Magazine Articles http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/ An online archive containing articles published in First Fruits of Zion Magazines en Copyright 2008 Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:16:18 +0200 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The New Moon (Excerpts Condensed from Torah Club Volume Five) The first day of the biblical month is called Rosh Chodesh (ראש חדש), which literally means 'a new head' and is understood to mean the 'first of the New Month.' A Rosh Chodesh occurs when the first crescent of the New Moon appears in the sky. Note that the biblical Rosh Chodesh is not the same as the English "New Moon." Rather the Rosh Chodesh moon is ordinarily the first visible crescent of the new lunar cycle. The middle of the biblical month is a full moon. The end of the biblical month occurs when the moon disappears completely from the sky. Most of the Ancient Near East determined their calendars according to the lunar phases. In that regard, Israel was not unique. In the Torah, the commandment of identifying and declaring the new moon was addressed only to Moses and Aaron (Exodus 12). Were it addressed to the entire community, the determination of the calendar would be arbitrary and subject to all sorts of discrepancies. For that reason, this commandment has always been regarded as a function of the Sanhedrin, i.e. the leadership of Israel.1 However, in the Fourth Century, the Roman government officially forbade the Sanhedrin from convening and determining the New Moon. The Jewish community throughout the diaspora was left to their own devices for determining the calendar. The result was uncertainty over festival days, discord between communities and general chaos. A cloudy day could change the day one celebrates Passover! As a result, the method of determining the moon by observation alone fell into disuse. Astronomical projections were made to fix the calendar in advance. Rabbi Hillel II created a fixed calendar that all Israel could use. The advent of the Rosh Chodesh is customarily announced in the synagogue on the Shabbat before it occurs. This tradition arose in ancient times as a means of keeping the community informed about the biblical calendar. A special congregational prayer, petitioning God for a good month, accompanies the announcement of the day on which the New Moon will occur.
May it be Your will, LORD, our God and the God of our fathers that You make new this month upon us for goodness and for blessing. May You give us a long life--a life of peace; a life of goodness; a life of blessing; a life of sustenance; a life of physical health; a life in which there is fear of heaven and fear of sin; a life in which there is no shame nor humiliation; a life of wealth and honor; a life in which we will have love of Torah, fear of God; a life in which the LORD fulfills our heartfelt requests for the good. Amen, Selah. (Shabbat Petition of the coming New Month)
Although the New Moon is an appointed time, it is not a Sabbath, nor is there a commandment to assemble on it for a 'holy convocation.' We know from the book of 1 Samuel that King Saul used to hold a two-day banquet on the New Moon.2 We know that the prophets taught on the Sabbaths and New Moons.3 Shofars were sounded on the New Moon.4 In the Messianic kingdom to come, "it shall be from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me," says the LORD. (Isaiah 66:23) According to some traditions, the New Moon is a holiday for women. The Jerusalem Talmud reports that women are given the extra holiday on which they are to be free from their usual duties as a reward for not contributing their jewelry to the golden calf project.5 Fathers and husbands may be wise to take on an extra load of duties on the New Moon to give their daughters and wives a break. For believers, the celebration of the new moons carries great significance. Not only are they calendar events, but also the cycle of the moons speaks to the new birth and recreation which is ours in Messiah. Just as the moon is born again, we are renewed in Messiah. It is the festival of the born again. calendars.png
Endnotes

1. Various splinter groups such as the Essenes and Kararites determined their own calendars independently of the Sanhedrin, but in so doing, they severed themselves from the broader community and eventually made themselves irrelevant. For information on why we do not reckon the calendar by observation or by the karaite methods (such as barley ripening) see our white-papers on the subject at http://ffoz.org/downloads/white_papers/ entitled "Unprofitable and Worthless" and "Lunar Calendar and Aviv Barley."
2. 1 Samuel 20
3. 2 Kings 4:23
4. Psalm 81:3
5. j.Taanit 64c

]]> http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/appointed_times/the_new_moon.php http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/appointed_times/the_new_moon.php Appointed Times myffoz new moon Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:16:18 +0200 A Biblical Worldview Think Biblically!
When we begin with a right view of Scripture, the Bible itself ought to shape what we believe from start to finish. It should govern how we behave. It should frame our entire perspective on life. In other words, if we simply start by affirming what the Bible says about itself, the rest of our worldview should fall into place, with the Bible as the source and touchstone of all we believe. So this is a crucial, foundational starting point in developing a Christian worldview. 1
Yes! We agree. This is where it starts. The unchanging words of Adonai that declare His character and righteousness have not changed nor will they. His Divine message is as applicable today for us as it was to the original recipients. MacArthur goes onto say,
Perhaps the one doctrine most under attack in the church of our generation is the sufficiency [and role] of Scripture…2 The first title for Scripture is “the Law” the Hebrew word torah, which basically means divine teaching. It points to the didactic of teaching nature of Scripture. In the Scriptures, God dispenses true doctrine to humanity, concerning what we should believe, what kind of character we should cultivate, and how we ought to live. The torah is God’s teaching for every area of life.3
Me-tzu-yan! 4 Yet, as we have attempted to re-establish the authority Scripture in our lives by submitting to the commands of Adonai, there has been a bombardment against the foundation 5 of this timeless message. These authors are facing a constant contradiction. On one hand they unite in the call to return to Scripture; yet, they are also vigilant in their united voice that the Torah has been done away with and is no longer applicable to believers in the Messiah Yeshua.6 Many misconceptions of the Scriptures exist today that continue to hinder the return to Torah as Adonai’s covenant of love and mercy for His people. FFOZ continues to work toward a proper understanding of the Torah and to proclaim this message with boldness to the world. Our attempts are not simply limited to the re-establishment of the role and value of the Torah, but that of the whole of Scripture. Therefore if your theology, hermeneutics, or approach to Scripture allows you to disregard a section of God’s revelation, you have opened a door to place your intellect against God’s eternal wisdom. This door can only be shut by the uncompromising belief that the whole of Scripture is valuable for teaching, correction, instruction and rebuke–and is able to bring us to Salvation.7 I know that there are people who are challenged by the direction of our organization (the goal being the re-establishment the Torah in the life of the redeemed people of God). This challenge is uncomfortable, it hurts, and the thought of drastic theological change is overwhelming. Yet, it is our call and responsibility to be faithful to God’s ways, not our own. FFOZ desires to graciously call people back to the authority of Scripture, present a consistent message of the Gospel, and reveal through our lives and teachings a humble, simple faith of submission to the Scriptures. I ask for your prayers. Pray for this organization and the new material we produce.
Endnotes
1. Think Biblically–Recovering a Christian Worldview, pg 21. Crossway Books 2. Ibid pg. 22 3. Ibid pg. 29 4. Hebrew word meaning, “Excellent!” 5. The Torah serves as the foundation of biblical life, truth, and application. This is supported by Yeshua’s life and message. 6. This is a broad generalization, but characteristic of many general feelings regarding the Torah. 7. 2 Timothy 3:16]]> http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/editorial/a_biblical_worldview.php http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/editorial/a_biblical_worldview.php Editorial myffoz Tue, 01 Nov 2005 18:46:37 +0200 Rosh Chodesh The New Moon Celebration
“For just as the new heavens and the new earth which I make will endure before Me,” declares Adonai, ”So your offspring and your name will endure. And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from sabbath to sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says Adonai. –Isaiah 66:22–23
Most of us avoid horoscopes and astrological signs since they are contrary to a biblical lifestyle–and are often even dangerous.1 But has the enemy so polluted them that our heavenly Father wants us to ignore the heavenly bodies altogether? That seems unlikely, since during the Millennium–while the Master Himself tabernacles among us–our lives will revolve around the Sabbath, 2 New Moon 3 and Feast of Booths. 4 In this study, we will look at some specifics about an often-overlooked celebration, New Moon, or pronounced in Hebrew as Rosh Chodesh. This teaching 5 will also be followed by some suggestions of how to apply this festival to our own lives.

To Sanctify the New Moon6

According to the Sages, it is a positive commandment incumbent upon the Sanhedrin or sole authority over Israel (i.e., Messiah) to determine the new month by sanctifying the New Moon. The biblical calendar is a lunar calendar. The first day of the biblical month is called Rosh Chodesh (ראש חדש), which literally translates from Hebrew as, “Head of the Renewed.” A Rosh Chodesh occurs when the first crescent of the New Moon appears in the sky. Note that the biblical Hebrew rendering of Rosh Chodesh does not clearly translate to the English rendering to mean ‘New Moon.’ However, the ‘Head of the Renewed’ has been understood as the beginning of the new lunar cycle, which is ordinarily marked by the first visible crescent of the New Moon. In ancient times, the Rosh Chodesh crescent moon was determined by observation. Fixed calendars were not in use except among certain sectarians. Therefore it was necessary for Israel to have consensus on when the New Moon occurred; otherwise those who lived in different areas or were less careful in their observations of the sky would have had calendars that were out of synchronization. This issue was especially crucial in Exodus 12, since God was about to give the whole community of Israel several date-specific commandments. Consider the situation with the Israelite community in Egypt. If one group of Israelites believed that the New Moon should be calculated differently, or if another group had missed sighting the moon the first night and therefore were off by only one day, it could have been disastrous. Their houses would not have been marked with the blood on the appropriate night. They would have missed the Passover and the Exodus from Egypt. For this reason, the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, “This chodesh (renewal) shall be the beginning of months for you…” (Exodus 12:2) He thereby determined the first day of the month, synchronizing the community’s calendar. The commandment to determine the first day of the month by sighting and declaring the New Moon is called ‘the sanctification of the New Moon.’ It is referred to as ‘sanctification’ because the New Moon, when declared, is set apart. It is a semi-festive day with special Temple rituals. The implied commandment of sanctifying the New Moon is addressed only to Moses and Aaron. Were it addressed to the entire community, the determination of the calendar would be arbitrary and subject to all sorts of discrepancies. For that reason, this commandment has always been regarded as a function of the Sanhedrin, i.e., the leadership of Israel. The Mishnah 7 details the ceremony the Sanhedrin used to sanctify the New Moon. Witnesses who sighted the New Moon crescent traveled immediately to the Sanhedrin (Jerusalem, Yavneh, etc.). The members of the Sanhedrin would cross-examine the witnesses to ensure that they had indeed sighted the New Moon. Then they would declare, “It is sanctified.” Word would be passed to the rest of Israel by signal fires and messengers that the new month had begun.

Calendars

However, in the Fourth Century, the Roman government forbade the Sanhedrin from convening and determining the New Moon. The Jewish community throughout the diaspora was left to their own devices for determining the calendar. The result was uncertainty over festival days, discord between communities and general chaos. A cloudy day that rendered the first crescent ‘unsightable’ could change the day of Passover observance! As a result, the method of determining the moon by observation alone fell into disuse. Astronomical projections were made to fix the calendar in advance. Rabbi Hillel II created a fixed calendar for all Israel to use. Therefore, most people today believe that until a court of law with authority over all Israel is reconvened, the calendar of Rabbi Hillel II is the standard for determining New Moons, biblical months and the biblical festivals. It is not a perfect system, and occasionally discrepancies arise between the biblically calculated calendar date and the moon’s actual phase. There remains debate even in our generation as to what to do: follow the moon’s phases and disregard the established calendar, or identify with greater Judaism and celebrate according to the calendar set in place by Israel’s recognized authorities. We are left in limbo until the great King and Authority over all Israel arises to correct it. This will happen when the soles of Yeshua’s blessed feet rest again upon the Mount of Olives. In that day, the commandment originally given to Moses and Aaron to sanctify the New Moon will be flawlessly and accurately reinstated.

