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margin-bottom: 0; line-height:90%"> &nbsp;</p> <p align="center" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; line-height:90%"> <b><font face="Tahoma" size="6" color="#000066">The curse of the law</font></b></p> <p align="center" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; line-height:90%"> &nbsp;</p> </TD> <TD vAlign=top width="1%" align="center"> &nbsp;</TD> <TD vAlign=top width="16%" align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <img border="0" src="Artwork/menorah1.gif" width="100" height="121"></TD> </TR> </TABLE> <table border="0" width="759" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" bordercolorlight="#C0C0C0"> <tr> <td valign="top" class="style8"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify" class="style8"> &nbsp;</p> <p align="center" class="style20"> <span class="style18" lang="EN-US"> But Mashiyach has redeemed us from the  curse of Torah </span> </p> <p align="center" class="style20"> <span class="style18" lang="EN-US">by becoming accursed for us, for it is written: </span> </p> <p align="center" class="style1"> <span class="style6" lang="EN-US"> Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree </span><span class="style14" lang="EN-US"> </span> </p> <p align="center" class="style1"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US">(Galatians </span><st1:time Minute="13" Hour="15"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US">3:13</span></st1:time><span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9">)</span></span></p> <p class="style2"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style9"><span class="style13" lang="EN-US">Most Christians have heard it preached that Mashiyach has redeemed us from the  curse of Torah and then assume that the entire written Torah itself is a curse.</span></span><span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9">Sadly, most Christians are not taught the context of this verse.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span> </span><span class="style3" lang="EN-US"><span class="style16">The  </span><span class="style17">Curse of Torah</span><span class="style16"> is specifically found in Deut. 27:15-26.</span><span class="style16" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style16">The Bible mentions twelve curses, and if you took a moment to read them all, you would probably agree that anyone who breaks these Commandments is fully deserving of being disciplined, punished or cursed!</span><span class="style16" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span> <span class="style16">On the other hand, you may think that some of these Commandments apply today and others do not and that s because of what religion has done.</span><span class="style16" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span> <span class="style16">Religion is in the business of selling pardons, forgiving sins, offering to get your loved ones out of  hell for money, etc.; while Truth is in the business of Righteousness, Judgment, Mercy and Faith, which are eternal attributes of YHWH and His Mashiyach.</span><span class="style16" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style16">Y shua said; </span><span class="style17"> Woe to you scribes and Pharisees! Hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and you overlook the weightiest</span></span><span class="style6" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt"> </span> <span class="style4" lang="EN-US"><span class="style16">things of Torah:</span><span class="style16" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span> <span class="style16">Judgment</span></span><span class="style6" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt"> </span><span class="style4" lang="EN-US"> <span class="style16">and Mercy and Faith.</span><span class="style16" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style16">And these things were necessary for you to have done, and these things you should not have forgotten. </span></span><span class="style3" lang="EN-US"> <span class="style16">(Matthew 23:23).</span><span class="style16" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style16">Y shua Mashiyach teaches the scribes and Pharisees that the  weightiest things of Torah are Judgment and Mercy and Faith, so how much more important is this for his own followers!</span><span class="style16" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style16">All of Y shua s  disciples were well disciplined in Torah and Judgment and Mercy and Faith.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style3" lang="EN-US"><span class="style16">The  curse of Torah is as the  curse of Mashiyach as Paul elucidated:</span> <span class="style17">  For if he who transgressed the Torah of Moshe, died without mercies at the mouth of two or three witnesses; how much more, do you think, will he receive capital punishment who has trodden upon the Son of Elohim and has accounted the blood of his covenant by which he is sanctified, as the blood of all men and has treated the Spirit of grace in an insulting manner? </span><span class="style16"> ( Hebrews 10:28, 29).</span><span class="style16" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style16">They are headed for disaster who continue to apply the blood of Mashiyach as an excuse to break Torah, rather than bring atonement, righteousness and sanctification into their </span><span class="style15"><span class="style9">lives. </span> <span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp;</span><span class="style9">From</span></span><span class="style16"> Genesis to Revelation it is very clear that sin brings a curse and never a blessing. </span><span class="style16" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp;</span><span class="style16">Torah is the Messenger of YHWH that instructs us how to live a life that is pleasing to YHWH. There is a  Y in the road of every choice we make; one road leads to blessing, the other to a curse, and the bottom line is that it is evil to call the Messenger a curse!</span><span class="style16" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style15"><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp;</span><span class="style9">The fact is that the Torah is spiritual, not carnal (Romans </span></span></span><st1:time Minute="14" Hour="19"><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">7:14</span></st1:time><span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9">).</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9">It is the rebellious nature of carnal man that resists Torah and seeks validation </span></span><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">from others in order to knowingly or unknowingly continue breaking Torah.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US">When Y shua haMashiyach arrived in </span> <st1:city><st1:place><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:City><span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9"> he was known as The Living Torah by his followers.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span></span><span class="style9"> <span class="style13" lang="EN-US">He observed, demonstrated and taught Torah to his followers according to the Spirit of YHWH.</span></span><span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9">The intent and purpose of Torah has never changed since the very time it was revealed, but the religious establishment will not recognize either Torah or Mashiyach due to their religious traditions and political agendas, as both Matthew 15 and Yochanan 5 attest.