Journey to the Center of the Torah
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
“Then Moses inquired carefully about the male goat of the sin offering, but it had already been burned up. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s surviving sons, and asked,” (Leviticus 10:16)
I’m intrigued by the little surprises that the Lord drops into my lap.
The most recent surprise was an idea Eitan Bar presented as I was reading his work, The Gospel of Divine Abuse. Eitan pointed out that the middle word of the Hebrew Torah (Genesis-Deuteronomy) is found in Leviticus 10:16.
So, I called upon my personal AI assistant, Grok.com, to confirm or dispel the truth of Eitan’s statement. I shouldn’t doubt him because he’s an Israeli and a messianic Jew. However, I’ve been burned so many times by spurious assertions that I take care to double-check my sources, as we all should.
Grok confirmed that it’s true. The center of the Hebrew Torah is the Hebrew word, darosh, meaning “to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require.” The word is used twice in the verse: “Then Moses darosh darash…”. Hebrew often intensifies a thought by repeating it. So, the English translation has it right when it says that Moses “inquired diligently” or he “searching searched” (grok.com) when he sought the Lord’s direction from His Word.
Grok.com went on to share from the source israelnationalnews.com, “Traditional interpretations see symbolic meaning in it: at the ‘heart’ of the Torah is the call to inquire, seek, or interpret (related to ‘derasha’ or Torah discourse/exposition).
Intriguing.
There is some debate about what the middle of the Torah is, depending on which Hebrew text is used for the count. However, despite the debate, Jewish sources state that the “strong emphasis of this ‘middle word’ is that inquiry and study are at the Torah’s core.”
Exactly!
I was reflecting just this morning about a beloved couple that left the congregation I formerly pastored because “I was a teacher, not a preacher.”
Oh, believe me, I can get quite preachy at times. Just ask my wife… and my friends… and those with whom I get into verbal and online debates.
At first, I was hurt, even though they meant no malice. They’re still dear friends. I understood what they meant, and I agree with them. I love to unpack God’s word and apply it so that people understand what the Lord is trying to communicate for “the strengthening, encouragement, and consolation of the saints” (1 Corinthians 14:3). I’m also aware that I sometimes get lost in the weeds of biblical interpretation.
But as I thought about these two things—the center of the Torah and my gifting and skill set as a minister—the Lord gave me this surprising revelation from Eitan’s work.
I desire to get to the center of what the Lord has said and continues to say to His people.
That motivates me to dig into his word and drag as many disciples into the hermeneutical fray as I can.
If you claim to be Jesus’ disciple, your job description is clear. After conversion (baptism, Matthew 28:19), you are to “observe everything I have commanded” (Matthew 28:20). How can you observe if you haven’t learned? How can you learn if you haven’t studied? How can you study if you haven’t “inquired diligently” or “searching searched” His word, either through self-study or learning through skilled, trained, and proven Bible teachers?
I see this as the center of our life with the Lord. According to the rabbis, study is the highest form of worship. Why? How can you worship what you don’t know? Uninformed worship leads people to idolatry. Look at what faulty knowledge of the Bible has produced: a variety of heretical faux-Christian religions like Mormonism and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Just as bad, we see too many Christians today attacking Israel and the Jewish people because these Christians have majored in the New Testament and “traditional” Gentilized Christianity, but have ignored the Hebrew side of the scriptures, because, as one Christian I knew put it, “We’re New Testament Christians.” Sadly, today we have Christians who follow a Jewish Messiah and future king of Israel attacking Jesus’ Jewish heritage, family, and nation.
What? Where did they get that?
Not from the Bible, I assure you.
Well, actually, they did—by misreading and misinterpreting it. Such terrible theology and harmful antisemitism come from a lack of study, errant teaching, and historic antisemitism going all the way back to the Church Fathers and centuries of denominational biases.
We need to return to the center of God’s Word: Jesus, learning and observing His commands, and increasing our knowledge of His entire Word from Genesis to Revelation via diligent study.
I encourage you, dear reader, to join a weekly (not weakly) Bible study group. Get a hold of quality, readable, and understandable Bible study resources. (And here comes the pitch…)
I produced the Bible reading schedule and commentary, Cruisin’ Through The Bible, to help you read, study, and understand the Bible. Cruisin’ Through The Bible is divided into monthly books, making it great for individual and group study. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQH1M5G5?binding=kindle_edition&ref_=dbs_s_ks_series_rwt_tkin&qid=1764682708&sr=1-1.
While I want you to get the series (which I do!), my greater desire is that, at the very least, you start reading the Bible regularly.
If you’re a newbie, start reading and don’t get bogged down in the genealogies, details of sacrifices (although they, too, are super important, and you can get insights from Cruisin’), or the amount of reading. Dive in! Yes, I recommend starting with the Old Testament. It lays the foundation for what comes in the New Testament. New Testament-only Christians miss much of the meaning by not knowing the context, history, and language that undergird that part of the Bible.
If you’re an experienced Bible student, don’t think you’ve arrived in your knowledge of scripture. Remember, “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). There’s always more to learn under the Holy Spirit’s tutelage, especially if you aren’t familiar with the context in which God’s word was written.
Moses had the Torah, which he wrote. You have the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, the Gospels, Acts, the Epistles, and the Revelation of Jesus the Messiah. You have a wealth of knowledge about God at your fingertips!
Moses “inquired carefully.” He “inquired diligently.” He “searching searched.”
Be like Moses.
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Shining the Light of God’s Truth on the Road Ahead
Pastor Jay Christianson
The Truth Barista, Frothy Thoughts