Judaism, Oral Torah, Returning Israel, Tanach Study, Torah, Torah Sedar

Parashat Bo

Parashat Bo

Exodus 10 – 13

א וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה בֹּ֖א אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֑ה כִּֽי־אֲנִ֞י הִכְבַּ֤דְתִּי אֶת־לִבּוֹ֙ וְאֶת־לֵ֣ב עֲבָדָ֔יו לְמַ֗עַן שִׁתִ֛י אֹתֹתַ֥י אֵ֖לֶּה בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ׃

ב וּלְמַ֡עַן תְּסַפֵּר֩ בְּאָזְנֵ֨י בִנְךָ֜ וּבֶן־בִּנְךָ֗ אֵ֣ת אֲשֶׁ֤ר הִתְעַלַּ֙לְתִּי֙ בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם וְאֶת־אֹתֹתַ֖י אֲשֶׁר־שַׂ֣מְתִּי בָ֑ם וִֽידַעְתֶּ֖ם כִּי־אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃

 

Many times in our lives our problems do not come to us but we must “Come” to them.

Our Sages tell us that the most difficult things in your life are the most rewarding. When we run from our problems they always seem to more difficult and complex. (Beresheit 32:23 And he(Yaacov) rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two handmaids, and his eleven children, and passed over the ford of the Jabbok. 24And he took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over that which he had. 25And Jacob was left alone).
Our problems should not leave us alone.
There is never a time in our lives when we solve anything by ignoring someone or something or running from a challenge. Most often the case is we are left alone. (and there wrestled a MAN with him(Yaacov) until the breaking of the day). The “man’ we wrestle with is ourselves and in this, we are made to confront who we are.
Our character is chiseled and molded in the coming to the place we thought we could never be. One must lose himself or herself to the man in which we are wrestling to be. One must love Hashem with all your hearts. Yaacov and Esau must work together to conquer the “self”.
The most difficult challenges in our lives are the things we should be diligent to do. Moshe in this week Torah portion is told to come to the source of our, “problems” Pharoah. This Pharoah is greater in every way it seems and unless Pharoah agrees to let us go we are helpless it seems.
But only if you are looking at your own abilities and powers. When we only see ourselves we can not see that Hashem is with us. This, by the way, is the meaning of, “וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה” this is misquoted in every English Bible. Hashem is telling us and reminding us that “He is with us” so come to your challenges for “I  (Hashem) am with you”.

 

Oral Torah, Tanach Study, Torah, Torah Sedar

What It Means To Be Free.

“I have on my table a violin string. It is free to move in any direction I like. If I twist one end, it responds; it is free.
But it is not free to sing. So I take it and fix it into my violin. I bind it and when it is bound, it is free for the first time to sing.”


― Rabindranath Tagore

Long after Judaism and after three thousand years of commentary on the Torah by our sages. This great poet spoke of the difference between the idea of rights and obligations. Most of the humanity focuses on the individuals and societal rights of the human race.

The world is looking to free its self constantly. The young are looking to free themselves from authority and the rules they may or may not have to keep. Husbands and wives are looking for freedom in the duties to family. Everyone wants to be free. Everyone has rights!

Our sages tell us that you will not find the word “rights” in the Torah. You will only find the words obligations. Obligation are what makes me a servant to Hashem and His instructions and commandments.

I once heard Rabbi Akiva Tatz say ” to have a slave is to be a slave”. In the Torah, the one who has a slave has to treat him as if he was a brother. And a slave has to treat his master as if he was his master. Biblical slavery is different than the slavery of mankind and with that said, let me share with you what I learned from Rabbi Tatz.

When a master has a slave he is obligated to give him the best and last of his possessions. An example would be, if there was only one bed the slave would sleep in the bed. Or, if there was only one blanket for the night the slave received it out of the master’s obligation to treat him as a brother. The slave was obligated to treat his master as such, his master.

But what if the two started focusing on their rights. One did not treat the other as a brother and the other did not treat the one as a master. The slave says to his master, ” you are not treating me as your brother and the master says, “you are not treating me as your master”.

Now you see the problem? That is not the biblical way of looking at things. The focus is wrong.  My obligation is the focus in all matters.  My wife and my husband. My boss and my employee. My child and my grandchildren. Everyone in Judaism has an obligation to each other. That is Biblical.

