While many good sites concentrate on health issues like appetite suppressant, here at MessianicMusings, we concentrate on searching the L-RD’s word for truth. Here’s my commentary on B’midbar. Or listen to it!

Shabbat Shalom.

Our parashah for today is B’midbar or “In the wilderness” and covers Numbers chapter 1 through verse 20 of chapter 4. This week’s reading largely concerns the taking of a census of the children of Israel. We read about this in:

Numbers 1:1-3
The L-RD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said: “Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one. You and Aaron are to number by their divisions all the men in Israel twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army.

At its most basic level, this census seems to be a military census, since the count only includes men of military age. The results show that at this time, Israel consists of over 600,000 men of military age … 603,550, to be exact, according to verse 46. Now, one might wonder about the significance of a book that concerns the counting of the people in various ways. Why is it important?

Well, for one thing, although the numbers seem in most places to be rounded up to the nearest fifty, they generally are not the nice, round numbers that one might expect if critics of the Bible were correct and the story of the Exodus were a parable and everything in it was symbolic. Instead, the numbers found here are irregular and seem to be random, as one might expect if a large number of people were actually counted. So the very existence of this book and the record of those counted testify to the historical nature of the book. It is a book that confounds skeptics.

But certainly confounding skeptics was not foremost in the mind of the L-RD when he inspired Moses to write the book of Numbers. There must be a deeper meaning, a purpose beyond a mere historical record. And we get a hint of what that is from this tradition from the sage:

Rashi
Because God felt a deep love for Israel, He constantly counted them. When they left Egypt He counted them (Exodus 12:37); after many were punished because of the sin of the Golden Calf He counted them once again (Exodus 33:11ff); and now that He had caused His presence to dwell among them, He counted them once more.

This is an idea I can relate to. You see, when I was young, I became an enthusiastic collector of comic books. Whether it was Spider-Man, Batman, Fantastic Four, Teen Titans or the X Men, I simply enjoyed the exciting mixture of dynamic visual art and compelling storytelling. And since I was not a person who cast aside any type of book or reading material, I soon needed storage boxes and, ultimately, an inventory system.

I can still remember buying packs of hundreds of index cards, rolling them one at a time into my Smith-Corona electric typewriter, and spending hours typing out an index card for each comic I bought, being careful to note not only the series and issue number, but the story title, writer, artists, cover price and so on. I spent almost as much time inventorying and counting my collection of comic books as I did actually reading it. I continued my collection through most of my teenage years before finally selling it around the time I entered college, making just enough in the sale to help pay for a Commodore-64 computer I needed to help me write papers at college.

What explains such behavior? Well, as with any collector, whether it is stamps, rare coins, model vehicles, or, as in my case, comic books … this is an example of what one does when they develop an affection for a treasured possession. I would count and sort and preserve and store so that I could easily find and re-read any issue I wanted to find, at any time; the system helped me also make sure I hadn’t lost anything, as well as track what I had and what I needed.

The key, there, is the concept of a treasured possession. That is a phrase that pops up between the L-RD and his chosen people, as we remember from:

Exodus 19:5-6a
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

It is easy to overlook that simple turn of phrase, “treasured possession,” and take it for granted, but it has a significant meaning. The word used here is actually:

Strong’s H5459 ceg-ul-lah
* AV – peculiar treasure 3, special 1, jewel 1
* 1a) valued property, peculiar treasure

So we can see this is a word that implies a very special relationship between the L-RD and his chosen people. They are not just a common possession – as He says, the whole earth belongs to Him – but because of his relationship to the people of Israel because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, when they hear His voice and obey his instructions, they are a people he values above all else in creation.

Is this value God places here based purely on heritage and birth? It would appear not, because this declaration is made in connection to what? To hearing the voice of the L-RD and obeying all that He commands. As Rabbi Stan has pointed out in his recent sermons, the phrase “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” does not reappear in the Bible until I Peter, when it resurfaces in light of the followers of Yeshua receiving the Holy Spirit and once again being able to hear the voice of the L-RD. If you can’t hear His voice, you can’t be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

Yet even though the Hebrew people passed up the opportunity to hear God’s voice, to speak to Him directly, they remained His treasured possession. Can we who are not by heritage Jewish share in this status? We read this in:

I Peter 2:9-10
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Other translations render verse nine as “a peculiar people,” while the NIV renders it as “a people belonging to God.” The Greek word used there comes to us from the Strong’s entry:

G4047 peripoiesis
* AV – purchased possession, obtaining, saving, peculiar
* 2) possession, one’s own property

This is nearly the same meaning, the same expression, as the Hebrew word cegulah. Although not identical, it expresses a very similar sentiment, that of a possession, even a special possession. Peter’s statement is directed to believers in Messiah Yeshua, so as long as we listen to His voice and obey all of His commands, I think it’s reasonable to draw the conclusion that we are grafted in to that statement of being a treasured possession of the L-RD, on the same basis … meaning, so long as we hear His voice and obey all that He commands.

So what kinds of love are expressed by the L-RD when He counts those He loves and who love Him? We get this clue from a tradition recorded in:

The Weekly Midrash, page 690
When they left Egypt He counted them and said Israel is my first-born son, for he loved them with the love that a father bears a son. The second form of love was that of a person to his righteous friend. Israel repented after they were punished because of the sin of the Golden Calf. Moshe and the tribe of Levi killed those who had worshipped it, and although the people numbered 600,000, no one had raised a hand against them. It is therefore obvious that they had repented. For this reason, God loved them and counted them. The third kind of love was expressed when He wished to rest His presence among them, and take Israel as His people, and so He counted them.

The counting also gives us a ballpark figure of how many the children of Israel numbered at this time. If there were 603,550 males of military age, as a starting point, you can at least double that number to account for the number of women of the same age, bringing the total to over 1.2 million at least. Then, if you add in at least another twenty-five percent for those who were younger than that – from newborns through teenagers – a reasonable estimate of the group gathered there at Sinai is about 1.5 million; it would be hard to imagine, under even the worst circumstances, that the group was less than one million, just based on the number of men age 20 and up. And that’s not even including the Levites, who were not counted since they are dedicated to God and not required to serve in the military.

Now, the Bible at times takes a dim view of census-taking. For example, in the book of II Samuel, David repents for taking a census of the people against the will of the L-RD and the judgment against him was so harsh it led to the deaths of 70,000 Israelites by plague.

In the gospel of Luke, a census of the people by a Roman governor, Caesar Augustus, is linked to the birth of Yeshua, but the census is cast in a negative light. Even Exodus contains instructions on how to avoid suffering a plague as a result of census-taking.

Yet there are differences. David’s census was inspired because, in his old age, he began trusting in his military might, rather than in the L-RD. The Roman census was linked to taxation, which included hefty taxes even on the poor.

That’s not the kind of census the L-RD is engaging in here; He is asking for a count of his people because He loves them and they are a treasured possession. Just as a collector of stamps, coins, sports cards or comic books will periodically devote time simply to sort through and count their collection, so too does the L-RD here desire to sort through and count those hearts who are devoted to Him by hearing and by obedience.

As we journey through this book of Numbers, let us keep in mind that every time the L-RD is counting His people, be it men of military age, or the number of first-borns, or whatever … it is, at its most basic, a way in which the L-RD is expressing His love for those who love, listen to, and obey Him.

Shabbat Shalom.

I know I’ve been promising it over almost a month now, but even if you threaten to surf over to a nice travel insurance site, I promise that audio blog versions of my Torah commentaries are indeed coming to this site soon!

Most of the files (except the most recent week) are done and in MP3 format. All I need to do is upload them via FTP and add in the links, so I’m about a third of the way home on this little project. Stick with me and it’ll get a lot easier soon. Once all the old ones are up, keeping the current commentaries up-to-date will be a lot easier.

I appreciate solid Kohler bathroom sinks as much as the next one, but a solid Torah commentary might be of more value in the world to come. So here’s my commentary on B’har and B’chukotai. Or listen to it!

Shabbat Shalom.

We have a double Torah portion again this week, so our parashahs for this week are “B’har,” which means, “On the Mount,” and “B’chukotai,” which means, “In my statutes.” Together, they cover Leviticus chapters 25 through 27, and close out our time this year in the book of Leviticus.

One of the most important themes that jumped out to me in this week’s portions was the teaching The L-RD gives to Moses on the seven-year cycle for the land, as well as the pattern for the Year of Jubilee. This teaching is especially important in light of the parallel that can be drawn between the Year of Jubilee, and the Counting of the Omer.

