©by Menashe Dovid ben Avraham
New Kids on the Block
There are new kids on the block with respect to breaking in on the messianic Judaism scene. The messianic Judaism scene of course is a great source of revenue to the new kids on the block because of Messianic and/ or Christian denominations desperate attempts to see those Jews converted to their ‘divine’ messiah Yeshua! A common feature in the attempts to see that those Jews convert to their ‘divine’ messiah Yeshua is a spicing up in the presentation of their ideas. The spicing up may include promotion of e-books/ DVDs (which they have written/ produced) by their fellow messianic buddies, even some Orthodox Jews also involved and cashing in on the messianic Judaism scene. The messianics’ e-books unquestioningly intermingle modern day Hebrew, Hebrew of the mishna with biblical Hebrew and include a myriad of misapplications of a whole slew of (mis)quotes from those Rabbinic Sages!
![SheepPig](https://menashedovid1.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/sheeppig.png?w=660)
Behold the Lamb er Pig that takes away the sins of the world!!
The mind boggles at the extent to which these new kids on the block will go to prove that it is perfectly fine and is in complete accordance with those Rabbinic Sages, to believe Yeshua was a divine messiah. Jews to believe Yeshua was the divine messiah is identified as ‘The New Barrier’ to be broken through in one case by the use of a new concept. The new concept in a circular way of reasoning portrays Yeshua in one ‘example’ as the Kosher Pig:
“I am sure that some of you who read the title of the book (Return of the Kosher Pig) raised an eyebrow or two. Who is the Kosher Pig and why will he return? I can assure you today that the title The Return of the Kosher Pig does not involve any type of marketing gimmick of any sort to sell more copies! Before getting upset about the title of the book, I would like to briefly explain the important term “Kosher Pig” as it is an important premise for the rest of the book. The pig, or Cahzir (חזיר) in Hebrew, represents the symbol of uncleanness to the Jew” Yeshua of Nazareth is the only one who claimed to be divine in nature with the full authority to even forgive sins. Modern Judaism that is built on 13 articles of faith clearly rejects the idea that G-D can take a form of a man. Yeshua because of his claims is considered unclean to the Jewish people. Amazing, some of the Rabbis declared that the pig will return during the days of Messiah and will become Kosher as he reveals his true nature. The Return of the Kosher Pig attempts to bring back the un-kosher Yeshua to the Jewish people by presenting the case for the divine Messiah.” http://www.kosherpig.org/index.php/about
Now at this time it would very easy to get sucked into the vortex of such a formulation as the Kosher Pig thesis presented above and be spun off in many tangential paths of trying to iron out the errors of the formulation. Whilst the thesis for the book has been published (see quote above), the book is still awaiting publication.
One thing to always note however, when Messianics quote rabbinical, kabbalistic or midrashic sayings to justify their beliefs in a deified Yeshua: 99.9% of their quotes are from Rabbis who post-dated Yeshua himself. Another thing to note is that 100% of these Rabbis themselves said what they said and rejected the possibility that Yeshua was the Messiah let alone a divine Messiah. In other words, what the Rabbis said and meant by their words was COMPLETELY different to how messianics quote their words and then reinterpret them within their own Christian traditions and their latest spins doing the rounds of the various messianic circuits(see A Critical Review of Professor Daniel Boyarin’s: “Borderlines” and “The Jewish Gospels”, By: Rabbi Yisroel Chaim Blumenthal, here.)! It never ceases to amaze me the dissonance of the obvious question or observation: If the messianics theories about what the Rabbis said and meant by their words are correct then the Rabbis would be believers in the divine Yeshua would they not? Moreover, since the writings of the Rabbis post date Yeshua/ Jesus they would say so would they not?
Another perspective to the dissonance is how the Rabbis have always read and applied Rabbinic literature. Rabbinical sources always have deeper levels of meaning to a text. However, messianics fail to understand a problem with ‘messianic’ (mis)uses of rabbinic commentary. The problem is the (deliberate) partial rejection (when it suits them) that each of the four levels (PARDES) of extended meaning of the text are entirely consistent within themselves and most importantly THE GENERAL RULE; that the extended meaning never contradicts the plain meaning of the text (Peshat). Peshat (פְּשָׁט) — “plain” (“simple”) or the direct meaning. In the first instance, using the famous aleph tav (את), the plain meaning is the grammatical, where the aleph tav (את) is the direct definite object and tells us that G-d created the heavens and the earth. On an allegorical level G-d created the aleph bet and then used the created aleph bet to ‘speak’ the world into existence.