The world was created by the words of Hashem and if a word does not appear in the Tanach or Torah, then that idea or ideal is man-made. It is not from Hashem. It is a lie and not reality.

The word “religion” does not appear in the Torah, so, where does that come from? I am just a Jew who hears and does, that is my obligation. 

HaShoavah Blog, Judaism, Returning Israel, Torah

Who Rejected Messiah? It Is Not Who You Think.

Who is it that has rejected the Messiah?

Who is the one that has not returned from any exile because of their rebellion?

Can it be that the one who has rejected the Jewish Messiah is not the one you thought?

Can it be that the Christians and the Messianics are guilty of rejecting Hashem’s anointed?

What does the word gentile mean in the Tanach? Could it be a code word for the northern kingdom of Israel according to Torah?

Have we, the Jewish people stayed faithful to Hashem’s Torah and thus patiently wait for the  Messiah of Israel and wait for our brother to return from his exile and bring forth Mashiach ben David?

In this study, I would like to prove that it is the Christian/Messianic who have rejected Hashem’s Mashiach by the way of rejecting Judah as the lawgiver.

The United Kingdom

The kingdom of Israel was once united under King David but it later became divided during and after David’s reign and then it was divided after the death of King Shlomo and remains divided until this day.

 Many Messianic’s belief that the division between Jews and Christians has to do with Yeshu/Jesus/Yeshua. The division of this united kingdom began during David’s reign as king of Israel and is still not settled as far as biblical prophecy is concerned.

This division started many hundreds of years ago. ( 2708-1052 BCE)

  Was King David Mashiach?

What does this mean to the Ten Triber’s today?

2 Samuel  2: 4 And the men of Judah came, and they there anointed David king over the house of Judah.
2 Samuel II 2: 8 Now Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s host, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim; 9 and he made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. 10 Ish-bosheth Saul’s son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. 11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Notice the northern kingdom rejected Hashem’s anointed.

 

King David give us a hint on how to treat Hashem’s anointed.

1 Samuel 26:9 And David said to Abishai: ‘Destroy him not; for who can put forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless?’ 

2 Samuel II 2:12 Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.13And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out; and they met together by the pool of Gibeon, and sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. 14And Abner said to Joab: ‘Let the young men, I pray thee, arise and play before us.’ And Joab said: ‘Let them arise.’ 15Then they arose and passed over by number: twelve for Benjamin, and for Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 16And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together; wherefore that place was called a Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. 17And the battle was very sore that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.

1 Samuel 26:9 And David said to Abishai: ‘Destroy him not; for who can put forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless?’

Again, we find that Ephriam/Israel  rejecting Hashem’s anointed; 2 Samuel II 20 : 1Now there happened to be there a base fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew the horn, and said: ‘We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel.’ 2So all the men of Israel went up from following David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah did cleave unto their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.

Early in Jewish history, we have a division between Israel and Judah.

The rejection of David as King is likened to rejecting Hashem Moshiach.

How could this be?  Christians and Messianincs are rejecting Hashem’s Moshiach the House of David.

Judah is called the House of David.

What is the reason for rejecting Hashem Messiah?  They did not want the rulership of Judah and the Torah of Hashem. (Oral and Written Torah)

Do you understand the rebellion of this people? The Northern Kingdom wanted its own set of rulers and laws, along with its own set of priest.

So this is the beginning of rejecting Hashem’s lawgiver.

For Christians and Messianic this has nothing to do with Yeshu/Jesus/Yeshua. This has to do with not wanting to follow the biblical laws and Hashem’s lawgiver, Judah. The refusal to accept Hashem’s authority through the bet din and Hakahmim/Rabbis.

Quote: I am not going to listen to no Rabbis and I am not going to follow their oral law. Who do they think they are? 

One of the leaders of the Messianic movement, Tony Robinson of Restoration Ministries, told me, ” I am not going to follow the Jews because we do not have to become Jewish. I do not have to listen to their leadership because of we Ten Tribers know just as much as the Jews and have just as much to offer.” “If you think I am going to follow the Jews then our relationship is over. I will not follow the Jewish Laws or their Rabbi’s.” I have not spoken to Tony Robinson in years.

Do you see a problem began thousands of years ago?

Look at several translations:

WEB Psalm 60:7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is the defense of my head. Judah is my scepter.

Psalm 60:7Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;

ESV Psalm 108:8Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,
Judah my scepter.

