KEY
#6: The Key of Righteousness
By
Brother Rabbi Dani’el
Rendelman
Emet Ministries
ravemet@comcast.net
Take
a close look at the picture
above. What do you see?
Do your eyes envision a
few people starring at each
other? Or do you make out
a decorative vase? Look
strongly at the picture
and you’ll find both images
present. Yes, there is both
a decorative vase and some
faces in the drawing. The
images are two in one.
Now
use the idea that something
can have two identities
or meanings at the same
time and think for a moment
about the concept of “righteousness.”
What does it mean to be
righteous? Is a believer
righteous through faith
or works? How is a person
truly made righteous? Is
righteousness a one-way
road?
Duality
Exposed
In
the Bible’s fifth book,
Moshe cries out tzedek,
tzedek, tirdof – “justice,
justice you shall pursue.”
Here the prophet repeats
himself to reveal the two
sides of the Hebrew word
“tzedek.” Tzedek or tzedekah
is often rendered as “justice”
or “righteousness” in English
Bibles and carries a connotation
of moral behavior and ethics.
Its
in Devarim 16:20 that Moshe
charges Israel to a high
calling by saying, tzedek,
tzedek, tirdof. Moshe is
clearly saying to practice
and pursue the duality of
righteousness. To this point,
the sages teach that this
word was repeated in this
context to show that one
is to pursue personal righteousness
and a righteous court. But,
possibly a different meaning
can be learned. Maybe Moshe
was revealing that righteousness
is two sided, much like
a coin.
Just
flip a penny over in your
hand and you’ll see that
the coin has two different
and distinct sides to it;
yet both sides reveal that
the item you are holding
is a penny. The fact is
that the two sides of the
money expose different elements
of the same item. A penny
is two in one much like
the true meaning of tzedekah
as found in the Scriptures.
Biblical tzedekah or righteousness
has a pair of separate,
yet intertwined meanings
that beautifully describe
man’s relationship with
Yahweh and with fellow mankind.
According
to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
the word “tzedek” literally
means, “right, moral or
legal, just, right in a
moral sense, cleanse, justice,
turn to, righteous, to give
freely.” In Jewish thought
today, tzedekah is considered
charity or giving as an
expression of a right relationship
with the Almighty. Modern
Judaism teaches that tzedekah
has more to do with Israel’s
ministry of charity and
benevolence to fellow man
than a spiritual state of
being.
To
add to the confusion, mainstream
Christianity teaches that
righteousness is something
that is wholly transferred
from the Creator to humankind
through the work of Messiah.
The definition of the word
tzedekah has evolved over
time to provide a confusing
dilemma when a person sets
out to understand righteousness.
The root of tzedekah is
from the Hebrew tzade-dalet-qof,
meaning justice, fairness,
and righteousness. Could
it be that true biblical
righteousness is both something
that is received and performed?
Is it possible that both
mainstream Jewish and Christian
teachings hold some truth
to them? Just like an optical
illusion, is there more
than meets the eye when
it comes to understanding
righteousness?
A
Gift
The
modern Jewish thought that
tzedekah is about giving
isn’t that far off base.
Biblical tzedekah is a gift
from Yahweh to man, that
man is to share towards
other people. Tzedekah is
an actual attribute of Yahweh,
one of the ten sefirot,
that express who Yahweh
fully is. “O Yahweh, Elohim
of Israel, you are righteous!
We are left this day as
a remnant,” Ezra 9:15. When
Yahweh grants man His righteousness,
He is actually giving or
revealing part of Himself
because Yahweh is righteous.
“Yahweh is upright: he is
my rock, and there is no
unrighteousness in him,”
Psalm 92:15.
Yahweh
gives His righteousness
to man as a reward/gift
for faith and trust exhibited
through Torah obedience.
“And it shall be our righteousness,
if we observe to do all
these commandments before
the Yahweh our Elohim, as
he hath commanded us,” Deuteronomy
6:25. Romans 2:13 makes
this point very clearly,
“it is those who obey the
law who will be declared
righteous.”
