Torah

Civil war in Israel? Shema Oh Arm of the LORD!

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Haftorah Shoftim

Is Israel merely the land of the Jews, or is it the land of the G-d of Israel, entrusted to the Jews, rather those of Israel who hold as authoritative the written Torah of the Bible? And does it also belong to the soon to be discovered other 10 tribes who will one day return to their patrimonial land, those only who have left their idolatry and embraced not only the Jewish people but the Eternal G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?

The events over the past few months have split the country in two if we believe the media, that Israel is in a state of Civil Emergency. Yet is this the truth? Much of what Media channels tell us is inflated or outright lies. Is there indeed a struggle between left and right? Yes, there is a struggle and the extent to which this is a problem has much to do with support from those who hate Israel and deny Israel’s right to a true democracy. The struggle is exaggerated and made bigger by the lies being told. The left is claiming they want democracy but the outcome of what they are clinging to is not at all democracy. Democracy is about a country run by it’s elected officials. Judicial reform is the solution to bring the country under the rule of it’s elected government. But what if that government is not following Torah? That is a big IF!

What if the people do not want to serve One who is the Giver and rightful Owner of the Land? What then? Are we creating another self-governed state elected by a populace that does not hold themselves accountable to obey the Torah? Will we create a state run by the secular Zionists who have no fear of Hashem? Or will, perchance those who wish to form another nation, not “Under G-d”, finally see the Arm of the Lord working and pack their bags and multi-million dollar enterprises and return to what they believe is the “Land of Plenty”?

The Haftorah for this week speaks about this problem and the call to trust and return to righteousness. (Isaiah 51). The chapter begins specifying to whom is the call and the blessing:

“1 Hearken to Me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD; look unto the rock whence ye were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye were digged.”

Those who follow after righteousness are called to hearken שמעו (Shema in the plural). Again we see this in verse 7 and defined as those “in whose hear is My law.”

“7 Hearken שמעו unto Me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is My law; fear ye not the taunt of men, neither be ye dismayed at their revilings. 8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but My favour shall be for ever, and My salvation unto all generations. 9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times.”

Several people I have spoken with in the past few weeks have reacted negatively to my insistence that Israel does not need the United States anymore (never did really). When I have stated that the Eternal is looking after Israel and that it is time for Israel to rise and shine, they hang their heads and say, “but…”

We saw above that those who know righteousness are not to fear the mocking media and those in the nations and even in Israel who hate the Truth, but rather to trust and watch (שמעו) for the Arm of the Lord. You can see a list of references to who is this Arm in my article: Defining Isaiah 53…An Arm, a Servant and Who is We?

Why is it that the Arm of the Lord is told to awaken and put on strength? Is there someone out there that knows and hearkens to righteousness but is afraid to rise and become strengthened to do the work that he is called to do? Who awoke in times of old, in past generations to lead G-d’s people? If we look at the call of Moses, of Jeremiah, of Isaiah, we will see their timidity in accepting the call to rise and lead. Who will arise and lead today? Are there any agencies who are not paid off by globalists and godless nations and entities that want to divide and destroy this nation and barter it off to those who have no right to it? When we divide the land to make peace (ie the two state solution) we are taking part in the scheme prophesied in Daniel 11:39?

“39 And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god; whom he shall acknowledge, shall increase glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.” What does it mean to divide the land for a price (profit, bribe, money, etc)?

Perhaps the signing of the Oslo Accords by Yitzhak Rabin had something to do with this. And we know he did not last long. He was assassinated by a zealous Israeli Zionist. See article here. The Oslo Accords was clearly an attempt to get Israel to lie down and drink the kool-aid of the nations desire to divide and destroy the Land of Promise.

But the Haftorah continues its wake up call:

“17 Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, that hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; thou hast drunken the beaker, even the cup of staggering, and drained it. 18 There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up. 19 These two things are befallen thee; who shall bemoan thee? desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword; how shall I comfort thee? 20 Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as an antelope in a net; they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God.”

The sons of Israel, even the Zionists are afraid, they believe we have to get along with the nations so that we can have our land even when the nations want to take it away and give it to those who never deserved it. And some of those Arabs realize that it does not belong to them. See what Sheikh Ahmad al-Adwan is reported to have said in a publication by MIDA: Read the whole article here.

“ ‘The Palestinians are murderers of children, elderly and women. They attack the Jews, use children as a human shield and hide behind them without mercy, as though they weren’t their own flesh and blood. And all this to deliver a false message, as though the Jews are the hostiles and not them.’ … ‘All should know that the Holy Land is their [the Jews’] land and that Jerusalem is the direction towards which they pray and during their readings and ceremonies, as God said in the Koran; ‘Turn then Thy face in the direction of the sacred Mosque” (in Mecca) [Koran 2:144]. This verse effectively cancels out the prayer towards al-Aqsa (the Temple Mount) and all traditions regarding al-Aqsa for Muslims.’ His unusual statement was published in the pro-Palestinian daily al-Quds al-Arabi, after which it made its way to hundreds of Arabic websites, forums and facebook pages – all of them fiercely attacking and criticizing him.”

