The Story of Judah and Tamar: A Reminder that Yah’s Will Shall Already Triumph Over Humanity’s Carnality

by | Jun 4, 2022 | Blog

This Week’s Torah Reading #35–The Judah-Tamar Story

This week’s Torah Reading, number 35 in our three-year Torah Reading cycle, is found in Genesis/Beresheit 38:1-30.

It is the story of Yehudah (aka Judah) and Tamar. It conveys tremendous spiritual lessons that scream for our attention and our steadfast compliance to Yah’s Will and Ways despite the tugs and pulls of our flesh.

A Brief Overview of the Storyline

As the story goes, Yehudah/Judah separated himself from his father and brothers and marries a Canaanite woman who ends up bearing him three sons.

Yehudah’s first son is named Er. And when Er was of age, Yehudah acquires him a Canaanite wife by the name of Tamar.

Yah kills Er because he was evil in Yah’s sight, leaving Tamar childless.

Thus, Yehudah’s second son, Onan, was required (under ancient Levirate law) to impregnate his dead brother’s wife Tamar so as to “raise up a descendant for his brother” (verse 8).

First Mention of The Levirate Marriage

Now, as odd and even gross as this may appear to many of us living in the 21st century west, this was a life and death act among the ancients. It was implemented by Yah to protect the childless widow and to carry on the biological line of the deceased husband and thus, provide the widow a new family and financial support in the aftermath of her husband’s death.

The mitzvah of the Levirate is codified and rendered in Deuteronomy/Devarim 25:5 and was alluded to in Matthew 22:24.

According to the Levirate requirement and custom, if the deceased husband had marrying age brothers, the widow was not permitted to remarry outside that family. It was required that the oldest surviving brother marry their deceased brother’s widow.

As the story continues, Onan steps up to fulfill his duty as a Levirate husband. However, Onan intentionally prevent Tamar from conceiving, which angered Yah. Yah therefore killed Onan.

The Story Morally Unravels

Yehudah’s youngest son, Shelah, who at the time of Onan’s death, was not old enough to fulfill the role of the Levirate husband. So, Yehudah initially determined to send Tamar back to her father’s home to await Shelah’s coming of age and to then carry through with the required Levirate marriage. But Yehudah, for whatever reason, fails to carry through with that promise. And thus, Tamar persisted as a doomed widow living in her father’s house.

But Tamar devised a plan to get herself out of the situation she was in and force Yehudah to fulfill the requirements of the Levirate.

Tamar disguised herself as what some have determined to be a Canaanite (cultic) prostitute and situates herself in the area where Yehudah was in order to entrap him into engaging in sexual relations with her. Unknowing that the woman he’d engaged in relations with was his daughter-in-law, Yehudah left behind with Tamar evidence of his carnality.

Tamar conceives a child from her union with Yehudah and a trimester later, word reached Yehudah that she had turned to prostitution, or rather, had been sexually promiscuous, resulting in her pregnancy.

Outraged over this revelation, Yehudah demanded that Tamar be burned. (Is that not hypocrisy in its truest meaning?)

The laws related to how prostitutes were to be treated is found in Leviticus/Vayiqra 21:9, with special reference to be given to John/Yochanan 8:5.

Nevertheless, Tamar produces the physical evidence that Yehudah had impregnated her which convicted Yehudah and compelled him to say of Tamar: “She is more upright (i.e., more righteous) than he.”

Yehudah’s statement could be taken a number of ways I guess. One way that seems most popular is that Tamar’s actions, as distasteful as they may appear to us, forced Yehudah to fulfill the law of the Levirate Marriage. She saw to this law being fulfilled in her life.

Tamar ends up giving birth to the twins Perez and Zerah.

The Lineage of the Messiah Firmly Established, Despite Immoral Impediments

We must never overlook the fact that the biological line of our Mishiyach is the focus here. Yahoshua was of the line of Yehudah through the Canaanite Tamar. And we see from this story that Yah is willing to turn the evil and sinful intentions and actions of humanity–in this case Yehudah and Tamar–to good (i.e., make lemonade out of lemons if you will).

And the other thing that is of note is that Yehudah, a product of the Avrahamic covenant, appears to place no significance whatsoever in the covenant. He marries a Canaanite woman and he engages in the ungodly practice of sexual relations with (although unbeknownst by him at the time that she was actually his daughter-in-law) a Canaanite prostitute.

Regardless the carnality that is splattered throughout this inserted story (i.e., inserted into the Yosef story), Moshe, through Yah, was intent on detailing the coming of the serpent-slayer (Genesis/Beresheit 3:15). Yahoshua HaMashiyach is at the very hub and foci of this story.

The seed would come solely via Yah’s miraculous Will and Plan. As we’ve previously seen in other Patriarchal stories, Yah’s Will would supersede man’s fleshly intentions, efforts and sinful ways. For Yah will fulfill all His covenant promises regardless what man chooses to do otherwise.

Tamar resorted to fleshly means to accomplish what she likely saw as a spiritual end (i.e., Tim Hegg Commentary on this passage). Yes, she did stoop to the low level of deceiving Yehudah through paganistic means. But Yah’s plan still prevailed and Yahoshua’s line remained intact. Yah intended for Tamar to produce Yahoshua’s line. For whatever reason, Yah chose Tamar to be the conduit by which our Master would come on the world scene.

Yehudah, on the other hand, gave into his base-nature during what the text describes as “sheep shearing.” Sheep shearing season in ancient times was an arduous time for all involved. And it would seem that, although Yehudah would not ordinarily solicit a prostitute, he may have talked himself into having some pleasurable downtime.

The Danger of Sycretism

We often feel that we deserve pleasurable downtime and reward when we’ve accomplished some grand tasks. And in so doing, we often open ourselves up to the carnal and exploitation by the enemy, as we saw illustrated in this story.

Using me as an example: I have often sought to reward myself after a difficult day of work with a television veg session. This is not to in anyway insinuate that watching television is in and of itself sinful. But we all know that even the most innocent television program can be morally corrupted. And I have found that when I gave in to watching television as a reward, there would be consequences. For despite my best efforts to watch only that which was suitable for a Child of Yah to watch, I would frequently find myself subjected to things in those television programs that was unbefitting of a Child of Yah: violence; inappropriate and ungodly relationships being played out on the screen; homosexuality; greed; hatred; and so much more. Indeed, the draw of syncretism is strong (i.e., the combining of Yah’s ways with ways of the world). And often, the memories of those inappropriate moments and images linger on in my mind for some time and they overtake and take up the space in my mind that Yah and His Word should have. Not a good place to be. So, I’ve repented of such behavior.

So, I’m learning that I should not embrace such pleasures as a reward for hard labors. But seek Kingdom related pleasures: praise and worship; music; meditation; scripture reading; fellowshipping with likeminded brethren.

May Yah receive the glory and honor He so justly deserves.

Faithfully

 

Overturning Roe v. Wade and the Modern Messianic-Thoughts and Reflections

by | May 3, 2022 | Blog

A Leak That is Shaking up Nation

On M-nday, 5/2/2022, The Epoch Times reported that a supposedly leaked U.S. Supreme Court document suggests that the Judicial Branch of this country may finally overturn controversial Roe V. Wade. News of this leak rocked the legislative Branch of the U.S. government, with the conservative side of the aisle praising SCOTUS for doing the right thing, while the liberal/progressive side of the aisle entered into a season of handwringing and gnashing of teeth at the forthcoming potential ruling.

Defining Roe v. Wade

In case you weren’t aware, Roe v. Wade, according to Wikipedia, was a landmark 1973 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which “the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.”

The effect this judicial decision had on this nation cannot be understated. Although numbers vary, depending on the source, it is generally accepted that since the passage of Roe v. Wade, some 60 million children have been murdered through the vehicle of legalized abortions (An estimated 62 million abortions have occurred since Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 | Fox News). Consequently, abortions since the passage of this court decision have become a part of Americana. For it has become widely accepted and touted by those in support of abortion rights, that any and all women have a right to choose what happens to their bodies. The adage: my body, my choice has essentially undermined any and all talk about the efficacy and moral rectitude related to the issue of abortion in this nation. A nation, mind you, that many have proclaimed over the years, was founded upon Judeo-Christian principles.

The Pervasiveness of the Pro-Abortion Mindset and Acceptance

Which of course leads to the fundamental point that most every sect of denominationalism and of catholicism tend towards being anti-abortion. In fact, since Roe v. Wade became the law of the land in relation to so-called abortion rights, conservative-leaning Christians and Orthodox Catholics have stood firm against the killing of any children: Both the born and the unborn. This anti-abortion position has probably been the one issue that has united denominationalists the most in this country.

And rightfully so. For although Scripture itself does not outright prohibit the act of abortion (since abortions were not practiced among Yah’s people), it does provide the truth-seeker the Creator’s view of the sanctity of the unborn life:

Exodus/Shemot 20:13—”Thou shalt not kill” (KJV).

Job 31:15—”Did not He that made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb” (KJV)?

Psalm 22:10—”I was cast upon thee from the womb: Thou art my God from my mother’s belly” (KJV).

Psalm 127:3-5—”Lo, children are an heritage of Yehovah: And the fruit of the womb is His reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them. They shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate” (KJV, modified).

Psalm 139:13-16—”For thou hast possessed my reigns: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” (KJV).

Jeremiah/Yermiyah 1:5—”Before I (Yah speaking) formed thee in the belloy I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (KJV).

How many of the 60-plus souls murdered as a result of Roe v. Wade would have been Jeremiahs to this lost generation?

Indeed, there is a price that must be paid for the 60 or so innocent lives that were snuffed out in this nation, not solely because of Roe v. Wade, but more so, by the evil hearts of those who cared only for themselves and who despised Yehovah and His Ways. These, scripture foretells, are subject to Yah’s holy and righteous wrath:

“For the wrath of Elohim is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of Elohim is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them” (Rom. 1:18-19; KJV).

Any rational person knows that killing an innocent, unborn child is wrong and that that wrong must in the end be answered for.

Yah Has a Special Place in His Heart for the Unborn

It should be evident that Yah has a very special place in His heart from the unborn and for children in general. And the fact that the general consensus of this nation’s citizens are in favor of abortion only tells us just how far a people’s hearts are from Yehovah. How depraved humanity has become? For there was a time in this country when even the thought of aborting a baby was viewed as unconscionable and evil by even the most secular of society.

So, this whole thinking on the part of this nation’s conservatives and evangelicals and Catholics in this country, being in jubilant celebration over what could be the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court is simply spiritual window covering. In order for any abolition of Roe v. Wade to have any true teeth to it; to make any true leeway on the path towards an overall Biblical view on the sanctity of life, must begin and end with the heart of the people. For truth be told, the heart cannot be legislated.

The Disparity in Views About Abortion Among the Religious in Society

In general, Denominationalism and Catholicism stand firmly against Abortion in this country, with few exceptions. However, according to an article in myjewishlearning.com entitled “Abortion and Judaism”, a majority of religious Jews actually support abortion. These believe that abortions “should be legal in all/most cases.” The article, in fact, draws from a 2015 Pew Research Forum survey that asserted that “83% of American Jews, more than any other religious group, say abortion should be legal in all/most cases.”

