At some point in the restoration of the Ancient Path, YHWH says He will facilitate our journey so that all who are Israel can return together:
  There will be a high road and a pathway there, and it will be called the
 âWay of Holinessâ, and the defiled will not travel on it, nor shall it be for them.Â
 Those who walk on the path, even [if they are] fools, will not go astray.Â
 (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 35:8)
Peopleâs handicaps will be removed so they can join the whole people on the walk back Home. Even "dummies" won't be misled if they keep to this path.Â
How can we speed the process of bringing this about? By enforcing the guard rails YHWH gave usâthe limits He has set on how to interpret His instructions, so that they donât become impossible for some of His people to follow:
âBe very firm about guarding and carrying out all that is written in the document of Mosheâs instruction, to avoid turning aside from it [to the] right or the leftâ¦â
(Yâhoshua 23:6)
Itâs easy to understand deviating to the left; that would mean loosening standards and letting lawlessness run free. But the other side gets you just as far out of balance. He warns us not to veer to the right either. But how could anyone go too far to the right from Mosheâs teachings?
By building a religion around them.
What is the âright wingâ? The most conservative and piousâthose most people would hold up as paragons of zeal, but even the best intentions are easy to take to extremes.
Yâshua railed more about people whose interpretations of Torah were getting so complicated that they put unnecessary burdens on the disadvantaged than he did against people who would have been called non-religious, to say the least.
Hereâs something that most people arenât aware is in the Bible:
âDo not be overly righteousâ¦Why should you destroy yourself?â (Qoheleth/Eccles. 7:16)
Who would have thought anyone could be too righteous for YHWHâs tastes? But even things that seem noble can be excess baggageâsomething not everyone can carry. He wants the burdens He lays on us to be something we enjoy carrying:
YHWH will return afresh to rejoicing over you â¦just as He rejoiced over your ancestors, if you listen to YHWH your Elohim to keep His commandments and His prescribed customs as written in this document of instruction, and return to YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and all your soul. (Dâvarim 30:8-9)
Thatâs what returning to YHWH is. Just keeping what He Himself said, not what men added. Anything else will keep some people from making it all the way down that highway. He never required us to be religious, only to keep His Torah.Â
But isnât Torah observance itself a form of religion?Â
Only in the strictest sense. âReligionâ originally meant âre-linkingâ, and we do need to reconnect to YHWH since we have become alienated from Him as a people. Weâre certainly not saying to throw Him out with the proverbial bathwater. But we can be âtoo heavenly-mindedâ to bring deliverance on earth.
Putting more emphasis on spiritual things than physical appears wise. We seem to be upholding a higher standard. But can we change human nature just by becoming stricter?Â
There are many who have claimed to be authorities on what the Creator wants from us. But a spokesman He actually endorsed described a conclusion many are drawing after assessing their legacy:
âOur parents have inherited falsehoodâa vapor, in which there is no benefit!â (Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 16:19)
No benefit. The word he used means, âNo gain. No profit. Something that does not let us ascend any higher.â And a vapor: Thatâs something with no substanceâhardly more than an imagination,
ââ¦as if we were giving birth to wind! We have not brought about any deliverance on the earthâ¦â (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 26:18)
We had nothing to show for the âsalvation storyâ theologians spent centuries devising. After 2,000 years, it has not done enough to solve the real problems of the world. The Hebrew word for âspiritâ is the same as that âwindâ. Thatâs got to tell us something about âspiritualityâ. Are we relegating our interaction with YHWH to an invisible, other-worldly realm where we canât really know if itâs having any effect? If so, how can we be sure weâre accomplishing what YHWH wants?
So at this juncture itâs best to pare down to the most basic requirements to make sure our focus is right.
The Plain Torah
There has to be a âleast common denominatorâ in what is required of everyone who walks this road. Particular communities may be able to take on stricter measures, but that has to be localized and voluntary, to keep us focused on a particular task; we cannot judge other communities by those standards, as long as they are actually obeying the direct, unembellished words of YHWHâs Torah.
