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An excerpt from: Faith and the “Works of the law”

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Paul’s contention was not with the law itself, but with the incorrect handling of the law:

“We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.” – 1 Timothy 1:8

This was addressed to Paul’s disciple and traveling companion who underwent the procedure of circumcision performed at the behest of Paul himself. How can we reconcile this, when Paul wrote to the Galatians that circumcision would jeopardize their salvation? In Timothy’s case, the Torah was handled correctly. Timothy was circumcised for the purpose of removing possible contentions that the Jews in the area would have had if Timothy wished to preach to them. The motive was therefore pure, and done to advance the gospel. This is in stark contrast to Galatians, who were receiving circumcision out of the worst motive possible: to earn their salvation.

During the 1^st Century, the issue of motive regarding Torah observance became such a heated topic that the term “Lishmah” was developed, translated as: “for its purpose” – asserting that one should not complicate the matter through assigning impure motives. Rather, they believed, the Torah should only be pursued out of a sense of duty with “no thought of a wage”:

“Antigones of Soko received the Torah from Simeon the Righteous. He used to say, ‘Be not like servants who serve their master for the sake of wages, but be like servants who serve their master with no thought of a wage – and let the fear of heaven be upon you.” – Mishnah, Avot 1:3

A cautionary tale was developed as a warning to those who would dare take on the Yoke of Torah with impure Lishmah. A sage known as Doeg haEdomi fell into apostasy:

“He was the head of the Sanhedrin in the generation of Shaul and Smuel, yet he is counted among those who have no share in the world to come. Why did the Torah that he studied not protect him? Because he studied “Sheloh lishmah” – with improper motivation!” – Chesbon HaNefesh, page 13, Forward.

Compare that with Paul’s rebuke of the Galatians:

“Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all…You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” – Galatians 5:2,4

The Galatians were falling for the same error as the great Doeg, and in grave danger of suffering the same fate if they continued. Paul writes: “Christ will be of no value to you at all” – meaning they would lose their salvation. To put it in Jewish terms, they were going to “lose their share in the world to come.”

In Romans 3, Paul offers the following inquiry: if we are not saved through the works of the law, do we abandon the practice, consider it abrogated, made obsolete by faith? The answer is surprising. Paul responds: “Not at all! Rather we uphold the law” (Romans 3:31). The observance of the Torah itself was not the damnable practice that Paul was condemning. Instead, Paul was opposing pursuing Torah with improper Lishmah! This was the error behind the “Works of the Law” that Paul was desperately trying to communicate.

Paul writes that Israel failed to achieve the righteousness they were seeking because they misunderstood the purpose of the law. They pursued it as if it were a platform for accruing works when they could have pursued it “by faith”:

“…but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal [of righteousness]. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works.” – Romans 9:20-32

Here we arrive at the real point of contention with the “works of the Law.” The “works of the Torah” ultimately represent works done with improper Lishmah, that is, works done for the “sake of wages” and with motive to earn. Anything done by faith, in contrast, is performed with no thought of a wage – we do them because we wish to be faithful to God, and what he requires.

This means that the “works of the Law” are not limited to the Ceremonial laws. Paul appropriated the term because it represented an Essene doctrine of works-based righteousness. The danger is therefore in accidentally turning anything, even charity, into the “works of the Law.” As Paul makes clear in the passages quoted, there is nothing wrong with the Ceremonial works of the Torah, if done “by faith.” Therefore the term, as applied by Paul should be understood in this way:

• “Works of the Torah” = Ceremonial law, or any other religious ‘work’ done with the improper motive to earn
•  “By Faith” = Ceremonial law, or any other religious ‘work’ done with proper motive

Saint Thomas of Aquinas identified a problem in assuming the error of the “works of the Law” was simply obedience to the Torah. He details the dilemma like this: if the consequence of the works of the law is compromised salvation, it follows that the Patriarchs and all the Jews leading up to the death and resurrection of Christ who were faithful to the imperative to obey the Torah, are all consequently damned and without a place in the resurrection. This of course is nonsense. He reconciles the problem, by assigning a distinction in obeying the Torah and placing one’s “hope” in the Torah:

