The Pharisees

Posted on May 7, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

The Pharisees

 

You would expect that the authors of the Christian Scriptures would attempt to teach the doctrines of Christianity. Indeed, the theology of Christianity can be found by reading the letters of Paul. But the writers of the Christian Scriptures did not stop at presenting their own theology; they also found it necessary to give their readers a perspective of Jewish theology. It seems that believing certain things about Jews and Judaism is part and parcel of Christianity.

 

The word “Pharisee” appears 100 times in the Christian Scriptures. Who were the Pharisees? The Pharisees were the leaders of those Jews who believed in the national testimony of the Jewish people. The Pharisees were the leaders of the Jewish people and their philosophy and teachings is known today as Orthodox Judaism.

 

A popular thesaurus equates the word “Pharisee” with: “hypocrite”, “fraud”, “deceiver” and “pretender”. A typical Christian study Bible describes the Pharisees as: “self-righteous”, “avaricious”, “fond of distinguished titles”, “oppressive” and “cruel”. This view of the Pharisees is rooted in the writings of the Christian Scriptures. Every other historical document that we have that describes the Pharisees does not support this negative judgment of the Pharisees.

 

The writings of the Pharisees themselves preach against all of these vices. Not only do they preach against these vices but they also provide stories from real life that provide illumination in humility, kindness, honesty and selflessness.

 

If we would be alive in the times of the writing of the Christian Scriptures we can perhaps have an argument as to which path it is that leads to humility – is it the path proposed by the writers of the Christian Scriptures or is it the path mapped out by the Pharisees. But today there is no room for such an argument. We have 2000 years of historical data in front of us. Were there any hypocritical Jews in the past 2000 years? Of-course! Did the Jews sometimes have leaders who were frauds and deceivers? Yes, they did. I am not trying to deny that. What I am saying however is that the community who walked the path mapped out by the Pharisees fared so much better than the community who followed the path mapped out by the authors of the Christian Scriptures. The authors of the Christian Scriptures did not provide their community with the spiritual leadership that it needed while the Pharisees did.

 

When presented with the historical record of the community who respected the Christian Scriptures missionaries often respond with the slogan: “they were not real Christians”. This assertion rings very hollow in my ears. So many students of history have concluded that to disassociate the Christian Scriptures from the Inquisition and the holocaust is like trying to disassociate smoking from lung-cancer. But it is not necessary for me to expose the empty rhetoric of the missionary here and now. All I need to say to the Christian is that if you want me to judge the authors of the Christian Scriptures on the basis of their moral teachings and on nothing else then I ask you to be consistent. Don’t judge the Pharisees by what their theological enemies have said about them. Judge them by their moral teachings or don’t judge them at all.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in History | 244 Comments

Trust and Repentance

Posted on May 2, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

Trust and Repentance

 

Rabbi Shlomo Ibn Gabirol describes the process of repentance as escaping and fleeing from God to God. When we realize the weight of God’s judgment and the evil of sin we recognize that we need to escape. But there is only one place to run and that is to take shelter in God Himself. And God promises to protect and preserve those who trust in Him and only in Him (Nahum 1:7; Psalm 18:31).

 

Trusting in God means trusting in no one and in nothing else. Not in our works, not in our merits, not in our strength or wealth, not in the blood of any sacrifice and certainly not in the works of someone who claimed to be sinless. God told Moses that he will have compassion on whom He will have compassion (Exodus 33:19). If someone looks to God and to God alone for compassion then that is where God’s compassion will be found. If someone looks elsewhere for compassion – such as to the claims of a “perfect sacrifice” or to the works of a person who walked God’s earth and breathed God’s air like you or me – then God will tell you to go to that person to find your compassion. And anyone who breathed God’s air is just as needy for God’s compassion as you are (Isaiah 2:22).

 

In this spirit and as part of Eternal Israel’s worship we address God with the following words in the Yom Kippur liturgy:

 

“We are Your nation and You are our God.

