[00:00:00] Speaker A: A juicy bacon cheeseburger. I thought that might get your attention. In Mark, chapter seven, Yeshua and his disciples are confronted by some of the religious leaders of his day regarding food. In this confrontation, Yeshua seems to turn the table on the Torah's dietary commandments. He told his disciples, do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him? This section concludes with a statement. Thus, he declared all foods clean. Does this mean that he repealed the Torah's dietary laws and that observance of these commandments is legalistic and diametrically opposed to the freedom Yeshua has given to his disciples? Or is there something going on here that we may not understand? Let's take a deep dive into this topic in this week's five minute Torah.
Welcome back, Shalomis. It's great to be back with you here for another five minute Torah episode. Before we continue, heres a brief overview of this weeks Torah reading. This week were studying the Torah portion of Shemini Leviticus 91147 and here are the three things you need to know about it. One Tahara vetuma, spiritual purity and impurity in the Torah portion of shamini, the laws of purity and impurity hold a central place delineating the Israelites relationship with God and guiding their communal life. These laws focus on ritual purity and ritual defilement symbolize the separation between holiness and impurity. Various scenarios such as contact with certain animals, bodily emissions, or corpses, render individuals or objects ritually impure. Adherence to these laws demonstrated Israels commitment to living according to gods standards and maintaining their status as a sanctified people. Practically, the regulations of purity and impurity govern participation in communal worship and activities, requiring purification rituals before engaging in sacred rites or entering the tabernacle. Additionally, these laws foster communal responsibility and accountability as impurity can be transmitted through contact. Thus, the Israelites were encouraged to be mindful of their actions, promoting collective sanctification and unity within the community. Overall, the topic of purity and impurity highlights the importance of spiritual cleanliness, reverence for gods holiness, and communal accountability in Israels journey of maintaining their covenant relationship with God. Number two Nadav and Avihu the death of Aarons sons this week we read of the tragic death of Aarons two sons, Nadav and Avihu. Their tragic demise serves as a sobering reminder of the seriousness of approaching God with reverence and following his commandments precisely. Their unauthorized offering of fire before the Lord resulted in swift judgment, highlighting the need for obedience and respect for God's holiness. This event also underscores the weight of the priestly office and the consequences of deviating from prescribed rituals. As the Lord told Aaron through Moses, among those who are near me, I will be sanctified. This is Leviticus 1013. While it's a solemn moment, it reinforces the importance of adhering to the details of God's instructions and and respecting the sanctity of his presence. The closer you get to an all consuming fire, the greater your chances of getting burnt through carelessness. And number three, health or holiness. To eat or not to eat. Leviticus eleven details the dietary laws that govern what foods are considered fit or unfit for consumption. These dietary laws are primarily concerned with ritual purity and obedience to God's commandments and have no direct connection to health and hygiene. As many teach, these laws serve to distinguish the Israelites from other nations and to promote spiritual purity rather than physical well being. The classification of animals as clean or unclean was based on unknown spiritual criteria rather than scientific or health related considerations. Adhering to these dietary laws was a way for Israel to demonstrate their obedience to God and their commitment to maintaining spiritual purity rather than being relegated to the ancient past. These laws still apply as much today as the day these commandments were given. To eat or not to eat. That's the question. Once again, I want to invite you to join Shalom Macon online this Saturday. If you enjoy great teaching coupled with an amazing community, Shalom Macon is the place to be. Our services are every Saturday at 09:00 a.m. And 11:00 a.m.. Eastern. Our 09:00 a.m. Service is liturgy and tourist service and our 11:00 a.m. Service is our contemporary service with music and teaching. You can also connect with us on our
[email protected]. Dot we look forward to seeing you this shabbat at Shalom Makin. It's the place to learn, connect and grow. We'll see you there. This week's Torah commentary is called Want bacon with that and comes from my book five minute Torah. Volume two, Parashat Shamini, contains the primary passages in the Torah that spell out the laws of kashrut, laws pertaining to clean and unclean foods. Its entirely in regard to animals. It defines which animals may or may not be eaten by the children of Israel. Many modern day readers quickly dismiss these laws as antiquated, irrelevant, and having been repealed in the New Testament. However, these attitudes do not reflect those of yeshua or the apostles. Lets briefly review what the Torah says about food and then lets look at the implications for us today, the Torah begins its food laws with land animals. In order for a land animal to be fit for consumption, it needs to have a completely split hoof and to chew the cud.
