Matthew 5:19
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Whenever I challenge people with our responsibility to God’s commandments, in full knowledge of personal failure they automatically retort with the statement, “Oh yes, but He forgives me”. They seem to know very little about the Bible, maybe they are proud, they lie, or are selfish with their time or finances (Proverbs 6:16-19), but they know how to use that statement like a theological security blanket.

There is a theology out there that clams that 2,000 years ago, Yeshua came and abolished the Torah. Think about what this means. This means that 2, 000 years ago, Yeshua came and abolished the moral code that helps us discern right from wrong. That same theology also claims that the Torah has become obsolete to whoever recognizes Yeshua as his Savior because He is the Torah written in their hearts. I am willing to believe  that it is true but those who claim that recognition certainly don’t act like it. If it were true, our Western world should be a paradise certainly not facing the sort of social issues it faces. Actually, the people who adhere to that theology are doubly guilty for their ungodly actions because they live in opposition to the Torah written in their conscience.

This notion that the Torah is obsolete not only takes away the understanding of right and wrong, but also the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom. It is therefore the utter foolishness and ‘law-lessness’, which is the exact translation of the word ‘iniquity’. What need is there then of a Savior to cover our sins?

My friend, the role of Messiah is and has always been to teach us the proper application of obedience to Torah. He came teaching, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand’ (Matthew 4:17), which means, “turn your ways towards God for the days of His Kingdom are near;  start living by His Torah and by His Instruction.”

In Yeshua nothing becomes obsolete, not even the death penalty against us; He just takes it upon Himself. We therefore owe Him our lives. So beware, there are still consequences for sin; sin is crouching at the door — it wants you, but you can rule over it (Genesis 4:7).

“Abba Father: may we understand that your Kingdom is ruled by the commandments that you have outlined in Your Word; .may we realize that we are responsible to Your Torah and that repentance means to turn back and start living by your teachings and principles. Forgive us for following erroneous teachings that negate the importance of obedience while we forget the teachings of the Messiah You sent to tell us that, Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven … (Matthew 5:19)”.
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Colossians 2:14
‘… Canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.’ 

As much as Leviticus tells us of the blessings incurred by those who walk in Abba’s Instruction, it also tells us of the curses that befall those who don’t (Leviticus 26). There is a common teaching out there that claims that in His death and resurrection, Yeshua conquered and annulled the curse that comes through disobedience and that only the blessings remain. In essence, the Torah has lost its ‘teeth’; there is no more retribution for sin.

This interpretation of a statement found in Paul’s letter to the believers in Galatia is mostly due to mistranslation. Those who translated the letter did it under the influence of a theology that discarded the writings of Leviticus and believed the ancient Hebrew Scriptures obsolete. They also did not understand the cultural and social context of the Letter to the Galatians.

Paul’s statement, “Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us … (Galatians 3:13)” certainly annot infer that the Torah itself is a curse. That would fly in the face of Its life giving purpose (Psalms 19:7) and eternal status (Psalms 19:9).  It would also go against everything King David said about It (Psalms 119). What does Paul mean in his statement?

It is explained by another statement “by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:14)”. What Messiah cancels ’nailing to the tree’ is the ‘record’ of our ‘debt’. Every sin (disobedience to Torah: 1 John 3:4) is a ‘debt’ unto God. A record is kept of this ‘debts’ which is what is brought to the judge by the prosecutor in a Roman court of Law; it is the written record of the charges against any of us. This is what is being annulled: the record of the charges against us that require the death penalty, not the Universal Code of Law that defines right and wrong. If the Code of Law if annulled sin disappears and then, what need is there for forgiveness? The death mentioned here is not physical death which we all partake of, but the ‘death’ that separates us from God forever. We must never forget though that the only reason we do not get the punishment of this death is because Mashiach takes it for us in a settlement out of court. The ‘charges’ are not ‘deleted’, just paid by Someone else! He is the only One Whose righteousness successfully defied ‘death’ and conquered it. In Yeshua, The ‘prosecutor’ found its match!

