Part One: Concepts and Guidelines

Before we can examine any type of text, we must consider methods of interpretation, logic and the emphasis of reason over faith when it comes to interpretation. We must also understand that there is a “Gold Standard” by which all interpretation must be made.

Chapter One: Overview of the Torah

There exists in the world two things: God and Man. In between them there is a great abyss which no man can jump across or fly. This abyss is a metaphor for the human condition: sin. Sin separates Man from God. Our first parents, Adam and Chawa (Eve) were responsible for creating this gap that separates us from God. How do we bridge this gap? How do we reach God?

Imagine two opposing cliffs, one on the left and one on the right. The cliff on the left represents Man and the cliff on the Right represents God. Imagine also a great gap between them. Bridging the gap is a huge Calvary cross- the same cross that was used for crucifixion by the Romans. This represents Christianity as the road to the Hebrew God.  Imagine the cross bar of this cross touching the edges of these two cliffs. This represents the need for Christians to step off the ground of reason onto the cross of faith. Where does the cross emanate from? It comes from the groundless abyss below. This is symbolic of the origin of Christian belief arising from solely faith and not Scriptural basis. The Christian starts off on a walk of faith, and then comes to the cross’ vertical eminence. This represents an increased need of faith, whether during persecution or personal trial. For our purpose, this surge in faith comes when interpreting the Holy Scriptures.

Most Christians struggle in their life because they are weighed down with “Churchianity” and “pop-Christian” doctrines. Others worry about having the “baptism of fire” and speaking in tongues. There are those who have to deal with the “Papal authority” or are confused with having to decide whether it is “works” or “faith” that determines salvation. Among the Christian world are also many Christians who feel they are truly saved and consider themselves to be the “righteous remnant” of the last-days. And yet even these are Christians are blind to the truth that they are outside the truth of God because they have bought the lie that the Torah is outdated, ineffective and does not bring righteousness.

            Am I looking do convert Christians to Judaism? No, but it is necessary that in order to truly repair the breach between Man and God, we must tear down the faulty bridge and replace it with truth. This way we can (and should) show Christians the way to the Truth.

Many Christians will argue that their faith is strong, but that is not the point. The point is, as one prominent Christian apologist put, ‘Are you putting your faith into something valid?’ It is necessary for all of us to consider this question. Validity is an element of logic which can only be acquired by knowledge and objectivity. Therefore it is actually possible for anyone to ask ‘Are you putting your faith into something valid?’ Faith in a reason is a contradiction. We can only know something that has reason or proof and have faith in something not entirely proven or objective.

            Consider the Theory of Evolution, for example. Many claim to know that it is true but evolution has never has been observed, therefore it is not proved. It is a scientific idea or philosophy. These “true believers” are actually having faith in a scientific ideology that varies little from religion. On the other hand, we have the law of biogenesis which states life can only arise from living matter. This contradicts the evolutionary theory that life originated from non-living matter.  The law of biogenesis is a law that has been proven and can be seen everyday therefore we know that this is a fact.

            Faith, then, should not support reason, but neither reason support faith because they are two opposite ends in the logic spectrum. There should be equilibrium of the two because true religion is an experience with the seen and unseen, with the subjective and the objective. However, in the matter of scriptural interpretation, we must only work with objectivity and proof. In the matter of doctrine and interpretation we are to use our abilities as humans to dig for the correct interpretation and know what God wants. The Torah is given to the people of Israel. That means it is written for the lay people, that is, you and me. The Torah in the past and present is read in front of the people of Israel and it should confound anyone, Jew or Christian, to consider that God would use esoteric language and hidden prophetic implications for a book that was to be read and heard from the greatest of Sages to the simplest of shepherds.

With this being said, our attempt to repair the breach should look like a steady beam across the gap bridging God and Man. This beam starts on the cliff and runs parallel to the side of God’s presence. We aren’t required to step off the cliff onto a system a sole faith. Judaism links faith and knowledge and the physical with the spiritual. Our belief in Torah therefore, is supported by grounds of logical interpretation. That bridge has already been built but it is our job to set it in front of the world so they may see and walk on it to commune with God. God gave us that bridge thousands of years ago. It is called the Torah, the Instruction Eternal and Enlightening.

Torah

Torah. What does it mean? In the most barbaric translation, it means “law”. When one thinks of a law, perhaps they think of a strict command that, if broken, requires that one pay a penalty. A law is restrictive and constrictive. It limits the actions that one performs to the desire of the person who put the law into effect.

Let me use a familiar allegory. Stopping at a stop sign ensures that you don’t break the law of running through it. That much is obvious and it’s probably the only reason that most people stop at the limit line. However, not breaking this particular law ensures something much more than avoiding a ticket. It ensures that you don’t endanger your life or the lives of others who are making their way across the intersection. Thus, we have something much more than just a rudimentary law; we have a life-saving instruction.

