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Jesus and the Kabbalah:Spiritual Awareness of the Parables Matthew 9:14-17

Research · August 2020

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.15902.77122

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@2020. Copyright Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz, D.Min., Ph.D.
All rights reserved.

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 Hebraic Analysis with Sermon Notes

The main differences between the Greek method and Hebraic method of teaching ..............5
Methodology ..............................................................................................................................7
Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................... 12
Matthew 9:14-17 ....................................................................................................................... 16
Spiritual Awareness of Matthew 9:16 ....................................................................................... 23
Yeshua brought the secret Torah back to the Hebrew people. This knowledge was given to Moses
by the LORD when he was on Mount Sinai. During the centuries between Moses and Yeshua, the
secret Torah was lost because of the corruption of the leaders of Israel and Judah. Traditional said
that the Messiah would restore the secret Torah. The secret Torah is known to us as the Kabbalah.
The secrets are written down in the Zohar, the book of Creation, and a few additional books. These
books are considered the mystical writings of Judaism.................................................................. 23
The problem Yeshua had teaching the secret Torah is that the disciples and the people had no idea
about it. There understanding of the ways of the LORD was based on the "old teachings" of the
Torah. The "old teachings" had been perverted in some ways by the religious leaders of Yeshua's
day. Therefore, for Yeshua to teach the secret Torah, He had to get His disciples to a clean slate,
thus letting go of what they were taught as kids and young adults and to prepare their minds to
accept the secret Torah. This was a new way of thinking and worshiping the LORD. .................... 23
If Yeshua did not have them "forget" their teachings, then they would have never understood the
secret teachings. For the disciples, this teaching would have been new learnings. Even today, the
student of the Torah, who is ready to learn the Kabbalah and read the Zohar, must be prepared
mentally to let go of a lot of what was learned. Kabbalah has many teachings that enhance biblical
stories and lessons. The idea of PaRDeS is to take a student of the Torah through the different
levels of learning and understanding. ........................................................................................... 23
The secret Torah, Sod, takes the student into the depth of the Torah. It is the discovering of the
mystical component of Malkhut and the Tree of Life. It is based on the previous levels of PaRDeS
but also at the same time a completely different way of viewing the Universe and the Torah. ......... 24
Spiritual Awareness of Matthew 9:17 ....................................................................................... 25
The parable of the cloth in verse sixteen and the wineskins in verse seventeen express the same
spiritual awareness. In this case, the new wine is the secret Torah that Yeshua, the Messiah, brought
from the LORD to give to the people. If Yeshua gave this secret Torah to His disciples before
preparing them to receive it, they would not have understood it. .................................................. 25
The disciples were old wineskins because they were taught about the Torah but not the secret
Torah. The secrets that the LORD has placed in the Torah for us to find requires a new type of
thinking and approach. Therefore, Yeshua had to spend time with His disciples in preparation for
the introduction of the secret Torah. ........................................................................................... 25
The disciples were transformed from old wineskins which were stuck in the old ways of learning and
thinking about the Torah into students of the secret Torah. There eyes and ears were opened up to
learn the secrets that the LORD gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. They became new wineskins. ...... 25
Works Cited............................................................................................................................... 26

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Page 4 of 26
 The main differences between the Greek method and Hebraic method of
teaching

Once you are aware of the two teaching styles, you will be able to determine if you are
in a class or reading a book, whether the analysis and/or teaching method is either in a
Greek or Hebraic method. In the Greek method, it is automatically thought that the
instructor is right because of advanced knowledge. In the college situation, it is because
the professor has his/her Ph.D. in some area of study, so one assumes that he or she
knows everything about the topic. For example, Rodney Dangerfield played the role of
a middle-aged man going to college. His English midterm was to write about Kurt
Vonnegut Jr. Since he didn't understand any of Vonnegut's books, he hired Vonnegut
himself to the write the midterm. When it was returned to him, the English Professor
told Dangerfield that whoever wrote the paper knew nothing about Vonnegut. This is
an example of the Greek method of teaching. Did the Ph.D. English professor think
that she knew more about Vonnegut's writings than Vonnegut did? 1

In the Greek teaching method, the professor or the instructor claims to be the authority.
If you are attending a Bible study class and the class leader says, "I will teach you the
only way to understand this biblical book," you may want to consider the implications.
This method is common since most Seminaries and Bible colleges teach a Greek
method of learning, which is the same method the church has been utilizing for
centuries.

