Introduction

Shalom and welcome to Beit Yisrael. Beit Yisrael is a family oriented Messianic Congregation located in Orlando Florida. As a Messianic Congregation we believe that the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God. We believe that Jesus the Christ is the Devar Adonai, (the Word of the Lord made flesh). We believe in the salvation of all those that, as the Scripture says: “…call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved…” (Joel 2:28-32). We believe in the salvation of all Israel as it is stipulated throughout the Taanach (Complete Old Testament), the prophets and even through the apostle Paul when he says: “…and so all Israel will be saved…” (Romans 11). THE MESSIANIC FAITH Although the Messianic movement is growing at a fast past, a lot people have never heard of the Messianic faith and often asks, what is Messianic? Many people know that the word Christian comes from the Greek word Chrīstos, which is translated into English as Christ. Christian means “Believer of Christ.” Messiah is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek word Chrīstos. Messianic simply means “Believer of Messiah.” The word Messianic is literally the Hebrew version of the Greek word Christian. Although Messianic and Christian essentially mean the same thing, there is a big difference between the two and it is best described in the form of a question: What role do the commands of Moses play in the modern believer’s life?

The average Christian looks at the writings of Moses and asks, “Why should I follow them?” However, the average Messianic will look at those same writings and ask, “Why should I not follow them?” Obviously these are two contradicting views of the scriptures, but both sides have the same belief and hope in Jesus the Christ or Yeshua Ha’Mashiach (Ha-ma-shee-ack), which is the same Person. Here at Beit Yisrael we have no problem with the name Jesus the Christ, in fact, many of our congregation members began their salvation process by the name Jesus the Christ, and throughout the world many miracles are done in that name. However, out of respect, Messianics often call Him by the name that Peter, John, His mother Mary and everyone else called Him as He walked the Earth in the flesh, and that is Yeshua. In Hebrew Yeshua literally means Salvation and throughout the world many prayers and miracles are being answered in the name of Yeshua the Messiah. If we were to sum up the meaning of the Messianic faith, one could say that the Messianic faith is an exploration of the Hebraic roots of the Bible. In the Evangelical Christian world, the average believer mostly focuses on the New Testament or Brit Chadasha (HA-DA-SHA) part of the Bible. The Brit Chadasha was mostly written in Greek and covers the good news of Yeshua, his life, teachings and the spreading of the Gospels throughout the known world. The Brit Chadasha is a very important part of the Bible; without it we would have never learned about Yeshua and how He died for our sins. Without the Brit Chadasha we would not know about the Helper we have in the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh (ROO-AKH-HA-KOH-DESH). The Brit Chadasha is so packed with information that sometimes it is hard to believe it only consists of about 30% to 25% of the entire Bible. The Old Testament is the Jewish Bible (the Tanakh) and it covers the first 70% to 75% of the entire English Bible. Although the Brit Chadasha emphasizes the love and mercy of God towards the world, the Tanakh shows us who God is by revealing His character and His heart. EXPLORING THE STRUCTURE OF THE BIBLE Let’s talk about trees for a minute: Trees come in various shapes and sizes but all have the same basic structure. A tree is anchored in the ground using a network of roots which spread and grow thicker in proportion to the growth of the tree above the ground. All trees have a central column called the trunk which is covered by bark. The trunk supports a framework of branches and twigs which are usually covered with leaves or sometimes pine depending on the tree; this framework is called the crown. The crown is the end results of the root and the trunk. The Bible can be compared to a tree. The Bible has a root, which is found in the first five books. The root of the Bible supports the rest of the Old Testament which can be compared to a trunk and the Brit Chadasha is the crown or the end results of the root and trunk. Without the root there can be no foundation or at best, the foundation would be very weak and the tree would not stand. The root of the Bible is found in the first five books of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In the Evangelical Christian world these books are often referred to as the “Books of Moses,” or more popularly “The Law.” In Hebrew those first five books are called “Torah.” Most people believe that Torah means law simply because it is often translated as law in most English Bibles, but that is a misconception. Torah literally translated into English is “Teachings,” or “Instructions.” The First five books of the Bible are teachings or instructions of God. Those first five books explain just about everything we need to know in order to maintain a healthy relationship with God and to understand what is going on spiritually in the world around us. The book of Genesis shows us how everything began, the promises that God has made (such as why we have rainbows), why we struggle today and it gives us hope for restoration. Exodus shows us God starting His kingdom here on Earth by freeing Israel from Egypt and establishing Israel’s constitution beginning with the popular Ten Commandments. Numbers and Leviticus show details of what took place in the wilderness as Israel moved to the Promised Land and Deuteronomy is a review of all the commands that God gave Israel.

