Torah Gemstones – Nitzavim (standing) Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20

The Torah Portion, Nitzavim (standing), generally falls on the Shabbat before Rosh HaShanah.  Rosh HaShanah is called the Day of Judgment and much of the Parshah contains elements of repentance or teshuvah (turning).  We will also find that teshuvah doesn’t just mean a personal turning to the Father in sorrow and remorse but it also points to the RETURN to the land of Israel.  As the children of Israel are gathered before Moshe, preparing to enter the land, in a scene of great unity, Moshe understands that they would soon be driven into exile after his death for failure to obey the voice of the Lord.  Even the first words, “you are standing on the day”, the sages interpret as everyone, through all the ages, standing in judgment before God.  It is a picture of Rosh HaShanah, at this final Torah reading for the year, and a fulfillment of the Messianic Kingdom.

This Torah portion also deals with the “renewal of the covenant of Moshe”. It is on the last day of Moshe’s life when he addresses those who are literally standing there,  as well as those yet to come.  The renewal of the covenant is a reminder to those about to enter the land but it is also given in preparation for when they will be exiled because of their disobedience.  The same pattern is revealed at the time of Yeshua the Messiah.  Israel is in the land under Roman occupation but will soon be exiled and scattered to the four corners of the world.

The “renewal of the covenant” is really the same as the “renewed covenant” or “new covenant”, which is what we now call the New Testament.  Just as Moshe renewed the covenant on the last day of his life so too did Yeshua renew the covenant at his death.  We are reminded that Yeshua said, “This is the new covenant in my blood – do this in remembrance of me”.  The concept of remembrance is Yom HaZikron or the Day of Remembrance, which is another name for Rosh HaShanah.

Maimonides cites the following verses when describing the task of the Messiah.  “The anointed one will build the Holy Temple and gather the dispersed of Israel. For the Torah testifies about him: "G-d shall return your captivity and have compassion upon you. And He will return and gather you from all the nations amongst whom the L-rd your G-d has scattered you... If your outcasts shall be at the ends of the heavens, from there will the L-rd your G-d gather you, from there He will take you... G-d will bring you..."  (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings 11:1)

Notice the similarity with John 11:49-52. “You people don’t know anything!  You don’t see that it is better for you if one man dies on behalf of his people, so that the whole nation won’t be destroyed…the high priest…was prophesying that Yeshua was about to die on behalf of the nation and not for the nation alone but so that he might gather into one the scattered children of God.”

Can you see the relationship between what Yeshua fulfilled in the role as Messiah and what Moshe accomplished in his role as deliverer?

Ultimately, exile meant death and return to the land meant life.  The Geulah or redemption meant to restore to the original position.  In this case, the original state was the children of Israel living in their land and serving their God.  So the Ingathering of the exiles and their Return to the land came to be synonymous with the redemption. The sages were clear that to be in exile meant captivity and death.  Returning to the land meant freedom and deliverance.  The go’el (redeemer) was the one who would accomplish this.  Certainly it meant a return to the Father in personal repentance but even more significant, it was a return to the land for those in exile who were experiencing death. They would now enter the land and live again at the time of Rosh Hashanah.  This is why the resurrection of the bones in Ezekiel is so important and why it is associated with the Messianic Kingdom.

This is likely one of the reasons Yeshua sends out his Talmidim (disciples) to the “uttermost” parts of the world.  They would bring the good news to a people in exile in preparation for their return to the land.  “He will return and gather you from all the peoples to which Adonai scattered you”.

The sages reminded us that, “The Divine Presence always resides among Israel in all the misery of their exile.  When the people of God are redeemed, He speaks of it as His own redemption and He himself returns along with the exiles.” 

It is a pattern repeated over and over again in Scripture.  Hopefully this will give you new resolve for this New Year to take the message of the kingdom to the whole world. The time of our exile is nearly over and we are ready to RETURN.

This Week’s Torah Gemstone is from Ki Tetze(when you go forth).

Deut. 24:1 “if a man takes as his wife a woman and marries her”… 

Translation:  If a man takes or betroths (Erusin) himself to his wife and then marries (ba’alah) her…  

There were two stages of marriage in ancient Israel.  The first stage was the betrothal in which a bond formed between the husband and wife, but the marriage had yet to be consummated.  In the second stage (Nis’suin) the woman permanently entered the man’s home, just as today they stand under the Chuppah (wedding canopy) in a Jewish wedding.  The word used in this verse for the second stage of marriage is ba’alah, which denotes a yoke that binds the master to his servant or in this case the master (ba’al) to his wife.  To “take” a wife eventually came to be an idiom for the betrothal stage.  Further, according to the sages, “to eat” was an idiom for the full stage of marriage.