Rabbi Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezritch, writes in Or Torah pg.35:
It is known in the Kabbalistic literature that the letters of the Aleph-Beis were created first of all. Thereafter, by the use of the letters, the Holy One, Blessed is He, created all the worlds. This is the hidden meaning of the first phrase in the Torah, “In the beginning God created (את)”- that is God’s first act was to create the letters from aleph (א) to tav (ת).
There is no contradiction in the argument of the Rabbis in their use of the Sages in their commentary, just a selective lack on the messianics’ part as to how Jews have always read/ wrote and applied their literature. Moreover, the messianics’ grant themselves a license to do something even more devastating to both the plain meaning and the allegorical of both scripture and rabbinical writings:
The scriptural and the allegorical plainly show that G-d created the world and the aleph tav(את) respectively.
In contradistinction the New Testament (see John 1:1, 14) would have us believe that the word (aleph tav)(את) is equal with and is G-d and became flesh too! In other words both Yeshua and Jesus are divine.
Entertaining the Idea of a Kosher Pig
It is interesting that the pig is the only animal that has these unique traits – the pig with its split hooves is outwardly acceptable, but the inner analysis of the digestive system reveals the deficiency of not being able to chew the cud. The pig in Jewish thought therefore became synonymous with hypocrisy. The image of the swine presenting its split hooves as evidence of its purity was a powerful image. Various personalities in the Bible who were deemed by the rabbis as hypocritical were thus described:
And Cain went out… Whence did he go out? Rabbi Aibu said: “It means that he threw the words behind him and went out, like one who would deceive the Almighty.” Rabbi Berekiah said in Rabbi Eleazar’s name: “He went forth like one who shows the cloven hoof, like one who deceives his Creator.” (Midrash Rabbah Genesis 22:13)
However, the major personality who was associated with the pig was Esau in particular, and, eventually, the Romans (his descendants) in general.
Rabbi Isaac said: “[God declared]: ‘You have given a name to your swine [Esau]; then I too will name My firstborn, as it says, Thus says the Lord: Israel is My son, My firstborn – (Midrash Rabbah – Genesis 63:8)
Esav, Yaakov’s twin, claimed to follow the same tradition as Yaakov. When Yaakov left to Padan Aram to marry a girl from the family , Esav followed suit and also married a girl “from the family,” but did not divorce his non-Jewish wives. This act of marrying a “girl from the family” was solely in order appear as though he was following in the footstep of Jewish tradition.
The so called “Judeo-Christian” tradition and now messianic judaism invented by Christians is merely a facade. Despite the fact that the two brothers were twins, and had a lot in common biologically, they had very little in common in terms of lifestyle. There is an often-quoted medrash to support the facade which states, “Why is the pig called a ‘chazir’? Because some day in the future God will give it back (“lehachziro”) to the Jewish people.” The Rishonim ask how this can be. The Rambam postulates, as one of the thirteen principles of our faith, that the laws of the Torah will never change. Can it be that some day it will be permissible for us to eat Pork? Some of the Rishonim explained that “the return of the pig does not refer to eating pork, but rather to the restoration of the Jewish government in place of the Christian one.” The “pig” is the faker who makes believe that he is kosher by showing his split hooves, just as Christians and messianics claim that theirs is a twin-religion with ours, and just as Esav was a twin brother of Yaakov.
What has the above got to do with the kosher pig being Jesus/ Yeshua and Jews having to accept Jesus as a divine messiah? The answer is that there is no connection between a messiah let alone a divine messiah and the return of the pig or that the pig is the messiah. In fact if the midrashim are anything to go by, Esav is the pig which represents in a historical time line: pagan Rome, Christian Rome and present day worldwide Christianity at large which includes messianic Judaism, which in the end undergo a transformation which renders them Kosher. The transformation expressed most appropriately by Jeremiah 16:
19 O LORD, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge, in the day of affliction, unto Thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say: ‘Our fathers have inherited nought but lies, vanity and things wherein there is no profit.’ 20 Shall a man make unto himself gods, and they are no gods? 21 Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to know My hand and My might; and they shall know that My name is the LORD.
To all those believers in a divine messiah out there you are indeed following a pig and are part of the pig’s empire. The pig’s empire being Esav and his descendants. You try to scrub that pig to make it more kosher by saying you follow Torah, saying you follow the teachings of the rabbis, wear tallisim, dance with a Torah scroll, eat biblically kosher food but not the rabbinical. The pig will never be kosher until the pig changes what makes it unkosher from the inside and what makes you/ the pig unkosher is the divine messiah!
