To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date sent: Mon, 1 Jul 2002 12:36:25 -0500
Subject: [HF] Bible Study HF070 - Who Shall Declare His Generation
Hebraics,
It was 70 a.d. The temple smoldered in ruin. The last remnant of
ancient Judaism was no more. But something would come out of
the ashes. A new Jewish religion would appear. The new religion
would eventually take on the name 'Talmudic Judaism' or 'Rabbinic
Judaism.'
And so this brings us to our next Hebraic study. What we want to
do in this study is consider the Biblical background for Rabbinic
Judaism.
This is HF071 - The Traditions of the Elders.
As a long time student of the Scriptures I still find myself
wonderfully blessed at how the Bible can continually releases its
treasures each time you pick it up. The Bible is an awesome book.
But it is written for 'eyes only.' This term means it is to be read
(understood) only by the person it is addressed to.
Of course we know that the Bible can be read by anyone. The
point, however, is that the Bible will only release its treasures to those
who are seekers of truth. It is not a book to be read like a newspaper. It
is the kind of book that allows believers to look into the very heart of
God, to hear and to see things that no one else can hear or see. It is a
timeless book. It is written for eyes only.
The reason I am sharing this is because the Bible is the only book
of any religion on the earth that records history before it happens. Too
often God's people are taking everyone else's word for things that
happened in history. This is why we end up with a great deal of
misinformation and slanted reasonings.
What has this to do with Rabbinic Judaism? It has everything to do
with it. Not only is the birth of Christianity recorded in the ancient
writings, but so is the birth of another form of Judaism, and so is the
rebirth of a nation called Israel. The Bible lays out redemption from
beginning to end.
The Bible records in both the old and new testament how the
Jewish leadership would reject God's Messiah, would create a new
religion, but that the peoples themselves in the last days would
come "trembling to the Lord and to His goodness." (Hosea
3:5) The
prophets also record how the wisdom of the rabbinics will be
rejected. (This is happening even as I write. Talmudic Judaism
does not hold the power over most Jewish peoples that it once did.)
For example, Jeremiah says, "The wise men are put to shame,
they are dismayed and caught; behold, they have rejected the word
of the LORD, and what kind of wisdom do they have?" (Jer8:9)
The
'Word of the Lord' is none other than Jesus Himself. In rejecting
Jesus, their wisdom became earthly and spoiled. How can anyone
have wisdom without the wisdom of God. The apostle plainly tells
us that Jesus is the Wisdom of God. (Cf.
1Co1:24)
Paul speaks to this in saying what would happen to the Jewish
peoples who rejected Jesus; "But their minds were hardened; for
until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil
remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ." (2Co3:14)
Remember what I said about 'eyes only.' The prophet said, "On that
day the deaf will hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and
darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will
increase their gladness in the LORD, and the needy of mankind will
rejoice in the Holy One of Israel." (Isaiah
29:18,19)
For the sake of repeating myself, I want to reaffirm that the
greatest thing you can ever do for a Jew, is to get him to read his
own Bible. (This goes for many Christians as well.)
Ok, are you ready? Let's begin our search on the Biblical roots of
rabbinic Judaism. Later in this study I will share just a few quotes from
the writings that come out of Talmudic Judaism. I am usually hesitate to
do this, but many Christians are little aware of how very damaging these
writings are. Most quotes you hear from the Talmud today are masked to
create an idea of how very wise the Talmudic writers were.
Well --- Let's get started. Here is a place to begin. Listen carefully.
It
says,
"The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him
when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of
His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is,
unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless
they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the
elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless
they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have
received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and
copper pots.)
"The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, 'Why do Your disciples
not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread
with impure hands?' And He said to them, 'Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of
you hypocrites, as it is written: "This people honors Me with their lips,
but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me,
teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.' Neglecting the commandment of
God, you hold to the tradition of men.' He was also saying to them, 'You
are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your
tradition.'" (Mark
7:1-9)
Did you notice how it says these 'traditions of the elders' had
dominated the peoples by and large? Did you also notice how the
prophet spoke of this long years before it happened? Did you also
notice what Jesus said about them being 'experts' at setting aside
the commands of God. What were these traditions and where did
they come from?
