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Portion SHEMINI (9:1 - 11:47)
CHAPTER 9

1. Then it came about [that] on the eighth [shemini] day, Moshe called for Aharon, his sons, and the elders of Israel.

After seven days of intimately getting to know YHWH’s dwelling place, the priests now seal the continuity of this completion with a special ceremony. It is like moving into a finished home. Prior to this, only Moshe could draw near to YHWH; now a way was made for the whole congregation of Israel to do so. He set a particular family in place to ensure its continuity, instead of leaving it up to a random, inconsistent priesthood of the firstborn of each family, who might or might not be well taught. Y'shua also made a way for us to draw near when He renewed the covenant, but in order to fully grasp what that means, we need to understand each of the sacrifices offered here. The eighth day links us with circumcision (12:3). It is also when a firstborn animal is taken from its mother to be given to YHWH (Ex. 22:30), and a leper is cleansed on the eighth day. (Lev. 14:23) The eighth day of Sukkoth is an "encore" to carry on the joy of those seven days. It is a picture of eternity--the new beginning after the Sabbath, and thus the new heaven and the new earth, when all that is accomplished during the 7,000 years of building the Kingdom will be finished, and we will finally BE the Kingdom.

2. And he said to Aharon, "Take a calf for yourself, a son of the herd, for a sin offering, and a ram for an ascending offering--perfect ones--and bring them near before the face of YHWH.

Son of the herd: traditionally, one in its second year. (Rosh HaShanah 10a). Conspicuously absent from this passage is the common line, "And YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying..." Now Moshe is the only one speaking. He represents the Torah, which YHWH gave to Israel. On issues to which it already speaks, there is no need to ask Him any further questions.

3. "And speak to the descendants of Israel, saying, 'Select a male kid from among the goats to be a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, [each] a year old [and] perfect, to be an ascending [offering].

4. "'Then [fetch] a bull and a ram as peace offerings to slaughter before YHWH, along with a food offering mixed with oil, because today YHWH will appear to you.'"

This is what we have really been waiting for; everything prior to it was just preparation, but the process of drawing near is important as well, so it is detailed here.

5. So they brought the things Moshe had commanded to the front of the Tent of Appointment, and all of the congregation came near and stood before YHWH.

The priests' obedience brought the rest of the nation near.

6. And Moshe said, "This is the thing that YHWH has commanded: Carry it out, and the glory of YHWH will be revealed to you."

Ya'aqov (James) echoes this when he says, "Draw near to YHWH, and He will draw near to you." (4:8) Glory: weight, authority, importance. He is always actually in charge, but if we obey and bring the equivalent of these offerings as far as we can, we will perceive it, and that is what makes the difference. This will remove the fear of anything else. He is weightier than anything else we could ever put on the scale.

7. Then Moshe told Aharon, "Approach the altar and perform [the service for] your sin offering, and effect atonement over yourself as well as for the people, then make the offering for the people and make atonement for them, as YHWH has commanded.”

The people were atoned for twice. The priest's offering covers them figuratively as he acts as a microcosm of the whole congregation as he bears the names of all the tribes on his shoulders. It purified him, figuratively, to a level of holiness where he could make the second sacrifice as a representative for the rest. Contrast Y'shua, who did not have sins of His own to atone for first. (Heb. 7:27) But He likewise covered our sins, allowing us to ascend as well and become qualified to be "living sacrifices" to YHWH. (Romans 12:2) This is the end of the era in which firstborn sons were the priests (Numbers 3:12), though they remain so in a limited sense, as the father does.

8. So Aharon approached the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering, which pertained to himself,

Himself: most directly it relates to correcting his error for making a golden calf to sacrifice TO. As the one in charge, he was also the example, and thus was held to a higher standard. If he was not upright, the rest of the people would be unlikely to be either.

9. and Aharon's sons brought the blood near to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put [some of] it on the horns of the altar. Then he poured the [rest of the] blood at the foundation of the altar.

Rabbinic tradition says the first sacrifice here was an atonement for the specific sin of the rest of the tribal fathers against Yoseyf in selling him into slavery, since they stained his clothing with male goat kid's blood (Gen.37:31). This was to restore the unity of all his brothers.

10. Then he caused the fat, the kidneys, and the overhanging lobe of the liver from the sin offering to go up in smoke on the altar, just as YHWH had commanded Moshe,

11. and he burned the flesh and the hide with fire on the outside of the camp.

12. Then he slaughtered the ascending offering, and Aharon's sons presented him with the blood, and he dashed it against the altar on every side.

13. Then they presented him with the ascending offering section by section, as well as the head, and he caused them to go up in smoke on the altar.

14. And he washed the inward parts and the legs, then caused them to go up in smoke like the ascending offering on the altar.

15. Then he brought the people's offering--the he-goat of the sin offering which is for the people --and killed it [by slitting its throat painlessly], making it a sin offering like the first.

For the people: Aram., "which belonged to the people". There were two sin offerings: the bull for Israel corporately, and the goat for Israel individually. While the first might have given some people room to think they were an exception to the general rule that the nation was imperfect, the crutch was kicked out by the second, which made them understand that the sin offering was required of them specifically. As Ya'aqov (2:10) said, "Whoever keeps the whole Torah, yet offends in one point, is guilty of [it] all." And Y'shua pointed out in his "Sermon on the Mount" (Matithyahu 5-7), sin is a much larger umbrella than merely the act itself; it is missing the mark in any way. When a child is born, even if no commandment was disobeyed, blood is spilt, and this is in effect robbing YHWH and must be atoned for.

16. And he brought the ascending offering, and performed it [properly] according to the directions [given].

17. Then he brought the grain offering near, and filled his palm from it and caused this [part] to go up in smoke on the altar, besides the morning ascending [offering].

18. And he killed the bull and the ram [by slitting their throats as] a slaughter of peace [offerings] which are for the nation, and Aharon's sons presented the blood to him, and he dashed it against the altar all around.

Presented the blood to him: literally, "caused him to find the blood".

19. And [they brought him] the fat of the bull and ram--the fat tail, that which covers [the inward parts], the kidneys, and the lobe that hangs over the liver,

The fat represents the best. The bull represents turning over our security. The fat tail is equivalent to a Hebrew word for an oath, so it represents a promise to bring the best at the next level.

20. and they set the fat [portions] on top of the breasts, and caused the fat to go up in smoke on the altar.

21. But Aharon swung the breasts and the right foreleg back and forth before YHWH as a wave offering, as Moshe had commanded.

22. Then Aharon lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, then descended from carrying out the sin offering, the ascending [offering], and the peace offerings.

The root meaning of "blessed" is "bent the knee to". In other words, the high priest was bowing lower to give of himself to them--a perfect picture of Y'shua.

23. Then Moshe and Aharon came into the Tent of Appointment, then they went out and blessed the people, and the glory of YHWH appeared to the whole nation,

Since He had promised to do this if they obeyed (v. 6), this display of His satisfaction assured the people that they were on the right track. Now his authority became "weighty" (the meaning of "glory" in Hebrew); a gospel that presents only liberation from sin is "lightweight", but after leaving Egypt, we must become a nation with a mission as well. The Torah brings gives us a charter, a covenant, a deeper, more substantive role, not as individuals, but as a people.

24. and fire came out from the presence of YHWH and consumed the ascending [offering] and the fat [that were] upon the altar. When all of the people saw [it], they shouted for joy, and fell on their faces.

This was no magic trick; rather than incanting some spell as in pagan religions, Aharon was hidden away, out of the limelight, just before this event. But notice that his blessing alone did not effect this (v. 22). Only when Moshe and Aharon together blessed them did it occur. Aharon, as the high priest, is figurative of Y'shua; Moshe symbolizes the Torah. Only when the two are presented as unified rather than in opposition to one another can YHWH's authority be fully revealed in the earth. Shouted for joy: the word also includes the sense of being a shrill gasp of awe. The response was the same when the Temple was restored after the exile. (Ezra 3:11)

CHAPTER 10

1. But Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon, each took his censer, and they put fire in them, and they [each] put incense on it, and brought strange fire before YHWH.

Strange fire: illegitimate, "adulterous" fire of apostasy "from another place"--just as there was a wrong offering by Qayin paralleling Hevel's proper one. (Gen 4:5) The fire was of their own making, not taken from the altar fire that YHWH Himself had kindled (6:2-8), and the incense was burned not on the altar of incense as prescribed, but in firepans of their own. Incense represents prayer, but the fire is what carries it upward. Praying to "God" and the "Lord", when we know His true Name (as anyone who is a teacher should), is not an acceptable example coming from those whose job it is to be near Him. It is disrespectful to Him. Some have added to the Word of YHWH; others have taken away from it. Either way, it makes our "sacrifice" something foreign to Him. In order to seem "generous" (which is what Nadav means) Christians have allowed rituals from other (pagan) sources to continue, and tried to fit them into the categories YHWH has prescribed; Jews (and all other serious religions) have tried to produce their own righteousness apart from what YHWH provided through Messiah (Romans 10:3), as
Qayin tried to bring the fruit of his own labor instead of blood to atone for his sin (Gen. 4:3-4). They used their position as a pretext for using the holy implements in whatever way they wished, for their own purposes. "Behold both the kindness and the severity of YHWH"; to present Him as severe and Y'shua as kind is to make an unrighteous distinction; Y'shua and his Father are one [echad, unified, acting together in agreement]. The remainder of this portion teaches us the types of distinctions we ARE to make.

2. So fire went out from before YHWH and consumed them, and they died before YHWH.

As one of the first sacrifices in the new Tabernacle, this set the tone for all future ones, just as Hananyah and S'firah's deceitful "gift" did when the covenant was renewed. (Acts/Envoys 5) "Judgment must begin with the household of YHWH." (1 Kefa/Peter 4:17) These men had in some sense seen YHWH and yet were spared at that time (Ex. 24:1-11); they were held so much more responsible to carry out their instructions precisely, so when they became careless about what they were teaching the whole congregation (perhaps even doing their work while drunk, suggested by v. 9 below), judgment was swift and harsh. A rectification for this act was seen in Pin'khas,who did not wait and force YHWH to judge a fellow priest who was beginning to let the
Divine Sanctuary look like a pagan temple by his actions, but acted against what he knew was unholy. (Numbers 25:7) Hananyah and S'firah pretended to be generous (Heb., "Nadav") but were struck dead immediately so that "a little leaven would not leaven" the fledgling congregation. Hananyah "gave up his spirit", just as these two sons of Aharon apparently had their souls consumed within them, since their clothing seems to have remained intact and thus
their bodies do not seem to have been so charred that they could not be carried out (v. 5). They died spiritually first.

3. And Moshe told Aharon, "This is what YHWH meant when He said, ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œI will be treated as holy by those who draw near to Me, and I will be taken seriously in the faces of all the people.'" So Aharon was silent.

Aramaic: "Through those close to Me I will be sanctified." As Y'shua said, "To whom much is given, of him much will be required." Those who lead others in the knowledge of YHWH are held to a much higher standard. (Yaaqov/James 3:1)

4. Then Moshe called MishaEl and El-Tzafan, sons of Uzzi-El, the brother of Aharon's father, and told them, "Come near and carry your relatives from the front of the sanctuary [Holy Place] to the outside of the camp."

Come near: the same word that forms the root for the term commonly translated "sacrifice". "Relatives": literally, "brothers". They were actually "cousins once removed", but in Middle Eastern terminology, such relatives can also be called "brothers" in a looser sense. Notice that all
of those used to remove the evil bore Elohim's name within their own.

5. So they came near and carried them by their tunics to the outside of the camp, as Moshe had commanded.

By their tunics: or "in their tunics".

6. But to Aharon and to El'azar and Ithamar, his sons, Moshe said, "You shall not uncover your heads, nor tear your garments, so that you may not die, and He become angry over the whole congregation. As to your brothers, the whole house of Israel, let them [be the ones to] mourn for the burning which YHWH has ignited.

You shall not uncover your heads: LXX, "make bare"; Hirsch, "Let not your heads be unshorn", i.e., allowed to grow wild, as in a public display of ourning. (Num. 6:5) Aramaic, "Do not raise a neglected crop of hair on your heads". Let them mourn: Or, "they shall mourn": The loss of half of Aharon's sons was permitted, or even commanded, to be felt by the rest of the
community, but the position of highest priesthood came before their personal grief. As Y'shua said, the dead can bury the dead; those whom he has called must take a holier path and a job to do among those still living. Once they put their hand to the plow, they may not look back even for their own family's sake. Y'shua does not allow us to choose family members over devotion to him. (Matt. 10:37) The Apostles would not leave their special calling to carry out a task others, who were not specially called to be teachers, could do. (Envoys 6) The high priest was never to tear his garments (21:10). Yet at Y'shua's trial, the high priest did just that, and thus defiled his office even while he was supposedly defending his people against perceived blasphemy. He or his father-in-law had bought the position, sold to the highest Levite bidder, as a matter of status and pride; he had not inherited that position from his father, as was commanded, so he was not the true priest in YHWH's eyes. Perhaps it was in part for this that the Temple rituals were taken from the Levites for so many centuries; yet one day this will be restored, because "the gifts and calling of YHWH are irrevocable" (Rom. 11:29).

7. "But you shall not go out of the door of the Tent [Tabernacle] of Appointment, lest you die, because the anointing oil of YHWH is upon you." So they did according to the words of Moshe.

Through the holy oil, they were tied to the Tabernacle; they were allowed to have nothing to do with any mention of death, because Torah is life (Deut. 32:47).

8. And YHWH spoke to Aharon, saying,

9. "You shall not drink wine nor strong drink, [neither] you nor your sons with you, when you go into the Tent of Appointment, so that you will not die; this is a never-ending statute throughout your generations,

Intoxicating drink: Aramaic, "old wine". Hirsch defines it as being more than 25% wine when diluted, so one's judgment will not be altered while he is teaching the Torah or carrying out the Tabernacle's duties. Nothing must cloud their discernment when making rulings on what is holy or pure and what is common. This raises the question of whether this was what had predisposed
Nadav and Avihu to do what they did.

10. "and to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the [ritually] impure and the pure,

Impurity is a picture of selfishness; it is different from sin per se, but the type of distinction is essentially the same. See note on 11:47. Actually only the high priest, not even his sons, were to bring the incense to the altar. Perhaps their greatest sin was to destroy the picture that there is "one mediator between YHWH and men"; if others can do it also, Y'shua's atoning death was futile.

11. "and to teach the sons of Israel all the statues that YHWH has spoken to them through the hand of Moshe."

This is the reason all these regulations were given. Yes, there are health benefits; cloven-hoofed animals avoid infection more effectively, those that chew the cud provide far better sustenance to us, and those that cannot filter their food do spawn all sorts of diseases. YHWH certainly had this aspect in mind when He told us what not to eat. But the main thing is what they picture about what type of people we are to be.
12. And Moshe told Aharon and his remaining sons El'azar and Yithamar, "Take the grain offering that remains from YHWH's fire offerings, and eat it without leaven near the altar, because it is most holy,

13. "and you shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your prescribed portion and the prescribed portion due to your sons from [among] the offerings [made by] fire unto YHWH, for thus I have been commanded.

14. "You shall also eat the breast of the wave offering and the foreleg of the contribution you shall eat in a ritually-pure place--you, your sons, and your daughters along with you, because your due portion and the portion due to your children has been granted from what is slaughtered for the peace offerings of the descendants of Israel.

15. "The foreleg of the contribution and the breast of the wave offering, in addition to fire offerings of the fat they shall bring to swing to and from as a wave offering before the face of YHWH, and for you and your children with you it shall be a prescribed portion forever, as YHWH has commanded."

16. Then Moshe searched and searched for the goat from the sin offering, but behold! It had been burned! And he was angry against El'azar and Ithamar, the remaining sons of Aharon, saying,

Searched and searched: Hirsch, "urgently inquired".

17. "Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the Holy Place? Because it is most holy, and He has given it to you to lift away the sin of the congregation, to make atonement for them before YHWH!

18. "Look! Its blood has not been brought toward the inside of the Sanctuary. You were supposed to eat it in the Holy Place, as I had commanded!"

19. But Aharon told Moshe, "Look, today they have brought their sin offering and ascending offering before YHWH, but such things have happened to me. If I had eaten from the sin offering [on a day like] today, would I have been pleasing in the sight of YHWH?"

Such things: Aramaic, "troubles such as these".

20. And when Moshe heard this, it was acceptable in his eyes.

Acceptable: the same term translated "pleasing" in verse 19. He seems to have been afraid that Aharon and his surviving sons were going to be destroyed, too, for the same type of carelessness about the Instruction. But though no outward display of mourning was permitted to Aharon, he was allowed to express his heart's pain by refraining from the enjoyment of something rightfully his. He did not violate the Torah in this, because anything not used up was to be burned (Deut. 16:4ff). A sacrifice was considered complete only when it was either eaten or burned (as Y'shua's sacrifice is considered wasted if we do not draw near and partake of it, Heb. 10). On a day like this, they had no appetite, especially after these few men had eaten their share of so many other sacrifices. In second Temple times, there was actually a stomach doctor always on call to treat priests who, obediently, ate such large quantities of meat. Moshe was also pleased because he saw that Aharon was finally seeing that eating the sacrificial animals actually
meant more than just a meal provided for these men who had no inheritance of their own so they could serve the whole nation.

CHAPTER 11

1. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe and Aharon, telling them,

2. "Speak to the descendants of Israel, saying, "These are the living things which you shall eat: out of every beast that is upon the earth,

Or, "away from every beast..." that makes the earth its home. The animals that are clean do not eat other animals, in general, and are thus less "beastly". Removing the blood, also, makes us less "wild" than if we had absorbed the animal soul into ourselves. "Beast", too, is the term given to the embodiment of YHWH's arch enemy.

3. "Among the living things, any that has a [split] hoof and is totally cloven-footed, bringing up the cud [as well]--this you may eat.

Has a split hoof: Hirsch, "forms a hoof", i.e., a horn-like covering, because sometimes the word means "horned"; Aramaic, "whose claw is split". Bringing up: Heb., "causing to ascend", which is what these instructions were all about (10:11). Totally cloven-footed: there are inner and outer hoofs, and on some animals, like the horse, only the inner hoof is cloven; the
inside and outside must both be the same to be the proper picture--just as what was on the inside of the Ark of the Testimony had to be the same as what was on the inside.

4. "Only, of those that chew the cud or divide the hoof, you may not eat these: the camel, because it brings up the cud, but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean for you.

We know that rumination is a picture of repeatedly meditating on YHWH's Word and gaining more insight from it each time. In Jewish mysticism, the camel is connected with the devil. When we read of Y'shua's temptation, we can see why: he "brought up the words of YHWH" but used them for his own purposes. "Even demons believe, but tremble" (Yaaqov 2:19). Their "walk" is not straight; they do not have the right kind of feet. Feet are linked with the Good News and the Kingdom (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 52:7). They have both a different Gospel and have started a counterfeit kingdom. Camels have an incomplete hoof, and it is not divided, so they are not to be eaten.

5. "Also, the rock hyrax, although it brings up the cud, since it is not cloven-footed; it is unclean for you.
Rock hyrax: coney or rock badger; LXX, "rabbit".

6. "And the hare, though it brings up the cud, but is not cloven-footed, is unclean for you.

7. "The swine, because it divides the hoof and is cloven-footed, but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you.

It is a picture of people that we don't want to be: the deceitful type who look holy on the outside, but "inwardly are ravening wolves".

8. "You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their dead body; they are unclean for you.

9. "Of all [that are] in the waters, you shall eat these: any that has [both] fins and scales in the waters -- in the seas and in the brooks--you may eat them.

In the waters: a very important technicality that saved the tuna fish from being declared non-kosher [unacceptable], since after it is out of the water it does not appear to have scales, but they are visible while it is in water.

10. "But any that does not have [both] fins and scales in the seas and in the brooks, of any teeming creature of the waters, and of any living soul that is in the waters, they are to counted as detestable for you.

11. "And they shall be detestable to you; you must not eat of their flesh, and you shall avoid their dead bodies.

Avoid: or detest, shun, abhor.

12. "Any one that does not have fins and scales in the waters, this shall be an abomination to you.

Interestingly, the unclean fish are loners and scavengers--sharks, catfish, etc.--while (in English, at least--which in a sense is "profane" in itself, all languages but Hebrew being a result of the judgment at Babel, and not being the pure tongue in which YHWH spoke, and which even the other nations will one day speak, cf. Zeph. 3:9) the clean fish go around in "schools"! Those that both congregate and study are the types that we want to put into ourselves.

13. "And these you shall count unclean among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, because they are impure: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard,

To you...you shall count...: Whatever anyone else may allow himself to do, these are the instructions to those who wish to be pure. As a parallel, Sha'ul/Paul writes, "While there may indeed be many ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œgods', FOR US there is but one Elohim...and one Master, Y'shua..." (1 Cor. 8:5, 6) There are spiritual beings that have legitimate authority within the realm of their allotted jurisdiction, and the ignorant may worship them and not be held guilty, but the holy people are to relate only to the highest and the purest, being held to a higher standard.

14. "the kite, and the falcon,

Some of these precise species have not been clearly identified, but the common thread between them seems to be that they are birds of prey.

15. "Every raven, whatever its species,

Seen in the account of Noach's ark: the dove would not even land on the dead carcass of another creature, and so returned because it "found no place for the sole of its foot", while the raven found plenty to eat because it did not make any distinction between clean and unclean. It went "to and fro" seeking something to devour, just like haSatan (1 Kefa 5:8).

16. "the daughter of the owl, the ostrich, the seagull, and the hawk, whatever its species,

Whatever its species: or "to similar species" (as translated into Greek).

17. "the little owl, the cormorant, and the eared owl,

18. "the ibis, the pelican, the carrion vulture,

Ibis: LXX, "redbill", perhaps a flamingo; Carrion vulture: LXX, "swan".

19. "the stork, and the heron, according to its species, the hoopoe, and the bat.

Hoopoe: lapwing, or mountain cock, a type of grouse; Aramaic, "woodcock".

20. "Every flying swarming creature that goes about on four [legs]--this is an abomination to you.

21. "Only this you may eat, of any swarming thing that goes on [all] four: that which has knees above its feet, in order to leap with them over the earth.

The picture seems to be, we are what we eat, and as we aspire to be sure-footed like those animals which have a split hoof, likewise we do not want to spend all of our time walking in the dirt, but want to spring "above the world" on many occasions to get the right perspective and to allow ourselves to be as little soiled by it as possible.

22. "These are the ones from which you may eat: the locust, whatever its species, the bald locust, whatever its species, the long-horned grasshopper, whatever its species, and the short-horned grasshopper, whatever its species.

Locust: LXX, caterpillar.

23. "But all other winged creeping things that have four legs shall be an abomination to you.

24. "And by these you shall be ritually unclean: whoever touches their dead body shall be unclean until the evening.

25. "Anyone who picks up [any part] of their carcass shall launder his clothes and be unclean until the evening.

26. "[The same holds true] for any beast that is cloven-hoofed, but does not completely divide [its hoof], or does not bring up the cud--it is unclean for you, and anyone who touches them shall be unclean.

In context, it appears that this refers only to touching their dead bodies.

27. "And any one among the living things that go on all four, any one that goes about on its paws shall be unclean to you; anyone who touches their dead body is ritually impure until evening.

28. "And anyone who picks up their carcass shall launder his clothes and be unclean until the evening. They are unclean for you.