KJV Psalm 108:8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of my head; Judah is my lawgiver;

Here, also is prophecy of Judah’s role in Hashem’s Kingdom;

Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.

Here what the Tanach says about the Northern Kingdom in Exile.

Psalm 78:67 Moreover He abhorred the tent of Joseph,
And chose not the tribe of Ephraim;
68 But chose the tribe of Judah.

Zechariah 10:6And I will strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will save the house of Joseph,
And I will bring them back, for I have compassion upon them,
And they shall be as though I had not cast them off;
For I am the LORD their God, and I will hear them.
7And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man,
And their heart shall rejoice as through wine;
Yea, their children shall see it,
And rejoice, their heart shall be glad in the LORD.
8I will hiss for them, and gather them,
For I have redeemed them;
And they shall increase as they have increased.
9And I will sow them among the peoples,
And they shall remember Me in far countries;
And they shall live with their children, and shall return.
10I will bring them back also out of the land of Egypt,
And gather them out of Assyria;
And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon;
And place shall not suffice them.
11And over the sea affliction shall pass,
And the waves shall be smitten in the sea,
And all the depths of the Nile shall dry up;
And the pride of Assyria shall be brought down,
And the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.
12And I will strengthen them in the LORD;
And they shall walk up and down in His name,
Saith the LORD.

What obedience to Hashem’s Moshiach have the Northern Kingdom had? Do they follow the authority of our Sages and Rabbis? 

Yes, I know. You’re going to say, “I follow Rabbi Yeshu/Jesus/Yeshua.” Well Yeshu/Jesus/Yeshua said, Matthew 23:1 “Then spoke Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2 Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 3 All therefore whatever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not you after their works: for they say, and do not. (How convenient is it for you to now be Kararite.) Nehemiah Gordon claims, it does not say that in the Hebrew Matthew. Again, how convenient.

I will remind you of what David our King said “1 Samuel 26:9 And David said to Abishai: ‘Destroy him not; for who can put forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless?’

Here is what a Messianic stated “It would have been wonderful if Judah had stayed true to her Elohim. But regretfully they didn’t. Look at the very next chapter, 2 Chronicles 12:1 “And it came to be when Rehoboam had established himself, that he forsook the Torah of Elohim, and all Israel (in this case, Judah) with him.” A little further, in vs 14: “And he (Rehoboam) did evil BECAUSE HE DID NOT PREPARE HIS HEART TO SEEK ELOHIM.”

Christians the Messianics, state that it is perfectly fine that the northern kingdom of Israel rebelled against Rehoboam because of his taxes. And his harsh treatment against the northern kingdom.

Are taxes a reason to disobey Hashem and His Mashiach?

You can not justify what the northern kingdom did no matter what rationalization you use.  King David’s words to us about a Messiah that did not follow Hashem’s word’s should be our example. David warned us not to reject Hashem’s anointed.

1 Samuel 26:9 And David said to Abishai: ‘Destroy him not; for who can put forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless?’ 

I Samuel 24:6 And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.7And he said unto his men: ‘The LORD forbid it me, that I should do this thing unto my lord, the LORD’S anointed, to put forth my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD’S anointed.’ 8So David checked his men with these words and suffered them not to rise against Saul.

The answer to this question is obvious, Ephriam is guilty of this, to this very day Ephriam as rejected  Hashem’s anointed. (Judah) 

Beresheit 49: 8 Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise;
Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies;
Thy father’s sons shall bow down before thee.
9Judah is a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, thou art gone up.
He stooped down, he couched as a lion,
And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?
10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
As long as men come to Shiloh;
And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.
So, you may say Shiloh has come, if you are Messianic/Christian. Mashiach has come in the way of Yeshu/Jesus/Yeshua. Well, Shiloh is a word that means peace.
What peace is there for us the Jewish people? 
Brown-Driver-Briggs

I. [שָׁלָה, שָׁלֵו] verb be quiet, at ease (Ecclus 47:13 שלוהprosperity, Ecclesiasticus 41:1c שליו prosperous, at ease;  be tranquil, quiet, ceaee; ᵑ7 שְׁלָא, שְׁלי be at ease, then be careless, thoughtless, go astray [for Hebrew שָׁגָה, שָׁגַג] Aph`el neglect (God, etc.), Biblical Aramaic ᵑ7 שָׁלוּ error; Arabic  () be. forgetful, neglectful, content, free (from anxiety)); —Qal 1. be, (have) quiet: Perfect1singular שָׁלַיְתִּי Job 3:26.

