Deuteronomy (Messianic) Vol. I - The Harvest

Welcome to a most wonderful book in Moshe's set of five: Deuteronomy, or D'varim ("D-var-eem") as we say in Hebrew! The literal word "d'varim" is the plural form of the word "d'var", which means, "word". I won't go into each detail of this parashah, which actually serves as a recap of the major events of B'midbar, much like the last parashah of B'midbar (please recall Parashat Masa’ei). The title of the first portion takes its name from the title of the book, just like every other opening parashah of the Torah. This first parashah will function primarily as an introduction to this fifth book Moshe. First, some historical background behind this book, as quoted by modern rabbis. This initial portion will be very light, so take a break from the scholarly approach and enjoy the fascinating insights! Rabbi Aaron Tendler and Project Genesis (http://www.torah.org) explain, "In the first four books G-d spoke directly to Moshe and Moshe repeated G-d's words to the Jews while he was still within the context of receiving G-d's prophecy. "It was as if G-d was speaking to the Jewish nation through the throat of Moshe." In the last book, G-d also spoke to Moshe; however, Moshe repeated G-d's words to the nation some time after receiving the directive from G-d. At the time of Moshe's delivery G-d's presence had already withdrawn from Moshe and he was no longer within the context of receiving the prophecy. "In this regard, Divarim was heard by the nation in the same manner that all other subsequent prophecies were heard. The prophet would receive a vision. After awakening from the trance, the Prophet would decipher G-d's message and then sometime later deliver the "message" to the people." Now whether or not I agree with the entirety of his comments concerning the reception of revelation of Moshe, we scholars must certainly agree to the pinpointed change of voices (first, second, third) in the previous writings, and Moshe's recall here in D'varim. Consider Rabbi Menachem Leibtag's comments (website http://www.tanach.org): "In contrast to these four books where the story (and/or mitzvot) are presented in THIRD person, the style of Sefer Devarim is very different for it is written almost entirely in FIRST person. The reason for this is quite simple: Sefer Devarim consists of a collection of speeches delivered by Moshe Rabeinu before his death. Therefore, to understand Sefer Devarim, we must first determine the purpose of these speeches and how they relate to one another. To do so should be quite simple, as we need only to identify each speech and then read what it's about. "To do so is a bit complicated, for to identify each speech we must read through the entire Sefer and note the changes from third person (i.e. the regular 'narrator mode' of Chumash) to first person (i.e. the direct quote of Moshe Rabeinu). "If you have ample time (and a Tanach Koren handy), I highly recommend that you try this on your own. If you are short on time, you can 'cheat' by reading at least 1:1-7, 4:40-5:2, 26:16-27:2, 28:69-29:2, & 30:19-32:1, noting the transition from third person to first person, and hence where and how each speech begins." How does all of this information help you and me the average readers? By understanding the historical, linguistic, and stylistic approach to any given book or text, we can begin to understand its message in a more theologically correct way. In some cases, a misunderstanding of any of these important areas will cause us to misunderstand the author's true intent behind any given text.

This week's portion contains two of the most fundamental concepts in Judaism: the Asarat HaD'varim (the Ten Words, also known as the Ten Commandments), and the "Shema". This is Parashat Va'etchanan. Moshe is still outlining some familiar reminders of Isra'el's disobedience and the awesome fact that HaShem nevertheless has brought them this far! In fact, they are right at the eastern side of the Yarden (Jordan) River! Call to Greatness Chapter four contains what I like to call the "Jewish Great Commission". Here in verses 1-14 Moshe carefully instructs the community to live out the Torah in such a way that the surrounding nations will see and learn about the unique and awesome mercy of the One and Only True God. Because of its significance, I want to quote some of this passage at length: "See! I have taught you rules and laws as God my Lord has commanded me, so [that you] will be able to keep them in the land to which you are coming and which you will be occupying. Safeguard and keep [these rules], since this is your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the nations. They will hear all these rules and say, "This great nation is certainly a wise and understanding people." What nation is so great that they have God close to it, as God our Lord is, whenever we call Him? What nation is so great that they have such righteous rules and laws, like this entire Torah that I am presenting before you today? Only take heed and watch yourself very carefully, so that you do not forget the things that your eyes saw. Do not let [this memory] leave your hearts, all the days of your lives. Teach your children and children's children about the day you stood before God your Lord at Horeb. It was then that God said to me, "Congregate the people for Me, and I will let them hear My words. This will teach them to be in awe of Me as long as they live on earth, and they will also teach their children." You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain. The mountain was burning with a fire reaching the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud and mist. Then God spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no image; there was only a voice. He announced to you His covenant, instructing you to keep the Ten Commandments, and He wrote them on two stone tablets. At that time, God commanded me to teach you rules and laws, so that you will keep them in the land which you are crossing [the Jordan] to occupy." (D'varim 4:5-14, Pentateuch) What makes this passage stand out is Isra'el's position and influence among the surrounding people groups! Such a legacy—to be the vessels to share the precious Word of HaShem with those who have not heard! Doesn’t this remind you of the intents and purposes of the Great Commission? In the TaNaKH the Torah “emanated” from Isra'el for the entire world to see; in the Apostolic Scriptures Yeshua’s talmidim actually took the Torah to the world! Indeed, it is the very same good news that is contained within the Torah, the message of the mercy and grace of an all-loving, all-forgiving God, who is intimately interested in the well-being of his created subjects, both Jew and non-Jew!

