Torah Time.

Transcription

1 Torah Time PARASHA Parasha Emor Leviticus 21:1-24:23 Ezekiel 44:15-31 Luke 14:12-24 TORAH TIME The Torah section of Emor ("speak") begins with the special laws pertaining to the kohanim ("priests"), the Cohen HaGadol ("High Priest"), and the Temple Service: A Cohen may not become ritually impure through contact with a dead body, unless a close relative dies. A Cohen with a physical deformity cannot serve in the Holy Temple, nor can a deformed animal be brought as an offering. A newborn calf, lamb, or kid must be left with its mother for seven days before being eligible for an offering; one may not slaughter an animal and its offspring on the same day. The second part of Emor lists the annual Callings of Holiness -- the festivals of the Hebrew calendar: the weekly Shabbat; the bringing of the Passover offering on 14 Aviv; the sevenday Passover festival beginning on 15 Aviv; the bringing of the Omer offering from the first barley harvest on the 2nd day of Passover, the 49-day Counting of the Omer, ending with the festival of Shavuot on the 50th day; a "remembrance of shofar blowing" on 1 Tishrei; a solemn fast day on 10 Tishrei; the Sukkot festival -- during which we are to dwell in huts for seven days and take the "Four Kinds" -- beginning on 15 Tishrei; and the immediately following holiday of the "8th day" of Sukkot (Shemini Atzeret). Next the Torah discusses the lighting of the Menorah in the Temple, and the showbread placed weekly on the table there. Emor ends with the story of a man executed for blasphemy, and the penalties for murder (death) and for injuring one's fellow or destroying his property (monetary compensation).

2 (This is an easy explanation of the Torah portion taken from the book The Open Bible - available at ) MEMORY VERSE YHWH said These are my appointed festivals which you are to keep as special meetings, Leviticus 23:2. LEARNING ACTIVITY Have you ever heard the sound of the shofar? The shofar is an animal s horn that is used like a horn. Read the verses below about the shofar and how it is used during feast days. Then research the shofar and it s sound. Leviticus 23:23-25, Yahweh said to Moshe, Say to the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to Yahweh by fire. Numbers 29:1-6, On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets. As an aroma pleasing to Yahweh, prepare a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect. With the bull prepare a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths; and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth. Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you. These are in addition to the monthly and daily burnt offerings with their grain offerings and drink offerings as specified. They are offerings made to Yahweh by fire a pleasing aroma. Psalm 81:3-4, Sound the ram s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast; this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the Elohim of Jacob. Psalm 98:6, With trumpets and the blast of the ram s horn shout for joy before Yahweh, the King. Tehillim 47:5, For YHWH Most High is awesome; a great sovereign over all the earth. Psalm 100:4, Shout (Teruah) for joy to Yahweh, all the earth.

3 WALK THE TALK YHWH has given us many reasons and many special days to celebrate. Throughout the Bible YHWH set apart certain days that are unique and important to Him. Because they are important to YHWH they should be important to us too! These party days are listed in our Torah portion and Leviticus 23. First, we read about the weekly day of rest, called the Sabbath or Shabbat. The Shabbat is the seventh day and it during this day to we come for worship, we rest, and we spend time with our family. Shabbat is a wonderful time to learn of YHWH and fellowship with other people. YHWH loves us so much that we get one Shabbat a week! And, He has given us seven MORE Shabbats during the year. These Shabbats are called feasts or festivals or in Hebrew they are called moadim. The moadim are seven times that we are to stop what we are doing in our lives, learn of YHWH, and seek Him. The moadim are separated into two sets. There are the Spring moadim and the Fall moadim. Do you know about Passover? What about Sukkot? Do you remember the Feast of Trumpet? How about Yom Kippur? These are all the moadim of YHWH. We often call them feasts because we usually feast or eat when we celebrate. The Spring moadim start with Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. We then have First Fruits and after a few weeks comes the day of Pentecost or Shavuot. The season of Passover includes the Spring moadim and reminds of the death, burial, and resurrection of Y shua. We also remember that during Shavuot YHWH gave the Torah to Israel and in Acts 2 YHWH gave the Ruach HaKodesh. In the fall there is the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and finally Sukkot or the Festival of Tabernacles. These are holy days, not holidays, because of the lessons that we learn. Turn to Leviticus 23 and learn about the party calendar of YHWH. We call these the fall moadim because they occur in the Fall! The Bible shows us that these events take place around the seventh Hebrew month of Tishrei. Every year at this time we are to recall the power of YHWH to protect and redeem His children. We also remember the work of the High Priest in the Temple and the seriousness of our sin. The Moadim of YHWH are like a cycle that continues each year. We start with Passover and end with Sukkot exactly six months later. Passover is in the Spring and then there is a long period between Shavuot and the next Holy Day. The Torah says that after Shavuot we wait

