Destination Yisra'el

The 2015 Houston Shavuot Flood, the Prophecy of Meidad at Sinai: Flooding the Land of the Gogs of Magog

Part Four – Shiloh as King Messiah (Melekh HaMaschiach)

The Hebrew Nation at the Mount called Sinai – by Jean-Leon Gerome

The Sinai experience on Shavuot was over when the Children of Israel were standing in the rarified presence of the Divine. There they experienced the highest level of prophecy that a national group of people have ever experienced. 

But something drastically happened after that experience with MemTet, the Angel of the Presence of G-dwhom the Ain Sof, the Unseen G-d of Israel shrouded with His Presence now as the G-d’s emissary or Shaliach came to the Children of Israel giving them commandments to keep in order to keep their national identity down throughout the ages. Now the insecurities of looking again into s future, unknown and no longer under their control, as the Unseen G-d of Israel now loomed perceptively into their present and their future over the next millenniums. 

Felt, but not fully perceived, was a strange aura in the camp.  One year before, also on Shavuot, the Jews and 10 Israel, now as the Nation of Israel (Hebrew Nation) were listening to the Voice of the Holy One of Israel and they collectively began to murmur for Moshe to act as our emissary and intercessor with HaShem, so that we would not have to listen to the voice of G-d anymore.

The Angel of the Presence of G-dloomed began the sign that it was time to move on. Their final redemption was not here but still in their future as the Pillar of Light at night and the Cloud shielding them from the sun by day began to move forward to their next destination.

 

The Houston Shavuot Flood dumping 12 inches of Water on Buffalo Bayou 

During this time, the presence of G-d’s loving care for them came with the daily rations of manna, a delicatessen, the ultimate food that imbedded within his matrix all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients to keep all of them alive healthy.  Not only that the Israelite cooks had no dietary preparations, for all they had to do was gather it outside of their tent residence, eat it and by evening it would disappear like the morning dew. 

Manna, according to rabbinic sources in the Chumash (Parashas Beha’aloscha), was: 

Chumash (Parashas Beha’aloscha on Bamidbar 11/2-12) – “shaped like coriander seed, a strong-smelling leek-like plant of the carrot family. Its color was like that of b’dolach a gem identified as crystal (Rashi) or pearl (Ebn Ezra to Genesis 2:13). The Jews could gather it effortlessly, merrily by strolling near their dwellings and it tasted like a dough rich in oil.” 

At the dawn of the next morning, the manna would be there again, a hint of what would happen in the future messianic era when as the sages of Judah have revealed, our food and our clothing will already be pre-prepared for us to eat and wear in that future era by the same loving G-d of Israel. Personal desires, cravings, and passions of autonomous life and activity will be a day of the past in the “world to come. 

Over the year, the strain upon Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) had been very great. A great mass of people of 600,000 men plus women and children were beginning to wear down the redeemer of the Children of Israel who had just escaped from under oppression in Egypt.

This time, Moses the Redeemer who led them out of Israel was faltering under the great burden of guiding and directing the lives of the Children of Israel. At the same time, the growing influence of the Erev Rav, called the “mixed multitude” was becoming viral in the camp of the Israelites for they did not and neither did they have the spiritual acumen to understand this life of spiritual elevation of consciousness that HaShem had giving to his “Chosen People”.

To HaShem, it was time to move, for new lessons had to be learned of self-discipline, and how to refuse to become victims of their own passions and desires. It was G-d’s living intent that the Children of Israel would becoming restored to the “Image of G-d” which we were created to be in Gan Eden.

The rebellion had now gone beyond the sin of the “Golden Calf”. It was now extending to blaming G-d for not providing them with the foods that were back in Egypt which their body cravings desired.

So the “Cloud of HaShem” which is alluded to in the Torah as seven separate clouds that guided the Israelites (Sifsei Chacharmin) began to move. Of these “seven clouds”, “four clouds” protected the camp in the four (cardinal) directions that surrounded the Mishkhan, one that hovered over them, “one cloud” that cushioned their feet from the hot, sometimes rocky desert floor and the “seventh cloud” that went ahead of them to ease their way by leveling mountains and filling in depressions.” (Chumash Stone edition, p. 787)

So when the Children of Israel left the “mountain of G-d” according to Rambam, citing the Midrash said:

Rambam – “They fled from the mountain of G-d like a child running away from school, happy to leave that holy place because they were afraid that G-d might give them more commandments.”

So a three day distance into the wilderness was traveled in one day, but their attitude of anger and defiance made a sin of their journey and disallowed G-d from fulfilling His oath to the Patriarchs. So in Bamidbar (Leviticus), G-d gave instructions to Moses:

Bamidbar 11:16-17 – “Gather 70 men from the elders of Israel... and take them to the Mishkan (Tabernacle), and have them stand there with you. I will come and speak to you there, and I will extend the spirit of prophecy that is upon you and place it upon them...”

Forty days later after the encounter of the now inaugurated Nation of Israel, a “tragic fire killed” the original 70 elder Sanhedrin. According to Rashi, when just after giving the Ten Commandments, the Sanhedrin was invited to ascend the mount called Sinai along with Moshe (Moses) to the base of the mountain, along with Aharon and Aharon’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu as they were enveloped with holiness of G-d, and the experience of the heightened measure of spiritual revelation in the Presence of the Divine (Shemot 24:11).

Yet instead of approaching the Almighty One with awe and reverence, they came to the mount in a lighthearted manner after eating a full meal, instead of fasting, and as they stood before the Presence of Holy One of Israel, they acted “like a slave that serves the king while biting on a on a piece of breads” (Rashi, Bamidbar 11:1). In the kindness to his people, HaShem did not punish the first Sanhedrin but rather they were punished after they had left the vicinity of Sinai and continued on their trek to the Land of Israel.

As noted in the Parashat Bambidar by Avraham Schwartz of Nachla’ot in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) we read:

Avraham Schwartz of Nachla’ot in Yerushalayim: - “Shortly after a tragic fire killed "those at the edge of the Jewish encampment" (Bamidbar 11:1), Moshe was asked to appoint 70 elders to become temporary prophets and permanent leaders of the nation. Rashi (11:16) explains that they were to replace the original 70-man Sanhedrin, or Jewish supreme court, who expired in the above-mentioned fire. ("The edge" of the encampment that was burned, was the cutting edge.)

In truth, Rashi adds, the original Sanhedrin ought to have been punished earlier. The sin for which they paid with their lives occurred immediately before the giving of the Ten Commandments, at which time the Sanhedrin was invited to climb Mt. Sinai along with Moshe, Aharon and Aharon's two sons, Nadav and Avihu, to experience a heightened measure of revelation of the Divine Presence (Shemot 24:11).

Instead of approaching with the appropriate awe, however, they lightheartedly came to the appointment after a full meal, "like a slave that serves the king while biting on a piece of bread" (Rashi, Bamidbar ibid.) In order not to diffuse the Jews' joy of receiving the Torah, Hashem did not punish the elders of the Sanhedrin until this week's Parasha, after they had left Mt. Sinai on their trek towards the land of Israel.

Evidence that this was indeed the role of the 70 elders chosen in this Parasha can be gleaned from the Torah's description of how authority was bestowed upon them: "I will extend (Hebrew root: Atzal) the spirit of prophecy that is upon you...." When the Sanhedrin climbed Mt. Sinai to experience the Divine Presence, they were called "Atzilei" -- that is, the spirit of prophecy that was on Moshe *extended* upon them as well. Now that spirit would be extended to be placed upon others.

Although this explanation makes it obvious why 70 elders, and no more, were chosen for this experience, one early commentator (Moshav Zekeinim) points out that there was another factor that limited the number of "prophets" that Moshe appointed.

Moshe could only "extend" his source of prophecy to encompass the other elders while they stood with him "surrounding the Mishkhan" (11:24). The dimensions of the Mishkhan were 30 x 10 cubits (Shemot 26:16-23), and a person is generally one cubit wide (Gemara Sukah 7b). If so, exactly thirty elders could line up on either side of the Mishkhan and another ten could stand at its western flank, making a total of 70 elders surrounding the Mishkhan! Moshe stood by himself at the open eastern end of the Mishkhan, so that the Divine spirit that emanated from the Mishkhan would envelop him and extend to the elders.”

So Moses called again to G-d requesting that he once again appoint a new group of 70 elders for the Sanhedrin to replace the prior 70 member Sanhedrin who personally met the G-d of Israel on Shavuot, the 6^th and 7^th of Sivan. There they received the manifestations of His Divine Spirit upon them.

They were later killed at a place called taveirah, also called tabera (rabble) where the creation of the golden calf came with the dancing and orgies that occurred 40 days after Moshe ascended the mountain. At that time he received the Two Tables of Stone with the Ten Commands, and was delayed as he carried the “Sapphire Tables” engraved by the finger of the Divine down from the mountaintop.

One year after G-d gave the Torah to the Children of Israel at Shavuot on the mount called Sinai and made them the Nation of Israel, the crisis of the complaints of eating the divine food called manna (mon) had gone viral again. The stress of the continuing rebellion of the Children of Israel persisted and now they were clamoring for “flesh” to eat.  They were also accusing G-d that their diet of mon (manna) was insufficient. Over 1.2 million Israelites with many sectors of the camp of Israel becoming hot-beds of sedition was becoming too great burden to Moshe their humble redeemer.

Rebellion against Moshe and Aharon was now imminent.  So HaShem said through Moshe to the complainers who protested that their provisions of food was not adequate:

Bambidar (Numbers) 11:18 – “To the people you shall say, ‘Prepare (Sanctify) yourselves for tomorrow and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the ears of HaShem, saying; who will feed us meat?....

So HaShem will give you meat and you will eat, not one day shall you eat, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days. Until an entire month of days until it comes out of your nose, and becomes nauseating to you, because you have rejected HaShem Who is in your midst…”

Yet, the accusation against Moshe and G-d was spurious. This fact was most evident when the real truth was that the tribes of Gad and Reuben had enormous flocks of cattle, sheep and goats, enough for the entire tribes of the Hebrew Nation.  Even more galling was the fact that they begged return to Egyptian slavery rather than having to fear in awe of the Divine Presence of the Almighty One of Israel. 

So the G-d of Israel instructed Moses to once again gather 72 men before the Tabernacle of the Dwelling that included 6 men from each of the 12 tribes, a total of 72, but not to include any from the tribe of Levi. Also, according to the Chumash, G-d told Moses to select the men from the foremen who had been their taskmasters in Egypt. When the Pharaoh of Egypt ordered the foremen to punish the Israelites, they took the punishment themselves and deserved to be elevated to high positions of authority. 

One year after the giving of the Torah and the Ten Commandments on Sinai, this time again on Shavuot, hordes of quail were flying in from the east on the same day that the new Sanhedrin of 70 was preparing to be nominated by ballot; two of which would receive a blank ballot and not be included, by the will of the Almighty One of Israel.

Two of the 72, Eldad and Meidad had decided in their humility that they were not worthy to be a part of such an august group of Israelite leaders so they stayed back in the camp of the 12 tribes.

This time, when the spirit of prophecy did come down, through Moses, and filled the 70 elders, back in the camp the “spirit of prophecy” also came down upon Eldad and Meidad as they also received the Ruach HaKodesh where they were praying back in their tents.

The lottery was never needed, for quickly runners from each of the camps ran towards the Tabernacle of the Dwelling (of the Shekinah Glory) heralding the fact that Eldad and Meidad had also been chosen by HaShem to be “one of the seventy” but were also chosen to receive the “Gift of Prophecy”.

These facts precluded that Eldad and Meidad were not only “chosen ones” to sit in the Sanhedrin but also that they were both chosen to be prophets of Israel, and something more special happened for their prophecies were not only focused on their present day but would also be focused upon the guela, the final days of redemption of Klal Yisrael (All 12-Tribed Israel) at the “end of days.”

What was also highlighted is the fact that some in the camp of Israel were making preparation of sanctifying their bodies in preparation for Shavuot on the second year after the Passover Exodus. They also were preparing for the Spirit of Prophecy to descend down upon them again for part of it was denied to them the prior year during Shavuot. 

Yet there would also be menuvals, or reprobates who would who continue to complain and challenge the G-d of Israel. As such they spiritually fell down below the status of Mem Tet Sha'arei Tumah, that is below the below the 49th level of tuma (degradation), where ones morality cannot be salvaged and raised to a higher level of spiritual elevation. 

To set Eldad and Meidad apart from the prophecies of prior prophets, was the fact that the prophecies of Eldad and Meidad were not just about what would happen to the future of the Children of Israel at that time, but their prophesies included the entire era of Jewish and Lost Israelite history that would be way far, millenniums later, in the future of both the Jews and the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel.

This scope of these prophesies included the era far into the future, when the milkhemet GogUMagog War (war required by the commandment of the Torah) would occur at the “end of Days” This special type of war did occur during the era of the TaNaKh (Old Testament) when the king of Israel would go to war in order to fulfill something based on or required by the Torah even without the approval of the Sanhedrin, such as war against the Amalekites.

This milkhemet mitzvah was called the “War by commandment” was also differentiated from the milkhemet reshut which was an “authorized war”; a discretionary war fought to expand the territory of the Land of Israel and used also for economic reasons but did have exemption clauses, and as such was required by Jewish law the permission of the Sanhedrim to go to war.

On the other hand, the milkhemet mitzvah involved defensive wars where vital risks on national interest to the Nation of Israel were at risk. GogUMagog will be the last of those wars. 

The Prophecies of Eldad and Meidad

 The Flooding of Braeswood Bayou in Houston on Memorial Day, 2015 

What is more interesting is that at the same time that the “Spirit of Prophecy” was being placed upon the 70 elders of the new Sanhedrin, including now the new Prophets; Eldad and Meidad, but what did they prophesy? 

The sages of Judah have weighed in upon the prophecies of Eldad and Meidad. They first identify Eldad and Meidad with the two sons of Aaron the High Priest, Nadab and Avihu, who died offering fire before the altar of G-d. 

The consensus was that Nadab and Avihu suffered from having a little too much religious fervor, yet with a great desire they sought to achieve Haskel (wisdom) on some of the holiest ideas known to mankind. 

• According to the Gemara in Sanhedrin 17a, the prophecy of Eldad was that Moshe (Moses) would die and not enter the Land of Promise and that it would be Moshe’s assistant, Yehoshua (Joshua) that would bring the Nation of Israel into the Promised Land. Many of that era could not comprehend that fact. 

• According to the first opinion of the Gemara in Sanhedrin 52a, the prophecy of Eldad and Meidad, Nadab and Avihu were mistaken in thinking that they were more enlightened than Aaron and Moses. They thought that the “wisdom of Torah” they sought would bring about a more enlightened Torah and an enlightened Nation of Israel by their thinking, saying, “When Moshe and Aharon pass on, already, that the two of them could lead the generation of Israelites into the Promised Land. 

• It was Eldad and Meidad who both disclaimed the prevailing attitude, “Yes, Moshe will die before entering the Land of Israel," they prophesied…but we will not be the new leaders. Yehoshua, Moshe's faithful student, will take the nation into the Promised Land.” 

• In another rabbinic opinion, it was Meidad also gave a prophesy about the quail (slav) coming in overwhelming numbers for an entire month and according to Bamidbar 11:33-34, the “wrath of HaShem” came upon the camp and the lives of the gluttonous ones who used feelings and passions to guide their lives and yet refused to nourish their bodies with the Divine Manna ended up in the “graves of those who craved.”

 A swollen Trinity River is seen in an aerial photo just west of downtown Dallas, Friday, May 29, 2015. 

As such, these Hebrew Nation Israelites had no appreciation of the Holiness of G-d and as such refused to elevate their own spiritual awareness with a yearning to find and understand G-d. Rather, rather the time they spend in the wilderness, a source of spiritual awareness for millions of people throughout the centuries, were so self-centered to their own arrogance and self-centeredness that they refused to rest in peace with the presence of Metatron, the Angel of the Presence of G-d surrounding their lives envelope with seven “clouds.” 

Yet, here was the Meta-Archangel, Metatron whose presence was revealed in the seven “clouds” that protected the vast multitude of Israelites. It was he who gave the provisions of spiritual manna for food and provided the waters from the “rolling well” of Miriam discussed by Rashi on Bamidbar 20:2. As the Children of Israel walked upon the “cloud” that protected their pathways and were shaded by the protecting “clouds of glory” during the day, and gave a soothing presence of Light in the night and were always surrounded by the numerous other miracles as noted in Devarim 29:4. 

The Prophesies of Futuristic War of GogUMagog by the Prophets Eldad and Meidad. 

 

The Flooding of Buffalo Bayou in Houston, the Land of Gog of the Land of Magog 

In the 3^rd and final opinion within the Gemara, the Prophets Eldad and Meidad’s prophesies were also visions about a global messianic war over 3,500 years further into their future about king called Gog from the Land of Magog as that were revealed in the prophesies of the Prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 38), a thousand years later. This fact was accepted by the Targum Yonatan, that all three of the prophesies of Eldad and Meidad were true prophesies of the distant future that were revealed to them in their day. 

According to the Targum Yonatan, more details were elucidated in detail when they described how Almighty One of Israel will destroy Gog and his coalition of nations who will invade the Land of Israel against the free ones living in unwalled villages. Gog and his military coalition will be destroyed by “burning their souls with a fire that will emanate from under HaShem’s “Throne of Glory” yet it will leave their dead bodies intact. 

After this august and futuristic supernal event that will be witnessed by all inhabitants around the world, El Shaddai will bring all the righteous ones back to life in a resurrection and will award them their eternal reward. 

It was soon afterwards, at Tisha B’AV on the 9^th of Av, after the death of those who craved the flesh of meat that the 10 spies that were sent to stake and “spy out” the land of Canaan. This was in preparation for an Israelite invasion to conquer the land of Canaan.  If the spies had given a positive and honest report to invade the land of Canaan, and invasion would have occurred during the night of the 10^th of Av.  According to the Chazal, if the Children of Israel had been prepared to invade the future Land of Israel, they would have destroyed the Amalekites and the land of Canaan would have fallen quickly into the hands of the Israelites.

But that did not happen, for the spies gave a slanted report on the military assets of the enemies in the land and only Joshua and Caleb gave a positive report. At this time, according to Dov Bar Lieb in the article titled, “Meidad’s Prophesy: Texas, the Land of Gogs under Water” in the blogsite “Years of Awe”, we read of the implications as it may affect our lives 3346 years later on the Jewish year of 5775.

Dov Bar Lieb – “From this we see that had we not mourned over nothing that afternoon of Tisha B'Av (when Israel rejected invading Canaan as advocated by the 10 spies) and during that night of the 10th of Av, we would have been immediately given an opportunity to destroy Amaleq once and for all allowing the completion of the Name of HaShem (YHVH) where the Yud and the First Hey had played the main role in the First Redemption from Egypt, the Vav and the Final Hey would have been attached starting on Tisha B'av/ the Tenth of Av 2449. 

So is this the year (Jewish year 5775 or 2015) of reversing that Sin, the Sin of the Spies by Tisha B'Av (9^th of Av) in order that the Name of HaShem can be complete by Sukkot?  Yes, I believe so. 

Then in the Jewish year of 5776 (starting with Rosh Hashanah 2015), G-d’s chosen people will continue their business of rectification and restoring that which was lost in the ancient days and make preparation of establishing the beginning of the Era of the Messianic Kingdom by the Tikkun of repairing the Sin of the Golden Calf the following 17th of Tamuz 5776.” 

The fasting day of the 17^th of Tamuz is a “fast day” from dawn until evening that commemorates five tragic events that occurred on this date: 

• Moses broke the tablets when he saw the Jewish people worshipping the Golden Calf.
• During the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, the Jews were forced to cease offering the daily sacrifices due to the lack of sheep. The Jerusalem Talmud maintains that the 17^th of Tammuz was the date when the Babylonians breached the walls of Jerusalem in route to destroying the first Holy Temple on the 9^th of Av.
• Apostomos burned the holy Torah.
• An idol was placed in the Holy Temple.
• The walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans, in 69 CE, after a lengthy siege. (Three weeks later, after the Jews put up a valiant struggle, the Romans destroyed the second Holy Temple on the 9th of Av.) 

The time was now approaching the second year since the Exodus from Egypt.  During this time, the first Sanhedrin of 70 elders became lax in their kavod coming from the Hebrew expression of Kol HaKavod or “all of the honor” in the congratulation of doing a job well done.  Well they did not do a job well done and soon after that their gift of prophecy faded and their lives were exterminated. 

Fateful lessons had to be learned. The redemption of the mistake of Adam and Eve first at Gan Eden at the Tree of Life was repeated again at the mount called Sinai. This time all three million of the Children of Israel were involved in the decision making process. 

The rejection of the Divine Manna, the quarreling and dissention of wanting “meat” and the non-appreciation of the traveling “well of Miriam” that gave them a constant supply of heavenly water was not enough to give implicit trust that the G-d of Israel was in charge, and He alone could be trusted. 

Now, the Hebrew Nation of Israel repeated the same mistake of Adam and Eve.  Once again they did not obey the commands of the Holy One of Israel. They lacked emuna or “faith in the sovereign power of the Almighty One called El Shaddai. 

They were not willing to come in teshuvah, that is “return to G-d with repentance” and with His power and grace, have faith that He is capable of doing what He has promised to do. 

So Lost Israelites today dwelling in Northern Europe and their colonies in America and beyond are urgently trying to give away the tribal lands of their forefathers to the ancestors of the Philistines and Amalekites for a Palestinian State. They are doing their best effort to destroy the State of Israel, which in its own imperfection is keeping safe the Jewish people and preserving the tribal homelands of the Lost Ten Tribes for their future aliyah. 

In the meantime, the Jews and Lost Israelites in America and Europe think that they can repair the breaches and heal the world with their goodness. That is G-d business and not ours.  They think that they will be G-d’s emissaries to restore the world to its primordial state.  How foolish we are as the Children of G-d. 

Repairing the Breach of the Tikkun Olam (Healing the World) 

Before all the breeches that can be repaired and restored back to its original primordial state, we must take another look at the meaning of Tikkun Olam. For many Jews it is the mitzvoth of repairing the restoration of the world. What we fail to comprehend, the Jews of the House of Judah and the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel cannot and will not repair and restore the world. 