We are Your children and You are our Father.

We are Your servants and You are our Master.

We are Your congregation and You are our portion.

We are Your inheritance and You are our lot.

We are Your sheep and You are our Shepherd.

We are Your vineyard and You are our Keeper.

We are Your handiwork and You are our Creator.

We are Your spouse and You are our Beloved.

We are Your treasure and You are our God.

We are Your nation and You are our King.

We are Your distinguished ones and You are our Distinction.

We are brazen-faced and You are merciful and gracious.

We are stiff-necked and You are slow to anger.

We are filled with iniquity and You are filled with compassion.

We – our days are like a fleeting shadow and Your years will never end.”

 

 

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal
Posted in Atonement, Holidays | 63 Comments

Lessons from Leviticus 16

Posted on April 29, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

Lessons from Leviticus 16

 

The 16th chapter in the book of Leviticus describes the yearly service that would take place in the Tabernacle (and subsequently in the Jerusalem Temple) on the Day of Atonement. The passage describes in great detail precisely what it is that the high priest must do on that holy day. This includes (but is not limited to) bringing several animal offerings, reciting a verbal confession over some these offerings, bringing incense into the holy of holies, sprinkling the blood of some of the offerings in the holy of holies and sending out a goat into the wilderness.

 

With the absence of the Temple we cannot fulfill the directives of this chapter on a practical level at this time. Nevertheless, this chapter still occupies a central position in the minds and the hearts of those who revere the Jewish Scriptures. Although we cannot practically fulfill these laws we can still learn and be inspired from these laws.

 

Interestingly; both the Jewish and the Christian communities focus on this passage. But these two communities have each taken different lessons, even opposite lessons out of the verses in this chapter.

 

The Christian community (and I refer here to those denominations of Christianity who have targeted my community for proselytization) focuses on the blood atonement described in this chapter. Christian theology asserts that there can be no atonement for sin without a blood sacrifice so the lesson they take from this chapter is that we can’t manage without some form of substitutionary atonement. Being that we cannot offer the bulls, the rams and the goats described in Leviticus 16 these Christians contend that these have all been replaced by Jesus. By putting their faith in Jesus Christians believes that they have the cleansing of the Day of Atonement every day of the year.

 

The Jewish community cannot accept the Christian interpretation of this chapter in Leviticus; this for many reasons. One simple reason that jumps out at us as we examine the issue is the simple fact that God only fixed one Day of Atonement per year. There are more than 50 Sabbaths in a year. It is clear to the Jew that the lesson of Sabbath is one that we should be focusing on more frequently than the lessons of the Day of Atonement. The Christian’s inordinate obsession with sin and atonement is not reflected in the life-cycle set forth in the Law of Moses. According to the Law of Moses we should more often focus on the idea that everything that exists is a creation of God (Exodus 20:11) than we should be focusing on our need for atonement.

 

Furthermore; the Christian interpretation of the passage in Leviticus ignores all of the aspects of this holy day that were not substitutionary atonement. The verbal confession, the incense, the lots, the changing of the high priest’s clothes and the ritual washing are all ignored or marginalized by the Christian reading of this chapter.

 

The Jewish community does not see this passage in Leviticus as an exaltation of one method of atonement over another. To the Jew this chapter speaks of God’s gift of obedience. God commanded us to do these actions not because he needed them done but because He grants us the opportunity to obey His command. Each and every detail of these laws is treasured and cherished by the Jewish people. We study the intricate laws described in this chapter and we teach them to our children. We yearn for the restoration of the Temple so that we can again enjoy the gift of obeying each one of God’s instructions and we beseech God that He restore His sanctuary to our midst.

 

On the Day of Atonement we attempt to fulfill those of God’s commandments that are possible for us to fulfill in our exiled state and we thank God for granting us this limited measure of that gift. We take the opportunity to focus on the absence of the Temple and reinforce the recognition that it is our national and personal sins that are prolonging our exile. We pray for God’s cleansing and for Him to draw us close to Him.

