Month: February 2020

Do You Have to Keep Torah to be Saved?
Judaism v. Christendom
By
James Scott Trimm

I have often been asked, does one have to keep the Torah to be saved? Surprisingly, the answer can be fond in the Rabbinic literature. When we look at the basic emphasis of Judaism* and of Christendom, we find that there is a core difference at their very root.  This core difference is closely tied to the two inclinations within man, the Yetzer Ra (the evil inclination) and the Yetzer Tov (the good inclination).

R. Nahman b. R. Hisda expounded:
What is meant by the text, Then the Lord God
formed [va-yetzer] man? [The word va-yetzer] (Gen. 2:7)
is written with two yods, to show that God created
two inclinations, one good (tov) and the other evil (ra).
(b.Ber. 61a)

It has been taught: R. Jose the Galilean says,
The righteous are swayed by their good inclination,
as it says, My heart is slain within me. (Ps. 109:22)
The wicked are swayed by their evil inclination,
as it says, Transgression speaks to the wicked,
methinks, there is no fear of God before his eyes.
(Ps. 36:1) Average people are swayed by both
inclinations, as it says, Because He stands at
the right hand of the needy, to save him from them
that judge his soul. (Ps. 109:31) Raba said: People
such as we are of the average.
(b.Ber. 61b)

Likewise we read in the Wisdom of Ben Sira:

It was He who created man in the beginning.
And He left him in the power of his own inclination (Heb: yetzer).
If you will, you can keep the commandments,
and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice.
He has placed before you fire and water:
Stretch out your hand for whichever you wish.
 (Sira 15:14-16)

Paul writes of the two inclinations as well saying:

14 For we know that the Torah is of the spirit,
but I am of the flesh and I am sold to sin.
22 For I rejoice in the Torah of Eloah in the inward son of man.
(Romans 7:14, 22 HRV)

Because of this, we are not weary, for even if our
outer man is corrupted, yet that which [is] inside
is renewed day by day.
(2Cor. 4:16 HRV)

for the flesh desires a thing which is opposed to
the Spirit and the Spirit desires a thing that is
opposed to the flesh and the two of these are
opposed to each other, that you do not do the thing
which you desire.
(Gal. 5:17 HRV)

And as we read in Tanya:

Just as two kings wage war over a town,
which each wishes to capture and rule,
that is to say, to dominate its inhabitants according to his will,
so that they obey him in all that he decrees for them,
so do the two souls— the Divine and the vitalizing animal soul…
wage war against each other over the body and all its limbs.
(Tanya Chapter 9)


Now through our intellect, we receive the Wisdom of the Torah, and having heard the Wisdom of Torah we subject it to Understanding.  When Wisdom (chochmah) is subjected to Understanding (binah) the result is Knowledge (da’at)… it is Knowledge that brings Wisdom and Understanding together.  When we receive as Wisdom a precept of Torah, and that precept like a seed enters into Understanding then that precept becomes part of us as our Knowledge.  As we read in the Tanya:

Specifically: the faculties of ChaBaD in his soul are clothed in the comprehension of the Torah, which he comprehends in Pardes, to the extent of his mental capacity and the supernal root of his soul.
(Tanya Chapter 4)

Now, when an intellect conceives and comprehends a concept with its intellectual faculties, this intellect grasps the concept and encompasses it. This concept is [in turn] grasped, enveloped and enclothed within that intellect which conceived and comprehended it.

The mind, for its part, is also clothed in the concept at the time it comprehends and grasps it with the intellect. For example, when a person understands and comprehends, fully and clearly, any halachah (law) in the Mishnah or Gemara, his intellect grasps and encompasses it and, at the same time, is clothed in it.
(Tanya Chapter 5)

And after a bit more we read:

Since, in the case of knowledge of the Torah, the Torah is clothed in the soul and intellect of a person, and is absorbed in them, it is called “bread” and “food” of the soul. For just as physical bread nourishes the body as it is absorbed internally, in his very inner self, where it is transformed into blood and flesh of his flesh, whereby he lives and exists— so, too, it is with the knowledge of the Torah and its comprehension by the soul of the person who studies it well, with a concentration of his intellect, until the Torah is absorbed by his intellect and is united with it and they become one. This becomes nourishment for the soul, and its inner life from the Giver of life, the blessed En Sof, Who is clothed in His wisdom and in His Torah that are absorbed in it [the soul].

This is the meaning of the verse, “Yea, Thy Torah is within my inward parts.”

It is also stated in Etz Chayim, Portal 44, ch. 3, that the “garments” of the soul in the Can Eden (Paradise) are the commandments while the Torah is the “food” for the souls which, during life on earth, had occupied themselves in the study of the Torah for its own sake. It is [similarly] written in the Zohar. As for the meaning of “For its own sake,” it is [study with the intent] to attach one’s soul to G-d through the comprehension of the Torah, each one according to his intellect, as explained in Peri Etz Chayim.
(Tanya Likutei Amarim 5)

And as we read in the Zohar:

Rabbi El’azar said, “Whoever engages in Torah for her own sake,
does not die by means of the Yetzer Ra (Evil Inclination),
since he grasps the Tree of Life, never letting go.”
(Zohar 1:168a)

This is the key.  The basis of true Judaism is studying and observing Torah “for its own sake” as we read in the Mishna:

Antigones of Soko received [Torah] from Simeon the Righteous. He used to say, “Be not like servants who serve their master for the sake of wages, but be like servants who serve their master with no thought of a wage – and let the fear of Heaven be upon you.”
(m.Avot 1:3)

The main basis of true Judaism is to study and observe Torah “for its own sake” out of the love and awe for Elohim that naturally results and unites us with Elohim.  This does not mean that there is no reward, or that there is no afterlife, but it means that we are not motivated by that reward.  So if we do not observe Torah as one wishing to earn something, what is our motive? The Torah answers this question:

…you shall diligently keep all of these commandments
which I command you, to do them, to love YHWH your Elohim,
to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him.
(Deut. 11:22)

You shall walk after YHWH your Elohim,
and fear him, and keep his commandments,
and obey his voice, and you shall serve him,
and cleave unto him.
(Deut. 13:5 (13:4))

We must observe Torah as one cleaving to YHWH. The Hebrew word for “cleaving” is DEVEKUT (DEVEKUS in Ashkenazi). When we observe Torah it should not be an empty act, but an act of DEVEKUT, of cleaving or communion to YHWH.

The motive of Devekus is a pure motive, “for its own sake” and this is true Judaism. nThis was the core teaching of Pharisee-ism, especially that of the House of Hillel as opposed to the House of Shammai.  One of the first disputes recorded in the Talmud, is a dispute between the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai, over the recitation of the Shema:

The House of Shammai says: In the evening one should recline in order to recite the shema, and in the morning they should stand. As it is written “when you lie down and when you rise up.” (Deuteronomy 6:7)
But the House of Hillel says: Everyone may recite the Shema in his own way, as it is written: “And you shall go by the way” (Deuteronomy 7:7)
(m.Berachot 1:3)

The House of Shammai required that the Shema be recited in the evening while reclining.  However the House of Hillel was not concerned with whether one was laying down, or standing up, but with the intent of their heart.  Likewise the Talmud teaches that in making offerings, it is not the size of the offering that is important, but that one directs one’s intention to Elohim:

“…all are the same, the one who offers much and the one who offers little, on condition that a man will direct his intention to Heaven.”
(m.Menachot 13:11)


Christendom has a very different guiding motive.  When I speak to Christians about Torah observance, their first question is “Do I have to do those things to be saved?”  And if they are told that they do not have to do those things to be saved, then they are totally disinterested in them.  In short, Christendom tends to be primarily interested in what they do or not have to do to obtain a reward.  This is the complete opposite of Judaism.

This agrees well with what we read in the Talmud:

Rabban Johanan b. Zakkai said to his disciples: My sons, what is the meaning of the verse, Righteousness exalteth a nation, but the kindness of the peoples is sin? (Prov. 14:34) R. Eliezer answered and said: ‘Righteousness exalteth a nation:’ this refers to Israel of whom it is written, Who is like thy people Israel one nation in the earth? (2Sam 7:23) But ‘the kindness of the peoples is sin’: all the charity and kindness done by the heathen is counted to them as sin, because they only do it to magnify themselves”
(b.Babba Batra 10b)

The Talmud (based on Proverbs) is telling us that even when the goyim do good things, it is always with a selfish motive, and thus it originates from the Yetzer Ra, not the Yetzer Tov.  Can “good” originate from the Yerzer Ra?  The Midrash Rabbah has an interesting insight on this:

Nachman said, In the name of Rabbi Shmu’el: “and behold it was very good” (Gen. 1:31) refers to the YETZER RA’. But can the YETZER RA’ be “very good”? Amazingly enough, yes– were it not for the YETZER RA’ no man would build a house, take a wife and father children, or engage in buisness; as Solomon said, “I considered all labor and excellence in work and concluded that it comes from a man’s rivalry with his neighbor” (Eccl. 4:4).
(Gen. Rabbah 9:7)

And the Zohar says that had had it not been for the Yerzer Ra and Adam’s fall, Adam and Havah would never have populated the world:

For indeed, if Adam had brought offspring with him out of the Garden of Eden, these would never have been destroyed, … and all would have lived for ever; and not even the angels would have equalled them in illumination and wisdom, as we read, “In the image of God he created him” (Gen. 1:27). But since, through his sin, he left the Garden by himself and bore offspring outside it, these did not endure in the world, and this ideal was, therefore, not realised.’ Said R. Hizkiah: ‘How could they have begotten children there, seeing that, had the evil inclination [YETZER RA] not enticed him to sin, Adam would have dwelt for ever in the world by himself and would not have begotten children?
(Zohar 1:60a-61a)

So is it with Christendom, the goyim may at times do good deeds, their primary focus is on “being saved” which in their vocabulary is synonymous with having a reward in the afterlife.  The primary focus on Christendom is a selfish motive, rooted in the Yetzer Ra, while the primary focus of true [Nazarene] Judaism is to cleave to YHWH through studying and observing Torah “for its own sake” and is rooted in the Yetzer Tov.


( * Though out this article I refer to “Judaism” and “true Judaism”- be aware that I see Nazarene Judaism as “true Judaism” – The Nazarenes being the original Jewish followers of Yeshua ), 

Donations have been extremely low this month, our rent is due tomorrow and we do not have it. In these uncertain times, we need your support more than ever. The time is short, and there is much work to be done. This is no time to pull back from the great work in front of us!

