TORAH PORTION BIBLE STUDY 5767 (2006-2007)

[RoseRose]

This post is about the version of the Amidah:

The first blessing: Correct, but some modern versions include the Matriarchs in addition to the Patriarchs.

The second blessing: Correct, but doesn't include the line said only between Simchas Torah and Pesach in Hebrew. The English is there.

The third blessing: Silent part is correct, the out loud part... well, they have the correct English, but again, the Hebrew is missing.

Blessings 4-18 are essentially correct.

On the page for blessing 19, there's the Sim Shalom, and the Oseh Shalom Bimromav. In the evening Amidah, something other than Sim Shalom is done, and also, there is a paragraph between Sim Shalom and Oseh Shalom that is not posted.  

[grani4fam1]

Some initial observations on Va'etchanan:

1. Deuteronomy 4:2 (Artscroll Chumash), "You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor shall you subtract from it, to observe the commandments of HASHEM, your God, that I command you," says basically the same thing as in Revelation 22:18-19 (NASB), "I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book."

2. There are a lot of references to graven images in this portion. I'd like to know in more detail how this applies to us today. Since, back in Bible times, Jews wouldn't even put an image on the walls of their houses or a sculpture in the house either, how is this applied today among Jewish people? And, does TV watching have something to do with this command? Just musing.  

[RoseRose]

grani4fam1

Some initial observations on Va'etchanan:


2. There are a lot of references to graven images in this portion. I'd like to know in more detail how this applies to us today. Since, back in Bible times, Jews wouldn't even put an image on the walls of their houses or a sculpture in the house either, how is this applied today among Jewish people? And, does TV watching have something to do with this command? Just musing.

There are Orthodox Jews today who won't have sculpture-type, or other 3-D type art. Paintings and pictures are basically universally considered acceptable, I believe, but not engravings.  

[grani4fam1]

Remember when you said Devarim means things? Hehe, my rabbi mentioned it tonight in his talk. He said something like you hear the words, or the things, if you hear the voice of the LORD. redface  

[grani4fam1]

RoseRose

grani4fam1

Some initial observations on Va'etchanan:


2. There are a lot of references to graven images in this portion. I'd like to know in more detail how this applies to us today. Since, back in Bible times, Jews wouldn't even put an image on the walls of their houses or a sculpture in the house either, how is this applied today among Jewish people? And, does TV watching have something to do with this command? Just musing.

There are Orthodox Jews today who won't have sculpture-type, or other 3-D type art. Paintings and pictures are basically universally considered acceptable, I believe, but not engravings.

I guess I always thought of engravings as the same thing as a picture or a painting. However, I do remember in the construction of the altar for the tabernacle that it was commanded that you not take a chisel or hammer to the stones of the altar. Exodus 20:25 says 'If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it." That must be related to the "graven" image concept or the idea of engraving not being used by the Orthodox Jews.  

[RoseRose]

Also, the whole "graven image" thing relates to the idols used by the other peoples in the area. The images worshipped would typically be statue-type idols. That could be another basis.  

[grani4fam1]

More on Va'etchanan:

1. I was reading in a messianic commentary that binding tefillin was a practice back in Yeshua's day. Tefillin have been found in archaeological digs in Qumran, and the tefillin back then were smaller and worn all day. They still had the same shin on the outside and the same scrolls inside. The commentator said tefillin are the mark of our covenant with the LORD, and the mark of the beast in Revelation will be a tefillin marking a covenant with the beast, who will demand his mark on us on pain of death. If we don't know what the mark of G-d is, we won't recognize what the mark of the beast is or means.

2. No matter what the church teaches, Yeshua kept the Torah. He fulfilled it and didn't cancel it. He wore tefillin, tzittzit and a tallit. He couldn't claim to be the Lamb of G-d, Son of G-d or Messiah if He wasn't a prophet like Moses. I am thankful my eyes were opened to see that He kept Torah and expects me to do so as well. He is doing the same with many of the church people, but not all. I wish all Christians would have their eyes opened to the truth about Yeshua as soon as possible! Then our Messiah can return and we can all live in the land as Moses implored the LORD to let Him do. G-d is fulfilling Scripture in our day by joining believers in Yeshua who keep Torah with their brother Jews who also keep Torah. Torah says there is one law for Israel and the same law for those who join themselves to Israel. In Yeshua Messiah, I am joined to Israel as a grafted-in wild olive shoot is joined into an olive tree.

3. Sh’ma Yisrael. Hear the voice. If you really hear it and take it to heart, you will obey it. The voice will shake you if you actually hear it. The Children of Israel were shaken down to their very bones when God spoke from Mount Sinai, and animals calved on the mountain in reaction. God kept them off the mountain so they wouldn’t be crushed by falling rocks. In 2 Chronicles 7, the Shekinah came down and overwhelmed the house of God so that no one could stand. In Job 37:4-5 & Psalm 29:3, God’s voice thunders. Acts 2 & 5 have violent wind and shaking associated with the Shekinah coming down. In Revelation 10:3, seven peals of thunder utter their voices, and John is told to seal them up for time of the end. In Revelation 11:19, the Temple of God in heaven is opened up; and the ark of His covenant appears in His temple, and there are flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.  