Actually the seedbed of these traditions came out of Babylon. The
Jews had been taken captive generations before. When a group of
them were restored to the land, they brought many traditions with
them. Out of this returning to the land, another group of leaders
would arise in Israel. Over time they would take the place of the
'teaching priest.' The new leaders would be called rabbis. ('My
master'. 'My teacher'.)
Have you ever thought it strange that the term 'rabbi' is not to be
found in the former testament? There were no rabbis. Have you
ever wondered why Jesus told his disciples not to be called rabbi?
He said, "But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and
you are all brothers." (Matt23:8)
Jesus knew that the seed bed for
this new Rabbinic Judaism was already in the making, and that this
new Talmudic Judaism would seek to turn the Jewish peoples away
from Himself.
God's designated teacher under the covenant of Law were the
Levitical priests. The last book of the Old Testament includes this
statement; "For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and
men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the
messenger of the LORD of hosts." (Malachi
2:7) What was
happening, however, is that the rabbis were already taking the
place of the priests. A competition was being created between the
synagogue and the temple.
During second temple Judaism the rabbis had become competitors
of the priesthood. When the temple was destroyed in 70 a.d., that
put an end to temple sacrifices and to the priesthood, but it did not put
an end to the rabbis. They would begin right away to create a new Judaism.
Out of this new Judaism, the rabbi would take the central role. In fact
they would claim for themselves to be the final voice of God. And, believe
it or not, that God would consult with them in matters that He was unsure
of. (We will see in a moment.)
Certainly it would take time for this new Judaism to fully develop.
The 'traditions of the elders,' which, by the way, was spoken of as
'the oral torah', would be brought together in a written form. Great
volumes of writings would be attached.
The rabbis taught that Moses was given two laws, one written, and
the other oral, that the oral superceded and explained the written. Of
course this was all fabrication.
Moses himself gave strict instructions about adding to or taking
away from the Law given on Sinai. He said, "Whatever I command
you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away
from it." (Deu12:32)
What did Jesus say? He said that the rabbis
had become "experts at setting aside the commandment of God in
order to keep [their] tradition." Of course the oral torah was their
answer.
The rabbis knew they must to something to hold the allegiance of
the Jewish peoples. So in this new Judaism good deeds would take
the place of the sacrifices, the table would become the altar, and all
sorts of embellishments were to be provided that would neatly set aside
the Law of Moses. (Of course after the destruction of the temple it was
impossible to be Torah observant in any true sense of the word.)
Around 220 a.d. the Mishnah was codified. These were the
traditions of the elders. Rather than get into details, I'll only mention
that with the Mishnah being codified, added to that was the Gemara. The
Gemara are rabbinical depositions and varied discourses and discussions
that intended to explain the Gemara. Together they are called Talmud.
(There were other writings but we'll leave them off for sake of being
brief.)
The Babylonian Talmud was completed around 600 a.d. Rabbi
Jacob Neusner says that the Mishnah is the first document of
rabbinic Judaism. Neusner is one of the most recognized
authorities of Judaism today.
Here is the point at hand --- Jesus knew that this new Judaic
religion would be an attempt to prevent the Jewish peoples from
coming to Him. And this was certainly true. The rabbis began to
write Jesus out of Jewish history. And those things that were said
about Him were the most ungodly things that could be written. Over
time the Jewish people came to think that Jesus was some sort of
Roman or Greek God. They did not realize that both He and the
apostles were "sabras". (Native born of the land.)