“But against this it can be said that the ancient fathers were of the works of the Law. Therefore, they are under a curse and, consequently damned – which is a Manichean error. Hence it is necessary to understand this correctly. And it should be noted that the Apostle does not say, “As many as observe the works of the Law are under a curse,” because this is false when applied to the time of the law. He says rather: As many are of the works of the Law, i.e, whoever trust in the works of the Law and believe that they are made just by them are under a curse. For it is one thing to be of the works of the Law and another to observe the Law. The latter consists in fulfilling the Law, so that one who fulfils it is not under a curse. But to be of the works of the Law is to trust in them and place one’s hope in them.” – Commentary on Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, St. Thomas Aquinas, F.r. Larcher, O.P.

He then mentions the conditions of the early Jewish church, that many were Torah observant, but since they did not place their “hope” in the Law, they were not condemned:

“Now in the early Church there were some just men who observed the Law without being under the Law, inasmuch as they observed the works of the Law; but they were not under the Law in the sense of putting their hope in them.”

This concept of the proper use of one’s “hope” is equivalent to the Jewish concept of “Lishmah” or “motive”:

• Improper Lishmah = obeying to earn a reward
• Placing “one’s hope” in the Torah = obeying the Torah to earn Salvation

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An excerpt from: Proper motive, cleaving to God and Galatians 5:2-4

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Given the severity of the wrong lishmah, much discussion has been made exploring the nature of lishmah, the rationale behind it and how to cultivate it properly.

Rabbi Chafetz Chayim writes:

“Now it is written in scripture, ‘Happy is the man who fears Hashem, who delights greatly in his commandments (psalms 112:1)…We find that the sages made a precise inference from the term ‘in his commandments’ (Talmud Bavli, Avodah Zarah 19a) explaining that it implies ‘but not for the reward for his commandments.’ Now at first sight this seems puzzling. Surely we know that the reward for keeping the commandments is to enjoy the radiance of the shechinah in Paradise.” – The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, The chafeetz Chayim, forward.

Rabbi Chafetz Chayem addresses the possible confusion that can result when inquiring as to why we should pay no regard for the reward of the commandments, especially since our reward is entrance into “paradise” meaning the Messianic age, and the ultimate joy of residing within the radiance of “Shekinah”, God’s presence. This is no doubt wonderful, and so how can we refrain from rejoicing? How can we ignore the natural inclination to obey God to receive such prospective rewards?

Rabbi Chafetz gives the following proposal:

“Well, I thought to explain that it is a known matter that wherever the Torah says “me’od” (“Very much” or “greatly”), it means to convey “without end or limit” – something that will never terminate. This is the meaning of the words, “who delights greatly in his commandments, but not in the reward for his commandments.” Although we have explained the great value of the reward for the mitzvoth, that it is on a most high and exalted level, and the immense longing of a person to attain this exquisite pleasure – nevertheless, “who delights greatly in his commandments” – here lies one’s infinite, boundless longing and yearning, after he ponders and considers the greatness of a mitzvah itself, how far-reaching its effect is. Then even its reward is to be reckoned as nought and nothing compared with the great value of doing the mitzvah itself. So there is no end or limit to a person’s longing to fulfill a mitzvah.” – The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, The chafeetz Chayim, forward.

After fully recognizing the value inherent within the commandments, all other motivations should fade away, they are “reckoned as nought and nothing” compared to the glory and privilege of the commandments themselves. However, this does not fully explain why we are to view mitzvot this way. Rabbi Chayim makes the assumption that the reader should already know. What is so great about the mitzvot; what is the value behind it all? According to scripture, the ultimate purpose behind proper lishmah is to “cleave” to God:

…you shall diligently keep all of these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him. – Deuteronomy 11:22

You shall walk after Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and you shall serve him, and cleave unto him. – Deuteronomy 13:5

“…that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast [cleave] to him.” – Deut 30:20

“But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast [cleave] to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” – Joshua 22:5

