Former and Latter Rains - Bi-modal Connections

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VI. Bi-modal Connections

This section was written by Menachem Leibtag. I have taken the liberty of editing and translating to bring out the bi-modal aspects.

Parashat Emor is famous for its lengthy presentation of the feasts (the Jewish holidays). These same holidays are also described in the other books of Torah:

* In Shemot (Exodus): Parashat Mishpatim & Parashat Ki-Tissa;

* In Bamidbar (Numbers): Parashat Pinchas;

* In Devarim (Deuteronomy): Parashat Re'ay.

Would it not have been more logical for the Torah to present all of the laws concerning the feasts together in one parsha?

BACKGROUND / A DOUBLE CALENDAR

Before we begin, a quick note regarding the Biblical calendar. The holidays in Torah are described in terms of both a solar and lunar calendar. The solar calendar is based on the 365 day cycle of the sun, and contains the four seasons of the agricultural year: the spring and fall equinox; the winter and summer solstice. The lunar calendar is based on the monthly cycle of the moon (roughly 29.5 days). However the precise day on which each month begins is determined by the Sanhedrin. These two calendars are correlated by the periodic addition of an extra month. Torah employs both the lunar and solar calendars in its description of the feasts. In Torah, we find two sets of feasts:

[PILGRIMAGE FEAST and DAYS OF JUDGEMENT Chart Goes Here]

The pilgrimage festivals as a unit, are presented twice in Shemot (Exodus) and once in Devarim (Deuteronomy):

(1) In Parashat Mishpatim, Shemot (Exodus) 23:14-19, before Moses ascends Mount Sinai to receive the first tablets;

(2) In Parashat Ki-Tisa, Shemot (Exodus) 34:18-26, when Moses ascends Mount Sinai to receive the second tablets;

(3) In Parashat Re'ay, Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:1-17, while describing the special laws of the site where the Miqdash is to be built.

In each of these three instances, the dates on which these pilgrimage festivals fall are described only by the agricultural time of year in which they are celebrated, i.e. the solar calendar:

[PILGRIMAGE FEAST and TIME Chart Goes Here]

In addition to their description by their agricultural date, each of these three portions focuses on the mitzva of making a pilgrimage to the central location where the Temple is located, on each of these holidays:

Shemot (Exodus) 23:16-17 "Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. "Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field. "Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign HaShem.

Shemot (Exodus) 34:22-23 "Celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign HaShem, the God of Israel.

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:1 Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover of HaShem your God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of Egypt by night…

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:16 Three times a year all your men must appear before HaShem your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before HaShem empty-handed:


In contrast to these three portions, the description of the feasts in Vayikra (Leviticus) 23 and Bamidbar (Numbers) 28 and 29, is different in several ways:

1) They include both: The pilgrimage festivals and The Feasts of Tishri.

2) There is no mention of the mitzva of going up to the King.

3) The holidays in these two portions are presented according to the calendar, i.e. by the specific month and day when each holiday is to be celebrated.

At first glance, the details of the feasts in Emor and Pinchas appears to be quite different:

Parashat Pinchas (Bamidbar (Numbers) 25:10 - 30:1) focuses on one basic topic - the details of the additional sacrifices which are offered on each holiday.

Parashat Emor, Vayikra (Leviticus) 21:1 - 24:23, focuses on different details, such as the prohibition of doing work and more specific laws such as the Omer sacrifice, the two giant loaves of bread, and the four species etc. However, as closer examination shows, these two portions actually complement each other.

In this portion, the description of each holiday includes the very general statement of: "and you shall bring an offering to God", Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:8,25,27,36, without specifying precisely what that offering is supposed to be.

Parashat Pinchas simply fills in that detail, for it explains exactly what that Musaf is, the special additional sacrifices of each holiday:

[FEAST and MUSSAF Chart Goes Here]

[Parashat Pinchas should actually be titled - "Daily and Additional Festival Offerings" - as it details the daily offering and the additional festival offerings brought throughout the course of the entire year, including Sabbath and Rosh Chodesh, the New Moon! We read from this portion on every feast, and we quote from it in our Mussaf prayers.]

Unlike all the other portions, only Parashat Emor describes the unique mitzvah of each holiday:

[FEAST and MITZVOT Chart Goes Here]

Based on this analysis, we can summarize as follows:

Sifre Shemot (Exodus) and Devarim (Deuteronomy) present the pilgrimage festivals in relation to their common purpose as a time for going up to the King during the critical times of the agricultural (solar) year.

