- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on Apr 11, 2019 14:06:45 GMT -8
This week’s readings:
Date of reading- 13 April 2019/ 8 Nissan 5779
Name of Par’shah- M’tzora
Par’shah- Lev 14:1 – 15:33
Haftara- 2 Kings 7:3-20
Brit Chadashah- Matthew 9:20-26; Mark 5:24-34; Luke 8:42-48; Hebrews 13:4
D’rash: Our haftara tells of a miraculous event and a man who would not believe it possible when told by God’s prophet, Elisha:
2 Kings 7:18-20 (ESV) For when the man of God had said to the king, “Two seahs of barley shall be sold for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria,” the captain had answered the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate and he died.
What struck me at this reading was contrasting the faith of the woman in our B’rith Chadashah portion:
Luke 8:43-48 (ESV) And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” … “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
We’ve previously discussed how Yeshua said it is not what goes into your body, but what comes out that makes a person tumah (impure, or more accurately “ritually unavailable). Now let’s go to our par’shah and see where the idea comes from, what it actually entails:
Leviticus 15:25-33 (ESV) “If a woman has a discharge of blood … beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness. As in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean. Every bed on which she lies, … And everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her menstrual impurity. And whoever touches these things shall be unclean, … But if she is cleansed of her discharge, she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. And on the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the priest shall use one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for her unclean discharge. “Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.” This is the law for him who has a discharge … also for her who is unwell with her menstrual impurity, that is, for anyone, male or female, who has a discharge, and for the man who lies with a woman who is unclean.
We see here the purpose of these laws, “lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle.” Recall that when Yeshua confronted His accusers on the issue of “proper” handwashing they were in the Temple. He later explains what He meant to His talmedim:
Mark 7:18-23 (ESV) And he said to them, “… Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” … And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
So in our par’shah and B’rith Chadashah, I see a picture of sin/transgression as that which comes from within, its consequences, and how it can effect our family and the entire community. Whatever she touched became tumah, which could be transferred to another who then could unknowingly transfer that to the Mishkan, and later the Temple. Same if anyone touched her. She could not have relations with her husband if she was married, hug her children if she had any; and if not bearing the
of being childless and possibly without a husband. Yet in her simple act of faith and trust, we also see the ultimate cure for that sin:
Matthew 9:21-22 (ESV) for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And in that hour the woman was made well.
She simply touched a corner of Yeshua’s garment. What she touched is called the צִיצִית tzitzit. The Greek text uses the term κράσπεδον (kaspedon) “fringe” or “hem.” The Hebrew for that is כָּנָף kanaf, meaning “corner” or “edge.” Kanaf can also mean wing (כְּנָפַיִם kanafim, plural). So biblically the corners of garments can be thought of as bird’s wings. Picture a hen or a Quail sheltering their chicks under their wings, sheltering and protecting them:
Psalm 91:4 (ESV) He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
This woman in Matthew 9 and Luke 8 trusted enough to seek the covering of HaMoshiach Yeshua’s wings:
Malachi 4:2 (ESV) But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.
This is why Yeshua told her “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” Seeing Yeshua and the miracles He was performing, she recognized Him as God’s anointed (messiah, Greek christ). She believed He had “healing in (His) wings,” the כְּנָפַיִם kanafim of His tallit, where the צִיצִית tzitzit are found.
Ruth 3:9 (WLC) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר מִי־אָ֑תּ וַתֹּ֗אמֶר אָנֹכִי֙ ר֣וּת אֲמָתֶ֔ךָ וּפָרַשְׂתָּ֤ כְנָפֶ֙ךָ֙ עַל־אֲמָ֣תְךָ֔ כִּ֥י גֹאֵ֖ל אָֽתָּה׃
Ruth 3:9 (OJB) And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid; spread therefore thy robe (wings, כְנָפֶ֙ךָ֙ kanaphim) over thine amah (handmaid); for thou art a Go’el (Redeemer).
And this is the picture we are left with from the story of this desperate, though faithful woman in Matthew and Luke. Yeshua, our goel, our Redeemer who shelters us under His tallit; who takes away our sins which originate within and could otherwise manifest throughout the community.
Mekarot: Winchester Leningrad Codex, Webster's New World Hebrew Dictionary, Rav S, my father, and many others over the years.
