Parashat V'Zot haBrachah

The man of Elohim: A title for prophets. (1 Kings 12:22; 13:1; 17:18; 20:28, etc.) Moshe had an extremely close relationship to YHWH compared to anyone else in his day. (Num. 12:6ff) YHWH spoke with him face to face, and even told other prophets to respect His choice of Moshe as leader, and never to speak against him. YHWH said he was “faithful over all His house”, thus naming him “father” of all Israel, and thus having the authority to bless his “children” like this. (Compare Gen. 48:20) Even the Messiah will be compared to him. (18:13ff) Indeed, the Messiah was described by those who followed Him as “a prophet mighty in word and deed before Elohim” (Luke 24:15ff)—not as an Elohim Himself--and one who was expected to redeem Israel—like Moshe. Yet Moshe made one crucial error which lmited his usefulness. He said he would be the one to bring water out of the rock; the “prophet like him” who would come later would do exactly what YHWH said, thus repairing Moshe’s error. He did not do things on His own (Yoch. 5:19, 30), though His supposed followers have claimed He did. His obedience left room for YHWH to work in the way He truly wanted to. Before: or, in the face of. While some might be bitter about his lot of being forbidden to enter the Land after all he had done for YHWH, he accepted YHWH’s will and blessed Israel instead. Thus he sets a precedent for Y’shua. As a parting thought he expresses hope that they will return to his words after they go astray, as he knows they will do. Our blessing, too, can have genuine power if we walk in Torah after Y’shua. A blessing is not empty words, even if we sometimes forget that it genuinely can imbue our children with power and protection. Even a word as commonplace as “shalom” is a blessing; it is a wish that the person we are addressing will be made complete and have total well-being. It is more than a mere greeting (acknowledgement of someone’s presence). We should be conscious of actively blessing one another in this spirit. In Hebrew, to bless is literally to bend the knee to—that is, become the servant to the one we bless, whether YHWH or our children. Boaz’ servants blessed him by invoking YHWH’s blessing upon him (Ruth 2:4), so there is no reason we cannot also. This is the last time Moshe is serving his people in this way.

Seir: the mountains in the land of Edom, near Petra in Jordan today. Par’an: west of the Aravah, south of the main inhabited area of Kanaan. Multitudes: myriads (tens of thousands or even millions). Right hand: a title for the Messiah.

Assembled: or lay down ("conscious of their powerlessness", as per Hirsch).

Inherited possession: The Hebrew word means something to sieze and occupy, not the kind we have to wait until our fathers die to receive. It is offered to us, not given, for no one can justly be forced into a legal contract. We have to reach out and claim it, living it out, if we are to receive any benefit from it. Notice also that it is only offered to the congregation as a whole, and not outside this context. If weare not assembling, we do not possess the inheritance of the Torah.

The leaders had to be in submission before the branches (tribes) could be unified. King: the context leads us to surmise that it is Moshe that is being spoken of here, though we seldom think of him as a king as such. But he was in charge, and in order for all the tribes to again be united, we must be in submission to what Moshe wrote. Yeshurun: a name YHWH only called Israel when all the tribes were united, as here; after the exile, we were never called this name again.

This is the only blessing Moshe offers this tribe—survival, but that is a large one in light of the fact that a son who took his father's concubine must die (Lev. 18:8; 20:11), and Re’uven did this. (Gen. 35:22) Die: Hirsch "be submerged", in the case of the whole tribe. Moshe grants a pardon for his descendants (possibly since the Torah had not yet been given when Re’uven did this) so that his descendants would not be barred from inheriting along with the other tribes.

Bring him near to his people: Yehudah prays daily for the outcasts to be regathered, and this includes all Israel, not just the Jews, though most Jews do not recognize this. Yehudah was already estranged from his brothers as early as Genesis 38—shortly after Yoseyf was taken to Egypt. One reason this tribe was given leadership over the others may have been to keep it together with the rest of Isreael. This worked for a while, but the unity must again be restored. (Yesh. 11:13) Though Yehudah has the crown, Yoseyf has a birthright (1 Chron. 5:2), which is why Efrayim could hold a separate crown for some time, but we have to be willing to again trust a Jewish king with both crowns. (Y’hezq’el 37:22) From his oppressors: or "out of his tight spots". Yehudah has survived as a distinguishable group throughout history, though every major power has tried to destroy them.

