Bar’chu
et YHVH ha-m’vorach, Baruch YHVH ha-m’vorach l’O’lam va-ed!
Baruch
ata YHVH Eloheinu melech ha-olam asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim, v’na-tan lanu
eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Bless YHVH the blessed One; Blessed is YHVH, the
blessed One for all eternity. 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.
Lev 18:1 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, saying,
Lev 18:2 “Speak to
the children of Yisra’ĕl, and say to them, ‘I am יהוה your Elohim.
Lev 18:3 ‘Do not
do as they do in the land of Mitsrayim, where you dwelt. And do not do as they
do in the land of Kenaʽan, where I am bringing you, and do not walk in their
laws.
Lev 18:4 ‘Do My
right-rulings and guard My laws, to walk in them. I am יהוה your Elohim.
Lev 18:5 ‘And you
shall guard My laws and My right-rulings, which a man does and lives by them. I
am יהוה.
Lev 18:6 ‘No one
is to approach anyone of his own flesh to uncover his nakedness. I am יהוה.
Lev 18:7 ‘The
nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you do not uncover.
She is your mother, you do not uncover her nakedness.
Lev 18:8 ‘The
nakedness of your father’s wife you do not uncover, it is your father’s
nakedness.
Lev 18:9 ‘The
nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your
mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you do not uncover.
Lev 18:10 ‘The
nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness
you do not uncover, for theirs is your own nakedness.
Lev 18:11 ‘The
nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, brought forth by your father, she
is your sister, you do not uncover her nakedness.
Lev 18:12 ‘The
nakedness of your father’s sister you do not uncover, she is your father’s
flesh.
Lev 18:13 ‘The
nakedness of your mother’s sister you do not uncover, for she is your mother’s
flesh.
Lev 18:14 ‘The
nakedness of your father’s brother you do not uncover, you do not approach his
wife, she is your aunt.
Lev 18:15 ‘The
nakedness of your daughter-in-law you do not uncover, she is your son’s wife,
you do not uncover her nakedness.
Lev 18:16 ‘The
nakedness of your brother’s wife you do not uncover, it is your brother’s
nakedness.
Lev 18:17 ‘The
nakedness of a woman and her daughter you do not uncover, nor do you take her
son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are
her relatives – it is wickedness.
Lev 18:18 ‘And do
not take a woman as a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the
other is alive.
Lev 18:19 ‘And do
not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness in her monthly separation of
uncleanness.
Lev 18:20 ‘And do
not have intercourse with the wife of your neighbour, to defile yourself with
her.
Lev 18:21 ‘And do
not give any of your offspring to pass through to Moleḵ. And
do not profane the Name of your Elohim. I am יהוה.
Lev 18:22 ‘And do
not lie with a male as with a woman, it is an abomination.
Lev 18:23 ‘And do
not have intercourse with any beast, to defile yourself with it. And a woman
does not stand before a beast to mate with it, it is a perversion.
Lev 18:24 ‘Do not
defile yourselves with all these, for by all these the nations are defiled,
which I am driving out before you.
Lev 18:25 ‘Thus
the land became defiled, therefore I punished it for its crookedness, and the
land vomited out its inhabitants.
Lev 18:26 ‘But
you, you shall guard My laws and My right-rulings, and not do any of these
abominations, the native nor stranger who sojourns among you,
Lev 18:27 because
the men of the land who were before you have done all these abominations, and
thus the land became defiled,
Lev 18:28 ‘So let
not the land vomit you out for defiling it, as it vomited out the nations that
were before you.
Lev 18:29 ‘For
whoever does any of these abominations, those beings who do them shall be cut
off from among their people.
Lev 18:30 ‘And you
shall guard My Charge, so as not to do any of these abominable practices which
were done before you, so as not to defile yourselves by them. I am יהוה your Elohim.’ ”
Midrash on scriptural sexuality.
Eze 22:1 And the word of יהוה came to me,
saying,
Eze 22:2 “And now,
son of man, judge, judge the city of blood! And you shall show her all her
abominations!
