Welcome back chaverim for this
week’s Parashat; and since we are starting a new sepher (Deuteronomy) it is
going to be action packed and a good revision for all that we have learnt so
far in the last 4 books. In comparison sefer devarim is minutely different in
form and writing from the previous, because it is written in the 1st
person compared to the 3rd person; and the voice of Moshe Rabbeinu
is so painfully clear in the entire book. Now did you know that the bulk of all
the Mitzvoth (commandments) are found in this book compared to the others, even
Leviticus almost 2/3 of the 613 commandments are found here. But why is Moshe
Rabbeinu revising it all again; that is because it is a new generation and he
is bringing them up to speed with all the Mitzvoth given at Mount Sinai, and
secondly it seems to be more of a Eulogy written and said by Moses himself.
Why do I say a Eulogy
– Look at the language Moshe uses “Thereupon I said to you, “I cannot
bear the burden of you by myself וָאֹמַר
אֲלֵכֶ֔ם בָּעֵת הַהִוא לֵאמֹר לֹא־אוּכַל לְבַדִּי שְׂאֵת אֶתְכֶם׃
Truly interesting to see Moses here literally in a complaining mode to the
children of Israel and not only once – he uses this phrase a couple of times
indicating a growing weariness, tiredness of the task ahead of him. But we need
to ask ourselves this question – Why? How has this happened – lets go back to
the book of Shemot (Exodus) where the Israelites sin with the Egel Zahav
(Golden Calf) and Moses goes up to make atonement for them. After the rectification
with HaShem – he makes the 2 tablets of earthly stone himself and writes upon
it the 10 commandments which were given by God earlier. The only difference
this time is God is not actively being a part the Israelite camp like earlier
intended, rather he puts the Onus on Moses – and the JEWISH people have rode on
the shoulders of Moses ever since even until this moment they still continue
doing so.
Let’s look at Exodus 32:31 it says “ So
Moses returned to the Lord and said “ Oh
this people have sinned a great sin and have made for themselves a Elohim of
Gold” Now if you should bear their sin, bear it, otherwise you can wipe me I
pray from the scroll you have written” and in Exodus 33:1-3 God Says” Go up
hence you and the people YOU brought out from
Egypt, to the land I promised to give to
Avraham, Yitzak and Yacov, saying to your seed I shall give it. And I will send
before you My messenger, I will drive out the Canaanite, Perizzite, Hivite, Jebusite,
Amorite and the Hittite and bring you into a land gushing with milk and honey; FOR I SHALL NOT GO UP AMONG YOU,
for you are a stiff necked people lest I shall finish you on the way”
So, God does not go with the people
as he earlier intended – but sends a messenger with them – Moses gets this
situation in return for standing in the gap and pleading on their behalf. Now
40 years down the line Moses has carried them on his shoulders and
responsibility – he is tired, wrecked, complaining, and probably losing focus
as his agility is decreasing – I don’t think his relationship with God is also
the same since the issue he had with striking the rock for water – God says he
will not enter into the land. So we now have the setting for the start of this
book – this is why I said that it is written differently compared to the other
4 and this is Moses angry, frustrated, complaining, tired and probably not able
to carry on – God tells him his time has come – he will be gathered unto his
people – and by the end of this book he is gathered up and Joshua takes over. I
am sure you guys have never seen or read Deuteronomy in this context ever. In
Verse 7 Moshe says something really crucial to the people “ Grant yourself Men
wise and understanding and known to you, that I may place your Guilt upon them;
in other words Moses is refusing to carry them anymore and to carry their sins
and guilt anymore. This is in complete contrast to the book of Exodus where he
is ready to take responsibility of the people and even argues with Hashem on
their behalf. How can the leaders and elders carry the guilt of the people?
Very interesting thing to study.
