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Torah Portions: B’Chukotai

This is our weekly Torah Portion reading and Haf-Torah portion reading.  We also include New Testament/Apostolic writings each week to show how the Torah and the writings of the Apostles go hand in hand.  Here is this weeks portion:
Leviticus 26:3-27:34; Jeremiah 16:19-17:14; Matt. 7:21-27; John 14:15-21; 15:10-12.  
Here is some commentary on the portion:Rebbi R' Yerucham Levotiz, offered a sum of money to anyone who could explain a contradiction:  The Gemara (kidudushin 31a) rules that one is forbidden to walk with an erect bearing because it is a sign of excessive pride. To walk in this manner is seen as pushing away the divine presence. How then, can this attitude be an illustration of a godly people?  One answer which would have merited this prize (according to R Schwab):  One who is filled with arrogance will straighten himself up and carry himself in a way that mirrors his own excessive pride. However, one can also pull oneself up to one's full height in order to express his total potential. This posture can serve as a positive metaphor for the fulfillment of one's potential. When in the desert, they were walking as a nation who would reach the spiritual level of Adam before his sin, the highest possible level that man can reach.  Regarding vayikra 26:13
 
Here are some questions to ponder on Leviticus 16:31: 
1. It says "I will not take delight in the pleasing aroma of your fire offerings" - but the temple is G-d, what are these "pleasing aromas" and "fire offerings" without a temple? 
 2. It says he will destroy the idols, and THEN remove his presence. Shouldn't the removal of idols allow for the divine presence to flourish? Why is it only after the idols are removed that the divine presence is removed?
 
We pray you have been blessed by this Torah Portion and that it has helped you grow in the Word. Shalom!!!

Weekly Torah Portion Shemini

This is our weekly Torah Portion recorded over Zoom

Readings from the Writings Psalms 119 Part 1

This is the readings from the writings Psalm 119 Part 1

Readings from the Writings Psalms 100-118

This is the Daily Readings from the Writings Psalms 100-118.  I pray this blesses you!!!

The Daily Readings From the Writings Psalms 79-99

This is the Daily Readings from the Writings Psalms 79-99.  I pray this blesses you!!!

The Daily Readings from the Writings

Today we have Psalms 73-78 read from the Cepher with commentary from the Guardians of the Way discord group.

Torah Portions:TZAV

This is the weekly Torah Portion study from the Guardians of the Way on Discord recorded over Zoom.

Galatians In Depth

Galatians is one of the most misunderstood books written by the Apostle Paul and rightly so since we’ve removed any and all historical, cultural, and textual context all while losing our foundational footing on the instructions that bring life.  When reading Scripture I’ve learned especially when reading Paul to get the history of the geographical area, customs of the people in the area pre-conversion, references in other Scriptural Books such as the books of the Torah, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Apocrypha to see if they’re being quoted from, and take time to get a complete understanding as to what issues are being addressed.  Paul was an excellent Torah teacher if you have a base understanding of the Torah and that it is eternal and understood the Apocrypha including ones we’ve lost over time very well.  Sadly, we don’t get that context from the Bible because the American canon is much smaller then canons from around the world such as the Ethiopian or Orthodox Russian canons of course when reading books that have been removed from the American canon they must be tested to the rest of scripture.  
 
In this examination I will be giving a synopsis of the epistle of the Galatians from front to back while referencing the same scriptures and history that Paul was referencing as well as showing passages that correlate to what he was saying in this letter.   Like it says this is in depth so we can make sure we get proper context and don’t live in a way the Almighty thinks is an abomination.  I used the KJV, CEPHER, TS2009, WEB, and NET Bibles to do this study as well as studying the who the people were that Paul was speaking to which were the Celts who had migrated from the Southwestern Europe and the British Isles several hundred years before and had the customs of practicing the winter solstice traditions of their forefathers on December 21/25 (many have been incorporated into Christmas), Spring Equinox celebrations aka the celebration of Ishtar aka Easter, and Sanhain which is Halloween or All Saints Day now.  All those practices date back to Babylon per historical records and Nimrod, Semiramis, and Tammuz.  Per Deuteronomy 12 we should not be partaking in these traditions even if we are trying to “Christianize” it we are to remove ourselves from those practices for better practices that come from the Almighty.  I do this with the utmost honesty and integrity and pray you are blessed by it.
 
