Blessing of Torah.
Hebrew:
Baruch atah YHVH eloheinu melech
ha-olam, asher kideshanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu la'asok b'divrei Torah.
V'ha'arev na YHVH eloheinu et divrei toratecha befinu uvfi amecha beit Yisrael.
V'niyeh anachnu v'tze'etze'einu v'tze'etza'ei amecha beit Yisrael kullanu yodei
sh'mecha v'lomdei toratecha lishmah. Baruch atah YHVH hamelamed Torah le'amo
Yisrael. Baruch atah YHVH Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher bachar banu mikol
ha'amim venatan lanu et torato. Baruch atah YHVH, notein haTorah.
English translation: Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, who has made
us set apart through His commandments and commanded us to actively study Torah.
Please YHVH, our Elohim, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in
the mouths of all Your people Israel. May we and our offspring, and the
offspring of Your people, the House of Israel, may we all, together, know Your
Name and study Your Torah for the sake of fulfilling Your desire. Blessed are
You, YHVH, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Blessed are You, YHVH our
Elohim, King of the universe, , Who chose us from all the nations and gave us
the Torah. Blessed are You, YHVH, Giver of the Torah.
Num 9:22 Whether two days, or a month, or a year that
the cloud lingered above the Dwelling Place to dwell upon it, the children of
Yisra’ĕl camped, and did not depart. But when it was taken up, they departed.
Num 9:23 At the command of יהוה they camped,
and at the command of יהוה they departed.
They guarded the Charge of יהוה, at the
command of יהוה by the hand of Mosheh.
We see once again in the above two verses that Yisrael
can only move forward when they OBEY YHVH’s command by the hand of Moshe.
כג עַל-פִּי יְהוָה יַחֲנוּ,
וְעַל-
פִּי יְהוָה יִסָּעוּ: אֶת-מִשְׁמֶרֶת יְהוָה שָׁמָרוּ,
עַל-פִּי
יְהוָה בְּיַד-מֹשֶׁה. {פ}
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23 At the commandment of YHVH they encamped,(chanah)
and at the commandment of YHVH they
journeyed;(nasah)
they kept the charge of YHVH, at the commandment of
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Note the use of the future tense verbs – “encamped and
journeyed.” These verbs may also refer to a future time when Yisrael will begin
its epic journey back to Land. Note also that the word “commandment is not used
but “mouth of YHVH” is used.
Midrash on the cloud:
It could be said that for the past two thousand years the
“cloud” of YHVH has been standing still. We have seen various spiritual
awakenings come and go and despite all the spiritual activity of believers,
life soon returns to the way things always seem to be. History shows us that
there is nothing really new but that events and situations in the world tend to
repeat themselves again and again.
However we seem to be living in an age where there is a
general feeling and conviction that things on earth are never going to be the
same again.
It’s almost like YHVH said 2000 years ago “I will give you another 2000 years to find
your feet” so that the 12 tribes of Yisrael may once again return united to the
Land, because most of the time we have just been walking around in circles in a
wilderness of frustration.
Many Jews believe that things will never be the same
again when their Moshiach returns and the temple is rebuilt. Many Muslims are
trying to establish a Caliphate in the Middle East and await their Madhi* or
Muslim Messiah to come and rule and covert the whole world to Islam. Many
Christians are waiting for the rapture and so escape the prophesied Great Tribulation
that is coming upon the earth.
“The “Madhi” is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will
rule for seven years before the day of judgment and will rid the world of evil.
According to
Islamic tradition, the Mahdi's tenure will coincide with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (Isa), who is to assist the Mahdi against the Masih ad-Dajjal (literally, the "false Messiah" or Antichrist).” Wikipedia.
What do some “Natsarenes” (followers of Yahshua and
guardians of the Torah of YHVH) believe?
We believe the “cloud” (YHVH’s general protection for
mankind) is about to move. There will only be a very small remnant of those who
call themselves believers that will stay under the protection of the “cloud.”
The Great Tribulation can be described as a time when most of the inhabitants
of this world will suffer tremendously and most of mankind will perish because
they are not under the protection of the “cloud”.
This Torah portion may give some hidden clues as to how
events will unravel in the last days.
Pro 18:10 The Name of יהוה is a strong
tower; The righteous run into it and are safe.
The English word “safe” in Hebrew is “nisgav”(7682) and
comes from the root verb “sagav” which means “impregnable or inaccessible.” The
use of the niphal or passive verb indicates that the action is performed for us
and not by us. The remnant can expect super natural protection from all harm.
Yahshua goes on to say that YHVH calls many but very few
seem to respond.
Mat 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The English word “few” is “oligos” in the Greek and can
refer to a very small amount. The Strongs dictionary translates “oligos”
(G3641) as “puny” and can mean “hardly anyone at all.”
This Torah portion is also about recognizing the ancient
form of rulership from an appointed priesthood that will guide us to stay under
the cloud.
