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From: Rabbi Edward Nydle
To: heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Niddah: It's in the Blood

B'nai Avraham Messianic Congregation
Member of Union of Two House Messianic Congregations

Niddah: " It's in the Blood"

" And when a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her flesh is blood, she has to be in her separation for seven days. And whoever touches her is unclean until evening." Wayyiqra 15:19

In the last issue of "KOL SHOFAR" we expounded upon the Torah of "kashrut" and the need for ALL Yisrael to abstain from eating blood, things strangled, and unclean food. We wrote how Ephraim has a "blood problem" and seems to have a problem keeping the chukim (Torah commands that seem not to have any logical reason behind them) that deal with blood (dam). We know Ephraim does not want to accept the "blood" commands in the Torah as they seem to have a mental "block" when it comes to understanding the purposes and meanings of these mitzvot.

The Taharot HaMishpacheh: Laws of Family Purity

The Taharot HaMishpacheh is an euphemism for those laws in the Torah that prohibit sexual relations each month during the woman's menses; the entire period that also involves immersion in a ritual pool (mikvah). There are two words that summon up all these laws-niddah and mikvah. These are the most private and secretive laws that govern the life of the Yisraelite, and also the most difficult to explain and talk about. Ephraim basically knows nothing of these laws, therefore we need to explain them in detail as they are still binding upon ALL Yisrael and should be practiced by the Torah observant Yisraelite. Let us look at some more verses before we begin the study:

"And do not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness (a Hebraic way of saying to have sexual relations) in her monthly separation of uncleanness." Wayyiqra 18:19

"And a man who lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness: he has laid bare her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood, both of them shall be cut off from the midst of their people." Wayyiqra 20:18

 Separation - # 5079 NIDDAH from #5074 -rejection, impurity, personal (menstruation) or moral (idolatry or incest)-filthiness, cast out, drive away, put apart, withdraw, and go away. #5074- NADAD to wave to and fro (flap up and down). rove, flee, to drive away, wander, thrust away.

Notice the punishment for BOTH were to be karet (cut off) from their people, or to be spiritually cut off from Yahweh. So, we can see that Abba takes His Torah of Family Purity very seriously, as we should also.

There are two contexts of this law- in a list of ritual impurities and in the listing of forbidden sexual unions. There is a distinction between impurity and forbidden unions. More on that later.

The Scriptures require a MINIMUM of seven days of total abstinence from relations, beginning with the onset of the flow and the purification in the mikvah. The rabbis extended this to at least twelve days- five days for the flow and seven "white"(levanim) days following the end of the flow. There is to be no physical contact during this period that might lead to any type of relations. This prohibition therefore protects the man and woman from any sexual temptations by intimate touching. After the end of the seventh "white day", the woman then immerses herself in a mikvah or ritual bath to purify herself. She undergoes a change of status- from niddah to ritually pure or clean.

For a woman that has given birth (see Wayyiqra 12)-and is considered niddah- the procedures are very similar, however the count of the days for the flow of blood is different, and the period of niddah is different with the birth of a male or female child.

 " Family purity is a system predicated on the woman's monthly cycle. From the onset of menstruation and for seven days after it end, until the woman immerses in the mikveh, husband and wife may not engage in sexual relations. To avoid violation of this law, the couple should curtail their indulgence in the actions they find arousing.they should put a check on direct physical contact and refrain from manifestations of affection such as petting, necking, caressing, and the like. The technical term for a woman in this state is niddah (literal meaning: to be separated). The seven-day transition period, known as clean or white days, begins only after the woman has determined the complete cessation of her menses of a simple internal examination. The examination should be carried out before sunset of the day her period ends, provided there has been a minimum of five days from the onset of menstruation. (Even if a woman's period lasts less than five days she must still wait a minimum of five days from its onset before examining herself.) If her bleeding ceases after nightfall, she waits until the afternoon of the next day to examine herself and begin her week long count...Exactly a week from when the woman has established the cessation of her flow, barring any staining or spotting, she visits the mikveh.. Immersion in the mikveh is the culmination of the Taharot HaMishpacheh discipline." Total Immersion pages xxvi-xxvii

Remember that this mitzvah is a chok -or one that does not seem to have any logical meaning behind it. This is why Ephraim struggles with this particular command, as it seems to go against all the sexual mores of modern society and the teachings they have received in the "church system". Very few Messianic rabbis will teach on this subject either.

