Tag: yehsua

Basic Rules for Torah Interpretation

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I thought we’d take a different path this morning and talk about the mechanics of Torah interpretation. I am constantly telling people to read the Manual, yet I haven’t really helped anyone in understanding how to read the Torah.

The following suggestions are from a Bible study class I used to give on interpreting the Torah. I hope it is useful to you.

Essentially, when reading the Torah (or any scripture) we need to look at what the text says, then we need to look at how it says it.

There are 4 different levels, if you will, of interpretation:

1. P’shat- the plain meaning of the text, i.e., what you see is what it means

2. Drash- the homiletic meaning (from which we get the Midrash)

3. Remez- the esoteric meaning

4. Sod- the hidden, Kabbalistic meaning

These levels may not all be present, and generally the Ruach will be the driving force in understanding the Drash and deeper meanings.

One of the keys to working within these levels is to observe and review how well the meanings fit and make sense with regards to the other writings in the Bible. This is called Hermeneutics. Hermeneutics means that there is continuity of meaning. We are told that God is the same now, before and in the future- He never changes. The meanings and statements made in the Bible should also have this sameness about them- if you interpret something in a way that goes against other, established understandings then you should review what you’re thinking. If something in what you read in Leviticus seems to be totally against what you read in Romans, then there is something wrong, or missing, in that interpretation.

That may not be the best example, since Romans is historically used as a polemic against the Torah when, in fact, it is an apologetic, but the point is that the Bible is the same from start to finish and the interpretations should all be hermeneutically aligned.

You need to always use (what I learned as) Circles of Context. This means to know who wrote what and to whom, and to incorporate both textual and cultural context when forming your interpretation.  Don’t assume that the slave talked about in Leviticus is the same type of slave we had in America. At that time, being a Jewish slave to another Jew was more like being an indentured servant than the horrible torture and misuse that the slaves in America during the 16th through 19th Centuries had to endure. Also, words had different meanings. For example, in Mattitayu 5:17 when Yeshua said He came to fulfill the law, the word “fulfill” did not mean to “complete” something but to interpret it correctly. When you look at the surrounding text, He goes on to say nothing will change. Yet, poor interpretation has constantly led people to teach that His “fulfillment” of the law was to complete it, thereby doing away with it forever. Wrong-o!

Another biblical form of writing is the use of repetitive statements, and you need to review these very carefully. When the tribes of  Reuben and Gad asked to remain east of the Jordan, they said they would build pens for their cattle and homes for their families. Later that is repeated by Moshe, but he tells them to build homes for their families and pens for their cattle. Moses reversed the order of possessions. The Kumash tells us that this was on purpose to show that Moses wanted the leaders to understand that family is more important than possessions. By carefully reading the repetitious statements and stories you can gain a better understanding of what was happening. The same thing can be seen in the story of how Abraham’s servant found Rachael. The story has subtle changes between the first narrative of the event and then, later, what the servant tells Laban.

Finally, I would like to offer some tools that I use. Of course, the main tool in your shed should be the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit, to lead you in your understanding. But, besides that, it couldn’t hurt to have a few other tools.

Extra-biblical writings are useful, but I offer this with a caveat- don’t forget that what you are reading is someone else’s interpretation and you have to verify it against the original text. One that I trust is Strong’s Concordance (you may need to do some weight-lifting to get in shape to carry that book); you can also use a good Hebrew-Greek-English Dictionary and selected commentaries from established biblical experts (again- they usually repeat what they have been told so verify verify verify.)

There are many different Bibles- the Complete Jewish Bible, the JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh, the NIV, the KJV, interlinear bibles, and many, many other Bibles, all with their own interpretations found in what the text says. I am not against reading different versions; in fact, I think it will help to identify the differences and that will help you to find the interpretation you are most comfortable with as being the correct one.

The Kumash is a great tool. I use it over and over. The one I have is the Soncino Pentateuch and Haftorahs: the quintessential Bar Mitzvah present. In fact, the one I have is from my Bar Mitzvah, and it’s still in good shape. Embarrassingly enough, that’s because I never even opened it until I came to know Messiah Yeshua, but (at least) I kept it.

Ultimately, however you do it,  you need to study the Word of God. All of it, from Genesis to Revelations. Heck- you should even take a gander at the maps, now and then, if for no other reason than to be able to picture in your mind where these events are taking place.

Read the Word, study the Word, and get to know the Word, intimately. It is the sword of God, and without knowing what God has told us, through human writings, you can’t possibly be prepared for what is coming.

