Darash Chai Experiment

When we read through Leviticus 24 from a Western perspective, the chapter seems disjointed and out of place. What exactly is this chapter doing at this spot? It is an inconclusive answer to this question that leads some to make up various answers. However, if we stop and consider every part of this chapter in the context of all that surrounds it, we might just find that there is an important topic being addressed just under the surface. An important aspect of community that up to this point has not been addressed in Leviticus.

The fourth movement of the book of Leviticus, the last part of the book that is all about communal worship, begins with the primary events that bind people together. Celebration. Holidays and remembrances. When we first encounter the holiday cycle of Leviticus we recognize that there are seven festivals, but what are these festivals and what can they teach us about our God and His Messiah?

It is easy for a modern audience to look to the text of the Torah and point out how simple or backward it is according to our modern and enlightened view of the world. This passage in Leviticus is a minefield of gotchas for this type of criticism. However, when we understand what topics it is that the Bible is addressing, rather than pushing our own agenda onto the text, we might find that what is being described is, in fact, quite profound as it teaches us about God and those who are to come into His presence.

At the beginning of chapter 19 we read a phrase that is repeated all throughout Leviticus, and in the New Testament. We read that we are to be holy because God is holy. Usually we take this phrase and we steep it in the form of a command. We are to accomplish holiness. But perhaps that is not how we should understand that phrase. Perhaps there is something more and something deeper being revealed.

The next few chapters of Leviticus once again feature a shift of topic. Now, rather than the text exploring the topic of clean and unclean. Now the text is exploring the ideas of holy and defiled. And it is these chapters that are referred to by the apostles when they explore the topics of holiness and defilement. So what are they, and what can we learn from them today?

Yom Kippur is a day that is unlike any other. It is the Day when atonement was accomplished in the Hebrew Scriptures, and it was on this day that the sins of the people were dealt with. But there is one instruction that is attached to this day that is not explicit in its meaning. The command to “afflict your soul” is one that could have any number of meanings and purposes. What does it mean to “ve’innitem et nephshotechem?” and why is this instruction attached to this day of cleansing?

Uncleanness is a topic that contains very little in the way of application for modern audiences. It is something that only had any meaning in the context of the tabernacle or temple. But this does not mean that the topic is useless and can simply be discarded. Uncleanness teaches something extremely important. And that something has a lot to do with the mission of the Messiah.

The topic of uncleanness is one of those topics that have very little application in the world today. Uncleanness is a status effect that only meant anything in the context of the tabernacle or temple. So why should we care to dig into this topic any further? What can it reveal for us today? And what is it that defines uncleanness? If we can discern this, we can discover the answer to many of the questions that we may have on this topic.

Times will come in each one of our lives when we will encounter a new beginning. A fresh start with a new purpose or a new way of being. When this happens there are two ways that we can respond and here in Leviticus 9-10 we encounter both. There is a way that leads to death. And there is a way that leads to life. And at the time of new beginnings comes the test. Which way will you choose?

Not another repetitive chapter! Haven’t we read this chapter before? Why is it that the Bible chooses to repeat it itself on so many occasions? Once again we are reading about the ordination ceremony for the priests. Once again with only a few slight differences. But this chapter repeats a chapter from a previous book, and what exactly can this chapter on ordination teach us about the nature of sin?