Bar’chu et YHVH
ha-m’vorach, Baruch YHVH ha-m’vorach l’O’lam va-ed!
Baruch ata
YHVHEloheinu 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)
.
This Torah
portion gives some wonderful insight into community life during the Millennium
when Messiah returns.
Paul clearly
instructs us that we are not to be conformed to the pattern of this world.
Rom 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, so that you prove what is that good and well-pleasing
and perfect desire of Elohim.
The prevailing narrative and conviction of the ''church'',
is that YHVH’s Truth must adapt to modern day ideas and customs, that many
ancient truths of His Word are no longer relevant in a modern day society.
The truth
is that our convictions customs and ideas need
to be conformed to His Eternal Truth as demonstrated through His Word and His
Messiah. YHVH has not changed
therefore we need to adapt to His ideas and truth. YHVH does not adapt to
our ideas if they are contrary to His.
When Messiah returns he will once again
establish the ancient paths of YHVH’s truth and wisdom –
Jer 6:16
Thus said יהוה, “Stand in the ways and see, and
ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and find rest for
yourselves. But they said, ‘We do not walk in it.’
Jer 6:17 “And I raised up watchmen
over you, and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the ram’s horn!’ But they
said, ‘We do not listen.’
Jer 6:18 “Therefore hear, you
nations, and know, O congregation, what is upon them!
Jer 6:19 “Hear, O earth! See, I am
bringing evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they
have not listened to My words, nor My Torah – and they rejected it.
It was Cain and Nimrod who established cities and empires in order to
control and manipulate people.
Yahshua came to establish YHVH’s Kingdom through His chosen priesthood
nation – Yisrael to bring everlasting peace and prosperity on earth and usher
in a new heaven and a new earth where only perfection dwells.
The call of
Cain and Nimrod is to build empires – the Torah teaches us to plant vineyards and keep the Sabbaths.
The sabbath year (shmita Hebrew: שמיטה, literally "release" or “remission of debt”) also called the sabbatical year or shvi'it (שביעית, literally "seventh")
Midrash
– sevens in the scriptures quote Tim Hegg.
“The parallels between a number
of “sevens” which HaShem has given us is interesting and
worth noting. The first seven is the normal week with the Shabbat, the seventh day being symbolic of
rest, harmony, and shalom. Pesach followed by the counting of the omer and
Shavuot constitutes another “seven,” for after eating only matzot (unleavened
bread during the Feast of Unleavened Bread that starts with the Pesach Memorial
Seder) for seven days, seven weeks are counted with Shavuot coming on the 50th day (translated
as “Pentecostes” (meaning ''Fifty'') in Greek and from Greek transliterated as
Pentecost, but the Hebrew word for this one-day Appointment is Shavuot). The Sabbatical or Shemittah year is yet another grouping of seven, it being the seventh year in which the Land was to
receive her rest. The Jubilee (Yovel) year constitutes the conclusion of yet another cycle of seven, namely seven Shemittah years and as such is the longest of all the cycles and
parallels the Pesach/Shavuot cycle. This recurring
motif of sevens has been the basis for the common teaching throughout the
centuries that the history of our world will likewise follow the pattern of
seven, each millennium being a day (=1000 years) with the millennial reign of
Messiah constituting the seventh or sabbatical millennium.
Even the Talmud contains
references to Sages who viewed the ages
as a cosmic week.
For instance, R. Kattina said: “The world is to last six thousand years and
one thousand it will be desolate, as it
says, ‘and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.’” (b.Rosh
Hash. 31a)”
Lev 25:1 And
יהוה spoke to Mosheh on Mount Sinai, saying,
Lev 25:2 “Speak to the children of
Yisra’ĕl, and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then
the land shall observe a Sabbath to יהוה –
“First of all the shmittah was for
and unto YHVH. The Shemittah year
as well as the final Yovel reminds Israel time and time
again that we are “renters” (as it were) and that the true owner of all things
is YHVH (cf. Gen 4:19 קנה שמים וארץ , “owner of heaven and earth”). Therefore we are
not allowed to take the Land and its produce for granted, nor are we allowed to
treat it disrespectfully” see also vs 23
We affirm His ownership every
time we say or sing the “hamotzi” (Baruch Atah YHVH, Eloheunu melech haOlam,
hamotzi lechem min haAretz, amein. Blessed are You YHVH our Elohim, Sovereign
of the Universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth)
Lev 25:3 ‘Six years you sow your
field, and six years you prune your vineyard, and gather in its fruit,
Lev 25:4 but in the seventh year the
land is to have a Sabbath of rest, a Sabbath to יהוה. Do not sow your field and do
not prune your vineyard.
