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.)
all the peoples,and have given us your Torah. Blessed are you,
YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
Deu 15:7 “When there is a poor man with you, one of
your brothers, within any of the gates in your land which יהוה your Elohim is
giving you, do not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,
The sages teach us that when a community guards the
Torah, there should be prosperity for all its members. Any breach of Torah
would manifest itself in poverty or in sickness. For this reason it was
incumbent on each member of the Torah community to constantly examine
themselves as to whether or not they are in one accord with each other and with
YHVH’s Torah.
We see the implications of this principle illustrated in
the Nazarene Talmud (Apostolic writings) –
Mat 18:15 “And if your brother sins against you, go and
reprove him, between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your
brother.
Mat 18:16 “But if he does not hear, take with you one
or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word might be
established.’
Mat 18:17 “And if he refuses to hear them, say it to
the assembly. And if he refuses even to hear the assembly, let him be to you
like a gentile and a tax collector.
Mat 18:18 “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind1
on earth shall be having been bound1 in heaven, and whatever you
loosen1 on earth shall be having been loosened1 in
heaven. Footnote: 1Binding and loosening is Heḇrew idiom for exercising
authority (to prohibit and permit).
Mat 18:19
“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning any
matter that they ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in the heavens.
Mat 18:20
“For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there I am in
their midst.”
Mat 18:21
Then Kĕpha came to Him and said, “Master, how often shall my brother sin
against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
Mat 18:22 יהושע said to him,
“I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
This reminds us once again that the apostolic writings
were written for a Torah seeking community of believers that realized the
serious implications of individual as well as corporate obedience and
responsibility.
Poverty sickness and disease are a curse and have no
place in the Community of those who are of “The Faith”
Deu 15:8 for you
shall certainly open your hand to him and certainly lend him enough for his
need, whatever he needs.
Deu 15:9 “Be on
guard lest there be a thought of Beliyaʽal in
your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is near,’ and your
eye is evil against your poor brother and you give him naught. And he shall cry
out to יהוה against you, and it shall be a sin in you.
Some Yisraelites may have been hesitant to give loans in
the seventh year because this was a year that all debts were to be cancelled.
To have this spirit was compared to having Beliyaal in your heart. Beliyaal
means to “seek profit through wickedness”
Deu 15:10 “You
shall certainly give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give
to him, because for this reason יהוה your Elohim
does bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.
Deu 15:11 “Because
the poor one does not cease from the land. Therefore I am commanding you,
saying, ‘You shall certainly open your hand to your brother, to your poor and
to your needy one, in your land.’
Deu 15:12 “When
your brother is sold to you, a Heḇrew
man or a Heḇrew woman, and shall serve you six years, then let him go
free from you in the seventh year.
Deu 15:13 “And
when you send him away free from you, let him not go away empty-handed.
Deu 15:14 “You
shall richly supply him from your flock, and from your threshing-floor, and
from your winepress. With that which יהוה has blessed
you with, give to him.
Deu 15:15 “And you
shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Mitsrayim, and יהוה your Elohim redeemed you. Therefore I am
commanding you this word today.
Deu 15:16 “And it
shall be, when he says to you, ‘I do not go away from you,’ because he loves
you and your house, because it is good for him with you,
Deu 15:17 then you
shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be
your servant forever(chadal). Do the same to your female servant.
It appears that the community of faith will
always be challenged by those who don’t have a heart to fully obey and walk in
the ways of Torah.
The Hebrew word “chadal” is used in this verse and means
“will not cease or come to an end.”
It appears that some people are better off been under
some kind of supervision over their lives forever – see vs 17 – There seem to be
different aspects to this instruction found in Shemot 21 and Vayikra 25. Hebrew
slaves were encouraged to return to their family inheritance in the year of
Jubilee. Hebrew slaves were not meant to be slaves forever. Woman slaves were
to be treated differently- see Shemot 21.
Why the differences?
It is clear that the Torah if it was guarded and obeyed,
it would bring freedom and prosperity for all – but maybe Moshe believed that
there would always be some people that would always need help to guard and obey
the Torah, hence it would be preferred that some remain accountable to a master
forever, for this purpose. This is my view. I hope I am wrong.
Deu 15:18 “Let it
not be hard in your eyes when you send him away free from you, for he has been
worth a double hired servant in serving you six years. And יהוה your Elohim shall bless you in all that
you do.
Deu 15:19 “Set
apart to יהוה your Elohim all the first-born males that
come from your herd and your flock. Do no work with the first-born of your
herd, nor shear the first-born of your flock.
Deu 15:20 “You and
your household are to eat it before יהוה your Elohim
year by year in the place which יהוה chooses.
Deu 15:21 “But
when there is any defect in it, lame or blind, or has any evil defect, do not
slaughter it to יהוה your Elohim.
Deu 15:22 “Eat it
within your gates – the unclean and the clean alike – as the gazelle, and as
the deer.
Deu 15:23 “Only,
do not eat its blood, pour it on the ground like water.
Deu 16:1 “Guard the month of Aḇiḇ, and perform the
Passover to יהוה your Elohim, for in the month of Aḇiḇ 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 16:4 “And no
leaven should be seen with you in all your border for seven days, neither
should any of the meat which you slaughter in the evening on the first
day stay all night until morning.
Deu 16:5 “You are
not allowed to slaughter the Passover within any of your gates which יהוה your Elohim gives you,
Deu 16:6 but at
the place where יהוה your Elohim
chooses to make His Name dwell, there you slaughter the Passover in the
evening, at the going down of the sun, at the appointed time you came out of
Mitsrayim.
Deu 16:7 “And you
shall roast and eat it in the place which יהוה your Elohim
chooses, and in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents.
Deu 16:8 “Six days
you eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is a closing festival to
יהוה your Elohim – you do no work.
Deu 16:9 “Count
seven weeks for yourself. Begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to
put the sickle to the grain.
Deu 16:10 “And you
shall perform the Festival of Weeks to יהוה your Elohim,
according to the voluntary offering from your hand, which you give as יהוה your Elohim blesses you.
Deu 16:11 “And you
shall rejoice before יהוה your Elohim,
you and your son and your daughter, and your male servant and your female
servant, and the Lĕwite who is within your gates, and the stranger and the
fatherless and the widow who are in your midst, at the place where יהוה your Elohim chooses to make His Name
dwell.
Deu 16:12 “And you
shall remember that you were a slave in Mitsrayim, and you shall guard and do
these laws.
I believe
the Bride of Messiah will never become weary of well
doing and following the Messiah in perfect obedience to ALL of
the Torah forever and ever – Gal 6.
doing and following the Messiah in perfect obedience to ALL of
the Torah forever and ever – Gal 6.
The Bride of
Messiah will be an example to the world that as they follow every instruction
in YHVH’s Torah forever (while heaven and earth are in existence) they will
enter into deeper levels of love and understanding of our redemption and
relationship with YHVH.
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 Yahweh, 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