Hebraic teaching methods are different. The teacher wants the students to challenge
what they hear. It is through questioning that a student can learn. In addition, the
teacher wants his/her students to excel to a point where the student becomes the
teacher.

1
Back to School. Performed by Rodney Dangerfield. Hollywood: CA: Paper Clip Productions, 1986. DVD.

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It is said that if two rabbis come together to discuss a passage of Scripture, the result
will be at least ten different opinions. All points of view are acceptable if the points can
be supported by biblical evidence. It is permissible and encouraged for students to have
multiple opinions. There is a depth to God's Word, and God wants us to find all His
messages that are placed in the Scriptures.

Seeking out the meaning of the Scriptures beyond the literal meaning is essential to fully
understanding God's Word.2 The Greek method of learning the Scriptures has
prevailed over the centuries. One problem is that only the literal interpretation of
Scripture was often viewed as valid, as prompted by Martin Luther's "sola literalis"
meaning that only the literal interpretation of Scripture was valid. The Fundamentalist
movements of today are generally based on the literal interpretation of the Scripture.
Therefore, they do not believe that God placed any deeper, hidden, or secret meanings
in the Word.

The students of the Scriptures who learn through Hebraic training and understanding
have drawn a different conclusion. The Hebrew language itself leads to different
possible interpretations because of the construction of the language. The Hebraic
method of Bible study opens avenues of thought about God's revelations in the
Scripture that may have never been considered. A question may be raised about the
Scripture being studied for which there may not be an immediate answer. If so, it
becomes the responsibility of the learners to uncover the meaning. Also, remember that
multiple opinions about the meaning of Scripture are also acceptable if they can be
supported by Scripture.

2
Davis, Anne Kimball. The Synoptic Gospels. MP3. Albuquerque: NM: BibleInteract, 2012.

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 Methodology

The methodology employed is to use First Century Scripture study methods integrated
with the customs and culture of Yeshua's day to examine the Hebrew and Christian
Scriptures, thus gathering a deeper understanding by learning the Scriptures in the way
the people of Yeshua's day did.

I have titled the methodology of analyzing a passage of Scripture in a Hebraic manner

the "Process of Discovery." This methodology was developed by the author bringing
together the various areas of linguistic and cultural understanding. There are several
sections to the process and not all the sections apply to every passage of Scripture. The
overall result of developing this process is to give the reader a framework into the ideas
being presented.

The "Process of Discovery" starts with a Scripture passage. If the passage is in a poetic
form, it is identified. Possible poetic techniques include parallelism, chiastic structures,
and repetition. Formatting the passage in its poetic form allows the reader to be able to
visualize what the first century CE listener was hearing. The chiasms are labeled by their
corresponding sections, for example: A, B, C, B', A'. Not all passages of the Scriptures
have a poetic form.

The next step is to "question the narrative," which is accomplished by assuming the
reader knows nothing about the passage. Therefore, the questions go from the simple
to the complex. The next task is to identify any linguistic patterns. Linguistic patterns
include, but are not limited to irony, simile, metaphor, symbolism, idioms, hyperbole,
figurative language, personification, and allegory.

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Any translation inconsistencies discovered between the English NASB version and
either the Hebrew or Greek versions are identified. There are times when a Hebrew or
Greek word can be translated in more than one way. Inconsistencies also can be created
by the translation committee, which may have decided to use traditional language
instead of the actual translation. The decision of the translation committee can be
generally found in the Preface or Introduction to the Bible. Perhaps some of the
inconsistencies were intentionally added to convey some deeper meaning therefore, the
inconsistencies need to be examined.

Echoes of the Hebrew Scriptures in the Christian Scripture are identified. This occurs
when a passage from the Hebrew Scripture is used in the Christian Scripture or when a
command is directly discussed in the Christian Scriptures. 3 In addition, echoes can be
found when Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy) passages are used in other Hebrew
Bible books. In addition to echoes, cross references are listed. A cross reference is a
reference to another verse in the Scripture which can assist the reader to understand
the verse that is being read.

The names of persons mentioned in the passage are listed. Many of the Hebrew names
have meaning and may be associated with places or actions. Jewish parents used to
name their children based on what they felt God had in store for their child. An example
of this is Abraham whose original name was Abram and was changed to mean eternal
father (in this case Abram's name was changed by God to Abraham indicating a
function he was to perform). When the Hebrew Bible gives names, many of the
occurrences will indicate something special to the reader/listener. The same importance

3
Mitzvot are the 613 commandments found in the Torah that please God. There are positive and negative
commandments. The list was first development by Maimonides. The full list can be found at:
ttp://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm.

