TORAH PORTION BIBLE STUDY 5767 (2006-2007)

[grani4fam1]

Parashas Massei (Numbers 33:1-36:13)


1. The 42 moves in Numbers correspond to the 42 months in the book of Revelation. During the Tribulation, those who follow the LORD will be out in the wilderness of Judea following the same route the Israelites followed.

2. Messiah our Blood Avenger, not the meek and mild one portrayed by the church. He is the goel (Psalm 9:12) who requires blood for blood. He will require vengeance for the “blood of [His] servants which has been shed” (Psalm 79:10). First Fruit of Zion Torah Club Vol. 2, page 688-689 says, “The implications of Messiah coming to avenge the blood of Israel is frightening when we consider that the church has been, historically, one of the chief spillers of Israel’s blood. In the name of Christ, millions of Jews have been ruthlessly killed through the centuries. The book of Revelation depicts the souls of martyrs crying out to God for vengeance: ‘“How long, O LORD, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”’…And they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also (Revelation 6:10-11).” I draw the conclusion from this that Israel has not been replaced by the church, and only those who are joined to Israel through Messiah will be avenged and protected.



Titles of Messiah (from First Fruits of Zion Torah Club Vol. 2)
Avenger (Psalm 9:12)

It's the last portion of Bamidbar, so:

CHAZAK! CHAZAK! V'NITCHAZEK! = Be Strong! Be Strong! And Let Us Be Strenghtened!  

[grani4fam1]

Devarim "Words" - Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22  

[RoseRose]

Devarim can also mean "things", and actually, in context, either word makes sense in the Parasha.  

[grani4fam1]

RoseRose

Devarim can also mean "things", and actually, in context, either word makes sense in the Parasha.

Artscroll Chumash says specifically that it means "words" in the commentary on page 939. Here is the paragraph from the Chumash, "These are the words. Devarim [transliteration mine] refers to Moses' strong words of rebuke, and, indeed, Moses began his teachings here by reminding his listeners of the many national shortcomings since the Exodus (Rashi). Alternatively, the words are the commandments and exhortations from chapter 5 to 26:19, which form the bulk of Deuteronomy, and the first four chapters are the 'preamble' to those words (Ramban)."

Devar is the root word, and it means "the word of" in Webster's NewWorld Hebrew Dictionary. Devarim in that dictionary is defined as "words" and "things", but I believe the intent of the Torah portion is to use the meaning "words."

You are right that it can mean either one in the context, but in light of the info here, the intent is to convey it strongly as Moses' words.  

[RoseRose]

Hmmm... I haven't read the commentary, just the parasha. I kind of liked to think of it as "things", in the sense of a list of things that the Israelites still need to do and remember when they get into Israel.

Well, Ramban and Rashi are much greater authorities than I!  

[grani4fam1]

What I learned from Parashas Devarim:

1. Grumbling and complaining are the precursor to rebellion against the LORD (Devarim 1:27 and several of the tests of Israel in the wilderness).

2. Fear is sin (Devarim 1:27-33). The Israelites made a fearful statement, the LORD reassured them, and they still refused to go into the land. Trust is the opposite of fear. It was because of fear that Israel didn’t trust the LORD.

3. The LORD wants to give us things, but we have to make some effort towards it (Devarim 1:4). Moses and Israel had to fight against Sihon and Og in order to obtain their land. The LORD didn’t just hand it to them. The same is true for the rest of the land of Israel. They had to at least step forward by faith before the LORD would give them the victory.

I concluded from these things I learned that if we will remember the encouragement the LORD gave them in midst of the rebuke, we can train ourselves to be ready for the when we are tested ourselves in a wilderness situation. I will memorize this and reflect on it:

“Do not be shocked, nor fear them. 'The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place. {The LORD} goes before you on {your} way, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go.” (Devarim 1:29-31, 33)  

[RoseRose]

grani4fam1

What I learned from Parashas Devarim:

1. Grumbling and complaining are the precursor to rebellion against the LORD (Devarim 1:27 and several of the tests of Israel in the wilderness).

2. Fear is sin (Devarim 1:27-33). The Israelites made a fearful statement, the LORD reassured them, and they still refused to go into the land. Trust is the opposite of fear. It was because of fear that Israel didn’t trust the LORD.

3. The LORD wants to give us things, but we have to make some effort towards it (Devarim 1:4). Moses and Israel had to fight against Sihon and Og in order to obtain their land. The LORD didn’t just hand it to them. The same is true for the rest of the land of Israel. They had to at least step forward by faith before the LORD would give them the victory.

I concluded from these things I learned that if we will remember the encouragement the LORD gave them in midst of the rebuke, we can train ourselves to be ready for the when we are tested ourselves in a wilderness situation. I will memorize this and reflect on it:

“Do not be shocked, nor fear them. 'The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place. {The LORD} goes before you on {your} way, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go.” (Devarim 1:29-31, 33)

Hmm... I see the fear more as stubborness. You read the chronicles of the travels, and all there is is grumbling and complaining. Even in the first account of the spies report, they mentioned going back to Egypt.

The real issue, as told on Passover, is the struggle to be free. "Baruch atah hashem, elohaynu melech ha-olam, sheasani ben/bat chorin" Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who made me a free man/woman. Said everyday in the morning prayers.

The Lord freed Israel, and they responded with a desire to return to bondage. We, their descendants, must choose freedom, no matter how hard it is. Leave our parents homes, make our own decisions... live as free people.  

[grani4fam1]

RoseRose

Hmm... I see the fear more as stubborness. You read the chronicles of the travels, and all there is is grumbling and complaining. Even in the first account of the spies report, they mentioned going back to Egypt.

