UONYC Teaching Letter Message

Kedoshim

Shabbat Shalom Kol Yisrael. It is our pleasure to present this week's Torah Parsha commentary by Nazarene Yisraelite Rabbi T. (Mordecai) Mitchell, Rabbi and Rosh Zaken of B'nai Yeshurun Nazarene Yisraelite Synagogue, Kittanning, Pa., and board member of the Union of Nazarene Yisraelite Congregations. It is our sincere hope and prayer that these commentaries encourage, inspire, and strengthen the body of Messiah in Kol Yisrael. Our Parsha this week is Kedoshim (Holy Ones) Vayyiqra (Leviticus) 19:1 – 20:27. Our Haftarah is Yehezkiel (Ezekiel) 20:2 – 20. Our suggested Brit Chadasha readings are: Luke 7:1 -- 23 and 1 Kefa (1 Peter) 1:13 – 21. Also, please read Tehillim (Psalms) 32 and 33.

Before we begin let us remember to count the Omer. This Shabbat (just after sundown Friday) is the 13^th Day of the Omer. Also, this Shabbat we sanctify the Rosh Chodesh (New Moon of) the month of Iyar, which begins on Monday evening (May 5, 2008) just after sundown.

Also, I wish to thank each and every one of you for your prayers for my continuing recovery. Thank you brethren for upholding me. Progress is being made and Yahweh will work in His own good time, as He sees fit. Despite our own personal ailments we were able to keep a most wonderful and blessed Passover Seder with Rebitzen Luz Maria Sepulveda and congregation Luz A Los Naciones, in Bethlehem, Pa. It is my belief that the recent Chag HaMatzah observance will lead to physical healing. Now to our commentary.

Vayyiqra 19:1 And Yahweh spoke to Mosheh, saying,

2 “Speak to all the congregation of Yisrael, and say to them, 'Be set apart, for I YHWH your Elohim am set apart.

3 'Each one of you should fear his mother and his father, and guard My Sabbaths. I am YHWH your Elohim.

Here we have basic instructions for beginning our journey to achieve a state of holiness. Without striving for holiness, we can never hope to have close communion with Almighty Yahweh. It's that simple.

Interestingly, the first step Yahweh tells us to take is to “fear” our mother and father. This of course is a reiteration of the Ten Utterances in Shemoth (Exodus) 20:12. However, we note the reversal of rank, if you will. For whatever reason, mothers are placed before fathers, where in Shemoth 20:12, fathers come before mothers. We also may note a “reversal” of commandments in that the command to respect (honor or fear) our parents is placed before the keeping of the Sabbath. (By no means is this to be taken as instruction to in anyway disregard or diminish the importance of the Sabbath). Lets us also consider that we honor our parents by honoring Yahweh first.

(Some of us have had good, caring loving parents. Some may have had one or perhaps both parents who were not so loving, or were neglectful, or who outright abandoned us. No matter what our situation, we have to let go of the past, let go of the hurt and pain, and forgive. We must replace resentment with love. There is no resentment, there is no hate or hurt in the Heavens, and there will be no such things in the Kingdom of Yahweh).

Whenever we see a repetition of a theme or word, or when we see what seems (in this case) to be a deliberate reversal of order, we should take this as a sign post that Yahweh is using to call our attention to something.

Why would Yahweh call our attention to a matter by reversing the order from a previous passage? No doubt, if we invited comment on this question we'd receive dozens if not hundreds of opinions, and also no doubt, most if not all would have a relevant and insightful opinion or response.

However, for lack of time and space, allow this to suffice: By the reversals seen in Vayyiqra 19:3, perhaps Yahweh is telling us to try looking at things from a different perspective. Get out of our rut and take a fresh new look at Scripture each and every time we read it.

