Tag Archives: Hebrew Roots

Judeo-Christian Teachings

The Day After Pentecost Has Come…

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The Days of Counting the Omer have past and Pentecost is now yesterday, if we allow it to be.

The Counting of the Omer was a Commandment (Leviticus 23:15-16). It’s purpose is to focus our attention during the days between Passover and Pentecost, on the Giving of the Word at Mt. Sinai.

Aside from all the arguments Christianity gives of, “being under a new covenant”, the Counting of the Omer was given for a higher purpose.

A purpose that surpasses our differences of interpretation.

This purpose concerns our spiritual health and well being. The Counting of the Omer is to commemorate the Giving of the Torah, the Giving of His Word to us, which is what we are seeking daily.

The Feast of GOD are given in cycles. Our benefit, is that as the cycles return, we can enter into the same blessing during the Season the Heavens are open for these types of blessings.

The Feast are Divine Appointments with GOD. He maintains a Spiritual Calendar, that most Christians don’t even know is available to them.

Lack of this critical spiritual knowledge leaves us open and vunerable.

The mockers and scorners can say what they will. Don’t allow them to deter you any further.

I know the Prophetic Power of the Feast of the Lord, and they contain blessings we all have need of.

Who Doesn’t’ Want Greater Blessings?

GOD ask that we proclaim His Seasons. When we come into agreement regarding the Supernatural Seasons of GOD, more blessings flow.

This is what I want you to know for yourselves.

HOW MANY DIVINE APPOINTMENTS HAVE YOU MISSED?

We keep every other carnal, chronological, mundane date on the secular calendar, and miss every Divine Appointment that GOD has scheduled for a Personal Meeting with us. What sense does that make?

I remember now… someone said, we don’t have to keep the Feasts of the LORD anymore.

This is a good place to decide something…

15. And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the day of rest, from the day that ye brought the omer of the waving; seven weeks shall there be complete;

16. even unto the morrow after the seventh week shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall present a new meal-offering unto the LORD.

Leviticus 23:14 commands us to keep the feast as an statute forever, throughout our generations.

Christ testified that he did not abolish or destroy the commandments (Matt 5:17).

He kept the feast days, and so did his disciples after him.

May our Love for GOD settle the Dispute!

A new bottom-line I would like to offer everyone, that has been taught to abandon the Feast of GOD, should this topic irritate or concern anyone,(which is NOT my intent) is this…

I want to give everyone who reads this an opportunity to consider these words in prayer over the next 10 months, in prayer…

and consider your love for GOD…

When you love someone, it’s an all or nothing proposition. Despite, our likes and dislikes, nothing about them is obsolete or insignificant.

When we love someone, we acknowledge them and celebrate them. You would not allow anyone to tell you otherwise.

You find ways to make what is special to them, special to you.

What is important to them, becomes important to you.

At the very least, the Feast Days are Special to GOD, therefore we should make them Special to Us!

In His “Mind”, according to His Words, forever is perpetual and everlasting.

Forever, has no expiration date.

His promises are eternal and so are His Sabbaths and His Feasts.

How can we as ‘believers’ claim promises that are eternal, but call his Feast obsolete? His Word is the same, yesterday, today, and forever, right?

His Feast are attached to His Word.

We say Christ is the LORD of the Sabbath. True.

How do we celebrate Christ? Do we celebrate the Sabbath? Do we celebrate Christ once a year at Passover?

Do we Pray with Him, once in a while?

We can’t separate the Feast from the Sabbaths, the Feast are Sabbaths.

The Feast make us MINDFUL of Him. The Feast are a way of saying, ‘I Love Everything about You!’ What’s important to you, is important to me.

We can call it outdated or “old”, but the truth is, the spiritual health and well being of the people is worse and worsening.

Afflictions of the spirit include, but are not limited to, depression, rage, anger, alcoholism, drug addictions, misery, cursing, suicide attempts, etc.

Spiritually speaking, all are serious indications of a sick, tired and weakened spirit.

I say this to say, that GOD instituted a plan for spiritual cleansing and healing that we either don’t know about, have no confidence in (trust), consider to be outdated, or have been taught to consider them outdated.

Be it unto you, as your faith is…

Yet, “Christ touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith, be it unto you.” (Matt 9:9, [Matt 9:20, 22, 23, 8:13, 21:21, Mark 5:34, 10:52, Luke 8:48, 17:19], Just to cite a few).

The faith that made them whole, always included the substance of GOD’s Spiritual Remedies.

The Omer Contains Opportunity.

Our 49 days of spiritual reflection has culminated in another level of a prophetic journey from our personal Egypt’s, to our Prophetic Word at Mt. Sinai.

Egypt represents the World, the World’s Systems, bondage, and/or spiritual depravity or spiritual deprivation.

Mt. Sinai was the remedy to the world systems, spiritual depravity and/or spiritual deprivation.

The children of Israel had sunk to their lowest level ever. It took sinking to the lowest possible level, before they cried out to GOD with one heart, one mind.

They had adapted / assimilated to so many of the worlds customs and traditions and replaced them for the customs and traditions of GOD, that they had lost nearly all of their spiritual identity…

Their ONE redeeming quality was that they kept their names… (the last traces of their spiritual identity), they remembered GOD, and they got back into a position of prayer.

Why am I calling these 3 (spiritual) factors ONE?

Because, it was these 3 (spiritual) factors working in combination that became their 3 strand cord.

A cord strong enough to pull them back from the brink.

How did our journey to Sinai begin this year? (April 27th through June 8th).

Did we even make the journey?

Did we search our hearts to discover what it is we needed most to remove from our carnal nature?

Was there even one thing we sought to change about our character and nature?

What were we mindful of during the Counting of the Omer?

Did we purpose in our heart to achieve a higher spiritual level, and pray daily for 49 days to constrain the anointing over our request?

