Traditions of Man

Definition of "tradition" from the 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

• an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior
• a belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable
• the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction
• cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions
• characteristic manner, method, or style

Mark 7:5 The scribes and the Pharisees ask Y'shua, "Why don't your disciples walk according to the traditions of the elders? His short answer is: "You hypocrites... You have left the Commandment of Elohim and have embraced the tradition of men. ... And you despise the Word of Elohim because of the tradition that you have handed down..."

This entire chapter showcases one of the greatest discussions of 'oral versus written law' predating what would later be recorded in the Talmud some 200 years later.

Matthew 15:3 records the same... the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem ask Y'shua why his disciples transgress against the traditions of the elders. He asks them, "Why do you transgress the Commandments of Elohim because of your traditions?"

Written Torah was pitted against the oral traditions of the Pharisees who were nullifying the Word of YHWH by their traditions - he would not instruct his followers to do likewise.

Who were the scribes?

Members of a learned class studying the Scriptures and serving as copyists, editors, teachers, and jurists

Who were the Pharisees?

Members of a Jewish sect noted for strict observance of rites and ceremonies of the written law and for insistence on the validity of their own oral traditions concerning the law.

Who were the Sadducees?

Members of a Jewish party consisting of a traditional ruling class of priests and rejecting doctrines not in the Law (such as resurrection, retribution in a future life, and the existence of angels)

Quote from the Jewish Virtual Library: 

Of the various factions that emerged under Hasmonean rule, three are of particular interest: the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.

The most important of the three were the Pharisees because they are the spiritual fathers of modern Judaism. Their main distinguishing characteristic was a belief in an Oral Law that God gave to Moses at Sinai along with the Torah. The Pharisees believed that God also gave Moses the knowledge of what these laws meant and how they should be applied. This oral tradition was codified and written down roughly three centuries later in what is known as the Talmud.

The Sadducees were elitists who wanted to maintain the priestly caste, but they were also liberal in their willingness to incorporate Hellenism into their lives, something the Pharisees opposed. The Sadducees rejected the idea of the Oral Law and insisted on a literal interpretation of the Written Law; consequently, they did not believe in an after life, since it is not mentioned in the Torah. The main focus of Sadducee life was rituals associated with the Temple.

The Sadducees disappeared around 70 A.D., after the destruction of the Second Temple. None of the writings of the Sadducees has survived, so the little we know about them comes from their Pharisaic opponents. These two "parties" served in the Great Sanhedrin, a kind of Jewish Supreme Court made up of 71 members whose responsibility was to interpret civil and religious laws.

A third faction, the Essenes, emerged out of disgust with the other two. This sect believed the others had corrupted the city and the Temple. They moved out of Jerusalem and lived a monastic life in the desert, adopting strict dietary laws and a commitment to celibacy.

The Talmud

Quoted from the Jewish Virtual Library:

The Oral Law is a legal commentary on the Torah, explaining how its commandments are to be carried out. Common sense suggests that some sort of oral tradition was always needed to accompany the Written Law, because the Torah alone, even with its 613 commandments, is an insufficient guide to Jewish life. For example, the fourth of the Ten Commandments, ordains, "Remember the Sabbath day to make it holy" (Exodus 20:8). From the Sabbath's inclusion in the Ten Commandments, it is clear that the Torah regards it as an important holiday. Yet when one looks for the specific biblical laws regulating how to observe the day, one finds only injunctions against lighting a fire, going away from one's dwelling, cutting down a tree, plowing and harvesting. Would merely refraining from these few activities fulfill the biblical command to make the Sabbath holy? Indeed, the Sabbath rituals that are most commonly associated with holiness-lighting of candles, reciting the kiddush, and the reading of the weekly Torah portion are found not in the Torah, but in the Oral Law.

Without an oral tradition, some of the Torah's laws would be incomprehensible.

Can you see where the term 'legalism' was wrongly applied by Christians to Torah, the written Word of Yah, as an excuse to ignore the Old Testament, while at the same time being totally blind to the fact it was the acts of the scribes and Pharisees which made their opinions 'legal'? That is the foundation of Judaism, another religion that perverts our heavenly Father's Instructions for humanity.

Babylonian Talmud? Does this have anything to do with the warning to 

Come out of Babylon?

