Reconciling the Law of Moses, the Torah, and the Rabbinic Oral Law

by

Prepared by P. R. Reid, a servant of Yeshua HaMashiach

Article 16; Exhibits A, B, C and D

January 1, 2024

  • Recall from Part One, that it’s common knowledge that when we enter into The Faith of Our Fathers, we must follow the 613 commandments as outlined by various Rabbis.  Throughout the centuries, to my surprise, each of the revered Rabbis have composed their own list of the 613 commandments, which for us means, they are not necessarily the same. 
  • There is something else for us to consider; these revered Rabbis followed Pharisaic or Talmudic Judaism.  This manmade dogma is also referred to as the “Oral” Torah.  They believed that they alone were authorized to interpret Scripture which meant that all Hebrew people had to obey them.  This belief system is exactly what Yeshua spoke against.
  • My question is this, do we want to follow 613 Commandments taken from Rabbinical Oral Torah or do we want to follow those contained only in Scripture?
  • For the purpose of this teaching, I created my own list using the first mention of the words referenced in Ge. 26:5.  My goal is to determine if we can assign each Scripture under the banner of the Ten Words. This should be fun and informative.
  • In Parts One and Two of this teaching, we determined that the words Mishmeret, charge, and Mitzvot, commandments, relate to the very first of the Ten Words, the Ten Commandments.  Part three will need further examination.  After all, if we believe that He is, then it is our duty to walk in obedience to His “Rules of the Kingdom.”

Part Four: Reconciling the Law of Moses, the Torah, and the Rabbinic Oral Law

  • Our foundational Scripture is found in Ge. 26:4 – 5:  “And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
  • In Part Four of this teaching, we will examine the forth and final word in order, the word “laws.”
  • The Hebrew word for “law” is תּוֹרָה.  To a great many of us, the word Torah, is very familiar.  The general understanding of this word represents the first five books of Scripture which are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  By most, Torah is used in a collective sense.  In other words, Torah encompasses all four foundational words, charge, commandments, statutes and laws.,
  • Please consider that the word “Torah,” is an umbrella of sorts.  Within the perimeters of the first five books, there are two distinct books.  The Book of the Covenant which begins in Ge. 1:1 and continues until Ex. 24:11 and The Book of the Law which begins in Ex. 24:12 through Deut. 34:12.  Each “book” has its own unique purpose.

The Book of the Covenant

  • In “The Book of the Covenant” The Father records His creation.  He calls Abraham, the first Hebrew, and establishes His will, i.e. His covenant with him.  We see this clearly in the very first word of Scripture, Bereshit.  
  • In its original language, The Father tells the reader exactly why He has chosen to create in the first place.  Creation was for the distinct purpose of choosing a family for Yeshua, His Son.  He is going to choose this family through a cut covenant made with fire in the center.
  • In Hebrew, the first word of Scripture appears thus:

בְּרֵאשִׁית

The first letter is the Bet which means house, tent or family.  This letter represents Yeshua, the Son.  It is also used in Hebrew grammar as a prefix meaning in, with or on account of.  This letter is telling us that in, with or on account of the Son, was creation made.  The Son and His covenant family.

The first two and last two letters of this word create the word “brit” which means a “cut covenant.”  The two center letters create the word “aish” which means fire.  Essentially, a “cut covenant” with “fire” in the center.  This is a picture of the “Covenant of Pieces” Yah made with Abraham.  See Ge. 15:2 – 21.

  • Further, but not limited to, He tells us many stories.  Stories that are meant to show the reader how we are to behave, i.e. obedience!  There is more to say on his subject but our time is limited.

The Book of the Law

   Israel broke their betrothal to Yah with the golden calf.  Israel surrendered her wedding ornaments for the fashioning of the calf.  The Book of the Law is initiated for one purpose.  It became the duty of the Aaronic priesthood to “teach” Israel how to walk in obedience, to be ritually clean, so that she could reenter the covenant relationship.  Hence, Galatians chapter four, speaking to the Book of the Law as a “tutor.”

  • I have asked myself this question, if the word Torah is ALL SUFFICIENT, then why is it fourth in order?  Please consider the following explanation.
  • As the fourth word in our foundational Scripture, we now have a connection to the fourth word of Scripture which is the Aleph Tav.  It connects us to the pattern of four.  
  • Yeshua is the “lawgiver” or the Torah giver, so this explanation makes sense to me.

