Hebrew Nation Online | Ancient Roads: Real Israel Talk Radio – Avi Ben Mordechai

On today’s episode of Real Israel Talk Radio, I will seek to unravel Yeshua’s lessons on loyalty. This is program Episode 109 and Part 13 on the Qumran Dead Sea Scrolls. I will speak on their link to the New Covenant story of the Pharisees and their accusations against Yeshua and his disciples about Sabbath unlawfulness.

Generally, it seems to me that when the Bible expositors unpack the story from Matthew 12:3-4, which is part of the overall context in the eight verses of this narrative, the takeaway lesson is not all about showing mercy and compassion. Although showing compassion and mercy is something to cultivate, it is NOT the takeaway lesson from this New Covenant story.

When the Pharisees accused Yeshua’s disciples of their Sabbath lawlessness, Yeshua then brought up the story of David in 1 Samuel 21 and what he did when he was given the old loaves of sacred bread on the Table inside the Tabernacle; that is,  the “Lechem haPanim” – the “showbread” of the priestly “Bread of the Faces.”

First, we must ask, what exactly did David do or not do? We’ll get the backstory on this program and tie it together with another of Yeshua’s encounters in Matthew 15:25-27. We’ll learn what this means:

He (Yeshua) answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs. And she said, “Yes, Master, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

Join us for this episode of Real Israel Talk Radio.

As you likely know, the annual 50-Day and 7-Sabbaths Count of the Omer is one of many controversial issues between those who observe the traditional rabbinic Jewish calendar and those who observe any one of several other counting traditions. The point that I am going to make on this program today is that Sha’ul and his ministry companions were all observing the Dead Sea Scrolls Qumran House of Tzadok 364-day solar calendar.

Jewish oral tradition teaches that the 50-Day Count of the Omer begins on the day after the first day of Unleavened Bread or the first day of the Festival of Matza. Since Unleavened Bread always starts on the 15th day of the first month of the biblical new year (see Exodus 12:2), therefore, the 50-Day and 7-Sabbaths Count of the Omer always begins on the 16th day of the first month.

Today, we will take a deep dive into Acts 20:2-12 and learn from the narrative that Sha’ul (Paul) and his ministry companions were not observing the official and traditional rabbinic reckoning of the festival seasons. If they were, this would require them to observe the sighted moon as a counting system. Instead, they observed a 364-day solar calendar reckoning, which is pretty evident in the narrative’s chronology.

To follow the details of this biblical study here is a First Chodesh (“Month”) Tzadok calendar link to help you follow along with all the details that I am speaking about.

—> https://zadokway.com/full-calendar-monthly-breakdown/

Today, join us for our biblical study in the 50-Day and 7-Sabbaths Count of the Omer in Acts Chapter 20 according to the Dead Sea Scrolls Qumran Community House of Tzadok teachings from the Book of Jubilees. This program is Real Israel Talk Radio Episode 105 and Dead Sea Scrolls Program Part 9 in the Dead Sea Scrolls series.

Today, we will look at the testimony of Sha’ul or Paul and his spiritual transformation on the road to Damascus from a rabbinical student of Gamaliel to a Sent One of Mashiach Yeshua and the House of Tzadok.

In the Book of Acts chapters 9 and 22, Sha’ul or Paul was sure of what he saw and what he heard while he was traveling down from Jerusalem on the road to Damascus; the desert settlement of the Qumran Community House of Tzadok situated along the northwest shores of the Salt Sea or the Dead Sea. Four known biblical personalities knew the place well: the Prophet Jeremiah, Yochanan (John), the Immerser (the “Baptizer“), the Prophet Isaiah, and the Apostle Paul.

Jeremiah 9:2-3. Oh, that I had in the wilderness (aravah)—A lodging place for travelers; that I might leave my people, and go from them! For they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And the road of their tongue is their lying bow (Hebrew: keshet; an allusion to corrupting Yah’s Covenant of Genesis 9:12-14). They are not valiant for The Truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me,” says Yehovah.

Matthew 3:1-2. In those days, Yochanan (John) the Immerser (the “baptizer”) came preaching in the wilderness (Hebrew: midbar and aravah) of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!”

