PaRDeS "paradise, orchard, or Gan Eden."
The Four Levels
The name of the four levels of Hebraic interpretation is called PaRDeS: Pashat (simple), Remez (hint level), Drash (exegetical level), and Sod (secret level or hidden level). NOTE: Please see the previous "Beginner" lessons in "KOL SHOFAR". These levels are placed in the order of lowest to highest. They do not conflict with one another nor negate one another but are complimentary to each other. The Sod level does not negate the Pashat level of the passage, but gives a deeper meaning and perspective into the interpretation.
Bereshith (Genesis) is the book of Beginnings. The other four books of the Torah- Shemot, Wayyiqra, and Devarim contain the Torah given to all twelve tribes of Yisrael at Mt. Sinai. They contain the Law of Moshe. There are four books- four levels of interpretation. There are four books containing the life of our Rebbe Yahshua. There are four writers of the Good News.
Each one of the writers and his account of the life of Moshiach Yahshua correspond to the four levels of interpretation: John Mark –the simple or Pashat; Luke is the Remez or allegorical account; Mattithyahu is the Drash or Midrash –parabolic account of the life of Yahshua; and Yochanan is the Sod or hidden account. Just as each level of interpretation requires its own emphasis, so does each one of the writers of the life of Yahshua.Each account has its own order of presentation and each writer has chosen to express it in the vocabulary of his strata of life, and the proper words in describing any given event. As the four levels of interpretation were to develop CONTRAST and to multiply meanings of words of the Torah, so the four accounts were given to show multiplicity of meaning to the readers of each level. Each gives us a different viewpoint or perspective on the life of Yahshua.
The Pashat level is for the "simple man" and is the plain literal meaning of the text. We ask, "what does the Torah ask of me? What must I do to fulfill the Torah in my life? "This simple level gave a guide to the actions and conduct of the common person. The good News according to Mark is on the Pashat level. He wrote a short precise account of the life of Yahshua. He wrote with simple precise facts. He actually wrote in somewhat of the Mishnaic style. He presents the Moshiach as the Suffering Servant for the common people.
The Remez level is the allegorical or hint level. This level has a higher aim, and is nobler in its content. It was for the doctors, teachers, lawyers, and those of the noble class. This level does not replace the Pashat level, but adds grace and seasoning to it. Luke is a physician and an aristocrat. His account in his Good News is more flowery and noble. He uses more technical terms and words in his writing. His writing is very similar to the Gemara. He presents Yahshua as the "Son of Man". Every word is Remez, or hint, to another higher parallel. Luke is more intricate in his treatment of the Torah and Halakah. Luke could not have been a "Gentile" as he uses more Hebraisms and rabbinical jargon than any other author of in the Brit Chadasha.
The next level is Drash, or Midrashic. It means "to thresh". It is parabolic in nature. It bases its symbolism on the entire narrative rather than on word-phrase level. This is where "suggestive possibility" comes into play in interpretation. Mattithyahu is from the tribe of Levi. He sees Yahshua through the eyes of the "Kingdom-Malkut Hashammayim". We can see this in his genealogy of the Moshiach tracing him through the line of David. He presents Yahshua as the "King". His account is the most lengthy of all the Good News. Mattithyahu stresses the parables of the Rebbe Yahshua as no other writer does in the Brit Chadasha. A parable can be given as much to conceal a truth as reveal one.
A parable is a suggestive supposition in the form of a narrative and is preceded by a statement that it is a parable or be the terms: "Such and such is like unto..". Most of the parables of our Rebbe Yahshua have never been interpreted to their full Midrashic tenor. They will never be until we begin applying the rules of Hebraic interpretation to them and place them in the Hebrew text from which they originally came.
The fourth and last level is Sod, meaning the secret or concealed meaning. This is the highest and most complicated level of interpretation. It is more otherworldly or actually prophetic in nature. The writer sees the material world through the miraculous, rather than seeing the miraculous world through the material. This focuses upon the word and letters of the Torah. Yochanan is writing the "hidden" life of Yahshua. His narrative focuses around seven miracles in the life of Yahshua. The key to his book is chapter 20:30-31. He presents Yahshua as the "Son of Elohim"-the Moshiach. He speaks of "LIGHT" shining out of darkness in the vernacular of Sons of Zadok at Qumran. Yochanan is a man of dreams and visions. He is the Daniel of the Brit Chadasha. He even opens his account with a quote from the Oral Tradition: " and the Torah became flesh, dwelling among us, and we beheld His glory…" This written in the vocabulary of the "mystic". Yochanan does not even make an effort to make his account synonymous with the other narratives.
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