Are you insinuating that these Messianic Jews are creating these enticing products to generate revenue or merely for the purpose of peddling deception? You also mention that the book, Return of the Kosher Pig (unsure of any other books within this genre) “include a myriad of misapplications of a whole slew of (mis)quotes from those Rabbinic Sages.” What are your sources? I mean obviously the book hasn’t been published yet and is unavailable to preview…
Also, do you suggest that these Israeli Jews such as the author Rabbi Itzhak Shapira who have been raised in strict Orthodox families are no longer kosher/not Jews because they profess Yeshua as their messiah (instead of Schneerson or other more “politically correct” messiahs)? TIA for the clarification!
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I changed your spelling wrt pedal etc.., using the WP editor for comments. I think that if you look at the structure of what I wrote, I wrote in the beginning in a general way. However, I may have been in e-mail discussions with this particular person before constructing this article and the upcoming book was possibly yet another money making exercise and a woeful misuse/ abuse of rabbinical literature. The quote wrt the kosher pig is from the kosher pig website btw. The quote itself is sufficient within itself for the basis of this article without reference to any e-mails. The quote is the basic thesis of the book BTW.
Jews who are caught up in idolatry are still Jews, even those who have chosen to deify the Lubavitcher Rebbi or believe in a divine messiah such as Jesus or Yeshua. Jews believing in a divine messiah no more validates their beliefs than the beliefs of Jews who believe in and follow Hinduism or Buddhism or other forms of idolatry. Idolatry is idolatry no matter how it is dressed up! Idolatry is nothing new for the Jewish people, the Jewish scriptures gives a comprehensive account of it and how one may identify it.
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Tamar,
The deception here is slick! But if you look close enough you will see it! Not once does Itzhak Shapira say he was raised in an “Jewish Orthodox” home. What he does say is that he was raised in an “observant Saphardic” home. What does that mean? What was he “observant” to? He then goes on to say that he ” holds a full Rabbinic S’micha from the IAMCS”. Do you know what IAMCS is? It is certainly NOT a “Jewish Rabbinical School”. On the contrary! IAMCS is an online christian school where one can get a “paper certificate” that say’s rabbi on it. My real question is this. Why do these messianic christians try to use the authority that comes with being a genuine Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, deceitfully I might add, and then reject the very Rabbi’s he is pretending to be?! Check out this link and see for yourself the “degree” that “Pastor” Shapira really has!
http://yeshiva.iamcs.org/CertificateDegree.php
I will quote from their web site below.
Dear student,
Thank you for your interest in the IAMCS Yeshiva Certificate Degree in Messianic Jewish Studies program. By taking eight IAMCS Yeshiva courses—one from eight of the ten categories presented in our catalog—then writing a short two page summary on each of them, you will receive a framable certificate showing that you have completed this course of study.
Though this particular program does not lead to ordination, the completion of this training will help equip you as a worker in the field of Messianic Jewish ministry. Whether you are a Shabbat school coordinator, Bible study leader, part of a synagogue leadership team, or you just want to learn from qualified Messianic instructors, the Certificate Program can help you achieve your goal
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Being brought up in an Orthodox home/ community does not necessarily mean that one is necessarily practicing or knowledgeably Orthodox or Jewish according to Orthodox halacha, since the mother of a child may not be Jewish too. Neither is it an indicator of the qualitative value of any learning with respect Orthodox custom and practice.
Even if it is possible to prove that one is Jewish according to Orthodox halacha and there is some tentative connection with Orthodoxy. To then call oneself an ‘Orthodox Rabbi’ without appropriate study in a recognized Orthodox yeshiva and without communal recognition in an Orthodox community is deceptive indeed. Even more so deceptive, if the claim for Rabbi status/ ordination is by virtue of a Christian / Messianic organization and semantically bolting the term ‘Orthodox’ onto it to create the impression that one is an ‘Orthodox Rabbi’!!
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Shapira’s behavior is just like the story of the kosher pig. Shapira claims to be kosher. “Hey look at me I have split hooves” aka ” a full Rabbinical S’micha. You can trust me, I am a real Jewish Rabbi!! But when ya look & listen you will see that he does not chew his cud, he must use deceit to gain his respect.
It is almost laughable that Shapira chose the kosher pig as the title of his book.
Indeed, the pig has come to represent hypocrisy, someone who shows themselves to be righteous, but is not-so-kosher on the inside. In Judaism, there is nothing more morally detestable than a spiritual charlatan.
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Not being able to chew the cud is the worst type of hypocrisy. The pig needs to change from the inside. In other words, the pig needs to repent of the idolatrous divine messiah so that he/ she may be accepted as kosher by the Jewish people. May it be soon in our days.
