This
parashah begins in Leviticus 12 with G-d telling Moses
the purification rituals for a woman after she gives
birth. If it is a boy, she will be unclean for seven
days, and she will be clean on the eighth day so that
she can go the Temple for the circumcision of her
son and then she will be unclean for another 33 days.
If it is a girl, she will be unclean for two weeks
and than another 66 days until she can be declared
clean.
The
rabbis have tried to come up with an explanation for
it but in my estimation, they are trying to make something
out of nothing. Whenever we don't understand what
is written in Scripture it is best for us to follow
D'varim (Deut.) 29:28…"Things hidden belong
to the Lord our G-d, but things revealed are ours
and our children's forever…"
One
of their explanations is that mothers are very disappointed
when it is a girl. There is no joy for them at the
moment of the birth of a female child because they
know that the girls will suffer more. At the moment
of birth, the pain causes the mother to curse the
Name of G-d and she vows to have no more children.
However if it is a boy, the curse leaves the moment
she sees him because her joy is so great at having
a son.
Our
sages ask why the mother would need to bring a burnt
offering and a sin offering to the Temple. What evil
or sin has the mother committed to require this sacrifice?
It could be the idea of Adam's first sin or that woman
would only reproduce with pain after the expulsion
from Eden. Again there is no clear answer.
According
to Berachot 34b everything from Moses to the last
prophet speaks of Messiah therefore let us examine
these offerings in light of Messiah. After the mother
has fulfilled her time of separation, she needed to
bring two animals to the Temple. In Leviticus 12:
6-8, it is written "When the period of her purification,
for either boy or girl, she will bring the priest
at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a lamb one
year old for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon
or turtledove as a sacrifice for sin…"
Yeshua's
parent followed every detail of the law. He was circumcised
on the eighth day. We have already to some degree,
looked at the significance of the eighth day in last
week's drash. In the Messianic Writings, in the book
of Lucan (Luke) 2:22-24 we read "And when the
day came for them to be purified in keeping with the
Law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present
him to the Lord-observing what is written in the Law
of the Lord-and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance
with what is prescribed in the Law of the Lord, a
pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons." We
can infer from this that he was not born into a wealthy
family or they would have brought a lamb. Instead
the King of kings had a very modest upbringing, since
pigeons were an offering of the poor.
The
message of the Messiah, his becoming one of us is
a very Jewish message. When a message is a very important
one, the Scriptures sometimes bring it to us in a
cryptic way. Even though Yeshua had a very high pedigree,
descended from King David both by blood and by adoption,
he didn't take it as something about which to boast.
Instead Yeshua demonstrated utmost humility in all
things including his humble beginnings and wanted
us to follow his example. (The first gentile believers
in Yeshua coined a phrase to describe Yeshua as the:
Moses Redivivus meaning Moses born again due to his
miraculous birth, his upbringing and humility)
Miriam
(Yeshua's mother) was a believer who was completely
dedicated to her faith and to the observance of Torah,
providing a good and proper home for Messiah's upbringing.
This is a strong message not only for Messianic Jews
but also for our righteous Gentiles that to follow
Messiah is to be obedient to G-d. When we remember
the sin of Nadab and Abihu from last week's portion,
we need to be very careful that we do not observe
G-d in our own way according to our own ideas.
If
Yeshua was indeed the example for us, then how can
we do less? We make excuses that He was G-d and we
are only human. We need to stop looking for excuses
and get back to the message. We must not buy the idea
that since He fulfilled the Torah we now have license
to break it. He gave us both the example and the ability
to follow it. Sometimes however, we confuse being
obedient with being fanatic or religious. The joy
of Torah is not in the observance of the petty rules
that men have created but true joy of Torah is in
being close to the living G-d. As we saw last week,
Korban, the sacrifice being the same root as karov,
means to draw near. The sacrifices allowed us to draw
near to G-d. The sacrifice of Messiah allows us to
draw near to G-d. If we are near to Him and to His
Word, it is natural consequence to desire to be obedient;
it is neither a burden nor impossible.
Remember,
G-d does not judge the externals, the religious practices
which we humans love and tend to do; instead G-d judges
the heart. It is not what we do, but why we do it.
Let us ask G-d to search our hearts on a daily basis
so that our intentions as we are being obedient to
Him become pure.
May the Lord add blessings to His Word.
Rabbi
Percy Johnson (Netanel ben Yochanan)
Rabbi Percy Johnson
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2008 Use by Permission
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