Massah and Merivah: where Moshe struck the rock and brought water the first time; the history is in Ex. 17:7. Thummim...urim: perfections and lights, which comprise part of the high priest's equipment. Devout man whom you proved: though this appears to be a negative aspect of Levi’s history, here is a positive too:

Seen: i.e., considered, perceived. This sounds negative at first, but it refers to the fact that a high priest, and other priests to a lesser degree, could not even bury most members of his closest family (Lev. 21), because YHWH’s work comes first. Y’shua, who functioned as our high priest, was tested on this very point (Mat. 12:46ff), and this verse gave Him the authority to say that His truest family on earth was those who do YHWH’s will. He passed on this same standard to His follweors. (Luke 14:26) Also, all the Levites stepped across the line Moshe drew in the sand, and slew their fellows who rebelled. (Ex. 32:26; Num. 25:7ff)

They will teach: or "Let them teach..." or even "throw". This is the authority for Malakhi 2:7.

Substance: ability or army (Hirsch, "brigade"). Accept: includes the sense of being pleased with. Hips: or slender parts.

Beside: or "over". The threshing floor David bought and on which the Temple was later built was located partly in Binyamin's tribal land.

Depth: or floods.

Lunar cycles: or months. This might refer to the sea tides, but also and probably more importantly, to the new moons and the significance they have in determining the times of YHWH's holy appointments each year Interestingly, it is the house of Yoseyf that is re-establishing the observance of new moons, more so than the house of Yehudah, though there has always been a remnant of the latter who marked them to some extent.

16. "and from the excellencies of the earth and its fullness, and the delight of the One who resides in the bush--may it come upon the head of Yoseyf and on the top of the head of the one kept separate [from] his brothers.

Fullness: Yaaqov prophesied that Yoseyf's son Efrayim would become "the fullness of the nations" (Gen. 48:19; cf. Rom. 11:25). The bush: the burning bush in which YHWH confronted Moshe. Separate from his brothers: not only historically in the man Yoseyf himself, but also his descendants, who have been apart from Yehudah for so long, yet have been given significant spiritual blessings as well. But this is an agricultural blessing, and the places these two sons have largely inhabited (Britain and the United States) have been the bread-baskets of the world. The latter phrase is a direct allusion to Yaaqov’s own blessing in Gen. 49:26.

Why would being like the firstborn of his ox (or bull) be a blessing? Because the firstborn belongs to YHWH, and the bull is the highest offering that can be brought to the Temple. Re'em: a unicorn or another extinct beast, perhaps belonging to the ox family, since the horns are plural here. Yoseyf's "horns" are his two sons, sent out into all the world to bring together the nations or ethnic groupings. Edges of the Land: i.e., for the unity of Israel and the preservation of the Land of Israel itself. Even Yehudah will become jealous over what Yoseyf does in this respect. Alt., ends of the earth. Those who have delved most deeply into the wanderings of the "lost" tribes (often all grouped under Efrayim in scripture) have deduced that Efrayim can largely be represented today by the British Empire, and Menashe by the United States--the two nations that have in the latter days sent more people to the "ends of the earth" (cf. Mark 13:27; Acts 1:8) for the purpose of placing all nations under one King, though only recently has it come back to light that the purpose is actually to regather all Israel to become a literal kingdom. Ten thousands…thousands: Menashe was the larger tribe numerically, but Efrayim may be described as ten times more because Efrayim reigned over ten tribes.

19. "They will summon the people to the mountain; there they will slaughter sacrifices of justice, because they will suck bounty from oceans and treasures hidden [in] whirling sand."

The mountain: i.e., the Temple Mount. Whirling sand: or writhing dance.

Widens: implicitly, to make more room for him. We are told that the scepter will somehow be hidden in Gad. An arm: forearm or shoulder, or, by extension, strength or forces. Top of a head: or scalp. The picture seems to be one of a person cringing into a fetal position with his arm over his head to defend it, and the lion biting through the arm into the head.

Eyes the choice [first, best] part--again, like a lion. A portion: or a slippery parcel of ground. A portion of [a lawgiver] is hidden: Rabbi Moshe Koniuchowsky links this "hidden scepter" with the "one who enacts decrees" in Gen. 49:10, noting that the scepter is in Yehudah's hands "until the one to whom it belongs comes"; then he (Messiah) may give it to whomever he wishes. We must not assume the right to make rulings remains in the hands of the Rabbinic successors to the P'rushim (Pharisees); Y'shua gave the "keys to the Kingdom" (Mat. 16:19) to his emissaries; perhaps Shim'on Kefa, whom he was addressing directly, was of the tribe of Gad! We don't know; it was hidden. But the keys will be given back to Yehudah when Y'shua returns as the rightful heir to the throne.

Bashan: today called the Golan Heights, and this is where the tribe of Dan later captured and inhabited a city (Laish), though it was not their original tribal territory. (Judges 18)

West and south: or "the sea and southward". The tribal land of Nafthali stretched along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee (Kinnereth).

