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B’rit Hadasha [Renewed
Covenant]: the collection of midrashic letters written by the
Messianic Jewish Rabbis of the first century to help Believers in Yeshua the
Messiah to properly interpret the Torah. These documents are included in
English Bibles as the so-called “New Testament.” I believe that the choice of
the term “New Testament” is both historically and theologically unfortunate,
in that the term forces an incorrect understanding of the true nature of both
the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible, see below) and the B’rit Hadasha. The word
“New” forces a comparison with something else that is automatically assumed
to be “Old,” which in turn suggests related terms like obsolete, passé,
superseded, and outdated. This term has produced the incorrect theological
interpretation that the “New Testament” or “New Covenant” has somehow
replaced and superseded the “Old Testament” or “Old Covenant.”
In His “Sermon on
the Mount” Yeshua made it perfectly clear that the Tanakh [or Hebrew Bible,
see below] will never become obsolete or superseded:
“Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or
the prophets.[136] I
didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill [a term used by both ancient and
modern rabbis to mean “interpret correctly”]. For most assuredly, I tell you,
until heaven and eretz [earth] pass away, not even one smallest letter
or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law [Torah, also
used to indicate the entire Tanakh, see below], until all things are
accomplished. Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least mitzvot [instructions,
commandments, including the seventh-day Shabbat], and teach others to do so,
shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and
teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-19)
Just as the Bill
of Rights expands, explains, and clarifies the intent of the Constitution of
the United States, so the B’rit Hadasha expands, explains, and clarifies the
intent of the Tanakh, which is the “Constitution” of the Kingdom of G-d.
Thus, just as the Amendments to the Constitution of the United States become
part and parcel of that Constitution, so the B’rit Hadasha likewise becomes
part and parcel of the Tanakh.
CE and BCE: Common Era and Before the Common Era; same as AD
and BC, but less offensive to non-Messianic Jews who (rightfully) resent
being forced to acknowledge the calendar as being defined by the birth of a
Messiah they can’t understand, and therefore can’t accept.
Challah: a special kind of bread used for Shabbat and holidays. It is a very
sweet, golden, eggy bread. The taste and texture is somewhat similar to egg
twist rolls (little yellow rolls that look like knots). The loaf is usually
braided, but on certain holidays it may be made in other shapes.
Eretz:
#ra
earth, land, ground.
Eretz
Yisra'el: the Land of Israel.
Gemara: collection of legal and ethical discussions of the rabbis of the
third through the fifth centuries, edited about 500 CE; together with the
Mishnah forms the Talmud.
Goy:
ywg
(pl. goyim; lit. nation) anybody who is
not a physical descendant of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya`akov (Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob). A non-Jewish person.
HaMashiach:
xyXmh the Messiah.
Halakah:
h$lh (alt. halakhah, halachah, chalakah) the
way one goes, the walk; the word for Jewish law, or for the legal and
regulatory portions of Torah and of the Talmud, and of all Jewish lore.
Havdalah:
ldbh (lit. make a separation) ceremony that marks the end of the
Sabbath and the beginning of the week; the blessing over wine to mark the
difference between the Sabbath and the weekdays.
Kiddush:
Xdq (alt. Kidush) blessing recited or chanted over wine on
Shabbat or festivals emphasizing their holiness: “Barukh atah Adonai
Elohaynu melekh ha-olam, borei p’riy ha-gafen. Amein. Blessed are You,
Lord, our G-d, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
Amen.” To pour out the first cup of wine, or the blessing of sanctification;
by extension, a light meal after the wine.
Kohen:
!hk (alt. cohen, cohan; pl. kohenim;
kohanim, cohanim) descendant of the ancient priestly class, the
descendants of Aaron; a priest.
Kohen Gadol: lwdg !hk
(alt. Kohen haGadol, Cohen haGadol, Cohen Gadol; pl.
Kohanim Gedolim) the High Priest.
