Today, Lesson 46 from the wilderness, we continue our discussion about Halakah: with the proper background, you will understand the significance of the Tallit Gadol, but background first! Shalom, be blessed.

Back to Part One

 Lessons from the Wilderness, Volume 46: Halakah, Part Two of our discussion about Halakah, ha’Tallit Gadol.

©2021, David E. Robinson: At the Gates of Yerushalayim Ministries

 

Lessons from the Wilderness, Volume 46

Halakah …ha’Tallit Gadol…

The Great Shawl ^{[i] [ii] [iii] [iv]}

Bəmīḏbar (בְּמִדְבַּר, literally "In the desert [of]") – 15:37-41

[Numbers 15:37-41] Tanakh]

³⁷The Lord said to Moses as follows: 

³⁸Speak to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner. ³⁹That shall be your fringe; look at it and recall all the commandments of the Lord and observe them, so that you do not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge. ⁴⁰Thus you shall be reminded to observe all My commandments and to be holy to your God.

⁴¹I the Lord am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I, the Lord your God.

                Erev tov, beloved. We left off before Chanukah with a plea to those who are either observing the Mitzvot of Torah or have just discovered the foundation of their faith, to be respectful of the way they conduct themselves with regards toward our Jewish brethren. By this I mean, let us not appropriate, but let us imitate, with reverence and humility, the lessons they have learned over five millennium.

                There are enough rights and wrongs to go around today that to begin to list them would appear to be a criticism of those who are just now (or have been for a while) discovering the roots of the “faith given once for all”.  Let us be clear on what “halakah” (or”halacha” if you prefer) is. According to Chabad.org, “Halakhah (also spelled halachah) refers to Jewish law. Per its literal translation, “the way,” halachah guides the day-to-day life of a Jew.” [v] We can enhance this explanation by stating that the central component of the Jewish faith is the acceptance of Jewish law (halacha). This is to understand that YHVH’s commandments were given to Abraham, Jacob, and Moshe, and these were binding upon their descendants and all those who chose to accept them. Within Judaism today, there are notable differences in what and how these commandments are observed. One of the most debated differences is between the Written Torah, the Torah she-bich’tav in Hebrew and the Oral Torah, the Torah she-ba’al peh. The Torah she-bich’tav consists of the five books of Moses, the latter books of the Prophets, and then the remainder of what are called the Writings: this is the Tanakah[vi], the Hebrew Scriptures. 

Just how fundamental are these laws to the Jewish faithful? Here is a lengthy but accurate explanation... 

“…God thereupon revealed to Moses all the commandments and all the statutes and judgments, which Moses communicated to the people (ib. 31) This revelation on Mt. Sinai is therefore the chief foundation of the Jewish

faith, and guarantees the divine origin of the Law as contained in the Pentateuch. Before his death Moses wrote

down the five books named after him (the Pentateuch) and gave them to the people (ib. xxxi. 24– 26); and he commanded them to observe everything therein written, and to transmit it to their children as the teaching of God. However much the succeeding generations of Israel, after the death of Moses, fell off from God and became idolaters, there has been in each generation a group of pious men who have guarded faithfully the holy inheritance and transmitted it to their children. And through this careful transmission the teachings of Moses have been preserved unchanged through all ages. It is therefore set up as one of the fundamental dogmas of the Jewish religion that the Torah contained in the Pentateuch is identical with that which was revealed by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Maimonides’ commentary on Sanh. xi. 1). No changes have been made therein except with regard to the characters in which it was written (Sanh. 21b).

The Torah contains rules and regulations which should govern the life of man and lead him to moral and religious perfection. Every rule is expressive of a fundamental ethical, moral, or religious idea. Those regulations in which human intelligence is unable to discern the fundamental idea are, through belief in their divine origin, vouchsafed the same high religious importance; and the ethical value of submission to the will of God where its purpose is not understood is even greater. In observing the Law man’s good intention is the chief point (see NOMISM).

These written laws are supplemented through oral teachings; and the interpretation of the written doctrines is entrusted to the sages and scholars, who expound them according to prescribed rules. They add to or deduct from the individual regulations; and in many instances, when it is for the good of the Law, they may annul an entire clause. In such cases, however, the whole body of scholars, or at least a majority, must agree as to the necessity and correctness of the measure (see AUTHORITY; ORAL LAW). Aside from such minor changes and occasional annulments, which are made in the spirit of the Law, and are intended to sustain the entire Torah (“Bittulah shel torah zehu yissudah”, Men. 99b), the Law is to be regarded, in whole or in parts, as unchangeable and irrevocable. It is a firm article of faith in the Jewish religion that this Law will never be changed, and that no other doctrines will be given by God to man (Maimonides, l.c.).

