{"id":2553,"date":"2013-10-06T12:10:48","date_gmt":"2013-10-06T12:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.matsati.com\/?p=2553"},"modified":"2013-10-06T12:10:48","modified_gmt":"2013-10-06T12:10:48","slug":"bits-of-torah-truths-parashat-lech-lecha-all-the-nations-will-share-in-the-blessing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.matsati.com\/index.php\/bits-of-torah-truths-parashat-lech-lecha-all-the-nations-will-share-in-the-blessing\/","title":{"rendered":"Bits of Torah Truths, Parashat Lech Lecha, All the Nations will Share in the Blessing"},"content":{"rendered":"

This weeks reading is from Parashat Lech Lecha (Bereshit \/ Genesis 12:1-17:27<\/em>).\u00a0 This week the Lord God calls Abram to leave his land, leave his father\u2019s house, and to leave his people (\u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05bc\u05b9\u05d0\u05de\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc-\u05d0\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05dd \u05dc\u05b6\u05da\u05b0-\u05dc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05de\u05b5\u05d0\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05e6\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05de\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05dc\u05b7\u05d3\u05b0\u05ea\u05bc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05d1\u05bc\u05b5\u05d9\u05ea \u05d0\u05b8\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc-\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05da\u05bc<\/span>) and go to a new land.\u00a0 The Lord promises to bless Abram and make him into a great nation (\u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05e2\u05b6\u05e9\u05b0\u05b9\u05da\u05b8 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d2\u05d5\u05b9\u05d9 \u05d2\u05bc\u05b8\u05d3\u05d5\u05b9\u05dc<\/span>) and that those who bless him the Lord will bless, and those who curse him the Lord will curse (\u05d5\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05d1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b0\u05db\u05b8\u05d4 \u05de\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b2\u05db\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b0\u05e7\u05b7\u05dc\u05bc\u05b6\u05dc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b8\u05d0\u05b9\u05e8<\/span>).\u00a0 We also read when the Lord called Abraham He also said that in him all the families of the earth will be blessed (\u05d5\u05b0\u05e0\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05e8\u05b0\u05db\u05d5\u05bc \u05d1\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05db\u05bc\u05b9\u05dc \u05de\u05b4\u05e9\u05c1\u05b0\u05e4\u05bc\u05b0\u05d7\u05b9\u05ea \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b8\u05de\u05b8\u05d4<\/span>).\u00a0 It is interesting here in the Hebrew text, the word Ha\u2019adamah (\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b8\u05de\u05b8\u05d4<\/span>, the ground) is used to indicate that all of the families of the Earth will be blessed, and not just those who are in the land of Israel.\u00a0 The Scriptures say \u201call of the families of the ground\u201d taking from the meaning that God created man from the dust of the earth (\u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05bc\u05b4\u05d9\u05e6\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05b9\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea-\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u05dd \u05e2\u05b8\u05e4\u05b8\u05e8 \u05de\u05b4\u05df-\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b8\u05de\u05b8\u05d4<\/span>) in Bereshit \/ Genesis 2:7<\/em>.\u00a0 The Aramaic Targum (Onkelos) states, all the \u201cseed of the earth\u201d<\/em> will be blessed (\u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b4\u05ea\u05b0\u05d1\u05bc\u05b8\u05e8\u05b0\u05db\u05d5\u05bc\u05df \u05d1\u05bc\u05b0\u05d3\u05b4\u05d9\u05dc\u05b8\u05da\u05b0 \u05db\u05bc\u05b8\u05dc \u05d6\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05e2\u05b2\u05d9\u05b7\u05ea \u05d0\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05e2\u05b8\u05d0<\/span>).\u00a0 In the covenant that God is making with Abram, the Lord makes a promise not only to Abram but also to his descendants (Israel<\/em>), and to all the world (the non-Jewish peoples<\/em>).\u00a0 It is within these few verses, the Abrahamic Covenant (Bereshit \/ Genesis 12:1-3<\/em>) that all other covenants find their basis.\u00a0 The Mosaic covenant in the Torah expands upon the covenant of the Promised Land (Israel<\/em>) and establishes a dwelling place, the Tabernacle, where He (God<\/em>) will make His name known.\u00a0 The Davidic covenant is related to the issue of prophet, priest, and king, and the New Covenant relates to the fulfillment of these promises God has made to all the families of the earth.<\/p>\n

