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For they are my slaves, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; therefore they are not to be sold as slaves.

Therefore that place was named Kivrot-HaTa'avah [graves of greed], because there they buried the people who were so greedy.

Also the fire pans of these men, whose sin cost them their lives, have become holy, because they were offered before Adonai . Therefore, have them hammered into plates to cover the altar. This will be a sign for the people of Isra'el."

(Maftir) "Therefore you are to tell them, ‘When you set aside from it its best part, it will be accounted to the L'vi'im as if it were grain from the threshing-floor and grape juice from the wine vat.

Then the people of Isra'el traveled on and camped in the plains of Mo'av beyond the Yarden River, opposite Yericho. Haftarah Hukkat: Shof'tim (Judges) 11:1–33 B'rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Hukkat: Yochanan (John) 3:9–21; 4:3–30; 12:27–50 [In regular years read with Parashah 39, in leap years read separately] Now Balak the son of Tzippor saw all that Isra'el had done to the Emori. Mo'av was very afraid of the people, because there were so many of them; Mo'av was overcome with dread because of the people of Isra'el. So Mo'av said to the leaders of Midyan, "This horde will lick up everything around us, the way an ox licks up grass in the field." Balak the son of Tzippor was king of Mo'av at that time. He sent messengers to Bil‘am the son of B‘or, at P'tor by the [Euphrates] River in his native land, to tell him, "Listen, a people has come out of Egypt, spread over all the land and settled down next to me. Therefore, please come, and curse this people for me, because they are stronger than I am. Maybe I will be able to strike them down and drive them out of the land, for I know that whomever you bless is in fact blessed, and whomever you curse is in fact cursed." The leaders of Mo'av and Midyan left, taking with them the payment for divining, came to Bil‘am and spoke to him the words of Balak. He said to them, "Stay here tonight, and I will bring you back whatever answer Adonai tells me." So the princes of Mo'av stayed with Bil‘am. God came to Bil‘am and said, "Who are these men with you?" Bil‘am said to God, "Balak the son of Tzippor, king of Mo'av, has sent me this message: ‘The people who came out of Egypt have spread over the land; now, come and curse them for me; maybe I will be able to fight against them and drive them out.'" God answered Bil‘am, "You are not to go with them; you are not to curse the people, because they are blessed." (RY: v; LY: ii) Bil‘am got up in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, "Return to your own land, because Adonai refuses to give me permission to go with you." The princes of Mo'av got up, returned to Balak and said, "Bil‘am refuses to come with us." Balak again sent princes, more of them and of higher status than the first group. They went to Bil‘am and said to him, "Here is what Balak the son of Tzippor says: ‘Please don't let anything keep you from coming to me. I will reward you very well, and whatever you say to me I will do. So please come, and curse this people for me.'" Bil‘am answered the servants of Balak, "Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of Adonai my God to do anything, great or small. Now, please, you too, stay here tonight; so that I may find out what else Adonai will say to me." God came to Bil‘am during the night and said to him, "If the men have come to summon you, get up and go with them; but do only what I tell you." (LY: iii) So Bil‘am got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Mo'av. But God's anger flared up because he went, and the angel of Adonai stationed himself on the path to bar his way. He was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. The donkey saw the angel of Adonai standing on the road, drawn sword in hand; so the donkey turned off the road into the field; and Bil‘am had to beat the donkey to get it back on the road. Then the angel of Adonai stood on the road where it became narrow as it passed among the vineyards and had stone walls on both sides. The donkey saw the angel of Adonai and pushed up against the wall, crushing Bil‘am's foot against the wall. So he beat it again. The angel of Adonai moved ahead and stood in a place so tight that there was no room to turn either right or left. Again the donkey saw the angel of Adonai and lay down under Bil‘am, which made him so angry that he hit the donkey with his stick. But Adonai enabled the donkey to speak, and it said to Bil‘am, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?" Bil‘am said to the donkey, "It's because you've been making a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand; I would kill you on the spot!" The donkey said to Bil‘am, "I'm your donkey, right? You've ridden me all your life, right? Have I ever treated you like this before?" "No," he admitted. Then Adonai opened Bil‘am's eyes, so that he could see the angel of Adonai standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, and he bowed his head and fell on his face. The angel of Adonai said to him, "Why did you hit your donkey three times like that? I have come out here to bar your way, because you are rushing to oppose me. The donkey saw me and turned aside these three times; and indeed, if she hadn't turned away from me, I would have killed you by now and saved it alive!" Bil‘am said to the angel of Adonai , "I have sinned. I didn't know that you were standing on the road to block me. Now, therefore, if what I am doing displeases you, I will go back." But the angel of Adonai said to Bil‘am, "No, go on with the men; but you are to say only what I tell you to say." So Bil‘am went along with the princes of Balak. When Balak heard that Bil‘am had come, he went out to meet him in the city of Mo'av at the Arnon border, in the farthest reaches of the territory. Balak said to Bil‘am, "I sent more than once to summon you! Why didn't you come to me? Did you think I couldn't pay you enough?" Bil‘am replied to Balak, "Here, I've come to you! But I have no power of my own to say anything. The word that God puts in my mouth is what I will say." (RY: vi, LY: iv) Bil‘am went with Balak. When they arrived at Kiryat-Hutzot, Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, then sent to Bil‘am and the princes with him. In the morning Balak took Bil‘am and brought him up to the high places of Ba‘al; from there he could see a portion of the people.

