THE 1st SUKKOT OF THE MESSIAH

Introduction

Shalom to everyone here at Zion Messianic Jewish Congregation. I am glad to be here and I thank Rabbi Hall for inviting me to speak here today. In Part One I want to talk about the birth of the Messiah during Sukkot. Rabbi Hall has already taken us through the scriptures and shown us how that, just from these we can know when the birth of Rabbi King Messiah occurred. So I will not go back through all of that in the extensive detail that Rabbi Hall did. I will be talking about the history in general of what was going on in the middle east at that time. My sources for this material is the 1 st century Jewish Historian, Flavius Josephus as well as many other history books. I have been reading these kinds of book since I was in the seventh grade at Alta Vista Middle School in Carlsbad, New Mexico. A more recent source is Dr. Chuck Missler. Within all of this I will be teaching about the Magi and their background going back to the Prophet Dani'el.

In Part Two we will go into a few things that we are called upon by the Torah to do in our lives. This may seem like a separate subject and indeed it can be. But in this case we are dealing with a Moed, Sukkot. A Moed is an; “Appointed time of G-d.” The Torah calls on us to observe this and all divine appointments. So I have tied these two topics together.

Part One. Sukkot, Messiah and the Magi

The Empires

During the time period that Rabban Yeshua was born, there were two major Empires and super powers that vied for control of the middle-east;

• The Roman Empire• The Parthian Empire

We'll deal with Rome first because most of you are familiar with it more than the Parthian Empire. I will not go through lots of detailed analysis of particular events in either Empire. Our focus will be the things that relate to the land of Israel. In the images below we see a map of the Roman Empire at it's greatest extent and also the symbol of the Empire that was carried on staffs by the Legion. It stands for, “Senate and People of Rome.” In modern terminology this would be called the “Flag of the Roman Empire.”

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The information below has been adapted from Wikipedia.

The Roman Army had occupied Syria and Israel under General Pompey. In Judea, Pompey intervened in the civil war between Hyrcanus II, who supported the Pharisee faction and Aristobulus II who supported the Sadducees. These were the descendents of the Maccabees who a century before had freed Judea from the Greco-Syrian Seleucid Empire. This was the first Hanukkah. Now their descendent, who were not Kings from the legitimate Hose of David, turned to Rome instead of G-d and as a result Israel was taken over by the unclean in 63 BCE.

When Pompey arrived in Jerusalem, he surveyed the city:

for he saw the walls were so firm, that it would be hard to overcome them; and that the valley before the walls was terrible; and that the temple, which was within that valley, was itself encompassed with a very strong wall, insomuch that if the city were taken, that temple would be a second place of refuge for the enemy to retire to.

—Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 1:141, s The armies of Pompey and Hyrcanus II laid siege to Jerusalem. After three months, the city fell.

"Of the Jews there fell twelve thousand, but of the Romans very few.... and no small enormities were committed about the temple itself, which, in former ages, had been inaccessible, and seen by none; for Pompey went into it, and not a few of those that were with him also, and saw all that which it was unlawful for any other men to see but only for the high priests. There were in that temple the golden table, the holy candlestick, and the pouring vessels, and a great quantity of spices; and besides these there were among the treasures two thousand talents of sacred money: yet did Pompey touch nothing of all this, on account of his regard to religion; and in this point also he acted in a manner that was worthy of his virtue. The next day he gave order to those that had the charge of the temple to cleanse it, and to bring what offerings the law required to God; and restored the high priesthood to Hyrcanus, both because he had been useful to him in other respects, and because he hindered the Jews in the country from giving Aristobulus any assistance in his war against him." (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, book 14, chapter 4; tr. by William Whiston, available at Project Gutenberg.)

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Rome's Asian protectorates now extended as far east as the Black Sea and the Caucasus. Pompey's military victories, political settlements and annexations in Asia created Rome's new frontier on the east. The siege and conquest of Jerusalem were a disaster for the Hasmonean kingdom. Pompey reinstated Hyrcanus II as the High Priest but stripped him of his royal title, though Rome recognize him as an Ethnarch in 47 BC. Judea remained autonomous but obliged to pay tribute and dependent on the Roman administration in Syria. The kingdom was dismembered; it was forced to relinquish the coastal plain, depriving it of access to the Mediterranean, as well as parts of Idumea and Samaria. Several Hellenistic cities were granted autonomy to form the Decapolis, leaving the state greatly diminished.

Date 63 BCLocation Jerusalem

Result Roman victory, Judea incorporated into the Roman RepublicBelligerents

Roman Republic Hasmonean KingdomCommanders and leaders

Pompey the GreatFaustus Cornelius Sulla Aristobulus II

Casualties and lossesFew 12,000

Now we turn to the Parthian Empire. They were Persians who had driven the Greeks of the afore mentioned Seleucid Empire out of Iran and established the Arsacid Dynasty.

Parthia 2 B.C.E. At the birth of Rabban Yeshua

The focus here in this study is not going to be a long boring account of the wars between Persia and Rome but to focus on the events that transpired within the time of Rabbi King Messiah. Why is this important? Because of the Magi. They were from

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Parthia and the background of their arrival to find the Child Yeshua in Israel is important. That event took place after the Messiah birth during Sukkot but it has to be a part of this study of global rivalries in the middle-east at that time. The next article comes directly from Wikipedia.

Marcus Licinius Crassus, one of the triumvirs who was now proconsul of Syria, launched an invasion into Parthia in 53 BC in belated support of Mithridates. As his army marched to Carrhae (modern Harran, southeastern Turkey), Orodes II invaded Armenia, cutting off support from Rome's ally Artavasdes II of Armenia (r. 53–34 BC). Orodes persuaded Artavasdes to a marriage alliance between the crown prince Pacorus I of Parthia (d. 38 BC) and Artavasdes' sister.Surena, with an army entirely on horseback, rode to meet Crassus.] Surena's 1,000 cataphracts, armed with lances, and 9,000 horse archers were outnumbered roughly four to one by Crassus' army, comprising seven Roman legions and auxiliaries including mounted Gauls and light infantry. Relying on a baggage train of about 1,000 camels, the Parthian horse archers were given constant supplies of arrows.] They employed the "Parthian shot" tactic, where the horsemen would fake a retreat, only to turn and fire upon their opponents. This tactic, combined with the use of heavy composite bows on flat plain devastated Crassus' infantry. ] With some 20,000 Romans dead, approximately 10,000 captured, and roughly another 10,000 escaping west, Crassus fled into the Armenian countryside.] At the head of his army, Surena approached Crassus, offering a parley, which Crassus accepted. However, he was killed when one of his junior officers, suspecting a trap, attempted to stop him from riding into Surena's camp.

Crassus' defeat at Carrhae was one of the worst military defeats of Roman history. Parthia's victory cemented its reputation as a formidable if not equal power with Rome. With his camp followers, war captives, and precious Roman booty, Surena traveled some 700 km (430 mi) back to Seleucia where his victory was celebrated. However, fearing his ambitions even for the Arsacid throne, Orodes had Surena executed shortly thereafter.

Roman aurei bearing the portraits of Mark Antony (left) and Octavian (right), issued in 41 BC to celebrate the establishment of the

Second Triumvirate by Octavian, Antony and Marcus Lepidus in 43 BC

Emboldened by the victory over Crassus, the Parthians attempted to capture Roman-held territories in Western Asia. Crown Prince Pacorus I and his commander Osaces raided Syria as far as Antioch in 51 BC, but were repulsed by Gaius Cassius Longinus, who ambushed and killed Osaces.] The Arsacids sided with Pompey in his civil war against Julius Caesar and even sent troops to support the anti-Caesarian forces at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC. Quintus Labinus, a general loyal to Cassius and Brutus, sided with Parthia against the Second Triumvirate in 40 BC; the following year he invaded Syria alongside Pacorus I. triumvir Mark Antony was unable to lead the Roman defense against Parthia due to his departure to Italy, where he amassed his forces to confront his rival Octavian and eventually conducted negotiations with him at Brundisium.] After Syria was occupied by Pacorus' army, Labienus split from the main Parthian force to invade Anatolia while Pacorus and his commander Barzapharnes invaded the Roman Syria. They subdued all settlements along the Mediterranean coast as far south as Ptolemais (modern Acre, Israel), with the lone exception of Tyre.] In Judea, the pro-Roman Jewish forces of high priest Hyrcanus II, Phasael, and Herod were defeated by the Parthians and their Jewish

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ally Antigonus II Mattathias (r. 40–37 BC); the latter was made king of Judea while Herod fled to his fort at Masada.

Despite these successes, the Parthians were soon driven out of Israel and Syria by a Roman counteroffensive. Publius Ventidius Bassus, an officer under Mark Antony, defeated and then executed Labienus at the Battle of the Cilician Gates (in modern Mersin Province, Turkey) in 39 BC. Shortly afterward, a Parthian force in Syria led by general Pharnapates was defeated by Ventidius at the Battle of Amanus Pass. As a result, Pacorus I temporarily withdrew from Syria. When he returned in the spring of 38 BC, he faced Ventidius at the Battle of Mount Gindarus, northeast of Antioch. Pacorus was killed during the battle, and his forces retreated across the Euphrates. His death spurred a succession crisis in which Orodes II chose Phraates IV of Parthia (r. c. 38–2 BC) as his new heir.]

Drachma of Phraates IV of Parthia (r.c. 38–2 BC) Shah of Parthia the year of Rabban Yeshua's birth.

