Previously posted ...
Besiegement of Our Confederacy Flag - 'debate' Rages on !!!
http://conpats.blogspot.com/
In God We Trust
In God They Abominate
Overthrow the Judicial Dictatorship
by Cliff Kincaid
Commentators have missed the real significance of Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissent
in the gay marriage case. He calls the decision a judicial “Putsch,” an attempt to
overthrow a form of government—ours. His dissent, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas,
was written “to call attention to this Court’s threat to American democracy.” [...]
http://canadafreepress.com/
What a time for a parasha such as this ...
Welcome to Chukat (Decree), this week’s Torah portion that will be read in
synagogues all around the world this Shabbat (Saturday).
We know you will be blessed as you study Chukat along with us. Enjoy !
“This is a requirement [חֻקַּ֣ת / Chukat / statute] of the law [Torah] that the LORD
has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer [parah adumah].”
(Numbers 19:2)
Last week in Parasha Korach, the Levite Korach incited mutiny against Moses.
He and 250 chieftains of Israel questioned the anointed position of Moses as
leader and Aaron as high priest.
This week’s Torah portion, called Parasha Chukat, presents the ritual laws of
the Parah Adumah (פָרָה אֲדֻמָּה / Red Heifer) and the deaths of Aaron and the
prophetess Miriam, Moses and Aaron's sister.
The Bridge from Impurity to Purity
To purify the Temple vessels and priest, the chosen red heifer
(a young female cow that has not yet borne a calf) was to be blemish and
defect free. It also must never have borne a yoke. [...]
You can view this Parasha on our website complete with embedded links ...
Chukat: Miriam and the Bridge From Impurity to Purity
http://free.messianicbible.
Additional and excellent ...
http://free.messianicbible.
http://free.messianicbible.
Parasha Reading Schedule 5775
http://free.messianicbible.
THE SHABBAT CANDLE BLESSING
Jewish people around the world mark
this day by the candle lighting and blessing:
"Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe,
who has sanctified us with His commandments, and
commanded us to kindle the light of the Holy Shabbat."
http://lp.eteacherhebrew.com/
✡ ✡ ✡
Yavoh ~ He is coming !
Yahweh - Yeshua - Ruach Ha-Kodesh
Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה
BREAKING NEWS FROM ISRAEL
Minute by minute updates here ...
Watching for Yeshua Ha-Mashiach
http://www.kolbonews.com/
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http://www.ynetnews.com/home/
http://www.jewishworldreview.
http://www.israpundit.org/
http://www.voiceofisrael.com/
http://www.defendingzion.org/
http://www.breakingisraelnews.
http://pamelageller.com/
http://www.jihadwatch.org/
http://www.joyofkosher.com/
http://prophecyupdate.
http://www.prophecynewswatch.
http://prophecynewsdaily.com
http://www.itshallcometopass.
http://hummingbird027.com/
http://pawcreek.org/
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/
http://free.messianicbible.
Entire Media News on this Planet
click continue to use PressDisplay.com
http://www.pressdisplay.com/
Mazal Tov - מזל טוב
Beloved Jamie writes ...
So some of you may have noticed in the recent videos that I look quite a bit rounder and am standing
a bit further from the counter... and some of you have even inquired... and so the answer is YES we are
expecting our first sabra in a few weeks, G-d Willing!!! I am always receiving so many amazing comments,
messages and emails from you all filled with blessings and inspiration and words of support and encouragement
that I thought it would be really special to really include you in the exciting next few weeks. On the Jamie Geller
Instagram https://instagram.com/jamie_
some guessing games about the birthday, weight, eye color and other fun details. You can leave your guesses
in the comments and check back daily for updates. I'll even choose one of you to give a cookbook to after
the baby is born, b'shaah tova/at the right time!!! It's so incredible to share this together with you.
May we only hear good news from one another and only always share in simchas/happy occasions !!!
