Category: Torah Study

Selected verses from the Torah for Hebrew study

Our Broken Matzah…

John J Parsons

During our Passover Seder, we will place three matzahs on the table, said to represent Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, respectively. During the Yachatz step of the seder, the middle matzah (representing Isaac) will be broken to recall how Isaac was sacrificed in obedience to his father, foreshadowing the sacrifice of Yeshua by God the Father. Indeed, the Talmud states, “We break the middle matzah in tribute to Yitzchak (Isaac), who accepted the sins of the people upon himself” (Shabbos 89b). The smaller half of this broken matzah will be eaten later during the Motzi Matzah step, while the larger half will be eaten during the Afikomen step, near the end of the night…

In Hebrew, the middle of something is it’s heart – the heart of the heavens, the heart of the earth, the heart of the sea, the heart of a person… Since the offering of Isaac by Abraham foretold of the greater offering of Yeshua by God Himself, when we break the middle matzah, then, we recall the broken heart of God over the pain Yeshua endured by taking our sins upon Him at the cross….“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).

During his Passover seder with his disciples, Yeshua “took matzah, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body” (Matt. 26:26). Since Yeshua did this while they were eating dinner, the matzah he broke would have been the Afikomen, thereby making the connection between the hidden bread (lechem ha-nistar) that would be broken given for our deliverance. The matzah we eat during Passover is called lechem oni (לֶחֶם ענִי) – “the bread of [His] suffering” – and eating the Bread of Life that was “broken for us” remembers ish makhovot, the man of sorrows, the suffering of our LORD…

 

Hebrew Lesson:

 

Man of our Sorrows…

John J Parsons

Happy Passover season, dear friends — despite the oppression and darkness of this evil world.. Recall that God had compassion for his people as they were suffering in Egypt. The LORD told Moses, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry… I know their sorrows” (Exod. 3:7). The grammar here is intense: “seeing I have seen” (רָאה רָאִיתִי). Understand, then, that God surely sees your struggles too, friend. Second, know that God heeds the outcry (צְעָקָה) of your heart, and indeed, he interprets your groaning as if it were for the sake of serving him. Your heart’s cry is transformed by grace to be the cry for God himself, for relationship with Him: “The cry of the people has come to me,” he again told Moses (Exod 3:9), which means all the sufferings, the wrongs, the hopes, the fears, the groans, the despair, the prayers, were present before him, as if he counted every word and sigh. Third, realize that God knows your sorrows; he gathers all your tears into his bottle (Psalm 56:8). The word translated “sorrows” (מַכְאב) is the same used to describe the “Man of sorrows” (אישׁ מַכְאבוֹת), Yeshua our Suffering Servant, who gave up his life to deliver you from your darkness, sorrow, and fears (Isa. 53:3-5).

 

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Mighty Hand and Outstretched Arm…

John J Parsons

Concerning the observance of the Passover Seder the Torah states, “When your child asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say Avadim Hayinu: ‘We were slaves (עבדים היינו) to Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes” (Deut. 6:20-23). We are instructed to “remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out” (Deut. 7:19). As it is written in the Shema, “You shall teach them diligently to your children,” we ask, what do we teach? And we answer: Kulo! Everything – the whole story of our deliverance (הסיפור המלא).

The early sages taught that Hebrew word “Pesach” (פסח) can be read as peh (פֶּה), “mouth,” and sach (סַח), “speaks,” indicating that Passover is a confession of the truth of God’s redemption, testifying to the truth of the LORD’s faithful love. On Pesach we thank God for the revelation and the wonder of the great Lamb of God that was slain… Indeed, in light of the truth of the Scriptures – both in the Torah, the writings, the prophets, and the New Covenant Scriptures – how is it possible to honor the LORD God of Israel and to celebrate his redemption apart from the Messiah who came to earth to die as the great Lamb of God? Yeshua is the heart and central meaning of the Passover, and there is simply NO valid Passover Seder apart from the blood of the Lamb (Heb. 2:3; Heb 10:28-29).

