Parashat Va-Yelekh

(Deuteronomy 31:1-30)

Went: more literally, walked. Of the two words for walking in Hebrew, this one has the connotation of carrying a burden while one walks, and Moshe clearly had a burden on his heart in regard to israel's continuing to follow YHWH after his death. He may have been literally walking throughout the camp, "reviewing his troops" before he "retired". But in any case, he had "walked the walk" before them, in addition to all his words, as a huge testimony that they can do the same. These words: His final "pep talk" to remind them to get serious about all he has told them, since few of them are totally ready to enter the Promised Land. It is "crunch time" for us again today, so these words are very relevant to us.

120 years old: literally, a son of 120 years. This suggests that he had allowed each year to teach him and each experience to build him into what he was now. Is our fruit better this year than it was last, or have we stayed at the same level? Have you been a "son" of this year? YHWH had also set 120 years as the normal limit of human life (Gen. 6:3, though it took a few generations for the full effects of the post-flood atmospheric conditions to have their full effect), so when Moshe reached his 120th birthday, he knew his time had come to die. No longer able: we are told in 34:7 that his natural strength had not abated. Verse 1 also showed that he was clearly able to get around on his own two feet; he was not sitting in a wheelchair or on life support, crippled, or beaten down by age. So he was not saying, "I am just too old for this." He has lived three different "lives"--three neat periods of 40 years, which symbolizes a time of transition. At age 40, he recognized that he was a Hebrew, but just because he was a prince in the Egyptian court or had killed an Egyptian to defend his own people did not give him a right to become a leader right away. He had to tend someone else's sheep--a job many would see as worthless--before he would be qualified in YHWH's eyes to lead His "flock". By 80, he had "paid his dues" and been trained so it would be no novice that led the Hebrews across the sea, but he still had more to learn at that point. To "go out or come in" is a Hebrew idiom for battle (Y'hoshua 14:11; 1 Shmu'el 29:6) or leading the people in general (2 Chron. 1:10). He knows he cannot fight anymore, but it is not because he was not capable. His season of war is over only because he recalls what YHWH told him in Num. 27:12-14 because he had presented the wrong picture to Israel. But despite his shortcomings, his heart had been for YHWH, so He gave him the full allotment of days on earth. He has completed three full cycles--three generations' worth of work. He therefore deduces that his work is done and it is time to die. The tone of his words shows that he is not pleased with this, but he accepts it, because, like all great men in Scripture, he is more concerned with YHWH's will for Israel than with what he wants. He sees and understands the evidence of what season it is--that it is time to step back--and aligns himself with it, as we must do. By tradition, he died on the exact anniversary of his birth, on the 7th day of Adar, which is five weeks before Passover, when Y'hoshua would lead the people across. "This Yarden" he could not cross, but the truer Yarden of which the physical one is a shadow, he would cross, for he will be one of the greatest in the Kingdom, since he has spent the past forty years teaching men to obey the Torah. (Mat. 5:19). Interestingly, six is the number of a man, and the first six words/phrases in the Torah that have the numeric value of 120 tell the story of Moshe's life: "From water" (Gen. 1:6) he was drawn; "a fugitive" (Gen. 4:12); "to all of them" (Gen. 11:6) he was sent back; "thick darkness" (Gen. 15:17)--the last plague Moseh had a hand in; "I will fetch" (Gen. 18:5); "my people" (Gen. 19:38)--those he was sent to fetch.