29. "And this [is what] shall be unclean for you among the creeping things that swarm on the land: the weasel, the mouse, and the tortoise, and similar species,

Weasel: or mole. Tortoise: Greek, "lizard" or "land-crocodile".

30. "and the ferret, the chameleon, the lizard, the snail, and the mole--

Ferret: or hedgehog. Snail: LXX, "newt".

31. "these are unclean for you among all those that creep; whoever touches one of them when it is dead shall be ritually impure until the evening.

32. "And anything on which any of them falls on when it dies is rendered unclean--whether any wooden vessel or a garment or a hide or a burlap sack. Any vessel in which work is done shall be dipped in water, and shall be ritually impure until the evening; then it shall be ceremonially pure.

33. "Any earthen vessel into which any one of them falls, you shall break it, and whatever is in it shall be impure.

If we do not root out what becomes unclean, it will defile others too, and they will not even realize it. Earthen vessels represent people (2 Cor. 4:7), and lizards, owls, frogs, crocodiles, etc. are often also used as descriptive of evil spirits as well. Y'shua spoke of people falling on
himself, a stone, and being broken (Matt. 21:44) intead of having it fall on them, crushing them. So this brokenness is a positive thing. David says YHWH will not despise "a broken spirit [and] a broken and contrite heart" (Psalm 51:17). Unclean spirits are most often harbored by our pride, so it must be broken in order for the contamination to depart. For some, this means merely speaking an apt word; for others, humiliation, and for the most stubborn, being put "outside the camp".

34. "Of any food that may be eaten, any on which [this] water comes shall be unclean, and any drinkable beverage [which is] in any [such] vessel shall be unclean.

Contaminated water may look the same as good water, but it will harm, not help. Food and water are symbols of the teaching of Scripture. Whatever selfish and unclean people teach us about Scripture will also be infected by that spirit, so we should not receive it from them (if they know better), or it will spread to us.

35. "And anything on which [any part] of their dead body falls shall be unclean; an oven or a stove shall be destroyed; they are defiled, and they shall be unclean to you.

Defiled and unclean here are the same word in Hebrew. Hirsch points out that things that touch a dead body also remind us of death, which is a symbol of a soul that becomes subservient to the material world (since in death this succumbing is complete) rather than using it as a tool to carry out higher spiritual purposes and to illustrate spiritual realities.

36. "However, a spring or well or pool of water [into which they fall] shall remain ritually pure; only what touches the dead body shall be defiled.

Pool of water: or collection of water; Heb., miqveh, traditionally used for ritual purification. In other words, one could still take a miqveh in a pool in which there is a dead horse, as long as he does not touch the horse. Since water, again, symbolizes the Torah's teachings, if we are steeped in it and surrounded by it (having its words written on our doorposts, etc.), so that we know it well enough, then one encounter with the teachings of an unclean, selfish person will not ruin us, since the light is not so easily overcome by darkness.

37. "And if [any part] of their carcass falls on any sowing seed which is to be sown, it will remain ritually pure.

Sowing seed: Aramaic, "seed grain". This seed will die and be resurrected in another form anyway before it is to be consumed by mankind. Hoshea likens the Northern Kingdom of Israel to seed that is to be sown; it had to suffer and die before being recalled to YHWH's covenant, but it was salvageable. On the personal level, a seed yet unsown is like a newborn believer, who has
YHWH's special protection, since if he could be so easily uprooted, no one would ever grow to maturity since we are all inundated by false teaching. However (v. 38), once the seed has been adequately watered--i.e., taught--he is responsible for the teaching he exposes himself to, being better equipped to discern truth from error.

38. "But if any water is put on the seed and [any part] of their carcass falls on it, it shall be defiled.

The water has already begun the process of the seed's transformation, and thus it is too late to salvage it. Water is a picture of the teaching of YHWH's Torah, and when selfish motives are mixed in with it by those who should know better, there is no more sacrifice for sins. (Heb. 10:26)

39. "And if any of the beasts which are food for you dies, one who touches its dead body shall be unclean until the evening,

40. "and whoever eats of its dead body shall launder his clothes and be unclean until the evening; also, whoever picks up its carcass shall launder his clothes and be unclean until the evening.

Rev. 7:14 tells us that our garments are washed through tribulation (we are strengthened by the breaking) and through the blood of the Lamb.

41. "And every swarming thing that creeps on the land shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.

42. "Also, as for the swarming things that creep on the earth, whatever goes about on its belly or anything that walks on four [legs] up to anything that has multiple feet--these you shall not eat, because they are unclean.

43. "You shall not pollute your souls by any swarming thing that creeps, nor become defiled by them so that you are ritually unclean because of them,

44. "because I am YHWH your Elohim, and you have set yourselves apart and become holy since I am holy. Thus you shall not defile your souls by any swarming thing that creeps on the earth,

45. "because I am YHWH your Elohim, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to become an Elohim to you. Therefore, you shall be holy, since I am holy.

Hirsch points out that here YHWH links freedom (summarized by the liberation from Egypt) with holiness. He is the one who is totally free, and He calls us into the same freedom. While to the fleshly-minded man (as Paul would describe him) holiness seems like legalism or bondage, it is really freedom from the bondage to our sensuous desires which lead us to many illogical and harmful pursuits if not kept within the confines of the proper channels laid out by the Torah. The familiar analogy of railroad tracks illustrates this well: a train is only free when on its tracks, i.e., when doing what it was designed to do. Likewise, man was designed to share fellowship with YHWH, and this means separation from all that tends away from Him. Holiness is thus a gift that frees us from worthless, degrading, or common pursuits.

46. "This is the instruction regarding the animals, the fowl, and every living creature that moves through the waters, and every creature that swarms on the earth,

47. "in order to make a distinction between the impure and the pure, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten." Living thing: or "the life". This parallels 10:10-11. To become part of Israel, we must become separate. We must be discriminatory in what we partake of. The foods are pictures of what we take into ourselves
spiritually. People constantly joined the community of Israel, but in general those already in the community did not go out looking for recruits. There were lost sheep of the House of Israel (the dispersed and "lost" northern tribes) who had to be recalled from all over the world because of
YHWH's promises to provide a new covenant for the sake of their forefathers, and "whosoever will may come". But we are not trying to fill seats. The ancient Hebrews discerned carefully whom they let into their tents (by extension, places of learning). Y'shua told us not to cast our pearls before swine. His House must remain holy and pure; while outsiders may come in, this does not lower the standard. They must be raised up, or the whole house will be lowered and the teaching will be lost. This has happened as the church let pagans come in (or even pushed them to) without changing their ways, but only the labels. Now it is so diluted it is not recognizably the same structure as what Y'shua actually came to build. By trying to make everything holy, virtually nothing remained holy (separate). Let us return to the ancient paths and make the same distinctions He makes.

