OFFICIAL SCROLL TO SCROLL AND TORAH 101 FALL CHAGIM AND MOEDIM SCHEDULE Shalom friends!

As I have learned over the last 3 years quite well, when I put together a calendar, sometimes the scheduled Torah portions will fluctuate slightly due to the way the Feasts intervene. This past Pesach (2013) for example, I had to modify things slightly to avoid three double portions in a row while I was on the road. Similarly, I have had to account for things for the fall as well, so this is the definitive order of Torah portions and the days of the Shabbat, Feasts and Moedim they will be attached to. If there is a conflict between this list of Torah readings and the 2013 calendar (which is 100% accurate for the actual dates) please go with this list. Todah Rabba and Chag Sameyach! Andrew Friday, August 31st: Double Portion of Nitzavim and Vayelech. Thursday, September 5th: Yom Teruah-Rosh Hashanna Special up on or before this date. HIGH SHABBATno work of any kind allowedfrom sunset on the 5th to sunset on the 6th. (Free Special Moedim Teaching) Weekly Shabbat immediately follows, from sunset on the 6th to sunset on the 7th. Friday, September 6th: Haazinu with Shabbat Shuvah readings. Also the Torah 101 Year End Special will cover the rest of Deuteronomy, (Nitzvaim, Vayelech, Haazinu and VeZot Habarachah) but will not have any Special Moedim content. It will go up sometime between now and Yom Kippur. After that, there will not be any Torah 101 Episodes until the end of September, when Bereshit recycles back. Friday, September 13th-Sunday September 15th: Yom Kippur Weekend Special. (Free Special Moedim Teaching) Friday night: Kol Nidre explained. (There is no weekly parsha here.) Late Saturday afternoon: Fast begins late afternoon on the 9th (about 6PM) Saturday sunset: Yom Kippur officially begins Sunday until sunset: Yom Kippur fast/synagogue services/Scroll to Scroll content Thursday, September 19th: Sukkot Special 1, Day 1, up on or before this date. (Free Special Moedim Teaching) Friday, September 20th: Sukkot Special 2, Day 2/Shabbat in the Middle of the Feast. (Free Special Moedim Teaching)

Thursday, September 26th: Sukkot Special 3, Shemini Etzeret (which starts sunset this day) and 54th parsha, VeZot Habaracha. (Free Special Moedim Teaching) This special will be up well before sunset on the 26th, possibly a day earlier, depending on my schedule. It is my intention to try to give all of you a chance to breathe between the 54th and 1st portions, which are right on each others heels this year. NOTE: Because of a 1 day variance between the Rabbinic calendar and the Wheel of Stars system I use, I have to put the Shemini Etzeret/54th parsha of VeZot Habaracha up a little early in order to keep us from falling behind, because the Torah re-cycles to Bereshit that same Friday night.. Otherwise it would be too much material given at once without a break to digest it. While I have no qualms expressing my disagreement with the Rabbinic Calendar and sticking to the dates I believe are correct, I see no reason to throw people off of the Rabbinic schedule when it is not necessary. However, please bear in mind that this will not always be possible. While 99% of the time I can deal with the 1 day variance between me and the Rabbinic, 2016 and 2019 will represent a twice a century phenomenon when the Rabbis will choose the wrong new moon for Abib, and they will be doing things a month later than I will during those years. Friday, September 27th, Bereshit, normal schedule resumes.

Scroll to Scroll Double Portion! Todays Parsha #51: Nitzavim (you stand) and #52 Vayelech SPECIAL NOTE: Hebrew Civil New Year (Yom Teruah-Rosh Hashanna) is next week. There will be a Yom Teruah Special separate from the weekly Scroll to Scroll program. In addition, next Shabbat is Shabbat Shubah which means that for Haazinu, after the Torah section is done, special Haftorah readings for the Shabbat in between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur will be added. Stay tuned for special announcements as these extra teachings become available. Also please note that with both Double Portions and the arrival of Yom Teruah through the end of Sukkot, certain special rules are in effect. I will have 3 study questions for this week to answer at Haazinu, but that will be it for the next 4 weeks. Study Questions will resume with Bereshit at the end of September and bonus and other special features will be announced as we go through the Set-Apart month together!

PART 1: THE LAST AND CURRENT TORAH PORTIONS ANSWERS TO LAST WEEKS STUDY QUESTIONS (Ki Tavo): 1) What is the difference between the phrase land of Canaan and land flowing with milk and honey? The difference is that Canaan encompasses 7 nations but milk and honey only flows through 6 of them: Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Hivites, Perizities, and Jebusites. The Girgashites are excluded in the milk and honey description which may mean milk and honey did NOT flow through Girgashite territory. Other authorities believe that the Girgashites got absorbed by one of the other six nations, but if so, there is no evidence of this in the Torah text. 2) Where did we encounter the family line of Islams founder this week?
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Lift up your eyes and look around: all are assembling and coming towards you, your sons coming from far away and your daughters being carried on the hip. 5 At this sight you will grow radiant, your heart will throb and dilate, since the riches of the sea will flow to you, the wealth of the nations come to you; 6 camels in throngs will fill your streets, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; everyone in Saba will come, bringing gold and incense and