The Hebrew verb behind the English translation “cleave” or “hold fast” is pronounced “Dabaq” and is used to imply the general concept of two or more joining as one, such as: sticking, joining, cleaving, attracting, etc. The word is first used in Genesis regarding the imperative of Adam to “cleave” to Eve as his wife. The mitzvot is therefore provided as the medium, the spiritual technology through which God’s proverbial wife (Israel) is able to cleave to God, to experience joining/connecting with God in an intimate way. The abstract noun based on “Dabaq” was invented: “Devekut” referring to the experiential oneness with God resulting from the practice of obedience, intense study and focus on God.The act of cleaving results in a deep “knowing” between the two subjects. While “understanding” connotes an intellectual grasp of something, “knowledge” is quite different. Knowledge implies understanding specifically joined with experience, and it is by the deepest experience of Eve through cleaving, that Adam came to “know” his wife: “and Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived” (Genesis 4:1). By cleaving to God through the mitzvot/commandments, we come to know God. This is what the Apostle John was intimating with this statement in his first epistle:

“By this we can be sure that we have come to know him: if we keep his commandments.” – 1 John 2:3

God, through the prophet Jeremiah poses the following question to the king of Judah reigning at the time:

“‘Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?’ declares the Lord.” – Jeremiah 22:15.

According to King Solomon, biblically regarded as the wisest man who ever lived, the highest purpose for man is to obey the commandments:

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” – Ecclesiastes 12:13

If the commandments were provided as a spiritual technology to precipitate “Devekut” – experiential unity with God, and if the highest goal for man is to obey the commandments, then by inference, we can understand why the sages believed that the deeper insight behind Ecclesiastes 12:13 is that the highest goal for man is devekut:

“Our sages of blessed memory have instructed us that man was created for [the sole purpose of] reveling in the eternal and delighting in the splendor of the divine presence, this being the ultimate joy and the greatest of all pleasures in existence.” – The path of the Just, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto,  Chapter 1, page 8.

The Middah of Gratitude

Jewish Articles:

• https://reformjudaism.org/learning/sacred-texts/learn-about-middot/contentment-ones-lot-middah-samayach-bchelko
• https://www.aish.com/sp/pg/3-Gratitude.html

Youtube Videos:

• Gratitude Matters: Developing the art of Appreciation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWxpKILejmw

Christian Articles:

• https://bestirrednotshaken.com/new-testament/unthankful-is-ingratitude-root-of-most-sins/
• https://bestirrednotshaken.com/topic-studies/comparison-envy-the-key-to-unhappiness/

 

The Middah of Humility

Jewish Articles:

• https://reformjudaism.org/learning/sacred-texts/learn-about-middot/modesty-middah-anavah

Youtube Videos:

• Cultivating Humility: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXZu1H0s-hk&list=PLEvpUh6qHhhbS4iaJ6lBZmGc4vidj8voZ&index=6

Christian Articles:

• https://bestirrednotshaken.com/christian-living/humility-bible-anavah-meaning/

 

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An excerpt from: Romans 6-8: The “law of the Spirit” and Spiritual maturity (Part 2)

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The “Two inclinations”

The Hebrew text of Genesis 2:7 contains an apparent misspelling. This is both intriguing and catastrophic since a true error in Holy scripture can only represent a monumental threat to the doctrine of its infallibility. Therefore, when textual variances appear, the approach employed by the sages has been to assume that all apparent inconsistencies are instead deliberate, allowed by God’s providence in order to communicate important insights. Record of discussion regarding Genesis 2:7 is preserved in the Jewish compilation of tradition, known as the Talmud:

Nahman b. R. Hisda expounded: What is meant by the text, Then the Lord God formed [va-yetzer] man? [The word va-yetzer] (Gen. 2:7) is written with two yods, to show that God created two inclinations, one good (tov) and the other evil (ra). – Talmud, Ber. 61a

The Hebrew word for “formed” (Yetzer) is usually spelled with one Yod. However, in this specific passage, the word is equipped with one extra Yod. According to the tradition as received by Rabbi Nahman, the two Yods signified the formation of two inclinations within man, one good (In Hebrew, “Yetzer Tov”) and the other evil (in Hebrew, “Yetzer Ra”).

