Parashah Yitro Comments (Jan 2014)

Chapter 18 of the book of Exodus describes the isit of Jethro to his son!in!"a# $oses in
the desert of %inai and the adice the e"der priest of $id&an 'ies to the &oun'er "eader
of the (srae"ite peop"e) *hen the& meet+ $oses bo#s do#n in respect and #e"come of
Jethro #ho+ upon obserin' the #a& in #hich $oses seres as ,ud'e of the peop"e-s
disputes and+ after seein' ho# his methods are c"ear"& #astefu" of time and ener'&+
proposes to $oses that+ if it is in .od-s #i""+ de"e'ate the sett"in' of "esser disa'reements
to others and thereb& or'ani/in' the efficient 'oernance)
$oses is the first ,ud'e of (srae" and a picture of the $essiah) (n fact+ after $oses came
Joshua) .od continued to send ,ud'es and prophets to speak the truth .od 'ae the
(srae"ites at $ount %inai #hen the& accepted his 0orah) 0he 0orah and #hat are ca""ed
1the *ritin's2 and 1the Prophets2 are a"" ackno#"ed'ed is the .od!breathed instructions
that 'ie (srae")
$oses is a picture of Y-shua) 3s has been said before+ there are man& simi"arities
bet#een the one #ho "ed the 4ebre# peop"e out of E'&ptian s"aer& to freedom to the
Promised 5and and the 3nointed 6ne+ the $essiah+ #ho "ed man& #ho came before us
and is "eadin' us no# out of the s"aer& of sin and #ho+ in the future+ #i"" "ead a"" the
#or"d to freedom in the $essianic 3'e)
7ut in 4is comin' as $essiah 7en Joseph+ the serant $essiah+ 4e prophesied that our
free #i"" #ou"d not a""o# 4im to take 4is ri'htfu" and ri'hteous p"ace as described in our
4aftorah for this #eek #here the prophet describes the peace 4e #i"" brin' and the
names b& #hich he #i"" be kno#n8
5
For every warriors sandal from the noisy battle,
And garments rolled in blood,
Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.
6
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon is shoulder.
And is name will be !alled
Wonderful, Counselor, "ighty #od,
$verlasting Father, %rin!e of %ea!e. &'saiah ()*+,-
When he !ame as "essiah .en /oseph, e said this)
34
01o not thin2 that ' !ame to bring pea!e on earth. ' did not !ome to
bring pea!e but a sword.
35
For ' have !ome to 3set a man against his
father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter+in+law against
her mother+in+law; &"atthew 45) 67+6*-
$ven in is day, 8shua rebu2ed some of the %harisees for going their
own way and forsa2ing the truth of #ods word. 9isten to "atthew
4*):;6)
2
0Why do 8our dis!iples transgress the tradition of the elders< For they
do not wash their hands when they eat bread.=
3
e answered and said to them, 0Why do you also transgress the
!ommandment of #od be!ause of your tradition<
Within 75 years of is death, this prophe!y started to be fulfilled when
the >emples destru!tion by the ?oman army helped to dis!ourage
relian!e on #ods word. >he elimination of the >emple !aused the
!enter of /ewish thin2ing to be moved from /erusalem to 8avneh and
gave rise to the %harisees as the prominent /ewish voi!e.
Unfortunately, this group of learned rabbis de!ided that they were the
final arbiters of interpretation of the truth, even to the by ta2ing the
words of the >orah out of !onte@t and interpreting them to suit their
own purposes.
1euteronomy 65)4: says,
't is not in heavenA
>he %harisees, now 2nown as Brthodo@ /udaism, as stated by at least
some of its rabbis, says this means they have pre+eminen!e over what
is truth and what is not, that they are the authority in defining and
ena!ting /ewish law, not the >orah, not #od.
>he passage in !onte@t reads as follows)
11
0For this !ommandment whi!h ' !ommand you
today is not too mysterious for you, noris it far off.
12
't is not in
heaven, that you should say, 3Who will as!end into heaven for us and
bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it<
13
Cor is it beyond the
sea, that you should say, 3Who will go over the sea for us and bring it
to us, that we may hear it and do it<
14
.ut the word is very near you,
in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. &1euteronomy
65)44+47-
"y understanding of this, in !onte@t is !ertainly not the same as the
rabbis spo2en of here; but it does remind me of others who e@tra!t
passages from S!ripture to suit their own purposes.
>his is part of a Dustifi!ation by the %harisees and their seed, Brthodo@
/udaism, that the Bral 9aw, written down in what is 2nown as 0>he
>almud=, is as important, if not "B?$ important, than >orah and that
the laws governing ?abbini! /udaism reEuire adheren!e by traditional
/ewish believers as interpreted and understood by them. >his is an
e@treme e@ample and by no means meant to suggest that the >almud
is not helpful in gaining insight into what #od is telling us; however, it
is CB> #od+made but man made and, therefore, we do not regard it
with the same signifi!an!e.
