- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on May 1, 2020 1:07:04 GMT -8
Name of Par’shah- 30.3 Kedoshim, Holy People
Par’shah- Lev 19:1 – 20:27
D’rash: Part two of our double-header. The first part of ch. 20 is penalties for the offenses given along with encouragement and incentives to keep the commandments given. So I won’t break that all down here. However as always you are encouraged to read and think about the entire passage.
Leviticus 19:3a (ESV) Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, We are to highly regard our parents.
H3372 יָרֵא yârêʼto fear; morally to revere; causatively to frighten
re·vere 1 (rĭ-vîr′) tr.v. re·vered, re·ver·ing, re·veres To regard with awe, deference, and devotion.
Leviticus 19:3b (ESV)and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. Again, keep the Sabaths- all Sabbaths!
Leviticus 19:4 (ESV) Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God. Pretty clear- no idols!
Leviticus 19:9-10 (ESV) “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God. Tzedekah, charity is a commandment!
Leviticus 19:11 (ESV) “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. Honesty in all things.
Leviticus 19:12 (ESV) You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. Treat the name (including descriptive names) of God with utmost respect.
Leviticus 19:13a (ESV) “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. Do not steal from a neighbor; further do not for jealousy or any reason hold him back in any honest endeavor.
Leviticus 19:13b (ESV) The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. Pay workers what is owed promptly.
Leviticus 19:14 (ESV) You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. Do not torment anyone with a disability.
Leviticus 19:15-16 (ESV) “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life [blood] of your neighbor: I am the Lord. When you go to court in any capacity, you are part of a system that dispenses justice. You must be honest in all your dealings there. Lashon hara, the evil tongue- even when true, obviously when false carrying tales can do measurable harm, effecting people’s lives in ways we cannot imagine. Do not carry tales, and especially not in court!
Leviticus 19:17-18 (ESV) “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. In this case, I believe the terms “brother” and “neighbor” refer to the same thing. These aparently deal with the same subject, since the dividing statement “I am the Lord” places them together. This speaks of all Israel, and particularly your own tribe, community, and finally family (in ascending order of importance). We need to deal honestly and openly with each other, lest anger and finally violence erupt between us.
Leviticus 19:19 (ESV) “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material. I knew we’d get here sooner or later. This is a tough one to get our heads around. I’ve read many different things explaining this, all seemingly leaning to a justification of the writers opinions. So I’ll give you what I think, then as always others can comment.
First off, we all can (hopefully) see the problems inherent in todays genetic engineering using DNA- sometimes even human DNA. But when looking at this passage we must keep it at the most basic level of understanding, that of the ancient Hebrews. Now mixing seeds in a field and mixing threads in a garment at the time I can understand. But not letting cattle breed with a different kind is a bit harder. First, what is meant by cattle?
989 בְּהֵמָה (behē·mā(h)): n.fem.(usually coll.); ≡ Str 929; TWOT 208a—1. LN 4.1–4.37 beast, animal, i.e., a class of living being (not flying, creeping, or swarming) that is not human (Ge 6:7; Ex 8:13); 2. LN 4.1–4.37 domestic animal, livestock, herds, cattle (Ge 47:18), cf. also 990; 3. LN 4.1–4.37 wild animal (Mic 5:7; Dt 28:26; Isa 18:6)2
I doubt it meant don’t let a milk cow mate with a beef bull. If you want the cow to give milk, she has to have a calf, and unless you need another milk cow it’s better to mate her with a meat type bull. But what about a horse and a donkey? That’s how we get mules, and mules seem to take the best characteristics of both parents and multiply them! Handy animals, mules. But God said no mules, right? Well, all David’s sons had mules (2 Sam 13.29). So did David (1 Kings 1:38). And through the prophet Isaiah God commanded mules be brought to Jerusalem (Is 66:20). In fact, according to my Strong’s mules are mentioned 9 times, and none of the references were negative about the beasts themselves. According to Easton’s, “It is not probable that the Hebrews bred mules, as this was strictly forbidden in the law ( Leviticus 19:19 ), although their use was not forbidden.” So maybe they had a few from natural occurrence, or bought them from traders. I’m not sure. But to me this still seems to be the most likely meaning- don’t mix two completely different types of livestock. And certainly that would include not mixing human DNA and say a pig- which I hear they've now tried!