Kiddush Levanah and Messianic Celebrations

Each Torah community that has returned to sighting and honoring the New Moon has their prerogative to celebrate as they see fit. If we believe that God’s appointed times are indeed His appointments given to Israel, then it is this writer’s opinion that those appointments should be celebrated along with all Israel, not independent of the greater People of God. After all, we are all adopted sons by the same Father. His family is called Israel. Many creative ways of remembering the commandment to sanctify the New Moon (without attempting to fulfill it) have arisen in Messianic and mainstream Jewish practice. Within Judaism, an additional prayer service called Kiddush Levanah (“Sanctification of the Moon”) has been established. It is usually performed several days after the New Moon has appeared, but before the first quarter is complete. Typically it is done after the first havdalah (closing service of Shabbat) following the New Moon’s appearance. The standard liturgy and instruction for the Kiddush Levanah appears in most Siddurim. There is a special quality to this moonlit prayer service. It is replete with dancing, singing and Messianic imagery. It is not, however, a New Moon service and should not be thought of as a declaration of the New Month. It is only performed as a remembrance of the original sanctification of the moon. In many communities people set apart the New Moon by assembling for special prayer meetings or small group studies on the first evening of the biblical month. Others host small celebrations, reminiscent of the mini-feasts that King Saul held on the New Moon. These are times of gladness. All of these constitute good and creative ways to commemorate the mitzvah of sanctifying the New Moon.
Endnotes
1. Deuteronomy 4:19 2. Isaiah 66:23 3. Isaiah 66:23 4. Zechariah 14:16–17 5. The first segment of this article draws heavily from the commentaries of Torah Club Five. 6. See Exodus 12:2 7. m. Rosh Hashanah ]]> http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/appointed_times/rosh_chodesh.php http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/appointed_times/rosh_chodesh.php Appointed Times free passover Sun, 04 Sep 2005 15:46:45 +0200 In the Shadow of the Almighty The Feast of Sukkot and the Transfiguration
Enter, exalted and holy guests, enter exalted holy patriarchs to be seated…In the shade of the Holy One, Blessed is He…In Sukkot you shall dwell, be seated, exalted guests, be seated; be seated, guests of faithfulness, be seated. (Ushpizin Liturgy for Sukkot)
In the Gospels, the Master tells His disciples that “some will not taste death” before seeing Him come in His glory. This is a problem. Assuredly, all twelve of the disciples tasted death, and the Master has not yet come in His glory. He told them this just after dashing all their hopes to the ground. Without riddles or parables, Yeshua told them forthrightly that His plan was to go up to Jerusalem, to be arrested, to suffer, to die and to rise again. This news was terribly frightening to the disciples; it didn’t seem to make any logical sense. They anticipated the Kingdom of Messiah to come with gratuitous displays of power. They expected Messiah to wrest back the throne of David. In contrast, Yeshua told them to expect arrest, suffering and death. However, lest they lose heart completely, he spoke of a time yet coming “…when [the Son of Man] comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38) Magnificent glory and holy angels are more of what one would hope for from a Messianic advent. Perhaps the disciples asked, “When? When will this happen? How soon?” Yeshua responded with another cryptic and troubling answer. He said, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” (Mark 9:1) It must be significant that the Gospel narrative immediately proceeds to set apart three disciples from the twelve. The Zavdai brothers (James and John) along with Shimon Peter are taken up onto the high mountain and given an amazing encounter with the Master in His glory. Are we to understand that these three disciples were granted a foretaste of the “Kingdom of God, come with power”?

The Coming Kingdom

Each year, we disciples of Yeshua experience a similar foretaste of the ‘Kingdom of God’ in the annual celebration of the festival of Sukkot (סכות, Tabernacles). The Hebrew word sukkah means “a small shelter, stable or hut.” These temporary, tent-like structures are often translated as “tabernacles” in our English Bibles. Sukkot is simply plural for sukkah. It is so named because Israel is commanded to annually build such dwelling places as reminders of the years when they lived in huts and booths, following God in the wilderness. [1] Many beautiful traditions are attached to the annual festival of Sukkot. For example, it is traditional to invite guests into one’s sukkah for a festive meal each night of Sukkot. Among the list of invitees are: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David. Each one is specifically invited to come into the sukkah. A chair is set at the sukkah table for one of these exalted guests each night of the festival. Obviously, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David are all unlikely to actually attend the meal, since they are all physically dead. That, however, is the point of the ritual. The Feast of Sukkot anticipates the Messianic Age [2] when the dead will be raised to life again and we will all, indeed, sit at the table with the aforementioned in the Kingdom of Heaven. Sukkot celebrates a time when all nations will ascend to Jerusalem bearing tribute to King Messiah, and each man will rest under his own vine and fig tree. Interestingly, the Gospel’s descriptions of the transfiguration of Messiah are layered with Sukkot imagery.

The High Mountain

He took them upon a high mountain. The traditional location of the Mount of Transfiguration is Mount Tabor. However, Mount Tabor was populated, and it even boasted military fortifications during the First Century. It could hardly have been the lonely and isolated high mountain of the Gospels. Additionally, the Gospels set the context of the story in Caesarea Philippi which lies at the base of Mount Hermon, but is far from Mount Tabor. The geography of the story dictates the interpretation. Snow capped Mount Hermon is the high mountain of Caesarea Philippi. While at Caesarea Philippi, Yeshua had deeply alarmed His disciples with His talk of suffering and dying in Jerusalem. Their paradigmatic expectation of Messiah as a military and political conqueror prevented them from seeing Yeshua for who He truly was. On arriving in the region of Mount Hermon, He asked them pointedly, “Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27) “Some say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets,” they replied, but on the high mountain, they would learn that He is greater than Elijah, even greater than Moses. He is more than a prophet.

Moses and Elijah

He took the three disciples up the mountain with Him. There they beheld Him in His Father’s glory. The text of Mark literally says, “He was transfigured before them.” (Mark 9:2) A metamorphosis is the process of substantially changing (or transfiguring) from one physical state to another. They saw Him in a form and a state in which they had never before seen Him. Their eyes were opened to His glory. “His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.” (Mark 9:3) Moses and Elijah both appeared with the Master as the requisite two witnesses. [3] They are metonyms for the Torah and the Prophets respectively. Moses, of course, recorded the Torah, and as the archetypal prophet, Elijah represents the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures. In that sense, Moses and Elijah can be understood to represent the testimony of the whole Tanakh. Yeshua refers to this testimony frequently. [4] The Midrash Rabbah anticipates Moses and Elijah to herald the advent of Messiah: [5]
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “Moses, by your life, just as you have given your soul for Israel in This World, so in the Future to Come, when I bring them the prophet Elijah, the two of you will come as one… In that hour [Moses] will come and comfort Israel… (Deuteronomy Rabbah 3:17)
In terms of life and death, Moses and Elijah form an interesting pair. Whereas Moses died, Elijah did not. In the story told in 2 Kings 2, he was swept into the sky in a whirlwind. Because he never died, he frequently makes cameo appearances in Jewish literature and folktales. One never knows when Elijah might show up. A place is set for him at the Passover table, and a chair is usually prepared for him at the circumcision ritual lest he should pop in. Elijah did not “taste death.” The presence of Moses (who died) and Elijah (who did not die) on the high mountain with Yeshua constitutes testimony from both the living and the dead. Messiah is “Lord both of the dead and the living.” (Romans 14:9)

Three Sukkot

Shimon Peter awkwardly suggests they should build shelters, סכות (sukkot) for the three men. Mark parenthetically comments on Shimon Peter’s awkward suggestion by saying, “He did not know what to answer, for they became terrified.” (Mark 9:6) There is a ring of authenticity in Mark’s comment. It is the type of thing one might expect to hear in an anecdotal retelling of the events where Shimon Peter was present. We can almost hear Shimon Peter’s voice as he tells Mark the story, “I didn’t know what to say! We were terrified.

What would you say?”

The Hebrew word for shelter, as noted above, is sukkah. Isn’t it amazing that the Jewish tradition to invite guests into the sukkah at the Feast of Sukkot includes the invitation of notable personages from the Hebrew Scriptures? In traditional Judaism, Moses himself is annually invited to enter the sukkah. How strange it must have been for Peter to find himself living this ritual out by offering to build sukkot for Moses and Elijah. Mark tells us, “Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: ‘This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him!’” (Mark 9:7) The voice from the cloud is meant for the benefit of Shimon Peter, James and John (and of course all the rest of us who read their story). The voice addressed them directly and explicitly declared Yeshua to be Messiah, Son of God, the Beloved One, the Prophet like Moses to whose words they must listen. Their hopes were not in vain. They were following the right man–even if it meant following him to Jerusalem, arrest, suffering and death.

The Feast of Clouds

Amazingly, the Cloud of Glory is also associated with the Festival of Sukkot. Based upon the Aramaic version of the Torah, some of the Sages referred to the Feast of Sukkot as the Feast of the Clouds, specifically the Cloud of Glory that sheltered Israel in the wilderness. The Talmud records one opinion that the Sukkot in which the Israelites of the wilderness lived were none other than the Cloud of Glory which went before the hosts of Israel.
R. Eliezer said, “It has been taught: ‘I had the Israelites live in Sukkot,’ These Sukkot were clouds of glory.” (Sukkah 11b)
This association is based on the Aramaic translations of the Torah. The Targums translate the Hebrew sukkah (סכה) with a word than can actually mean “clouds” (מטליא, metalaya). The double meaning of the Aramaic word led the Sages to interpret the structures of the Feast of Booths as symbols for the Cloud of Glory (i.e. the Divine Presence) that overshadowed Israel in the wilderness. In the transfiguration narrative, the Cloud of Glory appears immediately after Shimon Peter offers to build three sukkot. If we were Aramaic speakers, the connection between the sukkot, the Feast of Sukkot, and the Cloud of Glory would be more obvious. In addition, the interpretation equating the sukkah and the Cloud of Glory may stem partly from Isaiah 4 where the prophet Isaiah invokes sukkot imagery when he speaks of Messianic Jerusalem.
Then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. There will be a sukkah to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain. (Isaiah 4:5, 6)
Isaiah’s cloud over the New Jerusalem is obviously borrowed from the Torah’s wilderness narratives. He calls it a sukkah. Thus the wilderness Cloud of Glory that led Israel through the desert, rested on Mount Sinai, and filled the Tabernacle is specifically connected with both the festival of Sukkot and the Messianic Age to come.

