Tzelem

"I think" and "I feel" are not valid excuses for misunderstanding and misrepresenting Scripture. The only opinion which matters is the Father's. God/Yahweh holds us responsible for what we take away from and add to the text.

The only way one will come to a correct understanding of the New/Second Testament is to know and understand the Old/First.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7)

Biblical Hermeneutics is the study of the principles and methods of interpreting the text of the Bible. Second Timothy 2:15 commands Believers to be involved in Hermeneutics: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who . . . correctly handles the word of truth.”

Hermeneutics (Interpretation)101: Context is King: The New Testament/ Messianic Writings must be understood through the eyes (perspective), of the Judaism of the First Century: That is what did those who wrote it understand and what those who read it comprehend. By reading Scripture in its context, we avoid reading from our own post-New Testament and cultural perspectives. The purpose of Biblical Hermeneutics is to protect us from misapplying Scripture or allowing bias to color our understanding of God/Yahweh's truth. Three important

Hermeneutical Rules:
1. The Scripture says what it means and means what it says.
2. Scripture must be interpreted historically, grammatically and contextually.
3. Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture. The First Testament is the dictionary for the Second.

Americans would never eat Fluffy or Fido, as we don’t think of dogs or cats as food! The same can be said for first century Jews.

When the words of Paul in 1 Timothy are read from a historical perspective they take on an entirely different understanding:
"Forbidding them to marry and commanding them to abstain from meats, which God/Yahweh CREATED them to be enjoyed/eaten with thanksgiving to them believe and who have inward knowledge of the truth/Torah. For everything that Yahweh created (animals which were made to be consumed) is good, and nothing is to be rejected when it is taken with thanksgiving, since it is hallowed by Yahweh's own word/Torah and by prayer” (1 Timothy 4:3-5).

1) First century Jews knew which animals were “created” to be consumed, which animals were considered “food.” Just as most do not consume dogs or think of them as food, neither did the first century Jew think of pigs as food.

2) Yahweh declared all creation “good”. Each animal had a good purpose. Only some animals were were created to be eaten. Some animals were created as scavengers to keep the earth and waters clean. Their purpose is to eat the dead and decaying matter from our earth and waters, not food for humans. Yahweh brought the animals unto the ark in pairs of unclean, and by sevens of the clean animals. He detailed what was food in Leviticus 11.

3) When you read in 1 Timothy “created to be enjoyed/received” understand that not all animals were created to be eaten. This instruction was given regarding Gnosticism, a teaching, which demanded celibacy as well as vegetarian diet as way of life. This was not a discussion on the dietary Law, but whether it’s lawful to eat meat or not. Gnosticism taught the way to god was through self-denial. Gnosticism teaches the religious experience was enhanced by celibacy and abstaining from meats. Paul considered Gnosticism as heresy.

Shabbat Shalom!

Jesus/Yeshua is greater than politics, which are only a diversion.

"You, dear children, are from God/Yahweh and have overcome them, because HE WHO IS IN YOU IS GREATER THAN THE ONE WHO IS IN THE WORLD. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God/Yahweh, and whoever knows God/Yahweh listens to us; but whoever is not from God/Yahweh does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood" (1 John 4:4-6).

Romans 13

Paul said: Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,”

and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying,

“You shall love your neighbor; therefore love is a fulfillment of the law(Torah).

Romans 13:8-10

In Galatians, Paul succinctly stated this premise by saying,

“For the whole Law(Torah) is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

> But wouldn’t it be absurd to take that as a blanket justification for disregarding whatever commandments we don’t like on the basis that as long as we love one another, nothing else matters? One might just effectively suggest, “As long as I love my neighbor, it is alright to eat whatever I want, do whatever I want and sleep with whomever I want.” But that would not be demonstrating real love, would it?

So what is real love? The commandments of YHVH are acts of real love. Love is not the replacement of the Torah; it is the summary of the Torah. Yeshua said, “Love God and love your neighbor. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:40

we can compare Torah and the prophets to a suit and tie and dress himself in the clothes-hanger. One does not discard the suit and tie and dress himself in the clothes hanger! Rather, it is the clothes hanger that holds the suit and tie together. It is love, love of God and neighbor, that holds the Torah and the prophets, with all their commandments together. That is why the practice of God’s word must result in love.

For example, if I set out to keep a particular commandments but find myself arguing, insulting and embittering others over it, then I may have kept the commandment, but I have failed to keep the God’s Torah, because the essence of it is love. Love God and love your neighbor.