Now consider Chavah(Eve) who “took” of the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and “ate”.  Trees in Scripture generally represent people; so, in effect, she betrothed herself to the enemy of God and joined herself in an intimate relationship by “eating” of its fruit.  The tree became her master (ba’al) in the act of ba’alah (marriage).  It is no wonder the Father brought curses upon them both and forced them into exile from the garden.  Now the fruit or consequence of this union was that ownership, control and dominion of the husband over the wife was passed down to every generation.  This was never in the mind of God.  We give thanks to Yeshua our Messiah, the Tree of Life.  It is by His Spirit that all things are restored to their original design, including the freedom that marriage should bring by our trust in Him.

Rav Sha’ul(Paul) reminds us “Do not yoke yourselves together in a team with unbelievers. For how can righteousness and lawlessness (without Torah) be partners?  What harmony can there be between the Messiah and B’liy’al?"  Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, “promised to present you as a pure virgin in marriage to your one husband, Yeshua the Messiah”.  Let us rejoice as the virgin daughter of Zion and look forward to the richness and the fullness of marriage to our Messiah.

This week the Torah portion is Ki Tavo (when you come).  My focus in this portion is on the basket the children of Israel used to carry the First Fruits or Bikkurim of the seven species of their crops to the place where God chose to put His name. The priests were then to take that basket from the hand of the people and place it front of the altar of God.

The word here for basket is teneh and it is only found in four places in the Tanakh, all in the portion Ki Tavo.  There is a similar word in Aramaic, TuNa, which means a burden or a load that is being carried. Since there are a number of words for basket, one might ask what is the significance of using teneh for basket, especially in the context of the First Fruits.

Teneh (basket) has the value of sixty in gematria and the sages relate this to the number of letters in the priestly benediction – “the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord makes his face shine on you”.  The thought being that although the priests pronounce this blessing, it is God who actually gives the blessing of the First Fruits.  God also blesses Isaac, at the age of sixty, with the twins Jacob and Esav, who are the first fruits of his body.

The Mishnah tells us the teneh was to be carried on the shoulder of the individual as they made their way to the Temple mount.  It was said that even Agrippa the king would take the basket upon his shoulder and enter the courtyard.  When he entered, the Levites would burst into song, “I praise you God for you have raised me up and have not allowed my enemies to rejoice over me.”  The one who carried the teneh would recite, “a wandering Aramean was my father”, the central passage of the Maggid (story) portion of the Passover Hagaddah.  This declaration is part of the ceremony of the First Fruits.  Once the individual approached the altar with the basket, the priest would place his hand under it and wave it before the Lord.  This is reminiscent of the waving of the loaves of barley before God at Shavuot.

The Rambam also explains that the First Fruits can be conveyed in any manner, but upon reaching the Temple Mount, the presenter must himself carry the teneh (basket) on his shoulder.  We are reminded of the Levites who carried the Holy vessels on their shoulders and the children of Israel who carried their kneading troughs upon their shoulders as they left Egypt. The teneh could not be put down until the appropriate resting place was found.

It was not simply a matter of carrying the First Fruits from the field to the Temple but it was to re-create the journey from slavery to freedom, from Egypt to the land of their inheritance.  The declaration of the First Fruits recalls their descent into Egypt, their time in slavery, the exodus from Egypt and their entry into the land. This was the message of the teneh (basket) and the bikkurim (first fruit) at the time of Passover. This is the message of Yeshua, the First Fruit of the resurrection of the dead, who becomes a wave offering before the Lord and placed at the foot of the altar.

In conclusion the sages say the basket represents the united souls of all men, women and children.  Since the basket for the First Fruits is also described as a load or burden to be carried on the shoulder an interesting picture emerges. We can see Yeshua as the teneh carrying our burden of sin, taking the load from us as he lays down his life at the altar.  He is the priest taking the basket representing the whole house of Israel and lifting it as a wave offering before the Lord.  There was another, who carried the teneh or burden on his shoulder for the Messiah, as He made his way to Golgotha to become the First Fruits for all mankind.

“And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Shim’on, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country and on him they laid the tree that he might bear it after Yeshua.”

Luke 23:26