"Hebrew" means "crosser-over", so YHWH is the first "Hebrew". As opposed to Moshe, it is Y'hoshua who will lead you across. YHWH is the one... Y'hoshua is the one: The same claim is made for Y'hoshua that is made for YHWH. What he does, YHWH is doing. This is the key to understanding things that Yahshua--and many other prophets, for that matter--said that sounded like they were making claims that only YHWH could fulfill. The law of agency allows one to speak for the one who sent him as if he were that one, and act in his name. This is a picture of the later Y'hoshua (of which Yahshua is a shortened version), who would so fully express what YHWH, whom no one can ever see (Yochanan/John 1:18; 6:46; 1 Yoch. 4:12), was like, that he could say, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." (Yoch. 14:9) By Greek logic, this sounds very much like it is saying "Y'hoshua is YHWH", but clearly Y'hoshua was a man with a job given by YHWH's will. He represents YHWH, and YHWH fully supports him, but no one would say YHWH became Y'hoshua, yet they say He turned into the one who later bore the same name. Y'hoshua is the precedent for Yahshua in many ways. Their names mean "YHWH's deliverance." Yahshua indeed preceded us into the Kingdom as the firstfruits of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20-23), the Head of a Body that he is still assembling. Moshe (who symbolizes the Torah) could not lead the people into the Promised Land, because that task was reserved for the one with the same name as the Messiah. (Compare Romans 8:23) Those who are returning to Torah from paganism must also remember that the Torah alone cannot take us back to where we need to be; we cannot outgrow our need for Yahshua. "You have heard…but I say unto you..." Not an adversative, but adding more--not more rules, but a deeper understanding of what it all means. The way he interpreted Torah goes to the root of the problem: the heart, as Shlomo and especially Yirmeyahu caught inklings about. Lust is the root of adultery; hate is the root of murder. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. If these issues are not dealt with, all the rules in the world won't get Israeli society to work properly. The best we could get would be P'rushim, which Yahshua said was not adequate. So he gave us keys to what underlies and ties together all the aspects of Torah so it seems like one unit rather than a lot of disjointed responsibilities. Moshe had said, "Love your neighbor as yourself", and a few astute people picked up on this, but he had tucked it away in the middle of another discussion, so Yahshua brought it out into the open and made it prominent. But on the other hand, Y'hoshua would have gotten nowhere if not trained by Moshe, and likewise, Yahshua receives His authority and mandate from YHWH through the Torah. Both are necessary. We are not even considered the seed of Israel unless we both have the testimony of Yahshua and keep the commandments. (Rev. 12:17) The people had to trust Moshe's word that Y'hoshua could lead them, because they knew little about him. We, too, do not really know Yahshua properly until we see Him as a Hebrew, but Moshe tells us to do all He says. (18:15) Promised: or "spoken". Yahshua said he could only do what he saw or heard the Father doing (Yoch. 5:19, 30), but it is not that a window opened up into heaven; he saw and heard it through the Torah. Y'hoshua failed to do this on one occasion. (Y'hoshua 9:14) It is YHWH, not men, that we trust (Psalm 118:8), yet He is for us "through our helpers". (118:7) Just as when Moshe acted, it was YHWH who carried it to the level of miracles, likewise we will experience YHWH dispossessing these nations when we do the work of dispossessing them. Moshe cannot go, so he could never fulfill many of the commands in the Torah that were designed to be carried out in the Promised Land. Y'hoshua would have to be the one to show them how to deal with house leprosy or brig the firstfruits. Likewise, when everyone was studying the Torah but hating one another because of opposing interpretations, Yahshua said, "Watch me, and see how it is supposed to be done." Moshe cannot go, but he tells the people to prepare for these battles. Y'hoshua has already been leading most of Israel's battles. He is a military man who will have a different outlook than Moshe. He grew up at Moshe's feet, learned from him, and always honored him, but he would not put up with as much rebellion as Moshe put up with. Y'hoshua was not a traditional shepherd as Moshe was, but that is not what is needed for the new season that is upon them.

Which He destroyed: yet chapter 3 described how the Israelites defeated them in battle, and no distinction is made between what He accomplished and what they carried out. It is teamwork; we act as His hand. Again, this was a precedent to give them confidence to fight more of the same kind of battles.

Outside the Land, the protocol was to offer the terms of peace: an unconditional surrender. If they try to resist, they are to be destroyed, though their virgin daughters and animals could be kept. But once we are in the Land He gives us to inherit, there are no such offers. Everything that breathes must be destroyed--even their pet canaries! You will not profit from anything of theirs that you find; do not even take their wealth, or your children will learn that it is all right to kill for the sake of profit. (YHWH thinks of everything!) In the book of Esther and even in events like the Holocaust we see the results of King Sha'ul's failure to carry out the same type of complete destruction of the Amaleqites, against whom YHWH had sworn eternal enmity. They always remained a thorn in Israel's flesh. This slaughter is completely just, and YHWH takes responsibility for it. Moshe was probably glad Y'hoshua was doing this, as he was more inclined to battle; Moshe did fight some battles, but he was more of a domestic leader, though he set a better example for Y'hoshua later in life. Deliver them over: If YHWH had done the whole job Himself, the surrounding nations might say it was just a natural occurrence. If He used Israel, they knew it had to be YHWH, because this people was not capable of such an accomplishment. But He makes us capable, not by magic; He goes on ahead and arranges for everything to be in place for our enemies' overthrow, so we can consider them destroyed. But if we do not draw the sword, He will not conquer our enemies.