Parashat Pinchas (Bamidbar (Numbers) 25:10 - 30:1) details the specific korban Mussaf of each feast, according to the lunar date of the holidays.

Parashat Emor (Shemot (Exodus) 21:1 - 24:23) describes the unique mitzva of each feast (using both lunar and solar).

DOUBLE DATING

Parashat Emor, like Pinchas, presents the feasts in order of their lunar dates (month/day). Nevertheless, Emor is different! As the following table shows, when introducing the special mitzva to be performed in the Miqdash on each of the pilgrimage festivals, the agricultural season (i.e. the solar date) is mentioned as well!

[FEAST, MITZVOT and SEASON Chart Goes Here]

In fact, a careful examination of the division of portion in Parashat Emor shows that the agricultural aspect of each of the pilgrimage festivals is presented in a manner entirely independent from the presentation of the feast according to its lunar date! For example, the mitzva to bring the omer offering and the two loaves of bread are presented in a separate 'dibur' which makes no mention at all of the lunar date!:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:9-22 HaShem said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before HaShem so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to HaShem a lamb a year old without defect, Together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil--an offering made to HaShem by fire, a pleasing aroma--and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. "'From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to HaShem. From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to HaShem. Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to HaShem, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings--an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to HaShem. Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. The priest is to wave the two lambs before HaShem as a wave offering, together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to HaShem for the priest. On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly and do no regular work. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. "'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am HaShem your God.'"

Similarly, the mitzva of the four species, Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:39-41, is presented independent of the mitzva to sit in the Succah, Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:33-38:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:33-38 HaShem said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month HaShem's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present offerings made to HaShem by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to HaShem by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work. "'These are HaShem's appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing offerings made to HaShem by fire--the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. These offerings are in addition to those for HaShem's Sabbaths and in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to HaShem.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:39-41 "'So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to HaShem for seven days; the first day is a day of rest, and the eighth day also is a day of rest. On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before HaShem your God for seven days. Celebrate this as a festival to HaShem for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month.

[Compare these two portions carefully!]

Why is the structure of Emor so complicated? Shouldn't the Torah employ one standard set of dates and explain all the mitzvot of each feast together?

A DOUBLE 'HEADER'

The introductory psukim of this parsha may allude to a possible answer to these questions. Note how the opening two psukim seem to contradict each other:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:1-3 HaShem said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of HaShem, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies. "'There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to HaShem.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:4-6 "'These are HaShem's appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: HaShem's Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of that month HaShem's Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast.


Should Sabbath be considered one of the appointed times? If yes, then why does pasuk four repeat the header "These are 'HaShem's appointed times"? If not, why is it mentioned at all in the first three psukim? Furthermore, there appears to be two types of solemn assemblies in Parashat Emor.

(1) Appointed times - those that Bnei Yisrael declare as solemn assemblies:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of HaShem, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.

(2) Sabbath - which God has set aside to be a solemn assemblies. Read 23:3 carefully!:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:3 "'There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to HaShem.

Note the repetition of the header: "These are HaShem's appointed times" in:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:4 "'These are HaShem's appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:

This distinction, and the repetition of the header indicates that the first three psukim can be considered a 'double' header: appointed times and Sabbaths. This 'double header' reflects the double nature of this entire parsha. Note the pattern which repeats itself. Each holiday is:

1) Introduced by its lunar date;

2) Followed by a statement that this appointed time is a solemn rehearsal assembly;

3) The prohibition to do work;

4) The mitzva to offer a sacrifice to HaShem.

The following chart summarizes this pattern, noting the psukim in which these details are described:

The Appointed Times - Solemn Assemblies

Opening pasuk:
"These are 'HaShem's appointed times..." (23:4):

The Feast of Unleavened Bread:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:6-8 On the fifteenth day of that month HaShem's Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present an offering made to HaShem by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.'"

The Feast of Weeks: (note that this holiday lacks a lunar date and the phrase "an offering made by fire...")

The Feast of Trumpets:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:25 Do no regular work, but present an offering made to HaShem by fire.'"

The Day of Atonement:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:27-28 "The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to HaShem by fire. Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before HaShem your God.

The Feast of Tabernacles and Shemini Atzeret:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:33-36
HaShem said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month HaShem's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present offerings made to HaShem by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to HaShem by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work.

