Blessing for the Torah:
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam, asher
bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn
ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
you have selected us from among all the peoples, and
have given us your Torah.
Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
This Torah section has been graphically explained by
our great sage the Apostle Paul:
Gal 4:21 Say to me, you who wish
to be under Torah, do you not hear the Torah?
“Under the Torah” as
it is used in several other places in Paul’s writings refers to the “oral
Torah.” The prevailing teaching of the early Jewish believers was that you
first needed to be converted to become Jewish before you could be “saved” or
become righteous before YHVH.
This was in contrast
with what Paul was teaching the Galations. Paul clearly taught that you could
not enter into the covenant with YHVH through the observance of the “oral
Torah” which was a list of additional teachings and instructions given by the
Jewish religious leaders.
This is not such a far
fetched idea if one notes the prevailing tendency of modern Judaism. There
remains an extremely large emphasis on the additional teaching and instructions
of the Rabbi’s as has been passed on from generation to generation.
Yahshua addresses this
problem during his ministry.
Mat 23:1 Then יהושע spoke to the crowds and to His taught ones,
Mat 23:2 saying,
“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Mosheh.
Mat 23:3
“Therefore, whatever they say to you to guard, guard and do. But do not
do according to their works, for they say, and do not do.
Mat 23:4 “For they
bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders, but with
their finger they do not wish to move them.
Additional comment on
vs 3:
“According to the Hebrew text of the gospel of Matthew preserved by a
14th Century Spanish Jew named Shem-Tov Ibn Shaprut. Textual
investigation of this copy demonstrates that it faithfully retains the wording
of an original Hebrew gospel of Matthew. That conclusion is further
substantiated by remarks of the early Christian church fathers and considerable
analysis of the Hebrew syntax and grammar of Matthew’s account. When we sort
through all the scholarly examination, we discover that the Hebrew text of this
verse doesn’t read “all that they tell you.” The verse in Hebrew says,
“Therefore, all that he
says to you, do and observe, but according to their reforms and their
precedents do not do, because they talk but they do not do.” In other words,
Yeshua is telling His disciples to stick with Moses. Do what the Torah tells
you to do, but don’t follow the opinions, additions, reforms or patterns
established by the rabbis.”
This statement
supports the latter part of Gal 4:21 “ … do you not hear the Torah?” in other
words Paul states that what the leaders are saying and teaching is NOT
according to the Torah of Moshe.
Gal 4:22 For it has been written that Aḇraham had two sons,
one by a female servant, the other by a free woman.
Paul sets up a midrash by focusing on Avraham’s two
sons Yishmael/Ishmael and Yitschaq/Isaac and their two respective mothers Hagar and
Sarah. Sarah is described as a “free woman,” while Hagar is described as a
“bondwoman.” The son of Hagar is produced in the flesh or Avraham’s own
efforts, while Yitschaq/Isaac comes according to the promise (Beresheet 15:16
and 21:2). In this way the “flesh” corresponds to the works of the Torah and
bondage while freedom and the promise correspond to our faith in the “promised
son.”
Gal 4:23 But
he who was of the female servant was born according to the flesh, and he of the
free woman through promise.
Gal 4:24
This is allegorical, for these are the two covenants: one indeed from
Mount Sinai which brings forth slavery, which is Haḡar,
This is the only time in the apostolic writings
where the Greek word “allegoreo” or allegory is used. This word means “to speak
another” that means you speak one word but intend another. It is extremely
important to note this allegory because in reality no covenant is made with
Ishmael. Ishmael is promised blessing but not the covenant blessing.
Rom 8:4 so that the righteousness of the Torah should
be completed in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the
Spirit.
Rom 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set
their minds on the matters of the flesh, but those who live
according to the Spirit, the matters of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 For the mind of the flesh is death, but the
mind of the Spirit is life and peace.
Rom 8:7 Because the mind of the flesh is enmity
towards Elohim, for it does not subject itself1 to the Torah of
Elohim2, neither indeed is it able, Footnotes: 1Or does
not obey. 2John 15:5, 1 John 4:4, 1 John 3:9, 1 John 5:18.
