What is Kosher Eating (Part 2)

One thing that has really astonished me is that people who claim to eat kosher are not really eating kosher. There are a few reasons for why someone would not be eating kosher. One is that the person is not dedicated to a kosher life, but wants to look as though they are. Another is purely because of a lack of knowledge. Let us look at the following as an example.

Just abstaining from pork is not necessarily eating kosher.  One must go read and learn all the requirements of what makes food kosher to eat.

Saying a prayer over unclean meats doesn’t sanctify the meat any more than praying that you don’t get caught stealing “sanctifies” or protects you from the consequences of that transgression. Many fail to remember that, just because punishment is not always immediate, doesn’t mean that it’s been forgotten by heaven.

One thing that I should also point out is that ‘kosher’ of Rabbinical Judaism is not the same as ‘kosher’ of the Scriptures. Let me explain:

According to the Rabbinical Jews, you are not allowed to eat any meat and a dairy product in the same meal. If one eats meat for instance, then that person is not allowed to eat or drink any dairy product for six hours after that and visa versa. The Jewish people have in fact two separate fridges in their kitchens, one for meat products and the other for dairy products. Now think for yourself, is that Scriptural? (If you are not sure, then you must go study the Scriptures for yourself). It is definitely not Scriptural; I will show you why it is not.

Firstly, it is not written anywhere in the Scriptures that we are not allowed to eat meat with dairy. What has happened is that the Pharisees created what is known as the Talmud or “Oral Law”. Now the Oral Law is similar to the Torah except that it is the Instructions of the Rabbi’s and Sages and not the Instruction of YHWH (Torah). The Rabbinical Jews consider this to be the Law too and often takes precedence over the Torah.

The Scriptures that the Jews use to justify this is, (Exodus 23:19) “Bring the first of the first-fruits of your land into the House of יהוה your Elohim. Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”  This command is given in three places in the Torah, the other two instances are in Exodus 34:26 and Deuteronomy 14:21.

The ritualistic washing of hands before handling food, as mentioned in the previous article, is also not found in the Torah, but rather appears in the Talmud. However, according to the Orthodox Jews, any food that has been handled without this ritualistic washing of hands is also deemed unkosher. The same applies to food that has been prepared by a “Goy” which is a non-Jew.

"Unclean" animals/birds/fish are those that are carnivorous, those that are scavengers, those that eat road-kill and whatever they can scrounge, and those that eat dead things off the bottom of the ocean floor. That means that these animals carry viruses and parasites that are detrimental to our health. Please refer to this article about the make up of a pig and itsill effects on our health if eaten.

“Do you not know that you are a Dwelling Place of Elohim and that the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you? If anyone destroys the Dwelling Place of Elohim, Elohim shall destroy him. For the Dwelling Place of Elohim is set-apart, which you are” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) The Scriptures teach us to look after our bodies as they are the Dwelling Place of Elohim. If we are going to fill our bodies with the filth of uncleanness, then our bodies are deemed unfit for Elohim to dwell in.

Now when you have found a clean animal, to eat it, all the blood has to be drained out of the animal and the blood has to return to the land and be covered by the dust, “Only, the blood you do not eat, pour it on the earth like water” (Deut 12:16)(see also Deut 15:23). We are not to eat any blood of the animal. If the blood has not immediately been drained from the animal after its slaughter, then the blood stalls in the meat and renders it unkosher even though it is a clean animal. “And any man from the children of Yisra’ĕl, or from the strangers who sojourn among you, who hunts and catches any beast or bird, which is eaten, shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust” (Lev 17:13)

I have read on someone else’s blog article that says, all you need to do to meat, if bought in a supermarket, is to drench it in salt and boil the meat to get the blood out and then it is kosher. There is one very big problem with this theory. If the animal was not slaughtered properly, then the blood stalls in the meat and there is no way of getting it out afterwards. Another problem is that the meat bought in the supermarkets do not come from kosher butchers and gets slaughtered and cut up with the same instruments that cut up the unclean meats too. This contaminates the meat and renders it unkosher. Also, you also do not know where the blood has gone when it should have been returned to the earth.