Resolute: or strong, bold, grabbing hold and holding on tightly and not letting go. We must start by grasping it between our ears, processing it mentally as we do it, and using whatever system we need to remember it well. . Courageous: on the watch, aware of our surroundings, of who YHWH is and what He has done, of who we are called to be and what He has promised to make us, and therefore prepared and confident. If we are paying attention, we can learn from anything. If we remember that He intends to reward us when we carry out His words, we will do much better. If we do not recognize who we are fighting for and that we are fighting for an eternal Kingdom, we are less likely to "fight for our lives". This word for courageous also means "fully alert"; if we are lulled to sleep, we will be taken captive even if we are strong, like Shimshon (Samson). Do not be terrified: Hirsch, "Do not panic"; it can also mean, "do not be in awe or show respect", because to fear anything but YHWH is to give it more recognition than it deserves, when He has already promised to do what it looks like they will interfere with. The dread in our minds makes the enemy look even larger than he really is, and this saps our energy more than the actual battle would. Yahshua says worrying is a Gentile thing to do! (Mat. 6:25) Will He fight our enemies for us if we are really worshipping them? King Sha'ul did show respect for the king of the Amaleqites, perhaps since he came from a long dynasty and Sha'ul was just getting a kingdom started. But it only spelled trouble for Israel for generations to come. Tremble: to let yourself be oppressed or harassed. Worry and dread are the first step toward fear. We will only fail if we are fearful, so that is the real battle; we could almost echo Roosevelt's words: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." If we do not grab hold, He might indeed slacken His hold, because He does not honor cowards. He also implies that we must not fear the guilt that comes with having to destroy YHWH's enemies; He will not let go of us. We are in His hand, which is a fist against them, and He will not open it and give them access to us. It is almost saying you can go taunt the enemy: "You can't catch me!", because YHWH is holding onto us, enabling us to do things that would be downright suicidal in any other scenario. We are not to compare the enemies to ourselves, but to YHWH. He will not slacken (compromise) or loosen; these are both legal terms that we see in both the Talmud and Mat. 5:17. YHWH will not change the terms of His covenant. He will provide manna or a pillar of cloud to shade us, if that is what is necessary to fulfill His promises if we keep our part of the contract. We do not need to even consider any other possible outcome. Yahshua did not change its terms either, though he put them on a better foundation. If we loosen YHWH's terms, as Christianity has done on so many occasions, He will indeed let everything loose against use. (Chapter 30)

In the sight of all: This is not done behind closed doors. He wanted them all to understand who the new leader was, in case his own sons came back and wanted to claim a dynastic position, or even if Aharon's sons tried to take a role that was not theirs, making claims that Moshe had said they could. Cause them to inherit...: or, "let them dispossess". Do your part as if you were the only one, but make sure you are not; do not fight their battles for them. Train them, then make sure they are doing their part. YHWH saved Israel through Y'hoshua's leadership, yet they had to participate! He did not do it alone and then call Israel in to come and enjoy the benefits, and neither did Yahshua; He does not act instead of us, but through us. He enables us by his strong example of what we, too, need to be. If the leader takes hold and does nfot let go, we are more likely to follow his example of fearlessness. The second Y'hoshua will also enter the Land again with His subjects. This is what consititutes salvation--going into the Land, overcoming its usurpers, and living in shalom with Yahshua in charge. Until that is accomplished, none of us is saved, though we may be redeemed.

He tells Y'hoshua pretty much the same as he told the people, but this word "panic" is different. It could be translatrd "go to pieces", because the word means to shatter or break up, because this is what becomes of our minds when we are dismayed and confounded. But it comes from a root word meaning to prostrate ourselves or lie down. We are not to fall on our faces when our enemies--or loved ones--come against us, when we can see no way out, or when everyone around us is bowing to the ways of the world, to their own hearts, to what they need, or to what makes sense. Even fearless people may sometimes lie down to people's demands. Moshe may be saying, "Don't show the people too much compassion as I did, leaving all the discipline to YHWH when they rebelled, because you are the shepherd; direct them! Don't give in to either their cuteness or their crying, whether they are enemies or loved ones. They are whiny, rebellious people, but do not give up on them!" When YHWH has made a promise, no other appearance of reality is meant to influence us. Yahshua did not let the natural fear of execution stop Him from trusting YHWH. He did not drop out of the fight, though His own body even tried to betray Him.