In today’s Christian world it is a popular belief that the Torah is impossible to keep; it is bondage, a burden, or a yoke around your neck. If someone was to go up to a Christian and say that they are following the laws of Moses, that person would almost always hear, “But we are no longer under bondage” or, “We don’t have to follow the laws of Moses anymore, we are now free in Christ.” Such statements are based on gross misinterpretations of key verses found in the Brit Chadasha.
Think about it: The Israelites were in bondage and severely oppressed by the Egyptians, out of despair they cried out to God with all their hearts. Next, God displays an array of wonders by doing things that the world has never seen before and has not seen since. He made a major river turn to blood, He turned day to night, and He parted a sea. God did this and more all so that He can free the Israelites from slavery; not just physical slavery but mental and spiritual slavery as well.
Every plague that God threw at Egypt represented things that they worshiped; He was using their own gods against them. God was showing the whole world who He is and just a fraction of what He can do. At the same time, God was also showing Israel that there was no other god but Him. After doing all of these great and miraculous acts to free Israel, do you really think that His goal was to place them into another form of bondage based on rules?
Right before God began to instruct Israel with His ways, this is what He told Moses:
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. (Exodus 19:5-6)
Right after He tells Moses these words, we see Israel preparing to hear from God, and then He begins teaching them His ways starting with the Ten Commandments. The ultimate question here is; how do these teachings apply to us today?

Those first five books are the foundation or root of the Bible. The Bible does not contradict itself and nothing in the Bible contradicts or cancels out those first five books; Yeshua gave us an example of this in Matthew 4:1-11. Then Yeshua was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Satan tells Yeshua that if He is the Son of God to turn the stones into bread. This first attempt was to bring division, pride, and doubt in God, but Yeshua’s reply comes directly from Deuteronomy 8:3, which read: So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. Yeshua fights the enemy’s attack by using a scripture specifically from the last book of the Torah; Deuteronomy. The book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ last-ditch effort to make sure that Israel remains as God’s people after he is gone. Deuteronomy is a recap of all the commands that God gave Israel. The English title Deuteronomy is a mistranslation from the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate; both texts use a word that means “repetition.” The actual title of the book in Hebrew is “Debarim” which means “words.” Deuteronomy is the sum of the words God gave Israel.

Let us move on.
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘ He shall give His angels charge over you, and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”7 Yeshua said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”
Satan’s first attempt clearly fails so he tries again, but this time Satan manipulates the scriptures to use against Yeshua by quoting Psalms 91:11-12. This second attempt from Satan was designed to bring confusion to God’s Word just as he did to Eve in the garden and just as he has done within the Evangelical Christian world and Judaism today. Yeshua repels this attack with Deuteronomy 6:16.
You shall not tempt the LORD your God as you tempted Him in Massah.
The situation in Massah that Moses is speaking about can be found in Exodus 17:1-7. We encourage you to go back and read those scriptures to get clarification and deeper understandings of what is being talked about here. Once again, Yeshua uses scriptures directly from Torah to fight the enemy’s attack; moving on.
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.10 Then Yeshua said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

At first Satan tried to get Yeshua prideful and doubtful of God, next Satan tried confusing Yeshua with the Word, finally Satan tries to bribe Yeshua, but Yeshua replies with Deuteronomy 6:13, 10:20, 13:4 and the list can go on because this command is repeated all throughout the entire Bible.
When Yeshua was tempted to doubt God, he stuck to Torah as His foundational belief. When Satan tried to confuse Yeshua with the scriptures, He stuck to Torah as His foundation in understanding all scriptures. When Satan tempted Yeshua with the world, He held to Torah as His strength to help Him stand firm in God. This is the example Yeshua left for us in Matthew 4:1-11.
How do you know if what you believe is in harmony with God? Most people would say, “If it’s in the Bible then it is God’s will.” Although that answer seems to be correct and to the point, it can have its flaws as well. For example, Luke 14:26:
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
The above verse is straight and to the point; but was Yeshua really saying that we must despise our families and have a suicidal self esteem in order to follow Him? The Bible provides the root heart behind Luke 14:26 but where can you find it? How do you know if your doctrine or view of a scripture is correct? How do you know if what you believe co-exists with God’s view? How can you truly tell if your walk is in right standing with God? The answer to all these questions is Torah. Torah is the spiritual root of the olive tree that we are graphed into (Romans 11:16-18). Torah is the written root of the entire Bible.

