Feasts of Judaism

8th September 2010, hej

This Article: (4 Pages)

1) Feasts Appointed by God

There is great wisdom in appointing one day a week where people may rest. There is even greater wisdom shown in the way the great feasts are structured, and how they related to the agricultural cycle. In addition the order and ordinaces teach us much about the process of redemption.

The feasts begin with Pesach, or Passover, 7 days of Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits. This speaks of the granting of salvation from Bondage. Then there is a time of counting until Shavuot (Feast of Weeks), which speaks of spiritual growth and a harvest for God. There is then a gap of over 3 months until Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur (day of Atonement), when people become forgiven and at-one with God, and then Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), where people dwell with God.

2) Sefirat Ha'omer - Shavuot

Shavuot or Hag Hashavuot, the Feast of Weeks, in modern times is associated with the giving of the Torah commandments at Sinai. Though the Bible makes no specific connection, they approximately coincide. The Bible feast was about the joy of harvest and the release from bondage.

But the strongest idea associated with Hag Hashavuot is in its designation. It is the feast of weeks. It is the 50th day after counting 7weeks from the offering of the firstfruits of barley harvest.

Traditionally the firstfruits is after Passover (14th Nisan) and during the 7 day feast of Unleavened Bread on the 2nd day (the 16th Nisan) when all were gathered to worship before Yahweh. Before the offering on that day no-one could partake of the new barley crop, underlining in the people's actions the importance of the giving of the first of the harvest.

7 Weeks

The importance of firstfruits and it's connection to Passover extends for a full 7 weeks.

Deuteronomy 16:1-12

(1) Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God; for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.

(2) And thou shall sacrifice the passover-offering unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to cause His name to dwell there.

(3) Thou shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shall thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for in haste did thou come forth out of the land of Egypt; that you may remember the day when thou came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life....

(5) Thou may not sacrifice the passover-offering within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth you;

(6) but at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to cause His name to dwell in, there thou shall sacrifice the passover- offering at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou came forth out of Egypt....

(8) Six days thou shall eat unleavened bread; and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God; thou shall do no work therein.

(9) Seven weeks shall thou number unto thee; from the time the sickle is first put to the standing corn shall thou begin to number seven weeks.

(10) And thou shall keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God after the measure of the freewill-offering of thy hand, which thou shall give, according as the LORD thy God blesses thee.

(11) And thou shall rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid- servant, and the Levite that is within they gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are in the midst of thee, in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there.

(12) And thou shall remember that you were a bondman in Egypt; and thou shall observe and do these statutes.

The rejoicing of the feast of weeks, Shavuot, where the fullness of the wheat harvest is brought before Yahweh, is associated with release from bondage.

Therefore a counting of 7 weeks from the firstfruits is related also to the release from bondage.

It is curious that the phrase '7 weeks' only occurs in 3 places in the entire scriptures. It is used twice in reference to the feast of weeks (Leviticus 23:15-16, and Deuteronomy 16:9 above), the repetition showing its importance. The 3rd and last reference is in Daniel.

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Daniel 9:25-27)

People tend to speak of 490 years, and wonder why it doesn't work. But 490 years is not precisely correct. It is 7 weeks plus 62 weeks. Again, we are to count 7 weeks.

Are these connected? Sabbath for the Land_the Shmita year Here I proposed that it may be read as the following,

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks..

It seems, then, possibly not a co-incidence that Jerusalem day, the day Jerusalem was liberated, occurs within Sefirat Ha'omer, the Counting of the Omar, and that Shavuot where people rejoice at the ingathering of the harvest (one of the 3 feasts when the people go up to Jerusalem) occurs just after. It seems fitting that the regathering from the nations had a process, like the remembrance of the redemption from bondage from Passover to Shavuot. The re-establishment of Israel was a kind of firstfruits, to which the acquisition of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria is the fullness of a harvest at one level. But Jerusalem is also a firstfruits, as it is still waiting for the fullness of its redemption from bondage, of a new harvest of wheat with the outpouring on Jerusalem (Zion) of a new spirit,

Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he has given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that has dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. (Joel 2:23-29)

Some see this fulfilled at Pentecost. But the record in Acts shows that Peter said that Pentecost is like the time Joel spoke of Joel, the outpouring of the Spirit

indicating that as yet Joel is not fulfilled, and there is another greater Pentecost.

