Today's Torah
Portion:
Love for Yahweh - first and Supreme
Numbers 15:38-40 -
" Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue. And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of Yahweh, and do them ; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember, and do all My Commandments, and be holy unto your God."
The fringes in the garment are called tzit tzits in Hebrew. The
instruction to wear a blue fringe on the borders of the garments was given in
the Torah. But is this something Torah-observant Christians should be doing
today? In this study, we’ll examine this concept and see what the Bible has to
say about it. Certainly we don’t want to do something just because it’s
tradition, nor do we want to not do something because we think it’s too Jewish.
We just want to do what Yahweh wants of us at all times! With that in mind, let’s
take a look at tzit tzits.
Tzit tzits are
distinctive. And the shape and colors of the tzit tzits tell a lot about the person who wears
them, and their beliefs.
Numbers
15:37-38
“And (Yahweh) spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto
the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders
of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the
fringe of the borders a ribband
of blue.”
When
we look up the keywords (highlighted above) in Strong’s we can see the full meaning:
Fringes = tzit tzits - meaning "tassel, wing, fringe".
borders = kanaf - meaning "the wing, or extremity of the garment"
ribband = pathyl - meaning "thread, ribbon, bound"
So,
the fringes are the tzit tzits,
referring to a tassel shape, the borders are the kanaf referring to the wings or outer
extremity of the garment, and the ribband of blue means that the tassel shape is
to be made with blue thread - a color that signifies loyalty and obedience to the Law of Yahweh.
The word tzit tzit only appears three times in all the
Scripture. We find this by tracing it’s Strong’s number, which H6734. In Numbers 15:38-40, we find that the reason Yahweh commanded His people to wear a blue tassel on the
borders of their clothes is that He wanted them to remember and be obedient to
His Torah. Blue is the color Yahweh selected to represent His Torah.
In Ezekiel 8:3, we find that the use of the word tzit tzit is a
lock of hair. It sheds no real light on the clothing tzit tzit, other than to help with the proper
size. The tassel of the tzit tzit
should be about as much thread as a lock of hair.
Another
mention of the fringes appears in
Deuteronomy 22:12. Here fringes is translated not from tzit tzit but
from a synonym. When we add this verse to our growing understanding of tzit tzits, we
gain even more insight. For here we learn that there are to be four tzit tzits
worn.
Now let’s look at the Hebrew word kanaf,
translated as "borders". It is Strong’s number 3671. Kanaf appears 109 times in the Bible in a total of 85 verses.
Naturally, in the interest of time, we cannot look up all 85 Bible verses, but
we will look at a few select ones to get a representative sample of the context
and meanings in which this word is used.
The first use of kanaf is
in Genesis 1:21. Here is refers to the wings of a bird.
In Exodus 19:4, kanaf is
used translated as Eagle’s Wings. Here kanaf is a symbol of Yahweh’s protection and
deliverance.
In several places in Scripture, the
word kanaf is
used to represent the husband’s protection, covering, and signet name over his
wife. In Ruth 2:12, we find that Yahweh covers His people, spiritually, with His Kanaf.
Spiritually, being fully covered under Yahweh’s heavenly Kanaf, is
equated with being sealed in the Father’s Name.
For centuries, Torah-keepers have read the story of
Ruth during the Shavuout (Pentecost) service. This is because
Pentecost is known for being the feast in which the “barley” or the Spiritual
First Fruits will be sealed. Pentecost is the end of the barley harvest, and
the beginning of the wheat harvest. In Scripture the grains represent groups of
people, and harvest represents the Sealing process or judgment.
Ruth
is read at Pentecost not only because it takes place near the time of
Pentecost, but most importantly because the story is a shadow picture showing
how Yahweh’s people are covered or sealed in the Saviour’s Name, like Ruth came
to be in Boaz.
For a
moment, let’s take a look at the story of Ruth and Boaz, because it reveals a
beautiful significance to the kanaph, or borders of the husband’s garment.
