Prison Weekly Behar Leviticus 25:1-26:2
Im Sorry I haven't written in so long I will do my best to stay caught up I've has So moch going on I just don't have enough time. Please forgive me hear are the last two wekkly torah Parasha's
Behar Leviticus 25:1-26:2
To choose, elect, decide for; to be selected
This week's parasha is called Behar which means "to choose or to be selected" and it is from Leviticus 25:1-26:2. Within it, we find the instruction regarding the Shemittah, or the Sabbatical Year and about Yovel, the Year of Jubilee. Many sing songs declaring that this is the year of Jubilee and much is made of determining just when that year truly is. But, honestly, we don't know! There are too many discrepancies in the calendar to firmly establish when this glorious year will come. I believe that this year and every year is a year of Jubilee for those who rejoice in Messiah.
We read in Leviticus 25:17 & 18, "So you shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your G-d; for I am the L-rd your G-d. You shall thus observe My statutes and keep My judgments, so as to carry them out, that you may live securely on the land." This is certainly a word for each day we awaken and in it is the promise of G-d to give us security in our obedience. I know that this is not too popular a position to take, especially in these days of grace, but it is still the word of the L-rd that IF we walk in His ways, THEN, He will provide everything we need.
Verse 35 of the same chapter instructs us, '"Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you." This is the basis of the practice among Jews that if someone comes to you with their hand open, it is the responsibility of one with provision to fill it. Many of you have heard the story of the day I was sitting at a table outside waiting for some friends to join me for lunch. I saw a large "Babushkah" (a Russian big older lady) waddling toward me. When she got to my table, she plopped down across from me to commiserate about how, since her husband had died, her diabetes had almost crippled her and she could only walk so far before her feet would swell so much that every step was in pain. Then, in the next breathe, she asked, "So, do you have a car?" As soon as I admitted my good fortune, she instructed me to go get it so I could take her home! "It's not so far, but I just can't make it on my own." She did not bother to ask me if I would take her; she had made it plain that she was a widow and she was in need. So, she assumed that I would do whatever I could to help her. And I did!
Verse 55, toward the end of this passage, reminds us of who we are and of who G-d is: "the sons of Israel are My servants; they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am the L-rd your G-d." No matter if you are a son or daughter of Israel or if you are a child of the Nations, you are one in Messiah and so we are all grafted branches who have all been brought out of the Egypt of sin, to be the servants of the Most High G-d. You have been selected by Him; choose to walk in His way. Keep praying Marty
Forty-Nine Days, Eleven Hours
It's really a matter of simple arithmetic. Seven times seven is fortynine. Add one, and you get fifty. A young schoolchild shouldn't have any problems making this easy calculation. Yet it would appear that the Torah does not trust us to get the answer right. In this weeks portion, we are introduced to the mitzvah of counting the Omer, the seven-week countdown from the second day of Passover until the festival of Shavuos (Leviticus 23:15-16): "And you shall count for yourselves," the Torah commands, "from the morrow of the day of rest . . . there should be seven complete weeks. Until the morrow of the seventh week, you shall count fifty days." Why does the Torah find it necessary to do the arithmetic for us? Don't we know that the day after a full seven weeks is the fiftieth day? The commentators offer a homiletic explanation. Let us take a closer look at the counting of the Omer. On an elementary level, we count the Omer to build up our excitement and anticipation for the festival of Shavuos, which celebrates the Giving of the Torah. On the mystical level, however, the preparation is far more profound. During these seven weeks, we are meant to climb the ladder of elevation, to refine and improve our inner selves so that we will receive the Torah with purity of soul. Each day, each week brings us higher and higher until we reach the final goal.
But what if you are distracted by the disturbances of life and arrive at Shavuos having counted the days but not having done the introspective work? Should you lose heart and become despondent?
The Torah reassures us that all is not lost. Even if you waited until the eleventh hour, it is still not too late. You may have missed the opportunity to climb the fifty steps to perfection in the methodical, laborious and reliable step-by-step process. But you need not despair. You can still make the leap in one glorious bound. If you can generate within yourself one burst of transcendent inspiration, you can be catapulted right to the top of the fifty-step ladder in one day, in one exhilarating moment. This is what the Torah is telling you. "Until the morrow of the
seventh week, you shall count fifty days." You can still accomplish a complete fifty-day count on the morrow of the seventh week. It will just take more effort. A young man who lived with his parents left on an extended business trip which kept him away from home for over a month.
The first morning after his return, his mother came into the kitchen in the morning to find that her son had prepared a lavish breakfast for her. The table was exquisitely laid and covered with platters of the choicest foods. A large bouquet of flowers stood in the center. The mother smiled with delight. "What's the occasion?" she asked. "Is it the anniversary of some special event? What's going on?"
"Mother," said the young man, "it is my honor and privilege to serve you breakfast every day. But since I've been away for over a month, let me at least make up for it with one special breakfast."
In our own lives, we are sometimes inclined to think that life has passed us by, that we have squandered away the opportunities for spiritual growth that came our way. If only we could live our lives over again, we tell ourselves, how differently we would do things. If only we could avoid all those foolish mistakes we made, how much better off we would be. All this is probably true, but it no cause for throwing up our hands in defeat. As long as we live, we have the ability to make a great leap that will transform who and what we are, a great leap that will bring us right into the loving embrace of the Almighty.