In essence, we owe Him our lives. Our lives belong to Him and we should live in a state of eternal gratitude.  When asked ‘how are you?’ a famous radio show host always answers, ‘better than I deserve’. That should also be the sentiments that runs through our being day and night, “better than we deserve”!
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Hebrews 4:14
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Yeshua the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Leviticus 22 teaches us about the Terumah: the portion of foods only eaten by priests and their dependants. These portions may come from altar offerings or harvest tithes. Priests were not paid for their work at the Temple or for their teaching the Torah, so they were dependant on that tithe for themselves and their dependants.

The instructions about who can eat or not eat of that portion of food are given in detail and they teach us how God views family relationships and dependencies. A priest’ daughter, who is naturally allegeable, but who marries one who is not a priest loses the right to eat it as she belongs to the family she marries into. On the other hand if she is widowed or divorces and returns to the full dependency of her father, she is again allegeable. Also a foreign servant bought with money and who becomes a permanent part of the priest’s family can partake of the Terumah.

The inadvertent consumption of Terumah by someone not allegeable incurred the punishment of the law of theft; it is considered robbing God (Malachi 3:8). People were taught to not eat anything that was not properly tithes or separated. Pharisees who were ultra concerned about it even made sure to tithe mint and cumin; they also lived a life which excluded them from fellowship with others. The Master commanded them for this practice though He rebuked them for their lack of wisdom in properly weighing the matters of Torah (Luke 11:42). While the Master obeyed the Torah, He also taught us wisdom in its application (Matthew 12:1-3; Luke 10:8). All in all though, this command really teaches us the principle of priorities; the idea of setting the needs of the Kingdom ahead and before our own; it is at the heart of “Seek first the Kingdom of God…”  (Matthew 6:33).

The same principles are at work in the adoption of the nations into Israel. As disciples of the master, of He who is the High-Priest of the Tabernacle up above (Hebrews 5:10; 9:11) we are adopted into His family, and thereby are allowed to eat from the table of the High Priest King of which others cannot partake (Hebrews 13:10).

As bought and adopted members of this High Priest’s family we partake of His table and enjoy the bounty of His household. This should not be taken for granted. May we always show ourselves ensamples of the calling wherewith we are called and reflect the virtue of the Master of the house, of the Kingdom of God!
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Colossians 2:17
These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Messiah.

Sometimes we make the mistake of interpreting the Bible by the virtue of one verse instead of understanding the verse by the virtue of the overall context. That would be like saying that  Yosemite Park is an orchard because of a couple of hazelnut trees (that I can document with pictures) in the middle of the vastness of the coniferous trees which define this beautiful expense of land.

When we read the verse, Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath  (Colossians 2:16) in the mind-frame that God is telling us not to pay attention to His former command concerning the Levitical calendar and diet is doing just that.  To read this with an anti-Torah observance twist is completely ignoring the context of the Letter to the Colossians.

This epistle was addressed to the formerly pagan Colossians striving to take Torah upon them while receiving criticism from others about it. Paul encourages them by telling them that they are right because, The Levitical calendar and diet concerns, are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Messiah (Colossians 2:17). Every shadow betrays a shadow caster and in this case Messiah is the Shadow-Caster of the festivals and diet concerns in Leviticus.

Jewish sages have put together a Midrash that compares all of Jewish history to the phases of the moon. Here is how it works, ‘So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations (Matthew 1:17). If each generation from Abraham is one day, we have a full moon at the time of king David, darkness at the time of the Babylonian deportation, indeed a dark time in our History, and a full moon again at the time of Messiah. Moonlight creates a shadow. If I were to stand still during the movement of the moon during the night I would see my shadow move from one place to the other, first behind me, then in front of me. In this case, Messiah is the shadow caster whose shadow we see on earth. We see His shadow both before and after His ‘full’ manifestation. Again, a shadow betrays a ‘Shadow-Caster’, and the diet and calendar Levitical injunctions are the ‘shadow’ of Messiah. Paul tells of those who would discourage the newly-born Colossian disciples’ attempts at following Torah that, they are ‘not holding fast to the Head, (Colossians 2:19; 1 Corinthians 11:13).

