Yahweh: "They shall teach My
people to distinguish between the holy and the common" (Ezekiel 44:23).
Righteousness relates to
acts of God or man. Yahweh is righteous. The “Righteous acts of Yahweh” are
spoken of in 1 Samuel 12:7, Daniel 9:16, Micah 6:5, and Revelation 15:4. His
judgments are righteous. He is not subject to our judgments – He holds all
rights. The “Righteous acts of the saints” are mentioned in Revelation 19:8. The
righteousness of a man relates to tzedaqah - deeds of obedience to God’s
instructions. Righteousness does not apply to animals or inanimate objects.
Holiness is distinct from
righteousness. Holiness relates to men or objects that are dedicated/consecrated
to God’s service. God may dedicate things to Himself, such as people, places,
times, or objects. When God sanctifies something, we must “remember to keep it
holy." Man may dedicate things to God, such as buildings, animals or money.
These things then become holy/sacred/sanctified. ”Using them for a common
purpose would be profaning the holy.
The Nazir (Nazirite)
Yeshua was
called a Nazarene, because He grew up in Nazareth; He was not called a Nazirite.
John the baptizer was called a Nazirite. Therefore it is written, “For John
came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man
came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a
drunkard, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by
her deeds” – Matthew 11:18-19.
“If a man
or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to
Yahweh . . .”
This is
normally a voluntary status, of dedication to holiness, for a specified period
of time (v.5) – a minimum being thirty days. It includes three restrictions:
abstaining from all grape products, no cutting of hair, and no dealing with a
human corpse.
Verse 2 may be
translated as a desire to separate oneself, or to do something astounding. One
purpose of such a vow is to separate oneself from worldly temptations, and thus
relates to the previous paragraph’s concern with occasion for adultery (see
previous week’s commentary). Another purpose may be to do something beyond the
usual, in serving God.
Abstaining
from grape products is seen as separation from intoxicating wine, including
anything associated with it. The uncut hair is called “the crown of his God”
(v.7), being a sign of devotion. Like the high priest (Lev. 21:11), he must
maintain purity, not being allowed even to bury a dead parent. If contamination
is accidentally or carelessly caused, the period of the vow must be started over
when the seven days of purification are ended.
A metzora
(see Year 2 – commentary #35), after being cleansed from impurity, is
accompanied to the priest by another (Lev. 14:2), presumably of higher sanctity.
But, the Nazirite, at the conclusion of the period of his vow, must “bring
himself” (v.13) to the priest: he is presumably in a heightened state of
sanctity.
He must bring
a sin offering, a peace offering, and a thanksgiving offering. It is taught that
the sin offering is required because of the decision to return to temporal
pursuits. The peace offering symbolizes the contentment and joy of having been
allowed to fulfill a period of devotion, and the loaves are in thanksgiving to
God for the same.
After this
service, the Nazirite’s hair is cut. He is still called a Nazirite (v.20),
because he is to retain the spiritual gain from the dedication period.
This story was
heard on the radio this week: A certain man was having a talk with his
daughter’s prospective husband. The father asked: “What is your profession?” The
young man responded, “I study the Word.” The father asked: “How do you plan to
support my daughter?” The response was, “I will study, and God will provide.”
The father asked: “How are you going to buy a ring for my daughter?” The
response was, “God will provide the ring.” The father asked: “When children are
born, how will you support them?” The young man answered, “I will study, and God
will provide.” And so the conversation went. Later, the father was relating the
situation to his wife: “He has no job, and he has no plans for one; but the good
news is, he thinks I’m God.”
The moral of
the story is: while living a life that is dedicated to God is very commendable,
it is not an excuse to avoid supporting one’s family. One who wishes to live
without any care for temporal pursuits, should not engage in marriage and
building a family.
The Holy Crown
of the high priest meant “Nazirship” (Ex 29:6, 39:30, Lev 8:9, 21:12).
John the
baptizer – a Nazirite
A barren woman
named Elizabeth had a husband named Zachariah. While ministering in the Temple,
Zachariah was visited by an angel that promised an answer to his prayers, and
the son was to be named John. That John was a Nazirite is indicated by Yeshua’s
statement that he came “neither eating nor drinking” (Matthew 11:18). His life
style also showed dedication to God’s work: he lived in the wilderness, was
clothed with camel-hair, ate wild carob and dates, and spent his time preaching
(Matthew 3:1-4).
