Jonathan Bernis - Understanding Jewish Practices
Jonathan Bernis: Shalom and welcome to Jewish Voice. I'm so glad you're joining us today. I'm Jonathan Bernis, and I'm joined again by my co-host, Ezra Benjamin. If you've been watching this program for any length of time, you're probably interested in the Jewish roots of your Christian faith. Well, today, we're going to be explaining some Jewish practices and talking about items that you may be familiar with. What they are and how they're used. So, Ezra, we're gonna be talking about the Torah. We're gonna be talking about the Mezuzah.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: We're gonna be talking about the tallit or prayer shawl...
Ezra Benjamin: The tallit. Yes.
Jonathan Bernis: The tallit. And we're gonna be talking about the shofar.
Ezra Benjamin: Correct.
Jonathan Bernis: So, let's dig in. Where do we start?
Ezra Benjamin: Well, let's start with the Torah. It's front and center, Jonathan. I have another one right here. But...
Jonathan Bernis: And we'll open that.
Ezra Benjamin: This is kind of a miniature example of what you've probably seen if you've ever visited a synagogue or maybe you've seen it on TV or pictures. This literal, sheepskin scroll. Sometimes, it can be 20, 30 pounds or more. And the image you may be familiar with is a rabbi or a Jewish congregant actually carrying this, or sometimes even dancing, parading a Torah around the synagogue. And if that's happening, people are reaching out and sometimes they're kissing the Torah, they're touching their hand to the scroll and then touching their hand to their lips. And there's great joy. There's dancing with this scroll. Jonathan, we've been asked from some of our viewers, "Is this", one person actually said, "Is this idolatry? What are you doing parading a scroll? We're supposed to be worshipping the Lord. It looks like the Jewish people are worshipping the sheepskin or the scroll that the words of God are written on". And what's going on there? What's so significant about the Torah?
Jonathan Bernis: Let me mention what's not happening. This is not the worship of a scroll. It's a recognition that the words of the scroll are the foundation of Jewish faith. So, what do we have written in Hebrew on these sheepskins? We have, and this one's amazing. It's amazing that you have this tiny Hebrew.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: But first of all, this is handled with great care. It's all completely written by hand, and if there's a mistake, they actually have to start that page over again.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: I don't know if you've ever seen a scribe actually writing by memory every word and it's just perfectly done.
Ezra Benjamin: It's amazing.
Jonathan Bernis: And this is the transmission of the Torah from generation to generation, from century to century, and we're upholding the Word of God. This is the foundation of our faith. And when I say, "Our faith"...
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Ezra, I'm not only talking about the faith of the Jewish people but the faith of those that are followers of the Messiah.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: You've been grafted into a heritage. You've been grafted into a people. You have been grafted into a system of belief that's rooted in the first five books of Moses.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: So, it's important to mention what's on this scroll in Hebrew are the first five books of Moses.
Ezra Benjamin: Genesis to Deuteronomy.
Jonathan Bernis: Genesis through Deuteronomy. So, we're not worshipping the scroll, we're recognizing that the word is a lamp to our feet. That this provides for us the foundation for our faith. It lays out the laws of God. It lays out the path...
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: That we're to take. It gives us the history of the fall of man. The history of Abraham, the father of the Jewish faith. The rich history of all of the patriarchs.
Ezra Benjamin: Right. Jonathan, I'm thinking of Romans 3 actually. Paul is speaking to a predominantly non-Jewish audience, the church in Rome, and he starts chapter three by saying, "What advantage then have the Jew"? What advantage does a Jewish person have? And it says, "Firstly," or "Chiefly" in some translations, "That unto the Jewish people, unto Israel, were given the very words of God, the oracles of God". And so, Paul's making it clear, one of the ways that God set apart the Jewish people was he gave us, he gave the Jewish people a responsibility to receive directly from him through Moses and the prophets, and then from generation to generation to replicate exactly according to the words he spoke, his living word, you know? His eternal word. So, that's our responsibility as a people.
Jonathan Bernis: You know, I think of Romans 9 where Paul says that he would give up his very salvation, his eternity for his own people...
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And then, he'd list the contributions of the Jewish people...
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Not only to the world but specifically to those that are reading...
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: His epistle. Believers, Christians.
Ezra Benjamin: Sure.
Jonathan Bernis: And he says they were entrusted with the oracles of God. They handed down to us the Word of God. So...
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: We believe that the Torah is foundational for the revelation that follows. The Torah is the bedrock for the prophets. If the prophets spoke anything other than what was revealed in the Torah, they were false prophets. So, we have the prophetic writings that are based or on top of the bedrock of Torah.
Ezra Benjamin: Yeah.