Isaiah 40:3. The voice of one crying, “In the wilderness (Hebrew: midbar) prepare The Way of Yehovah; make straight in the desert (Hebrew: aravah) a highway for our God.

Acts 9:1-2. Then Sha’ul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of Adonai, The Master, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of The Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Join me on today’s program Episode 104 and Part 8 in my Dead Sea Scrolls Qumran Community series, and we will learn more about this place called Damascus, known for the writing of the Dead Sea Scroll Covenant of Damascus CD-B, 4Q267.

What does Damascus have to do with the desert wilderness of Qumran on the northwest shores of the Dead Sea?

Damascus in Genesis 14:15  is more than just an ancient city in the Land of Aram (“Syria”). In the previous episode in this Dead Sea Scrolls series, I presented one possible reason why the infamous Qumran Community of the Dead Sea called their settlement “Damascus.” In Hebrew, it is uniquely likely to join the two Hebrew words  1) doleh = he who draws out and  2) mashkeh = a water source from a well to quench one’s spiritual thirst. When put together, the two words give us a concept that relates nicely to the biblical theology of salvation and the Water of the Word. But, I think there is more to this ancient term, and we’ll have a look at another reason why the Qumran Community referred to their settlement as “Damascus.”

We will take a deep dive into the biblical prophecy of Amos 5:27, “Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond* Damascus, says YHVH, whose name is Elohei Tzva’ot.”

The Hebrew text is profound because the biblical idea of Damascus relates to captivity and exile, and I think that the Scribe or Scribes who wrote the Scroll of the Covenant of Damascus (CD-B, 4Q267, Fragment 2) and Rule of the Community (the Manual of Discipline)  had some deeper insight into this matter. They had eyes to see Damascus and captivity as a Death and Resurrection prophecy of the coming Messiah. A spiritual dimension of captivity remains unseen to the human eye. Nevertheless, it is still a real place of deep darkness and death.

The concept of Paul’s blinding  Damascus Road experience was not unique to him in Acts 9. Others have traveled that road, including Abraham, who went through one in Genesis 12:1. Also, Jacob walked that road in Genesis 32. In the days of Yeshua, Cephas (Peter) also traveled that road in Matthew 26:75. Indeed, every one of us must have our own Damascus Road Experience if we ever hope to expect to cross over from captivity to freedom, from death to life, from slavery to redemption.

Join me on today’s program, and we will study this out together. In the next episode, I will continue with the ideas that I present here.

The House of Tzadok biblical priesthood referred to Qumran as Damesek or Damascus. Meanwhile, Paul traveled to Damascus for Jerusalem’s illegitimate authorities. He came to arrest many in Yeshua known as “The Way,” charging them for rebellion against Jerusalem’s authority. En route, he had an audio-visual experience to change his life and theology forever. Of course, it begs the question: what does “Damascus” have to do with the desert wilderness of Qumran on the northwest shores of the Dead Sea?

Consider that perhaps Damascus is a Hebrew language contraction of two terms: 1) doleh = he who draws out, 2) mashkeh = a water source to quench one’s spiritual thirst. When put together, the two words relate well to many texts about drawing out water to quench spiritual thirst in a dry and thirsty land. For example:

Isaiah 55:1-2. Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters...and let your soul delight itself in abundance.

Psalm 63:1. O God, you are my God. Early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

Isaiah 12:3. Therefore, with joy you will draw water from the wells of The Salvation.

Now, from the scroll writers of the Damascus Document, we learn this:

(Damascus Document B – 4Q267, Fragment 2, Lines 7-15). God remembered the covenant with the fore[fath]ers, and raised [from Aa]ron men of knowledge and from Israel, wise men, and made them [li]sten. And they dug the well, a well about which Moses said: Numbers 21:18 «A well which the princes d[u]g, which the nobles [of the people] inquired with the staff». The well is the Law. [And those who dug it] are the repentant of I[srae]l, who lef[t] the land of J[uda]h and [lived in the dwell]ing/s/ of [Damascus;al]l of whom God [called] princes. For [they] all [sought him, and their renown has not been repudiated in anyone’s mouth. [And the spade is the interpreter] of the La[w …].

