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.’’
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.
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.
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.”
(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