Jonathan Bernis: You have the writings, and then, of course, you have the new covenant, the b'rit chadashah...
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: The New Testament that is written almost entirely by Jewish followers of Jesus...
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: But again, rooted in the Torah. And Paul repeatedly is quoting from both the Torah and the prophet.
Ezra Benjamin: And Jesus, himself, said, "Don't think that I've come to abolish the law. Until heaven and earth pass away not the slightest, not the smallest Mark on this scroll will pass away. I haven't come to destroy it, but to fulfil it". Jesus is the living fulfilment of God's law, of God's intent.
Jonathan Bernis: So, Ezra, just back to the original question. When you enter a synagogue and you see the ner tamid, the eternal light, and then the ark, that's housing the Torah or numerous Torahs...
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: But it demonstrates the importance of the Torah to Judaism.
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly.
Jonathan Bernis: That we hold the law in high regard.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And that is the basis for our faith. We are therefore the people of the book.
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly.
Jonathan Bernis: Now, sadly, that doesn't mean that all Jewish people know what's in the Torah, what's in the book, but we are the people of the book, and we have faithfully handed that down...
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Through the centuries.
Ezra Benjamin: So, we're not worshipping the scroll, we're worshipping the God, the Creator of heaven and earth who gave us the scroll.
Jonathan Bernis: And we're following his instructions to the best of our ability.
Ezra Benjamin: Jonathan, let's go a little deeper on this idea of the law and whether it's still in effect today for a minute. You know, we hear from, I'll say an alarmingly large number of pastors, Christian leaders, there was the time for the law and now it's for grace, and God's done with the law when Jesus showed up. I don't see that in the scriptures. Do you?
Jonathan Bernis: I don't but let me tell you what I do see and what I think the confusion, why there is confusion. What we're no longer under is the curse of the law. We're no longer being judged by the works of the law. "By grace we're saved, through faith". Every Messianic Jew, legitimate Messianic Jew, Jewish follower of Jesus, that I know, Ezra, certainly every leader, is very clear that we're saved by grace not the works. Now, that doesn't mean though that we don't partake of our traditions, that we don't observe our traditions and our customs just as Paul and all the disciples did. They're important. So, the law has not been abolished. The law hasn't been done away with. It's our relationship to the law that's changed. And I wanna read a scripture about this that I think really brings this home, and it's a prophetic scripture, and I'm gonna ask that we put it up on the screen. It's found in Jeremiah 31. I love this. It's one of my favorite scriptures. It says this, "The time is coming," this is in verse 31 of chapter 31. "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant," this is the New Testament. "With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah". This is initially made with the people of Israel.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And then gentiles are grafted into this. "It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them". So, it's talking about the mosiac law, the five books of Moses. The mosaic law. "This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after that time. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their heart". So, we see Jewish people, this is so exciting to me.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: So, we see Jewish people, especially the more orthodox they are, dancing with the Torah, holding the Torah, reading from it every week, revering Torah, which is the Word of God. Not worshipping it, but understanding that this is the basis for our faith...
Ezra Benjamin: We're worshipping the giver of the Torah.
Jonathan Bernis: We're worshipping the giver. But the day is coming, and we've entered into that as Jewish believers, when we're no longer under the weight of that law, but it's written in our hearts. So, the Torah doesn't disappear, it actually is written in our hearts by Holy Spirit. That's what happens when we become believers in Jesus. The Torah is written on our hearts. So, we don't have it just externally, but it's now internalized.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: So, it doesn't, it's not done away with, we're just simply not under it.
Ezra Benjamin: Made a way for us to fulfill the Torah through Yeshua because he's written the very words of God on our heart.
Jonathan Bernis: It's not abolished. The proximity has changed in our heart. That's right.
Ezra Benjamin: Yeah.
Jonathan Bernis: So, from here to here. I love that.
Ezra Benjamin: Amen.
Jonathan Bernis: We need to take a quick break. When we return, we're gonna be looking at the next item that we wanna talk about, the prayer shawl called a tallit, and we'll discuss what it means and that it represents a biblical command. But first, I'm gonna turn it over to our announcer who's gonna share how Jewish Voice is being used to share the gospel with the lost tribes of Israel around the world.
Jonathan Bernis: Welcome back. In my hands, I have a prayer shawl. It's called a tallit and Ezra and I are gonna discuss this in just a minute. But first up, we wanna say thank you to all of you who partner with us, especially our shalom monthly partners. Your ongoing support allows us to continue to reach Jewish people all over the world in lost tribe communities, remote places like Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. Without you, we could not do this, so thank you. We're so grateful to you. Ezra, talk about what I'm holding here.