[RoseRose]

grani4fam1

More on Va'etchanan:

1. I was reading in a messianic commentary that binding tefillin was a practice back in Yeshua's day. Tefillin have been found in archaeological digs in Qumran, and the tefillin back then were smaller and worn all day. They still had the same shin on the outside and the same scrolls inside. The commentator said tefillin are the mark of our covenant with the LORD, and the mark of the beast in Revelation will be a tefillin marking a covenant with the beast, who will demand his mark on us on pain of death. If we don't know what the mark of G-d is, we won't recognize what the mark of the beast is or means.

I've put on tefillin before.

The tradition is that they are NOT worn on Shabbat, though they are on other mornings. My dad has a set that he gave to my brother.

They are put on a very specific way, and each act in putting them on has its own meaning, though I've forgotten them.

The same verse that gave rise to tefillin also gave rise to mezzuzot. They, when done properly, have a "shin" peaking through a small hole on the back of them.

Also, tefillin and mezzuzot, to be kosher, must be handwritten by a sofer (scribe).


The haftarah for this portion is also interesting, as it is the first of the haftorot of consolation, after Tisha B'Av, the day of mourning. It is Isaiah, comforting the people of Israel, and assuring them of the hope to come.  

[grani4fam1]

I haven't worn tefillin myself or even seen someone put them on in person - on a video I have. My husband has a beautiful tallit he wears on Shabbat, but I haven't gotten a woman's tallit yet - I love the ones they have in jewishsource.com's catalog, especially the pink one and the Miriam one. They're $250, though, so it'll be a while. Maybe by Yom Kippur. And, we have a mezzuzah we bought from a chassid rabbi at the local kosher deli. I'll bet we're the only family with a mezzuzah for 15 miles around. ninja (We live in the middle of protestant milktoast Iowa. xd ) Since I didn't grow up with these signs of covenant, it feels kind of awkward sometimes kissing the mezzuzah, but I'm getting used to it. The talk our rabbi gave on Friday night really opened my eyes about the Shema, too. It's just so different to be doing all these things. We even gave up Christmas for Hannukah and Easter for Passover because our eyes were opened about the abominations behind those "Christian" holidays (NOT! They're Babylonian/Roman!) Some of our family asks if we've become Jewish because of it. Funny, huh? We haven't a drop of Jewish blood in any of us that we know of. We are just being called by the Ruach to obey His Torah. We don't know what He has in store, but it's probably exciting and dangerous!  

[grani4fam1]

Ekev - "Because" - Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25

I had a hard time getting around to studying this week. The rabbi taught about some things that made my heart burn (Luke 24:32). The words in bold type are his words, not mine:

LOVE - Dt 10:12 – now Israel, what the LORD requires is to fear Him (not reverence, but fear) to walk in His ways, love, serve, all heart & soul, keep His commandments & statutes – He requires you to know Him – LOVE is a covenant, forever word – we respond to Him as a bride to a bridegroom – consciously choose Him above all others

SERVE - Gen 2:15 - when tilling the garden, Adam was serving Him. Jacob served Laban (Gen 29:13). SERVE equals WORK. In the garden of Eden, to till, to serve, to work is the Hebrew, ABAD. When we work we are serving God – not trying to be a minister, but being a worker in everyday life is serving Him. The Greek mentality says we have to do it within the church (be a pastor, Levite). Daily work is service and worship of Him.

CLEAVE - Dt 10:20 – We are to cling to Him. It's the same word as cleave (DABAK) in Gen 2:24 – the man joins with his wife.


Also:
Titles of Messiah (First Fruits of Zion Volume 2):
Fruit of the Womb (Deut 7:13; Luke 1:42)
Fruit of the Ground (Deut 7:13)
Tender Shoot (Isaiah 53:2)
Root out of Dry Ground (Isaiah 53:2)
The Man (Deut 8:3)
Early Rain (Joel 2:23; Hosea 10:12)
Teacher of Righteousness (Joel 2:23; Hosea 10:12)  

[grani4fam1]

Re'eh - "Behold" - Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17

Re’eh

(This is the synopsis of teaching given by Monte Judah at lionlamb.net on 8/10/07.)
Based on the 5 phrases of Deuteronomy 11:30, there are Five Fundamental Decisions You Must Make About:

GOD – crossing the Jordan, clinging to Him no matter what the difficulty or opposition, complete obedience to Him (even when it doesn’t look good to you or your loved ones), worshipping Him in the exact way and the exact place He tells you. To Whom do you belong, and are you sharing power with Him, or is He in charge? (ACROSS THE JORDAN – a Hebrew is one who crosses the river)

