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From: Ephraim Frank
To: Shevet Achim
Subject: Parashot B'har-B'chu'kotai

Hebrew Insights into Parashot B'har-B'chu'kotai:Leviticus - 25 - 27

The first verse of Parashat B'har (meaning, "In the Mount") serves to remind us that Moshe's words to the Children of Israel issued out of Sinai.

The opening and shorter portion of this Parasha focuses on the seventh year suspension of all soil cultivation. In spite of this edict of work cessation, it is stated, "The Sabbath of the land shall be to you for food" (25:6). This declaration contains the familiar and principal thought, similar to the one that accompanies the weekly Shabbat, that YHVH is the Provider, and thus the members of the community are afforded an opportunity to exercise faith throughout that year.

Secondly, every member of the community, as well as the livestock, is equally promised provision for that time period (v. 6,7). Again, not unlike the weekly Shabbat, the benefits of YHVH's year of land-rest apply to one and all without regard to status and origin. However, this "Shabbat of Shabbts" (v. 4) year together with the 50th year Jubilee, the "yovel" which the rest of this Parasha is dedicated to - applies only in the Land of Israel.

In verse 3 we read: "You shall sow your field six years, and you shall prune your vineyard six years, and shall gather its produce". "Produce", or "provender" is "t'vua", of the root b.o. (vet/bet, vav, alef), meaning to "come, come in or go in"; but also, in another conjugation, to "bring". Thus, the term "produce" does not convey the idea of something, which results naturally from man's own productivity or effort, but rather it is that which "comes" or is "brought" to him from an outside source.

Some of the types of ungathered harvest mentioned here include "unkempt grapes" (v. 5, 11), called here "ee'nvey ("grapes of") nezire'cha". The latter term is rooted in the word "nazir" which is the Nazarite, whose restrictive vows included abstention from wine drinking or eating grapes. Why, then, are these grapes qualified by the term "nazir"? The connection is thought to be the Nazarite's hair, which was to be left uncut and unkempt, much like these grapes. This is reinforced by the first part of the verse, which speaks of "that which grows of itself". These two prohibitions (namely, "to reap that which grows of itself" and to "not gather the grapes of your unkempt vine") no doubt refer to harvesting for profit making.

As mentioned, the second part of the Parasha deals with the Year of the "Yovel" ("jubilee", which is a direct derivation of "yovel"). The primary meaning of yovel is thought to be the word for "horned animal", or for the "horn", which was used for multiple purposes in the ancient Israelite community. However, there are several other nouns and verbs that share the root y.v/b.l (yod, bet/vet, lamed) and hence their connection to this term should also be considered. The verb "hovel" is to "lead", thus forming the noun for "stream" which is "yuval" and for "produce of the soil" - "y'vul". Another interesting derivative of this root is "tevel", meaning "world", rendering the world, as it were, its elements (e.g. streams) and produce as mere issues, or results that proceed ("are being led") from that which has originally produced them, but which exists outside of them. Notice the conceptual similarity to our former observation, in the term "provender" - t'vua. "The earth is YHVH's, and the fullness of it; the world ("tevel"), and those who dwell in it" (Ps. 24:1), affirms this very point.

Besides letting the land lie fallow during the year of the "yovel", that year was also to be "sanctified" ("vekidashtem") for the purpose of "proclaiming liberty in the land to all its inhabitants" (25:10). "Liberty" is "dror", which is the same word for the bird known as "swallow" (e.g. Pr. 26:2), thus lending a graphic rendition to this term. The yovel year signifies and stipulates that all property or its calculated value in another form, is returned to its original owner.

But above all the human benefits provided by the yovel, there is a greater reason, of a more symbolic significance, for its proclamation, which also presents another 'Divine paradox so typical of Hebraic logic. In 25:23 we read: "And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is Mine; for you are aliens and tenants with Me". "Perpetuity" here is "tzmi'toot", with the root tz.m.t (tzadi, mem, tav), which is to "end, or to put an end to something". Thus, reverting property to its original owner demonstrates the fact that it actually belongs to YHVH, as we just learnt from the Psalm we looked at. And as much as the Torah stresses ownership rights, it also reminds us, almost in the same breath, Who the real owner is, and as for us... "we have no permanent city here, but we seek the one to come" (Hebrews 13:14).