proclaiming Yahweh's praises. 7 All the flocks of Kedar will gather inside you, the rams of Nebaioth will be at your service as acceptable victims on my altar, and I shall glorify my glorious house. (Isaiah 60:4-7 NJB) According to Muslim belief, Mohammed came from the tribe of Kedar. 3) If you know the answer to #2, how does YHWH feel about this lineage? Kedar is a cursed tribe and it is also doomed
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For this is what the Lord has told me, 'In one year's time as a hired worker reckons it, all the glory of Kedar will be finished 17 and, of the valiant archers, the Kedarites, hardly any will be left, for Yahweh, God of Israel, has spoken.' (Isaiah 21:16-17 NJB)
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To Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which were conquered by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Yahweh says this: Up! March on Kedar, destroy the sons of the east! 29 Let their tents and their flocks be captured, their tent-cloths and all their gear; let their camels be seized and the shout go up, 'Terror on every side!' (Jeremiah 49:28-29 NJB) 4) Wild card question (not necessarily from this portion): One of Moshes direct descendants may have gone into paganism but this was partially covered up by the Masoretic scribes who compiled the traditional text. Where is this clue and how do we understand this cover ups reasoning? The answer is here in Judges 18 They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was Laish. The sons of Dan set up for themselves the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. So they set up for themselves Micah's graven image which he had made, all the time that the house of God was at Shiloh. (Judges 18:29-31 NAU) JPS says Here Manasseh has a suspended nun ( )indicating an earlier reading Moses; c.f. Exodus 2:22. And Stone Tanakh also explains this well The letter N of Manasseh is suspended above the line. This implies that the remaining letters are to be read as an independent wordMoses. The Talmud therefore identifies the Jonathan of our verse as the son of Gershom,

the son of Moses (Exodus 2:21-22) but out of respect for Moses a letter was added to mask his name.- The Stone Edition Tanakh, p. 632 5) How does the Parable of the Sower contain a clue about the giving of the Ten Commandments and the events that followed? 22 And that which was sown into a thorny place is he that hears the word and the cares of this world and the deception of riches choke the word, and it becomes without fruit. This reference to a THORNY place is a reference to Mount Sinai, for Sinai means thorny in Hebrew. The word, or the SEED fell at Sinai and the cares of the world choked the Israelites, causing that generation to die. AND NOW FOR THIS WEEKS PORTION 1) Meaning of this weeks Torah portion and summary of contents: Nitzvaim means you stand and it begins with more warnings for the price of disobedience. This is literally the beginning of the end of Israelite wandering and Moshes own life, so it is critical that every opportunity be taken to explain Israels responsibilities to them. This is an abnormally short portion, and this year it is combined with Vayelech. 2) Parsha (English-Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20.) This week we will read the entire portion. 3) Play by Play commentary where appropriate. 4) Point out key Hebrew words/terms. Color Commentary: ATEM NITZAVIM HA YOM (29:9) = you are standing today. Another word/root is TZAV which means to command; lay a charge upon, so as the Israelites stand they also receive their charges. VE GERECHA ASHER BE KEREV MACHANEYCHA (29:10) = from the proselyte/alien who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water. The implication is some of the workers or artisans were perhaps of other races, referencing the EREB RAB (mixed multitude) that came out of Egypt and attached to Israel (Exodus 12:38-40). ALAH (29:11) = oath but more accurately CURSE. The acceptance of the covenant includes penalties for breaking it. It may be shocking to some that when a Biblical speaker hears the phrase from Islam about ALLAH, this meaning could easily come to mind. However, to be fair, AL/EL is the general Semitic

designation for god, going from Akkadian on forward into Hebrew and Aramaic and Arabic. Islamic use of ALLAH is probably borne more directly from their Aramaic dialects accenting of Hebrew ELOAH, which would be ALAHA. Arabic has a tendency to drop the final AH sounds from proper nouns and names. As a result, Aramaic word for lightNOHRAbecomes NOHR in Arabic. Similarly, ALAHA, which the Arabians would have heard about in Aramaic by the Aramaic Christians who were in their country 300 years before Mohammed was even born, would have had its final AH dropped also. The end result is that ALAHA (Eloah) becomes ALLAH in Arabic. While there is no direct linkage between this Hebrew word to CURSE and Islams ALLAH it remains a significant fact that YHWH is not called upon even once in their scriptures. Another way to look at the dynamics within this word is to suggest that when one keeps the OATH, one avoids the CURSE for breaking it. ASHER EYNEYNU POH IMANU HA YOM (29:14) = who are not with us today. That is to say, future generations who are just as redeemed from bondage as the first generations after the Exodus were. This is why in the Hagaddah, the traditional rabbinic telling of the Passover story, there is a line that says, And if the Mighty One, blessed be He, had not redeemed our ancestors from Egypt, we too might still be there. When YHWH redeems it is for all times. When man redeems it is always temporary. WORMWOOD (29:17) = from Bible.ort.org: Laanah in Hebrew; aklam in Arabic (Saadia; Ibn Janach), exenjos in Old Spanish (Radak, Sherashim). Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) is an herb yielding a bitter, dark green oil. A paradigm of bitterness, and hence translated merely as 'bitterness' (pikra) by the Septuagint. Linkage to Revelation and the star Wormwood is pretty obvious (AGR). HITH BAREKH (29:18) = rationalize but literally bless himself. This becomes a stunning rebuke not just for folks then but for many believers today. Many people ask YHWH for blessings but the Hebrew people are unique and always bless YHWH FIRST and then ask. As this text clearly says, those who bless themselves are headed for trouble! LI KI BISHRIUT LIBI (29:18) = even if I do as I see fit but literally, according to the vision of my heart. ET SHAVUCHA VERICHAMECHA (30:3) = bring back your remnants, can also read bring back your captives. In a sense, those who are in exile are in captivity. IM YIHIYEH NIDACHACHA BIKTSEH HASHAMAYIM MISHAM YEKABETSA YAHWEH ELOHEYCHA UMISHAM YIKACHECHA (30:4) = even if your exile extends to the furthest reach of the heavens, Yahweh your