The repairing will be done by the Almighty G-d of Israel with His Shaliach, Metatron the Angel who stands before the Presence of G-d. 

The reality is that we are not responsible to save the world, or even to repair it. We have not been called to repair the world of social justice or any other way of using direct actions or imperatives, from our human perspectives. 

Rather, we as the Lost Ten Tribes must willingly and openly open our hearts and repair the rift first between the House of Judah and the House of Israel before all of us can be restored back into the House of Jacob. Why? So that the restoration of all the children of the Patriarch Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Klal Yisrael) may be accomplished in the restoration of All Israel by the Holy and Divine One. So how will be done? 

Truly at this moment of time the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel are left on the sidelines. To be a participant in the Tikkun Olam, it is imperative that we begin again to observe the Torah as it was given by the Holy One of Israel at the mount called Sinai.  It is imperative for us to join again with Jewish orthodoxy and learn how to conduct ourselves properly, to observe the Mitzvos of HaShem, keep the Ten Commandments which are “commands” of G-d that require imperatives through practice and action of living the right way of life. 

We, as Lost 10-Tribers who rebelled against G-d, 3,800 years ago are not capable of repairing all that wrong with the world in the sense of social and political justice. Joining as “social justice advocates” and aligning ourselves with the “anti-settlement movement” in Shomron and Judea is antithetical to the commands of the G-d of Israel to conquer the land of Israel and help make the “Land” holy. 

It is also stripping away the rights of restoration to the tribal homeland of the Lost 10 Tribes who once lived in Shomron, Galilee and eastward to the “other side of the Jordan” where the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh once pastured enormous flocks of cattle, sheep and goats. 

If there are imperatives for the Lost Ten Tribes, is that fact that we tore ourselves away from the House of Judah when we rebelled against G-d and refused to worship and participate in the “festivals of the L-rd” at Solomon’s House of God in Jerusalem. 

We refused to accept the divinely chosen royal dynasty of Kings David and Solomon as our kings and rulers, refused to accept the divinely chosen priesthood from the House of Zadok and refused to accept the legal guardians of the Torah and the TaNaKh called the Mechoquek to guide us in learning how to live a holy life. 

It is time we say, “I’m sorry” to the Jews and then plea to the G-d of Israel to restore us back to being observant Israelites. It is time to learn to respect and honor the sages and the rabbanim of Judah and become advocates of the “restoration of All Israel.” 

Our eyes have been opened, for the G-d of Israel has prepared for us His own emissary (shaliach) whom we know as Metatron, the Angel before the Presence of G-d prepared for the soon arrival of the Era of the Messiah, who will be our Melekh HaMaschiach (King Messiah). 

************ 

You might want to Read the Destination Yisrael Series, titled, “Shiloh, as King Messiah (Melekh HaMashiach) 

Part One – “Shiloh, the Neshama of the Neshama Soul of Moshe the Redeemer”

Part Two – “MemTet, the Angel of Divine Presence, as the Messiah and the Five Souls of Man”

Part Three – “Metatron, the Angel of the Divine Presence is Melekh HaMaschiach (King Messiah)” 

You might also want to Read; Judah the Lawgiver

“Judah - The Lawgiver of God– Part One”

“Judah - The Lawgiver of God– Part Two” 

Destination Yisrael – “Slowly the Almighty One of Israel is opening the gates of the Supernal Realm surrounding the Throne of G-d. He is revealing to us a mini-vision of our future as we become one with Him in the future Millennium of the Great Shabbat. 

The struggles we will have within this era, will be to give up of ourselves, allow humility to become a part of the our lives, for within each us is the sublime message that if we are willing to submit ourselves to His will, the power of the Divine will help us to jump the hurtles into our future. 

Then we realize that the Eternal One now reveals to us that the future of our Eternity was given to Metatron, He was the first of creation, the most Exalted Being of the heavenly realms. He was the Vizier to the Holy One of Israel as Vizier like Joseph was to the Pharaoh of old. 

Here is a majestic being who is in charge of running the Universes of the Divine.  And he was the same being that led the Children of Israel out of Egypt to the mount called Sinai this time as a Pillar of Fire at night and a Cloud to shade the daytime. 

Metatron was the “Guide” to Moshe in the Wilderness. It was here where he helped to lead and guide the Great Redeemer of the Children of Israel. Metatron became the Neshama Soul of Moshe in heaven that was connected with the “Indwelling Soul” or the Neshama Soul of Moshe on Planet Earth. As such Moshe, as we also may, kept in constant touch with the Divine One for man, created in the Image of G-d, has always had direct line access with the G-d of Israel. 

If you have wondered how biblical prophecy fits into your life, and how it will affect the Return of the House of Israel, then the G-d of Israel is beginning his “call” to bring you home, too. You might desire to reconnect with your cousins the Jews and the Biblical portrayals on what is and may be happening in your near future. 

This Biblical portrayal includes Prophecies that the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel are about to return to the Land of their Biblical Inheritance. This is Divine Destiny in living reality as the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel return to their Homelands first in Shomron (Samaria), Israel. 

For inquiries about the Kol Ha Tor Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, 

Visit their Web Site 

“Kol Ha Tor”, 

They also offer – “a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost Tribers of the House of Israel to their chosen destiny. For details refer to Shomron Lives!”, 

DISCLAIMER - Kol Ha Tor is an independent commentator and may or may not agree with the contents, the views, interpretations and opinions as expressed by the independent theological and/or political views of Destination Yisrael 

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The Daily Gospel and Readings 15 July 2015

Neglect

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132/929 Do It for the Kids. Bamidbar 15

Metatron, the Angel of the Divine Presence is Melekh HaMaschiach (King Messiah)

Part Three - Shiloh as King Messiah (Melekh HaMaschiach)

 

Metatron, the Shaliach of the Ain Sof, the Unknowable G-d of Israel

 One of the most mystical and guarded secrets of Judaism has been the revelation of the most exalted being in the hierarchy and governance of the Universal dominions of the Ain Sof, the One-God of Israel. As the universal ruler of all the archaeons of heaven plus the vast multi-dimensional worlds created by the Holy One of Israel, we begin to see the vastness and the majesty of the One called El Shaddai, the Blessed Ruler of the Universes. 

Standing before the Throne of G-d, and serving the Divine One as did the Vizier Joseph to the Pharaoh of Egypt was the “Angel of HaShem”. He has, is, and will be the most exalted Archangel of the World of the Divine, and the one who will perform the role as the catalyst for continuing and completing the Guela, the reclamation, restoration, and redemption of all 12-tribed Israel. 

As we have read about him in the first two articles of this series, “Shiloh, the Neshama of the Neshama Soul of Moshe the Redeemer” and “The Angel of the Divine Presence (Mem Tet) as the Messiah and the Five Souls of Man” we begin to comprehend bits and pieces of this exalted angelic being, who has been spoken about from the Chazal, the revered sages of Judah. They have woven his appearances scattered throughout the sacred writings of the Hebrews into the tapestry of the Jewish understanding about the “time of the end” and the soon to come, “era of the Maschiach” that is unfolding in front of our eyes at this time of the kingdom and dominion of King Messiah (Melekh Ha Maschiach). 

We witness this exalted being, the “Angel before the Divine Presence” who presented himself to Abram as one of the three exhausted fellow travelers who were guests at the tent of Abraham who received them with the graciousness as a Sumerian potentate. 

In turn, the Angel of HaShem, was recognized by the Ancients as an other-dimensional being who came and revealed himself as an “Angel” of whom the ancients referred to as a class of “created winged human like beings. 

To the Hebrews, they were simply messengers from El Shaddai, referred to as “G-d of Shaddai” whose name evoked the imagery as the “G-d to Destroy”, the “G-d to Overpower” or “The Destroyer”; in essence the “Almighty G-d.”  In essence, here we are introduced to the “Angel before the Divine Presence” whom the Jewish rabbis later called “Metatron”, the “Angel of HaShem MetaM.” 

It was Metatron who became the messenger of the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who in this immortal moment gave Abram the message from the Divine One that he would become a father and the progenitor of the Hebrew people that would eventually become 12-Tribed Israel.  Their legacy as children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would create a living testimony that lasted throughout the era from Joseph the Vizier of Egypt to Moses the Redeemer when at the Mount called Sinai, they became the “Nation of Israel.” 

It was Moshe (Moses) who spoke with the Angel of HaShem in the “burning bush” and on that sacred ground, Moses was given his life mission to be the “Redeemer” of the Children of Israel who were being oppressed by the Pharaoh of Egypt.

 

Planet X as the Angel of the Divine Presence representing the “Destroyer G-d” who made a “Pass-Over” and toppled the oppressive Egyptian Empire– Imagery of Nibiru, the dwarf Twin Star to our Sun with a flyby over London 

They later witnessed this majestic being as a Planet that made a “pass-over” Egypt, the largest empire of the world at that time.   This stellar event actually saved all the first-born of the Hebrews who used the Pesach blood of the lamb to identify their dwellings by painting a swathe of blood on the lintel of their doorways; for they “sanctified their first-born” to the G-d of Israel. (Exodus 13:1) 

Those that did not identify their dwelling with the saving symbol of the blood of the Pesach lamb, like the Pharaoh of Egypt, lost their first-born sons, which included the heir to the throne of Egypt. Not only that, it also included the first born of all the cattle, the flocks of sheep and goats as they felt the punishing wrath of HaShem; the G-d of Israel. 

Considering the ancient Hebrew cosmology; every planet in the heavens had an “angel guide’ and as such, the “Angel of the Divine Presence” who represented El Shaddai, the“Destroyer G-d” the “Almighty One of Israel became synonymous as the “angel guide” representing the planetary body that flew over and destroyed the Egyptian imperial realm. 

As such when HaShem gave instructions to Moses just before the Children of Israel made their daring escape from Egypt, for it was also Metatron, the Angel of the Divine Presence, who was manifested as the “Pillar of Cloud by day” and the “Pillar of Fire by night”. As written in the Holy Script: 

Exodus 13:20-22 – “They journeyed from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, at the edge of the Wilderness. HaShem went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them on the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so they could travel day and night. He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night from before the people.” 

It was he, this august angel who also guided the Children of Israel throughout their wanderings in the wilderness by the presence of a towering vortex that was vertical presence of the Divine between heaven and earth. This vortex shielded the Children of Israel during the daytime modifying the weather from the heat of the sun, and lighted the organized tribal campground, the home of over 600,000 Israelite males and their families throughout the nighttime hours for rest and sleep. 

Metatron as the Pillar of Light by Night safeguarding the Children of Israel 

Whenever they continued to move the camp of the Israelites and continued to travel night and day, it was the Angel of HaShem who guided them until they reached their next destination. 

Yet, the Torah is very specific to recognize that when the text states that “HaShem went before them by day in a pillar of cloud…and by night in a pillar of fire”, this was manifested in the stellar image of the “Angel of G-d” as He led the Children of Israel through the towering walls of water, as the great hand of G-d prepared for them their pathway of redemption. As written:

Exodus 14:19 – “The angel of G-d who had been going in front of the camp of Israel moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and went behind them. It came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel and there were cloud and darkness - while it illuminated the night – and one did not draw near the other all the night. 

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and HaShem moved the sea with a strong east wind all that night, and He turned the sea to damp land and the water split. The children of Israel came within the sea on dry land; and the water was a wall for them, on their right and on their left.” 

It was Yehoshua (Joshua or Jesus) called “The Lad” who was Moses attendant throughout the days of Moses in Egypt and in the Wilderness.  He was later to become the appointed leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses near the Plain of Moab on the Mount called Nebo.”  

 

The Commander of the L-rd’s Host meeting Joshua (Yeshua) before the Battle of Jericho 

Is it not surprising that this enigmatic angelic being who directly manifested the Divine Presence suddenly made his appearance to Joshua just prior to the great Battle of Jericho?  The evidence was clear, the Angel of the Divine Presence was not the Almighty One of Israel but His most exalted emissary or messenger for the Divine Presence. As noted in the TaNaKh: 

Joshua 5:13-15 – “It happened when Joshua was in Jericho that he raise his eyes and saw and behold! - a man was standing opposite in which his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went toward him and said to him ‘Are you with us or with our enemies?” 

He, said, ‘No, for I am the commander of HaShem’s legion, now I have come.’ Joshua fell before him to the ground and prostrated himself, and said to him ‘What does my master say to his servant. The commander of HaShem’s legions said to Joshua, ‘Remove your shoe from upon your foot, for the place upon which you stand is holy! And Joshua did so.”

 HaShem’s Jubilee Time Wave, the 6000 years, and the Era of King Messiah (Melekh HaMaschiach

Life during the judges was a rocky road as the Children of Israel lived from judge to judge. It would take someone special like Kings David and Solomon to unite the divided tribes and create the United Kingdom of Israel.  This empire under the spiritual rule of the G-d of Israel created a kingdom whose dominion went from the Mediterranean Sea to the Great Rivers of the Tigris and the Euphrates. 

It would become a forerunner which created the hints of the future Super Empire of Melekh HaMaschiach (King Messiah) who would rule over Planet Earth when Jerusalem becomes the capital of HaShem’s universes. 

Then came the destructions of the Temple of Solomon and King Herod’s Temple. The legendary era of the Sages of Judah gave spiritual insight to the future Era of the Messiah, but this would not come until after the Holocaust of the Jewish people in Europe. 

Now again we see in our present day the rise of Anti-Semitism cascading around the world preparing this Planet for its final judgment. During this time, this same “Angel before the Divine Presence” will takes its final role as King Messiah (Melekh HaMaschiach) with the entrance of the “Era of the Messiah.” 

These hints of the immediate times before our eyes also give insight to the rising spirituality that is also slowly bringing an increasing crescendo of redeeming love and appreciation between the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel and the Jewish People.  This is best described in Kol Ha Tor – the Voice of the Turtle Dove’s article titled, “The Greatest Event that the World has ever seen is now taking shape”. It gives us insight to the following the miraculous events that are swelling around present lives: 

Click here for full version of this Graphics presentation of 
 “The Historic Evolution of the Redemption of 12-Tribed Israel” – by Kol Ha Tor – The Voice of the Turtle Dove;

NOTE: This is a Powerpoint presentation - if you don't have Powerpoint you can download a free viewer here. 

Kol Ha Tor – the Voice of the Turtle Dove – “The Return of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel, and their reconciliation with the House of Judah (the Jews) into one 12-Tribed nation in the Land of Israel, is probably the greatest of the Bible's Prophetic forecasts, but also the most overlooked as such.  Prophecy itself defines this Event to be greater than the miraculous Event of the ancient Israelites and their Exodus from Egypt to their Land of Divine Promise - the Land of Israel.  This Return is linked to the message of Life for Israel. It promises to be even greater than the miraculous Return of the Jews (the Tribe of Judah) after the Holocaust, perpetrated on them by Hitler during the 2nd World War. 

Jeremiah 23:7 – “So then, the days are coming - it is HaShem Who speaks - when people will no longer say, ‘As HaShem lives, Who brought the sons of Israel (12 tribes) out of the land of Egypt’, but, ‘As HaShem lives, Who led back and brought home the descendants of the House of Israel out of the land of the North, and from all the countries to which He had dispersed them, to live on their own soil.”

These very same words are repeated in chapter 16:15 with the difference that the underlined statement now reads:  "... I will bring them back to the very soil I gave their ancestors.” 

The Bible concept of "Israel" is greatly misunderstood and misinterpreted.  Even Jews themselves, though well taught of the true concept, often lose sight of the wider application of the term "Israel" and then apply these Prophecies to the Jews only.

This is also done in reference to Israel's ancient Exodus from Egypt - even Rabbis in their writings, speeches and teachings constantly apply it to Jews only and not to wider 12-tribed Israel.  This happens as a natural consequence of the 10 Tribes having been "lost" since 2800 years ago - not only physically, but also from the memories of the remaining part of the nation. Jews are in essence descendants of one of the original twelve Tribes of Israel only - the Tribe of Judah. 

This Truth of the proper distinction between "Israel" and "Judah" is currently sweeping the world amongst Bible students.  This is a topic in which all Rabbis are well versed; a topic which was often referred to in the writings of the Jewish sages of antiquity, as we shall refer to elsewhere in this Web Site. 

A topic though, which has been gathering dust on the shelves of Jewish and Rabbinic mental archives and, resultantly, blinded many to the current Awakening which is occurring amongst Zionistic minded Christian Bible students - the most likely fast sprouting grass roots of the fulfillment of this Greatest of Events in the making. 

The topic of the Lost 10 Tribes and their Return to the Land, has been of great interest to both Jewish and Christian theologians throughout the centuries. This is proven by the well documented reports, and claims by, purported descendants of the Tribes - both by Jewish and non-Jewish interests and commentators at various times and amongst various nations of the world. It is also common that this subject is often discarded as ‘fiction’ and 'myth' by well-informed commentators, both Jewish and non-Jewish.” 

And so today, the Evolution of the Second Exodus is warping into Hyper-Speed.  Here we begin to see the Awakening and the Re-Identification of Lost 10-Israel and the Formation of the Kingdom of the Most High on Planet Earth.

Rabbi Lurias’ Tree of Emanation in the World of the Divine

Metatron resides in the 7^th Heaven where the Divine forces flow through Yahveh, Elohim, Holy One Creator through Metatron down the Pole of Grace 

The Sefirot of the Divine according to Rabbi Isaac Halevi Luria, known as “Ari (Ashkenazi Rabbi Isaac),” the holy lion and the single most influential sage of medieval Jewish mysticism (1534-1572 CE):Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi, kabbalah – Tradition of hidden knowledge, Thames and Hudson, 1979 

In the highest levels of Jewish mysticism we learn that the Ain Sof, the One G-d of Israel is the source of all Creation and the Sustainer of all His Creations. This is the “Palace” of the Unknowable and Un-seeable and Non-perceivable One-G-d of Israel. He is the Keter of the World of the Divine as noted in the Tree of Emanation above. 

Coming from the World of Atzilut, Yahveh Elohim, the Holy One and the Creator of the Universes is enthroned in the 7^th heaven. As noted in the Sefirot according to Ari (Ashkenazi Rabbi Isaac), we perceive that there before the Throne of HaShem is where the mysterious Meta-Angel resides, the Super-Archangel who is called Metatron, the Angel of HaShem we have been studying in this series called “Shiloh as King Messiah (Melekh HaMaschiach) 

It was Ben Burton whom we credit and use in part what he has written in the 2014 article, titled, “Metatron: The Angel of HaShem MetaM”. It opens up our eyes to the numerous passages of the Sages of Judah over the centuries further enhancing our comprehension and understanding of this august Meta-Archangel who resides in the 7^th heaven and sits upon his throne at the Palace of the One-G-d of Israel. 

The final redemption and restoration of 12-Tribed Israel will come under the spiritual rule of a very special Archangel who has remained a source of mystery for all ages until this august “Era of the Messiah” we are about to enter is fully revealed. As Ben Burton wrote: 

Ben Burton’ rabbinic sources on MetaM – “Among the various glimpses into the spiritual realm bestowed upon us by the Torah, one of the most mysterious figures in the Torah emerges. The Angel of HaShem plays a significant role as the catalyst for Redemption. His enigmatic cameo appearances beg for a deeper explanation. Who is this Angel of angels? 

The Ocean of Literature 

Judaism has produced an incredible ocean of literature, ranging from the Mishnah to the Zohar and beyond. Ancient texts like the Dead Sea Scrolls, although not considered Masorah (Oral Law or the Masoretic Text), illuminate the existence of beliefs that appear later in Rabbinic literature. 

What is an Angel? 

To explore the concept of the Angel of HaShem, we must first define what an “angel” is. In English and popular culture, the word “angel” often refers to a class of created winged beings, who are human-like in appearance.  The word “angel” itself is the Anglicization of the Greek word ἄγγελος (angelos). ‘Angelos’ is a direct translation of the Hebrew word מלאך (malach), which simply means “messenger.” The word in Hebrew can and does refer to spiritual entities, the definition is more broad in Hebrew. It can refer to anyone, human or otherwise, who performs the task of a messenger.” 

The Angel of Seventy Names: Son of G-d, Firstborn Word, Authority, the Eldest of his Angels and the Great Archangel of many Names 

Names define who we are. Philo, an ancient first century Jewish Hellenistic Philosopher, whose writing pre-dates the mystical text ‘Shivim Shemot Metatron’ makes the statement: 

The First Century Jew, Philo - “And even if there be not as yet anyone who is worthy to be called a son of G-d, nevertheless let him labor earnestly to be adorned according to his firstborn Word, the Eldest of his angels, as the Great Archangel of many names; for he is called, the Authority, and the Name of G-d, and the Word, and Man according to G-d’s image, and he who sees Israel. For which reason I was induced a little while ago to praise the principles of those who said, “We are all one man’s Sons. 

For even if we are not yet suitable to be called the sons of G-d, still we may deserve to be called the children of his Eternal Image, of his most sacred Word; for the Image of G-d is his most Ancient Word. (148) 

And, indeed, in many passages of the law, the children of Israel are called hearers of him that seeth, since hearing is honoured with the second rank next after the sense of sight, and since that which is in need of instruction is at all times second to that which can receive clear impressions of the subjects submitted to it without any such information.” (Philo, On the Confusion of Tongues 28)” 

Alan F Segal was a scholar of ancient religions, specializing in Judaism’s relationship to Christianity. Segal was a distinguished scholar, author, and speaker, self-described as a “believing Jew and twentieth-century humanist.” Segal was one of the first modern scholars to write extensively on the influences of Judaism (including Second Temple Rabbinic texts, Merkabah mysticism, and Jewish apocalypticism) on Paul of Damascus. 

