Scroll to Scroll: Todays Parsha #47: Reeh (see)

PART 1: THE LAST AND CURRENT TORAH PORTIONS ANSWERS TO LAST WEEKS STUDY QUESTIONS (Ekev): 1) In this part of Devarim, we see that Abba YHWH is commanding a kind of scorched earth-no mercy approach to dealing with the Canaanites. Entire populations are to be put to the sword, not just the male warriors. My question is this: Why would YHWH Who is so full of mercy do this? There are certain junctures in Israelite/Hebrew/Jewish history that are foundational. By that I mean that YHWH has been unfolding His plans for humanity, His Kingdom or Government. Along the way there are certain milestones that, if not reached, will grind the whole process down to a halt and prevent salvation. Such is the case here in Devarim. If the Israelites simply become Semitic pagans, nothing that YHWH has done for them will matter. It is the specific establishment of these 12 tribes Set-Apart to teach the world that matters here. But instead of Israel being special and teaching the nations righteousness, Israel instead wants to be like everyone else! The stakes here could not be higher. No Set-Apart tribes means no King David and no King David means no Yshua. And so, at these critical points, the penalties get EXTRA HARSH than they otherwise would be. 2) Are these kinds of harsh warfare tactics permissible today? It depends. Generally NO is the answer, because Israel has been restored and Yshua was able to come and bring the Gospel and open the way to eternal life for us. However, if Israel is put in physical jeopardy from her manifold enemies to the point that another Holocaust could happen for the Jewish people, then YHWH will reign TOTAL WAR down on her enemies. This is what happened in 1948, 1967, 1973 and will more than likely happen again. 3) What are some other reasons why YHWH is not driving the pagan nations out immediately other than, for the wild beasts would be too numerous for you?

If Abba YHWH drives all the pagans out of Canaan, He cannot test Israel. YHWH had commanded that the Israelites make no treaties with nor intermarry with these people. If all the pagans therefore are not there, neither is the test there for Israel to see if they will obey. In addition to that, YHWH doesnt want Israel to simply take over estates and vineyards and so on that they didnt earn or work for. Anything that is given without serious effort or payment tends to be under-valued. And so, Israel must FIGHT for her land and WORK at building it up. If not, there is no sense of gratitude and the pagan influences in the land will also remain, encouraging idolatry and perhaps also having Israel bring back these pagans into treaty and so on even though they were supposed to drive them out. 4) Where do we see solid evidence in this Torah portion that the old fall to fall calendar did not completely go away and that what we think of as a modern rabbinic title for an important feast is actually strongly hinted at in the Torah? MERESHIT HASHANA VEAD ACHARIT HA SHANA (11:12) = from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. This is probably going fall to fall, with the thinly veiled allusion to ROSH HASHANNA. This is because of 11:13 also which reads If you will obey My commandments that I command to you today to love YHWH with all your heart and soul and strength. It was customary even by direct reference in the Torah for the entire Torah to be read in the 7th month of Tishri. This was confirmed by Ezra and others post captivity as well. The early and late rains (also 11:14) refer to a fall to fall cycle. Growing season in Israel was in the winter months, first harvest in the spring. This is evidence that the old Tishri to Tishri calendar didnt completely go away after Exodus 12:1-2 instituted the new system. The rabbis remember this and have kept that old system in place as the civil year. 5) In this Haftorah portion, there is one thing that Yeshayahu (Isaiah) mentions that would clearly cause him to oppose one of the most famous Rabbinic extrascriptural rulings. What does Yeshayahu demand that the Rabbis have disagreed with him on?
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Which of you fears Yahweh and listens to his servant's voice? Which of you walks in darkness and sees no light? Let him trust in the name of Yahweh and lean on his God! (Isaiah 50:10 NJB) So Yeshayahu is telling people to trust in the NAME of Yahweh and RELY on it, and the Rabbis are saying the opposite by banning the Name! AND NOW FOR THIS WEEKS PORTION 1) Meaning of this weeks Torah portion and summary of contents:

