Rabbinic or Not?

The shocking Rabbinic origins of many Christian beliefs and practices!

In this walk of ours, where we literally question everything, is littered with some land mines. Many of these things come from misconceptions and our tendency toward purity. Let’s face it, we are all working toward a goal we know we can’t obtain. This purity goal is one that drives us to study anything ancient, whether it’s really ancient or otherwise, trying to get to “the truth”. This is the root of those wanting to study the pictograms, thinking that if we can just get to that pure, exact, first language that the scriptures started from, then we can attain to a pure faith. The same is true with the Names and calendars. When you step back and look at this behavior without bias, you will see that it literally is a works based philosophy combined with Gnosticism. Folks start to believe, whether consciously or sub-consciously, that if they can just get the proper doctrines then they will have attained salvation. Well, let’s take a look at that concept:

Slide 2 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Eph 2:8-10)

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Rom 4:1-3)

You see, our faith contains people who would have been saved by works if that was an option. Abraham is one of the first that comes to my mind. But Paul goes to great lengths to explain what was already known: Abraham was saved by his blind faith not by his works. Abraham believed THEN acted. This is salvation, brothers and sisters. It’s why we are here today and why we are on this walk. We started, with less knowledge than a child, and were saved at that moment in time. We are not working toward salvation, we are working from a place of salvation. This is not some Calvinistic idea but a reflection of what Paul writes here. We can lose our salvation. We can turn our backs on Yahweh and His Son. But we don’t because our faith drives us on this path. Our quest for knowledge is not salvational, but driven from our desire to know God and His Messiah. We long to be with them so much, that we study to show ourselves approved, and to learn about their character and draw near to them.

Slide 3 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah —this Jesus whom you crucified.”  (Act 2:36)

Who made Yeshua Lord? Who made Yeshua the Messiah? Who saved Yeshua? It was God, Yahweh. This philosophy extends even to the very Son of God. I think it is safe to say that Yeshua had His doctrine perfected. He knew the original languages and everything. He had perfect works of mercy, faith, justice, you name it! He performed miracles galore and was the best preacher of eternity! He is the very image of God! But He was saved by faith, not by works.

Now with this preface, let’s take a look at the meat of today’s message. We draw lines in the sand in our walk, which I have done many times. Fortunately, sand lines erase easily. I have had the bug to refuse any Rabbinic teaching. It’s an easy thing to do. Find some outlandish Talmudic reference, paint the whole lot of them with that brush, and then confidently dismiss the entire history of Jewish doctrine and teaching. All while using Protestant commentaries and singing the songs of the pork-eating Sunday keepers, right? We will toss out the Rabbis while embracing those who teach much easier to spot errors. Then, we embrace people who we don’t even know because they have some teaching that tickles our ears! It’s a glaring hypocricy! So, let’s take some easy looks at what is Rabbinic by starting with what is not:

What is not – Calendar, the Shema, the Aaronic Blessing, the Holy Days

Slide 4 “Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your Elohim. I am the YHVH your Elohim.” (Num 10:10)

The calendar was decreed by the last Sanhedrin, it is not simply a Rabbinic decree. That Sanhedrin revealed the calculation for the calendar that had been in use since after the temple came down. Without a functioning temple and priesthood, there is no means for us to have a sighted moon calendar. I’m sorry if this offends you, but if you do not have the authority to call the blowing of the silver trumpets in Numbers 10, which you don’t if you’re not the high priest, you don’t have the authority to call the new moon. There were two silver/metallic trumpets used to call assemblies, call to war, call to anything, and they could only be commanded to be blown by the high priest. Saying you have the authority to call the calendar is saying you have the authority to send Israel to war. OK? They made the decision to reveal the calendar, which is very complex, so the people could continue to observe in unison throughout the diaspora. They did this because others were calling the calendar themselves due to lack of communication, and there was confusion. The calendar is not perfect, and the jury is out whether the calendar was ever perfect, but the same condition exists today as when the last Sanhedrin made this decision in 358 AD.

