Blessing of Torah.
Hebrew:
Baruch atah YHVH eloheinu melech
ha-olam, asher kideshanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu la'asok b'divrei Torah.
V'ha'arev na YHVH eloheinu et divrei toratecha befinu uvfi amecha beit Yisrael.
V'niyeh anachnu v'tze'etze'einu v'tze'etza'ei amecha beit Yisrael kullanu yodei
sh'mecha v'lomdei toratecha lishmah. Baruch atah YHVH hamelamed Torah le'amo
Yisrael. Baruch atah YHVH Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher bachar banu mikol ha'amim
venatan lanu et torato. Baruch atah YHVH, notein haTorah.
English
translation: 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.
“We may call
this portion of the book the second section of the Levitical code. The public
services of the worshippers are over. Here begin some rules affecting their
private morality and their secret devotions.”
We should
also remember that it was after the flood that for the first time permission
was given man to eat animals for food – Gen/Ber 9:1-5.
Here we see
how our redemption is revealed – through the death of an innocent victim.
Heb 9:22 And, according to the Torah, almost all is
cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Modern religion has almost completely ignored the value and significance
of offerings as presented and taught in the Torah. Once again we need to return
to the authority of YHVH’s Torah.
Heb 10:28 Anyone who has disregarded(aorist verb) the
Torah of Mosheh dies (present tense verb) without compassion on the witness of
two or three witnesses.
Heb 10:29 How much worse punishment do you think shall
he deserve who has trampled (aorist verb) the Son of Elohim underfoot, counted
the blood of the covenant by which he was set apart as common, and insulted the
Spirit of favour?
An aorist verb is an imperfect verb and has no limitation as to its
application – an action may have happened in the past but its impact can still
be relevant now and in the future.
The “chol ve chomer”
argument used in these two verses is a common Hebrew grammatical device that is
used in the scriptures indicating degree of seriousness. In other words it is
saying if you thought ignoring the Torah was serious and worthy of the death
penalty, consider carefully the even more frightening judgment that will come
as a result of treating the offering system as something light or
insignificant.
We must continually
remind ourselves that our covenant with YHVH was established with the blood.
The Torah often
describes the sprinkling of blood seven times during offerings. Why?
While this present
heaven and earth exist (7000 years) – The Torah with its instruction of
offerings will be in force and prepare a way for the redeemed to enter into the
“eighth day.”
In the “eighth day” no
further blood offerings will be required as the 7000 year blood covenant would
have secured our perfect pardon and restoration from YHVH.
This seven thousand year blood covenant period requires both the
offering of an innocent kosher animal and the blood of The perfect Passover
lamb – Yahshua Ha Mashiach.
When the Messiah
returns he will rebuild the Temple in Yerushalayim and oversee a restored
Levitical system of offerings for 1000 years – see Ezekiel chapters 30 – 48.
Once again the “chol
ve chomer” argument challenges us. If the blood of an innocent kosher animal
offered by a Levitical priest can secure our temporal atonement HOW MUCH MORE
will the blood of Messiah secure our eternal atonement before YHVH for all
eternity.
Lev 17:1 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, saying,
Lev 17:2 “Speak to
Aharon, to his sons, and to all the children of Yisra’ĕl, and say to them,
‘This is the word which יהוה has commanded,
saying,
Lev 17:3 “Any man
from the house of Yisra’ĕl who slaughters a bull or a lamb or a goat in the
camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp,
Lev 17:4 and does
not bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to bring an offering to יהוה before the Dwelling Place of יהוה, blood-guilt is reckoned to that man. He
has shed blood, and that man shall be cut
off from among his people,
Lev 17:5 in order
that the children of Yisra’ĕl bring their slaughterings which they slaughter in
the open field. And they shall bring them to יהוה at the door of
the Tent of meeting, to the priest, and slaughter them as peace offerings to יהוה.
In ancient times the slaughtering of an animal was often
associated with giving honour and worship to YHVH.
Sadly the slaughtering of animals was also associated
with pagan worship.
Today thousands of believers actually partake in pagan
practices when they prepare pork roasts celebrating the life and death of our
Messiah.
The Torah clearly makes a distinction to the normal
slaughtering of animals for domestic consumption and when presenting an offering to YHVH.
Deu 12:11 “And it shall be, that unto the place which יהוה your Elohim
chooses to make His Name dwell there, there you are to bring all that I command
you: your burnt offerings, and your offerings, and your tithes, and the
contributions of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to יהוה.
Deu 12:12 “And you
shall rejoice before יהוה your Elohim,
you and your sons and your daughters, and your male servants and your female
servants, and the Lĕwite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor
inheritance with you.
Deu 12:13 “Guard
yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you
see,
Deu 12:14 except
in the place which יהוה chooses, in
one of your tribes, there you are to offer your burnt offerings, and there you
are to do all that I command you.
Deu 12:15 “Only,
whatever your being desires you shall slaughter and eat, according to the
blessing of יהוה your Elohim
which He has given you, within all your gates. The unclean and the clean do eat
of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike.
Deu 12:16 “Only,
the blood you do not eat, pour it on the earth like water.
Lev 17:6 “And the
priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of יהוה at the door of
the Tent of Meeting, and shall burn the fat for a sweet fragrance to יהוה.
Lev 17:7 “And let
them no longer slaughter their slaughtering’s to demons, after whom they
whored. This is a law forever for them
throughout their generations.” ’
Lev 17:8 “And say
to them, ‘Any man of the house of Yisra’ĕl, or of the strangers who sojourn
among you, who offers a burnt offering or slaughtering,
Lev 17:9 and does
not bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to do it to יהוה, that man shall be cut off from among his people.
