My Love and Concern of Torah Portions

I personally love the Torah Portions system for a number of reasons, including reasons associated with connecting with other like-minded Messianic believers who appreciate the Torah Portion system as well. Certainly, there are few things in our Hebrew Roots/Messianic Community that provide us as much needed common ground than the weekly Torah Portions.

The problem I personally have with Torah Portions, however, is the often extreme emphasis that so many members of our Faith Community place on Torah Portions. What I mean is simply this: far too many of us focus our spiritual energies each week in successfully completing that week’s established Torah Portion without giving the required equal if not greater attention to aggressively seeking out Father’s will for us that week. Seeking Father’s will becomes secondary if not tertiary and so forth down the priority list of our week at the expense of getting through those set Torah Portions.

What Are Torah Portions Any Way?

Are Torah Portions relevant to the Body of Christ (Messiah)?

The Torah Portions system is simply a manmade method of organized Torah reading. According to chabad.org, the custom of completing a weekly public reading of Torah every year seems to have gotten its start in Babylon during the Talmudic Era. It was during this period that Torah was divided into 54-sections referred to in Judaism as Parshiyot, which handily facilitates the completion of a yearly cycle through the reading of one Parshah each week.

Are Torah Portions the End All To Be All?

Now, this is all well and beautiful and even quite useful to those of us who love and live Torah each and every day of our lives and throughout our daily walk with Messiah. The concern I have come to appreciate regarding Torah Portions by so many of us is that we stand to reach a point where we begin to treat the Torah Portion system as the “end all to be all.” In other words, Torah becomes subservient to the Torah Portion System. In effect, there is almost an inherent potential for one to worship the Torah Portion system instead of the God who gave us Torah. We build up this thinking in our minds and hearts that we gotta get through this Torah Portion at this particular time. In so approaching our studies of Torah from this skewed angle, we run the risk of forgetting or ignoring altogether the reason why Torah exist and is active in our lives.

Consider the following:

Remember the former things long past, For I am God (El, the Almighty One), and there is no other, I am God (Elohim), and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning. And from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure (Isaiah 46:10; NASB).

So here Father is telling us in a very majestic way that He sees all things from a universal perspective—nothing goes to waste; nothing is a happenstance; things go according to plan and according to His purpose and good pleasure. We, on the other end, if we are to get the most out of our Torah studies, must stop looking at Torah as simple, ancient writings that are either direct, rote commandments that we must follow; or writings that we are obliged to read specific passages of Torah because that’s what the Torah Portions system tells us to read for that specific week. Thus we stand in a place of danger when we fail to simply treat our walk through the Scriptures from a standpoint of following rote and prescribed bible reading formats.

A Proper Perspective for Torah Portions is Needed

Please don’t get me wrong here: I love Torah portions and I have for most of my Hebrew Roots life followed them on and off. However, I feel that way too many of us revere Torah portions so much that Torah Portions become the object of our worship, and not as it should be, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Our focus is only on completing the Torah portion for that specific day or for that specific week; yet we fail to focus on the message that Father is trying to get across to us in that portion. Or we fail to focus on whatever else that Father is trying to get across to us at any given time.

Here’s a news flash: Yes, it’s okay to not complete a Torah Portion, especially when Father may be requiring our attention on something else that is not part of the Torah Portion for that period of time. That’s why I mentioned just now that I’ve followed Torah Portions throughout much of my Torah life off and on because I go through seasons when Father leads me to focus on something outside of the weekly portion.

The LORD of hosts (YHVH tsaba) has sworn saying, ‘Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand…(Isaiah 14:24; NASB).

What is Torah Related to Torah Portions?

What is Torah to us? This is the billion dollar question that we must not be afraid to ask ourselves and ask our Heavenly Father. It was the writer of the Book of Hebrews who described Torah accordingly:

For the Torah has in it a shadow of the good things to come, but not the actual manifestation of the originals. Therefore, it can never, by means of the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, bring to the goal those who approach the Holy Place to offer them (Hebrews 10:1; CJB).

