HEBREW ROOTS LIE # 1 --- Christians DISREGARD TORAH

Pray for the peace of JERUSALEM;
They shall prosper that love thee.
Psalm 122: 6 

ALL SCRIPTURES COURTESY OF BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

The specific TORAH, the specific 5 books of Moses, is read and parts memorized by all the various groups of Hebrew Roots Believers.  Many of the groups "teach" the Hebrew names for these 5 books... as a better way to say them... rather than using the Latinized or Greek-rooted names for the 5 books of Moses.  

The HR groups, although quite varied in intensity, hold this in common: they accuse ALL the Followers of JESUS of being

• Against the teachings of Moses ( TORAH )
• Against the Law found in the other books of the Old Covenant
• not mindful of keeping any of the commands found in the Old Covenant
• unwilling to even READ the Old Covenant

There are 613 Laws in the books of Moses' Law, called the TORAH, specifically. [ Some claim "TORAH" means all the Law found in any book of the Old Covenant, hence I have clearly designated that when I am addressing  ONLY the books of Moses, I use the term " specific." ] 

What is odd is this: 

the HEBREW ROOTS movement 

does NOT publish which of the 613 Laws 

the Hebrew Root groups 

themselves observe. 

In Andrew Roth's Appendix [ Aramaic-English New Testament ] starting on page 845, of the mis-pagination edition,  is a listing of the "248 POSITIVE mitzvot / commandments" of TORAH."  This appendix is entitled, appropriately enough: 

"How Much Torah Do Christians Already Keep ?"

However, there is no corresponding appendix listing how much TORAH the Hebrew Roots movement observes. 

If one looks carefully at the wording of this section, one sees the words POSITIVE commandments, which are Mr. Roth's designation for only 248 of the 613 commandments in the TORAH.... which is only 40 % of all the Laws listed in specific TORAH !  

Thus, even if ALL of the "POSITIVE" TORAH commandments are kept ... not even HALF of the TORAH will be observed that is written in the 5 books of the Law of Moses ! 

For whosoever shall keep the WHOLE law, 

and yet offend in one point,

 he is guilty of all. 

James 2:10 

James 2:10 in Mr. Roth's AENT states this: 

"For he that will keep the whole TORAH* 

and yet fail in one aspect of it, is an enemy to the whole TORAH*. "

( *Namusa, in the Aramaic/Syriac TEXT has been arbitrarily translated as "TORAH" instead of "LAW" in Mr. Roth's AENT. ) 

Thus, we see that the Apostle James, the head of the Early Church in Jerusalem, writes clearly in this verse AND IN THE CONTEXT of this verse in both the Peshitta and the Greek Manuscripts what the KEEPING OF TORAH demands.  

Now, let us look at the words of our LORD  Y'SHU+ the MESHIKHA in Aramaic/ Syriac, YESHUA+ HA MOSHIYACH in the Hebrew tongue, JESUS CHRIST in English. 

  

  Did not Moses 

give you the law, 

and yet none of you 

keepeth the law?

Why go ye about to kill ME+?

 The people answered and said, 

THOU+ hast a devil: 

who goeth about to kill THEE+?

Y'SHU+  answered and said unto them, 

I+ have done one work, and ye all marvel.

 Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; 

(not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) 

and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.

If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, 

that the law of Moses should not be broken; 

are ye angry at ME+, 

because I+ have made a man 

every whit whole on the sabbath day?

 Judge not according to the appearance, 

but judge righteous judgment.

 ~ ~ ~  Recorded in John 7:19-24

Listen to the words recorded by Luke in Acts 15, when Paul and Barnabas went before the Elders and Apostles in Jerusalem to determine the question of circumcision being laid upon the Gentile Followers of Y'SHU+  the MESHIKHA by Jewish Christians.... in addition to their Salvation by faith.

But there rose up certain 

of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, 

saying, 

That it was needful to circumcise them, 

and to command them to keep the law of Moses. 