If we strip away the added traditions and go back to what is actually written in it, the Torah is a treasure from YHWH that lets us avoid much trial and error in determining what will best keep interpersonal relations running smoothly. It is more effective at deterring crime than any other system in history.Â
Our hope is to present the Torah in as clear and basic a way as possible, so even the simple can walk in it. The Torah is not chains or handcuffs, but a guardrail that allows us to walk in otherwise-dangerous places without harm.Â
It holds the answers to world peace and hunger, once we get it out of our minds that it is a religion. He set it up as the most effective way to bring order out of chaos. If we follow its directions, all of creation can be brought back into line:
ââ¦You must guard My customs, through which the man who does [them] will live. I am YHWH.â (Lev. 18:5)
When He says, âDo this; I am YHWHâ, He is not saying, âDo it because I said so, and thatâs all there is to it!â He is not interested in giving us hoops to jump through. Rather, what He means is, âDo it, pay attention to what you are doing, and you will find out what I am like.âÂ
YHWH says He gave us the Sabbath "so that they may know Me". (Yehezqâel/ Ezekiel 20:11-12) Are we really after having Him live in our midst, or do we just want a religious experience? If we really love YHWH, we will do things the way He wants them done. For any relationship to work, we have to anticipate what will please the one we love, as well as what turns him off. YHWH is infinite, but He wants us to know Him, so He gives us actions to carry out that give us a handle on what kind of people He wants to âhang aroundâ with. Â "If you are going to return," He says, "return to Me" (i.e., not something only purporting to be from Me). (Yirmeyahu 4:1)
So letâs look at some examples of what He actually asks for:
When you build a new house, you must also make a safety railing for your roof, so that you may not bring blood on your house if someone should fall from it. (Deut. 22:8)
Does that sound like religion to you? Torah also says to leave some of your produce for those bereaved of their breadwinner, and to keep your camp free from open sewage. Are these about mystical worlds or the afterlife? If anything, theyâre about keeping any afterlife as far away as possible!
But they are about loving oneâs neighbor as oneself. Surprisingly, religion is peopleâs most frequent excuse for not keeping that central command. (Leviticus 19:18.) The reason relegating faith to the spiritual realm is dangerous is because it distracts us from the immediate needs of the living, breathing people around us. Remember, adding to YHWHâs words can prevent us from keeping His commands.Â
In Second-Temple times there was so much pressure to outdo oneâs neighbors in religious zeal that some people were even using resources meant to provide for their elderly parents to make extra donations to the Temple. (Mark 7:11) Yâshua pointed out that they were confusing the obligations men had added with what YHWH Himself had said. By doing things He never really required, they were violating YHWHâs higher-priority command to honor oneâs father and mother.
The way YHWH says He wants us to worship Him is not with extravagant gifts or high-sounding doctrines, but by taking care of His other people. What parent doesnât enjoy it when his children tell him they love him? But it sours everything when he sees them mistreating each other.
How can someone who does not love his neighbor, whom he has seen, love YHWH, whom he has not seen? (1 Yochanan 4:20)
What that person loves is just something in his own mindâthat vapor that accomplishes nothing real.
When Eliyahu (Elijah) the prophet became burned out while serving YHWH (1 Kings 19), he went back to where he could find out what YHWH really wanted. He followed in Mosheâs footsteps. Â
After he let YHWH strip away all his assumptions and bring him back to the basics, what he found was that YHWH didnât seem to care very much that altars built for Him had been torn down; what He was concerned about was the people who were still loyal to Him, and He set Eliyahu about doing things to restore order for their sake.
The bottom line is that the Torah is a manual on how to relate to other people. Even the part about loving YHWH first can only be expressed through how we treat one another, because He doesnât really need anything we can bring Him. The heart of the matter is not what kind of knowledge it brings us, or how much, but what kind of people we become when we carry out its directives. It makes us people who love justice and mercy and find the right balance for every situation.
When David wanted to show His immense appreciation for the great things YHWH had done for him, he wanted to express it in the form of religionâby building a temple. But YHWH said, in essence, âDid I ever even ask for a House?â (2 Samuel 7:7)
A tent, yes, so He could dwell tangibly among His people. Thatâs what He wants, not grandeur or anything particularly spectacular.
