Parashah 51 Nitzavim 52 VaYelech Deuteronomy 29:10(9) – 31:30 By Dr. K. Blad© Second edition 2013-14 Lucrative copying not permitted. Torah Readings (the years when Nitzavim is read together with VaYelech): 29:10-29 (9-28 Heb.) 30:1-6 30:7-14 30:15 – 31:6 31:7-13 31:14-19 31:20-30 Maftir: 31:28-30
Haftarah: Hosea 14:2-10; Micah 7:18-20; Joel 2:15-27 Comments Nitzavim Means “(you pl.) stand” The First Aliyah, 29:10-29 (9-11 Heb.) 29:10(9) “You stand this day all of you before HaShem your God; your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Yisra'el”(HNV revised) – In this final renewal of the covenant before the people crossed over into the Promised Land everyone is present, including those who joined them when they came out of Egypt and who were not born into the people, as it is written in Exodus 12:38a, “A mixed multitude went up also with them”(HNV) This mixed people group from other nations had converted in Egypt before they ate of the Pesach lamb. No male foreigner could eat of the lamb without first being circumcised in the flesh, which means converting to Judaism, as it is written in Exodus 12:48-49, “When a stranger shall live as a foreigner with you, and will keep the Pesach to HaShem, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one who is born in the land: but no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. One Torah shall be to him who is born at home, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you.”(HNV revised) Converts from other nations that have entered into the covenant ought to be treated just like the native Israelites and they have the same commandments to fulfill as the Jews. The expression “One Torah” does not include people from other nations, only the Israelites and the converts, those who are in the Sinai covenant. 29:14-15(13-14) “Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath, but with him who stands here with us this day before HaShem our God, and also with him who is not here with us this day”(HNV revised) – This teaches us that this covenant includes those who were not yet born, and this can be paralleled with Yeshua’s prayer in John 17:20-21, “Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.”(HNV revised) 29:18(17) “lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turns away this day from HaShem our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there should be among you a root that bears gall and wormwood”(HNV revised) – This bitter root is the idolatry that Avraham’s forefathers practiced, which we can see in Joshua 24:2, where it is written, “Yehoshua said to all the people, Thus says HaShem, the God of Yisra'el, Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terach, the father of Avraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.”(HNV revised) In Hebrews 12:15, it is written, “looking carefully lest there be any man who falls short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby the many be defiled”(HNV revised) According to the second rule of the pshat-level of interpretation, called similar expression (gezerah shavah), the bitter root that is mentioned here is referring to idolatry, just as it does in the text in Deuteronomy. 29:19(18)b “thereby adding the watered upon the thirsty.” – According to Nachmanides, this is the correct understanding of the words and his explanation is that the watered means the satisfied and the thirsty means the desirous. Rashi and Onkelos however, say that it ought to be translated, “in order to add the sins that were not committed intentionally to those that were committed intentionally”. 29:28(27) “and HaShem rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as at this day.”(HNV revised) – According to Talmud,[1] this text is referring to the ten tribes that must remain in another land until the coming age begins. The word “as at this day” is interpreted as a reference to the olam habah, the coming age. 29:29(28) “The secret things belong to HaShem our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this Torah.”(HNV revised) – This teaches us that we are responsible to convey to our children all the things that the Eternal has revealed to us. If the Eternal has revealed to you who is the Messiah, pass on that revelation to your children! It also means that the sins that are committed privately in secret cannot be judged by a human court of law, but will be judged by the heavenly court, and that HaShem does not bring judgment over the people for those sins. However, if the leaders of the people do not judge the sins that were committed openly, the whole people will partake of the punishment for them. The Second Aliyah, 30:1-6 30:1 “It shall happen, when all these things are come on you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations, where HaShem your God has driven you”(HNV revised) – When it talks about “all these things”, it is referring to chapter 28, where the blessings and the curses are listed. All this has already come over the children of Israel throughout the course of history. This verse takes us to the end times, the time after all this has come over Israel. Here the Torah speaks of what would come after all the blessings and curses of chapter 28. We are living in that time now and the power of this promise has reached us. Most of Israel’s descendants have lost their identity through assimilation. The few million Jews who exist today are only a small fraction of the descendants of the twelve tribes. The Jewish people of today are mainly descended from three tribes only, Yehudah, Binyamin, and Levi. The ten tribes were exiled to “another land, as at this day”, see 29:28, in singular. In 28:64, it is also speaking of an exile to “all lands”. This means that the people of Israel, the twelve tribes, have been spread out among all the peoples that exist on the earth. In all nations, there are physical descendants of Israel, as the prophet Hosea also says in 1:10a, “Yet the number of the children of Yisra'el will be as the sand of the sea, which can't be measured nor numbered.”