Acharei Mot/Kedoshim - Day #7

ACHAREI MOT/KEDOSHIM  

Torah Portion: Leviticus 16:1 - 20:27

Haftarah: Ezekiel 22:1-19

Shabbat: Leviticus 20:8-27

20:8 You shall keep My statutes, and do them. I am Hashem, who sanctifies you.

9 “‘For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon himself.

10 “‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, even he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

11 “‘The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon themselves.

12 “‘If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed a perversion. Their blood shall be upon themselves.

13 “‘If a man lies with a male, as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon themselves.

14 “‘If a man takes a wife and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you.

15 “‘If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death; and you shall kill the animal.

16 “‘If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.

17 “‘If a man takes his sister—his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter—and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a shameful thing. They shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his iniquity.

18 “‘If a man lies with a woman having her monthly period, and uncovers her nakedness, he has made her fountain naked, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people.

19 “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, nor of your father’s sister, for he has made his close relative naked. They shall bear their iniquity. 20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness. They shall bear their sin. They shall die childless.

21 “‘If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is an impurity. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They shall be childless.

22 “‘You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My ordinances, and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. 23 You shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. 24 But I have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I Hashem your Elohim, who has separated you from the peoples.

25 “‘You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the clean. You shall not make yourselves abominable by animal, or by bird, or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have separated from you as unclean for you. 26 You shall be holy to me, for I, Hashem, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be Mine.

27 “‘A man or a woman that is a medium or is a wizard shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones. Their blood shall be upon themselves.’”

Today’s Meditation:

Hashem gives us commands to improve our lives, not to burden us. We ought to count it a joy to be able to love and serve Hashem through His Word and directions. In verse 23, He tells us, “You shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I am casting out before you…”. There is an apparent reason for this command. There is an old saying: “You are who you hang with.” And this is so true. If you have drinking buddies, you drink. If you hang around people who smoke, you will likely be smoking. If they party, you will join them. But if you associate with people who love and fear Elohim, who encourage you through prayer and actions, you will become like them. We must have friends and family who love Hashem, read Scripture, and understand the importance of adhering to the Torah. This will lead toward growth and a better relationship with the Father. Take time to reflect on this and who you are walking with. It could change your life and the lives of those around you.

Today’s Challenge:

The first verse today (20:8) ‘You shall keep My statutes, and do them. I am Hashem who sanctifies you.’ clearly instructs us that we must keep Torah and DO Torah. Why? Because He makes us holy, He sanctifies us. By following and doing Torah, He makes us holy. Without the Torah, we are like lost in a storm. The world is becoming darker and more challenging. Torah is light and easy. It is a complete joy to communicate with Adonai and follow Him. Which path are you choosing today? I challenge you to choose Elohim.

This Week’s Haftarah: Ezekiel 22:1-19

22:1 Moreover, Hashem’s word came to me, saying, 2 “You, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations. 3 You shall say, ‘Adonai Hashem says: “A city that sheds blood within herself, that her time may come, and that makes idols against herself to defile her! 4 You have become guilty in your blood that you have shed, and are defiled in your idols which you have made! You have caused your days to draw near, and have come even to your years. Therefore, I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mocking to all the countries. 5 Those who are near, and those who are far from you, will mock you, you infamous one, full of tumult.

6 “‘“Behold, the princes of Israel, everyone according to his power, have been in you to shed blood. 7 In you, they have treated father and mother with contempt. Among you, they have oppressed the foreigner. In you, they have wronged the fatherless and the widow. 8 You have despised My holy things, and have profaned My Sabbaths. 9 Slanderous men have been in you to shed blood. In you they have eaten on the mountains. They have committed lewdness among you. 10 In you have they uncovered their fathers’ nakedness. In you have they humbled her who was unclean in her impurity. 11 One has committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife; and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law. Another in you has humbled his sister, his father’s daughter. 12 In you have they taken bribes to shed blood. You have taken interest and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by oppression, and have forgotten Me,” says Adonai Hashem.

13 “‘“Behold, therefore I have struck My hand at your dishonest gain which you have made, and at your blood which has been within you. 14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I will deal with you? I, Hashem, have spoken it, and will do it. 15 I will scatter you among the nations, and disperse you through the countries. I will consume your filthiness out of you. 16 You will be profaned in yourself, in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am Hashem.”’”

17 Hashem’s word came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the middle of the furnace. They are the dross of silver. 19 Therefore Adonai Hashem says: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the middle of Jerusalem.’

Today’s Haftarah Meditation:

In Ezekiel’s verses, we read about the breaking of all the commandments we read in Torah today. It’s like Hashem is saying, “I gave you instructions, and you are not following a single one of them!” Just like a parent talking to a child. “I told you to clean your room, and you have not lifted a finger!” We know this: sin separates us from a relationship with Hashem. Don’t you just know it? When I sin, it’s like I can feel Hashem walking out of the room with disappointment. And the closer I get to Him, the more I think it. We should wake up every day and ask Him for help. Help to stay clean and righteous. Help to focus on Him and worship only Him.