Alan F. Segal - “Yahoel appears in chapters 10 and 11, where is described as the one “in whom G-d’s ineffable name dwells.” Other titles for this figure included Melchizedek, Metatron, Adoil, Eremiel, and preeminently the “Son of Man.” (Alan F. Segal, Paul the Convert, Yale University Press, pg. 42)” 

Metatron, the “Guide of the Road”, G-d’s Vice-Regent, his Wazir, his Gerent 

Nahmanides (1194–c. 1270), known as RaMBaN, Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman, Catalan rabbi, philosopher, physician, Kabbalist and biblical commentator wrote: 

RaMBaN - “This is the great angel, who on account of it is called Mattatron, the meaning of the word being “the guide of the road.” Thus the Rabbis have said in the Sifre: “The Holy One, blessed be He, was the Mattatron (guide) for Moses, and He showed him the entire Land of Israel.” (Ramban, Exodus 12, Bo, translated by Rabbi C. Chavel, Shilo Publishing House, pg. 410-411, 413)

G-d’s Vice-Regent, Wazir, Gerent 

Alan F Segal – “The chief angelic mediator, whom we can call by a number of terms – G-d’s vice-regent, his Wazir (secretary or scribe), his gerent (person who rules or manages) – is easily distinguished from the plethora of divine creatures, for the principal angel is not only head of the heavenly hosts but sometimes participates in G-d’s own being or divinity. The rabbis most often call G-d’s principal angel Metatron.” (Alan F. Segal, Paul the Convert, Yale University Press, pg. 43) 

The Two Metatrons 

RABaD (for Rabbeinu Abraham Ben David) Ravad or RABaD III , was a Provençal rabbi, a great commentator on the Talmud, Sefer Halachot of Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi and Mishne Torah of Maimonides, and is regarded as a father of Kabbalah. As he wrote: 

R. Abraham b. David to Berakhot - “It is already observed in Shi’ur Komah that the name Metatron has two forms, “written with six letters and with seven letters,” i.e. מיטטרון and מטטרון…the kabbalists regarded the different forms as signifying two prototypes for Metatron… 

They identified the seven-lettered Metatron with the Supreme emanation from the Shekhinah, dwelling since then in the heavenly world, while the six-lettered Metatron was Enoch, who ascended later to heaven and possess only some of the splendor and power of the Primordial Metatron. (This distinction already underlies the explanation given by R. Abraham b. David to Berakhot.”)

Metatron in the Jewish Kabbalah was Created with the Creation of the World 

Gershom Scholem (December 5, 1897 – February 21, 1982), was a German-born Israeli philosopher and historian who today is accepted as the founder of the modern, academic study of Kabbalah, becoming the first Professor of Jewish Mysticism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 

Gershom Scholem - “Two different traditions have been combined in the figure of Metatron. One relates to a heavenly angel who was created with the creation of the world, or even before, and makes him responsible for performing the most exalted tasks in the heavenly kingdom. This tradition continued to apply after Jahoel was identified with Metatron. According to this tradition, the new figure took over many of the specific duties of the angel Michael, an idea retained in certain sections of the Heikhalot literature up to and including the Kabbalah. (Kabbalah, Gershom Scholem, pg. 380) 

The Primordial Metatron is referred to as Metatron Rabba. 

Encyclopedia Judaica, “Metatron” – “A different tradition associates Metatron with Enoch, who “walked with G-d” (Gen. 5:22) and who ascended to heaven and was changed from a human being into an angel—in addition he also became the great scribe who recorded men’s deeds. This role was also already delegated to Enoch in the Book of Jubilees (4:23). 

His transmutation and ascent to heaven were discussed by the circles who followed this tradition and elaborated it. The association with Enoch can be seen particularly in the Book of Heikhalot, sometimes also called the Book of Enoch, of R. Ishmael Kohen ha-Gadol, or the Hebrew Book of Enoch (H. Odeberg’s edition (see bibl.) includes an English translation and a detailed introduction). 

The author links the two traditions and attempts to reconcile them. But it is clear that chapters 9–13 allude to the primordial Metatron, as Odeberg points out. The absence of the second tradition in the Talmud or the most important Midrashim is evidently connected with the reluctance of the Talmudists to regard Enoch in a favorable light in general, and in particular the story of his ascent to heaven, a reluctance still given prominence in the Midrash Genesis Rabbah. 

The Palestinian Targum (Gen. 5:24) and other Midrashim have retained allusions to Metatron in this tradition. Instead of his role of heavenly scribe, he sometimes appears as the heavenly advocate defending Israel in the celestial court. This transposition of his functions is very characteristic (Lam. R. 24; Tanh. Va-Ethannen; Num. R. 12, 15). A number of sayings of the sages, in particular in Sifrei, Parashah Ha’azinu, 338, and Gen. R. 5:2, were explained by medieval commentators as referring to Metatron on the grounds of a corrupt reading of Metraton instead of metator (‘guide’).” (Encyclopaedia Judaica, Metatron) 

Metatron, G-d’s Wazir and the Guide for Moshe 

It was the Spanish Talmudist Rabbi Moshe Ben Nahman(RaMBaN), who was called Nahmanides (1194–c. 1270), wrote that Mattatron is the “guide of the road” that his name is the “Name of his Master” and his voice is the “Voice of the Living G-d.” He is though the exalted one who serves as the Vizier of the Universes for the El Shaddai. As Joseph was to the Pharaoh, he served his rule, for Joseph’s word was the word also of his master.  As such he will “not pardon your transgression if you rebel against his word” for you rebel against the “Great Name” for “his (Mattatron) voice is the voice of the “Supreme One”. 

Ramban, Rabbi Moshe Ben Nahman (RaMBaN) - “This is the great angel, who on account of it is called, the meaning of the word being “the guide of the road.” Thus the Rabbis have said in the Sifre: “The Holy One, blessed be He, was the Mattatron (guide) for Moses, and He showed him the entire Land of Israel.” Ramban, Exodus 12, Bo, translated by Rabbi C. Chavel, Shilo Publishing House, pg. 410-411, 413 

“The chief angelic mediator, whom we can call by a number of terms – G-d’s vice-regent, his Wazir, his gerent – is easily distinguished from the plethora of divine creatures, for the principal angel is not only head of the heavenly hosts but sometimes participates in G-d’s own being or divinity. The rabbis most often call G-d’s principal angel Metatron.” Alan F. Segal, Paul the Convert, Yale University Press, pg. 43 

The Two Metatrons: the Supernal Emanation of the Shekhinah and the Prophet Enoch 

 

The Meta-Archangel Metatron and His Merkabah (Flying Chariot) 

So august is such a being in G-d’s creation that we have to stretch every neuron in our brain to comprehend.  Here was a angelic being that is so close to the presence of the Divine One that the complexity of our brains cannot comprehend its completeness except only in part. 

It was Rabbi Avraham b David to Berakhot who observed the following distinctions that Seven-lettered Metatron was referenced to the Supernal emanation of the Shekhinah and the Six-lettered Metatron was the Patriarch Enoch who was translated to heaven, assumed a spiritual angelic body and became the Neshama of the Neshama of Moshe the Redeemer: 

Rabbi Avraham b David – “It is already observed in Shi’ur Komah that the name Metatron has two forms, “written with six letters and with seven letters,” i.e. מיטטרון and מטטרון…the kabbalists regarded the different forms as signifying two prototypes for Metatron… 

They identified the seven-lettered Metatron with the Supreme emanation from the Shekhinah, dwelling since then in the heavenly world, while the six-lettered Metatron was Enoch, who ascended later to heaven and possess only some of the splendor and power of the Primordial Metatron. R. Abraham b. David to Berakhot. 

It was Gershom Scholem who once wrote in his book, “Kabbalah” the following: 

Rabbi Gershom Scholem - “Two different traditions have been combined in the figure of Metatron. One relates to a heavenly angel who was created with the creation of the world, or even before, and makes him responsible for performing the most exalted tasks in the heavenly kingdom.” 

************  

You might want to Read the Destination Yisrael Series, titled, “Shiloh, as King Messiah (Melekh HaMashiach) 

Part One – “Shiloh, the Neshama of the Neshama Soul of Moshe the Redeemer”

Part Two – “MemTet, the Angel of Divine Presence, as the Messiah and the Five Souls of Man”

Part Three – “Metatron, the Angel of the Divine Presence is Melekh HaMaschiach (King Messiah)”

Destination Yisrael – “Slowly the Almighty One of Israel is opening the gates of the Supernal Realm surrounding the Throne of G-d. He is revealing to us a mini-vision of our future as we become one with Him in the future Millennium of the Great Shabbat. 

The struggles we will have within this era, will be to give up of ourselves, allow humility to become a part of the our lives, for within each us is the sublime message that if we are willing to submit ourselves to His will, the power of the Divine will help us to jump the hurtles into our future. 

Then we realize that the Eternal One now reveals to us that the future of our Eternity was given to Metatron, He was the first of creation, the most Exalted Being of the heavenly realms. He was the Vizier to the Holy One of Israel as Vizier like Joseph was to the Pharaoh of old.  

Here is a majestic being who is in charge of running the Universes of the Divine.  And he was the same being that led the Children of Israel out of Egypt to the mount called Sinai this time as a Pillar of Fire at night and a Cloud to shade the daytime. 

Metatron was the “Guide” to Moshe in the Wilderness. It was here where he helped to lead and guide the Great Redeemer of the Children of Israel. Metatron became the Neshama Soul of Moshe in heaven that was connected with the “Indwelling Soul” or the Neshama Soul of Moshe on Planet Earth. As such Moshe, as we also may, kept in constant touch with the Divine One for man, created in the Image of G-d, has always had direct line access with the G-d of Israel. 

If you have wondered how biblical prophecy fits into your life, and how it will affect the Return of the House of Israel, then the G-d of Israel is beginning his “call” to bring you home, too. You might desire to reconnect with your cousins the Jews and the Biblical portrayals on what is and may be happening in your near future. 

This Biblical portrayal includes Prophecies that the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel are about to return to the Land of their Biblical Inheritance. This is Divine Destiny in living reality as the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel return to their Homelands first in Shomron (Samaria), Israel. 

For inquiries about the Kol Ha Tor Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, 

Visit their Web Site

“Kol Ha Tor”, 

They also offer – “a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost Tribers of the House of Israel to their chosen destiny. For details refer to Shomron Lives!”, 

DISCLAIMER - Kol Ha Tor is an independent commentator and may or may not agree with the contents, the views, interpretations and opinions as expressed by the independent theological and/or political views of Destination Yisrael 

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G-d’s Manifestation on Earth: Celebrating the Great Jewish Shabbat with Jews Worldwide

Celebrating the Seventh-day Shabbat with Jews Worldwide; beginning in South Africa

Have you ever wanted to do something special that would bring joy and tears of happiness to tens of thousands of people around our lives?  We think that we are so alone, but it only takes a spark to make the Divine Light glow around the world and that comes from divesting and humbling our lives and become a fulcrum or a vortex for HaShem to reveal Himself within our lives.  Then listen to this amazing Shabbat that was shared by Jews around the world on the Shabbat on October 24-25, 2014. 

The Shabbos Project with Chief Rabbi of South Africa  

 

It was in late 2013, the Chief Rabbi of South Africa Warren Goldstein came upon an idea. It wasn’t his idea, but one planted within his fertile mind by the Almighty One of Israel.  As in his mind it was revealed, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful for most of the South African Jews to keep one Shabbat together, in the public for all to see and behold?” 

This was the beginning, and the root began to grow for in October, 2013, over two-thirds of the 75,000 South African Jews, a large portion who had never observed a single Shabbat (Seventh-day Sabbath) came out by the thousands under the slogan of “Keeping it Together.” Sectors of cities all across Australia hosted Shabbat services as Dinners were hosted indoors and outdoors, plus synagogue attendance, later quiet moments with the families and at the end a wonderful Havdalah concert for all attendees to enjoy, Jews, Jewish non-observant Jews and Gentiles alike. 

The Great Challah Bake celebrating the Shabbos around the world. 

It did not stop. By October 24-25, 2014, it had already gone global.  Over 460 cities in 36 countries banded together in spirit with the 2014 “Shabbos Project” on Friday and Saturday, October 24 and 25, when Jewish synagogues were reading the Parashat Noach.  All week the Challah baking started with thousands of women participating. Invitations were sent to the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox synagogues. Listen to the following video presentations shared the excitement that was being shared globally 

Paula Abdul sharing Shabbos Project with Worldwide Jewry

 

 Was this just another great global idea created by humankind that went viral and then disappeared? Think again, and this time “think out of your little box.”  Consider that the year of 2014 was the same year that heralded the two great Blood Moons that were divinely appointed to occur each one on a Jewish sacred holiday; Pesach and Succot.

Houston Texas woman observe as Rochel Lazaroff portions out challah dough for a practice run, for the International Shabbos Project along with committee volunteers Faigy Vidal, Bashie Kellerman, Elisheva Levitt, Michelle Rosenberg and Vicky Richker.

In the meantime, the largest challah bake was in preparation in the city of Houston, Texas’ history. It represented every spectrum of Jewish life.  Chaired by Rochel Lazaroff, over 500 Jewish women and young adult volunteers banded together to bake challah for the thousands expected in attendance at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center. As they joined forces together, they represented the represented ‘singularly’ the largest message of Jewish unity, ever, in Texas history. Yet, inside they understood a Divine imperative; “a Jewish community that can bake bread together, can break bread together.” 

According to Vicky Richker, one of the challah baking committee members who was transplanted from Mexico noted: “We’re bringing Jewish women from all aspects – Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Chabad, unaffiliated and secular – together. When we’re together, you don’t see the differences. As we make our challah, we’ll all say the prayer together. It’ll be a bonding experience.” 

Reaching back to their friends and loved ones in Israel, it was Elisheva Levitt, a native of London who painted this observation: “the recent war in Israel this past summer created a sense of unity among Jews around the world.  The upcoming challah bake, according to Levitt is a continuation of that unity.”

Elisheva Levitt, a London native who also serves on the committee, observed that the war in Israel this past summer created a sense of unity among Jews around the world. The upcoming challah bake, she said, is “a continuation of that unity.”

It’s time to Prepare Challah for Shabbot 

Across the American Continent in San Diego, California, 1,500 San Diegans gathered to mix 1,700 pounds of flour, 400 pounds of sugar, 3,000 eggs and 23 gallons of oil to rival the largest outdoor cooking event in San Diego history. The Mega Challah Bake was the kickoff to inaugurate the expected 10,000 Jews that would begin to celebrate the Jewish Shabbat with dinners, services, lectures, entertainment and a closing ceremony while the nighttime sky revealed it first three stars in the heavens. 

 Miami with 4600 Woman and Girls baking Challah for Shabbat 

So across the world, tens of thousands of Jewish women had four up to their elbows as they “kneaded it together” at the global Challah baking event. These were in preparation for “The Shabbos Project.” This included the number of women in the following cities: 

• Johannesburg: 5 000 
• Buenos Aires: 5 000
• Miami: 4 900 
• Melbourne: 2 500 
• Sydney: 2 000 
• Cape Town: 1 000
• Manhattan: 500

 The Great Shabbos Project occurred even in Rainy and Inclement Weather in Johannesburg, South Africa 

According to one Jewish tradition, the Jewish Messiah will come when every Jew around the world observes two consecutive Shabbatoth.  Not only that, for in Judaism it is widely accepted that one of the conditions for the Redemption of Klal Yisrael (All Israel) is that ‘All 12-Tribed Israel’ will observe together one Shabbat” before the revealing of the Jewish Messiah.

The Shabbos Project in New York City 

Almost two thousand years ago in the era of the 1^st century Temple of Herod era the renowned Sage of Judah, Rebi Yochanan wrote the following prophecy: 

Sanhedrin 97a – “Rebi Yochanan said: In the generation that Ben Dovid will come, talmidei chachamim, the “pupil of wisdom” known as the Torah sage or scholar, will decrease, and the eyes of the remainder will protrude from sighing and sorrow; many chastisements and many evil decrees will be renewed; one will not cease before another begins. The rabbis taught: The Shmittah period (Seven year Sabbatical Week of Years) in which (Maschiach) Ben Dovid will come and the following verses will be fulfilled: 

• In the first year, "And I caused it to rain upon one city, and upon another city I caused it not to rain." (Amos 4:7).
• In the second year, slight famine will be sent.
• In the third year, a great famine from which men, women, and children, pious and deed-doing people will die, and Torah will be forgotten by those who learned her.
• In the fourth year, some will be satiated, and others will not be.
• In the fifth year, there will be great satiation, with eating, drinking, and joy, and Torah will return to those who learned it.
• In the sixth year, (2013-2014) voices (speaking of the Moshiach's imminent arrival) will be heard, and
• In the seventh year, (2014-2015) there will be war [Gog u'Magog].
• In the year after the seventh, 2015-2016, (Maschiach) Ben Dovid will come.

The Outpouring of Joy and Gratitude of the Jews occurred in over 36 countries and around the World as they Shared one Shabbot with even Christians, their Lost Ten Tribers Cousins who are returning to the House of Judah 

After Maschiach comes, the “Era of the Messiah will begin in the Jubilee year of 2016-2017. Yet, the world is silent and clueless. The Christian Protestants most of whom are the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel are no longer protesting the apostasy of Roman Catholicism for they have mostly returned and gone back home to their Mother Church; Apostate Rome.  

So when we do hear of a world-wide Jewish revival that is not under the control of an institutional church, that is calling all Jews around the world to share today “One Shabbat”, we are listening to huge news.  There is no doubt that the G-d of Israel is wooing His “faithful son” back to the Palace of the King. He will soon be looking for and wooing his “faithless son” to return home to the Palatial Home of the King of the Universe. 

Do we dare question, was the Almighty One of the Universe the “Prime Mover” of the “End Time” “Let Break Challah together?” Was He in His awesome greatness beginning to unveil His Hiddenness? Is HaShem now beginning to slowly reveal the world that this Great Jewish Shabbat gathering is a universal calling of the Divine to begin preparing to live a new life in the “World to Come” in what the Sages of Judah call the “Era of the Great Shabbat?” 

What is even more mysterious, did the G-d of Creation set the 12 Houses of the Zodiac in motion at the time of Creation along with the rotations of the Moon around Planet Earth and the orbital rotation of Earth so that the Moon would become eclipsed 5775 Jewish years later to celebrate the Festival of Succot?  If so, did He guide and direct these rotations of the Sun, Moon and the Earth so that they could be in their proper place in the heavens for the “Four Blood Moon Tetrads” that would break out as the Daughters of Zion shout forth with an outburst of joy and happiness of wanting to share with their families one great worldwide Shabbat experience with Jews around the world? 

If so, then the Great Shabbos Project was an awakening call by the Creator of the Universe not only to the Jewish people in Israel and the Diaspora but also to the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel who have been in exile for 2,700 years. It’s time to join hands as one people again, proclaim HaShem as the One-G-d of the Universe and be prepared to accept HaShem’s Messiah as our Messiah regardless of what we have learned in our past. 

The Lunar Eclipse from Earth is a Solar Eclipse from the Surface of the Moon 

Let us consider that G-d did provided for us a “Great Act of G-d” to awaken the Neshama Yehudi (Jewish soul) in all Jewish people around the world. This included even those who had never worshipped on the Jewish Shabbat or those who cannot confirm “that to be a Jew your mother must be a Jew.” Yet, the Spirit of the Great Divine, the “ruach hakodesh” (Holy Spirit) did come to quicken their spirit within each one of their souls with the excitement of awaking for their future and soon coming redemption was explosive. 

It was there in the nighttime sky, the October 8, 2014 Lunar Eclipse that was as much an “Act of G-d” yet it also was a harbinger to the forces of darkness that the G-d of Israel was preparing the Jewish hearts for this great out breaking of joy, gratitude and emotion. The omens as expected with Blood Moons to the Jewish people in the prior Blood Moons over the millenniums that were harbingers of evil to the Jewish people also played out with the Blood Moon on Passover, April 15, 2014. It heralded the Hamas/ Israeli war of 2014 but now has become a moment of joy and celebration.

Here the Creator of the Universe orchestrated that the lesser light of the heavens, the Moon, would occlude the greater light of the Sun while the Creator of the Universe remained hidden. Was Hashem waiting for His people to come looking for Him?  Let us consider what would Planet Earth look like if we were able to stand upon the stark barren red hued surface of the Moon and watch as the Sun would be eclipsed by Planet Earth?  This is what we would see!

The Eclipse of the Sun occluded by Earth as seen by the Moon from Outer Space 

You might want to watch this wonderful Video by NASA

Science Casts: A Wonderful Lunar Eclipse

  

Another Image of a Solar Eclipse from the Visual View of the Angelic Hosts nearby to the Moon

 

To the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel, your day will soon come.  We do not know how it will happen, for it will only be in the mystery of the Divine One who will begin the call for the redemption of All Israel.  The prophets of Judah and Israel are very explicit that the redemption of All Israel will include the entire Lost 10 Tribes. 

Even in Judaism, as has been explained above, before the Redemption of All Israel, one of the conditions will be that “All Israel”, which means the entire House of 10-Tribed Israel will observe together One Shabbat with the Jews of the House of Judah. 

The outgrowth of the Shabbos Project came from within Orthodox Judaism, yet it is understandably known that many Jews are opposed to the resurrection of the House of Joseph (Ephraim). We must not forget; the recent Blood Moons that the nations around the world have witnessed around the world this past year, have shown that the Hand of G-d has approved the Orthodox Rabbanim in Israel. 

Concerning the days of the Divine Feasts of the L-rd, after 5,775 years since Creation, let us take note that the dates of the Festivals of the L-rd which the Mechoqeck, the Divine appointed judiciary of Judaism, the Lawgiver with Jewish Orthodoxy have been inter-calculating since the fall of Jerusalem and the Temple of King Herod in 70 CE have proven to be correct. This has been witnessed by the Four Tetrad Lunar Eclipses that have and will occur in the years of 2014 and 2015. 

Is it surprising that the Rabbinic calculations have remained true for the feast dates over the last two millenniums? Today, they match orbits of the sun and the moon set into motion since Creation to today. The rabbanim stand vindicated in how faithful they have preserved the calendar of the L-rd. 

No, the dates of the Feasts of the L-rd were not decided upon years ago after the dates of the Blood Moons were known. Also, HaShem, the G-d of Israel did not change the divine passage of the Sun, Moon and the 12 Houses of the Zodiac just to appease the Jews rabbanim.  The Jewish rabbanim over the centuries calculated the dates correctly. They calculated these dates as authorized in the Oral Torah and kept their calculations pure and not adulterated. 

So also to the prophets of Israel, over 2,700 years ago, the redemption of the House of Israel, as corrupt and apostate as we have been, and as vindictive to the redemption, and restoration of the State of Israel are still in the preparatory stage of their own remarkable redemption. The redemption is poised to come soon. 