Lev 25:5 ‘Do not reap what grows of
its own of your harvest, and do not gather the grapes of your unpruned vine,
for it is a year of rest for the land.
Lev 25:6 ‘And the Sabbath of the
land shall be to you for food, for you and your servant, and for your female
servant and your hired servant, and for the stranger who sojourns with you,
Lev 25:7 and for your livestock and
the beasts that are in your land. All its crops are for food.
Lev 25:8 ‘And you shall count seven
Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years. And the time of the
seven Sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years.
Lev 25:9 ‘You shall then sound a
ram’s horn to pass through on the tenth day of the seventh month, on the Day of
Atonement cause a ram’s horn to pass through all your land.
Lev 25:10 ‘And you shall set the
fiftieth year apart, and proclaim release throughout all the land to all its
inhabitants, it is a Jubilee for you. And each of you shall return to his
possession, and each of you return to his clan.
Lev 25:11 ‘The fiftieth year is a Jubilee (Yovel – gematria is 48) to you. Do not sow, nor reap what grows of its own,
nor gather from its unpruned vine.
“Perhaps one of the things that
sets the Yovel year apart from all others is the
requirement to return all real estate to its original owner as well as to let
all slaves go free. The return of real estate is no doubt based upon the fact
already mentioned, i.e., that the Land belongs
to YHVH. It could not be sold in
perpetuity (v. 23) precisely because it belonged to YHVH and His ownership of
it must be constantly affirmed. The remission of slaves, however, adds a
dimension to this concept of YHVH’s ownership, for it also indicates that all
people belong to Him!”
Lev 25:12 ‘It is a Jubilee, it is
set-apart to you. Eat from the field its crops.
Lev 25:13 ‘In the Year of this
Jubilee let each one of you return to his possession.
Lev 25:14 ‘And when you sell
whatever to your neighbour or buy from the hand of your neighbour, do not
exploit one another.
Lev 25:15 ‘According to the number
of years after the Jubilee you buy from your neighbour, and according to the
number of years of crops he sells to you.
Lev 25:16 ‘According to the greater
number of years you increase its price, and according to the fewer number of
years you diminish its price, because he sells to you according to the number
of the years of the crops.
Lev 25:17 ‘And do not oppress one
another, but you shall fear your Elohim. For I am יהוה your Elohim.
Lev 25:18 ‘And you shall do My laws
and guard My right-rulings, and shall do them. And you shall dwell in the land
in safety,
Lev 25:19 ‘and the land shall yield
its fruit, and you shall eat to satisfaction, and shall dwell there in safety.
Lev 25:20 ‘And since you might say,
“What do we eat in the seventh year, since we do not sow nor gather in our
crops?”
Lev 25:21 ‘Therefore I have
commanded My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth the
crop for three years.
Lev 25:22 ‘And you shall sow in the
eighth year, and eat of the old crop until the ninth year. Eat of the old until
its crop comes in.
Lev 25:23 ‘And the land is not to be
sold beyond reclaim, for the land is Mine, for you are sojourners and settlers with
Me.
Lev 25:24 ‘And provide for a
redemption for the land, in all the land of your possession.
Lev 25:25 ‘When your brother becomes
poor, and has sold some of his possession, and his redeemer, a close relative
comes to redeem it, then he shall redeem what his brother sold.
Lev 25:26 ‘And when the man has no
one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it,
Lev 25:27 then let him count the
years since its sale, and return the remainder to the man to whom he sold it,
that he shall return to his possession.
