Mashiach teaches the inner parts of Torah, whose teachings are far-reaching and practically limitless. This is the way Maran Yeshua should be understood.

ישוע מלך המשיח / Maran Yeshua Melech HaMashiach said; "Come to me all who labor and are burdened and I will find rest for you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am humble and gentle of spirit, you will find peace for your heart. For my yoke is pleasant and light is my burden." (Mattityahu / Matthew 11:28-30) .

A simple reading (peshat) of this verse is that Yeshua will give rest to those who are burdened. But ישוע מלך המשיח / Yeshua Melech HaMashiach was teaching a deeper meaning (drash) based on the Hebrew understanding of the word "rest."

In the first part of the passage we read; "Come to me all who labor and are burdened and I will find rest for you." The Hebrew word for rest is nuach. Nachah, a word related to nuach, means to guide or lead another into a place or state of rest. This can be seen in Shemot (Exodus) 32:34 "Now go, lead (Nachah) the people (Israel) to the place I spoke of (the Promised Land, the land of rest)". When one has experienced a place or state of rest, he desires to lead others into that rest. Noach, whose name is also related to nuach, was one who knew of a coming rest and preached it to others to lead them into it. According to our Mattityahu passage, Yeshua also knows of a rest and desires to lead others into that rest.

What is the rest that ישוע מנצרת / Yeshua m’Nazareth is speaking of?

ישוע מלך המשיח / Yeshua Melech HaMashiach begins to identify this rest when he says; "take my yoke upon you and learn from me". Here Yeshua is referring to the Hebrews understanding of "learning" which can be seen as two oxen yoked together for plowing. An older, stronger more experienced ox is placed in a yoke next to a younger less experienced ox. The young then learns his responsibilities from the older through the yoke.

The rest ישוע מלך המשיח / Yeshua Melech HaMashiach offers is the yoke with which we are bound to him. What is the yoke? How do we, as the younger ox, learn from Yeshua, the older ox? The yoke is the Torah (Instructions), the teachings of God. As Yeshua walked the Torah, we who are yoked to him learn the ways of Yeshua through the yoke, the Torah (to learn it, teach it, to do it).

ישוע מלך המשיח / Yeshua Melech HaMashiach then says that he is "humble and gentle of spirit, you will find peace for your heart". He is telling us that as the older and stronger ox, he will be gentle with us and not force us to move faster or work harder than we can bare. The stronger we get, the faster he will move and the harder he will work us.

We could easily translate Yeshua’s next statement; "for my yoke is pleasant and light is my burden" as "my Torah is easy". In Devarim (Deuteronomy) 30:11 God said "this command which I command today is not difficult and it is not out of your reach".

In summary, ישוע מלך המשיח / Yeshua Melech HaMashiach wishes to yoke us to himself through the Torah which will not be a burden that we cannot carry but rather a delightful rest.

Shabbat Shalom!