Upon assuming the throne, Phraates IV eliminated rival claimants by killing and exiling his own brothers. One of them, Monaeses, fled to Antony and convinced him to invade Parthia. Antony defeated Parthia's Judaean ally Antigonus in 37 BC, installing Herod as a client king in his place. The following year, when Antony marched to Erzurum, Artavasdes II of Armenia once again switched alliances by sending Antony additional troops. Antony invaded Media-Atropatene (modern Azerbaijan), then ruled by Parthia's ally Artavasdes I of Media-Atropatene, with the intention of seizing the capital Praaspa, the location of which is now unknown. However, Phraates IV ambushed Antony's rear detachment, destroying a giant battering ram meant for the siege of Praaspa; after this, Artavasdes abandoned Antony's forces.] The Parthians pursued and harassed Antony's army as they fled to Armenia. Eventually, the greatly weakened force reached Syria. After this, Antony lured Artavasdes II into a trap with the promise of a marriage alliance. He was taken captive in 34 BC, sent back to Rome, and executed. Antony attempted to strike an alliance with Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene, whose relations with Phraates IV had recently soured. This was abandoned when Antony and his forces withdrew from Armenia in 33 BC; they escaped a Parthian invasion while Antony's rival Octavian attacked his forces to the west. Following Antony's departure, the Parthian ally Artaxias II reassumed the throne of Armenia.

Following the defeat of Antony at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Octavian consolidated his political power and in 27 BC was named Augustus by the Roman Senate, becoming the first Roman emperor. Around this time, Tridates II of Parthia briefly overthrew Phraates IV, who was able to quickly reestablish his rule with the aid of Scythian nomads. Tiridates fled to the Romans, taking one of Phraates' sons with him. In negotiations conducted in 20 BC, Phraates arranged for the release of his kidnapped son. In return, the Romans received the lost legionary standards taken at Carrhae in 53 BC, as well as any surviving prisoners of war. The Parthians viewed this exchange as a small price to pay to regain the prince. Augustus hailed the return of the standards as a political victory over Parthia; this propaganda was celebrated in the minting of new coins, the building of a new temple to house the standards, and even in fine art such as the breastplate scene on his statue Augustus of Prima Porta.Along with the prince, Augustus also gave Phraates IV an Italian slave-girl, who later became Queen Musa of Parthia. To ensure that her child Phraataces would inherit the throne without incident, Musa convinced Phraates IV to give his other sons to Augustus as hostages. Again, Augustus used this as propaganda depicting the submission of Parthia to Rome, listing it as a great accomplishment in his Res Gestae Divi Augusti.[94] When Phraataces took the

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throne as Phraates V of Parthia (2BC – 4 AD), Musa married her own son and ruled alongside him. The Parthian nobility, disapproving of both the incestuous relationship and the notion of a king with non-Arsacid blood, forced the pair into exile in Roman territory. Phraates' successor Orodes III of Parthia lasted just two years on the throne, and was followed by Vonones I of Parthia, who had adopted many Roman mannerisms during time in Rome. The Parthian nobility, angered by Vonones' sympathies for the Romans, backed a rival claimant, Artabanus II of Parthia (10–38 AD), who eventually defeated Vonones and drove him into exile in Roman Syria.

From all this we can see that there was much turmoil. The Parthians had supported the Jews and opposed Herod. But as we saw they were driven out as Herod and the Romans had to fight there way back into Jerusalem at a heavy cost. The fighting was bloody hand-to-hand combat. Keep this in mind because we are going to deal with it again very shortly when we discuss the Magi.

Away In a Sukkah

“Away in a Sukkah no place for a bed; the little Lord Yeshua lay down his sweet head.” This is how the song should be sung. Now we are going to talk about the birth of the Messiah. As we know it was not on December 25 th on Winter Solstice and the Day Of Mithra. We also know that the Shepherds were in open field during the time of his birth, which they are not on December 25th. The Roman may have been cruel but they were as competent as they were cruel. No Roman administrator would require registration involving travel during a season when large parts of Judea became impassable.

The Roman Tertullian states that Caesar Augustus began his reign 41 years before the birth of Yeshua and died 15 years after his birth. We know that Augustus died on August 19th, 14 C.E., placing the birth of Rabban Yeshua at 2 B.E. Tertullian also notes that Yeshua was born 28 years after the death of Cleopatra in 30 B.C.E., which is consistent with the date of 2 B.C. E. Irenaeus, born about a century after Rabban Yeshua says that the Messiah was born in the 41st year of the reign of Augustus. Since Augustus began his reign in the autumn of 43 B.C.E. This substantiates the year of 2 B.C.E.

Eusebius (264-340 C.E.) is known as the “Father of Christian Church History.” He ascribes it to the 42nd year of the reign of Augustus and the 28th from the subjugation of Egypt into the Roman Empire, which occurred upon the death of Mark Antony and Queen Cleopatra. The 42nd year of Augustus rain from the autumn of 2 B.C.E. To the autumn of 1 B.C.E. The conquest of Egypt was made final in the autumn of 30 B.C.E. The 28th year extended from the autumn of 3 B.C.E. To the autumn of 2 B.C.E. The only date that meets these two constraints would be the autumn of 2 B.C.E.

Now we will see the Priestly approach. This concerns Yochanan ha Hatvil (John the Baptist) Elisheva, Yochanan's mother and a cousin of Miriam of Nazereth, was a

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descendent of Aharon ha Cohen as was her husband Zakarya. Zakarya was a Cohen who was of the course of Abiyah. The Cohenim were dived into 24 Courses and each course officiated in the Temple for one week, from Shabbat to Shabbat.

When the Temple was desecrated and destroyed by General Titus on August 5 th, 70 C.E., the first course of Cohenim had just taken office. Since the course of Abiyah was the eighth course, we can track backwards and determine that Zakarya would have ended his duties on July 13th, 3 B.C.E. The birth of his son Yochanan took place 280 days later it would have been on April 19th or 20th of 2 B.C.E. Which occurred during Passover.

Yochanan's ministry began during the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. The minimum age for the ministry was 30. As Augustus died on August 19th, 14 C.E. that year is the accession year for Tiberius. If Yochanan's birth was April 19-20, 2 B.C.E., his 30 th birthday would have been April 19-20, 29 C.E. Which was the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. This would seem to confirm the 2 B.C.E. Date and since Yochanan was 6 month older than Yeshua, this also confirms the autumn birth for Rabbi King Messiah.

So being during the Fall, the Messiah being born during Sukkot speaks of him coming to tabernacle among us. The Romans in their tax registration system opted to use local customs in each country and in the case of Israel this means that the family had to travel back to the place of their ancestral origins. During Sukkot works great for Rome because people are already traveling.

The family traveled to Bet Lechem, their ancestral village for Sukkot. They arrived at the home of family member there and found that there was no room in the “Inn.” The word is a term used for an upper room. The houses of these people were very often built over the tops of caves. Down in the cave is where the sheep and goats could be brought in. So Miriam and Yosef went down into the lower room where there was privacy; and their she gave birth; laying Yeshua in a stone feeding trough. Another possibility is is that they went into the family Sukkah outside and she gave birth there. This was the Sukkot of the Messiah. He had come to tabernacle among is at the most joyful season of the year. A season when we are commanded to rejoice and wave the Lulav. Can you imagine they joy of the family to have this wonderful gift during the season of rejoicing.

Messiah. We know that he is the bread which came down from heaven. Therefore he was born in “Bet Lechem,” or 'the House of Bread.” Take a look at Micah 5:2;

Kלו � א� ר� ש� י ל ב� ות מוש� י� ה� � א ל צ�� י י� � ך� ל מ� ה מ � הוד� י י� � פ� ל� �א יות� ב� ה� � יר� ל ע ה צ� ת� ר� פ� ם א! �ח! ית־ל! � ה ב� ת�% �א ם׃ � י עול� � ימ� ם מ ד! ק! יו מ � א,ת� ומוצ�

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Mic 5:2 And thou, Bethlehem, house of Ephratha, art few in number to be reckoned among the thousands of Juda; yet out of thee shall one come forth to me, to be a ruler of Israel; and his goings forth were from the beginning, even from eternity.

Why א!פ�ר� ת�ה Ephratha? This is a district of Bet Lechem where the Messiah was born. It could not be in another part according to the Prophecy. We know from Lukas that the Angels went and made their announcement to Shepherds. Why? These Shepherds were tending the flocks of sheep that were to be sacrifice in the temple. These Shepherds were Levites. They were tending sheep in Ephratha in the place were the Messiah was born. Remember what Yochanan ha Hatvil (John the Baptist) said?

א 29 נוש� �ים ה לה א/ ה ה� ה ש� נ� ן׃ ״ה נ� ר יוח� �מ אתו. א� ר� ק� א ל שוע� ב� ת י� ן א! נ� ה יוח� א� ת ר� ר� ח6 מ� ל�1 .ח��砮〰ٽ�琨��桳牡����ٽ彅剁��呁䉓����尴پ�卩��潂╸����甀ٽ����Ѳ牁����尴پ鿔پ�退�ؿ�ڙ�䋈�整瑸猯慨敲⽤〯㈵〱〱忨پ��e background.��Ô鿌 .םָלֹועָה תאַּט�את ה�עול�ם

Joh 1:29 The next day, Yochanan saw Yeshua coming toward him and said, "Look! God's lamb! The one who is taking away the sin of the world!

