Beth Elohim Messianic Synagogue
Special Parashot readings before Yom T’ruah (Feast of Trumpets)
Leil Selichot (Prayers for Forgiveness)
Torah: Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20
Haftarah: Isaiah 61:10-63:9; Hosea 14:2-10:9; Micah 7:18-20; Joel 2:15-27
B’rit Chadashah: Rom. 9:30-10:13; Heb. 12:14-15;13:5-8
Applicability of these parashot to all of mankind today and accessibility to all the instructions G-d so lovingly and carefully commanded for an optimal relationship between man and G-d, and man with other human beings are described in Deuteronomy 29:13-14 and Deuteronomy 30:11-14. Although there exists some societies that may never receive the written or spoken Word of G-d, G-d reaches those who He knows will respond to His commands in His way and time. There is no excuse for anyone not to follow G-d’s instructions however, He may deliver them to various peoples of the world (Romans 1:16-23). Furthermore, warnings against rebellious living with an arrogant false hope of forgiveness no matter how one lives described (Deut. 29:17-28; Rom. 1:18-32;2:1-9), and the result of such antinomianism also stated in Romans 2:6 is repeated in Revelation 22.
The “bad news” being delivered first, G-d follows with the opportunity for forgiveness, which is the focus of Yom T’ruah and restoration IF we finally repent after we have been punished for our rebellion against G-d described in Deut. 30: 1-9; 10-13). Note that just as rebellious children who ignore a parent’s warning of harm or punishment for disobedience suffer an adverse effect of such behavior, hopefully the child will the “straighten up and fly right!” In the context of G-d’s instructions this means “ When the time arrives that all these things have come upon you, both the blessing and the curse which I have presented to you; and you are there among the nations to which Adonai your G-d has driven you, the, at last, you will start thinking about what has happened to you; and you will return to Adonai your G-d and pay attention to what he has said, which will be exactly what I am ordering you to do today- you and your children, with all your heart and with all your being. At that point, Adonai your G-d will reverse your exile and show you mercy; he will return and gather you from all the peoples to which Adonai your G-d scattered you. If one of you was scattered to the far end of the sky, Adonai your G-d will bring you back into the land your ancestors possessed and you will possess it; he will make you prosper there, and you will become even more numerous than your ancestors.”
In Deuteronomy 30:10, again we see that these blessings are conditional: “However, all this will happen only if you pay attention to what Adonai your G-d says, so that you obey his mitzvot and regulations which are written in this book of the Torah, if you turn to Adonai your G-d with all your heart and with all your being.” Referring to Revelation 22:18 we are reminded that “this book” is defined as G-d’s Torah, his commands/instructions. As a side note, I find it difficult to understand how any clergy person can stand before a congregation and teach that G-d’s laws/instructions are “dead” or that they can be changed as the Catholic Church did with changing the biblical Sabbath to Sunday and giving man the authority to absolve sin, especially when G-d’s Torah describes the result of such errant teaching and living so clearly throughout the Old Testament and the B’rit Chadashah (Refreshed renewed Covenant). G-d will rightly judge when He returns. Yes, I mean G-d because Yahshua (G-d saves) is the Messiah and is G-d (See John 14).
The decision that is as crucial for us today as it was for the Israelites is whether or not to love or hate G-d. Yahshua makes it very clear that loving G-d means lovingly keeping His commands (John 14:15). Moshe could not decide for them, and no one can be blamed for any bad choices we make. We will all be held accountable for our deeds (Rev. 22:12). Although a decision to love G-d with all our heart, soul, and might open the “access” road to future salvation, the race to win the prize of an eternity with G-d is a lifelong journey that is maintained through continual loving obedience. There is no such thing as a once saved always saved event.
Accordingly, Moshe enjoined the people to cleave unto G-d, which by default requires exclusive devotion in our daily lives. we must always be on guard of our hearts and minds, not allowing ourselves to be in a situation whereby our lifestyle testimony may be compromised. The choices we make throughout our sojourn on this earth are crucial and have eternal implications. In the words of Moshe given by G-d “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have presented you with life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, choose life, so that you will live, you and your descendants, loving Adonai your G-d, paying attention to what he says and clinging to him- for that is the purpose of your life! On this depends the length of time you will live in the land Adonai swore he would give to your ancestors Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya’akov” (Deut. 30:19-20). May we live our lives for G-d in this way and be blessed with an eternity in the heavenly “Land” of G-d’s abode!