Of many clauses of the Law, it is expressly stated that they are meant to be eternal rules (“hukkot ‘olam”), or that they are obligatory on all generations (“le-dorot ‘olam”); and there is not a single indication in the Holy Scriptures that the Law is ever to be replaced by other revealed doctrines. The new covenant of which Jeremiah speaks (xxxi. 31–33) is not to be made on the basis of a new revealed law, but on the basis of the old law, which shall take firmer root in the hearts of the believers. It was even promised to the Israelites that new prophets should arise, and they were commanded to harken to the words of these prophets (Deut. xviii. 15–18). But the new prophets can reveal no new law, and a prophet who sets up a law which conflicts with the old doctrines is a false prophet (ìb. xiii. 1–4). And also, a prophet who declares the old law to be valid for a certain period only, is a false prophet, for his statement conflicts with the teachings of Moses, the greatest of all prophets, who plainly says in many passages (Ex. xii. 14, 17 et seq.) that the regulations shall be obligatory forever (Maimonides, “Yad,” Yesode ha-Torah, ix.; idem, “Moreh,” ii. 39; Saadia, “Emunot we-De’ot,” iii. 7–10). The words “It [the commandment] is not in heaven” (Deut. xxx. 12) are explained in the Talmud (B. M. 59b) as meaning that there is nothing left in heaven that has yet to be revealed in order to elucidate the Law. A decision or a legal question based only on such a heavenly revelation is not recognized (Maimonides, “Yad,” l.c.).

The doctrine of the unchangeableness of the Law is further emphasized by another fundamental dogma of Judaism, which declares the prophecy of Moses to surpass that of any of his predecessors or successors (Maimonides, l.c.). That the prophecy of Moses is different from and superior to that of any other prophet is explicitly stated in Num. xii. 8. Whether this difference was one of quality, as Maimonides thinks (“Yad,” l.c. vii. 6; “Moreh,” ii.35), or one of degree only, as Albo (l.c. iii. 17) supposes, is immaterial. The fact is sufficient that the prophecy of Moses was superior to that of any other prophet. The Torah was given through Moses, of whose superior gift God Himself convinced the Israelites on Mt. Sinai. Should another prophet arise and declare the Law given by God through Moses to be invalid, then he would have to be a greater prophet than Moses; this, however, is inconceivable according to the fundamental doctrine which declares Moses to be the greatest prophet of all time. Those prophets are not to be believed who declared the old covenant to be dissolved, and that they were sent by God to make a new one; for one cannot be as firmly convinced of their divine authority as of that of the old covenant, which they themselves do not deny (Abraham ibn Daud, in “Emunah Ramah,” ii.; comp. also Albo, l.c. iii. 19).

The fact that the Law was given to man, and that he was requested to observe its precepts, implies that it depends on man alone whether or not he will do so. The freedom of the human will is explicitly announced in the Bible also:

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both them and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days” (Deut. xxx. 19–20).

The Mishnah teaches: “Everything has been foreseen by God, and yet He has given to man freedom of will” (Ab. iii. 15). Also, the Talmud plainly teaches of the freedom of will: “Everything is in the hand of God, with the exception of the fear of God, and piety: these alone are dependent upon the will of man” (Ber. 33b). “When anyone would keep his life clean and virtuous, he is aided; but if he chooses to keep it unclean and wicked, he is not hindered,” says Simeon ben Lakish (Shab. 104a). The teachers of post-Talmudic times all regarded the liberty of the human will as a fundamental doctrine of Judaism. Although it is difficult to reconcile this doctrine with the knowledge or prescience of God, various attempts have been made to effect such a reconciliation, in order that it might not become necessary to deny either of them (comp. Saadia, “Emunot we-De‘ot,” ii. 9; “Cuzari,” v. 20; Maimonides, “Moreh,” iii. 20; Crescas, “Or Adonai,” II. i. 4; Albo, l.c. iv. 5). The liberty and responsibility of man justify some retribution for his acts: rewards for the observance of divine precepts

and. commandments, and punishment for their transgression. A just retribution presupposes God’s providence and His omniscience. The belief in God’s omniscience—that is, the belief that He sees and knows everything, even the secret thoughts of man, and that nothing can take place in the world otherwise than by His will—is one of the fundamental dogmas of Judaism.”[vii]

             

            So, what does this all mean, considering that the Jewish faith has splintered itself into may different movements? Let us look at these briefly, with a short description of each: 

Classical Reform
Classical Reform affirms that Judaism is a religious faith with broad, inclusive values that can embrace all people, including interfaith families. Its worship traditions, including an authentically Jewish liturgy that is primarily in English, offer a particularly accessible experience that intermarried couples can fully share together.