The Torah operates on a series of patterns, and these patterns repeat over and over again. One of these patterns is the significance in time of the number seven. For example, there are six days in which the L-RD created the heavens and the earth, and then He established the Shabbat on the seventh day.

This pattern repeats in God’s 7,000-year plan for creation, with there being 2,000 years of desolation, 2,000 years of Torah, 2,000 years of Messiah, and then a 1,000-year Shabbat in which all of creation will rest in the glory of God and the earthly reign of Messiah.

We can detect the presence of this pattern once again in the L-RD’s instructions to Moses for the people as they enter the land of the promise. We read this in:

Leviticus 25:3-7
For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a Sabbath of rest, a Sabbath to the L-RD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. Whatever the land yields during the Sabbath year will be food for you–for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you, as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.

So, in this passage we see that the L-RD desires that even the land itself should enjoy rest of its labor, and so he institutes an agricultural Shabbat in which there are six years of production, followed by a year of rest for the land, in which it can produce whatever it produces naturally, but there will be no sowing of seed, tilling of soil or other working of the land.

This was perhaps a difficult teaching for some to accept. Remember that the Israelites were a highly agriculture-oriented society at this time; to take an entire year off from the main source of food and income would be quite a challenge to the faith of some. Yet the L-RD does offer some reassurances in this respect.

We read this in:

Leviticus 25:18-22
“‘Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety. You may ask, “What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?” I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.

So, we can see here that the L-RD promised a blessing beyond reasonable expectations and natural results if they act in obedience to His commands regarding offering the Land its part in the Shabbats of the L-RD. Their harvests in the sixth year will triple to consistently provide for them until the land’s Shabbat is over, and harvests are once again gathered.

So, there should be no reason for them to worry, right? The L-RD will provide for them richly, even in the Land’s year of rest. All they need to do is trust God and obey His instructions.

In addition to the Shabbats every seven years, however, the L-RD institutes an additional Shabbat that is to follow the seventh land Shabbat – a time known as the Year of Jubilee. Here is what we read of this time in:

Leviticus 25:8-13
Count off seven Sabbaths of years–seven times seven years–so that the seven Sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan. The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields. In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to his own property.

This year of Jubilee goes beyond blessing the land, as we can see, to blessing the people as well. In the year of Jubilee, all debts are wiped out. The price of land is based on the number of years to the next Jubilee, and once a Jubilee arrives, all debts are canceled. Abuse of the Jubilee system is built into the command with a prohibition against taking unfair advantage of each other in light of it, a command that falls equally on both the seller and the buyer, the debtor and the debt-holder.

Yet whether this system of land Shabbats and Years of Jubilee was a sound financial system, whether they were ever actually observed as commanded or not, is less important to our study today than the parallel between the Year of Jubilee and the Counting of the Omer.

As Stan taught last week, the Feast of First Fruits is held on the first day of the week, the day after the first regular Shabbat following the Passover. We then see that to reach Shavuot, we count off seven regular Shabbats after the Feast of First Fruits, which is forty-nine days long, and then immediately following the seventh Shabbat comes the Feast of Shavuot.

The same pattern is followed with the Year of Jubilee; seven times seven years are counted off, forty-nine years in all, immediately followed by a Year of Jubilee in the fiftieth year. The only difference is that with the counting of the Omer, we’re dealing with days; and with the year of Jubilee, we’re dealing with years.

So, what is the connection between the Counting of the Omer and the Year of Jubilee? The unifying themes, I believe, are completion and forgiveness. The Counting of the Omer is symbolic of completion, in that it connects the first-fruits of the barley harvest to the first-fruits of the wheat harvest. In the New Covenant gospels, First-Fruits begins with the resurrection of the Messiah Yeshua, and is completed in the giving of the Holy Spirit in the second chapter of Acts. Resurrection completes the promise and sets us free from sin; the giving of the Holy Spirit empowers us to move out into our new life, led by the voice of God, rather than “following after our own eyes, after which we used to go astray.”

This pattern of sevens is reflected in Yeshua’s teachings.

Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Yeshua said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

With this command of forgiveness up to seventy times seven, we can apply our insight and understanding to this passage, knowing that this would include not only 490 years – 490 Yom Kippurs – but 10 Years of Jubilee, a time when all debts are cancelled. What that means is to forgive someone so completely that you’ll never live to see that forgiveness expire. Our forgiveness of others should last forever, just as we want the L-RD to forgive us.