Rev 3:10 “Because you have guarded My Word of
endurance, I also shall guard you from the hour of trial which shall come upon
all the world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
(When these words were written there was no New
Testament)
Num 10:1 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, saying,
Num 10:2 “Make two
silver trumpets for yourself, make them of beaten work. And you shall use them
for calling the congregation and for breaking camp.
Num 10:3 “And when
they blow both of them, all the congregation shall meet before you at the door
of the Tent of Meeting. (Hebrew defines
different kinds of blasts from the trumpets)
Num 10:4 “And if
they blow one, then the leaders, the heads of the thousands of Yisra’ĕl, shall
gather to you.
Num 10:5 “And when
you blow a shout, the camps that lie
on the east side shall depart.
Num 10:6 “And when
you blow a shout the second time,
then the camps that lie on the south side shall depart – they blow a shout for
them to depart.
Num 10:7 “And when
the assembly is to be assembled, you blow (long
blasts), but do not shout (short
blasts).
Num 10:8 “And the
sons of Aharon, the priests, blow with the trumpets. And it shall be to you for
a law (chukat) forever throughout your generations.
Num 10:9 “And when
you go into battle in your land against the enemy that distresses you, then you
shall shout with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before יהוה your Elohim,
and you shall be saved from your enemies.
Num 10:10 “And in
the day of your gladness (this can be
the non-Torah commanded Feasts like Chanukah and Purim), and in your appointed times (Moed/Moadim – the Torah –commanded
Feasts or Appointments/Appointed Times/Moadim), and at the beginning of your months (Rosh Chodesh),
you shall blow the trumpets over
your burnt offerings and over your peace offerings. And they shall be a
remembrance for you before your Elohim. I am יהוה your Elohim.”
The word for the trumpets here in these verses is “Chatsosterah”
but in Tehillim/Ps 81:3 the Hebrew word “shofar” is used ( shofar is a rams'
horns or curved horn of an animal). So we see the Silver trumpets and Shofars
are used interchangeably in Scripture. It is likely that the two instruments
were used at the same time and they were distinguished not by their use but by their users: The trumpets
were sounded exclusively by the priests
(Bem/Num 10:8). In our Torah portion in Bemidbar, we read in verse 10a "And in the day of your gladness, and in
your appointed times, and at the beginning ("Rosh" in Hebrew) of your
months ("chodesh" in Hebrew), you (the priests) shall blow the trumpets over.........."
In Tehillim/Ps 81:3 we read: “Blow the
ram’s horn (Shofar) at the time of the
New Moon (Rosh chodesh), At the full moon (15th of the month of Aviv and 15th
of the Seventh month), on our festival day." When the function of the
shofar is compared with that of the trumpet, it is clear that they often overlap.
Num 10:11 And it
came to be on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that
the cloud was taken up from above the Dwelling Place of the Witness. (Just
after the seven days of chag ha matzot of pesach sheni – in the last days the
stragglers and backsliders will be given a second chance to join the 12 tribes’
return to the land)
Num 10:12 And the
children of Yisra’ĕl departed, setting out from the Wilderness of Sinai. And
the cloud dwelt on it in the Wilderness of Paran.
Num 10:13 Thus
they departed the first time, according to the command of יהוה by the hand of
Mosheh.
This was the first time after camping at Mount Sinai that
the nation moved. They had left Mitzrayim/Egypt and now they were ready to move
on.
Will we be ready to move on? Are we still camping? Are we
too set in our ways?
Num 10:14 And the
banner of the camp of the children of Yehuḏah
departed first according to their
divisions. And over their army was Naḥshon,
son of Amminaḏaḇ.
Num 10:15 And over
the army of the tribe of the children of Yissasḵar was
Nethanĕ’l, son of Tsuʽar.
Num 10:16 And over
the army of the tribe of the children of Zeḇulun
was Eliyaḇ, son of Ḥĕlon.
Num 10:17 And the
Dwelling Place was taken down. And the sons of Gĕreshon and the sons of
Merari departed, bearing the Dwelling Place.
Num 10:18 And the
banner of the camp of Re’uḇĕn departed according to their divisions. And over their
army was Elitsur, son of Sheḏĕy’ur.
Num 10:19 And over
the army of the tribe of the children of Shimʽon was
Shelumi’ĕl, son of Tsurishaddai.
Num 10:20 And over
the army of the tribe of the children of Gaḏ was
Elyasaph, the son of Deu’ĕl.
Num 10:21 And the
Qehathites departed, bearing the set-apart objects, while the Dwelling
Place was set up before they came.
Num 10:22 And the
banner of the camp of the children of Ephrayim departed according to their
divisions. And over their army was Elishama, son of Ammihuḏ.
Num 10:23 And over
the army of the tribe of the children of Menashsheh was Gamli’ĕl, son of Peḏahtsur.
Num 10:24 And over
the army of the tribe of the children of Binyamin was Aḇiḏan,
son of Giḏʽoni.
Num 10:25 Then the
banner of the camp of the children of Dan, which formed the rear guard of all
the camps, departed according to their divisions. And over their army was Aḥiʽezer,
son of Ammishaddai.
