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Todays Parsha #45: Vaetchanan (and I pleaded for favor/mercy)


PART 1: THE LAST AND CURRENT TORAH PORTIONS

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEKS STUDY QUESTIONS (Devarim):

1) There is a very important calendar clue in Deuteronomy 1:9. What is that
clue?

The phrase BEETH is translated here as at that time but ETH
actually means SEASON, and is the same word used in Job 38:32 as can
you bring the constellations into their SEASONS. These seasons are tied
to the MOEDIM occasions that match barley, wheat and grape harvests.
Since the stars then bring in the ETH they also bring in the MOEDIM.

2) Deuteronomy 1 also talks about rising up leaders for Israel, but there is one
word used about these leaders that hints at many more gifts than just
leadership alone. What is that word and what does it mean, as evidenced by
the people who were also described in this manner?

Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I
will appoint them as your heads.' (Deuteronomy 1:13 NAU)

The word for wise is CHAKHAM in Hebrew, and it not only denotes a
kind of scholarly wisdom along with the attributes of fine leadership
generally. It also speaks to deep prophetic gifts as well. Both Joseph and
Daniel for example were called CHAKHAM

37
Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.
38

Then Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom
is a divine spirit?"
39
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since Elohim has
informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise
(CHAKHAM) as you are.
40
"You shall be over my house, and according
to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will
be greater than you."
41
Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over
all the land of Egypt."
42
Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his
hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine
linen and

put the gold necklace around his neck. (Genesis 41:37-42)

17
As for these four youths, Elohim gave them knowledge and intelligence
in every branch of

literature and wisdom (CHAKHAM); Daniel even
understood all kinds of visions and dreams.
18
Then at the end of the days
which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the
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officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar.
19
The king talked with
them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's personal service.
20
As
for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king
consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians
and conjurers who were in all his realm.
21
And Daniel continued until
the first year of Cyrus the king. (Daniel 1:17-21 NAU)
3) How do details in this parsha help solve chronological problems in the book
of Judges?

The overall issue in Judges is that if you add up the years linearly from
the Exodus until Solomons 4
th
year and you count Judges as a time
before Samuel, you will be in excess of 600 years of history which
contradicts the 480 years for this period given in two other places, 1
Kings 6:1 and 2 Chronicles 3:1-2.

Therefore, the only answer is to count the timeline in Judges and 1
Samuel before the rise of Saul as concurrent, or happening around the
same time. Aiding us in piecing together the right chronology is this clue
in Deuteronomy

24
"On your way! Break camp and cross the Wadi Arnon. See, I am
putting Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, at your mercy, and his
country too. Set about the conquest; engage him in battle.
25
Today and
henceforth, I shall fill the peoples under all heaven with fear and terror of
you; whoever hears word of your approach will tremble and writhe in
anguish because of you."
26
'So, from the desert of Kedemoth I sent
envoys to Sihon king of Heshbon with this peaceful message,
27
"I intend
to cross your country. I shall go my way, straying neither to right nor to
left.
28
I shall eat and pay for the food you choose to sell me, and I shall
drink and pay for the water you let me have. I only want to march
through,
29
just as the children of Esau who live in Seir permitted, as well
as the Moabites who live in Ar, until I cross the Jordan into the country
that Yahweh our God is giving us."
30
'But Sihon king of Heshbon would
not give us leave to pass through his territory; Yahweh our God had
made his spirit obstinate and his heart stubborn, to put him at your
mercy, as he still is.
31
Yahweh said to me, "You see, I am starting to give
you Sihon and his country. Begin the conquest by seizing his country."
32

Sihon marched out against us, he and all his people, to give battle at
Jahaz.
33
And Yahweh our God handed him over to us: we defeated him
and his sons and all his people.
34
We captured all his towns and laid all
these towns under the curse of destruction: men, women and children, we
left no survivors
35
except the livestock which we took as our booty, and
the spoils of the captured towns. (Deuteronomy 2:24-35 NJB)

The reason this is important is because of Judges 11:26:
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26
When Israel settled in Heshbon and its dependencies, and in Aroer and
its dependencies, or in any of the towns on the banks of the Arnon (three
hundred years ago), why did you not recover them then? (Judges 11:26
NJB)

This puts the conquest of Heshbon as 300 years before some point in the 6
year reign of Jephtah the Judge. When combined with the comment in
Genesis 15 that the sins of the Amorite are not complete it also shows
the true amount of time from Abrahams prophecy to Exodus as 430
years in Egypt and Canaan, as opposed to 400 years just in Egypt, and
this in turn stabilizes the entire chronology in Genesis and Exodus!

4) Which NT writer seems to draw the most on the themes in Yeshayahu (Isaiah)
chapter 1? I will give you my opinion.

I believe this chapter is most discussed by Yaakov ha Tzadik, or James
the Just. I tracked the following concordances


Isaiah chapter 1 Epistle of Yaakov Common Themes
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Learn to do good, search
for justice, discipline the
violent, be just to the
orphan, plead for the
widow.


(Jas 1:27) For the worship
that is pure and Set Apart
before Elohim the Father, is
this: to visit the fatherless
and the widows in their
affliction; and: that one
keep himself without
blemish from the world.

Defend the helpless and
disadvantaged as examples
of proper faith and fruits of
the Ruach.

22
Your silver has turned
into dross, your wine is
watered.


23
Your princes are rebels,
accomplices of brigands.
All of them greedy for
presents and eager for
bribes, they show no justice
to the orphan, and the
widow's cause never
reaches them.

24
Hence, the Lord Yahweh
Sabaoth, the Mighty One of
Israel, says this, 'Disaster, I
(Jas 2:5) Hear, my beloved
Brothers; has not Elohim
chosen the poor of the
world, the rich in faith, to
be heirs in the Kingdom
which Elohim has promised
to them that love him?

(Jas 2:6) But you have
despised the poor man. Do
not rich men exalt
themselves over you and
drag you before the
tribunals?

(Jas 2:7) Do they not hate
Dont trust the rich and
powerful as they exploit the
poor for their own greedy
ends.
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shall get the better of my
enemies, I shall avenge
myself on my foes.

5
Where shall I strike you
next, if you persist in
treason? The whole head is
sick, the whole heart is
diseased,


6
from the sole of the foot
to the head there is nothing
healthy: only wounds,
bruises and open sores not
dressed, not bandaged, not
soothed with ointment,


7
your country a desolation,
your towns burnt down,
your soil, foreigners lay it
waste before your eyes, a
desolation like devastation
by foreigners.


8
The daughter of Zion is
left like a shanty in a
vineyard, like a shed in a
cucumber field, like a city
besieged.


9
Had Yahweh Sabaoth not
left us a few survivors, we
should be like Sodom, we
should be the same as
Gomorrah.


that worthy Name,
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which
is invoked upon you?