Pumpkin Seed Brittle
http://www.joyofkosher.com/
Fried Brussels Sprouts with Lentils
http://www.joyofkosher.com/
Sauteed Sugar Snap Peas
http://www.joyofkosher.com/
Mango Strawberry Soup
http://www.joyofkosher.com/
Pepper Crusted Tuna on Arugula, Fennel and Orange Berry Salad
http://www.joyofkosher.com/
Salmon Cakes with Tropical Fruit Salsa
http://www.joyofkosher.com/
9 Burgers 9 Ways with 8 Homemade Condiments *Giveaway*
http://www.joyofkosher.com/
Joy of Kosher w Jamie Geller
http://www.joyofkosher.com/
http://joyofkosher.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/
new Jamie Geller YOUTUBE Channel
https://www.youtube.com/
Jamie Geller EnJOY Life ! Instagram
https://instagram.com/jamie_
Join Jamie on the Pin
https://www.pinterest.com/
Verily, Beloveds, I can scarcely take this all in while here on
the Lord's Earth, when we are all finally home, please, do
stop by to see Jamie and those beloveds within her given house ...
Beautiful ... http://luvaton.com/
“National Raise Your Battle Flag Day”, SUNDAY, JUNE 28th !
Fly a Confederate flag, take a photo and post on FaceBook,
Twitter, Instagram…across social media, with the hashtag
#RaiseYourBattleFlag, and post the photos to our FB page
Susan Hathaway
Va Flaggers
http://www.vaflaggers.com/
Southern Heritage News & Views
http://www.facebook.com/
https://www.facebook.com/
http://www.deovindice.org/
Deo Vindice
Under God, our Vindicator
[><]
English Common Law (Anlgo-American Common Law) functions in violation
of natural law, which is observed and oral, not written.
http://www.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Matthew 16:25 KJV
Shabbat Shalom - Parasha Chukat (Decree)
- Bridge from Impurity to Purity !!!
Shabbat
shalom,
Welcome to Chukat
(Decree), this week’s Torah portion that will be read
in synagogues all around the world this Shabbat (Saturday).
We know you will be blessed as you study Chukat along with
us. Enjoy!
CHUKAT (Statute or
Decree)
Numbers 19:1–22:1; Judges 11:1–33;
Hebrews 9:1–28
“This is a requirement [חֻקַּ֣ת / Chukat /
statute] of the law [Torah] that the LORD
has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer [parah adumah].”
(Numbers 19:2)
Last week in Parasha Korach, the Levite Korach incited
mutiny against Moses. He and 250 chieftains of Israel
questioned the anointed position of Moses as leader and Aaron
as high priest.
This week’s Torah portion, called Parasha Chukat, presents
the ritual laws of the Parah
Adumah (פָרָה אֲדֻמָּה / Red Heifer) and
the deaths of Aaron and the prophetess Miriam, Moses and
Aaron's sister.
Red cows (Photo by James Martin)
The Bridge from
Impurity to Purity
To purify the Temple vessels and priest, the
chosen red heifer (a young female cow that has not yet borne
a calf) was to be blemish and defect free. It also must
never have borne a yoke.
It would be slaughtered under the supervision of the
Jewish Priest (Cohen), who would then sprinkle its blood seven
times toward the Tabernacle. Its body would be burned outside
the camp and its ashes used to create the waters of
purification.
The waters of
purification are necessary to ritually cleanse those who
had been contaminated by death through contact with a
corpse, bone, or grave. Once purified, they could enter
the Tabernacle to draw near to the Living God.
In Hebrew, the concepts of clean and unclean or pure (tahor)
and impure (tamei)
are akin to an insider and an outsider. Only those who were
tahor (clean / pure) could enter the dwelling place of God’s
presence.
Those who were deemed tamei (unclean / defiled) would be
kept outside and, if not purified, would be cut off from
Israel—for example, lepers.
A 13-year-old Jewish teen carries the Torah scroll at the Western
(Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem.