Thus the Torah must be seen and treated more than simple stories and commandments and instructions that we apportion off and read at predetermined times of the year. Torah is alive, active and most certainly relevant to us in this present age. It has been described being sharper than any two-edged sword capable of penetrating and dividing that juncture where one’s soul meets its spirit; where one’s joints meets its marrow; and is capable of delving into the inner reflections and attitudes of one’s heart (Hebrews 4:12). Such an entity must then never be limited to mere Torah portions lest we grossly limit Father’s ability to work a work within us at a time and place of His choosing.

A Concern of Being Isolated From the Body

The other thing that must be kept in mind here is that each of us has been called by Father into His Eternal Kingdom. A Kingdom is composed of a King, a throne, a realm, workers for the throne, soldiers, a system of commerce, and of course citizens. Our calling into the Kingdom has been for Father’s expressed purpose and not our own. Thus it is not a thing that we should walk out this walk as disciples of Messiah and citizens of the Kingdom of Yehovah, holed up in isolation, away from the Body of Messiah, bound to systems that we believe will make us righteous through an artificial accumulation of knowledge that we convince ourselves is within the Eternal’s perfect plan and will for us.

Therefore, we must not limit ourselves to a life of one-on-one with the Father and dismiss the rest of the world. One-on-one with Father is an absolute must from time to time. Knowledge is also critical, but if it is not used appropriately and in accordance with the leading of the Holy Spirit, it will simply accumulate within us and before you know it, we become puffed up and judgmental of others whom we may feel are less knowledgeable and spiritual than we are.

Indeed, I have come across many Messianic Believers in the course of my walk with Messiah who have decided that they will not involve themselves with the Body in terms of fellowships, attending teachings, participating in forums and conferences and the like. These folks tend to have had some type or types of negative experiences with members of the Body of Messiah that caused them to adopt their staunch isolationist attitude and practice. And you know what, I get it. I really do get it as I was like that; I had a similar mindset whereby I did not want to deal with people. So I simply didn’t deal with people in our Faith Community. Over time, when circumstances brought me into the presence of brethren in the Faith, I did not know how to behave; I was uncomfortable around the brethren; when having to be around the brethren, I became worked up and tense; I looked for ways of maneuvering my way out of conversations and interactions with brethren; I actually began to despise being around brethren. Why? Not because I disliked them, but because I had lost the joy of dwelling in unity with brethren simply because I had had some missteps with brethren in the past (Psalm 133:1).

I’ve since come to learn that this is not the way to be and that I could no longer delude myself into thinking that my self-imposed isolation with the Father was actually appreciated and approved of by the Almighty. We are individual members of a single Body. As an individual member, we function the way Father would have us function only when operating within the overall workings of the whole Body.

The Balance Between Our Relationship with Father and with the Body of Christ (Messiah)

I guess it comes down to a rather natural spiritual inclination whereby at some point we convince ourselves that Father only desires us to focus on the one-on-one relationship we have with Him. Indeed, it does make sense when you think about it. Torah is pretty explicit about the overarching importance of loving the Father and having and maintaining that unshakable relationship with Him and Him alone. Indeed, it is the embodiment of the Shema of Deuteronomy 6:5 whereby have been instructed that we are to love YHVH our Elohim with all our heart and soul and might. It’s pretty clear.

However, there is the other Torah commandment found in Leviticus 19:18 that so many of us fail to recall or even consider. We are instructed to love our neighbor as ourself.

The Shema and the Levitical passage of “love thy neighbor” go hand-in-hand it would seem. Let us not forget Master Yahoshua’s response to the question: Rabbi, which is the greatest and most important commandment in Torah (Matthew 22:36)? Master’s response was absolutely in alignment with Torah when He is recorded to have said: You shall love Yah your Elohim with all your heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:37). But Master did not stop there. He went on to add: The second is like it. That you are to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39).