That there be a waiting time, counting the omer, makes sense. If Elijah is to come at Passover to Israel, then it will take some time for the messenger of the covenant to prepare the hearts.

Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall clear the way before Me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to His temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he cometh, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap; And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver; and there shall be they that shall offer unto the LORD offerings in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. (Malachi 3:1-4)

Ezekiel also speaks of a process, occurring in time and a point in time when they will be first cleansed then a new heart given.

And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.

And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep Mine ordinances, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God. And I will save you from all your uncleannesses; and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye may receive no more the reproach of famine among the nations. (Ezekiel 36:23-30)

And each Jerusalem Day people count how many years have passed. This year (2010) was 43 years, six 'weeks' and one year. The year 1967 was in a first year of the 7 year cycle for the land. A full 7 'weeks' will end in 6 years.

From 1967 the Israeli government sought to build in Jerusalem. There was a 'decree' of sorts to build to house 600 families in the old Jewish quarter (Passia) as well as effort to build a corridor to prevent Mt Scopus from being separated (JPCA.org). It is interesting that the word restore is used as indeed there was an architect who ensured restoration occurred (Passia.org).

The thought that we should count seven weeks to Messiah from the modern re-building of Jerusalem, is not new. My thought is original but I found another had the idea before me; Isaac Newton.

Daniel's Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks (Daniel 9:24-7) was crucial to Newton's end-time calculations. The normal pattern for expositors was to calculate seventy weeks (490 years according to the day-for-a-year principle) from the call to rebuild Jerusalem under the Persians and the return from the Babylonian captivity to the first coming of Christ. Several different chronologies were suggested (arriving at either Christ's birth or cruci¢xion) and Newton himself settled on one in which the 490 years of Daniel 9:24 concluded with 33 or 34 AD.118 However, Newton also isolated the seven weeks (forty-nine years) of Daniel 9:25 as referring to the time immediately before Christ's Second Coming.119 He thus believed that there would be an interval of forty-nine years between the future call ``to restore and to build Jerusalem'' and the Second Coming of the Messiah. Snobelen Newton in Jewish restoration

This is quite remarkable for in Newton's era, modern Jewish Zionism hadn't even stirred. Yet he was confident that not only would Jews return to the land, that they would also possess Jerusalem before Messiah came and that it would be possible to count seven weeks. And it so happens that many of his papers have ended up in all places, Jerusalem, and are now being made available to the web.

We are in the seventh week. Was Newton right? Israel are to count 7 weeks – complete – not 49 days!

Leviticus 23:15-16

And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the day of rest, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the waving; seven weeks shall there be complete;

even unto the morrow after the seventh week shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall present a new meal-offering unto the LORD.

It is not until the 50th day that the offering is made from the harvest of the wheat. The fiftieth year is also the year of rejoicing that all bound and in debt are made free and return to their inheritance, after counting seven 'weeks' of years, or Shmita years (note the 7th year was a Sabbath for the Land).

The modern connection of Shavuot to the study of the Torah, connects the rejoicing of the harvest of wheat to renewed application to Yahweh's word. The harvest that Yahweh wants is not, and was never, that people give him the increase of their field, but rather that they love His law. The law given at Sinai where the mountains smoked at His presence, was about a covenant with a people to be redeemed from bondage.

Ruth: The Stranger at Harvest

It was a law that the stranger may take up. At Shavuot the book of Ruth is read. Ruth the daughter in law to the bereaved Naomi, who was a stranger gleaned the fields during Barley harvest and to the wheat Harvest (Ruth 2:23). Boaz the mighty man of the tribe of Judah gives a testimony regarding Ruth.

Then she fell on her face, and bowed down to the ground, and said unto him: 'Why have I found favour in thy sight, that thou should take notice of me, seeing I am a foreigner?' And Boaz answered and said unto her: 'It has fully been told me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband; and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people that thou knew not heretofore. The LORD recompense thy work, and be thy reward complete from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge.' (Ruth 2:10-12)

Naomi had no way of claiming an inheritance, having lost her sons, with Ruth a stranger as a daughter in law. Under the law a kinsman could be a redeemer. Boaz, according to the Law, at the time of the wheat harvest, becomes the redeemer. Naomi's family gains in the actions of Boaz their inheritance, and a release from the privations of exile. The result of which is the birth of a son to the tribe to whom was promised as sceptre (Genesis 49:10). From this son was to come King David, who obtained a promise of a greater son (2 Samuel 7). Naomi returns and Ruth arrives with the firstfruits of the barley of Boaz's field, but redemption is not until the wheat harvest. Naomi must have counted the 7 weeks also.

