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John 1:4
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. Studying the Biblical laws of clean and unclean seem to take us to a world far removed from our present society. We cannot though, read these passages in the Book of Leviticus and assess them according to the dynamics of our present world; we need to understand them according to their own context. All the issues of ritual impurities in the Bible have to do with separating the holy from death, decay and corruption. All the regulations mentioned about ritual purity in the Torah can be understood in the idea that God, being life itself cannot, and does not have anything to do with whatever decays and dies. All the earthly elements therefore that represent him must be (at least symbolically) free from corruption. We easily see these ideas in the gold covered acacia wood that makes the Holy Ark, a wood with the properties of cedar that fights corruption. Salt also, which is a preservative has to be added to meat offerings and the meat discarded within three days before it turns rancid. Of course, as long as we are in this mortal body and on this temporal earth, we cannot fully get rid of corruption; the whole idea is therefore a message from the Father to teach us about himself. Ritual uncleanness has nothing to do with us committing any particular sin. For example, a woman has done nothing wrong when she enters her monthly time and even less when she has a baby, the fulfillment of one of Hashem's greatest commandment, but yet, at these times she is considered ritually unclean. Being ritually unclean is a mere acknowledgment of our mortal human condition. Also the condition of ritual uncleanness mostly relates to the Temple and its service. All one needs to do to be ritually clean again is immerse in a mikveh (ritual immersion pool). The best way to understand it is to relate it to protocol. There is certain protocol to enter for example in the presence of a President of any country, or even in the presence of a King; it doesn’t mean that we are criminals. In the days of Yeshua, some people went overboard in their concerns with ritual purity. The Master tells us about it in this story about a dying wounded man on the road to Jericho. Both a Levite and a priest pass him by but choose not to help him because they were concerned about ritual cleanliness which forbids the touching of blood (Luke 10:25—37). This shows a misunderstanding of the idea. The Master himself who is sinless and coming from the halls of heaven was not afraid to put on the impurity of humanity and make himself impure in order to rescue us from our mortality. Again, ritual purity is not about having committed a sin; one can obey every dictum of the Torah and still be impure. It is solely about our human condition. May we in our sense of righteousness not be found to be like the afore-mentioned Levite or priest who because they were so concerned about their own purity, failed to obey the commandment to reach out to those in need. The Master did not discard the practices of ritual purity which came from him to start with, but he does teach us to have a proper balance and perspective in our commandment observance; he says, "These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others" (Matthew 23:23).
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2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. The Hebrew Scriptures tell us about the laws of the red heifer, the laws that provide ritual purification to those who have been contaminated by contact with a carcass of some sort (Numbers 19). These laws have a problem in themselves. The priest who slaughters the red heifer becomes himself ritually unclean, therefore unable to continue to perform the ritual unless he has by him remaining red heifer solution. After 2, 000 years of Diaspora we do not have any of that solution, so even if the Temple was rebuilt today, it would not be able to operate because along with the priesthood, it needs to be purified with the ashes of a red heifer. Whereas we may not fully understand the reasons for these laws, we must always remember that the psalmist said that the Law of God is perfect, pure and right altogether (Psalms 19: 7-8), so whether we can figure it in our own mind or not, whatever it teaches is right and beneficial for us. Here is something we can glean from the mystical rulings concerning the red heifer. Priests usually tried to avoid the state of ritual uncleanliness. In the days of the Master they had become obsessed by it. That is why the priest did not want to help the dying man on the road to Jericho (Luke 10:30-36). It is also why people could not conceive that a holy man like Yeshua would agree to go to the house of Matthew or even Zaccheus who, while being Jewish were people unparticular of these things. Because pagans often buried their dead in the walls or under their house, Rabbis declared it a sin to enter the house of a non-Jew. That is why Peter had to be given permission by Yeshua himself to go to Cornelius’ house (Acts 10). sexual relations provoked that same type of uncleanliness, so Moses who was to be ready to enter in the presence of God at any time forewent having sexual relations with his wife which caused those who did not understand the full scope of his actions to murmur against him (Numbers 12:1). Contrary to that attitude in the laws of the red heifer, just like in the procedures of Yom Kippur, the priest voluntarily made himself unclean by the slaughtering of the chosen animal, and this teaches us a great lesson. Yeshua also went contrary to the idea of ritual cleanliness held by the priests of His days. Instead of avoiding uncleanliness, He went right into it. Just like the priest performing the ritual slaughter voluntarily became unclean for the sake of purifying Israel Yeshua voluntarily put on the sinful cloak of humanity, became unclean for our sake so He could provide us with the cleansing needed to return us unto God. As we try to keep ourselves ‘clean’ from the world and its ‘death’, we should always remember that spiritual cleanliness is not an end in itself but a means to an end, and the end is service to our brothers and sisters, to those who have seen the light, but all the more to those who have not. Like Peter, the Master tells us to not be afraid to enter the house of the ungodly and bring him the message of God’s words. Luke 2:22