But the good news is that there are some out there who trust YHVH and though they are timid and see themselves as unworthy to stand up and do the work that is before them, they are listening. May they see the Hand of Hashem working so that they will arise and do his bidding! The Haftorah ends with the following verse in Isaiah 51:

“22 Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of His people: behold, I have taken out of thy hand the cup of staggering; the beaker, even the cup of My fury, thou shalt no more drink it again; 23 And I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; that have said to thy soul: ‘Bow down, that we may go over’; and thou hast laid thy back as the ground, and as the street, to them that go over.”

Perhaps what gives those who seek righteousness strength to arise is when they see Hashem place the cup of staggering into the hand of the enemy. Let us watch and see! Hearken שמעו oh Israel!

Lessons from a Failed Sourdough

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What did Egypt have to do with it anyway?

When Israel hastily left Egypt, they wrapped up their dough without adding a leavening agent. This was the precursor for the observance of the feast of unleavened bread or Hag HaMatzot which was defined at Sinai as a statute binding for all time for Israel. The Feast of Passover, as commanded in the Bible included a complete cleansing of leaven from the homes of the Israelites and a seven day diet of unleavened bread, this was given as a perpetual memorial of their escape from Egypt. But what, if anything did leavening have to do with Egypt and what is involved in it’s prohibition?

Some have said that the practice of leavening bread was part of the idolatrous practices of Egypt. That this bread was used in sacrifices to the Egyptian gods. This is something I once believed, and certainly is an aspect to consider—But if that was the bottom line reason for Israel’s command to observe the Feast of Passover, then why is there in the second biblical feast Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks), the command to make two loaves made with leavening? This makes no sense if leaven represents Egypt and idolatry. I mean, if the principle of leavening was evil, so now why were we to resume the practice? What can possibly be involved here?

Perhaps if we look at the way ancient breads were leavened we may see something in the ingredients that would give us a clue…

For several years now I have experimented with the process of making sourdough bread. As I understand it, this was always the way that bread was leavened before the invention of modern yeast.

For me, learning to ferment sourdough, has been interesting and a challenge! If you don’t have any bacteria, the flour base will rot, and you can’t put a tight lid on the jar while it ferments, you have to let the outside air which supplies oxygen and the environmental bacteria in this air. If that air has bad bacteria, it is contaminated—and when exposed to unhealthy bacteria, I have found that it produces a strange taste and smell. I have lived and made bread in parts of Israel where there is a clean desert atmosphere, and there the taste is excellent. But not all the areas in Israel create good sourdough, at least not from my experimentation.

Sourdough starter takes its flavor from fermentation caused by bacteria in its environment. I have lived in several countries and the taste of my sourdough has varied in each place. Since I make my starter from scratch and do not import it, it depends on local bacteria in the flour and the atmosphere to make it ferment. It seems that the atmosphere of the country is absorbed in the fermentation process. Now maybe I am taking a deep dive here—jumping to conclusions in that thinking. But let’s work through this!

What was wrong with Egypt for the people of Israel? Basically, they suffered under slavery in a system of idolatry, correct? There were other things, unclean, non kosher standards, perhaps also things having to do with Egyptian burial practices…

But what was right with Israel’s making their own leavened dough starting in the desert as commanded at Sinai in regards to the Feast of Weeks? Actually, the offering of the wave sheaf which precluded and thus was also mandatory for the feast of weeks, according to the Torah, was not to be kept until they entered the land. Leviticus 22:10-17.

But the instruction was given there so we would assume that it was legitimate for the Israelites to make bread sometime in the desert (though there was little if any grain to make flour from as far as I know). Was the desert a cleaner place? It definitely had less idolatry, except when Israel made the golden calf.

Do idolatrous practices pervade the atmosphere? Can disobedience cause alterations in the environment? What about immorality? Can it actually affect the physicality of the world? Can the physical world be destroyed by sin? I leave that to your judgment. Is it possible that the very air becomes contaminated with altered bacteria in an unclean or immoral environment?

We have been living in an apartment near Tel Aviv a city that celebrates its Pride Parade and leads the world in this sin. Sorry if that offends people, but being part of the land of Israel, Tel Aviv should honor the commands given by Him who gifted Israel to the people who keep His covenant. But can the air and the food be contaminated this way?

And what does that have to do with my sourdough? Well, I can’t seem to get the bread to come out right here. Perhaps this old decaying apartment is the cause, perhaps the air outside is too humid. But, the bread tastes wrong. It is not at all like the bread I made in the north of Israel. There is a strange strain of bacteria here which I cannot define other than to say that the very air is contaminated by something that tastes rotten.

Perhaps, like I said, I am taking a deep dive here into something that is half physical and half spiritual, but let me tell you, the atmosphere is not good here in many ways. It is almost as if a curse is hanging in the very air around us. And it is affecting the bread I make. I suppose I could import a sourdough starter and then I would not have the problem in my bread making, or would I?

When we think of the laws of the Torah, though many of them are a mystery, we see that observance of these laws brings both spiritual and physical blessings. We can restore the land! How? Not by saying extra prayers (Isaiah 1:15-17) in the synagogue or being sure to kiss more mezzuzot, but by obedience to the Torah and it’s simple commands, even though the spiritual meaning may be a mystery to the human mind. So what’s the bottom line?… Obedience is better than sacrifice.

