Bar’chu et YHVH ha-m’vorach, Baruch YHVH ha-m’vora ch 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.
We are still busy
with Parashat 35“ Nasso” –to lift up or Make an Accounting– of what? A calling to a
set apart priesthood. This week we are dealing with the Nazarite vow. This was
a voluntary act of service to YHVH.
See
context of 1Pe
2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a set apart nation, a people for
possession, so that you might speak of the praises of Him who has called you
out of darkness into His marvelous light;
Exo 19:5 ‘And now,
if you diligently obey My voice, and shall guard My covenant, then you shall be
My treasured possession above all the peoples – for all the earth is Mine
–
Exo 19:6 ‘and you shall be to Me a reign of priests and a set-apart nation.’ Those are the words which you are to speak to the children of Yisra’ěl.”
Pointing
us once again to the Messiah who is the goal of the Torah – Rom 10:4 – who said
Joh 12:32 ואני בהנשאי מעל־הארץ אמשך כלם אלי׃
Why
‘’B midba’’? This seems to be YHVH’s chosen place of meeting and talking to
those whom He has set apart for Himself. The pattern is clear – He enters into
a covenant with Israel – fills them with His Ruach (Spirit) and then leads
Israel into the desert. He does the same with His Son – He does the same with
us.
Luk 4:1 And יהושע, being filled
with the Set-apart Spirit, returned from the Yarděn and was led by the Spirit
into the wilderness,
Luk 4:2 being tried for forty days by the devil. And in those days He did not eat at all, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
Joh
16:33 “These words I have spoken to you, that in Me you might have
peace. In the world you have pressure, but take courage, I have overcome the
world.”
Act 14:19 But Yehuḏim
arrived from Antioch and Ikonion, and having won over the crowds, they stoned
Sha’ul, dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead.
Act 14:20 But while
the taught ones gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And on
the next day he went away with Barnaḇa to Derbe.
Act 14:21 And having
brought the Good News to that city, and having made many taught ones, they
returned to Lustra, and Ikonion, and Antioch,
Act 14:22 strengthening the beings of the taught ones, encouraging them to continue in the belief, and that through many pressures we have to enter the reign of Elohim.
This
Torah portion gives an account of the Nazarite vow. The Nazarite vow is not a cure for our unfaithfulness but
a prevention of it. This portion followed the law of a jealous husband and was
considered by some sages to be the righteous response of an aggrieved or
suspicious husband towards his unfaithful wife.
Deu
8:2 “And you shall remember that יהוה your Elohim led you all the way these forty years in the
wilderness, to humble you, prove you, to know what is in your heart, whether
you guard His commands or not.
2Co 6:17 Therefore, “Come out from among them and
be separate, says יהוה, and do
not touch what is unclean, and I shall receive you. Isa_52:11.
2Co 6:18 “And I shall be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says יהוה the Almighty.” Isa_43:6, Hos_1:10.
Why? YHVH seeks a nation of intercessors. This was and always will be the calling of His Set Apart people. We are called to be intercessors not accusers.
Eze 22:30 “And I
sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the breach
before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it – but I did not
find one!
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.
Difference
between Netzer and Nazir:
“A nazirite (nazir) was a person consecrated to YHVH either from birth, such as Samson or Samuel; or for a limited time. A Nazarite (נְזִיר) was an Israelite who had taken special vows of dedication to YHVH whereby he abstained for a specified period from using alcohol and grape products, cutting his/her hair, and approaching corpses. At the end of the period, he/she was required to immerse themselves in water. Thus the immersion of Yahshua (Matthew 3:13-15) by John the Immerser could have been done "to fulfil all righteousness" at the ending of a nazirite vow. Following his immersion, the scriptures give no reason to suppose Yahshua took another nazirite vow until the last Pesach seder Yahshua shared with his talmidim/disciples-see Mark 14:25.”
Nazareth Heb. “Natsaret” the root verb “natsar” means to
guard. The same Hebrew letters “netser” means branch. The Jews called the early
followers of Yahshua “Notsrim” or Nazarenes. We can deduce from this Hebrew
word usage that the true believers in Yahshua, then and now were destined to
guard and protect the Truth and the Torah. This was the destiny of the “grafted
in” branches - Notzrim. Branches of a tree reveal that they are been sustained
by a root system which cannot be seen. “Branches” therefore reveal the deep
mysteries of YHVH and His Kingdom. See Rom 11:17-20.
“The second writings (New Testament) uses
"Nazarene" six times, while "Nazorean" is used 13 times. In
the Book of Acts ,
"Nazorean" is used to refer to a follower of Yahshua, i.e. a follower
of Yahshua rather than an inhabitant of a town.”
