What?
What? You can't
see the forest for the trees?
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 our Parsha is R'eh (See) Debarim
(Deuteronomy) 11:26 16:17. Our Haftarah portion is YeshaYahu (Isaiah) 54:11
55:5. Our suggested Brit Chadasha readings are: I Corinthians 5:9 13; I
Yohanan (I John) 4: 1 6. Please also read Tehillim 123 and 149.
Debarim 11:26
See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a
curse.
27.
The blessing, when you obey the commands of YHWH your Elohim
which I command you today;
28. and the curse, if you do not
obey the commands of YHWH your Elohim, but turn aside from the way which I
command you today, to go after other mighty ones which you have not
known.
R'eh may well be one of the most
intriguing Para shot in the Bible. We can say that, for one, based on the number
of verses it contains, 126, the same numerical or Gematria value of
pliyah, meaning wonderment. A form of pliyah is
found in Bereshith (Genesis) 18:14 in the phrase (actually a question) Is
any matter too hard... (Lit. Is any matter a wonder...)
Of course, this is something that will escape most all casual Bible readers who
do not take the time to dig into the meat of the Word. We might add that this is
exactly why we point out such things in our weekly commentaries. We do not want
Yahweh's faithful people to take a casual approach to Bible study.
Recently a friend and brother e-mailed me to say that
he had just purchased a somewhat expensive, out of print book on Gematria. He
considered his investment both an opportunity and a blessing. His communication
was like sweet music to our ears. When we consider that most people are willing
to spend great sums on TVs. VCRs home entertainment systems, computers or other
material items, we realize few are willing to invest in good sound books that
aid our spiritual development.
The word pliyah or
wonderment (again based in Bereshith 18:14) is all about
learning to see and go beyond the physical, and in some cases, even set aside
the laws of physics. It is certainly about defying logic.
The second word of the Parsha is
Anochi which means I or Me, and in this case it is Yahweh
who is speaking. Anochi brings what is being said down to a
personal level. Yahweh is speaking to Kol Yisrael (all Israel). When Yahweh
speaks on a personal level we must take His words on the same personal level. He
was not speaking only to the Israelites of that time, but He was, in every
respect, speaking as well to us today. When this message is brought down to a
personal level, Yahweh is telling us that we have the unique ability to
R'eh See the difference between good and evil and the absolute
power to make the right (or wrong) choice.
Of course, our ability to choose correctly depends on
our ability to see correctly to see with spiritual, not carnal eyes. We could
also say the ability to See is the ability to make distinctions
or tell the difference.
When considering this, I was immediately reminded to
Yehezqel (Ezekiel) 44:23 And they are to teach My people
the difference between the set-apart and the profane, and
make them know what is unclean and clean.
Please note two things regarding this verse. First,
Yahweh specifies that is it His people who are to be taught. By the phrase
...My people we can understand that we are talking about those
willing to learn and take correction those who are of humble minds and hearts.
The second consideration is that this small but select group of people must have
available and be willing to receive sound teaching so they may be able to
differentiate between the ...the holy and the common,
(set-apart and profane) and between the clean and
unclean.
Getting back to the Parsha of Debarim 11, we must
also understand that what is being given to us is the freedom of choice free
will. This means, as we have said numerous times, Yahweh does not bless or curse
anyone. We bless or curse ourselves by the choices we make, by our actions, our
words and even our mindset.
In verse 31 we read that the people are about to
enter Eretz Yisrael the Land of Israel. We should understand that the Land of
Israel, the Promised land, that is the specific physical , geographical
location, has great sanctity. It is a most special, and spiritually powerful
place on earth to Yahweh. What Yahweh is really telling the Israelites, is that
if they enter a holy land without being themselves holy, the land will
eventually spew them out.
Despite the great spiritual power to be found there,
Israel has always, from its very beginning to this very day, been a land of war,
conflicts and upheavals. We might wonder how this can be so when the land is a
land of unparalleled spiritual power. The answer is simple. The real conflicts
in the land have always been clashes between religion and spirituality. Among
other things, so-called religion lacks respect for human life and dignity,
spirituality never does. To one degree or another, religion tolerates sin it
does not teach people the ... difference between the
set-apart and the profane, and make them know what is unclean and clean.
Spirituality, however, does teach exactly that. And because the lives of
Yahweh's people are spiritually enriched by the teaching of sound doctrine and
by learning the deeper things of the Word, they are then able to
R'eh, See. And because they are able to truly
See with spiritual eyes, they are able to make wise and right
choices and decisions, ones that are in perfect harmony with Yahweh's Torah
the lifestyle of the redeemed. Therefore, they will live that lifestyle and be
worthy not only of entering the Land, but be found worthy to remain
there.
So it is with our promised hope, the Kingdom of
Yahweh. We cannot nor should we expect to enter into His Kingdom without first
being spiritual people who can discern rightly and live by right
decisions.
Some years ago a group of people were of the opinion
that it was not necessary to keep Sukkot as a commanded convocation. They felt
that all that was necessary was to construct a small Sukkah on the (Messianic)
Synagogue property to which they belonged, and to attend a short service on the
first High Day and possibly on the Last Great Day (Shemeni Atzaret) ...if
convenient. Although they understood that Sukkot was kept by the ancient
Israelites, and acknowledged that it would be kept again the the Kingdom, they
they failed to see the necessity of keeping an eight-day Feast in this day and
age.