That same midrash needs another twenty-eight generations for the Messiah to return in His ‘fullness’. That gives us a time of darkness somewhere during the time of the Spanish Inquisition, again another dark time in our History, to take us again to the fullness of the manifestation of Messiah at the end of this age, when He comes to reign on the earth.

May it be soon Abba, even in our days. In the mean-time, may we rejoice in Him in the ‘shadow’ of His Presence among us.
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Matthew 7:12
"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets”.

Leviticus 19:17 tells us, " thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor (KJV)”. To ‘rebuke’ our brother is actually a commandment. If we don’t do it we “suffer sin”. I would dare say that this commandment has not problem being observed. There is certainly no shortage of people always tryuing top ‘rebuke’ each other. Our personal inferiority complex and sickly craving for recognition constantly pushes us in wanting to be found as the one bringing everyone to the right path. Let’s look a little deeper at this commandment.

Whereas we do owe the truth to people around us (Ezekiel 3:17-19), I don’t think this commandment applies to people who faithfully follow their understanding of obedience to God. This commandment applies more to those who knowing the truth, deliberately and willfully disobey it. Yeshua applied this principle by not correcting the Sadducees and the Samaritans who were taught  to reject pharisaic understanding of the Torah, as much as the Pharisees themselves. Being a Pharisee Himself, Yeshua knew that they knew better. Another point to remind ourselves is that the Torah also forbids shaming others publicly. Our Master Yeshua reminds us of this. He even equates it with murder (Matthew 5:21-22).

Rashi the medieval Jewish sage had a particular take on the Torah command to rebuke others. In Hebrew the verse says, ‘oke’ach, itokyach’ which could roughly literally be translated as: ‘rebuke yourself, rebuke others’. What Rashi taught was ‘you must take a good look at yourself before you go on rebuking others  as this will give you the dynamics of compassion that will help your brother to listen to you. Yeshua taught the same understanding of the commandment in “first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye  (Matthew 7:5)”.  Judges from the Sanhedrin believed that they were unfit to judge a case if they could not find within themselves the sin of the accused. They felt unfit because in such a case they would not be equipped with the compassion necessary to judge the case in a Godly fashion.

Moses then ends the command to rebuke others with, “… you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD (Leviticus 19:18)”, a command which Yeshua commented on saying that it was the second most important in the whole Torah. (Matthew 22:36-40). Also, another Jewish sage, R. Akiva who lived after Yeshua, called the command to love others as ourselves ‘the fundamental rule of Torah’ and paraphrased it in: “What is hateful to you, do not do to others” (Shabbos 31 a). I wonder where he got these words from.
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1 Peter 1:14
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.

One of the laws of holiness, of the laws that set us apart from the world is, Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father (Leviticus 19:3). Reverence towards our parents sets us aside from the world so we should be seen honoring and revering our parents. This was the first commandment given with a conditional promise, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you (Exodus 20: 12). There are two commandments with a longevity conditional clause, and they are both related to parenthood (Deuteronomy 22:7-8).  Yes, to honor and reverence our parents is an integral law of the Kingdom of God; it will be the rule of law in the ‘World to Come’ under the iron rule of Messiah when He reigns on earth.

It is easy to direct such a commandment to towards our Western generation of teenagers. Due to the society that we have created around them, they seem to have very little respect for their parents. But I think that we need to direct this command towards ourselves. We need to ask ourselves how much honor and reverence do we have for our parents. To ‘honor’ our parents means to support them. Exodus 20:12 basically says, ‘you shall support your parents in their old age, not send them to a government institution to be taken care of by strangers whose sole interest is to get paid for the job’. If caring for them and changing their diaper cramps our style, we must remember that they allowed their ‘style’ to be cramped in order to care for us and change our diapers.