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can hold true for the names of places. The time it takes to travel between places can
supply insight to the event.

Key words are identified in a verse when they are important to an understanding of that
passage. There are no rules for selecting the key words. Searching for other occurrences
of the keywords in Scripture in a concordance is necessary to understand how the word
was being used; this must be done in either Hebrew or Greek, not in English. A classic
Hebraic approach is to find the usage of a word in the Scripture by finding other verses
that contain the word. The usage of a word, in its original language, is discovered by
searching the Scripture in the language of the word. The verses that contain the word
being researched are identified and a pattern for the usage of the word is discerned.
Each verse is examined to see what the usage of the word is which, may reveal a pattern
for the word's usage. For Hebrew words the first usage of the word in the Scripture,
especially if used in the Torah, is important. For the Greek words the Christian
Scriptures are used to determine the word usage in the Scripture. Sometimes finding
the equivalent Greek word in the Septuagint then analyzing its usage in Hebrew can be
very helpful.

The Rules of Hillel for Bible understanding can be used when applicable. Hillel was a
Torah scholar who lived shortly before Yeshua's day. Hillel developed several rules for
Torah students to interpret the Scriptures which are referred to as halachic midrash. In
several cases these rules are helpful in the analysis of the Scripture.

After the linguistic analysis is complete an examination of the cultural implications will
be examined. The culture is important because it is not specifically referenced in the
biblical narratives as indicated earlier.

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From the linguistic analysis and the cultural understanding, it is possible to obtain a
deeper meaning of the Scripture beyond the literal meaning of the plain text. That is
what the listeners of Yeshua's time were doing. They put the linguistics and the culture
together without even having to contemplate it. They simply did it.

This will lead to a conclusion or a set of conclusions about what the passage is talking
about. Most of the time the Hebraic analysis leads to the desire for a deeper analysis to
fully understand what Yeshua was talking about or what was happening to Him.
Whatever the result, a new deeper understanding of the Scripture will be obtained.

The components of the Process of Discovery are:

Language
Process of Discovery
Linguistics Section
Linguistic Structure
Discussion

Questioning the Passage

Verse Comparison on citations or proof text

Translation Inconsistencies

Biblical Personalities

Biblical Locations

Phrase Study

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 Scripture cross references

Linguistic Echoes

Rules of Hillel

Culture Section

Discussion

Questioning the passage

Cultural Echoes

Culture and Linguistics Section

Discussion

Midrash

Zohar

Thoughts

Reflections

Only the application sections are included in this document.

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 Abbreviations

Bibleworks V104 was used for the Scriptures used in this study guide. Below are the
abbreviations used in the software.
Pentateuch GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU
Historical JOS JDG RUT 1SA 2SA
& Poetic 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH EZR
NEH ECC EST JOB PSA PRO
SOL
Prophets ISA JER LAM EZE DAN
HOS JOE AMO OBA JON
MIC NAH HAB ZEP HAG
ZEC MAL
Gospels MAT MAR LUK JOH ACT
Paul ROM 1CO 2CO GAL EPH
PHI COL 1TH 2TH 1TI
2TI TIT PHM
Apostles HEB JAM 1PE 2PE 1JO
2JO 3JO JUD REV
Apocrypha 1ES BAR 1MA SIR TBS
3MA PRM WIS BEL SUT
PSS TOB SUS LAO DAT
PRA ODE 4ES ESG BET
JDT EPJ 2MA JSA DNG
4MA PSX SIP JDA

The following is a list of aliases for BibleWorks book name abbreviations. See
the Book Names section of the Options window for details on how to add to or
change these aliases.

4
"Bible Version Abbreviations." Abbreviations. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.