Today’s Haftarah Challenge:

In verse 12, Hashem reminds us that we “have forgotten Him”. Does this break your heart? It must break His heart. He created us out of love, and then we turn our backs on Him? How horribly, horribly sad.  My challenge today is to look closely at your life. Do you remember Hashem during the day and night, or do you disregard His commandments and worship false idols? Are you walking with Him or walking with others? Let us try hard to return to His path.

Acharei Mot/Kedoshim - Day #6

ACHAREI MOT/KEDOSHIM  

Torah Portion: Leviticus 16:1 - 20:27

Leviticus 19:33-20:7 

19:33 “‘If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Hashem, your Elohim.

35 “‘You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin. I am Adonai, your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37 “‘You shall observe all My statutes and all My ordinances, and do them. I am Hashem.’”

20:1 Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Moreover, you shall tell the children of Israel, ‘Anyone of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners in Israel, who gives any of his offspring to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone that person with stones. 3 I also will set My face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given of his offspring to Molech, to defile My sanctuary, and to profane My holy name. 4 If the people of the land all hide their eyes from that person when he gives of his offspring to Molech, and don’t put him to death, 5 then I will set My face against that man and against his family, and will cut him off, and all who play the prostitute after him to play the prostitute with Molech, from among their people.

6 “‘The person that turns to those who are mediums and wizards, to play the prostitute after them, I will even set My face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people.

7 “‘Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am Adonai your Elohim.

Today’s Meditation:

Verse 20:3 contains the declaration that if you are offering your offspring to Molech, you are "Profaning My holy name." People would give their children, mostly babies, as an offering to a god that didn't even exist.  Hashem says that in doing this, you are profaning His holy name. Why? Because He created your offspring, they came from Him. And now you are giving them away, totally away to a foreign idol. How insulting and horrible. Unspeakable is this action. 

And yet today we are doing the same. We offer our preborn babies to the idols of selfishness during an abortion. I know this is hard to hear, but consider this. We are taking what Hashem has created and killing him/her and destroying His creation. But here is the good part.  We can repent and teshuvah. We can ask forgiveness, and He will forgive us. He has grace for all of us. If we have had an abortion, we need to ask Him to forgive us.

Today’s Challenge:

Verse 20:6 is about not following wizards – once again. Hashem does not like playing around with magic. It is brought up several times throughout Scripture. The Land they were entering was full of people and cultures that practiced sorcery. Hashem wanted His people to know this was not acceptable. Look at your life and think about what you do that is not acceptable to Hashem. Stop doing it and teshuvah. Turn around to do good. We must become more sensitive to disobedient ways and to what Hashem requires of us.

Acherei Mot/Kedoshim - Day #5

ACHAREI MOT/KEDOSHIM  

Torah Portion: Leviticus 16:1 - 20:27

Leviticus 19:15-32 

19:15 “‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great, but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.

16 “‘You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people.

“‘You shall not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am Hashem.

17 “‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.

18 “‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Hashem.

19 “‘You shall keep My statutes.

“‘You shall not cross-breed different kinds of animals.

“‘You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed;

“‘Don’t wear a garment made of two kinds of material.

20 “‘If a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave girl, pledged to be married to another man, and not ransomed or given her freedom; they shall be punished. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 21 He shall bring his trespass offering to Hashem, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, even a ram for a trespass offering. 22 The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before Hashem for his sin which he has committed; and the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him.

23 “‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. For three years, it shall be forbidden to you. It shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, for giving praise to Hashem. 25 In the fifth year, you shall eat its fruit, that it may yield its increase to you. I am Hashem, your Elohim.

26 “‘You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it. You shall not use enchantments, nor practice sorcery.

27 “‘You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your head or clip off the edge of your beard.

28 “‘You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am Hashem.

29 “‘Don’t profane your daughter, to make her a prostitute; lest the land fall to prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness.

30 “‘You shall keep My Sabbaths, and reverence My sanctuary; I am Hashem.

31 “‘Don’t turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don’t seek them out to be defiled by them. I am Hashem, your Elohim.

32 “‘You shall rise up before the gray head and honor the face of the elderly; and you shall fear your Elohim. I am Hashem.

Today’s Meditation:

In verse 28, we are told not to get tattoos. What part of this Commandment do we not understand? It’s so interesting that when we disobey a Commandment (believe I have done this too), we justify our actions. Maybe you think Hashem is talking about tattoos to false gods, or this was a different culture, or a different time. But if we take His Word at face value, we see that we are not to mark our skin at all. He says no to this. So, tattoos are wrong; they are a disobedience to a commandment. If you have tattoos, it may be time to repent and make restitution. If you are considering getting one, please take this commandment literally and refrain from getting one.

Today’s Challenge:

Here is a considerable challenge, one that I often face because I have small grandchildren. In verse 31, we are told not to seek or be defiled by mediums and wizards. Well, if you turn on kids' TV, you will find almost every station has magic, witches, fairies, and all sorts of wizardry. If we watch this or even play-act with magic, aren’t we entertaining wizards and mediums? I will usually justify it to myself, telling myself, “It is only make-believe.” However, we are dodging an important commandment and influencing our children again. Lately, I have been telling my grandkids, “Bubbie does not like magic.” And I will say we can do special things instead. Torah is strict about teaching our children the Truth. Time to change. I know it’s hard. But separation from Hashem is even harder; it’s unbearable.