“If a man shall have committed a sin whose judgment is death, he shall be put to death, and you shall hang him on a gallows. His body shall not remain for the night on the gallows, rather you shall surely bury him on that day, for a hanging person is a curse of G-d, and you shall not contaminate your Land, which HASHEM, your G-d, gives you as an inheritance. (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)
Many Christians parallel this verse, where a hanging person is called “a curse of G-d”, to the curse issued as a punishment for forsaking, “the covenant of HASHEM.” They believe their deity is this hanging person who is somehow absorbing, for all Jews, the curse of forsaking the Torah. They maintain he committed no sin, free from blemish and thus merited to suffer for others.
The man in this passage that Christians reference to prove their beliefs has “committed a sin whose judgment is death. (Deuteronomy 21:22)” so this man obviously isn’t free from sin and does not fulfill the most important requirement they created for their deity. The true meaning of this passage is that a hanging person is a curse of G-d and should be taken down because “you shall not contaminate your Land. (Deuteronomy 21:23)” This verse has no relationship to the curses one receives if they scorn the Torah.
“And they will say, “Because they forsook the covenant of HASHEM, the G-d of their forefathers, that He sealed with them when He took them out of the land of Egypt; and they went and served the gods of others and prostrated themselves to them – gods that they knew not and He did not apportion to them. So G-d’s anger flared against that Land, to bring upon it the entire curse that is written in this Book; and HASHEM removed them from upon their soil, with anger, with wrath, and with great fury, and He cast them to another land, as this very day!” The hidden [sins] are for HASHEM, our G-d, but the revealed [sins] are for us and our children forever, to carry out all the words of this Torah. (Deuteronomy 29:24-28)”
“But if you will not listen to Me and will not perform all of these commandments; if you consider My decrees loathsome, and if your being rejects My ordinances, so as not to perform all My commandments, so that you annul My covenant – then I will do the same to you; I will assign upon you panic…If despite this you do not heed Me, then I shall punish you further, seven ways for your sins. I will break the pride of your might…I will destroy your lofty buildings and decimate your sun-idols…I will make the land desolate…and you, I will scatter among the nations…You will become lost among the nations; the land of your foes will devour you. (Leviticus 26:14-38)”
The curse for transgressing the Torah only applies to Jews, because it is only Jews who are responsible for Torah observance. These verses specify idolatry and willful disregard of Torah laws as precursors to receiving the curse of exile and suffering. Someone who exhibits disdain for observing Torah is in danger of harsh judgment. This judgment is intended to drive Jews towards teshuvah.
“My child, do not despise HASHEM’s discipline, and do not despise His reproof, for HASHEM admonishes the one He loves, and like a father He mollifies the child. (Proverbs 3:11, 12)”
HASHEM longs for his children to return to Him so that He can provide mercy to repentant sinners who perform teshuvah, a Hebrew word which literally means return. It involves the three elements of regret, change, and verbal expression of sins. The Torah declares that Jews will return from the land of their enemies to observe Torah in the Land He promised to their forefathers.
According to Christians, no one should be concerned about the curse of forsaking the Torah, because they assert that the curse is annulled by the death of their human deity. They believe that he died to take responsibility for the sins of the world and this death alleviates them from punishment. They add worship of an idol to the requirements for repentance. They assert that mercy is only given through worship of their false god.
Most Christians incorrectly claim that if someone breaks even one commandment in the Torah, then they are irrevocably under the curse. They believe it isn’t possible to receive mercy without accepting their human sacrifice as payment for sin. They believe that forgiveness is only attainable through their deity’s death. They formulated this belief without acknowledging that the true path to forgiveness, repentance and changed behavior, is repeatedly mentioned in the Torah.
“Then they will confess their sin and the sin of their forefathers, for the treachery with which they betrayed Me…But despite all this, while they will be in the land of their enemies, I will not have been revolted by them nor will I have rejected them to obliterate them, to annul My covenant with them – for I am HASHEM, their G-d. I will remember for them the covenant of the ancients, those whom I have taken out of the land of Egypt
“It will be that when all these things come upon you – the blessing and the curse that I have presented before you – then you will take it to your heart among all the nations where HASHEM, your G-d, has dispersed you; and you will return unto HASHEM, your G-d and listen to His voice, according to everything that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and all your soul. Then HASHEM, your G-d, will bring back your captivity and have mercy upon you, and He will gather you in from all the peoples to the ends of heaven, from there HASHEM, your G-d, will gather you in and from there He will take you. (Deuteronomy 30:1-4)”
Many Christians believe that their deity finished the Torah and absorbed the curse, consequently nullifying the Torah’s precepts. They teach that the Torah was given merely to show Jews and the whole world the sinful nature of humanity through humanity’s alleged inability to keep all of the laws, supposedly resulting in the need for their human sacrifice.
This view of Torah, postulates that HASHEM, our loving Father effectively set His treasured people up for destruction from the moment the Torah is given, Heaven forbid! What loving father would give His children a set of rules that they have no chance of following, expecting them to fall short? Is it justice to punish someone for failing at a task they had no hope of completing in the first place? If His purpose was to show the sinful nature of humanity, what was the need for 613 separate commandments? Only one would have sufficed. On the contrary, The Torah is a beautiful way of connecting to G-d. It is meant to be performed and followed, without becoming distracted by those who diminish its purpose and meaning.
"You trampled all who stray from Your statutes, for their deceit is false. (Psalm 119:118)"
“For it is a time to act for HASHEM; they have voided Your Torah. (Psalm 119:126)"
"The pursuers of sinful counsel draw near; they are far from Your Torah. Yet You are nearby, O HASHEM and all your commandments are true. From the start I gained knowledge from Your testimonies, because You established them forever. (Psalm 119:150-152)"
"Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. I have sworn, and I will fulfill, to keep Your righteous ordinances. I am exceedingly afflicted; O HASHEM, preserve me in accordance with Your word. Please accept with favor the offerings of my mouth, O HASHEM, and teach me Your ordinances. My life is constantly in my hand, but I did not forget Your Torah. The wicked laid a snare for me, but I did not stray from Your precepts. I have taken Your testimonies as my eternal heritage, for they are the joy of my heart. I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes, forever, to the utmost. (Psalm 119:105-112)"
The Torah is a treasured gift.
“My child, do not forget My Torah, and let your heart guard My commandments. For they add to you length of days and years of life and peace. (Proverbs 3:1, 2)”
G-d does not desire to see His people fail, and did not give the Torah with that intention. It is given to enrich our lives with wisdom and guidance, to show the world morality and holiness.
“Its ways are ways of pleasantness and all its pathways are peace. It is a tree of life to those who grasp it, and its supporters are praiseworthy. (Proverbs 3:17, 18)”
The Torah is not meant to be taken away by one person, to finish it, and eliminate it. The real purpose of the Torah is for each person to come close to HASHEM and through following His perfect decrees, bring His light into the world. It is for each person to do for themselves.
“For this commandment that I command you today – it is not hidden from you and it is not distant. It is not in heaven, [for you] to say, “Who can ascend to the heaven for us and take it for us, so that we can listen to it and perform it?" Nor is it across the sea, [for you] to say, "Who can cross the other side of the sea for us and take it for us, so that we can listen to it and perform it?" Rather, the matter is very near to you – in your mouth and your heart – to perform it. See – I have placed before you today the life and the good, and the death and the evil, that which I command you today, to love HASHEM your G-d, to walk in His ways, to observe His commandments, His decrees and His ordinances; then you will live and you will multiply, and HASHEM, your G-d, will bless you in the Land to which you come, to possess it. (Deuteronomy 30:11-16)”
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