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.
This portion is also known as the
“tochacha” or solemn warning. “Tochacha” comes from the word “hochacha” which
can mean “proof.” The inhabitants of this world may soon witness the proof of
ignoring YHVH’s Torah. Ignoring YHVH’s Torah is equal to ignoring YHVH’s
Messiah. The most severe judgment imaginable is about to come upon mankind
because the Torah of YHVH and His Messiah - Yahshua have been misrepresented or
ignored.
Torah Readings:
1. 26:3-5
2. 26:6-9
3. 26:10-46
4. 27:1-15
5. 27:16-21
6. 27:22-28
7. 27:29-31
8. Maftir: 27:32-34
Haftarah: Jeremiah 16:19-17:14
Our haftarah portion reminds us that we have inherited
folly from our fathers.
Jer 16:19 O יהוה, my strength
and my stronghold and my refuge, in the
day of distress the gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth
and say, “Our fathers have inherited only falsehood, futility, and there is no
value in them.”1 Footnote: 1See Ps. 147:19, Isa. 2:3,
Isa. 60:2-3, John 4:22, Rom. 2:20, Rom. 3:2, Rom. 9:4. Zech 8:23
Lev 26:3 ‘If you walk in My laws and guard My
commands, and shall do them,
Vs 3 in the Hebrew reads: “if in my statutes (bechukatai) you will walk
and my commandments (mitzvoth) you will guard (shamar) and will do them (asah)
Remember a “chuk” or
statute is something which is to be engraved in our hearts and minds. We obey
these statutes but do not always understand exactly what they mean, for
example the appointments found in
Vayikra/Leviticus 23 where we find the words “chukat olam” is used four times –
this is a statute forever – In fact some 12 times this phrase is repeated in
the Torah. (these “chukot” are forever)
Lev 26:4 then I shall give you rain in its season, and
the land shall yield its crops, and the trees of the field yield their fruit.
Lev 26:5 ‘And your threshing shall last till the time
of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last till the time of sowing.
And you shall eat your bread until you have enough, and shall dwell in your
land safely.
Lev 26:6 ‘And I shall give peace in the land, and you
shall lie down and no one make you afraid. And I shall clear the land of evil
beasts,(chayah rahah) and not let the sword go through your land.
Lev 26:7 ‘And you shall pursue your enemies, and they
shall fall by the sword before you.
Lev 26:8 ‘And five of you shall pursue a hundred, and
a hundred of you pursue ten thousand. And your enemies shall fall by the sword
before you.
Lev 26:9 ‘And I shall turn to you and make you bear
fruit, and shall increase you, and shall establish My covenant with you.
Lev 26:10 ‘And you shall eat the old supply, and clear
out the old because of the new.
Lev 26:11 ‘And I shall set My Dwelling Place in your
midst, and My being shall not reject you.
Lev 26:12 ‘And I shall walk in your midst, and shall be
your Elohim, and you shall be My people.
Lev 26:13 ‘I am יהוה your Elohim,
who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, from being their slaves. And I
have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk upright.
Lev 26:14 ‘But if
you do not obey Me, and do not do all these commands,
Lev 26:15 and if
you reject My laws,(be chukatai) or if your being loathes My right-rulings, so
that you do not do all My commands, but break My covenant, (note YHVH is
addressing His people and history is the “tochacha” the proof)
Lev 26:16 I also
do this to you: And I shall appoint sudden alarm over you, wasting disease and
inflammation, destroying the eyes, and consuming the life. And you shall sow
your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Lev 26:17 ‘And I
shall set My face against you, and you shall be smitten before your enemies.
And those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when no one
pursues you.
Lev 26:18 ‘And
after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I shall punish you seven times more
for your sins.
Lev 26:19 ‘And I
shall break the pride of your power, and shall make your heavens like iron and
your earth like bronze.
Lev 26:20 ‘And
your strength shall be spent in vain and your land not yield its crops, nor the
trees of the land yield their fruit.
Lev 26:21 ‘And if
you walk contrary to Me, and refuse to obey Me, I shall bring on you seven
times more plagues, according to your sins,
Lev 26:22 and send
wild beasts among you, which shall bereave you of your children. And I shall
cut off your livestock, and make you few in number, and your highways shall be
deserted.
Lev 26:23 ‘And if
you are not instructed by Me by these, but walk contrary to Me,
Lev 26:24 then I
also shall walk contrary to you, and I Myself shall smite you seven times for
your sins.