 

The lesson of Leviticus 16 (as well as the lesson of every other chapter in the Bible) is that obedience and submission towards God brings blessing and life. The opportunity to obey God is not something that is intrinsically ours but rather it is a gift that God sometimes withholds from us. Our submission towards God brings us to yearn for the restoration of the gift. And our obedience to God’s law does not allow us to accept a theology which asserts that chapter 16 of the book of Leviticus has been discarded, done away with and replaced by something different.

 

The prophets taught us clearly that the underlying theme of the Law is NOT sacrifice but obedience (1samuel 15:22; Jeremiah 7:22,23). Obedience is not a matter of obtaining God’s blessing by the work of our hands but rather obedience is submission of heart and body to God with the full recognition that every action of ours is but a gift from God.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Atonement, Holidays | 9 Comments

Liberation from Bondage – Excerpt from Critique of Vol. 4

Posted on April 28, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

Brown is in his lecturing mode again. He sets forth some of the “key teachings and principles” of the Sabbath as “revealed” by Jesus. These are presented as original teachings of Jesus that are unknown in Rabbinical Judaism. (Brown describes these principles as a “clear contrast” to the Rabbinical understanding of the Sabbath.)

Brown tells us that the Sabbath was meant to be a day of liberation from bondage. Brown points to the Sabbath healings of Jesus as an example of the Sabbath liberation, because they provided deliverance for people who were in critical need. He contrasts these healings with the complex and rigid observance of the Sabbath that is found in Rabbinic Judaism. The impression that the authors of the Christians Scriptures give us of the Rabbinic Sabbath is one in which the pressing needs of individuals, specifically the weakest in society, are not met. Brown echoes this slanted description.

Let us turn the camera to the Rabbinic Sabbath so maligned and denigrated by the followers of Jesus. We will begin with the matter of healing the sick.

A child growing up observing the Sabbath in a Rabbinical community will know that the Sabbath means so much to his or her parents and teachers. All work is set aside, no business is transacted, no matter what financial loss might be incurred. Stories abound about Jews who made great sacrifices in order to be able to keep God’s Sabbath. The atmosphere is one in which it is unthinkable to answer a telephone, to use an electronic device, or to drive a car. Imagine a child who grew up with this concept of Sabbath as a part of the very fabric of his or her life. This child is now in the synagogue where everyone is silently and solemnly listening to the reading of the Torah. Suddenly a telephone rings. One of the honored members of the congregation answers the phone as he quickly makes his way to the door. He hops into his car and zooms off, siren blaring. What happened! Someone’s life was in danger – and this volunteer medic was responding to the emergency.

Could you think of a better way to inculcate a child with the value of a human life? Is it a coincidence that it is precisely the communities of Rabbinic Jews who form their own volunteer ambulance teams because they find the response time of the general ambulance squads to be inadequate in light of their understanding of the value of the human life?

As much as we value the Sabbath, and we value it tremendously, we still recognize that human life is greater. When a religious Christian community goes further than the Rabbinic community to instill in their children a value for human life, we will be ready to hear a lecture from Jesus and from Brown on this subject.

In the sense of tending to the needs of the weakest in society, the Rabbinic Sabbath is a shining light. As a general rule, the officers of Rabbinical communities, be they synagogue administrators, community volunteers or religious leaders, make it their business to ensure that every Jew has a place to eat for the Sabbath. Many families will consider their Sabbath table incomplete if there is no guest present with whom to share their home. This goes much further than providing an indigent individual or a stranger with some food. By participating in a family meal, the outsider is given the opportunity to share their heart with those present at the table. It is through the Rabbinical observance of the Sabbath that the Jewish Community learns of the concerns of her most needy. Not in official bureaucratic reports. But in heart to heart talks that involve every member of the community including the little children. It is not merely a matter of discovering the concerns of these people, but that these people become a participating part of the community at the level of the community’s most important unit; the family.

