Parasha "VaYelech" (and he went) DEUT 31:1-30

[Ben Avraham]

PARASHA: "VaYelech" (and he went)

DEUT: 31:1-30...................ISAIAH 55:6-56:8....................ROM 7:7-12

This is the final dialog that Moshe gives to the people. It is believed that these final chapters of D'barim (Deuteronomy) were written by YeHoshua (Joshua) recording the final days and speech of Moshe.
Seems like Moshe spoke these words on his birthday, He tells his people "I am 120 years old today" This is something wonderful to consider. Moses' life can be divided into three parts, the first 40 years, the second 40 years, and the third 40 years.

The first 40 years were spent as prince of Egypt, a military general and leader, even back then, YHVH was preparing his servant for a great task, one of which he was not yet aware of. We can think of ourselves, even when we were small children, way before this time today, YHVH had us in mind, in the role we would play in the "now-and-today" times. The second 40 years were spent in the desert region of Midian, which is now known as Saudi Arabia, YHVH had to move him there through adverse circumstances, a fight, a murder, Moshe takes flight, on the run, yet becomes part of the family of Yitro, gets to know the desert region, because, that is where he will bring his people, He is in "ministry training" in the "school of hard knocks" He is learning to care for sheep, He goes from leading soldiers, to leading sheep, to leading 3 million slaves.

At 80 years old, he receives the calling from YHVH, "Go and get MY people" Imagine that, at 80 years old, the most important time in the life of Moshe, when his ministry "just begins" most people , those who reach 80, are doing who knows what? maybe in an old folks home, in a wheel chair, "retired" just resting,. not doing much of anything any more, of course, some are still active.

He continues to remind the people of "obedience to YHVH, to the " he directs the whole to be read every 7 years during the festival of Sukkot. We are blessed these days that we do not have to wait 7 years to read His Word, every day, through out the year, we read it , and learn from it, and share it with others, teaching others HIS Words.

But he give prophecy that "they will go astray, and will do evil before the LORD" YHVH tells him that, We can imagine how Moshe must feel, after all he has done, after all the miracles that the Israelites have seen, they still disobey. after the warnings of curses, they still disobey, Perhaps, this is too much for Moses to bare, YHVH decides to take him home,

He also appoints Joshua (Yehoshua) to take his place as leader, That is something we can learn to do, we will not be here for ever, we are not eternal physical beings (thanks to Adam) so, we must prepare someone else to take our place, for those of us involved in ministry, ; teaching, preaching, being pastor, rabbi, etc.. so that when we are no longer here, someone else will take up where we have left off, so as not to leave a "hole" a ship without a captain goes without direction, anywhere the waves send it,

The first 5 books of the were placed with the Ark of the Covenant in the tabernacle, and later, in the temple,. and read to all the people every seven years, although we know that we must read the whole Bible every year, not only read it, but study it, applying it to our lives.
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ISAIAH 55:6-56:8

" SEEK YHVH WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND, CALL UPON HIM WHILE HE IS NEAR" Interesting words, is there a time when He "Can't " be found? or a time when He is NOT near? Each person is given a time limit, days allotted on earth, and only YHVH knows our number of days, many turn hard, harden their hearts in such a way that they will "not" search for YHVH, they will not WANT to, so far as they are concerned then, YHVH will not be able to be found, outside of a miracle. They will not want to call upon Him, for to them, He will be very far.

HOWEVER...if the wicked forsake their ways, and turn to HIM, then, He will be found! and a new relationship established. The Word of God will go forth, and will NOT return void, it will accomplish either ; causing a person to repent, or causing a person to think deeply about his or her life, and when the time is right, the Word will take root, or...will be rejected, it is each person's choice.
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ROMANS 7:7-12

Purpose of the ? to bring to all of us the knowledge of sin! what sin is! what holiness is! to discern between the clean and the unclean, so that we are without excuse. When we realize that sin is part of our lives, the leads us to Yeshua, who paid for our sins completely, with whom we enter into a relationship with. So the is indeed Kadosh, Holy, and perfect, a perfect teacher that leads us into a perfect relationship with Messiah Yeshua.