The Pattern of Four

  • As the fourth word of Scripture, the Aleph Tav, tells us exactly when Yeshua will first appear, at the 4000 year mark.
  • On the fourth day of creation the luminaries were created for the moedim, the appointed times, all of which speak to Yeshua.
  • The fourth letter of the Aleph Bet is the Dalet which means enter or pathway.  Yeshua is the “door” to YaHaVah.
  • Yeshua descends from the tribe of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob.
  • The word Torah, just like mishmereth, mitzvot, and chukat, all contain the letter Tav.  That makes the word Torah feminine in gender.  Recall, the feminine gender speaks to Israel, the bride of Messiah Yeshua. 
  • The remnant bride of Messiah will walk in obedience to the Rules of the Kingdom.”
  • This is what  Rev. 19:7 is speaking to.  “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
  • The root word for “Torah” is יָרָה.  Yara is defined as to throw, shoot, cast or pour also to lay or throw (especially) an arrow.  The idea being to “hit the bulls eye.”
  • In its ancient form “Yara” would read thus:  “Those who throw the “seed” from the beginning will see Him who will be revealed.”
  • The numerical value of “Yara” is 215; 2 + 1 + 5 = 8.  Eight is the number for covenant.
  • The first mention of “Torah” is found in our foundational Scripture, Ge. 26:5.
  • The second mention of “Torah” is  found in Ex. 12:49:  “One law H8451 (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance) shall be to him that is home born, and unto the stranger that sojourns among you.”  By the time the “mixed multitude” reach Mt. Sinai for the Matan Torah, the giving of the Torah, they should have truly aligned themselves with the Yah  of creation.
  • The Hebrew word for “stranger” is “ger.”  A “ger tsaddik” then, is a righteous stranger.  Simply put, someone from another country, aligning themselves with the Yah of Israel, chooses to remain with the covenant people, are called a “ger tsaddik.”  They are also referred to in Scripture as “God fearers,” such as Cornelius.
  • This is the same concept as the gentile people; when they come to the Faith of Our Fathers, they are grafted into the green olive tree of Israel.  See Romans 11 for the grafting in process.  
  • The writer of Hebrews 11:13 – 16 says it this way:  “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.  For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.  And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”
  • Scripture calls Cornelius a “God fearer.” Acts 10:1 – 2:  “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.”
  • A “God fearer” is someone who embraces The Faith of our Fathers BUT not the Rabbinic Oral Torah.  Rather, they follow the words of Messiah Yeshua.
  • The third mention of “Torah” is recorded in Ex. 13:9:  “And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD’S law H8451 may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.”
  • It is with our mouth, our Peh, that we speak our confession of faith.  Rom. 10:10:  “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
  • If we meditate on His word then it will be His word that dwells in our mouth, ready to speak His truth in or out of season!
  • In conclusion, lets see if we can put all this information together.  The Rabbis have created their own list of 613 commandments.  The question is, how did they reach this particular number.
  • The Talmud notes that the Hebrew numerical value (gematria) of the word Torah is 611 (ת‎ = 400, ו‎ = 6, ר‎ = 200, ה‎ = 5). Combining 611 commandments which Moses taught the people, with the first two of the Ten Commandments which were the only ones directly heard from God, a total of 613 is reached.  (Wikipedia)
  • It seems that the Rabbis who have created their own list, they all adopt the 613 number.   
  • Our list breaks down as follows:
  • Ge.26:5 being our foundational Scripture:
  • Charge = mishmeret was used 78 times in the Tanakh.
  • Commandments = mitzvot was used 181 times in the Tanakh.
  • Statutes = Chukat was used 104 times in the Tanakh.
  • Law = Torah was used 219 times in the Tanakh.
  • The grand total is 582.  Some of which pertain to the Aaronic Priesthood with regard to performing offerings.  At this point in history we no longer have a functioning Aaronic Priesthood or Temple in which to make offerings so we can’t count them.
  • I have also noticed that some Scriptures overlap with other words, such as statutes, commandments and ordinances often occur with the word law, Torah.
  • It is my opinion that the only way to reconcile the Law of Moses with the Scriptures I have supplied directly is to sort through the entire listing in order to determine which, if any, fall within the category of “Oral Torah.”
  • Please understand that this series, Parts A, B, C and D are my own personal effort in understanding their relevance in Scripture.  I am by no means trying to foster any influence over the reader.  There is, in my opinion, at least one more step.  The phrase “you shall” is used often in Scripture.  At a later date I will be examining this phrase.
  • In my opinion then, we have reconciled the Law of Moses i.e. that the first five Books of Scripture contain the “words of Moses” that we are called upon the learn.  See Acts 15:21.
  • The Torah is an umbrella containing two Books, the Book of the Covenant and the Book of the Law
  • The “Rabbinic Oral Torah” is what is practiced by the Jewish people today.  The “Oral Torah” is comprised of the Talmud and Mishneh which are a creation of man.

The Ten Words

  • 1.)   Ex. 20:1 – 3:  “And God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shall have no other gods before me.’”
  • 2.)   Ex. 20:4 – 6:  “Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
  • And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”
  • The first four of the Ten Words speak to our relationship with The Father.  We believe that He is, we choose to honor Him in so doing we keep or obey His word and do them.  Any Scripture that speaks to our obedience connects us to one or all of the first four of the Ten Words.
  • 5.)   Ex. 20:12:  “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”
  • 6.)   Ex. 20:13:  “Thou shalt not kill.”
  • 7.)   Ex. 20:14:  “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
  • 8.)   Ex. 20:15:  “Thou shalt not steal.”
  • 9.)   Ex. 20:16:  “Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
  • 10.)  Ex. 20:17:  “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.”
  • The last six of the Ten Words speak to our relationship with our fellow man.  Yeshua said is this way…
  • Mk. 12:29:  “And Yeshua answered him, the first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:” and verse 31:  “And the second is like, namely this, thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”  ***In my opinion this says it all, we don’t need to add to, take away from, inject our thoughts on how they are to be kept or modify in any way any of the Ten Words.
  • All we need to do is to be cognizant of His perfect Ten Words and do them.
  • The words of Messiah Yeshua make this subject clear in Jn. 14:15: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”