Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

• Mark 7:1-13
  Click to retrieve Mark 7:1-13
• Matthew 15:1-9
  Click to retrieve Matthew 15:1-9
• Revelation 22:18-19

Key OT Scriptures

• Deuteronomy 4:2
  Jewish Commentary

Supportive NT Scriptures

• Colossians 2:8
• 1 Corinthians 2:3-7
• 1 Corinthians 11:1-2
• Galatians 1:13-14
• Matthew 23:23-31
  Click to retrieve Matthew 23:23-31
• 1 Thessalonians 2:13
• 2 Thessalonians 2:15
• 2 Thessalonians 3:6
• 1 Timothy 4:7

Supportive OT Scriptures

• Proverbs 30:5-6
  Jewish Commentary

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Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

Traditions are good (and even necessary) when they are consistent with, and supportive of, the Word of God. Regrettably, traditions have been misused by the Jewish people and others throughout the ages, which is why we read of Yeshua scolding the Pharisees and Torah teachers that were criticizing him and his disciples for violating inconsequential traditions, while they themselves were breaking major Commandments of God through their traditions ( Mark 7:7-9 ). Some traditions are explicitly commanded in Scripture, such as Leviticus 23:40 : On the first day [of Sukkot] you are to take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches and river-willows, and celebrate in the presence of ADONAI your God for seven days. You will notice, however, that the Scripture does not say what we are to do with these items, so it was left to our community leaders or community consensus, and the Jewish tradition that developed was to wave them in a prescribed way. One can assume, therefore, that a Jew who does not take up the "four species" in some manner on Sukkot violates the commandment of God, but if he merely departs from the rabbinical way of doing it, he only violates rabbinical tradition. I say "rabbinical tradition", but it is also "rabbinical law" because the sages of Judaism have come to believe that they are authorized by God to interpret Torah and to make law for the Jewish community. Law for the Jewish Community (statutory or stare decisis ) 1 is known as halachah , and its basis is in Deuteronomy 17:8-11 : If a case comes before you at your city gate which is too difficult for you to judge, concerning bloodshed, civil suit, personal injury or any other controversial issue; you are to get up, go to the place which ADONAI your God will choose, and appear before the cohanim, who are L'vi'im, and the judge in office at the time. Seek their opinion, and they will render a verdict for you. You will then act according to what they have told you there in that place which ADONAI will choose; you are to take care to act according to all their instructions. In accordance with the Torah they teach you, you are to carry out the judgment they render, not turning aside to the right or the left from the verdict they declare to you. Authority to interpret statutory law is not an unusual or strictly Jewish concept; it is assumed by all judicial bodies, both ecclesiastical and secular. The process of statutory interpretation, when done correctly, seeks to determine a statute's legislative intent - that is, its meaning and application that its framer(s) had in mind. All New Covenant believers are able to (and expected to) interpret God's statutes (commandments) through the prophetic insight that has been given to us by the Holy Spirit. The problem arises when we seek to interpret in our own logic and our own wisdom, and not according to what the Holy Spirit reveals to us when we consult him. Regrettably, the way Rabbinical Judaism has chosen to interpret and apply God's commandments is without the help of the Holy Spirit, and by man's own power and authority. The justification for this is a story that is recorded in the Babylonian Talmud, Baba Metzia 59b , where, in the midst of a dispute between rabbis, a heavenly voice was allegedly heard to cry out: 'Why do you dispute with R. Eliezer, seeing that in all matters the halachah agrees with him!' But R. Joshua arose and exclaimed: ' It is not in heaven. ' What did he mean by this? - Said R. Jeremiah: That the Torah had already been given at Mount Sinai; we pay no attention to a Heavenly Voice, because You have long since written in the Torah at Mount Sinai, 'After the majority must one incline.' ( Soncino Talmud ) The statement " It is not in heaven " ( lo ba-shamayim hi ) also appears in Deuteronomy 30:12 , where it is used in a different context: It is not in heaven , that you should say, 'Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' (NKJ) In the Babylonian Talmud, " It is not in heaven " is used to justify not seeking the voice of God or even paying attention to it for Torah interpretation and application, on the theory that God gave the Torah to mankind on Mount Sinai, and that it is now exclusively man's possession, and exclusively man's to interpret and apply. 2 And interpret the Torah man did - by what has come to be known as "building a fence around the Torah ." It is achieved by enacting a gezeirah - a law to prevent a person from accidentally violating a mitzvah d'oraita - a commandment of Torah . 3 The concept of building a fence around the Torah for safety was inspired by Deuteronomy 22:8 : When you build a new house, you must build a low wall around your roof; otherwise someone may fall from it, and you will be responsible for his death. In order to be effective, a gezeirah must be more restrictive than the Torah commandment it seeks to protect. Quoting from a paper by Daniel C. Juster: 4 The most common examples of protecting the Torah are the laws of kashrut (Jewish dietary laws), especially the laws concerning milk and meat. The Torah ( Exodus 23:19 , & 34:26 and Deuteronomy 14:21 ) exhorts us to not boil a kid (a baby goat) in its mother's milk. This command is in the context of pagan Canaanite practice. It is also an obvious humanitarian deference to animal life. To protect this law, the rabbis decided that eating milk and meat together, even if not from the same animal, should be avoided. Once this was accepted, they determined that we needed to have hours of separation between meat meals and milk meals so that milk and meat will not be cooked together in our digestive system. Once this was accepted, we were required to have separate dishes for milk and meat since there is a possibility that particles of meat or milk may be left on the plate and get mixed and eaten. In the case of Kashrut, a new fence is made for each new rabbinical law! On its surface, it appears that building a fence around the Torah is a sensible thing to do, since if one does not violate the fence, one cannot violate the Torah which is what is sought to be protected. 5 Ironically, in its apparent virtue, it does not achieve that which it seeks to achieve. When we seek to keep Torah , we are not merely keeping rules - we are connecting with God who is the rule-maker and, therefore, our attention is on pleasing God. If, however, a rabbinical fence is placed between us and God's law, our attention is no longer on pleasing God, but on pleasing the rabbis because it is their fence that we seek to not violate. As a matter of fact, with the establishment of a fence around the Torah , we need not concern ourselves about God's law or God at all. That is what Yeshua meant when he admonished the Pharisees and Torah teachers in Mark 7:13a : Thus, with your tradition which you had handed down to you, you nullify the Word of God! 1. Law of the case - a Latin term derived from British Common-law literally meaning "to stand by things decided" 2. Eliezer Berkovits, "Not in Heaven: The Nature and Function of Halakha" (Ktav Publishing House: New York, 1983). 3. A mitzvah drabbanan is a law or commandment promulgated by the Rabbis.' 4. Daniel C. Juster, " Building a Fence Around the Torah ," Tikkun International Newsletter: "Israel's Restoration," December 2007 . 5. Eve was the first person to build a fence around Gods Word when she said to the serpent in Genesis 3:2b : "We may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden

Classical commentators

This Mitzvah is not addressed by any of the Jewish classical commentators.

Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2

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Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.

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Disclaimer: the original content is authored by Rabbi Michael Rudolph and Rabbi Daniel Juster; additional notes or implementation details on this website are not part of their original work and do not represent their views.

Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 1 & 2

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