Jesus, the Jewish Messiah - Part 2

The weekly Torah portions from the Book of Exodus

To make things a little more "reader friendly", I have decided to continue this study of the Torah portions on a new page, separating the parashahs from Exodus from those of Genesis. As the blogs are now complete, I have reversed the original order so they may be read from top to bottom.

For those who have missed this from the beginning, the commentary on the Genesis portions may be found here:

The central theme of the book of Exodus is the opposing realities of Exile and Redemption. This is described on many levels: in physical deliverance from bondage to freedom, in illumination of the darkness of the soul, in the powerful infilling by the Spirit of G-d, and in filling with hope the empty, meaningless lives lived by those separated from G-d. Is it any wonder that most Jewish Messianic literature refers back to Moshe as “the first redeemer”?

Indeed, both in rabbinic and apocryphal Jewish literature Moshe is described as a Messianic figure, both in his time and as a precursor to “the final redeemer”, the coming great and final Moshiach (Messiah). When looking at the lives of Y’shua and Moshe, it is impossible not to notice the myriad parallels, and it would be silly to suggest those parallels were not intentional.

Moshe first appears in the narrative as a vulnerable three-month-old baby who, in an attempt to save his life, is cast upon the waters of the Nile in a pitch-coated, woven basket called a “tevah” in Hebrew. I made mention in “parashah Noach” that it is the very same word used for the Ark of Noah (but different from the Ark of the Covenant). Once again, we see a man of G-d literally and figuratively redeemed by a physical item that represents the word of G-d. Moshe is drawn from the river by Pharaoh’s daughter and named M’sis, an Egyptian name meaning “drawn from the water” (Exodus 2:10), a name translated into Hebrew as Moshe (and Moses in English). In Rabbinic writing there is an understanding the one whom G-d chooses to draw His people out of bondage in Egypt is himself drawn forth from the waters like a ‘big fish’!

We read in the Gospel of Matthew 3: 13-17: “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of G-d descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."”

As predicted by rabbinical lore, G-d drew forth the Messiah from the water just as Moshe was drawn. But there is more: as a helpless baby, Yochebed places him under the eye of his older sister, Miryam. She watches over him and when he drawn from the water by Pharaoh’s daughter, Miryam sees to it that their mother is made his wet nurse. All those years later, Y’shua as a helpless baby is watched over and cared for by another young woman, also named Miryam. She oversees his infancy and sees to it he is fed.

In verse 15 of chapter 2, after Moshe has his run-in with the abusive Egyptian and the accusative Hebrew, he escapes Egypt and works in the Midian desert for 40 years as a shepherd for his father-in-law Yitro (Jethro). It is during this time that G-d trains Moshe as a leader for his people while they will be in the desert lands between Egypt and Eretz Yisra’el. The Midrash says, “Moshe, leading Yitro’s flocks into the wilderness, was typical of his leading G-d’s flock in the wilderness. Sheltering, feeding, and getting drink for the sheep were the forerunners of his obtaining for Yisra’el the sheltering protection of the pillars of fire and cloud, and a supply of manna, quail, and water in the wilderness” – Exodus Rabbah 2

Y’shua, immediately after he is drawn up from the water goes into the desert. None of the Gospels specify into which desert Y’shua went, though it does not seem a huge leap of faith to assume it was the Midian lands. After all, John immersed him in the Yarden (Jordan) River and from either bank of that river he could reach the Midian desert simply by heading south below the Dead Sea. However, whether he actually went to the Midian desert or not makes no difference. The parallel of his 40 days of preparation in the desert to Moshe’s 40 years of preparation in the desert again is inescapable.

The next events for both men, while in contrast, again have many Messianic reverberations. While Moshe is confronted by G-d, it is Satan who confronts Y’shua. We read in chapter 4 the conversation between G-d and Abraham. The conversation is recorded with a beautiful symmetry in the Hebrew and the numerical set-ups again echo the meanings of the text. Moshe’s name is mentioned 14 times through the conversation, 7 x 2, further cementing that this narrative is about Moshe’s inauguration as the leader of Yisra’el. Moshe answers G-d 7 times while G-d addresses Moshe 15 times. While the uninitiated will look and see only 7 utterances by G-d, the rabbinical student knows about the “vayomer”. “Vayomer” means “and he said”. It is used in the text when re-initiating speech from a particular person. We find many places in the Torah where “vayomer” happens within a speech of one person without an interruption from anyone else. The sages have concluded from reading the texts that in each case, the pause that is implied has significance and implies either that the speaker intends a response from the listener that he does not get, either due to the listener being obtuse or obstinate, or that the listener has carried out an expected physical response.

What is fascinating to note in this narrative is how Moshe’s replies line up to each other symmetrically, giving the greatest weight to the middle response as a sort of fulcrum on which the rest of the conversation turns:

In his first response, “Here am I”, Moshe expresses his willingness to be recognized by G-d, whereas his last response negatively mirrors it: “"O L-rd, please send someone else to do it." The second and sixth responses are linked similarly, the first being a question of worthiness made in humility, the sixth being an assertion of unworthiness. The third and fifth responses again oppose one another, the third being a question to G-d and the fifth being an answer to him.

This leaves us with the fourth response as being targeted by the author. Further, it should be noted that while all the other responses have to do with Moshe himself, the middle response does not. It has to do with the people of Yisra’el themselves and it is here that is the crux of the matter:

“But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The L-rd hath not appeared unto thee.”

Here lies the issue at hand and indeed the very purpose of the Exodus. The people of G-d do not possess a deep enough faith in their G-d to actually believe he will save them from their plight. But G-d, by his signs and wonders intends to create in them a faith that is a real living thing in them, not simply a slaves’ means of escapism as it is in the beginning. Thus, Moshe will be given a two-fold mission by G-d. First, he is to teach them that the G-d of their fathers is real and is the creator and master of all nature. G-d will show them this through the 10 plagues. Second, Moshe is to let them know that this all-powerful sovereign cares for them and wants them to rely on him completely to fulfill their lives. G-d will accomplish this during the 40 years in the desert. It is certainly worth noting that it will take the end of the first generation and the rising of the next before the people understand this as a whole.

Now we skip ahead to Y’shua. Looking at the point in which the temptation takes place, it is easy to draw the comparison to the inauguration of Moshe, for after the temptation has ended, Y'shua (after being comforted by the angels) then goes out and begins his ministry. Again, however, the crux of the matter is that the people do not have the right kind of faith in their G-d. They do not understand what he wants, nor are they particularly interested: The Gospel of Matthew 23:37-28 /The Gospel of Luke 13:34-35: “"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 35Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the L-rd.’"”

The people of Yisra’el do not understand the Messiah or what he means to accomplish, not even his own closest disciples! Yet this is essential to the mission of Y’shua, for “Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." - Isaiah 6:10 as quoted by Y’shua in the Gospel of Mark 4:12/the Gospel of Matthew 13:15/the Gospel of John 12:40. For if the people had turned to be healed, Y’shua would have been sacrificed as atonement for all and the separation of humanity from G-d would have continued.

We see the same concept echo in Satan’s temptation of Y’shua in the desert. This time the number of importance is not seven but three, another numerical value with a sense of finality. Unlike the responses of Moshe, however, all three of Y’shua’s responses have to do with the people of Yisra’el and their mistaken expectations of the Messiah they wish to be delivered to them:

First, Satan tempts Y’shua to turn the stones of the desert into bread. This would have fulfilled an apocryphal notion of the great Messiah repeating the miracle of the first redeemer, that of bringing manna from heaven.

“And it shall come to pass at that self-same time that the treasury of manna shall again descend from on high, and they will eat of it in those years, because these are they who have come to the consummation of time”.—2 Baruch 29:8

Y’shua rejects this temptation and later he will chastise the Pharisees (P’rushim) for saying that Moshe delivered the manna, reminding them that it was G-d who gave them manna, not Moshe (Gospel of John 6:32-33).

Secondly, Satan tempts Y’shua to leap form the top of the Temple onto the rocks below, quoting Psalm 91:11,12 that “'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'”

Again, the picture of the earthly Messiah desired by Jerusalem rears its head:

[35] But he shall stand on the top of Mount Zion. [36] And Zion will come and be made manifest to all people, prepared and built, as you saw the mountain carved out without hands. [37] And he, my Son, will reprove the assembled nations for their ungodliness (this was symbolized by the storm), [38] and will reproach them to their face with their evil thoughts and the torments with which they are to be tortured (which were symbolized by the flames), and will destroy them without effort by the law (which was symbolized by the fire).—4 Ezra 13:35-38.

The people expected the Messiah to announce himself from the highest point of Mount Zion and declare war on the Gentiles. As any historian can tell you, the highest point of Mount Zion in the days of Y’shua was the top of the Temple itself. What better way to announce his earthly domination than to throw himself from the highest point in Jerusalem and be rescued by the angels, held aloft for all Yisra’el to see and on whom to rally? Y’shua again rejects this earthly version of salvation.

Finally, Satan says that he will give “all the kingdoms of the world in their slendour” to Y’shua if he will bow down to him. Once more, the people’s picture of the conquering Messiah is raised:

“And he will appear to punish the Gentiles, And he will destroy all their idols.