2 be at ease, prosper, of wicked, 3 plural שָׁלוּ Jeremiah 12:1; Lamentations 1:5, also Imperfect3masculine plural יִשְׁלָ֫יוּ (Ges§ 75u) Job 12:5, and (of good) Psalm 122:6 (יֵ֫שֶׁל Job 27:8 see II. שׁלח).

Niph`al Imperfect2masculine plural תִּשָּׁלוּ jussive 2 Chronicles 29:11 benot negligent (easy-going; German ‘bequem’).

Hiph`il Imperfect2masculine singular תַּשְׁלֶה jussive 2 Kings 4:28 do not mislead me (compare תְּכַזֵּב 2 Kings 4:16), strong Aramaism, whence Klo תַּשְׁגֶּה.

שׁלה, שׁלו (√ of following; Biblical Hebrew I. שׁלה (late)).

Do we have peace?

Devarim 32:21  They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

Who is this foolish nation?

This nation will be the northern kingdom of Israel who will be scattered among the nation and become mixed up with the nation. (i.e. Gentiles).

Exo 19:5  Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

Exo 19:6  And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Has this come to pass?

Jos 18:1  And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.

The purpose of Israel.

Deu 4:6  Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

Deu 4:7  For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

Deu 4:8  And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

Did Israel fell in this purpose?

Jdg 2:11  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:

Jdg 2:12  And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

Jdg 2:13  And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

How do we bring about a restoration of all those who claim to follow the GOD of Israel? This is going to come about when those among the nations turn to Judah and our Rabbis and our traditions.

At that time, the Levites were the legitimate authority in Torah and Temple worship. When the Northern Kingdom replaced them with men who had no right to be priests, the Levites were right to leave. They left apostate Northern Israel and joined themselves to Judah, who at that time, was following the God of Israel and Torah. It is similar to: “Come out of her (Babylon) My people.” They came out of her.

Do you know what percentage of Rabbi’s today and throughout the history of Israel are Kohens and Levites? (A large percentage today are Kohens and Levites).

Some claim that only Kohens and Levites were to be the teachers of Israel. 

Paul is not a Levite or Kohen and neither is Jesus and they are the leaders of Christianity and Messianic Judaism. Then how can this be the idea that only Levites are the true teachers of Torah as some claim?

 

DNA Chain of Tradition: Source ( http://www.cohen-levi.org/the_tribe/kohanim_forever.htm)

Years ago

  

3,300

 Aharon HaKohen—First Kohen Gadol, founder of the dynasty

3,250

Pinchas—Earned the kehuna/priesthood, identified as Eliyahu HaNavi.

2,900

Eli HaKohen—Kohen Gadol and judge at Shiloh, teacher of Shmuel HaNavi.

2,800

Tzadok—First Kohen Gadol of the First Temple, loyal to Kings David and Shlomo.

2,500

Yirmeyahu/Yechezkel—Major prophets.

2,400

Ezra HaSofer—Leader in the Babylonian exile, organized the return to the Second Temple.

2,350

Yehoshua HaKohen HaGadol—First Kohen Gadol of the Second Temple.

2,300

Shimon HaTzaddik—Kohen Gadol who met with Alexander the Great.

2,100

The Hasmonean Dynasty/Maccabees—Reinaugurated the Temple service, established Chanukah.

1,600

Abaye and Rabah—Amoraim of the Babylonian Talmud.

400

HaRav Shabtai bar Meir HaKohen (the Shach)—Commentary on the Shulchan Aruch.

100

HaRav Moshe Kalfon HaKohen—Scholar and leader of the ancient Kohanim community of Jerba, Tunisia.

80

Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaKohen Kagan (the Chofetz Chaim)—Leader of European Jewry, promoted Temple studies, particularly for Kohanim.

70

Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook—First Chief Rabbi of pre-state Israel.
Eliyahu HaNavi—Comes to prepare the final redemption, soon in our days.

Kohanim Forever: From the Sources

God’s promise to Aharon and his sons of continuity throughout all generations is mentioned repeatedly in the Written Torah, the Prophets, and the Oral Torah.