Some Will Not Taste Death

What did the Master mean when He said, “Some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Kingdom of God come with power”? The three who ascended the high mountain actually did see the Master basking in the Father’s power and glory. In a sense, these three disciples were granted a foretaste of the “Kingdom of God, come with power” because they saw the King in His splendor, clothed in the power and the glory to be revealed when He comes. They experienced a miniature version of that coming day and hour, annually rehearsed in the rituals of the festival of Sukkot. Similarly, it is our privilege, year after year, to celebrate Sukkot, building our sukkot, inviting guests, and anticipating that day when we will see the Son of Man revealed in His Father’s glory. In that day, we will no longer taste death.
Endnotes
1. Leviticus 23:42–43 2. See Zechariah 14:16 and Torah Club Volume Two pp. 438–439 3. Deuteronomy 19:15 4. For example, see Luke 24:27. 5. This midrash adds to the common theory that Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses of Revelation 11.]]> http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/appointed_times/in_the_shadow_of_the_almighty.php http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/appointed_times/in_the_shadow_of_the_almighty.php Appointed Times myffoz Sun, 04 Sep 2005 15:28:38 +0200 Restoring that which was lost! Torah for Christians Torah is for Christians. The proof is that Christians keep Torah. You may not be entirely aware of it, but it is true. Just by living the Christian life, you are keeping most of the Torah. It is pretty obvious when you think it over. Consider the Ten Commandments, for example. Things like honoring one’s father and mother, marital fidelity and basic honesty are all commandments of Torah. The commands to love your neighbor as yourself, care for the orphan and widow, look after the poor and extend a helping hand to a brother in need–those are all precepts of Torah. Prohibitions on violence, injustice, theft, homicide, sexual deviancy and occult practices are all examples of the basic moral statutes that comprise the laws of Torah. Faith, grace, repentance, confession, prayer and baptism are all found in the Torah, too. The things that define Christian life are Torah-based. For the most part, the Christian life is one of Torah lived out. True, there are a lot of commandments in the Torah that are not part of the normal Christian life. For example, there are the numerous animal sacrifices of the Temple worship system. Christians don’t bring sacrifices. But wait! Did you know that the Torah forbids us to bring sacrifices? According to the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, sacrifices can only be made at the Temple in Jerusalem. [3] There has not been a Temple in Jerusalem since the days of the Apostles. It would be a sin to offer animal sacrifices today. The Bible says so. Therefore, every time we do not offer up burnt offerings in our backyard, we are keeping a commandment of the Torah: the commandment not to offer a sacrifice outside of the Temple in Jerusalem. Similarly, the strict measures of Torah justice–stoning and the like–are not applicable unless one is in the Land of Israel under the authority of a duly ordained Torah court of law like the Sanhedrin. Since there has not been a functional Sanhedrin wielding civil authority in almost 2,000 years, there has not been a capital case tried in just as long. As much as we might sometimes like to stone someone, the Torah forbids us from vigilante justice of that sort. Most of the laws of Torah that Christians do not keep are laws that do not apply to us in the modern world. This is not to say that those laws are irrelevant or done away with, but under current circumstances, they cannot be practiced. Meanwhile, Christians are busily keeping the weighty matters of the Torah all over the world. Christianity has spread the faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to all nations. Christians everywhere are working to see justice done, to see the oppressed relieved, to see the hungry fed and to see the Kingdom of God advanced. Christians are famous for offering care and assistance to the stranger, orphan and widow. The world may not want to admit it, but Christians are known for their high level of integrity, their moral character and their scrupulous honesty. The Church has some dark chapters in its history, and there are always a few bad eggs in the basket, but overall, Christians are respected, even if not appreciated. And the reasons why are because Christians are obediently abiding by the instructions found in the Torah. It seems that Christians are Torah-observant without even knowing it–well, almost. There are a few discrepancies that have arisen over the years–a few elements of Torah that we have forgotten. They are things that we lost in the early years of persecution.

Some Things Were Lost

We lost a few things early in the development of the religion. The young, emerging Christian church was deeply impacted by the First and Second Jewish Revolts against Rome. [4] In response to the Jewish uprisings, the Roman government under the Flavian emperors and again under Trajan and Hadrian unleashed punishing persecutions against Judaism. Heavy taxes combined with anti-Torah legislation, arrests and persecutions made it very unpopular to be identified with Torah or Judaism. At certain times, a person could be arrested for keeping the Sabbath or any other obvious Jewish practices. At the same time, there was a concentrated effort within Judaism to push the Messianic believers out of the synagogue. The result was that Christianity lost much of her connection to Torah and the Jewish people. This happened in fulfillment of the Master’s words. Yeshua predicted the persecutions, and He predicted the coming time of lawlessness. He told His disciples:
They will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness [Torahlessness] is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. (Matthew 24:9–12)
The love which He spoke of was the love of God–the greatest commandment. According to Deuteronomy 6:4–5, love for God is demonstrated by obedience to His commandments. Similarly, 1 John 5:3 states that “…the love of God [is] that we keep His commandments.” When we began to turn away from the commandments, our love for God diminished, and as our love for God diminished, we turned from the commandments. However, many Christians held on to Torah. The writings of the Church Fathers and the writings of the rabbis attest to the existence of Torah-keeping believers well into the third century and beyond. But most of us were assimilated into the mainstream of acceptability in the Roman world. This meant leaving behind some of the old ways.

The Biblical Sabbath

Every Friday night I watch my six-year-old daughter light the Sabbath candles to welcome the Lord’s day of rest. The house is full of good smells: hot soup, a pie in the oven, fresh bread. As dusk settles on the neighborhood, the boys are reading through the weekly Torah portion, preparing to contribute something at the Sabbath table. Guests arrive at the door. My wife finishes the final preparations in the kitchen. She will not need to cook again for more than twenty-four hours. At the table, prayers are said, blessings are dispensed, songs are sung and words of Torah are exchanged. The day of rest, the Lord’s day, has begun. God commands His people to cease from labor on the seventh day of the week. This day of rest is called the Shabbat or the Sabbath. In the gospels, Yeshua told us, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Luke 6:5) Paul says that the Sabbath is a shadow of things to come and the substance of Messiah. [5] Both of them are saying the same thing–that the Sabbath is about the Messiah. Therefore, the Sabbath is for the followers of Messiah.

Blessing and Holiness

Out of all those things in this vast and unreachable reality that we know as the creation, the Sabbath was the very first thing that God set apart as holy. The Sabbath stands from the beginning of time as the first institution of godliness. Before there was a temple or an altar, before there was a Bible or a commandment, before there was a church or a single hymn, there was the Sabbath. For believers who keep the Sabbath, it is our delight, the day of our joy. It is our treasure and prized possession. It is the oldest heirloom we have inherited from the family of God. As followers of the Master, when we begin to enter into His Sabbath, we encounter Him in fresh, new and delightful ways. The Sabbath is not burdensome as some suppose. The Lord of the Sabbath declares, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) For us, the Sabbath is a gift, not a despotic ruler demanding our submission. It is gentle and beckoning, subtle and sublime, wrapped in garments of light, inviting us to meet with the Lord. We delight in the Sabbath because we encounter Yeshua within it. ------ Adapted from Restoration, Returning the Torah of God to the Disciples of Jesus, a new book from D. Thomas Lancaster. For more information, or to purchase this new book, click here.
Endnotes
1. Matthew 5:17–20; John 14:15–21 2. Acts 21:20 3. Leviticus 17, Deuteronomy 12 4. 70 and 135 CE respectively. 5. Colossians 2:16–17]]> http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/walking_torah/restoring_that_which_was_lost.php http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/walking_torah/restoring_that_which_was_lost.php Walking Torah myffoz Sun, 04 Sep 2005 15:21:42 +0200 Take to Heart tzitzit (Numbers 15:37-41) of today and the mezuzah (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Other traditions–like reciting the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) in synagogue–can be wonderful reminders. Lighting candles to open Shabbat, the tashlich ceremony of Rosh Hashanna, eating dairy on Shavuot, and wearing a kipa have considerably less direct links, if any direct links at all, to instruction set out in the Tanach. In this and future issues we intend to examine particular Jewish traditions–why we do or don't observe them, where they originated, whether they will enhance our relationship with God or be a burden, etc. Yeshua spoke negatively at times about the traditions of men, while He did participate and find meaning in many. The rabbinic system of today, as a whole, has evolved from the Pharisaic systems of the 2nd through 5th centuries. Before that, Judaism was even richer in diversity with the Essenes, Sadducees, different sects of Pharisaism, Zealots, and Notzrim–all having their own halacha (ways of observing Torah). A majority of our practices in the U.S. are Ashkenazi orthodox traditions. While there is some overlap with Ashkenazi tradition, Mizrachi Jews and those from North Africa (such as Ethiopia, Morocco) hold many traditions that are totally foreign to Jews from western countries.

Unity and Observance

It is wise as Torah submissive communities to incorporate practices into our lifestyle that help our relationships with God, help us remember the mitzvot, and help our children to learn and appreciate Him. But in doing this, should we blindly accept the rabbinic traditions of today or should we summarily reject them and re-invent our own? How much oral tradition (that which has since been codified in Talmud) should we incorporate, if any? These are not easy questions. Of course, any commands that are straight from the Torah should be observed. As to the others, in general, I feel it is wise to use traditions that do draw us to God ("hit the mark" so to speak), act as reminders of His Word, and help our communities to unite in truth. However, for the sake of peace and flexibility, we need to let people interpret some traditions as the Ruach HaKodesh leads, while others need to be rejected. For example, in the winter, our synagogue is still together when the sun sets on Saturday night and we have a traditional havdallah service. It is enjoyed by all and marks the holiness (set apartness) of the Shabbat from the rest of the week. We light the candles, inhale the spices, drink the wine, etc. We find it immensely meaningful. In summer though, we have returned to our own homes by the time the sun sets, which means that while some people have havdallah, others do not, and there are those who may modify the service in a way that is more meaningful to them. However, as leaders of the kehilah we do not tell people that they have to do it (it is not a commandment). In the same way, some men wear kipot to service to signify submission to God and identification with the Jewish people, others do not as it does not hold that meaning for them. In these we remain flexible, as the Scriptures do not give clear instruction about them. However, we do expect a unity among the congregation in terms of the observance of certain commandments, such as not working on Shabbat.

"The Shema"

"Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one" is the Shema, or the beginning of it. Its recitation goes back to the time of the daily morning prayer service in the Temple, including the Shabbat. At the Temple it was recited with the Decalogue. We cannot say with certainty whether the recitation of the Shema in synagogue services predated the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE or was brought over afterwards. It is however, one of the earliest if not the earliest forms of synagogue liturgy. Today the Shema is typically recited standing and facing Jerusalem (in many synagogues). In Second Temple times congregants in Israel stood, while those in Babylon remained seated. Ancient writings record a story about a 4th century synagogue in Caesarea where the Shema was recited in Greek as very few congregants knew Hebrew. One attending sage was outraged and wanted to put a stop to it, while another felt reciting it in your native language was better than not doing it at all. The Mishnah in Sotah 7:1 stated that the Shema may be recited in any language. What constitutes the Shema depends on whom you ask. It can be as simple as Deuteronomy 6:4 or as broad as Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-41. Tradition holds that unless it was performed with proper intent and concentration, it was of little value, and that it was to be proclaimed as if it was Moshe himself addressing the people of Israel. Also, the Tetragrammaton (YHVH) was said as part of it by the priests. The first tractate of the Mishnah, Berakhot talks about the proper (and improper) times to recite the Shema, if it should be standing or sitting, what should precede and come after it, when you should pause, the loudness, and many other stipulations. Are these necessary and proper? The Shema is a wonderful affirmation of the oneness of God. When the public recitation began, Israel and Jews in general were surrounded by polytheistic cultures. The Shema was a proclamation of monotheism (it is beyond the scope of this article to get into the plurality of God and how it relates to the word echad, though we are well aware of it). When we read the three sections of the Shema, it includes binding the words on your hands and forehead, inscribing them on your gates and attaching tzitzit to the corners of your garments–all Torah commands that since antiquity have been interpreted as having mezuzahs on your doors, donning tefillin, and wearing tzitzit. [In FFOZ's Torah Club program, especially in Volume 5, these commandments are discussed in greater detail and numerous references are made to the whys and hows of keeping the commandments. We encourage you to subscribe to Torah Club, it will change your life.] I believe the Shema is a strong part of our heritage that draws us closer to God. As we proclaim it communally on Shabbat, it affirms His oneness and uniqueness compared to other religions. Whether or not people should proclaim Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-41, if they do not intend to obey these mitzvot (today known as mezuzah, tefillin, and tzitzit), needs to be carefully considered. We must remember that in Hebrew there is no real word for "obey," and when we hear the word Shema, it not only means listen but it implies obedience at the same time. To actually hear the Word of God and not to do it was an oxymoron (and should be). Did Sha'ul have this in mind in Romans 2:13 when he was explaining to a mainly non-Jewish audience in Rome that hearing without doing was not enough? Different sects might have disagreed on how to interpret the various commands of the Torah, but they agreed they should be carried out. Unfortunately today we tend to spiritualize them away. I feel that one of the primary teachings of Yeshua was that the Torah needed to be obeyed in letter and spirit as summed up in Matthew 23:23. Fairly frequently, Yeshua dealt with groups of people who kept the letter of the law and neglected the spirit of it. Today we often have the opposite "I keep the Shabbat in my heart," while working on Saturday. Imagine telling your spouse you are faithful to them "in spirit" while involved in an adulterous relationship? It does not make sense. Let us affirm the Shema, and as it says in Deuteronomy 6:6. "take to heart the instructions" and put them into practice. Adonai is infinitely wiser and more loving than us. Let us acknowledge this and the fact that He has given us these passages we now call the Shema for good reason. Let these words be a constant reminder of the God of Israel. Let us joyfully proclaim His existence and our willingness to serve Him, and let the commands within the Shema be constant reminders as we walk through our doorposts, listen and obey. In traditional Judaism, the Shema is proclaimed twice daily. Many of the traditions were made so we would be constantly reminded of God. What a blessing that is! Yet, how easy it is to lose our focus as we go about our hectic lives–between emails, errands, work, hobbies, and other distractions, we can lose sight of God. By reciting the Shema twice daily, noticing the mezuzah on our door, donning tefillin and tzitzit, our mind constantly returns to Him, our Creator. The more reminders I have, the harder it is for me to lose myself in the world. The Torah, which undergirds our faith in the Messiah Yeshua, contains a system of reminders such as the Shabbat and the mo'adim (festivals), etc. Our minds constantly return to God. He knows our weaknesses and out of love for us He set up this system of reminders and gives us the Ruach HaKodesh so we have the ability to abide by them and in Him.]]> http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/walking_torah/take_to_heart.php http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/walking_torah/take_to_heart.php Jewish Tradition Walking Torah myffoz Wed, 01 Jun 2005 10:31:51 +0200 Yeshua's View of Torah abolish the Torah or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Torah, until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