Then, thou, O Israel, shalt be happy. And thou shalt mount upon the necks and the wings of the eagle [Rome], And they shall be ended and G-d will exalt thee. And thou shalt look from on high And see thine enemies in Gehenna, And thou shalt recognize them and rejoice.”—The Assumption of Moses 10: 8-10.

Y’shua again rejects the misunderstood version of the Messiah and sends Satan away. After the angels minister to him, he begins the work of gathering his disciples whom he will train in the scriptures so that after he is risen, they will understand just what the Messiah was always meant to be.

Y’shua’s mission, like Moshe, is two-fold. First, through the miracles and signs, he will show his disciples that G-d exists, but this time, there is more to show: that G-d has come down to them and is moving among them.

Second, by his death and resurrection, he will show them that G-d cares for them and wants them to rely on him completely to fulfill their lives.

At the beginning of this parashah in verses 6-8, G-d makes five promises to the sons of Ya’akob. These five promises are remembered and recited every Passover and tied to the five cups of wine served during the Passover Seder:

Exodus 6:

1 – The Cup of Sanctification (I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians)

2 – The Cup of Deliverance (I will free you from being slaves to them)

3 – The Cup of Redemption (I will redeem you with an outstretched arm)

4 – The Cup of Restoration (I will take you as my own people and I will be your G-d)

5 – The Cup of Elijah (I will bring you into the land I swore…to give to Abraham)

 

Y’shua fulfills the promise of all five cups of the Seder:

1—He brings us out from under the yoke of sin and the Law when we accept him as our L-rd (Romans 8: 1-4).

2—He frees us from the death and damnation of sin, having himself taken the wrath as punishment for our sins (Hebrews 9:14-15; Revelation of John 1:5-6).

3—He redeemed us with his outstretched arms on the cross (Galatians 3:13-14).

4—He makes us his people (1 Peter 2:9-10).

5—He brings us into eternal life and into the eternal kingdom of G-d through the salvation of the cross and the resurrection (Gospel of John 17:1-3).

All of these promises and fulfillments are implicit in the cup he told us to drink in his memory until he comes again.

 

The concept of growing an incomplete, shallow faith into a living, active faith mentioned in the previous parashah continues in this week’s parashah and the next as we see the conflict unfold between Moshe and Pharaoh.

We get the first glimpse of the problem immediately following those promises made in 6:6-9. Moshe tells the people who it was that sent him and of the promises G-d made concerning their redemption from Egypt (more on that shortly), but the people do not believe him.

Interestingly enough, G-d does not send him back to convince the people; instead, he sends Moshe directly from there to Pharaoh. Through the rest of this portion, we read of the first 7 plagues. In next week’s portion, the final 3 are recounted. The comments this week bleed over somewhat into the next parashah and the comments concerning it naturally will look back into this one as well.

 

First, let us concern ourselves with the reasons for the plagues. After all, as many rabbinical commentaries like to suggest, G-d had set the time of the Jewish sojourn in Egypt and it would have ended when he set it no matter what. Why then did he use the plagues to bring about the exodus of Yisrael?

For centuries, Jewish and Christian scholars alike have struggled over the fact that the text tells us that “G-d hardened Pharaoh’s heart”. Many reasons and explanations, some fairly good, some far stretches, have been posited, but I believe the ancient rabbinical wisdom of Rabbi Obadiah S’forno (1470-1550 C.E.) puts it best:

“’And I will harden his heart’: since Pharaoh would not be able to tolerate the plagues, he would certainly emancipate the people – not because he accepts the sovereignty of G-d and to do his will – therefore G-d hardened his heart to be able to withstand the plagues and not to free them (S’forno commentary on Sh’mot 4 – also see 7:3)”

In other words, S’forno tells us, G-d wanted Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go because he understood who G-d is rather than for political expediency. Pharaoh – and the people of Israel as well – had to learn a lesson of just how sovereign G-d really is, thus affecting their attitude towards G-d and toward his people. Thus, to keep Pharaoh “in the game” as it were, G-d hardened his heart (or strengthened his will) to withstand the plagues until the full might of G-d had been revealed.

Again, this echoes the passages in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John where Y’shua quotes Isaiah 6:10 - “Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

On the surface, it seems horribly unfair, yet if Y’shua had not been rejected, he would not have been sent to the cross to redeem us from sin, which was the pinnacle of his mission. Without their non-understanding of him, the people could never hope to see the event that open their eyes to the fuller understanding of who G-d is, who his Messiah is, and what he offers his people.

 

Much like the exchange between G-d and Abraham, there is again a noticeable pattern to the plagues. There are three sets of three plagues followed by the final one:

The three sets of plagues follow a set pattern:

 

SET #1:

#1 – the blood

Takes place in the morning on the banks the Nile river and is given with a warning and a theological message: “you will know that I am YHVH”.

#2 – the frogs

This takes place inside the palace and again comes with a warning, but not a theological message as the first.

#3 – the lice

This takes place without a warning (thus no place of confrontation) and we are not told the time.

In the first set of three, Moshe or Aharon use the staff as a vehicle “to bring about” each plague.

 

 

SET #2:

#4 – the Arob (wild beasts or flies, depending on the interpretation)

This takes place in the morning on the banks the Nile river and is given with a warning and a theological message: “you will know that I am YHVH in the midst of the land”.

#5 – pestilence

This takes place inside the palace and again comes with a warning, but no theological message.

#6 – boils

This takes place without a warning (thus no place of confrontation) and we are not told the time.

In this second set, there is no vehicle used “to bring about” each plague.

 

 

SET #3:

#7 – hail

This takes place in the morning on the banks of the Nile river and is given with a warning and a theological message: “you will know there is none like me in all the land”.

#8 – locusts

This takes place inside the palace and again comes with a warning, but no theological message.

#9 – darkness

This takes place without a warning (thus no place of confrontation) and we are not told the time.

In this third set, Moshe raises his hands and/or his staff to the heaven’s “to bring about” each plague.

We will discuss the final plague in its full significance in the next parashah. For now, let us concentrate on the first 9 (even though that crosses over into next week’s reading);

G-d has a definite message to Pharaoh and the peoples of Yisrael and Egypt through these plagues:

The First proclamation: (7:16) - By this you will know that I am the L-rd

Second proclamation: (8:22) - so that you will know that I, the L-rd, am in this land.

Third proclamation: (9:14) – so you will know there is none like me in all the land.

 

When Moshe and Aharon first confront Pharaoh, he says in chapter 5, verse 2, “Who is the L-rd, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the L-rd and I will not let Israel go.” Thus, G-d uses the plagues to teach Pharaoh – and the people – who he is.

In the first set of plagues, G-d has each plague set off by the use of the staff. The reason seems to be because this is something Pharaoh understands. His own advisors use staves to practice their art, so he will understand this show of power in this way. Thus, he sees that there is a Hebrew G-d and he is as powerful as the deities Pharaoh worships – and Pharaoh will learn that he is far more powerful. Note that in the first two plagues (as well as in the miracle of the snake), Pharaoh’s wise men are able to duplicate to some extent the miracles brought on by Moshe and Aharon; however, they are unable to perform the third one. All three plagues seem to emanate from below the ground, rising up to the land of Egypt as from somewhere else.

In the second set of plagues, Pharaoh does not even have the wise men attempt to repeat the wonders brought on at Moshe’s word. He has learned the first lesson, but now G-d intends to teach him that he is present and operating powerfully in Egypt itself. All of these plagues come from the Egyptian environment, as though G-d is using the land of Egypt itself to initiate the plagues. Thus, Pharaoh is shown that G-d is in his presence, not a distant G-d who needs human intermediaries to get his attention as they acted toward the Egyptian g-ds. Also, since no staff or other vehicle is used to summon each plague, Pharaoh sees that it is G-d himself acting rather than being coaxed into action by his priests as the Egyptians do.

In the final set of three, G-d tells Moshe to lift his hands to the heavens. Indeed, these plagues seem to emanate from above the earth, telling Pharaoh that G-d is all-powerful not only in the land, but over all nature. Indeed, there is none like him.

 

Each time through the first 9 plagues when Pharaoh gave in temporarily to certain of the plagues, the text tells us that he told Moshe in varying degrees to “go and sacrifice to your G-d” (8:8; 8:25; 9:28; 10:10; 10:24), but with some condition attached - and each time he recanted. Grudgingly, he gave credence to the sovereignty of G-d, but in none of those times was he fully convinced of it.

However, in response to the final plague, Pharaoh will add two key words: “uVeirakhtem Gam-Oti” (meaning ‘bring a blessing on me as well’). The Rishonim says these words mean that Pharaoh wanted the nation of Israel to either pray on his behalf or offer a sacrifice on his behalf when they offered their sacrifices to the L-rd. Pharaoh finally has understood that the Hebrews’ G-d isn’t just another G-d like the myriad deities of Egypt, he is the G-d, the all-powerful sovereign of creation. He also understands that the Jews are his chosen people and their prayer/offering will be of greater significance than any he can make for himself.

This turnaround was not only for the benefit of Pharaoh, but even more importantly for the benefit of the children of Yisrael. First, they, too, need to learn these lessons, and second, G-d is ensuring that ALL of his people will be delivered up out of Egypt as he has promised: 6:1 “"Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country."”

