Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread Replay

by | Apr 18, 2019 | Podcasts

Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread Replay

by Rod Thomas | The Messianic Torah Observer

In light of this weekend’s Passover observance, to be followed by the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread, I was led to re-post the teaching I did on this subject last years. 

Passover and Unleavened Bread 2019

For those of us who keep the observational calendar (ie., the Month of the Aviv begins with the sighting of the renewed moon and the barley harvest declared to be in a state of aviv), Passover (ie., Pesach) this year will begin at sundown S-turday, Ap-il 20, 2019. For those of us who keep the Jewish calculated calendar, Passover begins this evening at sundown, F-iday, Ap-il 18, 2019. 

The very next day, at sundown on S-nday, Ap-il 21st (observational) or Fr-day, Ap-il 19th (Jewish), begins the 7-day Feasts of Unleavened Bread. 

Now I cover all of the pertinent information you need to know in order to keep the spirit of Passover and Unleavened Bread in this podcast replay post. 

Three Things to Keep in Mind When Keeping Passover

In response to some recent inquiries I’ve received regarding the keeping of Passover by Yeshua-focused Torah-keeping disciples, here are three things to keep in mind:

1. We cannot keep Passover as outlined in Exodus 12, Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16.

Let us keep in mind that the very first Passover we kept while preparing to leave Egyptian captivity was a one time procedure. If you recall the story, Moses instructed the Hebrews to slaughter an unblemished, male yearling lamb and smear its blood on the doorposts of our homes. This of course was done as a sign to the “death angel” to “pass over” our homes as it went throughout the land to kill the firstborn of those households that were not covered by the blood of the lamb.

After that, we no longer smeared the blood of lambs on the doorposts of our homes. However, we symbolically re-enacted that fateful night in Egypt by consuming our meal in haste, clothed as if to depart our homes quickly and the meal consisting of lamb and bitter herbs and unleavened bread. 

However, because of our Master Yahoshua’s sacrifice and the passing away of the temple in Jerusalem, our attention is turned to Him on Passover. Now, our Jewish cousins keep somewhat of a twisted version of Torah’s instructed Passover, which they’ve named as Passover Seder. We should NOT participate in any such observance or tradition. In fact, our Master Yahoshua instructed us to honor Him and His sacrifice on the night before Passover. This is famously referred to as the “Lord’s Supper.”

Of this observance Paul wrote:

26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. (1Co 11:26 KJV)

2. Yeshua did not have the Passover meal nor a Passover Seder with His disciples the night He was betrayed. 

Contrary to most teachings, if you really read with understanding the Gospel account of the Master’s Supper, and you gain a full understanding of the timing of events surrounding His crucifixion on Passover Day, it becomes very obvious that Master did NOT have a Passover meal or a Seder with His disciples. 

Master, our Passover, was crucified on Passover Day and His body was placed in the borrowed tomb just prior to the start of the Passover Meal and prior to the start of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 

Oh by the way, the Passover Seder is actually a man made tradition that lacks in so many ways to the actual instructions Father passed down to us regarding the keeping of the day. 

3. Thus, our focus for Passover MUST be Yeshua Messiah. 

Yahoshua our Messiah is our Passover. He is, according to the famous utterance rendered by John the Immerser:

“Behold the “Lamb of God,” which takes away the sins of the world” (Joh. 1:29, 36).

So then, how do we keep Passover? 

Well, there are several ways in which we can keep the spirit of Passover. The first being, to observe the Master’s Supper. The second is to have a meal with family and like-minded friends consisting of some of the elements of the original Passover meal. I would also encourage the washing of one another’s feet. In fact, Master instituted for the Body of Messiah the consuming of the bread and wine in remembrance of His sacrifice, as well as the washing of one another’s feet. 

Of the washing of one another’s feet, Master stated:

12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.
15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
(Joh 13:12-17 KJV)

I could go on and on as it relates to how we keep the spirit of this solemn Feast, but suffice, if you will, to enjoy a replay of my post on this awesome time of Father’s Biblical Calendar Year.

Chag Pesach Semeach.

 

 

 

Keeping God’s (Yehovah’s) Feasts

by | Apr 16, 2019 | Blog, Podcasts

Keeping God’s (Yehovah’s) Feasts

Keeping God's (Yehovah's) Feasts

by Rod Thomas | The Messianic Torah Observer

  

 The Feasts of Yehovah Defined

I suggests that there are three (3) basic legs to a Yeshua-focused (ie., Yeshua-centric) lifestyle:

  1. Keeping the Weekly Sabbaths;
  2. Eating clean meats and foods; and
  3. Keeping the Feasts of YHVH (Leviticus 23).

These Feasts are to be proclaimed as “holy convocations”–sacred; holy assemblies (LXX) unto YHVH. (The Hebrew for convocations is “miqra”). They are designated times of YHVH for us to meet with Him. These festivals are considered by YHVH to be solemn festivals (NJB) to be kept by Yah’s people, in addition to the whole of Father’s Torah (ie., those instructions of Torah that can still be kept: the spirit of Torah specifically).

These Feasts belong to the Creator. They are NOT the Feasts of the Jews as so often referred to. Furthermore, they are rehearsals that remind us of Abba’s “Plan of Salvation/Redemption” as embodied in the Spring Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits Offering and Shavuot (ie., Pentecost); and of the soon-to-come “Kingdom of YHVH.”

Why Should the Feasts Matter to us Today?

Torah required that these Feasts be kept by us throughout all our generations, regardless where we lived in the world.