 

Hebrew Lesson:

 

Moving Heaven and Earth…

John J Parsons

Act as if your choices have eternal significance; they do; pray as if your life depends on it; it does. Praying in accordance with the will of God – to know Him, to walk in the light of his love and to be filled with wisdom, patience, kindness, and so on, will assuredly move heaven and earth (1 John 5:14). God is faithful and always hears those who call out to him with sincerity of heart: “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth” (Psalm 145:18). Rouse then your heart! Awaken! Boldly draw near to the throne of Grace to find help in your present hour of need (Heb. 4:16). Cry out to God Most High (לֵאלהִים עֶלְיוֹן), to the very One who will fulfill his purpose for you (Psalm 57:2).

 

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The Meaning of Passover…

John J Parsons

In Exodus chapter 12 we read about the institution of Passover and the final plague that was to befall the Egyptians on the Passover night. When we think of this time, we may imagine God “passing over” those houses that had the blood of the lamb smeared on their doorposts, though it could be said that God passed into the homes of those who trusted him, while he withdrew His Presence from those that did not…

To see this note that two different words are used that can be translated as “pass over.” First, God said, “I will pass over (i.e., avar: עֲבַר) the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments; I am the LORD” (Exod. 12:12). But directly after saying this, God promised to “pass over” (i.e., pasach: פָּסַח) the homes of those who trusted in him to impart his protection from the plague of death: “The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over to you (lit. עֲלֵכֶם, ‘upon you’), and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt” (Exod. 12:13). In other words, when God would see the blood of the Passover lamb, he would pass over to enter the house and “cover” its occupants from the judgment of death.

The blood of the Passover lamb sheltered people from the plague of death by atoning for their sin by means of a substitutionary sacrifice. The Torah states that “the life (i.e., nefesh: נֶפֶשׁ, or ‘soul’) of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11), and therefore death represents the separation of the soul from the body. The life blood of a sacrificial lamb was therefore offered in exchange for the death and destruction of others. Eating the lamb “roasted by fire” meant identifying with the death offered in exchange for your own; eating matzah, or unleavened bread, signified being delivered in haste, apart from the “rise of the flesh” or human design; and eating maror, or bitter herbs, recalled the bitterness of former bondage.

The first time the word “blood” occurs in the Scriptures concerns the death of Abel, the son of Adam and Eve who was murdered by his brother Cain. After Abel’s blood was shed, the LORD confronted Cain and said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground” (Gen. 4:10). Since blood is the carrier of life, it bears the energy and vitality of life: it has its own spiritual “voice.” Likewise, the blood of Yeshua, the true Lamb of God who died upon the cross, speaks on our behalf, and reverses the power of death by creating a barrier that death can no longer cross, since the death of the sacrificial victim “exchanges” the merit and power of life. Unlike the blood of Abel that “cries out” for justice, the blood of Yeshua cries out for mercy (Heb. 12:24). Putting our trust in the provision of God’s sacrifice causes His wrath (or righteous judgment) to pass over while simultaneously extending love to the sinner…. This is the essential message of the gospel itself, that we have atonement through the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua our Savior, the great Lamb of God. As Yeshua said, “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the One who sent me has eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם) and will not be condemned, but has passed over (i.e., μετά + βαίνω, lit., “crossed over” [עָבַר]) from death to life” (John 5:24). Just as God’s judgment passes over from life to death on my behalf; so His love passes over from death to life on my behalf…

The idea of substitutionary atonement is surely mysterious and complicated, but ultimately the message is simple: God loves you and has made a way for you to be eternally accepted — despite your sin… That’s the “good news” of the cross. That’s what Yeshua meant when he said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם). For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:14-17). Humanity as a whole has been “bitten by the snake” and needs to be delivered from its deadly venom. Just as the image made in the likeness of the destroying snake was lifted up for Israel’s healing, so the One made in the likeness of sinful flesh was to be lifted up as the Healer of the world (Rom. 8:3). All we need to do is look and believe. Yeshua died for you so you can live. He stands at the door and knocks, offering to “pass over” your sin and to impart to you his life in exchange (Rev. 3:20).