Y’shua also used the signs to slowly bring his disciples and the people toward a deeper understanding of who G-d is and what he wants from his people. Fascinatingly enough, just as Moshe began by turning the water into blood, the first miracle of Y’shua is to turn water into wine, which represents blood in the Passover feast. That miracle was a fulfillment of prophecy and there are many, many signs and meanings to it, not least among them being the parallel to Moshe and the blood of the river Nile. I doubt it was lost on those who knew from whence the wine had come. Throughout trhe Gospel of John, he quotes Y’shua as telling his disciples about being “from the Father”, having “seen the Father”, and that “if you really knew me, you would know my Father as well”. Y’shua is teaching the same lessons G-d was teaching Pharaoh and the people of Yisrael through Moshe: “you will know I am G-d, that I am in the land, and that there is none like me”. And just as the people needed to know who G-d was and have some idea of his full sovereignty before they were brought out of bondage to Egypt, so too did Y’shua do the same for his followers before he brought us out of bondage to sin through his sacrifice on the cross.

 The narrative of the 10 plagues concludes within this portion and the story of the Passover is related along with the initial commandment to observe the Feast and to call Abib (also known as Nisan) the first month of the religious calendar.

There is a rabbinical teaching about the plague of darkness that says when Moshe lifted his hands to heaven what G-d brought down was not darkness, but the light of truth from heaven.  To the Egyptians, who were steeped in sinful nature, this light struck them blind and left them with a "palpable darkness that could be felt", while it only better illuminated the dwellings of Israel since they were drawn to G-d.  This teaching is based on verse 23 (They [the Egyptians] did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived) and on Isaiah 19:22 (And the L-rd will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the L-rd, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them).  Following these passages, the sages conclude that this (as well as each of the plagues) was also a blessing to the people of Israel at the same time it was a curse to the Egyptians. 

While I believe the verse from Isaiah is taken out of context sinec it seems to apply to a future date rather than a past one, the teaching is interesting and worthy of consideration for it is certainly an appropriate lesson as to how the word of G-d affects each of us.  Indeed, Y'shua echoed this teaching when he said, "The eye is the lamp of the body.  If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness (Gospel of Matthew 6:21-23/Gospel of Luke 11:34-37)."  John furthered this same thought when he wrote, "The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it (Gospel of John 1:5)."

It is easily seen how light can repel those who do not wish to see.  If we become steeped in the ways of sin, we become averse to good and true things, even to the point of finding goodness offensive.  This is the essence of the rabbinical lesson of the plague of darkness that was a light unto Israel.  If we will keep the commandments of G-d on our heart and soul and mnd, his light will only further illuminate pur lives, but if we turn from him and embrace evil, his light will only make us draw further away from him and make that darkness within into greater darkness.

Along with the final plague, the death of the first-born, comes the commandment for the observance of Passover, juxtaposed against that plague as a celebration of life and freedom from oppression.  Followers of the Messiah know that the Passover not only points backward to the day when Israel was driven out of Egypt, but also that it looked forward to the time of the death of THE first-born and how his death and resurrection would bring freedom from sin and deliverance from the second death, that of the spirit.

The Passover Feast to be eaten in celebration is called the Seder (which means 'order') and though there have been subtle changes to the Seder over the centuries (one of the most obvious being the "Hillel sandwich"), the basic structure of the meal and most of its ornaments have remained unchanged since the time of Moshe.  Just about every Christian knows Y'shua instituted The Last Supper during the Seder Feast he was holding with his disciples, but many do not know the full significance of the Seder and how the many parts of it relate to or represent Y'shua and his body.  WHile I will not list every parallel here (for we will revisit the Seder in parashot to come in Exodus and Leviticus that spell out the particulars of the meal in some detail which is not done here), I do wish to realte a couple of points that relate directly to the text of this portion.

That Y'shua is the Passover Lamb of G-d, sacrificed for us, is well known Christian theology spelled out in many passages throughout the New Testament (i.e. Gospel of John 1:29, 36; Acts 8:32; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 Corinthians 5:7; Revelation to John 5:6-8, 12-13; 7:9-17; 13:8).  In 12:3, the men of Israel are commanded to choose thelamb they will offer on the 10th of Nisan (Abib) and it is that very date that Y'shua chose to present himself to the people of Israel as the Messiah when he entered the city of Jerusalem through the      gate riding on a donkey.  We can see clearly this was done on the 10th by reading the account in the Gospel of Mark 11 and following.  After describing the triumphal entry, Mark describes the events of the following day (the 11th) in 11:12-19, then the day after that (the 12th) in 11:20-14:2, ending that section by telling us it was two days until the Passover.  Thus, we know he enetered on the 10th since the scriptures tell Israel to celebrate the Passover on the 15th of Nisan (remembering that the date begins at sundown in the Jewish calendar).

John then relates Y'shua's celebration of the Passover Seder with his discples in the evening of the 14th/15th of Nisan.  Early in the morning of the 15th, Y'shua was arrested, then tried and crucified.  He died about the ninth hour, the same time when the daily sacrifice of a lamb was made in the temple as reckoned by the priesthood to comply with the commandment for the twice daily sacrifice in Exodus 24:40-42.  Here we see that Y'shua fulfilled the the sign of the Passover Lamb and the sign of the daily lamb sacrifice.  As we are told in Hebrews 10, his blood was perfect and forever makes perfect all those made holy through him.

"And you shall keep it up until the 14th day of the same month, and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight" - Exodus 12:6.  It must be noted that while each family picked out their own lamb, they were brought together and all the lambs were slaughtered before the whole assembly so that the whole assembly was a part of the slaughter of the lamb.  The priests would make a line from the people and pass the slaughtered lambs one after the other up to the altar for the blood to be poured out upon it.  How incredibly Y'sdhua shines out of this passage!  He was brought before the priests and condemned and crucified before the whole assembly in Jerusalem.  So as a people everyone was a part of the slaughter of the lamb, yet just as each member of the nation of Israel in Egypt was responsible to take the blood and paint it on their doorposts, so too it is up to each one of us to accept Y'shua as our Savior and personal Passover Lamb, allowing his blood to cleanse and make us holy and pefect so we are passed over in the second death. 

Also in this parashah, G-d commands the people to make and eat matzot during the Passover and the week that follows (12:14-20).  During the Seder, three pieces of matzah are used.  The second one, called the Afikomen, is broken in half, wrapped in a linen cloth, and hidden until the meal, when the children are sent to find it.  Rabbinical teaching links the three matzot to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, stating that the breaking of the Afikomen represents the adekah (binding) of Isaac by Abraham.  As Christians, we can see the picture drawn by the three matzot and the breaking of the Afikomen.  For just as Abraham brought his son, the son whom he loved, to Mount Moriayh and bound him to sacrifice him to the L-rd, so too was Y'shua the "one and only Son" of G-d brought to MOunt Moriah and sacrificed on the cross for us.  Then he was laid wrapped in a linen cloth and lain in the tomb just as the Afikomen is wrapped and hidden from sight.

After the meal has been eaten, the Afikomen is unwrapped, broken into small oieces, and given to all the participants of the Seder to eat.  It is obvious this is the matzah that Y'shua gave to his disciples when he siad, "This is my body" for in the Gospel of Matthew 26:26 and the Gospel of Mark 14:22 we are told he did this while the disciples were finishing the meal. This further cements the obvious imagery of the Messiah and the triune G-d in the matzot of the Passover.   There is also the wine, of course, but we will save that for another parashah wherein the wine is detailed as part of the Feast.

At the end of the parashsh, G-d commands that the first-born of all men and beasts be consecrated to him.  The first-born of all cattle are to be sacrificed while the first-born of men and donkeys are to redeemed by a sacrifice to G-d.  Again, the allusion to the Messiah, THE first-born (Gospel of John1:1, 3:16-18; Hebrews 11:17-18; 1 John 4:9-10) is clear.  It is by his sacrifice that all men who accept him as the Messiah are redeemed before G-d.

"For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, G-d was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert" (1 Cor.10:1-5).

While some have claimed erroneously that baptism originated with the Essenes, immersion in a mikveh is an Orthodox Jewish ritual that was observed for thousands of years before the time of John the Baptist and Y’shua. In fact, immersion originates in the commandments of the Torah given through Moshe. It is commanded for the high priest (Aaron at the time of the giving of the commandment) to immerse himself before entering the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16: 4); as part of the ritual one healed of “leprosy” had to perform to be proclaimed clean before the assembly (Leviticus 14:8-9); for the cleansing of anyone with a discharge or anyone who came into physical contact with them (Leviticus 15:1-13, 16-27); for cleansing if one ate an animal that had died of natural causes or been killed by a predator (Leviticus 17:15-16); and Numbers 19:7-10 even states specifically that the water is for (temporary) purification from sin. Orthodox Jews traditionally use immersion for the sake of conversion of proselytes, for personal purification preceding the Sabbath and Yom Kippur, and for the bride before a wedding (and often the groom as well, though this appears to be a later convention).  According to many rabbinical authorities, the metaphor of cleansing water in Torah is in the stories of creation, the flood, crossing the Red Sea and elsewhere. In all cases, immersion brings about transformation.

