The Torah is Not the Law

by

Mark R. Ensign, JD, CPA

Teaching Elder of Adot Adonai
Attorney and Counselor at Law

Introduction

The objective of this study is to help the reader to better understand both the L-rd our G-d,
YHVH, our Creator and King of the Universe, who is also Abba, our Father, and the loving
instructions he carefully revealed to his beloved children as recorded in the Holy Scriptures.

As you begin, I respectfully ask you to put aside, at least temporarily, the concepts and
opinions you have formed or been taught throughout your life about the word of G-d, the Torah,
that is commonly called the Law. I ask you to start afresh and join me in building a new
paradigm, a new way of thinking about the Torah. Of course, I want you to carefully consider
what I offer to you in light of the totality of the Scriptures as you are led into the truth by the
Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit. Please do not accept what I say merely because I say it, but
because the Ruach HaKodesh confirms it in your spirit as truth from YHVH.

If the Ruach HaKodesh confirms this new paradigm to you as truth, I believe that you will
experience a heightened level of liberation, expanded dimensions of freedom to be what Abba
has created you to be, one of his beloved children. He said, I am YHVH your G-d, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and I broke the bars
of your yoke and made you walk erect. (Leviticus 26:13) Because G-d delivered his people
from slavery, he gave them a Torah of deliverance, instructions about living in the new liberty.

Likewise, we have been enslaved to the kingdom of sin and death but YHVH has delivered us
and liberated us into his kingdom of life. As Rav Shaul (Apostle Paul) wrote to the Romans
The Torah of the Spirit, which produces this life in union with Messiah Yeshua, has set me
free from the Torah of sin and death. (8:2 JNT)

Similarly, we have been enslaved by the old paradigm that the Torah is the Law and in the Law
we find sin and death. Now, in these last days, YHVH wants us to be delivered, to be liberated,
to fully understand and embrace what has been hidden from us for centuries and generations
so we may be truly free in him and in his Torah that brings us to life in him.

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The title of this study is the central conclusion to which the Ruach HaKodesh has led me over
the past several years. The Torah is not the Law! The subtitle might be an expanded
conclusion: The Torah is the set of instructions graciously offered by our loving heavenly
Father for our own good about how we are to walk humbly before him and with our fellow men.

As you are probably aware, the subject of the Law is probably one of the most misunderstood
concepts in all of Christendom. For most Christians, the term, the Law produces negative
mental and spiritual images. Those negative images are both of YHVH, our Creator and King
of the Universe, and also of his word, the truth he has revealed to his people. In the context of
the Law, YHVH is imagined as the stern lawgiver and harsh judge who sits behind a high
bench in the courtroom. A gavel in hand, he is carefully watching every move that we make,
every step that we take, ever word that we say. He eagerly awaits our failure to keep the least
of these Laws so that he may slam his gavel down and condemn us to hell. The Law is seen
as a bookshelf full of statutes, ordinances, regulations, rules, and judgments against others for
their failures. We imagine these laws are just waiting to trip us up because we cannot
possibly know or comprehend or implement them all in our lives. Such negative images do a
grave injustice to YHVH's revelation of himself to his children. They also confine us and
restrict our behavior rather than encouraging us to experience the freedom of being a child of
the King of the Universe.

These negative images were first imagined centuries ago, about the time of Yshua but not by
him or his disciples. Through time the images were developed, refined, taught and perpetuated
from generation to generation by well-meaning but misinformed teachers who failed to
understand the true nature of YHVH in relationship to his children. Thus they have viewed and
taught the Law as something harsh, bad, transient, and superseded by something better,
namely, grace. They refer to passages such as Yochanan (John) 1:16-17 to prove this for it
says, And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

The purpose of this study is to dispel these erroneous negative images from the minds and
spirits of believers and replace them with the truth. YHVH, our G-d, Creator, and King of the
Universe, is also Abba, our loving heavenly Father. As all fathers do, Abba desires only the
best for his beloved children. In order to achieve that objective, Abba has lovingly given
instructions which he asks his children to follow for their own good.

These instructions are a unity just as YHVH is a unity as we proclaim regularly in the Shema
from Devarim (Deut.) 6:4. Shema Yisrael. Adonai Eloheinu. Adonai Echad. Hear O Yisrael.
The L-rd is our G-d. The L-rd is one. The unity of YHVH has many diverse aspects as
revealed in his many, varied manifestations described by approximately 50 names for YHVH
in his scriptures. Likewise the unity of his instructions, the Torah, is revealed in diverse
aspects described by a number of Hebrew words.

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To enable you to grasp the wonderful truth that the Torah is not the Law, I will present evidence
to support my conclusion. I will offer a reasonable explanation of how we arrived at our
erroneous understanding of the Torah as the Law. I will describe this Law Model from an
attorneys perspective. We will also examine the understanding that Yshua and Rav Shaul had
of the Torah. Based on that understanding, I will propose the Education Model of Torah which
better describes the Torah from the perspective of Abba. Finally, we will consider what our
responses should be to this new paradigm, the Education Model of Torah.

This study is a work in progress. By no means is it intended to be the final word on this topic.
Rather, I pray that it will be used by the Ruach HaKodesh to encourage the readers to carefully
contemplate and prayerfully study the word of Abba for themselves being led into the truth by
the Ruach HaKodesh. Constructive criticism, comments and suggestions based on such study
will be gratefully received and considered. May the end result be a fuller understanding of
YHVH our Abba and his wonderful word in which he reveals himself to those who love him and
diligently seek him.

Foundational Truths

To begin, we must agree on a foundation of truths about YHVH our Abba, our Father.