We accept this command just as we accept the whole "yoke of commandments" as recited in the Sh'ema twice daily. The purpose of the commands are to have us as Yisrael become an AM KODESH or set-apart people. Yahweh is looking for a Dwelling Place where His Shekinah can dwell. One of the purposes of the various mitzvot is to elevate us to a certain level of set-apartness in our individual lives and corporately as a people. Yahweh wants to set-apart very aspect of our lives- from our table to the bedroom. Everything we do is connected to a spiritual TRUTH, as there is no such thing as dividing our lives into spiritual and secular in the Hebraic mind. You cannot separate every action from the effect it may have on your soul. Physical acts do effect the purity or cleanness of the soul.

Blessings to the Marriage

The rabbis teach that a man should love his wife more than himself (see Ephesians 5:25-33). The sages also say that the husband wife relationship is a union conceived in heaven, the highest form of interpersonal love. The observance of this halachot is a guarantee from Yahweh to strengthen a marriage within the nation of Yisrael.It also creates a set-apartness (holiness) in the marriage relationship. It becomes a set-apart union.

By observing this law of niddah and mikvah the Yisraelite woman is making a connection to her purpose (to be kedushim) and her past heritage as a Yisraelite. Her purpose is to be set-apart as a Yisraelite woman and this practice then brings the past into the present by its observance. It is making connection to Yahweh, the Elohim of Yisrael.

This law also teaches both the husband and wife that marriage is more than just a sexual union. When properly observed we learn that true LOVE is more than a physical attraction and bonding. It causes the couple to explore and discover new techniques of communication other than touch to express the peaks of their emotions. This may be a thoughtful word, glance, or gesture. Therefore the Yisraelite woman is elevated above the world's concept of a sexual object.

It is actually a monthly renewal or rejuvenation of the marriage. The couple can experience the excitement and anticipation of the honeymoon on a monthly basis or cycle. It could be said that the Yisraelite couple that practices this mitzvah is the ultimate romantics-they get to honeymoon twelve times a year. The man-woman relationship thrives on the model or pattern of separation and return. The Torah teaches us that Adam and Chawah in their original form were created ONE being. Subsequently, Yahweh separated them, thus granting them independence on one hand and the possibility of a chosen reunion or joining on the other. This mitzvah system of niddah gives the couple this dynamic pattern in their marriage, as they separate and then become ECHAD once again.

This also stops the use of sex as a manipulation of the other partner in the marriage. The time they can come back together is when they are both at their peak; therefore they both can cherish and savor the time of renewing the relations.

The concept of the "forbidden fruit" or "stolen waters taste sweeter" satisfies the urge for extramarital affairs. The idea that one's spouse is "off limits or forbidden" adds to the concept of seeing your partner in a new way every month. There is an enhanced appreciation for each other.

The Law of Family Purity also has a positive effect on the sexual relationship by keeping freshness to that relationship and synchronizing the needs and desires of both partners. It brings a set-apart rhythm into the life of the couple and to human sexuality.

The Taharot HaMishpacheh is all about total commitment to something and someone beyond oneself and ones own needs, commitment to the other person and not taking that set-apart relationship for granted. It is a commitment to the longevity and continuity of the union.

The period of niddah allows the woman time alone to think and examine herself with great introspection. They realize they have autonomy over their bodies, and over the sexual relationship they share with their husband. This may impart to every woman great strength, peace, and comfort knowing they cannot be had at every whim of their spouse.

There are other benefits to this law. Among Orthodox Jewish couples that practice this law the divorce rate is 1. 5 % compared to around 56% among non-observant couples. There is also a very low rate of cervical cancer among women who practice this command of Yahweh.

There are two types of LOVE. There is ahavah shel aish or love that is compared to fire. This love is passionate; it abates and flares up cyclically in its quest to go higher. It has to be guarded just as a fire less it sputters out and dies out. Then there is ahavah shel mayim, love that is like water. This love is a cool, deeper love that is ever present. You cannot exinquish this type of love. There is no fear that it will ever fade or die out. So the love between the husband and wife must be a combination of both loves. It has both FIRE and WATER. The water being the mikvah and the fire is the renewal of the honeymoon-or passionate white-hot love for each other. This type of marriage is twice blessed.