As we noted in the previous parashot, the Exodus is as an archetypal experience. Just as G-d rescued Yisrael from the bondage of Egypt, so too are we rescued through our exodus from sin. As Israel was "saved" by the blood of the Passover Lamb, so is each one of us saved by the blood of Y’shua. As the blood was placed on the doorposts, so was Y’shua hung on the wooden posts of the cross.

Israel now had to cross the waters of the Yam Suf. There is much debate over whether Yam Suf (literally “Sea of Reeds”) is actually the Red Sea or another body of water and about how exactly the crossing of it was physically accomplished by G-d. Such things are trivia, in my opinion. What is important is that the nation passed through the water and were released finally and permanently from their slavery to Egypt. There is a also play on words in the name because the Hebrew also means the "Sea of the End". Obviously, this was the end of Yisrael’s bondage to Egypt just as baptism is the end of our former life enslaved to sin. Through these waters, we "exit" our old life. We are separated from the influence of sinful "Egyptian" society; we are separated from our past, separated from our identity as slaves. Our demonic oppressors are crushed in a moment by the waters of immersion. We experience our own exodus into freedom.

During Passover, participants are encouraged to embrace the Exodus as their own, as if they were part of the nation that came out of Egypt and to try to experience the blessing of that release. Y’shua provides us the ultimate opportunity to make that a reality. He is our Passover Lamb and as the parting of the Red Sea was essential to the Exodus, so is it essential for everyone to pass through his own "waters of exodus" through baptism of water and the Spirit.

One of the greatest reasons we are commanded to be immersed in water, as a token of our complete submission to G-d and the Messiah, is to leave our old life fully behind, and immerse ourselves in the life and Spirit of Y’shua (I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of G-d, who loved me and gave himself for me – Galatians 2:20). We are to be baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) (Mt.28:19-20) and become living stones built upon the Rock of the Messiah. As Israel was immersed into Moses, by covenant and by sacrifice, so must we become immersed in Y’shua so that our lives are covered by him. Just as wives are baptized into their husbands inwardly and by a ritual mikvah immersion in Jewish tradition, so we, as the bride of Christ are baptized into Christ.

The Ramban says that manna was spiritual sustenance, and it was only after the nation had their faith heightened by the miracle of the parting of Yam Suf that they were on a spiritual level where it could sustain them physically.

I have mentioned in previous weeks how Y’shua rejected the earthly expectations of the Messiah. One of those traditions said that “as the first redeemer brought manna, so too will the last redeemer would bring manna from heaven.” Y’shua rebuked Satan when he presented this temptation by quoting scripture, “Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of G-d (Deuteronomy 8:3).” Interesting to note that the point of the verse is to explain why G-d gave them manna to eat. Indeed, following the verse and the thinking of the Ramban, it is clear that Y’shua not only brought manna from heaven, but that he himself is that manna. While men expected the Messiah to bring physical manna again, Y’shua brought the “bread of life” – himself. Let me close with a lengthy passage from the Gospels where Y’shua illustrates this very truth:

Gospel of John 6: ³⁰So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? ³¹Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"  ³²Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of G-d is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." ³⁴"Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread." ³⁵Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." ⁴¹At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." ⁴²They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?" ⁴³"Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. ⁴⁴"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by G-d.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. ⁴⁶No one has seen the Father except the one who is from G-d; only he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. ⁴⁸I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. ⁵⁰But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." ⁵²Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" ⁵³Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."

“There will be a great difference between the Egyptian and the last redemption. 'When you were delivered from Egypt,' says G-d to Israel, 'you had to depart in haste; at the last deliverance you shall not go in haste nor by flight (Isaiah 52: 12). At the Egyptian deliverance I, in my manifestation, went before you (Ex. 13: 21). At the last deliverance 'the L-rd will go before you and the G-d of Israel will be your reward.' (Isaiah 52: 12).” --Exodus Rabbah 19.

The Hebrew in Isaiah 52 actually means, “The G-d of Israel will gather you”. Remember the words of the Messiah when he said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! (Gospel of Luke 13:34)” Does this mean G-d wanted to send the Messiah sooner or simply that the nation had never lived up to being the “kingdom of kohanim (priests)” that he called them to be in 19:6? I tend to think it is the latter. Certainly, the verses from of Isaiah were fulfilled on the day of Shavu’ot (Pentecost) when the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) descended upon the disciples (Acts 2). Thus the L-rd went before them and gathered their souls unto him by entering his Spirit into them.

Again, we see a parallel and fulfillment of the event when the children of Israel reached Mount Sinai: Exodus 19: 16 “On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with G-d, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the L-RD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, 19 and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of G-d answered him.” We read of much the same phenomena happening in Acts 2:2 “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Surely the parallel of those events were not lost on the disciples, nor should they be lost on us. What should have happened at Sinai finally found fulfillment in Jerusalem on Shavu’ot. The nation were told to consecrate themselves for the third day after their arrival, but when the time came and the L-rd told Moshe to warn the people not to rush all at once, Moshe replied, "The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, 'Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.' " It seems form this answer that the people were not consecrated. In 20:21 the text tells us, “the people remained at a distance.” However, on the day of Shavu’ot, all the disciples had been consecrated, consecrated by the blood of the Lamb of G-d on the cross. 2 Cor. 5: 21 “G-d made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of G-d.” He had spent his ministry preparing them himself, then returned after the resurrection to instruct them further and told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5).” Now at last, the final fulfillment of 19:6 came to pass, for we have been into a royal priesthood! 1 Peter 2: ^{9 “}But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to G-d, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of G-d; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

Initially led by the 12, the 120 disciples (Acts 2:1) added 3000 souls to the number of the saved that day (a number we will address again in a coming parashah). Orthodox Jewish practice has followed the example of Yitro since rabbinical Judaism began, establishing that there should be a rabbi wherever there are ten families (ten men) in a community (originally it was stated that there should be a rabbi for every ten, but that has changed over the years to become a rabbi for at least ten). Exodus 18: 24 “Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.” (Scholars estimate this means Moshe initially established around 78,600 judges) It seems that Y’shua, like Moshe, had followed the example of Yitro (Jethro) in establishing his “inner circle”, the apostles, so there would 1 “judge” or leader for each 10 of his greater number of disciples.

Another maxim from the Midrash tells us that “Onkeles, who became a convert to Judaism, complained to the Rabbis that G-d's love for converts only went to the extent of giving them bread and raiment (Deut. 10. 18): 'You have now joined the house of Israel,' replied one rabbi, 'and you should bear in mind that Israel (Jacob) asked the L-rd only to give him bread to eat and raiment to put on, and therefore you might be contented with the promise to give you spontaneously what Israel had to petition for.' 'More than this,' added another of the wise men, 'the bread and raiment mentioned are not to be taken in their literal sense only, for since you have entered the folds of G-d's people you are not precluded from eating the shewbread and having for your raiment the priestly garments.'” -Exodus Rabbah 19.

Again echo the words from 1 Peter 2. He has brought us into his fold, given us the bread of life, clothed us with the Holy Spirit, and makes us worthy of the showbread and priestly garments. We are his royal priesthood, and as Paul said in 2 Corinthians, in him we become the very righteousness of G-d. This covenant relationship, established at Sinai, was intended to begin, and to be an example for, an intimate relationship between G-d and all the peoples of the earth. “And the foreigners who join themselves to the L-RD, to minister to Him, to love the name of the L-RD, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; … for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7).

In this parashah are given the lynchpin "Asseret HaDibrot" (the Ten Words or The Ten Commandments). A relationship of covenant love requires two partners, who have the power and choice to either affirm or to negate the relationship. To enter a covenant relationship with G-d places a great responsibility in the hands of His people. The basic requirements of that relationship are given when God speaks the “Ten Words” (Exodus 20:1-17).

The sages tell us that there are 613 commandments in the Torah, all of which may be categorized within the Ten Commandments. Y’shua agreed with this principaland narrowed the categories even further, bringing all the commandments down to two main thoughts: " 'Love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments (Gospel of Matthew 22:37-40)." These are indeed the two categories of the 10 commandments, as the ages say as well. The first set of five acknowledge God’s sovereignty and our duties towards Him, and the second set outlines our responsibilities towards one another. Further, rabbinical wisdom points out that the commandments follow a natural order: think, act, and speak. The first commandment is a commandment of the mind and heart: “have no other g-ds before him.” The second is action, “do not make any graven image”, and the third is speech, “Do not misuse the name of the L-rd. The 4^th is again a commandment to the mind and heart: “Remember the Shabbat and keep it holy”. The fifth commandment requires all three: “Honor your Father and Mother.” This is a commandment first in thought, then in action and speech. The final five are all commands of action toward one’s fellow man (love your neighbor as yourself). Y’shua furthered this in all his teachings gathered together as “the Sermon on the Mount” as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5-8. Y’shua consistently reminds the people that each of the commandments really begins in the heart and mind, rather than being simply commands of physical action, and that the words and actions of a person naturally will follow the way of his heart. This requires changing the mindset of the individual from seeing G-d as an “outer influence” into seeing G-d as a persona whom I invite into my heart and mind to experience an ongoing relationship.