Ruth
is especially significant to Gentile converts. Ruth, herself formerly a
Moabite, converted to keeping the Torah and the worship of Yahweh. She is a type
of all who will come out of paganism and become Torah-obedient in the Last
Days.
Ruth chose to follow Naomi, without any promise of an inheritance.
In fact, it seemed there was no future in choosing Naomi and her God. Yet, Ruth
still chose to go with Naomi back to Israel and to follow Yahweh as her God. When the two widowed women reached Israel,
times were hard. Ruth began to glean grain from fields, as was customary for
poor folks to do in order to get food. This is also spiritually significant, Ruth 2:1-3.
Boaz,
in this story, is a type of Christ. Yahshua is our Kinsman-Redeemer, as
it says in Hebrews 2:11 & 17.
The comparison of Boaz’s redemption of Ruth
with Yahshua’s Redemption of us reaches its most significant point in the story
of how Ruth came to Boaz’s threshing floor to ask for his redemption.
Naomi
instructed Ruth how to approach
Boaz. The spiritual parallels are tremendous:
-Wash
yourself – which represents us being cleansed
from self & sin
-Dress
your best – which represents us being clothed in the robe of Christ’s
righteousness
-Anoint
yourself – which represents the fragrant
influence of our lives filled with the Holy Spirit
-Wait
‘til his work is done – which represents the time of the
sealing – when Yahweh is through with His work in the fields of hearts
-Lie
at his feet on the threshing floor – the threshing floor is a symbol of judgment as it is the place
of separation of the wheat from the tares.
-If he
covers you, you are sealed – representing us
being sealed by
our Heavenly Kinsman-Redeemer.
This is
where the kanaph
comes in to the story and reveals the meaning of covering, redemption, and
sealing.
In
Ruth 3:9, Ruth is at the feet of Boaz.
She
said to him, "spread the corner (kanaph) of your garment over me for Thou art my
kinsman redeemer" In the NKJ it says, "Take your maidservant under
your wing, for you are a close relative.“
Ruth
said, "Take me under your wing (kanaph)."
In
Ezekiel 16: 8, Yahweh speaks to Jerusalem and likewise says, "so I spread My Wing
(kanaph)
over you and covered your nakedness," and in Psalm 91 we are able to
"abide under the shadow of the Almighty" and "under His Wings (kanaph)."
We
know that Boaz did spread his kanaph over Ruth, in symbol calling her by his
name, and promising to claim her as his own.
The mentioning of kanaph in
Ruth was so significant that it took some time to show its full significance.
But, now let’s go back to looking at the some of other verses which use kanaph. In
1 Samuel 15:26-28, tearing the kanaph was a symbol of forever losing the
blessing and acceptance of Yahweh. When Saul was rejected by Yahweh for his sins,
Samuel’s kanaph was
torn.
Finally, the kanaph represents the covering of Yahweh which
protects His people in the Time of Trouble.
Psalm
57:1 “…Be merciful unto
me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy Wings
(kanaph)
will I make my refuge, until these calamities
be overpast.”
When we are covered under Heaven’s kanaph, we
are not only promised protection in trouble, we are also promised healing,
literally and figuratively.
Malachi
4:2 “But unto
you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness
arise
with healing in His
Wings
(kanaf)…”
WINGS
= H3671
כּנף
kânâph
“…an edge or extremity; specifically a wing, (of a garment…)”
כּנף
kânâph
“…an edge or extremity; specifically a wing, (of a garment…)”
It was because of this prophecy in Malachi
that a sick woman knew she could be healed if only she could touch the
Saviour’s kanaph,
which bore the tzit tzits.
Matthew 9:20-21
“And, behold, a woman, which was diseased
with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Him,
and touched the hem of His garment: For
she said within herself, If I may but
touch His garment, I shall be whole.”
HEM
= G2899
κράσπεδον
kraspedon
“…(specifically) a fringe or tassel: - border, hem.”
κράσπεδον
kraspedon
“…(specifically) a fringe or tassel: - border, hem.”
When the woman touched the Heavenly tzit tzit in the Saviour’s Wings, she was
instantly healed!
