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.0
Lev 3:2 ‘And he shall lay his hand on the head of his
offering, and slaughter it at the door of the Tent of Meeting. And the sons of
Aharon, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood on the altar all around.
Lev 3:3 ‘And from the peace offering he shall bring
an offering made by fire to יהוה, the fat that covers the entrails and all
the fat that is on the entrails,
Peace offering or ha shelamim
- BDB Definition: 1) peace
offering, requital, offering for alliance or friendship 1a) voluntary offering
of thanks. Masculine noun – “the verb shalam”
Can mean the following -
2a) (Qal)
2a1) to be complete, be finished, be ended
2a2) to be sound, be uninjured
2b) (Piel)
2b1) to complete, finish
2b2) to make safe
2b3) to make whole or good, restore, make
compensation
2b4) to make good, pay
2b5) to requite, recompense, reward
2c) (Pual)
2c1) to be performed
2c2) to be repaid, be requited
2d) (Hiphil)
2d1) to complete, perform
2d2) to make an end of
Note that the
word “Peace” here is a plural word, shelemim, which is
untranslatable into English. The Hebrew plurality often denotes magnitude,
plenitude, or intensity
Baruch Levine and Jacob Milgrom of the JPS
Commentary teach that a translation might be “a sacrifice of well-being”.
Lev 3:4 and the two kidneys,
and the fat that is on them by the loins, and the appendage on the liver which
he removes with the kidneys.
Fat – Heb “chelev” represented
abundance and well- being eg the fat cows in Pharoah’s dream.
Loins - the
region of the sexual organs regarded as the source of procreative power – Heb
‘’kesel’’ (biblical) confidence, hope also (literary) foolishness, stupidity.
“In the Semetic mindset, the
internal organs are the seat of one’s emotions. This is why Shlomo could speak
of “kidneys rejoicing” Prov 23:16 or why Yochanan could speak of closing up
one’s “inward parts” (Gk intestines) as an
expression of being stingy – 1John 3:17. The liver (Heb – kaved or
heavy) being the heaviest internal organ can be symbolic of one’s entire emotions:
My spirit is troubled my liver is poured out to the earth – Lam 2:11.
With this background, it is
easier to understand why the inner organs of the animal along with the fat that
covered them are offered on the altar. These represent the inner life of the offeror.
Having symbolically designated the animal as his representative by placing his
hands upon its head, the inner organs of the offering represent the offeror’s
own inner self – his true intentions and gratitude. The fat represents the
abundance of life that he has enjoyed because of YHVH’s provision. The blood
that is dashed upon the sides of the altar represent the giving of life,
reminding us that the well- being of the offeror is the result of deliverance
(salvation) gained at the cost of life.” End quote Tim Hegg.
Lev 3:5 ‘And the sons of Aharon shall burn it on the
altar upon the burnt offering, which is on the wood, which is on the fire, as
an offering made by fire, a sweet fragrance to יהוה.
Lev 3:6 ‘And if that which he presents is from the
flock, for a peace offering to יהוה, male or
female, he brings a perfect one.
Lev 3:7 ‘If he is bringing a lamb as his offering,
then he shall bring it before יהוה,
Lev 3:8 and shall lay his hand on the head of his
offering, and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting, and the sons of
Aharon shall sprinkle its blood on the altar round about.
Lev 3:9 ‘And from the peace offering he shall bring
near – as an offering made by fire to יהוה – its fat, all the fat tail which he removes close to the
backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the
entrails,
Lev 3:10 and the two kidneys and the fat that is on
them by the loins, and the appendage on the liver, which he removes with the
kidneys.
Lev 3:11 ‘And the priest shall burn them on the altar
as food, an offering made by fire to יהוה.
Lev 3:12 ‘And if his offering is a goat, then he shall
bring it before יהוה,
Lev 3:13 and shall lay his hand on its head and
slaughter it before the Tent of Meeting. And the sons of Aharon shall sprinkle
its blood on the altar all around.
