PORTIONS WITH RabbiJason JOURNEY THROUGH LEVITICUS THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION LEVITICUS 1:1-5:26* יוקרא— VaYikra

In this week’s guide…

Rabbi Jason’s COMMENTARY unpacks a powerful and challenging insight that almost certainly remains hidden from most people. If you ever played a trivia game, one of the commonly-asked questions is: who was the meekest man to ever live? The answer is , but in this article, we discover evidence that support this. The challenge presented here has the potential to significantly impact all of the people in your life because it has the potential to significantly impact YOU! ...... 1

Our TIE-IN discusses a rather odd term that appears with great frequency in this week’s Portion: the “soothing aroma.” We know that doesn’t have a literal nose, so what could this possibly mean? And how can we make sense of this idea? Does it have any bearing on our lives as we live from within the New Covenant made by the sacrificial death of Yeshua-Jesus? ...... 3

BY THE NUMBERS will absolutely encourage you this week! Have you ever wondered what the point of all the described in Leviticus actually was? What actually happened in the act of sacrificing a lamb? In this article you will not only find the answers to these questions, you’ll see how the Savior’s on Calvary revolutionized your life...... 4

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OVERVIEW

The Torah Portion VaYikra, is Hebrew for “and he called.” This Portion brings us into the , the middle and shortest of the five books of the Torah. It is situated between the completion of the at the end of Exodus and what are often referred to as the “Wilderness Wanderings” of Numbers. While Genesis and the first section of Exodus are primarily story-based, Leviticus is technical and specific content that establishes regulations for ’s religious and civic life. In his introduction to Leviticus Eugene Peterson points out that by these regulations “God provides a way to bring everything in and about us into His holy presence, transformed by the fiery blaze of the holy.”

VaYikra begins the book with the subject of sacrifices. The purpose of these sacrifices was not to satisfy God’s hunger, not even for justice. God has no need or lack. The Psalmist is profoundly helpful as we navigate this unusual topic: “Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the of ? Offer God a sacrifice of thank offerings, then fulfill your vows to Elyon.” (:13-14)

* due to verse and chapter discrepancies, Leviticus 6:1-8 in most of our is actually an extension of the fifth chapter in the and Torah Portion schedule. FUSION GLOBAL WITH JASON – Parashat VaYikra Leviticus 1:1-5:26

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTARY by Rabbi Jason Sobel The name of this week’s Torah portion is derived from its opening word vayyiqra, which means “And (God) called (Moses).” In the Torah, the last letter of this word is written with a small aleph – the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet). Why? What does it teach us about Moses specifically, and godly character in general?

A couple of years ago, I had a dream that really illustrates the spiritual significance of the small of aleph in this week’s Torah portion. In the dream, I was tanding on the red carpet at a Hollywood premiere. There were many paparazzi and several large luminescent spotlights lighting up the evening sky. Suddenly all of these intensely bright spotlights were pointed at me, and they completely blinded me. I cried out to have them pointed away from me. Then I heard a heavenly voice say, “If you ever try to shift the light of My glory onto yourself, it will blind you. But if you remain small in your own sight, you will always remain significant in Mine.” Humility is about smallness. It’s about occupying the right amount of space – not too much, which is pride, or too little, which is false pride. Moses understood this truth, which made him one of the greatest spiritual leaders in the Bible. Now let’s take a closer look…