\u05db\u05ea\u05d1\u05d9 \u05d4\u05e7\u05d5\u05d3\u05e9 \/ The Holy Scriptures<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u05e1\u05e4\u05e8 \u05d1\u05e8\u05d0\u05e9\u05d9\u05ea \u05e4\u05e8\u05e7 \u05d9\u05d1<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u05d0\u00a0 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05bc\u05b9\u05d0\u05de\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc-\u05d0\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05dd \u05dc\u05b6\u05da\u05b0-\u05dc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05de\u05b5\u05d0\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05e6\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05de\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05dc\u05b7\u05d3\u05b0\u05ea\u05bc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05d1\u05bc\u05b5\u05d9\u05ea \u05d0\u05b8\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc-\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05da\u05bc\u05b8: \u05d1\u00a0 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05e2\u05b6\u05e9\u05b0\u05b9\u05da\u05b8 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d2\u05d5\u05b9\u05d9 \u05d2\u05bc\u05b8\u05d3\u05d5\u05b9\u05dc \u05d5\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05d1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05db\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05d2\u05b7\u05d3\u05bc\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e9\u05c1\u05b0\u05de\u05b6\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05b6\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05b5\u05d4 \u05d1\u05bc\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05db\u05b8\u05d4: \u05d2\u00a0 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05d1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b0\u05db\u05b8\u05d4 \u05de\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b2\u05db\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b0\u05e7\u05b7\u05dc\u05bc\u05b6\u05dc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b8\u05d0\u05b9\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e0\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05e8\u05b0\u05db\u05d5\u05bc \u05d1\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05db\u05bc\u05b9\u05dc \u05de\u05b4\u05e9\u05c1\u05b0\u05e4\u05bc\u05b0\u05d7\u05b9\u05ea \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b8\u05de\u05b8\u05d4:<\/span><\/p>\n

Bereshit \/ Genesis 12:1-3<\/em><\/strong>
\n12:1 Now the Lord said to Abram, \u2018Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father\u2019s house, To the land which I will show you; 12:2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 12:3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.\u2019 (NASB)<\/em><\/p>\n

Reading the bible from the beginning, the Abrahamic covenant is first given here in this text.\u00a0 In the various reiterations of the covenant, the wording changes slightly, but the basic components of the blessing remain the same.\u00a0 It is significant that the blessing is \u201cin Abraham\u201d<\/em> or \u201cin his seed.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Note that in the reiteration of the Covenant to Isaac and Jacob (Bereshit \/ Genesis 15, 17, 18:18, 26:3, and 28:14<\/em>) very similar language is given.\u00a0 The blessing is to come to all nations through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.\u00a0 When considering these Scripture verses it is clear that the promises given to Abraham by the Lord will be fully realized when all the nations will also share in the blessings.\u00a0 In other words, the covenant cannot be completed in terms of the promises fulfilled until all the nations have been blessed through the seed of Abraham.\u00a0 It is important to note that the \u201cseed\u201d<\/em> (\u05d6\u05e8\u05e2<\/span>) is through whom the blessing would come and that seed has not yet come at this point in history in Bereshit \/ Genesis 12:1-3<\/em>.\u00a0 Reading through all of the book of Genesis, this blessing was also not realized during the lives of the Patriarchs.\u00a0 In fact, this was not realized in all of the Tanach and as a result of this these verses come to be interpreted as a Messianic expectation since only the Messiah could accomplish this kind of blessing.\u00a0 Rashi says the following,\u00a0\u00a0 \u05d2\u00a0\u00a0 \u05d5\u05e0\u05d1\u05e8\u05db\u05d5 \u05d1\u05da. \u05d9\u05e9 \u05d0\u05d2\u05d3\u05d5\u05ea \u05e8\u05d1\u05d5\u05ea. \u05d5\u05d6\u05d4\u05d5 \u05e4\u05e9\u05d5\u05d8\u05d5, \u05d0\u05d3\u05dd \u05d0\u05d5\u05de\u05e8 \u05dc\u05d1\u05e0\u05d5 \u05ea\u05d4\u05d0 \u05db\u05d0\u05d1\u05e8\u05d4\u05dd, \u05d5\u05db\u05df \u05db\u05dc \u05d5\u05e0\u05d1\u05e8\u05db\u05d5 \u05d1\u05da \u05e9\u05d1\u05de\u05e7\u05e8\u05d0, \u05d5\u05d6\u05d4 \u05de\u05d5\u05db\u05d9\u05d7, \u05d1\u05da \u05d9\u05d1\u05e8\u05da \u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc \u05dc\u05d0\u05de\u05e8 \u05d9\u05e9\u05d9\u05de\u05da \u05d0\u05dc\u05d4\u05d9\u05dd \u05db\u05d0\u05e4\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05db\u05de\u05e0\u05e9\u05d4 \u05d1\u05e8\u05d0\u05e9\u05d9\u05ea \u05de\u05d7, \u05db.