Welcome to Nitzavim-Vayelech (You are Standing /

And He Went), this week’s Parsha (Torah portion).

Shabbat Shalom Martin!

Due to there being more Torah portions than weeks this

year, the Parsha (portion) for this Shabbat (Sabbath)
combines two Torah studies: Nitzavim (You are
Standing) and Vayelech (And He Went).

Please read along with us as we study this portion.

NITZAVIM (You are Standing) / Vayelech (And He

Went)
Deuteronomy 29:9(10)–31:30, Isaiah 61:10–63:9,
Luke 24:1–12/Luke 24:13–43
“You are standing [nitzavim] today in the presence of
the Lord your God…. You are standing here in order to
enter into a covenant with the Lord your God.”
(Deuteronomy 29:10, 12)

Lifting the Torah in Jerusalem

Last week, in Parsha Ki Tavo (When You Enter), God

instructed the Israelites to bring the first-ripened fruits
(bikkurim) to the Temple in Jerusalem once they have
finally entered the Land He promised to them.

This week, in Nitzavim-Vayelech, the Jewish People

stand before God about to enter into the covenant, a
solemn oath with Him.

The Parsha opens with a declaration of the unity of

Israel.
Why were the Israelites collectively standing before
God? It was for one reason alone: to enter into a
covenant with Him.

The expression you are standing (atem nitzavim) is

used almost 300 times in the Bible and always to
enter into some kind of contract, pact or
agreement.

All were invited to enter into the brit (covenant) with

Adonai—from the least to the greatest. Everyone, from
the leaders, elders and officers of tribes, to their wives
and children had equal opportunity to receive a place in
the Kingdom of God.

Even the ger (stranger or foreigner) was offered an

equal place in the covenant with Elohim, in order “that
He may establish you today as a people for Himself, and
that He may be God (Elohim) to you.” (Deuteronomy
29:13)
A Jewish man prays at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem.

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This covenant was unique in that it transcended

any limitation of time or place. It was made with
“those standing there as well as with those who were
not present at that time.” (Deuteronomy 29:15)

After Israel broke this covenant, God promised through

the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah a “New Covenant” (Brit
Chadashah) for the people of Israel and Judah:

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I

will make a new covenant (Brit Chadashah) with the
people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will
not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors
 when I took them by the hand to lead them out of
Egypt, because they broke My covenant, though I
was a husband to them,’ declares the LORD.”
(Jeremiah 31:31–32)

Once again, this covenant is extended to everyone—

from the least to the greatest:

“No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one

another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know
Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the
LORD.” (Jeremiah 31:34)

So, if this New Covenant has been promised to the

House of Israel and the house of Judah, how do the
Gentile followers of Yeshua the Messiah enter into
God’s Kingdom?

We are told in the book of Ephesians that it is

through the blood of Yeshua that those who were far
away have been brought near and granted an equal
place in the covenants of promise.

“Therefore, remember that formerly you who are

Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by
those who call themselves ‘the circumcision’ (which
is done in the body by human hands)—remember
that at that time you were separate from Messiah,
 excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to
the covenants of the promise, without hope and
without God in the world. But now in Messiah
Yeshua you who once were far away have been
brought near by the blood of Messiah.”
(Ephesians 2:11–13)

An Orthodox Jewish man and a tourist stand side by side at the Western

(Wailing) Wall praying fervently.

The Hebrew Scriptures from Parsha Nitzavim-Vayelech

are always recited on the Sabbath preceding the
evening Selichot (prayers for forgiveness) service,
which takes place on Motzei Shabbat, the night after
the Sabbath ends; that is, after nightfall on Saturday
(around midnight).

These special tefillah (prayers) are recited before the

normal shacharit service (morning prayer) from the
Sunday before Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)
until Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). They add an
extra 45 minutes of prayer.

Thus, the mood of repentance becomes more urgent as

the month of Elul draws to a close, as we prepare for a
special period called the Yamin Noraim or the Ten
Days of Awe, a time designated for repentance between
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

In English, this period is often referred to as the High

Holy Days. It is a time for deep introspection,
reflection, and an honest examination of one’s
spiritual state.