God’s Torah is the equation. The performance of His commandments is the solution. Love is the governing principle by which the solution must be checked for accuracy.

In Romans 13 passage, Paul stated that any one of the commandments could be summed up in loving our neighbor. This means that every commandment of God’s Word is an act of of love. Therefore, breaking the commandments is the opposite of love. The opposite of love is not hatred; it is selfishness. Love of self.

The commandments teach us to love others as ourselves. Submitting to the commandments displays God’s love because those commandments are contrary to our lazy, selfish nature. When we truly keep the commandments, we are loving. And when we truly love God and others, we will keep the commandments.

"And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).

Preaching the Gospel is not optional. IT IS A MANDATORY DUTY OF EVERY BELIEVER. Our lives should be a living example and testimony of what the Good News is all about.

The words of Paul must resonate in every Believer: “Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (I Corinthians 9:16).

Yet, some will not receive the Word, but that should not hinder us. "And if anyone will not receive your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town" (Matthew 10:14).

Sometimes, a person only understands in part. "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God/Yahweh has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God/Yahweh, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor" (Corinthians 3:6-8).

Shabbat Shalom! ❤️🍷🥖

LESSON 9: LEGALISM VS. OBEDIENCE

The Torah was not given as a means to attain salvation. The idea that one must, or even can, merit salvation through works is legalism. The Torah gives us a picture of salvation and redemption. It shows us that when God gave Israel the Torah at Mount Sinai, they were already a redeemed people.

In the most ancient reckoning of the Ten Commandments, the first commandment is not the prohibition on idolatry; it is a simple acknowledgement that God exists.

In Exodus 20:2, the Lord declares, "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."

In the days of the Apostles, this simple statement was regarded as the first of the Ten Commandments.

Redemption must precede commandments. The salvation of Israel from Egypt is a physical dramatization of our own salvation from sin and death. In the story of the Exodus, we learn that before we can receive the Torah, we must already be 'saved.'

Israel's salvation from Egypt was not accorded to her on the basis of her obedience to the commandments. She was already redeemed (on no merit of her own) before the laws at Sinai were given to her. Thus the first declaration is a reminder of their redeemed status. Only because they were already saved were they able to receive God's commands.

True legalism continually attempts to reverse this process by claiming that one's obedience to certain commandments (or all the commandments) is the mechanism by which salvation is earned. The first of the Ten Commandments directly contradicts this notion. Salvation and relationship with God precede the TORAH.

Oftentimes, believers avoid Torah because they are afraid of falling into legalism. But obedience is not legalism. If keeping the Torah were necessary to salvation, we would all fail because "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

The Torah was never meant to be the means by which a person could be earn His salvation. Legalism says,

" I must obey God in order to be saved." Grace says, "I must Obey because I am saved."

So what is the Torah? The Law, a target, the aim, the instruction of God, God's teaching, the five books of Moses, the whole of Scripture, a covenant, both the old covenant and the new covenant, a KETUBAH.

LESSON 8: THE KETUBAH

THE WEDDING VOWS

Covenants are not something we generally encounter in the modern world. One form of covenant that is still with us today, however, is the marriage covenant. The Torah is like a marriage covenant between God and Israel. Their romance actually began while Israel was still in Egypt. There the Lord declared to Israel, "I will take you for My people and I will be your God." (Exodus 6:7) This expression is close to an ancient legal formulation from the sphere of marriage. In ancient Near East marriages, the groom declared, " You will be my wife and I will be your husband." In a sense, it is as if God had declared His intention to marry the people of Israel.

The people of Israel are the object of God's affection. At Mount Sinai, He was like the suitor, asking for her hand in marriage. He was to be their God; they were to be His people.

The giving of the law at Mount Sinai is described in Jewish literature as a betrothal and a wedding. In Jewish Tradition, one's wedding vows are written out in a formal legal document called a Ketubah. It is a contract containing all the terms and conditions incumbent upon the bride and the groom. The responsibilities of both parties are spelled out clearly. It is a covenant document. Typically, the married couple displays this wedding contract prominently in their home as a piece of artwork celebrating their union. Even in modern western weddings, the repeating of vows retains vestiges of these nuptial contracts.

