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.
Parashat Shemini - Shemini- Eighth
HEART OF THE TORAH:
In this portion we find the middle letter and two middle words of the entire Torah sefer. The sages call this Torah Portion the heart of the Torah because they say the Torah was founded upon this Parashah Portion.
The
middle words of the Torah is in Lev 10:16 – “Drosh drash” and means “in
searching you must search.” (Which mean you must truly search for the truth)
The sages teach that we can see from this middle letter,
word, and verse that they have to do with the spirit soul and body. The heart
or central instruction of the Torah has to do with the whole man - 1Th 5:23 And
the Elohim of peace Himself set you completely apart, and your entire spirit, and being,
and body - be preserved
blameless at the coming of our Master יהושע Messiah!
1Th 5:24 He who calls you is trustworthy, who also
shall do it.
The number 26 we know is also
extremely significant as it pertains to the gematria of the name of YHVH – (yud
= 10, hey=5, vav-6, hey=5 total 26)
Lev
9:1 And on the
eighth (shemeni) day it came to be that Mosheh called Aharon and his sons and
the elders of Yisra’ĕl.
That day was as joyous to YHVH as the day
on which (new) heaven and earth were created. (Talmud, Megillah 10b)
-italics mine.
This eighth day
was the first day (rosh chodesh) of the first month of Aviv(also called Nisan
since Babylonian captivity) On this day the tabernacle and priesthood was
dedicated and established by YHVH to be His eternal pattern of provision for
our return back into His presence – Ex 40:2
The sages tell us that there were many significant
new beginnings introduced in this parasha:
- First day of the week – (or eighth day) The book
of Leviticus introduces this concept more than any other book in scripture
– (nine references) Yahshua rose from the dead on the 8 th day of the week
- sealed the promise of the Renewed
Covenant for ever - now it could
never change - He established the surety of a new beginning for all
humanity.
- Here we see the first day the princes of Yisrael
bring special gifts. The tribe of Yahudah was the first in dedicating
gifts to the altar.
- On this
eighth day Aharon’s sons become priests, serving Yisrael - performing
priestly service.
- Eighth day fire descended on the altar –that came
from Elohim.
- Eighth day was the first “tamid” ie continual
offering morning and afternoon.
- First offerings eaten or totally consumed –
- First evidence of the “shechina” or presence of
YHVH entered into the tabernacle
- First day the Aharonic blessing was spoken.
- First time new instruction given about altars. No
other altars where priestly duties carried out were to be erected - no one
could just go and erect an altar and bring an offering to YHVH.
- First time “rosh
chodesh” – new moon ceremony conducted. (Will this be true of the last
days altar?)
Lev 9:1 And on the eighth day it came to be that Mosheh called Aharon and his sons and the elders of Yisra’ĕl.
Lev 9:2
And he said to Aharon, “Take for yourself a young bull as a sin offering
and a ram as a burnt offering, a perfect one, and bring them before יהוה.
Lev 9:3 “And speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl,
saying, ‘Take a male goat as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both a year
old, perfect ones, as a burnt offering,
Lev 9:4 and a bull and a ram as peace offerings, to
slaughter before יהוה, and a grain
offering mixed with oil. For today יהוה shall appear
to you.’ ”
Lev 9:5 And they took what Mosheh commanded before
the Tent of Meeting, and all the congregation drew near and stood before יהוה.
Lev 9:6 And Mosheh said, “This is the word which יהוה commanded you to do, so that the esteem of
יהוה appears to you.”
Lev 9:7 And Mosheh said to Aharon, “Go to the altar,
and prepare your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for
yourself and for the people. And make the offering of the people, and make
atonement for them, as יהוה has
commanded.”
Lev 9:8 So Aharon came near to the altar and
slaughtered the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself………..
Note
the order of these offerings – first was the sin offering which emphasizes that without
purification there can be no communication or fellowship with the Father. The burnt
offering
came next which allows for intimacy YHVH. The grain offering follows in which we enjoy a
covenantal meal with YHVH, we” break bread” together enjoying fellowship with
one another. Finally the peace offering is the blessing we enjoy of
knowing that it is well between YHVH and us as well as our fellowman and
ourselves.
If
our relationship with Yahshua is not ‘packaged’ in the history and context of
the Living Torah, then we will not know
the Messiah as he is meant to be known.