Ezra Benjamin: Yeah, as you said it's a prayer shawl. It's called a tallit. Okay? And it's wrapped around the shoulders when a more observant Jewish person would pray. It's really, it's an article of worship. And yet, Jonathan, the most important thing on the tallit, the thing we actually see in the scriptures, in the Torah, isn't the shawl itself, it's the corners. So, these are called "Tzitzit" in Hebrew. It's a funny word. I know it. It literally just means fringes, and this is from where God tells the children of Israel make fringes on the corners of your garment. And the idea was so when your hands brush against them as you walk along your way, every time you feel that or you see it, you'll remember the words of God and not go astray from following his commands.
Jonathan Bernis: So, interesting that the rabbis have determined that there's 613 commandments.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And there's a knot for every commandment, so we're reminded of the commandments.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: But back to the tzitzit, we know they wore these fringes in the 1st century...
Ezra Benjamin: Correct.
Jonathan Bernis: The woman with the issue of blood actually, it's really clear when you look at the text. She grabbed the hem of his garment...
Ezra Benjamin: Yep.
Jonathan Bernis: She wasn't grabbing his garment, she was grabbing the tzitzit...
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: And the power of God came through Yeshua, through the tzitzit and healed the woman. This is also known as the robe of responsibility. And so, we take this very seriously. When we put this on to pray, we're serious about prayer. So, this is something that is a really important part of our faith, of Jewish faith. And although we make these available specifically ones that are handmade by our ethiopean believing community, there's some strange, this is used for some strange things.
Ezra Benjamin: It is. Jonathan, we've seen it as tablecloth, one time, we saw people literally dancing on top of it. And while that might have been a significant moment for them, it's certainly never a way that a member of the Jewish community would use a tallit. It's an article of worship to be worn, to feel that weight of responsibility of worshipping and serving the Lord, and to remember his commandments.
Jonathan Bernis: That makes it holy. Holy simply being that it's set apart. So, to actually use this in prayer and stamp on it...
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Is really...
Ezra Benjamin: Not a great idea.
Jonathan Bernis: It's not appropriate so we treat this reverence.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: The prayer shawl. We gotta move on.
Ezra Benjamin: We've gotta move right along. We're trucking here.
Jonathan Bernis: More in the book about this.
Ezra Benjamin: Jonathan, a Mezuzah. Now, this relates to the Torah in the sense that a specific passage of scripture is inside every Mezuzah scroll. And this is the great recitation of faith for the Jewish people. "Hear, o Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one". And also, that mandate that you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. That's written on a Hebrew scroll and then rolled up and placed inside a Mezuzah. And so, the word Mezuzah may sound a little bit funny to you, but it's literally from God's command to put the Word of God on the door posts of your house. Okay? So, the door post is mezuzot, on the door post of your house. And so, the singular form of that is a Mezuzah. Mezuzah. And here it is. A Jewish family will... And you'll see this in the United States or if you're from another country, if you go to a Jewish family's house, more often than not, you're gonna see this on the front door and what's happening is, we're literally putting the words of God, that great recitation of faith, "Hear, oh Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one," on the door post of our house, so when we enter our house and when we walk out to go on a journey, we remember his word.
Jonathan Bernis: Ezra, let me dove tail on that and say, this is a direct fulfillment of literal scripture from Deuteronomy 6.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And we'll put it up on the screen after the Shema which is the single most important confession for the people of Israel. "The Lord our God, the Lord is one". Or he alone is God. "We're to love God with all our heart, with all of our soul, and with all of our strength". Jesus said these were the most important commandments. Verse 6 says, and look at it on the screen with me, "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in the home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands, bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates".
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: That's literally what we're fulfilling, and I encourage Christians to do it. I think it's a great thing to demonstrate, "We're law abiders here who love God with all our hearts, soul, and strength and believe in God".
Ezra Benjamin: That's right. And it can accomplish two purposes. One, you can demonstrate that you're standing in solidarity with the Jewish people, and secondarily, you can remember, for Jewish and gentile followers of the Lord, there's no difference. We all trust that the Lord guards our going in and our going out, our going forth, now and forevermore.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah. And the shin. We can talk about the shin. You'll have to, we'll have to hold on that. We don't have time.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: But that shin represents God Almighty.
Ezra Benjamin: That Hebrew letter. That three-prong Hebrew letter.
Jonathan Bernis: That three-prong letter. And it means that God is guarding the door post of your house. So I really recommend you do it. We have one more quick...
Ezra Benjamin: Seconds left, Jonathan. The shofar. This is literally a ram's horn. It accomplishes three purposes in Jewish tradition. One is to call the Jewish people, to call Israel to attention. The second is to call us to repentance. And the third, when we hear the sound of the shofar is to remember that there's a king on his throne in heaven and it's not you or me. It's the Lord Almighty.