Another thing to consider is that the pots and cutlery that we use can be contaminated by unclean animals. Some can be washed and others need to be broken. “And whatever any of them in its dead state falls upon, becomes unclean, whether it is any wooden object or garment or skin or sack, any object in which work is done, it is put in water. And it shall be unclean until evening, then it shall be clean. Any earthen vessel into which any of them falls, whatever is in it becomes unclean, and you break it” (Lev 11:32). Anything that is wooden or stainless steel etc can be properly washed and will be clean again. However, pores pots, like clay pots and pooitjie pots (any South African person will know what this is), have to be destroyed if any unclean meat was ever cooked in it.

Let us now look at what Leviticus teaches us about what is clean and unclean:

“And יהוה (YHWH) spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon, saying to them,
Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘These are the living creatures which you do eat among all the beasts that are on the earth:
Whatever has a split hoof completely divided, chewing the cud, among the beasts, that you do eat.
Only, these you do not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have a split hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;
and the rabbit, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;
and the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;
and the pig, though it has a split hoof, completely divided, yet does not chew the cud, it is unclean to you.
Their flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses you do not touch. They are unclean to you.

These you do eat of all that are in the waters: any one that has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas or in the rivers, that you do eat.
But all that have not fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, all that move in the waters or any living creature which is in the waters, they are an abomination to you.
They are an abomination to you – of their flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses you abominate.
All that have not fins or scales in the waters is an abomination to you.

And these you do abominate among the birds, they are not eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the vulture, and the black vulture,
and the hawk, and the falcon after its kind,
every raven after its kind,
and the ostrich, and the nighthawk, and the seagull, and the hawk after its kind,
and the little owl, and the fisher owl, and the great owl,
and the white owl, and the pelican, and the carrion vulture,
and the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.

All flying insects that creep on all fours is an abomination to you.
Only, these you do eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth.
These of them you do eat: the locust after its kind, and the destroying locust after its kind, and the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind.
But all other flying insects which have four feet is an abomination to you.
And by these you are made unclean, anyone touching the carcass of any of them is unclean until evening,
and anyone picking up part of the carcass of any of them has to wash his garments, and shall be unclean until evening.
Every beast that has a split hoof not completely divided, or does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Anyone who touches their carcass is unclean.
And whatever goes on its paws, among all the creatures that go on all fours, those are unclean to you. Anyone who touches their carcass is unclean until evening,
and he who picks up their carcass has to wash his garments, and shall be unclean until evening. They are unclean to you.

And these are unclean to you among the creeping creatures that creep on the earth: the mole, and the mouse, and the tortoise after its kind,
and the gecko, and the land crocodile, and the sand reptile, and the sand lizard, and the chameleon. These are unclean to you among all that creep. Anyone who touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening.
And whatever any of them in its dead state falls upon, becomes unclean, whether it is any wooden object or garment or skin or sack, any object in which work is done, it is put in water. And it shall be unclean until evening, then it shall be clean.
Any earthen vessel into which any of them falls, whatever is in it becomes unclean, and you break it.
Any of the food which might be eaten, on which water comes, becomes unclean, and any drink which might be drunk from it becomes unclean.
And on whatever any of their carcass falls becomes unclean – an oven or cooking range – it is broken down. They are unclean, and are unclean to you.
But a fountain or a well, a collection of water, is clean, but whatever touches their carcass is unclean.
And when any of their carcass falls on any planting seed which is to be sown, it is clean.
But when any water is put on the seed and any part of any such carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.
And when any of the beasts which are yours for food dies, he who touches its carcass becomes unclean until evening.
And he who eats of its carcass has to wash his garments, and shall be unclean until evening. And he who picks up its carcass has to wash his garments, and shall be unclean until evening.
And every creeping creature that creeps on the earth is an abomination, it is not eaten. Whatever crawls on its stomach, and whatever goes on all fours, and whatever has many feet among all creeping creatures that creep on the earth, these you do not eat, for they are an abomination.