Rom 8:8 and those who are in the flesh are unable to
please Elohim.
Once again we clearly
see that YHVH only gives One Torah and sadly we see that both Jews and
Christians have spent great effort and time in creating a Torah that is
different that contains many additions and omissions. This will always produce
flesh and bondage.
Gal 4:25 for
this Haḡar is Mount Sinai in
Araḇia, and corresponds to
Yerushalayim which now is, and is in slavery with her children.
Gal 4:26 But
the Yerushalayim above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Gal 4:27 For
it has been written, “Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break forth and
shout, you who do not have birth pains! For the deserted one has many more
children than she who has a husband.”
Gal 4:28 And
we, brothers, as Yitsḥaq was, are children
of promise.
Gal 4:29
But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him born
according to the Spirit, so also now.
Gal 4:30 But
what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the female servant and her son, for the
son of the female servant shall by no means be heir with the son of the free
woman.”
Gal 4:31
Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the female servant but of
the free woman.
Let
us take special notice of vs 27 - “Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break
forth and shout, you who do not have birth pains! For the deserted one has many
more children than she who has a husband.”
This is a very painful verse for those who are waiting
for the promises of YHVH, because those who rely on the flesh seem often to be
the ones rejoicing and those who rely on the promise seem to be the “barren
ones.”
This is a pattern that occurs often in scripture and
as some of us know in real life as well.
The barren are told to rejoice:
Isa 54:1 “Sing, O barren one, you who did not bear!
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not been in labour! For
the children of the deserted one are more than the children of the married
woman,” said יהוה.
Isa 54:2 “Enlarge
the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your
dwellings, spare not. Lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.
Isa 54:3 “For you
shall break forth to the right and to the left, and your seed inherit the
nations, and make the deserted cities inhabited.
Isa 54:4 “Do not
fear, for you shall not be put to shame, nor hurt, you shall not be humiliated.
For the shame of your youth you shall forget, and not remember the reproach of
your widowhood any more.
Isa 54:5 “For your
Maker is your husband, יהוה of hosts is His Name, and the
Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl is your Redeemer. He is called the Elohim of all the
earth.
Isa 54:6 “For יהוה has
called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth
when you were refused,” declares your Elohim.
Isa 54:7 “For a
little while I have forsaken you, but with great compassion I shall gather you.
Isa 54:8 “In an
overflow of wrath I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting
kindness I shall have compassion on you,” said יהוה, your Redeemer.
Isa 54:9 “For this
is the waters of Noaḥ to Me, in that I have sworn that the waters of Noaḥ would
never again cover the earth, so have I sworn not to be wroth with you, nor to
rebuke you.
Isa 54:10 “For
though the mountains be removed and the hills be shaken, My kindness is not
removed from you, nor is My covenant of peace shaken,” said יהוה, who has
compassion on you.
Isa 54:11 “O you
afflicted one, tossed with storm, and not comforted, see, I am setting your
stones in antimony, and shall lay your foundations with sapphires,
Isa 54:12 and
shall make your battlements of rubies, your gates of crystal, and all your
walls of precious stones,
Isa 54:13 and all
your children taught by יהוה, and the peace of your children
great.
Isa 54:14 “In
righteousness you shall be established – far from oppression, for you shall not
fear, and far from ruin, for it does not come near you.
Isa 54:15 “See,
they shall indeed assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever shall assemble
against you falls for your sake!
Isa 54:16 “See, I
Myself have created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire, who brings
forth an instrument for his work. And I have created the waster to destroy.
Isa 54:17 “No
weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against
you in judgment you shall prove wrong. This is the inheritance of the servants
of יהוה, and
their righteousness from Me,” declares יהוה.
This teaching has a very realistic and painful
application to those who truly have entered into a covenant with YHVH and are
awaiting the fulfillment of His promise of redemption. The truth is that those
who are waiting for the promise seem to be barren. Those who are in the “flesh”
will look down on those who are waiting for the promised redemption.
1Co 1:24 but to those who are called – both Yehuḏim and Greeks –
Messiah the power of Elohim and the wisdom of Elohim.
