07 Becoming Torah Literate: Knowing God
Do I want to know more about God?
Perhaps, a second question is in order.
Do I need to know more about God?
Jeremiah 31
30. Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 31. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; my covenant which they broke, although I was their master, says the Lord: 32. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, says the Lord, I will put my Torah in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people: 33. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will no longer remember their sin:
1. Is it possible to know the Creator and not know the Creator?
According to the prophet Jeremiah, both houses of Israel shall participate in this new covenant and they shall know the Lord. The prophet links knowing the Lord with having the Creator’s Torah in their inward parts. Thus the knowledge of the Lord is equal to the knowledge of God’s Torah.
The Torah shall be written by the Creator on their hearts. Nationally speaking, the house of Judah, which incorporates modern Judaism, is going to have to undergo this divine encounter. This future event could be a subtle indicator that Judaism’s concept of the Torah may be deficient; if it were sufficient, they would not remain in exile.
Where one might ask, is the House of Israel. Some say that they are lost forever, but if that were so, then Jeremiah would have to be a false prophet. If the house of Israel no longer exists then the promise to the house of Judah is meaningless.
Into to this mix, one must consider Christianity, which, for the most part, believes in a new covenant with a new Torah, a messianic Torah. Some go so far as to think that Christianity has replaced Israel. Ponder for a moment; a messiah is simply an anointed person. How can the anointed (messiah)also be the anointer? To teach any of these doctrines, one would have to reject or modify the divine Torah.
It seems reasonable to conclude that in general, Judaism, lost Israel, and Christianity could use some assistance in relating to the divine Torah from the Creator’s perspective. They all know something about the Creator, but they may not know him according to his Torah. The numerical structure of the Torah presents a divine guide to every aspect of the Torah.
2. Is it possible to be simultaneously literate and illiterate in the same language?
The Hebrew language existed before there were any dictionaries, grammars, or commentaries. Modern-day dictionaries, grammars, and commentaries compile their data from a multitude of sources outside of the Torah. In other words, these sources are a combination of divine and human-made sources. They can contain some of the divine perspectives, but they do not solely contain the divine perspective. More precisely, they are generally evolutionary sources, whereas the Creator’s perspective remains fixed. It is indeed possible that one’s baggage of outside sources could render one illiterate when it comes to the author’s perspective. One can be literate in classical Hebrew and be illiterate in comprehending the divine narrative.
3. Is it possible to intimately know the Creator?
In the world of talk radio, program designers often incorporate special open line sessions where the listener can converse with the radio show host. These sessions add a special sense of intimacy between the show host and the listeners. Likewise, intimacy concerning the Creator involves a two-way conversation.
The false representation of these two-way conversations is where things can get scary. Men have been deceiving people with false prophecies and teachings for thousands of years. However, men have also been benefiting humanity with their ability to listen to the Creator and lead humankind. Where would the world be without Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and so on? The world would be a lot scarier without their communications. The Creator provided a safety net to protect the ears of every person, and that safety net is the Torah. If one prophesies or teaches something contrary to the Torah, it is not from the Creator. That person is a false prophet or teacher.
Am I experiencing a two-way conversation with the Creator? Are we both communicating through the channel of the Torah? Remember, the Creator works from the “inside,” hence the Torah inside of me has a voice for which I should be listening. Intimacy with the Creator is a two-way Torah conversation.
4. Do I personally know the Creator?
Do I know the Torah, or do I know about the Torah? Do I know the human-made perspective of the Torah, or do I know the Creator’s perspective of the Torah? Do I know the numerical structure of the Torah? Structure always precedes any embellishments, and to recognize only the embellishments of the Torah is to walk in the path of half-truths. If one rejects the structure of the Torah, he becomes a Torah rejector. The Creator put the structure there to support the embellishments.
5. Am I literate concerning the Torah?
Torah literacy implies that I understand the message of the Torah from the Creator’s perspective. Before I learned to read and write, I knew how to ask my parents, Why? My illiteracy did not prevent me from accepting or rejecting their instructions. It was merely a matter of compliance or rebellion. I could learn the numerical structure of the Torah, without being literate in Biblical Hebrew, and achieve Torah literacy in terms of comprehension of the divine perspective.
6. Do I have an intimate relationship with the Creator?
Am I experiencing a two-way conversation with the Creator according to his perspective of the Torah?
7. Do I desire to intimately know the Creator and understand the Torah from his perspective?
Many people are satisfied with the prospect of having such a relationship in an afterlife, thinking that they would desire to do then what they don’t desire to do now. Ponder this, how can one be sure that the afterlife is what one thinks it is. Only the Torah can truly help one with this.