Reeh means see, and it begins with that great summary of the covenantI set aside two ways for you, blessing and cursing, life and death. Shortly afterwards, a number of regulations about the place for YHWHs NameJerusalem though no one other than YHWH knows that yetare given. Some kosher regulations are restated or clarified and the law of the shemittah is given and explained. The portion wraps up with a restatement of the Hebrew festivals. 2) Parsha (English-Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17). This week we will read the entire portion. 3) Play by Play commentary where appropriate. 4) Point out key Hebrew words/terms. Color Commentary: In both 11:27 and 11:28 the phrase will come is implied but not stated in the Hebrew with respect to what triggers the blessings and the curses. which you have not known (11:28). Look up Deuteronomy 13:3, 13:7, 13:14. To 'know' Elohim is interpreted as knowing Him in a mystical sense, especially among the Kabbalists. See 1 Chronicles 28:9. (cf. HaKethav VeHaKabbalah). VENATATAH ET-HABARACHA AL-HAR (11:29) = You must place those doing the blessing on the mountain. The number, configuration and manner of placement is as important as the blessing itself. Putting certain tribes in certain places is interpreted by some Rabbis as a way to declare the blessing. DEREK MAVOA HASHEMESH (11:30) = sunset highway. From context, this appears to be the ancient highway running from north to south through the mountains. This highway passed just to the east of Mount Gerizim and Mount Eival, they were 'beyond this mountain.' It may have been called 'Sunset Highway' (Derekh Mavo HaShemesh), because from where the Israelites were, the sun appeared to set on the mountain through which the road ran. 11:30 another Gilgal. (cf. Sotah 33b). This is not Gilgal mentioned in Joshua 4:19, 5:9 (Ibn Ezra; HaKethav VeHaKabbalah), but a city some 20 miles west of Shechem, now known as Jiljulieah, possibly in Joshua 12:23 (cf. Septuagint ad loc.), and perhaps also in, 2 Kings 2:1, Nehemiah 12:29. In ancient times, a road led from Shechem to this Gilgal. VETACHAT KOL-ETZ RAANAN (12:2) = and under every luxuriant tree, is literally many branched tree because the more branches the more fruit and the more lush the tree is. LO TAASUN KEN LYAHWEH ELOHEYCHEM (12:4) = You shall not worship YHWH your Elohim in this way. A very important clarification that chastens Israel for her past yet also carries a heavy rebuke for our present. Some who worshipped the Golden Calf said, This be our El, O Israel and Aaron proclaimed that day a feast to

YHWH. But neither of these things was approved of by Abba YHWH. He says to NOT worship him through idols or to syncretize pagan worship and adapt it for His honor. See also Deuteronomy 12:31 for the confirmation of this interpretation. And yet both Christianity and Judaism to some degrees do just that. This is why Yshua said to haSatan, Worship Elohim and Him only shall you serve. Abba YHWH has no form, and He explicitly commands that statues and imageswhether Nativity scenes or marble statuesnot be used in veneration even if He is the object of the veneration. And by the way, the same thing holds with regards to angels (Rev 19:1) And after these things, I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying: "Hallelu-YAH:67 Deliverance,68 and strength, and glory, and honor to our Elohim: (Rev 19:2) for, true and righteous are his judgments; for he has judged that great harlot who corrupted the earth with her harlotry; and has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand."69 (Rev 19:3) And again they said: "Hallelu-YAH: and her smoke ascends up forever and ever." (Rev 19:4) And the twenty-four Elders fell down, and the four Creatures, and worshipped Elohim who sits on the throne, saying: "Amen: Hallelu-YAH!" (Rev 19:5) And a voice came forth from the throne, saying: "Praise our Elohim, all you his servants; and such as fear Him, small and great." (Rev 19:6) And I heard, as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of heavy thunders, saying: "Hallelu-YAH; for our Master YHWH Elohim, Omnipotent, reigns. (Rev 19:7) Let us rejoice and exult, and give glory to him: for the marriage supper of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. (Rev 19:8) And it was granted her to be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean: for fine linen is the righteousness of the Set Apart believers." (Rev 19:9) And he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are they who are called to the supper of the marriage feast of the Lamb.'" And he said to me, "These my (sayings) are the true Words of Elohim."70 (Rev 19:10) And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, "See that you do not do this; I am your fellow-servant and of those your Brothers who have the testimony of Y'shua. Worship you Elohim: for the testimony of Y'shua is the Spirit of Prophecy." (Rev 22:8) And moreover I am Yochanan, the hearer and the seer of these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the Messenger who showed me these things. (Rev 22:9) And he said to me: "See, that you do not do this: I am your fellow-servant and of your Brothers the prophets, and of them that observe the words of this book. Worship Elohim."

