TORAH MISTAKES
By Dani'el Rendelman
ww.emetministries.com
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We all make mistakes. From putting too many lumps of sugar in our coffee to running red lights, we each have many faults. Isn't it great to know that we are not our mistakes? Isn't it great to know that even though we fail we are not our failures? We can learn from our mistakes and be a better person.
A young woman went to her pastor and said, "Pastor, I have a besetting sin, and I want your help. I come to church on Sunday and can't help thinking I'm the prettiest girl in the congregation. I know I ought not to think that, but I can't help it. I want you to help me with it." The pastor replied, "Mary, don't worry about it. In your case it's not a sin. It's just a horrible mistake."
To err is human; thanks to the fall, its actually part of our genetic make up. We are not talking about direct rebellion. We are also not talking about demonic deception. We are talking about honest to goodness mistakes. And no one is immune.
The story is told of a married couple that was driving down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position. As the couple passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the man made the mistake of speaking up first. The husband made a bad mistake of speaking up first. He asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?" His wife promptly spoke up and said, "Yep those are my in-laws." That's a bad mistake. Do you remember a dumb mistake you once made?
Sometimes it feels like keeping Torah is hit and miss. We have a revelation of Torah but we aren't exactly sure how to walk out our beliefs. So we try something. If it works great, if not then we learn from our mistakes. That's the difference between a mistake and a failure. Mistakes are not failures IF we learn from them.
Proverbs 24:16, "For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief." Seven is the number of completion. We are to allow ourselves to make mistakes until YHWH has completed His good work in us and has made us into His image.
This teaching is called "Torah Mistakes." Don't be mistaken! Such a title is not suggesting that following Torah is an error and is wrong. Instead, I would like to warn you about a few errors that can easily occur as you follow Torah. These are lessons that I have learned along my journey of faith. You can learn from your mistakes OR you can learn from someone else's mistakes. Perhaps by sharing these areas of error with you today you can bypass these problems. You can take my word for these dangerous areas OR you can make the same mistakes. I pray you take these issues to hear. Come, let us reason together...
1) Torah Mistake number one: "The Torah has to be obeyed THIS EXACT way."
This is probably the biggest error of our faith. The Torah is a liberal document of freedom that allows many various interpretations. We are accustomed to the tight knit theologies that tell us exactly what to believe and why. The Torah, on the other hand, allows people to come to various conclusions on their path of faith. This is the primary lesson we must learn in order to avoid other Torah mistakes.
Everything in the Torah and in life must be taken in perspective. We would see different things if you were walking on a pier off the coast of South Carolina and I was snorkeling in the ocean near by. We would both be viewing the ocean but our experiences would be very different. What I see and what you see are different but similar. You may see waves and water and clouds. I may see fish and seaweed and coral. We are both correct and we would each have a unique perspective. The Hebraic mind allows for people to see things differently.
Philippians 2:5, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Messiah Yahshua"
Take for example the subject of keeping Shabbat. We are commanded in Exodus 20 to "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it set apart." How do you do this? What rituals or traditions does your family have? The Jewish rabbis have told us that the commandment is two-fold. First we are to "remember" the day with a service at the start of Shabbat and then we are to "keep" the day throughout and into the evening of Saturday. If someone keeps Shabbat different than you do, does that make them wrong?
Perhaps the best way to share this idea is with the following illustration...
A Priest meets his friend, the Rabbi, and says to him, "You have taught me many things but there is one thing in particular I want to learn very much but you do not wish to teach it to me. I want you to teach me the Torah."
The Rabbi replied: "You are not a Hebrew and you do not have the Hebraic mindset. There is no chance that you will succeed in understanding the Torah."
But the Priest continued in his attempt to persuade the Rabbi to teach him the Torah. Finally, the Rabbi agreed. The Rabbi then said to the Priest: "I agree to teach you the Torah on condition that you answer one question." The Priest agreed and asked the Rabbi, "What is the question?"