Do not make yourselves abominable with any creeping creature that creeps, and do not make yourselves unclean with them, lest you be defiled by them.
For I am יהוה (YHWH) your Elohim, and you shall set yourselves apart. And you shall be set-apart, for I am set-apart. And do not defile yourselves with any creeping creature that creeps on the earth.
For I am יהוה (YHWH) who is bringing you up out of the land of Mitsrayim, to be your Elohim. And you shall be set-apart, for I am set-apart.
This is the Torah of the beasts and the birds and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living creature that is eaten and the living creature that is not eaten.’” (Lev 11:1-47)(see also Deut 14)

We are living in a time where food is mass produced and customized to taste a way that is not how the food substance originally tasted. This is because people do not like the taste of natural raw foods and has to be adapted. Another reason, and possibly the greatest reason, is because of costs to the manufacturer. It is much easier and cheaper to use flavorants, stabilizers, preservatives etc. to make the food taste better and last longer. The problem with this is that they get these flavorants and preservatives from unclean animals.

You can Google "kosher foods" to find lists of "unkosher" foods, such as Jell-O (gelatin contains horse hooves to make the "gel"), and things that contain certain dyes which are made from certain "unclean" bugs, etc. The list is endless and, after awhile, you'll just begin to "know" what to look for at the grocery store....

So it is slightly harder for us, especially if we live in Western world gentile countries, to find kosher foods, especially meat. This is however not really a problem as there are many products that have kosher markings on them saying that there are no unclean ingredients in that product. There are also many kosher substitutes for products that are not kosher. As stated above, within no time at all, you will know exactly what is kosher and not kosher and shopping will be no different to before.

One last thing that I would like to bring to your attention is that we have to check everything before consuming it, this is not only food products but also medicines and sweets etc. I am not going to go in to that now, but is something for you to consider too.

May we all start to eat kosher as the Scriptures command us to do and we will see many restaurants and food markets either close down or become kosher too themselves!!!

Does Scripture teach us to eat kosher? (Part 1)

Eating Kosher is one of the most contested issues amongst the Christians and the TRUE Believers in the Mashiyach! The Christian teachers teach that, only “God” can change his own “Laws” and that He changed the dietary law so that we are now able to eat any the things that were previously abominable to Him and us.

But do the Scriptures really teach us this? Or should we still be eating kosher (kosher means acceptable) food only? Let us look at some of the arguments that the Church uses to justify their false teaching of eating abominable unclean animals.

Firstly, the Church uses Acts 10 to justify the eating of unclean animals. If one reads this passage of Scripture, then you will see that it is clearly not speaking of food. I am not going to go into this part of Scripture now as I have already covered it in a previous posting. You can read about it here in the articlecalled: Joel Osteen is a false teacher. 

Secondly,

“You eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions because of conscience, for “The earth belongs to יהוה (YHWH), and all that fills it.”
And if any of the unbelievers invite you, and you wish to go, you eat whatever is set before you, asking no question on account of the conscience.
And if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” do not eat it because of the one pointing it out to you, and on account of the conscience, for “The earth belongs to יהוה (YHWH), and all that fills it.” (1 Corinthians 10:25-27). This piece of Scripture above is not talking about clean and unclean animals. It is speaking of ‘that which is offered to idols’. The Jewish people, like the author of this verse, do not consider any unclean animal to be food. Shaul never condoned the eating of unclean meats in these verses.

If the food (clean) was put in front of you that was offered to an idol by an unbeliever, you were to eat it only if they did not tell you that it was offered to an idol. If they did tell you, then you were not to eat it on account of the conscience of that unbeliever.

Rav Shaul is explaining how the food that was prepared has no hold on you (one thing to remember is that the meat in the markets that Shaul is talking about here is only clean meat, it is not mixed up with unclean meats like the majority of our modern meat markets and butcheries) - that since you are living a life of obedience to the Word of YHWH, then the food that YHWH permits, provides the same sustenance for you as it would if you knew its "chain of custody" (to use a legal phrase - meaning, if you could trace the path of the animal from its owner to the meat market, and you therefore knew it was handled entirely kosher (not sacrificed to idols), the meat has the same value to you and your body as it would if you were not able to trace its chain of custody. However, if you find out that it was sacrificed to an idol, even though you could still eat it because you know that that sacrifice possesses no power over you, you should not eat it so as to show the "unbeliever" (vs 10:27) serving it to you, in a teaching opportunity, that his sacrifice was not valid and that you will not participate in what the unbeliever intended it to mean. See Rav Shaul's own clarification of this in the verses just prior to 1 Corinthians 10:25. In 1 Corinthians 10:19-21, Rav Shaul says you do not want to partake at the table of our Master Y'shua and at the table of demons - instead take courage and show the unbeliever the error of their ways.

