Sh'mini 2023

Parsha: Sh'mini

TORAH : LEVITICUS 9:1-11:47

PROPHETS : 2 SAM. 6:1-7:17

GOSPEL : MATTHEW 3:11-17

Question: Why did Nadav and Avihu Die? Leviticus 10:3

Leviticus 10:3 RST

3 И сказал Моисей Аарону: вот о чем говорил Господь, когда сказал: в приближающихся ко Мне освящусь и пред всем народом прославлюсь. Аарон молчал.

The Lexham English Bible Chapter 10

3 Therefore Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Yahweh spoke, saying, ‘Among those who are close to me I will show myself holy, and ⌊in the presence of⌋ all the people I will display my glory.’ ” So Aaron was silent.

They didn’t Die because they were estranged away from God, but rather, because they Drew too close to Him...

Another Explanation as to why they died… To demonstrate complacency and taking what is Holy as something Common..

Ohr HaChaim said, “The whole purpose of G'd allowing those who were close to Him to become the victims of the principle בקרובי אקדש - “B’Kervai EhKadesh” was to inspire sufficient reverence in the people not to treat the sanctity of the Tabernacle lightly. Once the people had observed that G'd had taken up residence in the Tabernacle, as it were, they would begin to take His presence for granted and not relate to it with the necessary degree of reverence. The more highly placed the individual Israelite, the more likely that he would feel so familiar with his G'd that he would become guilty of a trespass. The people most likely to make such an error were the spiritual elite of the people, among them Nadav and Avihu. As a result these people would enter the Sanctuary at will whereas the lesser individuals would keep their distance as required. The result of such considerations would be that the spiritual leaders would be less respectul towards the sanctity of the Tabernacle than their counterparts the ordinary Israelite. In order to prevent such a situation from developing, G'd had to demonstrate by what happened to Nadav and Avihu that He was especially mindful of His honour when it came to the elite in order for the common people not to ever lack in reverence for the Tabernacle. If we were to accept that Moses or Aaron individually were more outstanding than either Nadav or Avihu, G'd would have failed to demonstrate His principle seeing He had excluded both Moses and Aaron from the restriction the principle of ונקדש בכבודי was to teach the people. G'd demonstrated the principle of בקרובי אקדש by literally applying it to the people who represented the elite of the elite. The death of Nadav and Avihu demonstrated that nobody, Aaron and Moses included, could treat the Tabernacle as such familiar ground that they were allowed to enter it at will. The suggestion that only Nadav and Avihu combined represented greater stature than either Aaron or Moses is rejected by the author who explains that if you have a single diamond of ten carats, such a diamond does not become relatively inferior because someone else has two diamonds the combined weight of which is eleven carats.”

We see a perfect example of this in 2 Samuel 6, when the Ark was being brought back from the Phillistines. Before David went to return the Ark home, previously before this, the Ark was in Kiriath Jeriaam, right after the Phillistines returned the Ark after the incident with Dagon their Fish God, and after God struck the Phillistines with Tumors and a plague of Rats.... The Phillistines, understanding the Concept of Sin, not only returned the Ark back to the Israelites willingly, but they also gave Israel a Guilt/Sin Offerings to Atone for the Sin that they did against God!! If that doesn’t stir us up to learn how to properly offer our Guilt/Sin Offerings before God, then I don’t know what will… What was their Sin Offering? 1 Samuel 6:1-5

1 Samuel 6:1–5 RST

1 И пробыл ковчег Господень в области Филистимской семь месяцев. 2 И призвали Филистимляне жрецов и прорицателей, и сказали: что нам делать с ковчегом Господним? научите нас, как нам отпустить его в свое место. 3 Те сказали: если вы хотите отпустить ковчег Бога Израилева, то не отпускайте его ни с чем, но принесите Ему жертву повинности; тогда исцелитесь и узнаете, за что не отступает от вас рука Его. 4 И сказали они: какую жертву повинности должны мы принести Ему? Те сказали: по числу владетелей Филистимских пять наростов золотых и пять мышей золотых; ибо казнь одна на всех вас и на владетелях ваших; 5 итак сделайте изваяния наростов ваших и изваяния мышей ваших, опустошающих землю, и воздайте славу Богу Израилеву; может быть, Он облегчит руку Свою над вами и над богами вашими и над землею вашею;

1 Samuel 6:1-5, “1 When the ark of the LORD had been in the land of the Philistines seven months, 2 the Philistines summoned the priests and diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how to send it back to its place.”

3 They replied, “If you return the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but by all means return it to Him with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why His hand has not been lifted from you.”

4“What guilt offering should we send back to Him?” asked the Philistines.

“Five gold tumors and five gold rats,” they said, “according to the number of rulers of the Philistines, since the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. 5 Make images of your tumors and of the rats that are ravaging the land. Give glory to the God of Israel, and perhaps He will lift His hand from you and your gods and your land.”