The most notable feature of this week's portion is the Shema. The word "shema" means "hear", "listen intently". It is a Hebrew imperative that carries the notion of an action-oriented command. In other words, "Now that you have heard, go and do something about it!" My commentary on the Shema will introduce the difficult concept of the "tri-unity" of our unexplainable God. The ancients called HaShem "Eyn-Sof", a term which quite literally means "without borders". Our God is infinitely unknowable. Yet because of our finite minds, he has chosen to express himself in ways that we can perceive. However we shall have to wait to gain a fuller perception of him, once we put off this corruptible flesh and our eyes are able to see through this mirror clearly instead of darkly. I want to share with you what I believe the “Shema” (basically a quote from Deuteronomy 6:4) can be hinting at, using the typical Jewish answer first, and then going on to explain how a non-Jewish believer can better “defend” himself against such an answer. This is simply an exercise designed to explain to some why many Jewish People are unwilling to give up their monotheism. This commentary set is not to be used as a standard witnessing technique among my people, but if the material proves helpful in explaining the difficult topic to unbelievers and anti-missionaries, then the commentary will have served its purposes. “God is ONE. There is no other god (or God) worthy of worship aside from YHVH.” This is a typical, monotheistic answer, based on a traditional Jewish view of Deut. 6:4, a.k.a., the Shema. This subject will continue to baffle many Jews and Christians alike: how can God be "One" and yet somehow "three". The matter is really made clear when Christians explain that correct Christianity does not believe in three gods! We believe in ONE God who expresses himself in a "unity of three". God is indeed one! The Shema affirms this. The characters of the Scriptures, both “Old and New Testaments” confirm this. The Shema is the "watchword of Jewish monotheism". The Shema is foundation! The "trinity" is a doctrine that has long been characterized by misunderstanding, both among my people, as well as a few Christians. I believe that most of the confusion actually stems from the language that we choose to use when describing the unified nature of our somewhat incomprehensible God. However, the Torah does not expect us to label God and stuff him in box. Nor are we so smart that our systematic theological viewpoints of him will ever fully describe his wonderful glory. Yet the revelation that has been graciously granted to us is a complete one, in that, all that we need to know to maintain a right-standing relationship with HaShem is found within the pages of his Word, and most specifically, in the person of his only and unique Son Yeshua our Messiah. Let us first read the actual pasuk (verse) itself: "Sh’ma Yisra’el, ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad [Hear, Isra’el! ADONAI our God, ADONAI is one]." Anyone with some knowledge of the Hebrew text will realize that the word translated ADONAI is the four-letter name for HaShem, YHVH, also known as the "Tetragrammaton." The Jewish people use this name only in a very sacred and personal way. To be sure, today Torah-observant Jews, in reverential fear of misuse never speak it. Because of the understanding that the Shema "defines" the oneness of YHVH (which is what the Hebrew word echad implies), many Jews are fiercely monotheistic. After all, is this not what the plain sense (p’shat) of the verse in Deuteronomy is teaching? The word "echad" teaches us that God is the ONLY God that we are to serve. To be sure, some translations render this verse as, "Hear Isra'el, the LORD is our God, the LORD alone." This is the primary meaning conveyed by the use of this word "echad". That God is our only God is paramount to correctly understanding any revelation of him in his Word.

