Saturday, October 28, 2017

Torah, Haftarah and Brit Chadasha #3 ​Lech Lecha: “Go Out” 5778/2017

RaYBaSH’s Annual Torah Thoughts
Parashah #3: Lech Lecha: “Go Out”
B’reshit (Genesis): 12:1-17:27
By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Summary:
ADONAI speaks to Abram, commanding him to "Go from your land, from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you." There, ADONAI says, he will be made into a great nation. Abram and his wife Sarai, along with Abraham’s nephew Lot, journey to the Land of Canaan, where Abram builds an altar and continues to spread the message of the One True God.
A famine forces Abram to depart for Egypt, where his gorgeous wife, the beautiful Sarai, is taken to Pharaoh's palace; Abram for fear of death simply to obtain Sarai, fibs, he presents themselves as brother and sister. A mysterious plague prevents the Pharaoh from touching her and convinces him to return her to Abram, even after Pharaoh discovered they are not brother and sister, but man and wife, he still compensates Abram with gold, silver and cattle.
Back in Canaan, Lot separates from Abram and settles in the evil city of Sodom, where he is taken captive when the mighty armies of Chedorlaomer and his three kingly allies conquer the five cities of the Sodom Valley. Avram sets out with a small band from his household to rescue Lot, defeats the four kings, and is blessed by Malki-Zedek (Melchizedek) the king of Salem (Jerusalem).
ADONAI seals the Covenant between the Parts with Abram, in which the exile and persecution of the Israel is foretold and the Holy Promised Land is bequeathed to them as their eternal heritage.
Childless ten years after they arrival in the Canaan, Sarai tells Abram to marry her maidservant Hagar. Hagar conceives and then acts as if she is better than her mistress Sarai, and then flees when Sarai becomes jealous and treats her harshly; an angel from ADONAI compels her to return and tells her that her son Ishmael will become a great nation. Ishmael is born in the 86th year of Avram's life.
Then, thirteen years later, ADONAI changes Abram's name to Abraham ("father of multitudes") and Sarai's to Sarah ("princess"), by simply adding and “H” to their name, the Hebrew letter “Hey,” symbolizing life, and promises that a son will be born to them. They are to call this child Isaac, meaning, “will laugh,” and from him will come the great nation Israel with which ADONAI will establish His special eternal covenant. Avraham is then commanded to circumcise himself and his descendents and his household as a "sign of the covenant between Me and you.”
Commentary:
There are many issues we could address in this commentary; however, I will mainly deal with the CHARACTER of Our Father Abraham.
This is where it all begins for the three major religions of the world; Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This is where we claim our origins begin. Judaism claims to stem from Abraham’s son through Sarah which was Yitzchak (Isaac), Christians claims to “spiritually” to come from Yitzchak, and Muslims claims to come from (spiritually and physically) Abraham’s son through Hagar which is Ishmael. Therefore, Abraham is the Father of us all. Hence, he is called, Avraham Avinu (Abraham our Father) and the “Father of our Faith”. We are all related through Abraham. The rest of the world is related through Noach and his three sons, Hamm, Shem, and Yefet (Japheth).
Just as with Yeshua the Messiah, so with Avraham Avinu (Abraham our Father), we know little about his childhood.  We encounter him as an adult in Genesis 12 when God tells him to “get out of Dodge.” However, in the book of Jasher, the Midrash, and Legends of the Bible the inside scoop of Abraham is revealed. Allow me to Summarize.

When Abraham was born Nimrod ruled the know world, as we learned in last weeks Torah Portion Nimrod is a type of Hellel/Lucifer, Anti-Messiah, and also Herod and Pharaoh. And Abraham on the other hand resembles Moshe (Moses) and Yeshua the Messiah. The night Abraham was born a great star shown in the East, (sound familiar?) and Nimrod’s wise men, after attending the celebration of Abraham’s birth, went and divined this matter and reported to Nimrod that this child was a threat to His rule. So Nimrod compensated monetarily Terah, Abraham’s father, for his son Abraham. He purchased him (or so he thought) and dashed him upon the ground and killed him. Here we see Nimrod resembles Herod, for during the time of Yeshua he ordered all baby boys 2 years and under be killed, and just as Pharaoh attempted rid all of captive Israel of their male baby population. Terah wisely replaced Abraham with a servant’s baby who was born during the same week. Nimrod killed the servant’s child unknowingly instead. Thinking Abraham was dead Nimrod quickly forgotten about the whole ordeal. Terah hid Abraham and His mother in a cave and provided for their food monthly. It was here were Abraham, by observing nature concluded that one god created and controls everything. It is here that ADONAI (YHWH) reveals Himself to Abraham as the one true God.

Later, we see that Terah was an idol maker, and one day Terah put Abraham in charge of the shop while he stepped out. Abraham then smashed all the idols but one who was the biggest and he put an axe in the idols hand. Terah came back and had a fit! Abraham blamed this on the jealously of the big idol, and that the idol did it. Of course Terah didn’t buy this for one second and called Abraham a liar. Abraham replied to his father, “Then why do you sell and worship these idols who have no power, nor can see, speak, hear, move or think.”

On another occasion Nimrod wanted everyone to worship him and other idols, and Abraham refused because he knew that there was only one God, YHWH. For this crime Abraham was cast into a fiery furnace and survived.

Muslims have a similar legend; they say that the flames were turned to water, and that the wood turned to fish. They have a pool with fish that they claim to the spot of this event. There is also a legend that if one eats a fish from this pool that they will go blind. There are supposed documented reports of this very thing happening.

Abraham as well, is a person whom we should all wish to aspire to be like. Just as a young child who wishes to be like his Dad. He is most well known for Faith, and Hospitality. He is also in essence the Father of Evangelism.

And so the backdrop is set and we pick up the story of Abraham in B’reshit (Genesis) 12:1.

  Gen.12:1-3 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (KJV)

Well, if any of these legends were true, taking an honest look he hadn’t a thing to loose. I know you have heard that Abram gave up and left all to follow and obey ADONAI. But taking everything into account this may have been the call he was waiting for. Think about it. And I can relate to this. He was a stranger among his own kinsmen. Can you just hear the people?
“Who ever heard of a monotheist?! Boy that Abram sure is a piece of work! His parents must be mortified to have such a rebellious and unusual son. Did you hear what he did to his father’s business!? And rebelling against King Nimrod, why, he’s nothing but a troublemaker! If he wasn’t getting out of here one of us may have had to lock him away or kill him.”
So contrary to how we may have been taught, Abram leaving Haran may not have been much of a sacrifice. There was nothing left for him in the place of his birth. Even though it may not have taken much sacrifice, it indeed took Faith. No game plan, no maps, just start walking, and expect an unseen God to lead the way. Now that’s faith! But some people may call this stupidity. Yes, I’ll have to admit that having faith sometimes requires you to be crazy like a fox! Sometimes faith may cause you to question your own sanity. But almost always faith makes you look fanatical in the eyes of the world around you. And at this point you have come too far to turn back now, and besides you really have nothing to turn back to.
He was a man of FAITH, and a man of ACTION and OBEDIENCE, for Faith without works (action and obedience) is dead! (Jms. 2:20).

“Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:” (KJV)

According to the Chassidic Masters “From your land” refers to your will. Because eretz (land) etymologically is related to the word ratzon (will).
Birthplace alludes to the ties of emotions, feelings etc.
And the Chassidic Masters say that “Father’s House” refers to ones intellect, logic and rational, for the Kabbalah often uses the word father to symbolize this.

