The Messianic Vort is a 5 minute, weekly teaching on some aspect of the Torah portion.
“Vort” is a Yiddish word meaning, “word.”
“I will lay your cities in ruin and I will make your sanctuaries desolate; I will not savor
your satisfying aromas.”
Leviticus 26:31
Kenneth M. Duberstein, who was President Reagan’s last White House chief of staff, said, “The Oval Office is
wherever the president of the United States is.” If a leader of a country, being merely a man, is attributed that much power and presence, how much more so should God, the Creator of the Universe and our King, be given that kind of recognition? Of course He is; Scripture is full of the acknowledgment that Heaven and Earth are full of His glory. But this week’s verse comes to teach us that the Divine Presence in the Temple was something extra special.
Ibn Ezra states that the words “and I will make your sanctuaries desolate” refer to the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash (the Holy Temple in Jerusalem). He explains that the previous verse prophesies that the Spirit of God will reject the people, which refers to the departure of the Divine Presence from the Temple. Unlike the Oval Office, when the Divine Presence leaves the building, it is no longer called “My Sanctuary,” but “your sanctuaries,” and is subject to destruction and desolation.
Rashi, however, does not allow for this explanation. He says that the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash is described in the following phrase: “I will not savor your satisfying aromas.” This is a clear reference to the offerings of the Holy Temple, which have the effect of giving a satisfying aroma to God. Now, in His rebuke, there will no longer be any offerings to provide that satisfying aroma. Therefore Rashi says that the previous phrase cannot refer to the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash itself, but to another aspect of the offerings. In quite a twist, Rashi renders the Hebrew word mikd’sheykhem as “your prepared ones” from kadesh which means “to make ready,” and explains it as a reference to the multitude of pilgrims who would come to Jerusalem after purifying themselves. The verse therefore prophesies that Jerusalem will become desolate and the throngs of pilgrims will come no more.
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The Messianic Vort is a 5 minute, weekly teaching on some aspect of the Torah portion.
“Vort” is a Yiddish word meaning, “word.” Key Words:
Hashem- A circumlocution for the tetragrammaton, the Holy Name of God.
moed-appointed time (moadim, plural)
mitzvah-commandment (mitzvot, plural)
Oneg Shabbat- delight of Shabbat (Sabbath)
Yeshua- Jesus’ Hebrew name which means, “salvation”
“Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: The appointed times of Hashem, that you are to designate as holy convocations, these are My appointed times…For six days of labor may be done, and the seventh day is a day of complete ceasing, a holy convocation; you shall not do any work.” Leviticus 23:2,3
The word moed (appointment) in Hebrew can refer to a time or a place. Leviticus 23 is a list of God’s appointed times; holy days that He gave to meet with His people. God calls these appointments, “a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places” (Leviticus 23:14). That means that they can never be replaced or abolished. They are to be celebrated by all of God’s people wherever they live. Thesemoadim include the weekly Sabbath, the festivals of Passover (Pesach), Pentecost (Shavuot), the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).
Many Christians apply the misnomer “Jewish festivals” to these times. However if you notice in the verse above, God prefers to call them “My appointed times” indicating that they have nothing to do with Jews and Judaism nor does God exclude non-Jews from observing them. After all, as Paul asks, “Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also” (Romans 3:29). Nowhere in Scripture are Gentiles given their own separate festival days. Neither the Gospels or any of the Epistles grant the Gentile believers in Yeshua their own, separate times of worship and holy days. In fact, in the days of the apostles, Jewish and Gentile believers kept the moadim together in the Temple as well as the synagogues. Gentiles not keeping the Biblically appointed times simply had not presented itself as an option. It was only when Gentile Christians separated themselves from Judaism that God’s appointed times were no longer observed by the Church.
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The Messianic Vort is a 5 minute, weekly teaching on some aspect of the Torah portion.
“Vort” is a Yiddish word meaning, “word.”
For more Vorts go to:
www.shabbatshalomtexas.com
“You shall not curse a deaf man, and you shall not place a stumbling block before the blind; and you shall fear your God—I am Hashem.” Leviticus 19:14
Sometimes the Torah speaks to us on different levels at the same time. This week’s verse is an
example of this phenomenon.