The
Holman Bible Dictionary,
a Baptist publication, says
“rather than being a ladder
that Israel climbed to get
to Yahweh, the Torah was
understood to be a divine
program of the maintenance
of a healthy relationship
between Israel and Elohim
(Leviticus 16.) Yahweh expected
Israel to keep the Torah
not to earn merit but to
maintain the status Elohim
had already given the nation.
As Israel kept the covenant,
the nation was righteous.
Thus human righteousness
in relation to Elohim was
understood as faithful adherence
to the Torah (Leviticus
19.)” – sacred names added
Right
standing and fairness with
Yahweh is granted as a GIFT
when a person walks in accordance
with the mitzvah of the
Bible, “a righteous man
does what is lawful and
right,” Ezekiel 18:5. Man
cannot and has never merited
himself spiritual righteousness.
“For there is not a righteous
man upon earth, that doeth
good, and sinneth not,”
Ecclesiastes 7:20. According
to the Bible tzedekah simply
cannot be earned. Tzedekah
must be given by Yahweh
to repentful and faithful
man, “If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and
just and will forgive us
our sins and purify us from
all unrighteousness,” 1
John 1:9. Because of sin
man does not deserve tzedekah
but Yahweh gives it when
man turns from the path
of wickedness and returns
to Yah. Romans 5:19, “For
as by one man’s disobedience
many were made sinners,
so by the obedience of one
shall many be made righteous.”
Breaking or not obeying
the Torah is sin which leads
to unrighteousness. “All
unrighteousness is sin,”
1 Yochannan (John) 5:17.
It
was because of Avraham’s
faithful obedience he was
considered a righteous person
or a tzadik in Yahweh’s
eyes. “Avraham (Abraham)
believed Elohim, and it
was accounted to him for
righteousness, Galatians
3:6. Avraham’s belief and
faithful trusting led him
to follow the instructions
of the Almighty, thus making
Avraham a tzadik.
An
Action
In
as much as tzedekah is a
gift it is also a deed carried
out by faithful man. In
today’s Jewish society if
you mention the word tzedekah,
most Jews will recognize
that this is a term used
for giving aid, charity,
or assistance to the poor.
Again, this understanding
sheds more light on the
true meaning of the word.
Tzedekah, or fairness and
justice, is a gift from
Yahweh that is to be passed
on towards fellow mankind.
This teaching is based on
Proverbs 29:7, “The righteous
considereth the cause of
the poor: but the wicked
regardeth not to know it.”
Remember that in the book
of Devarim (Deuteronomy)
Moshe told Israel to pursue
righteousness from Avinu
Yahweh. It is not just something
that is handed over lightly.
Yahshua commented on this
when he said, “Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they
will be filled,” Mattityahu
5:6. Before the filling
of righteousness comes there
must be a hunger and a thirst;
before you scratch your
back it has to itch; and
before man considers another
man to be righteous there
must be justice and fairness.
Moshe
and Yahshua were calling
the people to chase after
and seek tzedekah as a gift
from Yahweh AND as a behavior
towards man. Notice Yahshua
said to “hunger and thirst
for righteousness” and not
just “have a spiritual understanding
and confess.” Tzedekah in
Yahweh’s sight is given
by trusting obedience to
Torah commands while tzedekah
in man’s sight is given
by how a believer treats
other individuals. Torah
obedience always leads to
life. “The labour of the
righteous tendeth to life,”
Proverbs 10:16. Biblical
righteousness shows others
a life of Torah submission.
“But the path of the tzedek
is as the shining light,
that shineth more and more
unto the perfect day,” Proverbs
4:18. Or to paraphrase “The
works, actions, and words
of a tzedek is a shining
light to the world, pointing
to the day of the full restoration
of tzedekah.”
The
Ten Words
Now
take a moment and reflect
on the duality of tzedekah
and the ten words. The ten
words, or the Ten Commandments
as they are better known
as, were given to Israel
from Yahweh as some basic
guidelines for living. These
mitzvah are divided into
rules for man’s two most
important relationships
– that with individuals
and that with the Almighty.
Just like the ten words,
righteousness has everything
to do with how other people
are treated. “The righteous
man leads a blameless life;
blessed are his children
after him, Proverbs 20:7.