1Sa 15: “22 But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry…”

As Always…Digging for Gems in the Mine of Truth

Ariella

But it is Just a Thing…

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What is idolatry anyway?

I always thought that bowing to an image or cultic idol in a pagan temple was idolatry. Well, yes! But what is the essence of Idolatry and can it be something that is even more pervasive, less obvious and more accepted by society than a pilgrimage to the shrine of a pagan god? I know that for Catholics, the explanation given them is that it is not the stone they are worshiping but that they are actually being reminded of whom they are praying to by a visible image. For some reason the Catholic Bible has deleted a commandment from the 10 words of YHVH on Sinai: “you shall not make to yourselves a carved image…you shall not bow yourself to them nor serve them.” Exodus 20:4 But before we get really tough with the Catholics, maybe we should look at what is the real essence of the problem of idolatry.

Here is another Torah text:

Deut. 12:30-31 Beware that you do not go astray after them, after YHVH your Elohim destroys them from before you, and do not ask about their gods and say, ‘How were the nations serving these their gods, that I may also do like them?’ But you shall not do so to YHVH your Elohim, because everything that YHVH despises and hates they have done for their gods…”

So, what other things did the nations do for their gods? And what is the intrinsic thought behind idolatry? Basically this—that a material object can transfer good or bad to a person and can become an item of our focus rather than the ONE and only Elohim who is uncontainable, uncontrollable, unfathomable, indescribable and on and on ad infinitum. There is more truth to be told in what YHVH is not than what He is. If we could define Him we would be equal to him. God forbid!

So lets look at a few things…that have been seen as having powers from a blessing that they may have been associated with.

A Biblical Example:

Gideon, a judge of Israel– righteous as well as chosen of YHVH to be a great warrior, deliverer.and judge of Israel for many years, 40 of which Israel had peace in the land, made an ephod before he died and hung it in his city. It later became a snare to his people. (Judges 8:27) Why? Because the people saw it as the object that brought blessing and because Gideon made it, it became revered as if having his blessing.

Memorabilia:

Many people save memorabilia to remember their loved ones who have passed on. There is no problem in that. However, if that object is seen as something that contains the essence of the dead relative and brings that essence, or any quality of good or bad into the home or house of worship, then it is counted an object of worship—an idol. How so? If we look to anything other than the Creator as having power to bless or curse, then we are directing to it, undue “worship” even if in the slightest degree.

Amulets:

So how about amulets? That should be easy enough. If an item is seen as having power to protect us then it is replacing the great Protector YHVH who is always with us. We have no need of amulets, not even to remind us of the protection of YHVH nor any blessing. Why? Because that is what the pagans did for their gods, which by the way can be as small as an amulet. But do you worship or serve it? Well, just ask yourself what happens if you lose it…

The Mezzuzah:

Now this may be something very touchy, but consider the case of the mezzuzah on the doorposts. Yes, we must have them. It is a commandment. But how are we viewing them? Is that little scroll inside with a material ink an paper copy of the NAME on it, what keeps us safe? Think about it! So, I have been told over and over to have a sofer check the mezzuzahs on our doors. When I fell and twisted my ankle, many were worried that something was wrong with the mezzuzah. If, God forbid someone in the house gets Covid, the same question comes around. But why do we need this object to be in rabbinic perfection to receive the protection of the Most High YHVH? Where does it say that in the Torah? It doesn’t! So, what was the purpose of the mezzuzah anyway? And by the way, the word mezzuzah means doorpost. So what is the object called? Here is Deut 6:9 “and you shall inscribe them on your doorposts and upon your gates.” And in Hebrew:

וּכְתַבְתָּ֛ם עַל־מְזֻז֥וֹת בֵּיתֶ֖ךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃

The verse does not refer to an object at all. It says to write the words of YHVH on the doorposts. So how has the mezzuzah in it’s present form come about as a tradition?

Years ago in California, I paid over $100 for a Kosher parchment scroll that had been written by a sofer and imported to the United States. I then put it inside the little box (mezzuzah) made for it and had the congregation come and install it, hold a kiddish service and bless my office. I believed I had to do this. I suppose there was nothing wrong with that, but it was not necessary. Later someone pointed out: “Why don’t you just write your own Shema on a piece of paper and stuff it with that. It would be more meaningful, and actually fulfill the commandment more closely.”

But, however you put the words of the Almighty on the doorpost, the custom is fine, but what matters is what power you give to the object or writing that you do. The object has no power at all. The command was to remember that YHVH is ONE and that there is no other. (If you think about it, when you give the mezzuzah power to protect you, you are actually denying who it is that does so.) There IS NO OTHER thing or person or material item that has any power to bless or curse. That, my friend, is idolatry!

Hamsa:

And we should mention the Hamsa. After something so simple as the wrong focus in belief in the case of the mezzuzah, it is surely obvious that the Hamsa has no power to protect and the Evil Eye has no power to curse. Let’s get things straight.

