[yrzt. Parashat HaShavuah. Understanding the Parsha Leviticus 12:1-13:59. Vayikra (Leviticus) 12:1-13:59 Tazria (Conceived)

Transcription

1 Unersaning he Parsha Leviicus 12:1-13:59 Parasha HaShavuah [yrzt Vayikra (Leviicus) 12:1-13:59 Tazria (Conceive) We will Learn how o 1) inerpre he main heme (subjec) of a Parsha (weekly reaing from he Torah), 2) make hemaic connecions o ha Parsha (suy he Scripures relae by a common heme [subjec], line upon line an precep upon precep) 3) learn how o gain greaer unersaning of he Parsha we are looking a hrough is hemaic connecions o oher porions of Scripure. Tazria/Mezora Par I (Par 2 nex week) Due o he lengh of his suy you may wish o o i in wo separae siings. Leviicus In his wo par lesson we will uncover ifferen hemes by comparing an conrasing Scripures. So le s ge sare. Basic meaning of wo wors I. Clean an Unclean There are wo Hebrew wors use in hese wo siras ha are usually ranslae o English as clean/pure or unclean/conaminae/impure. These English wors o no speak he rue meaning of he original Hebrew. In fac, here are no English wors ha can correcly express heir rue meaning! Some ranslaions use he wor riually clean or riually unclean. These wo wors are closer o being correc. A. Unclean The Hebrew wor ranslae unclean beginning in Leviicus chaper eleven is amei (amj). B. Clean The Hebrew wor ranslae clean is ahor (rhj). 1

2 If you are beginning o learn he Hebrew Scripures, i is imporan for you o begin o evelop a basic Hebrew vocabulary. Tazria/Mezora is a goo place o sar learning Hebrew wors. In his suy we will use amei (riually unclean) an ahor (riually clean) o avoi confusion. Here is he hemaic meaning of wha i means o be riually clean or unclean below. II. Leper This wor oally misses he mark. The Hebrew wor misakenly ranslae as leper has nohing o o wih he moern-ay isease, leprosy. A. Leprosy is also known as Hanson s Disease. Hanson s isease is a severe nerve isorer where a person loses his abiliy o sense he physical worl! A person who has leprosy can acually rub he skin off of heir boy over ime because hey can feel he area ha is woune. Because of no feeling he person oesn know ha hey are huring hemselves. B. The Hebrew wor ranslae leper is mezora ([rcm). The mezora (leper) is a person who ha any one of several skin isorers. When one of hese ifferen skin isorers mae hem amei (riually unclean), i was given he erm zara a ([rc), which has been wrongly ranslae as leprosy. I is unersanable ha ranslaors ry o fin English wors ha mach as close as possible; however, some wors an conceps canno be properly ranslae ino every language. When ha happens, i s bes o jus ranslierae he wor ino he new language an ry o unersan i in is original language, ime an culure. C. Proof ha he mezora was no a leper 1. Houses an clohing coul be affece wih zara a. Obviously, Hanson s Disease coul no affec a house, which has no nervous sysem. 2. If he mezora s (leper s) boy was compleely covere wih zara a, hen he was pronounce ahor (clean). Now we can see ha he mezora, a person afflice wih zara a, was in no way suffering from Hanson s Disease (leprosy). The Scripural Consequences of Being Tamei (Riually Unclean) an Tahor (Riually Clean) In previous siras we learne many valuable ruhs. A. In Parasha Vayikra, we learne ha he book of Leviicus woul show us how Israel each iniviual coul be in a relaionship wih Aonai hrough he service of he Mishkan. The main poin o remember is, how can a sinful man raw near o a Holy Go? Again, THE MAIN POINT augh by Leviicus is how one may raw near o Aonai. We alreay know ha Israel HAD TO APPROACH ADONAI THROUGH BLOOD SACRIFICE. The Hebrew wor for offering is corban (!Brq). Wha is he Hebrew wor corban use for hroughou Parasha Vayikra? o. offering 2