<\/span> \u201cThere are many Aggadot (interpretations), but this is the plain meaning, a man says to his son, may you be like Abraham, and similarly every occurrence of the words \u05d5\u05e0\u05d1\u05e8\u05db\u05d5 \u05d1\u05da in Scripture proves the interpretation of Bereshit \/ Genesis 49:20 by you will Israel bless, saying may God make you as Ephraim and Manasseh.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Looking at the Aramaic Targums and Rashi, the rabbis do not conclude explicitly in their translations or in the commentary that these verses are Messianic.\u00a0 The interpretation of these verses as Messianic is within its relation to other passages in Genesis being viewed from a covenant perspective.\u00a0 The blessings are not only for Abraham and his offspring but the blessings will also pass through him to all the nations.\u00a0 In addition to this, the original promise given here in Bereshit \/ Genesis 12:1-3<\/em> is for \u201call the families of the earth.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 The use of the word Ha\u2019adamah (\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b8\u05de\u05b8\u05d4<\/span>, Earth) here reminds us of the curse which God placed upon the ground in Bereshit \/ Genesis 5:29<\/em>.\u00a0 This hints at how man was created from the ground and that at some future time the curse that God placed upon man (death) and the ground would be eliminated and somehow this is done so \u201cin Abraham.\u201d\u00a0 Something to note in Bereshit \/ Genesis 11<\/em> we also read of Migdal Bavel (\u05d4\u05b7\u05de\u05bc\u05b4\u05d2\u05b0\u05d3\u05bc\u05b8\u05dc \u05d1\u05d1\u05dc<\/span>, the tower of Babel<\/em>) and the scattering of the nations.\u00a0 This blessing might also suggest that some how the people who were scattered who become \u201cthe nations\u201d<\/em> would at some point be reunited and in some way the blessing would accomplish this reunification.\u00a0 As a result of these observations from the Scriptures, the work of the Messiah was believed to be the means by which this promise would be realized.\u00a0 Acts 13:32-33<\/em> states 13:32 \u2018And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 13:33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, \u2018You are My Son; today have begotten You.\u2019 (NASB)<\/em>\u00a0 The Apostles refer to our text from Parashat Lech Lecha and from Tehillim \/ Psalms 2:7<\/em> when referring to Yeshua the Messiah whom God raised from the dead.\u00a0 In Him this covenant is realized and the blessing of Abraham to the nations continues even today! BTT_Parashat Lech Lecha-2013<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This weeks reading is from Parashat Lech Lecha (Bereshit \/ Genesis 12:1-17:27).\u00a0 This week the Lord God calls Abram to leave his land, leave his father\u2019s house, and to leave his people (\u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05bc\u05b9\u05d0\u05de\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc-\u05d0\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05dd \u05dc\u05b6\u05da\u05b0-\u05dc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05de\u05b5\u05d0\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05e6\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05de\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05dc\u05b7\u05d3\u05b0\u05ea\u05bc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05d1\u05bc\u05b5\u05d9\u05ea \u05d0\u05b8\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc-\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05da\u05bc) and go to a new land.\u00a0 The Lord promises to bless Abram […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2553","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-bits-of-torah-truth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matsati.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matsati.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matsati.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matsati.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matsati.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.matsati.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2553\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matsati.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matsati.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matsati.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}