(HNV revised) The prophet Hosea was sent to prophesy over the ten tribes in the north. Our father Avraham received promises about three different kinds of children: the dust of the earth, see Genesis 13:16, the stars in the sky, see Genesis 15:5; 22:17, and the sand of the seashore, see Genesis 22:17. Yitzchak only received the promise that his children would be as the stars, see Genesis 26:4, and Yaakov was promised that his descendants would be both as the dust of the earth and the sand of the sea, see Genesis 28:14; 32:12. The stars symbolize heavenly children, faithful spiritual children, the children of God. The earth symbolizes Eretz Israel, the land of Israel. The dust of the earth symbolizes the physical descendants who live in the land of Israel. If we compare the text in Genesis 22:17 with Genesis 32:12, we can see that the promise concerning the sand is a two-fold promise. HaShem said to Avraham that his descendants would be as the sand by the seashore, but to Yaakov he says that they would be as the sand of the sea. Sand by the seashore is not the same thing as the sand in the sea. The sea symbolizes the gentile nations, see Psalm 93:3-4; 144:7; Isaiah 17:3; Ezekiel 26:3. There are three types of sea sand. One type of sand is by the seashore. It is always visible and it is never covered by water. Another part of the sand is closer to the water. It is exposed to the attacks of the ocean waves and the tidewaters and therefore it is sometimes out of the water and other times under water. The third part of the sand is always under the seawater. The part of the sand that is on the sea shore and that is never under water, symbolizes those Israelites and Jews among the nations who keep the Torah and make up a barrier against evil, as it is written in Jeremiah 5:22, “Don't you fear me? Says HaShem: won't you tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it can't pass it? and though the waves of it toss themselves, yet they can't prevail; though they roar, yet they can't pass over it.”(HNV revised) The sand that is at times under the sea and at times out of the water symbolizes those Jews who live a life of compromise, those who cannot stand against the different attacks of the gentiles. Therefore they are under the water sometimes, but at times they are able to live a Jewish life. The sand in the sea represents those Israelites and Jews who have been assimilated among the gentiles and are no longer living like Jews. Just as there is a lot more sand at the bottom of the ocean than there is by the shore, there are a lot more descendants of Israel who have drowned among the gentiles than there are those who live separated from them. The majority of Avraham’s descendants have been completely swallowed up by the customs and cultures of the gentiles. The Hebrew word that is translated as sand is chol,[2] which comes from the root chul or chil,[3] which means: Qal: twist, turn, shake, have birth pains; Poel: twist, give birth; Poal: tremble, be cowardly; Hitpael: shake. Qal: be firm. Qal, Poel, and Hitpoel: wait.[4]
This teaches us that the sand represents those descendants of Avraham who have gone around in the world, those who have been shaken in the nations, those who have had mortal birth pains, like Rachel, and waited for the Messiah to come, those who have twisted and trembled because of campaigns of hatred, persecution, and murder. There are a few million Jews who have never lost their identity, and the majority of them do not live in Israel. They are still spread out among the gentile nations. However, the great majority of the descendants of Israel do not know that they have Israelite forefathers and they live their lives and serve “other gods of wood and stone”. Their identity is not at all Israelite but gentile. When the Torah speaks about Israel returning in the end times, we must carefully define which group of Israel’s descendants this is talking about. Let us therefore analyze this passage more thoroughly: “It shall happen, when all these things are come on you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations, where HaShem your God has driven you” We have said earlier that all the blessings and curses have already been fulfilled in the history of the people of Israel, and that we are now living in the time for the fulfillment of this prophecy. Now is the time for the assimilated ones to receive the call to come back to their origin. The Hebrew word shuv[5] occurs six times in this chapter, in verses 1, 2, 3 (twice), 8, and 10. Shuv means: Kal: return, repeat, be changed, refrain, change; Poel: bring back, restore, pervert; Hi: bring back, return, turn, pay, remove, be changed, calm, replace, distance (oneself), answer, take back; Ho: be returned.[6] This passage of Scripture describes such a great return of the people of Israel in the last days that the world has never seen anything like it. The world has, at a couple of occasions, witnessed how Israel has left two nations, Egypt and Babylon, but this time the world will see Israel being raised up and coming out of all the nations of the world. The Torah and the Prophets are not only speaking of the return of those who have kept their Jewish identity throughout the course of history, since they can be counted. The Scriptures are speaking about a return of the twelve tribes of Israel who cannot be counted because of their great number. Dear Reader, we are now beginning to see one of the greatest miracles in world history, the return of the children of Israel. Return to what? The Torah gives us the answer. This text is talking about five different kinds of return: The return of the heart to the history of Israel, v. 1. The return of the family to the Eternal, the God of Israel, and to all his commandments that are written in Moshe’s Torah, v. 2. The return to listening to the voice of the Eternal to keeping all the commandments in the Torah, v. 8. The return to the Eternal with the whole heart and the whole soul, v. 10-14. This is the redemption program for Israel that the Eternal has for our time.