Date of reading- 13 April 2019/ 8 Nissan 5779
Name of Par’shah- M’tzora
Par’shah- Lev 14:1 – 15:33
Haftara- 2 Kings 7:3-20
Brit Chadashah- Matthew 9:20-26; Mark 5:24-34; Luke 8:42-48; Hebrews 13:4
D’rash: Our haftara tells of a miraculous event and a man who would not believe it possible when told by God’s prophet, Elisha:
2 Kings 7:18-20 (ESV) For when the man of God had said to the king, “Two seahs of barley shall be sold for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria,” the captain had answered the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate and he died.
What struck me at this reading was contrasting the faith of the woman in our B’rith Chadashah portion:
Luke 8:43-48 (ESV) And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” … “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
We’ve previously discussed how Yeshua said it is not what goes into your body, but what comes out that makes a person tumah (impure, or more accurately “ritually unavailable). Now let’s go to our par’shah and see where the idea comes from, what it actually entails:
Leviticus 15:25-33 (ESV) “If a woman has a discharge of blood … beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness. As in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean. Every bed on which she lies, … And everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her menstrual impurity. And whoever touches these things shall be unclean, … But if she is cleansed of her discharge, she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. And on the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the priest shall use one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for her unclean discharge. “Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.” This is the law for him who has a discharge … also for her who is unwell with her menstrual impurity, that is, for anyone, male or female, who has a discharge, and for the man who lies with a woman who is unclean.
We see here the purpose of these laws, “lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle.” Recall that when Yeshua confronted His accusers on the issue of “proper” handwashing they were in the Temple. He later explains what He meant to His talmedim:
Mark 7:18-23 (ESV) And he said to them, “… Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” … And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
So in our par’shah and B’rith Chadashah, I see a picture of sin/transgression as that which comes from within, its consequences, and how it can effect our family and the entire community. Whatever she touched became tumah, which could be transferred to another who then could unknowingly transfer that to the Mishkan, and later the Temple. Same if anyone touched her. She could not have relations with her husband if she was married, hug her children if she had any; and if not bearing the
of being childless and possibly without a husband. Yet in her simple act of faith and trust, we also see the ultimate cure for that sin:Matthew 9:21-22 (ESV) for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And in that hour the woman was made well.
She simply touched a corner of Yeshua’s garment. What she touched is called the צִיצִית tzitzit. The Greek text uses the term κράσπεδον (kaspedon) “fringe” or “hem.” The Hebrew for that is כָּנָף kanaf, meaning “corner” or “edge.” Kanaf can also mean wing (כְּנָפַיִם kanafim, plural). So biblically the corners of garments can be thought of as bird’s wings. Picture a hen or a Quail sheltering their chicks under their wings, sheltering and protecting them:
Psalm 91:4 (ESV) He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
This woman in Matthew 9 and Luke 8 trusted enough to seek the covering of HaMoshiach Yeshua’s wings:
Malachi 4:2 (ESV) But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.
This is why Yeshua told her “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” Seeing Yeshua and the miracles He was performing, she recognized Him as God’s anointed (messiah, Greek christ). She believed He had “healing in (His) wings,” the כְּנָפַיִם kanafim of His tallit, where the צִיצִית tzitzit are found.
Ruth 3:9 (WLC) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר מִי־אָ֑תּ וַתֹּ֗אמֶר אָנֹכִי֙ ר֣וּת אֲמָתֶ֔ךָ וּפָרַשְׂתָּ֤ כְנָפֶ֙ךָ֙ עַל־אֲמָ֣תְךָ֔ כִּ֥י גֹאֵ֖ל אָֽתָּה׃
Ruth 3:9 (OJB) And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid; spread therefore thy robe (wings, כְנָפֶ֙ךָ֙ kanaphim) over thine amah (handmaid); for thou art a Go’el (Redeemer).
And this is the picture we are left with from the story of this desperate, though faithful woman in Matthew and Luke. Yeshua, our goel, our Redeemer who shelters us under His tallit; who takes away our sins which originate within and could otherwise manifest throughout the community.
Mekarot: Winchester Leningrad Codex, Webster's New World Hebrew Dictionary, Rav S, my father, and many others over the years.