Eze
22:3 “And you shall say, ‘Thus said the
Master יהוה, “The city sheds blood in her midst, that her time might come.
And she has made idols within herself to become defiled.
Eze 22:8
“You have despised that which is set-apart to Me, and you have profaned
My Sabbaths.
Eze 22:10 “In you they have uncovered the nakedness of
a father. In you they have humbled women who are defiled during their
uncleanness.
Eze 22:11 “And the one has done abomination with his
neighbour’s wife. And another has wickedly defiled his daughter-in-law. And
another within you has humbled his sister, his father’s daughter.
Eze 22:31 “Therefore I have poured out My displeasure
on them, I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath. And I have put their
way on their own head,” declares the Master יהוה.
This
Torah portion – Acharei Mot - reveals
the very essence of our journey back into the presence of YHVH. Firstly, the
issue of atonement is discussed. We are called to work our own salvation with
fear and trembling. Our spiritual journey of complete recovery and restoration
can only begin and continue if we will acknowledge that this miracle of
redemption and reconciliation with YHVH is a work in progress. We know that
YHVH’s work of redeeming us is a perfect and a complete work, however this work
is still being worked out in us - “may your will be completed on earth as it is
completed in the heavens”
Secondly
this portion shows us that our journey back cannot be separated by the way we
understand and express our sexuality.
Sadly,
today many have composed their own lists of what is sexually forbidden, in
doing so they exalt their own authority over that of YHVH’s Word.
Sexual
activity was meant to take place between a man and a woman who are committed to
each other in a way that reflects YHVH’s desire to establish covenantal life on
earth and will bring honour to His Name.
Many
people experience sexual frustration and guilt because of the way their
sexuality is conducted and expressed. Couples were meant to minister to one
another in such a way that a wonderful sexual fulfilment would result in a
drawing closer to the One who created our sexuality.
We see
these two issues of redemptive covering and sexual awareness revealed right in
the beginning of man’s creation. After man sinned YHVH provided a covering for
them. Ironically, we note that man tried to cover his genitals with fig leaves.
Fig leaves must have felt uncomfortable and ever since man has experienced
difficulties in sexual fulfilment.
Society has a huge problem in the area of sexuality. Our sexual values
have been shaped by secular humanism and a failed Judaeo Christian philosophy.
At the root of human sexual dysfunctionality lies a deep spiritual problem and
a lack of a truly scriptural view and understanding of human sexuality.
Recent reports indicate that one in two South African children have experienced some form of sexual abuse before the age of 18, says Joan van Niekerk, national coordinator of Childline, an organisation that assists children who have experienced abuse.
Tragically most cases of abuse go unreported. The full extent of statistics therefore remains unrecorded.
According to Childline, the notion of "stranger danger" is misleading. People often think that children are only abused by strangers, but sometimes the person who abuses children is a friend of the parents or a family member.
In recent years here in Israel, certain haredi (ultraorthodox) Sephardi rabbis have pressured the Chief Rabbinate to lift the ban on polygamy for Sephardi men. This is not a fringe group of rabbis: former Sephardi Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yoseph was their leader until his death in 2013. Today, Yoseph’s disciples have founded an organization Habayit Hayehudi Hashalem (the Complete Jewish Home) which continues to advocate that all Sephardi men — who are childless and economically able — be allowed to marry a second wife.
http://www.avotaynuonline.com/2015/07/polygamy-in-the-jewish-and-western-tradition-religion-culture-and-class/
Remember YHVH declares the end from the beginning. In the beginning He created two naked people and put them in a garden paradise. (Some believe they were covered with His esteem) Perfect marriage relationships have always been part of YHVH’s perfect plan of restoration. Religion has distorted and suppressed sexual expression within legitimate relationships.
Religion has suppressed the truth of scriptural sexuality and has resulted in all kinds of abuses and misconceptions. It is interesting to note that without hesitation the sages tell us that the most set apart book in the Tenach is the “Song of Songs” where through the use of Hebrew imagery explains sexual intimacy in the most explicit of ways. In this Torah portion we have the most important set apart appointment with YHVH viz Yom Kippur and in the same portion we have teaching on human sexuality. This is no co incidence, and before Yahshua returns this issue will once again be restored amongst the body of Messiah.