Elohim will gather you up from there and He will take you back. As Yeshayahu explains in his 50th chapter, Abba YHWH asks WHERE is your certificate of divorce that I abandoned you with? and this is a QUESTION, not a statement. Because Abba YHWH did exile Israel (to use the metaphor of a bad marriage, He put the wife out of the house for adultery with other gods) but He never gave her a WRIT of divorce to end the marriage. As a result, Abba YHWH, as the One who was cheated on had the discretion to decide to keep the marriage going, so that when He had forgiven Israel, He could bring her back instantly back into the house. MUL (30:6) = remove, but more accurately, YHWH will CIRCUMCISE your hearts. VEHOTIRCHA (30:9) = and you will prosper, but also can mean will let you live. LO BASHAMAYIM HI (30:12) = It is not in heaven! This is a battle cry the rabbis give in support of the Oral Law. More details in the Torah Thought for the Week. VENIDACHTA (30:17) = drawn away is the usual rendering, but this implies a kind of passive seduction of going to false gods. Instead, the other meanings suggest English terms like force, push out, expel. HA-IDOTI VAHEM HA-YOM ET-HA-SHAMAYIM VEET HA-ERETZ (30:19) = I call before you this day the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you. Since Abba YHWH will say in the next few words this is a matter of life and death, 2 witnesses are required to put anyone to death, even if Abba YHWH is one of the Witnesses bringing the charge. The heavens and the earthat least in some metaphoric sensemust agree with Abba YHWH on this matter in much the same way the 2 angels sent to Sodom had to sign off before destruction came there. The fact is, in some rare cases, a 3rd witness can contradict the other 2 witnesses and force an additional witness to be found to decide the matter. But in almost all cases, 2 witnesses is just fine in capital cases. Torah Question of the Week: What ancient Jewish prayer is suggested by the opening words of this Torah portion? END PART 1

PART 2: THE HAFTORAH Torah Question of the Week: What ancient Jewish prayer is suggested by the opening words of this Torah portion? The title is YOU STAND, and Nitzavim suggested a STANDING PRAYER as the Israelites are literally before the presence of YHWH. Today we call the standing prayer, which is said on Yom Kippur and other key times of the year AMIDAH (to stand). 1) Haftorah portion (English- Isaiah 61:10-63:9) and discuss common themes with the Torah portion. 2) Our linguistic commentary Please note the use throughout this portion of YASHA, YESHA and similar phrases all from the root meaning salvation, to deliver. This is the same root as Yshuas name. Take notice of 62:1 in Hebrew. TZIMCHA (61:11) = branch or sprouts. The same word used prophetically in Jeremiah 23:5-6 regarding Yshua. Noting also this is a sound-alike for SIMCHA (joy). TIPHERET (62:3) = beauty, but particularly, the kind of beauty that brings harmony. In mystical thought (Isa 62:3 WTT) this term is an attribute of YHWH that unifies masculine and feminine aspects in a harmonious heart. TZANIPH (62:3) = turban or diadem. Compare with the imagery of high priest Yehoshua ben Yehozadak in Zechariah 6:12. NISHBA YAHWAY BIMINO UVIZROA UZO (62:8) = Yahweh has sworn by His right (hand) and His strong arm. YAMIN means right. When Benjamin was named as BIN-YAMIN the literal meaning was son of my right hand. However it has always been understood as also meaning son of my strength since the right hand is usually the strong hand for people (I am left handed). Rachel originally wanted to name her son Ben Oni or son of my pain. Jacob though did not want the child to go through life feeling guilty of causing his mother pain and death in childbirth. So Jacob reasoned Rachel poured the last of her strength into giving him life. In any case the proximity of these two terms of right and strength shows in part why the two concepts became associated with one another. IMRU LEVAT-TSIYON HINEY YISHECH BA HINEH SCHARO ITO IFEULATO LEFANA (62:11) = Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold your salvation comes and behold his reward is with him and his recompense is before

him. These words are quoted fairly closely by Yshua at the end Revelation and apply to him! In Aramaic Revelation 22:13 Yshuas declaration reads: HA ATEH ANA MEKHDA (behold, come I suddenly/quickly) WAGRI AMI (and my reward [is] with me) WETEL LKOLNASH (to recompense all men/everyone) AYKH AVADEH (according to their deeds) BEAPI (63:3) = by my anger but literally nostril as a kind of nasty snort. BECHAMATI (63:3) = wrath, but literally my heat. NITZCHAM (63:3) = juice of grapes, used euphemistically as an image of bloodshed. However, the same exact root can mean eternity, perpetuity. USHNAT GEULI BAAH (63:4) = year of my redemption has come. The sense of redemption, whether with Boaz to Ruth or YHWH buying Israel for a dear price, is always reflected in the word GAAL, as it is here. This sense of transferring ownership back most squarely though applies to the Jubilee so I believe this year of redemption is a synonym for a Jubilee or Yovel year. But notice that it is MY YEAR, implying that YHWHs schedule for redemption is different than what man supposed it to be. The point seems even stronger when we read the next two lines in that context. Remember YHWH is speaking here, not Isaiah! See GAAL also in 63:9. Also read the next line AFTER the portion ends, and they grieved Him in His Ruach ha Kodesh! What a line to leave out (63:10)! 3) Renewed Covenant portion: (English). Romans 9:30-10:13 (all the way through with applicable footnotes.) Romans 9:32 55) When the Israelites followed Moshe and were obedient to YHWH by faith, they won their battles, but when they rebelled they lost and suffered great casualties. In our day when Jews seek YHWH by faith, they find Mashiyach, but they stumble when they focus not on faith but "works of Torah" according to religious authorities and traditions. Mashiyach is the greatest "stumbling stone" to man's religions but let's not pick on Jews only, because this applies equally to every other soul who regards their own religious traditions as more authoritative than YHWH and His Mashiyach. Romans 10:8 58) Rom_10:6-8 is a wonderful Midrash on Deu_30:11-14 which reads: For this Torah which I am laying down for you today is neither obscure for you nor