On the last day of his life, Moshe gathered everyone from the Israelite community together to initiate them into the covenant with G-d. This included the wood hewers and water drawers who are said to have been Canaanites who wanted to convert to Judaism. What was different about this covenant was the concept of responsibility for one another, under which every true believer is obligated to help others observe Torah and restrain them from violating it. This is why in (Deut. 29:28) “The hidden things (sins) are for HaShem, our G-d, but the revealed things (sins) are for us and our children forever, so that we can observe all the words of the Torah. According to Rashi and Ramban, Moshe is reassuring that while no one is responsible for the hidden sins of others, everyone is responsible to safeguard the integrity of Israel (all true believers) against openly committed sins. Rashi also adds that this verse alludes to the Jews who had become so assimilated among the other societies that their Jewish origin was lost or forgotten. When G-d redeems Israel, even the hidden ones known only to G-d will be reunited with the rest of the nation. (Psalms 87:6).
Verses 16-20: Moshe emphasizes the punishment that awaits someone who violates the covenant. Verse 18 is interesting because we should ask why a person whose heart has turned away from G-d still thinks that all will be well with him/her even when he has heard all the blessings and curses that are part of the oath? In the Chumash, Rashi interprets verse 18 as “adding drunkenness to thirst.” Stearns Jewish Bible translates it as “although ‘dry’ [sinful] I will be added to the ‘watered‘[righteous].” However the exact translation from the Hebrew translates to “ and he is when to hear him ET (Aleph Tav) (not translated in Hebrew), words of this oath, then he blesses himself in the heart of him to say safety (the direct Hebrew word used here is Shalom), he will be( the actual word used here is YHVH) to me though in stubbornness heart of me I go…”
So the actual translation tells us that people who know the commands and transgress them anyway are saying to themselves that they will be “ok” because G-d will still give them safety. The direct translation also indicated that Yahshua is also witness to this high-handed sin.
Verse 19 tells us that G-d will not forgive such people. I need to qualify this by saying that G-d’s unforgiveness is for the person who does not suffer remorse and conviction with subsequent repentance. We should all say “Baruch HaShem’ for the opportunities we have every day of our lives to repent and be forgiven lest we all suffer His wrath! Indeed in Orthodox Judaism there are those who believe the righteousness of the patriarchs will cover any sin they commit; thus the danger of quasi-obedience to G-d’s Torah. On the Christian side there is the same quasi-obedience based on the belief that “the grace of Jesus has done away with the Law and we are free to eat anything, do anything and choose our own day of worship.” We can see in this passage that this is just not the case. This Parasha thus brings the blessings and curses down to the individual level, where the previous Parasha dealt with the nation as a community with communal/national punishment. So one who sins high-handedly cannot say the curses belong only to the nation or the community. Neither can he say that he will be blessed because the nation is blessed. We are all individually accountable!
Verses 22-29: This entire paragraph could easily be juxtaposed right over the United States. Even the Chumash commentary, although talking about the Land (Eretz Israel), matches the exact events that are causing the downfall of this country; “Onlookers will analyze the incredible change in the Land from a country flowing with milk and honey to a wasteland from which the Jews were driven away. And they will conclude that only one thing could have caused such desolation: The Jews forsook their proven, all-powerful G-d to worship deities that had no power and no legitimacy.” Simply substitute the word “Americans” where “Jews” is written and you can see the profound similarity. Those who maintain that the Old Testament is not applicable to today are those who are biblically illiterate in the truth of Scripture.
Chap. 30:1-10: These verses provide untold comfort to those who love and fear G-d. We know that He has every right to destroy us, banishing us from His presence forever. But He tells us that His chosen will once again return to Him after we have had what G-d deems as enough “time out” to think about our idolatrous actions and once again live the Sh’ma. He will come looking for us and gather us and bring us back to the Land never to be divorced or exiled again. It is interesting to note that Verse 8 reminds us that we will still be accountable to live the Torah; there is no “age of grace” that releases us from this command.