When you go to a baseball game, they tell you, “Get your scorecards- you can’t tell the players without a scorecard!” If you don’t know what God is telling us about the Messiah, what God is all about (He tells us all about Himself in the Bible) or what evidence there will be of the coming Acharit HaYamim (End Days, Judgement Days), you will not know how to protect your soul from the Enemy.

The Enemy will not come right out and announce himself- he will sneak in behind someone else and slowly, carefully lead you into taking the mark and being forever cursed. If you don’t know the warning signs, you won’t know how to avoid damnation. It’s that simple.

Take your Bible and read it; study it; know it; otherwise, you better have a good supply of Coppertone.

giving thanks and asking forgiveness

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I read an article somewhere yesterday (I can’t remember where- getting old stinks, although I have to say I have waited my whole life to be this age) that made me think about how God charged us all with stewardship of the world. Starting with  Adam and Eve, God put us in charge of the animals and greenery of the world.

I don’t think we’ve done a very good job, do you?

On this day, when we give thanks to God for all He has provided, let us also just diminish our joy a touch ( a very Jewish thing to do) by also asking His forgiveness for our poor stewardship of His wonderful creation.

Have you ever asked yourself why there are so many diseases? Yes, we live in a cursed world, yadda-yadda-yadda, but God has provided for us. Ask anyone in the medical field, or disease research, whether or not they believe the Amazon Rain Forest is the world’s cornucopia of (still to be discovered) beneficial drugs. They’ll tell you that there are probably natural cures to almost any disease we have somewhere in there.

Unfortunately, we are destroying the rain forest by hundreds of acres, every day! As you watch football today, imagine that entire football field as a dense forest being cut down or burned. Then multiply that by 365, because that’s (at least) how much rain forest is destroyed annually. Now, think of how many trees and bugs there are in that football field forest, and you can begin to feel the enormity of the destruction we are causing.

The cure for cancer, for aids, for sars, for e-bola, and who knows how many other diseases that devastate the world may be in that forest. Now, think of all the animals that God created, for whom He made those trees and bugs, that are dying from starvation or being killed during the deforestation; all of which we are supposed to be protecting and shepherding!

Revelations tells us that the tree of life will bring forth fruit and leaves that cure any disease. Maybe that tree is already there, or any number of trees, bushes or bugs that produce the cure for our current diseases. We may never know.

The good news is that we are getting better. Up to the last 70 or 80 years we pretty much just destroyed everything without any consideration for the future. Now we understand what we are doing to ourselves when we do this to the world. I guess the next step will be to stop this craziness, and I believe we are getting there; we used to run to destroy, but even though many still do that, more and more today we are trying to preserve. Progress is slow, but we are going in the right direction.

Enjoy your day, thank God for all He has provided, and for His ultimate provision- Yeshua Ha Mashiach. And ask forgiveness for not being a good steward, even if you are one of those doing your best. The prophets prayed for the people, and they also took on the responsibility for the failures of the people. All of us are responsible for the world, and if you haven’t done something to protect it, to be a good steward of God’s creation, then get off your butt and get on the ball. Do something to show God your appreciation for all He has done.

It’s one thing to say thank you, it’s another thing to show it! Let’s start to show our appreciation by taking care of the world God gave us.

Enjoy- setz und essen!!

Parashah Bereshith (In the Beginning)

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This Shabbat we joyfully open our Torah, and just like in this parashah , we begin at the beginning.

This first of the cycle of parashot is a little long, going all the way to Chapter 6, verse 8. It covers the beginning of everything, takes us through creation of man, Cain and Abel, and ends with God’s reluctantly regretting His creation and deciding He needs to start over. The whole Earth is full of sin and wickedness, all except Noah.

What I see in this is the entire plan of God’s salvation. I see creation, the world forming, people coming to know each other and God, then rejecting His rules and killing each other, lusting after their own desires. I see God patiently waiting for people to come back to their senses, which will eventually lead them back to God. But it doesn’t happen. Noah is the only righteous one in the world, and through him there will be a new life, a new beginning, and his descendants will live in a new Earth that will be formed from the remains of the previous one.

It’s not a perfect picture of the Messiah and the Tribulations, true, but I see the same elements in this parashah as we will see when all things come to pass. We have mankind (Adam and Eve) in union with God, but then they break their union by sinning. They are mercifully allowed to live, but no longer in perfect communion as they are ejected from God’s presence. They are fruitful and multiply (one of the more enjoyable commandments to fulfill) but sin is still here, in a cursed world, and although there are some who will form a union with God (Abel), there are those who will not (Cain). And we see that evil will hate and attack righteousness, out of jealousy and frustration. These emotions are the children of the mother of all sin, Pridefulness. Cain’s pride was hurt when God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but rejected his. The Soncino version of the Chumash explains that Abel gave the best he had and his heart was right, but Cain’s heart was not right and his sacrifice was, therefore, unacceptable. Cain’s pridefulness resulted in jealousy, which led to the inevitable result: murder.

