Paul the “Chasidic Jew” and Christianity the Ultimate form of “Chasidic Judaism”

Simeon the Righteous was the last of the "Great Assembly" and assumed the position of High Priest after Ezra. The successor of Simeon was Antigones of Soko. The Mishnah indicates that Antigones taught that the Torah should be obeyed without an agenda to earn a reward or wage, but simply for the sake of the fear of God:

"Antigones of Soko received [Torah] from Simeon the Righteous. He used to say, 'Be not like servants who serve their master for the sake of wages, but be like servants who serve their master with no thought of a wage – and let the fear of Heaven be upon you.' ” (Mishnah, Avot 1:3)

The Rabbi Ben Azai (Mishnaic Sage) states that the reward for obeying a commandment is the commandment itself as well as the conditioned habit of obedience. If one is in the practice of obeying the Torah, this will lead the individual away from sin:

"Ben Azai says: Run to do an easy commandment as to a difficult one, and flee from sin; since a commandment leads to another commandment, and a sin leads to another sin; since the reward for a commandment is another commandment, and the reward for a sin is another sin." (Mishnah, Avot 4:2)

We see that even during the time of the writing of the Talmud (500 AD) Rabbinic Judaism still taught against Torah keeping for motives other than the love of God and the desire to obey him:

"'Happy is the one...That delighteth greatly in His commandments', was explained by R. Eleazar thus: 'it is a desire for the commandments, BUT NOT IN THE REWARD FOR KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS. This is just what we have learnt. 'He used to say, Be not like servants who serve the master on the condition of receiving a reward; but be like servants who serve the master without the condition of receiving a reward.' "But whose desire is in the law of the Lord.” (Talmud, Abodah Zarah 19A)

Why can't we earn our salvation? Judaism teaches that there is not a just man upon earth who does not sin:

"He said to him, 'Indeed you have taught us, our master, for there is not a just man upon earth, who does good and does not sin'" (Talmud, Sanhedrin 100B)

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would not be able to stand against God's judgement:

"If the Holy One, blessed be he, had entered into judgement with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they would not have been able to stand against the reproof" (Talmud, Arach 17A)

Why obey the Torah then? Torah obedience should result as an outward expression of faith:

"Rather, (Rabbi Simelai continues) Habakkuk further came and based them (The entire Torah) on one (principle), as it is said, 'But the righteous shall live by his faith.'" (Talmud, Makkot 24A)

If one has faith, then one will be faithful to obey God and what he requires.

Obedience should also stem from a desire to cleave to God:

…you shall diligently keep all of these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave [DEVEKUT] unto him. (Deuteronomy 11:22)

You shall walk after Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and you shall serve him, and cleave [DEVEKUT] unto him. (Deuteronomy 13:5)

DEVEKUT means “communion” or “cleaving”. Torah is observed as an act of cleaving to God. When the Torah is obeyed, it must not be an empty act of observance, or one simply aimed at earning something (even “Salvation”) but it must be an act of cleaving to God.

Since man will always fall short of God's standard, Chesed (Mercy) was an important principle in early Judaism:

Simeon the Righteous was of the remnants of the Great Assembly. He used to say, “On three things the world stands: On the Torah, On the Ministry, and on Chesidim (Acts of Grace, Mercy).” (m.Avot 1:2)

Rabbi Yoser was a student of Antigones of Soko. He was regarded as the last of the "Chasidim": When Rabbi Yose Qatnuta died, the Chasidim passed away. And why was he called “Qatnuta”? Because he was least of the Chasidim. (m.Sotah 9:15)

"Chasidim" is a term derived from the Hebrew word "Chesed" (Mercy) therefore the Chasidim were those who regarded themselves as under God's Mercy/grace and therefore taught Chesed as a priority in the expression of their faith as well as the importance of treating each other with Chesed.