This obscure term “Yetzer” meaning “formation” appears again in Genesis 6:5. The way it is applied in the verse only substantiates its association with the spiritual predisposition of man:

“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination [Yetzer] of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” – Genesis 6:5

The word is used the same way in Genesis 8, to express the dismal condition of the human heart:

“The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination [Yetzer] of the human heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.” – Genesis 8:21

According to tradition, man’s condition is actually more severe than what the scripture indicates on the surface level of the text:

“He replied: “for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen 8:21) R. Yadan adds that the words “from his youth” mean: from the day of his birth.” – Jerusalem Talmud, Barakhot 3:5

Yet still, over time, the tradition evolved. As found in one of the “minor tractates” written after the compilation of the Talmud, the Yetzer Ra is said to begin to emerge within a baby while still in the mother’s womb:

“The yetzer hara is 13 years older than the yetzer hatov. While still in the mother’s womb, the yetzer hara begins to develop in a person. If he begins to violate the Sabbath, nothing stops him. If he commits murder, nothing stops him. If he goes off to another sin, nothing stops him.” – Avot d’Rabbi Natan 16:12

The somber declaration made by King David now makes sense in light of the Old Testament and ancient Jewish belief:

“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” – Psalm 51:5

The narrative of the “Apocryphal” book of 2 Esdras (found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Catholic canon) claims authorship by Ezra. However, Scholarly consensus places its origin to around 70 to 218 AD. The text elucidates that the evil inclination (Yetzer Ra) originated at the moment of Adam’s transgression. The sin is said to have resulted in a permanent spiritual defect, a “wicked heart” that we all inherit when we are born:

And yet tookest thou not away from them a wicked heart, that thy law might bring forth fruit in them. For the first Adam bearing a wicked heart transgressed, and was overcome; and so be all they that are born of him. Thus infirmity was made permanent; and the law (also) in the heart of the people with the malignity of the root; so that the good departed away, and the evil abode still. So the times passed away, and the years were brought to an end: then didst thou raise thee up a servant, called David: Whom thou commandedst to build a city unto thy name, and to offer incense and oblations unto thee therein. When this was done many years, then they that inhabited the city forsook thee, And in all things did even as Adam and all his generations had done: for they also had a wicked heart. – (2Esdras 3:20-26)

Similar to the passage in 2 Esdras, the Talmud also intimates that a spiritual “pollution” was introduced after the fall. However, rather than assigning blame to Adam, the pollution is said to have been introduced to humanity through Eve:

“When… [the serpent deceived] Eve, he imposed pollution in her.” – Talmud, Shabbat 146a.

If you’re noticing that the steady presentation of Jewish sources seems to inch closer and closer to the Christian territory of “original sin”, you are correct. For this reason, the topic has historically served as a theological battleground for fierce debates between religious Jews and Christian missionaries. Despite the mounting evidence for a Jewish origin of the doctrine of original sin, Jewish opponents in “polemic” works were relentless against it. According to Daniel Lasker, in his book “Jewish Philosophical Polemics Against Christianity in the Middle Ages” the arguments found in the medieval polemic works against original sin should not be considered trustworthy, but instead, represent less than honest accounts of official Jewish doctrine:

“Polemical compositions were intended as polemics, a genre for which objective truth is one of the first casualties…if one wants to know a particular author’s view on a subject, a polemical treatise is the last place one would look to determine it. When this literature is analyzed without due recognition of “polemic license,” the research runs the risk of reading too much into the texts…”

In light of this, ordained Rabbi, director of education for NCSY and instructor at Yeshiva University David Bashevkin writes:

“Given this warning, it is not surprising that the vehemence with which the doctrine of original sin was opposed within polemic literature may not actually reflect its patent rejection within Jewish sources. In fact, as pointed out by Lasker, the doctrine of original sin “was not entirely foreign to Judaism” as some polemics would otherwise suggest.” – Sin and failure in Jewish thought, page 23.

