Devarim 16

1Be shomer of the month of Aviv [springtime, T.N. i.e., Nisan], and perform the Pesach offering unto Hashem Eloheicha; for in the month of Aviv Hashem Eloheicha brought thee forth out of Mitzrayim by lailah.

2Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the Pesach unto Hashem Eloheicha, of the tzon and the herd, in the place which Hashem shall choose to place Shmo there.

3Thou shalt eat no chametz with it; shivat yamim shalt thou eat matzot therewith, even the lechem oni (bread of affliction); for thou camest forth out of Eretz Mitzrayim in haste in order that thou mayest remember the yom when thou camest forth out of Eretz Mitzrayim kol yemei chayyechah (all the days of thy life).

4And there shall be no se'or (leaven) seen with thee in all thy territory shivat yamim; neither shall there any thing of the basar, which thou sacrificedst ba'Erev baYom HaRishon, remain overnight until the boker.

5Thou mayest not sacrifice the Pesach within any of thy she'arim, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee;

6But at the place which Hashem Eloheicha shall choose to place Shmo in, there thou shalt sacrifice the Pesach at erev, at the going down of the shemesh, at the mo'ed (appointed time) that thou camest forth out of Mitzrayim.

7And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which Hashem Eloheicha shall choose; and thou shalt turn back in the boker, and go unto thy oholim.

8Sheshet yamim thou shalt eat matzot; and on the yom ha'shevi'i shall be an atzeret (assembly) to Hashem Eloheicha; thou shalt do no melachah (work) therein.

9Shivah shavu'ot (seven weeks) shalt thou number unto thee; begin to number the shivah shavu'ot from such time as thou begin to put the sickle to the standing crop.

10And thou shalt observe Chag Shavuos unto Hashem Eloheicha by giving a terumah (freewill offering) of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto Hashem Eloheicha, according as Hashem Eloheicha hath blessed thee:

11And thou shalt rejoice before Hashem Eloheicha, thou, and thy ben, and thy bat, and thy eved, and thy amah, and the Levi that is within thy she'arim, and the ger, and the yatom (orphan), and the almanah, that are among you, in the place which Hashem Eloheicha hath chosen to place Shmo there.

12And thou shalt remember that thou wast an eved in Mitzrayim: and thou shalt be shomer and do these chukkim.

13Chag HaSukkot shalt thou observe shivat yamim, after that thou hast gathered in from thy threshing floor and from thy winepress:

14And thou shalt rejoice in thy chag (feast), thou, and thy ben, and thy bat, and thy eved, and thy amah, and the Levi, the ger, and the yatom (orphan), and the almanah, that are within thy she'arim.

15Shivat yamim shalt thou observe the chag (feast) unto Hashem Eloheicha in the place which Hashem shall choose, because Hashem Eloheicha shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, so that thou shalt surely rejoice.

16Shalosh p'amim bashanah shall all thy males appear before Hashem Eloheicha in the place which He shall choose; in the Chag Matzot, and in the Chag HaShavu'os, and in the Chag HaSukkot, and they shall not appear before Hashem empty-handed:

17Every man shall give as he is able, according to the Birkat Hashem Eloheicha which He hath given thee. [SHOFTIM]

18Judges and shoterim shalt thou appoint thee in all thy she'arim, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee, throughout thy shevatim: and they shall judge HaAm with mishpat-tzedek.

19Thou shalt not pervert mishpat; thou shalt not show partiality, neither take a shochad: for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the chachamim, and twist the devarim of the tzaddikim.

20Tzedek tzedek (that which is altogether just) shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit ha'aretz which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee.

21Thou shalt not set up any tree as an Asherah near unto the Mizbe'ach of Hashem Eloheicha, which thou shalt make thee.

