HAPORETZ (THE BREAKER) (Michah 2:13)

 

"The breaker (haporetz) is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them." (Michah 2:13)

 

The parallel verses

 

"And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.
15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.

17 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.

18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners." (Isaiah, 57:14-18)

"Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;" (Eph. 2:11-15)

Here "the law of commandments contained in ordinances" is the human rules

How did rabbis understand Michah 2:13 ?

"This verse pictures the shepherd taking the stones of the pen away in the morning, therefore “breaking open the way” for the sheep to get back out, which is the Hebrew word parats [1][18]. While the breach-maker and the king are the same in Micah 2:13, rabbinic interpretation says that the breach-maker is Elijah and the king the Messiah. Jesus, hinting at that, is therefore saying, “The Kingdom of heaven […] is breaking forth […] and every person in it is breaking forth […] individuals within the Kingdom are finding liberty and freedom.” (Bivin & Blizzard 1994:86). Jesus is here declaring himself to be the Messiah, John the Baptist being Elijah. Jesus is the shepherd who leads the sheep out and onto the green fields." (Mag. Claudia R. Wintoch. Hebrew Idioms in the Gospel of Matthew http://www.healing2thenations.net/papers/hebrewmt.htm)

 

"The breaker has gone up: Their savior, who breaks the fences of thorns and the hedges of briers, to straighten the road before them." (Rashi http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16188/showrashi/true)

BEN PERETZ (SON OF PERETZ)

Gen 38:29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? [this] breach [be] upon thee: therefore his name was called Peretz (Pharez).

We read about Peretz in the genealogy of Messiah Yeshua: 

Matt 1:3  And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar...

"The Holy One, blessed be He, was engaged in creating the light of the Moshiach" (Peretz, born of Judah and Tamar, is the ancestor of King David and the Messiah, as stated above)." (Midrash Rabbah, Bereishit 85:1)

"This is the deeper reason why it was Judah who was the first person to engage in levirate marriage and that the child born of this marriage was Peretz. This child, we will recall, became the great-grandfather of King David, from whose descendants will emerge Moshiach (Messiah), the leader who will usher in the Messianic age." (http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/339703/jewish/When-Your-Passion-Dies.htm#footnote12a339703)

"Peretz is the direct ancestor of King David and Moshiach. The Midrash notes that "Before the first enslaver of Israel (Pharaoh) was born, the ultimate redeemer of Israel (Moshiach - Peretz) was already born." G-d thus brought about the remedy and cure before the affliction - before the Egyptian exile and all the exiles that would follow thereafter - including our own.

This "light of Moshiach" that was created with the birth of Peretz confers upon Israel the strength and ability to succeed in their exiles to "break through" (the meaning of the name "Peretz") all the obstacles that try to impede their service of G-d until Moshiach is revealed." (Likutei Sichot http://www.ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=shorts)

THE NAMES OF MESSIAH IN TALMUD AND MIDRASH

In Talmud (Sanhedrin 98b) we can read about five names of Messiah: Shiloh, Yinnon, Haninah, Menahem, "the leper scholar":

"Rab said: The world was created only on David's account .24  Samuel said: On Moses account;25  R. Johanan said: For the sake of the Messiah. What is his [the Messiah's] name? — The School of R. Shila said: His name is Shiloh, for it is written, until Shiloh come.

26  The School of R. Yannai said: His name is Yinnon, for it is written, His name shall endure for ever:27  e'er the sun was, his name is Yinnon.28  The School of R. Haninah maintained: His name is Haninah, as it is written, Where I will not give you Haninah.29  Others say: His name is Menahem the son of Hezekiah, for it is written, Because Menahem ['the comforter'], that would relieve my soul, is far.30  The Rabbis said: His name is 'the leper scholar,' as it is written, Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God, and afflicted." 31 (Sanhedrin 98b http://www.come-and-hear.com/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_98.html)

24. That he might sing hymns and psalms to God.

25. That he might receive the Torah.

26. Gen. XLIX, 10.

27. E.V. 'shall be continued'.

28. Ps. LXXII, 17.

29. Jer. XVI, 13. Thus each School evinced intense admiration of its teacher in naming the Messiah after him by a play on words.

30 Lam. I, 16.

31. Is. LIII, 4.

The names of Messiah in Midrash

Midrash Mishle, S. Buber edition: The Messiah is called by eight names: Yinnon, Tzemah, Pele ["Miracle"], Yo'etz ["Counselor"], Mashiah ["Messiah"], El ["God"], Gibbor ["Hero"], and Avi 'Ad Shalom ["Eternal Father of Peace"]) (http://209.85.135.132/search?q=cache:hotZvBRj06sJ:www.thechristiandefense.com/viewtopic.php%3Fdownload%3D49459%26t%3D9021+Yinnon+Mashiah&cd=14&hl=ru&ct=clnk)

"The king who will deliver the needy and the afflicted is, according to the Midrash, the Messiah, "for it is written: 'A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, and he will judge the needy with righteousness' " (Is. 11:4). The whole psalm, the Midrash says, is "praise to the Messiah-King". Verse 17 in the Hebrew reads, "before the sun was, his name was Yinnôn", which means 'may it sprout' - one of the eight OT names meaning a 'shoot', as in the verse from Isaiah. The Midrash also understands this name as being assigned to the Messiah "before the creation of the world".

RaSHI refers to psalm 72 in his exposition of Micah chapter 5 verse 2, which says of the Ruler of Israel who will be born in Bethlehem that his "origins are from old, from ancient times". According to RaSHI he is "the Messiah, the Son of David, as Ps. 118 says, he is the 'stone which the builders rejected', and his origins are from ancient times, for 'before the sun was, his name was Yinnôn'." (Risto Santala. The Messianic Old Testament prophecies in the Light of Rabbinical Writings http://www.ristosantala.com/rsla/OT/OT13.html)

Nehora (Light) (Dan. 2:22) 


"A name of the Messiah that begins with nun – n – is Nehora (Aramaic for Light). The search for this illusive name of the Messiah begins with Daniel 2:22. Rabbi Aba Serongia (4th century AD) interprets the phrase, "and light dwells with him", as referring to King Messiah (Breshit Raba 1:6). This interpretation appears in the context of a discussion on the meaning of, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3), which always intrigued Jewish commentators. Rabbi Aba sees an extraordinary light, unlike the light of the sun and the moon.


To understand the nature of this light, Rabbi Aba brings to mind the personified light found in Isaiah – "Arise, shine; for your light has come" (Isaiah 60:1). The light that will come to comfort Israel in the end of days is the same light mentioned in Genesis, which in his mind is none other than the Messiah.


That the Messiah is light can further be seen in the enigmatic words of the psalmist, "In your light we see light" (Psalm 36:10). This verse was also interpreted as being linked to the light in Genesis 1:3. "What is the light that the assembly of Israel is waiting for ["we see light"]? This is the light of the Messiah, as it is said: "And God saw the light" (Pesikta Rabati 36)."


Tsvi Sadan
kivun@kivun.net
www.kivun.net
(http://www.seraia.com/seraiauk/100Names/11-LightNehora.htm)

 

 

 

 

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