A Very Simple and Profound Explanation of the Torah:

Its Purpose and Importance to Those Who Claim to Love G-d.

I found this wonderfully clear explanation of "Torah" in an article from a subscription I get through email from Torah.org. Rabbi Rosenfeld eloquently writes;

"...there is an important principle we must establish. When Israel was given the 613 commandments at Sinai, the intention was not: "Do these actions and get reward." It was rather: "Develop a relationship with your Creator; here's how." The mitzvos (commandments) are not just arbitrary actions which we are rewarded for performing. They are statements of G-d's values. We do not simply (and blindly) perform them. We grow into them. We develop an understanding of G-d's values and grow to become people who appreciate them ourselves. By so doing we become more G-dlike individuals, more capable of enjoying the resulting closeness we will have with our G-d in the World to Come.

Thus, the mitzvos are not actions and restrictions alone. They are calls to greatness, goads to inspire us to higher levels of awareness. As a simple example, the Torah commands us, "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13 -- the sixth of the Ten Commandments). The intention was never simply that we refrain from the *act* of murder. That is only the mitzvah at its basest level. Rather we were instructed in something much higher, more accurately expressed as, "Appreciate the value of a human life." Human beings are precious and in the image of G-d. We must respect the value of our fellow human being: his life, his health, his self-respect, and his feelings. The Talmud accordingly writes that one should allow himself to be killed rather than *embarrass* his fellow -- just as one must die rather than kill him (Sotah 10b). Making someone else wish he were dead is -- according to G-d's value system -- tantamount to killing him. And we, who are not simply enslaving ourselves to our G-d but are forging a relationship with Him, must obey His commandments with that awareness." ~ Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld

I love this profoundly Jewish perspective because this is the heart of what Yeshua was trying to get across to us! That The Torah was not a "law" to put people in bondage and cause them to fear G-d! It was a lifestyle to keep people in a relationship to G-d that was pleasing to Him! It was not supposed to produce legalism, it was supposed to produce righteousness!

The dilemma it caused, in terms of sheer impossibility to walk this delicate balance of obedience without legalism, was settled by Yeshua. He left behind the Ruach ha Kodesh to empower us to keep the Commandments, and He shed His blood because of our inability to do so up to that point. Now we are without excuse. We are without good teaching though. Well, perhaps not "without", but finding and assimilating it is more difficult than it should be.

From the Jewish side they have all the puzzle pieces - except one, the one that is pivotal to the whole picture. They even have the box top! But they do not recognize Yeshua as the missing piece that they are looking for - the long awaited Anointed One that is to come!

And then, conversely, from the westernized "Christian" world we have only that one piece - and from that piece have attempted to construct an entire puzzle - using whatever strikes our fancy! Producing a cheap manufactured substitute with no color, little quality and little effectiveness!

But when we pull them together it becomes clear! After all, Yeshua did say that He came to fulfill and not to annul the Torah! He is the embodiment of it! He was the "Word made Flesh"! What "Word" was that? The Torah was the only "Word" that existed in His time, along with the Netuvim and the Ketuvim - the prophets and writings of the "Old Covenant".

When will we be willing to see that we can not hope to follow Him effectively if we continue to neglect and void all He was working to accomplish? How can we call Him Rabbi, or Teacher, or Master, and continue to ignore all He was attempting to teach us! If He is truly "the Way", and He walked in observance to the Torah, who can we pretend to be following while refusing to go where He went?

Or, worse than that, how can we pretend to be following Him if we slander His commandments as "evil legalism", while substituting for them things that are abhorrent to Him - and then stamp His name on them to boot! How arrogant, confused and misled can we get? I am not targeting only one aberrant religious belief structure! The entire westernized, civilized "Church" system is screwed up and this is why! We are a mile wide but an inch deep and this is why! We are eating spam when we could have steak! We are drinking "Kool-aid" when we could have $800/bottle wine! We are cooking with lard, when we should be using the top quality virgin olive oil that was supplied! Get the picture? We need to make Teshuvah to the Torah! We need to stop fearing it, and embrace it for what it is, the hub of our belief structure! No, it isn't the whole wheel! But one can not have a working wheel if one excludes the hub! There are no where to attach the other parts! It is as important as the skeleton to the human body! It provides the structure and the support to hold it together and enable it to operate!

We Westerners have concentrated on the content to the exclusion of the structure. Which is why most of Western "Christianity" has no Chutzpah, no real Power, no real identity. It has become this blob-like, wishy-washy, namby-pamby useless waste of everyone's time! It has become this irritating, whining, demanding voice in a very tired world. It is not taken seriously because it is not real. It is not solid. It has no decently reliable history or referrences. There are only two institutions of any standing - the rest have evolved in some way from those, or perhaps I should say have broken off of them - for evolution insinuates improvement and that is clearly not the case here. But the original structure on which these institutions were supposed to have been built was cast aside early in the history of the thing, and have never been fully recovered.

I think, or at least hope, that this new wind of Messianic awareness will be able to correct this disconnect, but that remains to be seen. So far that movement seems to be still very heavily affected by one or the other of the polar ends - the teaching of "Jewish" Pharisees who have put themselves in the place of G-d, or the teachings of "Christian" Pharisees who have done the same thing while condemning the Jews for doing it! That is why judgment is discouraged. The target of our judgment does become the target for our internal GPS!

The people of G-d need to return to His book! To His commandment! If all else fails, read the instruction manual! We are as lost as any one "out there"! That is why they mock us! Our "righteousness is like the Emperor's New Clothes! We are the only ones who do not realize that our hind parts are visible! Listen, just because His mercy holds onto us in our ignorance , that does not extrapolate to mean that we are where we need to be! We should be so far into His Will that His mercy can be extended to others who actually have reason to be lost!

"If my people, which are called by My Name, will humble themselves...." the prophet exclaims in II Chronicles 7:14. Teshuvah must start with humility. It must start with us saying, "perhaps we have been wrong?"! It starts with us using our "discernment" on ourselves, and taking the mirror of His Word to our own hearts instead of turning it outwardly, blinding others with its light, which was supposed to be filtered through us! Inadvertently starting fires with our judgmentalism, etc. We, the people who consider themselves the people of G-d, are the ones to whom the prophet cries out, we are the ones who should humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways! We are not responsible to keep only the barest outlines of the "Ten Commandments", we are responsible to find a relationship with G-d based on His order - which transforms us into His image, and brings us full circle. For all of you who want to "get back to the Garden", and for anyone else, for that matter, Torah (The Living Bread, and true Heartfelt observance of it/Him) is the only Way. Teshuvah, Return!

Shalom!