22Neither shalt thou set thee up any matzeivah (pillar); which Hashem Eloheicha hateth.What, then, is the Besuras HaGeulah (Good News of Redemption) according to Moshe Rabbeinu? “Speak not thou in thine lev, after that Hashem Eloheicha hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my tzedakah (righteousness) Hashem hath brought me in to possess this land; but for the wickedness of these Goyim, Hashem doth drive them out from before thee. Not for thy tzedakah, or for the yosher (uprightness) of thine lev, dost thou go to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these Goyim, Hashem Eloheicha doth drive them out from before thee, and that He may perform the word which Hashem swore unto Avoteicha, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov” (Dt.9:4-5). Here we see that Redemption is the work of Hashem and not something man can boast of. Salvation is not something earned by self-achieved righteousness. Moshe warns not to even think that in exchange for “ my tzedakah (righteousness) Hashem hath brought me in to possess this land.” Redemption from bondage in Egypt and the gift of Eretz Yisroel did not come about on the basis of human merits or deserts. So there is no room for human boasting in the message of salvation that Moshe proclaims. By grace are ye saved through faith, and this salvation is not of yourselves--it doesn’t derive from your goodness or your merit or your righteousness. It is a gift of Hashem. It must be humbly received as a gift by faith. It cannot be proudly acquired or earned by man who is essentially a rebel (Num17:10). This is the Besuras HaGeulah according to Moshe Rabbeinu. Have you heard the Besuras HaGeulah? On the day after the rest day (the rest day was Pesach, Nisan 15, 3793 on the Jewish Calendar), Moshiach, as a matter of eye-witnessed historical fact, stood up from the dead ones. This happened Nisan 16, 3793. It was also “The Third Day.” Moshiach died three days before Nisan 16, shedding his blood on Nisan 14, at the time that the lambs were being slaughtered (see Dt 16:5-6 and cf Yn 19:14). Here we see that Moshiach himself is the Korban Pesach of our Redemption (Isa 53:7). When Moshiach stood up alive on Nisan 16, Moshiach did so as the “First-fruits” of the ones having fallen asleep [in death He was raised for your acceptance [with Hashem] according to the Scriptures (Lv 23:11). On Yom HaRishon, Nisan 16, 3793 (33 C.E.), Moshiach had his Techiyah (Resurrection) from the Mesim (Dead ones) on Yom HaShlishi as the Bikkurim (First-fruits) of the ones having fallen asleep in death. See Gn 1:11-13, which states that Elohim said, Let the land produce bikkurim and “there was evening and there was morning, Yom Shelishi (the Third Day).” Hashem, You will not allow your Chassid (Moshiach Ben Dovid) to see corruption---Ps 16:10, as it says, On Yom HaShelishi (the Third Day) He will raise us up that we may live in His Presence—Hos 6:2. On Pesach, 3793 (33 C.E.) Moshiach was led as our Korban Pesach “lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7, Sanhedrin 98b) that we might have an Exodus from the Olam Hazeh and for the Olam HaBah purchased by the redemption payment of his covenant blood (“He was excluded out of the land of the living [he died, in other words] for the transgression of my people” (Isaiah 53:8). Moshiach died for our sins according to this Scripture. His covenant blood was sprinkled (Isaiah 52:15) to make us tahor (clean) in order that we might be raised spiritually and (in the Olam HaBah, bodily) in Moshiach with a lev chadash and a ruach chadasha (Ezek 36:26) by emunah (faith) in the Kitvei Hakodesh (the Holy Scriptures). Thus Moshiach Our Kohen Forever (Psalm 110:4) fulfilled the Mo’adim (Appointed time, Festivals) of Hashem, including the Korban Pesach Nisan 14, 3793, and the Korban Omer HaBikkurim Nisan 16, 3793, for our acceptance with Hashem according to Leviticus 23:11. At the end of the Y’mei HaSefirah (Days of the Counting [of the Omer]) came Shavuos and the Tevilah of the Ruach HaKodesh given to Moshiach’s Talmidim to empower them to proclaim the Besuras HaGeulah (the Good News of Redemption) everywhere, to the Jewish people first, of course, but also the non-Jew. This is true Spirit-filled Second Temple era Messianic Judaism. Look at MJ 10:25; 13:17. As we see in Dt. 12:13-14 Moshe also taught the importance of faithfulness in a community of ma’aminim (believers). “Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy olot in every place that thou seest; But in the place which Hashem shall choose in one of thy shevatim, there thou shalt offer thy olot, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.” Notice also Dt.14:23, “And thou shalt eat before Hashem Eloheicha, in the place which He shall choose to place Shmo there, the ma’aser (tithe) of thy dagan (grain), of thy tirosh (new wine), and of thine yitzhar (fresh oil), and the bekhorot (firstlings) of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to stand in awe of Hashem Eloheicha always.” The person who insists that he or she can worship G-d in the park or under a beautiful tree, and that no other venue is needed, does not follow what Moshe is teaching. Moshe instructs that G-d wants the kohen and the kohen’s teaching and the Scriptures and the avodas kodesh worship involved and specifically warns against the worshiper choosing any place he likes (see Dt 12:13). On the kohen as a teacher see Mal 2:5-7: “My Brit was with him [Levi] of chayyim and shalom; and I gave them to him that he might fear Me; so he feared Me and stood in reverence before My Name. Torat emes was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found on his lips: he walked with Me in shalom and yashrus, and did turn rabbim (many) away from avon (iniquity). For the kohen’s lips should preserve da’as, and they should seek at his mouth: for he is the malach Hashem Tzva’os.” The Scriptures warn not to go beyond what is written. And Hashem has provided spiritual gifts for the upbuilding of each believer in the household of faith. Some are shluchim, and some nevi’im and some gifted spiritually to be used in Kiruv efforts for Moshiach, and some supervising mashgichim ruchaniyim (spiritual overseers) are ro’im and morim in the kehillah (see Ep 4:11). This is for the equipping of the Kedoshim for the work of avodas kodesh ministry. We are no longer to be olalim tossed by waves and carried around by every wind of limmud (instruction). Hashem has given to each believer certain spiritual gifts. However, in many cases these gifts are latent in an individual without his being aware of them, because he has never committed to any kehillah long enough to exercise them. But Hashem expects each one of us to use the gifts that He has invested in us. We have the responsibility to locate in a kehillah atmosphere where we can systematically grow and mature and our gifts can come to their full expression. Every believer should begin a heart-felt quest after the true and living alternative of Spirit-filled Second Temple era faith and the true Moshiach. This means correct doctrine. Look at Dan 7:14, 3:7, 11-12, 15. The word YOD FAY LAMMED TAV VAV FINAL NOON (see Brown, Driver, Briggs Heb English Lexicon p.1108 “pay reverence to deity”) found there in all those passages in Daniel makes it self-evident from this Biblical data that although Daniel’s friends would not reverence as deity Babylon’s idols, all peoples will in fact pay homage to Hashem’s Moshiach when he comes on the heavenly clouds of glory; yet Moshiach so reverenced will not be an idol. Notice the word YOD FAY LAMMED TAV VAV FINAL NOON is used negatively regarding idols but positively and approvingly regarding Moshiach. One can be reverenced as deity in the book of Daniel and the other cannot. We believe that the SHALOSH KADOSH found in Isaiah 6:3 and in Isaiah chapter 63 and in Gn 18:1-2 and in the Orthodox Jewish Prayer Book is the locus classicus of Hashem’s Kedushah HaMeshuleshet (Three-fold Holiness) and that this Jewish doctrine is found in the Zohar and in other Rabbinic literature. We believe that Adonoi and His saving Messianic Dvar Hashem and His Ruach Hakodesh, though three, is Echad (Dt 6:4), essentially One, even as a man and his wife, though two, is Echad (Gn 2:24) or a cluster of grapes is echad (Num 13:23). A true kehillah is where this doctrine is faithfully taught. Whoever runs ahead and does not remain in the of Moshiach does not have Hashem (see II Yn 9). This translation, the Orthodox Jewish Bible, was prepared the way it is for the additional purpose [not the only purpose] of assisting in Messianic congregations planted for the sake of the lost sheep of the House of Israel. See the translator’s books, Everything You Need To Grow A Messianic Synagogue, William Carey Library, 1974; Everything You Need To Grow a Messianic Yeshiva, William Carey Library, 1981.]