(CHAPTER 11)
26. "Look [re'eh]! Today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse--
And, not or: He is only offering one set of directions; what we do with them determines whether they will be a blessing or a curse to us.
27. "a blessing if you listen to [and obey] the orders of YHWH your Elohim, which I am laying on you today,
28. "and a curse if you do not heed the orders of YHWH your Elohim and turn aside from the path about which I am giving you orders today, in order to follow after other elohim with which you have not been familiar.
Who would get driving directions and start to follow them, but then skip from the first to the third, and expect to end up in the right place? Because our ancestors picked and chose which of YHWH’s commandments they wanted to obey, we ended up as the “lost sheep of the House of Israel”. The Torah is a school for how to treat each other, and when we get back in order, there is, paradoxically, more freedom than when we try to do things our own way. Only within the borders of our Land is Israel responsible to go to the lengths described in the chapters to come, but if we get things right in this little space, and other nations see that no matter what occurs, we come out on top because we know how to get back into order, they will want what we have, and we will have succeeded in being a “light to the nations”. These blessings are intended to extend beyond Israel (Gen. 12:2, 3), and the only key to world peace is for us to be successful at learning to take care of one another. If we abandon this calling--whether for selfish reasons or by making Torah into a religion--the curse will not only be upon us but all mankind, which will end up destroying itself before too long. Envy, the sin that showed up in the very second generation in the Genesis account, is especially likely to bring us into disorder and chaos. This is why Moshe urges us so forcefully to choose life and not death. If we add to or take away from the recipe given here, making even one exception and allowing any of the elements of pagan religion into the mix, or even if we only take one tribe’s angle on Torah rather than the balance that can only be present when all of Israel is again together, we will fail in our calling and there will be no hope for mankind. Been familiar: The chief point in this context is not to seek YHWH the way the worshippers of other deities do things. Individuals are not to hedge our bets by resorting to superstition just so we will have all bases covered in case the mainline relationship of the nation does not work out. People who make choices rather than standing between two opinions will generally accomplish much more. We must not worship anything our righteous ancestors did not, and they never worshipped a man as an elohim. He is making His heart known to us through these rules. They are not just hoops to jump through, strange though some of them seem at first glance. They are about knowing who He is so that we can have an intimate friendship with Him. They are about learning how to love Him—how to be the kind of people He can relate to. The blessing YHWH sets before us is the relationship with Himself. Are we after having Him live in our midst, or just a religious experience? Though the consequences may take many unpleasant forms, the actual curse is not having His presence with us. Most people are familiar with at least some of these commandments. But they are rarely used in the context He intended—that of Israel dwelling in His Land with Him at our core--so what should be a blessing becomes a curse instead. They become only codes of morals rather than a way to love YHWH. The curse is only for those who turn aside from the way. To turn aside from a path, one must first be walking on it. We cannot judge anyone by the rules of this path if he has never been on it. Those who are not on this path are under neither blessing nor curse. The nations have their own judgment to undergo. But to find YHWH, these commands are where Israel has to look.
29. "Now what will take place is that, when YHWH your Elohim has brought you into the Land you are entering to take possession of, you will designate the blessing as [being] on Mount Grizim, and the curse on Mount Eval.
Grizim means "cuttings off", as opposed to Eval, which means "a bald stone mountain", symbolizing the fruitfulness of the one choice (from which useful trees could be cut) and the barrenness of the other.
30. "Aren't they on the other side of the Yarden, following the direction of the sun's going [down], in the land of the K'naanites who dwell in the Aravah opposite Gilgal near the oaks of Moreh?
Gilgal: north of Y’rikho, very close to the Yarden; oaks of Moreh: near Sh'khem (Nablus today), which sits between the two mountains, near the geographical center of the Land, close to the tribal border between Efrayim and Menashe (in what was later known as Samaria). Moreh means "teacher". It may have been named after one of the patriarchs who lived here—Avraham or even Shem.
31. "--Because you will be crossing over the Yarden in order to go in and take possession of the Land which YHWH your Elohim is giving to you. You will [not only] take possession of it, but also settle in it.
Do not just empty it out, but fill it with something useful to YHWH. (Compare Matithyahu 12:43-45.)
32. "But be careful to carry out all the prescribed tasks and privileges which I am laying in front of you today.”
Keeping these rules is the key to staying there.
CHAPTER 12
1. "These are the prescribed rituals and legal procedures that you must guard in order to carry [them] out in the Land which YHWH, your ancestors' Elohim, is giving you to occupy all the days that you live above the ground:
Earlier Moshe had told Israel what rules had to be followed before we could enter the Land (chapters 4-6); now he is telling us what we must do to stay there and to maintain possession of it. Taking the Land is only the beginning. Staying in the Land will not be easy; we need all the training we can get before we enter, or we will not last long there. Efrayim was expelled for idolatry and for preferring the ways of other nations, but Yehudah went into captivity specifically because of the way it interacted with the Land. They defiled it by neglecting the rest the Land needed every seven years because they wanted to make money or did not want to trust YHWH to that extent. This Land is made for people who love YHWH with all their heart and love one another. These rituals and procedures teach us how. Above the ground: it could mean simply “on the soil”, but in context the emphasis is on continuing as long as you are alive. These will also keep you above the ground! It also tells us that as long as Israel exists—as long as any of us is above ground--this Land is never meant to be turned over to any other people. While there are some things we cannot do in their fullness outside the Land or when there is no Temple, this should not mean that we ignore them altogether. We should never divide them into ritual vs. spiritual, moral, or whatever other category would make some of them appear unnecessary. They are all interdependent. If we cannot do the very thing yet, we can take them as far as we can, and still learn from them. By re-enacting these procedures as closely as we are able outside the perfect context, we can take steps toward “enacting them again” as law in Israel. It is those most experienced who will be best suited to teach others when the time comes to tighten up the rest of the way.
2. "You must utterly destroy all the places in which the nations you are going to dispossess served their elohim on the uplifted mountains and hills, and under every flourishing tree.
Utterly destroy: literally, it is in a Hebrew idiomatic form that uses the word for “destroy” in two different formats for emphasis. The precise term means to cause to disappear; i.e., make their sites unrecognizable, to prevent yourself from even thinking about these things. Hills are mentioned as well as mountains, representing not just the major errors, but any form of compromise.
3. "You shall also pull down their altars and break down the upright pillars they have erected. Burn their sacred groves with fire, and chop down the idols of their gods, and blot out their names from that place.
The first command specifically given for when they arrived in the Land was to totally eradicate paganism. No artifacts are to be left, and indeed archaeologists at the city of Ay uncovered a stratum full of gold and silver ornaments that were simply covered up when that level of civilization there was burned, so apparently Y'hoshua and his generation obeyed this command to the letter. There is also a microcosm of the Land in our personal and corporate lives, from which we must eradicate any idols we harbored when unaware of what they were or that others inculcated into us. Upright pillars: carried on today through steeples, a tradition which began so that pagan temples could be seen from a distance, but repurposed—but we should not rededicate to YHWH what He does not want. Sacred groves: Christmas trees do burn very well!
4. "You must not do such a thing to YHWH your Elohim,
He does not want to be worshipped in the fruitless ways others have worshipped their elohim. When we again possess the Land (rather than merely dwelling in it) , allowing the minarets and steeples to remain there would be as bad as leaving pictures of a former boyfriend or girlfriend in a prominent place in your home after marrying another.
5. "because you must resort to the place where YHWH your Elohim will choose out of all your tribes in order to put His Name there for His dwelling-place, and come there.
He does not even want to be worshipped in the same places the pagans used. Instead, seek out the place He chooses. It turned out to be a threshing floor that the wind had swept clean rather than a pagan worship site. But He does not yet say where this place will be. That would not be revealed to them until David’s time (1 Chron. 21:28; 2 Chron. 3:1), although those closest to YHWH seemed to often have an inkling that there was something special about this place. But the fact that He does not specify leaves room for the other places his sanctuary sat in the meantime. Even while we are in exile, the word for “place” tells us where we can get as close as we can to His ideal: it is from the word for “rise up”, so we must seek Him in places that raise us higher. Out of all your tribes: Seek Him in the place where Israel is gathered together around Torah. There we can find enough of His presence to follow on toward the fuller manifestation, by learning what He wants.
6. "That is where you must bring your ascending offerings and your slaughtered sacrifices, your tithes and contributions from your hand, the things you vowed to offer, and your free-will offerings, as well as the firstborn of your flocks and herds.
By specifying one meeting-site where all Israel can unite in worship, He automatically precludes anyone using the old pagan worship sites just because they are already built and convenient to use. This is where we bring all of our tithes (which are agricultural) and offerings (any other kind of voluntary gift) when the Temple is standing and the priesthood is in order.
7. "That is also where you may eat before the face of YHWH your Elohim, and will rejoice in all that you set your hand to undertake--[both] you and your households with which YHWH your Elohim has blessed you.
Eating the offerings alone at home is not “as far as we can go”. In the absence of an altar, we can also try to gather with other Israelites in whatever way we can, especially at His appointed times. Monetary tithing is a much-abused concept today, but it is often the closest we can come at present.
8. "You must not do any of the same kind of things we are doing here today--everyone [doing] whatever is right in his own eyes,
9. "(since you have not yet entered the resting-place and inherited property that YHWH your Elohim is giving to you).
One of the reasons we still have not entered the Land is because we continue to insist on doing things our own way. Individual likes and dislikes often stand in the way of forming the close bonds with other Israelites that will prepare us to live in His Land. In this case, the “doing right in his own eyes” was not referring to all kinds of wickedness, but simply making offerings to YHWH wherever it seemed logical or convenient to the individual to do so. If those who were walking in the very presence of their Elohim had to raise the bar, how much more we who are so much further removed from our ideal context? We will be held to the highest standard when we arrive there. So we need to start acclimating ourselves to it and make our mistakes while we still have the room to do so.
10. "But when you [do] cross over the Yarden and settle into the Land which YHWH your Elohim is giving you to take possession of, and He grants you a respite from all your enemies on every side, so that you dwell in security,
11. "then there shall be a place where YHWH your Elohim shall choose to establish His Name; that is where you shall bring everything I am commanding you--your ascending offerings and your slaughtered sacrifices, your tithes and contributions from your hand, and all the best of the things you have vowed [by choice] to give to YHWH.
12. "Then you will rejoice in the presence of YHWH your Elohim--you and your sons and daughters, male and female servants, as well as the Levite who is within your gates, since he does not have a share or inherited property as you do.
Rejoice: literally, brighten up! This is a command—and we are to make sure everyone else does! Whenever you have a party, the particular Levite(s) who live in your town are like part of your extended family, and so must be included. (At festivals, widows, orphans, and guests are also included, per 16:11, 14.) The Levite is the one teaching you, he is the one whose rulings you are required to live by, and he has no inheritance—in short, he is the ultimate servant. You cannot leave your children home, and everyone who comes must participate—so make it something they will all enjoy.
13. "Watch yourself carefully so you will not offer up your ascending offerings in [just] any place that you may see [fit],
Substitutes are not accepted.
14. "but [only] in the place that YHWH your Elohim shall choose within one of your tribes--that's where you shall raise your ascending offerings and carry out all that I am ordering you [to do].
That one tribe would turn out to be Binyamin.
15. "Now you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gated cities--whatever your soul desires--in accordance with the prosperity that YHWH your Elohim gives you; both clean and unclean [people] may eat of this, just as [they would eat] a gazelle or deer;
Gazelle or deer: the most common examples of animals that are clean but not acceptable for sacrifice. Since YHWH is more concerned with what our diet teaches us than with what we actually eat, we need to look for the picture here. Gazelles and deer are not domestic like flocks and herds from which Temple offerings are drawn. They are wild, and though they may eat from human hands with a fence in between, they shy away from humans when no safety barrier is present. These animals are pictures of people who do not submit to order and authority. We can partake of their teachings, for they may be valid and important, bringing us life. But only a people in unity forms an altar fit for "food for YHWH to consume". At that time people rarely took animals from their flocks merely to have dinner; they would be slaughtered for a reason—occasionally as hospitality for a guest, but most often as worship of one’s deity. So an animal suitable for YHWH’s altar may not be slaughtered elsewhere in His Land, lest the wrong message be communicated. These animals could not be trapped inside the city walls, but must be brought there to be slaughtered. They are not kosher if they are shot somewhere else, for they would be torn and unfit for consumption. (Lev. 17:15) They must still be slaughtered in the manner of the Temple animals; there is just no requirement to give a portion of wild animals to the Levites. Part of any animal suitable for the Temple—an ox, lamb, or goat (even if not being brought as an offering)--must be brought to them, when we are in the Land. (v. 21; Lev. 17:3ff)
16. "just don't eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
YHWH repeats this over and over, probably because He knew it would be one command that people would tend to forget. This is what distinguishes a clean animal from one that is specifically kosher (acceptable for consumption).
17. "Within your gated cities you may not eat the tithe of your grain, wine, or oil, or the firstborn of your flock, nor any of the offerings you have vowed to give, nor your freewill offerings nor the contribution from [what] your hand [is able to give];
These tithes and offerings would be brought to the Temple at the feasts of Unleavened Bread, Shavuoth, or Sukkoth to be eaten in the context of the whole community (at the “federal” slaughter site, not just the local one). This is not the first tithe, which would go directly to the Levitical storehouses. (Mal. 3:10) That is set apart and can only be eaten by the owner if he redeems it with a 20% surcharge. (Lev. 27:30ff)
18. "rather, you must eat them in the presence of YHWH your Elohim, in the place that YHWH your Elohim shall choose--you and your son or daughter, male or female servant, as well as the Levite who is within your gates--and brighten up in the presence of YHWH your Elohim!
Unlike many ideas about tithes today, these were purely agricultural and were actually partaken of by those who grew them, after the priest got his portion. The important thing is that it was shared. The fellowship involved in the meal is what YHWH is after. This is what makes it holy. He will be in attendance in an especially meaningful way when we interact with joy and generosity. Bring back to Him the part that says, “Thank you.” That is why slaughtering it at home is not accepted. All of Israel is meant to hear of what YHWH has done for us.
19. "Only take special care to not neglect the Levite as long as you live on the Land.