Or, did the pressures of our daily lives pull us out of the anointing until we lost focus and our spiritual request became a fleeting memory?

49 days to focus on character refinement. How did you do?

Where have we arrived?

Which of my baser instincts was I able to conquer?

Which element of my personality has been refined into an expression of the divine?

The barley offering is a food for animals, but sifted and refined, it is eligible to be offered to God.

What refinement of our character can we offer to GOD?

The Omer represents our aspiration and commitment to character refinement, to ennoble our carnal nature and baser instincts and prepare ourselves for greater spiritual achievements.

In Genesis 1:20, 21, 24, 30 and 2:19; GOD creates the animals with ‘nephesh chaiyah’ (a living soul).

Man is created ‘nephesh chaiyah’ also; (a living soul, Genesis 2:7).

The same language applies to us both.

Man and animals possess a soul, and the animalistic instinct.

We are animals (Scientifically classified as part of the Animal Kingdom), but we are not limited to scientific classifications as animals.

Man contains the breath of GOD, which has the power to elevate us above our animalistic tendencies.

To accomplish this we have to nurture our spirit with the WORD of GOD.

His Word, is His Presence. We have to adorn ourselves with our spiritual garments and not leave them hanging up in the tent, like our brother Esau.

Our souls are equipped to elevate above our animalistic instincts.

A Measure of Barley for Your Character…

During the counting of the Omer, the children of Israel, offered barley as an offering to GOD.

In a prophetic sense of the term, ‘Sifted and Refined like barley, we are worthy to approach God.

Our Hebrew Roots agree with our Christian teaching in that, it is our mandate to rise above our carnal nature, to rise above the rule of our instinct, to realize and actualize our higher nature.

As ALWAYS, GOD is Good.

Regardless of where we came out in regards to the Counting of the Omer, we have the power to repent.

We can proclaim at anytime, a spiritual consecration to GOD. A DO OVER, if you will.

Our Faith can Make Us Whole!

SAVE THE DATE!

We can also, change the outcome for 2020, declare our Omer, put it on our Google Calendars Now! Look forward to it! April 16th – May 29th, 2020.

Pray our way there!

GOD, loves a Bold Move toward the Throne!

Pray and Meditate on this message. “Ask and it shall be given unto you”, if I speak the Wisdom of GOD or not.

Send them a confirming Word, Jesus.

Amen.

This message is dedicated to EVERYONE and their Households, EVERYONE who tapped into this blog this Year and EVERYONE who taps into it throughout 2020.

I speak into your next 365 Days, till we meet again at Pentecost.

The Days shall await your prayers and instructions. Design them carefully, with your prayers.

Pray them well. Decree and declare with me, your next 365 days shall serve you, the days shall open up their treasures and release blessings, all the fruit of the spirit, with royalties; wisdom, knowledge, understanding, perfecting spiritual insight, and discernment.

May your words become saturated in the anointing and absorb all the oil, the corn, the wine, the honey, the manna and wheat, from God’s Word and His Promises.

May your spirit be revived by your consecration and dedication.

Together, through the Power of the Word of GOD in us, so be it, as our Faith is.

May this message be pleasing to GOD.

Amen.

**(This entire message is a prayer. My apologies for publishing this twice, but from my tiny phone I had difficulty publishing the correct draft copy).

Bible, Judeo-Christian Teachings, TORAH, What is Torah

Men Were Walking as Trees…

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And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalm 1:3

In scripture you will find many analogies made between man and trees. In Mark, Chapter 8, when Jesus begins the process to heal the blind man’s eyes, he looks up and testifies that he sees “men, walking as trees.” That has always stayed with me and for this reason, I want to share will you a bit of information about the olive tree. It makes all the other metaphors and messages around men and trees, so very clear.

The strongest trees survive the fiercest storms because their roots run deep into the earth, the adamah.

All around the globe, Christianity is under attack. There are many on the frontlines taking serious fire for the faith, while many others are falling by the wayside, tucked away in home territory.

Whether it be from Church hurts, breakdowns in Church leadership, or lack of the requisite knowledge to weather the storms of life, too many are despondant and lackluster. I believe that it is because some have roots, too superficially planted in the ground.

We are tossed to and from, by every wind of doctrine, we flip churches on a dime, we switch faiths many times, we do have itching ears, and we seek every prophetic word in sight, without nurturing any one of them.

Many are unable to give an answer about what we believe, and why we believe it. Perhaps, our most fatal flaw, is our lack of strength in apologetics.

For some, their roots are too shallow…

Jeff Finley – Unsplash.com

The trees with the deepest root systems, are the ones that spread their roots out far and wide to grip the earth. These trees are created to anchor themselves into the ground. They have stood up against hurricane winds, waves and storms that have taken out lesser trees, and cities of men.

If the roots are too shallow, the trees will not weather the storm.

Paul taught us that we don’t bear up the roots… it’s the roots of the tree, that bear us up! (Rom 11:18). Without a strong root system, we are sunk. Torah is our root system.

The oldest known living olive tree is estimated to be over 5000 years old, some are believed to be even older. Their root system is known to grow as much as 40 ft. in width (12 meters) and up to 20 ft. in depth (6 meters).

The olive tree is resistant to both drought and famine. Some times we can feel as if we just don’t have a sure or strong foundation. But, GOD called You an Olive Branch! The roots of an olive tree sprout and send forth new trees again and again.

  • Don Fontijn – Unsplash.com

The olive tree is well reknown for growing up in poor soil and extremely rocky environments. Inhospital conditions will not deter it’s growth or survival. Olives will grow and thrive where nothing else can live.

Scientist are not quite sure why the olive trees live so long. They believe, that it is primarily because they are sheltered by the soil and protected from mutations. saying that “…they simply have no reason to not live forever. The molds and fungi that attack most trees cannot find their way to the essential part of the tree in its bed of rock, and the diseases that come with interbreeding pass them by.”

