11/20/2020

Parashat 29 Portion 89 Vayikra/Lev 18:1-30 Ezek 22:1-12 Rom 1:21-32


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.

Whenever people suppress the truth of YHVH’s, Torah there will be a manifestation of sexual immorality.

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of Elohim is revealed from heaven against all wickedness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 

Rom 1:19  because that which is known of Elohim is manifest among them, for Elohim has manifested it to them. 

Rom 1:24  Therefore Elohim gave them up to uncleanness in the lust of their hearts, to disrespect their bodies among themselves, 

Rom 1:25  who changed the truth of Elohim into the falsehood, and worshipped and served what was created rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Aměn. 

Rom 1:26  Because of this Elohim gave them over to degrading passions. For even their women exchanged natural relations for what is against nature, 

Rom 1:27  and likewise, the men also, having left natural relations with woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing indecency, and receiving back the reward which was due for their straying. 

Rom 1:31  without discernment, covenant breakers, unloving, unforgiving, ruthless; 

Rom 1:32  who, though they know the righteousness of Elohim, that those who practise such deserve death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practise them

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 22:8  “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. 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.

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.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2011/08/19/ncbi-rofl-what-did-god-do-with-adams-penis-bone/ 

1Co 11:2  And I praise you, brothers, that you remember me in every way and keep the traditions as I delivered them to you. 

1Co 11:3  And I wish you to know that the head of every man is the Messiah,a and the head of woman is the man,b and the head of Messiah is Elohim.c Footnotes: a Eph_1:22, Eph_4:15, Eph_5:23. b Gen_3:16. c 1Co_3:23, Joh_14:28

1Co 11:4  Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, brings shame to his Head. 

1Co 11:5  And every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered brings shame to her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved. 

1Co 11:6  For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered.d Footnote: d Num_5:18

1Co 11:7  For a man indeed should not cover his head, since he is the likeness and esteem of Elohim, but woman is the esteem of man. 

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. 

1Co 11:10  Because of this the woman ought to have authoritye on her head, because of the messengers. Footnote: eSome say “a symbol of authority.” 

1Co 11:11  However, man is not independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Master. 

1Co 11:12  For as the woman was from the man, even so the man also is through the woman. But all are from Elohim. 

1Co 11:13  Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to Elohim with her head uncovered? 

1Co 11:14  Does not nature itself teach you that if a man indeed has long hair, it is a disrespect to him? 

1Co 11:15  And if a woman has long hair, it is an esteem to her, because the long hair has been given to her over against a veil. 

1Co 11:16  If, however, anyone seems to be contentious, we do not have such a habit, nor do the assemblies of Elohim. 

Religion has obscured the expression of righteous Scriptural human sexuality.

The Council of Trent was the nineteenth ecumenical council. It opened at Trent in Italy on 13 December 1545 and closed there on 4 December 1563 after having held twenty-five sessions. The main objective of the council was the ecclesiastical order and discipline and the clarification of Catholic doctrine for a thorough reform of the Church. Historically, the Council of Trent is acknowledged to be one of the greatest reforming councils of the Church.

“The pope wanted attention to be centred on the clarification of dogmatic questions; it was necessary to clarify matters of faith as it was becoming apparent only now how devastating the Protestant attack on Catholic theology had been.

Amongst other issues, the Council of Trent confirmed celibacy amongst the priesthood and that only a priest could officiate over a marriage they also condemned the views of the reformers concerning polygamy.

 The Torah does not outlaw polygamy (Polygyny).

Approximately one thousand years ago, the noted German scholar Rabbi Gershom “the Light of the Diaspora” banned polygamy. This ban was accepted as law by all Ashkenazic Jews but was not recognized by Sephardic and Yemenite communities. 

YHVH created human sexuality to bring us into a Oneness with Himself. Human sexuality was always intended by YHVH to be more than just a physical connection but to also bring about a unique and deep emotional and spiritual bond between men and women.

The evidence of human sexual dysfunctionality reveals the true condition of our hearts and relationship with our Heavenly Father.

As with all matters it is YHVH that determines how human sexuality is to function. In fact, the scriptures teach us that he very first instruction that YHVH gave man was to be fruitful and multiply.

Gen 1:27  And Elohim created the man in His image, in the image of Elohim He created him – male and female He created them. 

Gen 1:28  And Elohim blessed them, and Elohim said to them, “Be fruitful and increase, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over all creeping creatures on the earth.” 

 We then see that man’s first act of disobedience results in Adam and Chava attempting to cover their genitals with fig leaves. Why fig leaves? Why covering their genitals? What went wrong?

 ‘’Paradise lost!...The carefree nakedness [Genesis 2:25] that went with their perfectly transparent character and their unfettered harmony with YHVH and each other dissolved. (Hughes, Genesis: Beginning and Blessing)’’

 But is paradise lost forever? Perhaps the ‘’Song of Songs’’ or the Songs of Solomon given to us in the Tenach to cause us to hope and long for a future redemption and restoration not only of sexual purity but of man’s complete redemption of righteousness and perfection.

 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 YHVH, 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