20. "When YHWH your Elohim shall enlarge your territory as He has promised you, and you say, ‘I am going to eat meat' because your soul craves meat, you may eat meat to your soul's content.
There is no requirement of vegetarianism in the Torah, though “from the beginning it was not so”.
21. "If the place in which YHWH has chosen to establish His Name is too far away from you, then you may take [something] from your herd or flock, with which YHWH has provided you, as I have ordered you. You may eat whatever your soul desires within your gates.
This only applies outside the original borders of the Land given to Israel. (v. 20) What is too far is not a subjective decision. There is no place within the Land proper that YHWH considers too far from Yerushalayim.
22. "You may eat them just as the gazelle or deer are eaten; the clean and unclean alike may eat of them.
23. "Just be firm about not eating the blood, because the blood is life, and you may not eat the life along with the meat.
The life: literally, soul, which gives a better angle on why we should not take it into ourselves. The soul of another type of being should not be mingled with ours.
24. "You shall not eat it; you must pour it out on the ground like water.
You do not have to go all the way to Yerushalayim to slaughter anything except the types of offerings YHWH has made mandatory, but no matter where you are, you may not eat the blood.
25. "You may not eat it, in order that it may go well with you and with your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in YHWH's eyes.
Only bloodless meat may be eaten by a holy people. The converse is that if we do eat blood, it will not go well with our children.
26. "Only your holy [gifts] that belong to you must you take up and come to the place that YHWH shall choose.
27. "You shall offer up your ascending offerings--the flesh as well as the blood--on the altar of YHWH your Elohim. Now the blood from your slaughtered sacrifices is to be poured out on the altar of YHWH your Elohim, but you may eat the meat.
Only a few offerings are fully consumed by fire; most are cooked and eaten there after the priest gets his cut. Eating together is a large part of worship in the Torah!
28. "Be careful to obey all these things that I am commanding you, so it may go well with you and with your children after you into perpetuity, because you will be doing what is proper and right in YHWH's eyes.
29. "When YHWH your Elohim does cut off the nations from before you, wherever you go in to dispossess them, and you take their place and dwell in their Land,
30. "be especially careful that you are not brought down by imitating them [even] after they are annihilated from your presence, by enquiring after their elohim, saying, ‘In what way did these nations serve their elohim, so I can do the same?'
Brought down: or "ensnared". The context especially emphasizes not eating as they eat. This is an allusion to the Midyanite women who invited the Israelite men to a dinner at which, by the way, they made a blessing to Ba’al, and this led to curiosity about other ways Ba’al was worshipped, and eventually this came all the way into the heart of the Israelite camp, and only Pin’has’ spear put an end to it. By imitating their ways, you would be keeping them alive—their spirit, at least—even after destroying them. Know your enemy, but do not look deeper into its ways than you have to, just to satisfy your curiosity. Archaeologists must be especially careful about this.
31. " For YHWH your Elohim you must not do things in the same way, because every [kind of] thing that is an abomination to YHWH--just what He hates--[is what] they have done unto their gods--because to their gods they have even burnt their sons and daughters with fire.
None of their ways will help you understand better what YHWH is like. They should rather disgust us, for all of this eating and sexual worship led to killing their own children in one way or another. When you are enticed by their menu, your own children end up on it. YHWH had to give us more religious “busy work” after the incident with the Midyanite women, just to keep us out of trouble of this sort.
32. [13:1 in Hebrew] "Whatever I have ordered you to do, be very careful to carry it out; do not add to it or diminish it.”
Do not inject self (your own ideas) into any of His commandments! Much of what Y’shua said addresses things men had made up and added to the Torah (e.g., Mat. 5:17) Do not change it to suit yourself in any way; that would be tantamount to “making YHWH in your image”. And don’t “scrape away” (the literal meaning of diminish) any layers of meaning just because you do not like them or find them inconvenient. Do not upset the perfect balance that is the Torah. It is only complete when we carry out all of its parts, and taking one aspect too far will diminish from another. Experience His words in their fullness just as they are written.
CHAPTER 13
1. "[Just] because there arises among you a prophet or one who has [prophetic] dreams, and presents you with a distinguishing sign or token as proof,
Still in the context of 12:32, this is a particular example of not adding to what YHWH has said. The dreamer seems to believe the vision is from YHWH. Among you: this is not someone unstable who “blows into town” from no one knows where; he is literally someone from our innermost circles who rises to prominence, so he is someone known to many, and is confirmed or established as a leader in one of our communities, someone with proven authority who has risen from among our ranks, so we are inclined to trust him. Sign: Something that seems to provide evidence. But we are responsible to know the Torah we already have. Miracles are not always evidence of YHWH’s leading. Signs are only meant for clarification when there is doubt or ambiguity, not where there is already an unmistakable command. When YHWH allowed people to ask for signs, He was dealing with someone immature or from a household not steeped in Torah, as in the case of Gid’on (Judges 6:37ff). After a certain point of maturity, to ask Him for a sign is more of an insult than a blessing. Token: from a root word meaning beautiful or pleasing. So this is something that seems positive. It actually looks genuine. It is something outstanding, out of the ordinary, which most people would find too fascinating to ignore. But we have already been warned not to be gullible. (11:16)
2. "and the sign or token comes true which he foretold for you, saying, 'Let's go after other elohim with which you have not [previously] been familiar, and let's serve them!',
He appeals to our innate attraction to novelty. He proves beyond doubt that we should do this, so this is nothing to sneeze at—yet YHWH tells us to “sneeze at it” anyway, because the Torah gave us a greater litmus test: has Israel ever known this elohim? If the signs conflict with YHWH’s word, which will we follow? It is a temptation to eat of the tree of further knowledge than we’ve been offered. His words should alert us to the fact that it is not legitimate. It should be obvious that this is not the way to go, but because it is a prophet, YHWH knows this can throw us off, because we feel that we must respect such people who seem to have a corner on spiritual things that we ordinary folks have no right to question. While Y’shua’s students were hardly “religious” at all, let alone scholars, Constantine took established professional priests from the temples of the sun and turned them into Christian priests, since they had authority in the people’s eyes. So YHWH puts His very clear, direct stamp of approval on our right—no, responsibility—to not listen to such talk:
3. "[does] not [mean] you should not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer of dreams, because YHWH your Elohim is testing you, to discern whether you love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being.
The mere fact that it comes true is not evidence that what the prophet communicates is YHWH’s will. This is a test of what we will do when we seem to have alternative options that give us an excuse to follow our own hearts. Who do we really love—YHWH or ourselves? Will we be obedient to His word even if miracles seem to discredit it? This includes His own Messiah being presented in a way that seems to let us “off the hook” from keeping Torah. The Passover has already been given as a sign (Ex. 13:8), as has the Sabbath (Ex. 31:17) and the Torah in general (Deut. 6:8). Moshe provided tokens of his authority. (Ex. 4:21) We should not need any more.
4. "You must walk after YHWH your Elohim, and hold Him in awe, and treasure His commandments, and obey His voice, and serve Him, and cling closely to Him.
Hold Him in awe: or "fear Him"--not be frightened as such, for He loves us, but fear His removing Himself from us. He is glad to be a sanctuary to us, but if He disconnects us from His presence, we could hardly even continue to exist, and to turn to other elohim is a sure-fire way to provoke Him to such anger. But obeying this verse is the way to pass the test. If he has already said to keep His commandments, what does he mean by “serve Him”? We serve Him and cling to Him by serving one another and clinging to the community He has placed us in.
5. "Moreover, that prophet or dreamer of dreams shall be executed, because he has made a declaration with the intent of turning you away from YHWH your Elohim, who brought you out from the land of Egypt and rescued you from the dungeon of slavery--to compel you to leave the path in which YHWH your Elohim commanded you to walk. So you shall utterly consume away the evil from your midst.
Utterly consume: or purge. We might wonder if it is just for YHWH to have him killed if He “hired” him to administer the test. We do read of YHWH allowing a lying spirit in His prophets to drive a wicked king to put himself in mortal danger. (1 Kings 22) Then there is the elder prophet in 1 Kings 13:18ff who claimed an angel had given him a message that conflicted with what YHWH had told a younger prophet, and the younger prophet ended up dying for his disobedience. Why didn’t the elder prophet die for misleading him? He did not tell him to worship another elohim, but only to disobey the One he knew. He may not even have been an Israelite. But the younger prophet never seemed to consider the possibility that someone might lie in YHWH’s name. But YHWH does not want such confusion in His camp. He would not have given such a delusion to His spokesman if the prophet’s heart was not already inclined to want a change, because he includes himself in the “let us go after other elohim.” The gravity of the consequence behooves us to know His word well enough to recognize error immediately. This should not lead us to shun all prophets, for some are true, and those we must heed. We are responsible to guard one another and help each other be discerning, for even with all the tools at our disposal today, none of us can do it alone. But what is controversial about this is not the execution of the prophet, but how this applies to Yeshua. In the Torah we can find a deliverer, the seed of a woman, who puts haSatan underfoot. (Gen. 3:15) We can find a redeemer of Israel who seeks YHWH’s face and lays down his own life for the sheep. (Ex. 32:32) We can find a ruler of unified Israel whose enemies are under his feet. (1 Chron. 17:8-10) We can find a king of Israel who is called the son of Elohim. (Psalm 2:7; 1 Chron. 28:6) We find a prophet through whom YHWH raises the dead (1 Kings 17:17-22) and one who feeds a multitude with very little food (2 Kings 4:42-44). All of these, Israel is familiar with. Yeshua did all of these, and these signs validated His authority. He took the Torah to a deeper level, but nothing that he taught was foreign to it. But a “God” who becomes man? A holy trinity? A “mother of God”? These are things Israel never knew. It was Israel’s pagan neighbors (v. 7) who saw their heroes or kings as gods or demi-gods; our leaders were never worshipped as if they were YHWH. This is a test of whether we truly love YHWH. Moshe told us to be sure we never think of YHWH in a human form. (Deut. 4:12-16) He wants to be understood through His words instead.
6. "If your brother--your mother's son--or your daughter, or [even] the wife of your bosom, or your companion who is [as close] as your own soul--allures you deceitfully, saying, 'Let's follow and serve other elohim, which neither you nor your fathers have been familiar with'--
Not even a “soul-mate” may be tolerated if he tries to loosen the first commandment.
7. "[that is], elohim of the peoples who encompass you on every side, whether nearby or far away, from one extremity of the earth to its other end,
This does not just apply in the Land. There is no exception anywhere. Even the “New Testament” tells us no one has ever seen YHWH. (Yochanan 1:18) Many nations considered their kings to have “god” status, but Israel had never done this with David or Shlomoh. We were expecting an anointed, empowered Messiah; this we knew from the Scriptures. But not a new Elohim! Or an Elohim in human form. Israel never knew such a thing, and admitting this does not deny the real Yeshua, but upholds his intention completely. “But,” you may ask, “didn’t he say, ‘I and the Father are one’?” Yes, but he also reiterated that a man and his wife are one (Mat. 19:5), yet they may not even know what each other is thinking. Yeshua even contrasted his will with the Father’s, for as a man, many things that attract us looked pleasing to him. He was subject to temptation (Luke 22:39ff), and if it had been left up to him, he would have taken a different path. (Yochanan 5:30) He had an unbroken connection with the Father, unlike any other, so he was able to keep this at bay and focus on his mission, which was, as a deputy shepherd, finding the lost sheep of the House of Israel and regathering them. (Mat. 10:6; Yochanan 4:34; 10:11-14) He was in perfect agreement with the Father, and they functioned in unison. None of his direct followers or even the Hellenist Paul ever taught that a man should be worshipped as Elohim, even this man. That is a new concept, sneaked in through the back door, that forced people to deny parts of the Torah to uphold. Ironically, verse 5 is the summation of everything Yeshua ever taught and did! But Israel responded to Yeshua in a Gentilized way, though he never made such claims, when his words are understood in the context of Torah. He is a king, and that requires its own type of worship and adoration—a use of the term that we have lost today with the loss of a true sense of authority and royalty. Isn’t it enough that He is Messiah, the seed of David, and the firstborn of YHWH both from the womb and from the grave, and the one sent to regather the lost sheep of the House of Israel? All of this is in accordance with the prophets. Why must we give him the same status YHWH has? That is not only unnecessary; it is forbidden. Aharon called the golden calf “YHWH”, because the people wanted to put a face on Him so they could have some kind of control over Him. Will we turn Yeshua into a golden calf? Equality with YHWH is the same thing Adam and Chawwah tried to steal, but Yeshua refused to (Philippians 2:6-7). How we have slandered a righteous man by accusing him of being in a position where he said he would never go. This is a grievous sin against heaven. No matter how many things this deified “Jesus” has done for you, no miracle or sign can change what the Torah says. Remember, it is a test! Even many who have taken on the observance of every other aspect of the Torah fail it. Be eternally on your guard!
8. "you must neither give in to him nor listen to him, nor may your eye have pity on him. You shall neither spare him nor protect him [from justice],
Listen to him: Aramaic, "show affection for him". Tell him to show it to you in the Torah or keep quiet. If he does not, expose him as a fraud. One can not merely forgive. One’s parents are left out of the list in verse 6; if his parents are truly Israelites and one condemns them to death, he risks exposing himself to a very dangerous position. He would refer the matter to his father’s brother, in all likelihood.
9. "but you must by all means kill him; your own hand must be the first against him for his execution, then the hand of all the [rest of] the people afterwards.
The one who hears it must be the one to cast the first stone. After seeing someone this brave, others will find it less difficult to follow. None of us should enjoy it, and we would hope a mere “word to the wise would be sufficient” as a deterrent so that we never will have to do this.
10. "You must pelt him with stones so that he dies, since he has tried to drive you away from YHWH your Elohim, who brought you out from the land of Egypt and rescued you from the dungeon of slavery.
He has tried: We must clearly see the reality of what he did. Idolatry is a most serious matter to YHWH, not just a casual pastime. The type of stones here are neither pebbles nor boulders, but stones of suitable size for building a house. The common method of stoning was the stun someone first with a large rock to the head, often knocking or throwing him off a cliff so he would become unconscious or at least immobile, then making a pile of building stones over him to serve as a reminder that this person was not worthy to be properly buried. It would look like a destroyed house—a picture left on the landscape so it would have a strong impact.
