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Messianic Bible Institute-Yeshiva
Course T104/504: Introduction to Torah
File Code: 270E-T104 (3 credits)
Professor: David M. Hargis, Ph.D. (pres@mbiyeshiva.edu)
Text: Torah Rediscovered by Ariel Berkowitz
EXAMINATION
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer each question. They are in chronological order with the text. For TRUE/FALSE circle the T or F. For multiple choice circle one letter or number unless instructed otherwise. Fill-in-the-blank questions count one point for each blank. Use a separate sheet of paper to answer essay questions.
INTRODUCTION
1. T F. The three main areas of study in a yeshiva are Torah, God, and the People of Israel.
2. T F. In traditional Jewish thinking the word "Torah" has a very narrow application.
3. T F. Rabbinical Jewish thinking has declared that there are two Torahs: written and oral.
4. The rabbis call the written Torah in its most limited use the Chumash, which is also known as:
5. T F. The (traditional) rabbis claim the oral Torah is just fables that were handed down.
6. T F. The oral Torah began to be written down in about the year 200 CE.
7. T F. Rabbi Yehuda haNasi did nothing to help the oral tradition get written down.
8. T F. To us who are Messianics the oral Torah should have just as much authority as the written Torah.
9. T F. The author refers to the Torah as the first five books of the Bible AND the specific teachings within the five books.
10. T F. The Torah is from the mouth of God and written in perfect accuracy by the hand of Moshe.
CHAPTER ONE
11. The meaning of Torah in Hebrew is:
12. T F. Torah is a document in which God has revealed Himself to mankind.
13. T F. In the Torah one can learn all the theological concepts which are later expanded in the rest of the Bible.
14. A, B, C, D / In the Torah one can learn much about ____, ___________, _____________, _________ and even about the Savior Himself--Yeshua!
15. ________ is a covenant according to the passage in Exodus _______ .
16. T F. In a covenant there are legal obligations to both parties involved.
17. T F. God, because He is God, is not bound by the rules of covenant.
18. T F. In one perspective, Torah is the national constitution for Israel.
19. T F. As a constitution, Torah is completely different in structure from other national covenants in its time.
20. Which of the following does NOT fit in the ancient form of national covenant:
21. A, B / The _____________ contention is that Torah
presents itself as a coherent doctrine written by _________ in
the middle to late second millennium B.C.E.
22. T F. The Torah is just a list of do's and don'ts.
23. T F. The do's and don'ts are merely the stipulations by which Israel can maintain its covenant relationship before God.
24. The Torah seems to be a ketubah, which is:
25. T F. When God says He "will take" Israel as His people, it appears He is betrothing them as His bride,
26. T F. The similarities between the phenomena at Mount Sinai and a traditional Jewish wedding are striking.
27. T F. The cloud at Mount Sinai symbolized the:
28. The word "segulah" is linked to:
29. T F. God provided two copies of Torah, but only one was put in the Ark.
30. T F. The "ring" symbolizing God's marriage with Israel is the Sabbath (Shabbat).
31. (Circle all that apply.) The Torah is unique because it is:
32. (Circle only one.) Yeshua rebuked anyone who:
33. T F. Matthew 5-7 are the teachings of Yeshua which back up His stand to keep Torah.
34. T F. In Yeshua's time the rabbis said that a scripture was "fulfilled" when it was properly interpreted.
35. T F. A scripture was considered "abolished" when it was misinterpreted.
36. Based on Yeshua's teaching, why should a believer have a meaningful relationship to Torah in this day and age? (5 points)
37. In Luke 24:44 Yeshua said that one of the major purposes of Torah was to understand it in such a way as to ___________ ____________ in all of its teachings.