“Do not think I came to abolish… ”

The word translated “abolish” by most of the English versions is the Greek kataluo. It is found three times in Matthew in addition to our text. These are Matthew 24:2; 26:61; 27:40, all of which interestingly enough refer to the Temple. For example: “Truly I say to you, not one stone here shall be left upon another, which will not be torn down” (Matthew 24:2). It seems clear that for Matthew the term ‘kataluo’ means ‘to tear down,’ ‘demolish,’ ‘do away with’ as the term was used in the 1st century C.E. in connection with the demolition of buildings as well as the nullifying or replacing of laws and constitutions. This Yeshua explicitly says is not the mission of His incarnation as regards the Torah. Most modern scholars believe that such a strong statement of Yeshua on the issue of the Torah is proof that to one extent or another His teachings were being misinterpreted by His opponents, and He therefore takes strong measures to make Himself clear. The subsequent debates amongst believers as to the role of the Torah (as in the Jerusalem counsel of Acts 15) show clearly that the issues of how the Torah was to be lived out among the disciples of Yeshua were not universally settled.

“I came to fulfill… ”

“Fulfill” in this context answers to the Aramaic or Hebrew qum which means ‘to stand,’ ‘establish,’ or ‘confirm.’ With this understanding the words of Yeshua are interpreted to mean that He did not come to abolish the Torah but to confirm it and establish it. Another meaning of “fulfill” is ‘to fill up’ in the sense that Yeshua brings to the Torah and the Prophets their completion by providing its full, intended meaning. To put it simply, this view considers that Yeshua replaces the host of commandments with the two commandments to love God and one’s neighbor. While certain aspects of this sense ring true with other teachings of the Apostles, such a meaning here is dubious on account of the “jot and tittle” phrase in verse 18 which focuses attention on the written Torah as a unified whole which, according to Yeshua, must abide. It is highly unlikely that He is teaching that the “jot and tittle” abides in His “deeper” teaching that does away with the Torah. A further meaning of “fulfill” in this context means ‘to fill up,’ in the sense that Yeshua fulfills the Torah and the Prophets in that they point to Him, and He is their fulfillment. This explanation is, in one respect or another, accepted by all believers in Yeshua, who believe that He is the goal to which the Torah and the Prophets always pointed. [1] On one hand, if Yeshua is answering the accusations that He was teaching the abolishment of the Torah, this explanation could seem to confirm His accusers’ case. However, the text taken as a whole certainly stresses His insistence that any one accusing Him of being against the Torah was simply wrong. Finally, “fulfill” in this context means ‘to deepen’ or ‘extend’ in the sense that Yeshua takes the Torah and carries it a step further. For example, adultery is taken from a merely physical act to one of the heart, as is murder. This deepening or extending is generally considered as moving the Torah from being external to the deeper reality of the internal. The internalization of the Torah as promised in the New Covenant [2] gives this explanation a certain level of acceptability. One difficulty with this explanation, however, is that there is every indication in the Tanach that the faithful of Israel did indeed internalize the Torah, and that it was written on their hearts. The contrast between the Tanach and the ministry of Yeshua (made popular by certain segments of the Christian church) as being one of external verses internal is artificial and biblically unsubstantiated. [3] The four suggestions given above for the meaning “fulfill” in Matthew 5:17 each contribute something, but no single one adequately satisfies the context of this passage. It remains to explore further definitions of the word within the context of Yeshua’s statement about the Torah and the Prophets.

“Fulfill” in Matthew

The verb “fulfill” is used 16 times in Matthew. Of the 13 times where the word is used in the passive voice, 12 are used in expressing the ‘fulfillment’ of prophecy, and one relates to a boat being filled with fish (13:48). Prophecy is viewed as being fulfilled (passive) by the active hand of God in the events of history. In contrast the word is used three times in the active voice. In 5:17 the active voice stresses the activity of Yeshua in keeping or observing the commandments. If Yeshua had intended His words to be understood as parallel to the fulfillment formulae prevalent in His day, and especially employed by Matthew, then we would expect a passive voice here as well, something like: “ I did not come to abolish, but that the Torah and Prophets might be fulfilled.” Perhaps the best clue to the meaning of “fulfill” in this saying of Messiah is the parallelism that goes on in verse 19. In the first clause the verbs “annuls” (loose, destroy) and “teaches” (instructs) are paralleled in the second clause by the verbs “does” and “teaches”.
  • Whoever then annuls one of the least of the commandments
    • and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven
  • but whoever does (them)
    • and teaches (others to do them), he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven
What seems apparent in this parallel structure is the simple definition (in terms of opposites) of ‘annul’ as ‘not doing’. Conversely, to ‘do’ the commandments (and thus to teach others to do them too) would be the opposite of ‘annulling’ them and would thus be to ‘fulfill’ them. It would seem probable from this analogy that what Yeshua is indicating in His words of verse 17 is simply that He did not come to destroy the commandments but rather to do them. Thus, Yeshua was asking His disciples to understand that one of His purposes in coming as the Messiah was to expound the Torah and the Prophets both by His words and (especially) by His deeds. He came to explain how one could actually do the Torah, and what the purpose of doing the Torah was

“Until all is accomplished… ”

The normal English translations give a passive sense to this phrase, which is misleading. The Greek is active, and perhaps ‘until everything happens’ is the more literal sense. The emphasis, then, from this phrase is that God is working His immutable plan, a plan centered in redemption (the central issue of the Tanach) and that nothing will stand in the way of each aspect coming to happen in the course of time. But more specific to this context is the emphasis that the Torah has, at least for Yeshua, a continuing part to play in the plan of God, and that therefore it is wrong to attempt to “abolish” the Torah in an effort to further the redemptive work of God.

“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments”

The Greek word translated ‘least’ is elaxistos, which is the superlative form of micros, meaning ‘least, smallest; very little, insignificant’. The meaning of the word itself is obvious, whether used of the smallest tribe of Israel (Matthew 2:6, quoting Micah 5:1) or of Paul, as the least of the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:9). In our present text, does the word indicate that in Yeshua’s view some commandments rank higher than others? It would appear so. Note the words of Yeshua at Matthew 23:23, where the tithing of one’s own herbs while neglecting justice, mercy and faithfulness, is described as “neglecting the weightier provisions of the Torah.” Certainly, the Rabbis themselves agreed that there was a hierarchical structure in the Torah, the preservation of life being at the highest, or, to use Yeshua’s terms, being the ‘heaviest’ of all the commandments. The Rabbis were clear, however, that even the least commandment was important and not to be neglected. It seems probable that Yeshua here employs hyperbole in order to reinforce His main point–that He does not support any notion of the abolishment of the Torah. The entirety of the Torah is maintained by Yeshua, so that at no point is He willing to admit even the abolishment of one commandment, not even one of the least.

“And so teaches others… ”

The primary emphasis is directed to the teachers of the communities–those who would influence the community in regard to the mitzvoth (commandments). Apparently Yeshua was being accused by His opponents of teaching the abrogation of the Torah, or at least of some of the commandments. He not only exposes such a rumor, but announces His own position regarding any who would teach such a thing.

“…shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven… shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

The penalty for any disregard of the Torah and the Prophets is for one to be called “least in the kingdom of heaven.” ‘Kingdom of heaven’ as a set term is found only in Matthew and must certainly be understood as equal to ‘Kingdom of God’. Apparently, one who annuls the commandments and teaches others to follow in his path is punished only by having an inferior rank in the kingdom. Yet in the very next statement of Yeshua, exclusion from the kingdom is promised to any who do not themselves exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees! To put it plainly, to disregard the Torah and the Prophets, and to teach others likewise to disregard them, is to assure one’s exclusion from the kingdom of God. For, apart from a keeping the commandments, and a teaching others to keep them, it would be impossible to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. This explanation is difficult in the face of Yeshua’s regularly using “least in the kingdom” to denote an attitude of servanthood and humility. For instance, 18:1ff compares this attitude of humility to becoming like a child. Further, Matthew 23:11–12 makes it clear that the greatest (Greek / meizon) among the disciples would be the one who was a servant. Thus, the greatest is the one who considers himself the least. It is, however, one thing to consider oneself the least, that is, to have a genuinely humble view of oneself. But it is an entirely different matter to have God declare a person to be the least. This distinction is all important. And in our present text, it is God making the judgment–to neglect the commands is to run the risk of being declared least in the kingdom. It is a later theological perspective that emphasizes that the “least in the kingdom” is still in the kingdom! This cannot be the point. The least position in the kingdom is a place no genuine son who loved his Father would want to fill.