EL HAMAQOM ASHER YIVAKHAR YHWH (12:5) = The place that YHWH will choose. Some rabbis posit that the place would not be identified until the ultimate king was selected, meaning David. Other rabbis point out that the chosen king was always going to come somewhere from Judah. VISHAVTEM BETACH (12:10) = and you dwell in security. Here it seems Jerusalem could not be selected as the Place for My Name until YHWH promised this security which He does here. TERUMAH YADIKEM (12:11) = hand-delivered elevated gifts Terumah in Hebrew. The reference is to the first fruits, which were hand-delivered (Deuteronomy 26:4; Yevamoth 73b; Rashi). This might also be referring to the priestly terumah, if there were no local priests to whom it could be given (Ramban). See Deuteronomy 12:10. AKALTA BASAR (12:15) = eat meat. But a deeper meaning is also there. We saw last week that one of the names for Satan in Aramaic is AKEL QARTZA, figuratively the accuser but literally devourer of flesh. Another linkage is in Numbers 11 where they Israelites crave meat and YHWH destroys them by stuffing them full of it so much that they die. There are also different levels of clean and unclean because in this case meat refers ONLY to kosher animals, but to be worthy of sacrificing they must not have a blemish. So unclean here refers to an otherwise kosher animal that is not worthy of the higher restrictions for sacrifice. It most certainly does NOT mean you can eat bacon!!! Please see the clarifying statement to this effect in Deuteronomy 14:21. Another application of this same idea has to do with the deer and gazelle mentioned here. Although these animals are kosher for regular consumption (Deuteronomy 14:5) they cannot be otherwise offered on the altar regardless as to how blemish free they may be. Such a case then validates the above assumption. AL ADAMATECHA (12:19) = on your land. Kind of implies there is a future when you might not be in your land. The rabbis ruled that for Jews in exile, there was no standing regulation to support a Levite other than the general mitzvah to support any poor person. HA-YASHAR BEYNEY YAHWEH (12:25) = morally upright in the eyes of Yahweh. Highlighting the word YASHAR (morally upright) which is its proper use in Tanakh, as an ADJECTIVE and not a proper name. The Book of Yashar as mentioned in Scripture is NOT a book written by a man named Yashar, but The Book of the Upright; none of the alleged versions of this book are this ancient original, since they comes from the Middle Ages, if not later. TOWEBAH (12:31) = abomination. This is as serious as a sin can get in YHWHs eyes. I believe there is a bit of mysticism going on in the word. The word for good things, blessings is TOB. But interfering in the spelling of the good things is an AYIN. The

letter AYIN represents nothingness or desolation in mystical thought so you could read this word as all good things are desolate/lacking as a decent working definition of abomination. It is also interesting to note that abomination also frequently is linked to desolation as a sign of the anti-Messiah. ET-KOL HA-DAVAR ASHER ANOCHI METZAVEH ETCHEM OTO TISHMERU LAASOT ALAV VELO TIGRA MIMENU (13:1) = Carefully guard/observe all the Words I am laying a charge upon you (to do); neither add to them nor subtract from them. Here we see a very clear arrangement that is against Rabbinic Oral Law. They cannot add to nor take away from the Written Torah, either by modifying a document or nullifying it in oral practice. The Hebrew here is very specific with the phrase ET-KOL HA-DAVAR towards ALL my Words whether those words are merely instructions passed down from Moshe just prior to his writing them down or written down fully is irrelevant. The point is that people after Moshe cannot add to this instruction, but they can clarify it or give revelations from the Ruach haKodesh on how to DO it. SITH (13:7) = missionary from the verb SUTH, to entice or seduce, to lead Israel astray to worship pagan gods. I hate to say it, but we really do have a Sith Lord who draws people over to the dark side. I wonder how strong George Lucas Hebrew is. One who does it can also be called MESITH. I remarked on another Hebrew word YADEA, one who knows, which became YODA. For Hebrew is an ally and a powerful ally it is. It surrounds us, penetrates us and binds Creation together. Learn more of it, you will. There is no try.
6508

