[Originally posted in 2013. This concludes Chapter 5, “THE WAY” of the book we have been featuring in this series: James Tabor, Restoring Abrahamic Faith.
We consider this book a “wake-up call” not only for ourselves but our Christian colleagues with whom we attempted to share its contents.
Our former messianic teacher called this book “demonic” . . . if he ever reached Chapter 5, this would explain that reaction. Unfortunately, typical of Christian thinking, everything that does not conform with Christocentric belief is immediately labeled as “demonic.”
Read through and see what you, reader, conclude for yourself. Is it “of YHVH” or of the non-existent Christian devil?—Admin1.]
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“Until the whole world turns to the principles of the TORAH,
we will continue to suffer all of our collective ills and horrors.
It is a demonstrable statistical fact that those societies that have incorporated into their laws, their judicial systems, and their general societal values, that basic ethical principles of the Bible, have been more prosperous, inventive, and advanced in areas of human rights.
They also are rated the lowest in the areas of economic and governmental corruption.”
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Applying the TORAH to one’s personal and community life in our modern secular setting requires spiritual insight and sensitivity for both Jew and non-Jew that involves a lifetime of deep study and meditation on these principles. However, much instructive help is available.
The Jewish commentary and discussion of these Laws is fascinating and exhaustive. Various conceptual categories have been developed such as-
- “Repairing the World,”
- “Caring for the Poor,”
- “Guarding the Tongue,”
- “Hospitality,” and
- “Love of Zion,”
—around which extensive discussions have developed. The Rabbis have worked through many of the important issues over the centuries and the benefit to the non-Jew of these millennia of accumulated Jewish wisdom is considerable.
But beyond formal study, the ultimate goal is “to write the TORAH on the heart” (Deuteronomy 6:6; Jeremiah 31:33).
When one deeply seeks the principles of TORAH, delighting in it and meditating on it day and night, the essential WAY of TORAH begins to unfold (Psalm 1:2).
The TEN WORDS, the cycle of annual Holy Days (Leviticus 23), the dietary laws (Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14:3-21), and many other areas of God’s Law are immediately applicable to our lives and bring great blessings and benefits. Since the TORAH addresses all aspects of human life: social relations; economic justice; health and hygiene; criminal justice; sexual conduct; as well as compassion and care for animals and our planet—it can be seen as a kind of blueprint, framed in an ancient Israelite setting, of the WAY of justice and righteousness for humanity.
Jerusalem vs. Athens
There are really only two compelling visions of human life and its purposes that come down to us from Western antiquity—the early philosophical quest of the ancient Greeks, and the Torah inspired vision of the Hebrews. Scholars refer to this dichotomy as “Athens and Jerusalem.”
And yet, when you add it all up, despite the commendable emphasis on rationality found in Greek philosophy, ancient Greek society falls woefully short with its emphasis on—-
- divinizing and worshipping the forces of nature,
- its class-restricted ethics,
- its obsession with the occult and the superstitious,
- and its focus on astrology and the world beyond.
In contrast, within the Torah, one finds a rather remarkable emphasis on the ONE God as the ultimately rational Being beyond nature—
- a rejection of the occult and astrological forces,
- an emphasis on caring for
- the poor,
- the disenfranchised
- and the “stranger,”
- as well as virtually no emphasis on life after death.
The Torah comes across as a rational system, completely oriented to this world, and amazingly grounded in the practical matters of human living. This includes a remarkable emphasis upon health and sanitation that seem to predate, or at least anticipate, the modern post-Enlightenment world.
Until the whole world turns to the principles of the TORAH, we will continue to suffer all of our collective ills and horrors. It is a demonstrable statistical fact that those societies that have incorporated into their laws, their judicial systems, and their general societal values, that basic ethical principles of the Bible, have been more prosperous, inventive, and advanced in areas of human rights. They also are rated the lowest in the areas of economic and governmental corruption.
The Prophets make it clear that the coming collapse of our human societies, and the judgment that comes upon all nations on the “Great Day of YHVH,” will come as a consequence of our flouting of the WAY revealed in TORAH (see Isaiah 24; chapters 59-66).
Also, the TORAH contains much more than commandments (mitzvot). It also contains a fundamental unfolding narrative. It is from that core foundational story that we learn the fundamentals of the ABRAHAMIC FAITH—
- who God is,
- what the WAY of God essentially is all about,
- and the contours of the historic PLAN of God for the redemption of the world.