So to the observant Yisraelite couple, this law from the Torah is given. Rather than reject and dismiss it, rather than just adjust to it, we try to apply it to our lives in a manner that will bring out our identity, refines our marriages, and strengthens the Yisraelite community. These rites connect us to holiness.

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The Abominations of the Gentiles

Abstaining from forbidden relations was so important to Yahweh that it was one of the reasons He expelled the seven other nations from the Land.

 "Do not defile yourselves with all these, for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am driving out before you. Thus the land became defiled, therefore I punished it for its crookedness, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. But, YOU shall guard My laws and right-rulings, and not do any of these abominations, the native nor the stranger who sojourns among you, because the men of the land who were before you have done all these abominations, and thus the land became defiled, So let not the land vomit you out for defiling it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

For whoever does any of these abominations, those beings shall be cut off from among their people." Wayyiqra 18:24-29

Yahweh commands Yisrael not to do the abominations of the goyim (which included having relations during a woman's menses) or the Eretz Yisrael would vomit them out just as it did the goyim. This is the very same warning Rebbe Yahshua HaMoshiach gives the congregation in Laodikia in Revelation 3:16:

 "So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth."

This Messianic Congregation had grown lukewarm in its observance of Torah, and no longer had the zeal for Yahweh and His Torah. But, they believed they were Yisrael. Perhaps they had been doing the abominations of the goyim in their attitude towards the Torah. If they did not repent, Rebbe Yahshua said He would vomit them out! They thought they were rich and in need of nothing.

This statement sounds like some other Messianic movements and Sacred-Name "churches" that have spoken against the Torah and the keeping the 613 commands of Yahweh. They see no purpose in the chukim or circumcision, and claim the name "Messianic" (a Follower of the Moshiach Yahshua-Who kept ALL the Torah). By rejecting the commands of Yahweh (the edot, mishpatim, and chukim) they are actually delaying the Restoration of ALL things and the Restoration of ALL Yisrael. We will never be allowed back into the land as AM ECHAD without ALL Yisrael embracing ALL the Torah.

The violation of Torah resulted in the expulsion from the land and only the keeping of the Torah and embracing ALL the Torah will Yisrael go back into the land. Yahweh will not allow His land to be defiled again. By rejecting even this law of Family Purity, they are saying we will follow after the goyim and not Yahweh's Torah. The blood commandments (kashrut, brit milah, Taharot HaMishpacheh) are ALL vital to entering the land, and keeping the land from becoming defiled by mishandling blood.

 "And DO NOT WALK [set Halakah] in the laws of the nation which I am driving out before you, for they DO ALL THESE [abominations and unlawful sexual relations including violating niddah and mikvah], and therefore I LOATHED [found them detestable and unclean] them." Wayyiqra 20:23  "..I am Yahweh Who has SEPARATED YOU [Yisrael] from the peoples [goyim]." Wayyiqra 20:24

 "..Which I have separated from YOU [Yisrael] as unclean [unclean foods and meat].And YOU shall be set-apart (kodesh) to ME, for I Yahweh am set-apart, and have separated YOU from the peoples to be MINE" Wayyiqra 20:26

 "Do not go into the way [the way the gentiles live and walk out their lives] of the gentiles, and do not enter the city of the Shomeronites.." Rebbe Yahshua HaMoshiach Mattithyahu 10:5b

 "Therefore be perfect, as your Father in the heavens is perfect." Rebbe Yahshua HaMoshiach Matt.5:48

Understanding True Holiness

Understanding the true nature of holiness or kedushah is imperative to understanding the purpose of the Torah commands and the true purpose for Yisrael's existence. The concept of holiness is imbedded in every command. Yahweh commanded Yisrael to be a holy or set-apart people -AM KODESH (Deut.14: 21; Ex.22: 30); Ex.19: 5-6).