Gen 12:2-3 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (KJV)

Here is the famous verse that relates to how the world will be blessed by Abraham. How? Because through him comes the Torah (Moshe) and the Messiah, (the son of David) and hence the door one must go through to have sustainable and personal relationship with the one true God of Israel.
V.3 particularly caught my attention this past year. I penned my thoughts in a blog a few years back:


IS SOMEONE YOU KNOW CURSED?
“Today at work I have been heavily thinking about the promise ADONAI gave to Avraham Avinu (Father Abraham).  He said in B’reshit (Genesis) “I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you…”

Why have I been meditating on this verse so heavily today?  Well, because of an anti-Semite who is in charge of the department that I work in.
This lady speaks rude to me constantly. Demands, instead of asks.  She has spoken ill of me behind my back, according to at least two witnesses. She has been caught in many lies formulated to get her way, or to intimidate people, especially me.  She purposely gives me “grunt” jobs.  She is constantly nagging and harassing me over petty stuff, and even personal stuff which is none of her business. 
I went to the supervisor above her and he assured me my job is secure.  He knows me and has assured me that:  
·       I am a good worker who is on times,
·       meets his quota,
·       Is never rude or disrespectful to a superior,
·       causes no trouble. 
He said he knows I do my best to get along with her.  He knows the problem is her and not me.  He simply told me to do my job and let what she says go in one ear and out the other and that he would talk with her.
So I did exactly as he said.  I tried so hard to be as the Tzadik (the Righteous) Mordechai who was respectful, kept his peace, yet never sucked up to Wicked Haman.  As with Haman, this just ticked her off more.  And today, as the Scriptures puts it, “DUNG” hit the fan.  She accused me in an after work meeting of being rude and disrespectful to her. I stood my ground and defended myself. After the incident I immediately went to the supervisor above her and told him everything. He then told me I wouldn’t have to worry about her anymore, that I would be moved to a different department. HURRAY!!!
But I have been in constant prayer that I would not hate or harbor ill feelings toward this woman, instead that I would pity and pray for her. BECAUSE…
“I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you.”  It was today that I noticed that ever since I have been working in that department, and ever since she has been treating me the way she has, she has had one illness after another.  She has had to miss work and go to the doctor various times for various reasons. She has had numerous health problems.  She even has had some work site accidents resulting in minor injury. I do not want to rejoice in this fact because ADONAI said that if you do, He will turn on you for rejoicing at an enemy’s downfall.  So I am praying as Job did for her healing and deliverance.”

I truly believe ADONAI will protect His own. Just think of all the nations and wars that have recently plagued the Jewish people in modern history, let alone Biblical history. The defeat of the Nazi’s, the Six Day war, the Yom Kippur war, and on and on we can see that ADONAI defends and protects Israel against impossible odds, even when they may not be in complete obedience.
Part of having faith is to believe in miracles, and even if a miracle doesn’t come, being resolute and living right even if it means impending death.
Faith is being Faithful; Full of Faith. What are we to be Faithful to? ADONAI, yes, but that’s nice and vague. Are there any expectations ADONAI has of us? ADONAI laid out His expectations of us in the Torah, and if we are being faithful to follow the Torah, we are being Faithful to Him. Just as when we keep our marriage vows, we are deemed being faithful to our spouse, the Torah in Judaism is indeed looked upon as a marriage contract, and if we are faithful to the covenant, we are being faithful to ADONAI, for isn’t He our Husband?

Gen. 12:10-13 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.  Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.  Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.  But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly. (KJV)

Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen were getting into arguments over the land and who was to graze their animals where. Here we see that Abram was being Self-less, another righteous trait of our Forefather which we should aspire towards. He gave his nephew first dibs on the land, so naturally, he chose the most prime of real estate. Unfortunately, the prime of iniquity also was in this direction and caught Lot’s eye.
So we see other traits of our Forefather are SELFLESSNESS and HUMILITY, giving preference to his nephew. As elder he had more than a right to take first choice.
It is well established that Sodom and Gomorrah is know for its homosexuality and sins of a sexual nature. However, their sin was deeper than just carnal indulgences and therefore wasn’t the only reason for it’s destruction by ADONAI.
According to Legends of the Bible Sodom was such a wicked city without care or compassion for the human plight that the poor and travelers were forbidden by law to be given food or shelter or to be shown any kindness or compassion. You could be executed for giving food or shelter to anyone not a native of the city. As a result the poor and the traveler would have to sleep out in the city square and be subject to theft, rape, beatings, and murder.
It is said that one of Lot’s daughters born to him shortly after his rescue by his Uncle Abram and his men, gave pity to a poor fellow by giving him food and was therefore burned alive on a pyre for breaking the law.
Another account tells of a rich mans daughter giving food and water to a stranger and was therefore drenched in honey and was stung to death by various insects and her heart rending cries was ignored by the people but not God. This was the last straw for which God resolved to destroy Sodom.
I need not to remind the readers of the horrid account in Genesis 19 where the men of the city wanted to have homosexual relations with the Angels who where sent to get Lot and his family out of Sodom. And it is even sickening to think that Lot was willing to offer his daughters to these perverted and wicked men. However, here we see the Middle Eastern culture and mindset, that one was to protect guests with their lives and at all costs.

Gen. 13:18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD. (KJV)

I would like to mention briefly a trait that will be touched upon greater in the Parashot (Torah Portion) to come, and that is one of HOSPITALITY.
Abraham is well known in the Jewish and Muslim world for his hospitality and therefore his descendants are to be hospitable as well. And you though Southern Hospitality was great. Well, you haven’t experienced hospitality until you have experienced it Middle Eastern style. They literally go out of their way sparing no expense to honor you as a guest. They slaughtered their fatted calf, even if it meant that they later on would have to do without. You are pampered, treated like royalty. Your feet would be washed, the best food, drink, and dinner ware would be put out for you, and at the end of the evening you would have an undying faithful friend who would give his life for you if need be. But, on the flip side you certainly don’t want a Middle Easterner to be your enemy as you will see in Gen. 14.
Jewish Legend and Traditions states that Abraham had the habit of opening all four corners of his tent to be able to see strangers coming from any direction so he could prepare entertain them. He would sit under the trees of Mamre waiting for passersby’s to entertain. We see a Scriptural example of this when he entertained the 3 strangers, 3 days after his circumcision, which is the most painful day of the whole ordeal (Gen. 18). While he would entertain strangers, he would in the process tell them of the One true God and thus he was also a MISSIONARY of sorts. 

Said Reish Lakish: Read not "and he called (vayikra)" but "and he made others call (vayakrei)." This is to teach us that Abraham caused G-d's name to be spoken in the mouths of all passerby. How so? After they ate and drank [in his home], they made to bless him. Said he to them: "Have you eaten of mine? Your food has been provided by the G-d of the world! Thank, praise and bless He who spoke the world into being!" –- Talmud, Sotah 10a

When Abraham's guests wished to bless him for his generosity, he would say to them: Has the food you have eaten been provided by myself? You should thank, praise and bless He who spoke the world into being! If they refused Abraham would demand payment for the food they had eaten. How much do I owe you? they would ask. A jug of wine is one furlin, Abraham would say; a pound of meat, one furlin; a loaf of bread, one furlin. When the guest would protest these exorbitant prices, Abraham would counter: Who supplies you with wine in the middle of the desert? Who supplies you with meat in the desert? Who supplies you with bread in the desert? When the guest would realize the predicament he was in he would relent and proclaim: Blessed be the G-d of the world, from whose providence we have eaten. -- Midrash Rabbah; Tosofot Shantz on Sotah 10

In Chapter 14 we see Lot and his family have been caught in the middle of this war of local rulers and end up being captives in this tug-of-war.

Gen.14:12-17 And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.