Conservative
In 2018, a reported 14% of American Jews were affiliated with the Conservative movement, a broad movement which works to change within the framework of evolving Jewish Law. Conservative synagogues may have a traditional Hebrew or less traditional liturgy, may or may not be egalitarian, and have members with a range of beliefs and practices.

Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism is adhered to by around 10% of American Jews and consists of sects with various levels of engagement with modernity. The movement includes Modern Orthodox Jews, who engage fully with the modern world, and also includes groups that may shun or minimize their exposure to secular ways of life.

Reconstructionist
Reconstructionist Judaism sees Judaism as an evolving Jewish civilization, with religion as the centerpiece of that civilization. They reject the idea of Jews being the chosen people and have created blessings and prayers that reflect their ideology.

Reform
Reform Judaism is the most popular Jewish denomination in the United States today. The movement runs camps, youth groups, many synagogues, and several Jewish day schools.

Renewal
Jewish Renewal does not consider itself a formal denomination like Reform, Conservative, or Orthodoxy. Rather, it calls itself trans-denominational, a movement that embraces Jews from all of the denominations as well as unaffiliated Jews, Jews that were finding spiritual homes in Eastern religions, and those who are not Jewish.

Secular Humanist
Secular Humanist Jews define Judaism as the history, culture, books, music, art, food, rituals, and practices of the Jewish people. [viii]

 Now add to this mix the following:

The Karaites

The Karaites represent Karaite Judaism or Karaism (also spelt Qaraite Judaism or Qaraism), which is a Jewish religious movement characterized by the recognition of the Tanakh alone as its supreme authority in Halakha (Jewish religious law) and theology.

The Satmar Hasidim

The Satmar Hasidm are an Ultra-Orthodox sect of Judaism. It is characterized by extremely strict religious adherence, complete rejection of modern culture, and fierce anti-Zionism. 

Jewish Witches, Wiccans and Neopagans

Jewish Witches, Wiccans and Neopagans are growing movements of secular Jews—mainly, but not exclusively, women—that say they are reclaiming the divine feminine and goddess worship. With strong ties to eco-feminism, practitioners are using new liturgies and rituals to create diverse and radically inclusive Jewish communities.[ix]

With so many sects, how do we avoid offense? Truth is, you cannot. Truth is even the true Word of God offends. It is supposed to. It will offend some who do not or will not yield to the control of the Spirit of God over themselves; the reason is it does not fit their lifestyles. It will offend groups who are bound by a religious spirit. Then there are those who it will offend, straight into the embrace of a loving God and Father, who will then lead them to His Son.

 There are realities I have to mention though. Those of us who follow the tenets of Messianic Judaism as laid out by Yeshua and the apostles are ostracized, and condemned as being “Christians playing as Jews”, sort of like LARPs: “Live Action Role Playing”. It is bad enough if you are Gentile, following the Hebraic Perspective of our Master; but if you are Jewish and a follower of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, then you are considered to no longer be a Jew, blood line or not.  And how do the Christians [and Jews] feel about Messianic believers? At the least, we are seen as oddballs, pretending to be something we are not – Jews (not true, for Gentiles we are, Gentiles we stay – we are just grafted into the root of Israel by acceptance of the Messiah and just want to follow His ways). At the worst, we are accused of either trying to hi-jack a culture, or we are putting ourselves under the “yoke” of legalism. Let me be a bit more specific here. What about the Messianic Gentile?  Well, that one is easy. They are denounced by just about everyone, Jew and Christian alike. Christians call us “Judaizers”, and the Jews call us frauds. For a Messianic Jew, by Jewish law itself, they are seen as having turned their back on over 5000 years of tradition and identity and are denied citizenship and declared “dead” to their families and friends; this is because they are considered to no longer be Jews as they are now declared apostate. To Christians, they (Messianic Jews) are badgered about keeping the Law of Moses, about keeping Sabbath, about bringing themselves under the “burden of the Law”, despite the fact that Scripture says otherwise. They should, some say, just give up their “Jewish” ways and heritage.