Conservative Christian commentator, Adam Clarke, wrote: There are many passages in it which should not be explained. ... the references being too delicate; and Eastern phraseology on such subjects is too vivid.... Let any sensible and pious medical man read over this book, and, if at all acquainted with Asiatic phraseology, say whether it would be proper, even in medical language, to explain all the descriptions and allusions in this poem.
"Chana and Ariel Bloch's new translation of the Song of Songs is quite simply the best version in the English language. Its poetic voice, intimate, dignified, and informed by meticulous scholarship, carries us into the Eden of the original Hebrew text: a world in which the sexual awakening of two unmarried lovers is celebrated with a sensuality and a richness of music that are thrilling beyond words." -- Stephen Mitchell
http://www.ebookdb.org/iread.php?id=171D3C272B1F31GC7E1DGE69
The following article sheds some interesting light on human sexuality:
Wikipedia - The baculum (also penis bone, penile bone or os penis) is a bone found in the penis of many placental mammals. It is absent in the human penis, but present in the penises of other primates, such as the gorilla and chimpanzee. The bone is located above the male urethra, and it aids sexual reproduction by maintaining sufficient stiffness during sexual penetration. The female equivalent is the baubellum or os clitoridis – a bone in the clitoris.
“Another genetic condition, extending to 100% of human males, is the congenital lack of a baculum. Whereas most mammals (including common species such as dogs and mice) and most other primates (excepting spider monkeys) have a penile bone, human males lack this bone and must rely on fluid hydraulics to maintain erections. This is not an insignificant bone. The baculum of a large dog can be 10 cm long x 1.3 cm wide x 1 cm thick… Human bacula have been reported, usually in association with other congenital diseases or penile abnormalities.
Our opinion
is that Adam did not lose a rib in the creation of Eve. Any ancient Israelite
(or for that matter, any American child) would be expected to know that there is
an equal (and even) number of ribs in both men and women. Moreover, ribs lack
any intrinsic generative capacity. We think it is far more probable that it was
Adam’s baculum that was removed in order to make Eve. That would explain why
human males, of all the primates and most other mammals, did not have one. The
Hebrew noun translated as “rib,” tzela (tzade, lamed, ayin), can indeed mean a
costal rib. It can also mean the rib of a hill (2 Samuel 16:13), the side
chambers (enclosing the temple like ribs, as in 1 Kings 6:5,6), or the
supporting columns of trees, like cedars or firs, or the planks in buildings
and doors (1 Kings 6:15,16). So the word could be used to indicate a structural
support beam. Interestingly, Biblical Hebrew, unlike later rabbinic Hebrew, had
no technical term for the penis and referred to it through many
circumlocutions. When rendered into Greek, sometime in the second century BCE,
the translators used the word pleura, which means “side,” and would connote a
body rib (as the medical term pleura still does). This translation, enshrined
in the Septuagint, the Greek Bible of the early church, fixed the meaning for
most of western civilization, even though the Hebrew was not so specific.
In addition,
Genesis 2:21 contains another etiological detail: “YHVH closed up the flesh.”
This detail would explain the peculiar visible sign on the penis and scrotum of
human males—the raphé . In the human penis and scrotum, the edges of the
urogenital folds come together over the urogenital sinus (urethral groove) to
form a seam, the raphé. The origin of this seam on the external genitalia was
“explained” by the story of the closing of Adam’s flesh. Again, the wound
associated with the generation of Eve is connected to Adam’s penis and not his
rib.
A rib has no
particular potency nor is it associated mythologically or symbolically with any
human generative act. Needless to say, the penis has always been associated
with generation, in practice, in mythology, and in the popular imagination.
1Co 11:8 For man is not from woman, but woman from
man.
1Co 11:9 For man also was not created for the woman,
but woman for the man.
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