Bible readers are familiar with the Shma, the commandment to hear and obey the Torah.  When we agree to Shma (Hear!), then we also must agree to Re'eh (See!).  One leads to the other, for once we hear it, then we need to see to it.  This week's Torah portion Re'eh has a sound-alike that recalls the binding of Isaac and Abraham's naming of the place on Mount Moriah (Ge 22:14).  The mountain, which was the later site of the Temple, was named YHVH Yireh, which means that Adonai will see for Himself a ram; He will provide; He will see to it.  Also, He will be seen on the mountain!

The sound-alike word for roeh, which means "he sees," is roeh, which means a shepherd.  They are spelled slightly differently in Hebrew, but the thematic parallels explain that seeing to the commandments has a shepherd-like quality.  The commandments rest on one's love of Adonai and his neighbor.  We are therefore like shepherds who must see to the welfare of those relationships.

A Psalm describes the location of Jerusalem as a relationship.  Jerusalem, the site of the Temple Mount, is surrounded by higher mountains.  Instead of focusing on the Divine Presence that dwells on the Temple Mount, the Psalmist describes the Holy One as serving like a shepherd, ensuring that His people are enclosed with His protection like a fold of sheep.

So the LORD surrounds His people

In this Torah portion, Deuteronomy 12:5 prophesies that Israel will find a resting place for His Presence within their territories:

This prophecy and commandment is hundreds of years before David the Shepherd King buys the threshing floor on the Temple Mount and builds  Jerusalem!  Why not go ahead and identify it as YHVH Yireh or Mount Moriah since the Israelites would have known that such a place existed?

Rabbi Kook points out in his Sapphire commentary (p. 344-347) that perhaps revealing the information too soon would have led to tribal infighting.  According to Jewish tradition, King David undertook to locate the place with the help of the Prophet Samuel.  There were two clues:

1.  It was a place to which one would have to ascend, so it was on a mountain: "You shall arise and ascend to the place that the Eternal your God will choose."  (Dt. 17:8)

2.  Moses described it in the territory of Benjamin as a place "dwelling between His shoulders" (Dt. 33:12)  As a neck is lower than the head, it would not be the highest point.

According to Psalm 132:1-5, King David's search to "see to" the commandment was relentless and almost tortuous:

A rabbinic allegory says that the High Court suggested a place called Ein Eitam, the highest mountain in the area that had a good supply of fresh water for the Temple services.  This site was rejected, however, for David the Shepherd knew that the Temple services had been revealed to all Israel in the Torah.  The site should not be the loftiest like the heathen temples, which sent the message that the Divine Presence was available only to a select few. Kook writes:

The idea that the Israelite Temple should not reside on the highest mountain was based on its accessibility to Israel, and eventually all nations, for mountains in Scripture can also be metaphors of the nations.  For those who have visited the site of the Tabernacle in Shiloh, the same pattern holds true.  The Tabernacle was not located on the highest mountain in the territory, but on a lower mountain that could be viewed from the mountains surrounding it.

Even today at Shiloh, the pottery shards from broken plates and cups is everywhere the Tabernacle could be seen while a family consumed their holy tithes.  This pottery may be found all the way to the highest points of the surrounding mountains, and once the holy meal was concluded, the pottery was smashed, for it was holy.  The holy tithe described in the Torah portion was consumed at the three feasts that set Israel apart: Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot.

These feasts make all Israel neighbors, and at these holy meals, they were to "see to" the commandment, sharing their meals with priests, Levites, family, strangers, aliens, orphans, and widows.   This too, is how we "see to" the commandments to worship at the appointed times even when the Temple is out of sight as it was in the wilderness.  Your neighbor can be seen.  Share.  Like the Good Shepherd, feed the lambs and gather them to the place of safety in troubled times, the Shabbat and feasts of Messiah Yeshua.

But what about Ein Eitam?  It did have a use to the Temple, for its fresh spring water was used to supply water to the Temple and to purify the High Priest for Yom Kippur.  It was ideal because it was easy to make the water flow downward.  For the High Priest on Yom Kippur, he immersed himself on the roof of the Beit HaParvah chamber, which was 23 cubits higher than the ground floor of the courtyard, making his mikveh at the same altitude of Ein Eitam.  "While the Beit HaMikdash itself needs to be accessible to all, the purification of the High Priest must emanate from the highest possible source." (Kook, p. 347)

The immersion of Messiah Yeshua did emanate from the highest possible source.  The Father sent him down to our level, in the sight of all, to make him accessible to all Israel and the nations.  As Abraham said, YHVH saw to it.

See?

LaMalah Children's Centre

 

Orphanage Update

  Special thanks to our regular donors and our new donors. The history of LaMalah Children's Centre is now located on our website www.thecreationgospel.com. 

 

If you have children's clothes or children's books (in English) to send, you can mail them to:   

 

Peter W Ndungu
P.O.Box 724
Limuru 00217
Kenya
East Africa

If you can help toward this goal, as always, we welcome your assistance.  For those of you who send monthly support to the orphanage, we can't thank you enough for fulfilling Messiah's commission.