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.
The
title of this parasha “b’ha’alotcha” stems from the Hebrew word “alah” which
means to ascend or “to go up.” In its hiphyl form means that which causes to go
up or ascend.
Num 8:2 “Speak to
Aharon, and say to him, ‘When you set up the lamps, let the seven lamps give
light in front of the lampstand.’ ”
ב דַּבֵּר,
אֶל-אַהֲרֹן, וְאָמַרְתָּ, אֵלָיו: בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ, אֶת-הַנֵּרֹת, אֶל-מוּל
פְּנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה, יָאִירוּ שִׁבְעַת הַנֵּרוֹת.
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2 'Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him: When
thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the
candlestick.'
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We must learn to ask questions – this is
the Hebrew way. Yahshua stated that in order to receive the kingdom we needed
to become like children.
Luk 18:17 “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not
receive the reign of Elohim as a little child, shall certainly not enter into
it.”
What do little children
do a lot? Ask questions, sometimes lots of questions.
The title verse
of our parasha is translated into English as “when you set up (or light) the
lamps” – the question we need to ask is why the Hebrew verb(hidlik) for kindling
or setting up the lamps of the Menorah is not used? Also obvious is that this menorah was not so
high that it required Aaron to “ascend” to kindle the menorah. Is there some
other meaning implied here? No dimensions are ever given of the size of the
menorah, because how can anyone measure the revelation of YHVH. We do know it
was made form one talent of gold (about 50 kg) so it could not have been so
difficult to kindle its lamps. (Shemot 25:31-40)
“Be ha a lot cha” contains an infinitive Hebrew verb
which in this Torah portion comes with a preposition (“b’” incorrectly
interpreted as “when”) and a second person masculine personal pronoun suffix
(cha). An infinitive verb has no limits
with regard to person. Gender, number or tense, it does not need to agree
grammatically with any other word in the sentence.
Maybe “Be ha a lot cha”
(hipyl infinitive) implies that we can only truly return to the ways of YHVH
and His Torah when the light of His Ruach (symbolized in the Menorah) “lifts us up” to a spiritual realm where we
can see as we ought to see and hear as we ought to hear. This reminds us
prophetically of the seven fold Ruach Ha Kodesh (Set apar Spirit) “lifting up”
Messiah in Isaiah 11.
Isa 11:2 The Spirit
of יהוה shall rest
upon Him – the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of יהוה,
This Torah portion when
completed in the annual cycle of the Torah cycle strategically follows
“Shavuot” also known as “Pentecost” and once again implies that the Ruach Ha
Kodesh has been poured out to reveal the Father and His Son and to show us “the
way of return.”
Note the “light” symbolic
of YHVH’s Ruach (Spirit) that comes from YHVH, will always return to honour YHVH.
We need to remind ourselves
why the Ruach(Spirit) of YHVH was poured out on the day of Shavuot and why the
Ruach will be poured again in the latter days. The gifts and administrations of
the Ruach Ha Kodesh as taught in theApostolic Scriptures were always intended to
reveal YHVH and Yahshua and the great redemption that has been secured for
mankind according to His Word through the blood of Messiah. This can only
happen when YHVH allows us a “b’ha’alotcha” moment. In other words a revelation
that causes us to rise above the mundane and earthly affairs of this world to
see and hear as we were meant to see and hear.
Maybe this explains
why so many devout Jews without the revelation of Yahshua Ha Moshiach resort to the deception
of “kabbala” to receive a “deeper” understanding of YHVH and His ways.
One of the most puzzling
challenges believers have wrestled with for centuries is knowing Yahshua and
His Father YHVH as they were meant to be known. Many including ourselves truly desire
to know the Father and the Son, but do we truly know them as They want to be known?
This dilemma becomes
evident when many different views are expressed as to who YHVH and His Son are
and how redemption is to be received and enjoyed by mankind.
One of Yahshua’s final prayers(a
b’ha’alotcha” moment- when Yahshua was elevated by the Ruach of YHVH) was for
his followers to truly understand who he was and who his Father was. We learn
some very interesting concepts of the identity of the Father and the Son in
Yahshua’s prayer found in Yochannan 17. The identities of Father and Son remain
the essence of eternal life.