beyond your reach. It is not in heaven, so that you need to wonder, Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to us, so that we can hear and practice it? Nor is it beyond the seas, so that you need to wonder, Who will cross the seas for us and bring it back to us, so that we can hear and do it? No, the word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to put into practice. A common traditional saying among rabbis is derived from this verse, haTorah lo baShamayim hi (the Torah is not in heaven) which is used as their justification to twist the written Torah into subjugation under their oral traditions. Instead Rav Shaul teaches, who will ascend to heaven and bring Mashiyach down? and who will go down and raise Mashiyach from the dead? Paul is elegantly expressing Yshua as the Living Torah through the very power of Torah itself. He purposefully and literally interchanges Yshua with Torah in this quote and on very good authority. Yshua said, I am the Living Bread who has descended from Heaven Joh_6:51. Romans 10:12 60) The first time in this epistle where YHWH (MarYah) is used instead of Elohim/Eloah. This verse indicates the ONENESS of the Malchut Elohim. ONE YHWH, One Kingship and One People. This is a continuum; NOT a drastic change in Covenant, but a renewal of YHWH's people unto Himself. Romans 10:13 61) MarYah, as opposed to the Greek kurios, can only refer to YHWH, giving Aramaic a huge interpretive advantage. It is a critical fact, as is pointed out here, that Rav Shaul specifically tells believers to call on the name of YHWH, which is certainly not at all represented by the name "Jesus." Joh_17:11 tells us that the name of Y'shua is of the name YHWH. Before Rav Shaul came to believe, Y'shua had already ascended to the Right Hand of YHWH (Rev_19:13). Prayer was being offered unto YHWH in the name of Y'shua. Y'shua stated that his mission was to bring glory to His Father YHWH. Y'shua's name (YHWH is salvation) is accomplishing the salvation of YHWH. It was also prophetic that the Gentiles would come to know the Name of YHWH, according to Jer_16:1921 : "O YHWH, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto you from the ends of the earth and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is YHWH." And, of course, this is to be done according to the Perfect work of Mashiyach!

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4) Highlight common themes in Aramaic (terms in footnotes which I will read): 5) Apply these themes/issues to modern issues in the Netzari faith. (Even today people can get confused about something as simple as the Oneness of YHWH and how that manifests through His Son. The answer though has always been to root ourselves in proper Hebrew and Aramaic terms that dont change rather than English ones that do.) 6) Relate to all or part of an Appendix portion of AENT or footnotes from a portion (See NT Misconception #8: End of the Torah, p. 803). STUDY QUESTIONS ARE AT THE END OF VAYELECH Torah Thought for the Week (Nitzvaim): The Wrong Battle Cry: Lo Bashamayim Hi In the Talmud, Tractate Baba Metzia says the following: R. Eliezer declared that a certain oven made out of separate coils of clay is not susceptible to ritual defilement, while the sages declared that it was. To prove his case, R. Eliezer brought forward every imaginable argument, but the Sages did not accept any of them. Finally, he said to them If the Halakhah (religious law) is in accordance with me, let this carob tree prove it! Sure enough, the carob tree immediately uprooted itself and moved from its place. No proof can be brought from a carob tree, the sages retorted. R. Eliezer then said to them If the Halakhah agrees with me, let the channel of water prove it! Sure enough, the channel of water flowed backward. No proof can be brought from a channel of water, they rejoined. Again he urged, If the Halakhah agrees with me, let the walls of the house of study prove it! Sure enough, the walls tilted as if to fall. But R. Joshua rebuked the walls, saying, When disciples of the wise are engaged in a halakhic dispute, what right have you to interfere? Hence, in deference to R. Joshua they did not fall and in deference to R. Eliezer they did not resume their upright position; they are still standing aslant to this day. Again, R. Eliezer then said to the Sages, If the Halakhah agrees with me, let it be proved from heaven. Sure enough, a divine voice (a Bat Kol) cried out, Why do you dispute with R. Eliezer, with whom the Halakhah always agrees? R. Joshua stood up and protested: Lo Bashamayim Hi The Torah is not in heaven! (Deut. 30:12). We pay no attention to a divine voice because long ago at Mount Sinai You, God, wrote in your Torah, After the majority must one incline. (Ex. 23:2)

