Shemini - Day #2

Shemini שְּׁמִינִי - Eighth  
Torah Portion: Leviticus 9:1-11:47
Leviticus 9:17–23

9:17 He presented the meal offering, and filled his hand from there, and burned it upon the altar, in addition to the burnt offering of the morning. 18 He also killed the bull and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people. Aaron’s sons delivered to him the blood, which he sprinkled around on the altar; 19 and the fat of the bull and of the ram, the fat tail, and that which covers the innards, and the kidneys, and the cover of the liver; 20 and they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burned the fat on the altar. 21 Aaron waved the breasts and the right thigh for a wave offering before Hashem, as Moses commanded. 22 Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people, and blessed them; and he came down from offering the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings.

23 Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and came out, and blessed the people; and Hashem’s glory appeared to all the people.

Today’s Meditation:
In the last verse (23), Moses and Aaron come out of the Tabernacle, bless the people, and Hashem’s glory appears to everyone. How amazing that would be. To be there to witness a special “house” for Hashem and then for His glory to appear. Were they blinded? Did they prostrate before Him? Whatever happened, I can only imagine total unexplained peace and joy. You would not have words to speak, only to dwell in the current moment. In the presence of His glory. 

Today’s Challenge:

As we read, Moses and Aaron blessed the people. Think about your blessings today. In other words, how have you been blessed? Sometimes we get caught up in problems, troubles, or even daily challenges of life. We start complaining or worrying. We often forget about all that Hashem has given us, all that we possess. The fact that we can study Torah. The Torah that gives eternal life. We can read about serving and loving Hashem, as well as loving others. What a total blessing that is. Today is a great day to reflect on all that you have. Think about all the wonderful people Hashem has put in your life. Then start to praise Him. No matter how tough a time you are going through, thank Him for what He has done and continues to do. We may not have Moses to bless us, but we have the Spirit of Elohim upon us.  And that is a huge blessing.

Tzav - Day #2

Tzav צַו - Command!  

Torah Portion: Leviticus 6:1-8:36

Leviticus 6:12–7:10

6:12 The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it, it shall not go out; and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning. He shall lay the burnt offering in order upon it, and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. 13 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.

14 “‘This is the law of the meal offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before Hashem, before the altar. 15 He shall take from there his handful of the fine flour of the meal offering, and of its oil, and all the frankincense which is on the meal offering, and shall burn it on the altar for a pleasant aroma, as its memorial portion, to Hashem. 16 That which is left of it, Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten without yeast in a holy place. They shall eat it in the court of the Tent of Meeting. 17 It shall not be baked with yeast. I have given it as their portion of My offerings made by fire. It is most holy, as are the sin offering and the trespass offering. 18 Every male among the children of Aaron shall eat of it, as their portion forever throughout your generations, from the offerings of Hashem made by fire. Whoever touches them shall be holy.’”

19 Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, 20 “This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer to Hashem in the day when he is anointed: one tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering perpetually, half of it in the morning, and half of it in the evening. 21 It shall be made with oil in a griddle. When it is soaked, you shall bring it in. You shall offer the meal offering in baked pieces for a pleasant aroma to Hashem. 22 The anointed priest who will be in his place from among his sons shall offer it. By a statute forever, it shall be wholly burned to Hashem. 23 Every meal offering of a priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.”

24 Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, 25 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: in the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offering shall be killed before Hashem. It is most holy. 26 The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the Tent of Meeting. 27 Whatever shall touch its flesh shall be holy. When there is any of its blood sprinkled on a garment, you shall wash that on which it was sprinkled in a holy place. 28 But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken; and if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, it shall be scoured and rinsed in water. 29 Every male among the priests shall eat of it. It is most holy. 30 No sin offering, of which any of the blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be eaten. It shall be burned with fire.

7:1 “‘This is the law of the trespass offering: It is most holy. 2 In the place where they kill the burnt offering, he shall kill the trespass offering; and its blood he shall sprinkle around on the altar. 3 He shall offer all of its fat: the fat tail, and the fat that covers the innards, 4 and he shall take away the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the cover on the liver, with the kidneys; 5 and the priest shall burn them on the altar for an offering made by fire to Hashem: it is a trespass offering. 6 Every male among the priests may eat of it. It shall be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy.

7 “‘As is the sin offering, so is the trespass offering; there is one law for them. The priest who makes atonement with them shall have it. 8 The priest who offers any man’s burnt offering shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered. 9 Every meal offering that is baked in the oven, and all that is prepared in the pan and on the griddle, shall be the priest’s who offers it. 10 Every meal offering, mixed with oil or dry, belongs to all the sons of Aaron, one as well as another.

Today’s Meditation:

Hashem is laying out His instructions for the different types of offerings. On the Jewish Virtual Library website, you can read an informative article on sacrifices. They suggest three reasons people offered. First, because people need to give to Hashem, they bring the offering to the one Holy God. Secondly, it is a sacrifice they must offer and a kind of retribution for their sin. As we have discussed before, when you have to give up something important because you did something wrong, you will learn a great lesson. And lastly, because the offering brings one closer to Hashem. In fact, that is the whole reason for the offering: to draw close.

Today’s Challenge:

“Karbanot” (offering) means to draw near. Today’s challenge is to think about how you are drawing near to Hashem. What brings you closer to Him? Is it when you do a mitzvah, or a good deed? Is it when you worship, pray, or talk to Hashem in your special time? For me, I know when I worship or listen to songs that extol Hashem that it seems to move my spirit to be close to Him. Or sometimes, when I see an answered prayer or even a miracle, it makes me acutely aware that He is near. The whole point is to find something that draws you closer to Him. When Hashem is involved in our daily lives, we live better. We need to be shining lights of His love, sharing it with others. We can only do that by a Karbanot.

Vayikra - Day #2

Vayikra  וַיִּקְרָא - And He Called  

Torah Portion: Leviticus 1:1-5:26

Leviticus 1:14–2:6

1:14 “‘If his offering to Hashem is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall offer his offering from turtledoves or of young pigeons. 15 The priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; and its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar; 16 and he shall take away its crop and its feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, in the place of the ashes. 17 He shall tear it by its wings, but shall not divide it apart. The priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Hashem.

2 “‘When anyone offers an offering of a meal offering to Hashem, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it. 2 He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. He shall take his handful of its fine flour, and of its oil, with all its frankincense, and the priest shall burn its memorial on the altar, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Hashem. 3 That which is left of the meal offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. It is a most holy part of the offerings of Hashem made by fire.

4 “‘When you offer an offering of a meal offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. 5 If your offering is a meal offering made on a griddle, it shall be of unleavened fine flour, mixed with oil. 6 You shall cut it in pieces, and pour oil on it. It is a meal offering.

Today’s Meditation:

In verse 3, we read that whatever is left over from the offering can be eaten by Aaron. When I was in Israel the first time, we went on a little tour in Cana. A man dressed up as a shepherd took us on a walk. The one thing I remember him saying was, “G-d doesn’t waste anything.” I don’t know what context he said this in—perhaps he was referring to plants along the path. The point was that Hashem uses everything and doesn’t waste. So it is with the offerings. Either they are consumed by fire or offered to the priests for food. And perhaps later, as greater offerings were made, they would be given back to the people as food. I really don’t imagine any was thrown out or wasted. This is an essential message in our lives: not to waste food. Let’s be more careful.

Today’s Challenge:

I read today how the grain offering was given as a sign of worship and appreciation for Hashem’s provision. It was given after an animal sacrifice and was voluntary. Our worship of Hashem should be like this. It should be voluntary and for the appreciation of His provision. If Hashem has blessed you recently (He blesses us every day, sometimes several times), consider offering Him a worshipful gift. This can be achieved by singing, reciting a prayer, or uttering words of gratitude. Read Psalm 145. What a wonderful Scripture to praise Him with.

Vayakhel/Pekudei - Day #2

Vayakhel/Pekudei  ויקהל/פקודי   

Torah Portion: Exodus 35:1-40:38

Exodus 35:30-37:16 

35:30 Moses said to the children of Israel, “Behold, Hashem has called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31 He has filled him with the Spirit of G-d, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of workmanship; 32 and to make skillful works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 33 in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all kinds of skillful workmanship. 34 He has put in his heart that he may teach, both he and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with wisdom of heart to work all kinds of workmanship, of the engraver, of the skillful workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of those who do any workmanship, and of those who make skillful works.

36:1 “Bezalel and Oholiab shall work with every wise-hearted man, in whom Hashem has put wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that Hashem has commanded.”

2 Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart Hashem had put wisdom, even everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to the work to do it. 3 They received from Moses all the offerings which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, with which to make it. They kept bringing free will offerings to him every morning. 4 All the wise men, who performed all the work of the sanctuary, each came from his work which he did. 5 They spoke to Moses, saying, “The people have brought much more than enough for the service of the work which Hashem commanded to make.”

6 Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman make anything else for the offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing. 7 For the stuff they had was sufficient to do all the work, and too much.

8 All the wise-hearted men among those who did the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, blue, purple, and scarlet. They made them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. 9 The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains had one measure. 10 He coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another. 11 He made loops of blue on the edge of the one curtain from the edge in the coupling. Likewise, he made on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second coupling. 12 He made fifty loops in the one curtain, and he made fifty loops in the edge of the curtain that was in the second coupling. The loops were opposite to one another. 13 He made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains to one another with the clasps: so the tabernacle was a unit.

14 He made curtains of goats’ hair for a covering over the tabernacle. He made them eleven curtains. 15 The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits the width of each curtain. The eleven curtains had one measure. 16 He coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. 17 He made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the coupling, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second coupling. 18 He made fifty clasps of bronze to couple the tent together, that it might be a unit. 19 He made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of sea cow hides above.

20 He made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing up. 21 Ten cubits was the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the width of each board. 22 Each board had two tenons, joined to one another. He made all the boards of the tabernacle this way. 23 He made the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side southward. 24 He made forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards: two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons. 25 For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty boards 26 and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 27 For the far part of the tabernacle westward, he made six boards. 28 He made two boards for the corners of the tabernacle in the far part. 29 They were double beneath, and in the same way they were all the way to its top to one ring. He did this to both of them in the two corners. 30 There were eight boards and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets—under every board two sockets.

31 He made bars of acacia wood: five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 32 and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the hinder part westward. 33 He made the middle bar to pass through in the middle of the boards from the one end to the other. 34 He overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold as places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

35 He made the veil of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cherubim. He made it the work of a skillful workman. 36 He made four pillars of acacia for it, and overlaid them with gold. Their hooks were of gold. He cast four sockets of silver for them. 37 He made a screen for the door of the tent, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer; 38 and the five pillars of it with their hooks. He overlaid their capitals and their fillets with gold, and their five sockets were of bronze.

37:1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood. Its length was two and a half cubits, and its width a cubit and a half, and a cubit and a half its height. 2 He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold for it around it. 3 He cast four rings of gold for it in its four feet—two rings on its one side, and two rings on its other side. 4 He made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 5 He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. 6 He made a mercy seat of pure gold. Its length was two and a half cubits, and a cubit and a half its width. 7 He made two cherubim of gold. He made them of beaten work, at the two ends of the mercy seat: 8 one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end. He made the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. 9 The cherubim spread out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another. The faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat.

10 He made the table of acacia wood. Its length was two cubits, and its width was a cubit, and its height was a cubit and a half. 11 He overlaid it with pure gold and made a gold molding around it. 12 He made a border of a hand’s width around it, and made a golden molding on its border around it. 13 He cast four rings of gold for it, and put the rings in the four corners that were on its four feet. 14 The rings were close by the border, the places for the poles to carry the table. 15 He made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table. 16 He made the vessels which were on the table, its dishes, its spoons, its bowls, and its pitchers with which to pour out, of pure gold.

Today’s Mediation:

In verse 30, we read about Bexalel, who is “filled with the Spirit of Elohim, in wisdom, understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of workmanship.” It is so interesting that Hashem would take an ordinary man, fill him with His Spirit, and bestow upon him many gifts. I think He has done that with many people throughout the centuries. Famous people, people who have made magnificent, beneficial discoveries and inventions. And I also believe He does that for you and for me. I served as the Executive Director of a non-profit organization for years. And I know for a fact that Hashem equipped and trained me for this position. I felt His hand on my life every day, in every task, and I still do. If you are gifted in areas of work and service, know that it comes only from Hashem and be grateful.

Today’s Challenge: 

Hashem chose men of wisdom to design and build the Tabernacle. He picked only His best to do this tremendous task. After all, they were creating a resting place for our one and only Elohim. What a privilege that would have been. And people gave even beyond what was needed. Everyone, as a community, was in the extraordinary task of creating the Tabernacle. So, here is my challenge for you today. Ask Hashem if there is a community project you can become involved in, where He can equip you to take on some incredible tasks. Then thank Him, join Him, and be used by Him to create and serve those around you. 

Ki Tisa - Day #2

Ki Tisa  כִּי תִשָּׂא - When You Elevate  

Torah Portion: Exodus 30:11-34:35

Exodus 31:18–33:11

31:18 When he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses the two tablets of the covenant, stone tablets, written with Elohim’s finger.