Closing pasuk:
"These are the feasts of HaShem which you shall proclaim..." Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:37

Intertwined in this parsha, we find an additional aspect of each feast which relates to the concept of a High Sabbath (the second header mentioned above). In relation to the pilgrimage festivals, the High Sabbath aspect relates to the special agricultural mitzva of each holiday! [the omer, the two loaves of bread, and the four species] Furthermore, these mitzvot always conclude with the phrase:

"This is a law for all time in all your settlements, throughout the ages". [See 23:14,21,31,41]

The following list summarizes this second pattern in which the word Sabbath or High Sabbath (Shabbaton) is mentioned in relation to each holiday:

The Feast of Unleavened Bread:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:11 He is to wave the sheaf before HaShem so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.

The Feast of Weeks:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:16 Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to HaShem.

The Feast of Trumpets:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:24 "Say to the Israelites: 'On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a High Sabbath (Shabbaton), a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.

The Day of Atonement:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:32It is a Sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your Sabbath."

The Feast of Tabernacles:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:39 "'So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to HaShem for seven days; the first day is a High Sabbath (Shabbaton), and the eighth day also is a High Sabbath (Shabbaton).

Shemini Atzeret:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:39 "'So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to HaShem for seven days; the first day is a High Sabbath (Shabbaton), and the eighth day also is a High Sabbath (Shabbaton).

Note also that within this parsha, the Sabbath and agricultural aspect is introduced by its own "dibur":

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:9-14 HaShem said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before HaShem so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to HaShem a lamb a year old without defect, Together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil--an offering made to HaShem by fire, a pleasing aroma--and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

This analysis could explain the Sages' understanding that here, Sabbath refers to the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread as opposed to the Sadducees who argued that it actually refers to first Sabbath after Passover. The Sages' interpretation may reflect a deeper understanding of the entire parsha based on the above analysis.

The most explicit example of this 'double pattern' is found in the psukim that describe Succoth. Note how the Torah first introduces this holiday as a solemn assembly by its lunar date:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:35-36 "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month Feast Succoth seven days: on the first day there shall be a solemn assembly... and on the eighth day a solemn assembly..."

As this is the last appointed time (Feast), the next pasuk summarizes all of the feasts:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:37-38 "'These are HaShem's appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing offerings made to HaShem by fire--the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. These offerings are in addition to those for HaShem's Sabbaths and in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to HaShem.

Then, in a very abrupt fashion, after summarizing the appointed times, the Torah returns to Succoth again, but now calls it a Shabbaton, a high Sabbath:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:39 "'So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to HaShem for seven days; the first day is a High Sabbath (Shabbaton), and the eighth day also is a High Sabbath (Shabbaton).

We have shown that the entire parsha exhibits a double nature, as reflected in its 'double header' and its use of both the solar and lunar calendars to describe the feasts. What is the meaning of this double structure?

THE AGRICULTURAL ASPECT

As mentioned above, Parashat Emor, Vayikra (Leviticus) 21:1 - 24:23, details a special agriculturally related mitzva for each of the pilgrimage festivals:

[PILGRIMAGE FEAST  and AGRICULTURAL EVENT Chart Goes Here]

These mitzvot relate directly to the agricultural seasons in Eretz Yisrael in which these holidays fall. In the spring, barley is the first grain crop to become ripe. During the next seven weeks, the wheat crop ripens and is harvested. As this is the only time of the year when wheat grows in Eretz Israel, these seven weeks are indeed a critical time, for the grain which will be consumed during the entire year is harvested during this very short time period.

Similarly, the four species, which are brought to the Temple on Succoth, also relate to the agricultural importance of the fruit harvest at this time of the year, and the need for water in the forthcoming rainy season.

Specifically, when the Torah relates to these agricultural mitzvot, these holidays are referred to as Shabbaton, High Sabbaths. The reason is quite simple. Shabbat relates to the days of the week, and thus, to a natural cycle caused by the sun. So too, the agricultural seasons of the year. They also relate to the natural cycle of the sun, the 365 day cycle of the earth revolving around the sun that causes the seasons.

As these holidays are celebrated during the most critical times of the agricultural year, the Torah commands us to gather at this time of the year in the Beit HaMikdash and offer special offerings from our harvest. Instead of relating these phenomena of nature to a pantheon of gods, as the Canaanite people did, we must recognize that it is HaShem's hand behind nature and therefore, we must thank Him for our harvest.

This challenge, to find HaShem while working and living within the framework of nature, is reflected in the blessing we make over bread: "Who brings forth bread from the earth". Even though we perform 99% of work in the process of making read (e.g. sowing, reaping, winnowing, grinding, kneading, baking etc.), we thank HaShem as though He had given us bread directly from the ground!