There is important history of the Hamsa. Where did it come from? What did is symbolize? Was it ever used in other religions? Here is what Wikipedia says:

“The hamsa (Arabic: خمسة‎, romanized: khamsah, Hebrew: חַמְסָה‎, romanized: ḥamsā) is a palm-shaped amulet popular throughout the Maghreb and in the Middle East and commonly used in jewelry and wall hangings. Depicting the open right hand, an image recognized and used as a sign of protection in many times throughout history, the hamsa is believed by Middle Easterners, to provide defense against the evil eye. The hamsa holds recognition as a bearer of good fortune among Christians in the Middle East as well. “Khamsah is an Arabic word that means “five”, but also “the five fingers of the hand”. The Hamsa is also variously known as the Hand of Fatima after the daughter of Muhammad, the Hand of Mary, the Hand of Miriam, and the Hand of the Goddess.”1 Wikipedia

So yes, it is used by other religions and is an item of luck which can also be called worship when it is believed in.

What do Rabbinic Jews say about it?

From My Jewish Learning: “What Is A Hamsa? Although it may derive from Islamic or pagan culture, the hamsa today has become a Jewish and Israeli symbol…It is difficult to pinpoint the exact time when hamsas emerged in Jewish culture, though it is clearly a symbol of Sephardic nature. Jews might have used the hamsa to invoke the hand of God, or to counteract the Evil Eye with the eye embedded in the palm of the hand. Some hamsas contain images of fish, in accordance with Rabbi Yose son of Hanina’s statement in the Talmud that the descendants of Joseph, who received Jacob’s blessing of multiplying like fish in Genesis 48:16, are protected from the Evil Eye like fish. He explains: “the water covers the fish of the sea so the eye has no power over them (Berakhot 55b)…other icons besides eyes and fish have also found their way into the hamsa, including the Star of David, prayers for the traveler, the Shema, the blessing over the house, and the colors of red and blue, both of which are said to thwart the Evil Eye…“The symbol of the hand, and often of priestly hands, appears in kabbalistic manuscripts and amulets, doubling as the letter shin, the first letter of the divine name Shaddai. This mapping of the human hand over the divine name and hand might have had the effect of creating a bridge between the worshipper and God.”2

From a historical site:

“Hamsa is a universal protective sign and we encounter it in faiths. It is believed the symbol brings its owner happiness, luck, health, and good fortune. Hamsa offers protection from harm caused by the evil eye. As previously mentioned in Ancient Pages, there is an ancient, superstitious, and almost universal belief that certain people possess the supernatural power to cause disaster, illness, calamity and even death. They have the ability to do it with a gaze or stare that gives an unpleasant emotion. The evil eye is widely feared in many parts of the world. This is why the Hamsa symbol can be found today throughout the Middle East.3” Ancient Pages/hamsa

Soon we must look at the practice of going to graves to worship, but for now, remember: it is the same thing; no person nor stone nor grave nor dead person, has any power to bless or curse. Speaking to ask the dead to mediate with YHVH is invoking the dead. Necromancy! And why would we need a dead mediator when the King of Kings hears our prayers? This too comes under the judgment of the verse we started with:

Deut. 12:30-31 Beware that you do not go astray after them, after YHVH your Elohim destroys them from before you, and do not ask about their gods and say, ‘How were the nations serving these their gods, that I may also do like them?’ But you shall not do so to YHVH your Elohim, because everything that YHVH despises and hates they have done for their gods…”

Psa 135:15-19 “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who fashion them, all who trust in them, shall become like them. O house of Israel, bless YHVH.”

1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamsa

2https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/hamsa/

3https://www.ancientpages.com/2020/05/20/ancient-symbol-hamsa-meaning-history-explained/

Rabbinic Tradition–Replacement Theology?

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The Foundation of Rabbinic Authority

The book, Pirke Avot, Ethics of the Fathers, introduces the work of the Jewish Sages.

Pirke Avot is one of the 63 tractates in the Mishnah (code of Jewish Law) developed between the years 300 BCE and 200 CE. Here we read some very interesting and startling ideas regarding the work of the Fathers, called in Hebrew: “AVOT.” According to Jewish thinking for thousands of years, the Oral Torah (the tradition and interpretation that has been transmitted by rabbis) is equal to or superior to the written Torah of Moses and the Tanakh. Maybe this is why many of my religious Jewish family have little use for the Bible and stand firmly on rabbinic teaching that has, by their own admission, superseded the authority of the written Torah. And maybe this is why my not so religious Jewish family throw the baby out with the bath water, feeling that because they occasionally light Shabbat candles (for which there is NO Torah command) they satisfy at least a small step towards the Mitzvot and somehow puts them on the path to the World to Come.

A few years ago, I met a Jewish friend at a sandwich shop in California. She was eating a ham and cheese sandwich. She was a regular participating member at the local congregation. I was a bit shocked by her choice of ham and cheese and she quickly explained, “There are just too many commandments for me to wrap my head around all of them. I do my best.”

I have heard this many times, many justify pork and shellfish and drive on Shabbat while volunteering at the local food bank as their choice of mitzvah. So, I ask; can one violation be covered up by a good deed?

Of course my friend didn’t even possess a Tanakh or Chumash (5 books of Moses) which underlies the problem of the common Jew not knowing the written Torah or the works of the prophets. This has to do with the work of the ancient rabbis while still in Babylon. How so?

The claimed chain of transmission of the Oral Torah from Sinai down through the ages holds the key. To what extent, if any, were sages and rabbis at that time, or any other, given permission to interpret and remodel the Torah? And does this give them binding authority over the transmission and interpretation of Torah?