For Brown to echo the slander of the Christian Scriptures in accusing the Rabbinic community of disregarding those in critical need in the context of observance of the Sabbath, is to ignore 2000 years of the history of the Jewish community.

Let us also address the issue of “liberation from bondage”. Brown declares that the Sabbath that Jesus offers his followers liberates from bondage in “clear contrast” to the Sabbath observed by the Rabbinical community.

Those who observe God’s Sabbath in the context of Rabbinic Judaism will have a hard time identifying with Brown’s sentiment. Could there be a greater liberation from bondage than a day in which the work-week is not allowed to intrude? No telephone, no computer, no mail, no boss, no business, no store, no employees, no buying, no selling, no radio or television –  a complete disengagement from anything and everything that pulls one away from the true purpose of life. The Sabbath is a day for interacting with God, with His holy Torah, and with His chosen people. The sense of freedom generated by the observance of the Sabbath touches and envelopes every member of the community, from the small child, to the laborer, to the merchant, to the down-and-out and to the homemaker. Pontificating about the Sabbath is one thing. Living it is quite another.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in General | 25 Comments

Blood Songs – A Conversation with a Missionary

Posted on April 24, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

Blood Songs – a Conversation with a Missionary

 

Missionary – until you see the importance of the blood as well, you’ll miss the point of my preaching (and the Torah’s teaching as well).

Yisroel B. – I don’t deny the importance of the blood – I let God tell me exactly where it fits in.

Missionary – He’s telling you, but you’re saying you can do without it if necessary. You can’t!

Yisroel B. – At the pain of repeating myself – by assuming the blood offerings of scripture were simply done away with and replaced – and never really atoned anyways – that is “honoring” the word of God. But believing that the eternal nature of God’s word requires that they will come back, and yearning and hoping for that day – that is “mocking” the word of God?!

Missionary – I totally and completely differ with this statement, and it goes back to our first talk in PA. I honor the blood sacrifices in a way that you could never imagine, and I recognize that their efficacy in times past ties in directly with the extraordinary power of Messiah’s blood. Let me know how many services you have been in which praises to God are sung because of the power of the blood of the Lamb, the sin-cleansing power of the blood, the life-transforming power of the blood, the guilt-removing power of the blood . . . The list goes on and on and the prayers and songs and thanksgiving goes on and on — because I do not for a moment denigrate the system that God set up, whereas you and your father and his father and his father — for countless generations — can only hope that one day that system will be restored, having lived without it for almost the entire history of Rabbinic Judaism.

Yisroel B. – Your own argument underscores how non-scriptural your position is. You exalt the offerings in a way that God never imagined. There are many songs of praise and thanksgiving in scripture – how many of them praise God for the cleansing power of the blood?

Missionary – Now I feel like you’re talking out of both sides of your mouth. One moment I’m not taking the blood sacrifices seriously enough; now I’m exalting them in ways that God never intended! Tell you what: Ask Moses and Solomon which one of the two of us is getting things wrong.

Yisroel B. – I am being totally consistent – and the songs of praise that you quote prove my point. Each of our positions exalts the blood offerings to a degree and brings them down to a degree

You see my belief that atonement can be achieved without the blood offerings as denigrating them – let us call this point #1

I see your belief that they were replaced with Jesus as denigrating them – #2

You see my belief that these very offerings will be brought back with all of their intricate details as exalting them too much – #3

I see your belief that there is no atonement whatsoever without them as exalting them too much – #4

The fact that your belief inspires you to sing songs about the atoning power of the blood – something that the singers of scripture never do – tells me that I am right on target with point #4 – and it should tell you the same.