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Took me awhile to respond, internet’s been down the past couple of days. Thanks for this, I appreciate your insights, especially about idolatry, and the quote from the Return of the Kosher Pig website. Of course, you know this isn’t the only time we post-modern Christians have quoted Rabbis to support our man-made doctrines, right? Ever notice how we often misquote Yeshua himself, particularly what he said in John 4:23 – “True worshipers will worship THE FATHER in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” If I had a dollar for every time I hear preachers and church songleaders gloss over and mis-quote that as “True worshipers will worship Jesus in spirit and in truth…” why, I’d probably be able to buy the Sinai back by now. 🙂
Anyway, even before I read your article, I saw advertisements of the book, and read some endorsements, but was turned off—mainly because as a Christian, I am uncomfortable calling my Messiah a pig, even a “kosher” pig—even if the book is said to be “exciting and engaging” or an “important achievement in literature.” After reading your rant (*wink* – and it is a valid rant, dear friend!), I am led to think that the message of the book might be excitedly ignorant of accepted truths at best, and disrespectful and deceptive at worst… but, this gut reaction of mine to Mr. Shapira’s book is one based on personal taste (because I am allergic to pork, and I did say I do not intend to read the book, sorry).
Though it got me thinking: I haven’t yet met a follower of the Lubavitcher Rebbe calling the respected Rebbe a pig… and I don’t think I ever will. Yeshua, unless the historians were wrong, was not a goy, but an observant Jew. So to Christians trying to defend our Messiah or convince the Jews of his deity (which I think is the purpose of the Return of the Kosher Pig, as its website declares)—I ask you this: Does the Messiah really need our defending?
Shalom. 🙂
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The messiah does not need defending. We will all know the messiah when the messiah does what is in accordance with the Jewish scriptures with respect to the messianic age. I am looking forward to universal world peace, universal knowledge of G-d, re-building of the temple and the in-gathering of all Israel to the land of Israel. The messiah is to lead people to the worship of G-d not to the worship of the messiah.
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Have you read ‘The Jewish Gospels’ by Daniel Boyarin?
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Here is a review:
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Shlama Shalom!
Have you read the book yet? (if so, where did you get your copy from?) I have looked at the website and it has not been released yet.
My Torah, Targum, Talmud Rabbi has always taught me to approach all things carefully and read before judging so that we hold on to what is good + profitable, and discard that which is not.
There is no doubt that Rabbi Itzhak Shapira is Othodox Jewish. Surely, Jewish People might disagree who Messiah IS/WILL Be, (it has alwasy been our way ha ha ) but at this time, we are in unison where we are waiting for Messiah to return, so i am very interested in reading this book and looking at the arguments.
Ya’acov
PSalms 122: 6 to 9
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The thesis for the book is written on the kosher pig website and quoted on my article.
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The saddest thing for me reading this, the crux of the entire debate, is the Messiah of Israel, the savior of the whole world, his appearance at the right time, is lost to the learned men of Rabbinic Judaism. They offer no solution as to His non appearance or for the continued vilification of the Jewish and of their continued dispersion among the goyim.
Yeshua may be abused by Rabbinic Judaism, as have His teachings been abused by pagan Christendom, yet they offer no alternative light to the nations that they can offer. This is an enigma. The nation chosen to be a light to the Goy offers no light but is itself split into waring factions.
Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel and if not He certainly can be of no value to the Goyim. That leaves the world lost in darkness and without hope.
Salvation is of the Jews.
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You wrongly assert that a messiah is a savior of the world. No such teaching is found in the Jewish scriptures. The central focus is not the messiah. The central focus will always be man’s willingness to do the will of G-d as clearly taught previously (Deut 10), presently and in the future (see Isaiah 2, 11). Perhaps you may benefit from reading the other articles on this blog?
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Menashe with due respect to you, Rabbinic Judaism is not that of Moshe. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, Yochanan Ben Zakkai took Judaism off into another direction, away from the requirements of Torah. We cannot get away from the fact that the teachings of Moshe cannot be adhered to. Or that Moshe in Deuteronomy 18 foresaw a time when someone, a prophet, like him, yet greater, would proclaim a message that the LORD would require the Jewish people to listen to. This is the suffering Servant of Isaiah 52/53. Rabbi Crispin says thisis Messiah. Isaiah says this Servant is the one who brings peace and salvation. “The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of the nations. That all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God.”
The Tenach clearly teaches that the Goyim will come to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moshe in Deuteronomy 32:21-22 says HaShem will cause the Jewish people to become jealous of and angry at the Goy for their beliefs, that of the Shema, the One true God.
For all the failures of Christendom, and there is so much, the same applied to Israel. The LORD said to Elijah, there is a remnant that has not bowed the knee to Baal. That is true of Israel. It is true of those who profess faith in Yeshua.
If Yeshua is not the Messiah the Jewish leadership? must show the way. But according to your prophet Hosea 3, Israel will remain many days without king or prince and without knowledge of their God. Even without idolatry. Yet in the last days Israel would return, seek the LORD their God and David their king and come trembling to the LORD and His goodness.
