Parasha Midrash Va’era 5784 (2024) reading:
Shemote (Exodus) 6-9
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66
Mattityahu (Matthew) 15
Fair Use: Pro-Israel Content, Academic Content, Autistic Content, PG-13
Shalom and welcome to the Prime Minister Parasha Midrash. My name is Norman Willis. And this is where the man the Orthodox Sanhedrin asked to be their gentile Christian messiah in 5776 and 5777 tries to help the house of Judah understand that Joseph loves Judah, but Joseph cannot come home while Judah is replacing the Tanach (or the Older Covenant) with the Talmud.
And this is also where Joseph tries to help Judah realize that they are heading off the cliff by ignoring Elohim’s words. And that is why we seek to give loving, constructive mikrah and midrash advice to help our beloved brothers in Judah turn away from self-idolatry. And to turn away from the pedophilia in the Talmud, and return to Elohim’s pure words of Tanach, so that Elohim might smile upon them.
“We do not learn Tanach…”
But today, Levi replaces Elohim’s words in the Tanach with their own words in the Talmud. And for an analogy, it would be like if the prime minister gave an order, and his staff replaced the prime minister’s words with their own words, and pretended they did not. And in an effort to save Jewish (and Ephraimite) lives, Joseph needs to point out what a problem it is that Judah does not even really read the Tanach (or the Older Covenant).
For example, here is an Orthodox Jewish man explaining why they do not read Elohim’s words in the Tanach. (And yet they think they do, because the rabbis make up a bunch of commentaries on the Tanach that actually invert the Tanach’s meaning.)
“We do not learn Tanach in our schools because it is very deep, and things can be misinterpreted. So, they do not teach us Tanach. We learn Talmud, we learn what we call “Oral Law”. So, if I want to go into Yeshayahu, what you call “Isaiah”, I would go to my Rabbi and I would ask him to teach it to me, like everything I do not understand and ask him to teach to me. But things I was not taught in school because I was told that it is deep to understand, I for sure would not just read texts…”
[Orthodox Jews REACT to Messianic Jews Sharing ISAIAH 53, So Be It, 1:24-1:54]
We want to be respectful, but to Joseph, that’s nuts. That is like driving blindfolded. If you do not read Elohim’s words, how do you know what they say?
What would happen if the prime minister gave an order as the chief executive, but then his staff decided to replace his orders with their own version of his orders, which pointed the nation in the opposite direction? And then everyone went off the cliff because they refused to fact check their Talmud against the Tanach?
Yahweh has several passages such as Devarim 4:2, where He explicitly tells us not to add, and not to take away anything away from His written Torah, or else it is no longer His written Torah, but our own Talmud. And if we do not obey His bridal covenant as He gave it, then it is no longer His bridal covenant to us. (Think about that!)
Devarim (or Deuteronomy) 4:2
2 “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim which I command you.”
But what does Levi do? Sad to say, Levi does exactly what Elohim prohibits! And then pretends it is ok, because the Talmud says so! For example, in Talmud Tractate Eruvin 21b, we see how the rabbis praise Elohim at the exact same time as they are busy replacing His commandments with the Talmud.
“New and old, which I have laid up for you, O my beloved,” the Congregation of Israel said before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and continued: Master of the Universe, I have decreed many decrees upon myself through the enactments and ordinances of the Sages, more than what You decreed upon me in the Torah, and I have fulfilled them. These are the new laws which were added to the old ones stated in the Torah.”
[Talmud Tractate Eruvin 21b, Sefaria]“Yay… Master of the universe! Bless your great name! I broke your commandment at Devarim 4:2 and many other places, just like you said never to do! Are not you pleased with my flagrant high-handed disobedience? And these are the new laws which we made up ourselves, and added to the old ones that you gave us, which are stated in your marital covenant! Master of the universe, I am disobeying what you said to do! Are not you so happy with me? I love you! That is why I am replacing Your commandments with mine! But do not get mad, because I do not even bother to read Your words!”