I do not support the use of the talmud nor do I support folks who use it as a teaching guide. Rabbis believe "Without an oral tradition, some of the Torah's laws would be incomprehensible" and this is simply not true. The talmud provides insight to the 'Jewish mindset' (not the Hebrew mindset) via the early rabbinic system (the beginnings of Judaism = a religion). It is a collection of writings that cover all 'Jewish law and tradition'. Rabbis believe we cannot understand "Torah" without it and I find that to be a false teaching. They were guilty of putting a 'fence around Torah' back in the day and this is the same sort of power trip the RCC participates in. I am pointing out to Beware the traditions of man. When we continue to read and study Scriptures daily, His Spirit will reveal the Truth wherein we gain knowledge and understanding, without the influence of traditions or man's opinions about "God". Y'shua called the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites because they transgressed against the Commandments of Elohim by way of their traditions... which later became recorded in the Talmud. This is a big reason why I do not recommend using the Talmud in an attempt to teach, shed light or verify the Word of YHWH.

The 2 The 10 and The Rest Follow Naturally

Matthew 22 tells us that Yah's Instructions (Torah) and the (writings of the) prophets hold onto these two commandments: 

• Love Master Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, soul, might and mind 
• Love your neighbor as yourself 

Earlier, we read in Deuteronomy 6:5

• You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and all your soul and with all your might.

and in Leviticus 19:18

• Do not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself.

You see, those "two great commands" do not replace anything else - they come straight from the Old Testament, the part referred to as Torah. If you love Yah with your entire being then it should be no problem for you to understand and follow His Instructions.

I am YHWH your Elohim who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: You shall have no other gods besides Me. You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them. I YHWH am your Elohim, impassioned, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children upon the third and the fourth generations of those who reject Me, but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not swear falsely by My Name for I will not clear one who does.

If you love your fellowman as yourself, you will treat him with the same respect as you would like to be treated. You should have no problem following the Instructions of Yahweh.

Honor your mother and father that you may long endure in the Promised Land that I am giving you. You shall not murder, or commit adultery or steal or bare false witness against one another. You shall not covet your neighbor's house or wife or anything that belongs to him.

Those who do the commandments are those who love Yahweh. 

Without love, observing His Instructions is vanity and 

without His Instructions one's love is vanity.

Remember the sabbath day and keep it set apart. Six days you shall do all your work but the seventh day is a sabbath of Mine. You, your family, your hired hands or your work animals or the stranger who is visiting your town shall do no work. I made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them in six days and on the seventh I rested, therefore I blessed the sabbath day and set it apart.

All of His Instructions are recorded in the the first five books of Scriptures: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This is His Instruction Manual provided for His Creation.  Sure, it takes some study time to even begin to understand what was going on back in those days and to learn that it still applies to us today; just as any owner's manual needs to be read a few times before the instructions make sense, become clear.

Nothing was done away with when Yahshua came on the scene, in fact, he clarifies and even raises the standard a few times, but he did not put an end to what the Father started.

Exodus 20:

I am YHWH your Elohim who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: You shall have no other gods besides Me.

You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them.

I YHWH am your Elohim, impassioned, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children upon the third and the fourth generations of those who reject Me, but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those w ho love Me and keep My commandments.

You shall not swear falsely by My Name for I will not clear one who does.

Remember the sabbath day and keep it set apart. Six days you shall do all your work but the seventh day is a sabbath of Mine. You, your family, your hired hands or your work animals or the stranger who is visiting your town shall do no work. I made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them in six days and on the seventh I rested, therefore I blessed the sabbath day and set it apart.

Honor your mother and father that you may long endure in the Promised Land that I am giving you.

You shall not murder, or commit adultery or steal or bare false witness against one another. You shall not covet your neighbor's house or wife or anything that belongs to him.

The Ten Summarized

Throughout the book of Genesis Yahweh pretty much established Himself as the Creator and the only Living Elohim.  He had to do this early on because He knew of the future 'no-gods' that would spring from the non-believers whose imaginations became steeped in pagan traditions.  

Since Yahweh is the only Elohim and is the Maker of all things He saw fit to include an Owner's Manual for His Creation.  He knew we would need it.  From the time Satan interfered in the Garden and to this very day YHWH's Instructions are vital to knowing the difference between the righteousness of Truth and the deceptions of paganism.  He gave us a choice between Good and Evil - we follow YHWH or Satan, there is no middle of the road.