Ah, but what is at the root of stubbornness, grumbling and complaining? I believe that someday soon we will all be up against the same tests our fathers were, and how will we handle them? Will we maintain a slave mentality of fear or a free mentality of childlike trust in Him?

RoseRose

The real issue, as told on Passover, is the struggle to be free. "Baruch atah hashem, elohaynu melech ha-olam, sheasani ben/bat chorin" Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who made me a free man/woman. Said everyday in the morning prayers.

This is true if you are looking for an overview of the Torah. What I am after here is what this has to do with my own walk with the LORD. How does each story in the Torah apply to an individual life?

RoseRose

The Lord freed Israel, and they responded with a desire to return to bondage. We, their descendants, must choose freedom, no matter how hard it is. Leave our parents homes, make our own decisions... live as free people.

Why do we personally refuse to turn from the bondage in our own lives? Fear of the unknown, I say. There is more to becoming free than leaving home - how about the besetting sins we all have? Why do we not embrace the power of the Ruach HaKodesh to see us free from daily habits and mindsets that get in the way of our fellowship with Him, so that the Shekinah can descend upon our individual spirits?  

[RoseRose]

Very true about it being the fear of the unknown (and more than leaving our parents homes... I'm just a sophmore in college, so that's kinda important to me right now, totally growing up and stuff.) But then, also, Devarim IS a summary and an overview of the Torah with some extra. *shrug*

I'll definitely have more to say when we get to Vaetchanan, though. That was my Bat Mitzvah portion.  

[grani4fam1]

Va'etchanan is next. Please share with us what you shared as your special revelation on your Bat Mitzvah, RoseRose. I've heard a few of the talks kids give on their Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, and it's really exciting to hear how the LORD applies it to their individual lives. Personally, my Bat Mitzvah portion would be Chayei Sarah, but I didn't come into the understanding about what that was until a couple of years ago. I found out what mine would be from a link on aish.com, or maybe it was judaism101.com. I believe it is no mistake when we are born and how that lines up with a Torah portion. I even named my daughter Sarah without knowing what my portion is. I loved the name Sarah because of the change the LORD made in Sarai's life - I heard He blew new life into her when He changed her name, just as He did with Abram to make him Abraham. I hope I wasn't mistaken about that meaning. Is that a true thing - that He shares His life with those He loves by changing their name to include a piece of His name (YH or H)? What do you hear from your teachers about this name stuff?  

[RoseRose]

Well, the portion is really full of good things to talk about. The biggest is the fact that it has the repetition of the ten commandments, and it has the first paragraph of the Sh'ma. I actually gave my speech on the second line of the Sh'ma. "And you shall love the Lord your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might." In doing so, I talked about the story of Rabbi Akiva's martyrdom, and how, as he was being executed rather painfully, he said the Sh'ma, and when the Romans asked him how he could do so, he replied, "For all my life I have served the Lord with all my heart and all my soul, and finally I have a chance to serve him with all my might". Basically, unless we are willing to still love G-d through the tough times as well as the easy ones, we aren't truly fufilling that commandment. I've had some tough times in my life, and I've doubted the Lord... but, I read that, and I remember that unless you love the Lord through the tough times, what kind of trust in the Lord is it? It is traditional if someone knows they are dying to recite the Sh'ma. I hope that, if I know that I am dying, I will have the strength to proclaim my love of the Lord with my last breath.  

[grani4fam1]

Wow. I knew the Sh'ma was important to Jewish people, but I see through your words just how much, and it makes me want to weep at how hard your people have had to cling to it through all the centuries of persecution.  

[RoseRose]

grani4fam1

Wow. I knew the Sh'ma was important to Jewish people, but I see through your words just how much, and it makes me want to weep at how hard your people have had to cling to it through all the centuries of persecution.

Yeah... there's a tradition of martyrs saying it as they died through all the persecutions and progroms of the past. Sometimes I want to weep, too, when I think about it... but when I say the Sh'ma, only the joy of the prayer is there.

It is THE central part of the daily prayers. It is mandated that every Jew say it twice a day, morning and evening. It's... extremely important.  

[grani4fam1]

Is the Amidah the daily prayers? My husband and I are trying to memorize them and say them daily. It will be a while since they are so long, but they are so full of deep truth, one could meditate on them their whole life. I started to make a study of the first one (the Avot?) and look up the verses in Scripture that they are derived from. What nuggets of spiritual knowledge they are!

P.S. I found the Amidah I'm learning on hebrew4christians.com. could you look at it to see if it's the same as you'd find in a siddur?  

[RoseRose]

grani4fam1

Is the Amidah the daily prayers? My husband and I are trying to memorize them and say them daily. It will be a while since they are so long, but they are so full of deep truth, one could meditate on them their whole life. I started to make a study of the first one (the Avot?) and look up the verses in Scripture that they are derived from. What nuggets of spiritual knowledge they are!

P.S. I found the Amidah I'm learning on hebrew4christians.com. could you look at it to see if it's the same as you'd find in a siddur?

The Amidah is part of the daily prayers. It's done silently.

Here's the daily prayers:

In Morning and Evening prayers: Blessings before the Sh'ma, the Sh'ma, Blessings after the Sh'ma, the Amidah. If there is a minyan, there are a couple versions of the Kiddush said in there.

In the Morning and Afternoon: The Amidah, which was done silently, is repeated out loud, although this is only done when there is a minyan (10 Jewish adults. In more Orthodox congregations, this is changed to 10 Jewish men).

In the morning: Before everything else, the morning blessings.