[ 6509] (Hebrew) (page 694) (Strong 5496)

[ ]vb. Hiph. incite, allure, instigate (NH Hiph., id.);Hiph. Pf. 3 ms. sf. 1S 26:19, Jb 36:16; 3 fs. 1 K 21:25 (Ges: 72 w K:i. 460); 3 pl. sf. Je 38:22 (Ges: 72 ee); Impf. 3 ms. 2 K 18:32 + 2 t., but also 2 S 24:1, 1 Ch 21:1, sf. Dt 13:7, Jb 36:18, etc.; Pt. Je 43:3, 2 Ch 32:11; 1. a. incite to make a request (c. acc. pers. + inf.) Ju 1:14 (on text v. GFM) = Jos 15:18. b. allure

2 Ch 18:31 and God allured them away fr. him (si vera l.; del. cl. against, 1 S 26:19, 2 S 24:1, Je 43:3,

as gloss Be Kit); so also Jb 36:16 acc. to De Hi Bu al.; he allureth thee out of the mouth of distress, but Di Du freedom hath seduced thee; for meaning seduce, entice, cf. also v:18. 2. instigate, in bad sense, c. acc. pers., + Jb 2:3; c. acc. pers. alone 1 K 21:25, 2 K 18:32 = Is 36:18, cf. 2 Ch 32:15, Dt 13:7 Je 38:22; + inf. 1 Ch 21:1, 2 Ch 18:2, 32:11.

Deuteronomy 14:1-2 and the commands about having beards or being clean shaven we will discuss extemporaneously right now. SNAPIR VE-KASKESET (14:10) = fins and scales. These simple words amaze me. It wouldnt be until very recently that humans would be able to go to the very bottom of the sea. In fact, we have only been to the deepest part of the oceanthe Mariannes Trench twice on the extreme bottom from what I have heard. We now know what YHWH did

3500 years ago. All fish without scales and fins are unhealthy for humans and most of them are bottom feeders like shrimp that feed on carcasses and toxins. But all the Israelites had to know was to demand fins and scales and no problems would arise! GER (14:21) = stranger. Rabbis make an interesting comment (Stone Chumash, p. 1013) that in this context GER does not mean proselyte, because they perceive there could be another class of GER that lives among the Jews but only observes the Noachide laws and does not have to abstain from unkosher meat. They further point out that if PROSELYTE was meant here, the unkosher meat would be prohibited to him as well as any other Jew. While on the surface this appears to solve some problems, I maintain that there is one Torah for the Jew and for the foreigner in their midst and that Noachide laws are a rabbinic illusion. Its not that those rules arent in the Torahits their misapplication that is at issue here. Rather, the regulation seems to be meant to not let food go to waste that is unfit for the altar but that can in other ways extend human life. 14:21-extemperaneous discussion: You shall not boil a goat in its mothers milk vs. current rabbinic kashrut. LO TEVASHEL GEDI BACHALEV IMO (14:21) = Do not boil a goat in the milk of his mother. There is nothing about any other meat being discussed here. Bible.ort.org has an extremely irresponsible translationone of the worst I have ever seen: Do not cook meat in milk, even that of its mother. What part of GEDI (goat) is not clear???? ASER TEASER ET-KOL TVUAT ZARECHA HAYOTSE HASDEH SHANAH SHANAH (14:22) = Take another tithe of all the seed crops that come forth in the field year after year. When comparing the instruction to Numbers 18:4, this tithe was given in addition to the priestly tithe in every year of the 7 year cycle except the 3rd and 6th (Deuteronomy 14:28). This tells us at this early time the Israelites surely knew the exact timing of Land Sabbaths and Jubilees, but they will forget this understanding corporately within 200 years. SHEMITTAH (15:1) = letting drop, or a temporary remission of debts. TIKAPHETZ ET-YADKHA (15:7) = draw together or close your fist. This command follows the phrase harden your hearta rebuke given against Pharaohto show that bad mental attitudes lay the foundation for bad actions. Yshuas halacha though went further than just opening ones hand to help the poor. Instead, he wanted an open hand that was HIDDEN from public view, i.e. dont let your left hand know what your right is doing. QARA (15:9) = cry out against you. The word can also mean to proclaim publicly, read, which has a sense that the poor man could embarrass you publicly if you bend the shemmitah law to avoid paying him back.