Yahweh is separating the people of Yisrael from the rest of the nations. They are to be set-apart. Yisrael must express a distinctiveness from all other people and nations. It was to remain a distinct national and social entity in terms of culture, religion, and practice as expressed by the observance of Torah. We know that for Ephraim this did not happen (Yahudah did continue as a distinct people and culture) as they were assimilated into the nations and actually looked and lived like the nations because they forsook the Torah. So, holiness can be termed as a unique identity in relation to all other systems of religion and culture. This identity would be seen in every facet of life.

Holiness is also an attribute of Yahweh.We are to cultivate and express this attribute as Yisrael because it is an attribute of the Elohim of Yisrael. Holiness then is an attribute of the individual soul-nefesh-that reflects this attribute of Yahweh. Yisraelites then are to be representatives of Yahweh's moral and ethical truths found in the attributes of a set apart being in mankind.

Since the Temple (Beit HaMikdash) and the Tabernacle (Mishkan) were symbolic structures designed to represent the set-apartness of Yahweh's Dwelling Place in heaven, we can understand why then any one who was ritually impure could not be allowed to enter the Dwelling Place. Being ta'harah (pure) or tu'mah (impure) in a person related then to his spiritual condition also. Thus, participating in forbidden sexual activities reflected the Yisraelites failure to control the lower animal like urges of the flesh concerning procreation (the three animal needs being

1. Procreation
2. Safety and Security
3. Nourishment.

Notice how these lower biological urges correspond to - niddah- avoiding mediums-kashrut. The symbol our mortal biological being (flesh) is DEATH-thus it is the primary cause of one becoming tu'mah (unclean). We have come in contact with DEATH, which is opposed to the LIFE that Yahweh has (ETERNAL LIFE-in GREEK ZOE). Physical disease and emissions also remind us of our lack of freedom over this flesh (we cannot control conception, menses, the birth process etc.). Therefore it is brought to our consciousness our lack of freedom and choice over the flesh, and somewhat a sense of depression in contrast to the life force (Ruach) of our transcendent Yah-centered spirit. We are aware of the perimeters that "bind" the spirit, which brings a depression and accompanies our recognition of the lack of freedom over this flesh, thus we are in a state incompatible with the transcendent symbolism of Yahweh's Dwelling Place. This is why we are then restricted temporarily from its precincts until we are transformed back to a state of LIFE, FREEDOM, and the Ruach -or ritual purity. The consciousness of mortality and lack of freedom creates an involuntary depression of the spirit that is incompatible with the free life-giving symbols of the Dwelling Place and the Yah-centered soul of the Believer.

We understand then that the soul of a person can be occluded by imperfections that are caused by acting in the ways prohibited by the Torah. Therefore experiences and behavior that drag us down from our free choosing transcendent spiritual nature in Moshiach Yahshua to the biological being to serve the flesh dull our soul's ability to be totally permeated by the spiritual light that comes from Yahweh and His Torah.They draw us away from the feelings of freedom, and spirituality. The partaking of forbidden actions results in impediments of our spiritual receptivity to the Ruach HaKodesh. If our behavior is motivated by the flesh and its lusts to the exclusion of the spirit, then such behavior distances one from his or her relationship with the Father. Conversely, if an act expresses the work of the spirit and the Torah it brings a person in a closer relationship with our Father.

Holiness then is the ability to actualize the attribute of Yahweh called "spiritual transcendence ". By walking in the Ruach Hakodesh we can overcome the lusts of the flesh. We become the sons of Elohim. (Romans 8; Galatians 5:16). Part of the transcendent nature is the ability to be able to choose how to act-which is unlike all other life forms. This is what is meant to be made in His image and likeness. Yahweh blessed man with the ability to choose or free will. We have the capacity to choose to follow the lower biological urges of the flesh as an animal does -or choose to function on the spiritual plane, thereby reflecting its Divine origin. That is the story of the Gan Eden and the TwoTrees.