Are you hearing this! The Olive Tree sets itself in the rock! Sickness and disease has to pass them by!

This must be why GOD selected the Olive Tree as a symbol of His People. A people who would perceive the prophetic clues in His Words that He left behind, and understand their spiritual advantage is to set themselves upon the rock! a tree knows…

David said, “I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.” Psalm 52:8

Although, my teaching are detailed, I pray you press in, grow as the wild olive branch grafted into the root… and Thrive!

Tom Pottiger – Unsplash.com

Amen.

Today’s teaching is dedicated to: Renae, Congratulations on your enterprises, from across the seas of torah! You always make me laugh about how much I love discovering all the details!

God Bless You,

Posts Included in This Series:

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Cover Photo by Nazar Hrabovyi on Unsplash. olive leaves with fruit.

Copyright 2019, Rev. S. Madison, torahisteaching.blog All Rights Reserved.

Students/Subscribers have permission to print and share this information provided you do not use any of the teachings for profit or monetary gain of any kind. Please do not alter the material in any way. These conditions are subject to the additional term of giving full credit to torahisteaching.blog or Rev. S. Madison. Just send me an email to advise of your use of this material: torahbythesea@gmail.com Thank You.

torah studies, What is Torah, WORD STUDIES

THE MESSAGE IN THE LETTERS OF TORAH, Part 3, the reish

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3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.           Isaiah 35:3-4

Today, we will continue with our exploration of the meaning of the letters that form the word, torah.

Today we examine the spiritual meaning of the reish, (pronounced ray’sh).

We are getting into the deeper things of GOD. At the deeper end of the pool you have to let go and float. If you start thinking too hard and begin to struggle with the physicality of it all, you will drown yourself. Nobody has to drown you. You can do it all by yourself.

I need to give you a disclosure here, before we continue…

The Bible is not directed to our physical nature. It was never meant to communicate with the flesh. The flesh can’t comprehend it anyway. For all intents and purposes, the only help we need with the flesh, is to tame it with the spirit.

The Bible was NOT given for the purpose of helping us to figure out, how to maneuver in the physical realm.

The Bible/torah was given to teach us how to maneuver in the spiritual realm, to teach us spiritual matters.

The Bible/torah was given to strengthen the weak hands. To teach us torah. Isaiah 35:3-4

3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

We are studying torah, so that we can wield both hands with equal strength and power, in the spirit. The power of what we learned from our Christian Heritage and what we are learning from our Hebrew Heritage, will make us a triple threat!

I pray that you become Mightier Men and Women of Valor through your torah heritage!

RECAP:

Above are the 4 Hebrew consonants that create the word, torah. The modern Hebrew letters lay directly beneath the Paleo Hebrew Letters that give the impression of a halo above.

Torah is spelled with the, tav (t), vav (v), reish (r), hei (h).

THE VAV FUNCTIONS AS A CONSONANT AND A VOWEL:

The vav represents a consonant and the sound of 2 vowels in Hebrew, the ‘o’ as in doe, and the ‘u’ as in blue. The vav in torah has the ‘o’ sound. That little dot above the vav is our indication that the vav is pronounced with the ‘o’ sound as well. That little dot is called a nikkud.

The 3rd letter in Torah, is the reish, (pronounced ray’sh –roll the ‘r’ a little)

In the Ancient Paleo Hebrew , the letter reish takes the shape of the head, the back of a man’s head.
It is acceptable to pronounce it reish or rosh. Both pronunciations refer to the ‘R’ in Hebrew. But, why does the Hebrew Language use the back of a man’s head to express the ‘R’ sound?

There are many ways to see this. The curve at the back of the head symbolizes turning your back to the word of GOD, fighting against the things of GOD. With your back to GOD, there’s a willingness to accommodate the world, allowing one’s evil inclinations to run rampant and unrestrained. In this mode, man bends toward idolatrous values, he becomes a reish – dalet. (Remember: dalet is a Door, and the Door represents access in and out /in or out).

Seeing RED in Scripture

The reish – dalet (pronounced ‘red’) is an actual word in Hebrew. (Ref: Strongs #3381, yaw-rad). ‘red’ in Hebrew means, to go down, to descend.

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves“

“Get thee down” is the word, ‘red’ in Hebrew. Red, is when your evil inclinations have taken over and man has succumbed to his baser instincts. Red, is a spiritual descent into a lower level. A descent from greatness.

Turning Your Back to GOD

Do you remember when Orpah showed Naomi the “back of her head”? (Ruth 1:14, 16) [This has also been referred to as ‘the back of her neck’]. Verse 16 employs the word, shuv, which means to turn back, or return. Orpah returned back to her country, her kindred and her fathers house, back to the ways of Moab. Ruth, on the other hand, implored Naomi to let her stay with her. Ruth attached herself to GOD and rejected the ways of Moab.

Going back to Moab was a spiritual descent. Staying connected to the GOD of Heaven, The GOD of Ruth, was a spiritual ascent. The word ‘red’ in Hebrew indicates that spiritual descent.

While speaking of this, I can’t help but think of that expression we have , “He/She was seeing red.” It just connects with what is going on spiritually with an angry person...seeing red. I think most of us have known this place, and for the most part, nothing good is happening spiritually! Clearly, seeing red, is a spiritual descent into darkness.

ROSH is the Head

Symbolically, Rosh represents the head, a person, being first. Reish is the Highest, the Repentant Man, The Beginning, a moral choice, Right or Wrong/ or Wickedness.

Remember, the word is a 2 edged sword. We make choices. Reish is a choice between greatness or degradation. Between, standing before GOD as the Head, the Leader, or being comfortable in compromise.

