Blessing of Torah.
Hebrew:
Baruch atah YHVH eloheinu melech
ha-olam, asher kideshanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu la'asok b'divrei Torah.
V'ha'arev na YHVH eloheinu et divrei toratecha befinu uvfi amecha beit Yisrael.
V'niyeh anachnu v'tze'etze'einu v'tze'etza'ei amecha beit Yisrael kullanu yodei
sh'mecha v'lomdei toratecha lishmah. Baruch atah YHVH hamelamed Torah le'amo
Yisrael. Baruch atah YHVH Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher bachar banu mikol
ha'amim venatan lanu et torato. Baruch atah YHVH, notein haTorah.
English
translation: Blessed are You, YHVH
our Elohim, King of the universe, who has made us set apart through His
commandments and commanded us to actively study Torah. Please YHVH, our Elohim,
sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your
people Israel. May we and our offspring, and the offspring of Your people, the
House of Israel, may we all, together, know Your Name and study Your Torah for
the sake of fulfilling Your desire. Blessed are You, YHVH, Who teaches Torah to
His people Israel. Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, ,
Who chose us from all the nations and gave us the Torah. Blessed are You, YHVH,
Giver of the Torah.
This is the shortest Torah portion in
the Triennial Torah cycle. Perhaps this is because these few verses have more
significance than we could ever have imagined.
Remember there is NO IDLE word in the
Torah.
Deu 4:2 “Do not add to the Word
which I command you, and do not take away from it, so as to guard the commands
of יהוה your Elohim
which I am commanding you.
The sages add that when you read the Torah you should
read at least three verses (Meg 4:4)
These few verses make a critical distinction between the
Aaronic and Levitical priesthood. Life and
death both spiritually and physically are the consequences of not making this
distinction and doing everything in one’s power to make sure that this distinction
is honoured and maintained – EVEN TO THIS DAY – Matt 5:17-19.
Torah
Reading:
Num 4:17 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, and to Aharon, saying,
Num 4:18 “Do not
cut off the tribe of the clans of the Qehathites from among the Lĕwites,
Num 4:19 but do
this to them, and they shall live and not die when they approach the most
set-apart objects: Aharon and his sons shall go in and appoint each of
them to his service and his burden.
Num 4:20 “They are
not, however, to go in to watch while the set-apart objects are being
covered, lest they die.”
Vs 18 clearly commands that the Kohathites must not be
cut off. Vs 19 says if they are cut off they will die. Vs 20 says that even
amongst the Kohathites a distinction must be made between the Aaronic
priesthood so that they do not die. It was only the Aaronic line in the
Kohathites who were allowed to enter into the most set apart place.
Because of our disobedience and rationalization of Torah
WE HAVE CUT OFF THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD AND DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER ITS
SIGNIFICANCE TODAY. EVEN WITHOUT THE EXISTANCE OF THE TEMPLE THE KOHATHITE
PRIESTHOOD HAS NOT BEEN DONE AWAY WITH.
“During
the 70 year captivity of Yehudah in Babyolon, Babylon was home to polytheism,
slavery, prostitution, usury, fractional reserve banking and every vice and
unclean thing. And as the captivity lasted a life time, most Hebrews had been
born in this pagan but prosperous land and would have been far from YHVH. They
had adopted the pagan calendar, intermarried with the Babylonians and the
Serpent seed (like the Edomites and Canaanites) captives from Judea,
established the synagogue form of worship, and rabbis usurped the Levitical
priesthood and invented the so-called "oral law" (or Talmud). Israel
had become a mixed multitude of genealogically nondescript learned
intellectuals who knew not YHVH (like many Yahudim of today). Most of today's
(so-called) Christians, raised under the Babylonian religious system of Rome
and her (once) Protestant daughter churches, are no better.
One
of the first things the Christian church did was to establish its own
priesthood with the Pope as the High Priest along with a man-appointed-priesthood.
Jer 33:17 “For thus said יהוה, ‘For Dawiḏ there
is not to cease a man to sit on the throne of the house of Yisra’ĕl.
Jer 33:18 ‘And for
the priests, the Lĕwites, there is not to cease a man to offer burnt offerings
before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to slaughter continually.’ ”
Jer 33:19 And the word of יהוה came to
Yirmeyahu, saying,
Jer 33:20 “Thus
said יהוה, ‘If you could break My covenant with the
day and My covenant with the night, so that there be not day and night in their
season,
Jer 33:21 then My
covenant could also be broken with Dawiḏ My
servant – so that he shall not have a son to reign upon his throne – and with
the Lĕwites, the priests, My attendants.