[Orthodox Jews REACT to Messianic Jews Sharing ISAIAH 53, So Be It, 1:24-1:54]
For sure he will not just read the words of Elohim? (Can you see the bus driving off the cliff?) For sure he will not do what Elohim says, because his rabbi taught him not even to read Elohim’s words!
Replacing Yahweh’s Tanach
But there is a problem. Orthodox Judah knows he needs to obey the Torah, because that is what the weekly Torah portions say to do. So, the way the rabbis keep their people from reading and obeying Elohim’s words in the Tanach is that the rabbis call the Talmud the “Torah” (even though they know it is not the Torah).
[“Religious Jews are asked about the Talmud”, Corey Gil Shuster, 28:12-28:20]
Now, Esav does not really care about this kind of thing, because Esav believes that Yeshua (or Jesus in their case) did come to do away with the Torah. But as Joseph, this is a huge deal to us, because we cannot come home as long as Levi is peddling replacements for Elohim’s word.
And what is so amazing (and so upsetting) about Ephraim is how they can know that the Brit Chadasha says to imitate Yeshua, who kept the Torah perfectly, but then they make excuses not to keep the Torah perfectly. And they make excuses to disobey the Great Commission. So, there is this cognitive dissonance (or this hypocrisy) in the house of Joseph.
For example, most Christians keep Sunday, and most Christians still believe corrupted Esavite doctrines like the Trinity, and all kinds of other things that look like Scripture but are not. And probably most of Judah is not sinning on purpose, just like most Christians are not sinning on purpose. Most Christians are blinded to their true identities as Ephraimites. (And there are also believing Jews who are sojourning with Joseph).
And as we will show in the Abraham Accords series, in two more big wars (meaning, in about two-three more generations), Joseph (and those Jews sojourning with him) will wake up to the reality of their Israelite identities. And then there will be a reconciliation and a reuniting between the two houses, and Judah and Joseph will be one, once again.
But in the meantime, many Christians are going to be lost and confused about their identities as Joseph. And that identity confusion helps to explain why so many Christians do not yet get the fact that Yeshua did not lie in Mattityahu 5:17-20, when He said not to think He came to do away with the Torah, or with any of the prophecies. And that nothing about the prophecies is going to change!
Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:17-20
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
And it also helps to explain verse 20, where Yeshua said that if you want to enter the kingdom of heaven, you must keep the written Torah of Moshe better than Orthodox Judah does!
And I am sorry to say, but most of Ephraim seems to think that it should be easy, and free. Ephraim wants to make sacrifices unto Elohim that are easy, and free. So, Ephraim knows what to do, he just does not care enough about Yeshua to do it, because it is not easy, or free.
Torah portion: Shemote 6-9
And to get into the Torah portion, in Shemote chapter 6, starting in verse 2, Elohim spoke to Moshe.
Shemote (Exodus) 6:2-3
2 And Elohim spoke to Moshe and said to Him: “I am Yahweh.
3 I appeared to Avraham, to Yitzhak, and to Yaakov, as El Shadday, but by My name Yahweh I was not known to them.
What we see here is that El Shadday is calling us to a higher level of intimacy with Him, by revealing His name to us. And what do we do?
Leaving Yahweh’s name desolate
The Christians call him “Lord” (which as we will see later is “Ba’al”). And Levi calls Him “HaShem” or “Adonai”. And we will break this out in a separate teaching, but this is incredibly rude of both houses not to call Yahweh by His name.
Now, for illustration, Wikipedia tells us that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s paternal grandfather’s name was Mileikowsky. Then when the prime minister’s father immigrated to mandatory Palestine, he ‘Hebraized’ (or changed) his surname from “Mileikowsky” to “Netanyahu”, to make it sound more Hebraic. (And lots of Jews do that.)
“When Netanyahu’s father immigrated to Mandatory Palestine, he hebraized his surname from “Mileikowsky” to “Netanyahu”.”
