Commentary - Year 3 Sabbath 28

Deuteronomy 6:1 - 7:26   -   (no prophet)   -   Psalm 125   -   Matthew 4:1-25

Tishrei 15, 5764 / October 11, 2003

Tishrei 15, 5767 / October   7, 2006

Tishrei 15, 5770 / October   3, 2009        

Tishrei 15, 5773 / October   3, 2012

Tishrei 13, 5776 / September 26, 2015

Vazot haMitzvot / This is the Commandment  SCRIPTURES should be read first

(Deuteronomy 6:1) "The commandment" is singular - then we read "statutes and judgments",  inferring all of the commandments: all are included in "the commandment", that we love Yahweh . . .

The Sh'ma (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) is the Betrothal Contract (see YOM HaBIKKURIM) preceding the seven-day wedding feast (HAG SUKKOT).

(V.4) Many religions have several gods, which may include a god of mercy and a god of judgment. Our one God manifests these seemingly contradictory attributes. After the final redemption, everyone will recognize that Yahweh is One – as we say in the Aleinu, “In that day Yahweh shall be One, and His Name One.” Then we will understand how these work together.

(V.5) We are commanded to love Yahweh our God with all of our heart. We can find such emotion by studying God’s Word, thinking about it, and teaching it – that is what the latter portion of the Sh’ma says. Then we will come to love Him and praise Him. Our desires for food, drink, and all physical gratification can be channeled toward His service. This ancient Hebrew teaching was promoted by the apostle Paul, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” – 1 Corinthians 10:31.

We are commanded to love Yahweh our God with all of our soul. This relates to our intellect, what we determine to do. We are to love Him even if it costs us our life. Most of us never face having to die because of our faith. But we are required to give our lives by living our lives for Him. As Paul said, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” – Romans 12:1.

We are commanded to love Yahweh our God with all of our strength or resources. This includes all of our money. With every use of our time and money we should be considering prayerfully how we would best glorify our savior.

(V.6) These are the most basic matters that we should be teaching our children, and/or our students, by word and example. These are the things that should occupy our conversation when we are at home, and when we are in public.

We are to rehearse the Sh’ma when we lie down at night, and when we arise in the morning. This commandment is considered the least amount anyone should study Torah in any given day.

(V.10) When we enter that ultimate Promised Land, there will be cities which we will not have to build, wells which we will not have to dig, and vineyards which we will not have to plant!

(V.7:17) At the present, we should not fear the “great” people of this world who promote their own knowledge and abilities. The pseudo-scientists false religious teachers, who would convince us that God is not the creator and ruler of all, should not deter us from our course. “¹⁷ If you should say in your heart, 'These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?' ¹⁸ you shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what Yahweh your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: ¹⁹ the great trials which your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which Yahweh your God brought you out. So shall Yahweh your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.”

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Matthew 4:

¹ Then Yeshua was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. ³ And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." ⁴ But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"

Deut 8:

¹ "All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which Yahweh swore to give to your forefathers. ² "You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. ³ "He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh.

Matthew 4:

 ⁵ Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command His angels concerning You'; and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stome.'" ⁷ Yeshua said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Psalm 91:

¹¹ For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. ¹² They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone.

Deut 6:

¹⁴ "You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, ¹⁵ for Yahweh your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of Yahweh your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth. ¹⁶ "You shall not put Yahweh your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.

Exodus 17:

¹ Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of Yahweh, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. ² Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water that we may drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test Yahweh?" ³ But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, "Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" ⁴ So Moses cried out to Yahweh, saying, "What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me." ⁵ Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶ "Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷ He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested Yahweh, saying, "Is Yahweh among us, or not?"

Testing whether God exists, or whether He is with us, is vastly different than a "fleece" – seeking to know what His will is for us.

Martthew 4:

⁸ Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; ⁹ and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." ¹⁰ Then Yeshua said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'" ¹¹ Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

Deut 6:

¹³ "You shall fear only Yahweh your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.

Matthew 4:

¹² Now when Yeshua heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; ¹³ and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴ This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: ¹⁵ "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles – ¹⁶ "The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, and those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a light dawned." ¹⁷ From that time Yeshua began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Isaiah 9:

¹ But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. ² The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.