So it is very clear that this passage of Scripture does not in any way tell us that we can eat unclean meat! In fact, if you read the beginning of this chapter, Shaul teaches that we should not lust after evil (disobedience) like the Israelites in the wilderness.

Another verse that is often used to justify the eating of unclean meats is, “Not that which goes into the mouth defiles the man, but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” (Mat 15:11). This verse is one of those verses that is misquoted the most. You see, Christianity of today is a humanistic religion appealing to those who do not want to change their sinful lifestyle, but still ‘feel’ spiritually justified.  To understand what is being said in Mat 15:11, we need to read the whole chapter and also have an understanding of Rabbinical Judaism (which is the Pharisee’s of today). In the beginning of this chapter, we see the Pharisees asking Y’hoshua why His disciples transgress the tradition of the elders, for they do not wash their hands before they eat (see also Mark 7:1-2).

Now if you know what this tradition of the elders is, then you will know that there was and still is a very specific ritual of washing hands before eating.  This ritual is enforced as a law by the Jews, but does not come from the Torah, it is part of the ‘Oral Law’ (traditions of the elders). The Rabbinical Jews of today still classify any food that has been handled without this ritualistic hand washing to be unkosher.

Another thing is that the Messiah could not and did not eat anything unclean as he would have broken the Torah if He did and deemed His death useless. He also would not have allowed any of His disciples to eat anything unclean. We can see that none of the disciples ate anything unclean before or after the death and resurrection of the Messiah by reading further in Scripture.

So as you can see, this passage of Scripture does in no way refer to the eating of unclean meats and should not be used to try and justify the eating of pork etc.

Here is another verse that is used to justify the disobedience of eating unclean meats. Although it is not used as much as the others and is not as convincing either, it is still used and needs to be addressed here. “Because every creature of Elohim is good, and none is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is set apart by the Word of Elohim and prayer” (1 Tim 4:4-5)

Now go read this whole chapter and ask yourself, is this verse talking about food? It clearly is not and should also not be used in that sense as that would be twisting the Scripture.

One thing that we must keep in mind is that Shaul (Paul) or any of the other Disciples or even Y’hoshua Mashiyach Himself can’t preach one thing and then do something else. They can’t live one way and teach another way. They all lived a Torah observant life and ate only kosher food according to what is written in the Torah. How then can any one of them teach others that it is okay to eat unkosher?

We are not under the Law if we eat kosher. We are also not bound by it either. Anything that is unclean is not considered to be food at all, why then would we eat ‘non-food’? If one does not eat kosher, then that person is the one that is bound. He is bound by the bondage of sin (disobedience) as he is going against the Instruction of YHWH. Doing the Torah of YHWH sets us free from the bondage of sin. It does in no way mean that we are under the Law as the majority of Christians will tell you. In fact, under the Law is a term that means “under a religious system” which actually deems the Christians and any other man-made religious group as those that are under the Law.

The Christian usually says that he does not have to keep the instruction of YHWH because he is not under the Law as “Jesus” did away with the Law. But this poor ignorant Christian has no idea what he is saying and is in fact still under the Law! What law did the Mashiyach then do away with? The Law of sin of course. By reconnecting us to the Covenant of YHWH!

Another thing to remember too is that Shaul and the other Disciples or Y’hoshua too, does not have the right or authority to change the Word or Instruction of YHWH. If any of them teaches anything that is against the Instruction of YHWH, then he is at fault and one should ignore the teachings of that person. But if we go have a look at what they really taught, then we can see that it is not against the Torah of YHWH.

When a Believer voices Torah conscience, the rest of the body is obligated to support them, even if some think otherwise. Paul refers to the Believers in Corinth as carnal babes who can't digest solid food and who are struggling to receive truth; they are contentious and walking in the flesh (1 Corinthians 3), much the same as the modern Christian church who uses these verses to endorse violation of Torah, which is simply a poor attempt to "justify" the weak carnal flesh.

"Unclean" animals/birds/fish are those that are carnivorous, those that are scavengers, those that eat road-kill and whatever they can scrounge, and those that eat dead things off the bottom of the ocean floor.