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9">Originally it was Pharisaical tradition that taught that Torah is a Jews-only Covenant.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9"> Every sect of Judaism had strict conversion guidelines for Gentiles that required the adoption of copious amounts of religious tradition, if in fact Gentiles were allowed to convert.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9">As a result, Torah had been turned into a dogmatic religious and political wedge that marginalized Gentiles!</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9">Y shua exposed and renounced this apostasy when he said: </span><i><span class="style9"> Woe to you scribes and Pharisees! Hypocrites!</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span> <span class="style9">For you shut up the </span></i></span><st1:place> <st1:placetype><span class="style18" lang="EN-US">Kingdom</span></st1:PlaceType><span class="style18" lang="EN-US"> of </span><st1:placename> <span class="style18" lang="EN-US">Heaven</span></st1:PlaceName></st1:place><i><span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9"> before the sons of men.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9"> For you are not entering yourselves, and those who would enter you do not allow to enter.</span></span><span class="style14" lang="EN-US"> </span></i><span class="style15" lang="EN-US"><span class="style8" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span></span><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">(Matthew 23:13)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9">But the sad reality is that the Gentile-based church simply carried on many of the religious ideals of the Pharisees and took on the very same hierarchical cloak as the Pharisees by elevating their own oral and written traditions above Scripture.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9"> Christians, in fact, sit in judgment of Torah; and because Torah came to the Earth through the Jewish people, there is plenty of anti-Semitism and racism embedded within church authorities.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US">The religion of the Pharisees classifies Jews and Gentiles on two different levels, as does the </span><st1:place> <st1:placename><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">Gentile</span></st1:PlaceName><span class="style14" lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">Church</span></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">.</span><span class="style15" lang="EN-US"><span class="style8" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span></span> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"><span class="style16" lang="EN-US">Pharisees believe that </span></span><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">Jews are required to observe the Mitzvot, but Gentiles are not; the Church predominately teaches that Gentiles are not required to observe Torah, and when Jews convert to Christianity they are encouraged to break Torah, eat pig, deny Shabbat,</span><span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9"> etc.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9">As a result, a startling argument can be made that in some cases  clearly not all  religious Jews have made large contributions toward Christian anti-Semitism by withholding Torah from Gentiles! In fact, had Judaism been accessible and more understood by Gentiles, at the very minimum Torah would have been viewed as Scripture and not invalidated as an  Old testament.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span> <span class="style9">Torah is the foundation of man s only authentic form of Justice; it is YHWH s blueprint for moral and righteous living.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9"> Therefore, keeping Torah from the Gentiles was the largest contribution ever made to anti-Semitism, </span></span><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">simply because it is a denial of the greatest Semitic contribution that the world has ever known next to Mashiyach himself!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style1"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p align="center" class="style1"> <span class="style5" lang="EN-US">A Yoke Upon the Neck </span> </p> <p align="center" class="style1"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"> And now, why do you test Elohim so as to place a yoke upon the neck of the disciples<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p align="center" class="style1"> <span class="style18" lang="EN-US">that which not even our forefathers nor us were able to carry? </span><span class="style14" lang="EN-US"> (Acts </span><st1:time Minute="10" Hour="15"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US">15: 10</span></st1:time><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style1"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US">This yoke refers to the Oral Law of the Pharisees; certainly </span><span class="style18" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">not </span><span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9">the Written and Spiritual Torah revealed to Moshe.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span> <span class="style9">Y shua provided many examples as to where Pharisaic traditions were in violation of Torah, using the formula (no less than six times in Matthew alone),  You have heard that it was said____, but I say to you_____. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <i><span class="style14" lang="EN-US"> And it has been told them, of you, that you teach all the Jews that are among the Gentiles to depart from Moshe, by telling them not to circumcise their children, and not to observe the rites of Torah.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black"> </span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="style5"> </span></span></i><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">(Acts </span><st1:time Minute="21" Hour="21"><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">21: 21</span></st1:time><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">) <o:p></o:p></span> </p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9">The Pharisees made up hate and slander campaigns against Y shua and his followers and incited animosity against them from other Jews by accusing them of departing from Torah.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9"> Many Gentiles have read this verse and adopted it as evidence that Paul departed from Moshe and taught against circumcision and Torah.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9"> Not only is this backwards thinking, but it was this loathing that the Pharisees incited against Paul that ignited broad-brushed Christian hatred against all Jews.</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9">The previous verse to the above reads: </span><span class="style10"> And when they heard (it) they glorified Elohim. And they said to him:  Our brother, You see how many myriads there are in </span></span><st1:place><span class="style18" lang="EN-US">Judaea</span></st1:place><i><span class="style14" lang="EN-US"> who have believed: and these are all zealous for Torah!  </span></i><span class="style15" lang="EN-US"><span class="style8" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span></span><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">(Acts </span><st1:time Minute="20" Hour="21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US">21:20</span></st1:time><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">)</span><span class="style15" lang="EN-US"><span class="style8" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><o:p></o:p></span> </p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9">This, of course, means their belief in Y shua and their zeal for Torah were critical components of the original Faith!</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9">Furthermore, the Ruach haKodesh writes Torah upon the heart of Y shua s followers and it is very important to note that Ya akov (James) and all the elders in the Assembly in </span></span><st1:city><st1:place> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:City><span class="style14" lang="EN-US"> were present at this meeting with Paul.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US">There was no faction between Ya akov and Paul; however, the hatred against Paul by the Pharisee elite was so deep-seated that even when he made a sacrifice in the </span><st1:city><st1:place> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US">Temple</span></st1:place></st1:City><span class="style14" lang="EN-US"> to show that he honored Torah, they beat him with intent to kill; their wickedness against him was precipitated by an allegation that he brought a Gentile into the </span><st1:city><st1:place> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US">Temple</span></st1:place></st1:City><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">.</span><span class="style15" lang="EN-US"><span class="style8" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span></span> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"><span class="style16" lang="EN-US">Christians </span></span><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">are guilty of supporting</span><span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9"> the charges of the Pharisees when they also indict Paul as being a Torah breaker.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9">The remarkable fact is, though, that even after Paul s conversion, he still called himself a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee, in the present tense (Acts 23:6)!</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9">Another anti-Torah hybrid  New Testament passage that is used for anti-Semitic/Torah Christian justification is found in Titus:</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><i><span class="style9"> But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels </span> <span class="style11">pertaining to the law </span></i>(<span class="style10">nomikos--</span><span class="style9">nomikov), </span><span class="style10">because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. </span><span class="style9"> (Titus 3:9-11 NIV)</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9">The Greek word </span><span class="style10">nomikos </span><span class="style9">is derived from </span><span class="style10">nomos, </span><span class="style9">and certainly translates as  pertaining to the Torah. </span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span> <span class="style9">However, Aramaic very clearly exposes a Hellenistic redaction here:</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style19" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9"> But avoid foolish questions and genealogies and contentions, and the theological arguments of the </span><span class="style11">scribes</span><span class="style9">, for they are unprofitable and vain. After you have admonished the heretic once or twice, shun him, knowing he as such is corrupt; he sins and condemns himself. </span></span><span class="style15" lang="EN-US"><span class="style8" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span></span><span class="style14" lang="EN-US">(Titus 3:9-11 Lamsa)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style1"> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9">The word </span> <span class="style10">sapra</span><span class="style9">, clearly designates  scribe as opposed to Torah (</span><span class="style10">nomikos</span><span class="style9">, </span><span class="style10">namusa</span><span class="style9">).</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9">Here again is a prime example of how addressing a small faction of heretics was misapplied to Torah and the entire Jewish people!</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9"> The  scribes that Paul mentions are two groups. There are  the scribes and the Pharisees frequently mentioned in the Gospels, who denied Y&#39;shua&#39;s claims outright.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span> <span class="style9">These scribes are also rebuked in Galatians 3 and 4 for putting fences around Torah.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style14" lang="EN-US"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <p class="style21"> <span class="style13" lang="EN-US"><span class="style9">But another type of  scribe that clearly fits this rebuke includes the Evyonim or Ebionites. These were Pharisees who accepted Y&#39;shua as Mashiyach but ultimately rejected all divine claims about him.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9">Their dispute began with the famous circumcision controversy in Acts 15, where they ended up losing the debate.</span><span class="style9" style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span><span class="style9"> Twenty years later, the Evyonim broke off from the mainstream Netzarim movement and disposed all of the early books of the Renewed Covenant Writings except for a mutilated version of the Gospel of Matthew, which was heavily edited.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify" class="style14">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify" class="style14"> Shalom U'Vrachot,</p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify" class="style14"> &nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify" class="style14"> Baruch ben Daniel</p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify" class="style8"> &nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="style8"> <p align="center" class="style7"> <em style="font-style: normal"> <font color="#000080">&quot;The Torah which a man learns in this world is but vanity compared to the Torah of Messiah.&quot;</font></em><p align="center" class="style7"> <font color="#000080">Midrash Qohelet 11:8</font><p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center" class="style8"> &nbsp;</td> </tr> </table> </div> <font face="New York,Times New Roman"><b> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"> <font size="2" color="#000080">back to</font><p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"> <a href="index.htm"><font color="#FF7E28" size="2" face="Arial"> <img border="0" src="Misc/title.gif" width="200" height="51" align="middle"></font></a></b></font><p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"> <font face="Tahoma" size="1">Copyright © 2005 MASHIYACH.COM All Rights Reserved.</font></p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"> <b><a href="mailto:baruch@mashiyach.com"> <font face="Tahoma" size="2"> <span style="text-decoration: none">EMAIL</span></font></a></b></p> </BODY></HTML>