Acts 15:5

Forasmuch as we have heard, 

that certain which went out from us 

have troubled you with words, 

subverting your souls, 

saying, 

Ye must be circumcised, 

and keep the law: 

to whom we gave no such commandment: 

Acts 15:24

Now hear the words of the Apostle Paul, a zealous Jewish Pharisee, who met Y'SHU+ the MESHIKHA and was eventually sent to the Gentiles. 

For neither they themselves 

who are circumcised keep the law; 

but desire to have you circumcised, 

that they may glory in your flesh. 

Galatians 6:13

Were Luke, the Jewish-Pharisee Christian Apostle Paul, and the Jewish Christian Apostle James all WRONG about the rightful understanding of the Law of Moses, the TORAH,  as they lived for Y'SHU+ the  MESHIKHA? 

WAS ...

Y'SHU+ the MESHIKHA, 

YESHUA+ HA MOSHIYACH, 

Our LORD JESUS CHRIST

... in error in HIS+ statement that 

"None of you keep the Law " ? 

WHO , then , is RIGHT?

The Hebrew Roots Law-keepers

or 

Y'SHU+ the MESHIKHA...

our LAW-INCARNATE+ ?

QUESTION: So then... which TORAH commandments of the 613 Laws do Followers of Y'SHU+ keep ? 

ANSWER:  We keep them ALL when Y'SHU+ the MESHIKHA lives within our hearts because HE+ was the Word made Flesh. 

It Has NOT Been "I" Living in Me !

Original Drawing by Bro. Brendon Patrick, 1985

Order of The GOOD SHEPHERD+

Uniting one's will with 

Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA 

~ OR ~

HOW to UNFAILINGLY

KEEP TORAH

Galatians 2:20 

All verses courtesy of Dukhrana.com

Peshitta NT, British and Foreign Bible Society

^{Khabouris Peshitta verses are taken from the} 

^{Khabouris Codex Transcription by Stephen P. Silver.}

- ܘܥܰܡ ܡܫܺܝܚܳܐ ܙܩܺܝܦ݂ ܐ݈ܢܳܐ ܘܡܶܟ݁ܺܝܠ ܠܳܐ ܗ݈ܘܳܐ ܐܶܢܳܐ ܚܰܝ ܐ݈ܢܳܐ ܐܶܠܳܐ ܚܰܝ ܒ݁ܺܝ ܡܫܺܝܚܳܐ ܘܗܳܢܳܐ ܕ݁ܗܳܫܳܐ ܚܰܝ ܐ݈ܢܳܐ ܒ݁ܰܒ݂ܣܰܪ ܒ݁ܗܰܝܡܳܢܽܘܬ݂ܳܐ ܗ݈ܘ ܕ݁ܰܒ݂ܪܶܗ ܕ݁ܰܐܠܳܗܳܐ ܚܰܝ ܐ݈ܢܳܐ ܗܰܘ ܕ݁ܰܐܚܒ݂ܰܢ ܘܝܰܗ݈ܒ݂ ܢܰܦ݂ܫܶܗ ܚܠܳܦ݂ܰܝܢ ܀

Galatians 2:20 - ܘܥܡ ܡܫܝܚܐ ܙܩܝܦ ܐܢܐ ܘܡܟܝܠ ܠܐ ܗܘܐ ܐܢܐ ܚܝ ܐܢܐ ܐܠܐ ܚܝ ܒܝ ܡܫܝܚܐ ܘܗܢܐ ܕܗܫܐ ܚܝ ܐܢܐ ܒܒܣܪ ܒܗܝܡܢܘܬܐ ܗܘ ܕܒܪܗ ܕܐܠܗܐ ܚܝ ܐܢܐ ܗܘ ܕܐܚܒܢ ܘܝܗܒ ܢܦܫܗ ܚܠܦܝܢ ܀