(Jas 5:1) O you rich ones,
wail and weep on account
of the miseries that are
coming upon you.

(Jas 5:2) For your wealth is
spoiled and rotten; and your
garments are moth-eaten:

(Jas 5:3) and your gold and
your silver have rusted
through; and the rust of
them will be a testimony
against you; and it will
devour your flesh. You
have heaped up a fire to you
against the latter days.

(Jas 5:4) Behold, the wages
of the laborers who have
reaped your ground, which
you have criminally
withheld, shouts out; and
the shouting of the reapers
has entered the ears of
Master YHWH Tzva'ot.




20
But if you refuse and
rebel, the sword shall eat
you instead -- for Yahweh's
mouth has spoken.'

25
'I shall turn my hand
against you, I shall purge
your dross as though with

(Jas 3:14) But if bitter envy
be in you, or contention in
your hearts, do not exalt
yourselves against the truth
and do not lie.

(Jas 3:15) For this wisdom
comes not down from
Rebellion leads to
condemnation.
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potash, I shall remove all
your alloy.


above; but is earthly, and
from the devices of the soul,
and from demons.

(Jas 3:16) For where envy
and disputation are, there
also is confusion and
everything wrong.



10
Hear what Yahweh says,
you rulers of Sodom; listen
to what our God teaches,
you people of Gomorrah.


11
'What are your endless
sacrifices to me?' says
Yahweh. 'I am sick of burnt
offerings of rams and the fat
of calves. I take no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and
lambs and goats.


12
When you come and
present yourselves before
me, who has asked you to
trample through my courts?


13
Bring no more futile
cereal offerings, the smoke
from them fills me with
disgust. New Moons,
Sabbaths, assemblies -- I
cannot endure solemnity
combined with guilt.


14
Your New Moons and
your meetings I utterly
detest; to me they are a
burden I am tired of
bearing.



(Jas 2:14) What is the use,
my Brothers, if a man say,
"I have faith," and he has no
works? Can his "faith"
resurrect him?
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(Jas 2:15) Or if a brother or
sister be naked, and
destitute of daily food,

(Jas 2:16) and one of you
say to them, "Go in peace,
warm yourselves, and be
full;" and you do not give
them the necessities of the
body, what is the use?

(Jas 2:17) So also faith
alone, without works, is
dead.

(Jas 2:18) For a man may
say, you have faith and I
have works; show to me
your faith that is without
works and I will show to
you my faith by my works.

(Jas 2:19) You believe that
there is one Elohim; you do
well; the demons also
believe and tremble.

(Jas 2:20) Would you
know, O weak man, that
Faith without works is dead.
Works without faith is
meaningless.
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faith without works is dead?

(Jas 2:21) Awraham our
father, was not he justified
by works
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in offering his
son Yitz'chak
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upon the
altar?

(Jas 2:22) Do you realize
that his faith aided his
works, and that by the
works his faith was
rendered complete?

2
Listen, you heavens; earth,
attend, for Yahweh is
speaking, 'I have reared
children and brought them
up, but they have rebelled
against me.


3
The ox knows its owner
and the donkey its master's
crib; Israel does not know,
my people do not
understand.'


4
Disaster, sinful nation,
people weighed down with
guilt, race of wrong-doers,
perverted children! They
have abandoned Yahweh,
despised the Holy One of
Israel, they have turned
away from him.

15
When you stretch out
your hands I turn my eyes
away. You may multiply
your prayers, I shall not be
listening. Your hands are
covered in blood.

(Jas 2:10) For he that will
keep the whole Torah and
yet fail in one aspect of it, is
an enemy to the whole
Torah.

(Jas 2:11) For he who said,
"You will not commit
adultery,"
Exo 20:14, Deu 5:18

said also, "You will not
kill."
Exo 20:13, Deu 5:17
If then
you commit no adultery, but
you do murder, you have
become a defiler of Torah.

(Jas 4:1) From where is it,
that there are among you
arguments and conflicts? Is
it not from the lusts which
war in your members?

(Jas 4:2) You covet but do
not possess; and you kill
and envy, and effect
nothing: and you fight and
make attacks; and you do
not have, because you do
not ask.

(Jas 4:3) You ask, and do
not receive because you ask
wickedly, that you may feed
The world is full of blind
and rebellious people who
will cheat and kill because
of their wickedness.
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your lusts.

(Jas 4:4) You adulterers,
don't you know that the love
of the world is hatred
towards Elohim? He
therefore who chooses to be
a lover of this world is the
enemy of Elohim.

(Jas 4:5) Or do you think
that the Scripture has vainly
said: The spirit dwelling in
us lusts with envy?


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wash, make yourselves
clean. Take your wrong-
doing out of my sight.
Cease doing evil.

(Jas 1:21) And so, throw all
that is defiled and the
myriads of evil things far
away from yourselves and
with meekness, receive the
Word that is implanted in
our nature which is able to
resurrect your souls.

You must cleanse yourself
from all sin.
19
If you are willing to obey,
you shall eat the good
things of the earth.

(Jas 1:25) But everyone
that looks upon the perfect
Torah of liberty and lives
fully in it, is not a hearer of
something to be forgotten,
but a doer
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of the things;
and he will be blessed in his
work.

Obedience to YHWHs
laws brings blessings and
prosperity.
26
'And I shall restore your
judges as at first, your
counselors as in bygone
days, after which you will
be called City of Saving
Justice, Faithful City.'

27
Zion will be redeemed by
fair judgment, and those
who return, by saving
justice.
(Jas 2:13) For judgment
without mercy will be on
him who has practiced no
mercy: by mercy, you will
be raised above judgment.

(Jas 4:6) But our Master
(Y'shua) has given us more
grace. Therefore he said:
Master YHWH brings low
the arrogant, and gives
grace to the humble.
Abba YHWH will provide
restoration and proper
judgment in all things.
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21
The faithful city, what a
harlot she has become!
Zion, once full of fair
judgment, where saving
justice used to dwell, but
now assassins!

(Jas 5:5) For you have
lived in pleasure on the
earth, and reveled and
feasted your bodies as in a
day of slaughter.

(Jas 5:6) You have
condemned and murdered
the just, and none prevented
you.

For those whom Abba
YHWH had the greatest
hope for bringing light and
doing good, they have now
become murderers and
harlots.
18
'Come, let us talk this
over,' says Yahweh.
'Though your sins are like
scarlet, they shall be white
as snow; though they are
red as crimson, they shall be
like wool.

(Jas 3:13) Who is wise and
instructed among you? Let
him show his works in
praiseworthy actions, with
modest wisdom.

