Parashat Re'eh

(Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17)

28. "but a curse if you do not heed he orders of YHWH your Elohim and reject [turn aside from] the path that I am ordaining for you today, in order to follow after other elohim with which you have not been familiar.

Other elohim: Aramaic, "idols of the nations". Been familiar: Aram., "experienced". In many cases they had sexual rituals as part of their worship.

Grizim: means "cuttings off", as opposed to Eval, which means "a bald stone mountain", symbolizing the fruitfulness of the one choice (from which useful trees could be cut) and the barrenness of the other.

Gilgal: south of Yericho, very close to the Yarden; oaks of Moreh: near Sh'chem (Nablus today), which sits between the two mountains, near the geographical center of the Land, close to the tribal border between Efrayim and Menashe (in what was later known as Samaria). Moreh means "teacher".

32. "But be careful to carry out all the prescribed tasks and privileges which I am laying in front of you today.”

CHAPTER 12

Earlier Moshe had told Israel what rules had to be followed before we could enter the Land (4:1); now he is telling us what we must do to stay there. On the earth: literally, above the soil, i.e., not just when in the Land, but as long as you are alive. So while there are some things we cannot do in their fullness outside the Land or when there is no Temple, this should not mean that we ignore them altogether. Most importantly, we should never divide them into ritual vs. spiritual, moral, or whatever other category would make some of them appear unnecessary. They are all interdependent. Some who do this intend only to explain the lack of animal sacrifice today as being inconsistent with Yahshua’s “finished work”. They expect that they can leave the rest intact when doing so. But the Appointed Times of YHWH (Ex. 12:21ff), the Sabbath, and even the Sh’ma (which encapsulates all the rest) are also categorized as “prescribed rituals”. (6:1ff) So we cannot do away with one without doing away with others, and that would be in opposition to the Messiah. (Mat. 5:17ff) If we cannot do the very thing, we can take them as far as we can, and still learn from them. The Jews commonly call this a zeker –a way of remembering or mentioning something we cannot do properly while in exile. Some of these prescribed rituals actually command us to remember certain things: the day we came out of Egypt, including our own comings-out of Egyptian-like systems that enslaved us (Ex. 13:3; Deut. 5:15; 16:3ff); the Sabbath (Ex. 20:8); YHWH’s commandments (Num. 15:39); not to fear earthly threats (Deut. 7:18); that YHWH will test us (8:2); that it is He who is to receive credit for any blessings we receive (8:18); what angers Him (9:7; 24:9), and what Amaleq did to those who lagged behind (25:17). If we cannot remember the events ourselves, we should ask our elders. (32:7) Torah is the “cud” we need to chew so we can recall them. By re-enacting them as closely as we are able outside the perfect context, we can take steps toward “enacting them again” as law in Israel. It is those most experienced, even if they have not done things completely the way they must be done in the Land, who will be best suited to teach others when the time comes to tighten up the rest of the way. Who would choose those who have never even learned the Torah? We need to go right up to the border if we cannot yet get in, so that when Y’hoshua (Y’shua) comes to take us in, we will be ready and have only a few small steps to catch up with His full intent.

Destroy: literally, cause to disappear or wander off; i.e., take steps to prevent yourself from even thinking about these things. We can begin to practice for that day by lowering the “high places” that surround us while we are still on our present soil by at least staying out of the pagan worship places (thus undermining them by our lack of support), teaching truth by our example, showing from Torah that their priorities and perspective are wrong, and warning people away from them as a watchman on the wall (Y’hezq’el 33). Hills are mentioned as well as mountains: not just the major errors, but any form of compromise.

Note that the first command specifically given for when they arrived in the Land was to totally eradicate paganism. No artifacts are to be left, and indeed archaeologists at the city of Ay (Ai) have uncovered a stratum full of gold and silver ornaments that were simply covered up when that level of civilization there was burned, so apparently Y'hoshua and his generation obeyed this command to the letter. There is also a microcosm of the Land in both our personal and corporate lives, from which we also must eradicate any idols we harbored when unaware of what they were or that others inculcated into us. Upright pillars: carried on today through steeples, a tradition which began so that pagan temples could be seen from a distance. Constantine changed all pagan temples into churches, and their structure remained the same.

Not...the same way: This could refer both to not worshiping YHWH as other elohim were worshiped (an idea He reiterates throughout Scripture as something He simply will never consider acceptable) as well as not destroying the altar specifically dedicated to Him. We cannot fit Him into our ways, wherever we may be.

Resort to: or, enquire after, seek out. He made known to David the place He had chosen. (1 Chron. 21:28; 2 Chron. 3:1) It was not a place of any man’s choice. While we are in exile, however, the etymology of the word for “place” tells us where we can get as close as we can to His ideal: it is from the word for “rise up”, so we must seek Him in places that raise us higher. Out of all your tribes: Seek Him in the place where Israel is gathered together around Torah. And seek Him in places where His Name is recognized, not where the names of pagan elohim (God, Lord, or that from any other language) are substituted for His. These are places where we can find enough of His presence to follow on toward the fuller manifestation of it there.

By specifying one meeting-site where all Israel can unite in worship, He automatically precludes anyone using the old pagan worship sites, just because they are already built and convenient to use, as Constantine did, creating the “church” out of the marriage of Christianity and paganism. Again, in the meantime, the place to bring your tithes (which are agricultural) and offerings (any other kind of voluntary gift) is not to the pastor, bishop, rabbi, etc., but to places where Israel is ascending. But first and foremost, bring yourself to His altar as a living sacrifice, which for now He accepts in lieu of actual Temple services. (Rom. 12:1-2)

Eating them alone at home is not “as far as we can go”.