11. "Then all Israel will take notice and stand in awe, and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.
He does not want this type of action to ever be necessary again. Instilling the fear within us should be enough of a deterrent.
12. "If you shall hear it said in one of your cities which YHWH has given you to dwell in,
This is not some pagan city, but one that should have known better.
13. "'Some men, sons of Beli-ya’al have gone out from among you and compelled the inhabitants of their city, saying, "Let's go and serve other elohim, with which you have not been acquainted"',
Beli-ya’al: Heb. for worthlessness, or literally, “without ascent”, “unprofitable”. Compare Judges 19.
14.
"then you must carefully consult [witnesses] and make an investigation and a thorough inquiry, and if the matter is indeed determined to be established as true that such an abomination has been done among you,
"then you must carefully consult [witnesses] and make an investigation and a thorough inquiry, and if the matter is indeed determined to be established as true that such an abomination has been done among you,Even a rumor makes us responsible to investigate. This is indeed an inquisition, but it is done methodically, scientifically, rationally, not in hot blood. We would have to err on the side of compassion, giving the benefit of reasonable doubt if unproveable. YHWH tends to offer repentance until we have dug ourselves into a very deep hole and do not even want to come out of it. But if someone is so convinced he should worship other gods that he becomes a missionary for their cause, this is a plague that must be quarantined quickly. There is not much time to mull it over; if we know Torah well, we can decide quickly without being hasty. We can then be quick, yet still have a firm foundation. How could it be done among us if the person went out from among us (v. 13)? Because he did not necessarily go out physically. The term actually means to depart from our innermost—the very place where YHWH’s sanctuary is to be. This person has ceased to be concerned about providing YHWH with a dwelling place, even if he remains nearby physically.
15. "then you shall by all means [mortally] strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge [mouth] of the sword, dedicating it in its entirety, along with everything in it, even its animals, to destruction with the edge of the sword.
Y’shua told us to cut off even our right hand if it causes us to stumble. (Mat. 5:30) If the Northern Kingdom had practiced this when its first king began to do exactly what is being spoken of here, we would not have been exiled. In Israel, a whole city is to function as a unit; if someone is not in agreement, he needs to dissociate from the majority and defer to a higher authority that is in compliance with Torah rather than partaking of its destruction. If we do not report the crime, we are accessory to the charges. Remaining in its midst is tantamount to saying we approve of what is going on there. Lot would have died if he had not left S’dom.
16. "Then you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of its open square, and burn the city with fire, including all its loot--every bit of it--for the sake of YHWH your Elohim, and it shall remain a ruin-heap perpetually; it must never be rebuilt.
17. "Nothing of what is dedicated to destruction shall stick to your hand, so that YHWH may turn away from the heat of His nostrils, and show you mercy, and have compassion on you, and make you great, as He promised [with an oath] to your forefathers,
If we let any of its influence remain, we are guilty by association. Many Israelites have divested ourselves of most vestiges of Catholicism , but retain one accursed thing—the “God-man” concept. It is time to rid ourselves of it as well. Enough truth about Y’shua is available that we have a true alternative to either the Church, which deifies Him, or traditional Judaism, which writes Him off completely.
18. "because you are listening to the voice of YHWH your Elohim, in order to treasure up all His commandments which I am laying on you today, so that you will do what is right in the eyes of YHWH your Elohim.
For too long we have been doing what is right in our own eyes, Constantine’s and the popes’ eyes, or the pastor’s, theologians, or denominations’ eyes. It is time to return to the simplicity of what He originally told us to do.
CHAPTER 14
1. "You are children to YHWH your Elohim; you shall not make cuttings in your [bodies], nor bring about any baldness between your eyes for the sake of the dead,
The “you” here is plural, for He is a Father to each one who seeks Him, but the reference changes to a singular one in the next verse, because He is our Father in the strongest sense when all of Israel is gathered as one. As parents tell their children not to cut their own hair or do strange things to their bodies, now YHWH is doing the same to His children. These acts are signs that someone is still teaching the pagan rituals forbidden in the last chapter—signs that they are following the wrong elohim, even if it is done in YHWH’s Name. We cannot set apart to Him what He has already said He will not accept. Baldness between your eyes: Some of the ancients, in order to show their distraughtness when mourning, shaved the front of the head (not necessarily as low as the eyes, but in the center, and monks’ famous bowl cuts and bald spots--the “Friar Tuck look”, which is traced back to the Kanaanites, who cut cut a circle on their heads to honor their sun-deity), or any sort of unnatural bald spot, are also a form of this. Maurice Farbridge (Studies in Biblical and Semitic Symbolism) says that “upon the death of a husband, father, or other near relation, Arab women [still] cut their hair and scratch their faces with their nails.” They then spread some of the hair on the loved one’s tomb. Cuttings: something that penetrates the flesh (e.g. 1 Kings 18). YHWH does not need us to go to such lengths to get His attention. Do not lose your life (through the loss of blood) because another has lost his. Such cuttings include tattoos, but they may only be forbidden when done for the sake of the dead; we must not be dogmatic if we might carry the command further than YHWH did (though we should ask if there is any profit in permanently changing our bodies in a different way than YHWH has made them). Doing so for the dead perpetually chains one to the dead soul, letting the other personality permanently affect oneself even after they have departed--no matter how close the person was to oneself. (Hirsch) We should mourn, but in an orderly way that both gives room to our grief, comforts the bereaved, and honors the honorable, but also remembers that we have the hope of resurrection. Allow the mourner room to get over the loss, but without the worship of ancestors found in nearly every pagan religion. What is to be between our eyes instead is YHWH’s Word (11:18), and this is always linked with coming out of Egypt, a land preoccupied by death. YHWH tells us instead to choose life. Focus on making the most of your life rather than its inevitable end. Rabbi Asher Meir reminds us that the place between our eyes represents both the center of our thoughts and our perception; our higher faculties are to be set apart unto YHWH instead of unto the dead. He does not want His people disfigured; those who are may not officiate in His sanctuary. Israel is to be held up as a standard, and are to preserve the ideal picture of YHWH’s image that He wants to present. On the few occasions He does specify that hair is removed, it is all removed at the same time, so that it will grow back evenly and not look unbalanced, disproportionate, or comically unnatural. Rome’s way is to keep some of it off all of the time, even though this requires constant attention.
2. "because you are a people set apart unto YHWH your Elohim. Moreover, YHWH has selected you to be a people for Himself, especially treasured above all nations that are on the earth.
He does not want His children to do anything in a common way or live an "unexamined life". We do not want to settle for just being His people when we can be His special treasure! Now Moshe is speaking of YHWH more as a Husband than as a Father. Being a special treasure means that others will be excluded. Who? Anyone who does these pagan things. Israel has already been set apart, but our job is to separate ourselves unto Israel so we can actually be a part of that calling. These awesome positions bring with them much responsibility. You cannot set yourself apart to YHWH without giving yourself away to the rest of Israel. The promise is to a people, not to individuals as such.
3. "You must not eat anything disgusting;
There is no change of subject here. Those who are His treasure are to eat the right things, because meals are such an important thing in His culture. Eating what disgusts Him is part of the paganism we are to separate from. We must not just pick up and eat any old thing that catches our eye, but be circumspect and not put death into ourselves. One of His first commands to Adam and Chawwah was also in regard to what to eat and what not to eat, and He carries on the same kind of test into Israel. And what is abominable goes beyond simply what smells or looks nasty; He defines very clearly what we should find disgusting because He does. (7:26-27) Other things YHWH puts in this category of “abominable” are homosexuality (Lev. 18:22; 20:13), idolatry (Deut. 7:25), burning our children in fertility rituals (Deut. 12:31), and turning others away from YHWH to worship other elohim (13:13-14). Eating pork is compared to these sins which are all punishable by death, because they put us in a covenant of death, not life. Eating shrimp is tantamount to idolatry; it is not just something to avoid when convenient.
4. "these are the beasts that you may eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,
These three are worthy of the altar, yet even those who herded them were considered abominable by the Egyptians. They worshipped most animals, and may thus have been vegetarians for the same reason Hindus are. Yosef took advantage of this abhorrence on their part to keep his family separate from the Egyptians among whom they found refuge, but this tells us that those in covenant with death find flocks of clean animals disgusting!
5. "the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the antelope, the bison, and the mountain sheep,
These can be eaten without having to bring any part to the sanctuary. (12:22-23)
6. "And any beast whose hoof is divided and the split is cloven into two parts and that brings up the cud; among the beasts, that is what you may eat.
Some animals have either the inner or outer part of the hoof cloven, but not both parts; only the animals in which both parts are split are kosher. This makes them amazingly sure-footed even when their body weight seems far out of proportion to their somewhat spindly legs. The giraffe is in this category! In drawing our attention to the feet of the animals we eat, YHWH reminds us to examine our own walk. And are we “rightly dividing” His word? Ruminating is used as a metaphor for meditating on YHWH's word (Y’hoshua 1:8) not just once but over and over. A ruminant animal has four stomachs. Each of us only has one stomach, but when we have a community, we have multiple “stomachs”, and as we speak to one another about it (30:11ff), we can process it much more fully and obtain many more “nutrients” from it than we ever could alone. He is concerned about what is in our mouths, because He has put His words in our mouth; it is our responsibility not to let them depart (Yeshayahu 59:21), and what we take into our mouths will help us remember this. Then we can aways have the right words to say (Psalm 119:41-42; Mat. 12:35) and when it has been fully processed, the right “milk” with which to feed (i.e., teach) our children.
7. "However, of those that chew the cud or have cloven hoofs, you may not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock hyrax (since they chew the cud but do not have cloven hoofs; they shall be impure for you),
YHWH chooses animals for our consumption that exhibit characteristics that He wants us to possess. The picture here is of a person who studies the Word of YHWH, but does not walk it out as he should. The camel chews the cud, but he will spit it at you! Cloven-hoofed animals are the most sure-footed and therefore confident.
8. "and the pig. (Because it has a cloven hoof but does not chew the cud, it is impure for you.) You must not eat of their flesh, nor [even] touch their dead body.
They say we are what we eat, and science also tells us that all the cells in our body are renewed after seven years, so when we stop eating pork, seven years later there is no pig left in us. When we stop eating blood, by seven years later, there is no animal soul left in us. The pig is a picture of someone who walks the walk, but does not know why. It appears to be kosher on the outside, but its body does not sweat to rid itself of impurities. It has no cud in its mouth, but it will eat anything and everything, even other pigs (its brothers) or even humans. So it is a picture of someone who accepts any doctrine without testing it, and makes it a part of himself without having any way to divest himself of it later. A derivative of the word for “flesh” (basar) is the Hebrew term for the Gospel (besorah). So a deeper meaning is that we should not get close to the “gospel” of those who are unclean (looking out for self). While it is very important to eat the right things, the real point is to learn what the eating--- or not eating--teaches us. As with literal pork, wherever you have the figurative pig, you have “heart disease”. This abomination has no death sentence with it, because it kills the eater without a need for the executioner. Pig hearts can be used for human heart transplants, showing us how close the deceitful, desperately wicked heart of man (Yirmeyahu 17:9) is to the pig’s heart. Do not “follow your heart”, as Disney would advise, but incline your heart toward YHWH’s Word and salvage its only worth. Yochanan the Immerser wore a camel-skin garment, so once the dead animal is separated into parts, we cannot call it a carcass, and things done with parts of their bodies (such as a pigskin football) may be touched. The balanced view is that parts of their bodies may even be ingested when broken down to the cellular level, especially if used as a medicine. We could even use a pig’s heart as an implant if for the purpose of preserving life. The Torah is not written for the microscopic level but for the everyday level on which we normally see things. Taking a pill made with shark cartilage is not the same as eating a shark!
9. "These [are the ones] you may eat, of everything that is in the waters: you may eat any that have fins and scales,
10. "but whatever does not have fins and scales, you shall not eat; it is impure for you.
Thus any sort of shellfish, porpoise, whale, etc. is not kosher.
11. "You may eat of any ritually-clean birds.
We know from the Torah that pigeons, doves, and quail are clean, but other clean birds are not specified. Chickens are assumed to be clean, and by extension turkeys and ducks, and at least some birds’ eggs are kosher (22:6). But Noakh knew already which were clean, so he could bring them in greater numbers onto the ark and keep more of the most useful animals alive. Chickens often appear to be doing a disgusting thing--eating their own feces. But actually they are only picking through for seeds that were not digested the first time--much like chewing the cud. This is actually a wonderful picture, for many of us are now finding nourishment from things we rejected the first time around because the world and the Church told us they were useless: the Sabbath, the festivals--and the Torah as a whole.
12. "But of these you shall not eat: the eagle, the osprey, and the buzzard,
13. "the kite, the falcon, and the vulture, and such species;
14. "nor any raven or such species,
15. "nor the owl, the ostrich, the seagull, the hawk,
16. "the little owl, the eared owl, nor the ibis,
17. "the pelican, a carrion vulture, or the cormorant,
18. "the stork, the heron, or such species, nor the hoopoe, nor the bat.
The bat is not a bird, but is in this category of flying things, and it strikes one easily as unclean since it seems like a rodent.
19. "Any insect that flies will be impure for you; they shall not be eaten,
Insect: literally, creeping thing, which is the apparent focus, since locusts do seem to fly, but are clean nonetheless. (Lev. 11:22) They are not a creeping thing, because they leap as a cricket does.
20. "but of any ritually pure fowl you may eat.
21. "You shall not eat anything that [withers away and] dies of natural causes, but you may give it to a sojourner who is in your city to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner, because you are a people set apart unto YHWH your Elohim; you must not boil a kid in its mother's milk.