(Jas 4:8) Draw near to
Elohim and He will draw
near to you. Cleanse your
hands, you sinners: sanctify
your hearts, you who are
divided in mind.
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(Jas 4:10) Humble
yourselves before Master
YHWH and He will exalt
you.
Engage Abba YHWH in
sincere dialogue, as those
who are wise always do, to
examine and improve
themselves. Then He will
forgive and restore you.

5) How do we know that when Yshua refers to My commandments he is
really referring to Torah as opposed to his new rules?

(Joh 15:10) If you keep my Commandments, you will abide in my love, just
as I have kept the Commandments of my Father,
189
and I abide in His love.

John 15:10

189) The "Commandments of my Father" always refers to Torah; see also
Joh_15:5. Y'shua and his Talmidim (disciples) keep his Father's
Commandments, but mainstream Christianity is not only anti-Torah; they
turned rebellion against Torah into a "fashionable" form of lawlessness. See
Dan_7:25; 2Th_2:7; 2Ti_2:19; Tit_2:14; 2Pe_2:21; 1Jn_3:4; Heb_2:2-4;
Rom_4:15; Mat_7:23; Mat_13:41. See Renewed Covenant in Appendix.


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AND NOW FOR THIS WEEKS PORTION

1) Meaning of this weeks Torah portion and summary of contents:

Vaetchanan means and I pleaded or and I asked for favor/mercy. This is
Moshe pleading with Abba YHWH one last time to ask to be allowed to enter into
the Promised Land. Abba YHWH though utterly refuses and says, Speak to Me
no more on this matter! After an extensive prologue in chapter 4, the Ten
Commandments are re-stated in chapter 5 and the foundational Shema prayer of
course is the highlight of the Tanakh as well as chapter 6! The remainder of the
portion is concerned with reinforcing obedience as the way to a better life.

Va'etchanan el-Yahweh ba'et hahi lemor

Yahweh Elohim atah hachilota lehar'ot et-avdecha et-godlecha ve'et-
yadecha hachazakah asher mi-El bashamayim uva'arets asher-ya'aseh
chema'aseycha vechigvurotecha.

2) Parsha (English-Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11). This week we will read the entire
portion.

3) Play by Play commentary where appropriate.

4) Point out key Hebrew words/terms. Color Commentary:

ET HAGODELEKHA VEET YADECHA (3:24) = your deeds and mighty acts
(Stone) is literally Your Great Works and Your Mighty Hand.

HAHOR HATOV (3:25) = the Good Mountain. Most probably Tziyon.

RAV LECHA (3:26) = it is too much for you! can be understood two ways.
First, that if Israel catches on that Moshe is continually asking for that which
Abba YHWH will deny him, it may look like Abba YHWH is being too hard on
Moshe or that Moshe is not accepting Abba YHWHs judgment. The second
possible readingand the one I prefer isthere is so much (else) for you!
meaning that in spite of Moshes failings his eternal rewards will be so much
greater than living in the Land.

VEATTAH YISRAEL SHEMA (4:1) = and now Israel listen. So Moshe is now
finished with recapping the last 40 years and now he is getting ready to begin a
new set of instructions to this new generation. In some cases they are restatements
of what was said before, but perhaps a bit more refined now as Moshe has had 40
years to practice!

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LO TOSIFU AL-HA-DAVAR (4:2) = Do not add to the Word. This shows that
Torah is the foundation for the rest of the Scripture. We cannot add a word
ourselves to these commands, but all that happens from this point through
prophets, sages, kings and Mashiyach himself is ultimately because of a precept
rooted here in the first Five Books. For example, Genesis 3:15, the seed of the
woman who will crush the serpents head is revealed through the mechanism of
the virgin birth in Yeshayahu 7:14 which is further revealed in the person of
Yshua in Matthew and Luke.

OOSHOMERITEM (4:6) = SHOMER means to observe but this is a more
specific usage, to safeguard, as Stone correctly translates. Also perform is
intended as well. However, later generations of Rabbis interpreted this as a
mandate to build fences around the written Torah commands, as the fence would
be the guarding they were trying to do.

CHOKHMAH and BINAH (4:7) = wisdom and understanding, implying both
spiritual and earthly knowledge. In mystical thought these are male and female
forms of wisdom harmonized by Abba YHWH.

AMAD (4:10) = stood before Abba YHWH, as in an assembly. This evokes
imagery of the standing prayer (amidah) that is part of Acts 2 and rabbinic
Judaism today.

ANAN VARAFEL (4:11) = cloud and misthowever the LXX reads cloud and
storms which is also possible from the Hebrew and may be the better
understanding.

VEOTI TZIVA YAHWAY (4:14) = Yahweh commanded me. The Rabbis think
that because the WRITTEN TORAH is mentioned in verse 13 (inscribed on the
tablets) that this extra command must be an allusion to the Oral Law. However,
this is a summary of what happened later, as smaller judgments (mishpatim)
were given later to clarify the Big Rules.

SEMEL (4:16) = symbol, visible image, another synonym for idols. This word is
also used in concert with PESEL in this line, and PESEL is the same word for
idol given in the ban in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. However, the language
here in 4:16-19 can be taken as a more general ban on images, since it does not
contain the qualifier or bow down to them, except with respect to the heavenly
bodies in verse 19. On the other hand, the more specific commands elsewhere that
basically make an image graven through worship and/or prostration may be a
clarification of this command here, since such is mentioned in the very next
chapter. At this point it is unclear, but I lean to the latter explanation, as it fits a
previous pattern.

UFEN-TISA EYNECHA HASHAMAYMAH VERAITA ET-HA-SHEMEST
VE-ET-HA-KOCHAVIM KOL TSVA HASHAMAYIM VEIDACHTA VE-
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HISHTACHAVITA LAHEM VE-AVADATAM ASHER CHALAK YAHWEH
ELOHYECHA OTAM LECHOL HA-AMIM TACHAT KOL-HASHAMAYIM
(4:19) = When you raise your eyes to the sky and see the sun, moon, stars and
other heavenly bodies do not bow down to them or worship them. It was to all the
nations under the heavens that Elohim made them a portion. This is a direct
command to not engage in astrology or to worship celestial objects. However, it
also tells us how the original star-based Biblical calendar actually worked. This
command against bowing down or following after such objects tells us that
Abba YHWH has set up His calendar cycles for when the sun, moon and stars
get out of the way, which is to say, that all His cycles start and end in darkness
when these things are NOT seen. This means that the days and weeks end at
sunset and the month is reckoned by the Dark Moon, i.e. when the moon has
gotten out of the way (Psalm 81:3). This is also why the last Hebrew month is
named Adaran Aramaic word meaning DARKNESS/ECLIPSE, because
when that darkness ends it is followed by the start of the Hebrew New Year at
Abib or opening/spring. This was the words original usage in ancient
Canaanite but it was later associated with the Hebrew adir, meaning strength.