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Posted in Atonement | 219 Comments

Genesis 3:15

Posted on April 22, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

Genesis 3:15

The Christian sees deep significance in the words: “her seed” referring to Eve. The argument of the missionary is that since we only have reference to the “seed of the woman” and no mention is made of the seed of a man so we have a prophetic announcement of a “virgin birth”.

This argument fails for several reasons. According to this line of reasoning; every time that the Scriptures address an individual concerning their progeny using the term: “your seed” we ought to conclude that we are talking of a virgin birth (in those situations where a female is being addressed such as Genesis 16:10) or of a birth that is achieved through a male without a female (where a male is being addressed such as in Genesis 3:15 – the serpent). If this were true then we would have many virgin births announced in the Bible.

Furthermore; how could anyone know if this prophecy was ever fulfilled?

Missionaries see another “significant prophecy” in this verse. They understand the serpent to be the devil and they read this passage as a prediction that the one who will strike the devil’s head will be born of a woman without a man.

The simple reading of the text tells us that the snake will bite the heel of Eve’s progeny while Eve’s progeny will smite snakes on the head. This is simple and straightforward. Just as the previous verse (Genesis 3:14) speaks of snakes crawling on their bellies with no reference to a specific future event so it is with this passage. It simply describes the state of enmity between snakes and humans that will endure until the Messianic era (Isaiah 11:8; 65:25).

Furthermore, even if the missionary interpretation would have a smidgen of truth to it (which it does not) – a cursory glance at history will tell us that the “devil” was not “smitten on the head” with the advent of Christianity…

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

Posted in Scripture | 44 Comments

Excerpt from a letter to a Missionary

Posted on April 22, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

Perhaps it is time you faced the fact that you were educated by an institution with a long tradition steeped in falsehood – this even according to your standards. A tradition which developed the system of seizing an isolated passage or two from scripture – usually a passage which does not directly address the issue at hand – and establishes an entire theology on the non-contextual interpretation – while ignoring pages and pages of scripture which directly deal with the issue at hand. (For example the tradition of replacement theology or the Calvinist theology by which repentance plays no part in the atonement process.) I believe that you are capable of freeing yourself from this influence – but the first step is recognizing the influence and acknowledging its effects.

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Posted in General | 10 Comments

Leviticus 17:11 and the Book of Hebrews

Posted on April 17, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

Leviticus 17:11 and the Book of Hebrews

 

The author of the book of Hebrews presents one of the lynchpins of the Christian missionary campaign in the 9th chapter of his work. In that chapter he states that there is no remission (from sin) without the shedding of blood (verse 22). It is on the basis of this statement that the masters of persuasion attempt to frighten their audience. The missionaries contend that since sins cannot be remitted without the shedding of blood then without Jesus’ sacrifice you are dead in your sins.

 

This lynchpin of the missionary campaign has no basis in reality. You see; the author of Hebrews did not present this statement as a revelation that he received in some secretive encounter. The author of the book of Hebrews presents his statement as a factual conclusion that he arrived at upon studying the Law of Moses.

 

The Law of Moses is in front of us and we can see that there is no basis for the conclusion that the author of Hebrews arrived at. Moses never says that there can be no remission from sin without the shedding of blood. The path for remission of the national sin that Moses maps out for us is repentance and not the shedding of blood (Deuteronomy 30:2). The prophet Jonah; who presumably also studied the Law of Moses, fully expected the sin of the Ninevites to be remitted on the basis of their repentance and without the shedding of any blood (Jonah 4:2). There are simply no grounds in the Law of Moses for the drastic statement found in Hebrews 9:22.

 

The missionaries are not daunted by this obvious inconsistency evident at the root of their work of persuasion. These missionaries have developed several imaginative explanations in an effort to justify the teaching presented by the author of the book of Hebrews.

