Study Guide to Parasha Re'eh
Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17 Isaiah 54:11-55:5 John 7:37-52 The Torah Portion at a Glance "See," says Moses to the people of Israel, "I place before you today a blessing and a curse" -- the blessing that will come when they fulfill YHWH's commandments, and the curse if they abandon them. These should be proclaimed on Mount Gerizim and Mount Eibal when the people cross over into the Holy Land. A Temple should be established in "the place that YHWH will choose to make dwell His name there" where the people should bring their sacrifices to Him; it is forbidden to make offerings to YHWH in any other place. It is permitted to slaughter animals elsewhere not as a sacrifice but to eat their meat; the blood, however (which in the Temple is poured upon the Altar) may not be eaten.
A false prophet, or one who entices others to worship idols, should be put to death; an idolatrous city must be destroyed. The identifying signs for kosher animals and fishes, and the list of non-kosher birds (first given in Leviticus 11) are repeated.
A tenth of all produce is to be eaten in Jerusalem, or else exchanged for money with which food is purchased and eaten there. On certain years this tithe is given to the poor instead. Firstborn cattle and sheep are to be offered in the Temple and their meat eaten by the Kohen (priest).
The mitzvah of charity obligates a Jew to aid a needy fellow with a gift or loan. On the Sabbatical year (occurring every seventh year) all loans are to be forgiven. All indentured servants are to be set free after six years of service.
(adapted from chabad.org)
The Messiah in the Torah Portion In this week's Torah portion we are given the specific guidelines on how to tell if a prophet is a genuine seer that has been sent from YHWH or not. What is the true test of a prophet? Deuteronomy 13 says that a prophet of YHWH MUST establish the words of the Torah in his teachings. It's not seeing the future or performing a miracle that makes a prophet a prophet. Rather, a person is known as a servant of YHWH if, and only if, they profess the Elohim of Israel and His Torah. "If there will arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of a dream, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,and the sign or the wonder of which he spoke to you happens, [and he] says, "Let us go after other gods which you have not known, and let us worship them,"you shall not heed the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of a dream; for YHWH your Elohim, is testing you, to know whether you really love YHWH your Elohim, with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow YHWH your Elohim fear Him, keep His commandments, heed His voice, worship Him, and cleave to Him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of a dream shall be put to death; because he spoke falsehood about the YHWH your Elohim Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and Who redeemed you from the house of bondage, to lead you astray from the way in which YHWH your Elohim, commanded you to go; so shall you clear away the evil from your midst. If your brother, the son of your mother, tempts you in secret or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your embrace, or your friend, who is as your own soul saying, "Let us go and worship other gods, which neither you, nor your forefathers have known." Of the gods of the peoples around you, [whether] near to you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; You shall not desire him, and you shall not hearken to him; neither shall you pity him, have mercy upon him, nor shield him," Devarim 13. These verses and this Torah portion is important to consider when reflecting upon our Messiah Y'shua. For thousands of years, religion has stolen the true identity of Messiah. Man-made organizations have professed and propagated a Messiah that abhorred the Law of YHWH and sought to rid mankind of such vicious commandments. This is not the Messiah and such a teacher is not a prophet. The Savior exclaimed by many is a counterfeit that doesn't pass the litmus test of Devarim 13. ANY prophet of YHWH, teacher of YHWH, and servant of YHWH must lead people to worship the Holy One of Israel and keep His Torah. Those who do not are not true prophets! It's that simple.
Mark 8:27-33 shows how the people of the day saw and heard the Torah teaching and the Torah keeping of Y'shua and therefore perceived Him to be a prophet. "Y'shua went on with his disciples, to the villages of Caesare'a Philip'pi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Eli'jah; and others one of the prophets." And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." Y'shua taught Torah and upheld the truth of the Torah at all times. He is a prophet greater than Moshe and Elijah. He is the Messiah. Don't accept a false Messiah that doesn't support the Torah. Applying the Portion to Life Today Many teachers erroneously proclaim their Bible to be the "inspired infallible word of God." The error of such a statement is easily proven when any translation is compared to the ancient texts of the Scriptures. English translations fall short time and time again.
Take for example the beloved New International Version (NIV) that has ripped literally thousands of comments out of the Bible. Compared to the King James Version, the NIV has a shortage of words equal to the entire text of 1 and 2 Peter combined. Many verses in the NIV also run contradictory to other translations. In Isaiah 9:3, the King James Version (KJV) says, "Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy." The "Nearly Inspired Version" NIV says, "You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy." Which is the case? The following verses are just some of the many that appear in the KJV but not in the NIV: Matthew 17:21; 18:11; 23:14, Mark 7:16, Luke 17:36; 23:17; John 5:4, Acts 8:37; 28:29, Romans 16:24 and 1 John 5:7.
The King James Version has its own set of problems as well. This popular Bible is named after the openly homosexual King James I of England. King James fell madly in love with his male cousin Esme Stuart whom he made Duke of Lennox. In 1582 James was kidnapped and forced to issue a proclamation against his lover and send him back to France. The original KJV contained 80 books instead of the 66 books of Genesis - Revelation. It wasn't until the end of the 19th Century that the 14 books of the Apocrypha were removed from the KJV.
