This portion
could be known as the Parashah of Mashiach. It speaks of the four
roles of Messiah-Judge, King, Cohen (Priest) and Prophet all of
which are contained in this parashah.
Today
the world is looking for a human liberator. We are living in perilous
times. The Jewish community has been deceived over and over history
as well as betrayed. We have been at the forefront of every movement,
spiritual, political and social. We will never forget that we were
slaves in Egypt and because of this we have supported other nations
who suffered slavery as kindred spirits. We were the first people
to support the abolition of slavery and Martin Luther King in the
US. The idealistic political systems such as communism and socialism
were begun by the Jews who always envisioned a better world. Our
hope is "tikkun olam" the healing of the world. We formulated
the idea of the kibbutz in Israel fashioned after communism and
meant to be a utopia.
In
the early1900's the Jews of Germany became emancipated and converted
to Lutheran Christianity in order to procure the best positions
in government and business. The German Jews believed themselves
evolved, enlightened and protected by the German nation. They could
now attend university and be one with the German people; no longer
worried about having a unique and separate identity as Jews; like
in England, the US and Canada today. We would finally be treated
like the others. Some Jews even supported Hitler at the beginning.
Today
history is repeating itself where we as Jews tend to support the
very nations that will destroy us as a people. We make gods out
of systems, organizations, institutions and religions. We forgot
what our prophet Jeremiah told us in chapter 17:5ff. …"cursed
is the man who trusts in man, blessed is the man who trusts in
G-d."
The
haftarah portion for this week includes Isaiah 51:12-52:12 and
next week 54:1-10. Isaiah 52:12-53:12 are completely eliminated
from the readings. The Orthodox Jews will argue about this portion;
the Lubavitch Jews say that it describes their Rebbe Menachem Schneerson
who was the suffering Messiah of Isaiah 53. Others say that it
describes the nation of Israel who suffered for the people. Last
week in chapter 13, we read that"If a prophet or dreamer arises
among you…saying 'let us follow other gods and serve them'
you must not listen to that prophet's words. Adonai your G-d is
testing you to know if you love Adonai, your G-d with all your
heart and all your soul….that prophet must be put to death…"
In
Judaism, it is taught that Jesus is a false god and that those
of us who believe in him deserve to die. It is no wonder that our
parents sit shiva for us who now claim to believe that Jesus is
the Messiah. It is a high price to pay for our faith.
Have
we as Jews who believe in Jesus abandoned the G-d of Israel and
now believe in a false god? In all honesty, I have to say that
some Jews have abandoned the Torah and have converted to a new
religion based on the gentile understanding. There are others however,
who have clung to the faith of the fathers and the G-d of Israel,
having never abandoned the true biblical roots.
If
we examine carefully the teachings of this week's portion we see
that the judges, the kings, the cohanim (priests) and the prophets
were appointed and anointed by G-d to give the people guidelines
to obey His Word. At the same time, Satan the adversary, works
in a parallel world taking what G-d created as good and providing
a false but attractive substitute. Sometimes the imitation looks
better than the real thing and is hard to resist.
How
do we know what is the truth? Yeshua himself said that one day
all would worship G-d in Spirit and in Truth? This is an idiomatic
expression meaning that G-d is One, ECHAD. The E in Echad stands
of Emet (Truth), the CH for Chai (Life) and the D for Derech (the
Way). Did Yeshua not say, "I am the Way, the Truth and the
Life, no one comes to the Father but through me"? He is openly
stating that he was the Messiah, the anointed one sent by G-d as
promised in the Tenach. He also said "You shall know the truth
and the truth shall make you free."
In
this portion, we read that the judge must be impartial and could
only base his verdict on the evidence of 2-3 witnesses. In the
story of the woman who was accused of adultery and was about to
be stoned by all the people, Yeshua simply said to them… "Let
the person without sin cast the first stone." Everyone promptly
left and he said to the woman "who is left to accuse you?
Go away and sin no more." Yeshua here was acting as the righteous
judge; to the point that he was able to judge the crowd and to
forgive the woman.
G-d
had told our people that they were wrong in wanting to be like
the other nations in their desire to have a king over them instead
of G-d being their King. They would pay dearly for that in the
years to come. A king is lord over our lives, someone to whom we
owe great respect and reverence. Yeshua himself was known as King
Mashiach, King of the Jews. He represents G-d Himself and our loyalty
belongs to G-d.
The
Cohen or priest was the person chosen to be the liaison between
G-d and the people. Judaism states that we don't need a mediator
or intermediary between man and G-d. This however is a reaction
to Christianity. In Orthodox Judaism there are many rabbis who
are venerated as Tzadiqqim (holy, pious men) who have acted as
intermediary for the people. Moses himself was an intermediary.
We could not have left Egypt without his intervention. We understand
the need for a special link to G-d and the Cohen is the one chosen
to be in His service and to instruct us on how to worship Him.
Yeshua fulfilled this position by being the rabbi venerated and
loved by his many followers.
And
lastly, the prophet! The prophet is a most misunderstood term.
It was not meant to be a fortune teller. He was a man who was greatly
humbled by G-d, usually quite gentle, not boasting their ability
and power. He had a sacred task to be the speaker for G-d in times
of need. He would tell the people "Thus says the Lord…."
And they would quake in hearing what G-d had to say to them. How
do we know if he was a true prophet? Moses tells us in D'varim
18….if not 100% of what he said has come true, he is not fro
G-d…simple!
Today
we see many false prophets who are simply out to make a profit.
May G-d be their judge. The prophets were teachers and kept G-d's
commandments. They would bring us the Word of G-d and warn us about
the consequences of our disobedience. They would live a life in
accordance with what they preached; for e.g. in the case of Jeremiah
before the first dispersion into Babylon and Yohanan the Immerser
(John the Baptist) before the coming of Messiah Yeshua; even though
it would cost their own lives they never sold out on their calling.
But also, we read that there were false prophets, who would prophesy
according to the desire of their audience for profit. We were warned
that this would take place, so we had no excuse.
Yeshua
fulfilled this in every way. He is our intermediary. In this portion
G-d was telling us about Mashiach in a very simple way. He is our
Judge; through him all mankind will be judged. He is our King;
through him we are all Subjects of Our G-d, the G-d of our fathers;
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is our Priest; through him we have
access to worship G-d. He is our Prophet prophesied by Rabbenu
Moshe; through him we walk with G-d. The message is a very clear
and Jewish one. May he who has ears, hear and eyes, see.
May
G-d add blessings to His Word!
Rabbi
Percy Johnson
Netanel
ben Yochanan
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©
2008 Use by Permission
Kehilat
She’ar Yashuv