Here we find another trait of Abraham: BRAVERY. Wow! Abraham finds out that his nephew and his family had been taken captive in this war. He, not thinking twice, musters 318 men from his household determined to free Lot and his family. 318 men going up against 9 kingdoms! Again, just like faith, there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity. But Avraham Avinu had faith, and he had bravery. As an Uncle, he felt it his responsibility and obligation to watch after and protect his kin. Lot was more like a brother to Abraham than a nephew.
Abraham must have been quite a military strategist, the Word tells us he recovered everything of Lot and his household and didn’t even loose one of his men, and he recovered every bit of Lot’s possessions.  
You see with matters of faith; emotions and logic play little to no role in it. Emotions and logic often lend themselves to unbelief and opposes faith.
Remember the man who had the demon possessed son?

Mark 9:20-24 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.  And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.  And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.  Yeshua  said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. (KJV)

ADONAI knows I myself have prayed the prayer of this man on many occasions.
Faith without works is dead (Jms. 2:20). Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb.11:6).  

 Gen. 14:18-20 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.  And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:  And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. (KJV)

Many feel this is what the Christian world terms a, “Christophany,” which is a physical manifestation of Yeshua the Messiah in pre-incarnate form.
This very well may be true, but the text seems to indicate that Melchizedek was a real person. His name means, “King of Righteousness,” and he was king over Salem, what is now known as Jerusalem, meaning, “City of Peace.” He could have been a relative of Shem, who according to Jewish tradition, Shem was appointed the family priest after Noah and his sons departed from the ark.
Seeing as some believe, according the passages in Hebrews, that Yeshua will do away with the Levitical priesthood because he is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. I would like to tackle this issue briefly as I quote from my book, “Get Back to the First Century”:

Salvation and Sacrifice

“In the Messianic and Christian arena’s the issue of Salvation and Levitical animal Sacrifice has caused charged heated debates and cause congregational and denominational splits.  How were the “Old Testament Saints” saved?  Will there be animal sacrifice during the Third Temple when Messiah reigns, and if so, why?  Wouldn’t animal sacrifices slap Yeshua and his sacrificial atoning work on the cross in the face?  Many like questions, circle, submerge and emerge continuously. As a Netzari Jew, let me put this weary animal to rest.  If you don’t like the answer, take it up with HaShem and His Word.  If it blows down your little theological house of cards, then maybe you should question the materials you have used, or the foundation it has been founded upon; ADONAI’s Word, or tradition and doctrines of men?

Let me first tackle the issue of salvation.  It is the misconception of many that the “Old Testament Saints” were saved by works, keeping the Torah (law) in combination with the Levitical animal sacrifices, and “New Testament Saints” are saved by “Grace” and Yeshua’s death on the cross.   How fair is that!?  Christians say there is only one way of salvation. This view would contradict that.  This is purely a Christian false doctrine; nothing could be further from the truth.

Then how were the Believers before the death and resurrection of Yeshua, saved!? 

I believe the saints in the Tanak were saved the same way as the saints in the Renewed Covenant.  The difference is perspective.  Those in the Tanak looked forward to, and believed in the Messiah and His atoning work that was coming.  The Renewed Covenant saints (us) look back and believe in the Messiah and His atoning work that already came, and is coming again!  The sacrifices of the Tabernacle and Temple era, before Yahshua came, never atoned for or removed sin.  In the Renewed Covenant, Hebrews 10:4 states “It is NOT possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” The sacrifices just rolled the  sin back like a credit card debt until Messiah came to pay the debt in full, atoning for them all past, present, and future (Isa.53:6; IPt.2:24; IJn.2:2; Heb.1:3; 5-10).   I believe that Yeshua worked within the framework of Torah, and the sacrificial system set up therein. 


Then what is the purpose of the animal sacrifices? 

  1. It was to be a physical object lesson that pointed to the coming Messiah and what He would do.  It acted as a credit card that covered, did not take away, and rolled back the sin debt until someone, Messiah, could come along and pay it.  In the time of the Third Temple the sacrifices will be a reminder of the Messiah who came and what He did (Is. 56, 66; Zech. 14:16-21).  The sacrifices that took place before Yeshua came, only pointed to the Messiah which was to come. The sacrifices that will take place after Yeshua, and that will take place in the Millennial Reign, point back to Messiah’s atoning work.
  2. It provided and will provide food, materials and income for the Priests and their families (Leviticus 5-10).”

In other words the Melchizedekian priesthood does not do away with the Levitical priesthood, it is simply a higher and older order of priesthood. The passage above lets us know this. For in Hebrews it says that Levi, the priestly tribe whom all Israel is required to give a tithe to, gave tithe to Melchizedek through Abraham, because Levi wasn’t yet born and was still in his father’s loins (Heb.7). In the Millennial reign both priesthoods will work side by side and hand in hand.

Ishmael’s Akeidah

Everyday in prayer, once a year in our Torah Portion and every Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets/Rosh HaShannah) we read of the Akeidah. Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac upon God’s command, and we know Isaac was spared from becoming a burnt offering, because of the Ram that was caught by it’s horns in the bushes and Abraham ended up offering the Ram instead of his son. All of this because Isaac is the Promised One, and the Covenant made by God with Abraham was destined to be carried on through Isaac and his descendants. However, we know of Abraham’s first born through Hagar named Ishmael. If one reads the Torah carefully, you will see Ishmael too was loved by God, regardless of what is descendants may have become today and all the promises given to Isaac, save the Covenant, was given to Ishmael:

Gen. 17:17-21 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

We see that:
·       Ishmael’s Akeidah happened before Isaacs.
·       Instead of Abraham it was Hagar, though Abraham too was grieved.
·       Instead of a burnt offering, it was death by thirst.
·       Instead of a Ram as salvation, it was the water well.
·       Tradition says Isaac went to study with Shem after the Akeidah, we see Ishmael becomes and Archer
·       Isaac marries shortly after the Akeidah, as does Ishmael.
·       Isaac was in his 30’s and Ishmael was in his teens.

 Gen. 21:10-21 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

According to the Book of Jasher, Abraham went into the wilderness to visit Ishmael several times and Ishmael still loved and followed after the ways of Abraham and his God and took his counsel. We see in the Torah that Isaac and Ishmael reconcile at the death of their Father.

Gen 25:8-10 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.

Ishmael is thought and is claimed to be the Muslim people. Ishmael is our cousin, Oh to God that we may bring him back to the God and faith of Avraham Avinu! So be it LORD! So be it! Ameyn!

Gen.17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! (KJV)

Here we see Abraham also embodies the trait of LOVE. He loved Isaac as much as he loved Ishmael, and even though Isaac was to be the one ADONAI chooses to carry on with the covenant, we see here Abraham was still concerned about the welfare and future of his other son Ishmael. As a result God gives Ishmael a similar blessing that He gave to Isaac.

Gen.17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. (KJV)

What a man, what a father, what an example! What a type of Messiah! What traits to strive for!
Abraham was a man of:
·       FAITH
·       ACTION
·       OBEDIENCE
·       SELFLESSNESS
·       HUMILITY
·       HOSPITALITY
·       BRAVERY and
·       LOVE
What kind of man (person) are you? And these are only a few of many traits of Avraham Avinu, you can find more if you look as you read the Torah Portions to come.
Shalom and Shavuah Tov,
-Yehudah ben Shomeyr

RaYBaSH’s Haftarah Hashings
Parashah #3 Lekh-Lekha “Go Out”
Isa. 40:27-41:16
By: Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Gen.12:1-3 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (KJV)

Many of us were sitting disgruntled, dissatisfied and unfulfilled in our cushy Sunday pews, heard the same call as did Abram.
We knew there was something more, we desired that “more” and when we heard the call from God to leave the Babylonian “Churchianity” full of “Sheeple,” we gladly obliged.
And now we are like Abram, we are:

Hebrews 11:8-10  By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

And at times we may feel that:
                                                           

Isa. 40:27b “My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God.”


