(The information below is not meant to scare you but to inform you.)
8/15/2012
NOTE: Feel free to pass this newsletter on to others to help them be informed and learn something from the teachings also. Should they want to receive this newsletter, have them go to www.torah-truths.com and fill-in the form and click on the Submit button.
Kimberly Rogers and Laura Densmore team up as two “watchers on the wall” to report on the headline news this week as it relates to end of days bible prophesies.
Join us on the wall as we count down to the final 1260 days prior to the return of Messiah Yeshua!
Stories covered in this show:
IDF Foils Assault on Southern Border After Terrorists kill 16 Egyptian Soldiers
Analysis by Kimberly: Was this a false flag event to bring Egyptian military troops into the Sinai?
Egyptian president sacks Intelligence Chief in Shake-up after Sunday’s Border Attack
Syrian prime minister defects to Jordan
The Not-So-Mighty Mississippi: How the River’s Low Water Levels Are Impacting the Economy
Drought in the Bread Basket: The Perfect Storm Against Freedom
Why in the World are they spraying? (trailer for documentary on Chemtrails)
What in the World are they spraying? (90 minute YouTube documentary on Chemtrails)
Former CIA Army General William Boykin: Martial Law Expected & “Warranted”
DHS and US Military Making Final Preparations Before Announcing Martial Law
Military activity/movements being sighted all over the country (in rural areas also!)
Wrap up and close in prayer; Jeremiah 50: 4-8
To listen to the live report or download the recorded report click on –> “The 1260 Report.”
Luke 1:15-17“15 For he shall be great before יהוה (Yahweh), and shall drink no wine and strong drink at all. And he shall be filled with the Set-apart (Holy) Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he shall turn many of the children of Yisra’ĕl (Israel) to יהוה (Yahweh) their Elohim (Mighty One/God). 17 And he shall go before Him (Yeshua) in the spirit and power of Ěliyahu (Elijah), ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the insight of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for יהוה (Yahweh).”
John fulfilled Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1 as the messenger who prepared the way for the Messiah. In Luke 1:15-17, by God’s estimation, John would be great already. No other prophet was given such an accolade from the Highest Source in the entire universe.
1. John’s greatness lay in the office he filled.
2. His greatness lay in the subject he dealt with: repentance and preparing the way for Christ.
3. His greatness lay in the manner in which he did it, that is, in humility, calling no attention to himself, and voluntarily receding into the background when the Messiah appeared (John 3:30).
4. His greatness lay in performing his function with great zeal.
5. His greatness lay in his personal attributes of character as being above reproach in terms of sin, self-denial, and manner of life. He was courageous in the face of opposition.
6. His greatness lay in doing his service for his entire life. His whole life, from the womb, was devoted to God. John was “the crown” of the Old Testament prophets.
7. His greatness lay in the number and the greatness of his sacrifices, including his life in martyrdom.
Let me begin by summarizing some of my remarks in the first part of this teaching. I believe that the wearing of headcoverings by women, in or out of a gathering, is a useful, decent custom but not a commandment from YHVH. I believe that this subject falls under the ‘doubtful disputations’ of Romans 14:1-6:
“Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto YHVH; and he that regardeth not the day, to YHVH he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to YHVH, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to YHVH he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.”
The context of this section of scripture is Paul’s concern for new believers and the subject of doubtful disputations. The English words ‘doubtful disputations’ are from the Greek words diakriseis dialogismon. These words literally say ‘arguments about opinions’. In the Hebrew these words are shaphat and chashav. This would be understood as ‘thoughts about particular judgments’. The idea taken from the Hebrew to the Greek is filtered through a Greek culture possessed with philosophy and sophistry. This Greek concept is nowhere found in the Tanakh and is never associated with the Torah. The subject in context are those opinions and judgments outside of the Torah. This is where I believe the subject of the wearing of headcoverings falls. I believe that the apostles were given authority to make these kinds of ‘halakhic’ decisions during the exile or the scattering of the tribes. I believe the apostle’s decision was taught in the following verses. (For a more detailed treatise of these passages, please see our audio series called Messianic Apologetics 1.)