Lev 3:14 ‘And from it he shall bring his offering, as
an offering made by fire to יהוה, the fat that covers the entrails and all
the fat that is on the entrails,
Lev 3:15 and the two kidneys and the fat that is on
them by the loins, and the appendage on the liver, which he removes with the
kidneys.
Lev 3:16 ‘And the priest shall burn them on the altar
as food, an offering made by fire for a sweet fragrance. All the fat belongs to
יהוה.
Lev 3:17 ‘An everlasting law throughout your
generations in all your dwellings: you do not eat any fat or any blood.’ ”
One of the greatest dangers in
this life is to say you have peace but then you walk in the stubbornness of
your heart.
Deu 29:9 “Therefore you
shall guard the words of this covenant, and do them, so that you prosper in all
that you do.
Deu 29:10 “All of you
are standing today before יהוה your Elohim: your leaders, your tribes,
your elders and your officers, all the men of Yisra’ěl,
Deu 29:11 your little
ones, your wives, and your sojourner who is in the midst of your camp, from the
one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water,
Deu 29:12 so that you
should enter into covenant with יהוה your Elohim, and into His oath, which יהוה your
Elohim makes with you today,
Deu 29:13 in order to
establish you today as a people for Himself, and He Himself be your Elohim, as
He has spoken to you, and as He has sworn to your fathers, to Aḇraham, to Yitsḥaq,
and to Ya‛aqoḇ.
Deu 29:14 “And not with
you alone I am making this covenant and this oath,
Deu 29:15 but with him
who stands here with us today before יהוה our
Elohim, as well as with him who is not here with us today.
Deu 29:16 “For you know
how we dwelt in the land of Mitsrayim and how we passed through the nations
which you passed through,
Deu 29:17 and you saw
their abominations and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were
with them,
Deu 29:18 lest there
should be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe, whose heart turns away
today from יהוה our Elohim, to go and serve the mighty ones of these nations,
lest there should be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood.
Deu 29:19
“And it shall be, when he hears the words of this curse, that he should
bless himself in his heart, saying, ‘I have peace though I walk in the
stubbornness of my heart,’ in order to add drunkenness to thirst.
Deu 29:20
“יהוה would not
forgive him, but rather, the displeasure of יהוה and His
jealousy shall burn against that man, and every curse that is written in this
book shall settle on him, and יהוה shall blot out
his name from under the heavens.
Deu 29:21 “And יהוה shall separate
him for evil, out of all the tribes of Yisra’ĕl, according to all the curses of
the covenant that are written in this Book of the Torah.
Isa
43:21 this people I have formed for Myself, let them relate My
praise.
Isa
43:22 “But you have not called on Me, O Ya‛aqoḇ, for you have been weary
of Me, O Yisra’ěl.
Isa
43:23 “You have not brought Me the sheep for your ascending offerings,
nor have you esteemed Me with your slaughterings. I have not caused you to
serve with grain offerings, nor wearied you with incense.
Isa
43:24 “You have not bought Me sweet cane with silver, nor have you
satisfied Me with the fat of your slaughterings. You have only burdened Me with
your sins, you have wearied Me with your crookednesses.
Isa
43:25 “I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and
remember your sins no more.
Isa
43:26 “Remind Me, let us enter into judgment, together; relate, that you
might be declared right.
Isa
43:27 “Your first father sinned, and your interpreters have transgressed
against Me.
Isa
43:28 “So I have profaned the chief ones of the set-apart place, and I
have delivered up Ya‛aqoḇ to the curse, and Yisra’ěl to scorn.
Jas 1:12 Blessed is the man who does
endure trial, for when he has been proved, he shall receive the crown of life
which the Master has promised to those who love Him.
Jas 1:13 Let no one say when he is
enticed, “I am enticed by Elohim,” for Elohim is not enticed by evil matters,
and He entices no one.
Jas 1:14 But each one is enticed when
he is drawn away by his own desires and trapped.
Jas 1:15 Then, when desire has
conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it has been accomplished,
brings forth death.
Jas 1:16 Do not go astray, my beloved
brothers.
Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom
there is no change, nor shadow of turning.a Footnote: aSee Mal_3:6.
