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