Lev 25:28 ‘And if his hand has not
found enough to give back to him, then what was sold shall remain in the hand
of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee. And it shall be released in the
Jubilee, and he shall return to his possession.
Lev 25:29 ‘And when a man sells a
house in a walled city, then his right of redemption shall be at the end of the
year after it is sold. His right of redemption lasts a year.
Lev 25:30 ‘But if it is not redeemed
within a complete year, then the house in the walled city shall be established
beyond reclaim to the buyer of it, throughout his generations. It is not
released in the Jubilee.
“Interestingly, the house or
field purchased in the open land was to revert to its original owner at the Yovel, but
the house purchased in a walled city could transfer ownership permanently. What
does this tell us? Perhaps the emphasis is upon the fact that in the ancient
Israelite society, the mainstay of the economy was agriculture. The arable land
was therefore the economic basis, and one could, apart from the Yovel
laws, eventually gain a monopoly in a given region and control the
people through ownership of the fields. On the other hand, the cities contained
primarily the artisans and craftsmen along with the Levites—needed professions
but not the economic base that agriculture provided. Perhaps, then, the whole
issue comes back to one individual having undue control of another (analogous
to slavery).
In the theocratic government of
Israel, YHVH was always to be viewed as the Sovereign (King) and one’s life
ultimately in His care. To allow a few to monopolize the economy and thus to
control the lives of others through their economic advantage would detract from
the ultimate plan of YHVH to be known as Israel’s King and provider of all
life’s necessities.”
Lev 25:31 ‘The houses of villages,
however, which have no wall around them are reckoned as the field of the
country. A right of redemption belongs to it, and they are released in the
Jubilee.
Lev 25:32 ‘As for the cities of the
Lĕwites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Lĕwites have a
right of redemption forever.
Lev 25:33 ‘And that which is
redeemed from the Lĕwites, both the sale of a house and the city of his
possession shall be released in the Year of Jubilee, because the houses in the
cities of the Lĕwites are their possession in the midst of the children of
Yisra’ĕl.
Lev 25:34 ‘But the field of the open
land of their cities is not sold, for it is their everlasting possession.
Lev 25:35 ‘And when your brother
becomes poor, and his hand has failed with you, then you shall sustain him, and
he shall live with you, like a stranger or a sojourner.
Lev 25:36 ‘Take no interest from
him, or profit, but you shall fear your Elohim, and your brother shall live
with you.
Lev 25:37 ‘Do not lend him your
silver on interest, and do not lend him your food for profit.
Lev 25:38 ‘I am יהוה your Elohim, who brought you out
of the land of Mitsrayim, to give you the land of Kenaʽan, to be your Elohim.
“Here we learn a valuable lesson!
Many who view the Torah as having no lasting value comment that the Torah is
external and devoid of the real spiritual, heart issues—issues that were
emphasized by Yeshua and the Apostles. But once again we see such a perspective
has missed the mark for lack of true study of the text. Here in our parashah
the outcome of the Shemittah and Yovel
laws is that we should treat our brother—our neighbour—with a heart of
love! Thus, not only does the life of Torah obedience require an enduring faith
in the Giver (whose name is YHVH) of Torah, it also teaches us how we are to
treat others. That YHVH would provide for each family in the sixth year an
abundance to carry them through the Sabbatical year without a lack, becomes the
pattern for how each of us should treat our impoverished neighbour. If YHVH
supplies our needs, then, if we have the means, we should also be gracious to
the members of our community who are also in need. The text is very
straightforward: “If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter in
your proximity עִמָּךְ),
you shall strengthen
him—whether proselyte or resident— so that he can live with you.” (v. 35).
Rather than taking advantage of a brother who is impoverished, we are
instructed (once again) to “fear YHVH” and to lend without interest nor to make
money on the transactions we have with him. We are to remember that YHVH has
graciously redeemed us from Egypt, and thus we have an obligation wherever
possible to emulated the merciful and gracious acts of YHVH by extending our
help to the poor.”
Pro 19:17
He who shows favour to the poor lends to יהוה, And He repays his deed.
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)