4 until Yom Teruah or the Feast of Trumpets. This is a day of shouting and excitement. Yom Teruah is on the first day of the seventh month, called Tishrei in Hebrew. Yom Teruah is a day of sounding shofars and calling us out of spiritual slumber. We are to seek YHWH and repent of our evil ways. The sounds of the shofar should alert us that the serious Fall holy days are here. After the Feast of Trumpets is Yom Kippur or Yom Kippurim the Day of Atonements. There are ten days from the Feast of Trumpets until Yom Kippur. These are called the ten days of awe. During these ten days we are to seek YHWH and prepare ourselves for the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement is a solemn day that marks the time when the High Priest would make special sacrifices and go behind the veil in the Temple to enter into the Holy of Holies. We read about this and learn all about the High Priest in our weekly Torah readings. The High Priest would make special sacrifices because the nation of Israel sinned or missed the mark. Y shua is our High Priest that gave Himself so that we could be born again. Five days after Yom Kippur is Chag Sukkot or the Holy Day of Tabernacles. It is during Sukkot that we are commanded to dwell in a sukkah or tent. When we spend time in a sukkah we remember many things. First, we can remember how the Israelites spent 40 years in the Wilderness as they were on their way to the Promised Land. This is very important. We can also remember how life is like a tent it is temporary only for a short time. Finally, we can remember that Y shua came to the earth to tabernacle with mankind. It is believed that Y shua was even born during the Festival of Tabernacles or Sukkot. If you have ever celebrated Sukkot then you know how exciting this time of worship and fellowship can be. These Holy Days give us time to spend with each other and to learn from YHWH. They start in the Spring and finish in the Fall and then start over in the Spring! YHWH has given us these special days to be a like an ongoing party that we could enjoy His commandments and learn what it means to be Israel. TORAH TALK What does the name of this portion mean? What is the main subject of this portion? Why is this portion special? How can you live this portion? What commandments are in this portion? How did YHWH show His love to man in this portion? Did you read about the Messiah in this portion? Where? What did you learn from the Torah?

5 HEBREW LESSON LEARN SOME HEBREW WORDS AND PHRASES: Use the handout and words below to being learning some popular and important words. Hebrew Phrases Word/Phrase Hebrew Word/Phrase Hebrew Word/Phrase Hebrew (pronunciation) (pronunciation) (pronunciation) good morning Boker Tov hello, good- Shalom What s your Eich Korim bye, peace name? Lecha? (to a male) good afternoon) Tzohorayim please and Bevakasha What s your Eich Korim Tovim you re name? (to a Lach? welcome female) good night Lilah Tov excuse me Slicha How are you? (to a male) Mah Shlomcha? good Sabbath Shabbat thanks Todah How are you? Mah Shlomech? Shalom (to a female) a good week Shavua Tov see you soon Lehitraot

6 Activity Ideas In Leviticus Chapter 21:5 they discuss not making any bald place on their heads, nor shave the edges of their beards. Get some balloons, shaving cream, and popsicle sticks. Draw a face, hair, and a beard. Put some shaving cream on the balloon and practice shaving without shaving the head or the edges of the beard! Read this Torah portion and then look at offerings accepted and not accepted. Would you give your best to YHVH? Show them 2 objects that are the same (one new and the other used, damaged, and/or broken for a visual.) Take a look at each one of these festivals as described in the Torah portion: Pesach(Passover), Shavout (Feast of Weeks), Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), Hanukkah (Feast of Dedication), Sabbath, New Moon, Purim, Year of Jubilee. Make a chart of the Festivals. Make a separate list of the feasts and draw articles that represent these feasts. Cut out your list of feasts and the articles you drew. Play a matching game by matching up the feasts with the articles. Look up a recipe that could be made for one of the feasts and prepare it.

7 YHWH said These are my appointed festivals which you are to keep as special meetings, Leviticus 23:2

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10 YHWH said These are my appointed festivals which you are to keep as special meetings, Leviticus 23:2