In the Ancient Hebrew, the reish asks the question, “What is the Highest?, What is the Most Important?” The scripture asks, that we do more than it is our duty to do! “If it is in your power to do good, do it!” (Ref: Eph 3:20, behavior in the image and likeness of GOD, Micah 6:8, Prov 3:27). This is the duty of the reish. Lead.

When reish is operating in it’s authority and headship, the reish draws strength from the covenant. The covenant has your back! (look at the word picture). The reish is the 20th letter of the aleph-bet and as you are learning, the letters carry numerical value, i.e., in this case, a gematria of 20.

Earlier, I said that the reish means beginning. Reish understands and thrives in beginnings and knows how to begin again. The reish is going to bring torah to the world. The 1st word in scripture is beh’rey’sheet, Genesis 1:1, In the Beginning. The word ‘Rey-sheet’ contains the reish. (reish is the root word in rey-sheet).

TORAH BEGINS WITH THE LETTER BEIT –b

Look closely and see, that GOD began the torah with the letter beit (B), which is the Hebrew word for ‘In’. (In (beh) – rey-sheet, = in the beginning).

GOD could have begun the torah with any word He wanted, any letter. He could have began the torah with an Aleph, representing who He is. Nevertheless, He chose a beit and GOD stands outside of the beit, before it, but hidden. In Hebrew, the beit represents the tabernacle. Let’s see what GOD is doing here behind the scenes.

GOD begins the very 1st teaching with the letter beit, with the tabernacle. If we are looking at this with our spiritual eyes, we see all of torah beginning with the tabernacle. And the beginnings of everything, the rey-sheet, flowing out of the tabernacle. (In (beh) – rey-sheet, = in the beginning).

GOD, THE TABERNACLE AND THE REISH

The rey-sheet is born by the Tabernacle. The rey-sheet is formed by the tabernacle. Only a reish can step out of the tabernacle. When we look back at the word torah, we see a similar pattern.

tav – vav- reish – hei

THE COVENANT, THE MESSIAH AND THE REISH

The vav is symbolic of the man, who steps out into the earth, in covenant with GOD and becomes the reish, the leader, the Head and not the tail, the Repentant Man, who is no longer willing to accommodate the world or his/her evil inclinations. The reish takes his/her position of authority and headship, and the reish leads us to…. the hei.

Amen.

God Bless You,

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: These concepts of the Hebrew letters should not be carelessly applied to other religions or concepts. The letter vav is a Hebrew Letter belonging to the Hebrew Language which conveys concepts and meanings specific to the Hebrew Language. As you increase in your knowledge of the Hebrew language and letters, be careful not to paint with such a wide brush that you distort the original meaning and context.

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Copyright 2019, Rev. S. Madison, torahisteaching.blog All Rights Reserved.

Students/Subscribers have permission to print and share this information provided you do not use any of the teachings for profit or monetary gain of any kind. Please do not alter the material in any way. These conditions are subject to the additional term of giving full credit to torahisteaching.blog or Rev. S. Madison. Just send me an email to advise of your use of this material: torahbythesea@gmail.com Thank You.

MY HEBREW HERITAGE, What is Torah

THE MESSAGE IN THE LETTERS OF TORAH… Part 2, the vav

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Today, we will continue with our exploration of the meaning of the letters that form the word, torah.  Today we examine the spiritual meaning of the vav.

RECAP:

Above are the 4 Hebrew consonants that create the word, torah. The modern Hebrew letters lay directly beneath the Paleo Hebrew Letters that give the impression of a halo above.

Torah is spelled with the, tav (t), vav (v), reish (r), hei (h). 

THE VAV FUNCTIONS AS A CONSONANT AND A VOWEL:

The vav represents a consonant and the sound of 2 vowels in Hebrew, the ‘o’ as in doe, and the ‘u’ as in blue. The vav in torah has the ‘o’ sound.  That little dot above the vav is our indication that the vav is pronounced with the ‘o’ sound as well.  That little dot is called a nikkud.

The 2nd letter in Torah, is the vav (V). In this instance, in the word ‘torah’, the vav carries the ‘O’ sound.

The Hebrew letter vav takes the shape of the tent peg or hook. In it’s Ancient Paleo Hebrew form, it resembles our letter Y. Although, I believe it is more accurate to say, that our letter ‘Y’, took the form of the Ancient Hebrew Letter vav.

If you were to visually, connect the two upper stems of the Y with a straight horizontal line, you would create a very nice picture of an ancient tent peg!

Symbolic Meaning of the vav

Vav is the word, ‘AND’ in Hebrew. The vav is a symbol of connection, a nail used to join something together.

Picture a nail in front of you with one side of the head (the right side) shaved off. What remains is the ancient image of a hook. The hook was used to anchor the ten to the ground. The tent which is symbolic of the Temple of GOD, His Heavenly abode anchored to earth.

The vav means continuation — think of it as continuing contact with GOD.

The vav means to add, to secure. think of this in terms of adding yourself to the household of GOD… securing yourself to His Household.

The vav connects Divinity to Humanity, connects GOD to Mankind. The vav reflects our connection to God and each other.

The vav is a symbol of conjunction, completeness and timelessness. As you learn more about each Hebrew letter, you will see that the vav unites opposing concepts, people and ideas.

DISCLOSURE: These concepts of the Hebrew letters should not be carelessly applied to other religions or concepts. The letter vav is a Hebrew Letter belonging to the Hebrew Language which conveys concepts and meanings specific to the Hebrew Language. As you increase in your knowledge of the Hebrew language and letters, be careful not to paint with such a wide brush that you distort the original meaning and context.

The Assignment of the vav Reflected in the aleph

Take another look at the word Adam. We discussed this word in great detail in the blog entitled; The Undiscovered Adam and the Unexplained Man, Part 2.

You will recall, the Aleph, the first letter in Adam is made of a vav (the slanted bar in the center with two yod’s on either side). Both yod’s are connected to the vav. One yod reaches upward toward the Heavens, and the other reaches downward towards the earth.

