Principles of Pardes (How to Read the Scriptures With a Hebraic Understanding) Of all the things at which ancient peoples excelled, the art of memorization is high on the list. Before the art of writing was developed and before books were generally available, knowledge was kept in one’s mind and relayed from generation to generation. The traditions of the Hebrews were no exception. A young boy of five or six years of age began his education by memorizing the book of Leviticus. From there, he learned by heart the rest of Torah, and then Tanakh. Every student was expected to learn the sayings of his rabbi and of the string of rabbis who preceded him. To this end, a variety of mnemonic devices were invented. One of the Hebrew methods of interpretation of the Bible is based on an acronym for four levels of understanding. The word PaRDeS (rhymes with ‘far less’) gives us four letters that represent these levels. The Hebrew letter ‘peh’ (17th letter of the alephbet) stands for the word ‘p’shat’, meaning ‘simple’. We can use the definition ‘plain’ as a mnemonic aid in English. The plain meaning of any text is the literal meaning of the text in its context. The literal meaning may never be ignored in order to make the other levels of meaning possible, but at the same time, the literal meaning cannot cross over the lines of reason. We see that as Daniel (9:2) was reading the prophecies of Jeremiah and found that the time of the exile was 70 years, he understood this to be a literal 70 years and, in fact, it was. He was able to calculate that the time was coming to an end. On the other hand, there are many references to the shadow of the Lord’s wings, e.g., Psalm 17:8b. This does not lead us to the conclusion that that Almighty is some sort of bird, but rather, the plain meaning of the verse leads us to understand the analogy of how G-d shelters us. In II Timothy 3:15, the plain meaning of ‘holy scriptures’ must be the Tanakh, as no other scriptures were accepted at that time in this context. The second letter of the acronym is ‘reish’ (20th letter of the alephbet). This letter stands for ‘remez’, which means ‘hint’ or ‘inference’. For our sake in English, we can use the word ‘reference’. It is not an exact fit, but close enough to help us remember. In finding the inferential meaning of a verse, the exact fact is not stated but can still be drawn. This is also the realm of types and shadows and we will find many references/hints about Messiah in Tanakh. These references are outside the plain meaning of the writings of the prophets. One example of this appears in Genesis 3:21. We infer from the verse that an animal was slain, although it nowhere says that. When we talk about ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ (Exodus 21:24), we understand and infer that this would apply not only to all body parts, but that it is the punishment that should fit the crime, that a suitable recompense be made for property loss. The third letter of the acronym is ‘dalet’ (4th letter of the alephbet). This letter stands for ‘drash’, or a ‘searched out’ meaning. It is the word from which the Hebrew word ‘midrash’ comes. The idea behind the ‘drash’ is that scripture must interpret scripture and that, after searching out the various related passages, one comes to an allegorical, or moralistic, meaning. The primary teaching in the gentile church today is of this nature and results in what we generally call ‘devotional’ study. We can use ‘devotional’ for our English acronym. Much of the writing of the epistles is ‘drash’ interpretation of Tanakh. For example, when we read Galatians 4:21-31, this is Paul’s exegesis of Genesis 17:17-22. We see how what happened in Abraham’s day applies to us personally, through Messiah. The final letter in the acronym is ‘samekh’ (15th letter of the alephbet). This stands for the word ‘sod’(vowel sound is between ‘suds’ and ‘load’), which means ‘secret’. Clearly, there are things that are hidden from our understanding, although, with time, they will all be revealed. Paul talked about such revealed mystery in Romans 16:25-26. Probably the most well known example of a ‘secret’ in the Bible is in Revelation 13:18, the number of the beast. Together, the acronym spells a word in Hebrew: PaRDeS. This is Strong’s word #6508 and is used in these scriptures: Nehemiah 2:8, Song of Songs 4:13, Ecclesiastes 2:5. It is a cognate of the Greek word ‘paradheisos’, paradeisos, the word from which we get our word ‘paradise’. It is used in the Septuagint translation of Genesis for the Hebrew ‘gan’, or garden, i.e., Eden. This provides a beautiful analogy as, to the Hebrew mind, studying and understanding Torah is equivalent to being in paradise. Indeed, we all expect to be studying and learning Torah in the world to come. Although this system is explained and used in the Zohar and other kabbalistic writings, it is clear that it is much older than these works. Indeed, this author in no way believes that the sod/secret things can be discovered through the study of kabbalah, nor does she endorse the study of kabbalah except by strong believers and then, only superficially, so as to have some familiarity with the ideas as they relate to other Hebraic thought. In order to further delineate the four levels of understanding, we will choose one scripture and bring out the four meanings. Hosea 11:1 - When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. Clearly the plain meaning of this text refers to the Exodus. Israel is G-d’s