Studying Nitsavim - Deuteronomy 29:9- 30:20

 Nitzavim- Standing

The Torah portion for this week has been given the name "Nitzavim" meaning "standing". When I read this the hymn  Standing on the Promises of G-d comes to mind. I grew up in the United church, but my whole life as long as I can remember that is, I did not understand why we went to church on Sunday instead of honouring the seventh day- from Friday evening to Saturday evening. Writing G-d instead of God still feels a bit strange though, Ant way, back to this week's prescribed readings:

Torah Portion -The  Law Deuteronomy 29:9- 30:20.

How I Study Bible Readings

There are many free resources  available online for studying this Biblical passage. However if you truly want to understand a book , you need to take it to the author and originator of the book- take it to the LORD in prayer. 

1, Pray

Pray and ask Our Father- Creator of everything visible and invisible, to guide you in your studies. It is written: My people do not have because they do not ask.

2. Listen

 If you sincerely want to understand something, I recommend studying it  by reading it aloud several times and if possible listen to someone else read the passage as well.  It is surprising what your ear will be able to catch that that might escape your eyes.There is a good reason it is also written -Faith comes by hearing.

3. Dream and Write

After reading and listening to the specific passage ask Our Father to help you understand the passage and sleep on it. 

You may wish to have the passage play asa recording while you sleep too. Sleep is a very important part of learning and Our Creator has used dreams for centuries as a time to help us learn and grow.

If you are blessed with a dream- write it down-no matter how strange it seems,and if possible-tell someone the story of your dream. Sometimes when you write or speak out a dream its meaning becomes much clearer.

4. Pray and Double Check

However, do not rely solely on your own insights. take whatever you receive back to Our Creator. We must be like Gideon and double check whatever comes into our minds. Dreams, visions and thoughts can be influenced by a wide range of factors.

It is also important to find out what other people are saying about that passage.

Online Fact Checking Resources

I have long held the belief tat is you want to understand something written in another language it is best to talk to someone who grew up in that culture, so my first onlue go-to source when it comes to understanding Hebrew scripture is Chabad.org What are the Hebrew scolars saying about that passage?

My next source of information about a passage wren in Hebrew is a Messianic Rabbi, as they will often share insights into the Hebrew passage that take into consideration the whole Jewish Bible - as Rabbi Daid Stone says - the whole book was written by Jews.

There are many Messianic Rabbis online who share the good news about Our Saviour.  Here is a video from  the Messianic Apologetics you Tube channel on this week's passage - Torah Scope. If you can't see, don't worry about it - there are no visuals in this presentation, If you can see, you might want to just close your eyes and listen very carefully with me.