Readings:

Reader 1*  Amen.  ¹ "Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which Yahweh your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, ² so that you and your son and your grandson might fear Yahweh your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. ³ "O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. ⁴ "Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one! ⁵ "You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. ⁸ "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. ⁹ "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Reader 2*  Amen.  ¹⁰ "Then it shall come about when Yahweh your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, ¹¹ and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, ¹² then watch yourself, that you do not forget Yahweh who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ¹³ "You shall fear only Yahweh your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name. ¹⁴ "You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, ¹⁵ for Yahweh your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of Yahweh your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth. ¹⁶ "You shall not put Yahweh your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.

Reader 3*  Amen.  ¹⁷ "You should diligently keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you. ¹⁸ "You shall do what is right and good in the sight of Yahweh, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which Yahweh swore to give your fathers, ¹⁹ by driving out all your enemies from before you, as Yahweh has spoken. ²⁰ "When your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which Yahweh our God commanded you?' ²¹ then you shall say to your son, 'We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and Yahweh brought us from Egypt with a mighty hand. ²² 'Moreover, Yahweh showed great and distressing signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household; ²³ He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.' ²⁴ "So Yahweh commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear Yahweh our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today. ²⁵ "It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all this commandment before Yahweh our God, just as He commanded us.

Reader 4*  Amen.  ^7:1 "When Yahweh your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, ² and when Yahweh your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. ³ "Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. ⁴ "For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you. ⁵ "But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.

Reader 5*  Amen.  ⁶ "For you are a holy people to Yahweh your God; Yahweh your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. ⁷ "Yahweh did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, ⁸ but because Yahweh loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, Yahweh brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹ "Know therefore that Yahweh your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; ¹⁰ but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face. ¹¹ "Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them.

Reader 6*  Amen.  ¹² "Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that Yahweh your God will keep with you His covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers. ¹³ "He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you. ¹⁴ "You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle. ¹⁵ "Yahweh will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will lay them on all who hate you. ¹⁶ "You shall consume all the peoples whom Yahweh your God will deliver to you; your eye shall not pity them, nor shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.

Reader 7*  Amen.  ¹⁷ "If you should say in your heart, 'These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?' ¹⁸ you shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what Yahweh your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: ¹⁹ the great trials which your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which Yahweh your God brought you out. So shall Yahweh your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. ²⁰ "Moreover, Yahweh your God will send the hornet against them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you perish. ²¹ "You shall not dread them, for Yahweh your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. ²² "Yahweh your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you. ²³ "But Yahweh your God will deliver them before you, and will throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed. ²⁴ "He will deliver their kings into your hand so that you will make their name perish from under heaven; no man will be able to stand before you until you have destroyed them. ²⁵ "The graven images of their gods you are to burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, or you will be snared by it, for it is an abomination to Yahweh your God. ²⁶ "You shall not bring an abomination into your house, and like it come under the ban; you shall utterly detest it and you shall utterly abhor it, for it is something banned.

(No Prophet)

Psalm 125   (To be sung.)   A Song of Ascents

¹ Those who trust in Yahweh are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever. ² As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so Yahweh surrounds His people from this time forth and forever. ³ For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to do wrong. ⁴ Do good, O Yahweh, to those who are good and to those who are upright in their hearts. ⁵ But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways, Yahweh will lead them away with the doers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel.

Matthew 4

Reader 8*  Amen.  ¹ Then Yeshua was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. ³ And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." ⁴ But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"

Reader 9*  Amen.  ⁵ Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command His angels concerning You'; and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.'" ⁷ Yeshua said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" ⁸ Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; ⁹ and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." ¹⁰ Then Yeshua said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'" ¹¹ Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

Reader 10*  Amen.  ¹² Now when Yeshua heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; ¹³ and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴ This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: ¹⁵ "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles – ¹⁶ "The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, and those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a light dawned." ¹⁷ From that time Yeshua began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Reader 11*  Amen.  ¹⁸ Now as Yeshua was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ²¹ Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Reader 12*  Amen.  ²³ Yeshua was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. ²⁴ The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. ²⁵ Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.

© 2006  Beikvot HaMashiach
(Followers of the Messiah)