 

Many missionaries defend this non-Scriptural teaching by quoting Leviticus 17:11. In that verse God explains why He prohibited the consumption of blood. It is because: “For the soul of the flesh is in the blood and I have assigned it for you upon the altar to atone for your souls for it is the blood that atones for the soul.” The closing phrase of this verse would seem to indicate that blood has a power to atone that is not found elsewhere. The missionaries seize up on this phrase and present it as if it had said that outside of the shedding of blood there is no atonement.

 

The fact is that this passage says nothing of the sort. This passage is not contrasting blood over and against other methods of achieving God’s forgiveness such as repentance. This passage is explaining why it is that God allowed us to eat other parts of the animal but prohibited the blood. This passage is contrasting the blood over and against other parts of the animal and is explaining why out of all the components of the animal it is the blood that atones. This passage is not negating the power of repentance to atone for sin.

 

Other missionaries focus on the Hebrew verb “kaper” (generally translated as “atone”) and contend that this verb is only found in the Jewish Bible in conjunction with a blood sacrifice. The argument assumes that this particular word (“kaper”) represents a complete and absolute cleansing from sin and that this level of cleansing from sin is not represented or described by any other word in the Jewish Bible. According to these missionaries the intent of the author of Hebrews was that this particular aspect of atonement can only be achieved through the shedding of blood.

 

There are four problems with this fanciful interpretation. First; it is clear that the author of the book of Hebrews was not limiting his statement to this particular aspect of atonement. The Greek word that he uses to describe remission from sin is not a word that is parallel to the Hebrew “kaper” which is translated as “atone”. The Greek word used by the author of Hebrews is more generally translated as “forgiveness” or remission in the sense of rescinding the punishment.

 

Second; there is no reason to believe that the Hebrew word “kaper” denotes the ultimate form of cleansing from sin. There are other words that the Jewish Bible uses to describe the process of remission from sin such as: “s’lach” (forgive), “no’se” (pardon) and “ratzon” (favor, appeasement). Arguably the most extreme expression used by the Jewish Bible is found in the Book of Ezekiel where God promises that all of the sinner’s transgressions will not be remembered against him (Ezekiel 18:22; 33:16). There is no reason to assume that these expressions describe a lesser remission from sin than does the verb “kaper”.

 

Third; the missionary argument is simply predicated on a lie. The word “kaper” is found in the Hebrew Bible in conjunction with various actions that atone such as a verbal confession or the offering of incense and is not exclusively used for the shedding of blood as the missionaries would have us believe (Exodus 30:15; 32:30; Leviticus 5:13; 16:6,10,11; Numbers 17:11; 31:50; Proverbs 16:6).

 

Finally; upon closer examination it will be revealed that the author of the book of Hebrews was not trying to exalt the blood sacrifices described in the Five Books of Moses. In fact this author is attempting to denigrate these offerings. The entire thrust of chapters 9 and 10 in the book of Hebrews is that since the offerings of the Temple needed to be repeated this somehow “proves” that they could never take away sin to begin with. There is no way to say that the author of Hebrews believed that the blood sacrifices of the Temple provided some sort of absolute and complete atonement.

 

There remains no way to defend the declaration of Hebrews 9:22.

 

But the inconsistency runs much deeper. According to the author of the book of Hebrews we are supposed to read Leviticus 17:11 and conclude that this is the most profound and critical teaching concerning atonement that is recorded in the entirety of the Jewish Bible. Then we are supposed to turn around and say that the blood offerings of the Temple never really atoned to begin with.

 

Go figure.

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Posted in Atonement, Scripture | 75 Comments

Defeatist Propaganda

Posted on April 9, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

Defeatist Propaganda

 

One of the methods that can be used to overcome an opposing force is to sow seeds of despair and hopelessness in the hearts of those who would otherwise fight. If the invader can discourage and demoralize the defending army and convince them that their fight is doomed to fail then the invader will probably win.

 

The same defeatist propaganda can be used to encourage someone to enter into an adulterous relationship. If the seducer can convince the victim that their spouse is a demanding perfectionist and that they can never be perfect enough for him or her then the victim is that much more likely to fall into the trap of a destructive relationship.