The Rabbi then said to the Priest: "Two men fall down through the chimney; one comes out dirty and the other comes out clean. Who of those two goes to wash up?"
"Very simple," replied the Priest. "The one who is dirty goes to wash up but the one who is clean does not go to wash up."
The Rabbi then said to the Priest: "I told you that you will not succeed in understanding the Torah. The exact opposite happened. The clean one looks at the dirty one and thinks that he is also dirty, goes to wash up. The dirty one, on the other hand, looks at the clean one and thinks that he is also clean and, therefore, does not go to wash up."
The Priest then says to the Rabbi: "This I did not think of. Ask me, please, another question."
The Rabbi then says to the Priest: "Two men fall down through the chimney. One comes out dirty and the other comes out clean. Who of these two goes to wash up?"
The Priest then says to the Rabbi: "Very simple. The clean one looks at the dirty one and thinks he is also dirty and goes to wash up. The dirty one on the other hand, looks at the clean one and thinks that he is also clean and, therefore, does not go to wash up."
The Rabbi then says to the Priest: "You are wrong again. I told you that you will not understand. The clean one looks into the mirror, sees that he is clean and, therefore, does not go to wash up. The dirty one looks into the mirror, sees that he is dirty and goes to wash up."
The Priest complains to the Rabbi, "But you did not tell me that there is a mirror there."
The Rabbi then tells the Priest: "I told you. You are not a Hebrew; with your brain you will not succeed in understanding the Torah. According to the Torah, you have to think of all the possibilities."
"All right," groaning, said the Priest to the Rabbi. "Let us try once more. Ask me one more question."
For the last time, said the Rabbi to the Priest. "Two men fall through the chimney. One came out dirty and the other came out clean. Who of these two went to wash up?"
"That is very simple!" replied the Priest. "If there is no mirror there the clean one will look at the dirty one and will think that he is also dirty and will, therefore, go to wash up. The dirty one will look at the clean one and will think that he is also clean, and will, therefore, not go to wash up. If there is a mirror there, the clean one will look into the mirror and will, therefore, not go to wash up. The dirty one will look into the mirror and will see that he is dirty and will, therefore, go to wash up.
The Rabbi then says to the Priest: "I told you that you would not succeed in understanding. You are not a Hebrew! Tell me, how is it possible for two men to fall through a chimney and for one to come out dirty and the other to come out clean?"
Romans 12: 1-2, "My dear brothers I beg you in YHWH's mercy to offer you bodies to YHWH as living sacrifices holy and acceptable. Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you will be able to discern the good, pleasing, and perfect will of YHWH."
It is a mistake to expect Torah followers to act the same way or believe the same things. There is MUCH freedom in Torah for personal convictions. What we should do is study and know what we believe. We should pray for and support local leadership. We should allow others to believe what they want.
One reason why such an understanding is difficult is because of our how brains are hard-wired. "As western thinkers we are taught at a very young age to use linear logic that states 1+1+1 = 3. The Torah and other Hebraic documents are written using block logic that states 1+1+1 = 1. The Bible, in its original languages, is, humanly speaking, a product of the Hebrew mind. This helps explain why so many Christian churches are focused on the issues of doctrinal orthodoxy (however they may define it) -- often at the expense of godly living. In many Christian circles, what one believes or espouses is treated as more important than how one lives - i.e. how one treats his or her neighbor. This really goes back to the difference between a Greek-influenced mindset or worldview and a mindset based upon the Eastern culture of the Hebrews.
The Hebrew mindset focuses on works. It asks what are you doing? The Greek mindset is based upon beliefs. They ask what do you believe? The difference is huge. The Greek mindset is about the intellect and loves to espouse their thoughts. The Hebrew mindset could care less what you think. They don't care if you think you should take care of the poor, the Hebrew mindset says go out and shovel the snow off your 80 year old neighbors sidewalk. It's about actions not words," source unknown.