Doing: the context that follows indicates that this is referring chiefly to offering sacrifices on a variety of altars, wherever it seemed logical or convenient to the individual to do so. Y’shua said He did nothing but what He saw the Father doing. (Yoch. 5:19, 30) We, too, need to see things YHWH’s way, through the eyes of a unified people.

10. "But when you [do] cross over the Yarden and settle into the Land which YHWH your Elohim is giving you to take possession of, and He grants you a respite from all your enemies on every side, so that you dwell in security,

11. "then there shall be a place where YHWH your Elohim shall choose to establish His Name; that is where you shall bring everything I am commanding you--your ascending offerings and your slaughtered sacrifices, your tithes and contributions from your hand, and all the best of the things you have vowed [by choice] to give to YHWH.

12. "Then you will rejoice in the presence of YHWH your Elohim--you and your sons and daughters, male and female servants, as well as the Levite who is within your gates, since he does not have a share or inherited property as you do.

Rejoice: literally, brighten up! This is a command—and we are to make sure everyone else does, even the Levite who should be the one teaching you! (Remembering the Levite is reiterated in v. 19, so take note!)

Offer up your ascending offerings: could just as accurately be translated "ascend your staircase", which in the context of the word "place" seems a clear allusion to Yaaqov's dream of the staircase in a particular "place", which Y'shua implied was a prototype of himself. "The Place" is also a common Jewish euphemism for YHWH. He has given us one way and one place to approach Him; substitutes are not accepted. See fit: or, any place you notice or envision. It is not our choice!

15. "Now you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gated cities--whatever your soul desires--in accordance with the prosperity that YHWH your Elohim gives you; both clean and unclean [people] may eat of this, just as [they would eat] a gazelle or deer;

Gazelle or deer: the salient examples (perhaps because most common) of animals that are clean but not acceptable for sacrifice. Since YHWH is more concerned with what our diet teaches us than with what we actually eat, we need to look for the picture here. Gazelles and deer are not domestic like flocks and herds from which sacrifices are drawn. They are wild, and though they may eat from human hands with a fence in between, they shy away from humans when no safety barrier is present. These animals are pictures of people who do not submit to a holy community; therefore we can partake of their teachings, for they may be valid and important, bringing us life. But only a community forms an altar fit for "food for YHWH to consume". And even here we see a reminder of holiness, for these animals would not be trapped inside the city walls, but they must be brought there to be slaughtered. They are not kosher if they are shot somewhere else, for they would be torn and unfit for consumption. (Lev. 17:15) They must still be slaughtered in the manner of the Temple animals; there is just no requirement to give a portion of wild animals to the Levites. Part of any animal suitable for sacrifice (even if not being brought as an offering) must be brought to them, when we are in the Land. (v. 21; Lev. 17:33ff) If one of the firstborn animals has a defect, it cannot be taken to the sanctuary to offer, as usual, but is treated like these wild but clean animals. (15:19-22) However, in such a case, it would still seem especially important to invite the Levites who lived in a nearby Levitical city to this feast (vv. 12, 19) since normally the firstborn was his food.

YHWH repeats this in verse 23 and in many other places in the Torah, possibly because He knew it would be one command that people would tend to forget. This is what distinguishes a clean animal from one that is specifically kosher (acceptable for consumption). This (with an even stricter requirement--that it be killed according to Jewish traditional methods which were only an extrapolation on the extra commands) is reiterated again in Acts 15.

These tithes and offerings would be brought to the Temple at the feast of Sukkoth to be eaten in community. This is not the first tithe, which would go directly to the Levitical storehouses. (Mal. 3:10) That is holy and can only be eaten by the owner if he redeems it with a 20% surcharge. (Lev. 27:30ff)

Unlike many extrapolations upon tithes today, these were purely agricultural and were actually partaken of by those who grew them. The difference is that it was shared. The fellowship involved in the meal is what YHWH is after. This is what makes it holy according to His commandments. He will be in attendance in an especially meaningful way when this is the case.

20. "When YHWH your Elohim shall enlarge your territory as He has promised you, and you say, ‘I am going to eat meat' because your soul craves meat, you may eat meat to your soul's content.

To your soul's content: according to any wish of your soul. Eat meat: something they were not doing in the wilderness, since they did not know how many animals they would need to sacrifice.

This only applies outside the original borders of the Land given to Israel. (v. 20) What is too far is not a subjective decision. There is no place YHWH considers too far from Yerushalayim within the Land proper.

23. "Just be firm about not eating the blood, because the blood is life, and you may not eat the life along with the meat.

Be firm: Aramaic, "control yourself". The life: literally, soul, which gives a better angle on why we should not take it into ourselves. The soul of another type of being should not be mingled with ours.

25. "You shall not eat it, in order that it may go well with you and with your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in YHWH's eyes.

Do you get the point yet? Only bloodless meat may be eaten by a holy people. Go well: so that all that is in your life may be "well-placed".

27. "You shall offer up your ascending offerings--the flesh as well as the blood--on the altar of YHWH your Elohim. Now the blood from your slaughtered sacrifices is to be poured out on the altar of YHWH your Elohim, but you may eat the meat.

28. "Be careful to obey all these things that I am commanding you, so it may go well with you and with your children after you into perpetuity, because you will be doing what is proper and right in YHWH's eyes.

29. "When YHWH your Elohim does cut off the nations from before you, wherever you go in to dispossess them, and you succeed them and dwell in their Land,

30. "Be especially careful that you are not brought down by imitating them [even] after they are annihilated from your presence, by enquiring after their elohim, saying, ‘In what way did these nations serve their elohim, so I can do the same?'

Brought down: could read "knocked down", "impelled", or "ensnared". The context especially emphasizes not eating as they eat.

32. "Whatever I have ordered you to do, be very careful to carry it out; do not add to it or diminish it.

