Tuesday, September 20, 2011

RESTORED JOY!


RESTORED JOY
R. Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Psalm. 51:12-13 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

As I was praying Psalm 51 one morning verses 12 and 13 jumped put at me, I thought, “There is a formula here.”

RESTORED JOY = CONVERTED SINNERS

Joy in Hebrew is Simcha, made up of the three Hebrew letters Shin, Mem and Chet. These letters, if moved around spell other Hebrew words and give us another amazing formula.

To have JOY or SIMCHA:
Chet, Mem, Shin = CHUMASH (Means “FIVE” in Hebrew and is used to refer to “TORAH” which is made up of the “FIVE” books of Moses)
Mem, Shin, Chet = MOSHIACH (Messiah)
To have true SIMCHA:
CHUMASH + MOSHIACH = SIMCHA
No one will want to obey the very Words of Life, the Torah that we so cherish, which comes from the Living Word, the Living Torah Himself; YESHUA if we do not have JOY!
JOY is the KEY to ministering and witnessing to others. JOY is the KEY to winning others over to MESSIAH and THE WAY of TORAH.

Prov. 11:30b …he that winneth souls is wise.

Therefore there is WISDOM in JOY! What is the WISDOM?

Psalm. 51:12-13 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

The restoration of JOY in SALVATION which the Hebrew word for SALVATION is YESHUA! So to have JOY (SIMCHA) in the TORAH (CHUMASH) we must have JOY (SIMCHA) in following the TORAH (CHUMASH) in the footsteps of MESSIAH (MOSHIACH) as we personally relate to HIM in our walk! When we do this, we will turn into a “sinner magnet” if you will. This is what YESHUA meant when He said to His talmidim (disciples)…

Mark 1:17 And Yeshua said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

Mankind will be lured to us like fish to bait due to our JOY (SIMCHA) in walking in His (MOSHIACH’S) footsteps by walking TORAH.
When people see the CHUMASH is a blessing to keep and not a burden, because they witness the SIMCHA we have in it, they will come and want what we have in MOSHIACH!
Are you like the congregation at Ephesus? Has your walk in MESSIAH and TORAH lost its pizzazz and luster?

Rev 2:4-5   Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

What are the “first works”? It’s the zealousness one had when they first began personally relating to G-d through MESSIAH by pleasing Him by keeping the Commandments of TORAH (John 14:15)! TORAH is like doing the things that use to make us swoon over our lover, TORAH is like courting our lover all over again. It is like a married couple that got caught in a rut and they begin to date each other again and regain that spark of first love they had for one another when they first met.


John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.


YESHUA and the FATHER are ONE (John 17) and so Yeshua’s Commandments are no different from and are the exact same as His FATHER’S. After all the TORAH and MESSIAH are One and inseparable. You cannot have one without the other. One is the Written Manifestation the other is the Living Manifestation.

You want your friends, family and strangers to observe the Torah? Do it with SIMCHA in MOSHIACH’S footsteps, and do not bludgeon them over the head with it with an angry scowl on your face, and eventually they will come! Make others jealous of the JOY you have in relating to MESSIAH and G-D through the TORAH (Rom. 11:11).

RESTORE THE JOY!


Monday, September 19, 2011

Ponderings of the Pentateuch #51-52 Sep. 24, 2011


RaYBaSH’s Ponderings of the Pentateuch
Parashah # 51: Nitzavim “You are standing”
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 29:9-31:30
By: Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Deut. 29:9-12 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water: That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day:
Is air important? Yep, if you have a pulse, air is probably THE most important thing out there, even before food and water. You can get along for days without food and water but you cannot go minutes without air. Is air only important to aristocrats or the rich? Nope, even if you’re a janitor at Grand Central Station, a convict on death row or a bum living in a cardboard box on the corner of 5th and Broadway; you need air, it’s for YOU! Everyone in the here and now needs and has a right to air. What about the unborn or better yet, what about the generation that is not even a twinkle in their father’s eye? Yep, they too need, must have and require air. Why all the drama about air you may ask? Well, because the Torah is like air; no matter who you are; a Hebrew baby that still breasts feeds, a gentile or a slave, the Torah is for YOU (Deut.29:11)! Even these who are yet to be born, the Torah is for everyone!


Deut. 29:14-15 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:

If you asked a baby to tell you what air is, what it is made up of, how it works and how our body processes it and benefits from it, could he do it? No, he slobbers, defecates all over himself and babbles. There’s no way a baby could even begin to tell you the most elementary thing about air. But does the baby benefit from air regardless if it knows anything about it? Of course!

Like air, you don’t have to understand it to benefit from it and so when the Covenant of Torah was read and renewed by the people. G-d asked babies to be there. G-d also said that those who could not benefit from it right now nonetheless will eventually.

Deut. 32:46-47 tells us (like air) The Torah is ones life! The Torah is G-d’s Word (John 1) and G-d is inseparable and indistinguishable from His Word and thus G-d is Life (Deut. 29:20) and His Word are One!

