented with. Our true character is presented during those times. If one’s attitude changes drastically in the way of the Other Side when trials come their way then their true intentions are heart is then exposed. But if a person doesn’t pass on blame for their situation to others and instead maintains their shalom and their gratitude, then one can say that one is indeed a “good person”. One would not make such a claim if they were cranky and blaming others for their situation. Instead, tzedikim always realize everything is from HaShem. They find that the Bible is true, this is indeed the case and therefore because it is from HaShem it is for the good. So they are more inclined to listen to His voice, through His patriarchs, His prophets, His Mashiach and His sages. They will be able to tell the difference between the Bat Kol, Ruach HaKodesh and the Yetzer Hara. Because through the storm their mind is clear. It is clear because they know the One who brings the storm. ![]() A constant source of disagreement in the Hebrew Roots and Messianic Movement is the topic of the rabbis and sages and halakha. Many, still operate in many degrees the same way they did within Christianity. Simply, stating a different interpretation of a verse gets the stamp of “Hebraic mindset” without sourcing primary or secondary sources. Often times these interpretations are are different but rather far off from actual halakha, devoid of primary evidence. Close evaluation of language, history and practice is lost, and is replaced with blog articles and YouTube theology. This week’s Torah Portion however shows us we need to slow down and be good scholars in this instance. וְאֵלֶה הַמִ ְ ָטִים אֲ ֶר תָ ִים לִפְנֵיהֶם Ve’ele hamishpatim asher tasim l’ifneihem. “And these are the ordinances that you shall set before them.” (Exodus 21:1; The Stone Edition Tanach) The thing that is interesting in this verse is we have the word תָּשִׁים (literally “you should set) which alludes directly to תָשׁוּם (literally “you should evaluate). We also see that it says “that you shall set before them”, this is crucial. What we see here is that the Sanhedrin and their functions are being established in this Torah portion as well as the Torah Portion Shoftim, that we will come to in the book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy 17:11-12 that HaShem declares doing as the Sanhedrin says is a core part of observance and also states what is to be done if they don’t: “According to the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do; thou shalt not turn aside from the sentence which they shall declare unto thee, to the right hand, nor to the left. And the man that doeth presumptuously, in not hearkening unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die; and thou shalt exterminate the evil from Israel.” (Deuteronomy 17:11-12; JPS) Yeshua himself also states: ܗܝܕܝܢ ܝܫܘܥ ܡܠܠ ܥܡ ܟܢܫܐ ܘܥܡ ܬܠܡܝܕܘܗܝ ܘܐܡܪ ܠܗܘܢ ܥܠ ܟܘܪܣܝܐ ܕܡܘܫܐ ܝܬܒܘ ܣܦܪܐ ܘܦܪܝܫܐ ܟܠ ܡܕܡ ܗܟܝܠ ܕܢܐܡܪܘܢ ܠܟܘܢ ܕܬܛܪܘܢ ܛܪܘ ܘܥܒܕܘ ܐܝܟ ܥܒܕܝܗܘܢ ܕܝܢ ܠܐ ܬܥܒܕܘܢ ܐܡܪܝܢ ܓܝܪ ܘܠܐ ܥܒܕܝܢ haydeyn Eshu` malel, `am kenshe, w`am talmeedawhy, wemar lhoon, `al kursya d’mushe yeethevw saphre wafreeshe; kul medem hacheel dneemroon lchoon dthetroon; tarw wa`vedw, aych `vadayhoon deyn la te`bdun, amreen geyr, wla `avdeen Then Eshu {Yeshua} spoke with the kenshe {the crowds}, and with His Disciples. And He said unto them, “The Saphre {The Scribes} and the Phrishe {the Pharisees} sit on The Kursya d’Mushe {The Chair of Moses}. Every thing, therefore, that they should say unto you that you shall observe, you must observe and do. But, not according to their deeds, for, they say, and don’t do. (Matthew 23:1-3; The Aramaic Scriptures) There are also several other places we can point to on the literal as well, such as when we see in Acts 15 an early version of the laws of B’nei Noach are handed down from the Sanhedrin with Kefa and Ya’akov in attendance. We see there that Yeshua didn’t train his people to start a new religion or new form of Sadducee Judaism, instead we can even prove he quoted the words of the sages and agreed with halakha over 320 times in the smallest Gospel, the Gospel of Mark. This was highlighted in the footnotes of the Rabbinic Gospel of Mark which is now being used in Christian colleges and also Messianic online yeshivot. This is something that cannot be denied. Yet, in the modern Hebrew Roots and Messianic world, we see halakha being established not on 1st Century halakha and from the likes of Mishna and Talmud but rather upon the backs of make it up as you go along theologians. This is destructive. Have you noticed those who are against the rabbinic authority that is talked about for 6 chapters in the written Torah have never picked up a single tractate of Talmud? It bewilders me that these people tend to pretend to be experts on a text they have never read. Instead they rely upon antisemitic websites and YouTube videos from such individuals. The numerous evidences and commandments from HaShem himself are ignored to form their own theology. |
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June 2018
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