In addition to the ashes of the Parah Adumah in the waters
of purification, three other elements were added: hyssop,
cedar wood, and scarlet thread.
These elements were all used in the building of
the sanctuary. The hyssop was used by the priests
for sprinkling the blood, the cedar wood was used for the
posts, and the scarlet thread was used in the curtains.
Though this mysterious mixing—the sacred elements combined
with the ashes of the heifer—death and life would come
together in order to bring forth cleansing and purification,
which would allow a person to cross the bridge from tamei to
tahor.
The Brit Chadashah
(New Testament) also speaks of the ashes of the Parah
Adumah, promising that the blood of the Messiah has
greater power to cleanse our conscience from dead works to
serve the Living God:
“For
if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer,
sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the
flesh, how much more shall the blood of Messiah, who through
the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God,
cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the Living
God?” (Hebrews 9:13–14)
A father and his children refresh themselves at the Ein Gedi oasis,
which is near Masada and the Dead Sea.
Miriam Perishes in
the Wilderness
“Then the children of
Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of
Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and
Miriam died there and was buried there.”
(Numbers 20:1)
(Numbers 20:1)
Besides the symbolism of life and death in the
waters of purification, this week’s Parasha also
provides some details of the death of Moses and Aaron's
sister, Miriam, in the Wilderness of Zin.
Her death occurs
about one year before the Israelites enter the Promised
Land, and it is also connected to water.
The last time we read about Miriam, she had been stricken
with tzara’at (leprosy)
as a punishment for speaking against Moses’ choice of a
Cushite (Ethiopian) wife.
The tzara’at caused her to become tamei (defiled /
impure), and she was exiled from the camp for the required
period of seven days after “Moses
cried out to the LORD, ‘Please, God, heal her!’”
(Numbers 12:13)
(Numbers 12:13)
Miriam lived many years after this, healed of her leprosy,
and apparently never again allowed pride and arrogance to
cause her to speak against the leadership of Moses.
Jocheved, Miriam, and Moses (illustration from the
1897 Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us by
Charles Foster)
Miriam had played an important role in the
prophetic fulfillment of God’s promise to bring Israel out
of Egypt, and two of the biggest highlights involve water.
She was the one who carefully watched over baby Moses as
he floated down the Nile River in a basket. She bravely
intervened and offered her mother's services as a wet nurse
when Pharaoh’s daughter rescued him.
Miriam led the procession of women singing, dancing, and
rejoicing with tambourines after God safely led the Israelites
through the waters of the Red Sea on dry land while drowning
the pursuing Egyptians army.
Although Miriam was considered a leader and prophetess,
her death is mentioned only briefly in the Scriptures. No
mention is made of the usual mourning period. So while
rabbinic commentary suggests that Moses and Aaron buried her
in the middle of the night (Yalkut Shimoni Mas’ei 787), it
seems that Moses and the people did not mourn her properly.
After Miriam’s
death, the people thirsted for water and complained, yet
again:
“Why did you bring us up out
of Egypt to bring us to this terrible place, a seedless
place without a fig or a vine or a pomegranate, without even
water to drink?” (Numbers 20:5)
Since a vine can represent a mother at home with her
children, like little shoots all around her table, some
commentaries believe that the people who complained were
mourning the loss of Miriam, who was like a mother to the
Israelites, especially the women and children. If so, they
were misdirecting their anguish. (Psalm 128:3)
A mother pushes her infant in a stroller on a street in Jerusalem.
The Well of Miriam
According to Jewish tradition, a water-bearing
rock followed the Israelites in the wilderness, but dried
up and disappeared at Miriam’s death, and 1
Corinthians 10:1–4 is seen by some to confirm this
rock:
“For
I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our
fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through
the sea; and all were mikvahed [baptized] into Moses in
the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual
food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they
were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them;
and the rock was Messiah.”
This rock is
called the Well of Miriam because the water that flowed
for the Israelites from it was based on her merit.