Yeshua the Living Word, the Living Torah (John 1) the salvation of Israel and the world (Lk. 2:30-31, Matt. 1:21, Jn. 3:16, Lk. 2:32) prays that He, the Living Word, the Living Torah be beneficial to them that believe on Him and those not yet born who would believe on Him.


John 17:6, 9a, 20-21 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word… I pray for them… Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

Yeshua said:


Matt. 5:17-20 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.


Isaiah said:


Isa. 61:11-62:2 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.


So G-d’s Torah, His Written Word and G-d’s Messiah, His Living Torah, His Living Word is, like air, for EVERYONE!

Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov!
-- Rabbi Yehudah


RaYBaSH’s Ponderings of the Pentateuch
Parashah # 52: Va’yelech: “And he went”
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 29:9-31:30
By: Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr

In the past I have dealt with the obvious passages dealt with in this Torah portion, such as having courage, Moses’ song, etc. This time around I want to deal with things that are usually left out.


Deut. 31:12-13 Gather the people together, men and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

Last Torah portion we discovered how Torah is like air and is beneficial to everyone, regardless of ones age, status, ethnicity or understanding and we see in this Torah portion this fact is reiterated again as well as the importance to pass the Torah on to each generation. Joel 2:15-27 reiterates that Torah and repentance and returning to Torah is for everyone when one strays from the narrow path.


Deut. 31:2 And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.


Moses dies on his birthday at the age of 120! We have a saying, a well wish, a blessing in Judaism on peoples birthdays, “May you live to be 120!” We desire others to be blessed as Moses was who was still healthy and youthfully vigorous at 120 as at 20! Deut. 31:2 reminds me of…


Gen. 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.


In Micah 7:18-20, Micah talks about G-d’s mercy and compassion and though Moses couldn’t enter the Promised Land He nonetheless Gloryland (Heaven) on his birthday.


Deut. 31:4 And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.


Because these kings were powerful and the descendants of the paranormal, human-demonic hybrid giants, this pep-talk reminder is brought up again and again to encourage Israel, belay fear and doubt and remind them of their past accomplishments through Him (Deut. 1:4, 2:26-3:11, 4:46-47, Num. 21:23-35, 32:33).


Deut. 31:16-18, 29 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods… For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

G-d told Abraham about the Egyptian slavery (Gen. 15:13-14_ and G-d told Moses about the Babylonian and Assyrian exiles. Hosea gives us the solution for the slavery and exiles.


Hosea 14:1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.

Deut. 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Hebrews 13:5-8 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov!
-- Rabbi Yehudah

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Drama Over Drama


Drama over Drama
R. Yehudah ben Shomeyr

I rarely address personal, political or national issues. Nor do I like to voice personal pet peeves. I like to focus on the Scripture and life as it pertains to it. But when I do go off the beaten path and speak on such things I usually remain silent on you know something has really got my goat and so I speak. But I do so with respect and caution, I do so with out malice or ill intent so as to spotlight the issue itself and not the person that brought the issue to my attention.

Youth is wasted on the young, as a well known saying goes. This implies the youth have such passion and zeal, and due to their abundance of ignorance they waste the energy of their youth on misguided causes that tear down moreso than build up. And if the elders had the energy of youth, oh what good we could do and what positive changes can be made for the good of all. We understand the intoxication of youth and such poor, yet well intended actions is easily forgiven and forgotten as maturity graces the restless youth. However, it is a gross evil to see such misguided zeal acted out in elders. Yet, it happens, and such misfortune is not so easily overlooked because elders are not expected to be ignorant, but wise and learned. Yet I have witnessed such ignorant zealousness in elders who smack of self righteous piety and purity and attempt to lord this over everyone else, as if their personal standards should be everyone’s standards.

I saw a religious mans internet profile on a well known social network and he said that he doesn’t own a T.V. Okay, fine, a good personal choice. Then he went on to say that he doesn’t own one because T.V. shows are drama and drama is a pagan Greek invention. He went on to say that it drama is an art founded on deception because the actors and actresses pretend to be someone that they are not while acting out a work of fiction before an audience. If we read between the lines he saying drama is a form of lying and deception. I may expect this from a young purest trying to find himself as he discovers life, but not from an aged man who has accumulated years of life experience as his teacher.

First of all T.V. is an inanimate object and can be a tool for good or evil. How we use it is what makes it good or bad. It is irrelevant what materials are on T.V. What is relevant however are the choices we make in what we decide to view on that T.V. which makes it good or evil. Just as a blade can cut out cancer and heal someone or be plunged into a person’s heart and kill them, the blade is neither good nor evil, but the person that wields the blade. Guns do not kill people; people kill people with guns!  Likewise it is the person who controls the T.V. that causes it to edify or corrupt.

Second, the Greeks are credited to a lot of things they didn’t invent. Like the Zodiac, it was created by G-d and has a Biblically rooted prophetic story in which many of the stars still bear Hebrew and Arabic names. The Greeks just took what was already there and known and made it their own, like a band covering the song of an older, well respected band. Likewise they didn’t invent the art of drama.