Christianity claims that “Jewish Law” just keeps the Jews in line to God’s will. As a “schoolmaster”, the Jewish Law is an instrument of slavery and blind obedience (I’m sure you are smiling…). They think that Jewish Law doesn’t bring righteousness and that it brings death because Paul said so. Because of this, many people think that Judaism is just a restrictive religion that is outdated and foolish. Ignorance like this plays an important role to religions that claim to be the successor of Judaism.

As with the stop sign analogy, we saw that the particular law is much more than a restriction. It saves lives and money too! Remember, it is a profitable instruction. Likewise is the Torah. Torah is a Divine Instruction and not a set of restrictive laws. While it is true that following the Torah prevents the penalties that it states for transgressing it, keeping the Torah ensures that one attain the holiness that God requires. The Torah is above every law in the land and every natural law on earth and in the heavens. Now is a good time to introduce to you the traditional Hebrew word for Jewish law: “halacha”, which literally means “the way”. The Torah is the way of life for the Jews.

Torah refers to both the 5 books written by Moshe (Moses) as well as the specific legislative portions. An entire copy of one of the 5 books found in a synagogue in scroll form is called a Sefer Torah (Book [of] Torah). The Torah is also called “The Five Books of Moses”, or in Greek, the “Pentateuch”.

Each name of the books of the Torah is derived from one of the first words in each book. For instance, the book of Genesis begins with: “Bereshith bara elohim et hashamaim. . .”. Therefore, the name of the first of the Torah is Bereshith meaning “in a beginning”. Sefer Bereshith covers a time span of 2500 years and includes the creation of existence all the way up to Joseph’s family settling in Mitzraim (Egypt).

The bulk of Bereshith deals with Avraham whom God called out to build a nation that would ultimately become the people of Israel. God sealed an unbreakable covenant with Avraham. Avraham’s descendants Yitzchak w’Ya’akov (Isaac and Jacob) continue to build this family destined for God’s service. Eventually 70 Hebrews (Ivrim) settle in Mitzraim where they lived in temporary peace.

Sefer Shemot meaning “names” deals with the propagation of the Hebrews into millions of slaves who have been oppressed by Paro (Pharaoh) of Mitzraim.  Moshe finds his destiny as the leader and lawgiver of the ‘Ivrim. God remembers His covenant to Avraham and empowers Moshe to lead the ‘Ivrim out of Mitzraim.

It is at Mount Horev where YHWH declared His Name and gave the Torah to Moshe. The Yisraelim (Israelites) had sinned against YHWH by worshipping an idol and all but two of those who left Mitzraim were allowed to enter Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel). Even Moshe himself was not allowed because of his own iniquity.

The Book of Leviticus is called “Wa’yikra”. Most of the laws in the book apply to the Kohanim who were a clan of the priestly tribe of Lewi. The Laws of Torah in this book deal with sexual purity, food the Festivals of the Torah and more.

Sefer Bamidbar (Numbers) consists of the years of wandering that the Yisraelim endured because of their sin. While those who worshipped the idol in Shemot were doomed to die, their descendants were righteous and able to enter in Eretz Yisrael. Bamidbar consists of a census of the Yisraelim and more laws that apply to different situations. Many more life-changing events occur in Bamidbar that affect the destiny of the Yisraelim.

Deuteronomy, called “Devarim” meaning “matters” or “words” is Moshe’s recap and expounding of the Torah’s concepts to the Hebrews just prior to his death and their entering Eretz Yisrael. Devarim sums up the most important elements that Moshe wanted the Yisraelim to understand.

After the Torah come two other sections of the Hebrew Scriptures: the Nivi’im (Prophets) and Kethuvim (Writings). These sections include Judges, Samuel, the Psalms and Ezra just to name a few. Together, these 3 sections, the Torah, Nevi’im and the Kethuvim form the acronym TaNaKh- a name for the entire Hebrew Scriptures.

There is also an older word for the Hebrew Scriptures which was used in ancient times as well as by Karaite Jews both in the past and present. That word is Miqra literally meaning “what is read”. Whatever you want to call the Hebrew Bible, just remember, it’s neither “Old” nor a “testament”!

Chapter Two: A Quick Point

            I once engaged in a tiny debate over Jesus with an evangelist on the campus of my college. When he failed to change my mind (I had told him that I rejected Christianity and was adopting Judaism) and I failed to change his, he said “You can’t convince me and I simply can’t convince you”. The consequences of his statement were that since my arguments were no better than his, we are lost on a plane of relativity. Essentially, each of us was interpreting the Bible according to our own personal, subjective abilities. Basically, I was being told that my position was no more valid than his and that our opinions were merely subjective. No one’s right and no one’s wrong-there is only stalemate.

“You can’t convince me and I simply can’t convince you” is an argument which comes from a Christian or cult that has run out of tricks in their bag to convert you. Because of their failed evangelism, they automatically react to save their pride. They want you to think that your own beliefs are no better than theirs.