It is tragic that the Jews continue to be divided and without peace. Especially back in Eretz Israel. The must be an acceptable answer that the majority of the Jewish people are missing. The answer lies in the rejection of Joseph, then acceptance, the rejection of Moshe, then the acceptance. They typify Messiah.
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With all due respect you are misinformed with respect to the oral law. Here are links for edification, enjoy:
Click to access Jewish%20Law%20III.pdf
http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/oral-law-written-law/
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Your thesis that Yochanan Ben Zakkai took Judaism off into another direction, away from the requirements of Torah only finds support in recent ideas seized upon by messianics with regards to Professor Daniel Boyarin’s works. You may find a lengthy review here: http://http//menashedovid1.wordpress.com/national-covenantial-identity/
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Summary of the legal Component of the Oral Torah
1. Explanations Received and Transmitted by Moshe Relating to the Text of the Torah (Pri Etz Hadar = Etrog The SySTem of halachah).
2. Halachah leMoshe miSinai (The Laws of a Torah Scroll).
.
3. Laws Derived by Rules of Exegesis or Logic (Placement of Tefillin and the Plaintiff’s Burden of Proof).
4. Gezeirot enacted by the Prophets and Sages to Safeguard Torah Laws
(Prohibition of Eating Fowl and Dairy Together).
5. Legally Binding Minhagim and Rabbinic Takanot for the Benefit of the People
(Second Day of Yom Tov in the Diaspora and the Holidays of Hanukah and Purim.)
examples in ()
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21. They have provoked My jealousy with a non god, provoked My anger with their vanities. Thus, I will provoke their jealousy with a non people, provoke their anger with a foolish nation. כא. הֵם קִנְאוּנִי בְלֹא אֵל כִּעֲסוּנִי בְּהַבְלֵיהֶם וַאֲנִי אַקְנִיאֵם בְּלֹא עָם בְּגוֹי נָבָל אַכְעִיסֵם:
have provoked my jealousy: They kindled My anger.
קנאוני: הבעירו חמתי:
with a non-god: With something that is not a god.
בלא אל: בדבר שאינו אלוה:
with a non-people: With a nation that has no name, as Scripture states, “This land of the Chaldeans-this people was not” (Isa. 23:13). And regarding Esau, Scripture states, “You are very despised” (Obad. 1:2).
בלא עם: באומה שאין לה שם, שנאמר (ישעיה כג, יג) הן ארץ כשדים זה העם לא היה, ובעשו הוא אומר (עובדיה א, ב) בזוי אתה מאד:
I will… provoke their anger with a foolish nation: These are the heretics. So Scripture states,“The fool (נָבָל) said in his heart, There is no God!” (Ps. 14:1). – [Sifrei 32: 21]
בגוי נבל אכעיסם: אלו המינים, וכן הוא אומר (תהלים יד, א) אמר נבל בלבו אין אלהים:
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“It is tragic that the Jews continue to be divided and without peace. Especially back in Eretz Israel.”
As a citizen of Israel and a religious Jew, I question the validity of this position.
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Shalom Menashe. Over 18 years and many many more visits for months at a time, I have throughout the land I’ve engaged with Jewish people in every walk of life. I love Israel and the Jewish people. My wife’s family is Harel. In terms of true shalom in the heart there is, in my experience, very little. There is no knowledge or little of what the future holds for Israel. There is no unified belief among the people as you are well aware. They may believe in HaShem but very few know anything about the Tenach . Or the requirements that come from the LORD Himself. With no Temple, priesthood and sacrifice Israel cannot fulfill the commands of Moshe or obey the LORD. Yet He is faithful to His people. Sadly we have what Jeremiah terms the time of Jacobs trouble fast approaching. And the horrific prophesies of Zechariah to find fulfillment. The Shoah was bad enough, to think that two thirds of Jewry is gong to be cut off is unthinkable. yet these are the words of the prophet. There is only one reason. The Jewish people have failed the LORD. Present day Rabbinism is alien to the words as recorded in the Tenack. As Isaiah records, “These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from Me.” Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men cannot please the LORD Menashe.
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Judaism’s quarrel with Christianity, is significantly different from its dispute with any other belief system. Christianity does not try to present an independent argument with a supposed universal appeal (although it is often presented that way). Christianity claims to be the product of Judaism. Christianity rests on its claim to fulfillment of Jewish prophecies. As such, it must appeal to the Jewish mind-set, or else it must be false (hence the opening chapters of NT Matthew tries very hard to do this).