“The origin of the Hebrew drama may be traced back to a very early period. The ancient Hebrews, like other nations of antiquity, were wont to express their emotions in the form of dialogue interspersed with songs. Miriam, with a drum in her hand, singing the deliverance of Israel, while the other women answer her in chorus, suggests vividly the strophes and antistrophes of the later Greek. The song of Moses is of the same nature. The Song of Solomon, according to many scholars, is a regular drama, the heroine of which is the Shulamite, and in which the other dramatis personæ are: Solomon; a shepherd; chorus; watchmen, etc. (see Renan's translation of the Song of Solomon). To the foregoing may be added the Book of Job, which, if not so elaborate in dramatic form as the Canticles, yet represents several persons as acting, namely: Job; his wife; the messengers; Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar (Job's three friends); Elihu; and God. These few crude dramas of the Biblical epoch had no immediate successors...http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=467&letter=D#ixzz1YEp5Liod


True, the above mentioned was real life events and works of non-fiction written in dramatic form that untouched could be used to stage a play. The ancient Hebrews were a nomadic people and like all nomadic peoples employed storytelling, song and dramatic dance round their nightly campfires. Also, let us not forget that our Messiah Yeshua Himself employed a type of dramatic theater of the mind by the implementation of parables, fictitious stories used to bring a moral or spiritual point. Does this mean Yeshua was lying and being deceitful? Of course not. Like with T.V. the audience are not dummies and unless one is a child or mentally challenged one knows what one is watching is an act; therefore no deceit is employed by the storyteller or dramatic actors.

But a Canaanite deceived Israel by pretending to be a far away people, fooling them into a peace treaty when G-d told Israel to wipe them out. Judah’s daughter-in-law pretended to be a harlot and he got her pregnant thus fornicating and committing incest! Delilah pretended the Philistines were upon Samson and her little drama ended up being Samson’s demise. All examples of drama being used deceitfully! Yeah, so what!? It takes two to tango. Israel should have consulted G-d in the first place and both Judah and Samson had no business being where they were in the said accounts. Just proving my point that drama can be used like a blade, for good or evil, just depends on who and how one wields it.

David pretended to be insane and escaped his enemies. Rahab pretended the spies went another way and saved their life. Yeshua acted as if He wasn’t going to help the gentile woman who came to Him, when all along He knew He was going to help her, He just needed to create a little drama in order to drive and important home to His disciples. Gentiles acted like business as usual and due to their drama of normalcy Nazi’s had no idea they hid Jews within their walls! All examples of drama being used for good.  

Movies have inspired me to develop a greater will power. I have even felt the Holy Spirit while watching a movie, just as strong as if I was listening to the Torah being read in synagogue or listening to testify of HaShem’s praise through song. I refuse to put Adonai in a box. I will not decide how HaShem chooses to move or reveal Himself.

You don’t want to own a T.V., fine. Don’t want to go to the movie theater, that’s okay too; just don’t act as if G-d doesn’t want anyone being entertained by drama just because you chose not to be. I read no where in the Torah, “Thou shalt not learn by nor entertain thyself with drama.” 


Friday, September 16, 2011

Daniel and the 70 Weeks


Daniel and the 70 Weeks
R. Yehudah ben Shomeyr

INTRODUCTION:

Messianic Prophecy has become a tangled bramble of, “He said, She said,” tit-for-tat banter between Christians, Messianic and or Natsari Judaism and Rabbinical Judaism. Both arguing and making statements and claims piled so high and thick, like a well woven conspiracy theory, one wonders if finding the truth is even possible at this point. Granted, both sides employing bias and even deceptive scholarship in order to prove ones stance. Like with any “Messianic Prophecy” one party claims it’s messianic another claims it’s historical or eschatological and another says it’s both. Who does one believe if any? It is enough to make one want to walk away and not even attempt to navigate the maelstrom of theological slurry.

Have you ever played the game Kerplunk? The game where you randomly jam sticks into an upright cylindrical tube and rest a handful of marbles of the bed of those randomly placed sticks? The objective is to strategically remove the sticks one at a time and not allow any of the marbles to drop through the spaces between the sticks. It is your hopes that your opponent will pull that one stick that will cause all the marbles to come crashing to the bottom. Could this be the lynch pin that will crumble the anti-missionary arguments? Could this be the stick that causes all the anti-missionary marbles to come falling through the gaps?

THE BOOK OF DANIEL:

To begin one must authenticate the book of Daniel itself, for even this is one of the first things to be thrown into question, not by Judaism, but by secular scholars.

The book of Daniel is said to have been written by the Prophet Daniel in 6th Century B.C.E./B.C. Critics seem to reject this truth because of the detailed prophecies regarding the history of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome contained within the book. They feel, due to its pinpoint accuracy that it is too good to be true and thus had to be written after the fact. Critics deny the supernaturality of prophecy itself and thus throws into question virtually every prophet and prophetic book of the Tanak and thus critics claim it was actually written in 2nd century B.C.E. But consider this; manuscript fragments from the Book of Daniel were found in Qumran, the hiding place near that of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but not enough time would have been available for the book to reach the Essene community at Qumran for it to be copied there. We must also consider the fact that the Judaism at large accepts the Book of Daniel as part of the Tanak bears witness to its authenticity. The Qumran documents and Yeshua's confirmation that the Tanak is authentic validates the authenticity of The Book of Daniel and confirms that Daniel did write his prophecies centuries before they were fulfilled.

