The following is a letter from Alan on Paul’s abuse of the Jewish Bible recorded in Romans 4:3. In that passage Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 where Abraham’s faith is counted as “tzedakah.” Paul reads this as if it said that Abraham’s faith rendered him innocent of sin.
A person is born into this world INNOCENT and PURE FROM SIN – but not a TZADIK. A tzadik is someone who ACTS according to God’s LAWS – he/she lives a life of TZEDEK (justice – the state of being law abiding) and DOING TZEDAKAH (justice-love) to his fellow humans. A rasha (a wicked person) is someone who does not live according to God’s Laws, he does not fulfill his duties of tzedakah (justice-love) to his fellow humans.
So Adam and Eve came into the world innocent and pure from all sin, but they were not yet tzaddikim until God taught them His laws. Once they were aware of God’s laws, they could then choose whether to DO His laws or whether to NOT DO them. When they chose to do God’s laws they were tzadikim. But they were not created tzadikim.
Paul of Tarsus and the rest of the NT teach that according to God (and the Tanakh) a tzadik is ONLY someone who believes in the “Final Eternal Yom Kippur Sacrifice (Jesus)”. And Paul of Tarsus attempts to bring proof of this from Tanakh. His “proof” is one of the most ignorant “Torah lessons” I have ever seen. He takes the word tzedakah (in the verse about Abraham) which means an act of justice-love and teaches that it instead means innocent – that “believing” is an act of tzedakah which makes the person innocent. TZEDAKAH NEVER MEANS “INNOCENT OF SIN” IN ALL OF TANAKH. Paul of Tarsus told one of the biggest whoppers in human history.
(I need to clarify something so that I do not leave anything out. I wrote that the primary meaning of tzadik in Tanakh is a person who does tzedakah and tzedek. When the word tzadik appears in Tanakh it has this meaning the overwhelming majority of times. There are a handful of times in Tanakh that the word tzadik does not have this meaning, but rather means someone who is on the right side of the law in a court case, just as the word rasha (wicked) is sometimes used in Tanakh to mean one who is on the wrong side of the law in a court case, e.g. “and they (the judges) vindicate the tzadik and find the rasha guilty” (Deut. 25:1). This verse is speaking about people who take their grievance to court.
However, the word tzedakah only means justice or justice-love in every instance in Tanakh. It never means innocence, nor vindication, nor justification, nor “being right with G-d” as Paul of Tarsus and the NT teach us. This one NT teaching has pulled the wool over the eyes of people who don’t know Hebrew and has also killed the heart of the Torah, namely Hashem’s love of true righteousness which is the DOING OF TZEDAKAH.)
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Thank You
Yisroel C. Blumenthal
1000 Verses - a project of Judaism Resources 
Yes, this is great!
Thanks, Dina!
Here are a few more verses from this same place in Romans –
4:5 “BUT TO THE ONE WHO DOES NOT WORK BUT BELIEVES in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, his faith is credited as righteousness.” –
Paul is teaching that God declares the ungodly (i.e. the lawless) tzaddikim! In Tanakh, you can’t become a tzadik (law-abiding) while you’re still a rasha (lawless) not even by declaring faith in Hashem!
4:23-25 “But the statement it was credited to him was not written only for Abraham’s sake, but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was given over because of our transgressions and was raised FOR THE SAKE OF OUR JUSTIFICATION.” –
We see here that Paul is using the word tzedakah to mean JUSTIFICATION before God from all sins.
5:1 “Therefore, since WE HAVE BEEN DECLARED RIGHTEOUS BY FAITH, WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ.” –
Again, we see Paul’s definition of tzedakah – that one HAS PEACE WITH GOD, ONE IS JUSTIFIED BEFORE GOD.
5:9 “Much more then, because we have now been DECLARED RIGHTEOUS BY HIS BLOOD, WE WILL BE SAVED through him FROM GOD’S WRATH. –
Again, we see Paul’s definition of tzedakah which is BEING SAVED FROM GOD’S WRATH. This is also proof of the slander Paul spoke about Hashem. He turned the loving patient father into a scary monster of wrath from whom we need to be rescued from. Jesus is superman who rescues us from the Father-monster.
5:10-11 “For if while we were enemies WE WERE RECONCILED to God through the death of his Son, how much more, SINCE WE HAVE BEEN RECONCILED, will we be saved by his life? Not only this, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom WE HAVE NOW RECEIVED THIS RECONCILIATION.”
For Paul, we see again, that tzedakah is all about RECONCILIATION WITH and BEING SAVED FROM THE WRATHFUL GOD OF THE JEWS.
5:19 “For just as through the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man MANY WILL BE MADE RIGHTEOUS.”