This marvelously wonderful and both simple-yet-complex verse  ... which has 6  " I 's " in it ...   holds the key to uniting one's will with  The M'SHIKHA !  We will unlock the MYSTERY of how to keep Torah flawlessly by examining the grammar of Galatians 2:20. But please note well:   Keeping as many as possible of the 613 laws commonly thought of as "Torah"  does have its function  ... as well as those things written in the Psalms and Prophets... in the Christian church. It is written in Scripture that the Apostles were in the Temple at the appointed prayer times of the morning and evening sacrifices, after the Resurrection.  It would be fool-hardy to think that the Apostle Paul abandoned all the spiritual training he had as a Pharisee. What made the difference to the Christian Apostles after the Resurrection was that keeping of Torah now was submitted to the ONE+ Who+ wrote it, lived it, and more... FULFILLED IT !  Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA now was alive after HE+ had been crucified ... and was living in their hearts!  Those who are natural-minded and who are trying to know CHRIST (M'SHIKHA+ ) through keeping the Torah  are as lost as ever...  if... if... if... they have NOT entered into a personal relationship with Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA.    The Old Covenant is finished; the New Covenant through M'SHIKHA+  must be entered into by repentance, a death to self, and baptism into His+ death.  The discipline the Apostles embraced, then, was accomplished via their love for Y'SHU+. It naturally flowed into and out from them all as they lived TOTALLY for Y'SHU+ ( Y'SHUA+, Hebrew; JESUS, English).    What they embraced is called "spiritual discipline," such as indicated by the Psalmist's words in Psalm 119:164 ~ "Seven times a day will I praise THEE."      Discipline ... a submitting of one's body, mind, soul, and spirit to exercises of faith such as fasting, regular prayer times, Bible reading, corporate worship and individual worship... is a necessary part of a Christian's walk.   A separation from the world and its ways and values and conduct, as well as dress and things of "entertainment," is part of that discipline also.  The Christian church as a whole has neglected and negated DISCIPLINE as part of its structure. This is why various "Torah-keeping" groups hold an attraction for seekers: they want that structure of discipline.   Most likely, the discipline embraced by some of the Orders in various church organizations is the ONLY THING that stands between that church organization... and total destruction.  Thus, for those who follow Y'SHU+ ( JESUS, Y'SHUA+ )  ... whether by a spiritual discipline of keeping Torah or a spiritual discipline of some sort placed upon one by the HOLY SPIRIT...   discipline and discipleship are VERY IMPORTANT to the survival of the church, wherever it may be found. /  Sr. J. H.  +++

+  +  +

Dealing with the Grammar of GALATIANS 2:20  ~  ~  ~ 

versus the AENT, the Netzarim Publishing House's version of the New Covenant, edited and compiled by Mr. Andrew Roth with a committee of Netzarim proof-readers and professional editors.  

This Netzarim publishing house's Aramaic-English New Testament version of Galatians 2:20 is translated with the: 

• omission of :  2 phrases, 1 word, plus 2 "ands"
• addition of : 7 words
• wrong verb tenses: 3 X
• wrong verb "voice" : 1 X
• wrong pronoun suffixes: 2X

PLUS... 4 wrong "concepts" embedded into that verse!

Hence, for scholars and readers and even any Netzarim who are interested in Truth of the Word, we will look at this verse carefully and thoroughly. Readers may also check the Khabouris, the second Aramaic verse printed above, to see if there is any variations between it and the Syriac Peshitta. ( There is not, in this verse, as one may plainly see.)  However, I use the Syriac Peshitta because the vowels are clearly marked and sometimes, the vowel pointings DO make a difference in the translation. 

1.   ܘܥܰܡ  This word is really two words = "and-with"
In the AENT= "And" is separated from "with" ( ?) and translated with the coming verb. 
2 .   ܡܫܺܝܚܳܐ  = M'SHIKHA+ , M,Sg, Emphatic = The Messiah
3.  ܙܩܺܝܦ݂  = crucify: 1st,M,Sg = "I", passive PARTICIPLE, peal = have been crucified   or  some translators say, am crucified.    

4.  ܐ݈ܢܳܐ = " I " ; Now here is a vital element of grammar and an example of the necessity of using vowel points for a new Aramaic/ Syriac language reader. 