TRANSLATIONS:

Second, we must look at the translation of Daniel and the so called discrepancies between the Christian and Jewish rendering of the text as well as the designation of chapters and verses.

The anti-missionaries will point to old and bias archaic English Christian translations in order to attempt to prove their point that Gentiles and Christians are ignorant and irresponsible with rendering the Hebrew correctly. They also argue that Christian/Messianic/Gentile ignorance of Jewish custom, literature and theology impedes them in coming to an accurate and correct conclusion on a “Messianic Passage.” Jewish culture and extra biblical literature has little and many times nothing to do with the crux of a messianic Prophecy itself. The bottom line is that regardless of the English translation we must ultimately go back to the Hebrew on which all translations are based.

And who cares about the designation of chapter and verse, in the original Hebrew, there were no chapter and verse designation and no punctuation and so this is just a moot distractionary argument to pull one away from the meat, point and truth of the matter. Such things as chapter and verse and punctuation of the Biblical texts only came about in modern times in order to aid us, the modern reader and it does not take away from the Hebrew itself.

HISTORICAL vs. MESSIANIC:

The first thing the anti-missionaries do is to deny Daniel 9 to be Messianic in anyway but rather, historical. They claim the prophecy of Daniel 9 is about Cyrus (Daniel 9:25) and Alexander Yannai (Daniel 9:26) followed by the destruction of Jerusalem. The text if taken in unbiased context has nothing to do with King Cyrus and who, exactly, is Alexander Yannai anyway and what does this person have to do with Bible Prophecy? This person isn't even mentioned anywhere in the Bible!

You see, the anti-missionary tactic is to claim that what Christian and Messianics call, “Messianic Prophecy” has nothing to do with Messiah. Anti-missionaries hedge their bets that the people they are speaking with have little to no knowledge on Hebraic Hermeneutics and thus play on this ignorance in order to make their arguments appear legitimate and true. You see there are four levels of Hebraic Interpretation displayed by the Hebraic acronym “PaRDeS” meaning “paradise” in Hebrew:

·        Pashat: The plain or literal level of interpretation.
·        Remez: The text is hinting or alluding to something else.
·        Drash: The practical applicable level of a passage.
·        Sod: The spiritual or mystical level of interpretation.

They claim their arguments to true by only focusing on the pashat and Drash level of a Messianic Prophecy and leaving out the Remez and Sod level of interpretation and using it only when it suits their arguments. It is one of the biggest double standards they play when dealing with Messianic Prophecy.

RABBINIC LITERATURE:

Again the anti-missionary will gladly site Rabbinic literature when it seems to fit their argument and in order to give it a little more clout, but again, banking on the ignorance of the people, leave out such arguments that will cast doubt on their argumentative conclusions.

The Talmud itself warns about this kind of bias and deceptive activity:

"May the curse of heaven fall upon those who calculate the date of the advent of the Messiah, and thus create political and social unrest among the people. - (Sanhedrin, 97b.)

And due to the fact after Messiah Yeshua’s coming, the events surrounding him lined up with Yeshua being Messiah so well, that for fear others would conclude that this Yeshua is indeed Messiah, if you read a commentary of the same Talmudic passage, they forbad calculating Daniel 9 and other time oriented Messianic Passages all together!

“Rabbis after the time of Christ have pronounced a curse on anyone who would attempt to calculate the dates of this chapter.” (Talmud Sanhedrin 97b, Soncino ed., p. 659.)

This would mean that what was said in Talmud Sanhedrin 97b implies that the rabbis did indeed recognize that Daniel chapter nine predicted the time of Yeshua’s death, and were so concerned that this might cause Jewish people to recognize that He was the Messiah that they pronounced a curse on those who calculated the dates revealed in Daniel 9. Why? Because there is no other Messianic prophecy that so perfectly foretells the coming of Messiah and the year of His baptism and crucifixion. Non-Messianic Jews would realize they had missed the first coming of the Messiah if they understood this prophecy, but they avoid it believing this passage is cursed. The one passage proving they missed the Messiah and they won’t read it!   So we can see the beginnings of the anti-missionary conspiracies! I have always said that one must look into the Rabbinic literature and Scriptural commentaries before the coming of Yeshua in order to see the truth of these Messianic Prophecies. Because it was after Yeshua’s death, resurrection and ascension that they began to re-interpret what we know today as the Messianic Prophecies to make it seem they are not messianic at all.