Itâs Not in Heaven
For most Israelites, the Temple was not part of everyday life anyway; it was a place to visit three times a year. But Torah is about how we treat our neighbors every day.Â
Many of us grew up being told we could never obey the whole Torah. But YHWH Himself says it not only can be done, but it is not so hard to understand:
âThis command I am giving you today is not hidden from you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, so that you should say, 'Who could go up into heaven â¦and get it for us, and explain it to us so that we might carry it out?' Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you should say, 'Who will cross the sea and fetch it for us, and explain it to us, so that we can carry it out?' Rather, the Word is very close to you--[right] in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can carry it out.â (Deut. 30:11-14)
It is not up in the heavens; it is right here. It does not require a scholar; these commands can be carried out by shepherds, farmers, or former slaves. One need not be a mathematician to spot the new moon. We do not have to figure out prophetic visions. The commands are simple; they are not in legalese. They are simple if we are in the right context to receive them, because we have prepared ourselves mentally and physically. That is the real challenge.Â
But when we are properly prepared, they are not so difficult; indeed, sometimes the preparationâclearing away the obstructions--is the hardest part. The secret is not locked away somewhere. It is all written down plainly, and it boils down to loving one another. Taking care of one another is the heart of the covenant. That we can do. At root, it is treating people the way you want to be treated. If we think about how we would feel if our ox was gored by someone elseâs, we will take steps to keep our ox from getting out of its pen.
"Today I have set in front of you [a
choice]: life and benefits or death and
harm.â (Deut. 30:15)
Thatâs not just symbolic language, but
something extremely practical. It says the
alternate path will literally kill you; this is
what will keep you alive. We are told to
keep these ordinances
âso that it may go well with you and you may prolong [your] daysâ (Deut. 6:2; 22:7; 25:15)
This is not so much a âspiritualâ principleâthat YHWH would see our obedience and let us live long as a reward. Long life, here, is a direct result of obeying Torah commands like not to cut down fruit trees during a siege, because weâll need them later for food. In fact, every physical act can have an effect in the spiritual realm, either feeding the Kingdom or energizing its enemies. Even eating, as mundane as it seems, is the transfer of energy from one being to another, and to fail to recognize this as a gift from YHWH makes it actually a profane act rather than a merely neutral one. So donât make a dichotomy where there is not one. That is Greek thinking, not Hebrew.
"What does YHWH ask from you, except to respect YHWH your Elohim, and walk in all His ways, and serve YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and all your soul--to guard YHWH's commandments and prescribed limits which I am laying on you this day for your [own] benefit?â (Deut. 10: 12-13)
They are pretty simple once we get in the right context. How can we restore a borrowed item we have broken or what has strayed from its owner, if he is nowhere near us to lose it or to lend it to us? When true neighbors are in close proximity, we can practice Torah without it seeming burdensome. Who is our neighbor? In Hebrew, it is not just anyone who lives next door, but âsomeone from the same flock, who eats from the same pastureâ as you do (i.e., a fellow Torah-keeper).
See how concepts become much clearer and less complicated when you describe them in Hebrew? Thatâs one way Torah can be âright in your mouth.â Hebrew is an action-oriented language, where even âworshipâ is a physical actâfalling on our face before one who deserves honor. Torah simply means âinstructionâ âa manual to keep us out of all kinds of trouble. And âheavenâ is the same as the sky.
Thatâs not to say there isnât a âspirit worldâ of some kind. It doesnât seem that humans are built to just cease to exist when we die. Daniel hints at a resurrection, possibly to ensure that there can ultimately be complete justice, but who can really prove what form that will take? He certainly doesnât say weâll become angels! The ânext lifeâ is the focus of so much religion, but the Torah says little if anything about it, which tells us YHWH doesnât want us to spend much time or energy on theories about it. A few thoughts about death may be wise if they get us to do things that will outlast us. But being preoccupied with what will become of us personally uses up precious time that could be spent doing just that.
Prophetic visions can inspire courage and strength to keep going and finish a task. But they are like dreamsâfull of symbolism, mainly meant to jar us into changing our ways so He doesnât have to carry out the scenarios they threaten. Jonah shows us that the outcome isnât set in stone, but dependent on our response. So donât major on the details. The order of events in prophecy, fascinating as it may be, is not a fruitful pursuit unless they are right on top of us and we need to do something about them.