What is our Bottom Line?

Those who take the written Torah as it was given to Moses on Sinai as the bottom line—the sole basis for Biblical interpretation, reject the idea that anyone, nor prophet, nor priest nor sage–no matter how studied nor how certified nor in what school he has studied, has the right to re-interpret Hashem’s Holy Words.

How far did the Sages Kick the Ball out of the Court?

Here are a few revealing quotes from Pirke Avot, A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics1:

“Unlike the other tractates in the Mishnah, Avot is made up of story-like material and maxims known as aggadah. It contains no Halacha, binding legal material. (1) Yet it is supremely important because it justifies the authority of the rabbis, something the Bible could not do. It traces (in the first two chapters) the transmission of Jewish tradition from the revelation at Sinai through the leading rabbis of the generation that led the community following the destruction of the Second Temple. This unbroken chain of tradition provides a foundation for the Mishnah itself.”

“The claim of the divine origin of this Oral Law carried with it the claim of a divine sanction of those who taught that law and a justification, therefore, of (2) the new religious figure, the rabbi, who would take over from the older figures of prophet and priest. That new role required an innovative link to the past.”

“…The hierarchy in society was based on learning: teacher, associate, and student. (3) Those outside the academy were deemed ignorant. Any observances of the mitzvah system outside of the academy system had no efficacy. (4) Bereft of methods of rabbinic Judaism only available in the academy, one cannot gain God’s favor. The Biblical text, standing alone, cannot provide salvation for the individual. Only the interpretation and instructions of the rabbis give us eternal life.”2 (Numbers and emphasis mine).

Is anyone else shocked at these excerpts from the above?

  1. (Avot) “… is supremely important because it justifies the authority of the rabbis, something the Bible could not do”
  2. “…the new religious figure, the rabbi, who would take over from the older figures of prophet and priest.”
  3. “Those outside the academy were deemed ignorant. Any observances of the mitzvah system outside of the academy system had no efficacy.”
  4. “Bereft of methods of rabbinic Judaism only available in the academy, one cannot gain God’s favor. The Biblical text, standing alone, cannot provide salvation for the individual. Only the interpretation and instructions of the rabbis give us eternal life.”

So if I am to embrace the beliefs and Halacha of rabbinic Judaism, I need to go back to the foundation and see what it is based on. Clearly, Pirke Avot establishes a foundation on the authority of the rabbis and takes it away from the ordained channels of the Torah by it’s own admission.

Here are a few more quotes from Pirke Avot:

From Chapter 1: “The great assembly said three things…Be deliberate in judgment, raise up many disciples, and make a fence around the Torah.”

First, what is the Great Assembly and did it replace the prophets of Israel? When did the last prophet live? Or did it take over during the lives of any of the last prophets?

“According to traditional Jewish historiography, the Great Assembly (Anshe Knesset HaGedolah) was an assembly of 120 rabbis that ruled in the period after the time of the prophets up to the time of the development of rabbinic Judaism in 70 CE. They bridge a period of about two centuries.”3 (from this quote it appears that the Great Assembly was not until after the prophets.)

“The Men of the Great Assembly was an unusual group of Jewish personalities who assumed the reigns of Jewish leadership between 410 BCE and 310 BCE. This time period follows the destruction of the First Temple, and includes the early decades of the Second Temple, up until the invasion of the Greeks, led by Alexander the Great.”4

(From this quote, apparently the Great Assembly occurred a bit later than the lives of the last prophets, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, who lived to return to Jerusalem at the time of the command to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. (circa 520 BCE)5.

“According to Rashi, there were 48 prophets and 7 prophetesses of Judaism. The last Jewish prophet is believed to have been Malachi. In Jewish tradition it is believed that the period of prophecy, called Nevuah, ended with Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi at which time the “Shechinah departed from Israel”6 (Perhaps we need to ask why it departed.)

Make a Fence:

The rabbis’ first set of instructions recorded in Pirke Avot included the injunction to “make a fence around the Torah.” What does it mean to make a fence? I think this can be illustrated from the Sinai story and the command to set boundaries around the mountain.

“be ready by the third day: for on the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds to the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that you go not up into the mountain, or touch the border of it: whoever touches the mountain shall be surely put to death: no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the shofar sounds long, they shall come up to the mountain.” Exo 19 vs. 11-13

Then three days later, when it was time for Hashem to speak to Israel….

“the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the Lord said to Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through to the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish.” Exo 19:20-21

Moses claimed that the boundaries were set and the people had been instructed. He asserted that there was no need for a second set of boundaries. But he did descend, warned the people and ask Aaron to join him on the mount.

Moses did not think it was needed to build a second fence, only to warn the people. So if Moses thought one fence was enough, then why do the rabbis assert that we need to build more and more fences? Hashem’s instructions were enough. What happens when we create more and more fences? We get farther and farther from Sinai and the commandment! We need to be close enough to the original commandment to understand it. We cannot distance ourselves to another corner of the planet (Babylon perhaps?) and still hear Hashem’s voice. So a rabbinic fence around the Torah becomes a fence in the name of that rabbi. Does anyone read me? How many times do we read, and such and such a rabbi said in the name of a more important rabbi, that such and such should be done…thus giving rabbinic authority but never mentioning Hashem!