Rabbi Maimonides, also known as the Rambam, the preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah  scholars of the Middle Ages, said this about Daniel 9:24-27 – “Daniel has made known to us the knowledge of the end times. However, since they are secret, the wise rabbis have barred the calculation of the days of Messiah’s coming so that the untutored populace will not be led astray when they see that the End Times have already come but there is no sign of the Messiah" (Igeret Teiman, Chapter 3 p.24.)

So the Rambam, one of the most revered Jewish commentators believed that Daniel accurately predict in advance events related to the “end times,” including the date of the coming of the Messiah! He concludes that this is a Messianic Prophecy and said nothing about it having to do with Cyrus or some other figure.

Rabbi Moses Abraham Levi said, “I have examined and searched all the Holy Scriptures and have not found the time for the coming of Messiah clearly fixed, except in the words of Gabriel to the prophet Daniel, which are written in the 9th chapter of the prophecy of Daniel (The Messiah of the Targums, Talmuds and Rabbinical Writers, 1971) p.141-142.

BACKGROUND:

The Book of Daniel was written during the Babylonian Exile of the House of Judah, or the Southern Kingdom, consisting of the Tribes of Judah and Levi, on account of their sins and disobedience to the Torah and its covenants between Israel and G-d Himself.

II Chron. 36:20-21 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.

GAVRIEL’S MESSAGE TO DANIEL:
DANIEL’S VISION-PROPHECY:

Daniel saw the Medo-Persian Empire defeating the Babylonian Empire as a sign (based on Jer. 25:11-12) that the 70 year slavery of his people has finally come to an end.


Dan. 9:1-2 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

Jer. 25:11-12 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.

Seeing this so clear and plain Daniel (9:3-19) prays and fasts, supplicating for the forgiveness and restoration of the nation of Judah and in order to determine what G-d would have His People do next. To be clear this has nothing to do with Gentiles or them replacing Israel in the form of the “New Testament Church.”

DAYS vs YEARS:

One must recall that prior to this Daniel had a vision in 8:14-16, 27, where the angel Gavriel came to him describing a “2300 day” which is in fact a 2300 year period of time.


Num. 14:34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.

Psa. 90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

Ezk. 4:6b I have appointed thee each day for a year.

II Pet 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.


However, due to the intense nature of this visitation Daniel collapsed and was unable to hear the entire interpretation of the vision at the time. We find that the rest of the message relayed to him by the angel Gavriel was given in the vision we read about in Daniel 9.


Dan. 8:14-16, 27; 9:20-27 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision… And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it… And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

DANIEL’S MESSIANIC PHROPHECY:

And so we come to the meat of this Messianic Prophecy:

In Daniel 9:24 the word “determined” comes from the Hebrew word, “chathak,” which literally means, “to cut off or to mark out”. The angel Gavriel is telling Daniel that 70 weeks (literally 490 days) had been cut off or marked out for the people of Israel from the 2300 day (2300 years) prophecy in Daniel 8:14. The majority of Gentile English translations of the Bible have translated the phrase to read in Daniel 9:24 as, "seventy weeks." But this is not entirely accurate. In Judaism we know the Hebrew word for "weeks" on account of the observance of the “Feast of Weeks,” known in the Hebrew as “Shavuot.” However, the word that appears in the Hebrew text of Daniel as “shavuim,” meaning “sevens.” The word refers to a “seven” of anything, and the context determines the content of the seven. It appears that Daniel had been thinking in terms of years, specifically the 70 years of exile. He likely thought that the captivity would end after 70 years and that the kingdom would be established after 70 years. Notice though that Gavriel was making a play upon words here in the Hebrew, that it was not “70 years,” but “70 sevens of years,” a total of 490 years (70 times seven).
Daniel 9:24 gives us 6 specific purposes for these “70 weeks” or 490 years:
1.     To finish the Transgression: meaning, to finish the exile brought about by Israel’s transgression or rebellion against the Torah.
2.     To make an end to sin: meaning, to stop sinning, which by definition is the breaking of the Torah (I John 3:4) and to start keeping or obeying Torah once again.
3.     To make reconciliation for iniquity: Meaning, to make a covering or atonement for iniquity, which is “Torahlessness.”
4.     To bring everlasting righteousness: To bring an age of righteous living by obeying Torah.
5.     To seal up the vision and prophecy: To bring a fulfillment to the prophecy/vision he had by the coming of Messiah.
6.     To anoint the Most Holy: This has a double meaning. a.) That the Most Holy One would be anointed; Yeshua Messiah. For Yeshua is the embodiment, a physical manifestation of the spirituality of the Temple Itself. He was anointed when He was baptized by John (Luke 3:22-23; 4:18) and b.) To be more accurate according to the Hebrew, one can say to anoint the Most Holy Place; that being the Temple in Jerusalem which Messiah Yeshua anointed with His Presence by setting foot in the Temple. Yeshua was the physical embodiment of the Shekinah that anointed the Temple.

