Blessing for the Torah:
Baruch atah YHVH,
Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam, asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan lanu eht Torah-to.
Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the
Universe,
you have selected us from among all the peoples, and
have given us your Torah.
Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
Ber/Gen 8:1 And Elohim remembered Noaḥ, and all the beasts
and all the cattle that were with him in the ark. And Elohim made a wind to
pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.
א וַיִּזְכֹּר אֱלֹהִים, אֶת-נֹחַ, וְאֵת כָּל-הַחַיָּה וְאֶת-כָּל-הַבְּהֵמָה
In the face of utter destruction Elohim “zachar” (remembered)
Noach and his family and all the animal life in the ark. Two kinds of animal
life (beasts and cattle) are mentioned here, we assume it is referring to the
clean and the unclean animals.
We know that YHVH does not forget and so the term
“zachar” is often used in the covenant language of the ancient near east to
identify loyalty to a covenant promise.
This same word “zachar” is also the Hebrew word
that describes the masculine gender.
When we midrash (serge/research) the connection
between two different meanings of the same word “zachar” we can find some
astounding lessons about the deeper meaning of being a man and the
responsibilities men have in preserving and taking responsibility for covenant.
The Hebrew word for the male genital organ is
“zachrut”- we know that the male genital
organ is used to enter and confirm a
covenant with his wife (even in our days a marriage can be annulled if there
has been no sexual intercourse). It is also interesting that the covenant sign
is made on the male genital organ to remind him of his covenant connection with
YHVH.
In the light of the deeper meanings and
applications of the Hebrew word “zachar” it is possible that we are going to
see a restoration among Elohim - fearing
men to once again assume the responsibility YHVH ordained for them to be
priests and spiritual leaders in our communities. Sadly today, gender issues
have obscured YHVH’s purpose of raising up righteous men who will lead their
communities into righteousness.
This does not undermine the role of woman in any
way. Some believe the scripture in Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 31:22 has to do with a
restoration of the role of righteous woman in the last days.
Yir/Jer 31:22 “Till when would you turn here and there, O
backsliding daughter? For יהוה has created what is new on earth: a woman encompasses a man!”
This is the scripture that a bride prophetically
refers to when she walks seven times around her bridegroom during a Hebrew
wedding.
The Hebrew meaning of the verse gives us deeper
insight into what is being said. This verse says that YHVH will do something
new on earth, that which is feminine (nekevah) will surround that which is
strength (gaver). In other words the world is yet to witness a balance and
interaction between men and woman in covenant with each other that has not been
witnessed before. What can this be? Today we can only speculate, but we can
look forward to a harmony and blessing that will flow from marriage that we
have not yet seen in the world.
If man is made in the image of YHVH, how does one
relate this kind of imagery back to our Creator? We can assume that it gives
YHVH great pleasure that when He brings forth a word and when it is received,
this same word will always create life.
We have seen that His word produces a seed that
either will be set apart to honour Him or a seed that will not honour Him.
We see the same with the offspring of men; some
grow up to honour YHVH and set themselves apart to do so while others do not.
This can be compared to the two forms of animal life we see in verse one and also later
see symbolized in the two different kinds of birds Noach uses to establish the
truth of YHVH’s covenant.
We see men were to set themselves apart unto YHYVH
at least three times a year.
Deu 16:16 “Three times a year all your males appear
before יהוה your Elohim in
the place which He chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and at the
Festival of Weeks, and at the Festival of Booths. And none should appear before
יהוה empty-handed,
Deu 16:17 but
each one with the gift of his hand, according to the blessing of יהוה your Elohim which He has given you.
What is the meaning of Yeshayahu’s (Isaiah’s) prophecy
in Yesh/Is 4 ?
Yesh/Isa 4:1 And in that day seven women shall take hold
of one man, saying, “We shall eat our own food and wear our own clothes; only
let us be called by your name, to take away our reproach.”
Isa 4:2 In that day the Branch of יהוה shall be
splendid and esteemed. And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely
for the escaped ones1 of Yisra’ĕl. Footnote: 1Joel 2:32,
Obad. v. 17.
Isa 4:3 And it
shall be that he who is left in Tsiyon and he who remains in Yerushalayim is
called set-apart, everyone who is written among the living in Yerushalayim.
