THE LAW OF THE CAPTURED WOMAN

I love this passage in par'shat ki tetseh. If only all armies followed this sort of integrity and had this godly respect for human life.

In a sense, we are each of us, and as a congfetional body as the captured woman by Hashem. We know by these verses that even though He captured js He treats us with respect!

THE DOUBLE INHERITANCE OF THE FIRST-BORN AND THE REBELLIOUS SON

I was laying awake last night when my thoughts returned to my reading in Par'shat Ki Tetseh about the inheritance of the first-born and the rebellious fist-born.

You see, I am a first-born and should receive double inheritance, but my decision as a teenager to become a disciple of Yeshua the Rabbi from Nazareth caused my family to reject me. Not only I did not receive a double share, but I didn't receive anything at all.

There is no problem though, because my riches are not of this world. If I stay faithful to Him, I will rule and reign with him in the World to Come and receive my double-inheritance in my Mashiach, who owns the cattle on a 1000 hills.

Mashiach Himself is a firstborn son. He is a king who was denied His throne: the throne of Israel. Like the rebellious son, He was accused of being a drunkard and a glutton and like the rebellious son was rejected by his brothers and made subject to the death penalty.  The irony is that whereas He was not rebellious but obedient in all things even unto death, we are more like the rebellious son who deserves to die. He took upon Himself the just reward of our waywardness.

But Mashiach did not regard this present world. He had His eyes on the world to Come in which He will also receive His just inheritance: the throne of Israel, and with it: the world!

May it be soon Abba, even in our days!

PAR'SHAT SHOFTIM: ESTABLISHING RELIGIOUS LEADERS: A TORAH COMMAND!

The Torah commands us to establish religious leaders upon ourselves (Par'shat Shoftim).

 

The western civilization seems to more and more reject the notion of religious leadership. Due to the history of religious leaders of all religions abusing their authority, we can understand people's position. Gamaliel the 3rd, of the Yavneh Academy in 2nd century Israel, is notorious for setting in stone the edicts that would until today push the nascent Nazarene movement away from its Jewish brothers. Later, the Gentile Nazarenes, egged by religious leaders such as John Chrysostom and later Constantine took over the baton persecuting the Jewish Yeshua disciples, practice continued by reformer martin Luther who stood against any Jewish practice within his idea of discipleship to Yeshua.

 

It is important to realize that the problem was not the command to establish religious leaders upon ourselves, but rather the evil inclination of man towards independence from leadership, especially the leadership of the Torah.

 

Looking at the landscape of the religious world today, we can safely say that in all monotheistic religions (and monotheism is a Torah teaching which stems from Hashem's proclamation in a polytheistic world, "Hear ye Israel, the Lord your God is one God"), both the idea of individual autonomy and of leadership have failed to unite their religious bodies. An over emphasis of leadership leads to separatism and sectarianism, while the principles of autonomy lead to spiritual anarchy and heresies.

 

As usual, the wise balance of truth lies between two extremes, a wise balance elusive to us due to our human weakness and prideful tendencies to want to individualize ourselves.

 

Soon, the true king Messiah will return and teach us all the wise precept of leadership. In those, we will not fear to establish leaders upon ourselves because righteousness will cover the earth as the waters cover the seas.

 

May it be soon Abba; even in our days!  

 

 

PAR'SHAT SHOFTIM AND MESSIAH

I thoroughly enjoyed looking at the parasha this morning. It defines the parameters for prophets and kings, which then defines the parameters of Messiah so we should not be fooled by a false Messiah.

As a king of Israel, the Messiah is to be Torah observant, as the king is not above the Torah. Any Messiah therefore who is not Torah observant is a false messiah and should not be heeded.

The same goes for prophets. Hashem puts His Word in their mouth, in essence then, they are to profess Torah, and as we were told in Par'shat Re'eh, any prophet who teaches disobedience or rebellion against the Torah is a false presumptuous prophet who should not be heeded.

Today, we have been fed a Messiah called Jesus who teaches against obedience to Torah. People even misuse Romans 14 to teach that he who follows Torah is weaker brother. When Jews therefore today refuse such a Messiah, they actually stand for the Torah and for Yeshua, the real Jewish Messiah who said,

Mat 5:17 "Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete.

Mat 5:18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud ( י ) or a stroke will pass from the Torah — not until everything that must happen has happened.

Mat 5:19 So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Mat 5:20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P'rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

 

The problem with the Torah-teachers of the days of the Master was not their teachings, but the fact that they were not a good sample of their own sermons. That is why Yeshua also said,

 

Mat 23:3 So whatever they tell you, take care to do it. But don't do what they do, because they talk but don't act!