So, should we feel we are on the same plane of subjective interpretation? No! It is our Scripture written by our people in our language untouched for millennia. We have had a steady interpretation of the text and have also ‘stuck to our guns’ regarding who the Messiah is hundreds of years before Jesus and Paul. Whether they know it or not, Hebrews have an objective and concrete method interpretation that allows for an infallible basis of scriptural exegesis. I’ll talk about that later.

Why are Jews constantly confronted by Christian evangelists anyhow? Some of the reasons are:

• Christians are a greater majority
• They believe Jews are blinded by Satan
• They believe they can approach God via the deicide/homicide of Jesus of Nazareth and we cannot
• They believe they have the “anointing” of the Holy Spirit
• We as Jews, have rejected their beliefs and have been exiled from God’s grace for having done so
• It is a general Christian belief that a sufficient amount of Jews must be converted to Christianity in order for the “End of Days” to arrive

Before we get too in depth into the subject of interpretation, I would like to inform the reader right away how they can protect themselves against false doctrine. If you get anything out of this book remember the following “Tips to Stay Jewish By”:

• Study the Torah; it is the foundation of the Tenakh. It is even upon this book that Moslems and Christians claim to base their authority. Remember that! The Torah is our most precious resource!
• Study Deuteronomy 13: 1-12. This tells how to identify a false prophet and  false doctrines. God tells us why he sends false prophets to test us. Take it to heart!
• Deuteronomy 13: 7-8 tells us that false prophets will seek to make us worship a god our forefathers did not know, gods from the nations. Did our forefathers worship a Triune God? Did they pray to a deity named ‘Allah’? Think about it!
• Christians like to ask Jews how they get salvation without a Temple and Altar. Remember Hosea 14:2-3. If we don’t have an altar or offerings, our confessions do just as well, even better! We must repent and return (shuvah) to God!
• Teach the Torah to your children, siblings, parents and to those who will listen openly.

Chapter Three: The Post-Interpretive Bias

            Messianic prophecies fall into two categories:

• Category One: prophecies that both Jews and Christians agree on are clearly referring to the Meshiach Ben Dawid (Messiah Son of David). Sometimes these are better distinguished as passages in Scripture that have been traditionally interpreted by Jews as messianic
• Category Two: the prophecies that only Christians believe refer to Jesus of Nazareth and his first advent are not by honest and traditional Jewish interpretation, messianic in nature.

You may ask why we need to divide Messianic prophecies. The reason is because there is a problem with the way Christians interpret the Tenakh. This problem leads to a discrepancy between traditional Messianic prophecies and alleged (i.e. Christian) messianic prophecies.

How do we account for this discrepancy? Christians use a Post-Interpretive Bias (PIB) to turn non-messianic prophecies and texts into proof texts that are supposed to prove key aspects of Jesus’ life and Christian theology.

Just what is a Post-Interpretive Bias?

·        Post-Interpretive Bias- is an interpretation of an already fulfilled prophecy or clearly stated passage that is taken out of context and favors the collective theology of non-Jewish religious systems. PIB’s are always imposed upon the Jewish scriptures by religions that claim to be successors of Judaism[1]

            As stated above, PIB’s can take many forms. Examples of these forms are below:

·        Non-Jewish translators of the Tenakh will remove, change or add words to the present English translation. These are found in nearly every Christian Bible translation. The most notorious are the NIV and Living Bible. This method serves to alter a passage to corroborate with a Christian doctrine.

·        A very common PIB is the Christian idea of “spiritual interpretation”. This PIB requires that one have the Holy Spirit of the Trinity in order to have “spiritual eyes” to look beyond the literal interpretation of the text. This is strangely close to the “Midrashic” interpretation technique of the Pharisees.

·        The common denominator in any PIB is context. Context is the one subject you will find most Christians abusing while using the PIB. A Christian may recognize both the literal “past” interpretation of the text but at the same time ignore the context and believe the “PIB” interpretation to be the verse’s most definite interpretation. That definite interpretation will have to prove either an aspect of Jesus’ life or Christian theology. Bearing this in mind, the Christian is only limited to his/her imagination to interpret the Tenakh in accordance with New Testament claims![2]

·        Christians will “nit-pick” certain words that they will say prove their position. For example, one Christian radio minister claimed that the phrase in Isaiah [which Christians use to prove the Virgin Birth claim], “…and unto us a son is given…” means that although Jesus’ virgin birth circumvented the kingship curse upon Joseph’s lineage, Joseph adopted Jesus, whereby Jesus now could be considered of the tribe of Judah thus fulfilling the requirements of the messiah. Such interpretation, although intricate, are only valid through the abuse of context, use of a PIB and nit-picking of phrases and words to prove a theological doctrine. In short, only could Joseph be seen as adopting Jesus if a proof text can be created to back up that statement.