Samson – a
lifelong Nazirite
A barren woman
named Manoah was told by an angel, “You shall conceive and give birth to a
son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to
God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the
Philistines” (Judges 13:5). When Samson failed to honor his dedicated
status, consorting with Delilah, it cost him his life.
Samuel – a
lifelong Nazirite
A barren woman
named Hannah vowed to God: “O Yahweh of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on
the affliction of Thy maidservant and remember me, and not forget Thy
maidservant, but wilt give Thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to Yahweh
all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head ” (1
Samuel 1:11). “And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was
confirmed as a prophet of Yahweh” (1b Samuel 3:20). “Now Samuel judged
Israel all the days of his life” (1 Samuel 7:15).
Psalm
97: for Joseph – a Nazirite
(For Triennial reference, this Psalm is concretely tied to the
Torah portion.)
This eighth
Psalm of Moses was dedicated to Joseph (Artscroll Tanach: Psalms 73-150, pg
1193). Joseph was called a Nazirite: “The blessings of your father have
surpassed the blessings of my ancestors up to the utmost bound of the
everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the
head of the one distinguished (Heb. - Nazir) among his brothers”
(Genesis 49:26);“And with the choice things of the earth and its fulness, and
the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let it come to the head of Joseph, and
to the crown of the head of the one distinguished (Heb. - Nazir)
among his brothers” (Deuteronomy 33:16).
In the literal
interpretation, Joshua, a descendant of Joseph, was to lead the conquest of
Canaan: “When Yahweh reigns, the land will rejoice” (v.1). “Fire will
go before him, and burn up his enemies” (v.3).
In the
prophetic interpretation, Yeshua will go forth to conquer, fire will go before
Him and burn up His enemies, and the earth will rejoice forever. Then everyone
will be an eternal Nazarite – all will be dedicated to God.
The remainder
of the Psalm distinguishes between the righteous and the wicked, promoting
dedication to God.
Readings:
"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King
of the Universe,
Who chose us from among all peoples by
giving us Your Torah.
Blessed are You, Yahweh, giver of the
Torah."
Reader 1*
Amen. 1 Again Yahweh
spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to
them, 'When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to
dedicate himself to Yahweh, 3 he shall abstain from wine and strong
drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor
shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes.
Reader 2*
Amen. 4 'All the days of
his separation he shall not eat anything that is produced by the grape vine,
from the seeds even to the skin. 5 'All the days of his vow of
separation no razor shall pass over his head. He shall be holy until the days
are fulfilled for which he separated himself to Yahweh; he shall let the locks
of hair on his head grow long. 6 'All the days of his separation to
Yahweh he shall not go near to a dead person.
Reader 3*
Amen. 7 'He shall not
make himself unclean for his father or for his mother, for his brother or for
his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. 8
'All the days of his separation he is holy to Yahweh. 9 'But if a man
dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his dedicated head of hair, then he
shall shave his head on the day when he becomes clean; he shall shave it on the
seventh day.
Reader 4*
Amen. 10 'Then on the
eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to
the doorway of the tent of meeting. 11 'The priest shall offer one
for a sin offering and the other for an elevation offering, and make atonement
for him concerning his sin because of the dead person. And that same day he
shall consecrate his head, 12 and shall dedicate to Yahweh his days
as a Nazirite, and shall bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering; but
the former days will be void because his separation was defiled.
Reader 5*
Amen. 13 'Now this is
the law of the Nazirite when the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall
bring the offering to the doorway of the tent of meeting. 14 'He
shall present his offering to Yahweh: one male lamb a year old without defect
for an elevation offering and one ewe-lamb a year old without defect for a sin
offering and one ram without defect for a peace offering, 15 and a
basket of unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers
spread with oil, along with their grain offering and their drink offering.
Reader 6*
Amen. 16 'Then the
priest shall present them before Yahweh and shall offer his sin offering and his
elevation offering. 17 'He shall also offer the ram for a sacrifice
of peace offerings to Yahweh, together with the basket of unleavened cakes; the
priest shall likewise offer its grain offering and its drink offering. 18
'The Nazirite shall then shave his dedicated head of hair at the doorway of the
tent of meeting, and take the dedicated hair of his head and put it on the fire
which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings.
Reader 7*
Amen. 19 'The priest
shall take the ram's shoulder when it has been boiled, and one unleavened cake
out of the basket and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of
the Nazirite after he has shaved his dedicated hair. 20 'Then the
priest shall wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh. It is holy for the
priest, together with the breast offered by waving and the thigh offered by
lifting up; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.' 21 "This is
the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to Yahweh according to his
separation, in addition to what else he can afford; according to his vow which
he takes, so he shall do according to the law of his separation."
