Bar’chu et
YHVH ha-m’vorach, Baruch YHVH ha-m’vorach l’O’lam va-ed! Baruch ata YHVH Elohim
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 YHVH our Elohim – Giver of the Torah – Amein.’
The sages believe the words of this parashah were spoken on
the last day of Moshe’s life.
Deu 29:10 “All of you are standing today (ha yom) before
יהוה
your Elohim: your leaders, your tribes, your elders and your officers, all the
men of Yisra’ěl,
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 Ya‛aqoḇ.
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. (there
will be others)
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.
What then is the root that brings forth the bitter fruit?
It is a person who has a wrong view of eternal security. He feels secure when
he is not secure. He says, “I shall be safe [=secure], though I walk in the
stubbornness of my heart.” He misunderstands the covenant YHVH makes. He thinks
that because he is part of the covenant people, he is secure from YHVH’s
judgment.
Heb
12:15 See to it that no one falls short of the favour of Elohim, that no
root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, by which many become
defiled,
Heb
12:16 lest there be anyone who whores, or profane one, like Ěsaw, who for
a single meal sold his birthright.b Footnote: b Gen_25:32-33.
Heb
12:17 For you know that afterward, when he wished to inherit the
blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he
sought it with tears. (REV 2:11 & 20:6 & 21:8)
What is
Wormwood?
“Heb. la'anah,(from
unused root meaning ‘’to curse’’ S3939) the Artemisia absinthium of botanists,
is known as Wilde-als by the Afrikaans community. Wilde-als brandy is a popular
folk medicine still made and sold today.
It is noted for its intense bitterness. In the symbolical language of
the Apocalypse (Rev_8:10,11) a star is represented as falling on the
waters of the earth, causing the third part of the water to turn wormwood. Wormwood is a psychic stimulant. The
effect of wormwood is narcotic, lightly anaesthetic, giving a peaceful and
relaxing feeling. In combination with alcohol or in larger dosages
hallucinations might occur. It also increases the appetite.
Ingestion of wormwood may result in
absinthism, a syndrome characterized by digestive disorders, thirst,
restlessness, vertigo, trembling of the limbs, numbness of the extremities,
loss of intellect, delirium, paralysis, and death. The effects of
addiction to wormwood describe the condition of many religious people in our
days. They have become addicted to lawlessness, the more they are lawless
(Torahless) the more lawless they become. Lawless people have continual ‘’hangovers’’
accompanied by a desire for more lawlessness.
Deu 29:19 “And it shall be, when he hears the words
of this curse, that he should bless himself in his heart, saying, ‘I have peace
though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart,’ in order to add drunkenness to
thirst.