I remember when we first came to Israel we had the custom of taking a liesurely Shabbat afternoon walk in a wadi or forest. On one occasion, I saw a gorgeous new flower growing on a bush along the path. I went over to it to smell it. Out of the blue, a dark clad, fully covered Hassidic woman and her daughter shouted at me in English that I must not touch a flower on Shabbat. What? She explained that if I even smelled the flower, I would be tempted to pick it. Then, I would be guilty of breaking two commandments; one that of harvesting, and the other of carrying outside of the Eruv on Shabbat. Oh really? Go figure, there is the example of adding fences to fences about everything! So what is the original harvesting and carrying commandments given by Hashem and how have those commandments been manipulated to create a dozen more fences which completely take away the original intent? So, I was going to smell a flower, maybe even pick one…Hmmm. But this is adding to the Torah just as Hava did in Eden when she told the snake that Hashem had commanded: “neither shall ye touch it lest ye die.” And so the first fence was created by our first mother with the results we all see in the world today! Stop adding to the commandments! How many of the original 613 commandments have come down to us protected by fences that to the logical mind make little sense? Here is what the rabbis said to justify their adding to the Torah:

“Rabbi Chananya, son of Akashya, said, “The Holy One of blessing wished to convey merit upon Israel; therefore God multiplied the Torah and commandments for them, as it is stated (in Scripture): Adonai was pleased, for divine righteousness” sake, to make the teaching great and glorious.” (Isa 42:21)7

Take a closer look at Isaiah 42–context is crucial. Read the whole chapter. Is this talking about multiplying Torah mitzvot? When a single verse is clipped out of the middle of a chapter, then pretext is used for justification. See what follows in Isaiah 42 (it is speaking of what happens when there is disobedience to the Torah—not about justifying the rabbis when they multiply fences!)

“Therefore this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivers; for a spoil, and none says, Restore. Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come? Who gave Yaakov for a spoil, and Yisrael to the robbers? did not the Lord, he against whom we have sinned, and in whose ways they would not walk, and unto whose Torah they were not obedient?Therefore he has poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it has set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.”Isa 42:22-25

After Moses passed the cloak of authority for the leadership to Joshua, Hashem met him (Joshua) and told him:

“Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded you: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go” (Joshua 1:7)

Joshua was not given permission to alter, add to or turn from what had been given to Moses. Surely later generations were not given this right either!

Raise up many disciples—to Whom or to What?

What did the rabbis mean when they commanded “to raise up many disciples?” To whom? If the meaning of this command was that their work was to attach many to the study of the written Torah of Moses, then there would be many Torah scholars who would be their own poseks, strong on what Moses wrote. However, if and this is indicated throughout rabbinic writings, they were to raise up disciples to their own interpretations of their Oral Torah which have been embellished with the fences and additional commentaries of the rabbis, ad infinitum, then those disciples foundation is upon the rabbinic teachings and not the Word of Hashem. Thus credit is always given when a rabbi states a teaching, referring to the one he learned it from, to the rabbi who was greater than he who got it from the rabbi who was even greater, on back to the first place the topic was interpreted in that manner.

So there you have it, as claimed previously, the Bible without the interpretation of the rabbis offers no salvation. But does it really “offer no salvation”?

If the truth of Tanakh/Torah is basic to our understanding of the will of Hashem, then what does it say regarding the ability of the simple to understand it?

“if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor 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?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.” Deu 30:10-14

So the rabbis say we need their interpretation, but Tanakh says it is simple and does not need to be explained, for it is in our hearts so that we may do it. Which has the most authority? That will have to be an individual decision, won’t it?

King David said it in other words:

“The Torah of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true and are righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is Thy servant enlightened: and in keeping of them there is great reward.” Psa 19:8-12

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scorners. But his delight is in the Torah of the Lord; and in his Torah he meditates day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not wither; and in whatever he does he shall prosper.” Psa 1:1-3

Which came first? The chicken or the egg?

How do we know that the Tanakh is speaking of the Written and not the Oral Torah? The Psalms were purportedly written or inspired by David and his contemporaries, written before the work of the Sages, including the writing down of either the Jerusalem or Babylonian Talmuds. The consensus is that the Psalms were written before the time period when the Talmud, Mishnah and Gemarah, were completed, (second century – 5th century CE).

The work of writing down the Oral Tradition was begun by Yehuda haNassi, the last of the Tannaim, who lived until 217 CE.8 Though Jewish tradition holds that the Oral Torah was given at Sinai, there are many evidences that, at least most of it, did not originate there. How can we know for sure? Perhaps the best way to tell is if they agree with Tanakh and Torah which MUST be our bottom line. If not, then they are based on men’s interpretations which could be as truthful as today’s Mainstream Media! And the fact that the sages disagree on almost every point of Halacha shows that they are not bottom line. Discernment comes from reading the Torah and Tanakh.

One Tiny Word and a Huge Change in Meaning:

“All Israel has a share in the World to Come, as it is said: “And your people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, My handiwork, in which to take pride.” (Taken from Isaiah 60:21 quoted without reference) Pirke Avot, Ch 19

That sounds simple enough but take a closer look! The word ARE has been inserted in the place of SHALL BE—What can we make of that?