Act 24:5
“For having found this man a plague, who stirs up dissension among all
the Yehuḏim throughout the
world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Natsarenes,
Jer 31:6
“For there shall be a day when the watchmen(Notzrim) cry on Mount
Ephrayim, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Tsiyon, to יהוה our Elohim.’ ”
Our Torah portion begins:
Num 6:1 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 6:2 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, and say
to them, ‘When a man or woman does separate, by making a vow of a Nazirite, to
be separate to יהוה,
|
ב דַּבֵּר
אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם: אִישׁ אוֹ-אִשָּׁה, כִּי
יַפְלִא לִנְדֹּר נֶדֶר נָזִיר--לְהַזִּיר, לַיהוָה. |
2 Speak
unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When either man or woman
shall make an extraordinary vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to consecrate himself
unto the YHVH, |
H6381 pâlâ' BDB Definition:1) to be marvellous, be wonderful, be surpassing, be
extraordinary, separate by distinguishing action.
Note a man or a woman could
take a nazarite vow. The sages suggest that we should understand this in the
light of the law of sotah. Others suggest that woman were given far greater
roles of spiritual responsibility than what is commonly accepted. We see for
example in Shemot/Exodus 38:8 that certain woman was placed as guards at the
entrance of the tabernacle (did these women take a nazarite vow?). I am certain
their roles were not just symbolic – example – Anna the prophetess, Luke
2:36-38 – see also 1 Sam 2:22
Num 6:3 he separates himself from wine and
strong drink – he drinks neither vinegar of wine nor vinegar of strong drink,
neither does he drink any grape juice, nor eat grapes or raisins.
Num 6:4 ‘All the days of his separation he does not
eat whatever is made of the grapevine, from seed to skin.
Num 6:5 ‘All the days of the vow of his separation a
razor does not come upon his head. Until the days are completed for which he
does separate himself to יהוה, he is set-apart. He shall let the locks of the hair of his
head grow long.
Num 6:6 ‘All the days of his separation to יהוה he does not go
near a dead body.
Num 6:7 ‘He does not make himself unclean for his
father, or for his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die,
because his separation to Elohim is on his head. (requirements of high priest)
Num 6:8 ‘All the days of his separation he is
set-apart to יהוה.
Num 6:9 ‘And when anyone dies beside him in an
instant, suddenly, and he has defiled the head of his separation, then he shall
shave his head on the day of his cleansing – on the seventh day he shaves it.
Num 6:10 ‘And on the eighth day he brings two
turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the Tent of
Meeting,
Num 6:11 and the priest shall prepare one as a sin
offering and the other as a burnt offering, and shall make atonement for him,
because he sinned by reason of the dead body. And he shall set apart his head
on that day,
Num 6:12 and shall separate to יהוה the days of
his separation, and shall bring a male lamb a year old, as a guilt offering.
But the former days are not counted, because his separation was defiled.
Num 6:13 ‘And this is the Torah of the Nazirite: When
the days of his separation are completed, he is brought to the door of the Tent
of Meeting, (Shemot 38:8)
Num 6:14 and he shall bring his offering to יהוה: one male lamb
a year old, a perfect one, as a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year old, a
perfect one, as a sin offering, and one ram, a perfect one, as a peace
offering, (Ex 12:5 – Passover lamb)
Num 6:15 and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of
fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened thin cakes anointed with oil, and
their grain offering with their drink offerings.
Num 6:16 ‘And the priest shall bring them before יהוה and prepare
his sin offering and his burnt offering.
Num 6:17 ‘And he shall prepare the ram as a peace
offering to יהוה, together with
the basket of unleavened bread. And the priest shall prepare its grain offering
and its drink offering.
Num 6:18 ‘And the Nazirite shall shave the head of his
separation at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall take the hair from the
head of his separation and shall put it on the fire which is under the
slaughtering of the peace offering.
Num 6:19 ‘And the priest shall take the boiled
shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake from the basket, and one
unleavened thin cake, and put them upon the hands of the Nazirite after he has
shaved his hair of separation.
Num 6:20 ‘Then the priest shall wave them, a wave
offering before יהוה. It is set-apart for the priest, besides the breast of the wave
offering and besides the thigh of the contribution. And afterwards the Nazirite
shall drink wine.’
Num 6:21 “This is the Torah of the Nazirite who vows
to יהוה the offering
for his separation, and besides that, whatever else his hand is able to
provide. According to the vow which he takes, so he shall do according to the
Torah of his separation.”
Act 18:18 And Sha’ul,
having stayed several days more, having taken leave of the brothers, was
sailing for Suria, and Priscilla and Aqulas were with him, having shaved his
hair at Kenḥrea, for he had taken a vow.