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The phrase LO BASHAMAYIM HI obviously comes from this Torah portion, Deuteronomy 30:12, and it is in my opinion the most Rabbinically TWISTED statement of them all. The original context, clear in both Hebrew and English is that the Torah is NOT hard!
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'For this Law which I am laying down for you today is neither obscure for you nor beyond your reach. 12 It is not in heaven, so that you need to wonder, "Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to us, so that we can hear and practice it?" 13 Nor is it beyond the seas, so that you need to wonder, "Who will cross the seas for us and bring it back to us, so that we can hear and practice it?" 14 No, the word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to put into practice. (Deuteronomy 30:11-14 NJB) Who are the people that are hearing this instruction? Surely not just the priests and leaders but ALL of Israel! The Torah is therefore NEAR all of Israel to hear it and do it. Now this is not to say they dont obey the rulings of priests and elders in certain areas. Rather, the Torah as a general model is NOT HARD. The concepts and goals of it are easy to discern when a person of course grows up in that culture of priests and other leaders to build the overall infrastructure. But thats not what the Rabbis are saying. Instead, they are saying almost the opposite that they alone have authority to interpret Torah away not just from the people but away even from YHWH Himself Who clearly disagreed with them. And they say back to YHWH, We dont listen to the divine voice! The other justification is after the majority you shall incline. However Exodus 23:2 DOES NOT READ THIS WAY! You must not carry false rumors; you shall not join hands with the guilty to act as a malicious witness: 2 You shall neither side with the mighty to do wrong -- you shall not give perverse testimony in a dispute so as to pervert it in favor of the mighty -- 3 nor shall you show deference to a poor man in his dispute. (Exodus 23:1-3 JPS 1985) 1985 and 199 JPS water things down a little bit, opting for side with the mighty to do wrong when really the word is CROWD. Actually the 1917 JPS, KJV-style language style aside, has a way more accurate reading Thou shalt not utter a false report; put not thy hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. 2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou bear witness in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to pervert justice; 3 neither shalt thou favor a poor man in his cause. (Exodus 23:1-3 JPS 1917) So instead of inclining after the majority the real reading is NOT to incline after the majority to do an evil act. Check most other translations, Jewish and Christian, and they agree. BTW that includes the Stone Tanakhthe one version you would think would

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back up the Mishnah quote here. The reason this reading is confirmed is the Hebrew is so amazingly clear going word for word: LO (do not) TIHYEH (incline/follow) AKHRI (after) RABIIM (crowds/multitudes) LERAOT (to evil). Therefore, both Torah lines are being misread, and thats putting it nicely. The Rabbis have turned LO BAHSMAYIM HI from a cry of independence that the common person can broadly at least understand the Torah into a dictatorship where only the Rabbis have the right answerseven if that means telling Abba YHWH to literally take a hike. And when YHWH spoke clearly and plainly through His Son Yshua, they didnt hear that voice either. I say these things for a simple reason: To show clearly why the Oral Law as a WHOLE is a power grab. This is not the say the Rabbis dont do a lot of great work and get a lot of stuff right in the overall system because they do. But it is the locking down of all dissent and debate that is wrongso many believers came out of the church for this same behaviorthey dont need to substitute one system of manmade rules for another. Nor is this an isolated case in the Talmud. The same tractate allegedly has YHWH rejoicing and laughing, My children have defeated me! I dont think so. Instead YHWHs own son said the opposite Mat 11:28 Come to me all who labor and bear burdens, and I will give you rest. Mat 11:29 Bear my yoke117 upon you and learn from me. That I am tranquil and I am meek, and in my heart you will find tranquility in your souls.118 Mat 11:30 For my yoke is pleasant and my burden119 is light." And when the Pharisees try to do otherwise, make that power grab AWAY from Written Torah which they do have authority to use if they dont put in Oral Law, Yshua says this: Mat 23:13 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees! Hypocrites! For you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven before the sons of men. For you are not entering yourselves, and those who would enter you do not allow to enter. Mat 23:14 "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees! Hypocrites! For you consume the houses of widows, and that for a pretense you lengthen your prayers. Because of this you will receive a greater judgment. Mat 23:15 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees! Hypocrites! For you traverse sea and land that you might make one proselyte, and when he has become one, you make him double the son of Gehenna that you are yourselves.215 Strong words, no doubt. But that didnt mean all Pharisees were wrong or badonly that they should have stuck to rulings on the WRITTEN TORAH, which when they properly

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understand, Yshua says in Mark 12, You are NOT FAR from the Kingdom of YHWH. That is because that Pharisees did the Written Torah which brought him near---theres no other way to view it. But I think the best lesson on this Yshua left for Rav Shaul to finish up, as he explains that since Yshua is the Torah made flesh we should read Deuteronomy 30 just a little bit differently than the rabbis of the Mishnah Rom 10:4 For Mashiyach is the goal48 of Torah for righteousness to everyone that believes in him. Rom 10:5 For Moshe describes the righteousness which is by Torah, this way: Whoever will do these things will live by them. Rom 10:6 But the righteousness which is by faith, says thus: "You will not say in your heart, 'Who ascends to heaven and brings Mashiyach down?' Rom 10:7 Or, 'Who descends to the abyss of Sheol and brings up Mashiyach from the house of the dead?'" Rom 10:8 But what says it? "The thing is near to your mouth and to your heart": that is, the Word of Faith which we declare. Rom 10:9 And if you will confess49 with your mouth our Master Y'shua, and will believe with your heart that Elohim has raised him from the dead, you will live. Rom 10:10 For the heart that believes in him is made righteous; and the mouth that confess him is restored to life. Rom 10:11 For the Scripture says: "Everyone that believes in him will not be ashamed." Rom 10:12 And in this, it discriminates neither Jews nor Gentiles. For there is one, Master YHWH,50 over them all, who is abundantly generous towards every one that calls on him. Rom 10:13 For everyone that will call on the name of Master YHWH,51 will have life. I quoted part of this Scripture a few weeks back but in a different context. Nevertheless, the point stands. Yshua is the GOAL of Torah and he HAS come down from heaven and he HAS risen up from the dead, so that we dont have to think about how WE can do these things. And he came back to bring that Torah NEAR to us once more! That is the real lesson behind LO BASHAMAYIM HI. It is not that the Father made the Torah so hard as to put it far away from us but that He sent His Son Yshua to show us how to properly UNDERSTAND IT, as Yshua told his disciples Luk 24:44 And he said to them, "These are the words that I spoke with you while I was with you, that it was necessary that all things that were written in the Torah of Moshe and in the prophets and in the Psalms142 concerning me be fulfilled." Luk 24:45 Then he opened their mind to understand the Scriptures. Luk 24:46 And he said to them that, "Thus it is written and thus it was right that the Mashiyach suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. So it was written. So it shall be done!