But:

Isa.40:28-31 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

So….


Isa. 41:1a Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength:


Remember ADONAI said that…


Isa. 41:4b I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.


He has called us out of Ur, out of Babylon, out of the Paganism rife with in Modern Day Christianity where…

Isa. 41:6-7 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.

Remember that ADONAI said of us…

Isa. 41:8-16 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Remember Remnant, we are not alone; we are just treading a path that has become over grown. It was forged before us by Abraham and Moses.

Even now HE deemed you to be an Abaraham or a Moses in this generation.

So be encouraged and rise up, because:

Isa.40:28-31 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov,
- Yehudah ben Shomeyr


RaYBaSH’s Brit Chadasha Connections
Parasha #3 Lekh-Lekha “Go out”
Acts 7:1-8, Heb. 11:8-10, Matt. 5:10-12
By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Acts 7:1-8 Then said the high priest, Are these things so? And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place. And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.

 

This sums up this weeks Torah Portion nicely.

Hebrews 11:8-10  By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Sums up nicely the theme.

As I have mentioned in the Torah and Haftarah Portion, that I believe many of us are the Abraham’s of our day, called out of a religion that has severed itself from the Olive Tree and has attached itself to the Unproductive Fig Tree that Yeshua cursed.

God has called many of us out of modern day Christianity which has strayed far from its 1st century Nazarene Jewish roots, and God has called us to find our way back and to pave the way for others.

It takes Faith, it calls us to channel our stiff necked-ness, our bull headed-ness, in a positive direction. It calls us to shed our egos and to be blessed regardless.

Matt. 5:10-12 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Let us not give up, let us cling to our God and to one another of like mind and realize that


Gal. 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.


Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov!
- Yehudah ben Shomeyr





Thursday, October 19, 2017

Torah, Haftarah and Brit Chadasha Portion #2 Noach

RaYBaSH’s Torah Thoughts
Parashah # 2: Noach: “Noah”
Gen. 6:9-11:32
By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Intro:

The story of Noah and the Ark is one of the best well know Bible stories of all time, right on up there with David and Goliath and Daniel and the Lion Den. Even non-religious people know the story, it’s like a fairy tale or an Aesop fable to them. Another reason why this story is so familiar is that prior to the Tower of Babel, we were all one people and thus we all had a universal history up to that point, meaning, every people group has some version of the flood story in their culture.

Summary:

Parashah Noach begins with the mentioning of Noah and his three sons which are the Fathers of all who live on earth today. Adonai sees the moral and spiritual degradation of the world, and how Satan is attempting to wipe out the pure human seed with the co-habitation of human woman with fallen angelic beings to prevent the redemption of the Messiah from coming. Adonai only finds Noah and his family righteous and worthy to be spared and begin the human race once again.  In order to do so Adonai must cleanse the world by a world wide Mikvah (Baptism), AKA: Flood. Noah and his family; 8 human souls, along with a pair of each unclean animal, and 7 pairs of all the clean animals on the earth, survive the Flood by living in a giant boat, sometimes called and Ark, which Noah and his sons constructed by the command and instruction of Adonai. All on the Ark will be the ones who repopulate the earth. Soon, Noah and his family become the 70 nations of the world.

After the Flood, Adonai establishes a covenant with mankind through Noah and His family, that He would never destroy the entire world by water again. The token of this covenant is the sight of a rainbow in the skies.

Next a world leader emerges to unite mankind under the banner of paganism, humanism, and hedonism, against the Creator YHWH.  A temple-tower to testify to man’s unity and opposition against Adonai. Nimrod and the people begin the construction on the temple-tower, what we know today as a ziggurat, a triangular, stepped structure with a temple of worship as its crown. Adonai thwarts mankind’s plans by giving each of the 70 nations a language of their own so they could not cooperate to finish the Tower.  Hence, because of the confusion (babblings) of the languages the unfinished tower was called the Tower of Babel.




Commentary:

B’reshit (Genesis) 6:9These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

B’reshit (Genesis) 7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. (KJV)

Noah was a “just”, and righteous man, a “Tzadik” as is called in the Hebrew.  Why?  Because he asked God to come into his heart to be his personal Lord and Savior? No.

Noah was “perfect,” in other words, “complete” in his generations. He was a balanced and whole person.


“In comparison with his generation he was righteous, but if he had been in Abraham’s generation, he would not have been considered of any importance. — [Sanh. 108a, Gen. Rabbah 30:9, Tan. Noach 5]” – Rashi


Why was Noah perfect? Because he realized he was nothing without the future Messiah that was to come? No.

It was because, “Noah walked with God.” He had an intimate and personal relationship with Adonai, he communed on a personal and intimate level with the God of the universe.


Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?


So Noah and Adonai must have agreed on something. What was it?

The walk itself! “Noah walked with God.”

Who’s the superior, Noah or God? God! So Noah must have agreed on how God wanted Noah to walk with Him. In His ways.

Ones walk in Hebrew is called, “halacha,” meaning the way one lives out their life.

What way is that?

TORAH! We learned last Torah portion that Adonai relayed to Adam the Torah, thus Adam and his sons knew how to sacrifice, and what sacrifice meant, even though there was no Temple or Priesthood in operation. For the Scriptures tell us that the Torah is eternal.


Isa. 55:1-3 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. (KJV)

In the Haftarah reading, God invites us to walk with Him.

Walk is also an idiom meaning to live with, to have a relationship with someone.

As teenagers how did we ask one to be our boyfriend or girlfriend? We asked, “Will you “go” with me?” And we would say of a couple, “They’re “going” together.” For the time being the couple is walking the same path.

I Kefa (I Peter) 1:15-16 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. (KJV)

The word “conversation” here means walk.

If Noah could be “perfect in his generation” and if Noah could “walk with God” in the worldly conditions he was in, if Noah could keep Torah and walk with God in a godless society with no one like Abraham to encourage him, what is our excuse!?

Here we see Noah is a type of Messiah in the Scriptures. Let’s see how Noah parallels Messiah:

·       Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation, just like Yeshua (Gen. 6:9).
·       Noah was a preacher of righteousness (II Pet. 2:5).
·       Just as the Messiah is called the “Savior of the World” (Jn. 4:42) So Noah saved the world through his obedience.
·       Just as Yeshua made a way of deliverance by which man can be saved, so too Noah built the ark as a means of deliverance.


“Even the Noach can be related to the Messiah. A traditional title for Messiah derived from Lamentations 1:16 is the Hebrew word Menachem, which means “comforter”. When speaking of the giving of the Holy Spirit in John 14:16, Yeshua tells His disciples that the Father will send them Comforter (Menachem)…” – First Fruits of Zion

“By the name Noach he was called only by his grandfather Methuselah; his father and all others called him Menachem. His generation was addicted to sorcert, and Methuselah was afraid that his grandson might be bewitched if his true name were known, wherefore he kept it a secret.” –Legends of the Bible

“Others say that the Messiah’s name is Menachem the son of Hezekiah, for it is written (Lam. 1:16), “Far from me is a comfort (Menachem), one who restores my soul.”” –Sanhedrin 98b


In Legends of the Bible even Noah’s birth was a picture of the Messiah as described in Revelation.


“The body of the babe was white as snow and red as a blooming rose, and the hair of his head and his long locks were white as wool, and his eyes like the rays of the sun.”


Rev.1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; (KJV)


However, Noah knew the prophecy of Gen. 3:15…


And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (KJV)


…about the Messiah, the Redeemer that was to come. 

This begs the question how was Noah “saved”?


“It is the misconception of many that the “Old Testament Saints” were saved by works, keeping the Torah (law) in combination with the Levitical animal sacrifices, and “New Testament Saints” are saved by “Grace” and Yahshua’s death on the cross.   How fair is that!?  Christians say there is only one way of salvation. This view would contradict that.  This is purely a Christian false doctrine; nothing could be further from the truth.