Immediately following this exchange with Peter, Yeshua goes on to tell the story of the servant who owed the king more than he could ever repay, and who was forgiven his debt by the king; but when he was owed a small amount by his fellow servant, he did not forgive that debt but had the man jailed. When the king found this out, he rescinded his forgiveness of the first man’s debt. The parable concludes in:

Matthew 18:33-35
So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

Understanding the meaning and significance of the Year of Jubilee is key to unlocking the full meaning of this parable; when practiced as commanded, the Year of Jubilee is indeed a command to ensure that no one suffers poverty without a hope for release from their debt; that no one goes through life without the hope of forgiveness from what they owe, and a fresh start.

In the same way that we count the Omer, or the Shabbats of the land leading to a Year of Jubilee, so too are we to practice forgiveness and rejoice in what we have been forgiven. Yeshua is not alone in showing the importance to God this has, because stern warnings are given to the children of Israel if they fail to keep these land Shabbats and Years of Jubilee. We read this in:

Leviticus 26:33-34, 40-42
I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins. Then the land will enjoy its Sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths … But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers–their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies–then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.

Forgiveness is the very nature of the L-RD, something He even revealed to Moses when He showed him His glory, as we studied several weeks ago. The reason the L-RD and even Messiah Yeshua speak so harshly about those who won’t obey his commands and forgive others is that without living out the forgiveness we have received, we are painting a false picture of the nature of God.

So it is this theme of forgiveness that reveals the meaning behind the Year of Jubilee and helps us to understand the nature of God better, so we can be a better reflection of Him to others in our daily lives.

Shabbat Shalom.

There are many places on the Web to find tips on the best golf training aids, but how many give you so much solid Torah commentary? Here’s my commentary on Emor. Or listen to it!

Shabbat Shalom.

Our parashah for today is Emor or “Say!” and covers Leviticus 21:1 through 24:23. In this week’s portion, the L-RD outlines many of his appointed times – the times He has set aside as special, times in which He can meet with those who love Him and obey all of His instructions.

The first of these appointed times is a weekly festival we’re celebrating right now, today: Shabbat. We read this in:

NIV Leviticus 23:1
The L-RD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the L-RD, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies. ‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the L-RD.’”

So the Shabbat comes first, which emphasizes once again its importance to the L-RD. The Shabbat is that special time, once a week, where a whole day is set aside not to do any ordinary work, but to spend time with the L-RD. Thinking of the Shabbat in this way may seem a bit new to some folks, but let’s remember that our relationship with the L-RD is compared over and over again in the Torah to a marriage.

You know, in my own marriage, my wife and I have established a similar “appointed time.” Like many married couples, we set aside a few hours every week – for us, it’s usually Saturday nights – as a “date night.” Those few hours may not seem like a lot, but on the weeks we honor them, things do tend to go better for us, and on the weeks where we let that commitment slip, things aren’t as smooth.

In the same way, I think it’s not too odd to consider the Shabbat our weekly “date” with the L-RD. It’s that time where we purposely make time to spend with God; not just quality time, but quantity time as well. In fact, it has long been a custom among the Jewish people to seek to extend the Shabbat into the rest of the week by lighting the Shabbat candles before sunset, rather than at sunset; and by waiting a while after sunset before beginning the havdallah prayers and resuming the work of the rest of the week. Listen to the passage by:

Rabbi Hirsch, Horeb, Ch. 25
“It is above all your duty not to limit the influence of the Sabbath to the short period of its duration but to let its holiness overflow into the week. This means that you must in fact somewhat extend the celebration of the Sabbath beyond its prescribed period, adding to it, both before and after, a little of the working days. In this way you declare that the Sabbath does not stand isolated, as if your time was, so to speak, divided into one part in which you live for God and another in which you live for yourself alone. On the contrary, your working days, past and future, must be suffused with the spirit of the Sabbath. Thus will your workaday week itself in time become transformed, as it were, into a Sabbath, because you will be doing your work only in the Sabbath spirit; thus, its holiness must consequently sanctify you. This additional boon of the Sabbath is known as Tosafah.”

So the Shabbat is quite important, but what other festivals are outlined in this week’s portion? Well, there is the Passover, also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Following the Shabbat, Passover was one of the first festivals established by the L-RD as a remembrance of the exodus from Egypt and how He delivered them from slavery there. Since we celebrated it so recently, this should be fresh in all of our minds.