EVED OLAM (15:17) = servant foreverthis may not actually mean forever. Some interpreters believe even this slave will be set free at the time of the Yovel or Jubilee, or at least he will have a chance to decide to be free if he chooses to leave. Chapter 16Discussion on the Feasts. From Stone Chumash, p. 1020: Verse 16:1 speaks of Pesach as being in the month of SPRINGTIME and admonishes the people that they must observe this month. From this, the Sages derive one of the primary rules of the Jewish calendar: The month of Nisan must fall in the spring and the Sanhedrin has the responsibility to add a thirteenth month to the year from time to time to prevent Nisan from moving up to the winter. Now of course the rabbis also have extensive justifications about how this leads to the Rabbinic calendar, but ultimately history proves that assertion wrong. The 19 year cycle that is at the most ancient heart of their system was not discovered until 1000 years after Moshe died. But we can figure out, based on what we know about the ancient Egyptian civilization that Moshe grew up in for 40 years and other ancient testimonies that harmonize with Scripture. SHESHET YAMIM (16:8) = Six days, but the context of the text demands it actually means, six ADDITIONAL days because the 15th has already started (16:6-7). There are actually three separate ways the Torah text chooses to count a total of 8 days, or rather a feast that occurs across part or all of 8 days, inclusive of the late afternoon sacrifice on the 14th. I find it therefore easiest to use the full 8 day reckoning, 14th to 21st inclusive. CHAG HA-SUKOT TAASEH LECHA SHIVAT YAMIM BEOSPECHA MIGORNECHA UMIYIKVAECHA (16:13) = The feast of Sukkot you will make for yourselves. For seven days you will rejoice when you bring in the products of your threshing floor and wine vat. This wording confirms what we saw last week. Also see the BONUS POWERPOINT that shows ETH (season) is related to agriculture cycles. Since grapes ripen in the summer, it takes time for them to ferment into new wine, proving this feast is aligned with the fall equinox
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And the sun, the ruler of the day, making two equinoxes every year, both in spring and autumn. The spring equinox in the constellation of Aries, and the autumnal one in Libra, gives the most evident demonstration possible of the divine dignity of the number seven. For each of the equinoxes takes place in the seventh month, at which time men are expressly commanded by law to celebrate the greatest and most popular and comprehensive festivals; since it is owing to both these seasons, that all the fruits of the earth are engendered and brought to perfection; the fruit of corn, and all other things which are sown, being owing to the vernal equinox; and that of the vine, and of all the other plants which bear

hard berries, of which there are great numbers, to the autumnal one. (Philo, On Creation, 1:116) PLEASE SEE THE BONUS POWERPOINT The 4 Calendar Laws attached to this weeks teachings!!! Torah Question of the Week: How does the Shemittah cycle for setting a servant free every 7 years relate to the Jubilee cycle? END PART 1

