Part Two: The Tree of Life

Before we look into Christian doctrines and the proof texts they present, it is required that we look at what the Biblical Hebrew world believed about the Torah. What did YHWH say about His Torah? What did Moses say about it?

The Torah is the Crown of the Tenakh. It is also fittingly called “Etz Chaim”, meaning “A Tree of Life”. The Torah is the Authority on all matters and is the ruler by which God rewards and punishes the Israelites.

            Chapter One: What Does the Torah Say About Itself?

Preparing a People Ready for the Torah

          In order for God to bring His ultimate Revelation to the forefront of Mankind, He had to select a people to reveal it to and a Land on which that People could practice it.    

Avraham

          YHWH first chose a man who would serve as the father of Chosen People. His name was Avram. God promised unto Avram a multitude of offspring, a wonderful Land and blessings through his descendants for the entire world. (Gen 21:1).

            YHWH made Avram exceedingly wealthy and influential amongst the tribes and nations in his day. God chose to seal His promise to Avram through a Covenant. Avram slaughtered the animals God asked of him and divided their halves creating a pathway between them (Gen 15:9-12). Avram had a dream and God spoke to him therein that his descendants would suffer in Egypt for 400 years as slaves (15:13). God reiterated His promise to Avraham about inheriting the Land of the pagan heathens and when Avram awoke, he saw a trail of fire had passed between the slaughtered offerings: “ Now it was, when the sun had come in, that there was night-blackness, and here, a smoking oven, a fiery torch that crossed between those pieces” (Gen 15:17). 

What did this awesome sight mean? It meant that it was not up to Avram to fulfill these future things, but only to have faith in YHWH’s ability to fulfill His promises. Later, God changed Avram’s name to “Avraham”, meaning “Father of Nations” (17:5). YHWH followed up Avraham’s new name with the establishment of a new Covenant- that of circumcision. God said to Avraham: As for you, you are to keep my covenant, you and your seed after you, throughout their generations: “This is my covenant which you are to keep, between me and you and your seed after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, so that it may serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you. At eight days old, every male among you shall be circumcised, throughout your generations, whether house-born or bought with money from any foreigner, who is not your seed. Circumcised, yes, circumcised shall be your house-born and your money-bought (slaves), so that my covenant may be in your flesh as a covenant for the ages. But a foreskinned male, who does not have the foreskin of his flesh circumcised, that person shall be cut off from his kinspeople- he has violated my covenant!” (Gen 17:9-14).  The Covenant of circumcision was a physical sign of the Covenant between the Hebrews and YHWH.

            God’s greatest test on Avraham was what is called the “Akeidah”, found in Genesis chapter 22. This popular story had Avraham, attempt to sacrifice his son, Yitzchaq to YHWH. This monumental event showed without absolute doubt that Avraham had complete trust and obedience in YHWH. God halted the killing stroke and told Avraham, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, do not do anything to him! For now I know that you are in awe of God- you have not withheld your son, your only-one, from me” (Gen 22: 12). 

            From this event, Yitzchaq experienced his first encounter with YHWH and formed the foundation of his trust in God forever. After the Akeidah, God reaffirmed His promise to Avraham, saying. “Indeed, I will bless you, bless you, I will make your seed many, yes, many, like the stars of the heavens and like the sand that is on the shore of the sea; your seed shall inherit the gate of their enemies, all the nations of the earth shall enjoy blessing through your seed, in consequence of your hearkening to my voice” (Gen 22:17-18).

            Avraham died at the age of 175 years being a man of great faith and righteousness. He followed all of God’s commands and promises to create a Nation for Himself. Avraham will forever stand as the greatest example of faith and trust to all Jews and Gentiles who wish to follow in his footsteps.

Ya’aqov

            Yitzchaq had two sons, Esaw and Ya’aqov. Ya’aqov was the one chosen by God to carry on Avraham and Yitzchaq’s Covenant of YHWH. Ya’aqov stole Esaw’s paternal blessing and become superior over him, according to Yitzchaq’s word, “Here, I have made him [Ya’aqov] master to you [Esaw], and all his brothers I have given him as servants, with grain and new-wine I have invested him- so for you, what then can I do, my son?” (Gen 27:37). 

            Ya’aqov fled from Esaw towards Harran. One evening, as he lay down with a rock as a pillow, he dreamt of the famous “Stairway to Heaven” in which he saw angels of YHWH descending and ascending on a ladder that extended from earth to Heaven (Gen 28:12). God spoke to Ya’aqov and told him that he would his descendants would inherit the Land and all the world would be blessed by his seed. YHWH also promised to Ya’aqov that He would never leave him and though his descendants would be enslaved, He would bring them back to the Land to inherit it (Gen 28:15).

            Ya’aqov awoke and realized that he was on holy ground. It is traditionally understood that the place where Ya’aqov called “Beth-El” (meaning “house of god”) would later be the site of the Holy of Holies of Solomon’s Temple. It was this incident in which Ya’aqov had his first encounter with God and the event shaped his life forever as it did Avraham and Yitzchaq. Soon after this, Ya’aqov married two women, Leah and Rachel (Gen 29:23, 30), and from them were born 12 sons which became the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel.

            Later in his life, Ya’aqov encountered some type of “man” (Gen 32:25) with whom he wrestled all night. When the “man” couldn’t beat Ya’aqov, he touched him in his thigh socket and his thigh was dislocated. Nonetheless, Ya’aqov held the “man” at a fix and wouldn’t release him until he was blessed. The “man” replied to Ya’aqov, “Not as Yaakov/Heel-sneak shall your name be henceforth uttered, but rather as Yisrael/God-fighter, for you have fought with God and men and have prevailed” (Gen 32:29).

            The renaming of Ya’aqov as Yisrael was so profound that it became the ethnic and national name of all of Ya’aqov’s descendants. They would later be known as the “Children of Israel”, their home “The Land of Israel” and their religion “Israelism”.

Yosef

            Yosef was Yisrael’s youngest and favorite son (Gen 37:3) and he had an uncanny amount of prophetic dreams in his youth. Yosef knew that somehow his jealous brothers would serve and bow down to him, “Now Yosef dreamt a dream, and told it to his brothers -from then on they hated him still more-he said to them: Pray hear this dream that I have dreamt: Here, we were binding sheaf-bundles out in the field, and here, my sheaf arose, it was standing upright, and here, your sheaves were circling round and bowing down to my sheaf! His brothers said to him: Would you be king, yes, king over us? Or would you really rule, yes, rule us? From then on they hated him still more-for his dreams, for his words. But he dreamt still another dream, and recounted it to his brothers, he said: Here, I have dreamt still (another) dream: Here, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me! When he recounted it to his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him: What kind of dream is this that you have dreamt! Shall we come, yes, come, I, your mother and your brothers, to bow down to you to the ground? His brothers envied him, while his father kept the matter in mind” (Gen 37: 6-11). Yosef’s brothers sold him to Midyanites and they took him to Egypt.