Chapter 1
 
The introduciton to the letter shows Paul to be troubled that the new converts in Galatia were turning to a different doctrine other then the one he taught which is the same one that Yahusha/Jesus taught.  He lets the new converts know that any other message that doesn’t line up with his and Yahusha’s was wrong (Yahusha let us know if it doesn’t line up with Moses it’s wrong see John 5:46-47) and to let the men teaching such doctrines be accursed.  So we must know what doctrine he taught and by going through Romans we see he’s teaching the establishment of Torah through a belief unto obedience, stating the outside works are useless without faith and that we must have both faith and works.  Verse 11 is very telling as he lets the reader know his good news did not come from man but from the Word made flesh which is Yahusha/Jesus.  Paul goes on to let the readers of the epistle know that he used to practice judaism and would persecute the walkers of the Way (which was a sect of Judaism) because he was ardent for the traditions of the elders (modern day Talmud and Mishna).  This right here gives us a clue that judaism does not follow God’s law inwardly but only use it for outward appearances, therefore they’re wearing filthy rags.  Messiah had the same issues with the Pharisees and Sadducees in His time as see Mark 7, Matthew 23, and many more for textual proof.  He ends chapter 1 by telling of his time in Arabia and with Peter and the beginning of his missionary journeys.
 
Chapter 2
 
We see in the beginning that Paul had brought Titus to Jerusalem with Barnabas to speak of how he was teaching the good news of the Kingdom.  Titus being a Greek did not want to get circumcised at that point, we need to read Genesis 17 to understand the covenant with Abraham as to why Paul was teaching the way he did on circumcision and Acts 15:19-21 in proper context.  We see in Genesis 17:1-14 the outward sign of covenant being circumcision and the fact that Abraham had been walking by faith for over 20-30 years before receiving that mark on his flesh; circumcision should never be the first thing done entering into covenant with YHWH but should be done once you’ve established your faith on a solid foundation.  There’s actually many medical studies showing the health benefits of circumcision that if you want to look them up you can.  Also, Acts 15:19-21 we miss the context on that all important verse 21 speaking of the law being taught in the congregation every Sabbath; the word synagogue translates to congregation.  So James was giving four Torah commands to start with because throwing everything at someone at once would be a complete and total culture shock and people would walk away.  With James making the statement about attending the congregation he was letting us know especially since there weren’t Barnes and Nobles or any other book stores around that the new converts needed to go to a local congregation to learn how to walk like Messiah, blameless and perfect.  We’ve lost that context because of anti-semitism and not understanding the culture at the time he was writing this epistle; we must also remember Messiah’s words about going to the congregation. In Matthew 23 Yahusha says do what the readers of the law say from Moses seat, aka the pulpit now days and the could only read the Torah from Moses seat not expound on it, but don’t do what they do because they don’t walk the way they talk.  If you want a better cultural understanding find the book “Reading the Old Testament through Jewish Eyes” this book explains what happens at the congregation on Sabbath which is reading of the Torah each week; now only if they could see Torah was speaking of Messiah we’d be good and teaching us to walk as He walked.  Continuing in chapter 2 we see something that we find throughout scripture both OT and NT and that is YHWH doesn’t show partiality all He cares about is relationship on His terms because His terms give life once you get the actual context of the Torah.
 Next we see Peter going back to ORAL TRADITIONS, this is where understanding historical context and culture are very important as well as understanding the citizenship path outlined in the Torah since the dawn of time (see Exodus 12:48, Numbers 15:15-16, Leviticus 24:22, Numbers 15:29, and Isaiah 56:1-8 they all correlate with Romans 11).  Paul rebuked Peter heavily over his going back to ORAL TRADITIONS, which are not in the WRITTEN TORAH, stating they won’t save him.  Verse 17 lets us know just because we’ve accepted Messiah doesn’t mean we can sin now because doing so we are putting Messiah’s name on our sins by declaring we are His but still walking in sin so by grace we can learn to stop sinning and once we learn what sin is we shouldn’t do it intentionally; there is no sacrifice for intentional sin.  Verse 19 is very easy to take out of context if we don’t take time to understand Paul’s writing style; Paul speaks of 7 different laws and we need to know which one he’s speaking of when reading or else we screw everything up by taking things out of context.  So lets start with verse 18 in which he states if he rebuilds what he overthrew then he’s a sinner again and we must remember the Torah teaches us what sin is.  So now lets look at verse 19, he stating that he’s died to sin aka transgression of the Torah (law of sin and death brought by Satan) and through that death Messiah lives in him.  It’s by his belief that Messiah has died for his sins that he obeys; he makes some similar statements in the letter to the Romans as well.  He doesn’t set aside his faith for works of the flesh, his faith works with his works as one.
 