Then how were the Believers before the death and resurrection of Yeshua, saved!? 

I believe the saints in the Tanak (Old Testament) were saved the same way as the saints in the Renewed Covenant (New Testament).  The difference is perspective.  Those in the Tanak looked forward to, and believed in the Messiah and His atoning work that was coming.  The Renewed Covenant saints (us) look back and believe in the Messiah and His atoning work that already came, and is coming again!  The sacrifices of the Tabernacle and Temple era, before Yeshua came, never atoned for or removed sin.  In the Renewed Covenant, Hebrews 10:4 states “It is NOT possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” The sacrifices just rolled the  sin back like a credit card debt until Messiah came to pay the debt in full, atoning for them all past, present, and future (Isa.53:6; I Pt.2:24; I Jn.2:2; Heb.1:3; 5-10).   I believe that Yeshua worked within the framework of Torah, and the sacrificial system set up therein.” – Get Back to the First Century


Matthew 24:37-44 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. (KJV)

In our Brit Chadasha (New Testament) portion it says that:
·       We are living in times similar to the times of Noah. Yet we have each other. What is our excuse not to be perfect and righteous in our generation?
·       We have the potential to outshine Christians and non-believing Jews. We have the Torah the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), the Messiah and each other. WE HAVE NO EXCUSE.

 Matthew 24:39-44 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

This is NOT talking about the ones who’ll be taken away in the “rapture”. No, this is talking about the ones who’ll be taken in the flood. The ones left behind are the ones safe in the Ark.

“I want to say I DO NOT believe, nor adhere to in any way the Pre-Tribulationalist or Dispensationalist view of the End Times.   The “Left Behind” books and movies are nothing but a bunch of fairy tales, and poor entertainment at that.  Pre-Tribulationalism is a heretical view a little over a hundred years old that is chocked full of contradictions and replacement theology.  Since this view is so young (a little over 100 years old), it in no way could be the view of Netzarim Jews in the first century.  It has NO roots in Judaism, and did not even exist in Christianity until the 19th century.  Its main views are totally contrary to Judaism period.  Such views are that, the Torah is not for today, and that, the “Church” has replaced Israel.  I believe that many Christians will fall away when the “rapture” does not happen when they think it will, and have to go through the Tribulation.

So with that said, here is my general view of the chronology of the End Times:
Immediately AFTER the Tribulation (Mt.24:29; Mk.13:24) the Messiah will appear in the sky (Dan.7:13-14; Mt.24:29-31; I Thes.4:16-17) there will be a final trumpet (Rev.8:2; 11:15; Mt.24:31; Is.27:13; I Thes. 4:16-17; I Cor. 15:52) and there will be a resurrection (I Cor. 15:50-55; I Thes.4:16; Rev.20:4-6; Is.25:8; Hos.13:14; Ezk.37:1-14) and a gathering together to Messiah in the sky (Mt.24:29-31; Mk.13:24-27; 2 Thes.2:1; I Thes.4:17).  This is followed by the Messiah coming with His set apart ones. In other words the “rapture, and the “Battle of Armageddon” happens all in one shot. (Jude1:14-15= I Enoch 1:9; I Thes.3:13; Rev.19:11-16; Zech.14:4-5).  After this, the 1,000 year reign of Messiah is established (Rev.20:1-3, 7).

The “rapture” is the regathering of Israel to the Land of Israel at the return of Messiah, and not a pretrib rapture of the “Church.”” – Get Back to the First Century

I Kefa (I Peter) 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.(KJV)

A flood came in Noah’s time and only 8 human souls were saved. 8 is the number meaning, a New Beginning”. And from that 8 we today have over 6 billion people in the world.
Seeing we just started a New Year with Yom Teruah/Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets/New Year), the message to us today is that ADONAI wants us to start over with Him. Have fresh start. He wants our past year to die in a holy mikvah and to be reborn anew. Will you let Him?

I Kefa (I Peter) 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (KJV)
II Kefa (II Peter) 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; (KJV)

I Cor. 15:17 And if Christ (Messiah) be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. (KJV)


We have a rainbow as God’s covenantal sign never to destroy or cleanse the earth by water. The rainbow made of water and light from the sun. A hint that next time the earth will be purged by fire.

II Kefa (II Peter) 3:9-14 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. (KJV)

In the Torah it is said that whatever cannot be cleansed by water must go through the fire.
Then ADONAI cleanses the world by fire it will be like a slash and burn agriculture project to renew the earth like in the time of Eden.

Rev. 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; (KJV)

Before we can grow, before we can do or be anything for ADONAI this year we must get ready for and willingly submit to refinement.

 I Kefa (I Peter) 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of (Yeshua the Messiah) Jesus Christ: (KJV)
Mal. 3:2-4 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. (KJV)

We are soon introduced to one of Noah’s 3 sons:

B’reshit (Gen.) 6:10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (KJV)

Now one theory, that makes sense to me is that Noah’s 3 sons were triplets born different shades of melanin (skin color), or they were born separate with differing shades of melanin. Scientifically to be able to get the diverse colors of people we see on the earth today Mr. and Mrs. Noah had to be black. Genetically you have to have melanin before you have a lack of it. So we see that the children born unto Noach were:

·       Shem – The father of all the Hebraic and Arabic / Middle Easter peoples. Shem let’s say looked as if he had a dark, healthy tan.
·       Hamm- The father of all the “Black” peoples. Hamm was, like his mother and father, a dark shade of black.
·       Yefet (Japheth) – The father of all the Caucasian Indo-European / Eurasian peoples. Yefet was lighter in skin tone than any of his family, or if the apocryphal literature is true, white, like Noah himself.

B’reshit (Genesis) 6:11-12 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. (KJV)

Just as in the Time of Yehoshuah (Joshua) when Cana’an was being conquered, ADONAI said it was because of their wickedness they were being expelled from the land.
As I said in the last Torah portion, I not only believe the flood was decreed because of man’s wickedness, but also because:

“B’reshit 6:2-4 Now I realize many people may disagree with me. As a matter of fact my Rabbi and I disagree on this matter, and some may even deem me as, “crazy”. But I believe the “Giants” these Nephilim which means “fallen ones” are the offspring of the fallen angelic race and mankind.  This was Satan’s first attempt to try to thwart the Gen. 3:15 prophecy of the redeeming Messiah to come that was to bruise his head!  If Satan through his fallen angels could pollute the human seed, then there would be no pure untainted human seed for the Messiah to come through. Thus is another reason for the flood and for Noach (Noah) and his family being spared. This is where the legends of the giants, and mythological type beings came from that Rome is so famous for speaking of. I believe this to be the modern explanation of the UFO and Alien phenomenon. Think about it, same ol’ plan, different package. Human women are abducted; they are impregnated and then re-abducted to extract the hybrid child, and many of them are shown their prodigy. There is no proof that these beings come from another planet, But the there is evidence leaning toward them coming from another dimension. Plus, if these “alien” give a message for mankind, it is usually a humanistic or new age message that belittles Messiah and His word and puts Him on the level of other world religions. Also the same paranormal activity that takes place during a poltergeist is the same type of things that happen when “aliens” and their craft are present. This sounds like Nephilim to me.  Granted I can not prove this, however, my interpretation of the “sons of G-d” being the angelic race, not the children of Seth as Christians say, and the “daughters of men” human women, not the children of Kayin (Cain) as Christians say, is backed up over and over in Talmudic and other Rabbinic literature.”