Abba is love. Abba is full of grace. Abba is full of mercy. Abba is unchanging. Abba is
eternal. Abba has created mankind. Those men and women who submit themselves to him are
his children. In various ways, places and times, Abba, through the leaders of his people such
as Moshe and the prophets who spoke for him, like Yeshayahu (Isaiah), Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah),
Yechezkel (Ezekiel), and Yshua (Jesus) gave his children instructions, guidance, directions
for living. With these statements I believe we all agree. The original Hebrew words of the
Tanakh, the Old Testament, portray Abba and his word in these ways. Thus Moshe and all
Bnei Yisrael (the Children of Yisrael, the descendants of Yaakov (Jacob)) understood Abba
to have these characteristics and to have spoken to them his instructions for living uprightly
before Abba and with mankind whom Abba created.

The system of instructions Abba gave to his children, described above, is called the Torah.
Initially Torah encompassed the first five books, Breshit (Genesis) through Devarim
(Deuteronomy) the books written by Moshe. Today, Judaism has an expanded definition of
Torah which includes these books plus the Oral Torah (commonly referred to as the
Mishnah) plus the rabbinical commentary including the Talmud and other writings of the Sages.
Messianic believers have expanded the definition of Torah to encompass the Tanakh
(consisting of the Torah, the Neviim (Prophets) and the Ketuvim (Writings), what
Christendom calls the Old Testament) and all of the Brit Chadashah (what Christendom calls
the New Testament) - the entire scriptures from Breshit through the Revelation - for we

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believe that all instructions of Abba that have been transmitted to us in these writings are
applicable and appropriately called Torah.

How Did We Get Here?

Little mistakes made at the beginning of a project can lead to big problems at the end. This is
a good case of that maxim being true. To translate Torah as law may be considered a small
mistake but it has led to a massive perversion of the truth, to a distorted image of Abba and his
words of life that has caused many to reject Abba and his loving instructions. We need to
examine the history of the development of mans understanding of Torah as the Law.

The Torah was first identified as the books written by Moshe. These would have been
completed approximately 1500 years before the birth of Yshua. The remaining books of the
Tanakh, the Prophets and the Writings, were generally written prior to the Babylonian captivity
or shortly after the return of the Jewish people from that captivity and the reconstruction of
the Temple and the restoration of Temple worship. All of these writings in Hebrew were on
scrolls accessible to the people in their places of study and worship. Because of their
wonderful gift of memory they would probably have memorized at least the Psalms and the
books of Moshe, if not the whole Tanakh.

Approximately 300 years before Yshua's birth, the influence of the Greeks had pervaded the
land of Yisrael. First the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great and later the Greek-influenced
Ptolemaic Empire ruled over the land of Yisrael as well as the southern Mediterranean
including Egypt. During the reign of Ptolemy II, the books of Moshe were translated by Jewish
scholars in Egypt into Greek and this translation was called the Septuagint.

Under the influence of the Greek Alexandrian and Ptolemaic Empires, these Jewish scholars
became hellinized in their thinking, that is they fell under the influence of the western Greek
way of thinking and shifted their thinking from the eastern Hebraic mode of thought. Thus,
they began to see the Torah through Greek eyes having been assimilated into the Greek world
around them. The Greeks had many laws governing their Empire. This system of laws affected
the Jewish Sages until they perceived the Torah as a legal system like the Greek system which
might be described as If you don't do what the Law says, you will be exiled from the Empire.
So these Jewish scholars developed halachah, a series of interpretations of the Torah intended
to guide the walk of the observant Jews by placing a fence around the Torah to prevent
inadvertent violations.

This fence around the Torah was patterned after the westernized, Greek system of law. It
became a tradition of the elders which they added to the Oral Torah that was spoken by Abba
to Moshe while he was on Har Sinai. This halachic fence included many laws like limitation

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on the Shabbat day's walk, and the tithing of herbs, which became burdensome to the people.
You will recall that Yshua condemned the Pharisees for their hypocritical imposition of these
man-made traditions as burdens upon the people which they themselves ignored. Furthermore,
they effectively added these laws to Abba's Torah by telling the people that if they broke these
additional traditions they were dangerously close to breaking G-d's Torah and if they broke the
Torah they would be exiled from their holy city.

The most significant result of these developments on the Law of the Torah was the Septuagint
translation of the Hebrew word Torah into Greek as nomos meaning law and not didaskalia.
Didaskalia means teaching, instruction, education, doctrine, what is taught. It means precisely
what the Hebrew word Torah really means, as we will discuss below. This mistranslation of
Torah into Greek as nomos set the stage for the church fathers full-fledged proclamation of
the Torah as the Law.

At and after the time of Yshua, the Sages of Judaism contributed to this process of making
Torah into law. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E., the rabbis formally
compiled their oral traditions and halachic interpretations of Torah, wrote them as the Mishnah
in about 200 C.E., adopted them as their Law and required obedience of all Jewish people to
this combination of the Torah and Mishnah. Subsequently their Sages commented further on
the Mishnah thus adding more law and compiled those comments or Gemara as the Talmud.
The Palestinian (or Jerusalem) Talmud was issued first in Yerushalayim in about 400 C.E.
followed about 100 years later by the Babylonian Talmud. It is estimated to contain about two
and a half million words and is about three times as long as the Palestinian Talmud. The
Talmud has been accepted as a code book for the regulation of Jewish life. Because it does
not have the outward form of a code book, logically ordered books of law code of Talmudic
and later decisions were composed subsequently through the centuries. Thus, in the Jewish
mind, the Torah became the Law and the rabbis became excellent lawyers. Today the rabbis
say they are studying the Torah when they are really studying all of these works of men in
addition to the words of G-d through Moshe which they spend precious little time studying..

