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PAR'SHAT B'CHUKOTAI: The Benefits of Knowing!

5/30/2019

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ואם־לא תשׁמעו לי ולא תעשׂו את כל־המצות האלה׃ 
 ואם־בחקתי תמאסו ואם את־משׁפטי תגעל נפשׁכם לבלתי עשׂות את־כל־מצותי להפרכם את־בריתי׃ 
אף־אני אעשׂה־זאת לכם

" 'But if you will not listen to me and obey all these mitzvot, if you loathe my regulations and reject my rulings, in order not to obey all my mitzvot but cancel my covenant; then I, for my part, will do this to you: 
(Lev 26:14-16 CJB)



OUR PART IN THE DEAL OF HOLY  SET-APARTNESS.
During a discussion concerning a certain politician's controversial proclamation someone said to me, "Well, he is born again and he says that he received the Spirit so what he proclaims must be inspired!"
The premise behind that statement is that because the politician in question claimed to have “received” the “Spirit of God”, his thoughts are automatically inspired by God and should be understood as such. I would take objection to that because whereas one may have received the Spirit of God, it still is up to him to, moment by moment, make the conscious choice to offer himself as a sacrifice living and set apart for God (Rom 12:1-2) and to take every thought captive and make it obey the Messiah (2 Cor 20:5).

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF KNOWING!
A commentary from the Chofetz Chayim I read this morning made me think about all that. In his commentary on Par’shat B’chukotai he mentions how some people do not like to read the portion of this week's parasha about the dangers of rejecting Torah (Lev 46: 14-43). The fear of the retribution is such that they would rather not know. Some people either say it very softly, while others even walk out during that part of the parsha reading. Their reasonning is that they would rather be focusing on the positive elements of the Torah. It’s more “edifying!”
There is a certain element of faith in that attitude as it represents a healthy respect and fear of HaShem and  in His power to retribute evil. Yeshua Himself spoke on the “bliss” of ignorance compared to the responsibility of “seeing” in, exhorted some Pharisees that challenged Him with,

Yeshua answered them, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But since you still say, 'We see,' your guilt remains.
(Joh 9:41 CJB)

But as Yeshua did, the Chofetz Chayim feels that stopping our ears from hearing these words of warning is a grave mistake. He compares it to a man traveling on a dangerous path. The path involves many narrow sections of road where the careless traveler could trip and fall off the edge in a ravine. The path may go through thick forests where animals are lurking. In order to not feel the pressure and fear of his incoming journey, the man then decides to blindfold himself. After all, he cannot fear that which he cannot see!
As foolish as this may sound, this is a situation similar to that of the person who feels that he cannot do or say wrong just because he has the '"spirit" as really, to believe that because we have been immersed by the Spirit our thought are automatically inspired but God is literally wearing a blindfold while walking the dangerous path of this life. This person has put on the blindfold of voluntary ignorant denial of reality,  but ignoring or denying reality just doesn't make it so.
While we should certainly be more focused on the positive aspects of the Torah, the knowledge of the harmful consequences of disobedience is essential in order to motivate us against doing wrong.

THE FATE OF THE VOLUNTARILY IGNORANT:
Solomon compares that sort of person to a simple person foolishly following the lust of his heart without any checks and balances. Here is how he says it in Prov 7.

"My son, keep my words, store up my commands with you.
   (The positive and the negative commandments)

Obey my commands, and live; guard my teaching like the pupil of your eye.
   (Life comes from keeping them, the positive and negative commandments.)

Bind them on your fingers;
   (May they control the creation of your hands)

Write them on the tablet of your heart.
   (May they control the thoughts and inclinations of your heart)

Say to wisdom, "You are my sister"; call understanding your kinswoman;
   (The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom)

So that they can keep you from unknown women, from loose women with their seductive talk.
   (The loose seductive woman is the antithesis of the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31. She is the spirit of worldliness, also called the Mother of Harlots of Revelation 17-18)

For I was at the window of my house, glancing out through the lattice, when I saw among the young men there, among those who don't think for themselves, a young fellow devoid of all sense.
    (Blindfolded, religiously oblivious to his own sinful impulses)

He crosses the street near her corner and continues on toward her house.
   (He is blind and oblivious of where he is going)