Here’s my take on the way things played out, and (if I may say so) I think it is a good template for most every sin:

1.Cain’s pride prevented him from humbling himself;

2. Unhumbled, his frustration grew each time his sacrifice, still unacceptable, was rejected;

3. His frustration grew into anger as he continually saw Abel accepted while he was continually rejected;

4. His anger grows, and without humbling himself he couldn’t direct it at the source (himself) so he projected it against God and Abel;

5. Cain couldn’t do anything against God but he could take out his anger on Abel;

6. Result: the first murder.

Maybe the ultimate sinful expression of our own situation won’t be murder (God forbid!) but it could show itself as gossip, maybe hating in our heart (which Yeshua said is murder, anyway), maybe violence, verbal abuse, adultery, who knows? I believe that pridefulness is the foundation stone upon which almost every sin rests. It is a vicious cycle.

Now the world’s population grows and sin grows with it. There is righteousness, which we see coming through Seth’s bloodlines, but (just like today) the sin is greater than the righteousness. Even in the beginning, those who are God fearing are but a remnant, and it has remained that way even until today. Ultimately, judgement comes with only one chance of survival, and that is through only one man, Noah.

I am not saying that Noah is the Messiah, or ever was supposed to be. What I am saying is just that I see the plan of salvation being shown to us, in a way, in this parashah. It is a “teaser”, like the TV commercial about a new movie shows you pretty much what the story is about, without giving away the details. Creation, sin, loss of perfect communion with God, sin vs. right throughout the world, one righteous man chosen to begin a new relationship with God, judgement and destruction, renewal and a new beginning on a new Earth.

Of course, with Noah things started going downhill almost right away. We can be thankful that with Yeshua, and the “real” final judgement, those  of us who are of the remnant (the Believers who follow God’s laws and commandments as He gave them, not as religion tells us)  will have eternal communion with God, basking in His presence. We will see the new Heavens and the new Earth, and we will return to the way it was in the beginning, before sin entered the picture.

Every Simchat Torah we can look forward to what the Torah, and particularly this parashah, is showing us- that we will return to Gat Eden, we will once again be in the physical presence of the Lord God (Adonai Elohim), and we will be eternally joyful and serene.

I love each time I start reading God’s Word all over again.

Legally Sinful

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We get two newspapers every morning (my wife loves to stay on top of the news) and all I usually do are the comics and word puzzles. To me, everything else is the same old drek. However, this morning I couldn’t help but notice the front page story about how the US Supreme Court decided not to decide about gay marriages. They left it up to the states. As a history major and avid history buff, I agree with that decision. Mainly because it is constitutionally correct- those powers not specifically given to the federal government are left to the state governments. Marriage is not a federal issue, it is a civil one. The Supreme Court should not interfere.

What’s that leave us with? According to the Florida Today story, more than 60% of the states of this country will allow gay marriages; in other words, if we define normality as a condition where the majority of the population performs that particular activity, then gay marriages will be “normal” for citizens of the United States.

I have family members who have declared they are gay, and I love them. I know gay people, and I don’t treat them any differently than anyone else. But I am also someone who believes in God and that He says homosexuality is an abomination. It is a sin. Of course, I am also a sinner, and in God’s eyes, sin is sin- whether I am homosexual or whether I lie to people, in God’s eye it’s all the same. It’s a sin, so I don’t believe that we should treat gay people any differently than we treat anyone else, since we are all sinners. You’ve heard it said before: hate the sin and love the sinner.

But I do not agree that it is normal, and I do not agree that it is right, just as I don’t agree that murder, or adultery or idolatry is right.

From a scientific view, gay marriage is planned extinction. After all, the natural (not legally normal; at least, not anymore) way of things is that species survive through propagation. I am sure the gay population recognizes that same sex marriages can’t produce children. I think in science class one of the ways to define if something is alive or not is whether it can reproduce itself. If men marry men and women marry women, then other than adultery or fornication (both sins, if you recall) there is no chance of the human species propagating itself if gay marriages are the standard. Oh, yes- there will be enough of those minority types, you know- the ones who don’t go along with the crowd, the outsiders, the (what shall we call them?) oh…yes…the heterosexuals. Those people who believe that we should do what the body is designed to do. There’ll be enough of those around to produce babies that the gays can adopt. Of course, the more children that grow up in a family of two same-sex parents, the more likely they will find that to be the correct way to live and will, most likely, want to do what their parents have done.