As they have been identified by Kol Ha Tor, the Northern 10 Tribes that compose the Northern Nations of Europe are today, the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel. Today, they are want to give away the Mountains of Shomron and Judea to the Palestinian peoples for a Palestinian State. Yet, according to the Prophets of Israel, the region of Samaria today, is the future homeland for parts of the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel.  Yet the Almighty One’s intentions as spoke through the prophets of old will endure. The State of Israel will only cease to exist when it is transferred to the control of the Maschiach ben Dovid (Messiah son of David). 

In Judaism it is well known that as a condition for the future Redemption is that “all Israel will observe one Shabbat together.” Although the Shabbos Project was Jewish driven – and many Jews may oppose the idea of re-awakening the Lost House of Yosef, the director of Kol Ha Tor in Israel, OvadYah Avrahami has confirmed with its rabbi, Rabbi Avraham Feld who stressed, affirmed and approved the spiritual value of what will happen around the world when the combined global effort of the “2 Houses” truly do join hands together and observe just one Shabbat with worldwide Jewry in the future.  This idea will bring a holistic and spiritual reality of the “Redemption of Klal Yisrael.” 

Can we conceive that the G-d of Israel in His Omnipotent greatness will open the floodgates of heaven to bring again the wholeness of 12-Tribed Israel? Can we believe that All-Israel will be restored to a Greater Israel, and ruled by a descendant of King David and Solomon?  For Lost Israelite Christians to accept the One-G-d of Israel, the Jewish Shabbat and the Jewish Messiah will be a Universal Declaration that Torah stands affirmed and the Shabbat stands confirmed! 

************ 

To understand more about the Return of the 10 Tribes of Israel to their Homeland in Greater Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq, Contact “Kol Ha Tor”, the Voice of the Turtledove. 

Here is a joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber Vision to bring awareness of the imminent fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United). This super Event of all Times will entail Establishing the Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of the Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness as part of the Land of Israel, and preparing the “Land” for the Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel and then the Redemption of All Israel. 

For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, Visit – “Shomron Lives!”, a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost Tribers of the House of Israel.

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The State of Israel as a “Light unto the Nations” 

On the Jewish Shabbat, on July 26, 2014, the State of Israel and Hamas agreed to a 12-hour ceasefire in Gaza between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm. As the wars are escalating around the world, Putin’s Russia is bombarding the Nation of Ukraine, the former lands of the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel. These were, according to the Iron Age archeologists, inhabited by the Lost Ten Tribes called the Cimmerians, Scythians, and the Sarmatians. Between the years of 700 BCE and 200 BCE, they all were part of the Royal Israelite Scythian Kingdom called Scythia. 

During this same 12-hour Ceasefire, it is expected that the Hamas Amalekite rulers and king-pins who have ordered their people to pound the Nation of Israel with over 2000 rockets in the last month will be gathering the wives and children of the oppressed people in Gaza. They will be ordered to surround their bunkers and bastions as “human shields” for the Hamas warriors and rulers of Gaza.

 

The Hamas Billionaire Club: Khaled Mashaal (Left) and Ismail Haniyeh (Right) 

At the same time, the Gaza Elite and their rulers will be hunkering down or fleeing into an underground city just for the wealthy, to find a safe haven. According to Professor Ahmed Karima of Al-Azhar University in Egypt, Hamas has over 1,200 millionaires that are counted amongst the Hamas leadership and middle-level leaders in Gaza. 

As written in The Jerusalem Post, in the article titled, “The Corruption at the Head of the Hamas”, which stated: 

Jerusalem Post – “But the cherry on the cake is the conduct attributed to Hamas's foremost leaders: Khaled Mashaal, head of the organization's political bureau, and Ismail Haniyeh, head of the organization in Gaza. It was reported recently that Mashaal smuggled $12 million from Syria to Turkey under cover of the civil war in Syria. Mashaal reportedly appointed someone by the name of Jibril Janid to transfer the money to Turkey in October 2012 from Mashaal's brother-in-law. It was also reported that the money belonged to Hamas, but Mashaal said it had "disappeared" in the civil war.

Furthermore, a Qatari real estate company has unveiled a seven-acre project in Qatar that includes four towers and a 2.5 acre commercial center owned by Mashaal, his wife and son. According to the company's engineer, the towers will be among the most prominent in Doha, with 250 luxury apartments, a private club, a kindergarten, a library, and tourist attractions.

As for Ismail Haniyeh, he reportedly owns 2,500 square meters of land in Amar Almatar street in the Al-Ramal area of the Gaza Strip. The land is estimated to be worth about $4 million, and is registered in the name of his son-in-law. And while the talk is of the failure to pay wages in the Gaza Strip, Haniyeh has bought several houses in the names of his sons. According to press reports, Haniyeh's wealth has risen in line with his popularity, thanks to his involvement in the tunnels trade. It is also reported that Haniyeh's son, who is also active in Hamas, was caught at the Rafah crossing with millions of dollars in his possession. It turns out that the tunnels are not just a pipeline for weapons, but also for the proceeds of corruption.

There's a great deal of money, then, and so it's no surprise that corruption is correspondingly great. One newspaper published a Qatari document concerning a check for $250 million sent to the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip in return for support for the regime of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi. The beneficiary of the check is Khaled Mashaal.” 

The “King of Gaza” in exile, Hamas Leader Khaled Mashaal is worth over $2.6 billion according to the Jordanian news. The facts on 1,200 millionaires in Gaza were also based upon comparing the assertions in 2012 by the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas who reported then that the Gaza millionaires to be over 800.

Yet this same Islamic Fatah leader, Mahmoud Abbas who has ruled the West Bank without being an elected official was also accused by former Yasser Arafat’s Security Minister, Mohammed Dahlan to have caused 1.3 billion dollars to vanish from Yasser Arafat’s 2.0 billion dollar slush fund called the Palestine Investment Fund. After Arafat’s death, they could find only 700 million dollars. Yet a majority of all this money was given to them by the taxpayers of America and Europe, almost all of which are descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel. What a shame!

Israeli forces' flares light up the night sky in the northern Gaza Strip, early Saturday, July 19, 2014 as Israeli troops pushed deep into Gaza to destroy rocket launching sites and tunnels in face to face combat Palestinian fighters to weaken the enclave's Hamas rulers. (Credit: AP) 

During this 12-hour ceasefire, on July 25, 2914, the Jewish people in Israel and around the world will be worshipping in their synagogues, praying for “Peace in Israel” from the thousands of rockets flying over and crashing into the “Holy Land of Israel”.  At the same time, the G-d of Israel has been providentially giving the Jews already in aliyah, many miracles of safe haven.

Is it not amazing that at this same time, during the Shabbat services they will be reminded in the Parashat Masei about the commands of the G-d of Israel through Moses before the Children of Israel were to cross over the Jordan River. These commands have never been fully implemented to this day. 

Numbers 33:50-56 – “HaShem spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan, at Jericho saying, ‘Speak to the Children of Israel (12-Tribed Israel) and say to them; When you cross the Jordan to the land of Canaan, you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the Land before you; and you shall destroy all their prostration stones; all their molten images shall you destroy; and all their high places shall you demolish. 

You shall possess the Land and you shall settle in it, for to you have I given the Land to possess it.  You shall give the Land as an inheritance by lot to your families; to the many you shall increase its inheritance and to the few shall you decrease its inheritance; wherever its lot shall fall it shall be, according to the tribes of your fathers shall you inherit. 

But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the Land before you, those of them whom you leave shall be pins in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they will harass you upon the Land in which you dwell.  And it shall be that what I had meant to do to them, I shall do to you.” 

This clarion call of the G-d of Israel is as relevant today, as it was in 1585 BCE, when the Children of Israel were preparing to cross over the Jordan River from their trek nearby to the mount called Sinai. What was not done back then when the Children of Israel invaded the Land of Canaan must be rectified and completed today; take possession of the Canaanite land, redeem it and make it “Holy Land”.  If the State of Israel will not do it now, when will the land of Gaza become part of the Holy Land? Do the “inhabitants” of Israel want to be driven out by the G-d of Israel? 

How much longer will Prime Minister Netanyahu continue to allow the “King of Gaza” the Hamas Leader Khaled Mashaal to poke “pins in his eyes” and “thorns in his flesh?  How long will Netanyahu allow for them to do the same for the 6,000,000 Israeli citizens living in the “Holy Land”?  If not, will it be done next year, or the next?

Is Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Knesset willing to cleanse the land of Gaza and make it “Holy Land”? Is Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu willing to annex Shomron and Judea and make it “Holy Land”? If not, are they willing to be “driven from the Land of Israel”? This is what emuna is all about; faith in the Sovereign G-d of Israel that He is capable of completing what we are not willing to do.

 

The Israeli IDF Soldiers Praying 

Here we stand upon the cusp of the Shmittah Year (7^th year) of the Sabbatical Week of Years. This will begin on Rosh Hashanah 2014 that begins the Jewish Year 5775.  One year later from then, on Rosh Hashanah 2015 (Jewish year of 5776); the 7^th Shmittah Year will begin. This 7^th year will be a holy year of rest for the Jews and the land. 

Then two years from now, on Rosh Hashanah 2016 (Jewish Year 5777) will begin the 8^th year in which the Jewish ha Mashiach has been expected to be revealed for over 3000 years, is truly expected to arrive this time. This year of 2017 will also herald that august 50 year Jubilee cycle of years and the inauguration and coronation of Melech haMashiach (King Messiah). 

The Era of the Mashiach was expected to “begin to be revealed” as given in a prophesy written 800 years ago by Rabbi Judah ben Samuel in 1217, in the Jubilee year of his death.  This is documented in the Destination Yisrael article titled, “Rabbi Judah ben Samuel’s Jubilee Prophecy gives the Year of the Messiah.” 

If not, G-d forbid, do we have to wait for another 50-year Jubilee to wait for King Messiah?  It is time that the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel rise up in affirmation to their long lost brotherhood relationship with the Jews of the tribe of Judah, the Torah and the Mechoquek the judiciary of Torah law given to the rabbanim of the House of Judah. 

It appears that it is about time that the Jews of the House of Judah open up their synagogues and yeshivas as part of G-d’s vision for the State of Israel to be as a “Light Unto the Nations”. This was envisioned in the mind of Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion that the State of Israel would be a “Light unto the Nations” for truly it has become a beacon for the wavering Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel. 

It was Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu who gave his impression of Isaiah’s vision of “Light unto the Nations” in hi 2010 address at the Herzliva Conference: with these words: 

Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu – “You are dealing with our people's fate because it is clear today that the fate of the Jewish people is the fate of the Jewish state. There is no demographic or practical existence for the Jewish people without a Jewish state. 

This doesn't mean that the Jewish state does not face tremendous challenges, but our existence, our future, is here. The greatest change that came with the establishment of the Jewish state was that Jews became more than just a collection of individuals, communities and fragments of communities. 

They became a sovereign collective in their own territory. Our ability as a collective to determine our own destiny is what grants us the tools to shape our future - no longer as a ruled people, defeated and persecuted, but as a proud people with a magnificent country and one which always aspires to serve as 'Light Unto the Nations'."

 

Rabbi blessing IDF Soldier in Battlefront 

Tomorrow as the people of Gaza quit celebrating and chanting odes against Israel, will the Nation of Israel rise to her destiny to prepare the entire “Land of Promise” to become a Holy Nation unto the G-d of Israel?” If so, this day will be remembered throughout all eternity. 

************ 

The day is coming soon when Hashem the G-d of Israel will stretch forth His great hand of judgment and cleanses the earth from the great pollution of man upon Planet Earth. He will take away the “blood oaths” from between the mouths of the Palestinian Arabs, He will restore the Land of Israel back to “Am Yisra’el”, that means both the House of Joseph (All Ten Tribes of the House of Israel), and the House of Judah.  He will then redeem and restore His own “sheep” back into a living relationship with Himself. If you are chosen, as a Lost Tribal Member of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, your destiny is to return to your Homelands first in Shomron (Samaria), Israel. If you want to learn more, click the link and Contact “Kol Ha Tor Vision”, the Voice of the Turtledove. 

Here is a joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber Vision to bring awareness of the imminent fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United). This super Event of all Times will entail Establishing the Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of the Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness as part of the Land of Israel, and preparing the “Land” for the Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel and then the Redemption of All Israel. 

For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, Visit – “Shomron Lives!”, a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria.

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• How will this affect me of my family’s life and how can we become a part of this spiritual revolution of elevated consciousness that the G-d of Israel has promised to bestow upon “The Lost Sheep of the House of Israel” and the Observant Jews in Israel and the global Diaspora of Judaism. 

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“Jewish Secrets Hidden in the New Testament: The Global Torah Revolution” was released Rabbi Avraham Feld and OvadYah Avrahami, co-founders of “Kol Ha Tor Vision” the Voice of the Turtledove.  Here is a joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber Vision to bring awareness of the imminent fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United). 

This super Event of all Times will entail establishing in the region of Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of the Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness into a new homeland for the Return of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel when All Israel will finally be redeemed. 

If you are a descendant of the Lost Ten Tribes of the House of Israel, the G-d of Israel is whistling for you to come back home to the brotherhood of Klal Yisra’el (All Israel). To learn more about this redemptive process, you are Welcome and Encouraged to Contact “Kol Ha Tor” in Israel. 

For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, Visit – “Shomron Lives!”, a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost Tribers of the House of Israel.

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Parashot Tazriah: The Ancient Torah Foundation of Modern Preventive Health Care and the Preservation of Human Life

Parashot & Haftarot from Va'yikrah - Leviticus

   

Tzara’at is not Leprosy [Hanson’s disease] but could be any form of Depigmentation of the Skin such as Leukoderma or Vitiligo. The Torah outlined the principles of Modern Day Preventative Health Care. Any potential of a New Contagious Disease had to be Isolated by the Levitical Priests until it could be determined that it was not a Contagious Disease and to Prevent it from Infecting the rest of the Children of Israel. 

KOL HA’TOR Presentation 

Weekly Bible Reading #26 - Year 5773 (2012/2013) – April 13,  2013

Parashot Tazriah (She bears seed); Leviticus 12:1 - 13:59

Parashot Metzorah (Infected one) - Leviticus 14:1 - 15:33

Haftarah; Ashkenazi - II Kings 4:42-5:19
Sephardic - II Kings 7:3-7:20 

NOTE:  Kol HaTor, in its commentaries on the weekly Parashot, endeavors to search for and accentuate the Torah Messages contained in the Parashot as applicable to the main Theme of Tanach of the Return of the House of Israel, i.e. the Lost Ten Tribes of Northern Israel and their Reconciliation with Judah to form the reunited 12-Tribed Kingdom of Israel. 

DISCLAIMER - The authors to whom we quote from for this Commentary are not associated with KOL HA'TOR and need not agree with our views expressed herein or in our other publications.  While we publish their views for its relative value to the interpretation of the Parashah, KOL HATOR does not necessarily agree with the views expressed by these authors.  

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The following extracts from Rabbinic commentaries on Parashat Tazriah & Metzorah have been compiled into a comprehensive Commentary by Kol HaTor with our own comments and insights between [brackets]. 

There are 54 separate Torah portions in the annual Jewish Torah reading program. In non-leap years there are only 50 Sabbaths. For this reason some Torah portions are combined and read together for one week. This week Parashot Tazria and Metzora, which are two of the least popular portions for modern Jews, are combined.

[For detailed weekly Torah Reading specifications for every year in advance, refer to: Hebrew Calendar 

For this week we have selected Rabbinic commentaries which not only link onto our last Parashah, with the amazing Message protruding from the death of Nadav and Avihu in the Tabernacle, but also bring a sequence of these “dry” and uninteresting, legalistic Parashot into exciting perspective. Come share once more in the life-giving experience that Rabbinic insight gives to the written Word that is so often skimmed over or even excluded by readers of the Bible.

Before setting out on this exciting spiritual high-ride, we need to make mental notes of key Hebrew terms that not only underlie this commentary and much of the main theme of the Bible, but should also form part of the sincere Bible searcher's future vocabulary:

Contact Dermatitis is not Contagious but to the Priests it would be Isolated until it could be Determined that it could not be Spread or become Contagious to the Surrounding Population of Israelites

Ancient Hebrew Preventive Health Care Vocabulary 

Tahor - undefiled, clean, pristine (noun tehorah - pure, undefiled).

Tahmei - impure, defiled (noun: tumah - defiled, unclean).

Tzara'at - defilement, skin disease akin to leprosy

Metzorah - someone afflicted by tzara'at.

Summary of this week's double Torah portion: After last week's portion regarding tumah (spiritual defilement) resulting from dead animals, Parshat Tazria introduces the various categories of tumah emanating from human beings. A woman after giving birth is ritually impure for a certain period of time prescribed for her to stay away from the Tabernacle or Temple.

The rest of the portion describes in great detail the varying and numerous manifestations of a skin disease called tzara'at - the physical manifestation of a spiritual malaise, a punishment from G-d for the sin of speaking evil speech, amongst various other anti-social transgressions.

A metzorah, (someone afflicted by a tzaraat-like skin disease) is subject to a series of examinations by a Cohen (priest), who declares the patient to be either tahor (pure) or tamei (impure). If tamei, he is isolated outside of the camp, an appropriate punishment for someone whose foul tongue caused dissension amongst others. After the period of defilement, the formerly afflicted person offers sacrifices before being declared ritually pure again by the High Priest.

The second, parashat Metzora, further deals with treatment for tzara'at. Metzora also contains the first mention of ritual immersion of a person in water for spiritual purification from a physical impurity ('baptism').

In parashat Shemini last week we read about Aaron's two righteous sons, Nadav and Avihu, bringing “alien fire” into the Holy of Holies, a service which only the High Priest was permitted to perform once a year on Yom Kippur.  They paid with their lives for their excessive zeal based on their advanced thinking on matters Divine. 

We considered this as a cautionary reprimand for today's reawakening Ten Tribers who are so greatly blessed with discovering and restoring Hebraic Truths which were hidden to them while in exile amongst the nations.  Many of these non-Jewish restorers of ancient Hebraic Truths become unteachable, considering their “discoveries” as exclusive Divine gifts and privileges. 

It is not strange for these restorers to “barge in where Angels fear to tread” with their hasty and often shallow condemnations, judgments, conclusions and rejection especially, of Rabbinic guidance, formulated during the ‘life-long’ extensive period of 3500 years, tight back from the time of Moses himself!.

Let us now embark on this week's Parashot as the wisdom of Rabbinic insight instills ‘life’ into an otherwise dormant seeming portion of legalistic Scripture.

Rabbi Reuven Mann with Mesorah.org writes about the following observance:

Rabbi Reuven Mann - “According to the Rabbis these phenomena [of sin-induced skin diseases] are no longer in existence, for we are not on a high enough level to warrant this degree of Divine Providence.  We must therefore be even more careful about the type of speech we indulge in.  The Torah regards cleanliness of speech as essential to a life of holiness.  The words we utter can have profound consequences not only on others but on ourselves as well.  We should always be cognizant of the temptation and danger of slanderous speech and take all the necessary precautions to avoid it.”

Tzara'at is today doubted but could have been Leprosy, for it was an Infectious Disease that came from a bacterium called Mycobacterium Leprae but was not very Contagious.  It took a long time to manifest its Skin Manifestations; Large Bumpy Multi-nodular lesions coalescing into Plagues and later Ulcerations associated with Disfiguring Loss of Limbs and Digits. To the Hebrew Israelites Prevention of Diseases was one the highest form of Torah observance for its Purpose was to Save Lives. 

Rabbi David Silverberg, from Virtual Beyt Midrash, gives us insight into the Torah laws concerning

Rabbi David Silverberg - “Parashat Tazria introduces us to the laws of tzara’at, a type of skin-disease which renders the patient tamei (ritually impure). Throughout the ages, scholars have uncovered for us the symbolism underlying this institution and its particular laws, showing how the procedures for dealing with tzara’at reflect the proper approach towards spiritual defilement in general.

These analyses generally take into account the prominent role of the kohen throughout this process. The kohen was the only one who could formally declare the presence of tzara’at. A non-kohen, no matter how proficient he may be in the relevant laws, cannot establish tum’at tzara’at [skin defilement].

Only once the kohen determines the presence of tzara’at does the patient become ritually impure. Similarly, as the Torah outlines in the beginning of Parashat Metzora, the kohen is the one who conducts the metzora’s [individual defiled person] process of purification. The kohen’s role is often seen as symbolic of the function served by the spiritual guides and leaders in “purifying” the community from their spiritual ills.

The Midrash attributes tzara’at to the “drying of a fountain.” Leaving aside the physiological issue of to what exactly this Midrash refers, let us address the more crucial question: what does this represent in terms of tzara’at and its symbolic meaning? 

Rav Stollman suggests that Chazal teach us in this passage that impurity results from a “drained fountain.” The process of defilement does not take place in a vacuum, it does not occur suddenly without reason. A person or community becomes “tamei” when its authentic fountains of spirituality are drained, when the “hairs” begin to “drink” from alternative sources of “life” rather than their traditional teachings. Tum’a thus means the detachment from one’s source, from one’s origins.”

[This is a condition that the 10 Northern Tribes of Israel in exile amongst the nations have been facing for the last 2800 years, being banned by the Divine One from the Land of Israel. The modern phenomenon of the world wide Hebraic Roots Restoration Movement is bringing awareness of their Hebrew Roots to millions of these lost and scattered sheep of the House of Israel, drawing them to Torah observation and a desire to return to the Promised Land.  This all in fulfillment of the Main Theme of Biblical Prophecy; refer: 

View the Comprehensive Extract of the Divine Promises in Ancient Scriptures

Biblical Confirmations of the Return of the Lost Tribes of Israel 

The kohen’s role, symbolic of the responsibility assigned to the religious leaders of every generation, is to identify this detachment, to check and see whether or not the people draw their values and ideals from the “fountain” of tradition. They must carefully study both the tradition and the current reality to determine whether or not there exists a parity between the two. Should they determine the presence of tum’a, that the fountain has indeed dried, then they must lend the metzora a hand as he undergoes the process of purification, the process of refilling the wellsprings with the spiritual waters of our traditions, enabling him to reenter the Jewish [Hebrew]people and recommit himself to the teachings of our heritage.”