Torah: “Bring close Aharon your brother and his sons with him from among the children of Israel to become Kohanim/Priests to Me.” (Exodus 28:1) (Every use of the Hebrew word Li, “to me” is for all time—Midrash Gadol)

“and they shall have the Kehuna/Priesthood as a statute forever, and you shall consecrate Aharon and his sons.” (Exodus 29:9)

“And anoint them as you anointed their father, that they may serve Me, and it shall be for them an appointment to an everlasting Kehuna/Priesthood throughout their generations.” (Exodus 40:15)

“You and your sons with you shall keep your Kehuna/Priesthood, I give your Kehuna/Priesthood as a gift of service.” (Numbers 18:17)

“It is an everlasting covenant of salt before God with you and with your descendants.” (Numbers 18: 19)

“And it shall be to him and to his descendants after him a covenant of everlasting Kehuna/Priesthood.” (Numbers 25:13)

“For God your God has chosen him of all your tribes to stand and serve with the name of God he and his sons forever.” (Deuteronomy 18:5)

Prophets “The Kohanim, the Levites, the sons of Tzadok kept the charge of my Sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near to Me to serve Me and stand before Me to offer before Me the fat and the blood, says the L-rd, God.” (Ezekiel 44:15)

“For the Kohen’s lips shall keep knowledge, and Torah you shall seek from his mouth, for he is a messenger of God.” (Malachi 2:7)

“Behold I shall send to you Eliyahu the Prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of God.” (Malachi 3:21)

Mishna/Talmud “The Sanhedrin (high court) sat and judged the Kohanim, if no disqualifications were found, they made a holiday and proclaimed, “Blessed is God, that no disqualification was found in the descendants of Aharon, and blessed is He that chose Aharon and his sons to stand and serve before Him in the holy Temple.” (Mishna Middos 5:4)

“When the Holy One, blessed be He, will purify the tribes, the tribe of Levi will be purified first” (Gemara Kiddushin 71a)

Here many people try to say that Judah has somehow lost its authority because they had sinned. That they are no longer are Hashem’s lawgiver. I do not see anywhere in the Tanach where this has come to pass.

Here is a comment from a Messianic and a so-called learned person;

It would have been wonderful if Judah had stayed true to her Elohim. But regretfully they didn’t. Look at the very next chapter, 2 Chronicles 12:1 “And it came to be, when Rehoboam had established himself, that he forsook the Torah of Elohim, and all Israel (in this case, Judah) with him.” A little further, in vs 14: “And he (Rehoboam) did evil, BECAUSE HE DID NOT PREPARE HIS HEART TO SEEK ELOHIM.”
Now look at 2 Chronicles 10:15 “So the sovereign did not listen to the people, for the turn of events was from Elohim, in order for Yah to establish His word,….”
But, as in everything, you must read in context to know what’s really being said. Go back and read verses 1-15. The Northern Kingdom would have followed Rehoboam had he treated them as they would have wanted to be treated themselves. Instead, he chose to keep them in harsh bondage. What do you think Judah would have done were roles reversed?
Just like Pharaoh’s heart was hardened to enslave Elohim’s people, so was Rehoboam’s. And, in both instances, it was from Elohim.
Why did this happen? Look back at 1 Kings 11. Read the whole chapter. His father, Solomon, son of David, did evil in Elohim’s eyes by going after other gods. Therefore, the kingdom was torn from his son Rehoboam – except for Judah and Benjamin. Yes, this was from Elohim.

2 Chronicles 10:19 “Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.” House of David is synonymous with Judah. Just as the Levites were right then to leave Northern Israel, the house of Israel is right today not to come under the authority of the House of David. Why do I say that?
Matthew 21:42-43 “Yeshua said to them, (the Pharisees/Rabbis) ‘Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner-stone. THIS WAS FROM ELOHIM, and it is marvelous in our eyes. BECAUSE OF THIS I say to you: the reign of Elohim hall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits of it.” (In this case, Northern, dispersed, returning Israel, including some of Judah).