The knowledge of good and evil is the knowledge of moral judgement. The fundamental principle between Yahweh and His creation is that Yahweh ALONE is the source of what is good-as expressed by His Torah. For a man to "be as Elohim, knowing good and evil" means that the man usurps from Yahweh the SOURCE of what is good and what is considered evil. He becomes his own source of moral judgments and denies Yahweh in the process. This is why we as Messianic Yisrael cannot decide what commands are applicable and what ones are not. When we reject the Torah commands (all 613) we have set ourselves up as Elohim and have committed the original sin from the Gan Eden. We are denying Yahweh. By rejecting the very signs of the covenants He made with Avraham, Yitzqak, and Ya'akov we are rejecting Yahweh.When we reject the Torah commands given to Mosheh -the edot, mishpatim, and chukim- we are rejecting Yahweh. We do this because we allow our subjective choices based upon the flesh, reason, and human knowledge to determine if we want to accept the command or reject it. Yisrael needs to return to Yahweh and Yahweh alone as the SOURCE of all objective judgments. We need to seek His mind to understand the purpose and meaning of the mitzvot.

Now, because man is a biological being and prone to subjective judgment based upon his biological needs, all his moral judgments are relative in nature. We judge by our sense or human reason rather than the Torah. You cannot know what is objectively good without reference to an objective STANDARD-the Torah. The Torah is TRUTH and therefore the only objective standard we have. What makes a fruit bad is simply the fact that Yahweh said it is bad, not that it is inherently bad. The only difference between "before" and "after" the fall of man is the location of the moral source. So, by nature man is only capable subjective choices based on the flesh, reason, human wisdom, and its desires. But Yahweh has empowered us with His Ruach to transcend our biological and physchological perceptions thus choosing to follow Yahweh's moral guidance from His Word. This is exactly the dynamics of spiritual transcendence or kedushah-HOLINESS or set-apartness. Holiness is the purpose for all the commands.

Choosing Holiness

Ephraim then has a choice to make. Will Yisrael choose to be set-apart to Yahweh? Kedushah is both national and individual. Community is made up of individuals. Is Ephraim willing to become a distinct identifiable people by their observation of the Torah? When will brother Yahudah be provoked to jealousy? This means that from the table to the bed- Ephraim must be KODESH.

These two articles concerning Ephraim's blood problem is a call to ALL YISRAEL to return to the Torah of Yahweh when it comes to the blood commands-brit milah, kashrut, and Taharot HaMishpacheh. You may not understand the REASON behind the commands, but hopefully after reading these two articles on the blood, you have received revelation concerning the purpose and meaning of these commands. Yahweh is searching for a people who are set-apart to Him in every aspect of their lives so He may dwell among them and become His Dwelling Place here upon the earth.

Observing the mitzvah of Taharot HaMishpacheh is one more step towards holiness and the Kingship of Yahweh. Yisrael will fulfill its purpose of becoming a set-apart people. We are elevating our souls above the fleshly desires and actualizing the attribute of HOLINESS into our lives. The blessings of this command result in solid strong marriages within the nation of Yisrael, thus making Yisrael a light to the nations. You will be choosing to allow Yahweh to be a partner in the sexual relationship of man and wife, and forsaking the ways of the goyim. We are acknowledging Yahweh as the CENTER and SOURCE of every judgment being made in the home, even the bedroom. His Shekinah will then dwell in that home and marriage. Let me encourage you to begin practicing this important mitzvah that Yahweh has given to ALL Yisrael. Since Torah is the blueprint or pattern for ALL creation, it follows that if we build our marriages and relationships upon the Divine Blueprint of the Torah then we will experience the shalom of Yahweh- "ALL its [the Torah's] paths are shalom." We thus allow the wisdom of Yahweh flow into the marriage relationship, and wisdom then builds the house (home).

"Or do you not know that your body is the Dwelling Place of the Set-Apart Spirit who is in you, which you have from Elohim, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price [as a Bride for Yahweh], therefore esteem Elohim in your body and in your spirit which are of Elohim." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"What union has the Dwelling Place of Elohim with idols? For you are a Dwelling Place of the living Elohim, as Elohim has said, " I shall dwell IN them and walk among them, and I shall be their Elohim, and they [Yisrael] shall be MY people." Therefore, "COME OUT from among them and BE SEPARATE, says Yahweh, and do not TOUCH what is UNCLEAN, and I shall receive you and I shall be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says Yahweh Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:16-18

May Yahweh bless your understanding of this teaching.

Rabbi Edward Levi Nydle /B'nai Avraham

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