Again, tzedekah is received
from Yahweh and is performed
towards man. Avi Ben Mordechai
said in his book Messiah
Volume 3, “Righteousness
always begins with trusting
faith in the Name. However,
trusting faith is not the
end of the story. Trusting
faith produces actions of
righteousness and therefore,
the righteous are ultimately
defined as those who walk
in the covenant of Yahweh
of the Torah as found in
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 6:25.”
A
Balanced Approach
It
takes both actions and trust
for a person to be considered
righteous. In other words
true tzedekah is not just
about faith or works, true
tzedekah is a balance of
both. When it comes to fully
comprehending biblical righteousness,
balance is definitely the
key. By the way, what happens
when something is off balance?
It falls over, right. There
have been many believers
who have gone off course
in their spiritual walk
because they didn’t have
an evenhanded understanding
of tzedekah. To this Ya’akov
wrote, “And the scripture
was fulfilled that says,
“Abraham believed Elohim,
and it was credited to him
as righteousness,” and he
was called Elohim’s friend.
You see that a person is
justified by what he does
and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not
even Rahab the prostitute
considered righteous for
what she did when she gave
lodging to the spies and
sent them off in a different
direction? As the body without
the spirit is dead, so faith
without deeds is dead,”
Ya’akov (James) 2:23-26
Rebbe
Yahshua the Messiah also
noticed a lack of balance
concerning tzedekah. Yahshua
warned his followers and
the religious teachers when
he said, “For I tell you
that unless your righteousness
surpasses that of the Pharisees
and the teachers of the
law, you will certainly
not enter the kingdom of
heaven,” Mattityahu 5:20.
It would be hard to believe
that Yahshua was saying
that His followers had to
know and keep Torah better
than the spiritual leaders
of their day. Conceivably
Yahshua was rebuking the
teachers NOT because of
their tzedekah towards Yahweh,
perhaps Yahshua’s rebuke
was concerning how they
treated the poor and afflicted.
Perhaps Yahshua was telling
his talmidim that they had
to treat people with more
love, respect, concern,
and compassion than the
Pharisees did. Many of Messiah’s
parables, like the Great
Samaritan, deal with this
issue. Yahshua even equated
a believer’s love and actions
towards fellow man with
that of Yahweh Himself.
“Yahshua replied: “‘Love
the Yahweh your Elohim with
all your heart and with
all your soul and with all
your mind.’ This is the
first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets
hang on these two commandments,”
Mattitiyahu 22:37-40.
Evidently
the early believers understood
this duality of tzedekah
as several writings in the
Ketuvim Netzerim (New Testament)
echo these words, “Religion
that Elohim our Father accepts
as pure and faultless is
this: to look after orphans
and widows in their distress
and to keep oneself from
being polluted by the world,”
Ya’akov (James) 1:27. Again
notice the duality of tzedekah
in this verse – the believers
were to minister to the
needy and keep themselves
set apart from the worldly
systems. Rabbi Shaul (Paul)
also wrote, “Share with
Elohim’s people who are
in need. Practice hospitality,”
Romans 12:13.
A
Tzadik
Throughout
the Torah, Writings, Prophets,
and Ketuvim Netzerim are
countless stories of righteous
individuals who walked in
holiness before Yahweh and
man. “This is the account
of Noach. Noach was a righteous
man, blameless among the
people of his time, and
he walked with Elohim,”
Beresheet (Genesis) 6:9.
Noach’s righteousness was
reflective of the duality
of tzedekah. Noach was “blameless
among the people of his
time and he walked with
Elohim.” Noach was a tzadik
and Noach had balance!
In
the Hebrew language a righteous
person is called a “tzadik.”
A tzadik is a person totally
rooted and grounded in Yahweh
and the Torah. The Encyclopedia
Judaica clearly and impressively
defines exactly what a tzadik
is. The encyclopedia says
that a genuine tzadik is
one who, “carries out his
obligation to Elohim and
to man by obeying the precepts
of the Torah.” And Proverbs
21:15 teaches that acting
justly is a tzadik’s greatest
reward. This does not mean
that a tzadik is perfect
or sinless. To the contrary,
perhaps the greatest difference
between the tzadik and the
evildoer is that when the
righteous fall down, they
get back up again. “Though
a righteous man falls seven
times, he rises again, but
the wicked are brought down
by calamity,” Proverbs 24:16.