That said, on this program about the Dead Sea Scrolls – Episode 102 Part 6, we will walk the Way to Damascus of Qumran. We will challenge available evidence to understand the following better:

Acts 22:7-10 (Paul to Jerusalem’s religious authorities): …Arise and go into Damascus and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.

Isaiah 40:3. (Isaiah speaking for YHVH): The voice of one crying (pause), IN THE WILDERNESS (desert), prepare the way of Yehovah; make Straight in the desert a highway for our God.

On this episode of Real Israel Talk Radio, Episode 101 and Part 5 of the Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, we’ll take a biblical journey from Moses and Mount Sinai to Paul and the Land of Damascus. We’ll follow 1,400 years of Jewish and Hebrew National history to learn the likely reasons why Jerusalem’s legitimate cohanim (priests) went out to find a new home on the northwest shores of the Dead Sea. They called themselves the “Sons of Light.” We call them the Qumran Community.

During the mid-to-late Second Temple Period B.C.E. (Before the Common Era), the Maccabees (the Hashmonaim) birthed a large contingency of ambitious non-Zadokite Priests, Prophets, and Judges. They seized control of the once-revered occupations of the Zadokites. This new Jerusalem ruling authority built up a new system of religion and worship. They included new laws and traditions. But there was a rebellion against their priestly leadership.

After the ministry of Yeshua, a sect called The Way grew exponentially, posing a significant threat to Jerusalem’s rulers. The danger was the House of Tzadok living on the northwest shores of the Dead Sea. One man sought to help the high priests of Jerusalem and crush this growing concern. He was Sha’ul, but he came to be known as Paul. With arrest warrants in hand, Paul took off for the Land of Damascus. The story’s conclusion is well known. What’s not widely known is why Qumran is called “Damascus.” It’s likely a contraction of two Hebrew words describing Isaiah 12:3.

Join me for this episode on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Qumran. And be sure to follow in your Bible as we walk through 1,400 years of biblical history. We will learn who these people were and why they were there.

This program is Real Israel Talk Radio, Episode 100. Today’s show is PART 4 of a multipart series about the Dead Sea Scrolls.

In this program, we will begin putting all the pieces of the Qumran Community together and seek, from Scripture, to understand the purpose for the Qumran Community, who they were, and why they wrote the documents that we identify today as the Dead Sea Scrolls.  Let us be reminded of what Moses said by the authority that was given to him from Yehovah. Before dying, Moses warned the whole congregation of Israel:

Deuteronomy 31:29. For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil will befall you in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of Yehovah, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.

Over time and history, this scenario played out over and over again. The case of what we learn about in the scroll referred to as the Damascus Document is that of the rightful authority of the Zadokite Priests to be Israel’s teachers and judges. However, due to the political and spiritual climate of the Mid to Late Second Temple Period, that specific family of priests functioning under David and his son Solomon; that priesthood family authority was replaced with a new system under a body of religious men who came to be known as the Pharisees. They grew to become a formidable power in Jerusalem with a new system of rules and laws which was NOT according to the older traditional system of the Zadokite priests who served under King David and King Solomon.

Jerusalem’s new “high priesthood” of Herodians, Scribes, and Pharisees usurped the older traditional system under the Zadokites. The calendar issue was just the spark that torched national biblical trust in Yehovah and put all trust in Jerusalem’s new leadership. Like the story of Korach in Numbers 16, Jerusalem’s non- Zadokite priests, Scribes, and Pharisees essentially replaced the occupations of the old Zadokite priesthood and built up a brand-new system that added many new instructions including that of implementing a new calendar. Professor Rachel Elior of the Hebrew University explained it well.

With all this, Jerusalem came to be what Yeshua and the Prophet Jeremiah called a “Den of Thieves” and what Paul referred to in Galatians 4:25 as “Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.” Precisely, this is what led the Zadokite priests to go away from Jerusalem and to make their new home in the desert regions of the Dead Sea. There, they lived and deposited the ancient documents that we know today as “The Dead Sea Scrolls.”

This program is Real Israel Talk Radio, Episode 99. Today’s show is PART 3 of a multipart series about the Dead Sea Scrolls – an excellent program for Hebrew speakers.