SHABBAT SHALOM.....................Rabbi Ben Avraham

[alon]

The par’shah this week is Vayelech, “and he went,” Deuteronomy 31:1–30.

Moshe, at the end of his life, publically invests leadership and authority in Yehoshua ben Nun. He also initiates the tradition of writing down the and teaching it regularly to the entire populace of Yisro’el. D’barim 31 is actually a complex book, containing layers of tradition expressed as doublets:

* double announcement of the imminent death of Moshe (vss 1; 14-15)
* transference of leadership (vss 7-8; 14, 15 and 23)
* putting down the words of “this poem” (v 19) and “this teaching” (vs 24)
* in the song tradition, Yisro’el’s apostasy is a foregone conclusion ( vss 16-21, 28-29), while in the covenant tradition there is hope for the nation (vss 9-13, 24-27)

Deuteronomy 31:23 (CJB) Adonai also commissioned Y’hoshua the son of Nun with these words: “Be strong and full of courage; for you are to bring the people of Isra’el into the land about which I swore to them; and I will be with you.”

As young children, we wanted to “do it ourselves.” We took great pride in every small accomplishment. Growing older, we learned we needed help for some things, others we’d sooner have someone else just do it. According to Jewish thought, deep down we just want the satisfaction of doing it ourself. We are after all created in God’s image, and He is a creator, a giver (not a taker) and totally self-reliant. We are driven to succeed, to give; not to take handouts. Always keep in mind your work is a good thing. We may feel frustrated or even intimidated by the work we are called to do, however we should embrace the tasks and not run from them. The opportunity to contribute to God’s world is a gift, not a burden. The work is its own reward. Those who work live with a sense of pride and self-worth, and a sense of accomplishment not seen in those who refuse their calling.

Yehoshua was given a daunting task. God told him to be strong and courageous leading Yisro’el into the Promised Land. The Israelites were to transform life into a spiritual experience, living out . Salvation has always been through the Jewish people. They were to be a beacon drawing others to join them in proper worship of the One True God. They needed to do the difficult work of capturing the land and transforming it into a land of holiness and blessing, yet depending on the Lord at every step. In this way they would appreciate what they had received; not as beggars pleading for a place to live but as a people who had worked to capture and transform Haaretz; a people partnered with an Elohim Who wanted to be a part of their community, and they a part of Him, working together towards tikkun olam. We too partner with God to repair the world, one job and one soul at a time.

Deuteronomy 31:1 (CJB) Moshe went and spoke the following words to all Isra’el:

The Septuagent and Qumran texts say “Moses finished speaking.” In Hebrew the difference in both versions is just the transposition of two consonants. Both may be true, however the alternate version does create an exact parallel between vss 31:1 and 32:45. Each of these marks a point of transition between two segments of text, and each begins with “and he said to them.” This would be more in line with the doublet structure of this passage.

Deuteronomy 31:4 (CJB) Adonai will do to them what he did to Sichon and ‘Og, the kings of the Emori, and to their land — he destroyed them.

HaShem doesn’t just send us to do a difficult task. He prepares us, giving other victories and accomplishments which we can draw on for reassurance.

Deuteronomy 31:5 (CJB) Adonai will defeat them ahead of you, and you are to do to them just as I have ordered you to do.

They were told to utterly destroy the people, their sacred places and their idols. (7:1-7; 12:29-31; 20:16-18)

Deuteronomy 31:7-8 (CJB) Next Moshe summoned Y’hoshua and, in the sight of all Isra’el, said to him, “Be strong, be bold, for you are going with this people into the land Adonai swore to their ancestors he would give them. You will be the one causing them to inherit it. But Adonai — it is he who will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you, so don’t be afraid or downhearted.”