PART 2: THE HAFTORAH Torah Question of the Week: How does the Shemittah cycle for setting a servant free every 7 years relate to the Jubilee cycle? The short answer is: it doesnt! The 7 year clock for the servants is tied to when they are first indentured to their master and not to nearest land sabbath or Jubilee. 1) Haftorah portion (English- Isaiah 54:11-55:5) and discuss common themes with the Torah portion. 2) Our linguistic commentary SARA LA NACHAMA (54:11) = storm tossed (and) not comforted. NACHAM is the same as NOAH, the man whose name means comfort but who was also tossed in a storm. QUM (54:17) = translated here as accused but literally means no tongue that STANDS UP against you. QUM is normatively stand or stands again, or resurrection. Yshua commands the paralytic with QUM WHALACH (rise and walk), in Yochanan 5:8. ANEG/ONEG (55:2) = delight, dainty, to be soft and delicate. Same word is used with respect to calling the Shabbat a delight and the Saturday afternoon meal as well. 2nd Bonus Teaching! Haftorah Thought of the Week: Living Bread and Water In the last words Yshua has for humanity, he reiterates some of his most important concepts about using food and drink as a metaphor for eternal life: Rev 22:13 "I am Alap and the Taw,46 the First and the Last, the Beginning and the Completion. Rev 22:14 Blessed are they who do His (Master YHWH's) Mitzvot,47 that they may have a right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city. Rev 22:15 Without (will be) dogs and sorcerers, and whoremongers and manslayers and idolaters, and everyone that loves and does falsehood.Rev 22:16 I Y'shua have sent my Messenger to testify to you these things before the assemblies. I am the root and offspring of Dawid: like the splendid star of the morning. Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, 'You come.' And let him that hears, say, 'You come.' And let him who thirsts, come; and he that is inclined, let him take the living water freely."(AENT)

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But what many may not realize is that Yshua is, in an indirect way, quoting from the prophet Yeshayahu which we just read Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty; though you have no money, come! Buy and eat; come, buy wine and milk without money, free! 2 Why spend money on what cannot nourish and your wages on what fails to satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and you will have good things to eat and rich food to enjoy. 3 Pay attention, come to me; listen, and you will live. I shall make an everlasting covenant with you in fulfilment of the favors promised to David. 4 Look, I have made him a witness to peoples, a leader and lawgiver to peoples. 5 Look, you will summon a nation unknown to you, a nation unknown to you will hurry to you for the sake of Yahweh your Elohim, because the Holy One of Israel has glorified you. 6 Seek out Yahweh while he is still to be found, call to him while he is still near. (Isaiah 55:1-6 NJB) This food of course is from obeying YHWH and His Torah. In his Aramaic dialect, Yshua often used this metaphor as well. In Yochanans Gospel, he favored the relatively rare term for food MAKULTHA because it sounded close to the word for kingdom MALKUTHA, and he often made the point that My FOOD is to do the will of my Father and that definition also held to the kingdom word it sounded like, i.e. that to get into the kingdom we also had to do the will of his Father! I also think this line from Ezekiel that I quoted from recently also bears repeating here: He then said, 'Son of man, eat what you see; eat this scroll, then go and speak to the House of Israel.' 2 I opened my mouth; he gave me the scroll to eat 3 and then said, 'Son of man, feed on this scroll which I am giving you and eat your fill.' So I ate it, and it tasted sweet as honey. (Ezekiel 3:1-3 NJB) As we saw last time when I quoted the above, this is the meaning behind this is my body, this is my blood for the matzah and wine Yshua blessed at his Passover Seder on the last night of his life. The meaning: Take my teaching in like good food and drink and make it a part of you. Similarly though, evil also has a feast of food and drink. Paul talks about eating from the table of the Messiah OR from the table of demons. Proverbs 4:17 also talks about an evil feast where people, eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence, again, they have taken the EVIL ways into their inner hearts, as if they consumed them. Such is the case on the dark side, but the Torah, as we just saw, tasted like honey in the mouth of the prophet. The metaphor though even extends to some unexpected places: (Mar 2:18) Now the disciples of Yochanan and the Pharisees would fast, and they came and said to him, "Why do the disciples of Yochanan and the Pharisees fast, and your disciples do not fast?" (Mar 2:19) Y'shua said to them, "As long as the bridegroom is among them, the