Other
tzadikkim mentioned in the
Bible are Avel, Lot, Yochannan
the Immerser, Yoseph the
earthly father of Yahshua
and of course Yahshua HaMoshiach.
“Yahshua grew in wisdom
and stature, and in favor
with Elohim and men,” Luke
2:52. Again, Yahshua’s righteousness
was in the sight of “Elohim
and men” – again stressing
the duality of tzedekah.
Of Yochannan the Immerser’s
parents it is said in Luke
1:6, “And they were both
righteous before Elohim,
walking in all the commandments
and ordinances of Yahweh
blameless.”
In
Psalm 92:12-14 the tzadik
is compared to the cedars
of Lebanon. “The righteous
tzadik will flourish like
a palm tree, they will grow
like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of
Yahweh, they will flourish
in the courts of our Elohim.”
The cedar tree is mentioned
over 75 times in the Bible
each in reference to the
life of the tzadik. These
trees were tall, stately,
and strong – a perfect picture
of how a believer’s life
is to reflect the righteousness
of Yahweh.
The
Lifestyle of a Tzadik
Like
an optical illusion there
are two sides to tzedekah.
The true meaning of tzedekah
has two meanings of that
with man and that with Yahweh.
And the duality of tzedekah
is seen clearly when a believer
walks in the Spirit through
Torah observance. This holy,
set apart, and blessed lifestyle
is the goal of all believers
and is THE way of life that
leads to salvation in the
hereafter. “And the wicked
shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous
into life eternal,” Mattitiyahu
25:46.
Titus
1:8 say all followers of
the Scriptures are to be
a “lover of hospitality,
a lover of good men, sober,
righteous, holy, and temperate.”
Don’t be mistaken; the life
of a righteous person is
not some mystical existence
full of only heavenly highs.
As Yahshua said, “our Father
which is in heaven: for
he maketh his sun to rise
on the evil and on the good,
and sendeth rain on the
just and on the unjust,”
Mattitiyahu 5:45. The way
of life and routine of the
tzadik is special because
the tzadik functions as
the mirror between man and
Yahweh, reflecting Yahweh’s
character to man.
The
restoration of righteousness
is prophesied in the scriptures
as one of the ways that
Yahweh is reuniting His
kingdom of Isra’el. ““The
days are coming,” declares
the Yahweh, “when I will
raise up to David a righteous
Branch, a King who will
reign wisely and do what
is just and right in the
land. In his days Judah
will be saved and Israel
will live in safety. This
is the name by which he
will be called: Yahweh Tzdakenu.
“So then, the days are coming,”
declares Yahweh, “when people
will no longer say, ‘As
surely as the Yahweh lives,
who brought the Israelites
up out of Egypt,’ but they
will say, ‘As surely as
Yahweh lives, who brought
the descendants of Israel
up out of the land of the
north and out of all the
countries where he had banished
them.’ Then they will live
in their own land,” Yermi’yahu
(Jeremiah) 23:5-8. In Yesha’yahu
(Isaiah) 60:21 & 22
it is said said, “Then will
all your people be righteous
and they will possess the
land forever. They are the
shoots I have planted, the
work of my hands, for the
display of my splendor.”
Yahweh is reuniting His
people by restoring true
tzedekah to Israel.
To
conclude, understanding
biblical tzedekah was never
meant to be hard to grasp.
Yahweh is righteous and
calls all of His people
to be the same. According
to the Bible a righteous
person:
·
Receives everlasting life,
Mattitiyahu 25:46
·
Prayers avail much, Ya’akov
5:6
·
Has no fellowship with the
wicked, 2 Corinthians 6:14
·
Live by faith, Hebrews 10:38
·
Walks in integrity, Proverbs
20:7
·
Is wise and understanding,
Hose 14:9
·
Has full access to Elohim,
Yesha’yahu 12:6
·
Is blessed by Yahweh, Proverbs
3:35
·
Does what is lawful, Ezekiel
18:5
·
Studies the Torah to answer
any question, Proverbs 15:28
·
Thoughts are based on the
Torah and life, Proverbs
12:5