3 The roo for he wor offering/corban is brq, which means coming near! Tha's righ. Normally when we hink of an offering, we hink of he wor sacrifice. Sacrifice makes you hink of giving up somehing of value. Bu his IS NOT he main heme of an offering as presene in he Hebrew Scripures. An offering is no abou giving up somehing of value. An offering is abou rawing nigh o Aonai! B. We also learne ha he purpose of he Mishkan is o provie a place where he major evens of he revelaion a Moun Sinai can coninue wih all generaions. See if you can raw a line o connec he Themaic Comparison of he Revelaions on he Mounain an in he Mishkan On he Mounain A clou covers he mounain The Shekhinah covers he mounain Moses mus wai unil calle o ener he clou (Exous 40:35) Aonai calls Moses using he verb Vayikra Moses mus wai unil calle o ener he Mishkan (Leviicus 1:1) Aonai calls Moses using he verb Vayikra Aonai gives commanmens o Israel A clou covers he Mishkan In he Mishkan There is limie access o he mounain Aonai gives commanmens o Israel In (Exous 19-24), we learne ha only Moses, Aaron an his sons, he elers of Israel an Joshua were allowe o go ono he mounain. Only Moses was allowe o go ino he clou. We learne he general heme ha Aonai is no easily approache. There are ifferen barriers se up o keep us from Him unless we have he proper covering. As Parasha Vayikra (Leviicus 1-5) shows, he average person coul approach Aonai's Shekhinah because of he presence of he Mishkan. There was sill limie access since only he priess coul acually ener he en. Through subsiuionary bloo sacrifice, he average Israelie coul raw nigh o Aonai a he Mishkan, which he couln' o a Moun Sinai. II. Now we can iscover he consequences/ramificaions of being amei (riually unclean) an ahor (riually clean). A. Rea Leviicus 12:4. During he ime of a woman's impuriy afer chilbirh, wha wo hings coul she no o? She canno any sacre objec, neiher can she ino he Mishkan (sancuary). Rea Leviicus 13:46. During he ime ha a mezora ("leper") is amei, where oes he have o live? O he camp. ousie ouch There is limie access o he Mishkan, especially he Holy of Holies The Shekhinah covers he Mishkan Rea Leviicus 15: Accoring o verse 31, wha happens afer he pries's aonemen for one who is amei? 3 e ener

4 He hem from heir sae of being. Accoring o verse 31, why is i imporan ha Am Yisrael be separae from heir sae of being amei? So ha hey won'! Wha effec oes riual uncleanness have on he Mishkan, which is where Aonai wells? s I he Mishkan. efiles separaes ie From hese examples we can see ha a person s riual cleanliness, or lack of i, has a irec effec on wheher or no hey may ener he Mishkan! This is he issue. The phrase ener he Mishkan, is he same as saying raw nigh o Aonai, because he Mishkan is where He welle, beween he cherubim, over he ark, in he Holy of Holies. So, we see ha one mus be ahor in orer o raw nigh o Aonai. Bu why is his? B. In he book of Exous, we learne ha Aonai was abou o make Himself known as YHVH. One par of his revelaion is abou His Holiness an man being unable o approach him. In every sira we saw eachings abou he ifficuly of rawing near o Aonai. As you begin o see he Holiness of Aonai, you begin o see, he sinfulness of man. His Holiness is absolue an infinie in puriy. Now, rea Leviicus 11: Alhough his verse is eaching abou kosher requiremens, he real issue is no making yourself amei hrough wha you ea. Wha wo ieas ha we ve jus suie are hemaically linke in his passage? Riual cleanliness/uncleanliness an Aonai s. The Torah eaches us ha Aonai is Holy; herefore, if we wan o raw near o Him, we mus be holy. Our acions will eermine wheher or no we will be ahor or amei. Obviously, when we are ahor, we will mee he require prerequisie of personal holiness. However, if we are amei, hen he Mishkan is OFF LIM- ITS! This is augh hroughou he Torah. Rea Exous 3:5. Why was Moses ol no o raw nigh o Aonai? Because he place he was saning on was groun. H H Holy Holiness The Themaic Imporance of Becoming Tamei I. We have seen ha Am Yisrael was commane o walk in holiness. This holiness woul ensure ha hey i no become amei, enabling hem o come ino he Mishkan for worship. The insrucions given in Leviicus concern every par of life. Through hese insrucions, Aonai has emonsrae wha makes one amei. Look a all of he ifferen ways one coul become amei. A. One coul become amei by cerain animals an he carcasses of cerain animals Leviicus 11:1-47. e B. One coul become amei by conac wih a Numbers 5:2. c eaing C. One coul become amei uring Leviicus 12:1-8. c amei chilbirh corpse ouching 4