OTHERS – if loved ones try to lure you away from God, don’t yield to them. Those closest to you, sharing the land, have the potential to do the greatest harm to your trust in Him. (WEST OF THE WAY TOWARD THE SUNSET – those who are in your land)

FOOD – are you going to eat what others say is good and be as unclean as the food, or are you going to obey God no matter what, even about what you eat? (IN THE LAND OF THE CANAANITES WHO LIVE IN THE ARABAH – the foreigners among you who eat unclean things)

MONEY – are you going to give in to the lust of the eyes and flesh, or will you allow Him to tell you how to use your money? Don’t neglect the Levites, remit debt, give freely to the poor among you. If you are running low on funds, give, and you will be given to you by the LORD. (OPPOSITE GILGAL – means “a wheel, rolling” in Hebrew – does this have to do with how money rolls so easily away?)

SELF – do you see yourself as Passed-Over personally? Do you remove the leaven from your life? Do you proclaim your faith publicly? Do you rejoice before Him when and how He commands? Keep the Appointed Times (moedim). You can’t be in the camp of the righteous if you don’t leave your house to join Him in the camp. Appear before him at His times and respond in kind to how He’s blessed you. (BESIDE THE OAKS OF MOREH – where the covenants with the fathers were made)  

[grani4fam1]

Shoftim "Judges" - Deuteronomy 16:18-21:19

Messiah Yeshua is

1. Judge – we can have confidence in Him as the one true Judge who judges impartially according to Torah and decides who lives or dies – He will render a righteous judgment (Dt 16:20; Acts 17:42). We should settle out of court now while we can (Jn 3:18 ). He will come again as the Righteous Judge and speak peace to the nations (Zech 9:10). The nations will either agree and surrender (Is 2:4), or they will be destroyed (Is 11:4).

2. King – the Man whom God has Appointed (Dt 17:15; Acts 17:31). He writes a copy of the Torah on our hearts as the King (2 Cor 3:3).

3. Priest – after order of Melchizedek – before the Levitical priesthood existed (Ps 110:4; Heb 7:11, 17).

4. Prophet – from the LORD, sent to us, by agreement of the fathers that they would not have to hear the LORD’s voice personally but through one like Moses (Dt 18:18; Jn 12:49; Acts 3:22; 7:37). His prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem came true (Mt 24:2), as well as His prediction of His own death and resurrection (Mt 12:39-40), and He kept the Torah and taught His disciples to do so (Mt 5:17).  

[grani4fam1]

Ki Tetze "When You Go Out"

What I learned about this portion is that these commandments are all about kindness, even the one about stoning the rebellious son. I heard that there has never been an occasion where that commandment had to be kept. I guess it's because parents took it so seriously that they made sure their children would never have to be punished like that. My rabbi said that the reason this commandment exists is so parents are kind enough to discipline their children early and provide boundaries and consequences for them as they grow so that you can always be kind to them, even when they are disobedient or disrespectful. I have always felt, as a parent, that it is truly much kinder to deal with an infraction immediately than to let anger grow and overreact later.  

[grani4fam1]

Ki Tavo - Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8 - When You Enter

I learned from my studies, briefly:

1. As Israel is in exile, so is the Messiah. When He returns in glory, they will return and be revealed in glory with Him. What happens to Israel, happens to the King of Israel. And, when Messiah and Israel are in exile, so is the good news (gospel) of the Kingdom of the King of Israel. The Hebrew roots of Christianity have been lost to the church and to Israel, but they are returning in these last days.

2. I'm reminded that believers in Messiah Yeshua are grafted into Israel as a wild branch, thus we are also partakers of the exile and should mourn with Israel, not gloat over them. The church has misunderstood the place of Israel in belief in Messiah far too long.  

[grani4fam1]

Nitzavim "Standing" and Va'yalech "And He Went" - Deuteronomy 29:9 – 31:30

The teachings I received from a couple of sources this week spoke at length about the rapture of the church, specifically, to disprove it. Personally, I don't believe in the rapture, and I didn't before I became a Messianic believer in Yeshua and was just a churchperson. By the rapture is meant the idea that Messiah will return twice, one time for only the churchmen in secret (as popularized by Hal Lindsey's book and the Left Behind books and supported by one read-between-the-lines verse in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 ) and, finally, one time in public before all the earth after He judges all nonbelievers in fire and plagues. What the church doesn't see in Scripture (because they don't study the Torah or seriously accept it as foundational to faith in Yeshua), is that the ingathering of exiles and return to the Land tie those faithful to Hashem to the earth and the Land, and heaven is not our ultimate destination. The LORD plans on destroying the wicked ON EARTH, coming to live in Jerusalem ON EARTH, rule for a thousand years ON EARTH and make a new heavens and NEW EARTH. When the Shekinah comes down, it is always to Jerusalem or to people who serve Hashem and His Son, Yeshua, and it always happens ON EARTH.