"Blurring the Lines" According to some scholars every instance when a mortal encountered the divine God they were in some way beholding Yeshua! In this understanding Yeshua is the common factor in every single revelation of God in the Scriptures. To be sure, they declare that "No one has ever seen God; but the only and unique Son, who is identical with God and is at the Father's side," (read John 1:18). Yet Yeshua is also uniquely the Son of Man. Yeshua is NOT the Father, nor is God Yeshua. Rather, and I'm stretching human language to its limits to explain this, Yeshua is the Word made flesh, the Word which was WITH God, and the Word which WAS God! It is not as if Yeshua became God somehow. It is rather that God the Word became a human being and we beheld such glory in the person and work of the Messiah named Yeshua. Such profundity! So, by understanding what the B’rit Chadashah (New Covenant) teaches believers about the unity of Yeshua and the Father (John 10:30), we are given the ability to interpret the Shema in a more theologically correct light. ADONAI is echad…. Yet, according to Yeshua’s own testimony, He and the Father also constitute an echad. Is HaShem more than one?! No! Is Yeshua "meshugga" (Yiddish for "crazy")? Of course not! This relationship of the Father to the Son has long since been a problem for my people to grasp. It also continues to baffle anyone attempting to put God in a neat, theological box. Do we believe in three gods? No. That is the heresy called "Tritheism". Do we believe in one God who simply wears three different "masks" to interact with mankind? No. That is the heresy called "Modalism". What we believe in is ONE God who expresses his existence in a "unity of three". The mystery is that each expression is uniquely God and yet uniquely single. Ontology is defined as: "a branch of metaphysics concerned with the nature and relations of being; a particular theory about the nature of being or the kinds of existents". The ontological implications of the very words, names, and "titles" used in the Scriptures help us to relate to God himself. Observe: All of what the word "God" implies is not exhausted in the use of the words "his Son"; all of what the name "Yeshua" implies is not exhausted in the term "the Father"; all of what the term "Ruach HaKodesh" implies is not exhausted in "the Man Yeshua" and so on and so forth. We cannot logically collapse each name, phrase, and title into the others without doing damage to the import of the Scriptural references. Indeed to attempt to do so is to approach the Scriptures from an incorrect mindset. Historically, the Hebraists thought of God in concepts of "this" and "that"; conversely, the historic Greek mindset approached God in concepts of "this’ or "that". Some scholars refer to this as "Hebrew tension". Yeshua is God veiled in flesh and the Spirit of God is God himself. The matter of authority comes into play when I examine some of the roles of each deity. The role of God is as head over Yeshua and the role of the Ruach is as witness to Yeshua. Yet the role of Yeshua is as witness of the Father and the role of the Spirit is as active agent of the Father as well. Obviously this list is not exhaustive. The part that brings it all together is when we remember that true worship belongs to God and God alone! As such, whenever Yeshua or the Ruach is also worshipped we catch a glimpse of the "oneness" of the "three-ness" of God.

Conclusions: Is Yeshua God? The Torah is the final Word on this important subject matter. In my personal opinion as a mere human in scrutiny of God, I must believe and accept what it teaches about God as a composite UNITY from Genesis to Revelation, or I must throw ALL of it out in desperation and conclusion that no such being called God can exist within the scope of human existence, a God who is defined in such Scriptures as a "Unity of Three". Does our understanding of HaShem and Yeshua as echad have salvific implications for us as believers? I believe that it does. Again let us turn to a few Scriptural examples. Observe the fascinating interaction between HaShem, the Son, and the Name: YHVH: Joel 2:32: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the YHVH shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the YHVH hath said, and in the remnant whom the YHVH shall call. YESHUA: Act 4:12: There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved. Rom 10:9-13: 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. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on Him. For, "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved." 1Co 1:2: to the assembly of GOD which is at Corinth; those who are sanctified in Messiah Yeshua, called to be holy ones, with all who call on the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah in every place, both theirs and ours. We cannot have it both ways. Either the TaNaKH agrees with the B’rit Chadashah that YHVH is LORD (as is Yeshua) or the B’rit Chadashah is wrong in its portrayal of Yeshua as LORD (a title formerly reserved exclusively in the TaNaKH for YHVH). I shall close with a "trinity" of quotes: a quote from the book written specifically to the Ivrim (Hebrews), one from Philippians, and finally a significant one from the TaNaKH itself: Hebrews 1:1-3…In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. (NIV) Philippians 2:8-11…And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (NIV) Isaiah 45:21-23: ... there is no GOD else beside Me; a just GOD and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am GOD, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. (JPS) The Name that is above every name is the name YHVH. HaShem granted Yeshua of Nazareth the right to use The Name for himself so that he may speak for HaShem, he may speak as HaShem, and he may receive worship as HaShem just as mystics describe the "fictional character" Metatron doing in ancient times. Refusal to worship and serve Yeshua as Almighty God insults the True God, and shows a gross lack of respect for The Name.