May we learn to recognize and disciple ourselves after the real Messiah, who is Torah observant, and teaches Hashem's commandments!

 

THE ELUL CHECKLIST

The disciples of Yeshua of the first century C.E. believed they would see the return of their Master in their lifetime or that of their children. In Emperor Nero and Domitian, they saw the Antichrists often spoken of by the prophets Daniel and Ezekiel, by Yeshua, Paul, and John. For that reason, much of Paul's writings are in the context of preparing the congregations of Messiah for evil days ahead.

Just like Messiah had His foreshadows in some of the patriarchs and prophets, the Antichrist has his foreshadows in the heads of world Empires and evil dictators of History. Whereas Nero and Domitian were not the 'Antichrist', they were foreshadows of him. 

Today, while we may not live under the 'Antichrist', maybe our children will, and if not them, maybe our grandchildren. Each year we celebrate the Fall Feasts which in Hebrew are called 'rehearsals'. The Fall Feasts speak of the time when the Messiah comes, when Yeshua will return. They are therefore rehearsals for that Blessed Day. In Judaism we do not try to figure out the date of the Messiah but are taught to be ready each year by preparing ourselves for it at the Fall Feasts, especially during the forty days preceding Yom Kippur, the most likely 'time' Yeshua will set His feet on the Mt of Olives. These forty days start with the first of Elul which was in this year's Gregorian calendar last 18^th of September. 

If our grandchildren are to be ready, we better live lives that reflect that readiness in the sight of our children, so they will in turn teach their children, our grand-children. Paul gave to the Thessalonians congregation a readiness class in the form of a 'checklist' for that day. Oddly enough, unlike some to day who urge us to be ready, this 'checklist' did not have anything to do with self-preservation or survival such as changing money to gold, growing beans in their yard, or live outside the city in a self-contained environment. Paul's idea of preparation was first and foremost concerning inter-personal relationship, as well as their relationship with God. Here is what Paul said to prepare the congregations for that Day (my comments in italics): 

1 Thessalonians 5

"Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you (You know the 'season' of the coming of Messiah: the Fall Feasts). For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of Adonai will come like a thief in the night (a Talmudic expression referring to Rosh Hashana, 10 days before Yom Kippur). While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.  

But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief (you are enlightened by the knowledge and teachings of the Word about the Fall Feasts, so you will not be surprised like the others).  For you are all children of light (light = knowledge), children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness (darkness = ignorance).  

So then;

·         Let us not sleep, as others do (sleep: a Talmudic expression for being oblivious to our responsibilities towards God's Instruction),

·         But let us keep awake and be sober (a Talmudic expression for being conscious of our responsibilities towards God's Instruction). 

For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.  But since we belong to the day,

·         let us be sober:  

Now the checklist continues: 

·         Having put on the breastplate of faith (like Moses who fled Egypt and put his lot with God, learn to trust the Father for the present and the future, and not trust in the riches of the world)

·          Love (learn to love; may your faith be motivated by love for God and your brothers)

·         And for a helmet the hope of salvation (remember that full redemption is the end of the story; nothing can change that)

·         For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Master Yeshua HaMashiach (we are not destined to suffer the wrath of God as described in Revelations 16) who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him (this time 'awake or sleep' are to be understood literally within the language of the day meaning 'alive or dead').   

Here is more instruction:

Therefore:

·         Encourage one another

·         And build one another up, just as you are doing.

·         We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,

·         And to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.

·         Be at peace among yourselves.  

And we urge you, brothers,  

·         Admonish the idle,

·         Encourage the fainthearted,

·         Help the weak,

·         Be patient with them all.

·         See that no one repays anyone evil for evil,

·         But always seek to do good to one another

·         And to everyone.

·         Rejoice always,

·         Pray without ceasing,

·         Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Yeshua HaMashiach for you.

·         Do not quench the Spirit (let the Holy Spirit speak to you).

·         Do not despise prophecies (use your gift of prophecy),

·         But test everything (but don't believe all of them; test them (1 Cor 14:29).

·         Hold fast what is good (then keep the good one).

·         Abstain from every form of evil (from all disobediences).  

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Master Yeshua HaMashiach. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.  

This was Paul's checklist for the Congregations to be prepared for the Day of Messiah. I think that if it was good for them, it must be good for us to use as a list to check our hearts during the next 40 days to prepare for Yom Kippur! 

He then added:

·         Brothers, pray for us (Pray for the apostles).

·         Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

·         Put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers (that's us too).

·         The grace of our Master Yeshua HaMashiach be with you.