Measles in Adults was Viral Born and an Exceedingly Contagious Illness that could have caused Rampant Viral Infectious Epidemics throughout the Large Population within the Israelite Tribal Camps. The Children exposed to measles could easily die with Pneumonia, Encephalitis. This would infect the Pregnant Mothers that could result in Miscarriages of the unborn fetuses, Premature Labor, a Stillborn birth of a Child who died in the Uterus or a Pre-term Delivery. This could also result in the early Post-natal Death of a Premature Born Infant. This man would have been Isolated outside the Camp of the Israelites until his Infection was Cleared and He was Declared “Clean” or “Tahor” by the Levitical Priests of Israel.

 Rav Chanoch Waxman from Virtual Beyt Midrash rounds up our review. He presents a very broad perspective, linking several Scripture sections together and serving as a continuation of our discussions on Nadav and Avihu in Parashat Shemini last week.

Rav Chanoch Waxman – “Immediately after the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, Moshe received an important communication from G-d regarding the appropriate conditions for entering the holiest part of the Mishkan.

Leviticus 16:1 – “And HaShem spoke to Moshe after the death of the two sons of Aharon, who died when they drew too close to the presence of HaShem. And HaShem said to Moshe: Tell Aharon your brother that he should not come at will into the Holy Place within the curtain in front of the covering upon the ark, lest he die, for I appear in the cloud over the cover. Thus only shall he enter the Holy Place…’”

This passage is, of course, the opening of Parashat Acharei Mot [two Parashot further on].

Strangely enough, the Torah does not place this passage in textual sequence with the death of Nadav and Avihu. Despite the apparent chronological sequence implied by the subject matter, the issue of entering into holy space and the possibility of death, the Torah only presents the parasha of Acharei Mot a full five chapters after the death of Nadav and Avihu.

Despite the near synchronicity with the death of Nadav Avihu implied by the term “after” (see Ramban 16:1), the Torah chooses to delay the parasha of Acharei Mot, literally “after the death,” until after the corpus of Chapters Eleven through Fifteen.

This intervening bulk, primarily consisting of the parashiyot of Tazria and Metzora and the laws of "tzara'at" [defilement], can be categorized as the laws of tum'a and tahara [defiled and undefiled]. All of its component parts relate to the concepts of “clean” and “unclean” or perhaps more accurately, “pristine” and “defiled.” A quick sketch of the structure of this intervening segment should demonstrate the point. The overall segment breaks down as follows. 

Topic	Verses	Sample mention of "tamei" and "tahor"
Section 1- Permissible and Forbidden Animals	11:1-47	11:4-8, 24-38, 47
Section 2- The laws of the Postpartum women	12:1-8	12:2, 4-8
Section 3.1- Tzara'at (lesions) of the body and Tzara'at upon garments	13:1-59	13:3, 6-8, 11-14, 46, 51, 55, 58-59
Section 3.2- Purification from Tzara'at-the post Tzara'at procedure	14:1-32	14:1, 4, 7-9, 11, 19-20, 31-32
Section 3.3- Tzara'at of the house- home	14:33-57	14:36, 40, 48, 53, 57
Section 4- The laws of male and female discharges and menstruation	15:1-33	15:2-6, 13-14, 16-18, 19, 25-26, 29-31

If so, we face an obvious problem. Why does the Torah choose to “interrupt” the natural flow of the narrative from the death of Nadav and Avihu (10:1-20) to the laws for Aharon's entrance into the holy area (16:1-34) with the laws of tum'a and tahara (11:1-15:33)?

Alternatively, we may prefer to the “code of tum'a and tahara” the strange phenomenon of tzara'at. In other words, why does the Torah place the laws of tzara'at, and the overall code, in close juxtaposition to the death of Nadav and Avihu?

If so, we face an obvious problem. Why does the Torah choose to “interrupt” the natural flow of the narrative from the death of Nadav and Avihu (10:1-20) to the laws for Aharon's entrance into the holy area (16:1-34) with the laws of tum'a and tahara (11:1-15:33)?

 Alternatively, we may prefer to the “code of tum'a and tahara” the strange phenomenon of tzara'at. In other words, why does the Torah place the laws of tzara'at, and the overall code, in close juxtaposition to the death of Nadav and Avihu?

Quite possibly we may have already done much of the conceptual work necessary to answer these questions. The answer may well lie in connecting the two concepts, “tum'a and tahara” and “entrance into a holy place,” discussed until this point.

In describing the purification period of the postpartum women, the Torah states the following:

Leviticus 12:4 – Our [current Parashah] – “She shall remain in a state of purification from her blood for thirty-three days, she shall not touch any consecrated thing (kodesh), nor enter the sanctuary (mikdash) until her period of purification is completed.”

Given that she is “tamei” and has not yet reentered the pristine, pure and holy state of “tahara,” the postpartum women is banned from contact with sanctified objects and sanctified space. Or to phrase this a little bit differently, the sanctified personal state of "tahara" constitutes a necessary condition for contact with the holy.

This mutual exclusivity of holiness and tum’a is also present as a theme in the other segments of the overall section outlined above. The sufferer of tzara’at lesions is banned from the camp, whose center consists of the abode of G-d. This is not only alluded to by the text of Vayikra [Leviticus](see 13:46), but stated explicitly in Bamidbar [Numbers], during the arrangement of the camp.

Bamidbar 5:2-3 – “And the Lord spoke to Moshe, saying: ‘Instruct the Israelites to remove from the camp anyone with tzara’at lesions… put them outside the camp so that they do not defile the camp of those in whose midst I dwell.’”

Likewise, in summing up the laws of discharges, section four of the overall code of tum'a and tahara, the Torah reiterates the tension between a state of tum’a and the sanctuary, and mandates the death penalty for the improper mixing of the two.

Vayikra [Leviticus] 15:31 – “And you shall warn the Children of Israel regarding uncleanness, lest they die through their uncleanness by defiling My Mishkan which is among them.”

Moreover, the verse of c partially quoted above also mandates the expulsion of the zav and the zava, those suffering from emissions, from the camp.

Finally, this connection, or perhaps need to disconnect, between tum’a and sanctity can be located not just in sections, two, three, and four of the code, but even in section one, the laws of permitted and forbidden animals. In closing out the segment, G-d informs Israel that he has high expectations:

Va'yikrah 11:44-45 – “For I HaShem your G-d: you shall sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not make yourselves unclean through (eating) any swarming thing… For I am HaShem… you shall be holy for I am holy.”

Sacredness does not end at the borders of the sanctuary nor even at the borders of the camp. The category of the holy extends to the very person of each and every individual member of Israel. As members of the holy nation, another type of mobile sanctuary, another method of encapsulating G-d's presence in the world, the Israelites are enjoined from improper mixing of the sacred and profane, of contacting or ingesting certain kinds of animals.

To put this all together, the common denominator of Chapters Eleven through Fifteen, the laws of tum’a and tahara, consists not just of the categories of tum’a and tahara but also of the need to separate between the tamei and the holy. Whether in the context of the sanctuary itself, the camp within which it resides, or the people within whose camp G-d resides, holiness demands special care, and particular conditions for encountering and preserving it.

This brings us back to the sin and death of Nadav and Avihu. They died because of lack of care for the details of “hilkhot kodashim,” the laws for the proper treatment of sanctity and approach to sanctified space. They entered the sanctuary and G-d's space when not commanded. It is no wonder, then, that in between the story of their death (10:1-20) and the story of the proper conditions for entering the holiest space (16:1-34), the Torah teaches the full corpus of “hilkhot kodashim,” the laws of sanctity and relation to holiness (11:1-15:33).

Alternatively, we may wish to link the “laws of tum’a and tahara” (11:1-15:33) to the death of Nadav and Avihu in a slightly different, albeit related fashion. At the close of the laws of permitted and forbidden animals, section one above, the Torah teaches the following:

Va'yikrah 11:46-47 [of our Parashah] – “This is the Torah of the beasts, and of the birds, and of every living creature… to distinguish between the unclean (tamei) and clean (tahor), between the living things that may be eaten and the living things that may not be eaten.”

The phrase ‘to distinguish between the unclean and clean’ should bring to mind the immediate aftermath of the deaths of Nadav and Avihu. As mentioned, the Torah follows the story of the deaths with a code of priestly conduct. The latter part of the code consists of two imperatives:

Va'yikrah 10:10-11 – “And you must distinguish between holy and unholy and between unclean and clean. And you must teach (lehorot) the Children of Israel [all 12 Tribes] all the laws which HaShem has imparted to them through Moshe.”

While these two imperatives are linguistically and conceptually distinct, they are nevertheless practically intertwined. The priests carry a special responsibility both for differentiating between the sacred and non-sacred, between the tamei and the tahor, and for the teaching of those very laws to the Children of Israel.

However the obligation to teach and enforce the laws stems from more than just their general Torah-teaching role. The custodians of the sanctuary and the laws of “differentiation” cannot guarantee the integrity of the sanctuary and the sanctified status of the sanctuary, camp and people unless the laws of sanctity are observed by all.

All of this should explain the juxtaposing of at least section one of the larger “laws of tum’a and tahara” with the death of Nadav and Avihu. The death serves as the occasion for defining the role of the priests. This definition is followed by the actual laws of "differentiation" entrusted to the priests, and for which they bear special responsibility.

In fact, this theme easily can be expanded to cover the remaining segments of the laws of tum’a and tahara. Like section one, section three, the corpus of the laws of tzara'at, ends with an echo of the priest's code of Chapter Ten. After a summary of the various types of tzara’at (14:44-46), the Torah states the following:

Va’yikrah 14:57 – “To teach (lehorot) when it is unclean and when it is clean, this is the Torah of tzara'at.” 

While this verse may refer to the Torah's purpose in expounding upon the laws of tzara'at at length, it most probably refers to the role of the priests in making the determination as to whether a particular lesion is clean or unclean. After all, the Torah elaborates upon this role extensively throughout the one hundred and sixteen verses of the laws of tzara'at (13:1-14:57). 

Newborn Jewish Baby protected from Premature Postnatal Infant Death while the Mother was in Isolation while she in Tamei (impure with Postnatal Blood Discharges. The Child during this Period of Time would be Immunologically Compromised or “Defiled” which allowed the Infant and Mother the proper time to Recover from Labor and Delivery and develop a Robust Immune System for a Child now in Tahara (Undefiled, Clean, and Pristine Health).

Moreover, the linguistic parallel to the terms “teaching,” “unclean” and “clean” found in the code of priestly conduct (10:10-11), and the apparent fusing of the concepts into a montage of teaching, ruling and governing the arena of tum’a and tahara, further strengthens the connections outlined above. If so, like section one, section three provides a corpus of “differentiation laws” that the priests are charged with guarding and teaching.

In a similar vein, it is Aharon the priest, along with Moshe, who is charged with “warning” the children of Israel regarding their uncleanness and the possibility of death in section four, the laws of emissions (see 15:1, 31). Finally, regarding section one, the laws of the postpartum women, it is the priest who plays the key role in restoring her state of “tahara” (see 12:6-7), guides her in her passage from tamei to tahor and facilitates her approach to the sanctuary.

In sum, the placement of the laws of “tum'a and tahara” in the middle of the narrative of Nadav and Avihu's death stems from more than just the concern of both of these parts of the Torah with “hilkhot kodshim,” the rules for the treatment of sanctity. The juxtaposition also stems from the definition of the role of priests in the aftermath of the death of Nadav and Avihu. It stems from the overarching concern of both segments with the role of priests, their job description and their special responsibility for the ‘laws of differentiation.’

While the dual theory outlined above more than handles the problem of the structure of the middle part of Sefer [book of] Vayikra, I would nevertheless like to try to elaborate on some additional literary and philosophical connections between the “laws of tum’a and tahara” and the deaths of Nadav and Avihu. Let us begin by taking a look at the treatment given to one who manifests tzara’at upon his body.

Va'yikrah 13:45 – “And the leprous man whom the lesion is upon, his clothes shall be rent, his head shall be left bare and he shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, ‘Unclean, unclean.”

The four actions required of the “metzora,” the sufferer of tzara’at, can all be thought of as connected to disgrace and shame. The rending of the garments and baring of his head constitute symbols of dishevelment and disgrace, similar to the baring of the head of the women suspected of adultery (see Bamidbar 5:18).

Similarly, the covering of the upper lip, probably done by the garment worn upon the upper body (see Ibn Ezra 13:45), involves the covering of the metzora’s mouth and his silencing. Having been visited by an affliction from G-d, the metzora stands speechless in front of divine retribution. He possesses no explanation and no rationale for his behavior and affliction. He is like the false prophets of Mikha 3:7 who “shall be put to shame” and “cover their lips.” Having been afflicted by a divine plague, the metzora can do no more than proclaim his own disgrace and utter, “Unclean, unclean.”

However, some of these actions symbolize not just shame, disgrace and self-negation, but also the related phenomenon of mourning. This brings us back to the deaths of Nadav and Avihu. Right after the deaths, Moshe tells Aharon, Elazar and Itamar:

Va'yikrah 10:6 – “Do not bare your heads and do not rend your clothes, lest you die… But your brothers, all the house of Israel shall bewail the burning that G-d has wrought.”

Aharon and his sons are forbidden from mourning. They cannot express their pain and anguish nor demonstrate physically the impossibility of continuing normal existence as if nothing has occurred. Consequently, they cannot bare their heads nor rend their clothes. If so, the acts of the metzora resemble acts of mourning; they resemble the response of one visited by death.

In fact “nega,” translated as “lesion” above, constitutes the Torah's standard term for tzara’at affliction and appears innumerable times throughout the laws of tzara’at. Interestingly enough, the term literally means “touch” and is used in the contexts of Bereishit [Genesis] and Shemot [Exodus] to connote a plague from G-d, the concrete manifestation of the metaphorical “finger” or “hand” of G-d (see Bereishit 12:17, Shemot 11:1). Shemot 11:1 uses the phrase “od nega echad,” one more touch/plague, to herald the plague of the firstborn, the visitation of death upon the Egyptians. In other words, visitation by a “nega,” the touch or hand of G-d, logically results in death.

This connection between nega-tzara'at and death is further strengthened by both the story of tzara’at found in Sefer Bamidbar and the phenomenology of tzara’at. Upon speaking ill of Moshe and being chastised by G-d, Miriam is stricken with tzara’at (Bamidbar 12:1-10). At this point, Aharon, who had been party to the slander, beseeches Moshe not to hold a grudge against them and to pray for Miriam's welfare.

Va'yikrah 12:11-12 – “And Aharon said to Moshe: Please my master, account not to us the sin which we committed in our folly. Let her not be as one DEAD, who emerges from his mother's womb with half his flesh eaten away.”

Apparently, tzara'at symbolizes death. The appearance of tzara'at resembles the appearance of a grisly miscarriage or stillborn baby. The death of the flesh in tzara’at comprises a harbinger and portent of the ultimate punishment soon to be visited upon the sinner. No wonder the metzora responds to his tzara’at as one responds to death. In a last-ditch effort to stave off his fate, he proactively mourns his soul and his impending doom. 

Jewish Mom with Healthy Newborn

This connection between death and tzara’at should help shed some light on the topics contained within the latter parts of the “laws of tum'a and tahara,” the subject matter of Parashat Tazria and Parashat Metzora.

As has often been pointed out, death defiles. The corpse constitutes the “father of all tumot.” Similarly, the shadow of death, the affliction of tzara’at, defiles. But the metzora is not the only one in these sections of the Torah who has encountered death and had its shadow cast upon him. The people mentioned at the end of Parashat Metzora, those suffering from emissions, have also encountered the shadow of death. The menstruating women faces the loss of potential life implicit in her bleeding, and zav and zava the “loss of life” implicit in their diseases and consequent inability to procreate.

Similarly, the postpartum woman, mentioned at the beginning of Parashat Tazria, has passed through the harrowing and life-threatening experience of childbirth. Within her experience of birthing life, she has encountered the shadow of death. If so, the topics of Tazria and Metzora are united by their connection to death and the consequence of defilement.

But this is not all that unites the postpartum women, the metzora and the sufferer from emissions. In general, the texts focus not just on the cause of the defilement, but also on the process of return, the means of restoring a state of tahara. Each parasha depicts the process of “passing through,” not so much the encounter with death, but the return from its touch, the approach to the sanctuary and the bringing of offerings (see 12:6-8, 14:1-20, 15:13-15, 28-30).

Putting this all together and linking up with the story of the deaths of Nadav and Avihu yields something rather interesting. The dynamic implicit in the legal material of Tazria and Metzora parallels the dynamic implicit in the narrative frame of the text, the story of the death of Nadav and Avihu. From the perspective of narrative, the text is about Aharon, a father who at his very moment of triumph has suffered a devastating loss. In his own words: “Such things have befallen me” (10:19).

Due to his sacred status he is even forbidden from explicit mourning (10:6-7). Yet somehow he must pass through, he must continue through death, return to the sanctuary and perform the divine service. Likewise and in keeping with the implicit theme, the legal material is about “passing through death” and approaching the sanctuary. 

Circumcision to the Children of the Israelites was a Spiritual and Tribal Celebration. Here the Tribal Family would Welcome and Introduce the Babe to a New Life when the Child was Dedicated to the Divine and now a part of the Jewish-Israelite Culture that was a Culture of Life.

But this is not all. In a striking parallel to the story of Nadav and Avihu, a story of the “eighth day” (see 9:1, 9:23-10:2), each of these “passing through” or “purification” passages contains a reference to a period of seven days and a climactic eighth day. The postpartum woman who bears a male is tamei for seven days. On the eight day her son is circumcised (12:2-3). After a seven day waiting period outside his own tent upon his return to the camp, the metzora brings his climactic offering, approaches the sanctuary and achieves “tahara" on the eighth day (14:8-11). Likewise the zav and the zava count seven days and only then, on the eighth day, bring their offerings, approach the sanctuary and reenter a pristine and undefiled state (15:13-15, 28-30).

Is the eighth day some sort of magic number in Sefer Vayikra? Maybe! But perhaps there is something more here. The eighth day of the miluim ceremony was intended to be the day of G-d's descent to the Mishkan, the day when the very source of all being, of life itself, came and dwelt amongst the people. The death of Nadav and Avihu on the eighth day not only constituted a tragedy in its own right, but a staining of the essence of the eighth day, an undercutting of the status of the Mishkan and G-d's presence. The day of G-d's arrival and His very presence are now associated with death and mourning in the consciousness of Israel. 

Upon the death of Korach and his cohorts, the Children of Israel gave vent to this exact sentiment: 

Bamidbar 17:27-28 – “And the Children of Israel said to Moshe: Behold we die, we perish, we all perish! Everyone who so much ventures near the Lord's Mishkan dies. Alas, we are doomed to perish!”

If so, we may formulate yet one more reason for the juxtaposing of Tazria and Metzora with the story of the death of Nadav and Avihu. The “passing through" stories of the postpartum woman, the metzora, the zav and the zava serve as a counterweight to the death of Nadav and Avihu. The dynamic of passing through death and returning upon the eighth day to the sanctuary and G-d's presence, to full and pure life, reverses the linkage between the eighth day and death in the story of Nadav and Avihu.

The legal material reminds the Children of Israel of the ideal relation between G-d's presence in the sanctuary and the categories of life and death. Rather than holiness causing death, death causes distance from the presence of G-d. The transcendence of death and affirming of life finds its concrete expression in approaching the sanctuary and entering into G-d's presence.

May it be the will of the Almighty that we merit to pass through the shadow of death that hovers over us these days and return to full and holy life in the presence of G-d."

(End of Quote)

We referred to this concept of "The eighth Day" also in our previous Parashat Shemini, quoting from Rabbi Tzwei, at Torah.org:

Rabbi Tzwei – “The number eight [the title of this Parashah, named after the introductory words of this Scripture portion] Kabbalistically refers to the “World to Come” and therefore is used to define the events of the day of the erecting of the Tabernacle, “bayom hashemini” [on the eighth day], for on this day a “New World Order” was initiated.”

[We are also reminded of this New World Order of the Kingdom of G-d in the metaphoric depiction by the Succot Festive period, of the future Kingdom dispensation.  The 7 days of Succot (depicting the Marriage Festivities, as at Sinai, between G-d and His Bride, are followed by “the eighth day”, the conclusion of the Torah annual cycle with all its New World Order ‘symbolism’].

Compiled and presented by KOL HATOR

Contact us by e-mail , or write to:

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You Might Want to Refer to the 2012-2013 Yearly Kol Ha’Tor Parashat Portion Reading Index for future Kol Ha’Tor Commentaries

You might Want to Read Destination Yisra’el’s Kol Ha’tor Series on “Judah the Mechoqeck”

 

“Judah -The Lawgiver of God–Part One”

“Judah-The Lawgiver of God –Part Two”

To understand more about the Return of the 10 Tribes of Israel to their Homeland in Shomron (Samaria), Israel, Contact “Kol Ha’Tor”, the Voice of the Turtledove. Here is a joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber Mission to bring awareness of the imminent fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United).

This reunification will truly be the supernal Event of all Times for it will entail Establishing Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of the Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness as part of the Land of Israel, and preparing the “Land” for the Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel and then the Redemption of All Israel.

For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor’s Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, we invite you to make a personal Visit to Israel and stay at “Shomron Lives!”, a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost Tribers of the House of Israel to their future and Prophetic Homeland.

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KOL HA’TOR Presentation

Weekly Bible Reading #25 - Year 5773 (2012/2013) – April 6, 2013

Parashat Shemini (Eighth); Leviticus 9:1-11:47

Haftarah; Ashkenazi - II Samuel 6:1-7:17
Sephardic -II Samuel 6:1-6:19 

NOTE:  Kol HaTor, in its commentaries on the weekly Parashot, endeavors to search for and accentuate the Torah Messages contained in the Parashot as applicable to the main Theme of Tanach of the Return of the House of Israel, i.e. the Lost Ten Tribes of Northern Israel and their Reconciliation with Judah to form the reunited 12-Tribed Kingdom of Israel. 

 DISCLAIMER - The authors whom we quote from for this Commentary are not associated with KOL HA'TOR and need not agree with our views expressed herein or in our other publications.  While we publish their views for its relative value to the interpretation of the Parashah, KOL HATOR does not necessarily agree with the views expressed by these authors. 

