- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on Jul 25, 2020 11:08:16 GMT -8
Name of Par’shah- 44.3 D’varim- Words
Par’shah- Devarim 1:1 – 3:22
D’rash: This parashah is mostly a recounting of the history of the Exodus from Horeb to the Yardin, where the Hebrews are now. There are a few commandments, which we’ll get to. However since we are starting “Deuteronomy,” that dreaded, dry retelling of the “Law” Christianity so loaths; and since we are trying to pull out actual “commandments” this year; and since I have been trying to move us to think of these as not so much “laws” but instructions, I wanted to take some time to talk about this book we are starting.
Deuteronomy, literally "second law" from the Greek deuteros + nomos, called in Hebrew דברים Devarim, "the words” (of Moses). “Deuteronomy” comes from the Septuagint; the meaning “Second Law” is actually close to the Hebrew "Mishneh Torah,” which is the rabbinic term for the book. This comes from Deu. 17:18, מִשְׁנֵ֨ה הַתּוֹרָ֤ה mishneh ha’torah, “Repetition of the Torah” or “Copy of the Torah”:
Deuteronomy 17:18 (KJV) And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
“Second Law,” or “the law revisited” is not what this book is really about. Most see it like that, but that is very misleading. Torah itself contains some laws, but it also has stories, history, prophecy, poetry, songs, and wisdom teachings and more. That is not how laws are codified. And Devarim, while condensed and repetitive of both instructions and laws also contains those elements listed above. So it is not a code of "law."
Torah shows us the nature of God, communicates His will, His attributes and standards. Torah is supposed to be one broad, cohesive message; one truth. And God’s truth is what brought most of us to Messianic Judaism. Torah, and by extension Devarim is a way to know God, to know His will, His instructions to us in living holy lives. Lives set apart to Him. Neither is just a collection of laws and rules. Yet most, if they read “Deuteronomy” at all do so with this mindset. In so doing, they completely miss the mark.
Moshe was speaking to the Hebrew people at a particular moment in history, and we must keep this in mind as we interpret what this book is saying. Israel stood at the crossing (of the Yarden): בְּעֵ֖בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן בַּמִּדְבָּ֡ר b’ever ha’yardin b’midbar, in the crossing of Jordan in the wilderness:
Deuteronomy דברים Devarim 1:1 (WLC) אֵ֣לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֤ר מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶל־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּעֵ֖בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן בַּמִּדְבָּ֡ר בָּֽעֲרָבָה֩ מ֨וֹל ס֜וּף בֵּֽין־פָּארָ֧ן וּבֵֽין־תֹּ֛פֶל וְלָבָ֥ן וַחֲצֵרֹ֖ת וְדִ֥י זָהָֽב׃
Deuteronomy 1:1 (ESV) These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
As an aside, עֵ֖בֶר “ever” is where we get the word “Ivrit,” which is the Hebrew name for themselves. So this is marked as a watershed moment in the history of the Jewish people. Moshe was reminding them who they were, where they had come from, and most importantly, of the God with whom they were in covenant relationship, and what that entailed.
In the TNK, the books of Torah take their names from the first few words that begins each book. It was originally written in one long scroll; no books, chapters, or verses. It does however have reference points: paragraph breaks, peculiar keywords, etc. And the content itself yields clues as to major breaks in the narrative. However it is those keywords which divide the chapters as we do today.
In the Hebrew text above the first words אֵ֣לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֗ים eleh ha’devarim; אֵ֣לֶּה eleh means “these” (demonstrative pronoun), הַ ha means “the,” and the word דְּבָרִ֗ים devarim is the key word delineating the new book. So in Hebrew the book is called דְּבָרִ֗ים Devarim, “Words,” because it contains the words of Moshe; his teachings to the wilderness generation who were about to cross over and take possession of the land.
Remember, everyone did not have their own library, and there were no personal Bibles. All teaching was done orally. Also there is a sort of progressive revelation in Torah where some things were changed. This needed to be clarified as to what the final instructions were. Torah to this time was all an oral torah, instructions passed down word of mouth from generation to generation, starting with Adam. Now the Hebrew people were to be given a codified Torah; instructions which were written down. But it was still taught to the people orally.
There is also still an Oral Torah. But its purpose now is to make the written Torah workable for the average man. During the Mishnaic Period, the period of the Tannaim, who were the teachers of Torah (late 1st through 3rd centuries CE), a Babylonian Jew named Hillel was one of the most profound of the Tannaim. Abraham Cohen writes of him:
“Hillel exemplified the Pharisaic standpoint at its best. He recognized that life, with its ever changing conditions, was incapable of compression within a fixed and immutable written code (Torah, ed.); and he perceived in the freedom of interpretation allowed by the Oral Law an invaluable instrument for making the Torah adaptable to varying circumstances.” (Abraham Cohen, “Everyman’s Talmud”)
Written Torah is immutable. It cannot be changed, whereas the Oral Torah by its nature and intent was meant to change, depending on time, place, circumstances, and even people. It is halacha, the minutia of how we walk out our Torah observance. It cannot change or contradict Torah, but it can make Torah work equally as well in 21st cen Barrow, Alaska and 1st cen Eilat, Israel.