KI YAHWEH ELOHEYCHA ESH OCHLA HU EL KANA (4:24) = For Yahweh
your Elohim is an all-consuming fire, Who is a jealous El. I put jealous in
quotes because its not the same as human jealousy which often stems from sin.
Abba YHWHs jealousy is rather a call to exclusive worship that befits His
status as sole Creator Deity. Its sort of like the old saying, Its not boasting if
you can back it up. Since there is no other Creator, it is only proper He have
exclusive worship, especially since He commands it. But when a human gets
jealousa cheating spouse is the exceptionit is often from a mistaken belief
that he/she is entitled to something exclusively that another person wrongfully
gets in their eyes. It is hard to cover all cases in the human experience of course,
but generally speaking it is from coveting and/or from a lack of generosity, i.e.
maybe Abba YHWH allowed your rival to get a raise at work because he had a
greater need for it in His judgment that you yourself are not aware of!

4:25-40 is specifically about exile and returning and this is why the passage is
read at Tisha BAv, as it is considered a foreshadowing of those later dark times.

ACHARIT HAYOMIM (4:30), end of days. Even the Rabbis admit this has
Messianic overtones. As Stone Chumash says, this term refers to the period just
before the coming of the Messiah, and this repentance is the same as that which
Moses would mention later (30:1-2).

YAHWEH HU HA ELOHIM (4:35) = YAHWEH IS THE ELOHIM, with THE
ELOHIM, being unusual construction in Hebrew. Though Hebrew has a definite
article (ha), it is usually implied with respect to YHWH and not mentioned. Here
it is to contrast YHWH with all the other false gods, saying that all the powers the
pagans think their false gods have actually exclusively reside in YHWH. See
Exodus 3:6 where the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has no the.
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However the exclusivity of all the alleged power of other gods being only in
YHWH is confirmed at the end: EYN OD MILEVATO, there NONE OTHER
besides HIM.

VEZOT HATORAH (4:44) = this is THE TORAH, meaning the Covenant at
Sinai and Ten Commandments which are about to get re-stated.

EDATH (4:45) testimonies is the usual translation. However, Bible.ort.org
renders it as these are the RITUALS stating the word is closer to
commemoration and hence commemorative rituals that testify to Abba
YHWHs great love and power. Also the phraseology given, ELEH HAEDOT
VEHACHUKIM, these are testimonies and proscribements, points to
TESTIMONY or witnessing through rituals. A CHUKKAT OLAMchukkat
being the word used here, refers to an eternal enactment, requirement.

BEYOZNETEM (5:1), publicly but literally in your ears.

PANIM BPANIM (5:4) = face to/at face, so in a sense Israel also beheld
YHWH face to face, but they could not bear His voice. Moshe knew Abba
YHWH face to face (panim AL panim = face upon face, presence upon
presenceDeuteronomy 33:10) because he intimately followed Abba YHWHs
commands. PANIM BE PANIM may simply mean one face in proximity to
another as the B proclitic means in, by, upon. However PANIM AL PANIM
seems to hint at one face being intertwined with another face or presence, an
intimate understanding. Or Abba YHWHs Face may be close to Israel as a
group, but He wont turn it TOWARDS them when they sin.

ANOCHI YAHWEH ELOHEYCHA SHER HOTSETICHA MEERETZ
MITZRAYIM MI BEYT AVADIM (5:6)

I am Yahweh your Elohim who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
and out of the house of bondage.

LO YIHYEH LECHA ELOHIM ACHERIM AL PANAY (5:7)

Do not have other gods put before My face.

LO TISA ET-SHEM YAHWEH ELOHEYCHA LA SHAV. KI LO YENAKEH
YAHWEH ET ASHER YISA ET-SHMO LASHAV (5:11)

Do not take up the Name of Yahweh your Elohim towards desolation
(through substitution) for Yahweh will not allow someone who desolates
His Name to go without punishment.

13


SHAV = desolation, through the vanity of using names He didnt sanction.
All names of all false gods are likewise VAIN and cant be used for
YHWH either.

I hate those who regard SHAV (desolate) idols (Psalm 31:6).

Those who regard SHAV (desolate) idols forsake their faithfulness
(Jonah 2:8).

Synonym to SHAV is TOHU (futile, desolate) is used in 1 Samuel on the
exact same issue:

20
Samuel said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. Although you have done
all these wicked things, do not withdraw your allegiance from Yahweh.
Instead, serve Yahweh with all your heart.
21
Do not transfer your
allegiance to useless idols which, being useless, are futile (TOHU) and
cannot save anybody;
22
Yahweh, for the sake of his great name, will
not desert his people, for it has pleased Yahweh to make you his people.
23
For my part, far be it from me to sin against Yahweh by ceasing to pray
for you or to instruct you in the good and right way.
24
Fear none but
Yahweh, and serve him faithfully with all your heart, bearing in mind the
wonder which he has just performed. But, if you persist in wickedness,
you and your king will perish.' (1 Samuel 12:20-24 NJB)

SHAMOR ET-YOM HASHABAT LEKADSHO KAASHER TSIVECHA
YAHWEH ELOHEYCHA (5:12)

Observe (as opposed to REMEMBER in Exodus 20) the Shabbat day to
keep it Set-Apart as you have been charged to do by Yahweh your Elohim.

The Rabbis have a very interesting discussion about how Exodus said only
to ZAKHAR, remember the Shabbat as a positive command, but in
Devarim it is a negative command to OBSERVE. The idea is that the first
generation had experienced Shabbat directly with the manna and so only
had to remember. However Moshe is now talking to the next generation
who did NOT see and eat manna and who are going over into the
Promised Land, so they are being WARNED to shomer-observe the
Shabbator else. Other rabbinic authorities believe both parts of the
command to remember and to observe are intended in each place.

KABED ET AVICHA VEET IMICHA (5:16) = Give weight (pay attention to,
give honor to) your father and your mother.

LO TIRTSACH (do not commit murder)
VELO TINAF (do not commit adultery)
VELO TIGNOV (and do not steal)
14


VELO TAANEH VEREACHA ED-SHAV (and do not bear desolate/false
witness against your neighbor (5:17)

VELO TACHMOD ESHET REECHA (do not desire your neighbors wife)
VELO TITAVEH BEYT REECHA (and do not desire your neighbors house)
SADEHU (or his field)
VEAVDO VAAMATO (or his male or female servants)
SHORO VACHAMORO (his ox or his donkey)
VECHOL ASHER LREECHA (or anything that belongs to your neighbor
(5:18)

VELO YASAPH (5:19) = never to be repeated (Stone) but more accurately,
and HE added no more words. Stone apparently is trying to stretch the words to
suggest the utter uniqueness of Sinai, but Abba YHWH will speak to the Israelites
plenty of times after this.