Then we are hit with the “however” in verse 10. This verse is paramount to the true believer. We should memorize both this verse and verse 11 just as we do the Sh’ma. One of the biggest arguments by Christians is that no one can completely follow Torah. Indeed Torah is replete with Scripture that reminds us that we have all sinned and that none of us are righteous. Nevertheless, our shortcomings as humans does not negate the fact that it can be done! G-d reminds us of this very point; “ However, all this will happen only if you pay attention to what Adonai your G-d says, so that you obey His mitzvot and regulations which are written in this book of the Torah, if you turn to Adonai your G-d with all your heart and all your being.” Verse 11; “For this mitzvah which I am giving you today is not too hard for you, it is not beyond your reach. It isn’t in the sky, so that you need to ask, ‘Who will go up into the sky for us, bring it to us and make us hear it, so we can obey it?’ Likewise, it isn’t beyond the sea, so that you need to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea for us, bring it to us and make us hear it, so that we can obey it?’ On the contrary, the word is very close to you-in your mouth, even in your heart; therefore, you can do it!” If we feel as if we are incapable of learning, then it follows that we will feel as though we are to “excused” from the obligation to learn. Rambam (Talmud Torah 1:8) states “every man in Israel whether he be rich or poor… needs to establish times for learning Torah….” But how can the average person learn to become so obedient?
In the Tanya, R. Schneur Zalman develops the Chabad approach. This approach is a holistic paradigm of living in which the mind and intellect play the leading and pivotal role. First the person studies, comprehends, and meditates on the truth of G-d, mankind’s mission in life, and the resources and challenges extended to him to fulfill it. The next step is translating this knowledge and understanding into emotional feelings. Because of the innate superiority of the mind over the heart, the understanding, assimilation, and meditation on these G-dly concepts compel a love and awe of G-d. This love is seen as that unquenchable desire to cleave to G-d and emulate Him as much as possible. Yahshua came to earth the first time to teach us how to live His instructions/commands/law with heartful intent. The “awe” of G-d is the utter hatred towards anything that makes a barrier between Him and us. Finally, when a person has so oriented his mind and so transformed his heart, his observance of Torah becomes not only possible, but a compelling need. He craves the fulfillment that comes with obedience to Torah and continually strives to evade anything that would interfere with his obedience.
So, you might ask why spend a lifetime learning, assimilating, and pursuing this disciplined state of mind and heart? Why not just read the directions and follow the instructions? The direct approach is a dead end. This is called the short but long way. There are too many concepts, challenges and lessons from G-d that would be missed. On the other hand, the long but short way is winding, steep, tedious, and long as life itself. It is full of ups and downs, setbacks, and frustrations. It demands every ounce of intellectual and emotional stamina the human being can muster. But it is the road that leads, steadily and surely, to the desired destination, which is to glorify G-d.
“…keep asking, and it will be given to you; keep seeking, and you will find; keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you…” (Luke 11:9-10). Sha’ul mentions this concept comparing it to a “race toward the prize.”
“But if we continue hoping for something we don’t see, then we still wait eagerly for it, with perseverance” (Rom. 8:25). Sha’ul puts this concept as such, “I, for my part, do not think of myself as having yet gotten hold of it; but one thing I do; forgetting what is behind me and straining forward toward what lies ahead, I keep pursuing the goal in order to win the prize offered by G-d’s upward calling in the Messiah Yahshua” (Phil. 3:13-14).
Verses 15-20: G-d is pleading with the nation to choose life by obeying His instructions out of love. This is amazing and humbling. Here we have an all-knowing, all-seeing G-d who with a passing thought could obliterate us or make us robotic in nature. This would have been so much easier for Him. Think about it; if this had been His choice He would not have needed to create a place for us; He would not have had to withdraw a part of Himself to make space for us; He would not have had to provide the Torah; He would not have had to manifest himself as Yahshua who became all man and all G-d as the only perfect sacrifice for past sins (Rom. 3:25; 2 pet. 1:9)of those who repent and follow His commands, and for sins that are committed in the future for which the repentant sincerely asks forgiveness. Yahshua would not have had to suffer the pain of knowing what was to be and that there would be those who would yet deny Him; G-d would not have had to endure our chosen ignorance, rebellion, destruction and denial of His Torah. Just think…But He did and does give us a choice. Note that G-d’s foreknowledge is not the same as predestination held by Calvinists. WE choose or reject G-d and His Torah. G-d knows ahead of time what our decision will be. We cannot blame G-d or anyone else for our choice.