After the formation of the church -- not at Shavuot (Pentecost) but years later -- it was
organized under the churchmen (the church fathers, scholars, teachers, and leaders) who, over
the first few centuries after the life of Yshua, rejected the Hebraic heritage of their faith.
Some became quite anti-semitic. The churchmen demanded orthodoxy from all who would
follow in their footsteps as churchmen. Orthodoxy meant what these churchmen said was right
and not necessarily what was the truth. Orthodoxy was thus perpetuated in the teaching cycle,
from scholar/teachers to students who grew up to become scholar/teachers who taught the next
generation their orthodoxy rather than the truth. (I do not use the term churchmen to mean
the pastors, leaders, and believers in local churches today who are being as faithful to the word
of G-d as they know how based upon the orthodoxy that has been transmitted to them.)

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Soon after the death of Yshua and the organization of the church, churchmen adopted the
terminology of the rabbis and started calling the Torah the Law. They adopted the
Septuagints translators view of Torah as nomos, the Greek law which resulted in exile if
broken. In the process, the churchmen changed the truths about the character of Abba and his
word that we agreed upon above. They portrayed YHVH, as revealed in the Old Testament,
as the awesome, stern lawgiver who imposed the Law on mankind in the form of commands,
statutes, ordinances, regulations, judgments and rules. He demanded all people follow these
or he would punish them both on earth and in hell for eternity. They saw him as the judge of
all the earth constantly monitoring all actions and issuing judgment to inflict punishment for
failing to keep every Law in his Torah. Those images of YHVH were passed from generation
to generation even until today.

Is that your idea of Abba, G-d of love, grace and mercy? It certainly is not mine! But
churchmens portrayal of G-d in this manner and their transforming of Torah into "the Law"
enhanced their ability to enforce their orthodoxy on their church members. Over the centuries
they used this model of Torah as law to create their own church law which they sometimes
ruthlessly imposed on their church members, as during the Inquisition. This contributed to the
Protestant movement and the splintering into denominations, each of which had its own version
of church law imposed on its members. Is it any wonder that in the last few decades people
have run away from the church or at least avoided the Old Testament if they stayed in church.

As languages developed besides Hebrew and Greek, in order for the Scriptures to be
disseminated translations had to be made so that the people would be able to understand them.
The translators were scholars who had been raised in the traditional portrayal of YHVH and his
word as the Law. Controlled by the churchmen who funded their translations, they
incorporated into their translations the churchmen's bias against the Torah of G-d. They
rewarded their paymasters by using words that perpetuated the traditional portrayal of YHVH,
the G-d of the Old Testament.

To counter this portrayal, the churchmen and their translators proclaimed that the G-d of the
New Testament changed into a G-d of love, grace and mercy sometime immediately before,
during or after the life of Yshua. Furthermore, his Torah was nullified by Yshua and replaced
with two commandments: to love G-d and love your neighbor. That, of course, is the current
position of most churchmen today -- G-d of the Old Testament changed into the loving G-d of
the New Testament. In fact, some have gone so far with this theology that they effectively
portray G-d as their bellboy who immediately responds to their every call and who must and
will do everything that they desire including providing them with earthly riches if they will just
ask in the right away. Some even see Yshua as their big brother or pal rather than as their
Redeemer, L-rd, Creator and King of the Universe.

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The Scriptures proclaim that G-d is eternal and he does not change. Thus he must have been
the same all along, both before and after Yshua. So the churchmen cant logically have a G-d
revealed in the Old Testament (stern lawgiver and harsh judge) who is different in the New
Testament (loving, merciful and gracious). But that is precisely what they try to tell us. They
use their translations to impart this message to their people, most of whom are not trained in
the original languages. Even if they have such language training, they have been taught that the
English meanings of the original words are what the churchmen erroneously say they are. Even
the Biblical dictionaries and lexicons have been compiled by the translators based upon their
understanding rather than upon the original meaning of words.

Christianitys view of the Law has been influenced by the struggle to define its own identity
apart from its Hebraic roots. That struggle was fought with powerful figures like Marcion
(A.D. 130), who denied the validity of the Hebrew Bible for Christian faith and practice. He
loved Rav Shaul, according to special interpretation of him, but Marcion hated the Bible. Even
though the Church called Marcion a heretic, his view of the Law was largely accepted without
consideration of the Jewish understanding of the Torah. In contrast to Marcion, both Yshua
and Rav Shaul highly valued the Torah as we shall see.

Martin Luther also had a negative impact on Christian theologies by misunderstanding Rav
Shaul and developing the theology of justification by faith. According to Luther, faith negated
Torah. Torah was bad, imperfect, and transient. Judaism, as a religious system, was bad and
all Jews would burn in hell unless they accepted Yshua as their personal savior. Luther was
as rabid an anti-Semite as was Marcion and his anti-Semitism is clearly reflected in his
theology.

Unfortunately, the influence of Marcion, Luther, and others of their ilk and kind remain with
us until today. As a result many unwary believers have been, and continue to be, taught
erroneously.

Based upon this history we can understand why we are taught today that the Torah is the Law
of G-d. This is why churchmen taught that all the commandments of the Law must be
fulfilled in every respect in order for one to have salvation. This is why churchmen taught that
if one attempted to keep any of the laws one had to keep them all. This is why churchmen
taught that YHVH had to come up with a better plan of salvation. This is why churchmen
substituted the two commandments of Y'shua to love G-d and to love your neighbor for the
whole of the Torah.

