“Hebrew Yeshua vs Greek Jesus” by Nehemiah Gordon

This is a rather long video. But it gives profound insights into the “Oral Torah” of the House of Judah (Jew-dah) and makes an attempt to reconcile Matthew 15 with Matthew 23, where Yeshua seems to both condone and then reject the “traditions of the elders”… that is: commandments added to what יהוה instructed Moshe (Moses).

Nehemia Gordon’s book by the same title is also something I highly recommend. It can be purchased here. Even so, the video is more entertaining.

If the video freezes at any point, you can drag the slider forward and backward to cause Google to reinitialize the video. Seems to be a buffering problem for some people.

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What if I’m NOT an Israelite?

After reading through some of the articles and blogs on this site and other places (hopefully your Bible), you may be asking yourself: “What if I’m not an Israelite? Where do I fit into the big picture?”

The verses that follow are listed in the hope that you’ll begin to realize that being Israelite isn’t just about physical, genetic descent from Jacob, although that is an important part. It just isn’t the ONLY part. You should see soon that the Most High, Elohim (God) of Israel isn’t a racist Elohim. He isn’t a respecter of persons, but He does respect the ways of certain persons who showed exceptional trust in Him (i.e. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph). Thus He also respects the promises He made to them, but that doesn’t mean He made their DNA more superior.

Ezekiel 37 reads:
15 “And the word of יהוה came to me, saying,
16 “And you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the House of Israel, his companions.’”
17 “Then bring them together for yourself into one stick, and they shall become one in your hand.”
18 “And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Won’t you show us what you mean by these?’”
19 “say to them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “See, I am taking the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions. And I shall give them unto him, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick,” and they shall be one in My hand.” ‘”
20 “And the sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.”
21 “And speak to them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “See, I am taking the children of Israel from among the gentiles, wherever they have gone, and shall gather them from all around, and I shall bring them into their land.”
22 “And I shall make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one sovereign shall be sovereign over them all, and let them no longer be two nations, and let them no longer be divided into two reigns.”
23 “And they shall no longer defile themselves with their idols, nor with their disgusting matters, nor with any of their transgressions. And I shall save them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and I shall cleanse them. And they shall be My people, and I be their Elohim,”
24 “while David My servant is sovereign over them. And they shall all have one shepherd and walk in My right-rulings and guard My laws, and shall do them.”

Intriguing isn’t it? There is David (believed here to be a figurative reference to Messiah by many) uniting both Houses, Joseph and Judah, in an End Times scenario. BUT… no mention of a “church”. Instead, only the descendants of Israel (Jacob) and their companions. You’ll be hard pressed to find “church” any where in the Torah or the Prophets or even in the Greek New Testament. Instead in the NT, you’ll find the Greek word “Ekklesia”, which is almost always translated as “assembly” when compared with the Greek translations (i.e. LXX) of the Tanakh (Old Testament). Even so, that is a distraction for another day. Back to my main thrust. Seeing “companions” should mean alot to you if you’re certain you’re not Hebrew, but desire to attach yourself to the Elohim of the Hebrews and thus His people.

Critically important verses to consider when regarding the relationship of non-Israelites with native-born Israelites:

Exodus 12:37-38
37 And the children of Israel set out from Rameses to Sukkoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides the little ones.
38 And a mixed multitude went up with them too, also flocks and herds, very much livestock.

Ezekiel 47:21-23
21 “So you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.
22 “You shall divide it by lot for an inheritance among yourselves and among the aliens who stay in your midst, who bring forth sons in your midst And they shall be to you as the native-born among the sons of Israel; they shall be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
23 “And in the tribe with which the alien stays, there you shall give him his inheritance,” declares יהוה Elohim.

Isaiah 14:1
1 When יהוה will have compassion on Jacob and again choose Israel, and settle them in their own land, then strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob.

Zechariah 2:11-12
11 And many nations [compare with Genesis 48:19] shall be joined to יהוה in that day, and they shall become my people [compare Hosea 1:9-11 2:23]. And I shall dwell in your midst. And you shall know that יהוה of hosts has sent Me to you.
12 And יהוה shall inherit Judah, His portion in the Set-apart Land. And He shall again choose Jerusalem.

Isaiah 56:6-8
6 Also the sons of the alien, that join themselves to יהוה, to minister unto him and to love the name of יהוה, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast to my covenant;
7 even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar: for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.
8 The Master יהוה, who gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith: Yet will I gather [others] to him, with those of his that are gathered.