 
Chapter 3
 
Chapter 3 addresses something that parallels with most modern day churches in a way; please read in context so you understand what I’m saying.  First things first you must understand what the definition of Truth is when getting into this chapter otherwise we lose context.  The scriptural definition of Truth is easy just use these verses to define scriptural truth; John 14:6, Psalm 119:142, Psalm 119:160, and John 1:1.  The big issue in verse 4 and 5 is the Galatians were seeking outward salvation by showing works of the flesh; this is the equivalent of the alter call now days where one makes a choice and then in most cases go back to their old way of life.  Many today make a claim that has no fruit and we see the circumcision party was teaching circumcision produced salvation, not relationship which again is much like the alter calls in the modern church.  Sorry if this offends you but data doesn’t lie.  Now Paul loves using Abraham and he uses Genesis 15:6 and Genesis 12:3 here to show Abraham had faith, if we were to continue in Genesis to chapter 26 verse 5 we would see why Abraham was counted as righteous because he obeyed out of faith.  Here are the verses from the KJV
 
And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;  Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. 
Genesis 26:4-5 KJV
 
James references this in chapter 2 of his epistle.  Now verse 10 in chapter 3 is quoting Deuteronomy 27:26 so we need to get the context of Deuteronomy chapter 27 so we understand what Paul is getting at or else again we lose context.  Again, here is the verse so we understand the context of what Paul is saying to the Galatians:
 
 
Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen. 
Deuteronomy 27:26KJV
 
 
And again in another translation so we make sure we have proper context and understanding:
 
 ‘Cursed is the one who refuses to keep the words of this law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 
Deuteronomy 27:26 NET
 
Next we see him quote another 2 verses from the Old Testament; those are Habakkuk 2:4 and Leviticus 18:5
 
 Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, but the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness. 
Habakkuk 2:4 NET
 
So you must keep my statutes and my regulations; anyone who does so will live by keeping them. I am the LORD. 
Leviticus 18:5 NET
 
We see both of these verses speak of having life by doing the Torah aka righteous behavior with integrity or shall we say faith.  Again Paul is speaking of faith and works working together.  Now here’s a tricky part starting in verse 15 and its speaking of a covenant and how covenants don’t change, no one adds to it or takes away from it; its eternal.  We must remember Genesis and the promise to Abraham and the 400 plus years his descendants would be in Egypt; they forgot the laws and statutes that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob’s sons had passed down and had started worshiping as the nations do(if you want to do a deep study on this I recommend the book of Jubilees and Jasher both of which are referenced in scripture).  So Paul is telling us just because the people change doesn’t mean the contract changes and there have been many mediators of this covenant beginning with Adam (I highly recommend reading Jubilees which was found in all the caves in Qumran and has been in other canons around the world all this time).  Now Paul’s language again is very confusing without context as Peter warned us about in 2 Peter 3; I’m going to simplify this if I can.  The Torah was created at the dawn of time to show us how to live the way our Heavenly Father desires much like countries, states, counties, and cities all create a code of correct behavior called laws when they start or else there would be total anarchy.  If we do a word search on light because Messiah says His burden is light we can know that the Torah was at the beginning using Matthew 11:30, Genesis 1:3-5, John 3:19-21, Proverbs 6:23, and Isaiah 60:3.  Verse 21 is speaking of doing the Torah mechanically without faith again as James tells us faith without works of Torah is dead and Paul tells us works of Torah without faith is dead; they must work together.  Verse 23 uses New Covenant language and states clearly the Torah is a tutor or teacher; you don’t throw out the knowledge your tutor teaches you once you graduate you use it to help guide you through life.  For instance there are times where I still have to use geometry when repairing an air conditioner; I didn’t forget what I was taught I retained it and there are times where I have to study it again to make sure I have the math correct.  The Torah is the same way we are to study it even when we think we have everything correct just to verify we are on the NARROW PATH.  Again, Paul lets us know the Torah trains us and through belief in Messiah we attain righteousness and YHWH doesn’t show favoritism in verse 28.
 