 

The masters of persuasion have employed this tool of defeatist propaganda in their effort to discourage a direct relationship with God and to encourage a destructive relationship with Jesus. Paul argues that the Law that God set down before us is an impossible law and that if one has violated one commandment then they are guilty of having violated every one of the commandments (Galatians 3:10).

 

In his effort to convince people of the hopelessness of observing the Law Paul quotes Deuteronomy 27:26. This passage expresses a curse against anyone who does not uphold the words of the Law to do them. Paul contends that this curse applies to anyone who violates any particular commandment. Since we know that man is fallible and imperfect it is obvious that every person will at some point in their life violate at least some of the commandments. This brings us to Paul’s conclusion that everyone is cursed and that attempting to observe the Law is a hopeless fight.

 

How do we respond to the defeatist propaganda espoused by Paul and the masters of persuasion?

 

In the same Book of Deuteronomy God Himself refutes Paul’s message of defeat. God assures us through Moses that the commandment He has given us is not too difficult but rather it is close to us in our hearts and in our mouths to do it (Deuteronomy 30:14). Paul recognizes that this passage in Deuteronomy undermines his campaign to discourage a relationship with God. In Romans 10:5-10 Paul presents an interpretation of this passage that can only be described as criminal. Paul uses this very passage that encourages observance of the Law as presented by Moses to discourage observance of the Law to entice people to enter into a relationship of faith with Jesus.

 

David and Jeremiah also speak of the centrality of obedience to God’s in our lives David says that God did not demand burnt offerings or sin offerings but rather He opened our ears (Psalm 40:7). The message is that it is obedience and submission to God that God wants and not a blood offering that is devoid of obedience. This same message is echoed by Jeremiah (7:22,23) and by Samuel (1Samuel 15:22). Paul presents the passage in the Psalms by inserting the word “body” in place of the word “ears” (Hebrews 10:5). Paul uses this very passage to discourage a direct relationship with God and as part of his insidious campaign to seduce people to enter into a relationship with Jesus.

 

The fact is that God gave us the Law as a gift of life (Deuteronomy 30:15). God knows that we are imperfect and that we fail (Psalm 103:14). God repeatedly encourages us that when we fail; which will inevitably happen, then the path we need to take is to return to Him and rely on His mercy. This is true both on the level of national transgression (Deuteronomy 30:2) and on the level of individual transgression (Isaiah 55:7). The curse for violating the law applies to those who rebel against God and refuse to accept His sovereignty over them and in no way does it apply to those who look towards God with sincerity and humility and with trust in His mercy (Psalm 37:11).

 

God is good and forgiving and abundant in kindness to ALL who call to Him (Psalm 86:5). We can be confident in the shelter of God’s wings. It is not in our own deeds that we have any confidence but it is on the abundance of God’s mercy (Daniel 9:18). And with God at our side we have nothing to fear (Isaiah 43:2). All of the propaganda of our enemies is like chaff carried away by the wind (Isaiah 41:16) and our refusal to enter into a relationship that violates our covenant with God will ultimately be vindicated (Isaiah 26:2; 49:23).

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The Temple Sacrifices

Posted on April 7, 2013 by yourphariseefriend

The Temple Sacrifices

 

The prophets repeatedly assured us that God forgives our sins when we repent (Isaiah 55:7; Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11). The prophets did not tell us that there is no forgiveness from sin without a blood offering. In fact in the book of Deuteronomy we read how God will accept Israel’s repentance even when they are in exile and without the ability to present a blood offering to God (Deuteronomy 30:2). The book of Jonah describes how God accepted the repentance of the Ninevites and how He rescinded His decree of destruction that their sins had brought upon them and no mention is made of a blood sacrifice (Jonah 3:10).