The origin of these PIB’s are widely disputed, however the most logical and consistent answers draw us back to Christianity’s formative years. The need for Gentiles to increase the number of Christian numbers was taken up primarily by Paul, who claimed to be trained under Gamaliel, the great Pharisee rabbi. It is possible that Paul altered the original Christian message of Jesus and his followers to gain Gentile followers.

Paul, who was apparently well-versed in the Tenakh and Hellenistic culture (being born in Tarsus), changed the message of Torah to a message of salvation in the sole belief in the death of Jesus. Paul may have also used elements of the pagan mysteries of that time and adapted them to events in Jesus’ life which obviously attracted the pagan Gentile masses. Evidence of these anti-Jewish doctrines is apparent in the book, “A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs” that show the gentile-Christian fathers held these beliefs ferociously and attacked the original Jewish-Christians for rejecting the Trinity and deity of Jesus.

      These beliefs were finally solidified by the Council of Nicea (which comprised of forcibly converted pagan scholars and priests by Constantine) into the Ecumenical Statement of the Catholic Church. We know that the Christian Scriptures were woven together here at this Council and they had to choose what books to keep and which to throw away. To appease the masses of Roman pagans who were forcibly converted by Constantine’s new religion, the former pagan scholars had to further mend pagan beliefs with the obscured writings of the disciples. Thus, a great amount of interpolation probably occurred which necessitated that the non-Jewish aspects of the Messiah and Christianity be proven within the Tenakh. The scattered gospels and the Roman interpolations were finally canonized in what we know as the New Testament today.

Christians respond to this argument saying it is not true and is propagated by either liberal Christian scholars or anti-Christians. Their concern is noteworthy, but aside from emotions, opinions and theories on how modern Christianity came about, Christian proof texts indeed show many PIB’s that could only be used after the fact of Jesus’ life. These biases were manipulated by the hands of scholars, ignorant or not of their consequences. Any honest reader will note that these proof texts were done either by ignorant scholars or willingly deceitful architects of false doctrine.

Christians will say “Well, the Jews have their own post-interpretive biases as well.” While this is true in Rabbinic Judaism, we must state adamantly that we are not the ones claiming to have a “New” testament that disregards the Torah and stands for everything that would draw the Hebrew people away from God. Our interpretation is not a bias. Could you imagine the Islamic-Fascist world telling us how the Constitution and Bill of Rights should be interpreted? Who are they to say so, being under totalitarian theocracies for almost 1500 years? The Constitution is in our language, written by our people applied in our Land! An Islamic interpretation would be flawed due to their religious and cultural bias.

      Likewise with Christians, who are they to tell us what our Tenakh means? For nearly 2000 the Church has stood against everything the Torah represents. It even killed witches in accordance with the very Torah which they disregard! The Tenakh is written in our Hebrew language, written by our Hebrew Prophets who loved God and the Torah. They prayed so hard for our people to return to God while “New” covenant practitioners denigrated the Jews for keeping the Torah. We have full say as to what the Tenakh means, not hypocrites and heretics. Our job is not to evangelize Christians, but to show them how and why their interpretations of the Tenakh are incorrect. We must also stress the authority of the Torah. What they do with that information is up to them.

      In conclusion, our interpretation is not bias, but an objectively tested and true exegetical study of the text.  We will discover in the next chapter how to interpret the Tenakh. And as we will see, the correct interpretation will always draw us back to the Torah, in effect, drawing us back to YHWH.

Chapter Four: Interpretation

      Jews and Gentiles alike love the Bible. They enjoy reading the blessed Psalms or the esoteric passages of Daniel. Some take pleasure in a casual reading for enjoyment while others love to get into the meat of scripture and turn it inside out for meaning.

      Thankfully, we don’t have to turn scripture inside out for there are basic steps to getting the true interpretation of the Tenakh without having to attend a yeshiva (Jewish seminary) or Christian seminary. Most people, many of whom who are atheist or had a rough, religious upbringing argue that the Scriptures can “mean anything you want them to”. These are unfortunate, defeatist attitudes.

      Let me first clarify that there is a difference between the Christian PIB and the taking of scripture to one’s heart. While this sounds a bit abstract, I will try to clarify. We already went through the PIB, which Christianity uses to take verses out of context in order to satisfy its’ post-Tenakh doctrines. Taking Scripture to heart is taking a verse out of its context but for use in one’s own spiritual inspiration.

      As an example, many of us read certain Psalms in light of personal trials. The 23^rd Psalm gets the biggest, baddest rap for being a “funeral psalm” recited by a minister or priest over a burial. However, in light of the Psalm itself, it has nothing to do with mourning at all. If read, you will see it is a beautiful Psalm filled with imagery and its’ main theme is trusting in YHWH God. This is an example of taking scripture to heart. Though the Psalm is not talking about mourning at all, those who read it in times of tragedy are consoled by its last verse: “and I shall live in the House of YHWH forever.”  Many Rabbinic siddurim (prayer books) place Psalm 23 in Sabbath liturgy. Its peaceful theme is concurrent with the mood we ought to have during the Sabbath.