Following YHVH's instructions guarantees that..."you shall live on the land securely. And the land shall give its fruit, and you shall eat to satisfaction; and you shall dwell securely on it" (25:18,19). And to that, an extra and supernatural blessing will be added: "I have commanded My blessing on you in the sixth year. And it shall produce the increase for three years; and you shall sow the eighth year, and shall eat of the old crop until the ninth year, until the coming [bo] in of its produce [t'vua]; you shall eat of the old" (21-23, italics and emphasis added). Here again we see the connection between "produce" and the verb "to come" (remember, both originate in the same root).

Another aspect of the yovel is redemption, "geula", whose primary meaning is "kin". It is the next-of-kin's duty to buy back that which a member of the family has lost - or perhaps even the family member himself, if he had been conscripted to slavery. In the case of a Hebrew servant, he is to be released on the yovel, ..."because they are My servants, whom I have brought out from the land of Egypt" (vs. 42). The context of this verse deals accordingly with the releasing of slaves, the Biblical Hebrew for "slave" and "servant" being one and the same - e'ved - from the root e.v.d (ayin, vet, dalet), meaning "work" or "labor".

As part of the proper treatment of one's fellow countryman, who is called "brother", there is a prohibition against charging usury, or interest (ref. vs. 36,37). The two words used are "neshech" and "tarbit". The root of "neshech" (n.a.ch, noon, alef, chaf) is also the root for the word to "bite". "Those who bite" (e.g. Hab. 2:7) are therefore the oppressors and debtors. "Tarbit" is from the root r.v (resh, vet/bet) which literally means "much, many, to add, to make greater, to increase"; hence "tarbit" is a "monetary increment".

The centrality of the Land in the life of the Israelites and their relationship with YHVH, are brought to bear in some of the terms we discussed above. In contrast the "ger", the sojourner, the one who merely resides, is called in verse 47 "eker", which is translated "son or descendant of a sojourner". However, "eker" is related to the verb "akor", meaning to "pluck out", hence the sojourner is seen as an uprooted person.

This topic of the important place accorded to the Land, with its varied ramifications continues in Parashat B'chu'kotai ("My Statutes"), as seen in 26:3-13. Keeping YHVH's statutes is to be reflected in the natural conditions of the Land of Israel. The correlation will be seen in the abundance of rain (and therefore of crops), peaceful conditions, the removal of dangerous carnivores, the ability to defeat the enemy, demographic expansion, abundance and prosperity, and primarily in the fulfillment of YHVH's promise to have His tabernacle in their midst... and to always walk among them (ref. 26:11, 12). In verse 5 we read..."and your threshing shall reach [or overtake] the vintage, and the vintage shall reach [or overtake] the sowing time; and you shall eat your bread to satisfaction, and live in your land securely". In a prophecy pertaining to a latter day, the Prophet Amos predicts: "The plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who draws along seed" (9:13).

Having examined above, in Parashat B'har, one of the words for "interest" - "tarbit", whose root is r.v/b., we will now take a look at another word that shares the same root - "r'vava". As part of the promises associated with the Land, we read in verse 8, "...and hundred of you shall pursue ten thousand ("r'vava")..." (emphasis added).

Echoing 25:22 ("and [you] shall eat of the old crop... until the coming in of its crop; you shall eat of the old"), from the previous Parasha, verse 10 says, "And you shall eat very old provision, and clear away the old because of the new". In other words, not only will there be a long and lasting overabundance, it will also remain fresh and usable for the entire time period!