Do not inject self into any of His commandments! And don’t “scrape away” any layers of meaning just because they do not like them or find them convenient. (Mat. 5:17) Do not change it to suit yourself in any way.

CHAPTER 13

Prophet: literally, "one who raves". But the dreamer seems to believe the vision to be from YHWH. And this is literally someone from our innermost circles who rises to prominence, so he is someone known to many, not someone who “blows into town” from no one knows where, so we are inclined to trust him. Sign: Israel’s tendency is to seek them, and Y’shua called this wicked. (Mat. 12:39; 16:4) Instead, He said, we are responsible to know the Torah we already have. Token: a wonder or portent, from the root word meaning beautiful or pleasing. So this is something that seems positive, and it actually looks genuine in every way:

This is what alerts us to the fact that it is not legitimate. Elohim: mighty ones—the things we give most recognition to, not just what we think of as “gods”, but anything that competes with YHWH, like the “almighty dollar”. This is an example of adding to what YHWH ordered through Moshe (as per 12:32).

The mere fact that it comes true is not evidence that what the prophet communicates is YHWH’s will. He wants to see what we will do when we seem to have alternative options. This includes His own Messiah being presented in a way that seems to let us “off the hook” from keeping Torah.

Hold Him in awe: or "fear Him"--not be terrified of Him as such, but of His removing Himself from us, which holds infinite terror. He is glad to be a sanctuary to us, but if He disconnects us from His presence, we could hardly even continue to exist. If he has already said to keep His commandments, what does he mean by “serve Him”? We serve Him and cling to Him by serving one another and clinging to the community He has placed us in.

The gravity of the consequence show how serious it is to YHWH—not something to flirt with—and behooves us to know His word well enough to recognize error immediately. There are true prophets, so we cannot simply ignore them all just because some are false. This is one reason YHWH puts us in community: to guard one another with various forms of discernment; if you are walking alone, you must know everything. Today, with so many more Bible study tools at our disposal than our forebears had, we are without excuse.

Even a “soul-mate” may not be tolerated if he tries to loosen the first commandment. The alternative he presents may look much like the Elohim we already know, but will always end up with YHWH not being put first—or sharing His glory with another. (Compare Yeshayahu 48:11.) But this is more subtle and closer to home than many of us realize. In context of 12:32, the false prophet is teaching us to worship something we cannot know through the words spoken to Moshe (and the prophets which point Israel back to them). Y’shua Himself has been turned into this! In the Torah we can find a deliverer, the seed of a woman, who puts haSatan underfoot. (Gen. 3:15) We can find a redeemer of Israel who seeks YHWH’s face and lays down his own life for the sheep. (Ex. 32:32) We can find a ruler of unified Israel whose enemies are under his feet. (1 Chron. 17:8-10) We can find a king of Israel who is called the son of Elohim. (Psalm 2:7; 1 Chron. 28:6) We find a prophet through whom YHWH raises the dead (1 Kings 17:17-22) and one who feeds a multitude with very little food (2 Kings 4:42-44). All of these, Israel is familiar with. Y’shua did all of these, and these signs validated His authority. He took them further than anyone else had, provoking many to jealousy: kept Torah perfectly, did more miracles, fed more people than Elisha had, raised the dead after days, not just hours, and will rule not just Israel but the whole world. He took the Torah to a deeper level, but nothing that He taught was foreign to it. But a “God” who becomes man? A holy trinity? A “mother of God”? These are nowhere to be found in Israel; these are ideas that the pagans who surrounded and overran Israel had:

Like Y’shua, those through whom YHWH did miracles prior to Him had their work carried on by their students. But none of them ended up being worshipped. Why did it turn out differently with Y’shua? Marcion even said Y’shua was a better god than His “cruel” Father! Yes, He is a manifestation of YHWH, but not the only one. He is the best anyone has ever seen. But even the “New Testament” verse that tells us this says no one has ever seen YHWH. (Yochanan 1:18) Many nations considered their kings to have “god” status, but never Israel. We were expecting an anointed, empowered Messiah; this we knew from the Scriptures. But not a new Elohim! “But,” you may ask, “didn’t He say, ‘I and the Father are one’?” Yes, but also He reiterated that a man and his wife are one (Mat. 19:5), yet they may not even know what each other is thinking. Y’shua even contrasted His will with the Father’s, for as a man, many things that attract us looked pleasing to Him. He had an unbroken connection with the Father, unlike any other, so He was able to keep this at bay and focus on His mission, which was, as a deputy shepherd, finding the lost sheep of the House of Israel and regathering them. (Mat. 10:6; Yochanan 4:34; 10:11-14) He was in perfect agreement with the Father, and they functioned in unison. None of His direct followers or even Paul ever taught that a man should be worshipped as Elohim, even this Man. That is a new concept that forced people to deny parts of the Torah to uphold. He is a king and that requires its own type of worship and adoration—a use of the term that we have lost today with the loss of a true sense of authority and royalty. Isn’t it enough that He is Messiah, the seed of David, and the firstborn of YHWH both from the womb and from the grave? Why must we give Him the same status YHWH has? That is the same thing Adam and Chavvah tried to steal, and we are forbidden to give that status to a man. No matter how many things this deified “Jesus” has done for you, no miracle or sign can change what the Torah says. Remember, it is a test! Be eternally on your guard!

Give in to him: or, agree with him. Listen to him: Aramaic, "show affection for him". Today, we can tell him to show it to you in the Torah or keep quiet. If he does not, we must expose him as a fraud.

The one who hears it must be the one to cast the first stone (if he, too, is not guilty of the same sin, as per Yochanan 8). Until we have national sovereignty again we cannot carry this out literally, and we hope a mere “words to the wise will be sufficient” as a deterrent so that we never will have to do this. At present we are responsible to purge away false teachings by demonstrating the truth. For example, we may appear to endorse untrue doctrinal systems by our mere presence at their functions.