As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

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Yeshua on the Murders of Abel and Zechariah
By
James Scott Trimm

Yeshua said:

34 Therefore I tell you, Behold, I send to you, prophets and the wise men, and the scribes. And some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them will you scourge with whips in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city.
35 That upon you may come, all the righteous blood, which has been shed upon the earth: from Hevel the righteous, to Z’kharyah Ben Berekhyah, whom you slew between the Temple and the altar!
(Matthew 23:34-35 HRV)

Yeshua here is speaking of the first murder to be recorded near the beginning of the Tanak (Gen. 4:8-15) and a murder recorded near the end of the Tanak (2Chron. 24:20-21).  This, of course, justifies the original manuscript order of the books, as they are still ordered in Jewish editions.

I should mention that extant text of Matt. 23:35 reads “Z’kharyah Ben Berekhyah” (Zechariah ben Berechiah).  This, however, seems to be a scribal error.  A scribe seems to have confused “Zechariah ben Jehoidai”(2Chron. 24:20-21) with “Zechariah ben Berechiah” (Zech. 1:1).  The “Church Father” Jerome records that the Gospel used by the original Jewish followers of Yeshua (known as “Nazarenes”) (i.e. the Gospel according to the Hebrews. I have shown elsewhere that our Gospel of Matthew is an abridgement of that longer Gospel).  According to Jerome the original Hebrew text used by the ancient Nazarenes read correctly with “Zechariah ben Jehoidai”.  (The parallel in Luke 11:51 has only “Zechariah”) Jerome writes:

In the Gospel which the Nazarenes use, instead of “son of Barachias” we have found written “son of Joiada.”
(Jerome; Commentary on Matthew 23:35)

There is something else very important which connects these two murders, at least in Jewish tradition.

The first is a tradition recorded in the Mishnah concerning the murder of Havel (Able) that understands the plural word “bloods” crying out from the ground in Gen. 4:10 to signify that whoever kills one person is guilty of killing everyone:

…it is said , “The bloods of your brother cry” (Gen. 4:10) It does not say, “The blood of your brother,” but. “The bloods of your brother”—his blood and the blood of all those who were destined to be born from him.  Another matter—the bloods of your brother— for his blood was splattered on trees and stones…. whoever destroys a single Israelite soul is deemed by Scripture as if he had destroyed the whole world and whoever saves a single Israelite soul by Scripture as if he had saved the whole world…
(m.San. 4:5)

Both Talmuds records a similar tradition surrounding the murder of “Zechariah ben Jehoidai”(2Chron. 24:20-21).  This tradition parallels the tradition concerning Abel above.  In this tradition Zechariah’s blood also cries out for vengeance but ceases its cry lest all Israel be destroyed.  The Babylonian Talmud records the story this way:

Nebuzaradan, [After that] he saw the blood of Zechariah seething. ‘What is this?’ cried he. ‘It is the blood of sacrifices, which has been spilled,’ they answered. ‘Then,’ said he, ‘bring [some animal blood] and I will compare them, to see  whether they are alike.’ So he slaughtered animals and  compared them, but they were dissimilar. ‘Disclose [the secret] to me, or if not, I will tear your flesh with iron combs,’ he  threatened.  They replied: ‘This is [the blood of] a priest and a  prophet, who foretold the destruction of Jerusalem to the  Israelites, and they killed him.’ ‘I,’ said he, ‘will appease him.’  So he brought the scholars and slew them over him,  yet it did not cease [to boil]. He brought schoolchildren  and slew them over him, still it did not rest; he brought the  young priests and slew them over him, and still it did not rest, until he had slain ninety four thousand, and still it did not rest.  Whereupon he approached him and cried out, ‘Zechariah, Zechariah, I have destroyed the flower of them: dost thou desire me to massacre them all?’ Straightway it rested.  Thoughts of repentance came into his mind: if they, who killed  one person only, have been so [severely punished], what will be my fate?  So he fled, sent his testament to his house, and became a proselyte.
(b.San 96b)

The Jerusalem Talmud give a more detailed account:

Rabbi Jochanan said, Eighty thousand priests were slain for the blood of Zachariah.   Rabbi Judas asked Rabbi Achan, Where did they kill Zachariah?  Was it in the woman’s court, or in the court of Israel?  He answered:  Neither in the court of Israel, nor in the  court of women, but in the court of the priests; and they did not treat his blood in the same manner as they were wont to treat the blood of a ram or a young goat.  For of these it is written, He shall pour out his blood, and cover it with dust.  But it is written here, The blood is in the midst of her:  she set it upon the top of the rock; she poured it not upon the ground.  (Ezek. xxiv. 7.)  But why was this? That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance: I have set his blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.  They committed seven evils that day: they murdered a priest, a prophet, and a king; they shed the blood of the innocent: they polluted the court: that day was the Sabbath : and the day of expiation. When therefore Nebuzaradan came there (viz.  Jerusalem), he saw his blood bubbling, and said to them, What meaneth this?  They answered, It is the blood of calves, lambs, and rams, which we have offered upon the altar.  He commanded them, that they should bring calves, and lambs, and rams, and said I will try whether this be their blood: accordingly they brought and slew them, but the blood of (Zachariah) still bubbled, but the blood of these did not bubble.  Then he said, Declare to me the truth of the matter, or else I will comb your flesh with iron combs.  Then said they to him, He was a priest, prophet, and judge, who prophesied to Israel all these calamities which we have suffered from you; but we arose against him, and slew him. Then, said he, I will appease him: then he took the rabbis and slew them upon his (viz. Zachariah’s) blood, and he was not yet appeased.  Next he took the young boys from the schools, and slew them upon his blood, and yet it bubbled.  Then he brought the young priests and slew them in the same place, and yet it still bubbled. So he slew at length ninety-four thousand persons upon his blood, and it did not as yet cease bubbling.  Then he drew near to it and said, O Zachariah, Zachariah, thou hast occasioned the death of the chief of thy countrymen; shall I slay them all? Then the blood ceased, and did bubble no more.
(j.Ta’anit 69)

