{"id":7698,"date":"2018-07-29T11:39:18","date_gmt":"2018-07-29T11:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.matsati.com\/?p=7698"},"modified":"2018-07-29T11:39:45","modified_gmt":"2018-07-29T11:39:45","slug":"bits-of-torah-truths-parashat-ekev-liberty-and-human-rights-are-god-given","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.matsati.com\/index.php\/bits-of-torah-truths-parashat-ekev-liberty-and-human-rights-are-god-given\/","title":{"rendered":"Bits of Torah Truths, \u05e4\u05e8\u05e9\u05ea \u05e2\u05e7\u05d1, Parashat Ekev, Liberty and Human Rights are God Given"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week’s Torah portion from Parashat Ekev we read the following:
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Devarim \/ Deuteronomy 7:12-15<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u05d5\u05d4\u05d9\u05d4 \u05e2\u05e7\u05d1 \u05ea\u05e9\u05de\u05e2\u05d5\u05df \u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05de\u05e9\u05e4\u05d8\u05d9\u05dd \u05d4\u05d0\u05dc\u05d4 \u05d5\u05e9\u05de\u05e8\u05ea\u05dd \u05d5\u05e2\u05e9\u05d9\u05ea\u05dd \u05d0\u05ea\u05dd \u05d5\u05e9\u05de\u05e8 \u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d4 \u05d0\u05dc\u05d4\u05d9\u05da \u05dc\u05da \u05d0\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05ea \u05d5\u05d0\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05d7\u05e1\u05d3 \u05d0\u05e9\u05e8 \u05e0\u05e9\u05d1\u05e2 \u05dc\u05d0\u05d1\u05ea\u05d9\u05da\u00a07:12 \u2018Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you His covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers. \u05d5\u05d0\u05d4\u05d1\u05da \u05d5\u05d1\u05e8\u05db\u05da \u05d5\u05d4\u05e8\u05d1\u05da \u05d5\u05d1\u05e8\u05da \u05e4\u05e8\u05d9\u05be\u05d1\u05d8\u05e0\u05da \u05d5\u05e4\u05e8\u05d9\u05be\u05d0\u05d3\u05de\u05ea\u05da \u05d3\u05d2\u05e0\u05da \u05d5\u05ea\u05d9\u05e8\u05e9\u05da \u05d5\u05d9\u05e6\u05d4\u05e8\u05da \u05e9\u05d2\u05e8\u05be\u05d0\u05dc\u05e4\u05d9\u05da \u05d5\u05e2\u05e9\u05ea\u05e8\u05ea \u05e6\u05d0\u05e0\u05da \u05e2\u05dc \u05d4\u05d0\u05d3\u05de\u05d4 \u05d0\u05e9\u05e8\u05be\u05e0\u05e9\u05d1\u05e2 \u05dc\u05d0\u05d1\u05ea\u05d9\u05da \u05dc\u05ea\u05ea \u05dc\u05da 7:13 \u2018He 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. \u05d1\u05e8\u05d5\u05da \u05ea\u05d4\u05d9\u05d4 \u05de\u05db\u05dc\u05be\u05d4\u05e2\u05de\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05d0\u05be\u05d9\u05d4\u05d9\u05d4 \u05d1\u05da \u05e2\u05e7\u05e8 \u05d5\u05e2\u05e7\u05e8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05d1\u05d1\u05d4\u05de\u05ea\u05da\u00a07:14 \u2018You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle. \u05d5\u05d4\u05e1\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d4 \u05de\u05de\u05da \u05db\u05dc\u05be\u05d7\u05dc\u05d9 \u05d5\u05db\u05dc\u05be\u05de\u05d3\u05d5\u05d9 \u05de\u05e6\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u05d4\u05e8\u05e2\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05e9\u05e8 \u05d9\u05d3\u05e2\u05ea \u05dc\u05d0 \u05d9\u05e9\u05d9\u05de\u05dd \u05d1\u05da \u05d5\u05e0\u05ea\u05e0\u05dd \u05d1\u05db\u05dc\u05be\u05e9\u05e0\u05d0\u05d9\u05da 7:15 \u2018The Lord 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.
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Notice the promises of God is related to being faithful to the covenant we have made with Him.\u00a0 The Lord says that He will bless our families (children), our fields, our cattle, and He will do more so than all the other nations.\u00a0 In addition to this, the Lord will keep us from sickness, and put upon our enemies a dreadful fear of God’s people and will inflict diseases of Egypt upon our enemies. It is difficult to speak definitively about human rights because it is such an esoteric topic, subject to personal opinion, historical precedent, and situational ethics in today’s modern society. “Human rights” is defined as those things that people naturally deserve by nature of their identity as human beings both from a moral and an ethical perspective. When understood from a Biblical standpoint, human rights are what we should have by nature of our having been created after the image of God.<\/p>\n

I recently read an article titled “China\u2019s two-child policy is having unintended consequences. Reluctant to pay for multiple maternity leaves, companies are choosing not to hire young women.”<\/span><\/em> This article describes the human rights violations that are occurring in China which run contrary to God’s Word and His blessing according to this week’s Torah portion. The Chinese government mandated a one child policy which has had horrific consequences. I find it surprising how Christians can give great praises to China and its economy while ignoring the human rights violations taking place on a massive scale. Take for example the description given in the news article:<\/p>\n

“THE one-child-per-couple policy was horrific for women in China. Many were subjected to forced sterilizations or abortions. Newborn girls were killed, removed by family-planning officials or abandoned by parents desperate that their one permitted baby be a boy. Women from neighboring countries suffered, too, as victims of human trafficking; a skewed sex-ratio made it more difficult for young men to find Chinese wives. So the government\u2019s announcement in late 2015 was that it was relaxing the policy, after 35 years” (This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “The law of unintended consequences”<\/span>)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The human rights violations occurring due to Chinese policy is appalling!\u00a0 From a biblical standpoint, we don’t read the Scriptures specifically defining “individual rights.”<\/em><\/span>\u00a0 The Hebraic way the Torah defines this as “what God intended for us to have.”<\/span><\/em> This includes elements of a particular lifestyle which is beneficial to us as His people and providing for us an understanding of what it means to be His people, to draw near to Him, to bear His testimonies, and to have justice in our lives.\u00a0 In the sense of “Human Rights”<\/span><\/em> as a God given lifestyle, we learn in the Torah that the Lord God Almighty set up a society in specific way to demonstrate to the world that we are His people.\u00a0 The idea of human rights varies around the world because of “interpretation”<\/span><\/em> and historical preferences, prejudices, and presuppositions which influence our judgment. The Lord however designed society in the following way:<\/p>\n