Rejoicing with the King – V’zot Haberacha (And This is the Blessing) D’Varim (Deut.) 33:1-34:12 and Shemini Atzeret
: V’zot Haberacha (And This is the Blessing) D’Varim (Deut.) 33:1-34:12 and Shemini Atzeret
Haftorah Readings: Joshua 1:1-18
Today and tomorrow are both holidays. Today is Shemini Atzeret and tomorrow will be Simchat HaTorah. The celebration today is seen as the beginning of the rainy season in Israel. Tomorrow, Simchat HaTorah is not found in scripture but has been developing over the millennium to be a day to celebrate both the ending of the yearly cycle of Torah readings and the beginning of a new year.
D’Varim (Deuteronomy) 1:1-3:22
Torah Portion: D’Varim (Deuteronomy) 1:1-3:22
Haftorah Reading Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 1:1-27
Tonight, we begin the last book of the Torah. First I would like to discuss why we study the Torah each Sabbath and how important it is to know how it connects with the Messianic Scriptures. One scripture we can look at is Acts chapter two. We have mentioned this before but it is worth repeating. In the opening words we read where the believers in Yeshua were gathered together on the holiday of Shavuot in Jerusalem when they were empowered by the Spirit of G-d to speak to the Jews who had come to celebrate this holiday.
Vayak’hel (He Assembled) Exodus(Sh’mot) 35:1-38:20
Torah Portion: Vayak’hel (He Assembled) Exodus(Sh’mot) 35:1-38:20
Haftorah Reading: I Kings 7:13-26, 7:40-50
Tonight, we cover basically two major subjects in this portion. We start off with G-d giving His directions about the Shabbat, a subject I want to cover in a few minutes and get your thoughts on the question I sent out this week.
Vayak’hel (He Assembled) Sh’mot Exodus 35-38
Torah Portion: Vayak’hel (He Assembled)(Sh’mot) Exodus 35-38
Haftorah Reading: I Kings 7:13-26; I Kings 7:40-50
In this Torah portion we cover the giving of the offering by the people for the building of the Mishkan or Tabernacle as well as the picking of the man chosen by G-d to oversee the construction of the Mishkan as well as the art work.
Vayelech (And He Went) D’Varim (Deut.) 31
Torah Portion: Vayelech (And He Went) D’Varim (Deuteronomy) 31
HafTorah: Hosea 14:1-10, Micah 7:18-20, Joel 2:15-27
Today I want us to look at this chapter and see what it teaches us about “doing.” This Sabbath is called, “Shabbat Shura.” Shuvah is the word for repentance. Moshe speaks here on the last day of his life to a people he has led for the last 40 years. These are his parting words. We have seen him over the course of this last book of Torah recount the forty years of wandering. Here he is telling the people to come together every seven years and hear the story again.
B’Shallach Exodus 13
Torah Portion: B’Shallach Exodus 13:17-17:16
HafTorah: Judges 4:4-5:31
New Testament: Luke 2:22-24; John 6:25-35; 19:31-37; 1Cor. 10:1-13; II Cor. 8:1-15; Revelations 15:1-4
In this weeks Torah section we see Israel enter a state much like a prior time in man’s history. What was it? It was the time of the Garden of Eden. Here in Sinai they did not have to work for their daily bread and G-d was constantly among them. They went through the redemption from slavery and entered, in some ways, a Garden of Eden. How can we compare this to our state spiritually? We too have been set free. G-d has said He is always with us and never leaves us. He provides us daily with our spiritual food. It is up to us to go and gather it but it is there for our gathering.
Vayakhel (To Assemble) & Pekudei (Take Account)
Weekly Torah Section: Vayakhel (To assemble) Exodus 35:1-38:20 and Pekudei (To Take Account) Exodus 38:21-40:38, Haftorah: I Kings 7:40-8:21
As you can see we cover two Torah sections and two Haftorah sections this week. Rather than try to cover both I would like to talk about one from each. I want to start with the Haftorah from Pekudei. In I Kings 7:51-8:21 we read about the dedication of the Temple by King Solomon. There are many connections between this scripture and the Torah readings. One of the most striking is the cloud of G-d’s glory that filled both the first temple and the tabernacle. I want us to look at this in some depth. Before that, there are a couple of things we need to go over. Solomon, as confirmed in Acts 7:46-47, completed the temple of G-d in seven years and brought all the treasurers of his father David, into the temple.