1/25/2013

Parashat 4 – Portion 15. “Va yera – and he appeared”



Beresheet/Genesis 18:1-33

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,
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 portion addresses the great controversy over whether Yahshua is YHVH in the flesh. This issue concerns the doctrine of the so called trinity.
The author of this study does not wish to engage in a debate over this issue. He accepts the fact that this is an extremely divisive issue within the church as well as within the Messianic movement.
The author of this study does not believe that Yahshua is YHVH Himself. This author believes that Yahshua is the brought-forth Son of YHVH, born of the virgin Miriam almost 2000 years ago; that Yahshua has the fullness of YHVH dwelling within him and is presently seated at the right hand of the Father waiting for the Father’s instructions to return to earth and rule for 1000 years.

This Torah portion also sums up how the spirit of Yahshua is truly manifested and recognized amongst us: First there is a promise of blessing followed by the warning of judgment.

Yeshayahu/Isa 61:1  The Spirit of the Master יהוה (YHVH) is upon Me, because יהוה has anointed Me to bring good news to the meek. He has sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound,
Isa 61:2  to proclaim the acceptable year of יהוה, and the day of vengeance of our Elohim, to comfort all who mourn,

Note whenever there is a true manifestation of Yahshua’s ministry there will be true deliverance from bondage and the proclamation of blessing as well as vengeance.
How can there ever be a true manifestation of Yahshua’s ministry where there is disregard for the Torah of YHVH???

Gen 18:1  And יהוה appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamrĕ, while he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.

The sages believe that this was the third day after Avraham’s circumcision and he was most probably in a great deal of pain.

Why is it so difficult to imagine that YHVH could send a messenger to represent Himself??
When the messenger of YHVH stands before you it is just as good as if YHVH Himself stood before you because when a messenger of YHVH stands before you, he has a message from YHVH for you.

Yochanan/Joh 1:18  No one has ever seen Elohim. The only brought-forth Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He did declare.

1Ti 6:16  who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or is able to see, to whom be respect and everlasting might. Amĕn.

This first verse could almost be a prophetic reminder of and end time generation in pain because their flesh has been dealt with in a powerful way by YHVH and now they are waiting at the entrance of the Promised Land, studying the Torah. The phrase Terebinth trees of Mamre could be alluding to the kind of wood used for making yokes. Mamre means “strength.” We conclude that there is a strength that comes from waiting and studying Torah. This could be our final preparation before entering into the Messianic age – waiting for The promised Anointed Messenger of YHVH – Yahshua himself.


Gen 18:2  So he lifted his eyes and looked, and saw three men standing opposite him. And when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,
Gen 18:3  and said, “יהוה, if I have now found favour in Your eyes, please do not pass Your servant by.
Gen 18:4  “Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
Gen 18:5  “And let me bring a piece of bread and refresh your hearts, and then go on, for this is why you have come to your servant.” And they said, “Do as you have said.”
Gen 18:6  So Aḇraham ran into the tent to Sarah and said, “Hurry, make ready three measures of fine flour, knead it and make cakes.”
Gen 18:7  And Aḇraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hurried to prepare it.

The scriptures encourage us to entertain strangers:

Heb 13:2  Do not forget to receive strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained messengers.

Gen 18:8  And he took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them, and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

Here we see that milk and meat were mixed, this raises questions about the halacha (custom) of not mixing the two. It is possible that there was a time lapse between the consumption of the two.

Gen 18:9  And they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “See, in the tent.”
Gen 18:10  And He said, “I shall certainly return to you according to the time of life, and see, Sarah your wife is to have a son!” And Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.
Gen 18:11  Now Aḇraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age, and Sarah was past the way of women.
Gen 18:12  And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my master being old too?”
Gen 18:13  And יהוה said to Aḇraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I truly have a child, since I am old?’
Gen 18:14  “Is any matter too hard for יהוה? At the appointed time I am going to return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah is to have a son.”

Appointed time according to the sages was the 15 of Aviv, the first day of the Feast of unleavened bread (Chag ha Matzot).

Gen 18:15  But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”
Gen 18:16  And the men rose up from there and looked toward Seḏom, and Aḇraham went with them to send them away.
Gen 18:17  And יהוה said, “Shall I hide from Aḇraham what I am doing,
Gen 18:18  since Aḇraham is certainly going to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
Gen 18:19  “For I have known him, so that he commands his children and his household after him, to guard the way of יהוה, to do righteousness and right-ruling, so that יהוה brings to Aḇraham what He has spoken to him.”