Many lessons have been taught His people and by the time we get to the book of Exodus He is ready to round them up and move them out.  It hasn't been easy because His people are 'stiff necked', stubborn and hard headed.  They say one thing and do another.  They (His created) anger Elohim to the point that He just as soon be done with them.  He is reminded of His promise and life goes on.  He really does love us and wants that no one would perish.

More lessons, types and shadows are given and by Exodus 15:8 He makes a fixed rule and puts the people (He had set free) to the test. Yah says:

"If you will heed Me, your Elohim, diligently, doing what is upright in My sight, giving ear to My commandments and keep all My laws, then I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I Am your healer."

And here is what Yahweh our Elohim has to say as it is recorded in Exodus 20:

I am YHWH your Elohim who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: You shall have no other gods besides Me.
You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.  You shall not bow down to them or serve them.
I YHWH am your Elohim, impassioned, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children upon the third and the fourth generations of those who reject Me, but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
You shall not swear falsely by My Name for I will not clear one who does.
Remember the sabbath day and keep it set apart.  Six days you shall do all your work but the seventh day is a sabbath of Mine. You, your family, your hired hands or your work animals or the stranger who is visiting your town shall do no work.  I made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them in six days and on the seventh I rested, therefore I blessed the sabbath day and set it apart.
Honor your mother and father that you may long endure in the Promised Land that I am giving you.
You shall not murder, or commit adultery or steal or bare false witness against one another.  You shall not covet your neighbor's house or wife or anything that belongs to him.

Even though He had established Himself as the one true living Elohim from the beginning, many years later He needs to remind His people of who they are and how to live set apart from the rest of humanity.  

There is only One Elohim and His Name is Yahweh who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.  It is by Faith in this Being that we trust what He says to be true. Spending every day reading His Word helps to reveal this Truth.  Anything else is a false god, idol, image that has its origins in deception and its purpose is to distract us from our Father and His Instructions in Righteousness.

***

Don't cut yourself short by saying it's impossible to live by the 'laws' our Creator gave us. Just because we 'believe' doesn't mean- in a snap of His fingers -we instantly become Torah Observant - even those who claim to be Torah observant fall short. BUT if we continue on His path we Learn how to live by His rules and regulations and Choose to Obey... in obedience we are an example of what it means to love Yah with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. He has not given us anything we cannot bear. By Faith we do as He says. This is a very chaotic world we live in and distractions are many, yet we know we have been called to leave worldly things behind so as not be be caught up in the sins and plagues of Mystery Babylon. I think the condensed version of His Instructions (The Ten) was very generous of Him, so as not to overwhelm His people as they journeyed on. It those same Ten that are applied to us in today's world. When I compare myself to His commands I see where I had fallen short in the past, but this does not stop me from continuing to learn and obey; and this is by Faith, my commitment to our Creator. Satan has been so subtle to cause us to unwittingly sin - for example: My husband and I are now in the process of deprogramming from calling the days and months by names - some of which are names of pagan gods, which, as you know, are not to even be heard coming from our mouths. By Faith I heed His Instructions and have been learning how to live by them. His Spirit does indeed reveal the Truth in all things as long as we continue on His Path and do not limit ourselves by thinking it's impossible. Doubt is the most successful tool Satan uses against us.

Obedience is Discipline

Obeying the Creator

By observing Torah, which is obeying the laws God gave all mankind, we demonstrate our love for Him. Most Christians are following Torah without knowing it! They keep about 1/3 of the commands simply by living moral, upright lives. We have the testimony of Messiah AND the choice to follow God's commands. If we've got Messiah and follow him and we allow the Holy Spirit to work inside us, YHWH will reveal Truth every step of the way.

If you continue to study Scripture then Knowledge and Understanding will increase, baggage falls away, the narrow gate opens and the straight path is revealed. Halleluyah! and praise Elohim for His steadfast love that all would have the chance and choose to turn from sin and return to Him - the One who created us! 

This is the path we journey along towards our real home. We come across many stepping stones as well as stumbling blocks, but our Faith keeps us steady. Satan's goal is to knock us off that path of righteousness. Our goal is the Heavenly Kingdom YHWH told us about through His servants, the prophets of old.  Messiah confirmed all that God had commanded as it is written in the renewed covenant.  The message has been preserved and handed down through the ages. We are the lost sheep of Israel and those other sheep that have heard our Shepherd's Voice. That doesn't mean we stop learning and become content where we are, but we let the Spirit of Truth, the Comforter Y'shua gave us after he died, continue to guide us, teach us and reveal the Word of God to us. That is why he calls it A Path - we move along his path so as not to stagnate in a perceived comfort zone.