The hair of the Nazarite both symbolically and literally represented the amount of time that the Nazarite spent under the vow. When the term of the Nazarite's vow was completed, he cut his hair and burned it in the Temple. Burning the hair was a gesture symbolizing that the Nazarite was offering up to YHVH the amount of time he had dedicated to YHVH as a Nazarite. If he had been a Nazarite for only a few months, it would only be a few months' growth. If he had been a Nazarite for several years, it would have been several feet of hair. But in order for the length of hair to accurately represent the term of the vow, the vow must be begun with a shaved head!
Regardless of which situation it is that Paul was in, the terms of the Nazarite vow necessitated that he return to Jerusalem and the Temple to make the necessary offerings and to have his hair shaved in the Temple. Once he arrived in Jerusalem in Acts 21, he joined with four more believers who had also taken Nazarite vows and they went to the Temple together for haircuts and sacrifices. We must remember that Paul did this to prove that he had not departed from the strict observance of the Torah. Acts 21:17-26
The Torah wants us to make a connection between the high priest and Nazarite. Both High Priest and Nazarite enjoy a status of separation called "nezer" which is theirs by virtue of a ritual marking on their heads. For the High Priest it is the anointing oil poured out on his head that grants him the nezer status. For the Nazarite it is the hair on his head that grants him the nezer status
Concerning Yaakov(Hebrew) the Hebrew equivalent of Jacob, James HaTzaddik, James (Yaakov) the righteous, the Brother of the Yahshua. Eusebius quotes Hegesippus in his Ecclesiastical History regarding the martyrdom of James (Yaakov). He writes, "James (Yaakov) drank no wine or intoxicating liquor and ate no animal food; no razor came near his head; he did not smear himself with oil, and took no baths. He alone was permitted to enter the Set apart Place, for his garments were not of wool but of linen. He used to enter the Set apart place alone, and was often found on his knees beseeching forgiveness for the people..." This text raises an intriguing problem. We find here a very strong and early tradition about James (Yaakov) that places him inside the Temple Sanctuary (Set apart place). The Sanctuary is forbidden to all except for the priesthood. How is it that James (Yaakov), a man descended from the House of David and the tribe of Judah has access to the Sanctuary where only priests are allowed? How is it that we find James (Yaakov) clothed in linen garments? that is, priestly garments? praying inside the Temple proper? Is it because James (Yaakov) was a Nazarite, and as a Nazarite, he obtained some kind of quasi-priestly status? We must either accept it as so or reject the tradition of Hegesippus all- together.
The astute reader of the Apostolic scriptures will notice an unavoidable parallel between this Joseph midrash and the words of the Master when he says to his disciples, "I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father's kingdom".(Matthew 26:27,)
The Master states the term of his vow at the outset. He will not drink of the fruit of the vine again "until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."
Thus according to halachah(Hebrew) literally, "walk"; traditional Jewish law concerning specific application of the commandments., Yahshua binds himself to a Nazarite vow at his last seder(Hebrew) literally, "order"; an ordered event, especially the meal eaten on Passover.
The good news (gospel) accounts tell us that
during the execution, Yahshua was twice offered vinegar (literally sour wine).
The first time he refuses it. However, at the point of death and ultimate
ritual defilement through uncleanness, he accepted it. How is it possible that
he would break his vow to not drink of the fruit of the vine? If the vow was a
Nazarite vow this can be explained. His vow would be defunct at the point of
death because it would be temporarily terminated by his contact with death.
Hence he refuses the vinegar earlier, but receives it at the very moment of
death. The vinegar and the death are significantly linked. Both sever the vow.
Thus the vinegar is symbolic of death and corpse contamination. When the Master
accepts the vinegar, it symbolizes his accepting death. A vow severed by corpse
contact must be re-entered only after purification. The Master's resurrection
is his purification from death. Now our Master ever lives to make intercession
for us, while he is seated at the right hand of YHVH. (Heb 7:25)
So, what does this mean to us who are called to lead worship in the assembly of set apart ones? Well, it was the Levites who were tasked with the role of functioning as the singers, musicians and the leaders of the singing in the Tabernacle of David. And, according to Acts 15:16, that revelation of divine order of worship that YHVH gave to King David, is our pattern. So, in the context of YHVH’s historical dealings with them, we can see what the tribe of Levi has been called to and destined to, from Moshe, to David to the present. It is a high and noble calling to be a helps minister to the priest. And to be successful in our calling and in our destiny, we must understand our role and how it relates to the rest of the body of Messiah. End quote.
It appears in our day that many believers have allowed themselves to be fashioned after the spirit of this world.
Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you prove what is that good and well-pleasing and perfect desire of Elohim.
(Blessed are you Yahweh, 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.)