 ‘Revering our parents’ speaks of respect. It is understandable that some of us may have had abusive parents who seem unworthy of respect or even of the title. These are different situations that are outside of this commandment. But whereas our parents may not be respectable, our children should not hear negative feelings towards them out of our mouth; if they do, these same words will most certainly come back to us in their mouth because we ourselves are not perfect parents either. Also, forgiveness is not an option; it’s a commandment from the Master who Himself followed God’s commands to forgive by forgiving the abuse of His persecutors (Luke 19:18; Mark 11:25-26; Luke 23:24). Sad to say, in too many homes children hear their parents speak negatively, disparagingly, disrespectfully, or even mockingly about their older parents.

We often think of teaching as speaking, and of learning as listening, and as a result many of us try to teach others by telling them how to live. This was not the way of the Master. Like the Rabbis of the day, the Master taught by exemplifying the Torah, by living it and telling His disciples to follow His example. Paul was cradled in the same pedagogy and taught it (1 Corinthians 11:1). Teaching is by doing, and learning is by emulating.

The way we react towards our parents is closely tied to the way we react to God. If we know how to trust our wiser parents, we will know how to trust the wiser leadership of the Master. 
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Matthew 19:16-19
And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" And he (Yeshua) said to him … “If you would enter life, keep the commandments."   He (the man) said to him, "Which ones?" And Yeshua said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 

This week we are studying about the observances that mark what is commonly called ‘Yom HaKippurim/the Day of Atonements’. These come at the heel of the mishap with Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10). After the premature death of the two young men, people now realize the serious nature of what they were getting involved in by coming close to God and any precautionary measure are welcomed. This is what this is all about: a protocol by which it is safe to approach God.

The text of Leviticus tells us that God tells the Children of Israel that, On this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your sins(Leviticus 16:30).  Did it really work? Why was Yeshua needed then? Later the writer of Hebrews tells us that, It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). Did one statement contradict the other?

We ask these questions because of a misunderstanding in the nuances of the language due to translation, but also because we are again looking at these things through the ‘Old vs. New Testament’, and ‘Law vs. Grace’ lenses, one working against the other. Also, our present parameters of understanding being very far removed from the original texts, culture, and ideas makes it very difficult.

A clearer reading of these texts though reveals that they speak of two different things. The first speaks of national ritual cleansing by the priest approaching the Ark behind the curtain on the behalf of all the people, a cleansing that has to be repeated year after year, while the second speaks of national spiritual eternal redemption done once and for all. The sages of Judaism understood that only repentance brought expiation for sin not offerings, as they say, Neither sin offering, not guilt offering nor the Day of atonement can bring expiation without repentance (Tosefta Yoma 5.9), and repentance, meaning the return of the heart towards obedience to Torah, was the main message brought by John the Immerser and Yeshua (Matthew 3:2; 4:17). We must also remember that when the Levitical Festivals were given, which includes Yom HaKippurim, (Leviticus 23) they were given to the Children of Israel as a perpetual command (Leviticus 23:31).

Today we have a Temple-less reality so we are only able to fulfill certain parts of these commandments like the fasting for example. One Day the Temple is to be rebuilt and inaugurated by Messiah. May we on that Day be as a Bride who has prepared herself for the coming of her betrothed; one who is physically and spiritually ready to enter His Kingdom, familiar with His biddings and the ways of His kingdom. Studying the Levitical laws of offerings and the Levitical Festivals teaches about the functions and roles of Messiah in our life.
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Romans 1:20
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.

