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
Deu 16:18 “Appoint judges and
officers within all your gates, which יהוה your Elohim is giving
you, according to your tribes. And they shall judge the people with righteous
right-ruling.
Deu 16:19 “Do not distort
right-ruling. Do not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the
eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
Deu 16:20 “Follow righteousness, righteousness alone, so that you live and inherit the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you.
The pursuit of righteousness must always
follow the path He has prescribed, and none other.
“Even in the kingdom of YHVH people will need guidance and correction and not always do what you expect but what you inspect.” (we need to be cautious of modern day self-appointed “Torah sheriffs some call Torah terrorists, kosher patrol and sabbath police’’)
Forbidden Forms of Worship
Deu 16:21 “Do not plant for
yourself any tree as an Ashěrah near the slaughter-place of יהוה your Elohim that you make for yourself.
Deu 16:22 “And do not set up a pillar, which יהוה your Elohim hates.
The rabbis believe corrupt judges and police can be compared to ‘’Asherah or phallic symbols.
‘’An Asherah pole was a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the pagan goddess Asherah, also known as Astarte (easter). While the exact appearance of an Asherah pole is somewhat obscure, it is clear that the ancient Israelites, after entering the land of Canaan, were influenced by the pagan religion it represented.’’
Deu
17:1 “Do
not slaughter to יהוה
your Elohim a bull or sheep which has any blemish, any evil matter, for that is
an abomination to יהוה
your Elohim.
Deu
17:2 “When there is found in your midst, in any of your cities which יהוה your Elohim is giving you, a
man or a woman who does what is evil in the eyes of יהוה your Elohim, in transgressing His
covenant,
Deu
17:3 and has gone and served other mighty ones and bowed down to them, or
to the sun or to the moon or to any of the host of the heavens, which I have
not commanded,
Deu
17:4 and it has been made known to you and you have heard, and have
searched diligently. Then see, if true: the matter is confirmed that such an
abomination has been done in Yisra’ěl,
Deu
17:5 then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has
done this evil matter, and you shall stone to death that man or woman with
stones.
Deu
17:6 “At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall he that is to die be
put to death. He is not put to death by the mouth of one witness.
Deu
17:7 “The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to
death, and the hand of all the people last. So you shall purge the evil from
your midst.
Legal
Decisions by Priests and Judges
Deu
17:8 “When any matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, between
blood and blood, between plea and plea, or between stroke and stroke – matters
of strife within your gates – then you shall rise and go up to the place which יהוה your Elohim chooses,
Deu
17:9 and shall come to the priests, the Lěwites, and to the judge who is
in those days, and shall inquire. And they shall declare to you the word of
right-ruling,
Deu
17:10 and you shall do according to the word which they declare to you
from that place which יהוה
chooses. And you shall guard to do according to all that they instruct
you.
Deu
17:11 “Do according to the Torah in which they teach you, according to
the right-ruling which they say to you. You do not turn to the right or to the
left from the word which they declare to you.
Deu
17:12 “And the man who acts arrogantly, so as not to listen to the priest
who stands to serve there before יהוה your Elohim, or to the judge, that man shall die. So you shall
purge the evil from Yisra’ěl.
Deu
17:13 “And let all the people hear and fear, and no longer do
arrogantly.
Laws
Concerning Israel's Kings
Deu
17:14 “When you come to the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you, and shall possess it and shall dwell
in it, and you shall say, ‘Let me set a sovereign over me like all the nations
that are around me,’
Deu
17:15 you shall certainly set a sovereign over you whom יהוה your Elohim shall choose.
Set a sovereign over you from among your brothers, you are not allowed to set a
foreigner over you, who is not your brother.
Deu
17:16 “Only, he is not to increase horses for himself, nor cause the
people to return to Mitsrayim to increase horses, for יהוה has said to you, ‘Do not return that way
again.’
Deu 17:17 “And he is not to increase wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor is he to greatly increase silver and gold for himself.
Deu
4:1 “And now, O Yisra’ěl, listen to the laws and the right-rulings which
I am teaching you to do, so that you live, and shall go in and possess the land
which יהוה
Elohim of your fathers is giving you.
Deu 4:2 “Do not add to the Word
which I command you, and do not take away from it,[a] so as to guard the
commands of יהוה your Elohim which I am commanding you.
Footnote: a See also Deu_12:32, Pro_30:6, Rev_22:18-19.
Deu 4:3 “Your eyes have seen what יהוה did at Ba‛al Pe‛or, for יהוה your Elohim has destroyed
from your midst all the men who followed Ba‛al Pe‛or.
Deu 4:4 “But you who are clinging
to יהוה your Elohim are alive today, every one of
you.
Deu 4:5 “See, I have taught you laws and right-rulings, as יהוה my Elohim commanded me, to do thus in the land which you go to possess.
Moshe Commands Obedience
Deu 4:6
“And you shall guard and do them, for this is your wisdom and your
understanding before the eyes of the peoples who hear all these laws, and they
shall say, ‘Only a wise and understanding people is this great nation!’
Deu 4:7 “For what great nation is
there which has Elohim so near to it, as יהוה our Elohim is to us,
whenever we call on Him?
Deu 4:8 “And what great nation is
there that has such laws and righteous right-rulings like all this Torah which
I set before you this day?
Deu 4:9 “Only, guard yourself, and
guard your life diligently, lest you forget the Words your eyes have seen, and
lest they turn aside from your heart all the days of your life. And you shall
make them known to your children and your grandchildren.
Deu 4:27 “And יהוה shall scatter you among the peoples, and you shall be left few
in number among the nations where יהוה drives you.
Deu 4:30 “In your distress, when all these words shall come upon you in the latter days, then you shall return to יהוה your Elohim and shall obey His voice.
Second saying of
Yahshua - the good news according to
Thomas – Yahshua said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they
find. 2When they find, they will be disturbed. 3When they
are disturbed, they will marvel, 4 and will rule over all."
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
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.)