Rabbi’s Reflections – Monday, March 1, 2021
Shalom,
A N N O U N C E M E N T: Passover is coming, the night of March 27th.
3,500 years ago, it was critical to mark the doorposts and lintel of your house with the blood of the lamb. That was then and this is now. Yet even now, Paul writes to the followers of “THE WAY” living in Corinth… 1 Corinthians 5:7b …for Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast not with old hametz (leaven), the hametz of malice and wickedness, but with unleavened bread—the matzah of sincerity and truth.
In fact, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder. Luke 22:15 And He (Yeshua) said to them (His disciples), “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” Then, later in the evening, Yeshua took matzah, blessed it and said, Luke 22:19b “This is My body, given for you. Do this in memory of Me.” And, what about the blood (the cup in verse 20)? Come to the Seder, we’ll talk about it.
Don’t get caught unaware on that night. This year we will have a community Seder at Rothchild Catering beginning at 6pm on Saturday night, March 27th. A Seder is a worship service with a full meal in the middle. So yes, there is a full dinner on the menu. Adults $25 and Children 12 and under $15. Reserve your seats here.
https://shomairyisrael.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/704149
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Mon 1 March-2021 17th of Adar, 5781
Ex 31:18-33:11 Isa 6-7 Pr 5 Ac 5 (Heb 11)
Tradition!! That’s what we have, tradition. The rabbis have a tradition that we never end a reading on a sour note. That’s why our reading today is so long. It starts with the last verse of chapter 31 and continues all the way through chapter 32 (which is the chapter about the sin of the golden calf), all the way down to Exodus 33:11a So Adonai spoke with Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.
This is like “ripping off the bandaid.” The sin of the golden calf is one of the most nationally shameful episodes in the collective life of the children of Israel. We read it entirely in one Aliyah and get it behind us as quickly as possible.
Let’s answer the question posed, in Exodus 11:33a. Who is Adonai? Who spoke with Moses? The TLV translation says “Adonai,” but that is because of tradition (another tradition). The rabbis substitute “Adonai” for the written name of God. They believe THE NAME (HaShem), as it is written, is too holy to speak (ineffable).
Rabbi Trail: “Adonai” is a plural form of “Adon.” Adon means “Lord.” (We use it in modern Hebrew to identify someone as “Mister.” “Adonai” is plural in the same way that “Elohim” means God, but has a plural ending. Since God is 3 in 1, a plural ending seems appropriate. End RT.
All 3, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are mentioned in Isaiah 48:16 Draw near to Me, hear this: Since the beginning, I have not spoken in secret. From the time it existed, I was there. So now Adonai Elohim has sent Me, and His Ruach.” There they are, all 3 in one verse; “the Lord, Yehovah, has sent Me (Yeshua) and His Ruach (the Holy Spirit).”
The Hebrew says (do I need to tell you the Torah is written in Hebrew? I think not.) “Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay” spoke to Moses. Could this be the same One Who ate lunch with Abraham and appears throughout the Hebrew Scriptures?
Colossians 1:15a He (Yeshua) is the image of the invisible God. Moses was face to face with God in the form of Yeshua. I mentioned in my message last Shabbat that Yeshua is the “Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay” pronounced “Yehovah.” Here we see this proven to be correct. Yeshua is Lord! News to some, but not news to us. Yet good news to everyone.
Week 10
Memory Verse: Deuteronomy 31:7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong! Be courageous! For you are to go with this people into the land Adonai has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you are to enable them to inherit it. 8 Adonai—He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you. Do not fear or be discouraged.”
* 46 3/01 Monday: Leviticus 23
47 3/02 Tuesday: Leviticus 26
48 3/03 Wednesday: Numbers 11-12
49 3/04 Thursday: Numbers 13-14
50 3/05 Friday: Numbers 16-17
Question of the day: Why are we reading Leviticus 23? How did Leviticus 23 get to be one of only six chapters we read from Leviticus in our F-260 reading of the chronological Bible, when it is NOT chronological?
Answer: In Leviticus 23 we have all 7 of the Feasts of the Lord that are annual. Actually, there are only 6 annual feasts. The first Feast mentioned in Leviticus 23 is Shabbat, which as you know is weekly. Shabbat is preeminent, yet only gets one verse in this chapter. Leviticus 23:3 “Work may be done for six days, but the seventh day is a Shabbat of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You are to do no work—it is a Shabbat to Adonai in all your dwellings. That’s it… don’t work… rest.
The other six feasts are broken into two groups of 3, 3 spring feasts, followed by 3 fall feasts. They highlight and memorialize the first coming and the second coming. Notice they are not “the Jewish Feasts” as they are usually spoken of, but “Feasts of the Lord” as God refers to them. Let’s break them down very briefly.
For the first coming (spring feasts):
Pesach (Passover) – Messiah’s crucifixion. Evening of the 14th day of the 1st month. The Lamb of God, sacrificed for us.
Yom HaBikurim (First Fruits) – 3 days later, Yeshua rose from the dead as a first fruits of them that slept.
Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) – After counting the Omer for 49 days, we arrive at the 50th day. On this day, the Holy Spirit fell with power, exactly 50 days after Yeshua’s resurrection.
For the second coming (fall feasts):
Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah) – First day of the 7th month. The day of the shout. The sounding of the Shofar (ram’s horn). It is celebrated in anticipation of the coronation of the King of kings.
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) – 10 days after Yom Teruah. Also called Yom HaDin (the day of judgment). A day that anticipates Yeshua’s return to judge the earth.
Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) – only 4 days after Yom Kippur, we begin 7/8 days of celebration in a hut. We anticipate Yeshua to return and continue in “tabernacling among us.” We humble ourselves as we expect His millennial reign to begin.
While not “chronological” in content, the Feasts of the Lord are important enough to be included in the F-260. We certainly take notice of them in Messianic Judaism.