How can God grant us Chesed/Mercy while at the same time satisfying his sense of Justice? The Midrash says the Messiah takes upon himself the penalty of sin so that "Israel should not perish":

Their sins will be upon you like a yoke of iron. They will choke your spirit. Because of their sins, Your toungue will cleave to the roof of your mouth. Do you accept this? If not, I will remove the decree from you. The Messiah replies: "Master of the worlds, how long will this last? God replies: "Ephraim, my true Messiah, ever since the six days of creation you have taken this ordeal upon yourself. At this moment, your pain is my pain" Messiah replies: "Master of the worlds, I accept this with gladness in my soul, and joy in my heart, so that not a single one of the House of Israel should perish. Not only for those alive, but also the dead. It is enough that the servant be like the Master. (Midresh Pesqita Rabbah 36)

The Book of Zohar:

In the Garden of Eden there is a hall that is called the "hall of the afflicted." Now it is into this hall that the Messiah goes and summons all the afflictions and pains and sufferings of Israel to come upon him. And so they all come upon him. And had he not eased the children of Israel of their sorrows, and taken their burden upon himself, there would be none who could endure the suffering of Israel in the penalty of neglecting the Torah. Thus it is written: "Surely our diseases he did bear and our pains he carried." (Is. 53:5) As long as the children of Israel dwelt in the Holy Land, they averted all afflictions and sufferings from the world by the service of the sanctuary and by sacrifice. But now it is the Messiah who is averting them from the habitants of the world, (Zohar 2:212a.)

These are the principles of Chasidic Judaism:

1. Faith comes first, obedience comes second as an act of Faith.

2. Obedience but not for motives of reward.

3. Obedience as an act of cleaving, love of God, fear of God, etc.

4. No one is righteous therefore we are all under the Chesed of God.

5. We should treat one another with Chesed.

6. Chesed should hold the greatest weight and priority in our theology.

These are the very same principles that Paul taught. This makes sense, since Paul was trained at the feet of Gamliel, and Gamliel was a "Chasidic" Jew (placed emphasis on mercy). I can only imagine how mind blown Paul was when he came to the truth of Jesus as the Messiah. What is greater than the CHESED/MERCY we receive through faith in Jesus who died in order to attain for our sin! This makes Christianity the ultimate form of Chasidic Judaism and we who receive Mercy\GRACE through faith in Jesus the TRUE CHASIDIM!

And Abraham trusted in the Word of the Lord, and He counted it to him for righteousness. (Targum Onkelos Gen. 15:6)

The Aramaic Targum of Genesis 15:6 states that Abraham had faith not just in the Lord, but in the Word of the Lord - and it was his faith in the Word that resulted in righteousness. Who is the Word of the Lord? The Word as John tells us is Jesus. Therefore it was Abraham's faith in Jesus that resulted in imputed righteousness. Thus salvation was always through Grace/Mercy and faith in Jesus.

Obedience to the Torah in order to EARN was an Essene doctrine they called "Works of the law":

“Now we have written to you some of the Works of the Law, those which we determined would be beneficial for you and your people,… And it will be reckoned to you as righteousness…” (4QMMT)

When Paul was writing against the "Works of the law" he was opposing this false Essene doctrine that demanded obedience to their specific interpretation of how to obey the Torah and faith in their "Teacher of righteousness" in order to earn righteousness and salvation.

In order to understand what Paul - the Chasidic Pharisee really meant by "Under the Law" I find that this writing explains it very well: http://www.eliyah.com/underlaw.html In short, if we are seeking to bypass faith and achieve righteousness through our own works - we are "under the law." The law does nothing but condemn us. Therefore the result of being "under the law" is sin, death and condemnation. It is a schoolmaster to lead us to rely on faith.

Since we cannot earn salvation should we sin? Paul says God forbid. Since the Torah can't save us should we disregard it? Paul says no we uphold it. The Chasidic principle here is that we obey not to earn but because of faith and our love and gratitude for God.