      A personal example taking a Scripture to heart is when I took a verse from the Song of Songs and wrote it into a letter to my fiancé. The verse was taken out of the context of the Song of Songs but I noticed how well it encapsulated my feelings for her.

In short, when taking a verse to heart, we are not in search of proving a doctrine or motive, rather we are engaging in the most beautiful transaction between ourselves and God and that is allowing our spirit to resonate with the Holy Spirit who moved the Prophets and others to write down the Scriptures.

      Now that that stuff is out of the way, let’s get on with interpretation:

Q: How should one study Torah?

            A: Scripture requires your full attention like every written document. The best way to interpret Scripture is to take it head on, meaning you should interpret it literally. The majority of what we speak and write everyday is to be understood literally. Think about it. And why shouldn’t Scripture be the same way? The Torah is essentially a legal document written from God to the Hebrews. Its’ language is simple, literal and concise. All legal documents nowadays should take a lesson from the Torah! The Torah was read in front of the Jewish people every 7 years (Deuteronomy 31:9-13). Most of the Hebrews didn’t have access to the scrolls because process of making a Sefer Torah was expensive and limited only to the king. Consider nowadays that a Sefer Torah costs around $35,000! How much do you think that amounted to back in ancient times?

            The Torah was written to be heard. Since the Torah was meant to be read out loud before the people, it would only be ideal for it to be written in a literal style. And it is, thankfully. One thing that we can agree on is that the Torah, being the foundation of the Hebrew faith, is the easiest book to understand in the Tenakh! It is not filled with esoteric, prophetic dirges and visions. It is blatantly obvious and simple to understand.

            The Prophets and some of the Writings are a bit more difficult. Nonetheless, one should always begin by interpreting a text literally. Your speech teacher in high school or college always said that ideas should be conveyed in a literal manner and should be understood the same. This should be the standard unless you’re Jedi Master Yoda and say, “When 900 years old you reach, look as good you would not!” Talk about a syntactical nightmare!

            Q: Although I have established that I should first interpret literally, I find the Prophets difficult to interpret as such. Granted, symbolic interpretation is the only next logical move. However, how do I know for a fact that my interpretation is valid?

A: Interpreting something symbolically is not too difficult. Consider the book of Daniel in which Daniel has a dream about a statue (Daniel 2:31-45). This statue is obviously symbolic and later on Daniel is told the interpretation of the dream including its symbolism.

Many times, the symbolism of a vision or dream can be interpreted from other aspects of the Tenakh. This is what makes the Tenakh and Nation of Israel interesting. Most prophecy is not entirely mysterious or uncertain. In most cases, as with the book of Daniel, symbolic visions and prophecies are often interpreted by God or an angel to the Prophet. And in the cases of fulfilled prophecies, one need only look back into history for their fulfillment.

Q: How do I know for a fact that my interpretation is valid?

A: Let’s always consider three things: context, language and accordance with the Torah. I’ll discuss Torah accordance later, but as far as context and language are concerned, here’s a tip: to understand the context, first study the passage on a semantic level meaning the study of the word itself. Get a concordance and find where that word is used in other parts of the Tenakh. If you are fortunate enough to have a working knowledge of Hebrew, look at the Hebrew text. Learn how to use a reliable lexicon. These tools are invaluable. Also, use a reliable translation such as The Five Books of Moses by Everett Fox but remember that English is by no means a substitute for learning the Hebrew language!

The next method is to step back and look at the passage on the verse level. If it is a chapter you are working on, break it down into verses! Then step back again and study the verse on the chapter level. I say chapter because the Hebrew text originally had no chapter divisions. These were inserted by the Church, so be careful. It seems logical to consider a new chapter to bring on an entirely different subject but this is not always the case!

            After this, step back once again and study the passage in the book’s context itself. One will readily learn to appreciate this method because a book’s prophet/scribe uses his own words and style which is generally consistent throughout the book. For example, we can only see the true interpretation of Isaiah 53 in lieu of the style and vocabulary of the book Isaiah. The term “servant” floods the book of Isaiah therefore our best interpretation of a passage is usually found within the book it has originated from. I know some of you are saying “Duh…” but you would be surprised as to how many people completely disregard these elementary rules.

Christians usually study by going from Matthew and Luke directly into the Prophets thanks to deceiving cross references in their “study” Bibles. As a former Christian I find that the use of this type of “studying” not only conditions the Christian mind further to accept PIB’s, but also removes the requirement of the reader to use their own critical thinking skills.  

            Q: Okay so I got all that stuff down. But how do I know for sure that my interpretation is correct?

            A: Easy! I told you that I would get to the issue of Torah accordance and here we are! With the following in mind, you will discover that the correct interpretation will always led to keeping the Torah and following YHWH God.

