"I have come to the land which HaShem swore to our forefathers to give us"(Deuteronomy 26:3) Sivan 5, 5783/May 25, 2023 Today is Forty Nine Days, which are Seven Weeks of the Omer Shavuot - literally the Festival of Weeks - the one day pilgrimage festival that we have been counting up to ever since leaving Egypt just seven weeks ago! This one day festival one could almost mistake for an afterthought. After all, it does not require the involved preparations of Passover, nor the daily rituals of Sukkot. It requires neither the all important korban Pesach - Passover offering, nor the seventy bullocks of Sukkot, offered for the peace of the seventy nations. But nevertheless, this one day holiday packs a lot of punch: It is the holiday that kicks off the summer season of bringing Bikurim - the First Fruit offerings up to the Holy Temple, and it is also the festival on which the Twin Loaves offering is made, officially sanctifying the wheat harvest in the land of Israel. And last but certainly not least, Shavuot is the anniversary of the receiving of Torah at Mount Sinai! All of these very different aspects of Shavuot are, in fact, very closely related. "And it will be, when you come into the land which HaShem, your G-d, gives you for an inheritance, and you possess it and settle in it, that you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you will bring from your land, which HaShem, your G-d, is giving you. And you shall put them into a basket and go to the place which HaShem, your G-d, will choose to have His Name dwell there. And you shall come to the kohen who will be serving in those days, and say to him, 'I declare this day to HaShem, your G-d, that I have come to the land which HaShem swore to our forefathers to give us.'" (Deuteronomy 26:1-3) Thus begins the ceremony of the bringing of the First Fruits, performed by the pilgrim and the kohen together, as a statement of gratitude to HaShem, who has faithfully shepherded His people into the land He has promised. How do we thank HaShem? Not by words alone, although a lengthy narrative forms a central part of the ceremony, and certainly not by taking a big bite out of the first fruits of our spring harvest and enjoying their fine taste! For that is precisely what Adam and Eve did when they were placed by HaShem in the Garden of Eden, and that did not work out well for them! But now, blessed with a second chance, and blessed with far more humility and appreciation, we are bringing our first fruits, the finest of what we have to offer, the work of our own hands and the blessed soil that makes up our eternal inheritance, and are offering up our very humble gift to HaShem, who accepts it with the pride and joy and satisfaction of a loving Father! And what is our ticket to the holy land? Why, it is the Torah that we received and continue to receive at Sinai - HaShem's gift to us that keeps on giving! For only by pledging our allegiance to HaShem's Torah ("we will do and we will hear") are we able to stroll in peace the sacred earth upon which G-d has placed us. And only by reaching out toward one another, as do the pilgrim and the kohen when, together, they place their hands on the pilgrim's basket of offerings and hold it up high for HaShem to see, (and not by casting blame on one another, as Adam did concerning Eve, when G-d asked him why he defied G-d's word), do we earn our place in HaShem's Holy Temple. This new, robust relationship between ourselves and HaShem is symbolized by the Twin Loaves offering. When we first left Egypt, a ragtag band of runaway slaves, we were not yet in possession of the spiritual capacity to receive Torah. This lack of spiritual maturity is symbolized by the Omer offering of barley made on the day following the first night of Passover. Barley is a less refined grain than wheat, which is why we count forty nine days from the day of the Omer offering to the day of the Twin Loaves offering of two loaves of leavened wheat - the only offering of leavened bread made in the Holy Temple throughout the entire year. Once a year HaShem commands us to look back to from where we came and to take stock of where we are, and to rise up like the Twin Loaves and take hold of our shared future together - HaShem in His Holy Temple, and Israel in the land of our inheritance! The Temple Institute wishes all our friends, followers, generous supporters and fellow pilgrims, and all who love and honor the G-d of Israel, His land and His people, a peaceful and joy-filled Shavuot - Chag Shavuot Sameach! . |
Tune in to this week's Temple Talk, as Yitzchak Reuven focuses on Shavuot - the holiday of giving & receiving, on the third day of the third month - getting ready for revelation, and on caring for the Tabernacle in the wilderness! In parashat Naso we learn of the responsibilities of the Levites, the woman accused of adultery and of men and women who take a voluntary oath of abstention and become nazirim. This Thursday evening begins Shavuot, the pilgrimage festival of the bringing of the first-fruits, the twin loaves and the receiving of Torah at Sinai, and its message of gratitude to HaShem for bringing us into the land He has promised us! |
Sefirat Ha'omer: Today is Forty Nine Days, which are Seven Weeks of the Omer. Counting the Omer "Blessed are You, HaShem our G-d, King of the universe, Who sanctifies us with His commandments, and commanded us to count the Omer." 5 Sivan: Today is Forty Nine Days, which are Seven Weeks of the Omer. (Malchut within Malchut) |
Rabbi Yisrael Ariel's Six Day War Reflections We have now posted the first five segments of Rabbi Yisrael Ariel's recollections of his experiences the 1967 Six Day War. These are a viewing must! In 2009, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, the founder of the Temple Institute, shared with us on film his experiences of the Six Day War. In the 1967 Six Day War, Rabbi Ariel was an IDF paratrooper who took part in the liberation of Jerusalem's old city and Temple Mount. For the first time we are sharing Rabbi Ariel's full one hour recollection. The historical value of Rabbi Ariel's vivid memories of the events he lived through leading up to and during the war, and, of course, his memories of the first days and nights on the Temple Mount following nearly 2,000 years since the Holy Temple was destroyed by the Romans, make the posting of Rabbi Ariel's reflections in their entirety, imperative! We have divided the full interview into smaller segments and are posting them every few days. We have added English subtitles and no additional footage. We believe you will find Rabbi Ariel's words both informative and compelling. |
