Blessing for the Torah:
Bar’chu et YHVH ha-m’vorach, Baruch YHVH
ha-m’vorach l’O’lam va-ed! Baruch ata YHVH
Eloheinu melech ha-olam asher bachar banu
m’kol ha-amim, v’na-tan lanu eht Torah-to.
Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Bless YHVH the blessed One; Blessed is YHVH,
the blessed One for all eternity. Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim, King of
the Universe, you have selected us from among all the peoples,and have given us
your Torah. Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
“the actions of the fathers
are a sign to the children” (Sotah 34a)History is His Story recounted for our
benefit.
Isa 8:20 To the Torah and to the witness! If
they do not speak according to this Word, it is because they have no daybreak.a
Footnote: aOr light.
The sages believe the
words of this parashah were spoken on the last day of Moshe’s life.
Parashat
Nitzavim.
Deu 29:10
“All of you are standing(nitzavim – (niphal participle) today before יהוה your Elohim: your leaders, your tribes, your elders and your
officers, all the men of Yisra’ĕl,
ט אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם
כֻּלְּכֶם, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם: רָאשֵׁיכֶם שִׁבְטֵיכֶם,
זִקְנֵיכֶם וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶם, כֹּל, אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל.
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nâtsab BDB
Definition: 1)
to stand, take one’s stand, stand upright, be set (over), establish 1a)
(Niphal) 1a1) to station oneself, take one’s stand
Ps
119:89- לְעוֹלָם יְהוָה-- דְּבָרְךָ, נִצָּב בַּשָּׁמָיִם.-
Psa 119:89 Forever, O יהוה, Your word
stands firm in the heavens.
These are standing “today” in Hebrew “ha yom” which means
a specific day. It is not just by chance that parashat Netzavim is always read
on the shabbat a week before Yom Teruah (Rosh ha shannah for the Jews).
We know that Yom Teruah points to the time when Yahshua
will meet His bride to be, just before the great marriage supper of the Lamb.
This is a time when the righteous dead will be raised.
They will stand before Yahshua (Netzavim) together with those who were caught
up in the air to meet the Messiah. The same image we see when a young Hebrew
couple are lifted into the air on their wedding day by the guests.
Today this is a word to those
who feel too weak to carry on – He says “Netzavim” you can stand because I will
help you stand and stay standing. In fact we will not only stand but we will
move forward. (the title and theme of our next parasha – “Vayelech” to
go, walk, come) We will stand and then proceed to move to a higher level
towards becoming one with the very essence of YHVH.
Once again this Torah portion gives us
critical eschatological insight concerning those who will stand and those who
will fall before the Messiah of YHVH in the end days.
Deu 29:11 your
little ones, your wives, and your sojourner who is in the midst of your camp,
from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water,
Deu 29:12 so that
you should enter into covenant with יהוה your Elohim,
and into His oath, which יהוה your Elohim
makes with you today,
Deu 29:13 in order
to establish you today as a people for Himself, and He Himself be your Elohim,
as He has spoken to you, and as He has sworn to your fathers, to Aḇraham,
to Yitsḥaq, and to Yaʽaqoḇ.
Deu 29:14 “And not
with you alone I am making this covenant and this oath,
Deu 29:15 but with
him who stands here with us today before יהוה our Elohim, as
well as with him who is not here with us today.
Deu 29:16 “For you
know how we dwelt in the land of Mitsrayim and how we passed through the
nations which you passed through,
Deu 29:17 and you
saw their abominations and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which
were with them,
Deu 29:18 lest
there should be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe, whose heart turns
away today from יהוה our Elohim, to
go and serve the mighty ones of these nations, lest there should be among you a
root bearing bitterness or wormwood.
Testing can make you better or bitter.
Wormwood,
Artemisia absinthium, has been used for centuries as a moth repellent, general
pesticide and as a tea/spray to repel slugs and snails. Before its toxicity was
known it was used as the name implies: a worming medicine for people and
animals.
You may have
heard of the alcoholic drink "absinthe" a green coloured beverage
that is illegal in some countries. Absinthe has a history in Eastern Europe and
France; it was used as a stimulant mainly by artists, for example painter
Vincent van Gogh. The story goes that he was imbibing of absinthe when he
lopped off his ear.
History - The name of this plant occurs in many old
writings; Egyptian, Roman and Christian. It's sometimes called a poison,
sometimes a medicinal herb of value. Its Latin name, Artemisa absinthium, tells
us that it was named after the goddess Artemis, who was the goddess of the hunt
in Greek mythology.
The
intensely bitter, tonic and stimulant qualities have caused wormwood not only
to be an ingredient in traditional medicinal preparations, but also to be used
in various liqueurs, of which absinthe is the chief. The basis of absinthe
being absinthol, extracted from wormwood. Wormwood, as employed in making this
liqueur, bears also the name 'Wermuth' - preserver of the mind - from its
medicinal virtues as a nervine and mental restorative. It was about twice the
strength of any other spirit (more than two-thirds alcohol). And the wormwood
in it not only provided part of its green colour and a characteristic bitter
taste, but also thujone, an hallucinogen that is a relative of the active
ingredients in cannabis. No wonder there was being told that it drove people
mad and it was banned in many countries early this century. Inferior absinthe
is generally adulterated with copper, which produces the characteristic green
colour.