A Jewish rabbi recites selichot.

In this Parsha, Moses asks the people to examine

themselves.
He warns them, in a dire prediction, that because of
their obstinacy, idolatry and sin, they would be forced to
endure a nightmare of tragedies including siege, famine,
poverty, war, forced exile, and desolation: however,
Israel would survive as a nation and would return to
the Holy Land.

This prophecy was fulfilled in May 1948 with the

re-birth of the state of Israel.

This re-birth of an independent Jewish state stands in

contrast to so many great empires which have come
and gone.

God has faithfully kept His covenant with Israel.

A Jewish boy holds the flag of the State of Israel.

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The Haftarah (Prophetic Portion)

"Comfort, comfort My people, says your God." (Isaiah

40:1)

For the past seven weeks since Tisha B’av—the

remembrance of the destruction of Jerusalem and the
Holy Temples—all the prophetic messages in the
Haftarot have focused on comfort and consolation.

The Hebrew prophet, Isaiah, comforts the exiles of

Israel with the assurance that God has forgiven their
sins and, in His mercy, will bring them back to their
Land. Haftarah Nitzavim is the climax of these
seven messages of comfort.

The prophetic portion of Scripture studied this Shabbat

passes over the first portion of Isaiah 61, which is an
important Messianic prophecy. Whether or not this
is a deliberate omission to keep the knowledge of
Yeshua from the common people is debatable.

However, it is important that we read and study the

entire Bible and not rely only upon the traditional
Haftarah portions that may leave out these crucial
Messianic prophecies.

This omitted prophecy of Isaiah 61 is the passage that

Yeshua read in the synagogue on the Sabbath
(Shabbat) to proclaim Himself Messiah, as well as
proclaim “The Year of the LORD’s Favor.” (Luke 4:16–
19)

“... The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on Me,

because the LORD has anointed Me to proclaim
good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up
the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the
captives and release from darkness for the
prisoners to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.”
(Isaiah 61:1–2)
Yeshua Unrolls the Scroll in the Synagogue,

by James Tissot

The rest of the verse, which Yeshua apparently did not

read, is for future fulfillment: “… and the day of
vengeance of our God” looks forward to the day of
Yeshua's return, when He will take vengeance on
the enemies of Israel.

In this Haftarah portion, God appears dressed as a

warrior in that day of vengeance; His clothes stained in
the blood of Israel’s enemies.

“Who is this coming from Edom [descendants of

 Esau—terrorist faction of radical Islam], from
Bozrah, with His garments stained crimson? Who is
this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the
greatness of His strength? ‘It is I, proclaiming
victory, mighty to save.’” (Isaiah 63:1)

Israel stands as a sign and beacon to all peoples

everywhere of the wonderful grace and mercy of God.

Its glorious restoration reveals that God can replant,

rebuild, re-establish His people from the worst
destruction in each one of our lives. If we will give Him
our ashes and mourning, He will give us beauty and the
oil of joy.

“The Lord has anointed Me to ... provide for those

who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of
beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of
mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a
spirit of despair.” (Isaiah 61:1, 3)
"They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away."

(Isaiah 51:11)

New Beginnings in the Haftarah

This week's Haftarah (prophetic portion) provides three

powerful images of new beginnings:

1. New Clothes:

“For God has clothed me in garments of triumph,

wrapped me in a robe of victory, like a bridegroom
adorned with a turban, like a bride bedecked in her
finery.” (Isaiah 61:10)

God is going to give us a whole new look, and whether

we are male or female, we’re going to look gorgeous!
He will be giving us a new beautiful wardrobe, fixing up
our hair, placing the necklace of precious jewels around
our neck, fussing with our appearance to make us look
our best, a perfect Bride without spot or wrinkle.

This is the ultimate makeover.