James 2:14-17, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
A man and a woman were having dinner in a fine restaurant. Their waitress, taking another order at a table a few paces away noticed that the man was slowly sliding down his chair and under the table, with the woman acting unconcerned.
The waitress watched as the man slid all the way down his chair and out of sight under the table.
Still, the woman dining across from him appeared calm and unruffled, apparently unaware that her dining companion had disappeared. After the waitress finished taking the order, she came over to the table and said to the woman, "Pardon me, ma'am, but I think your husband just slid under the table." The woman calmly looked up at her and replied firmly, "No he didn't.
He just walked in the door." That's a mistake!!!!!!
2) Mistake number 2: "The Torah is a blueprint for living and instruction manual for life."
This sounds good but it's fundamentally incorrect. The Hebrew word "torah" means "teachings and instructions." These teachings and instructions are to lead us to a deeper and more intimate relationship with YHWH Y'shua. The Torah isn't just a list of 613 righteous acts. (That's another issue... it was one Rabbi that settled on 613 while others have counted less or more commandments!)
The Torah, with its many verses on sacrifices and obedience, will lead us to YHWH. This is clearly illustrated through the many offerings given during Temple times. The sacrifices were given as examples for us today. The Almighty doesn't need burnt offerings or peace offerings. YHWH didn't eat the sacrifices. The mitzvot or "commands" about the sacrificing in the Torah were given for the people worshipping as a mode of worship and devotion. The word for sacrifices in the Hebrew is "korban" or "qorbanot." When we think of sacrifices or offerings we always think of losing or giving up something, but this word "korban" literally means to "draw near or approach." The purpose of the tabernacle and the reason for the many types of sacrifices was so that the nation of Yisra'el could draw near to Yahweh through obedience. "Obedience is better than sacrifice" means that the underlying reason for the sacrifice is the obedience. The elaborate and specific instructions about korban in the book of Leviticus were not given to confuse or distance the nation of Yisra'el from YHWH. Korban was given as a way to connect with YHWH.
The danger with mistake number 2 is that many believers simplify the Torah to a list of things to do or not to do. Sadly, the Torah can become an instruction manual of actions that are religious in nature but void of any power. Our obedience should flow from our relationship with Y'shua. It's not the other way around. John 14:15 says "if you love me keep my commandments." This verse shows that LOVE comes first before the keeping of the mitzvot. The mitzvot are a blueprint and instruction manual that lead us directly to Y'shua. The Messiah and our relationship with Him should be the goal, purpose and motive of our obedience. Here's the point to this mistake... the Torah should change us. The Torah should direct our life and attention to Y'shua which will actually lead to our NATURE changing to be more like Him!
2 Peter 1:4, "He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."
Revelation 3:20, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."
John 15:13-16, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."
3) Torah Mistake number 3: "Judaism has it right and Christianity is wrong." OR "Christianity has it right and Judaism is wrong."
This area of concern can paralyze our spiritual growth and stunt us from being all that YHWH has called us to become. Yes, we are Israel and we should learn what it means to be Israel. BUT, Israel is twelve tribes. Judah is just 2 of the twelve. The Hebrew roots movement is NOT about being Jewish. We aren't to simply copy what the Jews do or follow all of their examples. Nor should we throw out all of Christianity. Whether we are of the seed of Judah or not, we should seek to build our relationship with Y'shua through His Torah. As we follow His voice we will learn what it means to be Israel. AND remember that we may not look exactly like the other 11 tribes! That's ok!
To disregard all of Judaism OR all of Christianity as lost is totally wrong as well. We should know that there are some very good, sincere, and righteous people in the church and in the synagogue. Christian teachers leaders like Spurgeon, Chuck Swindoll, or James Dobson have some very good points to make. Jewish sages like Rashi, Shem Tov, or Yitzchak Ginzburg have some very good points to make as well. We need to learn to take the best from both worlds!
