NITZAVIM (You are Standing) + Vayelech (And He Went) Deut.29:9:31:30,
Haftarah: Isa.61:10–63:9, NT: Rom.10:14–21
By Raphael ben Levi
‘Nitzavim’ is one of the titles in this week’s double parasha which means to stand like a pillar and this portion is always read on the Shabbat before Yom Teruah because its connected to how the Israelites stood together to make a solemn oath before God to follow Him unreservedly – standing up for God! Their unified declaration was vital as a pre-requisite to flourish as a people.
And so, Moses told the Israelites: “You are standing [nitzavim] today in the presence of the Lord your God….” (Deut. 29:10) Everyone present were invited to enter into covenant with Adonai. Men, women and children had equal opportunity to receive a place in the Kingdom of God. – the whosoever. This even included the the foreigner who dwelt in their midst and those of future generations. And we read an amazing promise in Jer. 31 when Israel failed to live according to the terms of their covenant made with God: “‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant (Brit Chadashah) with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke My covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares the LORD.” (31:31–32)
The covenant that would include the Gentiles was now made explicit in the ‘New Covenant’ that embraced the whosoever – Jew and Gentile – through the precious blood of Yeshua. Paul writes in Eph.2:11-13:
“Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves ‘the circumcision’ (which is done in the body by human hands)—remember that at that time you were separate from Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Messiah Yeshua you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.”
We are standing today as Netzavim at a pivotal time in history as we prepare for the next step of our journey. For many of us it has been a long and sometimes arduous journey but throughout every moment God has proved Himself faithful.
We face an enemy who takes every opportunity to steal, kill and destroy God’s people and our only place of safety is to remain under His Divine covering. This is what it means to be ‘nitzav.’
Ad yet there are moments in our lives when the Lord allows us to be shaken by circumstances or events so deep we simply cannot articulate or make sense of them. These aren’t ‘sin’ issues but ‘spiritual growth’ issues. Sometimes, it’s a result of being over-exhausted or broken in body mind or spirit. God’s intention is for us to deepen our trust and dependance on Him as we allow Him to lovingly place all the broken pieces together again and refashion us into a Nitzav more magnificent and precious than before – changed from glory to glory by His Spirit – to all that He has created us to be.
We will shortly be entering Yom Teruah in a few days times so I want to share with you a few preliminary thoughts before our next Shabbat when we will be making the occasion. The Torah doesn’t explicitly reveal how to observe Yom Teruah or explain its meaning and it’s the only feast that doesn’t celebrate an event in Jewish history; However, it’s directly linked to the blowing of the shofar, hence the name “Yom Teruah,” ‘the day of blowing’.
“On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a sacred assembly. You are to do no laborious work. It is for you a day for sounding the shofar.” Num.29:1.
Yom Teruah is unique insomuch that it doesn’t have an exact starting time – it could fall on one of two days depending on sighting the sliver in the moon determined when two witnesses saw the edge of the moon and reported their sighting to the Sanhedrin.
The feast is celebrated on the first day of the seventh Hebrew month (known as Tishri in Hebrew). In biblical times, a Hebrew month was either 29 or 30 days, and determining those days depended on the moon cycle. As the moon began to wane from the previous month of Elul which we are currently in, anyone watching the evening sky could know the general time frame that the next month, Tishri, would begin—they just didn’t know the exact day but when the Sanhedrin verified the sighting of the witnesses following close questioning, the month of Tishri began— the first fall feast: Yom Teruah. Because the exact start of Yom Teruah was unknown, several other idioms for this feast developed over time, two of which are “The Hidden Day” and “The Day and the Hour No Man Knows.”
Neh.8:10 provides us with a description of the first Yom Teruah when the Jewish exiles returned from Babylon to Jerusalem around 343BC. They were instructed to, “…Go (their) way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Joy is an important element of Yom Teruah.
As a day that marks the beginning of a new civil year we rejoice and wish people a good and prosperous year with the words, “May it be Your will to renew us for a year that is good and sweet, but it’s also an immensely intense time of teshuvah as we draw nearer in this period leading to Yom Kippur.
Few people reflect upon the paradox of Yom Teruah celebrated with great joy yet filled with teshuvah, the mourning of our sins that grows more intense as we enter the 10 Days of Awe between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur. To explain this is illustrated in Gen.22 that’s read at Yom Teruah known as the “Akedah” (“sacrifice”) referring to Abram’s sacrifice of his son Isaac. It illustrates how God intervenes in our lives as He has done throughout human history always at just the right moment. And we see in the “akedah” a type and shadow of Yeshua’s death and resurrection – the lamb of God pure and innocent who offered Himself voluntarily as a sacrifice for our sins – the most solemn moment ever since the creation of the world yet an event warranting our greatest rejoicing.