KI MI CHOL BASAR ASHER SHAMA KOL ELOHIM CHAYIM MEDABER
MITOCH HA-ESH KAMONU VAYECHI (5:23) = What mortal has heard the
voice of the Living Elohim speaking out of the fire as we did and survived? This
is very interesting in a psychological context. The Israelites SHOULD be taking
comfort in the exclusivity and utter uniqueness of this event, i.e. that Abba
YHWH DID for the first time chose to speak to THEM from the fire. The fact that
Abba YHWH is the only true Elohim should have also informed them of the fact
that they were quite safe. Instead, because it was so new to them, they panicked
and assumed they would die, when they had never been safer in all their lives. It is
extremely ironic then how often the OPPOSITE of what Israel thinks comes to
pass. First they fear dying when Abba YHWH is giving them a Covenant to live
by. Then they think their children will die in the wilderness when it actually will
be the children who go into Canaan while they die in the wilderness, and so on.
The list where this happens is quite a long one.

SHUVU LACHEM LEAHOLEYCHEM (5:27) = return to their tents is also an
expression relating to marital relations (Exodus 19:15). It further means that Abba
YHWH will NOT be appearing to them, for if He were planning to do so He
would also command the Israelites to not have relations with their wives for three
days prior (Exodus 19:15).

THE SHEMA (6:4) = On all Torah scrolls, the AYIN from the word SHEMA and
the DALET from the word ECHAD are oversized letters. This is because they
spell out the word AD or witness. The Shema is meant to remind the pious to be
witnesses to the oneness of Abba YHWH.

SHEMA YISRAEL YAHWEH ELOHAYNU, YAHWEH ECHAD (6:4
followed by the traditional blessing)

BARUCH SHEM KVOD MAALKUTO LAYOHLAM VA-ED
15



VEAHAVTA ET-YAHWEH ELOHEYCHA BECHOL-LEVAVCHA
UVECHOL-NAPHSHECHA UVECHOL-MEODECHA (6:5)

You will love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your
soul (life-force/being) and with all your might.

VEHAYU HA-DEVARIM HA-ELEH ASHER ANOCHI METZAVECHA HA-
YOM LEVAVECHA (6:6)

And these words that I am commanding you today must remain upon your
heart.

VESHINANTAM LEVANEYCHA VEDIBARTA BAM BESHIVTECHA
BEVEYTECHA UVELECHTECHA VADEREKH UVESHOCHBECHA
UVEKUMECHA (6:7)

Teach them to your children and speak of them when you are at home,
when traveling on the road, when you lie down and when you rise up.

UKSHARTAM LEOT AL-YADECHA VEHAYU LETOTAFOT BEYN
EYNECHA (6:8)

Bind them (these words) as a sign/banner (owt-the same word signs as
in signs, seasons, days and years) on your hand and let them be an
emblem between your eyes (center of your forehead).

UCHTAVTAM AL-MEZZUZOT BEYTECHA UVISHAREYCHA (6:9)

Write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.

Note: mezuzah has also come to refer to the parchments the words are written
on, so the line could read, write them upon the parchments inside your
doorposts, according to Rabbinic tradition.

LO TENASU ET-YAHWAY ELOHEYCHEM (6:16) = do not test YHWH your
Elohim. This is VERBATIM quote from Yshua in the Aramaic of Matthew 4:7,
LA TENASEH LMAR-YAH ELAHACH (which we are reading this week)!
Thats as close as Aramaic gets to replicating Hebrew word for word! The
Aramaic says LA rather than LO for do not and does not have ET as direct
object pointer like Hebrew does, but uses the L proclitic (towards, so literally, do
not throw temptation towards Yahweh). MARYAH is Master YHWH and the
verb for your is changed only because Yshua is addressing a singular entity
SATANrather than Abba YHWH addressing all Israel here.

16


LE-HADOF ET-KOL OYVECHA MIPANEYCHA KAASHER DIBER
YAHWEH (6:19) = And He will push out before your eyes all your enemies, as
He has spoken. The word HADAF means push or repulse, indicating an
active action that gives us more proof than ever that Abba YHWH is literally
fighting FOR Israel if only Israel would obey Him!

Note for 6:20-25: It is easy to see how this part of the Torah text was later adapted
into the Four Questions liturgy given at a traditional seder.

AM SEGULAH (7:6) = people who are a valued possession or chosen people if
you prefer.

VESHAMARTA ET-HA-MITZVAH VE-ET HA-CHUKIMVE-ET HA-
MISHPATIM ASHER ANOCHI METZAVECHA HA-YOM LA-ASOTAM
(7:11) = So guard the commandments, the rules and the judgments that I am
teaching you today, so that you might do them. Similar to the phrasing in
Deuteronomy 4:6 but this time out the application seems extended to the whole
Torah, that the Rabbis, according to their Oral Law, safeguard the Torah by
putting up fences. However, guarding the Mitzvot or Commandments cannot be
done in this manner, as that tradition then supersedes and contradicts the original
meaning/intentions of the Written Word (Matthew 15, 23; Yochanan 5:42-45;
7:19). In other words, the only way to guard all the Commandments is to do
them exactly as written without the intervention of later man-made traditions.

Torah Question of the Week:
According to the Rabbis, there are TWO times when we count seven week periods
between sacred occasions. One of these is between Bikurrim and Shavuot. What is
the other one?

END PART 1

17


PART 2: THE HAFTORAH

Torah Question of the Week:
According to the Rabbis, there are TWO times when we count seven week periods
between sacred occasions. One of these is between Bikurrim and Shavuot. What is
the other one?

The answer is right now, the weeks from Tisha BAv until Yom Teruah or Rosh
Hashanna. These are the SHABA DNAKHAMETA, an Aramaic term that means
seven weeks of consolation. Isaiah is used in this time because he is half
condemning and half consoling, as a way to step gradually into the joy of Tishri.
Along with the three weeks of mourning, this creates a MINYAN (ten) witnesses,
one for each week, from the time the Babylonians break through the wall on 17
Tammuz all the way to Yom Teruah on 1 Tishri. Once we are at 1 Tishri we get
ANOTHER MINYAN, this time TEN DAYS, the high holy time that climaxes with
Yom Kippur.

1) Haftorah portion (English- Isaiah 40:1-26) and discuss common themes with the
Torah portion.

Nachamu nachamu ami yomar Eloheychem.