A vital aspect of this relationship between G-d and His newly formed people, Israel, is the understanding that they are freed from the heavy yoke of slavery in order to receive the light yoke of the Kingdom of G-d. A yoke is a means of guidance and is fashioned to provide assistance in accomplishing a task. In farming, the yoke enables the farmer to keep the ox or donkey on course, and often two or more animals are yoked together to share the load. The magnificent “Ten Words” encapsulate the truth, wisdom, guidance and instruction of the complete Word of G-d and define the yoke of His Kingdom. Thus Y’shua, the Incarnation of this Word, could say: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (Gospel of Matthew 11:28-30).” His is a yoke of love for G-d and our fellow man rather than slavery to self and sin. Make no mistake, it is a burden! Yet it is a burden for him and each other and thus the more we accept his yoke, the more the burden is shared and the lighter it becomes for us increasing our capacity to live with real joy in our lives.

At the end of the parashah, G-d commands them to make altars on which to sacrifice their offerings. Fascinatingly, he tells them, “If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.” I cannot help but hear the words of John the Baptist and 1 Peter when I read that passage: The Gospel of Matthew 3: 9 “And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones G-d can raise up children for Abraham.” 1 Peter 2:4 ^"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by G-d and precious to him— ⁵you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to G-d through Jesus Christ."

The altar of stones foreshadows us: normal, “undressed”, undeserving human beings made into spiritual stones becoming a living altar of sacrifice of our lives in service to the Master. We have not come to him fashioned as “dressed stones”, but he has reached out and taken us as the normal, unrefined rocks that our sinful lives have left us. He fashions us himself by connecting us to each other and as a people we become the spiritual house and holy priesthood. Only by his grace and wisdom do we, in our weakness, become a strong altar together, each making up for the other’s shortcomings, covered over by the perfection of Y’shua, our Savior.

"He made his people go forth like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock" (Ps. 78. 52).

'Like sheep'--like the sheep of Jethro which Moshe led to the wilderness; so he led the Israelites through the wilderness, for as sheep are not brought into the dwelling-house, and there is no fixed fund out of which to maintain them, so was it with Israel; they had no buildings wherein to dwell, they had to pick up their food in the open. Not however like sheep destined for slaughter, for they are G-d's holy flock; he who touches that which is holy unto the L-rd incurs guilt, and be who touches Israel, G-d's firstborn, shall offend; evil shall come upon them, says the prophet (Jer. 2.).--Ex. Rabba 24.

Does this not immediately bring to mind Y’shua’s words about how difficult it would be to follow him? “Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."

Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."” – Gospel of Matthew 8:19-20

Just as Yisrael had been without a dwelling place, so to was their Messiah. This is the model for us. Many in modern times have attempted to portray gaining and storing wealth as a “Christian virtue”, but the truth is, while saving may be a good idea, Y’shua calls us to live a life “in the wilderness” dependant on Him for our sustenance rather than depending on our own virtue and wealth. Again, this is not to say riches are necessarily bad (the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament often describe riches as a blessing from G-d); just that depending on wealth is as much idolatry as the statues of Ba’al were. We must be willing to depend wholly on G-d for our needs instead of depending on ourselves and focusing on what comforts we want.

"In tracing the descent and history of the Israelites, the Bible enumerates the generations of the heads of the families of the earth whose history touched that of the chosen people. 'These are the generations of the heavens and the earth' is the first instance of the use of the word תולדות (generations) in such a connection. If we notice the Hebrew text of the verse, we find that here the word referred to is written in full, i.e. spelt תולדות, with the additional ו, while in every other places where the word occurs it is spelled with one (תלדות) until we come to Ruth 4. 18, which reads, "Now these are the generations of Perez." Here we once again find the word תולדות spelled in full. These are the only two instances in the whole of the Bible. The first refers to the time before the sin and fall of Adam, which brought death into the world, and, inconsequence, all succeeding תלדות, 'generations,' were deprived of some of the possibilities of life, and this is indicated by the omission of the ו. But the enumeration of the descendants of Perez, bringing appreciably nearer the promised abolition of death through the agency of his descendant, the Messiah, is hailed as the occasion to celebrate the restoration to perfect man of what he had lost through the imperfection of the first of his kind, and hence the word תולדות is here spelt in full."--Ex. Rabba 30.

Hear how Paul renumerates this rabbinic thought in his letter to the Romans: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did G-d's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of G-d is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive G-d's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous (Romans 5: 12-19).”

Truly, the Messiah, Y’shua, has brought about the promised abolition of death, the eternal death of the spirit. He returns us to the relation G-d intended us to have, and through him, all the generations of man may receive life eternal.

Sh’mot 23:5) "When you see a donkey which belongs to someone whom you hate, struggling beneath its burden... you shall surely help him." The Talmud in Pesachim (113b) queries: How can we be dealing with "someone you hate?" The Torah has not permitted hatred!

The commentary Tosafos questions further: In tractate Baba Metzia (32b) we are taught that helping the animal of your enemy takes precedence over your friend's animal -- "in order for you to overcome your natural inclination." If, however, you have a legitimate reason to hate him, what is the "overcoming of your natural inclination?"

Tosafos concludes that one's hatred naturally draws other people to share this hatred. Therefore, the Torah has warned us to overcome the natural inclination. The fact that you know something improper about another person, does not allow you to needlessly spread ill-will. You must rush to help the person whom you legitimately dislike.

Tosafos has legitimized hatred, something the Torah nor the Talmud were willing to do. Y’shua pointed us to the principle of 23:5 and made it glaringly clear when he told the story of “the good Samaritan”. Here, a man who “legitimately” despised the other helped him anyway, to his own expense. Samaritans and Jews had deep-seated hatred of each other, which both felt was “legitimate” since each said the other broke the Torah in the way they worshipped G-d.

According to II Kings, Chapter 17, the Samaritans were moved into the land by King Shalmaneser of Assyria from the lands of Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim. The text does not specify if they were Hebrews or not, but according to Josephus, the Jews called them Cutheans, for they did not believe them to be Hebrews at all. After being chastised by G-d, the people there were sent a priest by Shalmaneser and he taught them to wrship the L-rd. However, they did not give up the worship of other g-ds. Samaritans, however, have their own copy of the Hebrew Scriptures. In their version, it says specifically in II Chronicles that after a sojourn of 47 years, King Shalmaneser allowed the descendants of Ephra’im and M’nasseh to return to the Holy Land after paying him a special tax to do so. Thus, the Samaritans believe they are the descendants of Yoseph. Further, according to their version of the scriptures, G-d instructed Moshe to build the Temple on Mount Gerizim, not Mount Ebal (Deuteronomy 27:4) as recorded in the standard Hebrew Tanakh. Also included in the Samaritan Torah, in both passages that recount the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, there is an additional line at the end of the recounting of the commandments that commands the people to build an altar and make sacrifices on Mount Gerizim.

Thus, the Samaritans and Jews despised each other as illegitimate. The Samaritans claimed the Jews had not kept faith with G-d by worshipping him in a false temple while the Jews said the Samaritans were “pretend Jews” who had invented their own version of the Scriptures and built a false temple on Gerizim.

Y’shua took these two peoples and let the man of the law know in no uncertain terms that the neighbor he despised was the neighbor he needed to love as himself, and to help in time of need as commanded in the Mishpatim. The man of the Law would have known Exodus 23 by heart, but Y’shua makes it plain to him that though he knows the words, he has not understood their meaning, and now it is time to clear away his misconceptions and hear the word of G-d as it was intended.

Exodus 23: "Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness.

"Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.

"If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it.

"Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.

"Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.

"Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.

The midrash has the following to say about the many rulings and the verses just cited seem especially to have to do with the following comments:

Prayers should be said in common, master and man mistress and maid, rich and poor together, for all are equal before G-d.--Ex. Rabba 21. (do not show favoritism to a poor man…do not deny justice to your poor)

If your hands are stained by dishonesty, your prayers will be polluted and impure, and an offence to Him to whom you direct them. Do not pray at all before you have your hands purified from every dishonest act.--Ex. Rabba 22. (Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty)

Again, we can hear the echo of Y’shua’s words when we read the rulings:

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift (Gospel of Matthew 5:23-24).”

Y’shua calls the people back to the rulings at Mount Sinai and he pointedly lets them know how deep those rulings need to be felt in their hearts. They are not merely “civic duties” but an attitude and mind-set to bring in our relationships with one another. We are to love our fellow man unconditionally for he is the image of G-d and by showing him love and compassion, we show our love for G-d.

There is a rabbinic teaching that says verses 6-9 follow a thematic pattern and thus reveal the full meaning of the set of verses by that pattern:

A----->Do not pervert the judgment of your poor man in his cause:

B----->Distance yourself from a false matter; do not slay the innocent and the righteous,

C----->for I will not exonerate the wicked:

B----->Do not take graft; for graft blinds the eyes of the sighted and perverts the words of the righteous:

A----->Do not oppress the stranger; you know the spirit of the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Mitzrayim.

(See the Haggadah "and if G-d had not taken us out of Egypt, we and our children and our grandchildren would still be enslaved to Pharoah") Sympathy, and its handmaiden, compassion, are the products of the awareness of how close we all are to tragedy; how easy it is for any one of us to become the poor man arguing his cause, or the stranger looking for refuge. The sense of shared danger, or at least a potentially common misery, is the single most powerful motivation for sympathy. "How would I feel if I were in that man's situation? How would I want to be treated?" In the Halakhic scheme, the response is always: "That's how I'll treat him."