[Wikipedia, Benjamin Netanyahu]
Under the education section, Wikipedia says that after the future prime minister went to Israel to fight in the Yom Kippur war, he returned to the United States and, under the name Ben Nitay, completed a bachelor’s degree in architecture.
“Netanyahu returned to the United States in late 1972 to study architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After briefly returning to Israel to fight in the Yom Kippur War, he returned to the United States and, under the name Ben Nitay, completed a bachelor’s degree in architecture.”
[Wikipedia, Benjamin Netanyahu]
Great. We do not really care. But if you report to the prime minister of Israel, then do you insist on calling him Mileikowsky, or Ben Nitay, when he introduces himself to you by his name, Benjamin Netanyahu? Of course not! (You want to keep your job, right?)
Would not we think it was rude if someone disrespected the prime minister by calling him a different name than the name he introduced himself to us by? So, if it would be rude not to call a human prime minister by the name he introduced himself with, then why would we call Yahweh by another name?
(And for Christians, do you know that “Lord” is not his real name?)
Why in the world does Judah want to hide Yahweh’s name, when Yahweh says in Shemote 9:16, that “indeed for this purpose I have raised you up—that I may show my power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” That is really hard to understand, isn’t it?
Shemote (Exodus) 9:16
16 “But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”“We do not learn Tanach in our schools because it is very deep, and things can be misinterpreted.”
[Orthodox Jews REACT to Messianic Jews Sharing ISAIAH 53, So Be It, 1:24 – 1:30]
A zeal without knowledge
What part of “Call me Yahweh” is deep, and can be misinterpreted? What part of “I want My name made famous in all the earth” is “deep, and can be misinterpreted”?
It is right there in Shemote. I mean, you even get it in the weekly Torah portions. But when your rabbis train you to ignore the written Torah (except insofar as it serves as an excuse to replace Elohim’s words with the Talmud), you can read right over the fact that Yahweh says He wants His name made known in all the earth. Why is that not what the Talmud teaches?
“We do not learn Tanach in our schools because it is very deep, and things can be misinterpreted. So, they do not teach us Tanach. We learn Talmud, we learn what we call “Oral Law”. So, if I want to go into Yeshayahu, what you call “Isaiah”, I would go to my Rabbi and I would ask him to teach it to me, like everything I do not understand and ask him to teach to me. But things I was not taught in school because I was told that it is deep to understand, I for sure would not just read texts…”
[Orthodox Jews REACT to Messianic Jews Sharing ISAIAH 53, So Be It, 1:24 – 1:54]
“I for sure would not just read texts [Elohim’s words]?” For sure, Orthodox Judah will only read Talmudic replacements for Elohim’s words?
So, does that mean you fear and honor Levi more than you fear or honor Yahweh? Talk about moving the ancient boundary, brothers! You have replaced the ancient covenant! It is like Shaliach Shaul said in Romim 10:2-3. For Levi (or Korach in this case) has a zeal for Elohim, just not according to knowledge.
Romim (Romans) 10:2-3
2 “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for Elohim, but not according to knowledge.
3 For they being ignorant of Elohim’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of Elohim.”
Korach, being willfully ignorant of Elohim’s righteousness in the Tanach, and seeking to establish his own righteousness in the Talmud, have not submitted to the righteousness of Elohim in the written Torah or in the Tanach, because those things come from Elohim. Korach does not like that which comes from Elohim. And we see many witnesses to this in our Haftarah prophetic portion as well.
Haftarah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66
So, we go to Yeshayahu 66. And raise your hand if you are Jewish, and you have never read Isaiah 66 in cover-to-cover context before (meaning, apart from the Torah portions). Be honest! Ok, almost all of you.
Alright, well, then for some background information, the context of Yeshayahu 66 is the return of the lost tribes of Joseph and the rebuilding of the temple in the end of days.
But for some perspective, in Isaiah 66:1, Elohim reminds us that all of earth is His footstool. So, do we think that if we build Him a box with a roof according to His specifications, then can we ignore the Tanach? (It is like, did we learn anything from Yirmeyahu’s ministry?)