Torah reveals right from wrong. It is a set of instructions necessary for the behavior of mankind, not a tool to use to find favor with God (that's what hypocrites are guilty of). It is just as much a part of our lives today as it was in the days of Moses, and Abraham and Noah.

There is evil in the world today just as there was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah and surrounding towns. The world we live in today is much as it was in the days of Noah. And it's going to get worse. Our heavenly Father's laws reveal sin and keep us from evil as we walk through that shadowy valley of Death. We recognize right from wrong because we have the definition of both good and evil described in the 1st five books of Scriptures.

Y'shua Messiah was killed and his blood of atonement 'justifies', or absolves us of the guilt of sin. This act 'sanctifies' or sets us apart unto Elohim. We trust and obey God and this will be credited to us as 'righteousness'. (Galatians 3:6)

Y'shua Messiah did not put an end to what our Creator began.

The Spirit is continually teaching us and God is testing to see what is in our hearts. That was the purpose of the 40 years in the wilderness after Moses led that mixed multitude out of Egypt - YHWH knew what was in their hearts yet tested them to see if they would obey Him like they said they would. Well, as you know, only 2 of the original generation made it to the promise land of Canaan - Joshua and Caleb.

Keeping Torah in today's World

Torah is not a religion but God's perfect governing system for all mankind. Of the 613 commandments, 221 apply only to the temple, priesthood and their duties, sacrifices and ritual purity. Since the the physical temple and all associated with it does not exist today these laws do not apply and no law is 'broken' if some thing doesn't exist.  That leaves 392 'laws', which are divided among the rest of us, according to our station in life.

For example: Over 50 laws apply to you if you are a farmer or running a business. Over 60 laws apply to  judges or those  involved in the judicial system. There are 45 laws that apply to us in regard to social behaviors, community and family affairs, and some of those are for just men, and some just for women.  
 

The laws of God YHWH are not a burden and they are able to be kept.  He would not give us anything that we could not bear.  His rules and regulations bring order to the affairs of man and teach us how to handle our own daily affairs. You and I don't lie, cheat, steal or murder but there are many who do. Yahweh protects us, gives us a legal leg to stand on, if these wrongdoings befall us.  He takes into consideration laws regarding 'Involuntary Manslaughter' as well as 'Premeditated Murder'.

Torah is not complicated and is provided for everyone. It represents the character of YHWH our Elohim and His values according to His will - it elevates human life by establishing justice and equality for everyone.

John 14:15 - Y'shua said if you love me keep my commands. 14:21- He who has and keeps my commandments is he who loves me and will be loved by my Father. 15:10 - If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love just as I have kept the commandments of my Father (Torah) and I abide in His love.

Revelation 22:14 - Blessed are those who do His commandments for they shall be given the right to the Tree of Life and will be allowed to enter into the city (New Jerusalem).

The Law is the Word of YHWH our Elohim, and His commandments are found in the first five books of Scripture. His Son confirms this by obeying the will of his Father. Throughout Scripture we are told to show we love Him by keeping His commandments then He will be our Elohim and we will be His people. God would not tell us to do something if we weren't able to do so.

Definitions from Webster's

Justification = the condition necessary for salvation; of being absolved of the guilt of sin.
Sanctification = set apart, consecrated, made free from (bondage to) sin, purified, dedicated.
Righteousness = acting in a just, upright manner, doing what is morally right.

Torah is the Hebrew word for Instruction; instructions for discerning what is morally right, and teaches us how to live in a just manner, advising us on how to be justified and become sanctified - it is the instructions which point us to the Promised Land.  God Himself chose His people to be Set Apart as He is Set Apart... this happens by obeying Him, everything He commands.

New Covenant, Old Covenant, is Torah a covenant?

Right off the get-go we are being gently led astray by a bad translation, the word 'New'. The original Hebrew word 'chadash' means to re-new or to make new or repair. It was never a New covenant but a Renewed covenant. Theologians have long used this term to steer the 'church' away from the rules and commands by God written in Genesis through Deuteronomy, aka Torah.

In the research of Andrew Gabriel Roth, he found that " post-apostlic church founder, Marcion (110-160 AD), who was considered a heretic by the early church, coined the terms 'Old Testament' and 'New Testament' suggesting that the old was done away with, replaced with the new.  His false anti-torah theology is still believed by most Christians today."