If the blood is dealt with properly, we may receive nutrition from a dead animal without partaking of its soul, but this process cannot take place if the animal dies on its own. That is a picture of drawing benefit from lawlessness. Sojourner: The word means “one who turns”, because like Moshe he is turning aside to pay attention to YHWH. The term is related to the one for chewing the cud above, possibly because he is mulling over whether he wants to become part of this community that has caught his attention. It was generally used of those who were learning about YHWH from Israel, having to come live with Israel at least temporarily for this purpose, but who had not committed to being part of it; like the Queen of Sheba they may have wanted to take the Torah’s wisdom back to their own people so they, too, could benefit from it. He is not part of Israel, so his benefit will only be partial, and likewise he is not held to as high a standard as Israel. The foreigner, who is not there to learn of YHWH, but may be in the Land only to do business, has to buy what would be given to one who is here living under our rules. Boil a kid...milk: This has been taken to mean it is never permissible to eat milk and meat products at the same meal, but Avraham served exactly that to guests sent by YHWH (Gen. 18:8). Unless you have raised the animals yourself, the likelihood of purchasing cheese made from the milk of the mother of the same animals whose meat you are purchasing is virtually nil. Boiling specifically a kid-goat in its own mother's milk (which is all that is actually forbidden) is thought to have been a custom common among pagans in the region. But in the tense used here, “boil” can also mean to "raise to maturity". In the context that follows, regarding the firstfruits (as well as in Ex. 23:19; 34:26), it fits to translate this "do not raise a kid to maturity on its mother's milk", i.e., do not delay to bring the firstborn as the firstfruits offering. Exodus 22:29 specifies that we are to offer it on the eighth day of its life.
22. "You shall by all means set aside a tenth of your produce--of the seed that the cultivated field brings forth year by year.
23. "Then you shall eat the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the firstborn of your flocks and herds in YHWH's presence in the place where He shall choose to establish His Name, so that you may learn the awe of YHWH your Elohim all the days.
Why would this teach us to fear YHWH? We would think it would teach us to love Him or thank Him. But there is really no difference; He prefers to use positive reinforcement: When we experience His bounty, we will fear never being able to do this again. The learning comes by eating at the place where we can be taught about Him. How do we eat of the tithe if we have offered it already—since the tithe belongs to the priesthood? This is actually a second tithe, to be brought and enjoyed together at Sukkoth, the feast of ingathering. 10% of one’s crop is to be eaten within one week! By giving this command, YHWH makes it possible for everyone, rich and poor, to truly have a feast in His presence. If they have any income at all, they will not be totally without resources with which to celebrate, if they obey this order.
24. "But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are unable to carry it, since the place which YHWH your Elohim shall choose (to establish there His name) is too far away for you, when YHWH your Elohim has blessed you,
25. "then you may exchange it for money, and secure the money in your hand and go to the place which YHWH your Elohim shall select,
The tithe is, by definition, an agricultural thing (v. 23), but since there is this precedent of exchanging it for money, while we are in exile, we may certainly practice monetary tithing as a remembrance of the true tithe, so that we are in practice when we are able to do the real thing again. Too far away: This does not negate the command to go and appear before YHWH. It simply allows a person to bring a more portable token of the products which might be too heavy to carry or transport because of their sheer numbers. It is then exchanged again for food upon arrival:
26. "and you may use that money for whatever your soul desires--for oxen, sheep, wine, or intoxicating drink, or whatever your soul desires--and eat it there in the presence of YHWH your Elohim and rejoice--both you and your household.
Would one ever hear such a thing in a church? Despite the known dangers of alcoholism, as outlined in both Proverbs and the Torah rules for priests on duty, YHWH does not go to the opposite extreme of complete prohibition, but gives us a time and a place to cast off some restraints in the right setting where it helps to spread joy. Of course, what our soul desires must be regulated by Torah, so this is not sloppy dissipation which makes one a burden to everyone around him. We should not yearn for what makes one obnoxious. But notice that this tithe is not actually donated but consumed. Yet when we do it for the sake of having a “party” for YHWH, it is considered giving. If we take it back home and spend it on something else, we are stealing. What is left over would be turned over to the priests. But like the Sabbath, on which we “have to” stop working, who but YHWH gives commands like this? The Torah is freedom, not chains!
27. "But you must not forget the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no territorial share or inherited property as you do.
Forget: or neglect. The Levite is not able to focus on making a living, so how can he even have something with which to keep this festival, since his tithes go to the priests? Verse 22 suggests that we are to give the Levites something not just to eat but to plant around their cities, since there is limited space there for growing crops. Though they are not meant to exist independently of the whole community, we at least keep them from the shameful condition of being total beggars, for they are employed by YHWH full-time. This mainly applies when we are in Yerushalayim, but each family and tribe is responsible to see that the Levites who live in their region are well-cared-for when they come. (They would not live in the same cities, for they have their own, but are within the same area of legal jurisdiction, and their cities are the ones where the storehouses are. Those storehouses might feed the one who stocks them if his own crop fails next year.)
28. "At the end of three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and deposit it within your gates,
This is a third tithe, and is only required one out of three years. Thus not 10% but actually a total of 231/3% of one’s increase is tithed. If everyone does what he should and is generous, this will be enough to meet the needs of the disadvantaged, and YHWH will in turn prosper the givers to ensure that no one will suffer lack.
29. "and the Levite (since he has no territorial share or inherited property as you do) and the visitor, the orphan, and the widow who are within your gates shall come and eat their fill, so that YHWH may bless you in all the work that you carry out with your hand.
Levite: Your local teacher in the ways of Torah. Eat their fill: Do not give him only half as much as you would eat. Offer him hospitality as well as a meal; give him a roof under which to eat it and a chair to sit on while he eats, and engage in conversation with him while doing so. Bring him to fullness in every way. Eating together is a spiritual pursuit in Israel, not just a means of nutrition. It binds us together in unity. A communal meal strengthens us. We need to be pure so we can nourish and not defile one another. Are we remaining “kosher” for one another’s sake through selflessness? We are to bring life to one another by what comes out of our mouths as well as what goes into them--a big part of being a special treasure to YHWH. He makes sure guests, too, experience the bounty of His Land and the generosity of His people, so they will spread a favorable report about this awesome Land and its Elohim. It does not devour its inhabitants, as the spies said; it is generous even to those who are just passing through! Orphan: specifically the fatherless, who, like the widow, may have some physical strength but no chief breadwinner in the family and is thus poorer than other people. By the time of Yahshua, there is no indication that Levitical cities still existed, but Yahshua's brother Yaaqov, who was chief of the congregation at Yerushalayim, summarized "true, undefiled religion" as "aiding the widow and orphan in their need, and keeping oneself unspotted by the world [system]".
CHAPTER 15
1. "From the end of every seven years you shall put into effect a release [from debt].
This is unknown anywhere else in the world. In addition to letting our fields lie fallow for the seventh year, we also must release our fellow Israelites from their debts to us, so we really must trust YHWH for our provision. The number seven in Hebrew connotes completion, especially in regard to fulfilling an oath. “Release” here means to fling down, remit, or leave alone--not letting go begrudgingly, but willingly and with enthusiasm.
2. "Now this is the manner of the release [from debt]: every creditor must let drop anything he has lent to his fellow; he must not put pressure on his fellow or his brother, because a release for YHWH has been proclaimed.
Creditor: literally "owner of a loan", "debt-master" or even "debt-husband". When we owe someone, a negative relationship forms between us in that area until the obligation is satisfied. We are servants of the lender, "married" to him in a convoluted way. So at reasonable intervals, the One who truly owns us tells us to let them go. The release is not just for one's brother's sake; it is "for YHWH" or "unto YHWH", so that your neighbor can be free to be YHWH's direct servant again, enslaved to no other. When paying off a debt consumes all of our resources, the only way to continue to live in the meantime is to incur even more debt, and it seems that there is no way out. YHWH does not want any of His people becoming so hopelessly in debt, so He sets this very definite limit on how far it can go among His people. If we seek after things we do not really need, He may turn us over to them for a time. But He builds a release from burdens into the cycle of years just as it is built into the cycle of seven days.
3. "You may require it from an outsider, but your hand must release whatever of yours is with your brother,
Not everyone receives the same mercy that YHWH’s flock receives, because more is expected of them. The same level of liberality need not be applied to just anyone anywhere, though what goes around comes around, and feeding a starving child in any nation is not against Torah. That YHWH allows a double standard here does not imply malice or that He discourages compassion toward those who are outside Israel, but our primary focus must be on meeting Israel’s needs. There are different rules for how to treat those outside this flock. But we should try to keep from getting so involved with those outside YHWH’s community that they can make us indebted to them.
4. "although there should not be any needy among you--because YHWH will indeed bless you in the Land that YHWH your Elohim is entrusting to you as an inheritance to take as a possession
I.e., set an example of walking in the Torah until there is no longer a need for borrowing, because if we take care of one another we will all be prosperous to a great extent. The seventh-year release and fiftieth-year return to our inheritance, as well as the fact that we are forbidden to charge one another interest, do away with the biggest reasons otherwise-productive people become impoverished. While there are many causes of temporary neediness, the Torah resets things in order in such a way that there should be no one in Israel who is permanently categorized as destitute. If someone keeps needing to borrow, a local community is more effective than a government in resolving the underlying problem, because we can analyze the patterns that are causing this repeated problem, and do something to actually correct it and help one another rather than just appease someone to take the immediate pressure off. We should not hesitate to ask for help if we truly need it. Of course, “poor” should not be defined as not having a new car, but as having nothing to eat or no shelter! The fact that this debt is released does not mean the debtor should not keep trying to compensate his creditor in other ways, especially if he could not pay it all off on time, for this is honorable. This eases the burden, but we should keep the higher expectation on ourselves. YHWH wants us to get past owing a particular amount to the realization that we are always indebted to each other in one way or another, for we remain brothers. If you have someone you can depend on, you are much wealthier than those who have great riches but are always watching their backs lest those closest to them take it all.
5. "if you will indeed obey the voice of YHWH your Elohim, in order to be careful to obey these commandments which I am drilling into you today--
Only if we diligently obey will the Land respond to us to this extent. Here is even more motivation to obey the Torah, though not the highest. There will be some who obey for the wrong reasons, thinking this is a formula for personal wealth, so the Land will not respond to them, because we will all prosper only as we are about taking care of one another in the way the Torah defines. If it is done for the purpose of personal gain, the blessing evaporates. So YHWH sets limits that release the lender from entanglement with someone who is proving to have only used him.
6. "because YHWH your Elohim is going to bless you just as He promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you yourself will not borrow, and you will exercise dominion in many nations, but they will not exercise dominion in you.
This is a welcome promise, for we have too often been the borrowers. Indeed, while in exile, we are often poor specifically because we keep the Torah, seeking the Kingdom first, and thus are out of the loop of who holds the money now, but when we get back to the Land there will be even more of a change for which to be thankful. But even now, true prosperity comes when we all take care of one another. If we practice this on the micro-level, treating our brothers rightly, then from this tiny piece of land, YHWH will spread our influence so far that the nations, who mismanage their wealth, will start coming to Israel for loans, because they see that His way works. In the process we will teach them what it is based on—this Torah practice of releasing one another from debt. But when we have the upper hand, we need to remember how it felt to be on the other side of the equation and treat others accordingly.
7. "When there is a needy person among you, one of your relatives from within any of your gates in the Land that YHWH your Elohim is giving you, you must not let your heart become obstinate or close your hand against your needy brother,
8. "because you are to open wide your hand to him, and by all means lend him enough of anything he needs that is lacking to him.
If you have enough, lend him all he needs; do not even withhold your rainy day fund, if he does not have enough to celebrate YHWH’s feast. Of course, make sure it is truly a need; no one needs the newest electronic toys or a jet ski! An outright gift might get someone out of your hair, but the Hebrew term for “lend” connotes becoming involved, even entangled, with someone. A loan means something is expected in return, for YHWH wants us all involved in making sure we all perform at a higher level, making sure they make better decisions next time. This does not mean you can harass him to pay you back. (ch. 24) But the one who borrows rather than receiving an “entitlement” knows that someone is depending on him to do better. Whenever one has someone depending on him, whether it be a creditor, a wife, or children, he is less likely to take foolish risks. The lender has a right to make sure the borrower does not use the loan to buy a lottery ticket or feed the ducks the beans he gave him to feed his family! He can hold his feet to the fire to be responsible in planting some as well as eating them, so he will not need to borrow again. This is a very stabilizing force, and one who is depended upon is more motivated to be dependable. We have a right to expect those of His flock to do the right thing; if they do not, we must become the “master of their debt” so that they will turn around. A debt is forgiven when the matter is complete. Until it is, do not let it go, for that would only prove you do not really care about him; if you give up on his ever being profitable, you have branded him as useless and untrustworthy. “Forgive and forget” sounds noble and compassionate, but just writing it off builds no accountability in him. Nothing gets fixed, and the problem will only show up again. Do whatever you can to see that they do repent so they can be restored. If they go above and beyond the minimum, extend your hand even further to restore them.
9. "Keep watch over yourself lest there be an unprofitable idea in your mind that says, ‘The seventh year--the year of release--is getting close", and your eye becomes stingy toward your needy brother, so that you give him nothing, and he cries out to YHWH against you; this will constitute guilt for you.
Do not hesitate to lend when it appears you will receive nothing back. Guard your mind, because we are not even allowed to think such a thought. Besides, in the seventh year, you will not plant your field, so you will not need as much help. The “evil eye” is an idiom for being stingy or ungenerous. If we use our extra resources to care for the one who is hungry today instead of hoarding them for what may or may not be a need tomorrow, we will find that it is his turn to feed us tomorrow. YHWH wants all of His children to love each other just as does any father who loves all of his children. Confessions, guilt, and sin offerings will cost you much more than you would have lent to your brother.
10. "Indeed, you shall give to him, and your heart must not be displeased when you give to him, because on account of this, YHWH your Elohim will bless you for this purpose, in all your pursuits and in every undertaking of your hand.
First He told us how to think; now He tells us how we must feel. Our natural tendency is to be afraid we will not have enough left for our own needs if we meet someone else's needs, but YHWH is our true source of sustenance; helping the poor is like lending to Him, and He is the one who will repay us (Prov. 19:17; 28:27); we should not depend on frail mankind to meet our needs. While He does not obligate us to give individually to the needy (except through the storehouse), but only lend, the timing of this particular instance means that for all practical purposes the loan will turn out to be a gift, because the release will come soon after the loan is made. For this purpose: so that we can continue to be generous, so that all Israel will be prosperous. He blesses us so that we will have something to give, not so we will be far ahead of our brothers. If we sow sparingly we will reap sparingly. And it applies to much more than food or clothing. If we are blessed with understanding, it is so we can help the rest of Israel understand. And it does not have to be lofty, scholarly things; if you sweep the floor well, you will be a great blessing to one who cannot. Whatever He has stored in us is not to be turned against one another for the sake of commerce. If we do not give out what YHWH gives us, we will not receive any more. In a stagnant pond, everything dies. Of course, we give it out as needed, not frivolously or wastefully. We must read the Torah carefully so that we will put the right things in the storehouse to meet real, not just perceived, needs.