Isa 4:4 When יהוה has washed away the filth of the daughters of Tsiyon, and
rinsed away the blood of Yerushalayim from her midst, by the spirit of judgment
and by the spirit of burning,
Isa 4:5 then יהוה shall create above every dwelling place of Mount Tsiyon, and
above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming
fire by night, for over all the esteem shall be a covering,
Isa 4:6 and a
booth for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a
shelter from storm and rain.
Is it not possible
that in the day of the restoration of all things that many men and woman will
realize that to be in a righteous relationship with YHVH they will have to be
in a righteous relationship with one another.
(Acts 3:21)
Once again we see that
YHVH seems to hold the men responsible for maintaining and establishing a
righteous covenant on earth, in this age and in the age to come.
ZACHAR!!!!!
אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ בַּתֵּבָה; וַיַּעֲבֵר אֱלֹהִים רוּחַ עַל-הָאָרֶץ, וַיָּשֹׁכּוּ הַמָּיִם.
The root “shakak” found in the word “vayashku”
implies an abating of anger. It will serve us well to remind ourselves that
YHVH can and will once again become extremely angry over mankind’s covenantal
unfaithfulness.
Ber/Gen 8:2
And the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were
stopped, and the rain from the heavens was withheld.
Note how heaven and
earth witness and are part of the judgement on mankind (see book of
Revelation).
Ber/Gen 8:3
And the waters receded steadily from the earth, and at the end of the
hundred and fifty days the waters diminished.
Gen 8:4 And
in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested on the
mountains of Ararat.
Gen 8:5 And
the waters decreased steadily until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the
first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.
Gen 8:6 And
it came to be, at the end of forty days, that Noaḥ opened the window of the
ark which he had made,
Gen 8:7 and
he sent out a raven, which kept going out and turning back until the waters had
dried up from the earth.
Raven in Hebrew is “orev” the primitive is
to braid or intermix. This Hebrew word is spelled the same as
“erev” which means mixture between day and night.
Gen 8:8 Then
he sent out a dove from him, to see if the waters had receded from the face of
the ground.
Dove in Hebrew is “yonah”- comes from the root word
‘yahin’ which means intoxicated. (Song of songs)
In Judaism, the dove
signified the love of YHVH for His Chosen People, the Yisraelites. White doves,
signs of purity, were offerings offered for purification at the Temple in Yerushalayim.
The “Tenach” (Torah, Prohpets and Writings that we used to call OT) symbolized
the dove in various forms. The dove was frequently used in the "Song of
Songs," largely to convey terms of endearment: in their behavior, the
doves paired for a long time. "Oh how beautiful, your eyes are like doves
..." (Songs 1: 15). "Oh that I had wings of a dove to fly away and be
at rest ..." (Psalm 55: 6).
In the Apostolic
writings (or Second Writings/ Messianic Writings which we used to call NT) the
dove is usually the symbol of the Set Apart Spirit "heavenly messenger”. It
is also seen denoting the Ruach (Spirit) of YHVH descending on Yahshua at His
immersion.
Mat 3:16 And having been immersed, יהושע went up
immediately from the water, and see, the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit
of Elohim descending like a dove and coming upon Him,
Mat 3:17 and see,
a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I did
delight.”
We see also the instruction of how we are
to live likened to a dove and a serpent.
Mat 10:16
“See, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise
as serpents and innocent as doves.
Too often believers are too trusting and during
unguarded moments are taken advantage of.
Gen 8:9 But
the dove found no resting place for its feet and returned into the ark to him,
for the waters were on the face of all the earth. So he put out his hand and
took it, and pulled it into the ark to himself.
Gen 8:10 And
he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark.
Gen 8:11 And
the dove came to him in the evening, and see, a freshly plucked olive leaf was
in its mouth. And Noaḥ knew that the waters had receded from the earth.
Gen 8:12 And
he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return to
him again.
Gen 8:13 And
it came to be in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first
day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth. And Noaḥ
removed the covering of the ark and looked, and saw the surface of the ground
was dry.
Gen 8:14 And
in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam,asher
natan lanu Toraht-emet,v’chay-yeh o’lam nata-b’tochenu.
Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you YHVH, our Elohim, King of the
Universe,you have given us your Torah of truth,and have planted everlasting
life within our midst. Blessed are you, YHVH giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
Please note these notes
are under construction and are subject to correction and are in no way a final
authority on any subject.