Somehow churchmen did not realize that these two commandments are actually contained
within the Torah! (Devarim (Deut) 6:5, You shall love YHVH your G-d with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your might. Vayikra (Lev.) 19:18, You shall love your
neighbor as yourself; I am YHVH.) So, according to churchmens own theology, if they

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attempt to keep these two commandments of Yshua, they must keep all the commandments
in order to be saved.

The Law Model and its Terminology

Historically churchmen and their translators have used words taken from the legal profession
to translate the Hebrew words Abba chose to describe the various aspects of his Torah.
Hebrew words such as Torah, chuqqah, choq, and mishpatim are translated with various legal
terms including law, statute, ordinance, regulation, rule and judgment. Of course, all of these
are attributed to YHVH thus painting the traditional portrayal of G-d as lawgiver and judge.

As an attorney familiar with legal terminology, I have become increasingly troubled with the
use of these legal words to describe the system of loving instructions Abba gave his people in
the Tanakh (Old Testament). The churchmens chosen legal words do not seem to fit the G-d
of the Bible and his Torah that I see revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Here are some legal terms that churchmen and their translators have used to translate the
various Hebrew words that are listed. The definitions are abridged from the Black's Law
Dictionary, the standard dictionary used by all attorneys in the United States.

LAW - The Hebrew word Torah (pl. Torot) is usually translated as Law. Law is defined as that
which is laid down, ordained, or established. Law, in its generic sense, is a body of rules of
action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority, and having binding legal force. That
which must be obeyed and followed by citizens subject to sanctions or legal consequences is
a law. Law is a solemn expression of the will of the supreme power of the State.

STATUTE - The Hebrew words Chukah and Chok are usually translated as statute. A statute
is a formal written enactment of a legislative body declaring, commanding, or prohibiting
something.

ORDINANCE - The Hebrew word Chukah is also translated as ordinance. An ordinance is

a local law of a municipality prescribing general, uniform, and permanent rules of conduct and
governing matters such as zoning, building, health, traffic and safety, etc.

REGULATION - The Hebrew words Torah, Mishpat, Chok and Chukah are sometimes
translated as regulation. Regulations are issued by various governmental departments to carry
out the intent of the law. Agencies issue regulations to guide the activity of those regulated
by the agency and of their own employees and to ensure uniform application of the law.

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RULE, STANDARD - The Hebrew words Mishpat and Chukah are also translated as rule or
standard. Rules are established standards, guides, or regulations for conduct or action.
Principles or regulations set up by authority, prescribing or directing action or forbearance.

JUDGMENT - The Hebrew word Mishpat is also translated as judgment. A judgment is the
official and authentic decision of a court of justice upon the respective rights and claims of
the parties and submitted to its determination.

Does reading these legal words in your Bible in connection with our loving Abba trouble you
as they do me? Perhaps, because of teaching by your pastors and teachers, you believe the G-d
of the Tanakh is a G-d of law. Perhaps you believe his word is the Law rather than Abbas
loving instructions. Perhaps in this study you will find a better understanding of the words
Abba chose to describe his loving instructions to his children.

Yarah and Torah

In Hebrew words are derived from root words and nouns from verbs. The root word for the
noun Torah is the verb yarah. Yarah means to throw, cast, shoot, point out, show, direct, teach,
instruct. It connotes shooting or throwing something at a target, like guiding an arrow to a
bulls-eye or guiding sheep toward the sheepfold. The meaning of yarah is clear and does not
in any way embrace or imply any of the aspects of the law terms we have defined above.

Thus Torah, derived from yarah, is a noun which means teaching or instruction that is true and
straight, as if the words of Torah are shot in a direct path like an arrow, with power and force
for the best in life. Torah is the divine theme for all people who love G-d. Torah means G-d's
will including but going over and beyond the ink dried upon the scrolls of holy writ. So Torah
cannot mean or connote law in any way, shape or form unless it is distorted by those with a
bias in favor of the law model.

Until the time of Yshua and in the century following his life, Torah had this meaning. In the
light of this, Yshua condemned the rabbinical leaders of his day and their predecessors who
had imposed their human traditions as laws on the people rather than teaching them to obey the
instructions of their loving heavenly Father. They had perverted the Torah instructions that
were delivered to Moshe by HaShem into a strict moral code full of requirements created by
man in order to maintain control over the people. Torah has become a broad, all-encompassing
term including the traditions of men rather than the loving instructions of our Father originally
given to us in the books of Moshe, Breshit (Genesis) through Devarim (Deuteronomy). So
the rabbis no longer were educators in the Instructions of the Father but lawyers who argued
about the Law that they created.

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Equally unfortunate, this has been the case in some Messianic circles. Some teachers have
adopted the rabbinical concept of the Torah as the Law of Moshe and have proclaimed it as
such. They then apply the legalism that must naturally accompany such law. So they
proclaim that believers have to keep the law to be saved or to receive the blessings of the L-rd.
Then they go a step further by observing and judging the performance of others in keeping their
law in their way. If they determine the performance is not up to their specifications and
standards, they reject these poor, underperforming or nonperforming believers or place greater
burdens on them, just like some of the Pharisees in the time of Yshua whom he chastised for
their own hypocrisy and lack of performance even to their own standards. This is a problem
about which informed believers need to be fully aware.

I am keenly aware of the need to use accurate, precise language in our communications.
Lawsuits are sometimes won or lost on the basis of terms and definitions and the precision of
the words used in presenting and advocating a position.

Imagine with me a courtroom setting as portrayed in reality on Court TV and not the Peoples
Court. Imagine me standing before the judge as an attorney hired to vigorously represent my
client in a lawsuit arising from a contract my client signed. The dispute is about the meaning
of the terms and definitions found in that contract. At the time my client signed the contract
and to this present day, my client has a clear and correct understanding of the meaning of the
terms used in the contract. On the other side, the other party to the contract has perverted over
time the meaning of the original terms in such a way to benefit itself at the expense of my
client.