In the picture of the aleph, you see the work of the vav, connecting Heaven and Earth, the spiritual realm to the physical realm.

  • The vav connects the upper heavens to the lower heavens, connecting Heaven to Earth. In the aleph, we can see that the vav connects the spiritual realm to the physical realm.

Vav is the 6th letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet…

…and carries the Gematria of 6, (numerical equivalency of 6). Man’s connection to the number 6 is very important in the Hebrew. (See the list below)

  • God ceased His work of creation on the 6th day
  • Man was created on the 6th day.
  • When the Children of Israel left Egypt, they were six hundred thousand in number (Ex 12:37)
  • Christ hung on the cross for 6 hours (Mark 15:25, Luke 23:44)
  • The 600 thousand letters in the torah equivalent to the 600K children of Israel leaving Egypt. A letter of torah for each person delivered out of bondage.

The above examples reveal physical completion, redemption and transformation.

Many Infallible Proofs of the Significance of vav

  • The absence or presence of the vav determines the meaning of the verse. Ref Ex 18:1, Jether becomes Jethro when a vav is added at the end of his name, creating the ‘o’ sound.
  • Absence of the vav can signify a lack of virtue, character faults, etc.
  • The Addition of the vav can indicate pleasing character traits, indicate virtue and overcoming personal trials/tests.
  • There are 5 times in scripture when Jacob’s name is spelled with an extra vav. (Lev 26:42, Jer 30:18, 33:25-26, 46:27, 51:19) In each instance, Israel/Jacob is being redeemed.
  • In the Hebrew Bible (written in All Hebrew Letters) at the very center of the torah, called the belly (gachon), there is an enlarged vav. Lev 11:42. Appropriately enough, the word found in the very center of the torah is the word, gachon, (which means belly). The vav, which translates to our ‘o’ in English, is the letter in the center of the torah. Let me repeat that another way: At the belly of the torah, is the word gachon, which means belly and the ‘o’ in gachon marks the center of torah.
  • i.e. the first half and the last half of the torah is connected by a vav!

tav – vav- reish – hei

Torah begins with the tav, covenant. The 2nd letter, vav stands for connection.

The covenant which is connected to man by the nail. The man who bears the nail, He is the One that connects Heaven to Earth, the spiritual realm to the physical realm.

The vav is the symbol of the man that connects Heaven to Earth, whether that be Christ, by Himself… or Christ in you, the Hope of Glory!

Every believer, has the power to bring God’s Glory down into the Earth Realm. The vav is the symbol of mankind’s power to draw what we need from the Heavens and deposit it into the Earth. That’s torah.

Amen.

God Bless You,

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Posts Included in This Series:

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Copyright 2019, Rev. S. Madison, torahisteaching.blog All Rights Reserved.

Students/Subscribers have permission to print and share this information provided you do not use any of the teachings for profit or monetary gain of any kind. Please do not alter the material in any way. These conditions are subject to the additional term of giving full credit to torahisteaching.blog or Rev. S. Madison. Just send me an email to advise of your use of this material: torahbythesea@gmail.com Thank You.

What is Torah

THE MESSAGE IN THE LETTERS OF TORAH… beginning with tav

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In English, our letters have no meaning beyond the role they play to indicate the specific sounds that we apply to our language and to build and form our words.  In Hebrew, the letters retain a history and legacy of sound, ideas, concepts, thoughts and symbols, even number.  

Today, we will explore the meaning of the letters that form the word, torah.

Above are the 4 Hebrew consonants that create the word, torah. The modern Hebrew letters lay directly beneath the Paleo Hebrew Letters that give the impression of a halo above.

Remember, we move from right to left when reading in Hebrew.

Torah is spelled with the, tav (t), vav (v), reish (r), hei (h).  The vav is represents the sound of 2 vowels in Hebrew, the ‘o’ as in doe, and the ‘u’ as in blue. The vav in torah of course, takes the ‘o’ sound.  That little dot above the vav is our indication that the vav is pronounced with the ‘o’ sound as well.  That little dot is called a nikkud.

For those that are a bit more curious about the Hebrew letters, you may be asking yourself what that little dot is inside the letter tav.  That dot is called a dagesh and it tells us that the tav is to be pronounced with a hard ‘T’ sound.  Yes!  tav has 2 sounds, one hard and one soft.  The soft ‘T’ is similar to our ‘Th’ in English.  The little dash underneath the reish is also a nikkud, which represents the ‘a’ sound.

IMPORTANT: You don’t need to memorize any of the rules of grammar/diacritics, and I am being very generic in transmitting them because I feel it’s more important to reveal the concepts about the letters themselves, than it is right now, to speak in terms of rules of grammar.  You will hear me repeat this type of information so often, that you will absorb it by relationship rather than rigid teaching methods.  Let’s just have fun learning about the letters!

The slide below, has been adapted to retain the names of the letters, to make it easier for those who are new to Hebrew to follow along.

Let’s begin with the letter tav on the far right. As you can see, the tav originated in the form of a cross. The tav in Hebrew represents the covenant and the cross.

The cross you see there above the modern Hebrew letter for tav, also carries the meaning of, mark, sign, and seal. Torah begins with a ‘tav’, because torah is about keeping covenant with GOD. Even the word in Hebrew for truth, emet (which we must examine as well), begins with the aleph and ends with the tav.

There is your truth, my truth and GOD’s Truth. If the truth we tell, does not begin and end with GOD, and His Covenant, then that truth is incomplete, imperfect and flawed, like us. So, you see the truth as we define it in our dictionary and how GOD even spells it with His aleph-bet, are 2 completely different things.

I Am the Aleph and the Tav…

The tav is also the LAST Letter in the Hebrew aleph-bet. You will recall, the Aleph is the FIRST.