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Internal Name Name used i Name used Alias 1 Alias 2
n Browse Window in Exported
Verse Lists
Gen Genesis Gen. Gen Genesis
Exo Exodus Exod. Exo Exodus
Lev Leviticus Lev. Lev Leviticus
Num Numbers Num. Num Numbers
Deu Deuteronomy Deut. Deu Deuteronomy
Jos Joshua Jos. Jos Joshua
Jdg Judges Jdg. Jdg Judges
Rut Ruth Ruth Rut Ruth
1Sa 1 Samuel 1 Sam. 1Sa 1Samuel
2Sa 2 Samuel 2 Sam. 2Sa 2Samuel
1Ki 1 Kings 1 Ki. 1Ki 1Kings
2Ki 2 Kings 2 Ki. 2Ki 2Kings
1Ch 1 Chronicles 1 Chr. 1Ch 1Chronicles
2Ch 2 Chronicles 2 Chr. 2Ch 2 Chronicles
Ezr Ezra Ezr. Ezr Ezra
Neh Nehemiah Neh. Neh Nehemiah
Est Esther Est. Est Esther
Job Job Job Job Job
Psa Psalm Ps. Psa Psalm
Pro Proverbs Prov. Pro Proverbs
Ecc Ecclesiastes Eccl. Ecc Ecclesiastes
Sol Song of Solomon Cant. Sol Song
Isa Isaiah Isa. Isa Isaiah
Jer Jeremiah Jer. Jer Jeremiah
Lam Lamentations Lam. Lam Lamentations
Eze Ezekiel Ezek. Eze Ezekiel
Dan Daniel Dan. Dan Daniel
Hos Hosea Hos. Hos Hosea
Joe Joel Joel Joe Joel
Amo Amos Amos Amo Amos
Oba Obadiah Obad. Oba Obadiah
Jon Jonah Jon. Jon Jonah
Mic Micah Mic. Mic Micah
Nah Nahum Nah. Nah Nahum
Hab Habakkuk Hab. Hab Habakkuk

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Zep Zephaniah Zeph. Zep Zephaniah
Hag Haggai Hag. Hag Haggai
Zec Zechariah Zech. Zec Zechariah
Mal Malachi Mal. Mal Malachi
Mat Matthew Matt. Mat Matthew
Mar Mark Mk. Mar Mark
Luk Luke Lk. Luk Luke
Joh John Jn. Joh John
Act Acts Acts Act Acts
Rom Romans Rom. Rom Romans
1Co 1 Corinthians 1 Co. 1Co 1Corinthians
2Co 2 Corinthians 2 Co. 2Co 2Corinthians
Gal Galatians Gal. Gal Galatians
Eph Ephesians Eph. Eph Ephesians
Phi Philippians Phil. Phi Philippians
Col Colossians Col. Col Colossians
1Th 1 Thessalonians 1 Thess. 1Th 1Thessalonians
2Th 2 Thessalonians 2 Thess. 2Th 2Thessalonians
1Ti 1 Timothy 1 Tim. 1Ti 1Timothy
2Ti 2 Timothy 2 Tim. 2Ti 2Timothy
Tit Titus Tit. Tit Titus
Phm Philemon Phlm. Phm Philemon
Heb Hebrews Heb. Heb Hebrews
Jam James Jas. Jam James
1Pe 1 Peter 1 Pet. 1Pe 1Peter
2Pe 2 Peter 2 Pet. 2Pe 2Peter
1Jo 1 John 1 Jn. 1Jo 1John
2Jo 2 John 2 Jn. 2Jo 2John
3Jo 3 John 3 Jn. 3Jo 3John
Jud Jude Jude Jud Jude
Rev Revelation Rev. Rev Revelation
1Es 1 Esdras 1 Es. 1Es 1Esdras
Jdt Judith Jdt. Jdt Judith
Tob Tobit Tob. Tob Tobit
1Ma 1 Maccabees 1 Ma. 1Ma 1Maccabees
2Ma 2 Maccabees 2 Ma. 2Ma 2Maccabees
3Ma 3 Maccabees 3 Ma. 3Ma 3Maccabees
4Ma 4 Maccabees 4 ma. 4Ma 4Maccabees

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Ode Odes Odes Ode Odes
Wis Wisdom Wis. Wis Wisdom
Sir Sirach Sir. Sir Sirach
Sip Sip Sip Sip Sip
Pss Psalms of Solomon Ps. Sol. Pss
Bar Baruch Bar. Bar Baruch
Epj Epistle of Jeremiah Ep. Jer. Epj
Sus Susanna Sus. Sus Susanna
Bel Bel Bel. Bel Bel
Pra Prayer of Azariah Pr. Az. Pra Azariah
Dng Daniel (Greek) Dng Dng Dng
Prm Prayer of Manasseh Pr. Man. Prm Manasseh
Psx Psalm(151) Psx. Psx
Lao Laodiceans Lao. Lao Laodiceans
4Es 4 Esdras 4 Es. 4Es 4Esdras
Esg Esther (Greek) Esg. Esg
Jsa Joshua (A) Jsa. Jsa
Jda Judges (A) Jda. Jda
Tbs Tobit (S) Tbs. Tbs
Sut Susanna (TH) Sut. Sut
Dat Daniel (TH) Dat. Dat
Bet Bel (TH) Bet. Bet
WCF WCF WCF WCF
WLC WLC WLC WLC
WSC WSC WSC WSC