Dan. 9:24-27 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
 25Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
 26And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

THE CALENDAR PROBLEM
I know there are those who break down these calculations to the day and even the hour from the Hebraic calendar and convert it to the equivalent on the secular calendar and plug in a multitude of passages to map out Yeshua’s ministry almost day by day. I am not that foolhardy or presumptuous to do so, because I have seen several who have tried to do this and each one came out with a different calculations and interpretation. This is what gives ammunition and so-called validity to the anti-missionaries and their arguments. They point out how we can never agree on anything, especially important Messianic Prophecy. Such details as spoken of in the above does not matter here, what does matter is the big calculations given in our text.  
Daniel 9:25 speaks of “seven weeks and threescore and two weeks (62 weeks).” 62 + 7 = 69 or 69 x 7 = 483. It is believed by some scholars that in the time of Daniel most of the known ancient calendars calculated a year as 360 days (Hebrew, Mayan, Egyptian, Babylonian and many others). Some scholars believe that an astronomical event such as perhaps a close passing of Mars, a meteor or comet striking the earth, lengthened the time the earth takes to rotate time around the sun to the current 365.25 days per year. Some scholars also believe that there was a prophetic calendar the Jews used consisting of 360 days. Another reason some scholars say that we should apply a 360 day calendar to Daniel's prophecy is because of various Bible references that allude to a fixed 30-day month view of time. For example, in Genesis 7:24, it says that the flood lasted 150 days. And, in Genesis 7:11, it says the flood began in the 17th day of the second month. And in Genesis 8:4, it says that the flood subsided on the 17th day of the seventh month, when the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. So, these passages present us a 5-month period of time that is described as being 150 days in length. And that of course is five 30-day months. If we take the 360 days prophetic calendar and break up the 483 years into days we get 173,880 days. The angel Gavriel was telling Daniel that 173,880 days after the command is given to “restore and rebuild Jerusalem” the Messiah would come.
This decree to rebuild was given in Ezra 7 and Nehemiah 1 and 2, it was also given at different times and by different pagan kings (Cyrus in Ezra 1:1-4, Darius in Ezra 6:8-12 and Artaxerxes in Ezra 7:11-26) but I believe this is specifically dealing with Artaxerxes in Ezra 7:11-26 in the 7th year of his reign. Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy pointed to a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem as the starting date for the 70 weeks. Information provided by Ezra indicates that this prophecy was fulfilled by the decree of Artaxerxes which authorized Ezra to restore and rebuild Jerusalem by allowing him to establish a judicial system based on the Law of the Lord in Jerusalem and throughout the Trans-Euphrates province. The decree also allowed for the rebuilding of the city. Nehemiah makes it clear that in computing the years of the reign of Artaxerxes he was using a fall-to-fall calendar making it possible for us to identify the seventh year of the king Artaxerxes the 1st as 457 B.C.E./B.C.
Daniel 9:25 states that from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and thus the Temple until the Messiah, which can only be speaking of Yeshua, is 7 weeks and threescore and two weeks, Three score is 60 + 2 = 62 weeks. So this is 7 + 62 = 69 weeks from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the first coming of Messiah.
Daniel 9:26 speaks of what lay at the end of this “69 week” period, that the Messiah would come and be “cut off,” Hebraically meaning killed. Messiah was killed but not because of anything He had done criminally, but on behalf of the people as an atoning, substitutionary sacrifice to atone for (as Dan. 9:24 states) the “iniquity,” the Torah breaking of the people.
Next in the verse we have the phrase that indicates that the Temple that was rebuilt will once again be destroyed. This occurred by the Romans in 70 C.E./A.D. who “flooded” Jerusalem and destroyed it and the Temple.
The following is a chronological summary of Daniel 9:24-26
1. There would be a decree to rebuild Jerusalem.
2. Jerusalem and the Temple would be rebuilt.
3. Then an Anointed One (messiah) would be “cut off” or shall we say, “rejected” or “killed.”
4. Then Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed again.
The following is a summary of how Daniel 9:24-26 was fulfilled.
1. After the Medo-Persians had conquered the Babylonian Empire which included the land of Israel. Persian King Artaxerxes gave permission to the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem, which was still in ruins after having been destroyed earlier by the Babylonians.
2. The Jews rebuilt the city of Jerusalem and the Temple.
3. Then, in about 33 C.E./A.D., Yeshua entered Jerusalem as the Messiah who had been promised by Prophets. However, many people rejected Yeshua as the Messiah and He was crucified by the Romans.
4. About 40 years after Yeshua was crucified, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple and the Temple has not been rebuilt since then.