Not only that, they had two milking Cows that have never been yoked to carry the Cart, 1) as a means of sacrifice, and 2) To prove that this was in fact God’s Judgment… because what they did is they took the calves of these two milking cows, and placed them back into the stables, and sent the milking cows towards Beth Shemesh. And the Miracle was that, contrary to animalistic nature of the cows to return to their younglings, the Cows head straight towards Beth Shemesh… Now look at this interesting situation at Kiriath Jeriam…

Question: Was the way that the Phillistines transported the Ark in accordance with Torah?? NO! How about potentially touching the Ark? No! Did any of the Phillistines die as a result of these actions?? NO! Let’s see then what happens in Kiriath Jeriam

1 Samuel 6:14-16, “14 The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. The people chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. 15 And the LEVITES took down the ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold objects, and they placed them on the large rock. That day the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD. 16 And when the five rulers of the Philistines saw this, they returned to Ekron that same day.”

1 Samuel 6:14–16 RST

14 Колесница же пришла на поле Иисуса Вефсамитянина и остановилась там; и был тут большой камень, и раскололи колесницу на дрова, а коров принесли во всесожжение Господу. 15 Левиты сняли ковчег Господа и ящик, бывший при нем, в котором были золотые вещи, и поставили на большом том камне; жители же Вефсамиса принесли в тот день всесожжения и закололи жертвы Господу. 16 И пять владетелей Филистимских видели это и возвратились в тот день в Аккарон.

So here, we see the Israelites treat the Ark how it’s meant to be handled according to Torah. They even got Levites to take the Ark down!! but let’s look what happens a few verses later.

1 Samuel 6:17-21, “17 As a guilt offering to the LORD, the Philistines had sent back one gold tumor for each city: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. 18 The number of gold rats also corresponded to the number of Philistine cities belonging to the five rulers—the fortified cities and their outlying villages. And the large rock on which they placed the ark of the LORD stands to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.

19 But God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men,c and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them with a great slaughter.

20 The men of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom should the ark go up from here?”

21 So they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up with you.””

1 Samuel 6:17–21 RST

17 Золотые эти наросты, которые принесли Филистимляне в жертву повинности Господу, были: один за Азот, один за Газу, один за Аскалон, один за Геф, один за Аккарон; 18 а золотые мыши были по числу всех городов Филистимских - пяти владетелей, от городов укрепленных и до открытых сел, до большого камня, на котором поставили ковчег Господа и который находится до сего дня на поле Иисуса Вефсамитянина. 19 И поразил Он жителей Вефсамиса за то, что они заглядывали в ковчег Господа, и убил из народа пятьдесят тысяч семьдесят человек; и заплакал народ, ибо поразил Господь народ поражением великим. 20 И сказали жители Вефсамиса: кто может стоять пред Господом, сим святым Богом? и к кому Он пойдет от нас? 21 И послали послов к жителям Кириаф-Иарима сказать: Филистимляне возвратили ковчег Господа; придите, возьмите его к себе.

70 men were struck down because they came close to the Ark, beyond the boundaries God set for Israel… So we see this same concept that I mentioned earlier taking place, that those who are closer to God will be Judged on a stricter level than those who are estranged from God… the Phillistines, although they had an understanding of Sin and Guilt, did not know how God’s throne is meant to be handled, so therefore, they may have not died from touching the Ark or handling it improperly… But Israel, who should know how to Handle the Ark, did anything contrary to Torah, they were judged, and judged severely!! where 71 people died… Uzzah included.

“1 David again assembled the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand in all. 2 And he and all his troops set out for Baale of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name—b the name of the LORD of Hosts, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on it.

3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart, 4 bringing with it the ark of God.c And Ahio was walking in front of the ark.”

2 Samuel 6:1–4 RST

1 И собрал снова Давид всех отборных людей из Израиля, тридцать тысяч. 2 И встал и пошел Давид и весь народ, бывший с ним из Ваала Иудина, чтобы перенести оттуда ковчег Божий, на котором нарицается имя Господа Саваофа, сидящего на херувимах. 3 И поставили ковчег Божий на новую колесницу и вывезли его из дома Аминадава, что на холме. Сыновья же Аминадава, Оза и Ахио, вели новую колесницу. 4 И повезли ее с ковчегом Божиим из дома Аминадава, что на холме; и Ахио шел пред ковчегом.

Do you notice anything wrong with the way they transported the Ark?? They should’ve used Amazon Prime instead of Fed-Ox!! XD

The Ark of the Covenant with made with Poles for a reason… For the Levites to carry the Ark, as they were commanded in the Torah to do so… Here comes Uzzah and Ahio, guiding a wooden cart to transport the Ark… Is it a coincidence then that the Oxen would Stumble and cause Uzzah to touch the Ark? Think about it… If I do an action not prescribed by Torah, and expect Blessings to come from it, should I be shocked when i don’t get the Blessings that I wanted?