There are three formal elements of Yehoshua’s commissioning speech here:

* encouragement- be strong, be bold (resolute)
* the task- for you are going …
* assurance- Adonai … will go ahead of you

Deuteronomy 31:12 (CJB) Assemble the people — the men, the women, the little ones and the foreigners you have in your towns — so that they can hear, learn, fear Adonai your God and take care to obey all the words of this ;

One law for everyone; and everyone- men, women, children and goyim- all are taught God’s . All are responsible to keep His covenant, His .

Deuteronomy 31:14 (CJB) Adonai said to Moshe, “The time is coming for you to die. Summon Y’hoshua, and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, so that I can commission him.” Moshe and Y’hoshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting.

This place where God speaks to Moshe with Yehoshua is outside the camp. (Ex 33:7-11) It should not be confused with the Tabernacle, which was in the center of the encampment. The columnar cloud did descend on this tent when Moshe entered it, signifying the presence of YHVH as well as the special commission Moshe had of directly communicating with the divine presence. Here a double tradition is presented from other books entirely, as the pillar of cloud located in the tent (Ex 30:36; 40:34-35; Lev 16:2) contrasts to the pillar at the entrance to the tent (Ex 33:9-10; Num 12:5). Both are the site of divine communication.

Deuteronomy 31:16-17 (CJB) Adonai said to Moshe, “You are about to sleep with your ancestors. But this people will get up and offer themselves as prostitutes to the foreign gods of the land where they are going. When they are with those gods, they will abandon me and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger will flare up, and I will abandon them and hide my face from them. They will be devoured, and many calamities and troubles will come upon them. Then they will ask, ‘Haven’t these calamities come upon us because our God isn’t here with us?’"

The punishment here fits the crime: they abandon God, and He abandons them. The way vs 17 is usually translated, it sounds as though the people realize this, and attribute all their ills to the fact Elohim is no longer with them. However the way the Hebrew reads could also mean “our gods are no longer with us.” In this case they would have fallen so far away and become so stubborn they would say it was due to their new gods abandoning them. This interpretation would better explain God’s response in the next verse:

Deuteronomy 31:18 (CJB) But I will be hiding my face from them because of all the evil they will have done in turning to other gods.

The next verse sounds like a charge against the people of Yisro’el, however Jewish tradition has an interesting take on it:

Deuteronomy 31:19 (CJB) “Therefore, write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the people of Isra’el. Have them learn it by heart, so that this song can be a witness for me against the people of Isra’el.”

Condensed from writing by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein:

People are prone to making mistakes. However, the rabbis warn that while a person must regret his or her sins and repent of them, we should never fall into depression over them. We must remember that God loves us, and it’s always possible to return to Him. As Moses’ death drew near, God told him that when the people entered the land, they would ultimately sin and be punished. He commanded Moses: “Now write down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them.”

What was the purpose of this song and why did God need a witness? The rabbis explain with this parable: There once was a king who freed his servant from prison and appointed him keeper of his treasury. The king knew that the servant had been convicted of theft and that he could be tempted to steal again. A second offense carried the death penalty. Therefore, the king ordered that it be written in his record book that this servant had once been a thief. Everyone thought that the king did this in order to warn the servant of what might happen to him if he stole again. The truth was that the king wanted the reminder for himself so that he wouldn’t deal too harshly with the servant in case of a repeat offense. After all, it was the king who chose the servant for a position of trust even though he knew that the servant had dishonest tendencies. The king wanted to protect his servant, not harm him.

Similarly, God wanted this “song” recording how the Israelites were prone to turning away from Him as a reminder for Himself; a witness in favor of the Israelites, not one incriminating them. This song would advocate for leniency when the people would sin. After all, God knew that they had the tendency toward sin, but chose them as His people anyway and would bring them into His Holy Land no matter what. In Jeremiah 1:5, God declares: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” God chose to create us because He loves us and believes in us. When we make mistakes, even big ones, God is not shocked and He doesn’t write us off. It was God who chose us and He knew exactly what He was getting when He did.

Know today that God loves us despite our faults; He is merciful and forgiving. If God believes in us in spite of our shortcomings, we should, too.

Dan C

Sources: JPS Study TNK, Rav S, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, Messianic Prophecy Bible, my father, others