Yeshua tied these two murders together for two reasons.  First, in the original manuscript order of the books, these two murders are like bookends on each end of the Tanak, implying the totality of Scripture and the true and correct ordering of the books of the Tanak.

It is no coincidence that these two murders are also connected by traditions that connect each to blood crying out for vengeance, and the potential murder of all Israelites.  Yeshua clearly had these traditions in mine when he formulated his statement.  In fact Yeshua specifies the location of Zechariah’s murder more specifically that the written Tanak does.  The Tanak says only that the murder occurred “in the court of the House of YHWH”.  However the tradition recorded in the Talmud is more specific:

Rabbi Judas asked Rabbi Achan, Where did they kill Zachariah?  Was it in the woman’s court, or in the court of Israel?  He answered:  Neither in the court of Israel, nor in the court of women, but in the court of the priests
(j.Ta’anit 69)

While the Tanak places the murder simply “in the court of the House of YHWH”, Yeshua places it more specifically in the Court of Priests located “between the Temple and the alter” just as the Talmud proclaims it.  Yeshua’s source here was certainly the tradition also recorded in the Talmud.

We have another example of how a knowledge of Second Temple Era Judaism and especially the Talmud, can shed light on our understanding of the “New Testament” and the words of Yeshua.
By better understanding Torah and by better understanding the customs and practices of second Temple Era Judaism, we can better understand the Scriptures.

The Rent is due in just five days and we do not have it!

As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

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Should a Man Wear a Kippah?
By
James Scott Trimm

How are we to understand Paul’s statement: “For a man ought not to veil his head” (1Cor. 11:7) does this refer to the wearing of the kippah?

Absolutely not! The Aramaic word here is K’SA and refers to that which hides or veils. We are to understand that a man is not to wear a woman’s veil, as it is written:

A woman shall not wear that which pertains unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for whosoever does these things is an abomination unto YHWH your Elohim.
(Deut. 22:5 HRV)

This cannot refer to the wearing of a kippah, which does not veil the head since the High Priest and Priest were commanded in the Torah to wear head coverings:

And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a tunic of checker work, a mitre, and a girdle. And they shall make Set-Apart garments for Aharon your brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto Me in the cohen’s office.
(Ex. 28:4)

And for Aharon’s sons, you shall make tunics, and you shall make for them
girdles,and headtires shall you make for them, for splendour and for beauty.
(Ex. 28:40)

Torah does to prohibit the wearing of a kippah, and Paul had no authority to add to the Torah.

Concerning the apostasy the Ancient Nazarene writer Hegesippus (c. 180 CE) writes that the apostate group had bare heads:

Up to that period (98 CE) the Assembly had remained like a virgin pure and
uncorrupted: for, if there were any persons who were disposed to tamper with the wholesome rule of the preaching of salvation, they still lurked in some dark place of concealment or other. But, when the sacred band of Emissaries had in various ways closed their lives, and that generation of men to whom it had been vouchsafed to listen to the Godlike Wisdom with their own ears had passed away, then did the confederacy of godless error take its rise through the treachery of false teachers, who, seeing that none of the emissaries any longer survived, at length attempted with bare and uplifted head to oppose the preaching of the truth by preaching “knowledge falsely so called.”
(Hegesippus the Nazarene; c. 185 CE Eusebius; Eccl. Hist.3:32)

Moreover in the Shem Tob Hebrew Text of Matthew we read that HaSatan tempted the Messiah to bare his head saying:

And HaSatan took him to an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the earth and their glory and said to Him, `All these things I will give to you if you bare your head to me.
(Matt. 4:8-9 Shem Tob text)

It certainly seems that the Nazarene custom for a man to wear a kippah (head covering).

The Talmud records that the wearing of a kippah was a custom of humility:

Rabbi Isaac said: He who transgresses in secret is as though he pressed the feet of the Shechinah for it is written: Thus says the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. R. Joshua b. Levi said: One may not walk four cubits with haughty mien, for it is said, the whole earth is full of His glory. Rabbi Huna son of R. Joshua would not walk four cubits bareheaded, saying: The Shechinah is above my head.
(b.Kiddushin 31a)

Rabbi Nahman ben Isaac’s mother was told by astrologers, Your son will be a thief. [So] she did not let him [be] bareheaded, saying to him, `Cover your
head so that the fear of heaven may be upon you, and pray [for mercy]’. Now, he did not know why she spoke that to him. One day he was sitting and studying under a palm tree; temptation overcame him, he climbed up and bit off a cluster of dates with his teeth.
(b.Shabbat 156b)

While the Torah certainly does not require a man to wear a kippah, it also does not prohibit wearing a kippah, and there is some evidence that it was the custom of the original followers of Yeshua (and perhaps Yeshua himself) to wear a kippah as a sign of humility.