Those who keep Abba’s Torah, which contain the instructions for keeping the Feasts, are viewed by Father as special: saints to be exact:

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of Yah and have the testimony of Yahoshua Messiah” (Rev. 12:17; KJV, adjusted).

 

“Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of Yah and their faith in Yahoshua” (Rev. 14:12; ESV adjusted).

 

Yeshua and His anointed and appointed apostles kept the Feasts.

Regarding the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for instance, Paul wrote to the Messianic Assembly of Believers in Corinth:

“Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:8; ESV).

 

Paul seemed to structure his missionary journeys around the Feasts of Yah:

“For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in ASia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost” (Act. 20:16; ESV).

The entirety of Y’shua’s earthly ministry was structured exclusively around the Feasts. Master’s sacrifice was embodied in the Spring Feasts in particular.

The Feasts of YHVH offer us shadows of good things to come:

“For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near” (Heb. 10:1; ESV).

 

When Are these Feasts?

The question of when these Feasts occur is one of identifying and understanding Father’s reckoning of time. Father’s reckoning of time is completely different than our present day, Gregorian-based calendrical-system. The Feasts are based upon the Spring and Fall harvests in the Land of Israel. The dates that these Festivals occur is delineated in Torah (specifically Leviticus 23) and occur specifically on specific dates of the Creator’s Calendar.

Father declared that the lights in the firmament of heaven were meant to separate the day from the night; and to serve as signs and for seasons and for days and for years” (Gen. 1:14; QBE). Seasons in the Hebrew text is “moed,” meaning appointed place and or time of a meeting. In this particular case, the Feasts of YHVH are considered “moedim:” set apart days of Father’s calendar year.

These Feasts are to be proclaimed at the time appointed for them by Father (Lev. 23:4).

The 8-Mandated Feasts of YHVH (Lev. 23; Deu. 16)

Passover

Passover occurs on the 14th-day of the 1st-month (Month of Aviv; aka Nisan); specifically at twilight (ie., between the two evenings) (Lev. 23:5). It is often referred to as Pesach. The first mention of Passover is found in Exodus 12 when the Hebrews were instructed to smear on the doorposts of their homes, the blood of an unblemished, yearling male lamb. When the death angel went through the land of Egypt at the last plague, it passed over the Hebrew homes where the blood of the lamb had been applied.

Our Master was actually crucified on Passover day. He is our Passover (1 Cor. 5:7; 1 Pet. 1:19) who takes away the sins of the world (Joh. 1:29, 36).

It should be noted that Passover day is not considered a holy convocation day.

Feast of Unleavened Bread

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is often referred to as the Feast or Festival of Matzah as well as simply, Passover.

It is a 7-day, pilgrimage feast, the first and last day of which are holy convocations where no servile work may be done. The first day occurs on the 15th-day of the first month (ie., Aviv or Nisan).

For 7-days we are commanded to eat matzah (ie., unleavened bread) (Lev. 23:6).

Each day during this 7-day feast the priest would offer burnt offerings.

This feast symbolizes the aspect of the Plan of Salvation in which sin is eliminated from our lives.

Day of First Fruits Offering

This single day observance is not considered by YHVH necessarily as a sacred, holy convocational day. However, it is held on the day after the single weekly Sabbath that falls during the Feast of Unleavened week (Lev. 23:11).

On this day, the Hebrews would bring a sheaf of barley to the priests at the Tent of Meeting/Sanctuary/Temple to be waved before and accepted by YHVH: and acknowledgement of the bountiful harvests they received and to offer thanskgiving to Yah.

In addition, the priests offered an unblemished, yearling male lamb, a grain-offering and a drink-offering unto YHVH (Lev. 23:13; cf. Exo. 29:40).

It should be noted that the harvested barley could not be eaten by the nation until the presentation of the First Fruits offering was made (Lev. 23:14).

The very next day, we begin a count of 7-full weeks (ie., 50-days) that leads up to the Feast known as Shavuot or Pentecost. This 50-day counting period is famously referred to as the “counting of the omer,” which by the way is not a biblical concept. But it remains a tradition none the same.

This day symbolized those of us who are the first of the harvest to receive Father’s gift of eternal life and to become Father’s elect. Some contend that this was manifested in Yahoshua’s resurrection and the resurrection of those saints who had died prior to Master’s crucifixion, but who were raised to life when Yeshua arose from His grave.

Feast of Weeks

 The Feast of Weeks is also known as Shavuot, but more famously, Pentecost. Interestingly, it is also known as First Fruits (different of course from the Day of First Fruits Offering that took place 50-days prior.

Like it’s granddaddy, Pentecost is a pilgrimage feast (Deu. 16:16). 

We are commanded to declare the day as holy and to proclaim a holy convocation. On the day, no servile (ie., no occupational) work can be done. Furthermore, it is to be a perpetual law to be observed, regardless where we may reside upon the earth.

Originally, the Hebrew brought unto the priests two (2)-loaves of leavened wheat bread to represent the first fruits of their harvest. Those loaves would be waved by the priests before YHVH (Lev. 23:17).

These loaves of wheat, leavened bread would be offered alongside animal burnt, grain and drink offerings, in addition to sin and communion or peace offerings unto YHVH (Lev. 23:18,19). These offerings would too would be waved unto YHVH by the priests (Lev. 23:20).

This feast foreshadowed the giving of the holy Spirit to those who the Father has chosen. And we saw this famously manifested through the story of the Pentecost disciples who were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Temple Mount just 50-days after the resurrection of our Master. Those disciples spoke in tongues before the attending international Jewish multitude, prompting what has famously been called the birth of the Church. 