 

Hebrew Lesson:

 

 

Passover and the Limping Messiah…

John J Parsons

As we prepare our hearts for the Passover, recall that the Hebrew verb “pasach” (פָּסַח) can mean not only “to pass over,” but also “to limp,” suggesting the heel of Messiah that was “bruised” in the battle for our salvation (Gen. 3:15). As it is written, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם). For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:14-17). Humanity as a whole has been “bitten by the snake” and needs to be delivered from its deadly venom. Just as the image made in the likeness of the destroying snake was lifted up for Israel’s healing, so the One made in the likeness of sinful flesh was to be lifted up as the Healer of the world (Rom. 8:3). All we need to do is look up and believe…

Some people might object that the verb pasach (פָּסַח) alludes to the wounded Savior, our great Passover “Lamb who was slain” (John 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:19-20; Rev. 5:12; 13:8); however, it is evident that the Hebrew root can mean “to limp” as a result of a wound. Indeed the Hebrew participle pise’ach (פִּסֵחַ) means “lame” or “crippled” (for example, see Lev. 21:18; Deut. 15:21; 2 Sam. 9:13, etc.). Furthermore, there are several uses of the verb pasach that explicitly mean to “limp” or “be lame.” For example, in 2 Sam. 4:4 it says: “and he (Mephibosheth) fell and ‘became lame” (וַיִּפָּסֵחַ); in 1 Kings 18:21, we read: “how long will you limp (פּסְחִים) between two opinions?” and in 1 Kings 18:26 it is written: “and they (the priests of Baal) ‘limped upon the altar” (וַיְפַסְּחוּ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ) in a pagan ritual dance. In other words there is clearly a connection between Passover and becoming wounded, and this alludes to the Suffering Servant, the Messiah, whose heel was bruised in the battle for our deliverance (Gen. 3:15). Those who wish to argue that pasach cannot refer to the “limping” of the Messiah, the Passover “Lamb of God” who was slain for our sins in the battle against the serpent, therefore have the burden to explain the meaning and usage of the verb pasach in these other verses of the Hebrew Scriptures.

 

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The Way of Truth…

John J Parsons

A delusion is essentially a belief that does not correspond to reality which is held without rational warrant and is therefore immune from any possibility of falsification. Webster’s Dictionary defines it as, “a persistent false psychotic belief regarding the self or persons or objects outside the self that is maintained despite indisputable evidence to the contrary.” An example of a delusion is the theory of macro evolution, or the idea that the universe is an eternally self-existent, closed system of cause and effect. Another example would be the belief that value, meaning, purpose, logical inference, morality, beauty, truth, love, and so on, can exist in a universe apart from God.

On the other hand, there is rational, intuitive, and empirical evidence to believe that the universe was created in time by a transcendental power that is the source of all value, meaning, purpose, and so on. Martin Heidegger asked, “Why is there something rather than nothing,” which is not a question about a possible cause for an observed effect, but is a question about the underlying cause of any possible existence at all. The Scriptures reply: “For God’s invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature from the creation of the world, have been clearly perceived, because they are understood through what has been made, so people are without excuse” (Rom 1:20).

 

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Since sound logic is “truth preserving,” if you begin with false premises, the conclusion will therefore be false as well. Thus those who begin their reasoning from humanistic assumptions are in error, even if they should stumble upon the truth. If the LORD alone is the One true God, then that changes absolutely everything, and nothing is unaffected by this all-pervasive truth. As Abraham Heschel once said, “God is of no importance unless He is of supreme importance,” and this is eminently true because “in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Since reality turns on God, reasoning from another set of assumptions is really a form of delusional thinking that ultimately leads to insanity, that is, unsoundness of mind derived from folly or unreasonableness. The fool has said “in his heart” there is no God (Psalm 14:1). “The wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek Him; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God'” (Psalm 10:3-4). The suppression of the truth necessarily implies an exchange for the lie, and with the lie comes deranged reasoning, slavery, darkness, and fear….