This Parashah is not read just before Rosh Hashana by chance. During this season “teshuva” (“return to G-d”) is in the air with personal and collective introspection as the order of the day. The Jewish concept of return is a return to G-d. It is a theocratic phenomenon, which serves, in most cases, to heal an egocentric perspective. One of the principles of teshuva is not repeating the same transgression in the same situation as before. Choose life! This is a call to win the spiritual battle between life with G-d or eternal separation or death through disobedience to Torah. We can only have life when we make soul choices and do what is hard and right over emotional, animal soul- based choices that are easy and often anti-Torah. For example, let us say you have to get up for work. You hit the snooze alarm and think of a million reasons why you do not want to get up. But I submit that if you had a plane to catch for a vacation, you would not think twice about getting up, even before the alarm went off! Choosing death is easy, not growing, not studying when it is early or late in your day, not placing the needs of others before your own (as long as they do not violate G-d’s Torah), not attending synagogue because you are too tired or there is a good show on TV, eating fast food because it is convenient, etc. We choose death all day long. Yet we wonder why we are lifeless, unmotivated, discontent, depressed, and anxious. This is because we are not living by G-d’s instructions for our physical and spiritual well-being. Instead, we may choose the path of least resistance that leads to death by distracting ourselves and killing ourselves one poor decision at a time. G-d would not plead with us to choose life if it were not in our best interest. The Torah is telling us that mere “existence” equals death. Living Torah requires that we submit to the authority of our Creator; nullify our egos and our natural “instincts.” It takes discipline, effort, humility, and strength. Providing man with the means to live a holy life by choice is a far greater demonstration of G-d’s chesed than if He simply fed us like helpless baby birds put on autopilot. He will bend us to where we think we will surely break. But He knows our limits and we need to learn to trust that He does nothing that is not intended to make us grow.
The ability to face decisions involving life and death issues was placed before man for the first time only after the giving of the Torah. The object of free will is to nullify it by applying it properly. Our purpose is to change our essence from animalistic, greedy, lustful beings to one of striving to please our G-d through obedience to Torah. How do we know this is what G-d uses as proof of our love for Him? The following verses are some of the strongest prooftexts of Yahshua’s command in the “New” Testament to follow His commands, rulings, and statutes. Yochanan 14:15 reads:
“If you love me, you will keep my commands.” In verse21:“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.” Then verse 23:“If someone loves me, he will keep my word.” Finally in Chap. 15:10, “If you keep my commands, you will stay in my love…” Choose life! It does not get any clearer than that for those who argue the “Law is dead.” A true believer is defined in the Tanakh and the B’rit Chadashah in the context of the first true believers (Israelites) and later in the book of Romans (2-3), John (14), and Revelation (Seven-fold witness) as just a few references.
Haftarah: Hosea 14:2-10
Hosea exhorts the Israelites to “Return, Oh Israel, to the L-rd your G-d,” encouraging them to sincerely repent and ask for G-d’s forgiveness. He urges the people to place their trust in G-d, not Assyria, strong horses, or idols. At that point, G-d promises to remove His anger from Israel, “ I will be like dew to Israel; they shall blossom like a rose.” The prophet goes on to foretell the return of the exiles and the cessation of idol-worship amongst the people. This narrative is in direct contrast to Church Replacement Theology taught in Christianity. Israel has NOT been replaced, evidenced by not only this narrative, numerous other scriptures including the fact that the Book of Revelation is written to the Jews, not the Church( See my study on Revelation on our website at https://www.rabdavis.org, click the “podcasts” link and you will see the menu. We are also streaming the weekly parashot live on YouTube under the channel “Tamah’s Torah Teaching.”
B’rit Chadashah: Hebrews 12:14-15
The consistency of G-d’s Torah between the Old and Refreshed, renewed Covenant (New” Testament) is again proven in these verses. We are admonished to keep pursuing the whole peace of G-d (Shalom) and to see to it that no root of bitterness springs up causing trouble and thus spiritual contamination of many. It recalls the story of Esav who exchanged his birthright for a single meal and later changed his mind to no avail. The stark truth is that there is a point of “no return” when all of the whaling and crying by those who freely choice to reject G-d’s Torah will be for naught.
We must seek wisdom from above and continually pray for a clean heart (Psalm 139) attuned to the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit’s promptings concerning sin in our lives that we may “wash our robes”[repent] as we continue our journey along the “King’s Highway” until our “Groom”(Yahshua) comes to take us as His bride to the Father’s house. May it be in our lifetime!
May this be the year that Yom T’ruah is fulfilled!
Shalom v’brachas,
Rabbi Tamah Davis-Hart