Portion VA-YIQRA (1:1- 5:26) CHAPTER 1 1. And YHWH called [yiqra] to Moshe and spoke to him from [within] the Tent of Appointment, saying, The Tzohar, the masterwork of Hebrew mysticism, explains that this Tabernacle was the betrothal tent of the young man Metatron, who is also known as the "lesser YHWH", i.e., the Messiah as the manifestation and representative of YHWH the Father. The words "Tent of Appointment", at the root level, mean "shining assembly", which point to the Messiah's regathering of the fragments of the man of light that Adam was before he sinned. The idea of his betrothal is deduced from the fact that the deeper root word from which the word for "appointment" here is drawn means a "meeting of the minds", or a coming to agreement (e.g., Amos 3:3); it is indeed sometimes used of betrothals. In the ancient Hebrew betrothal, the bridal chamber had to be built before the marriage could be finalized. 2. "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, 'If [any] man of you brings an offering to YHWH, you must bring your offering from livestock of the herd or from the flock. Man: Heb., Adam. Offering: Greek Septuagint (LXX), "gifts". The Hebrew word [qorban] has no connotation of "sacrifice", as in something we give up, or by which we placate YHWH; rather, it means "to draw near". It does nothing to satisfy His hunger, but does much for us. We gain proximity to YHWH rather than losing something. If the "Adam in us" (that part which desires this union with YHWH) is brought to the forefront, we can be Adam again for YHWH and pick up where he lft off. Here YHWH puts limits on where the offerings can come from. Remember Qayin and Hevel. 3. "'If what he brings near is one that ascends from out of the herd, he must bring an unblemished male to the entryway of the Tent of Appointment, according to his free will, before the face of YHWH. Ascending: or "elevating" (Hirsch). This is the only type of offering that could be sacrificed outside the Tabernacle or Temple courts. Unblemished: or whole, a picture of Y'shua, who "was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15), and was thus able to be the offering that enables us to draw near to YHWH. Male: the same word usually means "to rememberÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â; over and over in Scripture and the liturgies, YHWH tells us to remember that He brought us out of Egypt. Entryway to the Tent: Where, on a spiritual level, we receive a vision of the mustering of an army. (Ex. 38:8) If we bring a perfect memory (of the terms of the betrothal) to our gates (e.g., eyes, ears, mouth, etc.), we will be better able to recognize when it is time to shut them to enemies that are trying to gain access to our energies. Remembering that YHWH has never failed us when evil h as come against us will give us the power to ascend out of the herd and live out the set-apartness that He desires in His bride. According to his free will: by oneÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¾ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢s desire or delight, i.e., voluntarily; Aramaic, "for acceptance on his behalf"; LXX, "as acceptable before the Master". Some offerings are mandatory no matter how one feels; these things were never ours to begin with, and we have no right to keep them. But others are to be given only from the heart, "for YHWH loves a cheerful giver". (2 Cor. 9:7) Cornelius was noticed by YHWH because of his alms (Acts/Envoys 10:2-4), and this opened the door for the House of Israel to return to the covenant. 4. "'And he shall lean his hand [firmly] on the head of the one that ascends, and it will be accepted on his behalf, in order to make atonement for him. Lean his hand: or "press". Laying on of hands is one of the things Hebrews 6:2 says are the "milk"--the basics we have to understand before any of the deeper meanings of Scripture can be opened up to us. What it symbolizes is identification--with one being commissioned for service as our representative (Acts 13:3), or, in this case, with this animal and our death to self, which says, "Take me as you are taking this animal, so I too can ascend." This "burnt offering" was fully consumed, partaken of by no one but YHWH. None of it was taken home; all it profits one is allowing him to have relationship with YHWH. This is the same type of offering as brought for sin, but we do not need to wait until it is mandatory to bring our best to Him; He wants us to draw close to Him even when our gates are well-guarded, because the main point is that we are offering ourselves for relationship with Him. Accepted: closely related to the word used in v. 3 for "desire". If it was given cheerfully, it will also please YHWH, so true fellowship will again be established. Atonement: Not forgiveness, but a covering, because "the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin". The offerer was simply "covered" until the true sacrifice that truly took away sins could be made by Y'shua. Since Adam sinned, we have had a consciousness of sin, which leaves us no right to draw near to YHWH. The shedding of the blood of a highly valuable animal allows us a clear conscience. All the sins that were only covered by this blood were obliterated when Y'shua died. He brought us a clean slate. However, for sins thereafter, in the absence of a Temple, we still need to consciously confess, repent, and make restitution to our fellows. And for deliberate sins, there remains no sacrifice. (Heb. 10:26) 5. "'And he shall slaughter the bull [son of the herd] before [the face of] YHWH. Then the priests, Aharon's sons, shall bring the blood near [present it] and toss it onto every side of the altar which is at the entryway to the Tent of Appointment. Bull: literally, son of the herd, which literally refers to something able to plow. Cattle were one of the chief means of measuring one's wealth. The bull thus represents our work, something that can feed us, and our possessions--in short, our security. This needs to be offered to YHWH; what we should be concerned about instead is maintaining the right relationship with Him. There is a great difference in the value of a bull over that of a sheep. He knew some could not afford the former, and did not wish them to be embarrassed about this, but a king or priest had no choice but to bring a bull. Neither was allowed security: the king was specifically commanded NOT to multiply horses, so his reliance would be on YHWH, and the priest had no inheritance like the rest of Israel had, for he was to focus only on serving YHWH and trust Him to motivate the rest of Israel to bring the support for the priests that He required of them. And we are called to be kings and priests, so we must sacrifice our securities if need be in order to give YHWH what He deserves. Notice that the person bringing the offering was the one who had to do the killing and skinning. The priest only dealt with the blood. He collected it in a vessel that had a pointed base so he would not be distracted and set it down, letting it coagulate. The blood still had to be "living" when it was dashed onto the altar. At least from Solomon's Temple onward, the blood from each type of sacrifice was thrown against a different part of the altar. There was a red line on the side of it that divided the sacrifices for sins against mankind from the sins against YHWH. Slaughter: there is a particular way of cutting the animal's throat that is painless to the animal, and parents would teach their children this method, for if the animal suffered in any way, a sacrifice was not counted as kosher. And if the animal was not "rightly divided", the offering was rendered void. 6. "'And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. The Hebrew word here for skin (which means "strip down to the basics") is also used for the most literal way of interpreting Scripture, showing that no matter what other levels of meaning there are, we are to assume the most straightforward one first, since the others do not override this. Cut it: means to separate into parts, at the joints, to use in different ways. We are told to "study to show yourself approved, ...rightly dividing the Word of Truth." (2 Tim. 2:15) LXX, "divide it by its limbs". (I.e., it was to be in complete segments, with no broken bones, like the Passover lamb.) 7. "'And the sons of Aharon the priest shall put fire on the altar, and arrange sticks above the fire. Arrange sticks: done somewhat in the shape of a table, able to bear the weight of the pieces of the animals' bodies, in a layered structure so that the animals were not placed directly one on top of another. 8. "'Then the priests, the sons of Aharon, shall arrange the pieces, along with the head and the fat, on the wood which is on the fire on the altar. Arrange: They had to be laid out in a certain prescribed manner. Why is the head mentioned separately? Y'shua, our Head, was sacrificed in advance of our becoming "living sacrifices". "Fat" also means "the best, the choicest part". (See also 3:17.) 9. "'Then he shall wash its inward parts and its legs with water. Then, on the altar, the priest shall cause them all to go up in smoke[as] an ascending [offering] made by fire--a soothing aroma to YHWH. Inward parts and legs: Although Y'shua's blood has been applied to the altar in heaven for us, we still need to repent for ("wash") the way we walk and our inner thoughts. Though the animal itself is acceptable on the altar, any dirt it had accumulated inside or outside is not. In the original Hebrew text, which does not include the vowel points, "offering of fire" can also read "an ascending woman"--a picture of YHWH's bride, who is without "spot or wrinkle". (Ephesians 5:27) Soothing: calming or satisfying. Aroma: The term also means "a delight" or acceptance. So the point of all of this teaching about how to do the sacrifices is to bring us to the point of being an acceptable bride to YHWH, one that brings Him relief after what His first "wife" did to Him. (Compare Yehezq'el 28:13 with Rev. 21:2ff and Esther 1:11-2:4.) 10. "'Now if his offering for ascending is out of the flock, from the sheep or the goats, he shall bring near a perfect male. "Flock" comes from the word for migrating, since sheep and goats, which overgraze, need to do so. Sheep and goats are a sacrifice of lesser value than bulls, but are nonetheless something of value. But this type of offering pictures someone who, though he has a decent amount of commitment, is still holding some things back from YHWH. 11. "'And he shall slaughter it by the side of the altar northward, before the face of YHWH, and the sons of Aharon, the priests, shall toss its blood on all sides of the altar. Northward: Y'shua was called the Lamb of Elohim, so he had to be sacrificed northward from the altar. The traditional site of Gulgol'tha, where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre now stands, may have been outside the city gate at that time (which is required of a sin offering in 4:12, 21), but it is due west of the Temple Mount, where the altar stood at that time. Gordon's Calvary, on the other hand, while not due north, is only slightly northwest of the Temple Mount, outside the Damascus Gate on what was then the northern wall of Yerushalayim. There is actually a "face" on the hillside just behind where Y'shua was crucified (hence the name, "the place of the skull"). Everything in the Torah is somehow a foreshadowing of Him. It is interesting that haSatan ("the adversary") was particularly interested in ascending to the "sides of the north". (Yeshayahu 14:13; Psalm 48:2 identifies this location as including Mt. Tzion, also part of Yerushalayim!) Others say that "before the face of YHWH" means Y'shua had to be crucified east of the Temple since the tearing of the outer veil of the Temple would have been visible only from there as the light from the menorah would have been visible even during the temporary darkness that covered the land at that time. 12. "'And he shall separate it into pieces along with its head and its suet, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood which is above the fire on the altar. 13. "'And he shall wash its inward parts and legs with water, and the priest shall bring the whole thing near and make it go up in smoke upon the altar; it is an offering of fire, a soothing aroma to YHWH. 14. "'And if the offering is an ascending offering to YHWH using flying creatures, then he shall bring near his offering of turtledoves or young pigeons. Pigeons: The same word in Hebrew as the name of the prophet Yonah. There is something special about these two species of bird: they are the only two birds that actually give a form of milk to their young. While chickens and some other birds are also kosher, they are not used for sacrifices. Only animals that provide their young with milk are slaughtered for offerings in the Temple. The picture we are to learn from this is that those who provide for others (the pure milk of the Word) are the type of persons He wants as His living sacrifices. 15. "'And the priest shall bring it near to the altar and nip off its head. Then he shall make it go up in smoke upon the altar. Its blood shall be drained by the side of the altar. Unlike the other animals, birds were handled only by the priests, and they were slain right at the altar itself instead of some distance away. Perhaps this added additional honor to the offerings of the poor. (5:7) Nip: The priest grew a sharp thumbnail long enough to slit the bird's throat. He did not wring its neck, because then it would be strangled and not be kosher. He left its head partially connected, but popped it back like a bottle top and squeezed its blood out. He was able to hold it and slit its throat all with one hand. 16. "'And he shall pluck out its crop along with its feathers, and shall throw it near the altar eastward, to the place of the ashes. 17. "'And he shall split it in two, not dividing it [completely into two parts], and the priest shall burn it like incense upon the altar, on the wood which is above the fire as an ascending offering; it is a fire offering, a soothing aroma to YHWH. Split it in two: peel it open and spread it apart; Aramaic, "tear it open by its wings". It was not to be split in half, because that is symbolic of making a covenant (Gen. 15:9, 17-18), and this level of sacrifice, while an honest attempt to do something, is not of the caliber required as a basis for covenant. Birds were not mentioned in v. 2 as acceptable ways to draw near. (Gen. 15:10 even specifies that while Avraham was commanded to bring these birds as part of the covenant ceremony, he did not divide them as he did with the other animals.) They seem like an afterthought so that even the poorest could afford to bring something. But these birds in particular are symbolic of the Spirit (Mark 1:10), and many think that they have an adequate standing with YHWH if they worship Him in Spirit, but obey none of His literal commands. Yet Y'shua says we are to worship the Father in Spirit AND in truth. (Yoch. 4:24) The Spirit is the means, not the end. It enables us to keep the covenant, but it is not the substance of our carrying out our part of it. In our exile we have been impoverished, and worship in spirit alone has been accepted, since it is all we could do, but it is not all that He really desires. Without the specifics of the Torah (which is equated with truth in Psalm 119:151), we have no way of defining what is really spiritual, and now we are seeing the "wiggle-room" it leaves being used as an excuse to define "love your neighbor as yourself" in any way that suits the whims of the moment; while it may be pleasant, that is driving down a highway without a goal, and as the old adage says, "He who aims at nothing is sure to reach it." YHWH intends greater things for His bride; following His specific instructions will enable us to know Him as He wants to be known. CHAPTER 2 1. "'And when a person brings a [grain] offering with which to draw near to YHWH, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour oil upon it and put frankincense on it, Grain offering: literally, tribute; Hirsch, "an allegiance-gift" or "homage-gift". But it also means a part or portion. It involves no blood, yet is still a picture of the person who brings it. We bring a part of ourselves. Yet how can we bring another portion after we have given all? Because taking up our cross to follow Him is a daily thing. (Luke 9:23) It represents a particular area of our lives in which He is revealing to us our need for further surrender. In the Temple, one continued to ascend, and the way to keep ascending was to pass through walls by way of gates. The way to get to the next level is to surrender our own gates (eyes, ears, mouth, sexual orgains, etc.) to that level of sanctity. We have to do this over and over, but if we skip this step in any area of our lives, we cannot ascend any further. Fine flour: it was sifted many times. The Talmud tells us that for the Feast of Firstfruits, flour went through 13 sieves; for the Two Loaves at Shavuoth, 12 sieves; and the Bread of the Faces ("showbread"), 11 times. This is a picture of YHWH's sifting the ones He has called, to sort out those who are truly chosen--who continue with Him after many trials of faith. The flour became so fine that the priest could put his hands into it and withdraw them with no flour sticking to them--a picture of those who allow YHWH to make them so holy that they have nothing to do with the "flesh". Priests were the ones who sifted it and oversaw its sale. Pour oil: in other words, it was anointed, which in Hebrew is mashiach; i.e., Messiah. He said his body was a sacrifice for us, but also that we should eat of it, as the priest did (v. 3). Oil represents the Holy Spirit--which is indeed very "slippery" to people's understanding, and therefore many have been misled by words claiming to be from the "Spirit". Recognizing that in Hebrew the phrase (Ruakh haQodesh) means "spirit of being set apart" should clarify much for us. But haQodesh is also the title of the first main room in the Tabernacle and Temple, which are both pictures of what is in heaven (and which will meet us here during the Kingdom, Heb. 8:5; 9:23) Everything in this room was anointed to symbolize being set apart for YHWH's purposes alone. Thus "Ruakh haQodesh" really refers to a "breath or wind of the Kingdom", for the chief task of the Spirit of Holiness is to establish the principles of the Kingdom in us before it arrives from Heaven. (Heb. 6:4-5) What is set apart is "peculiar" now, but will be commonplace in the Kingdom. This offering is to remind us that all we say and do, and all we expose ourselves to in this age should relate to the Kingdom, and be an example in advance of what it holds. The anointing with oil signifies the empowerment to do that. Y'shua "poured" out the Spirit on us once He had authority to do so. (Acts 10:45; Yochanan 15, 16; Mat. 28:18) We need to learn to live like we are in the Kingdom now, so that when He shows up we will be found ready. How do we increase the oil that lets our light shine (Mat. 5:14)? By listening to His judgments, guarding His commandments, and carrying them out. (Deut. 7:11-13) Giving the Spirit more fuel actually increase our capacity for more. As we empty our trash out of His vessels, there will also be room for more of what He wants to put in us, and as we give out what He gives us, He can pour more in. Frankincense was given to Y'shua by the Magi when he was a young child, perhaps to symbolize that he was to be an offering for us that was acceptable to YHWH. Its name comes from the word "whiteness", symbolizing purity, and it is a feminine word in Hebrew, which again hints at the whole point of bringing these offerings being to become a spotless bride for Him, for He desires intimacy with His people Israel. Those who will be part of this bride are those who have not defiled their garments and who have overcome both the spirit of this age and self. (Rev. 3:4) 2. "'and he shall bring it to the sons of Aharon the priest. And he shall grasp from it his handful of fine flour along with its oil and its frankincense, and the priest shall burn it like incense [with smoke] on the altar, a memorial offering with fire, a soothing aroma to YHWH. Grasp: tradition says it was done with three fingers. A soothing aroma to YHWH: Hirsch, "an expression of a hint of a desire to be pleasing to YHWH." Contrast this to how our ancestors made themselves odious to Him. (Yeshayahu 3:24; Amos 4:10) Our response to Him must correct their error. 3. "'What is left over of the grain offering is for Aharon and his sons, [being] most holy of the fire offerings of YHWH. A portion is sent on ahead of us into the Kingdom which has not yet come, but the rest is given to YHWH's servants who live in the present, so they can feed the things of the Kingdom here and now. So the means of giving to YHWH was, for the most part, giving to His servants. What was withheld from them was actually being denied Him. No one can give to Him simply "in his heart"; a major way to put our faith to work is to provide for the servants of YHWH under whose care He has put us. These servants are already serving us. When enough servants are serving His other servants, the Kingdom will come. Being intimate with Him first involves being intimate with those we can see (1 Yochanan 4:20-21), and no one can be intimate without deep honesty. (See notes on v. 11.) Most holy: literally, "set apart [among the] set apart"--a "special treasure" to Him. (Ex. 19:5) This first option of how to offer one's grain is plain flour. It is ready to use, but not ready to eat. It is a reasonable sacrifice to give ourselves to YHWH (Rom. 12:2), but to become "bread" (1 Cor. 10:17), we have to be joined together with others. The remainder of the grain offerings are ready to eat as well: 4. "'And when you bring near a grain offering baked in an oven, [it is to be] unleavened loaves of fine flour mixed with oil or [thin] unleavened wafers, anointed with oil. Wafers: denotes being dripped on the oven. 5. "'And if your offering is a grain offering cooked on a flat griddle, its shall be of fine flour without leaven, mixed with oil. 6. "'You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. This anointed bread is a picture of the Messiah ("Anointed One") whose body was broken for us. During the days of the Temple, these were all cooked in the "Pancake-Bakers' Chamber" in the outer court area. 7. "'And if the grain offering is [cooked] in a pot, it shall be of fine flour made with oil. A pot: one deep enough to stir in; alt., a stewing pot. This bread was then much a like a bagel, which literally means "boiled". 8. "'And you shall bring the grain offering which is made of these things to YHWH, and the priest shall bring it near the altar, These things: Four different ways of forming a community are thus depicted here. YHWH has many ways of bringing us together, and none is inherently better than the others. But all of these required the key ingredients of grain and oil. The community must have people whom YHWH has crushed and who have the Spirit of Being Set Apart, or they will be unable to stick together. Another indispensable ingredient not mentioned here, but without which oil and flour will not adhere is water, which represents YHWHÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¾Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢s word (the Torah). I.e., while many of the specifics of how we do things will vary, a community that does not meet on His prescribed Sabbath or ignores other commands of His is not one acceptable to Him. 9. "'and the priest shall lift out from the grain offering its memorial portion and burn it as incense on the altar [as] a fire-offering, a soothing aroma to YHWH. Lift out: Aramaic, "separate off". 10. "'And the remainder of the food offering is for Aharon and his sons, [being] most holy, the fire offerings of YHWH. 11. "'You shall not leaven any food offering that you bring near to YHWH, because you shall not burn any leaven or burn any honey as a fire offering to YHWH. "We who are many are one bread..." (1 Cor. 10:17) The term "leaven" is rooted in a word that means to swell up. Leavening represents sin, especially pride, which puffs up and makes us look like more than we are. When bread is leavened, there is really no additional nutrient or anything of substance or benefit. For better or worse, leaven in Scripture always means something that irreversibly permeates. (It may be used in a positive sense in Mat. 13:33.) We are not to let our community be permeated by anything other than the Kingdom. Here, honey represents deception, because it makes the flour seem sweet artificially. The usual Hebrew term for yeast also means "that which sours". Either way, He wants to use what we are, not what we pretend to be. To bring others into the kind of holiness that truly sacrifices self, we cannot lure them by the niceties of YHWH's blessings, when in fact we know He will sift us until we can become a part of the "one bread". You shall not burn: or, you cannot make [it] go up in smoke. It is not possible to make something that is not genuine ascend, so do not even try. He will not accept it if we add the other ingredients. Even the leavened loaves required at Shavuoth were not to be offered on the altar, but only waved before YHWH. While we cannot have the Kingdom until both Houses of Israel are fully permeated by what constitutes the Kingdom, leaven still cannot enter His Kingdom. On another level, honey is a natural antibody, and since there is no leaven, there is no need for this. 12. "'As an offering of firstfruits, you may bring them to YHWH, but they shall not ascend the altar to be a soothing fragrance. These offerings are brought to YHWHÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¾Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢s servants as food, but are not offered on the altar. Some practices are allowed in lower-level worship, which still pleases Him to some extent, but on those whom He chooses to be closest and dearest to Himself through the repeated "sifting like wheat" (see Luk. 22:31), He places more stringent requirements than the bare minimum necessary for mere salvation and inclusion in the Kingdom. The first of our thoughts belongs to YHWH as well, and we should not be using any of our faculties for things that will oppose or inhibit His Kingdom. 13. "'And every one of your grain offerings you shall season with salt; you shall not let the salt of the covenant of your Elohim be lacking from your grain offering. You shall offer salt with all your offerings.'" Salt preserves, so it is a picture of eternity and the perpetuity of the covenant. Salt renders the sacrifice unsusceptible to outside influences, reminding us that the absolute Covenant of YHWH is not to be altered. (Hirsch) Today, while there is no Temple, this command is remembered by salting the two loaves of bread made for each Sabbath. It removes the blood from meat, rendering it edible for Israel. It can be ground up finer and finer, yet is still always salt. In fact, the Hebrew word for salt means "what is pulverized". Bringing it again represents offering ourselves. There is no safety net if salt loses its savor; there is nothing we can add to salt to make it salty again. (Mat. 5:13ff) So how can salt lose its savor? Only be sitting idle for long periods. The context for Y'shua's calling us "the salt of the earth" was persecution. (5:10ff) If we undergo His grinding up (compare Luke 20:18), we must apply what it teaches us right away or its purpose will be lost. We are told to even rejoice at that time; if we complain about it instead, it will be wasted. (Heb. 12:12-13) 14. "'And if you bring near a grain offering of firstfruits to YHWH, you shall bring firstfruits of near-fresh ears roasted with fire, crushed from full ears as your grain offering. Near-fresh: ripened but still green; Heb., aviv, the sign that a new year is upon us. YHWH wants us to bring Him "a new song"--what we are just learning, not what is old and stale. Roasted: parched or dried. Crushed: Aramaic, "brittle". Full: lush, plentiful, garden-grown; Aramaic, "soft". 15. "'And you shall put oil upon it, and lay it on frankincense; it is a grain offering. 16. "'So the priest shall cause the memorial portion of the crushed grain and the oil to smoke [as incense], in addition to the frankincense, [as] a fire offering to YHWH.'" CHAPTER 3 1. "'And if what he brings near is a peace offering, if he is offering it from the herd, whether a male or female, he shall bring it before YHWH completely sound. Peace offering: literally, slaughter for completenesses or safeties--i.e., a form of thanks offering brought when YHWH has kept us safe, when a battle has been one at one of our gates, and the threat is no longer there. It is a meal to be eaten in company with others. But we cannot have fellowship with just anyone out on the street; they will not understand holiness. It must be eaten among other persons who are clean before YHWH, which anyone who has entered the Temple must be. Before YHWH: literally, at His face, for intimacy with Him is what these "drawings-near" are all about. Completely sound: perfectly healthy and without blemish. The same term is used of Yaaqov, meaning he was mature or learned, because he dwelt in tents. (Gen. 25:27) The tents of Shem were the ones he spent his time in. What went on there? YHWHÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚Â¢s name was blessed and His ways were taught. (Gen. 9:26-27) The foundation for both discernment and wisdom is knowledge, specifically of the Torah, for no matter how learned we are, we cannot be wise without knowing it well. Discernment is just knowing when to use our knowledge, and wisdom is knowing how. Tradition says the high priest Melkhitzedeq was another name for Shem. A priest must also be without flaw. (Lev. 21:21) The ideal sacrifice is a bull--one's food, wealth, and labor source. Even today, a "bull market" means one that is prosperous. So a bull represents our security. By sacrificing it we proclaim that our security does not come from things outside, but from YHWH alone. This bull is not what protected us; YHWH did. Like the walls of Yericho, the securities we build for ourselves are not dependable. We have to protect our wealth; it does not protect us. But we have to be the ones to draw the blade across its throat; all the priest does is catch the blood: 2. "'Then he shall lean his hand on the head of his offering, he shall kill it at the entryway to the Tent of Appointment, and Aharon's sons, the priests, shall toss the blood onto the altar, all around. Lean his hand: symbolizing that it is his substitute. The point is not that the animal is brought near, but that the donor is. His offering: literally, "his drawing-near". Kill it: the term connotes slitting its throat painlessly. If the animal suffers, the sacrifice is not counted as kosher. All around: Heb., saviv. The ledge formed by the difference in size between the top piece and the middle of the three sections of the altar was called the "soveyv", which is a derivative of this word, so the command could bear some relation to this as well. 3. "'Then he shall bring near a fire offering to YHWH from the slaughter of the peace offering: the fat which covers the inward parts, and all the fat which is on the inward parts, Psalm 116 is David's expression of drawing near with a peace offering. Fat: the choicest or the best--like the firstfruits or tithes, this is something owed to YHWH. (See also 27:30; Num. 18:26-29) Which covers the inward parts: or, which [plumps up and] conceals the innermost parts. We can hide the true thoughts of our hearts behind our best attributes, keeping them from being revealed. But to truly draw near to YHWH, we must be honest about these too. This is the "circumcision of the heart". (Deut. 10:16) 4. "'both kidneys and the fat which is on them, which is by the flanks, and [the appendage] that hangs over the liver by the kidneys--[all these] he shall remove. Kidneys: the feminine form of the word for "vessel", so it represents what we put in our vessels. The kidneys and liver are what filter the blood to purify it. Whatever is not pure is sent back for "repentance". A pure life is a selfless one. We are also responsible for the impurities in one another. The community is given by YHWH to take the "what's in it for me" out of each of us. "Kidneys" is also often a term used in Hebrew for the equivalent of what we call the "mind", for our mind (not our emotions) is to rule our life in subjection to YHWH's will. When someone has an infection in this part of the body, he is told to drink lots of water. Returning to the "water of the word" (the Torah) is our purification process--being "transformed by the renewing of our minds" (Rom. 12:2). The bile in the liver regulates the chemical balance of the blood, which represents our life. His instruction (torah) is what is to regulate our lives--not our families, traditions, morals, or religion. These organs are constantly at work, as we always have something more to repent of. Flanks: or loins; LXX, "thighs". The root word means "foolishness" or "stupidity". The term for liver means something hard or stubborn--like a stiff neck, which does not make for peace. But the name for the liver also means what is heavy and important. It is related to the word often translated "glory", which really signifies weightiness of authority. Thus giving YHWH the appendage (Aramaic, lobe) over and above the liver represents taking for ourselves no more than the right amount of importance or authority given to us; when additional glory comes to us, it is to be given to YHWH. (Compare Romans 11:35-12:3 for the spiritual offerings which, in our exile, YHWH has counted as our "reasonable service" in the absence of a Temple.) 