11. "Then all Israel will take notice and stand in awe, and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.

He does not want this type of action to ever be necessary again. Instilling the fear within us should be enough of a deterrent so He does not have to.

This is not some pagan city; but one that should have known better.

Beli-ya’al: Hebrew for worthlessness.

15. "Then you shall by all means [mortally] strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge [mouth] of the sword, dedicating it in its entirety, along with everything in it, even its animals, to destruction with the edge of the sword.

Y’shua was alluding to the same concept when He told us to cut off even our right hand if it causes us to stumble. (Mat. 5:30) If the Northern Kingdom had practiced it when its first king began to do exactly what is being spoken of here, we would not have been exiled. In its entirety: In Israel, a whole city is to function as a unit; if someone is not in agreement, he needs to dissociate from the majority and defect to a higher authority that is in compliance with Torah rather than partaking of its destruction. (Compare Rev. 18:4.)

Ruin-heap: Heb., tel. LXX, "uninhabited". Since no Israelite did this when Yerushalayim deserved it, YHWH saw to its destruction, but He also granted that it would be rebuilt on its former site. (Yirm. 31:38)

Many Israelites have divested ourselves of most of the vestiges of Catholicism , but have retained one accursed thing—the “God-man” concept. It is time to rid ourselves of it as well. Enough truth about Y’shua is available that we do have a true alternative to either the Church, which deifies Him, or rabbinic Judaism, which uses this deification as an excuse to write Him off completely. Neither is acceptable.

For too long we have been doing what is right in our own eyes, Constantine and the popes’ eyes, the pastor’s, theologians, or denominations’ eyes. It is time to return to what He originally told us to do. Listening to the voice of YHWH: Aramaic, "accepting the Memra [Living Word] of YHWH”. That is Y’shua, and that we must do. We are not throwing out the baby with the bathwater. That, too, is a grave error.

CHAPTER 14

These acts are signs that someone is still teaching the pagan rituals forbidden in the last chapter—signs that they are following the wrong elohim, even if it is done in YHWH’s Name. We cannot set apart to Him what He has already said He will not accept. What is to be between our eyes is YHWH’s Word (11:18), and this is always linked with coming out of Egypt, a land that was preoccupied by death. YHWH tells us instead to choose the covenant of life. Death looks like sleep, but if we slumber in the ways of YHWH, we may never wake up. When we refused to hear the prophets’ wake-up call, we slipped into a 2,700-year paralysis. The call to awake from self to YHWH’s community is again being sounded. Cuttings: something that penetrates the flesh; usually taken to include tattoos; Aramaic, "Do not gash yourself". He does not want us tainted with indecent marks that show disrespect for the way He made us. Baldness... for the sake of the dead: apparently something permanent that perpetually chains one to the dead soul, letting the other personality permanently affect oneself even after they have departed. This is forbidden no matter how close the person was to oneself, for it rather than the fact of one's belonging to YHWH becomes his identity. (Hirsch) Hebraically, between the eyes might not only mean the bridge of the nose, but the middle of the head at least to the top. We are familiar with the round pagan shavings Christian monks made on the top of their heads—the “Friar Tuck look”. Y’shua reminded us that we cannot account for one hair of our heads (Mat. 5:35-36), and shaving them is a claim that we are in control after all, and that is rebellion.

I.e., you are not to do anything in a common way or live an "unexamined life". We do not want to settle for just being a treasure to Him, but being a special treasure! This indeed means that others will be excluded, no matter how they are grouped—an unpopular fact today. Who? Anyone who does these pagan things. Israel has been set apart; that is already indisputably accomplished. Our job is to separate ourselves unto Israel so we can actually be a part of that calling. As Moshe said at Mt. Sinai, “Whoever is for YHWH, come over to me” (i.e., to the Torah that he represents). It does not matter who you parents were; “whosoever will may come”. But come you must. It will not come about by magic; we have to immerse ourselves in His Word to so it becomes engrained in us. Treasure Him through His words and He will treasure you. And you cannot set yourself apart to YHWH without giving yourself away to the rest of Israel. The promise is to a people, not to individuals.

There is no transition here. Eating abominable things is part of the paganism we are to separate ourselves from. Other things YHWH puts in this category of “abominable” (or simply, disgusting to Him) are homosexuality (Lev. 18:22; 20:13), idolatry (Deut. 7:25), burning our children in fertility rituals (Deut. 12:31), and turning others away from YHWH to worship other elohim (13:13). Eating pork chops is compared to this caliber of sins, which are all punishable by death! Eating shrimp is tantamount to idolatry. Eating a rabbit is just like committing sodomy in YHWH’s eyes. Obviously it is a serious offense to Him, not just something to avoid when convenient.

These three are worthy of the altar, yet even those who herded them were considered abominable by the Egyptians. (Gen. 43:32; 46:33-34; Ex. 8:25-26) Those in covenant with death find flocks of clean animals—and blood sacrifice--disgusting! This may have been an overreaction to the Hyksos, a Semitic dynasty that once conquered and dominated Egypt. There are no scenes of domestic herds in Egyptian hieroglyphics, only of hunts, and that shows alignment with Nimrod and Esau.

Antelope: Aram.," ibex"; bison: Aram., "wild ox", considered in Hebrew to be a form of cattle.