 Deuteronomy 30:9-20

^9 rThe Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. ^sFor the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, ¹⁰ when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

¹¹ “For this commandment that I command you today ^tis not too hard for you, neither is it far off. ^12 uIt is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ ¹³ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ ¹⁴ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

¹⁵ “See, ^vI have set before you today life and good, death and evil.

¹⁶ If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God¹ that I command you today, ^wby loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules,² then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. ¹⁷ But if ^xyour heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, ^18 yI declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. ¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, ^zblessing and curse. Therefore, choose life, that you and your offspring may live, ²⁰ loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice ^aand holding fast to him, for ^bhe is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in ^cthe land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” ^[x]

                In our walk, what should we do? Who won’t we offend if we walk uprightly? We will offend many, Jew, Secularists, or Christian, because we dare to walk in the fullness of His word. Please, allow me to repeat myself here, for in truth, what was written still fits [see endnote]: 

“…I am a teacher of the Hebraic Perspective and have had “peace-loving, God Fearing” Christians spitting in my face, waving their bible six inches from my nose, while balling up their fists, all to “correct” me of my misguided ways. All of this because we read the Bible differently: we see it as what it is, an ancient near east document, a Jewish document, penned by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and delivered to a nation whose duty was to inform the rest of the world about the one true God. When they failed, God had to correct them; in their fear of continued failure, they withdrew into themselves and locked up the knowledge of God in their (man-made) “religion”[xi]; to save them and the rest of mankind God sent His only begotten Son to remove the manufactured wall that separated Jew and Gentile and to correct the man-made traditions of the elders of Israel and to bring back the ancient paths so that all men could walk in love toward one another and with a Holy God – by the Torah through faith, as defined by the Son of God. We who observe Torah do so not because of any salvational issue – for salvation is of Messiah alone – but because we understand that the Father gave us a way to walk and because we love Him, we want to do what he says.

                I have lost no "freedom" in my walk, I, in fact, was set free and delivered from 40 years of addiction and the cycle of vice that accompanied it by my faith and obedience to the Word of God. So, you see, I have issues when people call God's word bondage, or equate the commandments of God with the doctrines of devils (I will expound on this momentarily). This also becomes an issue with me because when any come against the Torah, they are in fact calling my Savior a liar for did He not say in Matthew 5:17-20:

Matthew 5:17–20 (NET)

^5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them.^{17 5:18} I¹⁸ tell you the truth,¹⁹ until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter²⁰ will pass from the law until everything takes place. ^5:19 So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others²¹ to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ^5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law²² and the Pharisees,²³ you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ^[xii]

      Last time I checked heaven and earth were still here, and all things have not yet been fulfilled and will not be until this has happened:

1 Cor 15:21-28 DRB

²¹ For by a man came death: and by a man the resurrection of the dead. 22 And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. ²³ But everyone in his own order: the first fruits, Christ: then they that are of Christ, who have believed in his coming. ²⁴ Afterwards the end: when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father: when he shall have brought to naught all principality and power and virtue. ²⁵ For he must reign, until he hath put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶ And the enemy, death, shall be destroyed last: For he hath put all things under his feet. And whereas he saith:

²⁷ All things are put under him; undoubtedly, he is excepted, who put all things under him. ²⁸ And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then the Son also himself shall be subject unto him that put all things under him,

that God may be all in all. ^[xiii] 

     So, either our Messiah lied or maybe those who claim Torah observance is “legalism” just do not have as firm a grasp on the word as they believe they do. 

 As a disclaimer, I add this: I commend and respect those who stand their ground and defend what they believe though; my intention is never to try to convince anyone of anything different, for that is not my place: that belongs to the Holy Spirit alone to bring all into the truth.  Therefore, one is free to accept or reject any part of God's word that they please. From there, that issue is between them and God. Yet, to be fair, there are problems within the Messianic movement. We ourselves make mention of it as a “Messy – antic” problem. There are many in the movement who have swung the pendulum too far to the other side, but then, there is nothing new about that, is there?  These diverse elements of the Messianic movement need loving correction just as some elements of Christianity do (or do you think the Westboro Baptist Church[xiv] is mainstream?).  For those I fellowship with, we know we are saved only by the blood of the Lamb, and we serve God and prove our love for Him by keeping His word out of love, not duty or obligation. What child does not want to please their father by obeying the instructions a loving father has set before them?