Num 10:26 And over
the army of the tribe of the children of Ashĕr was Paḡʽi’ĕl,
the son of Oḵran.
Num 10:27 And over
the army of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Aḥira,
the son of Ěnan.
Num 10:28 Such was
the order of setting out of the children of Yisra’ĕl, according to their
divisions, when they departed.
Midrash on Yitro:
Num 10:29 And
Mosheh said to Ḥoḇaḇ, the son of Reʽuw’ĕl (friend
of Elohim)the Miḏyanite, Mosheh’s father-in-law, “We are setting out for
the place of which יהוה said, ‘I give
it to you.’ Come with us, and we shall do good to you, for יהוה has spoken good concerning Yisra’ĕl.”
Note Yitro’s name has now changed to “chovav” which means
“cherished” it is believed that Moshe had influenced his father in law to
follow the Elohim of Yisrael and embrace the Torah. Yitro was a pagan priest.
It is interesting that the Hebrew word for “pagan priest” is “pastor” in
English. Could it be possible that before Messiah returns that many “pastors”
will begin to embrace the Torah of YHVH and so help prepare a way of return for
the 12 gathered tribes of Yisrael?
Num 10:30 And he
replied to him, “I am not going, but I am going to my own land and to my
relatives.”
Num 10:31 Then he
said, “Please do not leave us, because you know how we are to camp in the
wilderness, and you shall be our eyes.
Num 10:32 “And it
shall be, when you go with us, then it shall be that whatever good יהוה does to us, the same we shall do to you.”
According to the sages Yitro did accompany Moshe and
received a 250 000 sq cubits plot of
land in Jericho.
“and you shall be our eyes” is written in the future
tense. Rashi translates this as “if anything should be hidden from our eyes,
you will enlighten us”
This is a rather profound prophetic statement and is seen
by some as a future prophecy of the significance of “gerim” or the grafted in
branches of Israel playing an extremely significant role in bringing light to
the Torah of YHVH as it relates to end time issues and the returning of all
exiles to the land of Israel.
Num 10:33 So they
set out from the mountain of יהוה on a journey
of three days(Messianic number). And
the ark of the covenant of יהוה went before
them for the three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them.
Rashi makes a very
interesting comment on this ark. He says on page 787 in the Stones Chumash –
“The commentators raise the difficulty that the ark traveled after the
formations of Judah and Reuben (vs 17) not at the forefront of the camp, this
ark was not the ark that contained the Tablets but the second ark which contained
the broken pieces of the first set of tablets which Moses had shattered. This is a picture of Messiah’s broken body
resurrected after three days to show us the way to the Kingdom of YHVH.
Num 10:34 And the
cloud of יהוה was above them by day when they went out
from the camp.
Num 10:35 And it
came to be, whenever the ark set out, that Mosheh said, “Rise up, O יהוה! And let Your enemies be scattered, and
let those who hate You flee before You.”
Num 10:36 And when
it rested, he said, “Return, O יהוה, to the
countless thousands of Yisra’ĕl.”
These two verses (35 and
36) happen to fall between two inverted ‘nuns’(a nun is one of the letters in
the Hebrew alphabet and they appear here in these verses back to front.)
Whenever an oddity appears in the Torah we need to pay special attention to
some hidden deeper message in the text.
“Nun” (5125) has a
meaning to “resprout” and contains the idea of “life in perpetuation” The “nun”
also looks like a bent “vav” reminding us of how Messiah came to serve and not
to be served.
Why the inverted ‘nuns”?
Maybe as long as Messiah is not on earth teaching the nations the Torah, life
will be abrupt and back to front and not “perpetuating” as it was meant to be.
“The sages believe these
two verses are so important that they have given them a status of each
representing one book of the Torah. This implies that there are seven and not
five books in the Torah.
"Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out
her seven pillars" (Proverbs 9:1). Bar Kapara interpreted this verse as
referring to the Torah and its seven books. But surely there are only five? Bar
Kapara considered the portion from the beginning of the Book of Numbers until
the verse, "And it came to pass, when the Ark went forth" as one
book; the two verses "And it came to pass..." and "And when it
rested..." as another book; and from there to the end of Numbers as yet
another book. By this count, we have seven.”
(Midrash Rabbah)
The Torah comes alive in a way that brings
deliverance and unification of Israel. We are going to recognize for the first
time how much life (nun) the Torah has and that through the empowering of Ruach
it is the ONLY WAY TO GET BACK TO THE PROMISED LAND – road map
Today we believe that these two verses testify to the
two comings of our Messiah. In the synagogues vs 35 is read when the Torah
scroll is taken out of a closet called the “ark of the covenant/Aaron Kodesh”
and verse 36 is read when the scroll is returned. Even in our days I believe
this action sends a terrifying message into the spiritual realm. It is stating
that the Messiah has come and scattered and defeated his enemies and he will
return with millions of his followers to enforce a complete removal of our enemies
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 Yahveh, 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.