HOME | ARTICLES

Natzraya are an organized community according to the pattern provided in the Torah and followed by Rabbi Yeshua. First we'll review the organization of the community of Israel in the wilderness by Moses. The skeletal structure is based on the elders. There are two kinds of qashisha "elders", the shliħa "emissary" and the råya "shepherd" each with different roles in the community. The first group presented here are the 70 emissarial elders.

"And YHWH said to Mosha, gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the heads of the people and its scholars, and bring them to the Tent of Redemption, that they may be ready there with you. And I will come down and talk with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you and will put it upon them. And they shall bear the burden of the people with you that you may not bear it yourself alone." - B'mädbära (Numbers) 11:16

"After this, Yëshuå assigned seventy of his disciples and sent them out two by two, before his appearance, to all places and cities he was preparing to go be. ...See I give to you authority to crush cobras and scorpions and all forces of the enemy and nothing will harm you." - Luqa 10:1,19 

"The Almighty stands in the council of the advisers and from the midst of the advisers He will judge." - Mazmura (Psalm) 82:1

These seventy formed the supreme court of Israel which was also known as the Sanhedrin, which is a Greek loan word meaning "to sit together".  In Hebrew and Aramaic it was variously called the Knesset, Knoshta, or Edah meaning "council", "court" or "assembly". Today it is called the Shekeni which is an acronym for Shaliha Knoshta Natzari Israel. At the head of this court was Moses, thus lending his name to the authority delegated to the elders, being called the 'Seat of Moses'. At a certain point Rabbi Yeshua was given this supreme authority over all Israel, and he in turn appointed 70 of his own elders, and he sent them out as emissaries on his behalf to represent him. These seventy are commanded through the Torah to be in place at all times. When one member dies, or heaven forbid became corrupted and expelled, they were to be replaced.

שליחא (shliħa) - sent one, emissary, apostle, messenger, deputy, agent, representative.
Yeshua Natzraya Head of the Council
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50
51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60
61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70

These seventy were called apostles in Greek, and shaliachim in Hebrew or shliħa in Aramaic. These all mean "sent ones" or "emissaries". These seventy not only form the supreme court, but they are emmisaries of the head of the court, that is Rabbi Yeshua Natzraya the Messiah to the nations. In ancient times there was considered to be 70 nations in the world based upon the list of the 70 grandsons of Noah in the Torah. These emmissaries report to the council on the status and activity in their nation or territory for which they were assigned and represent, and in return represent the council to that territory.

"Hereafter you are not as foreigners nor as resident aliens but are citizens as designated, and members of the House of the Almighty, and you are built upon the foundation of the emissaries and the prophets and he who is the head cornerstone of the building, Yeshuå the anointed one." - Æpëşäya (Ephesians) 2:19-20

The council was given authority and the commission to judge legal cases, to fight against spiritual forces, carry the true message, to convert new members, start new communities amongst all nations. The council also receives donations from the whole community which they then redistributed according to need.

"And there was no one among them who was lacking, for those who owned fields and houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and placed it at the feet of the emissaries and it was given to each one according to what he needed." - Acts 4:34-35

The second group of elders are the pastoral. They serve and maintain one local community from which they do not depart unlike the emissarial elder who although have a home base community, are free of local obligations to travel and spend time and resources on new communities. Again we will look back to the Torah to see how Moses organized the rest of the people under the care of their elders.

"Choose for yourselves men who are wise and intelligent and are known among your tribes, and I will establish them as heads over you. And you answered and said to me, what you have said is good for us to do. And I gave precedence to heads, heads of your tribes, men who are wise and recognized, So I took the wise men of your tribes, wise men and known, and made them heads over you; heads over thousands, and heads over hundreds, and heads over fifties, and heads over tens, and as scholars for your tribes." - Debarim (Deuteronomy) 1:13-15

1000
100										100										100										100										100										100										100										100										100										100
50					50					50					50					50					50					50					50					50					50					50					50					50					50					50					50					50					50					50					50
10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

The smallest unit is a group of 10 men twenty years of age and older, also refered to as a minyan, who are heads over their wives and families. In times of war these ten men formed the smallest military unit. A group of ten men and their families was to elect among them a head and submit them to be officially recognized. Those under their care depended on these chiefs for protection, guidance, and judgment. Once there were 5 such units, an additional head was elected from among the head elders to be over 5 minyans, or 50 men. Once there were two such units of 50 an additional head was elected over these 100 men and their heads. Over 10 of these (or 1000 men and all their head elders) was elected a head elder. 

רעיא (råya) - overseer, shepherd, pastor, friend, companion, counsellor.
Aramaic	English
Rishya-Ælapa	Head of 1000
Rishya-Mauta	Head of 100
Rishya-Ħameshiyn	Head of 50
Rishya-Åsara	Head of 10

All these elders, both the emissaries and the overseers may take on and appoint assistants who may also become understudies and candidates to inherit the elder's position. For the shliħa "emissary" his assistants are called msäbräna or "evangelists", and the råya "shepherd" may have shämësh, or "administrators". Another is the security auxillary that serves the whole community. These form the essential structure of the community.