            While imprisoned in Egypt for being falsely accused of rape (Gen 39:14-15), Yosef gained popularity as a dream-interpreter. When the Pharaoh had a strange dream, Yosef was called to interpret it. Yosef made an important disclaimer, “Not I! God will answer what is for Pharaoh's welfare” (Gen 41:16). Yosef wanted to emphasize that it was God who gives dream interpretation and He alone bestows power to Man.

            Yosef interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream as a coming of 7 prosperous years followed by 7 years of famine and trouble. All the while, Yosef emphasized that it was God who was bringing about the famine and He was actually causing it to hurry (Gen 41: 32)! Yosef told the Pharaoh to collect plenty of food and surplus during the 7 good years for the 7 years of famine and suffering. Pharaoh was so impressed and had such great faith in Yosef’s word that he made him equivalent to a Vice-President of Egypt!           

            A starving world came to Egypt for all its food needs during the 7 years of famine. Egypt became extremely powerful and wealthy because of this. Among the nations, came Yosef’s brothers (Gen 42:5). When all was said and done, Yosef finally revealed himself to his brothers and forgave them for their actions against him. Read Yosef’s reply to his brothers’ shame, “But now, do not be pained, and do not let upset be in your eyes that you sold me here! For it was to save life that God sent me on before you. For it is two years now that the famine has been in the midst of the land, and there are still another five years in which there shall be no plowing or harvest. So God sent me on before you to make you a remnant on earth, to keep you alive as a great body-of-survivors. So now, it was not you that sent me here, but God! He has made me Father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt” (Gen 45: 5-8).

            We find that it was God’s plan all along to have Yosef sold to the Egyptians. This allowed the Hebrews to escape the famine that even plagued Cana’an so that they may thrive as a nation as was promised by YHWH. Yosef told his brothers that they would stay in the province of Goshen and proliferate there with all their possessions and cattle (Gen 45: 10).

            At that same time, YHWH revealed Himself to Yisrael again saying, “I am El/God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for a great nation will I make of you there. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I myself will bring you up, yes, up again. And Yosef will lay his hand on your eyes” (Gen 46: 3-4). With God’s promise, Yisrael went with all 70 of his descendants to Egypt and was given whatsoever they wished by Pharaoh and his blessing to inhabit the land (Gen 47:5-6).

            Genesis is truly the story of the shaping of YHWH’s Chosen People, to whom He would have a Covenant with and reveal His Will to. It was necessary for YHWH to withhold the Hebrew’s entrance into the Promised Land. He brought them to Egypt to multiply in order to become that great nation whose number was like the sand in the sea (Gen 22:17).

            Yisrael was a great man of faith in spite of his sorrow over Yosef’s concocted death (Gen 37:34). His courage and name became the crown-title for his People, Land and religion. At his death (49:33), Yisrael was embalmed and was taken to Cana’an to be buried.

            Yosef ruled over his family until his death. Before he died, he told his family to keep in mind the promises that YHWH made to Avraham, Yitzchaq and Ya’aqov. “God will take account, yes, account of you, he will bring you up from this land to the land about which he swore to Avraham, to Yitzhak, and to Yaakov” (Gen 50:24).

            From here, let us fast forward nearly 400 years into the world of the Hebrews and their enslavement by the Egyptians.

The Pre-Sinai Torah

            The Ultimate Revelation in the Torah is that of the giving of the Legal Torah at Mount Sinai. What is the difference between the “Torah” and “Legal Torah”? Well let’s first understand the traditional meanings and applications to the word “Torah”.

            The Five Books of Moshe, or the “Pentateuch”, are collectively known as “The Torah”. However, it is obvious to most people that there is no real “Torah” (meaning “instruction”) in Genesis and the first portion of Exodus. The Legal Torah, as it has been called, are the laws, precedents and judgments that YHWH gave to Moshe to give to the people before and during their stay at Mount Sinai, as well as their 40 year journey through the wilderness of Sin. These include, but of course not limited to, the “You shalls” and the “You shall nots”.

            Let us look at the Pre-Sinai Torah and see how YHWH used Moshe to ready the Hebrews for the giving of the Torah at Sinai.

In Goshen

            After Yosef died, a Pharaoh came to power that didn’t care for him. Paranoia came over him and the Egyptians and they worried about the now countless multitudes of Hebrews who had inhabited the land of Egypt.

            “Now a new king arose over Egypt, who had not known Yosef. He said to his people: Here, (this) people, the Children of Israel, is many-more and mightier (in number) than we! Come-now, let us use-our-wits against it, lest it become many-more, and then, if war should occur, it too be added to our enemies and make war upon us or go up away from the land! So they set gang-captains over it, to afflict it with their burdens. It built storage-cities for Pharaoh-Pitom and Ra'amses. But as they afflicted it, so did it become many, so did it burst forth. And they felt dread before the Children of Israel. So they, Egypt, made the Children of Israel subservient with crushing-labor; they embittered their lives with hard servitude in loam and in bricks and with all kinds of servitude in the field- all their service in which they made them subservient with crushing-labor” (Ex 1:9-14).

            When things became bad enough, Moshe wrote, “God hearkened to their moaning, God called-to-mind his covenant with Avraham, with Yitzhak, and with Yaakov, God saw the Children of Israel, God knew” (Ex 2:24-25).  At this point, God called Moshe to be His servant and to be the one to liberate the Hebrews from the hands of the Egyptians (Ex 3:10). YHWH revealed His Name to Moshe as the proof he would need to make the people trust him.

            God affirmed the promise He made to the Patriarchs before Moshe saying, “And God said further to Moshe: Thus shall you say to the Children of Israel: YHWH, the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitzhak, and the God of Yaakov, sends me to you. That is my name for the ages, that is my title (from) generation to generation. Go, gather the elders of Israel and say to them: YHWH, the God of your fathers, has been seen by me, the God of Avraham, of Yitzhak, and of Yaakov, saying: I have taken account, yes, account of you and of what is being done to you in Egypt, and I have declared: I will bring you up from the affliction of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanite and of the Hittite, of the Amorite and of the Perizzite, of the Hivvite and of the Yevusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey. They will hearken to your voice, and you will come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt and say to him: YHWH, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us- so now, pray let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness and let us slaughter (offerings) to YHWH our God! But I, I know that the king of Egypt will not give you leave to go, not (even) under a strong hand. So I will send forth my hand and I will strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in its midst- after that he will send you free! And I will give this people favor in the eyes of Egypt; it will be that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed: each woman shall ask of her neighbor and of the sojourner in her house objects of silver and objects of gold, and clothing, you shall put (them) on your sons and on your daughters- so shall you strip Egypt!” (Ex 3:15-22)

            All of the promises from a glorious liberation, the claiming of the Land of Israel, gold and valuables as a repayment for slavery for the building of the Holy Vessels and Mishkan were to be given to Yisrael—even though the Egyptians didn’t know it yet! 