It appears that rabbinic Jewish law does not grant the unborn person status until he or she is born. Talmudic sources such as Yevamot 69b view the unborn child of less than 40-days gestation as “mere water.”

Despite general modern-day, Jewish sensibilities that favor abortion, and rabbinite Talmudic opinions that have the effect of de-humanizing the unborn, “feticide” (aka abortion) is effectively prohibited by so-called Jewish law. Now, I know this sounds contradictory, given what we’ve just discussed in terms of modern-day Jewish-pro-abortion sensibilities. But it remains clear even to the pro-abortion leaning Jewish religious leaders that abortion runs contrary to what is called Jewish law. For abortion would in effect be the “shedding of [man’s] blood,” which Yah expressly prohibited (Genesis/Beresheit 9:6). Actually, some rabbinic sources translate this passage to read more specifically: “the blood of man within man”, suggesting that the Creator was prohibiting abortion more than general shedding of blood through violent means.

So to be honest, there is some disagreement as to the efficacy of abortion among general, modern-day Jews, with the majority leaning in favor of abortion for any woman who chooses to undergo one. However, there is this general understanding in rabbinic literature that abortion is not permissible, except in the case when the mother’s life is endangered by the pregnancy. In such cases, these Jewish sources (e.g., the Mishnah) go so far as to suggest that an abortion is absolutely mandatory.

But then, these same sources also suggest that once the child has begun to emerge from his/her mother, abortion for any reason is then strictly prohibited.

I would be remiss in not mentioning that abortions are absolutely legal in the State of Israel. According to the “myjewishlearning” article, “there are no laws limiting when an abortion can be performed…”

The heart of man is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).

If the people’s hearts are not changed, will an overturning of Roe v. Wade make any difference in this country as it relates to the killing of babies and Molech worship, which abortion essentially is (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5)?

It might be reasonably argued that the goal, regardless the political and social consequences that are certain to come as a result of an overturning of Roe v. Wade, is the cessation of abortions in this country. However, we know that where there’s a will, there is always a way. And certainly, if the people in general want abortion on demand, they will find a way to get it. Already the pro-abortion side of this nation’s legislative branch is hard at work looking for work-arounds to a potential overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The Problem Goes Beyond Abortion

As terrible as abortion is, and it is absolutely horrendous and evil, Father also calls His human creation to pay attention to the those in our society that are less fortunate then us; who need our help. To pay attention and adhere to the weightier matters of Torah such as “justice, mercy and faith” (Mat. 23:23). It’s so easy to get caught up in the abortion dialogue in this nation, yet overlook the other evils that are overwhelming American society:

Murder
Fornication
Adultery
Homosexuality
Thefts and Robbery
Violence against others, especially against those who cannot protect themselves
Indifference and even abuse against our seniors
Neglect in teaching our children in the righteous ways they must live
Etc.

The Courts Cannot Legislate the Condition of the Human Heart

Before any overturn of something like a Roe v. Wade becomes a reality in this country, and before we start popping the corks on congratulatory and celebratory spiritual champagne drinking, let us recognize that this is only the beginning of the hard work that lays before the Body of Messiah. The critical work of the Great Commission must be doubled down upon by Yahoshua’s disciples (Mat. 28:19-20). We must work while it is still day, because the dark days ahead will preclude and prohibit such activity (Joh. 9:4).

With our proclaiming of the Great Commission, comes our teaching of Yah’s Way of Life to those who answer the call to Messianic Discipleship. The Church Triumphant has failed miserably in this endeavor. For Yah expects His servants to not be in a state of strife with society, but be gentle unto one and all, apt to teach as the apostle writes, and patient even with those who contend with them (2 Tim. 2:24-25). Yah’s perspective on things and issues such as abortion, LGBTQ, the treatment of the less fortunate among us, must be widely taught and then modeled by us to the world. Otherwise, successes such as an overturning of Roe v. Wade will have little to no meaning. Because if the hearts of those affected by such things are not turned towards Yah, they will find newer and more innovative ways to further their evil beliefs and lifestyles. It is simply the nature of humanity to do such things.

Closing Thought

Therefore, I will end this by asserting that there cannot be a true overturning of Roe v. Wade by any legislative body in this nation, unless there is an overturning of the hearts and minds and souls of the people of this nation from themselves and the god of this world, to that of Yehovah Elohim, through His Son Yahoshua Messiah.

Faithfully

Keeping Passover by Way of the Renewed Covenant-Part 3 of Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022

by | Apr 14, 2022 | Blog, Podcasts

by Rod Thomas | The Messianic Torah Observer

 

This is the third and final installment to our “Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022” discussions. This installment is entitled “Keeping Passover by Way of the Renewed Covenant-In Spirit and in Truth.”

 

If by chance you did not read or listen to parts one and two of this three (3) part-discussion on “Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022, I would humbly encourage you to do so by clicking the link to that post in this post’s transcript.

 

 

Should we, under the auspices of the Renewed Covenant, keep the Passover/Pesach as laid out before us in Torah? Or should we, as many do each year, partake in a traditional Jewish Seder (or Jewish-type of Seder) on Passover? Or should we rehearse Yahoshua’s Last Supper as sort of a replacement of Passover as some have sought to do? Or should we simply follow the leading of Yah’s Ruach HaKodesh, and keep Passover/Pesach in some form of Spirit and Truth?

 

Well, let’s look at each of these questions one-by-one and see if we can come to some biblically-based, reasonable answers.

 

  1. Should we, under the auspices of the Renewed Covenant, keep the Passover/Pesach as laid out before us in Torah? Well, as we’ve concluded several times during the previous installment, we cannot keep Passover/Pesach as Yah passed it down to our ancient Hebrew cousins. The ordinance as rendered at the time of the Exodus was related specifically to our departure out of Egypt. And Yah attached a number of requirements with that particular version of Passover such as slaying the Lamb that we selected back on the 10th day of the Month of the Aviv between the two evenings of the 14th of the Month of the Aviv. Applying the blood we collected from that slaughtered lamb upon the door posts and lintel of our homes so as to protect us; cover us from the destroyer as He went throughout the Land of Egypt to kill the firstborn. Each participating male of the Passover meal would have to be physically circumcised. Consuming the roasted Pesach that evening, we would be fully dressed with our staffs in hand and consume the meal in haste. And so forth (Exodus/Shemot 12). Everything would need to be completed before morning. And then at the 2nd anniversary of the original Passover, a second Passover is added to facilitate those of our community who for whatever reason were not in a position (either physically or spiritually) to properly keep Passover. And thus, purity regulations were added to the keeping of Pesach by Yah’s covenant people at that time (Numbers/Bemidbar 9).

 

Later on, Yah provided that once we were in the Land of Promise, we would conduct a pilgrimage to the Place where He chose to put His Name. And it would be at this place where He places His Name that we would select the Pesach, have it slaughtered, and then consume the Pesach as a community at that central location where Yah’s Name is placed. And then, when all is done and said, we would return to our temporary dwellings in the morning (Deuteronomy/Devarim 16).

 

It should be understood that the very last instructions Abba provided us in His Torah regarding our keeping of Pesach/Passover, should be the set of instructions that we would follow, at least up to the time that our Master came to minister to us (Deuteronomy/Devarim 16). But since we no longer have a functioning Levitical Priesthood to officiate the Pesach proceedings, and we no longer have a standing and functioning Temple in Yerushalayim, we cannot keep most of the elements of Pesach as outlined in Deuteronomy/Devarim 16. Not to mention that Yahoshua HaMashiyach fulfilled the role of the Pesach Lamb for us once and for all.

 

Rav Shaul wrote to the Messianic Assembly in Corinth regarding this aspect of Yahoshua’s ministry and person:

 

“…For our Passover is the Mashiyach, who was slain for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7; AENT).

 

Keefa/Peter wrote of our Master as our Pesach:

 

(18) …since you know that neither with perishable silver nor with gold you were redeemed from your vain doings which you had by tradition from your fathers; (19) but with the precious blood of that lamb, in which is no spot nor blemish, namely the Mashiyach…(1 Peter 1; AENT).

 

So beloved, there are no sheep to take into our homes; to slaughter on Passover; the blood of which to apply to our homes; and then consume in haste at night. Yahoshua our Messiah is our only Passover/Pesach. To do as rendered and outlined in scripture regarding lambs and such, would essentially ignore the sacrifice made by our Master. His sacrifice should be the Pesach sacrifice that we focus on during Pesach and Unleavened Bread. Oh, we should certainly reference with all the reverence we can muster, the Pesach of the original covenant. But that’s not where our redemption and salvation rests.

 

If, however, you are so led to keep Pesach as outlined in Torah, I say: Have at it. It’s not my place to judge or condemn any who are led to do anything they read in Torah. I’ve heard of at least one individual over the years—a prominent Messianic teacher on the internet—who made it publicly known that he intended to keep Passover as outlined in Exodus 12. And from what I understand, he ended up doing that very thing. Whether he’s done this each year since, I have no idea. But the point of my bringing this up is that this gentleman, who I highly respect and regard as a brother in the true faith once delivered, has a sizable following in the Messianic community. And although he made it known to his viewers and listeners that he was not encouraging them to follow his lead, no doubt countless individuals did follow his lead. And this is potentially a tragedy. It’s a tragedy because when we blindly keep Torah without keeping in mind and heart the Spirit and Truth behind each Torah instruction/mitzvah, regardless how pure our intentions may be, we end up being no different than the Pharisees and scribes who potentially leave undone the weightier matters of Torah: justice, mercy, and faith; and we nullify the full impact of our Master’s sacrifice. (Mat. 23:23). We must never forget that Yahoshua is the end (ie., the “telos”) of Torah—He is the focus; the fulfillment; the fullness of Torah that we must consider first and foremost in our operating and keeping Torah (Romans 10:4).

 

  1. Should we, as many do each year, partake in a traditional Jewish Seder (or Jewish-type of Seder) on Passover? I stated in STAR-28 that I had serious reservations about what we know as Jewish Seders. Jewish Seder are supposedly fashioned in accordance with the elements of the first Passover of Exodus/Shemot 12. But like everything in else in Judaism, the Passover Seder is highly and has been highly regulated by the rabbis. In fact, the so-called Seder is a rabbinic invention that looks and operates nothing like the Pesach meal of Exodus/Shemot 12. Many of the elements that make up the Seder meal seem to carry with it pagan symbolism, none of which I will get into in this discussion. However, if you are interested in that which I’m alluding to here regarding the Jewish Seder, I would encourage you when you get the chance, to simply conduct an internet search and look up what constitutes the Jewish Seder. Compare and contrast what constitutes a Jewish Seder with that which is detailed in Exodus/Shemot 12 and Deuteronomy/Devarim 16 and I am confident you will agree with my assessment that it is not something that Yah’s elect should be involving themselves with during this sacred time of the biblical calendar year.

 

Which brings me to the third question or point: 3. should we rehearse Yahoshua’s Last Supper as sort of a replacement of Passover as some have sought to do?

 

Well, this is an extremely important point and question if you ask me.