One Jewish Midrash fills in the gaps found in this
tersely written Bible account of her death with the
following story:
“Miriam died, and the well
was taken away so that Israel would recognize that it was
through her merit that they had had the well. Moses and
Aaron were weeping inside, and (the Children of) Israel were
weeping outside, and for six hours Moses did not know (that
the well was gone), until (the Children of) Israel entered
and said to him: For how long will you sit and cry?
"He said to them: Should I
not cry for my sister who has died? They said to him:
While you are crying for one person, cry for all of us! He
said to them: Why? They said to him: We have no water to
drink. He got up from the ground and went out and saw the
well without a drop of water (in it). He began to argue
with them....” (Otzar Midrashim)
This elaborately decorated Aron HaKoshesh
(Torah ark) houses and protects the Torah scrolls.
Whether a rock followed them, providing water, or Adonai
gave them water wherever they went through other means, He
showed mercy for their thirst, telling Moses to speak to the
rock to bring forth water.
Nevertheless, before following through on God’s command
to give them water, Moses responded in anger to their
complaining, or perhaps anger at Adonai for Miriam’s death,
saying, “Listen, you rebels,
shall we get water for you out of this rock?”
(Numbers 20:10)
(Numbers 20:10)
There is a play on words in this verse. The Hebrew word
for rebels (morim מרים) is
spelled the same as the name Miriam
(מרים) in Hebrew.
It seems that Moses is thinking of his sister
Miriam and had not yet properly mourned. He may
have misdirected his anger about her death toward the
people.
In his anger or
frustration, Moses struck the rock twice and water
gushed out giving the people water to drink—but God had
told Moses to speak to the rock, not to strike it.
Moses failed to model obedience at a time when all of
Israel was looking to him for leadership.
Therefore, the name of the water was called Meribah (which
means to argue, strive
or contend).
“Those were the waters of
Meribah, because the sons of Israel contended with the
LORD, and He proved Himself holy among them.” (Numbers
20:13)
This word, Meribah, can also be connected to Miriam. It
can be read Meri-bah,
which means Miri[yam] is in it—that
is, Miriam is in the waters of contention.
Although Miriam’s name means bitterness, it can also be
read Miri–yam
(Miri of the sea). So, in yet another way, this
"woman of the sea" is connected to the waters flowing out of
the rock after her death.
Children play in a Tel Aviv fountain.
Tending to Our
Emotions
Although Moses never mentioned Miriam again after her
death and although she seemed to have been buried quickly,
without great public ceremony, the memory of her
was irrepressible.
Like Moses’ anger that caused him to disobey God and
strike the rock, what
we repress instead of deal with ultimately demands
attention. And it might be expressed in ways not
pleasing to God. For instance, we must
take the time to properly come to terms with our feelings of
loss.
We must take the time to grieve, just as the people did
at the end of this Torah reading for Aaron—six months after
the death of Miriam.
Perhaps Moses did not take the time or did not have the
luxury of that time because of his role as leader or because
the people were thirsty.
Furthermore, it seems that Moses might not have brought
his pain and disappointment to the Lord. In not doing so,
he missed an opportunity to model his trust and faith in
God’s love. Instead he raged and disobeyed God.
If Moses cannot model faith during such times of loss,
then it is only natural that many of us will suspect that we
cannot. But we can and must.
We can bring to Him our deepest pain, our darkest
despair, and our broken hearts. He will cleanse us
spiritually from our contact with loss and death and He will
heal us.
May we likewise be healers, allowing rivers of living
water to flow freely out of our inner being to help bring
people back into a restored relationship with Adonai through
the purification we experience in Yeshua HaMashiach.
You can impact Eternity by helping Bibles For Israel
bring the Living Waters of Yeshua to Israel.
"Hear the word of the
LORD, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: 'He
who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over
His flock like a shepherd." (Jeremiah 31:10)
"You will again
have compassion on us; You will tread our sins
underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of
the sea." (Micah 7:19)
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