Lev 9:22 Aharon then lifted up his hand toward the
people and blessed them, and came down from making the sin offering, and the
burnt offering, and the peace offerings.
Lev 9:23 And Mosheh and Aharon went into the Tent of
Meeting, and came out and blessed the people. And the esteem of יהוה appeared to all the people,
Lev 9:24 and fire came out from before יהוה and consumed the burnt offering and the
fat on the altar. And all the people saw and cried aloud and fell on their
faces.
Lev 10:1 And Naḏaḇ and Aḇihu, the sons of Aharon, each
took his fire holder and put fire in it, and put incense on it, and brought
strange fire (esh zara) before יהוה, which He had
not commanded them.
Lev 10:2 And fire came out from יהוה and consumed them, and they died before יהוה.
Nadab means “generous” one who
freely gives without considering too much the consequences of his actions.
Abihu means “He is my Father”
perhaps there was a familiarity in his life which cost him his death.
Lev 10:3 Then Mosheh said to Aharon, “This is what יהוה spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me
let Me be set-apart! And before all the people let Me be esteemed!’ ” And
Aharon was silent.
Aharon
must have known deep in his spirit that some great violation of YHVH’S set
apartness had taken place.
In youth, one learns to talk; in maturity, one
learns to be silent. This is man's problem: that he learns to talk
before he learns to be silent (Rabbi Nachman of
Breslav)
Said
Rav Papa: The merit of attending a house of mourning lies in
the silence observed (Talmud, Berachot 6b)
Lev
10:4 And Mosheh called to Misha’ĕl and
to Eltsaphan, the sons of Uzzi’ĕl the uncle of Aharon, and said to them, “Come
near, take your brothers from before the set-apart place out of the camp.”
Lev
10:5 So they came near and took them by
their long shirts out of the camp, as Mosheh had said.
Lev 10:6 And Mosheh said to Aharon, and to Elʽazar
and to Ithamar, his sons, “Do not unbind your heads nor tear your garments,
lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people. But let your brothers, all the
house of Yisra’ĕl, bewail the burning which יהוה has kindled.
It appears that YHVH can become
extremely angry and we may not know for sure why.
Lev 10:7 “And do not go out from the door of the Tent
of Meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of יהוה is upon you.” And they did according to
the word of Mosheh.
Lev 10:8 And יהוה spoke to Aharon,
saying,
Lev 10:9 “Do not drink wine or strong drink, you, nor
your sons with you, when you go into the Tent of Meeting, lest you die – a law
forever throughout your generations,
Lev 10:10 so as to make a distinction between the
set-apart and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean,
Lev 10:11 and to teach the children of Yisra’ĕl all the
laws which יהוה has spoken to
them by the hand of Mosheh.”
Lev 10:12 And Mosheh spoke to Aharon, and to Elʽazar
and Ithamar, his sons who were left, “Take the grain offering that is left over
from the offerings made by fire to יהוה, and eat it
without leaven beside the altar, for it is most set-apart.
Lev 10:13 “And you shall eat it in a set-apart place,
because it is yours by law and your sons’ by law, of the offerings made by fire
to יהוה, for so I have been commanded.
Lev 10:14 “And the breast of the wave offering and the
thigh of the contribution you eat in a clean place, you, and your sons, and
your daughters with you. For they are yours by law and your sons’ by law, which
are given from the slaughterings of peace offerings of the children of
Yisra’ĕl.
Lev 10:15 “The thigh of the contribution and the breast
of the wave offering they bring with the offerings of fat made by fire, to
bring as a wave offering before יהוה. And it shall
be yours and your sons’ with you, by a law forever, as יהוה has commanded.”
Lev 10:16 And Mosheh diligently looked for the goat of
the sin offering and saw it was burned up. And he was wroth with Elʽazar
and Ithamar, the sons of Aharon who were left, saying,
טז וְאֵת שְׂעִיר
הַחַטָּאת, דָּרֹשׁ דָּרַשׁ מֹשֶׁה
Lev 10:17 “Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a
set-apart place, since it is most set-apart, and Elohim has given it to you to
bear the crookedness of the congregation, to make atonement for them before יהוה?