If we analyze this prophecy, we will see that it is talking to the descendants of Israel who have experienced the curses that are written in chapter 28, that live outside of the land of Israel, have not had the history of Israel in their hearts, have not loved HaShem with their whole heart and soul, and therefore have not been obedient by keeping his commandments. In this time we will see how they gradually, one by one, are moved by the Messiah of Israel to come into this returning process in the final restoration of Israel before the Messiah Yeshua comes back. This movement is beginning to touch millions of lives all over the world right now, in accordance with the word that says, “among all the nations” (30:1). The First Type of Return The first thing that happens to these people who are visited by the Messiah Yeshua in our day, is that they begin to identify themselves as Israelites or Jews. They come into an identity crisis and they ask themselves, “Who am I?” They will no longer feel like gentiles. They no longer feel outside of Israel. They feel like the Jews are their siblings. Those who have been taught and brought up in the Christian world will realize that they have been deceived by a system that has given them a false identity, separate from Israel. Suddenly they feel like strangers to the Christian and Greek way of speaking, and they identify with the Hebrew vocabulary. They feel the Jewish songs touching their souls deeply. They suddenly feel the urge to dance Hebrew dances. They weep when they hear HaTikvah – Israel’s national anthem. They identify with the history of the people of Israel and thus they fulfill the text in Deuteronomy 30:1, which says that “all this” that came over Israel will once again be in the hearts of those who make teshuvah (return) in the last days. They identify with the Jews who were brought to the Nazi death camps. If they had lived during that time, they would also have been suffering together with them. They like to watch Jewish movies in order to get to know their family. They want to read Jewish literature, dress like Jews, speak like Jews, eat like Jews, sing like Jews, celebrate Shabbat and all the feasts of Israel, and live a Jewish lifestyle in the home. This is a return to the Israeli identity. The Jewish soul is being awakened within them. There is nothing that can stop this inner feeling that they have. They will experience religious resistance, curses, and rejection from their own family members. Brothers, sisters, parents, and children reject them because they have “gone crazy”. They do not care if they are humiliated, misinterpreted, persecuted, mistreated, or slandered, just as long as they can “come home”. They know that what has happened inside of them is something heavenly. In the midst of their fear and insecurity, there is something within them that is giving them the courage to go on, and this inner strength is more powerful than all external resistance. They know that they are a part of the Eternal’s program for Israel’s restoration in the end times, and they do not want to miss it, no matter what. They are willing to give their lives out of love for the Rabbi Yeshua from Natzeret, whom they have discovered as the Messiah of Israel who one day gave his life for them in order to give them an inheritance among the Jews. They have a cry inside of them which says, “Your people are my people and your God is my God”. This is the fulfillment of the first type of return that is expressed in this text, the return of the heart to identify with the history of the people of Israel. The Second Type of Return 30:2 “and shall return to HaShem your God, and shall obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul”(HNV revised) – The second type of return that is talked about is when the family returns to the Eternal, the God of Israel, and to all his commandments that are written in the Torah of Moshe Rabbenu. This is primarily talking about coming into a much deeper relationship with the Eternal and getting revelation from the Scriptures from a Hebrew viewpoint, not a pagan/Greek viewpoint. These people’s way of thinking is changed so that they understand the written Word like never before. It is as if a veil has fallen from their minds so that they now can see the greatness of the Eternal and respect his Torah in a deeper way. They become very aware that the Eternal cannot change his word, or change or do away with his covenants and his commandments. That which was true 3,500 years ago continues to be true still today. The commandments that are in Moshe’s Torah are no longer considered to be something of the past, but something very relevant and applicable to modern daily life. A deep longing rises up within them to study and learn how to fulfill the commandments that apply to their personal lives, their families, and their congregational fellowship. They have now understood that love for the Eternal is not only expressed in ecstatic emotions and love songs, but in a daily obedience to the eternal statutes that are written in HaShem’s Torah that was given through Moshe. Secondly, this is speaking of a revelation concerning the importance of the family. Earlier they were more interested in their personal wellbeing and they sought the Eternal for their own sake. Now they have become aware that spiritual life has to do with family. They see how Avraham was chosen specifically to be a father, because he had the ability to convey to his children what the Eternal revealed to him. They understand that they must live a Torah-life in the family. The home becomes a meeting place with the God of Israel. The family Shabbat becomes a meeting with Eternity. The dinner table becomes an altar where they eat before the Eternal and where they speak of spiritual things. The sex life is no longer a means of satisfying animalistic urges, but it becomes a heavenly experience full of consecration and purity. Respect for the position of authority that the husband and father has is being restored. An unselfish love from the husband toward his wife becomes both a strong desire to satisfy her needs as well as to be a practical help that takes the load off of her in her demanding household work. The conversations with the children become a part of the eternal plan that exists for each of them. The children are looked upon as heavenly gifts that carry the calling of being a part of a consecrated people who are trained to fulfill the commandments of the Eternal, to fight idolatry, to win the victory in the great tribulation that will come, and in the end to see the return of the Messiah on the clouds of heaven. The Third Type of Return 30:3 “that then HaShem your God will turn your captivity, and have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the peoples, where HaShem your God has scattered you.”