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. –Rev 22:13

When Christ made this statement He was bearing witness/testifying that He was indeed, the messiah. This is one of the primary reasons a great majority of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes, so vehemently came against Him. He was claiming to be the one spoken of in the torah, in the Book of Isaiah.

The Book of Isaiah:

Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he. –Isaiah 41:4

Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. –Isaiah 44:6

Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. –Isaiah 48:12

Additional Testimony Recorded by John

Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. –Rev 1:11

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last. –Rev 1:17

And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; –Rev 2:8

Also Note: That the acts of the Kings as listed in the book of Chronicles, are listed from first to last.

A Greek/Western Mindset vs. Torah Mindset

From reading our KJV Bibles, naturally, we have learned this verse from the Greek perspective. Although I am aware that we have been taught for generations, that the New Testament was written only in Greek, I want you to bear with me a moment. I am also completely aware, that we were also taught for generations, that the Jews had lost their native language by the first century. This has been proven false as well, but I know the understanding is still out there, and that it is very difficult to shed false teachings.

With that in mind, let us just acknowledge and agree with documented history, which confirms that Jesus was a Jew. I have no doubt that He spoke both Aramaic and Hebrew. That being the case, it is not logical to assume that He abandoned His native language completely when He spoke. After all, He is born to Jewish parents, lived as a Jew, His ministry was to the Jews and He taught the torah from torah scrolls. He was not Roman or Greek, this we know as well.

I have studied and spoke many different languages over the years, but I still think in English. It is natural and instinctive to speak in your native language, even when you are in the presence of those who speak another language. It is particularly natural, to speak English when you are with the English, and Hebrew when you are with Hebrews.

Shifting from Alpha/Omega to aleph and tav

Jesus is speaking to His own people here, so it’s important for us to know, that He did not say that He was the, “Alpha and Omega”. Jesus was Jewish. What He said was, “I am the aleph and the tav, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”

What we wrote down was the opposite, or rather a piece of the truth of what He said.

Our Alphabet runs from A to Z. The Hebrew Aleph-Bet runs from aleph to tav. Allow me to pause a moment and explain, why I have a tendency NOT TO capitalize when transliterating the Hebrew. There are no capital letters in Biblical/Modern Hebrew. All the letters are written in block format and there are no form of the letters that would be considered capital. In Modern Hebrew script, the same situation exist.

I like to think, that since the entire foundation of the Biblical Hebrew Language that was given to us by GOD, that every letter has equal footing and significance. Considering that character refinement, i.e., humility, is one of the foundational principles of GOD’s message, I don’t think that I am far off. Character is key and humility is the Essence of GOD.

Having said that, let’s add to the understanding that, the Hebrew language flows from aleph (ELOHIM) to tav (the CROSS). Every letter in between, reveals our prophetic journey that begins with GOD and ends at the Cross, by way of the Covenant. So, when Christ says, He is the aleph and the tav… He is identifying Himself (in the first century)as He is identified throughout the pages of the scriptures (Book of Isaiah), as the beginning and the end, the aleph and the tav.

To say, torah… the word must begin with a tav, as the covenant is the beginning and end of the torah. Torah is about Covenant. Torah is teaching us how to gain access to the Covenant. Torah must begin with the tav, because there is no access to GOD, His Thoughts, His Ways, His Wisdom, His Knowledge, His Son, without the Covenant.

Acceptance of the Covenant is our sign and seal that GOD is with us. “And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you…” –Gen 9:9

Suffice it to say, the even the word covenant in Hebrew (ber-eeth; 1285), begins with the letter beit (B) and ends with the tav (T). You can’t even say the word ‘covenant’ in Hebrew, the Language of GOD, without ending with the tav on the tip of your tongue!,

God Bless You,

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: These concepts of the Hebrew letters should not be carelessly applied to other religions or concepts. The letter vav is a Hebrew Letter belonging to the Hebrew Language which conveys concepts and meanings specific to the Hebrew Language. As you increase in your knowledge of the Hebrew language and letters, be careful not to paint with such a wide brush that you distort the original meaning and context.

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Copyright 2019, Rev. S. Madison, torahisteaching.blog

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YOU ONLY NEED 4 STEPS TO GET STARTED….

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“Torah is not education, it’s transformation.”—Rebbitzen Dena Weinberg

For our Blog Style Bible Study, these are the initial supplies you will need, plus suggestions on how to prepare your atmosphere for torah!

Let me begin with a disclosure: The Bible Study Lessons that I will present are atypical. Together, we will examine little known passages, trace down common threads and patterns that are hidden in plain sight, and connect the dots. In short, we will examine the torah from many different angles and our reward will be extracting honey from the rock. Lets get started!

Step 1:

1. King James Study Bible. Online or Book format. I typically pull my quotes on scripture from King James only.

2. A Bible Concordance. I recommend the Strong’s Concordance, to begin with. As huge as it is, you can always find one at a reasonable price.

Option B to the Strong’s is to learn how to use search engines online that provide an easily accessible alternative with the same information. i.e., BibleHub.com, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Online, etc. With practice you will quickly learn how to use them. Experiment with similar apps to see which one you prefer.

As you plan to follow along with the blog, I want you to be able to check everything that I teach you, which is why I cite sources.

As we progress on our journey, I will recommend other books, materials and resources that will be of advantage to you to acquire or access. I continuously recommend books, so please don’t let that overwhelm you. More than likely, I will create a Book List Tab to track all the books and materials I recommend as they become relevant to where we are in our studies.

KEEPING YOUR CONSECRATION:
STEP 2:
Determine the best place for you to concentrate when you study.
Find the best time of day, to consecrate to your study time. Be consistent. However, if your selected time of day is not working for you, tweak it.

You may find that once you make a consecration time for study, every imaginable issue will rise up to interfere with it. Don’t worry and don’t get frustrated. Anticipate hindrances and plan ahead! Shift around your time until you find one that works best for you.