The First Laws

            The 10 Plagues in their entirety were not only to punish Egypt but to create awe and fear of YHWH in both the eyes of the Egyptians and Hebrews. At the time of the final plague, the slaying of the first born, the Yiseelim received the first of the Torah laws. These were the beginning of the Hebrew year and month characterized by the New Moon and the institution of the Pesach observance and the seven day Chag Ha-Matzoth (Pilgrimage of the Matzos) (Ex 12:2, 12:3-28). The New Year and the Pesach (Passover) are characterized by the New Moon at the discretion of ripened barley (Ex 13:4). YHWH says that these observances are forever, “This day shall be for you a memorial, you are to celebrate it as a pilgrimage-celebration for YHWH, throughout your generations, as a law for the ages you are to celebrate it!” (Ex 12:14).

            As an adjunct to the Pesach law, YHWH instituted the redemption of the first born (Ex 13:2) for both man and beast with a lamb. Why? YHWH answers, “It shall be when your child asks you on the morrow, saying: What does this mean? You are to say to him: By strength of hand YHWH brought us out of Egypt, out of a house of serfs. And it was when Pharaoh hardened (his heart) against sending us free, that YHWH killed every firstborn throughout the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of beast. Therefore I myself slaughter-offer to YHWH every breacher of a womb, the males, and every firstborn among my sons I redeem” (Ex 13:14-15).

            When the Hebrews left Egypt and crossed the Sea of Reeds, Moshe said to them, “If you will hearken, yes, hearken to the voice of YHWH your God, and what is right in his eyes will do, giving-ear to his commandments and keeping all his laws: all the sicknesses which I have imposed upon Egypt, I will not impose upon you; for I am YHWH, your healer” (Ex 15:26). This is an important thing to bear in mind. The Hebrews saw bloodied water, lice, cattle and crop deaths and even the death of all first born Egyptians. Moshe said that the Hebrews can avoid all of these plagues as well if they simply obey YHWH.

            The next law that came about was the institution of the Shabbath (Ex 16:23) and its prohibition of not gathering and cooking. Next, the creation of the legal and judicial system of 70 elders which has traditionally been called “Sanhedrin” (Ex 18:21) was done. After this, the Children of Yisrael journeyed to Mount Sinai were they camped and prepared themselves to receive the Torah of YHWH

The TORAH of YHWH

            In the third month of the year and three days before the Torah was given, YHWH told the people that if they “Hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be to me a special-treasure from among all peoples. Indeed, all the earth is mine, but you, you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (Ex 19: 5-6). The return for keeping YHWH’s Torah, the Yisreelim would be a chosen nation of priests. No promise has been made to any other people in the history of the world. No other religion can boast such a remarkable covenant. The Hebrews agreed to the conditions of the Torah (19: 8) and began a 3 day purification process (19:10-11).

            On that third day, the Presence of YHWH engulfed Mount Sinai and there were clouds, fire, lightning and thunder! In the midst of the terrifying experience, there was a supernatural sound of the shofar (19: 16). The Children of Yisrael shook in fear from this display of Power! This was the Day of the greatest Revelation in human history!

            Moshe ascended to see YHWH and YHWH spoke to Yisrael the 10 Matters (incorrectly known as the “10 Commandments). “I am YHWH your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from a house of serfs. You are not to have any other gods before my presence. You are not to make yourself a carved-image or any figure that is in the heavens above, that is on the earth beneath, that is in the waters beneath the earth; you are not to bow down to them, you are not to serve them, for I, YHWH your God, am a jealous God, calling-to-account the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons, to the third and the fourth (generation) of those that hate me, but showing loyalty to the thousandth of those that love me, of those that keep my commandments. You are not to take up the name of YHWH your God for emptiness, for YHWH will not clear him that takes up his name for emptiness. Remember the Sabbath day, to hallow it. For six days, you are to serve, and are to make all your work, but the seventh day is Sabbath for YHWH your God: you are not to make any kind of work, (not) you, nor your son, nor your daughter, (not) your servant, nor your maid, nor your beast, nor your sojourner that is within your gates. For in six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in it, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore YHWH gave the Sabbath day his blessing, and he hallowed it. Honor your father and your mother, in order that your days may be prolonged on the soil that YHWH your God is giving you. You are not to murder. You are not to adulter. You are not to steal. You are not to testify against your fellow as a false witness. You are not to desire the house of your neighbor, you are not to desire the wife of your neighbor, or his servant, or his maid, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's” (Ex 20:1-14).

            These 10 form the Foundation for the rest of the Legal Torah. They are not separate laws in and of themselves. Christianity refuses the rest of the Torah while claiming to embrace the 10 Commandments (as if somebody somewhere said they were to follow only these 10!) Make no mistake, the 10 Matters are not only the Foundation for the Torah but they form the Capstone of it as well.

            Amidst these Laws and supernatural events, the Children of Yisrael cry out to Moshe and tell him to speak the Torah to them and not God so they won’t die (20:16). Moshe agrees and tells them that the mighty things they see are for them- so that they may be in awe and fear of YHWH so they don’t sin (20:17). Moshe returned to YHWH to receive the rest of the Torah at that time to relate it to the People.

            After Moshe descended the mountain, the people again agreed to follow all of the laws and regulations that would make them a holy nation and chosen people (Ex 24:3). Moshe also wrote down all the words that God spoke to him and slaughtered animals for offerings to complete the covenant (24:5). “Moshe took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he tossed against the slaughter-site. Then he took the account of the covenant and read it in the ears of the people. They said: All that YHWH has spoken, we will do and we will hearken! Moshe took the blood, he tossed it on the people and said: Here is the blood of the covenant that YHWH has cut with you by means of all these words” (24:3-8).

            YHWH also emphasized the Shabbath in its entire importance saying, “However: my Sabbaths you are to keep! For it is a sign between me and you, throughout your generations, to know that I, YHWH, hallow you. You are to keep the Sabbath, for it is holiness for you, whoever profanes it is to be put-to-death, yes, death! For whoever makes work on it- that person is to be cut off from among his kinspeople. For six days is work to be made, but on the seventh day (is) Sabbath, Sabbath-ceasing, holiness for YHWH, whoever makes work on the Sabbath day is to be put-to-death, yes, death! The Children of Israel are to keep the Sabbath, to make the Sabbath-observance throughout their generations as a covenant for the ages; between me and the Children of Israel a sign it is, for the ages, for in six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day he ceased and paused-for-breath” (Ex 31:14-17). The Shabbath is a sign of utmost Divine importance. No matter how many religions claim to be the successor to Judaism, the most important indicator that YHWH is not with them is that they do not keep the Shabbath. Even the Seventh-Day Adventists, whose holy day is Saturday, don’t keep the Shabbath according to all its laws as set forth by Moshe.