Chapter 4
 
If we don’t understand who the Galatians were in chapter 4 then we can end up calling YHWH weak and beggarly with His ways being elementary and we know that is the furthest thing from the TRUTH.  So now we need to know who the Galatians were so we get proper context along with the customs they had before coming to belief in Messiah.  As I mentioned above they were the Celts that had migrated from what is now Spain and the British Isles and performed a type of sun god worship; now lets get into chapter 4 so we understand it in context.  
We start off with the talk of a child being like a slave in his fathers house being under a guardian, the world has “imprisoned” us until we came into belief and woke up from the delusions we had been taught which were elementary compared to YHWH’s ways.  Yahusha was finally sent so the bonds of sin could be recompensed and was born of woman who had committed sin, aka was under the law, to redeem those who have sinned again those under the law due to committing sin.  He came and paid our penalty for breaking YHWH’s perfect law which if we come in by faith removes the curse which is death; this makes us children of YHWH now instead of slaves to sin.  Verse 8 speaks of them having served false idols but had turned to YHWH just to turn back to the weak and beggarly things they had done before which were celebrating the days, months, seasons, of years of their previous religion which their ancestors had brought with them from the British Isles.  They weren’t keeping YHWH’s feast, and no His feasts aren’t the Jewish feasts and we see that throughout the OT as he dispersed them for mixing pagan traditions with His feasts see Ezekiel 22.  In verse 12 he pleads with the converts to not adhere to the pharisee doctrine of works without faith and we see in the previous verses that’s exactly what was happening.  The circumcision party aka pharisees were teaching them mechanical obedience and boasting about convert numbers; not obedience out of faith and love as Messiah says we must have.  In verse 19 he states he is in birth pains until Messiah forms in them which makes it very clear we must study the Torah.  In verse 21 he pleads more about them not subjecting to the mechanics without faith; again Abraham didn’t get circumcised until his faith was at the point where trusted YHWH to do so.  That is what Paul was teaching, build up your faith and learn how to love each other as the Torah teaches us to and learn how to love YHWH as the Torah teaches us to.
Now the next passage is an allegory or parable something we may overlook and something.  Verses 21-31 are an allegory aka a parable we must go back to the beginning of chapter 4 to completely understand this and it lines up with the wedding feast from Matthew 22 as well.  Hagar’s son was called aka promised to be fruitful and multiply because he is Abraham’s seed, the promise though came through Sara and her son Isaac who were obedient to Torah.  The bondwoman was cast out because she and her son disrespected Sara and Isaac and knew Torah but didn’t obey we can see this in Hagars actions towards Sara when Hagar became pregnant way back in Genesis.  Isaac on the other hand kept the covenant that Abraham had made making him the chosen seed much like all the wedding guests that didn’t get cast out in Matthew 22 had spotless garments but the one that didn’t and was in dirty clothes got thrown out in the weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Both Hagar and the wedding guest that was in dirty clothes were cast out.  This is all speaking of how Israel went into covenant with YHWH but disobeyed and were cast out but the new covenant with Messiah will bring us back in as long as we are spotless, we have to have clean wedding garments which means we have to learn how to wash our garments.  We also see in Genesis how Ishmael persecuted Isaac and we are children of the woman who chose freedom through the Torah instead of the yoke of bondage which is sin.
 