As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

Donations can be sent by paypal to donations@wnae.org.

And don’t forget to join the conversations at the NazareneSpace

Did the Law and the Prophets Only Prophecy Until John?
By
James Scott Trimm

We have often said that the Hebrew and Aramaic Origin of the “New Testament” is very important because there are many passages that do not make sense until we look at them in the original Hebrew and Aramaic.  A very good example of this is to be found in Matthew 11:13 where we read in the King James Version:

For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
(Matt. 11:13 KJV)

Many have found this passage difficult to understand. Some Antinomians have quoted it to claim that the “law was until John”.  However this does not even fit their theology, since John died before Yeshua’s death.  Others have taken it to mean that all prophecy was fulfilled before John.  This argument is made by Cambelites.  However many prophecies of the last days have not yet been fulfilled.  Finally many have taken it to mean that prophecy ended with Yochanan.  However this argument also fails because there were prophets long after his death (see for example Acts 13:1).

The solution to this difficult verse may be found by looking at the Hebrew of Matthew and comparing the Shem Tob Hebrew version with the DuTillet/Munster Hebrew version.  In this particular text, it appears the Shem Tob text may preserve the original reading.  The Shem Tob Hebrew version of Mathew tells us that the Torah and the Prophets prophecied על “concerning” Yochanan which seems to have become misread as עד “until” Yochanan as we see it in the DuTillet and Munster Text.  “Concerning” (על) Yochanan (as it reads in the Shem Tob Hebrew text) is easily misread as עד (until) (as it appears in the DuTillet and Munster Hebrew texts) (This is one of the few passages in which Shem Tob appears to preserve a more original reading than DuTillet).  The reading “concerning John” seems to fit the text better because in verse 11:10 Matthew has just quoted Malachi 3:1 and applied the text to Yochanan.  And earlier in Mt. 3:3 Matthew had quoted Is. 40:3 as pertaining to Yochanan.

Emergency Alert!

Donations have been extremely low this month. Our rent is due in just three days and we do not have it. In these uncertain times, we need your support more than ever. The time is short, and there is much work to be done. This is no time to pull back from the great work in front of us!

As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org

Or click HERE to donate

And don’t forget to join the conversations at the NazareneSpace Social Network

While digging through my old papers I ran across this article written way back in 1981 by a Messianic Jew named Andrew P. Pilant. At the time Pilant was advocating something he called “Traditional Messianic Judaism” which was getting little attention from the mainline of the movement. Although I never met Pilant, when I came into the Messianic movement from Rabbinic Judaism around 1984 I found myself influenced by this paper. I do not agree with everything said in it, but I think it is worthy of posting here some 40 years later:

In Defense of Talmudic Law
By Andrew P. Pilant
1981

“If we we’re going to be Jewish, we have to be honest about it. . .
Jewishness is something that was more than laying teffilin,
more than just singing Jewish songs. It is thinking Jewish,
it is smelling Jewish, it was taking Judaism
and putting it out to the ends of your fingertips —
so that everything that you come in contact with
would have a Jewish touch to it.”
– Andrew P. Pilant

This paper is concerned with the facet of Rabbinic study that is involved with the defense of Talmudic Law, as being a natural and integral part of Rabbinics, it must be pointed out, rests on five very important principles, as elucidated by scholars such as Z. H. Chajes:

A. That the Written, and especially parts of the Oral Law, were not the result of a historical process, but of a single divine revelation;

B. The principle that two ‘Laws’ are organically related;

C. The principle that the progressive and historical development of Jewish Law is limited exclusively to the laws of non-Pentateuchal statutes (i.e. the decrees of the Sanhedrin);

D. The principle that the Talmudic Rabbis claimed for their own teaching the finality which later authorities ascribe to them;

E. The Principle that the Torah gave to the Rabbis of the Talmudic era (500 B.C.E.-200 C.E.) Divine sanction for their legislation, and that such legislation could not be abrogated at will.

In defense of these principles, one should, because of the very nature of the subject, be able to use the rules of logic and scientific reasoning. One should assume these aspects to be true, logically testing their fundamental components and inferred derivations.

The Torah is divided into two parts, the written and unwritten (Oral) Law. The former is the written text of Scripture, the Torah, which was divinely revealed to Moses at Sinai. The later consists of expositions and interpretations. In order to understand the relationship between the Oral and Written Law, it is necessary to understand their goal. The goal of the Oral Tradition and its teachings is to get one to integrate the written Law into one’s own being. The most important tools to allow one to arrive at this goal are the many and varied Mitzvot. Mitzvot are deeds reflecting the correct interpretation of Scripture, i.e. the Oral Tradition.