            The Golden Calf incident was the hallmark of Yisreeli abominations and sins. They had seen YHWH, known His miracles and power, agreed to the Covenant and now sunk this low in spirituality (Ex 32:2- 19). Only the sons of Levi stood by Moshe’s side (32:26). They were later rewarded for this decision with the rite of the priesthood.

            YHWH commanded to the people that they should wipe out the heathen that occupy the Land of Israel and not make deals with them. “He said: Here, I cut a covenant: before all your people I will do wonders such as have not been created in all the earth, among all the nations. Then shall all the people among whom you are, see the work of YHWH, how awe-inspiring it is, which I do with you. Take care for yourself regarding what I command you today! Here, I am driving out before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivvite and the Yevusite,- take-you-care, lest you cut a covenant with the settled-folk of the land against which you are coming, lest they become a snare among you. Rather: their slaughter-sites you are to pull down, their standing-pillars you are to smash, their tree-poles you are to cut down. For: You are not to bow down to any other god! For YHWH- Jealous-one is his name, a jealous God is he! -Lest you cut a covenant with the settled-folk of the land: when they go whoring after their gods and slaughter-offer to their gods, they will call to you to eat of their slaughter-offerings; should you take of their women (in marriage) for your sons, their women will go whoring after their gods, and they will cause your sons to go whoring after their gods” (Ex 34:11-16).

            This was such an important command because of Yisrael’s tendency to rebel and worship other gods. We even see today that the modern State of Israel is plagued by its enemies because they have not destroyed them completely. They also make covenants with pagan-Gentile lands for help rather than relying on YHWH and have let pagan religions take up residence and build their shrines on the Land. What else could the future hold for the State of Israel if not destruction?

            The next significant event was Moshe’s command for everyone to voluntarily give offerings of valuables from gold, silk and skin to a communal collection to create the Sacred Vessels and the Tabernacle, called the Mishkan, or “Dwelling”. God inspired metal workers, weavers, carpenters and all manner of gifts and talents in the Hebrews to create the wonderful items needed. When these things were finished, YHWH had Moshe consecrate Aharon and his sons as “anointed- priesthood for the ages, throughout their generations “(Ex 40:12-15).

            When the Mishkan/Dwelling for YHWH was complete, the cloud of YHWH’s Presence and Glory filled the place! “For the cloud of YHWH (is) over the Dwelling by day, and fire is by night in it, before the eyes of all the House of Israel upon all their marches” (Ex 40: 38).

Leviticus/Wayiqra

            Within the Mishkan, YHWH decreed the procedures and regulations for sacrifices, oblations and offerings on part of the Levitical and Kohen priesthood and the Children of Yisrael. Most regulations and laws in Leviticus are inapplicable now because we do not have a Mishkan or central area of sacrifice. This does not mean we should neglect to study it or disregard it as some “ancient cultic practice”.

            Most laws that we find in Leviticus are related to things of ritual impurity, called “tamei”. Some examples of these prohibitions include eating visceral fat and blood (Lev 3:17, 7:26-27, 17:10-14) and the discernment of eating pure and impure animals (11:1-47). Many people just can’t figure out why such a “ridiculous” command exists. They never bother reading the Scripture, “This is the Instruction for animals, fowl and all living beings that stir in the water, all beings that swarm upon the earth, that there may be-separation between the tamei [impure] and the pure, between the living-creatures that may be eaten and the living-creatures that you are not to eat” (11:46-47).

            Purity regulations regarding menstruation, child birth, ejaculation and copulation are also stated in Leviticus (chapter 15). Important moral and ethical regulations against incest, homosexuality and bestiality are found in chapter 18. Why the need for these “restrictive” laws that only the perverted and sick would reject? YHWH states why, “You are not to make-yourselves-tamei through any of these, for through all these, they make-themselves-tamei, the nations that I am sending out before you. Thus the land became-tamei, and I called it to account for its iniquity, so that the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you are to keep, yourselves, my laws and my regulations, not doing any of these abominations, the native and the sojourner that sojourns in your midst, for all these abominations did the men of the land do that were before you, and the land became-tamei- that the land not vomit you out for your making it tamei as it vomited out the nation that was before you. For whoever does any of these abominable-things- cut off shall be those persons that do (them) from amid their kinspeople! You are to keep my charge by not doing (any of) the abominable practices that were done before you, that you not become-tamei through them, I am YHWH your God” (Lev 18:24-30). 

            These practices were part of the reasons why God planned to expel the heathen from the Land of Yisrael. The Holy Land was not to be defiled by such practices- these prohibitions were not only to inscribe holiness into Yisrael but prevent disease and epidemics as a result. These laws are also the moral backbone of the family and the distinguishing feature between civilized Man and degenerate pagan.

            In Leviticus 23, we find a listing of the Mo’adim (Appointed Times) of YHWH ranging from the Shabbath to Yom Kippur. In chapter 25, we read about the Shabbath year where all the fields in Yisrael should rest for a year. It was this law that Yisrael neglected for 70 years that caused their exile by the hand of YHWH via Babylonia! Why is such a law needed? YHWH states, “You are to observe my laws, my regulations you are to keep, and observe them, that you may be settled on the land in security, that the land may give forth its fruit and that you may eat to being-satisfied, and be settled in security upon it” (25:18-19). The objective of letting the Land rest for one year was to let it rejuvenate and restore its own potency- any agriculturalist and novice gardener would understand the importance of this commandment!

            Leviticus chapter 26:2-46 tells of YHWH’s proclamation before Yisrael the blessings of keeping the Torah Covenant and the punishments for not keeping it. When you read this, you will understand that everything from peace, food and rain and the lack thereof are a direct result of Yisrael keeping the Torah. Keep that in mind!