The concealed things belong to YHWH our Elohim, but those which are open are for us and our sons forever, so that we may carry out all the words of this instruction. (Dâvarim/Deut. 29:29)
When the great mysteries of the world were revealed to one so wise as Daniel, they only confused him and even made him sick. He was told not to worry about them, but to go on getting his part of the work done. The rest would eventually come to light, but he would never have to deal with it. The better way to prepare for the Kingdom is to keep the commandments that are clear. This is what does belong to us. They will keep us more than busy enough. Then when the Kingdom does come, youâll fit right into it. Â
The kind of answers we actually need donât require psychics or palm readers, so YHWH goes so far as to forbid them. (Deut. 18:9-22) He gave us concrete instructions, and a system of real judges to interpret them. What is too hard for them we bring to the Levites, who possess the Torah scrolls. (Deut. 17:9) If the decision is particularly complex or emotionally-charged, He will provide a prophet, not tea leaves.
Yâshua's brother Yaaqov (James), his âsuccessor to the throneâ, summarized "pure, undefiled religion" as "aiding the widow and orphan in their needâ. (James 1:27)Â
All of life, not just its âspiritualâ parts, is meant to be elevated to a higher standard worthy of a people who belong to the Creator of justice and order. YHWH doesnât speak of Himself as âthe Great Invisible Oneâ (though He is that), but in terms we are familiar withâFather, General, Provider, Kingâand the way He can be seen and wants to be interacted with is through the other people who both need what we have and have been given the answers and resources we need.
Religions are based on the teachings of particular personalitiesâChrist, Muhammad, Buddhaâbut Torah is not a personality cult. It is about bringing order. It is not even about a deity, though YHWH is its progenitor and ultimately our reason for following it. But He puts our focus elsewhereâon how we treat each other. He keeps Himself too vague to define. He is not like the deities who can be embodied in an idol because they are about one concept or anotherâfertility, weather, or wealth. The center of this people of Israel is One whom we cannot see, and whom we cannot even fully understand. He cannot be put in a box. He is not about only a rock or tree or a piece of goldâsomething we can make an image of. He does not have to be just a storm deity or a god of fertility. He is not even a deity as such; He is just âwhat isâ. His very name, YHWH, signifies âthe One who existsâ (as a composite of all the tenses of the verb âto beââhayah, hoveh, and yihyeâand elsewhere He is called âthe Living Oneâ. There is no tight definition.Â
Trying to define Him in a tangible way is what angers Him most, as we see in incidents like the golden calf. The name by which He revealed Himself to Moshe means âI am becoming what I am becomingâ or âI will be whatever I need to beâ. Sometimes He will be El Shaddai, our provider and nourisher. Sometimes Elohim, our judge. Sometimes El Elyon, the highest, etc. If we want Him to be involved in our lives, we must get in the proper order. How we behave is where we will find Him intervening in our lives. The âallââthe universe itself through which we know Himâresponds to us according to how we interact with one another based on the words in this book!Â
He lets the nation as a whole get close to Him in a way, but even in that He is far beyond our understanding. Seeing Him endangers our very lives. He seems to do all He can to discourage the idea of getting too close to Him as individuals. Even when His presence was tangible in the Tabernacle via the pillar of cloud and fire, He placed boundaries between us and Him, partitions to keep anyone who didnât have particular business to deal with there out. The cohanim, or priests, were designated to be mediators between individuals and YHWH, lest we have a false sense of âI have a relationship with the deity and that is all that matters.â We have to go through one another to see Him.Â
YHWH did not even institute the regular offerings at the Tabernacle until He saw that Israel was much too interested in foreign religion. (BaMidbar/Numbers 28) He added a little religion to keep us busy so we would stay out of other peopleâs religions!
His way is not a mystery in which only a few initiates are included; we choose how close we want to get to YHWH's presence. The âsecret place of the Most Highâ (Psalm 91) is tied to sitting in a sukkah together in Psalm 18:11. Do that, and you will pave the way for the Kingdom.Â
The way to seek His presence is not through rituals that no one can understand. What exists in the âheavenly realmsâ is reflected on earth as we follow His simple instructions. Things we do physically can affect unseen realities, but indirectly: pay attention to the shofar, and it will benefit the next generation. Repent in season, and it will be easier for our children to do the same.
In the doing, we are enabled to see into some very profound truths, like âRitual uncleanness represents selfishnessâ, and the applications multiply into every part of life. But the purpose of seeing the deeper significance is not to stimulate your ego, but to better carry out YHWHâs intent. Bring it back to the practical, and we can be certain we are doing what He wants, rather than being left to wonder.