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sons of the wedding feast are able not to fast. (Mar 2:20) But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them. In that day they will then fast. (Mar 2:21) No man places a new patch onto an old garment and sews it, or else the new patch be taken away from the old and the tear becomes larger. (Mar 2:22) And no man puts new wine into old wineskins or else the wine bursts the wineskins, and the wineskins are destroyed and the wine is poured out. Rather, they put new wine into new wineskins." (AENT) First, I should point out that the Pharisees are probably WRONGLY assuming that Yochanans disciples are friendlier to the Oral Laws rules on fasting more than Yshua and his followers are. It may simply be that Yochanans disciples decided to fast voluntarily on the same occasion or day of the week that the Pharisees did. For example, in one of Yshuas parables, the Pharisee and the tax collector, the Pharisee brags about fasting twice a week, and that is not in the Written Torah at all, but doing it for a special reason or voluntarily is allowed. Having said that and understanding that this really is a debate about Oral Law, Yshuas food-drink metaphor is very powerful. The Torah is the old wine, the SWEET wine fermented over time and as Yshua also says, and no one after drinking the old wine wants the new, for the old is better. So the Torah is BETTER, as the old wine, but what is the new wine? To answer this properly, first we know that the ancients fermented wine in wineskins rather than glass bottles as we do now. Like our own rare and precious wine, it is important to keep those wineskins SEALED until it is ready to be enjoyed. NO ONE and to any wine lover like myself or my father this is a huge sinshould ever prematurely open the wineskin, ADD new wine, re-seal it and act as if the wine had always been that way. This is a perfect metaphor for Oral Law. The Pharisees tried to fill up the wineskins that were already perfect, already brimming with the sweet old wine, with their new wine and the result is the skins burst and ruined everything! If that isnt a shot against the bough of Oral Law, I dont know what is. I should also point out that both Yeshayahu and Yshua are saying that the wine/water/bread of YHWH comes from obeying His Torah. Yeshayahu in fact confirms this again:
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Let the wicked abandon his way and the evil one his thoughts. Let him turn back to Yahweh who will take pity on him, to our Elohim, for he is rich in forgiveness; 8 for my thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways, declares Yahweh. 9 For the heavens are as high above earth as my ways are above your ways, my thoughts above your thoughts. 10 For, as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return before having watered the earth, fertilizing it and making it germinate to provide seed for the sower and food to eat, 11 so it is with the word that goes from my mouth: it will not return to me unfulfilled or before having carried out my good pleasure and having achieved what it was sent to do. (Isaiah 55:7-11 NJB)

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And so, in the end, you really are what you eat! 3) Renewed Covenant portion: (English) 1 Yochanan 4:1-6; 2:18-25 (all the way through with applicable footnotes.) 4) Highlight common themes in Aramaic (terms in footnotes which I will read): 1 John 2:18 As before, "false Messiahs" is used deliberately rather than the proper title of the genuine one, Y'shua the Mashiyach. Extended extemporaneous commentary on 1 Yochanan 4:1-6, what it means and what it doesnt mean. 5) Apply these themes/issues to modern issues in the Netzari faith. (The tongue is a deadly poison as Yaakov says. In this Haftorah portion the tongue literally RISES to accuse falsely, and therefore takes on a name similar to Satan, the Accuser. But righteousness leads to the real meaning of QUM, to rise from the dead as Yshua did.) 6) Relate to all or part of an Appendix portion of AENT or footnotes from a portion (Twelve Tribes p. 1005). STUDY QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED NEXT WEEK FOR THIS PORTION: 1) In this Torah portion there is, at least in my opinion, the number one lie told by anti-missionaries to discourage Jews from following Yshua. What do you think that lie is and how do we discredit it? 2) What title is here exclusive to Israel but is later extended to the Gentiles in the NT under certain circumstances? 3) This week we saw a classic example of a Rabbinic fence where the command to not boil a goat in its mothers milk was excessively and unjustifiably extended to apply to not ever having any milk with any meat products. But what was the very first Rabbinic fence in history and who did it? 4) If you know the answer to #3, tell me what the result of this fence was according to the Torah. 5) What is yet another example of a major instruction being altered for the sake of a different audience/situation yet not contradicting the original rules?