Okie so now we have brought into
context the setting – now let’s look into the theme of the Torah Portion, I
don’t know if you are able to extract it but let me tell you that Moses is
actually setting the tone for the Gospel of the New Testament (I meant the foundation)
because all that we have learnt so far the mizvoth, and the Chukim, and the
Mishpatim these are all technicalities but the underlying message of the Gospel
is being built here – let us explore. In besorah of Mattityahu 22:37-39 Jesus
replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself’ effectively
splitting the 10 commandments into 2 sections – Moses was not really bothered
about Loving God he knew the Israelites will always find a way to worship Him,
but to love one another is another matter altogether. And this is the theme of
the week – the foundation and tone of the Besorah of the NT – all we have to do
now is to connect the dots and get a comprehensive understanding of what is
happening in the scripture
Hear what Moses is saying to the
children of Israel in Verses 15-16-17 because this is what is behind his mind
and he knows how important it was to setup the Judicial system in Israel
וְשָׂרֵי
מֵא֗וֹת וְשָׂרֵי חֲמִשִּׁים וְשָׂרֵי עֲשָׂרֹת וְשֹׁטְרִים לְשִׁבְטֵיכֶם׃ So I took your tribal leaders, wise and
experienced men, and appointed them heads over you: chiefs of thousands, chiefs
of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens, and officials for your
tribes.
וָאֲצַוֶּה אֶת־שֹׁפְטֵיכֶם בָּעֵת הַהִוא לֵאמֹר שָׁמֹעַ בֵּין־אֲחֵיכֶם וּשְׁפַטְתֶּם צֶ֔דֶק בֵּין־אִישׁ וּבֵין־אָחִיו וּבֵין גֵּרוֹ׃ I charged your magistrates at that time as
follows, “Hear out your fellow men, and decide justly between any man and a
fellow Israelite or a stranger.
לֹֽא־תַכִּירוּ פָנִים בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֗ט כַּקָּטֹן כַּגָּדֹל תִּשְׁמָעוּן לֹ֤א תָגוּרוּ֙ מִפְּנֵי־אִישׁ כִּי הַמִּשְׁפָּט לֵאלֹהִים הוּא וְהַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר יִקְשֶׁה מִכֶּם תַּקְרִבוּן אֵלַי וּשְׁמַעְתִּיו׃
You shall not be partial in judgment: hear out
low and high alike. Fear no man, for judgment is God’s. And any matter that is
too difficult for you, you shall bring to me and I will hear it.”
If you look carefully Moses is
stressing on the attribute of them being able to BE JUDICIOUS AND NOT SIN WITH EACH
OTHER – he is setting up the other side of the commandments namely: Love your
Neighbour as yourself just as Yeshua himself commanded us in Matthew chapter 22
(Yeshua Understood the Essence of the commandments perfectly). Why is this
important – because without being able to have perfect relationships with each
other we will not be able to have a perfect relationship with God Himself. Our
practise is with each other first before we try and understand God. Okie so how
does this set the tone for the Gospel? We need to reach back into understanding
how relationships between EACH OTHER is important and how things went horribly
wrong with the jewish people. Not only did they forget their God and became
idol worshippers after the canaanites but also indulged in a thing called Sinat
Chinam (Mindless and baseless hatred) therefore sinning with each other – the
result of which was a curse and death. Moses very well understood the nature of
the people that is why he knew that if they do not change and carry on
transgressing with each other God will have no option except punish.
What is Sinat Chinam it is baseless
and mindless hatred that stems from Greed, violence, lustful desires and
anything that causes irreparable damages to your brother or neighbour. We read
in Leviticus 19:17-19 HaShem says the Following: You shall not hate your
brother in your heart , you shall admonish, yea admonish your companion so that
you may not bear sin with him. You shall not avenge or be resentful against the
sons of your people and you shall Love your associate as Yourself: I am the
Lord; When people indulge in evil and wicked practises hatred, jealousy
Violence and crime abound this leads to Sinat Chinam and the hatred most of the
time is not violent or open but can also be subtle and elusive causing
mistrust. Therefore BAD RELATIONSHIPS and ultimately sin and transgression and
iniquity all deserving punishment and ultimately death. Well here comes the
Gospel – for it is said in Romans 5:8 “But commended His love Towards us,
in that, while we were yet Sinners Christ died for us” and how did the
jewish nation deserve punishment and death not only did they not serve their
God but they practised Sinat Chinam amongst themselves.