Maybe we should organize a movement to send a bill to Congress asking for a constitutional amendment to change the name of this country to Sodom, or Gomorrah? After all, by the third generation of gay marriages those children will think heterosexual is wrong.

Everything I am saying is not “gay bashing”, and anyone who is thinking that is an ass. What I am saying is psychologically and socially sensible. It just follows that as more and more children are raised by same sex parents, more and more adults will find same sex relationships normal.

The truth is, they aren’t. Maybe they are the majority, maybe they are legally allowed, but that is not the way humans are designed. If you want to self-propagate then become a mollusk. All mollusks are hermaphrodites. In fact, that’s probably the best way- there won’t be any animosity about gay or straight, there won’t be any spousal abuse, and the divorce rate will certainly decrease!

I am also willing to bet that the gay marriages will prove to be more stable than the heterosexual ones- our divorce rate is nearly 50%, right? I think that, after fighting so hard to get the right to marry, gay couples will naturally fight more to keep their marriage intact. For us different-sex marriages, so very many of us (myself included) are on second or third marriages. Gay marriages may offer a lesson for us, the lesson being: that which is worth fighting to get is worth fighting to keep.

That doesn’t say I am for gay marriages- I am not. I am not a proponent of, nor do I find acceptable, homosexuality. I believe it is as normal, forgetting my legal argument above, as any other physiological condition. Sexuality is more a condition of emotions than organs. I don’t think anyone can argue that, especially since most every transsexual states they are a person trapped in the body of the wrong sex. We also know, scientifically, that emotions are strongly influenced by hormones. Give a man enough progesterone and he will be very confused; the same will happen if you give a woman too much testosterone. We each have some of both of these hormones, and in the correct balance, with the proper psychological environment, I believe that everyone would be heterosexual. I believe that homosexuality is a combination of both hormonal and environmental conditions that come together in a way to over-ride the natural gender identity.

In other words, I believe it is a choice. Just as someone with allergies chooses to overcome their condition with proper medication or sneeze their way through life. Just as someone with diabetes can take insulin or suffer the consequences of their disease. It is a choice to stay the way they feel or take medication to overcome the imbalance, and maybe go through counseling to help understand who they are once their hormones are in balance.

Just the same way we choose to accept the Grace of God or reject it. Most of us just prefer to stay the way we are- we don’t want to be holy. Maybe because we hated all the “holy” people we ever knew, maybe because we are honest enough to say,  “The heck with eternity- I just want to have fun now.” Maybe because we are just happy as we are, sort of like sheep being led to slaughter. If the grass along the way to the slaughter house is green, fresh and tasty, “Yum!! I’m in heaven. Lead on, Macduff!”

If you are not right with God, if you are reading this and not a Believer (of course, why would a non-Believer be reading this? Oh, yeah- maybe they want to see if there is a better way) or if you don’t know what to believe, believe this- the Acharit HaYamim (End Days, i.e., The Apocalypse, Baby!!) is right around the corner. The last real haven in the world for religious freedom and uprightness has become a sinful country, with corruption everywhere and sexual sinfulness not just occurring, but (now) legal.

I love this country, and I served in the Marine Corps to protect it. I believe in the ideals we once stood for. But I gotta tell ya, I am second-thinking things. I took an oath to protect this country from all enemies, foreign and domestic, but how do I protect us from ourselves?  We have kicked God out of the courts (remember when the 10 Commandments hanging on the courthouse building were adjudicated as unconstitutional?), we have kicked God out of the schools (Brown vs. the Board) and now we have kicked God out of the very institution He created- marriage.

Oy!

Commitments are Supposed to be Hard to Do

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I can’t really sing. Oh, I can hit the notes, usually close enough to blend in with the group, but I can’t sing well. And I don’t like doing things I don’t do well (consequently, I do almost nothing at all!)

What’s this have to do with God? Well, here’s the story: the place where I worship is doing a Sukkot Concert, and because I am a Bass, I was asked to join the chorus by my Pastor. I really didn’t want to do it at first, and still feel very out-of-place in the midst of people who have a nice singing voice and who can hit the notes with proper support and timbre, but I agreed because I can, at least, help fill out the sound.

So, I committed to help. Have I had second thoughts? Oh, gee- the second thoughts were right after I said I would. Then came the third thoughts after I tried to sing the part (isn’t the Bass supposed to have low notes? Almost the entire concert is at the high range of the bass), and now, with about 3 weeks to the concert, I am on the tenth thoughts.