Chapter 5
 
The yoke of bondage is not the Torah, it has always been sin which is transgression of the Torah.  The Galatians were going back into their old ways serving false gods, going back to the Julian calendar, and practicing their high holy days revolving around sun worship.  
Verses 2-4 was Paul lets them know getting the outward signs of Torah is of no effect if you aren’t going to keep it out of faith.  Doing the outward things for salvation then going and participating in your previous ways of worship is of no avail.  You must have belief in Messiah and that He gives life through your obedience, belief and obedience go hand in hand.  The Torah repeatedly lets us know that by doing these things out of faith will bring about life and life more abundantly.  Also, when Paul was speaking of doing the entire Torah he was speaking of the oral traditions of the circumcision pharisees that had snuck in and started preaching a works only doctrine.  The Pharisees were trying to make everyone do the entire Torah even the part made for priests as well as the oral traditions passed down from their fathers since the days of Nehemiah.  Now we are told to seek righteous behavior through love in verses 5 and 6, in John we are told if we love Him we will keep His commandments going back to the Truth; Psalm 119:142 we know this is the Torah using Biblical definitions. Now in verses 10-12 Paul lets the Galatians know to quit letting the circumcision party trouble them and quit listening to their traditions of men (learn what the Mishnah and the Talmud are and this will open that up).  These traditions of men which Messiah also blasted the pharisees on repeatedly is now what they call the Talmud in rabbinical judaism; again judaism and Torah observance are completely different things.  Verses 13-14 are very powerful letting us know that we should serve one another and quotes Leviticus 19:18 at the end of it.  Leviticus 19:18 is the golden rule, treat your neighbor as you want to be treated.  Now lets not over spiritualize verses 16 through 18, walking in the spirit means we submit ourselves to the will of the Father and once we submit to the Father’s will then we shouldn’t sin anymore.  This is harder said then done, it takes a true devotion and deep study of His Word but once we let His spirit be our guide then walking in the Torah is easy which will keep from under the CURSE of the Torah.  Hosea 4:6 states we perish for lack of knowledge because we’ve rejected knowledge and the Torah.  Again Paul is very difficult to understand if we haven’t gone in depth through the Old Testament.  Starting in verse 19 he goes through Torah offense after Torah offense until verse 21 then he gives us the fruit of the spirit.  Our favorite verse in Galatians is next and it lists the fruit of the spirit and all those things are learned through learning and walking out Torah, they are also hard to learn if we aren’t willing to submit ourselves to the Father.  So if we are developing the fruit we should exhibit the fruits and it should be evident; we shouldn’t have the passions and desires of our flesh as we did before and just as a testimony I’ll be 100% honest I don’t desire the things I did before in fact my greatest desire is the relationship with my Heavenly Father and Messiah Yahusha/Jesus all other things I know will be provided to me through faith.
 
Chapter 6
 
In chapter 6 Paul lets us know to look out for our brothers, if we feel they are leaving the path then in meekness get them back on the path.  We should bear each others burdens as Messiah bears ours, this shows that love does complete the Torah in us as we do it.  Also, we shouldn’t be proud and arrogant with the knowledge we have of Messiah and our Father, we should be meek and humble willing to instruct those who desire to be instructed.  Messiah’s sheep know His voice so we will know who wants to be instructed in living per the Word.  He also reminds us that we reap what we sow and to sow in the spirit so we reap our rewards from our Father and not the curses of sin.  He concludes with telling us not to lose heart and to take care of fellow believers because through Messiah’s sacrifice we are all grafted into YHWH’s Israel.
 
https://www.meanwhileinireland.com/eight-important-sacred-celtic-holidays/
https://www.thecollector.com/the-galatians-celtics/

The Epistles: Romans

This is the weekly study into the Epistles done over Zoom by the Guardians of the Way on Discord. This week we started on Romans!!!

Torah Portions Vayikra

This is the weekly Torah Portion done live over a zoom meeting.  This weeks Portion Vayikra: Leviticus 1 to Leviticus 5.