For more on The Redeemer in the book of Ruth

The Glory shown Ezekiel

The harvest time speaks of people, such as Ruth, who come, and the people such as Naomi who return from an exile that claimed many lives, to the glory revealed at Sinai, with a new heart and a new spirit. At Shavuot Ezekiel 1- 3:12 is read.

Whithersoever the spirit was to go, as the spirit was to go there, so they went; and the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. When those went, these went, and when those stood, these stood;... And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man upon it above. And I saw as the colour of electrum, as the appearance of fire round about enclosing it, from the appearance of his loins and upward; and from the appearance of his loins and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke. (Ezekiel 1:20-28)

Ezekiel was asked to eat a book,

And thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee: be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house; open thy mouth, and eat that which I give thee.' And when I looked, behold, a hand was put forth unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; (Ezekiel 2:8-9)

This is just as it is said that the worlds of scripture must be as milk and honey to the soul.

And He said unto me: 'Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with My words unto them. For thou art not sent to a people of an unintelligible speech and of a slow tongue, but to the house of Israel; not to many peoples of an unintelligible speech and of a slow tongue, whose words thou can not understand. Surely, if I sent thee to them, they would hearken unto thee. But the house of Israel will not consent to hearken unto thee; for they consent not to hearken unto Me; for all the house of Israel are of a hard forehead and of a stiff heart. Behold, I have made thy face hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead; fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.' Moreover He said unto me: 'Son of man, all My words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thy heart, and hear with thine ears. And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them: Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.' Then a spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great rushing: 'Blessed be the glory of the LORD from His place'; (Ezekiel 3:4-12)

It is asked of Ezekiel that he should hear and receive all the words of Yahweh with a new heart, because this was the glory of Yahweh.

Habakkuk

Habakkuk 3:2-19

(2) O LORD, I have heard the report of Thee, and am afraid; O LORD, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember compassion.

(3) God cometh from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covers the heavens, and the earth is full of His praise.

(4) And a brightness appears as the light; rays has He at His side; and there is the hiding of His power.

(5) Before him goes the pestilence, and fiery bolts go forth at His feet.

(6) He stands, and shakes the earth, He beholds, and makes the nations to tremble; and the everlasting mountains are dashed in pieces, the ancient hills do bow; His goings are as of old.

(7) I see the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian do tremble.

(8) Is it, O LORD, that against the rivers, is it that Thine anger is kindled against the rivers, or Thy wrath against the sea? that Thou dost ride upon Thy horses, upon Thy chariots of victory?

(9) Thy bow is made quite bare; sworn are the rods of the word. Selah. Thou dost cleave the earth with rivers.

(10) The mountains have seen Thee, and they tremble; the tempest of waters flow over; the deep utters its voice, and lifts up its hands on high.

(11) The sun and moon stand still in their habitation; at the light of Thine arrows as they go, at the shining of Thy glittering spear.

(12) Thou march through the earth in indignation, Thou thresh the nations in anger.

(13) Thou art come forth for the deliverance of Thy people, for the deliverance of Thine anointed; Thou wound the head out of the house of the wicked, uncovering the foundation even unto the neck. Selah

(14) Thou hast stricken through with his own rods the head of his rulers, that come as a whirlwind to scatter me; whose rejoicing is as to devour the poor secretly.

(15) Thou hast trodden the sea with Thy horses, the foaming of mighty waters.

(16) When I heard, mine inward parts trembled, my lips quivered at the voice; rottenness entereth into my bones, and I tremble where I stand; that I should wait for the day of trouble, when he cometh up against the people that he invades.

(17) For though the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no food; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls;

(18) Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will exult in the God of my salvation.

(19) God, the Lord, is my strength, and He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and He makes me to walk upon my high places. For the Leader. With my string-music.

In the future The Glory and salvation will come from Sinai. For when the law once went out from Sinai. Moses prophesied,

Deuteronomy 33:2 “The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.”

God is to come from Teman, the Holy one from Mt Paran giving the law, to the place where Yahweh placed his name: at Jerusalem.

Isaiah 2:2-5

(2) And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

(3) And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

(4) And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

(5) O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Jerusalem is where The Glory will rest again on the earth and from there will proceed the law. The result of the law will produce a new harvest, not of war, but of the glory of people walking in the light of Yahweh. A redemption from bondage, after counting 7 weeks – complete -from the first 'sheaf of the waving'.

