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Download PDF File THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION DEUTERONOMY 3:23-7:11 Parashat Va’etchanan / ) ( &$' % "#$ ! In this week’s guide… Rabbi Jason’s COMMENTARY digs down deep into the most foundational of all Jewish prayers (which appears in this week’s parashat): the Shema. Typically, this prayer is both the first and the last one in the lips of the Jewish people, in early childhood and at the moment of their passing. We not only learn the theological significance of this prayer, we go deeper into the typographical significance the Shema has in the Torah scroll. Fascinating and equipping content! Our NEW TESTAMENT TIE-IN considers Moses’ opening words to the younger generation, the one about to enter the Promised Land. After he described the tragic moment of the Twelve Spies and Israel’s military victories, Moses revisited the original encounter with YHWH at Mount Sinai. One phrase he includes in that description transports us to the Gospels and Yeshua’s testimony about Himself. We have the grace to live into our calling, much like that younger generation did when they conquered Canaan. BY THE NUMBERS invites us on a journey into our own past experiences with the Lord…with an eye on the future! The significance of the numerical values that Rabbi Jason pulls out of the distinct scribal typography in the Hebrew Torah scrolls will amaze you. If you’re longing for a fresh touch of heaven on your life, to see God “do it again”—study this article closely (and follow up with our reflection questions at the end!). OVERVIEW Our forty-fifth reading from the Torah and the second reading from the book of Deuteronomy is named Va'etchanan, which means “and I besought.” This title originates from the first verse of the reading, which says, “I pleaded (va'etchanan) with Adonai at that time” (Deut 3:23). The portion completes Deuteronomy’s historical preface as a covenant document and begins a rehearsal of the stipulations. Part of that rehearsal is a repetition of the Ten Commandments and the beloved Jewish prayers, the Shema and V’ahavta, as found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. FUSION GLOBAL WITH RABBI JASON Weekly Torah Portion – Parashat Va’etchanan / ) ( &$' % "#$ ! Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 COMMENTARY by Rabbi Jason Sobel This weeks Torah contains the words of the Shema, that well-known Jewish prayer and declaration of faith. But exactly is the Shema? The Shema, in the strictest sense, is from Deuteronomy 6:4, Shema Israel, ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI Echad. Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. “Shema,” which is the first word in this verse, literally means to hear or to hearken. Shema - Shema Shemas shema ayin ehad dalet seselieinisenmmandments 5 These two enlarged letters spell "witness" (Eid/ ) in Hebrew. But what does this detail suggest? When we say the Shema, what are we saying about the Lord, and to what are we bearing witness? First, we are declaring there is only one God, which is known as monotheism. The monotheism of Abraham and the Children of Israel was radical in its day. Historically most ancient peoples believed in a multiplicity of the gods. While belief in only one God who was invisible and indivisible would have seemed outlandish to the ancients, the Jews considered God’s oneness to be the foundation of their faith. When we declare that God is "one," it means all other deities are false gods and idols. It is forbidden to bow down or worship them in any way. There is only One who is worthy of our worship and love: the LORD God! When we declare God's oneness, we are bearing witness to the Lord's uniqueness and unity. The Lord is "one" in the sense that none can compare to Him. God is beyond all comprehension. We can know Him because of His "general revelation" through creation but, more importantly, by His "special revelation" through Scripture and the Messiah Yeshua, the Word made flesh (John 1:14). God's absolute uniqueness and incomparable nature should fill us with a sense of awe and wonder. The traditional Jewish interpretation of the Lord being echad is understood in terms of strict and absolute oneness. In Jewish thought, the idea of the tri-unity of God is contradictory to the Lord's oneness. How can believers say that God is three—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—yet one? - - We can find the answer in the Hebrew word for God's oneness: echad. Echad does not preclude oneness; it can also describe a "compound" oneness. For example, God created men and women and said that, the two shall become "one [echad] flesh" when they marry. We can understand God's oneness in terms of union on a relational, spiritual, and missional level. Echad can refer to a compound unity which Yeshua Himself expressed when He declared, "I and the Father are One" / "Ani v'Av Echad" (John 10:30). Shema Shema esha esha "I pray not on behalf of these only, but also for those who believe in Me through their message, that they all may be one [echad]. Just as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You, so also may they be one in Us…The glory that You have given to Me I have given to them, that they may be one just as We are one…that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me." heiinity -John 21:20-23 emphasis added) By becoming one with Yeshua, we go from fractured to greater wholeness. Our lives move from chaos to shalom, from being spiritually distant to intimacy with God. In summary, when we say and pray that the Lord is One, we are declaring: We worship and serve the Lord God alone. There is no number two—no other options. The Lord is unique and that none can compare to Him. The Lord's oneness is a compound oneness: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We can achieve union with God through Messiah Yeshua, which results in abundant life and blessing. Perhaps most importantly, the Shema is a pledge of allegiance for all believers. By praying the Shema, we bear witness to and declare our love and loyalty to the "King of kings and Lord of lords" (see Rev 19:11-16). NEW TESTAMENT TIE-IN In Deuteronomy’s opening chapters, Moses tells the story of Israel’s wilderness wanderings to the younger generation whose parents died in the desert as judgment for their refusal to believe God and enter the Promised Land. Chapter four takes us to the time before the Twelve Spies, to that initial encounter at Mount Sinai in Exodus 19. Notice his description of that holy moment: “You came near and stood at the bottom of the mountain while the mountain was blazing with fire up to the heart of the heavens—darkness, cloud, and fog. Adonai spoke to you from the midst of the fire. The sound of words you heard, but a form you did not see —only a voice.” (Deut 4:11-12) - - The Israelites saw fire and smoke. They heard the thunder and the “sound of words.” It must have been an unforgettable moment—equal parts captivating and terrifying. “The divine holiness can be characterized, in the terms offered by Rudolf Otto, as mysterium tremendum et fascinans, a fearful and captivating mystery: there is both dread and attraction, a sense of encounter with an overwhelming presence that cannot and may not be approached in a profane manner, but that nonetheless demands and expects approach.”i One cannot help but wonder if this small detail in the text made the Sinai event that much more “fearful and captivating”: Moses noted that the Israelites heard words, “but a form you did not see—only a voice” (Deut 4:12b emphasis added). Yeshua revisited this in the Gospel when He said, “And the Father who sent Me has testified concerning Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form” (John 5:37). Curiously, the Lord delineated the Jews of the Second Temple from their predecessors—unlike them, Yeshua’s contemporaries had neither heard God’s voice nor seen His form. This statement is intriguing because later on in the same Gospel, we observe this exchange from the Last Supper: Philip said to Him, “Master, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Yeshua said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and you haven’t come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. (John 14:8-9 emphasis added) Israel’s encounter with God at Sinai began with His invitation: “you will be My own treasure from among all people, for all the earth is Mine. So as for you, you will be to Me a kingdom of kohanim [priests] and a holy nation” (Ex 19:5-6). After seeing the fire and smoke and hearing the thunderous voice (but seeing no form!), Israel deferred to Moses, All the people witnessed the thundering and the lightning, and the sound of the shofar, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled and stood far off. So they said to Moses, “You, speak to us, and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.” (Exodus 20:18-19) In light of all this, John 1:14 seems that much more remarkable. Not only do we see that the Word (compare to “only a voice” above) “became flesh and tabernacled among us.” The Gospel writer describes a different expression of the Divine: “We looked upon His glory, the glory of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.” In Yeshua, there was something to see! What does this “embodied glory” mean for us? In the Incarnation, God entered our human, creaturely existence.
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