That festival is followed by the feast of First Fruits, which we celebrated about a month ago. First Fruits is an agricultural celebration marking the first fruits of the wheat harvest. Symbolically, it is linked to the resurrection.

There is a small controversy over how to count out the days from First Fruits to Shavuot – a time we’re now in, known as the Counting of the Omer. Some, including many Jews, begin the counting on the day after Passover, since Passover is considered a Shabbat, but one must study the passage carefully to understand this interpretation is not correct. However, since that will be the focus of Stan’s sermon later today, I will leave that subject to him.

Yet there are more feasts commanded here. There is the feast of Rosh haShana, which is the Jewish New Year and is also known as the Feast of Trumpets. Rosh haShana falls on the first of Tishrei each year in the Hebrew calendar, and it marks the first day of time. The rabbis teach that God created the universe – the first day of creation – on the first of Tishrei, and that time will end 7,000 years after that day, on the 30th of Elul.

Not everyone realizes this, but there are only seven thousand years of time spoken of in the Bible. Here is what the Talmud teaches about this 7,000-year plan of God, as we read in:

Sanhedrin 97a-97b
The school of Eliyahu teaches: “The world exists for six thousand years – two thousand of them tohu (void); two thousand, Torah; and two thousand the era of Messiah. But because of our numerous iniquities, many of these years have been lost.”

After those six thousand years of creation, what follows is 1,000 years of Shabbat rest for creation; the earthly reign of Messiah, in which God alone shall be glorified. After that, all things return to the Father.

So what we are celebrating with Rosh haShana is not only the first day of creation, but the time in which Yeshua will return again. We read of that day in:

I Thessalonians 4:15-18
According to the L-RD’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the L-RD, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the L-RD himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Messiah will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the L-RD in the air. And so we will be with the L-RD forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Notice the reference to the trumpet call of God. That’s not just any trumpet call; it is the sounding of the shofar during the feast of trumpets – known as Rosh haShana. This identification is backed up by the teaching of Yeshua. We read this in:

Matthew 24:36
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Yeshua is speaking here of His return, and He says “no one knows the day or the hour,” and many who are unfamiliar with the Jewish roots of the faith teach that this means we can’t have a clue as to the time of His return. But on the contrary, it helps identify the time of His return as falling on Rosh haShana, because that is a festival known as “one long day.” This is because the festival coincides with a new moon, and no one can be sure when that new moon will appear during that two-day stretch, so the holiday is celebrated for a two-day period, but is referred to as “one long day.”

So, we can trust that Yeshua’s return will be on some future Rosh haShana, at sunset, just as the 30th of Elul is ending and the first of Tishrei is ushered in.

In this week’s portion, we are also given instructions for the Day of Atonement – also known as Yom Kippur, which we discussed last week. After that, we are given the instructions for the Feast of Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths.

I like to joke that this is the day when the L-RD commands us to go camping.

We read this in:

Leviticus 23:41-43
Celebrate this as a festival to the L-RD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the L-RD your God.’”

Who do we also know who dwelled in a booth in the wilderness? That’s right, the L-RD Himself! The Tent of Meeting is also known as the Sukkot of Meeting.

So that’s what we have from the portion. At this point, the children of Israel have commands to observe the weekly Shabbat, Passover, First Fruits, Shavuot, Rosh haShana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. Those are the seven major feasts of the L-RD.

Of course, there are others.

There is Simchat Torah, which means rejoicing over the Torah, which comes at the end of Sukkot. There is Hanukkah, also known as the Feast of Dedication, which wasn’t established until the time of the Maccabees, but which we know from the Gospels Yeshua celebrated. And there is also Purim, which comes to us from the Book of Esther and was established around the time of the Babylonian captivity. And there is the monthly New Moon celebration, as well as some other, minor observances.

It is important to learn all you can about these appointed times of the L-RD, because they are basically our “date nights” with the L-RD Himself. And who could be better company on a date than the L-RD, right?

These are the times the L-RD has set aside so that we might establish intimacy with Him and get to know Him better. And of course, if you’re interested in learning more, Rabbi Stan does have a 16-CD study covering all the festivals of the L-RD, so that you can learn how to observe each of these special times with God correctly. Amen?

