It’s one thing to be resigned to the fact that you are about to die mere moments after you finish a few speeches, but it is quite another to talk about and graphically describe all the mechanisms and infrastructure that are about to replace you. This is what Moshe does in great detail as he goes into how to set up a court system, root out corruption and a host of other legal matters. The system Moshe outlines is unlike anything the ancient or modern world has ever produced and yet if Israel must trade Moshe for that system, there seems every indication they were better off under him. However, hope will always remain so long as some in Israel realize their ultimate King is YHWH Himself. Keep Reeding
This week Moshe brings clarity on a whole variety of legal and moral issues. Some of these include: What if a prophet tells Israel to follow pagan gods and the miracle he predicts comes true? Why does Israel have to go to total war sometimes killing every living thing in a village? What happens if the place Father Yah chooses to dwell in is far away and you cannot bring the needed livestock for a sacrifice you can only do there? And what about that odd rule that what is unkosher for you is okay to either give away to proselyte or sell to a pagan? Get some needed answers on these (or at least helpful suggestions that may point you in the right direction for your own discovery) and many other challenging matters today! Keep Reeding
As Moshe gets into the second of his three final addresses for Israel, he tasks this current generation more intensively than ever to not make the same mistakes their fathers made and rise to heights their fathers never could, as they will enter the land and prosper “if only” they will have the wisdom to obey!
Now that Moshe has offered his introduction, it’s time to get into the heart of his overall message. This parsha of Va’etchanan gives us so many foundational aspects that go the core of his farewell address. There is an extensive refutation of idolatry that weaves its way throughout the entire section and the Ten Commandments are given to a new generation with some important differences. Chapter 6 gives of the Shema prayer in all of its glory while Moshe literally pulls out all the stops to make sure he has left no literary stone unturned for this last push to save his people from destruction.
It’s the beginning of the end for Moshe as Israel faces an uncertain future with Joshua. The first of three farewell speeches begins this week, and by the end of this very day Moshe will die. It’s one last chance to Israel to finally get the message or perish in the flames of her own arrogance. Speaking of arrogance, this is also the time the Temples were destroyed as the 9th day of the 5th month of Ab is this Sunday. Stay tuned then for special Tisha B’Av content, including new Member Q&A and special bonuses! Enjoy!
The book of Bamidbar (Numbers) comes to a stunning close this week with a special in-depth DOUBLE Torah portion of Mattot (the Tribes) and Masei (the Journeys). These last seven chapters of Numbers may be the most exciting of them all up to this point. As war with Midian breaks out and is now in full force, another civil war nearly breaks out as Reuben and Gad attempt to secede from the rest of the tribes and settle on the eastern side of the Jordan. Moshe can’t let this happen or else his own army ranks are depleted and vulnerable against a determined enemy and the remaining tribes may lose heart and either not want to fight with less of a fighting force or not want to go into Canaan at all. The future of Israel depends on the amazing decision Moshe is about to make, with consequences that reach down even to this day. And if that is not enough, a sequel to the case of Zelophehad’s daughters also comes at the end, and if this is not dealt with properly the entire inheritance structure for the tribes in Canaan could be permanently destroyed. No pressure! Also check out a special BONUS VIDEO, an hour long teaching I did at a local Christian TV station. More details on that are in the FEATURED section. Enjoy!
In a time of year where Hollywood overwhelms us with summer blockbusters, it’s time to show the original action hero, a man so brave he saves the lives of an entire nation for all time. The weapon sent against israel was subtle enough that no scanner or device even today could have detected it but so deadly that 24,000 people died inside a few minutes and millions more would have died had not Pinchus stood up for what was right, preserving both his people and his family’s role as high priests at the same time. Forget the theater, Redbox or Netflix. The greatest action hero of them all is playing on your television right now, coming now to the parsha near you.
This story would be very funny if it wasn’t first sand foremost tragic. Balak of Moab is scared of Israel. He can’t overcome them with his army and he tries this week to engage a prophet for hire, Balaam, to curse Israel. Balaam tries repeatedly to to do so and get his reward from the king only to find Father Yah standing in his way with the truth. But before Balaam can even meet the king, he has to get past a heavenly messenger and deal with the wise rebuke of his own beast of burden. Ironically, after all that effort, Israel dooms itself this week by lapsing into promiscuity and idolatry. So sin was able to do to Israel what nothing else could not. Also on Scroll to Scroll a special look into the life of Peter.
Remember back in Leviticus when it seemed parshas were all detail about sacrifices and architecture and little about conflict and action? Now here is this part of Numbers it seems it is all action–the bad kind–and no pausing at all. Even after miracles and plagues made it clear that Korah was evil, Israel still pines for him and his band and refuses to understand that Moshe is the only true representative for Elohim. This week things get really personal as both Moshe’s sister Miriam and brother Aaron die, and there is no rest from the wicked surrounding Moshe even in these tragic circumstances; only war, hardship and pain. In our Haftorah we also look at the mysterious Jephtah and ask the hard question: Did he really sacrifice his daughter in exchange for victory at war? All this, and I forgot to also mention, 38 years goes by in a flash so fast that the text barely lets you know what happened. Talk about losing track of time. And finally, for Scroll to Scroll, don’t miss the new teaching, “The Message of the Math”. Enjoy.
This is Moshe’s darkest hour but also the time of one of his greatest triumphs. Action and intrigue doesn’t get any more suspenseful than this one!
For two years Israel has been sheltered under the safe haven of Mount Sinai, but now its time to hit the road. And, with a new journey of course come new dangers. But before they can walk one step the priests clearly need a refresher course to avoid more people dying, the entire military camp is reorganized and, lest we forget, Moshe very nearly has a nervous breakdown before having to deal with a rebellion led by his brother and sister! All in a day’s work, but then there is that mysterious calendar code (in the Scroll to Scroll version) where the Israelites walk out time mirroring the stars of heaven. This is one packed parsha that’s not to be missed!
“it’s all in the math”–that is, until its not. Here in a special double parsha of the first two parts of Numbers, we find that the math leads to some very unexpected places, including times when the numbers seem to not add up only to find that they actually do in the end. Explore the mysteries and crack the codes about confirming history, revealing calendar and counting down to our apocalyptic future!