He had written some of it down earlier. (Ex. 24:7; 34:27) But this is where he stops writing; thus Moshe's last written words were, "Do not be afraid." If we walk in fear, we will not be able to take the Land. Y'shoshua finished writing this scroll, symbolizing Yahshua's bringing the Torah to its fullness. (Mat. 5:17)

Sukkoth: booths or temporary dwellings. It is at the beginning of a new civil year, but the end and beginning overlap in Hebraic thought. Release: See 15:1. This is after the land has lain fallow for a year--a nice way to cap off a year in which one is to concentrate more on YHWH and relationships with his family and people. It was right before they went back to normal work, so it would be fresh in mind. When Nekhemyah had brought the people back after the Babylonian captivity, they read this two weeks earlier (Nekh. 7:73 and chapter 8), giving them time to recognize and carry out what they needed to do to keep Sukkoth on schedule. Since it mentioned the species to bring, they read at least from Leviticus.

Within their hearing: literally, "into their ears". Read: or recite, proclaim. The king would later be the one to sit and read it in the Temple courts. This instruction: at least the entire book of D'varim (which tradition says), if not the whole Torah.

Learn: based on a word meaning "be goaded" or "prodded"--an unpopular concept today, but one which has worked for countless generations before us. Every seven years does not sound very effective for memorizing something that one is responsible to remember. But if it is in one's native language and you are used to a story-telling campfire culture, it might sink in better than it would today with our short attention spans and barrage of competing information. Also, if one knows he will not just be able to go look it up, is responsible to carry it out, and may have to go a long way and embarrass himself by having to ask the priest to remind him of what it said, he is more likely to listen carefully and attentively. Take pains: or "build a hedge". Fences around the commandments (which keep us one step further from violating them) are valid as long as they do not keep us so far away as to obscure the commands they are meant to protect.

This seems like a long time to expect children to remain quiet and listen, but it may have been sung or read in a dramatic way to avoid monotony. If those who only heard this read every seven years were expected to learn it and understand it, it must be meant to be understood in the most straightforward, simple manner, that even children can comprehend. There are deeper meanings, but "don't eat pigs" means "don't eat pigs"! This is how our children will learn to be in awe of YHWH: by hearing His Torah, they will learn to respect Him. If we do not hear, our actions may be sincere but misguided by our own assumptions about what He must want. If we read the instructions (which is all "torah" means), we will never have to wonder what He really wants.

Ordain him: literally, give him his orders; i.e., officially appoint him to his position.

Above the door: or "by the door", of which the two pillars in front of Shlomo's temple may have been reminiscent, as it appears that they held up nothing in particular. This time it was behind closed doors, but they knew it was not just a conspiratorial scheme of Moshe and Y'hoshua, because YHWH was clearly present.

Commit adultery: Hirsch, "become addicted to". The word comes from a root meaning to be satiated, which is typically when people find time to commit adultery. Strangers: aliens, unrecognized people, those unknown to them. Leave Me behind: forsake, abandon, desert, let Me loose. As soon as the Torah is laid down to sleep, we sink back into our natural inclination to evil. This is every parent's concern, and Moshe must of course suspected that this would indeed be the case, having seen their actions during his lifetime. (v. 27) That this is foremost in his mind as he reaches his death is clear throughout the whole chapter. Violate: break or annul. How depressing, and almost cruel, to tell him that the people he had spent 40 years on would soon be ignoring everything he said. At least he will not live to see it, but was it all just a waste? Yet the technicality that the Torah actually ends at verse 8 (see note on verse 9) leaves YHWH the loophole for the Renewal of the Covenant as described in Yirmeyahu 31:31. The only specified way in which it would "not [be] like the covenant I cut with their ancestors" is that the ancestors broke the first covenant. This appendix to Torah, although it offers us much in the way of warning, may be limited to the first time Israel entered the Land, and may not necessarily apply the second time if we indeed do not break the Covenant this time. Y'hoshua's namesake made it possible for us to repair what our ancestors broke.

It: i.e., this people. Leave them behind: a term also used for loosing a wife from her marriage so that she is no longer bound to one's house. We see this theme in the book of Hoshea. Destruction: literally, being consumed. Distresses: straits, tight spots, adversities, vexations. That Day: often an idiom for the day of YHWH when both the time of "Yaaqov's trouble" and the Messianic Kingdom will take place. Yet Isaiah 54:8 tells us that the hiding of His face is only for a brief moment in comparison with the kindness and mercy He will again have after that. The Hebrew numerical value of "haven't these miseries come upon us" is the same as that of "the four exiles".