The true descendants of Abraham will not have an obscure Messianic revelation and understanding of the last days. These will walk in the Torah of YHVH. They will understand that Messianic life comes only supernaturally and that this life is accompanied by intercession and taking up one’s execution stake AND THAT ONLY A REMNANT ARE WILLING TO RECEIVE AND WALK IN TRUE MESSIANIC REVELATION.

Today in our time we are once again witnessing the restoration of true Messianic life.

Gen 18:20  And יהוה said, “Because the outcry against Seḏom and Amorah is great, and because their sin is very heavy,
Gen 18:21  “I am going down now to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me, and if not, I know.”

Luk 17:26  “And as it came to be in the days of Noaḥ, so also shall it be in the days of the Son of Aḏam:
Luk 17:27  “They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noaḥ went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:28  “And likewise, as it came to be in the days of Lot: They were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building,
Luk 17:29  but on the day Lot went out of Seḏom it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed all.
Luk 17:30  “It shall be the same in the day the Son of Aḏam is revealed.

Gen 18:22  So the men turned away from there and went toward Seḏom, but יהוה still stood before Aḇraham.
Gen 18:23  And Aḇraham drew near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wrong?

1/19/2013

Parashat 3 Portion 14 – Beresheet/Gen 17:1-27


 Haftorah: – Yesh/Is 63:10-19 – Second Writings: Rom 4:10-25

         Isa 63:17  O יהוה, why do You make us stray from Your ways, and harden our heart from Your fear? Turn back, for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your inheritance.

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,
you have selected us from among all the peoples, and have given us your Torah.
Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)

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 without first participating in the faith of Abraham, the Sinai experience inevitably produces slavery.
Only those who have been circumcised in their hearts will understand and embrace the circumcision of the flesh. The true evidence of those who follow in the footsteps of the faith of Abraham is willingly and lovingly taking on the entire yoke of Torah.

The tragic testimony among both Jew and Gentile is that they have created their own Torah’s (ways of following YHVH) according to their own understanding and the traditions and doctrines handed down to them from generation to generation. We do this because deep in our hearts we all struggle to trust YHVH completely to do in us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Gen 17:1  And it came to be when Aḇram was ninety-nine years old, that יהוה appeared to Aḇram and said to him, “I am Ěl Shaddai – walk before Me and be perfect1. Footnote: 1Messiah gives the same command in Mt. 5:48.

Why El Shaddai?

Abram is 99 years old, his wife Sarai is 90 years old. Couples of this age simply do not give birth to children. The birth of a child would be a miraculous event, an event that would no doubt have been recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The name that YHVH chooses to reveal Himself here “El Shaddai” comes from the Hebrew word “shadad” which means “breast” and implies “One who nurses” or “the One who gives the ability to nurse.” This reminds us Who the source of the wonderful miracle of childbirth which is about to take place, was.

This also reminds us of the miraculous conception and virgin birth of Yahshua.

“walk before Me..” the verb “walk” is a “hitpael imperative” (reflexive) verb and implies walking backwards and forwards or a continuous walk of obedience we are to walk here on earth.
“and be” is another imperative (command) verb. These two imperative verbs may be consequential ie if you walk (halacha) according to YHVH’s will, you will be blameless or perfect AND HE WILL COMMAND THE BLESSING OF PERFECTION UPON YOUR LIFE.
We can also understand “be perfect” (vav, hey, yud, hey – vaheye) as a command that YHVH proclaims. In other words YHVH speaks our perfection into being by uttering this command. YHVH will bring about our perfection which is in progress even in the present. He does this by conforming us into the image of His son Yahshua.

This reminds us of the definition of faith found in Hebrews.

Heb 11:1  And belief is the substance of what is expected, the proof of what is not seen. (This is YHVH’s definition of faith or belief because this is how He operates)

LET US TAKE CAREFUL NOTE ABOUT HOW YHVH COMMANDS OUR PERFECTION AND ONLY SPEAKS CREATION INTO EXISTENCE.

If we look at the verb “to be” in the creation account we see that it is a normal “pa al” verb but when the verb “to be” is used in our Parasha concerning our becoming perfect, complete and whole an imperative or command “pa al” verb is used. This is our spiritual foundation, if it is not sound our lives will not be sound.

YHVH commands that we will become perfect.

1/12/2013

Parashat 3 Portion 13 – Beresheet/Genesis 16:1-16



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,
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.”