In Leviticus 15 we are instructed about the issues surrounding the women’s menstrual cycle ending with a water immersion (Leviticus 15:19-24). These are commonly referred to as the “laws of Niddah’. When read within the context of Western mentality, these passages often invoke feelings of misogynist archaism. Right away we must correct ourselves and define to our minds that when our culture differs from that of the Bible, it is not God that is ‘off’.

We must observe the moon to find the festivals that speak of redemption. Because a woman’s body contains more water than that of man (one pint), women are uniquely tuned to the moon which affects tides on the earth. In places where people still practice natural childbirth, it is a common practice for hospitals to have more nurses on duty during the full moon because they expect more deliveries

The moon is born preparing to give life (Levitical festivals) and after two weeks it is full (Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles come two weeks after the rebirthing of the moon, during the full moon). Then the moon wanes and prepares to die, only to be ‘born again’ after a few days. In the same manner each month a woman’s body prepares to give life; this preparation comes to fullness after two weeks and then gets ready to die as it sheds the lining of the uterus, only to start again the same process.

Here is an explanation from Ariel and D’vorah Berkowitz in their book: ‘Torah Rediscovered’: In the Jewish community, the teachings found in Leviticus 15:19-24 are called

niddah, which means that during her monthly menstruation a woman is declared to be “impure.” She remains in this state for a period of seven days, at the end of which she goes to the mikvah. (For those unfamiliar with the term, the mikvah is simply an immersion pool.) When she emerges, she is declared “pure.” What does this mean? Was she in sin? Did she do something wrong to be considered impure? How is it that simply passing through the mikvah made her pure again? There was no sin involved. God has called women to live a special teaching reminder of a crucial truth within the redeemed community, one that must be repeated each and every month. Here’s how the teaching picture works: As a new creation in Messiah, we are created to bring forth His life in how we live. Insofar as we do this, we are tahor, or pure (Torah teaching: that which is of life is pure). If we enter a time of walking in the flesh, then during that period we do not bring forth life. Not bringing forth life is death, which is impure, or tamei. When we realize we have been walking in the flesh and confess our sin, we come to the end of that impure period. All we need to do in order to walk in the place of life again is to know ourselves in the “Mikvah.(water immersion)” Messiah Himself is our Mikvah. In Him we are pure, able to let His life come forth through us again.

All in all, In giving us the ‘Laws of Niddah’, the Torah elevates the women’s cycle from a mundane reality to the understanding of deep spiritual truths concerning life, death, and rebirth: the whole plan of redemption. May we glorify Him in all things as we are created to glorify Him!
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Matthew 8:3
And Yeshua stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

One of the identifying signs of Messiah is that He would heal lepers, and He did. It was such a known fact that that some lepers even traveled from afar to ask Him to heal them. The apostolic texts also inform us that Yeshua only did healing when people confessed Him to be the Messiah. When He did not ask for this confession, it was because the people’s actions denoted of it. Such was the case with those who touched the side fringes of His garment (Matthew 13:46; Numbers 15:38; Malachi 4:2) and the blind men who asked for sight calling Him ‘Son of David’, one of the Names of Messiah (Matthew 20:30-34). The text also tells us that many people He couldn’t heal because of their lack of faith (that he was the Messiah). This does not mean that failure to obtain divine healing is the result of not having faith that He is the Messiah though. For one reason or another sometimes He chooses that we remain sick. There will even be a time when no matter how much we pray and have faith, He will let us die. These are the times to not sin nor charge God with wrong and say with Job, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. Adonai gave, and Adonai has taken away; blessed be the Name of the Adonai" (Job 1:21-22). Our timing is in His hands. We are owed nothing; we deserve nothing; and even in the worst of situations we get away easy! Healing when it occurs though, is always tied to confession; that’s why even the disciples healed in His Name.