The whole emphasis of Mitzvot (for example laying tefillin, not driving a car on Sabbath, not eating pork) is not in the actions that an individual must go through to perform the deed. Rather, the importance of Mitzvot lies in the inward quality the actions stimulate. A Mitzvah is not a Mitzvah because of the physical actions an individual performs, but because it stimulates in the individual an understanding of Scripture. Thus, the thoughts and intents of the heart are the more important aspect of Mitzvot. In the final analysis, the Lord is concerned with intent rather than action. This is not to say that the actions do not play a role, but should be a natural by-product of the intent. For example, two individuals can go through exactly the same actions, and it will be a Mitzvah for one and not for the other. The difference would be one of “intent.” If one understood Elohim’s Law the way He designed it to be understood, one would not be performing it as a list of instructions but would perform it as a natural result of his understanding of the world. In fact, it would never occur to him to do anything else.

Adam, being created perfect, understood the world correctly, and so he performed Mitzvot simply because he had no reason to think otherwise. By the time of Noah, however, this understanding of the world had suffered aberration to the extent that Noah was given commandments to not drink blood, not fornicate, etc. Noah’s understanding coupled with the commandments brought him up to Adam’s former level. Without the commandments, Noah may have deviated from the natural course of things and drank blood. Thus, the Lord gave him this commandment. This is also true of Enoch, and Abraham, where the Lord gave them insight to correct any misunderstandings they may have had about how the world has supposed to work.

The Lord sought to call a people to Himself. Through Moses, the Children of Israel were called to Sinai and were given the Torah along with the correct understanding of how it was to be applied in every circumstance… not the details of every situation but the mechanisms to derive the correct interpretation. For this generation, the Law and their understanding of it brought them to the level that Adam had been in Eden. This provided the Israelites with a level of understanding higher than any other nation of that generation. This is obvious, for when Moses was given the Ten Commandments he was not given two tablets of stone and left to figure them out. He understood each Commandment and its ramifications to the utmost extent.

In the course of Israel’s history, fine points of this Law and its understanding were forgotten. The Lord sent Judges who were experts in dealing with “fine points” for this generation. The Judges expertise, combined with the people’s remembrance of the revelation at Sinai and with the written Torah, was sufficient. The bulk of Scriptures written a this time dealt with these judges. Later generations not only forgot points of the Law, but began to misinterpret and misapply them. Thus, the Lord sent the Prophets to inject correct understanding where the people had erred in their interpretation of Scripture.

Even before the birth of Messiah, the generations had deviated to such an extent from their Father’s teaching that the rabbis sought to record the “understanding” before it was forgotten all together. This attempt is seen in the Talmud. Rules and methods were discovered at this time that enabled them to write down what had previously been only mental thoughts. They sought to crystallize the Oral Tradition by giving many examples. Through the understanding of these examples and the techniques of the rabbis one should be able to reconstruct the understanding the Children of Israel had at Sinai. To one who is not aware of the methods and direction of the rabbis, the Talmud appears as a mass of confused examples and legalistic rituals. However, to those who desire to integrate the teachings of the rabbis in the fashion in which they were intended, it will stimulate within them an attitude both proper and coherent with the universe that the Lord created. The Messiah understood this perfectly. He understood the balance between the understanding that was to be integrated and the importance of the tools to accomplish this goal. Some rabbis of His day did not “understand” this balance. They emphasized the physical aspect of the Mitzvot sometimes to the exclusion of the Mitzvot’s purpose. Thus the Messiah saw that they were so wrapped up in the tool that they lost sight of the purpose of the tool. This was the only point of contention between the Messiah and the rabbinical leaders of His day. Thus, in Matthew 23:23 He declares to the Jewish leaders, “For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law; justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”

In the Middle Ages, a large quantity of time was spent studying and transmitting the teachings of the sages of the Second Temple Era. For these generations, the rabbi’s teaching combined with all that had gone before them was sufficient to give them a proper understanding of how the world should be. After years had passed, people began once again to lose sight of the purpose and direction of Mitzvot. Groups such as the Hasidim sought to correct this imbalance. For this generation, their teaching gave the people a correct understanding of Scripture, when combined with what they knew already.

With this background, some questions can be asked. Is the Talmud inspired? This is an awkward question to ask. The Torah is inspired in its entirety. The Oral Tradition is the Torah’s integration into one’s person, and thus is in a sense inspired because it is a reflection of the Torah. The Talmud is a logical exploration of the Oral Tradition and should be logically correct. It is important and authoritative but it functions as a tool. The Talmud is only a tool when it is used correctly, otherwise it could be a dangerous thing. Fortunately, because of its size, people do not study it unless they have a good reason.

Another question that could be addressed is whether or not the Talmud is a product of progressive revelation. This is absolutely not true! The Talmud is simply a crystallization, a reflection of the Oral Tradition. Our ability to understand the Oral Tradition in this present day has decreased to the extent that we need a portion of the Oral Tradition written down in order to understand it. The Lord has continually spoken to his people throughout the ages, but only to raise them back up to a certain level.

A third question is whether or not the Talmud is fixed and unbending. Yes and no. The Talmud reflects the perfect attitude that a person should attain, but unfortunately human beings are not perfect. Therefore the emphasis should be shifted from the Talmud to the Oral Tradition itself, which is constant for all people. It is possible that it may manifest itself with different emphases through various people’s understanding of it. A traditional Jew will make the assumption that the Talmud scholars knew enough about people that their descriptions of how Oral Tradition should manifest itself are consistent for people of all times and places. If too much emphasis is placed on the physical aspect of Mitzvot, one could totally miss the purpose for which the Mitzvot were given. For example, when a Jew dies it is a Mitzvah that he be buried in a plain pine box so that all Jews will have equal expenses in their burials. In Los Angeles, it is actually more expensive and a symbol of wealth if one can import a pine box from New York to Los Angeles. This totally negates what the rabbis were trying to say, and because the rabbis’ advice was misapplied, the Mitzvah did not achieve its purpose. It did not increase their understanding of Scripture.