Dusk turns into evening, and finally night, dark and black.
   (The darkness of ignorance has gradually totally set up upon him)

Then a woman approaches him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart. She's the coarse, impulsive type, whose feet don't stay at home; rather, she stalks the streets and squares, lurking at every streetcorner. She grabs him, gives him a kiss, and, brazen-faced, she says to him, "I had to offer peace sacrifices, and I fulfilled my vows today. This is why I came out to meet you, to look for you; now I've found you. I've spread quilts on my couch made of colored Egyptian linen. I've perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come on, let's make love till morning; we'll enjoy making love. My husband isn't at home, he's gone on a long trip; he took a bag of money with him and won't be back till the moon is full." With all her sweet talk she convinces him, enticing him with her seductive words.
   (Is she really to blame? Had he had his eyes opened, he would have known better than
  1. Going in the direction of her house
  2. Listening to that coarse impulsive woman whose feet don't stay at home.
  3. Letting her kiss him
  4. Letting himself be enticed by her words especially when she says that she's already married.


At once he follows her like an ox on its way to be slaughtered; like a fool to be punished in the stocks; or like a bird rushing into a trap, not knowing its life is at stake till an arrow pierces its liver.
    (His deliberate ignorance of the warnings cause him to be caught in the deathly trap of disobedience!)

So now, children, listen to me; pay attention to what I am saying.
Now to the conclusion:

Don't let your heart turn to her ways; don't stray onto her paths. For many are those she has struck down dead, numerous those she has killed. Her house is the way to Sh'ol; it leads down to the halls of death.  
    (The words of the Torah are our warning!)


Being ignorant, voluntary or otherwise, of the words of warning in the Torah is what causes us today to fall into the trap of sin, and will fell into the arms of the Whore of Babylon at the end of days.

The enemy even tried with Yeshua, but He fought back with the words of the Torah (Mat 4:1-11)

May we always study the words of warning given to us in the Torah that we may be aware of the enemy’ deathly traps.

R' Gavriel


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PAR'SHAT B'HAR: Financial Ethics of the Kingdom of Heaven.

5/23/2019

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ולא תונו אישׁ את־עמיתו ויראת מאלהיך כי אני יהוה אלהיכם׃
ועשׂיתם את־חקתי ואת־משׁפטי תשׁמרו ועשׂיתם אתם וישׁבתם על־הארץ לבטח׃

Thus you are not to take advantage of each other, but you are to fear your God; for I am Adonai your God. " 'Rather, you are to keep my regulations and rulings and act accordingly. If you do, you will live securely in the land. (Lev 25:17-18 CJB)


THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.


A COUNTDOWN TO GODLINESS.
Counting the omer is a countdown to godliness. Some people divide the seven weeks into seven main virtues, which are again divided into seven facets of that virtue. Here is how it works:
1. Chesed : Overflowing Loving kindness
2. G’vurah: Judgment, Justice, Rigor
3. Tiferet: Compassion, Beauty, Balance
4. Netzakh: Victory, Efficiency, Prevailing
5. Hod: Glory, Splendor
6. Y’sod: Foundation, Intimacy, Generativity
7. Malkhut: Majesty, God’s Earthly Realm

FROM FIRST FRUIT (16TH of Nissan/Resurrevtion Day) TO SHAVUOT  

It makes sense. The message Yeshua gave us was, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."     
     This message reflects Yochanan the Immerser's words, as well as those in Isaiah’s prophecy, "Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight!" (Mat 4:17; Mat 3:2; Mat 3:3; Isa 40:3)
With this message along with that of waiting for the Comforter (Acts 1:4), the time between the Resurrection on the 16th of Nissan and Shavuot 49 days later, represents a time of learning to live in “sincerity and truth” (1 Cor 5:8). This transformation into righteousness does not happen by Yeshua waving a magic wand that makes us all good again, but it happens by us learning and applying the lifestyle of the Torah, and in our case, learning and applying the teachings of Yeshua concerning the Torah in our lives.

HASHEM’S ECONOMIC SYSTEM 

The parasha readings during the time of the counting of the omer gives us a lot of material for reflection and cleansing.

