This week’s Torah Portion covers Deuteronomy 32:1-52. This is our second to last reading in Deuteronomy which means we are almost to the finish line in our goal to read the first five books of the Bible in one year. The portions are getting shorter each week because we are also in the middle of…
This week’s Torah portion covers Deuteronomy 31:1 to 31:30. Although Moses is trying to be an encouragement, he is also a prophet and it is impossible for a prophet to be blindly naïve. Moses knows that once the people are in the land and they no longer have to rely on God for their daily…
This week’s Torah portion covers Deuteronomy 31:1 to 31:30. Although Moses is trying to be an encouragement, he is also a prophet and it is impossible for a prophet to be blindly naïve. Moses knows that once the people are in the land and they no longer have to rely on God for their daily…
This week’s Torah portion covers Deuteronomy 29:9 to 30:20. Moses is now 120 years old and it is the last day of his life. The people of Israel are standing before Moses as he lays out the final terms of the covenant. He is asking them to seal the covenant with an oath so that…
This week’s Torah portion covers Deuteronomy 26:1 to 29:8. We are entering the blessings and curses portion of Deuteronomy. The ceremony of blessings and curses is a liturgical act. God wants the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali to gather on Mount Ebal. The tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and…
We are nearing the end of our year-long Torah reading cycle. We started in Genesis last October. And over the last ten months we have worked our way through Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and now we only have about 12 chapters left in Deuteronomy. This week’s Torah portion covers Deuteronomy 21:10 to 25:19. The entire section…
This week’s Torah portion covers Deuteronomy 11:26 to 16:17. Deuteronomy opened with a historical recap of the Exodus and Sinai. But in chapter 12, the author stops reminiscing and starts reiterating the Torah’s law code. For 14 chapters, Deuteronomy lays out the statutes that are to govern the twelve tribes once they settle in the…
This week’s Messianic Lite is our second Torah portion in Deuteronomy. It covers 3:23 to 7:11. According to Bible translator Robert Alter, the book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ “valedictory address.” He recapitulates the narrative of the Exodus, reinforces the points of the law, and repeats previous exhortations. Moses understands the threat facing God’s people as…
This week’s Torah portion goes from Numbers 33:1 to 36:13. As the book of Numbers draws to a close, Moses maps out the boundaries of the land of their inheritance and he allocates the land portions set out for each of the tribes. The tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh negotiate with Moses and agree…