It saddens me to consider this topic, but consider it I must.
It would seem that our Torah community is suffering from a plague of disobedience.
I cannot even begin to count the number of self-proclaimed Torah keepers I’ve met, who openly and willingly defy the words of Yahweh, and do not keep the Torah.
It happens all the time, and every fellowship I’ve attended (including a national Torah conference) includes the willfully disobedient.

Consider this photo of my favorite cheese grater:

What’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Probably: “That’s not a cheese grater.”
It is quite obvious, isn’t it?
No, this is clearly not a cheese grater. It is a spatula.
The same concept applies to Torah Keepers.
If someone labels themselves as a Torah Keeper, and then blatantly and willingly violates the Torah, the first thing that comes to mind is this:
“That’s not a Torah Keeper.”

Most of us have come out of the mainstream church with the concept that close enough is good enough. Most of us have all been there, done that.
“Do your best, even if your best is terrible.”
It will all be ok in the end.
Failure is ok, even expected.
What does Yeshua say?
Luke 6:46-49
46 “But why do you call Me ‘Master, Master,’ and do not do what I say?
47 “Everyone who is coming to Me, and is hearing My words and is doing them, I shall show you whom he is like:
48 “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock. And when a flood came, the stream burst against that house, but was unable to shake it, for it was founded on the rock.
49 But the one hearing and not doing, is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream burst, and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.

In verse 46, Yeshua is giving the same example as my cheese grater/spatula idea above.
To paraphrase: “Why do you call yourself My follower, but you do not follow Me?”
He goes on to say that the one who does this will come to great ruin.
In other words, this is serious.
This scripture tells us the same, and backs up this idea:
1John 2:3-6
3 And by this we know that we know Him, if we guard His commands.
4 The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohim has been perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
6 The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.

According to 1John 2, one who claims to be a Torah follower, but willfully violates the Torah, is a liar and the truth is not in him. This is a very harsh accusation. All of us need to do self-evaluation in comparison to this idea, and do so regularly [yes, myself included].
Am I the Torah Police, demanding perfection for myself and others, without grace?
No, I am not.
Grace is fundamental, and we are all lost without it.
1John 2 also tells us this:
1My little children, I write this to you, so that you do not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Intercessor with the Father, יהושע Messiah, a righteous One.

We are given instruction so that we will not sin.
But…
If we do sin by accident, we have an advocate/intercessor with Yahweh the Father, and that is Yeshua Messiah our Savior.
Yes, I believe in grace and forgiveness wholeheartedly.
But I believe it within the boundaries of scripture.
Hebrews 10:26-31 tells us serious warnings about willful sin:
²⁶ For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says Yahweh. And again, “Yahweh will judge His people.” ³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living Elohim.

Grace is for unintentional sin, which we also see illustrated in Numbers 15.
Willful sin has no sacrifice to cover it, but instead is replaced by a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
This should scare us!! This should make us want to never sin on purpose.
James 4 tells us this:
17 To him, then, who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
If we know the good works of the Father, His Torah instructions, and do not do them, it is sin to us.

During my time in Torah, I have found one of the easiest commands to keep is to wear tzitzits.
They are simple strings attached to my belt loops. It requires practically no effort to obey this command. Let’s take a look at it:
Numbers 15:37-40
37 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
38 Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, and you shall say to them to make tzitzit on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue cord in the tzitzit of the corners.
39 And it shall be to you for a tzitzit, and you shall see it, and shall remember all the commands of יהוה and shall do them, and not search after your own heart and your own eyes after which you went whoring,
40 so that you remember, and shall do all My commands, and be set-apart unto your Elohim.

Please note that I am not the tzitzit police, nor am I legalistic about wearing tzitzits. It is not my business if others wear them (or not), although I encourage people to do so.

I choose to wear them all day every day, not out of legalism, but simply because I want to comply with what Yahweh the Father has commanded.
It is for my benefit.
In reading this passage, we see very strong language from Yahweh.
He gave us tzitzits so that we do not go whoring after the desires of our own hearts and our own eyes, in defiance of His commands.
The strength of language here suggests the level of seriousness of this command.
In the preceding verses in Numbers 15, we see a man is stoned to death by the nation for living in disobedience.
Is there anything more serious than death?
The death of this man helps to define just how serious Yahweh is regarding tzitzits.
To paraphrase: Do this simple thing that I give you in mercy, to avoid being stoned to death for your disobedience.
How do we see this play out in Torah community today?
I can only speak from my own experience, but this is what I have observed in every single situation:
In typical Torah fellowships (multiple that I’ve attended), few tend to wear tzitzits. While there are some who are obedient to this, and take it seriously, the majority typically either ignore this entirely, or only wear them occasionally. Even worse, there are some who make a show of wearing them on Shabbat, but do not wear them any other time (as evidenced by running into them during the work week).

Out of sincere curiosity, I’ve asked those who do not wear them for their reasons why.
Again, not to be the tzitzit police, but to try to understand their reasoning.
While the reasons vary, it always boils down to this: People simply choose to not obey the Father.

One gentleman told me he does not wear them because “God told him not to.”
Really?
I quoted above the very words of Yahweh, and He tells us to wear them.
Does it make any sense for Yah to tell someone to NOT do what He already has commanded everyone for all generations to do?
No, this does not pass the common sense test.
This man proclaims himself to be a mature Torah Keeper.
How can one call himself a Torah Keeper if He ignores the words of Yahweh and disobeys the Torah?
And ironically, the purpose of tzitzits is to remind us to keep Yah’s commands.
If one does not obey this command — to remember the commands — just how ironic is this? That’s about an 11 of a scale of 1 to 10.

I know a self-proclaimed Torah teacher of more than 20 years who does not wear tzitzits.
When I asked about it, he said tzitzits are for the spiritually immature. He said he knows the Torah so well that he does not need to wear them. I then observed this Torah teacher and his wife willfully and intentionally disobey Yahweh, neglecting to keep His commands, in much that they do.
Their business, not mine, but it makes me sad for them.

Very many times I’ve been told by self-proclaimed Torah keepers that they do not wear tzitzits because they have moved on to the weightier matters of the Torah. They claim to have matured beyond the simple things, and are now concentrating on the concepts that truly matter, the most important things. They are referring to the words of Yeshua Messiah in Matthew 23:23
23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you tithe the mint and the anise and the cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah: the right-ruling and the compassion and the belief. These need to have been done, without neglecting the others.
These folks always quote this verse partially, speaking of Yeshua’s insistence that we pay particular attention to the weightier matters, and they NEVER include the final few words:
“without neglecting the others.”
Sticking with the theme of the entire bible from front to back, Yeshua instructs us to do ALL in the Torah, and to not leave the simple things undone.

Another reason I get for people not wearing tzitzits is that we don’t know how to wear them properly.
They say the original method of wearing tzitzits is unknown to us.
Maybe it is fringe like we see in Native American traditional dress.
Maybe there was a special outer garment from that era in time that we no longer wear today.
Is this a good reason to not wear tzitzits, because we do not know how?
Did Yah command us to wear tzitzits exactly in a certain way, otherwise don’t do it?
No, He did not.
He made this command very simple to accomplish.
Make tzitzits containing a blue thread, and wear them on the corners/borders of your garment.
Easy-peasy.
I made some to include a blue thread, and I wear them.
How hard is that?
Not hard at all, but there are people who refuse to do so, for a number of different reasons, all while proclaiming their great love for Yahweh and their steadfastness in keeping His commands.
Except… the evidence shows they are not as steadfast as they claim.
Tzitzits are just one of many examples. I chose this example because it is commanded for good reason, Yahweh is serious about it, and it is very easy to accomplish.

Another disobedience that is rampant in Torah community is defiling/profaning the Sabbath.
Here is what Yahweh says about it:
Exodus 31
12 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
13 And you, speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I, יהוה, am setting you apart.
14 ‘And you shall guard the Sabbath, for it is set-apart to you. Everyone who profanes it shall certainly be put to death, for anyone who does work on it, that being shall be cut off from among his people.
15 ‘Six days work is done, and on the seventh is a Sabbath of rest, set-apart to יהוה. Everyone doing work on the Sabbath day shall certainly be put to death.
16 ‘And the children of Yisra’ĕl shall guard the Sabbath, to perform the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant.
17 ‘Between Me and the children of Yisra’ĕl it is a sign forever. For in six days יהוה made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ”

Did you notice this part:
“Everyone who profanes it shall certainly be put to death.”
Once again, we are dealing with an issue that is highly important to Yahweh.
What is more important than death?
And yet, every single Torah fellowship I’ve attended has people willfully and intentionally profaning the Sabbath.
Do they not care what Yah says about it?
Do they not understand the seriousness of this offense?
Do they not fear Yah, as we are commanded to do?

Many have said they must work on the Sabbath in order to provide for their family.
Yah tells us that He will provide. While I understand the difficulty in this, and that keeping the Sabbath may cost someone their job, Yah will provide.
If someone steps out in faith to keep the Sabbath (by all means as we are instructed, which also could mean at any cost), then I have faith that Yahweh will provide a solution, even if they lose their job because of it.
One self proclaimed Torah keeper, who claims to walk upright in all the ways of Yah, openly and proudly proclaims that they go shopping on the Sabbath, does house chores on the Sabbath, and assigns chores to their children on the Sabbath.
How do these things profane the Sabbath?

From Exodus 31 above: “‘My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means”
Are they guarding the Sabbath, by all means?
No, sadly not. Instead of guarding it, they are trampling it.
Also from above: “Everyone doing work on the Sabbath day shall certainly be put to death.”
How important can house chores be that one is willing to suffer death to get them done?

And from Exodus 20, we see this: “You do not do any work”
Same as we see in Exodus 31, but it continues with this clarification:” you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.”
We are told not to cause our sons or daughters to do work on the Sabbath, which means we should not assign our children chores on Sabbath.
This is profaning the Sabbath.
We are told not to cause the strangers in our gates to work on Sabbath, and shopping on the Sabbath does exactly this.
This is profaning the Sabbath.
These violations are punishable by death, and yet, we see many in Torah community violating the Sabbath instructions constantly, and without worry.
Is it my business if someone violates the Sabbath?
No, but it is my concern, because I have concern for my friends.
If I know the consequences of violating the Sabbath instruction and I take them seriously, then I need to warn others about their transgression, hence very difficult articles like this (not to mention very difficult conversations with people I love and care about).
Am I just a Torah terrorist, a legalistic jerk who wants to criticize others?
Am I just one who wants to impose difficult expectations upon others?
Why does this even matter to me?
Romans 15:1-2 advises this with regard to our interaction with others:
1 But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2 Let each one of us please his neighbour for his good, to build him up.
And in verses 5-7
⁵ Now may the Elohim of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Yeshua Messiah, ⁶ that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the Elohim and Father of our Yeshua Messiah.
⁷ Therefore receive one another, just as Messiah also received us, to the glory of Yahweh.

What is this saying?
Paul is telling us to encourage our neighbors if they are weak.
If we have strength of conviction, strength of commitment, strength of obedience – whatever – then we should stand firm and help others who are not strong.
Do we do this by condoning their disobedience and their sin?
Do we do this by pretending everything is ok, when it is not ok?
No, I don’t think so.
We do this by telling them what Yahweh says.
We do this by telling them what Yeshua says.
We do this by showing them the truth, and encouraging them in the truth.
Some respond well to the truth and grow.
Others hate it and fight against it.
But I must do my part, when Yah provides opportunity to do so, as should we all.

We see this in Romans 15:4
⁴ For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

And the same idea in much more detail in 1Corinthians 10:1-12
10 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, ² all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³ all ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. ⁵ But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
⁶ Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. ⁷ And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” ⁸ Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; ⁹ nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; ¹⁰ nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. ¹¹ Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
¹² Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

What was written before is for our learning and instruction.
Romans 15 and 1Corinthians tell us this, and specifically show us what happened to the first generation of the Exodus. They all fell in the wilderness (as in dead) because they did not follow Yahweh. They were disobedient.
Only two men from the rebellious generation made it into the promise land, and Yah tells us it is because they followed Him wholly and completely.
This is important!!
Let this next statement sink in…
The Exodus generation that fell dead in the wilderness, not receiving the promise, was Torah observant.
If asked, they all would have said, “Yes, of course we are Torah Keepers. We are a Covenant Nation, governed by Torah.”
And yet, they all fell dead, not attaining the promise.
Being called “Torah Observant” does not attain the promise.
Being obedient does.
Following Yahweh wholly and completely is what is rewarded.

Yahweh said this about Caleb:
Numbers 14:24
24“But My servant Kalĕḇ, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me completely, I shall bring into the land where he went, and his seed shall inherit it.”
And we see this in Numbers 32:11-12
11 Not one of the men who came up from Mitsrayim, from twenty years old and above, is to see the land of which I swore to Aḇraham, Yitsḥaq, and Ya‛aqoḇ, because they did not follow Me completely,
12 except Kalĕḇ son of Yephunneh, the Qenizzite, and Yehoshua son of Nun, for they have followed יהוה completely.’
This is exactly why I make a big deal about obedience.
It is not because I am legalistic.
It is not because I am arrogant or critical of others.
It is because of the examples recorded in scripture, that we are told are for our learning.
Those who do not follow Yahweh wholly and completely will not inherit the promise.
Again, I am not speaking against grace.
Grace exists and is necessary for us.
The expectation is not to attain perfection.
The expectation is that we desire to attain perfection, even if we fail at times.
It is a matter of the heart.
We see this in David’s Psalms.
He said over and over again how much he loves the commands of the Father.
He failed at keeping them, sometimes epically!!
But he was considered “a man after God’s own heart” because of his love for the words and the ways of the Father.

So let’s take a look at expectations in the scriptures.
Is it a big deal for us to obey everything, or is it ok if we just get the important things right?
Here are a couple examples of instruction given to us:
Leviticus 19:37
37 ‘And you shall guard all My laws and all My right-rulings, and do them. I am יהוה.’
Deuteronomy 6:5-8
5 “And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might. 6And these Words which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart, 7and you shall impress them upon your children, and shall speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up, 8and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
Deuteronomy 6:25
25 And it is righteousness for us when we guard to do all this command before יהוה our Elohim, as He has commanded us.’
Deuteronomy 8:1
1 Guard to do every command which I command you today, that you might live, and shall increase…’
Deuteronomy 11:8
8 “And you shall guard every command which I command you today, so that you are strong…
Deuteronomy 11:32
32 and shall guard to do all the laws and right-rulings which I am setting before you today.’
Deuteronomy 12:28
28 “Guard, and obey all these words which I command you, that it might be well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the eyes of יהוה your Elohim.

These are just a few examples of many, where the scriptures tell us to do ALL of the commands. We are to keep EVERY command. Not just the ones we like, or the ones “we don’t mind doing.”

Does Yahweh allow for deviation from this idea?
Dueteronomy 5:32
32 “And you shall guard to do as יהוה your Elohim has commanded you – do not turn aside, to the right or to the left.
Nope, we are not to stray from keeping His commands.
Is this because Yahweh wants to be a dictator?
Is this because He wants to control us against our will?
Yahweh tells us why this is, in the very next verse:
Deuteronomy 5:33
33 “Walk in all the ways which יהוה your Elohim has commanded you, so that you live and it be well with you.
He gives us His commands and tells us to keep ALL of them so that:
— we may live
— and that it will be well with us.
It is for our own well-being.
It is so that we live, and not die.

We can view His commands and instruction in two ways:
1. We “have to” keep His commands.
2. We “get to” keep His commands.
I have found that when we submit our will to Yah’s will, keeping the commands is a joy. As stated above, David speaks of this often throughout the Psalms.
David ‘gets to’ keep the commands and takes pleasure in it, as opposed to “having to” keep the commands, in disdain and against his will.
Do you see the difference?
As a Torah keeper, how do you look at it?
Do you have to?
Or do you get to?

Let’s look at other instruction to not turn aside from His commands and His path:
Proverbs 4:25-27
25 Let your eyes look forward, And your eyelids look straight before you.
26 Consider the path of your feet, And all your ways are established.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Turn your foot away from evil.
Joshua 1:7-8
7 “Only be strong and very courageous, to guard to do according to all the Torah which Mosheh My servant commanded you. Do not turn from it right or left, so that you act wisely wherever you go.
8 “Do not let this Book of the Torah depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you guard to do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and act wisely.
Joshua 23:6
6 “And you shall be very strong to guard and to do all that is written in the Book of the Torah of Mosheh, so as not to turn aside from it right or left,
Deuteronomy 17:11-13
11 “Do according to the Torah in which they teach you, according to the right-ruling which they say to you. You do not turn to the right or to the left from the word which they declare to you.
12 “And the man who acts arrogantly, so as not to listen to the priest who stands to serve there before יהוה your Elohim, or to the judge, that man shall die. So you shall purge the evil from Yisra’ĕl.
13 “And let all the people hear and fear, and no longer do arrogantly.
In this passage, we see the seriousness of not turning to the left or to the right.
It is attributed to our own arrogance if we do.
And the penalty?
Death, to purge the arrogant, disobedient attitudes from among the nation.
Not only does it purge the evil from among us, but it also allows people to hear and fear [this consequence] and encourages and inspires them to act in obedience themselves.
Deuteronomy 28:14-15
14 “And do not turn aside from any of the Words which I am commanding you today, right or left, to go after other mighty ones to serve them.
15 And it shall be, if you do not obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim, to guard to do all His commands and His laws which I command you today, that all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.”
In this passage, we are told that turning to the left or to the right, deviating from Yah’s commands, is akin to serving other gods.
Let that sink in for a moment.
What if you do some of the things in Torah, but not others?
According to Yahweh, He considers this a departure from serving Him, and entering into the realm of serving false gods. Even if you do some things right, intentionally not doing other things right is the same as serving a false god.
This is terrible!!!
And yet, our Torah community is filled with people turning to the left or the right, willfully disobeying Yahweh our Elohim.
Yah says they are serving false gods, and not serving Him.

Remember Yeshua’s words:
46“But why do you call Me ‘Master, Master,’ and do not do what I say?
Having a heart of disobedience, even in some things, means you are not following Yahweh and you are not following Yeshua.
Messiah confirms this in Matthew 7:21-23 (which we’ve looked at in many of my blog articles).
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens.
22 Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’
23 “And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’
Let’s break this down:
It does not matter if we call Him Master.
It does not matter if we proclaim ourselves to be followers of Him.
Only those who do the will of the Father will be included in the Kingdom of Heaven.
What is the will of the Father?
It is His will that we choose life, and do so by obeying His instructions.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
…therefore you shall choose life, so that you live, both you and your seed,
20 “to love יהוה your Elohim, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him – for He is your life and the length of your days…

What does it mean to cling to Him?
— Love Him with all your heart
— Love Him with all your being
— Walk after Him
— Fear Him
— Guard His commands
— Obey His voice
— Serve Him
Deuteronomy 13:3-4
“…for יהוה your Elohim is testing you to know whether you love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being. 4“Walk after יהוה your Elohim and fear Him, and guard His commands and obey His voice, and serve Him and cling to Him.

This life is just a wisp, a vapor.
James 4:14
For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
Eternity is forever, though.
This life is simply an audition for eternity.
While this life is everything to us here in the moment, from Yahweh’s perspective it is just a blink, a moment in time.
Are you completing your audition with eternity in mind, walking in the ways of the Father so that you might be included in His kingdom?
Or have you already decided you’ve made the team, based upon criteria set forth by men?
Do not be fooled.
Do not be one who labels himself/herself in a way that does not match your actions or your heart.
Don’t call yourself a cheese grater when you are a spatula.
Do not call yourself a Torah Keeper if you are living in willful disobedience.
Do not allow yourself to be one of these, spoken of by Messiah:
“And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’

I say these things, not to be critical of others, but so that:

The standards of scripture as established by Yahweh and Yeshua are known and

So the warnings regarding the standards might be understood and taken seriously.