5. "'And the sons of Aharon shall cause it to smoke on the altar, in addition to the ascending offering which is on the wood that is above the fire, [as] a fire offering, a soothing aroma to YHWH. Wood: laid out in a set pattern to support the offerings. The fire itself was lit by YHWH, not by men; men were responsible to keep it burning at all times. (6:13) Fire represents our motivation. Wood represents mortal men; who we are is to be founded on the motivation YHWH gives (which always relates to the Kingdom), and from there we can ascend to completeness (shalom). 6. "'Now if his offering is from the flock, to be a peace offering to YHWH, male or female, he shall bring a completely sound [one]. 7. "'If it is a young sheep he is bringing near [as] his offering, he shall present it before the face of YHWH. It is not slaughtered at the entryway, as the bull was (v. 2). Why? Because it is a lesser offering, and not as effective in combating the spiritual warfare we encounter at our gates. (Ex. 38:8) But it still represents a decent commitment--something of value given to YHWH. 8. "'And he shall lean his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it in front of the Tent of Appointment, and the sons of Aharon shall toss its blood onto the altar, all around. 9. "'Then he shall bring near from what is slaughtered a fire offering to YHWH--its best part: he shall remove the whole fat tail, which is close up against the backbone, and the fat that covers its inward parts, and all the fat that is between the inward parts. Whole fat tail: a particular fatty type of tail that this type of sheep has. This is the only item added to what is offered from the bull. Why? The Hebrew word (alyah) has its root in a term for swearing an oath (alah). Thus it represents the realization that we have not yet brought all that we should, and a promise that next time we will bring the bull He deserves. It is also formed of the two words "al-Yah", which means "toward YHWH", because its effect is to move us closer to Him. Bringing a sheep may be all we can do now, but it represents a commitment to go on to what He really prefers--to becoming more learned so we can do better next time. 10. "'He shall also remove both of the kidneys and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and what hangs over the liver by the kidneys. 11. "'And the priest shall cause it to smoke [as incense] on the altar--bread of the fire offering to YHWH. 12. "'And if his offering is a [she-] goat, then he shall present it before the face of YHWH, 13. "'and he shall lean his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it in front of the Tent of Appointment, and the sons of Aharon shall toss its blood onto the altar, all around. 14. "'Then he shall bring near from what is slaughtered a fire offering to YHWH the fat that covers its inward parts, and all the fat that is between the inward parts. Missing from the goat is the fat tail; everything else is identical to what is offered from the sheep. Conspicuous by its absence is the oath to do better next time. This is therefore a lesser offering still. And it is the lowest allowed here; the birds allowed in chapter 1. Nothing merely spiritual is permitted here; this must be in deed as well as word. And Y'shua said the line of who would enter into the joy of the Master would even be drawn between the sheep and the goats. The sheep served Him by serving the least of His brothers; the goats did not. They are told to depart. (Mat. 25) Sheep are community-oriented; goats are individualists. Individualism has no place in the Kingdom. Few find the road to life, even among those who bring some sort of offering to YHWH. (Mat. 7:21) 15. "'He shall also remove both of the kidneys and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and what hangs over the liver by the kidneys. 16. "'And the priest shall cause it to smoke [as incense] on the altar bread of the fire offering as a soothing aroma; all the fat belongs to YHWH. All the fat belongs to YHWH: because our best deeds always originate in Him (Yaaqov/James 1:17), not in ourselves, so we are to receive none of the credit for them. (Luke 17:8-10) Turning the fat over to Him is saying we recognize that He knows best and trust Him to provide what is best for us. Bread of the fire offering: without the vowels (as the original Hebrew Torah was), this phrase can read "the food of the wife of YHWH", i.e., His bride, which is created as His people become holy and draw near to Him in this way. A soothing aroma: this indeed is pleasing and refreshing to Him; nothing less satisfies Him. (Rom. 12:1-3) We are not free to change any of these regulations, or the sacrifice is rendered void. (Mat. 5:18) Even adding extra to them changes what they are meant to teach. (Gal. 3:15; Rev. 22:18) Our own way of approaching will not be accepted. (Mat. 22:11-12) 17. "'[This shall be] a perpetually-prescribed custom for your [future] generations and all of the places where you settle: you may not eat any fat or any blood.'" There are many health benefits to obeying these commands, which would have spared countless people physical suffering. But many disregard them just because they are "under grace". Any fat: not the marbled fat that is inextricable from the meat, but the particular types listed in vv. 14-15. Any blood: 17:14 tells us we will be "cut off" if we eat it. This is not a command to human courts, but a promise that somehow we will physically suffer (if we survive), for YHWH will see to it. But if life is in the blood, why would we die if we eat it? Because it is the "life of the flesh" (17:11). The flesh is incompatible with the spirit, and if we "live according to the flesh", we will die. (Rom. 8:5-13) Eating blood is tantamount to saying, "It's my life; I'll do with it what I want. Forget YHWH." Also, the word for "flesh" means "good news" or "gospel", and it is not meant to be hidden within our mouths, but allowed out. What we are to keep in our mouths (ruminating on it) is the Torah. (Deut. 30:14; Yehoshua 1:8) CHAPTER 4 1. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying, 2. "Speak to the descendants of Israel, to tell [them], 'A soul that inadvertently deviates from any of YHWH's commandments which are not to be done, but shall commit one from [among] them, Inadvertently: when having a lapse in memory or straying mentally. Although it was a mistake, it is still a sin, and we are still held responsible to make restitution. Which are not to be done: Aramaic, "which are not proper". This particular procedure applies only for negative commands. Inadvertent sins include all the times we worshipped idols when we called YHWH by the names of other elohim, bowed down to put gifts under Christmas trees (asherah poles), attended Easter sunrise services, or made YHWHÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s Name of no effect by failing to use it. We need to come to grips with our guilt and do whatever it takes to get it out of our lives. It will not disappear magically, just because we are forgiven. The sacrifice removes the guilt, not the possibility of repeating the offense. DisciplineÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âbeing more careful about our thoughts and deeds--is what will keep us from doing it again. The place to start is with confession. Then something has to die; we must offer up something of ourselves and what is valuable to us. Even the best marksman does not hit the target every time. It does not mean he is untrained, stubborn, or lazy. This applies even to the most mature. He starts with the high priest himself: 3. "'if the anointed priest shall sin [in a way that] results in the incurring of guilt [for] the nation, then for his sins which he has committed, he shall bring near a bull--the son of a herd, a perfect one--to YHWH as a sin offering. Incurring of guilt for the nation: Normally the priest bears the guilt of the nation, but it works in reverse as well. If he sins, he represents the whole nation therein as well. But this also sets the precedent for the high priest to remove the sin of the whole nation. The sin of Israel becomes the sin of the "anointed priest" (literally, the priest, the Messiah), though he did not commit that sin himself. By attaching Himself to us, he partook of our sins. Y'shua did not share in our guilt (Heb. 7:27), but took it as His responsibility to remedy what His lost sheep had done, since He alone was able to; the Father could not die for His children. One individual cannot even die for another individual (Deut. 24:16), but he did die for the sins of the nation as a whole--not just Yehudah, but the scattered tribes as well. (Mat. 1:21; Yochanan 11:49-52) YHWH did not cast Adam out of the garden for his sin, but for not taking responsibility for it, for his wife was part of him. We, as Y'shua's bride, are in the same position. When we are truly unified again, we will no longer need a sin offering. (Heb. 10:18) Son of the herd: a young animal, full of potential, yet immature. The one bringing it is admitting there is still a measure of immaturity in himself, things he does not know. Both the words "bull" and "herd" are rooted in the idea of breaking through in Hebrew. It is appropriate to plow through Scripture to find answers, but not to go plowing through life without considering our actions or relationships. 4. "'And he shall bring the bull to the entryway to the Tent of Appointment before the face of YHWH, and lean his hand on the bull's head, and kill the bull [painlessly by slitting its throat] in the presence of YHWH. 5. "'Then the anointed priest shall take [some] of the bull's blood and bring it to the Tent of Appointment, 6. "'and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle the front of the veil of the sanctuary with the blood seven times before the face of YHWH. He was still in front of the tent (v. 7), so this is the outer veil, the one torn at the death of Y'shua (Mat. 27:51) and representative of His flesh. (Heb. 10:20) 7. "'Then the priest shall put [some] of the blood before the face of YHWH on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense, which is in front of the Tent of Appointment, and he shall pour out all of the blood at the base of the altar of ascending [offering], which is in front of the entryway to the Tent of Appointment. 8. "'And he shall lift off from it [and present] all of the bull's fat [as] a sin offering--he shall lift off from it the fat that covers the inward parts, and all the fat that is beside the inward parts, 9. "'both kidneys and the fat that is on them, which is beside the flanks, and he shall remove the appendage that hangs over the liver beside the kidneys, 10. "'just as it is lifted off from the ox of the slaughter for peace offerings; then the priest shall cause them to smoke as incense on the altar of ascending [offering], 11. "'along with the bull's hide along with its flesh by its head and by its legs, its inward parts, and its dung. 12. "'He shall take the whole bull to the outside of the camp to a ritually-clean place where the ashes mixed with fat are poured out, and burn him on top of the wood with fire. It shall be burnt on top of the place where the ashes mixed with fat are poured out. It is entirely done away with; in contrast to most other sacrifices, his one brings the offerer no benefit except relief from his guilt. 13. "'Now if the whole congregation of Israel shall inadvertently swerve [from the right path], and the matter is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done [even] one of all [the things] that YHWH has commanded not to be done, and have become guilty, 14. "'when the sin in which they have missed the target becomes known, then the community shall bring a bull--a son of a herd--as a sin offering. Now they shall bring it to the front of the Tent of Appointment, 15. "'and the elders of the congregation shall lean their hands on the head of the bull before the face of YHWH, and they shall kill the bull [painlessly by slitting its throat] in the presence of YHWH. 16. "'Then the anointed priest shall bring [some] of the blood of the bull to the Tent of Appointment, 17. "'and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle the front of the veil seven times before the face of YHWH. Had Y'shua been born miraculously, remained without sin, and established a Kingdom for Yehudah, without the shedding of His blood, our sins could not be permanently taken away. This was the critical factor. He sprinkled his blood on the heavenly altar that this earthly one depicted. (Yochanan 20:17; Heb. 9:24) 18. "'And he shall put [some] of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the face of YHWH--the one that is inside the Tent of Appointment. Then he shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar of ascending [offering], which is at the entryway to the Tent of Appointment. 19. "'Then he shall lift off from it [and present] all its fat, and cause it to smoke as incense on the altar. 20. "'And he shall do to the bull just as he did to the bull of the sin offering; he shall do just the same to this. He shall thus put a covering over them, and it shall be forgiven them. Thus web see an equivalency of weightiness between the high priest and the nation as a whole, since the offerings for both are the same. 21. "'Then he shall bring the bull outside the camp, and burn it just as he burned the first bull; it is a sin offering of the community. 22. "'When a ruler sins and has done [even] one of all [the things] that YHWH his Elohim has commanded not to be done, and has been incriminated, Ruler: Not a king per se, but any overseer who is in position of authority over others within Israel. Note that the sacrifice required of him is not as great as the one required of the priest, but is more than is required of the common people (v. 27ff) 23. "'or the sin in which he has missed the target becomes known to him, he shall bring as his drawing-near a hairy goat--a completely sound male, 24. "'and shall lean his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it [painlessly by slitting its throat] at the place where he killed the ascending [offering] before YHWH; it is a sin offering. 25. "'Then the priest shall take [some] of the blood of the sin offering, and with his finger he shall put it on the horns of the altar of ascending [offering], then pour out its blood at the base of the altar of ascending [offering]. 26. "'And he shall cause it to smoke as incense on the altar, along with all of its fat, just like the fat of what is slaughtered [as] the peace offerings; thus the priest shall make a covering over him because of his sin, and it shall be forgiven him. Thus the priest shall make a covering: Aramaic, "whereupon the priest should atone for him". On Yom haKippurim (the day of atonements), the high priest kills one goat for the nation, but releases the other (an identical one), according to the actual command. But in practice, the nation realized, and it became tradition, that the other had to die as well in order for the atonement to be complete, so they began throwing it off a cliff. The Messiah was sacrificed, but the other goat--the practice of our sin--still has to die so that Israel can fully enter the Promised Land. Compared to a sheep, a goat is an individualist, and as such the particular sin it represents to us is our going our own way instead of staying unified under YHWHÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s rule. None of its blood is brought into the tent, in contrast to that of the bull (v. 16), which bears others' burdens and uses its strength to provide for others. 27. "'And if one soul of the people of the Land shall sin inadvertently by doing one of the things that YHWH has commanded not to be done, and is incriminated, Of the people: There are different levels of accountability for the priests, who should know better, and the common people, who had fewer opportunities to study the Torah in depth. YHWH hold those who have more opportunity to understand as more responsible (Luk. 12:48). Inadvertently: LXX, "unwillingly". 28. "'or the sin in which he has missed the target becomes known to him, he shall bring as his drawing-near a hairy she-goat--a completely sound female--in regard to his sin in which he has missed the target. 29. "'Then he shall lean his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering [painlessly by slitting its throat] at the place of the ascending [offering]. 30. "'Then the priest shall take [some] of its blood, and with his finger he shall put it on the horns of the altar of ascending [offering], then pour out all [the rest of] of its blood at the base of the altar. 31. "'Then he shall lift off from it [and present] all its fat, just as what is slaughtered as the sin offerings has been lifted off from, and the priest shall cause it to smoke as incense on the altar as a soothing aroma for YHWH. Thus the priest shall make a covering over him, and it shall be forgiven him. 32. "'Now if he brings a female lamb as his drawing near to be a sin offering, he shall bring one that is completely sound. 33. "'And he shall lean his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering [painlessly by slitting its throat] at the place where he kills the ascending [offering]. 34. "'Then the priest shall take [some] of the blood of the sin offering, and with his finger he shall put it on the horns of the altar of ascending [offering], then pour out its blood at the base of the altar. 35. "'And he shall lift off from it [and present] all its fat, just as what is slaughtered as the sin offerings has been lifted off from, and the priest shall cause it to smoke as incense on the altar on top of the fire offerings of YHWH. Thus the priest shall make a covering over him in regard to his sin by which he has missed the mark, and it is forgiven him.'" Covering: Hebrews 10 was speaking of just this passage when it says "the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin." These sacrifices deal with the same sins year after year, removing guilt only temporarily--until we repeat the offense. That chapter tells us that it is the body of Messiah (both His physical laying down of His life and the functioning of ourselves as His Body, sharpening one another and acting in unity, caring for one another and training each other not to sin) that actually does away with the practice of the sin, thus removing it in reality from Israel as a whole people. A perfect man has died for us! It is our fault, not His! We need to make His sacrifice worth His while and become what He died to make us! Say "I'm sorry" through your actions. Turn around and walk in the other direction! Make restitution for your wrongdoings! As long as we use His sacrifice as an excuse to remain individualists and not get back on track, His sacrifice has not accomplished its purpose. CHAPTER 5 1. "'When a soul sins in hearing the voice of an oath (when he is a witness, either having seen or come to know [evidence], but does not reveal it), he shall bear [the consequences for] his guilt. Soul: or "breathing person". Voice: i.e., this oath is spoken out loud, which suggests that some oaths are not. Our gestures, facial expressions, or a simple nod can indicate promises, and even our presence in a particular context can indicate our approval or allegiance. People should be held to those as well, but this is speaking of upholding one's role as a witness. Oath: or, cursing. You bring a curse upon yourself if you break an oath, and by not reminding someone of his responsibility to keep his promises, you would share his punishment, whereas if you do warn him, he alone bears the guilt; compare Yechezq'El (Ezekiel) 33:2-7. By not holding someone to a standard he has set for himself, you are lowering the standard. Reveal it: boldly oppose or expose. Aram., "give information"; LXX, "report it". 2. "'Or if a soul touches anything ritually impure, whether a carcass of a dead ritually-impure animal, the ritually-impure corpse of a large beast, or the corpse of ritually-impure insects, and he is unaware that he is impure and has committed a punishable offense, Insects: literally, "creeping things"; LXX, "abominable reptiles". Ritual impurity is a picture of selfishness, so unclean animals are symbolic of the animal nature within us, and this may be more important than the physical act of touching something unclean. Selfishness is not sin, but it easily breeds sin. And it spreads when we associate with others who encourage it. When someone insists on his own way, it automatically awakens defensiveness the one he is affecting. Even the reactions that enter our head and are not allowed release can be enough tyo render us unclean. On the other hand, the Torah is life (Deut. 32:47), so by being away from it in any way, we take on death. Selfishness is encouraged by any unnecessary interaction with what is not set apart to YHWH. Loving the present age is making war on YHWH. (Yaaqov 4:4) When we like how it feels, this reveals the selfishness in us. The proper response is not to make excuses, but to do something about it, then let go of it. Guilt can be your friend if it leads you to repent. 3. "'or if he touches the ritual impurity of humanity--any impurity by which he may be ritually unclean, and it is not known to him, then when it comes to his attention, he is [counted] guilty. Is not known to him: LXX, "has escaped his notice". A person is not responsible until he knows what he has done. Humanity: literally, "Adam"; his impurity was more in refusing to accept responsibility for his sin than the disobedience itself.
	Portion TZAV (6:1 - 8:36) CHAPTER 6 1. [8 in English] Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying, 2. "Command (tzav) Aharon and his sons, saying: 'This is the instruction [in regard to] the ascending [offering]--that is, the ascending [offering] on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar is kept burning on it. Command Aharon: Before the golden calf incident, YHWH used to speak to them both together, but there was a price to pay for this sin. He was cut off from this higher level of direct revelation. Hearth: the center of Israel's family life; literally, "burning place". All night: the time when no one is in the sanctuary but the priests. Will we continue offering ourselves only to YHWH when we are away from the light of others who are like-minded? Or do we offer ourselves to something else at those times? But the root word for "night" actually means a spiral staircase--another description of ascension. In fact, "This is the instruction in regard to the ascending" is all the first phrase actually says, so we may take this as our directions for how to ascend as well. In order for it to work, we need to have a fire (often a picture of what motivates us), something of ourselves to offer up at each new step. Fire also represents YHWH's presence (Ex. 3:2; 24:17; Deut. 5:23.), for this is what should motivate us, and He Himself is what awaits us at the top of the stairs. The offerings brought by those who came before us form the basis for our sacrifice. Your worship thus fuels mine, and in turn if I have the proper attitude and carry out my actions properly, it will form another step for you to ascend on. But without an altar, we cannot have a fire. An altar represents unity and identification with Israel. (Yehoshua 22:10-29) Each of us is responsible to make the congregation a place conducive to all that took place at the altar--confession, forgiveness, purification, teaching, rebuke, and putting ourselves away. According to the sages, the ascending offering was brought to atone for a sin of the mind; sins committed physically have other specified sacrifices. The word usually translated "sacrifice" or "offering" literally means "a drawing near". Thoughts can bring us closer to YHWH because they are in the soul, not in the flesh; thus, sins of the mind are considered greater than sins of the body, and hold a higher penalty. 3. "'The priest shall put his long robe of fine linen, and he shall put his linen undergarments over his flesh, and he shall lift up the ashes that the fire has consumed along with the ascending offering on the altar, and he shall place them beside the altar. Long robe: literally, measured robe, since white linen represents the works of those who are set apart. (Rev. 19:8) Undergarments: They came between him and his holy garments, which were not to directly touch his flesh, the symbol of his natural human strength and corruptibility. (See Exodus 28 for background.) YHWH knows the flesh is there, but wants our works to overshadow it. By being zealous and repenting, we can "buy" from Y'shua clothes to cover the nakedness that remains there as long as this age lasts. (Rev. 3:18) Beside the altar: During Second Temple times, there were three fires atop the huge altar, and a pile of ashes between them. During festivals, it grew higher and higher, and its height was used to gauge Israelâ€™s spiritual condition. 4. "'Then he shall take off his garments and put on other garments, then he shall bring the ashes away to a [ritually] clean place outside of the camp. But the word for ashes is from a root meaning fatness, prosperity, and anointing--far from being worthless, they actually picture what is left after our motivation (the fire) has done its work. A place of ritual cleanness represents a place of selflessness. That is where we must take the profit that results from the worthy goals that motivated us. 5. "'But the fire on the altar shall be kept burning thereupon; it shall not be extinguished. The priest shall kindle wood on it morning by morning, and he shall arrange the ascending offering upon it in an orderly manner, and cause it to go up in smoke along with the fat from the peace offering. Here, the fire depicted YHWH's presence outside the veil, where the whole community could see it, unlike that flame which was restricted to the Holy of Holies. YHWH lit the fire Himself, but it must be kept stoked. All of Sha'ul [Paul]'s writings bear this pattern: the work has already been done, but keep the awareness of this alive by constantly living out the actions appropriate to what has been accomplished spiritually for us. Morning by morning: or "every morning". Though a fire is not to be kindled in one's own dwelling on the Sabbath, in the Temple it must be kept burning. His presence was to be represented there at all times, but we cannot presume to bring the symbol of His presence if we deliberately withdraw from the community that He is forming into His dwelling-place. (Heb. 10:25) Study of Torah and practice of it within the community is what keeps it going so others can ascend as well. Wood represents people--mature men, fully given over to becoming a place for others to offer themselves to YHWH. In the Second Temple, there was a large chamber dedicated to sorting the wood that people had donated. The priests who had physical deformities were the ones who performed this service, since they could not be in places of prominence, as they could not rightly represent YHWH's perfection. The wood that was not deemed worthy of the altar (having some defect) was still used to heat the fires in the priests' chambers to keep them warm or cook their other food. 6. "'Fire shall be kept burning continually upon the altar; it shall never [be allowed to] go out. Nothing is killed on top of the altar, but in front of it, then the pieces are brought up onto the altar to be burned. Thus, if there is no fire upon the altar, it is useless. According to oral tradition, the particular fire that was lit at this time did continue to burn for 140 years. 7. "'And this is the instruction in regard to the grain offering: the sons of Aharon shall bring it near, in the presence of YHWH, to the front [face] of the altar. Grain offering: Minchah--literally, a voluntary gift or tribute, but it has parameters given here, just as Hevel's offering was accepted, but Qayin's was not. 8. "'And he shall take from it his handful of the flour of the grain offering, its oil, and all the frankincense that is on the grain offering, and he shall cause it to go up in smoke upon the altar--a soothing aroma as its memorial [portion] for YHWH. Handful: Literally, closed fistful. It was a precise measure, not overly generous like a storekeeper might give, but exactly, as a pharmacist would measure, because too much can "kill you" (obscure the symbolism) as easily as too little could. The shape of the hand in grasping this "handful" would be with three fingers folded inward, much like the shape of a hand holding the handle of a coffee mug. This gift is an expression of our heart, and YHWH "breathes it in". Mystically at least, Eden is directly above the Temple Mount, and the fire carries it upward. The Messenger of YHWH often appeared in a flame of fire, and Y'shua is often identified with this "angel"; He is the one who carries our prayers to the Father. Memorial: it both reminds the giver that in reality all that he has belongs to YHWH, and it "reminds" YHWH of His covenant with Israel. Smell is the sense that carries memories most perfectly. This bread is a picture of the congregation which is all "one bread". (1 Corinthians 10:17) No leaven (a symbol of sin and pride) is allowed in this bread: 9. "'Then Aharon and his sons shall eat the rest. It shall be eaten without leaven in the Place of Holiness; they shall eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Appointment. Not only were the priests commanded not to eat leaven (as at Passover), but also to positively eat unleavened bread. Only part of this offering was sacrificed; the rest was turned into bread. Compare this with Y'shua, who was sacrificed, yet says his Body must "eat" of him (Yochanan 6:53ff; Matithyahu 26:26), so not all of him was consumed in his sacrificial death. While we are indeed saved by his death, how "much more" should we emphasize that "we are saved by his life" (Romans 5:10)? A much larger portion is given to feed his "kingdom of priests"--not so they can devour the flock, but to sustain them with the full energy of His community, so that these who have no other earthly inheritance can have the space they need to prepare the bread that will be remembered by YHWH. (v. 8) Y'shua is called the Bread of Life. (Yochanan 6:48) Place of Holiness: When the "Holy Place" (the first room within the tabernacle) is referred to, it is normally only called "haQodesh"--the Holy. Here, the actual word for "place" (maqom) is added in the Hebrew text. The root of this word means "to rise" or "to stand", including the concept of resurrection. All of these things took place upon Mt. Moriah: the smoke from the altar arose, the priests and Levites constantly stood while on duty (with bare feet), and Y'shua was resurrected, because Gulgol'thah and his nearby tomb are actually located at the highest point of Mt. Moriah. 10. It shall not be baked with leaven. I have appointed it as their portion [to be taken] out of my offerings by fire. It is most holy, just like the sin offering and guilt offering. 11. Any male among the sons of Aharon may eat it--[as] a never-ending statute throughout your generations--from YHWH's offerings by fire. Anything [or anyone] that touches them must be set apart.'" 12. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying, 13. "This is the offering of Aharon and his sons, which they shall bring near to YHWH on the day when he is anointed: a tenth of an eyfah of flour, as a continual grain offering--half of it in the morning, and half of it in the evening. Which they shall bring: A grain offering is usually voluntary, but YHWH "ups the ante" for those who are under stricter scrutiny, since they "carry all of Israel on their shoulders". They are told what their heart should compel them to bring. Intimacy with YHWH means the loss of some freedoms to choose, just as in a human love relationship. Half in the morning...evening: Our works in the darkness should be the same as our works in the light. A tenth of an eyfah is one omer (Exodus 16:36), whose value is half a sheqel, which is also the portion or value of one man (Exodus 16:16; 30:13). Why not just say an omer? Because ten men makes up one congregation, and their value is equivalent to one firstborn (Numbers 18:16); the whole congregation of Y'shua is called "the called-out of [belonging to] the Firstborn (Hebrews 12:23). Everyone needs to be joined to "the other nine" (compare Luke 17:17) in order to be complete. 