Parashot VaEtchanan

The talmidim of the Messiah had been with Him for over three years. They had watched Him perform miracles beyond description like restoring sight to the blind and raising the dead. They had listened to his teachings and had gone forward into surrounding towns with His message. The disciples had also viewed His tortured body be impaled until all life was drained from His very being. To their own amazement death was not the end for this carpenter from Natzereth. No, the resurrected Moschiach appeared to them in the flesh after His burial. Death and the grave were no match for Yahshua.

Just before His final ascension into Shamayim (heavens) Yahshua spoke some stirring things to His followers. Like the wisdom found in the last words of a dying person was the commission given by Moshiach - “Go therefore and make talmidim of all nations, mikvahing them in My Name: teaching them to shomer all things which I have commanded you: and see, I am with you always, even to the end of the olam hazeh,” Mattityahu 28:19,20 of the Restoration Scriptures Version.

Unfortunately, much truth found in these verses is glossed over by modern day believers because of being so familiar to them. Yet the Great Commission of Christianity is more than just mere talk. Just imagine being one of the disciples of Messiah and hearing these words for the first time. Put yourself in their shoes…this Rabbi that you have sat under for countless teachings is now telling you to go and take His wisdom into the world. He desires for you to make more talmidim like yourself. He wants you to teach “all things” which He has commanded! He expects you to remember everything He said! Does He really count on you to quote His every sermon? What were all the teachings of Yahshua about anyway?

What exactly were the talmidim supposed to share with the world?

Yahshua was a Rabbi or teacher of the Torah of Moshe. Therefore His reference to shomer “all things” that He had commanded was a direct reference to teach Torah and His Torah interpretation. He taught that love and compassion were central to Torah observance. With authority, Yahshua spoke often about obedience through heart-felt devotion. His message drew listeners back to the original purpose and intent of the mitzvot of Torah. What was important to Yahshua was to be important to His talmidim who were going forth “in His name” as the Great Commission teaches.

In His Name

Doing something “in the Name of Yahshua” did not mean ending prayers with His Name attached as some type of mystical incantation. This is just not what Yahshua taught when He said to do things “in His name.” Instead, “in the name of” or “beshem” in Hebrew, is a Rabbinic term that means “in the authority or likeness of.” Disciples of various Rabbis would often teach or minister “in the name of” their Rabbi. And they would travel and do deeds of charity on behalf or “in the name” of the Rebbe. The Talmud and other Jewish writings are full of references of people speaking “in the name of” other teachers of Torah. What they were doing was coming on their master’s behalf and reputation. Believers in Moschiach are to go forth in Yahshua’s likeness, authority, and reputation teaching what was important to Him. His talmidim were to cross the globe on behalf of His reputation and repeat the Torah halakha that the Master had taught. What was the foundation of all that Yahshua taught? What was number one in Rebbe Yahshua’s mind? How could His disciples teach “all” of what He had taught them?

“The first of all commandments is, Shema O Yisra’el; the Master YHWH is our Elohim, the Master YHWH is Echad: and you shall love the Master YHWH with all your lev, and with all your being, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like it, namely this; You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There are no other commandments greater than these,” said the Messiah Yahshua in Markus 12:29-31, RSV.

The talmidim surely did not memorize every word of Yahshua. But by focusing their message and ministry on what Messiah taught was most important or “first” they could rightfully and correctly go forward “in His Name.” Through upholding what is known in Judaism as the “Shema,” the talmidim of Yahshua could reflect the heart of Yahshua’s message. What Yahshua called the “greatest commandment” in the whole writings of the Scriptures is the foundation of all Torah observance – to love YHWH and love those near you. This is surprisingly simple but definitely deep.

