Joy in the Messiah

צַו
Tzav / Command
Leviticus 6:1-8:36
HafTorah Jeremiah 7:21-8:36
Brit Chadasha Hebrews 8:1-6
    As we go through these Torah portions, one of the most difficult things to understand are the laws and ordinances of the sacrifices. We have survived without them for almost two thousand years, and even though the prophets never sought to abolish them, virtually all were critical of them, especially Jeremiah in this HafTorah. The prophets spoke ill of those who offered them while at the same time oppressing or exploiting their fellow human beings and even some thinking that sacrifices were a kind of bribe: if we make a generous enough gift to God then He may overlook our sins. 
    Then why the sacrifices?  Was it just to teach His people lessons or to abolish their sins at the time of the sacrifice? The Hebrew word for sacrifice is the noun korban, and the verb lehakriv, which mean “to come, (or bring) close.”  Vayikra translates into ‘And He Called…’  He calls us to come close to Him.
    Isn’t that what offerings and sacrifices were all about?  To bring us close or closer to God. 
    When one moves closer to God, the offering of thankfulness is obvious – for it is when we move closer to Him we realize what our life is with Him and what our life without Him would be. In Tzav, the source of the command to give thanks is found in Leviticus 7:11-13, the korban todah, the thanksgiving offering: “This is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which he shall offer to the Lord: 12 If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer, with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, or cakes of blended flour mixed with oil. 13 Besides the cakes, as his offering he shall offer leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offering.”
    How do we move closer to God? The first part of moving closer to Him is to move with Him.  
    In reading the scroll of Esther as we do every Purim, we discover a very significant lesson for us today. 
Queen Esther had to become one with the Kingdom that she was living in. We, too, have to become one in the Kingdom of God, if we choose to live within that Kingdom. 
    Several Scripture verses explain the path to the closeness of God.
    Psalm 73:28 ‘ But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.’
    James 4:8 ‘Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.’
    The closeness to Adonai for His people as a whole, as a unit began with their response to God in Exodus 24:7 when they replied, “We will do and we will listen.” It seems as if their answer would be ‘we will listen and then do.’ But their first priority was to do what God said and as a deeper act of love, they would also listen.
    Closeness to God depends on our hearts and our eagerness to close off our self and enter into His world.  
    This Pesach season, as we search for the leaven in our homes, we also search for the leaven in our hearts.  As we count the Omer, the seven weeks which we count off, day by day, from the Sabbath after Passover towards Shavuot, we eagerly count up to the giving of the Torah and the Holy Spirit. The Hebrew word for this counting – tispor- is found in Deuteronomy 16:9 is connected the Hebrew word sapir, “sapphire”.
     A remarkable part of the Mount Sinai revelation was a glimpse of God Himself. In Exodus 24:9-10 it states: “Moshe, Aharon, Nadav, Avihu and seventy of the leaders went up; 10 and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a sapphire stone pavement as clear as the sky itself.”
הַסַּפִּ֔יר הַ · סַפִּיר   the · lapis-lazuli    (the) · lapis-lazulli|sapphire

