This is an eternal statute

(Leviticus23:14)

Iyar 11, 5778/April 26, 2018

This week's Torah reading, (read here in the land of Israel), Emor, begins by enumerating Torah commandments concerning the kohanim (Temple priests). This, of course, is in keeping with the rest of the book of Leviticus, which is wholly concerned with the conduct of the kohanim in the performance of the Temple offerings and daily Tamid service, and with the 'extra' assignment with which the kohanim were entrusted - the spiritual care with which they tended to non-priestly Israelites who had been stricken with different manifestations of ritual impurity.

What 'Holiness' Looks Like

When a religious person conducts himself no differently than the common, ordinary people around him, he makes God look common and ordinary too.

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Acharei Mot-Kedoshim (אחרי מות/קדושים | After the death/Holy)

Torah: Leviticus 16:1-20:27

Haftarah: Ezekiel 22:1-19

Gospel: Matthew 15:10-20;

Yeshua (Jesus) keep the Torah

Orthodox Jewish men gather at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem.

 

 

Shalom,

 

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”  (Matthew 5:17)

 

It is quite often said that Yeshua (Jesus) had little appreciation for Judaism's oral laws.

 

But a great many Jewish people recognized Yeshua as being a holy man, an observant Jew.  In fact, many called Him Rabbi, which at the time meant Master or Teacher of the law, both oral and written.

 

Rabbi Yeshua, likewise, told the crowds and His disciples that the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.  In saying this, He recognized their official right to make rulings and judgments according to Scripture and the oral tradition.

 

These oral laws or traditions are somewhat akin to judges interpreting the law of the land based on past interpretations by other judges.

 

This authority to rule and make judgments about God's instructions likely began when Moses accepted his father-in-law’s advice to share the burden of leadership with 70 elders of the community (Exodus 18:13–26).

And on the eighth day, he shall take for himself two turtle doves

(Leviticus15:14)

Nisan 28, 5778/April 13, 2018

This week's double Torah reading of Tazria-Metzora deals with a number of subjects, each distinct from the other, but with a common thread woven through each of them. One of the common threads today is how strange, how foreign, how far away they all seem to our modern eyes and ears. Nevertheless the intended common thread throughout Tazria-Metzora is that of tahara, translated as purity, and its antithesis, tum'a, translated as impurity. Just what are taharaand tum'a and what do they have to do with the arcane afflictions whose symptoms are described in painstaking detail, and what does any of this have to do with the central and sole focus of the book of Leviticus, which is the service of the kohanim, (the Temple priests), within the desert Tabernacle?

Aaron's Grief

The Temple belongs to the world in which HaShem will wipe away every tear from their eyes and in which there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain.

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Shemini (שמיני | Eighth)

Torah: Leviticus 9:1-11:47

Haftarah: 2 Sam. 6:1-7:17

Gospel: Matthew 3:11-17

Speak to the children of Israel and let them travel!

(Exodus 14:15) Nisan 20, 5778/April 5, 2018 Fulfilling all of G-d's commandments concerning the preparation of and partaking of the Pesach (Passover) offering before leaving Egypt forever on the night of the fifteenth of Nisan was a huge step for the children of Israel, but just the first step, nevertheless, on the long road to freedom. They proved that, even in the face of danger, and with much good reason to be fearful, they could follow G-d's instructions faithfully and to perfection. And for the next six days on their journey this is exactly what they did. G-d told them where to turn and where to encamp, and they did. No questions were asked. No doubts were raised.

Celebrating the Passover Seder

 

 

“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”  (Isaiah 53:5)

 

 

Shalom,

 

Christians around the world will be honoring Good Friday. 

 

At the same time, Jewish People and Messianic Believers will be celebrating the Passover Seder, recounting how the Angel of Death passed over the homes of the Israelites and all those in Egypt who applied the blood of the Passover lamb to their doorposts.

 

Two thousand years ago, 12 men celebrating the Passover Seder in Jerusalem were told by their rabbi and master, Yeshua (Jesus), that this would be their last Seder together.  He also explained its prophetic significance.

 

“When the hour came, Yeshua and His apostles reclined at the table.  And He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.  I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.’”  (Luke 22:14–16)

 

The Last Supper, by Jacopo Bassano

 

Despite this last time of breaking unleavened bread and sharing of the wine, Yeshua did not leave them without hope.