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Triennial Cycle (Triennial Torah Cycle) / Septennial Cycle (Septennial Torah Cycle)

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Third Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle
Heshvan 17, 5782- October 22/23, 2021	Seventh Year of the Shmita Cycle

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We  pray  for  our  beloved  Hakham  His  Eminence  Rabbi  Dr.  Yosef  ben  Haggai.  Mi  Sheberach…He  who  blessed  our  forefathers  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  Moses  and  Aaron,  David  and  Solomon,  may  He  bless  and  heal  the  sick  person  HE  Rabbi  Dr.  Yosef  ben  Haggai,  May  the  Holy  One,  Blessed  is  He,  be  filled  with  compassion  for  him  to  restore  his  health,  to  heal  him,  to  strengthen  him,  and  to  revivify  him.  And  may  He  send  him  speedily  a  complete  recovery  from  heaven,  among  the  other  sick  people  of  Yisrael,  a  recovery  of  the  body  and  a  recovery  of  the  spirit,  swiftly  and  soon,  and  we  will  say  amen  ve  amen!

Special  Requests  from  His  Eminence  Hakham  Dr.  Yosef  ben  Haggai:

He  Who  blessed  our  holy  matriarchs,  Sarah,  Rebecca,  Rachel  and  Leah,  Miriam  the  Prophetess.  Abigail,  and  Esther  daughter  of  Abigail  –  may  He  bless  the  sick  mother  of  three  children  HE  Giberet  Hannah  bat  Sarah  (the  much-loved  niece  of  HH  Giberet  Giborah  bat  Sarah)  and  send  her  a  complete  recovery  in  all  her  organs  and  all  her  blood  vessels.  Please  HaShem,  heal  her  now.  Please  HaShem,  heal  her  now.    Please  HaShem,  heal  her  now  among  the  other  sick  people  of  Your  people  Israel.    And  so  may  it  be  His  will,  and  we  all  will  say  with  one  voice:  AMEN  ve  AMEN

A Prayer for Israel

Our Father in Heaven, Rock, and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, the first manifestation of the approach of our redemption. Shield it with Your lovingkindness, envelop it in Your peace, and bestow Your light and truth upon its leaders, ministers, and advisors, and grace them with Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our holy land, grant them deliverance, and adorn them in a mantle of victory. Ordain peace in the land and grant its inhabitants eternal happiness.

Lead them, swiftly and upright, to Your city Zion and to Jerusalem, the abode of Your Name, as is written in the Torah of Your servant Moses: “Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, from there He will fetch you. And the Lord your God will bring you to the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it, and He will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your fathers.” Draw our hearts together to revere and venerate Your name and to observe all the precepts of Your Torah, and send us quickly the Messiah son of David, agent of Your vindication, to redeem those who await Your deliverance.

Blessings Before Torah Study

Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our GOD, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us through Your commandments, and commanded us to actively study Torah. Amen!

Please Ha-Shem, our GOD, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel. May we and our offspring, and our offspring's offspring, and all 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 delight. Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Amen!

Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our GOD, King of the universe, Who chose us from all the nations, and gave us the Torah. Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!

Ha-Shem spoke to Moses, explaining a Commandment. "Speak to Aaron and his sons, and teach them the following Commandment: This is how you should bless the Children of Israel. Say to the Children of Israel:

May Ha-Shem bless you and keep watch over you; - Amen!

May Ha-Shem make His Presence enlighten you, and may He be kind to you; - Amen!

May Ha-Shem bestow favor on you and grant you peace. – Amen!

This way, the priests will link My Name with the Israelites, and I will bless them."

These are the Laws for which the Torah did not mandate specific amounts: How much growing produce must be left in the corner of the field for the poor; how much of the first fruits must be offered at the Holy Temple; how much one must bring as an offering when one visits the Holy Temple three times a year; how much one must do when performing acts of kindness; and there is no maximum amount of Torah that a person must study.

These are the Laws whose benefits a person can often enjoy even in this world, even though the primary reward is in the Next World: They are: Honoring one's father and mother; doing acts of kindness; early attendance at the place of Torah study -- morning and night; showing hospitality to guests; visiting the sick; providing for the financial needs of a bride; escorting the dead; being very engrossed in prayer; bringing peace between two people, and between husband and wife; but the study of Torah is as great as all of them together. Amen!

Shabbat: “Pin’chas ben El’a’azar”

Sabbath: “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
פִּינְחָס בֶּן-אֶלְעָזָר		Saturday Afternoon
“Pin’chas ben El’a’azar”	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 25:10-13	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 26:19-21
“Phinehas, the son of Eleazar”	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 25:14-18	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 26:22-24
“¿Quién puede contar…?”	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 26:1-3	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 26:25-27
B’Midbar (Num.) 25:10 – 26:18	Reader 4 – B’Midbar 26:4-6
Ashlamatah: Mal 2:5-7 + 3:1-6, 10	Reader 5 – B’Midbar 26:7-9	Monday and Thursday Mornings
	Reader 6 – B’Midbar 26:10-12	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 26:19-21
Psalms: 104:27-35	Reader 7 – B’Midbar 26:13-18	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 26:22-24
	Maftir – B’Midbar 26:16-18	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 26:25-27
Mk 11:15-19: Luke 19:45-48	Mal 2:5-7 + 3:1-6, 10

Summary of the Torah Seder

· Phinehas’ reward – Numbers 25:10-15

· War declared against the Midianites – Numbers 25:16-18

· The Second Census – Numbers 25:19 – 26:3

· Census taken from all the tribes with the exception of Levi  (Part I) – Numbers 26:5-18

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’midbar (Numbers) 25:10 – 26:18

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
10. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:	10. AND the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying:
11. Phinehas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen has turned My anger away from the children of Israel by his zealously avenging Me among them, so that I did not destroy the children of Israel because of My zeal.	11. Phinehas the zealous, the son of Elazar bar Aharon, the priest, has turned away mine anger from the children of Israel, in that, when zealous with My zeal, he has slain the sinners who were among them; and for his sake I have not destroyed the children of Israel in My indignation.
12. Therefore, say, "I hereby give him My covenant of peace.	12. Swearing by My Name, I say to him, Behold, I decree to him My covenant of peace, and will make him an angel of the covenant, that he may ever live, to announce the Redemption at the end of the days.
13. It shall be for him and for his descendants after him [as] an eternal covenant of kehunah, because he was zealous for his God and atoned for the children of Israel."	13. And because they defamed him, saying, Is he not the son of Phuti, the Midianite? behold, I will make him to possess the high priesthood; and because he took the lance with his arm, and struck the Midianitess in her body, and prayed with his mouth for the people of the house of Israel, the priests will be held worthy of the three gifts of the shoulder, the cheek-bone, and the inwards; and it will be to him, and to his sons after him, an everlasting covenant of consecration, because he was zealous for the LORD, and propitiated for the children of Israel.
14. The name of the Israelite man who was killed, who was slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri the son of Salu, the chieftain of the Simeonite paternal house.	14. Now the name of the man of Israel who was slain with the Midianitha was Zimri bar Salu, a chief of the house of his fathers of the tribe of Shimeon.
15. And the name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, a national leader of a paternal house in Midian.	15. And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Kosbi, daughter of Zur, who was called Shelonae, a daughter of Balak, the prince of the people of Moab, whose dwelling-place was in Midian.
16. The Lord spoke to Moses saying:	16. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying:
17. Distress the Midianites, and you shall smite them.	17. Trouble the Midianites and slay them,
18. For they distress you with their plots which they contrived against you in the incident of Peor and in the incident of Cozbi their sister, the daughter of the Midianite chieftain, who was slain on the day of the plague [that had come] because of Peor.	18. because they troubled you by their deceitful counsels when they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and of Kosbi their sister, daughter of the prince of Midian, who was slain in the day of the plague for the matter of Peor.
	19. And it came to pass after the plague, that the compassions of the heavens were turned to avenge His people with judgment.
1. It was after the plague, that the Lord spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen, saying:	1. And the LORD spoke to Mosheh and Elazar bar Aharon the priest, saying:
2. Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel from twenty years old and upwards, following their fathers' houses, all that are fit to go out to war in Israel.	2. Take the sum of the account of the whole congregation of the Bene Israel, from twenty years old and upward, according to the house of their fathers, of every one who goes forth with the host in Israel.
3. Moses and Eleazar the kohen spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying:	3. And Mosheh and Elazar the priest spoke with the leaders, and commanded that they should number them in the plain of Moab, by the Jordan (over against) Jericho, saying
4. "From the age of twenty and upward, as the Lord commanded Moses and the children of Israel who had come out of Egypt."	4. (You are to number them) from a son of twenty years and upward, as the LORD commanded Mosheh and the sons of Israel when they came out of the land of Mizraim.
5. Reuben, Israel's firstborn: The descendants of Reuben were: the family of the Hanochites from Hanoch; the family of the Paluites from Palu,	5. Reuben, the first-born of Israel: the sons of Reuben, Hanok, the family of Hanok; of Phallu, the family of Phallu;
6. the family of the Hezronites from Hezron, and the family of the Carmites from Carmi.	6. of Hezron, the family of Hezron; of Karmi, the family of Karmi.
7. These were the families of the Reubenites, and they numbered forty three thousand, seven hundred and thirty.	7. These are the families of Reuben, and their numbers were forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty. And the sons of Phallu Eliab;
8. The sons of Palu were Eliab.	8. -
9. The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram they are Dathan and Abiram, the chosen of the congregation who incited against Moses and Aaron in the assembly of Korah, when they incited against the Lord.	9. the sons of Eliab, Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. The same were Dathan and Abiram who brought together the congregation that gathered and made the division against Mosheh and Aharon in the congregation of Korach, when they gathered together and made division against the LORD,
10. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and Korah, when that assembly died, and when fire destroyed two hundred and fifty men, and they became a sign.	10. and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them and Korach, when the congregation of the wicked died, when the fire devoured the two hundred and fifty men, and they were made an example.
11. Korah's sons, however, did not die.	11. But the sons of Korach were not in the counsel of their father, but followed the doctrine of Mosheh the prophet; and therefore, they died not by the plague, nor were smitten by the fire, nor engulfed in the yawning of the earth.
12. The descendants of Simeon according to their families: the family of the Nemuelites from Nemuel, the family of the Jaminites from Jamin, the family of the Jachinites from Jachin,	12. The Bene Shimeon, Nemuel, Jamin, Jakin, Zerach,
13. the family of the Zerahites from Zerah, the family of the Shaulites from Shaul.	13. ___ Shaul, with their families,
14. These were the families of the Simeonites twenty two thousand and two hundred.	14. ___ twenty-two thousand two hundred.
15. The descendants of Gad according to their families: the family of the Zefonites from Zefon, the family of the Haggites from Haggi, the family of the Shunites from Shuni,	15. Of Gad, the families of Zephon, Haggi, Suni,
16. the family of the Oznites from Ozni, the family of the Erites from Eri,	16. Ozni, Heri, _
17. the family of the Arodites from Arod, the family of the Arelites from Areli.	17. Arod, _ Areli,
18. These were families of Gad according to those of them counted, forty thousand and five hundred.	18. _ forty thousand five hundred.

