Devarim/Deuteronomy 11:26 – 16:17
“Re eh” is a singular imperative Hebrew word meaning “SEE!”
Yeshayahu/Isa 42:6 “I, יהוה, have
called You in righteousness, and I take hold of Your hand and guard You, and
give You for a covenant to a people, for a light to the gentiles,
Isa 42:7 to open blind eyes, to bring out
prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
Isa 42:16 “And I shall lead the
blind by a way they have not known – in paths they have not known I lead them. I
make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These matters I
shall do for them, and I shall not forsake them.
‘The unknown
ways in which YHVH leads them, are the ways of deliverance, which are known to
Him alone, but which have now been made manifest in the fullness of time. The
“dark space” (machshâk) is their existing
state of hopeless misery; the “rugged places” (ma’ăqasshı̄m) the
hindrances that met them, and dangers that threatened them on all sides in the
foreign land. The mercy of YHVH adopts the blind, lights up the darkness, and
clears every obstacle away. “These are the things” (hadevarim):
this refers to the particulars already sketched out of the double manifestation
of YHVH in judgment and in mercy. The perfects of the attributive clause are
perfects of certainty. (Ele hadevarim asitem ve lo azavtim) The correct
translation of the latter part of vs 16 is
“these matters I have done for them and I have not forsaken them.” (past tense)
KD.”
Yeshayahu/Isa
42:18 “Hear, you deaf! And look, you
blind, and see (root word of “Re eh”).
Isa 42:19 “Who is blind but My servant, or deaf as My
messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is at peace, and blind as servant
of יהוה?
Isa 42:20 “You see
much, but do not observe; ears are open, but do not hear.”
Isa 42:21 It has
delighted יהוה, for the sake of His righteousness,
to make the Torah great and esteemed.
Isa 42:22 But this
is a people robbed and plundered, all of them are snared in holes, and they are
hidden in prison houses. They have become a prey, with no one to deliver – for
plunder, and no one to say, “Restore!” (“shuv” or cause to return)
Isa 42:23 Who
among you gives ear to this, pays attention and hears for the time to come?
Rev 3:18 “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in
the fire,1 so that you become rich; and white garments, so that you
become dressed, so that the shame of your nakedness might not be shown; and
anoint your eyes with ointment, so that you see. Footnote: 1Ps.
19:10, Ps. 119:72 & 127, Prov. 30:5.
There are very few people in the world today who realize
that we individually and collectively are reaping the destructive results of
our disobedience to the commandments of YHVH. In the coming days this will
become painfully more clear for all to see – Re eh!
Other topics discussed in this portion
include: tithes, false prophets, the wayward city, tattoos, kashrut, the
Sabbatical Year, charity, and the festivals. These are the very areas where
YHVH’s servants often struggle to obey His commands and as a consequence do not
“see” as He wants them to see. Let us then all be sober minded and remind
ourselves that in the generation of Moshe only two witnesses made it into the
promised land – Yehoshua and Calev – the rest of His people did not “see” “Re
eh” as YHVH wanted them to see.
The conclusion is clear from this parashah, that a lifestyle that is
built contrary to the instructions of Torah will result in loss and
destruction. Only a lifestyle built on Torah will enable us to discover the
true identity of our Creator YHVH.
Blessing for the Torah:
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam, asher
bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn
ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
(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.)
Torah Readings:
1. 11:26 – 12:10
2. 12:11 – 12:28
3. 12:29 – 13:18 (19 Heb.)
4. 14:1-21
5. 14:22-29
6. 15:1-18
7. 15:19 – 16:17
8. Maftir: 16:13-17
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:11 – 55:5
We see in this haftarah that there will be severe persecution but also
great comfort for those who choose to live by the commandments of YHVH
Yeshayahu/Isa
54:11 “O you afflicted (humbled) one,
tossed with storm, and not comforted, see, I am setting your stones in
antimony, and shall lay your foundations with sapphires,
Isa 54:12 and shall make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of crystal, and all your walls of precious stones,
Isa 54:13 and all your children taught by יהוה, and the peace of your children
great.
Isa 54:14 “In
righteousness you shall be established – far from oppression, for you shall not
fear, and far from ruin, for it does not come near you.
Isa 54:15 “See,
they shall indeed assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever shall assemble
against you falls for your sake!
Isa 54:16 “See, I
Myself have created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire, who brings
forth an instrument for his work. And I have created the waster to destroy.
Isa 54:17 “No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall prove wrong.
This is the inheritance of the servants of יהוה, and their righteousness from Me,”
declares יהוה.
Aliyah Rishon 11:26-12:10
Devarim/Deu 11:26 ‘See, I am setting before you today a
blessing and a curse:
The Hebrew word for
“setting” is “notein” (participle) and comes from the root word “natan” which
means “he gave” The implication is quite
revealing and the obvious conclusion is that YHVH has “given” both blessing and
curse. We tend to blame the devil for all our problems and neglect to consider
the consequences of our spiritual blindness and disobedience to YHVH.
The Hebraic definitions
of the words “blessing and curse” give us further insight into the implications
of our obedience or disobedience.
The Hebraic
understanding of the word “blessing” or
“barach” implies that we are released from restrictions and limitations.
When YHVH blesses He infuses
the “object” of His blessing with unlimited potential and empowerment.
The word “barach” is
also the root word for “to kneel before” and in a very profound sense YHVH
“kneels “before us in order to lift us up to where He is - to be seated with
Him in heavenly places. – Eph 2:6.
The Hebrew word for “curse” or “kalal” portrays a
picture in the Hebrew letters of a shepherd with a staff – meaning that the
Shepherd no longer guides or corrects you – He simply withdraws or removes His
revelation from us.
Where there is a faulty revelation of truth, people
become vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy.
Pro 29:18 Where there is no
vision,(revelation of seeing as YHVH wants us to see) the people are let loose, (this is the
essence of a curse - to let you do what is right in our own eyes) But blessed is he who guards the Torah.
Deu 11:27 the blessing, when you
obey the commands of יהוה your Elohim which I command you today;
Deu 11:28 and the
curse, if you do not obey the commands of יהוה your Elohim, but
turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other mighty
ones which you have not known.
Deu 11:29 ‘And it
shall be, when יהוה your
Elohim has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall
put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ěyḇal.
Deu 11:30 ‘Are they not beyond the Yardĕn, toward
the setting sun, in the land of the Kena’anites who dwell in the desert plain
opposite Gilgal, beside the terebinth trees of Moreh? (“elon moreh” the great tree of instruction)
The two mountains, Gerizim and Eval, are probably
the mountains which today still have those names, although there are rabbis,
for example Eliezer, who say that they are two hills just on the other side of
the Yarden. According to Rashi, when the word “acharei” occurs, which is
translated “beyond” and “behind the way”, it is always referring to something
that is far away. (Also has future implications)
The
mountain Eval, 940 meters above sea level, faces the north, and Gerizim, 880
meters above sea level, faces the south. In the valley between the two
mountains is the city of Shechem. There was an important road that led through
that valley. It was Israel’s line of contact with the rest of the world. It was
a meeting place for travelers who came from the north, south, east, and west.
This was the place where Avraham built his first altar, see Genesis 12:6-7, and
where Yosef was buried, see Joshua 24:32. End quote. It is also significant to see that the mountain of “cursing” was higher
than the mountain of blessing.
Deu 11:31 ‘For you
are passing over the Yardĕn to go in to possess the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you, and you
shall possess it and dwell in it,
The sages claim that it is superfluous to mention “ for
you are crossing the Jordan” they say this phrase in mentioned to remind us
that the crossing over the Yarden/Jordan can only take place with the aid of a
great miracle. This can also refer to a “crossing over the Yarden/Jordan” for
an end time generation.
Deu 11:32 and
shall guard to do all the laws and right-rulings which I am setting before you
today.’
Deu 12:1 “These are the laws and right-rulings which
you guard to do in the land which יהוה Elohim
of your fathers is giving you to possess, all the days that you live on the
soil.
Deu 12:2 “Completely destroy all the places
where the nations which you are dispossessing served their mighty ones, on the
high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.
Deu 12:3 “And you
shall break down their altars, and smash their pillars, and burn their Ashĕrim
with fire. And you shall cut down the carved images of their mighty ones and
shall destroy their name1 out of that place. Footnote: 1The
names of the gentile deities - mighty ones eg names of the days of the week).