Daberu al-lev Yerushalayim vekir'u eleyha ki mal'ah tseva'ah ki
nirtsah avonah ki lakchah miyad Yahweh kiflayim bechol-chatoteyha.

Kol kore bamidbar panu derech Yahweh yashru ba'aravah mesilah
l'Eloheynu.

2) Our linguistic commentary

NACHAMU NACHAMU (40:1) = comfort, comfort. The double repetition
indicates an amplifying effect. NACHAM is also derived from NOACH (Noah).

KOL KORE BAMIDBAR PANU DERECH YAHWEH YASHRU BARAVAH
MESILAH LELOHEYNU (40:3) = the very words of Yochanan the Immerser!
A voice is heard crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of Yahweh, make
smooth in the desert a highway for our Elohim!

GELA (40:5) = revealed. But after the crooked is made straight and so on the
glory of YHWH is revealed (GELA) in GALILEE (same root) by Yshua!

MEBESERET (40:9) = receive good tidings. In two places in this verse, with
respect to Zion and Jerusalem, there is a herald of BESERET (good news). This
is the Hebrew word for GOSPEL (Besorot)! Then Zion is asked to get on a high
mountain, but it IS A MOUNTAIN ALREADY, evoking Yshuas saying One
18


greater than Solomon is here. And then finally we are told not to be afraid to say
to Judah HINAY ELOHEYCHEM) (behold your Elohim) from BESERET!

Lets see this word in action elsewhere:

2
Sing to Yahweh, bless His name; Proclaim good tidings (BESERET) of His
salvation from day to day. (Psa 96:2)

Proclaim good tidings (BESERET) of His salvation from day to day. (1Ch 16:23)

In other words, preach the GOSPEL from Isaiah and behold your Elohim.

CHOOG (40:22) = circle, sphere of the Earth. Talked about this last week.

NATAH (40:22) = inclines, stretches out, referring to space, the heavens
(SHMAYINM) like a CURTAIN (DOQ). MATTACH is another word for
spreading out.


3) Renewed Covenant portion: (English) Matthew 4:1-11 (all the way through with
applicable footnotes.)

Matthew 4:4

37) Y'shua declares that he himself, along with all of mankind, is required to live
by the "Words" of YHWH, and that the Commandments Y'shua teaches are in
fact YHWH's Commandments from Torah. However, Greek/English translators
inserted the title Kurios/Lord, for both YHWH and Y'shua, rather than using
original Names. Christian theologians then began teaching the fallacy that their
"New Testaments" were the "new" Word, or new "Commandments of Y'shua"
that replaced the original Word of YHWH, which is Torah. See Joh_8:36
(Joh_8:47); Joh_12:48-50; Joh_13:34; Joh_14:10-21; 1Jn_2:3-8; 2Jn_1:5-6.

38) Deu_8:3

Matthew 4:5

39) Khabouris has Akelqarza as one word (as does Mat_8:11) whereas 1905 uses
the separated spelling Akel Qarza. There is no difference in meaning; the 1905
spelling convention is preferred. This is the general rule that will be followed,
including Mat_4:19 where 1905 combines benayanash whereas Khabouris
separates them. Mat_6:1 reverses these choices on this phrase proving either form
interchangeable.

40) A dark foreshadowing of the martyrdom of Ya'akov HaTsaddiq (James the
Just) brother of Y'shua. Ya'akov, who routinely prayed at the Temple to ask
19


YHWH's forgiveness for the sins of his people, was highly regarded for his
meekness, devotion and service to the Jewish people. It was said that Ya'akov
had camel's knees because he very often prayed while on his knees. He was
ultimately thrown off the top of the Temple by demonized religious fanatics
because of his allegiance to Y'shua Mashiyach. Ya'akov taught that Y'shua is the
Arm of YHWH revealed, and he refused to renounce his belief in Y'shua
Mashiyach. Origen criticized Josephus for attributing the fall of Jerusalem to the
martyrdom of Ya'akov, rather than to Y'shua.

4) Highlight common themes in Aramaic (terms in footnotes which I will read)

5) Apply these themes/issues to modern issues in the Netzari faith. (We must
remember our role as branches in the Netzari faith, with Yshua as our Vine and
YHWH as the Cultivator.)

6) Relate to all or part of an Appendix portion of AENT or footnotes from a portion
(Netzer, p. 913-915).

STUDY QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED NEXT WEEK FOR THIS
PORTION:

1) What is the most important detail in Moshes retelling of the last 40 years
which was not included in the original account 40 years earlier?

2) Many Bible scholars today make great efforts in trying to explain the cultural
background from which the Torah is drawn. They specifically note parallels
from three branches of literature/culture: 1) Sumerian and Babylonian creation
and flood myths (Enuma Elish, Gilgamesh); 2) Suzerainty treaties from
Mesopotamia that have similar patterns to Abba YHWHs covenantal
structure; 3) And bodies of Near East law, like the Code of Hammurabi, who
was a contemporary of Abraham. My question is this: What would Moshe
himself say about drawing such parallels and why would he say it?

3) As Moshe prepares to die later this day, he gives in part of his closing remarks
in chapter 4 that will bear a striking similarity to the last words of another
prophet. Who is that prophet?

4) I have already referenced the difference between the Shabbat commands in
Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, remembering vs. observing. Please name two
other differences between the two sets of commands and explain those
differences. Why are they there?

5) This week we did Matthew 4:1-11 for the NT portion and next week it will be
Luke 4:1-13, both of which deal with Yshua being tried by the Accuser. The
accounts of this in Matthew and Luke, though similar, also have some
differences between them. What are some of these differences and is there an
20


underlying message that explains why their ordering and some other details
vary?

Torah Thought for the Week:
Debunking Scholarly Myths About Yeshayahu (Isaiah)

He is perhaps the greatest Messianic prophet of them allYeshayahu ben Amozwho
gives us more details about Yshuas birth, miracles, ministry and death than any other
person in the whole of Tanakh.

And yet, for all that, liberal scholars in their infinite wisdom are determined to take
more than 1/3 of his work and give it to some unknown person writing in his name. It is
actually to the point, believe it or not, that to even suggest a single author for this book is
to invite total ridicule from the scholarly community.

In fact, let me go a step further. If I were to proclaim only two Isaiahs--#1 from
chapters 1 through 39 and #2 from 40 to 66I would still be outcast and considered a
minimalist. These days, the trend is to propose a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6
people all contributing to Isaiah. To hold to only 2 is, apparently, so late 1980s.

The reasoning of course has to do with the same rationale for learned anti-faith scholars
saying the Torah could not have been written only by Moshe with a little help from
Joshua: The Hebrew, they say, is radically changed is too many places to make
supporting a single author tenable. Its as if they have arrived at a lexical crime scene as
CSIs and have forensically determined that term Awhatever A iscomes too late for
the historical Moshe to write about. (But when authentic ancient Egyptian words are
found in Tanakh that DO date back to Moshe, this is ignored!)

