Blessing of Torah.
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.)
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
it means that which causes to go up or ascend. It is the light of His
Revelation that causes us to ascend.
Isa 60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come! And
the esteem of יהוה has risen upon you.
Isa 60:2 “For look, darkness covers the earth, and
thick darkness the peoples. But יהוה
arises over you, and His esteem is seen upon you.
Isa 60:3 “And the gentiles shall come to your light1,
and sovereigns to the brightness of your rising. Footnote: 1Isa.
60:19,20, Rev. 21:23,24.
Isa 60:4 “Lift up your eyes all around and see: all of
them have gathered, they have come to you; your sons come from afar, and your
daughters are supported on the side.
Isa 60:5 “Then you shall see and be bright, and your
heart shall throb and swell, for the wealth of the sea is turned to you, the
riches of the gentiles come to you.
Num 8:2 “Speak to Aharon, and say to him, ‘When you
set up the lamps, let the seven lamps give light in front(Heb word “mul” also
means to circumcise) 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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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’”- “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.
YHVH knew that the Temple and the
Levitical system would be temporary suspended. So He appointed “priests” from
the nations, however He would always have dedicated and gifted men and woman
who would keep the knowledge of His covenant alive – see Yer 33:20,21. He would
take priests from the nations - Isa 66:21
“And from them too I shall take for priests – for Lĕwites,” declares יהוה.
The Torah has so much to teach His
people and the nations. An appointed priesthood has always been called for this
purpose.
The Torah teaches us in a parable
that Yosef provided bread – seed – for the nations. Will this repeat itself
again in the last days? Remember Yosef was not a Levite, but kept the Spirit of
all that belongs to Yisrael alive.
Amo 8:11 “See, days are coming,” declares the Master יהוה, “that I shall send a hunger in the land,
not a hunger for bread, nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the Words of יהוה.
Amo 8:12 “And they shall wander from sea to sea, and
from north to east – they shall diligently search, seeking the Word of יהוה, but they shall not find it1.
Footnote: 1Jer. 5:13, Hos. 8:12, Ezek. 34:3-10.
Why will the Word be so scarce?
Spiritual leaders are teaching their own doctrine and not the Torah the way it
was meant to be taught.
Joh 7:15 And the Yehuḏim were marvelling, saying,
“How does this Man know letters, not having learned?”
Joh 7:16 יהושע
answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.1
Footnote: 1Deut. 18:15-20.
Joh 7:17 “If anyone desires to do His desire, he shall
know concerning the teaching, whether
it is from Elohim, or whether I speak from Myself.
Joh 7:18 “He who speaks from himself is seeking his
own esteem, but He who seeks the esteem of the One who sent Him is true, and no
unrighteousness is in Him.
Joh 7:19 “Did not Mosheh give you the Torah? Yet not
one of you does the Torah!1 Why do you seek to kill Me?” Footnote: 1See
Mt. 5:20.
Pro 4:2 For I gave you good instruction: Do not
forsake my Torah.
How many spiritual leaders today
equate good doctrine with Torah?
But for the doctrine to be good one
needs the revelation of YHVH’s Ruach – symbolized in the lighting of the
Menorah.
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 “lifting up” Messiah in Isaiah 11 – also a symbol of the
Menorah.
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( the One Year 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 His Torah and to show us “the way of return.”
Note the “light” symbolic of YHVH’s Ruach that comes from YHVH, will
always return to honour YHVH.
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.
Menorah – Levites – Pesach.
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.
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,