 “Do you not know that you are a Dwelling Place of Elohim and that the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you? If anyone destroys the Dwelling Place of Elohim, Elohim shall destroy him. For the Dwelling Place of Elohim is set-apart, which you are” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) Click here to see what the negative effects of eating pork are to you 

The dietary laws that were given to the children of Israel as recorded in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 are, what in modern terms is called, good nutrition or preventive medicine.  In other words what YHWH is saying is this, “If you keep My dietary laws on clean and unclean meat you will not get the kinds of sicknesses and diseases like what the Egyptians (or the other nations) were getting.

The knowledge of why the unclean animals are unclean has been known since the beginning of time. YHWH gave these commands for our own good so that we may live healthy lives. People get sick because of disobedience to the Word of YHWH (Torah) “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.  Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from being a priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your Elohim, I will also forget your children.” (Hos. 4:6) Y’hoshua Mashiyach had never been sick His entire life on earth because He had never defiled His own body and had never tasted even one bit of unclean meat.  Should we not also follow His example? (1 Peter 2:21-24)

The dietary laws were given by YHWH not to harm or place obstacles in our pathway of salvation but to help and ensure our having healthy lives.  Failure to keep the dietary laws endangers our health and our careless eating habit is, in a way, tempting Elohim.

Just to leave you with one more thought:

If the dietary law has been done away with, and that we are able to eat the unclean animals alongside the clean animals… then there should be no such thing as hunger in this world!  Let me explain.

The meat that pig’s meat most closely resembles is that of human meat. In fact, human meat is so much healthier to eat than pork. If we are to accept pork as food, then we should also accept human meat as food and hence, will put an end to food shortage and hunger in the world, and also burial space as when a person dies, his body’s meat can be used to feed the poor, or even used in fine dinning restaurants if prepared well.

Why, all of a sudden, are we allowed to eat unclean pork, but not unclean human meat or horse meat for that matter, which is a million times healthier than pork? That is only because men make up the rules that they want without the instruction of the Scriptures. 

Tzitzit

Now here is a topic that is usually a conversation starter for my wife and I. The reason for this is because it is visible to other people. The wearing of Tzitzit (Tassels) is actually the only evidence to other people, who have never met you, about your faith. The Idea of wearing Tzitzit is a very simple, yet powerful idea. That is why the Creator commanded us to wear them. It is a Command, not a suggestion.

 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, and you shall say to them to make tzitziyot on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue cord in the tzitzit of the corners. And it shall be to you for a tzitzit, and you shall see it, and shall remember all the commands of יהוה (YHWH) and shall do them, and not search after your own heart and your own eyes after which you went whoring” (Num 15:38-39). The whole idea of wearing the tzitzit is to remind us of all the Torah of YHWH and not only for us to remember but also to do all the Torah.

The wearing of tzitzit in the Christian Church is non existent for the simple reason that the Christians follow the Church rather than the Scriptures themselves. The Church teaches that the Word of the Almighty does not apply to Christianity anymore but rather the man-made religious doctrines, and therefore, anyone who is obedient to the Creator and not to the Church, by wearing tzitzit is totally frowned upon and labeled as a legalist.

The word “Christian” means “to be Christ like” but Christianity does in no way look anything like “Christ-like.” The Scripture itself teaches us that we are to walk as the Messiah walked, “The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked” (1 John 2:6). The Church even at a stage came out with “WWJD” arm bands that were a huge hit among the youth. What does “WWJD” stand for? “What Would Jesus Do.” This was a ploy to get the youth more devoted to the church and not really teaching them what the Messiah really did or would do if He were here with us now.

Let us for a moment consider what the Messiah would do if He were here with us today; He would firstly not be called “Jesus”, He would keep the Seventh Day Sabbath and not go to church on a Sunday, He would also eat only kosher foods and He would most definitely wear tzitzit among other things. He would basically keep the whole Torah of His Father who is in heaven. Did the wearing of the wrist band that said “WWJD” teach anyone to do these things? Certainly not. If we are to be believers in the Messiah and follow Him, then we are to walk as He walked.