Therefore, please come, and curse this people for me, because they are stronger than I am. Maybe I will be able to strike them down and drive them out of the land, for I know that whomever you bless is in fact blessed, and whomever you curse is in fact cursed."

Bil‘am said to the angel of Adonai , "I have sinned. I didn't know that you were standing on the road to block me. Now, therefore, if what I am doing displeases you, I will go back."

nevertheless, 24,000 died in the plague. Haftarah Balak: Mikhah (Micah) 5:6(7)– 6:8 B'rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Balak: 2 Kefa (2 Peter) 2:1–22; Y'hudah (Jude) 11; Revelation 2:14–15 Adonai said to Moshe, "Pinchas the son of El‘azar, the son of Aharon the cohen, has deflected my anger from the people of Isra'el by being as zealous as I am, so that I didn't destroy them in my own zeal. Therefore say, ‘I am giving him my covenant of shalom, making a covenant with him and his descendants after him that the office of cohen will be theirs forever.' This is because he was zealous on behalf of his God and made atonement for the people of Isra'el." The name of the man from Isra'el who was killed, put to death with the woman from Midyan, was Zimri the son of Salu, leader of one of the clans from the tribe of Shim‘on. The name of the woman from Midyan who was killed was Kozbi the daughter of Tzur, and he was head of the people in one of the clans of Midyan. Adonai said to Moshe, "Treat the Midyanim as enemies and attack them; because they are treating you as enemies by the trickery they used to deceive you in the P‘or incident and in the affair of their sister Kozbi, the daughter of the leader from Midyan, the woman who was killed on the day of the plague in the P‘or incident." After the plague,

Therefore say, ‘I am giving him my covenant of shalom,

Therefore, observe them; and follow them; for then all peoples will see you as having wisdom and understanding. When they hear of all these laws, they will say, ‘This great nation is surely a wise and understanding people.'

"Therefore, watch out for yourselves! Since you did not see a shape of any kind on the day Adonai spoke to you in Horev from the fire,

Therefore, you are to keep his laws and mitzvot which I am giving you today, so that it will go well with you and with your children after you, and so that you will prolong your days in the land Adonai your God is giving you forever."

You are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Adonai your God brought you out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore Adonai your God has ordered you to keep the day of Shabbat.

"Therefore you are to be careful to do as Adonai your God has ordered you; you are not to deviate either to the right or the left.