Now I want to talk about the Magi. These Parthian Magi were not there that night when Rabban Yeshua was born. They came later on when Yeshua was a toddler;

ן ים מ מ כ� ם ח9 י �ל ירוש� או ל ך, ב� ל! מ! �דוס ה י הור� ימ� ה, ב הוד� ם י� ח! ית ל! ב� שוע� ב� ד י� �נול ת ש! ע� ב�בו (במדבר כד׳ יבּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז׳)2ה�מבּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז�ר�ח. ת כוכ� ינו א! א י ר� ד? כ �ר נול ש! ים א9 הוד י� �ך ה ל! ן מ! יכ� לו׃ ״ה� א9 ש�

וות לו.״ ח9 �ת ש� ה אנו ל� ח וב� ר� בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז� מ �ם3ב י �ל רוש� ל י� כ� ם הוא ו� �ה ד� ך נ ל! מ! �דוס ה ,את הור� ע בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז �מ ר ש� ש! א9 � כ. 4עמו. �יח ש מ� �ד ה ל� ו� יפ,ה י ם א� ל אות� �א ש� ם ו� ע� י ה� ר� סופ� ים ו� נ כ,ה9 �י ה אש� ל ר� ת כ� ס א! נ� 5 הוא כ

יא׃ ב נ� �י ה ד� ל–י� �ב ע �כת ן נ י כ� ה, כ הוד� ם י� ח! ית ל! ב� רו לו׃ ״ב� מ� ה,6א� הוד� ץ י� ר! ם א! ח! ית ל! ה ב� ת� �א ׳ו�ל׳ (מיכה ה׳ א� ר� ש� י י מ �ת ע ה א! ע! ר� ר י ש! ל א9 א מוש� צ� ך י� מ� י מ ה, כ הוד� י י� לופ� �א יר ב� ע ך צ� ינ� א�

ב. 7א׳) .״ כוכ� �יע� ה י הופ �ת ם מ� ל� צ� ר א! ר� ח וב� ר� בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז� מ �י ה מ� כ� �ח אי ל� �ש ח9 �דוס ב א הור� ר� בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז ק� י8 א� ר� ח9 � אאו צ� מ� ר ת ש! א9 �כ ד ו� ל! י! �ל–אודות ה �ב ע יט� רו ה� ק� כו ח רו׃ ״ל� מ� א� ם ב� ח! ית ל! ב� ם ל� ח אות� �ל ן ש� כ�

י.״ נ ם א9 �ה לו ג ו! ח9 �ת ש� א! בוא ו� א� י ש! ד� י כ� יעו ל כו,9אותו הוד ל� ה� ך ו� ל! מ! �י ה ר� ב� ת ד עו א! מ� ם ש� ה�ם ה ש� י� ה� קום ש! מ� �ל ל �ע ד מ� �מ ע/ נ! א ו� ר ב� ש! ד א9 �ם ע יה! נ� פ� ם ל ד� �ק ת� ח ה ר� בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז� מ �או ב ר� ב ש! כוכ� �ה ה נ� ה ו�

א,ד. 10ה�י!ל!ד. ד מ� �ה ע דול� ה ג� ח� מ� חו ש מ� ב ש� כוכ� �ת ה ם א! אות� ר� ת11 כ או א! ר� ת ו� י �ב �סו ל נ� כ� ם נ ה�ישו לו ג ה ם ו� יה! רורות� ת צ� חו א! ת� וו לו, ופ� ח9 �ת ש� ה ם ו� יה! נ� ל פ� �לו ע פ� מו. נ� ם א י� ר� ם מ ד ע ל! י! � ה

מור. (ישעיהו ס׳ ו׳) ה ו� בונ� ב ול� ה� נות׃ בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז� ת� �ל12מ בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז,ר א! ח9 �,א ל ל לום ש! ח9 �רו ב ה9 בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז� Yה ר ש! �ח �א ל�ת ר! ח! �ך א ר! ד! ם ב� צ� ר� �א או ל� צ� דוס י� 2.הור�

1 ha-Berit ha-hadashah. 2000 (Jn 1:29). Israel: The Bible Society in Israel.2 ha-Berit ha-hadashah. 2000 (Mt 2:1–12). Israel: The Bible Society in Israel.

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Mat 2:1 After Yeshua was born in Beit-Lechem in the land of Y'hudah during the time when Herod was king, Magi from the east came to Yerushalayim Mat 2:2 and asked, "Where is the newborn King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have

come to worship him." Mat 2:3 When King Herod heard of this he became very agitated, and so did everyone

else in Yerushalayim. Mat 2:4 He called together all the head cohanim and Torah-teachers of the people and asked them,

"Where will the Messiah be born?" Mat 2:5 "In Beit-Lechem of Y'hudah," they replied, "because the prophet wrote, Mat 2:6 'And you, Beit-Lechem in the land of Y'hudah, are by no means the least among the rulers of

Y'hudah; for from you will come a Ruler who will shepherd my people Isra'el.' " Mat 2:7 Herod summoned the Magi to meet with him privately and asked them exactly when the star

had appeared. Mat 2:8 Then he sent them to Beit-Lechem with these instructions: "Search carefully for the child; and

when you find him, let me know, so that I too may go and worship him." Mat 2:9 After they had listened to the king, they went away; and the star which they had seen in the

east went in front of them until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. Mat 2:10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. Mat 2:11 Upon entering the house, they saw the child with his mother Miryam; and they

prostrated themselves and worshiped him. Then they opened their bags and presented him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Mat 2:12 But they had been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, so they took another route back to their own country.

Now we come to one of the main reasons for the history that was given at the start of this study. Look at verse three;

מו ם ע י �ל רוש� ל י� כ� ם הוא ו� �ה ד� ך נ ל! מ! �דוס ה ,את הור� ע בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז �מ ר ש� ש! א9 � .כMat 2:3 When King Herod heard of this he became very agitated, and so did everyone else in

Yerushalayim.

Knowing the history now that Herod has with the Parthians his we see why his reaction is one of fear. Phraates V was the Shah (King) at this time and in spite of Augustus depiction to the Romans that Parthia had submitted, this was far from being the the case. However the Persian Nobility were not at all happy with this Shah whose was married to his own mother in an incestous relationship. The Magi were part of this Nobility and would soon topple this wicked pair placing a new Shah on the throne, as we saw in the history.

The Magi served two functions in the ancient Persian State.

1. Priestly2. Governmental

The Religion Persia at the time of Dani'el was that of the Magiism. It was a montheistic faith and has a lot in common with Judaism. It was established by Shah Darius the Great, at the behest of the Magi who were considered to be experts in the art of dream

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interpretation. The Magi are mentioned in the trilingual inscription of Bisitun made by Shah Darius I who reigned from 522-486 B.C.E. (The languages are Old Farsi (Aramaic) Elamite and Akkadian). It speaks of his triumph over a revolt of some of the Magi in 522 B.C.E. The Magi were not initially followers of Zoroaster, whose religion later rose to become the Stae Religion of Persia before Islam. The head of all Magi was known as the "Rab Mag." I believe that under the reign of Shah Darius I the Prophet Dani'el had been made Rab Mag of the Persian Empire. The Persian court did not like the fact that a Jew had been made their chief. So they conspired against him and of course Dani'el was saved from the mouths of the Lions by the Lord. It was G-d working through Dani'el that would have caused the Magi to be looking for the Messiah. I believe that Dani'el handed these teachings down to his successors and thus when the star appeared, a large group of Magi set out for Judea.

There are commonalities between Ancient Temple Judaism and Magism. (Not Magic!)• Both are Monotheisic and believe in One supreme Diety who is opposed by a

spiritual adversary.• Each has an hereditary Priesthood; Israel the Cohenim and Magism the Magi who

were essential mediators between G-d and man by virture of blood sacrifice.• Each depends on the wisdom that their gain from communication with G-d. With

the High Priest of Israel it was through the Urim and Thummim. With the Magi it was through small divination rods called, "Barsum."

• Each hold the concepts of ,"Clean and Unclean."

The Magi actualy branched out into other religions and so it is easily explained why Dani'el, who was a true Prophet of the Ancient of Days, blessed be His Name, was given the position of Rab Mag of the Persian Empire. The Lord was preparing in Persia, the caste from which the "Wise Men" would come to bring gifts. Gentile Partho-Persian Magi come all the way to Israel to pay homage to an infant; an infant from the House of David no less! This house, although the true Biblical heirs, had not been in authority since the Babylonian destruction of Judah in 586 B.C. By the time of Rabban Yeshua, the Magi of Iran (Parthia; Persia) were part of the Zorastrian Religion which developed out of Magism through the Prophet Zoroaster. They were the hereditary Priests of Persia during the Greek occupation as well as the Parthian, and Sasannian dynasties. Their light was put out by the rise of Islam in the 7th Century C.E.

The Magi in their governmental role composed the upper house of the Council of Magistrates whose duties included the absolute choice and election of the Shah of the realm. The crown prince of Persia would not sit on the throne unless voted onto it by the Magi.

So why is Herod disturbed? A group of Partho-Persian "king makers" had arrived with a large force of Cavalry! After having just read the background of the international

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rivalry between Rome and Parthia you can understand the context of Matisyahu 2:1- 3. It would seem as if these Magi were attempting tp create a border incident which could bring a swift reprisal by the Parthian Army. Their request of Herod, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?"was a caculated insult. These Magi knew that Herod was a Roman stooge and was not the hereditary king. Given the fact also that they were getting ready to topple Phraates V they may have had the idea of bringing Yeshua to Persian and Crowning him, "King of Kings." (The titled of the Persian Shah) Then he was a grown man, he would rule justly in the world; defeat Rome and be King of Israel as well. I believe that that was their motivation.

Sukkot is the time which is Prophetic. Messiah will come in order to Tabernacle among us. He did this the first time and will do it the second time. But what the Magi wanted and what the Zealot Rebels fighting Rome wanted the Messiah to do at that time was still yet to be fulfilled. The Messiah when he returns will rule from Jersalem. He will begin his reign in Jersalem, not in Persia like the Magi wanted. I do not blame them for wanting the Messiah to rule Persia, given the chaotic wars with Rome and the incestuous nature of the Shah Phraates V.! So in order to keep the Magi from taking Yeshua away to rule Parthia, the Ancient of Days, blessed be He, set about events which caused the Magi to withdraw and never return to Israel.

ל בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז,ר א! ח9 �,א ל ל לום ש! ח9 �רו ב ה9 בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז� Yה ר ש! �ח �א תל� ר! ח! �ך א ר! ד! ם ב� צ� ר� �א או ל� צ� דוס י� הור�Mat 2:12 But they had been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, so they took another route

back to their own country.

G-d warned these Magi away and when they got back to Persia, they eventualy got rid of the wicked Shah and replaced him with Orantes III. He lasted two years and then Parthia wass in politcal chaos from then on until after the death, resurrection and ascention of Rabban Yeshua. This is why the Magi never returned. They had to be kept out of the picture in order for Rabban Yeshua to complete his first earthly mission. To Sukkah among Israel in order to become the Lamb of G-d which takes away the sin of the world. If the Magi had taken Messiah Yeshua off to Iran, this scripture would not have been fulfilled saying;

ח– 18 �ק יפ� ר ו� לע רור, ו� ים ד� בוי ש� ,א ל ר ק� י ל נ �ח ל� ים. ש� ו נ� ר ע9 ש� �ב י ל� ח א,ת �ש ן מ� �ע �י, י ל� י ע� ד,נ� ״רוח� א9ים, ש פ� ים ח� צוצ ח� ר� ל� �ש ; ל� �יהוה.״ (ישעיהו סא׳ א׳–ב׳19קוח �צון ל ת ר� �נ ,א ש� ר ק� 3 ( ל

Luk 4:18 "The Spirit of Adonai is upon me; therefore he has anointed me to announce Good News to the poor; he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the imprisoned and renewed sight for the blind, to release those who have been crushed, Luk 4:19 to proclaim a year of the favor of Adonai."

3 ha-Berit ha-hadashah. 2000 (Lk 4:18–19). Israel: The Bible Society in Israel.

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Part Two-The Calling of the Torah.

I wrote an entire study on this subject and even made two videos about this called, Torah Is Calling; A Messianic Jewish Bible Study. I am in the process of turning it into a book for publication. So here in this study I am not going to cover every last detail of it. But I am going to introduce some new material here to you, that will be added into Torah is Calling before it is published.

WHY STUDY THE SACRED WRITINGS?

The first thing that we will talk about is that the Torah calls on us all to study it and to teach it to our children. This sacred text has been given to mankind by almighty G-d,so that we may hear his words,and through them have life. The Bible is ancient in the extreme as far as the writings of mankind go,and its compilation into the text we know today was centuries in the making. G-d worked through inspiration and revelation to Priests,Prophets,and Poets to form the great and wonderful work that we know as the Holy Bible.

Its first words were written by G-d himself onto tablets of stone on Mount Sinai in Arabia (Jebel Al Lawz) which are the Ten Words (Commandments) and given to mankind through the Prophet Moshe, better known as Moses. The first words following this were written by the Prophet Moshe Rabbeinu in Hebrew letters,given to him by the Holy G-d himself on Mount Sinai. This is the Torah, which is an eternal covenant that God established with our Hebrew ancestors; from them to us. All the later works sound out loudly about this special sacred theme,of the covenant relationship between G-d and his people. The Writings,or in Hebrew, Ketu'vim,speak in loving poetry of this unique and blessed relationship;where the symbols associated with the Jewish Marriage are very often the best and most profound representations of this covenant. This is why the Prophets shout loudly that Israel was guilty of the crime of adultery when the people turned their backs on G-d. They left their first love, and descended into wicket paganism! They took up Baal worship which had sickening public temple prostitution, accompanied by vile child sacrifice in the fires of Molech and Ashtorath down in the valley of Tophet! Gehinnom,(Gehenna )under the very walls of Jerusalem itself!

If you love the Lord our G-d,then you will want to keep his commandments,one of which is to study. Rav Sha'ul (Apostle Paul) drew inspiration from the Torah when he instructed,“Study to show thyself approved.”I could build an entire study on just this very subject of the why and reasons that we need to be engaged in Bible study. Listing of reasons like;

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• . Learning what intent G-d had when he created us.• . Learning what it takes to live as children of the Most High.• . Learning the supreme moral code.• . Redemption through Yeshua the Messiah.• . Learning the customs of the Messiah,so that you can imitate him and follow in

his footsteps.

Follow in the footsteps of our Rabbi,so close that the very dust caused by his walking, so-to-speak, will gather on you,and as the saying goes, you will be in, “The Dust of The Rabbi.”

Concluding this section, I will share with you a saying of Rabbi Nechunya Ben Hakanyah;

He who takes upon himself the yoke of the Torah, is relieved of the yoke of the dominion of the earth and mundane matters; where as he who frees himself from the yoke of the Torah,has imposed upon himself the yoke of the dominion of the earth and mundane matters. [Mishna Avot 3 :5]

Don't you see what this ancient Rabbi was trying to say? The law is not something that enslaves us! Keeping God's Shabbat (Sabbath) that he has sanctified from the very foundation of the earth,frees us from the bondage of this present age;which is the yoke of the earth and its mundane burdens; as does all of the 613 Mitzvot (Commandments). God gave more than just ten and he gave it to us for a living culture. It is an awesome,wonderful and living culture. Why? So that we can choose not to be a part of the corrupt paganism which still dominates the mainstream of human societies. All of these practices which derive from ancient pagan rituals,but have been given nice sounding Christian names and Islamic titles. So study!

Verily My Shabbats Shall You Keep.

This is most definatly a calling that the Torah makes. Sh'mot (Exodus) 31:13 says;

וביניכםו ביני הוא אות כי ישראל לאמר אך את־שבתתי תשמרו אתה דבר אל־בני לדרתיכם לדעת כי אני יהוהExo 31:13 "Tell the people of Isra'el, 'You are to observe my Shabbats; for this is a sign between me and you through all your generations; so that you will know that I am Adonai, who sets you apart for me.

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The word is plural here Sabbaths. So that tells us that there are more Sabbaths or Appointment times with the Ancient of Days, blessed be He, in the Torah than just the wonderful weekly Shabbat that he has given to us. This plural context of the word indicates that we are to observe and to keep all the Moedim (Appointments) with G-d throughout the year. We find them listed in several places but we will turn to Vayikra Chapter 23;

ר׃ 23 אמ,� ה ל� � ל־מ,ש! ה א! הו� ר י� � ב� �ד י� �ו

ה 2 ל! � ש א� ד! י ק,� � א� ר� ק� ם מ ו א,ת� א� ר� ק� ר־ת ש! ה א9 הו�� י י� � ד� ם מוע9 ה!� ל� � א9 ת� ר� �מ א� ל� ו� א� ר� ש� \י י נ� ל־ב� ר א! ב�% � די׃ � ד� ם מוע9 ה�

א 3 �, ה ל אכ� ל� ל־מ� ש כ� ד! א־ק,� ר� ק� תון� מ ב� �ת ש \ �ב �י ש יע ב ש� �ום ה י� �̂ה וב אכ� ל� ה מ� � ש! ע� ים_ ת� מ ת י� ש! � ש�ם׃ � יכ! ב,ת� וש� ל מ� כ, ה ב� יהו�� � �וא� ל ת ה � ב� �ו ש ש� ע9 �ת

ם׃ 4 � ד� מוע9 ם ב� ו א,ת� א� ר� ק� ר־ת ש! ש א9 ד! י ק,� א� ר� ק� ה מ הו�� י י� � ד� ה מוע9 ל! ` א�ה׃ 5 � יהו� �ח ל �ס ם פ! י � ב� ר� �ע ין ה� � ש ב� ד! ח, �ר ל a ש� ה ע� � ע� ב� ר� �א ון ב� אש ר ש ה� ד! ח,� �ב

לו׃ 6 � ,אכ� ות ת צ� �ים מ מ ת י� � �ע ב� �ה ש יהו� �ות ל צ �מ �ג ה � �ה ח ז!� �ש ה ד! ח,� �ר יום� ל � ש� ה ע� eש� מ ח9 �ובו׃ 7 ש� ע9 �א ת �, ה ל ב,ד� ת ע9 אכ! � ל! ל־מ� ם כ� � כ! �ה ל� י! ה� ש י ד! א־ק, ר� ק� ון מ אש� ר � יום� ה� �ב

א 8 �, ה ל ב,ד� ת ע9 אכ! � ל! ל־מ� ש כ� ד! א־ק,� ר� ק� י� מ יע ב ש� �ום ה י\ �ים ב � מ ת י� � �ע ב� ה ש יהו� �ה ל a ש! ם א � ת! ב� �ר ק� ה ו�ו׃ ש� ע9 �ת

ר׃ 9 אמ,� ה ל� � ל־מ,ש! ה א! הו� ר י� � ב� �ד י� �ום 10 ת! ר� �צ ם וק� כ!� ן ל� � י� נ,ת� נ ר א9 \ ש! ץ א9 ר! א� ל־ה� או א! ב,� י־ת� � ם כ ה!� ל� � א9 ת� ר� �מ א� ל� ו� א� ר� ש� \י י נ� ל־ב� ר א! ב�% � ד

ן׃ � כ,ה� �ל־ה ם א! כ! יר� צ ית ק� � אש ר ר� מ! a,ת־ע ם א! � את! ב� ה9 �ה ו � יר� צ ת־ק� א!ן׃ 11 � כ,ה� �נו ה יפ! נ ת י� ב�� �ש �ת� ה �ר ח6 מ� � ם מ � כ! צ,נ� ר� � ה ל הו� �י י� נ� פ� ר ל מ! a,ע ת־ה� יף א! h נ ה� ו�

ה׃ 12 � יהו� �ה ל ע,ל� ו ל� aת נ� ן־ש� ים ב! h מ ש ת� ב! � ר כ! מ! ע,� ת־ה� ם א! כ! יפ� � נ ום ה9 י� ם ב� i!ית ש ע9 �ות 13 � יע ב ן ר� jי �ה י כ,� ס� נ ח� ו� יח,� יח� נ � ה ר� יהו� �ה ל � ש! ן א מ! a ש! �ה ב � לול� ת ב� ל! ים ס,� kר,נ ש� י ע! eנ� תוl ש� ח� נ� ומ

ה�ה�ין׃ת 14 \ �ק Yם ח � יכ! לה� ן א/ �ב ר� ת־ק� ם א! כ!� יא9 � ב ד ה9 ` �ה ע ז!� �ום ה י� �ם� ה צ! ד־ע!� �ו ע ל אכ� �, א ת �, ל ל k!מ ר� �כ י ו� eל ק� םl ו� ח! ל! ו�

ם׃ � יכ! ת� ב,� ל מ,ש� כ, ם ב� יכ!� ת� ד,ר,� ם� ל� עול�ת 15 ימ,� מ ות ת� ת ב� �ע ש �ב � ה ש! � נופ� ת� �ר ה מ! ת־ע, ם א! כ!� יא9 � ב יום� ה9 ת מ ב�� �ש �ת ה � �ר ח6 מ� ם� מ כ! ם ל� \ ת! ר� �פ וס�

ה׃ �ינ� י! ה� ת

14

ה׃ 16 � יהו� �ה ל ש� ד� ה ח9 � ח� נ� ם מ a ת! ב� �ר ק� ה ום ו� ים י� � ש מ ו ח9 ר פ� ס� ת ת יע� ב ש� �ת� ה ב� �ש �ת ה \ �ר ח6 מ� � ד מ � �עה 17 ינ� � פ! א� ץ ת� מ� ה ח� ינ� י!� ה� ת ת ל! ים ס,� ר,נ� ש� �י ע! נ� ם ש� י �ת ` ה ש� נופ� ם ת� �ח! יאו ׀ ל! � ב ם ת� k!יכ ת� e,ב מוש� מ

ה׃ � יהו� � ים ל� כור בם 18 jי � נ� ם ש� � יל א� ד ו� ח� ר א! a oק� ן־ב� ר ב! h �ה ופ נ�� �י ש� נ� ם� ב� ימ מ ים ת� \ ש ב� ת כ� e�ע ב� ם ש ח! ל! �ל־ה �ם ע � ת! ב� �ר ק� ה ו�

ה׃ � יהו� �ח� ל יח, ־נ �יח � ה ר� � ש� ם א יה!� כ� ס� נ ם� ו� ת� ח� נ� ה ומ יהו�� � �ה� ל ו ע,ל� י\ ה� יים׃ 19 � מ ל� ח ש� ��ב בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז! ה ל� נ� �י ש� נ� ים ב� a ש ב� hי כ� נ� את וש� � �砮〰ٽ�琨��桳牡����ٽ彅剁��呁䉓����尴پ�卩��潂╸����甀ٽ����Ѳ牁����尴پ鿔پ�退�ؿ�ڙ�䋈�整瑸猯慨敲⽤〯㈵〱〱忨پ��e background.��Ô鿌 .םָלֹועָה תאַּט� �ח ד ל� ח� ים א! � ז יר־ע ע ם ש� a ית! ש ע9 �ו

ו 20 י� ה� ש י ד! a,ים ק � ש ב� י כ� נ� ל־ש� �ה ע הו�� �י י� נ� פ� ה� ל נופ� ים ת� \ כור ב �ם ה ח! e!ל lל �ם ע pן ׀ א,ת� � כ,ה� ��יף ה נ ה� ו�ן׃ � כ,ה� �ה ל יהו� �ל

ת 21 � �ק Yו ח ש� ע9 �א ת �, ה ל ב,ד� ת ע9 אכ! � ל! ל־מ� ם כ� כ!� �ה ל� י! ה� ש� י ד! �, א־ק ר� ק� � ה מ ז! �ום ה י� �ם ׀ ה צ! � ע! ם ב� את!% ר� וק�ם׃ � יכ! ת� ד,ר,� ם ל� יכ! ת� ב,� ל־מוש� כ� ם ב� a עול�

ט 22 � ק� �ל א ת� �, ך ל יר� צ ט ק� ק! � ל! ך ו� � ר! צ� Yק ך� ב� ד� � ת ש� \ �א ה פ� ל!% �כ א־ת� �, ם ל כ! צ� ר� �יר א � צ ת־ק� ם א! כ!% ר� צ� Yק ב� ו�ם׃ � יכ! לה� ה א/ � הו� י י� נ ם א9 ב א,ת�� בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז,� ע9 �ר� ת ג� �ל \י ו� נ ע� � ל!

ר׃ 23 אמ,� ה ל� � ל־מ,ש! ה א! הו� ר י� � ב� �ד י� �וון 24 ר� כ� ון בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז ת� ב� �ם� ש כ! \ה ל� י! ה� ש י ד! ח, �ד ל � ח� א! י ב� kיע ב ש� �ש ה ד! e,ח �ר ב אמ,� ל ל� א� ר� ש� �י י נ� ל־ב� ר א! a ב� � ד

ש׃ ד! א־ק,� ר� ק� ה מ רוע� ת�ה׃ 25 � יהו� �ה ל ש! ם א � ת! ב� �ר ק� ה ו ו� ש� ע9 �א ת �, ה ל ב,ד� ת ע9 אכ! � ל! ל־מ� כ�

ר׃ 26 אמ,� ה ל� � ל־מ,ש! ה א! הו� ר י� � ב� �ד י� �ות־ 27 ם א! ית! נ ע ם ו� כ!� �ה ל� י! ה� ש� י ד! �, א־ק ר� ק� � וא מ ים ה � ר Yפ כ �ום ה hה י k!ז �י ה eיע ב ש� �שl ה ח,ד! �ור ל ש� ע� ך ב! p�א

ה׃ � יהו� �ה ל ש! ם א � ת! ב� �ר ק� ה ם ו� � יכ! ש,ת� פ� �נה 28 � הו� י י� נ� פ� ם ל יכ!� ל� ר ע9 � פ� �כ וא ל� ים� ה� ר Yפ ום כ י י\ � �ה כ ז! �ום ה י� �ם ה צ! ע! ו ב� ש� ע9 �א ת �, ה� ל אכ� ל� ל־מ� כ� ו�

ם ׃ � יכ! לה� א/׃ 29 יה� � מ! �ע � ה מ� ת� ר� כ� נ �ה ו� ז! �ום ה י� �ם ה צ! ע! ה ב� נ!� Yע א־ת� �, ר ל � ש! ש� א9 פ! נ!� �ל־ה י כ� \ כ

וא 30 ה �ש ה �פ! נ! �ת־ה י א! a ת ד� �ב א9 � �ה �ה ו� ז! �ום ה י� �ם ה צ! ע! ה ב� אכ�� ל� ל־מ� ה� כ� ש! ע9 �ר ת \ ש! ש א9 פ! נ! �ל־ה כ� ו�ה׃ � מ� �ב ע ר! � ק! מ

ם׃ 31 � יכ! ת� ב,� ש� ל מ,� כ, ם ב� יכ!� ת� ד,ר,� ם� ל� ת עול� \ �ק Yו ח ש� ע9 �א ת �, ה ל אכ� ל� ל־מ� כ�ב 32 ר! ד־ע!� �ב ע ר! � ע! ב מ� ר! ע!� ש� ב� ד! ח,� �ה ל \ ע� ש� ת ם ב� � יכ! ש,ת� פ� �ת־נ ם א! ית! נ ע ם ו� כ!� ון הוא� ל� ת� ב� �ת ש e�ב � ש

ם׃ � כ! ת� �ב �ו ש ת ב� ש� ת

15

ר׃ 33 אמ,� ה ל� � ל־מ,ש! ה א! הו� ר י� � ב� �ד י� �ות 34 � �ע ב� ות ש aכ Yס �ג ה h �ה ח ז!� �י� ה יע ב ש� �ש ה ד! ח,\ �ום ל ר י kש� ה ע� eש� מ ח9 �ר ב אמ,� ל ל� א� ר� ש� �י י נ� ל־ב� ר א! a ב� � ד

׃ ה � יהו� �ים ל מ י�ו׃ 35 ש� ע9 �א ת �, ה ל ב,ד� ת ע9 אכ! � ל! ל־מ� ש כ� ד! א־ק,� ר� ק� ון מ אש ר ום ה� י� �ב

ה 36 \ ש! ם א e!ת ב� �ר ק� ה ם ו� k!כ ה ל� e!י ה� שl י א־ק,ד! ר� ק� י מ pינ מ ש� �ום ה י� ��ה ב יהו� �ה ל ש! יבו א � ר ק� �ים ת מ� ת י� � �ע ב� שו׃ ש� ע9 �א ת �, ה ל ב,ד� ת ע9 אכ! � ל! ל־מ� וא כ� ת ה� ר! � צ! ה� ע9 יהו� � �ל

ה 37 a ח� נ� ה ומ h ה ע,ל� יהו� �ה ל k!ש יב א e ר ק� �ה ש ל� ד! י ק,� � א� ר� ק� ם מ ו א,ת� א� ר� ק� ר־ת ש! ה א9 הו�� י י� � ד� ה מוע9 ל! ` א�ו׃ יומ� ום ב� ר־י� �ב ים ד� כ ס� ח ונ� ��ב בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז!

ר 38 � ש! ם א9 יכ!� ות� ב� ד� ל־נ ד� כ� �ב ל� ם� ומ יכ! ר� ד� ל־נ ד כ� \ �ב ל� ם ומ יכ! ות� נ� ת� �ד מ � �ב ל� �ה ומ הו� ת י� ת,� ב� �ד ש �ב ל� מה׃ � יהו� �ו ל נ ת� ת

ה 39 הו� ג־י� �ת־ח גו א! ח,� ץ ת� ר! א�� ת ה� � �בוא ת־ת� ם� א! כ! פ� ס� א� י ב� יע ב ש� �ש ה ד! ח,� �ום ל kר י eש� הl ע� ש� מ ח9 �ך ב p� און׃ ת� ב� �י ש ינ מ ש� �ום ה י� �ון וב ת� ב� �אשון� ש ר � ום ה� י\ �ים ב � מ ת י� � �ע ב� ש

ל 40 ��ח י־נ� ב� ר� �ע ת ו� ב, ץ־ע� jף ע� � �נ ע9 �ים ו � ר מ� ת ת� פ,� �ר� כ ד� ץ ה� \ י ע� e ר ון פ� אש ר ום ה� י� �ם ב k!כ ם ל� e!ת ח� �ק ול�ים׃ � מ ת י� � �ע ב� ם ש יכ! לה� ה א/ � הו� aי י� נ� פ� ם ל ת! ח� �מ וש�

גו 41 ח,� י ת� יע ב ש� �ש ה ד! ח,� �ם ב יכ!� ת� ד,ר,� ם� ל� ת עול� \ �ק Yה ח� נ� ש� �ים ב מ ת י� � �ע ב� ה ש יהו�� � �ג ל � �ם א,תו� ח \ ג,ת! �ח ו�ו׃ א,ת�

ת׃ 42 כ,� Yס �ו ב ב ש� ל י� א�� ר� ש� י ח� ב� ר� בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז� א! � ל־ה� ים כ� � מ ת י� � �ע ב� ו ש ב ש� ת ת� כ,� Yס �בי̂ם ̀א̂נ[י 43 c dר Kץ ̂מצ iר j iא kם מ ] dותm י א nו̂צי̂אm ה Kל ב rkא dר Kי י̂שj kנ Kת־ב iא ûתי Kב u xושm ות ה zm כ ס| xי ב jם~ ̂כ iיכ kת m mר ו ד jע Kדkן י xע xמ Kל

ם׃ iיכ kלה nה א dהוKיל׃ 44 kא dר Kי י̂ש ] kנ Kל־ב iה א c dהוKי י ] k̀עדm ת־מ iה א riשm ר מ j kב xדKי xו

Lev 23:1 Adonai said to Moshe, Lev 23:2 "Tell the people of Isra'el: 'The designated times of Adonai which you are to proclaim as holy

convocations are my designated times. Lev 23:3 " 'Work is to be done on six days; but the seventh day is a Shabbat of complete rest, a holy

convocation; you are not to do any kind of work; it is a Shabbat for Adonai, even in your homes. Lev 23:4 " 'These are the designated times of Adonai, the holy convocations you are to proclaim at

their designated times. Lev 23:5 " 'In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between sundown and complete

darkness, comes Pesach for Adonai. Lev 23:6 On the fifteenth day of the same month is the festival of matzah; for seven days you are to eat

matzah. Lev 23:7 On the first day you are to have a holy convocation; don't do any kind of ordinary work. Lev 23:8 Bring an offering made by fire to Adonai for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy

convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work.' "

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Lev 23:9 Adonai said to Moshe, Lev 23:10 "Tell the people of Isra'el, 'After you enter the land I am giving you and harvest its ripe

crops, you are to bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the cohen. Lev 23:11 He is to wave the sheaf before Adonai, so that you will be accepted; the cohen is to wave it

on the day after the Shabbat. Lev 23:12 On the day that you wave the sheaf, you are to offer a male lamb without defect, in its first

year, as a burnt offering for Adonai. Lev 23:13 Its grain offering is to be one gallon of fine flour mixed with olive oil, an offering made by

fire to Adonai as a fragrant aroma; its drink offering is to be of wine, one quart. Lev 23:14 You are not to eat bread, dried grain or fresh grain until the day you bring the offering for

your God; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live. Lev 23:15 " 'From the day after the day of rest — that is, from the day you bring the sheaf for waving —

you are to count seven full weeks, Lev 23:16 until the day after the seventh week; you are to count fifty days; and then you are to present

a new grain offering to Adonai. Lev 23:17 You must bring bread from your homes for waving — two loaves made with one gallon of

fine flour, baked with leaven — as firstfruits for Adonai. Lev 23:18 Along with the bread, present seven lambs without defect one year old, one young bull and

two rams; these will be a burnt offering for Adonai, with their grain and drink offerings, an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for Adonai.

Lev 23:19 Offer one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings.

Lev 23:20 The cohen will wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before Adonai, with the two lambs; these will be holy for Adonai for the cohen.

Lev 23:21 On the same day, you are to call a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live.

Lev 23:22 " 'When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don't harvest all the way to the corners of your field, and don't gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I am Adonai your God.' "

Lev 23:23 Adonai said to Moshe, Lev 23:24 "Tell the people of Isra'el, 'In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day

of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on the shofar. Lev 23:25 Do not do any kind of ordinary work, and bring an offering made by fire to Adonai.' " Lev 23:26 Adonai said to Moshe, Lev 23:27 "The tenth day of this seventh month is Yom-Kippur; you are to have a holy convocation,

you are to deny yourselves, and you are to bring an offering made by fire to Adonai. Lev 23:28 You are not to do any kind of work on that day, because it is Yom-Kippur, to make

atonement for you before Adonai your God. Lev 23:29 Anyone who does not deny himself on that day is to be cut off from his people; Lev 23:30 and anyone who does any kind of work on that day, I will destroy from among his people. Lev 23:31 You are not to do any kind of work; it is a permanent regulation through all your

generations, no matter where you live. Lev 23:32 It will be for you a Shabbat of complete rest, and you are to deny yourselves; you are to rest

on your Shabbat from evening the ninth day of the month until the following evening." Lev 23:33 Adonai said to Moshe, Lev 23:34 "Tell the people of Isra'el, 'On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of Sukkot

for seven days to Adonai. Lev 23:35 On the first day there is to be a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work. Lev 23:36 For seven days you are to bring an offering made by fire to Adonai; on the eighth day you

are to have a holy convocation and bring an offering made by fire to Adonai ; it is a day of public assembly; do not do any kind of ordinary work.

Lev 23:37 " 'These are the designated times of Adonai that you are to proclaim as holy convocations and bring an offering made by fire to Adonai — a burnt offering, a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, each on its own day —

17

Lev 23:38 besides the Shabbats of Adonai, your gifts, all your vows and all your voluntary offerings that you give to Adonai.

SukkotLev 23:39 " 'But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the

produce of the land, you are to observe the festival of Adonai seven days; the first day is to be a complete rest and the eighth day is to be a complete rest.

Lev 23:40 On the first day you are to take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches and river-willows, and celebrate in the presence of Adonai your God for seven days.

Lev 23:41 You are to observe it as a feast to Adonai seven days in the year; it is a permanent regulation, generation after generation; keep it in the seventh month.

Lev 23:42 You are to live in sukkot for seven days; every citizen of Isra'el is to live in a sukkah,

Lev 23:43 so that generation after generation of you will know that I made the people of Isra'el live in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am Adonai your God.' "

Lev 23:44 Thus Moshe announced to the people of Isra'el the designated times of Adonai.

The Torah calls upon us to keep the appointments G-d has made for us. Since this is Sukkot, I will concentrate on it. We know that it is Prophetic concerning the first coming of Rabbi King Messiah and as well it is Prophetic regarding the time in which he will tabernacle among us as the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We celebrate it to commemorate the wilderness experience of our people but it is He who brought us through that experience and all others!

Adonai dwelt in a Sukkah in the Arabian Desert just as his people did. That was the whole purpose of the Mishkan. Later on long after the Israelis had ceased being nomadic sukkah (tent) dwellers, the Ancient Holy One, blessed be He, allowed King David to prepare the material and for King Shlomo to construct a house for his Sh'khinah; His Cloud of Glory. True, this entire universe cannot “House” G-d. However both the Mishkan and the Temple were designed to contain a small part of that glory in order to give us a center for our lives. This together with the festivals and Shabbat are a living, breathing culture that is Holy. Through the Torah we can have a whole culture that has nothing to do with paganism or tainted with pagan origins.

THE TORAH'S CALL TO HOLINESS.

Adonai our God,blessed be his name,has placed upon us a duty to teach the Torah to the world. This is a blessed undertaking. It is the goal of the Hasidim (ultra-orthodox Jewish communities) to bring the secular,non-religious,Jews by birth only,back to the Torah. It is the duty of Messianic Judaism to bring to every Jew the knowledge of the Messiah. But that is only half of our mission. The remaining half is to bring back the Gentile Christians to the Torah,which they have ignored. Those who espouse a heresy that the Messiah Yeshua replaced the Torah, are those whom we seek to bring back to the covenant. This is a labor of love and sincere teaching. Debating calmly and not a

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condemnation in harsh hateful words. For they are our brothers,as well as the mainstream Jewish community. The scripture itself already says it to them in better words than we can ever imagine. Yeshua the Messiah has already instructed us as what to do when they will not receive it. We are to shake the dust of that place from off of our feet,and the Lord said that it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment,than for that city or community.