3) Rosh Hashanah, Cast thy bread: Tashlikh

Rosh Hashanah includes a ceremony known as Tashlikh or cast off. On the afternoon of the first day people go to water such as the sea, a river or a pond and recite a prayer (Micah 7:18-20, Psalm:185-9, Psalm33, Psalm 130 and Isaiah 11:9). Then bread crumbs or whatever is in ones pockets is thrown into the water. The focus is a symbolic casting away of sins based on the passage, “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea”(Micah 7:19).

In context the casting of sins into the sea is a day of deliverance (the day), when the covenant with the fathers of Israel is remembered,

According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I show unto him marvellous things. The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee. Who is a God like unto thee, that pardons iniquity, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retains not his anger for ever, because he delights in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old. (Micah 7:15-20)

Therefore the action of 'casting off' prefigures what will be done, not what is occurring now.

Cast thy bread

So to what does the casting of bread crumbs on water now point to? There is a remarkable parallel in some practical advice from Solomon,

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou know not what evil shall be upon the earth. (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2)

This has a few levels of understanding.

Firstly, bread is good fish bait apparently. Trout and other river fish like it. Feeding fish will allow the fish to grow and with bread bait after many days one may catch the well-fed fish.

This is also picture, where 'bread' is intimately related to the things that sustain ones own life and the 'waters' are the mass of people around us. What it says is that if we give of the things that sustain us we will find the things that sustain us after many years. The implication is that at the time the casting might seem to be without benefit, even wasteful, but that whatever is “wasted”, or given away, will be found after many years.

It is a picture of how if we give to others while expecting no return we will later benefit after many years. In addition the advice is that our help be given without reservation to a number of people, as an insurance against an evil time. Over time there has been a equation between 'bread' and 'money', but we need to be wary, as we might buy bread with money but 'money' is not 'bread'.

For the analogy to be fulfilled, somehow our action must parallel giving food, or victuals, to fish.

The key as to what is meant and what is to be done is explained in the clear instruction to “give a portion to seven”. People are to give a 'portion' which means an allotment, part or inheritance.

For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. (Deuteronomy 32:9)

There is no record in the Law of a requirement to give people food. Instead there is something quite remarkable. If one had a field or a tree, one was to not take all but leave the gleanings for the widow, fatherless and stranger. In other words to share the increase of the field, which is the God-given food. In addition there is a provision of lending without usury and without a hope of return,

For the LORD thy God blesses thee, as he promised thee: and thou shall lend unto many nations, but thou shall not borrow; and thou shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.

If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God gives thee, thou shall not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shall open thine hand wide unto him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wants.

Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shall surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou give unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou put thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shall open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. (Deuteronomy 15:6-11)

It is to be noted that one did not give, but one loaned.

In both in lending to others and not taking all the increase God has given, there is an element of 'casting bread' without hope of return. However lending matches exactly the requirement to “give a portion”.

It is well known that there is no point in giving money or food to help another. There is a saying that 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime'. Recently a celebrity wrote, “The best development programs help people to help themselves”with,

initiatives such as education and skills training, agricultural development and access to finance, technology and markets.

At their core, these projects work because they are all about empowering people - giving a community a hand-up, not a handout. They're about teaching a person to fish rather than giving them a fish. They're about setting up a community to succeed and stand on its own two feet.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/the-best-development-programs-help-people-to-help-themselves-20100905-14vy2.html

The point is to that we loan to make it possible for another to live in their lot, in their inheritance. To give to others a heritage, or a inheritance, of learning and skills. When a person teaches another they pass on knowledge and skills which is the same as giving them an inheritance.

Loan and forgiveness of debt

In addition under the Law the loan or debt was 'forgiven' every seven years and after seven of the seventh year of debt release (49 years) then the poor returned to their inheritance, to their portion.

For a just man falls seven times, and rises up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. (Proverbs 24:16)

In this we can see how a person may be in debt seven times, forgiven each time and finally return to their inheritance. We see the parallel of the seven lots of debt forgiveness in Peter's question

Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? (Matthew 18:21)

In terms of financial debt this implies a lifetime of over 50 years. But the answer Yeshua gave was one that relates to a debt in a relationship. In relationships we are to forgive the debt against us an uncountable “until 70 times seven”.