(A: iv, S: iii) Then Moshe called to all Isra'el and said to them, "Listen, Isra'el, to the laws and rulings which I am announcing in your hearing today, so that you will learn them and take care to obey them. Adonai our God made a covenant with us at Horev. Adonai did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us — with us, who are all of us here alive today. Adonai spoke with you face to face from the fire on the mountain. At that time I stood between Adonai and you in order to tell you what Adonai was saying; because, on account of the fire, you were afraid and wouldn't go up onto the mountain. He said, א "‘I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves. ב "‘You are to have no other gods before me. You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline — you are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents, also the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot. ג "‘You are not to misuse the name of Adonai your God, because Adonai will not leave unpunished someone who misuses his name. ד "‘Observe the day of Shabbat, to set it apart as holy, as Adonai your God ordered you to do. You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Shabbat for Adonai your God. On it you are not to do any kind of work — not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your ox, your donkey or any of your other livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property — so that your male and female servants can rest just as you do. You are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Adonai your God brought you out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore Adonai your God has ordered you to keep the day of Shabbat. ה "‘Honor your father and mother, as Adonai your God ordered you to do, so that you will live long and have things go well with you in the land Adonai your God is giving you. ו "‘Do not murder. ז "‘Do not commit adultery. ח "‘Do not steal. ט "‘Do not give false evidence against your neighbor. י "‘Do not covet your neighbor's wife; do not covet your neighbor's house, his field, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.' (A: v, S: iv) "These words Adonai spoke to your entire gathering at the mountain from fire, cloud and thick mist, in a loud voice; then it ceased. But he wrote them on two stone tablets, which he gave to me. When you heard the voice coming out of the darkness, as the mountain blazed with fire, you came to me, all the heads of your tribes and your leaders, and said, ‘Here, Adonai our God has shown us his glory and his greatness! We have heard his voice coming from the fire, and we have seen today that God does speak with human beings, and they stay alive. But why should we keep risking death? This great fire will consume us! If we hear the voice of Adonai our God any more, we will die! For who is there of all humanity that has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the fire, as we have, and stayed alive? You, go near; and hear everything Adonai our God says. Then you will tell us everything Adonai our God says to you; and we will listen to it and do it.' " Adonai heard what you were saying when you spoke to me, and Adonai said to me, ‘I have heard what this people has said when speaking to you, and everything they have said is good. Oh, how I wish their hearts would stay like this always, that they would fear me and obey all my mitzvot; so that it would go well with them and their children forever. Go, tell them to return to their tents. But you, stand here by me; and I will tell you all the mitzvot, laws and rulings which you are to teach them, so that they can obey them in the land I am giving them as their possession.' "Therefore you are to be careful to do as Adonai your God has ordered you; you are not to deviate either to the right or the left. You are to follow the entire way which Adonai your God has ordered you; so that you will live, things will go well with you, and you will live long in the land you are about to possess.

