Parashat 46 Portion 132 “Ekev” Dev 8:1-20 Yerm 9:22-26 Yoh 15:8-10

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.)

This week’s parashah “Ekev” –  begins in last week’s reading – Dev 7:12. We add this reading to our current reading for this week’s parashah.

Aliyah Rishon 7:12-8:11

Deu 7:12 “And it shall be, because(ekev) you hear these right-rulings, and shall guard and do them, that יהוה your Elohim shall guard with you the covenant and the kindness which He swore to your fathers,”

יב וְהָיָה עֵקֶב תִּשְׁמְעוּן, אֵת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים הָאֵלֶּה, וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם וַעֲשִׂיתֶם, אֹתָם--וְשָׁמַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְךָ, אֶת-הַבְּרִית וְאֶת-הַחֶסֶד, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע, לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ.

Note the future tense of the words “it shall be,” “you will hear,” ”you will guard,” “you will do,” then YHVH “will guard” His covenant with you.

‘’Formally it's not quite certain where the noun עקב ('aqeb) comes from but some scholars suggest from an unused verb that means to be protuberant. But the meaning of the noun becomes clear from its applications in the Bible. It seems that the basic idea of this word is anything last of lowest. It may denote the hoofs of horses (Genesis 49:17) but also a man's buttocks (Jeremiah 13:22). It means the rear of a troop (Genesis 49:19) or the print of one's foot (Psalm 89:51).’’ Abiram publications.

The word “eikev” used here in the text as “because” is unusual (used about seven times in the Torah). The sages say much about this unusual use of the conjunction “because” (a conjunction is a word that joins together words, phrases or sentences)

In the context of this Torah portion “eikev” which means “heel” is used as the conjunction between our keeping YHVH Torah and YHVH’s blessing us. “Ekev” or “heel” may be a hint as to our “Halacha” or our walking in the Torah or not walking in the Torah. In other word what kind of “footprint” are our lives leaving behind us?

The first time the word “ekev” is used is in Ber/ Gen 3:15 “And I put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed. He shall crush your head, and you shall crush His heel” (ekev). This is clearly one of the first prophetic references we have of the coming Messiah in the Torah. It appears that the kind of “walk” the Messiah would have would crush the head of the enemy and the enemy would do everything in his power to hinder that walk. This is true of the followers of Messiah to this day. If we (jointly) walk as Messiah walked, we will experience the blessing but also the opposition from the enemy.

Parashat 45 Portion 131 Dev 6:4-7:27 Zech14:1-9 Mark 12:28-34

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.)

    Zec 14:1  See, a day shall come for יהוה, and your spoil shall be divided in your midst. 

    Zec 14:2  And I shall gather all the nations to battle against Yerushalayim.a And the city shall be taken, the houses plundered, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into exile, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Footnote: a Joe_3:2, Zep_3:8, Rev_16:14. 

     Zec 14:9  And יהוה shall be Sovereign over all the earth¹. In that day there shall be one יהוה, and His Name one. Footnote: ¹Isa. 24:23, Dan. 2:44, Rev. 11:15.  

 Context:

“All nations will be gathered together by YHVH against Jerusalem, and will take the city and plunder it, and lead away the half of its inhabitants into captivity (Zec_14:1, Zec_14:2). YHVH will then take charge of His people; Yahshua will appear upon the Mount of Olives, and by splitting this mountain, prepare a safe way for the rescue of those that remain, and come with all His set apart ones (Zec_14:3-5) to complete His kingdom. From Jerusalem a stream of salvation and blessing will pour over the whole land (Zec_14:6-11); the enemies who have come against Jerusalem will be miraculously smitten, and destroy one another (Zec_14:12-15). The remnant of the nations, however, will turn to YHVH, and come yearly to Jerusalem, to keep the feast of Tabernacles (Zec_14:16-19); and Jerusalem will become thoroughly set apart (Zec_14:20, Zec_14:21). From this brief description of the contents, it is perfectly obvious that our chapter contains simply a further expansion of the summary announcement of the judgment upon Israel, and its refinement (Zec_13:7-9). Zec_14:1, Zec_14:2 show how the flock is dispersed, and for the most part perishes; Zec_14:2-5, how the YHVH brings back His hand over the small ones; vv. 6-21, how the rescued remnant of the nation is endowed with salvation, and the kingdom of YHVH completed by the reception of the believers out of the heathen nations. There is no essential difference in the fact that the nation of Israel is the object of the prophecy in Zec_13:7-9, and Jerusalem in ch. 14. Jerusalem, as the capital of the kingdom, is the seat of Israel, the nation of YHVH; what happens to it, happens to the people and kingdom of YHVH.”