Last weeks TORAH Parasha
Emer A Saying Leviticus 21:1 through 24:23
Last week's portion of scripture is one with a lot of depth. It comes from Leviticus 21:1 through 24:23. It opens with detailed instructions to the Priest regarding his holiness. The previous reading in the regular cycle dealt with the holiness of the nation; this week is for you and for me. For we are the Priests unto the L-rd, and more is expected of us than of those who merely travel with us and are, perhaps like Nabal. I will teach you more about this issue at another time, but for now, suffice to accept that these are foolish followers of the G-d of Israel who do not do what He commands, but are at least accepted among those who do. Probably your church is filled with such as these; I pray that you are not among them.
Chapter 23 deals with the "times of the L-rd." Not the Jewish holidays, but appointed times established by G-d for His people to observe throughout their generations. That means forever! The first one given is the Sabbath. Although most people consider Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement the most holy day among these, most Orthodox Jews would correctly identify Shabbat a the most sacred of all days. You see, G-d commands us to come into His Presence in the place chosen by Him three times a year, to observe seven annual appointments, He comes to where we live each week. The first song sung in traditional Jewish homes to welcome the Sabbath invites the Bride of Sabbath into our homes and to welcome the angels of G-d to grace our table with their presence as He comes among us.
Then begins the list of the annual times in which we are called to remember and to observe His appointed times. I know that many feel that since these are not taught by Jesus that they are not for us. Oh, dear ones, Jesus taught at each of these i\in such a way as to establish their priority for us forever. The first is the Passover, then Unleavened Bread and First Fruits. These three comprise the first pilgrimage time in ancient Israel and are referred to as "The Passover." It was at Passover that Y'shua revealed Himself to be our Passover Lamb. He was buried at the beginning of Unleaved Bread so He could come forth from the earth on First Fruits and be seen as the Bread of Life.
From the Sabbath of Passover, we are commanded to count for ourselves seven Sabbaths and the day after the seventh Sabbath is the Feast of Weeks. Today, it is called Pentecost because in Greek that means count fifty. On Pentecost, Jewish people gather from the time the third star appears in the sky until it is fully light the next day to remember the giving of the Torah on Sinai. They read and discuss the text all night. So it was that in Jerusalem one Pentecost night, as the third star appeared, and the day of Pentecost fully came, that the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit came and filled 120 Jews who were gathered as they did every year and continue to do to this day. You see, they were trying to uncover the deepest meaning of the text, but without the Spirit of G-d, it is impossible to discern the ways of G-d. So, at the appointed time, G-d gave them His Spirit to lead them into all of the truth of His word. This day is the second pilgrimage for all of Israel. Beloved, if G-d expected all of Israel to go up to Jerusalem three times a year, why would we think that He would not expect us to at least observe His appointed times in our homes and in our communities? These are appointments made by G-d Himself and He says that they are for His people to keep forever.
Then comes summer; there are no Feasts during this time. It is the time to be laboring in the fields. So it is that we are now in those days. Now, the fields are ripe unto harvest, but the laborers are few. Now, we must work while it is day for soon the night will come when no man may work. It is interesting to note that it is in this part of Leviticus 23, in verse 22 that we read, "When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the L-rd your G-d." You see this deals with how we are to treat those who have less than we do as we are going about the work to which the L-rd has set our hands.
Then, in verse2 23-26, He tells us of a time yet to be fulfilled. It is called the Yom Teruach, or the Day of the Blowing of the Shofar. Today it is best known as Rosh HaShannah, or the Feast of Trumpets. It is the day that signals the end of our labor and the gathering together of G-d's people for His appointed time of rest. It begins ten days of Awe in which all of Israel comes to be reconciled with one another, for we are taught that the Day of Atonement only reconciles us with G-d and that only if we have nothing against our brother. Just as Jesus taught that if you come to the altar and remember anything that separates you from another, you are to leave your offering and go to him before you may become in right standing with G-d. So, when will the L-rd return? No one knows, but we do know that it will be announced with the blowing of the Great Shofar and that soon thereafter will come a time of standing before G-d in judgment. Sounds like this Fall Festival time to me.
Then, after five days we begin the Feast of Tabernacles. This is the time of remembering Israel dwelling in the very Presence of G-d for forty years. Not for one moment did they stray from His Presence lest they die. And so we dwell in booths for seven days as a reminder of the booths in which Israel dwelt. The roof of these portable dwellings is made of thatch so that the Presence of G-d may be seen if in fact it returns during these days. These three fall festivals are together called Tabernacles and are the final pilgrimage required of all Israel each year. Will G-d reveal Himself during this time of year at some time in the future? Well, G-d does nothing except according to His times and these are the appointed times of the L-rd. It was at this time of year that Jesus was transfigured before three of his closest friends. At the time when all of Israel expects the Radiant glory of G-d to be revealed again, it was as the Son of G-d shone like the Shekiniah Glory pillar of fire that led them for forty years and the Cloud of G-d then appeared and from it came the Voice of G-d Himself! These three saw the revelation of the first fulfillment of this desire of Israel. Will we see it again?
Only time and the favor of G-d will tell the answer of this question. In the meantime, I choose not to miss an appointment with the One who led Israel and the One who leads me. What about you?
Shabbat shalom.Keep praying.