Asher's tribal land is shaped like a shoe facing south, with the Karmel/Haifa Peninsula being the tongue and its bay the opening. American oilman "Hayseed" Stephens has discovered oil reserves deep beneath the area which forms the "toe" of this shoe! Pleasing: or, acceptable.

Again the imagery of the shoe shows up in the first phrase! Affluence: perhaps "strength", but apparently from a root meaning "to flow" and related to a verb meaning "to glide over". A shoe dipped in oil would certainly do that! What follows is now to all of Israel again:

What He is to us is the greatest blessing. To become: "in", "moving toward", or "concerning".

YHWH is our deliverer, but He sets up the ambush and tells us to finish the job. Shoulder: or arm, a symbol of strength.

29. "O Israel, you are blessed! Who is like you, O people being liberated by YHWH? [He is] the defense shield surrounding you with help and the one who is the sword of your majesty! Those who treat you with hostility will cringe in feigned obedience to you, and you will march on their high ridges."

Blessed: the word is much richer in Hebrew than the English “happy”, which is related to mere "happenstance". It is based on advancing in a straight line, making progress, and being set right, not just being blessed materially. YHWH has bailed us out on so many occasions, as a father despite so much of what we had done. Now it is time for us to “grow up” instead of continuing to whine about our own personal preferences. Once we cross the Yarden, we will be held accountable for so much more; our debts will be our own, like a grown child’s. Whatever we do that disgraces YHWH will now have consequences. Moshe is trying to prepare us for this. He will take His Land back if we do not show enough appreciation for what He is giving us to come get it from Him. March...high ridges: or "tread down their cultic worship platforms" (i.e., in desecration of false elohim). Cringe in feigned obedience: Hirsch, "renounce their principles to you"--a much wiser response!

CHAPTER 34

Nevo: related to the word for prophet—an appropriate memorial to Moshe. But in Babylon, Nevo was the name of a deity. Modern Babylon also worships the “prophet like Moshe”, legitimate as His true position is, and the prophetic in general is held in higher esteem thanit warrants in the sense that everyone wants to know about tomorrow today. Speculators think they will be the rich ones if they can anticipate tomorrow’s conditions. But we are not even promised tomorrow, so Y’shua says not to worry about it. (Mat. 6:31ff) In Hebraic context the purpose of the prophet is to, as Moshe does here, see the Kingdom. Y’shua insults the worrier by saying that worrying about tomorrow is something the Gentiles do. If YHWh could keep our ancestors’ clothes and shoes from wearing out for 40 years, could He not make them feel no hunger for that time as well? Yet He chose to use the manna, which was to be gathered for one day at a time, as a test of what we would do with tomorrow. (Ex. 16:4) Would we obey and trust Him, or serve a Security that ends up disappointing us with a stench that exudes death? When we need it, there is nothing left, whereas if we serve YHWH today, He will be there tomorrow when we need Him. Yes, a farmer must prepare for the harvest, but only YHWH can bring the harvest, so once we do our part, we can forget about it and take care of what we have been given today. We thus rob YHWH of both days, for tomorrow we have already promised to the demon Security, so all we have to give YHWH is yesterday—our past failures that we hope He will forgive. But if we know the Kingdom is the reality of tomorrow, why do we worry about what we will eat tomorrow? That is still serving Security. “Tomorrow” is an unclean idea. Christianity, like the Egypt Moshe left behind, spends all its energy on preparing for the afterlife. But we cannot do anything for the Kingdom after we are dead. (Psalm 115:7) Get out of the tombs! The Torah is about today. Walk in it, and tomorrow never comes. If we use the excuse that the Kingdom is tomorrow, we will put off the regathering of Israel that He has given us to do on the day that does exist—today. Getting caught up in eschatology has made us tend to forget the battles of today, and thus we are not ready for them. We are not to wait on the Kingdom; we are to become it by loving those around us and thus acting like its citizens. That is the way it will arrive. If a bus driver waited at the bus stop for the bus to arrive, it never would, for it is his job to bring it there. Do not wait for Y’shua to do what He has given us to do. He has finished His part. We cannot wait for a spectacular cosmic event before we put the Kingdom first. Our return to being the people of Israel who make up the Kingdom is that event. “We have seen the enemy and he is ‘me’!” Y’shua says to seek the Kingdom. The term means to crave it, hunt it out, find it in the things given to us today. If we do not find it where we are, we need to move on to where we can find it. How can we seek it? By obeying chapter 6: listen to the fact that “YHWH is (number) one.” In other words, seek His Kingdom first. And love Him with all we are and have. This is called “the command”, for it sets the rest in order (the root meaning of command), and sets us in order to bring the Kingdom. It is our “bus driver’s license”. As we give Him first priority in all our decisions, actions, ideas, attitudes, anmd loyalties, we will be able to take the Land—the context for that command. Look for ways to love Him by loving our true neighbors, and we will not have time for tomorrow today. When you find a way to love, do it, or it just remains an idea. This is our test. Gil'ad: directly north of Mt. Nevo. Dan: now at the extreme north of Israel, though originally its tribal land was on the coast near present-day Tel Aviv. The order in which he lists them indicates that Dan had already moved partially to the northern location before Y’hoshua wrote this epilogue. Moshe climbed: As a foreshadowing of Y’shua, he was obedient even unto death, for he could have decided to stay in the desert-plains (literally the place of mixture) and stay alive a little longer. YHWH is also calling us from the mediocre plain of self where footing is more sure to the more dangerous terrain of community life, because from there we can see the Kingdom much more clearly. We have to die to self to get there.

