Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

[LECH LECHA]

12 Now Hashem had said unto Avram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from the bais avicha, unto ha’aretz that I will show thee;

² And I will make of thee a goy gadol (great nation), and I will bless thee, and make thy shem great; and thou shalt be a brocha (blessing);

³ And I will bless the one blessing you, and curse him that curses you; and kol mishpochot haadamah shall be blessed through you.[T.N. There is a brocha in this verse that many do not know but that every true follower of Moshiach should know.]

⁴ So Avram departed as Hashem had told him; and Lot went with him; and Avram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Charan.

121 (Shir HaMa’alot) I will lift up mine eyes unto the harim (hills), from whence cometh ezri (my help).

² Ezri (my help) cometh from Hashem, Oseh Shomayim v’Aretz.

³ He will not allow thy regel to slip; He that is shomer over thee will not slumber.

⁴ Hinei, He that is shomer over Yisroel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ Hashem is the One shomer over thee; Hashem is thy shade upon thy right hand.

⁶ The shemesh shall not strike thee by day, nor the yarei’ach by night.

⁷ Hashem shall preserve thee from kol rah; He shall preserve thy nefesh.

⁸ Hashem shall be shomer over thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even v’ad olam.

4 What then shall we say about the one who according to the basar (flesh) is Avraham Avinu? What did he find to be the case?

² For if Avraham Avinu was accounted to be YITZDAK IM HASHEM and acquitted before Hashem on the basis of ma’asim tovim (Works), he has something to boast about. But not before Hashem!

³ For what does the Torah say? Avraham Avinu had emunah (faith) in Hashem V’YACHSHEVEH-HA LO TZEDAKAH ("and it was accounted, credited, reckoned imputed to him for righteousness" Gen 15:6.)

⁴ Now to him who works, the loin (wages, batzalon [remuneration]) is not credited to one’s account as a favor or gift of chesed but as a choiv (debt).

⁵ But to the man who does not "work" but has emunah and bitachon in the One who takes the impious man lacking chasidus and accounts him to be YITZDAK IM HASHEM (justified with G-d), such a man who does not "work " but has emunah (faith), such emunah is credited to him for TZEDAKAH ("righteousness" BERESHIS 15:6).

¹³ For the havtachah (promise) to Avraham Avinu and his zera (seed), that he should be Yoresh HaOlam (Heir of the World), did not come through the context of law but through the Tzidkat HaEmunah (the Righteousness of Faith).

¹⁴ For if the salvation-byworks legalists are yoreshim (heirs), emunah (faith) is rendered invalid and the havtachah (the promise) is annulled,

¹⁵ for the Torah brings about the Charon Af Hashem (Ro 1:18; 3:20; SHEMOT 32:8-10), and where there is no Torah there is no peysha (transgression, rebellion, violation of the Law).

¹⁶ For this reason the havtachah (promise) is of emunah (faith), in order that it might be in accordance with unmerited Chen v’Chesed Hashem, that the havtachah might be certain to all the zera (seed), not to him who is of the Torah only, but also to bnei emunat Avraham (the sons of the faith of Avraham Avinu, to those who are of the faith of Abraham). Avraham Avinu is the father of us all,

¹⁷ as it is written, AV HAMON GOYIM N’TATICHA ("I have made you father of many nations" BERESHIS 17:5). This was in the sight of Hashem in whom "he believed," G-d who gives Chayyim to the Mesim and calls things which have no existence into existence.

3 Now there was a man of the Perushim. His name was Rav Nakdimon, a [Sanhedrist] katzin (leader) of the Yehudim.

² This one came to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach under cover of lailah and said to him, Rabbi, we have da’as that you are a moreh from Hashem having come, for no one is able these otot (miraculous signs) to do, which you do, unless Hashem is with him.