What I would like to do this week is to consider only a few verses from this Parsha. However, I urge all to please read the entire Parsha, the Haftarah, Brit Chadasha and suggested Psalms and try to come up with your own personal insights. Some of the ways to do this are, but not limited to, doing word studies, looking for related (Hebrew) words, doing Gematria studies, researching subject matter in the extra writings such as the Talmud or Zohar. One “homework” assignment, for those willing, is to count the number of times the phrase “I am Yahweh,” (Ani YHWH) appears in this Parsha. Most of the Parsha contains “negative” commandments (Thou shalt not). How many times do we encounter “positive” commands (Thou shalt)? (Please forgive the King James English).

OK, lets us move on to consider a few more themes.

19:9 'And when you reap the harvest of your land, do not completely reap the corners of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.

10 'And do not glean your vineyard or gather every grape of your vineyard, leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am YHWH.

The principle here is simple, when we don't share what we have to share we are not using it properly. Here, the Scripture speaks of physical food. While it is vital to see to the physical (temporal) needs of those less fortunate than ourselves, we must extend our sharing to the SOD level, by sharing the same knowledge and wisdom that Almighty Yahweh has shared with us – the things He has allowed us to learn must be shared with those willing to learn.

We must also practice righteousness, charity and loving kindness with the “stranger” who dwells among us, Vayyiqra 19:33, 34. So who is the “stranger.” We often tend to favor our brethren when it comes to sharing temporal and physical needs. But those who are not in the faith may need our love and compassion as well. We cannot turn our backs on someone in need because they are a different “religion,” or perhaps no religion. To shun helping such people is religion, but it is not spirituality. Truly spiritual people reach out to anyone in need.

On a final note let us turn to Vayyiqra 20:25 And you shall make a distinction between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean birds and clean. And do not make yourselves abominal by beast or bird, which I have separated from you as unclean.

While on the Pshat level (basic, literal level) this verse (correctly so) pertains to what we put into our bodies. However, on the Sod level (higher or mystical) is pertains to all sorts of unacceptable relationships. Learning to make distinctions (our Havdalah prayer) is vital to our spiritual survival. In closing we will look at two examples from Scripture.

The first is in Acts 10. Kepha (Peter) has a vision of all sorts of creeping, unclean creatures, and he is commanded to Verse 13 “...”rise up, Kepha, slay and eat.” Of course Kepha does not actually kill or eat anything. You can't eat a “vision.” However, he knows there is a deeper meaning to this vision and wonders what it could mean. No doubt through more prayer and meditation, the answer is revealed to him and he reiterates it in verse 28: ...”You know that a Yehudite man is not allowed to associate with, or go into (the home of) one of another race (ethnic origin). But Elohim has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.”

It should be clear that the purpose of Kepha's vision was to teach him that he must take the message of salvation, the coming of the Kingdom of Yahweh, and the Two-House message to the very gentiles he was taught to shun. We must also understand that there is no Torah teaching or principle that justified taking separation from Gentiles to the extreme practiced and taught by some in those days.

However, we must learn to “draw a line” so to speak, when it comes to making distinctions in certain personal relationships.

Such instruction is found in Debarim (Deuteronomy) 7:3 – 4 concerning marriages with those who are not in the faith: 3 “And do not intermarry with them – you do not give your daughter to his son, and you do not take his daughter for your son.

4 for he turns your sons away from following Me, to serve other mighty ones. Then the displeasure of YHWH shall burn against you and promptly destroy you.”

(For additional understanding concerning the pitfalls and dangers of marrying outside the faith please read NehemYah 13:23 – 27).

In closing we must consider that the commandments or instruction of the Torah are given to us that we might live. Disregarding them leads to spiritual death and spiritual death leads to physical death. However, while we may all die physically, we have the hope of being very much alive and well spiritually through Yahweh's gift of eternal life.

We have come through Chag HaMatzah, the Festival of Unleavened Bread. It is our hope and prayer that we will all continue our own personal deleavening process as we progress toward Shavuoth (Pentecost) and receiving Yahweh's Torah. May we fulfill Torah as the lifestyle of the redeemed, our own personal lifestyle. May Almighty Yahweh bless us all on this journey.

Questions or comments regarding this week's commentary may be addressed to Rabbi Mitchell via e-mail at: yoel@arm-tek.net.