Deu 12:4 “Do not
do so to יהוה your Elohim,
Any kind of lifestyle or philosophy that will hinder us
from embracing the Torah in its totality must be utterly rejected and completely
destroyed.
Deu 12:5 but seek
the place which יהוה your
Elohim chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His Name there, for His Dwelling
Place, and there you shall enter.
Yerushalayim
In
Psalm 132:13-14, it is written,
“For
YHVH has chosen Tziyon. He has desired it for his habitation. ‘This is my
resting place forever. Here I will live, for I have desired it.’”
Mount
Tziyon was chosen forever to be the place where YHVH’s Name would be set.
In
Yerushalayim there is an indent in the mountains in the shape of the Hebrew
letter “shin”, the first letter of the name Shaddai, which means “All
Sufficient One” or “the many breasted
One” the One who cares and nurtures.
 The map identifies the geography of ancient
Jerusalem during times of the scriptures referenced above. Three valleys
surround Jerusalem, the Kidron Valley on the east, The Refaiim Valley, just
east of the City of Zion, and the Hinom Valley south and west of the City of
Zion. Together with the Temple Mount and Jerusalem in their midst, they
form the Hebrew letter Shin (high-lighted in red). Could it be that
YHVH constructed the geography of the region to fulfill the verse above and
actually, and physically, put His name on Jerusalem? Is the
"fingerprint of YHVH on Jerusalem for all to see? Maybe.
Just a coincidence, perhaps, perhaps not, but it is something to meditate on. |
There
is also a satellite photo depicting the Herbew letters יהוה (YHVH) the
Name of the Eternal One in the mountains around Yersushalayim as also ‘Ki”-because,
“Luz”=Bethel and Ephrayim.
Deu 12:6 “And
there you shall take your burnt offerings, and your offerings, and your tithes,
and the contributions of
your hand, and your vowed offerings, and your voluntary offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock.
your hand, and your vowed offerings, and your voluntary offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock.
Deu 12:7 “And
there you shall eat before יהוה your
Elohim, and shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to, you and your
households, in which יהוה your
Elohim has blessed you.
Deu 12:8 “Do not
do as we are doing here today – each one doing whatever is right in his
own eyes1. Footnote: 1See Jud. 17:6 & 21:25.
Deu 12:9 “Because
you have not yet entered the rest and the inheritance which יהוה your Elohim is giving you.
Deu 12:10 “But you
shall pass over the Yardĕn, and shall dwell in the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you to
inherit, and He shall give you rest from all your enemies round about, and you
shall dwell in safety.
Aliyah Sheni 12:11-12:28
Although it is
forbidden to offer offerings in any location other than the one designated by
YHVH, it is permitted to slaughter cattle for consumption purposes, but blood
may never be eaten. The consumption of various tithes and sundry set-apart
foods is also restricted to the designated set apart city. Note how many times
these various instructions are repeated again and again.
Deu 12:18 “But eat
them before יהוה your
Elohim, in the place which יהוה your
Elohim chooses, you and your son and your daughter, and your male servant and
your female servant, and the Lĕwite who is within your gates. And you shall
rejoice before יהוה your
Elohim in all that you put your hands to.
Deu 12:19 “Guard
yourself that you do not forsake the Lĕwite as long as you live in your land.
Deu 12:20 “When יהוה your Elohim enlarges your border as
He has promised you, and you say, ‘Let me eat meat,’ because you long to eat
meat, you eat as much meat as your being desires.
Deu 12:21 “When
the place where יהוה your
Elohim chooses to put His Name is too far from you, then you shall slaughter
from your herd and from your flock which יהוה has given you, as I have commanded
you, and you shall eat within your gates as much as your being desires.
Deu 12:28 “Guard,
and obey all these words which I command you, that it might be well with you
and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the
eyes of יהוה your Elohim.
Note once again that a life of a believer that is
built on any other foundation will not be blessed. This reality is becoming a
powerful revelation for an end time remnant of believers. How could we as
Christians have missed this truth for so long and why do so many continue to
rebel against this truth???????
Is this not the mystery of lawlessness - 2Th
2:7 For the secret of lawlessness is
already at work…
Aliyah Shlishi 12:29-13:18
Moshe admonishes the Israelites not to be lured
by the heathen abominable practices of the Canaanites, and to remain true to
the Torah; neither adding to nor subtracting from its laws. A person professing
to be a prophet who claims to bring instructions from YHVH to worship idols
must be put to death. This is true even if the individual performs supernatural
acts or accurately predicts the future. This section also prescribes the death
penalty for one who attempts to entice others to idolatry, and the catastrophic
price paid by a city which has completely succumbed to idolatry.
Deu 12:29 “When יהוה your
Elohim does cut off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and
you dispossess them and dwell in their land,
Deu 12:30 guard
yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed
from before you, and that you do not inquire about their mighty ones, saying,
‘How did these nations serve their mighty ones? And let me do so too.’1
Footnote: 1See also 18:9, Lev. 18:3, Jer.10:2, Ezek. 11:12 &
20:32, Eph. 4:17, and 1 Peter 4:3
Deu 12:31 “Do not
do so to יהוה your Elohim, for every abomination
which יהוה hates they have done to their
mighty ones, for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their
mighty ones.
Deu 12:32 “All the
words I am commanding you, guard to do it – do not add to it nor take away from
it.1 Footnote: 1See also 4:2, Prov. 30:6, Rev. 22:18-19.
Deu 13:1
“When there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he
shall give you a sign or a wonder,
Deu 13:2 and the sign or the
wonder shall come true, of which he has spoken to you, saying, ‘Let us go after
other mighty ones – which you have not
known – and serve them,’
How can we listen to or take seriously any prophet who does not take
seriously every word of the Torah?
Hebrew Lexicon and the Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon list both angels and
judges as possible alternative meanings of elohim with plural verbs and
adjectives.
Deu 13:3 do not listen to the
words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for יהוה your Elohim is trying you to know
whether you love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and
with all your being.
Deu 13:4 “Walk
after יהוה your Elohim and fear Him, and guard
His commands and obey His voice, and serve Him and cling to Him.
Deu 13:5 “And that
prophet or that dreamer of dreams is put to death, because he has spoken
apostasy against יהוה your Elohim – who brought you out
of the land of Mitsrayim and redeemed you from the house of bondage – to make
you stray from the way in which יהוה your Elohim commanded you to walk. Thus you shall purge
the evil from your midst.
Deu 13:6 “When
your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter, or the wife
of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own being, entices you secretly,
saying, ‘Let us go and serve other mighty ones’– which you have not known,
neither you nor your fathers,
Our true spiritual fathers could not even begin to
imagine a spiritual walk without Torah been the very centre of all we do and
say. This is EXACTLY WHAT YAHSHUA CAME TO SHOW AND TEACH US AS WELL.
Deu 13:7 of the
mighty ones of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from
you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth –
Deu 13:8 do not
agree with him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pardon him, nor spare him
or conceal him,
Deu 13:9 but you
shall certainly kill him. Your hand is first against him to put him to death,
and afterward the hand of all the people,
Deu 13:10 and you
shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away
from יהוה your Elohim, who brought you out of
the land of Mitsrayim, from the house of bondage.
Deu 13:11 “And let
all Yisra’ĕl hear and fear, and not again do any such evil matter as this in
your midst.
Deu 13:12 “When
you hear someone in one of your cities, which יהוה your Elohim gives you to dwell in,
saying,
Deu 13:13 ‘Some
men, sons of Beliyaʽal, have gone out of you midst and led the inhabitants of
their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other mighty ones” ’ – mighty
ones whom you have not known –
Deu 13:14 then you
shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And see if the matter is true
and established that this abomination was done in your midst,
Deu 13:15 you
shall certainly smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword,
putting it under the ban, and all that is in it and its livestock, with the
edge of the sword.
Deu 13:16 “And
gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and completely burn with
fire the city and all its plunder, before יהוה your Elohim. And it shall be a heap
forever, never to be built again.
Deu 13:17 “And
none of that which is put under the ban is to cling to your hand, so that יהוה turns from the fierceness of His
displeasure and shall show you compassion, love you and increase you, as He
swore to your fathers,
Deu 13:18 when you
obey the voice of יהוה your
Elohim, to guard all His commands which I command you today, to do what is
right in the eyes of יהוה your
Elohim.