8:1 - "You must safeguard and keep the entire mandate that I am prescribing to you today. You will then survive, flourish, and come to occupy the land that God swore to your fathers. 8:2 - Remember the entire path along which God your Lord led you these forty years in the desert. He sent hardships to test you, to determine what is in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 8:3 - He made life difficult for you, letting you go hungry, and then He fed you the Manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had ever experienced. This was to teach you that it is not by bread alone that man lives, but by all that comes out of God's mouth. 8:4 - The clothing you wore did not become tattered, and your feet did not become bruised these forty years. 8:5 - You must thus meditate on the fact that just as a man might chastise his child, so God your Lord is chastising you. 8:6 - Safeguard the commandments of God your Lord, so that you will walk in His ways and remain in awe of Him. 8:7 - God your Lord is bringing you to a good land - a land with flowing streams, and underground springs gushing out in valley and mountain. 8:8 - It is a land of wheat, barley, grapes, figs and pomegranates - a land of oil-olives and honey-[dates]. 8:9 - It is a land where you will not eat rationed bread, and you will not lack anything - a land whose stones are iron, and from whose mountains you will quarry copper. 8:10 - When you eat and are satisfied, you must therefore bless God your Lord for the good land that He has given you." (D'varim 8:1-10, Pentateuch) Now I am quite at a loss of understanding as to how anyone could misconstrue the intent of the promises here. Clearly these are words of blessing, based on obedience. Moreover, they do not spell out the terms of salvation for an individual, based on such obedience. No, they speak to the well being of a member of God's family once he has already become a member (recall that the Torah was given to a group of freed people!). What brings about confusion is the oft forgotten idea that the Torah speaks about forensic righteousness, the kind we inherit from God's gracious provision, i.e., Messiah Yeshua, and behavioral righteousness, the kind we gain by becoming submissive to the Torah of HaShem. Because of our new life in Messiah, we have inherited the holiness that HaShem intended for us to posses all along. When we place our trusting faithfulness in the perfect Man of God, our holiness (or lack thereof) becomes the holiness of the Father! Our constitution changes and we are no longer deemed ‘unholy’, for his riches in glory—which includes his holy standard of being—are transferred to our account! We must grasp this central truth and begin to live according to it! We are holy because Yeshua has made us holy! Just as unrighteous Avraham became righteous when he placed his complete faith in HaShem, so we too inherit the righteousness and holiness of the Holy One when we place our unreserved trust in his Son. But holiness is also a duty.

Allow me to elaborate on this concept further using a quote from author Tim Hegg, one of the teachers at Congregation Beit Hallel in Tacoma, WA, as well as a significant contributor of materials for FFOZ. In his excellent work about the Apostle Paul ‘The Letter Writer’, Hegg, in the Prologue, makes this important note regarding the original languages of the Bible: One of the major difficulties we encounter in our discussion of “trust,” “believe,” and “faith/faithful,” is that there is no corresponding verbal form of “faith” in the English language. We have no way of saying that one “faithed” or that someone is “faithing” in God. Yet in both the Hebrew and the Greek the word group expressing the concept of faith also contains a verb built on the same root. To put it simply, noun and verb are cognate. For example, the Hebrew verb [‘aman], “to be supported” from which we derive the verb “to believe,” has the corresponding noun [‘emunah], which means “faith” or “faithful.” Likewise, the Greek verb [pisteuo], “to believe,” has the corresponding noun [pistis], which means “faith” or “faithful.” Unfortunately, many English readers do not realize that “believing,” “having faith,” and “being faithful” all derive from the same word group whether in the Hebrew or the Greek… This has all but been lost on our modern-day religious communities. “Faith” is considered almost exclusively to mean that one is “convinced” of this or that without regard to any outward action. Yet the very words used by the authors of Scripture indicate this was not their meaning. What both the Hebrew and the Greek word groups tell us plainly is that the internal, mental activity of genuine faith always shows itself in outward obedience: “faith” and “faithfulness” are bound together as two sides of the same coin. This division in the Western worldview of the “internal” (which is called “faith”) from the “external” (which is called “faithfulness”) is foreign to the biblical way of looking at things because it is foreign to a Hebrew understanding of “faith/faithfulness.” Since the Bible was written by Hebrews and those who had come to adopt the Hebrew way of looking at the world, it only makes sense that the biblical teaching on “faith” would flow from a Hebraic perspective. That this concept is firmly rooted in the Torah proper is paramount to understanding such writings themselves. Can we expect to find these concepts of “faith” and “trusting faithfulness” working in tandem played out in the writings of the Renewed Covenant as well? You bet! Observe (notice particularly the author’s conclusion in verse 31): 21 - "But now a righteousness from God, apart from [Torah], has been made known, to which the [Torah] and the Prophets testify. 