³ In reply, he said to him, Omein, omein, I say to you, unless someone is born anew [born again, Yn 1:13; Dt 10:16; 30:6; Jer 4:4; Isa 52:1; Ezek 44:7,9], he is not able to see the Malchut Hashem.

⁴ Rav Nakdimon says to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, How is a man, being old, able to be born? Surely he is not able into the womb of immo a second time to enter and to be born?

⁵ In reply, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said, Omein, omein, I say to you: unless someone is born of mayim (TEHILLIM 36:10 [9]) and Ruach Hakodesh [YECHEZEL 36:25-27; 37:14], he is not able to enter into the Malchut Hashem [Lk 17:21].

⁶ That which is born of basar is basar, and that which is born of the Ruach is ruach.

⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, It is necessary for you to be born again, born anew.

⁸ The ruach (wind, Spirit) blows where it wishes, and the sound of it you hear, but you do not have da’as of where it comes from and where it goes [KOHELET 11:5]; so it is with everyone having been born of the Ruach Hakodesh. [YECHEZKEL 37:9]

⁹ In reply, Rav Nakdimon said to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, How is it possible for these things to happen?

¹⁰ In reply, he said to him, You hold the teaching office of rabbi, of moreh b’Yisroel and of these things you do not have da’as?

¹¹ Omein, omein, I say to you, that of which we have da’as we speak, and of that which we have seen, we give solemn edut (testimony), and the solemn edut of us you [pl.] do not receive.

¹² If I told you [pl.] about things of the Olam Hazeh and you have no emunah, how will you have emunah if I tell you about the things of the Olam Haba?

¹³ And no one has ascended into Shomayim except the one having descended out of Shomayim, the Ben HaAdam [Dan 7:13-14; Prov 30:4; Dt 30:12].

¹⁴ And as Moshe lifted up the nachash in the wilderness [Num 21:8-9], so it is necessary for there to be a hagbah (lifting up) of the Ben HaAdam [Ps 22; Isa 53].

¹⁵ That everyone having emunah {Gn 15:l-6; Num 14:11; Ex 14:31] in him may have Chayyei Olam [Dan 12:2; Isa 52:13].

¹⁶ For Hashem so had ahavah (agape) for the Olam Hazeh that Hashem gave the matanah (gift) [Isa 9:5 (6)] of Hashem’s Ben Yechid [Gn 22:12; Prov 30:4; 8:30} so that whosoever has emunah in him may not be ne’evad (lost, perish, be ruined with destruction), but find Chayyei Olam [Daniel 12:2].

¹⁷ For Hashem did not send the Ben HaElohim into the Olam Hazeh that he might judge the Olam Hazeh, but that the Olam Hazeh might be brought to the Geulah (Redemption) of the Olam Haba through him (Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach). [YESHAYAH 53:11]

17 And after shisha yamim (six days), Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach took Kefa, Yaakov and Yochanan his brother; he brings them up to a high mountain in yechidus.

² And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was transfigured before them, and Moshiach’s face shone like the shemesh (sun), and his garments became brilliant like the ohr.

³ And hinei! There appeared before them Moshe Rabbenu and Eliyahu HaNavi conferring with Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.

⁴ And Kefa said in reply to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, Adoni, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will make shalosh sukkot here: one for you, and one for Moshe Rabbenu, and one for Eliyahu HaNavi.

⁵ While he was speaking, hinei! A brightly shining anan (cloud) overshadowed them, and hinei! A bat kol (a voice from heaven) out of the anan was saying, This is My Ben ahuvi (beloved Son) with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him.

⁶ And having heard this, the talmidim fell on their faces and were filled with pachad.

⁷ And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach came to them, and touched them, and said, Arise, and do not be afraid.

⁸ And lifting their eyes, they saw no one except only Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach himself, alone.

⁹ And as Moshiach’s talmidim were coming down from the mountain, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach gave them this directive saying, Tell the mareh (vision) to no one until the Ben HaAdam [Moshiach] has undergone the Techiyas HaMoshiach.