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:1
1 Thus says Yahweh: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?”
In the Abraham Accords series, we will see that Elohim does want us to build Him the temple described in Yehezqel (Ezekiel )40-46, but Yeshayahu 66:2 tells us that Elohim is the One who made everything. So we do not get to swap out His Tanach for the Talmud, just because we build a box on His footstool.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:2
2 “For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,” says Yahweh. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.”
And as we will see in the Abraham Accords series, what Elohim wants to see is twelve tribes who approach Him in humility, and a contrite spirit, and who tremble at His word. And replacing the Tanach with the Talmud is not trembling at His word!
When we get to Parasha Korach we will drop a Nachmanides marker there, because as we will see, Korach’s rebellion was the true beginning of the Talmudic replacement-theology rabbinical order.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:3
3 “He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog’s neck; he who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood; he who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol. Just as they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations,”
“If Levi is not obeying My words, and trying to establish My kingdom the way I said, then Levi is in rebellion. And in that case, a Talmudist who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man!” [And earlier we saw that the ox refers to Joseph, because Joseph’s symbol was the aurochs ox.]”
“And in Korach’s rebellion, he who sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck. And a Talmudist who presents a grain offering is like one who offers pigs blood. And a replacement theology believer who makes a memorial offering of frankincense is like one who blesses an idol.”
Why? Because they are not doing what Elohim said! Rather, “These have chosen their own ways in the Talmud, and their soul delights in their replacement theology abominations.”
Hellooooo? Tanach knock!
3rd temple vs Ezekiel’s temple
In the Abraham Accords series, we will see how Yehezqel 40-46 speaks of a temple that will be built (after Armageddon)—and that is the clean temple that is listed in Yehezqel. But this next temple (the third temple) will not be Yehezqel’s temple.
And further, it will not be attended by a pure Levitical order, but rather by a replacement theology Talmudic-rabbinic order. That is why Yeshayahu 66:3 tells us that the rabbis have chosen their own ways, and that their soul delights in their Talmudic abominations.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:3b
3b …Just as they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations,
The rabbis delight because they think they have found a way to use the power of Elohim’s name, while replacing His Torah with their own. And Elohim does not like being scammed like that!
Galatim (Galatians) 6:7
7 Do not be deceived, Elohim is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
If you were a king, would you let your subjects subvert your words? Or would you like it if your children substitute their words for your words while they praised you to your face?
“Master of the universe, we are replacing your Torah with our Talmud. It will be the ultimate fence law for you. Not even Judah will know how to break Your Commandments, because no one will even read Your Commandments to start with! Baruch HaShem… mission accomplished!”
[Orthodox Jews REACT to Messianic Jews Sharing ISAIAH 53, So Be It, 1:24-1:54]
Now, the reason we are making this video is to wake people up, so that they do not have to suffer the consequences for disobedience to Elohim’s Tanach!
Yeshayahu 66:3-4 tells us that because Judah and Levi chose their own ways, and they delighted in their abominations, Yahweh will choose harsh treatment for them, and bring their fears and their worst nightmares upon them, because when He spoke to His people, and called them to hear and obey His words, no one in Judah or Levi answered.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:3b-4
3b …Just as they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations,
4 So will I choose their delusions, and bring their fears on them; because, when I called, no one answered, when I spoke they did not hear; but they did evil before My eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight.”
When Elohim spoke to the rabbis, they did not listen, because of the Talmud. And they refused to repent when confronted.
The Talmud Effect!
I never thought I would be writing a PG-13 parasha, but sadly, parental guidance is suggested. (But teach these things to your children, to protect them, because this is what is coming.)
Just for a few examples, we have already seen that the rabbis ask for the deaths of all Joseph three times each weekday in the Birkhat Haminim. And it has been another 36 million death curses since last week.
