- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on Mar 12, 2023 14:32:18 GMT -8
This Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Exodus 29:1-46
Haftara- Isaiah 61:7-62:5
D’rash: I apologize that this is late, but it is important and I did not want to get it wrong.
Exodus 29:1-2 “Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour.
This is normal fare for a Hebrew of that day, as opposed to the typically sumptuous fare offered to pagan gods. Another way the El Elohai Yisroel, Lord God of Israel (Gen 33:20, Ex 32:27) sets himself apart.
Exodus 29:5-7,9b Then you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod. And you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. You shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. … Thus you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.
Note here the oil is poured on the head of the priests after they are dressed, so that all is anointed.
Exodus 29:10-12 “Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and shall take part of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and the rest of the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar.
A’aron and his sons lay their hands on the bull. This is certainly symbolic of the transference of sins, as most commentators say. But sin can be transferred by touch:
- Isaiah 6:7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
So this may not be entirely symbolic.
Exodus 29:13-14 And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.
And we see this is a sin offering.
Exodus 29:15-18 “Then you shall take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, and you shall kill the ram and shall take its blood and throw it against the sides of the altar. Then you shall cut the ram into pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head, and burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord.
A’aron and his sons, having been consecrated now take over. Prior to this Moshe had been officiating.
Exodus 29:19-21 “You shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, and you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar. Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and his sons' garments with him. He and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and his sons' garments with him.
This is an odd ceremonial twist. There are many different views on what this meant, and some may contain truths. One I like is the priests hear from their flock and from God, they do God’s work with their hands, and their feet take them where they will serve. Another twist is they are to walk in the commandments. Not much is said about the base of the altar, but we’ll get to how this all ties in in a bit.
Exodus 29:22-25 “You shall also take the fat from the ram and the fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of ordination), and one loaf of bread and one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord. You shall put all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. Then you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a pleasing aroma before the Lord. It is a food offering to the Lord.
These are normally portions eaten by the priests. They are laid on the hands of A’aron and his sons to indicate they are given back to God, Menat Helqi- The Portion Of My Inheritance (Ps 16:5) by the priests.
Exodus 29:26-28 “You shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron's ordination and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion. And you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the priests' portion that is contributed from the ram of ordination, from what was Aaron's and his sons'. It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a perpetual due from the people of Israel, for it is a contribution. It shall be a contribution from the people of Israel from their peace offerings, their contribution to the Lord.
These were given to the Lord, and He gives them back to the priests as their portion.
Exodus 29:29-30 “The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him; they shall be anointed in them and ordained in them. The son who succeeds him as priest, who comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place, shall wear them seven days.
The A’aronic lineage is established in perpetuity as the priesthood of Yisroel.
Exodus 29:31-34 “You shall take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket in the entrance of the tent of meeting. They shall eat those things with which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration, but an outsider shall not eat of them, because they are holy. And if any of the flesh for the ordination or of the bread remain until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
Again, YHVH-Yireh, God Will Provide (Gen 22:14) provides for his priests. But note the food is sanctified, kadosh; set apart for their use alone.
Exodus 29:35-37 “Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Through seven days shall you ordain them, and every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement. Also you shall purify the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall anoint it to consecrate it. Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.
Note the theme of holiness, the set apartness of everything in the Mishkan throughout this chapter. Even touching the altar makes things holy. This applies to people also. The Mishkan, as the Temple will later be is no place to mess around! It is a serious place! And this holiness is what ties everything together here.
Go back to Exodus 29:19-21. Pouring oil on the heads of priests, prophets and kings was a common thing in ancient Israel when they were commissioned. Bt not in regal dress! But why the blood on their ears, thumbs, and toes? And what about throwing the blood on the base of the altar? This all illustrates the relationship between the priests and their atoning work for the people as they present the sacrifices to the Lord. The priests and the altar are fundamentally, intrinsically connected. And was the altar anointed with oil?
- Exodus 30:26-29 With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand. You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy.
The altar was constructed with four “horns,” one on each corner. Go back to Exodus 29:10-12. The extremities of the altar were anointed with blood, just as were the extremities of the priests. Then, as to emphasize this connection the remaining blood is thrown at the base of the altar! Priest and altar are alike anointed, so the priests were a kind of living extension of the altar. Recall before we said we were to be God’s living statues; and prior to the golden calf the Hebrews were to be a holy nation, a nation of priests. This is the key to understanding this chapter- the holiness connection of priest, altar, and Mishkan- all set aside to YHVH Elohim, the Lord Your (their) God (Gen 27:20)! God has made a way for His people to move forward with Himself.
Exodus 29:43-46 There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV unless otherwise specified; JPS Study YNK; Dr Eli of the IBC; my father and others
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Ex 30:1-10
Haftara- Mal 1:11-2:7
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
Edit: I hope this makes sense. Like I said, this is an important parashah. My mind is still a little cloudy though, so if you have questions ask, or corrections we'll discuss them.
Dan
Parashah- Exodus 29:1-46
Haftara- Isaiah 61:7-62:5
D’rash: I apologize that this is late, but it is important and I did not want to get it wrong.
Exodus 29:1-2 “Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour.
This is normal fare for a Hebrew of that day, as opposed to the typically sumptuous fare offered to pagan gods. Another way the El Elohai Yisroel, Lord God of Israel (Gen 33:20, Ex 32:27) sets himself apart.
Exodus 29:5-7,9b Then you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod. And you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. You shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. … Thus you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.
Note here the oil is poured on the head of the priests after they are dressed, so that all is anointed.
Exodus 29:10-12 “Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and shall take part of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and the rest of the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar.
A’aron and his sons lay their hands on the bull. This is certainly symbolic of the transference of sins, as most commentators say. But sin can be transferred by touch:
- Isaiah 6:7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
So this may not be entirely symbolic.
Exodus 29:13-14 And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.
And we see this is a sin offering.
Exodus 29:15-18 “Then you shall take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, and you shall kill the ram and shall take its blood and throw it against the sides of the altar. Then you shall cut the ram into pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head, and burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord.
A’aron and his sons, having been consecrated now take over. Prior to this Moshe had been officiating.
Exodus 29:19-21 “You shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, and you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar. Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and his sons' garments with him. He and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and his sons' garments with him.
This is an odd ceremonial twist. There are many different views on what this meant, and some may contain truths. One I like is the priests hear from their flock and from God, they do God’s work with their hands, and their feet take them where they will serve. Another twist is they are to walk in the commandments. Not much is said about the base of the altar, but we’ll get to how this all ties in in a bit.
Exodus 29:22-25 “You shall also take the fat from the ram and the fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of ordination), and one loaf of bread and one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord. You shall put all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. Then you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a pleasing aroma before the Lord. It is a food offering to the Lord.
These are normally portions eaten by the priests. They are laid on the hands of A’aron and his sons to indicate they are given back to God, Menat Helqi- The Portion Of My Inheritance (Ps 16:5) by the priests.
Exodus 29:26-28 “You shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron's ordination and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion. And you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the priests' portion that is contributed from the ram of ordination, from what was Aaron's and his sons'. It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a perpetual due from the people of Israel, for it is a contribution. It shall be a contribution from the people of Israel from their peace offerings, their contribution to the Lord.
These were given to the Lord, and He gives them back to the priests as their portion.
Exodus 29:29-30 “The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him; they shall be anointed in them and ordained in them. The son who succeeds him as priest, who comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place, shall wear them seven days.
The A’aronic lineage is established in perpetuity as the priesthood of Yisroel.
Exodus 29:31-34 “You shall take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket in the entrance of the tent of meeting. They shall eat those things with which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration, but an outsider shall not eat of them, because they are holy. And if any of the flesh for the ordination or of the bread remain until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
Again, YHVH-Yireh, God Will Provide (Gen 22:14) provides for his priests. But note the food is sanctified, kadosh; set apart for their use alone.
Exodus 29:35-37 “Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Through seven days shall you ordain them, and every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement. Also you shall purify the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall anoint it to consecrate it. Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.
Note the theme of holiness, the set apartness of everything in the Mishkan throughout this chapter. Even touching the altar makes things holy. This applies to people also. The Mishkan, as the Temple will later be is no place to mess around! It is a serious place! And this holiness is what ties everything together here.
Go back to Exodus 29:19-21. Pouring oil on the heads of priests, prophets and kings was a common thing in ancient Israel when they were commissioned. Bt not in regal dress! But why the blood on their ears, thumbs, and toes? And what about throwing the blood on the base of the altar? This all illustrates the relationship between the priests and their atoning work for the people as they present the sacrifices to the Lord. The priests and the altar are fundamentally, intrinsically connected. And was the altar anointed with oil?
- Exodus 30:26-29 With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand. You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy.
The altar was constructed with four “horns,” one on each corner. Go back to Exodus 29:10-12. The extremities of the altar were anointed with blood, just as were the extremities of the priests. Then, as to emphasize this connection the remaining blood is thrown at the base of the altar! Priest and altar are alike anointed, so the priests were a kind of living extension of the altar. Recall before we said we were to be God’s living statues; and prior to the golden calf the Hebrews were to be a holy nation, a nation of priests. This is the key to understanding this chapter- the holiness connection of priest, altar, and Mishkan- all set aside to YHVH Elohim, the Lord Your (their) God (Gen 27:20)! God has made a way for His people to move forward with Himself.
Exodus 29:43-46 There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV unless otherwise specified; JPS Study YNK; Dr Eli of the IBC; my father and others
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Ex 30:1-10
Haftara- Mal 1:11-2:7
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
Edit: I hope this makes sense. Like I said, this is an important parashah. My mind is still a little cloudy though, so if you have questions ask, or corrections we'll discuss them.
Dan