Factoid:

B’reshit (Genesis) 6:15 in the Bible tells us the Ark's dimensions were at least 135 meters long (300 cubits), 22.5 meters wide (50 cubits), and 13.5 meters high (30 cubits). That's 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high! It could have been larger because several larger-sized cubits were used. But the 45-centimeter (18-inch) cubit is long enough to show the enormous size of the Ark.
(A cubit was the length of a man's arm from fingertips to elbow.)
Noah's Ark was taller than a 3-story building and had a deck area the size of 36 lawn tennis courts. Its length was 300 cubits (450 feet, or 135 meters); its width was 50 cubits (75 feet, or 22.5 meters); it had three stories and its height was 30 cubits (45 feet, or 13.5 meters).
It took 120 years to build the ark.

It is said of Noah according to the Zohar:


“I (The LORD) lingered with you and spoke to you at length so that you would ask for mercy for the world! But as soon as you heard that you would be safe in the ark, the evil of the world did not touch your heart. You built the ark and saved yourself.”

“So all the righteous heroes shielded their generations and did not allow the attributes of Judgment to have power over them.  And Noach?  The Blessed Holy One lingered with him and spoke many words to him; perhaps, he would ask for mercy for his generation. But he did not care and did not ask for mercy. He just built the ark and the whole world was destroyed.”


II Kefa (II Peter) 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; (KJV)


Even though He preached righteousness (Torah), let’s just say he didn’t give any altar calls. Like Jonah, he didn’t preach repentance, he just gave an ultimatum.


Jonah 3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. (KJV)

B’reshit 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.


“Starting with the second tav, counting 130 letters six times from right to left, spells toshiyam, which means, you will save them. The Hebrew word toshiyah, means, Slavation by G-d through a Man; and Yeshua is that Man.”—Yacov Rambsel “Yeshua: The Name of Jesus Revealed in the Old Testament


This would be the 17th of the Jewish month of Cheshvan. Cheshvan is called Mar Cheshvan, and it is considered a month of sadness or bitterness (Mar) on the Jewish calendar because:

1.    It has no holidays to celebrate.
2.    And this is the month it was decreed that the world would be destroyed by a flood, a giant mikvah!


 B’reshit 7:24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days. (KJV)


The flood lasted 150 days (Gen. 7:24, 8:3).

B’reshit 8:13-17 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. 18And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: 19Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. (KJV)

Before we go any further the question always comes up. “Do you believe dinosaurs were on the Ark?” YES. They are mentioned in the book of Job, an event that took place after the Flood. I believe that some survived up till the 18th century. This is where the medieval accounts of “dragons” and “monsters” which knights slew. Everyone assumes that Noah took full grown adults with him on the Ark. The Scriptures doesn’t say this anywhere. I believe it stands to reason that since dinosaurs are ancient relatives of our modern day reptiles, and reptiles never stop growing through out their lifetime, and the fact they are born very small, I believe Noah took baby or very young dinosaurs on the Ark. And in fact One Jewish legend account states that, “Noah led two cubs into the ark.” Since the earth had to be replenished it is very possible that he took young animals of every species and not just full grown adults. These animals had to be young and healthy enough to reproduce. Especially since he only took one pair of unclean animals.


“The duration of the flood was a whole year. It began on the 17th day of Cheshvan, and it rained continued for forty days, until the 27th of Kislev… From the 27th day of Kislev until Sivan, a period of 150 days, the water stood at one and the same height, 15 ells above the earth… On the first of Sivan the waters began to abate, a quarter of an ell a day, and at the end of 60 days, the 10th day of Av, the summits of the mountains showed themselves. But many days before, on 10th of Tammuz, Noah had sent forth a raven, and a week later the dove, on the first of her three sallies, repeated at intervals of a week. It took from the 1st of Av until the 1st of Tishrei for the waters to subside wholly from the face of the earth. Even the soil was so miry that dwellers in the ark had to remain within until the 27th day of Cheshvan, completing a full sun year, consisting of twelve moons and eleven days.” – Legends of the Bible, Louis Ginzberg




 Chronology of the Great Flood of Noah

EVENT
Day Length
Calendar Day
Gen 7:14
Rainfall Begins
Day 1
Month 2, day 17
Gen 7:12
Rain stops 
Day 40

Gen 7:24
Gen 8:3
Water level begins to recede
Day 150
Month 7, day 17
Gen 8:5
Mountain tops exposed
Day 224
Month 10, day1
Gen 8:6
Window opened and Raven sent out. Did not return
Day 264

Gen 8:7
Dove sent out, returned.
Day 271

Gen 8:10
Dove sent out, returned with olive branch.
Day 278

Gen 8:12
Dove sent out, did not return.
Day 285

Gen 8:13
Cover removed from ark
Day 314
First month of year,1st day
Gen 8:16
Noah leaves ark
Day 371
2nd month, 27th day

TOTAL  DAYS
371 




Gen. 8:4 Many people have sought the Ark, and many claim to have found the location of the Ark, and I do believe it has been found. However, many people get confused when it comes to the location of the Ark. Here it says the Mountains (plural) of Ararat. So in was one of these mountains in the mountain range called Ararat. The Book of Jubilees says it was Mount Lubar in the Ararat Mountain chain (Jub. 7:28)


Gen. 8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. (KJV)


This verse does not say that the curse on the ground in Gen. 3:17. For we still have thrones and thistles. This is speaking of cursing the ground with the destruction of a world wide flood, which created a mass grave. However, I believe because of the flood, even though the curse of the ground was not removed, it was “toned down” for the decaying organisms beneath the earth infused the earth with new life. It made the soil rich and fertile.


B’reshit 8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. (KJV)


We have surety of seasons. Pagans have rituals to call back the sun in the spring etc. Ancients feared the sun was dying during winter and the short days and long nights.

Gen. 9:1-4 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. (KJV)

Here we see man is not vegetarians anymore and that the kosher slaughtering and consumption of meat is allowed by ADONAI, yet another allusion to the fact that the Torah is eternal and always has been. Even on the Ark they were vegetarians (Gen. 6:21).

Gen. 9:8-17 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. (KJV)

This tells us that the Noahtic covenant was not only made with the Jews but with all mankind. Next time ADONAI will not cleanse the earth by a mikvah (Flood) but by fire (II Peter 3:9-14)!

By the way, concerning v. 13, I am not a homo-phob, nor a paga-phob. What I mean is, I will use and display the rainbow when and where I want. It was ours before the homosexuals got a hold of it and used it as a symbol of their movement. The same goes for Chanukah, It is called the “Festival of Lights” and just because Christmas usually falls around that time of year doesn’t mean I will not display Chanukah lights for fear they may be seen as Christmas lights.

Gen. 8:20-21 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. (KJV)

The Rabbi’s and Sages say that the Altar that Noah built was built on the exact spot on which Adam, Kayin (Cain), and Avel (Abel) built theirs, and where later where the Temple sacrifices will be preformed. Also it is said that Shem became the family Priest.

Gen. 9:20-27 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. (KJV)

 According to the Talmud Satan went into partnership with Noah to plant this vineyard. Satan sacrificed a sheep, lion, pig, and a monkey and saturated the vineyard with the blood of these animals. Because:

1.    Before drinking wine one is quite as a lamb
2.    When drinking in moderation one feels as strong as a lion.
3.    When one drinks more than enough one becomes as a pig wallowing in ones own filth.
4.    When on is intoxicated one acts like a monkey foolishly dancing around and uttering obscenities.

V.22-26, what does all this “uncovering nakedness” means?  This is could be understood as a Hebraic idiom that to uncover your father’s nakedness is to have sexual relations with your father’s wife.