These promises are sealed with the familiar: "I am YHVH your God, who has brought you out of the land of the Egyptians, from being their slaves; and I will break the bars of your yoke, and I will make you walk upright" (26:13). "Walking upright" is "ko'memi'yoot", of the root k.o.m (kof, vav, mem), meaning to "rise or get up". In Parashot Va'ye'tze and Vayishlach we noticed the significance of Ya'acov's "rising up", as well as that of the special "place" - ma'kom (of the same root) - where he experienced some of this 'rising'. Here his sons are promised "an upright walk", providing they do so in Elohim's chosen paths. Additionally in 26:37, we encounter the word "tkuma", translated "power to stand", with the more modern Hebrew usage being "resurrection" and "recovery".

On the other hand, if the People of Israel chooses "to walk contrary to Him" (ref. 26:21), YHVH will not "make them walk uprightly", but instead will inflict upon them a series of blows; YHVH will also "walk contrary" to them (ref. vs. 24). The expression, "walking contrary" is very rare, the word used here for "contrary" being "keri", probably of the root k.r.h (kof, resh, hey), meaning to "happen". Rashi comments on this: "Our rabbies said: 'this word signifies irregularly, by chance, something that happens only occasionally. Thus, [meaning] 'if you will follow the commandments irregularly'". Menahem explains it as an expression for refraining, cf..."Refrain ("hoker") your foot from your neighbor's house" (Prov. 25:17), or, of a refraining ("va'yikar") spirit...."1. "Keri", therefore may refer to an avoidance of performing YHVH's Word along with a casual and nonchalant attitude toward Him, which was also condemned by Yeshua in Revelation 3:15,16: "I wish you were cold or hot... So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth", bringing us to the curses of eventually being spewed out of the Land.

The list of curses (26:14-46) is somewhat parallel to the list of the blessings, albeit much longer. It is divided up into several progressive categories: diseases, defeat, draught, carnivorous animals, and a combination of wars, plagues, and famines which will cause parents to consume their own children's flesh. Finally, after the destruction of the idols and pagan images, there will be a dispersion of the People of Israel among the Gentile nations. Under these conditions, and once the Land has been emptied out of its inhabitants, its Shabbats will be repaid. These Shabbats will "appease" the land, with the word used here being "tirzeh" (of the root "will", "ratzon"). Thus, the land "will be appeased" (v. 34,35) and "accept" it inhabitants. Accordingly, the "year of acceptance" (Is. 58:5) is "sh'nat ratzon". In last week's Parashat Emor, we read in 23:11 about the Omer: "And he shall wave the sheaf before YHVH, to be accepted [lirtzon'chem] for you..." (italics added).

The last part of Parashat B'chu'kotai deals with laws concerning vows made to YHVH (chapter 27), among them those that pertain to tithes. In verses 32-33 we read: "And all the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, all that passes under the rod, a tenth shall be holy to YHVH. He shall not search whether it is good or bad, neither shall he change it..." (italics added). Y'chezkel (Ezekiel) 20:37-38 echoes the terms we encounter here, applying it to YHVH's sheep, and to the land of their inheritance: "And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. And I will purge out from among you the rebels and those who sin against Me. I will bring them out from the land where they reside, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel" (italics added). In the above Vayikra (Leviticus) text, we encountered "He shall not search" - "lo ye'vaker"(v. 33). Once again, in Y'chezkel 34:11-12 there is a repetition of this phrase,
and so we read: "For so says Adoni YHVH: Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out - uvikarteem. As the seeking out - k'vakarat - of the shepherd of his flock in the day that he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out - a'vaker - My sheep and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered ..."

The final verse, which is similar to the opening verse of Parashat B'har (referring to Mount Sinai), signs off the Parasha, and indeed the book of Vayikra (Leviticus) with the following words: "These are the statutes which YHVH made between him and the children of Israel in Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses" (v. 34).

1. New Studies in Vayikra, Nechama Leibowitz, trans. Aryeh Newman. Eliner Library, Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora. Hemed Books Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y.

Some of the word meanings were gleaned from: 
The New Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon, Francis Brown, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Mass. 1979.
Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Moody Press, Chicago, 1980.