Leviticus 19:23-25 (ESV) “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God." The law for trees. Most go by the standard if planted in the latter part of the year, it counts as a full year. Tu b’Shevat, 15th of Shevat is the “New Year for Trees,” the date from which a year is determined. This is typical of Hebrew thinking of the time as I understand it. Others say it is a literal, full year, and each tree must be counted from its own actual planting date.
Leviticus 19:26a (ESV) “You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it.” Meat should be well drained and the blood properly disposed of.
Leviticus 19:26b (ESV) You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes. No arts of divination.
Leviticus 19:27 (ESV) You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. Taken literally, we shouldn’t shave nor trim our beards. I have heard Messianic sermons where this was said to be trimming beards like the pagans, especially the round, bushy style preferred by Muslim men today. I’d lean more closely to the literal translation.
Leviticus 19:28 (ESV) You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord. We don’t mark up our bodies. I do have several scars and one tattoo from long before I converted. But no more!
Leviticus 19:29 (ESV) “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity.” Don’t teach them to be sexually immoral. Moreover I’d say teach our daughters to deal constructively with problems. A Psychologist once told me when men act out it is almost always physical; either do something stupid or getting in fights, or breaking the law. Women usually act out sexually. They need to learn good coping mechanisms at home so they don’t get in trouble later. Teaching our children is a multifaceted and complex responsibility. Moreover, they learn more from our example than from what we say.
Leviticus 19:30 (ESV) You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. Again with the Sabbaths, along with reverencing His sanctuary. This tells me I need to be in synagogue whenever possible on Shabbat! Note that Shabbat is commanded as a day of rest, but I can recall no place where we are commanded to worship on Shabbat. However it has been a long standing custom, definitely since the Babylonian captivity and possibly before to do so. Yeshua and the shaliachim (apostles) were in synagogue on Shabbat.
Leviticus 19:31 (ESV) “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.” Again, no black arts- this time we are not to have them done on our behalf.
Leviticus 19:32 (ESV) “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.” We are to show respect for our elders.
Leviticus 19:33-34 (ESV) “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” Well treatment for visitors.
Leviticus 19:35-36 (ESV) “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” Fair dealings in all our business.
Leviticus 19:37 (ESV) “And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.” Do as you are told.
Ch. 20 is some repetition of the foregoing commandments along with the penalties for them. However there is one commandment worth listing:
Leviticus 20:23 (ESV) “And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them.” We should not copy the religious practices, customs, dress, or speech of the pagans.
Par’shah- Lev 19:1 – 20:27
D’rash: Part two of our double-header. The first part of ch. 20 is penalties for the offenses given along with encouragement and incentives to keep the commandments given. So I won’t break that all down here. However as always you are encouraged to read and think about the entire passage.
Leviticus 19:3a (ESV) Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, We are to highly regard our parents.
H3372 יָרֵא yârêʼto fear; morally to revere; causatively to frighten
re·vere 1 (rĭ-vîr′) tr.v. re·vered, re·ver·ing, re·veres To regard with awe, deference, and devotion.
Leviticus 19:3b (ESV)and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. Again, keep the Sabaths- all Sabbaths!
Leviticus 19:4 (ESV) Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God. Pretty clear- no idols!
Leviticus 19:9-10 (ESV) “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God. Tzedekah, charity is a commandment!
Leviticus 19:11 (ESV) “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. Honesty in all things.
Leviticus 19:12 (ESV) You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. Treat the name (including descriptive names) of God with utmost respect.
Leviticus 19:13a (ESV) “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. Do not steal from a neighbor; further do not for jealousy or any reason hold him back in any honest endeavor.
Leviticus 19:13b (ESV) The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. Pay workers what is owed promptly.
Leviticus 19:14 (ESV) You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. Do not torment anyone with a disability.
Leviticus 19:15-16 (ESV) “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life [blood] of your neighbor: I am the Lord. When you go to court in any capacity, you are part of a system that dispenses justice. You must be honest in all your dealings there. Lashon hara, the evil tongue- even when true, obviously when false carrying tales can do measurable harm, effecting people’s lives in ways we cannot imagine. Do not carry tales, and especially not in court!
Leviticus 19:17-18 (ESV) “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. In this case, I believe the terms “brother” and “neighbor” refer to the same thing. These aparently deal with the same subject, since the dividing statement “I am the Lord” places them together. This speaks of all Israel, and particularly your own tribe, community, and finally family (in ascending order of importance). We need to deal honestly and openly with each other, lest anger and finally violence erupt between us.
Leviticus 19:19 (ESV) “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material. I knew we’d get here sooner or later. This is a tough one to get our heads around. I’ve read many different things explaining this, all seemingly leaning to a justification of the writers opinions. So I’ll give you what I think, then as always others can comment.
