Parashat Re'eh / פרשת ראה
- Mon, 6 August 2018 = 25th of Av, 5778
- כ״ה בְּאָב תשע״ח
CLICK THIS LINK ABOVE FOR THE PESUKIM
Our pesukim today seem simple, however for a contemporary believer living in 21st Century Western civilization, it can seem foreign and confusing regarding some of these commandments from God.
Pesuk 13 says: "Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in any place you see. 14 Rather do so only in the place Adonai chooses in one of your tribes—there you are to offer your burnt offerings, and there you are to do all I am commanding you."
Understanding these pesukim will prove valuable in understanding the modern dispute over the Land of Israel, namely the city of Jerusalem, and specifically Temple mount on which currently sits Al Aksa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Why is it so contested and why can't the Jews just simply building a Temple near it or next to it?
Our pesukim designates that very spot as the ONLY place (Hamakom הַמָּק֗וֹם) where sacrifices maybe offered. And since there is a dispute over that specific area between Muslims and Jews, the modis apparendi since 1967 is to give Muslims control over that holy site, in order for "peace".
Nevertheless, God commanded Israel to make their offerings THERE at that very spot. Why? The B'nei Israel were once allowed to offer their sacrifices on private altars during the Exodus? So why is it important now?
According to the Talmud, "In the first year that David reigned in Jerusalem he brought the Ark there from Kiriath Jearim. The Ark was therefore in Kiriath Jearim for twenty years. When the thirty-three years of David’s reign in Jerusalem are added to these, there are a total of fifty-three years from the destruction of Shiloh. During all of these years, and at the beginning of Solomon’s reign, the Tabernacle was in Nov and Gibeon (see I Kings 3:4).
ובשלמה כתיב (דברי הימים ב ג, ב) ויחל לבנותו בשנת ארבע למלכותו נשתיירו לשילה שלש מאות ושבעים חסר אחת:
And with regard to the construction of the Temple in the time of Solomon, it is written: “And he began to build it in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign” (II Chronicles 3:2), which was the 480th year following the Exodus (see I Kings 6:1). When the forty years in the wilderness, the fourteen years that the Tabernacle stood in Gilgal, and the fifty-seven years that the Tabernacle stood in Nov and Gibeon, which totals 111 years, are subtracted from the 480, there remain for Shiloh 370 less one years in which the Tabernacle stood there.
באו לנוב וגבעון [וכו']: מנא ה"מ דת"ר (דברים יב, ט) כי לא באתם עד עתה אל המנוחה ואל הנחלה
§ The mishna teaches that when Shiloh was destroyed and they arrived at Nov and Gibeon, private altars were permitted and offerings of lesser sanctity could be eaten in any city in Eretz Yisrael. The Gemara asks: From where are these matters derived? they are derived as the Sages taught: The Jewish people were told that when they enter Eretz Yisrael they would be permitted to sacrifice on private altars, “for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance” (Deuteronomy 12:9), during which time those altars would be prohibited.
אל המנוחה זו שילה נחלה זו ירושלי' למה חלקן כדי ליתן היתר בין זה לזה
The Gemara interprets the verse: “To the rest”; this is a reference to Shiloh. “The inheritance”; this is a reference to Jerusalem. One may ask: Why does the verse divide them into two terms, i.e., “rest” and “inheritance”? It is in order to give permission to sacrifice on private altars during the period between this one and that one. Therefore, it was permitted to sacrifice on private altars during the period of Nov and Gibeon. (Zevachim 119a)
We live in an age when the Temple has been destroyed for the last 2,000 years. We do believe the Scriptures when they speak of the Third Temple and when it will be rebuilt as told by the prophet Ezekiel, and in that Third Temple the anti-Messiah will come and put (once again) an end to the daily sacrifice, which is a dual-fulfillment of the prophecy of Daniel and the events of the story of Hanukkah, which will happen again in the End of Days.
However, the Messiah Yeshua, (speaking at a time when the 2nd Temple still stood) told us what things would be like in the future, these words must be heeded...
Matthew 24 Tree of Life Version (TLV)
Now when Yeshua went out and was going away from the Temple, His disciples came up to point out to Him the Temple buildings. 2 “Don’t you see all these?” He responded to them. “Amen, I tell you, not one stone will be left here on top of another—every one will be torn down!”
3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen? What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 Yeshua answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray! 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will lead many astray. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must happen but it is not yet the end. 7 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 But all these things are only the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then they will hand you over to persecution and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of My name. 10 And then many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one other. 11 Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 This Good News of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
15 “So when you see ‘the abomination of desolation,’ which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader understand), 16 then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 The one on the roof must not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and the one in the field must not turn back to get his coat. 19 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 Pray that your escape will not happen in winter, or on Shabbat. 21 For then there will be great trouble, such as has not happened since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 And unless those days were cut short, no one would be delivered. But for the sake of the chosen, those days will be cut short.
23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here’s the Messiah,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and show great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.
26 “So if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. Or, ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For just as lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.
29 “But immediately after the trouble of those days,
‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light
and the stars will fall from heaven
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the land will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. 31 He will send out His angels with a great shofar, and they will gather together His chosen from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the door. 34 Amen, I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. 36 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son, except the Father alone.
37 “For just as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. 39 And they did not understand until the flood came and swept them all away. So shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field, one taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill, one taken and one left. 42 Therefore stay alert; for you do not know what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
When we do not expect... amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment