jewish times - volume i,no. 30...aug. 30, 2002

7/27/2019 Jewish Times - Volume I,No. 30...Aug. 30, 2002

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In This Issue:Repentance 1, 2/11 & the jewish people 1, 20 days of repentance 1, 3

The awesome power of teshuva 2ollowing god perfectly 3, 4

Messianic judaism 4rom golus to geula 5

Maimonidies in his Code gives us thepecific formula for repentance: "Ieseech Thee O' Lord, I have sinned, Iave deviated, I have been negligentefore you and I have done such anduch, and behold I have repented and amshamed of my deeds, and I will nevergain repeat this deed." "This is thessence of the verbal formula forepentance," says Maimonides, "but

whoever wishes to add to it may do sond this is even considered praiseworthy."

Dedicated to Scriptural and Rabbinic Verif

of Jewish Beliefs and Pr

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It is difficult to believe that a yearhas passed since the numbers 9 and 11became indelibly etched in the annalsof infamy. We cannot come to gripswith the sadistic character of thehorror we witnessed with our owneyes. What evil movement wouldconsign thousands of innocents whohad no connection to its "grievance"to a sudden and horrible death?

We generally underestimate the fullextent of human sadism. We naivelyimagine that all people, especiallythose, who profess to act in the nameof G-d, have some element of

"compassion." The primary cause ofthe horrible explosions was thereligious zeal of the terrorists. On thesurface, this is impossible tocomprehend. Most people associatereligion with peace, restraint andcompassion. Moslem theologianscontinuously insist that the term Islammeans submission to the will of theirdeity. How can people who hold thatfaith act with such complete crueltyand contempt for human life and themost cherished institutions ofadvanced civilization? In my opinion,we are very nave about the real

nature of "religion."Throughout history people have had

intense "religious experiences." Thedanger of confusing one's personal"vision" with the will of the Creator isvery great. Most of the wars of historywere fought by competing religionsseeking to impose their theologicalfalsehoods. Man made religion canbe very dangerous. You can tell thata religion is a human invention bythe behavior of its adherents.

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Repentancerabbi israel chait

Suggested Readings:see these and other articles at our site

"Bring us back, our Father, to Your Torah, and bring us near our King, to Your servic

influence us to return in perfect repentance before You. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who repentance."From the Shemoneh Esrie The purpose of the 10 days from Rosh Hashana until

Kippur is repentance, tshuvah. Engaging oneself in repentance requires introspection look into our actions and we have regret for our transgressions. At the sound of the first blast, teru'ah it cries out to each of us for "self-examination", to reconcile our differenceeach other, and to make amends and repent. The use of the emotion of guilt can acpositive motivator; facing shame and regret pushes a person towards tshuvah.

How many of us are aware of the profound need for and the importance of the between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, especially designated for repentance? OnceGod is giving us another gift of love. Love for His created beings through repentance, aopportunity to relate to Him, when He is closer to us. During these 10 days God isaccessible to us individually and according to the Rambam when we call Him our answered immediately. The Rambam also says: "For in every situation a person has the of changing from good to bad and from bad to good. The choice is in one's hands." The c

9/11 andThe Jewish

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Maimonides' 13PRINCIPLES

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PLANETARY NEBULAE(Photo above) The Hubble telescope reveals a

rainbow of colors in this dying star, called IC 4406.Like many other so-called planetary nebulae, IC4406 exhibits a high degree of symmetry. Thenebula's left and right halves are nearly mirrorimages of the other. If we could fly around IC 4406

in a spaceship, we would see that the gas and dustform a vast donut of material streaming outwardfrom the dying star. We don't see the donut shape inthis photograph because we are viewing IC 4406from the Earth-orbiting Hubble telescope. Fromthis vantage point, we are seeing the side of thedonut. This side view allows us to see the intricatetendrils of material that have been compared to theeye's retina. In fact, IC 4406 is dubbed the "RetinaNebula."

(Right) Resembling a nightmarish beastrearing its head from a crimson sea, this monstrousobject is actually an innocuous pillar of gas anddust. Called the Cone Nebula (NGC 2264) so named because, in ground-based images, it has a conical this giant pillar resides in a turbulent star-forming region.

This picture, taken by the newly installed Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard NASA's HSpace Telescope, shows the upper 2.5 light-years of the nebula, a height that equals 23 million roundtrips Moon. The entire nebula is 7 light-years long. The Cone Nebula resides 2,500 light-years away in the constelMonoceros. Radiation from hot, young stars [located beyond the top of the image] has slowly eroded the nover millions of years. Ultraviolet light heats the edges of the dark cloud, releasing gas into the relatively eregion of surrounding space. There, additional ultraviolet radiation causes thE hydrogen gas to glow, wproduces the red halo of light seen around the pillar. A similar process occurs on a much smaller scale tsurrounding a single star, forming the bow-shaped arc seen near the upper left side of the Cone. This arc,previously with the Hubble telescope, is 65 times larger than the diameter of our solar system. The blue-whitefrom surrounding stars is reflected by dust. Background stars can be seen peeking through the evaporating teof gas, while the turbulent base is pockmarked with stars reddened by dust. Over time, only the densest regithe Cone will be left. Inside these regions, stars and planets may form.

The Cone Nebula is a cousin of the M16 pillars, which the Hubble telescope imaged in 1995. Monpillars of cold gas, like the Cone and M16, are common in large regions of star birth. Astronomers believthese pillars are incubators for developing stars.

"Praise Him sun and moopraise Him all bright sta

for He commandand they were created

King David: Psalm 1

"Praise Him sun and moopraise Him all bright sta

for He commandand they were created

King David: Psalm 1


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Volume I, No. 30...Aug. 30, 2002 www.Mesora.org/JewishTime

It is important to note that whileepentance is accepted by God even if it is noterbalized, that is, even if it is done in thoughtlone, it is not considered complete until oneas verbally expressed these thoughts. The

ssence of repentance is in the heart and minds it is stated in Deuteronomy, "And you shallnow this day and return to your heart...Deuteronomy 4:39)." Why then does theorah call for verbalization? The answer lies

n a principle of Halakah that verbalization ishe most complete expression of humanhought. The ideas of the mind, as profounds they may be, reach their full fruition only

when they are translated into tangibleatements. For this reason one may think inorah without reciting a blessing before doingo, while verbalizing Torah or even writingorah ideas demand a blessing. The Torahonsiders verbal expression to be the finaltage of the thinking process, therystallization of one's thoughts. Repentancenot complete until one can stand before thereator and enunciate one's thoughts clearlyoncerning his or her misdeeds.

Why is it necessary for one to invoke thereator in one's expression of repentance? Isot the essence of repentance the recognitionf one's error and the conviction never toeturn to the misdeed, that is, never toerform it again? Why then is it necessary toegin the repentance formula with thexpression "I beseech Thee O' Lord"?

Here we get an opportunity to see the greatnsight of Torah. The objective of the entireorah is to give man the correct idea of God.his idea is the one idea that must never beistorted. Hence Torah rails constantly againstdolatry or attaching any form to the Creator.Once the idea of God is distorted in any waywhatever man is doomed.

Man is a creature that is guided byhoughts. This is true even in his mostmundane actions. But aside from thectivities that are vital for man's existencehere exists a realm of behavior that involvesman's higher nature, that part of him which is

uly human. Here man's activities areetermined by his value system or what heonsiders to be good or not good. The Toraheaches us the remarkable concept that this isll dependent on one's idea of God. If oneees God as a big daddy in the sky that metesut punishment for infractions and givesewards for certain actions then one's entirefe will be spent trying to gain reward andvoid punishment. If one thinks God has ahysical form one will ascribe to him humanaits and act towards him as he would

owards a human being. He will also thinkhat the physical reality is the underlyingeality of all existence. If one knows that God

not physical, nor can He be compared tony of His creation as the prophet states,And to whom can you compare me sayethhe Holy One (Isaiah 40:25)," that this God ishe source of all existence, as is stated in the

first verse of Genesis, and that all that weperceive as physical stems from theunderlying reality of God's infiniteknowledge, then one will spend one's life inreaching God as He reveals Himself throughHis infinite knowledge and wisdom. All theactions of such a person will have just oneobjective, that is, to know God as the prophetstates, "In all your ways you shall knowHim... (Proverbs 3:6)." Such an individualwill indulge in physical and psychologicalpleasures only insofar as is necessary in order

to be able to pursue his relationship with theCreator via the divine element God hasimplanted in man's soul.

Whenever man sins he lacks, of necessity,knowledge either of the Creator or himself.Because of his error he sways from his courseand engages in activities that take him awayfrom God. He must therefore first andforemost approach God, reestablish hisrelationship with Him and turn to Him withthe words "I beseech Thee O' Lord." With thisone most powerful phrase one comes torealize that sin is not just a misdemeanor andrepentance a childish resolution, but that sininvolves a necessary turning away from theCreator, a deviation from one's program in

life and repentance is a return to that way oflife that involves an endless reaching outtowards the Creator.

Maimonides in his ingenious formulationof the laws of repentance taught us animportant truth. He stated that in order torepent one must have knowledge of certainprinciples of Torah. In his heading for thelaws of repentance he states, "Theexplanation of this commandment and theprinciples that are drawn along with it andbecause of it are in these chapters." Theseprinciples include free will, the afterlife, howGod judges man, what is apostasy,knowledge of God, the value of repentance,which things prevent repentance, and the

correct way to serve God. Why is it necessaryto know all these things in order to repent?The answer is plain; Since repentance is not amere act of contrition but a qualitatively newrelationship with the Creator one must have asound knowledge of these principles whichare the very basis of man's relationship withGod. One must review these principles andseek in them new depths of understanding inorder to establish one's relationship with Godon a higher plane. The Torah and the prophetshave made it clear that without knowledgeone cannot serve God. David charged his sonSolomon upon his taking leave from thisearthly existence with the words "know theGod of your fathers and serve Him

(Chronicles I 28:9)." As the Rabbis say, "firstone must know Him and then one may serveHim." All perfection involves a knowledge ofthe Creator and the more perfected one is thegreater is that knowledge. As man strives forhigher levels throughout his life hisknowledge of God is forever changing,forever deepening.

The measure of a human being is in directproportion to his knowledge of God. As suchthere are various degrees of human existenceuntil one reaches the level of our great teacherMoses whose knowledge of God was the

very highest attainable by the human species.Repentance as seen by the Torah is not a

mere act but the quintessence of man'srelationship with God.

Their psychological insecurity about thetruth of their system compels them to actruthlessly against non-believers. Skeptics area threat who must be forcefully converted oreliminated.

The freedom to inquire and live by reasonis the greatest danger to religion because if thereal origin of the doctrines were discovered,the claim of divinity would be seriouslycompromised. Make no mistake about it; the9/11 criminals were not men of true religion.They were cruel people in pursuit of personalglory in an imaginary paradise whose soulswere purged of any element of pity for humanbeings. Let us recognize the fact that falsereligion can lead to the worst horrors. Much

crime has been committed by those whoarrogantly claim to speak in G-d's name. 9/11ranks with the most heinous abuses ofreligion in history! There is certainly muchevil in the world. None is worse than thatwhich rationalizes itself in the form ofmisbegotten "theologies."

Judaism stands apart from the religions ofman. It is based on submission to the will ofG-d as He has revealed it to us, not as wewould like it to be. In Judaism, we strive toapproach G-d through recognition andappreciation of His Infinite Wisdom, which isrevealed in the world of nature, and in theideas of His Torah. This produces a certainhumility and a sense of compassion for all of

His creatures. Judaism, unlike other religions,does not proselytize. We do not seek toimpose our views on others. Yet, the questionarises: If we regard the Torah as G-d'sinstruction to mankind, do we not have theobligation to disseminate this knowledge? Ibelieve that there is no greater compassionthan to educate people in the proper "way oflife." However, we cannot assume the role ofmissionaries. Our national goal is expressedin the words, "And I shall be sanctified in themidst of the children of Israel." Our wisdom,behavior, kindness and commitment to justicein all situations, in our personal and nationaldealings serve to sanctify the name of G-dand draw mankind closer to His service.

Some have said that 9/11 gave religion abad name. I say, it gave false religion a verybad name. We must, in every area, use of ourG-d given intelligence to differentiatebetween the true and the false, betweendarkness and light. Our task is to reflect thewisdom and beauty of our religion of truth.Let us at this time renew our appreciation ofour eternal Torah heritage and rededicateourselves to our national mission of KiddushHashem, the sanctification of G-d's name.

May you all be inscribed for a Happy andHealth New Year.

Many people have the notion thaonly "care about their own." An honesof our history shows that this is not thWe are concerned about the welfare people. On Yom Kippur we read the BJonah which tells of G-d's compassion wicked people of Ninveh. This illustrates the awesome power of Te

The most surprising element in the narrthat the sinful people actually listenJonah's rebuke and repented. This is onemost inspiring stories in Tanach. How ohistory do we encounter the transformation of a corrupt people? Hstubbornness and the propensitrationalization block the path of returhard to believe but histories greatest vwere righteous in their own minds. Thefighting for a cause. Distorted idealism the worst evil. It gives rise to fanaticisallows people to commit the worst atrwith a clear conscience.

We face the problem today. Anti-Sehas taken the form of primitive re

zealousness which promises paradise towho die while destroying innocentIsrael finds itself in an Aise Tzaar (tsuffering) and we must identify with thof our brethren. There are many things wand must do. In addition there needs tfundamental change of attitude. Let usthat we have been shaken to our very cohad a sense of total confidence in the mand technological prowess of the JewisWe never believed that Israel could becovulnerable. Statistics tell the story. Tohas virtually come to a standstill. summer camps for Diaspora children be closed down.

The situation in Israel has

significance and demands a responsmust admit that we were wrong to beliethe security of Israel could be achievphysical means, alone. The Torah teachthe Jewish people are a special creationwhose welfare depends on adherence commandments. The "blessings and care clearly set forth in the Torah, reiterathe prophets and confirmed by thousayears of Jewish history. In recent years"visionaries" allowed themselves to bthat a new era of enlightenment had cothe Middle East. The current violence aIsrael has shattered all illusions. The "m(situation) demands that we give up iland return to HaKadosh Baruch Hu

One Blessed be He). At this time of ymust respond to the spiritual alarm sounded by the crisis. Let us draw inspfrom the people of Ninveh who did not their hearts to the words of the prophet.instead seize the moment and retuHashem with renewed determination toTorah, obey His mitzvoth and be uniteEretz Yisrael and Klal Yisrael. Then weconfidant that as in the case of BHashem will take the curse and turn itblessing because "Hashem your G-dyou."

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9/11 andThe Jewish People

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The Awesome Power of Tes

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yours, it is up to you, and it is for

our own benefit. Even on one'seathbed, even an evil person canpent, and God hears that person's

huvah. "Seek God when He is to beund." from Isaiah 55:6, which refers

pecifically to these 10 days. Theambam states further that: "Callingut to God is desirable at all times,hether s person's judgment is sealed orot." God gives us the 10 days fromosh Hashana until Yom Kippur toour out our heart, to draw closer toim through our tshuvah. We areminded of this idea every single day,hen in our tefila we ask God to: Bringback, bring us near, and influence usreturn This is all daily preparation for

pentance, and as the Rambam says:

we should be constantly calling out tood." The question is: do we take itriously, as an obligation that does

ave beneficial results, or do we justutter the words?The Meiri (Rosh Hashana 16b)

resses the importance of using thenique nature of these 10 days and usesarsh language to describe those whoil to use this time and opportunity topent. This is a time of keen

wareness, for us to be more cognizantf our actions and behavior. With morewareness of the Creator during thisme, and of God hearing our plearough our tshuvah. During these 7

termittent days when we are eager toe closer to God, He gives us additionalme when we are feeling positive aboute Yom Tov but at the same time, we

ow draw closer to Him and return toim. Chazal say that tshuvaherformed during this week is on agher level than the significant tshuvahe perform throughout the entire year.n Yom Kippur we culminate ourhuvah the entire day in fasting andpentance.The 10 days of repentance is an

mazing process to partake of because ita qualitatively unique period of time

r all Jews. A time when only Jews canome closer to God and God makes itossible for us to do so. Let these 10ays of repentance and devotion act asverage for you personally and use itith hope and optimism to transformourself, like "perfect repentance"efore God. It is too awesome a time tonore. These 10 days give us more

wareness of a "truer reality" as Jews.nd it is given to us as a valuable andecious gift, an investment we each

an make in our soul. How could a

person pass this up? We usually think oftshuvah as repentance from our sins, buttshuvah also means to return, to returnto God. This is the relationship we havewith God, as His created beings and Heset it up for us this way. There is arelationship to God and this relationshipallows us to return to Him, "Whodesires repentance."

It is up to each of us to take thisseriously, since this is the most

important relationship we have. And atthe same time we realize how far awayfrom God we really are. We have theheavy, burdened status of gulus, KlalYisroel is disbursed mostly outside theland of Israel without the Temple. Wemust be more aware of the necessity ofregaining our status as "the light" untothe nations and as one nation chosen tobe God's "holy nation." In calling out toGod we feel the pain knowing ourdistance from Him, and this is whatawakens our heart. This is what shouldmake us literally cry out to God, this isteru'ah, the cry of the first shofar blast.

The Torah says in Deuteronomy18:9, "When you come into the landwhich Hashem your God gives you, donot learn to do as the abominations ofthose (other) nations." The Torah listsidolatrous prohibitions; passing childrenin between pillars of fire (Molech),inquiring counsel from your staff(Kosame), fortune telling, witchcraft,

consulting the dead and other practices.We understand that all these idolatrouspractices are not based on knowledgeand are completely false. But thissection concludes with a statement notfound at the end of other sections ofcommandments, (18:13) "Perfect(tamim) shall you be with Hashem yourGod." My questions is: Why isn't thisstatement applied in other areas i.e.kosher and non kosher animals, laws ofrobbery, court systems, or any othersection? Why is the statement of"Perfect shall you be..." mentionedhere? And what does this statement

mean?We must say that only in the area of

the idolatrous practices is one inviolation. If one were to eat non kosherfoods, he would not violate thiscommand to be perfect. To whatspecific objective does "perfect" withGod refer? Framing the question thisway, we are forced to understand these"abominations".

What we find is that each of thementioned practices is an attempt insome way, to procure information. In

each case, there is an inquiry, or anattempt to secure oneself. I will give afew examples. Molech was a practicewhere a parent would pass his son ordaughter through two flames - notburning the infant according to at leastone view. What was this objective? Fireis the one element which opposes allbiological existence. In all elements, anorganism may survive, except in fire.Passing the child through, and

unharmed, the father imagines that justas the child is shielded from flames, sohe is shielded from all other mishapsduring his life. It makes sense that theparent/child relationship forms theprohibition, as the paternal or maternalinstinct is focused primarily on survival.The parent has a distorted notion thatsuch action is fortuitous and actually"protects" the remainder of his child'sexistence. Kosame and Nichush weretwo practices which foretold the successor failure of future events or actions. Sotoo was the practice of consulting thedead. The goal is to obtain knowledgeof the 'other side', or of future events.One would usually attempt to consult adead friend or relative. As there wasnothing to be learned about someonewith whom you were already intimatewith. The interest in consulting him wasfor another need; knowledge of thefuture, or more specific, the inquirer'sfuture. Obsession with the dead is, intruth, an obsession with one's ownimmortality.

What common thread runs throughall these practices? The answer is"knowledge". In each of theseviolations, the inquirer seeks securitythrough some imagined source of

knowledge, via a warlock, an enchanter,or the dead. He assumes there is asource of knowledge out there - besidesGod. This is precisely where oneremoves himself from following Godperfectly, or rather, exclusively. Toassume sources of knowledge otherthan God, is to not follow God"perfectly". It is a dilution of God'somniscience. Therefore, the commandto "be perfect with God", means inother words, "do not assume othercauses for the universe's existence andoperation".

The followers of these practices

assume there are in fact other means bywhich the universe operates. They feelsome people have supernatural powersover events outside real laws of causeand effect. This of course is absurd.Their insecurities propel them to seekforecasts for their actions, so they neednot think for themselves. Relying onanother's advice removes their need tomake decisions. This is the opposite ofGod's plan that man receive and engagethe gift of intelligence. Similar to theseidolatrous practitioners are present day

Jews who check a mezuza household members fall sick, or who don red bendels, place kechallas, use prayer books as proteand those who ascribe power"rebbes". I recently heard of a "MeHanase" practice where foindividuals believe by giving chyou can locate a lost object. ridiculous and damaging are notions?

All practices involving outside fthat assume to control cause and eare are idolatrous. It makesdifference if we see "religious" practicing such foolishness, or ieven read about them under a Hetitle, or authored by a Rabbi. Whthe objective truth? That whichcreated and wrote in our Torahcreated and controls the univtherefore, He alone determines reNot people, and not objects. The mezuza which will be consumed touched by flames, people foolthink it to has protective abilitiescannot protect itself, how can it pranything else?

God created everything. There other source of knowledge. Gknowledge alone defines the operof the entire universe. Therefore, cannot be anything which can altexplain our reality, other than GoSole Creator.

"Perfect shall you be with means we must not deviate following Him alone. God, toexclusion of anything else is the the Cause. This makes sense: HowThat which has ultimate power, cowith anything else laying claim to

power? God's ultimate Kingshippower negates anything else having any power whatsoever. Tso clear, it boggles the mind that are such idolatrous practices withifold.

Having shown that the term "pe(tamim) refers to man's requiremento create sources of knowledge ouGod, we have a question: In Ge17:1, regarding circumcision, instructs Abraham to "walk beforand be perfect". God uses the "perfect". How does this fit in wittheory? I believe it is perfect. Th

Ezra says on this command to Abrto "be perfect" the follocommentary, "You should not askperform circumcision." On the suIbn Ezra defies all which he standi.e. a life of understanding. Howcan he verbalize such a statemedon't believe Ibn Ezra is sayingshould not use our minds. Rather, teaching us that Abraham shouldmake his performance of divine dedependent on his own intelligence.

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Ibn Ezra teaches that man can fallrey to an erroneous notion that "onlyhen I know the reasons will I perform,

ut not before". To this, Ibn Ezraaches, "do not inquire why thercumcision". Do not let your inquiryetermine your acts. "Be perfect withod and don't render your intelligence

uperior to his" - this is what Ibn Ezra isaching, and why the term "perfect" isso used here. In this case too, man cano so far as to think of himself as aource of knowledge outside ofod....making his subjective knowledgeuer than the knowledge contained ine divine commands. God says tobraham , "be perfect" - follow me

ven when your mind does not graspomplete understanding.

We see Abraham does follow thisoncept, as he did not second guessod when he was commanded to kills son Isaac. A rabbi once asked whybraham inquired of God's decision toestroy Sodom, but not regarding Isaac.he rabbi suggested that Abrahamalized he could learn about God'sstice by asking. But regarding

erfection via commands, Abraham felte could not always understand how aommand would perfect him, althoughdid. He therefore did not ask about thelling Isaac - a divine command - but

e did inquire about God's justice.

Reader: My name is xxxx. I am 16ears old and have been born and raisedJewish." I put that in quotes becauseven though I was told that I am Jewishonly went to Hebrew School for a yearnd was never able to learn much about

my religion but was always proud to be

ble to be a part of such an amazingeritage.I may not be extremely educated in

udaism but I am a strong believer inod. Recently my mother was lead in afferent direction and found Jesus and

ad accepted him into her life. She stillonsiders herself to be Jewish and hastled herself to be a Messianic Jew. It'seen extremely hard or me to adjust toe drastic change. Within the last year

nd a half there were many changes thatwas forced to accommodate to. I have

tried very hard to understand her beliefsand where she is coming from, but thereare many things about her beliefs that

just do not make sense to me.She says that she is still Jewish yet,

from what I understand about thereligion, she is going against manythings that Jewish people have beenfighting for, for so many years. I washoping that you could please help mebetter understand certain aspects of

messianic beliefs and answer somequestions that have been runningthrough my head.

Thank you so much for taking yourtime to read my letter. It would mean somuch to me if you could somehow helpme to find my way out of my state ofconfusion. I will be looking forward toyour reply.

Sincerely, xxxx.

Mesora: Thank you for writing me. Iwill respond after each of yourquestions below.

Reader: Question 1: I understandthat the Tanach is the Torah, also knownas the Jewish Bible. My mother, whoreads the Bible religiously, says that theBible can answer any question. Doesthe Tanach state anything aboutMessianic Judaism, and if so what doesit say?

Mesora: Before I answer, please notesomething you just did: You acceptedyour mother's statement and based aquestion to me on this acceptance. Youshould always question your premisesuntil you see an idea as clear as 2+2=4.I am referring to when you acceptedyour mother's statement of "the Bible

can answer any question". True, theTorah - not the Christian Bible -contains all the knowledge we need forour lives dedicated to understandingand following God. I felt it important toclarify your mother's words, and pointout a lesson to you. Having said that, letme answer your first question. If byMessianic Judaism you mean a Judaismwhich recognizes Jesus as the messiah,Judaism does not recognize Jesus. Hedid not fulfill God's requirements whichdetermine one as the messiah.Additionally, Jesus does not followGod's Torah principles. He violated

God's Torah principles of not adding orsubtracting to the Torah's words. Thismeans he does not follow God. Jesusalso wished to violate the Rabbis, whoGod said we must follow. The Rabbiattested to Jesus's breaking of thecommands. So we see that those whoGod entrusted to interpret the Torah -the Rabbis - unanimously said Jesus didnot follow this Torah.

Reader: Question 2: Is MessianicJudaism true to the "real" Jewishbeliefs?

Mesora: As I stated above,Messianic Judaism is not Judaism. Assoon as one law is not upheld, the entiresystem is no longer the original Torahwhich God said we must never alter atall. God knew the future, which wouldinclude Jesus and other false prophets.He therefore wished the Torah be intactthroughout all generations. To achievethis goal, God included in the 613commandments the laws of not adding

to, or subtracting from the Torah.Reader: Question 3: What, aside

from believing in Yeshua, is the maindifference between Messianic Judaismand Traditional Judaism?

Mesora: That difference alonerenders Messianic Judaism as no longerJudaism. No other difference makes itany "worse", although there are manydeviations from God's words. Once it isnot Judaism, additional deviationscannot make it "further" from Judaism.If either one, or all commandments arechanged, it is no longer Judaism. It isakin to saying "Once the animal isslaughtered, can I make it 'dead' anyfurther?" Just as the slaughtered animalcannot be killed any further, so too,Messianic Judaism is not Judaism at all.Deviations in addition to primarycorruptions are irrelevant.

Reader: Question 4: I have heardfrom many sources that MessianicJudaism's beliefs are far fromTraditional Jewish beliefs. Many haveeven gone as far as saying that it is pureChristianity. What are your views on thetopic; and what do you know aboutMessianic Judaism?

Mesora: If Messianic "Jews" believeJesus to be God, they are practicing

idolatry. There are no other forces butGod alone.

Reader: Question 5: Messianicsstate that they study the Torah throughthe Bible. It is my understanding thatthe Bible does in fact have the OldTestament in there along with the NewTestament. How is it possible to studythe Torah through the Bible, aren't they

just simply reading the Old Testament?And what is the difference between theNew and Old Testaments? And whydon't Jewish people read the NewTestament? What is the differencebetween the Old Testament and the

Tanach?Mesora: What God gave to man has

been proved via the event at Sinai.There, God gave the Torah, the FiveBooks of Moses, in a written form toabout 3 million people. The event waswitnessed, and passed down through theages. This account reached us today, asit did the rest of the world. This is onlypossible if this event occurred. Masseswitnessing Sinai created the undeniabletruth about that portion of history. It isthrough this method, that all other

events in history are accepted tod100% accurate. Judaism is the religion to lay claim to such an eAll other religions are based oword of one or a few people. stories require others to simply bewith blind faith. There is no wdisprove these stories, even thoughdisagrees with them, and woulcontradict Himself. The followethese other religions choose to be

in Jesus, Mohammed and others. attachment to emotionally appestories lures them away from reaa rational proof available in the TA proof, the method of which, thein other areas of life.

Our Torah consists not only oWritten Law - the Five Books of M- but also in the Oral communicated to Moses by Godall the words of the ProphetsWritings. We do not recognizewhich was not through the ProAnd it must be clear that only Prophets recognized by authoriOrthodox Jewish Rabbis have unanimously recognized to exclusion of all others. There dispute who is a prophet, and wnot. It is therefore audaciousanother group called Christians stry to teach us what we unanimknow is false, that being suggestion that Jesus was recogby God. God's chosen nation has accurate information than thosepop up centuries later. It is futile fthe New Testament to borrow thTestament's fame by plagiarizinname. In fact, their forgery is proof to their acceptance of Juda

authenticity. One only forges that whe feels is real.

Reader: Question 6: How possible for Messianic believers tthemselves Jewish when they seego against so many things that Jpeople believe in and have fighting for for so many years?

Mesora: As I said in my verstatement, this is the method usecounterfeits: They borrow terms the authentic source, as an attemcover up their fallacy, just to devefacade of credibility. Without sufacade, their content will be e

refuted as false. But unfortunatelypeople judge a book by its coverthey believe the lies. "Tell the wolie enough times, and they will swis truth." This is why the Palestigain sympathy from certain group

I strongly suggest that your mexamine her views from a ratstandpoint. She will see contradictions and inconsistenciescreated only one, complete, unchasystem. This is the best prescriptiomankind.



Following GodPerfectly


MessianicJudaism


5/5


"When you beget children andrandchildren and will have been longn the land, you will grow corrupt and

make a carved image, a likeness ofnything, and you will do evil in theyes of Hashem, your G-d, to angerim." Vaeschanan, 4:25. Whatorruption brought about the

Destruction of the first Bayit? Can weffect and end to our Geulah? How?

Was Moshe's statement in Devarim:25 a warning or a prophecy? Ifrophecy, does Hashem negaterophecy? Can we negate prophecyhrough our actions? Are Gematria

ound in Gemorra equivalent withBible Codes" on any level?

With reference to Klal Yisroel'seliance on Kohen Godols' Yom

Kippur service for atonement ratherhan striving for perfection in Avodas

Hashem, perhaps I'm not the first toosit this but I see this former reliancen the Bais Hamikdosh service as arutch and obstacle as similar tooday's observance of mitzvahs

without responsibility, appreciation ornderstanding, observance by rote,mulets, red bendels, silver rings,

mezzuzahs, etc., ad nauseum. Such

re the conditions, which broughtbout little resistance to avoda zorah,he destruction of the first Bayit, anduite possibly what extends our Geulaoday.

A rabbi with whom I learn agreednd as I've been able to makerguments that refined our approachn other areas, we checked togetheror any Talmudic reference. You'llave interest in learning into the

Gemorrah as well as the additionaleferences my research has providedor us. We will address the dangers ofomplacency then and now and bring

ttention to the timely issue that sincewe have not yet brought on Geula it isparrent that Klal Yisroel needs to risear above our current modes ofbservance (by extension of living inolus we are all tainted with Avodahorah- Kesubos 110b) innderstanding what our true pursuitsnd goals should be, consequently

wanting this perfection so much thatwe are toiling in it to achieve it.

ources and observations foronsideration: -Toldos Aron on

Vaeschanan, 4:25; Vinishantem; trans:"will have been long" referencesSanhedrin 38a -Artscroll, Sanhedrin38a, Gittin 88a - Ramban on Moshe'Rabbainu's statement 4:25, (Chavelp.58) and on the question on negativeprophecies going unfulfilled, codes,etc.

Moshe does open with Ki=whennot Im=if and Ramban seems to holdthat he was prophesizing about thewarning going unheeded but notdecreeing that Klal Yisroel wouldindeed commit Avoda Zora. Take noteof footnotes regarding 850 yrs. in the

land prior to exile vs. 852 prior todestruction. I do not see any problemwith a prophecy actually beingnegated here by Hashem'sintervention given the context ofMoshe's statement as a warningagainst complacency according toRamban. Further, in the notes to thissection referencing Sefer Hageula,Ramban alludes that the time ofredemption may also be found in thissection but will not be aparrent untilthe Geula just as the Gematriareferred to here was only aparrentafter the fact and with much

Chochma. Since we have the power tobring Geula within ourselves, thisdate cannot be a definite althoughHashem "knows" when it willultimately be. It's known that somehold that if we don't bring Geulaourselves by a certain preordainedtime, then Hashem will do so. Thatbeleif seems to be flawed since itwould negate our abilities to use freewill to create the conditions favorableto Geula. As far as the "Codes" gothen, I believe that the Torahencompasses infinite possibleoutcomes given infinite possible

actions on our part allowing us actualfree will. Yes, algorithms may beemployed to give a glimpse into alogical system, but for all we knowthose codes may have only beenaccurate at that moment in timeand/or Hashem "willed" us to havethe tools for such a glimpse so thatmany would observe for themselvesthe veracity and infinitely accurate"Living Torah" within a context morelikely to resonate within our nature atpresent. The "Codes" did afterall

come at time where we are moresocially and culturally bereft and inneed of Avodas Hashem than ever asa people. Whether or not this was"intended" by Hashem we cannot say,but many people gave the Torah a"second look" after the "Codes" waspublished.

It becomes clear here why Rambamposits in Moreh Nevuchim thatMetaphysics are a "dessert forwisdom". What Men of Chochmahave learned out for us in terms ofproper lifestyles of "Shomrei TorahUmitzvos" and practical Wisdom and

even perhaps science far outweighswhat any scientific approach hasdivulged to date. There are many ofus who search for Objective Truth.There are different approaches andprovided that they are logical, theywill lead to a glimpse of some of thesame tenets of this Whole Truth-"Echad" regardless. We will however,err in our appraisement of what worksbest for the Human Being for a lackof truly investigating knowledgewhich has already been madeavailable to the world and is there forthe taking. So, we may continue in

our Golus, "Living to Eat" crying outfor and amassing unnecessarymaterial wealth, engaging in empty,vain pursuits and perhaps fitting alittle perfunctory and logically flawedTorah observance into livesoverburdened and spirituallyatrophied by such "idolatrous"endeavor. We follow the pack,maintain status quo in apparentobservance because, as Mosherecognized, it is human nature to doso. Our ancestors were also very busymaintaining cultural or societal statusquo, and one would postulate that in

those times also, there wereindividuals too lazy or concerned withthe wrong priorities to perfectthemselves in their Avoda. Instead,they counted fully and exclusivelyupon atonement through their KohenGodol only to lament their sins at theWaters of Babylon whenNebuchadnezzar was struck with amerciful spirit and lessened theirhardship to some degree.

In two thousand years of scientific,cultural, and societal experimentation,

our priorities are still backwardfull 180 degrees. Perhaps we mbetter to give our Neshamaopportunity to consider importance of, to recognize ourselves and to seek the tru"Echad" wanting it so very, much that our Neshamas cry oit, to celebrate it, just as ourfortunate bretheren yearn for wfame and good fortune wicognizance for its toll on the wphysical and spiritual resources.

Avodas Hashem, devethrough mature investigation of

is the proper framework for lifethereby internalize the wisdoTruth, we desire only to learntake pleasure in the many facethis Truth. In order to fulfill ouas Hashem's "partners in creaThis concept of "Echad" revealsto those who yearn for and toil Chochma and effectively emplthis wisdom practically in all oendeavors. We are then "EatiLive" in a world where we recothat our most important resourcplentiful, learned minds bearinfruits of the correct Torah life

which in turn bring the blespromised to us so that we are fspend our resources to create a world for all humankind. As lowe justify the status quo groupthink and our excuses fodoing more as critically thiindividuals, following the mwithin our people and indeeworld, not to change our prioand increase our learning observance, qualitatively correctly, we shall endure this GLet us resolve to dispense witconformity to the status quo

childish approach to Judaism ideification of men and the desexperience "magic", segulahs, rings, red strings and other fonotions and commit ourselvindividuals to the extent ofabilities to the singular gobecoming individuals capabachieving Echad. May we be zto see our individual paths mergone, to bring upon ourselveadvent of our Geula.

P bli C m i S ki F di Em il l m b th @ i

nissim ben-chaimnissim ben-chaim

From Golus to Geula

jewish times - volume i,no. 30...aug. 30, 2002

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