Yom Teruah is also known as ‘Yom Ke’seh,’ “The Day of Hiding” or “the Hidden Day.” This intriguing word occurs only two times in the Tanakh (Job.26:9; Ps.81:3). The term ke’seh {keh’-seh} is derived from the Hebrew root meaning to “conceal, cover, or hide” but also connects with the Hebrew word “ke’seh” meaning “a sacrificial lamb.” The Hebrew has a number of different names for sheep and lambs. A ke’seh is a little lamb, but one that’s very special because it is the sacrificial lamb. David felt as though he was like a sacrificial lamb that went astray. In Ps.119:176 he confesses to God, “…I have gone astray like a lost sheep, seek thy servant for I do not forget thy commandments.” He could declare these words because He knew that he had a Shepherd who would exchange places with him on that altar.
The longer a sheep is with a shepherd the more intimate and trustful it will be and so it would be unlikely to lose its way and become prey to the wild animals. However, sheep who have spent little time with their shepherd will be more prone to stray and subsequently follow the call of another shepherd – a false shepherd – eventually to become completely lost or devoured. Some sheep just follow their own way and become so focused on themselves that they also will wander away from the flock. No wonder that Yeshua compared all humanity to sheep! Here is an explanation that further illustrates this typology:
“We focus on our jobs, our finances, and our health so much that we never stop to look up at our Shepherd and before long he is gone. Not that he has left us but we have left him and lost our way. Once a sheep has gone astray, he will not find his way back to the flock, unless the shepherd comes looking for him, he will remain lost. That is why David says in this verse “seek they servant.” All that little lamb can do is stand in his lost condition and bleat, hoping his shepherd will find him.
Sheep were worshipped in Egypt. In fact, the Egyptian god Khnum was a sheep. Khnum was one of the earliest-known Egyptian deities and one of the major deities at that. Khnum was the creator of all life. Khnum was originally the god of the source of the Nile. Since the annual flooding of the Nile brought with it silt and clay, and its water brought life to its surroundings. He was thought to be the creator of the bodies of human children, which he made at a potter’s wheel, from clay, and placed in their mothers’ wombs. He was later described as having molded the other deities, and he had the titles “Divine Potter” and “Lord of created things from himself”
This would explain one reason why the Hebrews were to sacrifice a lamb as protection from the final plague. No Egyptian follower of Khnum would dare harm a little lamb the symbol of one of their supreme gods. For the Hebrews, it would show their total rejection of the pagan beliefs of the Egyptians not to mention an outright insult to one of the Egyptian’s supreme gods.
Then God commanded that a sheep be slaughtered as an atonement for sins. Imagine, a family has a newly born little lamb, loved by the children who were most likely assigned to care for it to make sure it was without blemish or spot. They would hand feed it, groom it, bathe it, and protect it from insects and other harmful elements. It would feed with them as the family ate, almost like another child. Then on the day of atonement, they would bring this little lamb to the temple and watch a priest take a knife and slaughter it before their very eyes. Talk about trauma. Yet, it would be explained to the children and the adults as well that this is the penalty for sin and this innocent little lamb who simply loved and gave little bleats was dying in their place. We have the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ who was totally innocent, and yet because of our sins, He had to die.
What did David see in his own wanderings and going astray? It was a picture of a sacrifice that God could use to show many generations the lovingkindness of the Good Shepherd.” https://www.chaimbentorah.com/2020/11/hebrew-word-study-sacrificial-lamb/
Even though each one of us are like sheep prone to wander, the “Good Shepherd” promises to take good care of us. Yeshua explained this clearly in Jn.10:1-5; 10;
…“It is certainly true that when a man enters the sheep pen, he should use the gate. If he climbs in some other way, he is a robber. He is trying to steal the sheep. 2 But the man who takes care of the sheep enters through the gate. He is the shepherd. 3 The man who guards the gate opens the gate for the shepherd. And the sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep, using their names, and he leads them out. 4 He brings all of his sheep out. Then he goes ahead of them and leads them. The sheep follow him, because they know his voice. 5 But sheep will never follow someone they don’t know. They will run away from him, because they don’t know his voice.” 11 “I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.”
Yeshua responded to His disciples question regarding His return with the words, “Of that day and hour no one knows, only the Father.” This saying from Mk.13:32, has received various explanations but most likely refers directly to a well known Hebrew idiom of that day. This is beautifully revealed when we view it in context with a Jewish wedding.
The answer given by the bridegroom to someone asking him: “When’s the wedding date?” originated from a well established Hebrew idiom and he would respond, “I don’t know, the angels don’t know, ask my dad!” By using this expression, “You do not know the day or the hour”, he was saying in other words, “It will be revealed when it is the appropriate time to do so.” This is similar to a question found in the Book of Daniel. The answer was “keep these words secret, and seal up the book until the time of the end” (Dan.12:1-4). And the Talmud in a midrash of Ps.81:3: states, ”Sound the shofar on the New Moon, in concealment of the day of our festival” as a reference to the Messiah.