Sadly, the rabbonim codified the Mishnah, the Oral Torah at the time, and it soon took on the force of law itself within post-exilic Judaism. While the Mishnah by its nature does allow for some flexibility, even giving guidelines for making rulings in those times flexibility is necessary, it is also become more laws with more fences on an already over-regulated people. Christians are not the only ones today who see Torah as “law.” The difference is Christians loath and dread it as such, while Jews embrace it as their heritage and often are fiercely protective of it; though very many who see they cannot keep Torah absolutely become secular Jews. They relate as Jews to their history and heritage, but they no longer make any effort to practice Judaism as a religion. This is why I take a more laid back approach to Torah observance. Don’t get me wrong: if God said it, we do it to the best of our abilities. But when we cannot do as instructed, or when we inevitably mess it up, we should try to not stress over it too much. That will eventually lead us to fall away. If you can’t keep the commandments or instructions, try to act in a Godly manner in whatever you must do, apologize to HaShem, ask forgiveness, and move on. If you make a mistake, learn from it, apologize ,ask forgiveness, and move on. And even when you for whatever reason (usually our own lusts and desires) just do as you want, transgressing His Torah, apologize, repent, ask forgiveness, and try not to keep doing what you just told Him you were repenting of. Relax and enjoy the journey, as HaShem intended us to do.
So this is getting long. Let’s move on to the commandments found in this parashah, all of which relate to judges:
Devarim 1:1 (ESV) And I charged your judges at that time, ‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him." Judges are to judge honorably, virtuously, and morally between both the Hebrews and those others as may be with them.
Devarim 1:17a (ESV) You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. Judges should show no partiality to either the man of stature nor the least, most pitiable person.
Devarim 1:17b (ESV) You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God's. The judge should not fear any man, but trust in HaShem, whom he serves.
As we saw at the beginning of this teaching, Hebrew kings were to write two copies of Torah themselves; one to stay with them on the throne, and the other to take with them when in the field or in movement. I submit it would be a good ida that every lawyer before being allowed to take the Bar should hand write his own copy of Torah, and every judge should have to hand write a second copy. It is after all called “Deuteronomy,” a “second law.” And our legal system today could use a LOT of Godly instruction!
Baruch HaShem.
Par’shah- Devarim 1:1 – 3:22
D’rash: This parashah is mostly a recounting of the history of the Exodus from Horeb to the Yardin, where the Hebrews are now. There are a few commandments, which we’ll get to. However since we are starting “Deuteronomy,” that dreaded, dry retelling of the “Law” Christianity so loaths; and since we are trying to pull out actual “commandments” this year; and since I have been trying to move us to think of these as not so much “laws” but instructions, I wanted to take some time to talk about this book we are starting.
Deuteronomy, literally "second law" from the Greek deuteros + nomos, called in Hebrew דברים Devarim, "the words” (of Moses). “Deuteronomy” comes from the Septuagint; the meaning “Second Law” is actually close to the Hebrew "Mishneh Torah,” which is the rabbinic term for the book. This comes from Deu. 17:18, מִשְׁנֵ֨ה הַתּוֹרָ֤ה mishneh ha’torah, “Repetition of the Torah” or “Copy of the Torah”:
Deuteronomy 17:18 (KJV) And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
“Second Law,” or “the law revisited” is not what this book is really about. Most see it like that, but that is very misleading. Torah itself contains some laws, but it also has stories, history, prophecy, poetry, songs, and wisdom teachings and more. That is not how laws are codified. And Devarim, while condensed and repetitive of both instructions and laws also contains those elements listed above. So it is not a code of "law."
Torah shows us the nature of God, communicates His will, His attributes and standards. Torah is supposed to be one broad, cohesive message; one truth. And God’s truth is what brought most of us to Messianic Judaism. Torah, and by extension Devarim is a way to know God, to know His will, His instructions to us in living holy lives. Lives set apart to Him. Neither is just a collection of laws and rules. Yet most, if they read “Deuteronomy” at all do so with this mindset. In so doing, they completely miss the mark.
Moshe was speaking to the Hebrew people at a particular moment in history, and we must keep this in mind as we interpret what this book is saying. Israel stood at the crossing (of the Yarden): בְּעֵ֖בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן בַּמִּדְבָּ֡ר b’ever ha’yardin b’midbar, in the crossing of Jordan in the wilderness:
Deuteronomy דברים Devarim 1:1 (WLC) אֵ֣לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֤ר מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶל־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּעֵ֖בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן בַּמִּדְבָּ֡ר בָּֽעֲרָבָה֩ מ֨וֹל ס֜וּף בֵּֽין־פָּארָ֧ן וּבֵֽין־תֹּ֛פֶל וְלָבָ֥ן וַחֲצֵרֹ֖ת וְדִ֥י זָהָֽב׃
Deuteronomy 1:1 (ESV) These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
As an aside, עֵ֖בֶר “ever” is where we get the word “Ivrit,” which is the Hebrew name for themselves. So this is marked as a watershed moment in the history of the Jewish people. Moshe was reminding them who they were, where they had come from, and most importantly, of the God with whom they were in covenant relationship, and what that entailed.