To lend to a person, then, was to allow them to obtain a release from debt, give them freedom to maintain a productive life until their debt was cleared.

This point is made clear, in that God did not accept any gifts on his altar while he was annoyed at the people for not forgiving the debtors.

Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying, At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which has been sold unto thee; and when he has served thee six years, thou shall let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear. And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name: But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. (Jeremiah 34:13-17)

On this one issue alone the nation was rebuked and went into captivity. Quite simply, forgiving financial debt was about freedom, and none of God's people who were made free were to be enslaved because of debt. It pointed to the nation being made free in service to God, not being enslaved to serve humans.

Thus Tashlikh or to cast off acts out how one may be blessed. We are to lend to others without interest and when they can't repay at the end of seven years to forgive the debt. There is a powerful lesson in this, for everything we have, even our life is a loan. And there is no person who can repay that loan or clear the debt. Yet if we 'cast off' to free others debts, our greater debt is forgiven us.

But there is more as none of the above quite fit the analogy perfectly.

A gift

Giving to a charity might be like leaving the corner of the field, as there is no effort. Some think that giving is a good work that gives them points, a work of righteousness. But if the giving is not without hope of any return, then it might be seen as a gift to God: to a God who is our Judge.

Thou shall take no gift: for the gift blinds the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous. (Exodus 23:8)

If giving is to 'bribe' as a good work to cover sins at judgement then it's not good at all, and will work against us. If a person ignores the words of Yahweh and then seeks to appease him by 'good works' of the easy work of giving money to charity, how is this not a bribe to pervert God's judgement?

Judges and officers shall you make in all your gates, which the LORD thy God gives you,..and they shall judge the people with just judgment. Thou shall not wrest judgment; you shall not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. (Deuteronomy 16:18-19)

There is huge a difference between a covetous person giving a little of ill gotten gains to God, and the righteous who gives without thought it is a good work,

He covets greedily all the day long: but the righteous gives and spares not. The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he brings it with a wicked mind? (Proverbs 21:26-27)

For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)

Before bothering to give to others as a good work, we need to practice mercy and to know God, as these works will lead to giving good gifts to others (not ones that may harm them). And for sure if we give money, we personally won't get anything back. The idea of Karma is not supported by the Bible, as proven by the life of Joseph, Moses, David and Job and these are only a few of all the examples that show a pattern that people may suffer for their righteousness.

Even if we loan without interest, we may indeed establish another's freedom and their inheritance, but the loan is not likely to come back to us in the same form.

There is only one thing we can cast out to people and get back the very same thing we cast later. The thing 'cast on waters' is also called a “portion”. It is common to speak of the “Torah portion”.

The bread and the inheritance

The 'bread' cast on water is a symbolic analogy (Solomon's advice is not that we literally cast bread on water!). Bread is about what sustains our life. We are told nobody lives by bread alone, but that our only true bread is the Word of Yahweh.

And you shall remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou would keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knew not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. Thou shall also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chastens his son, so the LORD thy God chastens thee. (Deuteronomy 8:2-5)

It is by this bread, that of words including words of rebuke, we live.

Every person must cast out this 'bread' of the words out of the mouth of Yahweh onto the waters, the people around them. It is this bread and this bread only that can give 'a portion' or an everlasting inheritance to others. Not only that but if we cast onto the sea and spread the word of Yahweh to sustain others, it comes back to us when there is evil on the earth. Job illustrates this point as he upheld others, and in a time of suffering and evil needed others to strengthen him.

And at the end if we have cast out the bread of life on the waters and given a portion to others, then when we are taken out of this bondage, out of the Egypt of this age, and then,

he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:19).

The end of this is our portion, to inherit the promises.

Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old. (Micah 7:20)

The Fathers were promised to possess the land they walked in. The meek who follow Yeshua are promised to inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). For those that are dead there is resurrection, and for all judged worthy, everlasting life in our lot, or portion, on earth.

4) Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement

Of Separation & Absence, Covering & Presence

This year I put aside time to ponder Yom Kippur. My experience is that when we write, or draw, or make something, we concretise more than the mere thought itself. The act of writing is an act of discovery. Thought is ephemeral cloud. Impromptu speech is like a wind, but writing is a dialogue like that of a sword or a stone.