Zep 3:8  “Therefore wait for Me,” declares יהוה, “until the day I rise up for plunder. For My judgment is to gather nations, to assemble reigns, to pour out on them My rage, all My burning wrath. For by the fire of My jealousy all the earth shall be consumed. (this verse contains every letter of the Hebrew alphabet)

The Conversion of the Nations

Zep 3:9  “For then I shall turn unto the peoples a clean lip,[b] so that they all call on the Name of יהוה, to serve Him with one shoulder. Footnote: bOr language. 

Hebrew Alphabet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=95&v=u480f0vEbaQ

Our portion from the Nazarene Talmud (Second Writings/Messianic Scripture wrongfully called New Testament) supports the significance of this truth.

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.’ This is the first command.

Mar 12:31  “And the second, like it, is this, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ 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.

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, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is more than all the burnt 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.

Deu 6:4  “Hear, O Yisra’ĕl: יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one!

ד  שְׁמַע, יִשְׂרָאֵל:  יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ, יְהוָה אֶחָד.

In the Torah “sefer”- scroll, the ‘’ayin” of the ‘’shemah’’ and the ‘’daleth’’ of the ‘’echad” are enlarged.  The Hebrew word “Ayin Daleth” pronounced “Ed” means a “witness.” When Ayin Daleth is pronounced “Ad” it means eternal. Together we conclude that those who declare the “Shema” in “Spirit and in Truth” are the eternal witnesses of YHVH’s redemptive plan and purpose through Messiah.

Paradoxically “Ed” spelled the same as “witness” in Hebrew can also refer to a woman’s menstrual cloth – see Yesh/Is 64:6

Amo 3:1  Hear(shemah) this word that יהוה has spoken against you, O children of Yisra’ĕl, against the entire clan which I brought up from the land of Mitsrayim, saying,

Amo 3:2  “You alone have I known of all the clans of the earth, therefore I punish you for all your crookednesses.”

Parashat 45 Portion 130 Dev 5:1-6:3 Josh 1:1-9 Matt 5:17-20

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.)

Pirkei Avot – The Ethics of the Fathers chapter 5 says ''with 10 utterances the world was created''.

This week we once again consider the 10 sayings Moshe received from YHVH on Mount Sinai. The first time these 10 sayings appear, they are found in parashat Yitro – Shemot 20.  These 10 sayings are repeated by Moshe in this parasha – “Ve et chanan.”

Almost 40 years separated the first and second record of these 10 sayings. The second time, the 10 sayings were given just before Yisrael entered into the Promised Land.

     The 10 sayings are and always will be Yisrael’s “Freedom Charter.” 

A “charter” is defined as a “written grant by the sovereign or legislative power of a country, in order to establish a people or an organization. This written document contains the principles on which such a people or organization will be established and maintain their freedom and existence.”

Man has never been able to produce a “Freedom Charter” that has provided peace and prosperity for all its people.

YHVH has given us a “Freedom Charter” that will bring those whom He has chosen into freedom. The very first and foundational principle of YHVH’s “Freedom Charter” is found in Dev/Deut 5:6  ‘I am יהוה your Elohim who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of bondage.”

Deu 5:1  And Mosheh called all Yisra’ĕl, and said to them, “Hear, O Yisra’ĕl, the laws and right-rulings which I speak in your hearing today. And you shall learn them, and guard to do them. (Here is an enlarged ayin and daleth)

Deu 5:2  “יהוה our Elohim made a covenant with us in Ḥorĕḇ.

Deu 5:3  “יהוה did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. (In the last days this covenant will be renewed – Jer 31:31)

Deu 5:4  “יהוה spoke with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.

Deu 5:5  “I stood between יהוה and you at that time, to declare to you the Word of יהוה – for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain – saying:

Deu 5:6  ‘I am יהוה your Elohim who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of bondage.

“Anochi” “I and only I alone” –

Isa 43:10 …..Before Me there was no Ěl formed, nor after Me there is none.

Isa 43:11  “I, I am יהוה, and besides Me there is no saviour. (Heb moshiah)

Isa 45:5  ‘I am יהוה, and there is none else – there is no Elohim besides Me.

Act 4:12  “And there is no deliverance in anyone else, for there is no other Name under the heaven given among men by which we need to be saved.”

The Gk word “soteria” is often translated “salvation” but means “deliverance or safety.”