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Should Ephraim not criticize Judah?

For the sake of making a broader point, many generalizations follow. Hopefully most people will be able to see through the generalities, knowing that they of course don’t apply to every single individual and culture and circumstance.

Judah (Jewish people) knows how to receive criticism. Judah also knows how to give it. Ephraim (a multitude of largely christian peoples), on the other hand, is the one who issues criticism but doesn’t generally know how to receive it… without then cutting off relationship with the one offering or delivering the criticism.

Culturally, Judah is an expert critic. “Two Jews, three opinions” ring a bell? He is also a funny critic. The Seinfeld Series is probably one of the best examples. You’ll see four Jewish friends argue and criticize each other throughout the entire series, but somehow they continue in friendship and even become closer over time. But Ephraim (maybe because of the silent and sometimes barely veiled arrogance that permeates all Ephraimite cultures) doesn’t receive criticism well. In a way, Ephraim is culturally non-confrontational (there are exceptions). And this may be why you’ll hear Two House teachers from within Ephraim saying Judah shouldn’t be criticized… because culturally it generally means Ephraim doesn’t intend to draw closer to Judah. Well, if criticism is presented in a way that desires separation in the end, then yes, Ephraim shouldn’t confront and argue with Judah. But if Ephraim argues with Judah as Judah argues and criticizes Judah, then the criticism and/or disagreements will bring Ephraim even closer to Judah in the end, but only if Ephraim lets Judah volley, which means the dialog must be face to face (not necessarily in person). So it shouldn’t be gossip-based, behind the scenes anti-Jewish talk (which is how it generally is). Basically, Ephraim needs to speak AND listen. Albeit, “listening” doesn’t mean Ephraim agrees or complies on every level. It simply means Ephraim listens, considers, and carries on in dialog… hopefully finding topics of agreement (which is how Judah carries on within himself). Both parties may indeed learn from each other. If nothing else, both sides will see the core or heart of the other.

It may be good to have a policy of no dialog when it comes to Terrorists, but Ephraim and Judah are brothers and as brothers should talk and dwell together, even if that means criticism and disputes will be an inevitable part of the package.

A fool despises his father’s instruction,
But he who receives correction is prudent. -Proverbs 15:5

Ephraim has this complex that “if I criticize someone, it is as if I’m killing them.” Well, in some cases one may destroy another person’s character or reputation behind another parties’ back, but we’re not talking about personal or individual character gossip and assault here. We are talking about two large bodies of people communicating with each other.

Usually Ephraim’s criticism of Judah is directed toward Judah’s “Oral Torah” (considered to be man-made commandments by much of Ephraim) and their disbelief in Yeshua as Messiah. Judah’s criticism of Ephraim is generally pointed at Ephraim’s pagan traditions, general belief in Yeshua (Jesus) as Messiah, and their unwillingness to follow the Oral Torah, which is (what I believe) one of their largest reasons for not allowing Ephraim to return to the Land of Israel as “Israelites”. So do both parties have rightful reasons to criticize? I would say from both perspectives, yes they do on various levels. But I would also offer that it isn’t Judah who ultimately lets Ephraim return to the Land in mass according to the Prophets. It will be יהוה, the Creator of the Universe, who brings Ephraim back, and clearly יהוה hasn’t made His most strategic move yet.

“It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife” (Proverbs 20:3) of course, but let Ephraim and Judah occasionally argue and criticize each other if it causes them both to understand the other more. Historically, brothers have often fought with each other, but how often do they make amends and restore fellowship in the end, being even closer than they were originally? Is the act of arguing a good thing? Well, arguments that turn to murder, no. But disagreements during regular discourse always seem to erupt at some point. It is how disagreements are responded to… where they test our patience, check our agenda, and teach us. That is where they are good.

Ephraim can levy criticism just as Judah will certainly do so, but Ephraim doesn’t need to comply with Judah’s orders of correction in every case, even though it would probably be beneficial if Ephraim could modify his response after criticism and correction is levied by Judah. Indeed, from Judah will come the Lawgiver, the Messiah, and Ephraim will comply with His orders, but Ephraim need not be troubled with Judah’s many elders unless they themselves comply with the Torah of יהוה and not their own torah if it comes in direct conflict with the Written Torah… for we know Yeshua acted within some Jewish tradition, but he also rebuffed the Rabbinic order of the Pharisees at times (Mark 7:5). From my own study of Talmud (Oral Torah), I’ve found many things worthy of praise, but I’ve also found things that trouble me a great deal. Even so, attacking the entire package blindly is unwise in my opinion. So if Ephraim is going to confront Judah on Talmudic-levels, it would be wise for them to tread lightly or they might bite off more than they can chew. On the other side, there are well-studied Ephraimites who have strong and legitimate arguments against the Oral Torah and/or aspects of it.