Lev. 18:8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness. (KJV)

Hamm’s son Canaan, like Reuben did to Jacob (Gen. 35:22, 49:3-4) and like Absalom did to David’s concubine (II Sam. 16:22).
But the true Hebraic rendering is not that it is “thy father’s nakedness” but that it is “your father’s shame.” Meaning it is an embarrassment. So, it could be just as the Torah plainly says without reading between the lines, that Ham walked in and saw his father naked and made fun of him to his brothers.
Thy father’s nakedness is also alluded to in Leviticus as a euphemism for one’s wife. So Ham could have seen his mother naked or his mother and father having sex.

Leviticus 18:8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.

Leviticus 20:11 And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.


For Lev. 18 from which we quoted is all about sexual deviance that the goyim (gentiles) did and where destroyed for and that we should not imitate them. Lev. 18 is not speaking of accidentally walking in on someone undressing or showering, but is speaking of a premeditated act. A devious plot (Lev. 18:17 Stones Tanak).

Concerning v.25 one Jewish legend states:

“When Noah awoke from his wine and became sober, he pronounced a curse upon Hamm in the person of his youngest son Canaan. To Hamm himself he could do no harm, for God had conferred a blessing upon Noah and his three sons as they departed from the ark. Therefore he put the curse upon his lastborn son of the sons that prevented him from begetting a younger son than the three he had.”—Legends of the Bible, Louis Ginzberg

So Canaan, Hamm’s son really got the curse and not Hamm himself.
Now because the Torah states that the father cannot be punished for the sins of the father, and visa versa, (Deut. 24:16) it could be deduced that Canaan saw Noah naked and reported it to his father Hamm who in turn reported it to his brothers.
Was Noah just mad because Hamm and Canaan saw him naked? No, also I think Noah was mad because he knew sexual deviance was a major factor in God destroying the earth with a flood and if God promised not to destroy the earth again with a flood, Noach hated to think what God would use next (fire) if the earth needed destroyed again.
We see in v. 26 and 27 Shem and Japheth gets blessed because they covered their father’s nakedness.

“Though Shem and Japheth both showed themselves to be dutiful and deferential, yet it was Shem who deserved the larger meed of praise. He was the first to set about covering his father. Japheth joined him after the good deed had been begun. Therefore the descendants of Shem received their special reward the tallit (prayer shawl), the garment worn by them, while the Japhethites have only the toga. A further distinction accorded to Shem was the mention of his name in connection with God’s in the blessing of Noah.” – Legends of the Bible
“The relation of Shem to Japheth was expressed in the blessing their father pronounced upon them: God will grant a land of beauty to Japheth, and his sons will be proselytes (converts) dwelling in the academies of Shem.” – Legends of the Bible, Louis Ginzberg

The curse of Hamm’s descendants was that Shem would conquer and take over their land, the land of Canaan, which the Canaanites were descendants of Hamm and his son Canaan. And indeed Shem conquered Canaan and many Canaanites because their servants.

 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.  And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. Gen. 9:25-27

B’reshit 10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. (KJV)


Nimrod, a descendant of Hamm, became a world leader. Nimrod married his mother Simeramus and had Tammuz who was seen as a deity, a god come in the flesh. This first world order was sheer pagan to the core! Later Tammuz is killed by a wild boar and the women weep for him (Ezk. 8:14) the modern incarnation of this is the Catholic Lent.

Nimrod is a type of False Messiah, the progenitor of humanism and paganism.

10:25 “And to Eber were born…” We will see this man Eber, shows up as an ancestor of Abraham, and it is from him that we derive the name of our people, the HEBREWS.


Gen. 10:25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan. (KJV)


This refers to the dividing of the peoples because of the confusion of the tongues.

B’reshit (Genesis) 11 is the account of the Tower of Babel. Here is the account according to the Book of Jasher which is mentioned in Josh. 10:13, and II Sam. 1:18 and was a very important book to the 1st century believers.

Jasher 9:21-39 And all the princes of Nimrod and his great men took counsel together; Phut, Mitzraim, Cush and Canaan with their families, and they said to each other, Come let us build ourselves a city and in it a strong tower, and its top reaching heaven, and we will make ourselves famed, so that we may reign upon the whole world, in order that the evil of our enemies may cease from us, that we may reign mightily over them, and that we may not become scattered over the earth on account of their wars. And they all went before the king, and they told the king these words, and the king agreed with them in this affair, and he did so. And all the families assembled consisting of about six hundred thousand men, and they went to seek an extensive piece of ground to build the city and the tower, and they sought in the whole earth and they found none like one valley at the east of the land of Shinar, about two days' walk, and they journeyed there and they dwelt there. And they began to make bricks and burn fires to build the city and the tower that they had imagined to complete. And the building of the tower was unto them a transgression and a sin, and they began to build it, and whilst they were building against the Lord God of heaven, they imagined in their hearts to war against him and to ascend into heaven. And all these people and all the families divided themselves in three parts; the first said We will ascend into heaven and fight against him; the second said, We will ascend to heaven and place our own gods there and serve them; and the third part said, We will ascend to heaven and smite him with bows and spears; and God knew all their works and all their evil thoughts, and he saw the city and the tower which they were building. And when they were building they built themselves a great city and a very high and strong tower; and on account of its height the mortar and bricks did not reach the builders in their ascent to it, until those who went up had completed a full year, and after that, they reached to the builders and gave them the mortar and the bricks; thus was it done daily. And behold these ascended and others descended the whole day; and if a brick should fall from their hands and get broken, they would all weep over it, and if a man fell and died, none of them would look at him. And the Lord knew their thoughts, and it came to pass when they were building they cast the arrows toward the heavens, and all the arrows fell upon them filled with blood, and when they saw them they said to each other, Surely we have slain all those that are in heaven. For this was from the Lord in order to cause them to err, and in order; to destroy them from off the face of the ground. And they built the tower and the city, and they did this thing daily until many days and years were elapsed. And God said to the seventy angels who stood foremost before him, to those who were near to him, saying, Come let us descend and confuse their tongues, that one man shall not understand the language of his neighbor, and they did so unto them. And from that day following, they forgot each man his neighbor's tongue, and they could not understand to speak in one tongue, and when the builder took from the hands of his neighbor lime or stone which he did not order, the builder would cast it away and throw it upon his neighbor, that he would die. And they did so many days, and they killed many of them in this manner. And the Lord smote the three divisions that were there, and he punished them according to their works and designs; those who said, We will ascend to heaven and serve our gods, became like apes and elephants; and those who said, We will smite the heaven with arrows, the Lord killed them, one man through the hand of his neighbor; and the third division of those who said, We will ascend to heaven and fight against him, the Lord scattered them throughout the earth. And those who were left amongst them, when they knew and understood the evil which was coming upon them, they forsook the building, and they also became scattered upon the face of the whole earth. And they ceased building the city and the tower; therefore he called that place Babel, for there the Lord confounded the Language of the whole earth; behold it was at the east of the land of Shinar. And as to the tower which the sons of men built, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up one third part thereof, and a fire also descended from heaven and burned another third, and the other third is left to this day, and it is of that part which was aloft, and its circumference is three days' walk. And many of the sons of men died in that tower, a people without number.

The foundation of the Tower of Babel, which structure is called a ziggurat, has said to be uncovered, and there is evidence that it served the purpose of pagan worship and astronomical observation. 

In the building of the Tower of Babel Nimrod not only is a type of False Messiah, but a mimicker of Lucifer and his war in Heaven! And history will repeat itself, when the Anti-Messiah comes he will also set up a pagan memorial and end up waging war with the God of the Heavens, just read the book of Revelation.