Again, why? “See! Your house is left to you desolate, for I say to you (Pharisees/Rabbis) from now on you shall by no means see Me, until you say, ‘Blessed is He who is coming in the Name of Yah!” Matthew 23:38-39; Psalms 118:26
So the statement that Judah kept worshipping according to Torah is a false statement. The Northern Kingdom was the first to leave Torah, but Judah was not far behind.
Elohim did not leave His Torah in the hands of a few men, making the majority dependent upon a few to be able to learn and therefore, keep Torah. Over and over and over the Scriptures read: “It is written”.
“But the anointing which you have received from Him stays in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as the same anointing does teach you concerning all, and is true, and is no falsehood, and even as it has taught you, you stay in Him.” 1 John 2:27

These are the words from the majority of Christians and Messianics as they continue to justify their actions against Jewish authority. Which, by the way was affirmed by the Nazarean in Matthew 23: 1Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

Please do not quote Neihimah Gordan and the so-called Hebrew Matthew because that is easy to dismiss. There are seven copies of the Hebrew Matthew and only one says what you want it to say and by the way, all the Greek copies and there are hundreds of handwritten copies say “3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do”.

What does History say about Judah and his faithfulness?

Do you know how many years after Rehoboam, Judah continued to serve Hashem? 

Rehoboam
928-911
Abijah/Abijam
911-908
Asa
908-867
Jehoshaphat
867-851
Jehoram/Joram
851-843
Ahaziah/Jehoahaz
843-842
Athaliah
842-836
Joash/Jehoash
836-799
Amaziah
799-786
Uzziah
786-758
Jotham
758-742
Ahaz
742-726
Hezekiah
726-697
Manasseh
697-642
Amon
642-640
Josiah
640-609
Jehoahaz
609-608
Jehoiakim/Eliakim
608-597
Jehoiachin
597
Zedekiah
597-587

 

Thus, Hirsch’s interpretation speaks of the three physical exiles from the Land. This should not be confused with the Four Monarchies: Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome, which subjugated Israel from the time when the Monarchy of Judah first fell into decline. The exile of the Ten Tribes is not commonly reckoned among the exiles because they are regarded as a rebellious offshoot, rather than as the essential part of the nation.

Part II to follow.

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Parashat Va’era -וָאֵרָ֗א

Parashat Va’era

Exodus 6 – 9

ב וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃

ג וָאֵרָ֗א אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־יִצְחָ֥ק וְאֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֖ב בְּאֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י וּשְׁמִ֣י יְהוָ֔ה לֹ֥א נוֹדַ֖עְתִּי לָהֶֽם׃

ד וְגַ֨ם הֲקִמֹ֤תִי אֶת־בְּרִיתִי֙ אִתָּ֔ם לָתֵ֥ת לָהֶ֖ם אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן אֵ֛ת אֶ֥רֶץ מְגֻרֵיהֶ֖ם אֲשֶׁר־גָּ֥רוּ בָֽהּ׃

(2) And God spoke unto Moses, and said unto him: ‘I am the LORD; (3) and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name ….a I made Me not known to them.

The words of Hashem as the “ וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃ (3) וָאֵרָ֗א אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־יִצְחָ֥ק וְאֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֖ב בְּאֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י וּשְׁמִ֣י יְהוָ֔ה לֹ֥א נוֹדַ֖עְתִּי לָהֶֽם׃ ” are a secret, that is revealed in the names of the El of Abraham, El of Isaac, El of Yaacov.

The world was built on love/chesed and brought into a place of chaos and then rectification. These three things are the foundations of the world.
So many of us are like a child of three years old and our love and faithful obedience toward those we love is blind and untrained. We see the world as a child. We are nieve and unable to see around the corners.
Many are like Yosef at the age of seventeen, immature and unable to be directed, because we know everything, and our goals and dreams must be first, and primary to all others wishes and objectives. Our careers are what we are chasing, and Hashem will have to wait, until I am ready, to hear from Him. The one chasing this world does not need direction from above, to find the way below. Do you remember seventeen and know everything?
Wo, are my grey hairs, for I am a man of eighty.  With much strength, and wisdom, to bring stability, and balance to the world.  But the world has passed me by because it has failed in its own self-portrait. Like Moses, sent at eighty to free a people that were destined to be great but had to be strengthened in the fire of Egypt, in that narrow place. Moses was eighty, you see?
The world has not given to those in need. The world has not helped the ones, who need help the most. The world has not forgiven the ones that need forgiveness, the guilty have lost hope of ever being forgiven. We all have sought honor for ourselves, and everything given, must have something in return, to give to me, or it is not worth my time or effort.  There must be a reward for everything, I do.
Remember, that you were once in that same state, of not knowing. Like a child and then young, looking for a friend to help you overcome the ordeal you were standing in. Empathy was looking to find a home, but you were hurt, and offended, by someone’s words, and could not give, or share a kind word of support.
You see, loving kindness built this world, and judgment will one day have its place. Abraham taught us this lesson when asked Hashem, to save the wicked along with the righteous in that place. Isaac was not offended when the wells of his father were covered up and no longer provided living water to those who needed it. Great love, have they, who love your Torah and nothing shall offend them.
Can you not see, that the world is not a place of sin and punishment, but a place to grow, and to become like the El of Abraham, the El of Isaac and the El of Yaacov. A place of chesed, strength, and truth, all working together. Everyone working as a crew, together, to bring us to the mountain of Hashem to serve Him there. To do and to hear. That was the plan. On that day Hashem will be One and His name will be  ONE.
Hashem gave Israel a free gift in Egypt. As He defeated the Egyptians through His ten emunations and then He took us out to the place of words, and then told us, now you must do it yourselves. You must defeat, this world.