THE HISTORICAL HOLIDAYS

Even though the agricultural calendar alone provides sufficient reason to celebrate these holidays, the Torah finds historical significance in these seasonal holidays as well. The spring commemorates our redemption from Egypt. The grain harvest coincides with the time of the giving of the Torah. During the fruit harvest we recall our supernatural existence in the desert under the "the clouds of HaShem's glory" in the desert. Just as the Torah employs to the solar date of the feasts in relation to the agricultural mitzvot, the Torah employs the lunar date of these feasts in relation to their historical significance. For example, when describing the Feast of Unleavened Bread which commemorates the historical event of the exodus from Egypt, the lunar date of the fifteenth day of the first month is used (23:6).

Similarly, when the Torah refers to Succoth as a solemn assembly, it employs solely the lunar date and emphasizes the mitzva of sitting in the Succah, in commemoration of our dwelling in Succoth during our journey through the desert (see 23:34-35,43). One could suggest that specifically the lunar calendar is used in relation to the historical aspect, for we count the months in commemoration of our Shemot (Exodus) from Egypt, the most momentous event in our national history:

"HaChodesh ha'zeh lachem Rosh Chodesh..." This month (in which you are leaving Egypt) will be for you the FIRST month... see Shemot (Exodus) 12:1-3.

REDEMPTION IN THE SPRING

From the repeated emphasis in Torah that we celebrate our redemption from Egypt in the early spring (Shemot (Exodus) 13:2-4 and Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:1-2), it would appear that it was not incidental that the Shemot (Exodus) took place at that time. Rather, HaShem desired that our national birth take place at the same time of year when the growth cycle of nature recommences. [For a similar reason, it would appear that HaShem desired that Bnei Yisrael enter the Promised Land in the first month of the spring (see Yahoshua (Joshua) 4:19 & 5:10).]

One could suggest that the celebration of our national redemption specifically in the spring emphasizes its proper meaning. Despite its importance, our freedom attained at the exodus from Egypt should be understood as only the initial stage of our national spiritual 'growth', just as the spring marks only the initial stage in the growth process of nature! Just as the blossoming of nature in the spring leads to the grain harvest in the early summer and fruit harvest in the late summer, so to our national freedom must lead to the achievement of higher goals in our national history.

Thus, counting seven weeks from the Feast of Unleavened Bread until the Feast of Weeks (counting the omer) emphasizes that the Feast of Weeks (commemorating the giving of the Torah) should be considered the culmination of the process that began at the exodus from Egypt, just as the grain harvest is the culmination of its growth process that began in the spring.

[One would expect that this historical aspect of Shavuot, i.e. the giving of the Torah, should also be mentioned in Parashat Emor. For some reason, it is not.]

By combining the two calendars, the Torah teaches us that during the critical times of the agricultural year we must not only thank HaShem for His providence over nature but we must also thank Him for His providence over our history. In a polytheistic society, these various attributes were divided among many gods. In an atheistic society, man fails to see HaShem in either. The double nature of the feasts emphasizes this tenet that HaShem is not only the Force behind nature, but He also guides the history of nations.

Man must recognize HaShem’s providence in all realms of his daily life; by recognizing His hand in the unfolding of our national history, and through perceiving His greatness in the creation of nature as well.

Why do we have a New Year in Nisan and a New Year in Tishri? How Can Nisan be "the beginning of months" and Tishri be the beginning of the year, in the seventh month? Having two new years is not accidental; rather it grows out of a notion which underlies the Biblical calendar, the notion of two kinds of time: historical and cyclic. Man creates historical time; cyclic time is created by HaShem’s recurring patterns.

Nisan marks the beginning of the festival season and the beginning of months. It occurs in the spring, the beginning of the physical renewal of nature. Here we begin our physical renewal with our liberation from the bondage of Egypt, and here we begin the pilgrimage festival cycle with Pesach, Passover.

Tishri marks the beginning of our spiritual renewal. Here we pray for inclusion in the book of life and we celebrate the beginning of HaShem’s Kingship and the remembrance of the righteous for resurrection. This spiritual rebirth occurs at the twilight of the agricultural season, and the twilight of our physical freedom, which began at Pesach.

The Biblical calendar follows the cyclic time of the moon, but is regularly intercalated by man to keep the festivals in their seasons.

These two types of time are both used in the Torah: Physical time, which marks agricultural progress, and cyclic time, which is marked by recurring patterns. Cyclic time is centered in the High Holiday festival cycle. Physical, agricultural, time is found in the three pilgrimage festivals. Succoth, the Feast of Tabernacles, is the end of the pilgrimage cycle, and yet, by its placement in the year, also brings to a close the High Holiday cycle. Seemingly, then Succoth comes at the end of both kinds of time. Shemini Atzeret concludes Succoth and, therefore, concludes both cycles.