The tzit tzits also
signify being set apart for holy use, as priests are set apart for the
service of Heaven.
Through
the oral stories passed down among the
Jews, it is told that
in ancient Egypt the priests wore fringes on the bottom of their robes to
indicate their chosen status. But, when
Yahweh delivered the Jewish people from their oppression there, He commanded them
to wear similar "fringes" to indicate their status before Him as "a kingdom of
priests“.
Exodus
19:6 “And ye
shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the
words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”
Revelation
5:10
“And hast
made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
So what have we found in the Scriptures
about tzit tzits?
1) They
are to be made of twined (twisted, tied and knotted) blue thread in the shape
of a tassel.
2) 4
tzit
tzits
are to be worn on the edges or borders of our garments.
3) Tzit tzits were to be worn, by command of Yahweh, for
the purpose of helping His people remember His Torah and their promise to be
true to Him.
Not
only did Yahweh command His people to wear tzit tzits in the Torah, but also Yahshua, Who was
our Example in all things wore them. How do we know? Because,
as we’ve already seen, the woman with the issue of Blood touched them and was
healed!
Matthew 14:34-36 similarly records:
"When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick; and they implored Him that they might just touch the fringe (tzit tzit) of His cloak; and as many as touched it were cured."
With all
this evidence to support the wearing of tzit tzits, perhaps we shouldn’t be asking if
Christians should wear them, but instead maybe we should be asking why did we
stop wearing them!
It
really is no big surprise to find that the reason followers of Yahshua no
longer wear tzit tzits is
because we have been taught that this statute was nailed to the Cross!
Christians stopped wearing tzit tzits. The same mixed up belief which caused
Christians to set aside the Sabbaths, caused them to lose the tzit tzit
command also.
This statue is called "The Jew's Sow." It is a 600-year-old sculpture on Regensburg Cathedral (which is located in Regensburg, Germany). The sculpture faces the old Jewish quarter of the city of Regensburg.
As the propaganda against Torah-keepers grew, Feast-keepers were accused of performing dark arts and ritualistic human sacrifices
in their keeping of the Feasts. The papacy spread rumors about Jews sacrificing
the Christian children and mixing their blood into the matzah
dough for the keeping of Passover. Eventually, the hated and persecuted Torah-keepers decided that wearing tzit tzits made it too easy to identify them. It
was better to keep it a secret if you obeyed and loved Torah. In this way, the
command to wear tzit tzits in
Torah was lost.
To this day, Christians have traces of
anti-Semitism. When shown that keeping the Feasts
of Yahweh is important they often react with, “I don’t want to be Jewish.” And I
have to admit, it is easy to feel that way about the tzit tzit
command.
But, we need to get over the
prejudice against “Jewish” teachings that was started by the papacy in the Dark
Ages. If a teaching is just Jewish
tradition, we are to treat it like any other tradition of man. But, the tzit tzit
command isn’t Jewish – it’s in the Torah – because it is a command of Yahweh.
The wearing of the tassels was not
commanded so that we can show off our obedience as we walk down the
street. They are given to us to be reminders TO
US that
we are to obey all the commandments and not to go whoring after other
gods. In other words, the tassel is for the wearer to see. It's not meant for everyone else.
This is how Scripture says to do it.
Clearly tzit tzits
should not be made to be long and obnoxious. According to the Torah, they should be worn as a personal
reminder. This reminder was also meant for the men. Women did not wear the tzit tzits. Additionally, in Torah, women are commanded to not wear that which pertains to a man (Deuteronomy 22:5).
Many have taken this Statute to mean that women should never wear pants - as pants are men's clothing, whereas women are to always wear dresses in order to avoid having a similar shape in the clothing. But, in Bible times, both men and women wore dresses (robes).
It wasn't the wearing of the robe that was "men's clothing" or "women's"... But the tzit tzits were exclusively worn by the men. Understanding this, Deuteronomy 22:5 certainly appears to be telling women not to wear the distinctive tzit tzits. This does not mean that women are excluded from the blessings of it. Women were spiritually covered by their husbands' (and fathers') wings.
