By Your
Words...
Shabbat Shalom Kol
Yisrael. It is our pleasure to present this week's Torah Parsha commentary by
Nazarene Yisraelite Rabbi T. (Mordecai) Mitchell, Rabbi and Rosh Zaken of B'nai
Yeshurun Nazarene Yisraelite Synagogue, Kittanning, Pa., and board member of the
Union of Nazarene Yisraelite Congregations. It is our sincere hope and prayer
that these commentaries encourage, inspire, and strengthen the body of Messiah
in Kol Yisrael. This week we have a dual Parsha, Matot (Tribes)
Bemidbar (Numbers) 30:1 32:42 and Mas'Ei (Journeys
of), Bemidbar 33:1 36:13. For the sake of time this week we will
consider only a part of Matot in this commentary. (Additional
considerations will be discussed in our Pal Talk Bible studies
see end of commentary) Our Haftarah portion is YirmeYahu (Jeremiah) 1:1
2;3 Our suggested Brit Chadasha readings are: MattithYahu (Matthew) 5:33 37.
Please also read Tehillim (Psalms) 7, 56 and 100.
Reading for Rosh Chodesh Av, 5770: Tehillim 81; Iyob (Job) 14,
Tehillim 31. The Rosh Chodesh begins at sundown Sunday, July 11. Monday is a New
Moon Day. We urge our readers to study the historical implications the month of
Av had for the Jewish people.
30:1 And Mosheh
spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Yisrael, saying,
This is the word which YHWH has commanded:
It is interesting to
note that most Parshot begin by saying that Mosheh spoke to the
...children of Yisrael, However, in this Parsha, he speaks to
the ...heads of the tribes... meaning of course the
leaders.
Why, in this instance,
would the leaders of the congregation of Yisrael be addressed and not the people
in general. We may note, however, that the matter concerns the
childern of Yisrael, and the subject at hand
initially concerns vows.
Let us first consider
the fact that leaders are addressed. Today we do not have tribes as such.
Virtually all tribal identity has been lost. However, we do have leaders. (The
concept of Biblical leadership is again addressed Ephesians 4:10 16).
Moreover, we today must realize that our walk in the faith is a leadership
training program.
We say that based on
Revelation 5:10 And made us sovereigns (kings) and
priests to our Elohim, and we shall reign upon the earth.
Revelation 5:10 is
based on Shemoth (Exodus) 19:5 6 And now if you diligently obey My
voice, and shall guard My covenant, then you shall be My treasured
possession above all the peoples for all the earth is Mine and
you shall be to Me a reign of priests and a set-apart nation.
This Parsha pertains to
us in every way, simply because, even if we are not in a position of leadership
here and now, we will be in such a position in the Kingdom of Yahweh that is
soon to come. Therefore we must take care now, to not only learn but to check
our feelings that we are in anyway above others. When it comes to working out
our own salvation, we are all, so to speak, in the same boat. However again,
those who are in a position of leadership have more responsibility and more
spiritual work is expected of them.
Certainly one reason
that Mosheh first addressed the leadership was that some messages or important
teachings are best conveyed from a grass roots leadership level rather than a
hierarchy.
The remaining 15 verses
of chapter 30 (verses 2 through 16) deal with vows giving our word to do
something.
We might ask why we
would want to take a formal vow rather than just say we will commit ourselves to
a certain action, goal or duty. One answer is that words come easy to most
people. Most people can be quick to agree or commit to something. People are
quick to speak but slow to act or perhaps to speak and then not act at all.
But a vow can give us the impetus to turn our words into action. We must
remember that all rightful vows, ultimately are made to or before Yahweh, not
man.
The real purpose of any
vow, however, should be to enact a spiritual work. However, there can be a
negative side to vows. For one, vows can be used to circumvent a duty or
obligation. We have such an example in Mark 7:11 13. (The subject is
setting aside the commands of Yahweh in favor of the tradition of men). 11.
but you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, Whatever profit you
might have received from me, is Qorban (that is, a gift)
12 you no longer
let him do any matter at all for his father or his mother.
13 Nullifying the
Word of Elohim through your tradition...
Another example of
wrongful vows are so-called death-bed promises. Some time ago, a young man stood
near his dying father. The father made his son make a solemn promise that he
would never leave a certain religious organization. Overwhelmed with grief and
emotion, and a great love and respect for his father, the young man, his eyes
welling up with tears, made the promise to his father. Minutes later, the father
died.
In the months that
followed, this young man began to see glaring errors in the teachings of this
organization and also observed great moral corruption that was rampant among the
leadership. Because of the death-bed promise he made to his father, he forced
himself to attend services and functions of the organization. All the while he
felt a sense of great over-powering guilt every time he entertained thoughts of
leaving the organization.
Finally, he reached a
breaking point. He became bitterly disgusted with the things he witnessed and he
finally determined in his heart to leave that organization. While one one hand
he felt a great sense of relief for leaving, he was also overcome with guilt.
Instead of turning to prayer and the Word of Yahweh he turned to alcohol. He
began drinking heavily and over the course of the next few years was arrested
for drunk driving three times.
The dilemma raged in
this young man's mind for several years. Finally, a friend suggested that the
attend a Kol Nidre (All Vows) service at a synagogue on Yom Kippur and have his
vow annulled. He did so, and finally, after years of intense inner struggle and
mental anguish, he found a sense of relief and peace.
Admittedly, the Kol
Nidre service is controversial, to say the least. It has been, quite unfairly,
the target of anti-Semites. Also, the service has no basis in Scripture.
While we are not
necessarily advocating annulment of vows through a Kol Nidre service, any vow
made under pressure or coercion are considered vows of incitement,' that is
vows made under duress.
In our opinion, taking
wrongful vows is a violation of Torah, therefore, such vows are a sin. So how
can we escape an obligation to carry out a vow if we later find that a vow we
took, or a promise we made, turns out to be contrary to Scripture, detrimental
to our spiritual well-being, or a foolish, or otherwise hurtful vow?
We believe the answer
is to sincerely ask Almighty Yahweh to allow us to repent of the vow and to put
it under the Blood of Yahshua.
We must keep in mind
that a vow, although at first nothing more than a spoken commitment, is
considered to be the beginning of an action. This is why taking a vow is an
extremely serious matter, one we must never take lightly, and one to which we
must give careful forethought and prayer.
Vows are birthed by
words, human speech. We would do well to remember that our words, not just vows,
but all the words we speak, are like bullets. Once fired, they cannot be called
back.
We will have more to
day on the remainder of this dual Parsha and on the Haftarah(s) on our
Pal Talk Bible study this weekend. We encourage our readers to
tune into the Pal Talk studies at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time Erev
Shabbat (Friday evening) and again at 1 p.m. EDT Sabbath Day. Once in Pal
Talk, click on Religion and Spirituality, then click on
Other. Our room is Bnai Yeshurun.
May Almighty Abba
Yahweh bless us all as we seek to learn His ways and serve Him, b'Shem Yahshua
Meshikaynu. A Most blessed Rosh Chodesh to all.
Questions or comments
may be addressed to Rabbi Mitchell by e-mail at: yoel@windstream.net
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