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 Matthew 9:14-17
New American Standard 1995
14
Then the disciples of John came to
Him, asking, "Why do we and the
Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not
fast?"
15
And Jesus said to them, "The
attendants of the bridegroom cannot
mourn as long as the bridegroom is with
them, can they? But the days will come
when the bridegroom is taken away from
them, and then they will fast.
16
"But no one puts a patch of unshrunk
cloth on an old garment; for the patch
pulls away from the garment, and a worse
tear result.
17
"Nor do people put new wine into old
wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst,
and the wine pours out and the wineskins
are ruined; but they put new wine into
fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."
Page 16 of 26
Koine Greek
14
Τότε προσέρχονται αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ Ἰωάννου,
λέγοντες, Διὰ τί ἡμεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι
νηστεύομεν πολλά, οἱ δὲ μαθηταί σου οὐ
νηστεύουσιν;
15
Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Μὴ δύνανται οἱ
υἱοὶ τοῦ νυμφῶνος πενθεῖν, ἐφ᾽ ὅσον μετ᾽ αὐτῶν
ἐστιν ὁ νυμφίος; Ἐλεύσονται δὲ ἡμέραι ὅταν
ἀπαρθῇ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν ὁ νυμφίος, καὶ τότε
νηστεύσουσιν.
16
Οὐδεὶς δὲ ἐπιβάλλει ἐπίβλημα ῥάκους
ἀγνάφου ἐπὶ ἱματίῳ παλαιῷ· αἴρει γὰρ τὸ
πλήρωμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱματίου, καὶ χεῖρον
σχίσμα γίνεται.
17
Οὐδὲ βάλλουσιν οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς
παλαιούς· εἰ δὲ μήγε, ῥήγνυνται οἱ ἀσκοί, καὶ ὁ
οἶνος ἐκχεῖται, καὶ οἱ ἀσκοὶ ἀπολοῦνται· ἀλλὰ
βάλλουσιν οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς καινούς, καὶ
ἀμφότεροι συντηροῦνται.
Process of Discovery
Linguistics Section
Linguistic Structure

[Question] 14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, "Why do we and the
Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"

[Answer] 15 And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the
bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

[Parable #1 and Parable #2] 16 "But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old
garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. 17 "Nor
do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine
pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins,
and both are preserved."

Discussion
This portion is a narrative about fasting. John's disciples confront Yeshua wanting
to know what His belief in fasting was. The answer they received is in two parables.

Questioning the Passage5

1. Why did not Yeshua's disciples fast? (v. 15)
While Yeshua was with the disciples, they did not observe the traditions of the
elders. There is an indication that they might have returned to fasting and other
traditions after Yeshua's death. While Yeshua was with them, they did not
follow the traditions of the elders. Instead, every day they rejoiced because they
were with the Messiah. During a wedding feast, people did not follow their

5
(The questions and answers offered are for discussion purposes. You may have different questions and answers.
Remember all questions are valid and all answers must be defendable from Scripture. This applies to this section
and to the Culture Section.)

Page 17 of 26
 religious traditions. They rejoiced for the marriage. Yeshua uses this cultural
backdrop to tell John's disciples that His disciples did not have to follow the
traditions of the elders while He was with them.

2. How does the patching of clothing relate to the question of fasting? (v. 16)
If one wants to receive new teachings but insists on hanging onto the old
teaching, then new teaching will often be rejected. In order to follow the new
teachings that Yeshua brought the old beliefs and ideas must be shattered.
Yeshua did not teach a new Torah, but rather He taught a new way to interpret
and live by the Torah. Yeshua's teaching contradicted the Elders and religious
leaders of His day. New garments is a metaphor for new understandings and it
cannot be used to "patch" old traditions. The new understanding needed a
"new garment."