14. "On a griddle with oil shall it be made; you shall bring it in mixed. You must bring baked pieces of the grain offering [gift]--a soothing aroma to YHWH. Bring it in mixed: When brought it must already be prepared and ready to be offered. 15. "And the priest who is anointed in his [Aharon's] place, from among his sons, shall make it [the mixture]. This is a never-ending statute of YHWH: it shall be completely burned up, 16. "and every grain offering [given by] a priest is a whole burnt offering; it shall not be eaten." This is a greater offering still. "To whom much is given, of him is much required." (Luk. 12:48) The priests were the chosen from among the chosen--the greatest of servants to the whole community, fully given to making sure the rest are walking with YHWH, and therefore are the most esteemed of any in Israel, even above kings. What they bring as gifts to YHWH is to be wholly consumed. The closer we draw near, the more we want to give of ourselves to Him. Y'shua offered all of Himself as our Great High Priest. 17. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying, 18. "Speak to Aharon and his sons, saying, "This is the instruction regarding the sin offering: In the [same] place where the ascending offering is slaughtered, the sin offering shall be slaughtered before YHWH. It is most holy. 19. "The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. He shall eat it in the Place of Holiness; it shall be eaten in the courtyard of the Tent of Appointment. Every time we turn ourselves over to YHWH in repentance or offer ourselves to the community, our High Priest (Y'shua) is "fed" and sustained. We now belong to Him; He is allowed to consume us in order to establish His Kingdom. We have been stored in a place where we took on the odors of what was around us, so we must now go to where we can "air ourselves out" and remove the influence of the nations where we have been exiled, so we can again have the Torah's original flavor--not one of religion, but of one people with one kingdom and one King. 20. "Anything that touches it shall become holy. And if any of its blood gets spattered on the clothing, whatever it is spattered on shall be washed in the Place of Holiness. Become holy: It may never again be used for commonplace purposes. The same holds true for the people He is making holy. Nehemyah refused to speak even to king's messengers when he was doing the important work of rebuilding the holy city; the Apostles would not set aside the ministry of the word in order to wait on tables. (Acts 6) Washed: The LXX places more emphasis on the person who owns the spattered garment being washed himself. 20. "Also, any earthen vessel in which it is boiled must be broken, but if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, it must be scoured, then rinsed with water. Both clay and bronze are removed from the earth, being less noble than gold or silver, but the former is porous and has absorbed some of the blood, symbolizing those who let "life" become part of our own being and begin to live for it, while the latter contains life, but does not live for the sake of the life itself, but uses it for the sake of YHWH or His community, giving it up easily and willingly if that demand comes. By thus losing one's life, he preserves it (Mat. 10:39), but the one who "finds his life" can only be reworked by being destroyed--smashed against the Rock, thus becoming dust again (Luke 20:18), which in the potter's hand can re-fire, removing the impurities. As "earthen vessels", our flesh must die if we are to inhabit the Kingdom. 22. "Any male among the priests may eat from it; it is most holy. 23. "And any sin offering the blood of which is brought into the Tent of Appointment to make atonement for the sanctuary shall not be eaten. It must be burned with fire. Burned: Aramaic, "consumed". CHAPTER 7 1. "And this is the instruction in regard to the guilt offering. (It is most holy.) Guilt offering: LXX, "ram for the trespass-offering". 2. "In the place where they kill the ascending [offering], they shall kill the guilt offering, and its blood shall be sprinkled on the altar, all around. 3. "And all its fat shall be brought near, and [the parts] of it that he shall offer are the fat tail, the fat that covers the inward parts, 4. "both kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is beside the flanks, and he shall remove what hangs over the liver. 5. "And the priest shall cause them to go up in smoke on the altar [as] an offering by fire to YHWH; it is a guilt offering. 6. "Any male among the priests may eat it. It shall be eaten in a set-apart place; it is holiest [among] the holy things. 7. "As the sin offering, so [with] the guilt offering; there is one instruction for them [both]. It shall belong to the priest who makes atonement by it. 8. "And the priest who brings near a man's ascending [offering], the skin of the ascending offering that he has brought near belongs to [that] priest; it shall be his. 9. "And any grain offering that is baked in an oven, or anything prepared in a frying pan or griddle shall belong to the priest that brings it near; it is his. 10. "And any grain offering, mixed with oil or dry, shall be for all the sons of Aharon, one as much as another. One as much as another: lit., "man like his brother". 11. "Now this is the instruction [in regard to] the peace offerings which are to be brought near to YHWH: Peace offerings: literally, "slaughters of peace". 12. "If he brings it near on account of thanks, then in addition to the thanks offering, he shall bring near unleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers spread with oil, and of unleavened loaves of fine flour saturated with oil. Spread: literally, "anointed". 13. "In addition to the loaves of unleavened bread, he shall bring near his offering in regard to a thanks offering, his peace offerings. 14. "And out of every offering, he shall bring one near as a part skimmed off for YHWH for the priest who is tossing the blood of the peace offerings; it is for him. 15. "As to the flesh [meat] of the sacrifice of the thanksgiving and peace offerings, it shall be eaten on the [same] day that the offering [is made]; he shall not leave any of it until morning. A thanks offering is not done because of any sin, but often to express gratitude for deliverance from great danger, though it was not limited to such. In the giver's mind, he was putting himself on the altar, i.e., sacrificing himself, losing his own life, and in doing so, Y'shua says, he truly finds it. Psalm 116 was written to be used at the time when one brought a thanks or peace offering. It is a testimony of the wonderful things YHWH has done for the psalmist. This kind of story needs to be told; it cannot wait for tomorrow. In order to finish eating such a huge animal the same day, one needs to share it. He has a feast with the priests, which both provides for them (as they have no inheritance of their own), and provides an opportunity to tell why one is thanking YHWH. Less focus is thus placed on self. Recounting the great deeds He has done increases everyone's confidence in Him. Everyone makes it a part of himself, rather than remaining a second-hand account of YHWH's blessings. The meal itself is thus part of the drawing near. 16. "If the sacrifice of his offering pertains to a vow or a free-will offering, it shall be eaten on the [same] day in which he brings his sacrifice near; the rest of it may be eaten the next day as well. 17. "But whatever [part] of the sacrifice is left over until the third day shall be burned with fire. Going back yet another time to finish the meat would start to put the focus on the food, not the offering. There has to be a fresh drawing near--a "give us this day our daily bread", not an earthly security. In reference to Y'shua's sacrifice, there are two days (two thousand years) in which we may partake of it for the nourishment of our souls; on the third "day"--the third millennium, after the gates are closed, it is too late to begin. 18. "Moreover, if any of the meat of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is eaten at all on the third day, it is not pleasing; it shall not be reckoned to the account of him who has brought it, [but] shall become an abomination, and the person who eats thereof shall bear the consequences. Pleasing: or "accepted favorably". Consequences: guilt or iniquity. 19. "And the meat which touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burned with fire. But [as for] the meat, everyone who is ritually pure may eat meat. I.e., that particular sacrifice becomes null and void, but in general Meat: the Aramaic reflects the opinion common in second Temple days that this referred to a third category of "sacred flesh" or "sacrificial food". This verse seems confusing and contradictory until we remember that the words for "meat" (flesh) and "good news" (or Gospel) are the same in Hebrew. No "Gospel" that has become mixed with an impure thing (such as using the preaching of the good news as a means to feed oneself or build one's personal empire by co-opting the truth that "the Kingdom is at hand", is a pure Gospel anymore, and must be rejected. However, if the message remains pure (an unmixed with paganism), you may feed on it freely if you yourself remain pure. We cannot truly partake of the news that Y'shua was sent to restore the Kingdom to the whole community of Israel while we are in a selfish state, which is what ritual uncleanness symbolizes. 20. "But the person who eats of the meat of the sacrifice of the peace offerings, which belong to YHWH, when he is in the state of impurity, shall be cut off from his people. One cannot draw near with proper thanksgiving if he is selfish. Because some were gluttons like this while they neglected others within the body at their "love feasts", some suffered the ultimate physical penalty--bodily death. (1 Corinthians 11:17-22) The priests later had a special gate by which to leave the holiest part of the Temple complex should they become ritually defiled while on duty. 21. "And whenever a person [soul] touches anything ritually impure, whether it be the uncleanness of humanity [Adam] or of an unclean beast, or of any abomination that is unclean, and shall also eat of the meat of the peace offerings which belong to YHWH, that soul shall be cut off from his people." The sin of Adam, the false Messiah (called the Beast), and the Abomination of Desolation, his idol, in the most specific instance probably a crucifix, are all suggested here as things which defile the soul. The true Gospel cannot be mixed with any of these things. But having contact with that which makes us selfish also evokes the other biblical imagery of a little leaven leavening the whole lump (1 Corinthians 5:6), the tongue as a fire of gossip that starts a forest fire that cannot be controlled (Yaaqov/James 3:1-12), bad company corrupting good morals, etc. 22. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying, 23. "Speak to the descendants of Israel, saying, "You shall not eat any [of the] fat of an ox, a sheep, or a goat, As we see in our culture today, which has ignored this command, eating it is detrimental to one's health anyway. But the point is that the fat (or best part, the choicest; rooted in the word for cream), belongs to YHWH, not us. We do not get the best in this life; it is yet to come if we store up treasures in heaven from our best, not our leftovers. A deer's or chicken's fat may thus, however, be eaten, because they are clean animals but not acceptable for sacrifice on the altar. 24. "Nor shall you by any means eat the fat of a dead body or of a thing that is torn, though you may use it for any work, Dead body: or "that which died of itself", i.e., by age or disease, not slaughter. Torn: usually understood to mean "by wild beasts". The fat of non-sacrifical animals may be put to any other use--to make candles, as a lubricant, etc.--but not as food. 25. "because whoever eats of the fat of the animal that one brings near as a fire offering to YHWH--the person who himself eats--shall be cut off from his people. Cut off: possibly not directly executed, but, more seriously, taken out from under the protection of the community and thus exposed to all the elements, left to fend for himself against all the wild beasts and dangers in the wilderness. A parallel is seen in 1 Corinthians 5:5 and its sequel, 2 Corinthians 2:5-11. 26. "Nor shall you eat any blood in any of your dwellings [assemblies], either of fowl [winged thing] or beast. While the fat of some animals may be eaten, the blood of no animal may. Blood is life, and this symbolizes a deeper level of sanctity. While Y'shua's resurrected body had flesh and bone, blood was not mentioned, and for good reason; blood is the life of the flesh, and skin was given Adam and Chavvah as a covering after they sinned; prior to that, in some sense, light was what sustained them. Thus blood is a reminder of our fallenness, which we will one day be freed from, so we should not take any more into ourselves than we absolutely need to remain alive. It is also in effect saying, "This is my life; I'll do what I want, regardless of the community." 27. "Any soul who eats any blood, that very soul shall be cut off from his people." This is not necessarily a command to execute the person, but a promise that in some way, this person will be separated from the community to which he belongs; YHWH will see to it. Spiritual awareness, at the very least, will be dulled, and one needs to repent of this before they can have any additional revelation thereafter. This was reiterated most directly, and possibly in two separate forms, as being incumbent upon even Gentiles (as those who wish to share a table with Jews who also believe) in Acts 15:20ff. Indeed, the eating of strangled meats (a term covering any out of which the blood is not properly drained) is only implicit in the Torah, but explicit in the Renewed Covenant. Yet this command is ignored, and the consequence shows up in many diseases, especially cancer. But the main reason it is forbidden is that the life (literally soul) of the flesh resides in the blood. (17:11) To take the blood into ourselves--and it is not digested, but becomes directly part of our own blood--is to take into ourselves the soul of an animal. It makes us brutal and spiritually insensitive. 28. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying, 29. "Tell the descendants of Israel [this]: 'The one who brings near his peace offerings to YHWH shall bring his offering for YHWH from what is slaughtered for his peace offerings. 30. "His own hands shall bring the fire offerings of YHWH: he shall bring the fat upon the breast along with the breast to be swinged back and forth as a wave offering before the face of YHWH. 31. "'And the priest shall cause the fat to go up in smoke on the altar, but the breast shall belong to Aharon and his sons. 32. "'And you shall give the right shank to the priest as a contribution lifted off from slaughterings of peace offerings. Shank: LXX, "shoulder". 33. "'one from among Aharon's sons who brings near the blood of the peace offerings and the fat is the one to whom the right shank shall be allotted, 34. "'because the breast of the wave offering and the shank of the contribution I have taken from the descendants of Israel--from what is slaughtered as their peace offerings--and given them to Aharon and his sons as a prescribed portion [due them] forever from among the descendants of Israel. 35. "'This is the portion dedicated to Aharon and dedicated to his sons out of the fire offerings of YHWH. He shall bring them near to function in the position of priests to YHWH. 36. "'This is what YHWH commanded should be given to them on the day he consecrated them [by anointing] from among the descendants of Israel as a never-ending decree throughout their generations.'" 37. This [has been] the instruction in regard to the ascending [offering], the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, for inaugurations, and for the slaughter of peace offerings, 38. over which YHWH gave Moshe charge at Mount Sinai on the day when He ordered the descendants of Israel to bring their offerings to YHWH in the wilderness of Sinai. CHAPTER 8 1. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying, 2. "Take Aharon and his sons and the garments, the oil of anointing, the bull of the sin offering and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened [loaves], Take: Not "ask if he would like to serve as High Priest"; YHWH was the one who made the choice. But the term "take" is often used of marriage; he was to permanently link Aharon and his descendants with the service of the sanctuary and to all these symbols that made it up. His sons represent the eternal continuity of the covenant; the garments, righteous deeds. Oil represents the flow of the Spirit from the Kingdom. The anointing depicts the Messiah. The bull represents optimum restitution for one's sins. The two rams, detailed later in the chapter, stand for ascension and the carrying out of what hitherto had been only talked about. The root word for basket means "to lift up", and unleavened bread (aside from representing the putting away of pride) is marked and pierced, which are the Hebrew words for male and female, so it is a picture of the raising up of Adam restored to his original, undivided state. Only when all of these elements are together can Israel function as a unified kingdom: 3. "and assemble the whole congregation at the entrance to the Tent of Appointment." The term used here for "congregation" means "a witness". In the context of a Hebrew wedding, the friend of the bridegroom serves as a witness and the one who escorts the bride to the groom, who has been preparing the dwelling place until his father says all is ready. The Father is doing just that here. The friend of the groom also teaches the bride the ways of her husband-to-be so she will be an appropriate wife for him. 4. So Moshe did as YHWH had commanded him, and the whole congregation was gathered together at the entrance to the Tent of Appointment. The entrance to the tent symbolizes the gates to our bodies, where the battle for control of our energies takes place. (See Exodus 38:8) When enemies storm them, all of Israel in unity needs to fight them off. The warfare is there for the purpose of unifying us. Marrying all of these symbols to the nation is how we can guard our gates. They were gathered around the washbasin, which was made of mirrors, so it represents looking at our condition, finding out how we are soiled, and repenting. The season of repentance comes just before the Feast that represents the Kingdom. Often we do not know why the enemy is gaining ground in a certain area, so we need to study harder to know how to combat the Adversary so he will run from us rather than us running from him. 5. Then Moshe told the congregation, "This is what YHWH has ordered [us] to do." 6. And Moshe brought Aharon and his sons and bathed them with water, Moshe (as shorthand for the Torah he wrote down) is the one who stipulates who serves as an officiator in Israel. Today we have no functioning Levitical priesthood, but the priests' role was to guard knowledge and teach the Torah. (Mal. 2:7) If they had done their job fully, there would never have needed to be prophets. Bathed with water: A husband is to wash his wife with the water of the Word in order to set her apart and cleanse her. (Eph. 5:25ff) Immediately after He renewed the Covenant, Y'shua said his immediate disciples were cleansed because of the words He had spoken. (Yoch. 15:3) A way to partake of selflessness had been made, and they were to go teach Torah to the lost sheep of the House of Israel (the scattered Northern Kingdom) so we could be regathered as one congregation again. 7. and bestowed on him the tunic, and belted him with the sash, and clothed him with the long robe, and put the efod on him, and fitted him with the ingeniously-imaginative waistband of the efod, and bound it onto him with it. 8. Then he also laid the pouch upon him, and put the urim and thummim inside the pouch. Urim and thummim: No one is certain as to exactly what they were. Some think they were simply black and white stones. Others believe this was a process by which the letters on the breastplate that covered the pouch lit up in sequence to spell out messages from YHWH. We do know that what they were used for was to obtain direction from YHWH. But the meaning of their names defines their significance. Urim means "lights", and in Hebraic context this refers to the Torah (Ps. 119:105), and since the term is plural, it would include commands, decrees, and rulings as well. Thummim means "perfections" or "mature ones". So they symbolize mature leaders who understand the Torah and can therefore tell Israel which way to go. Considering what a stubborn people we are, this may be a bigger miracle than the seeming "magic" of however it worked in the literal ancient sense! They were hidden in a pocket behind the breastplate, on which were written the names of all twelve tribes of Israel. So we know that any direction we receive must be in context of the unification of Israel. The numeric value of the Hebrew words "the urim" and "the thummim" equal the value of some fascinating phrases from elsewhere in Scripture that when put together in the same order also describe the meaning they have for us today: "and He shall show/a gift" and "and we shall see/His Kingdom". The numeric value of the word efod in v. 7 is equivalent to the phrases "will make known our hearts" and "knew Him"--the underlying purpose that makes this curious paraphernalia of utmost practicality. 9. And he put the turban on him, and toward the front facing on the turban he put the gold plate, the holy crown of consecration, just as YHWH had commanded Moshe. Moshe dressed the High Priest. Our High Priest is Y'shua, so His garments (deeds) are in accordance with the Torah. Outside of this context, the one who is presented or worshipped is actually a false Messiah. 10. Then Moshe took the anointing oil, and anointed the Dwelling-place and everything that was in it; thus he set them apart them [as holy]. 11. Then he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all of its implements, as well as the washbasin and its base, in order to render them holy. 12. Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aharon's head, thus anointing him, to [mark] him as consecrated. We cannot fully understand our "anointed High Priest" (the Messiah) without understanding the purpose of and His relation to these other "anointed ones". They are all our teachers about what the Kingdom is like and how to bring it about. 13. And Moshe brought Aharon's sons, and put tunics on them, and belted them with waist-sashes, and bound head-gear on them, just as YHWH had commanded Moshe. These are now the "everyday" or "ordinary" priests. They, too, must be clothed by Moshe, representing the fact that the white garments of our works must also be in accord with and based in Torah to be counted as righteous. 14. Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aharon and his sons leaned their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering, 15. and [one of them] killed it [by slitting its throat], and Moshe took the blood and put it on the horns of the altar, on all sides, with his finger, thus freeing the altar from sin. Then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar, thus setting it apart as holy so that atonement could be made upon it. Thus freeing the altar from sin: i.e., to keep it from missing its purpose for existence. This is a sin offering for the priesthood, so the altar is personified to be identified in a special way with them, for they are the ones charged with guiding all Israel in our ascending to YHWH. There is a death penalty for going against their rulings, so it is clear that their words and deeds are judged with much greater strictness than others'. 16. Then he took away all the fat that was on the inward parts, and the lobe that overhung the liver, both kidneys, and their fat. Then Moshe caused them to [go up in] smoke upon the altar. Here Moshe is doing many things the priests were meant to do, though he is not a descendant of Aharon. Perhaps he was merely teaching them the steps that were shown him on the mountain, then turning the responsibility over to them. But perhaps this indicates that he, too, was a "priest after the order of Melchitzedeq", in which genealogy is not the primary qualification. At its root, the Hebrew word for "priest" means "officiator", and since we are called a Kingdom of Priests, we too must learn from Moshe (i.e., the Torah) if we are to know how to carry out this responsibility, one aspect of which is "rightly dividing the word of truth", just as the priests had to learn to rightly divide the animals on the altar. Taking away the fat over the inward parts represents the circumcision of the heart. Like that of the flesh, it has to be tended carefully lest the flesh reattach to protect this most sensitive part from remaining exposed. But though it is difficult, confession is the only way we can be purified and washed clean of the sins that hold us captive. 17. But the bull, its hide, its flesh, and its dung he burned with fire outside the camp, just as YHWH had commanded Moshe. 18. Then he brought the ram of the ascending [offering] near, and Aharon and his sons leaned their hands on the ram's head, 19. and [one of them] killed it [by slitting its throat painlessly], and Moshe dashed its blood onto the altar on every side. 20. Then he divided the ram into pieces [by its joints], and Moshe caused the head, the divided-up pieces, and the suet to [go up in] smoke. Pieces: Aramaic, "sections", i.e., to be burned on separate fires on the altar according to categories. 21. But he washed the inward parts and legs with water. Then Moshe caused the whole ram to go up in smoke upon the altar; it is an ascending, to be a soothing aroma to YHWH. It is an offering by fire to YHWH. Legs: literally "knees", with which we bow in homage. So this area of our lives needs to be immersed in Torah as well so we will not be inadvertently paying respect to something that stands in Israel's way. Soothing aroma: What smells right to YHWH rather than being selfish, causing a stench in His nostrils. 22. Then he brought the second ram near--the ram of inauguration, and Aharon and his sons leaned their hands on the ram, Inauguration here could also read "fulfillment". Avraham saw a ram behind him (which also means "in the future" in Hebrew), so Y'shua could thus be called the "ram of fulfillment" as well, since just as Avraham had been asked to offer up his own son, so YHWH offered His own Son in fulfillment of this "type". The term is technically used of mounting a precious stone in its setting, for its purpose is not fulfilled until it is placed in the particular slot it was designed for. Y'shua said He had come to "fulfill the Torah." I.e., to set it on its right footing, to make it serve the optimal purpose for which it is designed--loving YHWH and one another with all of our heart, soul, and potential. 23. and he killed it [by slitting its throat], and Moshe took some of the blood and put it on Aharon's right ear lobe, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot. 24. And he brought Aharon's sons, and Moshe put blood on their right ear lobes, the thumb of their right hands, and the big toe of their right feet. Then Moshe tossed the blood on the altar, all around, These are the extremities, symbolizing the foremost part of our hearing (i.e., an anointing that enables one to hear the "still, small voice" in the spirit). The thumbs are closest to the heart when "lifting holy hands" to show that they are clean, representing taking into our heart that to which we set our hands. The big toe is the first part of the body to arrive wherever one is going, so this represents the magnification of the leaders of Israel walking in the right direction. And while without any other toe, we could learn to walk relatively normally again, without the big toe there can be no balance. The right foot is anointed, probably to symbolize following our good inclination rather than our evil one. 25. and took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat on the inward parts, and the lobe that hangs over the liver, both kidneys, their fat, and the right leg. 26. And he took one unleavened loaf, one cake of bread anointed with oil, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened loaves, and placed them on top of the fat and the right leg. 27. Then he set the whole upon the palms of Aharon and upon the palms of his sons, and he swung them back and forth as a wave offering before the face of YHWH. 28. Then Moshe took them off their hands and caused them to go up in smoke on the altar on top of the ascending offering; they are inaugurations for a soothing aroma. It is a fire offering to YHWH. Inaugurations: or installations, "fillings" of a position. A fire offering to YHWH: without the vowel pointings (absent from the original text), it just as well reads, "a wife for YHWH", for providing a bride for Him is the intended motive behind all of these offerings. 29. Then Moshe took the breast and swung it back and forth as a wave offering before the face of YHWH, from the ram of inaugurations. This was to be a portion for Moshe, as YHWH had commanded Moshe. Breast: or part that is divided; middle part. It comes from a word for "perceive", "prophesy", or "have a vision", hence the connection to "dividing" or interpreting, i.e., applying YHWH's word which is in one's heart to a situation and reminding those who are in it of the Torah (which they have usually forsaken). Moshe was allotted this gift as well. Later it became the portion of the priesthood (Malachi 2:7), and we see David going to the high priest for answers from YHWH, because he had the urim and thummim. But Moshe is not a son of Aharon, showing that these functions are not absolutely restricted forever only to this order, though for a time they were. (See Yeshayahu 66:19-21 and Hebrews 5:6-10.) 30. Then Moshe took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aharon and his garments and upon his sons with him and their garments. Thus he set apart Aharon, his garments, his sons, and their garments as holy. Sprinkled: a pattern would result that looked very much like the stars in the sky, reminding those who saw it of YHWH's promise to multiply Avraham's seed and thus restore the fallen Adam (whose name is related to the Hebrew for "blood") through Messiah, who would "sprinkle many nations". (Yeshayahu 52:15) Notice that it is just as important for the garments (representing our works) to be holy as it is for those who wear them to be holy. 31. Then Moshe told Aharon, "Cook the flesh at the entrance to the Tent of Appointment, and eat it there along with the bread that is in the basket of inaugurations, just as I commanded, saying, 'Aharon and his sons shall eat it.' The eating together is an integral part of the ceremony, for it seals loyalty and unity much like taking a client to lunch in today's business world. Every Scriptural covenant includes a meal. 32. "'And whatever is left over of the meat and the bread, you shall burn with fire. Once it is set apart unto YHWH, it cannot be used for any other purpose. 33. "'And you shall not depart from the entrance to the Tent of Appointment for seven days, until the days of your inaugurations are fulfilled, because [for] seven days He shall fill your hands. Seven days: the same time period a bride and groom would be in the special chamber built in the house of the groomâ€™s father for the consummation of their marriage. Like the time of testing for leprosy (chapter 13), this represents a seven-year prophetic period at the end of which it will be clear who is on YHWH's side and who is not. At this time YHWH's forerunners will be shut away in a bridal chamber with Messiah (Yeshayahu 26:20), probably in the wilderness and in a place specially protected and provided for by YHWH. Not all who expect to be kept safe during that time will, for not all who have been spared by Messiahâ€™s blood are necessarily His bride. Some are attendants of the bride who are not ready. (Mat. 25:1ff) But those who are--who correspond with the altar built before the rest of the Temple--will at this time carry out the final stage of preparation for the Messiah's Kingdom. Fill your hands: They would be unable to gather manna, which means those who were outside the tent had to bring them food. 34. "'YHWH has ordained to do just as He has done on this day, in order to make a covering over you. 35. "'So you shall remain at the entrance to the Tent of Appointment day and night for seven days, and you shall guard the obligation of YHWH so you will not die, for thus I have been commanded.'" 36. So Aharon and his sons did all the things that YHWH had commanded by the hand of Moshe.
