Ponderings of the Perkei Avot 1:11

RaYBaSH’s Ponderings of the Perkei Avot

Chapter 1:11

By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr

“Avtalyon would say: Scholars, be careful with your words. For you may be exiled to a place inhabited by evil elements [who will distort your words to suit their negative purposes]. The disciples who come after you will then drink of these evil waters and be destroyed, and the Name of Heaven will be desecrated.”

The commentary to this verse says:

“The Mishna speaks allegorically of dangerous results of unclear teachings that lend themselves to misinterpretations. Do not express yourself in a way that can be misunderstood by students other than your own. You may be forced into exile where unworthy students may sin, based on a misinterpretation of your teaching. If they die as a result of their sins, God’s Name will have been desecrated.”

Sad to say in this case you can’t win for losing as this is exactly what happened to Rav Sha’ul

“There is no doubt that Rav Sha’ul is a misunderstood man, even in his day. Here is what Kefa (the Apostle Peter) a contemporary of Rav Sha’ul had to say about his writings.

II Peter 3: 15-16 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

And hence it continues today, even in Kefa’s day.

Let us look into the Brit Chadasha and see what others and Rav Sha’ul has to say about himself.

BACKGROUND:

ROMAN CITIZEN:

ACTS 22:22-29 And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him. And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman. Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

Here Rav Sha’ul states that he was born a Roman Citizen, and this fact indeed allowed him to escape a few Roman versions of “Police Brutality”.

CITIZEN OF TARSUS

ACTS 21:39; 22:3

39 But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.

3 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

So to summarize, Rav Sha’ul was a Roman citizen from the city of Tarsus. It would be like me saying, I was born in the United States and am a U.S. citizen, I was born in the city of Mansfield in the state of Ohio.

A TRUE JEW!

PHIL. 3:5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

ROMANS 11:1  I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

ACTS 23:6  But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

WOAH! Did you catch all of this!? He said, “I AM” NOT “I was a Pharisee.” Not only that but he is from the tribe of Benjamin and is proud to be a full fledged “card carrying” Jew!

FAMILY BACGROUND:

ACTS 22:22-29 And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him. And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman. Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

As we already established he was a Roman citizen by birth which leads us to our next point.

FAMILY FOURTUNE:

ACTS 22:28 And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.

For Rav Sha’ul to be born a Roma citizen and his Father and Mother being faithful Jews, they had to have had some wealth because as the man who was about to flog Rav Sha’ul said, that he had to buy his citizenship and it was expensive!

Myself having a Canadian wife and us living in the U.S. and now Canada, I can attest first hand that purchasing a citizenship of a country is STILL pricy! 

OCCUPATIONAL TRADE:

ACTS 18:3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.

Not only was Rav Sha’ul a Rabbi, but he made tents on the side to supplement his income. This is thought by some to mean he didn’t make tents to live in, but “tents” to pray in. a tent is a Hebraic slang term for a Tallit, a Prayer Shawl. So some say he made prayer shawls and being a well trained, educated Rabbi, he would know all the halacha (rules) that goes into making a Tallit.

CHILDHOOD EDUCATION:

ACTS 22:3 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

Even today Rabbi Gamaliel is one of the most revered and well read of the entire ancient Rabbi’s, right up there with Rashi, the Rambam, and Rabbi Akiva. He is also quoted in a prominent Jewish section of the Talmud called the Perkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) Chapter 1 verse 16.

Rabbi Gamaliel was also said concerning the Nazarene Jewish movement in the Brit Chadasha (New Testament):

ACTS 5:34-40 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, [even] as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought. But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten [them], they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

ZEALOUS FOR JUDAISM:

GALATIANS 1:13-14 For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

BECAME A BELIVEING JEWISH PHARISEE:

ACTS 23:6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

ZEAL FOR HIS JEWISH BROTHERS:

ROMANS 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

WAS TORAH OBSERVANT AFTER BEING CHANGED BY YESHUA:

ACTS 28:17 And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men [and] brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

Here Rav Sha’ul proudly proclaims that not only has he kept the Torah, but also the traditions and customs of the Father’s relating to the performance of the commandments!

ACTS 21:17-26 And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication. Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.

Here Rav Sha’ul was accused of teaching Gentiles and Jews that they didn’t have to keep the Torah, which was a total lie. So to solve the problem the Elder’s suggested an act on Rav Sha’ul’s part that would prove to the people his allegiance to the Torah, which was to take on a Nazarite vow (which is apart of the “Old Testament” Law) along with other believers and to have Rav Sha’ul fit the bill for the other believers in regards to the sacrifices.

This meant he took on a Nazarite vow, and when the vow was completed he went to the Temple to offer the prescribed sacrifice! Why would Rav Sha’ul do this if he thought the Torah, the Temple and the Sacrifices were done away with, or if he actually was teaching others to forsake the Torah!?

Either Rav Sha’ul was a Torah Observant Jew till the end or right here is proving himself to be a two faced liar, playing whatever crowd he was with at the moment.

I say that the Scriptures are evident and clear that Rav Sha’ul never abandoned Judaism, the Torah, nor did he assimilate into the Roman culture at that time, nor did he convert to “Christianity”.

Unfortunately As Kefa said in II Peter 3:15-16 that Rav Sha’ul’s texts has been and it is evident even now have been taken out of context to suit a bias Anti-Jewish and Anti-Torah doctrine in the majority of Christianity.

Bottom line is, if your interpretation of Rav Sha’ul’s writings is anything but pro-Torah, you have sorely misinterpreted, misrepresented, and misunderstood this great Nazarene Jew.” – Rav Sha’ul Jewish Friend or Fiend?” By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Shalom,

--Yehudah ben Shomeyr