3. How does the concept of wineskins relate to the question of fasting? (v. 17)
The people of Yeshua's time needed a new understanding of the Kingdom of
Heaven. They needed new teachers and leaders. The old traditions of the Elder
could not express the new interpretation and new understanding of the
Scriptures that Yeshua was offering. In order to understand and accept
Yeshua's understanding of the Scripture meant that they had to leave behind
their old understandings and concepts of what the Scriptures meant. Once the
people let go of the old ways, then they could absorb and follow Yeshua's way
to please the LORD.

Page 18 of 26
Culture Section

Discussion
Yeshua's answer to John's disciples about why His disciples did not fast is offered
in cultural terms. Without understanding the culture of the wedding feast and
wineskins, the reader cannot move past the literal meaning of the text.

Questioning the passage

1. What is the culture of a wedding feast?

Fasting is a tradition in the Near East. The Scripture calls for one mandatory fast
each year (Leviticus 16:1-34). Wedding feasts were planned so that they would
not coincide with a traditional fast. At a wedding feast, the guests would indulge
in food and drink. Religious observations were placed on a temporary hold. The
sadness of life in Yeshua's day would be replaced with joy, dance, and gladness.
The rich and the poor would come together, and the divisions between people
would disappear for this time. People were generous with their food and drank
about would contribute to the feast. Even beggars and strangers would share in
the abundance of food. Everybody at the feast was joyful. When the feast ended,
a sudden gloom settled over the village. Everything went back to "normal."6

2. What was the custom of clothing? (v. 16)

Clothing was an expensive commodity in Judea during Yeshua's time. People
wore clothing for its functionality rather than its beautification of the person.
Clothing would be handed down through the generations. Old garments were
usually repaired with a patch cut from a worn-out garment. If a patch from a new

6
Errico, Rocco A., and George M. Lamsa. Aramaic Light on the Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the
Teachings of Jesus from the Aramaic and Unchanged Near Eastern Customs. Santa Fe, NM: Noohra Foundation,
2000.

Page 19 of 26
 piece of clothing was sewed onto an old garment, it would come loose quickly.
The new cloth was too heavy for the worn garment to hold, and after a few days,
it would pull away and could leave a more massive hole in the garment.
Therefore, new clothing patches, which came from the sewing of a new garment,
were not used on old clothing.7

3. What was the relationship between wine and skins? (v. 17)
Goat skins were used as vessels for wine and water. The insides of a goat would
have been removed, its legs were tied together, and an opening was made in the
neck. New wine was usually still fermenting. If new wine was placed in old skins,
the gases produced by the fermentation process would expand the skin, and an
old skin could easily burst. Therefore, the new wine was placed in new skins
because the new skins had the elasticity to handle the fermenting new wine.8

Thoughts
The wedding feast connection to the question of fasting raises some thoughts. Yeshua
said that as long as He was with His disciples that they needed to discard the ways of
the Elders. The old ways were a stumbling block for them to realize what Yeshua's
teachings were about. The old ways were never question anything, and it was time to
do just that. The Sage Hillel put in place the idea of questioning the Scripture and
interpreting the different depths of it. The idea of multiple interpretations of Scripture
was new, maybe seventy years old. This passage tells the reader that the Scripture
interpretation concept had not reached the traditional social interpretations that
existed. The traditions needed to be questioned. Perhaps there are multiple ways of
understanding what the religious responses to the Scripture should be. There needs

7
IBID.
8
IBID.

Page 20 of 26
 to be room in religious responses to allow for new ideas. When the church moved to
the west, it adopted the Greek way of thinking. Once a "tradition" was established, it
was never questioned.

The Greek method of Bible interpretation does not allow room for new thoughts and
discoveries. Today's churches have, for the most part, stayed in that trap. Rules and
regulations of the past need to be evaluated to their value today. Yeshua said that there
must be room to explore new interpretations and new expressions. Religion is our
expression of following the LORD. As new insights are developed about the
Scripture, there must be room for new expressions of understanding. The church
becomes extremely defensive when its traditions are questioned. Entrenched church
people in the local churches react the same way. Try changing an event that the church
has been doing for decades, thus modernizing it. The backlash is like a tsunami.