 That is what we do for the word also says this:

 1 John 2:1-6 LEB

 2 My little children, I am writing these things to you in order that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one, ² and he^a is the propitiation^b for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. ³ And by this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. ⁴ The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in this person. ⁵ But whoever keeps his word, truly in this person the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are in him. ⁶ The one who says that he resides in him ought also to walk^c just as that one walked. ^[xv]

 To walk as Yeshua did means we have to be what He was –Torah observant. If He was not, He cannot be the Messiah for the word says:

Deuteronomy 17:15 (HCSB)

15 “...you are to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses. ^k Appoint a king from your brothers. You are not to set a foreigner over you, or one who is not of your people...” ^[xvi]

To be King of the Jews, and to be King of Israel, He had to be a Torah observant Jew. We see the requirement here:

Deuteronomy 17:18-19 (HCSB)

¹⁸ When he is seated on his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. ¹⁹ It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to ^•fear ^v the Lord his God, to observe all the words of this instruction, and to do these statutes. ²⁰ Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, he will not turn from this command to the right or the left, and he and his sons will continue ruling many years ^w over Israel. ^[xvii]

Our walk, our halakha with God, is our sanctification, our becoming holy unto Him.  God calls us to be holy as He is Holy, for Heb 12:14 says:

"...Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord..."

 Now if one picks and chooses their way through the word of God, and casts off this here and disregards that over there in favor of that which fits their comfort zone, lifestyle or in other words, a "theology" that limits the amount of change they should be bringing into their lives, how can they then tell the sacred from the profane if they do not allow God to define it for them in His holy word? 

1 John 3:1-10 LEB

3 See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called children of God, and we are! Because of this the world does not know us: because it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be, has not yet been revealed. We know that whenever he is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is. ³ And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as that one is pure.

⁴ Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

⁵ And you know that that one was revealed in order that he might take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶ Everyone who resides in him does not sin. Everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. ⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you: the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as that one is righteous. ⁸ The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this reason, the Son of God was revealed: in order to destroy the works of the devil.

⁹ Everyone who is fathered by God does not practice sin, because his seed resides in him, and he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. ¹⁰ By this the children of God and the children of the devil are evident: everyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, namely, the one who does not love his brother. ^[xviii]

Figure 1 From TORAHPHOBIA by Lew White, 2014

Sin is lawlessness.

Those who live strictly on "grace" live in lawlessness and thus they are under mercy, not true grace. As Messianic believers, we understand that grace is from Genesis to Revelation, and we also understand what true grace is; true grace is what gives us the ability to obey God the Father’s and Jesus' words (commandments, statutes, ordinances). We can then walk upright, righteous before God for we walk in obedience. And what have we lost by doing so? Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, not the Torah of God or God's words…”[xix]

In answer to a remark made above, I must ask all of you a question. 

Are the Laws of Moses, given by God, or are they the works of the devil? 

I will elaborate on this next post. This has been a lot to chew on, so let us stop here. Next time we meet, I will explain how important it is that we stop worrying about offending man but concern ourselves with not offending our Creator. The Tallit Gadol has an enormous role to play in all of this; and we shall see this in Part Three.  All that we learn here takes preparation. For ones’ best understanding of the topics we discuss here, groundwork must be done. I believe we have set the stage.

 

Till we meet again, shalom.

May the love of our Creator YHVH and His Machiach Yeshua watch over you all

And may He dearly bless you, my beloved,

Amein.

 Endnotes:

[i]NOTICE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: Unless otherwise cited, all material found on this blogsite (original text, opinions, conclusions, and other material not related to cited sources remains the collected intellectual property of the author of this site, David E. Robinson, Elder, Teacher, and are owned and controlled by myself and are protected by copyright and trademark laws and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws of the United States, foreign jurisdictions, and international conventions. Any errors found within, rest solely upon me; please do not blame the Father for my mistakes. I am teachable and correctable, not infallible. 😊

 [ii] FAIR USE DISCLAIMER: This blog site may contain content that is not authorized for use by its owner. All such material will be cited back to its original source. According to Section 107 of the Copyright Act: “…the fair use of a copyrighted work […] for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright…” I have made and will continue to make every effort to stay within all ethical and moral guidelines in the use of material presented here, and the use of these materials is solely intended for educational purposes only, and all efforts to obtain or sustain fair use of non-owned material will be made.

 [iii] Author’s note: This site is for education only and is not affiliated with any institution, organization, or religious group. It is the sole production of its editor. Use of information from Jewish-themed websites (or any other source material) should not be construed as these sites endorsing or confirming any thesis introduced by the author of this epistle. I present the information from their respective sites for instructional purposes only and/or to aid in the readers understanding of the subjects discussed.