Numbers/ Bamidbar

            The book of Numbers continues with a census of the adult men of Yisrael (630,550 in all). Moses sent scouts out to reconnoiter the Land of Yisrael and see the opposition and condition of the Land (Num 13:17-20). All the spies except for Calev spoke truthfully to Moshe about the condition of the land. The other spies caused fright and unbelief in YHWH’s ability to deliver the Land unto them. YHWH became angry and cursed the Children of Yisrael, saying, “I grant-pardon, according to your words; however, as I live, and as the Glory of YHWH fills all the earth: indeed, all the men who have seen my Glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested me these ten times, by not hearkening to my voice: if they should see the land about which I swore to their fathers . . . ! All that have scorned me will not see it! But as for my servant, Calev, because there was another spirit in him, and he followed-me-fully, so I will bring him into the land that he is about to enter, and his seed will possess it (Num 14:20). “As I live-the utterance of YHWH- if not as you have spoken in my ears, thus I do to you . . . ! In this wilderness shall your corpses fall, all those-of-you-counted (for battle), including all your number, from the age of twenty and upward, (you) that have grumbled against me! If (any of) you should enter the land over which I lifted my hand (in an oath) to have you dwell in it, except for Calev son of Yefunne and Yehoshua son of Nun . . . ! Your little-ones, whom you said would become plunder- I will let them enter, they shall come to know the land that you have spurned. But your corpses, yours, shall fall in this wilderness, and your children shall graze in the wilderness for forty years; thus shall they bear your whoring, until your corpses come-to-an-end in the wilderness. According to the number of days that you scouted out the land, forty days, (for each) day a year, (for each) day a year, you are to bear your iniquities, forty years, thus you will come to know my hostility! I am YHWH, I have spoken: If I do not do this to this whole evil community that has come-together against me . . . ! In this wilderness they will come-to-an-end, there they will die. So the men whom Moshe had sent to scout out the land returned and caused the entire community to grumble against him by bringing a (false) report about the land; the men died, those bringing a report of the land, an ill one, in a plague, before the presence of YHWH. But Yehoshua son of Nun and Calev son of Yefunne remained-alive from those men that had gone to scout out the land” (Num 14:29-38). Thus, the Children of Yisrael were cursed to wander in the wilderness for 40 years because of their rebellion and unbelief. Only Calev and the descendants of those under 20 will enter the Land to posses it.

Deuteronomy/Devarim

The Book of Deuteronomy starts out with the Children of Yisrael at the end of the 40 years of wandering and at the border of the Land of Yisrael. For most scholars, no book of the Five Books of Moshe is truer to the idea of a “Legal Torah” and Instruction than Deuteronomy (Everett Fox, 841).

            So we are dealing with a text of directly authoritative character- a series of speeches that in their own self-understanding already had the status of “Torah” (Fox, 843). It was this Torah that was read the people every 7 years. “Now Moshe wrote down this Instruction and gave it to the priests, the Sons of Levi, those carrying the coffer of the Covenant of YHWH, and to all the elders of Israel. And Moshe commanded them, saying: At the end of seven years, at the appointed-time of the Year of Release, on the pilgrimage-festival of Sukkot, when all Israel comes to be seen at the presence of YHWH your God, at the place that he chooses, you are to proclaim this Instruction [Torah] in front of all Israel, in their ears. Assemble the people, the men, the women, and the little-ones, and your sojourner that is in your gates, in order that they may hearken, in order that they may learn and have-awe-for YHWH your God, to carefully observe all the words of this Instruction; and (that) their children, who do not know, may hearken and learn to have-awe-for YHWH your God, all the days that you remain-alive on the soil that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess” (Dt 31:9-13).

            It was also this Torah scroll which was later found and read by King Josiah (2 Kings 22, 25:1-3) which caused a huge religious and cultural reformation in Judea. Jesus of Nazareth also quoted Deuteronomy many times. What was it about this Book that was so important that it had to be read before everyone and that sparked religious reformation in the times of King Josiah?

            Deuteronomy (called “Devarim” in Hebrew meaning “Matters”) is a distilled/compact report of the Hebrew’s history in Egypt and the Wilderness. It was also a recap of the most significant laws and regulations that affected the Children of Yisrael as whole. It contained a review of the 10 Matters, the curses and blessings for keeping the Torah and various other important matters. If YHWH could sum up His entire message and laws to the Yisreelim, the Book of Deuteronomy was it! This Book was originally a speech Moshe gave by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the Yisreelim that were about to enter the Land, fight off the heathen therein and practice the Torah in the Land and be blessed in it.

            Devarim begins with Moses recap of Yisreeli history, the sins of their fathers in the wilderness, the rebellion of the Golden Calf and the admonition to be brave in conquering the Holy Land. Moses emphasizes the observance of the Torah, saying, “And now, O Israel, hearken to the laws and the regulations that I am teaching you to observe, in order that you may live and enter and take-possession of the land that YHWH, the God of your fathers, is giving to you. You are not to add to the word that I am commanding you, and you are not to subtract from it, in keeping the commandments of YHWH your God that I am commanding you. Your eyes (it is) that have seen what YHWH did at Baal Pe'or: indeed, every man that walked after Baal Pe'or- YHWH your God destroyed him from among you! But you, the ones clinging to YHWH your God, are alive, all of you, today! See, I am teaching you laws and regulations as YHWH my God has commanded me, to do thus, amid the land that you are entering to possess. You are to keep (them), you are to observe (them), for that (will be) wisdom-for-you and understanding-for-you in the eyes of the peoples who, when they hear all these laws, will say: Only a wise and understanding people is this great nation” (Dt 4:2-6).

            These words are very significant. First, Moses lets us know that the Torah sustains life and empowers Yisrael to take and keep the land. (It’s not a curse or a burden…) He also tells us that it cannot be added to or subtracted from. (Hence, the “New Covenant” of the Christians). Yisrael is supposed to keep the Torah because it brings not only holiness and life, but wisdom and understanding.

            “And me, YHWH commanded at that time to teach you laws and regulations for you to observe them in the land that you are crossing into to possess” (Dt 4:14).   If YHWH commanded Moshe to give the Torah, what makes any Christian think it could ever be retracted or “replaced”?

            “Now you are to take exceeding care for your selves- for you did not see any form on the day that YHWH spoke to you at Horev from the midst of the fire” (Dt 4:15).  This is a great thing to ponder. YHWH has no form, no corporeality. Moshe warns the people to not worship images of things. Recall that the Golden Calf was not any Egyptian deity—it was the Hebrew’s idea of what YHWH looked like! “This is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt! When Aharon saw (this), he built a slaughter-site before it, and Aharon called out and said: Tomorrow is a festival to YHWH” (Ex 32:4-5).

            What is the difference, then, between making God into a Golden Calf or making Him into a MAN- a man called Jesus? There is no difference, but they are both bound into a single abomination: “You are not to make yourself a carved-image or any figure that is in the heavens above, that is on the earth beneath, that is in the waters beneath the earth; you are not to bow down to them, you are not to serve them, for I, YHWH your God, am a jealous God, calling-to-account the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons, to the third and the fourth (generation) of those that hate me” (Ex 20:5). Is not a man an image of God? Is not the worship of man idolatry in its most heinous form?

            “Take you care, lest you forget the covenant of YHWH your God which he cut with you, and you make yourselves a carved-image, the form of anything about which YHWH your God commanded you! For YHWH your God-he is a consuming fire, a jealous God! When you beget children and children's children and you grow old in the land: should you wreak-ruin by making a carved-image in the form of anything, thus doing what is ill in the eyes of YHWH your God, vexing him: I call-as-witness against you today the heavens and the earth, that you will perish, yes, perish quickly from off the land that you are crossing the Jordan thither to possess; you will not prolong days upon it, but you will be destroyed, yes, destroyed! YHWH will scatter you among the peoples, you will be left as menfolk few-in-number among the nations whither YHWH will lead you. You will serve there gods made by human hands, of wood and of stone, which cannot see and cannot hear, and cannot eat and cannot smell” (Dt 4:23-28).  