Aliyah Reviee 14:1-21
As
YHVH's children, we are forbidden to deface our bodies with cuttings/tattoos or via
other forms of mutilation (see Vayikra/Lev 19:28) This section then provides a list of
kosher animals and un-kosher fowl. We are also given signs to distinguish
between kosher animals and fish and their non-kosher counterparts. The section
concludes with the prohibitions against eating meat from an animal which was
not properly slaughtered, and against cooking meat with milk.
Aliyah Chamishi 14:22-29
After
giving a tenth of one's crops to the Levite, a tenth of the remainder -- the
"Second Tithe" -- is to be taken and eaten within the confines of Yerushalayim/Jerusalem. Provision is made here for people who live far away from Yerushalayim for whom it would be unfeasible to transport so much produce. Instead they may
exchange the produce for money which is then taken to Yerushalayim and spent on
food. There is a three-year tithing cycle. After the conclusion of each cycle,
we are commanded to purge our homes of any overdue tithes, give them to their
intended recipients, and recite a brief prayer.
In the book “Torá con Rashi”, it says,“The
tithe (maaser) is a part of the agricultural produce that is to be separated
and given to its respective destinations. The tithe is separated into three
parts, the first tithe (maaser rishon), the second tithe (maaser sheni), and
the tithe for the poor (maaser ani). They are separated in the following order:
First the trumah (“the separated part”) is taken out and is given directly to
the kohen (the priest). Thereafter the maaser rishon is taken out, which
is given to the Levi, out of which the Levi takes out the part that is called
trumat maaser and it is given to the kohen (priests) (see Numbers 18:26).
Thirdly, the maaser sheni is taken out and brought to Yerushalayim where it is
eaten; this is done during the first, second, fifth, and sixth years of the
seven year agricultural cycle (see Deuteronomy 14:22-26). The third and sixth
years, the maaser ani (tithe for the poor) is taken out instead of the maaser
sheni (the one that is taken out and brought to Yerushalayim where it is eaten)
and is given to the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). Tithes are not separated
during the seventh year.”
Aliyah Shishi 15:1-18
Mosheh
commands the Yisraelites to designate every seventh year as a Shmitah
(Sabbatical) Year. During this year, creditors must forgive outstanding loans.
The section then discusses the obligation to give charity to the poor with a
happy heart, and to lend them money if necessary, even if the Shmitah
Year is looming. A Hebrew slave must be freed after six years of service and
must be given generous severance gifts as he departs.
Aliyah Sheviee 15:19-16:17
The
male firstborn of kosher cattle must be set apart and given to the Kohen
(Priest) to eat. If the animal has no blemishes it is first offered as a offering
in the Temple. The Torah reading concludes with a discussion regarding the
three festivals: Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. In addition to some laws
regarding each of these festivals individually, we are commanded to rejoice
during the festivals and all males must be in attendance in the Set Apart Temple
during these holidays.
Deu 16:1 “Guard the month of Aviv and perform the
Passover to יהוה your Elohim, for in the month of Aviv
יהוה your Elohim brought you out of
Mitsrayim by night.
Deu 16:2 “And you
shall slaughter the Passover to יהוה your
Elohim, from the flock and the herd, in the place where יהוה chooses to put His Name.
Deu 16:3 “Eat no
leavened bread with it. For seven days you eat unleavened bread with it, bread
of affliction, because you came out of the land of Mitsrayim in haste – so that
you remember the day in which you came out of the land of Mitsrayim, all the
days of your life.
Deu 16:16 “Three
times a year all your males appear before יהוה your Elohim in the place which He
chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and at the Festival of Weeks, and
at the Festival of Booths. And none should appear before יהוה empty-handed,
Deu 16:17 but
each one with the gift of his hand, according to the blessing of יהוה your Elohim which He has given you.
Baruch atah
YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam, asher natan lanu Toraht-emet, v’chay-yeh o’lam
nata-b’tochenu. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed
are you YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have given us your Torah of
truth,
and have
planted everlasting life within our midst. Blessed are you, YHVH giver of the
Torah.
Ameyn.)
Please note these notes are under construction and are subject to
correction and are in no way a final authority on any subject.