            Ask yourself this question: What is the function of a prophet? (Hint: to get an idea of what a true prophet is, read Deuteronomy 13 which tells us what a true prophet doesn’t do). Okay, times up! Prophets are to bring the Hebrews back to Torah observance. Many of the opening arguments made by God in the Prophets have to do with the Hebrews falling short of keeping the Torah (see Isaiah chapter 1 for example). Thus it would only seem logical that the prophet’s mission is to rebuke the Jews and command their repentance and Torah observance. That being said, the essence of a passage must be looked upon as redirecting the Jews back to the Torah.

When this is understood, one will realize that the entire purpose and interpretation of most prophetic material is to glorify God, and to make the Hebrews repent so they will follow Torah. Sound redundant already? It should! This is a very important fact to bear in mind!

            The final method of interpretation then, is to compare the verse to the Torah itself. This then is the ultimate interpretation of any text: to relate things to Sefer Torah which will ultimately lead one to a relationship with God. The Torah is the foundation and rock of the Tenakh. Everything is to be tested on it from prophet to doctrine.

            The entire point of the Torah is YHWH. YHWH gives HIS TORAH to Yisrael as a covenant. The prophets point back to the Torah which points to YHWH. If the keeping of Torah is not the true quintessence of any Biblical text, what else is there?

Chapter Five: The Enigma of Faith

            Why is it that when confronted with a Christian evangelist, a Jew can’t convince that evangelist of the error in his interpretation? It is because the Post-Interpretive Bias is ultimately a byproduct of faith. All Christians come into the religion by faith either through birth, or by evangelism.

A conversion based on evangelism is a dangerous thing. Most evangelized Christians come into the religion via a “religious experience” such as a healing, or a filling by the Holy Spirit. Just watch evangelistic television and you will see masses proceed to the front of the church during the “altar call”. Charlatan preachers prey on the emotions and guilt of non-Christians to get them to convert to Christianity.

In many cases, Christian converts are buying a “pig in a poke” meaning they have made a commitment to Christianity without knowing what they are getting into.  Some get the feeling that the just “know” Christianity to be true. Some “study” and arrive at the conclusion, though those are few and far in between. In stark contrast, rabbis and hakhams have traditionally made it clear to prospective converts that Judaism is to be approached intellectually and hands-on before any formal conversion takes place. This practice extends through Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Karaite Judaism. Objectivity and scholarship is paramount when it comes to converting to Judaism!

Conversion to Christianity in short, is primarily based on subjective reasoning and is far away from being the byproduct of serious study. And how can it be when the New Testament is filled with quotes that are taken out of context from the Tenakh? Those who study Christianity and convert to it fall prey to these faulty proof texts- and they think they’re objectively comparing Scripture!

            When Christians enter the faith either by conversion or birth, they have, as a result, done the following:

• Accepted the New Testament as the true, infallible revelation of our time, surpassing the “Old” Testament
• Accepted the “Old” Testament as a byproduct of believing in Jesus. The Tenakh, as viewed by Pauline epistles, is outdated, irrelevant and unnecessary
• Clearly relying on the emotional attachment to Jesus and the New Testament’s “fulfillments” of Hebrew prophecy, the Post-Interpretive Bias is set in stone and very difficult, if not impossible to remove. This results in an unfortunate conditioning of the mind or dare I say it, brainwashing

            Hebrews have the Torah as their foundation, then the Prophets and then the Writings, creating a hierarchy of canon. Christianity has the New Testament as its’ base and the Old Testament making up the rest of the apex. However, I view the Christian pyramid of authority as an inverted pyramid with the New Testament as the apex and the Tenakh as the base. This structure of Christianity is delicately balanced on the Tanakh (symbolizing its erroneous claims of having its foundations in the Tanakh) and one nudge will send the whole thing crashing down.

            Christianity has placed its authority in the wrong area: the New Testament. The emotional draw to Christianity establishes the faith necessary to accept the NT proof texts without having the Tenakh as the true foundation. As a result of accepting Christian doctrines by faith, reliance on the PIB’s blinds the Christian to objective, logical interpretations of the Tenakh. The seed of the Christian problem is acceptance of Christianity by faith and the root is the post-interpretive bias which anchors that faith in.    

In chapter three, we looked at Category Two prophecies that only Christians believe are messianic references. Without the faith-induced PIB, there would be no proof that the Meshiach Ben-Dawid would have a subtle first advent in which he would die on the cross. Paul was not understating when he talked about the “breastplate of faith” (1 Thessalonians 5:8). This implies that Christians are saved by faith. This armor of faith also deflects arrows of reason and logic. Paul’s statement also infers that Christians think and interpret mostly by faith which is indeed, a very dangerous method.

            Christian exegesis is at oft times pragmatic. For example, a Christian may say, “If the Gospel says Jesus fulfilled this and it is backed up by the Prophets, then it is so.” Or, “Isaiah means ‘this’ because the Gospels say so.” Without searching for the context of the text in the Tenakh, we can let anything mean whatever we want it to. Thus, the end (Christian fulfillment) is justifying the means (PIB’s).