Question: based on what was shared earlier, would the logical conclusion be to not learn anything and not know anything so that we don’t get judged as severely?? No! Because even the New Testament says, Romans 2:11-13, “11For God does not show favoritism.

12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous.

Romans 2:11–13 RST

11 Ибо нет лицеприятия у Бога. 12 Те, которые, не имея закона, согрешили, вне закона и погибнут; а те, которые под законом согрешили, по закону осудятся 13 (потому что не слушатели закона праведны пред Богом, но исполнители закона оправданы будут,

Analogy: We can look at this idea from this perspective; Suppose you go to see your favorite Music Artist. Would you prefer to be standing in the very back of the crowd at the Concert with no chance of them noticing you, or be able to stand on the stage with them, and sing with them, and potentially get ridiculed for not matching their theme?

Rashi commented on this Verse by saying this: “THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SPOKE, etc. — Where had He spoken this? In the statement (Exodus 29:43), “And there I will be met by the children of Israel and it (the Tabernacle) shall be sanctified by My glory (בכבודי).” Read not here בִכְבוֹדִי, “by My Glory” but בִּמְכֻבָּדַי, “through My honoured ones” (Zevachim 115b). Moses here said to Aaron: “My brother, Aaron! I knew that this House was to be sanctified by those who are beloved of the Omnipresent God and I thought it would be either through me or through thee; now I see that these (thy sons who have died) are greater than me and than thee!” (Leviticus Rabbah 12 2).”

Question: Why do the Jewish people get judged so severely, especially in recent times?

“It’S beCAuSe tHEy’Re CUrSed!!” - Is it though?? Who else in the World walks in alignment with Torah on the same level of seriousness and diligence as them? We’re talking on the level that if their matzah dough is baked a few seconds past an 18 minute limit, it is considered “Leavened Bread” and therefore not kosher for Passover to them… Where they would literally lock people inside a bank in order to have 10 people for their Midday(Mincha-Grain Offering) Prayer Quorums in the middle of a busy day… or stopping a bus full of people in order to shake a Lulav and Etrog during Sukkot… “By those who Draw near to me, I will be Sanctified, and in the presence of all the people, I will show my Glory”. As you grow in your Walk with God, you will begin to notice that even the smaller sins in life start to become huge to you… And as you grow, your Diligence in honoring God will be elevated. We will face oppression and persecution in our lives, because what we’re doing is destroying the plans of the Adversary, and he now has a target on your head… But we must remain strong, and focus on the goal… just like those two Milking Cows… they didn’t stray to the left or to the right, but kept their eyes on the prize, and even though they ended up being offered as Sin and Guilt Offerings before the Lord, their actions caused an entire Nation to be healed of affliction, and the Glory of God to be revealed in the presence of All the People…

Leviticus 9, Eighth day ceremony, Aaron and his sons do everything God instructed, and it brought down his Kavod (Glory) in verse 23. The same terminology of Genesis 18, when it says, "Va'eira Yehovah to Abraham…"... The difference is that in this case, it mentions God's "Kavod"... Or Glory. However, in many cases, God's Kavod is not His Glory… but rather, it's more like His personal, physical manifestation on Earth… God's Glory rested between the two Keruvim on the Ark, God's Throne.

The Full “Glory” of God, is realistically understood as the Full/Entire Manifestation of God in His Full Power and Glory. That type of Kavod a Man cannot see, or he would die.

Exodus 24:16-18 God’s Glory was large enough to cover the top of Mt. Sinai.. “16 And the glory of Yahweh settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days, and he called to Moses on the seventh day from the midst of the cloud. 17 And the appearance of the glory of Yahweh was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain to the eyes of the ⌊Israelites⌋. 18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and he went up the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. “

Exodus 24:16–18 RST

16 и слава Господня осенила гору Синай; и покрывало ее облако шесть дней, а в седьмой день Господь воззвал к Моисею из среды облака. 17 Вид же славы Господней на вершине горы был пред глазами сынов Израилевых, как огонь поядающий. 18 Моисей вступил в средину облака и взошел на гору; и был Моисей на горе сорок дней и сорок ночей.

Ezekiel 10 explains how God’s Glory was small enough to rest on top of a Keruv (Cherub) and flew away from the Temple, signaling that his presence left the Temple in the days of Ezekiel

Moses spoke to God, who was in between the Two Keruvim on the Ark… and it is said that he spoke to God, “Panin El Panim”, according to Numbers 12:8 “I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD.”

Numbers 12:8 RST

8 устами к устам говорю Я с ним, и явно, а не в гаданиях, и образ Господа он видит; как же вы не убоялись упрекать раба Моего, Моисея?

The “Form” that this is describing is the “Kavod” which is likened to a Man, according to Ezekiel 1 and Ezekiel 8. Is it safe to say that the Glory of God that Moses saw in the Holy of Holies was like a Man? What’s another name for this “Kavod” of God? YESHUA