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Scroll to Scroll: Todays Parsha #52: Vayelech (and he went/walked) and Shabbat Shuvah

PART 1: THE LAST AND CURRENT TORAH PORTIONS AND NOW FOR THIS WEEKS PORTION 5) Meaning of this weeks Torah portion and summary of contents: Vayelech means, and he went out/walked referring of course to Moshe. The portion begins in a time of transition, where Joshua is brought forward as the next leader and final instructions to Israel are given. The portion ends with Moshe recording the words to a song, but those words are not given until the following portion, Haazinu. Tradition says that everything from this point on to the end of Deuteronomy is the same day, the day of Moshes death, excepting of course the funeral and mourning details that tradition says were penned by Joshua. 6) Parsha (English-Deuteronomy 31:1-30.) This week we will read the entire portion. 7) Play by Play commentary where appropriate. 8) Point out key Hebrew words/terms. Color Commentary: VAYELECH (31:1) = literally, and he WALKED out, suggesting that Moshe went to the leaders rather than assembling them to him. VAYOMER ALEHEM BEN-MEAH VEESRIM SHANAH ANOCHI HA YOM (31:2) = and he said to them, I am 120 years old today. However, by Deuteronomy 1:3, when compared to Exodus 7:7, Moshe must be 120 years old and at least 11 months, i.e. no more than 4 weeks away from his 121st year being completed. Biblical figures didnt all die on their birthdays. Instead, the Scripture counts the same way we do our own years, you dont turn until you have completed that WHOLE number of years. YAHWAY ELOHEYCHA HU OVER LEFANEYCHA (31:3) = Yahweh your Elohim will cross over before you. ABAR means to cross over, and from this we get the word for Hebrew, those from across. Since Moshe cannot make the journey, YHWH does so by crossing over those who are named cross-over people.

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CHIZKU VEIMTZU (31:6) = be strong and brave or strong and be strengthened. The double root exploitation is an amplifier of the strengthening YHWH will give Joshua and, by extension, all of Israel. Same in 31:7, CHAZAK VEEMATS. VAYICHTOV MOSHE ET-TORAH HAZOT (31:9) = Moshe then wrote this Torah. Some say this was all the instructions up to this passage. Others argue it was all the Torah just prior to Moshes death. HANOSEIM ET-ARON (31:9) = those who carried the ark, as opposed to those who were simply in charge of the ark. This may indicate the original packing of the Ark, the instructions for which were given in Numbers 4:5. VEHSMAERU LAASOT ET-KOL DIVREY HA-TORAH HAZOT (31:12) = and guarding and keeping and carefully doing all the words of this Torah. all the words may indicate a fixed text up until this time. Others may argue for various snippets of Deuteronomy being intended here but there is no certain opinion on what these instructions actually were from there. I am inclined to believe all the words of the Torah were read at this point at the end of each 7th year, either on the 1st or 2nd day of Sukkot, and this is why also we recycle on the 1 year cycle back to Genesis 1 on the Shabbat after Sukkot. TZAVAH (31:14) = literally, lay a charge upon him. In more laymans language YHWH is commissioning Joshua for service as Israels leader. HISTARTI PANEY (31:17) = hide My face, or to remove divine protection from Israel due to their disobedience. SHIRAH (31:19) = song. Since this song would have melodies for the text that begins in 32:1, this may be the first record of a cantoring tradition for what will become the received Torah text. Obviously YHWH is explaining to Moshe the need for music as a memory device. VAYEHI KECHALOT MOSHE LICHTOV ET-DIVREY HA-TORAH HA-ZOT AL-SEFER AD TUMAM (31:24) = and Moshe finished writing the words of this Torah in a scroll to the very end. There is no consensus on what this precisely means. My opinion at the moment, subject to change should better evidence come along, is that at this moment, Moshe began writing everything from 31:24 until 34:4, at which point Joshua pens the last 7 lines that happen after Moshes death. Others argue that chapters 32 and 33 had already been completed before this moment, but they give no account as to why the order of them would have been altered or by whom such alteration came. VESAMTEM OTO MITSOD ARON (31:26) = and place (the Torah scroll) to the side of the ark. From Bibleort.org: On a shelf attached to the ark (Bava Bathra 14b; Rashi). Others say that it was inside the ark, to the side of the tablets (Bava Bathra 14a). According to the first opinion, the Torah was later placed on the

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chest of gold sent by the Philistines, which was placed near the ark (Ibid.; see 1 Samuel 6:8). HAKHELIU ELAY (31:28) = gather to me, meaning assemble quietly to me, without blowing the shofar. The initial meeting is with the elders only. When the shofar is sounded, the instructions will then be imparted to the rest of Israel. BACHARIT HA YAMIM (31:29) = eventually, but literally in the end of days. Perhaps this may also be a clue about our future? Torah Question of the Week: What is the meaning of the phrase, I can no longer come and go? END PART 1