  • In Acharei Mot we learn about the seriousness, the awesomeness of God and about Yom HaKippurim. 
  • In Kedoshim we learn about what sets us apart from the world. In Emor we learn about Shabbat and festivals that set us apart, and 
  • in Behar, we learn about HaShem's economic system, the way finances are handled in the Kingdom of Heaven as opposed to the way they are handled is the world. This economic system is not just the way finances ought to run in His kingdom of the future, but also the way they ought to run here on earth today.

THE LITMUS TEST OF RELIGIOUS SPIRITUALITY 
After we have been taught in the former parashiot about ritual and ceremonial holiness/set-apartness, we are now taught about financial holiness/set-apartness. HaShem is concerned with how we eat, live, and work, but He is also concerned about how we handle money. Money really hits where it hurts and I would dare say, the handling of money reveals much more about one’s spirituality than any other religious observance.
      Leviticus 25 teaches us about sabbatical years and jubilee. These things were all about business, income, and compassion for the less-fortunate. Sabbatical years and jubilees were good news for the poor, and if I were to say this in Hebrew, I would not use הודעה תובה/oda’a Tova for the expression “good news”, but בשורה/ Besora, which has to do with the Good News of the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth.

BUT IT TAKES FAITH TO OBEY.  

Sad to say, HaShem's economic system as outlined in Leviticus 25 was never totally adopted by Israel. It even caused Judea to go in exile for 70 years. For seventy Sabbatical years the Children of Israel had not obeyed the commandment to let the Land fallow every seven years, so HaShem sent the people away so the land could enjoy her Shabbats. (2. Chron 36:21; Jer 25:11)
    Until this day, I do not know any politician who would be voted in were he to impose, not only that people take off all the 70 shabbats of the year, but that every seven years, farmers would not sow their fields (Lev 25:4-7), and that all banks would forgive debts while not even allowing them to refuse a loan on the fifth year, knowing that the debt would probably be cancelled before full payment. I don't know that businesses would agree to forgive debts; I don’t think that they would like to pay their employees nightly.  Also, what real estate company would return the land that he bought from someone who sold it to them due to financial duress? (Lev 25). It is all basically bad for business, but it shows us what importance HaShem gives to business. I heard a rabbi teach that if you were to properly follow the laws of tithing, sabbatical years, and jubilee, you could never get too rich.
     Just as it takes faith to stop working on Saturday (especially if you work in retail), it takes faith for the farmer to not sow his field for one year. It means that on the sixth year, he must save for the seventh year, he must have seedcorn left to sow at the end of the sabbatical year, and something to eat on the eighth. It also meant that every fifty years, he needed to save all that plus for one more year as the jubilee year followed the sabbatical year.

THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF THE KINGDOM  

Leviticus 25 starts with the commandments concerning the sabbatical years, and then continues on with the care of the poor. At the end of the chapter, the poor can be rescued regardless of the year, through the means of the kinsman Redeemer.
In the millennia that man has governed the earth applying different economic systems and models, none of these systems and models have ever succeeded in providing even basic necessities to everybody. There has always been disparity between rich and poor, as well as people who live in poverty, poverty not caused by natural causes, but by the selfish political and economical systems of man. My question is,Why don't we try it HaShem's way, using HaShem’s system?
What I see in the economic system of Leviticus 25 is a system where every once in a while the whole economic system reboots thus providing a way for the poor to catch up. In this system, the rich never get too rich so he forgets God, and the poor never gets too poor so He curses his creator.

[God,] I have asked two things of you; don't deny them to me as long as I live --keep falsehood and futility far from me, and give me neither poverty nor wealth. Yes, provide just the food I need today; for if I have too much, I might deny you and say, "Who is Adonai?" And if I am poor, I might steal and thus profane the name of my God. (Pro 30:7-9 CJB)

IT’S NOT AN INDIVIDUAL RACE; IT’S A TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENT!  