Traditionally, Pentecost is believed to be the day that Father gave Torah to the Hebrew while they were gathered at the base of Mount Sinai.

Feast of Trumpets

 Also known as Yom Teruah or the Day of the Blowing of Shofars/Trumpets, this feast takes place on the first-day of the 7th-biblical month (aka Tishri) according to Leviticus 23:24. 

This feast is also to be a solemn day of rest that is proclaimed with the blast of trumpets. We are commanded by YHVH to convene a holy convocation whereby no servile work can be done (cf. Num. 10:10). 

Back in the day, a burnt offering was made by the priests (Lev. 23:25).

This day foreshadowed the birth of our Master Y’shua Messiah, as well as it foreshadows the future gathering of the saints on the sea of fire and glass just before the start of the Great Tribulation and the subsequent establishing of our Master’s millennial kingdom here on earth.

Day of Atonement

 The Day of Atonement, considered the most solemn and holy day of YHVH’s biblical calendar year, is known most prominently as Yom Kippur. 

It takes place on the 10th-day of the 7th-biblical month (aka Tishri).

Yom Kippur is to be proclaimed as a holy convocation where we “afflict or deny our souls.” To afflict or deny one’s soul” is generally accepted in Hebrew Roots and Jewish circles to mean we experience a full fast for that 24-hour period of the feast day. The day is also know as an expiation day NJB as recorded in Lev. 23:27). 

Back in the day the priests, as with the other holy days, presented unto YHVH an expiation sacrifice and burnt offering (Lev. 23:27).

It is a day where absolutely NO work of any kind can be performed (Lev. 23:28). Since there’s no consuming of food on the day, there is no need even to clean up or prepare meals. It is truly a complete day of rest unto YHVH. 

Most importantly, the day symbolized a day for the making of atonement for the nation before YHVH. 

This feast is a perpetual statute to be observed and kept in all our dwellings (Lev. 23:31).

Yom Kippur is described by Father as a Sabbath of solemn rest whereby we afflict ourselves for an entire 24-hour period (Lev. 23:32). 

The Day of Atonement foreshadows the Great Tribulation that will be poured out upon the earth and its inhabitants by a just and righteous God. As well as it foreshadows the day in which hasatan (ie., Lucifer) will be locked away and tossed into the Great Abyss/Bottomless Pit for 1,000-years (Rev. 20). 

Feast of Tabernacles

The last feast of the fall season, this feast occurs on the 15th-day of the 7th-biblical month (aka Tishri), and is a 7-day feast (Lev. 23:34). 

This feast is often referred to as the Festival or Feast of Booths, the Feast of Ingathering, and Sukkot. 

It too is a pilgrimage feast.

The first day of Sukkot is a holy day whereby we proclaim a convocation. No servile work can be done on the day (Lev. 23:35). 

Back in the day, the priests offered burnt offerings unto YHVH for the entire 7-days (Lev. 23: 36).

What sets this feast apart from the others is that this festival was more of a celebration than anything else. We find in Leviticus 23:40 where YHVH commanded us to rejoice before Him at the place He so designated the feast to occur. 

The other interesting aspect of this feast is that we were commanded to dwell in booths (ie., temporary abodes; makeshift dwellings) for the 7-day celebration period (Lev. 23:42). Some folks make sukkahs (temporary dwelling structures) on their properties, while others choose to convocate with other like-minded disciples at campsites and convention centers around the world for the 7-day celebration. 

Sukkot foreshadows the soon coming millennial reign of our Master Yeshua Messiah here on earth, to be headquartered in Jerusalem. 

Shemini (Atzeret)

This final feast, which is typically attached onto the 7-day long Feast of Tabernacles,  is better known as The Last Great Day. 

It of course takes place on the 8th-day of the Feast of Tabernacles and is also considered a holy day whereby we proclaim and convene a holy convocation (Lev. 23:36; cf. Num. 29:35). No servile work can be done on the day. 

Back in the day, burnt, grain and drink offerings were presented unto YHVH by the priests on this day (Num. 29:36). 

This end to the sacred calendar year’s feast cycle foreshadows the New Heaven and new Earth that will appear at the end of the millennial reign of Messiah (Rev. 21). 

Clarion Call to Action

1. Let us learn about the Feast. Study and understand what and when these special, set apart and sacred days are all about and when they occur. 

2. Let us plan ahead of time to keep the feasts. 

3. Let us keep the feast with passion, love, hope, faith, praise, worship and grace. 

Faithfully,

Rod

 

 

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M’tzora-Person Afflicted With Leprosy-Torah Portion 28-Commentary

by | Apr 12, 2019 | Blog

M’tzora-Person Afflicted With Leprosy-Torah Portion 28-Commentary

Parashah 28-M’tzoro–Person Afflicted With Tzara’at Continuation

This week’s Torah Portion/Reading entitled “M’tzoro,” or a “Person Afflicted with Tzara’at (Leprosy)” is somewhat of a continuation of last week’s reading (ie., Tazaria) that dealt with the diagnosis and consequences of leprosy.

In Tazaria, I discussed how leprosy (a severe skin infection) was to be diagnosed and dealt with by the Levitical Priests. I then highlighted the spiritual “shadow picture” that is germane to the disease and its handling. That spiritual shadow picture is embodied in “sin.” As in leprosy, sin separates the infected individual from YHVH (ie., Yehovah/Yahuah/Yahweh/God) as well as from the uninfected nation.

Leprosy and the Cleansing Process

This week’s reading (Leviticus 14:1-15:33) picks up where last week’s post left off. This reading dealt with the purification process that Abba put in place for when a once leprosy-infected individual is deemed clean by the Levitical Priests. 