Shabbat Shalom.

It has nothing to do with computer memory, but everything to do with timing… as promised, audio versions of my commentaries will soon be up on my site, but they’re not quite ready yet, including this one. Check back later this week and it ought to be up… I’ll start with the most recent commentaries and work backward. In the meantime, here’s the text version of my commentary for Acherai Mot-K’doshim. Or listen to it!

Shabbat Shalom.

Our parashahs for today are Acharei Mot or “After the death” and K’doshim or “Holy ones,” covers Leviticus chapters 16 through 20. As our reading begins, the L-RD declares a new appointed time for Moses and the children of Israel to celebrate: The Day of Atonement, otherwise known as Yom Kippur.

Interestingly, this appointed time is declared, we are told, in the wake of the death of Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, who perished when they offered unauthorized fire before the L-RD, contrary to His commands. We read this in:

Leviticus 16:1-2
The L-RD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the L-RD. The L-RD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

This passage may give us a further clue as to why Nadab and Abihu perished as they did. Here, the L-RD tells Moses that Aaron is not to enter the Holy of Holies – or, as the NIV translates it, the Most Holy Place – any time the mood strikes him, or he will die. It can reasonably be inferred that this is part of why Nadab and Abihu perished; they did not simply offer unauthorized fire, but apparently in offering it, did so in the Holy of Holies without making the proper preparations for entering there. And why could no one – even Aaron – enter the Holy of Holies whenever they wanted to, even as close as they were to the L-RD? Because, we are told, the presence of God dwells there and, as we learned last week, not only can the L-RD not allow any sin in His presence, but neither can he allow anything unclean in His presence.

So in establishing this appointed time for dealing with cleansing the people of Israel of their sin, the L-RD is showing His concern for the loss of Nadab and Abihu by establishing some rules to ensure that such a loss of life might not be repeated.

Now, the Day of Atonement is a very important part of the Fall Festival season. It comes seven days after the Jewish New Year, Rosh haShanah, which is two days long but is called “one long day” because no one knows exactly when the New Moon will appear over that two-day stretch. The importance of the Day of Atonement is spelled out in the L-RD’s command to observe it in this week’s reading, beginning in:

Leviticus 16:29-31
“This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work–whether native-born or an alien living among you–because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the L-RD, you will be clean from all your sins. It is a Sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance.

Now, to “deny yourselves” here means that the Day of Atonement is to be a day of fasting. No food shall be prepared or eaten during this time, and with that time now freed up, prayer, repentance and drawing closer to the L-RD becomes the order of the day.

We can learn more about the significance of the Day of Atonement from the sages.

R. Kruspedai said in the name of R. Johanan:
Three books are opened [in heaven] on New Year, one for the thoroughly wicked, one for the thoroughly righteous, and one for the intermediate. The thoroughly righteous are forthwith inscribed definitively in the book of life; the thoroughly wicked are forthwith inscribed definitively in the book of death; the doom of the intermediate is suspended from New Year till the Day of Atonement; if they deserve well, they are inscribed in the book of life; if they do not deserve well, they are inscribed in the book of death.

So, there are seven days between Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur. And we know the fall festivals are a teaching of the second appearance of Messiah, so how does this all fit together?

Well, Rosh haShanah is also known as the feast of trumpets, and it signifies the catching away of the righteous, the day when we shall go to meet the Messiah Yeshua in the air. We also know that Yom Kippur points to the time of the Great Throne of Judgment, when all who lived will come before the L-RD and be judged according to their deeds. Yet these two appointed times are separated by seven days. Is there significance to these seven days? Of course there is.

You see, these seven days symbolize the time of Jacob’s Trouble – that time which Christians call the Tribulation. And we know that the Tribulation period lasts seven years, after which the judgment begins, kicking off Messiah’s 1,000-year reign on Earth.

So what we have here is indeed a perfect picture of Messiah Yeshua’s return, and in this Day of Atonement, we receive part of the picture of what that day will be like. It is a time, as the Jewish tradition I just shared reflected, when those who are in the book of the Intermediate will either be included with the righteous in the book of life, or included with the wicked in the book of death. They get those seven years, that “week,” and then their time runs out.

There are no more fence-sitters in the reign of Messiah, and the Day of Atonement is when the fate of all – including the intermediate – is decided.