(A: iv, S: iii) Then Moshe called to all Isra'el and said to them, "Listen, Isra'el, to the laws and rulings which I am announcing in your hearing today, so that you will learn them and take care to obey them. Adonai our God made a covenant with us at Horev. Adonai did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us — with us, who are all of us here alive today. Adonai spoke with you face to face from the fire on the mountain. At that time I stood between Adonai and you in order to tell you what Adonai was saying; because, on account of the fire, you were afraid and wouldn't go up onto the mountain. He said, א "‘I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves. ב "‘You are to have no other gods before me. You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline — you are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents, also the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot. ג "‘You are not to misuse the name of Adonai your God, because Adonai will not leave unpunished someone who misuses his name. ד "‘Observe the day of Shabbat, to set it apart as holy, as Adonai your God ordered you to do. You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Shabbat for Adonai your God. On it you are not to do any kind of work — not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your ox, your donkey or any of your other livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property — so that your male and female servants can rest just as you do. You are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Adonai your God brought you out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore Adonai your God has ordered you to keep the day of Shabbat. ה "‘Honor your father and mother, as Adonai your God ordered you to do, so that you will live long and have things go well with you in the land Adonai your God is giving you. ו "‘Do not murder. ז "‘Do not commit adultery. ח "‘Do not steal. ט "‘Do not give false evidence against your neighbor. י "‘Do not covet your neighbor's wife; do not covet your neighbor's house, his field, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.' (A: v, S: iv) "These words Adonai spoke to your entire gathering at the mountain from fire, cloud and thick mist, in a loud voice; then it ceased. But he wrote them on two stone tablets, which he gave to me. When you heard the voice coming out of the darkness, as the mountain blazed with fire, you came to me, all the heads of your tribes and your leaders, and said, ‘Here, Adonai our God has shown us his glory and his greatness! We have heard his voice coming from the fire, and we have seen today that God does speak with human beings, and they stay alive. But why should we keep risking death? This great fire will consume us! If we hear the voice of Adonai our God any more, we will die! For who is there of all humanity that has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the fire, as we have, and stayed alive? You, go near; and hear everything Adonai our God says. Then you will tell us everything Adonai our God says to you; and we will listen to it and do it.' " Adonai heard what you were saying when you spoke to me, and Adonai said to me, ‘I have heard what this people has said when speaking to you, and everything they have said is good. Oh, how I wish their hearts would stay like this always, that they would fear me and obey all my mitzvot; so that it would go well with them and their children forever. Go, tell them to return to their tents. But you, stand here by me; and I will tell you all the mitzvot, laws and rulings which you are to teach them, so that they can obey them in the land I am giving them as their possession.' "Therefore you are to be careful to do as Adonai your God has ordered you; you are not to deviate either to the right or the left. You are to follow the entire way which Adonai your God has ordered you; so that you will live, things will go well with you, and you will live long in the land you are about to possess.

(A: iv, S: iii) Then Moshe called to all Isra'el and said to them, "Listen, Isra'el, to the laws and rulings which I am announcing in your hearing today, so that you will learn them and take care to obey them. Adonai our God made a covenant with us at Horev. Adonai did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us — with us, who are all of us here alive today. Adonai spoke with you face to face from the fire on the mountain. At that time I stood between Adonai and you in order to tell you what Adonai was saying; because, on account of the fire, you were afraid and wouldn't go up onto the mountain. He said, א "‘I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves. ב "‘You are to have no other gods before me. You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline — you are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents, also the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot. ג "‘You are not to misuse the name of Adonai your God, because Adonai will not leave unpunished someone who misuses his name. ד "‘Observe the day of Shabbat, to set it apart as holy, as Adonai your God ordered you to do. You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Shabbat for Adonai your God. On it you are not to do any kind of work — not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your ox, your donkey or any of your other livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property — so that your male and female servants can rest just as you do. You are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Adonai your God brought you out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore Adonai your God has ordered you to keep the day of Shabbat. ה "‘Honor your father and mother, as Adonai your God ordered you to do, so that you will live long and have things go well with you in the land Adonai your God is giving you. ו "‘Do not murder. ז "‘Do not commit adultery. ח "‘Do not steal. ט "‘Do not give false evidence against your neighbor. י "‘Do not covet your neighbor's wife; do not covet your neighbor's house, his field, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.' (A: v, S: iv) "These words Adonai spoke to your entire gathering at the mountain from fire, cloud and thick mist, in a loud voice; then it ceased. But he wrote them on two stone tablets, which he gave to me. When you heard the voice coming out of the darkness, as the mountain blazed with fire, you came to me, all the heads of your tribes and your leaders, and said, ‘Here, Adonai our God has shown us his glory and his greatness! We have heard his voice coming from the fire, and we have seen today that God does speak with human beings, and they stay alive. But why should we keep risking death? This great fire will consume us! If we hear the voice of Adonai our God any more, we will die! For who is there of all humanity that has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the fire, as we have, and stayed alive? You, go near; and hear everything Adonai our God says. Then you will tell us everything Adonai our God says to you; and we will listen to it and do it.' " Adonai heard what you were saying when you spoke to me, and Adonai said to me, ‘I have heard what this people has said when speaking to you, and everything they have said is good. Oh, how I wish their hearts would stay like this always, that they would fear me and obey all my mitzvot; so that it would go well with them and their children forever. Go, tell them to return to their tents. But you, stand here by me; and I will tell you all the mitzvot, laws and rulings which you are to teach them, so that they can obey them in the land I am giving them as their possession.' "Therefore you are to be careful to do as Adonai your God has ordered you; you are not to deviate either to the right or the left. You are to follow the entire way which Adonai your God has ordered you; so that you will live, things will go well with you, and you will live long in the land you are about to possess.

