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One Torah For All
Newsletter
Understanding Torah Society continuing series
August 8, 2012
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| Dear Brothers and Sisters in Mashiach Yeshua,
This week we are continuing our series on Understanding Torah Society with part 7 dealing with Social Welfare and helping the poor and how to do that in a society based upon Torah. Last week was on Education, which was mislabeled as Social Welfare. Sorry for the mix-up.
We have a follow-up question this week one from another reader on the millennial temple and sacrifices. The reader makes some very good points you will not want to miss, perhaps you have had these same thoughts yourself.
We are starting a new feature in our weekly newsletter: Idioms and Word Meanings. We hope that this will help you in your understanding of Scripture, the Hebrew culture as well as be fun.
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| Understanding Torah Society - part 7 - Public Goods-Social Welfare
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 Matithyah (Matthew) 26:11
"For you have the poor with you always; but you will not have Me always."
Once again, to refresh our memory, the six public goods as commonly seen by government today are 1) order; 2) defense; 3) public health; 4) infrastructure; 5) education; and 6) social welfare. So far we have examined order, defense, public health, infrastructure, and education. This study will examine the last of the public goods-social welfare. Social welfare are those programs in which a person or family who has fallen upon hard times can have their needs taken care of through the collective contributions of the masses.
The Torah has a lot to say about the poor and how the poor are to be treated as well as how the poor are not to be treated. To begin this study, we shall examine Devarim chapter 15, verse-by-verse, that is, verses one through eighteen.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 15:1
"At the end of every seven years you shall make a release."
YHWH commands that every person in Israel is to make a full and complete release of all debts; nothing can be carried over. The word release comes from the Hebrew word שמטה shimittah, which means to release. These verses are dealing with the Shimittah year or land Shabbat. We will deal with the Shimittah more fully in a later study. In this study, we are interested only in the Shimittah as it pertains to the poor.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 15:2
"And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release that which he has lent to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother; because YHWH's release has been proclaimed."
It is interesting to note that this release is only commanded for those who are neighbors and brothers.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 15:3
"Of a foreigner you may exact it: but whatsoever of yours is with your brother, your hand shall release."
The word foreigner in the passage above is from the Hebrew word הנכרי hanakri, which means strange, thus foreigner by extension. This is a different word than that of גר ger, which means guest and sojourner. Therefore, we can surmise the difference between these two words is significant. A גר ger is a person who has come in from the nations and who has decided to become a part of Israel by keeping and doing all of YHWH's Torah. This is suggested to us by the meaning of sojourner. His children would thus be considered as native born, that is, there is only one Torah for the native born as well as the sojourner-ger (Shemot 12:49). However, a נכרי nakri would be a person from the nations who has not attached himself to Israel and who has not decided to keep and do all of YHWH's Torah, but is living with Israel nonetheless.
The year of release would include a גר ger, but not a נכרי nakri. It is important to note that while the year of release does not include the נכרי nakri through commandment, it is not absolutely commanded that one cannot release him in the shimittah as well. For one may well make such a choice and still be well within the perimeters of the commandments without adding to or taking away from His Torah.
Continue reading here. PDF.
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| Question and Answer
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 After reading the Q and A about the 3rd Temple a few thoughts have come to mind.
First of all let me say that I agree with you that the Temple being built would certainly be defiled by Anti-Messiah and that would lead to that 4th.
Now from what I have read and understood thus far is that while there will be a Temple built, is it not the one that is not built with human hands, thus it would be us who are the Temple that is being built, rather than a literal building? Also, my thoughts go to a Scripture that Yah says He is weary of the slaughtering of animals
Read response here. |
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Idioms and Word Meanings
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 To kick off our new feature we are going to start with a really fun Hebrew idiom.
Matthew 4:24 and His fame went forth to all Syria, and they brought to Him all having ailments, pressed with manifold sicknesses and pains, and demoniacs, and lunatics, and paralytics, and He healed them. [Youngs literal]
From the Aramaic Peshitta we have an interesting idiom which is translated as "lunatic" in the above passage. Literally it says, "son of a roof top." This means one who is crazy or insane. This is a person who is not grounded in reality.
So, the next time you see someone who does or says something that is really crazy, you will know he is a son of the roof top.
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