To help us better understand the importance of the Dead Sea scrolls, you will hear an interview that I recorded with Dr. Rachel Elior – the John and Golda Cohen Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Mystical Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Between 1947 and 1956, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls on the Northwestern shores of Israel’s Salt Sea has captured the attention of numerous academics, religious leaders, and biblical researchers emerging from all walks of life. After about 40 years of deciphering and translating the ancient scrolls, the full editorial team of scholars working on the thousands of fragments bundled them together and began publishing their findings. Consequently, they were made widely available for anyone with interest in the study of these ancient documents. A truthful analysis of the scrolls provides us with some unique insights into the spiritual and cultural issues of the day, set within the context of what is called the Jewish Second Temple Period.

Since the early 1970s, Professor Elior’s academic positions include Visiting lecturer at University College London; Princeton University; Chicago University; and Research fellow at Oxford. Professor Elior has also earned many literary excellence awards from a large cadre of well-respected Universities and study centers worldwide. Dr. Elior’s books, awards, and writings are pretty extensive.

Professor Elior will be showing us the four calendar issues that were prevalent in the days leading up to the destruction of the Second Temple in the New Testament timeframe. We will hear about the Book of Jubilees related to the solar calendar of Genesis 1:14-16. We will also learn about the divine purpose of the Moon, the biblical definition of Rosh Chodesh (the “New Moon”), the group referred to as the Essenes, as well as the lunar calendar of the Pharisees; where it came from, and why it is the de facto calendar of Judaism today.

About 20 centuries ago, hundreds of documents from a written library of scrolls were carefully placed into clay jars and deposited for safe-keeping into many of the western caves of Israel’s Dead Sea region. The area is called the Qumran.

Between 1947 and 1956, the scrolls’ discovery has captured the attention of numerous academics, religious leaders, and biblical researchers emerging from all walks of life.  It took about forty years, with completion in the 1990s, to finally decipher, translate, and publish the ancient documents. Consequently, the scrolls were made widely available for personal and academic studies.

Analysis of the scrolls by many world-renowned researchers and translators provides us with unique insights into the Qumran Community and their disputes with the Jerusalem Second Temple Period Pharisees, Scribes, and Priests over calendar issues.

I will be presenting you with an interview that I did with Dr. Rachel Elior to help us better understand the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Qumran Community, and why the documents are such an important discovery.  Professor Elior comes to us with special thanks to the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization. Professor Elior was the John and Golda Cohen Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Mystical Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Since the early 1970s, Professor Elior’s academic positions have included visiting lecturer at University College London; Princeton University; Chicago University; and Research fellow at Oxford. Professor Elior has also earned many literary excellence awards from a large cadre of well-respected Universities and study centers worldwide. Dr. Elior’s books, awards, and writings are quite extensive.

Join me on this podcast to welcome Professor Dr. Rachel Elior of the Hebrew University Jerusalem.

About 20 centuries ago, hundreds of documents from a written library of scrolls were carefully placed into clay jars and deposited for safe-keeping into many of the western caves of Israel’s Dead Sea region. The area refers to the Qumran.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls captured the attention of numerous academics, religious leaders, and biblical researchers emerging from all walks of life. Since their discovery between 1947 and 1956, deciphering and translation continued well into the 1990s. All work is now published and is widely available for anyone interested in studying these ancient documents.

An analysis of the scrolls through the eyes of the many researchers and translators involved in the project will provide us with some unique insights into the spiritual and cultural issues of the mid to late Jewish Second Temple Period.

To help us understand the Dead Sea scrolls and their importance, I spoke with Dr. James C. Vanderkam, retired Professor of Hebrew Scriptures at Notre Dame University’s John A. O’Brien Department of Biblical Theology. Professor VanderKam received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1976. As a member of the editorial committee preparing the Dead Sea Scrolls for publication, he edited thirteen volumes in the series Discoveries in the Judaean Desert.

In addition to publishing numerous essays in journals and books, professor Vanderkam’s other published works include a Commentary on the Book of Jubilees, Studies in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Literature, An Introduction to Early Judaism), The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls, High Priests after the Exile, The Book of Enoch, and The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible.

Join us for this interview, Episode 97 from Real Israel Talk Radio.