The following extracts from Rabbinic commentaries on Parashat Shemini have been compiled into a comprehensive Commentary by Kol HaTor with further comments between [ ]. As we read in the Parashat Shemini written by Rabbi Eli Mansour titled, “Obeying Torah Authority” on Daily Halacha.org, we read:

Daily Halacha – “Parashat Shemini tells of the inauguration of the Mishkan (the Tabernacle) and the special events that were held to mark the “opening day” (on the eighth day) of the Mishkan's operation. Moshe tells Aharon, who on this day became the Kohen Gadol, to prepare a number of animals as his personal sacrifice, and to instruct Benei [the Children of] Yisrael to prepare animals for their sacrifice. Benei Yisrael's sacrifice included an Egel – a calf – as well as a goat.

The Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf

The Sages explain that these two offerings served to atone for two different sins: the calf (for worshipping of strange gods), of course, atoned for … the sin of the golden calf, whereas the goat served to atone for the sale of Yosef. Over two centuries earlier, Yosef's brothers sold him as a slave to Egypt, and to conceal their crime they slaughtered a goat and dipped Yosef's garment in its blood, so that it would appear as though he were killed by an animal. On the day of the Mishkan's inauguration, Benei Yisrael atoned for their ancestors' sin through the offering of a goat as a special sacrifice to God.”

[The ‘selling of Yosef into slavery’ according to Rabbinic interpretation, represents the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel’s exile into oblivion amongst the nations. Yosef, through his two sons Ephraim and Menasheh, represents the re-identifying body of 10-Israel in dispersion, which will return to the Land in the End Time. Yosef’s life, his later rulership in Egypt under the Pharaoh and his revealing himself to his brothers, represent the ultimate Return and Reconciliation with Judah (the Jews) in the Redemption and the settlement of the Promised Land of Greater Israel) ].    

The work “Be'er Yosef” explains that both these unfortunate events – the sin of the calf and the sale of Yosef – resulted from the same mistake: disregarding the guidance of Torah leaders. As many Rabbis explained, Benei Yisrael did not actually worship a golden calf. Rather, they sought to create some kind of structure that would replace Moshe as the source of guidance and instruction from God, the site at which God would convey His commands.

Such an idea is not intrinsically wrong; in fact, this is precisely the function served by the Mishkan. However, when Benei Yisrael contemplated this idea, they consulted with Chur, one of the leaders appointed to guide the people in Moshe's absence, and he opposed the initiative. But the people were very enthusiastic about the idea to fashion the calf, and therefore killed Chur for expressing opposition. Aharon, the other leader appointed over the nation, had no choice but to acquiesce, in order to spare himself the same tragic fate as his colleague. The severity of the sin thus lay not in the act itself, but rather in the brazen disregard for Chur's authority.

Similarly, Yosef's brothers acted as they did on the basis of sound Halachic reasoning. Yosef had spoken negatively about them to their father, seemingly in an effort to have them expelled from the family, and his dreams indicated that he sought to rule over them, in violation of Yehuda's exclusive rights to the monarchy. The brothers therefore convened a Beit Din (Rabbinical court) and concluded that he is liable to the death penalty. They erred, however, in not consulting with the Rabbinic leadership of the time – Yaakov, Yitzchak, Shem and Ever. As in the case of the golden calf, what appeared as a valid and warranted course of action was followed either without the guidance of the Torah leaders.”

Joseph’s brothers slaying a Goat to Stain his Coat of Many Colors as though Joseph was Slain by a Wild Animal 

[The sin of the Northern 10 Tribes of Israel, centuries later, after the Hebrew nation had settled in the Promised Land, was identical:  They rebelled against the judicial mandate of Judah (Micah 1:2-7) and set up their own interpretations of Torah. 

Refer to Kol Ha Tor’s in-depth study “Judah – the Mechoqeck of G-d”

As a result G-d cut them off from His Covenant and exiled them amongst the nations – but, with the Divine Promise that He would regather them and re-unite them at the End of Time with Judah, in fulfillment of His Promise and Blessing to Avraham of an innumerable generations, and (Genesis 12:7; 13:16; 15:5), settled in a vastly expanded land mass: The Greater Israel. With the historical guilt record cleared, seeming disaster strikes the joyful celebrations at the inauguration of the Tabernacle. Aharon’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu, both righteous souls, are struck dead in the Tabernacle by ‘the fire of G-d’, for bringing untimely, wrong sacrifice].

Rabbi Berel Wein, writing on the Parashat Shemini and posted on Torah.org the following words:

Rabbi Berel Wein – “After the seven days of excitement and joy upon the consecration of the Mishkan and the installation of Aharon and his sons as the priests of Israel devoted to the service of God and humans, tragedy strikes the family of Aharon and all of Israel. The commentators to Torah as well as the Talmud itself searched for the causes that created this sad situation.

The questions underlying the events described in the parsha of Shmini go to the heart of Jewish faith and worldview. They require investigation and serious analysis.  A review of the opinions expressed in Talmud and by the commentators, do not at first glance reveal any major transgressions on the part of Nadav and Avihu. True, Aharon’s role in helping create the Golden Calf may explain his being brought to grieving for his two eldest sons, but it was Nadav and Avihu who died, not Aharon.

Small mistakes often lead to great tragedies. And the Torah teaches us that personal failures that can be tolerated in most humans are magnified and are not overlooked when they occur to people in positions of power and leadership. The scale of Heavenly tolerance, so to speak, is a sliding one, dependent on the status, accomplishments, abilities and public position of the human person being judged.

There is a special sin offering reserved for the leader of Israel. The accepted usual sin offering is insufficient if we are dealing with the sins of leadership. This is one of the key lessons of this parsha. God’s justice is personal and exacting. Nadav and Avihu are the prime examples of this truism.”

In response, Rabbi Yochanan Zweig, writing in Torah.org concerning the “alien fire” that was used in the Holy of Holies, wrote these words: 

Rabbi Yochanan Zweig - “The Torah records that Nadav and Avihu brought an "eish zarah" - "alien fire" into the Holy of Holies, a service which only the Kohein Gadol was permitted to perform once a year on Yom Kippur. The Ramban finds it inconceivable that Nadav and Avihu would perform such a blatantly brazen act without authorization, and therefore offers another interpretation. Nevertheless, the Sifra maintains that they did enter the Holy of Holies. How can the actions of Nadav and Avihu be explained?

Perhaps even more perplexing is the Tannaic interpretation that Nadav and Avihu entered the Sanctuary “shisuyei yayin” – “having imbibed wine”. Apparently, they violated the commandment forbidding a person to perform the sacrificial service while inebriated. Moshe Rabbeinu attests to the fact that Nadav and Avihu were greater than himself and his brother Aharon; how can this behavior be attributed to men of such stature?

The number eight [the title of this Parashah, named after the introductory words of this Scripture portion] Kabbalistically refers to the World to Come and therefore is used to define the events of the day of the erecting of the Tabernacle, “bayom hashemini”, for on this day a new world order was initiated. Nadav and Avihu's error was a result of their belief that this new world order indicated the perfection of the world, created a utopian society.

In a perfect world imperfection does not exist and therefore everything can be used to serve Hashem at the highest level; no special sanctification or time limitation exists to prevent a person from entering the Holy of Holies to perform service to Hashem. However, the building of the Tabernacle marked only the beginning of the process toward a perfect world, only a link to the World to Come. Therefore, limitations and imperfections still existed.”

[Rabbinic interpretation of the Scriptures is done on 4 levels of biblical exegesis in rabbinic Judaism that ranged from the basic literal to more advance interpretations. This is called PaRDeS that includes;

1. Peshat, the plain (simple) or literal reading; the
2. Remez, the allegorical reading through text's hint or allusion; the
3. Derash, the metaphorical reading through a (Rabbinic sermon's) comparison/illustration (midrash); and the
4. Sod, the hidden meaning reading through text's secret or mystery (Kabbalah).

The study of Torah (and the Bible) affects man’s consciousness in various progressive ways. This includes:

Da’yah – knowledge, the initial stage;

Binah – understanding; and

Haskel – mind consciousness, convicting realization and effort. 

This latter category of consciousness is a stage of spirituality which progressive study of the Bible can bring about. This, to Christianity, Ten Tribers and Hebraic Restorers may be known as a religious experience or conviction which they refer to as ‘conversion’ (repentance), viz. spiritual conversion. In Judaism this condition is better known as Teshuvah].

Let us now bring forth the wisdom of Rabbi Pinchas Winston also from Torah.org on his sage counsel titled, “Learning Perceptions” that came from the Parashat Shemini:

Rabbi Pinchas Winston - “Haskel, [is derived] from the word seichel, which means ‘mind’. Haskel, therefore, refers to a level of consciousness on which a person becomes mindful of an idea, to the extent that it becomes an axiom of his perspective on life. On such a level, violation of the idea is a violation of self.

This is different from Dayah and Binah, two lesser levels of awareness, which mean knowledge and understanding respectively. Dayah is really just awareness of an idea before one actually begins to understand its meaning or role in life; something that is a function of Binah or understanding. Understanding something or even its consequences alone is not necessarily enough to change a person’s path in life.

A heart attack or something similar, God forbid, does change lives. To intellectually confront death lacks impact; to experientially confront it is real enough to cause a person to identify their errant behavior with catastrophic results. This has the capacity to change a person’s life, and to force them to take responsibility for their actions to the point of biting the bullet and quitting what they should have quit a long time ago, or to start doing that which they should have begun doing a while back.

This is the level of Haskel, or Da’as. It is the level of intellectual realization on which an idea merges with one’s mindset. A person has a difficult time living with himself if his life runs contrary to the concept, which is what forces a person to eventually do teshuvah [repentance, turning around].  

If he doesn’t, then he has to shut himself down emotionally, which can and usually will have extreme consequences, such as, at best, becoming a hypocrite, and at worst, a sociopath. When that happens, a person can do just about anything without any real sense of remorse, making him a danger to society and himself.

It is only on the level of Haskel that ideas become part of reality, and they make life exciting. Ideas that are based in truth, when implemented, impact us and the world in which we live. The more truth-based they are, the greater the impact they will have, some of which is visible to us, much of which takes place in spiritual realms beyond our ability to perceive.

This can be both exhilarating and dangerous at the same time. If the idea being actualized is implemented at the wrong time, or even in the wrong place, it can damage the world and the person responsible. The intention can be good and the act great, but if the conditions are wrong then the impact is wrong and destructive.

There is no question that Nadav and Avihu, the two eldest sons of Aharon HaKohen, were great people. They learned their Torah directly from the mouth of their uncle, Moshe Rabbeinu, and they had been sanctified for their roles in the Mishkan. If they suffered from anything, it was a little too much religious fervor, too great a desire to achieve Haskel on some of the holiest ideas known to mankind.

They had been trained to connect to God. They knew things that others did not, and could not. Officiating in the Mishkan required more than obedience and a memorization of responsibility. It required a deep and profound understanding of what was supposed to be accomplished, and how. If they had been drunk on anything, it was on all of the sublime knowledge they had been exposed to in a very short period of time.

It was only natural for them to want to become unified with that knowledge, to experience what they had already gained on the levels of Dayah and Binah on the level of Haskel. And, in time, they would have done exactly that, with the permission of God, just as Adam … would have been permitted to eat from the [Tree of Good and Evil] on the first Shabbat, had he waited for Divine permission to do so.

For, G-d does not create knowledge and then keep it away from man. What we are not supposed to know at all we do not know about. What we are told about is something that we can know, but only at the right time, when we’re ready to know it, and when history is ready for us to learn it. To jump the gun is to bring about exactly the opposite of what the knowledge is meant to do: bring us closer to G-d, and make life a Godly experience.

This is also true of levels of knowledge as well. We may already know about something on the level of Dayah and Binah, but not yet on the level of Haskel. As hungry as we may be to make that leap of knowledge experience, and we should be, we have to be careful to not emotionally bite off more than we can chew at the time.

I believe that the majority of the time people are ready for higher levels of knowledge, or at least could be, but they do not pursue them. Instead, they accept their current level of understanding and intellectual appreciation, and intellectually, and therefore emotionally, stagnate.”

[The above Rabbinic analysis provides great guidelines to re-awakening Ten Tribers and Hebraic Restorers. In fulfillment of Prophetic Promise, these souls are finding (often on their own, by G-d’s Guidance as promised) great revelationary Truths in the Bible.  These discoveries rocket them out of Churchianity and into the Wilderness, on the Way back Home to the Promised Land. It also, logically so, boosts their personal egos. 

This, unfortunately to the extent that many of them having been burnt by the contorted teachings of their Church leaders have become very hesitant about learning from established religious institutions. Also,  having been brainwashed against Rabbinic teaching while living in a society which condemn the ‘man-made contortions of Scripture by the Rabbis’, a society which generally hates Judaism for some or often no reason at all, these restorers of Truth are very reluctant to fall under ‘man-made’ religious domination once more.

This Parashah and these Rabbinic interpretations, presented on the Sod level beyond the very limited extent of the ‘Written Word’, hold invaluable guidelines and Divine reprimands for these discoverers of new-found Truth, about the danger of extravagant zeal – even for the Truth – as with Nadav and Avihu.

Now here, below, follows the spiritual remedy.  Do take careful and serious note!]. Rabbi Pinchas Winston continues:

Rabbi Pinchas Winston - “We are now into the period of Sefiras HaOmer [the Counting of the Omer – i.e. the 50 days from Pesach to Shavuot, Pentecost], the goal of which is to develop a leiv tov— a good heart. The 32 days from Pesach to Lag B’Omer is for developing a heart (the gematria [i.e. the numerical value of the Hebrew letters spelling of] leiv, or heart, is 32), so-to-speak, and the 17 days after Lag B’Omer, the gematria of tov, or good, is for transforming our hearts into good hearts, as it says:

“He [Rebi Yochanan] said to them [his students], “Go out and discern which is the best way to which a person should cling.”

Rebi Eliezer said: “A good eye (i.e., be tolerant of others).” Rebi Yehoshua said: “A good friend (i.e., he should be one and have one).” 

 Rebi Yosi said: “A good neighbor [from whom he can learn good traits].” 

Rebi Shimon said: “One who considers consequences [of his actions].” 

Rebi Elazar said: “A good heart [that will lead him to all of the above].” (Pirkei Avos 2:13)

If ever there is a time of year to achieve a good heart, it is now. Ultimately speaking, it is about becoming real with truth, which means knowing what you know not just on the level of Dayah and Binah, but on the level of Haskel as well. That is when a person has difficult time acting contrary to what he knows is the Godly way to behave.”

[A good starting point for those who are not conversant with the above concepts of: Omer, Shavuot, Gematriah is to start learning about it and the many related topics].

To strive for UNITY

In closing, Rabbi Yissocher Frand with Torah.org makes the following observation of the underlying Divine Call for UNITY in this Parashah and its Message. He responds to the question: "Why is this symbolism (the Goat that atones for Yosef's Sale) appropriate now at the dedication of the Mishkan? Maybe it would have been appropriate when they left Egypt to have the Paschal Offering be a goat rather than a lamb?"

Rabbi Yissocher Frand – “The Oznaim L'Torah gives a very logical answer. The underlying cause of the sin of Yosef's sale was unfounded hatred (sinas Chinam). Part of the function of the Mishkan was to act as a unifying force within the Jewish [Hebrew} people. That is why emphasis is placed on the fact that it was "in the midst of the camp." The Mishkan was the focal institution of the nation, geographically as well as spiritually. It served to unify Klal Yisrael [The 12-Tribed Community].

This year, unfortunately, because of our sins we all spent Pessach separately. But G-d willing, the Temple will speedily be rebuilt and we will all spend Pessach together in Jerusalem -- unified as a single and cohesive nation [i.e. ALL 12 Tribes as required for the Redemption]. The Oznaim L'Torah quotes the pasuk from Parsahs Terumah "The middle bar inside the beams shall extend from end to end (min hakatzeh el hakatzeh)" [Shmos (Exodus) 26:28] This phrase is symbolic of the ability to unify diverse components of the people -- from the far left to the far right --who can all come together and rally around a single national focus of attention, i.e. -- the Mishkan.

Now, at the dedication of the Mishkan, whose purpose in part was to unify the people, was indeed the appropriate venue to achieve atonement once and for all for that unseemly incident in the nation's history which typified disunity within the family -- the sale of their own brother (Joseph) into slavery.”

“Next year in Jerusalem!”

Compiled and presented by KOL HATOR

Contact us , or write to:

P O Box 3174

Karnei Shomron

ISRAEL

44855

Tel.  +972 52 7474834   

 Skype:   bibrev

 Refer also on this Web Site to: 

• Follow the full series of these commentaries
• More Audio & Video studies
• The Meaning of Kol Ha Tor
• Bible Confirmations of the Kol HaTor Vision
• Join the Kol HaTor Project as an Associate Supporter

************

You Might Want to Refer to the 2012-2013 Yearly Kol Ha’Tor Parashat Portion Reading Index for future Kol Ha’Tor Commentaries

You might Want to Read Destination Yisra’el’s Kol Ha’tor Series on “Judah the Mechoqeck”

“Judah -The Lawgiver of God–Part One”

“Judah-The Lawgiver of God –Part Two”

To understand more about the Return of the 10 Tribes of Israel to their Homeland in Shomron (Samaria), Israel, Contact “Kol Ha’Tor”, the Voice of the Turtledove. Here is a joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber Mission to bring awareness of the imminent fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United).

This reunification will truly be the supernal Event of all Times for it will entail Establishing Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of the Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness as part of the Land of Israel, and preparing the “Land” for the Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel and then the Redemption of All Israel.

For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor’s Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, we invite you to make a personal Visit to Israel and stay at “Shomron Lives!”, a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost Tribers of the House of Israel to their future and Prophetic Homeland.

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Weekly Bible Reading #24 - Year 5773 (2012/2013) – March 23, 2013

Parashat Tzav (Command!): Leviticus 6:1 - 8:36

Haftarah: Jeremiah 7:21-8:3; 9:22-23 

NOTE:  Kol HaTor, in its commentaries on the weekly Parashot, endeavors to search for and accentuate the Torah Messages contained in the Parashot as applicable to the main Theme of Tanach of the Return of the House of Israel, i.e. the Lost Ten Tribes of Northern Israel and their Reconciliation with Judah to form the reunited 12-Tribed Kingdom of Israel. 

DISCLAIMER -  The authors whom we quote from for this Commentary are not associated with KOL HA'TOR and need not agree with our views  expressed herein or in our other publications.  While we publish their  views for its relative value to the interpretation of the Parashah, KOL HATOR does not necessarily agree with the views expressed by these  authors.

 This year, Parashat Tzav coincides with Shabbat HaGadol, the Sabbath preceding Pesah. The Parashah describes the sacrificial offerings and rituals to be performed in the Tabernacle or Temple by the nation, in order to maintain a close relationship with G-d. When Tzav coincides with Shabbat HaGadol, the normal Haftarah from Jeremiah 7:21-8:3; 9:22-23 is replaced by Malachi 3:4-24 (which is Malachi 3:24-4:6 in non-Hebrew Version).

This Haftarah from Jeremiah is disturbingly condemning of Judah, specifically. It raises perplexing questions about the entire Sacrificial System and, of course, the problem that for the last 2000 years Judah was not able to bring Sacrifices, due to the destruction of the Temple and the Jewish Exile.

 Jeremiah 7:28-34 – “The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares HaShem. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.

 So beware, the days are coming, declares HaShem, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away. I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate.”

 Jeremiah 8:1-3 - “At that time, declares HaShem, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves. They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped.

They will not be gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground. Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares HaShem Almighty.”

Britain's Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, presents the following enlightening review of this perplexing Haftarah titled “Violence and the Sacred”:

Jeremiah 7:22-23 – “When I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command:

‘Obey me, and I will be your G-d and you will be My people. Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you.’”

Britain's Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks – “Commentators have been puzzled by the glaring contradiction between these words and the obvious fact that G-d did command the Israelites about sacrifices after bringing them out of Egypt. Several solutions have been offered.

According to Maimonides, the sacrifices were a means, not an end, to the service of G-d. Radak argues that sacrifices were not the first of G-d’s commands after the exodus; instead, civil laws were. Abarbanel goes so far as to say that initially G-d had not intended to give the Israelites a code of sacrifice, and did so only after the sin of the Golden Calf. The sacrifices were an antidote to the Israelites’ tendency to rebel against G-d.

The simplest explanation is to note that the Hebrew word ‘lo’ does not invariably mean “not”; sometimes it means “not only” or “not just”. According to this, Jeremiah is not saying that G-d did not command sacrifices. He did, but they were not the sole or even most important element of the religious life. The common denominator of the prophetic critique of sacrifices is not opposition to them as such, but rather an insistence that acts directed to G-d must never dull our sense of duty to mankind. Micah gave this idea one of its most famous expressions:

Micah 6:6-8 (parts) – “With what shall I come before HaShem and bow down before the exalted G-d?...Will HaShem be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?...He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does HaShem require of you:

To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your G-d.”

Yet the question remains. Why sacrifices? To be sure, they have not been part of the life of Judaism since the destruction of the Second Temple, almost 2,000 years ago. But why, if they are a means to an end, did G-d choose this end? This is, of course, one of the deepest questions in Judaism, and there are many answers. Here I want explore just one, first given by the early fifteenth century Jewish thinker, R. Joseph Albo, in his Sefer ha-Ikkarim.

Aztec Human Sacrifice Rituals in Meso-America

Albo’s theory took as its starting point, not sacrifices but two other intriguing questions. The first: Why, after the flood, did G-d permit human beings to eat meat? (Genesis 9: 3-5). Initially, neither human beings nor animals had been meat-eaters (Gen. 1: 29-30). What caused G-d, as it were, to change His mind?

The second: What was wrong with the first act of sacrifice -- Cain’s offering of “some of the fruits of the soil” (Gen. 4:3-5). G-d’s rejection of that offering led directly to the first murder, when Cain killed Abel. What was at stake in the difference between Cain and Abel as to how to bring a gift to G-d?