11. "For there will never cease to be needy [people] in the midst of the Land; that is why I am commanding you, saying you must open wide your hand to your poor or needy brother within your Land.
He assumes the normal situation, if attained, will always fall apart. Moshe knew Israel’s propensities, and in v. 11 he essentially says Israel will not get it 100% right, because there would always remain some poor among us. Everyone was given land, but many made bad decisions and lost it. So always be ready to open your hand. Poor or needy: What is the difference? One means “afflicted” (by a variety of types of pressure) and the other means “destitute” (lacking basic necessities). Many do not need you to lend money or physical things, but do have a great need for sound advice, a listening ear, or a shoulder to cry on. Be just as generous to both. Make sure you are bearing the right burdens.
12. "If your relative--a Hebrew man or woman--is sold to you, he [or she] may serve you six years, then in the seventh year, you must set him free with no obligation to you.
This is not the seventh year he is with you, but the set seventh year in which all of Israel lets the land lie fallow. (Ex. 23:11; Lev. 25:4)
13. "Moreover, when you send him out from [being] with you with no obligation, you must not send him away empty [handed];
Send him out in a better situation than he came to you, so he will not have to become someone else’s slave.
14. "you must liberally supply him from your flock, your threshing floor, and your wine vat. You shall give him whatever YHWH your Elohim has blessed you with.
Liberally supply him: literally, "lay a collar on his neck"--not with a slave-chain any longer, but as a woman is given a necklace full of costly gems as a dowry to provide for her later in life should she be widowed. The abundance of the sixth year (Lev. 25:21) gives us enough to be able to carry out this order as well.
15. "Remember [this], because you were a slave in the Land of Egypt, and YHWH your Elohim rescued you; that is why I am giving you orders concerning this matter today.
YHWH worked it out so that the Egyptians furnished many provisions for their released slaves. Don’t let your countryman become a slave again. Do to your brother as YHWH did to all of us.
16. "(Now if he should tell you, ‘I don’t want to go out from [being] with you', because he loves you and your household, and it has gone well for him [while he was] with you,
Notice the similarities with Ruth. This person appears to be saying, "I am a terrible farmer and I know I am only going to fail again if left merely to my own resources; here at least I will not starve", much like the Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:17)
17. "then take the piercing-tool and put it through his ear and onto the door, and he shall be a slave to you perpetually. You may even do the same to a maidservant.)
This is symbolic of his becoming permanently attached to the house (an idiom in Hebrew for a household).
18. "It must not seem burdensome in your sight when you set him free with no obligation to you, because he has served you for six years, earning [you] double the wages of a hired servant, and YHWH your Elohim will bless you in all that you do.
A hired servant: i.e., he has been worth twice as much to you as someone hired from a labor pool for a day's work, because he knows the territory much better and can bring to bear in his work his familiarity with the household. He deserves to have you outfit him with supplies when he goes, because you have gotten far more profit from him than from someone you would have been having to pay all along. Also, he is a brother to you already, not someone you do not know, so he means more to you than a stranger. He is not someone who is trying to take advantage of you, so he is an advantage to you. He should be working harder because you have been a deliverance to him. His physical labor for you has also given you an occasion to bless your brother by providing a way to pay off his debt. He has thus served you in two ways, which could not be true of an outsider indifferent to the community of Israel.
19. "Every firstborn male born of your herd or your flock you must set apart [as devoted] to YHWH your Elohim; you must not do any work with the firstborn of your cattle, nor shear the firstborn of your sheep.
This does not mean the first born that year in the whole flock, but the firstborn of each ewe whenever it comes, if it is male. If the firstborn is female, it is not brought, and some years there might be no ewes that have firstborn, while other years there could be many within one flock. Not do any work: Don’t let the meat become tough before you bring it as an offering for the priests. And the hide belongs to them too, as well as the wool. Let go of what YHWH wants you to let go of. You are not to derive any personal benefit from it (v. 19), though YHWH does give it back to us by letting us participate in eating part of it. You give as an individual, but receive it back as part of the whole:
20. "Year by year, you shall eat it in the presence of YHWH your Elohim in the place YHWH shall choose--you and your household.
By eating of it only in this context, we receive the added blessings of His presence and the presence of all our Israelite brothers, and YHWH’s full-time servants, the priests and Levites, are provided for as well. It thus becomes not a selfish pleasure, but a step by which to ascend higher. Year by year: as opposed to the tithe brought to the storehouses only once every three years. This is brought every year at the feast of Sukkoth—in addition to the 70 bulls already slaughtered to feed the priests and worshippers!
21. "But if there is any blemish in it--lameness, blindness, or any bad defect--you may not slaughter it unto YHWH your Elohim;
Assumedly it would be redeemed with money, like one’s firstborn son, or with a perfect animal, as the firstborn of a donkey (an unclean animal but one that is useful) can be redeemed with a lamb.
22. "you may eat it within your gates--ritually clean and unclean [people] alike--as [you would] a gazelle or deer.
Alike: or "together". Thus it would still serve a community-building purpose, though not up to the standards required to bring it to YHWH’s altar. Gazelle or deer: these animals are kosher, but never used for Temple offerings, probably because they are wild rather than domesticated.
23. "Only its blood you shall not eat; you must pour it out onto the ground like water.
But isn’t this almost a curse? Can you substitute another so you still have the privilege of devoting the minimum to YHWH? No. This may just be another of YHWH’s ways of bringing specific relief to those He knows are already oppressed by what they owe but cannot really afford to give. He says they are off the hook in this case. So by letting the firstborn be blemished, YHWH may be giving us a blessing in disguise. Of course, one can always give a free-will offering, which may be more to one’s credit.
CHAPTER 16
1. "Observe the month of the aviv, and prepare the Passover unto YHWH your Elohim, because in the month of the aviv YHWH your Elohim brought you out of Egypt by night.
Aviv: literally, tenderness, but it refers to a specific stage of growth in the springtime when barley grains in particular are at a point of readiness to be harvested within the next 15 to 22 days, since the firstfruits must be brought the day after the Sabbath that falls during the feast of Unleavened Bread. (Lev. 23:11) Month: specifically the new moon; literally, the renewing. Observe: watch for it, but also build a hedge around it to guard it. This is a new moon to especially protect, for if we miss it, we will end up keepng the Passover on the wrong day. We will miss the appointment, and will “not be able to see the doctor”. This month also begins the year, so it is particularly important to watch for this one. This is such an important command that YHWH gives us three witnesses: the aviv, the new moon sighted in Israel, and the blossoming of the almond trees, which harbinger the coming barley harvest. The Hebrew word for almond is for this reason from the word “to be watchful”, as used in a play on words in Yirmeyahu chapter 1, and this is why. The calendar calculated by the rabbis to see Yehudah through its exile was useful, honorable, and even necessary when no one in the Land of Israel could get the word out to the diaspora about the aviv or sighting of the moon, but now that there are those in the Land who search for the Aviv every year, there is no need to hold onto a stopgap that is no longer necessary. It is convenient to be able to plan ahead, but this does not meet the requirements of Torah, for it does not wait for the aviv to be observed. Sometimes it is off by a day or two, which would mean the Passover would be observed on a day other than YHWH’s appointment. Tradition preserved many wonderful things that would have otherwise perished completely, but all things must be restored, and there are hopeful gestures in this regard; the new Sanhedrin is reportedly considering moving back to the sighted moon. By night: This seems to contradict the fact that they walked out of Egypt in the morning after staying in the house all night as commanded. In Exodus 13:3ff, Moshe even told them “this day you are going out, in the month of the aviv.” But Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon at night and released them to leave. (Ex. 12:31) But though they were “saved”, they were not safe as long as they stayed within Pharaoh’s jurisdiction. Though packed, we did not yet leave, so though “freed”, we could not be delivered as long as we stayed in Egypt. Pharaoh still had a grip on us until—again, by night—we crossed the Reed Sea. If one pays for some furniture, it is redeemed, but until it is delivered it is not in the house, and not usable. Through his selfless act of giving up his rightful throne to restore his alienated brothers, Y’shua has redeemed us, but we still live under others’ rule. Until we are in YHWH’s presence in the Land of Israel, we are not fully delivered. Pharaoh is dead, but are all the firstborn of Egypt dead to us? The Hebrew term firstborn also encompasses the firstfruits. Are the firstfruits of our thoughts Hebrew or Egyptian?
2. "So slaughter a Passover to YHWH your Elohim--flock or herd [animal]--in the place where YHWH your Elohim shall choose for the dwelling of His name.
Passover: not a day or time, but the animal that is slaughtered. A lamb or goat is not specified here, nor is its age, as it was at the first Passover (Ex. 12:5), and for the first time a herd animal—generally bovine—is said to be permitted. This was after the golden calf incident, and YHWH may be thus allowing us to slaughter what we once credited with redeeming us from Egypt. Or they may have now had many more cattle than they had while in Egypt because of the plundering of the Egyptians. The term comes from when the death angel "skipped over" the homes that had the lamb's blood on the doors. But the term Passover can also mean “to hesitate”. It may be fears, old loyalties, desires for anything that has no kingdom profit, condemnation, others’ opinions, or immaturity that cause us to hesitate to kill off the Egyptian in us as Moshe did. (Ex. 2:12) A bull was one’s most valuable possession in ancient times. One could plow with it, breed more herds with it, throw a feast with it, or eat it for a very long time, so it represents security, and this is something else we need to “sacrifice” if it leads us to hesitate to do what the Kingdom needs. YHWH tells us to slaughter the hesitation; He will not act for us until we have taken our responsibility as far as we can. Y’shua, our Passover, was slaughtered so we would stop hesitating to come back to the Torah. (See Hoshea 8:12.) There is not one Passover lamb for the whole nation; there is one for each household, for we are each responsible to kill off whatever keeps our own household from moving forward out of Egypt. (Gibor) For the dwelling of His name: after the Tent of Appointment moved around to several places over the course of 410 years, the place eventually chosen was Yerushalayim, which is built over a grid of valleys shaped like the Hebrew letter "shiin", the abbreviation for Shaddai, the name often chosen when His name is to be written on a common object (like a doorpost mezuzzah, though not on articles associated with the Temple, on which YHWH was engraved). Y’shua says YHWH is present when two or three are gathered in His name, so on a microcosm that can also be such a place; while we can certainly pray as individuals, if not a shared venture, it is not as strong, and “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
3. "You may not eat leaven on top of it; seven days you must eat in addition to it unleavened loaves--bread of affliction, since you left Egypt in a hurry--in order that you may remember the day of your leaving the land of Egypt all the days of your life.
Leaven: literally, sourdough. In addition: literally, on top of. Sourness is not an appropriate “topping” for the meat that celebrates YHWH’s deliverance. Bread of affliction: weakness, poverty, humiliation. But the term also means “busyness” and that is why there is a hurriedness (trepidation, alarm, hasty flight) about it. Rashi writes, “The dough [that you had prepared for eating] did not have time to become leavened, so this [matzah] will be for you as a reminder.” And so it still is, over 3,000 years later. Leavening is a natural process if dough is left alone long enough, especially in a warm setting, so it must be cooked before that process can take place; the rabbinic limit is 18 minutes. Leaven is a picture of anything that permeates the whole, whether it be sin (1 Corinthians 5:6) or the Kingdom (Mat. 13:33). If we are busy enough with the Kingdom, the community will not be leavened with the wrong things. The more we spend time among the Egyptians, the more we will be leavened with their ways even if we do not intend to be. All the days of your life: Every day we should examine the places in which we are not making steps toward the Promised Land.
4. "Moreover, no leaven belonging to you may be seen within any of your territories [for] seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you slaughtered on the first day at evening remain overnight until morning.
Belonging to you: This may be the loophole that leads some to sell it to outsiders and then buy it back after this week is over, but that seems to defeat the picture YHWH intends of removing the pervasive influence of sin from our lives, because we should not depend today on what was given us for yesterday. It becomes profaned if what was a holy meal later becomes merely our security and sustenance. Plan so that you will not have much left by that time anyway.
5. "You cannot slaughter the Passover within [just] any of your towns that YHWH your Elohim is giving to you;
You cannot: If you do it anywhere but in His choice of place, it is not the Passover. And if one does it alone, rather than as part of a house, it is not the Passover. Any of your towns: literally, "one of your gates". Though it is celebrated family by family, it is more than merely a family meal; it must be done along with the rest of Israel (not in the church down the street). It is a national event, so it is important for all of Israel to get onto the same schedule.
6. "rather, [go] to the place where YHWH your Elohim shall select for the dwelling of His Name. There you shall slaughter the Passover in the evening, around the setting of the sun [as at the] time of your departure from Egypt.
Around: This leaves flexibility for the procedure to be done either slightly before or slightly after sunset, in case the day that is ending or the day beginning is the Sabbath, in which case the fire to roast it (Ex. 12:8) could not be lit.
7. "Then cook and eat [it] in the place that YHWH your Elohim chooses, and in the morning turn and walk to your tents.
Cook: often specifically the word for boil, but unless after the first time the method is less strictly defined, we are limited by the original instruction not to boil it with water (Ex. 12:9), so when water is not specified, this must be understood as a general overarching term that can include roasting. Tents: This command is for the time we are in the Land (vv. 5-6), when we would normally live in houses. So does YHWH intend for us to dwell in temporary dwellings not only at Sukkoth, but at Passover as well? It is only logical that so many people coming for the three pilgrimage festivals would not all be able to be housed in buildings when Yerushalayim at its heyday had only 30,000 people living within the city walls. In fact, it appears from Y’hezq’el 45 that an open area will be left around the Temple precincts in the Kingdom for this very purpose. Israel is a people that is marked by the characteristic of dwelling in tents when in YHWH’s direct presence. He Himself dwelt in a tent, and this symbolizes our readiness to move when He moves. YHWH even says He will again have us dwell in tents as at the days of the appointed feasts (Hoshea 12:9). In the morning: On the first Pesakh, everyone was told to stay in their houses until morning (Ex. 12:22), and when YHWH’s house is in place, we are told to stay in His house all night and not go back to our own tents until morning. Rashi says, “This teaches that [the pilgrim] is required to remain [in Jerusalem] the night when the Festival [first day of Chag ha Matzah] terminates. — [Sifrei ; Pes. 95b; Chag. 17a-b]”
8. "Six days you shall eat unleavened loaves, and on the seventh [hold] a festive closing assembly to YHWH your Elohim; you must do no servile labor.