First off, we all can (hopefully) see the problems inherent in todays genetic engineering using DNA- sometimes even human DNA. But when looking at this passage we must keep it at the most basic level of understanding, that of the ancient Hebrews. Now mixing seeds in a field and mixing threads in a garment at the time I can understand. But not letting cattle breed with a different kind is a bit harder. First, what is meant by cattle?
989 בְּהֵמָה (behē·mā(h)): n.fem.(usually coll.); ≡ Str 929; TWOT 208a—1. LN 4.1–4.37 beast, animal, i.e., a class of living being (not flying, creeping, or swarming) that is not human (Ge 6:7; Ex 8:13); 2. LN 4.1–4.37 domestic animal, livestock, herds, cattle (Ge 47:18), cf. also 990; 3. LN 4.1–4.37 wild animal (Mic 5:7; Dt 28:26; Isa 18:6)2
I doubt it meant don’t let a milk cow mate with a beef bull. If you want the cow to give milk, she has to have a calf, and unless you need another milk cow it’s better to mate her with a meat type bull. But what about a horse and a donkey? That’s how we get mules, and mules seem to take the best characteristics of both parents and multiply them! Handy animals, mules. But God said no mules, right? Well, all David’s sons had mules (2 Sam 13.29). So did David (1 Kings 1:38). And through the prophet Isaiah God commanded mules be brought to Jerusalem (Is 66:20). In fact, according to my Strong’s mules are mentioned 9 times, and none of the references were negative about the beasts themselves. According to Easton’s, “It is not probable that the Hebrews bred mules, as this was strictly forbidden in the law ( Leviticus 19:19 ), although their use was not forbidden.” So maybe they had a few from natural occurrence, or bought them from traders. I’m not sure. But to me this still seems to be the most likely meaning- don’t mix two completely different types of livestock. And certainly that would include not mixing human DNA and say a pig- which I hear they've now tried!
Leviticus 19:23-25 (ESV) “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God." The law for trees. Most go by the standard if planted in the latter part of the year, it counts as a full year. Tu b’Shevat, 15th of Shevat is the “New Year for Trees,” the date from which a year is determined. This is typical of Hebrew thinking of the time as I understand it. Others say it is a literal, full year, and each tree must be counted from its own actual planting date.
Leviticus 19:26a (ESV) “You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it.” Meat should be well drained and the blood properly disposed of.
Leviticus 19:26b (ESV) You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes. No arts of divination.
Leviticus 19:27 (ESV) You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. Taken literally, we shouldn’t shave nor trim our beards. I have heard Messianic sermons where this was said to be trimming beards like the pagans, especially the round, bushy style preferred by Muslim men today. I’d lean more closely to the literal translation.
Leviticus 19:28 (ESV) You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord. We don’t mark up our bodies. I do have several scars and one tattoo from long before I converted. But no more!
Leviticus 19:29 (ESV) “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity.” Don’t teach them to be sexually immoral. Moreover I’d say teach our daughters to deal constructively with problems. A Psychologist once told me when men act out it is almost always physical; either do something stupid or getting in fights, or breaking the law. Women usually act out sexually. They need to learn good coping mechanisms at home so they don’t get in trouble later. Teaching our children is a multifaceted and complex responsibility. Moreover, they learn more from our example than from what we say.
Leviticus 19:30 (ESV) You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. Again with the Sabbaths, along with reverencing His sanctuary. This tells me I need to be in synagogue whenever possible on Shabbat! Note that Shabbat is commanded as a day of rest, but I can recall no place where we are commanded to worship on Shabbat. However it has been a long standing custom, definitely since the Babylonian captivity and possibly before to do so. Yeshua and the shaliachim (apostles) were in synagogue on Shabbat.
Leviticus 19:31 (ESV) “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.” Again, no black arts- this time we are not to have them done on our behalf.
Leviticus 19:32 (ESV) “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.” We are to show respect for our elders.
Leviticus 19:33-34 (ESV) “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” Well treatment for visitors.
Leviticus 19:35-36 (ESV) “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” Fair dealings in all our business.
Leviticus 19:37 (ESV) “And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.” Do as you are told.
Ch. 20 is some repetition of the foregoing commandments along with the penalties for them. However there is one commandment worth listing:
Leviticus 20:23 (ESV) “And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them.” We should not copy the religious practices, customs, dress, or speech of the pagans.