Sha’ul begins 1Corinthians 11 by telling us to follow him as he follows the Messiah and keep the ordinances as he has delivered them to us. So Sha’ul begins by admonishing us to follow him as these ‘ordinances’ are passed down. The word ‘ordinances’ here is paraodosis in the Greek. This word means to pass something down. It comes from the Hebrew moser. a most interesting and well used Hebrew word. This word is used in this context as traditions that are passed down. The word moser is a mem, a samekh and a resh. It’s three letter verbal root is either ‘asar or yasar. All Hebrew grammarians do not agree. This is because these two words are so very, very close in their meaning. Both are from the fundamental subroot sar. This word pictographically means to turn someones head. It is translated as to rule by turning another direction. Because of the meaning of the subroot, the cognates musar, ‘asar, yasar, all basically mean the same thing. The beginning letters of mem, aleph and yud only change the focus and nuance of each word slightly. The traditions (moser) that Sha’ul is referring to are cultural behaviors that help turn us from our own ways to His ways. Sha’ul specifically uses this word in 1Corinthians 11 to begin his teaching and not the words commandment, law, statute or precept.
In the Corinthian culture, remember this is a letter to the saints in Corinth, as it was in many cultures, woman wore a headcovering as an outward expression that she was not available, or looking for a man. A veiled woman was generally a woman who was married. To walk about unveiled was a sign that she was not under submission to any man and was ‘available’. Someone veiled was a woman under the submission of a husband. The covering used in 1 Corinthians was a katakalupto,or a covering that came down over the face. This same word is used in the story of Judah and Tamar in B’reshiyt 38:14-15:
“And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.”
Now, just so things do not get too confusing here, I believe that since this word is used to express the idea of covering the face, and not a particular kind of veil, I believe that Tamar disguised herself as a harlot. Harlots were known to don particular clothing as well. (Yirmeyahu 4:30, Yechezk’el 23:40.) Once again, the word used in 1Corinthians is the general Greek term for covering, as well as the Hebrew (kasah), for covering something. The words used in the Tanakh for a veil or dressing concerning the head are tz’iyph, or to ‘wrap around’ (B’reshiyt 24:65); rediyd, a thin, almost see through material (Yesha’yahu 3:23); re’alah, linen that flutters (Yesha’yahu 3:19); and mitepachat or cloak (Ruth 3:15). These refer to specific kinds of coverings of the head, but mostly the face. These are not the words used here, but rather the common term for a covering. This covering was a common expression in the Corinthian culture of separating the genders.
So, what is my point? The ‘in your face’ commandments given us in the Tanakh point clearly that God’s people make a distinction between genders, to separate us from the heathen nations. The commandments concerning clothing, beards and behavior, for example, are designed to make a clear distinction between the appearance of males and the appearance of females, as opposed to many pagan cultures where the lines are blurred. I believe Sha’ul is teaching that there are customs and traditions that aid us in keeping a clear distinction between the genders. They are not commandments, but rather customs. I have decided not to take the time to cover, pun intended, the well established history of headcoverings worn by women in virtually all Middle-Eastern cultures. This is not only true of the Middle East but also some Oriental and Asian cultures. I have neglected to address that fact because it only proves that many people do this and nothing more. Many people in the world have no problem with abortion or sex outside of marriage either. So using the fact that lot’s of other people do it is not a case I choose to pursue. The writings of the Talmud and other extra biblical sources are not worthy of mention in my opinion either. Some Rabbinical writings support it, while others do not.
I believe that Sha’ul’s point is fairly clear when appropriating Hebrew teaching methods. That is, the meaning of the teaching is found in the beginning and the end. Sha’ul begins by stating that there is a difference between the functions of man and woman in the kingdom. I believe he uses this Corinthian custom as an example of the difference in the exile between men and women. I believe he also uses the natural differences of hair to distinquish between the genders as well. What constitutes long hair in their culture or ours? I think that most of us know the difference between the hair of a man and the hair of a woman. I do not think that our hair should express ambiguity to the world. I do not think that our dress should cause uncertainty as to gender either. I believe that a married woman who chooses not to veil her hair, who is soley devoted to her husband, should do so unto YHVH. I believe that a married woman who is soley devoted to her husband who chooses to veil her hair, should do so unto YHVH. I believe that a woman who has a problem with her sole devotion to her husband should begin to correct that problem by first wearing a veil over her head. This will, perhaps, be what is needed to restore the relationship.
The bottom line of Sha’ul’s teaching is that men need to act like men and look like men. Women need to act like women and look like women.I believe we should always fight to maintain that distinction. Sometimes I think we just ought to use good ole common sense. I am not the gender police, but I know a mixed message when I see one. How ’bout you?