“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees…”

The central issue of Yeshua’s conclusion, what constitutes a true ‘keeping’ or ‘doing’ of the Torah, focuses upon the scribes and Pharisees. Since the Pharisaic sect was taken up with maintaining the written Torah as well as the Oral Torah, it was only natural that they would be linked with the scribes. But what they both had in common for certain was their scrupulous maintenance to the letter of the Torah in the outward performance of it. What many lacked was the true, spiritual sense of the heart of the Torah, that is, justice, mercy, and faithfulness. As such, their righteousness was primarily that of performance and not from the heart. While Yeshua emphasized the utter necessity of heart obedience if one intended to keep the commandments, He did not in any way negate the requirement of outward performance. That is to say, one surpasses the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees not by neglecting the outward performance of the mitzvot, but by performing them as the fruit of a heart given over to the true worship of God. Another way of saying it is this: if the commandments are received as purely obligation, it would be naturally impossible to keep them. But if they are received rather as divine blessing and privilege, then the keeping of them is pure delight. Only the heart filled with faith in God is able to so receive the commandments as blessing, and it is this kind of ‘keeping’ which Yeshua teaches His disciples. It is interesting that Yeshua puts this Torah-oriented righteousness on equal footing with the humble heart of faith (18:3), for without this He likewise states that one will not enter the kingdom of heaven. In similar fashion, what is impossible for man (in the sense of entering into the kingdom of heaven) is possible with God (19:23,24). The same phraseology is used by Yeshua as recorded by John (3:5), that apart from being born of “water and the Spirit,” one cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. Certainly the traditional Christian church has put far more emphasis upon John 3:5 than upon Matthew 5:20! The focus, however, must be the heart change that comes as a result of faith. Only as our love for God enables us to understand the commandments as a blessing from Him, will we be enabled to keep them as God intended.
Endnotes
1. Romans 10:4; Luke 24:27 2. Jeremiah 31:33; II Corinthians 3 3. The very fact that David is referred to as “a man after God’s own heart” shows clearly that obedience was viewed as an inner, heart issue. The prophets teach this explicitly (Micah 6:8; Isaiah 1:17-18) as do the psalmists (Psalms 51:16, 17; 119:9-11) as well as the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4; 10:6). In God’s eyes obedience begins with the heart.]]> http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/messianic_theology/yeshuas_view_of_torah.php http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/messianic_theology/yeshuas_view_of_torah.php Messianic Theology myffoz Mon, 25 Apr 2005 12:23:33 +0200 Yeshua's New Wine The Double Parable of Luke 5:33-39 Re-examined
The Emperor’s daughter said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah: “What beautiful Torah in an ugly vessel!” He replied, “Learn from the house of your father. In what is the wine stored?” “In jars of clay,” she answered. “But all the common people store their wine in jars of clay! You use them too? You should keep your wine in jars of gold and silver!” She went and had the wine placed in vessels of gold and silver, and it turned sour. “Thus,” said he to her, “It is the same with Torah!” She asked, “But are there not handsome people who are learned?” He replied, “If they were ugly they would be even more learned!” (Talmud Bavli Nedarim 50b)
Imagine, if you will, a banquet at the house of Levi the tax collector. There is singing and drinking and eating and merriment, and in the midst of it reclines the Master and his disciples. On the periphery of the scene are the Pharisees and several disciples of Yochanon the Immerser.[1] They have been following Yeshua, learning from him and scrutinizing him. They would not deign to eat with the sinners and tax collectors that constitute Yeshua’s friends and followers, but they are intrigued enough to stay close and observe. As the meal progresses, the Pharisees began to ask Yeshua’s disciples some questions such as, “How often do you fast?” The disciples are unable to answer with their mouths full, so they shrug and look at Yeshua. When these same critics turn to Yeshua, informing him that his disciples don’t fast like the disciples of Yochanon and the disciples of the Pharisees, Yeshua disarms them with the double parable of the Old Coat and the New Wine.
No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’ (Luke 5:36-39)
It seems that the Master’s profound observations concerning old wineskins, torn coats and new patches leave them speechless. They don’t ask him any more questions, but perhaps that was only because, like the rest of us, they have no idea what Yeshua was talking about.

Incompatibility

Expositors have been scratching chins and nodding heads for a long time over the double parable of Luke 5:33-39. [2] The meaning of the parable is seemingly obvious. The new garment is the Gospel/Grace/Kingdom/Church and the old garment is the Old Covenant/Law/Judaism. No one tears a new garment to patch an old one. Grace and law do not mix. Similarly, the new wine is the Gospel/Grace/Kingdom/Church and the old wineskin is the Old Covenant/Law/Judaism. Just as the new wine would burst the old skins and be spilled, so too the New Covenant Gospel of the Church Kingdom would be wasted if it was poured into the Old Covenant, Mosaic, legalistic religion of Judaism. In almost unanimous consent interpreters and commentators have agreed that the old wine, old wineskins and the old coat are all symbols of Judaism and Law whereas the new wine and the new coat are symbols of Christianity and Grace.[3] As Kee aptly observes (1970), this “traditional interpretation of the double parable can be summed up in one word: incompatibility. It is supposed to teach that the Old and the New are incompatible, that Judaism is incompatible with Christianity.” The old is worn and obsolete. The Church must be a new and separate movement, not a patch attempting to prolong the institutions of the Old Covenant. The New Covenant has erased and replaced the Old. This meaning of the double parable seems obvious–Or perhaps not.

Serious Problems

There are serious problems with the incompatibility interpretation. For example, it is anachronistic. Critical scholarship now acknowledges that Yeshua was not trying to start a new religion nor was his intention to dismantle Judaism. At the time that Yeshua gave the double parable there was no Christianity, no Church, no new religion for Judaism to be incompatible with. At the time the Gospel writers were recording the double parable, the Church Fathers’ model of Yeshua as an antagonist of the Old Covenant and Judaism had not yet even been conceived. What has, in fact, become worn and obsolete is the very notion that the historical Yeshua was opposed to the Torah and Judaism. Regarding this incompatibility interpretation Kee says, “There is no denying that Jesus radically transformed [and] revolutionized Judaism for his followers, but surely we need not labor the point that it was in fact Judaism which he transformed for them . . . To attribute the idea of incompatibility to Jesus, as a way of describing his relationship to Judaism, is bad theology and bad history.” His point is well taken. The incompatibility interpretation stems from a supersessionist theology of a later century. To place it into the mouth of Yeshua is absurd. [4] Another serious problem with the incompatibility interpretation is the closing line of Luke 5:39, “And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good.’” [5] This troublesome verse is found only in Luke’s version of the double parable, and even then the Western version of the text omits it. It creates a serious problem for the incompatibility interpretation because it seems to reverse the value assigned to the new wine. If the Gospel is represented by the new wine, then the statement and even the entire metaphor is ridiculous in Yeshua’s mouth. It is “as if Yeshua was comparing Judaism to good claret and the Gospel to cheap plonk.” [6] Marcion the Heretic was quick to deem the end of 5:39 as a Jewish interpolation into the Gospels. [7] No surprise then that the Western text completely omits Luke 5:39. The omission belies an anti-Judaic bias in the scribal transmission. By removing the statement that the Old is good (or even “better”), the editor felt that he had removed “any suggestion that the Jews would reject the teachings of Christianity because they were well satisfied with Judaism.” [8] If Rice is correct, then the double parable was being read according to the incompatibility interpretation at a very early stage.

Attempts to Salvage

Recognizing that the incompatibility interpretation is flawed, several scholars have made valiant attempts to reinterpret the double parable in a manner consistent with the rest of the Gospels. R. S. Good (1983) and David Flusser (1979), for example both try to force an explanation of the words “the old is better” by reversing the direction of the entire double parable in Luke. According to Good, Luke intentionally reinterpreted the two parables to mean that the Old is better because it is the Old Israel that Yeshua has come to save. [9] The New Wine, bursting the skins and tearing the garment, should then be read as the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The old skins must be preserved: the old garment must be patched because they represent old Israel. This attractive and highly innovative explanation accounts for 5:39 and gets past the anachronistic problems of the traditional interpretations, but it forces itself against statements like 5:38 and does not fit the context. Even Good points out that it is not in concert with Matthew and Mark’s versions. Stern tries to reconcile the parables by going in several directions. He suggests that Yeshua meant for us to patch up Judaism by pre-shrinking the cloth of Messianic faith to fit the old coat of Judaism. Then he suggests that the new wineskins are actually the old wineskins which have been reconditioned in order to receive the new wine. Hence the New Wineskins should be read as renewed wineskins. While his interpretations are creative, they continue to operate under the premise of incompatibility and stretch the reader beyond the point of believability. In addition, they certainly don’t give answers to the question of Luke 5:39 or to the context in which the parables are given.

Choosing the Twelve

The context in which the double parable occurs is a narrative relating how Yeshua chose his disciples. All of chapter five and the first 16 verses of chapter six string together several stories which deal with the calling and selection of the disciples. Luke 5:1-11 records the story of the first miraculous catch of fish during which Yeshua invites James, John, Peter (and by inference Andrew) to become his disciples. The pericope concludes in 5:11 with the fishermen leaving their boats, their nets and the miraculous catch to follow Yeshua. The narrative then turns aside to relate two short healing stories (5:17-26), but returns to the calling of the disciples with the call of Levi in 5:27 and 28. Like the fishermen, Levi leaves everything and follows Yeshua. Levi holds a banquet for Yeshua and at this banquet the Pharisees level criticisms aimed at Yeshua’s disciples. They asked his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” They asked Yeshua, “Why don’t your disciples fast and pray like Yochanon’s disciples and like our disciples?” Both questions are criticisms of Yeshua’s disciples and his choice of company. Yeshua replies to the question on fasting with the bridegroom statements of 5:34,35 and then tells the double parable. Following the double parable, Luke six begins with a short pericope which at first seems unrelated to the concerns of choosing disciples. In the story (6:1-5) the Pharisees challenged Yeshua on Sabbath issues, but it is in fact the disciples behavior which the Pharisees criticized, not the behavior of Yeshua. They accused the disciples of breaking the Sabbath by picking the heads of grain and husking them in their hands. Again the criticism is directed toward Yeshua’s choice of disciples. Connected with the Sabbath observance conflict raised in 6:1-5, Luke offers a matching pericope in 6:6-11 that echoes and complements the first but is clearly meant as an aside. Returning to the matter at hand, that is the call and selection of Yeshua’s disciples, Luke closes the section with the final elimination round in which Yeshua chooses the Twelve (6:12-16). With the choosing of the Twelve, the disciple issue is settled.

The Calling and Selection of His talmidim

(A) Calling of the First Disciples (5:1–11) (Aside to Healing of the Leper) (5:12–16) (Aside to Healing of the Paralytic) (5:17–26) (B) Calling of Levi 5:27–28 (C) Levi’s Banquet / Pharisees’s criticisms of disciples (5:29–39)

Yeshua’s Response and Double Parable

(D) Pharisees accuse disciples of Sabbath violation (6:1–5) (Aside to a similar Sabbath story) (6:6–11) (E) Final selection of the Twelve Talmidim (6:12–16)

Smudged Paper and Old Wine

We might imagine the Pharisees leaving Levi’s banquet and later pondering Yeshua’s words saying, “I don’t know what he meant by that, but it sounded very profound.” – Or perhaps not. Unlike us, the Pharisees probably knew exactly what Yeshua meant because they were probably already familiar with the symbolism Yeshua employed in his double parable. By comparing Luke 5:36-39 with the well known Pharisaic proverb of Avot 4.20, a whole new interpretation arises which is a natural complement to the context of the passage and is more satisfactory than those previously suggested.