Reading Assignment:

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol 14: Numbers – II – Final Wonderings

By: Rabbi Yitzchaq Magriso

Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1983)

Vol. 14 – “Numbers – II – Final Wonderings,” pp. pp. 223-237.

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

In order to understand the finished work of the P’shat mode of interpretation of the Torah, one needs to take into account that the P’shat is intended to produce a catechetical output, whereby a question/s is/are raised and an answer/a is/are given using the seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel and as well as the laws of Hebrew Grammar and Hebrew expression.

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

[cf. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=472&letter=R]:

1. Ḳal va-ḥomer: "Argumentum a minori ad majus" or "a majori ad minus"; corresponding to the scholastic proof a fortiori.

2. Gezerah shavah: Argument from analogy. Biblical passages containing synonyms or homonyms are subject, however much they differ in other respects, to identical definitions and applications.

3. Binyan ab mi-katub eḥad: Application of a provision found in one passage only to passages which are related to the first in content but do not contain the provision in question.

4. Binyan ab mi-shene ketubim: The same as the preceding, except that the provision is generalized from two Biblical passages.

5. Kelal u-Peraṭ and Peraṭ u-kelal: Definition of the general by the particular, and of the particular by the general.

6. Ka-yoẓe bo mi-maḳom aḥer: Similarity in content to another Scriptural passage.

7. Dabar ha-lamed me-'inyano: Interpretation deduced from the context.

Rashi’s Commentary for: B’Midbar (Num.) 25:10 – 26:18

11 Phinehas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen Since the tribes were disparaging him, saying, Have you seen the son of Puti, whose mother’s father [Jethro] fattened (פִּטֵּם) calves for idols (See Rashi, Exod. 6:25), and who killed a chieftain of an Israelite tribe? For this reason, Scripture traces his pedigree to Aaron.-[Sanh. 82b, Num. Rabbah 21:3, Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 2]

by his zealously avenging Me Heb. בְּקַנְאוֹ אֶת־קִנְאָתִי , by his avenging My vengeance, by his releasing the wrath that I should have released. The term קִנְאָה always denotes someone motivated to take vengeance for some matter, in old French, enprenemant.

12 My covenant of peace That it should be a covenant of peace for him. Just as a man owes gratitude and favor to someone who did him a favor, so here God expressed to him His feelings of peace.

13 It shall be This covenant of Mine [mentioned in the previous verse] shall be for him.

an eternal covenant of kehunah Although the kehunah had already been given to Aaron’s descendants, it had been given only to Aaron and his sons who were anointed with him, and to their children whom they would beget after their anointment. Phinehas, however, who was born before that and had never been anointed, had not been included in the kehunah until now. And so, we learn in [Tractate] Zevachim [101b], “Phinehas was not made a kohen until he killed Zimri.”

for his God Heb. לֵאלֹהָיו , for the sake of his God, as in (11:29),"Are you zealous for my sake (לִי) ?" and (Zech. 8:2),"I am zealous for Zion (לְצִיּוֹן) "-for the sake of Zion.

14 The name of the Israelite man In the place it [Scripture] traces the lineage of the righteous man for praise, it traces the lineage of the wicked man for shame.-[Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 2, Num. Rabbah 21:3]

the chieftain of the Simeonite paternal house Of one of the five paternal houses belonging to the tribe of Simeon. Another interpretation: To proclaim the praise of Phinehas, for although he [Zimri] was a chieftain, he [Phinehas] did not refrain from acting zealously against a profanation of the Divine Name. This is why Scripture tells us the name of the one who was slain.-[Mid. Aggadah]

15 The name of the slain... woman... To inform you of the hatred of the Midianites [toward Israel], for they submitted a princess to prostitution to entice Israel into sin.-[Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 2, Num. Rabbah 21:3]

a national leader One of the five Midianite kings: “Evi, Rekem, Zur...” (31:8). He was the most prominent of them all, as it says, “a national leader.” But because he degraded himself by abandoning his daughter, he is listed only as the third [king].-[Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 2]

a paternal house There were five paternal houses in Midian: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Elda’ah (Gen. 25:4). This was the king of one of them.

17 Distress Heb. צָרוֹר , like זָכוֹר , ‘remember,’ (Exod. 20:8), and שָׁמוֹר , ‘keep’ (Deut. 5:12); a term describing a continual action [as if to say,] You must [constantly] show hostility toward them.

18 For they distress you... in the incident of Cozbi By submitting their daughters for prostitution so as to entice you to stray after Peor. He did not order the destruction of Moab for the sake of Ruth, who was destined to issue from them, as is stated in [Tractate] Bava Kamma [38b].

Chapter 26

1 It was after the plague This can be compared to a shepherd whose flock was intruded by wolves who killed some of them [his sheep]. He counted them to know how many were left. Another interpretation: When they left Egypt and were entrusted to Moses, they were delivered to him with a number. Now that he was close to death and would soon have to return his flock, he returns them with a number.-[Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 4, Num. Rabbah 21:7]

2 following their fathers’ houses Their lineage followed their father’s tribe, not their mother’s.-[B.B. 109b]

3 Moses and Eleazar the kohen spoke with them They spoke with them concerning this, namely that the Omnipresent had commanded to count them.

saying They said to them, “You must be counted.”

4 From the age of twenty and upward, as the Lord commanded... that they be counted from the age of twenty and upwards, as it says, “Everyone who goes through the counting, [from the age of twenty and upward]” (Exod. 30:14).

5 the family of the Hanochites Heb. מִשְׁפַּחַת הַחֲנֽכִי . Since the nations were denigrating them and saying, "How can they trace their lineage by their tribes? Do they think that the Egyptians did not exploit their mothers? If they mastered their bodies, all the more so [did they exercise authority over] their wives. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed is he, appended His Name to them, the [letter] ‘hey’ to one side and the ‘yud’ to the other side, as if to say, “I bear witness for them, that these are the sons of their fathers.” This is stated explicitly by David, “the tribes of God, (יָהּ) testimony to Israel” (Ps. 122: 4)—this Name (יָהּ) testifies for them regarding their tribes. For this reason, in each of them Scripture writes, הַחֲנֽכִי , הַפַּלֻּאֵי [the Hanochites, the Paluites in which each name begins with a ‘hey’ and ends with a 'yud’] (Song Rabbah 4:12; Pesikta d’Rav Kahana p.82b, 93a), but in the case of Jimnah יִמְנָה , it is unnecessary for it to say [for the family of the Jimnites,] מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיִּמְנִי [only מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיִּמְנָה ], since the Divine Name is already affixed to it—the ‘yud’ at the beginning and the ‘hey’ at the end.- [Mid. Aggadah]

9 who incited Israel against Moses and Aaron.

when they incited The people against the Lord.

incited Heb. הִצּוּ . They enticed Israel to quarrel with Moses, a causative term.

10 and they became a sign A sign and a reminder, “so that no outsider, who is not of the seed of Aaron, shall approach” (above 17:5) to dispute the kehunah any more.

11 Korah’s sons, however, did not die They were originally involved in the conspiracy, but during the dispute they contemplated repentance; therefore, an elevated area was set apart for them in Gehinnom, and they stayed there.-[Sanh. 110b]

13 from Zerah This was Zohar [see Exod. 6:15], a name derived from the word צֽהַר , which means shining [a synonym of זֶרַח , Zerah]. However, the family of Ohad [mentioned in Exodus] died out, as did five from the tribe of Benjamin. For he came to Egypt with ten sons, but only five are listed here. So it was with Ezbon of the tribe of Gad, so [altogether] seven families [no longer existed]. I found [the reason for this] in the Talmud Yerushalmi [Sotah 1:1]. When Aaron died, the clouds of glory withdrew, and the Canaanites came to fight against Israel. They [the Israelites] set their hearts on returning to Egypt, and they went back eight stages of their journey [compare 21:4], from Mount Hor to Moserah, as it says, “The children of Israel journeyed from the wells of Bene Yaakan to Moserah; there Aaron died” (Deut. 10:6). Now did he not die at Mount Hor? And [furthermore,] going back from Moserah to Mount Hor there are eight stages in the journey! However, they turned back, and the Levites pursued them to bring them back, killing seven of their families. The Levites lost four families [in the battle]: the families of the Shimeites and the Uzzielites, and of the three sons of Izhar, only the family of the Korahites is mentioned. I do not know [the identity of] the fourth one. R. Tanchuma expounds that they [the seven Israelite families] fell in the plague in connection with Balaam [see 25:9] (Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 5), but [this cannot be, for] according to the number missing from the tribe of Simeon in this census compared with the first census [which took place] in the Sinai desert, it would appear that all twenty-four thousand who fell [in the plague] were from the tribe of Simeon. -[Mid. Tanchuma Vayechi 10]

16 from Ozni I believe that this was the family of Ezbon (see Gen. 46:16), but I do not know why his family was not called after him.

Ketubim: Psalm Psalm 104:27-35

Rashi	Targum
1. My soul, bless the Lord. My God, You are very great, You are attired with majesty and beauty.	1. Bless, O my soul, the name of the LORD. O LORD my God, You are greatly exalted; You have put on praise and splendor.
2. [You] enwrap Yourself with light like a garment; [You] extend the heavens like a curtain.	2. Who wraps Himself in light like a sheet, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain.
3. Who roofs His upper chambers with water; Who makes clouds His chariot, which goes on the wings of the wind.	3. Who covers His chambers with water like a building with beams; who placed His chariot, as it were, upon swift clouds; who goes on the wings of an eagle.
4. He makes winds His messengers, burning fire His ministers.	4. Who made his messengers as swift as wind; his servants, as strong as burning fire.
5. He founded the earth on its foundations that it not falter to eternity.	5. Who lays the foundation of the earth upon its base, so that it will not shake for ages upon ages.
6. You covered the deep as [with] a garment; the waters stand on the mountains.	6. You have covered over the abyss as with a garment; and the waters split on the mountains, and endure.
7. From Your rebuke they fled; from the sound of Your thunder they hastened away.	7. At Your rebuke, they will flee, flowing down; at the sound of Your shout, they will be frightened, pouring themselves out.
8. They ascended mountains, they descended into valleys to this place, which You had founded for them.	8. They will go up from the abyss to the mountains, and descend to the valleys, to this place that You founded for them.
9. You set a boundary that they should not cross, that they should not return to cover the earth.	9. You have placed a boundary for the waves of the sea that they will not cross, lest they return to cover the earth.
10. He sends the springs into the streams; they go between the mountains.	10. Who releases springs into rivers; they flow between the mountains.
11. They water every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.	11. They water all the wild animals; the asses will break their thirst.
12. Beside them the fowl of the heavens dwell; from between the branches, they let out their voices.	12. The birds of heaven will settle on them; they will give out a sound of singing from among the branches.
13. He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; from the fruit of Your works the earth is sated.	13. Who waters the mountains from his upper treasury; the earth will be satisfied with the fruit of your deeds.
14. He causes grass to sprout for the animals and vegetation for the work of man, to bring forth bread from the earth.	14. Who makes grass grow for beasts, and herbs for the cultivation of the son of man, that bread may come forth from the earth;
15. And wine, which cheers man's heart, to make the face shine from oil, and bread, which sustains man's heart.	15. And wine that gladdens the heart of the son of man, to make the face shine by oil; and bread will support the heart of the son of man.
16. The Lord's trees are sated, the cedars of Lebanon, which He planted.	16. The trees that the LORD created are satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted:
17. Where birds nest; as for the stork-the high junipers are its home.	17. Where the birds make nests; the stork's dwelling is in the cypresses.
18. The lofty mountains for the ibexes; the rocks a shelter for the hyraxes.	18. The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are security for the conies.
19. He made the moon for the appointed seasons; the sun knows its setting.	19. He made the moon to calculate times by; the sun knows the time of his setting.
20. You make darkness and it is night, in which every beast of the forest moves about.	20. You will make darkness and it will be night; in it all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21. The young lions roar for prey and to beg their food from God.	21. The offspring of lions roar to find food, and to seek their sustenance from God.
22. When the sun rises, they gather in and couch in their dens.	22. The sun will shine, they gather together; and they lay down in their dwelling place.
23. Man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening.	23. A son of man will go forth to his work and to his cultivation, until the sunset of evening.
24. How great are Your works, O Lord! You have made them all with wisdom; the earth is full of Your possessions!	24. How many are Your works, O LORD! You have made all of them in wisdom; the earth is full of your possessions.
25. This sea-great and wide; there are creeping things and innumerable beasts, both small and large.	25. This sea is great and broad in extent; creeping things are there without number, both tiny creatures and large.
26. There the ships go; You formed this leviathan with which to sport.	26. There the ships go about, and this Leviathan You created for the sport of the righteous at the supper of His dwelling place.
27. They all look to You with hope, to give their food in its time.	27. All of them rely on You to give their food in its time.
28. You give them that they may gather; You open Your hand that they may be sated with goodness.	28. You will give it to them, and they gather it; You will open your hand, and they are satisfied with goodness.
29. You hide Your countenance and they are frightened; You gather in their spirit and they perish and return to their dust.	29. You will remove Your presence, they are dazed; You will gather their spirit and they expire, and return to their dust.
30. You will send forth Your spirit and they will be created, and You will renew the surface of the ground.	30. You will send out your holy spirit and they are created; and You will make new the surface of the earth.
31. The glory of the Lord will be forever; the Lord will rejoice with His works.	31. May the glory of the LORD be eternal; the LORD will rejoice in His works.
32. He Who looks at the earth and it quakes; He touches the mountains and they emit smoke.	32. Who looks at the earth, and it shakes; He draws near to the mountains, and they emit smoke.
33. I shall sing to the Lord while I am alive; I shall sing praises to my God as long as I exist.	33. I will sing praise in the presence of the LORD during my life; I will make music to my God while I exist.
34. May my speech be pleasing to Him; I shall rejoice with the Lord.	34. May my talk be pleasing in his presence; I will rejoice in the word of the LORD.
35. Sinners will be destroyed from the earth and the wicked will be no more; my soul, bless the Lord. Hallelujah.	35. The sinners will be destroyed from the earth, and wicked exist no longer. Bless, O my soul, the name of the LORD. Hallelujah!

Rashi’s Commentary for Psalm 104:27-35

29 You gather in their spirit Heb. תסף , an expression of destruction, as (above 73:19): “They were completely consumed (ספו) .”

30 You will send forth Your spirit with the resurrection of the dead.

32 He touches the mountains and they emit smoke as is depicted of Sinai (Exod. 19:18): “And Mount Sinai was all in smoke.”

33 as long as I exist Heb. בעדי , like (Deut. 31:27): “When I am still (בעודני) alive.”

35 Sinners will be destroyed Heb. חטאים, sinners [rather than sins, but see Tal. Ber. 10a].

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms 104: 27-35

By: H.Em. Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Bamidbar (Numbers) 25:10 – 26:18

Malachi 2:5-7 + 3:1-6, 10

For continuity I am going to redo the opening remarks from the first part of our psalm.

This psalm is a continuation of the preceding one and echoes its refrain, Bless HaShem, O my soul! Here, David recounts the wonders of the six days of Creation and describes the splendor of the primeval light, the heaven and earth, the grass, the fish of the sea, the beasts of the field, and, finally, the crowning glory of Creation - man himself.^[1]

The Midrash^[2] says: In the Torah, Moses related many events without elaboration. They remained obscure until David came and explained them, as he did here by expanding upon the theme of Creation and illuminating its mysteries.

Radak observes that every artist is motivated to produce works of art because he seeks personal acclaim and glory. However when G-d fashioned the world, His sole concern was man’s welfare. Mere flesh and blood cannot grasp the profound motives of G-d, much less appreciate them. Only the soul can comprehend the altruism and selfless love of its Creator. Thus, the Psalmist calls upon his own spirit, Bless HaShem, O my soul! For none but the soul could compose this blessing.

This psalm is the שיר של יום, Song of the Day, for Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the new month. The Tur^[3] explains that the Psalmist alludes to the new month in verse 19, He made the moon for festivals.^[4] The Zohar^[5] says that the souls of the righteous people in Paradise recite this psalm every Rosh Chodesh.^[6]

Our Psalm speaks of the food that HaShem gives to His creatures.

Tehillim (Psalms) 104:27 All of them wait for Thee, that Thou mayest give them their food in due season.

I would like to take some time to look at the food He gives to man.

Everything in creation was originally created perfect. Because of the sin of Adam, all of creation crashed. Originally, Adam ate only vegetables and fruits and there was no excretion because his food had no negative components which needed refining. After the sin, there was a negative component to food which needed refining. This is why the Jews of the Exodus in the days of Moses did not have to go to the bathroom. The manna had no negative component,^[7] therefore there was no excretion, as we read in the Midrash.

Midrash Rabbah - Numbers XVI:24 The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them- ‘You provoke Me by means of the very good that I have conferred upon you! When they came to the wilderness, I gave them manna to eat forty years, and none of them needed to answer nature's call during all those forty years. They ate the manna and it was transformed into flesh for them’; as it says, Man did eat the bread of the mighty (Ps. LXXVIII, 25).1 With this bread they provoked Him. One would say to the other: ‘Do you not know that we have passed many days without having had a call of nature, and that a man who does not receive such a call four or five days dies?

This was a great mercy from HaShem! Consider that the camp in the wilderness was more than ten miles across. This means that one would have had quite a hike just to go to the bathroom! (Excretory functions had to be performed outside the camp.)

Just as man is made up of a spiritual and a physical component, so too is everything that lives. Things like fruits and vegetables, as well as meat, have a physical and a spiritual component. Thus the physical component is used to nourish the body and the spiritual component is used to nourish the soul. This is why eating only those things permitted by HaShem is so important! If we eat that which is not called “food”, then we fail to nourish our souls and we become unable to absorb spiritual matters. Throughout the Tanakh and the Nazarean Codicil^[8], if it is permitted by HaShem to be eaten, then it is called FOOD. Unkosher things which are eaten, are never called food by HaShem.

When we eat, we are extracting the positive components of food and excreting the negative components. The physical is excreted as brown stuff, and the spiritual component is the smell. As Chazal teach, the sense of smell is a direct connection to the soul.

Consider the following very sober thought: Since Yeshua^[9] kept the whole Torah (law) therefore He ate only kosher things. He ate only what the Bible calls food. Everything He ate was kosher.

Could Yeshua come to your house for dinner?

At the marriage feast of The Lamb will everything be kosher?

How ought we to live in light of this? Do we want Yeshua to be able to come in and sup with us? Do we want to have fellowship with HaShem?

The rest of this paper will be examining what it takes to be able to have Yeshua come to your house for dinner.

Definitions and explanation:

What is food? We can understand the answer to this question by examining what happens when we stop eating. After a few days, or less, we start to become weak and faint. If we continue without food for an extended period, we will die. Therefore, Chazal (Our Sages) teach that food is used to connect the soul to the body. This explains why the korbanot (sacrifices) are called “food” for HaShem. HaShem does not eat in the sense that we eat. HaShem has no physicality.  Thus we understand that HaShem’s food is that which connects Him to our physical world. He is The “soul” of the world He is the spiritual component of our physical world. In fact, the Hebrew word korbanot means “to draw near”.

The only time the word "kasher" or Kosher is found in the scriptures is in the following passages. Note that the context has nothing to do with food:

Esther 8:5 "If it pleases the king," she said, "and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king's provinces.

Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 10:10 If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.

Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 11:6 Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.

Strong’s concordance shows ‘kosher’ as number 3787 kasher, kaw-share'; a prim. root prop. to be straight or right; by impl. to be acceptable; also to succeed or prosper:-direct, be right, prosper.

The Encyclopedia Judaica translates the word to mean "fit" or "proper". The encyclopedia Judaica says that it is to "denote food that is permitted", among other things.

HaShem's food for man before the flood:

Bereshit (Genesis) 1:26-31 Then G-d said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So G-d created man in his own image, in the image of G-d he created him; male and female he created them. G-d blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then G-d said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so. G-d saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day.

Originally man and animals were vegetarians. Were mushrooms included? It says every "green" plant...

Bereshit (Genesis) 2:15-18 HaShem G-d took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And HaShem G-d commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." HaShem G-d said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

Eating food was the initial factor which caused man's death. The original sin was eating non-kosher food!!

Bereshit (Genesis) 3:17-19 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."

We are to eat of that which is from the ground.

The first or "original" sin was eating non-kosher food. What we eat is important! Look at all of the consequences of that first sin.

Bereshit (Genesis) 3:21-24 HaShem G-d made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And HaShem G-d said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So HaShem G-d banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Eating of one tree will cause us to live forever.

Bereshit (Genesis) 6:21-22 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them." Noah did everything just as G-d commanded him.

The only food that G-d permitted to be eaten were green plants for both man and animal!

G-d's food for man after the flood:

Bereshit (Genesis) 9:1-5 Then G-d blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.

G-d gave Noah and his family and descendants plants and animals to eat.

G-d specifically forbids eating meat with blood in it. Does this prohibit transfusions? (no!)

This section is used by our Hakhamim to forbid eating flesh from a live animal. Also used to forbid suicide.

Did G-d give Noah meat because most vegetation was destroyed in the flood?

Some see that there is a comparison between animals and "green" plants. That is: Just as some plants are poisonous so too are some animals permitted and some animals not permitted.

Some see that only properly slaughtered animals are permitted.

Notice that even before the flood some animals were "clean". (I know 'just' before...)

Bereshit (Genesis) 7:1-3 HaShem then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, And also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.

How did Noah "know" the clean and the unclean?

CLEAN means: 2889 tahowr, taw-hore'; or tahor, taw-hore'; from 2891; pure (in a phys., chem., cerem. or moral sense):-clean, fair, pure (-ness).

---------------- Dictionary Trace ---------------------- 2891 taher, taw-hare'; a prim. root; prop. to be bright; i.e. (by impl.) to be pure (phys. sound, clear, unadulterated; Levit. uncontaminated; mor. innocent or holy):-be (make, make self, pronounce) clean, cleanse (self), purge, purify (-ier, self).

Unclean food and animals:

A person or object can become tamay (טָמֵא) "ritually impure," in a number of ways:

1. By contact with a "dead body"—tumat met—which, in addition to the body itself, includes significant parts of a body, soil in which the body decomposed, and others.
2. By being present in a building or roofed structure containing a dead body (tumat ohel).
3. By coming in contact with certain dead animals, including most insects and all lizards (enumerated in Leviticus, Chapter 11, verses 29–32).
4. By contact with certain bodily fluids—niddah, zav/zavah - This view is held by Orthodox Judaism and remains a traditional view withinConservative Judaism. Although Conservative Judaism retains the concept of niddah and a prohibition on sexual relations during theniddah period (including childbirth), recent decisions by the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards have endorsed multiple views about the concept of zavah, as well as the tumah status of a niddah. The liberal view held that the concepts of tumah and taharah are not relevant outside the context of a Holy Temple (as distinct from a synagogue; hence a niddah cannot convey tumah today), found the concept ofzavah no longer applicable, and permitted spouses to touch each other in a manner similar to siblings during the niddah period (while retaining a prohibition on sexual conduct). The traditional view retained the applicability of the concepts of tumah, taharah, and zavah, and retained a prohibition on all contact. See Niddah. (See Leviticus Chapter 15)
5. By giving birth to a child (the time of tumah is 7 days for a boy, followed by 33 days of taharah and 14 days for a girl followed by 66 days oftaharah).
6. By contact with a primary source of tumah or an object that has been in contact with a primary source of tumah.
7. By contracting tzaraath—see Leviticus chapters 13–14.

This mysterious Hebrew word, TaMaY, is often inadequately translated as ‘unclean’ or ‘impure’ but that misses the mark.  TaMaY is a complex concept meaning that we become subconsciously overwhelmed by a debilitating and disturbing sense of hopelessness, gloom, personal inadequacy and even death.  That causes us to sabotage our success.

HaShem's food for man after Sinai:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 11:1-8 HaShem said to Moses and Aaron, "Say to the Israelites: 'Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud. "'There are some that only chew the cud or only have a split hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. The coney, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.

Animals that we may eat after Sinai.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 11:9-12 "'Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales--whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water--you are to detest. And since you are to detest them, you must not eat their meat and you must detest their carcasses. Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be detestable to you.

Sea creatures we may eat after Sinai.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 11:13-19 "'These are the birds you are to detest and not eat because they are detestable: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, The red kite, any kind of black kite, Any kind of raven, The horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, The little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, The white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, The stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.

Birds we may eat after Sinai.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 11:20-25 "'All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be detestable to you. There are, however, some winged creatures that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. But all other winged creatures that have four legs you are to detest. "'You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening. Insects we may eat after Sinai. (John the Baptist food. Yuch!). Note also that while the "bee" is forbidden; honey is permitted because it is understood as "transferred nectar".

Things not eaten for other reasons

Bereshit (Genesis) 32:24-32 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered. Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with G-d and with men and have overcome." Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw G-d face to face, and yet my life was spared." The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon.

A tendon attached to the socket of the hip? Our Hakhamim say it is the sciatic nerve.

Shemot (Exodus) 12:14-20 "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to HaShem--a lasting ordinance. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat--that is all you may do. "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an alien or native-born. Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread."

Yeast is not to be eaten during Passover, but, is permitted the rest of the year.

Shemot (Exodus) 21:28-30 "If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull must be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible. If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull must be stoned and the owner also must be put to death. However, if payment is demanded of him, he may redeem his life by paying whatever is demanded.

A permitted animal becomes forbidden when it kills a man.

Shemot (Exodus) 22:31 "You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.

Some food is only dog food.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 3:12-17 "'If his offering is a goat, he is to present it before HaShem. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron's sons shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides. From what he offers he is to make this offering to HaShem by fire: all the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them, Both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys. The priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is HaShem's. "'This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.'"

Fat from the kidneys or all fat?

Vayikra (Leviticus) 7:15-20 The meat of his fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; he must leave none of it till morning. "'If, however, his offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day he offers it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day. Any meat of the sacrifice left over till the third day must be burned up. If any meat of the fellowship offering is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted. It will not be credited to the one who offered it, for it is impure; the person who eats any of it will be held responsible. "'Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean must not be eaten; it must be burned up. As for other meat, anyone ceremonially clean may eat it. But if anyone who is unclean eats any meat of the fellowship offering belonging to HaShem, that person must be cut off from his people.

Meat involved in sacrifices has special requirements.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 7:22-27 HaShem said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats. The fat of an animal found dead or torn by wild animals may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it. Anyone who eats the fat of an animal from which an offering by fire may be made to HaShem must be cut off from his people. And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal. If anyone eats blood, that person must be cut off from his people.'"

Fat from cattle, sheep, and goats is forbidden.

Blood is forbidden.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 17:10-12 "'Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood--I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. Therefore I say to the Israelites, "None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood."

Blood is forbidden again - same basic consequence just emphasized.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:26 "'Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. "'Do not practice divination or sorcery.

Blood is forbidden AGAIN.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 11:29-45 "'Of the animals that move about on the ground, these are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, The gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon. Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean till evening. When one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth. Put it in water; it will be unclean till evening, and then it will be clean. If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot. Any food that could be eaten but has water on it from such a pot is unclean, and any liquid that could be drunk from it is unclean. Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as unclean. A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean. If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain clean. But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you. "'If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies, anyone who touches the carcass will be unclean till evening. Anyone who eats some of the carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening. Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening. "'Every creature that moves about on the ground is detestable; it is not to be eaten. You are not to eat any creature that moves about on the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is detestable. Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. I am HaShem your G-d; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground.

Reptiles we may not eat after Sinai

Vayikra (Leviticus) 11:41-45 "'Every creature that moves about on the ground is detestable; it is not to be eaten. You are not to eat any creature that moves about on the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is detestable. Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. I am HaShem your G-d; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. I am HaShem who brought you up out of Egypt to be your G-d; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

Insects are off limits because of G-d's holiness.

Ezekiel (Yehezekel) 33:24-29 "Son of man, the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as our possession.' Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign HaShem says: Since you eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land? You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife. Should you then possess the land?' "Say this to them: 'This is what the Sovereign HaShem says: As surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague. I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them. Then they will know that I am HaShem, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable things they have done.'

Eating meat with the blood still in it has a more emphatic consequence.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 11:39-40 "'If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies, anyone who touches the carcass will be unclean till evening. Anyone who eats some of the carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening. Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening.

We are permitted to eat that which dies? Apparently not without consequences.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:5-8 "'When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to HaShem, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up. If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. Whoever eats it will be held responsible because he has desecrated what is holy to HaShem; that person must be cut off from his people.

Even permitted food must be taken at a permitted time:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:23-25 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of. But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise HaShem [withal]. And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I [am] HaShem your G-d.

Remember also that chametz, leaven, is permitted all year EXCEPT at Passover.

The following vision is often misunderstood. Most folks believe that it means that there are no longer requirements for kosher food:

II Luqas (Acts) 10:13-35 Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that G-d has made clean." This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them." Peter went down and said to the men, "I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come?" The men replied, "We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and G-d-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say." Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. "Stand up," he said, "I am only a man myself." Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them: "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But G-d has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?" Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me And said, 'Cornelius, G-d has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.' So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of G-d to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us." Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that G-d does not show favoritism But accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.

Now, in the above passage, I would like everyone to note that Peter DID NOT EAT ANYTHING! This was a VISION. Further, Peter himself tells us that the vision had absolutely nothing to do with food! It had to do with the acceptance of righteous Gentiles.

The following passage again emphasizes that the vision had nothing to do with food, further, it was just a VISION:

II Luqas (Acts) 11:1-18 The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of G-d. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him And said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them." Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened: "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. Then I heard a voice telling me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' "I replied, 'Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' "The voice spoke from heaven a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that G-d has made clean.' This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again. "Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.' "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' So if G-d gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Yeshua Mashiach, who was I to think that I could oppose G-d?" When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised G-d, saying, "So then, G-d has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."

Has G-d "cleansed" the unclean animals for food? The issue seems to be Gentiles not food. Why three (3) times?

Matityahu (Matthew) 15:1-20 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Yeshua from Jerusalem and asked, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!" Yeshua replied, "And why do you break the command of G-d for the sake of your tradition? For G-d said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to G-d,' He is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of G-d for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" Yeshua called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'" Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?" He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." Peter said, "Explain the parable to us." "Are you still so dull?" Yeshua asked them. "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.'"

The issue in this passage is unclean hands, NOT food. Messiah says that we do not have to baptize our hands before we eat.

Marqos (Mark) 2:23-28 One Sabbath Yeshua was going through the grain fields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of G-d and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

The sages teach that life has precedence over the law. The purpose of the keeping the law is for us to live, not die. In this passage Messiah is apparently teaching the same thing.

Ashlamatah: Mal. 2:5-7 + 3:1-6,10

Rashi	Targum
1. And now, to you is this commandment, O priests.	1. "And now this commandment is for you, O priests.
2. If you do not heed, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My Name, says the Lord of Hosts, I will send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Indeed I have [already] cursed it, for you do not take it to heart.	2. If you do not hearken, and if you do not lay my fear upon (your) heart so as to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse among you and I will curse your blessings; and I will indeed curse them, for you are not laying my fear upon (your) heart.
3. Behold! I rebuke the seed because of you, and I will scatter dung upon your face- the dung of your festive sacrifices, and it shall take you to itself.	3. Behold, I am about to rebuke your increase from the land, and I will reveal the shame of your sins upon your faces, and I will put an end to the glory of your festivals, and your share will be withheld from it.
4. And you shall know that I have sent you this commandment, that My covenant be with Levi, says the Lord of Hosts.	4. And you will know that I have sent this commandment to you that My covenant which was with Levi may hold, says the LORD of hosts.
5. My covenant was with him, life and peace, and I gave them to him [with] fear; and he feared Me, and because of My Name, he was over-awed.	5. My covenant was with him (for) life and peace, and I gave him the perfect teaching of My law and he feared from before Me and feared from before My name.
6. True teaching was in his mouth, and injustice was not found on his lips. In peace and equity he went with Me, and he brought back many from iniquity.	6. True instruction was in his mouth and deceit was not found on his lips; in peace and in uprightness did he walk before Me, and he turned many back from sin.
7. For a priest's lips shall guard knowledge, and teaching should be sought from his mouth, for he is a messenger of the Lord of Hosts.	7. For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and men seek instruction from his mouth; for he serves before the LORD of hosts.
8. But you have turned aside from the way. You caused many to stumble in the Torah. You corrupted the covenant of the Levites, said the Lord of Hosts.	8. But you have strayed from the way; you have caused many to stumble by (your) instruction; you have corrupted the covenant which was with Levi, says the LORD of hosts.
9. And now I, too, have made you contemptible and low to the entire people according to how you do not keep My ways and [how] you show favoritism in the Torah.  {P}	9. And moreover, I have made you despised and enfeebled before all the people, inasmuch as you do not follow paths that are good before Me but show partiality in (your) instruction.”
1. Behold I send My angel, and he will clear a way before Me. And suddenly, the Lord Whom you seek will come to His Temple. And behold! The angel of the covenant, whom you desire, is coming, says the Lord of Hosts.	1. "Behold, I am about to send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me, and suddenly the Lord whom you seek shall enter his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
2. Now who can abide the day of his coming, and who will stand when he appears, for it is like fire that refines and like fullers' soap.	2. But who may endure the day of his coming and who will stand when he is revealed? For his anger dissolves like fire and (is) like soap which is used for cleansing,
3. And he shall sit refining and purifying silver, and he shall purify the children of Levi. And he shall purge them as gold and as silver, and they shall be offering up an offering to the Lord with righteousness.	3. And he will be revealed to test and to purify as a man who tests and purifies silver; and he will purify the sons of Levi and will refine them like gold and silver, and they will be presenting an offering in righteousness/ generosity before the LORD.
4. And then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old and former years.	4. And the offering of the people Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will be accepted before the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.
5. And I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely; and also against those who withhold the wages of the day laborers, of the widow and fatherless, and those who pervert [the rights of] the stranger, [and those who] fear Me not, says the Lord of Hosts.	5. 5. And I will reveal myself against you to exercise   Judgment, and My Memra will be for a swift witness among you, against the sorcerers and adulterers, and against those who swear falsely and those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and who pervert the judgement of the stranger, and have not feared from before Me, says the LORD of hosts.
6. For I, the Lord, have not changed; and you, the sons of Jacob, have not reached the end.	6. For I the Lord have not changed my covenant which is from of old; but you, o house of Israel, you think that if a man dies in this world his judgment has ceased."
7. From the days of your fathers you have departed from My laws and have not kept [them]. "Return to Me, and I will return to you," said the Lord of Hosts, but you said, "With what have we to return?"	7. From the days of your fathers you have wandered from My statutes and have not observed (them). Return to My service and I will return by My Memra to do good for you, says the LORD of hosts. And if you say, 'How will we return?'--
8. Will a man rob God? Yet you rob Me, and you say, "With what have we robbed You?"-With tithes and with the terumah-levy.	8. will a man provoke before a judge? But you are provoking before Me. And if you say, ‘How have we provoked before you?’ - in tithes and offerings."
9. You are cursed with a curse, but you rob Me, the whole nation!	9. You are cursed with a curse, and you are provoking before Me, the whole nation of you.
10. Bring the whole of the tithes into the treasury so that there may be nourishment in My House, and test Me now therewith, says the Lord of Hosts, [to see] if I will not open for you the sluices of heaven and pour down for you blessing until there be no room to suffice for it.	10. Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse and there will be provision for those who serve in my Sanctuary; and make trial now before Me in this, says the LORD of hosts, to see whether I will not open to you the windows of heaven and send down blessings to you, until you say, ‘Enough!’
11. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, and he will not destroy the fruits of your land; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field, says the Lord of Hosts.	11. And I will rebuke the destroyer for you and it will not destroy the fruit of your ground; nor will the vine in the field fail to bear fruit for you, says the LORD of hosts.
12. And then all the nations shall praise you, for you shall be a desirable land, says the Lord of Hosts. {P}	12. And all the Gentiles will praise you, for you will be dwelling in the land of the house of My Shekinah and will be fulfilling My will in it, says the LORD of hosts.

Rashi’s Commentary to Mal. 2:5-7+3:1-6,10

Chapter 2

1 to you, etc., O priests I charge you with this commandment, that you shall not sacrifice these on My altar.

2 and I will curse And I will curse your blessings; how I should bless the grain, the wine, and the oil for you.

Indeed I have [already] cursed it Indeed, it is unnecessary to have the matter depend on the condition upon which I made it depend: if they do not obey. For I know that you will not obey. Therefore, I have already cursed it - from now.

3 and I will scatter dung of the animals of your festive sacrifices; that is to say, you will not receive reward from Me, but [you will receive a curse] for harm and shame. And I will rebuke the seed of the field because of you. and it shall take you to itself The dung of your sacrificial animals will take you to itself to [make you] cheap and despised, as it is.

4 that My covenant be with Levi for I wish that you will exist with Me with the covenant that I formed for the tribe of Levi.

5 life and peace As it was said to Phinehas (Num. 25:12): “My covenant of peace”; and it was promised to him and to his seed after him, thus indicating that his seed will be alive.

and I gave them to him that he accept them with fear, and so he did, and he feared Me.

he was over-awed an expression of חִתַּת , fear; he was afraid.

6 In peace and equity he went with Me Aaron, Eleazar, and Phinehas and so in the episode of the calf, they brought back all their tribe from iniquity, as it is said (Ex. 32:26), “all the children of Levi gathered to him.”

7 For a priest’s lips It is incumbent upon them to guard knowledge. Why? Because...

teaching should be sought from his mouth This matter has already (Deut. 33:10) been delivered to them. “They shall teach Your judgments to Jacob.”

for he is a messenger the agent of the Holy One, blessed be He; like the ministering angels, to serve Him and to enter into His compartment. [I.e., into the place where God’s presence is manifest.]

Chapter 3

1 Behold I send My messenger to put the wicked away.

and he will clear a way of the wicked.

the Lord Whom you seek The God of justice.

and the angel of the covenant who avenges the revenge of the covenant.

2 Now who can abide This is synonymous with; וּמִי יָכִיל

and who will stand Will be able to stand.

and like fullers’ soap Like soap used by the fullers, which removes the entire stain. So will he remove all the wickedness.

and like soap It is an herb which removes stains, erbe savonijere in Old French, probably soapwort. The word בּֽרִית signifies a thing that cleans and purifies, as in (Ps. 73:1), “to the pure of heart.”

3 And he shall sit refining He will free himself from all his affairs to be like a refiner, who refines and purifies silver.

6 For I, the Lord, have not changed Although I keep back My anger for a long time, My mind has not changed from the way it was originally, to love evil and to hate good.

and you, the sons of Jacob Although you die in your evil, and I have not requited the wicked in their lifetime

you have not reached the end You are not finished from before Me, for I have left over the souls to be requited in Gehinnom. And so did Jonathan render. And you of the House of Jacob, who think that whoever dies in this world, his verdict has already ended, that is to say, you think that My verdict has been nullified, that he will no longer be punished. Our Sages (Sotah 9a), however, explained it: לֹא שָׁנִיתִי - I did not strike a nation and repeat a blow to it; but as for you, I have kept you up after much punishment, and My arrows are ended, but you are not ended.

8 Will a man rob Our Sages explained this as an expression of robbery, and it is an Aramaism.

With tithes and with the terumah levy The tithes and the terumah - levy that you steal from the priests and the Levites is tantamount to robbing Me.

9 You are cursed with a curse because of this iniquity, for which I send a curse into the work of your hands; but nevertheless, you rob Me.

10 so that there may be nourishment in My House There shall be food accessible for My servants.

11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake The finishing locusts and the shearing locusts, which devour the grain of your field and your vines.

12 a desirable land A land that I desire.

Verbal Tallies

By: HEm Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

& HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

B’midbar (Numbers) 25:10–26:18

Tehillim (Psalms) 104:27-35

Malachi 2:5-7 + 3:1-6, 10

Mk 11:15-26, Lk 19:45-48

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Saying / Say / Saith - אמר, Strong’s number 0559.

Son / Children - בן, Strong’s number 01121.

Turn / Away / Returned - שוב, Strong’s number 07725.

Israel - ישראל, Strong’s number 03478.

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Saying / Say / Saith - אמר, Strong’s number 0559.

Son / Children - בן, Strong’s number 01121.

Priest - כהן, Strong’s number 03548

Turn / Away / Returned - שוב, Strong’s number 07725.

Consumed - כלה, Strong’s number 03615.

Bamidbar (Numbers) 25:10 And the LORD <03068> spake unto Moses, saying <0559> (8800), 11  Phinehas, the son <01121> of Eleazar, the son <01121> of Aaron the priest <03548>, hath turned <07725> my wrath away <07725> (8689) from the children <01121> of Israel <03478>, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed <03615> (8765) not the children <01121> of Israel <03478> in my jealousy.

Tehillim (Psalms) 104:29  Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return <07725> (8799) to their dust.

Tehillim (Psalms) 104:31  The glory of the LORD <03068> shall endure forever: the LORD <03068> shall rejoice in his works.

Malachi 2:6  The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn <07725> many away from iniquity.

Malachi 2:7 For the priest’s <03548> lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD <03068> of hosts.

Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith <0559> (8804) the LORD <03068> of hosts.

Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD <03068>, I change not; therefore ye sons <01121> of Jacob are not consumed <03615> (8804).

Hebrew:

Hebrew	English	Torah Reading Num. 25:10–26:18	Psalms 104:27-35	Ashlamatah Mal 2:5-7 + 3:1-6, 10
~yhil{a/+	God	Num. 25:13	Ps. 104:33
rm;a'	saying	Num. 25:10 Num. 25:12 Num. 25:16 Num. 26:1 Num. 26:3		Mal. 3:1 Mal. 3:5 Mal. 3:10
#r,a,	land, earth	Num. 26:4 Num. 26:10 Num. 26:19	Ps. 104:32 Ps. 104:35
vae	fire	Num. 26:10		Mal. 3:2
tyIB;	house	Num. 25:14 Num. 25:15 Num. 26:2		Mal. 3:10
!Be	son	Num. 25:11 Num. 25:13 Num. 25:14 Num. 26:1 Num. 26:2 Num. 26:4 Num. 26:5 Num. 26:8 Num. 26:9 Num. 26:11 Num. 26:12 Num. 26:15 Num. 26:18		Mal. 3:3 Mal. 3:6
tyrIB.	covenant	Num. 25:12 Num. 25:13		Mal. 2:5 Mal. 3:1
yx;	live		Ps. 104:33	Mal. 2:5
[r;z<	descendents, seed	Num. 25:13	Ps. 105:6
yx;	live		Ps. 104:33	Mal. 2:5
hw"hoy>	LORD	Num. 25:10 Num. 25:16 Num. 26:1 Num. 26:4 Num. 26:9	Ps. 104:31 Ps. 104:33 Ps. 104:34 Ps. 104:35 Ps. 105:1 Ps. 105:3 Ps. 105:4	Mal. 2:7 Mal. 3:1 Mal. 3:3 Mal. 3:4 Mal. 3:5 Mal. 3:6 Mal. 3:10
~Ay	day	Num. 25:18		Mal. 3:2 Mal. 3:4
bqo[]y:	Jacob		Ps. 105:6	Mal. 3:6
!heKo	priest	Num. 25:11 Num. 26:1 Num. 26:3		Mal. 2:7
hl'K'	consume	Num. 25:11		Mal. 3:6
jP'v.mi	judgments		Ps. 105:5	Mal. 3:5
!t;n"	give, gave	Num. 25:12	Ps. 104:27 Ps. 104:28	Mal. 2:5
~l'A[	everlasting, forever	Num. 25:13	Ps. 104:31	Mal. 3:4
bre['	sweet		Ps. 104:34	Mal. 3:4
hP,	mouth	Num. 26:10		Mal. 2:6 Mal. 2:7
~ynIP'	face, before		Ps. 104:29 Ps. 104:30 Ps. 105:4	Mal. 2:5 Mal. 3:1
xt;P'	opened	Num. 26:10	Ps. 104:28	Mal. 3:10
ab'c'	to war	Num. 26:2		Mal. 2:7 Mal. 3:1 Mal. 3:5 Mal. 3:10
ayrIq'	represenatives, call	Num. 26:9	Ps. 105:1
bWv	turn back return	Num. 25:11	Ps. 104:29	Mal. 2:6
~Alv'	peace	Num. 25:12		Mal. 2:5 Mal. 2:6
xl;v'	send, sent		Ps. 104:30	Mal. 3:1
~ve	name	Num. 25:14 Num. 25:15		Mal. 2:5
hnEv'	years	Num. 26:2 Num. 26:4		Mal. 3:4

Greek:

GREEK	ENGLISH	Torah Reading Num. 25:10–26:51	Psalms 104:27-105:6	Ashlamatah Mal 2:5-7 + 3:1-6, 10	Peshat Mishnah of Mark, 1-2 Peter, & Jude Mk 11:15-19	Tosefta of Luke Lk 19:45-48
ἀγοράζω	buy		Psa 105:3		Mk. 11:15	Lk. 19:45
αἰών	eon		Psa 104:31	Mal 3:4
ἀκούω	hearken, hear, heard				Mk. 11:18	Lk. 19:48
ἀμήν	assuredly, amen				Mk. 11:23
ἀπόλλυμι	destroy				Mk. 11:18	Lk. 19:47
ἀρχιερεύς	priests				Mk. 11:18	Lk. 19:47
ἄρχομαι	began				Mk. 11:15	Lk. 19:45
γραμματεύς	scribes				Mk. 11:18	Lk. 19:47
γράφω	written				Mk. 11:17	Lk. 19:46
διδάσκω	teach				Mk. 11:17	Lk. 19:47
ἔθνος	nations	Num 25:15	Psa 105:1		Mk. 11:17
εἰσέρχομαι	come, came				Mk. 11:15	Lk. 19:45
ἐκβάλλω	cast				Mk. 11:15	Lk. 19:45
ἐκπορεύομαι	going forth	Num 26:2			Mk. 11:19
ἔπω	say, spoke, speak	Num_25:12			Mk. 11:23
εὑρίσκω	found, find			Mal 2:6		Lk. 19:48
ζητέω	seek			Mal 3:1	Mk. 11:18	Lk. 19:47
ἡμέρα	day	Num. 25:18		Mal. 3:2 Mal. 3:4		Lk. 19:47
θεός	God	Num. 25:13	Ps. 104:33	Mal 3:6	Mk. 11:22
καρδία	heart		Psa 105:3		Mk. 11:23
λαμβάνω	take, took	Num 26:2			Mk. 11:24
λέγω	saying	Num. 25:10 Num. 25:12 Num. 25:16 Num. 26:1 Num. 26:3		Mal. 3:1 Mal. 3:5 Mal. 3:10	Mk. 11:17 Mk. 11:21 Mk. 11:22 Mk. 11:23 Mk. 11:24	Lk. 19:46
λῃστης	thieves, robbers				Mk. 11:17	Lk. 19:46
οἶκος	house	Num. 25:14 Num. 25:15 Num. 26:2		Mal. 3:10	Mk. 11:17	Lk. 19:46
ὄρος	mountain		Psa 104:32	Mk. 11:23
οὐρανός	heavens			Mal 3:10	Mk. 11:25 Mk. 11:26
ποιέω	do, did, done, make, made		Psa 104:32 Psa 105:5		Mk. 11:17	Lk. 19:46 Lk. 19:48
προσευχή	prayer				Mk. 11:17	Lk. 19:46
πωλέω	sold				Mk. 11:15	Lk. 19:45
σπήλαιον	den				Mk. 11:17	Lk. 19:46
φοβέω	fear			Mal 2:5 Mal 3:5	Mk. 11:18

Nazarean Talmud

Sidra of B’midbar (Numbers) 25:10 – 26:18

“Pin’chas ben El’a’azar” - “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar”

By: H. Em Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

School of Hakham Shaul’s Tosefta Luqas (Lk) 19:45-48

School of Hakham Tsefet’s Peshat Mordechai (Mk) 11:15-19

And he entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling (on Shabbat), saying to them, “It is written… “Even them will I bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable upon Mine altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Is this house, whereupon My name is called, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it, says the LORD.” (Is. 5:7, Jer. 7:11) And he was teaching every day in the temple courts, and the chief priests and the scribes (Heb. Soferim) of the Sadducees - Heb. Tz'dukim and the most prominent men (i.e. Zeqanim – elders) of the people were seeking to destroy him. And they did not find anything they could do, because all the people were paying close attention to what they were hearing from him.

And they came to Yerushalayim. And entering the temple, Yeshua began to throw out those selling and buying on the Sabbath in the temple; also, he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats^[10] of those selling the doves. And he would not allow any to carry a vessel through the temple on the Sabbath. And he taught, saying to them, has it not been written... Even them will I bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable upon Mine altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer^[11] for all peoples. Is this house, whereupon My name is called, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it, says the LORD. (Is. 5:7, Jer. 7:11) And the scribes (Heb. Soferim) of the Sadducees - Heb. Tz'dukim and the chief priests (of the Sadducees Heb. Tz'dukim) heard. And they looked for a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the congregation was astonished by his teachings (Mesorot). And he went out of the Holy City when evening^[12] came.

Nazarean Codicil to be read in conjunction with the following Torah Seder

Num 25:10 – 26:51

Ps 104:27-35;

Mal 2:5-7 + 3:1-6, 10

Mk 11:15-19

1 Luqas 19:45-48

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

m. Middot 1:1 In three places do the priests keep watch in the sanctuary:

(1) in Bet Abtinas,   

(2) in Bet Hanitzot (house of the spark - flame), and

(3) in Bet Hamoked (house of the hearth).

And the Levites [keep watch] in twenty-one places [I Chron. 26:17–18]: five at the five gates of the Temple mount; four at the four corners on the inside [of the Temple wall]; five at the five gates of the courtyard; four at the four corners on the outside [the wall of] the courtyard; and one at the office of the offering [M. 1:6], and one at the office of the veil, and one behind the Mercy Seat [outside of the western wall of the holy of holies, M. 5: 1].

These expanded areas had a higher level of sanctity than the rest of Yerushalayim but did not have the sanctity of the 500 by 500 area. This 500 amot^[13] (cubits) square included not only the Temple and its courtyards but also the area of the palace of the king. The king’s palace was destroyed at the end of the First Temple Period and was not rebuilt in the Second Temple Era. The area of the palace was outside the Soreg^[14], (fence or barrier) with a lower sanctity than within the Soreg.

Middot 2.3 Within it (Har haBayit) was a latticework (Soreg), ten tefaḥim (handbreadths) high, and thirteen breaches were there that the kings of Greece breached, and they repaired them again, and decreed thirteen prostrations opposite them. Within it was the Ḥeil ten amot, and twelve steps were there, the height of each step was half an amah, and its depth half an amah. All the steps that were there, the height of each step was half an amah, and its depth half an amah, except those to the ulam. . .

Wars 5:193-194 Approaching the second court before the Temple was a fence made of stone three cubits high, entirely surrounding the temple with graceful proficiency. Standing at equal intervals were monuments of stone announcing the laws of purity written in Greek and Latin forbidding foreigners to be present or entrance into the sacred precincts.^[15]

1 - The Caption on the Soreg, a warning to Gentiles

The above caption reads…

NO FOREIGNER

IS TO GO BEYOND THE BALUSTRADE

AND THE PLAZA OF THE TEMPLE ZONE

WHOEVER IS CAUGHT DOING SO

WILL HAVE HIMSELF TO BLAME

FOR HIS DEATH

WHICH WILL FOLLOW

To this very day understanding of the Second Temple complex and its layout is a matter of much scholarly research and debate. Having been involved in some of that research we can attest to the complexities of understanding the layout of the Second Temple precincts. Therefore, we conclude that the events of our present pericope occurred within the court of the gentiles. ALL other courts had higher levels of sanctity and would not allow gentiles to pass beyond the soreg as detailed above.

Therefore, we will also note that the proposition that these events took place on Shabbat and within the Court of the Gentiles.  We can say that this opinion is based on logic (Severah - logical deduction, drash deductive hermeneutic). However, our pericope shows a clear disdain for holiness and the things of G-d. While we see that the disdain for the true palace of G-d was being exhibited by the money-changers, we also believe that the courts of sanctity were not opened for practices such as buying and selling regardless of the need.

Mishnah Middot cited above elaborates on the extensive locations where the Kohanim guarded the Temple. As we will see, the “guards” were not there to protect the Temple from theft etc. However, we can also see that for a Gentile to pass into a forbidden court was a capital offence.

The information cited above teaches us about the sanctity of the Temple. The issue at hand has to do with the violation of Shabbat. We noted this immediately in preparing for the translation of Mordechai.

Another aspect of the present Torah Seder is the wearing of tzitzit. Here the question of how Hakham Tsefet was able to interlace all of the Torah Seder material into one short pericope is amazing.

The soreg bespeaks sanctity as does Shabbat and the Tzizit. It is clear from our pericope that there was a loss of reverence for the Temple, Shabbat and the things of G-d in general. However, Yeshua’s consternation is the result of violating the Sabbath. Yeshua was not trying to say that the money-changers or other services were in some way unacceptable. The Temple required these services.

The actions of Yeshua teach us clearly that Shabbat bears sanctity above all the other days of the week. This should go without saying.

One should not enter the Temple mount with his walking stick, his overshoes, his money bag, or with dust on his feet…

If we apply the hermeneutic rule of Ḳal va-ḥomer: "Argumentum a minori ad majus" or "a majori ad minus"; corresponding to the scholastic proof a fortiori we will understand that if one was not able to enter the Temple precincts (the courts of sanctity) with a walking stick, overshoes, his money bag or dust on his feet, we will draw the conclusion that this was much the more prohibited on Shabbat.

On the normal weekdays, it was permitted to exchange foreign monies with the moneychangers. Actually, it was required. However, what would have brought great consternation was when the moneychangers moved into the court of the Gentiles. The text of the Torah Seder along with the pericope of Mordechai teaches us clearly, when there is a disregard for the Sabbath there is erosion that causes degradation of all the mitzvot of G-d.

However, the “soreg” addresses other issues in relation to our pericope.

Mar 11:17 And he taught, saying to them, Has it not been written...

Isa 56:7 Even them will I bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon Mine altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

Yeshua declares that the Temple would become a house of prayer for all nations (peoples).  And the Torah states:

B’Midbar15:14 – 16 If a proselyte resides with you, or those among you in future generations, and he offers up a fire offering of pleasing fragrance to the Lord, as you make it, so will he make it. One rule (Chuqah) applies to the assembly, for yourselves and for the proselyte who resides with you; one rule applies throughout your generations just as it is for you, so it is for the proselyte, before the Lord. There will be one law and one ordinance for you and the proselyte who resides with you.

The rules of the Temple and Shabbat were required to follow all the Laws of the Torah in relation to Shabbat, fringes and offerings, how much the more should the Proselyte have to guard these things?

The lesson of the soreg discussed above is rather simple. First, we must realize that there are levels of sanctity.  Secondly, we should realize that there are boundaries and boarders in life that we are not permitted to cross. 