NOTICE: You are receiving this Newsletter with Teachings because you either signed up to receive this Newsletter with Teachings or your name was submitted to be added to the mailing list. If you no longer wish to receive this Newsletter with Teachings, please reply and ask to unsubscribe from the mailing list.
(The information below is not meant to scare you but to inform you.)
8/14/2012
NOTE: Feel free to pass this newsletter on to others to help them be informed and learn something from the teachings also. Should they want to receive this newsletter, have them go to www.torah-truths.com and fill-in the form and click on the Submit button.
Kimberly Rogers and Laura Densmore team up as two “watchers on the wall” to report on the headline news this week as it relates to end of days bible prophesies.
Join us on the wall as we count down to the final 1260 days prior to the return of Messiah Yeshua!
Stories covered in this show:
IDF Foils Assault on Southern Border After Terrorists kill 16 Egyptian Soldiers
Analysis by Kimberly: Was this a false flag event to bring Egyptian military troops into the Sinai?
Egyptian president sacks Intelligence Chief in Shake-up after Sunday’s Border Attack
Syrian prime minister defects to Jordan
The Not-So-Mighty Mississippi: How the River’s Low Water Levels Are Impacting the Economy
Drought in the Bread Basket: The Perfect Storm Against Freedom
Why in the World are they spraying? (trailer for documentary on Chemtrails)
What in the World are they spraying? (90 minute YouTube documentary on Chemtrails)
Former CIA Army General William Boykin: Martial Law Expected & “Warranted”
DHS and US Military Making Final Preparations Before Announcing Martial Law
Military activity/movements being sighted all over the country (in rural areas also!)
Wrap up and close in prayer; Jeremiah 50: 4-8
To listen to the live report or download the recorded report click on –> “The 1260 Report.”
Mark 1:14-15“14 And after Yoḥanan (John) was delivered up, יהושע (Yeshua) came to Galil (Galilee), proclaiming the Good News of the reign of Elohim (Mighty One/God), 15 and saying, “The time has been filled, and the reign of Elohim has come near. Repent, and believe in the Good News.” “
What is the gospel—the “good news”? “Just believe on the name of Jesus and you will be saved” is a common message of many preachers. Others proclaim that the gospel is that Jesus came to die for our sins. Still others preach a rather insipid and saccharine “Jesus loves you” message. All of those catchy phrases have relevance to Jesus’ message—we certainly must believe in Jesus, He did die for our sins, and He surely loves us—but nowhere does Jesus directly state that the gospel is about Him!
Instead, the good news is about a momentous purpose that God is accomplishing. Jesus spoke the words that the Father gave Him to preach, most emphatically confirmed in John 12:49-50:
For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.
What is Jesus’ own testimony about the subject of His preaching? Notice these verses:
» Matthew 4:23:“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.”
» Matthew 24:14:“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
» Luke 4:43:“[Jesus] said to them, ‘I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.’ “
» Luke 16:16:“The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time, the Kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.”
Jesus’ announcement of the good news is that the Father will establish His Kingdom and His capital city on earth. He Himself will be here, no longer separated from His children—no longer unseen and ruling indirectly through agents from His present location in heaven but ruling directly on earth. It is to this awesome, mind-boggling future that we, as a part of His Family, are being summoned to prepare for and to participate directly in.
Jesus is certainly mankind’s Savior, having died for our sins, but to be properly understood, that event must be seen within the context of preparation for and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. A kingdom has four basic elements: a king, a territory it occupies, subjects within that territory, laws, and a form of government through which the will of the ruler is exercised. Each of these elements is part of the gospel.
Has the founder of any other religion offered a message and program that can even begin to match what Jesus taught? This is truly the most wonderful message mankind could possibly receive, and it came only through Jesus.
To wear a head covering or to not wear a head covering is quite often elevated to a very big question. Wherever I travel, it is always one of the top ten midrash subjects. Whether it be a kippah for the man or a veil for the woman, eventually this sometimes highly charged discussion will be brought up. Although I have treated this subject to some degree on audio material, I have decided to address it in more detail in this forum. I understand that this is a very serious subject to people on both sides of the issue, so I will try to keep any sarcasm at a minimum.
Most discussion of this subject eventually finds itself in the eleventh chapter of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. As a matter of fact, I have found the majority of treatises on this matter to be solely restricted to 1 Corinthians 11:1-16. What I have chosen to do is to address much of the Middle-Eastern background of clothing and what the Torah has to say about it first before addressing each of those famous sixteen verses, one at a time. Now I may be cutting myself off at the pass by saying this, but I would like to begin by stating my view on this at the beginning. I believe that, although the wearing of a veil by women in our gatherings is not a commandment, it is, however, a well established, natural custom that ought to be practiced by those who follow the God of Israel. Now the rest of this teaching is for those who want to know why.
Let me begin by saying that there are very few instructions from our Creator as to specifically what His children were to wear or not wear. In the beginning they wore, well, nothing. This seemed to suit (pun intended) our paradise-crossed lovers for awhile. After blowing it, our ancient ancestors chose to cover themselves with leaves from trees. There were no other nasty males around so Chavah was not expected to pull a fig leaf down over her face. They lived in a biosphere of sorts, with no hot summers or frigid winters and so there was no reason to wear heavy animal skins yet, at least for keeping warm. A nice set of sheep skins however, was certainly in vogue by decree of the ultimate Designer. So, before the emergence of those ‘outside’ the immediate family, there was really no reason to burden the first family with any strict regulations or dress codes. We can assume, with reasonable evidence from other cultures, that the sons of Adam from Seth to Noach wore animal skins and were introduced at some point to linens, tunics, robes, silk, flax and sackcloth of sorts.
The first mention of a garment is when Shem and Japheth place a simelah, a complete covering, over their father in B’reshiyt 9:23. After the descendants of Noach’s three sons began to spread out across the known world, we begin to hear quite a bit about garments and clothing. The variety of material and style is evidenced to us through pictography, hieroglyphics and other ancient documentation dating from the time of Noach. Every culture expressed much variety in men and womens apparel. Virtually all cultures, except a few I have seen in National Geographic, make a distinction between the apparel of men and the apparel of women. What people wore was also dependent upon the dominant weather conditions of the land they lived in. Many Middle-Eastern and African cultures wore a different kind of clothing than those who lived in predominantly colder climates. The clothing of the more Semitic cultures of the Hebrews, Arabs, and Egyptians was quite different than those of Cush and Put, or those of the Sinim (Orient), Magog, Tubal (Russia), or those of Tarshish or Kittim. In other words, the apparel of the descendants of Shem was different than the sons of Ham or Japheth. This is why I see a clear lack of specific Biblical commandments concerning how the children of YHVH are to don themselves. There is a specific commandment dealing with this subject and the principle behind it.
D’varim 22:5 “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto YHVH thy ’Elohiym.
I believe and teach that the reasons behind this commandment, as the children of Israel approach their time together in the wilderness, is the same reasoning behind no commandment for circumcision and disease until Abraham. The answer is entropy (corruption). I believe that all of the Torah is from the beginning and found in the opening letter bet and in the first word b’reshiyt and in the first seven words. I believe our Creator unrolls the Torah as entropy, the result of the garden, takes it’s toll on all mass and matter. As civilization becomes more populated, complicated, and abstract, YHVH enters information (Torah) into the system (our fallen world) to sustain it. In the first book of Torah we have the story of families, patriarchs, matriarchs and children. The accounts of Noach, Abraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘aqov. A less complicated environment, if you will, in which the people of God were not one homogeneous, massive group learning to live and work together in one place. As we move toward the Exodus we see YHVH preparing His people for their journey together as a nation. The word for the person Israel (Ya‘aqov) will now be used as an expression of a singular nation of God’s firstborn coming out of the Passover. The contrast from this point will be the nation Israel (singular) as opposed to the nations (plural). The people of YHVH (Israel) will now be dwelling among the nations (gentiles). God, foreknowing this. has the Torah written in stone. The Torah becomes much more specific as He unrolls the scroll. Why? Because entropy is now going to get much more specific. Interrelations with the nations will now increase the corruption. As corruption increases, the need for Torah increases. This is true Biblically and scientifically. As entropy increases, the need to enter information into the system increases.
You might be asking, what has this got to do with head coverings? Well, the first part of my premise is that head coverings are a much later issue in the kingdom as society and interrelationships become more complex. Can we not see this in our own culture? The more our population increases, the more laws we pass. Why do we not have a recorded commandment concerning different clothing for men than women until Israel was about to enter the land? Entropy! The nation Israel will now be exposed to the ways of the nations. There will now be commandments concerning witchcraft, sorcery, harvesting the land, health issues, marriage, justice, celebrating, resting and differentiating between males and females. The Messiah might say that in the beginning it was not so. When there is less corruption there is less of a need for information. This is true agriculturally and biologically. The more corruption escalates, the greater need for someone greater than ourselves to take care of us.