“For the apostates [meaning anyone who has left Orthodox Judaism, such as Yeshua (or Jesus), and everyone who follows Him] let there be no hope! And uproot the kingdom of arrogance speedily and in our days! May the Nazarenes and [all] the [other] sectarians [or the other “minim”] perish, as in a moment! Let them be blotted out of the Book of Life, and not be written together with the righteous! You are praised, O Adonai, who subdues the arrogant!”
[Wikipedia, Jerusalem Talmud-Birkat haMinim]
And in Talmud Tractate Yevamot 57b (or the back side of page 57), we learn that the rabbis believe there is no issue if a girl less than 3 years old is either raped or statutorily raped. Which means the Talmud teaches that there is no statutory rape if she is two years old.
“Rava said: We, too, learn in the following baraita that there is no legal significance to an act of intercourse with a girl less than three years old: A girl three years and one day old can be betrothed via sexual intercourse;”
[Talmud Tractate Yevamot 57b, Sefaria]
So, the “moral” (?) to the story would seem to be that if you are a Talmudist, you had better hurry, because you only have three years to have sex with baby girls before it counts against you in a rabbinic court. And there are generous loopholes for pedophiles all through the Talmud. And the Talmud says Levi and Judah can have all the sex they want with Joseph’s wives and children.
For example, in Tractate Sanhedrin 52b we learn that the so-called “sages” taught that the Torah protections only apply to the southern house of Judah, and not to the northern house of Joseph. The author quotes Leviticus 20:10.
“GEMARA: The Sages taught: The verse states: “And a man [who Levi says pertains only to Judah, because Joseph is likened to dogs, and to cattle] who commits adultery with another man’s wife, even he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death” (Leviticus 20:10 [their interpretation]). The term: “A man,” is interpreted as excluding a minor boy who committed adultery before he came of age.”
[Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin 52b, Sefaria]
In this context, “a minor boy” means a pre-pubescent boy of less than 9 years of age who (conveniently) committed adultery before he came of age. Which means, according to Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin 52b, you can have sex with a boy if he is less than 9 years old.
[He was sexually abused as a child. Now this Orthodox rabbi tells his story, 0:00 – 0:14, Deseret News]
[Child Sex Abuse in Orthodox Jewish Bathhouses, David Pakm, 0:00 – 0:03]
[Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi Arrested on Suspicion for Sexually Exploiting 50 Women, 0:00 – 0:24, i24News]
“The phrase: “Who commits adultery with another man’s wife,” is interpreted as excluding the wife of a minor boy [a boy less than 9 years old]; marriage to a minor is not considered halakhic marriage. “His neighbor’s [Jewish] wife” excludes the wife of another, i.e., a gentile [another kind of man who is not a Jew of the southern kingdom], who is not referred to as “his neighbor.””
[Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin 52b, Sefaria]
In other words, you can have sex with Joseph’s wives, because Levi says Joseph does not qualify as “Adam”. And what you must realize is that Judah rules that Joseph “is not even really a man” in the same sense that Judah considers himself to be a man. (Count your blessings, I guess!)
We saw earlier that the Talmud rules that today there is only the southern kingdom of Judah—and that Joseph is no more. And even if Joseph shows up, Levi says that he has no rights.
So, if you “read between the lines” what the Talmud is really saying here is that it is ok to have sex with Joseph’s wives and minor children (both male and female.) Because Judah does not consider returning Joseph to be his neighbor, (even though American Christians just shelled out over 14 billion dollars in aid this year alone, and more on the way).
And the rest of the Genesis 35:11 Alliance nations are also sending aid. But Levi does not care! He wants to curse the males to death, so he can have sex with your wives and your babies.
In Talmud Tractate Avodah Zarah 36a they are talking about whether you can buy bread or oil or wine from Joseph or from other gentiles, and under what conditions.
“And furthermore, doesn’t Rabba bar bar Ḥana say that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: With regard to all issues, a court can void the statements [rulings] of another court, except the eighteen [petty grocery] matters decreed by the students of Beit Shammai, as, even if Elijah and his court were to come and rescind them, one would not listen to him.”
[Talmud Tractate Avodah Zarah 36a]
Judah and Levi would not listen to Eliyahu????