Think with me about my strategy as the attorney representing the clear and correct meaning of
the terms. I have two choices about what words to use in my trial preparation. I can use the
words with the clear and correct understanding of my client or I can use the erroneous terms
and definitions as perverted by the other party. What will happen if I adopt, embrace and
constantly use the erroneous terms and definitions throughout my trial presentation? What if
I use the terms incorrectly whenever I examine a witness, whenever I confer with the judge, and
whenever I present my case to the jury? Do I have a chance of winning this case? Of course
not. In order to win the case I must consistently use, proclaim and advocate the correct
meaning. I must not compromise by using my opponents meanings at any time or I will
concede my case.

That imaginary scenario precisely illustrates the situation in which we find ourselves today.
As Messianic believers who want to be faithful and true to the First Covenant Scriptures as
originally revealed and as written in the original Hebrew language, we are in a battle for the
minds of believers. In this battle we must not use terminology that is erroneous and
incorrectly portrays the very nature and character of Abba our loving heavenly Father and which
also perverts the truth of what he would have us do in obedience to him.

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We must not use the erroneous term law but should use Torah or instructions whenever
possible. That is why I carefully and consistently avoid the use of the erroneous term law in
my teachings and writings. Torah is not the law! So please dont call Torah what it is not!
Try to faithfully talk about the instructions of Abba. He lovingly asks and reasonably expects
his children to be obedient to the things that he asks them to do which he called Torah --
instructions.

Yshua and Rav Shaul on Torah

It is difficult for the average Christian to project themselves back some two thousand years in
history into a cultural condition and mentality totally foreign to that of the Western world
today. That is exactly, however, what we must do to gain proper perspective on the Torah.

The context is Jewish. The language is Hebrew. Yshua and Rav Shaul were both Jewish,
spoke Hebrew, and their perspective on Torah is deeply rooted in the Hebrew thought of their
day which recognized two Torahs, the written and the oral. The Hebrew mind was realistic but
simple. Their's was a G-d not thought out. They took him for what he said he was and neither
tried to explain nor understand. That much was a mystery posed no problems. Questions could
remain unanswered, things unknown. They only needed to know one thing: G-d is and he is one;
great, wonderful, powerful, all-encompassing producing wonder and awe.

The Greek mind had to reason everything out. The Greek mind was idealistic. They saw the
world as it was, then tried to fashion it into what they thought it ought to be. Western thought
today is derived from the Greek mind and the Hebrew mind has effectively been eliminated
from our thought processes. To understand Torah we must return to the Hebrew mind and
Hebrew thought.

Speaking to the household of Israel, Yshua said, Dont think that I have come to abolish the
Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. Yes indeed! I tell you that
until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah.
(Mattityahu 5:17-18 JNT) The word Torah was not understood in a negative sense by Yshua.
In his view, the Torah revealed G-d's will. It was good and holy. It was eternal and would not
change so long as heaven and earth existed. The Hebrew Bible taught Abba's love for all
people, and provided a guide for daily life. Hence, the major issue Yshua and his talmidim
(students/disciples) faced was the proper understanding of Torah, which would lead to the right
conduct in everyday living.

How does one abolish the Torah? By misinterpreting it. How does one complete the Torah?
By correctly interpreting it and being obedient to its instructions. From the Hebrew, the
passage could be translated, Think not that I am come to misinterpret, or to misapply, the

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Torah. Rather, I have come to correctly interpret and, thereby, cause the Torah to stand upright
on a firm foundation.

Abbas divine revelation can be interpreted in different ways. Proper interpretation breathes
life and power into words divinely spoken. If properly understood and obeyed, divine
revelation, Torah, provides a guide for daily living. Thus the Torah is fulfilled. Wrong
interpretation cancels the words communicated by Abba. Torah aids ones understanding of
his nature and his love for his people. Torah is a magnificent demonstration of Abba's grace.

Rav Shaul is well qualified to speak about the Torah. In Acts 22:3 JNT he spoke in Hebrew
to the mob at the Temple Mount that was rioting and demanding his arrest. I am a Jew, born
in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city and trained at the feet of Gamli!el in every detail
of the Torah of our forefathers. I was a zealot for G-d, as all of you are today. The purpose
of his letter to the Romans was to foster the obedience that comes from trusting in Yshua.
So he taught that such trusting does not abolish Torah but confirms it (Romans 3:31 JNT)
Does it follow that we abolish Torah by this trusting? Heaven forbid! On the contrary, we
confirm Torah.

In chapters seven and eight of Romans, Rav Shaul makes several significant declarations in
support of Torah. The Torah is holy and the commandment is holy and just and good. (7:12)
For we know that the Torah is of the Spirit. (7:10) I am agreeing that the Torah is
good.(7:16) For in my inner self I completely agree with G-ds Torah. (7:22) The Torah
of the Spirit, which produces this life in union with Messiah Yshua, has set me free from the
Torah of sin and death.(8:2) The just requirement of the Torah might be fulfilled in us who
do not run our lives according to what our old nature wants but according to what the Spirit
wants. (8:4) For the mind controlled by the old nature is hostile to G-d, because it does not
submit itself to G-ds Torah -- indeed, it cannot. Thus, those who identify with their old nature
cannot please G-d.(8:7-8 JNT)

These statements prove that Rav Shaul neither had an un-Jewish view of the Torah nor desired
to abrogate it. These verses witness to Rav Shauls lifelong high regard for the Torah, which
corresponds to his lifelong observance of it. This attitude would have been with him from his
youth, since his parents were Pharisees (Acts 23:6); it would have been strengthened by his
studies with Rabban Gamliel (Acts 22:3); and there is no reason to suppose that his coming
to faith in Yshua -- who did not come to abolish the Torah -- would have changed it.