So it does not matter how much evil a Jew may do, he will still merit the Olam Haba? This seems like salvation guaranteed by a holy blood line! (maybe this is a little like the virgin birth in Christianity!? Born of a holy mother, spotless blood!)

So with that supposition, there is no need of obedience to assure a place in the world to come? But then, why do we need Torah, since supposedly, if we are born of a Jewish mother we then have our destiny fixed? What is the point?

Let’s go back and read Isaiah 60

“And your people shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, My handiwork, in which to take pride.”

So who are Hashem’s people? If we take the following verses as truth, we understand that it speaks of those who obey the Torah. And those who are disobedient (wicked) are not His people. Simple isn’t it? So it is not about the blood is it? The blood line (race) is reckoned for establishing who is of Jewish lineage. It is NOT about salvation or righteousness!

Verses that show conditionality to the promises to Israel:

“And Moses returned to the Lord, and said, Oh, this people has sinned a great sin, and they have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin – ; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the Lord said to Moses, Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. Exo 32:31-33

“Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day; and the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.” Deu 11: 26-28

“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, His ears attentive to their cry.
The face of the LORD is set against evildoers, to erase their names from the earth.” Psa 34:16-17

“For evildoers shall be cut off: but those who wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.” Psa 37:9

“The person who sins, he alone shall die. A child shall not share the burden of a parent’s guilt, nor shall a parent share the burden of a child’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous shall be accounted to him alone, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be accounted to him alone…Is it my desire that a wicked person shall die?—says the Lord GOD. It is rather that he shall turn back from his ways and live. So, too, if a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does wrong, practicing the very abominations that the wicked person practiced, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he did shall be remembered; because of the treachery he has practiced and the sins he has committed—because of these, he shall die.” Eze 18:20-24

“And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one who shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Daniel 12: 2 (only those written in the book are assigned to life…)

“At one moment I may decree that a nation or a kingdom shall be uprooted and pulled down and destroyed; but if that nation against which I made the decree turns back from its wickedness, I change My mind concerning the punishment I planned to bring on it. At another moment I may decree that a nation or a kingdom shall be built and planted; but if it does what is displeasing to Me and does not obey Me, then I change My mind concerning the good I planned to bestow upon it. And now, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus said the LORD: I am devising disaster for you and laying plans against you. Turn back, each of you, from your wicked ways, and mend your ways and your actions!” Jeremiah 18:7-11

A Closer Look at the Chain of Transmission: when and how did it become Divine authority?

“The foundation stone for rabbinic authority begins with this first Mishnah [see link and footnote]10 and describes the chain of tradition, which stretches from Moses to Judah the Prince (the rabbi who compiled the Mishnah). Thus the Mishnah, the product of the rabbis, those who argued that the Oral Law had been given at Sinai together with the Written Law, is inseparably linked to Moses who first received the Torah.”

What was the Great Assembly, and when did it exist?

It is somewhat difficult to trace down beginning dates but according to a few of the great rabbis in history, including Rashi and Bartinoro: “the Great Assembly was so named because it returned the Torah to its original purity. It stems from the Persian period and represents for the rabbis the transition between the prophets and themselves.”11

“By including the men of the Great Assembly in the chain of tradition, the rabbis found a paradigm for their own work. Just as the men of the Great Assembly had to explain the meaning of Torah, the rabbis would also interpret what the Torah meant generation by generation. Some modern scholars believe the entire institution is legendary.”12

So by using this alibi, the rabbis established a foundational credibility by which they could continue their work as leaders of the Jewish people, claim divine inspiration as they handled the Torah and keep the people believing they were the only trustworthy source for understanding the Torah, both Oral and Written.

The first recognized historical rabbi was the last of the Great Assembly.13 He is known as Shimon HaTzadik or Simon the Righteous, a High Priest, though some sources say that neither his identity, nor the actual dates of his life are clear. (See)14

“He was either Simeon I (310-291 or 300-270 B.C.E.), son of Onias I, or Simeon II (219-199 B.C.E.), son of Onias II…Simon is the first in the chain of scholars, descending to Hillel and Shammai…He is also mentioned as one of the survivors of the Great Assembly—acting as a pivotal character for the transition of the authority from the priest to the rabbis.”15

“When Shimon HaTzaddik, the last member of the Great Assembly died in 273 BCE, a period began known as the period of the Zugot, meaning “pairs.” 16

The last of these pairs was Hillel and Shammai, during the period of the tannaim. They established two schools (houses) of thought named after them; the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai.

“The Mishnah mentions the disagreement of Hillel and Shammai as one which had lasting positive value: In most cases, though not always, Beit (house of) Hillel’s opinion is the more lenient and tolerant of the two. In nearly all cases, Beit Hillel’s opinion has been accepted as normative by halacha, and is the opinion followed by modern Jews.”17

It is interesting to note a marked descrepancy that I will show in the following paragraphs, concerning the rabbis claim that they did not need to listen to heavenly voices, however at this time over a disagreement between both Houses, there was a claimed heavenly voice that established the House of Hillel as the basis of Jewish halacha.