(HNV revised) – This is talking about the Eternal’s response to those who return according to the first two points. If the people who are spread out among all the nations return to their Israelite identity and come back to the Eternal their God and his Torah, which was given through Moshe, with their whole heart and their whole soul, then HaShem will cause them to return from the Diaspora to dwell in the land of Israel. This return is not the same as what we have seen throughout these past two centuries as Jews have returned from almost all the nations of the earth, although this is certainly a partial fulfillment of these promises. No, this text is speaking of something much larger. It is first speaking of a return to the Eternal and his Torah, including the commandment which speaks of believing in Yeshua, who was the promised prophet like Moshe, see Deuteronomy 18:15. One who returns to HaShem will take him seriously. He has given, and continues to give, testimony of his Son Yeshua. One who listens to the Father will come to Yeshua. One who does not come to Yeshua does not take HaShem seriously and is not obeying him. One who rejects Yeshua as the Messiah is rejecting HaShem who has made him the Messiah and Adon – Master – first and foremost for the Jewish people, but also for all the inhabitants of the earth. The return to HaShem in the last days means, therefore, a return to the living Torah, Yeshua HaMashiach. When this happens, HaShem will do a great miracle. He will bring them to the Promised Land that was given to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov’s descendants. 30:4 “If any of your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of the heavens, from there will HaShem your God gather you, and from there will he bring you back”(HNV revised) – This text teaches us that this move of restoration of the Jewish inheritance among the descendants of Israel must begin in the lands that are the farthest away from the land of Israel. This is why this movement is strongest in the lands that are the farthest away from Israel; “from there” the Eternal begins his work of restoration in the end times. Since the sowing of the children of Israel was made from the land of Israel and out to the farthest corners of the earth, and the time has now come for bringing in the great harvest, which the prophets speak about, the return is beginning in the lands that are the farthest away from Israel and continues with the countries that are closer to Israel. Thus the whole world will be aware that he who scattered the children of Israel also gathers them together without leaving a single one behind. “bring you” – This expression can be understood as referring to the second step of a Hebrew marriage ceremony, the wedding itself, which is called nisuin (upliftings) and lakach (take), when the bride is taken and brought under the chupah (the wedding canopy) in the home of the bridegroom’s father. Here we see how the wedding of the Lamb is announced in the Torah of Moshe. It will take place in Yerushalayim and will be celebrated for a thousand years. 30:5 “and HaShem your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and he will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers.”(HNV revised) – According to R. Munk,[7] this could mean that the land of Israel is expanded. 30:6 “HaShem your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love HaShem your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.”(HNV revised) – In Deuteronomy 10:16, the people are urged to circumcise the foreskin of their hearts. Here, however, the Eternal promises that he himself will circumcise the hearts of the parents and children who have made teshuvah. Since we have already talked about this, we will only note here that this is referring to the yetzer ha-rah – the evil urge – being totally destroyed. This will finally happen when the Messiah Yeshua visits the people of Israel for the second time. “that you may live” – This is talking about eternal life, which is the result of the final circumcision of the heart. The Third Aliyah, 30:7-14 30:7 “HaShem your God will put all these curses on your enemies, and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.”(HNV revised) – This is speaking about all history but finally also about the moment when the Messiah returns and when all the armies that fight against Yerushalayim will be crushed, see Zechariah 14. The Fourth Type of Return 30:8-9 “You shall return and obey the voice of HaShem, and do all his commandments which I command you this day. HaShem your God will make you plenteous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, for good: for HaShem will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers”(HNV revised) – I do not know if this is to be understood as a repetition confirming what was said earlier, or as a reference to another group of people within Israel. If we understand it to mean another group of people within Israel, i.e., not the group mentioned in verses 1-7, it is possible that it is talking about those who did not receive Yeshua as the Messiah earlier and were part of the bride or wedding guests and were transformed to become immortal, but about those of the children of Israel who receive Yeshua just as he comes back. They will receive the land of Israel as their physical inheritance while those who are a part of the bride of Messiah will rule with him from Yerushalayim in the Messianic kingdom for a thousand years. The descendants who are only dust of the earth will have their joy in the Eternal’s Torah during the thousand year Messianic reign. The Fifth Type of Return 30:8b, 10 “do all his commandments… if you shall obey the voice of HaShem your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this Torah scroll; if you turn to HaShem your God with all your heart, and with all your soul.”