Here is a quote that to me, “seals the deal” regardless of what your method of calculation of these weeks are:

“In Nehemiah 2:1 we see the decree to rebuild, issued in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, (about 445 B.C.) Messiah comes 483 years after the decree to rebuild is issued [Calculated by adding 7 weeks (49 years) + 62 weeks (434 years)] this arrives at about the time of Yeshua's triumphant entry in Jerusalem. Messiah comes 434 years after rebuilding, or 483 years after decree is first issued giving permission to rebuild -- hence 483 years (7 weeks + 62 weeks). Working form earlier permissions to rebuild (Cyrus' earlier decree) arrives at about the birth of Yeshua, instead of near the end of His earthly life. Either way it's calculated, only Yeshua could be Moshiach -- no one else fits into Daniel's timeframe.” -- http://www.lightofmashiach.org/daniel9_26.html

Finally, Dan. 9:27

 27And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

This last verse brings much trouble and confusion to folks due to the sometimes Anti-Semitic, but definite Anti-Torah, Pro-Pre-Tribulation Eschatological slant the majority of Christianity puts upon it.
This last “week,” making the “70 weeks” spoken of in Dan. 9:24 and 27 I believe to represent Yeshua’s life which He came and confirmed the covenant of Torah (Matt. 5:17-20) with many, Jew and Gentile, and did not do away with it. Next we have His death where He was cut off “midweek.” This caused the “sacrifice and oblation to cease” meaning in the Hebrew to “desist” or “repose,” not necessarily to completely stop all together as many Christians would claim. Also notice it says, “sacrifice” and “oblation” in the singular leading one to believe that it was referring to a specific sacrifice and not all of them. So Yeshua’s death did not put an end to the Levitical sacrificial system.
What is the purpose of the animal sacrifices anyway?  Two predominant reasons:

·        It was to be a physical object lesson that pointed to the coming Messiah and what He would do.  It acted as a credit card that covered, did not take away, and rolled back the sin debt until someone, Messiah, could come along and pay it.  In the time of the Third Temple the sacrifices will be a reminder of the Messiah who came and what He did (Is. 56, 66; Zech. 14:16-21).  The sacrifices before Yeshua came only pointed to the Messiah which was to come, and the sacrifices after Yeshua, and that will take place in the Millennial Reign, point back to Messiah’s atoning work.
·        It provided and will provide food, materials and income for the Priests and their families (Leviticus 5-10).

So animal sacrifices after Yeshua’s work on the cross is not a slap in the face to what His redemptive work and as we pointed out prophecy states sacrifices will resume again when the third Temple is rebuilt.

Let me be clear, salvation is a gift from G-D to all who will accept Yeshua the Messiah, the Living Torah, confesses, repents, and turns away from their sins.  This is Faith Righteousness.   This will result in becoming spiritually alive and indwelt with the Ruach Ha Kodesh of G-D.  This in turn will cause one to desire to love, obey, and please G-D.  One shows this by keeping the Written Torah.  This is Works Righteousness.  In other words, one will walk in the footsteps of Yeshua Moshieynu (our Messiah) by walking in the Torah.  Salvation comes by grace through faith alone.  Salvation is not earned by Torah observance.  If we love Him we WILL keep His Commandments (Torah).


You see at Yeshua’s death the earth shook the temple curtain was torn in two which would temporarily put a halt to the sacrifice (singular) and oblation (singular) (Matt. 27:50-54).

“John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, and Isaac Newton all connect the 70th week with the Messiah. When Christ cried “It is finished,” the priests were officiating in the temple. It was the hour of the evening sacrifice, and as the Passover lamb representing Christ was about to be slain, “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake and the rocks rent” (Matthew 27:51). “ -- http://amazingdiscoveries.org/S-deception_Jesus_70-week_prophecy_Daniel.html

Though Dan. 9:27 is speaking of a specific sacrifice and oblation, ultimately we can say the sacrifice and oblation have ceased due to the fact the Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E./A.D. and has yet to be rebuilt. But again, this ceasing is temporary, because we see that it will be rebuilt and the sacrifices will resume according to Zechariah. So this prophecy has nothing to do with the antichrist and what he is said to do to the 3rd Temple. 
“And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate” I feel is speaking of the corruption the Temple during Yeshua’s day which was controlled by the Sadducees who in turn was controlled by the Romans; which during His life Yeshua exposed. This made the Temple desolate as well as after His death, The Presence of G-d left the Temple and after this according to the Talmud the Temple doors could not remain shut, the west most flame of the Menorah would not light and the scarlet cord ceased to turn white (Talmud Bavli, Yoma 39b). The Temple would remain this way “until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate,” which I believe refers to the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E./A.D. which was the judgment upon those who made it become a desolation in the first place.
So you see, this very time specific prophecy is indeed Messianic and can only be referring to and fit one specific person in history, Yeshua the Messiah. This Messianic Passage proves that The Messiah (Yeshua) came and went and the Non-Believing Orthodox Jews of today missed Him because they refused to calculate the timeline due to the Talmudic dictate; and when they do, they purposely and knowingly misinterpret the passage in order to subdue and deceive others.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Ponderings of the Pentateuch #50 Sep. 17, 2011


RaYBaSH’s Ponderings of the Pentateuch
Parashah # 50 Ki Tavo “When you come”   
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 26:1-29:8
By: Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Deut. 29:7-8 And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them: And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.
Deut 3:12-13 And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites. And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants.

Reuben, Gad and Manasseh inherited land East of Jordan River while the rest of the tribes settled across the Jordan on the West. Reuben, Gad and Manasseh were tough hombres, pioneers and warriors. For the land they took was from giants, descendants of demonic human hybrid called the Nephilim, the Fallen Ones (Gen. 6:1-4).


