Rabbi's Drash

Tsav

( Give and Order )

5769

6:1-8:36
 

The portion Tsav comes together at this time with Shabbat Hagadol which is the great Shabbat before Passover. Pesach happens to fall this year exactly in the same way it did during the time of Yeshua. The 10th Nisan fell on Shabbat when Yeshua entered Yerushalayim and all the people were hailing him saying, "Hoshiana, hoshiana, save save, son of David " He rode in on a colt demonstrating that he was coming in peace as opposed to a white horse which would mean that he was coming as a warrior. Contrary to common belief, the majority of the Jews believed that he as the Messiah (John 12:12-15).. It was the elite, the politicians of the day, the religious order who purchased their positions and those Jewish leaders who were serving Rome instead of G-d who were the ones to betray him, not the general populace. Judas himself was portrayed incorrectly. He was a zealot and he like everyone else, was expecting Messiah ben David who would be the conquering Messiah. They were not ready for Messiah ben Yosef, the suffering servant. Pontius Pilate who was a very powerful and evil man had pangs of guilt over Yeshua. It is obvious that G-d touched his heart with this man. He wanted to free him but the people would not allow it. There were obviously people planted in the crowds who cried out for Barabbas to be freed when given the choice between him and Yeshua. Barabbas, a similar case to Judas as far as being a zealot, was hailed by the people as a freedom fighter. It was not that they hated Yeshua; they hated the oppression of Rome and had lost hope in him. They thought that Barabbas could win it for them if Yeshua would not. The high priest of the day, Caiaphas without realizing it, prophesized when he stated, 'it is better that one man perish for the nation than the entire nation." This is what he came to do. It was the Romans not the Jews who killed him however when the Jews said "let his blood be upon our heads…' they did not realize that this is exactly what he was going to do. He would be the covering for all the people of Israel. This demonstrates that if they were indeed covered by the blood of Yeshua than no one can claim that he deserves that covering. This picture becomes even clearer when we relate it to the time of the first Pesach when an innocent lamb was sacrificed by the father of each household. He would then have smeared the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of the house so that when the Angel of Death (G-d Himself) passed over, the first born in that household was saved. This mark of blood of the innocent lamb served as the covering for the people of Israel people. Yeshua was watched by all from the moment he entered Yerushalayim on the 10th of Nisan In the same as the little lamb was brought into the house on the 10th just before the first Pesach, the exodus from Egypt. The father had to examine that little lamb until the 14th when it was taken and killed for the blood to be place on the lintel and doorposts of the home. That evening the Angel of Death, G-d himself would "pasach"- pass over the homes covered by the blood sparing the first born inside. In the same way, Yeshua was taken on the 14th of Nisan at the same time out to be nailed to the stake. Whoever looks up to him believing that his sacrificial death covers our sins, will be spared for eternity (Numbers 21:9; John 3:14-15). Pilate called for his servant to bring him water and as he washed, he declared Yeshua to be without fault; in the same way the father declared the lamb clean before it was sacrificed and the HaGadol Cohen, did at the Temple, for the sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb. Everything Yeshua did was in fulfillment of every prophecy in Torah about Messiah especially demonstrated with Pesach. The Haftarah reading at this special time is Malachi 3:4-24 in the Jewish Bible and in the Christian Bible Malachi 3:4-18; 4:1-6;in Malachi 3:23 (4:5 in the Christian Bible). "Look I shall send you the prophet Elijah before the great and awesome Day of the Lord. He will reconcile parents to their children and children to their parents to forestall my putting the country under the curse of destruction." The rabbis understood this to mean the Day of the Lord to mean Shabbat haGadol and not Sunday as the Catholic Church called it. Elijah plays a very important role at Passover and in many of our celebrations. We always set an extra seat for Elijah (kisseh Eliyahu hanavi) with an extra cup of wine (kos Eliyahu hanavi) at the head table. Yeshua said of Yohanan ha Matbil (John the Baptizer) when asked who he was, that he came in the spirit of Elijah (Matt 11:14). The people of the day clearly understood that he was referring to Malachi. In the scene in Matthew 17 10-13 called the transfiguration, Yeshua encounters Eliyahu and Moshe in fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18:18. There Moshe is prophesying that a prophet greater than he would come to whom we would need to listen and obey. Here Eliyahu was announcing that Yeshua indeed was that greater prophet, G-d's anointed one. Out of the writings of Enoch and other the books of the period of the last prophet Malachi and Yohanan ha Matbil, came a tradition that Messiah would come on Pesach or at the end of Shabbat. When we do havdala we end by singing Eliyahu ha Navi. At the end of the Seder we send a child to the door to see if Eliyahu has come. His appearance will begin the Messianic Era. At a Brit Mila, we also need to have a chair and cup for Eliyahu. According to our tradition, Elijah is present when any boy undergoes brit mila and becomes a Jew he is part of the alliance and under the supervision of the Prophet Elijah. The process of brit mila has both pain and joy. With the pain of the shedding of blood the covenant is fulfilled and he joins Israel. The child does not choose this, it is chosen for him. This demonstrates that the choosing comes from an outside source, much like G-d choosing who belongs to Him and who doesn't. There is a ceremony that it done the night before Pesach called Bedikat Chametz, the burning of the leaven. The kit contains a white feather, wooden spoon, candle and piece of linen. The mother of the home leaves some bread crumbs for the father to find and with the white feather he sweeps the leaven onto the wooden spoon after having searched the house for it with the lit candle. It is then wrapped up in the white linen and taken outside to burn before the house can be declared clean and ready to celebrate Passover. It is believed that this was introduced by Messianic Jews with a cryptic message within the elements - the candle represents Yeshua who is the Light of the world. The white feather represents G-d's Ruach ha Kodesh (His Spirit) who reveals our sin to us. Our sin is then figuratively picked up and placed on the wooden spoon representing the wooden stake on which our sins were nailed. The white linen represents the cloth in which Yeshua was wrapped for his burial. It's a beautiful picture of our Messiah. Let those who can see, see and those who can hear, hear. The spiritual message of Passover is that we are to search out the leaven in our hearts as we search out and clean out the leaven in our homes. When Judas ate from Yeshua's hand before he left to betray him, he did this at the 2nd cup during the Seder. This is the kos ha din, the cup of judgment. It was not only Judas who drank from the cup but every one of the talmidim in the room. This very important cup has been removed from Christianity completely. They have kept the 3rd cup of redemption only divorcing it from the Seder and making it into a tradition done weekly, monthly or whenever they choose. The loss of this cup of judgment has watered down the message of salvation and cheapening what Yeshua did for us. All of us have sinned and it is only G-d Himself who can cleanse us. G-d is not pleased with religious hypocrites who look clean from the outside but on the inside, they are filthy. Only the death of our Messiah can pay for our sins. Our own life cannot pay this debt. Our religiosity is a mockery of G-d. Who has given us the power to change G-d's Word? Pesach is the time when we need to search for the leaven in our hearts. Are you holding something against someone? Are upset with someone and have not dealt with it? Does someone owe you an apology or vice versa? When you have a scar it is a reminder that once there was injury and pain. Now you can look at the scar and remember but there is no longer the pain there. This is what happens with true forgiveness. You can see the scar left by the hurt but can no longer feel the pain of it. Are you able to go through the situation in your mind or be in the presence of the person who hurt you without feeling the pain? If you are holding something, you are slowing killing yourself physically and spiritually. It is a sin against G-d when you are hurting yourself because you are made in His image. Sometimes you are upset because you feel that you aren't getting what you deserve or another person is not getting what they deserve. That is not your decision. It belongs to G-d. We cry out - why are these things happening if I have been faithful to You? And so we want to get even with G-d…I'll show Him…in the end we only end up hurting ourselves. Shabbat HaGadol is the time to come clean before G-d, before Pesach. Do not play innocent. We all have our areas of robbing G-d as He tells us in the Haftarah portion - Malachi 3. When G-d speaks to us about the tithe, He is not speaking about almsgiving. It is a sacrificial offering to Him, a burnt offering and it should be a sweet smell to Him. It is a korban coming from the word kerev which denotes drawing near to G-d. It is not the spiritual lottery…it is a love offering to the Creator of the universe in thanks for all that He has done for us. As we drink from the four cups and eat of the Matzah let us be reminded of the significance of these important elements: The 1st cup, the Kos Kiddush or Sanctification signifies the separation from our sin and the world. The 2nd cup, Kos HaDin or Kos Maror is the cup of judgment or bitterness of which we all drink. We all have betrayed Yeshua. The 3rd cup, Kos HaGaal) or the cup of redemption is taken together with the Lechem Oni (the bread of affliction) or the Afikomen (the bread of redemption) at the end of the supper. These two elements are the only ones which Christianity has kept from the entire Seder, forgetting where they come from). Finally, we will drink the 4th cup, the Hillel cup, the cup of Praise which our Messiah told us that He would drink it with us at His return! Now we are expecting the coming of Eliyahu HaNavi to enter our homes to announce the coming of Messiah. May each and every one of us take the time right now to open our hearts to Him, allow Him search our hearts with the Light of his Spirit and allow Him to cleanse us before we come before Him on Pesach.    May G-d add blessings to His Word!      Rabbi Percy Johnson      Netanel ben Yochanan      [nxy [b lantn      © 2008 Use by Permission      Kehilat She’ar Yashuv

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