The rabbis compared the Torah to a Ketubah. Where God is likened unto the groom, Israel is likened unto the bride and the Torah is likened unto the Ketubah that spells out the terms and conditions of their marriage. The Ten commandments form the summary of their marital statement. Treasured like the Ketubah in the married couple's home, the tablets of the Ten Commandments were kept inside the Ark at the center of the Tabernacle.

LESSON 7: WHAT IS THE TORAH?

ALL SCRIPTURE IS TORAH

When we speak of the Law (or Torah), we immediately think in terms of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
Those are th Books of Moses. But Torah is not limited to the five Books of Moses. Torah does not just mean “law,” it also means “teaching.” Genesis, Exodus. Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy are the teaching of Moses. But in a broader sense, all of scripture is God-breathed. Therefore, when the rabbis spoke of the Torah, they generally included all of the scriptures in the term. The Psalms and the Prophets, and even the little scrolls of Esther and the book of Ruth, are all considered parts of the Torah of Israel. That is why Paul sometimes said, “It is written in the Law,” and then quoted from Psalms. The Master Himself did the same thing. In one sense, the entire Old Testament is Torah.

For believers in Yeshua, the Torah is broader yet. The Gospels, Paul writings and epistles and the revelation of John are also Torah. The entire Bible is God’s teaching built upon the Torah of Moses.

In classical Judaism, even the rabbis’ extended teachings came to be termed “TORAH” The oras traditions, customs and the law, included the Talmud and other later writings, are regarded as additional members of the extended family of Torah. They all teach in one form or another, and they are all based upon the five Books of Moses.

LESSON 7: WHAT IS THE TORAH?

THE INSTRUCTIONS

The Hebrew archery term 'yarah' is also used to mean "teaching" Torah in many contexts means instructions and teaching. Torah is the impartation of God's direction, instruction, teaching and guidance. It is like God's instruction manual for life.

When God made human beings, He made an instruction manual to accompany them. It is called the "Torah." We do not function to our fullest potential without the instructions. The Ten commandments, for example, are one part of the instruction manual for human life.

Sabbath Shalom

LESSON 7: WHAT IS THE TORAH?

THE END OF THE TORAH

There is a point at which the Torah aims. The bull's eye of Torah, the careful aim of Torah (yarah) is the perfect Messiah. This is why Paul wrote in his epistle to the Romans, "Messiah is the end of the law (Torah)." (Romans 10:4)

Unfortunately, traditional Christian interpretation misunderstood Paul's words to mean that Messiah is the cancellation of the Torah. The Greek of Romans 10:4 is best understood to mean that Messiah is the "goal" of the Torah.

The Greek word Telos, which is translated as "end," is the same word we use in English words like telephone, television and telescope. Telos implies arrival at a goal. The sound of one's voice on the telephone arrives at the goal of the telephone on the other end. that reading fits the context of Romans 10:4 as well. Messiah is the destination at which the journey of Torah arrives. Yet, there is an end for which the Torah reaches. Paul writes, "Messiah is the end of the Torah," and again in his epistle to the Galatians he writes, "The law (Torah) has become our tutor to lead us to Messiah." (Galatians 3:24)

In this sense, Messiah is the goal of the Torah. Is Messiah to be understood as the ending of the Torah then? No. He is the end, but not the ending. He is the goal of the Torah, but not the termination of it. In fact, He Himself said, "Do not think that I came to abolish the law (Torah)." (Matthew 5:17)

LESSON 7: WHAT IS THE TORAH?

BOWS AND ARROWS

Torah comes from a Hebrew root word that is used as an archery term meaning "to take aim, to shoot," such as shooting an arrow in order to hit a target. It is derived from the Hebrew verb yarah, "to cast, throw, shoot." The essence of this word then is 'to hit the mark.' The Torah is God's aim for us.
The opposite of Torah is chata, which means "to miss the mark." Chata is the word translated as "sin" in our Bibles. Paul tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the mark. Do you see the picture? The Torah is the target for which we aim our arrow. When our shot misses and falls short of the target, we have sinned. Sin is missing the mark of the Torah.

Torah is the mark for which we are to aim. It is God's standard of righteousness. Sin is our failure to hit that mark. and we all fail to hit the mark. " The law (Torah) of the Lord is perfect" (Psalm 19:7), but we are not. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) The Apostle John described it in no uncertain terms: "Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness (Torahlessness); and sin is lawlessness." (1John 3:4) Sin, properly defined, is transgression of Torah. We all miss the target. We all sin.