Jas 1:18 Having purposed it, He brought us forth by the Word of truth, for us to be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures.
The Jewish Study Bible teaches us that the
sacrifice itself, the zevach sh’lamim, consists of two parts.
The zevach, which is the animal burnt for offering, and then
the sh’lamim, which is the fact that the offering is presented to
someone else, as an expression of gratitude, or relief. Still another
helpful interpretation comes from the Midrash HaGadol, a 14th century
commentary, which states that the root of sh’lamim should be
interpreted as she-ha-kol shelamim bo, “for all are ‘complete’ in
it.” In other words, the offering is not made complete until it is given
to someone else. The New English Bible translates the shelamim similarly,
as “a shared offering.” Finally, Baruch Levine, who also called it a
“sacrifice of well-being,” also uses the term “a sacred gift of greeting.”
While we may not know exactly what
a zevach sh’lamim is, listen to the descriptions of what this
might be: A sacred gift, a sacred greeting, an offering of fullness,
wholeness, of peace, and an attempt to repay and find harmony and gratitude.
Rashi, our 11th century French commentator, helps us
along by reminding us that the offering is named sh’lamim (based
on shalom) because it is an offering that can “instill peace in the
world,” and other midrash tell us that the sh’lamim (based.
on shalem, fullness) is because “everyone benefits from this
offering.”
So what do you do? You provide a gift
to the person you have wronged, in order to fulfill all parts of the zevach sh’lamim.
The gift itself, the zevach, is an offering of good-will, to
repay them for what they lost by your sin, but the sh’lamim is
what you offer of yourself. You offer to them in complete vulnerability
your whole self, the shalem, you offer yourself to them in complete
peace, shalom, and you do so to create not only shalom between
the two of you but shalom in the entire world. This
leads to the other aspects of sh’lamim: it improves your
well-being, and the recipient’s well-being; as Baruch Levine teaches us, it is
a first step in a sacred greeting. So many times it is difficult for
those who have wronged someone to take the step in saying hello/shalom, in
greeting that person, but as the Torah teaches us, there is a sacredness in
greeting a person whom you have sinned against, and providing them with not
only a gift, but your whole self, so they can see that you are indeed
imperfect, just like them, so that they can see that you seek peace, just like
them. And then what happens? The Jewish Study Bible reminds us that
“well-being offerings are…the natural expression of gladness, the worshipper
celebrating by feasting in the presence of Elohim in acknowledgment of [Elohim’s]
loving-kindness.”
In Genesis Rabbah, our 2nd century
Midrash, Rav Aha stated that “when the righteous dwell in peace and would
continue to dwell in peace in this world…it is not enough for these that the
world-to-come is prepared for them – they seek to live in peace in this world
as well.”
“Why did a man bring a Peace Offering in
preference to a Burnt Offering?” The answer is actually in the word
“fellowship.” The Burnt Offering was completely for YHVH. Men did not eat of it
at all. But portions of the Peace Offering were for the altar, the priests, the
offerer, and his family and friends. What a privilege it is to bring to YHVH
something for His heart in which others might have joy, too! Such was the Peace
Offering and such is our joy as we, in fellowship with YHVH and with one
another, contemplate Messiah. In this we can truly say that “we have fellowship
one with another” (1 John 1:7), and that “our fellowship is with the Father” (1
John 1:3). In priestly dignity we may bring our appreciation of the Son to the
Father. This is worship.’’
Finally the words of Yahshua -
Mat 5:22 “But I say
to you that whoever is wroth with his brother without a cause shall be liable
to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raka!’ shall be liable to the
Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to fire of
GěHinnom.
Mat
5:23 “If, then, you bring your gift to the slaughter-place, and there
remember that your brother holds whatever against you,
Mat
5:24 leave your gift there before the slaughter-place, and go, first make
peace with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Mat
5:25 “Be well-minded with your opponent, promptly, while you are on the
way with him, lest your opponent deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the
officer, and you be thrown into prison.
Mat 5:26 “Truly, I say to you, you shall by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. (Rom 12:18)
(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,)