A call to those who ‘tremble at His word’
Ok, Joseph’s understanding is that we went into captivity for disobeying Elohim’s voice. And that is a forgotten concept, but it includes obeying all His written commandments and prophecies. Because those are just things that his voice said earlier, and we are responsible for everything Elohim ever said.
And Joseph’s understanding is that when Elohim wants to get your attention, He sends a prophet to get up in your face, to wake you up and to turn you back to Him and His words, instead of doing your own thing in His name, and incorrectly calling it, “Torah”.
But so then, the “sages” of Levi say that even if Elohim were to send Eliyahu, and they did not like what he said, they would not listen to him. (Just like they did not listen to the archangel Gabriel in Daniel 9:25-26.)
Because Levi is more important than Elohim, right? And Levi knows more than Elohim, right? And that is why Levi does not want to hear from Elohim?
[Orthodox Jews REACT to Messianic Jews Sharing ISAIAH 53, So Be It, 1:24-1:54]
“For sure” Levi will not just read Elohim’s words in the Tanach. And that is because Talmud tractate Eruvin 21b warns us, saying, “My son, be careful to fulfill the words of the sages [or the soferim] even more than the words of the written Torah (which most of Judah does not even read).
“My son, be careful to fulfill the words of the Sages [soferim] even more than the words of the Torah. For the words of the Torah include positive and negative commandments, and even with regard to the negative commandments, the violation of many of them is punishable only by lashes. Whereas with respect to the words of the Sages, anyone who transgresses the words of the Sages is liable to receive the death penalty,”
[Talmud Tractate Eruvin 21b, Sefaria]
According to Talmud Tractate Eruvin 21b, if you break the Torah of Elohim, you might just get away with only a whipping. Because the order of Korach will never enforce Elohim’s words as much as they enforce their own words, right?
Because Elohim’s words are only a cover story for the Talmudists at this point, right? Levi will kill you for disobeying their authority, but if you flout Elohim’s authority, they might only whip you. Because they want you to pay more attention to the rabbis than to Elohim! And that is why they teach their people not to read Elohim’s words, is in case they might find out that they are being deceived! But the rabbis do not care! They believe they are greater in power than the one who sent Eliyahu? And Isaiah?
The real problem here is that the rabbis plan to build a Talmudic temple that mimics Ezekiel’s temple, but without first developing a relationship with Elohim’s Spirit. And without believing what Elohim says in the Tanach.
Yeshayahu 66:5 says, “hear the word of Yahweh, you who tremble at His word.” And for irony, the word for “those who tremble” here is “haredim”, when the reality is that the rabbinic haredi community does not tremble at His word. They tremble to replace His word.
Yeshayahu 66:5
5 Hear the word of Yahweh, you who tremble at His word: “Your brethren who hated you, who cast you out for My name’s sake, said, ‘Let Yahweh be glorified, that we may see your joy.’ But they shall be ashamed.”H2730
חָרֵד
chârêd [hared, haredim (plural)]
khaw-rade’
From H2729; fearful; also reverential: – afraid, trembling.
[Strong’s Hebrew Concordance]
How can the Haredi community claim to tremble at Elohim’s word, when “for sure” they do not even read it? When “for sure” they replace it with the Talmud? It is like the perfect head-fake!
Continuing Yeshayahu, verse 6 says that Elohim counts the replacement theologists as his enemies, and that he will fully repay his enemies for replacing his Tanach with the Talmud.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:6
6 The sound of noise from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of Yahweh, who fully repays His enemies!
We will see the same thing in the Brit Chadasha (or the Renewed Covenant) reading for this week.
First-Century Protestant Reformation
For some background information for Notzrim, the Talmud was compiled and then censored by Rabbi Judah HaNasi around 220 CE. But it contains rulings and arguments that took place hundreds of years before, even going back to the era of the Maccabees. And these arguments were still taking place in Yeshua’s day.
So, what we see in the Renewed Covenant is Yeshua protesting and rebuking not the written Torah of Moshe, but the Zugot pairs discussions that would later morph into the replacement theology Talmud.