The economy of the Kingdom of Heaven is not like a race where some people just make it to prosperity while leaving others behind, but a race where those ahead take the time to let the others catch up, and even help them. Here is a scene from the movie “An Officer and A Gentleman” that illustrates it.

https://youtu.be/nXsm7vKuoVo

Someone showed me a picture one day of a wolf pack on the move. The structure of their pack was that the old and the weak were in front, the middle group was the most populous, while the strong ones brought up the rear. That created a protected pack where no one was left behind. If the wolf understands it, why don't we?                    
​


THE LAW OF THE LAND IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD
When Yeshua comes, He will impose that we live by the ways of the sabbatical years and the jubilee. It will be the law of the Land. We will finally learn that a man’s life does not consist in what he owns."  (Luk 12:15 CJB)

And like Jim Elliot said,
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Elliot

We will then follow Yeshua’s exhortation,

Don't work for the food which passes away, but for the food that stays on into eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. (John 6:27 CJB)

If we lived by the economic principles of leviticus 25 today, we would experience a foretaste of the Kingdom of God right here and now!

MAY WE BRING THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN TODAY BY LIVING ACCORDING TO ITS RULES.


R' Gavriel Lumbroso

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PAR'SHAT EMOR: Sukkot on Earth as it is in Heaven!

5/16/2019

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Rשננן Gשהרןקךאאך בחמשׁה עשׂר יום לחדשׁ השׁביעי באספכם את־תבואת הארץ תחגו את־חג־יהוה שׁבעת ימים ביום הראשׁון שׁבתון וביום השׁמיני שׁבתון׃
ולקחתם לכם ביום הראשׁון פרי עץ הדר כפת תמרים וענף עץ־עבת וערבי־נחל ושׂמחתם לפני יהוה אלהיכם שׁבעת ימים׃
וחגתם אתו חג ליהוה שׁבעת ימים בשׁנה חקת עולם לדרתיכם בחדשׁ השׁביעי תחגו אתו׃
בסכת תשׁבו שׁבעת ימים כל־האזרח בישׂראל ישׁבו בסכת׃
למען ידעו דרתיכם כי בסכות הושׁבתי את־בני ישׂראל בהוציאי אותם מארץ מצרים אני יהוה אלהיכם׃

'But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to observe the festival of Adonai seven days; the first day is to be a complete rest and the eighth day is to be a complete rest. On the first day you are to take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches and river-willows, and celebrate in the presence of Adonai your God for seven days. You are to observe it as a feast to Adonai seven days in the year; it is a permanent regulation, generation after generation; keep it in the seventh month. You are to live in sukkot for seven days; every citizen of Isra'el is to live in a sukkah, so that generation after generation of you will know that I made the people of Isra'el live in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am Adonai your God.' " (Lev 23:39-43 CJB)

​

As we finish Pesach, go through the Omer countdown to Shavuot, we are offered a glimpse into the world to come through the instruction concerning Chat Sukkot, or Tabernacles.

Pesach represented the redemption of Israel as it led to Shavuot where the promise of the prophet Joel of redemption for the nations is fulfilled.
        Two days after Pesach, on the 16th of Nissan starts the barley harvest. At Shavuot starts the wheat harvest just preceding the hot summer months. Fruits and olives will also harvested to finally end with the grape harvest at the time of Sukkot. On a theological level, this chronology of the levitical Holy Convocations teaches us that the message of the Kingdom comes first to a Jewish firstfruit, who bring it to a Gentile firstfruit, and is then transferred to everybody else during a long harvesting summer. By the Fall, all of redeemed enters HaShem’s sukka (Rev 21-22). At that time, everything has to be in the barn before the rains arrive, rains which could devastate the harvested crops but which will be life-giving to the newly sowed fields.
          Sukkot has often been called the feast of the nations. It speaks of universal redemption. As the Seventh-day Shabbat is the crowning and fulfillment of it's week, the seventh Holy Convocation of the year is the crowning festival of HaShem's full universal redemption program. It foretells the times described in Revelations 21 and 22 when the Tabernacle of God dwells with man.

Thus, many ideas intertwined the celebration of Sukkot.

HOSPITALITY. Sukkot reminds us that we have been mistreated strangers in a strange land. As such, we owe to remember what it's like and be kind and generous with the foreigner in our midst.
  • HaShem heard our cries and saw our tears, we should therefore see and hear their cries and tears. (Exo 3:7-8)
  • HaShem took us out of oppression to rescue us. We should pay it forward.
  • HaShem invited us to be part of His household.
  • We should also extend this invitation to others.

         It is what Yeshua was talking about when He spoke of: the unrighteous servant,

Then the master summoned his servant and said, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt just because you begged me to do it. Shouldn't you have had pity on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' And in anger his master turned him over to the jailers for punishment until he paid back everything he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat you, unless you each forgive your brother from your hearts."
(Mat 18:32-35 CJB)

Abraham was the chief host. He was known to send his servant Eliezer by the highways and byways of the desert to compel people to come in and refresh themselves in his tent. He did not do this as a form of ritual religious observance, but as an act of gratitude towards Him who lets him in into His everlasting dwellings.

THE WORLD TO COME. This world is not our final home. By emulating our ancestors in the desert, Sukkot reminds us of our temporary status in this world. We are strangers in a strange land. One day we will be home. At that time we will recline and eat in the company of the patriarchs.
There is a Sukkot tradition to receiving guests. To have guests in your sukka is one of the highest mitzvah. HaShem receives us in the way we receive others. We will be received in the same manner we receive others.
In the industrial West, the idea of hospitality has lost some of its shine. We often do not want to be bothered with cleaning the house, preparing special food, or breaking out the china. We leave the house as it is, buy something from the store, and use paper plates. Maybe it is because I was raised in Europe, but to me when someone comes to visit, we try to present a clean and comfortable house, prepare special food served in china dishes. It should be all the more so when we receive people from the household of Messiah: the Saints. What shouldn't we do for those that HaShem loves so much that he sent His Son to redeem with a great and mighty arm!
If we bring out our best for our guests, He’ll bring out His best for us. Paraphrasing Yeshua’s words, the measure with which we practice hospitality will be used towards us also. (Mat 7:2)

SPECIAL GUESTS: At Sukkot, we will recline in the company of the patriarchs. It is sometimes traditional then to practice that time by dedicating certain days of Sukkot to the patriarchs. Each day belongs to a different one.
  1. Abraham
  2. Isaac
  3. Jacob
  4. Joseph
  5. Moses
  6. Aaron
  7. David
  8. Messiah

My book, Under the Vine, gives an idea of discussion for each patriarch on their assigned day. In my home we usually do Bible quizzes and children’s activities on each of the patriarchs and even sing songs about the birth of Yeshua as part of Simchat Torah on the 8th day.

3 LEVELS OF HOSPITALITY: Of course, it is easy to invite these visitors from times past. They don’t eat much and they do not take much space. In the model of the Jewish idea concerning Tzedaka (the giving of charity) http://www.jewfaq.org/tzedakah.htm I would like to put levels to hospitality.

  1. Not inviting anyone; waiting for people to come in to the Sukka.
  2. Only inviting Biblical patriarchs
  3. Only inviting relatives
  4. Only inviting friends
  5. Inviting the homeless as an act of charity
  6. Leaving the door open for anyone to come in and be received as a special guest. This last one is reminiscent of the Pesach Seder. At the Pesach Seder we set a place for Elijah, but we also leave the door semi-open. Anyone who comes in will be eating at the place of Elijah thus fulfilling the commandment in the letter to the first century Messianic Jews,

Let brotherly friendship continue; but don't forget to be friendly to outsiders; for in so doing, some people, without knowing it, have entertained angels.
(Heb 13:1-2 CJB)


JOY: Joy is one of the main elements of Sukkot. We are actually commanded to rejoice at that time.

"You are to keep the festival of Sukkot for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing-floor and winepress. Rejoice at your festival - you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, the L'vi'im, and the foreigners, orphans and widows living among you.
(Deu 16:13-14 CJB)

The reason for that is that Sukkot is a rehearsal, a foretaste of the time when,

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will no longer be any death; and there will no longer be any mourning, crying or pain; because the old order has passed away."
(Rev 21:4 CJB)

Joy and rejoicing should actually be our default mood at all times. Here is a commentary from Rabbi Hirsh.
    “Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsh noted that Rosh Hashanah is only one day, and Yom Kippur is only one day, while sukkot is seven days. Rosh Hashanah is a day of shaking us out of ways of life displeasing to the Almighty. Yom Kippur is a day of fasting and awareness of our faults and mistakes. Sukkot, however, sets us up afresh in living to achieve the highest earthly possession: joy and happiness before the Almighty. There is only one day for the mood of Rosh Hashanah, and only one day for the fasting of atonement, but seven days, a whole cycle of days for the joyful building of our huts, and for enjoying our possessions before the Almighty. This is what is most characteristic of Torah laws, it teaches that the normal mood of one’s life should be not the bowed down broken feeling but the joy of life which runs equally throughout the year of a life faith fully devoted to duty.” (Rabbi Hirsch’s Commentary)