Luke 5:36–39

He told them this parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”

Pirkei Avot 4:20

Elisha ben Avuyah said: “He who studies as a child, unto what can he be compared? He can be compared to ink written upon a fresh [new] sheet of paper. But he who studies as an adult, unto what can he be compared? He can be compared to ink written on a smudged [previously used and erased] sheet of paper.
Rabbi Yose ben Yehudah of the city of Babylon said, “He who learns from the young, unto what can he be compared? He can be compared to one who eats unripe grapes, and drinks unfermented wine from his vat. But he who learns from the old, unto what can he be compared? He can be compared to one who eats ripe grapes, and drinks old wine.
Rabbi (Meir) said: Do not pay attention to the container but pay attention to that which is in it. There is a new container full of old wine, and here is an old container which does not even contain new wine.
Like the larger Gospel context of Luke chapters five and six, the Avot passage is comparing different types of teachers, disciples and teachings. If we allow the similes of Avot 4 to inform the metaphors of Luke 5, we have surprising results. [10] In Avot, the vessels for containing wine are not institutions, religious movements or teachings. The vessels containing the wine are individuals. The wine is the teaching that the individual consumes or contains. [11] Applying this symbolism to Luke, we could parse out 5:36-39 as follows:
  • New garment = previously uneducated students
  • Old garment = previously educated students
  • Patch = teaching
  • New wineskins = previously uneducated students
  • Old wineskins = previously educated students
  • New wine = new teaching
  • Old wine = previous teaching
  • Singular Meaning = New teaching requires previously uneducated students in order to be received.
No one takes a lesson meant for a new student and tries to teach it to an old (already educated) student. If he does, he will fail to teach the new student, and the lesson meant for the new student will be rejected by the old student.
No one teaches new Torah-teaching to old (previously educated) students. If he does, the new teaching will be rejected, the student will be lost. No. Instead new Torah-teaching must be taught to new students. And no one after receiving old teaching (previous education) wants the new, for he says, “The old teaching is better.”
The Avot interpretation of the double parable offers several advantages. Unlike the incompatibility theory, the Avot interpretation is not anachronistic. It does not pit Yeshua against Judaism nor does it imagine a conflict between New Covenant Grace and Old Covenant Law. Instead, it pits Yeshua’s choice of disciples against the Pharisee’s choice of disciples. Unlike the incompatibility theory, the Avot interpretation fits the context in which the parable is found, namely the call and selection of Yeshua’s disciples. It addresses the Pharisee’s criticism about fasting and it answers the problems raised by 5:39.

Unsmudged Paper

Luke has gone to some pains to demonstrate the unsavory character of Yeshua’s choice in disciples. They are fishermen, tax collectors and ‘sinners.’ They are feasting and drinking instead of fasting and praying. They are bungling Sabbath observance to feed their stomachs. They are not the pious types. They are not the types to follow in the tradition of the disciples of Hillel and Shammai. They have not been educated with the sages. In this regard, they are like a clean slate, a fresh, unsmudged piece of paper for Yeshua to write on. This is not to suggest that the disciples had no education. A primary education in Yeshua’s day involved an extensive memorization of Scripture and knowledge of Torah. Educational standards in the Galilee may have even surpassed those of Judah, so even fishermen and tax collectors had received training in the Scriptures. However, only the very gifted went on to study beyond the age of 12 or 13 and only the truly exceptional (and perhaps wealthy) went on to become disciples of the sages. [12] The situation with the disciples reminds me of a celebrated metal welder who was known in northeast Minnesota for his excellent work. He often remarked that he would rather teach welding to a drunk he found in a bar who had never held a welding torch in his hand than hire a welder with previous training and experience. A man who had never been taught to weld was still teachable, but a man who already knew how to weld was not. This was the case with Yeshua’s choice of disciples. The Pharisees, up to this point in the Gospel narrative, were not yet opponents of Yeshua but were probably still contemplating whether or not to become his disciples. They could not understand Yeshua’s choice of disciples and must have been baffled that he had not yet approached them with the position. At Levi’s banquet, they criticized the uncouth character and behavior of Yeshua’s choice in disciples. Yeshua responded with the double parable, which in essence explained to the Pharisees why they were not qualified for the job of disciple and why the low-life, which he chose to associate with, were. The double parable is not a polemic against Judaism; it is simply an explanation of his choice of disciples. In essence, Yeshua was saying to the Pharisees, “Look, You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” We can now understand how the double parable answers to the question about fasting. They said, “Yochanon’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees (which is to say, so do we), but yours go on eating and drinking.” Yeshua’s statements about the bridegroom answered directly to the issue of fasting, but the double parable answered to the broader criticism being raised. That criticism was that Yeshua’s disciples were not at all like the disciples of Yochanon or the Pharisees.

The Old is Better

Finally, the Avot interpretation solves the problems raised by 5:39, “And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good.’” If the parable is comparing Yeshua’s Torah teaching (New Wine) with the Pharisee’s Torah teaching (Old Wine) the meaning becomes perfectly clear. Disciples who have already studied Torah under the Pharisaic schools (or under the tutelage of Yochanon) and have learned to interpret according to those traditions and models are unlikely to be interested in a new approach. Those students will be apt to disregard contradictory teaching because they have already formed opinions and made judgments. They will regard the education they have already received as superior. Yeshua has chosen fishermen and tax collectors precisely because of their lack of formal education. Luke returns to the disciple’s lack of formal education in Acts chapter 4 when the Sanhedrin questions Peter and John. In Acts 4:13 Luke writes, “Now as [the Sanhedrin] observed the confidence of Peter and Yochanon and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Yeshua.” On that day, when two, poorly-educated fishermen stood before the Sanhedrin, they demonstrated the full caliber of their education under Yeshua and vindicated his choice of disciples. New garments, new wineskins and new students.
Bibliography
Bivin, David. 1988. Jesus’ Education. Jerusalem Perspective 14,15 Bruce, F.F. 1983. Hard Sayings of Yeshua. IV Press. Downers Grove, Illinois. Flusser, David. 1979. Do You Prefer New Wine? Immanuel 9: 26-31. Good, R.S. 1983. Yeshua, Protagonist of the Old, In Luke 5:33-39. Novum Testamentum 25(1): 19-36 Kee, Alistair. 1970. The Old Coat and the New Wine, A Parable of Repentance. Novum Testementum 12(1): 13-21) Lachs, Samuel Tobias. 1987. A Rabbinic Commentary on the New Testament. Ktav Publishing House, Inc. Hoboken, New Jersey Lange, John Peter. Commentary on the Holy Scriptures. Critical, Doctrinal and Homiletical. Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI. Lenski, R.C.H. 1961. The Interpretation of Luke’s Gospel. Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, MN. Mead, A. H. 1988. Old and New Wine. St. Luke 5:39. Expository Times. 99(8): 234-235. Meyer, Heinrich August Wilhelm. Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Gospels of Mark and Luke. Volume 2. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. Nolland, John. 1989. Word Biblical Commentary Volume 35A. Word Books, Dallas, Texas. Rice, George E. 1980. Some Further Examples of Anti-Judaic Bias in the Western Text of the Gospel of Luke. Andrews University Seminary Studies 18 (2): 149-156 Stern, David H. 1992. Jewish New Testament Commentary. JNT Publications, Inc. Maryland Stern, Robert H. 1992. The New American Commentary, Volume 24 Luke. Broadman Press, Nashville, TN. Synge, F. C. The Parable of the Patch. Expository Times 56: 26-27 Young, Brad H. 1995. Jesus the Jewish Theologian. Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA.
Endnotes
1. We should not assume that the two groups are mutually exclusive. 2. Also Matt 9:14-17, Mark 2:18-22 3. Bruce, 1983; Lachs 1987; Lange; Lenski 1961; Meyer; Stein, 1992; Synge. The unanimity of this interpretation of Yeshua’s words has been so normative to Christian thinking that the term “Old Wine” is figuratively used to refer to Judaism in Christian writings. 4. Kee (1970) is not alone in his observation of the difficulty with the incompatibility interpretation. He is joined by Nolland (1989), Mead (1988), Stern (1992). Kee also notes that the double parable has nothing to do with fasting. His own explanation, however, is less than satisfying and it necessitates a cut and paste which completely removes the parable from the narrative context the gospels place it in. 5. Or “the old is better.” 6. Mead 1988 7. Flusser, 1979 8. Rice, 1980 9. Flusser however contends that Luke preserves the original form. He is followed by Young (1995). 10. It could certainly be argued that the two sages quoted are Tannaim from a century after the time of Yeshua, but the metaphors and analogies which these Tannaim employed and which constitute the proverbs of Pirkei Avot belonged to a body of oral tradition, much of which predates the day of Yeshua. For example, see the passage from Nedarim 50b quoted at the beginning of the article which uses the same symbolic values for wine and containers. 11. Flusser (1979) cites other related Rabbinical and Talmudic passages in which wine is symbolic for Torah and the interpretation of scripture. 12. (1988, Bivin)]]> http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/the_life_of_messiah/yeshuas_new_wine.php http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/the_life_of_messiah/yeshuas_new_wine.php The Life of Messiah Wed, 20 Apr 2005 23:02:12 +0200 A Taste of Freedom mo’adim)–a rhythm that is natural part of our life and our maturing process as believers. The intrinsic nature of each mo’ed is unique, yet the cyclical unity is God’s eternal way of leading His people through a continued process of sanctification. The spring feasts are upon us already. It always amazes me how quickly they return again from the previous year. The pattern and design of the Lord and His order are truly evident in the turning of each season and the returning of another new year. For those of us who participated in the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread last year, we can look back and remember our time together. Perhaps we can remember how eloquently our Seder tables were set, or what we wore, or who sat at our tables with us. It is a good feeling to know that we have obeyed the Scriptures in our lives over a period of time. When we read the Exodus account, we are clear in the fact that this time of Passover is relevant to our lives today and we see how its observance truly sheds new light on what our Pesach (the sacrifice of Messiah Yeshua) accomplished in our lives. Furthermore, we stand strong knowing that participation in this rite fulfills our obligation of teaching our children and identifying with our ancestors of old.
“And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever. And it will come about when you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has promised, that you shall observe this rite. And it will come about when your children will say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to you?’ that you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.’ And the people bowed low and worshiped.” Exodus 12:24–27
Yet, consider this: the Rabbis teach us that we are to undergo the Passover Seder and consider ourselves as having been in bondage, then delivered just as our ancestors were. Many of us then partake in a traditional meal, sing traditional songs and go away convinced that we have “identified” with our forefathers and are therefore “considered” as having been participants in the Exodus. I would boldly challenge you that we have not. “Because Adonai kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor Adonai for the generations to come.” Exodus 12:42 (NIV). What does it mean when Adonai tells us to keep vigil to honor Him, even today, as He did for our ancestors before us? Surely we are not fleeing an evil taskmaster, a pharaoh, that we would need to keep vigil… or are we? And, just what does it mean to keep vigil anyway? Webster’s New Riverside dictionary defines keeping ‘vigil’ as “a watch in the night, particularly with regard to a religious festival, observed by devotional preparation.” Devotional preparation? Wait a minute… what preparation? For most of us, participation in a Passover Seder begins with readying our homes and congregational buildings, preparation for what we’ll be wearing and/or whether or not we’ve purchased our dinner tickets prior to the event, then ends with the seder. What more is there that requires devotional preparation? Have we somehow missed the mark of what the Lord is calling us to do in preparation for His Mo’ed? He is going to show Himself to be our watchful, vigilant God as we escape our foe on that very night. We must be prepared and ready to run away from this evil taskmaster on that very night while the Lord watches over us once again. If we are not prepared, we may miss our opportunity to see the great and mighty things that our God will perform for us. “You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen.” Deuteronomy 10:20–21 It seems that believers today are always crying out to see the great and awesome things of the Lord. Well, in my opinion, our preparation and participation in this feast will truly open our eyes to the great and awesome things of the Lord. For many years now, during the winter season, I have petitioned the Lord to reveal areas of sin in my life (pruning) that He desires for me to recognize with the intention of setting me free from that in particular at Pesach. I see that sin as my ‘pharaoh,’ as my wicked and evil taskmaster that causes my flesh to do the things that I don’t want to do… holding me back from doing those things that I do want to do, see Romans 7:14ff. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, against things that we see; but, our battle is ongoing against the rulers of this world and the wicked forces of darkness in heavenly places, see Ephesians 6:12. Perhaps our preparation for Passover should occur weeks in advance. When Adonai speaks to us, revealing the nature of how a certain sin has affected us, kept us in bondage and harmed our community, then we will seek with anxiety, soul-searching, and personal reflection, to be set free. We can proceed to the Pesach prepared for the deliverance which Adonai will perform on our behalf–for deliverance in which He Himself, and not an angel, will set us free! When we come, in a weakened state, ready to deal with the leaven in our lives, we can have great hope that we will physically behold the great and awesome works of the Lord. On that night, we do identify with our ancestors of old. We will corporately, within our communities come together to recall and relate to the bondage, the struggles, the fear, the freedom, and the redemption of our people. We will be reminded of the work of Adonai… but the work of His hands will vividly come to pass as both a historical and a personal, present one. This will add true meaning to our rejoicing as we keep vigil in honor of Him. We will recognize His great love for us. We will feel His presence and we will overcome through the blood of the Pesach offering for us, Yeshua! How can we ever repay such a gift? Unto what has He freed us? He has set us free that we may “serve Him.” I would propose that He delivers us in order that He might use us even more to affect this world for His Word. We are called to be a light to the world, and we will be an even greater light as we are made pure through the deliverance from our flesh through the deliverance of the Lord. In reading the Exodus account through Shemot chapters 8–10, we read very clearly why the Lord desired to free our people from slavery… so that they might serve Him. Nothing is different for us today; He is still our God calling us to serve Him.
  • Go to Pharaoh and say to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Let My people go that they may serve ME!’” Exodus 8:1
  • Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he comes out to the water, and say to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Let My people go, that they may serve ME!’” Exodus 8:20
  • Go to Pharaoh and speak to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘Let My people go that they may serve ME!’” Exodus 9:1
  • And Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve ME!’” Exodus 10:3
Beloved friends, not one of us can serve the Lord while in bondage to an evil taskmaster over our flesh. God’s desire in freeing us, in doing great and awesome things before our eyes is that we would, in turn, serve Him. He has a plan and a purpose in freeing us… our redemption was bought by His blood and we are indebted to Him. Does this mean that we must strive to attain a spiritual position in Him during Passover? By all means, NO! We are obligated to listen to His voice, to obey His Word and participate in the Pesach–but no more than that. He is the one who will bring forth the deliverance. Exodus 14:14 says that,
  • “Adonai will fight for you while you keep silent.” (NAS)
  • “Adonai will do battle for you. Just calm yourselves down!” (CJB)
  • “The Lord will make war for you; you have only to keep quiet.” (The Bible in Basic English)
  • “The Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (NIV)
Therefore, I strongly encourage you to get your spiritual antennas up in order to hear God’s direction for you this season. Will God reveal something to you during this season? I believe that is what He desires. Will God set you free from that area of sin or flesh in your life at Pesach? I believe He has ordained the time of Pesach for that very reason. How do you enter into the intrinsic nature of each of the biblical appointments? Active preparation and participation! My desire is that the teachings of First Fruits of Zion would lead people to a place of challenge, change and growth. I see a rhythm in Scripture that revolves around God’s appointed times (mo’adim)–a rhythm that is a natural part of our life and our maturing process as believers. In order to fully benefit, and to grow and mature as believers, we must actively participate in this process, or rhythm, by meeting God at His preordained appointed times–fully prepared theologically, mentally and spiritually to receive from Him. This rhythm of the cycle exists throughout all of Scripture. I believe it is hinted at and was a natural, understood, and applied process in the lives of the redeemed of old. This approach, pattern and walk has been lost and is not applied in the life of the redeemed today. As a result, there has been a continued, noticeable and measurable weakening of the faith in the modern day body of Messiah and it is apparent through the lack of passion for holiness. Plan ahead. Prepare spiritually for Adonai to fight for you against the sin and flesh in your life. You will see a change in your life if you do because God will be there to meet you. You will experience the joy of your salvation afresh. You will be used by God to gather and attract others to His kingdom. We will communally and individually have a definite time marked by God’s calendar that we can look back on and be able to sing a new song of joy and freedom. I recognize that historically, prophetically, and practically, God has promised to meet His people in a special way on these days. Thus, our objective at FFOZ is to simply, gently, and lovingly assist in pointing people to these special times and make a plea to be ready to receive from Him. The intrinsic nature of each Mo’ed is unique. Through the cyclical pattern of these meetings, as outlined in the Scriptures, we discover God’s eternal way of leading His people through a continued process of sanctification–so that we might SERVE HIM!]]> http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/appointed_times/a_taste_of_freedom.php http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/appointed_times/a_taste_of_freedom.php Appointed Times myffoz passover Sun, 17 Apr 2005 11:20:23 +0200 The Traditional Seder Plate The Seder Plate This is the central feature on the Seder table. It is generally a large, round plate containing six items of food. These items might seem plain, even trivial, yet their simplicity embodies meaningful lessons. This in itself reflects a core element of our Redeemer’s ways: He turns the simple into the meaningful, the mundane into the holy. The items are:

A Shankbone – Zeroah

This represents the Passover Lamb sacrificed on the eve of the Exodus from Egypt. A chicken leg or neck is generally used to symbolize God’s ‘outstretched arm’ in liberating our people.

A Roasted Egg – Beitzah

The egg is to remember the Festival Offering presented in the days that the Temple was standing. It is a symbol of mourning that we are not able to make that offering today, and in many traditions the meal begins by dipping the egg into salt water, which represents tears. At the same time, we look forward to the day when our Redemption is complete and Messiah is ruling from Jerusalem as King of all the earth and He will wipe away the tears from every eye!

Bitter Herbs – Maror

This is usually on the plate as a piece of horseradish root or chopped horseradish paste. The more bitter it is the better, so as to remind us of the bitterness of our former bondage–whether as slaves in Egypt or as slaves to sin! Its inclusion on the seder plate fulfills the instruction: “They shall eat it (the Pesach offering) with matza and bitter herbs” (Numbers 9:11). According to a tradition instituted by Rabbi Hillel, horseradish is scooped between two pieces of matza, but we add a scoop of sweet charoset to remind us that the Almighty enables us to transform bitterness into sweetness, just as He did then, does now, and always will do.

Vegetable – Karpas

This is a raw vegetable, usually a potato or an onion, which alludes to crushing labor, backbreaking work. Yet it is also symbolic of our potential for growth and rebirth, as is the season of Spring when the Seder takes place.

Sweet Paste – Charoset

Charoset is a mixture of chopped fruit (apples, pears, dates and nuts, and a little grape juice or wine), which resembles mortar and is symbolic of the mortar used to make bricks when our ancestors were enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt. It reminds us that our faithful Father does not give us more than we can bear, and He makes a way out of adversity for us.

Romaine Lettuce – Chazeret

This reminds us of our ancestors’ exile in Egypt that began in a pleasant manner but ended in bitter slavery. (Isn’t that so typical of the nature of sin?) Romaine lettuce is used as it has plain leaves but a bitter stalk and roots. The following important elements are also integral to the traditional Seder Meal.

The Haggadah

This booklet contains the story of the Exodus, the order of the Seder meal, and wonderful songs to sing. Everyone should have one! Children are the most important participants of the meal. The adults’ role is to remember this redemptive testimony in order to tell it to the children. Thus, many interesting customs are scattered throughout the story to encourage the children to ask questions. On this night, it is the children who remind us that we are all the children of our Abba-Father, and our faith should be as pure, trusting and unquestioning as a child’s.

The Four Glasses of Wine

We drink four glasses of wine, or grape juice, during the Seder. Each one recalls a different aspect of our Exodus and Redemption. First glass: our physical exit from the boundaries of Egypt. Second glass: our delivery from Egyptian slavery. Third glass: God’s creation of His nation– an inherently free and Redeemed people. Fourth glass: our Covenant with God as His people at Sinai seven weeks later, when we received His Torah–the purpose and goal of our Exodus.

The Cup of Elijah

Traditionally, it is said that the prophet Elijah -- who will usher in Messiah and herald the ultimate Redemption -- visits every Seder table. In anticipation of his visit, we have a fifth glass of wine filled and at a certain moment toward the end of the Seder we leave the door open to invite him in, and show that as free people we need have no fear.

The Three Matzot

Matza is bread made in 18 minutes or less, before the yeast is activated and the dough has time to rise. It is the same hastily prepared, unleavened bread which was eaten before leaving Egypt. It reflects the total dependence of one who, roused by Divine truth, follows God into the desert with nothing but his faith and commitment. The opposite of matza is chametz–bread or other products containing yeast or leaven. Grain products such as wheat, barley, oats, rye and spelt, when mixed with water, are also avoided by the Ashkenazim (Jews from Eastern Europe), but are permitted by Sephardim (Jews originally from Morocco, Syria and other countries along the Mediterranean). Because chametz ‘rises,’ it represents inflated egotism and arrogance, which is the true spiritual ‘leaven’ in our lives–the removal of which is stressed at Pesach. There are three very special matzot that are placed on top of each other and placed next to the Seder plate. They are usually put in a special bag with three separate pockets. During the meal the middle matza is removed, lifted up–unleavened, pierced, and ‘bruised’ in appearance–and broken in two unequal pieces. The larger piece is folded in a white cloth/napkin and hidden. This is called the afikoman, and traditionally it represents the Pesach Lamb that was eaten at the conclusion of the meal. At the end of the meal, all the children search for the hidden afikoman with great excitement, as a special treat awaits the one who finds it. When found, it is passed around and all those present eat a small piece in order to close the meal. What an amazingly clear illustration of the One who was broken and “bruised for our iniquity”, hidden at present, but Who will be ‘found’ again and shared by all Israel–when we shall all see Him ‘face to face’ as He is! So, as we leave the Seder, we leave with the taste of the afikoman matza in our mouths–the taste of faith, our Creator’s covenant commitment, and His mighty plan of Redemption.]]> http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/appointed_times/the_traditional_seder_plate.php http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/appointed_times/the_traditional_seder_plate.php Appointed Times myffoz passover Sun, 17 Apr 2005 11:13:17 +0200 The Omer “When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest an omer of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before Adonai so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath” –Leviticus 23:10-11. The command to bring the first sheaf of the harvest to the Temple is of great significance to the disciples of Yeshua. It is an obscure appointment on the Biblical calendar, sometimes called the First Fruits of the Barley Harvest, but better known simply by its Biblical name, “The Omer.” The Omer is a minor festival with major Messianic implications.