We can't put YHWH in a box and we can't put YHWH's people in a box. It is easy to feel like you have been deceived and robbed of truth when you first become aware of the Hebrew roots of Christianity. I remember wondering why my pastor didn't tell me about the feast days. I also remember getting angry at the institutional church for being so far astray from the words of the Old Testament. Who is really to blame? Constantine? The seminary? The Sunday school teacher? Shouldn't these people have known better?
Truth be told, we would do better not to blame anyone. The Torah actually commands us NOT to hold a grudge against someone.
Leviticus 19:18, "You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the members of your people; you shall love your fellow as yourself--I am YHWH."
What do you feel when you think of the preacher or pastors in your past? Is there anger, resentment or a grudge? If so, you must let it go. We must choose to pray for YHWH's mercy for people and NOT hold theology against anyone. Leviticus 19:18 commands us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. What does this mean? Simple. To love your neighbor is to give them the benefit of the doubt. Don't expect the worst. Give _________ the benefit of the doubt. Fill in the blank with your pastor's name!
There are many many people in the church that are blinded by religion, anti-Semitism, and false beliefs. There are also many good born again Spirit-filled believers in the church. These people need our prayers; they need our witness; and they need our acceptance!
Here's an interesting point: much of Christianity actually keeps the spirit of Torah while much Judaism falls short of the spirit of Torah. The spirit of Torah is the power of LOVE/AHAVA. Baptists might not be able to quote the 613 commandments and they certainly don't know how to sing the "shema" but many of them observe true Torah. Romans 2:14-15, "For when nations not having Torah do by nature the things of TORAH, they not having Torah are a Torah to themselves, who show the work of Torah written in their hearts, their conscience witnessing with them, and the thoughts between one another accusing or even excusing."
The Orthodox Jewish people know the many and various rules on phylacteries but do they individually share the love of YHWH? We must guard our life that we don't become prideful and forget that we too were once lost and blind. YHWH is not finished with us yet so we must not be critical of other people.
The story is told of two monks who were in the vaults of the monastery going through the old scrolls.
"You see, there are the originals," said the first monk. "All the new scrolls were copied from these."
"Can I see one?"
"Sure. This is one outlines the rules for monkdom--" All of a sudden, the monk's face turns white and he falls to his knees.
"What? What does it say?"
"Celebrate. IT SAYS CELEBRATE!"
4) Torah Mistake number four: "Obedience leads to blessing and disobedience leads to curses."
At first, this sounds right. When you obey you are blessed and when you disobey you are cursed. The Torah even alludes to such in Deuteronomy 28.
Deuteronomy 28:1-68, ""And if you faithfully obey the voice of the YHWH your Elohim, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the YHWH your Elohim will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the YHWH your Elohim. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl..."
So, how can this be an error?
Simple. These verses don't mean that we will exactly be the head and not the tail. These verses don't guarantee that we will be the richest person on our block or that we should even want to be. Instead, this section of scripture indicates that obedience to YHWH creates the environment for blessing. All of these things are potential as we obey.
What bring major confusion is that we have our own unique definition of blessing. We picture a blessed person as someone with good health, lots of money, a house with a white picket fence, a nice family of 2.4 children, and a new car. Just because someone is materially wealthy doesn't mean they are obedient to Torah! What needs adjusting is our recognition of YHWH's blessings and YHWH's curses. Here is a truth - YHWH's blessings and YHWH's judgment are USUALLY NOT discernable or understandable. We should leave such judgment to YHWH. For example, was Bill Gates blessed with money and fortune because he obeyed Torah? Was it really YHWH's judgment that brought about the holocaust?
Being rich doesn't mean you have kept the mitzvot. Having a bad day doesn't mean you are a heathen. The Jewish rabbis have taught us that the mitzvot's reward is the mitzvot itself. This means that we should obey the commandments regardless of reward. The reward of obedience is obedience! Remember this point - We don't HAVE to keep the Torah. We GET the PRIVLEDGE to keep the Torah!