Lev 26:25 ‘And I
shall bring against you a sword executing the vengeance of My covenant, and you
shall gather together in your cities, and I shall send pestilence among you,
and you shall be given into the hand of the enemy.
Lev 26:26 ‘When I
have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven,
and they shall bring back to you your bread by weight, and you shall eat and
not be satisfied.
Lev 26:27 ‘And if
in spite of this, you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me,
Lev 26:28 then I
shall walk contrary to you in wrath. And I Myself shall punish you seven times
for your sins.
Lev 26:29 ‘And you
shall eat the flesh of your sons, and eat the flesh of your daughters.
Lev 26:30 ‘And I
shall destroy your high places, and cut down your sun-pillars, and put your
carcasses on the carcasses of your idols. And My being shall loathe you.
Lev 26:31 ‘And I
shall turn your cities into ruins and lay your set-apart places waste, and not
smell your sweet fragrances.
Lev 26:32 ‘And I
shall lay the land waste, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished
at it.
Lev 26:33 ‘And I
shall scatter you among the gentiles and draw out a sword after you. And your
land shall be desert and your cities ruins,
Lev 26:34 and the
land enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies waste and you are in your enemies’
land. Then the land would rest and enjoy its Sabbaths.
Lev 26:35 ‘As long
as it lies waste it rests, for the time it did not rest on your Sabbaths when
you dwelt in it.
Lev 26:36 ‘And as
for those of you who are left, I shall send faintness into their hearts in the
lands of their enemies, and the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to
flee. And they shall flee as though retreating from a sword, and they shall
fall when no one pursues.
Lev 26:37 ‘And
they shall stumble over one another, as from before a sword, when no one
pursues. And you shall be unable to stand before your enemies.
Lev 26:38 ‘And you
shall perish among the gentiles, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up,
Lev 26:39 and
those of you who are left rot away in their crookedness in your enemies’ lands,
and also in their fathers’ crookednesses rot away with them.
Lev 26:40 ‘But if
they confess their crookedness and the crookedness of their fathers, with their
trespass in which they trespassed against Me, and that they also have walked
contrary to Me,
Lev 26:41 and that
I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of
their enemies – if their uncircumcised heart is then humbled, and they accept
the punishment of their crookedness,
Lev 26:42 then I
shall remember My covenant with Yaʽaqoḇ, and
also My covenant with Yitsḥaq, and also remember My covenant with Aḇraham,
and remember the land.
Lev 26:43 ‘For the
land was abandoned by them, and enjoying its Sabbaths while lying waste without
them, and they were paying for their crookedness, because they rejected My
right-rulings and because their being loathed My laws.
Lev 26:44 ‘And yet
for all this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I shall not reject
them, nor shall I loathe them so as to destroy them and break My covenant with
them. For I am יהוה their Elohim.
Lev 26:45 ‘Then I
shall remember for their sake the covenant of the ancestors whom I brought out
of the land of Mitsrayim before the eyes of the nations to be their Elohim. I
am יהוה.’ ”
Lev
26:46 These are the laws and the
right-rulings and the Torot1 which יהוה made between Himself and the
children of Yisra’ĕl on Mount Sinai by the hand of Mosheh. Footnote: 1Torot
- plural of Torah, teaching.
Deu 4:30 “In your distress, when all these words shall
come upon you in the latter days, then you shall return to יהוה your Elohim
and shall obey His voice.
Deu
4:31 “For יהוה your Elohim is a compassionate
Ěl, He does not forsake you, nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your
fathers which He swore to them.
Jer 23:19 See, a storm of יהוה shall go forth
in a rage, a whirling storm! It whirls on the head of the wrong.
Jer
23:20 The displeasure of יהוה shall not turn back until He has
done and established the purposes of His heart. In the latter days you shall understand it perfectly.1 Footnote: 1See
30:24.
Now the Torah speaks of a specific kind of
vow called an “erech” or valuation. This vow involves the inherent “set
apartness” of an object or person. So the book of Vayikra ends as it opened,
with a chapter of regulations regarding offerings brought to YHVH’s House and
the functioning of the ministry of the Levites. Perhaps this was intended to
assure that no one party or individual could exercise influence due to larger contributions.
This would ensure an effective ministry of YHVH’s House and its priesthood to
all nations and peoples.
Lev 27:1 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, saying,
Lev 27:2 “Speak to
the children of Yisra’ĕl, and say to them, ‘When a man separates a vow, by your
evaluation of lives unto יהוה,
Lev 27:3 when your
evaluation is of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old, then your
evaluation shall be fifty sheqels of silver, according to the sheqel of the
set-apart place.