”So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets (Gospel of Matthew 7:12)”; “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

As the Torah lets the judges know that compassion is the necessary starting point (judging without soul is judging without the image of G-d), so Y’shua tells each and every man that he must live according to that same sense of mercy and compassion in his everyday life. The fairness which must overrule compassion is the crowning feature of the judge. A judge who is fair without feeling the tension of sympathy is not a man; the judge who allows his sympathy to decide the case is not a judge. But a disciple of Y’shua must expand that tension to the everyday world and feel the weight of his neighbor’s burden. He must “judge” him with compassion and fairness and reach out to him with the love of G-d to take him from his bondage.

The judge, "playing G-d" as he does, might come to the conclusion that his mandate is expansive. As long as G-d granted him the right and charged him with the responsibility of judging his fellow, any verdict that he delivers might be acceptable. This is the most common abuse of power; to wit: "I am all-powerful, no one can stop me." At this point, the Torah warns the judge that while he judges others, he is being judged. "I will not exonerate the wicked [judge]." If justice cannot flow from the almost impossible synthesis of fairness and compassion, it will creep from the fear of G-d.

Again, Y’shua tells us we must “play G-d” and come to the conclusion that ours is the final judgment. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”

At the close of the parashah, we find Moshe once again ascending the holy mountain, which is still covered with a thick cloud of G-d’s Presence. He will receive the stone tablets inscribed by the “finger of G-d” (31:18) with the Ten Words – the encapsulation of the Torah of G-d. We can imagine the intense delight Moshe enjoyed for 40 days and nights as he basked in the glory of the Presence of G-d; as he saw Him “face to face” and received further instruction to share with His people.

Rabbinically, the number 40 is said to represent a probationary period or a period of trial. As Moshe spent 40 days on the mountain and the nation spent 40 years in the dessert, Y’shua spent his 40 days of trial in the dessert being tempted, then spent 40 days appearing to the disciples. The first was a trial, the second was something like a probation to the disciples, preparing them for Shavu’ot and the great thing that was going to happen to them.

Further, in the Gospels, we often find Y’shua ascending the mountain to pray. “As the first redeemer, so is the last redeemer.” The Messiah showed us the importance of basking in the presence of G-d, of meeting him face to face and spending time in his presence. Always, before an important event, we find Y’shua in prayer, often for extended periods of time. We, too, must find time to “ascend the Holy Mountain” and spend time with G-d, so we may feel his love, his strength, and his will. He revives us for the wearying battles coming to face us in life if only we will accept the probationary periods he gives us and if we take the time to spend in his presence.

 

Among the items to be donated are twelve precious stones, representing the 12 tribes, to be used as part of the breastplate of the High Priest (25:7).  The wording in Hebrew is worth noting: “avnei milu’im”.  The literal meaning of these words is “stones to fill a void”.  The rabbi Rashi notes in his famous commentary that the stones are described this way rather than as ‘beautiful’ or ‘precious’ because each person is of value to G-d for the space they fill in his work rather than for the temporal beauty of his or her flesh. 

Peter brings out this same image in I Peter 2: 4-8 where he tells us, “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by G-d and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to G-d through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:
 "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."  Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
 "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, " and,
 "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall."  They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.”

We are the simple stones (like unto the undressed stones of the altar) that make upthe glorious Temple, the ultimate picture of the sum being greater than the parts.  We, who are plain and imperfect, together by his grace, make up the spotless beauty of his church, the bride of Christ.  It is he who makes us clean, pure, and beautiful; it is not anything that we are or we bring.

That we who are his have become the living stones of the Temple is an idea that especially spoke to the Jews after the Temple was destroyed in AD 70.  This concept gave Christian Jews hope through that crisis, for they knew G-d was no longer dwelling in their midst by being in the Temple, but by his Spirit being directly in their hearts.  Eventually, this same thought crept into rabbinical thinking as well, for we find the Talmud speaking thusly:  “Learning about [the Beit HaMikdash – or literally ‘G-d’s Holy House’] is as great as building it” (Tractate Tanchuma 96:14). “Whenever man achieves insight [into G-d’s Word], it is as if the Mikdash (Temple) was rebuilt in his day” (Tractate Berachot 33a).”

25:8 reads, “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.”  The Mishkan (tabernacle) and the vessels within it were meant to implant the glory of G-d’s presence in the hearts and minds of the nation of Yisra’el.  As a constant reminder of his presence at the center of their dwelling, the Mishkan was meant to implant the glory of the L-rd in the hearts and minds of the nation, even through their 40 years of trial in the dessert outside of the Holy Land.  It was not that G-d needed a “place to dwell” (“But will G-d really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” – I Kings 8:27), but that the people were very “carnal” in their material and physical needs, so the Mishkan served as a place where they could constantly expiate their sins and as a physical reminder that G-d was among them. It was (and is) easy for mortal men to think that G-d in the heavens had no contact with them nor that he could be aware of their deeds.  This was the accusation Eliphaz the Temanite hurled at Job in chapter 22: 12-14.  “Is not G-d in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars! Yet you say, 'What does G-d know? Does he judge through such darkness? Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.'”

The people needed assurance to realize that even in all their pettiness and frailty that the great and powerful G-d really had an interest in them and was paying attention to them as his people.  The tabernacle brought this message daily: that G-d was not like the g-ds of the heathen, far off entities who must be aroused so they would notice the placater for a fleeting moment.  G-d, the all-powerful Great Spirit, though he is without physical form, is always near to them and his protective hands were ready always to receive them.

The Messiah brings this image to glorious fulfillment!  No longer is the Temple merely there “in the midst” of the camp, but now it is within the mist of each of us, his people:  “Don't you know that you yourselves are G-d's temple and that G-d's Spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys G-d's temple, G-d will destroy him; for G-d's temple is sacred, and you are that temple (I Corinthians 3: 16-17).”  “What agreement is there between the temple of G-d and idols? For we are the temple of the living G-d.  As G-d has said, "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their G-d, and they will be my people."(II Corinthians 6: 16)”

The Midrash refers to this coming glory of the Messiah in the Exodus Rabbah:

“Seeing in his spirit of prophecy that the time would come when the משכן, 'Mishkan' (Sanctuary) would cease to exist and the Shechinah (worldly presence of G-d) dwell no more in Israel's midst, Moses was anxious to know by what means the sins of his people would then be expiated. The Almighty vouchsafed the information that He would choose a righteous man from their midst, and make him a משכן, 'Mishkan' (Sanctuary) for them, and through him their sins would be forgiven.--Ex. Rabbah 35.”

As glorious as the fulfillment is that he puts his Spirit within us to dwell, the greatest fulfillment of the Mishkan has yet to come.  “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from G-d, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of G-d is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and G-d himself will be with them and be their G-d. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."”

 

Commenting on the Terumah, the Midrash gives the following insight, which at first reading seems quite odd:  “How can one ascertain the nature of a given business deal? ...To know the nature of a transaction, look at the commission that the broker received for intermediating it.” - Ex. Rabbah 25.   The transaction that the Midrash has in mind is the giving of the Torah to the nation if Yisrael, with the broker of the deal receiving the commission being Moshe. According to Exodus 34:29-35, Moshe’s face shown with such a radiance, he put a veil over it so as not to frighten the people.  He received no less than some of the shining glory of the L-rd’s presence onto himself – quite a commission indeed!  The Midrash continues to say, “Sometimes an item is sold, and the vendor himself is included as part of the deal.”  In this instance, the L-rd said to the children of Yisrael that if they receive the Torah and keep the Covenant which it established, that they will receive him into their midst as part of the deal. 

The Midrash is speaking of the acceptance of the Torah in terms of a business metaphor.  Following that metaphor, one rabbinical commentary says that just as in a business transaction, how much a person may purchase depends upon how much of their resources they are willing to spend, so too, how much Torah we accept depends on how much we are willing to buy (receive).  We see this spelled out clearly in the Gospel of Mark when Y’shua spoke in his home town and the people reacted negatively to him:  “Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith (Gospel of Mark 6: 4-6).”  The message to the Jewish nation was the same as it is to us:  if we will only accept his word and live it out faithfully, G-d will do miraculous things through our lives (I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. – Gospel of John 14: 12). 

Our faith and his truth are intertwined and are mutually supportive to our Spirit.  If we place our faith in G-d as the Creator and Author of all things and in his Messiah as our Redemption, we see more of his truth and we understand that we become the Shechinah ourselves, effectively increasing the L-rd’s presence in the world:

“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.  On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.  Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." (Gospel of John 14:15-21)”

“While the olive is still on the tree, they let it shrivel. They then take it down from the tree and beat it. After beating it, they bring it to the olive-press for pressing. They follow this with placing great weights upon it. In this manner, the olive yields its oil.” – Exodus Rabbah 36:1

The first subject read in this portion is the commandment about the pure olive oil. The reader might ask, “why olive oil?” The sages conclude that at the heart of the matter is the fact that the olive is different than all other common fruits. While all fruits have discernable tissue and substance, the olive has a “hidden property” in that it is the only one with the capacity to be changed into a substance that can give light.  Only after being subjected to the series of crushing events listed in the Midrash can the impurities be removed and the olive turned into oil that is good for burning. The olive and this process have a direct correlation to our souls, the way the L-rd acts on them, and to the suffering Y’shua endured to save us.