Lev 17:10 ‘And any
man of the house of Yisra’ĕl, or of the strangers who sojourn among you, who eats any blood, I shall set My face
against that being who eats blood, and shall cut him off from among his people.
Lev 17:11 ‘For the
life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to
make atonement for your lives, for it is the blood that makes atonement for the
life.’
Lev 17:12
“Therefore I said to the children of Yisra’ĕl, ‘No being among you eats
blood, nor does any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.’
Lev 17:13 “And any
man from the children of Yisra’ĕl, or from the strangers who sojourn among you,
who hunts and catches any beast or bird, which is eaten, shall pour out its
blood and cover it with dust,
Lev 17:14 for it
is the life of all flesh. Its blood is for its life. And I said to the children
of Yisra’ĕl, ‘Do not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is
its blood. Anyone eating it is cut off.’
Lev 17:15 “And any
being who eats a carcass or what was torn by a beast, be he a native or
a stranger, he shall wash his garments and bathe in water, and shall be unclean
until evening. Then he shall be clean.
Lev
17:16 “And if he does not wash or bathe
his body, then he shall bear his crookedness.”
Vs 11 and 14
reveals the central role of the shedding of blood and the establishing of
covenant.
1Pe 1:18
knowing that you were redeemed from your futile way of life inherited
from your fathers, not with what is corruptible, silver or gold,
1Pe 1:19 but
with the precious blood of Messiah, as
of a lamb unblemished and spotless,
Eph 1:7 in whom we have redemption through His
blood, the forgiveness of trespasses, according to the riches of His
favour,
Rom 5:9
Much more then, having now been
declared right by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
Col 1:19
Because in Him all the completeness was well pleased to dwell,
Col 1:20 and
through Him to completely restore to favour all unto Himself, whether on earth
or in the heavens, having made peace through
the blood of His stake.
1Jn 1:7 But
if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of יהושע Messiah His
Son cleanses us from all sin.
Rev 1:5 and from יהושע Messiah, the trustworthy witness, the first-born from the dead,
and the ruler of the sovereigns of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
Heb 13:12 And
so יהושע also suffered
outside the gate, to set apart the people with His own blood.
Heb 10:19 So,
brothers, having boldness to enter into the Set-apart Place by the blood of יהושע,
Rev 12:11
“And they overcame him because of the Blood of the Lamb, and because of the Word of their witness, and they did not love their lives to the
death.
Rev 7:13 And
one of the elders responded, saying to me, “Who are these dressed in white robes,
and where did they come from?”
Rev 7:14 And
I said to him, “Master, you know.” And he said to me, “These are those coming
out of the great distress, having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
When Yahshua returns and the temple service is restored we will
perfectly understand what Yahshua was saying in the following scripture.
Joh 6:52 The
Yehuḏim, therefore, were
striving with one another, saying, “How is this One able to give us His
flesh to eat?”
Joh 6:53 יהושע therefore said
to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Aḏam and
drink His blood, you possess no life in yourselves.
Joh 6:54 “He who
eats My flesh and drinks My blood possesses everlasting life, and I shall raise
him up in the last day.
Joh 6:55 “For My
flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink.
Joh 6:56 “He who
eats My flesh and drinks My blood stays in Me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57 “As the
living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me
shall live because of Me.
The only way I believe we can “feed” on Yahshua is to
genuinely and actively take part in the Temple service.
Obviously the scriptures do not teach cannibalism, so
what do they mean when they say “drinking his blood and eating his flesh”?
These are not only symbols as the church has taught but
the only way to completely and totally identify with the redemptive life and
death of our Messiah. Yahshua
addresses the very heart of the Torah with these words – the book of Vayikra
and all of its intended meaning.
We who claim to know the Father will live and walk as our
Messiah did – in the complete fullness of all of the Torah.
This is the reason why “many” of Yahshua’s follower left
him (vs66). Then they were willing to follow him, now many desire to worship
him, but emulate him is another story.
Yahshua becomes the perfect Adam so that humanity can
know what the perfect man looks like in YHVH’s Eyes and that we are to become
like him in all ways. This is the purpose of YHVH.
Rom 8:29 Because those whom He
knew beforehand, He also ordained beforehand to be conformed to the likeness of
His Son, for Him to be the first-born among many brothers.
Joh 6:58 “This is the bread which came down
out of the heaven, not as your fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this
bread shall live forever.”
Joh 6:59 He said
this in a congregation, teaching in Kephar Naḥum.
Joh 6:60 Therefore
many of His taught ones having heard, said, “This word is hard, who is able to
hear it?”
Joh 6:61 But יהושע knowing within Himself that His taught
ones were grumbling about this, said to them, “Does this make you stumble?
Joh 6:62 “What if
you see the Son of Aḏam going up where He was before?
Joh 6:63 “It is
the Spirit that gives life, the flesh does not profit at all. The words that I
speak to you are Spirit and are life.1 Footnote: 1See v.
68, and 1 Cor. 15:45. Word and Spirit are in unity.
Joh 6:64 “But
there are some of you who do not believe.” For יהושע knew from the
beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would deliver Him up.
Joh 6:65 And He
said, “Because of this I have said to you that no one is able to come to Me
unless it has been given to him by My Father.”
Joh 6:66 From then
on many of His taught ones withdrew and were not walking with Him any more.
He who has an ear to hear what the Ruach of YHVH is saying to His
Kehelah - hear, obey and guard His Word.
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
Please
note these notes are under construction and are subject to correction and are
in no way a final authority on any subject.