Now, there are some specifics surrounding the offerings for the Day of Atonement which set it apart from all other holidays, most notably the two goats and how they are handled. We read about this in:

Leviticus 16:8-10
He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the L-RD and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the L-RD and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the L-RD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat.

Now, when most people teach about this sacrifice, they compare this scapegoat to Messiah Yeshua, but that is simply not the case. You really have to dig into the Hebrew language and culture to understand what’s going on here. The Hebrew word used here, translated as scapegoat, is AzAzel.

5799 `aza’zel
• AV – scapegoat 4; 4
1) entire removal, scapegoat
1a) refers to the goat used for sacrifice for the sins of the people

Who is AzAzel? Well, in the limits of a commentary, I can’t go into as much detail as I might like, but Stan has an extensive teaching on this as part of his Feasts of the L-RD series. Briefly, however, we learn the following from:

Encyclopedia Judaica
The great majority of moderns regard Azazel as the personal name of a demon thought to live in the wilderness. The name of a supernatural being mentioned in connection with the ritual of the Day of Atonement. After Satan, for whom he was in some degree a preparation, Azazel enjoys the distinction of being the most mysterious extra human character in sacred Literature.

So, if AzAzel is indeed a name of the Adversary of the L-RD, why would there be any provision made for him in the ceremony of the Day of Atonement? After all, we are to worship the L-RD and have no other gods before him, so what’s with this goat for AzAzel?

Well, first we must pay attention to what is done with this goat. Like all sin sacrifices, these goats are to be a year old and without defect. That being the case, it might even be hard to tell the two goats apart; they could look nearly alike. One is cast for the L-RD and sacrificed as a sin offering; the other is not slain, but is used to make atonement by sending it into the desert.

Now, which of these two goats appears to resemble Messiah more? The goat declared to be for the L-RD and offered as a sin offering? Or the goat declared to be for AzAzel and sent out to perish in the desert? I don’t know about you, but I think the first goat sounds a lot more like Yeshua to me.

So what is the significance of this goat for AzAzel? Well, both goats are the same age, probably about the same size, they look the same and both are without defect; yet one is for the L-RD and the other for this demon, AzAzel. Well, who is it in sacred literature that would appear to be almost the same as the Messiah, but who is destined for destruction, rather than for the remission of sins?

How about the false Messiah?

So, how strong is this connection between the goat for AzAzel and the false Messiah? We read this in:

II Thessalonians 2:3
Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

Like the Man of Lawlessness spoken of here, the goat for AzAzel is doomed to destruction. His presence in the ceremony is the same as any other element; it is a shadow of what is to come, a shadow of the false Messiah and his fate, which is destruction.

So, it won’t be Yom Kippur for another five months or so. Yet what can we take away from this teaching on the Day of Atonement at this time? Well, we know that the time of Yeshua’s return is drawing closer all the time. Some of those we know are inscribed in the book of life, some in the book of death, and some are in the book of the intermediate.

Perhaps the most important lesson to draw from this is to know that, when that final Day of Atonement arrives, there will be no one left who is in the book of the intermediate. This is spoken of in:

Revelation 3:15-16
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

While the Day of Atonement and all of the fall festivals teach of Yeshua’s return, it is the fate of the intermediate, the lukewarm, that is perhaps most critical. The lukewarm are those who know enough about the L-RD, his Messiah, the Torah and all the L-RD’s commands to know what is right, but who do not obey all that the L-RD has commanded them.

As the fate of Nadab and Abihu should teach us, it is a dangerous thing to dwell among the intermediate. I mean, you can’t be in Messiah if he’s just spit you out, can you? And if you’re not in Messiah, then your fate is the same as Nadab and Abihu. They shared in the fate of AzAzel, suffering sudden destruction. Yet the L-RD has provided a Day of Atonement, a Messiah, a way for others to avoid that destruction. Amen?

Shabbat Shalom.

I need to start exercising more. I need to drop fifty pounds to stay healthy and make the most of my life in this world.

I go back and forth on my commitment, though. On the one hand, my body is a temple of the Ruach haKodesh and I want to treat it as such. On the other hand, I don’t want to slip into pride and vanity.

However, whether it’s walking, swimming or doing ellipticals, I don’t think pouring some time into losing weight would be a bad thing. It could even help.

On the other hand, all that time working out is time I’m not studying Torah. See the problem? I need a better balance, though, before this extra weight really costs me something.