Most of us fail to refer back to Master Yahoshua when delving into immense richness of Torah or the other writings of the Tanakh. It’s as if we have an aversion to Master or something. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we have a tendency to focus solely on Torah: Torah, Torah, Torah.

The Aim and Goal of Torah is Always Yeshua Messiah

Indeed, Torah is our constitution—there’s no doubt about it. However, Torah’s present purpose and relevance to the Body of Messiah is to school us and define for us what sin is. Ultimately, the end goal of Torah is Yeshua Messiah. We can’t place Yahoshua on the shelf for safekeeping and personal convenience, then spend the remainder of our entire journey focused on Torah. I mean: at some point we got to do something with the information we’ve gained from all the study of Torah. We have to produce something. We have to earn our keep. Master taught repeatedly throughout His ministry here on earth about the bearing of good fruit. That analogy of bearing good fruit goes beyond being a good little Messianic. It extends into the realm of being an active worker in the Kingdom of God. Ultimately in His parables related to fruit bearing, those that do not bear good fruit are removed or taken out.

If anything, Torah must be the ultimate example for us as it relates to living in this world. We have been empowered by Father’s precious Holy Spirit so that we may live and walk out Torah in the midst of this perverted and evil world. But we gotta walk and operate in the world for Torah to be of any true use.

I’m reminded of a saying growing up in the Baptist Church of my youth related to those of the Baptist Faith who were disengaged from the Body and operated alone. They were described as being so heavenly minded that they were of no earthly good.

When we lose sight of this vital reality and we focus solely on Torah, like Torah Portions, we run the risk of worshiping Torah and not the God who gave it.

Being Engaged with the Body of Christ (Messiah) is a Must for Every Believer

And that’s why it is vitally—critically important that we actively engage the Body of Messiah and not become alien and too removed from the Body of Messiah and the world. The writer of Hebrews brilliantly touched upon the need for us to be actively engaged in the Body of Messiah through the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25). And as it relates to being engaged with the world, Master instructed us to let our light so shine before men so that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

The Apostle Paul actually touched upon this very issue in his brilliantly penned letter to the Assembly of Messianic Believers in Corinth when he wrote:

If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God (Yah) has placed the members, each one of them, in the body just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable. Whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God (Yah) has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another (I Corinthians 12:17-25; NASB).

Parashah 22–Building the Sanctuary

I have to tell you, this passage of I Corinthians ties in so well with this week’s Torah Portion. Father’s Spirit moved and stirred within me so much over the course of this week as I read through, studied, researched and meditated on this passage of Torah.

I see this Parashah broken into 3-general sections, all three of which come together to form a most poignant and powerful message for the Body of Messiah. The sections are broken down as such:

• Section I: Moshe assembles the whole assembly and briefs them on the construction of the sanctuary.
• Section II: The assembly operating as a whole employ the Holy Spirit derived gifts and talents of individual members of the assembly to construct the sanctuary/tabernacle and all the associated implements.
• And Section III: With the elements and implements being expertly fashioned according to Father’s plans, the sanctuary/tabernacle is set up by Moses and Father accepts it and His presence descends upon it.

For the short time remaining in this installment, I’d like to quickly reflect upon some of the wonderful truths contained in this portion.

Moses Gathers Us Together for the Construction Process and Freewill Offering

In section one where Moses assembles the whole assembly and briefs us on the construction of the sanctuary, once again Moses stresses the sanctity and relevance of the Sabbath: that it is to be a holy day; a day of complete rest in honor of Him; and any who would be found working on the day would be subject to death. Moses added one other prohibition related to the Sabbath: we were not to kindle or ignite a fire on the Sabbath.

Many people have latched on to this prohibition against kindling a fire on the Sabbath. The overall prevailing interpretation of this seems to be that we are not to cook on the Sabbath—this of course is a standard ruling that has been given by the rabbis. And you know what: I won’t argue with that. Indeed, Father gave us 6-days to do all our work. Thus, we have ample opportunity to get all our work done—including preparing meals for Sabbath–in those 6-days and leave the 7th day totally to Him. So not cooking on the Sabbath could conceivably be what this instruction was pertaining to.