Then, in the same breath, they deny the possibility that there ever was a historical Moshe,
whether he wrote five books or not! We call this the Beyt and Switch of bad spiritual
politics, and it runs rampant throughout the Jewish and Christian academic world when
divorced from that inconvenient nasty thing we call fundamentalismthe belief in the
inerrancy and divine inspiration of the Scripture. And it is this prejudice that blinds these
people to truth again and again.

Some examples of this blindness include but are not limited to

1) Because miracles can never happen, any account of them must either by symbolic,
allegorical or a later legendary emendation. (And when the archaeology backs up
those miracles, it must be wrong too of course.)
2) Since we know people who die stay dead, resurrection must also be a myth, so these
accounts in the Gospels also come later. (Ignores strong evidence that the Rabbis and
Romans were aware of the resurrection accounts of Yshua early on and tried to
suppress them, so the first generation of believers is wrong and the scholars now are
right? I dont think so.)
21


3) Since there is no such thing as prophecy, Daniel predicting Antiochus Epiphanes
proves Daniel was written after that time, around 164 BCE (huh?) and Yshua
predicting the Second Temple would be destroyed must come after it was destroyed
in 70 CE and not by a man dead 40 years earlier. (Except of course that even the
latest possible date for Daniel STILL predicts both Mashiyach and the destruction of
the Temple at least 200 years in advance! Sorry, youll have to do better than that!)

So this is the same logic that tells us the Torah is divided into 4 groups of literature given
at different times: JEDP

J = Yahweh, used by the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
E = Elohim, used by the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
D = Deuteronomist, used by some later dude who writes Deuteronomy and possibly
Joshua and Judges as well.
P = Priestly, done by priests who put their stuff in willy-nilly, whenever they felt like it,
at a much later date.

Let me just focus briefly on two of these supposed sources: J and E. The idea here is that
the Torah, especially Genesis, has a lot of double stories. These stories exist, they say,
side by side with little to no attempts to edit them, but we can reconstruct the Northern
and Southern equivalent versions by separating out the Y parts from the E parts. Is this
true?

Well, it is true there seem to be double accounts in Genesis, but they perform a higher
spiritual function of witnessing to the faithful that a secularist simply cannot grasp
because if they did, it would allow for Abba YHWH to be the real Author, and they cant
have that getting around, right?

But it is NOT always true that a Y/E or J/E separation is the RULE in Torah apart from
the witnessing function just mentioned. In fact, there are quite a few stories where this
doesnt apply, like the flood:

5
Yahweh saw that human wickedness was great on earth and that human hearts
contrived nothing but wicked schemes all day long.
6
Yahweh regretted having
made human beings on earth and was grieved at heart.
7
And Yahweh said, 'I
shall rid the surface of the earth of the human beings whom I created -- human
and animal, the creeping things and the birds of heaven -- for I regret having made
them.'
8
But Noah won Yahweh's favor.


9
This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, an upright man among his
contemporaries, and he walked with Elohim.
10
Noah fathered three sons, Shem,
Ham and Japheth.
11
Elohim saw that the earth was corrupt and full of
lawlessness.
12
Elohim looked at the earth: it was corrupt, for corrupt were the
ways of all living things on earth.
13
Elohim said to Noah, 'I have decided that the
end has come for all living things, for the earth is full of lawlessness because of
22


human beings. So I am now about to destroy them and the earth. (Genesis 6:5-13
NJB)

This is how the liberals divide the text, but notice, Yahweh doesnt talk to Noahonly
Elohim doesso where is the Y equivalent with that critical detail? Lets see more
and then I will get back to Isaiah.

First, after lengthy instructions from 6:13-21, there is no mention of either Y or E, but
6:22 says Noah did everything ELOHIM said, so again, where is YAHWEH saying
these things, if these are separate accounts? Next

Yahweh said to Noah, 'Go aboard the ark, you and all your household, for you
alone of your contemporaries do I see before me as an upright man.
2
Of every
clean animal you must take seven pairs, a male and its female; of the unclean
animals you must take one pair, a male and its female
3
(and of the birds of
heaven, seven pairs, a male and its female), to preserve their species throughout
the earth.
4
For in seven days' time I shall make it rain on earth for forty days and
forty nights, and I shall wipe every creature I have made off the face of the earth.'
5
Noah did exactly as Yahweh commanded him.
6
Noah was six hundred years
old when the flood came, the waters over the earth.
7
Noah with his sons, his
wife, and his sons' wives boarded the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
(Genesis 7:1-7 NJB)

Heres the same problem, since only ELOHIM gave the instructions referred to in 7:1,
why is YAHWEH the only commanding their implementation in this separate tale? Oh
but wait, Elohim is about to make an appearance and give ONE single instruction

8
(Of the clean animals and the animals that are not clean, of the birds and all that
creeps along the ground,
9
one pair boarded the ark with Noah, one male and one
female, as Elohim had commanded Noah.)
10
Seven days later the waters of the
flood appeared on earth. (Genesis 7:1-10 NJB)

But heres the biggest problem

8:1-20 has ELOHIM bring the flood and has it recede in this so-called separate tale.

But YAHWEH is only mentioned when Noah builds an altar in 8:21, so YAHWEHs
version never has Noah leave the ark, and yet he clearly had to in order to do the
sacrifice!

In other words, these assumptions are disastrous for the scholars who make them. Clearly
the only thing that makes sense is that YAHWEH and ELOHIM are one and the same
and in the ONE story of the flood! The very idea the Southern Kingdom would forget
that Noah had to leave the ark to build an altar is ridiculous. And yet, this theory is very
popular today.

23


Similarly, the idea that Yeshayahu must be divided up based on differences in Hebrew
syntax and style must also be put to the same kind of test to see if its true. Understand
me though clearly, these differences in the Hebrew DO exist, its the reason for their
existence though that I think needs to be revised on their end.

First I should point out that amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls, all 66 chapters of Yeshayahu
have been preserved on a single scroll, but who cares what scribes from more than 2,000
years ago thought right? What do they know about their own history of transmission that
went back much further than their day?

Second, the Rabbis in Babylon and Alexandria Egypt also preserved Isaiah as a single
book in Aramaic and Greek, respectively. Oh well, they probably had too much
Manischevitz wine.

