Today is Simchat Torah and Jewish people are dancing in the streets here in Israel-2

Simchat Torah: The Beginning and Ending of the Parsha Cycle

"Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God.  They celebrated the festival [sukkot] for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly."  (Nehemiah 8:18)

The Jewish People have diligently preserved the Word of God for more than 3,000 years, and Simchat Torah gives jubilant expression to the Jewish People’s love of the Torah. Besides rejoicing, another central theme to this special day is the completion of the annual cycle of weekly Torah readings. The last portion of Deuteronomy 34 will be read. But as soon as we end the cycle, we begin anew, and a portion from the first chapter of Genesis is read immediately afterward.  This serves to remind us that our study of the Torah never ends.

While holding the sacred Torah scrolls in this Tel Aviv

synagogue on Simchat Torah, about 400 people sang

and danced for joy over the Torah.

Torah Points in the Right Direction

What is Torah?  This Hebrew word Torah is often translated in English Bibles asLaw; however, this is a rather poor translation. The word Torah comes from the roots yarah, which means to shoot, aim, or point to, and morah, meaning teacher. Therefore, the Torah is God’s instruction to His people.  These instructions teach us how to live on this earth and point us to eternal life through Yeshua (Jesus). So, why do we have a special day just to rejoice in the Torah of God?

An open Torah scroll on the bema, a platform podium from which the

Torah and the Prophets are read.

It’s because the Word of God is a tree of life for us, and if we would just take hold of it, we would see that all its paths are pleasant and will lead us to peace (Proverbs 3:17; see also Proverbs 16:7 and Psalm 119:165). The Torah contains all the wisdom and instruction we need to live healthy, happy, successful, prosperous lives. "Be strong and very courageous.  Be careful to obey all the instructions [Torah] Moses gave you.  Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left.  Then you will be successful in everything you do. "Study this Book of Instruction [Sefer haTorah] continually.  Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.  Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do."  (Joshua 1:7–8)

Rejoicing over the Torah, God's instructions, on Simchat Torah.

   

The Books That Constitute Torah

The Torah, in its strictest sense, includes the five books of Moses: 

Genesis(Bereisheet), Exodus (Shemot), Leviticus (Vayikra), Numbers (Bamidbar), and Deuteronomy (Devarim). However, Yeshua and Paul both quoted from other books of the Bible, including the Psalms and the Prophets, and also called them Torah (law). For instance, in John 10:34, Yeshua quotes Psalm 82:6 referring to it as the Torah, saying: “Is it not written in your Law (Torah), ‘I said, You are gods’?”  (John 10:34) In 1 Corinthians 14:21, Paul references the prophetic book of Isaiah, calling it the Law: “In the Law [Torah] it is written: ‘With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people.’”  (1 Corinthians 14:21; compare to Isaiah 28:11)

Dancing and singing with the Torah on Simchat Torah.

Another word for Torah often used by Jewish people is the Tanakh, which is a Hebrew name for all the books of the Jewish Scriptures. This word is actually an acronym for Torah (Five Books of Moses), Nevi’im(Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings: Psalms, Proverbs, etc).  The word Tanakhcomprises the first letters of each of these three words: T-N-K [Hebrew letters Tav, Nun, Kaf]. Orthodox Jews consider yet another compilation of writings as "Torah."  This is theTalmud (Mishnah and Gemara), which are rabbinical interpretations and commentaries of the written Torah. They believe both Scripture and commentary are the Torah because you cannot have the “written Torah” without the interpretation of the “oral Torah.” Sadly enough, most Orthodox Jews consider the oral law of greater weight and authority than the written Torah, and many spend the majority of their time in the study in these books.

An Orthodox Jewish man shows his love and joy of the Torah,

displaying it for all to see at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

Yeshua’s Teaching About the Law

God initially chose to reveal His Torah to the nation of Israel, and He gave them the mission to spread its light and teachings to every nation of the earth. While Yeshua (Jesus) fulfilled the Torah, God’s moral guidelines for mankind to live in righteousness, He also makes it clear that He did not come to abolish it. "Don’t misunderstand why I have come.  I did not come to abolish the Torah of Moses or the writings of the prophets.  No, I came to fulfill their purpose.  I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s Torah will disappear until its purpose is fulfilled. "So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.  But anyone who obeys God’s Torah and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven."  (Matthew 5:17–19) Although Yeshua did not abolish the Law of Moses, He did fulfill its purpose, as well as the prophecies concerning His first coming.  (See Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 53; Micah 5:2; Daniel 9:25–26 and hundreds more.) Because of Yeshua, the light of the Word of God has spread across the globe. And yet, despite this, almost every Jewish person here in Israel (99%) still does not recognize Yeshua as the Messiah who fulfilled the writings of the Prophets.

Please stand us together with this Simchat Torah, as we bring Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), who is revealed in the prophecies of the Eternal Word of God, to the Lost Sheep of Israel.  You can make a difference that will last for Eternity.