The amazing thing about Christianity is that it both denies and accepts the validity of the Jewish testimony at the same time. The Christian argument is that the dead Jews (Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah etc.) got it right, while the living Jews (who saw Jesus, and all who lived since then) have it all wrong. The obvious problem with this assertion, is that Isaiah and Jeremiah were once living Jews, and all of their authority rests in the fact that they were part of a chain of living Jews that goes back to Moses. The fact that someone is a part of this living chain is either important or not, it can’t be both. – Rabbi Yisroel Blumenthal
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Menashe the words from the Song of Moshe condemn Israel from provoking God with what is not God. Yet He will have compassion on them when He sees their strength is gone, Deuteronomy 32:36. Moshe says take heed, these words are a warning to Israel. “It is not an idle word – it is your life.” The fact that we have had a diaspora al these years is evident, from the words of Moshe, Israel has done exactly what he prophesied. Failed to listen, not only to him, but the God who redeemed them from Egypt.
I say this is tragic. Israel’s position in the world is once again precarious and she will be abandoned by all except a faithful God who fulfills His words as spoken by the prophets.
I can trust this God totally. His dealings with His people show me He is true and faithful. I can put my faith in His Son, Psalm 2 and Proverbs 30. Without atonement for sin we are doomed. He set the rules. I must obey Him. If we looking to mitvot to save, I must listen to Isaiah. They are filthy rags in Gods sight, as necessary as they are once we have come to know Him.
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Interesting…Jesus taught Torah, so some people of the Christian persuasion insist, and Torah tells us in Numbers 23:19 that “God is not a man, that he should lie, neither the son of man…” and now understand this is why Jesus kept referring to himself as “son of man” because the God of Israel tells us very specifically in Torah that “son of man” is not God!
4 Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?
Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
Who has bound the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is His name, and what is His Son’s name,
If you know? Prov 30
The God of Israel tells us very specifically in Torah that “son of man” is not God! Who is G-d’s son?
22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.”’ Ex 4
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נַשְּׁקוּ־בַר is a grammatically incorrect translation of the Hebrew phrase.
The phrase נַשְּׁקוּ־בַר does not contain the term בְּרָא , the form of the Aramaic noun בַּר with the definite article. Therefore, if בַר were the Aramaic noun for ‘a son’, then the phrase would have had to be translated as ‘Kiss a son’, not ‘Kiss the son’
If בַר in Psalms 2:12 were an Aramaic word, then, as used in the Aramaic portions of the Hebrew Bible, it is the possessive form ‘son of …’ (where the rest of this expression must be provided in the phrase itself), not the term for ‘son’
There are no Aramaic words in the Book of Psalms
Both Jews and Christians generally agree that 19,478 of the 19,479 words in the Masoretic Text of the Book of Psalms are Hebrew words. Does it make any sense to say that בַּר is the lone Aramaic word therein?
There was no logical reason for King David, the author of this psalm, to have used an Aramaic word in Psalms 2:12, or elsewhere in his works. He lived several centuries before the Babylonian exile, in which the Jews began to formally use Aramaic as the vernacular
He used an inflected form of the Hebrew noun בֵּן , son, in the same psalm
He never used Aramaic words in any of his other psalms.
The authors of the New Testament did not find any Christological significance in this phrase
There are no references or pointers to psalm 2:12 in the New Testament
Ancient translations of the Hebrew Bible, by Christians and Jews, which post-date the canonization of the New Testament, have correct translations of the phrase נַשְּׁקוּ־בַר
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Deuteronomy 30:1-10
“1 And it shall be that all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I have set down before you, and you will bring it to your heart amongst all the nations that the Lord your God has driven you. 2 And you shall return unto the Lord your God and you shall hearken to His voice according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul. 3 And the Lord your God will return your captivity and He will have compassion upon you, and he will return and gather you from all the nations that the Lord your God has scattered you there. 4 If your outcasts be at the ends of the heaven, from there will the Lord your God gather you and from there will He fetch you. 5 And the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your ancestors inherited and you shall inherit it, and He will do you good and He will multiply you more than your ancestors. 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your children to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul for the sake of your life. 7 And the Lord your God shall place all these curses upon your enemies and upon those that hate you who have persecuted you. 8 And you will return and hearken to the voice of the Lord and you shall do all His commandments that I command you today. 9 And the Lord your God will make you plenteous in all the work of your hands, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, for good, for the Lord will turn to rejoice over you for good just as he rejoiced over your ancestors. 10 When you hearken to the voice of the Lord your God to keep His commandments and statutes which are written in this book of teaching, when you return to the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 30:1-10).
