Torah Portion - January 8, 2018

Weekly Torah Studies

Today's Torah Reading: Genesis 7

Today's 
Torah
Portion: 

The Hebrew Alphabet: Vav

The letter Vav is the sixth letter of the Aleph-Bet, having the numeric value of six. The pictograph for Vav looks like a tent peg, whereas the classical Hebrew script (ketav Ashurit) is constructed of a vertical line and conjoined Yod. The meaning of the word vav is "hook," as a connecting hook used when the mishkan (tabernacle) was assembled.

The Mystery of Vav
The first Vav in the Torah occurs in Genesis 1:1:

The placement of the Vav suggests two of its essential connective powers:

By joining heaven and earth it implies the connection between spiritual and
      earthly matters. 
Since it occurs as the 22nd letter in the Torah attached to the sixth word,  
      (et), it alludes to the creative connection
      between all of the letters. Vav is therefore the connecting force of the
      God, the divine "hook" that binds together heaven and earth.


Vav and the Tabernacle (mishkan)

The word Vav is used in Exodus 27:9-10 to refer to the hooks of silver fastened to posts (called amudim)
that were used to hold the curtain (yeriah) that encloses the
tabernacle:

Just as the tabernacle was the habitation of God
while the Israelites traveled in the wilderness, so the Torah is the habitation
of His word today. Therefore, the scribes developed the idea that the Torah
Scroll was to be constructed in the manner of the tabernacle. They called each
parchment sheet of a scroll a yeriah, named for the curtain of
the tabernacle (there are roughly 50 yeriot per scroll) and each column
of text an amud, named for the post of the tabernacle's court. 

Now since each curtain of the tabernacle was fastened to its post by means of a
silver hook (vav), the scribes made each column of text to begin
with a letter Vav, thereby "hooking" the text to the parchment:

THIS IS ENOUGH 

The laws of writing a Torah scroll are called soferut. Special inks are used and whenever a scribe writes any of the seven Names of God, he must say a blessing (l'shem k'dushat Hashem) and dip his quill in fresh ink. A Torah scroll may contain no errors of any kind or it is considered passul (invalid). Each line of every amud is carefully read (backwards) by the sofer and compared against a working copy (called a tikkun). If an error is detected in a yeriah, it must be removed from the scroll and buried in a genizah, a sort of "cemetery" or repository for sacred texts (the most famous genizah is the Cairo Genizah).

Vav  = 6 and is the V or W of Hebrew

·         VAV means “HOOK” or “NAIL” in Hebrew

·         VAV is also a connecting word, mean “AND”. It shows how Yahshua HOOKS or CONNECTS Heaven and earth, Yahweh (spelled YOD – HEY – VAV – HEY) and man, together as one. 

Six is the number of MAN. MAN was created on the 6^th day, and was given 6 days each week to labor, just as YAH labored for 6 days in Creating our world (Gen. 1:26-31 and Exodus 20:9 & 11).

Vav is a picture of Man
Since Vav represents the number six, it has long been associated as the number of man in the Hebrew tradition:

• Man was created on the sixth day
• Man works for six days - the realm of the chol and the mundane
• There are six millennia before the coming of the Messiah
• The "beast" is identified as the "number of a man" - 666 (Rev 13:18)

YAHSHUA became a MAN in order to save MANKIND. With 3 NAILS (VAV, VAV, VAV), or 666, our Saviour was NAILED to the Cross for us.

In 6 hours (from 9-3), our Saviour completed the Work of Redemption (Mark 15:25; Luke 23:44).

The Belly of the Torah
An oversized Vav marks the "center" of the entire Torah (Leviticus 11:42):

Appropriately enough, the word in which this Vav occurs is gachon, meaning "belly."

Leviticus 11:42 “Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.”  

The Vav in 666

“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six,” Revelation 13:18. 