* * *

In Pesach we look at a new beginning a new age so to speak from the age of slavery and bondage to the age of nobility and kingship.

(When we sit for Pesach do we not put cushions on the chairs and eat in the manner of Kings? And if we eat Pesach with Mashiach at the wedding feast, will we not be as consorts of the King?)

Now in Rosh HaShanah we look at also a new age, from chaos to an age of order and kingship and sovereignty which Adam had in Gan Eden.

Marqos starts his Mishnah with an incredible statement: the "Resheet" of the "gospel" of Yeshua the Mashiach the Chief Hacham and King (Son of G-d).[47]

Well let me see, we know from ethymology that gospel comes from the Old English G-d's spell - or the story of the acts of HaShem and thus this idea that a gospel is a biography of Mashiach, which a great error. We know from Hakham Shaul that G-d is going to the judge the world by the "Gospel" so out goes through the window this idea of a "biography" and yes it reamins no other solution but Torah. Havings said this what kind of Torah?

If we take this Gospel as chronicling Tishri with the Yamim Ha-Noraim as the time when Yochanan preached repentance as well as the month of Elul, then Tishri is very much a festival of Oral Torah, whilst Pesach, and specially, Shavuot is of Written Torah. Why? Well to start up with the emeblem of Rosh HaShanah or Yom Teruah is the shofar or horn. The Written Torah tells us to blow the horn but it does not tell us how to do it or what sounds to make.

The blowing of the horn with different notes alludes then to the Oral Torah being blown through the horn specially when w blow - Ye-Shu-ach. Yeshua = Salvation I just hyphenated it because it uses three notes with the middle one prolonged a bit more than the beginning note and the last note.

So, Yeshua is blown though the shofar a symbol of the Akedah. In fact the Akedah has much more significance in the Oral Torah than in the written one. In the Orah Torah we have the sacrifice of Yitschaq, and the horn which symbolises the sacrifice of Yitschaq also sings of the sacrifice of Yeshua. And it is these two sacrifices which in my opinion constitute the foundation of the Oral Torah. Therefore a Gospel is the Oral Torah.

Marqos (Mark) 1:1 Ha-Reshit of the Torah Shebe Al Peh (or Masorah) of Yeshua Ha-Mashiach the Rosh le Yisrael.

Do you see a gap between Marqos (Mark) 1:1 and Marqos (Mark) 1:2?

Marqos (Mark) 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Yeshua Mashiach, the Son of God;

Marqos (Mark) 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.


The gap in Marqos (Mark) is very similar to the gap we see between Bereshit (Genesis) 1:1 and Bereshit (Genesis) 1:2

Bereshit (Genesis) 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Bereshit (Genesis) 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.


Like there was a world created or universe created which must have been good, but all of a sudden turns into chaos.

If we return now to Marqos 1:1 we find a Reshit of the Gospel but it is not explained like suddenly everything is descended into a chaos no?

The missing link between vv. 1 & 2 of Marqos is given to us in Pirqe Avot 1:1

There was an oral tradition received from Har Sinai from Moshe until the times of the Bet Din Gadol, but the Scribes and Pharisees ended up controlling the Bet Din Gadol and creating a split with many of the apostate Kohanim which held to a different Halakhah that of SOLA SCRIPTURA (scripture only) or Sadducees, and then we had the true Kohanim in the Araba with also some strange puritanical Halakhah - so Mashiach somes to an age where the Halakahah is being sorted out.

And so we are at with Marqos (Mark) v.2 and this ordering of the universe of the Halakhah, very much like in Bereshit (Genesis) we have an ordering in the seven days of Creation. O.K. so, like in Beresheet, we have here in Marqos a creation, a catastrophe, and a reordering and shaping of this Halakhah. And these three verses in Marqos are like the Indes or introduction of the Book. But back to Yom Teruah the notes of the Shofar also are in a way a restructuring of the world through sound representing the restructuring and reordering of the world and of the Halakhah.

This is why I said that Yom Teruah is a festival celebrating the Halakhah as we have it ordered to day. there will be further reordering of the Halakhah in the Messianic Age, but basically it is in this age that the Halakhah is being sorted out. In fact over the last two centuries there has been a tremendous publishing and joining and codifying of Halakhah which is being culminated with the publication of thousands of Responsas and ancient documents in CD ROM by the Jewish University of Bar Ilan.

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The following chart illustrates the connections between Tu B’Shevat, in the winter, and Tu B’Av in the summer.