In Deuteronomy 30:1-10, God sets down before His people a passage which gives a clear portrait of the Messianic era. The clear portrait is not one that is ambiguous and murky. Rather, God used sharp and well-defined brush strokes to paint this portrait. From the passage, the return of Israel to her land will be precipitated by her repentance. The passage teaches that repentance means turning back to obedience of God’s law as Moses taught it (i.e. all 613 commandments). The passage also teaches that repentance is effective even when Israel is in exile and when it is not possible to bring a blood offering. Further, the passage shows that God will accept exiled Israel’s repentance even before He circumcises their heart. Finally, from the passage it is learned that the commandments that Moses taught us, will be fully observed in the Messianic era. Theologians presentations of the Jewish arguments are often inaccurate at best. In stark contradistinction, Christianity teaches that Israel’s return to the teachings of Moses, will play no part in the ushering in of the Messianic era (cf Mal 4:4 – 6). Christianity teaches that repentance without a blood offering is not accepted by God. Also, the Church teaches that with the advent of Christianity, the law of Jesus has superseded the Law of Moses. How do theologians answer the Scriptural challenges from the passage, to the doctrines of Christianity?
Theologians claim that after the advent of Jesus, the central issue is; believing in Jesus, obeying Jesus, following Jesus and honoring Jesus. Speaking of the ‘inferiority’ of Israel’s high-priests when compared to the High priesthood of Jesus, Hebrews states, “The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless…”
Theologians often say that there is a divergence of views amongst followers of Jesus. Some Theologians understand that obedience to Torah which the passage speaks of, is a reference to obedience and faith in Jesus. Other theologians say that other followers of Jesus believe that the passage, a Scriptural prophecy, will never be fulfilled because of Israel’s failures. Both of these positions are openly refuted by the text. Moses told the people that they will return to obey God, “according to all that I (Moses) command you (Eternal Israel) today”. These words were spoken by Moses more than 1000 years before Jesus was born. Moses made it clear that he expected the last generation of Jews to look back to him (Moses) as their ultimate teacher, and that he expected them to follow his commandments as they were understood on the day he presented them to Israel. These words of Moses clearly preclude the Christian belief that Jesus is the ultimate teacher, and that the teachings of Jesus are somehow superior to the teachings of Moses. The second position that Theologians attributes to followers of Jesus, is also invalidated by the passage itself. The passage opens with words: “And it shall be that all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse…” The curse that Moses is referring to is the curse that God warned would befall Israel should they fail to obey His voice. How then can one make the claim that on account of Israel’s failure to obey God, the Scriptural prophecy will never be fulfilled? The Scriptural prophecy clearly predicts Israel’s failure to obey and tells how, after Israel’s failure, Israel will ultimately return to God. It is clear that God took Israel’s failures into consideration when He encouraged Israel with these words, and God’s promises are irrevocable. The two Christian explanations that theologians offer readers of the passage are therefore, clearly refuted by the words of the passage itself. Theologians, therefore do not even begin to provide a textual justification for the Christian interpretation of Deuteronomy 30. The real question is: What do the Hebrew Scriptures teach? This passage in Deuteronomy clearly teaches that Israel’s repentance is the precursor of the Messianic age, this passage teaches that repentance is efficacious while Israel is still in exile, and this passage clearly teaches that the Law of Moses, as Moses taught it, is going to be observed in the Messianic era. Each of these issues is central to the debate between Judaism and Christianity.
The nation of Israel pre-dates the Christian religion, a Christians lack of nationality, by the claim of Paul (Eph 2), is procured/ rectified/ established by the sacrifice/ resurrection/ ascension of Jesus as part of a “new” covenant. The “new” covenant as clearly stated by the New Testament now clearly excludes BOTH Jew and Gentile from salvation if they are not a believer of Jesus:
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned…..”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life…..”I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (Mark 16:16, John 3:16, John 5:24)
Just in case you miss the point, let me summarize: the return of the Jewish people is not predicated in the belief of a divine messiah offering a universal substitutionary atonement as the central focus of a new covenant. No such thing can be derived from the Jewish scriptures!
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Menashe I fully agree that the Jewish people will be back in Eretz Israel in unbelief, as a Nation. The Jews are being gathered back for judgement according the the Hebrew prophets. Psalm 2 gives us warning to “Kiss the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him.”
Once again the rejection of Joseph and Moshe teach us about HaMashiach Ben Yoseph. There are far too many educated Jews who now recognize Yeshua as Messiah to ignore. http://www.messiah.com.es
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In unbelief? I do not know how you arrive at this in the light of the thriving religious population here in Eretz Israel! In the diaspora and Israel there are more centers of study and thriving communities than before WW2.
If you mean unbelief as the newly added evangelical paradigm of the New Testament which is not supported in the Jewish scriptures, then I understand you.