The Torah gives the examples of the hare, who chews the cud but does not have split hooves, and the pig, who has split hooves but does not chew the cud. Animals such as these are off limits. Water dwelling creatures, however, have other criteria. They have to have both fins and scales. So, for example, catfish are off limits. Although they have fins, they do not have scales. Other water dwelling animals off limits are things like shrimp, lobster, crab, sharks, eels, shellfish, etcetera. Winged creatures, on the other hand, have no classification per se. The Torah simply gives a list of winged creatures that may not be eaten. And to complicate matters, many of the creatures listed in the original Hebrew cannot be identified with absolute certainty. Therefore, oral tradition plays a large part in determining what kinds of fowl are considered permissible or not. But what is the purpose of all of this? Does God just want to keep his people from enjoying great tasting food like lobster tail, shrimp scampi, or crispy bacon? That's not the case at all. We serve a loving God who wants the best for us, but sometimes the best simply means obedience. Without understanding, our sages classify the Torah's dietary laws as statutes. The general consensus is that chokim were given for reasons higher than humans can fully comprehend. Many people believe that the Torah's dietary laws were given entirely for health reasons. For instance, they believed pork was prohibited because of the potential health risks due to parasites and lack of refrigeration. Another belief is that water dwelling creatures that are not on the menu are things like bottom feeders because they clean the floors of our oceans and rivers. But this theory doesnt hold water, pun intended. For instance, carp is a bottom feeder, but it has both fins and scales and is therefore considered a kosher fish. Another belief is that fowl are considered kosher based on whether or not they are scavengers. According to this theory, kosher birds are not scavengers. However, chickens are a definite exception to this rule. They are scavengers, albeit not exclusively. But they are considered a kosher species of fowl. So whats the real reason God is interested in controlling what his people eat? The honest answer is that we will probably never know. In this life, however, we can see some immediate benefits from a kosher diet. First, it provides a standard to which a spiritual community must adhere, which thereby creates boundaries of fellowship. Others can be brought into that fellowship and raised to that standard, but to lower ones. Kosher observance breaks the bonds of sacred fellowship. Second, it means that we must examine everything that goes into our mouths, which implies that we should also examine all that comes out of our mouths as well. Once the disciples of the Baal Shem Tov were sent on a spiritual quest to an unknown destination, they stopped at a jewish inn for food and lodging. As their meal was served, they inquired about the meat. They asked an unending number of questions to ensure that the food was up to their level of kashrut. As they were well into their barrage of questions, a poor beggar in the corner of the room spoke up, I see that you are scrupulous about what you eat, but are you as careful with what comes out of your mouth as you are with what enters into it? The disciples realized the lesson they were supposed to learn that day. Our master Yeshua taught his disciples something very similar when dealing with the issue of eating bread with unwashed hands. Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him? What comes out of a person is what defiles him. Mark 718 and 20 neither of these examples dealt with the issue of unclean meats, and therefore we can't superimpose a modern interpretation on them by our misunderstanding of the concluding statement, which most translations render as thus he declared all foods clean. This is verse 19. Both of these situations were in regard to foods that were permissible, but there was a question of whether or not their kosher status had been disqualified by external matters. Neither Yeshua nor his disciples ever claimed the Torahs dietary laws were repealed or negated they simply used them to teach us deeper spiritual lessons. The TLV translation understands this properly and therefore translates this phrase to retain its true meaning. It says, don't you grasp that whatever goes into the man cannot make him unholy? For it does not enter into the heart but into the stomach, and then goes out into the sewer, cleansing all foods. Mark 718 19 again, Yeshua wasn't engaged in an argument about whether or not his disciples could start eating bacon. His point was that even if a person is maintaining the most strict adherence to ritual purity, yet using their words to destroy others, their religious zeal is merely a noisy gong or a clanging symbol, and they gain nothing from it. So the next time youre asked, want bacon? With that? Maybe youll think about the larger implications of your snarky response and remember the words of our master telling us that what comes out of our mouth is more important than most of the things that go into it. If you're looking for a messianic haggadah for your Passover seder, please consider my resource the cup of redemption, available on Amazon. Speaking of Passover, it's always great to review the events leading up to Yeshua's crucifixion and resurrection around this time of the year. We have four counts of these events in the gospels, but when we compare them, something doesn't quite add up. If you want to understand how to reconcile the gospel narratives of the passion week within a jewish framework, then check out our series called the crucifixion contradiction. It will have your brain spinning in no time, but it will also help you defend your faith against the naysayers who use these contradictions within the gospels to cast doubt on their reliability. You can check it out using the link above or at the end of this video. I'll see you next week for another messianic insight into the eternal Torah of God. Blessings from Shalom Macon, the place where disciples of Yeshua learn, connect, and grow.
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