While it is not my intention to make people mad just for the sake of making people mad, I do know I Corinthians 13 dictates that Love always rejoices with the Truth.  If I am wrong in any way, may Yah correct me!  My motive is the love Yah has given  me for His People.

First, Nehemiah Gordon confesses he does NOT accept Yahshua as the Messiah.  Why would we seek to learn and study from a man who rejects the very heart of Torah — namely the Word Clothed in Flesh, Yahshua the Messiah?  

Second, even fellow Karaites have published articles against Nehemiah — and why?  Because they believe he is “in it for the money”.  Indeed, this IS TRUE.  Have you seen how much money Nehemiah Gordon has made by making merchandise of his teachings and charging for his conferences?  Where does any apostle or prophet or teacher in all of Holy Writ — from Genesis to Revelation — ever do this?  Give me just one example.  The only one who sought to mix charging money and ministry was Simon the Sorcerer. (and yes, I apply this SAME standard to all Messianic teachers as well).

Third, even the teachings that Nehemiah Gordon does promote are WRONG.  For example, he believes the SOLE indicator of the New Hebrew Year is the barley being aviv in Israel.  While I agree that this is AN indicator, it is not the SOLE indicator.

While I rejoice that Nehemiah and I agree on the general timing of the New Year this year  (there is a whole other issue of crescent vs conjunction new moon I won't touch on right now) — this was not the case in 2013 or in 2010.  And why?  Because Nehemiah Gordon found a few fields or aviv barley in southern Israel, even while barley was still not ripe at the Temple Mount — but declared the New Year anyway, causing people to celebrate Sukkot 7 months later in the late summer when the fruits in Israel had not even ripened!  This happened both in 2010 and 2013!  Why should we be surprised that his own traditions violate Leviticus 23:10 when he does not love Yahshua of Nazareth?  We should not be.  As Apostle Paul said, to the Jew the gospel is a stumbling block.  Nehemiah, just like the orthodox Jews and Roman Catholics, exalts tradition over Torah.

The correct calendar is simple.  You use four indicators as outlined in Genesis 1:14 and Lev 23:10, one of which, yes, includes the barley.  But when you don’t use all four indicators (the sun, moon, stars and barley), you will sometimes cause people to keep the feasts a month too early.   This grieves the Spirit of Yah.

I have, on numerous occasions, tried to contact Nehemiah Gordon on these issues, and he has chosen to always ignore me.  Because he is not interested in the Truth.  He is interested in pretending to be a “Messianic” teacher all the while claiming he can bring people closer to the Messiah he does NOT serve, and teaching a Torah he does NOT obey.

Some will say —yes, but Daniel, he will eventually come around, he will eventually openly declare Yahshua of Nazareth is His Lord and Savior.  Just be patient, Daniel.  Well, yes, of course, I wish this for ANYONE — but I certainly won’t get my biblical teachings and spiritual food from people who do not serve Yah.  

In the end, just like with anyone who does not bow the knee to Yahshua, Nehemiah needs to repent and turn from his sin and serve the Messiah of Israel.   Until he does, we should not continue to grieve Yah by trying to learn from a man who does not have spiritual eyes to see.

Written with much love for the Body of Messiah,
Daniel John Lee