Yshua came to accurately interpret the Torah so that G-d who gave us his Torah will be revered
and obeyed through our proper action called obedience. Yshua came to fulfill the Torah,
showing its higher meaning by his interpretation. He demonstrated how Torah is to be fulfilled
by the life he led in total obedience to Abba. Rav Shaul desired to place the Torah on a firmer
footing by his teaching of faith and his living of Torah. The followers of Yshua, like Rav

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Shaul, must seek, discover and unveil their new nature in a higher level of righteousness and
obedience. In doing so, they must be led by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) who will reveal
the source of their life and his divine power in Yshuas message of the restoration of the
Kingdom of G-d.

The bottom line for Y'shua and Rav Sha'ul was this. Abba lovingly gave Torah. He is to be
revered. Each human being stands in awe and wonder before Abba. Hence, the task of learning
Torah is a sacred undertaking. Study leads to reverence. Reverence leads to obedience.
Obedience demonstrates love of Abba who first loved us.

The Education Model and its Terminology

All of us have been children so all of us had parents or guardians who lovingly gave us
instructions to guide our development and growth. They expected us, motivated by our love
for them, to be obedient and carry out their instructions. The instructions were on various
levels of importance and had varying degrees of consequences for failing to obey. The system
of parental instructions probably recognized negligent failure to obey as different from willful
failure to obey. On the one hand, negligent failure might have been from an oversight,
forgetting what was asked because we were busy with something else. On the other hand,
willful failure likely resulted from a decision not to obey, perhaps prompted by a rebellious
spirit.

I believe the loving instructions of Abba are designed in a similar way. The Torah describes
various aspects of the conduct Abba desires from his children. There are some instructions
that we may consider relatively insignificant in comparison to others such as not eating unclean
animals in comparison to murder. And Abba distinguishes between negligent failure to obey
and willful failure. His sacrificial system was designed to provide atonement for negligent sin
but not for willful sin. Only the blood of Yshua atoned for all sin.

Education is the purpose for which the Torah was given by Abba. By Torah he educates his
children about his will for them for their own good, for the renewing of their mind into his
mind, the perfect thought and action of Abba our Father, and the transformation of our nature
into his nature.

Because Yshua and Rav Shaul understood that Torah means direction, instruction, teaching
and the purpose of education, should we not look to the language of education to find words
that would more appropriately fit the Hebrew words designed to convey the various aspects that
we might discern in the Torah instructions of our Father? That is why I propose this Education
Model of Torah for your consideration.

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G-d chose specific Hebrew words to describe his Torah and the various aspects that comprise
the unity of his Torah: mitzvot, mishpatim, chukim, d'rachim, edot, and shelot. As the rabbis
adopted the Greek system of law for their understanding of Torah, they adopted legal terms to
translate these Hebrew words. Over time the original meanings and intent were lost. Even
modern Hebrew dictionaries now contain only these adopted legal terms rather than the
original meanings.

Churchmen and their translators adopted the Jewish legal terms -- not only in their translations
but also in the Hebrew-English Biblical dictionaries and lexicons they wrote to support their
translations. So one cannot consult any of these for the original meanings. Only people who
know the Hebrew language so well that they can see the roots of words and the derivative words
can reveal the original meanings as YHVH intended.

I have compiled a number of English words from the language of education and their
definitions adapted from the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary of 1993. With the
invaluable assistance of a Sabra, a native Israeli who was also educated in England, Rimona
Frank, and a Hebrew scholar, my Timothy in the faith, Bob Sass, I have matched these
educational terms with the Hebrew words above taken from the Hebrew scriptures.

INSTRUCTIONS - TORAH (pl. TOROT) -- The actual, or acts of, instructing; teaching,
education; knowledge etc. taught; instructive rules; precepts; directions; orders to a person.

Instructions are what our Heavenly Father has given to us so this word constitutes an umbrella
term encompassing all of his Torah.

PRINCIPLES - TOROT -- That which is taught, doctrines, instructions, precepts;

fundamental truths or propositions forming the basis of a system of belief etc. General rules
adopted or professed as a guide to action; fundamental motives or reasons for action.

PRECEPTS - MITZVOT -- Orders to do particular acts; commands; general instructions or

rules for action; maxims; injunctions, frequently divine commands regarding moral conduct.

Included in the instructions of Torah are certain mitzvah (pl. Mitzvot). This Hebrew word is
usually translated as command or commandment. Mitzvah is from the root tzaveh that means
to lay charge upon, or to give a charge to someone. Thus a mitzvah is a direct order from our
Father to do a particular thing.

As examples of precepts we would consider the Ten Words (Devarim) Abba gave in Shmot
(Exodus) 20 as precepts. But we need to recognize that most of the instructions of Abba do
not constitute precepts or commands but rather some other form of instruction.

The Torah is Not the Law 14 Mark R. Ensign, JD, CPA

DELIVERANCES, UTTERANCES - MISHPATIM -- The deliverance of words, utterances,
enunciations; declarations; narrations.

The instructions of Abba were words delivered to his people, uttered by him directly at Har
Sinai, or enunciated and declared by Moshe as he heard them from Abba. Just because they
were uttered and declared did not make them judgments, regulations or rules, as the word
mishpatim has been generally translated. There were no legal connotations to mishpatim
unless the reader added them from his own bias in translation.