Now as we saw, from above, that the Messiah would be wearing Tzitzit if He were walking among us today and did wear Tzitzit when he did walk upon the earth, some 2,000 years ago. We see this in the following verses: “And see, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the tzitzit of His garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I shall be healed. But יהושע (Yehoshua) turned, and when He saw her He said, “Take courage, daughter, your belief has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that hour” (Mat 9:20-22). Here is the record of the same event by the testimony of Luke, “And a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who, having spent all her livelihood on physicians, was unable to be healed by any, came from behind and touched the tzitzit of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped” (Luke 8:43)

Here are some other passages also speaking of tzitzit being worn by the Messiah, “And having passed over, they came to the land of Gennĕsar. And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding country, and brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him to let them only touch the tzitzit of His garment. And as many as touched it were completely healed” (Mat 14:34-36). “And wherever He went, into villages, or cities, or the country, they were laying the sick in the market-places, and begged Him to let them touch if only the tzitzit of His garment. And as many as touched Him were healed” (Mark 6:56)

So as we can see by what the Scriptures teach us, if we are to be followers of the Messiah, we too have to wear tzitzit on the four corners of our garments.

Now I have read an article claiming that only the men have to wear tzitzit as the Torah taught the Almighty was speaking to the men only. They get this from the following verse, “Speak to the children (bein) of Yisra’ĕl, and you shall say to them to make tzitziyot 1 on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue cord in the tzitzit 2 of the corners” (Num 15:38). The word used for children is from the Hebrew word “bein” which ultimately means son, however, when used in this context, the whole of Israel was being addressed as it can also refer to a nation, as there are more meanings to the word "bein", namely, "grandson", "child" or "member of a group", as is the same case in many other instances, when only the men are being addressed then the Scripture would more specific to that idea by using the word "ish" which means "man" or "husband".

So it is clear that we all have to wear tzitzit, whether man or woman, if we are to be called the followers of Y’hoshua the Messiah. It is also not a matter of achieving a certain level before one is able to wear tzitzit, but rather it is about obeying the Instruction of YHWH as it is commanded us to do.

Walk as He walked

It is written that we are to walk as the Messiah walked. The Christian Church however teaches us that we do not have to walk as He walked. One has to make the decision to either follow what the Church teaches, or what the Scripture teaches. The Messiah walked in Truth and kept all of the Torah of His Father and taught us to do the same.

“While your minds became sanctified by OBEDIENCE to the truth; and you be full of love, without respect of persons, so that you love one another out of a pure and perfect heart; like persons born anew, not of seed that perishes but of that which doth not perish, by the Living Word of Elohim who abides forever. Because all flesh is as grass and all its beauty like the flower of the field. The grass dries up and the flower withers away; BUT THE WORD OF ELOHIM (TORAH) ABIDES FOREVER: and this is the word that is announced to you” (1 Peter 1:22-25).

Quoting Isaiah 40:6-8 indicating the Word of YHWH is Y’hoshua Mashiyach, and Mashiyach is the Word of YHWH – which is very opposite to the Christian teaching that the Word of YHWH, or Torah, was done away with by Jesus! Y’hoshua’s followers, Jewish or not, are Torah observant because they recognize this very important fact, that the Word of our Elohim abides forever!

“Therefore, cease all evil and all deceit and hypocrisy and jealousy and backbiting. And be like very small children; and crave the Word, as being the pure spiritual milk by which you are nourished up to life; if you have tasted and seen that Master YHWH is good: to whom you have come because He is a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but with Elohim elect and precious” (1 Peter 2:1-4).

What Peter is teaching here is that in order to be part of the following of the Messiah, you need to stop sinning. He goes on by saying that we must become like little children, not to be childish, but to be child like who is willing to learn so that we crave to learn the Torah so that we can learn what the perfect Will of our "Daddy" (YHWH) is and do it. We are to do so just as children love their fathers and try and imitate them in every way. So also is our relationship with the Father in heaven, out of our love for Him, we learn what He desires from us and follow His Instruction. Peter is teaching new believers and telling them that they must go and learn the Word of YHWH (Torah) and as they learn, they must also do.