Hoof...two parts: Some animals have either the inner or outer part of the hoof cloven, but not both parts; only the animals in which both parts are split are kosher. LXX, "makes claws of two divisions". In drawing our attention to the feet of the animals we eat, YHWH reminds us to examine our own walk. Also, since His appointed pilgrimage festivals are called “feet” in literal Hebrew (Ex. 23:14), this is also a reminder to keep His appointments. Ruminating is used as a metaphor for meditating on YHWH's word (Yehoshua 1:8) not just once but over and over. As a ruminant animal has four stomachs, there are also by tradition four main levels on which to interpret Scripture: the literal, making links with other Scriptures that use the same terminology and seeing connections that the immediate passage alone would not make obvious, extensions to other related applications through analogy, and counsel hidden in a prophetic manner until the time it is to be used. This is how we learn to “rightly divide the Word.” (2 Tim. 3;16) Each of us only has one stomach, but as a community we have multiple “stomachs”, and as we speak to one another about it (30:11ff), we can process it much more fully and obtain many more “nutrients” from it than we ever could alone. He is concerned about what is in our mouths, because He has put His words in our mouth; it is our responsibility not to let them depart from our mouths or the mouths of our descendants (Yeshayahu 59:21), and what we take into our literal mouths will help us remember this. Then we will have an answer for anyone who defies us (Psalm 119:41-42) and we can have the right words to say as we have treasured His words up in our hearts. (Mat. 12:35)

YHWH chooses animals for our consumption that exhibit characteristics that He wants us to possess. The picture in chewing the cud is of a person who studies the Word of YHWH, but does not walk it out as he should. The camel chews the cud, but he will spit it at you! Cloven-hoofed animals are the most sure-footed and therefore confident.

Here, the picture is of someone who walks the walk, but does not know why. The pig appears to be kosher on the outside, but its body does not rid itself of impurities in any way. It has no cud in its mouth, but it has anything and everything else; it will even eat other pigs (its brothers) or even humans. So it is a picture of someone who accepts any doctrine without testing it, and makes it a part of himself without having any way to divest himself of it later, and cannot cease to be selfish. The Hebrew term for “flesh” (basar) more properly means “fresh”, having the extended meanings of both fresh meat and news. A derivative is the Hebrew term for the Gospel (besorah). Therefore a deeper meaning is that we should not get close to the “gospel” of those who are looking out for self. YHWH’s book is not about “me” but about “us”. The pig can quote (has in his mouth) what his pastor or parents or Paul or the rabbis say, but not what is in the Torah. Interestingly, Paul tells us specifically not to devour one another over what we eat (Gal. 5:15; Rom. 14:20), so while it is very important to eat the right things, the real point is to learn what the eating--- or not eating--teaches us. As with literal pork, wherever you have the figurative pig, you have “heart disease”. This abomination has no death sentence with it, because it kills the eater without a need for the executioner. Pig hearts are used for human heart transplants, showing us how close the deceitful, desperately wicked heart (Yirmeyahu 17:9) is to the pig’s heart. Do not “follow your heart”, as Disney would advise, but incline your heart toward YHWH’s Word and salvage its only worth.

10. "but whatever does not have fins and scales, you shall not eat; it is impure for you.

Thus any sort of shellfish, dolphin, whale, etc. is not kosher. At one time it was thought that tuna did not have scales, but it was later found to have them while it is still in the water.

12. "But of these you shall not eat: the eagle, the osprey, and the buzzard,

13. "the kite, the falcon, and the vulture, and such species;

14. "nor any raven or such species,

15. "nor the owl, the ostrich, the seagull, the hawk,

Owl: Aramaic, "night hawk".

17. "the pelican, a carrion vulture, or the cormorant,

18. "the stork, the heron, or such species, nor the hoopoe, nor the bat.

In some cases the precise species are not known, but the general types of creatures are; in general, any bird or beast that eats another animal may not be eaten, because it thus loses its purity.

Insect: literally, creeping thing.

This includes chickens, turkeys, ducks, quails, pigeons, etc. Chickens often appear to be doing a disgusting thing—eating their own feces. But actually they are only picking through for seeds that were not digested the first time—much like chewing the cud. Many who are now Israelites are those who found within the much worthless teaching of the Church some nuggets that were worth looking back at. The “New Testament” is based on Torah, but men have covered this fact up with the useless teachings they themselves invented.

If the blood is dealt with properly, we may receive nutrition from a dead animal without partaking of its soul, but this process cannot take place if the animal dies on its own. That is a picture of drawing benefit from lawlessness. Sojourner: Aramaic, "uncircumcised transient". The foreigner may eat it because he is not part of YHWH’s special treasure. Boil a kid...milk: This has been taken to mean it is never permissible to eat milk and meat products at the same meal, but Avraham served exactly that to guests sent by YHWH (Gen. 18:8), and it is a poor typology, because the Torah is described as milk (1 Peter 2:2) and Y'shua as meat (Yochanan 6:54). Boiling specifically a kid-goat in its own mother's milk (all that is actually forbidden) was a custom common among pagans in the region. Also, in the tense used here it can either mean to boil or to "cause to ripen" or "raise to maturity". In the context that follows, regarding the firstfruits (as well as in Ex. 23:19; 34:26), it fits to translate this "do not raise a kid to maturity on its mother's milk", i.e., bring it the firstborn as the offering as soon as its can be coaxed away from its mother. Exodus 22:29 specifies just when that is—on the eighth day of its life.

23. "Then you shall eat the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the firstborn of your flocks and herds in YHWH's presence in the place where He shall choose to establish His Name, so that you may learn the reverence of YHWH your Elohim all the days.

The learning takes place in the eating at the place where there is teaching about Him--the Temple, which shows us what the Body of Messiah is supposed to look like. How do we eat of the tithe if we have offered it already—since the tithe belongs to the priesthood? This is a second tithe, to be brought and enjoyed together at the feast of Sukkoth. I.e., 10% of one’s crop is to be eaten within one week! Now that is a feast!