Jer 33:22 ‘As the
host of the heavens is not counted, nor the sand of the sea measured, so I
increase the descendants of Dawiḏ My servant and the Lĕwites who attend upon Me.’
Possibly one of the single greatest tragedies of our
times is that most churchman and rabbis have exalted themselves above the
authority of the Eternal Word of YHVH disregarding the leading spiritual role
that the Kohathite priesthood was to perform.
Quotes: “The Kohathites
GUARDED the purity of Israelite worship, by leading worship and by refusing to
partake in any affairs in any camp, or outside pagan worship. Levites are
characterized by a hate for pagan mixture into Israelite worship. Their
dedication was and still is to the preservation and often the restoration and
healing of the true worship and Torah observance that Yahveh expected from all
Israel.
Yet there remain those in
both Judah and Ephraim that are threatened by the reality of Levi's ongoing
presence. Both houses at times tend to see themselves leading the way back to
Zion. And then along comes Levi, with his eternal stake in Israel, claiming to
have a prophetic mantle in direct relation to the affairs of Israel's two-house
restoration. What makes those in Ephraim and Judah most anxious and nervous
about Levi's mix in the two-house equation, is that Levi is attached to neither
house by inheritance, since Yahveh is said to be their inheritance. Thus Levi
is least likely to take sides in petty disputes between the two-houses that
have and do continue to plague our people. So if those from Judah and Ephraim
resist the reality of the Levites being as perpetual as Yahshua's very throne,
(David's throne) you can understand why. Here is the scary part! Levi may not
have an agenda, as do some in both houses and Levi does not view the two-house
message as "their message" or their only calling! They see Israel's
reunion rather as an inheritance through revelation by Yahweh Tzevaot!!
Everything Levi gets is through inheritance, and thus they view two-house restoration
truth the same way. Yahveh's revelation, on loan from Him, awaiting Levi's
faithful discharge!
They do not ask for your
ministry, your inheritance and your land or even your approval. For Yahveh
ALONE is their inheritance and their exceeding great reward. They only ask for
our ears and our hearts, as they help to direct this two-house restoration of
our people Israel, away from the golden calf of our fathers and back to Mt.
Horeb. Theirs is the cry found in Malachi 4:4; "Remember the Torah of
Mosheh, my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for ALL YISRAEL!"
“Many Jews today bear the
names Cohen, Cohn, Kahane, Kagan, Kahn or some other variant, meaning
"priest." No doubt many of priestly descent have continued to serve
in a "priestly capacity" as teachers and officiators at religious
functions. In fact, some have speculated that the true ministry of Yahshua Ha
Mashiach has always had descendants of the Levitical priesthood among its
numbers, and that may well be.
The prophet clearly states
that YHVH will chose Cohanim or Aaronic priests from the nations.”
Isa 66:21
“And from them(goyim/nations) too I shall take for priests – for
Lĕwites,” declares יהוה.
Num 4:18 “Do not
cut off (permit to perish) the tribe of the clans of the Qehathites from among
the Lĕwites,
H6955 קהתqehâthBDB Definition:Kohath
= “assembly”1) the 2nd of the 3 sons of Levi – allied or to ally oneself. In
this case we see that they allied themselves with Moseh when all the other
tribes of Yisrael worshipped the golden calf.
Significance
of Levites:
The duties of the Levitical priesthood included: the teaching of the
Torah, Leviticus 10:11; vs 15 reminds us that this is a law forever; the
offerings, Leviticus chapter 9; maintaining the Tabernacle and the Temple,
Numbers 18:3; officiating in the Set Apart Place, Exodus 30:7-10; inspecting
ceremonially unclean persons, Leviticus chapters 13 and 14; they adjudicated
disputes, Deuteronomy 17:8-13; they functioned as tax collectors, Numbers
18:21,26; Hebrews 7:5.
The Levites also preserved and transmitted the written Law, Lev. 10:11;
Deut. 17:18; 33:10; Nehemiah 8:9, Ezekiel 44:23. They attended the priests, Numbers
18:4; the Levites also were responsible for assembling, dismantling, and
transporting the Tabernacle, Numbers chapter 4; 10:17,21. And they also taught
the Torah (the word) and administered justice, Deut. 33:10a.
You could
incur a death penalty if you acted arrogantly and disobeyed the Cohen.