Notice this part:  ܐ݈ = Under the aleph letter, there is a slight diagonal line, almost a slash. It tells the reader that letter is SILENT. The next letter, a nun, ܢܳܐ has a vowel point above it that says / " ah " /.  So to enunciate this  " I "  =  one must simply say / " 'na " /.  

This ܐ݈ܢܳܐ = is used with verb PARTICIPLES ! It does not stand alone as a pronoun in an Aramaic/ Syriac sentence. 

If / " 'na "/ does not have a PARTICIPLE with it, it will have the stand-alone form  of " I " =   ܐܶܢܳܐ with it, 

" ena 'na " 

and it will carry  the meaning of : It is I or I am.   

Native readers of Syriac would KNOW than 'na would always be used with a participle verb form and thus, not need to have the vowel pointings to direct them. 

In the AENT: 

The phrase: "I have been crucified"  has been mis-construed in a number of ways. First of all, Mr. Roth states it like this:  

" And I am executed on a stake"  

The verb voice is passive, participle , peal. Some translators have said:  "I am crucified" instead of "have been crucified." 

However that may be, there is no such word, EXECUTE in the several lexicons included in Dukhrana, including the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon ( CAL ) out of Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati for the word

   ܙܩܺܝܦ݂ = ZQi Y P. 

There is, however, a couple of words found at www.assyrianlanguages.org, through LexiLogos / Syriac Dictionary, which include EXECUTE in their definitions. 

This website lists, for EXECUTE : 

• CH N Q, a verb form found in Matthew 13:7 = to hang / to execute on a gallows.  In Mt. 13:7, it means to choke. At a glance, once can see that is NOT the verb used in Galatians 2:20. 
• Another verb used to mean EXECUTE is M-M-T = the causative of M-Aleph-T. 
• Another verb listed is Q-t-Y-L-V-T-Aleph = killing, slaying, executed. 

None of these words even remotely resemble ZQi Y P.   which Mr. Roth translates as EXECUTE, as even a non-reader of Aramaic / Syriac can clearly see.

"  And I am executed on a stake"

In the AENT, the words on a stake   have simply been inserted; there is NO TEXT in the Peshitta or Khabouris which supports that phrase! 

In other words, the Aramaic or Syriac words are NOT THERE ... from which Mr. Roth is supposed to be translating !

A quick search through Dukhrana reveals NO words in the Syriac New Covenant for either POLE or STAKE.

A search on LexiLogos at www.assyrianlanguages.org does have a word somewhat related to this search. 

It is S-P-D-Ch and it means "to impale, to pierce." 

However, this word is found in the Urmiah dialect, in Iran, not the Syrian dialect! 

Thus, we see the AENT has inserted a phrase here and mis-translated the word, CRUCIFIED, and supplanted it with an EXECUTED.  Even worse, the AENT has mis-construed the entire concept of Our LORD dying on a cross and have HIM+ instead being executed on a stake, impaled or not .

What is the basis 

for this mis-construction 

of a basic Christian concept ?   

More to come regarding the odd translation of the AENT in the following posts on Galatians 2:20 !

FLAWLESSLY Following Torah ? ..... YES !

SHRINE of the BOOK
housing the Dead Sea Scrolls, at Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Photo by Berthold Werner
Courtesy of Commons Wikipedia

We discovered in the previous post that it is truly possible --- and required --- to follow Torah flawlessly .

This can ONLY BE ACCOMPLISHED, however, by uniting one's own will with The WILL of Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA. 

  

Because of HIS+ being " The Way, The Truth, and The Life," even primitive peoples who have never heard of the Torah may enter into HIS+ Righteousness ... if they follow Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA for the salvation from their sins.

That is why Y'SHU+

did NOT instruct 

His+ followers to preach Torah

for the remission of sins...

but rather 

to baptize and share the Good News to all nations that repentance and remission of sins were accomplished in His+ Name, for those who would believe and follow HIM+. 