Too far away: This does not negate the command to go and appear before YHWH. It simply allows a person to bring a might more portable token of the products which might be too heavy to carry or transport. It is then exchanged again for food upon arrival.

26. "and you shall use that money for whatever your soul desires--for oxen, sheep, wine, or intoxicating drink, or whatever your soul requires--and eat it there in the presence of YHWH your Elohim and rejoice--both you and your household.

27. "But you shall not forget the Levite who is within your [gated] city, since he has no territorial share or inherited property as you do.

Forget: or neglect. This refers to when in Yerushalayim, but each family and tribe is responsible to see that the Levites who lived in their region were well-cared-for when they came. A communal meal strengthens us. It is a picture of partaking of one another. He cares about the symbolism: we need to be clean so we can nourish and not defile one another. Are we remaining “kosher” for one another’s sake through selflessness? He cares as much about what comes out of our mouths as what goes into them.

This is a third tithe, and is only required one out of three years. Thus not 10% but actually 23-1/3% of one’s increase is given as tithe. If everyone does what he should and is generous, this will be enough to meet the needs of the disadvantaged, and YHWH will in turn prosper the givers to ensure that no one will suffer lack.

Sojourner: one who has come to dwell temporarily among the people of Israel specifically to learn about YHWH, and does not have a trade, since it might take work away from the native-born. He is a guest and is to be sustained. This way, when they return home, they will spread a favorable report about this awesome Land and its Elohim. YHWH even makes sure those who are only passing through may experience the bounty of His Land and the generosity of His people. Orphan: specifically the fatherless, who, like the widow, may have some physical strength but no chief breadwinner in the family and thus poorer than other people. By the time of Y'shua, the priesthood was largely corrupt, and there is no indication that Levitical cities still existed or that Levites continued to dwell in the regions outside Yehudah for the purpose of teaching the Torah to those who could only come to the Temple three times per year. But Y'shua's brother Yaaqov, who was in the chief position in the congregation at Yerushalayim, summarized "true, undefiled religion" as "aiding the widow and orphan in their need, and keeping oneself unspotted by the world system]".

CHAPTER 15

We will look at the literal meaning of this verse below. But the number seven in Hebrew connotes completion. Release here means to fling down, loosen, or leave alone. Since the term “debt” is only implied and not overt here, a deeper-level message of this verse is, “Upon completion, let it go. The term for years, at root, means repetitions or duplications—or folding over. Like a handkerchief used and folded over seven times, we do not need to take with us baggage from camps where YHWH’s presence has moved on. It will only delay our reaching the goal. There are specific routines and activities that are only profitable as long as we are camped at one stopping-place, but which are of no use at the next campsite, where the environment and terrain are different. We knew when YHWH’s presence was about to move on because the Ark of the Covenant went on ahead. (Num. 10:33ff) His words are what was in the Ark, and they are the test of what doctrines are permanent and which were only stopgaps to get us through certain aspects of our exile or transitional understandings to get us out of our indifference to His ways and turn us back in the other direction, but which have no place once we reach His Land or even when we are more mature. The covenant does not change, but it moves until we reach the Promised Land. To stay back with what is more familiar and therefore more comfortable, is to forfeit His continued presence. New priorities are incumbent on us now that we know we are Israel—different from much of the morality we had while in the holding-tank of the Church, for it would only tie our ankles and keep us from obeying much of the Torah now. Why do we keep carrying what YHWH is finished with? The walk is much lighter without it. Amaleq attacks the stragglers who hang back, hesitant to move on, for they are undefended. Whatever we embrace attaches itself to us and grows a life of its own; but if we choose to let it go, it will have to release its grip on us as well.

Creditor: literally "owner of a loan ", “debt-master” or even “debt-husband”. When we owe someone, a negative relationship forms between us until the obligation is satisfied. So at reasonable intervals, the one who owns us tells us to let them go. Fellow: one of the same flock, who feeds on the same Torah and has the same shepherd—Y’shua. Not put pressure: LXX, "not ask payment". This is not teaching the forgiveness of sin, though there are certainly some allegorical connections with that since both are forms of debt, but spiritual forgiveness carries different rules with it. In Luke 17, Y’shua lays them out: If your brother sins against you, first rebuke him (not insult him but show him what Scripture says about what he has done; in some cases he may not know. Don’t expect thanks, for few people are immediately thankful for a rebuke. If he responds properly (repents with actions, not just words), then you forgive him—even seven times a day (possibly an allusion to verse 1 here). He will forgive us in the same way we are told in Torah to forgive: a debt is forgiven when the matter is complete. If he does not do what he is supposed to, you become his creditor. Have we ignored anything that should have been repaid to our brothers or to YHWH? What baggage is a brother or sister carrying because we have not brought some matter to completion?

Non-Israelites do not need to be released from any obligation on the seventh year. There are different rules for how to treat those outside the flock. They do not deserve the same attention from us as those to whom we are committed and who are committed to us. If someone sins against us, we need to ask who they are. If they are not under common covenant, they cannot truly sin against you, for they have no Torah. They can commit a crime against you by definition of the laws of your locality, and in that case they need to pay. But we should try to keep from getting so involved with outsiders that they can use us or make us indebted to them.

I.e., practice it until there is no longer a need for borrowing, because if we take care of one another we will all be prosperous. What a promise! Yet Moshe knew Israel’s propensities, and in v. 11 he essentially says Israel will not get it 100% right, because there would always remain some poor among us. Of course, if we bless our neighbors so that they will bless us, we will lose any benefit, because the promise is to the community as a whole, not to individuals as such. The more involved we are with the community of Israel, the less persona; business as such we will have, anyway.

6. "because YHWH your Elohim is going to bless you just as He promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you yourself will not borrow, and you will exercise dominion in many nations, but they will not exercise dominion in you.