Yochanan the Immerser certainly feels like Yeshayahu 40 is spoken by the same prophet
as the other 39 chapters, and he was said by Luke to be filled with the Ruach haKodesh
from birth. Here is Yochanans take

(Mat 3:1) And in those days came Yochanan
27
the Immerser
28
and would preach
in the desert of Yehuda. (Mat 3:2) And said, "Repent
29
(for) near is the
Kingdom
30
of Heaven. (Mat 3:3) It is him for whom it was spoken through
Yesha'yahu the prophet, "A voice of one crying in the desert 'Prepare the
way of Master YHWH and make straight his path.'"
31


Again, this is Isaiah 40:1-3, but no mention of a second writer is indicated. Nor does
Matthew himself make this distinction either. 4:14-16 is quoting from Isaiah 9, but 8:17
is quoting from 53:4-5, where Yshua carried away our sickness. Poor Mattdidnt get
the memo that 53 is from the 2
nd
, 3
rd
or even 4
th
guy that scholars say is impersonating the
real Yeshayahu!

Same thing happens in Matthew 12:17-18hes writing about the OTHER Yeshayahu,
the one who did the 42
nd
chapter he just stole three verses from! Mark, Luke and
Yochananquoting 53 as if its from the first guy!--also dont get the memo eitherthe
secular scholars do NOT approve of their work! Awwwww! Sorry guys!

But perhaps the most stinging indictment of them all comes from here

(Mat 15:7) Hypocrites! Well did Yesha'yahu prophesy concerning you and said,
(Mat 15:8) 'This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is very far from
me.' (Mat 15:9) And they revere me in vain, while they teach the doctrines of the
commandments of the sons of men."
171

Okay, surely Yshua knows there are more than one Yeshayahu on that single scroll
right? I mean so far, the scholars agree with him, this is from Isaiah 29, from original
Isaiah so were good right?

24


Not so fast

(Luk 4:14) And Y'shua returned in the power of the Spirit to Galeela and the
news concerning him went out into every region that was around them. (Luk
4:15) And he would teach in their assemblies and would be praised by every
man. (Luk 4:16) And he came to Nasrath where he had been raised, and he
entered into the assembly as he was accustomed on the day of the Shabbat and
stood up to read. (Luk 4:17) Then the scroll of the prophet Yesha'yahu was given
to him, and Y'shua opened the scroll and found the place where it is written, (Luk
4:18) "The Spirit of Master YHWH is upon me and because of this, He has
anointed me to declare hope to the poor. And He has sent me to heal the
brokenhearted and to preach release
41
to the captives and sight to the blind. And
to free those with the power of forgiveness who are oppressed.
42
(Luk 4:19) And
to preach the acceptable year of Master YHWH.
43
(Luk 4:20) And he rolled up
the scroll and gave it to the minister and went and sat down. And all of those in
the assembly, their eyes were fixed on him. (Luk 4:21) And he began to say to
them that, "This Scripture in your ears is fulfilled today."

He just read from Isaiah 61 without a word of protest about those fake chapters being
on that SINGLE scroll! And then, Yshua pretty much based every legitimate claim about
his power, mission, glory, resurrection even, on the words of a pious imposterif these
critics are righta man only PRETENDING to be Isaiah 1.0!

If this were really a concern 2,000+ years ago, why didnt anyone protest? Why didnt
anyone call Matthew, Mark, Luke, Yochanan, Yshua or even Paul for that matter, on his
facts when quoting from ALL parts of Isaiah?

Furthermore, Yshua could have made almost the exact same points by sticking with the
so-called First Isaiah in chapters 1-39 if he thought this was a real concern. He could
have, for example, taken that irresponsible scroll with 66 chapters and instead turned
here

Yahweh, you are my Elohim, I shall praise you to the heights, I shall praise your
name; for you have accomplished marvels, plans long-conceived, faithfully,
firmly.
2
For you have made the town a heap of stones, the fortified city a ruin.
The foreigners' citadel is a city no longer, it will never be rebuilt.
3
Hence mighty
peoples will honor you, the city of pitiless nations hold you in awe;
4
For you
have been a refuge for the weak, a refuge for the needy in distress, a shelter
from the storm, shade from the heat; for the breath of the pitiless is like a
winter storm.
5
Like heat in a dry land you calm the foreigners' tumult; as heat
under the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the pitiless dies away.
6
On this
mountain, for all peoples, Yahweh Sabaoth is preparing a banquet of rich food, a
banquet of fine wines, of succulent food, of well-strained wines.
7
On this
mountain, he has destroyed the veil which used to veil all peoples, the pall
enveloping all nations;
8
he has destroyed death for ever. Lord Yahweh has
wiped away the tears from every cheek; he has taken his people's shame
25


away everywhere on earth, for Yahweh has spoken.
9
And on that day, it will
be said, 'Look, this is our Elohim, in him we put our hope that he should save
us, this is Yahweh, we put our hope in him. Let us exult and rejoice since he
has saved us.' (Isaiah 25:1-9 NJB)

What if, after saying these words, Yshua turned to the crowd and said, Today, in your
hearing, this Scripture has been fulfilled! Can you imagine the reaction? Before he was
just claiming to be Mashiyachnow he is saying he will do the work of his Father
directly! It would have been great, and he could have avoided the controversy of Isaiah
61, unless of course, there was no such controversy, because he and his fellow
worshippers knew better than todays scholars!

What many dont know however is that even reading Isaiah 61 was shocking to the
congregation, but not because it was not part of that prophets writings. This is because
the reading happened on a Shabbat and a New Moon day, or Rosh Chodesh.

At such a time, it was customary to read Isaiah 66:23, From one new moon to another to
one Shabbat to another, all flesh shall come and worship Me, says Yahweh, not Isaiah
61. Of course, if the liberal scholars are right, all parties concerned got this wrong too,
and they were reading the words of an imposter!

At the end of the day, I think Rav Shaul put it best

(1Co 1:25) Because the foolishness of Elohim is wiser than men; and the
weakness of Elohim is stronger than the sons of men. (1Co 1:26) For look also at
your calling, my Brothers; that not many among you are wise, according to the
flesh; and not many among you are mighty, and not many among you are of high
birth. (1Co 1:27) But Elohim has chosen the foolish ones of the world to shame
the wise; and He has chosen the weak ones of the world to shame the mighty;
(1Co 1:28) And He has chosen those of humble birth in the world, and the
despised, and them who are nothing, to bring to nothing them who are something:
(1Co 1:29) So that no flesh might glory before him.
7


Clearly then scholarship without faith has some very serious limitations as the Word
simply will not open up to people who wont open up to it!

Im Andrew Gabriel Roth and thats your Torah Thought for the Week!

Next week we will be exploring Ekev, or Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25. Our Haftorah portion
will be Isaiah 49:14-51:3 and 52:1-15 and our Renewed Covenant portion will be Luke
4:1-13. Stay tuned!