A popular Evangelical belief is that Yeshua changed everything and so we do not have to follow “the Law” any more. Many who believe this will even go as far as to say that Yeshua did away with “the Law.” Well, consider the following verses.
Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-19)
Yeshua begins with “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Since this book of Matthew was originally translated from Greek writings, we will address these verses from the Greek language. You can check everything I say by going to any online Greek lexicon to see for yourself if the information is true.
The Greek word translated here for “destroy” is “Kataluō” meaning to end the effect or validity of something, to put an end to. Yeshua is saying that He did not come to put an end to the law; He did not come to put an end to the teachings of God. Yeshua did not come to end the effect of God’s instructions. Yeshua did not come to end the validity of Torah or the prophets but to fulfill them. By Yeshua fulfilling the law, does that mean we do not have too?
The word used here for “fulfill” (Some Bibles also write it as “fulfil) comes from the Greek word “plēroō” which means to make full, to fill, to fill up, to carry into effect, bring to realization, realize. In other words, by “fulfilling” Torah, Yeshua came to live it to its fullest, to bring it to realization, to carry it into effect, to make it real. Yeshua had to make the teachings of God real because too many people were not applying Torah properly in their lives. During those times, the teachings of God became more of a theory instead of a lifestyle or a state of being.
As you can see, the definition of the original Greek words used in Matthew 5:17-19 does not give room for the idea that by Yeshua fulfilling the law, it is completed in a way that no one else needs to follow it, that is a false interpretation. Yeshua fulfilled the law so that it can become real in our lives, so that we can see how to walk it out in our lives.
Many people believe that Yeshua came to fulfill Torah so that we do not have too because we cannot, that view is not backed up by the Bible; it is purely based on gross misinterpretations of scriptures found only in the last 30% of the Bible. Consider the following verses.
For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the L-rd. (Luke 1:5-6)
In Deuteronomy 30:11-14, Moses tells Israel that following the teachings of God is not impossible and in Luke 1:5-6 we see people who are successfully obeying God’s instructions. If it was not possible to keep God’s instructions, then God would be a cruel God of hopelessness and despair because throughout the entire Bible He keeps telling people to obey His commands.
A good father will not tell their children to do things that they cannot do. In order for children to succeed in life, good parents will set realistic expectations for them. God is the Perfect Father and in His love for us He has given us instructions that we can keep. God has perfect expectations for us, expectations that we all can succeed in.