            Most interesting to us is that when it comes to Category One prophecies, which we as Christians and Jews both believe are Messianic, Christians don’t use the Post Interpretive Bias. Why? Because these verses are clearly, and I repeat, clearly Messianic in nature. Therefore we can draw important conclusions about Category One prophecies:

• Any prophecy in the Tenakh that is not clearly referring to the Messiah in context is usually smeared by a Christian PIB that refers to Jesus’ first advent. As a result we have two consequences. The first is since the historical Jesus did not fulfill the Category One prophecies, he is not the Messiah.  Second, and important to understanding Christian theology, is that according to the Christian Jesus, these Category One prophecies will be fulfilled at his Second Coming (Advent) - a slick way of getting out of theological trouble!
• Historically, Christianity has had to come to grips that Jesus didn’t return according to his prophecy in Matthew 24 (we’ll see this later). They have no choice then but to be adamant that this Second Coming will be fulfilled in the future and that the Category One prophecies will be fulfilled at that time also

            Therefore, the faith factor involved in the PIB is a theological lifeline that keeps Christianity alive. On any given day, an honest interpretation of Category Two prophecies will reveal that they have no relevance whatsoever to Meshiach Ben Dawid. But the Christian faith must believe these passages to refer to Jesus otherwise the entire construct of the Church collapses on itself. And with the Christian Jesus fulfilling none of the Category One prophecies, we can conclude with confidence, that the historical Jesus didn’t fulfill the Category One prophecies either.

            If Christians did not have this PIB, they would certainly agree that the Messiah has not come yet and that based on the information that the Tenakh says, the Torah would be the relevant way to bring oneself closer to YHWH God.

            Let me clarify that faith is not a danger so long as it doesn’t lead to a path other than YHWH’s Torah. Abraham followed God by faith because he heard His voice and experienced His presence[3]. We Jews have faith as well. It is what kept us going through the dark years of persecution in the Diaspora at a time when God was silent because we rejected Him. It was faith that kept the small spark of life alive within us as we perished in the concentration camps. It is also by faith that God will redeem us in the near future according to His word.

            We also know that according to Deuteronomy 13, that if we were to believe a prophet that claims the Torah is no longer valid, we are deceived and are betraying our Covenant. We also know that if we were to follow a prophet that claims to have Moses’ authority, that prophet would not only be lying, but he/she would have the authority to change the Torah. Now with that in mind, what false prophet claimed that the Torah is invalid and need not be practiced anymore? If we were to believe this man, then we would be believing in a Liar.  

            We must not supplant faith over reason and visa versa. Hebrews should have an equilibrium between the two because our religion is not a walk of faith necessarily but primarily a way of life and knowledge. And the only way to live life on a physical earth is to have a physical religion.

Hebrews don’t walk around with our heads in the clouds looking into the sky for a rapture or salvation. Our Scriptures talk very little about an after life and that should tell us something: that we are not to be concerned about such things as it would consume us as it does religions like Islam and Christianity.

 We look to the horizon, into the future, awaiting salvation from YHWH God. Praying for and expecting salvation doesn’t imply that Hebrews are in a constant state of sin. Salvation in Jewish terms is different from its Christian definition. What Jews mean is that we are expecting a “Great Salvation” to occur in the future. This is the gathering of all the Hebrew exiles back into a restored, Torah-observant Israel governed by Meshiach Ben Dawid. There will be a Temple and the Sh’khinah of YHWH will fill this Temple and He dwell among us forever. YHWH’s presence will be here on earth, in an earthly Temple (sorry, Replacement Theologians) served by earthly priests with earthly offerings.

            What is Judaism? We share it with you. What do we follow? You can read it! We don’t keep the “Top Ten” then call it a curse and burden. Jews who don’t want to be part of the Covenant can get out. Gentiles who want to take part in it can come along with us. The Torah is precious in that it distinguishes us from the Nations, making us “a nation of priests” (Exodus 19:6) and a “light unto the nations” (Isaiah 49:6). Nations are distinct in that they have their own language and culture, dress and traditions. Hebrews are to be different then the nations- hence one meaning of Hebrew: “outsider”. The Torah makes us that Holy Nation. It distinguishes Jews by what we eat, how we treat others, how we handle sex, money, crime and so forth.

            Christians don’t have these distinctions primarily because Paul sought to integrate Gentiles into the Jewish corpus of Christianity to make it easier to have salvation. Because of this huge controversy, James the Just, the brother of Jesus and his successor, commanded that these Gentiles not keep the Torah but observe a set of Gentile-Nazarene laws (Acts 15:23-29). Once again, the Jewish Nazarenes remained different from their Gentile brethren. Eventually, beliefs were acquired by these Gentile believers that were not in line with what the Jewish Nazarenes believed.

