SIMCHAT TORAH (Bible Joy) what it means to us as believers

[Jacob Ben Avraham]

SIMCHAT TORAH (The Joy of the Bible) What does this mean to us as believers?



On the 17th day of October, (this year) and on the Hebraic Calendar (Tishrei 22) is the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, or "Sukkot" This was the "Great Day" when Jesus/Yeshua lifted up his voice and cried out;

"If anyone thirsts, let him come unto me and drink, Whoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his innermost being" (John 7:37,38) (CJB) (Complete Jewish Bible)

The custom during this time is to begin reading the Bible from the beginning again, thus starting the cycle of scripture reading from Genesis 1:1.
So, this time is called "Simchat Torah" or the "Joy of the Torah" (the word "Torah" meaning "Instruction") or we can say "The Joy of the Bible" since ALL of the Bible is TORAH (instruction from God to man). B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth). So, before we give up the ghost, we have 66 books full of instruction from our Heavenly Father to read, meditate on, and follow, which gives us knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.

So, why should we rejoice in God's WORD?

1. It tells us the history of mankind, past, present, and future. 2. It tells us of God's perfect plan for mankind and where mankind went wrong.
3. It tells us of man's folly through rebellion and the result of rebellion. 4. It tells us of man's reward for getting right with God again.
5. It teaches us what to do and what not to do (through his commandments). 6. It illustrates and points to Yeshua/Jesus in the Old Covenant.
7. It reveals the complete work of "YESHUAH" (salvation) in the New Covenant. 8. It shows us how to get right (Righteous) with God through accepting Yeshua/Jesus as LORD and Savior. 9. It brings us to ATONEMENT (At One Mind) with God through the SON. 10. It gives us hope and a shining and everlasting future with our Heavenly Father.

Well, I am sure we could add to this list, but these are the basics. So, Genesis 1:1 is the start and just to start us out right, let's look at what just the first verse brings us in the way of understanding;

GEN 1:1 "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth".

In the original Hebrew, it reads: "B'reisheet Bara Elohim Et HaShamayim v'Et haAretz"

There are 10 words in English, yet there are 7 words in Hebrew. "7" is the number of perfection; the "7" could also symbolize 7 thousand years of earth's existence, we are in the 6th millennium. If we take a pencil and draw a line down from the middle word "Et" and then draw 3 lines to the right and 3 lines to the left to connect the other words to the center line, we get a 7-branch Menorah, which is the symbol of Israel.

"Et" can symbolize the "Aleph and Tav" or in Greek the "Alpha and Omega" the Beginning and the end. God is there in the beginning and will be in the end, but what "end?" if all is eternal? It can also mean the "God of the Covenant" who is connected to all creation and all things visible and invisible.

The first letter is large and it is "B" (Beit) in Hebrew, it is closed on the top, to the right, and on the bottom, and is open on the left, which tells us that we know nothing of what was before the "beginning" only what comes after, since Hebrew is read from right to left. It also is the first letter in the word "B'rakhah (Blessing) and also "Beit" (House) so the earth was created as a "House of Blessing" to mankind, plant, and animal kind.

"Bara" is the second word which means "To create with a purpose" the spelling shows us something interesting "Beit, Resh, Aleph" B R _ (the Aleph is silent but in this case takes the sound of "a". There is the Aramaic word "Bar" which means "Son" and the Aleph can symbolize "God" so, it shows that Yeshua, who is the "Bar-Elohim" had a part in creation, as pointed out in John 1:1 giving us "Bara Elohim" (God/Yeshua created all things with a purpose in the beginning) "HaShamayim" (The heavens) some believe there are many "heavens" but let's start with 3. The atmosphere which we breathe, then outer space, and then the New Jerusalem which is somewhere out there in space. But I mean, there could be more.

"HaAretz" (The earth and all that is in it and part of it). So, we have "Time" (In the beginning) "Space" (The heavens) and "Matter" (the earth) we have action (created) and we have the author of creation (Elohim). Who stepped out of eternity past and created "time" as we know it.

Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg, but hey, it's a good starting point to exploring God's Perfect WORD.

HAG SAMEACH SIMCHAT TORAH

Happy Bible Day


Ben Avraham

 

Torah and guitar (music and the WORD)  and a Messianic congregation in El Salvador.