{"id":708,"date":"2020-08-13T03:10:44","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T03:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/?p=708"},"modified":"2020-08-15T06:27:45","modified_gmt":"2020-08-15T06:27:45","slug":"torahs-weightier-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/torahs-weightier-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Torah\u2019s Weightier Matters&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-754 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/reeh-2.jpg?resize=153%2C122&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"153\" height=\"122\" \/>From our Torah this week (<a href=\"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/Scripture\/Parashah\/Summaries\/Re_eh\/re_eh.html\">parashat Re&#8217;eh<\/a>) we read: &#8220;See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing (\u05d4\u05b7\u05d1\u05bc\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05db\u05b8\u05d4), if you obey (\u05e9\u05c1\u05b8\u05de\u05b7\u05e2) the commandments of the LORD your God&#8230; and the curse (\u05d4\u05b7\u05e7\u05bc\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d4), if you turn aside (\u05e1\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8, &#8220;withdraw,&#8221; &#8220;draw back&#8221;) from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known\u201d (Deut. 11:26-28).<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Presupposed here, of course, is knowing what the commandments of the Lord are, which is why we are further commanded neither add nor to subtract from Torah (Deut. 4:2). We are neither to go back to passivity and slavery by making Torah another \u201ctaskmaster\u201d (i.e., \u201cadding\u201d to Torah), nor are we to erect \u201cprivate altars\u201d by exalting our own interpretation as exclusionary and divine (i.e., \u201csubtracting\u201d from Torah) (Deut. 12:1-7). Instead, we must face up to our responsibilities by making difficult life choices: we must discern the \u201cweightier matters of Torah\u201d (see Matt. 23:23). When we were enslaved in Egypt, we were free from responsibility; we could play the victim by blaming others for our sins, our sorrows, our troubles. When were set free to serve God, however, we were given the power to choose to live outside of the realm of the curse by accepting God\u2019s blessing. Therefore choose life so you and your offspring may live!<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-729\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/deut30-19c-analysis.gif?resize=515%2C462&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"515\" height=\"462\" \/><\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-708-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/deut30-19c-jjp.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/deut30-19c-jjp.mp3\">https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/deut30-19c-jjp.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From our Torah this week (parashat Re&#8217;eh) we read: &#8220;See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing (\u05d4\u05b7\u05d1\u05bc\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05db\u05b8\u05d4), if you obey (\u05e9\u05c1\u05b8\u05de\u05b7\u05e2) the commandments of the LORD your God&#8230; and the curse (\u05d4\u05b7\u05e7\u05bc\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d4), if you turn aside (\u05e1\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8, &#8220;withdraw,&#8221; &#8220;draw back&#8221;) from the way that I am commanding you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-torah"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}