We still eat only unleavened bread on the seventh day as well (Ex. 12:15), but the seventh day is different. Like the eighth day of Sukkoth, it is literally a day to enclose and seal up what has been accomplished in the preceding days. It can also mean an “encore”. “Closing assembly” also connotes “an affectionate farewell” to the feast, so in many ways it is a “Grand Finale”. Exodus 13:6 calls it “a feast for YHWH”. It is a time to recall what we have learned during this week that will better suit us to be the kind of “food” that He enjoys. No servile labor: LXX, "no work, except what is necessary to be done for a soul", i.e., to preserve life. Cooking is allowed on this day, and thus a fire could be lit; this is the only overt way it differs from a weekly Sabbath. Some may say that it is more important to not eat leaven than to eat unleavened bread, but both are expressly commanded. Bread is a picture of community, as seen in the Bread of the Faces that represented the twelve tribes of Israel in unity. (Compare 1 Cor. 10:17.) Unleavened bread speaks of undefiled community. Since matzah must be cooked quickly (Ex. 12:11), it is pierced to facilitate this process, which in turn leaves what appear to be burn-marks on part of it. Even the more ancient style of matzah has these characteristics. Why? Because in Gen. 1:27, YHWH says Adam was made in YHWH’s image, male and female. The Hebrew word for “male” means “marked to be remembered” and “female” means “pierced”. So being marked and pierced is a picture of being in YHWH’s image. In his death at Passover, Y’shua was marked and pierced, so when we eat the matzah we are identifying with what he represented as the beginning of the restoration of the pre-fallen Adam.
9. "Count for yourself seven weeks. Start counting [the] seven weeks from when you first put the sickle to the standing grain.
Count for yourself: Each person must count the days. This is a command easy enough for the youngest children to participate in. Look for a message in the number of each day, such as connections with the numerical value of Hebrew words. Lev. 23:11 specifies the day on which this count is to begin. It is the day after the weekly Sabbath that falls during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Prushim (Pharisees) understood it to be the second day of the Feast every year, but that would sometimes require harvesting (which is work) on a Sabbath. The way the Tzadoqim (Sadducees) understood it, it can never fall on a Sabbath, and we are told to count seven complete sabbaths (not just weeks as here) and the next day, the 50th, is Shavuoth. (v. 10; Lev. 23:15) If counting from the Passover, and the next day was a Sabbath, there would only be 43 days by the time seven Sabbaths are completed. There was much ceremony at the Temple on this day. Not every field would be ready to begin harvest that day since though Israel is a tiny nation, the climate varies greatly within its borders. In Second Temple times, there was a specific field planted by the priests where the appearance of the aviv set the calendar for the whole nation, and the representative firstfruits were brought from this field. As other fields ripened, the firstfruits would be kept and brought on the next trip to the Temple—Shavuoth for most.
10. "Then observe the Feast of Weeks to YHWH your Elohim--a freewill offering in proportion to what you can afford, commensurate with how YHWH your Elohim may bless you.
Then: the day after the 7th sabbath. Weeks: Heb., Shavuoth. Freewill offering: yet it is still expected to be in an amount relative to one's means, so it is in some sense mandatory as well. Afford: literally, “what your hand can reach”, which may be more than what you think you can “afford”, if it is still possible for you to obtain it! This gift is for the priests.
11. "And rejoice in the presence of YHWH your Elohim--you, your son, your daughter, your slave, your concubine, the Levite who is within your precinct, and the guest, the fatherless, and the orphan who are among you, in the place where YHWH your Elohim has chosen for His name to dwell.
Rejoice: We are not permitted to be sad or melancholy at this time. No worrying about the days that follow. Also, note that you cannot leave your servants or family members home to tend to business back home during this feast. Everyone goes. Our personal business should not even be running during this feast. No one is working, and all are serving—except those who are regularly servants! This time (unlike the first Shavuoth at Sinai) the women were not separated from the men. Rashi says, “The Levite… the stranger, the orphan, and the widow: [YHWH says:] These are My four, corresponding to your four, [namely,] ‘Your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant.’ If you shall gladden Mine, I will gladden yours. — [Midrash Aggadah , Midrash Hagadol . Compare Tanchuma 18, Pesikta d’Rav Kahana p.100a.] The fact that it always falls on the first day of the week is an added blessing that makes these easier for most to take the day off during our exile.
12. "Now remember, because you were a slave in Egypt, so be careful to carry out these prescribed customs.
If we do not remember, we will inevitably be enslaved again. (Yochanan 8:34) This is also another reminder of why it is important not to make your slave work on this day. (v. 11)
13. "Put the Feast of Temporary Dwellings into effect for yourself [for] seven days, when you have gathered in [the crops] from your threshing floor and your wine press,
Now it skips ahead four months. Temporary dwellings (Heb., Sukkoth): Lev. 23:42 specifies that we must sit or dwell in these during this particular feast. Threshing floor and wine press: thus chiefly grain and vineyard products. Rashi says these are things that have grown from the ground, have become detached, and are therefore not susceptible to ritual uncleanness.
14. "and rejoice in the feast---you, your son, your daughter, your slave, your concubine, and the Levite, the guest, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your gates.
Compare verse 11, which only speaks of the first four as being within our gates. That festival (Shavuoth) is only one day long, and anyone else who may be with us, even if just passing through, should be fed, but for a seven-day feast, anyone who wants to be fed must be willing to follow our rules. Anyone who is at a disadvantage by being unable to afford or furnish festive foods is to be provided for by those who can.
15. "Celebrate a feast for seven days in the place that YHWH shall choose, because YHWH your Elohim will bless you in all your produce and in all the undertakings of your hands; so you must be nothing but joyful!
Celebrate a feast: includes the concepts of making a pilgrimage, reeling [possibly from strong drink], and dancing in a circle. YHWH wants His people to have fun, but not at one another’s expense; make sure everyone else among us, especially the priests, are enjoying the festivities as well. Produce: crop yield or revenue of any kind. An eighth day is also added in Lev. 23:36. YHWH will bless: He will make it possible if you determine to do this, so there will be no reason to regret splurging for His honor.
16. "Three times a year all your males shall appear before YHWH your Elohim at the place which He shall choose: at the feast of Unleavened Loaves, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. Moreover, you they shall not appear before YHWH empty [handed],
The foregoing verses say to bring the whole household, but it is the responsibility of the men twenty years and older to ensure that this takes place. This may also be put here to allow pregnant or nursing women to be exempted form the journey, though Y’shua’s mother made the 60-mile journey there for Sukkoth when nine month pregnant, so her example can be motivational to others if advisable.
17. "[but] each with the gift that he can afford commensurate with the blessing that YHWH your Elohim has given you."
The priest already gets a cut of anything brought, but a large part of the festivals is about giving more than we have to. Avraham and David gave us tremendous examples of how what costs us nothing is worth nothing to us, and is not the kind of gift YHWH appreciates most. We are not fully involved in the feast unless we are invested in it. This is not limited to monetary gifts or donated animals. It includes studying so we can come as learned scholars able to teach others, especially newcomers, the meaning of what is going on. It also means coming with an attitude of being ready to serve one another.
TORAH PORTION
Re'eh
(Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17)
INTRODUCTION: When Moshe was shown the Promised Land from across the Yarden, he must have noticed two mountains in close proximity to one another, one which had lush vegetation and one which was barren. (11:29-30) What a perfect object lesson of what would result from following or failing to follow the life-giving and life-preserving guidelines he was laying out for Israel, which had come from the hand of YHWH Himself. Since there was room between them for the whole community of Israel to stand, he had an idea: one group would stand on the fruitful mountain and proclaim the good consequences that would result from obedience, and another group would stand on the other and give the opposite message. Y’hoshua did carry out this order (Y’hoshua 8:30-35), but the particular blessings and cursings they were to proclaim are not listed in this portion, but in chapters 27 and 28.
At this point, Moshe instead focuses on reviewing the commands that are to be obeyed, and he adds some details such as the fact that YHWH does not want His worship to be tied to elevated ground or flourishing trees as the pagans did, but to one particular spot central to the Land, just as they had met with Him in the center of the camp as they traveled thus far. (12:1-14) Though He is indeed everywhere, He also wants His people united in worship. They could not live out this picture all the time (12:15-25), but when a slaughter is specifically designated as an act of worship, He wants it done in the way He prescribes, not just any way we choose. (12:26-27) This would both demonstrate the fact that all Israel worships Him in one accord and guarantee that His full-time servants, dedicated to His sanctuary and teaching all of Israel, would get enough to eat. (12:19; 14:27; 16:17)
He reiterates: Don’t worship Me in pagan ways! I can’t stand their ideas about what worship is! (12:29-32) This is a call that is finally being heeded by the Northern Kingdom after 2,000 years of doing things our own way, but we still have a long way to go in implementing it fully. (This web site provides some suggestions in that regard.)
Moshe knew there would be many “wolves” who would try to subvert this command, using “sheep’s clothing” to “fleece the flock”, so he laid down very severe penalties for doing this, to serve as a deterrent to the rest of Israel. (Chapter 13) Nothing even associated with such heinous intent is to be allowed to survive.
Our difference from other nations extends to our bodily appearance, what we put into our mouths, where we eat it, and how much of what He allows us to produce we may keep for ourselves. (Chapter 14) He puts strict limits on how far indebtedness and the advantages we can take ofone another may go, because His people are to be free and dignified and justice is to take precedent over the cleverness by which one may think up ways to improve his own situation. (Chapter 15)
YHWH gives guidelines on just what can be offered to Him and what may be kept for oneself. (15:19-23) He then returns to the theme of that central meeting place and gives details about when He will have special appointments with His people as a whole. (16:1-17) They commemorate what He has done for us as a whole unit, but also give us a way to sanctify unto Him the crops He has provided, again removing us a step further from being tempted to credit the Land’s fertility to any of those “gods” specifically associated with fertility by the people they were displacing. (Compare with 12:31.) No one is to come empty-handed, but He recognizes that some can bring more than others, according to how YHWH has provided for each.
Study questions:
1. Why do you think a loving Elohim would include curses in His covenant? (Deut. 11:26-29) Might they mainly be an inevitable consequence of trying to walk counter to the laws of reality? Or is it the response to a more personal affront?
2. The city of Sh’khem sits between the mountains of blessing and curse. (11:29) What events in our history as the people of Israel might have “influenced” YHWH to choose this site for such a purpose?
3. In contrast to 12:2-3, what did early Christians, once at liberty to worship openly, often do with pagan worship sites? How did this become a “snare” to them (12:30)?
4. If worship was to be centralized so all Israel could gather in the same place (12:5-7), why were synagogues later built in each town in the Land? Is there a contradiction in this, or were the purposes very different?
5. After they had already come into the Land (12:9-10), under what conditions did they return to the practice that Moshe called them out of? (12:8; compare Judges/Shoftim 17:6; 21:25.)
6. For what purpose may animals be slaughtered in one’s hometown (12:15-16, 20-21) and for what purposes must they be slaughtered at the Place all Israel comes to worship and rejoice together (12:13-14, 17-18, 26-27)?
7. Are all miraculous signs proof that someone speaks for YHWH? (13:2-4) How can we test whether he is really from YHWH if the sign comes true? What is the false prophet’s chief error? (13:1)
8. Is a man who is also God something our Hebrew ancestors had ever known? (13:7, 14) Is an unfallen man who bears the complete image of YHWH something known before? Should such a one be worshipped? Should such a one be honored and revered? What is the difference?
9. What is the main purpose of capital punishment? (13:12) What safeguard against fraud is there in having the accuser cast the first stone? (13:10)
10. What is the main reason we should not disfigure ourselves? (14:1-2)
11. What are being cloven-hoofed and cud-chewing pictures of? (14:6) What about those that are only half-right (14:7-8)? Why would we not want to take that into ourselves?
12. What are some key characteristics of the birds we may not eat? (14:12-18) Why would we not eat something that dies on its own (is not slaughtered)? (14:21)
13. What is our option if the tithes and things dedicated to YHWH’s feast are too much for us to carry? (14:24-25)
14. For a beloved people who nonetheless live in a fallen world where some financial loss is inevitable, is there any better way than this year of release (15:1-2) to ensure that we do not have to look to unscrupulous lenders who have only their own interests at heart? What is the only other solution YHWH says is available to us if we take it? (15:4-6) Does He realistically expect us to always use this preferred option? (15:11)
15. What order of priority is YHWH mandating for His people by requiring that we help the needy even if they are going to be released from their obligation soon? (15:7-10) Does this require a reordering of values in your own mind?
16. What option does YHWH’s economy provide for someone with a level of debt impossible to pay if one continues to have the expenses of his own home? (15:12-15) What limit does He set on how long someone should be thus burdened? How does this type of slavery differ in quality from other types of slavery that have been seen in the world’s history? What additional orders does He give to ensure that the person gets a solid start when coming back into free society so the pattern is not repeated? If a person does not feel ready to be independent again, what is the stipulation for any extension of the arrangement? (15:16-17)
17. What two principles that can be applied in any time or culture underlie verses 19 and 21 of chapter 15? What are some ways you can do this?
18. What are some ways you, today, can “not appear before YHWH empty –[handed]”? (16:16-17)
“The Universal and the Particular”
The centralization of Israel’s worship is a major theme of this Torah portion. It is a form of organized religion—a term that is not very popular today. We must keep in mind that this does not cancel out our personal prayer life. But why is it even necessary?