Albo’s theory is this. Killing animals for food is inherently wrong. It involves taking the life of a sentient being to satisfy our needs. Cain knew this. He believed there was a strong kinship between man and the animals. That is why he offered, not an animal sacrifice, but a vegetable one (his error, according to Albo, is that he should have brought fruit, not vegetables – the highest, not the lowest, of non-meat produce).

Abel, by contrast, believed that there was a qualitative difference between man and the animals. Had G-d not told the first humans: “Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves in the ground”? That is why he brought an animal sacrifice. Once Cain saw that Abel’s sacrifice had been accepted while his own was not, he reasoned thus. If G-d (who forbids us to kill animals for food) permits and even favors killing an animal as a sacrifice, and if (as Cain believed) there is no ultimate difference between human beings and animals, then I shall offer the very highest living being as a sacrifice to G-d, namely my brother Abel. Cain killed Abel not out of envy or animosity but as a human sacrifice.

The Violence as Hundreds of Thousands of Animals are Sacrificed Yearly in Nepal; Part of Numerous Cultures today Around the World today

That is why G-d permitted meat-eating after the flood. Before the flood, the world had been “filled with violence”. Perhaps violence is an inherent part of human nature. If there were to be any humanity at all, G-d would have to lower his demands of mankind. Let them kill animals, He said, rather than kill human beings – the one form of life that is not only G-d’s creation but also G-d’s image. Hence the otherwise almost unintelligible sequence of verses after Noah and his family emerge on dry land:

Genesis 8:20-22 – 9:1,3,6 (parts) – “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood…”

According to Albo the logic of the passage is clear. Noah offers an animal sacrifice in thanksgiving for having survived the flood. G-d sees that human beings need this way of expressing themselves. They are genetically predisposed to violence (“every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood”). If, therefore, society is to survive, human beings need to be able to direct their violence toward non-human animals, whether as food or sacrificial offering. The crucial ethical line to be drawn is between human and non-human. 

The permission to kill animals is accompanied by an absolute prohibition against killing human beings (“for in the image of G-d, has G-d made man”. It is not that G-d approves of killing animals, whether for sacrifice or food, but that to forbid this to human beings, given their genetic predisposition to violence, is utopian. It is not for now but for the end of days.

In the meanwhile, the least bad solution is to let people kill animals rather than murder their fellow humans. Animal sacrifices are a concession to human nature (on why G-d never chooses to change human nature, see Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed, Book III, ch. 32). Sacrifices are a substitute for violence directed against mankind.”

The contemporary thinker who has done most to revive this understanding (without, however, referring to Albo or the Jewish tradition) is René Girard, in such books as Violence and the Sacred, The Scapegoat, and Things Hidden since the Foundation of the World. The common denominator in sacrifices, he argues thus:

René Girard – “…internal violence – all the dissensions, rivalries, jealousies, and quarrels within the community that the sacrifices are designed to suppress. The purpose of the sacrifice is to restore harmony to the community, to reinforce the social fabric. Everything else derives from that." (Violence and the Sacred, pg. 8).

The worst form of violence within and between societies is vengeance, “an interminable, infinitely repetitive process”. Hillel (whom Girard also does not quote) said, on seeing a human skull floating on water, said in Avot 2:6:

Rabbi Hillel the Great (Avot 2:6) – “Because you drowned others, they drowned you, and those who drowned you will in the end themselves be drowned”

Sacrifices are one way of diverting the destructive energy of revenge. Why then do modern societies not practice sacrifice? Because, argues Girard, there is another way of displacing vengeance:

René Girard – “Vengeance is a vicious circle whose effect on primitive societies can only be surmised. For us the circle has been broken. We owe our good fortune to one of our social institutions above all: our judicial system, which serves to deflect the menace of vengeance. The system does not suppress vengeance; rather, it effectively limits itself to a single act of reprisal, enacted by a sovereign authority specializing in this particular function. The decisions of the judiciary are invariably presented as the final word on vengeance.” (Ibid. pg. 15)

(End of Quote)

Not only does Girard’s theory re-affirm the view of Albo. It also helps us understand the profound insight of the prophets and of Judaism as a whole. Sacrifices are not ends in themselves, but part of the Torah’s programme to construct a world redeemed from the otherwise interminable cycle of revenge. The other part of that programme, and G-d’s greatest desire, is a world governed by justice. That, we recall, was His first charge to Abraham, to “instruct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just.” (Genesis 18:19). 

Have we therefore moved beyond that stage in human history in which animal sacrifices have a point? Has justice become a powerful enough reality that we need no longer need religious rituals to divert the violence between human beings? Would that it were so!

In his book, The Warrior’s Honour (1997), Michael Ignatieff tries to understand the wave of ethnic conflict and violence (Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, Rwanda) that has scarred the face of humanity since the end of the Cold War. What happened to the liberal dream of “the end of history”? His words go the very heart of the new world disorder:

Michael Ignatieff – “The chief moral obstacle in the path of reconciliation is the desire for revenge. Now, revenge is commonly regarded as a low and unworthy emotion, and because it is regarded as such, its deep moral hold on people is rarely understood. But revenge – morally considered – is a desire to keep faith with the dead, to honour their memory by taking up their cause where they left off. Revenge keeps faith between generations…

This cycle of intergenerational recrimination has no logical end…But it is the very impossibility of intergenerational vengeance that locks communities into the compulsion to repeat…

Reconciliation has no chance against vengeance unless it respects the emotions that sustain vengeance, unless it can replace the respect entailed in vengeance with rituals in which communities once at war learn to mourn their dead together. (The Warrior’s Honour, pg. 188-190)

Far from speaking to an age long gone and forgotten, the Laws of Sacrifice tell us three things as important now as then: 

• First, violence is still part of human nature, never more dangerous than when combined with an ethic of revenge;
• Second, rather than denying its existence, we must find ways of redirecting it so that it does not claim yet more human sacrifices; and
• Third, that the only ultimate alternative to sacrifices, animal or human, is the one first propounded millennia ago by the prophets of ancient Israel. No one put it better than Amos:

Amos 5:23-24 – “Even though you bring Me burnt offerings and offerings of grain, I will not accept them…but let justice roll down like a river, and righteousness like a never-failing stream.” 

(End of Quote) 

Shabbat HaGadol and the Healing Message of the Malachi Parashah

Shabbat HaGadol (The Great or Awesome Sabbath), has its own reflection on the pending Redemption.  The Malachi Parashat portion brings a more promising Message. Ismar Schorsch, the chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary, writes

Ismar Schorsch – “Malachi, who lived in Judea some time after the return from the Babylonian exile, was the last of the prophets to make it into the Hebrew canon. We have but a few specimens of his message. His final words, which constitute our haftarah, relate to the end of days, a devastation that will spare only those who have remained faithful to God.

The return of Elijah, the prophet who never died, will both foretell the impending doom as well as provide salvation from it. In speaking of that day, Malachi uses the Hebrew word “gadol (great)”:

Malachi 3:23 – “So, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the coming of the awesome (gadol), fearful day of the Lord.”

The Real Life HaShem promises to Us: “Paradise Lost – Paradise Restored”

According to Malachi, when Elijah appears: 

Malachi 3:24 – “He shall reconcile parents with children and children with their parents, so that when I (the Lord of Hosts) come, I do not strike the whole land with utter destruction.”

In short, the onset of the Messianic Era begins at home with Familial Reconciliation.”"

(End of Quote)

In these Times of the reawakening and Return of the House of Israel, we can look at these "familial reconciliations" also as applying to the Greater Family of Israel: The House of Judah and the House of Israel; the proverbial 'Prodigal Son" and the "Faithful Son".

Similarly, we can apply the following recommendations to the desperately poor relationship between the two Houses of the Family of G-d (The House of Judah and the House of Ephraim (Lost 10-Israel). In a commentary on Parashat Tzav, Jill Minkoff of The Acadamy of Jewish Learning notes as follows: 

Jill Minkoff – “Malachi’s verses also speak to this relationship (with G-d) and are as poignant today as during his lifetime. Rev. Dr. A. Cohen, in commentary on The Twelve Prophets, describes the Jewish community of Malachi’s era as negligent: the Temple service was in disrepute, Temple priests were careless with their duties, people were not tithing appropriately, there was general skepticism and indifference with regard to religion, morals were lax, and divorce and intermarriage were common (Dr. A. Cohen, pg. 335).

Gunther Plaut, in The Haftarah Commentary, likens this to contemporary times: we often doubt G-d’s presence and justice, there is instability within communities, and the rate of divorce and intermarriage has increased (Gunther Plaut pg. 576). With these similarities across time, Malachi’s messages are still important and meaningful to us. In Malachi 3:6-7, G-d states: 

Malachi 3:6-7 – “…I am HaShem - I have not changed… From the very days of your fathers you have turned away from My laws…Turn back to Me, and I will turn back to you…” [These are very comforting assurances after the Divine Condemnations and utter Rejections of the normal 'Jeremiah Haftarah'].”

These are words of hope. G-d does not and has not changed; yet G-d can and is willing to “turn back”, make teshuvah, just as humans can. Cohen emphasizes that G-d wants (us) to turn from apathy and “rekindle” the spirit of religion; G-d is not necessarily concerned with the specific detail of ritual (as found in Parashat Tzav), but with ritual spirit that shows reverence to G-d (336). This ritual spirit, a process of teshuvah, is not easy.

“How shall We turn Back?”

In Malachi [3:7]), one is able to uncover the following seven-step process for teshuvah:

Step 1:

Acknowledge that one has turned away from G-d (3:4-5).

Step 2:

Determine whom the problem involves and who will need to take the corrective action (3:5-7).

Step 3:

Determine how to take the corrective actions (3:8-9).

Step 4:
Know the reward for changing back to G-d’s ways (3:10-12).

Step 5:
Know that G-d is aware of the current realities and barriers to change (3:13-16).

Step 6:
Know the consequences of not changing (3:17-21).

Step 7:
Know what to do and do it (3:22-24).

When Elijah appears (and hopefully before), reconcile relations between parent and child into a vision of family “unity and affection” (Plaut pg. 579). Yet, family reconciliation is difficult. Rabbi Missaghieh points out the immense nature of this challenge. There are no demonstrations of this teshuvah in biblical narration; so there are no “good old days” to look back upon and from which to learn (ibid pg. 288).

For us, other additions to this process may include being aware that a change is needed, understanding the laws of Moses and Israel, determining how to live according to these laws and rules, embracing the need to foster family unity, and living accordingly. It is not an easy task. It never has been.

We, the children of Jacob, must make the first ‘act-ion’ in the process of teshuvah; then God will also turn and we will finally be face-to-face enjoying the radiance and blessings that are our due.” 

(End of Quote)

This portion from Malachi, the final paragraphs of the Tanach) therefore ends with the admonition:  “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the Decrees and Laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.” This Divine Admonition is directed at the 'faithful Remnant':

Malachi 4:16-18 - “Then those who feared HaShem talked with each other, and HaShem listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared HaShem and honored His Name. On the day when I act,” says HaShem Almighty, ‘they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve G-d and those who do not.”

And, under the apt heading that was inserted into the English Translation of this Final Admonition: 

Breaking Covenant by Withholding Tithes

Malachi 4:6-12 – “I HaShem do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob [ALL 12 Tribes, both Houses of Israel], are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from My Decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says HaShem Almighty.

But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

“Will a mere mortal rob G-d? Yet you rob me.

But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing Me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My House. Test Me in this,” says HaShem Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of Heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says HaShem Almighty. ‘Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful Land,” says HaShem Almighty.”

It should be significant to all those interested in and striving for the Reconciliation of the Two divided Houses of Israel, that a Divine Call for Tithing underlies the Final Call of the Bible for the Final Days towards Redemption!

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You Might Want to Refer to the 2012-2013 Yearly Kol Ha’Tor Parashat Portion Reading Index for future Kol Ha’Tor Commentaries

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 KOL HA’TOR Presentation 

 Weekly Bible Reading #20 - Year 5773 (2012/2013) – March 2, 2013

 Parashat Ki Tisah (When you elevate): Exodus 30:11-34:35

Haftarah: I Kings 18:1-18:39
Sephardic: (I Kings 18:20-18:39 

NOTE: Kol HaTor, in its commentaries on the weekly Parashot, endeavors to search for and accentuate the Torah Messages contained in the Parashot as applicable to the main Theme of Tanach of the Return of the House of Israel, i.e. the Lost Ten Tribes of Northern Israel and their Reconciliation with Judah to form the reunited 12-Tribed Kingdom of Israel.

DISCLAIMER - The authors whom we quote from for this Commentary are not associated with KOL HA'TOR and need not agree with our views expressed herein or in our other publications. While we publish their views for its relative value to the interpretation of the Parashah, KOL HATOR does not necessarily agree with the views expressed by these authors. 

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The title of this Parashah, Ki Tisah, as is the Jewish tradition for naming each Parashah, is taken from the opening words of the portion. Various translations render it: 

• ‘When you take a census of the Israelites to count them ...’
• ‘When thou take the sum of the children of Israel ...’
• ‘When you raise the head of the children of Yisrael’

Our heading title above, taken from yashanet.com, reflects a more literal translation of this text as, 'when you elevate'. So, what has 'elevate' or 'raise' to do with a census?

The following review will show how fallible and even misleading the translations are which we so much depend on in order to read and understand the Bible - which is G-d's Message to mankind. Many non-Jewish Bible students forget that the Bible was NOT written in their language, but in Hebrew. They then draw their conclusions on their translations, which could be off the mark in some instances.

Our Ki'Tisah portion bears proof of this and confirms how important it is to understand Hebrew. But, even with a fluent understanding of the Hebrew language, it still lacks much, viz. the communal 'academic' research into the wider aspects surrounding the written Bible record. What better source for this wider insight, than the 3500 year academy of higher Jewish learning, containing the insights, debates, deliberations and conclusions of dedicated students throughout the centuries, many with above average intelligence and specialized knowledge?

We are referring to Rabbinic insight on these wider levels, founded upon practical experience over more than 3000 years with the very nation of the G-d of the Bible, the ‘G-d of Israel’. This knowledge, which initially has been transferred orally from generation to generation, was later recorded in various volumes which collectively became known as Rabbinic Oral Torah. Ki 'Tisah is a perfect example of the need for Oral Torah as compiled by the Rabbinic academy - not by those interpreters, no matter how specialized they are, who generally do not have an in-depth Hebrew knowledge, neither any in-depth and practical experience with the culture of the nation of G-d. These specialists each have their own ‘oral’ interpretations but without in-depth knowledge of the Jewish religion which was born out of the nation which is the main actor in the entire Bible.

So, let us delve deeper into Ki'Tisah. We quote from Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem, Israel by Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair:

Exodus 30:12 – “When you raise the head of the Children of Yisrael”

Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair – “Why does the Torah choose the expression raise the head to mean that Moshe should take a census of the Jewish People?

G-d explained to Moshe that the People had placed their lives in jeopardy by worshipping the golden calf. The process of counting them by the coins they were to donate would “raise their heads,” elevate them spiritually from the depths to which they sunk, and earn them atonement from their sin.

Moshe supposed that such atonement would require a coin of a very large denomination indeed. Perhaps it would be a kikar of silver, the equivalent of three thousand silver coins. ... Since G-d's Name was defamed when they proclaimed “These are your gods, Yisrael,” this might be the level of the atonement required.

At the very least, Moshe conjectured, G-d would demand a coin to the value of thirty shekalim. The owner of a goring ox must pay thirty shekels. By worshipping a calf, the Jewish People had traded G-d's glory for the image of a calf.

In the event, Moshe's fears were unfounded. G-d said to him "You need not pay Me coins worth a hundred, or fifty, or even thirty silver pieces. All I ask is that you donate one small coin to the value of a half-shekel.

Those half-shekel coins from the census were melted down and used for the silver sockets, the “adonim”, that were the foundation for the walls of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). In other words, the Mishkan literally stood on the half-shekalim that the People donated.”

In Parashat Terumah (week 19) we saw the importance for G-d’s people to make offerings of gold, silver and exquisite fabrics for the completion and maintenance of the Temple and Tabernacle. Ki'Tisah this week opens with a minimal amount as a form of census - thus, it was levied on each and every individual from the age of 20 on, as an atonement. 

Exodus 30:15 - 16 - “The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel when [you] give this offering to HaShem to make atonement for yourselves. And you shall take the atonement money of the Israelites and use it [exclusively] for the service of the Tent of Meeting, that it may bring the Israelites to remembrance before HaShem, to make atonement for yourselves.”

Many experienced fund raisers will confirm that it is the cumulative value of small contributions which raise the required funds. Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum, AZAMRA, comments as follows on the half Shekel atonement:

Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum - “When G-d spoke to Moses, He “showed him a kind of coin of fire, the weight of a half shekel” and He said to him: “THIS shall all who pass through the count give -- a half shekel” (Exekiel 30:13 and Rashi there). This fiery HALF SHEKEL COIN, which made every single citizen an equal partner in the Sanctuary and its upkeep, was the remedy for material lust and the appetite for wealth. Everyone was to join and be a partner in an enterprise that elevates material wealth -- the finest vessels of gold, silver and copper, the finest fabrics, choicest animals, flour, oil, wine and spices -- by incorporating them in the worship of the One G-d. This is where the display of wealth is truly fitting, a place where each may take a just pride in having a share. Having a joint share with everyone else in the national treasure, the Temple, keeping one's eyes focused on its splendid golden vessels and their implicit messages -- these are the medicine for the selfish lust for wealth for its own sake.

Differences in wealth and assets were of no significance in this annual half shekel tax that made each citizen an equal partner in the Temple enterprise. The rich could not give more nor the poor less. Souls cannot be quantified and counted -- each soul has its own unique significance that would be violated by trying to quantify it or assign it a number. What counts is that each person adds his or her own SELF and WILL, and is willing to play his or her part by paying the “head tax” and “casting a vote”. Numbers and wealth do not count in the eyes of G-d. What counts is each person's WILL to make a contribution -- to have an equal share with everyone else, without pride and without shame, in being part of the whole, feeding the Altar and bringing the fire of G-d's presence into the world.”

The Half Shekel atonement was a united national effort - as in a national census. Every one participated - the result? - the Mishkan (Tabernacle, later the Temple in Jerusalem).

The Talmud says “if you never saw the Second Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple), you never saw a beautiful building in your life.” The Beit HaMikdash was called the “eye of the world.” The eye is a physical organ but it receives something that is about as non-physical as you can get: Light. The Beit Hamikdash was called “the eye of the world” because it was the portal for the Light. The Beit HaMikdash was the most beautiful building not because of its dimensions and proportions or its finishes but because it revealed the resting of the Divine Presence in this world.

Faith is like a shadow. Faith is the knowledge of something that you cannot see”, Rabbi Yaakov Sinclair further remarks.

Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair – “The nation that dwells in the shadow of faith proclaims that existence extends beyond the here-and-now, beyond what can be perceived by the five senses of man. Faith is something that takes place in the shade. In the shadow.”

Today, both the Houses of Judah and reawakening 10-Israel reveal this Faith. What lacks though, is the “national unity.” They have to find each other and co-operate in unison like HaShem expected of 12-tribed Israel of old. Too often today, each House sees itself as the only cogwheel in the machine. Both Houses think that they can achieve Redemption by themselves; that the Divine Blessing applies to themselves only. We need to recall the words of Rabbi Avraham Feld, founder of the Kol HaTor Vision:

Rabbi Avraham Feld - “Judah without 10-Israel is like an airplane without wings, a car without wheels.”

We need a “national census atonement”; …he will give Terumah of G-d’:

Exodus 30:14 – “Every one that passes among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the offering (Terumah) of HaShem. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when they give the offering (Terumah) of HaShem, to make atonement for your souls.”

Note how these Atonement offerings are referred to as ‘Terumah’ in the same context. Now experience the following Rabbinic insight into Terumah, which is a Divine requirement on all of Israel - all twelve Tribes which were involved in Exodus. Surely, today it applies to both Judah and the re-identifying House of 10-Israel? Let us note what was written about Parashat Ki'Tisah (for 2012) by Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair:

Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair - "The entire Oral Torah begins with the question, “When do we read the Shema prayer in the evening?” The Mishna answers, “When the kohanim (priests) go in to eat their Teruma (the priestly gifts).”

What is the connection between saying the Shema and the mitzvah (Command) of Teruma? Why didn’t the Mishna (Oral Torah writings) just say, “The time to say Shema in the evening is when it gets dark”?

The Torah obligation to give Teruma is as little as a single grain. The Rabbinic obligation, however mandates between one-sixtieth, which is considered miserly, and one-fortieth, which is generous. The median amount is one-fiftieth. The word “Teruma” is an allusion to this median amount, for Teruma stands for trei mi-me’ah, two out of one hundred — one-fiftieth.

If the Torah was hinting through the word Teruma to the median gift of one-fiftieth, why did it express that fraction as two parts out of a hundred? Why didn’t it coin instead a word that used the words for ‘one’ and ‘fifty — Chad and Chamishim? Why wasn’t Teruma called “Chadshim” or something like that? And why specifically the proportion of two out of a hundred? Why not four parts out of two hundred, or eight out of four hundred?

The Vilna Gaon (author of the book Kol Ha'Tor) explains that the core of Shema lies in the first verse, Shema Yisrael, and in the next phrase Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto le’olam va’ed, “Blessed is Hashem’s name of the Honor of His Kingdom forever and ever,” which we say immediately afterward.

The essence of Shema is to affirm our belief that everything in existence is One and the smallest aspect of creation ultimately leads to Him alone.

The Gaon of Vilna observed that the twenty-five letters in the first verse of Shema and the twenty-four letters in Baruch Shem together equal forty-nine.

The number fifty connotes something beyond this world. We count forty-nine days of the Omer from Pesach till Shavuot, but we do not count the final day, the day of Shavuot itself, because Shavuot represents something beyond this world — the supernal moment of the closest encounter between G-d and man.

In this world, we can approach fifty, but we cannot count it; we cannot define or delineate it.

When I say the Shema, I surrender the ineffable, indisputable knowledge of my own existence and proclaim that there is only One Existence, and that I am no more than just one expression of that Ultimate Existence. That is the ‘one’ that I give to make the fifty complete.

My recitation of the Shema – my own closest encounter with G-d — represents the “one” that raises the forty-nine to fifty. And as I say the Shema twice daily, it represents the trei mi-me’ah – the two out of a hundred.