He Has Told You
We do pray, âYour will be done on earth as it is in heavenâ, because that gives us the right focus: rid the world of some chaos and make it more like Eden again. But in Hebrew, âprayâ (hitpalel) means âjudge yourselfâ. It is not so much asking YHWH to do something for us as asking how we should be the answer to our own prayers, especially for our neighbors in need. Prayer itself can be impractical if we already have our marching orders; why keep asking when Heâs already told us what to do? And He has:
With what should I prepare to meet YHWH [when] I bow down to the [high and] lofty Elohim? ⦠Will YHWH be pleased with thousands of rams? With tens of thousands of rivers of oil? Should I give my firstborn son [in payment] for my trespass? The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has informed you, O human being, what is right. And what does YHWH expect from you except to carry out right legal rulings, love kindness, and walk humbly with your Elohim?  (Micah 6:6-8)
These are the big issues to Him:
Justiceâmaking sure people are treated rightly, based neither on their ability to pay nor to conjure up sympathy, but testing each case on its own merits. Kindnessâlooking for ways to help one another get through the inconsistencies of life. This is so rare that those who actually practice it are seen as heroic! Yet it is the essence of YHWH. After all, what does He need with us, except someone to be kind to?
Walking humblyânow that needs a little more clarification, because a lot of religion involves the kind of self-deprecation thatâs really just another way to get attention, and doesnât help anyone ascend.
True Humility
The Hebrew word for âhumbleâ does mean âlowâ, but itâs not about how much abuse one can heap on himself. YHWH tells us to choose life! There are extreme times that call for drastic measures, but even Yâshua wanted to find a way around the cross if it were possible. Solomon said that in the final analysis, wisdom comes down to enjoying lifeâjust not at someone elseâs expense. It is more pleasant for those around you if you smile rather than beating yourself down. Be grateful for YHWHâs gifts. Experience the merriment, but share it. Love yourself, then treat your neighbor the same way.
Pay attention to those around you and respond to them rather than to something you have never seen and no one can prove. Take care of one another. Honor those who are over you. Treat your neighbors responsibly and with equity. These are the high and lofty, yet also plain and down-to-earth basics.Â
The lowliness YHWH wants is more about being close to the groundânot groveling but being firmly grounded, seeing things as they really are. YHWH wants us to serve Him âin completeness and truthâ. (Yâhoshua 24:14) In Hebrew thatâs tamim and emet. Tamim means âmatureâ or âfully grownâ, not just in knowledge, but in our actions. It means serving Him âlike a grown-upââbeing stable, not tottering between two opinions like toddlers, but finding the perfect balance between justice and mercy. That may mean removing the training wheels--religious props that kept us from falling while we learned to walk.Â
The âpreservativesâ that were helpful for a while have adverse effects when used for too long. The healthiest thing is to go back to raw Torah, unflavored by the âadditivesâ of human morality. Fences are built to keep us further from potential danger, but if there are too many of them, they can keep us from seeing the reality on the ground. And when rules are too restrictive, people tend to spend more time and energy finding loopholes around them than on understanding what the core commands are really about. Â
Moshe knew this. He said,
âYou must not add to the thing which I command you, or take anything from it, so that you may keep the commandments of YHWH your Elohimâ¦â (Dâvarim/Deuteronomy 4:2)
The Torahâs commands are meant to keep things in perfect balance, and taking one part too far will inevitably diminish another. If we insist on more than YHWH actually requires in one area, we will make it impossible to do what He wants in some other arena
Emet means being real. The Torah is for living, breathing human beings, not angels. Honest humility means both recognizing where we are weak (and then working to change that) and acknowledging where we truly are strong (so we donât rob the rest of the community of gifts we genuinely have that will help us all get where we need to be).
Hope That Can Get Us Somewhere
The sad reality is that we really donât have a covenant right now, because we broke our side of it. There are promises of a renewal of the Covenant, but we are not there yet. There is no covenant until there is a nation. Individuals cannot have covenant with YHWH. And, as much as Yehudah has done to form a nation again, one tribe alone is not enough to qualify for covenant. Right now, like someone who has filed bankruptcy, we have to rebuild our credit.Â
Without being able to live in the Land of Israel and without an altar administered by Levitical priests, what can we do to again qualify for a covenant? The best we can do may be to make âpartial paymentsâ. How? The Ten Commandments are a great place to start. Most people donât even carry them out!