More important than anything, Judah and Ephraim simply need to start looking at each other, face to face, recognizing who the other is in prophetic contexts. Ephraim must stop envying Judah, and Judah must stop troubling Ephraim (Isaiah 11:13).

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Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 147b, Too much wine and luxury, the Northern Kingdom forgot Torah and forgot herself

This passage from Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 147b gives a very good illustration of what the Jewish impression was of the non-Jewish Northern Kingdom of Israel (they were Hebrew, but they weren’t “Jewish” as we generally think today):

“R. Helbo said: The wine of Perugitha and the water of Diomsith cut off the Ten Tribes from Israel. R. Eleazar b. ‘Arak visited that place. He was attracted to them, and [in consequence] his learning vanished. When he returned, he arose to read in the Scroll [of the Torah]. He wished to read, Hahodesh hazeh lakem [This month shall be unto you, etc.], [instead of which] he read haharesh hayah libbam. But the scholars prayed for him, and his learning returned.”

Read the entire tractate here: Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 147b

Perugitha was a region in the Northern Kingdom of Israel known for it’s wine. Although not all agree:

“When he returned to Palestine, he could no longer read Hebrew properly! Perugitha was identified by Neubauer as Phrygia; the editors of the Soncino edition of the Talmud in English identify it with Pelugta, or Pethugta, a place apparently in northern Palestine, mentioned in Midrash Leviticus Rabbah 5.3 as producing wine which led Jews astray. However, the anecdote about Rabbi Eleazar is more appropriate to an area of non-Semitic speech outside Palestine; I prefer to retain Neubauer’s original identification.” -Sheppard, A.R.R. Anatolian Studies, Vol. 29, 1979 (1979), pp. 169-180

If Sheppard truly understood how far the Northern Kingdom had drifted from her original nature and culture, he would not feel so compelled to interpret Perugitha as Phrygia. The rabbis of the Southern Kingdom believed it was the luxuries and pleasures of the Northern Kingdom which turned their hearts away from the Most High and His Torah, ultimately leading to their exile and loss of identity in Media and else where. It has been the House of Jewdah’s fierce hold on the Torah which has helped maintain her identity as a people for the last 3500 years. Without the Torah, Ephraim quickly became a melting pot within the cultures of numerous surrounding peoples.

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Identity Crisis: Should I align myself with "a religion"? Or with "a people"?

Being a shepherd for a time, I know from experience that sheep are intense social creatures. It is not just what they do, it is what they are. It is who they are, which is why there is no word to describe a singular “sheep”. They herd together in groups to find safety and comfort. And they develop what I call “Psychotic stress alienation syndrome” when isolated from the group. It is almost like they lose their “point of being” when not with “the others”.

YHVH, being the Designer/Creator of us all, of course knew we would behave like sheep in many ways, sometimes to our detriment. He knew we would need shepherds. He knew some would aspire to lead while the majority would be content to just follow, but He also knew there would be blind leaders who meant well and/or leaders who would rise in the ranks who weren’t even sheep, but instead predators dressed up to look like sheep (YHVH, being the Designer/Creator of us all, of course knew we would behave like sheep in many ways, sometimes to our detriment. He knew we would need shepherds. He knew some would aspire to lead while the majority would be content to just follow, but He also knew there would be blind leaders who meant well and/or leaders who would rise in the ranks who weren’t even sheep, but instead predators dressed up to look like sheep (Matthew 7:15).

Within the Two House movement, especially on the Joseph-side, there is an ongoing and developing Identity crisis. All the sheeple in all the various herds are curious why some of the sheep don’t align with a single group, sect, or denomination of a religion. Some are aligning with more than one group at once, while others try to go nameless or unaffiliated completely.