Yeshua did not come to get rid of the teachings of God. In fact, there are no prophecies of Yeshua that even comes close to that interpretation and in Matthew 5:17-19, the words destroy, abolish or the term “do away with” are not synonyms for fulfill or fulfil.
• The Torah of God is perfect (Psalm 19:7).
• If you do not submit to God’s teachings, your prayers are an abomination to Him (Proverbs 28:9).
• God’s Torah is great and glorious (Isaiah 42:21).
• Righteousness is keeping God’s Torah in your heart (Isaiah 51:7).
• When God gave Moses the Torah, He intended for people to follow it forever (Exodus 19:9).
• Sins are transgressions against Torah (1 John 3:4).
• As believers of God, it is our duty to establish the teachings of God in our lives (Romans 3:31).
If you claim to believe in the entire Bible, how can you ignore or take those verses lightly? If you truly are seeking God, how can you read those verses and honestly believe that they are not applicable to your personal life? Such verses are all throughout the Bible but unfortunately many people do not meditate on them.
One thing that we must realize when reading the Bible is that God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8, Malachi 3:6). Everything written in the Bible is for our benefit with one purpose in mind; to draw is to God. If God never changes then would it be wise to cancel out what is written in the Torah?
Why is there so much fuss about the commands of God? Why are those first five books of Moses so important? Do Messianics place more importance on those first five books while ignoring the rest of the Bible? To a believer in the Bible, every verse from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 is important. All we are doing is realizing and respecting the structure that is in the Bible. God is the God of order and structure, His Word must also have order and structure.
Here are a couple of important Biblical facts that most people tend to overlook.
Fact #1: Not all scriptures are created equal. Some scriptures are more important than others. For example; human preservation is more important than the temple’s show bread (1 Samuel 21:5-7). Even Yeshua confirms that not all scripture is created equal when they asked Him, “Which is the greatest commandment?” (Matthew 22:34-40)
Fact #2: Although the entire Bible is important; Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy make up the foundation for the rest of the Bible and they are distinct from rest of the Bible.
He said, Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the L-RD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision I shall speak with him in a dream. Not so, with My servant Moses, he is faithful in all My household; with him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the L-RD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?” (Numbers 12:6-8)
When God speaks to His prophets, He does so in visions and in dreams. Everything that Isaiah wrote about came through visions and dreams; every experience with God that Elijah or Ezekiel shared came through visions and dreams. We can go down the list of great prophets; Samuel, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Daniel, Amos, and so on, all of these men encountered God through dreams and visions. However, with Moses that was not the case.
God felt that what He had to share with Moses was so important that The All Spiritual Creator of the universe saw it fit to come into the physical world, stand face to face with a sinful man (as much as possible) and physically tell him, “Write this down.” Moses did not communicate with God through visions and dream, Moses interacted with God on a very real and physical level.
Notice that the above verse says, “With him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings.” When God gave Moses His teachings there was no parables, word play or hidden messages included. God spoke to Moses as clear as possible so that no one can say “I did not understand,” He gave the teachings to Moses in a way that would eliminate all guessing. Torah is raw information on how to have a successful relationship with God. If the teachings of God are important enough for Him to physically stand in front of a man and physically tell him, “write this down”, why make them meaningless or of little importance for us today?
CONCLUSION
As you can see, our approach to the Bible is very different from the approach that most Evangelical Christians take and our lifestyle is just as different. We do not normally go to church on Sundays and we normally do not participate in holidays such as Christmas or Easter. The Hebrew world heavily influences our lifestyle because our goal is to fully become disciples of Yeshua.
Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary defines the word disciple as – a scholar, sometimes applied to the followers of John the Baptist (Matt. 9:14), and of the Pharisees (22:16), but principally to the followers of Messiah. A disciple of Messiah is one who (1) believes his doctrine, (2) rests on his sacrifice, (3) imbibes his spirit, and (4) imitates his example (Matt. 10:24; Luke 14:26, 27, 33; John 6:69).
He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. (1 John 2:6)
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29)
As believers, we should be conformed into the image of Yeshua, imitating His walk. Yeshua is Jewish and lived a very Hebrew lifestyle. How can we truly walk in Yeshua’s shoes, or be conformed to His image, if we do not understand the Hebraic nature of the Bible and walk it out as He did? As we explore the Hebrew nature of the Bible and aim to imitate Yeshua’s lifestyle, it only makes sense to include the essence of Torah in our understanding through the Holy Spirit. After all He is “the Word made flesh.”
At Beit Yisrael we recite certain Jewish prayers (in Hebrew) like the Sh’ma, Ahvot, and the Aaronic Blessing on a weekly basis. We even encourage following certain Jewish holidays that are not a part of Torah such as Chanukah and Tish’a B’Av. This is all in an effort to be more in touch with Israel. However, although Judaism influences our lifestyle and we love the Jewish people very much, here at Beit Yisrael we do not practice Judaism and we do not seek to become Jewish. Messianic is definitely not Christianity (as far as lifestyle goes) but it is not a synonym for Judaism either.
The Messianic faith is an interesting one. To the average Evangelical Christian, we are often looked at as Jewish. To the average Jewish person, we are often looked at as Christians. The best way to describe it would be to say that the Messianic faith is somewhere in between Christianity and Judaism.
But whether you are an Evangelical Christian or a part of Judaism; at Beit Yisrael we believe that anyone who genuinely loves the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob can be a brother or Sister in the LORD.
Although as Messianics we encourage living a Torah observant lifestyle, being Messianic is not about salvation. As stated before, the Messianic faith is about exploring the importance of Torah in a believer’s walk today. The Messianic faith is about seeking maximum obedience towards God and becoming a true disciple of Yeshua.
There is an extreme fine line between salvation and obedience; although they seem to intertwine at times they are still two different things. Our salvation is based on our faith in Yeshua alone, but without obedience to His commands, how can we walk with God? Understanding the difference between the two will draw you closer to Him and that is the ultimate goal.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our introduction. We’re pretty sure that after reading this you may have more questions than you did before, and that can be a good thing. Feel free to drop by or contact us, we will be more than happy to answer all of your questions.
May God be with you, shalom.