But here’s another way of looking at this. Recall that I am a stickler on context. I find it very interesting that Father places these instructions related to the Sabbath right here in the midst of our gathering around Moses to receive instructions on constructing the elements and implements of the sanctuary. Okay. So stay with me on this if you will.

Could it be that Moses is giving us this monumental project to complete which would employ the talents and labor of many members of the Body and Father wanted once again to stress the importance of keeping the Sabbath? Could it be that despite the importance given to this project by Father that He wanted to ensure that we did not neglect to honor the Sabbath? Could it be that Father knows us and understands that we just might take advantage of this project and work on it during the Sabbath under the guise that it is a project given to us by Father to perform? And could it be that the prohibition against kindling a fire on the Sabbath was to address those of us in the Body who rely on fires to smelt and work metals in constructing the elements of the sanctuary so that we would not fire up our kilns or furnaces under the excuse that it was for the constructing of the sanctuary elements?

Just a contextual thought.

So moving forward, Father through Moses gives us the instructions on constructing the elements and implements of the sanctuary. In so doing, we were invited to give of our wealth to this most auspicious project: jewelry; linen; skins; leather; precious metals and stones; fine woods; and fabrics. I submit that this is one of the first—if not the first—examples of God’s people giving freewill offerings for Father’s service.

The obvious takeaway here of course is the importance of giving for the work of the Gospel and the Kingdom. Now I understand that a great many members of our Faith Community have elected to not tithe or give offerings to the various mediums that provide them spiritual nourishment or that are out there doing the work of the Gospel. Many have cited the fact that we cannot tithe as Torah stipulates because we are no longer an agrarian people and the Temple along with its services have been eliminated. Indeed, we can no longer tithe and give offerings as depicted and instructed in Torah. However, we must remember that Torah continues to school us on proper Kingdom living and it provides for us a vital example of how we are to behave within the Body and in the world, even today.

As seen in this section of this Torah Portion, the free giving of our increase to the work of the Kingdom is an essential expectation of every member of the Body. Father freely gives of Himself to us and He expects the same from us. Yet many of us choose to ignore this and other examples of giving for whatever reason. Father loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7) and the work of the Kingdom and Gospel requires that we step up and freely give in support of the work. And please don’t get me wrong on this: I’m not saying this for any financial gain of my own. I’m simply stating a fact that deep down in each of our hearts, we know that giving freely to the work of the Gospel and Kingdom is an expected and essential aspect of walk with Messiah.

So we’ve been shown and given an example and it then becomes our responsibility to follow suit.

The Construction of the Sanctuary–The Members of the Body Working as One

Then we get into the second section of this Torah Portion whereby the whole assembly comes together and through the leadership and talents and gifts of key members of our Assembly, we commence construction of the implements and elements of the sanctuary.

The Construction of the Tabernacle teaches us how the Body of Messiah is supposed to work.

There are some very telling and poignant aspects of this section that we should pay particular attention to. The first aspect is that Father singled out certain individuals in the Body whom He described as being filled with His Holy Spirit in relation to wisdom, understanding and knowledge of artisanry. Who says that the Holy Spirit was not in operation in the Old Testament?

It was Moses’ leadership that brought these skilled artisans together, along with other individuals who would graciously volunteer their labors and talents to this great project. The goods freely given by the whole assembly to this construction project were transferred to the artisans so that they could construct the elements and implements of the sanctuary as instructed. This brings up the second aspect which involves the overwhelming response of the people of God to the call to give. So responsive were the people to the instruction to give, Moses had to tell us to stop the giving. What an amazing example. What does that say about us today? Are we willing to give over and above that which is needed for the work of the Gospel and Kingdom? I’m not referring only to money, but also to labor; skills; experience; resources; prayer; and other support that we should be excited to contribute when the opportunities present themselves.