There are various places in Scripture that describe Israel and every true believer with wedding imagery. For example, “…clothed in garments of triumph, wrapped in a robe of victory, like a bridegroom adorned with a turban, like a bride bedecked in her finery.” Isa.10 Also in Isa.62:3-5 describes God rejoicing over us “…as the bridegroom rejoices over his bride…”
So it becomes clear why this feast has been named “Yom Ha’Ke’seh” – The Day of “Concealment”. But there is more. For example, the feast is celebrated when the moon is just coming out of ‘hiding’, (i.e., a day of a concealed moon). The phrase, “of that day and hour no man knows” can refer to the setting apart of the new moon. Without it, the people had no way of determining God’s appointed times.
Satan is not provided notice about the arrival of this feast concerning his Day of Judgment which is hidden from him even as with the resurrection of Yeshua was.
Yeshua reinforced the timing of His return in a parable from Mk.13:33-37: “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
The Gk word, “eido” – “to make known” makes it clear that the Bride of Yeshua will not be taken by surprise (e.g.,Amos 3:7, 1Thess.5:1-5, Heb. 10:25, Rev.3:3).
Since Yeshua used the word “eido” in this manner, the verse would correctly read: “Neither I nor the angels will make known or declare that day, only my father in Heaven will reveal or declare it.” This takes the emphasis off the phrase “no one can know the timing” and harmonises with the rest of Scripture which says that believers who are diligently searching will indeed be prepared and ready!
Yeshua clearly knew details regarding the future. For example, He stated in Mk.13:23: “Behold, I have told you in advance”, just a few verses before saying to His disciples that “no one knows.”
Yom Teruah takes place on the new moon and Paul mentions in Colos.2:16-17 that the new moon will teach us about the Messiah. The sun is a picture of Yeshua (Mal 4:2), and the moon is a picture of believers in Him. The sun has its own light, but the moon’s light is a reflection of the sun.
When we first become believers in Yeshua, we (in common with the moon’s sighting) can hardly be seen in the sense that we know very little about what it means to walk with God. Paul describes us at this stage as spiritual ‘babes.’ But as we mature, our lives begin to revolve more and more around the Messiah even as the moon revolves around the sun. Increasingly we begin to reflect His light because Yeshua is the ‘Light of the World.’ “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2Cor.3:8)
Paul informs us in Eph 5: that “ …you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.….” And in Matt.5:15-16, Yeshua said, “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.”
Moving forwards, I would like to share a few words from our section from the Haftarah of this week’s parasha from Isa.61. The first 9 verses were not included in the readings following the destruction of the 2nd Temple in 70AD. These passages describe in intricate detail the Messiah who only Yeshua alone was able to fulfil – every prophetic description and requirement is contained in this chapter. And it was these exact verses that He was invited to read from in his home synagogue in Nazareth at the outset of His public ministry:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” (Isa.61:1) (Lk.4:16–19) The first ten verses provides three images of new beginnings:
1. New Clothes: – “For God has clothed me in garments of triumph, wrapped me in a robe of victory, like a bridegroom adorned with a turban, like a bride bedecked in her finery.” (Isa. 61:10)
2. A New Name (Identity) – In the Bible, a name change represents radical change (positive or negative) (eg: Abram and Sarai’s names) Jacob’s name was also changed from Yaacov (which can mean heel, but also deceiver) into Yisrael—triumphant with God. In the same manner, YHWH promises that Israel would receive a new name.
“You will be called by a new name… No longer will you be called Forsaken [Azuva], neither shall your land any more be called Desolate [Sh’mamah]; but you shall be called, ‘My delight is in her [Heftzi-bah] and your land, Married [Be’ulah]; for the Lord delights in you and your land shall be married.” (Isa.62:2, 4)
Likewise in Rev. 2:17 “To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.”
3. New Love and Intimacy
The Hebrew root for the word Baal (meaning ‘master’) which occurs several times in Isa.62:4–5, means marry. Again we have here wedding imagery. God loves Israel and each one of His elect individually as a Bridegroom loves His Bride who are, “…crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord—a royal diadem [precious gem]”—and He rejoices over us “…As the bridegroom rejoices over his bride…” (Isa.62:3, 5)
God has His perfect timing for all things, and as believers our sure hope is in Messiah Yeshua because through His redemption we experience the dynamic reality of teshuva.
Moses told the Israelites: “You are standing [nitzavim] today in the presence of the Lord your God…. in order to enter into a covenant with Him.” (Deut. 29:10, 12) We stand today on the edge of the border of time as we prepare for His return. It has been a long journey. We have borne the heat of the day and laboured through the night watches and persevered through the storms of life. But as with Paul we align ourselves with the proclamation he makes in Scripture: “…I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Yeshua my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Him.” (Phil. 3:8)
God is spurring us on in these end times that we will pursue Him in a manner that will ensure that we will finish well.
