Actual Commandments- Halacha

[alon]

Actual Commandments- Halacha

This begins a sort of catch-all section I simply title "Halacha."


Halacha

General

Deuteronomy 5:19 (ESV) “‘And you shall not steal.” Self explanatory.

Exodus 20:17 (ESV) “You shall not covet … anything that is your neighbor’s.” Meaning anyone in your community, or that of greater Israel. For our purposes, I think it means anyone else, period. חָמַד châmad, to delight in, desire, lust after. It’s theirs, be happy for them and move on.

Deuteronomy 5:21 (ESV) “‘And you shall not covet your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’" Class envy is one of the main socialist tools being used today to destroy America and much of the free world. Had we but been more diligent to teach our children and youth this commandment. Though a national problem, observance starts in our own communities. Do not covet what your neighbor has.

Exodus 20:15 (ESV) “You shall not steal.” Pretty clear, and relates to the above commandments.

Exodus 13:14-15 (ESV) And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ We are to understand what this all means and teach it to our children. And while we do not do animal sacrifices until the Temple is rebuilt, we still should redeem our firstborn.

Deuteronomy 4:9 (ESV) “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children— Be diligent in learning the mitzvoth and keeping them, and pass them on to your children.

Deuteronomy 6:7 (ESV) You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. His Torah is to be on our lips and heart, and we are to speak of it all day; teach our children Torah.

Deuteronomy 32:46b (ESV)  “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law.” We are to teach this law to our children.

Genesis 17:11-12 (ESV) You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring,  If you are male and joined to God’s family, you must be circumcised.

Exodus 13:1-2, 12-13 (ESV) The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” … you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord's. Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. We are to kill or redeem all firstborn. “Sons” often means “sons and daughters.” So this could be taken either way (“sons” or “sons and daughters”), but contextually it would seem to mean “sons” (males) as the distinction was made. As murder is both immoral and illegal, our firstborn children should be redeemed if we belong to a community of believers.

Exodus 13:16 (ESV) It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.” Fulfilled by the mitzvah of teffillin.

Exodus 20:12 (ESV) “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” To honor our parents is to obey them, also do not speak ill of them. It can mean to forgive them. “That your days may be long” speaks not only of our immediate parents, but our entire family lineage.

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; to frighten. revere- To regard with awe, deference, and devotion.

Exodus 20:13 (ESV) “You shall not murder.” Deuteronomy 5:17 (ESV) “‘You shall not murder.” Some translated this “Thou shalt not kill.” The Hebrew term here is רָצַח râtsach, meaning to murder. However the Hebrew understanding of this concept includes things we call manslaughter- causing human death through carelessness or negligence. And the command obviously would not prohibit justifiable instances of taking a life.

Leviticus 10:19 (ESV) And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would the Lord have approved?” We should mourn for relatives.

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 19:27 (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. Contextually probably more refers to pagan haircuts of the time.

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.

[alon]

Tumah and Taharah

Leviticus 11:24-28 (ESV) “And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, and whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. Every animal that parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. And all that walk on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours, are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, and he who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you. Ritual unavailability due to touching tumah (unclean) animals.

Leviticus 11:29-31 (ESV) “And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground: the mole rat, the mouse, the great lizard of any kind, the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. These are unclean to you among all that swarm. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. Laws of tumah ground swarming animals.

Leviticus 11:32-33 (ESV) And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any article that is used for any purpose. It must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean. And if any of them falls into any earthenware vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it. Laws of tumah for items.

Leviticus 11:34-35 (ESV) Any food in it that could be eaten, on which water comes, shall be unclean. And all drink that could be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean. And everything on which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean. Whether oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean and shall remain unclean for you. Laws of tumah vessels.

Leviticus 13:45-46 (ESV) “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp. A person who is tumah due to leprosy must publicize it, and live apart.

Leviticus 11:36 (ESV) Nevertheless, a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, but whoever touches a carcass in them shall be unclean. Laws of tumah concerning a spring or cistern.

Leviticus 11: (ESV) And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed grain that is to be sown, it is clean, but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you. Laws of tumah for grains.

Leviticus 11:39-40 (ESV) “And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening, and whoever eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening." Laws of tumah for dead beasts.

Leviticus 11:43 (ESV) You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them. Do not defile yourself.

Leviticus 15: (ESV) “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean." An unnatural (or natural) discharge makes a man tumah. Basically whatever he touches must be sanitized. Whoever touches him or items he’s touched is also unclean.

Leviticus 15:13 (ESV) “And when the one with a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes. And he shall bathe his body in fresh water and shall be clean." A man who has had a discharge must after 7 days without discharge wash his clothes and undergo tevilah.

Obedience

Genesis 17:1b (ESV) “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,” A call to obedience.

Exodus 34:11a (ESV) “Observe what I command you this day. …” A command to obedience. We are to obey what Adonai tells us.

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.

Deuteronomy 5:1 (ESV) And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them." In Judaism, to hear is to learn, and to learn is to do. So hear these instructions, and do them.

Deuteronomy 6:17-18a (ESV) You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, … We are to painstakingly persevere in keeping the Mitzvoth.

Deuteronomy 29:9 (ESV) Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper [deal wisely] in all that you do. prosper- H7919 שָׂכַל śâkal: A primitive root; to be (causeatively make or act) circumspect and hence intelligent: - consider, expert, instruct, prosper, (deal) prudent (-ly), (give) skill (-ful), have good success, teach, (have, make to) understand (-ing), wisdom, (be, behave self, consider, make) wise (-ly), guide wittingly. Obey Torah, deal wisely, and prosper.

Nidah

Leviticus 12:2b, 4-5 (ESV) If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. … Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed. But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days. Nidah, still applies today.

Brit Milah

Leviticus 12: (ESV) And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Brit Milah, still applicable today.

Tevilah 

Leviticus 15:16-17 (ESV) “If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until the evening. And every garment and every skin on which the semen comes shall be washed with water and be unclean until the evening." A man having a natural emission must wash his cloths and undergo tevilah.

Leviticus 15:18 (ESV) If a man lies with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them shall bathe themselves in water and be unclean until the evening. After marital relations both the man and woman must wash their clothes and undergo tevilah.

Leviticus 15:19 (ESV) “When a woman has a discharge, and the discharge in her body is blood, she shall be in her menstrual impurity for seven days, and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening." Laws of nidah- she, anyone or anything she comes in contact with to 7 days after her discharge stops is unclean. Items must be washed, persons must undergo tevilah.

Leviticus 15:25 (ESV) “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge 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." Same as the laws of nidah.

[alon]

This week we wrap up the section on halacha:

Tzitzith

Numbers 15:38 (ESV)  “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. Command to wear tzitzit on the corners of our garments.

Numbers 15:39-40 (ESV) And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to sleeper after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. When we see our tzitzyoth we are to remember to who we belong and how we are to act.

One Law

Exodus 12:49 (ESV) There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.” It sounds as if we (gerim) are responsible for the whole Torah when we accept Yeshua. Not talking about the 613 Mitzvoth of so called “Rabbinical Judaism,” but what it actually teaches- the laws, the instructions, the lessons, and the principles. Not 2 Torah, not 2 House, no lists made by man of what parts of Torah we should keep; just 1 Torah for everyone.

Numbers 15:15-16 (ESV)  For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the Lord. One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.” Again we are told there will be one law for everyone. We Gentile converts are the sojourners with Yisroel.

Sin

Genesis 2:16-17 (ESV) And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Consider sin and its nature. Every bad habit, every forbidden pleasure, every sin I ever indulged in, loved and was habitually attracted to would have been a whole lot easier never to have partaken of than it was to quit! Don’t eat the forbidden fruit!

Genesis 4:7b (ESV)  And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” This just naturally goes with the above commandment. The commandment: speaking of sin, which is on our minds and hearts- we “must rule over it.”

Genesis 3:7,21 (ESV)  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. … And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Cover it up.

Genesis 12:1 (ESV) Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country [land] and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. Many missionaries (including Messianics) say “If God calls you, go”. But if you are not called, it is far better not to force the Lord’s hand.” Go where you are called, not where you want.

Promises, Oaths, and Vows

Numbers 30:2 (ESV) If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. Do not break an oath or a vow. The subtle difference between a promise and an oath, or something sworn is the witness. In the case of something sworn to God, He may be the only witness. The same may be true when swearing in the Name of God. We are in fact (later) commanded to swear in God’s Name and (contextually) in Him alone:

Deuteronomy 6:13 (ESV) It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.

Numbers 30:3-5 (ESV)  “If a woman vows a vow to the Lord and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father's house in her youth,  and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand.  But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the Lord will forgive her, because her father opposed her." A woman living under the protection of her father may have her vows or oaths annulled by her father. Or he may let them stand, but he must decide on the first day in which he hears of them.

Numbers 30:6-8 (ESV) “If she marries a husband, while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand.  But if, on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he opposes her, then he makes void her vow that was on her, and the thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she bound herself. And the Lord will forgive her." When she marries, her husband may annul any previous or new vows, again only on the first day he hears of them. She is now under his spiritual protection.

Numbers 30:9 (ESV) (But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.) A widow or divorced woman is responsible for her own self, and her oaths and vows are binding on her if made after her husband is gone and she is no longer under the spiritual covering of a head of household.

Numbers 30:10-15 (ESV)  And if she vowed in her husband's house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath, and her husband heard of it and said nothing to her and did not oppose her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the Lord will forgive her. Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself [fast], her husband may establish [allow to stand], or her husband may make void. But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her pledges that are upon her. He has established them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them. But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then he shall bear her iniquity.” Reiterates what was said before, however note the additional caveat in the ending; “But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then he shall bear her iniquity.” As head of the household, men are held to a higher standard (as is with any leadership position). Once you hear of the vows or oaths of a female member of your household, then men are to find out the details and make a judicious ruling on whether it will stand. But the male head of household is responsible before God for his ruling