	Portion SHEMINI (9:1 - 11:47) CHAPTER 9 1. Then it came about [that] on the eighth [shemini] day, Moshe called for Aharon, his sons, and the elders of Israel. After seven days of intimately getting to know YHWH’s dwelling place, the priests now seal the continuity of this completion with a special ceremony. It is like moving into a finished home. Prior to this, only Moshe could draw near to YHWH; now a way was made for the whole congregation of Israel to do so. He set a particular family in place to ensure its continuity, instead of leaving it up to a random, inconsistent priesthood of the firstborn of each family, who might or might not be well taught. Y'shua also made a way for us to draw near when He renewed the covenant, but in order to fully grasp what that means, we need to understand each of the sacrifices offered here. The eighth day links us with circumcision (12:3). It is also when a firstborn animal is taken from its mother to be given to YHWH (Ex. 22:30), and a leper is cleansed on the eighth day. (Lev. 14:23) The eighth day of Sukkoth is an "encore" to carry on the joy of those seven days. It is a picture of eternity--the new beginning after the Sabbath, and thus the new heaven and the new earth, when all that is accomplished during the 7,000 years of building the Kingdom will be finished, and we will finally BE the Kingdom. 2. And he said to Aharon, "Take a calf for yourself, a son of the herd, for a sin offering, and a ram for an ascending offering--perfect ones--and bring them near before the face of YHWH. Son of the herd: traditionally, one in its second year. (Rosh HaShanah 10a). Conspicuously absent from this passage is the common line, "And YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying..." Now Moshe is the only one speaking. He represents the Torah, which YHWH gave to Israel. On issues to which it already speaks, there is no need to ask Him any further questions. 3. "And speak to the descendants of Israel, saying, 'Select a male kid from among the goats to be a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, [each] a year old [and] perfect, to be an ascending [offering]. 4. "'Then [fetch] a bull and a ram as peace offerings to slaughter before YHWH, along with a food offering mixed with oil, because today YHWH will appear to you.'" This is what we have really been waiting for; everything prior to it was just preparation, but the process of drawing near is important as well, so it is detailed here. 5. So they brought the things Moshe had commanded to the front of the Tent of Appointment, and all of the congregation came near and stood before YHWH. The priests' obedience brought the rest of the nation near. 6. And Moshe said, "This is the thing that YHWH has commanded: Carry it out, and the glory of YHWH will be revealed to you." Ya'aqov (James) echoes this when he says, "Draw near to YHWH, and He will draw near to you." (4:8) Glory: weight, authority, importance. He is always actually in charge, but if we obey and bring the equivalent of these offerings as far as we can, we will perceive it, and that is what makes the difference. This will remove the fear of anything else. He is weightier than anything else we could ever put on the scale. 7. Then Moshe told Aharon, "Approach the altar and perform [the service for] your sin offering, and effect atonement over yourself as well as for the people, then make the offering for the people and make atonement for them, as YHWH has commanded.” The people were atoned for twice. The priest's offering covers them figuratively as he acts as a microcosm of the whole congregation as he bears the names of all the tribes on his shoulders. It purified him, figuratively, to a level of holiness where he could make the second sacrifice as a representative for the rest. Contrast Y'shua, who did not have sins of His own to atone for first. (Heb. 7:27) But He likewise covered our sins, allowing us to ascend as well and become qualified to be "living sacrifices" to YHWH. (Romans 12:2) This is the end of the era in which firstborn sons were the priests (Numbers 3:12), though they remain so in a limited sense, as the father does. 8. So Aharon approached the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering, which pertained to himself, Himself: most directly it relates to correcting his error for making a golden calf to sacrifice TO. As the one in charge, he was also the example, and thus was held to a higher standard. If he was not upright, the rest of the people would be unlikely to be either. 9. and Aharon's sons brought the blood near to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put [some of] it on the horns of the altar. Then he poured the [rest of the] blood at the foundation of the altar. Rabbinic tradition says the first sacrifice here was an atonement for the specific sin of the rest of the tribal fathers against Yoseyf in selling him into slavery, since they stained his clothing with male goat kid's blood (Gen.37:31). This was to restore the unity of all his brothers. 10. Then he caused the fat, the kidneys, and the overhanging lobe of the liver from the sin offering to go up in smoke on the altar, just as YHWH had commanded Moshe, 11. and he burned the flesh and the hide with fire on the outside of the camp. 12. Then he slaughtered the ascending offering, and Aharon's sons presented him with the blood, and he dashed it against the altar on every side. 13. Then they presented him with the ascending offering section by section, as well as the head, and he caused them to go up in smoke on the altar. 14. And he washed the inward parts and the legs, then caused them to go up in smoke like the ascending offering on the altar. 15. Then he brought the people's offering--the he-goat of the sin offering which is for the people --and killed it [by slitting its throat painlessly], making it a sin offering like the first. For the people: Aram., "which belonged to the people". There were two sin offerings: the bull for Israel corporately, and the goat for Israel individually. While the first might have given some people room to think they were an exception to the general rule that the nation was imperfect, the crutch was kicked out by the second, which made them understand that the sin offering was required of them specifically. As Ya'aqov (2:10) said, "Whoever keeps the whole Torah, yet offends in one point, is guilty of [it] all." And Y'shua pointed out in his "Sermon on the Mount" (Matithyahu 5-7), sin is a much larger umbrella than merely the act itself; it is missing the mark in any way. When a child is born, even if no commandment was disobeyed, blood is spilt, and this is in effect robbing YHWH and must be atoned for. 16. And he brought the ascending offering, and performed it [properly] according to the directions [given]. 17. Then he brought the grain offering near, and filled his palm from it and caused this [part] to go up in smoke on the altar, besides the morning ascending [offering]. 18. And he killed the bull and the ram [by slitting their throats as] a slaughter of peace [offerings] which are for the nation, and Aharon's sons presented the blood to him, and he dashed it against the altar all around. Presented the blood to him: literally, "caused him to find the blood". 19. And [they brought him] the fat of the bull and ram--the fat tail, that which covers [the inward parts], the kidneys, and the lobe that hangs over the liver, The fat represents the best. The bull represents turning over our security. The fat tail is equivalent to a Hebrew word for an oath, so it represents a promise to bring the best at the next level. 20. and they set the fat [portions] on top of the breasts, and caused the fat to go up in smoke on the altar. 21. But Aharon swung the breasts and the right foreleg back and forth before YHWH as a wave offering, as Moshe had commanded. 22. Then Aharon lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, then descended from carrying out the sin offering, the ascending [offering], and the peace offerings. The root meaning of "blessed" is "bent the knee to". In other words, the high priest was bowing lower to give of himself to them--a perfect picture of Y'shua. 23. Then Moshe and Aharon came into the Tent of Appointment, then they went out and blessed the people, and the glory of YHWH appeared to the whole nation, Since He had promised to do this if they obeyed (v. 6), this display of His satisfaction assured the people that they were on the right track. Now his authority became "weighty" (the meaning of "glory" in Hebrew); a gospel that presents only liberation from sin is "lightweight", but after leaving Egypt, we must become a nation with a mission as well. The Torah brings gives us a charter, a covenant, a deeper, more substantive role, not as individuals, but as a people. 24. and fire came out from the presence of YHWH and consumed the ascending [offering] and the fat [that were] upon the altar. When all of the people saw [it], they shouted for joy, and fell on their faces. This was no magic trick; rather than incanting some spell as in pagan religions, Aharon was hidden away, out of the limelight, just before this event. But notice that his blessing alone did not effect this (v. 22). Only when Moshe and Aharon together blessed them did it occur. Aharon, as the high priest, is figurative of Y'shua; Moshe symbolizes the Torah. Only when the two are presented as unified rather than in opposition to one another can YHWH's authority be fully revealed in the earth. Shouted for joy: the word also includes the sense of being a shrill gasp of awe. The response was the same when the Temple was restored after the exile. (Ezra 3:11) CHAPTER 10 1. But Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon, each took his censer, and they put fire in them, and they [each] put incense on it, and brought strange fire before YHWH. Strange fire: illegitimate, "adulterous" fire of apostasy "from another place"--just as there was a wrong offering by Qayin paralleling Hevel's proper one. (Gen 4:5) The fire was of their own making, not taken from the altar fire that YHWH Himself had kindled (6:2-8), and the incense was burned not on the altar of incense as prescribed, but in firepans of their own. Incense represents prayer, but the fire is what carries it upward. Praying to "God" and the "Lord", when we know His true Name (as anyone who is a teacher should), is not an acceptable example coming from those whose job it is to be near Him. It is disrespectful to Him. Some have added to the Word of YHWH; others have taken away from it. Either way, it makes our "sacrifice" something foreign to Him. In order to seem "generous" (which is what Nadav means) Christians have allowed rituals from other (pagan) sources to continue, and tried to fit them into the categories YHWH has prescribed; Jews (and all other serious religions) have tried to produce their own righteousness apart from what YHWH provided through Messiah (Romans 10:3), as Qayin tried to bring the fruit of his own labor instead of blood to atone for his sin (Gen. 4:3-4). They used their position as a pretext for using the holy implements in whatever way they wished, for their own purposes. "Behold both the kindness and the severity of YHWH"; to present Him as severe and Y'shua as kind is to make an unrighteous distinction; Y'shua and his Father are one [echad, unified, acting together in agreement]. The remainder of this portion teaches us the types of distinctions we ARE to make. 2. So fire went out from before YHWH and consumed them, and they died before YHWH. As one of the first sacrifices in the new Tabernacle, this set the tone for all future ones, just as Hananyah and S'firah's deceitful "gift" did when the covenant was renewed. (Acts/Envoys 5) "Judgment must begin with the household of YHWH." (1 Kefa/Peter 4:17) These men had in some sense seen YHWH and yet were spared at that time (Ex. 24:1-11); they were held so much more responsible to carry out their instructions precisely, so when they became careless about what they were teaching the whole congregation (perhaps even doing their work while drunk, suggested by v. 9 below), judgment was swift and harsh. A rectification for this act was seen in Pin'khas,who did not wait and force YHWH to judge a fellow priest who was beginning to let the Divine Sanctuary look like a pagan temple by his actions, but acted against what he knew was unholy. (Numbers 25:7) Hananyah and S'firah pretended to be generous (Heb., "Nadav") but were struck dead immediately so that "a little leaven would not leaven" the fledgling congregation. Hananyah "gave up his spirit", just as these two sons of Aharon apparently had their souls consumed within them, since their clothing seems to have remained intact and thus their bodies do not seem to have been so charred that they could not be carried out (v. 5). They died spiritually first. 3. And Moshe told Aharon, "This is what YHWH meant when He said, ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œI will be treated as holy by those who draw near to Me, and I will be taken seriously in the faces of all the people.'" So Aharon was silent. Aramaic: "Through those close to Me I will be sanctified." As Y'shua said, "To whom much is given, of him much will be required." Those who lead others in the knowledge of YHWH are held to a much higher standard. (Yaaqov/James 3:1) 4. Then Moshe called MishaEl and El-Tzafan, sons of Uzzi-El, the brother of Aharon's father, and told them, "Come near and carry your relatives from the front of the sanctuary [Holy Place] to the outside of the camp." Come near: the same word that forms the root for the term commonly translated "sacrifice". "Relatives": literally, "brothers". They were actually "cousins once removed", but in Middle Eastern terminology, such relatives can also be called "brothers" in a looser sense. Notice that all of those used to remove the evil bore Elohim's name within their own. 5. So they came near and carried them by their tunics to the outside of the camp, as Moshe had commanded. By their tunics: or "in their tunics". 6. But to Aharon and to El'azar and Ithamar, his sons, Moshe said, "You shall not uncover your heads, nor tear your garments, so that you may not die, and He become angry over the whole congregation. As to your brothers, the whole house of Israel, let them [be the ones to] mourn for the burning which YHWH has ignited. You shall not uncover your heads: LXX, "make bare"; Hirsch, "Let not your heads be unshorn", i.e., allowed to grow wild, as in a public display of ourning. (Num. 6:5) Aramaic, "Do not raise a neglected crop of hair on your heads". Let them mourn: Or, "they shall mourn": The loss of half of Aharon's sons was permitted, or even commanded, to be felt by the rest of the community, but the position of highest priesthood came before their personal grief. As Y'shua said, the dead can bury the dead; those whom he has called must take a holier path and a job to do among those still living. Once they put their hand to the plow, they may not look back even for their own family's sake. Y'shua does not allow us to choose family members over devotion to him. (Matt. 10:37) The Apostles would not leave their special calling to carry out a task others, who were not specially called to be teachers, could do. (Envoys 6) The high priest was never to tear his garments (21:10). Yet at Y'shua's trial, the high priest did just that, and thus defiled his office even while he was supposedly defending his people against perceived blasphemy. He or his father-in-law had bought the position, sold to the highest Levite bidder, as a matter of status and pride; he had not inherited that position from his father, as was commanded, so he was not the true priest in YHWH's eyes. Perhaps it was in part for this that the Temple rituals were taken from the Levites for so many centuries; yet one day this will be restored, because "the gifts and calling of YHWH are irrevocable" (Rom. 11:29). 7. "But you shall not go out of the door of the Tent [Tabernacle] of Appointment, lest you die, because the anointing oil of YHWH is upon you." So they did according to the words of Moshe. Through the holy oil, they were tied to the Tabernacle; they were allowed to have nothing to do with any mention of death, because Torah is life (Deut. 32:47). 8. And YHWH spoke to Aharon, saying, 9. "You shall not drink wine nor strong drink, [neither] you nor your sons with you, when you go into the Tent of Appointment, so that you will not die; this is a never-ending statute throughout your generations, Intoxicating drink: Aramaic, "old wine". Hirsch defines it as being more than 25% wine when diluted, so one's judgment will not be altered while he is teaching the Torah or carrying out the Tabernacle's duties. Nothing must cloud their discernment when making rulings on what is holy or pure and what is common. This raises the question of whether this was what had predisposed Nadav and Avihu to do what they did. 10. "and to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the [ritually] impure and the pure, Impurity is a picture of selfishness; it is different from sin per se, but the type of distinction is essentially the same. See note on 11:47. Actually only the high priest, not even his sons, were to bring the incense to the altar. Perhaps their greatest sin was to destroy the picture that there is "one mediator between YHWH and men"; if others can do it also, Y'shua's atoning death was futile. 11. "and to teach the sons of Israel all the statues that YHWH has spoken to them through the hand of Moshe." This is the reason all these regulations were given. Yes, there are health benefits; cloven-hoofed animals avoid infection more effectively, those that chew the cud provide far better sustenance to us, and those that cannot filter their food do spawn all sorts of diseases. YHWH certainly had this aspect in mind when He told us what not to eat. But the main thing is what they picture about what type of people we are to be. 12. And Moshe told Aharon and his remaining sons El'azar and Yithamar, "Take the grain offering that remains from YHWH's fire offerings, and eat it without leaven near the altar, because it is most holy, 13. "and you shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your prescribed portion and the prescribed portion due to your sons from [among] the offerings [made by] fire unto YHWH, for thus I have been commanded. 14. "You shall also eat the breast of the wave offering and the foreleg of the contribution you shall eat in a ritually-pure place--you, your sons, and your daughters along with you, because your due portion and the portion due to your children has been granted from what is slaughtered for the peace offerings of the descendants of Israel. 15. "The foreleg of the contribution and the breast of the wave offering, in addition to fire offerings of the fat they shall bring to swing to and from as a wave offering before the face of YHWH, and for you and your children with you it shall be a prescribed portion forever, as YHWH has commanded." 16. Then Moshe searched and searched for the goat from the sin offering, but behold! It had been burned! And he was angry against El'azar and Ithamar, the remaining sons of Aharon, saying, Searched and searched: Hirsch, "urgently inquired". 17. "Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the Holy Place? Because it is most holy, and He has given it to you to lift away the sin of the congregation, to make atonement for them before YHWH! 18. "Look! Its blood has not been brought toward the inside of the Sanctuary. You were supposed to eat it in the Holy Place, as I had commanded!" 19. But Aharon told Moshe, "Look, today they have brought their sin offering and ascending offering before YHWH, but such things have happened to me. If I had eaten from the sin offering [on a day like] today, would I have been pleasing in the sight of YHWH?" Such things: Aramaic, "troubles such as these". 20. And when Moshe heard this, it was acceptable in his eyes. Acceptable: the same term translated "pleasing" in verse 19. He seems to have been afraid that Aharon and his surviving sons were going to be destroyed, too, for the same type of carelessness about the Instruction. But though no outward display of mourning was permitted to Aharon, he was allowed to express his heart's pain by refraining from the enjoyment of something rightfully his. He did not violate the Torah in this, because anything not used up was to be burned (Deut. 16:4ff). A sacrifice was considered complete only when it was either eaten or burned (as Y'shua's sacrifice is considered wasted if we do not draw near and partake of it, Heb. 10). On a day like this, they had no appetite, especially after these few men had eaten their share of so many other sacrifices. In second Temple times, there was actually a stomach doctor always on call to treat priests who, obediently, ate such large quantities of meat. Moshe was also pleased because he saw that Aharon was finally seeing that eating the sacrificial animals actually meant more than just a meal provided for these men who had no inheritance of their own so they could serve the whole nation. CHAPTER 11 1. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe and Aharon, telling them, 2. "Speak to the descendants of Israel, saying, "These are the living things which you shall eat: out of every beast that is upon the earth, Or, "away from every beast..." that makes the earth its home. The animals that are clean do not eat other animals, in general, and are thus less "beastly". Removing the blood, also, makes us less "wild" than if we had absorbed the animal soul into ourselves. "Beast", too, is the term given to the embodiment of YHWH's arch enemy. 3. "Among the living things, any that has a [split] hoof and is totally cloven-footed, bringing up the cud [as well]--this you may eat. Has a split hoof: Hirsch, "forms a hoof", i.e., a horn-like covering, because sometimes the word means "horned"; Aramaic, "whose claw is split". Bringing up: Heb., "causing to ascend", which is what these instructions were all about (10:11). Totally cloven-footed: there are inner and outer hoofs, and on some animals, like the horse, only the inner hoof is cloven; the inside and outside must both be the same to be the proper picture--just as what was on the inside of the Ark of the Testimony had to be the same as what was on the inside. 4. "Only, of those that chew the cud or divide the hoof, you may not eat these: the camel, because it brings up the cud, but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean for you. We know that rumination is a picture of repeatedly meditating on YHWH's Word and gaining more insight from it each time. In Jewish mysticism, the camel is connected with the devil. When we read of Y'shua's temptation, we can see why: he "brought up the words of YHWH" but used them for his own purposes. "Even demons believe, but tremble" (Yaaqov 2:19). Their "walk" is not straight; they do not have the right kind of feet. Feet are linked with the Good News and the Kingdom (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 52:7). They have both a different Gospel and have started a counterfeit kingdom. Camels have an incomplete hoof, and it is not divided, so they are not to be eaten. 5. "Also, the rock hyrax, although it brings up the cud, since it is not cloven-footed; it is unclean for you. Rock hyrax: coney or rock badger; LXX, "rabbit". 6. "And the hare, though it brings up the cud, but is not cloven-footed, is unclean for you. 7. "The swine, because it divides the hoof and is cloven-footed, but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. It is a picture of people that we don't want to be: the deceitful type who look holy on the outside, but "inwardly are ravening wolves". 8. "You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their dead body; they are unclean for you. 9. "Of all [that are] in the waters, you shall eat these: any that has [both] fins and scales in the waters -- in the seas and in the brooks--you may eat them. In the waters: a very important technicality that saved the tuna fish from being declared non-kosher [unacceptable], since after it is out of the water it does not appear to have scales, but they are visible while it is in water. 10. "But any that does not have [both] fins and scales in the seas and in the brooks, of any teeming creature of the waters, and of any living soul that is in the waters, they are to counted as detestable for you. 11. "And they shall be detestable to you; you must not eat of their flesh, and you shall avoid their dead bodies. Avoid: or detest, shun, abhor. 12. "Any one that does not have fins and scales in the waters, this shall be an abomination to you. Interestingly, the unclean fish are loners and scavengers--sharks, catfish, etc.--while (in English, at least--which in a sense is "profane" in itself, all languages but Hebrew being a result of the judgment at Babel, and not being the pure tongue in which YHWH spoke, and which even the other nations will one day speak, cf. Zeph. 3:9) the clean fish go around in "schools"! Those that both congregate and study are the types that we want to put into ourselves. 13. "And these you shall count unclean among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, because they are impure: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, To you...you shall count...: Whatever anyone else may allow himself to do, these are the instructions to those who wish to be pure. As a parallel, Sha'ul/Paul writes, "While there may indeed be many ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œgods', FOR US there is but one Elohim...and one Master, Y'shua..." (1 Cor. 8:5, 6) There are spiritual beings that have legitimate authority within the realm of their allotted jurisdiction, and the ignorant may worship them and not be held guilty, but the holy people are to relate only to the highest and the purest, being held to a higher standard. 14. "the kite, and the falcon, Some of these precise species have not been clearly identified, but the common thread between them seems to be that they are birds of prey. 15. "Every raven, whatever its species, Seen in the account of Noach's ark: the dove would not even land on the dead carcass of another creature, and so returned because it "found no place for the sole of its foot", while the raven found plenty to eat because it did not make any distinction between clean and unclean. It went "to and fro" seeking something to devour, just like haSatan (1 Kefa 5:8). 16. "the daughter of the owl, the ostrich, the seagull, and the hawk, whatever its species, Whatever its species: or "to similar species" (as translated into Greek). 17. "the little owl, the cormorant, and the eared owl, 18. "the ibis, the pelican, the carrion vulture, Ibis: LXX, "redbill", perhaps a flamingo; Carrion vulture: LXX, "swan". 19. "the stork, and the heron, according to its species, the hoopoe, and the bat. Hoopoe: lapwing, or mountain cock, a type of grouse; Aramaic, "woodcock". 20. "Every flying swarming creature that goes about on four [legs]--this is an abomination to you. 21. "Only this you may eat, of any swarming thing that goes on [all] four: that which has knees above its feet, in order to leap with them over the earth. The picture seems to be, we are what we eat, and as we aspire to be sure-footed like those animals which have a split hoof, likewise we do not want to spend all of our time walking in the dirt, but want to spring "above the world" on many occasions to get the right perspective and to allow ourselves to be as little soiled by it as possible. 22. "These are the ones from which you may eat: the locust, whatever its species, the bald locust, whatever its species, the long-horned grasshopper, whatever its species, and the short-horned grasshopper, whatever its species. Locust: LXX, caterpillar. 23. "But all other winged creeping things that have four legs shall be an abomination to you. 24. "And by these you shall be ritually unclean: whoever touches their dead body shall be unclean until the evening. 25. "Anyone who picks up [any part] of their carcass shall launder his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 26. "[The same holds true] for any beast that is cloven-hoofed, but does not completely divide [its hoof], or does not bring up the cud--it is unclean for you, and anyone who touches them shall be unclean. In context, it appears that this refers only to touching their dead bodies. 27. "And any one among the living things that go on all four, any one that goes about on its paws shall be unclean to you; anyone who touches their dead body is ritually impure until evening. 28. "And anyone who picks up their carcass shall launder his clothes and be unclean until the evening. They are unclean for you. 29. "And this [is what] shall be unclean for you among the creeping things that swarm on the land: the weasel, the mouse, and the tortoise, and similar species, Weasel: or mole. Tortoise: Greek, "lizard" or "land-crocodile". 30. "and the ferret, the chameleon, the lizard, the snail, and the mole-- Ferret: or hedgehog. Snail: LXX, "newt". 31. "these are unclean for you among all those that creep; whoever touches one of them when it is dead shall be ritually impure until the evening. 32. "And anything on which any of them falls on when it dies is rendered unclean--whether any wooden vessel or a garment or a hide or a burlap sack. Any vessel in which work is done shall be dipped in water, and shall be ritually impure until the evening; then it shall be ceremonially pure. 33. "Any earthen vessel into which any one of them falls, you shall break it, and whatever is in it shall be impure. If we do not root out what becomes unclean, it will defile others too, and they will not even realize it. Earthen vessels represent people (2 Cor. 4:7), and lizards, owls, frogs, crocodiles, etc. are often also used as descriptive of evil spirits as well. Y'shua spoke of people falling on himself, a stone, and being broken (Matt. 21:44) intead of having it fall on them, crushing them. So this brokenness is a positive thing. David says YHWH will not despise "a broken spirit [and] a broken and contrite heart" (Psalm 51:17). Unclean spirits are most often harbored by our pride, so it must be broken in order for the contamination to depart. For some, this means merely speaking an apt word; for others, humiliation, and for the most stubborn, being put "outside the camp". 34. "Of any food that may be eaten, any on which [this] water comes shall be unclean, and any drinkable beverage [which is] in any [such] vessel shall be unclean. Contaminated water may look the same as good water, but it will harm, not help. Food and water are symbols of the teaching of Scripture. Whatever selfish and unclean people teach us about Scripture will also be infected by that spirit, so we should not receive it from them (if they know better), or it will spread to us. 35. "And anything on which [any part] of their dead body falls shall be unclean; an oven or a stove shall be destroyed; they are defiled, and they shall be unclean to you. Defiled and unclean here are the same word in Hebrew. Hirsch points out that things that touch a dead body also remind us of death, which is a symbol of a soul that becomes subservient to the material world (since in death this succumbing is complete) rather than using it as a tool to carry out higher spiritual purposes and to illustrate spiritual realities. 36. "However, a spring or well or pool of water [into which they fall] shall remain ritually pure; only what touches the dead body shall be defiled. Pool of water: or collection of water; Heb., miqveh, traditionally used for ritual purification. In other words, one could still take a miqveh in a pool in which there is a dead horse, as long as he does not touch the horse. Since water, again, symbolizes the Torah's teachings, if we are steeped in it and surrounded by it (having its words written on our doorposts, etc.), so that we know it well enough, then one encounter with the teachings of an unclean, selfish person will not ruin us, since the light is not so easily overcome by darkness. 37. "And if [any part] of their carcass falls on any sowing seed which is to be sown, it will remain ritually pure. Sowing seed: Aramaic, "seed grain". This seed will die and be resurrected in another form anyway before it is to be consumed by mankind. Hoshea likens the Northern Kingdom of Israel to seed that is to be sown; it had to suffer and die before being recalled to YHWH's covenant, but it was salvageable. On the personal level, a seed yet unsown is like a newborn believer, who has YHWH's special protection, since if he could be so easily uprooted, no one would ever grow to maturity since we are all inundated by false teaching. However (v. 38), once the seed has been adequately watered--i.e., taught--he is responsible for the teaching he exposes himself to, being better equipped to discern truth from error. 38. "But if any water is put on the seed and [any part] of their carcass falls on it, it shall be defiled. The water has already begun the process of the seed's transformation, and thus it is too late to salvage it. Water is a picture of the teaching of YHWH's Torah, and when selfish motives are mixed in with it by those who should know better, there is no more sacrifice for sins. (Heb. 10:26) 39. "And if any of the beasts which are food for you dies, one who touches its dead body shall be unclean until the evening, 40. "and whoever eats of its dead body shall launder his clothes and be unclean until the evening; also, whoever picks up its carcass shall launder his clothes and be unclean until the evening. Rev. 7:14 tells us that our garments are washed through tribulation (we are strengthened by the breaking) and through the blood of the Lamb. 41. "And every swarming thing that creeps on the land shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten. 42. "Also, as for the swarming things that creep on the earth, whatever goes about on its belly or anything that walks on four [legs] up to anything that has multiple feet--these you shall not eat, because they are unclean. 43. "You shall not pollute your souls by any swarming thing that creeps, nor become defiled by them so that you are ritually unclean because of them, 44. "because I am YHWH your Elohim, and you have set yourselves apart and become holy since I am holy. Thus you shall not defile your souls by any swarming thing that creeps on the earth, 45. "because I am YHWH your Elohim, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to become an Elohim to you. Therefore, you shall be holy, since I am holy. Hirsch points out that here YHWH links freedom (summarized by the liberation from Egypt) with holiness. He is the one who is totally free, and He calls us into the same freedom. While to the fleshly-minded man (as Paul would describe him) holiness seems like legalism or bondage, it is really freedom from the bondage to our sensuous desires which lead us to many illogical and harmful pursuits if not kept within the confines of the proper channels laid out by the Torah. The familiar analogy of railroad tracks illustrates this well: a train is only free when on its tracks, i.e., when doing what it was designed to do. Likewise, man was designed to share fellowship with YHWH, and this means separation from all that tends away from Him. Holiness is thus a gift that frees us from worthless, degrading, or common pursuits. 46. "This is the instruction regarding the animals, the fowl, and every living creature that moves through the waters, and every creature that swarms on the earth, 47. "in order to make a distinction between the impure and the pure, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten." Living thing: or "the life". This parallels 10:10-11. To become part of Israel, we must become separate. We must be discriminatory in what we partake of. The foods are pictures of what we take into ourselves spiritually. People constantly joined the community of Israel, but in general those already in the community did not go out looking for recruits. There were lost sheep of the House of Israel (the dispersed and "lost" northern tribes) who had to be recalled from all over the world because of YHWH's promises to provide a new covenant for the sake of their forefathers, and "whosoever will may come". But we are not trying to fill seats. The ancient Hebrews discerned carefully whom they let into their tents (by extension, places of learning). Y'shua told us not to cast our pearls before swine. His House must remain holy and pure; while outsiders may come in, this does not lower the standard. They must be raised up, or the whole house will be lowered and the teaching will be lost. This has happened as the church let pagans come in (or even pushed them to) without changing their ways, but only the labels. Now it is so diluted it is not recognizably the same structure as what Y'shua actually came to build. By trying to make everything holy, virtually nothing remained holy (separate). Let us return to the ancient paths and make the same distinctions He makes.