If you’re reading this Pastor Andy, don’t worry- I committed myself to be a part of this and I will meet my commitment. Not because I know I can help, which I can; and not because I love to sing, which I do even though I don’t do it well; but because this is a devotion to God as much, if not more, than doing something you asked of me.

Just because someone asks us to do something doesn’t mean we have to, but when we agree, or when we devote ourselves to doing something for God, that does require us to follow through. Yeshua tells us not to swear by Heaven or Earth, and the Torah is very clear that an oath made to God must be completed. I said I would sing with the chorus, and until someone tells me that my absence is more helpful than my presence, I will follow through.

It isn’t easy. I have my part on CD and practice going to work and driving home, and on the weekend. I do the exercises Andy gave me to help recover the breath control I had as a kid when I played in the band. I hear myself getting a little better, and pray that God will intervene to help me meet this commitment in a good way, being beneficial to the project.

But it’s hard. I have constant thoughts about dropping out, partly from embarrassment and partly from just not wanting to do something outside my everyday rut. Those two things, being uncomfortable and having to do something outside the usual, are the very reasons I need to finish. Because I said I would do this I will, and despite my kvetching and whiny-cry-baby attitude, I am enjoying myself to a degree I didn’t think I would. And I know it will sound beautiful because it is not all about me; I am just part of the group.

We all need to follow through with what we commit to, whether for people or for God (especially for God.) The reason we need to follow through is to strengthen ourselves, mentally and spiritually, as preparation for the Acharit HaYamim, the End Days. We don’t know when they will come, and I really believe we are living in prophetic times. We are seeing the world coming apart, children killing children, earthquakes, floods and hurricanes in fury beyond what we have seen before, all over the world. Wars, and threats of war; all the things that have been happening, not to mention the vast throngs of Jewish people returning to Jerusalem, and the number of  Gentiles that are coming behind Israel and helping people to make Aliyah, all indicate we are close. Because we are close, we need to prepare.

“Chesty”  Puller, one of the most decorated war heroes ever (and a Marine, of course. Uh-Rah!!) used to say, “The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.” That holds true for spiritual training, as well. We need to make sure we are strong, spiritually and mentally. Imagine, if I can’t stay the course with a simple commitment to sing in a group (where I won’t be heard, anyway), how much less will I be able to remain faithful to God when I am standing before the Enemy asking if I want the mark on my head or my right hand? When you are there, and there’s a really good chance you will be, are you absolutely certain  you can stand firm and say “Not a chance, horn-head!”?

Even if I don’t go through the Tribulation, the lead-up will be pretty bad, and we don’t know, not for sure, when the Tribulation will be. There are as many people who are “Pre-Trib” as there are “Post-Trib.” I don’t know which it is, and (frankly) I don’t care- it won’t make any difference because whatever God wants to do, He will. I don’t have a vote, ya’ know? So, why worry? What I can do is get ready. Get that armor of God Shaul talks about in Ephesians all polished up and ready, wear it around every day so I get used to it. David didn’t wear any armor when he faced Golyat because, as he told King Saul, he wasn’t used to it. I, you, everyone of us, need to get used to wearing the spiritual armor that will help us secure our salvation. Revelations tells us that most- not some, not a few, not every now and then someone- but MOST of the Believers will be turned from the faith in the End Days. Most means more than half- that’s a lot. That means my chances of remaining faithful in the midst of the greatest battle of my life has less than a 50-50 chance of success.

That means you have less than a 50-50 chance of keeping your salvation, also.

Commitments shouldn’t be made hastily, and once made, must be kept. If you realize that you made a gigantic mistake, and you committed to something that ends up being illegal or sinful, well, yes- get the heck out now! We all make mistakes, and if you make one, correct it. But for those everyday commitments, and for those major ones where other people depend on you to do what you said you would do, you must meet them. Even if it hurts. In fact, it should hurt. It should be hard to do, otherwise it isn’t a commitment, it’s something you want to do. No big deal doing something you want to do. It’s like when Yeshua said that even sinners do good things for people they like. Commitment has to be hard to do in order to build up that spiritual strength. You develop muscle by destroying muscle. We build up our spiritual strength by using it, by testing it, by stretching it beyond where we are comfortable. This is how we get spiritually stronger and more mature, and it also increases our self-confidence so during tribulations and trials, we can speak out with confidence about our faith.

Make commitments carefully; and, once made, complete them joyfully (don’t whine and cry like I’m doing) and completely. Work those spiritual muscles, develop sinews of Spirit that are as strong as steel.

You’re gonna need ’em.