“The schools of Hillel and Shammai are famous for their disputes in Jewish law. One of these concerned whether one should tell a bride on her wedding day that she is beautiful even if this is not true. The school of Shammai held that in this situation it would be wrong to lie. The school of Hillel held that a bride is always beautiful on her wedding day. (Talmud, Ketubot 16b-17a) The school of Hillel won the dispute. Indeed, Jewish law today almost always agrees with the school of Hillel. The Talmud (Eruvin 13b) explains why: A heavenly voice declared: ‘The words of both schools are the words of the living God, but the law follows the rulings of the school of Hillel.’”18

Discounting the Voice from Heaven:

From the Talmud, here is the story of the debate over authority as established over the decision of whether or not the oven of Achnai was pure, often referred to as R. Eliezer’s Oven:

“This is the “oven of Achnai.” What is Achnai? Said Rabbi Yehudah in the name of Shmuel: That they surrounded it with words [of debate] like an Achnai snake, and declared it impure. It was taught: On that day R. Eliezer answered all the answers on earth and they did not accept it from him. He said, “If the law is like me, the carob tree will prove it”; the carob tree was uprooted from its place one hundred Amah, some say four hundred Amah. They said: “We do not bring proof from a carob tree.”… He went and said “If the law is like me the water channel will prove it”; the water channel flowed in reverse direction. They said: “We do not bring proof from a water channel.” He went and said “If the law is as I say the walls of the House of Study will prove it”; the walls of the House of Study inclined to fall. R. Yehoshua protested at them, saying to them “If scholars defeat each other in the law, how does it better you?” They did not fall because of the honor of R. Yehoshua and they did not straighten, because of the honor of R. Eliezer, and they still incline and stand…. [R. Eliezer] went and said, “If the law is like me, from Heaven they will prove it”; a heavenly voice came out and said, “What have you with R. Eliezer, who the law is like him in every place?” R. Yehoshua stood on his feet and said “[The Torah] is not in heaven,” (Deuteronomy 30:12). What does “[The Torah] is not in heaven” mean? R. Yirmiyah said: “That the Torah was already given at Sinai, we do not pay attention to a heavenly voice, since You already wrote at Sinai in the Torah, “After the majority to incline,” (Exodus 23:2). R. Natan met the prophet Elijah and said to him, “What did the Holy One Blessed be He do in that hour?” He said to him: “He smiled and said, “My sons have defeated Me, My sons have defeated Me.”19

The Rabbis Claim they have the Injunction to Incline after the Majority–is this so?

“Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to incline after a multitude to pervert justice.” Exodus 23:2

(so how did they misconstrue this to say just the opposite? Is it possible that the positive can be taken from it and made to say “thou shalt follow a multitude to follow the decision of the holy rabbis?–Even when what they say adds to or takes away from the written Torah? You decide!)

An Image of Jealousy

In the writings of the prophet Ezekiel, he is instructed by Hashem to observe an Image of Jealousy which appears in the Temple. This image symbolized traditions that were being carried out in the Temple, replacing the Torah with traditions of men. Ezekiel 8 shows that the leadership at the time was taking their teachings from Babylon. Ezekiel was told to dig a hole in the mud wall and see what they were actually doing. Their traditions included worshiping towards the East; sun worship, astrology, idolatry, observance of times. They had abandoned the simple Torah instructions for Temple worship and had replaced them with elements of the tradition that they had imported from Babylon.

What we see is that each succeeding generation founded on the sands and teachings of tradition has produced nothing more solid than the echos of men’s interpretations; a wide breach from the original Truth of Torah!

Today, can we see this Tradition–the imposition of rabbinic teaching, standing in the place of the written Torah. Is this perhaps why there are no Jewish prophets today? In order for us once again to hear from Heaven we need to discard the teachings that have replaced Hashem’s authority, teachings by a leadership that uses methods that were forbidden them in the Torah—methods of divination or even invoking the dead to intercede? Is God even talking to anybody these days? And why seek the wisdom of dead sages if they were the ones who said they did not listen to heaven?

Today, in the chaos of a world gone mad, we desperately need to hear Hashem’s voice. Let us repent of our prayers at graves and our trust in mere men who claim to have the cloak of Heaven. The world is dying and needs the Jews to be a light to the nations, but what light do we have if we do not listen to Heaven? What light do mere men have?

“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.” Numbers 23:19

1Pirke Avot, A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics, UAHC Press, New York, New York 1993

2Ibid, Introduction, p xii.”

3https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-great-assembly

4https://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/the_great_assembly/

5http://www.biblepgs.com/Ezra_Haggai_Zech_Nehem.pdf

6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophets_in_Judaism

7Pirke Avot, Sanhedrin 10:1:

8https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judah_ha-Nasi

9Pirke Avot, quoted in Ohel Sarah Women’s Siddur, Artscroll Series, Korban Minchah, p 531.

10The first Mishnah: “At Sinai Moses received the Torah and handed it over to Joshua who handed it over to the prophets who in turn handed it over to the men of the Great Assembly.”

11A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics, ibid, p. 2

12Ibid.

13Ibid.

14https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_the_Just

15Ibid, p. 2-3

16https://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/hillel_and_shammai/

17https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houses_of_Hillel_and_Shammai

18https://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/hillel_and_shammai/

19https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/29619.7?lang=en&with=all&lang2=en; Bava Metzia 59b:1-5