One Torah For All

One Torah shall be to him that is home-born, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
Exodus 12:49

Diligent Inquiry
Knowing both sides before taking action

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 19:18a
“and the judges shall make diligent inquisition:”

We live in a very fast paced world. There is nearly instant gratification of any desire imaginable. When a person wants something, he can have it now, right now. He does not have to wait for it. This tends to produce a mindset of wanting and having instant gratification. This type of mindset flies in the face of making diligent inquiry. It takes time to investigate a dispute between two or more people. Who has time to do that? Who even wants to do that? Not many! Yet, this is exactly what is commanded in Torah: to thoroughly investigate a matter before taking action.

This commandment is frequently thrown aside on social networks when a dispute arises between two parties, and one or both parties go about garnering support for their sides and positions. This is typically an appeal to one’s emotions. If one only knows one party, then typically such a person naturally sides with the person he knows. Often, things like, “Well, I trust you, so I believe what you say,” are said, without so much as a single thought to what the other side might have to say, or even is.

Sometimes the dispute is so heated that one of the offended parties will often ask those on his friends list to “unfriend” the other person. This is then often done by those friends without so much as a single inquiry into the facts of the situation. Brothers and sisters in Mashiach, these things ought not to be so within the body of Mashiach! Often when this happens, the logical fallacy of either/or comes into play. Many people are presented with an either/or choice when there are often more choices available.

When one goes about degrading another person for any reason in the eyes of another, this is lashon hara (evil speech). What some fail to grasp is that lashon hara can be true and still be lashon hara. Shaul in his letter to Qorinth says that love does not keep an account of the evil one experiences (see 1st Corinthians 13:5). However, when a person goes about spouting off that which has offended him, this is exactly what he is doing: keeping an account. Furthermore, it is asking others to do the same.

Ya’aqov (James) 1:19
You know this, my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

There are many things in this life which hurt. There are many people which bring heartache and pain into one’s life. Are we to lash out in like manner? Or, are we to do as Yeshua did on the day of His trial, remaining silent before His accusers? Are we to look out for the welfare of the brethren or just our own interests? Are we to look out only for the welfare of those brethren who do not hurt us and with whom we are in agreement?

Ya’aqov (James) 4:11-12
11 Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaks against a brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the Torah, and judges the Torah: but if you judge the Torah, you are not a doer of the Torah, but a judge.
12 One only is the Lawgiver and Judge, even He who is able to save and to destroy: but who are you that judges your neighbor?

This passage is so easy to get around! All one has to do is declare the other party to be a wolf. Once a person is declared to be a wolf, then one does not have to treat him with love, dignity, and respect. Basically, he can do and say anything his heart desires and he will feel justified. At least, this is the approach many are taking these days. If I can prove the other guy not to be a brother in the faith, then I can mistreat him and disrespect him and feel fully justified. After all, he hurt me and now it is my turn to hurt him!

Really?

Under the guise of warning the flock, much abuse is put forth as righteousness.

There are wolves out there, to be sure! But who has the right to determine who is a wolf? Does that not require a judgment? Does the above passage state that there is only one Judge? Why do we insist on judging another when we are commanded not to do it? Is our pain so great that the grace of YHWH cannot heal it? Is this pain so wonderful that one is unwilling to release it to YHWH?

Ya’aqov (James) 4:10
Humble yourselves in the sight of YHWH, and He shall exalt you.

Where is the humility in the body of Mashiach today?

It seems most people are more interested in their rights than they are in living a righteous life according to our Master. May I be so bold as to assert that, if one is pursuing his rights, he cannot live in righteousness? Think about it. If one is pursuing his rights, then he is pursuing that which exalts himself. If one is exalting himself, then how can he be exalting Yeshua our Mashiach? If one is exalting himself, where is the humility in that?

Yeshua taught that, if His followers are persecuted in one place, they are to flee to another. He never taught to stand up and fight for one’s rights.

This is the basis of making a diligent inquiry into any matter: humility. If one does not make the inquiry with humility, then he shall not find the answers which he needs. Humility is the key to unlocking healthy relationships.

Shabbat Shalom
Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com