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From: Ephraim Frank
To: heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Parashat Tzav

Hebrew Insights into Parashat Tzav - Leviticus 6:8 - 8
(Hebrew Scriptures 6-8)

"Command Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the law of the burnt offering...'" (Lev. 6:9), are YHVH's words to Moshe at the beginning of our Parasha, which is named after the imperative form for the word "command" - "tzav". "The law (of the burnt offering)" is rendered as "torah", making the particular usage of this word mean here, "binding instructions". This is but one of several examples of the way this multi-faceted term is used.

In Parashat Tzav we encounter, once again, the listing of the various offerings, this time with added specifications. Moreover, mention is made here of the interactions and connections that exist between the different offerings. Thus, we read about the meal offering - "mincha" (in 6:17)..."It is most holy, like the sin offering, and like the guilt offering" (italics added). In verse 25 we read about the sin offering ("chatat")..."This is the law [torah] of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offering shall be killed before YHVH" (italics added). Likewise, it says about the guilt offering ("a'sha'm"): "In the place where they kill the burnt offering, they shall kill the guilt offering" (7:2, italics added), and again in 7:7..."As a sin offering is, so [is] a guilt offering. One law is for them. The priest who makes atonement by it, it is his" (italics added).

The meal offerings' holiness is identical to that of both the sin and guilt offerings, all of which are denoted by the term "kodesh kodashim" - holy of holies - i.e. the "holiest of all". The animals for the sin and guilt offerings are killed in the same place as the burnt offering. Likewise, both the sin and guilt offerings are to have one "torah", according to which they actually belong to the priest who makes the atonement by both of them. Thus, status (of holiness), place and ownership are the three common elements shared in some way by all four of these offerings.

These same three attributes are quite easily related to Yeshua's person, and to what He has accomplished:

1."Holiness": "According as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, for us to be holy and without blemish  before Him in love" (Eph. 1:4, italics added).

2. "Place": " I am going to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2, italics added).

3. "Ownership by the Priest": " I am the Good Shepherd, and I know those that are mine, and I am known by the ones that are mine" (John 10:14, italics added).

"I guarded those whom You gave to Me" (John 17:12, italics added). "Of those whom You gave to Me, I lost not one of them" (John 18:9, italics added).

Following the instructions for the "guilt offering" is the "torah of zeva'ch sh'lamim", or, "the law of the Slaughtered Peace Offerings", which appears to stand on its own. However, its conspicuous placement after the mention of the "guilt offering" may be significant. Last week we noted that the "guilt offering", as mentioned in Parashat Vayikra, was accompanied by reparations for damages incurred (5:23,24). Peace and reconciliation cannot take place before one is relieved of one's guilt (through the provisions provided by YHVH, such as making good for damages). Last week we also saw that "sh'lamim" is of the root sh.l.m, meaning "complete or whole" as well as "peace, reconciliation and payment". But the actual term for "peace offering" - sh'lamim - is rendered in the plural form. This is not surprising, as three different aspects or categories are contained in the directions enumerated here for this type of sacrifice: "thanksgiving", "oath" and "freewill offering" (7:11-16).

Thanksgiving is "toda", as we saw last week, from the root y.d.a, connected to "hand" or "palm". Interestingly, and in quite a few cases, carrying out a vow is conveyed as "paying the vow" - "shalem neh'de'r" - making use of both these terms together (e.g. 2Sam. 15:7; Ecc. 5:4; Is. 19:21; Jonah 2:9, as it appears in the Hebrew text). The freewill offering is termed "n'dava", which is a word we encountered in Parashat Trumah, albeit in verb form (Ex. 25:2). The root n.d.v. speaks of generosity and free giving. "Oath" as "neh'de'r" (n.d.r), is connected to another root, n.z.r, which is the root for "nazarite" or "nazarene", being the adjective for 'he who is bound by a "neh'de'r", or an oath'.