Interestingly, once a Levitical Priest cleared a formerly infected member of the nation of leprosy (remember that Biblical leprosy embodied a number of infectious skin diseases), they were permitted back into the community. However, that member still had to be purified before they would be permitted back into fellowship with YHVH. That is, the member could not worship at the Sanctuary/Tent of Meeting/Temple until they completed a purification process. 

The Purification/Cleansing Process in a Nutshell

The purification process is found in Leviticus 14. 

Without going into the specifics of the passage, in a nutshell, the member after being declared clean by a Levitical Priest was subjected to a ritual whereby the blood of a clean bird is sprinkled upon them; he or she bathes and shaves off all their hair; he/she sits outside their home for a week; and then offers a sin and burnt offering upon the altar. 

Interesting Aspects of the Cleansing Process

There are so many amazing elements to the post-leprosy cleansing process that I could spend this entire post enumerating and expounding upon them. And then, I still would not do the subject its due justice.

Suffice for me to elaborate here on just a few of those elements that I found interesting.

1. The Levitical Priest who clears the once infected member would conduct a cleansing ritual outside the camp before the member would be permitted back into the community proper. In that process, the priest would acquire two-clean birds, cedar-wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop leaves. One of the two-birds would be slaughtered with living (ie., running) water. The blood of the slaughtered bird would be caught in a clay pot. The attending priest would then take the living clean-bird, along with the hyssop leaves, cedar-wood and scarlet yarn; dip them all together into the clay-pot containing the slaughtered clean-bird’s blood, and sprinkle that blood upon the member. At the conclusion of this process, the living bird is released freely into the wild (vss. 2-7). 

The release of the live bird has amazing similarities to the goat that is released into the wild by a “strong man” during the “Azazel” ritual practiced on the “Day of Atonement” or Yom Kippur. The Azazel-goat (aka “scapegoat”) symbolizes hasatan who is vanquished into the abyss for a period of time, having the guilt of the nation placed squarely upon it (Leviticus 16). Similarly, the living bird that is released into the wild symbolically carries with it the uncleanness of the once defiled member.

2. The member must shave all the hair from their body. Then the member cleanses his/her body and clothes in water (vs. 8). 

These acts are conducted outside the camp/community. At the conclusion of these rituals, the member is welcomed back into the community.

3. There were a couple other small things the member had to do as part of their cleansing over a week’s time frame (vs. 9). Ultimately, however, the member is required to present sin and burnt offerings to YHVH. (For a detailed explanation of the sin/guilt and burnt offerings, see my earlier Torah Portion/Reading Commentary on this topic.)

Atonement and Fellowship

The sacrifices and offerings presented by the member and mediated by a Levitical Priest to YHVH at the conclusion of the cleansing process served several purposes. But for me, the two most critical purposes were: (1) atonement for sin; and (2) the re-establishing of fellowship between YHVH and the member (vss. 10-32). 

Now, this whole purification process–the sprinkling of blood upon the member by the priest, the shaving of the hair from the member’s body, the washing of the member and his/her clothes in water beforehand; and then the presentation of sacrifices and burnt-offerings, in total, are illustrative of the process of being cleansed and forgiven of our sins as Yeshua-centric Torah observant believers in Messiah. 

Unrequited Sin

As I mentioned in my three-previous Torah Portion/Reading Commentary posts, holiness and spiritual purity is essential to the overall health of every disciple’s relationship with YHVH. And one of the biggest impediments to our maintaining spiritual purity (ie., holiness; righteousness) and a substantive relationship with YHVH is unrequited sin.

Keeping Fellowship With Father

Back in the day when Torah was being written and practically walked out by our forefathers, ritual-purity was an absolute requirement for not only maintaining ongoing  fellowship with YHVH through Temple/Sanctuary/Tent of Meeting worship, but also for maintaining fellowship within the community of Israel. 

Apart from the many natural occurrences of day-to-day life that caused our forefathers to fall into a state of ritual-impurity, unaddressed sin in the lives of the members also set the members of the community into a state of ritual impurity. 

Ritual Purity a Requirement

Ritual impurity–be it in the form of an infectious skin disease or in the form of unaddressed sin–separated the member from YHVH (ie., through the member being denied worship at the Sanctuary)  and in many cases, separated him/her from living in the community. 

With the passing away of the Temple/Sanctuary/Tent of Meeting, and the advent of the atoning sacrifice and the assumption of the Melchezekian Priesthood by our Master Y’shua Messiah, we no longer are held to the specific ritual-purity laws of Torah. However, the spirit of those ritual-purity laws remain ever so in effect for us today.

Leprosy and Sin and Spiritual Defilement and Impurity

As I mentioned in my previous Torah Portion Commentary piece, leprosy is allegorical and can be viewed as illustrative of sin. We know that unaddressed sin in a child of God’s life results in that believer being in what I call a state of spiritual impurity or spiritual defilement. That spiritual impurity or defilement has the effect of: (1) hindering or damaging our relationship and fellowship with YHVH; and (2) separating us from our brothers and sisters in Messiah. Furthermore, unaddressed sin places us at risk of experiencing the curses of Deuteronomy 28. (Unaddressed sin is certainly a viable “cause and effect” to our prayers going unanswered; the many unrelenting challenges and difficulties–personal and financial–some of us face each day; chronic, debilitating and potentially fatal diseases and illnesses some of us are enduring; etc.)