            So much could be gleaned from this warning. The carven-image is essentially what caused the destruction of Israel in its past. YHWH declares that those who worship an image will be destroyed and ripped out of the Land. In exile, the Yisreelim will worship gods of “wood and of stone”. Some commentators have said that these gods of “wood” represent the cross, or Christianity. The gods of “stone” represent the Ka’aba stone of Islam.

            “For inquire, pray, of past days, which were before you: from the day that God created humankind on the earth, and from one edge of the heavens to the (other) edge of the heavens: has there ever been such a great thing, or anything heard like it? Has a people ever heard the voice of a god speaking from the midst of the fire as you have heard, yourself, and remained-alive? Or has a god ever essayed to come and take himself a nation from within a nation, with trials, signs, portents and deeds-of-war, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm and with great awe-inspiring (acts), according as all that YHWH your God did in Egypt before your eyes? You yourself have been made-to-see, to know that YHWH-he is God, there is none else beside him! From the heavens he had you hear his voice, to discipline you; on earth he had you see his great fire, and his words you heard from the midst of the fire. Now since he loved your fathers, he chose their seed after them and brought you out with his presence with great power from Egypt, to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you from before you, by bringing you out, by giving you their land as an inheritance, as (is) this (very) day- know today and lay it up in your heart, that YHWH-he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, (there is) none else! You are to keep his laws and his commandments that I command you today, that it may go-well with you and with your children after you, in order that you may prolong days on the soil that YHWH your God is giving you, all the days (to come)” (Dt 4:32-40).

            This is a mighty proclamation of God’s intervention in human history to take for Himself, a people with miracles and supernatural powers from the hands of a mighty empire. There has never been and never will be such an event ever again in human history! For this reason did YHWH give the Torah to Moshe to give to the Children of Yisrael so that they will LIVE and prosper in the LAND. Not to give it to them as a burden, as a curse or as something which would later be overturned! Don’t you understand yet? The same words and phrases are used throughout the Torah to make it clear that the Torah is forever to be observed by Yisrael so that they will live and dwell in the Land and gain YHWH’s blessings and so YHWH can have a people. If you don’t want it, you don’t have to follow it—just stop propagating a fraud that contradicts the very Torah given by Almighty God Himself!

            “Moshe called all of Israel (together) and said to them: Hearken, O Israel, to the laws and the regulations that I am speaking in your ears today! You are to learn them, you are to take-care to observe them! YHWH our God cut with us a covenant at Horev. Not with our fathers did YHWH cut this covenant, but with us, yes, us, those here today, all of us (that are) alive” (Dt 5:1-3). Again, another command to follow the Torah!

            “You are to take-care to observe as YHWH your God has commanded you; you are not to turn-aside to the right or to the left. In all the way that YHWH your God has commanded you, you are to walk, in order that you may remain-alive, and it may be-well with you, and you may prolong (your) days in the land that you are possessing. Now this is the commandment, the laws and the regulations that YHWH your God has commanded (me) to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing into to possess, in order that you may hold YHWH your God in awe, by keeping all his laws and his commandments that I command you, you, and your child, and your child's child, all the days of your life; and in order that your days may be prolonged. You are to hearken, O Israel, and are to take-care to observe (them), that it may go-well with you, that you may become exceedingly many, as YHWH, the God of your fathers promised to you- (in) a land flowing with milk and honey” (Dt 5:29-6:3). Notice, the charge not to turn aside even to the right or to the left (does this refer to the additional Torah of the Rabbinic Jews and the throwing out of Torah laws by the Reform Jews and all those in between?).

            “Hearken O Israel: YHWH our God, YHWH (is) One! Now you are to love YHWH your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your substance! These words, which I myself command you today, are to be upon your heart. You are to inculcate them in your children and are to speak of them in your sitting in your house and in your walking in the way, in your lying-down and in your rising-up. You are to tie them as a sign upon your hand, and they are to be for bands between your eyes. You are to write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Dt 6:4-9). This famous paragraph is known as the “Shem’a”. It emphasizes the fact that YHWH is ONE—without division and addition. It also emphasizes the importance of the Torah and that it should be a part of one’s life in every aspect- from being a frontlet on the forehead and written on doorposts of one’s house.

            It is also important for the Yisreelim to understand that YHWH was letting them conquer the Land because the inhabitants there were wicked and perverse. It was not on the Children of Yisrael’s merit that God would fight for them and attack them! “Do not say in your heart when YHWH has pushed them out before you, saying: Because of my righteous-merit did YHWH bring me in to possess this land, and because of the wickedness of these nations is YHWH dispossessing them from before you! Not because of your righteous-merit, or because of the uprightness of your heart, are you entering to possess their land, but rather because of the wickedness of these nations is YHWH your God dispossessing them from before you, and in order that he might uphold the word that YHWH swore to your fathers, to Avraham, to Yitzhak, and to Yaakov. You are to know that not because of your righteous-merit is YHWH your God giving you this good land to possess, for a people hard of neck are you” (Dt 9:4-6).

            “ Now it shall be if you hearken, yes, hearken to my commandments that I command you today, to love YHWH your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your being: I will give forth the rain of your land in its due-time, shooting-rain and later-rain; you shall gather in your grain, your new-wine and your shining-oil; I will give forth herbage in your field, for your animals, you will eat and you will be satisfied. Take-you-care, lest your heart be seduced, so that you turn-aside and serve other gods and prostrate yourselves to them, and the anger of YHWH flare up against you so that he shuts up the heavens, and there is no rain, and the earth does not give forth its yield, and you perish quickly from off the good land that YHWH is giving you! You are to place these my words upon your heart and upon your being; you are to tie them as a sign on your hand, let them be as bands between your eyes; you are to teach them to your children, by speaking of them in your sitting in your house, in your walking on the way, in your lying-down, in your rising-up. You are to write them upon the doorposts of your house, and on your gates, in order that your days may be many, along with the days of your children on the soil that YHWH swore to your fathers, to give them (as long) as the days of the heavens over the earth” (Dt 11:13-21). This is more evidence that Yisrael’s blessings and curses come directly from the observance and lack thereof of the Torah.

            “See, I place before you today a blessing or a curse: the blessing, (provided) that you hearken to the commandments of YHWH your God that I command you today, and the curse, if you do not hearken to the commandments of YHWH your God, and turn-aside from the way that I command you today, walking after other gods whom you have not known” (Dt 11:26-28). This is as simple as it gets. The only curse that relates to the Torah is NOT KEEPING IT!