Yeshua was protesting Levi’s attempts to overthrow the written Torah in favor of their own words. And remember, in Mattityahu 5:17, Yeshua said not to think that he had come to do away with even the tiniest part of the written Torah. Or with any of the prophecies that call for Joseph to return.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:17-20
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
So, now let us go to Mattityahu chapter 15.
Brit Chadasha
In Mattityahu 15:1, the scribes and the Pharisees (or the Orthodox) who were from Jerusalem came to Yeshua.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 15:1-2
1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying,
2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
In essence, the scribes and Pharisees are questioning Yeshua, “Why do your disciples transgress the Zugot pairs traditions of the elders (that would later be turned into the Talmud)?”
And for Notzrim, there is a special two handled cup and a special ritual called “Netilat HaYadayim”. (You will see them do it.) And the idea is not just that you must wash your hands before meals, but that you must wash your hands before meals the way the rabbis say (or else you are going to hell).
The point is complete submission to rabbinic authority. The point is full-spectrum dominance by Korach’s rebellion. The order of Korach insists that Joseph and everyone else gives up reading the Tanach, and worship the way they say we should worship in the Talmud. And if not, then they have a daily death curse called the Birkhat HaMinim, to kill all the males, so that Levi can have Joseph’s wives and young children.
“For the apostates [meaning anyone who has left Orthodox Judaism, such as Yeshua (or Jesus), and everyone who follows Him] let there be no hope! And uproot the kingdom of arrogance speedily and in our days! May the Nazarenes and [all] the [other] sectarians [or the other “minim”] perish, as in a moment! Let them be blotted out of the Book of Life, and not be written together with the righteous! You are praised, O Adonai, who subdues the arrogant!”
[Wikipedia, Jerusalem Talmud-Birkat haMinim]
Let us continue.
Mattiyahu (Matthew) 15:3-4
3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of Elohim [in what would become the Tanach] because of your [man-made Korach’s rebellion] tradition?
4 For Elohim commanded, saying, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER’; and, ‘HE WHO CURSES FATHER OR MOTHER, LET HIM BE PUT TO DEATH.'”Mattityahu (Matthew) 15:5
5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to Elohim”—
[“But Levi says something other than what Elohim says, because the point is to replace Elohim’s words with their own words, so that they are the ones in charge, and not Elohim.]
Mattityahu (Matthew) 15:6
6 “‘Then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.”
[And so when you make the mistake of doing what the rabbis tell you, you end up doing the opposite of what Elohim said to do in the written Torah and the Tanach. Thus you have made the commandment of Elohim of no effect by your man-made traditions.]
Mattityahu (Matthew) 15:7
7 “Hypocrites! [People of cognitive dissonance!] Well did Isaiah [Isaiah 29:13] prophesy about you, saying:
8 ‘THESE PEOPLE DRAW NEAR TO ME WITH THEIR MOUTH [Baruch HaShem!], AND HONOR ME WITH THEIR LIPS [Baruch HaShem!], BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME.'”Mattityahu (Matthew) 15:9
9 “‘AND IN VAIN THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.’ “
[And in vain do the rabbis worship Elohim, because instead of teaching Elohim’s words, they teach as doctrines the commandments and teachings of men in what will become the Talmud.]
And that is their point. Because just like it is in Yeshayahu 14:13 Levi also seems to have said in his heart, “I will ascend into heaven. “I will exalt my throne above the stars of Elohim. I will also rewrite Elohim’s Torah and the Tanach. I will be like the Most High, issuing Torah.”
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 14:13-14
13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of Elohim; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.
But you have lost your minds! Yeshayahu continues to say that all who take this attitude (or this spirit) shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit, because you thought you were greater in numerical power and strength than Elohim.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 14:15
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.
Why does Judah look like Esav?
The thing is, brothers, Joseph has seen this before. You guys are a rerun from Esav’s house. Because as we will see in the Abraham Accords study, and in our study on the Four Horses, Joseph did jail time in Esav’s house. We were in captivity for the 1,260 years of Daniel 7:25.
