To gain a more deeper and fuller insight of Torah we
need to study and seek understanding at different levels of Torah learning. The
sages used a method of understanding they explain with the use of an acronym -
PARDES
- Peshat (פְּשָׁט) —
"surface" ("straight") or the literal (direct)
meaning.
- Remez (רֶמֶז) —
"hints" or the deep (allegoric: hidden or symbolic) meaning
beyond just the literal sense.
- Derash (דְּרַשׁ) — from
Hebrew darash: "inquire" ("seek") — the
comparative (midrashic)
meaning, as given through similar occurrences.
- Sod (סוֹד) (pronounced with a long
O as in 'sore') — "secret" ("mystery") or the
esoteric/mystical meaning, as given through inspiration or revelation.
Each type of
Pardes interpretation examines the extended meaning of a text. As a
general rule, the extended meaning never contradicts the base meaning.
Scholars
believe the four accounts of the life and teaching of Messiah was also presented
according to this pattern of understanding.
Mattithyahu (Matthew)
- Peshat (Plain sense)
Mark - Remez
(Hint - Implied meaning)
Luke - Darash
(Searching - Typological/Allegorical)
Yochanan (John)
- Sod (Mystical)
This week’s
Torah portion introduces one of the most remarkable insights into the life and
ministry of Melchizedek. There can be no co incidence of the surrounding
narrative surrounding Melchizedek. This
Torah portion is loaded with a deeper meaning that only the Ruach Ha Kodesh
(The Set apart Spirit) of YHVH can assist us to give us insight.
We will first
examine the narrative and then look for a deeper understanding of our portion.
Our Torah Portion:
Gen 14:1 And it came to be in the days of Amraphel(Possibly
Nimrod) sovereign of Shinʽar, Aryoḵ sovereign of Ellasar,
Keḏorlaʽomer sovereign of
Ěylam, and Tiḏʽal sovereign of Goyim,
Gen 14:2
that they fought against Bera sovereign of Seḏom, Birsha sovereign
of Amorah, Shinaḇ sovereign of Aḏmah, Shem’ĕḇer sovereign of Tseḇoyim, and the
sovereign of Bela, that is Tsoʽar.
Gen 14:3 All
these joined together in the Valley of Siddim, that is the Salt Sea.
Gen 14:4
Twelve years they served Keḏorlaʽomer, and in the
thirteenth year they rebelled.
Gen 14:5 And
in the fourteenth year Keḏorlaʽomer and the
sovereigns that were with him came and smote the Repha’im in Ashteroth
Qarnayim, and the Zuzim in Ḥam, and the Ěmites in
Shawĕh Qiryathayim,
Gen 14:6 and
the Ḥorites in their
mountain of Sĕʽir, as far as Ěl
Paran, which is by the wilderness.
Gen 14:7 And
they turned back and came to Ěn Mishpat, that is Qaḏĕsh, and smote all the
country of the Amalĕqites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Ḥatsetson Tamar.
Gen 14:8 And
the sovereign of Seḏom, and the sovereign
of Amorah, and the sovereign of Aḏmah,
and the sovereign of Tseḇoyim, and the
sovereign of Bela, that is Tsoʽar, went out and
joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim,
Gen 14:9
against Keḏorlaʽomer sovereign of
Ěylam, and Tiḏʽal sovereign of Goyim,
and Amraphel sovereign of Shinʽar, and Aryoḵ sovereign of Ellasar
– four sovereigns against five.
Gen 14:10
And the Valley of Siddim had many
tar pits(or oil). And the sovereigns of Seḏom and Amorah fled and
fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains.
“Israel: the coming
energy superpower” - Imagine the
political implications if Israel has one of the largest hidden oil reserves in
the world?