32 When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.”

2 Aaron said to them, “Take off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.”

3 All the people took off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molded calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to Hashem.”

6 They rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

7 Hashem spoke to Moses, “Go, get down; for your people, who you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves! 8 They have turned away quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”

9 Hashem said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore leave me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation.”

11 Moses begged Hashem his Elohim, and said, “Hashem, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, that you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘He brought them out for evil, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the surface of the earth?’ Turn from your fierce wrath, and turn away from this evil against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the sky, and all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’”

14 So Hashem turned away from the evil which He said He would do to His people.

15 Moses turned and went down from the mountain, with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand; tablets that were written on both their sides. They were written on one side and on the other. 16 The tablets were the work of Elohim, and the writing was the writing of Elohim, engraved on the tablets.

17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is the noise of war in the camp.”

18 He said, “It isn’t the voice of those who shout for victory. It is not the voice of those who cry for being overcome, but the noise of those who sing that I hear.” 19 As soon as he came near to the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. Then Moses’ anger grew hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them beneath the mountain. 20 He took the calf which they had made, and burned it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.

21 Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?”

22 Aaron said, “Don’t let the anger of my lord grow hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods, which shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.’ 24 I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

25 When Moses saw that the people were out of control (for Aaron had let them lose control, causing derision among their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on Hashem's side, come to me!”

All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. 27 He said to them, “Hashem, the Elohim of Israel, says, ‘Every man put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and every man kill his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’” 28 The sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. About three thousand men fell of the people that day. 29 Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to Hashem, for every man was against his son and against his brother, that He may give you a blessing today.”

30 On the next day, Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. Now I will go up to Hashem. Perhaps I shall make atonement for your sin.”

31 Moses returned to Hashem, and said, “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made themselves gods of gold. 32 Yet now, if you will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out of your book which you have written.”

33 Hashem said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.” 35 Hashem struck the people because of what they did with the calf, which Aaron made.

33 Hashem spoke to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people that you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ 2 I will send an angel before you; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 3 Go to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I consume you on the way.”

4 When the people heard this evil news, they mourned; and no one put on his jewelry.

5 Hashem had said to Moses, “Tell the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go up among you for one moment, I would consume you. Therefore, now take off your jewelry from you, that I may know what to do to you.’”

6 The children of Israel stripped themselves of their jewelry from Mount Horeb onward.

7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far away from the camp, and he called it “The Tent of Meeting.” Everyone who sought Hashem went out to the Tent of Meeting, which was outside the camp. 8 When Moses went out to the Tent, all the people rose up, and stood, everyone at their tent door, and watched Moses, until he had gone into the Tent. 9 When Moses entered into the Tent, the pillar of cloud descended, stood at the door of the Tent, and Hashem spoke with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud stand at the door of the Tent, and all the people rose up and worshiped, everyone at their tent door. 11 Hashem spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. He turned again into the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, didn’t depart from the Tent.

Today’s Meditation:

We read about the “Tent of Meeting” today in Exodus 33. What an incredible place that would have been. The people would watch as Moses went into the Tent, and then the Pillar of Cloud descended. This is where Moses would actually meet with Hashem. We don’t exactly know the details of this, but we do know He received instructions from Hashem here. And that Joshua, the faithful servant, did not want to leave the door. 

I can only imagine the dedication and love that Joshua had for Hashem. He could not leave the door. When you meet with Hashem in prayer, are you anxious to finish, or do you love being with Him and don’t want to leave?

Today’s Challenge:

In Chapter 32, we read about the famous golden calf story. The Israelites grew impatient. They couldn’t wait for Moses to come down from the hill. Even after all the miracles they had just witnessed, their faith was wavering. But today I see how wrong I am. The Israelites were not only on a journey to the Promised Land but also on a huge spiritual journey. They had just come out of paganism and slavery. They were beginning to know Hashem. They got scared and got confused. There is no excuse for building a golden calf and partying around it like it was a “god”, but it does help to understand why it may have happened.

After all, don’t we build golden calves in our lives? Don’t we get impatient for Hashem to answer a prayer and instead figure out our own way to make it happen? Don’t we substitute something else for Hashem’s power and presence? I do it a lot, and I am humbly sorry. I want to serve the one and only true God, Hashem. I don’t want to substitute anything else for Him. And I pray He helps me not to do so. I pray the same for those of you who are impatient about waiting on Elohim. I pray you have the courage and strength to wait on Him and not make any human decisions. Wait for the best. I am trying to do the same.