Repentance would not be granted in this case. This was a temporary measure, even if it lasted 2 to 3 millennia, but this is not the place or the season to discuss the possibility of return, because his point is to motivate the people to never get to this point, as seen in the next verses:

Teach: or "make them accustomed" or "skillful". This way they will remember it better. YHWH postpones Moshe's death long enough for him to compose a song, which is quoted in chapter 32. This may seem out of place here, but a catchy tune is the most effective memory aid that there is.

When they grow robust they will turn away--the very pattern seen in Revelation 3; compare 32:15 below.

Plan: inclination, framework, imagination, purpose they are forming, even if not actually thinking it yet. A scary thought! He knows what we consider most important, if only by what we do after He finishes speaking the words. Do we write them down and explain them to others, or just go off and play games? Not be forgotten: or fade; a song stays in one's mind much longer than mere spoken words. This way no one could claim that they had not heard it. They must have stopped singing it at some point, however. This is a synopsis of the song, not the actual one yet. It starts out so nicely, but then the mood changes drastically. Below we submit a modern synopsis for children, which should be sung to a "country" tune, since it is, after all, a "heartbreak song":

"I will bring them to a land Flowing with milk and honey Just like I said to their dads. And they'll have fat little tummies And their lives will be yummy Then everything will go bad.

"And they will worship other mighty ones And they will break my heart. They won't love Me any more Like they did before And they will tear my covenant apart."

This charge is repeated in Y'hoshua 1:6ff. I myself: that is, Moshe, on YHWH's behalf, but we must not forget the merit Moshe had before YHWH. When anyone walks in the Torah, it is on his side, and this will get you across the river. Moshe is thus "with him", and Yahshua said the same thing to us. Y'hoshua is the only other man who got to ascend Mt. Sinai, though not as far as Moshe. He thus "ascended into the sky" as Yahshua did. (Eph. 4:10) He was by Moshe's side all the time, foreshadowing Yahshua, another man fully committed to the Torah; he, rather than Moshe's own son, would take his place as leader.

Complete: This does not mention an oral Torah; rather, he wrote down all its words. Tradition is valuable in clarifying what some of the words meant, or how they were interpreted in ancient times, but as we can see in the Mishnah and Talmud in which it was finally written down, oral tradition often draws on many opinions about how it should be interpreted, and so is not as authoritative as Torah is. It is the "how-to" which YHWH did not see fit to mandate at the same level as what was written, for it might not always be possible to do things exactly as they used to be done, and YHWH did not want us to feel guilty about that.

The congregation itself was meant to be YHWH's witness, so in a way the scroll was a witness against the witness, if they should depart from this calling. But if we keep the Torah, it can be a witness for us instead. Can people look at our lives and say, "Oh, so that's what it means!"? YHWH listed the names of the men who wept when they compared themselves to the Torah when they rediscovered it (Nekhemyah 8). Is your name listed as one who upholds it? Like the Sabbath, the Ark is a sign of the covenant. With the Torah beside it, the theme of the Two Witnesses that runs throughout Scripture shows up here again. Exodus 25:16 specifies that the testimony should be put inside the Ark of the Covenant when Moshe would receive it. He himself built another chest out of only wood, without the gold, possibly to hold only the stone slabs with the Ten Declarations on them.

Moshe tears them down so they will realize who they are without YHWH, and that He will not dwell in them unless they make themselves an acceptable dwelling place for Him. How much more will we go astray after we say that the Torah is dead? Notice that he does not tell them that YHWH has said this would take place (v. 16), because then they would just say, "Oh, well, it's going to happen anyway; who can resist it?" The way he phrased it was wise: He used reverse psychology, saying, "I bet you can't do any better!" , thereby motivating them to compete against the odds. It was to keep them "on their toes". When they heard their children singing this song, they were to respond by saying, "Not on my watch, we won't!"

Hearing: literally, their ears. Invoke: or "summon". Calling forward the strongest witness available was the common way to end a covenant-ratifying ceremony.

But they did not stop following YHWH until after Y'hoshua died (Judges 2:7). Rashi says that this is because a person's disciple is as dear to him as himself, so when he said "After my death", he was really referring to after Y'hoshua's death. While Y'hoshua was still leading, it was as if Moshe was still alive through him. Evil in the sight of YHWH: Until we read the Torah, what we do rarely seems evil to us, but very logical! Our own experience and morals cannot be our stabndard; the Tree of Knowledge looked very appropriate to Chawwah. Worshipping on Sunday under a phallic symbol and facing the insignia of Tammuz came to seem very righteous to us, but it turned YHWH's stomach. How He sees it is the only opinion that counts. It is His world, He made us, and He redeemed us, so what He thinks goes.