Israel is not meant to be counted among the nations; when obeying YHWH, no one else is to rule over her, influence her, or obligate her to their customs.

Close your hand: or draw it back from him; Aramaic, "tighten your fist".

An outright gift is not required, though certainly noble; lending without interest is also honorable in Israel.

Pointless: Heb., Beli-ya’al--worthless, unprofitable, or destructive. Eye becomes evil: an idiom for being stingy or ungenerous. Y’shua says such a dim view of our neighbors makes our whole life dark (Mat. 6:21ff), for even our motives in giving to our brothers will be selfish. Giving so that we may be blessed in return is not light. Putting our resources into someone so that we can maintain influence over him is serving two masters. Worry is what makes our “eyesight” worse. When we are taking care of one another, we will not have to worry about being cared for. If we use our extra resources to care for the one who is hungry today instead of hoarding them for what may be a need tomorrow, we will find that it is his turn to feed us tomorrow (if it ever comes), and everyone will be blessed. (2 Cor. 8:12-15) This will constitute guilt for you: see Psalm 140:12.

Our natural tendency is to be afraid we will not have enough left for our own needs if we meet someone else's needs, but YHWH is our true source of sustenance; helping the poor is like lending to Him, and He is the one who will repay us (Prov. 19:17; 28:27); we should not depend on frail mankind to meet our needs. For this purpose: so that we can continue to be generous so that all Israel will be prosperous. (2 Cor. 9:6-8)

12. "If your relative--a Hebrew man or woman--is sold to you, he [or she] may serve you six years, then in the seventh year, you must set him free with no obligation to you.

13. "Moreover, when you send him out from [being] with you with no obligation, you must not send him away empty [handed];

14. "you must liberally supply him from your flock, your threshing floor, and your wine vat. You shall give him [from] whatever YHWH your Elohim has blessed you with.

Liberally supply him: literally, "lay a collar on his neck"--not with a slave-chain any longer, but as a woman is given a necklace full of costly gems as a dowry to provide for her later in life should she be widowed. A similar payment was made to the servants of a foreign king who contributed workmen for the building of YHWH’s Temple in King Shlomo’s time, except for the flock animals. (2 Chron. 2:10)

YHWH worked it out so that the Egyptians did furnish many provisions for their released slaves.

Notice the similarities with Ruth, who was free to leave Naomi, but chose not to, because she loved the people of Israel.

Maidservant: or possibly, "concubine".

A hired servant: i.e., he has been worth twice as much to you as someone hired from a labor pool for a day's work, because he knows the territory much better and can bring to bear in his work his familiarity with the household. He deserves to have you outfit him with supplies when he goes, because you have gotten far more than what you originally paid for him, compared to the wages of a day-laborer. (Hirsch) Also, he is a brother to you already, so his physical labor for you has also given you an occasion to bless your brother (which is what much of Torah is about) by providing a way to pay off his debt. He has thus served you in two ways, which could not be true of an outsider indifferent to the community of Israel.

The theme here is the same as that of the rest of the chapter: Let go of what YHWH wants you to let go of. You are not to derive any personal benefit from it (v. 19), though YHWH does give it back to us by letting us participate in eating of it:

By eating of it only in this context, we receive the added blessings of His presence and the presence of all our Israelite brothers, and YHWH’s full-time servants, the priests and Levites, are provided for as well. It thus becomes not a selfish pleasure, but a step by which to ascend higher. Year by year: as opposed to the tithe brought to the storehouses only once every three years. This is brought every year at the feast of Sukkoth.

Assumedly it would be redeemed with money, like one’s firstborn son, or with a perfect animal, as the firstborn of a donkey (an unclean animals but one that is useful) can be redeemed with a lamb.

Alike: or "together". Gazelle or deer: these animals are kosher, but never used for Temple sacrifice, probably because they are wild rather than domesticated.

CHAPTER 16

Aviv: the stage of growth when the barley grains are at a point of readiness to be harvested within the next few weeks, since the firstfruits must be brought the day after the Sabbath following Passover. (Lev. 23:11) Observe: watch for it, but also build a hedge around it to guard it. The rabbis, noted for their frequent fence-building, have failed to do so in this case, substituting instead a contrived calendar. It was useful when no one in the Land of Israel could get the word out to the diaspora, but now that there are those in the Land who search for the Aviv every year, there is no excuse for holding onto a stopgap that is no longer necessary. It is convenient to be able to plan ahead, but this does not meet the requirements of Torah, for it does not wait for the aviv to be observed. Sometimes it actually moves the Passover to the wrong time—the exact opposite of guarding it. By night: This seems to contradict the fact that they walked out of Egypt in the morning after staying in the house all night as commanded. In Exodus 13:3ff, Moshe (the same one who authored this passage) even told them “this day you are going out, in the month of the aviv.” Hebraically, the day does not encompass the night, for the day has only 12 hours. (Yoch. 11:9) But Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon at night and released them to leave. () But that would not be YHWH bringing us out. He acted at midnight by sending His death angel to spur Pharaoh on to let them go. But though they were “saved”, they were not safe as long as they stayed within Pharaoh’s jurisdiction and under his protection. That is only possible when we are Home. Though “freed”, they could not be delivered as long as they stayed in Egypt. So first they left the place of their captivity, then they left the borders of Egypt. But Pharaoh still had a grip on them until—again, by night—they crossed the Reed Sea. Though Y’shua has redeemed us, we still live under others’ rule. Until His rod is in the Land, we are not safe. In the wilderness (the “place of the Word”), we are much safer since His presence goes with us, but Amaleq still attacks us there because until we are obedient enough to “get Egypt out our borders”, no longer longing for its comforts and securities, we still cannot arrive. Part of what held us captive is still alive; though Pharaoh is dead, but are all the firstborn of Egypt dead to us? The Hebrew term firstborn also encompasses the firstfruits. Are the firstfruits of our thoughts Hebrew or Egyptian? Do we still serve death in order to get through the present situation? Do we use the contrived calendar in order to know everything in advance? (Egypt’s main focus was preparing for death.). We must search out all the foreign firstfruits in order to go Home. We will usually find them “by night”—in the dark places where we avoid having the light shine. We must not hide any Egyptians behind the Passover Lamb (Y’shua)’s blood. Do not let our shortfallings be an excuse; let the messenger of death slay them too. The Torah says we can keep the commands; it is not too hard. (30:12) So we put tzitziyoth on the borders of our garments to make it known that within these boundaries, Torah will rule.

