“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” – Matt. 5:8
Who among us is pure? How can a person ever become truly pure? Walking in purity and keeping one’s heart pure is a constant struggle. Discerning that which is pure from that which is impure and understanding what God desires from us in this life is key to maintaining a pure heart. Living a life of purity is also a key tenet in Judaism but how is this purity actually obtained?
The Judaism which is practiced today teaches a way of life which emphasizes a strict adherence to the Law of Moses. In order to keep the Law, one must keep the commandments, avoid words and actions that are deemed unholy, and walk in ritual purity. Ceremonial and ritual purity within Judaism effect every area of an individual’s life: what one eats, what one drinks, the words which one speaks, how one prays, how one baths, and how one rests (the Sabbath). There is not a day that goes by that an Orthodox Jew doesn’t think about what they are doing, how they are living, and whether or not they have kept themselves pure according to the Law.
We see an example of this in the New Testament in the life of Peter. An angel of God came to Cornelius in Caesarea and instructed him to send for Peter to come from Joppa. Peter also received a vision the following day while he was in Joppa which challenged dietary laws and other religious regulations regarding that which was considered clean or unclean. When Peter saw the unclean animals in a vision and heard a voice saying: “Arise Peter, kill and eat!” Peter responded: “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” (Acts 10:13-14) Peter lived his life as any Jew of his day keeping oneself pure according to the Law of Moses.
God called the Israelites to be a holy nation and according to the covenant that God made with His people they were to discern between the holy and the unholy, the clean and the unclean, the pure and the impure. Ritual purity is central to the life of a Jew and one must be very meticulous in how he or she lives in order to keep oneself pure according to the Law of Moses. At the same time, there is also a mysterious side of purity that is revealed in this week’s Torah Portion.
The Consecration of the Priesthood
This week’s Torah Portion focuses on the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests unto the LORD. Aaron and his sons needed to go through seven days of purification and consecration and then on the eighth day they were to complete their consecration by offering sacrifices for both themselves and the people:
Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded you to do, that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.” Moses then said to Aaron, “Come near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, that you may make atonement for yourself and for the people; then make the offering for the people, that you may make atonement for them, just as the LORD has commanded.” – Lev. 9:6-7
It was through obedience and sacrifice that atonement was made for the priests and the people of God.
The holiness of God demands a people that are purified and made holy in order to have relationship with Him. The levitical priesthood was setup to maintain purification and holiness. Sacrifice and atonement was one way that the Israelites were to keep themselves ceremonially pure, however, God also provided purification from uncleanness through the ashes of the red heifer. This particular Sabbath day, March 30, 2019, is called Shabbat Parah (Literally: The Sabbath of the cow) with an emphasis on how one is made clean and purified by means of the ashes of the red heifer.
The Ashes of the Red Heifer
Shabbat Parah occurs once a year and it always falls within one month of the celebration of Passover. This special sabbath day is a reminder in Judaism of the need for a person to be purified in preparation for Passover. There is always an additional reading during this week taken from Numbers chapter nineteen which details how the ashes of the red heifer were to be made and then used for purification:
Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep it as water to remove impurity; it is purification from sin. – Num. 19:9
To learn more about the red heifer and the process of formulating the special waters for purification, please read the following article: The Red Heifer & The Messiah
Purification from uncleanness which the ashes from the red heifer provided for the Israelites has always been filled with mystery until this very day. Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, the former Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, explains the conundrum regarding the purification by means of the ashes of the red heifer:
“Why specifically a cow? Why specifically red? Why must it be one which never worn (wore) a yoke? Why do the ashes purify man? We don’t have definitive answer to these questions. They are all in the hands of God.” – Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, Practical Judaism, Modan Pub. Tel Aviv, 1997. p. 284 (italics added for emphasis)
We were never given an explanation of why the ashes of a red heifer mixed with water brought purification from uncleanness in the Scriptures. God commanded it and it was accepted. As Rabbi Lau has explained, it is a mystery that we leave in the hands of God.
The Mystery of Purification
There is another mystery of purification which is given in the corresponding reading from the prophets for this week’s Torah Portion. We read in the book of Ezekiel a prophetic word which promises to provide spiritual purification for the people of Israel:
For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. – Ezekiel 36:24-27
God used the prophet Ezekiel during the time of the Babylonian exile to reveal the sin of the people of Israel and to prophesy the future plans that God would fulfill for His people.
The prophecy of Ezekiel chapter thirty-six was a literal physical prophecy promising to return the people to the Land of Israel and it was also a spiritual prophecy of cleansing and purification for the idolatrous sin of the people. This amazing prophecy of spiritual purification from sin was not based on the Old Covenant but rather on the New Covenant that God would make with His people in keeping with the words of Jeremiah: “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,…” (Jer. 31:31). This New Covenant of God with His people provides purification from sin which is totally dependent on the LORD Himself.
Judaism recognizes this mysterious purification from sin by the hand of God as prophesied in Ezekiel but separates it form the world we now live in. The following is Rabbi Lau’s commentary regarding the mysterious purification from sin which is recorded in the book of Ezekiel:
The haftara, in keeping with the occasion, is taken from Ezekiel 36, and describes how, in the World to Come, all will be purified. – Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, Practical Judaism, Modan Pub. Tel Aviv, 1997. p. 284
The word “haftara” means supplemental and is used to indicate the weekly reading from the prophets. Rabbi Lau has stated that it is only in the next world that all are purified in this manner, as described in Ezekiel 36. This mysterious purification from sin provided by the hand of God seems distant and out of touch in the mind of Orthodox Judaism. How can this mysterious purification from sin be accomplished in this world?
The Passover Connection
The Passover sacrifice provides the foundation of the Israelites being set free from the slavery of Egypt to serve the living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is through the sacrifice of Yeshua as the Messiah on the day of Passover 2000 years ago that God revealed to us how He is able to purify us from all sin and prepare us for the “World to Come.” It is only the blood of Yeshua the Messiah that cleanses us from all sin. And it is only those who believe on the name of Yeshua who are granted the right to be called children of God and to be filled with His Holy Spirit in the world we live in today.
The Mystery Revealed
The mystery of how God provides purification from sin in this world and in the world to come has been revealed to us through the unveiling of the Messiah:
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. – Hebrews 9:13-15
It is a beautiful expression of God’s holiness and providence to see how His holy Law and prophetic word are fully revealed through the sacrifice of the Messiah at Passover.
God has provided redemption and purification from sin not only for His people Israel but for all who call upon His name (Acts 4:12). As we approach the days of Passover again this year, let us be reminded of the full redemption that we have in the Passover Lamb and share this good news with those around us so that others may take part in the mystery of purification which is attained in the Messiah.
Shabbat Shalom!
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Torah Portion: Lev. 9:1 – Lev. 11:47
Haftara: 2 Sam. 6:1 – 2 Sam. 7:17
Shabbat Parah: Num. 19:1-22
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Thank you Daniel again for your precious explanation of purity, sacrifice and Passover Lamb. I aprecited it and learned from it. Shabbat Shalom from Sweden.