TO LIVE A JOYOUS LIFE: We are commanded to rejoice at Sukkot. We are also required to enjoy what we have.
It is fine and easy for the one one who seems blessed with peaceful conditions and enough subsistence, but what about he who is in the midst of trouble and is poor. The commandment then doesn’t change. Happiness should not be the fruit of our our environment but rather an inner spiritual condition; a state of mind.
  • We may feel forsaken in this world but we should rejoice just because we are His children.
  • We may not have worldly wealth but we should rejoice because we have enough.
  • Though we may not have the best according to the world, we should rejoice because we have His best.
    On this subject, Paul used to teach,

Now true religion does bring great riches, but only to those who are content with what they have.
(1Ti 6:6 CJB)

When my children grumbled about something, my wife used to ask them, “How long are you going be unhappy about this? How long are you going to be on a bummer? Another minute? Five minute? Until tonight?”

To rejoice and be happy is not the result of an external condition, but a choice and a decision that we make.

AVOID QUARRELING: The lulav that we use at Sukkot symbolises the whole nation united together in peace, harmony, and unity. Again peace, harmony, and unity don’t come just by themselves. They are conscious choices that we make. Psychologist and Rabbi Zelig Pliskin says that, “Many quarrels can easily be avoided by just thinking sensibly about how irrational and counterproductive it is to waste time and energy in a quarrel that really makes not practical difference.”

Here is another story: “Rabbi Eliyahu Klatzkin, Rabbi of Dublin and later jerusalem, once told his son that some people had taken his seal without permission and affixed it to proclamation without consulting him. His son asked him why he had not refuted them in the press,and he answered, “I am afraid that if I protest agaisnt the forgery, I shall arouse the anger of these troublemakers and I shall be forced to make controversial statements. In any case they will surely be bold anough to bismirch the motive behind my denials, and I shall be forced to issue a protest. As a result, my time will be wasted in controversy, and I shall be unable to spend it studying Torah.””(Jewish Leaders, p.327)

MAY WE MAKE THE CHOICE TO BE HOSPITABLE.
MAY WE MAKE THE CHOICE TO LIVE JOYFULLY.
MAY WE MAKE THE CHOICE TO FORGIVE.
MAY WE MAKE THE CHOICE TO LOVE.

Rabbi Gavriel

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P'RSHAT K'DOSHIM: "Love ...."

5/8/2019

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ואהבת לרעך כמוך אני יהוה
Don't take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai.  (Lev 19:18 CJB)



In the days of the Babylonian Captivity of Judah, HaShem challenged Ezekiel the prophet with the following words,


"Human being, I have appointed you to be a watchman for the house of Isra'el. When you hear a word from my mouth, you are to warn them for me. If I say to a wicked person, 'You will certainly die'; and you fail to warn him, to speak and warn the wicked person to leave his wicked way and save his life; then that wicked person will die guilty; and I will hold you responsible for his death. On the other hand, if you warn the wicked person, and he doesn't turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, then he will still die guilty; but you will have saved your own life.  (Eze 3:17-19 CJB)

WHO WAS EZEKIEL?
Ezekiel was the son of  Buzzi, the priest. As such, Ezekiel was raised in the priesthood. He was raised in the high anticipation that one day he would be priest. The Babylonian Captivity changed all that. Instead of becoming a venerated priest, Ezekiel was taken captive to Babylon to prophecy the demise of Israel as a kingdom. He saw the deposing and death of its king, and the burning of the Temple.