(HNV revised) – This is talking about the 613 commandments that will be kept during the Messianic reign, including the commandments concerning temple and animal sacrifice. This teaches us that the temple must be built again in connection with the return to Israel that take place in the end times and the return of the Messiah, see Ezekiel 40-48. 30:11-14 “For this commandment which I command you this day, it is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it? But the word is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may do it.”(HNV revised) – According to Nachamanides, this text is talking about the commandment to make teshuvah (return, repent), which is mentioned earlier in this context. The majority of the rabbis, including Rashi, say however, that it is talking about the Torah in general. Rabbi Shaul gives the text a specific Messianic application, speaking from the drash-level, showing that the commandment that it is talking about is referring to the Messiah, the living Torah, as it is written in Romans 10:6-10, “But the righteousness which is of faith says this, ‘Don't say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?”’ – that is, to bring Messiah down – or, “’Who will descend into the abyss?’” – that is, to bring Messiah up from the dead. – But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart’ that is, the word of faith, which we preach: that if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Yeshua, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’”(HNV revised) Note the connection between repentance and keeping the commandments, and being saved by acknowledging Yeshua, who was raised from the dead, as Lord. There is one commandment that brings salvation more than any other commandment, and it is the commandment that talks about listening to and obeying the prophet who is like Moshe, see Deuteronomy 18:15. One who fulfills this commandment will be eternally saved, as it is written in Acts 16:31, “They said, ‘Believe in the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, and you will be saved, you and your household.’”(HNV) One who fulfills this commandment will be saved for eternity. Furthermore, we can understand these texts to mean that salvation through Yeshua is the door, which leads to a life in obedience to the rest of the commandments. The Fourth Aliyah, 30:15 - 31:6 30:15 “Behold, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil”(HNV) – The Eternal does not force anyone to go the right way. He informs us of both ways, the way of life and the way of death, and we are free to choose. We cannot force anyone to love HaShem and to believe in Yeshua. Each person must choose to do this. On the other hand, we must inform all men that each person’s choice brings eternal consequences. There are very serious consequences to not obeying HaShem who commands us to choose the way of life and who commands all men to repent from evil and leave their idols, as it is written in Acts 17:30, “The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent”(HNV revised) In Acts 13:38-41, it is written, “Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins, and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the Torah of Moshe. Beware therefore, lest that come on you which is spoken in the prophets: ’Behold, you scoffers, and wonder, and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which you will in no way believe, if one declares it to you.'"(HNV) Freedom means responsibility. There is no freedom without responsibility. 30:19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your seed”(HNV) – Man has the ability to choose between the way of life and the way of death, but HaShem commands him to choose the way of life. One who does not do this is rebelling against the Eternal and will suffer the anguish of death for his rebellion. Heaven and earth stand as witnesses against all the sins of the people of Israel. Therefore the present heaven and earth must pass away after the thousand year reign, so that there will be no witnesses to recall the sins of Israel, see Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; Matthew 5:18; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1. 30:20 “to love HaShem your God, to obey his voice, and to cleave to him; for he is your life, and the length of your days; that you may dwell in the land which HaShem swore to your fathers, to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Ya`akov, to give them.”(HNV revised) – Love for the Eternal is the way of life. Love for the Eternal is expressed by obedience to his voice in a very intimate relationship with him. “for he is your life” – He himself is the eternal life, as it is written in 1 John 5:20, “We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Yeshua the Messiah. This is the true God, and eternal life.”(HNV revised) The word “This” is referring to the Father, not to Yeshua. The Father is the true God and the eternal life, and he has placed this eternal life in his Son Yeshua, as it is written in 1 John 5:12, “He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn't have God's Son doesn't have the life.”(HNV revised) Dear Reader, have you chosen the way of life? HaShem commands you to turn from the evil way and to choose the good way that leads to life. If you choose the way of life now, and trust in the atonement through Yeshua, you will be saved. 31:2 “He said to them, I am one hundred twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: and HaShem has said to me, You shall not go over this Yarden.”