House of Prayer for the Nations

The Mesorah of Yeshua includes Gentiles. In other places, this teaching caused the leaders of the city to try to throw Yeshua off the edge of a cliff.^[16]  We can see here the masterful art of Hakham Tsefet in weaving a pericope into the Torah Seder. Likewise, Yeshua’s masterful teachings as a Hakham taught the Messianic aspects of the Torah from a triennial Torah reading cycle. This seems to be most logical because dominate scholarly consensus is that Yeshua’s ministerial life is believed to have lasted for three and one-half years.

Yeshua’s citing of the passage from Yeshayahu^[17] is not a claim at deity. It is clear from Yeshua’s teachings that he believed that Judaism should be the universal religion for ALL humanity. This is elaborated at length by Professor Jacob Neusner in his work titled “Recovering Judaism.”^[18] The so called “Great Commission” was to “talmudize” all nations or peoples.^[19] This “talmudizing” required teaching foreign nations how to walk and conduct life after the manner of Yeshua’s Mesorah. Note here that the teachings of Yeshua are in perfect agreement with the Torah Seder. We will also posit the idea that halakhah follows universal rules and truths along specific rules of logical analogy.^[20] Consequently, the logical thinking man should be able to deduce the rationality of the halakhah as taught by the Rabbis. The teachings of Yeshua are at unity with the teachings of the Rabbis, specifically the House of Hillel. These “teachings” naturally deduce the monotheistic conduct that the first century Talmidim followed.

It is very interesting to note that the point of connection would cause the hermeneutic rule of “Dabar ha-lamed me-'inyano: Interpretation deduced from the context” to posit that the gentile proselytes would have to follow the mitzvot in the same way that the native-born Jew does. Again, Professor Jacob Neusner’s thoughts and logic ring true.^[21]

It is also noteworthy to mention Abarbanel’s view of the resurrection in relation to the Gentiles. It is also noteworthy to mention that the House of Shammai did not have the same universal view of Judaism that the House of Hillel possessed. The House of Hillel saw the universal aspects of Judaism as taught by the Prophets. This should be obvious here since His Majesty King Yeshua, emanating from the House of Hillel is quoting a prophetic passage to demonstrate the universalistic message of Judaism.^[22]

A Dead Fig Tree

Once again, we have an analogous picture of the death of a fig tree. This analogous picture shows that there are those who will not have their share in the Y’mot HaMashiach and the Olam HaBa. However, this time the fig tree represents another rebellious group. We should note here that the fig tree is used in the previous pericope as a rebellious generation. Therefore, we have two occasions where Hakham Tsefet draws and analogy of the fig tree using it to represent a rebellious people or generation.

Mar 11:22 And Yeshua responded saying to them, “you must have faithful obedience (Heb. Emunah) to G-d

This passage demands faithfulness to G-d.

The Greek εχετε – echete (have) is imperative rather than indicative. Therefore, the language demands faithfulness to G-d. The phrase πίστιν θεοῦ (pistin theou) indicates the object of faithfulness. Consequently, we see Yeshua’s demand for faithfulness to G-d. This brings us to a question. Since our pericope is connected to the Torah Seder of B’Midbar (Num.) 25:10 – 26:51 we must apply the hermeneutic of Dabar ha-lamed me-'inyano: Interpretation deduced from the context, we must realize that this means being faithful to G-d and faithful to his agent. During the times of the Nazarean Codicil we would say that it meant being faithful to Yeshua as a Hakham and a King. In present times we must realize that it means being faithful to the agent of G-d in our lives at present. i.e. our Hakham.

Mark 11:23 Amen ve amen for I say to you, whoever should say to this mountain, be lifted up and be thrown into the sea, and is not divided in his heart, if (he is) faithfully obedient to G-d who he is saying (asking), he will have it if he is to have it.

This set of passages is one of the most abused passages in all the Nazarean Codicil. The key to understanding this passage is the “divided heart.” The “divided heart” represents a student who has more than one teacher or one who does not trust his Hakham. This passage is used by the so-called Faith Teachers to say that whatever you say you will receive if you just have “faith.” The Greek word “pistis” parallels the Hebrew word emunah, which means faithfulness (faithful obedience). Our next passage will clarify this point more clearly. 

Mark 11:24 By this, I am saying to you, all that you pray for and you are requesting, be faithfully obedient that you may have it, and grasp a hold of what you petition G-d for, and it will be granted to you.

Verse 24 contains a measure of doubt in the final clause. In other words, it questions if it will be or if it is to be.  This would leave room for a request to be determined by G-d rather than the will of man. Furthermore, the verse demands faithfulness to G-d as a condition for a petition to be accepted. Likewise, the speech should be seen as analogous rather than a literal request.

Mar 11:25 And whenever you recite the Standing Prayer (Heb. Amidah), forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in (the) heavens may forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in (the) heavens forgive your transgressions.

Pardon us, our Father, for we have sinned, forgive us, our King, for we have transgressed. For You are a good and forgiving Almighty. Blessed are You, Adonai, Gracious One, Who pardons abundantly.^[23]

Materials are beginning to surface which would suggest that Hakham Tsefet played a part in helping to assemble parts of the Siddur and the Machzor.

Some Questions to Ponder:

1. From all the readings for this week, which particular verse or passage caught your attention and fired your heart and imagination?

2. In your opinion, and taking into consideration all of the above readings for this Sabbath, what is the prophetic message (the idea that encapsulates all the Scripture passages read) for this week

Blessing After Torah Study

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

Ashér Natán Lánu Torát Emét, V'Chayéi Olám Natá B'Tochénu.

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

Blessed is Ha-Shem our GOD, King of the universe,

Who has given us a teaching of truth, implanting within us eternal life.

Blessed is Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!

“Now unto Him who is able to preserve you faultless, and spotless, and to establish you without a blemish,

before His majesty, with joy, [namely,] the only one GOD, our Deliverer, by means of Yeshua the Messiah our Master, be praise, and dominion, and honor, and majesty, both now and in all ages. Amen!”

Next Sabbath:

Shabbat: “Beni Yehuda” – Sabbath: “Judah’s sons”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
בְנֵי-יְהוּדָה		Saturday Afternoon
“Beni Yehuda”	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 26:19-22	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 26:19-22
“Judah’s sons”	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 26:23-25	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 26:23-25
"Hijos de Judá"	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 26:26-34	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 26:26-34
B’Midbar (Num.) 26:19-51	Reader 4 – B’Midbar 26:35-37
Ashlamatah: Joshua 14:6-15	Reader 5 – B’Midbar 26:38-41	Monday and Thursday Mornings
	Reader 6 – B’Midbar 26:42-47	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 26:19-22
Psalms: 105:1-16	Reader 7 – B’Midbar 26:48-51	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 26:23-25
Mk 11:20-26	Maftir – B’Midbar 26:48-51	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 26:26-34

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

Edited by Adon Ovadyah ben Abraham and Adon Aviner ben Abraham

Please e-mail any comments to chozenppl@gmail.com

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[1] Ibn Ezra

[2] Shemot Rabbah 15:22

[3] Orach Chaim 423

[4] see footnote there

[5] Midrash HaNe’elam, Parshat Vaera

[6] See Taamei HaMinhagim; these opening remarks are excerpted, and edited, from: The ArtScroll Tanach Series, Tehillim, A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources. Commentary by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer, Translation by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer in collaboration with Rabbi Nosson Scherman.

[7] Rashi Commentary for: Shemot (Exod.) 16:35 forty years Now were not thirty days missing? The manna first fell on the fifteenth of Iyar, and on the fifteenth of Nissan it stopped, as it is said: “And the manna ceased on the morrow” (Josh. 5:12). Rather [this] tells [us] that in the cakes the Israelites took out of Egypt they tasted the flavor of manna.-[from Kid. 38a]. Author’s comments:  This suggests that the matza that they ate for the first thirty days also had the same qualities as the manna.

[8] The so called ‘New Testament’.

[9] Jesus

[10] The so-called “money changers” were only a problem on Shabbat and in the court of the Gentiles. The shops and merchandise had filled the court of the Gentiles to the place that the Gentiles were not afforded a place to pray and worship. The deduction and hermeneutic for this understanding is found in the following hermeneutic rules of Hillel, 5. Kelal u-Peraṭ and Peraṭ u-kelal: Definition of the general by the particular, and of the particular by the general. 7. Dabar ha-lamed me-'inyano: Interpretation deduced from the context. Deduced from scripture that is close together (i.e. corral)

[11] Thematic connection to the Tzitzit of B’Midbar 15:37

[12] When the Exile came

[13] Hebrew for “cubit.”  The Royal Cubit measured 20.67 inches. This “amah” (Heb. Cubit, singular) This amah was the measurement used on the 500 by 500 amot Har haBayit. The five tefachim (handbreadth) amah measured 19.2 inches.  The Six Tefachim Amah measured 23.06 inches

[14] A barrier fence that surrounded the Inner Courtyards, which delineated the court of the gentiles from the court of the Israelites.

[15] Translation is H. Em. Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham, 2007

[16] Cf. Luke 4:16ff

[17] Isaiah

[18] Cf. Jacob Neusner, Recovering Judaism, The Universal Dimension of Judaism, Fortress Press, 2001

[19] Cf. Mark 16:15ff, Matthew 28:18ff

[20] Jacob Neusner, Recovering Judaism, The Universal Dimension of Judaism, Fortress Press, 2001 p.16

[21] Ibid

[22] Jacob Neusner, Recovering Judaism, The Universal Dimension of Judaism, Fortress Press, 2001 p.16

[23] Siddur Lev Eliezer, Eastern Book Press Inc (Siddur Linear Transliteration with English Translation for Weekdays) p.144