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Day
by Day On Feasts,
Festivals or get-togethers, in general, where we are gathered together
with others who accept YHWH and His Torah, we tend to be on our best
behavior. What about
our day by day life? Are we less careful in our obedience when the
brothers cannot see us? How, are we
to know what is pleasing to YHWH? Does obedience to YHWH always coincide
with what the brothers and sisters think? In the case of a disagreement,
what are we to do? Does arguing with one another always bring us to a
place where we can both see things the same? If what we see or hear from
a brother appears to disagree with Torah, what then? None of us
are perfect but we are to strive for perfection, being whole in the will
of YHWH. Torah was
read yearly at Sukkoth and to whom was it read? The assembly (those who
listened to the Torah being read) was made up of men and women and all
who were able to understand. According to
YHWH Comforts or (Nehemyah) 8, it appears that this was a reading of
Torah by Help or (Ezra) the Cohen, the priestly Scribe rather than being
a discussion. We are told the Levi’iym instructed the people as to the
meaning of the Torah. They read
from the Torah of the Mighty One, making it clear and giving the meaning
so that the people could understand what was being read. Day after
day, from the first day to the last, Help or (Ezra) read from the Torah
of the Mighty One. Nehemyah
(Neh) 8:1-18 1
all the people assembled as one man in the square before the
Water Gate. They told Help or (Ezra) the scribe to bring out the Torah
given through Moshe, which YHWH had commanded for Yisrael. 2
So on the first day of the seventh month, Help
or (Ezra) the priest brought Torah before the assembly, which was made
up of men and women and all who were able to understand. 3
He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square
before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who
could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the reading
of Torah. 4
Help or (Ezra) the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built
for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood a Leviiym ‘Gift of
YHWH (Mattithyah), Hear (Shema),
YHWH has answered (Anayah), YHWH is my Light (Uriyah), My Portion is
YHWH (Chilqiyah) and Work of YHWH (Ma’aseyah) and on his left were
YHWH has Ransomed (Pedayah), Who is What El is (Miysha’el), My King is
YHWH (Malkiyah), Rich (Chashum), Considerate Judge (Chashbaddanah), YHWH
Remembers (Zecharyah) and Friend (Meshullam). 5
Help (Ezra) opened the book. All the people could see him because
he was standing above them and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6
Help or (Ezra) praised YHWH, the great Mighty One; and all the
people lifted their hands and responded, "Truly! Truly!". Then
they bowed down and worshiped YHWH with their faces to the ground. 7
The Levi’iym—He is Saved (Yeshua), Bull (Bani), YHWH Has
Scorched (Sherebyah), Right Hand (Yamiyn), Insidious (Akkub), Sabbatical
(Shabbethai), My Majesty is YHWH (Hodyah), Work of YHWH (Ma’aseyah),
Crippled (Qeliyta), YHWH has Helped (Azaryah), YHWH has Endowed (Yowzaba’ad),
He is Merciful (Chanan) and
YHWH Does Wonders (Pelayah)-- instructed the people in Torah while the
people were standing there. 8
They read from the Torah of the Mighty One, making it clear and
giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being
read. 9
Then YHWH Comforts or (Nehemyah) the governor, Help or (Ezra) the
priest and scribe, and the Leviiym who were instructing the people said
to them all, "This day is set apart to YHWH your Mighty One. Do not
mourn or weep." For all the people had been weeping as they
listened to the words of the Torah. 10
YHWH Comforts or (Nehemyah) said, "Go and enjoy choice food
and sweet drinks and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This
day is set apart to our Mighty One. Do not grieve, for the joy of YHWH
is your strength." 11
The Leviiym calmed all the people, saying, "Be still, for
this is a day set apart to YHWH. Do not grieve." 12
Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions
of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the
words that had been made known to them. 13
On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families,
along with the priests and the Levi’iym, gathered around Help or
(Ezra) the scribe to give attention to the words of Torah. 14
They found written in the Torah, which YHWH had commanded through
Moshe, that the sons of Yisrael were to live in booths during the feast
of the seventh month 15
and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout
their towns and in Yerushalayim: "Go out into the hill country and
bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles,
palms and shade trees, to make booths"-- as it is written. 16
So the people went out and brought back branches and built
themselves booths on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts
of the house of the Mighty and in the square by the Water Gate and the
one by the Gate of Ephrayim. 17
The whole company that had returned from exile built booths and
lived in them. From the days of He is Saved or (Yehoshua) son of Nuwn
whose name means Posterity, until that day, the sons of Yisrael had not
celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great. 18
Day after day, from the first day to the last, Help or (Ezra)
read from the Torah of the Mighty One. They celebrated the feast for
seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation,
there was an assembly. Why do I
mention this? When we behave one way in front of people and another when
we are alone, who are we trying to please? Much of the
just read verses concern themselves with Sukkoth and the gathering
together of the people but even when alone or away from the fellow Torah
keepers we must be what we truly are. Torah
instructs us in how to live, how to think, among other things. It does
not focus on making us socially acceptable to our friends, our family or
our compatriots. It focuses on our acceptance by YHWH. Who we are and
how we ‘act’ counts for nothing if we are one way before men and
another way entirely, before YHWH. Despite what
others may say or do or may think of us, we must do what pleases YHWH. Day by day,
let us be guided by Torah. Let us strive to know what YHWH wants from us
and when we know…DO. |