Trei mi me’ah– twice a day, the Teruma that I give is the forty-nine letters that make up my declaration of G-d’s total and absolute Unity, together with the ‘one’ — the surrender and elevation of my own existence that joins me to ‘fifty’ — the Ultimate Existence.”

A Repentant King David with the Prophet Nathan 

In this, there may be a hint also of the supreme ‘oneness’ that we may achieve through the Redemption; that ‘oneness’ that seems to be the underlying motive of HaShem's Creation Plan, which we have referred to in Parashat Commentary Lech’Lecha.

These important guidelines and Divine requirement of offerings recorded in the opening Scriptures of Parashat Ki’Tisah, are reviewed in another commentary on Ki'Tisah titled, YESHIVAT HARA'AYON HA'YEHUDI, Jerusalem, Israel by HaRav Yehuda Kreuser SHLIT"A, Rosh Yeshiva and presented by Rabbi Levi Chazen.

It also further confirms the deep insight that Rabbinic interpretation holds in the background to the actual Scriptures - knowledge without which it would be impossible to fully understand the Bible.

HaRav Yehuda Kreuser SHLIT"A – “Every Jewish child knows the elementary rule in Judaism, that one does not count the Jewish people by numbers, one... two...three. Rather, each person gives a small coin worth half a shekel and once they are collected, the coins are then counted to know the sum of the population. Rashi comments: ‘And there will be no plague among them; otherwise there will be a plague, for the evil eye can affect that which has been counted and pestilence can come upon them, as we have found in the days of King David.’

And what took place in the time of King David? We find in the book of II Samuel that King David ordered his general, Yoav, to take a census of the Jewish people. This was in spite of the fact that Yoav objected to the taking of a direct census because of the biblical transgression of not counting the Jewish people. But King David was adamant and the counting of the census went on. Immediately thereafter, 70,000 people died in a plague.

The question arises: How is it possible that the mighty King David ordered his top general to take a direct census, something that is clearly forbidden in the Torah, as even every young child knows?

It is clear that a dark decree was hanging over the Jewish people [12-Israel], and for this reason King David had forgotten a very simple rule in Jewish law and caused a plague to befall the people. But what was it that could have been so bad that it caused the death of some 70,000 people?

Our Rabbis in the Midrash fill in the blanks and teach us that the sin of the people at that time was that they had no desire to build a House for G-d; each family was content with their own homes and gardens, letting the Holy Temple wait for some other generation, some other time. So great was G-d's wrath at His people that this horrendous plague killed off 70,000 people!

And as in every generation, they had all the excuses in the world for putting off the building of the Temple: It's not the right time... the nation is not ready... the prophet Natan had told King David that he would not be the one to build a House for G-d. They already had the tabernacle, a temporary dwelling place, so why the urgency for a permanent place? And still, in spite of all these seemingly ‘correct’ excuses, the wrath of G-d came upon the Jewish people.

Interestingly, these same excuses are still thrown around today by Rabbis and laymen alike.

‘In order to ensure that a reoccurrence of this horrible plague will not happen again, the Rabbis tried to awaken our desire for the Holy Temple.

Three times a day we [the Jews] pray for the return to the Land of Israel, to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and its House of G-d. At every wedding, our happiest moment, we break the glass to remember the Temple.

When we build our home, we leave a small area unfinished to remember that as long as the Temple is still not built, our homes are also missing the final touch. And as we sit together at the Passover Seder, we declare: ‘Next year in Jerusalem’. Alas. how many of us are just saying the words, going through the motions - but in reality, it is actually the last thing that we want, for the Temple and its service would not fit into our daily lives. If we truly desired it, nothing would stand in our way to make it happen.”

Practical fulfillment and evidence in this week's News

 

Once more and right on time, this week featured a statement by a ‘shocked’ former member of Israel Knesset. He visited the Temple Mount for the first time in many years and was ‘astounded’ at the shocking discriminating treatment that Jews received on “the Holiest Site in the world - the Temple Mount.”

A “Save the Temple Mount” Call went out from a concerned source in Jerusalem and their following response was reported:

“After many attempts to contact the Orthodox Union, (largest Jewish Orthodox organization in the US) including emails and phone calls to convince them to join our efforts to oppose both the destruction of the Temple antiquities and the persecution of Jews who ascend to the Temple Mount, we received today a loud and clear NO.

“The Orthodox Union will not speak to us nor have anything to do with efforts for the Temple Mount."

The silence from Jewish authorities, the Knesset and even Rabbis on this disgrace and desecration of the Temple Mount is simply deafening! 

And 10-Israel? 

Haftarah

 

Elijah and the Prophets of Baal and Asheroth on Mount Carmel 

Whereas our Parashah reading relates the idolatrous affair of the 12 Tribes at Sinai, our Parashah relates the idolatrous affairs of the 10 Tribes under King Ahab before their exile. The king himself had built an altar to Baal, and his Phoenician wife, Jezebel, encouraged pagan cults and persecuted Israelite prophets. It is against this idolatrous and dangerous state of affairs that the prophet Elijah battles.

1 Kings 18:18-20 – “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you [Ahab] and your father’s family have. You have abandoned HaShem’s Commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.”

It may not be so commonly known that Elijah took on the Baal prophets of Northern 10-Israel on this occasion. Ten Tribers are normally very defensive about why the Ten Tribes rebelled against Judah and Jerusalem. They insist that it was because of the heavy taxation that Jerusalem laid on them. Elijah though, spells it out in the above encounter with Ahab (as it stands confirmed in several other Scriptures in the Bible also), i.e. because of their rebellion against Torah and acquiring themselves “other Lords” to follow.

Though they claim to serve the same God as Judah, they have created for themselves an entire un-Jewish ‘trinitarian multiple godhead’ and a Messiah whom most claim has “done away with” Torah and its Divinely mandated judicial authority (the Mechoqeck) of Judah. On this occasion the prayers of 10-Israel's Baal prophets were NOT heard and despite an entire day of praying, running around the altar, increasing their voices, NOTHING occurred. ‘Their god’ did NOT hear!

The Message of Ki'Tisah calls loudly for 10-Israel in these days to join Judah in a ‘census atonement offering’ to build the Land and eventually the Temple. Significantly this Message presents Elijah's confrontation and confirmation that: "HaShem — He is G-d! HaShem — He is G-d!” (The concluding text of the Haftarah). 

Compiled and presented by KOL HATOR 

Contact us , or write to:

P O Box 3174

Karnei Shomron

ISRAEL

44855

Tel. +972 52 7474834

Skype: bibrev

Refer also on this Web Site to: 

• Follow the full series of these commentaries
• More Audio & Video studies
• The Meaning of Kol Ha Tor
• Bible Confirmations of the Kol HaTor Vision
• Join the Kol HaTor Project as an Associate Supporter 

************

You Might Want to Refer to the 2012-2013 Yearly Kol Ha’Tor Parashat Portion Reading Index for future Kol Ha’Tor Commentaries

You might Want to Read Destination Yisra’el’s Kol Ha’tor Series on “Judah the Mechoqeck”

“Judah -The Lawgiver of God–Part One”

“Judah-The Lawgiver of God –Part Two” 

To understand more about the Return of the 10 Tribes of Israel to their Homeland in Shomron (Samaria), Israel, Contact “Kol Ha’Tor”, the Voice of the Turtledove. Here is a joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber Mission to bring awareness of the imminent fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United). 

This reunification will truly be the supernal Event of all Times for it will entail Establishing Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of the Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness as part of the Land of Israel, and preparing the “Land” for the Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel and then the Redemption of All Israel. 

For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor’s Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, we invite you to make a personal Visit to Israel and stay at “Shomron Lives!”, a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost Tribers of the House of Israel to their future and Prophetic Homeland.

Related articles

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Is it Time for the Israel to Stand Alone and No Longer Accept US Aid? - "Serve G-d and all Nations will Serve You."

Parashat Mishpatim: HaShem, the Angel of the G-d's plan for Greater Israel

Former Labor MK Daniel Ben-Simon cuts short a Visit to the Temple Mount after he personally Witnessed the Discrimination of Jews.

Parashot B'Shalach: Crossing the Red Sea and the Ecstasy of Redemption singing the "Song at the Sea"

Netanyahu: "The Political Genius of Israeli Politics"

Parashat Tetzaveh: The Golden Garment of the High Priest highlights "Lost 10-Israel's" Forgotten Importance

Parashat Terumah: The Building of the Tabernacle of the Dwelling in the Wilderness

Parashat Yithro: "The Priest, Sage, Advisor to Pharaoh and Moses; Yithro (Zethro) becomes an Israelite"

Parashat Tetzaveh: The Golden Garment of the High Priest highlights “Lost 10-Israel’s” Forgotten Importance

Parashot & Haftarot from Shemot - Exodus

 

The Golden Garment of the High Priest of Israel

KOL HA’TOR Presentation

Weekly Bible Reading #20 - Year 5773 (2012/2013) – Feb. 23, 2013

Parashat Tetzaveh (You shall command): Exodus 27:20 - 30:10

Haftarah: Ezekiel 43:10-43:27

NOTE: Kol HaTor, in its commentaries on the weekly Parashot, endeavours to search for and accentuate the Torah Messages contained in the Parashot as applicable to the main Theme of Tanach of the Return of the House of Israel, i.e. the Lost Ten Tribes of Northern Israel and their Reconciliation with Judah to form the reunited 12-Tribed Kingdom of Israel.

DISCLAIMER - The authors whom we quote from for this Commentary are not associated with KOL HA'TOR and need not agree with our views expressed herein or in our other publications. While we publish their views for its relative value to the interpretation of the Parashah, KOL HATOR does not necessarily agree with the views expressed by these authors. 

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 Tetzaveh is the 2^nd of a series of 5 Parashot about the Tabernacle, providing specifications of its design, contents, apparel and services. From our previous Parashat Terumah, we have, identified the important message for ourselves: 

• How the Tabernacle provides man the opportunity to renew him/herself “in the image of G-d” and to draw closer until G-d Himself “dwells with man”;
• How it is man's responsibility to support the building and maintenance of the Temple and its services with his/her assets, possessions and abilities by returning to G-d some of that which G-d in His Kindness has bestowed and which really belongs to Him.

This week, in Parashat Tetzaveh, we will see, from the apparel of the High Priest, what an important part the twelve Tribes hold in the Creation and Redemption Plan of HaShem.

Tetzaveh, at great length, describes the special clothing that the Priests (Kohanim) wore in the Temple. These garments were of such importance that if anything was lacking, the Temple service would become invalid. Eight garments were prescribed for the High Priest (Kohen HaGadol).  That is four more garments than for the Priests.

The first mentioned of these special garments for the High Priest, is the Ephod which was an elaborate garment that rested upon the Kohen Gadol’s shoulders. Upon the shoulders were two gemstones that were engraved with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. “This teaches us that at all times we have upon our shoulders not only ourselves, but also the entire Nation of Israel [12 Tribes of Israel]. This is true both in our relation with Hashem and with the rest of the world ... Our acts, for the good and the bad reflect upon the entire Jewish people. Thus, each of us carries the entire twelve tribes upon our shoulders.”

Then Rabbi Yonasan Biggs with Chabad.org discussed another part of the High Priest's attire, the Breast Plate (Choshen Mishpat). On it were twelve different gemstones, upon each of which was inscribed the name of one of the Tribes of Israel. As Rabbi Biggs wrote:

Rabbi Yonasan Biggs – “The inscription of the Twelve Tribes on the Breastplate teaches that we must always have the entire Jewish people [all 12 Tribes] upon our heart. When we pray, we pray for everyone, when we make a decision, we concern ourselves with everyone… “The Choshen was primarily an instrument designed to communicate Prophecy. The Choshen's function as an essential garment of the Kohen Gadol was subsidiary. This means that the stones and the letters engraved upon them were the main element of the Choshen. The breastplate was fundamentally a garment designed to display the stones which featured these engravings. If this possibility is accepted, then it follows that the size of the stones and the lettering was dictated by the primary function – communicating prophecy. All letters [All Ten Tribes of Israel] were equally essential.”

When we analyze the commentary by Rabbi Bernie Fox with Mesora.org, we learn concerning the Choshen Moshpat the following:

Rabbi Bernie Fox – “The Torah describes the stones of the Choshen as “avnai miluim”. Most commentaries translate this term as “stones meant to be set.” This is a strange appellation for these stones. Why did the Torah not merely describe them as stones for adornment of the Kohen Gadol’s garments? What message is the Torah communicating by referring to the stones as avnai miluim?

Gershonides responds to this question. He explains that the Choshen featured gold settings. The stones were required in order to fill these gold settings. This is an odd way to describe the relationship between the stones and the Choshen. The simpler, more straightforward description would be that the settings were required to accommodate the stones.

A simple example will illustrate this point. What is the relationship between the diamond in an engagement ring and its setting? It would be incorrect to describe the diamond as “required to fill”, or complement, the setting (thus suggesting that the diamond is secondary to the setting). The setting is designed to hold the diamond!" (Thus, the Lost Ten Tribes played a primary role in HaShem's Temple Plan!)

Why does Gershonides describe the stones as “required” to fill the gold settings? Gershonides’ point is that the stones were designated to adorn and complete the Choshen.”

This enlightening insight presented by Mesora.org continues when we review the High Priest's Head Plate: 

The Message of the Kohen Gadol’s Head-Plate

Golden Garment of the High Priest of Israel

Exodus 28:36 -

“And you should make a Head-plate of pure gold. And you should engrave upon it as the engraving of a signet ring, “Sanctified to Hashem”.

Rabbi Bernie Fox – “One of the eight garments of the Kohen HaGadol was the Tzitz – the golden Head-Plate. This band was worn on the forehead. Engraved upon the Tzitz were the words, “kodesh laHashem” – “sanctified to Hashem”.

The message of the Tzitz seems difficult to unravel. The Tzitz is obviously declaring the sanctity of some object or person. However, the specific entity to which the Tzitz refers is not clear. Furthermore, we would expect the message of the Tzitz to be self-evident. The Tzitz is making the overt assertion that it—or someone—is ‘sanctified to G-d.’ Such a message should be easy to grasp!

This issue can perhaps be resolved from the comments of the Sefer HaChinuch. Sefer HaChinuch explains the garments of the kohanim and the Kohen Gadol were designed to reinforce an important impression ... This suggests that the phrase, “sanctified to Hashem” refers to the Kohen Gadol. He is sanctified to Hashem. The Tzitz reminds the High Priest of his position and his duties. He must conduct himself in accordance with his responsibilities. (Rav Ahron HaLeyve, Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah 99)

Rabbaynu Shemuel ben Meir – Rashbam – offers an alternative explanation of the message of the Tzitz. Rashbam suggests that in order to understand the message of the Tzitz, it is essential to evaluate it as part of the entire set of vestments. The garments of the Kohen Gadol must be considered as a whole.

The Tzitz was not the only vestment featuring words. The Ephod – the apron – and the Choshen also featured words. On the stones of the Ephod and Choshen the names of the tribes were engraved. Rashbam suggests that the message of the Tzitz emerges when considered in relation to these other vestments and their engravings. Rashbam explains the Tzitz refers to the shevatim -- the [12-] Tribes whose names were engraved on the stones of the Ephod and Choshen. The Tzitz (therefore) refers to these shevatim as sanctified to Hashem.” (Rabbaynu Shemuel ben Meir (Rashbam) Commentary on Sefer Shemot 28:36.) 

What a glorious Calling! What an exalted position!

Deuteronomy 33:29 – “Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by HaShem? He is your Shield and Helper and your glorious Sword.”

From its very beginnings, this “one nation” has been comprised of twelve distinct tribes. Jacob had twelve sons; before his passing he blessed them ‘each man according to his individual blessing,’ granting Judah the majesty of the lion, Issachar the perseverance of the donkey, Dan the ingenuity of the snake, Naphtali the swiftness of the gazelle, and so on. Each tribe was thereby given a distinct vocation and role: Judah produced kings and legislators; Issachar, scholars; Zebulun, seafarers and merchants; warriors came from Gad, schoolteachers from Shimon, olive growers from Asher, shepherds from Manasseh, and so on.

The descendants of Jacob’s children preserved their tribal identities throughout their exile in Egypt. When the Red Sea parted to allow them passage, it split into twelve pathways—one for each tribe. Each tribe was counted separately in the various censuses taken of the people of Israel; each [Tribe] had its own stone on the High Priest’s breastplate, its own flag (in the color of its stone), its designated place in line when the people of Israel journeyed through the desert, and its designated position when they camped around the Sanctuary (mirroring the places that Jacob designated for his sons around his bier at his funeral).

Twelve spies, each representing his respective tribe, made up the reconnaissance mission sent in preparation for the conquest of the Holy Land. Once there, each tribe was allotted its own territory suited for its particular vocation; there was even a time when certain restrictions were placed on marriages between the tribes to prevent the ownership of land from passing from one tribe to the other.

Even as we each pursue our divinely ordained role, each living his life on his “day” in his way, we are all doing the same thing. For in origin and essence we are one, and our individual lives and accomplishments are but the many expressions of a single quest.

The first aspect of our unity concerns only the end, but not the means, of our national mission. It sees the common goal that is the ultimate purpose of it all; but the process of life—what we actually do to attain this goal—remains an area of difference and disparity. So even if our present-day efforts are guided by, and permeated with, the vision of our common objective, our actual lives are conducted apart and disconnected. The second aspect, however, sees an intrinsic oneness in the process of life itself. Even before our individual paths have converged upon the same destination, it sees in the many ways in which we apply our particular talents and abilities a single process, a single deed, a single endeavor: making our lives a “Tent of Meeting,” a place to house the goodness and perfection of our Creator.

HaShem's One Nation uniquely features '12-Tribes' divided into TWO Houses.

Rabbi Simon Jacobson poses the question in the article titled; “Meaningful Life”:

Rabbi Simon Jacobson - “How, indeed, do a people comprised of various tribes, each with its own character, temperament, talents and vocation, achieve union as ‘one nation’?

One approach is to focus on our “interdependence”: to appreciate that since we share a common goal—namely, to build for G‑d ‘a dwelling in the physical world’—and since we each have a crucial role to play in the achievement of this goal, our various ‘tribes’ and types complement and fulfill one another to create a single people. In other words, our differences themselves are what unite us. Since the entity ‘Israel’ and what it stands for would be incomplete were any one ‘tribe’ missing from the equation, no Jew is fully Jewish without his relationship with every other type of Jew.”

The greatest stumbling block today in the way of Redemption (i.e. Reconciliation of the two Houses, 12 Tribes), is the diversity amongst the two Houses. It is clear from the above review, that we are blindly and stubbornly stumbling across the Solution: HaShem sees us and wants us to be ONE UNITED Nation. He has in fact created the diversity amongst the different Tribes - NOT to divide, but to perfect the ONENESS of His Nation.

No one tribe could ever fulfill His requirements on all aspects of life fully by itself. As pointed out above, it is the sum total of the diversities that bring full Oneness. But, there has to be Unity across the diversity! Rather than seeing these diversities as failures and stumbling stones, it should be seen as stepping stones to Unity and Oneness.

Research has shown that the best lasting marriages come from two totally diverse spouses. Look around you at those successful marriages - how totally diverse the spouses are! Research has shown how that the children from such marriages, being exposed to the two opposites of life options in their own lives, benefit through their experience of the two opposites in their parents. In this way they are given two extremes between which to make informed decisions in their own lives. In this way our Creator has provided us with additional life style tools to draw closer to Him and to enjoy the Blessing of righteous living!

Unfortunately, more than often, we see these keys to life as obstacles rather than stepping stones. And we do the same when it comes to establishing Peace in the House of HaShem amongst His diverse people! Just as in marriage, what generally causes the break down; is the individual insistence to "have it MY way!”

May this life generating insight brought to us by our Rabbis, into this otherwise 'dry' portion of Scripture, serve to help us appreciate the diversities amongst 12-Israel and between the two greatly divided Houses of HaShem.

Which would bring the ultimate Redemption to the Door Step!

Compiled and presented by KOL HATOR – http://www.kolhator.org.il

Contact us , or write to:

P O Box 3174

Karnei Shomron

ISRAEL

44855

Tel. +972 52 7474834

Skype: bibrev

Refer also on this Web Site to: 

• Follow the full series of these commentaries
• More Audio & Video studies
• The Meaning of Kol Ha Tor
• Bible Confirmations of the Kol HaTor Vision
• Join the Kol HaTor Project as an Associate Supporter

************

You Might Want to Refer to the 2012-2013 Yearly Kol Ha’Tor Parashat Portion Reading Index for future Kol Ha’Tor Commentaries

You might Want to Read Destination Yisra’el’s Kol Ha’tor Series on “Judah the Mechoqeck”

“Judah -The Lawgiver of God–Part One”

“Judah-The Lawgiver of God –Part Two”

To understand more about the Return of the 10 Tribes of Israel to their Homeland in Shomron (Samaria), Israel, Contact “Kol Ha’Tor”, the Voice of the Turtledove. Here is a joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber Mission to bring awareness of the imminent fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United).

This reunification will truly be the supernal Event of all Times for it will entail Establishing Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of the Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness as part of the Land of Israel, and preparing the “Land” for the Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel and then the Redemption of All Israel.

For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor’s Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, we invite you to make a personal Visit to Israel and stay at “Shomron Lives!”, a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost Tribers of the House of Israel to their future and Prophetic Homeland.

Related articles

Welcome to a New Era: the Age of the Messiah is Now upon Us!

Is it Time for the Israel to Stand Alone and No Longer Accept US Aid? - "Serve G-d and all Nations will Serve You."

Parashat Terumah: The Building of the Tabernacle of the Dwelling in the Wilderness

Parashat Va'eirah: The Comparison of Pharaoh's Hardened Heart and Lost Ten Israel's with Judah

Parashat Yithro: "The Priest, Sage, Advisor to Pharaoh and Moses; Yithro (Zethro) becomes an Israelite"

Parashat Shemos: Moses, the Israelite Exodus and the Final Redemption

Parashat Mishpatim: HaShem, the Angel of the G-d's plan for Greater Israel

The Cycle of Oppression and Death surrounding Jerusalem can be Broken; it will take Judah and Joseph to Accomplish It

Tetzaveh