[iv] Author’s note:  Throughout this study I may be using the NET Bible® and the NET Notes®: within the notes you will see symbols like this: (א B Ψ 892* 2427 sys). These are abbreviations used by the NET Bible® for identifying the principal manuscript evidence that they (authors and translators of the NET Bible®) used in translating the New Testament. Please go to https://bible.org/netbible/ and see their section labeled “NET Bible Principals of Translation” for a more complete explanation on these symbols and other items pertinent to the way the NET Bible uses them.

[v] See https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4165687/jewish/What-Is-Halakhah-Halachah-Jewish-Law.htm

[vi] Tanakah (or Tanakh) is an acronym derived from the names of the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible: Torah (Instruction, or Law, also called the Pentateuch), Neviʾim (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings).

[vii] The Jewish Encyclopedia, A DESCRIPTIVE RECORD OF THE HISTORY, RELIGION, LITERATURE, AND CUSTOMS OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY; Isidore Singer, Ph.D., Volume 12, Article “Theology-The Torah”, pgs. 133,134 ©2002, Varda Books, ©,1905, 1909 by Funk and Wagnalls Company, all rights of translation reserved.

[viii] https://18doors.org/denominations/

[ix] https://www.jewishstudycenter.org/events/beyond-the-big-three-the-rich-diverse-world-of-jewish-sects-2020-03-18/

^r ch. 28:11

^s Zeph. 3:19, 20; See ch. 28:63

^t [Isa. 45:19; 48:16]

^u [Rom. 10:6–8]

^v [ch. 11:26; 32:47]

¹ Septuagint; Hebrew lacks If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God

^w ver. 6; See ch. 6:5

² Or his just decrees

^x ch. 29:18

^y See ch. 4:26

^z ver. 1

^a See ch. 10:20

^b Ps. 27:1; 66:9; John 11:25

^c See ch. 1:8

^[x] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Dt 30:9–20.

[xi] The Father never has wanted a religion, but a relationship. Therefore, all “religion” is man-made, not by God’s design.

·         [The following notes are taken from the NET Bible® footnotes.  Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from The NET Bible® Copyright © 2005 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. www.netbible.com

All rights reserved. Numbering system is unique to NET® Notes...]

¹⁷ tn Grk “not come to abolish but to fulfill.” Direct objects (“these things,” “them”) were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context but have been supplied here to conform to contemporary English style.

¹⁸ tn Grk “For I tell.” Here an explanatory γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

¹⁹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”

²⁰ tn Grk “Not one iota or one serif.”sn The smallest letter refers to the smallest Hebrew letter (yod) and the stroke of a letter to a serif (a hook or projection on a Hebrew letter).

²¹ tn Grk “teaches men” (in a generic sense, people).

²² tn Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

²³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

·         End “NET®” notes

^[xii]  Biblical Studies Press. The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press, 2005.

^[xiii] The Holy Bible, Translated from the Latin Vulgate (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 1 Co 15:21–28.

[xiv] Westboro Baptist Church, Topeka, Kansas, is an American hyper-Calvinist “primitive Baptist” assembly. It is known for engaging in inflammatory homophobic and anti-American pickets, speech against atheists, Jews, Muslims, transgender people, and numerous Christian denominations.

 

^a Or “he himself” (emphatic)

^b Or “expiation”; or “atoning sacrifice”

^c Some manuscripts have “to walk in this way”

^[xv] W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), 1 Jn 2:1–6.

^k 17:14–15 1Sm 8:4–22

^l 17:15 Gen 17:6,16; 35:11; Num 24:17–19

[xvi] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), Dt 17:15

^• No single English word conveys every aspect of the word fear in this phrase. The meaning includes worshipful submission, reverential awe, and obedient respect to the covenant-keeping God of Israel.

^v 17:19 Dt 14:23

^w 17:20 Lit will lengthen days on his kingdom

^[xvii] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), Dt 17:18–20.

^[xviii] W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), 1 Jn 3.

[xix] This has been adapted from my original blog post at:   https://www.asearchformessiah.net/2014/02/in-defense-of-god-loving-rebuke-of.html . 

I have edited some of the language and added proper references. I also have changed the phrase from the original post “Hebrew Roots movement” to the way I look at the word now, as the “Hebraic Perspective”. Sadly, the term “Hebrew Roots” has been coopted by elements that have done damage to the brand by their actions and practices.