first born and He has referred to him as such in many places. The context of the chapter and, indeed, the whole book of Hosea, is the love of G-d for Israel and the sin and rebellion of the nation. When Matthew quotes this verse in 2:15, he makes reference to Yeshua’s flight to, and later return from, Egypt. He is drawing a parallel between Israel as son of G-d and Messiah as Son of G-d. He is inferring the identification of the two: Israel and Messiah. This idea is crucial, not only in rabbinical Judaism but also to all who are believers, who count Abraham as a father in the faith and are adopted into the family of HaShem. This scripture likewise applies to every individual believer. Clearly, we are called out of our sinful life. As children of G-d, we are called out of our own personal Egypt, the life of sin in which we lived before we knew Messiah. As we search out the scriptures, many can be drawn together to show this principle. There is also a deeper meaning wrapped up in this idea. In the end time, believers will be called out of ‘Babylon’, as it says in Revelation 18:4. Whether this will be the ‘rapture’ and the timing of such an event is beyond the scope of this paper. However, that such an event will take place is clear. At this present time, many of the details of this event are hidden from us. In summary, we can see that the p’shat/plain meaning applies to our forefathers. We understand that whatever happened to the forefathers will also happen to us (I Corinthians 10:11). The remez/reference will apply to Yeshua, the living Torah. He not only observed and kept Torah, he fulfilled it, i.e., He filled it up with meaning (Colossians 2:17). Another example appears in Hebrews 4:8, ‘that He has been tempted in every way, just as we are...’. The drash/devotional level will seek to apply these precepts and understandings to our own lives. The drash has been the primary concern of what we might call the ‘church age’; the teachings of the gentile church have largely been concerned with understanding scripture at a personal level. The sod/secret level will apply to the times to come, including the end of days. The sod is for the last generation, when the fullness of the gentiles is complete. As an interesting side note, the word ‘yesod’, meaning ‘foundation’ has the same root as ‘sod’. Just as the foundation of any building goes deep into the earth and is unseen, so the things that are secret or hidden from us are foundational to the G-d’s work in the earth. Although they are gradually being revealed and understood, the complete revelation will be when Yeshua returns and teaches Torah. In fact, since the new heaven and the new earth appear from above (Revelation 21:2), the foundations of that city will be completely exposed! As mentioned earlier, a critical point in understanding the use of this system is that at no level of interpretation may a lower or previous level be ignored or ‘spiritualized’ in order to make the next level possible. If there is an obvious plain interpretation, it must remain true. In the example above, it would be impossible to deny that the nation of Israel had come out of Egypt in order to make it possible for Yeshua to have come out of Egypt. The worst abuse of this interpretative system has resulted in what is called ‘replacement theology’. This particular interpretation is embodied in the thought that Israel has been set aside by G-d due to her disobedience and that the modern, mostly gentile church has replaced natural Israel and is to be the inheritor of all the blessings promised to her. To come to this conclusion, one must cast off the entire pshat/plain meaning of innumerable texts that show G-d’s consistent and everlasting love for the nation. One is free to judge this idea of ‘replacement theology’ by its fruit, i.e., vicious anti-Semitism and continued persecution of the Jews by the church. To understand the Bible, one must understand that the pshat/plain meaning always stands. Finally, in drawing the idea out a little further, we see that it can be applied to all of spiritual history, including the feasts and the festivals. Every activity will be played out four times: once by the forefathers, once as fulfilled by Yeshua, once in our own personal lives and once at the end of days. We have already examined the Exodus briefly in the Hosea scripture above. Indeed, the forefathers came out of Egypt with Moses and Yeshua came out with Joseph, his earthly father. We are exhorted to come out of sin and, just as we read in the Hagadah at Passover, every person must consider himself to have come out of Egypt. If we do not leave our personal Egypt (sin) and come to Yeshua as Messiah, we cannot be saved from destruction. Finally, in the end of days, HaShem will again bring us out of the pagan world. To understand this, consider Psalm 78:1-3: O my people, hear by teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old--what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. Following these verses is the history of Israel: the statutes for Jacob, the miracles in Egypt, the miracles in the desert, the rebellion of the people, the choice of Judah and of David. All these things, as the Psalmist states in the opening, are parables. Yes, they have a fulfillment for the forefathers to whom these events occurred. But they also have an extended meaning to us: hints of the coming Messiah, disclosing of our rebellion against the Lord, and the secret of His final redemption. www.dancin4yeshua.org