And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. In the twelfth chapter of the Book of Leviticus we are told that, 'If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed’ (Leviticus 12:2-4). Luke ties this verse to the birth of Messiah when he says, ‘And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord’ (Luke 2:22). Miriam therefore came to make an offering at the end of the days of her purification as was prescribed by Moses and that is when she meets Simeon (Luke 2:25). Luke actually makes sure to tell us how Miriam and Joseph did everything according to the Levitical process. It is important here to note that even though most Biblical texts relate to Miriam’s post-natal state as ‘unclean’ and therefore having to present an offering at the Temple; her condition has nothing to do with moral deficiency or spiritual unworthiness. A woman giving birth actually is at the height of her godliness and righteousness before God. What the Torah refers to as the ritual unclean state is solely the reality of being human and therefore impure before. This ritual uncleanliness is solely Temple related. We are told in the Gospel of Luke that ‘when the time came for their (Miriam and Joseph) purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him (Yeshua) up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."’ (Luke 2:22-24). We see in Luke’s rendering of the story that Miriam and Joseph brought "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."’, and that is because they could not afford a lamb (Leviticus 12:6-8). Little did young Miriam know, oh how little did she know that whereas she could not afford to bring Lamb to the Temple for her purification, she actually brought to God the ultimate Lamb who would end up purifying not only her, but the whole world with her! 1Timothy 2:15
Yet she will be saved through childbearing The subject of ritual uncleanliness in Leviticus is very extensive and complicated. In essence it tells us that we are born to get close to God but that we can’t because we are born. It is the greatest paradox in the Bible, but yet, without a basic understanding of its workings, we do not fully understand several parts of the Gospels or even of Paul’s epistles. Because of the sin in Eden, humanity is born unclean and remains so all the days of its life. This uncleanliness raises an uncrossable wall between us and God. There are many stories trying to explain what happened in the Garden of Eden but the literal one is that Eve was tempted, and by acting on her temptation sent humanity away from the presence of God. Until today, we reap the results of this event. Some of the first Words from the Almighty preserved in the Scriptures tell the woman, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children” (Genesis 3:16), and to the man that “cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life”. Since that time, things have not changed. Man may try to avert childbirth pain through anesthesia and caesarians, but this is just to circumvent what God has decreed. It is the same about mankind always trying to earn a living without working. It is not natural. About working Paul continues the “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread” rhetoric by advising the congregations of his days not to allow loafers in their midst. He says, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). The early Teachings of the Apostles (The Didache) mention that even an itinerant Scripture teacher should not be at charge of congregations for more that two days. After three days he needs to work for his upkeep. For women things seem to fare a little differently. The apostle mentions that though she brought sin and impurity in the world, “Yet she will be saved through childbearing” if she continues in faith and love and holiness, with self-control (1 Timothy 2:15). It seems therefore that the suffering of a woman in childbearing has atoning values. It is remarkable to notice that it is through the process of child-bearing that the Messiah appears on the world’s sin to make His redemptive work manifest to mankind. Of all the stories I have heard about Eden here is the one I like the most. ‘Eve sinned and was rejected from the garden. Adam loved Eve so much that he did not want to be separated from her so he agreed to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil so he could stay with her and help her’. Whereas some so-called ‘modern’ minds may criticize this Jewish version of the story as sexist, it nevertheless stands as the earliest version of the Gospel. It is the story of a man made sinless accepting ritual impurity and sin upon himself for the sake of his beloved bride. It is not only a romantic story, but very messianic. Isn’t it what Yeshua whom Paul calls the ‘last Adam’ did for us His bride (1 Corinthians 15:45)? Paul even says that Adam was “a type of the one who was to come” (Romans 5:14). |
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