We can draw some definite reasons right from this portion. One is to ensure that no pagan aspects of worship are brought into Israelite slaughter. A second is to maintain the unity of the nation which had been much easier to achieve when we were all camped together in the wilderness, but which could so easily become lost once we all settled onto our own homesteads. So YHWH mandates that we come together three times a year so we don’t forget that we are part of something bigger that He is doing. Some things He has done require a celebration on a far grander scale than we could ever do locally.
On the other hand, He sometimes makes a distinction between a mere barbecue for the food’s sake and an offering of an animal to YHWH per se. There are two sides to this coin. If we live close to the central altar, He seems to be saying that we should bring everything we slaughter to His sanctuary and make it a holy act. (Deut. 12:6, 17, 26-27) He is involved in our everyday activities. But if we live too far away, we can still enjoy our meat but not have to bring it there (12:15-25), indicating that He does not necessarily want everything He gives us to enjoy to have to become a major ritual. But He is still involved, because there are still rules about what we can eat, what to do with the blood, and not to forget to thank Him.
And that is very important to us today, because, despite the recovery of Jerusalem over 55 years ago, we still have no central altar. How can we keep these commands today?
There are a number of principles we can derive directly from the commands in this portion which we can carry with us everywhere:
(1) We belong to YHWH alone; He sets the standard for how we do even the most mundane activities. (12:3-4; 30-31) We need to guard against disloyalty to Him at all costs, even if there seem to be miraculous proofs that we should look elsewhere. (13:1-18) We should not do things which He finds disgusting (14:3-22), including disfiguring the bodies He has created for His purposes. (14:1-2)
(2) Take care of the needy, but also those who give all of their time and energy to help others connect to YHWH. (14:27-29)
(3) Set limits on how deeply you allow someone to be indebted to you (so that he, too, can enjoy YHWH’s gifts), and never oppress each other just to be able to make a profit. (15:1-15)
(4) Our best belongs to YHWH—the first of our time, energy, or resources (15:19-23), not what is left over when we are too exhausted by our other activities. Even worse would be not even considering what we might bring Him until we have nothing left at all. (16:16-17)
(5) Don’t be so sure someone is right just because he has shown evidence in the past of being YHWH’s spokesman. (13:1-5) YHWH can withdraw his calling if he goes astray, so don’t be gullible or you could go down with him.
So there are many universals we can deduce from the particulars. On the other hand, we must remember that Torah specifics are the norm. One day all Israel is to be regathered, and we will be able to do these things “strictly by the book” again. So we should actively recall the particulars and recreate whatever degree of analogous reminders we can so that when that time comes, we will not have forgotten the way He really said to do it. And, as we saw above (and as restorationist Levite Reuven Prager emphasized), those who live closest to the Center should be the ones doing the most to get us back to the actual commands (since they are already more in context than the rest of us) rather than continuing to do things according to the forms designed to ride out the exile. Yeshua paid a very high price to bring us back to YHWH and the commands He actually gave; don’t substitute them with something else.
Companion Passage:
The Sidewalk
for Kids
What do you think? If somebody was to come up to you and say that YHWH gave him a message for you, and you said, “Prove it”, so he did a miracle for you, should you believe him?
Our Torah portion this week (Deuteronomy 13:1-4) tells us, “It depends.” What else do you think we have to consider before we trust what the person says?
Today lots of people claim to do supernatural or “para-normal” things. But not all miracles come from YHWH; demons can do them too. Remember the magicians in Pharaoh’s court who imitated a lot of the signs Moshe gave from YHWH?
We are even told that YHWH would allow evil spirits to go and lie to someone through a prophet (1 Kings 22) if that person does not want to obey YHWH anyway. He lets the person do what he wants and think he is doing the right thing, just because someone told him YHWH now said he could. But the result was that he ended up dead. We have to be careful who we listen to, even if they seem to have spectacular “evidence”.
So what else do we need to think about? The big thing is: Does it agree with what YHWH has already told us to do? He is not going to tell us one thing today and another tomorrow. One reason people sacrificed to pagan deities is so they could offer them just enough to keep them from paying attention to them very often, because they were always changing their mind and telling people to do really dangerous or illogical things, like killing their firstborn babies so that they would be able to guarantee that they could have more children! They wanted their elohim to stay as far away from them as possible.
But YHWH wants to be close to us, and that’s why He has over and over proven to keep His word so we know we can trust Him. So if someone says that YHWH now says to do the opposite thing He told Moshe to write down so we could always look back and check it out, don’t listen to him! And the Torah also says to make sure he doesn’t keep deceiving other people either. (13:5)
Now, you probably won’t meet a false prophet or someone with a lying spirit in him every day. But you are very likely to meet people who use logic based on something in the Bible to persuade you to think a certain way.
“To the Torah and to what has proven it to be true! If what they say doesn’t agree with this it is because they have no light in them.” (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 8:20) If somebody says that something somewhere else in the Bible means something that doesn’t agree with the Torah, we should also not believe them.
Now, some people tell us that the New Testament does just that. There are lots of teachings in Christianity that claim the Bible says that we no longer have to keep the Torah, but we can eat whatever we want or break the Shabbat or worship a man. But Yeshua said that we should never interpret anything he said to contradict the Torah. (Matithyahu 5:17) So if someone else takes his words to mean something that disagrees with the Torah, don’t go along with it.
The things Paul wrote are often said to contradict the Torah, too. But remember, one of Yeshua’s best students told us that some things Paul wrote are hard to understand—but he didn’t say they were wrong. He said “unstable people without learning” sometimes twist what he said. (2 Kefa/Peter 3:16) That’s a big difference.
Kefa himself had a vision that made some people think he was supposed to eat unclean animals, but Kefa was very clear that he realized it was just so he would not treat some people as bad when YHWH said He had cleaned them up. (Acts 10) He said plainly that it was not about eating at all, but about accepting people.
To the very end of his life, Paul always told people to never take anything he said as being against the Torah. (Acts 25:8) He told even Gentiles to keep the feasts (1 Corinthians 5:8), and he went out of his way to get back from a long trip in time so he could get to Jerusalem for Shavuoth.(Acts 20:16) He also proved to the other leaders of Yeshua’s followers that he was still complying with the Torah’s requirements very late in his life. (Acts 21:23) So look at what he actually said, not at how people take what he said. There’s often a very big difference.
So the Renewed Covenant is not written by false prophets. People just look at it through the wrong “glasses”—through Gentile logic rather than Hebrew.
So how do we tell the difference? When someone has the job of recognizing if a $100 bill is counterfeit, how do they learn to spot the fakes? By looking at lots of fakes, or by memorizing all the details of the real thing? I think you know which. The key to recognizing false teaching is just the same. It is to know the Torah really, really well, so you can tell right away if something just doesn’t line up with it.
Here’s what Paul had to say about that: “Study to show yourself approved by YHWH, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, who handles the Word of Truth the right way.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
The Renewal of RE'EH
The portion opens with a challenge: “Look! I set before you today a blessing and a curse…” (Deut. 11:26) Many churches, however, conflate the curse of the Torah with the whole Torah, based on misreadings of Paul that Kefa predicted would cause confusion. (2 Peter 3:16) But what he really says in Galatians 3:13 is, “Messiah paid the price to recover us out of the curse of the Torah, having become a curse for us, since it is written, ‘[There is] a curse on anyone suspended on a tree.’” [Deut. 21:23]
It is not the Torah from which Messiah came to redeem us, as so many think, but the CURSE of the Torah. That is a big difference. Why would we want to be relieved of YHWH’s instruction?
But the removal of this curse can make us re-think the whole enterprise of cursing. Yeshua said, “Bless them who curse you, and pray for them who despitefully use you.” (Luke 16:28) Paul, who may have been persecuted more than anyone else, told the Romans, “Bless them who persecute you: bless, and do not curse.” (12:14) Why? Because cursing others no longer fits with the kind of people we are. When Yeshua’s disciples wanted to call down curses from heaven on the Samaritans who were upset because Yeshua wanted to go worship in the place YHWH chose (Deut. 12:14) rather than the place they had chosen, he said, “You don’t realize what kind of spirit you are operating in, because the Son of man has not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” (Luke 9:52-56)
His brother Yaaqov later said, “With [the tongue] we bless Elohim, that is, [our] Father, but by it we [also] call down curses on human beings, who were created in the likeness of Elohim! Out of the selfsame mouth issue forth [both] blessing and cursing! My brothers, it needs to stop being this way! Is it possible for a spring to pour forth both sweet and bitter out of the same opening. Likewise, no spring can yield [both] salt water and fresh.” (James 3:9-12)
The Renewed Covenant ends by telling us “there will no longer be a curse” (Rev. 22:3) That curse has been around much longer than this one in the Torah. But this is the character by which we can already begin to live (Hebrews 6:5), as the Spirit that draws us toward holiness works in us now despite our dying bodies. (Rom. 8:11; 2 Cor. 4:16)
That doesn’t mean we aren’t to carry out judgment on what YHWH has cursed, as the beginning of Deuteronomy 12 describes. But the more salient takeaway from that chapter is that we should not worship YHWH in the same ways pagans worshipped their elohim. (12:4, 30, 31) That has been a recurring problem with Israel, especially for us, the Northern Kingdom. (Judah has not really known idolatry since the Babylonian captivity, unless it be placing the word of YHWH in second place to their own words.) He then lists several particular ways in which He wants to be worshipped, including a particular central location so that proper procedures could be ensured. (12:5-14, 26-27)
The Renewed Covenant tells more about how YHWH wants to be worshipped: That particular place would be suspended—not necessarily permanently, because the prophets say we will again have a Temple to YHWH in Yerushalayim. But meanwhile—and even after it is rebuilt--something deeper is in view: “An hour is coming; it is already [here], when you are not going to worship the Father either on this mountain [the mountain of blessing mentioned in Deut. 11] or in Yerushalayim [this “place YHWH would choose, per chapter 12]… when the genuine worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in reality, because in fact this is the kind [of people] the Father is looking for to be His worshippers. Elohim is spirit, so it is necessary that His worshippers worship Him in spirit and in reality.” (Yochanan 4:21-24)
Moshe reiterates something he has emphasized before: “All this thing which I command you, that [is what] you shall take every precaution to [ensure that you] carry out; you must not add to it or diminish from it.” (Deut. 13:1)
Then he gives the test of a false prophet, despite any miracles he may do to try to prove his authority: if he says, “Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them”, don’t listen to him. (13:3, 4) And more than that, make sure no one else will ever be able to listen to him either. (13:6-12) Also, rid the world of all that was associated with him. (13:14-18)
“You are the children of YHWH your Elohim…a people set apart as YHWH’s special treasure…” (Deut. 14:1-2) The Renewed Covenant, just like the Torah (Lev. 19:24; Num. 15:29), extends this to any who join Israel through Yeshua, being transferred back to the original human race Adam truncated: “You… are “a chosen race, a royal order of priests, an ethnic group in a separate category, a people kept back as His own possession, so that you may show the excellent virtues of the One who has called you out of darkness into His incomprehensible light.” (1 Kefa/Peter 2:9)
So He gives us some special rules which He did not require of other people, because He wants His special people to be the finest specimens of humanity as they can be. One aspect of this is to not deface our bodies with cuttings (which include tattoos). Now, to be fair (and not to go beyond what is actually written), here and in Lev. 19:28, He specifies this only in regard to the memory of the dead. So, no tattoos with your mother’s birth and death dates, etc. But in Lev. 21:5, He forbids them altogether for the priests, and they are to be the examples to all Israel of the highest standards. In the Renewed Covenant, Yeshua also often set the standards for his disciples as high as those for the priests (compare Mat. 10:37 with Lev. 21:11, for example), so we should probably go with the “no tattoos at all” option (and the same with any of these other related commands) if we want to please YHWH as best we can.
Just as important to our holiness is what we eat. (Deut. 14:3-21) Some people think that changed in the Renewed Covenant. What of those passages to which people appeal to say the kosher laws were repealed? Let’s look at the most prominent ones, and show that nothing of the sort is ever said:
A common translation of the last phrase of Mark 7:19 is, “In saying this he declared all foods clean.” But the actual text only says “purging all foods”. Yeshua was saying that (pardon the graphic description) what goes into our mouths comes out the other end, so that can’t defile us; rather, what defiles us is what comes from our hearts that were poisoned by the fruit Adam ate. He says nothing about kinds of food, for the Torah specifically tells us which meats constitute “food” for us (Lev. 11:2ff); anything else is just the flesh of unclean animals.
The other commonly-misused passage is Acts 10, where Kefa (Peter) has a vision of unclean animals that he is told to kill and eat. But he objected, and could not figure out what it meant until some Gentiles came to the door—3 of them, the same number of times he had the vision. Then he said, “YHWH has shown me that I should never affirm a person [as] defiled or unclean… I am truly getting [the point] that Elohim is not one who accepts outward appearances, but among any ethnicity the one who fears Him and carries out what is right is granted access to Him.” (10:28, 34-35) That was all the vision was meant to teach; nothing actually about food, for Yeshua said that no detail of the Torah would be done away with until everything has come to pass. (Mat. 5:18) As of yet it has not.
Now, granted, there is never a penalty in the Torah for eating the wrong thing—not even being put outside the camp. But the penalty is built-in; it comes in the form of “the diseases of the Egyptians” which YHWH said we would not get if we followed His commands. (Exodus 15:26)
“You must not forget the Levite who is within your gates… The Levite (since he has no territorial share or inherited property as you do) and the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow who are within your gates shall come and eat their fill, so that YHWH may bless you.” (Deut. 14:27-29)
While the Levitical priesthood is not active, those whom YHWH has set in place as leaders in each community around the world deserve the same respect—if they do their job properly: “Let those elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who wear themselves out with speaking and teaching… the laborer is worthy of his compensation.” (1 Tim. 5:17-18) The same chapter also reiterates the care for widows as well, but with some wise tests about how needy each one really is.