Even if it turns out that you need to get up and study at 3AM in the morning, to have some peace and quiet in order to gain the advantage, do it! The only thing you need to ask yourself is, “How bad do I want this knowledge for myself?” What are you prepared to do to make this work?

If it is not that serious, then it is not that serious, and this is your decision to make. Circle back another time, or let it go.

HOW TO CONSTRAIN THE ANOINTING OVER YOUR STUDY TIME:
Step 3:
In your selected study area, place flowers or scented candles. Boil cinnamon or incense in a pot of water– warm up the atmosphere with fragrance. It helps you concentrate when you study. Scents can also help you recall information. Pleasant odours just make you feel good, and they get you in the mood for study!

No cell phones or emails, or self-inflicted distractions of any kind. This exercise is about consecrating time to the LORD, as a sacrifice and love offering. For example, your attendance in the study time you set is a statement to GOD saying, “I plan to be here at 3AM in the morning, every M-T-W-Th, whether you show up or not. In fact, I am going to be here UNTIL you show up in my study time, and reveal your wisdom to me”.

This is an example of what I meant earlier when I spoke of placing a demand on Heaven. You will find yourself smack dab on the pages of scripture. On several pages of scripture in fact, including my personal favourite, “I will not let you go… until you bless me!” (Gen 32:26).

BE ON TIME FOR YOUR BLESSING!
Step 4:
If you are getting up at 3AM, or some other equally daunting or stressful time in your schedule, freshen up and wake up. This improves your ability to concentrate.

Whether you have designated 30 minutes, or 60 minutes– be on time for your own blessing! Use the entire time you allotted. Keep the promises that you made to yourself.

Please use the comments tab below to submit your questions or send a reply. Thank You.

I will post the 1st Study Session this Week!
[When I find typo’s that I did not see before I published and/or I re-read and know that I could have stated something better for clarity, I will make corrections and place brackets around the changes, like so. I want your final product to be as pristine as possible. Also, you have noticed that I do not include the scripture reference when I am quoting or paraphrasing something from the New Testament. I do that intentionally. We know this material and I believe it is already a part of our regular dialogue. We may have the impulse to look them up and that’s good. I want to provoke us to do that. It’s good for the soul 🙂 Your a good student! God Bless You].

The Journey Back, What is Torah

THE JOURNEY BACK TO A TORAH MINDSET BEGINS…. Part 1.2

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Q&A Continued…
Below are a few questions that were submitted to me via email that did not come through the posts. I am going to answer a few of them here for the benefit of all participants.

Q#3: Will your articles typically take 10-15 minutes in length to read?

Yes indeed! I am really very impressed with myself that they are that short! It is my teaching style to be at length. Generally speaking, I struggle in class to contain my lectures to 50 or 110 minutes. I try to squeeze every drop, out of every minute with my students and I am not ashamed to hold them captive. Learning is a scientific process. You have to be meticulous in every detail. I demand a lot out of my students, and I have no sympathy for the amount of time it takes to study to show yourself approved.

The Hebrew letters are called the raw materials of creation. I agree. I think every student is like the raw materials of creation. In my class, every student carries a Hebrew Letter over their head, like a crown of torah. They are going to create something powerful with it. Every time they absorb new information, they have the power to create, edify, encourage. They have the power to build. Some in 7 minutes, some in 6 minutes, some in one hour, some in a year. In reading, studying, learning….they are the masters of time.

Imagine my surprise and delight to have written something in a blog that only takes a few minutes to read. I might mess around and find this enjoyable!

So, why am I writing this, if it is such a foreign concept to me?
Earlier I told you that I am going for my graduate level degree in humility. Humility 101 is a marathon. It is all day, every day, and last a lifetime. This is my primary reason.

Secondary to that… I am doing this because my students are making me do it! They have suggested, implored, cajoled, questioned, fussed and looked at me strangely. They have asked me to do this for years, and I have just smiled and said, “one day, maybe”.

This is me, surrendering and being obedient to their request. They obviously have something else to teach me. So I am taking the course.

The most excellent truth of the matter is, teachers can only excel in their particular skill set, as long as they are willing to be students at the same time that they are teaching. My students have probably taught me more than I have ever taught them. I don’t know how many teachers actually share that thought out loud, or even if we share it with each other. However, ask a teacher and find out if they agree.

Students are not learning in a vacuum. Your teacher has just as much to learn from you, as you do from them. It is a symbiotic relationship. I have come to know it as, iron sharpening iron!

Technically speaking, we are just about 20-25 minutes into our first class!

I think this is a good place to introduce you to a few of your classmates. There is Ruth. Her code name is Ruth. I call her that because she is tah-meem. That is Hebrew for blameless. She has such a pure, innocent spirit and is so genuine in prayer.

You will hear me speak of David. That is his code name. I call him David because he is so sold out to God. David is one of the tzaddikim (righteous ones). His children are aware of his spiritual identity, and they see God in him. He is a rare one. He is a man, who has honour in his own country, and his own house.

You will hear me speak of one person, as the Beloved of John. She is a master torah scholar in Christ Jesus. She is the librarian, historian, record keeper par excellance. Although she would never agree with me commending her with praise. In the area of humility, kindness and joy, she is a savant. They are truly her areas of expertise. She operates in a highly specialised skill set in the body of Christ.

Then there is Shamar. shamar in Hebrew means to guard, to protect. She is hungry for the Word. She is a soldier, fearless in spiritual battle. She detests stagnation, apathy, and confusion, and she knows how to stand her watch in the service.

David, Shamar, Ruth and the Beloved of John are like the sons of Thunder in prayer. They each have an-already-been-done kind-of-spirit in prayer, and nothing is impossible with God. They know their names and each of them will recognise their description when they have read it. One day, when their identities are revealed, their families will see that I have made no exaggeration about their spiritual character.