Paul has turned TZEDAKAH (the practice of justice) into SELF-CENTEREDNESS. Instead of tzedakah meaning “what must I do for others”, he turns it into “HOW CAN WE SAVE OURSELVES FROM BEING CONDEMNED BY THE WRATHFUL FATHER.”
OUCH, that’s gotta hurt. And sometimes the truth hurts….
Here’s a little Jewish-Christian glossary:
Tanakh’s tzedakah – what one is obligated to give from their resources to God and to Man because some of one’s resources actually belong to others by law. The person is just the custodian of these resources on behalf of God.
NT’s tzedakah – the belief in the death of a specific man (or god-man) that makes you innocent thus saving you from the wrath of God.
Alan
Thanks for taking the time to explain all of this and listing where to find everything.
Larry,
May you be blessed and strengthened!
I learned something new today in Tanakh – even though the word tzedakah almost always means an act of benevolence out of justice, there are a few times where it means a right that a person has to something. For example, see Nehemiah 2:20 – “Then I [Nehemiah] answered them [certain enemies of the Jews] and said to them, ‘The God of heaven, He will make us successful; therefore, we His servants will arise and build [Jerusalem]; but you have no portion or right (TZEDAKAH) or memorial in Jerusalem.”
It seems there are 1 or 2 other places where the word tzedakah is used to mean “a right” to something. It also seems there are 2 or 3 places where the word MIGHT mean “a merit” (such as the verses about Abraham and Pinhas) but it never implies a state of sinlessness.
Alan,
Keep up the good work!
It is also worth pointing out a great irony in Paul’s work. In Romans, where Paul has made such a point about righteousness achieved through faith in the promise of God, he has denied the promise of God. Paul writes of the blessing and the curse of the Torah. But, through his denial that anyone can keep the Torah, he has denied that the blessing can actually happen. Paul has in effect denied the promise of God.
Now someone will object that, on the contrary, Paul affirmed the promise of God. He talks about how the Torah is good, even. But Paul’s teaching undermines this affirmation. Imagine that a father says to his children, “If you will flap your arms and fly for three miles, I will take you to Disneyland; but, if you do not, I will feed you nothing but dry bread for the next three weeks.” One could not seriously affirm that the father promised his children they would go to Disneyland under certain conditions, because those conditions are an impossibility. One must say that the father has only promised to feed his children poorly, because that condition is not a mere possibility but a certitude. Because Paul writes that it is impossible for a human being to keep the Torah, he has nullified the promise of God for reward. He has made the reward an impossibility and the punishment a certitude. His affirmation that God has promised a reward is mere lip service. So, Paul has, in fact, denied the promise of God and not fulfilled his own invented criterion for righteousness, i.e. faith in God’s promise.
Jim
This is super excellent Jim!!! Awesome!!! Yashar koach gadol!!!
Jim
Would it be correct to also say Paul had no faith? Not the kind of faith the Torah speaks of or alludes to. He apparently believes in God but has no faith in him. If he had faith he would not deny the promise. So he finds another.
Larry,
I think that would be quite fair to say.
Jim
Brother Alan! i thought my personal study of Romans might help you interpet this book.
As Yosef Shulam insisted in his commentary to Romans, the Pharisee Paul progressed his argument as the Rabbi often does in Talmud. Romans Chapter 4 and 5 is not conclusion, rather theological reasoning process to reach the conclusion. That is what Paul really want to say. Look at 6:1 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Repent from sinning, Start Living out TZEDAKAH! 6:15 “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.”
The Good news is the Declaration of God toward the Jews. Calling them to live out fearlessly; without fear of being condemned.
God’s love and justice demonstrated in Yeshua gives power to LiVE the NEW and Righteous life.
Gean,
Did Paul actually write “you are obligated to do tzedakah”? He uses the word tzedakah? And says you MUST DO it?
Or does he just say “don’t sin and be innocent”?
I did my research on blueletterbible and according to all of the commentaries I looked at, the Greek word Paul uses for tzedakah does not mean what Tanakh means by tzedakah! If Paul says TO DO RIGHTEOUSNESS (and I don’t know if he says this anywhere, maybe he does), then according to these commentaries he could very well mean the Tanakh’s definition. But these commentaries says that MOST OF THE TIME in the NT, the Greek word for tzedakah means what I thought it meant! – to get YOURSELF in a state acceptable to God so He doesn’t hate you anymore!
Check this out bro.
Romans 2:6-10 “(God) who will render to every man according to his DEEDS: 7 to them who by patient continuance in well DOING seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and DO NOT OBEY the truth, but OBEY unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that DOES evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that WORKS good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile…
13 for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the DOERS of the Law shall be justified.