Joh 17:1 יהושע said these words,
and lifted up His eyes to the heaven,(note his gaze is into the heavenly realm
– having a b’ha’alotcha” moment) and said, “Father, the hour has come. Esteem
Your Son, so that Your Son also might esteem You,
Joh 17:2 as You
have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give everlasting life
to all whom You have given Him.
Joh 17:3 “And this
is everlasting life, that they should know You,
the only true Elohim, and יהושע Messiah whom
You have sent.
Joh 17:4 “I have esteemed You on the earth,
having accomplished the work You have given Me that I should do.
Joh 17:5 “And now,
esteem Me with Yourself, Father, with the esteem which I had with You before
the world was.
Joh 17:6 “I have
revealed Your Name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world. They were
Yours, and You gave them to Me, and they have guarded Your Word. (Torah)1
Footnote: 1See Ps. 138:2.
Joh 17:7 “Now they
have come to know that all You gave to Me, is from You.
Joh 17:8 “Because
the Words which You gave to Me, I have given to them. And they have received
them, and have truly known that I came forth from You, and they believed that
You sent Me.
Joh 17:9 “I pray
for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for
they are Yours.
Joh 17:10 “And all
Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I have been esteemed in them.
Joh 17:11 “And I
am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You.
Set-apart Father, guard them in Your Name which You have given Me, so that they
might be one,1 as We are. Footnote: 1See 10:30. (His name
is not “Ha Shem”)
Joh 17:12 “When I
was with them in the world, I was guarding them in Your Name which You have
given Me, and I watched over them, and not one of them perished except the son
of destruction, that the Scripture might be filled. (only 11)
Joh 17:13 “And now
I come to You. And I speak these words in the world, so that they have
My joy completed in them.
Joh 17:14 “I have
given them Your Word,(Torah) and the world hated them because they are not of
the world, as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:15 “I do
not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You keep them
from the wicked one.
Joh 17:16 “They
are not of the world, as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:17 “Set
them apart in Your truth – Your Word(Torah) is truth.1 Footnote: 1See
Ps. 119:142, 151.
Psa 119:142 Your righteousness is righteousness forever,
And Your Torah is truth.
Joh 17:18 “As You
sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world.
Joh 17:19 “And for
them I set Myself apart, so that they too might be set apart in truth.
Joh 17:20 “And I
do not pray for these alone, but also for those believing in Me through their
word,
Joh 17:21 so that
they all might be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so that they
too might be one in Us, so that the world might believe that You have sent Me.
Joh 17:22 “And the
esteem which You gave Me I have given them, so that they might be one as We are
one,
Joh 17:23 “I in
them, and You in Me, so that they might be perfected into one, so that the
world knows that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
Joh 17:24 “Father,
I desire that those whom You have given Me, might be with Me where I am, so
that they see My esteem which You have given Me, because You loved Me before
the foundation of the world.
Joh 17:25 “O
righteous Father, indeed the world did not know You, but I knew You, and these
knew that You sent Me.
Joh 17:26 “And I
have made Your Name known to them, and shall make it known,1 so that
the love with which You loved Me might be in them, and I in them.” Footnote: 1See
v. 6, Ps. 22:22, Heb. 2:12.
This High Priestly prayer of Yahshua
could also be the very prayer that Aaron or one of his sons will pray for and on
behalf of Messiah for us when they enter into the set apart place once again in
the age to come, to kindle the Menorah
and intercede for Yisrael. The goal of the Aaronic ministry is to conform us
into the image of Messiah.
The menorah was meant to reveal
hidden dimensions of our relationship with YHVH through His Son…
Our Torah portion begins:
Num 8:1 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, saying,
Num 8:2 “Speak to
Aharon, and say to him, ‘When you set up the lamps, let the seven lamps give
light in front of the lampstand.’ ”
Num 8:3 And Aharon
did so. He set up the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, as יהוה commanded Mosheh.
Num 8:4 And this
is the work of the lampstand: beaten work of gold, from its base to its
blossoms it is beaten work. According to the pattern which יהוה had shown Mosheh, so he made the
lampstand.
Num 8:5 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 8:6 “Take the
Lĕwites from among the children of Yisra’ĕl, and you shall cleanse them,
Num 8:7 and do
this to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of sin offering on them,
and they shall shave all their body, and shall wash their garments, and cleanse
themselves,
Num 8:8 and shall
take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, while
you take another young bull as a sin offering.