 

 

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Parashat Shemot

Parashat Shemot

Exodus 1 – 6

א וְאֵ֗לֶּה שְׁמוֹת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הַבָּאִ֖ים מִצְרָ֑יְמָה אֵ֣ת יַעֲקֹ֔ב אִ֥ישׁ וּבֵית֖וֹ בָּֽאוּ׃

ברְאוּבֵ֣ן שִׁמְע֔וֹן לֵוִ֖י וִיהוּדָֽה׃

ג יִשָּׂשכָ֥ר זְבוּלֻ֖ן וּבְנְיָמִֽן׃

ד דָּ֥ן וְנַפְתָּלִ֖י גָּ֥ד וְאָשֵֽׁר׃

 

My thoughts this week in the Torah Portion comes from a lecture I heard from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks where he states ”

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Exodus 3, 11

Parashat Shemot

“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” said Moshe to God. “And how can I possibly get the Israelites out of Egypt?” On the surface the meaning is clear. Moshe is asking two things. The first: who am I, to be worthy of so great a mission? The second: how can I possibly succeed?

God never answered the first question. Perhaps in a strange way, Moshe answered himself. In Tanakh as a whole, the people who turn out to be the most worthy are the ones who deny they are worthy at all. Through a close examination of the text, we can understand Moshe’s question leading to a deeper exploration of worthiness and identity. ”

Who am I?

Seventeen years ago, I began a journey, and I still do not know where it will take me. As Rabbi Sacks spoke in his lecture on the question Moshe had, concerning, who was He/Moshe? I could identify with the book of Shemot, and I gathered a greater insight into my own question of, who am I? People often ask me, why do you care so much about where you come from? Why does it matter so much about your heritage? You were not born Jewish and you have lived as an Egyptian and a Midianite, in a place, so far away from Judaism.

Moses to was raised as a prince in Egypt, and removed from the Jewish people. Moshe was known as an Egyptian raised by an Egyptian princess in the palace of Pharoah. Moshe was also known as a Midianite, who was married to a Midianite priest’s daughter. Shemot 2:21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man; and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. 22 And she bore a son, and he called’ his name Gershom; for he said: ‘I have been as a stranger in a strange land.’

Moshe was never raised with the Jewish people. He never suffered or understood their thoughts and ways. Moshe did not even know if they would accept him as a Jew. I have the same question and experience.

Rabbi Sacks spoke of the similarities between Moshe and Ruth.  Just like Moshe and Ruth, I felt as a stranger in a place not my own. Just like Moshe, I was born a Jew, but I did not belong to the Jewish people. I looked like an Egyptian and acted like an Egyptian. I did not grow up Jewish, therefore, I did not belong to the Jewish people. Ruth was not Jewish by birth and therefore she did not belong to the Jewish people but both knew when they identified with the suffering and the hardship they saw and they could not walk away from the suffering of the Jewish people.

I constantly hear in Christian and Messianic chatter, that, the Jews are lacking what Christian and Messianics have. That, they have some insight given to them because of Yeshua or Jesus and the so-called New Testament. That the Jews are going to be fooled in the end and follow a false Messiah because of their lack of seeing what they see. That the Temple is a Synagogue of Satan or the Jews have the Temple mount in the wrong place. That the oral law is made up and can not be trusted.  Many of these people are Jewish or identify as Jews.  Yet, they still have this idea that because of their knowledge and belief in the Nazarean they have a superior knowledge over the Jewish sages and rabbis.

