CONGREGATION MELECH YISRAEL OF TORONTO
A Messianic Jewish Newsletter for the sake of רבינו ישוע מלך המשיח אדונינו Rabbeinu Yeshua Melech HaMashiach Adoneinu!
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CONGREGATION MELECH YISRAEL OF TORONTO |
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A Messianic Jewish Newsletter for the sake of רבינו ישוע מלך המשיח אדונינו Rabbeinu Yeshua Melech HaMashiach Adoneinu! |
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מתשובה למשיח לגאולה
במהרה בימינו. זכריה י"ב:י' |
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אני מאמין באמונה שלמה בביאת המשיח ואף על פי שיתמהמה עם כל זה אחכה לו בכל יום שיבוא. |
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CMY NEWSLETTER
July-August 2008 / Sivan-Tammuz-Av 5768 Vol. 13 No. 11-12 |
A Message From Rabbi Ya'acov Farber"Cultural Understanding"
Judaism, at the time of Messiah, was the Judaism of the Pharisees. They followed the customs, traditions and Oral Law (Mishnah) as developed over the centuries from the time of Ezra, the scribe. So, when the Gospel writers wrote their letters they composed them in the framework of the culture that they were a part of, much the same as what I am doing right now. I want the readers of this newsletter to understand the points that I am trying to get across, so I am writing in the framework of our culture. However, even more significant is the fact that Yeshua's entire ministry was to the Jews and in many cases more specifically to the Pharisees. Therefore, most, if not all, of what He said reflected the Jewishness of the time. Many of the statements made by the Gospel writers have often been misconstrued by modern commentators because they do not fully understand this fact. Gentile-oriented Bible commentators could not fully understand the Jewish implications of what was written, nor can they ever grasp what it means to be Jewish. I often relate this to being black. Although I can sympathise with how black people feel and I can study their culture and customs, unless my skin is black then I could never really understand what it is, what it means, or what it feels like to be black. Now, apply the same principal to being Jewish, understand? Most commentators, because the majority of the Gospels seem to be written in Greek, tend to take into consideration Roman/Greek traditions and culture rather then the writer's Jewishness. Yet, many of the things Yeshua did and said can only be fully understood if you can grasp the Jewish background. I can not expect a Gentile to ever know what it feels like to be Jewish, but once explained, everyone should be able to understand the Jewish traditions and customs behind the Gospels. |
Yeshua of Nazareth was born a Jew. He spoke and walked among Jewish people, and had very little contact and dialogue with non-Jews, although His words speak to all peoples of all times. His brief life on earth, in the physical, was during a definite and specific time in history. It was a turning point for the Jewish people. The exact time He was born, the place and circumstances of His birth were not accidental or haphazard, but rather this was G-d’s ordained plan, from the beginning of time, as revealed by His prophets. In order to fully comprehend the way Yeshua taught and His actions it is absolutely necessary to view His life and teachings in the surroundings, society, mind-set and religion, of the Jewish people of that time. When Yeshua spoke He addressed firstly and directly the Jewish leaders and His words had to be intelligible to them. The strength that Pharisaic-Judaism had in Israel at that time was the fact that it was a centralised religion with all worship taking place in Jerusalem. Nothing helped to preserve Jewish customs and traditions more than the Temple and its service. In fact, without the Temple, Israel would have probably not had a history. Everything in Jewish life revolved around the Temple and the city of Jerusalem where it was located. The heathen nations that dwelt around Israel were able to pick up their gods and move them from one location to another, but the G-d of Israel dwelt permanently between the cherubim, over the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies. The Temple also served as the national archive and, because so many nations occupied Israel, the scribes took great care in fully preserving accurate genealogical records.
The language spoken at the time of Yeshua was Aramaic. This was the language of Babylon, which the Jewish exiles brought back with them from the captivity. Hebrew was the language of intellectuals and of the synagogues. In fact, interpreters had to be used to translate the Torah portions read in the synagogues during services so that the common people would understand them.
This was the origin of what is called the Targum. There are two Targams, which, by the way, are Aramaic paraphrases of the Tanach (Hebrew Scriptures), the Jerusalem Targum and the Babylonian Targum. Both are still in use as reference material today. Also, the square (Block) Hebrew letters, which we are so accustomed to seeing today, actually originated from Babylon and were adapted into the Hebrew alphabet.
The law in use, during the time of Yeshua, was the Mishnah or Oral Law. Jewish scholars believe that when Moses returned from Mt. Sinai G-d gave him two sets of laws, one which Moses wrote down, which is called the Torah, also know as the five books of Moses, the first five books of the Bible, and the other is the Oral Law. Our sages say that the Oral Law was passed down throughout the ages from High Priest to High Priest. This oral law, as well as the customs and traditions developed from the time of Ezra, formed the Jewish religion of the Pharisees, the Jewish religion of our day.
When Ezra returned to Israel after the Babylonian captivity he established a ruling power that administered the Word of G-d. They were known as Sopherim, translated "Men of the Books or Scholars.” They were also known as “Scribes.” By the time Nehemiah returned from exile the need for a more structured authority was necessary, so he established the “Great Assembly” or “Great Synagogue”. This assembly dissolved with the invasion of Syria and the persecution that ensued under Antiochus Epiphanies. However, during this time there arose a group of elders whose main effort was the preservation Judaism; they were called “Zeqenim.” From among the “Zeqenim” emerged a group of religious zealots called “Chasidim”, (pious ones). It was from the Chasidim that Judas Maccabaeus came, and from there the Maccabean revolt developed.
The Maccabee party ruled in Israel approximately 60 years and, as time progressed, they became more and more secularised. This caused a split within the party between the Chasidim and the secular Maccabees. For a while the Chasidim and the Maccabees co-existed, but eventually the Chasidim went their own way and started their own religious party. Within this religious party there were both zealots and moderates. They were the ones who became known as the Pharisees (zealots) and the Sadducees (moderates) thus was the development the aristocratic government and the religious government. There were aristocrats, but they were not from the line of Judah. They were of the Hesmonian family, to which Herod the Great was related. The Hesmonians ruled over the secular affairs of the people, while the religious party set up their own seat of government and called it the “Sanhedrin”, thus developed the political and religious system of Yeshua's day.
Want to know more? There are regular Bible studies and teachings on this subject plus we broadcast our services and Bible studies live on-line. Check our web-site for more information: www.cmy.on.ca.
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