Passover: since the lamb is not specified here as it was at the first Passover, in the context of 15:21, it would almost appear it should be translated "a lame animal", because the word is spelled the same, the connection being that the animal with a lame leg "skips over" that leg when hobbling, as the death angel "skipped over" the homes that had the lamb's blood on the doors. The term Passover can also mean “to hesitate”. It may be fears, wrong loyalties, desires for anything that has no kingdom profit, condemnation, or immaturity that makes us hesitate to kill of the Egyptian in us as Moshe did. (Ex. 2:12) YHWH tells us to slaughter the hesitation; He will not do it for us. Y’shua, our Passover, was slaughtered so we would stop hesitating to come back to the Torah. (See Hoshea 8:12.) Do not use prayer as an excuse until you have used the strength He has already given you and taken responsibility as far as you can. There is not one Passover lamb for the whole nation; there is one for each household, for we are each responsible to kill off whatever keeps our own household from moving forward out of Egypt. For the dwelling of His name: the place eventually chosen was Yerushalayim, which is built over a grid of valleys shaped like the Hebrew letter "shiin", the abbreviation for Shaddai, the name often chosen when His name is to be written on a common object (like a doorpost mezuzzah, though not on articles associated with the Temple, on which YHWH was engraved).

Bread of affliction: or weakness, poverty, humiliation. Hurry: trepidation, alarm, fleeing in haste. All the days of your life: Every day we should examine the places in which we are not making steps toward the Promised Land.

No leaven: This does not allow for letting someone else keep it for us until the week is over; that ruins the picture YHWH intends of removing the pervasive influence of sin from our lives. Why? Because we should not depend today on what was given us for yesterday. But also, once we slaughter it there should be no hesitation left. Since the word for meat also means “glad news”, we can read this as “no Gospel of hesitation may remain.”

You cannot: literally, "you shall not have power to." Any of your towns: literally, "one of your gates".

Time: or season, but this probably correlates with "at night" (v. 1), i.e., "after the sun sets".

Tents: Yet this command is for the time we are in the Land. (vv. 5-6) Therefore, we must surmise that YHWH intends for us to dwell in temporary dwellings not only at Sukkoth, but at Passover as well (and by extension, probably Shavuoth as well, though it is a one-day festival). It is only logical that so many people coming for the three pilgrimage festivals would not all be able to be housed in buildings when Yerushalayim at its heyday had only 30,000 people living within the city walls. In fact, it appears from Y’hezq’el 45 that an open area will be left around the Temple precincts in the Kingdom for this very purpose. Israel is a people that is marked by the characteristic of dwelling in tents when in YHWH’s direct presence.

No servile labor: LXX, "no work, except what is necessary to be done for a soul", i.e., to preserve life. Some may say that it is more important to not eat leaven than to eat unleavened bread, but both are expressly commanded. Bread is a picture of community, as seen in the Bread of the Faces that represented the twelve tribes of Israel in unity. Unleavened bread speaks of undefiled community. Since matzah must be cooked quickly (Ex. 12:11), it is pierced to facilitate this process, which in turn leaves what appear to be burn-marks on part of it. Even the more ancient style of matzah has these characteristics. Why? Because in Gen. 1:27, YHWH says Adam was made in YHWH’s image, male and female. The Hebrew word for “male” means “marked to be remembered” and “female” means “pierced”. So being marked and pierced is a picture of being in YHWH’s image. In His death at Passover, Y’shua was marked and pierced, so when we eat the matzah we are identifying with what He represented as the restoration of the pre-fallen Adam.

Lev. 23:11 specifies the day on which this count is to begin. Not every field would be ready to begin harvest that day since though Israel is a tiny nation, the climate varies greatly within its borders. In Second Temple times, there was a specific field planted by the priests where the appearance of the aviv set the calendar for the whole nation, and the representative firstfruits were brought from this field. As other fields ripened, the firstfruits would be kept and brought on the next trip to the Temple—Shavuoth for most.

Weeks: Heb., Shavuoth. Freewill offering: yet it is still expected to be in an amount relative to one's means, so it is in some sense mandatory as well.

Rejoice: We are not permitted to be sad at this time. Also, note that you cannot leave your servants or family members home to tend to business back home during this feast. Our personal business should not even be running during this feast. The fact that is always falls on the first day of the week is an added blessing that makes these easier for most in our exile.

If we do not remember, we will inevitably be enslaved again. (Yochanan 8:34)

Booths: Heb., Sukkoth, i.e., temporary dwellings, in which Lev. 23:42 specifies that we must dwell during this particular feast. So you cannot stay home to observe this feast!

15. "Celebrate a feast for seven days in the place that YHWH shall choose, because YHWH your Elohim will bless you in all your produce and in all the undertakings of your hands; so you must be nothing but joyful!

Celebrate a feast: includes the concepts of making a pilgrimage, reeling [perhaps from strong drink], and dancing in a circle. Produce: crop yield or revenue of any kind.