Parashat Ve’etchanan

Saturday 1 August 2015                 Av  16  5775

Parashat Ve’etchanan
Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11; Isaiah 40:1-26; Matthew 23:1-3,16-23

This is the first of seven portions dedicated to comforting the nation of Israel after the destruction of the Temple on Tish B’Av.
Summary:-
Moshe pleads with God to enter the Holy Land, but is turned down.  (Remember, God always answers your prayers -- sometimes with a "yes," sometimes with a "no" ... and sometimes with a "not yet".) 
Moshe commands the Children of Israel not to add or subtract from the words of the Torah and to keep all of the Commandments.  He then reminds them that God has no shape or form and that we should not make or worship idols of any kind.

The cities of Bezer, Ramot and Golan are designated as Cities of Refuge east of the Jordan river.  Accidental murderers can escape there to avoid revengeful relatives.  They then await there until tried.

The Ten Commandments are repeated to the whole Jewish people.  Moshe then expounds the Shema, affirming the unity of God, Whom all should love and transmit His commandments to the next generation.  A man should wear Tefillin upon the arm and head.  All Jews should put a Mezuzah (the scroll is the essential part) upon each doorpost of their home (except the bathroom).

Moshe then relays the Almighty's command not to intermarry "for they will lead your children away from Me" (Deut. 7:3-4).

The Torah states:
Deut 4:26-31
25 "When you beget children and grandchildren and will become old in the Land, you will grow corrupt and make an idol, the image of anything, and you will do evil in the eyes of the Almighty, your God, to anger Him"
26  I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed.
27 And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you.
28 And there you will serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

The obvious question is why should having children and grandchildren
lead to corruption and idolatry? The answer lies in understanding the Hebrew word for ‘getting old’. It is ‘venoshantem’, which is more accurately translated as ‘you have remained long’. The root word ‘yashen’ (Strong’s 3462) is a primitive root which means ‘to be slack or languid’, i.e. by implication ‘to grow old’ but more importantly, ‘to become stale’.

The sages teach that if one becomes accustomed to what one has or possesses, then one no longer appreciates it. And, if one no longer appreciates something, three things are possible:
• you take things for granted
• you no longer appreciate what you have, and
• you no longer feel a sense of gratitude to the Almighty. 

And without a sense of gratitude, a person will not only neglect his obligations to God, but can turn against Him. The same principle applies in our relationships with our fellow human beings. Therefore, we must always focus anew upon the favors we have received.  Each day look at your family, your home, your possessions as if you just received them that very day.  This will ensure gratitude.  This will enhance our lives and those around us!

We see this caution throughout Torah. In last week’s parasha, Devarim, we read:

Deut 1:5-8
6  "The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: 'You have dwelt long enough at this mountain.
7  Turn and take your journey, and go to the mountains of the Amorites, to all the neighboring places in the plain, in the mountains and in the lowland, in the South and on the seacoast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the River Euphrates.
8  See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers — to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — to give to them and their descendants after them.'

Israel’s experience at the mountain of revelation was one of the most significant encounters of the intermingling of heaven and earth. In Exodus 19:20 we read, ‘see, I have spoken to you from the top of the mountain’, but in Exodus 20:22, HaShem says ‘see I have spoken to you from heaven’. And so, the commentators ask ‘well, where was G-d. Was He in heaven or on the top of the mountain?’ And they answer ‘both. For in that moment of sublime revelation, the heavens bowed down and the earth arose, to give and receive Torah’.

Their encounter with HaShem was momentous and remarkable and one could easily understand why they tarried there. But, kol HaShem (the voice of G-d) spoke and said ‘Move! You have dwelt long enough here. Go to the mountains and valleys of the world and there, work out your salvation in fear and trembling’ (Phil 2:12).

I know people who cling to past anointings and past experiences of G-d’s presence. We are commanded to move on! In Philippians chapter 3, Sha’ul teaches that our walk with HaShem is always forward and upward.

Jer 48:11
Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees , and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither has he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.

The inherent danger in becoming settled in one’s lees is complacency. You drop your
guard and therefore, become  vulnerable to attacks by the adversary. Nothing wrong
at all with owning property, getting married and in starting a family. But, never let
your guard down. Never become complacent where you expect everything just to fall
into your lap. Whether you have a lot or whether you have little, remember – zachor
– to give thanks to the One who has given you life in abundance! Inculcate a spirit of
gratitude, of giving thanks!

Like fine red wine, we must be poured out from vessel to vessel so that our taste and
scent will be transformed by the sovereign work of the Ru’ach HaKodesh (the Holy
Spirit), for we are called to carrying around with us, the fragrance of Messiah:

2 Cor 2:14-16
‘but thanks be to G-d who always leads us in triumph and through us, diffuses the fragrance of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are to G-d the fragrance of Messiah  among those who are being saved and among those
who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?

Ours is a privilege and a high calling!