Chaverim lets turn to the Prophet
Malachi 4:4-6 “ Remember the law of Moses My servant, which I instructed Him in
Horeb for all Israel , the Chokim and Mishpatim, behold I will send you Elijah
the prophet before the coming of
the Great and Fearful day of the Lord, and he will restore the Heart of the Fathers to the Children
and the children back to the fathers, lest I come and smite the
earth with a curse. So the Jewish people were expecting Elijah to come because
in their inner most being their realized that they had not lived up to the
commandments that Hashem had given them, In the gospel of Mark first
chapters starts with the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, and further it talk about John the Baptist coming crying in the
wilderness, saying prepare ye the way of the Lord and make his paths Straight
(Yashar – Israel) confirming that this was Elijah that was to come. But John
must needs come first to remind the children of Jacob to follow the Torah of
Moses and return back to being straight with God (Yashar), after which Yeshua
can come and complete the mission by baptising them with the Holy Spirit and
making them Sons and daughters of God – the Long awaited promise.
It says in Yoma 9b (Mishnah) a
fascinating aspect of Sinat Chinam אבל מקדש שני שהיו עוסקין בתורה ובמצות וגמילות חסדים מפני מה חרב
מפני שהיתה בו שנאת חנם ללמדך ששקולה שנאת חנם כנגד שלש עבירות ע"ז גלוי
עריות ושפיכות דמים However, considering that the people during the SECOND TEMPLE
PERIOD were engaged in Torah study, observance of mitzvot, and acts of
kindness, and that they did not perform the sinful acts that were performed in the
First Temple, why was the Second Temple destroyed? It was destroyed due to the
fact that there was SINAT CHINAM during that period. This comes to teach you
that the sin of BASELESS AND MINDLESS HATRED is equivalent to the three severe
transgressions: Idol worship, forbidden sexual relations and bloodshed. Now we
come to understand something really fundamentally incredible about the aspect
of the Gospel
So if we infer that the 2nd
Temple was destroyed because of the complex and powerful sinfulness of Sinat
Chinam – we must also infer that the Jewish nation would have not listened and
followed the instructions of Moses as given to Him by HaShem himself – because
of which they deserved punishment and death – like the gentiles who by their
nature do the things of the Torah even though they do not know God. Rav Shaul
says in Romans 2:11-15 the same things bringing together Jew and gentile under
one cloak – both need punishment and Death. Now we must look clearly through
the lens of covenant to understand Sin and what it means to be sinless and the
various ways sin is dealt with according to the scripture. There are four words
that reference sin and they all mean different things but yet are tied together
in a compounding effect, the first of the Words is the simple SIN misses ((חטאת the second is ASHAM guilt (אשם) The third is Pashay transgression (פשע) and the fourth is Avalah iniquity (עולה) these are all various categories interlinked with each other
in varying degrees of ascent and gradation.
What is the difference between these four categories: Lets start with the worst of the 4 Avalah – Iniqiuty which is a state in man where his innate state and nature is dark corrupt and crime ridden, his thoughts and intentions are full of crime and rebellion and every thought, word and action demands punishment and death. This is the world of INTENTIONAL sins. As it says in Psalms 53:1 – the decadent one says in his hearth there is no God, they have become corrupt and abhorrent with iniquity, there is no one doing good, and the iniquities and effects of the parents come down to the children till the 3rd and 4th generations. The rectification for this is
1. Confession
2. Repentance
3. Restitution
4. Sentencing involves capital punishment and death 5. Atonement by blood
6. Forgiveness.
This category has got to do with the breaking of negative commandments
The next is Pashay which is referenced as Transgression – which is also a serious crime that if not rectified very easily transcends to Iniquity; transgression is simply over crossing the rights of others, in matters of relationships, money, property, wealth etc….. even in words one can transgress the privacy and solemnness of another Human being. If unrectified it will lead to bad relationships and fights, violence, hatred etc….. this also can be in the category of INTENTIONAL / UNINTENTIONAL SINS depending upon the case – However the rectification for this category involves