In English the day is called the day of Atonement. Atonement is an aggregate word, at-one-ment introduced by William Tyndale when translating the Hebrew of the Bible into English. It is absolutely revealing that English had no word at all for the Hebrew idea. Until the Bible became part of the lives of people who spoke English there was no common understanding in the Anglo-culture of the meaning behind Yom Kippur. It may be argued that the process has been two-way as the English word has been taken up by Judaism in the English speaking diaspora and it has enriched understanding there. It, however, is debatable whether the English word 'atonement' captures the shades of the meaning of the Hebrew word 'kippur'.

The word is related to the one used for Noah's actions covering the ark in pitch (bitumen, which is still used as a waterproofing agent). The covering of the huge wooden box with pitch was a significant part of Noah's salvation from flood waters. Noah and his family were sealed in the box and separated from other humanity.

A similar word is used of the manna in the wilderness which like frost covered the ground. That was a significant part of the salvation of the Israelite nation. Mana came from heaven to cover the earth, which, in the language of the prophets, is the people, with life giving food. This covering was given six days with a double measure for the seventh, only while the people were in the wilderness, absent from the Land.

The Torah portion begins on a sobering note with the death of the sons of Aaron who failed to serve in the way appointed. It is even more sobering to realise that this transgression resulted in a command restricting Aaron's approach within the veil of the Most Holy to once a year. The high priest was separated except for one day of the year from the Holy presence by a veil, or a covering.

Levitcus 16:1-34 (1) And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died; (2) And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. (3) Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. (4) He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. (5) And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. (6) And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. (7) And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. (8) And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. (9) And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. (10) But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. (11) And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself: (12) And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: (13) And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: (14) And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. (15) Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: (16) And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. (17) And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. (18) And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. (19) And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. (20) And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: (21) And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: (22) And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. (23) And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there: (24) And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people. (25) And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar. (26) And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp. (27) And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung. (28) And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. (29) And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: (30) For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. (31) It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. (32) And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments: (33) And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. (34) And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

The separation was accentuated by the public ritual that was the process of approach. Aaron could only go in there after washing himself and putting on the prescribed garments and with the prescribed offering of a bullock and a ram.

The very first animal slain was given as kethôneth (katheph) or a covering to Adam and Eve. Then they were separated from the tree of life, and absent from Eden the pleasant Land.

All the people of Israel were part of this ritual as they were to bring a ram and two goats for a sin offering. Aaron (or the subsequent high priest) bring the goats to the presence of the Holy as representative of the nation and casts lots for the 2 he-goats and separates them.

Aaron first offers the bullock for himself and his house, indicating that they also are sinners in need of forgiveness, and must be first covered and reconciled to God and brought into his presence before they can act for the people. And with incense as a cloud screen or covering he enters the Most Holy through the covering curtain which separates and sprinkles the blood of his offering there.

Then the kid goat of the people is offered, and it's blood is also taken behind the covering into the Presence. After the whole place of worship was cleansed for the transgression of the people with blood, then the altar is cleansed. It is only when this is all done that the live goat has its head covered by the hands of the high priest as representative of the people. The high priest confess all the iniquities and transgression of the people and their sins and they were symbolically 'put' on the goat and it was set free in the wilderness. There were yet two more offerings after the high priest again washed and put off his holy garments, one for the high priest and one for the people. The person who set the goat free was to wash, as was the person who took the bullock and goat of the sin offering out of the camp to burn the remains.

The act of entering the presence of the Most Holy, involved numerous coverings and separations. For all the people there were two goats, which the people brought themselves. They were separated by casting a lot. One is used as a symbolic covering, the blood used to cover by sprinkling and purge the place of the meeting of the people with God and the other is used to symbolically take away the sins out of the place of meeting (which extended to the whole area of the dwellings of the people).

But I write of this all in the past tense. There is no temple. There is no place of meeting to come into the presence of the Holy. The place of separation where the act of covering allowed access to the presence of the Holy is absent. The second Torah portion is a memorial of this absence.

Numbers 29:7-11 (7) And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work therein: (8) But ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the LORD for a sweet savour; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year; they shall be unto you without blemish: (9) And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals to a bullock, and two tenth deals to one ram, (10) A several tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs: (11) One kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the sin offering of atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering of it, and their drink offerings.

The Haftarah reading points out that despite this absence, the Holy revives the contrite.

