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. Amein.
The Sages asked ‘’To what kind of person does YHVH reveal
the secrets of His Torah?’’
לִלְמֹד
תּוֹרָה
לְמַעַן
תּוֹרָה
– ‘’study the Torah for the sake of Torah’’
At its core, it
means learning Torah not for personal gain — not for honour, wealth,
intellectual prestige, or even reward in the World to Come — but purely out of love
for YHVH and truth itself. The study becomes an act of devotion, a
way to connect with the Divine through His wisdom.
You must also have אהבת
ישראל טהורה (must have a pure love for Israel) and a heart that
is נִשְׁבָּר מֵאַהֲבָה וְיִרְאָה (broken from love
and awe). -Tanya.
One famous Chassidic saying:
“The world thinks if you want to find God, you have to run
away to the desert. Chassidut says: God is hiding in the middle of your messy
life – go find Him there.”
And so we see a genuine spiritual awakening amongst Jew and
gentile alike in these days of the ‘’achariet ya amim’’ – the last days.
The scribes begin our Torah portion:
במחזה
לאמר ‘’in
the vision to say’’ So, "לֵאמֹר"
introduces what someone is about to say — “these were the words the vision
was saying”
YHVH's Covenant with Abram
Gen 15:1 After these events the word of יהוה
came to Aḇram in a vision,
saying, “Do not be afraid, Aḇram.
I am your shield, your reward is exceedingly great.”
This is the first time in Scripture that phrase
appears — “the Word of YHVH came” — and it’s also the first time
Abram receives a vision (Hebrew: מַחֲזֶה,
machazeh).
“After these things, the Word of YHVH came to Abram in
a vision…”
The wording suggests a visible or tangible appearance of this “Word,”
not simply an inner thought.
This ‘’appearance of the word’’ has been referred to in
the Aramaic targums or commentaries as the ‘’memre’’ These scholars believed
that the appearance of the ‘’memre’’ was just a significant as if YHVH Himself
had appeared, although they understood it wasn’t actually YHVH Himself. We see
this understanding repeating itself in Gen 18 - Gen 18:1 And יהוה appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamrě,
while he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.
We see
the name of YHVH appear 8 x in this regard in chap 18 alone.
‘’Mamre’’ – in Hebrew also means strength of fatness also
bitterness – Gen 18:1 Promise of Yitzchak was given at Mamre. Avraham’s wife
was buried in a cave – Machpelah near Mamre – Gen 23:16-19. All the patriachs
and their wives (except Rachel) buried there.
There also several sources in various Jewish writings
that Adam and Eve were buried in this cave.
The writers of the apostolic scriptures understood the
significance this place.
Heb
1:2 has in these last days spoken to us by the Son, whom He has appointed
heir of all, through whom also He made the ages, (this verse refutes the
doctrine of the pre incarnate Christ also Heb 9:26 - But now He has appeared
once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the offering of
Himself. )
Heb
1:3 who being the brightness of the esteem and the exact representation
of His substance, and sustaining all by the word of His power, having made a
cleansing of our sins through Himself, sat down at the right hand Psa_110:1
of the Greatness on high,
Heb
1:4 having become so much better than the messengers, as He has inherited
a more excellent Name than them.
Heb
1:5 For to which of the messengers did He ever say, “You are My Son,
today I have brought You forth”? Psa_2:7 And again, “I shall be
to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son”?
Gen 15:4 And see, the word of יהוה
came to him, saying, “This one is not your heir, but he who comes from your own
body is your heir.”
Gen 15:5 And He brought him outside and said,
“Look now toward the heavens, and count the stars if you are able to count
them.” And He said to him, “So are your seed.”
Gen 15:6 And he believed in יהוה,
and He reckoned it to him for righteousness.
“Just as the stars are beyond counting, so your
children will be beyond empires and calculations.”
“Even if you could count every star, your
descendants would exceed that number.”
Gen 15:8 And he said, “Master יהוה,
whereby do I know that I possess it?”
Gen 15:10 And he took all these to Him and cut them
in the middle, and placed each half opposite the other, but he did not cut the
birds.
In the specific context of Jeremiah chapter 34, the
people and officials of Judah had made a covenant before YHVH to free their
Hebrew slaves, as required by the law, and performed this ritual to solemnize
their vow. However, they later broke their promise and re-enslaved the people.
Through Jeremiah, YHVH declares that because they violated their solemn oath,
He will make them like the calf they cut in two, delivering them to their
enemies and making their dead bodies food for the birds and beasts. (History
confirmed this)
Gen 15:12 And it came to be, when the sun was going
down, and a deep sleep fell upon Aḇram,
that see, a frightening great darkness fell upon him.