 

We find in Matthew 26, Mark 14; Luke 22; and John 13 what many within and outside of our Faith community refer to as the Last Supper. It is the night that our Master Yahoshua was betrayed; when He instituted the ritual of what many call communion—the sharing of bread (in Matthew 26:26 we find that bread was actually leavened bread-”arton” in the Greek and “lechem” in the Aramaic; and if this were in fact the Passover/Pesach/Seder meal, only unleavened bread can be provided for the meal) and wine; where He washed His disciples’ feet in a show of humility that many have over the centuries revered as a ritual to be followed even today by Yah’s people.

 

Turns out that many within and outside our Faith community believe that Yahoshua was actually crucified on what would turn out to be Passover day for that year; Master Yahoshua literally playing out the role of the Pesach Lamb. But this time, He would be the Lamb that would take away the sins of the world. I happen to be one of those who believe He was crucified on Passover/Pesach, as well as I believe that the so-called Last Supper was held the night prior to Passover Day. However, I do recognize that there is vocal opposition to this theory, strongly advocating the theory that Master was crucified on the First Day of Unleavened Bread.

 

Both theories drum up some serious questions demanding answers. In terms of the theory that Master was crucified on Passover Day, is that Matthew 26;19, Mark 14:12, and Luke 22:7 all mention that the so-called Last Supper took place on the first day of Unleavened Bread or on Passover, which is the 14th day of the Month of the Aviv. Which if the text is accurate, makes for an impossibility that Master was crucified on Passover day because He’d yet had His last supper with His disciples. But then, these same texts also paint a problem for the crucifixion taking place on the first day of Unleavened Bread as well. For any orthodox Jew to have any participation in a crucifixion on such a high holy day would be also an impossibility. So, both theories have problems associated with them in terms of what the Gospel record states.

 

The one other theory that I’ve come across of late has Yahoshua Messiah being crucified not on Passover Day, but on a Fr-day, Preparation Day, during the week of Unleavened Bread. I can see some possibilities in this theory, but there remains a great more investigation to be had on my part before I abandon my current stance.

 

Because, as I just mentioned, I adhere to Master being crucified on Pesach/Passover. There are just too many parallels between the events that make up the crucifixion day and the events that routinely take place in Yerushalayim on Passover day. For the sake of time, we won’t go over those parallels here.

 

 

The point of debate as to when the so-called Last Supper was held and what day Y’shua was actually crucified falls heavily upon Matthew’s record of the events, found in 26:17:

 

“Now on the first (Greek of protos) day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Yeshua, saying to Him, ‘Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover” (NKJV modified).

 

The Greek term “protos” as used in this verse most likely means from a contextual standpoint:“the day in front of or before the Passover Day,” which is always on the 14th day of the Month of the Aviv, with the first day of Unleavened Bread always commencing at sundown on the 14th day of the Month of Aviv—virtually on the heels of Unleavened Bread.

 

Yochanan’s (aka John’s) Gospel record is slightly clearer on this critical point:

 

“Now before (ie., the Greek word “pro,” contextually meaning, the day before) the Feast of the Passover, when Yahoshua knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (13:1; NKJV modified).

 

To insist that Master’s last meal with His disciples was the Pesach meal and that it took place on Passover night, are ignoring some important, critical points that are often left inadequately addressed by those in opposition.

 

But in support of Master being crucified on Passover, given the Gospel record challenging this claim, I turn to Michael Rood’s Chronological Gospels for an explanation for the disparity here:

 

“Preparations began on the 9th day of the Aviv and continued through the late afternoon of the 14th. A rented upstairs apartment in Jerusalem (the famous “upper room”) was prepared for Passover and for their extended domicile through the Feast of Shavuot. The parenthetical summary details where the last supper would take place—not when the preparation was made. The night in which the last supper occurred was the last evening in which leaven could be consumed. This is also the disciples’ first night in Jerusalem after spending the previous week nights in Bethany on the Mount of Olives” (Rood’s Chronology).

 

Regardless what one may think about Michael Rood, I will say that I find his work of the Chronological Gospels to be a decent reference. A lot of research was put into its compilation, and I’m afraid that many in our Faith community discount the work because they don’t care for the author, Michael Rood. Well, that’s too bad. And if that’s indeed the case, then it is what it is. I will continue to reference this publication from time-to-time as needed, at least until such a time that its content is proved wrong or inaccurate.

 

But assuming that Master Yahoshua was crucified on Passover Day, then that would mean the so-called Last Supper took place the night before Passover, or Erev Pesach. And if this is in fact true and accurate, then what Yahoshua and His disciples engaged in the night of the Last Supper was NOT the Passover/Pesach meal, or as popularly referred to as the Seder. It was simply Master having a final meal with His disciples, during which He institutes the “renewed covenant in His blood for the remission of sin,” and the eating of the bread which represented His broken body. During that dinner the betrayer is revealed and Yahoshua washes His disciples’ feet. Also, Master reveals that Shimon Keefa would betray Him three times before the crowing of the cock the following morning. And lastly, He renders unto the 11-remaining disciples (after Judas departs) one last lesson before the group departs out to the Mount of Olives.

 

So, for me, it’s unlikely that Master Yahoshua kept Passover as any devout Jew of His day would that year. He didn’t keep Pesach that year because He became our Pesach on that Passover Day. He was removed from His execution stake, hastily cleaned up, and placed in the borrowed tomb before sundown, which would be the time of the Pesach observance for all observing Jews in Yerushalayim, as well as at sundown, the start of the seven (7) day long Chag HaMatzah or Feast of Unleavened Bread. Remember, during Master hasty trial before Pilate, the Jewish leaders were concerned about prolonging the trial too long into the day, such that they were up against a clock and could not risk being in a position where they could not keep Pesach/Unleavened Bread in accordance with Torah.

 

That being said, the so-called Last Supper would have nothing to do with the Passover Meal and any associated ceremonies that tradition might bring up.

 

But we’ll leave this debate alone for now and continue on with our discussion on keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in the Renewed Covenant.

 

 

 

 

_______________________________________________________

 

 Personal Thoughts and Reflections on Pesach and Unleavened Bread

 

So then, with all that we’ve just covered in this discussion, how are we—Yah’s redeemed and elect–to honor, celebrate, keep Pesach and Unleavened Bread. Well, we’re not expected necessarily to rehearse the elements of the so-called Last Supper, although many in our Faith Community do. Or folks in our Faith community simply default to participating in a variation or form of the classic Jewish Seder which Yah never ordained nor instructed us to do. And this brings us to the 4th option, which is to keep the Feasts in Spirit and in Truth.

 

Unless we’re focused on the greater meaning and shadows that Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread paints for us during this set-apart season, we run the great risk of blindly keeping the Feasts and missing or overlooking that which Abba so desperately wants us to take away from during our time together with Him.

 

First and foremost, unless we stop and truly recognize and appreciate the sacrifice that our Master Yahoshua made on our behalf; the cost of the atonement He made for our sins and the redemption that was paid for our release from the bondage and slavery to the gods of this world; unless we renew our vow to take-up our stakes and follow Him, giving all to follow Him; then Passover may very well be nothing more than a passing Hebrew holiday, a lamb meal and conceivably good times spent with friends and family. Our obligation, as Yah’s set-apart people is to keep Yahoshua at the forefront of our thoughts and hearts during this Passover/Pesach.

 

Master instructed His disciples, and by extension us today, to remember Him in whatever we do during Passover:

 

(17) Yeshua took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this cup and divide it among yourselves, (18) for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of Yehovah shall come.” (19) He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me (Luke 22:17-19; Rood’s Chronology).

 

I would be remiss if I did not encourage each of us to remember that which Yahoshua did for us, at the very least, by reading the Gospel accounts of the so-called Last Supper and His sacrifice/His passion. Maybe remember Him Yeshua as our Pesach by partaking of bread and wine during this set-apart time.

 

Shaul told His Corinthian readers that which He personally received from our Master regarding the night our Master was betrayed:

 

(23) …He…took bread: (24) And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, ‘Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: This do in remembrance of Me. (25) After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, ‘This cup is the new testament (new covenant) in My blood: This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ (26) For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s (the Master’s) death till He come (1 Corinthians 11:23-26; KJV).

 

So, we’re instructed to remember Yahoshua our Master and our Redeemer on Pesach. In terms of keeping Passover/Pesach in accordance with the instructions rendered unto us in the original covenant, we cannot keep it for the reasons previously mentioned. But that’s okay beloved. What we can do to honor, observe, keep, guard Pesach/Passover is to remember the Person and Ministries of our Master Yahoshua, at the very least, on that day.

 

In terms of the seven (7) day Festival/Feast of Unleavened Bread (aka Chag HaMatzah), Torah requires that we rid our homes of all leavened foods and leavening agents. And then, from the night of the Pesach/Passover on the 14th of this Month, through the last day of Unleavened on the 21st of this month, we (1) abstain from eating any leavened laced or infused foods, and (2) eat matzah sometime each day during the period of the feast.

 

And so, we do. But we do so with a purpose in mind. Not simply to do what we’ve been instructed to do, which we should and must. But rather, to do so with the distinct purpose in mind of addressing and dealing with the leaven that presently exists in our respective lives.

 

Leaven (in Hebrew it is “chametz” and in the Greek it is “zume”), otherwise known to us as yeast, in many passages of scripture is emblematic of sin; of mental and moral corruption; of hypocrisy; error; and perversion. One of the many reasons Yah analogized sin, corruption, error, perversions and such with yeast or leaven, is because yeast, although it may start off in very small amounts when added to foods, it has the potential of expanding to very great amounts. Rav Shaul (aka the Apostle Paul) simply described leaven to his Galatian readers in this respect:

 

“It takes only a little “chametz” to leaven the whole batch of dough” (5:9; CJB; cf. 1 Corinthians 5:6).

 

I dare say that most of us—those who listen to or read these posts—do not live sinful lives. I’m not saying that we do not sin from time-to-time. But we do not go out of way to live lives of sin. And this is what makes Shaul’s analysis of chametz or leaven so powerful to those of us who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts willing to do the Will of our Father in heaven.

 

It doesn’t take much in the way of leaven or sin, or corruption, or error, or perversion or hypocrisy in our lives to, over time, expand within us and lead us to living sinful lives. To cause us to break covenant with Yah. To put at risk our place in the Kingdom of Yah. So, it falls to us to search out the slightest remnants of chametz or leaven and have it purged from our respective lives.

 

The Psalmist wrote:

 

“Search me, O God (O El), and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts” (Psalm 139:23; KJV).

 

“Prove me, O LORD (O Yehovah), and try me; purify as with fire my reins and my heart” (Psalm 26:2; KJV).

 

This is exactly what we should be doing during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Not just consuming unleavened bread and avoiding leavened foods. But do these things with the purpose of mind, heart, and soul, to identify the leaven that exists in our respective lives. And then, seek to have those leavened elements purged from our lives.