1Co 1:25 For
the foolishness of Elohim is wiser than men, and the weakness of Elohim is
stronger than men.
1Co 1:26 For
look at your calling, brothers, that there were not many wise according to the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble.
1Co 1:27 But
Elohim has chosen the foolish matters of the world to put to shame the
wise, and Elohim has chosen the weak of the world to put to shame the strong.
1Co 1:28 And
Elohim has chosen the low-born of the world and the despised, and the ones that
are not, that He might bring to naught the ones that are,
1Co 1:29 so that no flesh should boast in His
presence.
Why is this so?
It is sometimes
difficult to understand. First of all we are promised a way of escape in the
harshest of trials.
1Co 10:12 so that he who thinks he stands, let him take
heed lest he fall.
1Co 10:13 No trial has overtaken you except such as is
common to man, and Elohim is trustworthy, who shall not allow you to be tried
beyond what you are able, but with the trial shall also make the way of escape,
enabling you to bear it.
Perhaps one the greatest reasons we find ourselves in
these times of bareness is because YHVH wants to reveal to us the true
condition of ourselves that will cause a deep and healing repentance to come
over us.
We realize that it is only Messiah with us that can truly
lead us into the fullness of our redemption. We eagerly await for him to return
and lead us into the presence of YHVH.
Gen 16:1 And Sarai, Aḇram’s wife, had borne
him no child. And she had a Mitsrite female servant whose name was Haḡar.
Gen 16:2 And
Sarai said to Aḇram, “See, יהוה has kept me from bearing children.
Please, go in to my female servant. It might be that I am built up by her.” And
Aḇram
listened to the voice of Sarai.
Gen 16:3 And
Sarai, Aḇram’s wife, took Haḡar her
female servant, the Mitsrite, and gave her to her husband Aḇram to
be his wife, after Aḇram had dwelt ten years in the land of Kena’an.
Gen 16:4 And he
went in to Haḡar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had
conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
Gen 16:5 And Sarai
said to Aḇram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my female servant into
your bosom. And when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her
eyes. Let יהוה judge between you and me.”
Gen 16:6 And Aḇram
said to Sarai, “See, your female servant is in your hand, do to her what is
good in your eyes.” And Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her
presence.
Gen 16:7 And the
Messenger of יהוה found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring
on the way to Shur,
Gen 16:8 and He
said, “Haḡar, Sarai’s female servant, where have you come from, and
where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of Sarai,
my mistress.”
Gen 16:9 And the
Messenger of יהוה said to her, “Return to your mistress, and humble yourself
under her hand.”
Gen 16:10 And the
Messenger of יהוה said to her, “I am going to increase your seed greatly, too
numerous to be counted.”
Gen 16:11 And the
Messenger of יהוה said to her, “See, you are conceiving and bearing a son, and
shall call his name Yishma’ĕl, because יהוה has heard your affliction.
Gen 16:12 “And he
is to be a wild man, his hand against every one and every one’s hand against
him, and dwell over against all his brothers.”
Gen 16:13 And she
called the Name of יהוה who spoke to her, “You are the Ěl
who sees,” for she said, “Even here have I seen after Him who sees me?”
Gen 16:14 That is
why the well was called Be’ĕr Laḥai Ro’i, see, it is between Qaḏĕsh
and Bereḏ.
Gen 16:15 And Haḡar
bore Aḇram a son, and Aḇram
called the name of his son, whom Haḡar
bore, Yishmaʽĕl.
Gen 16:16 And Aḇram
was eighty-six years old when Haḡar bore Yishma’ĕl to
Aḇram.
Sinai was not the beginning of the
covenant relationship with Yisrael, it was a continuation of a covenant already
established. If one comes to Sinai with our first participating in the faith of
Abraham, the Sinai experience inevitably produces slavery.
“Baruch atah YHVH,
Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam, asher natan lanu Toraht-emet,
v’chay-yeh o’lam
nata-b’tochenu. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you Yahweh,
our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have given us your Torah of truth,
and have planted
everlasting life within our midst. Blessed are you, YHVH giver of the Torah –
Ameyn
Please note these notes
are under construction and are subject to correction and are in no way a final
authority on any subject.