5 D. One coul become amei because of cerain ischarges Leviicus 15:1-33. E. One coul become amei by conracing cerain iseases Leviicus 13:1-59. II. These five circumsances (leaing o a sae of riual impuriy) migh seem o have nohing o o wih each oher, bu we can fin a common heme ha links all of hem ogeher hrough he principles of conras an comparison ha we've learne o use in hemaic analysis. Le s see how: A. Wha is i abou a carcasses ha makes a person riually unclean? The fac ha he animals are. Their DEAD carcasses are he source of riual impuriy Wha kin of foo o he kosher animals ea?. Wha are he eaing habis of many of he non-kosher animals? They ea oher. Name some ways carnivores obain heir foo? They eiher heir prey or hey scavenge animals. B. Knowing ha you can become amei by ouching a ea boy, wha heme is augh by riual impuriy cause by ouching animal carcasses an corpses? Conac wih. C. Rea Leviicus 17:11. Accoring o his verse, wha is he source of life in a living creaure? b ea Is bloo Wha happens uring chilbirh ha involves bloo? The moher looses uring chilbirh. During chilbirh, he moher loses life or he life force when she loses bloo. How is his fac hemaically relae o wha we jus learne above concerning eah? e Loss of bloo is o losing life-force. If we loose oo much bloo we will ie. equal D. The boily ischarges of Leviicus 15 concern men s seminal emissions an he woman s mensrual cycle. Wha is he purpose of semen? I carries he subsance of for he male. Why o women have a mensrual cycle? l ea If a woman oes no become pregnan, he egg (he subsance of from he woman) is flushe from he boy. How are hese facs hemaically relae o wha we've learne so far abou why you become amei uner cerain circumsances? They represen he LOSS OF POTENTIAL! life l b s P boy life skin Plans k l kill life b eah a bloo animals 5

6 III. Allusions o he Garen of Een So far we have learne wo imporan facs abou riual uncleanness. Riual uncleanness prevens access o he presence of Aonai. Riual uncleanness is linke o eah. These wo facs we've iscovere are clearly augh in he accoun of he fall of man an, he fall of man ino sin provies he founaion for unersaning he laws of riual puriy/impuriy! A. Concerning Life an Deah Earlier we saw ha he essence of riual puriy involves issues of LIFE an DEATH. This powerful heme will become one of he primary hemes for he res of he Torah! The heme of life an eah was illusrae firs in Genesis 3. Wha were he names of he wo rees in he garen? The Tree of an he Tree of he of Goo an Evil. ON THAT DAY (he iming is imporan), hey woul. Accoring o Genesis 3:22, wha shoul happen if Aam an Chava ae frui from he Tree of Life? They woul forever. Di Aam an Chava ie physically ON THE DAY hey sinne? How i hey ie ON THE DAY ha hey ae frui from he forbien ree? b L L Life Live They were from he garen. banishe Deah is separaion from Aonai, he source of life. Bu more imporanly, hey were banishe from he place where Aonai welle! An, hey were cu off from he source of life. How oes his hemaically relae o becoming riually impure? Aam an Chava sinne. The consequence of heir sin was ha hey were pu ou of he garen, which is where Aonai an he Tree of Life welle. When a person becomes amei hey canno come ino he Mishkan/ abernacle, where Aonai wells. Can you see he connecion clear an srong? YES NO As you can see, he eaching concerning riual cleanliness goes back as far as he garen! Themaic analysis helps you see i. B. Riual Uncleanness an Deah Through he sory of he fall of man, we can see why riual uncleanness is relae o eah. Now, here s anoher hemaic connecion ha will help you see his even more clearly. K D Die Knowlege N No Wha commanmen i Aam an Chava break? a They somehing ha was forbien o ea. ae How is his hemaically relae o clean an unclean foo? 6