22 - This righteousness from God comes through faith in [Yeshua the Messiah] to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 - and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by [Yeshua the Messiah]. 25 - God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- 26 - he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in [Yeshua]. 27 - Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of [legalistically] observing the [Torah]? No, but on that of faith. 28 - For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from [legalistically] observing the [Torah]. 29 - Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 - since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 - Do we, then, nullify the [Torah] by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the [Torah]." (Romans 3:21-31, NIV)

Torah – Its Roles and Functions Firstly the Torah teaches that we must recognize our need of repair. The Biblical examples give us ample opportunity to find ourselves within the matrix of a God-centric universe, a universe where we are either for God or (by default) opposed to God. This is the recognition of sin in our lives before we come to know who God is and what his plans are all about. The Word(s) of God, whether personally read, or heard (at the mouth of those who are his) cause our heart to begin to yield to the leading of the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit). To be sure, the Torah teaches that all are sinners and that no one properly seeks after God. Only the call of the Ruach can lead a man to finding God; no man has found God of his own accord. Allow me to illustrate this by first explaining the role of the Torah in a sinner's life. The fine folks over at First Fruits of Zion have written a wonderful set of books on the functions of the Torah in the lives of believers. 'Torah Rediscovered' and 'Take Hold' are some of the finest examples of explaining our relationship to the Word of God that I have ever researched. As such, I highly recommend both books (see FFOZ link above for details). Quoting a few paragraphs from those works, I want to share with you the practicality of the Word of God, as it applies to both believers and non-believers, in helping to bring them into the plans and purposes of HaShem. Authors Ariel and D'vorah Berkowitz write: "Torah helps man recognize his own sinfulness (Romans 7:7-12). This function of the Torah primarily concerns those who are not yet redeemed. Torah helps to bring about HaShem’s wrath (Romans 4:15). The teaching here in Romans stresses that if anyone tries to use Torah to achieve justification before HaShem, the attempt will backfire! He will only discover that he cannot obey it perfectly, thus achieving only condemnation! "The Torah acts as a protector. How? "For the unredeemed: The Torah was intended to preserve the mental, moral and social safety of the environment into which an individual was born and raised. The person was protected “until the date set by the Father” (Galatians 4:2) when the Spirit of HaShem would lead them to the Teacher, the Messiah. The Torah does this by providing a safe environment in which they may live. The judgments, commandments, ordinances and other teachings of the Torah all help to create a safe community surrounded by the protective border of the Torah. Anyone who lives within the confines of that border will live in relative safety. This does not mean that the person living within the borders of the Torah is automatically safe spiritually, or “saved”; rather, living within the Torah community, his life is being preserved and protected as he awaits the time set by the Father, his moment of salvation." Now this helps us to understand the role of the Torah in the life of an unbeliever. But what of the believer? They continue to explain: " For the redeemed: Because the Torah tells us the truth—the difference between holy and unholy, clean and unclean, life and death—it is both a protection for us and a written revelation of the grace of HaShem. Every man, woman or child who chooses not to live within the teachings of HaShem, which produce life, is consigned to a place outside of the blessing and protection established by these teachings (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). We can also tie in the description of the Torah as the national covenant and constitution, in which the Great King promises to protect His subjects through the covenant. To protect them from what? From the kingdom outside of His kingdom: the kingdom of darkness. Remember that the chief characteristic of the kingdom of darkness is death, with all of its legal rights (Romans 6:23). The legal aspects of the Torah declare the truth that the kingdom of darkness has no jurisdiction inside the boundaries of HaShem’s kingdom—the Torah Community."

