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Coming back to the Torah without going to the rabbis

Many who discover Shabbat and the feasts turn to rabbis to learn. Scripture says a veil remains when Moses is read without Yeshua.

Yeshua came to bring the lost sheep of the house of Israel back to God and to His Torah (see Sent to the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel). God promised to gather all of them from the nations: "and gathered them to their own land, and I will leave none of them there any longer" Ezekiel 39:28; Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 31:8-10. Today many people from the nations are discovering the same thing: Shabbat, the feasts and God's food instructions were never canceled.

A pattern many have seen

The next step often goes like this. Someone looks for teachers who already keep these things and finds rabbis and rabbinic teachings. Then come the Talmud, the Mishnah and the Kabbalah. Then the dress, the way of speaking, a new Hebrew name, and many man-made customs. Some become more confused than when they started, and some end up denying that Yeshua is the Messiah.

Why: the veil

Scripture describes a veil that remains when Moses is read without the Messiah. Moses himself said: "Yet Yahweh has not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this very day" Deuteronomy 29:4, and Paul quotes it Romans 11:8. Paul wrote: "to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart. But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away" 2 Corinthians 3:15-16. And: "a hardening in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the nations has come in" Romans 11:25.

Learning the Torah from teachers who read Moses through the rabbis' tradition, and against Yeshua, means learning to read Moses without the Messiah Moses wrote about John 5:46. The Torah isn't the problem; that authority is. That is why it is not a safe place to learn, however sincere the teachers are.

With respect, not pride

This hardening is part of God's plan for a time, and it is "in part": there has always been a remnant of Jews who believe in Yeshua Romans 11:5, starting with the apostles themselves. Paul warns believers from the nations, "do not boast against the branches" Romans 11:18, and calls the Jewish people "beloved for the sake of the fathers" Romans 11:28. This is the other side of the older brother's story in The older brother: the one who comes home must not look down on the one who stayed. One day "they will look on Me whom they pierced, and they will mourn for Him" Zechariah 12:10; Revelation 1:7.

What God asks, and what He doesn't

  • Commanded: Shabbat, the feasts, clean food, and the tassels (tzitzit) on the corners of garments, "that you may look at it and remember all the commandments of Yahweh" Numbers 15:38-39.
  • Not commanded: the skullcap (kippah), black hats and coats, and many other customs. They developed later as customs; God did not command them, and no one needs them to keep His Torah.
  • Hebrew names: taking a Hebrew name is not wrong, but it is not required, and it does not make anyone more righteous.

The key

The whole purpose of coming back to the Torah through Yeshua is to leave all man-made tradition behind, whether it came from a church or a synagogue Mark 7:8-13; Colossians 2:8, and to keep what God wrote, from Genesis to Revelation.

Related studies

  • The Two Houses of Israel: The house of Israel (north) and the house of Judah (south): how they split, how they were scattered, and how they will be one again when Yeshua returns.
  • Believers from the nations become Israel: Whether they descend from the lost tribes or never belonged to Israel at all, those who believe are grafted into Israel. There is no gate for "Gentiles."
  • The older brother: The father went out to the older son too. The prophets promised a day when Judah and Ephraim welcome each other, with no pride on either side.

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