	Portion TAZRIA (12:1 -13:59) CHAPTER 12 1. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying, 2. "Speak to the descendants of Israel, saying, ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œIf a woman has conceived [tazria] and borne a male, then she shall become ritually impure for seven days, as in the days of the separation of her infirmity, she shall be ritually impure. Separation: Aramaic, "isolation". Infirmity: i.e., the defilement of her monthly bleeding cycle. 3. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œThen on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. The eighth day is when vitamin K and prothrombin (immune and blood clotting factors) are at their all-time highest levels in a boy's life, making it the very best time to promote his healing. The operation forms a permanent reminder of the covenant right in his own body, and specifically in his procreative organ, symbolizing that the covenant is to be passed down through all generations. It pictures the putting off of the flesh, and is linked symbolically to the new beginning after the seven "days" of a thousand years each in which the present creation will exist, when this world will physically be no more, and a new heaven and earth will take its place. He lives through one whole week in his "flesh", then is divested of it, as we will be in a more complete way. But this way, from the start, the child experiences the most basic cycle--the sabbatical--on which the whole world is built. Every boy is allowed to live through one Sabbath before undergoing this surgery. The major change he encounters at that point shows him that one cycle is completed and some thing new has begun. 4. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd she shall remain in the blood of her cleansing for thirty-three days, and she shall not touch anything holy, nor shall she enter the sanctuary until the days of her cleansing are completed. Normally blood is a thing of impurity. But here, only the first seven days is she considered impure; then begins a process of repurification. Not touch anything holy: Actually this is a liberating things in that she is relieved even of her responsibility to attend the festivals in the Temple without incurring guilt, so that she is able to give this time solely to the baby. The only other allusion to blood cleansing rather than just atoning (covering sin over) is Y'shua's, which, unlike the blood of bulls and goats, actually takes away sin, because it was untainted by sin itself and yet was human; thus it could truly begin the restoration of the fallen Adam. As "the seed of the woman", he lived thirty-three years and then accomplished our cleansing. 5. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œBut if she gives birth to a female, then she shall be ritually impure for two weeks, as in her separation, and she shall continue in the blood of her cleansing for sixty-six days. Why does everything double for the female? Possibly because she is only to be half as motherly toward a son, in order to teach him to be an independent man. Possibly because she is introducing another female cycle, built upon her own, into the world--a flow of blood which can defile others while she is alive. Only humans can do that; animals can only defile a person when they die, if he touches their dead body. But if one touches a woman during her time of uncleanness, he is barred from entering the Temple for a whole day. Yet Sha'ul (Paul) says that a woman is somehow "saved" (preserved, kept safe, or restored) through childbearing. (1 Timothy 2:15) Moshe was also on the mountain, bringing forth a "woman" to be a bride for YHWH, for eighty days. 6. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd when her days of cleansing are fulfilled for a son or daughter, she shall bring a year-old male lamb to serve as an ascending offering, and a young pigeon or turtledove to the priest [cohen] at the door of the Tent of Appointment as a sin offering. The innocent lamb dies so that the child may live. Sin offering: because Chavvah ("Eve") was the first to sin, and thus was cursed with more complications in childbirth. It may be that had she not sinned, she would not even bleed (all shed blood must be atoned for), but would have had a very easy delivery like most animals do. Pigeon: Not the species we have in many cities of the West, but another type of dove distinct from the turtledove. The priest represents YHWH to the people, so the sacrifices are presented to him to demonstrate their response to YHWH Himself. It is not as if the mother has sinned by giving birth to a child, however. It may simply be a reminder that we are all enwrapped in an environment that is "missing the mark" and in a place of needing reconciliation, because since Chavvah everyone's relationship with YHWH has been clouded. 7. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd he shall bring it near in the presence of YHWH, and shall make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the instruction regarding her who gives birth, whether to a male or a female. "Flow": Heb., source, fountain, or wellspring, from the term for "dig". This suggests being cleansed from the inside out. While a normal menstrual cycle renders one "unclean", after giving birth, the blood can actually be said to cleanse her. 8. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œNow if her hand is unable to reach a lamb, then she shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one to serve as an ascending [offering] and one as a sin offering, and the priest shall effect a covering over her, and she shall be cleansed.'" "Unable to reach": i.e., she is too poor to afford a lamb. Y'shua's mother Miryam must have been this poor, because we are told that she brought this offering rather than a lamb. (Luk. 2:24) Ascending offering: This is to praise the Father for the safe delivery of this child. Cleansed: ritually, but the word literally means made like new or brightened up--a picture of Y'shua, who not only covers our sin, but actually purifies us. In our day, no one can fully obey the Torah, since there is no Temple. All anyone can offer now is a substitute sacrifice, since even in the Land of Israel no one is ritually pure until the ashes of another red heifer are present. The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit, who is our down-payment (Eph. 1:14) so that our best efforts, though inadequate, will be accepted in the meantime. Of course, Y'shua is our Lamb as well. CHAPTER 13 1. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe and Aharon, saying, 2. "If a person has a swelling-up, scar, a bright spot on the [bare] skin of his flesh [body], and it becomes in the skin of his body [like] the plague of leprosy [tzara'ath], then he shall be brought in to Aharon the priest, or to one of his sons the priests. Swelling-up: Hirsch, "an intensely white spot, or nearly so". Scar: Aramaic, "rash". Bright spot: the meaning ranges from a blister, boil, or white patch, a shiny white spot, to burn-mark. In amy case, it is an anomaly in the skin, possibly accompanied by pus. Plague: a stroke, disease, spot, or mark, but usually sent directly by YHWH, rather than an ordinary disease. (Hirsch) "Leprosy": not exactly the same disease that bears this name today, but a skin ailment seemingly more like psoriasis that seems to have spiritual causes, or at least was used to punish the sin of covetousness: being unsatisfied with what YHWH has created oneself to be, and speaking against those whom He has put in the coveted positions. Specific instances: when Miryam spoke against Moshe (Num. 12:10), when Elisha's servant Gehazi was greedy for Naaman's offered wealth (2 Kings 5:20ff), and when Uzziyah usurped the priests' position (2 Chron. 26:16ff). Its itchiness makes one concentrate on his flesh (himself). 3. "Then the priest shall inspect the mark in the bare skin of the body, and if the hair within the marked [area] has turned white, and the plague is, in appearance, deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of tzara'ath, and the priest shall inspect [look upon] him and pronounce him ritually impure. Inspect: Aramaic, "examine". 4. "But if the bright spot--the white place--that [which is] in the skin of his body--does not appear deeper to be than the skin, and its hair has not turned white, then the priest shall quarantine the plague for seven days. LXX: "But if the spot be clear and white..." Appear deeper: possibly, be deeper in color. (Hirsch) Quarantine: close up, keep confined, separate, shut away. Personal freedom is always lost when one considers the welfare of the whole community. The seven-day waiting period is an important factor in the process of sorting the clean from the clean. First of all, it symbolizes the seven millennia (a day is as a thousand years, Ps. 90) of man's existence on this earth before a new earth is created. Only at the end of that time, when everyone has had the opportunity to show their true colors, is the process complete. Second,the time of Yaaqov's trouble is the final "week" (of seven years) in this present age, leading up to the Messianic Kingdom. To fully understand this, we must realize that in the Hebraic mindset there are three categories of people: the righteous, the wicked, and the "sinners" who have not yet made their decision which way to go, but have drifted along in lukewarmness. David speaks of "teaching sinners YHWH's way", while YHWH sets Himself firmly against the wicked. At the very beginning of this apocalyptic seven-year season, some are separated away and pronounced "clean" or righteous, for they have prepared themselves in this age. Others are destroyed by plagues and disasters, having "still refused to repent". The remainder are "shut out" of the wedding and coronation of the Lamb in heaven for a "week" (literally a "seven"), and, remaining on earth, are pressed to decide one way or the other, for at the end of the book of Revelation only two categories remain--righteous and wicked, pictured here by "clean" and "unclean", and all are fixed forever into one or the other. (22:11). If the character flaw runs "deeper than the flesh"--i.e., may stem from the world or from the devil--it is to be dealt with in a different manner. If it "rolls off one's back" and does not adhere, it will not have a lasting effect; one member being confined for just seven days will teach the others to work harder to make up for his being temporarily gone. 5. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œThen the priest shall inspect him on the seventh day, and behold, if the spot appears to him to have stabilized, and has not spread throughout the skin, then the priest shall quarantine him for seven more days, 6. "then the priest shall inspect him again on the seventh day, and behold, if the spot has faded and has not spread through the skin, the priest shall pronounce him ritually pure [clean]; it is [only] a lesion. He shall wash out his clothes, then be ritually pure. Only a lesion: LXX, "a [mere] mark". Y'shua promises to reward those who have not defiled their garments. (Rev. 3:4) Wash out: Aramaic, "soak". 7. "But if the lesion spreads far abroad in the skin after he has been inspected by the priest, he shall be inspected [scrutinized] a second time by the priest. Like leaven, selfishness tends to spread and affect others if given the chance. When discovered it must be dealt with decisively on the spreading edge, and its effects minimized. 8. "And the priest shall look, and behold, if the lesion has spread throughout the skin, the priest shall pronounce him ritually unclean; it is tzara'ath. Lesion: Hirsch, "plague approaching leprosy". 9. "When the mark of tzara'ath is on a person, he shall be brought in to the priest, 10. "and the priest shall look, and behold, if there is a white swelling in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and tender, raw flesh is in the swelling, Tender, raw: both words stem from the word for "alive"--or what we would call in older English, "quick". LXX: "some of the sound [healthy] flesh". The condition of one's flesh is to be judged--primarily by the high priest (v. 2), who is a type of the Messiah. The covering of skin ['or] was given because of sin (Gen. 3:21), to replace the covering of light (also pronounced "ohr", though spelled differently). The flesh is a picture of selfishness or our natural capability. If one is "alive to his flesh", he is unclean. Uncleanness is not sin, but it is the wrong focus if we wish to live Spirit-led lives. It is a stumblingblock to ourselves and others in the "body", and must be dealt with severely. The Hebrew word for "flesh" is also the same as "good news"--probably because in a bedouin culture the discovery of meat was indeed cause to celebrate. But the "gospel of self"--prosperity doctrines or using the Word as a means of profit-- is something to cage in and cast out of the congregation as well. 11. "it is an old [festering] tzara'ath in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not quarantine him, because he is [already] ritually impure. 12. "But if the tzara'ath breaks out abundantly throughout the skin, and the tzara'ath covers all of the skin of the plagued [person], from his head all the way to his feet--whatever is visible to the priest's eyes-- Breaks out abundantly: LXX, "come out very evidently". 13. "then the priest shall inspect [him], and behold, if the tzara'ath has covered his whole body, he shall pronounce the plagued [one] clean, If one "comes to the end of himself", having no flesh left, so to speak, having hit bottom so hard that the only way to go is up, and thus "dies to self", even if he has been far more sinful than most, he can become pure in YHWH's eyes. Y'shua told a parable about a wicked man who recognized his wretchedness, and went home justified, while a very religious man who focused on himself (for that is what ritual impurity depicts) did not. (Luk. 18:10ff) 14. "(while on the day [in which] raw flesh appears in him, he is unclean. Appears: or "is seen"--i.e. as soon as it affects others. 15. "And the priest shall inspect the raw flesh and shall pronounce him [ritually] impure; the raw flesh is impure; it is tzara'ath.) Raw flesh: Hirsch, "The healthy flesh is impure". Figuratively, this translation shows better how when our "flesh" is becoming healthy again, we tend toward selfishness. (Compare 1 Kefa/Peter 4;1--"He that has suffered in the flesh is freed from sin.") 16. "Or, if the raw flesh reverses and changes to white, then he shall report to the priest, Reverses: literally, "repents and is converted". This is another way the unclean can become clean. The turning white is a picture of the flesh being restored to light (see note on v. 10), thus reversing the curse on Adam and "repairing the world". The "thin-skinned" oversensitivity that cannot see past self and takes things too personally has been done away with. Report to the priest: He needs to be the one to ask whether what appears in him is harmful to the community, rather than just leaving his sleeves down and hiding it. This type of discipline will do him good if he receives it rightly. 17. "and the priest shall inspect him, and[if] the spot has indeed turned white, the priest shall pronounce the plagued [one] clean; he is clean. 18. "Now when the flesh has in its skin an inflamed sore, but it has been healed, Inflamed sore: or boil. LXX, "an ulcer". 19. "and in place of the inflammation, a bright white spot, [and] somewhat reddish, then he shall present himself to the priest, Bright spot: or white patch; possibly a scar or blister. Reddish: or very red; red spotted; LXX 20. "and if, when the priest looks, it appears to have indeed sunk lower than the skin, and the hair in it has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a plague of tzara'ath that has broken out within the inflamed sore. 21. "But if the priest looks at it, and beholds no white hairs in it, and it has not sunken lower than the skin, but has grown more faint, then the priest shall quarantine him for seven days. More faint: or darker, dimmer, or colorless. 22. "But if it has spread very far throughout the skin, the priest shall declare him unclean; he has been stricken. Spread very far: LXX, "manifestly spread". He has been stricken: or, "it is a plague". 23. "However, if the bright spot has remained as it was and not spread, it is the scar of the inflammation; the priest shall declare him clean. As it was: literally, "in its place"; Aramaic, "stationary". Scar: Aram., "impression"; Hirsch, "cicatrization". 24. "Now [as to] flesh in which the skin has a burn from fire, and the burnt flesh has become a bright white spot [or one that is] somewhat reddish, Burnt flesh: Aramaic, "the impression of the scar"; LXX, "the part which is healed of the inflammation". 25. "when the priest examines it, and the hair has indeed turned white within the bright spot, and it appears to be deeper than the skin, then it is tzara'ath in the burn. It has broken out, and the priest shall declare him unclean; it is the plague of tzara'ath. 26. "But if the priest inspects it, and there is no white hair in the bright spot after all, and it is not lower than the skin, but it is somewhat faint, then the priest shall quarantine him for seven days. 27. "Then the priest shall inspect him on the seventh day; if it has continued to spread, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the plague of tzara'ath. 28. "But if the bright spot remains in its place, not spreading throughout the skin, but is somewhat faint, it is a swelling of the scar, and the priest shall declare him clean, because it is a scab from the burn. Swelling of the scar: or "dignity/exaltation/excellency/loftiness of the burn-mark (or brand)." Scars elevate us if we learn from the times we are chastised. They remind us not to repeat our errors. Scar tissue helps us survive, but is weaker than ordinary flesh. But Paul said he bore the brand-marks of Messiah, because he was beaten so often for him. To most people it must have appeared that one who was thus treated by the authorities everywhere he went was a very evil person, but he was punished instead for doing what he was supposed to do. Yet the Lamb, too, received his worthiness (dignity) by being slaughtered and cut into pieces. 29. "[As for] a man or woman who has in himself a plague on the head or chin, Chin: or beard--the symbol of being an Israelite. 30. "then the priest shall inspect the plague, and if it indeed appears to be deeper than the skin, with a thin, shining [yellowish] hair in it, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a skin eruption, that is, a tzara'ath of the head or chin. Skin eruption: scurf or dry scall; Hirsch, "alopecia"--from a word meaning "to pull away" like a scab, "draw away", or "pluck out". One part of the body pulling away from another and leaving a raw spot is a picture of what is decribed in Prov. 18:1--"For the sake of his own lusts one separates himself, thus laying bare all that is substantial (or sound)." Deeper than the skin: thus killing the hair follicles as well, showing that this is no longer a small problem--a picture of utter moral decay. Thin hair: one that has withered. The Hebrew word for hair comes from a word meaning "be terrified", probably through the sense of bristling with fear. So a withered hair pictures one whose fear of YHWH has faded away--a common attitude when one is selfish. 31. "But if the priest looks at the wound of the scab, and it does not appear deeper than the skin after all, and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall quarantine the one plagued by the scab for seven days. Black [or dark] hair: the norm in the Middle East. The fine "shining, yellowish" hair is not referring to other colors of normal hair known throughout the world, but a withered type that has been affected by the plague. 32. "Then the priests shall inspect the plague on the seventh day, and if the skin eruption indeed has not spread, and there is no shining hair in it, and the skin eruption appears no deeper than the skin, No deeper than the skin: LXX, "not hollow under the skin". 33. "then he shall shave himself, but he shall not shave the scab. And the priest shall cause the one who has the skin eruption to be quarantined for seven more days, Shave himself: the Aramaic Targum Onqelos interprets it, "shave in the surrounding areas of the scurf, but that [hair] which is attached to the scurf he should not shave." This would reveal the exact borders of the affected area, and show easily whether the scab had spread beyond where it was the week before. 34. "Then the priests shall inspect the scab on the seventh day, and if the skin eruption has indeed not spread throughout the skin, and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. When he has washed his garments, then he shall be [ritually] clean. 35. "But if the eruption spreads further in the skin after his purification, 36. "and the priest inspects him, and the eruption has spread through the skin after all, the priest shall not [even] look for the shining [yellow] hair; he is unclean. Only this one sign is necessary to prove that the plague was not really gone from him; no further evidence need even be sought for. After Y'shua cleanses us, we can still go back to the same selfish habits, and the process of purification needs to begin another whole round. 37. "But if in his eyes, the skin eruption has stabilized, and black hair has started growing in it [again], the eruption has been healed. He is [ritually] clean and the priest shall declare him clean. In his eyes: as best he can tell; in his opinion. 38. "Now, man or woman, if there come to be bright spots--white blisters--in the skin of their flesh Bright spots--white blisters: Aram., "numerous bright spots"; Hirsch, "white shiny patches". 39. "after the priest has [already] inspected it, but the bright spots in the skin of their flesh are [only] a dull white, it is a pale eruption that breaks out from the skin; he is clean. Dull: Aram., "faded". One is only declared unclean if the priest has inspected him. "Where there is no law, there is no transgression...Where there is no law, sin is not counted." (Rom. 4:15; 5:13) Paul also said that each one would be judged according to what he knows, so if Y'shua has not "shined his light" on someone and "audited" them, we are not their judge either. Once one comes to the knowledge of the truth, he is responsible. 40. "Now if a man's head grows smooth, he is [only] bald; he is [still] ritually clean. Grows smooth: LXX, "should lose the hair". I.e., this is nothing to worry about. Hirsch, "It is an occipital baldness". 41. "And if his head grows bare from the edge of his face, he has a receding hairline; he is clean. From the edge of his face: LXX, "in front". Receding hairline: a different Hebrew word from bald, meaning specifically a high forehead. 42. "But if there comes to be a reddish-white mark on the bald spot, it is a tzara'ath breaking out on his bald spot or receding hairline, 43. "and the priest shall inspect him, and if the swelling of the mark on his bald spot or receding hairline is indeed reddish-white like the appearance of tzara'ath in the skin of the flesh, 44. "then he is a leper; he is ritually unclean--impure; the priest shall declare him to be unclean. 45. "And the leper who has the spot on him shall [go around with] his garments torn and his head uncovered, and he shall cover his upper lip and call out, "Unclean! Unclean!" "Cover his upper lip": the custom of a mourner. The beard, which the Mishnah says is "the glory of a man's face", is hidden; this may have also had an epidemiological purpose, to prevent the spread of the plague. Head uncovered: Aramaic, "hair disheveled"; unkempt. "Call out": for the same purpose as the tombs on the way to Yerushalayim were whitewashed as the pilgrim festivals approached (alluded to by Y'shua in Matithyahu 23:27)--they kept people who did not wish to be defiled from coming close to them. No other person in a ritually impure state was required to do this; only lepers. 46. "And during the days that the spot is on him, he is ritually impure; he shall live in isolation. He is unclean; he shall dwell outside the camp. Hirsch, "Outside the camp shall his habitation be"; perhaps he moved his tent there. "He who separates himself seeks his own appetite..." (Prov. 18:1) Figuratively, selfishness is rewarded with its own logical conclusion: becoming solitary and being cast out of the community that he did not think he wanted to be a part of. Outside the camp, one was more vulnerable to enemy attack. 47. "And the garment in which there comes to be a mark of tzara'ath--in a garment of animal hair or a garment of vegetable fiber, The simplest translation of these two types of garments is "wool or flax" (i.e., linen). Garments represent our works, and we want them to be "white" like his--matching what he is. 48. "whether in the warp or woof of flax, wool, or anything made of [an animal] hide, Warp: something one's hand is set to, imposed upon, or hand-made; woof: something interwoven, knitted, or mixed in. Hide: or leather; literally "skin". 49. "if the mark turns greenish or reddish in the garment or skin, whether in the warp or woof or anything made of a hide, it is a mark of tzara'ath, and it shall be shown to the priest, 50. "and the priest shall inspect the mark and quarantine the plague for seven days. 51. "And he shall inspect the mark on the seventh day, and if the mark has spread throughout the garment, hand-made or woven item, skin, or work of leather, the mark is a malignant tzara'ath; it is unclean, Malignant: embittering, erupting, or corroding. It is contagious and will ruin anything it spreads to. Sometimes our works affect more people than we ourselves do; thus a garment can be unclean while the person wearing it is not: one may be wholehearted toward YHWH, but be calling Him "God" or observing Sunday instead of the Sabbath and have corrupt works because he has been taught wrongly and did not know any better. His heart may be right, but his works need to change, be cleaned up, or done away with. 52. "and he shall burn the garment, hand-made or woven item, any leather article, because it is a malignant tzara'ath; with fire it must be burned. 53. "But if the priest looks, and the mark has not spread through the garment, hand-made or woven item, or any article of leather after all, 54. "then the priest shall give [the] order, and they shall launder the item that has the mark in it, and quarantine it for another seven days. 55. "Then the priest shall inspect the mark after it has been laundered out, and if the mark has neither changed in appearance nor spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it with fire. It has eaten away a hollow spot, a bare place either on the inside or outside. Bare place...inside or outside: the same Hebrew words for bald spot or receding hairline in the verses above. If our unsound works do not change, they are worthless to YHWH. 56. "But if the priest looks, and the mark has indeed faded after it was laundered, then he shall tear it out of the garment, skin, hand-made or woven item. The garment can be spared, but not in unaltered condition. Y'shua, our high priest, can see better than we that our garments will not be adequate carry us through what he knows we will face. (Rev. 3:17) 57. "Then if it appears again in the garment, hand-made or woven item, or any article [made] of leather, it is spreading; with fire you shall burn what had the mark in it. 58. "But [as for] the garment, hand-made or woven item, or any article of leather from which the mark goes away when you launder it, when you wash it a second time it shall be clean. Repentance is not enough; submission to the community's test of its genuineness is also required. 59. "This is the instruction in regard to pronouncing a mark of tzara'ath in a garment of wool or flax, or hand-made or woven item, or any article [made] of leather [either] clean or unclean."
