Devarim (Deuteronomy)
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Meaning
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Day Four
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Haftarah
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B'rit Hadashah
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Blessed art Thou, L-rd our G-d
King of the Universe, who has sanctified
Us with Thy commandments, and
Commanded us to study the Torah.
King of the Universe, who has sanctified
Us with Thy commandments, and
Commanded us to study the Torah.
Deuteronomy 14:22-29 NASB (1)
22 "You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year. 23 "You shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. 24 "If the distance is so great for you that you are not able to bring the tithe, since the place where the LORD your God chooses to set His name is too far away from you when the LORD your God blesses you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. 26 "You may spend the money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household. 27 "Also you shall not neglect the Levite who is in your town, for he has no portion or inheritance among you. 28 "At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town. 29 "The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
It’s a stellar morning out there and the air is fresh and requiring a sweater for a little while. Earl’s Eggporium and Coopster local 597 are out and sampling the freshness of the day. The kiddy goats haven’t been out in 48 hours—amazing! And I’ve heard just today that the reason why they cleared a hill and moved the telephone and hydro posts back quite a ways about five minutes up the highway from us is because they’re planning on building an exit at that location which will mean that our little house on the highway will someday no longer be on the main highway and the traffic volume might be cut down exponentially. Then if the goats escape, it might not be such a terror when they get to the front of the yard. But it might be a few years down the road yet (that pun wasn’t intended but it sure works) so I won’t get too excited about it. All the same, it’s nice to know that plans that were in the works for many years before we even got here to this location are ‘moving along’.
As promised, we’ll take a quick look at the issue we had left over from yesterday.21…You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk. This is a problematic statement and it occurs several times in Torah. It is taken quite literally and a step or two beyond in the practice of very Orthodox Jews, who keep two refrigerators on separate sides of the kitchen in order that meat and dairy NEVER mix—even in the dishwasher or the cooking area. Some commentator’s state that this practice was done by other nations to appease their fertility gods—the remains of the kid boiled in milk was spread over the fields to ensure a healthy crop in the next season. It was also, and I’m sorry I have to say this, made into a drink containing the blood of the kid and the milk and imbibed in ritual. It may be a reference to Leviticus 22: 27, 28: 27 When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 28 And whether it be cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day. There was a very wide separation (there’s that word again) between life and death and Yah wished to keep it so. To kill a baby and its mother in the same day was like co-mingling death with life. And as we know from the book of Leviticus or Vayikra (He called), as I prefer to call it, our Father God makes a huge divide between life and death.
In the text today we hear of good times in the environs of the tabernacle, which would be the place where Yah had commanded that all sacrifice be done. And the way in which it’s all described here, one would think this is a huge block party of sorts. The tithing would always be there to remind Israel exactly where their abundance would be coming from in the new land. The tithing was also a source of living for the Cohen (priests) and Levites who assisted the Cohen in the tabernacle. All Israel was expected to turn out for this celebration of sorts including the widows and orphans. Even the ‘aliens’ or strangers who were in Israel at that time were to come to this celebration at “Dad’s House” and enjoy the activities of the day. We find no other small ‘g’ god that has ever encouraged their devotees in such a manner and this is because Yahweh is the only One that Creates and those sentient beings that He does create are like children to him! He is the only One that does this!
26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household… Even after the absolute disaster that occurred with Noah and wine, Yah could have enough confidence in His children that they would practice moderation! What a marvelous kingdom He had planned for Israel when they would reach the new land and actually set out to be scrupulous in following the instructions for living that had been laid out for them! But there was another component to this feasting. 23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. They would learn to ‘fear’ the LORD, their God ALWAYS. Fear: יָרֵא :yare' :yaw-ray': a primitive root; to fear; morally, to revere; caus. to frighten:—affright, be (make) afraid, dread(-ful), (put in) fear(-ful, -fully, -ing), (be had in) reverence(-end). The context of this passage would beg that we would take the second meaning of the word fear to be reverence. Always Israel was to reverence Yahweh. This is the behavior that supports the notion that, “I want to follow the instructions for living that Yah sets down as closely as I can—Look at what He does for us! He does nothing but good for us. I won’t disrespect Him by going against His mitzvahs/commandments!” Oh had Israel indeed learned to revere their God! In some ways they still have not done this and we need to learn from their error!
As promised, we’ll take a quick look at the issue we had left over from yesterday.21…You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk. This is a problematic statement and it occurs several times in Torah. It is taken quite literally and a step or two beyond in the practice of very Orthodox Jews, who keep two refrigerators on separate sides of the kitchen in order that meat and dairy NEVER mix—even in the dishwasher or the cooking area. Some commentator’s state that this practice was done by other nations to appease their fertility gods—the remains of the kid boiled in milk was spread over the fields to ensure a healthy crop in the next season. It was also, and I’m sorry I have to say this, made into a drink containing the blood of the kid and the milk and imbibed in ritual. It may be a reference to Leviticus 22: 27, 28: 27 When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 28 And whether it be cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day. There was a very wide separation (there’s that word again) between life and death and Yah wished to keep it so. To kill a baby and its mother in the same day was like co-mingling death with life. And as we know from the book of Leviticus or Vayikra (He called), as I prefer to call it, our Father God makes a huge divide between life and death.
In the text today we hear of good times in the environs of the tabernacle, which would be the place where Yah had commanded that all sacrifice be done. And the way in which it’s all described here, one would think this is a huge block party of sorts. The tithing would always be there to remind Israel exactly where their abundance would be coming from in the new land. The tithing was also a source of living for the Cohen (priests) and Levites who assisted the Cohen in the tabernacle. All Israel was expected to turn out for this celebration of sorts including the widows and orphans. Even the ‘aliens’ or strangers who were in Israel at that time were to come to this celebration at “Dad’s House” and enjoy the activities of the day. We find no other small ‘g’ god that has ever encouraged their devotees in such a manner and this is because Yahweh is the only One that Creates and those sentient beings that He does create are like children to him! He is the only One that does this!
26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household… Even after the absolute disaster that occurred with Noah and wine, Yah could have enough confidence in His children that they would practice moderation! What a marvelous kingdom He had planned for Israel when they would reach the new land and actually set out to be scrupulous in following the instructions for living that had been laid out for them! But there was another component to this feasting. 23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. They would learn to ‘fear’ the LORD, their God ALWAYS. Fear: יָרֵא :yare' :yaw-ray': a primitive root; to fear; morally, to revere; caus. to frighten:—affright, be (make) afraid, dread(-ful), (put in) fear(-ful, -fully, -ing), (be had in) reverence(-end). The context of this passage would beg that we would take the second meaning of the word fear to be reverence. Always Israel was to reverence Yahweh. This is the behavior that supports the notion that, “I want to follow the instructions for living that Yah sets down as closely as I can—Look at what He does for us! He does nothing but good for us. I won’t disrespect Him by going against His mitzvahs/commandments!” Oh had Israel indeed learned to revere their God! In some ways they still have not done this and we need to learn from their error!
Blessed art thou, L-rd our G-d,
King of the universe, who has chosen
us from all peoples and given us thy Torah.
Blessed art thou, O L-rd, Giver of the Torah.
King of the universe, who has chosen
us from all peoples and given us thy Torah.
Blessed art thou, O L-rd, Giver of the Torah.
(1) NASB www.lockman.org for daily reading (and KJV in commentary) unless otherwise specified