This concerted effort to build the sanctuary, led by the talented and gifted of our Assembly who were fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit, is clearly emblematic of how the Body of Messiah must function today in the Great Work of the Gospel and the Kingdom. Father in His providence, grace and omniscience, has placed within the Body of Messiah talents, gifts and ministries for the equipping of the saints for the work of service and to the building up of the Body of Messiah (Ephesians 4:11, 12). Paul goes on to describe to the Messianic Assembly of Believers in Corinth, the variety of gifts that Father has placed in the Body of Messiah through the working of His Holy Spirit (hmmm, seems to match exactly what we’re seeing here in this week’s Torah Portion):

4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord (Master).1 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts  of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. 12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit  are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.1 14 For the body is not one member, but many. (1Co 12:4-14 KJV)

As I mentioned at the outset of this content section, it is imperative that we avail ourselves to the Body of Messiah and the Work of the Gospel. We cannot isolate ourselves and think we are doing anyone or ourselves any good. We are missing out on great things that Father has set aside for us in the Body of Messiah.

The other aspect that I wish to reflect upon is the value of the materials employed in the construction of the elements and implements of the sanctuary as well as the concerted monumental effort it took to build the sanctuary.

We clearly see the concerted monumental undertaking involved in the construction of the sanctuary as well as the high quality of materials used to construct the elements and implements of the sanctuary, all of which are incalculable; or to steal a phrase from American Express: priceless! This is emblematic of the concerted monumental effort expended by those who have gone on before us and those who toil in the fields today to bring us the Gospel and turn our hearts, eyes, hearts and souls to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The costs of their sacrifices is incalculable. If when we read the various accounts of that in which God’s people had to endure on our account and for our benefit and we’re not brought to tears, then we must have constitutions of rock and steel. If you want a good cry and appreciation for the price that has been paid for our having the freedom and opportunity to live the life of Torah that so many of us enjoy today, simply read the Gospel accountings of Master’s sacrifice on the cross—symbolized in the upcoming Passover celebration next month. Then I would encourage you to pick up a copy of Foxes Book of Martyrs. Friend, after reading Foxes Book of Martyrs, you just may come away with a renewed appreciation of what it took to bring us to where we are today in the Body of Messiah.

Father’s Presence Dwelling in the Sanctuary and in Us

The final section of this Torah Portion addresses the actual set-up of the sanctuary after all the construction of the elements had been completed. I found it fascinating that Moses himself, although seemingly having not been directly involved in the actual fashioning of the sanctuary elements and implements, set up the Tabernacle according to that which Father had revealed or shown Him. It would seem that after Moses had completed the set-up, Father was pleased with the outcome. In other words, we got it right. This was evidenced by Father’s presence descending upon and dwelling in the sanctuary.

Closing Thoughts and Reflections

With the sanctuary and temple both a thing of the past, under the renewed covenant, our bodies have been appointed to house Father’s presence. When we take all that we’ve seen illustrated in this and previous Torah Portions and apply the inherent principles to our lives, we learn that our becoming—our evolving—into proper dwelling places for Abba Father is an involved and expensive process. We must never take for granted what goes in to making us as individual members of the Body of Messiah Yehovah’s Temples. And that’s one of the biggest reasons Father gave us as a gift and resource the overall Body of Messiah. It is up to us to be molded and fashioned in to the image of our Master Yahoshua. Then it is up to us to present ourselves—our gifts, resources, talents and efforts—to the work of the Gospel and the Kingdom. We’ve not been called to sit on our individual or collective duffs and collect knowledge that we have no intention of ever using for the work. No. We build up our knowledge each week through our studies and meditations. Then we make ourselves freely available to serve Father as He so directs.

These are some of the things that we should strive to gain from our Torah Studies and not fall into the rut of mechanically running through set systems of readings just so we can say within ourselves or to others that we’ve completed them. If and when we do use such systems such as Torah Portions, let us use them for purposes of seeing what changes Father wants us to make in our lives; where Father wants to send us; what Father wants us to do for the work of the Gospel and Kingdom; and how we should represent Him in and to the nations of this world.