Num. 21:23-26, 31-34 And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon…  Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there. And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and og the king of bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at edrei.And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.

Deut.2:24, 31-34, 3:1-4,11 Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle… And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain… Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. And the LORD said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. So the LORD our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him remaining. And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan  For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.

For Reuben, Gad and Manasseh to be separated and live apart from reliance on the rest of the tribes, they must have been tenacious, tough and self sufficient. Obviously they were hard as nails, seeing as they killed off the rest of the giants, took and settled their land as well as crossed over Jordan to fight and drive out the inhabitance on the West side of the Jordan so as to allow their brethren of the other tribes to posses their inheritance in the Promised Land.


Num. 32:2a,5,16-18,29-33 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle… Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan… And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance… And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession: But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do. We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be our's. And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.
Deut. 3:18-20 And I commanded you at that time, saying, The LORD your God hath given you this land to possess it: ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are meet for the war. But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle, (for I know that ye have much cattle,) shall abide in your cities which I have given you; Until the LORD have given rest unto your brethren, as well as unto you, and until they also possess the land which the LORD your God hath given them beyond Jordan: and then shall ye return every man unto his possession, which I have given you.

Jacob prophetically blessed Reuben Gad and Manasseh. He prophesied that they all would be scrapers and underdogs (Gen.48:17-19, 49:3-4,19) and out of the 3, Gad would come out on top, being equated with Judah by being called a Lion by Moses (Deut.33:20).
Moses prophetically blessed Reuben, Gad and Manasseh (Joseph) as well (Deut. 33:6,13,20) and again it appears Gad is the Alpha male leading the Pride.
Our Haftarah seems to root for the three underdogs.

Isa. 60:22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.

And the Brit Chadasha, we see in the future these three tribes will be reunited and come back into their own in the End of Days.

Rev. 5b-c, 6c …Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand… Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov!
-- Rabbi Yehudah

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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Ponderings of the Pentateuch #49, Sep. 10, 2011


RaYBaSH’s Ponderings of the Pentateuch
Parashah # 49 Ki Teitzei “When You Go Out”
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 21:10-25:19
By: Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr


Deut. 23:7 Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.


Some say Edom is the white man, others say he is the Arab; regardless of who Edom is now, he was Esau (Gen. 25:30) and he wanted to do terrible things to his brother Jacob (Gen.27:41). And Edom’s descendants did do terrible things to Jacob’s descendants. But G-d said not to hate them.

Any one who knows me knows that I believe that Jews and Hebrews are a rainbow of colors. I believe in black Jews/Hebrews as well as white Jews/Hebrews. But I do not endorse or condone religious or spiritual racism among white or black adherents. It is okay to hate what one does to or against you, but it is not right to proclaim, just as some black Jews/Hebrews claim, that Edom is the white man that enslaved them. Nor is it acceptable for the white Jews/Hebrews to erroneously claim that the black man is a result of the curse of Noah upon Canaan. We are not to bare false witness or sow discord among the brethren (Ex. 20:16, Prov. 6:19). We are not to hate, just as Israel who was enslaved by Egyptians were not to hate Egyptians. Because one day Egypt will become our brothers.


Isa. 19:25 Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed [be] Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.  


Again, it is okay to hate what one does, but not hate the person.

We must recall that Egypt saved Israel before they enslaved Israel and that it was Egypt who raised Moses and it was Egypt who kept Messiah safe (Matt. 2:13-25) and it is Egypt who will one day be called the people of G-d (Isa. 19:25).

Forgiveness and mercy form the Golden Rule (Lev. 19:18, Matt. 7:12).
Ex. 22:21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Ex. 23:9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Lev. 19:34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Deut. 10:19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.


Our Haftarah portion also highlights love, forgiveness and acceptance.


Isa. 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.


We must all remember and be aware that our brother can be our enemy and that our enemy may one day be our brother and love which breeds forgiveness, covers a multitude of sin (I Pet. 4:8).

Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov!
-- Rabbi Yehudah


Missions Trip 2011: Nigeria
I am planning a return trip in November of 2011. I have been offered a temporary casual job at the local nursing home from June till August. Hopefully this will allow me to save up funds for my return trip to Nigeria this November. However, I still need the financial assistance of others to help make this trip possible. If you wish to help me fund this trip, it would be much appreciated. You would be actively participating in the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy in these last days in seeing a lost tribe of Israel come back into their own. Do not worry about the amount, every little bit helps! You can donate by finding the donation button on the home page of my website: www.adint-ministries.com
Or make checks or money orders payable to “Kris Shoemaker” and send it to:
PO BOX 763
Ft. Fairfield, ME. 04742
THANK YOU!!!
If just 100 people would give $30.00 I would have enough to cover my trip to Nigeria.

You can see photos of my trip to Nigeria, labeled “Nigeria 2010,” on my facebook profile:


In the service of the God of Israel,
Shalom,
Founder and CEO of RaYBaSH Ministries and A.D. International,
-- Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr