Torah 101-Terumah Parsha

I.

ANSWERS TO STUDY QUESTIONS (Mishpatim)

1) Question for Exodus 21:

Why does the text talk about acquiring a servant as opposed to directly
purchasing one, and what might the difference between those terms mean?
KI TIKNEH EVED IVRI (21:2) = if you acquire a Hebrew slave. The text says
come into possession or gain rather than purchase, because this rule
directly relates to the contingency of a robber being caught in the act and having
to make restitution (Exodus 22:2, Leviticus 25:39 and Deuteronomy 5:12). It is
the act of thievery, rather than the exchange of money for work, that causes the
robber to be put into service. This is also implied with the word TIKNEH,
derived from QANEH, the same as Cains name! So this is someone like Cain,
who has broken the rules in the hopes of profit.
2) Question for Exodus 22:
The Rabbis say that the use of the word Elohim in 22:27 refers to the judges
and not to Abba YHWH as it normally would. Are they correct in this
assumption? Why or why not?
ELOHIM LO TEKALEL VENASI VEAMECHA LO TAOR (22:27) = Do not
curse Elohim and do not revile a leader from among your people. Again some
rabbis think the Elohim refers to judges or courts, but I believe it is literally
about Abba YHWH here for a few reasons. First, by saying not to revile a NASI,
which means leader-judge, that part of the command is covered. It does not need
the first part of the sentence to also point to judges. Secondly, it is important for
commands to have more than one witness. This one, once understood as not
cursing Elohim, is witnessed to further in Leviticus 24:16, which deals with
someone cursing in the NAME (YHWH) of Elohim.
Furthermore, 22:27 is used by Rav Shaul when he is accused of disrespecting the
high priest. He responds that he didnt know this was the high priest and quotes
the line, you shall not curse a ruler of your people. This line also contains the
short form of the command not to curse in the name of Abba YHWH, which is a
different matter than banning the speaking of the name of Abba YHWH.
On another related matter, there are TWO words for curse used here: QALAL
and ARAR. The curse to Elohim is QALAL, and this springs from a spirit of
defiance; whereas the curse to the leader is ARAR is believed to be motivated
from envy or jealousy regarding that persons position.
3) Question for Exodus 23:1-24:18:
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How does one detail given here help prove the true color of the blue thread of the
tzit-tzit?
VAYIRU ET ELOHEY YISRAEL VE-TACHAT REGLAV KEMAASEH
LIVNAT
HASAPIR UCHEETSEM HASHAMAYIM LATOHAR (24:10) = and they saw
a vision of the Elohim of Israel and under His feet was something like sapphire
pavement, like that of a pure sky. If the sky is sapphire-shaded, and the same
shade of blue is given for the pavement by Abba YHWHs throne, this might go a
long way to proving that the color of blue for the tzit-tzit was, as Josephus alluded
to, the color of the sky. Since the purpose of the tzit-tzit that is given in Numbers
15 is to remember the covenant and do Abba YHWHs commands, it stands to
reason that the heavenly throne from which those commandments were issued
would be exactly the same shade of blue that Israel used to remember them! This
may be proof positive that tekhelet is literally supposed to be the shade of sky
blue, and with the imagery of sapphire to clarify, specifically a darker shade of
sky blue. It also may be that the stones on which the Ten Commandments were
written were also of this same kind of stone.
4) Haftorah Question of the Week: Jeremiah 34:8-22; 31:31-34
How are the two readings of Jeremiah linked to Yshua?
DEROR (34:8) = release. Even though the release of the captives is not related
to the land sabbath or Jubilee but dated from when each individual servant
begins working, the nation had so lapsed out of the practice that they all
decided to correct the problem at the same time. DEROR is a word that
normally is related to either letting the crops lay fallowit literally means let
dropor resetting property and releasing captives at the Jubilee year.
But it was also Yshua who came, as he said in Luke 4, to proclaim the year of
YHWHs favor which is imagery relating to a Jubilee and/or a Land Sabbath.
It turns out that Yshua died in the year 30, which was a Land Sabbath, when he
released the captives from Sheolanother promise he made in Luke 4. These
events also squarely related to the Renewed Covenant as prophesied by
Jeremiah in 31:31-34.

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II.

QUESTIONS FOR THIS TORAH PORTION (Terumah)

Please NOTE:
For clarity and time constraints, if I elect to not read the whole parsha
(which is the case this week) I may still ask questions relating to the
portions I did not read!