Slide 5 “Hear, O Israel! The YHVH is our Elohim, the YHVH is echad! “You shall love the YHVH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deu 6:4-5)

Then YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: YHVH bless you, and keep you; YHVH make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; YHVH lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’ “So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”  (Num 6:22-27)

The Shema is a prayer based on scripture. Reciting this as a prayer is a tradition, and it may even be a Rabbinic command, but it’s not Rabbinic. Yeshua told us this is the greatest commandment and we observe it by living it, but we also remind ourselves to observe it by reciting it together each week. I just have the abbreviated version on the screen and I hope you say this daily, as it is commanded. The Aaronic blessing is also a scripture that was commanded to the kohen to recite. We do this as a congregation. Even though I may lead it, understand I am a commoner and not a priest. We recite this scripture as a prayer as well.

Slide 6 YHVH also spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. “It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of YHVH, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your Elohim. “I am YHVH your Elohim who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your Elohim; I am YHVH your Elohim.” (Num 15:37-41)

Blue tassels are not rabbinic. They are a commandment to all Israel. We are Israel through the adoption by the blood of our brother Yeshua. He wore them even though He kept the commandments perfectly. He was there when the commandments were given for goodness sakes, if He wasn’t the One who actually gave them! Wearing blue tassels is the best thing we can do to shun the Rabbis, incidentally, because they wear white. Which is a strange practice!

What is Rabbinic

Slide 7 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luk 4:16-21)

The synagogue, which is a Greek word for assembly that means “church” in this context, is a Rabbinic tradition. Yes, brothers and sisters, having an assembly led by commoners, meaning non-Levites, is not in the Torah. The practice was started after the return from Babylon. The synagogue system was invented to educate Jews, which at that point meant “Israel”, so the faith would increase and they wouldn’t get busted again. It was more than just a building with a Rabbi that they met in weekly, but the way to teach children during the week. Our church systems trace their origins to this tradition. And Yeshua sanctioned it.

Also in these verses is Yeshua reading from the prophet Isaiah. The bible canon was created by the Rabbis, too. Remember how “synagogue” is a Greek word? Well, so is the word Septuagint, which is the slang for the Hebrew bible canon when the scriptures were translated into Greek about 150 years before Yeshua. It’s that document that is the basis for having a bible canon at all and it is the foundation for our modern bibles.

The book of Isaiah is Rabbinic. This is very hard for us to believe, but it’s a Pharisee thing to even have books of the bible after the Pentateuch be considered scripture. The Pharisees are the Rabbis of the first century. So where I am going with this is if you don’t want to be Rabbinic, then you have to take a hard look at having a lay-person led weekly service and you don’t really have a foundation for accepting the books of the bible apart from the Torah.

Slide 8 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time. (Act 5:34)

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today. (Act 22:3)

The apostle Paul was a Rabbi, taught by the highest respected Rabbi in all Judea. Yahweh used the Rabbinic system to give the world the ultimate evangelist. Paul was so respected he could walk into any synagogue in the world and be allowed to speak. The Gospel was spread throughout the world using the synagogue system, including the Greek canon of scripture, and being led by a Messianic Jew named Saul of Tarsus, who was beaten in the synagogues per the prophecy of Yeshua.

Moral of the story today? We need to be careful drawing lines in the sand. We should also educate ourselves on the easier to obtain knowledge before reaching for the esoteric. Understanding what practices we do that are 100% from the Torah versus what we do that are from tradition is something of great value. We have much more latitude whether to partake or not when something comes from tradition, but when those traditions are enshrined in scripture and sanctioned by the Messiah and the Apostles, then they become very important. We also have to be very careful when we break from Torah. The Sanhedrin is not perfect and did not accept Yeshua as the Messiah. And when there is another one, we will have to evaluate their commands in that light. But please understand that our faith and its practices, in its pure form, is not nearly as pure as we often want. Also remember that we were saved at the start of this path. Our learning and practices have changed much, and will continue to change, along the journey. This is fine and quite a blessing to have this freedom in Messiah!