 

Shaul understood some of the moral struggles that the Messianic members of the Corinthian Assemblies were struggling and dealing with. And it was right about the time of Passover/Pesach/Unleavened Bread that the apostle counseled and encouraged them to:

 

(7) Get rid of the old chametz (that is get rid of the old leaven; the remnant of sin/error/hypocrisy/corrupt that exists in their respective lives), so that you can be a new batch of dough, because in reality you are unleavened. For our Pesach lamb, the Messiah, has been sacrificed. (8) So, let us celebrate the Seder (actually feast of Passover/Pesach), not with leftover chametz, the chametz of wickedness and evil, but with the matzah of purity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:8-9; CJB modified).

 

You see, some of the assembly members were walking out their faith, carrying around with them, as Shaul described, leftover issues—leftover chametz—chametz of wickedness and evil that they had to get rid of if they wanted to make it into the Kingdom. For later on in this same letter, Shaul informed them:

 

(9) Don’t you know that unrighteous people will have no share in the Kingdom of God (that is, the Kingdom of Yah)? Don’t delude yourselves—people who engage in sex before marriage (ie., fornicate), who worship idols (ie., idolaters), who engage in sex after marriage with someone other than their spouse (ie., adulterers), who engage in active or passive homosexuality, (10) who steal, who are greedy, who get drunk, who assail people with contemptuous language, who rob-none of them will share in the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; CJB).

 

Beloved, each of us carries within us, remnants of leaven that have not been completely purged out of our lives. This is the optimal time to make that very thing happen. If we are indeed in covenant with Yah, and Yah has set Himself to meet with us during this set-apart time of His Biblical Calendar Year (read or listen to our discussion entitled: “Guarding the Month of Aviv: Aviv’s Critical Importance to God’s Covenant Elect”), we have the grand opportunity to place these remnants of chametz or leaven on His brazen altar—purge them out of our lives with the help of His Ruach HaKodesh—and burn them up. Give them no room for continued existence and growth in our lives.

 

This seven (7) day festival is emblematic of the sanctification process that must take place in each of us, if we intend to remain in covenant with Yah and to enter His Kingdom. What will you seek Abba’s help in purging out from your life?

 

And lastly: If you recall two installments ago, in our Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections installment entitled “Guarding the Month of Aviv: Aviv’s Critical Importance to God’s Covenant Elect,” we discussed to a lesser or greater extent, the tucked away in the middle of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Day of the Wavesheaf Offering, or Yom HaNafar HaOmer. In that post, we discussed the importance of the barley crop’s maturity to the timing of Yah’s Calendar, and its importance to Yom HaNafar HaOmer.

 

We also discussed that this little discussed and little understood day, that this year, on our observational calendar, falls on S-nday, 4/24/22—the very last day of the seven (7) day Feast of Unleavened Bread. Unfortunately, you will not find any mention of Yom HaNafar HaOmer on your Calculated Jewish Calendar.

 

But, that’s neither here nor there.

 

The Day of the Wavesheaf Offering is emblematic of our Master being the firstfruits of those who Yah will raise from the dead, to be His loving, faithful transformed beings serving only Yah and His eternal Kingdom:

 

 (4) From: Yochanan to: The seven Messianic communities in the province of Asia: Grace and shalom to you from the One who is, who was and who is coming; from the sevenfold Spirit before His throne; (5) and from Yeshua the Messiah, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the earth’s kings. To Him, the one who loves us, who has freed us from our sins at the cost of His blood, (6) who has caused us to be a kingdom, that is, cohanim for God, His Father—to Him be the glory and the rulership forever and ever. Amein (Revelation 1:4-6; CJB).

 

The writer of Hebrews explains how Yahoshua our Master fulfilled the tenets of the spiritual Wavesheaf Offering:

 

(3) This Son (speaking of Yahoshua) is the radiance of the Sh’khinah, the very expression of God’s essence, upholding all that exists by His powerful word; and after He had, through Himself, made purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of HaG’dulah BaM’romim (or He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High)…(Hebrews 1:3-4; CJB).

 

Thus, our Master’s atoning and redemptive sacrifice was accepted before Yah—His sacrifice was essentially waved before Yah and Yah accepted it on our behalf: the true manifestation of the sheaves of barley that the ancients would bring before Yah at the Tabernacle or Temple, and the Levitical Priests would wave it before Yah and Yah would accepted that thanksgiving offering on our behalf.

 

Today, because, again, we don’t have a functioning Temple, nor Levitical Priesthood, nor are most of us barley farmers residing in the Land of Yisra’el, we cannot keep this portion of the Feast of Unleavened Bread as it was revealed to us in Yah’s Torah.

 

Therefore, we are compelled to keep this aspect of the feast in proper Spirit and in Truth. How so? Well, under the auspices of the original covenant, the ancients would bring of the first of the firstfruits of their barley crop to the Tabernacle or Temple to be waved before Yah. So, we too, from a related, spiritual perspective, offer unto Yah the first of our firstfruits unto Yah. What that actually looks like is what we are actually led to do by Yah. Some brethren are led to send to the ministries that feed them a special offering that serves as a form of worship that honors and praises Yah for His generous mercies in providing them their sustenance; their income; what have you. This type of worship is the closest form of worship that is represented by Yom HaNafat HaOmer.

 

Others of us may be led to offer unto Yah the best of what we have to offer Him: in the form of our talents; our abilities; our strength; our time; our worship that the author of Hebrews describes as “offering a sacrifice of praise to Yah that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His Name.” Truly, this is one of the little exercised offerings that folks in our faith community are cognizant to offer. But we must never overlook such a proper offering and form of worship.

 

Regardless of what we are led to wave before Yah, let us remember what Yahoshua accomplished on our behalf, and follow up that remembrance with that which Yah calls us to offer before Him.

 

As far as Hilary and me are concerned, we tend to share bread and wine on the night before Passover day, as well as we do wash one another’s feet in a show of respect and humility for that which Master showed us on the night that He was betrayed (ie., the so-called Last Supper). We realize that Y’shua was not in any way instituting a new feast day. He was simply having a last meal with His disciples, and from that solemn occasion, we draw out lessons on humility; obedience; sacrifice; love; hope; betrayal; and so many other things. And so, we meditate on those lessons.

 

In terms of Passover Day, at dusk, sometime close to dinner time let’s say, Hilary and I will have a meal consisting of lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread as mentioned in Torah. We treat this time together as a solemn occasion and we generally will partake of a teaching online from one of Yah’s anointed teachers and we’ll discuss the meaning of the day; pray; maybe sing a song or two. But when sundown comes, we’ll blow our shofars and welcome the seven (7) day Feast of Unleavened Bread. We would have, a few days before, purged our home of all leavened foods and leavening products as Torah commands. Of course, we treat the first and last day of this feast as high holy days, to be filled with fellowshipping with other like-minded brethren (most likely via online live services); and we’ll keep the day holy as He commanded and as Yah’s Spirit directs us. Throughout the week of Unleavened Bread, we supplement each meal with matzah as commanded by Torah. We consume no leavened foods. And we remember what the Feast of Unleavened Bread is supposed to mean to us. It’s a time of introspection, as many feast days are each calendar year. And during this time of introspection, we take assessments of our respective walks with Messiah. We see the leaven that remains in our lives and we seek Yah’s help in purging those sins from our lives. We recognize this feast as being emblematic of the lifelong sanctification process that each of us must go through as Yah’s Ruach HaKodesh works in us each and every day, 24/7, to transform us into the image of our Master Yahoshua. It’s also a time of celebration for us. Depending on our situation that year, we may uproot ourselves from our home, and spend the week somewhere else, so as to spend the entire week entirely focused on the shadows and spiritual applications to be had by us from this feast. We seek to come out of this seven (7) day feast better—spiritually, and even physically, than we entered it.

 

Well, this brings us to the end of our rather lengthy discussion on Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022. Thank you for hanging in there with me. And it is my heartfelt hope, trust, and prayer that you and your families and fellowships have a blessed; a powerful; a miracle-filled; meaningful; and safe Pesach and Unleavened Bread. And until next time beloved, may you be most blessed fellow saints in training.

The Shavuot-Pentecost Connection

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Keeping Passover by Way of the Original Covenant-Part 2 of Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022

by | Apr 14, 2022 | Blog, Podcasts

by Rod Thomas | The Messianic Torah Observer

 This is “Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022.” This will be part two (2) of a three (3) part discussion on Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread or Chag HaMatzah, which I’ve elected to entitle this particular discussion: “Keeping Passover by Way of the Original Covenant.”

 

 

As it relates to the honoring of the Passover of the Original Covenant, we must be on guard for those rabbinic traditions that nullify or diminish Yah’s Torah.

 

We should first be aware that Passover/Pesach is a one-day festival that immediately precedes–is actually adjacent–to the seven-day pilgrimage feast of Unleavened Bread, otherwise referred to in Hebrew as Chag HaMatzot. These two distinct festivals occur seamlessly synchronous: Passover occurs and then blends right into the start of Unleavened Bread (ULB). Pesach ends and ULB immediately begins. Because of this seamless synchronicity, most Torah-observant people view and treat Passover and Unleavened Bread as one, eight-day feast.

 

In our last post, entitled Shabbat HaGadol-The Path to Redemption and Atonement-we discussed the Jewish concept of “z’man cheiruteinu,” which essentially assigns Passover the central theme of it being a time to honor and reflect upon Yisra’el’s freedom from abject bondage and redemption from Egyptian slavery by the Mighty hand/arm of YHVH.

 

Rav Shaul (the Apostle Paul) wrote to the Messianic Assembly of Believers in Colossae:

 

(16) Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. (17) These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ (Mashiyach). (Col. 2:16-17; ESV)

 

The AENT rendering of this passage is as follows:

 

(16) Let no (pagan) therefore judge you about food and drink, or about the distinctions of festivals and new moons and Shabbats (17) which were shadows of the things then future; but the body of Mashiyach.

 

Here is another example of Shaul having to put into proper perspective questions and issues related to his readers’ respective walks in Messiah that one way or another made it to his attention. In this case, the Colossae assembly seemed to be undergoing some criticism from outsiders (of the assembly and general Body of Messiah) regarding the keeping of the dietary laws and the various feasts and special days of Yah that are part and parcel of Yah’s calendar year. These criticisms no doubt were concerning to the assembly members. It’s conceivable that these criticisms may have even introduced some degree of confusion and uncertainty as it relates to the appropriateness of the members of the Colossian Assembly keeping such mitzvot, traditions, and observances.

 

Shaul attempts to refocus the Colossian Messianics’ fears by counseling them to not pay those outside criticizers any mind. In fact, the only individuals who they should consult in terms of these mitzvot, traditions, and observances is the true Body of Mashiyach. Not unconverted family members and so-called friends. Not denominationalist teachers, preachers, and self-professing scholars. Not bosses or coworkers. Not only are these outsiders ignorant of the true importance of Yah’s Torah to Yah’s set-apart people, their motives may be less than honorable and pure. These are journeying on a pathway that leads only towards darkness and ultimately destruction (Mat. 7:13; Luk. 13:24).

 

Sadly, this Colossians passage has been hijacked by denominationalists who use it as one of their anti-Torah proof passages. These insist that Shaul here (and in other similar passages) was effectively instituting a life of lawlessness for the New Testament people of God. Such thinking and twisting of Shaul’s writings, as we’ve discussed numerous times on this platform, are just that: A twisting of the apostle’s words, which effectively is a twisting of our Master’s teachings since we’ve shown also countless times that Shaul and Yahoshua our Master were in “lock-step” as it related to their teaching and preaching of the Gospel message.