Why should such a thorough cleansing take place? When an
appointed priesthood is “elevated” by the Ruach to see things as YHVH sees
them, they will be deeply impacted by the defilement of everything else that
does not come from YHVH. This priesthood must be pure before YHVH as they will
intercede and represent the people of YHVH to YHVH. (Lev 10:10)
Num 8:9 “And you
shall bring the Lĕwites before the Tent of Meeting, and you shall assemble all
the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl.
Num 8:10 “And you
shall bring the Lĕwites before יהוה, and the
children of Yisra’ĕl shall lay their hands on the Lĕwites,
This refers to the law of transference …of blessings as
well as iniquities. The priest would both bring blessing as well as bear the
burden of the sins of the people before YHVH.
Num 8:11 and
Aharon shall wave the Lĕwites before
יהוה, a wave offering from the children of
Yisra’ĕl – so shall they be for doing the service of יהוה.
Such a priesthood will be honoured by being elevated
(waved) unto YHVH. This Hebrew word “wave” comes from a Hebraic root “nuph”
which can mean to rock to and fro as we often observe when devout Jews pray.
I believe when a “priest” experiences a “b’alotcha”
moment he or she will spontaneously begin to “wave.”
Num 8:12 “And the
Lĕwites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls. And one shall be
prepared as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to יהוה, to make atonement for the Lĕwites.
Num 8:13 “And you
shall have the Lĕwites stand before Aharon and his sons, and then wave them, a
wave offering to יהוה.
Num 8:14 “Thus you
shall separate the Lĕwites from among the children of Yisra’ĕl, and the Lĕwites shall be Mine.
Num 8:15 “Then
after that the Lĕwites shall go in to do service in the Tent of Meeting, when
you have cleansed them and waved them as a wave offering.
Num 8:16 “For they are given ones, given to Me
from among the children of Yisra’ĕl. I have taken them for Myself instead of
all who open the womb, the first-born of all the children of Yisra’ĕl.
Num 8:17 “For all
the first-born among the children of Yisra’ĕl are Mine, both man and beast. On
the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Mitsrayim I set them
apart unto Myself.
Num 8:18 “And I
have taken the Lĕwites instead of all the first-born of the children of
Yisra’ĕl.
Num 8:19 “And I
have given the Lĕwites as a gift to Aharon and his sons from among the children
of Yisra’ĕl, to do the service of the children of Yisra’ĕl in the Tent of
Meeting, and to make atonement for the
children of Yisra’ĕl, that there be
no plague among the children of Yisra’ĕl when the children of Yisra’ĕl come
near the set-apart place.”
Num 8:20 Thus
Mosheh and Aharon and all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl did to
the Lĕwites according to all that יהוה commanded
Mosheh concerning the Lĕwites, so the children of Yisra’ĕl did to them.
Num 8:21 And the
Lĕwites cleansed themselves and washed their garments, and Aharon waved them, a
wave offering before יהוה, and Aharon
made atonement for them to cleanse them.
Num 8:22 Then
after that the Lĕwites went in to do their service in the Tent of Meeting
before Aharon and his sons as יהוה commanded
Mosheh concerning the Lĕwites, so they did to them.
Num 8:23 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 8:24 “This
applies to the Lĕwites: From twenty-five years old and above let him come into
active service in the service of the Tent of Meeting,
Num 8:25 and at
the age of fifty years they retire from active service of the service, and
serve no more,
Num 8:26 but they
shall attend with their brothers in the Tent of Meeting, to guard the duty, but
shall do no service. Thus you shall do to the Lĕwites regarding their duties.”
Num 9:1 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after
they had come out of the land of Mitsrayim, saying,
Num 9:2 “Now, let
the children of Yisra’ĕl perform the Passover at its appointed time.
Num 9:3 “On the
fourteenth day of this month, between the evenings, perform it at its appointed
time. According to all its laws and right-rulings you perform it.”
Num 9:4 And Mosheh
spoke to the children of Yisra’ĕl to perform the Passover.
Num 9:5 So they
performed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, between the
evenings, in the Wilderness of Sinai. According to all that יהוה commanded Mosheh, so the children of
Yisra’ĕl did.