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PART 2: THE HAFTORAH Torah Question of the Week: What is the meaning of the phrase, I can no longer come and go? LO-UCHAL OD LATSET VELAVO (31:2) = I can no longer come or go. This is not a physical impediment due to Moshes age as elsewhere we are told his natural strength held true to the very end. Rather this may indicate that Moshe cannot lead them as before because they are going over to Canaan where as he cannot do so. 7) Haftorah portion (English- Isaiah 55:6-56:8) and discuss common themes with the Torah portion. 8) Our linguistic commentary (dirshu) DARASH (55:6) = seek, but more accurately, to learn of and investigate regarding YHWH while He may be near. VEYASHOV EL-YAHWAY (55:7) = and let him return to YHWH. This is why, this idea of returning, links this portion to the time around the Shabbat Shubah, the Shabbat of Returning which is in this case the following Shabbat. LO YASHUV ELAY REYKHAM KI IM ASAH (55:11) = it (My Word) will not return to Me ineffective (without working, empty handed). It is no coincidence that 55:10 talks about rain and now we have an image of the Word returning with effect. At one level this is due to the rejuvenating aspects of rain and snow. On another level though it reminds us how the dove returned with a branch in its mouth to let Noah know the floods had receded. KOH AMAR YAHWAY SHIMRU MISHPAT VAASU TZEDAKAH KIKROVAH YESHUA-TI LAVO VETSIDKATI LEHIGALOT (56:1) = So says Yahweh, guard justice and perform fairness, for My Salvation is close at hand and My righteousness will reveal itself. Two key words are SALVATION (YESHUA) and REVEAL (GELA/GALOT = Galilee)! BEN ADAM (56:2) = the son of Man. Having just prophesied Yshua above, Isaiah refers to his title of Son of Man. It is clear that this phrase is separate from just a regular man in the Hebrew. KI VEYTI BEYT TEFILLAH YIKARE LECHOL HA-AMIM (56:7) = My House, a House of Prayer it will be called, for all the nations. Now we move on to a quote from the actual Son of Man, as he says this when driving out the moneychangers.

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9) Renewed Covenant portion: (English). Matthew 28:16-20 (all the way through with applicable footnotes.) Matthew 28:19 299) Aramaic has name singular which does not support the traditional trinity theology. Ruach haKodesh is a title for YHWH, see Isa_63:1-11; Psa_51:1-11. The Son has his Fathers Name within him and the Father keeps His people in His Name; Joh_17:11. As a result, imagine three branches of the same tree rather than three separate trees. Each branch is united by the Name/Title of the One Divine Personality that is YHWH Elohim. This linkage is established in Shemot/Exo_23:20-22 where a Messenger, unlike any other angel can forgive sin because YHWH says, for My Name is in Him. All other angels have EL in their name but Yshuas Name is above the angels, hence Yah/YHWH is in Yshuas name (Mat_1:21, Heb_1:1-5). Nazarenes have from the very beginning taught salvation in the Name of YHWH. See Immerser in Appendix. Matthew 28:20 300) Or end of the age, as Aramaic alma means both. The exact meanings apply to the Greek word aion used here, making this one of the few times where an original Aramaic word is perfectly matched with the Greek. 10) Highlight common themes in Aramaic (terms in footnotes which I will read): BSHEM AWA WBARA WRUKHA DQUDSHA: NAME (singular!) of the Father and the Son and the Ruach Ha Kodesh. (Read footnote 276). Also please note that while in the Hebrew letters the BEYT is aspirated which in Hebrew would give a V sound, the Aramaic dictates a W. Also the 6th letter is WAW rather than VAV in Aramaic pronunciation. This is one of the few times the pointing leads to an unexpected pronunciation. One must still understand each dialect of Hebrew and Aramaic on their own rules and merit. 11) Apply these themes/issues to modern issues in the Netzari faith. (Exactly what I said last week: It is important to have a good understanding of the Oneness of YHWH and not seek after neo-pagan traditions or bad English terminology.) 12) Relate to all or part of an Appendix portion of AENT or footnotes from a portion (Immerser, p. 865-867). STUDY QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED NEXT WEEK Please note: These questions relate to Nitzvaim, not Vayelech.

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1) In this short Torah portion is a little line that totally blows of the water the false Christian teaching of Dispensationalismor the idea that there was ONLY an Age of Law in the Tanakh and ONLY an Age of Grace in the NT. Where is that line? 2) The Rabbis have started the Haftorah portion at 61:10 rather than 61:1, perhaps because Yshua read from 61:1 in Luke 4. However, while they may have avoided quoting from Yshua, they ran right smack dab into quoting someone else who is fairly important to Yshua as well! Who is this person and where is the quote? 3) How is a detail in this Torah portion directly linked to one of the greatest miracles in Exodus? Torah Thought for the Week (Vayelech): People Get Ready When you meet folks who have come out of the church as often as I have, you will soon find that there are a bunch of extremes to deal with. Many of course are angry at having been lied tothey will characterize it that way so I dont have toothers are depressed leaving their family and friends behind and are like Lots wife pining away at what they no longer do to varying degrees. While these folks are all committed to Torah and keeping a proper Hebrew Roots lifestyle, I have noticed that many of our own leaders seem ill-equipped to help these folks as they are transitioning. So, when I moved to Georgia, I was curious as to what folks missed back in church that they dont have currently in HR worship, and many told me, they missed the music. At first, I found that a bit odd. I mean we have a number of talented HR artists like Paul Wilbur, Ted Pearce, Marty Goetz and a few others I could name. But apparently, except for Kadosh and about a dozen other songs, people felt there was a richness in their old hymnal tradition that was eluding them over here. Okay, I thought, maybe we could adopt some of those songs too. So when I and others began putting a band together in Georgia, we looked at some Gospel and Contemporary Christian stuff that we could tweak. I started with Amazing Grace and had noted that in recent years many folks were playing it to the tune of House of the Rising Sun by the Animals. I decided to take it a step further and put in the last one third of Stairway to Heaven from the bridge, to the lead to the end, with new words of course. The result was The Amazing House of Graces Stairway to Heaven, with an extra little bit of another Led Zeppelin song, Babe Im Gonna Leave Younow re-named Babe, Im Gonna Leave Here, about Yshuas

