Page 25 - Attractive Deception - The False Hope of the Hebrew Roots Movement

meat three days unsalted it immediately goes putrid...’ ‘And why is a man easily appeased, but not
a woman?’ ‘Man was created from the earth,’ he answered, ‘and when you pour a drop of water on
it immediately absorbs it; but Eve was created from a bone, which even if you soak many days in
water does not become saturated...’ ‘Why do they [the women] walk in front of the corpse [at the
funeral]?’ ‘Because they brought death into the world, therefore they walk in front of the corpse.’

Aside from the myriad opinions the rabbis give on the various passages of Scripture, they introduce
much spurious historical information. If a narrative in the Bible leaves out information, the rabbis
are not shy about filling in the gaps. Thus, in the Midrash you may find the name of Noah’s wife
[Naamah]. You may find the reason given that Noah waited 500 years before he began to have sons
when other men were recorded as having sons at a much younger age. The Midrash further asserts
that Noah, whose name means “rest,” only received his name after inventing implements for tilling,
cultivation, and harvest of the fruit of the ground. It is suggested in the Midrash that prior to this time
the labor of man was an excessive burden, for the ground produced only thorns and thistles. Thus,
by inventing these implements of farming, Noah brought rest to mankind.

What is the result of all this speculation and historical inventiveness? The Scriptures are treated
shamefully. The divine words of God are altered, amended, and added to, demonstrating a lack of
regard for preserving and honoring the wisdom and revelation of Yahweh. It is little wonder that
apostate Judaism is so marked by the pride of man, for its central documents are born out of
presumption and a spirit of usurpation. Man, considering himself to be the equal of God, has set
about to alter the divine communication at will.

When Yahshua walked this earth, He warned His disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and
Sadducees.

Matthew 16:5-12
And the disciples came to the other side and had forgotten to take bread. And Yahshua said to them,
“Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And they began to discuss
among themselves, saying, “It is because we took no bread.” But Yahshua, aware of this, said, “You
men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? “Do you not yet
understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up?
Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets you took up? How is it that
you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of
bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Leaven is something that is added to ground grain (flour or meal) in order to cause a reaction. The
leaven initiates the process of fermentation, producing gas bubbles in the dough, resulting in it rising.
The Son of God used leaven repeatedly to illustrate the work of Satan and of evil men. This
symbolism is most appropriate when one speaks of Talmudic (Rabbinic) Judaism, for the Jewish
teachers have introduced a foreign agent into the pure word of God which ultimately transforms the
character and meaning of God’s word. In ensuing chapters we will see how this tendency of man to
add to and alter divine truth has manifested itself throughout Orthodox Judaism and has been
adopted by adherents of the Hebrew Roots Movement.