Jonathan Bernis: Amen.
Ezra Benjamin: Amen.
Jonathan Bernis: So, Ezra, I love the shofar. I love blowing the shofar. I love what it symbolizes. Again, it's a holy instrument though. It's set apart. So, there's some very appropriate uses for the shofar for Christians, but there's also some inappropriate uses for the shofar that I think we need to touch on.
Ezra Benjamin: Right. And you know, Jonathan, somebody get excited because their preferred team won the football game or the soccer match. That's not the time to blow a shofar. Maybe a vuvuzela, you know, if you're into that, but not a shofar. This is really an instrument either of worship or of calling people to attention. So, there's times when it might be blown celebratorily in a worship setting. I'm thinking in Jewish tradition, in the year of jubilee, right, that every 50 years, debts are canceled. And the idea was when you hear the sound of a shofar, it means those who were in bondage, in servitude to others, where suddenly free. So, it can be a sound of freedom and deliverance as an example of celebration, but more than that, I think more often, it's really a solemn sound. It's a wakeup call. Not to be taken lightly.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah. It actually has so many different meanings. It calls the people of God to prayer.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: But it also warns people of impending doom. And when we sing that song "Blow the shofar in Zion" as a victory March, we're taking it out of context because it's actually signaling a coming destruction...
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: Coming disaster.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right. Judgement. A time of judgement.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah.
Ezra Benjamin: And you know, that passage is actually from Joel, right? I think that so much of what we talk about on this program, Jonathan, is that part of understanding the Hebrew roots of our faith is to take things in their appropriate context. So, if you love the shofar, that's awesome. Just understand the appropriate times and circumstances when it should be blown, and then maybe some less appropriate times when it shouldn't.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah. It's not something that's to be blown whilst a speaker or preacher is giving their message. That's not...
Ezra Benjamin: And we've seen, we've heard that.
Jonathan Bernis: We've seen that too often. People buy shofars from us, and they bring it to church, and they start blowing it at inappropriate times. You really need to treat this with respect, with honor, and honor the rules of the congregation that you're part of. By the way, this is the ram's horn. This is the original shofar. This is the kudu, which is used by the Sephardic community, also a shofar but from a different animal. Both are acceptable. We need to step away again for another minute. Our announcer is gonna share some opportunities with you that we hope that will move you to partner with us. But stay tuned because we're gonna be praying together for your needs when we return. We'll be right back.
Jonathan Bernis: Ezra, we have been talking about the different items in Judaism and in particular the Torah...
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And I'm thinking of something that it says in Torah, and that is that the children of Israel wandered through the desert for 40 years. Their shoes never wore out. They were protected from sickness. They were fed supernaturally.
Ezra Benjamin: They were led by a cloud by day to keep them cool from the sun, and a fire by night, so they didn't freeze.
Jonathan Bernis: A supernatural God revealed in the foundational books of scripture, the Torah, and that's what we're believing for you for today. A supernatural God who will lead you, some of you need to be led by the Lord. You need wisdom. You need direction. Some of you need divine provision. Some of you need healing. We get your prayer requests, and we know that there's many, and we're gonna stand together with you. "Where two or three agree on earth as touching anything, it shall be done".
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: So, Lord, we thank you... And just agree with us in prayer, just, let's stand in agreement. We pray to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the name of Yeshua. Lord, the same God who led the children of Israel by fire at night, by a cloud during the day, who fed the people supernaturally, who delivered the children of Israel, and parted the Red Sea. We pray to you o God that you would meet the needs of those that have written to us, of those who are watching this program right now. We join our faith together and we declare, "It is done".
Ezra Benjamin: Amen.
Jonathan Bernis: In the name of Yeshua, making intercession for us. In his name, we pray to you, o God, in Yeshua's name.
Ezra Benjamin: Amen.
Jonathan Bernis: In Yeshua's name. Amen and amen. Just receive it. And if you'd like more information about our ministry, you can log on to our website. It's jewishvoice.tv, one word. jewishvoice.tv. And also, you can send us your prayer requests right on the website. We have a team here at Jewish Voice that is committed to praying for your requests by name and they will pray believing in the power of prayer and God's power to hear, his promise to hear. And more importantly, God cares about you and knows your need even before you have need of it. We love you. God loves you. And we want you to know that we're here for you. As we close our program, I wanna remind you to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. The Bible says according to Psalm 122:6, "They shall prosper who love thee". Until next time, this is Jonathan Bernis and Ezra Benjamin saying shalom and God bless you.