God’s Bride, Israel and the foreigners who all abide

in Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah), is being
prepared to meet her Beloved. Instead of defeat and
despair, we are going to be clothed in triumph and
victory!

A bride and groom

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2. A New Name (Identity):

In the Bible, a name change is a sign of a major life

change or transformation.

God changed Abram and Sarai's names to Abraham

and Sarah by adding the Hebrew letter hey (‫)ה‬. This
Hebrew letter occurs in two out of the four letters of
God’s name YHVH. With a part of God’s identity
meshed into their own, they were able to be fertile and
fulfill their God-given destiny.

Jacob’s name was also changed from Yaacov (which

can mean heel, but also deceiver) into Yisrael—
triumphant with God. Or it may be derived from the
verb yashar, meaning straight / honest with God.

Likewise, the Bible promises that God will give

Israel a new name.

“You will be called by a new name... No longer will

you be called Forsaken [Azuva], neither shall your
land any more be called Desolate [Sh’mamah]; but
you shall be called, ‘My delight is in her [Heftzi-
bah] and your land, Married [Be’ulah]; for the Lord
delights in you and your land shall be married.”
(Isaiah 62:2, 4)
In Revelation 2, a chapter emphasizing repentance, God
once again promises a new name:

"To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the

hidden manna. I will also give that person a white
stone with a new name written on it, known only to
the one who receives it." (Revelation 2:17)

God wants to change our name so we can know our

true identity in the Messiah: righteous, holy, redeemed,
forgiven, free, friend of God.

Once we truly know who we are in Him, we will begin to

act differently, like true children of God. Others will see
us and relate to us differently, and our whole lives will be
transformed.

“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7)

A Jewish woman prays at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

3. New Love and Intimacy

The third image is that of new love and intimacy.

The Hebrew root word Baal, which occurs several times

in Isaiah 62:4–5, means marry. God loves Israel and He
loves us as a bridegroom loves His bride.

We are the beautiful Bride of the Messiah, a “crown of

beauty in the hand of the Lord—a royal diadem
[precious gem]"—and He rejoices over us: “As the
bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God
rejoice over you.” (Isaiah 62:3, 5)

God is so intimate with us that He Himself dresses us

with new garments, like a mother with a little child; He
names us with a new name, as the parent of a new
baby; and He rejoices over us, as a bridegroom who
loves His bride.

A bride and groom in Israel (Photo: Go Israel)

On our journey of transformation, as we at times go

through the fires and floods of affliction, we can find
comfort in the knowledge that God is with us and He
cares for us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He is
so intimately involved with us that in all of our affliction,
He is afflicted.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons that Isaiah states that

Messiah is a “man of sorrows and well acquainted with
grief.” (Isaiah 53:3)

One of the names of God is YHVH Shamah, which

means God is There. Sometimes that’s all we need—to
know that He is “there for us.” He is God with us—
Emanu-El.

Yes, God wants to restore, rebuild, renew, and even

avenge, but as we reflect on this past year, if we see
pain and anguish, let us remember that God can do
much more than just meet our needs: He is the
parent who dresses and provides for us, the counselor
who guides us into all we can be, and the lover who
adores us.

This may not take away the hurt. God doesn’t always
instantly fix every broken thing in our lives, but He is
always there for us to provide, comfort, and encourage.

Perhaps this is all we need to find the courage to begin

again—to walk into the new thing that God has
prepared for His Beloved.
In these troubled, difficult last days, please pray for the
salvation of the Jewish People and help us bring the
Good News of Yeshua to the Holy Land.

"You will again have compassion on us; You will tread

our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the
depths of the sea." (Micah 7:19)

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"Hear the word of the LORD, you nations; proclaim it in

distant coastlands: 'He who scattered Israel will gather
them and will watch over His flock like a shepherd."
(Jeremiah 31:10)

Shabbat Shalom from the Entire Bibles For Israel Family!

“‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there

may be food in My house. Test Me in this,' says the
Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the
floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing
that there will not be room enough to store it.’” (Malachi
3:10)

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