 

So then, Shaul suggests that we consult only the [true] Body of Mashiyach as it relates to any questions or issues we may have regarding the keeping of feasts, the Sabbath, the calendar, and the food laws. And today, since the [true] Body of Mashiyach is so scattered, this is accomplished in whatever manner you are so led by Yah’s Ruach (eg., your local fellowship; ministries based on the internet that you trust; the written words of Yah’s anointed teachers, preachers, and so forth).

 

 

Clearly, the foundational element of Passover is Yisra’el’s exodus out of Egypt/Mitsrayim. And many of us in this faith community place a great amount of emphasis on this reality. I’ve said this many times on this platform: We essentially remain at the base of Mount Sinai. But if we can shift around our focus to that of the Renewed Covenant, using the Torah of the Original Covenant as our foundation and guide, we will understand how to operate effectively in the Renewed Covenant.

 

Some have likened our present situation in the Body of Mashiyach to that of our ancient Hebrew cousins: That we are effectively residing in the abject, bitter spiritual bondage of this world. And that it is scripture that tells us of a “Greater Exodus” to come, whereby those of us who will be chosen to be a part of it, will have to have an understanding of how to operate within the framework of that Greater Exodus. And the first Exodus contains that knowledge–that information–that will be needed to effectively navigate the Greater Exodus.

 

We learn of this “Greater Exodus” in Jeremiah/Yirmeyahu 23:

 

(3) I will gather in the remnant of my people in every land, whither I have driven them out, and will set them in their pasture; and they shall increase and be multiplied. (5) Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. (7) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when they shall no more say, The Lord lives, who brought up the house of Isra’el out of the land of Egypt; (8) but The Lord lives, who has gathered the whole seed of Isra’el from the north land, and from all the countries whither he had driven them out, and has restored them into their own land (LXX).

 

Isaiah/Yesha’yahu also contributes to the discussion about the Greater Exodus in chapters 14 and 43 of the cepher that bears his name:

 

(14:1) And the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Isra’el, and they shall rest on their land: And the stranger shall be added to them, yea, shall be added to the house of Jacob. (14:2) And the Gentiles shall take them, and bring them into their place: And they shall inherit them, and they shall be multiplied upon the land for servants and handmaidens: And they that took them captives shall become captives to them; and they that had lordship over them shall be under their rule. (43:5) Fear not; for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and will gather thee from the west. (43:6) I will say to the north, bring; and to the south, keep not back; bring my sons from the land afar off, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; even all who are called by My Name: for I have prepared him for My glory, and I have formed him, and have made him (LXX).

 

Ezekiel 34:12-14–As the shepherd seeks his flock, in the day when there is darkness and cloud, in the midst of the sheep that are separated: So will I seek out my sheep, and will bring them back from every place where they are scattered in the day of cloud and darkness. And I will bring them out from the Gentiles, and will gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land, and will feed them upon the mountains of Isra’el, and in the valleys, and in every inhabited place of the land. I will feed them in a good pasture, on a high mountain of Isra’el: And their folds shall be there, and they shall lie down, and there shall they rest in perfect prosperity, and they shall feed in a fat pasture on the mountains of Isra’el (LXX).

 

As arduous and tragic as our ancient Hebrew cousins’ plight may have been during those many years of bitter bondage, that which hasatan meant for evil (such that the utter and complete destruction of the Hebrew nation), Yah ultimately turned those lemons into lemonade. The squeezing of Yisra’el during the time of their Egyptian enslavement served to keep the nation as one nation of people. For had there been NO bondage inflicted upon the people, it is likely the nation would have been absorbed into Egypt’s melting-pot of cultures and peoples. Yisra’el could have just as easily been a brief note in the pages of human history. But Yah’s plans for His bride Yisra’el would not be deterred by the enemy’s evil agenda, which in great part to destroy the people and lineage by which Mashiyach would ultimately come.

 

In the midst of Yisra’el’s bitter enslavement and bondage, Yehovah heard her cries and pleas for freedom. And it was the cries of the people that prompted Yah to remember the covenant He’d made with Avraham, Yitschaq, and Ya’achov. Thus, Yah chose Moshe to lead His bride, Yisra’el out of bitter Egyptian bondage.

 

Egypt’s pharaoh would not, however, release Yisra’el from her bondage without having to endure a series of 10-plagues that Yah declared would serve as judgment against the tribulators of His people and the gods of Egypt:

 

(12) And I hearkened to the groaning of the children of Isra’el and I remembered the covenant with you”…(15) and I will go throughout the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite every first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and on all the gods of Egypt will I execute vengeance: I am the Lord” (Exodus/Shemot 12:2).

 

Just prior to the final plague Yah would bring against the Egyptians and their gods, Yah’s providence and foresight brought Yisra’el to be favored by their Egyptian overlords. Those Egyptian overlords lavished their Yisra’eli slaves with great material wealth (Exodus/Shemot 11:2-3, 35-36). And thus, Yisra’el did not leave Egypt as paupers, but as a wealthy nation.

 

It was immediately after Yisra’el “plundered” her overlords that Yah instituted the very first pesach/passover ritual:

 

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, (2) this month shall be to you the beginning of months: It is the first to you among the months of the year. (3) Speak to all the congregation of the children of Isra’el, saying, On the tenth of this month let them take each man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: (4) And if they be few in a household, so that there are not enough for the lamb, he shall take with himself his neighbour that lives near to him, –as to the number of souls, every one according to that which suffices him shall make a reckoning for the land. (5) It shall be to you a lamb unblemished, a male of a year old: Ye shall take it of the lambs and the kids (Exodus/Shemot 12:1-5). (If you’ve not already done so, and are led to do so, I would humbly invite you to read and or listen to our discussion entitled “Shabbat HaGadol: The Pathway to Redemption and Atonement.”)

 

This unblemished, perfect lamb upon being selected by each household, was to be kept by that household, in their dwellings, from the 10th to the 14th day of the Month of the Aviv. But then, sometime between noon and dusk on the 14th, we were instructed to slaughter the animal (Exodus/Shemot 12:6; cf. Deuteronomy/Devarim 16:6).

 

Two things were to happen to the carcass of the slaughtered lamb or kid: (1) Collect the animal’s blood and apply it to the door-posts and lintel of each home/dwelling; and (2) roast and eat the flesh of the animal along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs in haste (the Hebrew being “b’chippazown” which means to go as in a hasty flight) and while fully dressed (that being our loins girded or belt on our waists, our sandals on our feet, and our staffs in our hands) (Exodus/Shemot 12:7-11).

 

Beloved, there is nothing likened unto the fancy, shmancy, elaborate Seders many Jews and Messianics have come to enjoy each Pesach/Passover season. Maybe those modern Seders have lost something in their “translation” or application of this solemn meal, and many of us have as a consequence become somewhat jaded by the event. It’s important to know the fullness of what happened back then, and what Yah wants us to get out of this set-apart day. Certainly the forefathers did not have the luxury of such an elaborate occasion as many in our faith enjoy today. But that’s just me.

 

 

The prophetic shadows of this ritual are easily recognized. Clearly the unblemished lamb that would be selected on the 10th day, kept and tended to by each family, and then slaughtered 4-days later is emblematic of our Master Yahoshua Messiah. Each of the elements of the meal carried with it a spiritual meaning: the bitter herbs representing the harshness and bitterness of our captivity; the unleavened bread representing our move towards living a sinless life, as well as it represented the haste by which we were to prepare and consume the meal. We were being readied for a hasty departure out of Egypt early in the morning. Finishing the entire meal that night without leaving any for the next day; burning whatever was left.

 

The blood that was applied to the entrances of our homes was indicative of our obedience to Yah’s instructions (Exodus/Shemot 12:12-13). For the difference between life and death that night was our obedience Yah’s instructions. Those who obeyed Yah and applied the blood of the lamb/kid to the door-posts and lintels of our homes as instructed would be spared grief and death and misery, while those who for whatever reason chose not to obey Yah suffered greatly. Those who obeyed got to leave Egypt and leave their life of bondage behind them. Conversely, those who for whatever reason chose not to obey Yah no doubt stayed behind and had to endure whatever life awaited them in a land of many gods who would that night be judged by the One True and Living Elohim: Yehovah. Death would bypass those marked homes that terrible night. And as a shadow of that terrible night, we know that Yahoshua’s blood when applied to our lives also spares us from eternal death and separation from Yah.

 

 

Again, the prophetic shadows are too great to overlook or deny. The Pesach or Passover Lamb plays centrally in the 10th day of the Month of the Aviv, as well as the Pesach sacrifice and how the sacrifice is treated. Yochanan the Immerser (aka John the Baptist) declared of Yahoshua:

 

“…Look! God’s lamb! The one who is taking away the sin of the world” (Joh. 1:29; CJB).

 

Our Jewish cousins cannot appreciate Exodus/Shemot 12 as much as we can. For the first Pesach/Passover was not just the precipitating event that ushered in the Hebrew nation’s exodus out of Egypt, but it was also an emblematic rehearsal of the Passion of our Master and Saviour Yahoshua HaMashiyach. And as wondrous as the elements of the first Passover may appear to those of us in this faith community, we must keep all those elements within their proper perspective. In other words, we must factor in the requirements of the Renewed Covenant that our Master set forth for us, while honoring and keeping Pesach/Passover in its proper Spirit and Truth paradigm. We’ll talk more about that in a moment. 

 

 

We find then in verses 14-18 that Yah instructs us to keep the feast of Pesach/Passover, which includes both Passover night and the 7-days of Matzah/Unleavened Bread. Passover/Pesach is to be an “everlasting ordinance” for the people of Yah. During the 7-days of Matzot/Unleavened Bread, we are required to remove all leaven from our dwellings, NOT consume leavened foods, and eat unleavened bread, perform no work and convene a sacred convocation on the first and 7th-day of that 7-day feast week (Exodus/Shemot 12). You may hear from time-to-time, especially in Jewish and in some Messianic circles that the first and last day of HaMatzot/Unleavened Bread (ULB) are “high Sabbaths” or “high holy days.” These days are meant to focus our attention on Yah and the things He is doing for His people, and not get caught-up with the cares of this life. These are rest days. We are commanded to convocate or be a part of a sacred gather to worship Yah and learn of Him and His Ways. We are permitted to prepare meals on that day, so as to enhance the celebratory nature of these set-apart days. There should be no other tasks or preparatory things done on these days.

 

Yah is emphatic that we have no leaven in our homes during these set-apart days; that we not consume any leaven during these set-apart days; and that we instead consume unleavened bread (verses 19-20). And this regulation still applies to us today. It is imperative that we go through our cupboards, pantries, refrigerators, and freezers and rid them of any leavened, or leavened-based products.