            If by now that you haven’t understood that the Torah is an eternal system of laws, commandments and judgments that the Children of Israel are to observe forever, let’s review some of the major points made so far before continuing our study within Deuteronomy:

·        “Circumcised, yes, circumcised shall be your house-born and your money-bought (slaves), so that my covenant may be in your flesh as a covenant for the ages. But a foreskinned male, who does not have the foreskin of his flesh circumcised, that person shall be cut off from his kinspeople- he has violated my covenant!” (Gen 17:13-14). Any Israeli not circumcised has violated the Covenant. This is ETERNAL

·        “Indeed, I will bless you, bless you, I will make your seed many, yes, many, like the stars of the heavens and like the sand that is on the shore of the sea; your seed shall inherit the gate of their enemies, all the nations of the earth shall enjoy blessing through your seed, in consequence of your hearkening to my voice” (Gen 22:17-18). Moreover, the Promise made to Avraham was an ETERNAL conditional promise which required that Yisrael listen to YHWH

·        “This day shall be for you a memorial, you are to celebrate it as a pilgrimage-celebration for YHWH, throughout your generations, as a law for the ages you are to celebrate it!” (Ex 12:14). Passover is an ETERNAL commandment

·        “Hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be to me a special-treasure from among all peoples. Indeed, all the earth is mine, but you, you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (Ex 19: 5-6). The eternal commandment is dependent on Yisrael’s keeping of the Torah—God forbid they not keep it!

·        “Moshe took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he tossed against the slaughter-site. Then he took the account of the covenant and read it in the ears of the people. They said: All that YHWH has spoken, we will do and we will hearken! Moshe took the blood, he tossed it on the people and said: Here is the blood of the covenant that YHWH has cut with you by means of all these words” (24:3-8). The Yisreelim agreed to the Torah by accepting the Covenant. They bound themselves ETERNALLY to the Torah by accepting it

·        “However: my Sabbaths you are to keep! For it is a sign between me and you, throughout your generations, to know that I, YHWH, hallow you. You are to keep the Sabbath, for it is holiness for you, whoever profanes it is to be put-to-death, yes, death! For whoever makes work on it- that person is to be cut off from among his kinspeople. For six days is work to be made, but on the seventh day (is) Sabbath, Sabbath-ceasing, holiness for YHWH, whoever makes work on the Sabbath day is to be put-to-death, yes, death! The Children of Israel are to keep the Sabbath, to make the Sabbath-observance throughout their generations as a covenant for the ages; between me and the Children of Israel a sign it is, for the ages, for in six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day he ceased and paused-for-breath” (Ex 31:14-17). The Sabbaths, which are the Appointed-Times, as well as THE Shabbath is ETERNAL (and not on Sunday)

·        “You are not to make-yourselves-tamei through any of these, for through all these, they make-themselves-tamei, the nations that I am sending out before you. Thus the land became-tamei, and I called it to account for its iniquity, so that the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you are to keep, yourselves, my laws and my regulations, not doing any of these abominations, the native and the sojourner that sojourns in your midst, for all these abominations did the men of the land do that were before you, and the land became-tamei- that the land not vomit you out for your making it tamei as it vomited out the nation that was before you. For whoever does any of these abominable-things- cut off shall be those persons that do (them) from amid their kinspeople! You are to keep my charge by not doing (any of) the abominable practices that were done before you, that you not become-tamei through them, I am YHWH your God” (Lev 18:24-30).  The regulations of purity are ETERNAL because the lack thereof is what merited the expulsion of the heathen from the Land of Yisrael. The failure of Yisrael to follow these laws would merit the same fate!

·        “You are to observe my laws, my regulations you are to keep, and observe them, that you may be settled on the land in security, that the land may give forth its fruit and that you may eat to being-satisfied, and be settled in security upon it” (25:18-19). The Torah is ETERNAL and its observance allows the Yisreelim to settle the Land peacefully. If it is not observed, the Yisreelim are expelled! This happened twice! In chapter 13, Moses makes it clear what a false prophet or dreamer is. It is obvious even in our day and age that the number of ‘psychics’ and ‘prophets’ which flood our bookstores and television screens are more numerous than ever. And more so is a Jew confronted with countless alternative religions and philosophies which content for his or her soul.

A false prophet is one who claims authority through his or her powers to add to or change the Torah. Such an act is forbidden by YHWH, as it is written: ‘Everything that I command you that you are to take-care to observe, you are not to add to it, you are not to diminish from it!’ (Dt. 31:1)

            Moses describes the sins of the false prophet as follows: ‘When there arises in your midst a prophet or a dreamer of dreams and he gives you a sign or a portent, and it comes-about, the sign or the portent of which he spoke to you, saying: Let us walk after other gods-whom you have not known-and let us serve them, you are not to hearken to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams, for YHWH your God is (only) testing you to know if you (truly) love YHWH your God with all your heart and with all your being. After YHWH your God you are to walk, him you are to hold-in-awe, his commandments you are to keep, to his voice you are to hearken, him you are to serve, to him you are to cling! Now that prophet or that dreamer of dreams is to be put-to-death, for he has spoken defection against YHWH your God -the one taking you out from the land of Egypt, the one redeeming you from a house of serfs- by leading-you-away from the way on which YHWH your God has commanded you to walk; so shall you burn out the evil from your midst!’ (Dt 31:2-6)

            Let’s break this down. A false prophet is characterized by one creating a sign or prophecy which comes to pass and lures others into worshipping and serving other gods. YHWH Himself sends false prophets to test the Yisreelim (verse 4) to see if they love Him with all their being. Such luring away by a false prophet inevitably ends of in the ceasing of Torah observance which is why the commandments and the serving of YHWH are emphasized in verse 5. That false prophet or dreamer is to be executed for his or her crimes because they endanger the community of Yisrael’s spiritual integrity.

            Chapter 13 correlates with chapter 18 in prohibiting certain abominations and linking them to false prophets. To prevent such false prophets, Moses declares that YHWH will send the Hebrew Prophets to Yisrael. ‘A prophet from your midst, from your brothers, like myself will YHWH your God raise up for you, to him you are to hearken, according to all that you sought from YHWH your God at Horev on the day of the Assembly, saying: I cannot continue hearing the voice of YHWH my God, and this great fire I cannot (bear to) see anymore, so that I do not die!’ (Dt 18:15-16)

            Since Yisrael did not have the fortitude to hear God’s own Voice and Presence, Prophets were needed to intercede on their behalf. YHWH speaks regarding the Hebrew Prophets: ‘a prophet I will raise up for them from among their brothers, like you; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them whatever I command him. And it shall be: (any) man who does not hearken to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will require (a reckoning) from him. But: the prophet who presumptuously speaks a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or that he speaks in the name of other gods: die that prophet shall! Now if you should say in your heart: How can we know it is the word that YHWH did not speak? Should the prophet speak in the name of YHWH but the word not happen, not come-about- (then) that is the word that YHWH did not speak; with presumption did the prophet speak it; you are not to be-in-fear of him!’ (Dt 18:19-22)

            From this statement, we learn of further ways to identify a false prophet. 1) False prophets speak presumptuously without hearing the commandment and Voice of God and claims God told him to say it 2) If a prophet speaks in the name of another god(s)

            The easy way to know whether or not it is the word of YHWH which the prophet speaks is to see whether or not whatsoever that prophet speaks in the name of YHWH came to pass. This is a crucial thing because many of us take it for granted. To prophesy in the name of ‘the LORD’ or ‘Adonai’ or ‘Hashem’ are all false prophecies because they are not using the Name of YHWH! The penalty for obeying false prophets and disregarding the Torah was exile and virtual destruction of all the Yisreelim. This brings us to a new question: how can Yisrael redeem itself?