A covenant is a contract, a promise, a firm agreement, a pact, made in faith by which the parties involved are trusted to uphold their end of said contract. In every contract there is an exchange of value. In the Renewed contract/covenant Y'shua Messiah offers redemption for our lives but we must reciprocate (hold up our end of the contract) by being obedient.

Torah contains the Terms and Conditions of Yahweh's covenant between Himself and mankind. Torah demands the element of Faith to bring mutual benefits between the parties involved.
  
John 15:10 - IF you keep my commandments you will abide in my love just as I have kept the commandments of my Father Elohim and I abide in His love.

In reality, the new covenant (NT) is a renewal of the older covenant God had formerly made between Himself and His people. Y'shua Messiah and his apostles obeyed the Father, they were Torah observant. It is not a burden and it is not impossible to live by God's Commands.

Nothing Has Changed

Right off the bat we are told it is Satan 
who causes us to doubt the Word of Yah. 

This doubt causes division among His People. 

If we aren't of one mind how can we be a Light unto others?

If we won't accept the written word as truth, 

if we doubt that Yahweh says what He means 
and does what He says, 

then we fall into that same trap Satan 
set in the Garden of long ago.

Nothing has changed. 

The rules are the same and the consequences are the same.

It is up to us to seek Him as if looking for treasure. 
By seeking YHWH we follow the trail 
and avoid those stumbling blocks
of bad translations, doctrines of man 
and those wolves in sheep's clothing.

Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, 
is our road map out of the world system
that we may find our way back home 
returning to our Creator.

We know God speaks to His People as it is written in Scriptures. We also know even those who witnessed His Works first hand eventually fell away from following His Teachings.

In the beginning Yahweh established Himself as the Creator of: Light; Sky; Earth; Lights in the Sky; Sea Creatures; Birds that Fly; Animals, insects and man. Then He blesses the 7th day and rests. Many years later He tells us to remember the 7th day, to rest and do no work on that day (commandment #4 of the 10.) We obey this instruction as a 'sign' that we have chosen to be Set Apart because our Creator is Set Apart.

YHWH has told us the end from the beginning so we will recognize that when these events occur, it was He, the Living Elohim, who told us beforehand. We can trust that Yah is the One True God. 

YHWH Elohim provides the instructions needed that all will be well for us. His Instructions are recorded in Genesis through Deuteronomy.  If we read Scriptures every day His Spirit will begin to reveal the Truth of His Word and we shall gain understanding. This is the path of righteousness we choose to travel.

God placed man in the Garden to tend it. He put us in His Creation to take care of things until the Time of the End (of life as we know it.)   The Adversary, Satan, has been corrupting the system ever since he caused Eve to doubt the Word of God by asking: Did God really say...? Doubt causes division and Satan uses that same tactic against us in this day and age.

If we continue to read and study Scriptures our understanding will increase and give way to wisdom that we may discern the times we are in and not fall victim to Satan's deceits. Satan has a counterfeit for everything God put in place.

We can say anything, profess to be believers, but it is the intentions of our heart that will be eventually revealed. YHWH's People are recognized as Set Apart because not only do they 'talk the talk' by they 'walk the walk'.

Our lifestyle becomes Set Apart by our choice to obey YHWH and live according to His rules. This is what it means to be a Light unto the Nations (other peoples).

If we love Elohim the Creator whose name is YHWH, then we obey His Instructions. He, in turn, keeps His promise made to Abraham so many years ago: Yah will gather us from the corners of the earth, from the places we have been scattered and set us on the Promised Land of Canaan.

We trust our Heavenly Father that we will find ourselves back in that Garden.

Shabbat Shalom, Y'all 

Our Creator rested on the seventh day after He saw all He created was good. 

The 4th Commandment of the Ten tells us to Observe the sabbath day and keep it Set Apart (holy). Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to Elohim (God); you shall not do any work, none of you.  Remember you were a slave in Egypt  and YHWH freed you from bondage, therefore observe the sabbath day.

He set His people free from slavery in Egypt back in the day. In the time of Messiah, He set His people free from bondage to sin, as it is with us today if we choose to follow Y'shua Messiah.  By keeping the seventh day set apart God will see the intention of our heart and He will begin to reveal the Truth that will makes us free from bondage to the world system.

"Shabbat is primarily a day of rest and spiritual enrichment. The Hebrew word 'Shabbat' comes from the root Shin-Beit-Tav, meaning to cease, to end, or to rest. "

The seventh day is what most know as satur-day, but don't stop there! Learn how our Creator counts the days and the months - click here.