IMPRINTS, IMAGES - CHUKIM -- Marks produced by pressure; lasting impressions or

signs of some emotion, experience, action; influences; affects; representation of the form of
a person or thing. A person or thing in which the appearance of another is reproduced.

We are created in the image and likeness of G-d. He desires for his characteristics to be
imprinted upon us. His Torah makes that impression when we willingly submit and obey to his
loving instructions.

DIRECTIONS, WAYS - DRACHIM -- The actions or functions of directing; guidance;

management; instructions on what to do, how to proceed, or where to go.

Some of the instructions that our Father has given to us fall into the category of directions.
For example, many of the instructions regarding the building and operation of the Mishkan and
the functions of the priests fall into this category of directions. G-d instructed Moshe who
then directed the skilled craftsmen who built the Mishkan.

POINTERS - EDOT -- Hints, clues; pieces of information; testimonies - all of these relating
to how things can be done. This Hebrew word is usually translated as testimonies.

Sometimes Abba wants us to walk in his ways but allows us to use the mind and abilities he has
graciously and generously given us. So he provides us with pointers that will not rise to the
level of direction or precepts but which will point us along our path or will help us to better
do what he requests. As we walk, grow and mature, our own experiences and testimonies will
aid us, and others, building us up in faith and in our walk with Abba in obedience.

REQUESTS - SHELOT -- Actions asking or calling for something; petitions, especially

written ones; expressed wishes or desires.

Within the Torah instructions are requests, things that our Father has asked us to do,
expressions of his desire for our obedience.

The Torah is Not the Law 15 Mark R. Ensign, JD, CPA

For example, Micah 6:8 is a classic example of the request of our Father and the anti-Torah
bias of the churchmen/translators that turns it into a command. What does the L-rd require
of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your G-d? The Hebrew
word is darash and means seek with care. In the King James version it is variously
translated as seek, enquire (inquire, ask) or request. Darash occurs 164 times and in the King
James version it is translated seek or enquire in 127 times. Only 12 times is it translated
require and this is one of those cases.

The bias toward the Law Model of the translators is amply evidenced in this verse. If we
substitute seek with care request or ask here, we get a far better sense of the meaning
intended in Hebrew. Substituting these words eliminates this anti-Torah bias and the bias in
favor of the Law Model. The corrected language fits our loving Abba and his desire to teach
us his ways.

SUGGESTIONS - Actions proposing a theory, course of action, etc. plan, proposal.

Suggestion is probably not a word that is very appropriate in the context of the Torah. It does
not appear in the most accepted modern translations nor in the King James version of the
Torah. Unfortunately, some churchmen imply that the Ten Words of Abba in Shmot (Exodus)
20 are really just nine instructions and a suggestion. The suggestion is to observe the Shabbat.

Our Response to Abbas Torah

The problem with Torah is not that it is not good, or spiritual, or holy. The problem is that we
have problems with keeping Torah. The Torah is not weak; the Torah is not imperfect. We are
weak; we are imperfect. But, thanks be to G-d, we are declared to be righteous in a right
relationship with G-d, based not upon what we are but upon whom he is.

Although the Torah is spiritual and holy, righteousness does not come by the Torah.
Righteousness comes through faithfulness. Faithfulness justifies righteousness.
Righteousness justifies reward. The reward is not salvation which comes by faith in G-d and
the sacrifice of Yshua and the grace, the unmerited favor, of Abba. The reward is the blessings
promised in Torah for trusting, faithful obedience to the instructions of Abba.

If we will step back from our indoctrination that Torah is the law of the stern lawgiver and
judge and honestly reexamine our thinking about the G-d revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures,
I believe we will find YHVH to be our loving Abba, the Creator of us all, who wants to redeem
us because of his loving kindness that endures forever. That is precisely the picture painted
by churchmen regarding the G-d of the New Testament, a G-d of love and mercy and grace.

The Torah is Not the Law 16 Mark R. Ensign, JD, CPA

Recognizing that he has not changed, we can understand he was the same throughout time, from
creation through the death of Yshua, and he is the same today.

Abba always desired Bnei Yisrael to walk humbly and obediently before him in all of his
instructions out of their love for the one who first loved them. Abba called them to be his
chosen people and a model nation for all the world. Abba gave them his Torah so that his
loving instructions would become an integral part of their new nature.

Likewise our unchanging Abba sent Yshua to call his people back to him and to trusting,
faithful obedience to his Torah. He also wants us to recognize that his Torah, his loving
instructions, are an integral part of our new nature. Abba declared through the prophet
Yirmeyahu, I will put my Torah within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be
their G-d, and they shall be my people. (Yirmeyahu (Jer.) 31:33) That is the call Abba is
issuing today to all who would believe and call upon his name. And that is the very essence of
the New Covenant, the Brit Chadashah.

Knowing now that the instructions of our Father are not laws but our new nature removes a
great burden from us. We are liberated, free. If the Son frees you, you will really be free!
(Yochanan (John) 8:36 JNT) If a person looks closely into the perfect Torah, which gives
freedom, and continues, becoming not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work it requires, then
he will be blessed in what he does. (Yaakov (James) 1:25 JNT)

There is no need for legalistic observance. No longer will anyone who is a child of Abba be
frustrated that they are unable to fulfill all of the laws. No longer will there be a sense of
required performance that might be measured by others. No longer will there be a need for
any of us to look over the shoulder of another or to judge their performance. No longer will
the gloom of failure to completely observe and perform the laws hang over the lives of the
people of G-d who walk faithfully, trustingly obediently to his instructions, recognizing that
Torah is now their new nature.