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Torah Thought for the Week: Did Yshuas Executioners Think They were Fulfilling Deuteronomy 13? Sometimes, in our zeal to proclaim our Messiah Yshua, we forget that the bad guys in the Gospel story may have also had honorablethough misplacedintentions. Take, for example, the Sanhedrin that condemned Yshua to death. Nazarene studies have often focused on how various court procedures were bent and others outright broken. Others will no doubt point outrightly of coursethat technically speaking only Romans could put Jewish countrymen to death. All these paths are correct in their own sense, but each one is missing another piece: There was Scripture (perhaps) behind the decision to put Yshua to death, and it is found in this weeks Torah portion: 'If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you, offering you some sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder comes about; and if he then says to you, "Let us follow other gods (hitherto unknown to you) and serve them," you must not listen to that prophet's words or to that dreamer's dreams. Yahweh your Elohim is testing you to know if you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and all your soul. Yahweh your Elohim is the one whom you must follow, him you must fear, his commandments you must keep, his voice you must obey, him you must serve, to him you must hold fast. That prophet or that dreamer of dreams must be put to death, since he has preached apostasy from Yahweh your Elohim who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slave-labor; and he would have diverted you from the way in which Yahweh your Elohim has commanded you to walk. You must banish this evil from among you. 'If your brother, the son of your father or of your mother, or your son or daughter, or the spouse whom you embrace, or your most intimate friend, tries secretly to seduce you, saying, "Let us go and serve other gods," unknown to you or your ancestors before you, gods of the peoples surrounding you, whether near you or far away, anywhere throughout the world, you must not consent, you must not listen to him; you must show him no pity, you must not spare him or conceal his guilt. No, you must kill him, your hand must strike the first blow in putting him to death and the hands of the rest of the people following. You must stone him to death, since he has tried to divert you from Yahweh your Elohim who brought you out of Egypt, from the place of slave-labor. All Israel, hearing of this, will be afraid, and none of you will do such a wicked thing again. 'If you hear that in one of the towns which Yahweh your Elohim has given you for a home, there are men, scoundrels from your own stock, who have led their fellow-citizens astray, saying, "Let us go and serve other gods," hitherto unknown to you, it is your duty to look into the matter, examine it, and enquire most carefully. If it is proved and confirmed that such a hateful thing has taken place

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among you, you must put the inhabitants of that town to the sword; you must lay it under the curse of destruction -- the town and everything in it. You must pile up all its loot in the public square and burn the town and all its loot, offering it all to Yahweh your Elohim. It is to be a ruin for all time, and never rebuilt. From what is thus put under the curse of destruction you must keep nothing back, so that Yahweh may turn from the ferocity of his anger and show you mercy, and have pity on you and increase your numbers, as he swore he would to your ancestors, on condition that you listen to the voice of Yahweh your Elohim by keeping all his commandments which I am enjoining on you today, and by doing what is right in the eyes of Yahweh your Elohim.' (Deuteronomy 13:2-19 NJB) So here we have three situations that all have the same pattern: Someone says for you to go after other gods, kill them. The most startling line in that is even if the sign or word they said comes true, and this brings us right to the heart of the debate about Yshua because in other cases miracles are signs of YHWHs favora fact that is well attested to even in the Talmud! In effect, Yshua says, Believe me because of the miracles that I am from my Father, and here is proof from the Scripture. Are the Pharisees then dumb to that Scripture? No. They know it very wellbut they may have been applying Deuteronomy 13 here and thought (this is never recorded outright in the NT) that the miracles are YHWH testing them to see if they will condemn a false prophet to death! Obviously, as the Gospels show us, there was no overwhelming consensus. Sanhedrin members like Joseph of Arimathea took a different opinion. They knew that Yshua did NOT go after other gods nor persuade others to do so. Instead, he sought to reform the Judaism of his time away from the manmade Oral Law and back to the written Torah of Moshe. As a result, they might have thought Deuteronomy 13 was on point, but if their main assumption was wrongand it definitely wasthen the entire process after that was also wrong. Im Andrew Gabriel Roth and thats your Torah Thought for the Week! Next week we will be exploring Shoftim, or Deuteronomy16:18-21:9. Our Haftorah portion will be Isaiah 9:1-6:, 49:1-6 and our Renewed Covenant portion will be Acts 7:35-60. Stay tuned!

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