The last letter of the first word of this week’s parasha (“portion”) – vayyiqra – is written with a small aleph as an expression of Moses’ great humility. Tradition tells us that Moses did not want to begin the third book of the Torah with the word vayyiqra, which means “And (God) called (Moses).” He was hesitant because he felt it afforded him too much honor and distinction. He was reluctant to have it recorded for all time that God directly called him alone to be the first person to enter the newly completed Mishkan (Tabernacle), that place which contained the glory of God (Tosafot). As a testimony to Moses’ humility, God allowed him to write the letter aleph in a smaller case. The aleph is the “lead” or “chief” letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The etymological relationship of the letter to aleph to the word aluf, which means “chief” or “leader.” This connection suggests that although Moses was one of Israel’s most significant leaders and regularly spoke with God face-to-face, he never thought of himself as greater than any other Jew, despite numerous suggestions to the contrary. His request to reduce the aleph demonstrates that Moses humbled himself and made himself small in both the sight of God and Israel. It is precisely for this reason that Moses was chosen by God to redeem Israel from Egypt with miraculous signs and transmit the Torah to Israel. As Rabbah states, Hillel used to say: ‘My self-abasement is my exaltation, my self-exaltation is my abasement.’ What is the proof?

1 You find that when the blessed Holy One revealed himself to Moses from the midst of the thorn-bush, Moses hid his face from God, as it is said, And Moses hid his face, etc. (Exodus 3:6). Because of this the blessed Holy One said to him, ‘Come now therefore, and I will send you unto ’ (Exodus 3:10). At the Red Sea he [i.e. Moses] stood aside, and the blessed Holy One said to him, ‘Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it’ (Exodus 14:15), as if to say: ‘If you will not divide it, no one else will divide it.’ At Sinai, as well, Moses stood aside; when God said to him, ‘Come up unto the Lord’ (Exodus 24:1), as if to say: ‘If you will not come up, no one else will come up.’ In the Tent of Meeting he stood aside, but the blessed Holy One said to him: ‘How long will you abase and lower yourself? The hour waits but for you!’ The proof is as follows, out of all the people the divine word called none but Moses, [as it is written], Moses' humility played a huge part in how AND THE LORD CALLED UNTO MOSES. God was able to use him throughout the Bible)

The Torah itself speaks of Moses’ great humility when it says, “Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than anyone on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3).

All of us should follow Moses’ example and strive to be humble people. Humility is necessary for godliness and is a prerequisite for Spirit-empowered leadership. But what does Moses-like humility look like? It means being humble in both thought and deed.

Being humble in thought means 1) not thinking too highly of oneself; 2) not thinking one is especially deserving of praise and honor; 3) esteeming others as greater than oneself (Philippians 2:3). According to Rabbi Moses Chaim Luzzatto (the Ramchal), one cultivates humility of thought by:

1) conducting oneself with lowliness; 2) bearing insults; 3) not desiring positions of authority and fleeing honor; 4) showing honor to all people.

Moses and Yeshua-Jesus embodied the essence of humility in thought, word, and deed. They consistently put others’ needs and honor before their own. Our world needs leaders like this today rather than those who would try to make a name for themselves occupy more space. We need men and women who will say like John the Immerser/Baptist, “He (Yeshua) must increase while I must decrease” (John 3:30).

This is the meaning of the small aleph: greatness comes through smallness! As Messiah Yeshua taught: “Whoever then shall humble himself like this child, this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4). This is the type of leader God will use to transform lives and, like John, prepare the way for the final redemption!

2 NEW TESTAMENT TIE-IN

At the outset of this week’s Torah Portion we come upon a phrase that might seem odd: “a soothing aroma.” Then ’s sons, the kohanim, shall arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat upon the wood that is on the fire which is atop the . But its innards and its legs he is to wash with water. The should burn it all up as smoke on the altar, for a made by fire—a soothing aroma to Adonai. (Leviticus 1:8-9) Aside from a single reference in Genesis after the flood, the only other mention of this “soothing aroma” up to this point was during the consecration of Aaron and his sons in Exodus 29. Suddenly, the Torah mentions this fragrance NINE TIMES in this week’s portion alone! This week’s Portion is filled with instructions for sacrifices, notably those which (among others) were for and guilt. As followers of Yeshua-Jesus, we understand these rituals Kohanim 's priestly arments) to be a type and shadow pointing to our Redeemer, who was “revealed once and for all at the close of the ages—to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

In becoming Christians, we are uniquely joined to Yeshua-Jesus in ways that affect us deeply. As Apostle Paul says, “Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:4-5/NRSV).