7 The Tree of he Knowlege of Goo an Evil was amei (riually ). The Tree of life was c ahor (riually ). clean The very firs sin ha place mankin ino arkness concerne a ieary resricion, no ifferen han he ones lise in Leviicus 11. Do you see he imporance of jus oing wha Aonai says in His wor? If He says cerain animals are amei, shoul we no jus rus Him even hough we may no unersan he reasons why? C. In Genesis 3, Aonai punishe he woman by saying ha she woul give birh in pain. Themaically, we can connec birh wih he process of eah ha happene in he garen. One becomes amei, or riually impure, by sinning (e.g., isobeying he commanmens), or by coming ino conac wih eah, or by some form of he loss of life. When one is amei hey canno come ino Aonai s holy presence. Tha is absoluely forbien. You can only approach Aonai when you are ahor (riually clean). The Source of Tzara a? I. I is very imporan ha we unersan why an how someone coul become a mezora by having zara a. We also nee o unersan is meaning. Wha was he meaning behin his afflicion? Wha was is purpose? Below we will ry o iscover wha he Scripures each abou he source an significance of zara'a by comparing an conrasing informaion ha we have learne from passages eaching abou i. The Source of Tzara'a Rea he following sories abou hese people who were sruck wih zara'a: Numbers 12:9-16, II Chronicles 26:16-21 an II Kings 5:1-27. Wha was he source of zara a in each sory? I was a from Aonai. In he sories concerning Miriam an King Uzziah, he source is supernaural, no naural. Aonai cause i o happen. Do you see a hemaic connecion beween all hree of hese sories as o he reason WHY Aonai smoe hese people wih zara'a? In all hree sories he person sruck wih zara'a challenge he of Aonai's anoine servan! Even hough he Scripure oes say ha Miriam spoke agains Moses, by hemaically comparing hree separae sories eaching abou he same hing (zara'a), we see ha he Torah is rying o each us ha zara'a was inflice upon hose who rejece an/or quesione Aonai's anoine! Tzara'a is an afflicion visie upon a person by Aonai. An, we see ha zara'a may be connece wih rejecion of he Divine auhoriy of he pries an prophe. The Themaic Significance of Tzara'a I. Now for he mos imporan hemaic revelaion of his suy. Wha is he significance of zara'a? Wha i i san for? Wha lessons oes i each us? Rea Numbers 12:9-16. In Numbers 12:12, how i Aaron characerize Miriam's afflicion? He compare her o ONE WHO IS! ea Wha i he say she looke like? He sai she looke like a (DEAD) baby. p u a unclean punishmen s auhoriy sillborn

8 Rea Numbers 5:2 an Leviicus 13:46. Where was a mezora require o live? of he camp of Israel! Wha happene o social conac, especially wih family members? They were cu off from ALL normal conac wih even heir family because hey ha o live of he camp of Israel. By living ousie of he camp he mezora was cu off from he Mishkan. They were cu off from he source of all life! Remember Aam an Chava an he hemaic connecions? Aam an Chava experience DEATH he ay hey sinne. On ha ay hey were kicke ousie he camp (ou of he garen), an separae from He who is he source of all life. They ie, an so oes he mezora when he can no longer raw nigh o Aonai, he source of life. Rea Leviicus 13: There are five hings a mezora mus o. 1) He mus his clohes, 2) uncover his, 3) cover his upper, ear 4) cry ou, ", amei" an 5) live in isolaion. amei The firs hree acions were rouinely performe by hose who were mourning he DEATH of a love one. Rea Leviicus 14:1-8. Wha is he subjec? The purificaion proceure for a. Rea Numbers 19:1-13. Wha is he subjec? Insrucions for making he purificaion waer ha is o be sprinkle on anyone who has ha conac wih a. See he hemaic connecions of he purificaion proceure for he mezora an he proceure for making he purificaion waer. Boh proceures require he use of crimson hrea! Boh proceures require he use of hyssop! Boh proceures require he use of cear woo! Boh proceures require he one being purifie o be sprinkle wih waer! Here's he connecion. The proceure for purificaion of a mezora is clearly hemaically relae o he proceure for purificaion of someone who has come ino conac wih a corpse (he realm of DEATH)! The hemaic connecions show ha he mezora was essenially THE WALKING, LIVING DEAD! Tha's righ. The hemaic connecions clearly pain his picure. If we wan o see wha eah is like, hen we look o he mezora, who was oally cu off from he presence of Aonai in he Mishkan as well as all human relaionships. Walking abou in a coninuous sae of mourning, for he eah of wha? FOR THEIR OWN DEATH! How ragic. Now we can see how he mezora was relae o all he oher forms of riual uncleanness. They are all relae by DEATH, SIN an DEATH. Nex week we will see how hese eachings abou wha is riually clean an unclean provie he basis for some of he mos powerful eaching concerning he work of he Messiah! I can' wai!!! c o h hea corpse ousie m O l mezora ousie lip