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 art Thou,
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.
This Torah portion addresses the sin of
dealing deceitfully against your neighbour. There are generally no witnesses so
this matter can only be resolved if the guilty party is willing to own up
confess his sin and make restitution.
YHVH
required such a guilty person to confess his sin and bring a “guilt
offering”(asham) to the altar where the priest would make atonement for him.
We
all have thought at times that we can get away with our actions only to find a
consistent convicting of the Ruach of YHVH to make a wrong matter right. This
is a gift and should not be abused. If one continually ignores the prompting of
the Ruach regarding specific issues brought to our attention, a time may come
when the Ruach of YHVH will withdraw and leave us to our own devices.
In
fact one of the Hebraic understandings of the curse of YHVH is that He
withdraws from you and leaves you to your own devices. This is possibly one the
most dangerous situations a person could find themselves in.
2Co 7:10 For sadness according to Elohim works
repentance to deliverance, not to be regretted, but the sadness of the world
works death.
This
sorrow comes about when YHVH’s Ruach reveals to us that our sin is first
against YHVH. Defrauding a brother is in reality defrauding YHVH.
When
we lie or steal or bear false testimony against a fellow Yisraelite it is not
always good enough to YHVH that we go in private and rectify the matter. Such a
sin or related transgression must at times be openly admitted to others, the
required restitution and offering made before YHVH will grant atonement for
such a sin.
Some
sages believe that if you confess and rectify a transgression as soon as it
happens there is no need for public confession and humiliation. However a
person who initially seeks to ignore a wrong doing and then comes under a
continual conviction of the Ruach of YHVH to remind them, public confession and
restitution is required.
Sadly
many have been taught that all you need to do is apologise and then carry on as
if everything is normal.
A
wise rabbi was one day approached by someone who had committed “la shon ha
ra”(evil speaking) against him. This person felt very bad and asked the rabbi
what they could do to rectify the matter. The rabbis asked the offender to take
a feather pillow on a very windy day on to an open field and release all the
feathers into the wind. Then the offender was required to go and pick up every
feather.
Pro 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death1. Footnote: 1See 16:25.
Maybe this is why Yahshua said:
Mat 5:23 “If, then, you bring your gift to the altar,
and there remember that your brother holds whatever against you,
Mat 5:24 leave your gift there before the altar, and
go, first make peace with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Willing and loving obedience to these instructions is possibly one of
the surest signs that such a person is in a genuine covenant with YHVH.
Act 5:31 “Him, a Prince and a Saviour, Elohim has
exalted to His right hand, to give repentance to Yisra’ĕl and forgiveness of
sins.
2Pe 2:19 promising them freedom, though themselves
being slaves of corruption – for one is a slave to whatever overcomes him.
2Pe 2:20 For if, after they have escaped the
defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Master and Saviour יהושע Messiah, they
are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than
the first.
2Pe 2:21 For it
would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness,
than having known it, to turn from the
set-apart command1 delivered unto them. Footnote: 1The
singular “command” often means “commands” – see 1 Tim. 6:14, Dt. 17:20, Ps.
19:8.
Our Torah portion:
Lev 6:1 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, saying,
Lev 6:2 “When any
being sins, and committed a trespass against יהוה, and has lied
to his neighbour about a deposit, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or
shall extort from his neighbour,
Lev 6:3 or has
found what was lost and has lied concerning it, or did swear falsely, so that
he sins in regard to any one of all these that a man does,
Lev 6:4 then it
shall be, when he sins, and shall be guilty, that he shall return what he took
by robbery, or what he has extorted, or the deposit which was deposited with
him, or the lost item which he found,
Lev 6:5 or all
that about which he swore falsely. He shall repay its total value, add
one-fifth more to it, and give it to whom it belongs, on the day of his guilt
offering.
Lev 6:6 “Then he
brings his guilt offering to יהוה, a ram, a
perfect one, from the flock, with your valuation, as a guilt offering, to the
priest.
Lev 6:7 “And the
priest shall make atonement for him before יהוה, and he shall
be forgiven for whatever he did that made him guilty.”
We recognize two major transgressions in the above
instructions: Greed and deceit. When these are present in our lives and are not
repented of, they can cause great destruction in the lives of people.
Jas 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let
him show by his good behaviour his works in meekness of wisdom.
Jas 3:14 But if you have bitter jealousy and
self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast against and lie against the truth.
Jas 3:15 This is not the wisdom coming down from
above, but it is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
Jas 3:16 For where jealousy and self-seeking are,
there is confusion and every foul deed.
Jas 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first clean,
then peaceable, gentle, ready to obey, filled with compassion and good fruits,
without partiality and without hypocrisy.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousnessis1
sown in peace by those who make peace. Footnote: 1Philip 1:1.
A very severe judgment is going to come upon everyone who
refused to repent from wrong doing.
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,
Many religious leaders and their followers have and
continue to suppress the truth of YHVH.
Only a very small remnant is truly willing to pay the
price to be led by the Ruach of YHVH instead of being led by popular doctrines
and opinions of men.
Jer 5:30 “An astounding and horrible matter has come
to be in the land:
Jer 5:31 The prophets have prophesied falsely1,
and the priests rule by their own hand, and My people have loved it so.2
And what are you going to do at the end of it? Footnotes: 1See
27:14,15. 2Isa. 30:10, 2 Tim. 4:3.
When believers
suppress truth for the sake of popularity they rob and defraud others of their
rightful inheritance and reward from YHVH.
According to the instructions of this Torah portion there
should be public confession and restitution made for deceitfully defrauding a
fellow believer.
Perhaps YHVH will take the little reward due to those who
steal and give it to those who have been faithful.
There is a price to pay for those who follow the truth.
They will be richly rewarded and ready when the Bridegroom returns. (Matt 25)
In the parable of the 10 virgins it was the virgins who
sought the abundance of the Torah (oil) while waiting for the Bridegroom.
Psa 119:97 O how I love Your Torah1! It is my
study all day long. Footnote: 1See also vv. 113, 119, 127, 163, 165,
167.
Psa 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to
my path.
There are many who call themselves believers both Jew and gentile who
will seek to rob you from the full blessing that comes from obedience and
embracing all of YHVH’s Torah – these are those who are deceitfully stealing
from you.
Lev 6:8 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Lev 6:9 “Command
Aharon and his sons, saying, ‘This is
the Torah of the burnt offering: This is the burnt offering, because it is
burned on the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar is kept
burning on it.
Lev 6:10 ‘And the
priest shall put on his linen garment, and put his linen trousers on his body,
and shall take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has consumed
on the altar, and shall put them beside the altar.
Lev 6:11 ‘And he
shall take off his garments, and put on other garments, and shall bring the
ashes outside the camp to a clean place.
Lev 6:12 ‘And the
fire on the altar is kept burning on it, it is not put out. And the priest
shall burn wood on it every morning, and arrange the burnt offering on it, and
shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings –
Maybe
this is the way that we secure an ongoing pleasing relationship with YHVH and
our fellow man – We know and are ready to bring burnt offerings any time of the
day or night every day of the year.
Rom 12:1 I call upon you, therefore, brothers, through
the compassion of Elohim, to present your bodies a living offering – set-apart,
well-pleasing to Elohim – your reasonable worship.
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.
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, Yahweh 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.
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