1. Confession
2. Repentance
3. Restitution
4. Sentencing may or may not involves capital punishment
5. Atonement by blood
6. Forgiveness.
This category has got to do with the
breaking of negative
commandments
The next one is Asham which is guilt – this now is in the area of UNINTENTIONAL Only – where a person commits an error unintentionally and is found guilty – this can be a serious error even upto a level of murder for which there is no capital punishment – and the laws of the sanctuary cities come into effect here. The rectification is
1. Confession
2. Repentance
3. Restitution
4. Forgiveness
This category
has got to do with the breaking of the negative commandments
The Last of them is Chatat or Sin - simple of them all where a person who is righteous and a Tzadik before God misses the goals or under achieves the mitzvoth – for this the rectification is 1. Confession 2. Repentance and he is forgiven by God – please note that whenever the scripture says missing the mark, it talk about 2 things
1) the person should know the mark or goal
2)
it has to do with breaking of the positive commandments
Now I want you to understand this VERY
VERY CLEARLY – Yeshua when he is addressing the Jewish people for the most part
in the New Testament – HE IS TALKING IN CONTEXT OF CHATAT SIN – because he is
operating within the Jewish framework who Know the GOAL and they are missing it
(TORAH) therefore it is very necessary to read the NT in proper context. Every
commandment he gave, every expounding, every midrash was from a place of COVENANT – because the
Jewish people were given the Torah and are in covenant with God. Whereas the
GENTILES were not in covenant and were not given the Torah – therefore they
never had a Goal to achieve. But as Rav Shaul says in Romans 2:14 “For when
the gentiles which have not the Torah, do by nature things contained in the
Torah, these having not the Torah area Torah unto them” and then later on
he says in vs 25 onwards Circumcision means nothing and uncircumcision means
nothing – because one can be a natural born Jew physically circumcised and live
the life of a gentile deserving death and punishment, whereas a Gentile who is
righteous and physically not circumcised knows the Torah now because he has
activated it in his heart – he is equal to a perfectly righteous Circumcised
Jew in the sight of God.
The Idea is to Walk a righteous
life the sphere and boundaries of which is not beyond Chatat Sin PREFERABLY –
(that is breaking of the positive commandments) anything more than that would
attract punishment and death. Coming back to the Torah portion – Moses
understood that the children of Israel would break not Only the positive
commandments but also the negative ones, and be just as good as a Gentile who
does not know God – I hope you are now getting the connection now about the
Foresight of Moses and why he stressed about the Judicial system as the
cornerstone of the Jewish Life. Therefore the most simple of commandments can
be made complex by way of interpretation and application – ALL LAWS are derived
from the instructions (mitzvah) in default because of Interpretation and
application. Now From Sinai to Jesus is 1500 years of interpretation and
application it became complex, heavy and unbearable not because the Torah was
ineffective, but the people were making a mess out of it, the people lost the
essence and applicability to it, the end result was sure punishment and Death –
this is what Rav shaul means when he says Romans 3:20 “Therefore by the
deeds of the Torah there shall no flesh be justified in His sight, for by the
Torah is the knowledge of Sin” and in Verse 23: For all have
sinned and come short of the Glory of God
Because JEW and GENTILE Alike have both transgressed the Torah of God –
therefore both require punishment by death as mentioned above – If we do not
love our neighbor as ourselves then the Golden advice given by Moses shall
stand in our Incrimination Before God – When God saw that Both Jew and Gentile
are committing the same mistakes – the penalty of which is death He sent his
son for the appropriation of our Sins
I always asked myself the question about the Lord’s prayer in the garden of Gethsemane when he asked the Father to take away this Cup of redemption away from him if possible – the answer lies in understanding the simplistic understanding of the Torah – Moses was aware and warned us – Yeshua also kept telling us and hinting about Loving our neighbor and brothers and reconciling before offering our gifts before the altar – If we do not understand this and internalize the importance and intensity of this chaverim we will be left in the lurch and in darkness – May God open our eyes to what he is teaching us through his Son Yeshua
Shabbat Shalom and God Bless
each one of you
Shabbat shalom dear brother
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