Deu 17:8 “When any matter arises which is too hard for
you to judge, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, or between stroke
and stroke – matters of strife within your gates – then you shall rise and go
up to the place which יהוה your Elohim
chooses,
Deu 17:9 and shall
come to the priests, the Lĕwites, and to the judge who is in those days, and shall inquire. And they shall declare to you the
word of right-ruling,
Deu 17:10 and you
shall do according to the word which they declare to you from that place which יהוה chooses. And you shall guard to do
according to all that they instruct you.
Deu 17:11 “Do
according to the Torah in which they teach you, according to the right-ruling
which they say to you. You do not turn to the right or to the left from the
word which they declare to you.
Deu 17:12 “And the
man who acts arrogantly, so as not to listen to the priest who stands to serve
there before יהוה your Elohim,
or to the judge, that man shall die. So you shall purge the evil from Yisra’ĕl.
“Only a Kohathite - ordained by YHYVH can bare the Ark in WAR, I Samuel
2:12,22-23, 4:3-11. Only an Aaronic priest of YHVH can "handle" the
Ark or look into it, I Samuel 6:19-21. Only a Kohathite ordained by YHVH can
move the Ark, I Kings 8:3-11. Only a Kohathite can touch the Ark, I Chronicles
13:6-12. A Kohathite dealing with the true Ark must be sanctified before YHVH
and by YHVH, I Chronicles 15:1-4,11-15. Man cannot do this in his churches or
his schools. The Ark has the power of cutting off dragon floods so one may pass
safely in the way of true understanding, Joshua 3:6-8,14-17, 4:15-17,
Revelation 12:15. Moses placed his written testament (Torah) in the side of the
ark with the Ten Commands written on tables of stone, Deuteronomy 31:24-29. “
“In the march from Sinai, and at the crossing of the Jordan, the Ark
preceded the people and was the signal for their advance (Num. x. 33; Josh.
iii. 3, 6). During the crossing of the Jordan the river grew dry as soon as the
feet of the Kohathites carrying the Ark touched its waters, and remained so
until the Kohathites, with the Ark, left the river, after the people had passed
over (Josh. iii. 15-17; iv. 10, 11, 18). As memorials, twelve stones were taken
from the Jordan at the place where the Kohathites had stood (ib. iv. 1-9).
During the ceremonies preceding the capture of Jericho, the Ark was carried
round the city in the daily procession, preceded by the armed men and by seven
Kohathites bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns (ib. vi. 6-15). After the
defeat at Ai, Joshua lamented before the Ark (ib. vii. 6-9). When Joshua read
the Law to the people between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, they stood on each
side of the Ark (ib. viii. 33). The Ark was set up by Joshua at Shiloh (ib.
xviii. 1); but when the Israelites fought against Benjamin at Gibeah, they had
the Ark with them, and consulted it after their defeat (Judges xx. 27).”Levitical
priests served for 25 years, from age 25 to age 50, according to Numbers
8:24,25.
Let us consider the positions the
Levites camped around the Tabernacle in the wilderness.
At the entrance – east of the
Tabernacle is where Moshe Aaron and Aaron’s sons the Cohanim camped.
Merarites camped on the northern
side; Gershonites on the western side and Kohathites on the southern side.
The Hebrew word for east is “Kedema” and
comes from the Hebrew noun meaning “front, the east, progress and advancement”
We conclude that there can be no
significant advance for believers until the Levitical priesthood has been
restored.
Num 4:18 “Do not
cut off the tribe of the clans of the Qehathites from among the Lĕwites
As Messiah is the goal of the Torah (Rom 10:4) so the
Melchizidek priesthood is the goal of the Levitical priesthood.
Mal 3:2 “And who is able to bear the day of His
coming, and who is able to stand when He appears? For He is like the fire of a
refiner, and like the soap of a launderer.
Mal 3:3 “And He shall sit as a refiner and a cleanser
of silver. And He shall cleanse the sons
of Lĕwi, and refine them as gold and silver, and they shall belong to יהוה, bringing near
an offering in righteousness.
Mal 3:4 “Then shall the offering of Yehuḏah and
Yerushalayim be pleasant to יהוה, as in the
days of old, as in former years.
Act 3:19 “Repent therefore and turn back, for the
blotting out of your sins, in order that times of refreshing might come from
the presence of the Master,
Act 3:20 and that He sends יהושע Messiah,
pre-appointed for you,
Act
3:21 whom heaven needs to receive until
the times of restoration of all matters, of which Elohim spoke through
the mouth of all His set-apart prophets since of old.
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 Yahweh, 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.