The view from Mt. Nevo.

It is obviously difficult to see as far as Moshe did with today’s typical haze, but YHWH may have given Moshe the ability to see more since he was obedient. But also, his eye was not dim. (v. 7)

3. and the Negev, and the district of the plain of Yericho, the city of palm trees, to Tsoar.

Negev: the southern desert. City of palm trees: it still is that today--an oasis in a largely-desert area. Tsoar: the small town at the southern end of the Dead Sea to which Lot asked permission to flee temporarily after the destruction of S'dom and ‘Amorrah.

5. Then Moshe the servant of YHWH died there in the land of Moav, according to YHWH's word.

6. Then He buried him in a steep gorge in the land of Moav, toward Beyth-Pe'or [place of the cleft], but until this day no one knows the site of his burial.

No one knows: Y’hoshua may have gone with Moshe as he had done on many occasions before, but then Moshe may have gone off on his own to a cave, which is the usual ancient burial site. Yehudah (Jude) verse 9 upholds a tradition that the archangel Michael disputed with the devil about Moshe's body. Considering how the brass serpent he made became an object of idolization later, how much more would the body of Moshe be idolized? (See note on 3:26) He was buried in a valley so he would not be set on high. Y’shua was buried ina borrowed tomb, and no one knows for sure where it was, but as He was resurrected, Moshe is also already alive in the Kingdom, for Y’shua spoke to Him (Mark 9:4), and it is against Torah to speak with the dead. So we should not seek the living among the dead, as the angels said.

Vigor: or freshness; literally, moisture. He was without the ravages of time. He died not from being weak and worn out, but because it was time for Y’hoshua to take Israel into the Land. An eye that is not dim is also a Hebrew idiom for selfless generosity (as Y’shua alluded to in Mat. 6:22).

Compare the mourning for Aharon, which was also for 30 days (Num. 20:29), and that of Yaaqov, which lasted 70 days. (Genesis 50) The typical minimal period of mourning is seven days, though a lesser degree of mourning is carried on for a year in Jewish tradition today.

Now Y’hoshua uses the name Moshe gave him, but still mentions his father in order to honor him. Moshe put his weight (an idiom for authority) on him so he could carry the weight of the Torah—though that burden is light when we divest ourselves of the dead weight of selfishness.

Since then: Clearly this was written before the time of Y'shua, because as 18:18 promised, there did arise another prophet like him, and people recognized that Y'shua was the one (Yochanan/John 7:40). However, he has not yet completely fulfilled that role as described in the following two verses. But he will, and "blessed is the one who does not stumble on account of" this delay!

12. and with respect to all the hand of firm grip and with regard to all the great awe-inspiring acts which Moshe carried out in the eyes of all Israel.

Thus the last word of the Torah is “Israel”. The first word is b’reyshith. “In the beginning…Israel.” Creation was all for the purpose of men being in covenant with YHWH, which is what Israel is about. The Torah is not complete until Israel is functioning in its fullness. The Torah was given to Israel. A house not built on a rock cannot stand; without the foundation of the Torah, the “New Testament” has no authority. The last letter in the Torah is “l” (lamedh); the first is “b” (beyth). Together they spell lev, the Hebrew word for “heart”. It was written to reveal YHWH’s heart to us so our hearts could be changed. What made Y’shua most special is that He had the same heart as YHWH. Once the Torah becomes our heart, we will be Israel and can go back home. We are not quite ready to depart, but we are “putting our shoes on”. Let us not delay, but strengthen our grip and live it proprerly out as a unified people this time!