Interestingly, the more mystically inclined students of Lurianic Kabbalah demonstrated a more favorable disposition to the subject, and even expanded on themes that closely aligned with the Christian position:

“Certain Kabbalists taught a doctrine of original sin, in that Adam’s transgression gave evil an active existence in the world. The entire creation became flawed by this first sin.” – Lasker, Jewish Philosophical Polemics, 226n19.

A Jewish parable (known as a Midrash) presents Israel as petitioning God, tired and broken from repeated failure and defeat before the Yetzer Ra. God provides a brief answer to quell their turmoil. One day they will indeed enjoy a time of liberation:

Israel complained: “If a potter leaves a pebble in the clay, and the jar leaks, is the potter not responsible? You have left the Evil Inclination in us. Remove it, and we will do Your will!” God replied,”This I will do in the time to come. [in the Messianic era]” – [Exodus Rabbah 46.4]

12th-century rabbi, Moses Ben Nachman, also known as “Ramban” writes:

“This following subject is very apparent from Scripture: Since the time of Creation, man has had the power to do as he pleased, to be righteous or wicked…But in the days of the Messiah, the choice of their [genuine] good will be natural; the heart will not desire the improper and it will have no craving whatever for it…Man will return at that time to what he was before the sin of Adam, when by his nature he did what should properly be done, and there were no conflicting desires in his will…” – Ramban, Deut 29.

Zechariah 12 is considered one of the most significant Messianic prophecies, paramount for building a biblical case for proving Christ. The prophecy of Zechariah 12 builds until it reaches its zenith, “And they shall look on me because they have thrust him through, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for his only son.” Surprisingly, religious Jews also share the same interpretation of this event. The prophecy is an account of the Jewish people beholding the visage of the Messiah, risen back to life from death due to the lethal event of being “thrust” through:

“What was the reason for the mourning [to which reference is made in Zechariah’s statement]?…One said, “It is on account of the Messiah, the son of Joseph, who was killed.” – Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52a.

This account continues:

“And the other said, ‘It is on account of the evil inclination, which was killed.’”

If this is so, Why should this event bring the Jewish people to weep?

“In the time to come, the Holy one, blessed be he, will bring the evil inclination and slay it before the righteous and before the wicked. To the righteous the evil inclination will look like a high hill, and to the wicked it will appear like a hair-thin thread. These will weep [the righteous] and those will weep [the wicked]. The righteous will weep, saying ‘How could we ever have overcome a hill so high as this one!’ The wicked will weep, saying, ‘How could we not have overcome a hair-thin thread like this one!’ And so too the Holy One, blessed be he, will share their amazement, as it is said, ‘Thus says the Lord of Hosts. If it be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, it shall also be marvelous in my eyes.’ (Zechariah 8:6).” – ibid

Which is it? Is the prophecy an account of the people weeping because of the appearance of the resurrected Messiah, or are they weeping because of the death of the evil inclination slain before them? The two should not be considered separate or opposing. In fact, they are two ways of viewing the same event. The arrival of the Messiah also brings about the end of the evil inclination.

Found within the book of Isaiah, is an intriguing prophecy similar in its description to the account of the Messiah seizing the Yetzer Ra from within man, and presenting it before the nations, brutally beaten and weakened before them:

But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. Those who see you will stare; they will ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made the kingdoms tremble, who turned the world into a desert and destroyed its cities, who refused to let the captives return to their homes?” – Isaiah 14:15-17

This lines up perfectly with New Testament prophecy in the book of Revelation. At the advent of the millennial reign of Christ, the devil (the spiritual origin of the evil inclination) will be seized and bound for a thousand years:

“And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended.” – Revelation 20:1-3

This study is nowhere near a comprehensive and complete presentation of the Jewish concepts of the Yetzer Ra, and the Yetzer Tov. I do believe, that enough material has been shown to justify, at the very least, directing some consideration to the association I’m wanting to make between Paul’s writings and Jewish tradition, and pursuing it further.