Reality is sometimes hard to face. To keep slogging through for the long haul, we need to be convinced that things are going to get better. Religions thrive on that need, but they move the basis for hope to another time or to âheavenâ, where no one can test it. If we put words in YHWHâs mouth, promising things He never did, sooner or later the wise will see through it, and may lose all hope, since the only hope theyâd ever known was founded on legends that grew up around the facts, not on the solid reality itself.
Emet doesnât refer to things we can only take on faith, but certifiable facts we can be sure of because we can confirm them by experience. No one can take responsibility for wishes that are still out of reach.
Even young people may faint and grow weary, and choice young men may stumble and totter, but those who pin their expectation [on] YHWH will trade in their power for a fresh supply. They will run and not be weary; they will walk and not faint. (Yeshayahu.Isaiah 40:30-31)
The religious âjohnnies-come-latelyâ may appear stronger and more attractive, but when the race gets really long, only those who are actually returning to YHWH Himself will get that âsecond windâ and be able to accomplish deliverance not in heaven, but on earth.
Knowing the Torah well is the dose of realism that puts us in the position to prove what YHWH wants. It does not drain us of hope, because it shows us the right way to dream. What we can envision is indeed more likely to come to pass. But realistic hope is not about a world to come, but the one we can actually affect. Itâs the kind that leads us to actâto take concrete, measurable steps, so that the world actually does become a better place for our children.
The answer to âWhere does our covenant stand?â is âWhat are we doing?â It is not really about what we believe. YHWH desires obedience more than He wants offerings. (1 Shmuâel 15: 22) We donât even have to like YHWHâs leaders as long as we do the right thing for them and do it well. That is what we are judged on. Bankers do not care whether you hate them or appreciate the loans they give you, as long as you make your payments.
Our credit report is how we are treating one another. Is it with oppression? Selfishness? Are we faithful in what is least?
Torah-based community is the fastest track to making it a reality. As we learn to live with one another and bring the Torah to bear on whatâs here today, the kind of tomorrow that He wants can actually arrive.
Should we let the lack of a Temple be an excuse to delay action to do what needs to be done to make conditions ready for the covenant? There is actually no Temple mentioned in the Torah, our covenant.Â
The covenant has much less to do with rebuilding of a monumental sanctuary than with rebuilding a people. If we focus too much on the Temple, it could easily become another golden calf. According to Jewish writings, YHWH apparently left the Temple 40 years before the Romans destroyed it, because its patrons were no longer loving one another. The Temple is overrated, at least until we get the order back. And though Yâhezâqel says the Temple will play a prominent role again one day, at times a smaller-scale Tabernacle would do just as well, and maybe even better, because it is actually in the Torah and thus part of our most genuine covenant.
He does not even specify Yerushalayim as the âplace where He will set His Nameâ in the Torah itself. The prophets establish this, and it will be the case again; the stage is being set. But Torah as such leaves it open-ended, maybe so we can again know His presence in the wildernessâa presence that moves from place to place, because He Himself is really the only âPlaceâ that ultimately matters.
The only place He actually commanded His name to be put in the Torah itself is on the high priestâs turban-plate. So wherever he is, that is the place YHWH set His Name. And he moves along with the Tabernacle.
Israel is designed to be a âkingdom of priestsâânot a âtemple of priestsâ or a âreligion of priestsâ, but a physical nation on a particular Land that YHWH designated for us.
Weâre on firmer ground (literally) if our expectation is to return there, rather than to an ethereal âZionâ that lies over only a figurative âJordanâ. But letâs not romanticize it either. It has a special place in YHWHâs heart. But itâs not Disneyland or a Garden of Eden. Just ask Joshuaâthe real work only begins when you get there!