Toward the end of our Parasha, in 8:9, we read about the consecration of A'ha'ron and his sons: "And put the miter on his head, and on the miter, on its front, he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as YHVH commanded Moses". The "holy crown" here is "nezer ha'kodesh", the crown of holiness. Since the Nazarene is a person who is "consecrated or dedicated", the root n.z.r appears to be a fusion of that which pertains to a priestly ministry (although not of the Levitical order), and at the same time, also referring to a crown, an item usually associated with royalty. Does the term "nezer", therefore, allude to the office of king-priest, particularly as it was to be fulfilled in Yeshua (see Zech. 6:12,13)?

"As to the flesh of the sacrifice of the thanksgiving peace offerings, it shall be eaten in the day of his offering. He shall not leave of it until morning" (7:15). This idea engendered a variety of comments on the part of the sages and rabbis. Maimonides, writing in The Guide for the Perplexed- part 3, proffers the following reason: 'The offerings must all be perfect and in the best condition, in order that no one should slight the offering or treat it with contempt'. And according to Sefer haHinuch: 'There is an allusion [here] to our trust in God; a man should not begrudge himself his food and store it for the morrow, seeing that God commanded to utterly destroy sanctified meat after its time, when no creature - man or beast - is allowed to partake of it'. This approach is comparable to the way the Israelites were to approach the manna. In addition, if the offerer is to partake of the peace offering, he must himself be ritually clean or else be cut off from his people (ref. 7: 20, 21). Similarly in First Corinthians 11:20-34, we read that those who were to partake of the bread and wine were not to do so "unworthily, [such] that one will be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and let him drink of the cup; for he who is eating and drinking unworthily eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord" (v. 27-29).

Still on "Ze'vach sh'lamin", it may be seen as an analogy to Yeshua's 'Perfect' (shalem) and "one [time] offering... [that] has perfected the ones being sanctified for all time" (Heb. 10:14, italics added), who are thereby able "through Him... [to] offer up a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God always, that is, the fruit of the lips... " (Heb. 13:14, italics added).

"Any person who eats any blood, even that person shall be cut off from his people" (7:27). In last week's Parasha we noted that "it is blood which makes atonement for the soul" (Lev. 17:11), likewise it says, "that the life is in the blood". And while Man(kind) - "adam" - is of the earth ("adama"), he is also of blood, which is "dam". Man cannot partake of the very substance, which is divinely designed to both give him life AND cover his sin and iniquity.

In chapter 8, dealing with the consecration of the priesthood, one of the words used for "consecration" is "milu'im" (v. 22, 28,29,31,33), of the root "m.l.a" (mem, lamed, alef), meaning "full, to make full or fulfill", and by implication "consecrate", as is seen in verse 33: "...until the days of your consecration are fulfilled. For He shall consecrate you seven days" (italics added). The connection of "maleh" to consecration seems rather obscure. Yet when looking at the items pertaining to the act of consecration in verses 25 and 26, all of which were to be placed on A'ha'ron's palms and the palms of his sons, we get a glimpse of the connection between 'making holy' and 'full'. As described by the Gill Commentary :.. "And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons," [&c.], which accounts for the use of the phrase, filling the hand for consecration." Gill goes on to say - "For all the above things of the ram, bread, cakes and wafers were put into their hands when consecrated, denoting their investiture with their office: all things are in the hands of Messiah, relative to the glory of God and the good of his people. Their persons are in his hands, and all grace and blessings of it for them; a commission to execute his office as a priest is given to him. And as it was proper that he also should have somewhat to offer (Heb. 8:3), his hands are filled, and he has a sufficiency for that purpose, as Aaron and his sons had." And to that we may add..."And out of His fullness we all received, and grace on top of grace. For the Torah was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Messiah Yeshua" (John 1:16,17, italics added).

Notes:
1. New Studies in Vayikra Part 1, Nechama Leibowitz, trans. Aryeh Newman. Eliner Library, Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora. Hemed Books Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y. 2. Gill Commentary, Online Bible.

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