What does the New Covenant teach us about God's commands? The book of 1 John (5:3) gives us a definitive answer: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (KJV).” Why does this passage surprise us as "New Testament" believers in Yeshua? I believe it has much primarily to do with the fact that we have been trained over the last 2000 or so years to believe that grace is diametrically opposed to obedience. Nothing could be further from the truth! Grace (given through his generous Spirit) is what enables us to properly obey in the first place! Were it not for God's grace, many of the saints of the TaNaKH period (Old Testament) would have surely perished under the "letter of the Law", based on their moral failure to uphold the many details that the Law spells out. Moreover, many of us today would also perish. This important “Spirit-led” feature is the secret to properly understanding the passage quoted by Moshe in Deuteronomy chapter 30 above! Moshe could boldly state “thou mayest do it” because he knew that when the Spirit of the God who gives the Torah comes to live within an individual (viz, the “circumcised heart” of Deut. 30:6), then the very same Spirit also writes the Torah on their heart, enabling them to DO it! Again, without the person of the Spirit living within us, we will fail to uphold the Law. So we step out and try to keep God’s laws. What happens when we fail God? Well for one thing, grace steps in and allows us to try time and again to accomplish the good pleasure of our Father in Heaven. Grace says, "I know you’ve tried and you’ve failed. In fact, you will never reach perfection until my Son returns. But that is okay. I am not expecting perfection. You just do your best by giving me your whole heart, soul, and strength, and I will fill in the rest!" That is grace! Moshe is giving 'Am Yisra'el a chance to experience the grace of God on an everyday level. They had already witnessed the supernatural hand of the Almighty as he delivered them from the bondage of Egypt, which by the way forms a picture of deliverance from sin for us today. That was surely a monumental event! Yet, now HaShem is teaching his people that since they were free, they no longer need follow their old passions and ways of life. To be sure, Moshe has told them on an earlier occasion to "circumcise their hearts" in order that they might genuinely be obedient to God! Does this feature sound familiar? It should! For this is a "New Testament" feature as well! So we see that a circumcised heart is God's desire for his children. This heart is a heart which will say to the LORD, "All that you ask of me, I will do!" The passages that illustrate this throughout the unified Word of God are too numerous to point out in this study! The message of the ages remains strikingly clear: "Love God with your whole heart, soul, and might, and he will cause you to walk in his ways!" His ways include salvation, healing, financial blessing, relationship building, promise of healthy and plentiful offspring, as well as numerous things that I can’t name here! His blessings are reserved for those who would soften their heart to hear his voice! His blessings are reserved for those who will surrender their will into his hands and allow him to shape their lives into the pattern of that of his Only and Unique Son, Yeshua the Savior of the world! Therefore, "see"! The choice is yours! Do you want blessing? Or do you want the curse? I choose the former…

Establishing Halakhah Chapter 17 of this parashah talks about the details surrounding official, legal matters. Of particular interest is the subject dealt with in verses 8-13. To be sure, the sages of old understood this to be talking about the matter of halakhah and the authority of what is known in rabbinical circles as “Oral Torah”. And just what is Oral Torah and why do we Christians need to know? I shall explain why below, but first, a treatment of what has come to be known as Oral Torah in Judaic circles must come first. Oral Torah: “Torah sh’be’al peh” Although the Written Torah seems to be precise in its description of legal codes and commandments, it would be impossible to write down every conceivable human behavior and ascertain whether or not the Torah allowed each one. Concerning the prohibition of work on the Sabbath, for example, we notice that nowhere in the Torah is there a definition of what constitutes labor (Heb: melachah) on the Sabbath and what does not. Amos (8:5) and Jeremiah (17:21-24) mention keeping the Sabbath in concrete terms—forbidding trading and bearing a burden—but it is impossible to enumerate all the probable behaviors and circumstances and give judgment as to whether or not they violate the Sabbath. This became more of a problem as time went on and the historical and cultural circumstances changed in later periods. The violation of the Sabbath is a very serious offense for Jewish people everywhere (a capital offence in ancient times), but the absence of a precise definition of working on the Sabbath in the Pentateuch has been a persistent problem. Unless people have a clear definition of what constitutes labor on the Sabbath, they cannot objectively observe it. Even for contemporary pious Christians, this is a serious problem. Like Amos and Jeremiah, the believing community had their own understanding about the Sabbath, and that became the tradition of the community. Since the time of Ezra in the post-exilic period, many experts on the Law (scribes, Sofrim) were interpreting the Torah in and for their covenant community, and the community regarded their words as having the same binding authority as the Written Torah. The traditional interpretations of the Torah by the experts on the Torah as well as those of the Chazal (Our Rabbis of Blessed Memory), particularly after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, became the “Torah sh’be’al peh” (Torah from the mouth), also known as unwritten or Oral Torah. The Oral Torah gained equal footing and took on the same kind of binding authority as the Written Torah. The function of the Oral Torah is to "make a fence for the Law" (Avot 1.1). The Written Torah is to be protected by keeping and observing the tradition (Oral Torah). Consequently, Judaism has been able “keep” the Written Torah merely by observing the Oral Torah. By obeying the tradition in concrete terms (no business on the Sabbath, for instance), they could observe the commandment about the Sabbath.