The Hebrew Prophets go hand in hand with the TORAH. They too come to us in their ancient dress, reflecting the conditions of Israel and Judah from the 8th through 5th centuries B.C.E. But they preserved for us an eternally valid commentary, more often than not cast in the 1st person voice of YHVH Himself.
Anyone who has deeply studied Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Hosea, or any of the Hebrew Prophets, comes away with the impression that the Prophets speak with a voice that is perpetually relevant, indeed, as up to date than the morning papers. Furthermore, large sections of the Prophets directly address the “last days,” as they are called. In that sense important sections of these writings are more for our time and our peoples than for ancient Israel.
In my experience, growing up in a Christian church, the riches that come from a deep study of the TORAH and the Prophets were largely missing. One is reminded of the chilling words of the Nazarene: “Whoever annuls one of the least of these commandments [of TORAH and Prophets] and teaches men so, will be called ‘least’ by those in the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 5:19).
And yet Christian tradition ended up teaching that the TORAH was abrogated and replaced by a New Covenant. This meant that the Bible that Jesus and all his earthly followers used, subsequently called the Old Testament, was seen as a largely obsolete precursor to the New.
The result was that the TORAH as a definitive revelation of God’s WAY was forgotten and in some cases even repudiated. And yet, Jesus, quoting the TORAH, had declared: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of YHVH!” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3).
The deeply spiritual nurture that comes from a lifetime of study and meditation on the direct words of TORAH and Prophets, has unfortunately been lost to so many in our culture. It is worth noting that none of the writers of the New Testament actually had a New Testament. They were Jews and looked to their Holy Scriptures, the Hebrew Bible, preserved by the people of Israel.
In contrast, the “Christian message” that most hear Sunday after Sunday from their pulpits does not focus on the TORAH or the Prophets. In the more evangelical churches at least, the single emphasis is on salvation in heaven through “accepting” Christ as Savior.
There is a richness, depth, spiritual insight, and practical knowledge of the Hebrew language preserved in the classical Jewish sources. Devout Jews throughout the world follow a weekly cycle of readings and study of the TORAH and Prophets.
Ironically, the early followers of the historical Jesus, unlike modern Christians, were thoroughly familiar with this practice and, as Jews, participated therein. Jesus himself attended the synagogue regularly on the Sabbath and was even called up to read the sacred Scrolls (Luke 4:16-17). He was thoroughly a part of this Jewish world of TORAH learning and discussion.
James (Ya’akov), the brother of Jesus, and leader of the messianic community, assumed that the Gentiles drawn to TORAH FAITH would attend synagogue and hear the TORAH and Prophets read each Sabbath (Acts 15:21). An incredible wealth of commentary, both profound and practical, has developed around these TORAH portions. They are the lifeblood of the disciplined study of TORAH and are readily available for interested non-Jews.
When it comes to the matter of non-Jews being drawn toward the TORAH and/or Judaism, there is another important factor that I alluded to above. The Prophets state repeatedly and clearly that those known as Jews from the 5th century B.C.E. onward do not make up all of Israel. In other words, the so-called “Lost Tribes of Israel,” usually spoken of in the Prophets as “the house of Israel” (Joseph/Ephraim), in contrast to “the house of Judah” (the Jews), have lost their Israelite identity and consider themselves Gentiles. Yet, all the Prophets declare that in the “last days” these descendants of Jacob or Israel will return to YHVH the ONE GOD, and to TORAH Faith, recover their identity and unite with Judah (see Hosea 1:10-11; 3:4-5; Jeremiah 3:11-18). Their very birthright and Covenant goes back to Sinai and the revelation of YHVH through His Prophet Moses. The implications of these teachings in the Hebrew Prophets regarding the “Lost Tribes” are explored in [another] chapter.
This may well account for the reason so many thousands of Gentiles in the past few decades have experienced a turning toward TORAH Faith. It is possible that we are witnessing the beginning stages of a significant turn in Jewish history. These peoples tend to come from biblically oriented traditions within Christianity and they sense a connection, through their attachment to the Bible, toward the Jewish people and the Hebraic Faith. Accordingly, many who feel deeply drawn in these directions might very well be sensing the stirrings of their ancient Israelite connections in some mystical way that is beyond our ken.