So how did this change? Who changed God's day of rest from the 7th day to the 1st day of the week and teach us that was the correct day?  He warned about taking from or adding to His Word which turns His Truth into a deception. His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. I have read that the Catholic church takes credit for changing our Creator's sabbath day from the 7th day to sun-day. 

Sun Worship was the official religion of the Roman Empire, known as Mithraism. It had its own organizations, temples, priesthood etc... and the first day of the week was when special homage was given to the sun, called The Venerable Day of the Sun. It is where the name Sunday comes from.

Now, Emperor Constantine, after seeing a 'vision' felt he must become a Christian and claimed all his pagan soldiers were, too, although they remained pagan at heart. In order to get all those pagan sun worshipers into the church, he accepted their day of worship, sun-day, instead of the seventh day sabbath kept by believers in God, followers of The Way taught by Y'shua Messiah.

So let's get back to the Truth of the Word of Yah and obey His commands. Changing what He says to fit man's perceived needs is wrong and probably an abomination to Him. False teachings have led many astray for many years. How on earth can we keep His commands if we won't take the time to discover what they are? Satan hopes we're too complacent to take notice.

Seek and ye shall find.

The Perfect Government System

My sister and I have been discussing the term 'legalistic' as it is used by Christians against keeping Torah.  My conclusion is that it is not about legalism but rather a free will choice: 

Obey His Commands or Don't obey His Commands, simple as that.

 

'Torah' is the Hebrew word and translates to the English word 'Instructions'.

Christians seem to think it is impossible to keep the Dos and Don'ts provide by The Father; His laws, rules and regulations, and would rather follow man made church traditions.  Without knowing it, most Christians keep about 200 of the 613 Commandments.  Of the 613, not all apply to you and me.  Some apply only to the Temple and Priests (n/a today because the Temple doesn't exist). Some apply only to Judges or agriculture, some for just men and some for just women.

Yah provided His Owner's Manual, His set of instructions in righteous living for His created.  It contains the terms and conditions of His Covenant between Himself and mankind - a contract.  His Instructions are found in Genesis through Deuteronomy and are meant for everyone.  It is YHWH's perfect system of government.  Spiritual guidelines make up His Faith conditional covenant which, through the observance of Messiah, brings blessings.  Reading Scriptures reveals the mystery of His Kingdom; provides a spiritual connection with Y'shua; provides prophetic discernment and is pleasing to YHWH our Creator and His Anointed One, Y'shua.

Yah's Instructions reveal sin as we learn right from wrong.  It specifies what is good and acceptable conduct according to our Creator and provides guidelines for righteousness and repentance.

Andrew G. Roth, in his Aramaic English New Testament, breaks down the 613 Mitzvot (Commandments) into categories: The 248 Positive (Dos) and the 365 Negative (Don'ts).  I will list those categories here for you.

There are 248 Positive Commands as they pertain to these categories:

• YHWH
• Torah
• Temple and Priests
• Sacrifices
• Vows
• Ritual Purity
• Donations to Temple
• Sabbatical Year (Jubilee)
• Animals for food
• Festivals
• Community
• Idolatry
• War
• Social
• Family
• Judicial
• Slaves (bondservants)
• Torts

There are 365 Negative Commands and they pertain to:

• Related practices to idolatry
• Prohibitions resulting in historical events
• Blasphemy
• Temple, Sacrifices and Priests
• Dietary Laws
• Nazarites
• Agriculture
• Loans, Business, Treatment of Slaves
• Justice
• Incest and Forbidden Relationships
• The Monarchy

Yah's Commandments are common sense law for our health and well being.  We will experience this system after the return of Y'shua during his thousand year reign on this earth.  By reading and studying Scriptures now we will know what is expected of us.  He has shown us the End from the Beginning!

It is not up to us to decide how we should honor our Creator - it is about what He wants, not what we think and feel is the right thing.  If we love Him we keep His Commandments.  Even Y'shua said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15)  Also, "He who has my Commandments with  him and keeps them (obeys the Word of God) is he who loves me and will be loved by my Father."  (John 14:21)  And, "If you keep my Commandments you will abide in my love, just as I have kept the Commandments of my Father...: (John 15:10).  Y'shua kept Torah.

 Our Father in heaven gave us free will.  He is long-suffering, waiting for us to choose to love Him and by keeping His Commandments we show that love.