I explained to them that their role and destiny, if
they were faithful, was to function as kings and priests in Yahweh's Kingdom,
based on Shemoth (Exodus) 19: 5 6; Daniel &:18; and Revelation 5:10. I
also quoted ZecharYah 14:16 21. I reasoned with them that keeping Yahweh's
Moedim today was a dress rehearsal if you will, for what was to come. I asked
how, as kings and priests, could they expect to teach others to obey commands
that they themselves had not obeyed. In the end, I was deeply saddened by their
adamant refusal to fulfill the clear commands of Scripture. Soon afterward, we
left that congregation. In less than a year, most of the original members had
also departed, however, the purpose of their leaving was to return to some form
or another of Sunday worship and antinomianism. Last year I heard that the
present leadership of that synagogue had allowed not one, but several xmas
trees to be erected in the synagogue contrary to YirmeYahu (Jeremiah) 10:1
6. Those individuals went from a developing vision and starting to
R'eh, See and reverted to total blindness and
spiritual degradation.
In Debarim 12:5 we read: But seek the place
which YHWH your Elohim chooses, out of all your tribes, to place His Name there,
for His dwelling place, and there you shall enter.
This of course is a Remez or hint of the
future temple, though no one at that time could realize it, or catch a glimpse
of Yahweh's vision to see what Yahweh saw. Of course, the temple does not
stand today, and for most of us, it is nearly impossible to travel to Eretz
Yisrael. However, until the Kingdom does come, we don't need a temple. Moreover,
it is not up to us to say that we must travel to this place or that place, to
garner spiritual energy. What we must do, however, is learn to be spiritual
where we are. That means practicing spirituality and being spiritual as much as
possible every day. Our real spiritual battle is fighting against haSatan and
fulfilling the Great Commission of MattithYahu 28:19 Therefore, go and
make taught ones of all the nations, immersing them in the Name of the father
and of the Son and of the Set-Apart Spirit. This the the vision that
the evil one does not want us to see, a spiritual vision he does not want to be
made real. The next verse, 20, is more specific: teaching them to guard
all that I have commanded you, and see, (R'eh) I am with you always, until the
end of the age, Amen.
Can we see the full impact of these verses,
especially verse 20? We are to teach (and do) all the commands, not just a
select few. In order to teach, of course, we must first have fulfilled them
ourselves. Next, Yahshua says that He will be with us, even to the ...end
of the age, meaning of course, from the time He spoke these very words
until this age ends and the Kingdom comes to this earth. That means He is and
must be with His faithful ones even now. While He was speaking to His talmudim,
He was in every sense speaking to us today. Note again, the use of the word
See, in verse 20. Have we paid attention to these seeming small
details? Are we able to correctly See the Messiah's challenge to
us today?
In closing, we should consider that as Israel entered
the Promised Land, the people of the nations who were in the land (the Am
HaEretz) were driven out. They we expelled from the land because they clung to
religion but rejected spirituality. They refused to R'eh and
therefore brought curses on themselves and upon their offspring.
In essence, Yahweh is issuing a stern warning to the
Israelites that they must not become like the people of the land. They must
completely reject the religious practices and customs of the nations, and
unScriptural attitudes, or else like them, the Israelites will also be driven
out of The Land. We have a similar admonition in Debarim 12:8 Do not do as
we are doing here today each one doing whatever is right in his own
eyes.
Today, all too many people want to do their own
thing. Too many people seem to want to modify Yahweh's Torah. It is all to
easy to rationalize behavior, ideas and attitudes that are not in harmony with
Torah. Frankly, I am appalled that some will spend time, energy and resources
attending conferences or just outright spending all their time and money on
vacations, then not be able to attend Sukkot or have any interest in doing so.
To that I will end by saying Shame!
May Almighty Yahweh bless us all as we seek to serve
Him, learn His ways, and See his will and direction in our lives.
Rosh Chodesh of Elul begins Tuesday evening, Aug, 10. (Last week I inadvertently wrote that last Tuesday
was the New Moon. I apologize for any misunderstanding or confusion this may
have caused). May this coming month be a month of blessing to all
Yahweh's people. Please don't forget to spend some time welcoming the New Moon
and thanking and blessing Almighty Abba Yahweh for all His blessings to
us.
For questions, comments or criticisms regarding this
week's Parsha commentary please e-mail Rabbi Mitchell at: yoel@arm-tek.net
Please tune into our weekly Pal Talk Bible
studies. Once in Pal Talk, click on Religion and
Spirituality (Pal Talk's choice of terms, not ours) then click on
Other Our room is B'nai Yeshurun. The Bible studies are held
Erev Shabbat (Friday evening) at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
NOTE: We may have a Pal
Talk study from our regional Sabbath meeting at the Covenant Center in
Kittanning. At 1 p.m EDT Shabbat afternoon. We will try a remote Internet
connection. Let us pray it works. All people of goodwill in or near western
Pennsylvania are welcome. We will begin with a fellowship meal at
noon
Please visit our (still developing) Website; www.bnaiyeshurun.com
For more information e-mail: yoel@windstream.net, or write: Bnai Yeshurun,
c/o Mitchell's, 210 Garretts Run Road, Kittanning, PA 16201.
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