	Portion METZORA (14:1 - 15:33) CHAPTER 14 1. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying, 2. "This shall be the instruction in regard to the leper [metzora] in the day of his ritual purification: he shall be brought to the priest [cohen]. Leper:About this skin disease which differs from the leprosy we know today, Rabbi Mordecai Kamenetzy writes: "The discoloration of skin does not necessarily reflect a chemical impropriety or a nutritional deficiency. It is a heavenly sign of a spiritual flaw, primarily related to a deficient speech pattern. It is a disease that afflicts a gossip. The one in question must go to the kohen (priest) who instructs him in the proper procedure to rid himself of both the blemish and the improper behavior that caused its appearance." Ritual purification: from a word meaning "brighten"; one who is ritually cleansed becomes more like the original and the second Adam. Cohen literally means "the one who is officiating". 3. "Then the cohen shall go out to the outside of the camp, and the cohen shall inspect [him], and if the plague of leprosy is indeed healed in the metzora, How can the leper who is banished outside the camp come to the cohen? He did not stay very far from the protection of the camp or city; the cohen comes just outside to meet him. Our high priest, Y'shua, emptied himself to meet us, but we too must take steps toward him. His brother Yaaqov also said, "Draw near to YHWH, and He will draw near to you." Neither alone is sufficient if the connection is to be made. Those inside cannot count the "metzora" as part of the city, because he is not in a position to help its defense. As far as those inside are concerned, he is "dead". Sha'ul (Paul) said to let an immoral brother in Corinthos be turned over to Satan--outside the protection of the body. He could not be helped until he turned back and repented. But then he was restored. Those put outside the camp were vulnerable, but they looked after each other. They could be cured, and they could be taught. 4. "then the cohen shall [give the] command that two live birds that are clean, [some] cedar wood, crimson scarlet [yarn], and hyssop be brought for him who is to be ritually purified. Give the command: Up to this point, the cohen performed the duties himself; now he is delegating. It may be that this was just because of the large number of people to be ritually cleansed, but it may have a symbolic meaning. "Clean": This would seem redundant, because no ritually unclean animal is ever to be sacrificed in the Temple. But the metzora, being unclean himself, needed the extra reminder that his sacrificial substitute could not be in the same condition as himself, but had to have at least one foot on solid ground to be able to pull him out of his condition. What a wonderful picture of Y'shua, who had to be sinless in order to accomplish our atonement. Note the components of the figurative cleansing: "twin" birds, cedar wood, scarlet thread, and hyssop. These are the elements also used in sanctifying theashes of a red heifer (Numbers 19:6) which was the only way the high priest could be sanctified in order to begin making others holy--for everyone started out in the same spiritual condition that the leper symbolizes. Cedar wood is a ... Scarlet thread was one of the gifts requested from the Egyptians (Exodus 25). The theme of the scarlet thread runs through Scripture as a blood-red symbol of deliverance from certain destruction: It is seen in the unusual birth of the twins Paretz (breach-maker) and Zarach (rising), which pictures the true Firstborn triumphing over one who tried to usurp his place. As Rahav in Yericho had to take advantage of it in order to be spared, Y'shua's blood is offered to us, but we have to utilize it, or our blood is on our own heads. (See also note on v. 7.) Hyssop: a plant with many healing properties that both readily absorbs liquids and readily gives it back out--a wonderful picture of the type of students we should be. It is what was used to "paint" the Passover lamb's blood on the doors in Egypt, and to complete the picture, it was filled with wine--often used to symbolize blood--and offered to Y'shua as he fulfilled the typology of the Passover lamb right on schedule. 5. "Then the cohen shall [give the] command one of the birds to be slaughtered in an earthen vessel, over running water, The cohen here represents YHWH; the bird, Y'shua, whose blood was shed in an earthen vessel over (or "for the sake of") what is literally called "living water" (the Holy Spirit, Yochanan 7:38ff, or the Torah, often described as water). The Aramaic reads, "fresh water"; others render it "spring water". 6. "and [that the] living bird, the cedar wood, the scarlet [thread], and the hyssop be taken and dipped (the living bird included) in the blood of the slaughtered bird, over the running water. The two birds represent the two comings of Y'shua. First he came and walked among "clay vessels" (a symbol of men, Yesh./Isa. 45:9), into whom he poured his word (Yochanan 4:10). Then his blood was shed (Rom. 3:25) to make a way for his second coming as king. The second bird is bloodied but not injured--a picture of Y'shua who still bears the scars Thomas put his hands into, but it did not ultimately injure him. 7. "Then he shall sprinkle [spatter] it seven times on the one who is to be ritually purified from his leprosy [tzara'ath], then he shall pronounce him ritually pure ['clean'], and send off the living bird into the open field. David prays, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow." (Psalm 51) In this context (which has strong Passover overtones after David took a "single lamb" that had been raised in the household of another and reaped the Passover plague of the death of his firstborn by Uriah's wife), he asks YHWH to cleanse his innermost, hidden parts--again, as a dove's feather is used to sweep the hidden leaven onto a cedar wood spoon at Passover. These two birds remind us of the scapegoat and its identical counterpart, one designated as belonging to YHWH, and the other two Azazel, the "desert demon". Interestingly, by tradition, the scarlet thread tied around the "scapegoat's" horn turned white when it was released, and a counterpart scarlet cord hung in the temple also turned white to indicate that this Yom Kippur offering had been accepted by YHWH. This is also the background for "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall become as white as snow" (Yeshayahu 1:18). Send off the living bird: Y'shua sent his Body into the world (which he said the field represents--Matt. 13:38). 8. "And the one who is to be ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œcleansed' shall launder his garments, shave [off] all his hair, and wash himself with water; then he will be ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œclean'. After that, he shall enter the camp, but shall live on the outside of his tent for seven days. At the acceptance of the good news, Y'shua's followers, like the cleansed leper, put away their own glory and desires. During this waiting period of growth and sanctification, we have to remain faithful until the kingdom comes. Then there will be an even greater putting away of self. Launder: Aramaic, "soak". Outside the tent: He is allowed back into the camp for protection from enemies, but the Body does not receive from him yet. The tent is one's own place or station within the Body--his gifting, which is to be used for the whole community. But since he was punished for wanting someone else's place, for a time he is not allowed to even utilize his own gifts. With all his hair shaved off, it is easy to see if the leprosy comes back. He is thus publicly shamed, and well he should be, but there is time given to think about what he has done wrong; if he gets the point, YHWH will remove the plague from him. 9. "But on the seventh day, what must happen is that he will shave all his hair--[from] his head, his beard, and his eyebrows. That's right, he shall shave [off] every hair. Then he shall launder his garments and wash his flesh with water; then he will be ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œclean'. Hair [sa'ar] in Hebrew stems from a root meaning "dread"; the hair stands up when one is very afraid. So part of the process of an unclean (selfish) person's healing is removing all his fear and the insecurities that misdirect his path. It is also the surrender of his egoism, and symbolizes a complete break with the past. (Hirsch) Beard: his authority is taken away, because he wanted someone else's authority, and this is why he was visited with the leprosy. The Hebrew word for "garments" [beged] comes from a root meaning "treachery", "rebellion", and "deceit" because it is used to "cover up" and is only used because of Adam and Chavvah's sin. These, too, must be cleansed so that they are only used for the right reasons. Having to live outside the tent, exposed and accountable to all, where everyone can inspect him (v. 8), is a complete (seven-day) witness to the veracity of the selfish one's repentance. This is part of the "cleansing of the hidden parts" that David spoke of. Y'shua said that everything that was done in secret would be published from the housetops. But it is also the same procedure followed when a Nazir--one who takes a special vow of holiness--finishes his time of separation. Now both he and the leper are back in the same position--one having been very religious, the other being a picture of selfishness. But now both are restored to being ordinary members of the same community. 10. "Then on the eighth day, he shall select two male lambs--perfect ones--and one ewe a year old, [also] a perfect one, and three tenths [of a measure] of flour mixed with oil, as well as one log of oil [as] a grain offering. Log: A unit of liquid measure equivalent to approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of a liter (quart). Tenth-measures: or tithes. Eighth day: the beginning of a new cycle--a complete renewal. 11. "Then the cohen who is ritually purifying the one who is to be ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œcleansed' shall stand with them before YHWH at the entryway to the Tent of Appointment. The priest who purifies us is Y'shua, both our sin offering and our Great High Priest. 12. "And the cohen shall take one of the male lambs and bring it near along with the log of oil as a guilt offering, and wave them as a wave offering before YHWH. 13. "And he shall slaughter the lamb in the place where he had slaughtered the sin offering and the ascending [burnt] offering--in the Sanctuary [Holy Place], because, [just] like the sin offering, the guilt offering is for the priest; it is most holy. 14. "Then the cohen shall take [some] of the blood of the guilt offering, and the cohen shall put [it] on the tip [lobe] of the right ear of the one who is to be ritually purified, and on the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot. The repentant leper is not just restored, but greatly elevated--to a place of service. This is exactly the same procedure used to consecrate the priesthood (8:23; Exodus 29:20). Again this pictures both the most holy and the repentant sinner being on the very same ground before YHWH and equal members of the same community, simply chosen sovereignly for different tasks. He sanctifies his ear for listening, his hand for doing holy deeds, and his foot for a holy walk [halachah, lifestyle]. A priest is the servant of all--the most highly exalted. "He who is forgiven much loves much", so even the former leper can become the greatest in the kingdom. His downfall was wanting power, so he is taught what true authority is. (Rom. 12:3ff) 15. "Then the cohen shall take [some] of the log of oil and pour it into the cohen's left palm, The second mention of the cohen emphasizes that it is his own hand rather than that of the one coming for purification. Left palm: a symbol of the evil inclination being used by his good one, because his leprosy has taught him what not to be; thus it made him better. 16. "and the cohen shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left palm, and with his finger [he] shall sprinkle the oil seven times before YHWH. 17. "And the rest of the oil that is in his palm, the cohen shall put on the lobe of the right ear of the one who is to be ritually purified, and on the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. Shall put: literally "give". 18. "And [any] oil that remains on the palm of the cohen he shall place on the head of the one who is to be ritually purified. Thus the cohen shall effect a covering over him before YHWH. 19. "Then the cohen shall make a sin offering, and shall make atonement for one who is to be ritually purified from his uncleanness. And afterwards he shall slaughter the ascending offering, 20. "And the cohen shall offer the ascending offering and the grain offering on the altar; thus the cohen shall make atonement for him, and he shall be ritually purified. 21. "Now if he is low [impoverished] and his hand is not able to reach, then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering, to be waved, to make atonement for himself and one tenth part of flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and a log of oil, Hand is not able to reach: i.e., he cannot afford these. YHWH has a special mercy for the poor, but the lamb can never be missing from a guilt offering--an important truth about our need for Y'shua, even if the reason we sinned was that we were "victimized" and "could not avoid it". He had to find a way to procure one, no matter what else he had to sacrifice. 22. "and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whichever his hand is able to reach; one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering. Whichever: The two types of bird must have had different values. 23. "And he shall bring them to the cohen at the entryway to the Tent of Appointment on the eighth day for his purification, 24. "Then the cohen shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the cohen shall wave them as a wave offering before YHWH; Wave: swing to and fro, in the case of a lamb. 25. "Then he shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering, and the cohen shall take [some] of the blood of the guilt offering, and shall put [it] on the lobe of the right ear of the one who is to be ritually purified, and on the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot. 26. "And the cohen shall pour the oil on the cohen's left palm, 27. "And with his right finger the cohen shall sprinkle [some] of the oil which is on his left palm seven times before YHWH. 28. "And the cohen shall put some of the oil that is on his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one who is to be ritually purified, and on the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot, at the [same] place where the blood of the guilt offering [is]. 29. "And the rest of the oil that is on the cohen's palm he shall place on the head of the one who is to be ritually purified in order to make atonement for him before YHWH. 30. "Then he shall offer one of the turtledoves or pigeons--whichever his hand can reach-- 31. "One of whatever his hand has been able to reach he shall [be used as] a sin offering, and the other an ascending offering, in addition to the food offering, and the cohen shall make atonement for one who is to be ritually purified before YHWH. 32. "This is the instruction regarding him in whom [there is] a mark of tzara'ath, whose hand could not reach his purification." 33. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe and Aharon, saying, 34. "When you enter the land of Kanaan, which I am giving to you as a [heritable] possession, and [find that] I have placed the mark of tzara'ath in a house in the land of your possession, "House-leprosy": a "gift" from YHWH that comes with the territory of His blessing. Not much can be hidden in a tent, because in the wilderness they were constantly packing up and moving on. When we start accumulating possessions, it is easy to start hoarding. When we live in community, it is less of a problem to have to lose some possessions, because everyone looks out for each other. The Midrash says the house-leprosy is sent first as a warning that one is in danger of being struck by bodily leprosy as well. Normally anything made of stone was automatically considered ritually clean, because a rock is a picture of the Messiah. (1 Corinthians 10:4) But stones in a house are different--they are components of a larger picture. We are called living stones that make up a spiritual house. (1 Kefa/Peter 2:5) 35. "and the owner of the house shall come and report to the cohen [priest], ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œIt appears to me [that there is something] like a plague in the house', The process only works if the one in charge of the house confesses that there is something wrong. 36. "then the cohen shall command, and they shall clear out the house before the cohen comes in so that everything that is in the house will not becoming ritually defiled, and afterwards the cohen shall come in to inspect the house. He is still given the benefit of the doubt until the proof is produced. Nothing in the house becomes unclean until the priest declares it so. When Y'shua passed on the "keys" of such "binding and loosing" to his disciples, he gave us an awesome burden of responsibility. The person who refuses to lend to his neighbor because he "doesn't have enough" is now given the opportunity to prove it. When his goods are placed out in the open and everyone can see how much he really has, his closed-heartedness becomes evident to all. 37. "And he shall look at the mark, and behold, if the mark is in the walls of the house with hollow depressions, [either] pale greenish-yellow or reddish, which are visibly lower than the wall-surface, Hollow depressions: or "ingrained streaks"--something acidic is actually eating away at the stone itself. This corresponds with the tzara'ath that is "deeper than the skin" (13:4). Here, one is given over to his selfishness. He wanted to act on his own, so he is put in a place where he can be as selfish as he wants--by himself. 38. "Then the cohen shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shall close up the house for seven days. To the door: Aramaic, "towards the entrance". 39. "Then the cohen shall return on the seventh day, and look [at it]. And behold, if the mark has spread in the walls of the house, 40. "then the cohen shall command that they remove the stones which have the mark in them, and throw them into a ritually-impure place outside the city. Remove: or "hack out". (Hirsch) The removed stones are like the branches that are cut out of the olive tree and replaced by engrafted ones, so that the tree itself may be preserved. (Romans 11) Outside the city--a picture of the "outer darkness" in the kingdom, where men gnash their teeth in remorse for what they never made right in this age. 41. "Then he shall have the house scraped from inside and on every side, and they shall dump the debris that they have scraped off outside the city at a ritually impure place. A little leaven leavens the whole lump, so the whole house needs to be cleaned out. It is put in a place where men should not go, so they will not be defiled by it. Debris: "dust" or mortar; Aramaic, "coating". Scraped: includes chipping some parts off or "cornering", like the "pointing" of bricks. The word "house" appears forty times in this passage--a symbol of transition. The House was given 40 more years after Y'shua "took out some of its stones", but because it will still found lacking, not one stone ultimately remained on top of another. (There was an early warning of this in Yirmeyahu/Jer. 19:14-15. 42. "And they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and bring different mortar and plaster the house. Plaster: coat or overlay. 43. "Now if the mark returns and breaks out in the house after he has removed the stones, and after he has scraped the house, and after it has been plastered, This is a symbol of a heresy that is established as a doctrine, like Marcion's (which said the Elohim of the Jews was not the same as that of Christians) and Constantine's (which cast a Gentile, even pagan, slant onYHWH), which thus infected the whole house. 44. "Then the cohen shall come and inspect [it], and behold, if the plague has [continued to] spread in the house, it is a malignant tzara'ath in the house; it is unclean. Malignant: corroding, prickling, or irritating. 45. "Then he shall tear down the house--its stones, its timbers, and all the mortar of the house--and he shall carry them outside the city to a ritually unclean place. Plastering over is only allowed once. The blood of bulls and goats could atone for (cover up) sin for a short time until the real solution came, but something more--one who could bear away our sins--was what was really needed. A fruitless tree is given a second chance, but is cut down if it does not produce when conditions are normalized. (Luke 13:8) The "house" in which the disease has already spread too far will "have its candlestick removed" (Rev. 2:5) 46. "And whoever goes into the house on any of the days [when] he has closed it up shall be ritually defiled until the evening, 47. "and whoever lies down inside the house shall launder his clothes; whoever eats in the house shall launder his clothes. Lying down and eating are pictures of intimacy. (YHWH requires eating at His festivals and sacrifices.) Clothes: a picture of our works, which must be cleaned up for having been intimately involved with a defiled house. 48. "But if the cohen shall indeed come in and inspect [it], and, behold, the mark has not spread in the house after the house has been plastered, then the cohen shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague has been healed. 49. "And he shall select two birds for the ritual purifying of the house, along with cedar wood, scarlet [thread], and hyssop, Even if nothing is wrong with the house anymore, he does not just leave it alone, because it was once plagued, and so a ceremony must officially change its status. 50. "and he shall slaughter the one bird in an earthen vessel over running [living] water, 51. "and he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet, and the living bird, and shall dip them in the blood of the slain bird and in the running water, and shall sprinkle [it] on the house seven times. 52. "Thus he shall ritually cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet [thread], 53. "and he shall send away the living bird outside of the city into the open field; thus [he] shall atone for the house, and it shall be ritually clean. Y'shua's ascending into the heavenlies made a way for the whole House of Israel to be restored. 54. "This is the instruction in regard to every mark of tzara'ath or skin eruption, 55. "as well as for tzara'ath of a garment, or of a house, 56. "and for a swelling, a scab, or a bright spot. 57. "To inform [you] as to when it is ritually defiled and when it is ritually pure, this is the instruction regarding tzara'ath." CHAPTER 15 1. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying, 2. "Speak to the descendants of Israel, and tell them, ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œWhen there is a discharge from one's flesh, he is ritually unclean because of his flow. Discharge: or "running issue" (Hirsch)--something organic, not a normal issue like sweat. If what exudes from us is from our "flesh"--Paul's metaphor for our fallen nature that lacks the whole image of YHWH and therefore "falls short of His glory"--is bound to be impure. The oozing discharges spoken of here are those that involve blood, pus, or wasted (thus dead) seed. But on a deeper level, Y'shua said it was what comes out of a man's mouth that defiles him, so these are all pictures of an uncontrolled free flow of one's tongue, which Proverbs 18:21 and Yaaqov/James chapter 3 say must be strictly bridled. From one's flesh: also the word for "good news" in Hebrew, and coming from a word for "fresh"--which is the essence of and fuel for gossip. We need to weigh ahead of time how our words could be misinterpreted or otherwise affect the whole Body. Are our words wholesome? Profitable? "Where words are many, sin is not lacking." (Prov. 10:19) We will be judged by every idle word we speak. (Matt. 12:36) 3. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd this shall be his ritually uncleanness, whether his flesh runs with his discharge, or whether his body has been stopped up from his discharge, it is his uncleanness; Stopped up: Failing to give a rebuke when it is called for also defiles us. 4. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œevery bed on which he who has a discharge lies shall be ritually unclean, and anything on which he sits shall be unclean. 5. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œThus anyone who touches his bed shall launder his clothes, and shall bathe with water, and shall be unclean until the evening. 6. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd he who sits on anything on which the one who has the discharge has sat must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and shall be unclean until the evening. 7. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd whoever touches the flesh of him who has the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and shall be unclean until the evening. 8. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd if the one who has the issue should spit on someone who is ritually pure, then he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and shall be unclean until the evening. If a selfish person so insults one who is not selfish, it makes him think of himself as well, and they are in the same condition. "Bad company corrupts good morals." 9. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd any saddle in which the one with the discharge rides shall be unclean, Rachel used this as a way to keep her father from finding his household idols. (Gen. 31:35) 10. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œand whoever touches anything that was under him shall be uclean until the evening, and whoever picks them up must launder his clothes, bathe in water, and be ritually unclean until the evening. 11. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd whomever the one with the discharge touches (if he has not rinsed off his hands with water) shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and shall be unclean until the evening. Unlike with a leper, only certain objects are tainted by contact with the one whose flesh oozes uncleanness (things his more profane, unseemly members touch). Not everything he says comes from his flesh. But he spreads his bad influence to whatever person he affects, since he is "neither hot nor cold", a fountain gushing forth both potable water and bitter. 12. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd the earthen vessel that the one with the discharge touches shall be broken, but any wooden vessel [that he touches] shall be washed off with water. The porous vessel can soak up the corruption and it becomes part of it; anything it touches can thus be defiled, and so it must be destroyed. 13. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd when the one with a discharge is cleansed from his flow, then he shall count for himself seven days for his ritual purification, and launder his clothes and bathe his flesh in running water, and he shall be clean. 14. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œThen on the eighth day he shall select for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons and come before YHWH at the entryway of the Tent of Appointment, and give them to the cohen. 15. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd the cohen shall offer them--one as a sin offering, and the other as an ascending offering. Thus the cohen shall make atonement for him before YHWH because of his discharge.'" 16. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œIf a man's copulation seed is emitted from him, he shall bathe all his flesh with water, and be ritually unclean until the evening. Copulation seed: i.e., semen virile. Not only is this unhygienic; multiple deaths have occurred. Most ritually uncleanness is caused by contact with something dead. 17. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd any garment or any skin onto which the copulation seed comes must be washed with water, and will be ritually unclean until the evening. Evening: literally, the mixing (of light and darkness)--the onset of a new day. 18. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd any woman with whom a man lies, giving her seed, must bathe in water and be ritually unclean until the evening. 19. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd when a woman experiences a discharge in her body which is a discharge of blood, she shall be kept apart [as impure] for seven days; whoever touches shall be ritually unclean until the evening. Again there is a death of her egg, as well as the impurity of shed blood. 20. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd anything on which she lies during her time of being kept apart shall be ritually unclean; anything on which she sits shall also be unclean. 21. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd whoever touches what she lies on must launder his clothes and bathe in water, and will be ritually unclean until the evening. 22. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd whoever touches any article on which she has sat must launder his clothing and bathe [himself] in water, and shall be ritually unclean until the evening. 23. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd if he is on the bed or on the article on which she has sat, upon touching it he shall be ritually unclean until the evening. 24. "But if a man actually lies with her and her menstruous material gets on him, he shall be ritually unclean for seven days, and any bed on which he lies shall be ritually unclean. 25. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œNow if a woman has a discharge of her blood for an excessive number of days before the time of her being kept apart, or if it flows beyond the time of her being kept apart, all the days of the flow of her impurity shall be just like the days of her being kept apart; it is her impurity. An excessive number of days: traditionally at least three. Before the time: outside, or not during the (normal) time of her menstrual period. This could signifiy an early miscarriage of a child that she was not yet aware of. Thus this is like the seven-day purification required at the birth of a child. 26. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œEvery bed on which she lies on any of the days of her discharge shall be for her like the bed of her being kept apart, and everything on which she sits shall be ritually impure, just like the impurity of her time of being kept apart. 27. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAnd anyone who touches them shall be ritually unclean, and must wash his clothes with water, and shall be ritually unclean until the evening. 28. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œBut when she is cleansed from her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and then she shall be ritually pure, After a woman's defilement is over and she comes back to her husband, it is like another wedding. A picture of counting the seven weeks from the deliverance from Egypt to the wedding (betrothal--the first stage) beneath Sinai at Shavuot. The death of the firstborn, and so many male Hebrews, in Egypt was an "unusual shedding of blood". SO was the lamb's blood being placed on the doorpost. 29. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œand on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two sons of a pigeon, and bring them to the cohen--toward the entryway to the Tent of Appointment, 30. "and the cohen shall prepare the one as a sin offering, and the other as an ascending [offering]; thus the priest shall effect a covering over her before the presence of YHWH because of the discharge of her impurity. Ascending offering: or "as an elevation"--i.e., to symbolize her rising back out of her ritual uncleanness. 31. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œThis way you shall separate the descendants of Israel from their impurity, so they may not die in their impurity by defiling My dwelling-place which is in their midst. 32. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œThis is the instruction in regard to what is flowing and [the one] from which copulation seed comes forth by which [one can] be defiled, 33. "ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¹ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Â¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œand in regard to her who is weakened by her time of being kept apart and the one issuing forth his flow--for male or female, or for a man who lies with a woman who is ritually impure. Is weakened by: or "suffers from".
	Continued on "Leviticus 16-27" page

	VAYIQRA (Leviticus) 1-15
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