Lev 27:4 ‘And if
it is a female, then your evaluation shall be thirty sheqels;
Lev 27:5 and if
from five years old up to twenty years old, then your evaluation for a male
shall be twenty sheqels, and for a female ten sheqels;
Lev 27:6 and if
from a month old up to five years old, then your evaluation for a male shall be
five sheqels of silver, and for a female your evaluation shall be three sheqels
of silver;
Lev 27:7 and if
from sixty years old and above, if it is a male, then your evaluation shall be
fifteen sheqels, and for a female ten sheqels.
Lev 27:8 ‘But if
he is too poor to pay your evaluation, then he shall present himself before the
priest, and the priest shall set a value for him. According to the ability of
him who vowed, the priest shall value him.
Lev 27:9 ‘And if
it is a beast of which they bring an offering to יהוה, all such
given to יהוה is set-apart.
Lev 27:10 ‘He is
not to replace it or exchange it, good for spoilt or spoilt for good. And if he
at all exchanges beast for beast, then both it and the one exchanged for it is
set-apart.
Lev 27:11 ‘And if
it is any unclean beast of which they do not bring an offering to יהוה, then he shall present the beast before
the priest;
Lev 27:12 and the
priest shall value it, whether it is good or spoilt. According to your
evaluation, O priest, so it shall be.
Lev 27:13 ‘But if
he indeed redeems it, then he shall add one-fifth to your evaluation.
Lev 27:14 ‘And
when a man sets his house apart, to be set-apart to יהוה, then the priest shall value it, whether
it is good or spoilt. As the priest values it, so it stands.
Lev 27:15 ‘And if
he who sets it apart does redeem his house, then he shall add one-fifth of the
silver of your evaluation to it, and it shall be his.
Lev 27:16 ‘And if
a man sets apart to יהוה a field he
owns, then your evaluation shall be according to the seed for it – a ḥomer
of barley seed at fifty sheqels of silver.
Lev 27:17 ‘If he
sets his field apart from the Year of Jubilee, according to your evaluation it
stands.
Lev 27:18 ‘But if
he sets his field apart after the Jubilee, then the priest shall reckon to him
the silver due according to the years that remain till the Year of Jubilee, and
it shall be deducted from your evaluation.
Lev 27:19 ‘And if
he who sets the field apart ever wishes to redeem it, then he shall add
one-fifth of the silver of your evaluation to it, and it shall be his.
Lev 27:20 ‘And if
he does not redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it is
no longer redeemed,
Lev 27:21 but the
field, when it is released in the Jubilee, is set-apart to יהוה as a dedicated field, to be the possession
of the priest.
Lev 27:22 ‘And if
a man sets apart to יהוה a field which
he has bought, which is not the field of his possession,
Lev 27:23 then the
priest shall reckon to him the amount of your evaluation, up to the Year of
Jubilee, and he shall give your evaluation on that day, set-apart to יהוה.
Lev 27:24 ‘In the
Year of Jubilee the field returns to him from whom he bought it, to him whose
is the possession of the land.
Lev 27:25 ‘And all
your evaluations is to be according to the sheqel of the set-apart place:
twenty gĕrahs to the sheqel.
Lev 27:26
‘However, a first-born of the beasts, which is first-born to יהוה, no man sets it apart – whether bull or
sheep, it belongs to יהוה.
Lev 27:27 ‘And if
among the unclean beasts, then he shall ransom it according to your evaluation,
and shall add one-fifth to it. And if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold
according to your evaluation.
Lev 27:28
‘However, whatever a man lays under ban for יהוה of all that he has, man and beast, or the
field of his possession, is not sold or redeemed. Whatever is laid under ban is
most set-apart to יהוה.
Lev 27:29 ‘No one
under the ban, under the ban among men, is ransomed, but shall certainly be put
to death.
Lev 27:30 ‘And all
the tithe of the land – of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree –
belongs to יהוה. It is
set-apart to יהוה.
Lev 27:31 ‘If a
man indeed redeems any of his tithes, he adds one-fifth to it.
Lev 27:32 ‘And the
entire tithe of the herd and of the flock, all that passes under the rod, the
tenth one is set-apart to יהוה.
Lev 27:33 ‘He does
not inquire whether it is good or spoilt, nor does he exchange it. And if he
exchanges it at all, then both it and the one exchanged for it are set-apart,
it is not redeemed.’ ”
Lev
27:34 These are the commands which יהוה commanded Mosheh for the
children of Yisra’ĕl on Mount Sinai.
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)