Israel was taken captive because of its sins of disobedience to the Torah. Their disobedience found its epitome when Israel disobeyed the prophet that was sent to her to rescue her. Jeremiah indeed came with the message that could have saved Israel but Israel did not listen. Hear what HaShem said to Jeremiah,

"Adonai says this to me: 'Make yourself a yoke of straps and crossbars, and put it on your neck. Send [similar yokes] to the kings of Edom, of Mo'av, of the people of `Amon, of Tzor, and of Tzidon by means of the envoys they send to Yerushalayim, and to Tzidkiyahu king of Y'hudah. Give them this message for their masters by telling their envoys that Adonai-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says for them to tell their masters: " ' "I made the earth, humankind, and the animals on the earth by my great power and my outstretched arm; and I give it to whom it seems right to me. For now, I have given over all these lands to my servant N'vukhadnetzar the king of Bavel; I have also given him the wild animals to serve him. All the nations will serve him, his son and his grandson, until his own country gets its turn -- at which time many nations and great kings will make him their slave. The nation and kingdom that refuses to serve this N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel, that will not put their necks under the yoke of the king of Bavel, I will punish," says Adonai "with sword, famine and plague, until I have put an end to them through him. " ' "You, therefore, don't listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, magicians or sorcerers, when they tell you that you won't be subject to the king of Bavel; for they are prophesying lies to you that will result in your being removed far from your land, with my driving you out, so that you perish. But the nation that puts its neck under the yoke of the king of Bavel and serves him, that nation I will allow to remain on their own soil," says Adonai. "They will farm it and live there." ' "
(Jer 27:2-11 CJB)


Jeremiah had the job to tell the king to not send his army to fight the king of Babylon.
Jeremiah had the job to tell people that they will lose the war.
Jeremiah had the job of telling people that this was all because of their sins. Jeremiah had the job to tell people that the king of babylon acted under HaShem very command.


A very unpopular message indeed. Can you imagine a prophet today who would go to the President of the United State or address congress with this sort of message?
    Later Jeremiah was asked by the remnant of Judah for his opinion on going to find refuge in Egypt and after asking him what he thought, they captured him because they did not like his answer (Jer 42-43).
    I wonder how Ezekiel feel about the calling to take over for Jeremiah in the Land of the Chaldeans. He must have thought, “These people are here because they disobeyed, imprisoned and tortured the prophet who was trying to tell them the truth. Pleaaaaaase HaShem, find someone else for the job !!!!”

That might explain the style of prophesying of Ezekiel. Since the people of Israel had acted as if they were deaf to the Word of G-d, Ezekiel did most of his prophesying through skits and shadow-pictures.
         The presence of Jeremiah in Israel, of Daniel in the Babylonien capital, and of Ezekiel in the region of Shushan was a sign of HaShem’s mercy on Israel. Through the faithful work of these 3 prophets, Israel had more contact with the Torah than they had had before in Israel. It is where the system of synagogues, Yeshivas, and Torah study started.
Though Israel tortured and mistreated the prophet that could have saved them from the captivity; through Israel disobeyed and suffered the consequences of its arrogant pride, Ezekiel accepted the job. He accepted the job because HaShem did not give up, and if HaShem does not give up on us, who are we to give up on anyone?

Part of our text this week is one of the most famous biblical statements in the whole world; one that the great majority of religious and non-religious people in the world agree with,

Love your neighbor as yourself. (Lev 19:18 CJB)

When Jewish teachers or prophets use a part of Scripture, they do not mean to just quote that statement as if it were all by itself. They give the part of the statement that will remind people of it’s full context. For example, one would say, “I will dwell in the House of Adonai forever…” on the premise that the person listening would understand that statement within the whole context of Psalm 23. So when Yeshua used that statement from Leviticus, He also said it in the understanding that people would see that verse within its biblical context. And what is the biblical context of "Love you neighbor as yourself?" Here it is from the text.

" 'When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don't harvest all the way to corners of your field, and don't gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters. Likewise, don't gather the grapes left on the vine or fallen on the ground after harvest; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I am Adonai your God. " 'Do not steal from, defraud or lie to each other. Do not swear by my name falsely, which would be profaning the name of your God; I am Adonai. Do not oppress or rob your neighbor; specifically, you are not to keep back the wages of a hired worker all night until morning. " 'Do not speak a curse against a deaf person or place an obstacle in the way of a blind person; rather, fear your God; I am Adonai. " 'Do not be unjust in judging -- show neither partiality to the poor nor deference to the mighty, but with justice judge your neighbor. " 'Do not go around spreading slander among your people, but also don't stand idly by when your neighbor's life is at stake; I am Adonai. " 'Do not hate your brother in your heart, but rebuke your neighbor frankly, so that you won't carry sin because of him. Don't take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai. (Lev 19:9-18 CJB)

The context helps us understand the meaning of the statement. In this case, to love your neighbor as yourself means that,
  • (Lev 19:9 CJB) " 'When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don't harvest all the way to corners of your field, and don't gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters.
And that you, 
  • (Lev 19:10 CJB) Don't gather the grapes left on the vine or fallen on the ground after harvest; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I am Adonai your God.