This teaching by Peter goes hand in hand with what was decided and taught by the Shlichim (taught one's) in Acts 15:28-29 “For it seemed good to the Set-apart Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessities: that you abstain from what is offered to idols, and blood, and what is strangled, and whoring. If you keep yourselves from these, you shall do well. Be strong!” James made this decision because of the religious fanatics telling the people that if they want to convert to the faith of Y’hoshua that they have to immediately be circumcised and do every law in order to be saved. What was decided then by the Disciples is that this is not what is required immediately as the true faith of Y’hoshua is one of love and not of religious traditions, which drove many new converts away because of the immediate difficulty. The Disciples were in no way teaching that the rest of the Torah should not be observed by them or that they do not have to be circumcised, but rather that the new converts should only abstain from the four above mentioned commands straight away, and then out of their love for the Creator and His Messiah, will learn what His perfect Will is and do it, which is the Torah.

“My beloved, I entreat you as strangers and pilgrims, separate yourselves from ALL lusts of the body, for they war against the soul. And let your behavior be honorable before all men; so that they who utter evil speeches against you, may see your good actions and may praise Elohim in the day of trial” (1 Peter 2:11-12). What then are these lusts of the body? Sin is being spoken of here, anything that goes against the Torah of YHWH is not the perfect Will of YHWH and therefore not of YHWH but is rather the lusts of the body. Y’hoshua the Messiah came not only to shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins, but just as importantly, gave us an example of how we should live. He taught us to walk as He walked by obeying the Will of His Father in heaven. “For I gave you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15) “For to this you were called, because Messiah also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth, who, being reviled, did not revile in return; suffering, did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:21-23). If we claim to follow the Messiah, then it should be obvious to the people by our actions as we are to walk as He walked by keeping the Torah of His Father, and if we don’t, it is clear evidence that we do not follow Him, but rather follow the lusts of our flesh. “The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked” (1 John 2:6)


We can clearly see from the following verse, that the new believers were to go to Synagogues and read Torah every SABBATH. “For from ancient generations Mosheh has, in every city, those proclaiming him –being read in the congregations every Sabbath.” (Acts 15:21)

It is very clear that to be followers of the Messiah, that we have to stop sinning. Not because of religious traditions, but rather because of our love for Him and His Father. We are to be like little children who crave the Word (Torah) of YHWH so that we can learn to do what is right. Doing anything other than what is written in the Torah of YHWH is following the lusts of the flesh which is clearly forbidden as it wars against the soul.

Paul not fluent in Greek

“And as Sha’ul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “Am I allowed to say somewhat to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek?” (Act 21:37)

Mainstream Christianity twist this verse to make Shaul (Paul) appear as a great Greek orator. The Chief Captain, they say, was very surprised that Shaul could speak Greek with such precision. There are many problems with this, one being that Paul had already become a well-known personality. The reality was that in Paul’s day, a common saying among the Pharisees (Orthodox) was that it is better to feed swine to your children than allow them to learn the Greek language!

Observant Jews were and still are vigilant against becoming Hellenized. Paul was speaking in Hebrew, but being asked to speak Greek, there is no evidence to suggest that he was fluent in Greek. It is not likely that Paul was as proficient in Greek as Yoseph ben Mattityahu (Yosephus) who wrote, “I have also taken a great deal of pains to obtain the learning of the Greeks, and understanding the elements of the Greek language although I have so long accustomed myself to speak our own language (Hebrew), that I cannot pronounce Greek with sufficient exactness: for our nation does not encourage those that learn the languages of many nations”

A prohibition in Exodus 23:13 “Make no mention of the name of other mighty ones, neither let it be heard out of your mouth” is also a deterrent for Observant Jews to embrace Greek polytheistic language or culture. The Greek language esteems Pagan deities for days and months, etc. Romans as Greek speaking “occupiers” enslaved Israel, opposed monotheistic Torah principles and made war against Jews. Paul’s background as a zealous Pharisee demanded that he not invest his time learning the Greek culture and language.

So as we can see, although Paul had Greek citizenship, he was not Greek. He was Jewish by blood and a learned Pharisee until his conversion. Paul was not a scholar of Greek and could not have written his letters in Greek either. This is contrary to what the Christian Church teaches. Evidence clearly is pointing to a Hebrew Renewed Covenant.