In the TNK, the books of Torah take their names from the first few words that begins each book. It was originally written in one long scroll; no books, chapters, or verses. It does however have reference points: paragraph breaks, peculiar keywords, etc. And the content itself yields clues as to major breaks in the narrative. However it is those keywords which divide the chapters as we do today.
In the Hebrew text above the first words אֵ֣לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֗ים eleh ha’devarim; אֵ֣לֶּה eleh means “these” (demonstrative pronoun), הַ ha means “the,” and the word דְּבָרִ֗ים devarim is the key word delineating the new book. So in Hebrew the book is called דְּבָרִ֗ים Devarim, “Words,” because it contains the words of Moshe; his teachings to the wilderness generation who were about to cross over and take possession of the land.
Remember, everyone did not have their own library, and there were no personal Bibles. All teaching was done orally. Also there is a sort of progressive revelation in Torah where some things were changed. This needed to be clarified as to what the final instructions were. Torah to this time was all an oral torah, instructions passed down word of mouth from generation to generation, starting with Adam. Now the Hebrew people were to be given a codified Torah; instructions which were written down. But it was still taught to the people orally.
There is also still an Oral Torah. But its purpose now is to make the written Torah workable for the average man. During the Mishnaic Period, the period of the Tannaim, who were the teachers of Torah (late 1st through 3rd centuries CE), a Babylonian Jew named Hillel was one of the most profound of the Tannaim. Abraham Cohen writes of him:
“Hillel exemplified the Pharisaic standpoint at its best. He recognized that life, with its ever changing conditions, was incapable of compression within a fixed and immutable written code (Torah, ed.); and he perceived in the freedom of interpretation allowed by the Oral Law an invaluable instrument for making the Torah adaptable to varying circumstances.” (Abraham Cohen, “Everyman’s Talmud”)
Written Torah is immutable. It cannot be changed, whereas the Oral Torah by its nature and intent was meant to change, depending on time, place, circumstances, and even people. It is halacha, the minutia of how we walk out our Torah observance. It cannot change or contradict Torah, but it can make Torah work equally as well in 21st cen Barrow, Alaska and 1st cen Eilat, Israel.
Sadly, the rabbonim codified the Mishnah, the Oral Torah at the time, and it soon took on the force of law itself within post-exilic Judaism. While the Mishnah by its nature does allow for some flexibility, even giving guidelines for making rulings in those times flexibility is necessary, it is also become more laws with more fences on an already over-regulated people. Christians are not the only ones today who see Torah as “law.” The difference is Christians loath and dread it as such, while Jews embrace it as their heritage and often are fiercely protective of it; though very many who see they cannot keep Torah absolutely become secular Jews. They relate as Jews to their history and heritage, but they no longer make any effort to practice Judaism as a religion. This is why I take a more laid back approach to Torah observance. Don’t get me wrong: if God said it, we do it to the best of our abilities. But when we cannot do as instructed, or when we inevitably mess it up, we should try to not stress over it too much. That will eventually lead us to fall away. If you can’t keep the commandments or instructions, try to act in a Godly manner in whatever you must do, apologize to HaShem, ask forgiveness, and move on. If you make a mistake, learn from it, apologize ,ask forgiveness, and move on. And even when you for whatever reason (usually our own lusts and desires) just do as you want, transgressing His Torah, apologize, repent, ask forgiveness, and try not to keep doing what you just told Him you were repenting of. Relax and enjoy the journey, as HaShem intended us to do.
So this is getting long. Let’s move on to the commandments found in this parashah, all of which relate to judges:
Devarim 1:1 (ESV) And I charged your judges at that time, ‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him." Judges are to judge honorably, virtuously, and morally between both the Hebrews and those others as may be with them.
Devarim 1:17a (ESV) You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. Judges should show no partiality to either the man of stature nor the least, most pitiable person.
Devarim 1:17b (ESV) You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God's. The judge should not fear any man, but trust in HaShem, whom he serves.
As we saw at the beginning of this teaching, Hebrew kings were to write two copies of Torah themselves; one to stay with them on the throne, and the other to take with them when in the field or in movement. I submit it would be a good ida that every lawyer before being allowed to take the Bar should hand write his own copy of Torah, and every judge should have to hand write a second copy. It is after all called “Deuteronomy,” a “second law.” And our legal system today could use a LOT of Godly instruction!
Baruch HaShem.
that the Mishnah was codified. Write it down? Sure, but don't make it immutable law. I think the rabbis in the first few centuries were in a panic to preserve the oracles of G-d due to (another) Diaspora after the destruction of the Temple, Jerusalem and scattering of the Jews throughout the world at that time... This was over-zealous preservation while forgetting that G-d's covenant with them would never be broken.