Mashiach:
xyXm (alt. moshiach, mashiyach,
mashiyakh) lit. “the Anointed One.” Messiah. The
Jews anointed three classes of people: prophets, priests, and kings. Yeshua
HaMashiach was all three. The equivalent Greek term is Christos,
translated as “Christ.”
Messianic
Community: the called-out community of Believers in
Messiah; used to refer to the entire Body of Messiah as a whole, as well as
to the local congregation. I personally use the terms Miqra, Messianic
Community, and Body of Messiah interchangeably. The Messianic Community is to
be distinguished from the organized Gentile “Christian church” in that I
believe “the church,” as it presently exists, is seriously contaminated with
pagan beliefs and practices and, because of a theology of “cheap grace” and a
basically “open door policy” of admitting members, consists of only perhaps
as many as 10-20% truly born-again Believers in Messiah. For more information
on this idea see John Warwick Montgomery, Damned through the Church.
Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1970. ISBN: 0871230909 (currently out
of print, but you may find copies on the Internet or in used book stores).
Midrash:
Xrdm (pl. Midrashim) (1) homiletic interpretation of the
Scriptures; exegesis; commentary; (2) a collection of works compiled between
the third and twelfth centuries that seeks out underlying truths and meanings
of the Bible; they are the result of the process of delving into the
ramifications of a biblical verse and of the ancient rabbis’ practice of
reading “between the lines” of Scripture.
Mikvah:
hwqm (1) a pool of water conforming to certain dimensions and
specifications, and connected to “living” water, used for legal and spiritual
purposes; also called in Latin a ritulariumn; (2) the ritual act of
bathing or of being immersed in the mikvah pool. Christian “baptism” by
immersion is an equivalent practice.
Miqra:
arqm (alt. miqrah, mikra, mikrah) a calling
together; convocation, assembly, especially for worship and for the
performance of sacred rites; indicates something or someone “called out” [for
that assembly]; a public meeting (the act, the persons, or the place); also a
rehearsal, assembly, calling, convocation, reading; in the NASB translated as
assemblies (2 times), assembly (2), convocation (14), convocations (3),
reading (1), summoning (1). Similar to Greek ekklesia (ekklesia),
called-out ones, which is erroneously translated “church” in the King James
Version, and which error has continued in later English translations of the
Scriptures. There is simply no valid linguistic reason for either translating
the word ekklesia or for referring to the people of Messiah as “the
church” — it is only a Gentile tradition with roots in paganism.
Mishnah: code of Jewish oral law edited by Rabbi Judah HaNasi (c. 135 to 220
C.E.) about 200 C.E.; together with the Gemara forms the Talmud.
Mishpachah:
hxpXm (alt. mishpocha) clan, family, tribe, people, nation.
Olam
Haba:
awbh ~lw[ the world to come; in Hebrew thought refers both to the
afterlife and to the Messianic Kingdom. There is no formal Jewish “doctrine”
concerning either the Messianic Kingdom or the afterlife, because
traditional Judaism is more about living righteously in the here and now than
it is about what happens after we die. Many Jews believe that when
Messiah comes there will be a general resurrection of the dead, and all
Israel plus the righteous from all the nations will have a share in the Olam
Haba, but mostly they just don’t think in terms of a “heaven or hell”
afterlife as most Westerners do.
Pilgrim
Festival/Feast: Shalosh Regalim — Three
times a year (Pesach, Shavu`ot, and Sukkot) the Torah requires all Israel to
go in joyous celebration to Jerusalem. [If anyone would try to coerce you
into being overly “Torah-observant,” simply remind him/her that in order to
be completely “Torah-observant” he/she must attend these three Feasts
in Jerusalem every year.]
Pesach:
xop (alt. Pesah; pl. Pesachim) Passover.
Memorializes the night when the Hebrews were protected by the blood of lambs,
a type of when G-d’s people are redeemed by the blood of The Lamb of G-d. One
of three pilgrim festivals to Jerusalem.