38. This established a critically important _____________ principle for properly interpreting Torah.
39. T F. Learning how it reveals Messiah will not help us follow Torah.
40. T F. Yeshua lived the Torah perfectly.
41. T F. Yeshua perfectly clarified and explained the Torah.
42. T F. Some of Yeshua's followers referred to Him as haTorah.
CHAPTER TWO
43. Sha'ul of Tarsus (Paul) was more qualified to teach on the purposes of Torah because:
44. Sha'ul has been sorely misunderstood and maligned by:
45. T F. There are three important hermeneutical principles needed to understand Sha'ul.
46. The hermeneutical principle(s) needed to understand Sha'ul is/are:
47. T F. The events of Acts 21 happened after Sha'ul wrote Galatians and Romans.
48. T F. The events of Acts 21 show Sha'ul to be a staunch follower of the Torah of Moshe.
49. T F. Sha'ul had a habit of living one way, then teaching others to live a different way.
50. T F. Galatians was written to people who were trying to keep the Torah in order to be saved.
51. T F. Sha'ul taught the Galatians they should ignore Torah.
52. T F. Many interpreters of Sha'ul's writings have consistently applied proper hermeneutic principles to them.
53. Sha'ul is portrayed by some interpreters as being:
54. T F. Torah is to be observed to gain justification before God.
55. T F. Torah is to be the lifestyle for someone who is already justified/redeemed.
56. T F. Torah helps man to recognize his own sinfulness.
57. T F. Torah helps to bring about God's wrath.
58. T F. Justification has not always been a gift of God.
59. T F. The Torah condemns the person who attempts to earn justification through it.
60. T F. Torah acts as a protector.
61. The author spends some time explaining the idea of the "pedagogue." Sum up the meaning of the "schoolmaster" of Galatians 3:23,24 in your own words. (10 points)
62. The legal aspects of the Torah are defined in Hebrew as _________, __________, and _________.
63. The legal aspects of the Torah are defined in English as ____________, _______________, and _____________.
64. T F. The legal aspects of Torah are laws which serve as a protective barrier, and not to earn God's righteousness.
65. T F. Torah is a border for the holy community.
66. T F. Everyone within the Torah is automatically spiritually safe or "saved."
67. T F. Kosher foods were set primarily for health reasons.
68. T F. Even if a non-redeemed person eats kosher foods, God can use that to help preserve the quality of his physical life.
69. T F. The kingdoms of light and darkness only exist when they are acknowledged.
70. T F. In the Torah God has described exactly where the boundaries are between the kingdoms of light and darkness.
71. T F. That which is not of the kingdom of light and life is "unclean" for us.
72. The Torah is a protection because it describes the difference between:
73. T F. Every man, woman, and child who does not choose to live within the teachings of God is consigned to a place outside the blessing and protection that these teachings establish.
74. T F. The legal sections of Torah have to do with the theocracy of the kingdom of light.
75. T F. The legal aspects of Torah declare that the kingdom of darkness has no jurisdiction inside the boundaries of God's kingdom.
76. T F. The written Torah cannot and does not impart life.
77. T F. The covenant of Moshe did away with the covenant of Abraham.
78. T F. Obedience is the required response to covenant.
79. T F. Obedience is the natural result of faith.
80. T F. If obeyed, Torah protects the nation to enjoy its inheritance.
81. T F. Torah protects the individual redeemed people within that nation to enjoy their own inheritance.
82. T F. Torah protects those who do not yet know the Messiah, until the time when God will reveal Himself to them.
CHAPTER THREE
83. T F. To the unregenerate the Torah merely points out sin, but to the redeemed the Torah is the way of life.
84. T F. James (Ya'akov) strongly cautioned Jewish believers in the diaspora not to follow Torah.
85. T F. Lack of justification in mankind is the fault of Torah.
86. T F. Romans 7:12 says, "The Torah is holy, and the command holy, and righteous and good."
87. T F. "We died to the law" means the law is no more.
88. T F. In our new relationship with Messiah came a new relationship with Torah.
89. T F. The Torah reminds Jewish people of what it means to be Jewish.
90. T F. There are many different ways to define "Jewishness," other than Torah.
91. T F. To be Hebrew means to be "one who has crossed over" from the word avar.
92. T F. God intended Hebrew to mean Jewish.
93. T F. Abraham is the father of his physical descendants, and also all who have crossed over from darkness into the light of the Good News of Yeshua.
94. T F. All who are born Jewish are Hebrews if they have crossed over, like Abraham, from the darkness of spiritual slavery into the wonderful light of belief in the one true God.
95. T F. Non-Jewish believers in Yeshua are also Hebrews, because they have crossed over like Abraham.
96. T F. Non-Jewish believers in Yeshua have been grafted into Israel and share in the faith of Israel.
97. T F. The Torah also serves as a book of reminders.
98. The Torah describes a lifestyle built around reminders for:
99. A daily reminder is the ________ on the four-cornered garment.
100. A weekly reminder is the ___________, on the seventh day of the week.
101 "There remains therefore a ___________ _________for the people of God," Hebrews 4:9.
102. "If you keep your feet from breaking the___________ and from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the ____________ a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable...then you will find your joy in the Lord," Isaiah 58:13-14.
103. T F. The woman's menstrual cycle provides a monthly picture of a spiritual lesson through Torah.
104. T F. To be clean is to be tahor.
105. T F. To be unclean is to be mikvah.
106The annual reminders are built into the ___________ -- the cycle of God's appointed Holy Days.
107. The appointed days are given by God to Israel to help them remember some of the great things He has done for them in their ___________.
108. These appointed times can also serve as special reminders of all God's ___________ truths.
109. Only the Torah makes provision for the corporate expression of the concepts in the appointed days.
110. T F. To participate in truth by faith, one must live the Torah lifestyle.
CHAPTER FOUR
111. T F. Determining who should follow Torah is a simple task because most people have the same viewpoint.
112. T F. Well-meaning believers believe the Torah to be an antiquated document.
113. T F. Arnold Fruchtenbaum's book, Israelology, says Torah is still valid today.
114. T F. The Torah of Moshe was never intended to provide or maintain salvation for anyone upon their obedience to it.
115. T F. Hebrews 8:7,13 can only be understood properly in the context of the priestly system.
116. T F. Hebrews was written to Jewish believers to declare that all the Torah was vanishing away.
117. T F. Yeshua is the end to the main sacrificial purpose of the old priestly system.
118. T F. Hebrews was written to Jewish believers to declare that ONLY the sacrificial system in Torah was vanishing away.
119. T F. The sacrificial system was imperfect, so everything about the old covenant was imperfect.
120. Which is a fabricated theological dichotomy:
121. The author says some view Torah in three divisions as:
122. Which statement is true:
123. The hermeneutic that allows the Church to replace Israel is called:
124. T F. The author believes spiritualization is a method of interpretation that IS consistent with proper exegesis of the Scriptures.
125. T F. A literal method of interpretation lays to rest such theories as the Church replacing Israel.
126. T F. The establishment of the Brit Hadasha is like the addition of other covenants: it does not cancel the previous ones.
127. Who said, "Is the Torah contrary to the promises of God? May it never be!"
128. Sha'ul proved the Torah should continue to be followed by:
129. T F. After 135 CE many Church leader made a concerted effort to rid the Church of any Jewish trappings.
130. T F. The Messianic Jewish observance of Torah was tolerated by other believers in Yeshua.
131. T F. The group of Messianic Jews who stayed true to Torah were called Nazarenes.
132. T F. The Nazarenes ultimately faded from history.
133. T F. The Nazarenes held the Mishnah to be binding on them.
134. T F. The Nazarenes called Messiah the Son of God.
135. T F. The New Covenant merely amended the Sinai covenant.
136. T F. The Hebrew word Chadash means both new and month.
137. T F. The New Covenant is a brand new agreement.
138. T F. All people in Messiah have the same spiritual freedom to follow any teaching in the Scriptures.
139. T F. The only provision added by the New Covenant is that Gentiles should not suppose that their self-Judaizing will earn them 'salvation points' with God.
140. The Torah is for all nations (non-Jewish people) because:
CHAPTER FIVE
141. Why should we follow the Torah? What are the motivations to do so? (10 points)
CHAPTER SIX
142. T F. The "dual Torah" is not an essential concept of traditional Judaism.
143. T F. Leviticus does not tell exactly how animals should be slaughtered for sacrifice.
144. T F. According to the sages the oral Torah was needed to supplement the "gaps" in the written Torah.
145. T F. According to the Mishnah the oral Torah was handed down from God, to Moshe, to Joshua, to the elders, to the prophets, to the men of the great assembly.
146. T F. Rambam and Kehati said that the oral Torah contains all the interpretations needed for the written Torah.
147. T F. Some rabbis claim the written Torah gives each generation authority to make binding rulings for that generation.
148. T F. The Gemarah and the Talmud are exactly the same.
149. T F. The written Torah hints to a divinely inspired oral Torah.
150. T F. The kings of Israel were instructed to make a written copy of the written Torah only for their use in governing.
151. T F Josiah found the oral Torah to be sufficient for ruling the kingdom.
152. T F. It seems logical, that if the oral Torah was just as binding as the written Torah, Moshe would have written it down.
153. T F. It was the written Torah, not the oral laws, which God used to work spiritual reform among His people.
154. T F. The Rambam viewed Torah and mitzvot as the same.
155. T F. Joshua 8:35 says, "There was not a word of all that Moshe had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly."
156. All that Moshe said was:
157. T F. Joshua 23:6 says, "Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written on the book of the Torah of Moshe, and which Moshe spoke."
159. Why doesn't the oral Torah help interpret the written Torah? (10 points)
160. How did Yeshua's ministry relate to debate over the oral Torah in His day? (10 points)
161. How has the oral tradition helped our understanding? (5 points)
162. Why should we NOT place our confidence in the oral traditions? (5 points)
CHAPTER SEVEN
163. How did Church history work against following the Torah? (10 points)
164. How did the misinterpretation of Sha'ul's writings work against following the Torah? (10 points)
165. How is the Torah like a mirror? (5 points)
EPILOGUE
166. Throughout the centuries Jewish people have been known as:
167. The Torah was the book:
168. T F. The Brit Hadasha most fully explains all the seed concepts in the Torah.
169. If you are a new creation in Messiah, "these words (of the Torah) are not just idle words for you, they are your _________ ," Deuteronomy 32:47.
170. T F. The written Torah and the Living Torah (Yeshua) are the same Torah.
171. T F. The author says, "you are not Jewish...if your physical ancestry cannot be traced back to Abraham through Isaac and Jacob."
172. T F. Rabbi Sha'ul tells us in Romans 11 and Ephesians 2 that non-Jewish believers in Yeshua are "grafted in" to the "commonwealth of Israel."
173. T F. The teachings which give Israel national identity are not pertinent to non-Jewish believers.
174. What wisdom did the early leaders of Jewish believers have in regard to the non-Jewish believers? (5 points)
175. In your opinion, how is the Torah a "Tree of Life"? (5 points)
176. How is Hilkiah rediscovering the Torah in the Temple like the discovery of it in our hearts? (5 points)
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