 

Now, I will not take it upon myself to instruct you on precisely which items fall within this category of leavened products. Based upon the level of zeal we possess in serving and obeying Yah’s instructions in righteousness will determine to what extent we rid our house of any leaven or potential leavened products. And then after that, not consume unleavened bread, and also consumed matzah throughout the 7-days of Chag HaMatzah/Unleavened Bread. Hilary and I each year go out and purchase one of those big family-sized boxes of matzah, and we eat matzah with whatever main dishes we intend to eat each day. It essentially becomes a part of our lives for those 7-days. And we look forward to it each biblical calendar year.

 

 And thus, the first Pesach was inaugurated in the land of Egypt. The firstborn of those dwellings that did not have the blood of the Pesach applied to it, as well as the firstborn of the cattle all died that night, including Thutmose IV’s firstborn son. The firstborn of the homes, primarily those of the Hebrews, that had the Pesach’s blood applied to them, Yah spared, as the destroyer went throughout the Land of Egypt (Exodus/Shemot 12:23, 29). There’s a lot to be said about the issue of the firstborn being the target of Yah’s judgment. Recall back in chapter 2 of Exodus/Shemot that an unidentified Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill the boys of those born to Hebrew mothers at their birth, while sparing the girls (verses 15-16). And when that didn’t quite pan out because of Yah’s mercy and grace, Pharaoh commanded the citizens of Egypt to cast every boy born to a Hebrew family into the Nile River, while sparring the Hebrew girls (verses 17-22). This obviously upset Yehovah immensely.

 

We know that Yah has always had a special place in His heart for firstborn children, especially those firstborn of His covenant people. And when pharaoh launched a war against the male offspring of His covenant people, he crossed a line with Yehovah that could not be reversed. Yah viewed His covenant people as His firstborn—the shadows of this cannot be overstated. Of this issue related to the firstborn, Yah stated to Moshe:

 

(22) And you shall say to Pharaoh, “Thus said the LORD: My son, My firstborn, is Isra’el. (23) And I said to you, Send off My son that he may worship Me, and you refused to send him off, and look, I am about to kill your son, your firstborn (Exodus/Shemot 4).

 

 

Now back to the unleavened bread that the Hebrew had with their Pesach and bitter herbs during that “night to be most remembered,” there are tremendous spiritual and prophetic shadows associated with it, which we’ve touch ever so slightly in our discussion here, and we’ll certainly look at it later on. But there are also practical aspects of the unleavened bread as it related to the exodus. For we find in verse 39 of chapter 12 that practically speaking, that the Hebrews’ departure was of such a hasty manner that they did not have time to prepare meals for their journey. Therefore, they baked unleavened cakes for their journey. For there was no time to allow for the dough to rise.

 

The next several verses of the 12th chapter impress the swiftness of events that occurred that Pesach/Passover/night to be most remembered, all leading to the people’s immediate departure from Goshen in Egypt the very next morning. The text states:

 

“And it happened on that very day that the LORD brought the Isra’elites out of the land of Egypt in their battalions” (verse 51; Alter).

 

And so, we have the nuts and bolts of Pesach laid out before us here in the 12th chapter of Exodus/Shemot.

 

However, we find in Numbers/Bemidbar 9 record of the Hebrews’ second Passover observance (in the wilderness) where Yah added to the Exodus/Shemot 12 ordinance, the element and requirement of ritual purity for any who would keep Pesach (verses 1-3). Any who, during the appointed time of Pesach in the Month of Aviv, were found to be in a state of ritual impurity would be expected to keep Pesach on the 14th-day of Month-two of the calendar year at dusk. This Pesach/Passover is called Pesach Sheini.

 

Pesach is to be honored and kept by every Hebrew, and thus, Yah made provision for those who might find themselves in a position not to keep it. He is a merciful and loving Elohim.

 

But it should be understood that we have no record in Torah of the Hebrews keeping Pesach beyond the 2nd one as recorded in Numbers/Bemidbar 9. Not until the conquest of the Land of Promise:

 

(9) And the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, “On this day have I removed the reproach of Egypt from you:” And He called the name of that place Gilgal. (10) And the children of Isra’el kept the Passover on the 14th-day of the month at evening, to the westward of Jericho on the opposite side of the Jordan in the plain. (11) And they ate of the grain of the earth unleavened and new corn. (See, they’d not only kept Passover, but they also conducted Yom HaNafat HaOmer/the Wavesheaf Offering: A requirement in order for us to consume any new grain from the harvest of the Land that would be forthcoming.) (12) In this day the manna failed, after they had eaten of the corn of the land; and the children of Isra’el had not any more manna; but they did eat of the product of the Land of Canaan during that year (Joshua 5:9-12; LXX). 

 

Thus, we have the template before us for keeping Pesach. There should be no excuses for keeping it by any of Yah’s covenant people.

 

 

But is this the whole of the story that we should follow or that our Ancient Hebrew cousins followed after they inherited the Land of Promise? And the answer is no. Yah actually made alterations to Pesach that all but eliminated the application of the Pesach’s blood to the door-posts and lintels of our homes, as well as the keeping of Pesach shifted from that of a family, home-centered observance, to that of a national observance at one central location.

 

Because we would be spread out across the Land of Canaan, Yah instructed that Pesach/Passover/Unleavened Bread be a required annual pilgrimage feast. Every household would be required to journey to the place where Yah chose to establish His Name for purposes of observing Pesach. The Pesach would now be sacrificed at the central location (I.e., at the place where the Tabernacle or the Temple stood).

 

 

Keeping Pesach/Passover/Unleavened Bread is a requirement for every chosen child of the Most High. However, because Yah altered the parameters and elements of this ordinance, and we no longer have a true, functioning, Levitical Priesthood, nor a functioning, standing Temple or Tabernacle (for that matter), we cannot keep Pesach as Yah conveyed to us in Torah. However, under the auspices of the renewed covenant, we are compelled to keep the elements of the ordinance of Pesach/Passover that remain viable to us today, all in Spirit and in Truth. One of the things we as renewed covenant saints in training is that we follow the example of our Master in terms of our keeping the ordinance of Pesach. And we’ll discuss this in our next installment.

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Now, a handful of key concepts must be factored into our understanding and even keeping of Pesach as outlined in the Original Covenant:

 

  1. The Pesach of the Original Covenant (I.e., the covenant passed down to us through Moshe) was part and parcel of our leaving Egypt and going to a destination that Yah has chosen for us. From a historic standpoint, it was Yah remembering the covenant He’d made with Avraham, Yitschaq, and Ya’achov, redeeming them and leading them out of Egyptian bondage (both physical and spiritual) and to the Land that He swore to give to Avraham as an inheritance. From a spiritual standpoint, it symbolized Yah’s Plan of Salvation-Redemption-Restoration, whereby, Yah makes provision for His chosen ones who enter covenant with Him to leave Egypt. To depart Egypt. To rid themselves of anything having to do with Egypt. And so, Egypt and Babylon are symbolic of the “world.” Yah calls His own to leave the world—and go to the place—the life that He has established for them.

 

Yochanan (aka John) the Revelator records the words of a voice out of heaven that declared:

 

(4) …”Come out of her (ie., spiritual Babylon/Egypt) my people; that you may not participate in her sins, and may not partake of her plagues. (5) For her sins have reached up to heaven; and Elohim has remembered her iniquities…” (Revelation 18; AENT).

 

Yah, through the Prophet Jeremiah/Yirmeyahu admonishes Yisra’el to:

 

(6) “Flee from the midst of Babylon; let every one save his life! Be not cut off in her punishment, for this is the time of Yah’s vengeance, the repayment He is rendering her…Go out of the midst of her, my people! Let every one save his life from the fierce anger of Yah” (51:6, 45; ESV modified).

 

Likewise, the Prophet Isaiah/Yesha’Yahu in a prophetic sense admonishes Yisra’el, pointing to the coming Greater Exodus of Yah’s elect:

 

(20) Go forth of Babylon, thou that fleest from the Chaldeans: utter aloud a voice of joy, and let this be made known, proclaim it to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath delivered His servant Jacob. (21) And if they shall thirst, He shall lead them through the desert; He shall bring forth water to them out of the rock: the rock shall be cloven, and the water shall flow forth, and My people shall drink (48:20-21; LXX).

 

Rav Shaul (aka the Apostle Paul) declares this same call of Yah’s people coming out of the world in his second letter to the Messianic Assemblies in Corinth:

 

(15) Or what agreement has the Mashiyach with the Accuser or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? (16) Or what agreement has the temple of Elohim with that of demons? For you are the temple of the living Elohim; as it is said, “I will dwell among them, and walk among them, and will be their Elohim, and they will be My people (17) Wherefore, you come out from among them, and be separate from them” says Master Yehovah, “and don’t come near the unclean thing (here talking about Yah’s insistence that His chosen ones remain in a state of spiritual and ritual purity at all times) and I will receive you; (18) And will be to you a Father, and you will be sons and daughters to Me,” says Master Yehovah the Almighty (chapter 6; AENT).

 

Thus, Passover/Pesach serves as a rehearsal and a foreshadowing of our departure from the world via what has been dubbed as a Greater Exodus, and our settling into a restored Land of Yisra’el (cf. Hebrews 8:5; 10:1).

 

  1. From a historic perspective, Yah required any who would partake of the Pesach/Passover be circumcised:

 

(48) And should a sojourner sojourn with you and make the Passover offering to the LORD, he must circumcise every male of his, then may he draw near to do it and he shall be like a native of the land, but no uncircumcised man shall eat of it. (49) One law shall there be for the native and for the sojourner who sojourns in your midst (Exodus/Shemot 12:48-49; Alter).

 

So, Yah put forth the requirement of circumcision for any who would partake of the Pesach/Passover. And I’ve come across Messianic ministries that teach any male who would partake of the Pesach/Passover Seder today, they must be circumcised.

 

(I’ve expressed my personal views on the application of the mitzvah of physical circumcision for modern day Messianics in the post entitled: “Paul on Physical Circumcision for God’s People-A Question of One’s Jewishness Part 3.” If you’ve not had the opportunity to listen to or read that post, and you are so led, I would humbly encourage you to do so. Paul on Physical Circumcision for God’s People–A Question of One’s Jewishness Part 3 (themessianictorahobserver.org))

 

But I would go so far as to submit that under the auspices of the Renewed Covenant, we are all required to be circumcised first and foremost of the heart as taught by Rav Shaul:

 

(28) For he is not a Jew who is so in what is external (alone): nor is that (only physical) circumcision, which is visible in the flesh. (29) But he is a Jew who is so in what is hidden: And circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not from men, but from Elohim (Romans 2; AENT; cf. Deuteronomy/Devarim 10:16; 30:6; Jeremiah/Yermi’Yahu 4:4; 2 Corinthians 10:18; Colossians 2:11; Philippians 3:3).

 

Physical circumcision for male believers aside, I believe covenant believer who is circumcised of heart is eligible to partake in the Pesach/Passover. Again, we cannot keep Pesach/Passover as conveyed to us by Yah for the previously stated reasons. Therefore, we keep Pesach/Passover in Spirit and in Truth, with a circumcised heart, with purity of heart, body, and soul.