Otherwise it would be an insult to all other educated Jews like myself (with academic and professional skills btw or without for that matter) who have a committed, spiritual and meaningful existence just like all the Jews in the continuous line from Abraham to Moses to the prophets to the Sages and the Rabbis to the present day:
Deu 4:6 Keep therefore and do [them]; for this [is] your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation [is] a wise and understanding people.
12 “And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
13 to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command thee this day for thy good?
14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord’S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
15 Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them; and He chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. Deut 10……
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, “Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Isa 2
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, [or] with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn [for] my transgression, the fruit of my body [for] the sin of my soul?
He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?Mic 6:7, 8
No messiah worship here, no sacrificing a messiah either, just Torah wisdom which G-d wants us Jews to do and which non Jews will too in the messianic age (Isa 2).
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Menashe the last thing I would ever do is show disrespect. I’m speaking about a massive number of Jews who are secular.
If Israel is back in belief I’d honestly appreciate your understanding of the passages dealing with judgement on the nation.
Jeremiah 30:7 The passage on Jacobs trouble.
Passages on the Day of the LORD and the prophesies of Zechariah concerning two thirds of the nation perishing are frightening.
Thankfully Zechariah 12 shows the LORD will once again pour out His Ruach on the people and draw them to Himself.
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Yes it is indeed frightening to think that such a dreadful situation may occur WRT Zechariah. However, as far as secular Jews are concerned I have been pleasantly surprised on a number of occasions. However, Judaism is not a religion but a nationality. To demote Judaism to a religion would mean that performance is what counts to stay in the club so to speak, a shame especially when we are already chosen and that G-d has already provided repentance without need of a substitute (Ezekiel 18).
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Thanks Menashe. It is good to have you as a friend on FB also.
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Definition of Rechilot: Murder of your brother according to the Torah as it states לֹא-תֵלֵךְ רָכִיל בְּעַמֶּיךָ, לֹא תַעֲמֹד עַל-דַּם רֵעֶךָ: אֲנִי, יְהוָה. Before G-D, let me ask you Menashe if you read “The Return of the Kosher Pig”. The answer will be NO since the book is not out even yet. I found it just find it amazing that you would put a review of a book that you have not read. Once you read the book you can write your own “review” of it, but you will have to wait until it is out, until that point, all attacks against this groundbreaking work and against me are nothing more than Rechilot. HaShem watches and hears all the slander of this S’inat Chinam. This is my first and last comment as I hate to see you involved in such L’eshonot R’ahot.
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As I have repeatedly said in other places, the thesis for your book is for all to see on your website and is quoted in the above article. With respect to Rechilot I do not think a review of the thesis to be slander and prefer to give you the benefit of the doubt in your judgement of myself. It would be kind of like me accusing you of leading folks astray would it not?:
If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which [is] as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; [Namely], of the gods of the people which [are] round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the [one] end of the earth even unto the [other] end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely KILL him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to DEATH, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt STONE HIM with STONES, that he DIE; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
—Deuteronomy 13:6–10
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I am more certain that going into a debate with this man Rabbi Itzhak Shapira, will be the destruction of everything this whole article had to offer ignorant followers and adherents. Not everything in Kabbalah every Jew believes, Just like Shapira, does not have to believe Maimonides, when He says G-d is yachid instead of echad. You eat the meat and spit out the bones. All this being said, in desperation for this to go away. It will not go away. WHY? because this government as Daniel foresaw, will endure forever. ( Daniel 7:13-15). Jews don’t have to believe in nothing but G-d. If they believe the rabbi’s it’s because they found out that they were true in their intent. Maimonides and Rashi were considered banned. And they were loved afterwards. But thank G-d. Maimonides nor any those of the Orthodox movement owns, G-d, Torah, Judaism, the Jewish people, nor it’s land. You can only conclude that Messiah will be Divine. The Jews before the first century did. And some Jews today, have applied the same thing to their personal rabbi’s. But this is Judaism. It’s always been pluralistic. Never been ONE fixed idea. But an Idea of Ideas.
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Way to highjack Judasim. To claim they evolved from Judaism, but they somehow are truth and Judaism isn’t anylonger. I want to tell them, you use Judaism as a vehicle to try to grab attention then grab all of the recognition and credit for everything, and replace Hashem also with someone else and new doctrine. It is just asinine. Talk about picking and choosing. No, torah is what it is. You are either observant, not observant or not Jewish.
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This was a interesting article and an even more interesting commentary. I could do without all of the childish attacks from both sides but I suppose that should be expected, unfortunately. Thank you Manashe for taking the time to respond to the comments, as a gentile aspiring to convert I learned allot from them.
כט:יג יִרְמְיָהוּ
וּבִקַּשְׁתֶּם אֹתִי, וּמְצָאתֶם: כִּי תִדְרְשֻׁנִי, בְּכָל-לְבַבְכֶם
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