>his is not unli2e maDor elements in Christian thin2ing that reEuire
adheren!e to prin!iples that have also evolved from a human way of
interpretation that see2s to pla!e that meaning on a level immune to
debate. Some of these are)
4- 8shua !ame to abolish the law.
:- >he law is a burden
6- >he law has held us prisoner
7- >he /ewish people are no longer the apple of #ods eye
be!ause they 2illed the "essiah
*- Christians have repla!ed /ews in #ods eyes
,- Christians get all the blessings and the /ews get all the !urses
Bther points of !ontroversy and debate also !ome from our human
attempt to understand what #od wants of us and !an be !lassified as
mysteries at this time.
F- Je#ish peop"e are re9uired to adhere to the :1; mit/ot or instructions or
commandments in the 0orah
G- Je#s are <60 re9uired to obe& the 0orah because Jeremiah sa&s .od #i""
rep"ace the coenant #ith a ne# one+ since the o"d one #as broken b& their
forefathers- disobedience= therefore Je#s do not need to be kosher+ #ear
frin'es+ refrain from #orkin' on the %abbath+ etc)
(- (f &ou fo""o# Y-shua+ &ou must be circumcised since 4e #as circumcised)
45- 0he 3post"es re"ieed be"ieers in Y-shua from the Je#ish ob"i'ation to
become circumcised)
44- Je#ish be"ieers are re9uired to fo""o# the 5a# of $oses #hi"e .enti"e
be"ieers are on"& re9uired to fo""o# the <oahide "a#s)
4:- 0here is no "ife after this one)
46- 0here is an after!"ife)
47- 0he 7ib"e is true
4*- 0he %criptures are a""e'ories manufactured to teach us truths)
4,- Jesus Christ is the %on of .od
4F- Y-shua #as a 'ood man+ but not .od)
( hae been in sa"es for m& entire adu"t "ife) 6ne of the basic ru"es in se""in' is+ un"ess &ou
#ant to spend &our entire da& in non!productie conersation+ >6 <60 035? 376@0
.6>) 0he point is that ( cou"d 'o on and on and on and on about the thin's #e >6 <60
a'ree on #hen it comes to .od-s truth)
3s stated in John 188;A!;88
37
%ilate therefore said to im, 0Are 8ou a 2ing then<=
/esus answered, 08ou say rightly that ' am a 2ing. For this !ause ' was
born, and for this !ause ' have !ome into the world, that ' should bear
witness to the truth. $veryone who is of the truth hears "y voi!e.=
38
%ilate said to im, 0What is truth<= And when he had said this, he
went out again to the /ews, and said to them, 0' find no fault in im at
all.
0he tradition and be"ief of the 3nointed 6ne is a microcosm of this controers&) <o#here
does it sa& in the 4ebre# %criptures+ there is a $essiah+ #ho is .od-s expression on
earth+ &et there is much #ritten about 4is existence and *ho 4e is)
3mon' other thin's+ Je#ish thinkin' has inc"uded the fo""o#in' ideas as "aid out in
Babbi (t/hak %hapira-s book+ 10he Beturn of the ?osher Pi')2
1) 0he $essiah is the 17a-a" 0orah28 the ri'htfu" o#ner of the 0orah)
2) 0he snake has been associated #ith the fences that Judaism has used to 1protect
its peop"e from sinnin'8 think the snake and 3dam and Ee and the 0ree of 5ife)
;) 0he $essiah is the breaker) 0he one #ho breaks out or breaks throu'h)
(n the reerse order+ ( #ant to discuss these to sho# &ou ho# the& re"ate to our Parashah
for this #eek)
(n .enesis ;882C #e read+
>hen it happened, as he drew ba!2 his hand, that his brother !ame out
une@pe!tedly; and she said, 0ow did you brea2
through< This brea!h be upon youH= >herefore his name was !alled
%ereI.
[a]
a. 9iterally Breach or Breakthrough
(n Je#ish "iterature+ one of the names for the $essiah is 7en 4aporet/+ one #ho breaks
out or one #ho #i"" breach) (n the 7ib"e+ the name of a person is more than ,ust a #a& to
distin'uish them from other peop"e) (t is a description of #ho the& are D their character)
0he $essiah is one #ho #i"" break out) Pere/+ broke throu'h to become the first born
from 0amar) Y-shua is in the "ine of Pere/)
0he fi'ure of the snake is usua""& a ne'atie ima'e to most peop"e= ho#eer+ it #as the
serpent #ho #as "ifted up in the desert that saed the (srae"ites from the p"a'ue caused b&
.od-s ,ud'ment for the sin of unbe"ief)
<umbers 2184!C8
4
>hen they Dourneyed from "ount or by the Way of the ?ed Sea, to
go around the land of $dom; and the soul of the people be!ame very
dis!ouraged on the way.