“And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep (תַּרְדֵּמָה / tardēmāh) fell upon
Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness (אֵימָה חֲשֵׁכָה גְדֹלָה) fell upon him.”
YHVH did not put Abram to sleep just to let him
rest. Every ancient Jewish source agrees: YHVH deliberately induced this
supernatural coma so that Abram would experience a full-blown prophetic vision
of the entire future of Israel — especially the 400 years of exile and
redemption — without being able to interfere, argue, or change anything.
The word tardēmāh appears only 7 times in Tanakh — and
every single time it is a divine anesthesia for visions of doom and deliverance
that cannot be altered:
To Make the Covenant Unconditional (like anesthesia
during surgery)
·
In ancient treaties, both parties walked
between the pieces (Jer 34:18).
·
Here, only YHVH (as fire & smoke)
passes through. Abram is asleep ,he does nothing.
·
This makes the covenant 100% YHVH’s
responsibility — Israel’s future is guaranteed even if they fail.
Midrash Tanchuma (Lech Lecha 10): “God said: ‘If I
let Abram walk between the pieces, he will think the covenant depends on him. So,
I put him to sleep — I alone will pass through.’”
Abram, to his credit woke up and believed the ‘’machaze’’
vision. This cannot be said for much of his seed today. (But it is changing)
Isa
29:11 And the entire vision is to you like the words of a book that is
sealed, which men give to one who knows books, saying, “Read this, please.” And
he said, “I am unable, for it is sealed.”
Isa
29:12 And the book is given to one who does not know books, saying, “Read
this, please.” And he said, “I have not known books.”
Isa
29:13 And יהוה says, “Because this people
has drawn near with its mouth, and with its lips they have esteemed Me, and it
has kept its heart far from Me, and their fear of Me has become a command of
men that is taught!a Footnote: a Mat_15:8-9, Mrk_7:6-7.
Isa
29:14 “Therefore, see, I am again doing a marvellous work among this
people, a marvellous work and a wonder. And the wisdom of their wise men shall
perish, and the understanding of their clever men shall be hidden.”
Gal
4:4 But when the completion of the time came, Elohim sent forth His Son,
born of a woman, born under Torah, Gal 4:5 to redeem those who were
under Torah, in order to receive the adoption as sons.
Rom
6:23 For the wages of sin is death,c but the favourable gift of Elohim is
everlasting life in Messiah יהושע our Master.
“For all who
rely on the works of the Torah are under a curse…
Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things written in the book of
the Torah.
…Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.”
Deu 27:26 Cursed is he who
does not establish the Words of this Torah.’ And all the people shall say,
‘Aměn!’
We all
like to speak of Avram’s faith and his confidence in YHVH as if it was
something Avram did and we have to do as well to get the right faith outcomes
in life.
But
Avram understood true saving faith as the admission of one's inability to
acquire righteousness and favour with YHVH according to one’s understanding and
in one’s own strength.
The
covenant that YHVH makes with Avram and with mankind is essentially a one-sided
covenant. Its success would be YHVH’s doing and His doing alone. Our role is to
believe it and cling to it – its our only hope in this world and in the world
to come.
This is very hard for religious people to accept who are forever striving to do things that they hope will make them more acceptable to YHVH and better deserving than others of His blessing and favour. This reality is so deeply imbedded in most of us we fail to recognize it. It usually requires an overwhelming event to confront us before we realize our helplessness and our total dependence upon YHVH and His plan to redeem us.
Gen 15:14 “But the nation whom they serve I am
going to judge, and afterward let them come out with great possessions.
Gen 15:15 “Now as for you, you are to go to your
fathers in peace, you are to be buried at a good old age.
Gen 15:16 “Then, in the fourth generation they
shall return here, for the crookedness of the Amorites is not yet
complete.”
Gen 15:17 And it came to be, when the sun went down
and it was dark, that see, a smoking oven and a burning torch passing between
those pieces.
“And it came to pass, when the sun had set, there was a
flame of fire and a furnace of smoke, and the Memra of the Lord passed
between those divisions.”
Gen 15:18 On the same day יהוה
made a covenant with Aḇram,
saying, “I have given this land to your seed, from the river of Mitsrayim to
the great river, the River Euphrates,
Gen 15:19 with the Qěynite, and the Qenizzite, and
the Qaḏmonite,
Gen 15:20 and the Ḥittite,
and the Perizzite, and the Repha’im,
Gen 15:21 and the Amorite, and the Kena‛anite, and
the Girgashite, and the Yeḇusite.”
YHVH commands that these nations must all be placed
under the ban (cherem) and will be in the last days.
Deu 7:1 “When יהוה your Elohim brings you
into the land which you go to possess, He shall also clear away many nations
before you: the Ḥittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Kenaʽanites and the Perizzites and the
Ḥiwwites and the Yeḇusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you.