Should Yahweh's people still be wearing the tzit tzits today? My husband does. And, after seeing the blessing of them, and our Saviour's Example, perhaps you also can see a good reason to consider wearing them also.
Wearing tzit tzits is a blessing. Not only does it serve to help
us remember the Torah throughout the day, it also signifies our
desire to be under the Saviour’s Wings, as Ruth was under Boaz's.
This Week's Torah Studies: (Statutes 121-140)
The Torah studies are provided in two formats for your convenience. The first option (below) is the blank worksheets for this week, which will allow you to print out the worksheets and hand-write the studies yourself. If you have less time, you may wish to read/print my completed Statute studies. The completed worksheets are the second option (below):
This week we will be studying Statutes 121-140, which are summarized below. Happy studying!
Statute 121-123 Summary:
(#121) We are to keep the first day of Unleavened Bread as a rehearsal. (#122) We are to hold a holy convocation on it. (#123) We are not to do any servile work on the first day (Sabbath) of Unleavened Bread.
Numbers 28:17-18 “And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. In the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work therein.”
Statute 124 Summary:
Unleavened Bread is a feast of Judgment. We find this because if the leaven of sin (leaven is an agent, good or bad, so powerful that it leavens the whole lump of dough) is not removed from our lives and homes, we will be cut off from the Abrahamic Covenant. The true “Spring Cleaning” is (#124) removing all spiritual and physical leaven from our lives and homes in preparation for this special week. This is what we are commanded to do.
Exodus 12:15 “Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.”
Statute 125-128 Summary:
(#125) During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we are commanded to eat unleavened bread every day for the full seven days. (#126) There is to be no leaven seen in all in any part of our property or possessions. (#127) Children are to be taught that the reason we keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread is to commemorate deliverance from physical Egypt and continue the work of deliverance from spiritual Egypt. (#128) Keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread is part of the sign that we are preparing for the Sealing of Yahweh. (Rev. 7:3 and Rev. 14:9)
Exodus 13:6-9 “Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Yahweh. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which Yahweh did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that Yahweh's Law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath Yahweh brought thee out of Egypt.”
Statute 129-131 Summary:
(#129) The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a Day of rest (Sabbath) and a holy Convocation day. (#130) The last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a Day of rest (Sabbath) and a holy Convocation day. (#131) On these two days of Unleavened Bread, no work is to be done, with one exception: cooking and preparing food is allowed.
Exodus 12:16 “And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.”
Statute 132-134 Summary:
(#132) On the feast of First Fruits, which is the Sunday (morrow after the Sabbath) during Unleavened Bread, Yahweh’s people are to present the first fruits of the harvest unto Yahweh. The grain of first fruits represents Yahshua (1 Corinthians 15:20) and the 144,000 – first fruits of the final grain harvest (Revelation 14:4). The sheaf of firstfruits is a measurement of grain, representing judgment. (#133) We are to be prepared for first fruits judgment through the Blood of the Lamb and having been made an acceptable living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). (#134) During the day of First Fruits, we are to wait to eat food, until after we have brought the sacrifice.
Leviticus 23:10-14 “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto Yahweh. And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto Yahweh for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”
Statute 135-140 Summary:
(#135) To calculate the timing for the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), count from First Fruits. (#136) Count seven Seventh-day Sabbaths. (#137) The day after the seventh Sabbath (Sunday) is fifty days, numbered from First Fruits. (#138) This day is holy convocation day, a Sabbath. It is the Feast of Weeks. (#139) On this day, we are to claim the Blood of Yahshua by claiming His Sacrifice for our sins. (#140) We are also to wave to leavened loaves (we get unleavened with the sin of the world during these 50 days, and re-leavened with the Kingdom) representing the two candlesticks (churches) of Philadelphia (144,000) and Smyrna (end-time martyrs), both of which are filled with the Holy Spirit at the final Pentecost.
Leviticus 23:15-21 “And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto Yahweh. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto Yahweh. And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto Yahweh, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto Yahweh. Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before Yahweh with the two lambs: they shall be holy to Yahweh for the priest. And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.”
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