Reflections
Yeshua said that as long as He was with His disciples that they did not have to fast
according to the traditions of the Elders. Matthew's Gospel leaves the reader with the
understanding that Yeshua is always with us. Disciples of Yeshua can call upon Him
anytime. The actual presence is through the Holy Spirit, but since Christianity believes
in a triune God, then if the Holy Spirit is with us, then Yeshua is with us. So, since
Yeshua, in spirit, is always with us, why do we have to fast? The church adopted
fasting as an integral part of worshiping God. How does fasting help one in prayer?
Fasting generally makes one feel the pangs of hunger, which can be distracting.
Therefore, fasting as a mechanism to communicate with Yeshua does not seem to
make sense. Yeshua is with us, and Matthew 9:14-17 says that we should always be
rejoicing. So, where did the idea of fasting come from? Fasting was done in the
Mithras cult. "Mithraism was a demanding religion, which its followers took very

Page 21 of 26
 seriously. Devotees were held to rigorous moral and ethical standards. Fasting and
continence were strongly encouraged."9 It is clear that many, if not all, of the house
churches that Paul established, were actually converted Mithras churches, then the
practice of fasting would have continued. Yeshua says that fasting is not necessary
because He is with us. Therefore, the church practice of fasting for spiritual insight
should be eliminated. Yeshua is with us today!

9
“INSTITUTE FOR HISTORICAL REVIEW.” 'Schindler's List:' A review. Accessed February 20, 2019.
http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v13/v13n2p34_weber.html.

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 Spiritual Awareness of Matthew 9:16

Yeshua brought the secret Torah back to the Hebrew people. This knowledge was given
to Moses by the LORD when he was on Mount Sinai. During the centuries between
Moses and Yeshua, the secret Torah was lost because of the corruption of the leaders
of Israel and Judah. Traditions said that the Messiah would restore the secret Torah.
The secret Torah is known to us as the Kabbalah. The secrets are written down in the
Zohar, the book of Creation, and a few additional books. These books are considered
the mystical writings of Judaism.

The problem Yeshua had teaching the secret Torah is that the disciples and the people
had no idea about it. There understanding of the ways of the LORD was based on the
"old teachings" of the Torah. The "old teachings" had been perverted in some ways by
the religious leaders of Yeshua's day. Therefore, for Yeshua to teach the secret Torah,
He had to get His disciples to a clean slate, thus letting go of what they were taught as
kids and young adults and to prepare their minds to accept the secret Torah. This was
a new way of thinking and worshiping the LORD.

If Yeshua did not have them "forget" their teachings, then they would have never
understood the secret teachings. For the disciples, this teaching would have been new
learnings. Even today, the student of the Torah, who is ready to learn the Kabbalah and
read the Zohar, must be prepared mentally to let go of a lot of what was learned.
Kabbalah has many teachings that enhance biblical stories and lessons. The idea of
PaRDeS is to take a student of the Torah through the different levels of learning and
understanding.

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The secret Torah, Sod, takes the student into the depth of the Torah. It is the
discovering of the mystical component of Malkhut and the Tree of Life. It is based on
the previous levels of PaRDeS but also at the same time a completely different way of
viewing the Universe and the Torah.

To place a piece of cloth on an old garment that will not hold is Yeshua saying that the
secret Torah, the new knowledge for the disciples, could not be given to them when
they were considered old garments. The new garments is Yeshua preparing them to
receive the secret Torah.

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 Spiritual Awareness of Matthew 9:17

The parable of the cloth in verse sixteen and the wineskins in verse seventeen express
the same spiritual awareness. In this case, the new wine is the secret Torah that Yeshua,
the Messiah, brought from the LORD to give to the people. If Yeshua gave this secret
Torah to His disciples before preparing them to receive it, they would not have
understood it.

The disciples were old wineskins because they were taught about the Torah but not the
secret Torah. The secrets that the LORD has placed in the Torah for us to find requires
a new type of thinking and approach. Therefore, Yeshua had to spend time with His
disciples in preparation for the introduction of the secret Torah.

The disciples were transformed from old wineskins, they were stuck in the old ways of
learning and thinking about the Torah into students of the secret Torah. There eyes and
ears were opened up to learn the secrets that the LORD gave to Moses on Mount Sinai.
They became new wineskins.

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 Works Cited

1986. Back to School. Directed by James Signorelli. Performed by Rodney Dangerfield.

Davis, Anne Kimball. 2012. The Synoptic Gospels. Albuquerque.
Errico, Rocco A., and George M. Lamsa. 2000. Aramaic Light on the Gospel of Mattew: A
Commentary on the Teachings of Jesus from the Aramaic and Unchanged Near Eastern
Customs. Santa Fe, NM: Noohra Foundation.

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