Therefore listen, Isra'el, and take care to obey, so that things will go well with you, and so that you will increase greatly, as Adonai , the God of your ancestors, promised you by giving you a land flowing with milk and honey.

Therefore, you are to keep the mitzvot, laws and rulings which I am giving you today, and obey them. Haftarah Va'etchanan: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 40:1–26 B'rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Va'etchanan: Mattityahu (Matthew) 4:1–11; 22:33–40; Mark 12:28–34; Luke 4:1–13; 10:25–37; Acts 13:13–43; Romans 3:27–31; 1 Timothy 2:4–6; Ya‘akov (James) 2:14–26; and all the readings for Parashah 17 "Because you are listening to these rulings, keeping and obeying them, Adonai your God will keep with you the covenant and mercy that he swore to your ancestors. He will love you, bless you and increase your numbers; he will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground — your grain, wine, olive oil and the young of your cattle and sheep — in the land he swore to your ancestors that he would give you. You will be blessed more than all other peoples; there will not be a sterile male or female among you, and the same with your livestock. Adonai will remove all illness from you — he will not afflict you with any of Egypt's dreadful diseases, which you have known; instead, he will lay them on those who hate you. You are to devour all the peoples that Adonai your God hands over to you — show them no pity, and do not serve their gods, because that will become a trap for you. If you think to yourselves, ‘These nations outnumber us; how can we dispossess them?' nevertheless, you are not to be afraid of them; you are to remember well what Adonai your God did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt — the great ordeals which you yourself saw, and the signs, wonders, strong hand and outstretched arm by which Adonai your God brought you out. Adonai will do the same to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover, Adonai your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left and those who hide themselves perish ahead of you. You are not to be frightened of them, because Adonai your God is there with you, a God great and fearsome. Adonai your God will expel those nations ahead of you little by little; you can't put an end to them all at once, or the wild animals will become too numerous for you. Nevertheless, Adonai your God will give them over to you, sending one disaster after another upon them until they have been destroyed. He will hand their kings over to you, and you will wipe out their name from under heaven; none of them will be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. You are to burn up completely the carved statues of their gods. Don't be greedy for the silver or gold on them; don't take it with you, or you will be trapped by it; for it is abhorrent to Adonai your God. Don't bring something abhorrent into your house, or you will share in the curse that is on it; instead, you are to detest it completely, loathe it utterly; for it is set apart for destruction.

Therefore, you are to keep the mitzvot, laws and rulings which I am giving you today, and obey them. Haftarah Va'etchanan: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 40:1–26 B'rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Va'etchanan: Mattityahu (Matthew) 4:1–11; 22:33–40; Mark 12:28–34; Luke 4:1–13; 10:25–37; Acts 13:13–43; Romans 3:27–31; 1 Timothy 2:4–6; Ya‘akov (James) 2:14–26; and all the readings for Parashah 17 "Because you are listening to these rulings, keeping and obeying them, Adonai your God will keep with you the covenant and mercy that he swore to your ancestors.