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return. Folks who have heard us do it live have told me they like it a lot, but the reality is we are still tweaking it. Then, looking at Contemporary Christian stuff, it was clearly a mixed bag because what we were going to sing had to line up with HR theology and have proper Names in it, so that took a while to sort through. Ironically one of the songs we adapted ended up being one I was scheduling a parody of. This group Jesus Culture (I know, but its their name, not mine to change) did a song called I Love your Presence that I wanted to turn into a sequel of Scary Mithras as I Love Your Presentsmeaning gifts of course. But ultimately I just adapted the original and moved on. Now why am I telling you all this about music? Because, as I was getting ready to write this a very old Christian hymn popped into my head unexpectedly. But I didnt pick this one up from a church service but from 1980s MTV, because the song People Get Ready got covered by Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart and it became a pop hit at that time. Its a short and simple song that also is appropriate for this time of year, and it went like this People get ready, there's a train comin' You don't need no baggage, you just get on board All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin' You don't need no ticket you just thank the Lord Well I certainly wish we would not carry our baggage into the Days of Awe, but when we remember what this time of year is for, we kind of have to. Its our baggage we need to repent of, our excuses that we will need to get rid of, in order to get to the real destinations important stop of Yom Kippur. But before we get there, we kind of earn our way through faith as the song says but also through good Torah observant fruits. Even as we celebrate Yom Teruah and look forward to Sukkot, we know theres serious work to get done, and that work can only be completed with a mature faith submitting to the will of Abba YHWH at this most important time of year. You may not need a ticket as the song says, but I wouldnt call it a free ride exactly either. Next part of the song is People get ready, there's a train to Jordan Picking up passengers coast to coast Faith is the key, open the doors and board them There's hope for all among those loved the most Well as long as we are all going to Jordan, how about a stop in Jerusalem first? Thats the place to be if we have the means to get there. Faith surely is the keyto knowing how to set up proper spiritual works.

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These works, like fruits, take time, effort and planning to set up well. All fruit starts as a seed planted in the right soil at the right time of year and nurtured over a proper interval of time. If we sow well, we will reap well, and there is nothing accidental about it. But yes, where there is Abba YHWHs love there is always hope going along for the ride so to speak. Next There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner whom would hurt all mankind Just to save his own Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner For there is no hiding place against the kingdoms throne Yes do have pity on those who could be lostbut dont just sit there when you can do something and help that person. As we get through these special days of repentance, every good deed we do has a special force that accrues to our righteousness that, as Jewish tradition teaches, could make the difference between being written in the Book of Life and being destroyed. Actually that idea is not all rabbinic (Rev 20:11) And I saw a great white throne and Him who sits upon it; from whose presence the earth and heaven fled away, and this their place was not found. (Rev 20:12) And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is (the book) of life. And the dead were judged from the things written in the books, according to their deeds. (Rev 20:13) And the sea gave up the dead in it; and death and Sheol gave up the dead in them. And they were judged, each one according to his deeds. (Rev 20:14) And death and Sheol were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, (namely,) this lake of fire. (Rev 20:15) And if anyone was not found enrolled in the book of life, he was cast into this lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15-AENT) Or as Yshua said (Mat 10:28) And do not have fear of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, have fear115 more so of Him who is able to destroy the soul and the body in Gehenna. Indeed, this possibility is why all of us should heed the call of that old song, People Get Ready, but the question is, what do we get ready for? Is it just some free and pleasant train ride? Is it a disaster beyond all human understanding? A so-called rapture where believers are beamed off the planet? Well, all any of us can really say with any degree of reliability is, it depends on your faith walk and relationship with Mashiyach Yshua and Abba YHWH doesnt it? Where are you at as we come to the time of the Days of Awe, the first 10 days of Tishri? Wherever that may be, people get ready, a train is coming, and where it will take you is up to you. And while this song will simply repeat the beginning verse, for each individual person, the song does not remain the same.

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Im Andrew Gabriel Roth and thats your Torah Thought for the Week! Next week is the start of the Hebrew Civil New Year, so look for the Yom Teruah/Rosh Hashanna special mid-week and then at weekly Shabbat we will be exploring Haazinu which is also the time for Shabbat Shubah, or the Shabbat of Return. This Shabbat is special because it is the only one that happens between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur. Our Haftorah portion will be my Bar Mitzvah Haftorah portion that is also used for the Shabbat during Pesach, 2 Samuel 22:1-51 along with special Haftorah readings for the Shabbat Shubah. Then our Renewed Covenant portion, which normally would have been Romans 10:14-21 and Matthew 28:16-20, is altered for Shabbat Shubah for Hebrews 4:18. Stay tuned!

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