Chapter 15 deals with the release of slaves and providing well for them when they leave (v. 15), remembering that we were all slaves in Egypt. (The way one should treat them while still slaves is dealt with in Lev. 25:39-43.) The Renewed Covenant recognizes that slaves and masters may be brothers in Messiah as in Israel (15:12), so masters should treat the servants rightly, remembering that they also have a Master (Colossians 4:1) and servants with believing masters should not take advantage of their obligation to be kind. (1 Tim. 6:2)
Finally, the Renewal repeats chapter 16’s injunction to keep the Passover, with an additional reason now that new meaning has been given to it through YHWH’s offering of His own Lamb on that day. (1 Cor. 5:8)
For Our Own Good
The reason given to obey YHWH’s commands is not “because I said so”, but “so it may go well with you and your children”. (12:25, 28) I.e., this is what’s good for you; that other thing you are attracted to is not. Twice He says not to worship Him the ways pagans worshipped their deities. (Deut. 12:3-4, 30-31)
In contrast, on line we came across the “Gay Bible”, which claims, “This new version of the Holy Bible includes … God’s New Law, … introduced in the year 2000.” It proclaims “forgiveness of homosexuality and fornication” because “it is a new day and God has a new law”, including “new entitlements… new freedoms to rejoice.” It purports that “God” says, “Love is unbridled; what speaks of morals has none; for… I am the only one who knows what’s been forgiven.”
Nice excuse. But where do they get the authority to change His word like that? Because way back when He first revealed what He would forgive, YHWH said this one He wouldn’t. (Lev. 20:13) It’s not good for His people, for it’s not a fruitful lifestyle. And “all this word which I command you, that shall you be careful to do; you must not add to it, nor diminish from it.” (Deut. 13:1) This is the classic example of the false prophet described in the very next five verses. The counterfeit kingdom that precedes the real one will deceive any who are not careful with many such false teachings, so YHWH warned us thousands of years in advance to be careful.
The reason for the severe response also to unauthorized spokesmen for YHWH is, “this way you will burn away the evil from your midst.” (Deut. 13:6) The penalty is such a deterrent that no one will want to ever do this again. It’s just not good for you—by the Creator’s definition. He knows what’s best for us.
We are chosen for a very special purpose, so we care called to be a people of higher caliber than others. Not only are we not to worship the wrong things; we are not even to profane our bodies, whether with permanent markings that He did not put on us or with what we put into them. (Deut. 14:1-3) Since we are a special treasure to Himself, this suggests that He simply doesn’t like bodies that are self-defaced or have impurities put into them. Other people may have His permission to eat less-perfect things (not abominations, but clean animals that died on their own rather than being slaughtered while known to be healthy). But not so for those He wants to be an example to the rest of the world. He does allow us to use certain animals for food, but we are not even to be cruel in the way we kill or cook them. (14:21)
He wants His people—all of them—to have joyful experiences directly with Him and with one another. (12:11-12; 14:22-29; 16:11, 14-15) There is a limit to how long His people can be oppressed by other human beings or even serve them; His people are meant to be free. (15:12-15) Of course, slavery in Israel was very different from what we have heard about in more recent times. One usually chose to be a slave rather than finding oneself in total financial ruin. Selling oneself to the one you could not pay back was an honorable way to pay off one’s debts without going deeper into debt, since one’s day-to-day needs would be provided for so he could focus on getting free from debt, and there were limits on how long it could last. Still, the Israelite slave owner is to treat his slave so well that he would not want to leave when his time was up, but would rather be (literally} connected to that household. (15:16-17)
He tells us bluntly that if we do what He says, we will not be needy (15:4-5), but there are always some who do not listen, so He gives us a way out after the natural consequences of our actions do come upon us. (15:1, 11) Even so, His people are to do what best helps those in need escape the need, because it is His nature to be generous even to those who get themselves into trouble. (15:8, 13-14; see Mat. 5:44-45, where Yeshua says this is part of what makes us YHWH’s children.)
He doesn’t specify how much one should donate to the common joy—only “what your hand can reach, as YHWH has blessed”. (16:17) But “YHWH does love one who gives cheerfully.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) So why not bring Him joy too?
Find Your True Self by Looking Beyond Yourself
The Torah is designed to make life as manageable as possible in a fallen, imperfect world, and a big part of that is to know how to share the journey with others with neither party getting mistreated. So we are told, “You shall not do… every man whatever is right in his own eyes” (Deut. 12:8) but rather, have a central place where we can all worship our common Elohim together. (12:11-14)
How does that help? Possibly because to do so we have to have some standards in common. When we think of what’s good for the whole community of those who love Him, we’re less likely to push for special advantages for ourselves at others’ expense.
This will not only bring well-being in our own lifetime; “guard and listen to all these words I command you, and it can go well with you and with your children after you forever, if you do that which is good and right in the eyes of YHWH your Elohim.” (12:28) Unselfishly taking the long view will sustain the blessings for those who come after us. Just shortsightedly doing what will only benefit ourselves right now is only a slower way of sacrificing our children than the more obviously disgusting way of doing so with which we are more familiar. (12:30-31)
“This whole thing that I command you, you must be careful to do; do not add to it, and do not diminish any of it.” (13:1) Making our common standards stricter than YHWH has (even if the discipline has helped you) is cruel, because it puts unnecessary burdens on those least equipped to handle the strain. (Mat. 23:4, 14) That’s not sustainable. On the other hand, turning people away from what YHWH did tell us to do is just as bad. Reject that too, even if accompanied by miraculous “proof” (Deut. 13:2-4); YHWH’s clear orders trump even miracles.
If any of His commands seem harsh, it’s because He wants to prevent what has a real potential to wreak havoc; deterrents must be strong. (13:12ff) He intends to never follow through on the threats, but often it takes nothing short of fear of punishment to prevent us from doing something foolish. Such is the condition of our fallen hearts; that’s why we need instruction (torah), and “the fear of YHWH is the beginning of wisdom.” (Psalm 111:10)
Others may have less stringent standards (14:21), but YHWH wants His special people to be the finest specimens of humanity that we can be in our fallen condition—no mutilation or disfigurement, even if it is fashionable or to express grief over a loss, but also not putting things that do not meet a high standard—again, described as what we should find disgusting--into one’s body, since that would wreck some other part of it. (14:1-3)
But just because self-indulgence is bad does not mean YHWH doesn’t want us to have pleasure. It’s not just about us, but it is about us nonetheless. He even goes so far as to require us to set aside one of our tithes, not to give charitably as in the other tithes, but just so we can celebrate our appointments with Him as exuberantly as we can, being able to enjoy the fruits of our labors ourselves. This allows us to afford any luxury we might want (14:22-25) at the special times that foreshadow His kingdom, when the privations of today will be things of the past, so that we have only good and pleasant memories of the time we spend in His direct presence. He does not begrudge us any good thing if it’s used in an honorable way—which means honoring both Him and our fellows.
He does not want us burdened by endless, compounding debt; He wants freedom to be the norm for His people, so in Israel, after only 6 years there’s always a clean slate. (15:1-3) But if we follow His principles carefully, He says we should not even need that. (15:4-5) The compassion that underlies His commands should remedy the minor glitches. (15:6-8) We clearly have gone astray, because we do still have poverty amid prosperity (15:11)
How would we get to that point? Hesitating to lend to our neighbors when the debt cancellation time is near is called a “worthless thought”. (15:9-10) The Hebrew term here is b’li-yaal—literally, “without ascent”, because even if it might spare us the loss of our profit (also called “ascent” in Hebrew), it prevents a brother from rising from the ditch he is in, and that injustice infuriates the Elohim who wants him to be as free as we are.
One reason He gives some of us excess is so we can know the joy of providing for others who are in need (15:10, 13-14; 16:10-12), for as Yeshua said, “It is a greater blessing to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)
The roles may be reversed one day, but if we sow into “what goes around”, the provision will already be in place when it “comes back around”.
His Refreshingly-
Different Ways
One of the hardest Torah “pills” to swallow in our day is the fact that there are some things YHWH does not want us to have patience and tolerance about. One of them—probably the foremost—is idols (Deut. 12:2-3). And idols don’t have to be just carvings of wood and stone. They can be philosophies, “political correctness”, our own families, or our own preferences—anything that gets in the way of complete dedication to YHWH or that in any way comes ahead of Him. He doesn’t want any vestige of their patterns left lest we be tempted to use their blueprints when building anything that does in fact honor YHWH. (12:4, 29-31)
He has His own ways of doing things, and to carry religious practices over from other thought systems will muddle or even totally obscure the message that He wants to communicate.
Even large entities that have tolerated false worship need to be obliterated along with its paraphernalia, never to be revived. (13:13-18) Though it might seem alluring, even miraculous proof is not a sign that something is from YHWH if the message is counter to His. (13:2-6) Why? Because any deviation from His perfect balance—adding or taking away—will have damaging effects. (12:32; 13:1 in Heb.)
He doesn’t want His worship to be a gruesome thing like offering infants to Molekh (12:31; Jer. 32:35) or mutilating oneself as to Baal (1 Kings 18); He wants it to be joyful (16:11, 15) and shared with others, especially those who have taught us about YHWH and interceded for us with Him (12:12; 14:27), who share in our fruit, and those without the means to provide a feast for themselves (14:29; 15:7-8; 16:11, 14). This, not self-aggrandizement, is the reason He says He gives us more than we need (15:10).
What a revolutionary concept! It’s the “manna principle”: “He who gathered more had no excess, and he who gathered less had no lack”, because they pooled it and divided it out according to what each one needed. (Ex. 16:18) That may sound like socialism, but it’s safe when it’s part of His balanced framework.
He does not want any of His people hopelessly in debt, and it is our privilege to even out the ledger when we have the occasion, and He makes sure there will be occasions. (15:2) He doesn’t want finances to be our primary consideration, or the joy of giving to be a hardship, so He tells us to contribute to His celebratory assemblies in proportion to how He has blessed each one, not at a prespecified level. (16:17)
The haftarah shows that after the hardship we brought on by our own poor choices, He wants to restore us to this condition of being satisfied and full even if we have few of this world’s possessions, because just as YHWH is the Levites’ “portion” (though He is more than a whole!), which held true even when the system fell apart (Lam 3:24), the “currency” that “buys” His provision is simply obedience. (Isa. 55:1-3) We live more by His words (which we “ingest” by “hiding them in our hearts”, Psalm 119) than by bread. (Deut. 8:3) The joy, hope, and confidence that they bring sustains us far better than physical food. (Jer. 15:16)
Daniel learned firsthand (probably by having no other real choice) that what YHWH calls food (in chapter 14 of this Torah portion) will make one stronger than “a share of the king’s own meat” (Dan. 1:8-16), which did not have the expected benefit, and so he and his companions were rewarded with great insights (1:17), and I would not doubt that even had something to do with the effects of the kosher food they did eat. There was not even a “scientific” excuse to compromise!
And that is just what we’d expect from the One who knows how all things best interact with our bodies. And their souls (which in Hebrew actually includes their bodies) delighted in how robust they were! (Isa. 55:2) “YHWH’s blessing makes [one] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” (Prov. 10:22) The sorrow comes when we compare how He has blessed us with how He has blessed others, either above or below our level, for He has reasons for what He gives to each of us, and no matter how it seems, what He does give us is what we need most.
Go Right to the Source
In my youth I was privileged to visit a “mission field” in East Africa. One place my parents and I joined local people in (Biblical) worship was beside a giant, sprawling tree that dominated the landscape, which had once been a center of spirit-worship when the area was pagan. Those who turned to the true Elohim had built a house of worship at that very spot to symbolize how truth had displaced false spirituality--a vivid anchor to show the triumph of light right where darkness once held complete sway.
The same practice was common in areas under Greco-Roman rule or on former Druid turf. However, in the process of displacing, they often ended up being influenced by what they were ousting. The spires so common on European churches are holdovers from pillars that used to tower over other buildings to identify pagan worship sites. This was common in Canaan as well, and our present Torah portion warns of this temptation to adopt the same practices as those whose territory we reclaim for YHWH:
"You must utterly destroy all the places in which the nations you are going to dispossess served their elohim on the uplifted mountains and hills, and under every flourishing tree… Break down the upright pillars they have set up. Chop down their idols… This is not what you should do for YHWH your Elohim, but rather frequent the place [He] will choose… to put His Name…” (Deut. 12:2-5)
The most poignant attempt I’ve ever seen to obey this was a photo of Michael Rood sitting astride the peak of a church roof, cutting off its steeple with a chain saw! If such spires were merely a reminder to “aspire” to ascend higher in our thoughts and worship, they might be innocent, even commendable. But they had sexual overtones, being connected with rituals thought to promote fertility. They were a form of witchcraft, trying to accomplish by magic what is really only possible for YHWH to guarantee.*
The haftarah gives us a better way to ward off undesirables like infertility and worse: “By righteousness you will establish yourself. Distance yourself from gain by extortion;… [then] you will not be in dread… because [terror] will not come near you.” (Isaiah 54:14) I.e., focus on acting rightly and YHWH will keep trouble away (compare Mat. 6:33); He honors those who honor Him. (1 Sam. 2:30) That separates us from any dependence on whatever method He may have once used, going straight to the real Source of provision. If you go back to the middlemen and expect them to deliver what He did through them before, you will both pay through the nose and become enslaved to them. They have no independent source, so don’t look to them. He must authorize any power they have anyway, so go directly to Him.
He goes on to say, “Why do you use up your money on what is not bread, or spend your hard labor on what does not satisfy?” He explains, “If you’re thirsty, come to the water, buy and eat wine, milk, and grain without cost!” (Isa. 55:2, 1) How? “Incline your ear and come to Me!” (55:3) He is the “fountain of living water”. (Jer. 17:13)
The Renewed Covenant only echoes this, ending with: “Let him who is thirsty come! Whoever wants to, let him obtain the water of life freely!” (Rev. 22:17) That water will flow out from Messiah’s throne, which is right in that place where his Father set His name. (Ezek. 47)
Until it’s back and we’re able to go, He Himself will be a “mini-sanctuary” (Ezek. 11:16) in our exile. We can resort to Him in any time of need, and find provision. (Heb. 4:16) No need for deceitful substitutes.
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*It not only gave people false hope; it held a visceral attraction that lured even YHWH’s people in when they looked too deeply into what their predecessors did. (Deut. 12:30) And many of the traditions associated with Christmas and Easter—days that supposedly reflect a replacement of error by truth—bear the same kind of holdovers, including the very name of Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess, herself, which the Canaanites called Ashtoreth.