 

Shaul admonished the Messianic Assembly in Corinth:

 

(7) Purge out from you the old leaven that you may be a new mass, as you are unleavened. For our Passover is the Mashiyach, who was slain for us. (8) Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of wickedness and bitterness, but with the leaven (or unleavened bread) of purity and sanctity (1 Corinthians 5; AENT).

 

 

Well, I pray that you got something out of this discussion on Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread by Way of the Original Covenant. For we can’t fully appreciate and understanding keeping these set-apart days unless we have a full grasp of what the original covenant had to say about them.

 

In the third and final installment of this series, we’ll discuss Keeping Passover by Way of the Renewed Covenant. I’ll see you on the other side.

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Some Passover Basics-Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022-Part 1

by | Apr 14, 2022 | Blog, Podcasts

by Rod Thomas | The Messianic Torah Observer

This is “Some Passover Basics.” It is the first installment of a three (3) part series I chose to entitle: “Keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in 2022.”

 

We have a lot to cover. So let’s get right into it.

 

For those of us who keep the Observational Calendar, Pesach/Passover will take place this year on S-nday evening, 4/17/2022, with the first day of Chag HaMatzot/Unleavened Bread commencing at sundown on that same S-nday, extending out through sundown on S-nday, 4/24/2022. Yom HaNafat HaOmer or the Day of the Waveheaf Offering will also fall on S-nday, 4/24/2022. Now, we really cannot keep Yom HaNafat HaOmer in the fashion that Yah passed down to us in Leviticus/Vayiqra 23. For us, the day serves as more of a marker. For it is the day that we begin our 7-Sabbath/Week count towards Shavu’ot, which we will discuss in a future installment of this program. For some of us, it also serves as a day in which we give of the first of our increase (a special offering that is not the tithe) to whatever ministry, organization, thing we are led to give in honor and thanksgiving to Yah for blessing and increasing and sustaining us throughout the year.

 

Now, for those of you who keep the Jewish Calendar, Pesach/Passover will take place this year on Fr-day evening, 4/15/2022, which is generally noted as the first Seder night or Erev Pesach. And then of course, that same night at sundown, commences the 7-day feast week of Passover, also referred to in rabbinic circles as the 2nd Seder night. This day also commences the 50-day counting of the Omer (which is not biblical, but it does serve the purpose of pointing us towards Shavu’ot). Why do we differ in our determination of Yom HaNafat HaOmer or the start of the Counting of the Omer? Well, that’s a rather complicated issue that I will reserve for a future post, so as to not bog down any further this discussion. But, the last day of Passover on the Jewish calendar is set for sundown on Shabbat 4/23/2022. 

 

 

 

How Many Feasts Do We Keep

 

There are various opinions as to how many feasts or festivals we are supposed to honor each year. Those of our faith community who tend to be more on the Messianic Jewish side of the aisle will contend that there are five (5) with the Jewish holidays of Purim and Hanukkah added well after Torah was given:

 

  • Passover (Unleavened Bread is inclusive).
  • Shavuot (aka Pentecost).
  • Yom Teruah (aka the Day of the Blowing of Trumpets which these insist is Rosh Hashanah).
  • Yom Kippur (aka the Day of Atonement).
  • Sukkot (aka the Feast of Tabernacles including Shemini Azterets).

 

I’ve always contended that there are at least seven (7) mandated feasts of Yah:

 

  1. Passover Day
  2. Chag HaMatzot (aka Unleavened Bread and Yom HaNafat HaOmer—7-days)
  3. Shavu’ot (aka Pentecost)
  4. Yom Teruah (aka the Day of the Blowing of Trumpets—Not Rosh Hashanah)
  5. Yom Kippur (aka Day of Atonement)
  6. Sukkot (aka Feast of Tabernacles—7-days)
  7. Shemini-Atzeret (aka Last Great Day)

 

I do not include Purim nor Hanukkah as they are Jewish-instituted holidays. Nothing wrong with Yah’s people celebrating them or honoring them. But they are not mandated by Torah. These are purely nationalistic holidays.

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Over the years, Torah-keepers have viewed and treated these Feasts or Moedim of Yah from many different perspectives.

 

Some view these set-apart days collectively as simply holy days that God’s people are obligated to keep. And those who hold such a perspective will keep each of these days by way of enacting or keeping the associated Jewish traditions.

 

Others view these set-apart days from more of a rabbinic standpoint: That collectively, these days portray or are emblematic of Yah (the Bridegroom) marrying Yisra’el (by extension us). That is, the successive steps of an ancient Hebrew wedding and marriage:

 

  • Pesach representing the Bridegroom (aka Yah) choosing and then redeeming His bride to be Yisra’el. Yah pays the bride’s father a “dowry” so to speak. And we know that one of the central themes of Pesach apart from that of freedom is “redemption.” The price to redeem the bride was the blood of the Pesach: The unblemished Lamb Yisra’el would choose every 10th day of the first-month of the Aviv.
  • Shavuot, more popularly known to the world as Pentecost, represents the “Ketubbah.” A “ketubbah” is essentially a Hebrew marriage contract. It would stipulate the terms of the pending marriage agreement between the bridegroom and his bride. In other words, it spelled out the rules of the marriage. Well, tradition has it that Yah spoke to the Hebrew nation His Torah from Mount Sinai on Shavu’ot. And recall, that Shavu’ot is seven (7) weeks after Passover. Therefore, Torah can be likened unto that of the marriage “ketubbah” between Yah and Yisra’el. The “ketubbah” should not be viewed as just a set of rules that govern the marriage, but rather, a love letter from the bridegroom, Yah, to His bride, Yisra’el. And so, as long as the bride would remain faithful to her Husband, Yah pledges His undying protection and love for her.
  • Yom Teruah, more popularly referred to as the Feast of Trumpets, in Messianic Jewish circles, represents Yehovah’s impassioned call to His unfaithful wife, Yisra’el. The day represents Yah’s willing to forgive His cheating spouse Yisra’el. And all He requires of her is that she Teshuvah: Return to her first love, repent, and abide with the original terms of the “ketubbah” that was given when she married Yah.
  • Yom Kippur, otherwise known as The Day of Atonement, represents the return and cleansing of the once unfaithful bride, Yisra’el, to her awaiting Husband, Yehovah.
  • Sukkot, popularly referred to as the Feast of Tabernacles, is emblematic of the marriage being consummated, and the happy couple dwelling together. Of course, the “sukkahs” or “booths” as some call them, in this paradigm, represents the cohabiting of Yah with Yisra’el. Why seven days according to this paradigm? Well, the week represents Yah, the husband, dwelling with His bride, Yisra’el, here on earth for a defined period of time that is generally referred to as the Millennial reign or the Kingdom of Yah here on earth. The eighth (8th) day, otherwise known as “Shimini Atzeret,” represents Yah dwelling with His people for eternity. These eight (8) days emphasize Yah’s desire to dwell with His people.

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The Factor of Physical Circumcision Related to Pesach

 

Yah required that any male who would partake of the Pesach-the Passover Lamb-be physically circumcised. Now, this was generally meant for the foreigners and sojourners who would come to be part of Yisra’el and serve Yehovah (Exodus/Shemot 12:48-49). For at the time this mitzvah was given to Yisra’el, the large group that would be departing out of Egypt would be composed of what our English translations describe as “a mixed multitude” (Exodus/Shemot 12:38; Numbers/Bemidbar 11:4). These individuals and their families (if they did in fact have families) would have likely been non-Hebrews who were of course, uncircumcised. Conversely, the departing Hebrews, because they were biological descendants of the Patriarchs, would most likely have been circumcised. And because Yah’s focus at that time was to enter a marriage agreement-a covenant agreement-with Yisra’el His Bride, it would fall upon any male who would partake of the Pesach to have the sign of the Avrahamic-Covenant applied to their flesh. And this has always been Yah’s desire that any who were outside of the commonwealth of Yisra’el be engrafted in. That is, become an Yisra’elite. I’m not talking about a so-called spiritual Israel, which tends to conjure up a false concept of replacement theology. I’m not talking about proselytizing the Gentile, such that the Gentile or non-Jew seeking to enter into all of her covenant promises and way of life, must first become a Jew and pledge themselves to be practitioners of Judaism. And this is where Judaism lost her way as it relates to the relevancy and intent of circumcision.

 

Yes, under the auspices of the original covenant, physical circumcision was a requirement for any male to partake of the Pesach. But things got a bit dicey in the first-century, under the auspices of the Renewed Covenant. The elephant in the room at the time was “what should the Jewish Messianics do with the influx of Gentiles (all of whom were no doubt uncircumcised) coming in to the Faith?” This question was made all the more troublesome when you factored in their keeping and partaking of Pesach/Passover. Although Pesach/Passover was not directly addressed, this issue of what to do with the incoming Gentiles was the central point of discussion at the Jerusalem Council under James, the biological half-brother of our Master Yahoshua (Acts 15). Contrary to the erroneous conventional wisdom of denominationalism, the Jerusalem Council in her final ruling DID NOT abolish physical circumcision for the Body of Mashiyach. But rather, the Counsel, through her ruling, put physical circumcision into its proper perspective, which was to first and foremost acclimate the incoming non-Jews into the Hebrew Faith by having them rid themselves of all vestiges of their former pagan lives: That they abstain from idolatry; abstain from fornication; follow the proper dietary laws; and not consume blood (Acts 15:19-20). These elementary mitzvot were minimal requirements for a Ger (that is, a non-Jew) to come near and receive vital Torah instructions:

 

“For from ancient generations in all cities Moshe had preachers in the synagogues that on every Shabbat they read him” (Acts 15:21; AENT).

 

How this affected the converted, uncircumcised Gentile (the non-Jew) in his being permitted to partake of Pesach in the first century? Well, let’s talk about that for a second.

 

And oh by the way, Torah did not have such prohibitions on women as it related to their partaking of the Pesach. Since physical circumcision did not apply to girls and women, there were no mitzvot that prohibited them from partaking of the Pesach apart from any ritual purity issues that might prevent them from doing so at the time. However, there is evidence that in the latter half of the first-century, converted, non-Jewish women had to go through prosylization and commit to practicing Judaism in order for them to partake of the Pesach.

 

But back to our discussion on converted, uncircumcised non-Jewish men, the writings of first through third century A.D. sages such as Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai and Rabbi Ishmael suggested that these individuals were permitted to participate in the so-called Jewish Seder by eating the elements of the Pesach meal, but they could NOT partake of the Pesach Lamb. Period (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai; Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael).

 

Needless to say, this situation placed tremendous pressures upon many of the converted, uncircumcised male Believers of the Way Movement back in the day. Many succumbed to these pressures and went ahead and got circumcised. At least that’s what the context of some of these Jewish writings suggests.

 

But there were other concerns that crept into the discussion about converted Gentile males being circumcised. Essentially, who could perform the circumcision on these individuals so that it would qualify them to partake of Pesach. And it seems from such previously stated Jewish writings that at the start, even as far back as Old Testament days, that it didn’t matter who circumcised an individual, or how one came to be circumcised. As long as one was circumcised, they passed the mitzvah muster. However, as the first-century progressed, the rabbis began to pass takannah (Jewish rabbinic halachah that carried the authority of Torah), that one who was circumcised had to prove they were circumcised with the expressed intent of practicing Judaism. There had to be a specific intent to become a proselyte in order for the circumcision to be valid. Still later on, beyond 70-C.E. (ie., the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple), that the intent of one to practice Judaism wasn’t the only requirement for circumcision, but it was added that a uncircumcised Gentile had to be circumcised by a qualified Jewish practitioner or physician in order for their circumcision to be valid.