To the unregenerate man who does not recognize or honor Abba as his father, the Torah will
always be the law. This disobedient son will perceive as law what are truly the loving
instructions of his father. The obedient son will recognize them for what they are; the
expression by his loving Abba of his principles, precepts, directions, corrections and guidance,
intended to imprint upon his offspring his divine nature and character as they grow and mature.

Relieved of the burden of the churchmens law, liberated in the loving instructions of Abba,
we can live joyful, abundant and fulfilled lives if we will seek the guidance and assistance of
the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) who will lead us into all truth. We will tap into the source
of living water, Yshua, who is already waiting for us to drink of his life-giving water. In the
process of seeking the truth, if we allow our spirits to be led into the truth by the Ruach

The Torah is Not the Law 17 Mark R. Ensign, JD, CPA

HaKodesh, we will become aware of the deficiencies, the shortcomings and the power of the
yetzer hara (evil inclination) in our lives.

With the guidance and encouragement of the Ruach HaKodesh, we will become even more
trusting and faithful in our obedience. The legalism of the past will be replaced by the
wonderful, boundless education of the Ruach HaKodesh, the Spirit of the Holy One, Blessed
is he! Our mourning will be turned into dancing and rejoicing in the joy our Father brings us
as well as in the blessings that he will pour out upon those who are faithful unto him as he asks.

In Christianity, faith in G-d is elevated to a belief system that is above tangible action. The
word for faithin Hebrew does not exclude tangible action, and it is not to be understood as
intangible belief alone. Faith without corresponding action is dead; it has no life and is not
pleasing to G-d. Faith is better understood as faithfulness to G-d and his word, doing that
which is right in his sight. It is faithfulness to G-d evidenced by obedience. (See James
2:14-26) To preach faith and not practice it within the framework of Torah, which is Abbas
will, is hypocrisy.

The concept is best summed up in the words of Yshua when he said; By their fruits you will
know them . . . every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruits
. . . Not everyone who says to me, L-rd, L-rd will be those over whom G-d (or Heaven) rules,
but the ones who DO the will of my father in heaven. (Mattityahu 7:16-21) Good fruits are
good works. The Scriptures emphasized works above creeds or dogma. G-d considers actions
to be of more importance than beliefs. In Christianity beliefs became the central demand.
Deeds became less important than creeds. Though belief became the priority and essence of
Christianity, this idea was not practiced by Yshua or his disciples. Yshua's emphasis always
lay in doing the will of the Father.

Through the centuries churchmen proclaimed that Yshua replaced the Torah with two
commandments: to love G-d and love your neighbor. But Yochanan (John) reported that
Yshua called for obedience to Torah to demonstrate our love for him. If you love me, you
will keep my commands. (14:15) If you keep my commands, you will stay in my love just
as I have kept my Abbas commands and stay in his love. (15:10) Whoever has my commands
and keeps them is the one who loves me, and the one who loves me will be loved by my Abba,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him. (14:21) You are my friends, if you do what I
command you. (15:14 JNT)

Yochanan later wrote to believers, 3 The way we can be sure we know him [Yshua] is if we
are obeying his commands. 4 Anyone who says, I know him, but doesnt obey his commands
is a liar the truth is not in him. 5 But if someone does what he says, then truly love for God has
been brought to its goal in him. This is how we are sure that we are united with him. 6 A
person who claims to be continuing in union with him ought to conduct his life the way he did.

The Torah is Not the Law 18 Mark R. Ensign, JD, CPA

(I Yochanan (John) 2:3-6 JNT) How did Yshua conduct his life? He lived and taught the Torah
of Abba.

Recall what Yshua said, So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others
to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so
teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Will we demonstrate that we know Yshua and love him by obeying and teaching his Torah, just
as he demonstrated his love for his father by obeying and teaching Torah?

So will we believe and act or just believe?

Will we believe the instructions of Abba, written and preserved for 3500 years in the Torah,
are still his instructions for those who believe in him today?

Will we believe the unchanging G-d has not changed his intentions toward us?

Will we believe Abba has not changed his desire for us to walk in trusting, faithful obedience
to his instructions?

Will we believe and act as Abba has asked us to in his Torah?

Will we believe and act based upon what we know now?

Will we believe and act to diligently learn more of Abbas Torah led by the Ruach HaKodesh?

Will we believe and act motivated by our love for the one who first loved us and gave himself
for us?

Will I? Will you? Will we?

May Abba bless you as you prayerfully consider this study and diligently study the Torah of
Abba being led by the Ruach HaKodesh into all truth. His word is truth.

The Torah is Not the Law 19 Mark R. Ensign, JD, CPA

I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of my wife, Joy Ensign, my dear friends, Ephraim and
Rimona Frank, Bob Sass, and Stafford and Sharon Simmonds in the preparation and review of
this study. I also gratefully acknowledge the education I received from Dr. Roy Blizzard as
well as his writings and those of Dr. Brad Young plus their books and publications from which
my ideas were enhanced and confirmed. The works of David H. Stern, The Complete Jewish
Bible and The Jewish New Testament (abbreviated JNT herein) and The Jewish New
Testament Commentary, have been invaluable resources and are recommended for all students
of Torah.

This study is a work in progress so your constructive criticism, comments, suggestions, and
encouragements are welcome. You may address them to the author via e-mail at
[email protected] or by mail to P. O. Box 3220, Amarillo, Texas 79116-3220. Your
communications will be received with appreciation but may or may not be acknowledged in the
discretion of the author who does not intend to become involved in protracted debates about
this study.

This study may be reproduced but only if it is reproduced in full without change or additions.
This study may be distributed by e-mail if transmitted in full without change or additions.

The Torah is Not the Law 20 Mark R. Ensign, JD, CPA