Daniel 7:25
25 “He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.”
And Esav would not let us read from the Tanach either! Or if you did read from the Tanach, everything had to be in Latin. And if you interpreted the Bible differently than they did, you died!
In fact, the treatment was so bad in Esav’s house that if you even read the bible in a language other than Latin (so you could understand it), Esav would kill you! So, Levi seems a lot like Esav to Joseph. Because you are using the same tactics?
Joseph does not see much difference between Levi and Esav. Both of them want to overthrow Elohim’s words, and Elohim’s kingdom, and establish their own kingdoms with their own words.
And to Joseph, what Levi is doing is like a copy-paste from Pharaoh in Egypt. Because Pharaoh tried to exterminate the people of Elohim. And that is what Judah and Levi are doing toward Joseph today.
And yet, as bad as the Talmudists are (and they are bad!), it is not like most of Ephraim is walking right. And it is as scary for Ephraim as it is for Judah!
In his very first sermon, in Mattityahu 5:20, Yeshua told us that unless we keep the written Torah better than orthodox Judah, we will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:20
20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
So, do we dare ask ourselves? Are we in Ephraim really keeping the written Torah better than brother Judah? And before you answer, “Yes we keep Torah better because we believe in Yeshua.”, let us consider.
• Judah pays all three tithes.
• Judah organizes.
• Although it is the wrong rules, Judah at least walks by their halakha. (They do not just talk about it; they actually do it!)
• As a result, Judah has a country.
• And Judah is working on establishing a kingdom for their king!
Ephraim and the Great Omission
Before you answer, let us talk about Judah’s dedication. Judah even goes undercover generationally. What does Ephraim do? Does Ephraim do anything like that?
Here is a question: What percentage of Ephraim even does the listed minimums in the written Torah? And how does that qualify as obeying the written Torah “better” than Orthodox Judah does? Judah does not have Yeshua, and they still keep the hard parts of the Torah!
Look at someone’s calendar, and at their checkbook, and you know about them, because you see where they spend their time, and their money.
And I suspect that if you look at any Haredi day-timer, or any Haredi checkbook, building a kingdom for their Messiah is in first place. Their loves are on the top of their spending lists.
What about Ephraim? How come it seems like less than 1% of Ephraim have any time, or any money to build the kingdom that Yeshua wants? How come for 99% of Ephraim, the Great Commission becomes the Great Omission? And why does most of Ephraim seem to be waiting for Elohim to do our part in the Great Co-mission?
How come most of Ephraim has other priorities? Yeshayahu 10:22 is a scary verse, brothers. Yahweh says He only plans to bring back a tiny remnant of Ephraim.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 10:22
22 For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them will return; the destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
What is our plan to be part of it? Or do we assume that His favor is automatic, and guaranteed, when Yahweh says otherwise? If we know what Yeshayahu says but we do not do it, are we really any better off than the Talmudists?
I wish we had more time, but join us next week as we see how Elohim prepares to take twelve (or thirteen) separate tribes out of Egypt, and forge them into a single stand-alone nation, complete with its own internal priesthood.
Prayers
These days are coming again, brothers. So please pray diligently for Yahweh to raise up a King Josiah figure for the house of Judah, to turn our beloved brother Levi back to Elohim’s words in the Tanach, that Elohim might not pound him.
And please pray for the Sanhedrin to wake up and realize that the Talmud is not the word of Elohim. And that you are not supposed to kill Joseph for practicing the Elohim’s words in the Tanach!
See you again next week for Parasha Bo. And until then, listen carefully for Elohim’s voice, and to do everything that He says to do, including all of the written commandments that we can do at this time.
And may Elohim please bring Judah and Joseph together-as-one in love, and in all forgiveness, according to His perfect prophecies in the Tanach (which do not need any replacing).
Shabbat shalom.
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We thank Yahweh Elohim for your love for His kingdom.