Talmudic Law is a natural and integral part of the divinely revealed written Law. Each generation has lost a portion of its understanding of how the Lord wants the word to work. Each generating has been given teaching to bring them back to this level. The Mitzvot are one tool used to achieve this goal, but only if understood correctly. For any Jew and anyone who has an understanding of the Oral Tradition, the Mitzvot can increase this understanding in a very beautiful way.

Andrew P. Pilant, 1981

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The Prophet Like Moses
By
James Scott Trimm

This weeks Torah Parsha is SHOFTIM (Deut. 16:18-21:9).  This Torah portion includes a very important Messianic Prophecy:

18 I will raise them up a prophet from among their brothers, like unto you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My Name, I will require it of him.
(Deut. 18:18-19 HRV)

The Thirteenth Century Rabbinic commentator Ralbag (Rabbi Levi ben Gershon) writes concerning this passage:

A prophet from the midst of you.- In fact the Messiah is such a Prophet as it is stated in the Midrash [Tanhuma] on the verse “Behold my Servant shall prosper” [Is. 52:13]… Moses by the miracles which he wrought brought a single nation to worship Elohim, but the Messiah will draw all peoples to the worship of Elohim.
(Ralbag on Duet. 18:18)

The Midrash Tanhuma (cited above) says:

It is written, Behold, my servant shall deal wisely, He shall be exalted, and extolled, and be very high (Isaiah 52:13). It means, He shall be more exalted than Abraham of whom it is written, ‘I lift up my hand’ (Genesis 14:22). He shall be more extolled than Moses of whom it is said, ‘As a nursing father beareth the nursing child’ (Numbers 11:12). ‘And shall be very high’—that is, Messiah shall be higher than the ministering angels.
(Midrash Tanhuma Is. 52:13)

Maimonides, in a letter to a Yemenite community, denounces a man claiming to be the Messiah saying:

The Messiah will be a very great Prophet, greater than all the Prophets with the exception of Moses our teacher…His status will be higher than that of the Prophets and more honorable, Moses alone excepted. The Creator, blessed be He, will single him out with features wherewith He had not singled out Moses; for it is said with references to him, “And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears.” (Isaiah 11:3)

The Dead Sea Scroll document 4Q175 also speaks of a Messianic Figure (clearly the Messiah) and applies Deut. 18:18-19 indicating that the Prophet “like Moses” was understood clearly as referring to the Messiah as far back as the Hasmoean period.

More insight on the Prophet Like Moses can be found in the Midrash Rabbah:

Another exposition of the text, ‘ My beloved is like a gazelle ‘: Israel, explained R. Isaac, said to the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘ Sovereign of the Universe! Thou hast told us that Thou wilt come to us first.’ ‘ My beloved is like a gazelle ‘; as the gazelle appears and then disappears, so the first redeemer appeared and then disappeared. R. Berekiah in the name of R. Levi said: Like the first redeemer so will the final redeemer be. The first redeemer was Moses, who appeared to them and then disappeared. For how long did he disappear from their sight? R. Tanhuma said: Three months; accordingly it is written, And they met Moses and Aaron, etc. (ib. V, 20).2 The final redeemer will also appear to them and then disappear.
(Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar 11:2)

Clearly here the two redeemers are Moses and the prophet like Moses, the Messiah.

We read in Exodus:

13 And Moshe said unto the people, Fear you not. Stand still, and see the salvation of YHWH, which He will work for you today! For whereas you have seen the Egyptians today, you shall see them again, no more, forever.
14 YHWH will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.
(Ex. 14:13-14 HRV)

Therefore we have a picture of the “salvation of YHWH” in Exodus 14:19-29

19 And the angel of Elohim, who went before the camp of Yisra’el, removed, and went behind them. And the pillar of cloud removed from before them, and stood behind them.
20 And it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Yisra’el. And there was the cloud and the darkness here, yet gave it light by night there: and the one came not near the other all the night.
21 And Moshe stretched out his hand over the sea. And YHWH caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all the night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
22 And the children of Yisra’el went into the midst of the sea upon the dry earth, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of the sea; all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
24 And it came to pass in the morning watch, that YHWH looked forth upon the host of the Egyptians, through the pillar of fire and of cloud, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians.
25 And He took off their chariot wheels, and made them to drive heavily, so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Yisra’el, for YHWH fights for them against the Egyptians.
26 And YHWH said unto Moshe: Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians; upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
27 And Moshe stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared. And the Egyptians fled against it, and YHWH overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
28 And the waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, even all the host of Pharaoh that went in after them into the sea: there remained not so much as one of them.
29 But the children of Yisra’el walked upon dry land, in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
(Ex. 14:19-29 HRV)

The first century Jewish writer Philo comments on this passage saying:

(2.265) Again, when you see, amid the wars and disasters of life, the merciful hand of God and his favourable power held over you and standing in defence of you, be silent yourself; for that champion stands in no need of any assistance. And there are proofs of this fact recorded in the sacred writings; such, for instance, as the verse, “The Lord will fight for us, and ye shall be Silent.” (Ex 14:14.)
(2.266) And if you see the genuine offspring and the firstborn of Egypt destroyed, namely desire, and pleasures, and pain, and fear, and iniquity, and mirth, and intemperance, and all the other qualities which are similar and akin to these, then marvel and be silent, dreading the terrible power of God;
(Philo; Dreams Book 2; 40; 265-266)

So Philo sees an allegory here where the “Egyptians” represent “desire, and pleasures, and pain, and fear, and iniquity, and mirth, and intemperance, and all the other qualities which are similar and akin to these.” In other words Philo sees the Egyptians as representing the sin-nature which the Rabbis call the Yetzer Ra, the Evil inclination.