Later on, as the Gentile Christian corpus grew larger because of their sheer numbers, it prompted the conversion of Constantine. Constantine then generated a sweeping State-sponsored (and enforced) orthodox consensus of Christian doctrine that spelled the end of the distinctive Jewish-Nazarenes and their connection to the Gentile Christians (now called “Catholics”). The remnants that practiced the original religion of Jesus were now branded as heretics and eventually died out as a religion.

            Back to the point. It is reason that interprets things correctly and it is our faith in the Torah, being the absolute Writ from God that allows us to be confident in its authenticity. What could be more logical then that? If we know that our interpretation is consistent with the verse, chapter, book and Torah in context, then it transcends subjectivity (knowing full well that the ultimate of any interpretation is the keeping of Torah and loving God) and becomes knowledge and reason. Knowledge and reason therefore, is proof.

            If any interpretation that would cause us to believe in a doctrine or person that leads us away from Torah observance, then we as Jews can confidently know that such an interpretation is incorrect. Therefore, we are secure in the Tenakh with a harmony of faith and reason.

Chapter Six: A Brief Emphasis of the Torah

            Remember what was discussed in the preface to this book? The problem with every single post-Tanakhic religion that claims to be the successor of Judaism is that they deny the sole Authority of the Torah. This is the crux of the problem with Christianity. If you have looked at Christian proof texts before, you will notice that the vast majority of them are found referring back to the Prophets and Psalms. It is therefore no surprise that Christians have no idea about the Torah and what it means to Mankind.

            It is important that Christians understand that the Torah is the Authority over the Hebrews, Prophets and Writings.  Once this is understood and accepted by Christians, their mindset will change and they will see that their religion is waning in truth.

Most Christians will react to arguments reinforcing the authority of the Torah using an argument based on his/her PIB. These arguments must be both thwarted and reinforced using Torah.

When proving the Torah’s authority, we must not be tricked by Christian arguments to draw absolute answers from the Prophets and Writings alone. We must draw the Christian to the Torah because they must understand its authority. If it benefits the situation, refer to sections in the Prophets and Writings that venerate the Torah to further reinforce its authority.

Consider this: if there was no hierarchy of authority in the Tenakh, why would the Prophets constantly refer to the Torah? The Prophets and the Writings are not the foundation of Judaism! How could scorning condemnations, dreadful prophecies of exile, praises and proverbs be a foundation for anything? It is the Torah that distinguishes the Jew from the Nations. The Hebrews were rebuked for not following Torah (Daniel 9:11-14[4]). The Judges were sent to save Israel because they didn’t keep the Torah (Judges 2:20[5]). Dawid wrote his praises to YHWH, meditating on his Torah (Psalm 119:1[6]). Shlomo (Solomon) concluded that it was Man’s duty to keep the Torah (Ecclesiastes 12:13[7]). Are you getting the picture?

            My good friend and fellow proselyte said, “Everybody wants to be the chosen people without the chosen responsibility.” I heartily agree. However there is a question I’ve heard for years to which I have not yet received an answer for and that is, “Why do Mormons, Watchtowerites, Christians and Moslems somewhat revere our Jewish Tenakh but hate the Jews?” In all truth, Christianity, Islam and the cults “draw water from the well they spit in” and would have no legitimate right to claim spiritual authority if they didn’t claim to spring from our father Abraham in one way or another.

            The point of departure for the Moslem is at Abraham through his first son Ishmael. For the Christians, their point of departure is the Torah. Their rejection of the Torah has given them no choice but to claim to have the blessings of the Hebrews as a “spiritual Israel”. They can be nothing more, unlike the convert to the Torah who is actually part of physical Israel- his offspring as well.

            Both Islam and Christianity claim to revere the Torah but hypocritically refuse to practice it. Both of these systems like to claim the Hebrews have fallen out of favor with God and are no longer the chosen nation because of our failure to follow the Torah. While a vast majority of Israel has fallen into apostasy, why do these people harass the Jews for not keeping Torah when they themselves do not keep it?

            The reason is because of their PIB’s. Their theologies have no choice but to contradict and even hypocritically condemn the Torah while claiming it to be “divinely inspired” and then kill those who follow it (Crusades, Inquisition, Holocaust, Islamic-Fascism). Their system is a sad one and when all is said and done, Christianity and Islam are so entangled in hypocrisy and doctrine regarding the Torah that it reveals they have no true authority to dictate to anyone how to have a relationship with God. While this statement is harsh to compromisers, it rings with truth to those Jews struggling to keep the Covenant in a world that wishes to crush them into either “submission” or “salvation”.

            Christianity and Islam have tried to bury the beauty and truth of the Torah in their scriptures. Hiding away the truth of Torah in their religious systems is tantamount to trying to hide a blue whale under a tea towel! Let us proceed now to “lift the veil” off the Torah and expose the world to its authority, beauty and importance!