In last weeks Torah portion Parashat Va’yehi, one would be lost without the oral tradition. Genesis Chapter 49 Verse 1
(1) And Jacob called unto his sons and said: ‘Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days. (2) Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; And hearken unto Israel your father. Just a straightforward reading of these two passages do not make sense without the irrevocable connection between the written and oral tradition. Ya’acov says nothing about what is going to happen to them and then gives them some obscure blessings, that really are not blessings at all if you look at them.

With that in mind, the oral traditions, and the plight of the Jewish people, the future redemption, the suffering and birth pangs to come. The Redeemer, the land of Israel, the proper understanding of the Tanach. Who is the Messiah? With all that said, “I have been a stranger in a strange land.’ Like Moshe, I could have been content living the life of an Egyptian/Midianite. Shemot 2:21  “And Moses was content to dwell with the man”.  Moshe could have lived the life of a prince in Egypt in the palace of Pharoah. Or stayed in the land of Midian. As Rabbi Sacks said, “that was where he was at, but that is not who he was”. But Moshe could not stay in either place after seeing the suffering of his people. I can no longer stay in the same place either after seeing such hatred for Jewish people.

But who was Moshe? He was not Jewish because he was not raised Jewish. He did not know the suffering of the Jew. He could not identify with their history. He was raised as an Egyptian Prince and lived forty years as an Egyptian.  Moshe spent forty years as a Midianite Shepherd and was content to live there. Moshe spent eighty years as someone other than a Jew. But, had he not been moved because of who he was who knows what his destiny might have been.

He asked Hashem “who am I”.

I too have been troubled by my own place in the Jewish world. Who am I? My grandfather is a Cohen from Mexico and I am the great-grandson of Moshe and Aaron. My mother told me, that her parents told her, not to tell anyone that they were Jewish. I am hated by my own family because I identify myself as Jewish. Moshe and Aaron, they are my grandfather’s, yet I do not know the slightest thing about the Jewish way of life and plight and suffering because I have not lived with them.

I just know that when Christians and Messianics find out, that I am Jewish, and do not believe the way they do. I can see the suffering of my people in their eyes. I can see the disdain, and pity, and feeling of sorrow they have toward the Jewish people.They believe that we are cut off from Hashem and His promises and that we are, as my cousin Messianic Rabbi Dr. Dennis Otero, says ” John 15;16  If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned “.  (see Jeremiah 11:16-17) He says that we are not part of the so-called new covenant. That we have no authority, what so ever, in Jewish law, and that, the “believers” took the place of Rabbis.

It was at the fire of the burning bush, that Moshe found his answer to, “who am I”? The burning bush is connected to Mount Sinai and there the Jewish people also found Hashem in the fire of the mountain. Hashem told Moshe, “they will know who sent you because “I will be with you”. (Not, I am, that I am” The Christian Bible misquotes the Hebrew every time in this passage)

Who I am, is where you will find, me. Shemot 2:11 “And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren”.

In last weeks portion, Ya’acov told the sons of Israel to gather themselves as one man. As, in the Sephardi way, no reform, no Conservative, no Orthodox, just Jews. That is who I am.

I too am asking Hashem, “who am I to go”

Hashem has sent me to tell the Jewish people, to tell them,  stop the baseless hatred and the indifference for each other. I will not be around you because you are not Jewish enough. I am happy where I am and I don’t need anyone else outside those who think like me.

Hear what Ya’acov our forefather said, Ezekiel 37 : (18) And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying: Wilt thou not tell us what thou meanest by these? (19) say into them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them unto him together with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand. (20) And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes. (21) And say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land; (22) and I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all; (23) neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling-places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them; so shall they be My people, and I will be their God. (24) And My servant David shall be king over them, and they all shall have one shepherd; they shall also walk in Mine ordinances, and observe My statutes, and do them. (25) And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My servant, wherein your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children’s children, for ever; and David My servant shall be their prince for ever. (26) Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them—it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will establish them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for ever. (27) My dwelling-place also shall be over them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (28) And the nations shall know that I am the LORD that sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for ever.’

I will not stand with a people who claim, the Jews are blind, and they do not know the Messiah, and they are harlots, and teach an oral and written law that is man-made, and leads to destruction. The Torah is over and done. The New Testament is better. The Rabbi’s have no authority and we don’t follow men.

Yosef never spoke one word to his father about what his brothers did to him. Who is Messiah? 

House of The Water Pouring