666 in the Barcode- Marking Products for Sale

Barcodes, of course, are those ever-familiar "bars" and "numbers" on virtually everything. In 1973, the barcode system quietly strolled into our world. In just over 25 years, barcodes have literally taken over the world. There are "3 guard bars". They are located at the beginning, middle and end.  The number "666" is quietly "hidden" in every UPC barcode. Mary Stewart Relfe's book, The New Money System 666, published in 1982, is the "pioneer" in exposing the 666 in the UPC barcode. Even, Mr. Laurer, the inventor of the UPC barcode admits, "Yes, they do RESEMBLE the code for a six."

666 in the World Wide Web: “WWW…”

The Hebrew and Greek alphabet does not have separate characters or alphabets for numbers and letters. Letters are also used as numbers. So each letter is a numerical value.

The Hebrew equivalent of our "w" is the letter "vav" or "waw". The numerical value of vav is 6. So the English "www" transliterated into Hebrew is "vav vav vav", which numerically is 666.

Demonic Energy?

Monster Energy has taken off like hot cakes, you see people wearing their branded clothing in the malls. Monster Energy endorses racing teams;  if it’s fast and it’s fun, they will endorse it. 

The Monster logo is a ‘type‘ of a Mark of a Beast.  Compare the 3 lines that appear to make up the letter M (note the lines in the Monster logo are not joined together) to the Hebrew. The Hebrew letter Vav (which has a numerical value of 6) is a match.

How sneaky is that? Most who consume this drink are being tricked into having the numbers 666 in their possession. This is because the 666 is disguised as 3 lines that supposedly look like monster claws cutting through the can.

Consider also the slogan: “Unleash the Beast!”

The Energy Drink contains ‘demonic’ energy and if you drink this drink you are drinking a satanic brew that will give you a boost.

On Youtube, one of the Monster Energy Drink commercials – It would appear possession takes place, the MONSTER IS NOW INSIDE as they show the man’s eyes with 666 Vav, Vav, Vav.

A Paleo-Hebrew Look at Vav

There is one Hebrew language, but it has two different scripts. One of these scripts fell into complete disuse and was forgotten 2000 years ago. Within the past century, it has been rediscovered. The impact of this discovery has not yet been fully felt, for the lost script may well be the original, the one in which the Ten Commandments were written by the finger of G-d1 and the one in which Moses wrote the original Torah.

The lost script is called Ivri or Paleo-Hebrew. Our familiar Hebrew script is known as Ashuri or Assyrian script. The Torah was originally written by Moses in Paleo-Hebrew (Ivri). It was changed to Ashuri script by Ezra during the Babylonian Exile and has remained so ever since.

In Paleo-Hebrew, the letter vav was only referred to as a waw. There was no “v” sound! The meaning of the Vav never changed. It was always a tent hook, both in Paleo-Hebrew and modern.

This Week's Torah Studies: (Statutes 21-40)
The Torah studies are provided in two formats for your convenience. The first option (below) is the blank worksheets for this week, which will allow you to print out the worksheets and hand-write the studies yourself. If you have less time, you may wish to read/print my completed Statute studies. The completed worksheets are the second option (below):

Statutes 21-40 Blank Worksheets (pdf)

Statutes 21-40 Completed Worksheets (pdf)

An Overview of this Week's Torah Studies:
This week we will be studying Statutes 21-40, which are summarized below. Happy studying!

Statute 21-22 Summary:

(21) Bind (write) the Torah upon your hands (actions). (22) Bind (write) the Torah upon your mind (thoughts).

Deuteronomy 6:8  “And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.”

Statute 23 Summary:

(23) Make and wear blue tzit tzits on the edges of your clothes to help you remember to be faithful and obedient to YHWH. (In Bible times, this Statute was understood to be meant the men, for women did not wear the tzit tzits).

Numbers 15:38-40  “Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the Commandments of YAHWEH, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember, and do all My Commandments, and be holy unto your God.”

Statute 24 Summary:

(24) Preach and publish YHWH’s Law, putting it on the prominent places of your home and proclaiming it in the city.

Deuteronomy 6:9 “And thou shalt write them (YHWH’s Commands see Deut. 6:4-6) upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”  

Statute 25-26 Summary:

(25) Gather and read the whole Torah at the Feast of Tabernacles every Sabbatical year (seventh year). (26) Keep the Feast of Tabernacles in the place which YHWH selects and finds acceptable.