Principles of Faith: Rambam’s thirteen principles
of faith, which he taught were the minimum requirements of Jewish belief,
are:
1. God exists
2. God is one and unique
3. God is incorporeal
4. God is eternal
5. Prayer is to be directed to G-d alone and to
no other
6. The words of the prophets are true
7. Moses’ prophecies are true, and Moses was
the greatest of the prophets
8. The Written Torah (first five books of the
Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other
writings) were given to Moses
9. There will be no other Torah
10. God knows the thoughts and deeds of men
11. God will reward the good and punish the
wicked
12. The Messiah will come
13. The dead will be
resurrected[137]
Rabbi:
ybbr (lit. my great one, my honorable sir, a title of respect) a
Jewish teacher or religious authority (pl. rabanim); the spiritual
leaders of most Messianic congregations are referred to as “Rabbi” if they
are Jewish and as “Pastor” if they are non-Jewish; there is no difference in
their function. Additionally, many of the Messianic Pastors voluntarily
defer to a Messianic Rabbi to function as their advisor or mentor.
Rambam: (Maimonides; Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, 1135-1204 CE) A physician born
in Moorish Cordoba, Rambam lived in a variety of places throughout the
Moorish lands of Spain, the Middle East and North Africa, often fleeing
persecution. He was a leader of the Jewish community in Cairo. He was heavily
influenced by Greek thought, particularly that of Aristotle.
Rambam was the
author of the Mishneh Torah, one of the greatest codes of Jewish law,
compiling every conceivable topic of Jewish law in subject matter order and
providing a simple statement of the prevailing view in plain language. In his
own time, he was widely condemned because he claimed that the Mishneh
Torah was a substitute for studying the Talmud.
Rambam is also
responsible for several important theological works. He developed the 13
Principles of Faith, the most widely accepted list of Jewish beliefs. He also
wrote the Guide for the Perplexed, a discussion of difficult
theological concepts written from the perspective of an Aristotelian
philosopher.[138]
Rav:
br (lit. great, strong, captain, chief) a Sage of the Talmud;
shortened form of Rabbi.
Ruach
HaKodesh:
Xdqh xwr Holy Spirit (lit. Holy Breath); the Spirit of Mashiach.
Shabbat:
tbbX (lit. end, cease, rest) the Jewish Sabbath, a day of rest and
spiritual enrichment.
Shliach:
xlX (pl. shliachim, shluchim) to send or to be
sent; an emissary, one sent forth with the full power and authority of the
sender; the Greek equivalent is Apostle. Today’s ambassadors from
Israel to other countries or to the United Nations are called Shliachim in
Hebrew.
Sha’ul:
lwaX probably best-known and least understood of all Messianic
Rabbis, he was Yeshua’s Shliach sent primarily to the Goyim [Gentiles], and
was the writer of approximately half the letters of the B’rit Hadasha.
Also know as the Apostle Paul of Tarsus.
Shavu`ot:
[wbX (alt. Shavuoth, sg. Shavuah; lit. weeks)
The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (50 days); one of the three Pilgrim Feasts.
The 50th day from Yom Habikkurim memorializes the receiving of the Torah, and
the beginning of the wheat harvest. Also, it represents the betrothal between
Israel and the Lord. It was on this day that Ruach HaKodesh came to
permanently indwell the Miqra (Acts 2) as the “down-payment” or the “bride
price.”
Shem Kodesh or
Shem HaKodesh: Xdqh ~X religious name; most Jewish males have two names—a
religious name, called the shem kodesh (or hakodesh), and a
secular name, called the kinnui in Hebrew. The religious name is a
Hebrew name, and the secular name is in whatever vernacular language is in
use. Observant American Jews today, for example, have both a religious
Hebrew name and a secular English name. Among the Jews of Eastern Europe,
Yiddish was the everyday or secular language, so they had a religious Hebrew
name and a secular Yiddish name, the kinnui. In France, the secular
name is in French; in ancient Babylonia, the kinnui was in Babylonian;
etc.
