Torah
Parashah - Tzav – “Give an order”
Wayiqra (Leviticus) 6:8 – 8:36 p 84 RSTNE
Called
to more – from now on…
Torah
– Offering of the burnt offering = a whole burnt offering – to emphasize the
importance of being consecrated oneself to YHUH.
- Offering of
Aaron and his sons’
- The guilt
offering
- Grain offering =
consecrate all you have said!
- Shalom offerings
= an offering of being consecrated to YHUH.
Only offering where the ordinary guy actually participated in ceremony
- Not eating fat
(belongs to YHUH) or blood (atonement)
- Wave offering
- Chapter 8 –
dressing the Kohen haGadol
- Anointing the
Tabernacle and all that was in it, including priests.
- The Ram of consecration
8:22
- Blood on the tip
of right ears, r. thumb, r. great toe (grounding and support)
Wayiqra 8:10-12 p 85
10
“And Moshe took the anointing oil, and anointed the Tabernacle and all that was
in it, and set them apart.
11
And he sprinkled it upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all
its vessels, both the basin and its stand, to set them apart.
12
And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aharon’s head, and anointed him, to set
him apart.”
Wayiqra 8: 22-24 p 86
22“And
he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration, and Aharon and his sons laid
their hands upon the head of the ram.”
23
“And he killed it and Moshe took the dahm (blood) of it, and put it upon the
tip of Aharon’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the
great toe of his right foot.”
24“And
he brought Aharon’s sons, and Moshe put some of the dahm (blood) upon the tips
of their right ears, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the
great toes of the their right feet: and
Moshe sprinkled the dahm upon the altar all around.”
So
Moshe is putting blood on the priests.
-In
specific places - right ear, right
thumb, and right great toe.
Ear – the source of
hearing
Hand – power/
strength - work
Foot – walking – to
be able to endure
"That same ritual was repeated throughout seven complete days of
celebration. Why was blood applied to those particular extremities–the right
thumb, toe and ear? An ancient commentator, Philo (1st Century Egypt), perceived that,
“The fully consecrated must be pure in words and actions and in life; for words
are judged by hearing, the hand is the symbol of action, and the foot of the
pilgrimage of life.” Thus, Philo reads specific meaning into each of the three
body parts by analyzing the special function of each part in terms of their
human use.
At the first Passover–when
blood was smeared on the lintels of Jewish homes, blood marks the moment or the
place as a transition between death and renewed life. (- Like in brit milah/circumcision and of course – with Yahusha’s death and resurrection!)
Here, too,
by placing sacrificial blood on the priest’s extremities, the Torah indicates
that the newly-ordained ‘kohen’ has passed through a transitional moment from
being a private citizen to becoming a representative of God and a public
leader.
Ear, hand
and foot–an abbreviated code for his entire body–emphasize that service to
one’s highest ideals, to one’s people, or to one’s God, must be total.
Through his
induction into the Temple ritual, he entered a higher state of purity, devotion
and of service. To become a nation of priests requires of us no less.”
Let’s shift
gears here….
Sh’mot (Exodus) 19:6
“And you
shall be to Me, a malchut of Kohanim (Kingdom of Priests) and a
kadosh(holy) nation. These are the words that you shall speak to
the children of Yisra’el.”
~ Priests were appointed to
serve YHUH and to serve Yisra’el.
I Kepha (Peter) 2:9 p 824
“But
you are a chosen generation, a royal (melchi) priesthood, a kadosh (holy)
nation, and a peculiar people: that you should show forth the tehillot
(prayers) of Him who has called you out of the darkness into His marvelous
Light.”
“PECULIAR”
= preservation; One’s property; set apart people…
Most of us don’t feel like
priests.
Most of us don’t feel like a
peculiar people
I was honored to speak this
week, to a group of parents/ caregivers of children – adults with Developmental
Disabilities…. And as I stood before them… I recognized in greater measure –
that they are fighting a hard fight… and
nobody puts them on a podium and gives them a medal… or perhaps even
encouragement.
And nobody does that for us
either. You see in Athletic competition
– there is honor brought to those who work hard and succeed.
But what about those of us
who fight the battle – in the battlefield of our minds…?
Who listens/hears us?
Who asks how we are doing or
if they can help?
Who do we help?
Who recognizes our
difficulties?
Who validates us as
individuals?... Who validates you?
Who validates your hard
work? Who validates all the times when
you wanted to quit and didn’t?
And the other thing is – we
don’t feel worthy.
If you struggle in that
battle field of the mind… you spend time feeling a failure… and then you grow…
But so many times we react
from habits based on lies…
And we don’t feel worthy.
Can we say –
FROM NOW ON
FROM NOW ON – I WILL DO THIS…
I WILL WALK IN THIS…. – Choosing trust
and not quitting and not giving up…
Because we are called to be a
kingdom of priests…
And maybe that starts with
validating each other. J
At this point – we don’t get
the amazing motivator of cheers.
At this point we don’t get
the applause of those we have helped…
And at this point it has been
difficult to stand in the middle of so much…
You all know what I am
talking about…
Can we say –
Are you willing to say…
From now on - I will stand.
From now on - I will make a different choice.
From now on - I will have courage like I truly am a priest of the Holy God.
HE VALIDATES ME… but sometimes we all need someone with skin
on to validate us and encourage us.
Priests – those who serve
others and serve YHUH.
Shema Yisra'el
Amein.
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