Parashat V’zot Hab’rachah: The God of the Upright Ones.

755

In this week’s reading, the last reading for the Jewish Year we find an interesting phrase “the God of Jeshurun”
in Devarim / Deuteronomy 33:26 ‘There is none like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to your help, And through
the skies in His majesty. (NASB)
  Yeshurun (Jeshurun) is the English transliteration for the Hebrew word that occurs four
times in the Hebrew Bible, found in sefer Devarim / Deuteronomy 33:26.  The word Jeshurun means “
straight” or “upright one.”  In the scriptures, Jeshurun is used as a symbolic (poetic) name for the people of Yisrael
(Devarim / Deuteronomy 32:15, 33:26), for the Land of Israel (Devarim / Deuteronomy 33:5),
and for the Patriarch Jacob (who was renamed Yisrael in Bereshit / Genesis 32:29) (Yeshayahu / Isaiah 44:2
).  The use of the phrase “the God of Jeshurun” at the end of the Torah I believe has two very
significant implications.  Firstly, this phrase expresses the importance of understanding the faithfulness of God to His people.
God has chosen to dwell among His people and God declares that she (Yisrael) is “His portion” and the “allotment
of His inheritance”
in Devarim / Deuteronomy 32:9.  Regardless of the people of Yisrael’s
disobedience, God established His glory upon the earth by preserving Yisrael.  The scriptures say she became “fat”
and “selfish,” the phrase “Jeshurun kicked” means Yisrael rebelled, yet God remained faithful.
The faithfulness of God to Yisrael has as its primary purpose the revelation of God’s greatness and not Yisrael’s importance.
Secondly, the meaning of the word “Jeshurun” emphasizes the faithfulness of Yisrael to God.  “The God of Jeshurun,
meaning “the God of the upright ones” directs our attention to the people of faith.  The “upright
one” is one that has faith and lives a life of faithfulness. As we are about to enter into a new year of Study the Torah, have you
considered whether your life is one that may be characterized as an “upright one?”  The Torah, Neviim, and Ketuvim (Tanach, OT) and the
Ketuvei Shelachim (Apostolic Writings, NT) present three concepts, (i) to believe, (ii) to have faith, and (iii) to be faithful.  These
three concepts are all expressed by the same word groups (i.e. emunah = faith) that reveal the interconnectedness of faith and faithfulness
for a believers life.  The consistent message is that a genuine faith always results in faithfulness, and that faithfulness is the fruit
of genuine faith. Is that how your live your life?  Read More

Previous articleThe Bulls of our lips or The Temple Sacrifice?
Next articleSome Food for Thought…
Duane D. Miller received his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering from The University of Akron Ohio. He is currently a Chemical Engineering Researcher. Duane’s research expertise has focused upon functional materials development for the control, conversion, and release of process gases in Energy production technologies. His R&D interests include computational chemistry, developing novel technologies for converting biomass to fuels and studying their fundamental interactions during the chemical conversion process. His past experience includes sorbent development for pre- and post-combustion CO2 and SO2 capture, selective absorption of H2S from methane streams, O2 capture for oxy-fuel combustion, photocatalytic reduction of alcohols, NOx reduction catalysis, the development of oxygen carriers to combust fossil fuels (CH4 and coal) for the chemical looping combustion processes, and the extraction of rare earth elements using patent pending sorbents. His research expertise has focused on operando-characterization using Infrared, Raman, and UV-Vis spectroscopy to observe the nature of the catalytic active sites and reaction intermediates under realistic reaction conditions, allowing direct correlation of molecular/electronic structures with catalyst performance during Gas-Solid / Liquid-Solid Adsorption and Photocatalytic Processes with real time online analysis of reaction products using ICP-MS and mass spectrometry. His current work involves a multi-disciplinary approach to developing, understanding, and improving the catalytic gasification of coal and methane, high temperature chemical looping combustion, and the catalytic decomposition and gasification of biomass and coal using novel microwave reactor.​ He has been studying the Hebrew Scriptures and the Torah for 20+ years and sharing what he has learned. The studies developed for MATSATI.COM are freely to be used by everyone, to God be the Glory!