The p’shat of the above verse (the simple translation) appears to be prohibiting the literal act
of setting a stumbling block in front of a blind person. In my congregation, one of our members is
blind. It is a responsibility on our entire community to assist her in any way but to be especially sure that we don’t block the paths with clutter when she is moving about and to give her priority of movement wherever she would like to go.
However, many Torah sages, including Rashi and Rambam explain that our verse is also referring to
a person who is blind in a non-literal sense. In other words, this is a person without knowledge
and is coming to you to seek advice. In this case, the Torah forbids us to offer advice
that would in some way serve our own interests rather than counsel what is best for the person
seeking advice. For example, it is forbidden to counsel a person to sell his property if you have an
ulterior motive to buy it for yourself. To go further, Rambam adds another dimension; here the Torah forbids a person from causing someone to sin by assisting him in obtaining what he needs in order to transgress, or by telling him that a forbidden behavior is actually permitted.
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The Messianic Vort is a 5 minute, weekly teaching on some aspect of the Torah portion.
“Vort” is a Yiddish word meaning, “word.”
For more Vorts go to:
www.shabbatshalomtexas.com
“The LORD spoke to Moshe after the death of Aharon’s two
sons, when they approached before the LORD, and they
died…With this shall Aharon come into the Sanctuary.”
Leviticus 16:1,3
One common technique rabbis use to draw meaning from the Torah is to question why events happen side by side or in close proximity to each other. We find an opportunity for this from the verse above: Why does the Torah juxtapose the death of the sons of Aharon (Aaron ) with the description of the service of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement)?
Rashi, a 12th century commentator of the Torah and Talmud, explains that the death of Nadav and Avihu are mentioned in order to draw Aharon’s attention to the severity of improper entry in the Tabernacle. It is like a sick person who has been told not to eat certain foods. The first doctor only gives his patient the instructions about what not to eat, while the second doctor tells him, “You must avoid these types of food or you will die, as did So-and-so.” The second set of instructions is a clearer, more effective warning than the first.
R’ Yehudah Leib Chasman discovers an important lesson from this juxtaposition. Remember, we are talking about Aharon, the High Priest of Israel, the brother of Moshe the great prophet. Was it really necessary for God to use such harsh imagery to get His warning across to Aaron?
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Key Terms
Yeshua- Jesus’ Hebrew name meaning, “salvation”
tzara’at- leprosy
tahor- ritually fit, clean
lashon hara- evil/derogatory speech
“If the leprosy will erupt on the skin, and the leprosy will cover the entire skin of the affliction from his head to his feet…having turned completely white, it is ritually fit.”
Leviticus 13:12, 13
When we approach a study of the Bible, we correctly expect to find a practical application, an encouragement here or there, or an answer to life’s tough questions. As you can see from the passage above, this will prove challenging in our portion for the week. However, with an extra measure of dedication and with the help of God, we will be rewarded.To reap any fruit from this week’s portion, we need to clarify two key terms: tzara’at translated as “leprosy,” and tahor which Daniel Lancaster from First Fruits of Zion renders as “ritually fit.” Biblical leprosy is not the same disease as modern day leprosy. In fact, rabbinic opinion regards biblical leprosy as a supernatural even that God sent to punish man for certain deeds; especially lashon hara (evil speech). We find both Yeshua (Jesus) and Paul ratify this understanding throughout the Apostolic Writings (New Testament). The second term, tahor, or “ritually fit” describes a person who is in a physical state that is fit to enter the Tabernacle/Temple and participate in its services and eat the sacrifices performed on the altar. Our Torah portion this week informs us that someone who was diagnosed with tzara’at by a priest was not tahor, i.e. a leper could not participate in the services of the Tabernacle/Temple and he had to be isolated outside the camp (Lev. 13:46). If others approached him he had to warn them by shouting, “Unclean! Unclean!”
The verses above, however, present us with a puzzling paradox.
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