"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King
of the Universe,
Who in giving us Yeshua, the Living
Torah, has planted everlasting life in our midst.
Blessed are You, Yahweh, giver of the
Torah."
______________________
"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King
of the Universe,
Who selected good prophets, delighting
in their words which were spoken truthfully.
Blessed are You, Yahweh, Who chose the
Torah, Your servant Moses, Your people Israel,
and the prophets of truth and
righteousness."
Judges 13:2-5
Reader 8*
Amen. 2 There was a
certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and
his wife was barren and had borne no children. 3 Then the angel of
Yahweh appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold now, you are barren and
have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. 4
"Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any
unclean thing. 5 "For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a
son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to
God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the
Philistines."
1 Samuel 1:7-11
Reader 9*
Amen. 7 It happened year
after year, as often as she went up to the house of Yahweh, she would provoke
her; so she wept and would not eat. 8 Then Elkanah her husband said
to her, "Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart
sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?" 9 Then Hannah rose after
eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the
doorpost of the temple of Yahweh. 10 She, greatly distressed, prayed
to Yahweh and wept bitterly. 11 She made a vow and said, "O Yahweh of
hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and
remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a
son, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and a razor shall
never come on his head."
Psalm 97 (To be sung.)
1 Yahweh reigns, let the earth
rejoice; Let the many islands be glad. 2 Clouds and thick darkness
surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. 3
Fire goes before Him And burns up His adversaries round about. 4 His
lightnings lit up the world; The earth saw and trembled. 5 The
mountains melted like wax at the presence of Yahweh, At the presence of Yahweh
of the whole earth. 6 The heavens declare His righteousness, And all
the peoples have seen His glory. 7 Let all those be ashamed who serve
graven images, Who boast themselves of idols; Worship Him, all you gods. 8
Zion heard this and was glad, And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced Because
of Your judgments, O Yahweh. 9 For You are Yahweh Most High over all
the earth; You are exalted far above all gods. 10 Hate evil, you who
love Yahweh, Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from
the hand of the wicked. 11 Light is sown like seed for the righteous
And gladness for the upright in heart. 12 Be glad in Yahweh, you
righteous ones, And give thanks to His holy name.
Psalm 98
1 A Psalm. O sing to Yahweh a
new song, For He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have
gained the victory for Him. 2 Yahweh has made known His salvation; He
has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3 He has
remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All
the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 4 Shout
joyfully to Yahweh, all the earth; Break forth and sing for joy and sing
praises. 5 Sing praises to Yahweh with the lyre, With the lyre and
the sound of melody. 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn Shout
joyfully before the King, Yahweh. 7 Let the sea roar and all it
contains, The world and those who dwell in it. 8 Let the rivers clap
their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy 9 Before Yahweh,
for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness
And the peoples with equity.
Psalm 99
1 Yahweh reigns, let the
peoples tremble; He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake! 2
Yahweh is great in Zion, And He is exalted above all the peoples. 3
Let them praise Your great and awesome name; Holy is He. 4 The
strength of the King loves justice; You have established equity; You have
executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. 5 Exalt Yahweh our God
And worship at His footstool; Holy is He. 6 Moses and Aaron were
among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called on His name; They
called upon Yahweh and He answered them. 7 He spoke to them in the
pillar of cloud; They kept His testimonies And the statute that He gave them.
8 O Yahweh our God, You answered them; You were a forgiving God to
them, And yet an avenger of their evil deeds. 9 Exalt Yahweh our God
And worship at His holy hill, For holy is Yahweh our God.
Luke 1:8-17
Reader 10*
Amen. 8 Now it happened
that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed
order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly
office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at
the hour of the incense offering. 11 And an angel of the Lord
appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12
Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. 13
But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has
been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him
the name John. 14 "You will have joy and gladness, and many will
rejoice at his birth. 15 "For he will be great in the sight of the
Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy
Spirit while yet in his mother's womb. 16 "And he will turn many of
the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 "It is he who will
go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the
hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude
of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
"Blessed are You, Yahweh
our God, King of the Universe,
Rock of Ages, righteous
throughout all generations.
You are the faithful God,
promising and then performing, speaking and then fulfilling,
for all Your words are true
and righteous.
Faithful are You, Yahweh
our God, and faithful are Your words,
for no word of Yours shall
remain unfulfilled;
You are a faithful and
merciful God and King.
Blessed are You, Yahweh our
God, Who are faithful in fulfilling all Your words."