Shavuot In The Holy Temple! Shavuot - The day of the receiving Torah at Sinai and the springtime festival of the bringing of the First Fruits and the Twin Loaves offering! Learn how this unique one-day pilgrimage festival was celebrated in the Holy Temple! Beautifully illustrated! |
Help To Build The Holy Temple In Our Time! Donate Generously To Help The Sacred Work Of The Temple Institute! Every contribution helps to rebuild the Holy Temple in our Time! |
We humans run hot and cold; we're up and we're down, inspired and disillusioned, filled with holy fervor one moment and sinning the next. The case of the nazir, discussed in this week's parashat Naso, takes all this into consideration. Naso (Numbers 1:1 - 4:20)
Parashat Naso is read on Shabbat:
Sivan 7, 5783/May 27, 2023 |
The Sacred Temple Vessels! Make an online visit to the Temple Institute's gallery of our recreated Temple vessels! Every sacred vessel used in the Temple service has been painstakingly recreated by the Temple Institute, in accordance with Torah commandments and more than 3,000 years of tradition! Each vessel is ready for use in the rebuilt Holy Temple, may it be soon! |
A Temple Mount Moment: Visiting Second Temple Jerusalem! Dr. Melissa Jane Kronfeld takes us on a tour of Second Temple era Jerusalem, with the Holy Temple in the heart of the city. The model of Second Temple Jerusalem is at the Israel Museum in modern day Jerusalem! A Temple Mount Moment is the joint project of the Temple Institute and High on the Har. Temple Mount experts and co founders of High on the Har, Dr. Melissa Jane Kronfeld and Rabbi Yehuda Levi present each week fascinating facts and insights about the Temple Mount and the Holy Temple, its past, present and future! |
Parashat Naso: The Affliction Of Tzar’at Even before discussing the case of the sota - a woman accused by her husband of infidelity, or of the nazir, a man or woman who makes a vow abstaining from wine or other alcoholic beverages, cutting their hair or coming in contact with a corpse, this week's parashat Naso makes a brief mention of those afflicted with tzar'at, the skin affliction commonly mistranslated as leprosy. |
Parashat Naso: The Priestly Blessing In this week's Torah reading, Naso, immediately after concluding the description of the laws of the nazirite, the Torah introduces Birkat Kohanim - the Priestly Blessing: "HaShem spoke to Moshe saying: Speak to Aharon and his sons, saying: This is how you shall bless the children of Israel, saying to them: 'May HaShem bless you and watch over you. May HaShem cause His countenance to shine to you and favor you. May HaShem raise His countenance toward you and grant you peace.' They shall bestow My Name upon the children of Israel, so that I will bless them." (Numbers 6:22-27) |
Israel’s Minister Of Internal Security Visits Temple Mount This past Sunday Itamar ben Gvir, Israel's Minister of Internal Security, ascended the Temple Mount, in what was a non-event that nevertheless drew much domestic and international criticism. For some reason, politicians, bureaucrats and pundits around the world think that an Israeli government minister ascending the Temple Mount is in violation of what people commonly refer to as "the status quo." No such status quo exists as the Arabs have violated the so-called status quo time and time again. The same criticism was leveled at four Israeli parliamentarians who ascended the Mount last week on Jerusalem Day. |
This Week: Parashat Naso: The Vow Of The Nazirite Following its discussion of the sota, about which we posted yesterday, this week's Torah reading, Naso, describes the phenomenon of the nazir, in which a man or woman can take upon themselves the vow of the nazirite: "HaShem spoke to Moshe saying: Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say to them: A man or woman who sets himself apart by making a nazirite vow to abstain for the sake of HaShem..." |
This Week: Parashat Naso: The Case Of The Sota In this week's Torah reading, Naso, (Numbers 4:21 - 7:89), we read of a woman accused by her husband of being unfaithful. She is suspected by her husband despite there being no witnesses to her alleged act of infidelity. She denies the accusation. The Torah prescribes a Mikdash (Holy Temple) based ceremony to arrived at the truth of the matter |
Mikdash Monday - Shavuot (Part 6) “You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the first fruits of the wheat harvest; and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Hashem, the G-d of Israel.” (Shemot 34:22-23) |
Rosh Chodesh Sivan - Chodesh Tov! Today is the first day of the month of Sivan - the month of Shavuot, the month of receiving Torah at Sinai, the month of the twin-loaves offering and bringing first-fruits to the Holy Temple! Wishing everyone a very blessed month! |
Shavua Tov From The Temple Mount! Wishing everyone a good week and a good new month (Rosh Chodesh Sivan) from the Temple Mount! Last week many Jews ascended the Temple Mount, including over 1,000 on Yom Yerushalayim - Jerusalem Day! This week large numbers of Temple Mount pilgrims are expected to ascend the Mount in anticipation of Shavuot, which begins Thursday evening! Shavua tov & Chodesh tov! |
Red Heifers Arrive In Israel! On Thursday, September 15, 2022, 5 PM, 5 perfect, unblemished red heifers arrived in Israel from the USA. A modest ceremony was held at the unloading bay of the cargo terminal at Ben Gurion airport, where the new arrivals were greeted and speeches were made by the incredible people who have put their hearts and souls and means into making this historic/prophetic day become a reality. |
The five red heifer candidates that were greeted at Ben Gurion airport this past summer, we are happy to relate, are healthy and thriving. One of the five, unfortunately, has grown some non-red hairs and is therefore disqualified from becoming the red heifer which can provide the much longed for ashes. The remaining four, however, are still viable candidates. These recently taken photographs show that they are healthy, happy, and growing! |
Chag Sameach Shavuot from the holy city of Jerusalem!
Yitzchak Reuven
The Temple Institute |
|
Posts