Our next teaching will take the veil or the headcovering from the beginning and trace it’s etymology and use in the beginning. Was Ribqah (Rebecca) donning a headcovering?
NOTICE: You are receiving this Newsletter with Teachings because you either signed up to receive this Newsletter with Teachings or your name was submitted to be added to the mailing list. If you no longer wish to receive this Newsletter with Teachings, please reply and ask to unsubscribe from the mailing list.
(The information below is not meant to scare you but to inform you.)
8/13/2012
NOTE: Feel free to pass this newsletter on to others to help them be informed and learn something from the teachings also. Should they want to receive this newsletter, have them go to www.torah-truths.com and fill-in the form and click on the Submit button.
Kimberly Rogers and Laura Densmore team up as two “watchers on the wall” to report on the headline news this week as it relates to end of days bible prophesies.
Join us on the wall as we count down to the final 1260 days prior to the return of Messiah Yeshua!
Stories covered in this show:
IDF Foils Assault on Southern Border After Terrorists kill 16 Egyptian Soldiers
Analysis by Kimberly: Was this a false flag event to bring Egyptian military troops into the Sinai?
Egyptian president sacks Intelligence Chief in Shake-up after Sunday’s Border Attack
Syrian prime minister defects to Jordan
The Not-So-Mighty Mississippi: How the River’s Low Water Levels Are Impacting the Economy
Drought in the Bread Basket: The Perfect Storm Against Freedom
Why in the World are they spraying? (trailer for documentary on Chemtrails)
What in the World are they spraying? (90 minute YouTube documentary on Chemtrails)
Former CIA Army General William Boykin: Martial Law Expected & “Warranted”
DHS and US Military Making Final Preparations Before Announcing Martial Law
Military activity/movements being sighted all over the country (in rural areas also!)
Wrap up and close in prayer; Jeremiah 50: 4-8
To listen to the live report or download the recorded report click on –> “The 1260 Report.”
Romans 5:12“For this reason, even as through one man sin did enter into the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned”
When Adam and Eve sinned, God judged them. Since they were the father and mother of all of mankind, and they were the only representatives of mankind at the time, all of mankind figuratively sinned in Adam and Eve. God’s judgment was correct, because given the chance, every human has sinned.
What then happened to Adam and Eve? They were ushered out of the Garden, and God put a cherubim at its entrance to guard the Garden and the Tree of Life so that nobody could get back to where God created mankind. This is why at times the Bible bids people to return to God when they had never seemingly turned away from Him. Yet, all of mankind did turn away from God in Adam and Eve, and He invites us to return to the place, symbolically, where everything started, back to the environs He occupies, where the Tree of Life is.
The relationship with God is everything to our salvation. Without what Christ did in dying for our sins, we would not be in the position to have one with Him. Christ’s payment of our sins opens up the way for a relationship to be built and for us to grow in the Holy Spirit, because now we have access to the Tree of Life in a relationship with God.
I remember in the early 70’s watching the last broadcasts of the Ed Sullivan Show. One of the last guests was George Carlin, and I still remember him walking out on the stage and beginning his routine with a warning, ‘Don’t be scared, it’s just a beard’. I really don’t know why I laughed, but he made it sound funny. One of the most demonstrative aspects of the Messianic movement is the presence of a lot of men with beards. Long beards, short beards, gray beards, heavy beards, thin beards, well groomed beards, and not so well groomed beards, but none the less, beards. The natural question soon arises: Does God command that men have beards, and if so, must we not cut them, shave them, trim them, or otherwise harm them in any way? What do the scriptures teach about beards?
I, like most Bible teachers in this ‘messy’ movement, have a myriad of Rabbinical commentaries, in which most deal with this particular subject. May I begin by stating that it is hard to find two that really agree. The Hebrew word for beard is zaqan. The Hebrew word for old, as in people, is zaqen. Not much of a difference as you can see. This is because in the colorful, living, breathing language of Hebrew, a beard is a sign of age and maturity. It’s etymological root means someone who has the experience. This word appears 20 times as beard or beards, but is probably implied much more than that when we see the word ‘old’ as it applies to people. This is because Hebrew has several words for old, only one applies to people. Though the context of its use usually implies the hair on a man’s face, the actual meaning of the word can speak of places where the hair grows other than the head. I will not take that any further. Actual commands concerning the beard, are only found in two places.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:27 “Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.”