 

And this mindset followed throughout the ensuing centuries that in order for one to partake of Pesach, if they were male, had to not only be circumcised, but also a practicing Jewish convert. This also was applied to Gentile women. Women ultimately had to be converted to Judaism in order to partake of the Pesach. And this fence that the rabbis placed around the keeping of Pesach by the Gentile had to do with an intentional misunderstanding and misinterpretation of Torah:

 

“No foreigner shall eat of it (the it being Pesach)” (Exodus 12:43).

 

The rabbis taught that all non-Jews must be excluded from partaking of the Pesach. To the rabbis, all non-Jews, otherwise referred to as foreigners, were essentially idolaters. Jews were never idolaters, unless they were convicted or caught practicing idolatry. (In that case, the idolatrous Jew would be prohibited from ever partaking in the Pesach, or for that matter, being a member of the community.) And this understanding again, applied to both men and women. And the only way of being absolved of the title of “idolater,” one had to legally convert to Judaism by way of the established Jewish Halachah.

 

We know today that Yah is primarily concerned with the state of one’s heart. Yah requires His beloved to be circumcised of heart first and foremost:

 

“And you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart (both men and women), nor shall you show a stiff neck anymore” (Deuteronomy/Devarim 10:16; Alter).

 

“And the LORD your God shall circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your being for your life’s sake” (Deuteronomy/Devarim 30:6; Alter).

 

On this issue of circumcision, Shaul wrote:

 

(28) For he is not a Jew who is so in what is external (alone): Nor is that (only physical) circumcision, which is visible in the flesh. (29) But he is a Jew who is so in what is hidden: And circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not from men, but from Elohim (Romans 2:28-29; AENT).

 

 

And so, in bringing this issue home, as it relates to one being circumcised in order for them to partake of Pesach, it should be understood that first and foremost, one must be circumcised of heart. And this of course applies to both men and women. (As I stated in our discussion on Yah’s people being circumcised, I do not believe circumcision of the heart replaced the Torah mitzvah of physical circumcision. This is not the place to rehash that discussion, but if you are interested in where I stand on this very issue, I humbly invite you to read or listen to that discussion which is entitled: “Paul on Physical Circumcision for God’s People-A Question of One’s Jewishness Part 3.”

 

But in terms of one keeping Pesach and partaking of Pesach and such (and this is just Rod speaking here), I truly believe any who is in covenant with Yah, and who is circumcised of heart, they certainly qualify to partake of Pesach. Again, we can’t and we don’t keep Passover as it is ordered in Torah because we no longer have a functioning Tabernacle/Temple, nor do we have a functioning, valid Levitical Priesthood to officiate the proceedings. Instead, we keep Pesach in Spirit and in Truth. So then, however the Body of Mashiyach is led to keep Pesach is how we keep Pesach. And we keep Pesach with Yahoshua in mind. He is our Pesach today (1 Corinthians 5:7). A Passover Seder should NOT be our focus this Passover. Although I have stated previously that I do not judge any member of the Body of Mashiyach who is led to participate in the so-called traditional Seder, it serves only to place one under the instructions and rules of the rabbis. We answer only to Yahoshua, our Master.

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Defining the term Pesach

 

Our English term “Passover” in the Hebrew is “Pesach.” Now, there is a noun and a verb version of Pesach that we should be aware of in terms of what the overall term actually means.

 

First and foremost, our noun “Pesach” is drawn from the Hebrew verb “pasach.” “Pasach” carries a meaning of “to limp;” “to jump;” or “to move with an uneven/unsteady gate such as one who hobbles along” (Tim Hegg; “What Does the Word Passover “pesach” Mean?”).

 

Always looking for more than one witness on a thing in my studies, I consulted my trusty copy of Jeff A. Benner’s “Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible” and learned that the noun “pesach” means one who is “lame,” as in “one who hops on one leg,” while the verb “pesach” means “to hop from one place or another.” The KJV, however, defines “pesach” as “to pass over.”

 

Turns out that the KJV has been the source by which we get this sense of the destroyer “passing over” the homes of the Hebrews that had the “pesach lamb’s” blood applied to them. But see in our Hebrew definitions here that we somehow have to deal with this issue of one who is “hobbled” or “lame.”

 

We learn that Yah went through Mitsrayim/Egypt on that solemn Passover night and struck down the firstborn of the homes where the blood of the “pesach” had NOT been applied. And thus, Yah passes over the doors of those protected homes, and does not permit the destroyer to come into the home (Exodus/Shemot 12:12, 24).

 

Tim Hegg, Messianic Torah teacher and author highlights a very interesting context to be understood regarding the use of the root term “pasach” throughout the Tanach (ie., the Old Testament). We find in the story of Elijah’s confrontation with the priests of Ba’al the following:

 

“Then Elijah approached all the people and said, ‘How long will you hesitate (”pasach”) between two opinions? If Yehovah is God, follow Him. But if Ba’al, follow Him.’ But the people didn’t answer him a word” (1 Kings 18:21; CSB).

 

Contextually speaking, when we factor in to our understanding the phrase “between two opinions,” we arrive at a very poignant image. That of a bird jumping or hopping between various limbs and branches of a tree. This is derived from the root word “sa’aph” which means branches or a branch. English translators chose the English term opinion to get their point across.

 

However, if we look at another Tanach passage where “pasach” is used, we get a brilliant portrait of what is being conveyed:

 

“Like hovering birds, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem—by protecting it, He will rescue it, by sparing it, He will deliver it” (Isaiah 31:5; HCSB).

 

Hegg states that the Hebrew terms for “defend,” “deliver,” and “preserve” are joined with the verb “pasach.” And thus, Yehovah is likened unto a “momma” bird that hovers over her nest of baby birds, offering them sustenance and protection and if necessary, rescuing them from predators. So, “pasach” conveys a sense of Yah protecting his beloved Yisra’el from death.

 

And so, backing up to the Elijah story and the prophet criticizing the people that they were of two opinions as to which God they would serve: Yehovah or Ba’al, our English term “opinion(s)” could line up to mean “branches.” Therefore, we can imagine Elijah berating the people and telling them to stop acting as birds, fluttering about between two (2) limbs or branches; being unable to decide which God to serve.

 

But then, from a contextual standpoint, apart from the Elijah story, we have this sense of a protective bird hovering over her children. In this case, Yah hovering in a protective manner, over Yisra’el. Yah provides protection for Yisra’el. Yah rescues Yisra’el. Yah shields Yisra’el. From what is He protecting, shield, or rescuing? From the Destroyer. Thus, it is Yah who protects Yisra’el from the plague of death that went throughout Egypt and took the lives of the firstborn.

 

I have thoughts as it relates to there being a “death angel” or Yah Himself delivering the judgment. But for the sake of time, we’ll simply leave it with how the passage describes the situation:

 

(12) And I will cross through the Land of Egypt on this night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the Land of Egypt from man to beast, and from all the gods of Egypt I will exact retributions: I am the LORD. (13) And the blood will be a sign for you upon the houses in which you are, and I will see the blood and I will pass over you, and no scourge shall become a Destroyer amongst you when I strike in the Land of Egypt (Exodus/Shemot 12:12-13; Alter). 

 

The rabbis believe that it was Yah and Yah alone who took the lives of the firstborn of Egypt who were not covered by the blood of the Pesach. I further submit that Yah in addition, personally protected each marked home from the destroyer. Who is this destroyer. Alter suggests some type of evil spirit. I tend to slightly agree with Him. Thus, I believe that Yah, as he hopped or hobbled over the marked homes and through the Land of Egypt, that He also protected; hovered; rescued the Hebrews from the enemy who may have sought to go tit for tat and strike at the Hebrews for what was happening to the Egyptians. (Just a thought.)

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We find in Genesis/Beresheit 47 that Yosef, who was made viceroy over Egypt by Pharaoh (whose name is believed to have been Djoser of the 18th Dynasty) because of his ability to interpret Djoser’s dream and his ability to manage the affairs of Egypt, invited his entire family to reside in Egypt as a result of a famine that was devastating the entire middle east region at that time. Yosef (who through recent archaeological excavations in Egypt has been shown to have been given the name Imhotep). Given Yosef’s revered, even supreme status in Egypt, his family (consisting of 70-souls at the start of their sojourn) enjoyed during the time of Yosef’s and his brothers’ lives, privilege and honor in Egypt (Exodus/Shemot 1:6-10).

 

However, after the deaths of the 12-patriarchs, a pharaoh who did not appreciate the historical legacy of the Hebrews in the Land (whose identity is not readily known) enslaved the patriarchs’ descendants as foretold by Yah to Avraham back in Genesis 15:13-14:

 

(13) And He (He being Yehovah) said to Abram, “Know well that your seed shall be strangers in a land not theirs and they shall be enslaved and afflicted four hundred years. (14) But upon the nation for whom they slave I will bring judgment, and afterward they shall come forth with great substance…(16) And in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Alter).

 

The Pharaoh of the Exodus was Thutmose IV of the 18th Dynasty (aka Amenhotep III), not Rameses as historical tradition has erroneously put forth to an unsuspecting world for centuries.

 

So then, how long were the ancients under bitter Egyptian bondage? Well, we find in Exodus/Shemot the following regarding the length of time the ancient were enslaved in Egypt (although the text does not specify enslavement, just the time they dwelt in Egypt):

 

(37) And the Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, some six hundred thousand men on foot, besides the little ones…(40) And the settlement of the Israelites which they had settled in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. (41) And it happened at the end of four hundred and thirty years and it happened on that very day, in the battalions of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt (Exodus/Shemot 12; Alter).

 

Some rabbinic sources place the time in actual bondage between 86-116-years (ref. Talmud Megillah 9a and Rashi on Exodus/Shemot 12:40; and Seder Olam Rabbah), but this seems grossly unlikely given Moshe records that the mixed multitude that departed Goshen of Egypt totaled some 600,000 men, in addition to their families, which some have estimated the total number of people being two to three million souls.

 

I’m inclined to always trust and go with what scripture says. And Yah told Avraham back in Genesis that his descendants would be enslaved and afflicted for some four-hundred years (Genesis/Beresheit 15:13-14), and then Moshe reports that when Yisra’el completed her business with Egypt, they’d lived there for some 430-years. This would make the best sense in terms of some 600,000 men along with their families departing out of Egypt at the start of the Exodus (Exodus/Shemot 12:37-41).

 

 

Well, I’ve thrown a lot of background content at you regarding the basics of Passover and Unleavened Bread. I pray that this information will provide you with some fundamental knowledge of Pesach/Passover and Unleavened Bread that will serve you as you prepare to receive the coming set-apart days of Yah.

 

In part 2 of this discussion series, we will discuss Keeping Passover by Way of the Original Covenant. I’ll see you on the other side.

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