“Naso” means “take,” as in “you will take an accounting of Israel” or a census. This portion begins with the census on the Gershonites and details all their prescribed duties in ministering to the Tabernacle. This is followed by the bitter waters test for an adulterous woman in Numbers 5 and other instructions for the sons of Aaron, culminating with the Blessing of the Priests in chapter 6. The 7th and last chapter in the portion details the
contributions for the Tabernacle made by each tribal leader.
“BaMidbar” means “in the wilderness” and it begins with a census being taken of the nation, particularly of men 20 years and older who can serve in combat. The total comes to 603,550 except Levites who cannot be counted for this purpose. After this more details are given for how the Levites are to maintain the Tabernacle and their own purity.
“BaHar” means at the mountain, from which Abba YHWH gives this series of instructions. It concerns itself with the intricate Jubilee and Land Sabbath rules, which I will be discussing from Torah and giving my take on them in the Eternal Torah Calendar system.
“BeChukkotai” means “by/through My statutes,” referring to Abba YHWH’s judgments being “walked in” or followed. There is a distinction made between “laws” and “statutes” and “commandments” which we will look into later. This portion though goes beyond just listing a bunch of rules; it deals with the rewards for obedience and punishments for disobedience. Most striking of these enactments is the prediction in 26:34-35, where Israel is warned they will be vomited out of the land if they fail to keep the Land Sabbath. The 27th chapter has extensive details on the monetary values of making an oath of consecration regarding a person based on gender and age.
“Emor” means “he said” and it is heavily concerned with purity regulations, but it then shifts into a bigger picture with restoring and re stating the sacred year. Abba YHWH does this to show the Israelites to know they renew their covenant by following His instructions, so He repeats these rules to reassure Israel their covenant continues.
“Aharei Mot” means “after the death,” referring to the demise of Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu who offered fire in a way not sanctioned by Abba YHWH. The portion begins with the purification measures that Aaron and his remaining sons need to go through to rectify the evil that was done in Abba YHWH’s sight. Once done, additional purity regulations are given on how native Israelites are to slaughter and handle blood. Abba YHWH then opens the last chapter in this portion by reminding Israel that they are not to do the practices of the peoples either from where they came from (Egypt) or where they are going (Canaan) but must remain a Set-Apart people. In order to do this, the portion closes with additional regulations of proper and improper sexual conduct.
“Kedoshim” means “you shall be Set-Apart.” This is a kind of “Cliff Notes” style discussion of some of the main themes of the overall Torah. It includes some of the Ten Words (Commandments) but not all of them, and wraps around the ones it does include with either brief application advice or other commands that the text didn’t have the chance to get to yet.
“Tazria” means “to bring seed, give birth.” It begins with the “niddah” rules, or how a woman is unclean for a certain period after giving birth. The rest of the portion then deals with how lepers are to be isolated and pronounced clean by the priests before being allowed to rejoin Israel.
“Metzora” or more precisely “Ha Metzora” means “The Leper,” and the portion concerns primarily how a leper gets pronounced clean by the priests, how he demonstrates he has been cleansed from the disease. The previous Torah portion (Tazria) concerned states of impurity and isolation for women who have just given birth and lepers. This portion deals with how to get the lepers clean again. It then takes an interesting turn to discuss what happens when a whole house becomes unclean before ending with other purity rules for men and women.
Tzav means “command” as in commanding the sons of Aaron. It is another form of the same root we saw in an earlier parsha “tetzaveh” or “you will command/charge.” This time the focus of the portion is on the priestly responsibilities in preparing sacrifices.
“Vayikra” means “and he called” and seems focused on the details about the various offerings and sacrifices that are needed for and by the priests of Aaron. I say “seems focused” because there are a lot of deep spiritual realities laying beneath the surface when we delve into the meanings of these rituals.
“Vayachel” means “and he assembled.” The verb is derived from KAHAL, Hebrew word for “assembly, congregation.” After a brief sermon on the importance of Shabbat, Moshe then gets the Israelites to work on the manifold details of building the Tabernacle and related furniture and objects.
“Pekudei” means “these are the records/expenses” and the portion opens with giving the pricing values for the materials that will be used in the Tabernacle. Many exacting physical (and spiritual) details are given for all the wondrous objects and the Tabernacle. But after all these long lists (from this portion and the previous ones) we finally get to the “payoff” in lovely chapter 40. It is in chapter 40—the last of Exodus—that time begins again as the priests begin their official service for Israel.
“Tetzaveh” means “you will charge/command,” which opens with requirements for worship that are so important that failure to comply is simply not an option. If these needs are not met, nothing good will ever come about from that nation of Israel. We then get a lot of details about the designs of the priestly garments (ch. 28) and how the priests themselves are to be consecrated (ch. 29). The remaining 11 lines in ch. 30 concern instructions for building the altar.
Terumah means “the contributions” concerns a list of the offerings Israel gives to help build the Tabernacle in the wilderness as well as detailed instructions for building the Ark of the Covenant and other “divine furniture. Video #3 also contains the “Windows of Heaven” teaching which I get requests on from time to time.
“The Judgments” concerns a list of rules and regulations that Abba YHWH is giving to Israel. They involve practical examples from the root commands given at Sinai. However, there is much more going on here than a mere laundry list of obligations. Sandwiched between these rules are some of the most powerful insights that Abba YHWH has ever imparted to man. It’s as if we have to wade through the rules to get to the reward of these insights. Hey, that sounds a lot like life too!