Let’s put all of this together… 1. VaYikra repeatedly describes sin sacrifices that are a soothing aroma. 2. Hebrews 9 declares that the death of Yeshua-Jesus was the final sacrifice for sin. 3. Romans 6 insists that in baptism, Christians are united to that death (and resurrection). Like the sacrifices detailed in our reading this week, Jesus has an aroma associated with His death. And because we are united to Him, that aroma is part of who we are. Consider this passage: But thanks be to God, who in Messiah always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us reveals everywhere the aroma of the knowledge of Himself. For we are the aroma of Messiah to God, among those who are being saved and those who are perishing—to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. Who is competent for these things? - 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 We are the “aroma of Messiah”! Chances are, you’ve walked into a home around the holidays and smelled a roast cooking in the oven. You may have even heard it described as “heavenly.” But here’s the key take-away – the aroma of that roast is not the roast itself. You can’t eat a smell. You can’t be nourished by a smell. But the glorious smell lets you know that something has been accomplished in the oven. In the same way, because we’ve been united to Messiah in His death, our very existence as His faithful followers inherently conveys His work to the world.

These sacrifices then, are not tedious rituals we muscle through in a “reading plan.” These texts point to Lamb of God and to those of us whose lives emit the soothing aroma of His sacrifice.

3 BY THE NUMBERS

This week’s Torah portion begins with by saying, “when a man brings an offering” (Lev. 1:3). The Hebrew word which translates “offering” or “sacrifice” is . The Hebrew word korban comes comes from the root word karav which means “to draw near.” Sin distances us from the Lord and the people that we sin against, but a korban (sacrifice) draws us near again. The numerical value of korban also demonstrates this connection between sacrifice and drawing near. The numerical value of the word korban is 352 – the same as kerovim which means "near." For example, consider Deuteronomy 4:7, “For what great nation is there that has so near (kerovim) to them, as Adonai our God is whenever we call on Him?”

But of course, there is more! Yeshua’s biological mother was Mary, Miriam in Hebrew, and in the Greek Marias also has a numerical value of 352. What’s even more amazing is that Mary gave birth to Yeshua in Bethlehem, which has a longitude of 35.2024° E.

The first individuals to recognize Yeshua-Jesus were Levitical shepherds who found Him in one of the caves of Bethlehem - the very place that lambs were birthed. Incredibly, the word for “lamb” in Hebrew lekeves and Greek arnas adds up to 352. Messiah Yeshua was the “Lamb” (352) of God born to “Mary” (352), who offered His life as a korban (352) to atone for our sin so that we might be “brought near” (352)!

(This is a picture of Rabbi Jason teaching in a shepherd's cave in Bethlehem by the Shepherds Fields on our most recent Rock, Road, Rabbi tour of Israel - you're invited to join us and experience this for yourself!

4 THOUGHTS for REFLECTION

Take some time this week to prayerfully consider and discuss with friends: § Can you identify 2-3 areas of your life in which you could “take up less space”? How would your relationships look different if Yeshua-Jesus increased in you? If there has been anyone under your leadership whose needs you’ve neglected, ask the Spirit for wisdom and courage to restore that relationship. § Begin each morning by reading Paul’s words from 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 and then pray, “Lord, I thank you for uniting me to Yourself. Remind me throughout this day that I am your fragrance – with my family, my co-workers, and my friends. Give me the grace to bring a soothing aroma to people living in fear. .”

רפ ש ת וצ / NEXT WEEK’S READINGS: Leviticus 6:8-8:36 – Parashat TORAH Sunday: 6:8-18 Monday: 6:19-7:10 Tuesday: 7:11-38 Wednesday: 8:1-13 Thursday: 8:14-21 Friday: 8:22-29 Saturday: 8:30-36

PROPHETS Jeremiah 7:21-8:3; 9:22-9:23

NEW COVENANT Matthew 9:10-17