 

The question then arises; if all that is necessary to obtain God’s forgiveness is repentance then what purpose is served by the blood offerings of Leviticus? Why was it necessary for Israel to go through the elaborate rituals of the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:1-34) if repentance alone can bring about the same results?

 

This same question can be asked concerning the fast of Yom Kippur as observed in our day and age. Why is it necessary for Israel to fast and refrain from work on this day (Leviticus 23:26-32) if all that is necessary for atonement is repentance?

 

In order to find the answer to this question we need to go to the heart of the Temple sacrifices. No; it is not the blood that is the heart of the sacrificial system, it is the commandment of God (Jeremiah 7:22,23). Just as bread is not what sustains a person’s physical body but rather it is the word of God that gives us life (Deuteronomy 8:3) so it is with our spiritual life. It is not the blood or the incense that provides forgiveness but it is the power of God’s command. The heart of the Temple sacrifices is the obedience and submission to God’s command that is inherent in the sincere fulfillment of those rituals.

 

God’s commandments sanctify us (Numbers 15:40). When we obey God’s directives He infuses our lives with sanctity and holiness. Each of the commandments is a gift that allows us to come closer to Him and to be suffused with His holiness. The commandments are God’s way of extending His hand towards us to draw us closer to Him.

 

God provided the commandments relating to the Day of Atonement so that our repentance can be infused with the power and the sanctity of His commandment. God granted us this way of giving concrete expression to the contrition of our hearts as a gift to His people. By following the path that God mapped out for us we take hold of God’s hand extended towards us and our repentance is empowered and sanctified by God. This is God’s way of smoothing out the path for His people.

 

The same concept applies to the Temple sacrifices. The opportunity to offer the atoning sacrifices is a gift that God granted to us that draws us towards Him as we repent. These concrete expressions of repentance ordained by God empowered and sanctified our constant return to God. On the basis of the infusion of sanctity that we were granted through these commandments God’s presence was manifest in the midst of our nation.

 

Now that we are in exile; some of these gifts have been temporarily withdrawn from us. We still have the fasting and the refraining from work on Yom Kippur but we do not have the offerings of that holy day. This does not mean that we have no forgiveness from our sins. What it does mean is that the added sanctity that God provided through obedience to these particular commandments is no longer being extended to us. This lack of sanctity is expressed in the fact that we have no Temple and God’s presence is not manifest in our midst in an open and obvious way.

 

But God did not leave us in the dark. God told us exactly what we need to do to merit that His presence return to dwell in the Jerusalem Temple. We need to return to the teachings of Moses and obey them together as a national unit in sincere submission to God’s command. And God assured us that the suffering of our exile will one day bring us to this national repentance (Deuteronomy 30:2). When that happens God will bring us back to His land and rebuild our Temple (Ezekiel 37:28). We will then offer the sacrifices that God has commanded us to bring to His altar in purity and in righteousness (Ezekiel 20:40; Malachi 3:3,4).

 

To come back to our original question we will reiterate that God never spurns a heart that is broken in contrition before Him (Psalm 51:19). God is slow to anger, abundant in kindness and He forgives those who return to Him in sincerity and truth (Psalm 86:4; 103:8-10; Jonah 4:2). God’s forgiveness is available to everybody all the time. God made this foundational truth abundantly clear through the teachings of His prophets. What we are lacking today without the Temple sacrifices is the added sanctity that allowed God’s presence to be manifest in our midst (Leviticus 16:2).

 

We yearn for that closeness to God that we experienced when His presence was manifest in the Jerusalem Temple and we constantly pray for its restoration. But we know that there are no shortcuts. The only path to God is obedience to His commandment and hearkening to His voice (Jeremiah 7:22,23). And He has already told us what is good for us. It is to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God – and nothing else (Micah 6:8). God promised that He will eventually hear our voice and take up our cause (Micah 7:7).

 

May it happen speedily in our day.

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Yisroel C. Blumenthal

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