[Verses Courtesy of  Dukhrana.com]

Luke 24:46 - And HE+ said to them: Thus it is written, and thus it was right for MESSIAH+ to suffer, and rise from the dead on the third day;

Luke 24:47 - ܘܰܕ݂ܢܶܬ݂ܟ݁ܪܶܙ ܒ݁ܰܫܡܶܗ ܬ݁ܝܳܒ݁ܽܘܬ݂ܳܐ ܠܫܽܘܒ݂ܩܳܢܳܐ ܕ݁ܰܚܛܳܗܶܐ ܒ݁ܟ݂ܽܠܗܽܘܢ ܥܰܡ݈ܡܶܐ ܘܫܽܘܪܳܝܳܐ ܢܶܗܘܶܐ ܡܶܢ ܐܽܘܪܺܫܠܶܡ ܀

Translations

Etheridge:Luke 24:47    and that in his name should be preached repentance and the forgiveness of sins among all nations, and that the commencement should be from Urishlem.

Murdock: Luke 24:47    and that, in his name, repentance for the remission of sins should be preached among all nations, and that the commencement be at Jerusalem.

Lamsa:  Luke 24:47  And that repentance should be preached in his name for the forgiveness of sins among all nations; and the beginning will be from Jerusalem.

   Following Torah FLAWLESSLY... 

 simply cannot be done through those 613 Laws listed in the Torah proper, according to Scriptures. 

Hear the words of Y'SHU+ to the Jews and to the crowd gathered in the Temple at the Feast of the Tabernacles in John 7:19: 

John 7:19 - ܠܳܐ ܗ݈ܘܳܐ ܡܽܘܫܶܐ ܝܰܗ݈ܒ݂ ܠܟ݂ܽܘܢ ܢܳܡܽܘܣܳܐ ܘܠܳܐ ܐ݈ܢܳܫ ܡܶܢܟ݂ܽܘܢ ܢܳܛܰܪ ܢܳܡܽܘܣܳܐ ܀

John 7:19 - ܠܐ ܗܘܐ ܡܘܫܐ ܝܗܒ ܠܟܘܢ ܢܡܘܣܐ ܘܠܐ ܐܢܫ ܡܢܟܘܢ ܢܛܪ ܢܡܘܣܐ ܀

Etheridge: John 7:19 - Did not Musha give you the law? But no man of you keepeth the law. Why seek you to kill ME+ ?

Murdock: John 7:19 - Did not Moses give you the law? Yet no one of you observeth the law.

Lamsa: John 7:19 - Did not Moses give you the law? and yet no one of you obeys the law. Why do you want to kill ME+ ?

[ "Why do you want to kill ME+" is accurately translated but it is found attached to verse 20 in the Peshitta and Khabouris Texts. ]

Now Note here: 

Mr. Roth's Netzarim AENT has a footnote, # 80, that is very mis-leading. For verse 7:19, Mr. Roth states that 

  

• " THE PHARISEES face a stern rebuke here from Y'shua+ for not keeping the Torah of Moshe; ..... By contrast, 'not a man among you,'  not one Pharisee, is keeping Torah..."    Page 254, Mis-pg. Edition, John 7:10, footnote #80. 

However, Mr. Roth's words are only his own assumption. In this 7th chapter of John, the Pharisees are not identified until verse 32. But rather, the Jews in general ( Sadducees or proselytes, perhaps included ?) and the crowd are the identities of those in the Temple who heard Y'SHU+ .  

There, in verse 32, the Pharisees heard the words of  the crowd which was listening to HIM+ saying ... "When M'SHIKHA+  comes, what more than these miracles that this man  does will HE+ do ? " ... so the chief priests sent guards to seize HIM+. 

Yes, a follower of Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA is enabled by the HOLY SPIRIT, the Ruach ha Kadosh, to keep Torah flawlessly because His+ Righteous ways arise in one's heart... even if that follower has not read Torah nor known that it existed !  Such marvelous Grace !

Next post,  we will look at Galatians 2:20 in retrospect to see HOW one can actually unite one's will to the Will of Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA...   LORD be willing and we live.