At the center of Talmudic (Rabbinic) Judaism was the glorification
of the rabbis. The Talmud began to replace the Scriptures in the
hearts and minds of the Jewish people. Here are some examples of
how the rabbis wanted the peoples to see them: (I'll include various
quotes from Jewish writings in addition to what is stated about the rabbis
themselves. I pray you are not offended with some of these quotes. In
Judaism the rabbi is the Torah incarnate.)
One of the most revered Talmudic writers says, "He who occupies
himself with Scripture gains what is no merit." "He who occupies
himselt with Mishnah gains merit for which people receive a
reward." "He who occupies himself with Talmud--there is no source
of greater merit than this." (Talmud, Shabbat 15c and Baba Metzia
33a)
"He who trangresses the words of the scribes sins more gravely
than the transgressors of the words of the law." Sanhedrin X, 3,
f.88b
"A Nazarene is one who follows the false teaching of 'that man'
[Jesus] who taught them to worship on the first day of the Sabbath."
Abhodah Zar 6a.
In Bava Metzia 86a, Rabbi Nahmani is called to heaven to settle a
debate between God and the 'rest of the fellowship.' and to teach
God who is clean and who is not.
In Berakhot 7A, God asks a rabbi for a rabbis blessing. (According
to the Talmud God himself is a student of the rabbi's tradition. He
studies the Talmud three times a day.)
"Some teachings were handed on orally, and some things were
handed on in writing ... we conclude that the ones handed on orally
are more precious." Hagigah 1:7V
"If a Gentile hits a Jew, the Gentile must be killed." Sanhedrin 58b
"When a Jew murders a gentile there will be no death penalty.
What a Jew steals from a gentile he may keep." Sanhedrin 57a
"Gentile girls are in a state of niddah (filth) from birth." Zarah 36b
Here are some statements about Jesus:
"He and his disciples practiced sorcery and black magic, led Jews
astray into idolatry, and were sponsored by foreign, gentile powers
for the purpose of subverting Jewish worship." Sanhedrin 43a
Gittin 57a, says Jesus is in hell, being boiled in 'hot excretement.'
Rosh Hashnah 17a, says that minim (takes in Hebrew Christians)
and others who reject Talmud will go to hell and be punished for all
generations.
Yebamoth 63a, teaches that Adam had sexual intercourse with all
the animals in the garden of Eden.
Hagigah 27a, states that no rabbi can ever go to hell.
Erubin 21b, says that whosoever disobeys the rabbis deserves
death and will be punished by being boiled in hot excretement in
hell. (By the way, this is the similar description that Muslims use for
hell.)
Menahoth 43b-44a, says that a Jewish man should pray the
following prayer each day; "Thank you God for not making me a
gentile, a woman, or a slave."
Ketubot 11b: "If a grown-up man has intercourse with a little girl, it is
nothing, for having intercourse with a girl less than three years old is
like putting a finger in the eye."
.............
I've tried to be sensitive in my quotes, but I think it is necessary to
get a small cross-section of what is to be found in Talmudic religion with
regard to Jesus, to the rabbis, and to other subjects. I can assure you
that if any Biblical Christian has opportunity to study just a bit of
Talmudic writings, dismay will be the result.
What needs to be understood is that the rabbis had an intense
hatred for Jesus. This hatred spilled over into their new religion.
Jesus said this would happen; "Do not think that I came to bring
peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."
When the Lord said this, He had Israel in view in particular.
In one place the Lord said, "They will make you outcasts from the
synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to
think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do
because they have not known the Father or Me." (John
16:2,3)
There is much more to be shared, but perhaps you would like to
ask questions or offer your thoughts. Keep in mind that this study
limits itself to the Biblical background for Rabbinic Judaism. It has
nothing to do with being pro or anti-semitic. (We will be able to consider
another 'false' religion that later emerged, that took to itself the name
'Christian'. That religion has been the cause of much destruction among
both Jews and Biblical Christians. But let's leave that for another
study.)
The study is open.
The Lord bless you,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace
of God; that no root of bitterness springing up
causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)