Deu 7:2
“And when יהוה your
Elohim gives them over to you, you shall smite them and put them under the ban,
completely. Make no covenant with them, and show them no favour.
Deu 7:3
“And do not intermarry with them – you do not give your daughter to his son,
and you do not take his daughter for your son,
Deu 7:4
for he turns your sons away from following Me, to serve other mighty ones. Then
the displeasure of יהוה shall
burn against you and promptly destroy you.
Deu 7:5
“But this is what you do to them: Break down their altars, and smash their
pillars, and cut down their Ashĕrim, and burn their carved images with fire.
Deu 7:6
“For you are a set-apart people to יהוה your Elohim. יהוה your Elohim has chosen
you to be a people for Himself, a treasured possession above all the peoples on
the face of the earth.
Heb 11:11 By belief also, Sarah herself was enabled to
conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the normal age, because
she deemed Him trustworthy who had promised.
Heb 11:12 And so from one, and him as good as dead, were
born as numerous as the stars of the heaven, as countless as the sand which
is by the seashore. Gen_15:5, Gen_22:17.
Isa
55:10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from the heavens, and do
not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, and
give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, Isa 55:11 so is My
Word (memre)that goes forth from My mouth – it does not return to Me empty, but
shall do what I please, and shall certainly accomplish what I sent it
for.
Blessed are
you YHVH, 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 – Amein.
Additional
Midrash:
Let us
all be very honest with ourselves for a moment.
When last
did you or I receive a Word from YHVH that we can honestly say profoundly
challenged us and accomplished its intended purpose in our lives?
If our
answer is yes or no, what is reason?
Im sure
there are many reasons we could consider.
For now,
let us consider a few:
I believe
one of the most important reasons is
because we hear or don’t hear YHVH is because we listen or we don’t listen to
Him.
When
Yahshua was asked what YHVH’s most important commandment was Yahshua replied:
The
Great Commandment
Mar 12:28 And one of the scribes coming near, hearing
them reasoning together, knowing that He had answered them well, asked Him,
“Which is the first command of all?”
Mar 12:29 And יהושע answered him, “The
first of all the commands is, ‘Hear, O Yisra’ěl, יהוה
our Elohim, יהוה is one. Deu_6:4.
Mar 12:30 ‘And you shall love יהוה
your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your
mind, and with all your strength.’ Deu_6:5. This is the first
command.
Mar 12:31 “And the second, like it, is this, ‘You
shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ Lev_19:18. There is no other
command greater than these.”
Mar 12:32 And the scribe said to Him, “Well said,
Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one Elohim, and there is no
other besides Him. Deu_4:35.
Mar 12:33 “And to love Him with all the heart, and
with all the understanding, and with all the being, and with all the strength,
Deu_6:5 and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is more than all the
ascending offerings and offerings.”
Mar 12:34 And when יהושע
saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the reign of
Elohim.” And after that no one was bold enough to question Him.
In biblical Hebrew, the verb שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) means both “to
hear” and “to obey.”
It’s one word with two intertwined meanings — because in Hebrew, true
hearing always leads to response or obedience.
Psalm 40:1–3 “I waited patiently for YHWH; He turned to me
and heard (vayishma) my cry.”
Think of Abraham again: before YHVH’s Word appeared
to him (Genesis 15), Abraham had already waited years for the promise. His
waiting positioned him for hearing and receiving.
Likewise, we often miss YHVH’s direction not because He’s
silent — but because we haven’t waited long enough to listen.
Another
reason is that we do not recognize iniquity in our hearts.
Psa
51:5 See, I was brought forth in crookedness,(iniquity or depravity Heb
‘’avon’’) And in sin my mother conceived me.
Psa 66:18 If I have seen wickedness (‘’avon’’
lawlessness) in my heart, יהוה would not hear.
Psa 66:19 Truly, Elohim has heard me; He has given
heed to the voice of my prayer.
Psa 66:20 Blessed be Elohim, Who has not turned
away my prayer, Nor His loving-commitment from me!
Mat
7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter into the
reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the
heavens.
Mat
7:22 “Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not
prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty
works in Your Name?’
Mat
7:23 “And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from
Me, you who work lawlessness!’ (Heb ‘’avon’’) Yahshua quoting Psa_6:8.- Depart from me, all you
workers of wickedness;(‘’avon’’ iniquity) For יהוה has heard the voice of my
weeping.
YHVH will not hear us if we continually
disobey or undermine the Torah.
Pro
28:9 He who turns away his ear from hearing the Torah, Even his prayer is
an abomination.
I
personally believe one of the best ways to hear YHVH is to ask questions.