8:4 “that the righteousness of the Law might be FULFILLED (CARRIED OUT) in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
8:13 “for if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit DO mortify the DEEDS of the body, you shall live.”
Gean,
If Paul is teaching Jews to be Torah-observant and that they can be acceptable to God by keeping the Law, then:
1. What do we need Jesus for?
2. Why does Paul teach the opposite of this in many other places in the NT?
Gean,
If Paul is teaching Jews to be Torah-observant and that they can be acceptable to God by keeping the Law, then:
1. What do we need Jesus for?
2. Why does Paul teach the opposite of this in many times?
I wrote: “PURE FROM SIN” – that every child is born sinless. There can’t be any sin until the person has matured enough to recognize right from wrong. Christians will say I’m dead wrong and they will cite proof from the Tanakh. What is the answer to these Christians? The verses in Tanakh are speaking about the inborn inclination to be self-centered and pleasure-seeking. We all also have an inborn ability to develop our inborn inclination to be other-focused and more spiritual. Without proper training from parents and teachers and without a proper environment, the “animal” side of the child will likely overpower the Image of God in the child. So Christians feel that this inborn “animal” side means that we are sinful and condemned to hell. But this animal side is actually what gives us the chance to emulate God and not just be robots. This is what allows us to use our free-will to choose between good and evil, life and death. Without the counterbalance to our Image of God, we would not be able to be virtuous. We could not serve God in any meaningful way.
Excellent point! I will use this, Alan.
Hi Alan,
“This one NT teaching has pulled the wool over the eyes of people who don’t know Hebrew and has also killed the heart of the Torah, namely Hashem’s love of true righteousness which is the DOING OF TZEDAKAH.”
Thank you very for your efforts .Certainly what you have highlighted is important for Christians to know.
It puts us in our place where our relationship with G-d is concerned -we see ourselves at a higher spiritual level when in fact it is not-certainly an important reality check.
It put us in our place where our relationships with those of other faiths is concerned -Those who perform the deeds out of devotion to G-d irrespective of religious belief might be in a better standing compared to the Christian who question the efficacy of their act.
Most importantly ,what you have highlighted questioned the efficacy of the “Final Eternal Yom Kippur Sacrifice (Jesus)”. When we come to realise our place before G-d and that our trust and devotion to this sacrifice is misplaced ,all illusions are shattered and we can worship G-d in truth.
Thank you once again.
Wow, Sharon, this is so inspiring!
Sharon,
Thank you so much for your letter!
May the Compassionate One guide and protect you and give you strength and happiness in your life.
Alan,
You must understand that Christians don’t believe that any man(Israel) could decipher the Messiah Coming.
Needless to say you put all your eggs in 1 basket in stating that Israel(man) got it right.
Needless to say, I’m putting all my eggs in 1 basket that Yeshua(Man) was right.
Yeshua to me is God, Son(flesh), and Spirit. All 1.
Bibs,
If after 120 years when you get to the next world and Hashem tells you that Jesus was not messiah, what will you say to Hashem? This is just a hypothetical question. I just want to hear what you would hypothetically say to God.
I know what I would say to God if He told me I was all wrong. But first I would love to hear what you would say to Him. No worries if you don’t want to answer.
819,
Because God appointed the Jewish people to be His witnesses, it would be safer to listen to them. One of the things to which they are witness is that God is alone (Deut. 4:35.) Moreover, to them was given the Torah with the instructions on how to identify a true prophet and a false prophet. By trusting Jesus rather than the testimony of the Jewish people, you repudiate God’s appointment and accept a man’s.
Jim
Christians don’t believe? They believe 1Corinthians 2:10 “But God has revealed them unto us by His spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God.” According to this, Any one (Israel or Jew or gentile) who has the Spirit could decipher the Messiah coming no matter how deep it is.
However, who has the Spirit? The higher chances are to the Jews than gentiles. Why? Since Isaiah 59:21 says “As for me, this is my covenant with them (Israel) says the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, says the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.”
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“Check this out bro.
Romans 2:6-10 “(God) who will render to every man according to his DEEDS: 7 to them who by patient continuance in well DOING seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and DO NOT OBEY the truth, but OBEY unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that DOES evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that WORKS good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile…
13 for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the DOERS of the Law shall be justified.
8:4 “that the righteousness of the Law might be FULFILLED (CARRIED OUT) in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
8:13 “for if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit DO mortify the DEEDS of the body, you shall live.”
Gean,
If Paul is teaching Jews to be Torah-observant and that they can be acceptable to God by keeping the Law, then:
1. What do we need Jesus for?
2. Why does Paul teach the opposite of this many times?