The greatest commandment is found in parasha VaEtchanan in sefer Devarim 6:4-9. It is this Torah passage that Yahshua quoted when he was asked what is most vital in the Scriptures. It is this Torah passage that should be central to all lives of Bible believers. The whole of Yahshua’s message and ministry, indeed the whole of Torah can be summed up in these few verses. Jews for thousands of years have repeated this passage twice daily as a constant reminder of what really matters. Let’s take a few minutes and consider in the original Hebrew terms what Yahshua said was the first and primary mitzvot:

“Shema Yisra’el”

The word “Shema” is an ancient Hebrew word which means to “listen attentively and obey.” To Shema is to not just “hear” but to “listen and be provoked to action.” There is a difference between “hearing” and “listening.” To “hear” means to just allow what is being voiced to pass through the eardrum. While to “listen” and “Shema” is to mentally take in what is being communicated and do something about it. “Yisra’el” is the second word, expressing who is being told to listen up. The scriptures teach that Yisra’el was chosen to bring the Light of YHWH and Torah to the nations of the world. Other verses in the current parasha speak to the set-apart status of this nation. The heathen nations were not given the revelation of YHWH that this chosen nation was. Yisra’el literally means “those who rule and reign with El.” Yisra’el is the physical descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’acov and those who have attached themselves to the whole through identity. Yisra’el is to listen, mentally understand, and be motivated to act when YHWH speaks.

“YHWH Eloheynu”

YHWH is THE name of the Creator. It is His unique descriptive moniker, which separates Him as the ruler of the universe. YHWH is the name given to Moshe at the burning bush and expressed to all mankind as “a memorial unto all generations.” The four-lettered sacred name of YHWH is to be used and studied. It is not to be put upon a shelf as too holy. Translators in English Bibles have wrongly hidden the sacred name behind capitalized substitutes and manmade titles. YHWH is His Name. The Shema acknowledges this and so should all believers.

The term “Eloheynu” is the phrase for “our Elohim.” Eloheynu describes association – He is OUR Elohim not just our fathers or our ancestors or someone else’s. “Elohim” is a plural Hebrew word for “mighty one” or “spiritual being,” often translated as “g/d.” When we say “YHWH Eloheynu” we are saying that YHWH and YHWH alone is our subject of worship and adoration. YHWH is our Elohim, the Elohim of am Yisra’el.

“YHWH Echad”

Again the name “YHWH” is being used – two YHWH’s! YHWH the Father and YHWH the Word are “Elohim” and “Echad!” The two are one. The mystics of the Zohar wrote, “In Devarim 6:4, we first read YHWH, then Eloheynu, and again YHWH, which together make one Unity. But how can three Names be One? Are they verily one, because we call them One? How three can be one can only be known through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, and, in fact, with closed eyes (closed when reciting the Shema)…thus YHWH, Eloheynu, YHWH but One Unity, three Substantive Beings which are one.” The idea of YHWH being “Echad” could lend itself to hundreds of pages of study. Instead of a huge discourse over trinity and unity and the like, let’s just settle for the basics. “Echad” is a special Hebrew phrase which according to Strong’s Exhaustive Dictionary literally means “united, i.e. one; or first: alone, altogether, the one and the only.” The word itself teaches that YHWH is a plurality in divinity, a greater and lesser YHWH. For more reference an excellent article by Rabbi Moshe Koinichowsky at: www.emetministries.com/The%20Greater%20and%20Lesser%20YHWH.htm.

To say that YHWH is “Echad” is to say that He is not divided, that He is unique, that He alone is Elohim, that within Him is no changing or division, that He alone is worthy of worship.

Ahava YHWH

To love YHWH is to “ahava YHWH.” The primitive root word “ahava” means to “have affection, sexually or otherwise, love, like, to befriend, to be intimate.” It brings to mind the idea of longing for or breathing for the Creator. Hebraically love is connected to appetite. To ahava YHWH is to crave Him and His Word. Ahava is related directly to Torah. “O how I love your Torah!” wrote Dawid in Tehillim 119:97. Ahava is the force that brought forth creation, sent Moshiach, and is restoring Yisra’el. “When you and your children return to the YHWH your elohim and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then YHWH your Elohim will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you…YHWH your Elohim will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live,” Devarim 30:2,6.

The Scriptures state that when you ahava YHWH that it is to be done with all of who you really are: with all of your heart or “lev;” with all of your being or “nefesh;” and with all of your strength or “meod.” This is the sum of Torah and the essence of who Yisra’el really is.

When Yahshua gave the Great Commission He was in a sense reminding His talmidim of the Great Commandment. The problem is that most groups have gotten the two mixed up. Most churches spend more time on “preaching the Gospel” than loving the Creator through devotion and desire. Great Commandment love is who Yisra’el should be and carry out the Great Commission (going into the Diaspora and making talmidim) is what Yisra’el should do.

*for all things Biblical go to www.emetministries.com