5) Question for Exodus 25:

How does one detail about the Ark of the Covenant predict a detail about
Yshuas resurrection?
6) Question for Exodus 26:
Where is another detail/prediction about the resurrection to be found in this
chapter?
7) Question for Exodus 27:
How is a term about the Tabernacle used by the Apostle Paul to describe leaders
in the Nazarene movement?
8) Haftorah: 1 Kings 5:26-6:13
VAYAHWEH NATA CHOCHMAH LI-SHLOMOH (5:26) = And
Yahweh gave Solomon wisdom. There are several Hebrew words for
wisdom. The kind that Solomon gets is called CHOCHMAH which is a
very special and powerful form of wisdom:
3036 [ 3037] (Hebrew) (page 315) (Strong 2451,2454)
n.f. wisdom, Ex 28:3 + 106 t.; cstr. Ex 35:35 + 15 t.; sf. Ec
2:9, etc. + 25 t. sf.; pl. abst. emph. Psalm 49:4, Pr 1:20, 9:1, 24:7; Pr
14:1 (in correctly pointed as adj. cstr. f.; rd. De);skill in war Is 10:13; in
technical work Ex 28:3, 31:3, 31:6, 35:26, 35:31, 35:35, 36:1, 36:2 (P), cf. 1 K
7:14, 1 Ch 28:21;; the Messiah is to have Is 11:2. shrewdness,
wisdom, 2 S 20:22, 1 K 5:10, 5:10, Je 9:22; withheld by God from the ostrich Jb
39:17; of magicians and prophets Is 47:10, Dn 1:4, 1:17, 1:20. wisdom, prudence
in religious affairs Dt 4:6 , Psalm 37:30, 51:8, 90:12, Pr 10:31, Is 33:6, Je 8:9 5.
wisdom, ethical and religious: a. of God, as a divine attribute or energy.
1 Kings 6:1 gives us the year of the Exodus as 480 years before Solomons 4th
year. Since we know Solomon got on the throne at Davids death in 971 BCE, this
puts his 4th year at 967 BCE and therefore the Exodus at 1447 BCE.

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This date is confirmed with the invasion of Pharaoh Shishak in Rehoboams 5th
year, which Egyptian and other records put in 926 BCE. Count backwards 41
years (5 for Rehoboam and another 36 to get to Solomons 4th year of his 40 year
reign for a total of 41 years) and we come to 967 BCE. Adding the data then in 2
Chronicles 3:1-2, we know Solomon began his work on 2 Iyar, or Tuesday, April
16th of 967 BCE.
DEBIR (6:5) = Another name for the Holy of Holiesthe inner sanctum. It
literally means though speaking place, perhaps because YHWH speaks to the
high priest there.
SHAKAN (6:13) = To dwell, as in MISKHAN, tabernacle.
9) NT Commentary: Hebrews 8:1-13
Hebrews 8:3
44) Again the references relate to Torah (instruction) about the priestly services,
not the Torah (Revelation at Sinai), even though both are referenced by the same
word in both Hebrew and in Aramaic.
Hebrews 8:4
45) Present tense, clearly indicating the Temple in Jerusalem was standing when
this Epistle was written.
Hebrews 8:7
46) Most Christians seem to forget that without the first covenant, the second one
is impossible! In very short order Rav Shaul will quote Jer_31:31-34, indicating
that the Renewed Covenant is a contingency triggered by, and deriving authority
from, the first covenant. YHWH declared that the Ancient Covenant He made
with Israel was good; it was to bring life, but the people of Israel chose to
willfully break this Covenant and treat it as a vain thing. See Deu_32:46-47.
Hebrews 8:8
47) Paul makes reference to the Renewed Covenant (Jer_31:31-34) nine times in
this letter.
Hebrews 8:10
48) See Judaizers and Legalism in Appendix. (This week, we will do just that!)
Hebrews 8:11
49) The phrase in Aramaic is bar medintheh, which literally means "son of his
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city" but idiomatically carries the meaning of "fellow citizen, neighbor" and most
definitely a metaphor Greek does not have. This fact puts Peshitta well before the
end of the Second Century when the mistranslated Greek texts were done. It is
also important to note that this is the last book of the Eastern canon. As a result,
the entire collection must have circulated prior to this very early date.
Hebrews 8:13
50) The context is Jer_31:31-34, what is "near to disappearing" is the sinful
predisposition of man that breaks Torah, not the standard of Torah. Remember
that we broke Torah, not YHWH. YHWH did not drop the standard of Torah
because Israel chose disobedience; rather, He installed a Renewed Covenant to
write Torah upon the heart through the work of the Ruach haKodesh, according to
Mashiyach. The fact of the matter is that in Mashiyach, YHWH raised the bar;
He magnified Torah; see Isa_42:21. Because mankind broke Covenant, YHWH
requires complete renovation on our part, not YHWH's part of the Covenant. This
verse in its twisted form, became one of the "crown jewels" of Torahless
Christianity which teaches that Torah is decaying and is near to disappearing, but
nothing could be farther from the truth. See 2Pe_3:16 and Epistle to the Hebrews
in Appendix. Also, the underlying foundation of Calvinism is that we all "have" a
"sinful nature" however no such concept is found in Scripture, only a nature of
man or "human nature." In Gal_3:27, Eph_4:24, and Col_3:10 Rav Shaul exhorts
followers of Mashiyach to "put on the new man" and "put on Mashiyach." We
are called to reject all false religion and doctrine that makes void YHWH's Torah
(instruction in righteousness) according to the old man (sinful predisposition) and
live in the new man who has a "righteous predisposition" and delights in Torah
and Mashiyach.

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