“The iniquity and godlessness of Nimrod reached their climax in the building of the Tower of Babel. His counselors had proposed the plan of erecting such a tower, Nimrod had agreed to it, and it was executed in Shinar by a mob of six hundred thousand men. The enterprise was neither more nor less than rebellion against G-d, and there were three sorts of rebels among the builders. The first party spoke, Let us ascend into the heavens and wage war with Him; the second party spoke, Let us ascend into the heavens, set up idols, and pay worship unto them there; and the third party spoke, Let us ascend into the heavens, and ruin them with our bows and spears.” – Legends of the Bible, Louis Ginzberg


Gen. 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. (KJV)


It is said according to Jewish Tradition that Sarai and Iscah is the same person.

This concludes the Torah portion for this week, as always I hope and pray you were able to carry something very valuable away from this drash (teaching).

Shalom and Shavuah Tov,
--Yehudah ben Shomeyr


RaYBaSH’s Haftarah Hashings
Parashah #2 Noach: “Noah”
Isa. 52:13-55:5
By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr
Commentary:
Isaiah 54:7-10, 16-17 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee… Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

I often think, between the time the rain stopped and the time the waters began to recede, I wonder what the in between time was like.
I imagine an eerie silence, all except the sound of the water lapping against the sides of the ark.
Maybe it was the same silence that was at the cross when Yeshua cried;
“My God, My God why have you forsaken me!?” 
Both instances probably felt like an eternity! Both felt as if God had departed and was not present at all. Yet in the whole scheme of things it was but a moment.
I suppose this is how Judah felt in exile and captivity, but what does God say to comfort Judah?

Isaiah 54:7-10 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.

The flood is likened unto a mikvah (baptism), and we read in Brit Chadashah that Kefa tells us that next time God judges the world He’ll do it with fire (II Pet. 3).
Both can be likened unto a refining, a purifying process, designed to cleanse and temper that which is being refined.
The silence of the intermediary days of the flood, and the years of exile is like passing through the fire, like a sword being forged in the flames, and once the door of the ark opened and fell on dry land, and when Judah started marching back to Jerusalem, a free people after exile, it must have been like the hiss of the metal being cooled in water.

Isa. 54:16-17 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

Through the harsh experience of the flood and the exile (which God designed and allowed) Judah became a sword in the hand of ADONAI in which nothing can stand against.

The flood and the fire is what God sometimes used to purge us of sin while at the same time refining us for His Glory and His use.

For best results we must patiently endure it when it comes.

Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov!
- Yehudah ben Shomeyr


RaYBaSH’s Brit Chadashah Connections
Parashah #2 Noach: “Noah”
Matthew 24:37-44, I Peter 3:20, II Peter 3:9-14, Rev 21:1
By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr


Noah is a type of Messiah in the Scriptures. Let’s see how Noah parallels Messiah:


·       Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation, just like Yeshua (Gen. 6:9).
·       Noah was a preacher of righteousness (II Pet. 2:5).
·       Just as the Messiah is called, the “Savior of the World” (Jn. 4:42) So Noah saved the world through his obedience.
·       Just as Yeshua made a way of deliverance by which man can be saved, so too Noah built the ark as a means of deliverance.


“Even the Noah can be related to the Messiah. A traditional title for Messiah derived from Lamentations 1:16 is the Hebrew word “Menachem,” which means “comforter”. When speaking of the giving of the Holy Spirit in John 14:16, Yeshua tells His disciples that the Father will send them Comforter (Menachem)…” – First Fruits of Zion

“By the name Noah he was called only by his grandfather Methuselah; his father and all others called him Menachem. His generation was addicted to sorcery, and Methuselah was afraid that his grandson might be bewitched if his true name were known, wherefore he kept it a secret.” –Legends of the Bible

“Others say that the Messiah’s name is Menachem the son of Hezekiah, for it is written (Lam. 1:16), “Far from me is a comfort (Menachem), one who restores my soul.”” –Sanhedrin 98b

In Legends of the Bible even Noah’s birth was a picture of the Messiah as described in Revelation.

“The body of the babe was white as snow and red as a blooming rose, and the hair of his head and his long locks were white as wool, and his eyes like the rays of the sun.”


Rev.1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;


However, Noah knew the prophecy of Gen. 3:15…


And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”


…about the Messiah, the Redeemer that was to come. 

Matthew 24:37-44 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. (KJV)

Our Brit Chadashah portion says that:
·       We are living in times similar to the times of Noah. Yet we have each other. What is our excuse not to be “perfect (complete/whole)” and righteous in our generation?
·       We have the potential to outshine Christians and non-believing Jews. We have the Torah the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), the Messiah and each other. WE HAVE NO EXCUSE.

Matthew 24:39-44 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

This is NOT talking about the ones who’ll be taken away in the “rapture”. No, this is talking about the ones who’ll be taken in the flood. The ones left behind are the ones safe in the Ark.

“I want to say I DO NOT believe, nor adhere to in any way the Pre-Tribulationalist or Dispensationalist view of the End Times.   The “Left Behind” books and movies are nothing but a bunch of fairy tales, and poor entertainment at that.  Pre-Tribulationalism is a heretical view a little over a hundred years old that is chocked full of contradictions and replacement theology.  Since this view is so young (a little over 100 years old), it in no way could be the view of Netzarim Jews in the first century.  It has NO roots in Judaism, and did not even exist in Christianity until the 19th century.  Its main views are totally contrary to Judaism period.  Such views are that, the Torah is not for today, and that, the “Church” has replaced Israel.  I believe that many Christians will fall away when the “rapture” does not happen when they think it will, and have to go through the Tribulation.
So with that said, here is my general view of the chronology of the End Times: Immediately AFTER the Tribulation (Mt.24:29; Mk.13:24) the Messiah will appear in the sky (Dan.7:13-14; Mt.24:29-31; I Thes.4:16-17) there will be a final trumpet (Rev.8:2; 11:15; Mt.24:31; Is.27:13; I Thes. 4:16-17; I Cor. 15:52) and there will be a resurrection (I Cor. 15:50-55; I Thes.4:16; Rev.20:4-6; Is.25:8; Hos.13:14; Ezk.37:1-14) and a gathering together to Messiah in the sky (Mt.24:29-31; Mk.13:24-27; 2 Thes.2:1; I Thes.4:17).  This is followed by the Messiah coming with His set apart ones. In other words the “rapture,” and the “Battle of Armageddon” happens all in one shot. (Jude1:14-15= I Enoch 1:9; I Thes.3:13; Rev.19:11-16; Zech.14:4-5).  After this, the 1,000 year reign of Messiah is established (Rev.20:1-3, 7).

The “rapture” is the regathering of Israel to the Land of Israel at the return of Messiah, and not a pretrib rapture of the “Church.”” – Get Back to the First Century

I Kefa (I Peter) 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

A flood came in Noah’s time and only 8 human souls were saved. 8 is the number meaning, a New Beginning”. And from that 8 we today have over 6 billion people in the world.
Torah tells us that if something cannot be cleansed and purified by water, it must be purged with fire (Lev.13).

II Kefa (II Peter) 3:9-14 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

Rev. 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away;

God promised Noah that He would never destroy the world by a flood; Kefa (Peter) and Yochanon (John) however says that next time it will be cleansed by fire. This tells me that possible before Messiah returns that we will become worse than those living in Noah’s day, possibly worse that that of Sodom and Gomorrah.
God is definitely great in mercy. He told Enoch that the flood would come to destroy the world when his son Methuselah died. This also according to legend represented the time when all of the righteous generation has died off except Noah and his family.

Methuselah was 187 when Lamech was born, and he lived 782 more years. Lamech had Noah at the age of 182. The Flood occurred when Noah was 600 years old. 187 + 182 + 600 = 969, the year Methuselah died!

Who knows who God is waiting on to die before He decides to return and judge the world with fire!? All I know is that as in Noah’s time it will be ripe and long over due out of God’s mercy to mankind. Question is; will you be ready?

Shabbat Shalom,
- Yehudah ben Shomeyr