Like the olive, we too have a hidden property in our physical bodies, that being the soul. Yet it is only after we have experienced some of the crushing effects of hardship that our soul becomes prepared to be illuminated by G-d’s love. If one went through life (as if it were possible) without ever suffering any problems, he would never feel the full weight of the joy and life that G-d has to offer, nor ever understand what a blessing he can be to his fellow man.  However, on our own, we do not have the capacity to reach the sort of purity that the olive does to make it pure for burning. Praise G-d that he sent us the Messiah to be “crushed for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5)!” For through him, we are able to become the light he means us to be. “G-d made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of G-d (II Corinthians 5:21).” By taking his Holy Spirit into our hearts, the light of Divinity is revealed to the world through us.

“Said HaKadosh Baruch Hu (The Holy One, Blessed be He), ‘Let my candle be in your hand, and your candle in Mine.’ And what is G-d’s candle? This is the Torah, as it says: ‘The Mitzvah (commandment) is a candle and the Torah is light (Proverbs 6:23).” – Exodus Rabbah 36:3

The Talmud, commenting on Proverbs, notes that “the verse compares a mitzvah to a candle and the Torah to light. Sin can extinguish a mitzvah, but sin cannot extinguish the Torah (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sotah 21a).”

Mitzvot (commandments or good deeds) are a means for us to bring a hint of G-d’s love into this world. As stated in last week’s portion discussion, we have become the Shekinah (His earthly presence) and we show him to the world by our actions. Unfortunately, being human and not divine, our ability to live at that level is limited and our candle burns out now and then. We are distracted all too easily by the cares, burdens, and temptations of this world. Satan can overcome us and extinguish the light of our good deeds; sometimes he even can turn what was meant as a good deed to another and turn it into something that is harmful. However, he cannot extinguish the truth of the Word. If we live in the Word and his commandments “are upon our hearts (Deuteronomy 6:6)”, we will be filled with the Light of his Spirit and His truth. Even when our deeds fail us, we can fall back onto the light that he has put within us by immersing ourselves in his Word and his presence. By that indistinguishable light of his truth we will be able to relight our candles of mitzvoth. This is his promise and our task! “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you (Gospel of Luke 11: 33-36).”

The Midrash heightens this thought: further “As you brought Me the perpetual light in the Temple, says G-d unto Israel, so will I bring unto you Him, Messiah, who is the personification of light, 'the sun of righteousness' promised through Malachi.--Midr. Tanchuma Tetzava.”

Y’shua is the light: “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world (Gospel of John 1:9).” Once we have taken that light into ourselves, we become what he has called us to be, the light unto the world: “For this is what the L-rd has commanded us: 'I have made youa light for the Gentiles, that youmay bring salvation to the ends of the earth'(Acts 13:47, quoting Isaiah 49:6).” And when he returns on the Last Day, that light of eternal salvation and majesty will be brought forth to shine over the New Jerusalem and encompass us all in his glory. “The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the L-RD will be your everlasting light, and your G-d will be your glory (Isaiah 60:19).”

This same olive oil was used not only to light the Menorah, but also to anoint Aharon as the Kohen Hagadol (High Priest), as we will read in next week’s portion. The oil symbolized true knowledge and divine wisdom, and anointing the High Priest with it represented G-d’s gift of those attributes to the High Priest (though through the history of the nation, not all proved worthy of it). Just as Aharon arranged the lamps of the Menorah that burned from morning to evening, so he was the constant light to the people, teaching them the Law and militating against spiritual falsehood, so the children of Yisrael would learn not to follow ideas that contradicted the truth of G-d’s Torah.

Y’shua became the fulfillment of that anointing, for as the Scripture says, “But about the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O G-d, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore G-d, your G-d, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy (Hebrews 1: 8-9, quoting Psalm 45:6-7).’ That oil of joy burns within us since he has put his Spirit in our hearts. Through Y’shua, we have become G-d’s sons and it is we who are to be the constant light to the people, teaching them the Gospel and showing them from the Scriptures that Y’shua is the Messiah: “You are all sons of G-d through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:26-27).”

Exodus 29: 42-44: "For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD. There I will meet you and speak to you; there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory. "So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their G-d.”

The noted ancient rabbinic commentator, the Ramban, makes note of the fact that the presence of the L-rd being among the nation is not mentioned in the text until this point, after the preparations for the Mishkan and the dressing of the priests have been elicited. For only then was the stage ‘properly set’ for his presence to come and dwell among them, and for the sacrifices to be offered to Him by the children of Yisrael.

“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you (Gospel of John 16:8).” As with the assembling of the tabernacle, the stage had to be “properly set” through his death and resurrection before our hearts could be opened to receive the Holy Spirit within us. “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection (Romans 6:3-5).”

Once we have been consecrated through baptism (just as the Jews consecrated themselves in a mikveh before each Shabbat and the Holy Days) by faith through grace, our bodies become the Temple of G-d and our hearts the Holy of Holies wherein dwells his Spirit: there in “the midst of the camp” so they we feel his presence daily in our lives and commune with him constantly. Acting as his Temple and Shekinah in the world, we can be “the light unto the Gentiles” and rejoice in his presence, in the words of the great prophet: “I delight greatly in the L-rd, my soul rejoices in my G-d. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels (Isaiah 61:10).”

“Then the L-RD said to Moses, "When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the L-RD a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the L-RD. All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the L-RD. The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the L-RD to atone for your lives. Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the L-RD, making atonement for your lives (Exodus 30:11-15)."

The mandatory half-shekel, no more and no less no matter a man’s financial stature, speaks of the incompleteness of us and of the need to partner ourselves, both with G-d and with each other. The Torah teaches us that even the individual who is working diligently on his own personal spiritual growth cannot actually attain the spirituality he seeks without partnering himself to the greater community of believers. The half-shekel clearly points to the missing half, the lack in ourselves. Unless we recognize that we are not self-sufficient and realize the need to unite ourselves to G-d and with our fellow Christians, we cannot seize the opportunity to move closer to G-d.

John speaks of this two-way symbiotic relationship in his first letter: “This is love: not that we loved G-d, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since G-d so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen G-d; but if we love one another, G-d lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of G-d, God lives in him and he in G-d. And so we know and rely on the love G-d has for us. G-d is love. Whoever lives in love lives in G-d, and G-d in him (I John 4:10-16).”

John goes on to say, “If anyone says, "I love G-d," yet hates his brother, he is a liar (4:20).” We can see from his words that it is through showing G-d’s love to one another that is able to enter our hearts fully and make us (the half-shekel) complete in him. That is the gift the Messiah brought to us (and bought for us). Without him, we could not experience fully G-d within us, but thanks be to the Holy One, blessed be He, Y’shua paid the price and redeemed us so we might be reconciled to G-d and he could put his Spirit within us that we might become the righteousness of G-d and the light unto the world.

“Moses offered his life forIsrael and for the Torah, therefore these were designated as his. In Isaiah 63:11 we are told, ‘Moses and his people,’ and in Malachi 3:4, ‘Remember the law of Moses my servant.’” – Exodus Rabbah 30.

This week’s portion also relates to us the disastrous story of the Golden Calf. Many rabbinical authorities have stated that the real sin of Israel was not that they turned to other g-ds, but rather that in the absence of Moshe, they tried to create for themselves an image of the G-d who had led them out of Egypt and to use that image as their new mediator to direct their minds toward heaven and to direct their way on their journey. They did not understand G-d, nor how to wait on him, much less how to show him honor and service; therefore, they created this image of a spiritual force that would guide them.

Their idolatry was not rooted in seeking other g-ds, but rather in seeking to please themselves. They followed their eyes rather than following the words of G-d. Indeed, their sin was almost an exact repeat of the sin of Eve in the garden. As she “saw that the tree was good to eat,” so the nation “saw that Moses was delayed in descending from the mountain.” Our eyes present us attractive or frightening images, and the intellect must subject that vision to critical analysis in the wisdom that G-d has given us, his word.

“And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of G-d with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where
‘their worm does not die,
and the fire is not quenched (the words of Y’shua quoting Isaiah 66:24 as recorded in the Gospel of Mark 9:47-48,).’” The man who can look beyond the surface to recognize what is of lasting value is blessed, while the man who follows his eyes is betrayed by his shortness of vision that focuses only on the physical present.

Since the people followed their eyes and focused only on the present, they were not willing to wait on the L-rd, so they had Aharon cast an image before which they could parade themselves in much the same manner as would the pagan priests of Ba’al so many years later during their confrontation with Eliyahu (Elijah) on Mount Carmel. They failed to recognize that G-d was still with them and still leading them, thus they gave in to their short-sighted selfishness and looked for something – anything – to comfort their vision.

