Weekly Torah Lesson
Parasha: Nitzavim You are standing
Torah: Devarim 29:10 – 30:20
“Devarim 29:12 “that you may enter (eber – cross over) into covenant with Avinu Elohekah, and into His oath, which Avinu Elohekah makes with you today, 13 “that He may establish you today as a people for Himself, and that He may be Avinu to you, just as He has spoken to you, and just as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 14 “I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, 15 “but with him who stands here with us today before Avinu Eloheinu, as well as with him who is not here with us today.
The Hebrew verb is eber … to cross over …. Earlier we find Eber being used as an adjective:
*** “And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelled in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.” (Ge 14:13 )
In Genesis 14 we see Abram being described as “HaEber…the Hebrew … (… one who crossed over). In the Apostolic Writings we have a book called, “Hebrews … HaIvrim … those who crossed over”. So we see that when we accept this covenant, we “cross over” into a different relationship than we previously had with Avinu. Avram “crossed over” when he believed Avinu and left his home to establish himself and his seed in Canaan. The word that we will be looking at is “covenant”. Back up to Deuteronomy 29:11 (which is where this is found in the Hebrew Bible), and picture this:
As the People of Israel stand at the plains of Moab, ready to enter the Promised Land, Moshe leads them in reaffirming their covenant with Avinu for all generations. The Hebrew name for ‘plains of Moab,’ Arvot Moav (ערבות מואב), has a dual meaning, as the word Arvot is related to the term areivut (ערבות), which means ‘mutual responsibility.’ Rabbi Shlomo Riskin explains the significance: “I would submit that this covenant is that of mutuality, interdependent co-signership, but not necessarily between Jew and Jew — that was already incorporated into the previous covenants — but rather between Israel and the other nations of the world. After all, when Avraham was originally elected, God commanded that (Genesis12:3) ‘through you all the families of the world will be blessed’ — first, through the message of ethical monotheism, second, through the vision of one Elohim who demands justice, compassion and peace, which Avraham’s descendants must convey to the world; which then brings us to the true mission of Israel… This third covenant is the covenant of Israel’s responsibility to the world.” It is interesting to note the verb eber is also used in verse 15 but is translated into the English as “passed through”.
*** “19 Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name (authority) of Avinu, and of the (Gospel of) the Son, and of the (leading of) the Holy Spirit: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you: and, see, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen.” (Mt 28:19-20 )
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