     Associated with diamonds and emeralds; one of the stones in the high priest’s breastplate. It is a precious stone of a sky-blue color, probably the lapis lazuli, brought from Babylon. The throne of God is described as of the color of a sapphire.
    There is this same visual in Ezekiel 1:26 ‘Above the dome that was over their heads was something like a throne that looked like a sapphire. On it, above it, was what appeared to be a person.’ 
     The first part of Tzav is the eternal flame. Leviticus 6:12-13. ‘And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. 13 A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.’
    It is the NerTamid, the Eternal Flame in all the Synagogues, that burn continuously, to be radiant with light no matter what it takes.  This flame or light that glows and illuminates above the ark is the light that we can trace back generations to our ancestors wandering in that wilderness.  The Torah purposefully uses the word tamid. The fire on the altar is a continuously burning fire from the past providing for the present and fire from the present providing for the future.
    It is taught that the initial form of prayer from the people to God was originally done as a sacrifice and offering. It was bloody and distant and mostly an answer to God for sins.  Yet now, what remains true is that when it comes to spirituality, prayer and connection with the Divine, we must be active participants.  We are the ones that must ignite the flame. 
     An Eternal Light, the Ner Tamid hangs above the ark in every synagogue. It is often associated with the menorah, the seven-branched lamp stand which stood in front of the Temple in Jerusalem. It is also associated with the continuously burning incense altar which stood in front of the ark.  Our sages interpreted the Ner Tamid as a symbol of God's eternal and imminent Presence in our communities and in our lives.
     Provers 6:23 states: ‘For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life.’
     John 8:12 ‘Then Yeshua spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
     Psalm 18:28 ‘For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.’
     Psalm 119:130 ‘The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.’
    It is taught that the central idea of Leviticus, is divine grace: God graciously explains to us how to bring HIm close so that we have the privilege of being close to God. But Leviticus also tells us that this gracious God remains in charge, and thus if we want to come close to God, we have to do so on God’s own mysterious terms. We are permitted to come close to God, but as we do so, we have to remember that God remains infinitely different from us. In the Torah, God is nearby, but impossible to embrace for to do so would make Him common and bring Him to our terms.  He created the universe but is not contained within the universe. 
 

Tzav / Command
Levicitus 6:1-8:36
HafTorah Jeremiah 7:21-8:3
Brit Chadasha Hebrews 8:1-6
Shabbat HaGadol - The Great Sabbath

The Eternal Flame

     Leviticus 6:12-13. ‘And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. ¹³ A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.’
     It is the NerTamid, the Eternal Flame in all the Synagogues, that burn continuously, to be radiant with light no matter what it takes.  This flame or light that glows and illuminates above the ark is the light that we could trace back generations to our ancestors wandering in that wilderness.  The Torah purposefully uses the word tamid. The fire on the altar is a continuously burning fire from the past providing for the present and fire from the present providing for the future.
     It is taught that the initial form of prayer from the people to God was originally done as a sacrifice and offering. It was bloody and distant and mostly an answer to God for sins.  Yet now, what remains true is that when it comes to spirituality, prayer and connection with the Divine, we must be active participants.  We are the ones that must ignite the flame. 
      So many of us have the notion or received the teaching that prayer and spirituality ought to happen and flow naturally. Maybe this is why it is challenging to pray regularly as doubt and despair sets in. These moments should remind us that prayer and connection to the Divine is also the responsibility of ourselves - where we are called to light the flame within us.  Love is a verb, so also, faith, Emunah, is a verb. Whether we are wandering in the wilderness, in our synagogues with community or alone in our despair within our hearts. There is always the ability to light and maintain an everlasting flame. 
    An Eternal Light the Ner Tamid hangs above the ark in every synagogue. It is often associated with the menorah, the seven-branched lamp stand which stood in front of the Temple in Jerusalem. It is also associated with the continuously-burning incense altar which stood in front of the ark.  Our sages interpreted the Ner Tamid as a symbol of God's eternal and imminent Presence in our communities and in our lives.
    The Torah of God is the Light: Provers 6:23 states: ‘For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life.’
     Yeshua represents the Light of the Torah: John 8:12 ‘Then Yeshua spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
    John 11:9 ‘Yeshua answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.’
     What is the light of the world? The Word of God.
     2 Corinthians 6:14 ‘Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?’
     Can the light of the Torah mix with the light of evil?
     Matthew 5:16 ‘Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.’
     What is the light that we are to show? What are our good works? Works of our own or works of The Father?
     John 3:21 ‘But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.’
     Yeshua is not just the light on His own, but the manifestation of the Torah, the Torah’s light. So when we look upon the Ner Tamid illuminating the Ark, we are reminded of Yeshua illuminating our hearts.
     Micah 7:8  ‘Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, The Lord will be a light to me.’
     Psalm 18:28 ‘For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.’
     No one can make their own Divine Light. It has to come from somewhere, from a foundation.  What is the foundation?  We cannot stop at the Greek word Jesus, we must go to the truth of Yeshua, and His truth is the Torah, the Living Word. 
    Psalm 119:130 ‘The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.’