This trap is an easy one for anyone, even a pious person, for it is very simple to become attached to the trappings of religion rather to G-d himself; to place our faith in rites, rote prayers, and rituals rather than fixing our eyes on the L-rd. While there may be nothing wrong with our sacraments or prayers in themselves, when we use them a sa substitute for our relationship with G-d, then they have become our own Golden Calf before which we parade ourselves, looking for the comforts we selfishly desire. It is a great challenge to develop and retain a faith and service to G-d that is not dependant on the fulfillment of our own physical needs and selfish cravings. It is a result of placing ourselves on the throne and thinking of ourselves first in our lives instead of G-d – and that is the true nature of idolatry! Whether we place our faith in other g-ds, or money, or possessions, or our own piety, or even on what we perceive as G-d’s “ability” to fulfill what we think are our needs, the basic flaw of all of these choices is that we have made ourselves and our wants the driving force of our life rather than letting G-d be that force and following his will for us.

Y’shua understood our human lack of vision. He comforted his disciples by telling them “And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Gospel of Matthew 28:20).” Sometimes it is difficult to feel it, but he is with us always. It is one of the greatest blessings of the Messiah’s sacrifice that not only can we have eternal life after this one, but that he made it possible for us to have G-d’s Holy Spirit dwell within us, to comfort us in times of extreme trouble, which he told us will come! If we can give up ourselves and rely on that Spirit, than we can say, like Paul, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want (Philippians 4:12).”

Moshe is communing with G-d on Mount Sinai receiving the commandments when G-d informs him of the people’s sin. After telling Moshe what the people have done, G-d makes the following statement: “Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation (32:10).”

It is my opinion that this statement was a test of Moshe, to see if he already knew the lesson of the half-shekel: to love his brethren as he loved himself. Moshe passes this test with flying colors, for immediately he pleads with G-d to show mercy on his people – and here is the real gist that tells us Moshe understands what is important: he does not ask for the sake of the people, but for the sake of G-d’s glory before the world! Then, when Moshe returns to G-d, he again pleads for the people, offering himself in their place: “But now, please forgive them their sin – but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written (32:32).”

Following the rabbinic teaching that the “last redeemer” will be like unto the “first redeemer”, Y’shua, like Moshe, offered himself for the sins of the people. “G-d made him who had no sin to become sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of G-d (II Corinthians 5:21).” Y’shua’ also like Moshe but to a much deeper level understood what ultimately was important in this world. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he prayed that the cup might pass him, but if all could not be fulfilled without it, then “your will be done, not mine.” When at last he was at peace with what must come, he said, “After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true G-d, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” His interest was in glorifying the Father and showing his love, mercy, and majesty to the world, no matter what it might take to do so. “He humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8)!”

The question of why Moshe broke the tablets upon approaching the camp and seeing idol is the subject of many commentaries, both Jewish and Christian. It is striking to note that G-d does not chastise Moshe for this action. Indeed, he seems to commend him for it, for when Moshe returns again after the incident to speak with G-d, he says, “You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.' If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you (33:12-13).” Further, he asks G-d that if he is pleased with Moshe to relent his plan to send forth an angel ahead of them rather than his Shekinah. His answer is, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name (33:17).”

The consensus answer of rabbinical thought concerning the question of the broken tablets is to liken them to wedding jewelry. Following the illustration that G-d is taking the nation of Yisrael as his own, thus a bride of sorts, the tablets of the Commandments are like a wedding ring or the crown of ten coins worn by Jewish brides. Rashi draws this conclusion by recalling the gift of Eliezer to Ribkah (Rebecca) in Genesis 24:22. Eliezer presented her with two bracelets weighing ten shekels altogether. Rashi tells us the two bracelets are a foreshadowing of the two tablets that are weighted by the writing of the 10 Commandments upon them. Following this picture, the tablets are the wedding jewelry that physically signify the spiritual marriage bond of G-d to his people Yisrael.

Now the people had jewelry that had been lavished upon them by the Egyptians due to G-d’s intervention. However, they were not faithful with the blessings G-d had given them, for they brought forth their jewelry to Aharon and told him melt it down and fashion them an idol. As with the wicked servant who buried his talent in Y’shua’s parable, they have not been faithful with “few things” so they cannot be entrusted with “many things”.

Moshe, the sages tell us, recognizes this in the people and to lessen the weight of their transgression, he breaks the tablets rather than deliver them to the people, for the sin and the punishment of an adulterous wife are greater than those of an unmarried woman guilty of fornication. Thus, he saves them from greater punishment and he gives them time to learn the nature of G-d’s gifts and how they should treat them before he gives them the great gift of the covenant of the Law.

While G-d does not require us to be perfect before we choose to follow him, he does tell us the first step in doing so is to repent of our selfish ways and be cleansed in the blood of Y’shua so that we are made pure before him: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).” Our willingness to accept his grace and truly repent and ask his forgiveness for our sin is the first step in our journey toward true righteousness. Talking this step makes us ready to receive the gift of the covenant that Y’shua purchased for us.

Y’shua convicts of us of our sin and takes it away when we put our trust in him. An excellent example of his love in this manner is seen in the exchange between him and Peter in the 21^st chapter of the Gospel of John. Here, Y’shua convicts Peter of his sin of denying him – without even mentioning it! – and he redeems him of it by giving him the task to “feed his sheep”. Returning to the lesson of the half-shekel, Peter can fill his empty shell by partnering himself to the mission and to his brothers in Christ. In this way, Y’shua prepared Peter to receive the Holy Spirit that would come on him in a few short days after the exchange. So too does he prepare us for the covenant and the gift of G-d’s Spirit by convicting us of our sin so that we repent of it and declare our faith in him as our Messiah by wearing this new “wedding jewelry” of baptism for all the world to see.

The actual construction of the Tabernacle is related in this double portion (on regular years, a few of the portions are doubled to make the whole fit within the calendar.  Only on the Jewish "leap year" in which there is an extra month are those portions read separately), and as the people of G-d reach out to Him in building it, he fills the earthly structure with the radiance of His Shekhinah (earthly Presence). However, if we look into the future beyond the tragic destruction of the First and Second Temples, we find that the physical structure alone is not sufficient to guarantee the presence of the Shekhinah.

After Israel’s exile in Babylon, the people return to the Holy Land under the leadership of Ezra and Zeru’babel to build the Second Temple. We read that at its completion they “celebrated the dedication of this house of G-d with joy…for the L-RD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of G-d, the G-d of Israel (Ezra 6:15-22).”

The sages note that reading the account closely reveals that something is missing: the cloud, the heavenly expression that G-d had allowed His Presence to return is not mentioned. The Babylonian Talmud readsin tractate Yoma 9b: “The reason the Divine Presence did not dwell on the Second Temple was that the majority of Jews did not care enough to return and take part in the challenge of building of the Temple and, by the same token, of the entire land.”

In 35:20-22, we read that “every man whom His Spirit has lifted up, and everyone whom His Spirit has made willing” made generous contributions toward the building of the Tabernacle. It is also recorded that at the call of King David for donations to aid in the building of the First Temple “more than enough” was given: “Then the people rejoiced because these had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the L-RD; David the king also rejoiced greatly (1 Chronicles 29:9). However, as noted in the Talmud, at the call and opportunity to build the Second Temple, most of the exiled nation chose to remain in the comfort of their own homes in Babylon rather than to undertake the challenge to rebuild the Temple and restore the glory of His Presence.

Through Y’shua’s sacrifice on the cross, the Temple now is open to be built in each man’s heart if he is willing but to accept G-d within him. The examples have been seen: the willing nation received the presence of G-d in their camp; the unwilling nation built an empty Temple without his presence due to the lack of seeking by the vast majority of the nation. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from G-d?” – I Corinthians 6:19.

"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with G-d's people and members of G-d's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.  in him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in theL-rd.  And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which G-d lives by his Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22)."

As his disciples, we must take on his spirit of giving and sacrifice. Do we willingly and generously give of ourselves to the work of the kingdom or do we sit comfortably at home absorbed on our own wants, needs, and desires? Do we decide it would be too dangerous or just too inconvenient to become involved in serving G-d and our neighbours?

Every aspect of the Tabernacle/Temple required sanctification: every vessel, every item and ingredient used in the rites, and the priests themselves. We, too, are required to be sanctified to become his Holy Temple and the Righteousness of G-d on earth. Y’shua’s blood sanctifies us and we are to be washed in it through baptism just as the Priests did in the mikvehs before coming before the L-rd. By accepting his gift, we become sanctified and are ordained as his royal priesthood (I Peter 2:5) and sanctified as his royal Temple in which his Shekinah dwells. ““Lo v’chayil ve’lo v’koach ki im b’Ruchi (Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit),” says the L-RD (Zechariah 4:6).”

The second part of this double portion, “Pekudei”, describes the goal achieved: the Tabernacle is built and Moshe inspects it, and the glory of the L-rd descends upon the Holy of Holies. Despite their sin at Sinai, G-d has chosen to dwell among Yisrael, making them his people and “his bride,” as the Talmud puts it. This was only a precursor to what he had in mind: “But G-d demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).” Through the blood of Y’shua, he sanctified both Jew and Gentile for service as his royal priesthood for all eternity, that whoever believes in him might become part of the body, the church, which is the New Jerusalem, his holy bride everlasting (Revelation 21:9-10).

CHAZAK! CHAZAK! V’NITCHAZEK!