As can be shown, a careful distinction needs to be made by the Jewish believer in Messiah, regarding matters of rabbinical authority (Oral Torah) and Torah issues as a whole. If our Messiah correctly determines correct Torah interpretation, then a misrepresentation of the true nature and intent of the Torah, whether by the sages of the Jewish People, or by the non-Jewish scholars of today, needs to be avoided at all costs. This is especially true if—since most rabbis disagree with the authority of the B’rit Chadashah—the believer is faced with a tough choice to make and he finds himself seeking the advice of leaders. As I see it, it all comes down to “Who has the authority to determine halakhah in the life of a Messianic Jew?” Space here does not permit me to deal with the matter in great detail, but suffice to say I understand the New Covenant to be non-supportive of the supposed inspirational authority of the Oral Torah, that is, authority vested from heaven concerning legal matters, as expounded in the Talmud. The verses cited by the rabbis in our parashah just don’t seem to conform to the Torah as a whole. In my opinion, evidence is lacking to support an authoritative Oral Torah. What is more, in instances of Oral Torah, where clear and unambiguous support is given over to the separation of Jew and Gentiles as ostensible equal covenant believers, the talmid of Yeshua must side with the authoritative Written Word of God on this matter: Jews and Gentiles are fellow heirs in the covenants of Promise made possible through genuine trusting faithfulness in Yeshua the Messiah. To sum up my concluding thoughts on both Torah traditions: It is crucial for us to understand theologically, that the primary purpose in HaShem's giving of the Torah (written and/or oral), as a way of making someone righteous, only achieves its goal when the person, by faith, accepts that Yeshua is the promised Messiah spoken about therein. Until the individual reaches this conclusion, his familiarity of the Torah is only so much intellectual nutrition. Only by believing in Yeshua will the person be able to properly understand HaShem, and consequently, his Word. The "righteousness" of the Torah is two-fold: 1) "Forensic" - appropriated the moment one places his unreserved trusting faithfulness in the Messiah prophesied about in the Scriptures; and 2) "Behavioral” - the resulting lifestyle of the former-mentioned righteousness, i.e., Torah submissiveness. The primary difference are the fact that the first one is an act of faith, whereas, the latter is an act of obedience (read Ephesians 2:8-10 carefully, and you will see this progression of circumstances). Solid hermeneutics will clearly demonstrate that the Messiah did NOT abolish the Torah of Moshe (this would consequently include the oral tradition that is based on the Torah of Moshe!). Moreover, historical, corporate Isra'el is not keeping (or ever kept) all of the Torah correctly—to include the traditions handed down since Avraham Avinu (Abraham our Father). The operative word is "correctly". What is more, the "freedom" of Messiah does NOT give the Church or Isra'el license to practice "iniquity" (the Greek word anomia ajnomiva equates to "Torahlessness") . To be sure, the freedom Sha’ul speaks of is actually freedom to walk in Torah! Prior to this Christ-given freedom we were slaves to sin, and thus, unable to submit to God’s Law even if we wanted to (cf. Rom. 8:7, 8). This may be hard to grasp, but if a person has accepted the faith of God, in the (historical) person and work of his Son (past or present), then they are keeping the central part of the Torah! The rest is his journey towards the "works of God" as described in Eph. 2:8-10. I shall have to conclude then that if such an oral tradition leads one towards the above-mentioned righteousness then such a tradition is good and applicable for today's follower of HaShem.

“You are to appoint judges and officers for all your gates [in the cities] ADONAI your God is giving you..." (Shof’tim v’shotrim titen-l’cha b’chol-sh'arecha asher ADONAI Elohecha noteyn l’cha ...)