Isaiah 57:14-21 (14) And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people. (15) For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (16) For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made. (17) For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. (18) I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. (19) I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him. (20) But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. (21) There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

Isaiah 58:1-14 (1) Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. (2) Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. (3) Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. (4) Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. (5) Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? (6) Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? (7) Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? (8) Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. (9) Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; (10) And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: (11) And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. (12) And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. (13) If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: (14) Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

The contrite and lowly in spirit recognise their separation due to wrath at their iniquity. In this contrition is the beginning of healing. Aaron's sons were smitten for rebellion, but Aaron and the people are given a process of covering, so they can come into the presence of the Holy. The people of God are smitten and separated from the presence, but the contrite are given a promise of healing and peace. The point of the now absent offerings was not the process of offerings but the desire to follow the way, and eagerness for the nearness of God. The two great principles of the Torah shine as Isaiah points out to us that this desire to keep the ways of God and be near God is to be shown by how we treat others in everyday life, with Shabbat as a separation and absence from our own ways.

The afternoon Torah portion emphasises separation from the sins of the other nations. There must be an abstinence from actions that defile the place of the habitation of the people of God.

Leviticus 18:1-30 (1) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, (2) Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. (3) After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. (4) Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. (5) Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD. (6) None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD. (7) The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. (8) The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness. (9) The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. (10) The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness. (11) The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. (12) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman. (13) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman. (14) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt. (15) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. (16) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. (17) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness. (18) Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time. (19) Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness. (20) Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her. (21) And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. (22) Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. (23) Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. (24) Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: (25) And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. (26) Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (27) (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) (28) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. (29) For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. (30) Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

The Haftarah afternoon reading is the book of Jonah. Jonah found there was no escaping the presence of God. The people of God are always observed. Despite Jonah's desire to escape he is given salvation though being covered by a large fish. While absent and hidden in the fish Jonah realised his position, and knew he was driven away out of God's sight. Jonah prays that his hope is to look toward the holy temple and sacrifice and perform his vows, as those who cling to folly or vanity forsake their own source of mercy. Jonah was shown both the judgement leading to separation in affliction and the mercy that comes with abstinence from going our own way, and submission to God's way. Jonah was shown that other nations, even the enemies of Israel, would be shown both the judgement and mercy of God.

Jonah 1:1-17 (1) Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, (2) Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. (3) But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. (4) But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. (5) Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. (6) So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. (7) And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. (8) Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? (9) And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. (10) Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. (11) Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. (12) And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. (13) Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. (14) Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. (15) So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. (16) Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows. (17) Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 2:1-10 (1) Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, (2) And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. (3) For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. (4) Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. (5) The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. (6) I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. (7) When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. (8) They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. (9) But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. (10) And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

Jonah 3:1-10 (1) And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, (2) Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. (3) So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. (4) And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. (5) So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. (6) For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. (7) And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: (8) But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. (9) Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? (10) And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Jonah 4:1-11 (1) But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. (2) And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. (3) Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. (4) Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry? (5) So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. (6) And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. (7) But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. (8) And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. (9) And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. (10) Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: (11) And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

Micah pours out praise for the mercy of God.

Micah 7:18-20 (18) Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. (19) He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. (20) Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

The people of God are rebuked and subject to the wrath of God, but for the sake of the truth of the promise to Jacob and the mercy spoken to Abraham, the iniquity is pardoned and transgression is left behind. The sins are not counted, or remembered, but are thrown away into the sea, or like those on the goat, sent away into the wilderness. The mercy of Abram is the promise, not of separation and absence, but of a covering to allow the people to come again into the presence of God. Abraham was promised by God,

Genesis 17:7. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you.

God spoke to Moses face to face, but due to the rebellion of the priesthood they were given the ritual of Yom Kippur as a separation. Due to the rebellion of the people the temple is absent. But Ezekiel the prophet who was told to go the rebellious people (44:6) showed them a temple where the Most Holy was an open altar. Ezekiel doesn't mention a veil or a covering. Even to the rebellious there was an offer of the Most Holy as visible presence.

In this time of absence, and yes even absence of healing and peace fro the contrite spoken of in Isaiah, some in Israel are preparing for building a third temple. Can Third Temple be built without destroying Dome of the Rock?

From this article and their websites they are thinking of re-building Solomon's temple.

They might be a bit short on materials for the time when God wants to end the absence and separation from his people, when the covering is no longer needed. Then the Holy will have a visible presence as in the temple that he told Ezekiel about. It's a massive building about 1.5km square!

This as a thought is not very striking, but draw it on paper at scale over the temple mount. See for more.

This Yom Kippur I look for Isaiah's words to be fulfilled for the contrite,