Also removed from KJV is the true meaning of many verses as translators actually added hundreds of thousands of words to the Biblical text. These additions were italicized when printed to indicate the addition. Most readers don't know this and therefore assume the doctrine being propagated is correct. Just imagine an opinionated editor adding words to a book by President Obama to understand the depth of this travesty. One definite error of translation is in Matthew 23:24. The KJV has 'strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.' But the Greek has 'strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.' This mistake can not be ignored as it shows the work as fallible.
The Bible was written over a period of approximately 1500 years in three languages - Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Therefore, English is not one of the original languages of the Bible. All English translations of the Scriptures will suffer from differences in languages and culture. This is expounded by the move of modern translators to render a thought for thought based work as opposed to a text that literally translates each word. In the book, The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration by Bruce Metzger, the author shows how "Revelation 2:23 contains the Greek word nephros, which literally means "kidneys." However, the English sounds pretty weird when Y'shua says, "...I am He who searches the kidneys and hearts..." The word refers to the deepest emotions and affections of man, and is more understandable in our culture when translated as "thoughts" or "mind." Such changes cloud the original intention and prove that no English Bible is either inspired nor infallible. This current Torah portions says in Devarim 13:1 tells us, "All this word which I command you, that shall ye observe to do; thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it." English Bibles violate this command over and over again.
The solution to this problem is first stop trusting the translations. Dig deep for the original meaning of a verse by understanding the culture, context, and language first used. Then discover how a verse was originally intended to be kept and then observe it in the same manner. Portion Points to Ponder from various sources
- The Hebrew name for this portion is "Re'eh." What does this name mean?
- Read Isaiah 54:11-55:5. How does this relate to the story of Exodus this week?
- Consider the words found in John 7:37-52. What did you learn from studying these passages?
- How does this Torah portion speak of the Messiah Y'shua?
- Describe two ways that you can apply this week's Torah portion to your life.
What is it about the story, a verse, a word that seems to resonate with some aspect of your life?
- Is there something about the story that rings a bell?
- What were the sites designated for the "blessings and the curses" to be pronounced by the people?
On what condition will Bnei Yisrael receive the blessings from YHWH? Why does the Torah use idolatry as an example when describing one who strays from the path that YHWH commanded? What was to be the sign for the Hebrew People that they would inherit the Land? During the 14 years of the conquest and division of the Land, what types of offerings were permitted on private altars? What must one do with consecrated animals that develop a blemish? In what ways does a consecrated animal that develops a blemish retain a degree of kedusha (holiness) even after it has been redeemed? Why was the tribe of Yehuda not permitted to conquer Jerusalem? In consecutive verses, the Torah repeats the prohibition against eating blood. What two types of blood are referred to? Why were the People allowed to see the extermination of the Canaanites? What forms of idol worship are punishable by death? If a person performs miracles in the name of YHWH and then says that the laws of the Torah have been revised, what is done to this person? The Torah says, "to Him (YHWH you shall cleave." How does one fulfill this command? The trial of a person accused of encouraging others to worship idols differs from the trial of other capital cases. How? Who has the primary responsibility of inflicting the punishment on one who tried to entice others to worship idols? What is the "source" of the Hebrew People being an am kadosh (holy nation)? How should the Israeli People maintain themselves as an am kadosh? What is the order of priority regarding to whom one should give charity? What mitzvah recalls the Exodus from Egypt? Which four individuals are under YHWH's "special protection"? B'nai Yisrael was to destroy all of the idols, altars, and places of worship of the nations they would dispossess. Where was B'nai Yisrael to worship? The people were told they could eat flesh within their gates, both the clean and unclean. What does that mean, both the clean and unclean, and what flesh could they eat? B'nai Yisrael was not allowed to eat their tithes of corn, oil, etc. within their gates. Where were they allowed to eat them? Under what circumstance were the people to disregard the signs and wonders of a dreamer or prophet? What was B'nai Yisrael to do if members of their community drew others away to worship other gods in another place? What are the 2 qualifications for an animal to be eligible for a Hebrew to eat? What is the difference between the way eligible animals and birds are described as compared to eligible fish? If an animal died on its own, what could a Hebrew do with it? B'nai Yisrael was to tithe the produce of their fields every year? What were they to do with the tithe? Every so often, the Hebrew was to dispose of his tithe in a different way than described above. How often and what was he to do? When was a slave allowed to go free and under what conditions? We were told not to regret the freeing of the slave for to the double of the hire of a hireling has he served for 6 years. What does that mean? Deuteronomy 15:7, says "You shall not harden your heart nor close your hand against your destitute brother." What is the meaning of this comparison? - Devarim 15:10 says, "You shall surely give to him, and let your heart not feel bad when you give to him." Why does the verse repeat the words naton titein -- which translates literally as "give, you shall give to him"? The verse could have just said "give to him," once.
- What are some of the important words found in this portion?
- Who are the primary actors in this parasha and what role or roles does each play? What is the significance of each role? Who are the secondary actors and what roles do they play? What is the significance of their roles?
- What did you learn from this Open Bible teaching?
The Open Bible is a teaching series written by Daniel Rendelman of Emet Ministries. Find more teachings, audio messages, videos, and music at www.emetministries.com. Daniel Rendelman is the founder and leader of Emet Ministries and the author of the book "Finding the Truth." He, his wife, and their five children live in Newberry, South Carolina. He can be reached at emetministries@gmail.com. 7
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