Now I would like to talk about how the written Torah calls for us to be a Holy and separate people. I also want to show you how, that it is the Living Torah who teaches,shows and enables us to be Holy; for we cannot do this on our own through human efforts of the flesh. When we try that it always degenerates and the Torah is perverted into legalism. Legalism is when a person try’s to keep the Torah but does not have G-d in his heart before-hand. He then begins to judge another person;s observance. What legalism is not is a return to the culture and obedience to the Torah by a sincere, G-dly person. That person is a Tzaddeck (Righteous) and not a legalist.

Turn into the Torah to the book of Vayikra (Leviticus) chapter 11. Here you will find a list of things that were made for food and those that were not. These of course remain in effect for all time. There are those who claim God changes and because of huge misinterpretations concerning the vision that the Lord gave to Rav Shimon Kefa (Master Simon Peter) and the writings of Rav Sha'ul (Master Saul; Apostle Paul) people have been pigging out on pig! Yuck! Look at the rest of the list,which describes swarming insects like centipedes and also snakes! If you say God changed the dietary laws, then why not go ahead and add a few roaches on your bacon sandwich! Or maybe have the pizza man add some Daddy Long-leg Spiders on your next order out! After all,these types of creatures were all included in Rav Kefa's vision. Really now! Read down a little further in the text there in Acts,and you will find that Rav Kefa himself interprets the vision and its symbols are referring to Gentiles,which were going to be converting to Messianic Judaism;also known as “The Way.” or “Sect of the Nazarene.” Also “Notzrati Jews. (The word Christian in reference to these Gentiles had not yet been invented).

Anyway, these healthy dietary laws,given to us by God are for our well being. After all,since God created the human body it stands to reason that he knows what is healthy to eat and what is not. These instructions were never intended to be a restrictive yoke,but to free us from the illnesses caused by bad foods. You can see it in black and white written in the Torah. Follow it.These rules are for our spiritual well being as well as for the physical and social well being of human societies. All of the 613 commandments which the Rabbis have found and categorized in the Torah apply to what I have just said. For it is written;

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וש ד י ק� � ים כ ד,ש� ם ק� � ית! י ה� ים ו � אלה ם ל� כ! ת ל� י,� ה� ם ל י � �ר צ� ץ מ ר! � א! ם� מ� כ! ת� \ה א! ל! ע9 �מ � �ה ה הו� �י י� נ י ׀ א9 � כ א��ני׃

Lev 11:45 For I am Adonai, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. Therefore you are to be holy, because I am holy.

For everything that is manifested in this material and physical world,there is a spiritual representation as well. The Holy One,blessed be He,as he brought down wrath upon Pharaoh and Egypt also stated that;

ה � מ� ה� ד־ב� �ע ם ו� ד� א� ם מ� י � �ר צ� ץ מ ר! � א! כור� ב� ל־ב� י כ� \ ית כ� ה ̂ה ו� ז! �ה ה ל� י� � �ל �ם_ ב י �ר צ� ץ־מ ר! � א! י ב� � ת ר� �ב ע� ו�ה � הו� י י� � נ ים א9 ט פ� ה ש� � ש! ע/ � ם א! י a �ר צ� י מ � לה� ל־א/ כ� ׃וב�

Exo 12:12 For that night, I will pass through the land of Egypt and kill all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both men and animals; and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt; I am Adonai.

These gods of Egypt; Ra, Nekbet, Anubis,Osiris,Horas,Mut,Hathor, and many others are more than just idols. The idols only represented what the demonic entity appeared to look like to the Egyptians. These evil spirits are nothing more than fallen angels,whom G-d judged at that time and cast them into the Abyss to keep company all of the others which had been imprisoned there in the days of Noach. (Noah) It seems that after the Exodus,these cults began a long slow demise. So you see,that by keeping God's physical laws regarding the flesh,this has its spiritual aspects as well. This for the simple reason that if you honor G-d by keeping his precepts,he in turn honors you. This is not a legalistic way of a works for salvation doctrine. It is through G-d's Messiah, the Rebbe Melech Ha Mochiach Yeshua,and by pure faith,believing G-d. Taking him at his word,as did Avraham Aveinu (Father Abraham)

ה.״ (בראשית טו׳ ו׳ ק� ד� ה� לו צ� ב! ש� ח� �י �יהוה ו �ם ב ה� ר� ב� �ן א מ א/ ה! תוב? ״ו� כ� �ר ה ה אומ� 4 (מ�Rom 4:3 For what does the Tanakh say? "Avraham put his trust in God, and it was credited to his account as righteousness."

How is the follower of Torah to be holy? The best source for that,is of course, the Rebbe Yeshua himself. I could,and will quote other Rabbis,but none of them come close to Rebbe Yeshua the Messiah in describing what it really means to be a Torah observant Jew or Gentile who has become a Ger Tzaddik.(Righteous Convert) to Messiah. Look into the Messianic Scriptures,(New Testament) to the book of Matisyahu;

רו׃ מ� א� ם ב� ד אות� מ� ל יו ו� ח פ �ת פ�ם. 3 י �מ ש� �כות ה ל� �ם מ ה! י ל� , כ �רוח י ה� י� נ י ע9 ר� ש� �מו. 4״א ח� Yנ ם י� י ה� ים, כ ל ב� א9 י ה� ר� ש� �י5 א ר� ש� � א

4 ha-Berit ha-hadashah. 2000 (Ro 4:3). Israel: The Bible Society in Israel.

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ץ. (תהילים לבּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז׳ יא׳) ר! א� ת ה� שו א! יר� ם י י ה� ים, כ ו נ� ע9 י6ה� ק, כ ד! צ! ים ל� א מ� צ� �ה ים ו� ב ע� ר� י ה� ר� ש� � אעו. ב� ש� ם י מו. 7ה� ח� Yר ם י� י ה� ים, כ נ מ� ח9 �ר י ה� ר� ש� �ים.8 א לה ת א/ או א! ר� ם י י ה� ב, כ ב� י ל� ר� י ב� ר� ש� � א

או. 9(תהילים כד׳ ג׳–ד׳) ר� ק� ים י לה י א/ נ� י ב� לום, כ י ש� פ� י רוד� ר� ש� �ל10 א �ל ג� ים ב פ ד� ר� נ �י ה ר� ש� � אם. י �מ ש� �כות ה ל� �ם מ ה! י ל� ק, כ ד! צ! �ם11ה יכ! ל� ילו ע9 ל ע9 �י ם ו� כ! ת� פו א! ד� ר� י פו ו� ר� ח� ם י� ם א יכ! ר� ש� � א

י. ל ל� ג� ם12ב יכ! נ� פ� יו ל ה� ים ש! יא ב נ� �ת ה פו א! ד� ך ר� י כ� ר� ם; ה9 י �מ ש� �ב ב �ם ר כ! ר� כ� י ש� ילו, כ ג חו ו� מ� 5. ש

Mat 5:2 and he began to speak. This is what he taught them: Mat 5:3 "How blessed are the poor in spirit! for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. Mat 5:4 "How blessed are those who mourn! for they will be comforted. Mat 5:5 "How blessed are the meek! for they will inherit the Land! Mat 5:6 "How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness! for they will be filled. Mat 5:7 "How blessed are those who show mercy! for they will be shown mercy. Mat 5:8 "How blessed are the pure in heart! for they will see God. Mat 5:9 "How blessed are those who make peace! for they will be called sons of God. Mat 5:10 "How blessed are those who are persecuted because they pursue righteousness! for the

Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. Mat 5:11 "How blessed you are when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of vicious

lies about you because you follow me! Mat 5:12 Rejoice, be glad, because your reward in heaven is great — they persecuted the prophets

before you in the same way.

Just think about it people! What we have here is a list of what is is the very heart of what it means for us to really put the Torah into practice. This is at the heart of what is meant by the saying, “Torah observant.” The heart of the law.

Do you remember earlier when I was quoting from the Mishna, the Pirkei Avot Section (Dicta of the Fathers)? Well there is a saying by the Rabbis,that a teacher should raise up many disciples and place a fence around the Torah. This means that another more stringent regulation is established, so that one is sure not to violate a specific Mitzvah (Instruction). This is the fence,which is made higher than what it is designed to protect. This is all fine and very wonderful and has resulted in the outstanding work of Rabbinic Judaism that is the Mishna. However when it is placed in the same roll as the actual scriptures that it is commenting upon it becomes negative. It then becomes a stumbling block of Legalism. You can see this played out as the Rabbis from other traditions within Judaism who argued with Rabbi King Messiah over the Oral Torah. Matters like the hand washing ceremony, Rachatz, with its accompanying blessing, Al nehtilat yadayim, and the debate over what constituted work on Shabbat ( Sabbath).

The Mishna and the works based on it such as the two Talmuds,and the Shulchan Aruch(Table of Jewish Law) have their proper places. They are the very reason that the Jewish community has survived intact over the past two thousand years. The people

5 ha-Berit ha-hadashah. 2000 (Mt 5:2–12). Israel: The Bible Society in Israel.

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had,in written form,the culture and traditions handed down from generations past. God used this to insure the survival of Israel.