One of the most overlooked elements of Yeshua healing lepers is that He touched them, therefore rendering Himself ritually unclean. Again we notice that Messiah did not come here trying to remain in His purity; He came and put on the clothing of sinful humanity. He had contact with lepers and with those with an issue of blood and hanged around with some of the lowest strata of society, all in order to fulfill the Messianic role He was sent by the Father to fulfill. This is particularly interesting when we realize that the Talmud interprets Isaiah 53: 4 and 5 by calling the Messiah ‘The Leper of the House of Study’, which would mean ‘The Scholar Leper’.  Another Talmudic interpretation describes Elijah telling Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi that he could find the Messiah by the gates of Rome among the poor lepers bandaging their wounds, meaning in the most unlikely of places.

Would you find Messiah today? Seek no longer among the pompous holiness of religious scholars, teachers, and congregations. Messiah is still found in the most unlikely of places. You may find Him among the dregs of society bandaging the wounds of those the world leaves by the way side. He might also be found healing the leprosy of an enemy of our people (2 Kings 5), or even the spiritual and physical blindness of one of our worst persecutor (Acts 9). He was sent to the ‘Lost sheep of the House of Israel’ (the Israelites of the twelve tribes)’, and as a light for revelation to the gentiles (Matthew 15:24; Luke 2:32).

As He came to us taking upon Himself our diseases and the iniquity of our sin, He became the ‘Leper Messiah’.  As He mingled with us, He trusted the Father for His own sanctity: we should not fear to do the same!
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1 TiMOTHY 2:15
She will be saved through childbearing.

Why is a woman ‘unclean’ after giving birth (Leviticus 12:2)? Questions about uncleanliness could be ask of every issue that require a ritual ‘decontamination’ but yet we wonder why by the act of giving birth, which is one of the highest form of obedience to God, a woman becomes ‘unclean’.

We need to remember that ‘uncleanliness’; has nothing to do with personal sin, and that technically, it is solely related to presence in the Temple. When you clean house or do the natural things that need to be done while working, you get dirty. You haven’t sinned by a personal lack of hygiene but you still need a bath. I’d almost like to call it a spiritual ‘debriefing’ before re-entering in the presence of God. As far as childbirth is concerned,  Paul actually addresses it as a way for a woman to be ‘saved’ We must not be fooled by the English terminology though; childbirth is not a special ‘plan of redemption’ for women only. The word ‘saved’ in this sentence could be better defined today as, ‘preserved’, or ‘completed’ (see Strong’s Concordance).

I do not have first-hand experience at conception, but science having exposed the mechanics of childbirth stole from us its miraculous nature.  After thirty years plus of active married life without practicing any form of birth-control, my wife and I have only had six children. I’d like to therefore argue that whereas God may use (or not) human ‘mechanics’, conception is more a matter of God’s doings than of human’s mechanics. Conception is the result of God’s workings within our body, and something solely experienced by women.

In the case of the woman suspected of adultery, pregnancy was the sign of her vindication by God (Numbers 5:28). Again the Hebrew of this text is very interesting; it says ‘she shall conceive seed (my translation), using the same terminology of a woman having ‘seed’ as in the verse when God mentions the ‘seed of Eve terminating the devil’s power (Genesis 3:15). I am sure that God is savvy in human biology and that He Is aware of the fact that women carry eggs but no seed. The man carries ‘seed’.  Only twice this terminology of women carrying ‘seed’ is used in the Torah text, and they are used in relation to a redemptive sign for women (Numbers 5:28; Genesis 3:15).

In the apostolic Scriptures, using the Septuagint text of Isaiah 7 Matthew informs us that Miriam, the mother of Yeshua was a virgin when she conceived, implying therefore that she carried egg and ‘Seed’. The Child Miriam carried became ‘cleanlines/tahor-ness’ not only for women but for the whole world. This represents a fulfillment of the prophecy concerning Eve’s ‘Seed’ overcoming the enemy, and of the women suspected of adultery. In Him and in His Words do we ‘immerse and become ‘clean/tahor’ unto God (John 14:3).
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