The first redeemer (Moses) delivered us from the Egyptians, but the second redeemer (the Messiah) would deliver us from the Evil Inclination.

Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman) (1194-1270 C.E.) wrote one of the most authoritative Torah commentaries in Rabbinic Judaism.   He says on this topic:

And YHWH your Elohim will circumcise your heart (Deut. 30:6)  It is this which the Rabbis have said, “If someone comes to purify himself, they assist him” [from on High]. The verse assures you that you will return to Him with all your heart and He will help you.

This following subject is very apparent from Scripture: Since the time of Creation, man has had the power to do as he pleased, to be righteous or wicked. This [grant of free will] applies likewise to the entire Torah period, so that people can gain merit upon choosing the good and punishment for preferring evil. But in the days of the Messiah, the choice of their [genuine] good will be natural; the heart will not desire the improper and it will have no craving whatever for it. This is the “circumcision” mentioned here, for lust and desire are the “foreskin” of the heart, and circumcision of the heart means that it will not covet or desire evil.

Man will return at that time to what he was before the sin of Adam, when by his nature he did what should properly be done, and there were no conflicting desires in his will, as I have explained in Seder Bereshit.

It is this which Scripture states in [the Book of] Jeremiah 31:30], Behold, the days come, says YHWH, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers ..etc. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Eternal, I will put my Law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it.

This is a reference to the annulment of the evil instinct and to the natural performance by the heart of its proper function. Therefore Jeremiah said further, and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My People; and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying: ‘Know YHWH; ‘for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them

Now, it is known that the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth and it is necessary to instruct them, but at that time it will not be necessary to instruct them [to avoid evil] for their evil instinct will then be completely abolished. And so it is declared by Ezekiel, A new heart will I also give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will cause you to walk in My statutes . (Ezekiel 36:26)

The new heart alludes to man’s nature, and the [new] spirit to the desire and will. It is this which our Rabbis have said : “And the years draw nigh, when you shall say: I have no pleasure in them; these are the days of the Messiah, as they will offer opportunity neither for merit nor for guilt,” for in the days of the Messiah there will be no [evil] desire in man but he will naturally perform the proper deeds and therefore there will be neither merit nor guilt in them, for merit and guilt are dependent upon desire.
(Ramban on Deut. 29:6)

This Midrash Rabbah (cited above) preserves a tradition which tells us that the Messiah would, like Moses, be revealed, then disappear and then be revealed again.  The coming of Messiah would be like Moses, who was revealed to Israel.  Then he disappeared when he ascended to commune with Elohim on Mt. Sinai.  While he was gone there was a great apostasy, and many believed he would never return (Ex. 32:1).  When he returned he separated and judged the people and condemned those who had not repented (Ex. 32:26-28).  The Midrash is telling us that the coming of Messiah would parallel these events.

Now in Deut. 18:19 the Torah says of those who do not give heed to this Messiah “I [Elohim] will require it of him.”  What does this mean?

The Targum Onkelos to this phrase is even stronger saying “My Word shall take vengeance upon him” and similarly the Greek Septuagint translator rendered the phrase “I shall take vengeance upon him.”. The Mishnah explains the phrase “I will require it of him” to mean “death at the hands of heaven”:

“HIS DEATH IS AT THE HANDS OF HEAVEN. FOR IT IS WRITTEN, [AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, THAT WHOSOEVER WILL NOT HEARKEN UNTO MY WORDS WHICH THE PROPHET SHALL SPEAK IN MY NAME.] I WILL REQUIRE IT OF HIM (DEUT. 18:19).”
(m.San. 11:5)

And as it is again said in the Talmud:

But he who suppresses his prophecy, or disregards the words of a prophet, or a prophet who transgresses his own words is slain by Heaven, for it is written, All it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken

: now this may be understood [as implying] to proclaim’ and ‘hearkening himself’ unto my words; and the verse concludes, I will require it of him (Deut. 18:19), i.e., [he shall be slain] by Heaven.
(b.San. 89a)

Certainly the Torah not only foretells the coming of Messiah, it requires every Torah Observant Jew to accept and follow this Messiah.
HaSatan wishes “to steal and to kill and to destroy” (Jn. 10:10) and he knows the time is short and has stepped up his war with those who proclaim both Torah Observance and Faith in Messiah (the two pillars of Nazarene Judaism) (Rev. 12:12, 17; 13:7). But no weapon forged against us will prosper (Is. 54:17).

Emergency Alert!

The rent is due in four days, we do not have it, and we are $115 short on clearing bills hitting the account tonight!

As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

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