That Land may still be a long way off, maybe even beyond the lifetime of at least some of us. At present we are no readier for it than it is for us. If we canât be kind to one another here, why do we think we would act any differently there? By letting the Torah govern all that we do, we can prevent spiritual impurity from spreading. Setting boundaries for ourselves based on the Torah is what will allow us to one day live within our tribal boundaries again.Â
And while our covenant is tied to that particular Land, it is big enough for the world at large. Its principles are meant to carry over to everyoneâs situation. The Land is âSet-apartâ, but itâs not closed off in the hardest-to-access place on earth. It sits right in the middle of everything.Â
The intent was to be an influence on the surrounding nations without being influenced by them, other than to adopt new technologies they introduced. How could they develop the âimmunityâ required to be in the presence of so many âgermsâ and not be affectedâand how can we accomplish it in our context? The strong leadership of the âjudgesâ was the only thing that restored order; sadly, people did not seem to have the internal motivation to maintain the resistance on their own. They were not just teachers, but people with leverage to enforce their rulingsâan inflexible ârod of ironâ. Other keys are to teach our children the right balance of all aspects of life so that the overemphasis on some does not cause the depletion of other important parts of life that must of necessity return with a vengeance later, to expose them to just enough of each threat and teach them why the Torahâs perfect balance precludes the need for other deities (thus inoculating them so later onslaughts will not overwhelm them), and to be the kind of people our children will want to be like (so they will not seek elsewhere for satisfaction).
Things in themselves are not evil; it is when they are taken too far and put everything else out of balance that they become wrong. Nothing is completely negative or positive. Too much light can be as harmful as too much darkness. We are most productive when we can use both right and left hands, and if one side is denied, nature seeks balance again. The universe tries to restore balance through heat transfer, ionic bonds that neutralize the âextremesâ. Children who are overly sheltered eventually rebel because they know something is missing. They want more of it than is healthy, just to restore the balance, so they go overboard. Religion defines purity in unrealistic terms, for nothing is purely white or black. But it controls people by creating such âred herringsâ.Â
To be a light to all nationsâto teach them justice and orderâwe must have it together ourselves. Right now, what we need most is training in what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves. The best way to get along is usually not the way weâd expect. The Torah is the textbook on how to live in harmony. Only when we have that right can we let it spread, so the light wonât be obscured by what was meant to enhance it. Truth is easier to âexportâ if we bring it down to the least common denominators.Â
It is almost as if He did us a favor by removing the Temple, so we would concentrate on becoming the kind of people He wants to have in His home. There are people right in front of you who need your mercy, your knowledge, your help, your sound judgment, or your companionship right now. So today, thatâs where the Kingdom is for us.
The prophets do say the Temple will be rebuilt. Although it was not YHWHâs idea originally, He seems to think itâs beneficial to us if He allows it. But what it representsâbeing built corporately into a âplaceâ where YHWH can feel at homeâis much more important. Each milestone becomes another building block in this âprojectâ that is His higher priority.
And that is something we can work on anywhere in the world. So whether we live to see it physically rebuilt or not, that is where we can and should focus. Then our lives wonât end up being wasted on mere vapor and wind.
*Any other structure gives con artists a wide open door to âfleece the flockâ of monetary tithes, which are at best an analogy of the real agricultural tithes. Torah does designate some people as professionals in the service of YHWH. But they donât beg for money so that they can study all the time, when they are able-bodied enough to work. There is a need for a few who will truly need to focus on becoming experts in the Torah, but a format for how they are to be provided for is already set up so that their honor is preserved. And that position is not open to just anyone. Only the Levites are assigned to receive tithesâof real food that they can eat, as opposed to money so thereâs no temptation to be in it for the money). And work they most certainly do.
To restore the ancient paths, we need to go back further than the Second Temple period. We have the most detailed records from that sanctuary, but by that time, Israel had already long since departed from YHWHâs original intent. The restoration of a Sanhedrin may be a step in the right direction, but the 70 elders in the Torah were more Mosheâs cabinet of special advisors, but the Levites are supposed to be the judges. They are the only ones authorized to rule on the finer details of Torah, so they need to be trained again to be the ones most knowledgeable in the Torah. We are grateful for those who have worked hard to fill in for them in the meantime, but they need to defer to the order YHWH Himself set up now that it can be restored. We have to start from where we are now, which is a framework that has been in place for 2,000 years, so it will not change overnight, but there are no rabbis in Torah or the prophets, and they are the standard. It is no coincidence that the line of Aharon is the only one with an unmistakable genetic marker, so there is no longer any excuse that we cannot accurately identify who is qualified.Â