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Brit Chadashah (New Testament) is concealed in the Torah, and the Torah
is revealed in the Brit Chadashah. To accurately interpret the writings
of the Sh'liakhim (Apostles), one must understand the Torah. The Torah is
an amazingly intricate, infinitely complex Tapestry, the very Garment of the
Holy One. In fact, the King Messiah, Yeshua of Nazareth, is the Living Torah
incarnate, the Kavod of Adonai dwelling in the mishkan (tent) of a human
body. Indeed, every yud and tagin, jot and tittle, of the
written Torah mystically reveal the character of the King Messiah, and the
nature of the universe. As we begin to examine the patterns in this Tapestry, we
begin to see amazing connections throughout the interwoven threads that bind all
things together. However, we often fail to see the exquisite threadwork of light
before our eyes, the fragrance under our nose, and the resonating Song of
Redemption in our ears. We must brush away the confines of our own culture, the
barriers of language, prejudice and preconceptions, in order to see the radiant
beauty of design in the Torah. "But to you who fear My Name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings."Many Christians accurately see a reference to the Messiah in this verse. Judaism also recognizes this as a messianic prophecy:
Malachi 4:2
"Moses asked: 'Shall they remain in pledge for ever?’ G-d replied: ‘No, only Until the sun appears’, that is, till the coming of the Messiah; for it says, But unto you that fear My name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings."In Mattityahu (Matthew) chapter five, Rabbi Yeshua says that not one yud or tagin will pass away from the Torah. The yud is the smallest letter of the Hebrew alephbet, and the tagin a small decoration upon certain Hebrew letters that looks like a crown. If even the decorations of the letters in the Torah are everlasting, then the choice of words among synonyms the Ruach HaKodesh inspired Malachi and other Biblical authors to select are of utmost importance.
Exodus Rabbah 31:10, Soncino Press Edition
"But to you who fear My Name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings (kanaph)."In the books of Bamidbar (Numbers) and Devarim (Deuteronomy), the Torah uses the word "kanaph" for the commandment of the tzitzit (fringes):
Malachi 4:2
Again HaShem spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels (tzitziyot) on the corners (kanaph) of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners."The "kanaph" of a garment was the corner, edge, or "hem". The Strong's Concordance defines kanaph as:
Bamidbar 15:38, cf. Devarim 22:12
As the Torah is revealed in the Brit Chadashah, we find an illuminated meaning,Kanaph (kaw-nawf');
Noun Feminine, Strong #: 3671
Wing, extremity, edge, winged, border, corner, shirt
- Wing
- Extremity skirt, corner (of garment)
"Now an isha (woman), having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her wealth on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. And Yeshua said, "Who touched me?" When all denied it, Kefa and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes hold and press you, and you say, 'Who touched Me?' "But Yeshua said, "Somebody touched me, for I perceived power going out from me." Now when the isha saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in shalom."The Greek word for "border" is kraspedon, corresponding to the Hebrew word "kanaph", as Strong's Concordance notes:
Luke 8:43 - 47, cf. Mattityahu 9:20, Mark 5:25
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Kraspedon (kras'-ped-on) Noun Neuter, Strong #: 2899 The extremity or prominent part of a thing, edge, skirt, margin
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The word "apo" can mean "separation", as the Strong's definition states:Greek: "kai guneh ousa en rusei haimato apo eton dowdeka . . . "
English: "and woman being with flow of blood years of twelve . . . "
In ancient Jewish culture, this would be immediately recognizable as separation in regards to the laws of niddah, meaning that the 'flow of blood' the woman was experiencing was a continuous menstrual condition, which rendered her ritually unclean, and unable to have sexual intercourse if she was married. Anything she touched would become ritually unclean:Apo (apo')
Word Origin: Greek, Strong's # 575
Of separation
- of local separation, after verbs of motion from a place i.e. of departing, of fleeing, ...
- of separation of a part from the whole where of a whole some part is taken
- of any kind of separation of one thing from another by which the union or fellowship of the two is
destroyed
- of a state of separation, that is of distance
- physical, of distance of place
- temporal, of distance of time
And if a woman have an issue, and her issue from her body is blood, she shall be impure (niddah) for seven days: and whosoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening. And every thing that she lies upon in her separation (niddah) shall be unclean: every thing also that she sits upon shall be unclean. And whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. . . And if a woman has an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation (niddah), or if it flows beyond the time of her separation (niddah), all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation (niddah): she shall be unclean.In today's society, many women have difficulty during the time of menstruation. Imagine dealing with this for twelve years. To make matters worse, she experienced this condition in a society where ritual impurity was incredibly important, as the Temple stood in the foreground of daily life. Such emphasis on ritual purity is not seen today like it was in the times of the Second Temple. She was probably avoided on all sides, from all people, who did not wish to become ritually unclean. If she was married, it would have caused great stress upon their marriage, as physical intimacy was forbidden. Moreover, the website JewFaq.org notes,
Vayikra (Leviticus) 15:19-28
"The rabbis broadened this prohibition, maintaining that a man may not even touch his wife or sleep in the same bed as her during this time. . . At the end of the period of niddah, as soon as possible after nightfall after the seventh clean day, the woman must immerse herself in a kosher mikvah, a ritual pool. The mikvah was traditionally used to cleanse a person of various forms of ritual impurity."In essence, this flow probably destroyed her life. With the importance that ritual purity was held in the times of the Temple, we can see why the woman approached Rabbi Yeshua from behind, thinking that He may not want to make contact with her. She was perhaps accustomed to people avoiding her, and though her self confidence was crushed through years of emotional pain, it was overcome only by her extreme desperation to find healing. When Yeshua asked who had touched Him, she became afraid, because she, being ritually unclean, touched the corner His garment. Rather than being chastised for her action, the merciful Messiah said unto her, "Daughter, be of good cheer, your faith has made you well. Go in shalom." She could now truly live in shalom, complete peace, as she found healing in the Wings of the Sun of Righteousness, in the kanaph of His garment. Only the Father through Yeshua can bring restoration to our lives, our families, and even the entire world, if we have faith. All in fulfillment of Malachi 4:2,
JewFaq.org, Judaism 101: Kosher Sex, http://www.jewfaq.org/sex.htm