Deuteronomy 31:10-12  “And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the Feast of Tabernacles, When all Israel is come to appear before YAHWEH thy God in the place which He shall choose, thou shalt read this Law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear YAHWEH your God, and observe to do all the words of this Law.”

Statute 27 Summary:

(27) Kings (we are all kings – Revelation 5:10), under YHWH, must begin their service by writing out a personal copy of the Torah, which they are to study and read from daily, all their days.

Deuteronomy 17:18-20  “And it shall be, when he (a new king) sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this Law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God, to keep all the words of this Law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the Commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.”

Statute 28 Summary:

YHWH has made His Law readily available to us, so that there is no excuse for not knowing and obeying it. Therefore, (28) we are to turn to YHWH with all our hearts and souls and obey His Commandments and Statutes.

Deuteronomy 30:10-14 “If thou shalt hearken unto the Voice of Yahweh thy God, to keep His Commandments and His Statutes which are written in this book of the Law, and if thou turn unto Yahweh thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.  It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?  Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?  But the Word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.”

Statute 29 Summary:

Recognizing that everything you have (home, food, money, etc…) is from YHWH, (29) thank YHWH for everything He has given to you, regularly and often, lest you be tempted to think you got it by your own prowess or strength.

Deuteronomy 8:10-14 “When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless Yahweh thy God for the good land which He hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not Yahweh thy God, in not keeping His Commandments, and His Judgments, and His Statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget Yahweh thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” 

Statute 30 Summary:

(30) Build the Holy House (Sanctuary) of YHWH so that He will dwell with you. (This is not a literal building of a physical temple. This building is first and foremost a spiritual one...  We are the temple of YAH, and His people are His Temple – 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 & 1 Peter 2:5).

Exodus 25:8-9 “And let them make Me a Sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.  According to all that I show thee, after the Pattern of the Tabernacle, and the Pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.”

Statutes 31 Summary:

(31) Reverence YHWH in His Holy Sanctuary, on His Holy Sabbaths.

Leviticus 19:30  “Ye shall keep My Sabbaths, and reverence My Sanctuary: I Am Yahweh.”

Statute 32 Summary:

(32) Never set up an Asherah (which is another name for Easter) pole, icon or “Happy (Easter)” items, sun-god images, columns or memorial stones. These things should not in any way be joined to the altar (the worship) of YHWH.

Deuteronomy 16:21-22 “Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of Yahweh thy God, which thou shalt make thee. Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which Yahweh thy God hateth.”

Statute 33 Summary:

(33) Do not worship or revere any empty “gods,” nor make carved gods, nor set up pillars or memorials to false deities. Do not bow down to nor worship any false god of any kind, for they are all conceited imaginings.

Leviticus 26:1  “Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I Am Yahweh your God.”  

Statutes 34 Summary:

(34) Do not spend time wishing about, or consider worshiping, nor speak the names of false gods. Their character, authority, or honor have no place in you.

Exodus 23:13 “And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.” 

Statutes 35 Summary:

(35) Do not teach or entice anyone to worship false gods, nor allow anyone to come into the Body of Yahweh enticing others to false worship. Idolatry and its teachings must be destroyed.

Deuteronomy 13:12-15 “If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which Yahweh thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;  Then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you. Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.”

Statutes 36-37 Summary:

If a dear friend or family member comes to you to entice or pressure you into a practice that glorifies satan (purposely not capitalized), (36) do not listen or fall prey to the enticement. (37) Do not protect, cover for, or go easy on someone who encourages you to worship the devil in such ways.

Deuteronomy 13:6-8 “If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him.”

Statutes 38-40 Summary:

(38) Destroy idols with fire. Do not desire or take any valuable parts of the idol that is being destroyed. (39) Do not bring any abominable objects into your home. (40) Abhor all abominations and abominable objects.

Deuteronomy 7:25-26 “The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to Yahweh thy God. Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.”