Born Again

“And there was a man of the Pharisees, Naḵdimon was his name, a ruler of the Yehuḏim.
This one came to  יהושע (Yehoshua) by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from Elohim, for no one is able to do these signs You do if Elohim is not with him.”
יהושע (Yehoshua) answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born from the beginning, he is unable to see the Kingdom of Elohim” (John 3:1-3)

“Born from the beginning” litterally, “from the start” as Adam who was born into perfection without sin. This refers to the Ruach haKodesh (Set Apart Spirit) birthing the “image of Elohim” (perfection) into the Neshama (spirit of man). The term “born again” (as it is written in the KJV and many other English Bibles) can be rather misleading as though being born once more, or a “rebirth” rather than experiencing the indwelling of the perfection of YHWH. See Genesis 1:27; 6:9; 17:1; Deut 18:13. Another handicap of the term “born again” is that many are told that they are “born again” when they accept certain theologies or become part of a Christian denomination, or get on a “religious high.” But then, some are informed that they’re not “born again” when they disagree with the teachings of the religious status quo.

The term “born again” has become a religio-political term that is used to judge souls and/or manipulate them into subjection to various religious hierarchies. Many followers of Mashiyach experience a series of “born anew-like” experiences as from “faith to faith” (Romans 1:17).

However, you have confidence of being “born anew” when your souls thirst for righteousness and follows in the footsteps of Mashiyach, observing Torah, and living to please Master YHWH. This is evidence that you’ve entered into Covenant with YHWH which is established in Mashiyach’s blood!

As without Torah, but not without Torah

“Being free from them all, I have made myself servant to every man; that I might gain many: And with the Jews, I was as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; and with those under Torah, I was as under Torah, that I might gain them who are under Torah; And to those who have not Torah, I was as without Torah (although I am not without Torah to Elohim, but subject to the Torah of the Mashiyach,) that I might gain them that are without Torah” (1 Corinthians 9:19-21)

“Under Torah” refers to religious (halachic) traditions of how Torah is to be observed. The terms “works of Torah” and “under Torah” predate Paul by hundreds of years. These terms were discovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls (A Sectarian Manifesto 4QMMT:4Q394-399); while originally referring to the ultra religious halakha of the Essenes, the same principles apply to the Pharisees’ halakha. These two phrases are also mentioned in Romans 6:14, 15; 9:32; 1 Corinthians 9:20; 21; Galatians 2:16; 3:2, 5, 10, 23; 4:4, 5, 21; 5:18. “Under Torah” refers to the orthodox/traditional interpretation and observance of Torah. The Renewed Covenant promise in Jeremiah 31:33 is to write the Torah of YHWH upon the hearts of His people, not the “Torah of men.” The Idiomatic expression “works of Torah” provides insight to those of a “traditional” Jewish upbringing. Paul references Jews at the beginning of this chapter (Romans 3); in verse 19 he states “Now we know” referring to those who understand Torah and halakha.

When Rav Shaul (Paul) talks about “as being without Torah” he clarifies by saying that he is “not without the Torah of Elohim, but subject to the Torah of Mashiyach.” Rav Shaul rejects Rabbinical interpretations of Torah and extra unscriptural fences around Torah that he knows Y’hoshua did not endorse. He has, by being “subject,” transferred his allegiance from the Rabbis he trained under, to Y’hoshua as final arbiter. If Y’hoshua and the Rabbis agreed, which they often did, then there was no problem. But if they disagreed, Y’hoshua’s interpretation always overruled theirs. This was no small admission at the time. The Netzarim community began with very small numbers. The idea of even one Rabbi could outdo all others was revolutionary, as the Talmud records the opposite scenario: “My son! Be careful concerning rabbinical decrees even more than the Torah… the Torah contains prohibitions… But anyone who violates a rabbinical decree is worthy of death” (Babylonian Talmud, Eruvin, 21b).

In another place, Rambam’s Introduction to the Mishnah says: “If there are 1000 prophets, all of them of the stature of Eliyah and Elisha, giving a certain interpretation, and 1001 rabbis giving the opposite interpretation, you shall incline after the majority and the instruction according to the 1001 rabbis, not according to the 1000 prophets… Elohim did not permit us to learn from the prophets, only from the rabbis who are men of logic and reason.” So we see that even if Y’hoshua was thought of as a prophet, rabbinical rules would still discount him and put traditions over what he teaches. And as the first, and more ancient quote shows, to have that disagreement in the first place was and is a dangerous business!