Shemoneh Esrei:
hrX[ hnwmX (lit. eighteen) a prayer that is the center of any
Jewish religious service. Also known as the Amidah [standing] or the
Tefilah [prayer].
Sukkot:
tkko
(alt. Sukot; sg. sukkah, sukah)
booths, temporary dwellings; name of the festival that commemorates the
Israelites’ wanderings in the desert after leaving Egypt; the Feast of
Tabernacles (Booths); One of three Pilgrim Feasts.
Talmid:
dymlt (fem. talmidah; pl. talmidim) disciple,
student; a true talmid does not only want to know what the teacher
knows, he/she wants to become what the teacher is [this of
course presupposes that the teacher is worth emulating].
Talmud:
the two commentaries on the Mishnah, one produced
in the Eretz Yisra'el about 275 CE, the other in Babylonia about 500 CE; the
designation for both the Mishnah and the commentaries on it (Gemara). The
Talmud is the collected legal and ethical discussions of the rabbis.
Tanakh:
knt
(alt. Tanach or Tenakh) an acronym (TNK) for the three
divisions of the Hebrew Bible; Torah (Instruction), Nevi’im
(Prophets), and K’tuvim (Writings).
Torah:
hrwt (1) teaching or instruction, but usually erroneously
translated “law’; (2) divine instruction from G-d; (3) in its most narrow
sense, the Five Books of Moshe (Moses), the Pentateuch — B’resheet (Genesis),
Sh’mot (Exodus), Vayikra (Leviticus), B’midbar (Numbers), D’varim
(Deuteronomy), called the “Written Torah” and hand written on a parchment
scroll; (4) the Torah plus the Prophets (Nevi’im) and Writings (K’tuvim) are
together called the TaNaKh (Tanakh, above), the
Hebrew Bible, or the so-called “Old Testament”; (5) in a broad sense, the
whole written Word of G-d is the Torah, including both the Tanakh and the
B’rit Hadasha; (6) in its broadest sense, “Torah” is all of Judaism, which
flows from those books. Additional material called the “Talmud” or “Oral
Torah” is considered in varying degrees as authoritative in
traditional Judaism. Uncapitalized, the word can be understood as
“principle.”
Torah-observant: walking in yielded obedience to
the teaching of the Scriptures; in traditional Judaism this includes obeying
the complex instructions of the Talmud as well.
Yeshua:
[wXy
Literally “salvation” or “YHWH saves.” Rabbi Yeshua ben
Yosef. Son of the Most High, and Messiah of Israel; Jesus of Nazareth.
Here is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah took place. When his
mother Miryam was engaged to Yosef, before they were married, she was found
to be pregnant from the Ruach HaKodesh. Her husband-to-be, Yosef, was a man
who did what was right; so he made plans to break the engagement quietly,
rather than put her to public shame. But while he was thinking about this, an
angel of ADONAI appeared to him in a dream and said, "Yosef, son of David, do
not be afraid to take Miryam home with you as your wife; for what has been
conceived in her is from the Ruach HaKodesh. She will give birth to a son,
and you are to name him Yeshua, [which means `ADONAI saves,'] because he will
save his people from their sins. (Matt 1:18-21)
Yom
haBikkurim:
myrwkkbh mwy The Day of First Fruits, barley harvest, the
day from which we start counting the Omer 50 days to Shavu`ot (Pentecost).
The first Shabbat following Passover.
Yom
ha-Kippurim: myrppk mwy Yom Kippur (alt. Kipur) The Day of
Atonement; The Great Fast.
Zaken:
!qz
(alt. zaqen, zeken; pl. zakenim or
zekenim) elder (-est), aged, old or ancient man or woman, senator;
leader of a local Messianic Community; pastor.
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