(or “show your gratitude to God for a good harvest by giving to the less fortunate

  • (Lev 19:11 CJB) " 'Do not steal from, defraud or lie to each other.

Part of love is honesty in business; not to always try to get the fatter end of the stick at the detriment of others.

  • (Lev 19:12 CJB) Do not swear by my name falsely, which would be profaning the name of your God; I am Adonai.

Which can be understood as saying in HaShem’s Name things He did not actually say but are from our own mind.

  • (Lev 19:13 CJB) Do not oppress or rob your neighbor; specifically, you are not to keep back the wages of a hired worker all night until morning.

Or pay fair wages that allow your worker a decent humane lifestyle.

  • (Lev 19:14 CJB) " 'Do not speak a curse against a deaf person or place an obstacle in the way of a blind person; rather, fear your God; I am Adonai.

He who is deaf is like one who does not understand words. Do not therefore curse he who does not understand but like Adonai with Israel (and with each of us) be patient and repeat the lesson as many times as is needed.

He who is blind is like one who is ignorant. Do not put a stumbling block on his path in the way of erroneous teachings.

  • (Lev 19:15 CJB) " 'Do not be unjust in judging -- show neither partiality to the poor nor deference to the mighty, but with justice judge your neighbor.

Justice should be provided in the same manner for rich and poor, famous and unknown. It should have nothing to do with financial payments or incentives (should we call those “bribes?”)

  • (Lev 19:16 CJB) " 'Do not go around spreading slander among your people, but also don't stand idly by when your neighbor's life is at stake; I am Adonai.

Do not spread negativity about others (even if it is true. It could be that that it is true only in your eyes!)

Rescue you brothers from verbal attacks.

  • (Lev 19:17 CJB) " 'Do not hate your brother in your heart, but rebuke your neighbor frankly, so that you won't carry sin because of him.

To not hate (with no “ifs” and“buts”) is a Torah commandment. If someone wronged us we are to go to them personally and explain to them just as Yeshua said, not keep resentment and hate them.

  • (Lev 19:18 CJB) Don't take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai.

Vengeance belongs to Adonai. Our job is to love and forgive ohers as He loves and forgives us. A way to do that is to use the same grace and mercy we use on ourselves and our mistakes on others.



HERE I A SMALL ARTICLE FROM RABBI ZEL;IG PLISKIN ABOUT THIS TEXT:
 
You shall be holy" (Lev.19:2).
 
"This week's Parsha, Kedoshim, seems to make an unreasonable demand of every Jew by commanding us "to be holy." How many of us can spend our days meditating and learning the Torah, only involved with "holy" concerns?
However, the Torah then continues and tells us to be in awe of our parents, to be completely honest in business, and to always keep your word -- with no excuses. We are told to be sensitive to the weak and downtrodden and to be generous and gracious to the poor. These laws are juxtaposed to the Sabbath and other ritual laws.
One of the ideas behind this is that holiness is found not only in the synagogue and rituals, but in our business dealings, in our social relationships, and in those relationships which we tend to take for granted, such as our parents, our spouses. We need to take the lessons of the Torah and apply them to every aspect of our daily lives. That is how we attain genuine holiness."

What is called the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) teaches us much needed applications of the very same principles we read in Par’shat K’doshim. The parasha signs off this teaching on the applications of holy behavior with,

Therefore consecrate yourselves -- you people must be holy, because I am Adonai your God. (Lev 20:7 CJB)

Rather, you people are to be holy for me; because I, Adonai, am holy; and I have set you apart from the other peoples, so that you can belong to me.
(Lev 20:26 CJB)


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