Yeshua Our Mediator

While we live in these bodies here in this dispensation, we are in perpetual need for a priest to act as our mediator to YHVH. That High Priest, of course, is none other than Y’shua Messiah. He alone is our intermediary to YHVH; our healer; our atonement; our role model; our peace; our Truth and our hope.

If we desire to remain in a perpetual state of spiritual cleanliness and purity, we must follow the directions and intervention of our High Priest, Y’shua Messiah. And in the inevitable chance that we fall into spiritual defilement and impurity because of sin, we must act swiftly to ensure that we return to the state of spiritual cleanliness and purity that Father demands of his children in order to maintain a true and substantive relationship with Him. 

It is the blood of Y’shua that cleanses us from all unrighteousness (Mat. 6:12; Joh. 5:14; 8:11; Rom. 8:3;  2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Joh. 1:7, 29; 2:1; 3:5 1 Pet. 1:19). 

Call to Action

 In the spirit of this Torah Reading, let us strive to be in a perpetual state of spiritual cleanliness and purity.  Let us seek forgiveness of sins through a continuous searching and assessment of our thoughts and actions. Approach Father’s throne boldly and call out to Father for His forgiveness.

And upon being forgiven for those sins once they’ve been identified and brought before Father for forgiveness, let us “stop sinning.” 

And let us not forget: as Father forgives us, we too must forgive others. Failure to forgive others may result in our sins not being forgiven (Joh. 5:14). For true forgiveness comes when we forgive others  (Mat. 6:12-15; 9:6; Mar. 2:10, 25, 26). 

Shabbat Shalom. 

Until next time. 

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Tazria (She Conceives)-Leprosy, A Shadow of Sin and the Healing Work of Messiah–Parashah-27

by | Apr 6, 2019 | Blog

Tazria (She Conceives)-Leprosy, A Shadow of Sin and the Healing Work of Messiah–Parashah-27

Parashah 27-Tazria Overview

Torah Portions

Torah Portions is simply a system by which the entire Torah is read annually.

This week’s Torah Portion (Reading) is entitled Tazria—”She Conceives.” It is found Leviticus 12:1-13:59, with the Haftarah Reading found in 2 Kings 4:42-5:19.

This Torah Reading is part of an overall set of instructions on the issue of purity and impurity. Last week’s reading dealt with holiness and sanctification. We can see clearly delineated with these readings from Leviticus instructions that when followed, prepared us for worship.

There are two specific purity issues addressed in this week’s reading: (1) purification after childbirth; and (2) the law of leprosy.

Levitical Versus Hygienic

Being ritually pure and clean was required for worship at the sanctuary. This week’s reading spoke to two conditions that when manifested, precluded the affected person from worship: women having just given birth and the scourge of leprosy. Jewish scholars refer to this form of instruction as “levitical.” In simple terms, levitical means religious instruction.

Although the focus of this week’s reading provided another aspect of living a ritually clean life before YHVH, the instructions given to us by Father regarding postpartum conditions and skin diseases had direct hygienic application for the entire community as well. Containing the spread of infection was vital to ensure the overall wellbeing of the community. Thus Father’s grace and love for the nation is brilliantly displayed His giving of these instructions.

Neither the hygienic or the levitical perspective of these instructions is mutually exclusive of the other. That is, the levitical does not exclude the hygienic and vice versa. For it is only commonsense that Father’s demand that His people be in a state of ritual purity at any given time also ensures proper hygiene is maintained within the community.

What is that old adage? Cleanliness is next to Godliness? No truer words can be spoken.

Leprosy Focus

I’ve elected to focus on chapter-13 of Leviticus in this week’s portion which deals with leprosy.

Leviticus 13 deals exclusively with the scourge of leprosy. Verses 9-17 relate to the diagnosing of the disease.

What is Leprosy?

Today, leprosy is known as Hansen’s Disease (HD). It is described ass an infection that is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium Leprae or Myobacterium Lepromatosis. (Wikipedia)

According to the CDC, the disease can affect a person’s eyes, nerves, skin and the lining of the nose. Today the disease is curable.

Symptoms include:

  • Growths on the skin;
  • Thick, stiff or dry skin;
  • Ulcers on the soles of the affected person’s feet;
  • Swelling or lumps on the face;
  • Loss of eyebrows or eyelashes;
  • Numbness of the affected areas of skin;

Muscle weakness or paralysis of the hands and feet;

  • Eye problems leading to blindness; nose bleeds;
  • And blindness.

The disease is spread by airborne droplets (CDC).

According to Leprosy Mission, there are more than 200,000 new cases of Hansen’s Disease reported each year worldwide, with some 3-million people living with the irreversible disabilities the disease causes when left untreated.

What we know today as leprosy is not exactly what the Bible reports as leprosy. Our present day form of leprosy, aka Hansen’s Disease, can be said to be inclusive of the Biblical form of the disease. For biblical leprosy probably encompassed a panoply of infectious skin diseases.

Pertinent Verses of the Reading

Lev. 13:10—”And the priest shall look, and, behold if there be a white rising in the skin, and it have turned the hair white, and there be quick raw flesh in the rising…” (JPS).

According to J. H. Hertz (Torah and Haftorah), “in the disease of elephantiasis one of the early manifestations is the growth of vesicles of a glistening white hue, which burst and discharge a whitish fluid.”

Lev. 13:11—”…it is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not shut him up; for he is unclean” (JPS).

This verse describes the confirmation of leprosy whereby a Levitical Priest would confirm that the disease “is definitely established as rooted in the system by the presence of quick raw flesh and white hair. No preliminary isolation is necessary; it is a clear case of uncleanness” (Hertz).

Verses 12-17 of the 13th chapter of Leviticus “refer to common white leprosy. It is less serious than elephantiasis or leprosy proper. The health of the person remains normal during the time the malady persists, and it generally passes off after a while. There is only discoloration of the skin in this milder form of infection” (Hertz).

So it seems that the “leprosy” that this Torah Portion is addressing (as mentioned above) covers a panoply of infectious skin conditions; not confined to Hansen’s Disease form of skin ailment that exists today.

Lev. 13:45—”And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and the hair of his head shall go loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and shall cry: ‘Unclean, unclean’” (JPS).

According to Hertz, the term leper “is in the masculine; the female sufferer also left the camp and lived apart, but was not required to tear her garments and uncover her head. The customs of the leper are those of a mourner. He was to regard himself as one upon whom death had laid its hand. He was a living death, not only in the physical sense, as suffering from a loathsome and lingering disease; but also in the spiritual sense, as cut off from the life of the Community of Israel.” The cry “unclean—unclean” was to “warn people from touching them. In later times, lepers wore a bell for the same purpose.”

Lev. 13:46—”All the days wherein the plague is in him he shall be unclean; he is unclean; he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his dwelling be” (JPS). The term “alone” as used in this verse is better expressed as “apart.” 

 

Lev. 13:52—”And he shall burn the garment, or the warp, or the woof, whether it be of wool or of linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is; for it is a malignant leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire” (JPS).

The Haftarah Thazria as found in 2 Kings 4:42-5:19 documents two-stories involving the Prophet Elisha: (1) “during the great famine, the scanty bread of a poor man’s offering is multiplied so that Elisha is enabled to feed a hundred of the ‘sons of the prophets;’” and (2) the curing from leprosy of the captain of Syria’s host by the Prophet Elisha.

If we look at leprosy from a spiritual cause and effect standpoint, it ultimately came about because of sin. In fact, leprosy was viewed as a curse of God.

Leprosy is mentioned some 68-times in the AV (some 55-times in the Old and 13-times in the New). 

Leprosy from a Spiritual Standpoint

Many bible scholars contend that leprosy in general was not a fatal disease in the days of the bible. However, I would side with J. H. Hertz on the fatal nature of the disease in both the times of the New and Old Testaments. I submit that the mandated social ostracizing that the disease engendered caused many of those affected to perish. It stands to reason that the affected’s care generally had to come from the unaffected (ie., family members and friends had to provide food and other life-provisions to the affected given the affected member’s persona non grata status in the community).

And we must not overlook the psychological harm that would naturally come from being ostracized from society because of the hygienic and levitical restrictions incumbent upon affected persons. The infected would naturally feel abandoned and useless at some point, which would lead most down the path of neglecting their own care.

Leprosy and Sin

For Yeshua-centric Torah observers such as ourselves, leprosy is analogous to sin. Like leprosy, which begins small and in some cases even innocuously, sin has the great potential of ultimately spreading and growing out of control in a believer’s life causing him/her to become unclean before YHVH. Paul wrote:

“Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Cor. 5:6;ESV; cf. Gal. 5:9).

Thus, non addressed sin ostracizes the offender from YHVH. As a result, the offender’s prayers and worship may not be accepted nor heard by Father. If the offender’s sin is known to others in the Faith Community, they may be asked to leave community. And until the offender repents and turns from their wicked ways, he/she is essentially unclean and ostracized from both the community and YHVH.

Paul wrote:

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:7,8; ESV).

We know from Deuteronomy 28:15-68 that sin and failure to obey YHVH’s commands can result in a whole host of curses and general problems that spiritually echo the scourge of leprosy.

So in the case of physical leprosy, the priest examines and makes a determination as to the affected being clean or unclean. Cleansing is required at the terminus of the assessment. Being deemed clean by the priest brings the once affected back into a right-standing with society and YHVH and he/she is permitted to resume worship and is welcomed back into the community.

Analogously speaking, when the least spot of sin appears in our life, we must turn to our priest—Y’shua Messiah–for his/her assessment and determination. He, through the working of the Holy Spirit, will determine what happens to us and the course of action we must take in order to be restored to a right-relationship with YHVH and our Faith Community.

Matthew 8:1-4 documents the story of Y’shua healing a leper which is analogous to His undeniable role in our being ruled as clean before a holy and righteous God.

What I find most interesting about the story of the cleansing of the leper by Yahoshua is the instruction that Master gave the healed man:

“See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them” (KJV).

Even as the walking, talking Torah, our Master in no way violates Torah, but instructs the healed man to keep every aspect of Torah related to his condition.

Healing Through Yahoshua our Messiah

Thus, Yeshua can heal the sin-sick soul and thus we become clean and can remain in right-standing before a holy God. Back in the day, leprosy could only be healed through divine intervention. Carry this same thinking on over to sin. Yeshua is the only means by which we may be healed from the existential ravages of sin. He is the only sanctioned means of clearing us and deeming us clean before our Heavenly Father.

Let us come to Him and have our situation assessed. Then let us take immediate and purposed actioned to addressed the problem.

The difference to be had here, of course, is that our High Priest (contrary to the Levitical Priest of our forefathers) cannot only deliver us from physical disease, but He can also deliver us from the ravages of sin.

Shabbat Shalom Dear Saint.

Until next week.

 

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How to Keep (Guard) the Month of the Aviv–Replay

by | Apr 5, 2019 | Podcasts

How to Keep (Guard) the Month of the Aviv

by Rod & Hilary Thomas | The Messianic Torah Observer

Torah Instruction to Guard

In Deuteronomy 16:1-3 Abba instructed us to “observe (i.e., shamar—guard) the Month of the Aviv,” and keep the Passover unto YHVH our Elohim.” Because in the Month of the Aviv YHVH brought us forth out of Egypt by night.

What are we talking about here?

In order to guard the Month of the Aviv we have to do some things: 1. We must know what it means to guard—from a Hebraic perspective. One must ask, does this guarding even make sense to us in the 21st-century West? 2. We must know that the Month of the Aviv is and when it occurs. This then becomes a calendar issue. 3. We must know what is required of us in the guarding of the Month of the Aviv. We must understand how we are to go about guarding/keeping the Month of the Aviv; not from man’s perspective, but from the Creator’s perspective. Let’s look at each of these in some detail.

1. Understand/Know what it means to guard/observe

Deuteronomy 16:1 contains the instruction that we are to guard—to shamar—the Month of the Aviv. The Google definition for guard is to watch over in order to protect or control. The Hebrew definition for guard is to hedge about a thing as with thorns; with additional clarifications of protecting; to keep; to mark; to preserve; to wait for; to watch. Sadly, most of us focus solely on the Passover Seder. Yet we see here that we are commanded to do what? We are commanded to guard The Month of the Aviv. Rabbinic Judaism has taken this instruction (and others like it) to place a hedge around the Month of Aviv (and thus all of the Creator’s Feasts) as authority to manipulate and control the Feasts of YHVH contained therein. Thus they have changed the instructions of YHVH and made them of no effect by their traditions and ordinances and rules (Matthew 15:3-6). We are instructed to guard/keep the Month as opposed to just one Feast Day. Strangely, most commentaries (on both side of the aisle—Christian and Judaism) fail to mention this powerful commandment. They bypass the command to guard the Month and go straight on over to “keeping just the Passover.” In terms of Christianity, it’s keeping Easter. However, we’ve been called to do better and to obey the instructions of YHVH.

The Calculated Jewish Calendar was developed by the Sanhedrin in 359 C.E. and is based on mathematical calculations.
Father instructed:

“Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am Yehovah” (Leviticus 22:31; ASV).

Father exclaimed:

“Oh that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29; ASV).

Our Master addressed this same issue when He instructed:

“If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments” (John 14:15; ASV).

The Apostle John took this concept even further when he wrote:

“And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the Truth is not in Him” (I John 2:3,4; KJV).

Thus we are instructed to guard the entire Month of the Aviv.

2. Know what the Month of Aviv is and when it occurs—a calendar issue

Father instructed us:

“This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you” (Exodus 12:2; QBE).

Which month is Father referring to here? He clarifies in Exodus 13:4:

“On this day in the Month of Aviv, you are about to go forth” (NASB).

We see here that Abba is declaring that the Month of the Aviv is where our new Year begins. It is our New Year!

The Hebrew Calendar is based upon the sighting of aviv barley and sighting the renewed moon in the land of Israel.
Thus Father has established with us His reckoning of time. He has established with us His calendar that we are to “shamar.” In this, we must bear in mind that we followed a pagan calendar during our sojourn in Egypt for centuries. Father was stopping that practice and now establishing His own calendar for us to follow. Do you see any spiritual and life parallels here? I say that our accepting Father’s calendar is part of our sanctification: that which sets us apart from the rest of the world. Therefore, Father in this command is telling us that this is going to be the month that not only establishes the beginning of our annual calendar, but also marks our freedom from captivity and the start of a new life for us. Can you see the amazing spiritual and prophetic parallels here? So what’s the deal with the Month of the Aviv? Aviv is a term that describes the condition—the state of maturation—of the barley crop in the Land of Israel. Thus Aviv denotes a specific harvest season—the spring harvest season. Can you recognize the tremendous spiritual and prophetic applications portrayed here as well?

The maturation of the barley in the land of Israel is essential to determining when the sacred calendar year begins.
The term “Aviv” (or Abib as used in most authorized English translations) means: fresh, young barley ears, barley; the month of ear-forming; of greening of crop; of growing green Abib that takes place exclusively during our spring time here in the west. The term “Abib” is used 6 times in the authorized versions of our Bible.

Sighting of the renewed moon signals the start of each month of the sacred calendar year.

Why is the maturity of the barley in the Land important? Well, to begin with, Father says so. But the other things is that we needed the barley to be aviv so that it may be offered by the priests on Yom HaBikurim—the Day of Firstfruits as described in Leviticus 23:11-15. The prophetic and spiritual implications of this are nothing short of amazing and spectacular. By knowing the state of the barley harvest in the Land, Father has given us the key to knowing when His year is to begin. From there, all we need to recognize then is when the new month begins. Torah tells us that each new month begins with the sighting of the renewed/new moon, which is the appearing of the first sliver of of the moon. Thus Abba’s calendar is an agriculturally—celestial—based method for us to be in sync with His reckoning of time and to know when His Feasts are to be kept by us. This system of reckoning handed down to us by Father is not based upon traditions or calculations. Father set His order of the heavens and the earth to not only glorify Him, but also to provide a clear understanding of when His moedim occur. Father declared:

“Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years…” (Genesis 1:14; NASB).