The Omer and the Messiah

On the same day that that Caiaphas and his associates tried the Master, apostles of the Sanhedrin went out to a barley field not far from Jerusalem. On the same day that the Romans bound and crucified the Master, the apostles of the Sanhedrin bound up the standing barley into bundles while it was still attached to the ground so that it would be easier to reap.[1] A day later, after the sun had set and the High Sabbath of Unleavened Bread was over, just 24-hours before the Master rose from His tomb, they returned to the barley field, reaped it and collected it in three baskets, even though it was yet the weekly Sabbath. That night they carried the baskets of grain to Jerusalem. They delivered the baskets to the priesthood in the Temple. The baskets contained more than enough grain to constitute a full sheaf’s worth: enough to fulfill the mandate of Leviticus 23:10. The Hebrew word for sheaf is omer. The harvest ritual of gathering this barley omer was for a special first fruits offering to the Lord. The Torah prohibited using or eating any grain or produce from the new year’s crops until the first omer of grain to ripen was harvested and brought to the Temple. The barley crop ripens first in Israel, so the omer was always a barley sheaf. The commandment of the barley omer served to remind Israel that the land and its produce belong first to God. The people of Israel could not enjoy the produce of the land until God had received His due. Until they harvested and offered the barley omer in the Temple, the rest of the crops were not deemed kosher. So it was that very night, the Master’s second night in the tomb, that the priests in the Temple threshed, roasted and ground the barley omer into flour. All night they prepared it. Then while the Master passed those silent Sabbath hours, the priests refined the freshly milled flour by sifting it through 13 sieves. Lining up the omer ritual with the resurrection depends on how we reckon the passion week. For those who accept the traditional Christian Good Friday, whereby the High Sabbath of Unleavened Bread coincides with the weekly Shabbat, the waving of the omer would have taken place on Sunday after the resurrection. Those who adhere to the Good Thursday model advanced by some Hebrew Roots teachers and based on the Gospel of John, the Temple rituals of waving the sheaf and presenting the first fruits would have taken place just hours before the resurrection. Either way, the synonymy of events is remarkable. For our purposes, we will assume the latter model where the Master was crucified on a Thursday, Friday was the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread, and Saturday–the weekly Sabbath–was the day of presenting the first fruits of the barley. That Sabbath day, while the Master slept, the priesthood was busy mixing the barley flour with oil and frankincense to make it into a bread offering. Just hours before the Sabbath was over, while Miriam from Magdala and the other women among the disciples still “rested according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56), the High Priest touched the barley flour to the altar and offered a portion of it on the altar as a memorial portion. They baked the remainder of the dough into loaves of unleavened barley bread to be shared among the priesthood. Along with this barley bread offering of the omer, they sacrificed a single lamb as a burnt offering. By divine design, the rituals of offering the barley omer in the Temple coincided with the death and resurrection of the Yeshua.

Counting the Omer–A Subject of Dispute

The Harvest of the Barley Omer occurs on the second day of the seven days of Unleavened Bread. It is a miniature festival within a festival. It is listed in Leviticus 23 along with all the appointed times of God. Beginning on the day that the first omer of barley was harvested and brought to the Temple, a countdown to the next Biblical Festival began. The Torah commands the Israelites to count off 49 days and then celebrate the festival of Shavuot (Pentecost) on the 50th day. The day the Omer was brought was ‘Day One’ of what is called ‘Counting the Omer.’ The next day was ‘Day Two’ of the Omer count, the next was ‘Day Three’ and so on. During the 49 days of the Omer count, the wheat crop in Israel ripens. By the end of the Omer count, the crop is ready for harvest and the First Fruits of the wheat crop can be brought to the Temple for Pentecost. However, in the apostolic era, the Pharisees and the Sadducees disagreed about the timing of this ritual. As a result, they disagreed about the date of Pentecost. The point of contention lies in the ambiguity of the Hebrew text. Leviticus 23:11 says the Omer is to be brought “on the day after the Sabbath.” It is not clear whether the verse is referring to the weekly Sabbath or the special High Sabbath which begins the week of Unleavened Bread. If the verse refers to the weekly Sabbath, then the Omer would always fall on a Sunday but would have no fixed calendar date. If, however, the verse refers to the special Sabbath of Unleavened Bread, then the First Fruits of the Barley would always fall on the sixteenth day of the first month (Nisan) but would not fall on a fixed week day. In ancient times, the meaning of the verse was hotly debated between the Pharisees and a sect of the Saducees. The Saducees understood the “day after the Sabbath” as being Sunday. The Pharisees argued against that seemingly literal reading. In first-century Temple practice, the Pharisees ultimately prevailed, and as a result modern Judaism still reckons the Sabbath in question as the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Thus in modern Jewish observance, the First Fruits of the Barley Omer always falls on the sixteenth day of the first month (the second day of Unleavened Bread). For years, I personally preferred and taught the Sadducean method of reckoning. I even wrote an article on the subject for First Fruits of Zion, urging believers to adopt the Sadducean reckoning. My colleague Tim Hegg, however, argued for accepting the traditional, Pharisaic reckoning. On one occasion, Tim challenged me, asking me, “When the believers gathered in the Temple to celebrate the 50th day of the Omer, did they do it according to the reckoning of the Sadducees or the Pharisees?” I looked into the matter. If we can ascertain how the omer was reckoned in the days of the believers, we will know how we should reckon it. Two important, first-century eye-witnesses and contemporaries of the Apostles bring important testimony. Flavius Josephus, who was himself a member of the Temple priesthood, reports in Antiquities 3.10.5–6, “On the second day of Unleavened Bread, which is the sixteenth day of the month [Nisan], they first partake of the fruits of the earth, for before that day they do not touch them . . . They also at this participation of the first-fruits of the earth, sacrifice a lamb as a burnt offering to God.” Similarly, Philo, another First Century, Jewish eyewitness reports, “There is also a festival on the day of the Passover Feast, which succeeds the first day, and this is named the sheaf [omer], from what takes place on it; for the sheaf is brought to the altar as a first fruit…” (Philo, Special Laws 2:29 150) Both Philo and Josephus agree that the ritual was practiced in accordance with the reckoning of the Pharisees. In addition, the Greek Septuagint version of the Torah (a version employed fairly extensively by the first-century believers) makes the matter explicit by translating Leviticus 23:11 as, “And he shall lift up the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you. On the morrow of the first day the priest shall lift it up.” The term “morrow of the first day” can only be understood in accordance with the traditional Pharisaic reckoning. Tim was right. I was wrong. If the believers had counted the omer according to the Sadducees, they would not have been gathered in the Temple with all Israel–pilgrims from all over the world–on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. God put His divine seal of approval on the traditional method of counting by pouring out his Holy Spirit on the day of the Pharisaic Shavuot. After studying the matter out, I had to change the way I reckoned the Omer, and I had to re-write this article.

No Small Consequence

The counting of the days of the Omer is a biblical commandment incumbent upon every believer. Traditionally, the period of the Omer count is to be a time of spiritual introspection as the counters prepare themselves for Shavuot. Because it begins during Passover and concludes at Shavuot, the counting of the Omer remembers the journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai. The Messianic implications of the Omer and the subsequent count down are great. According to Matthew 28:1, Yeshua rose “after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,” a Hebraic expression for the havdalah hour that ends the Sabbath on Saturday night. We cannot help but notice that the appointed day for harvesting the barley omer coincides with the resurrection of Messiah. In a remarkable display of God’s sovereign planning, the Torah set aside the resurrection as a day of first fruits 1,400 years before its occurrence. The symbolism is strong. Just as the first omer of barley was brought as a first fruits of the whole harvest, so too Messiah’s resurrection was a first fruits of the resurrection of the dead. This is the imagery Paul invokes with the words, “Messiah has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.”[2] Just as the first fruits of the barley made all the rest of the harvest kosher for harvest, so too the resurrection of Messiah makes the resurrection of the dead possible.

Counting the Days of Messiah

Because of the resurrection and the connection to Pentecost, the counting of the Omer is an important mitzvah for believers. According to Jewish tradition, the counting is done in the following prescribed manner. After the evening prayers each day, the counter recites a blessing: “Blessed are You, LORD Our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us to count the Omer.” Then the counter simply states, “Today is X days of the Omer.” The person counting follows his formal declaration of the omer day with a recitation of Psalm 67 and a few short petitions for spiritual cleansing and renewal. Tradition prescribes the recitation of Psalm 67 because it is composed of exactly 49 Hebrew words which correspond to the 49 days of the omer count. The Psalm is seasonally appropriate because of its harvest motif. It is spiritually appropriate because it speaks clearly of God’s salvation (Yeshua) being made known over all the earth. The Counting of the Omer creates a count down to Shavuot, the time of giving of the Torah and the time of the giving of the Holy Spirit. As such, it guides us on a spiritual journey of preparation. It is a journey that is begun with Passover, the symbol of our Salvation in Yeshua, and completed at Pentecost, the symbol of our completion through the Spirit. The distance of days between the two events should be a time of spiritual reflection, growth, purification and preparation. The Master’s resurrection makes the counting of the Omer a season of special significance and joy. For His disciples, it is a time to remember the resurrected Yeshua. All of His post-resurrection appearances fell within the days of the Omer count. At the end of the first day of the Omer, at the beginning of the second day, He rose. On the second day of the Omer, He appeared to Miriam and to two of our number while they traveled to Emmaus, and also to Peter. On the third day of the Omer He appeared in our midst, among the Twelve. On the tenth day of the Omer He appeared to us again, and Thomas was with us. During the counting He appeared to 500 of our number and then to James. During the counting He appeared to seven of our number while they fished on the sea. On the 41st day of the Omer He led us out to a hill near Bethany, and we saw Him ascend to heaven. Before He ascended, He commanded us not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. We waited and counted the days. Forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, forty-six, forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine days of the Omer…and when the day of Pentecost was fully come we were all together in one place.[3] Let’s work together this year as we keep the mitzvah of Counting the Omer. Let’s express the resurrected life within us by doing more mitzvot and spreading more joy.
Endnotes
1. Menachot 10:3. See Mishnah, Menachot 10 for detailed information on the omer ritual. 2. 1 Corinthians 15:20 3. Acts 2]]> http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/appointed_times/the_omer.php http://ffoz.org/resources/articles/appointed_times/the_omer.php Appointed Times free shavuot Fri, 15 Apr 2005 16:41:28 +0200 Passover - Remembering our Redemption The Significance to Israel The two mo’adim, Pesach and Unleavened Bread, are very closely connected. The day of Pesach is one specific day that is to be remembered throughout the history of Israel. “‘For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments–I am the Lord” (Exodus 12:12). This passage relates the importance of Pesach–it is the time to remember the final plague, the slaying of the first-born. At Pesach, the Angel of Death went from house to house, both Egyptian and Israelite, and slew the first-born. However, as God instructed, any house that had the blood of a Pesach lamb smeared upon it was protected from death and its inhabitants lived. They were then to eat that sacrificial lamb in combination with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. Moreover, the Israelites were told to eat it quickly because the plague of the first-born triggered the second aspect of this historical event, the Exodus of the Israelite slaves from Egypt. On that first Pesach, God was going to take them out of Egypt and slavery by a miraculous deliverance. Thus, beginning that same night and lasting for seven full days, the Israelites were also instructed to celebrate a Feast of Unleavened Bread, Chag HaMatzot. The text in Exodus says, “You shall also observe the [Feast of] Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance” (Exodus 12:17). The text indicates that, whereas Pesach specifically was given to remember the plague of the firstborn and the deliverance from it through trust in the blood of the Pesach sacrifice, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was given to specifically remember the actual event of the Exodus. This was accomplished by eating unleavened bread for a whole week. This bread (called matza) recalls a time of haste when the children of Israel were fleeing from the Egyptians with no time to wait for their bread to rise. Today, for all intents and purposes, this entire holiday season, all seven days, is called ‘Passover’ or ‘Pesach.’ For simplicity and brevity, we will continue with this, however we should note that biblically they are two separate, yet connected, mo’adim. Pesach is one day and specifically remembers the slaying of the first-born and the salvation through the blood of the lamb. Unleavened Bread begins on Pesach and lasts one week. It is marked by eating bread made without leaven. Its purpose is to commemorate the rushed exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, fleeing to freedom. In other words, the slogan is absolutely correct which says: “Pesach/Passover is the Season of our Freedom.” It is the time when the people of Israel remember how God delivered them from death and slavery, and began to form that large family of ex-slaves into a free and independent nation.

The Messianic Significance

According to the teaching of the Brit Chadasha, the mo’adim of Pesach and Unleavened Bread picture certain aspects of the sacrificial work of Yeshua. In I Corinthians 5:7 we read: “Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lum