The reason the Two House (Ephraimite) movement will shift the general tendency of sheeple-herding is this: it isn’t about “religion” or “religious identification” anymore. It is becoming more about DNA (before you flip-out, read: Salvation and Genetics). Or rather, it is becoming more to do with: Who are your ancestors? Who are your “people” (Salvation and Genetics). Or rather, it is becoming more to do with: Who are your ancestors? Who are your “people” (Hosea 1:9-11)? And if you’re not sure of your DNA or who your “people” are, then what people do you align yourself with? What people are you a “companion” to (Ezekiel 37:16)? Note: you do NOT have to be a physical, pure-breed descendant of Jacob to be a part of the assembly of Israel (Exodus 12:37-38).

Imagine back 3,000 years to a time before Israel or Judah were taken into their respective captivities and before they turned to Idolatry. Can you fathom the broad populace then asking each other, “What religion are you?” Well, probably not. They would likely laugh, saying, “Helloooo, we’re Israelite! What part of ‘Israelite’ do you not understand? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Torah, etc… that is who we are, it isn’t our ‘religion’.”

So for our modern cultures, it is generally unacceptable to answer identity-type questions with, “I’m Israelite” or “I’m Hebrew”. People still want to know if you are “Christian” or “Jewish” or “Muslim”. Then they want to know if you are “Baptist” or “Catholic”, “Orthodox” or “Reform”, “Sunni” or “Shi’a”. Regardless, terms and catagories are always misleading in some way or another. Even the term “Jew” or “Jewish” doesn’t always represent the same thing to every one. Depending on the context, it can mean your ethnicity, your belief system, and/or your general behavior.

“What does it matter? Why can’t I just be?”

In fact, you can “just be” and you can just be “nobody” if that is how you wish to be aligned, which is the way I generally align myself, but it has a tendency to alienate “the others” who have a deep need to be intimately affiliated with something formal and larger, something with a governmentally recognized tax id, that is: an institutionalized religious system.

Religious isolation is generally easier for men, than for women… for women have a better sense of the importance of the group (there is inherit safety when in “the group” - look to the “sheep” lad), but this is dangerous when the groups themselves are led by Predatory shepherds (Jeremiah 23:1-8). Of course, that is just a generalization of men and women. I’ve seen the roles play out differently in some cases, but not wanting to get too entangled in a gender-based discussion here, I’ll move on and describe how I see myself.

For myself, for example, I trust in the One who Christians call “Jesus” (Yeshua), although I don’t perceive him the way most Christians perceive him. I don’t see him as one who intended the masses to think themselves “saved” while continuing in Lawlessness or practicing sin as a matter of culture. In my understanding of the scriptures, he didn’t promote lawlessness, but he did encourage his followers not to follow the “doctrines of men” (Matthew 15:1-9). Since Christians and Jews generally find it difficult to discern between the Torah and Jewish tradition (largely because they haven’t read the Torah), they have incorrectly thought of “Jesus” as one who tried to remove the Torah (Law), even though he himself said he didn’t come to do such (Matthew 5:14-19). Actually, if he would have taught the people to forsake the Torah, he would have been disqualified from being the true Messiah, according to Moses (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). So… Christianity has largely become a super-religion (with many sects) that I cannot and will not identify with on many levels, although I do identify with the Messiah Yeshua. On the flip side, I don’t identify with Judaism (Jew-da-ism) as a whole either. I don’t call or think of myself as “Jewish” because I don’t embrace the “Oral Torah” which is paramount within the major sects of Judaism. Karaite Judaism does embrace only the Written Torah of Moshe, and I’ve learned much from Karaites, but most of them are fiercely anti-Yeshua.

For the record, I don’t affiliate with the British Israelism movements, although I do believe they are Israelite descendants of Joseph, but there are Joes scattered far beyond England’s boarders or her old empire.

So, you may be asking, “What do I do? How do I describe myself? Do I even need to describe or categorize myself? What does it matter if my family is freaked out because I align myself with no one religion, sect, or denomination? What does it really matter?” In the End, I think we’ll care little about what “religion” or “denomination” we embraced as our own. If my suspicions are correct, we’ll be primarily and exclusively concerned with: Do I know YHVH and did I align myself with Him and His ways, proving that I love Him by doing what He told me to do? I assure you, that is all that will matter then and should be your ultimate concern now.

Read the Torah of the Most High, understand and judge it rightly with itself using the original language when possible, and do what He says. Read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to see how Yeshua walked out Torah in Wisdom, in Righteous Anger, and most importantly, in Love.

Shalom Aleikhem.

External Links:
* An Identity Crisis
* Why the Church teaches that Jesus Christ is NOT the Messiah

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