What we have in the Messianic Scriptures,are essentially, the Mishna of the Messiah Yeshua. This is because he is laying down definite fences around the Torah. He proclaims that he is come to give a more perfect interpretation of the Torah. Better than what the people of Israel had been receiving up to that time. He tells us that we must live up to,and go beyond the standards of the Pharisees. What? This is an amazing statement. Why? Because the sects of the Pharisees maintained the some of the highest standards of religious practice in Judaism . I believe that only the Essenes and their “Works of the Law,” were higher. Although the Essenes were less common in the nation than the Pharisees. They did not have the degree of influence that the two main branches of the Pharisees had. Thus Yeshua used them as his example,rather than the Essenes. (Also,the Essenes never openly challenged Yeshua) You never see one quote in the Gospels of Rabban Yeshua saying; “Wo unto you Essenes!” However you see this about the other Jewish Movements of the time.

Rabban Yeshua the Messiah teaches that we shouldn't hate. Because hate leads to murder,and of course murder is a major crime in the Torah and all dignified human jurisprudence. The Messiah teaches against no-fault divorce and to let G-d be your avenger. Why would he teach this? Because it is acts of revenge that leads to blood feuds and civil war. Rabbi King Messiah teaches not only to love your neighbor as yourself, [Vayikra Leviticus) 19:18], but your enemies as well. What a high standard. It is easy to love family and friends; those who love us. But not easy when it comes to enemies like Saddam Hussein,Osama bin Laden, or a rotten next door neighbor. What a calling! The Messiah calls on us to be holy, and he was teaching what the Lord had stated to Moses;

ם׃ � ם ב� ת! מ� ט� נ ם ו� ה!� או� ב� מ� ��砮〰ٽ�琨��桳牡����ٽ彅剁��呁䉓����尴پ�卩��潂╸����甀ٽ����Ѳ牁����尴پ鿔پ�退�ؿ�ڙ�䋈�整瑸猯慨敲⽤〯㈵〱〱忨پ��e background.��Ô鿌 .םָלֹועָה תאַּט � א ת \, ל ץ ו� � ש,ר� �ץ ה ר! ש! �ל־ה כ� ם ב� יכ!� ת� ש,� פ� �ת־נ צו� א! ק� �ש ל־ת� � אLev 11:45 For I am Adonai, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. Therefore you are to be holy, because I am holy.

Yeshua the Messiah said the same thing,but in slightly different words;

ם הוא. ל� ם ש� י �מ ש� �ב ם ש! יכ! ב א9 מו ש! ים, כ� מ ל� יו ש� ן ה/ כ� ״ל� 6Mat 5:48 Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Let us all pray to be able to meet,through Yeshua the Messiah,G-d's call to holiness. Also we are not to put it on,just so that we will look good in public,down at the 6 ha-Berit ha-hadashah. 2000 (Mt 5:48). Israel: The Bible Society in Israel.

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synagogue or at work. A call to holiness does not include self aggrandizement. That is what we refer to as abusing the crown of Torah. And he speaks of this when he instructs us to do our deeds of ,”Tzedakah” (charity) in secret and in anonymity,so that G-d will give us our heavenly reward. No mortal man can reward us in the way that God can. Human applause is only temporary,until we make the next mistake, at which time all the good we have done in the past is quickly forgotten. Not so with G-d.

As far as prayer goes,the same rule applies. Rabban Yeshua teaches us to daven ( ritual prayer) indoors and away from the crowds, alone with G-d.

ת ס! נ! י כ� ת� ב� ם ב� ד� מ� ע� ל ב� ל� �פ ת� ה ים ל� ב אוה9 ים, ה� בוע צ� �יו כ ה� ל ת �ים א ל ל� �פ ת� ם מ ת! �ר א ש! א9 � כם. ת� ם א ר� כ� ם, ש� כ! י ל� נ ר א9 ן אומ� מ� ם. א� ד� י א� נ� ב� או ל ר� ן י� �ע �מ חובות ל� ל ר� נות ש! פ ה6וב� ת� �א ו�

יך ב א� ר, ו� ת! ס� �ר ב ש! יך א9 ב א� ל ל� ל� �פ ת� ה ך ו� ד� �ע �ת ב ל! ד! �ת ה ג,ר א! ך, ס� ר� ד� �ח ס ל� נ� כ� ל ה ל� �פ ת� ר ת ש! א9 � כך. (מלכים ד׳ לג׳//דניאל ו׳ יא׳ מ,ל ל� ג� ים י ר ת� ס� מ �ה ב רוא! 7 (ה�

Mat 6:5 "When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites, who love to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners, so that people can see them. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! Mat 6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.

Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

He and the Torah both call on us to forgive and not to harbor grudges. To do all these acts of Torah and its study, are what the Messiah refers to when he is speaking of “storing up treasure in heaven.” When we fast on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) or any other day, we are not to go around in public looking miserable. We should be discreet. Get G-d's approval! Don't seek after the applause of men when you are fasting.

This is just a short study that I am doing here,so time is limited. But as you read all three of these chapters in Matisyahu, you will learn how to heed the call to holiness. I say to you that G-d has called all of his people to a better standard. A new life in spirit with our beloved Messiah Yeshua. He desires us to live free and separated lives away from the paganism which swirls around us like a vortex. A vortex which threatens to pull us in,like a black hole in outer space sucks in all matter,including light.

Conclusion

I like to say that it is we who are living in true reality, while it is the system of the earth that is separated from true reality. Our material world is seperated by a fabric and unless

7 ha-Berit ha-hadashah. 2000 (Mt 6:5–6). Israel: The Bible Society in Israel.

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or until G-d opens our eyes to it, we cannot see it. However the callings that Hashem has for us, his people, are his way of bring into this world, a small measure of the heavens. Without these, earth would be even more unholy than it is now. And there is coming a time, which is prefigured by this festival that we are enjoying here now in Monor Texas, when that which is real will pierce the fabric of the Space-time continium. It is written in the book of Zakarya Chapter 14;

ב׃ 3 � ר� ום ק� י� ו ב� מ ח9 ל� � ום ה י� ם כ� � ה� �ם ה� גוי �ם ב �ח ל� נ ה ו� � הו� א י� � צ� י� ו�ים 4 \ ית ז� �ר ה e�עl ה �ק ב� נ ̂ם ו� ד! ק! מ ם_ �ל רוש� �י י� נ� ל־פ� �ר ע e!ש ים א9 kת ז� �ר ה e�ל־ה �הוא ע t�יום־ה �יו ב � ל� ג� �ו ר ד� מ� ע� ו�

ה׃ ב� jג� � יו־נ! צ� ח! ה ו� ונ� פ ר צ� a ה� י ה� � צ ש ח9 eד ומ� א,� �ה מ� דול� יא ג� ה ג� מ� י�� ה ו� ח� � ר� בּו חָרְזִּמַּב )׳זי ׳דכ רבדמב( ֹובָכֹוּכ תֶא ּוניִאָר יִּכ ?דַלֹונ רֶׁשֲא םיִדּוהְּיַה ְךֶלֶמ ןָכיֵה״ ׃ּולֲאָׁש 2 .חָרְז� יו� מ צ� ח! � מ��ה 5 י� ז Yי ע ימ� ש ב �ע � �ר �י ה� נ� פ� ם� מ ת! ס� �ר נ \ ש! א9 �ם כ ת! ס� �נ ל̂ ו� �צ ל־א� ים_ א! ר י־ה� �יע� ג� ג �י־י � י כ �ר �יא־ה� ם ג� � ת! ס� �נ ו�

ך׃ � מ� ים ע ד,ש ל־ק� י כ� ��לה �ה א/ הו� א� י� ה וב� � הוד� ך־י� ל! � מ!ות 6 ר ק� ור י� �ה א� י! ה� א־י �, וא ל ה� �ום ה י� �ה ב י� ה� ו�

ור׃ 7 ה־א� י! ה� � ב י ר! ת־ע! � ע� �ה ל� י� ה� ה ו� ל� י� � ,א־ל� ל ום ו� ,א־י� ה ל יהו� � �ע ל � �ד ו� וא י aד ה ח� �ה יום־א! י� ה� ו��ם 8 י� �ל־ה ם א! י� צ� ח! י ו� מונ� ד� �ק �ם� ה י� �ל־ה ם א! י� צ� ם ח! � �ל וש� יר� ים� מ י �ם־ח י � �ו מ א\ צ� וא י� ה �ום ה י� ��ה ׀ ב י� ה� ו�

�ה׃ י! ה� � ף י ר! ח, ץ וב� י � �ק �ון ב ר� ח9 �א ה�ד 9 � ח� ו א! מ� ד וש� ח� aה א! הו� hה י� י! ה� וא י ה �ום ה י� �ץ ב ר! � א� ל־ה� ל־כ� �ך ע ל! מ! aה ל� הו� hה י� י� ה� ׃ו�

Zec 14:3 Then Adonai will go out and fight against those nations, fighting as on a day of battle. Zec 14:4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies to the east of Yerushalayim;

and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, to make a huge valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

Zec 14:5 You will flee to the valley in the mountains, for the valley in the mountains will reach to Atzel. You will flee, just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of `Uziyah king of Y'hudah. Then Adonai my God will come to you with all the holy ones.

Zec 14:6 On that day, there will be neither bright light nor thick darkness; Zec 14:7 and one day, known to Adonai, will be neither day nor night, although by evening there will

be light. Zec 14:8 On that day, fresh water will flow out from Yerushalayim, half toward the eastern sea and

half toward the western sea, both summer and winter. Zec 14:9 Then Adonai will be king over the whole world. On that day Adonai will be the only one, and

his name will be the only name.

Then comes the great day when the whole world will celebrate this