The Torah Observant Believer in Yeshua Messiah must make key decisions as it relates to this time of year: whether to recognize who they are and to whom they belong. In determining who they are and to whom they belong, he or she must determine who they will obey: Torah or religion; Yah or man; truth or tradition. Most Messianics adhere to the Rabbinic/Jewish calculated calendar. The rabbis changed the head of the year (Rosh Hashanah) from the 1st day of the month of the Aviv to the 1st of the Babylonian month Tishri, which is the 7th month. The focus shift was from that of the sacred start of the calendar year to the commercial start of the calendar year. Consequently, several changes have been made to adjust Abba’s Feast days and assign guidelines for Feast observance through this calendar. The state of the barley and the sighting of the renewed moon has been entirely eliminated from consideration through the implementation of this calendar. So enamored has Judaism become over this calendar that one Jewish scholar remarked about the calendar’s “mathematical exactness” (Hertz). One should note also that Babylonian names were assigned to each month whereas in Torah, the only month assigned a title or name was the first month—the Month of the Aviv. Please understand dear saint: this is in no way meant to be or appear anti-Semitic. I am using Torah and the rest of scripture to paint as real and fair a portrait of the current calendrical situation as possible. Our western—Gregorian Calendar of course factors in Catholic/pagan-based horror-days and is based, like the Rabbinic Calculated Calendar, on precise mathematical calculations. There is no concern whatsoever for the Creator’s reckoning of time as stipulated in Father’s Torah. The Gregorian New Year begins, not in the spring of each year as Father requires, but in the middle of winter, on January 1st. Needless to say, this New Year celebration is filled with debauchery and is absent the solemnity that the Aviv Month observance is filled with. All in all, the Creator is intentionally and completely factored out of the celebration. As Torah Observant Believers in Yeshua Messiah, we must pick a calendar. Sticking with the Gregorian Calendar will NOT put us in sync with Father’s reckoning of time simply because Father is not in the least factored into its development. The calculated Jewish Calendar on the other hand puts us under control of the Sanhedrin’s and Hillel’s reckoning of time that is based upon religion. The one thing that should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind here is: did we come out of religion only to find ourselves in religion all over again? The observational calendar puts us in sync with Father’s reckoning of time simply because it is Torah and faith-based. I guess it comes down to determining within each of us: how important is it to each of us to be in sync with Father and on time for His set apart days?

3. Know/understand what is required in terms of guarding the Month of the Aviv

So how do we actually guard or keep the Month of the Aviv as commanded by Father in His Torah? The answer to this bottom-line question is found in Exodus, chapters 12 and 13; Leviticus chapter 23; and Deuteronomy chapter 16. We must keep in mind that we’re talking about keeping a season/keeping a month, as opposed to just a single night. Father knew we would reduce the significance of His command to guard the Month; thus He especially wanted to make this clear to us in Deuteronomy 16. Thus we are instructed to celebrate the Passover. Now, if we take the time to actually read Torah in context, we will clearly see that Passover is not just one night’s dinner celebration. It’s much more than that dear friend. We are instructed to sacrifice the Passover Lamb, which Master took care of for us on Calvary’s execution stake. So there is no longer any need to worry about that particular task. Certainly, there’s nothing with having a nice lamb meal on Passover night with friends and family. However, we have no business sacrificing lambs as so many in our Faith have made a tradition of during each year. We are instructed to keep the Passover meal, which can include a traditional Passover Seder, but more importantly, Master encouraged us to keep the sacred traditions of eating the bread and wine and washing one another’s feet as He demonstrated and outlined for us in Matthew 14; John 13; and I Corinthians 11. We are instructed to eat Unleavened Bread over the course of the 7-days that immediately follow the Passover Day. Thus, we are to rid our homes and dwellings of all leaven. Leaven during the Month of Aviv, symbolizes sin and the Feast of Unleavened Bread is rich in prophetic and spiritual symbolism and application. Of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Paul wrote to the Assembly of Messianic Believers in Corinth:

“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Messiah our pass over is sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (I Corinthians 5:7,8; KJV; adjusted).

We are also instructed to celebrate Yom HaBikurim which is the Day of Firstfruits. This day provides us an opportunity to thank Father for His provision and blessings throughout the winter months and thank Him for the spring harvest (Leviticus 23:10-16). Today, it provides us an opportunity to give of our increase to the work of the Gospel. Needless to say, the spiritual and prophetic symbolism and applications here are spectacular as well. Furthermore, we are to teach our children the significance of the season/month (Exodus 12:26). This month offers us the opportunity to redeem our firstborn children and dedicate them to Yehovah (Exodus 12:2-13). How many of us have taken the time to teach and train up our children, and then offer them—pray and anoint them—unto Yehovah our Elohim?

Closing Thoughts

In closing, when we look at guarding the Month of the Aviv, we must actually prepare ourselves to keep the month. It will require that we be zealous and non-compromising in our commitment and practices related to the month and its associated festivals. We must be teachable and obedient to Father’s Holy Spirit so that we are in-sync with Father’s timing and the lessons He’s trying to teach us. We must have in place the proper logistics and even finances to ensure that we are good to go through the month’s activities. We must be Johnny on the Spot to have the time set aside for observing the Month as Father’s has instructed. For those of us who work, it will require that we secure time off for work during key days of the festival. Thus, it behooves us as we prepare to guard the Month of the Aviv, to pray and study, study and study. Each of us must be convinced within ourselves that we are doing what Father would have us do. Paul stated to the Assembly of Messianic Believers in Rome:

“One man esteemeth one day above another; another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind” (Romans 14:5; KJV).

It is vital that each of us establishes, fosters and maintains as deep a relationship with Abba as we possibly can and then seek Father’s Holy Spirit to lead us and guide our guarding of the Month of the Aviv. I’ve just given you the framework upon which to build your own guarding of the Month of the Aviv. It now falls to each of us to put drywall and finishing touches to our guarding of the Month of the Aviv. Have a blessed and happy New Year.

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