Lev 10:18 “See, its blood was not brought inside the
set-apart place. You should have eaten it without fail in a set-apart place, as
I have commanded.” (Aaron and his sons could not really bear the crookedness of
the nation and Yahshua’s blood was not brought into the set apart place)
Lev 10:19 And Aharon said to Mosheh, “See, today they
have brought their sin offering and their burnt offering before יהוה, and matters like these have come
to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been right in the
eyes of יהוה?”
Lev 10:20 And when Mosheh heard that, it was good in
his eyes.
Moshe was deeply concerned
over the consequences of any form of disobedience from the priests and feared
additional calamity because of this departure of Aarons when they did not eat
from the sin offering as they were meant to. Aaron sensed that this departure would
be a once off event that YHVH had prompted him to follow. Moshe was satisfied
with his answer because he knew and understood that it seemed to have come by
YHVH’S leading. Aaron most probably took his sons sin upon himself.
Mat 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you tithe the mint and the anise and the
cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah: the
right-ruling and the compassion and the belief.
Now we
come to the dietary laws – it
is significant to note the current world covid pandemic can be traced to the
eating of unclean animals – and the worst may yet be on its way.
Lev 11:1 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh and to Aharon, saying to them,
Lev 11:2 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying,
‘These are the living creatures which you do eat among all the beasts that are
on the earth:
Lev 11:3 ‘Whatever has a split hoof completely
divided, chewing the cud, among the beasts, that you do eat.
Lev 11:4 ‘Only, these you do not eat among those that
chew the cud or those that have a split hoof: the camel, because it chews the
cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;
Lev 11:5 and the rabbit, because it chews the cud but
does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;
Lev 11:6 and the hare, because it chews the cud but
does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;
Lev 11:7 and the pig, though it has a split hoof,
completely divided, yet does not chew the cud, it is unclean to you.
Lev 11:8 ‘Their flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses
you do not touch. They are unclean to you.
Lev 11:9 ‘These you do eat of all that are in the
waters: any one that has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas or in the
rivers, that you do eat.
Lev 11:10 ‘But all that have not fins and scales in the
seas and in the rivers, all that move in the waters or any living creature
which is in the waters, they are an abomination to you.
Lev 11:11 ‘They are an abomination to you – of their
flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses you abominate.
Lev 11:12 ‘All that have not fins or scales in the
waters is an abomination to you.
Lev 11:13 ‘And these you do abominate among the birds,
they are not eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the vulture, and
the black vulture,
Lev 11:14 and the hawk, and the falcon after its kind,
Lev 11:15 every raven after its kind,
Lev 11:16 and the ostrich, and the nighthawk, and the
seagull, and the hawk after its kind,
Lev 11:17 and the little
owl, and the fisher owl, and the great owl,
Lev 11:18 and the white
owl, and the pelican, and the carrion vulture,
Lev 11:19 and the stork,
the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.
Lev 11:20 ‘All flying
insects that creep on all fours is an abomination to you.
Lev 11:21 ‘Only, these
you do eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have
jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth.
Lev 11:22 ‘These of them
you do eat: the arbeh-locust after its kind, and the solam-locust after its
kind, and the ḥargol-locust after its kind, and the ḥagaḇ-locust after its
kind.
Lev 11:23 ‘But all other
flying insects which have four feet are an abomination to you.
(Read further unto verse 43)
Lev 11:42 ‘Whatever crawls on its stomach, and whatever
goes on all fours, and whatever has many feet among all creeping creatures that
creep on the earth, these you do not eat, for they are an abomination. .
(“gochen” or belly has an elongated vav, the middle letter of the Torah
sefer’s 304805 letters)
Lev
11:44 ‘For I am יהוה your Elohim, and you shall set yourselves
apart. And you shall be set-apart, for I am set-apart. (What the people of YHVH eat is very important) And do
not defile yourselves with any creeping creature that creeps on the earth.
Lev 11:45 ‘For I am יהוה who is
bringing you up out of the land of Mitsrayim, to be your Elohim. And you shall
be set-apart, for I am set-apart.
Lev 11:46 ‘This is the Torah of the beasts and the
birds and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature
that creeps on the earth,
Lev 11:47 to make a distinction between the unclean and
the clean, and between the living creature that is eaten and the living
creature that is not eaten.’ ”
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.)