They will attend every class and every lecture with you. They will read what you read, and hear what you hear. They are ministers of the gospel, students, teachers and intercessors. It’s what they do.

Now we’re learning torah!

Quick Links to Previous Post:  

The Journey Back To A Torah Mindset, Part 1

The Journey Back To A Torah Mindset, Part 1.1

[When I find typo’s that I did not see before I published and/or I re-read and know that I could have stated something better for clarity, I will make corrections and place brackets around the changes, like so.  I want your final product to be as pristine as possible.  Also, you have noticed that I do not include the scripture reference when I am quoting or paraphrasing something from the New Testament.  I do that intentionally.  We know this material and I believe it is already a part of our regular dialogue.  We may have the impulse to look them up and that’s good.  I want to provoke us to do that.  It’s good for the soul 🙂  Your a good student!  God Bless You].

Copyright 2019, Rev. S. Madison, torahisteaching.blog

The Journey Back, What is Torah

THE JOURNEY BACK TO A TORAH MINDSET BEGINS…. Part 1.1

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Q&A:

Below are a few questions that were submitted to me via email, that did not arrive through the posts. I am going to answer a few of them here for the benefit of all participants.

Q#1: Why did your original two posts not include any scripture or torah teachings? I think you only quoted scripture once.

The first two posts referred to are: The Journey Back to a Torah Mindset Begins… April 11, 2019, and How to Reset Your Torah Mindset to Acquire Torah Concepts… April 13, 2019.

Good question. “Because I am a teacher at heart.” There are several reasons I can offer to explain why I handled the introduction in this way. The fact is, both articles were loaded with torah principles, insights and teachings. I purposefully did not identify them in the articles, for the specific benefit of allowing everyone to hear the information and gain some insight into our foundational objectives. Teachers never start teaching, until everyone in the class knows specifically, what we are there to accomplish. Students hail from vastly divergent backgrounds, knowledge in and experience with scripture. It is imperative that we are given the same road map for our journey.

That being said, The Journey Back… began with a rabbinic quote. Did you recognise the quote, or have you heard it before? Chances are if you have had no prior experience with torah, you did not. That’s OK. How did you answer the question when you read it?
Were you so curious about the right answer, that you googled the question to see if you could find it and discover the meaning?
In your opinion, What is the good path to which a human being should cling? You have been out among the world. What have you discerned? What is the proper path?

If you still remember the question in your heart and are still pondering your response, you are a Christian torah scholar in the making. If not, you may have some struggles with the upcoming material. Regardless, dependant upon how much effort you are willing to place in your study, you will be an excellent student in your own right! How much are you willing to put into it? Do you have a thirst and a hunger to understand scripture at a higher level? Are you willing to be taught? Are you teachable? What are the characteristics of a teachable spirit? Even the questions are torah centric questions. Together we shall explore the answers, as long as you feel that this blog is right for you!

As we continue on this journey together, we will identify every torah principle that was addressed in the body of these two articles mentioned above. We will proceed line by line, precept by precept.

—Torah Lesson Number 1: The Five Students of Torah

How did the five students of the Rabbi answer the above question? “Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai said to them [the five disciples]: Go out and discern which is the proper path to which man should cling. Rabbi Eliezer says: A good eye. Rabbi Yehoshua says: A good friend. Rabbi Yose says: A good neighbor. Rabbi Shimon says: One who considers the outcome [of a deed]. Rabbi Elazar says: A good heart. He said to them: I prefer the words of Elazar ben Arach to your words, for your words are included in his words.” Pirkei Avos 2:13 (i.e., Sayings of the Fathers 2:13)

Do you agree with Rabban Zakkai? Did you have a completely different answer than the five students? Explain.

Q#2: It seems like you rarely ever capitalise the word, torah, even when you should. Why is that?

That’s deliberate. In Hebrew, there is no capitalisation of letters. Capitalisation is a western concept in our writing system. Not so, in Hebrew. Even though English is my first language, I work very hard at not capitalising Hebrew words. It’s adorable when I think about it. Every letter is conceptually written in lower case… this is an aspect of humility embedded into the presentation of the Hebrew Language itself.

The torah was given in humility, given with love. The torah was received with humility, and received in reverence (awe). Reverence, is how we say, “I Love You” back to God. This is the disciples short hand for, “I will do and I will hear” (Ex. 24:7). torah should be written with a lower case t, to remind us of the necessity to handle the word of God with humility and love.

Case in point, my computer is operating on the world system, with a western mindset. I have to be mindful to do the opposite of what it is programmed to do. The computer is on autopilot. I, on the other hand, am forcing myself to be mindful of a new thing, another way, a more excellent way. I am retraining my mind to think a new way. Little things like this, I find helpful. I place this simple requirement on myself. My students are not required to do them. Contrary to some beliefs, the study of torah is not about being legalistic, or ritualistic. It’s more about building a fence around the torah. (A concept that we will delve into at much length, later in this journey!)

Torah is about the little things, considerate things, that we can do to let God know that we are continually walking consciously, aware of His Presence. I am daily training my own spirit, in the art and science of graduate level humility. Every little bit helps!

Excellent question!

Quick Links to Previous Post:  The Journey Back to A Torah Mindset, Part 1

Quick Links to Next Post: The Journey Back to A Torah Mindset, Part 1.2

[When I find typo’s that I did not see before I published and/or I re-read and know that I could have stated something better for clarity, I will make corrections and place brackets around the changes, like so.  I want your final product to be as pristine as possible.  Also, you have noticed that I do not include the scripture reference when I am quoting or paraphrasing something from the New Testament.  I do that intentionally.  We know this material and I believe it is already a part of our regular dialogue.  We may have the impulse to look them up and that’s good.  I want to provoke us to do that.  It’s good for the soul 🙂  Your a good student!  God Bless You].

Copyright 2019, Rev. S. Madison, torahisteaching.blog