5
And the people spo2e against #od and
against "oses) 0Why have you brought us up out of $gypt to die in the
wilderness< For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this
worthless bread.=
6
So the 9B?1 sent fiery serpents among the people,
and they bit the people; and many of the people of 'srael died.
7
>herefore the people !ame to "oses, and said, 0We have sinned, for
we have spo2en against the 9B?1 and against you; pray to
the 9B?1 that e ta2e away the serpents from us.= So "oses prayed
for the people.
8
>hen the 9B?1 said to "oses, 0"a2e a fiery serpent, and set it on a
pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he loo2s at it,
shall live.=
9
So "oses made a bronIe serpent, and put it on a pole;
and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he loo2ed at the
bronIe serpent, he lived.
'n is !onversation with Ci!odemus, 8shua identifies with the serpent.
14
And as "oses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of "an be lifted up,
15
that whoever believes in im should not
perish but have eternal life. &/ohn 6)47+4*-
?egarding the .aal >orah, the Sages say that the "essiah is the final
interpreter. e will bring an eternal >orah. A !ommentary on
$!!lesiates &$!!lesiastes ?abah- states that the >orah is 0foolishness.=
What the ?abbi &eIe2iah- is saying here is that it is foolish be!ause it
is not eternal. >he eternal >orah is the one alluded to in /eremiah 64
where the prophet says #od will write this new >orah on our hearts
be!ause the old one was bro2en by our an!estors. ?abbi 8ehoshuah
WeitIman, the head of 8eshivat "aa lot 8aa2ov, says that the
foolishness is Dust a sign. >hat we are li2e babies in our understanding
of #ods law. When we hear the words from the 9'J'C# >B?A, the
"essiah, our memories will integrate our old understanding with our
new understanding.
>o me the !oming of the "essiah will be li2e a brea2ing out of the
rigidty that all of us have in some aspe!ts of our understanding of the
truth of #od. e will brea2 through the fen!es that have been ere!ted
in the spirit of piety that have be!ome heavy burdens for many who
would !ome !loser to #od and is 2ingdom if these barriers were
bro2en down.
>he Cewer >estament is an amplifi!ation of the Blder >estament. >he
prophesies and the des!riptions in the >ena!h &the Blder >estament-
e!ho and repeat in the .rit Chadashah &the Cewer >estament-. 8shua
!larified many truths for us)
21
08ou have heard that it was said to those of old, 38ou shall not
murder,
[a]
and whoever murders will be in danger of the
Dudgment.
22
.ut ' say to you that whoever is angry with his brother
without a !ause
[b]
shall be in danger of the Dudgment. And whoever
says to his brother, 3?a!aH shall be in danger of the !oun!il. .ut
whoever says, 38ou foolH shall be in danger of hell fire.
23
>herefore if
you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother
has something against you,
24
leave your gift there before the altar,
and go your way. First be re!on!iled to your brother, and then !ome
and offer your gift.
25
Agree with your adversary Eui!2ly, while you are
on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the Dudge, the
Dudge hand you over to the offi!er, and you be thrown into
prison.
26
Assuredly, ' say to you, you will by no means get out of there
till you have paid the last penny.
Adultery in the Heart
27
08ou have heard that it was said to those of old,
[c]
38ou shall not
!ommit adultery.
[d]28
.ut ' say to you that whoever loo2s at a woman
to lust for her has already !ommitted adultery with her in his
heart.
29
'f your right eye !auses you to sin, plu!2 it out and !ast itfrom
you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish,
than for your whole body to be !ast into hell.
30
And if your right hand
!auses you to sin, !ut it off and !ast it from you; for it is more
profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your
whole body to be !ast into hell.
Marriage I !acred and "inding
31
0Furthermore it has been said, 3Whoever divor!es his wife, let him
give her a !ertifi!ate of divor!e.
32
.ut ' say to you that whoever
divor!es his wife for any reason e@!ept se@ual immorality
[e]
!auses her
to !ommit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divor!ed
!ommits adultery.
#eu $%rbid &ath
33
0Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 38ou shall not
swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the 9ord.
34
.ut ' say to
you, do not swear at all) neither by heaven, for it is #ods
throne;
35
nor by the earth, for it is is footstool; nor by /erusalem, for
it is the !ity of the great King.
