Epistle Behaalotcha

Epistle BeHaalotcha

John 9:1-23

Joh 9:1 As he [Yeshua] passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.

Joh 9:2  His talmidim asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Joh 9:3  Yeshua answered, “Neither did this man sin, nor his parents; but, that the works of Elohim might be revealed in him.

Joh 9:4  I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.

As you know, a day in Hebrew begins at sundown, not sunrise.  And the “Day that Dawns in Darkness” is one of the terms used to refer to the Tribulation, as it is the first 7 years of the Messianic Kingdom, the “Day of YHWH.”

John, continued:

Joh 9:5  While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Joh 9:6  When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, anointed the blind man’s eyes with the mud,

Joh 9:7  and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Shiloach” (which means “Sent”). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.

Recall, the Rabbis do not permit the mixing or compounding of anything, not even medicines, on the Sabbath.  However, the Torah does not support this definition of “work” and obviously, Yeshua does not support it, either.  Providing someone with needed medical care is not work, all medical and emergency workers are exempt from Sabbath prohibitions.   That doesn’t mean a doctor can keep office hours on Shabbat, but if a situation arises where someone needs medical care, a physician has a duty to provide it even on Shabbat.

John, continued:

Joh 9:8  The neighbors therefore, and those who saw that he was blind before, said, “Isn’t this he who sat and begged?”

Joh 9:9  Others were saying, “It is he.” Still others were saying, “He looks like him.” He said, “I am he.”

Joh 9:10  They therefore were asking him, “How were your eyes opened?”

Joh 9:11  He answered, “A man called Yeshua made mud, anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Shiloach, and wash.’ So I went away and washed, and I received sight.”

Joh 9:12  Then they asked him, “Where is he?” He said, “I don’t know.”

Joh 9:13  They brought him who had been blind to the Perushim.

Joh 9:14  It was a Shabbat when Yeshua made the mud and opened his eyes.

Joh 9:15  Again therefore the Perushim also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and I see.”

Joh 9:16  Some therefore of the Perushim said, “This man is not from Elohim, because he doesn’t keep the Shabbat.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” There was division among them.

As it is to this very day, the Rabbis have imposed on the Jewish people their own decisions about what is “work” and what is not, and are merciless in the implementation of their traditions and precedents.

John, continued:

Joh 9:17  Therefore they asked the blind man again, “What do you say about him, because he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

Joh 9:18  The Judeans therefore did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight,

Joh 9:19  and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

Joh 9:20  His parents answered them, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;

Joh 9:21  but how he now sees, we don’t know; or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. He is of age. Ask him. He will speak for himself.”

Joh 9:22  His parents said these things because they feared the Judeans; for the Judeans had already agreed that if any man would confess him as Messiah, he would be put out of the synagogue.

Joh 9:23  Therefore his parents said, “He is of age. Ask him.”

This is why many followers of Yeshua did so in secret – fear of being ostracized and cut off from their family and friends.  There is no prohibition against being a secret Believer in Yeshua, but if you are directly asked a question that you cannot answer without revealing your status as a Believer, you must answer truthfully.  Granted, language is very bendable, but there are lines that cannot be crossed and if you are obfuscating, be sure in your own mind that you are not actually lying – for that would be the same as denying Messiah.

Next:  Kollel BeHa’alotcha.