Some call hurricane Katrina judgment on New Orleans but couldn't Katrina have been YHWH's mercy? If Katrina would have hit Mexico City certainly millions would have died! Is it really our place to determine blessing or cursing?
Galatians 6:7, "Do not be deceived: YHWH cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."
We need to mature as believers and STOP this constant focus on blessings and curses. A mature person obeys YHWH because it is the right thing to do. YHWH is our blessing - not new house, good job, or whatever.
"O YHWH; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You. In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory," Psalm / Tehillim 63:1-2.
5) Torah mistake number 5: "I am Israel and I am proud of it"
Our identity as physical descendants of the nation of Israel is a well understood theology. The restoration of the two houses of Israel is at the core of our worldview and belief system. It is because we recognize our national heritage that we accept the feast days, food laws, and Hebrew language. It's great to know that you are an Israelite. You are to be well founded in our heritage. Our excitement will lead us to share with others about the pagan roots of popular customs and the power of Torah. Here's the tough part - even though you want to share your Hebraic heritage with other people DON'T do it! Yes, that's right!
Don't tell your family they are hell bound because of their Christmas trees and Easter bonnets. Don't make a scene about the pork your friends eat. Hold back from telling your neighbors about why you wear blue and white tassels around your waste. Be extra careful when talking to people about your beliefs. Such an idea is foreign to many of us as we come from evangelical churches that teach us to talk to every Tom, Dick, and Harry about their sins and our doctrine.
It's fine to be Israel and to be excited about your identity. Just don't let that pride go to your head and out your mouth. Take this advice...when given the opportunity to share about your faith don't do it. Here's why... when you do the talking and when you dish out the facts of your latest revelation you are totally leaving YHWH's spirit out of the equation. AND you are simply setting yourself up for failure. I can't tell you how many times someone would ask me a question about my tzittzit or the name of YHWH and I immediately went into a 45 minute tirade about Constantine, the Baptist church, Hebrew roots, and the Torah. Needless to say, the person I was speaking to lost interest and made sure to NEVER ask me about my faith again. Then there have been times when I would simply point out the problems in others. "We don't eat shellfish because the Torah says it is an abomination. Do you really want to eat that nasty cockroach of the sea lobster? Eww" People are not attracted to condemnation!
Here's the truth...there are only 2 people in this world that we should share the details of our faith with... first - to someone who asks and secondly to someone who is in immediate danger. All others are simply not interested. Plus, HOW we share our faith is just as important as what we say. If we are asked about something simple and then burst into a long talk about Torah we are defeating ourselves. The best way to handle a situation like that is to say as little as possible and encourage the person to search the scriptures themselves. Better yet, make a comment like "you don't really want to know" or "if I tell you then you might feel like you need to do this too" and then change the subject. Ask the person what they know or think about the issue THEY bring up. People love to talk about themselves. Allow folks to talk about their beliefs and then they will realize they haven't heard your opinion. Once a person has told you what they believe they are MUCH more open to hear what you have to say. Such statements will peak the interest of the person until they pursue us.
John 6:44, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day."
We would attract many more people to YHWH if we allowed our actions to witness instead of our words. Actions shout out if that our message is true or not. When we tell people that "we are Israel" our audience is thinking to themselves "so what?" What does the Israelite identity really mean to people if we don't show love and mercy? You shouldn't just know your Hebrew roots - you should DO Hebrew roots! Let your love and devotion shine forth! Find a verse that you can use to share your faith within 3 minutes. If it takes longer than 3 minutes to share your testimony then you are talking way too much. Have your say and then get the other person talking. Allow the Spirit to minister and then let people pursue you for knowledge and information.
There are many mistakes that will be made when a person follows the Torah. Hopefully, by sharing some of these personal errors you will not fall in the same traps. We are to each grow and learn and pursue a deeper relationship with YHWH and His word. Our faith will go through many challenges as we are conformed into the image of Y'shua. Such a change must take place if we are to accomplish YHWH's will in this earth. May you be blessed by this study. Selah.
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