36
Cor shall you swear by your head,
be!ause you !annot ma2e one hair white or bla!2.
37
.ut let your 38es
be 38es, and your 3Co, 3Co. For whatever is more than these is from
the evil one.
'% the !ec%nd Mile
38
08ou have heard that it was said, 3An eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth.
[(]

39
.ut ' tell you not to resist an evil person. .ut whoever slaps
you on your right !hee2, turn the other to him also.
40
'f anyone wants
to sue you and ta2e away your tuni!, let him have your !loa2
also.
41
And whoever !ompels you to go one mile, go with him
two.
42
#ive to him who as2s you, and from him who wants to borrow
from you do not turn away.
)%*e +%ur ,ne-ie
43
08ou have heard that it was said, 38ou shall love your neighbor
[g]
and
hate your enemy.
44
.ut ' say to you, love your enemies, bless those
who !urse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those
who spitefully use you and perse!ute you,
[h]45
that you may be sons of
your Father in heaven; for e ma2es is sun rise on the evil and on
the good, and sends rain on the Dust and on the unDust.
46
For if you
love those who love you, what reward have you< 1o not even the ta@
!olle!tors do the same<
47
And if you greet your brethren
[i]
only, what
do you do more than others? 1o not even the ta@ !olle!tors
[.]
do
so<
48
>herefore you shall be perfe!t, Dust as your Father in heaven is
perfe!t. &"atthew *):4+7G-
e has given us a foretaste of the eternal >orah that he will bring when
e establishes is rule in the "essiani! $ra.
/ethro gave instru!tion to "oses and "oses followed it. 8shua does
nothing without is fathers !onsent. /ethro brought "oses bride L his
wife + to be reunited with "oses. #od will bring the bride of "essiah L
the true believers + to 8shua. "oses too2 /ethros dire!tion and set up
his government to dispense #ods truth to the people so all of the
'sraelites !ould live in pea!e and harmony. 8shua will establish is
Kingdom with is interpretation of the >orah L the eternal >orah of
/eremiah 64)64 L and we also will e@perien!e the Doy of the pea!e that
passes all understanding.
'n !ase you were sleeping during my tal2 and Dust wo2e up, let me
summariIe) when "oses too2 his father+in+laws advi!e and appointed
others to help him Dudge the 'sraelites, the .ible is giving us a pi!ture
of the establishment of the "essiani! Age.
As the >ena!h has given us glimpses of the #arden of $den that #od is
longing to return us to &thin2 the Shabbath- and as 8shua gave us bits
and pie!es of what it will be li2e when e returns &in "atthew *):4+7G
above and the .eatitudes M"atthew *)6+44N-)
3
0.lessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the 2ingdom of heaven.
4
.lessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be !omforted.
5
.lessed are the mee2,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6
.lessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7
.lessed are the mer!iful,
For they shall obtain mer!y.
8
.lessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see #od.
9
.lessed are the pea!ema2ers,
For they shall be !alled sons of #od.
10
.lessed are those who are perse!uted for righteousness sa2e,
For theirs is the 2ingdom of heaven.
We !an be en!ouraged by the truth #od gives us and bring to our lives
in the here and now the Kingdom of #od also 2nown as the Kingdom
of eaven, the #arden of $den, the Cew /erusalem, the "essiani! Age.
>he >orah has many tea!hings for us in our foolishness. ?abbi Oevulon
#old, in is boo2, 0#eolat 8isroel= as Euoted by ?abbi Shapira says the
first letters of the ebrew words for 0'n the beginning, #od=, the first
words of #enesis, spell out the word 0$"$>=) truth.
>he sages say there will be two "essiahs) "essiah .en /oseph, the
suffering servant, !oming on the foal of a don2ey, and "essiah .en
1avid, King "essiah. "essiani! believers 2now the first "essiah as
8shua of CaIareth.
?abbi #old also uses the /ewish numeri!al formula !alled 0#emmatria=
to gain additional insight into what #od has to say. e ta2es the
phrase 0And this is "essiah .en 1avid= and determines that the
numeri!al value of this phrase &in ebrew- is the same as the
numeri!al value for >?U>.
%ilate as2s, 0What is truth<= 8shua says, 0I a- the way, the
truth, and the life. &/ohn 47),-.
When e !omes with is eternal truth, the !ontroversies will end. We
will have pea!e. We !an see its foreshadowing with "oses in the Sinai
desert.
( #ant to conc"ude #ith this pra&er from Psa"m C:812!1;8
12
9et the field be Doyful, and all that is in it.
>hen all the trees of the woods will reDoi!e before the 9B?1.
13
For e is !oming, for e is !oming to Dudge the earth.
e shall Dudge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with is truth.
Amen.