(HNV revised) – According to Talmud,[1] this was the seventh of Adar, Moshe’s birthday. The time had come for him to die. That is why he first said goodbye to the people, see verses 1-6. Then he instituted Yehoshua as his successor, see verse 7-8. And finally he commanded that the Torah be read publicly every Shabbat year, see verses 9-13. 31:3 “HaShem your God, he will go over before you; he will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them: and Yehoshua, he shall go over before you, as HaShem has spoken.”(HNV revised) – According to archeological discoveries in Yericho from approximately year 1400 BCE, fatal epidemics had struck the land of Kana’an so that the population was drastically reduced. This happened shortly before the children of Israel took over the land. In this way the Eternal went before them and destroyed a large part of the population of the seven nations. 31:6 “Be strong and of good courage, don't be afraid, nor be scared of them: for HaShem your God, he it is who does go with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you.”(HNV revised) – Fear is destroyed by the knowledge that the Eternal is with me, as it is written in Psalm 23:4a, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”(HNV) The Fifth Aliyah, 31:7-14 31:6-7 “Be strong… be strong” – The Hebrew word that is translated as “strong” is chazak,[2] which means “strong”, “firm”, “hard”, “violent”, “mighty”, “powerful”. Steadfastness and strength is an inner power that helps man not to lose courage and pull back in times of crisis. Steadfastness and strength are necessary in order to keep the commandments when met with resistance. Steadfastness and strength are necessary in order to get the victory when under attack. When you feel tempted to become discouraged, it is important to stand firm and keep pressing on to see the Eternal’s supernatural intervention. In 1 Corinthians 15:58, it is written, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord's work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”(HNV) In Ephesians 6:10-18, it is written, “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world's rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having the belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of shalom; above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the consecrated ones”(HNV revised) In Matthew 10:22, it is written, “You will be hated by all men for my name's sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved.”(HNV) In Matthew 24:13, it is written “But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.”(HNV) In Mark 13:13, it is written, “You will be hated by all men for my name's sake, but he who endures to the end, the same will be saved”(HNV) Steadfastness, courage, strength to resist, perseverance, tenacity, patience, and faithfulness are characteristics that must be in the one who is to lead the people called to fulfill the Eternal’s commandments in a world full of resistance. In Hebrews 10:35-39, it is written, “Therefore don't throw away your boldness, which has a great reward. For you need endurance so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise. ‘In a very little while, he who comes will come, and will not wait. But the righteous will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul.”(HNV revised) The opposite of having faith is to shrink back. One who shrinks back will lose his soul. In Luke 9:62, it is written, “But Yeshua said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.’”(HNV revised) 31:8 “HaShem, he it is who does go before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you, neither forsake you: don't be afraid, neither be dismayed.”(HNV revised) – Yehoshua needed encouragement to be fully convinced of the Eternal’s presence and intervention in his assignment. He could not trust himself, but the Eternal. 31:9 “Moshe wrote this Torah, and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of HaShem, and to all the elders of Yisra'el.”(HNV revised) – A Midrash[3] tells, “The day before the seventh of Adar, when Moshe was to die, he heard a voice from heaven that told him that he would soon die. He immediately began to supernaturally write thirteen copies of the Torah. He wrote twelve copies for the twelve tribes plus one copy that he placed in the consecrated ark. So if anyone took the liberty of falsifying it, they would always be able to look up the original text, which would always be kept in its original condition. Furthermore Moshe thought, “If I devote myself to Torah through the entire day, the angel of death will not have power over me”. But the sun shone until Moshe finished his work.” It is most probable that this is an exaggeration, as is the case with many of the Midrashim. However, it shows us the thought that the Torah was given to all twelve tribes of Israel, so that no one might say that it applies only to the tribe of Levi. The Torah was not given only to be hidden away in the ark, or only for the tribe of Levi, but to be used and read every day so that all of Israel can practice it in their daily lives. Dear reader, do you read from the Torah every day? “delivered it to the priests… and to all the elders of Yisra’el” – The Torah is not in heaven, see 30:12. It is in the hands of men. Nothing can be added to it or subtracted from it. The Levite priests have the greatest responsibility to keep the Torah and to teach it to the people. Thereafter the responsibility lies with all the elders in Israel. This also teaches us that the interpretation of the Torah is not a personal thing. It is important to ask for counsel and to listen to the interpretation that the wise men of Israel have made throughout the course of history, see 2 Peter 1:20. In Malachi 2:4-7, it is written, “’You will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant may be with Levi,’ says HaShem of Hosts. ‘My covenant was with him of life and shalom; and I gave them to him who he might be reverent toward me; and he was reverent toward me, and stood in awe of my name. The Torah of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips. He walked with me in shalom and uprightness, and turned many away from iniquity. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the Torah at his mouth; for he is the messenger of HaShem of Hosts.’”(HNV revised) 31:10-11 “Moshe commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of booths, when all Yisra'el is come to appear before HaShem your God in the place which he shall choose, you shall read this Torah before all Yisra'el in their hearing.”(HNV revised) – Rashi teaches that it was the king who had the responsibility to read to all the people beginning with the first verse of Devarim, Deuteronomy. Talmud[4] teaches that the whole book was not read, but only chosen portions. These portions were 1:1 – 6:9; 11:13-21 and 14:22 – 28:69. These passages primarily speak of loyalty to the Eternal in fulfilling his commandments, being faithful to the covenant and to accept heavenly reward and punishment. The feast of Tabernacles is a prophetic picture of the time of the Messianic reign, the thousand year reign. During this time the Torah will go out from Yerushalayim, not only to all of Israel, but to all the nations, as it is written in Isaiah 2:2-4, “It shall happen in the latter days, that the mountain of HaShem’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many peoples shall go and say, ‘Come, let's go up to the mountain of HaShem, to the house of the God of Ya`akov; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For out of Tziyon the Torah shall go forth, and the word of HaShem from Yerushalayim. He will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks.’”(HNV revised) see Micah 1:1-4. In Isaiah 42:4, it is written, “He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice in the earth; and the islands shall wait for his Torah.”(HNV revised) This teaching from the Torah will be given to all the leaders of the nations during the annual feast of Sukkot when they will have to be present in Yerushalayim, as it is written in Zechariah 14:16-17, “It will happen that everyone who is left of all the nations that came against Yerushalayim will go up from year to year to worship the King, HaShem of Hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. It will be, that whoever of all the families of the earth doesn't go up to Yerushalayim to worship the King, HaShem of Hosts, on them there will be no rain.”(HNV revised) This is talking about physical rain, but it is also speaking allegorically. Rain symbolizes the Torah, see Deuteronomy 32:2. During the feast of Sukkot, the Messiah Yeshua will give all of Israel and the rulers of the gentiles an annual Torah seminar. It will be completely different than it is today, when top political leaders gather to try to make order in the world and to solve its problems without submitting to Israel’s God, his Messiah, and his Instruction Book. Only once the Messiah restores the Torah among all the nations of the earth, will there be peace in the world. 31:12 “Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and your foreigner who is within your gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear HaShem your God, and observe to do all the words of this Torah”(HNV revise) – Even women and children need to hear and be instructed from the Torah. “foreigner who is within your gates… observe to do all the words of this Torah” – These foreigners are the proselytes, those who have converted to become Jews. They are obligated to live like Jews and to fulfill all the commandments of the Torah, as it is written in Galatians 5:3, “Yes, I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole Torah.”(HNV revised) The gentiles who have converted and come into Israel through the Messiah Yeshua, do not have the same obligation to fulfill all the commandments of the Torah. 31:13 “and that their children, who have not known, may hear, and learn to fear HaShem your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over the Yarden to possess it.”(HNV revised) – Fear of HaShem is one of the most important elements in our relationship with Him. This fear is created by reading the Torah. Children who listen to their parents when they read the Torah at home will learn to fear the Eternal, as it also is written in Psalms 78:5-7, “For he established a testimony in Ya`akov, and appointed a teaching in Yisra'el, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; that the generation to come might know, even the children who should be born; Who should arise and tell their children, that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments,”(HNV revised) The Sixth Aliyah, 31:14-19 31:14, 16 “you must die… you shall sleep… will rise up”(HNV) – The death of the righteous is considered as sleep. When the Torah uses the expression “will rise up” immediately after announcing the death of Moshe, it is translated in Talmud[5] as a reference to the resurrection. This is one of the passages where the Torah of Moshe speaks of the resurrection of the dead, compare also with 32:39. When the Messiah Yeshua comes back, Moshe Rabbenu will be raised up. In Daniel 12:2, it is written, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”(HNV) 31:17 “Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come on them; so that they will say in that day, Haven't these evils come on us because our God is not among us?”(HNV revised) – This is a reference to the Babylonian exile. 31:18 “I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evil which they shall have worked, in that they are turned to other gods.”(HNV) – This is referring to the dispersion under the Romans (Edom). 31:19 “Now therefore write you this song for you, and teach you it the children of Yisra'el: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Yisra'el.”(HNV) – This song was written as a testimony against the children of Israel in order to teach them the seriousness of apostasy and idol worship. It is written in chapter 32. It is a prophetic song that revealed the whole future history of Israel. The end is glorious with complete victory over the enemies. The Seventh Aliyah, 31:20-30 31:21 “It shall happen, when many evils and troubles are come on them, that this song shall testify before them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they frame this day, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.”(HNV) – Rashi interprets this word to be referring to the entire Torah, not only Moshe’s song. He says that thus the Torah will not be completely forgotten among the descendants of Israel. It is possible that Moshe based the song on the notes of the Hebrew scale when he sang, and thus he taught it to Israel so that it would never be forgotten. It has not been forgotten by the descendants of Israel. Those who sing the songs of Tziyon ought to learn to use the Hebrew scale. It goes like this:
 The popular song “Hava Nagila” is built on this scale. 31:24 “It happened, when Moshe had made an end of writing the words of this Torah in a scroll, until they were finished”(HNV revised) – This teaches us that Moshe, and no one else, wrote the entire five books of Moshe, the Chumash. In Talmud,[6] there is a discussion concerning the last part of the Torah, which speaks of Moshe’s death and burial. Was it really written by Moshe? Some say that Yehoshua wrote it, and others say that HaShem dictated everything to Moshe who wrote it down before it happened. 31:26 “Take this Torah scroll, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of HaShem your God, that it may be there for a witness against you.”(HNV revised) - Talmud[7] writes about a discussion between the different sages in Israel concerning whether the ark had a board that stuck out where they placed the Sefer Torah, the Torah scroll, or if the Torah was placed inside the ark. The text literally reads, “alongside the ark”. The Mashiach in this Parashah 31:2-3 “You shall not go over this Yarden… Yehoshua, he shall go”(HNV revised) – Both Moshe and Yehoshua are prophetic pictures of the Messiah. Moshe’s death and his successor, Yehoshua, foreshadow the Messiah’s death and resurrection. Moshe could also be a picture of the first man and Yehoshua the second man. The first man died, and the second man received an indestructible life. In 1 Corinthians 15:22, 47-50, it is written, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah all will be made alive… The first man is of the earth, made of dust. The second man is heavenly. As is the one made of dust, such are those who are also made of dust; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. As we have borne the image of those made of dust, let's also bear the image of the heavenly. Now I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood can't inherit the Kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption.”(HNV revised) In Romans 6:5-11, it is written, “For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will also be part of his resurrection; knowing this, that our old man was hung on a tree with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. But if we died with Messiah, we believe that we will also live with him; knowing that Messiah, being raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no more has dominion over him! For the death that he died, he died to sin one time; but the life that he lives, he lives for God. Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.”(HNV revised) 31:7 “Moshe called to Yehoshua, and said to him in the sight of all Yisra'el, Be strong and of good courage: for you shall go with this people into the land which HaShem has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it.”(HNV revised) – Yehoshua, who has the name as Yeshua in its long form, was the one who would make sure that the twelve tribes entered the Promised Land. This is also the job of the Messiah Yeshua; to cause all the tribes of Israel to come into the land that was promised to their forefathers. In Isaiah 49:6, it is written, “yes, he says, It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Ya`akov, and to restore the preserved of Yisra'el: I will also give you for a light to the gentiles, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.”(HNV revised) Ever since the birth of the Messiah Yeshua in Beit Lechem, which the Scriptures speak of, until today, he has been working on his assignment to seek and restore the twelve tribes. Many, maybe all, of those who have been born again spiritually among the gentiles are physical descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. Through the new birth they have been given spiritual contact with Israel. And in that level this prophecy is being fulfilled in the entire world. However, in the physical level, there will also be a restoration of the twelve tribes. When Yeshua comes back, he will tell each person what people and tribe he belongs to and restorer the twelve tribes in the land that is promised to the physical descendants of Avraham forever. That will be the physical fulfillment of that prophecy. In order to come into the new Yerushalayim, one must go through one of the twelve gates. Each gate has the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The tribes are therefore the gates into the heavenly city, as it is written in Revelation 21:10-13, “He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the sacred city, Yerushalayim, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, as if it was a jasper stone, clear as crystal; having a great and high wall; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Yisra'el. On the east were three gates; and on the north three gates; and on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.”(HNV revised) The only way to enter the city is by going through one of Israel’s tribes. This Parashah contains commandments number 612-613 of the 613 commandments. The command to gather all the people and make sure that they listen to the Torah (hakhel), Deuteronomy 31:12. The command to write a Torah scroll (Sefer Torah), Deuteronomy 31:19.
|