Read more “The Way of Truth…”

Teshuvah of Passover…

John J Parsons

We must be careful not to worship an idol, that is, a false concept of God! It is possible to study the Bible, to attend a church or synagogue, and yet worship a pagan god. How so? By not knowing the heart of the Father; by not honoring the One who passionately seeks our healing. We know the Father by the Son, that is, in “the language of Son” (ἐν υἱῷ) and in the truth of his passion (Heb. 1:2; Luke 10:21-24). Our heavenly Father is eager to forgive and embrace all of his children (John 3:16-17). In Yeshua’s famous parable of the “prodigal son,” the father saw his wayward child a “long way off” and ran to embrace and kiss him – no questions asked, no explanations needed about his past. When the son nevertheless began reciting his carefully prepared speech of regret and repentance, the father barely listened, and in his overwhelming joy instructed his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found’ (see Luke 15:20-25).

Know the heart of the Father… God sees you while you are still “a long way off” (Rom. 5:8). He runs to you with affection when you first begin to turn your heart toward Him. Indeed, God’s compassion is so great that He willingly embraces the shame of your sins and then adorns you with “a fine robe, a ring, and sandals.” Your Heavenly Father even slaughters the “fattened calf” (Yeshua) so that a meal that celebrates your life may be served.

It is never too late to turn to God… The prophet Jeremiah spoke in the Name of the LORD: “Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD. I will not look on you in anger, for I am kind (כי־חסיד אני), declares the LORD” (Jer. 3:12). When the people drew back in shame, however, God encouraged them by saying “Come back, O lost children; I will heal your faithlessness. “Behold, we come to you, for you are the LORD our God” (Jer. 3:22).

 

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The Reason for Passover…

John J Parsons

“This is the thing that the LORD commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you: Draw near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself” (Lev. 9:6-7). Have you considered why you were born into this world? What is your purpose, destiny, and end? The Torah states that you were personally created by Almighty God, who breathed out the breath of life (נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים) into you, and then redeemed your life so you could know the glory of God and spiritual reality. As it is written: “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your desire they existed and were created” (Rev. 4:11). God creates all things for his glory and purposes, which indeed is the first blessing recited over the bride and groom in a traditional Jewish wedding: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלם שֶׁהַכּל בָּרָא לִכְבוֹדו / “Blessed are you Lord our God king of the universe, who has created all things for his glory.” The purpose of life is to know and love God, to walk in His light and truth, and to glorify his compassion and grace forever…

At a traditional Jewish wedding the groom places the ring on his bride’s finger and says: Harei, at mekudeshet li (הרי את מקודשׁת לי): “Behold, you are sacred to me.” Love and holiness are interconnected, since the beloved is set apart as sacred and treasured. May God help us see the wonder of His love for our lives: “Do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:14-16).

 

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The Passover Vigil….

John J Parsons

Although Passover is traditionally recognized as an eight-day holiday, technically speaking it refers to the first night of the sacrifice of the lamb of God and the first day of the Exodus from Egypt (i.e., Nisan 15). The following week the people ate unleavened bread as they journeyed out Egypt and finally crossed the sea on the eighth day. Of particular importance, however, is the Passover night, which the Lord commanded Israel to observe forever as a vigil in memory of their great deliverance from Egypt.

“At the end of 430 years, on that very day (i.e., Nisan 15), all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt” (Exod. 12:41). Immediately after stating this, the Torah refers to Passover as leil shimurim (ליל שמורים), a “night to be guarded” (from the verb shamar, which means “to watch” or “to guard”). “It is a night that is guarded (leil shimurim) to the LORD for bringing them [Israel] out of Egypt; this night remains a night to be guarded (שִׁמֻּרִים) by the people of Israel throughout their generations” (Exod. 12:42). Since “this night” – ha-lailah hazeh (הלילה הזה) – was guarded by God from the beginning to be the time of redemption, Israel must therefore “guard this night” (i.e., keep a vigil) by means of the Passover Seder (Exod. 13:10; Deut. 16:1), recalling and celebrating God’s faithfulness and redemptive love.

Read more “The Passover Vigil….”