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Parasha Naso (Elevate): Fulfilling the Law of Messiah

Hayley Fields-Israel-Torah-Dedication Ceremony

Naso is the longest portion in the Torah cycle. In it God instructs Moses to specify the duties of each family in serving the community and the Lord. In this way, the burden would be distributed so that it would not be too heavy for just a few people. All too often, the weight of the service of the Lord falls on the limited number of individuals willing to volunteer for the sake of the kehilla (community). This is not how the early Messianic community behaved. Believers had a communal lifestyle in which they helped one another and shared all things in common. “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.” (Acts 2:44–45) This concept of kehilla (community life) often seems lacking in modern society. Many people today live in isolation and are concerned primarily with meeting their own needs and not those of the common good.

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Parasha Bamidbar (In the Wilderness): Hearing His Voice in the Wilderness

Bar Mitzvah-Torah Scroll-Reading

The opening words of Parasha Bamidbar emphasize that God spoke to Moses in Bamidbar Sinai, or the wilderness/ desert of Sinai. God chose to speak to him in a land of stinging scorpions and spiders, a dry and thirsty land where water is scarce and the scorching sun beats down mercilessly upon the endless sand. We can understand from this, then, that a spiritual wilderness experience can be the time when God speaks to us and is, therefore, a valuable time of growth in our relationship with the Lord, who is the true source of nourishment and Living Water. We see this connection in the Hebrew words for desert (midbar מדבר ) and speak (m’daber מדבר), which have the exact same letters.

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Parasha Kedoshim (Holy Ones): The Secret of Holiness

Hagbah_Sefer_Torah_Western_Wall

Kedoshim (Holy Ones) begins with God's command that Israel be holy because God is holy. Because the Hebrew word Kedoshim is related to Kadosh, the word for holy, sanctified, or set apart, we understand that a person set aside for the service of God is holy because God is holy. But what does true holiness really look like? Most people have their own preconceived notions of holiness based on preferences, upbringing, and even systems. The answer, however, is found in the Word of God.

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Parasha Acharei Mot (After Death): The Scapegoat for Sin

women's section_Kotel_prayer_siddur_Jerusalem

For most of us, even religious Jews, the idea of blood atonement for sin seems foreign and archaic. Moreover, in this day of do-what-you-think-is-right, even the basic concept of sin seems antiquated. Still, Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is a reminder that the problem of sin is just as real today as it was in the time of Moses. According to Jewish tradition, in fact, Yom Kippur is the day that God pronounces judgment, administering either the rewards for good deeds (mitzvot) or the punishments for sin.

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Parasha Metzora: Four Lepers Who Went From Outcasts to Heroes

This week, Parasha Metzorah continues with the theme of Tazria. In it, God gives Moses the law for the recovered metzora (commonly mistranslated as leper) and the ritual purification of the metzora by the kohen (priest). In Matthew 8:3, Yeshua upholds this law when He heals the leper and tells him, "Show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." In accordance with God's command in Leviticus, when the kohen determined that the metzora had healed, he or she underwent a process of ritual cleansing that began with the offering of two birds, one which was sacrificed and the other which was set free.

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Parasha Tazria (She Conceives): Drawing Close to God

Mother-children-English-Hebrew-version-Torah

In the Torah, isolation or time alone is not restricted to physical or contagious conditions; it can also be seen as a necessary time for prayer, devotion, and communion with God. In the words of a Chassidic Jewish saying, “A person who does not have an hour to him or herself every day is not a person.” God invites each one of us spend time alone with Him to bond with Him and deepen our relationship in ways we cannot do in a group setting. There are plenty of Biblical examples to follow, as well.

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Parasha Shemini (Eighth): The Manifestation of the Presence of God

The Death of Ananais, by Raphael

This week’s Parasha provides the laws of kashrut (Biblical dietary laws). In Leviticus 11, God outlines which animals are edible and which are not. Why should the God of the Universe care about what we eat? The main purpose of the dietary laws is not for hygienic or health reasons; they set the Israelites apart as a holy people. What we eat not only affects our physical body and mind, but also our soul.

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