This morning I began the study of a book I was recommended by a friend, ‘The Introduction To The Talmud by Maimondides’ translated by Zvi Lampel. In the translator’s Preface is found a statement that I found myself pondering on all morning, “…by peerless, earnest toil, in an attempt to understand the will of Hashem.”

As an ex-associate pastor of the church and now a student of the Seven Commandments of the Creator; I have seen over the years a lot of ingrained baggage coming with myself and those who have left the religions of this world to embrace the Seven Universal Commandment of the Creator to the nations.

In this blog I want to deal with only one of those ideas that we may still have that we have carried over from former religious thought and practice.

One of the baggages that have carried over is proper study of the scriptures. When I left an idolatrous religion and began to study the Hebrew Scriptures, one of the first things I had to learn, was the proper way of study them.

For example, when the Christian scriptures i.e the New Testament is studied, it is generally from two angles 1. Preconceived ideas. 2. Agenda. Most folk when studying the NT do so because they believe that it is true without researching its history and or they have a point to prove.

Personally, I do not know anyone that approaches the NT and toils in it to attempt to know the Creators will. Those that have that kind of nature in them will eventually leave Christianity as a religion and the Christian scriptures.

I have asked myself recently, “Those who throw around statements or scriptures that are popular to Christian theology most often are repeating something that they heard and they have not studied for themselves. A lot of the people hope that who they are quoting has done the study for them and are quoting facts but in truth it is only hearsay.

Make the Creator your personal God

In studying It is great to quote the sources you are learning from but they should never replace your very own relationship with the Creator.

In Orthodox/Torah Judaism there are several principles coming from the Hebrew Scriptures, that one is to develop their own personal relationship with the Creator.

Exodus 3:15
“…the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,”

The first Jewish prayer of the Shemoneh Esrei or eighteen prayers is Avos or Fathers written by a group of men known as The Great Assembly. One of the purposes of the prayer is to show us that the forefathers of Israel developed independent relationships with the Creator; they made Him their God.

As said by Rabbi Avroham Chaim Feuer in his book Shemoneh Esrei on page 55, “The Patriarchs are listed in this blessing separately to emphasize each one represents a unique approach to Divine service.”
All this to say, when one leaves a religion of the world and returns to the Creator and begins to study the Hebrew Scriptures, one must know that there is particular way they are studied and preconceived ideas or agendas from other religions do not have a place. The Hebrew Scriptures were given to the Jewish people and they must be consulted in the study of their own scripture and language.

This is often one of the carry over baggages into the study of the Hebrew Scriptures. It stems from the fact that many Christians thinks they no more about the Hebrew Scriptures than the Hebrews themselves. This kind of arrogance needs to be rid of, to even begin to attempt to understand the will of the Creator found in the Hebrew Scripture.

in an attempt to understand the will of Hashem.”

Terry W. Hayes
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