Vayikra 21:5 “They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.”
Beards are one of those subjects in which I find myself standing between the strict precepts of scripture and nature itself. Let me explain. On the one hand, the commandments of God seem to clearly teach us what not to do with a beard. I see no commands to wear a beard. On the other hand, nature itself teaches us that a man’s beard is the outward demonstration of his maleness, i.e., that which separates him from the female. (For the sake of time I am not going to address those who make their living in the circus.) It is an open expression of experience and maturity, especially a beard that is gray and aging. One would be hard pressed to find a faithful male in the scriptures that did not have a beard. Beards were a common expression of maleness in the Israelite communities. This brings me to my exegesis of the two commandments concerning beards. The word translated ’round’ in Vayikra 19:27 is the Hebrew word naqaph. This word means to chop off, to strike, and literally means to surround and destroy. It is also found in Iyov 19:26, for example:
“And though after my skin worms DESTROY this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:”
The word ‘mar’ in the Hebrew is the word shachat. I have referred to this word many times in my teachings. This word means to destroy or corrupt. In our first text, this command seems to refer to a well known custom of mourning, especially in the nations that surrounded the encamped Israelites. The custom of tearing out the hair of one’s head and beard during a time of mourning was a well known custom. God seems to be saying that He does not want the followers of the God of Israel destroying, marring, or corrupting one of the God ordained representations of maleness. In one of those rabbinical commentaries I told you of earlier we read:
Etz Hayim commentary on Vayikra 19:27-28: “Tearing out the hair of one’s beard, as well as of the head, was a custom associated with mourning over the dead … Pagan priests gashed themselves as they called upon their gods to answer their prayers.”
The other command just 2 chapters later seems to anticipate local religious activity as well. Shaving off the hair upon the head or beard is also understood to be a pagan, religious act as well as tearing at the beard. The English word shaving off is from the Hebrew galach. This word means to uncover or leave unprotected. It happens to be a cognate to the word galut, which is the word used to express the diaspora. Both words mean out in the open, unprotected. This is the result of the scattering of the house of Israel throughout the nations. As long as they are scattered and have still not returned to their God, they are not protected as God’s cultivated (natural) tree. The shaving of the head and facial hair was a common Egpytian cultic expression. The next opportunity you have, take a good look at ancient Egyptian art and pictographs. You can hardly tell the difference between the men and women.
There are many rabbinical commentaries in which there is seen a considerable difference between shaving ones beard and trimming or cutting the beard with scissors. However, I see that as splitting hairs. It is my opinion that God’s commands concerning our appearance is for the express purpose of making a clear distinction in our society between the genders. I also believe the Rav Sha’ul addresses the Corinthians about that very thing. The scriptures do not command a man to wear a beard, however, they are instructional concerning those who do express their gender with a beard. Do not treat your beard and the hair on your head in the same manner as the nations around you. I do not believe that we should feel compelled to follow the modern customs and fashions in our culture. I do not believe that God is interested in the latest fashions of the MTV crowd, what our favorite athletes are sporting, or what Tom Cruise looks like this week. There are many faithful men who, for whatever reason, do not wear a beard. I personally feel that it is irresponsible and absurd for a man of God to place his family in financial jeopardy because he cannot find a job that lets him wear a full beard. There is a weightier matter in many circumstances. The bottom line is simply this, if you do not wear a beard you are not disobeying Torah. If you do wear a beard, keep in mind that it is an expression of your maleness and godly function, and not an expression of the latest fashion. I would like to conclude this short treatise on beards with a quote from one of my favorite Jewish authors.
“God has divided the sexes, giving each specific tasks in the fulfilment of life. Both tasks, if fulfilled in purity, are equally sublime, equally holy. He also divided them in their external appearance, in order that moral purity should be upheld. And you should also preserve the different outward appearance of the sexes, as willed by God. The woman should appear as woman, the man as man.”
NOTICE: You are receiving this Newsletter with Teachings because you either signed up to receive this Newsletter with Teachings or your name was submitted to be added to the mailing list. If you no longer wish to receive this Newsletter with Teachings, please reply and ask to unsubscribe from the mailing list.