Num 9:6 But there
were men who were defiled for a being of a man, so that they were not able to
perform the Passover on that day. So they came before Mosheh and Aharon that
day,
Num 9:7 and those
men said to him, “We are defiled for the being of a man. Why are we withheld from bringing near the offering of יהוה at its
appointed time among the children of Yisra’ĕl?”
Num 9:8 And Mosheh
said to them, “Wait, let me hear what יהוה commands
concerning you.” Num 9:9 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying, Num 9:10 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying,
‘When any male of you or your generations is unclean1 for a being,
or is far away on a journey, he shall still perform the Passover of יהוה. (But it will be kept a month later on the
14th day of the Second month – it is called ‘Pesach Sheni” - like we will see in verse 11)Footnote: 1Defilement
can be imparted from one to another.
We can be and have been defiled by “dead” men’s doctrine
both from Christianity and Judaism. Perhaps the “pesach sheni” or second
Passover is YHVH’s way for all of us to be given a b’halotcha” moment and come
into unity and receive the full blessing of peshach and its accompanying
appointments.
Remember the words of our Messiah:
Joh 6:53 יהושע therefore said
to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Aḏam and
drink His blood, you possess no life in yourselves.
Joh 6:54 “He who
eats My flesh and drinks My blood possesses everlasting life, and I shall raise
him up in the last day.
Joh 6:55 “For My
flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink.
Joh 6:56 “He who
eats My flesh and drinks My blood stays in Me, and I in him.
Only when we are “uplifted” (b’ha’alotcha) to a level of
truly understanding how Pesach and Yahshua’s words relate to each other will we
be to walk in the redemption of Messiah
as celebrated in Pesach.
Num 9:11 ‘On the fourteenth day of the second month,
between the evenings, they perform it – with unleavened bread and bitter herbs
they eat it.
Num 9:12 ‘They do
not leave of it until morning, and they do not break a bone of it. According to
all the laws of the Passover they perform it.
Num 9:13 ‘But the
man who is clean and is not on a journey, and has failed to perform the
Passover (on the 14th of the First Month of Aviv), that same being
shall be cut off from among his people, because he did not bring the offering
of יהוה at its appointed time – that man bears his
sin.
Num 9:14 ‘And when
a stranger sojourns among you, then he shall perform the Passover of יהוה. He shall do so according to the law of
the Passover and according to its right-ruling. You have one law, both for the stranger and the native of the land.’ ”
Num 9:15 And on
the day that the Dwelling Place was
raised up, (hiphyl verb to lift up)the
cloud covered the Dwelling Place, the Tent of the Witness. From evening until
morning it was above the Dwelling Place like the appearance of fire.
When
the tabernacle or temporary dwelling place of YHVH is raised up according
YHVH’s instructions then YHVH will cause His Presence to dwell upon this
temporary dwelling place. This dwelling place can only move when YHVH says so.
In other words His indwelling presence may require varying amounts of time to
be truly established His Will and Way in our live before He leads us forward.
Num 9:16 Thus it
was continually: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by
night.
Num 9:17 And
whenever the cloud was taken up from above the Tent, after that the children of
Yisra’ĕl would depart. And in the place where the cloud dwelt, there the
children of Yisra’ĕl would camp.
Num 9:18 At the
command of יהוה the children
of Yisra’ĕl departed, and at the command of יהוה they camped.
They remained camped as long as the cloud dwelt above the Dwelling Place.
Num 9:19 Even when
the cloud lingered many days above the Dwelling Place, the children of Yisra’ĕl
guarded the Charge of יהוה, and did not
depart.
Num 9:20 And so it
was, when the cloud was above the Dwelling Place a few days: according to the
command of יהוה they camped,
and according to the command of יהוה they would
depart.
Num 9:21 And so it
was, when the cloud dwelt only from evening until morning: when the cloud was
taken up in the morning, then they departed. Whether by day or by night,
whenever the cloud was taken up, they departed.
Num 9:22 Whether
two days, or a month, or a year that the cloud lingered above the Dwelling Place
to dwell upon it, the children of Yisra’ĕl camped, and did not depart. But when
it was taken up, they departed.
Num 9:23 At the
command of יהוה they camped,
and at the command of יהוה they departed.
They guarded the Charge of יהוה, at the
command of יהוה by the hand of
Mosheh.
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 Yahveh, 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.