Redemption comes from every individual Hebrew. These repentant Jews are called a remnant. Moses speaks about this remnant which will always survive, saying, ‘Now it shall be: when there come upon you all these things, the blessing and the curse that I have set before you, and you take them to your heart among all the nations where YHWH your God has thrust-you- away, and you return to YHWH your God and hearken to his voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your being…’

The only way to truly return and repent to YHWH is to follow Him and all his commandments—the TORAH. This includes one’s entire family and children. Such an observance must be done with all of one’s being and power.

‘YHWH your God will restore your fortunes, and have-compassion on you: he will return to collect you from all the peoples wherein YHWH your God has scattered you. If you be thrust-away to the ends of the heavens, from there YHWH your God will collect you, from there he will take you, and YHWH your God will bring you to the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it, he will do-well by you and make you many-more than your fathers.’

The truth about the Redemption of the End Days does not lie in a creation of a ‘State of Israel’ which is virtually unobservant in Torah, but rather a massive return to YHWH and practice of the Torah. This alone is what makes Jews worthy of return to the Land of Israel and their continual inhabitation thereof- neither Zionism nor foreign reliance and not Labor, Shinui or Likud parties!

‘YHWH your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed, to love YHWH your God with all your heart and with all your being, in order that you may live.’

In the Redemption, God will circumcise the heart of Yisrael- that is, He will remove their stubbornness and they will learn to love YHWH will all their power so they may live!

 YHWH your God will place all those threats upon your enemies and on those-that-hate-you, that pursue you; and you, (if) you return and hearken to the voice of YHWH and observe all his commandments that I command you today: YHWH your God will make you excel in all the doings of your hands, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your animals, and in the fruit of your soil, to good-measure, indeed, YHWH will return to delighting in you, to (your) good, as he delighted in your fathers- if you hearken to the voice of YHWH your God, by keeping his commandments and his laws-what is written in this document of Instruction- if you return to YHWH your God with all your heart and with all your being’ (Dt 30:1-10).

            When a truly repentant Yisrael emerges, YHWH will destroy the enemies of Yisrael. He will curse those lands with all the curses that He promised Yisrael in its exile and wandering. YHWH will also bless Yisrael’s economy and agriculture and bring about unlimited prosperity. But only, only if Yisrael keeps the Torah, ‘what is written in this document of Instruction [In Hebrew, ‘Torah’]- if you return to YHWH your God with all your heart and with all your being.’

Conclusion

            This short survey of the Torah was meant to have you understand that everything which Yisrael does and what it receives, whether reward or punishment, is based on the observance of the Torah. It is also meant for you to understand that the Torah is the authority when it comes to all matters pertaining to Judaism.

            Yisrael is a chosen nation. It is chosen because YHWH alone decided that the merit of Abraham was so great, that He promised him and all his descendents to be the receptacle of the greatness of God and to act as channels through which Mankind would understand the One-True God and what He demands from His Creation.

            YHWH chose the Land of Yisrael to be the home of His Holy People. The initial inhabitants of the Land were perverted, corrupt and twisted and this demanded that YHWH have them thrown out of the Land.

            YHWH chose a man to lead His people. His name was Moshe. There was no one like Moses ever after his death. About Moses, it is written, ‘But there arose no further prophet in Israel like Moshe, whom YHWH knew face to face, in all the signs and portents that YHWH sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants, and to all his land; and in all the strong hand and in all the great, awe-inspiring (acts) that Moshe did before the eyes of all Israel’ (Dt 34:10-14).

            Nobody could compare to Moses. Nobody knew YHWH face to face except Moshe. Nobody did the signs and miracles Moshe did through YHWH. No prophet EVER arose or will arise from Yisrael with the exemplary conduct and authority of Moshe- NEVER! Why is this so important?

            Moshe was the sole Lawgiver to the Nation of Yisrael. It was to him alone, that YHWH gave the Torah to give to the people. If a prophet arose who could match Moshe’s prophecy and authority, that prophet would have the ability to add to or change the Torah!

            YHWH made sure that no one would have Moshe’s power and authority. The Prophets after Moshe would always be charged with commanding Yisrael to keep the Torah and to keep it dear to them.  Any Prophet who challenges Moshe’s authority and tries to subtract from or add to the Torah is a false prophet and must be executed according to Torah law! This goes for Jesus, Paul, Mohammed, Joseph Smith and the numerous other false prophets who have arisen to challenge Moshe’s authority and the eternal Torah!

            The book of Deuteronomy stands as the summation of the greatest points of the Torah. It was this scroll that was placed next to the Ark of the Covenant (Dt 31:26) as a witness against the sins and in favor of the rewards that the Children of Yisrael should receive according to their observance of the Torah. It was also to be read before all Yisrael every seven years so the people may understand it and all the implications that come with its observance (Dt 31:10-13).

            Moshe told Yisrael, ‘For the commandment that I command you this day: it is not too extraordinary for you, it is not too far away!’ (Dt 30:11) The Torah is not in Heaven requiring one from Heaven (i.e. Jesus) to bring it down to us and tell it to us, neither is it in some foreign land (i.e. Mecca, Salt Lake City Utah or Brooklyn New York) (verses 30: 12-13). The Torah is near to each and every one of us- it is in our mouth and heart. This Torah is obedience and love for YHWH. This Torah precedes every fulfillment of the commandments. The will to do the Torah is in the heart of every man and woman. This is the word that Moshe speaks of.

            For a Jew to choose life, he must follow the Torah, ‘See, I set before you today life and good, and death and ill: in that I command you today to love YHWH your God, to walk in his ways and to keep his commandments, his laws and his regulations, that you may stay-alive and become-many and YHWH your God may bless you in the land that you are entering to possess’ (Dt 30: 15-16).

            Moshe called upon the entire Creation to rebel against Yisrael as the result against their breaking of the Torah (30:19). Before Yisrael is the blessing and the curse, Moshe tells us to choose blessing, and therefore life so we may live and prosper on the real world- not some spiritual kingdom floating around some where. All this depends on Torah observance!

            What else can be said? YHWH appointed no other way of salvation and holiness to Yisrael other than the Torah. Nowhere does YHWH or Moshe say the Torah is temporary or is a burden. Everything we have seen here let’s us conclude that YHWH is the real way, truth and life  an no Jew can come into His Presence without the holiness that is acquired by fulfilling the Torah. AMEN.