Tazria: She will conceive — תזריע

Thoughts on Torah for Last Week:
 
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Leviticus 9-11
Last weeks Torah portion details the types of animals that God has designated to be used for food.  Animals had a critical role to play in Israel's sacrificial system.  Only certain kinds of animals were acceptable to be used for sacrifice.  As we see in the Bible, God created a variety of animals for the use of man on the earth.  And God has designated that certain animals are to be used as God has prescribed in the Bible.  When we use animals outside of God’s intended purposes, we not only disrespect that creature but we also disrespect God.  God has set an order for man’s use of living creatures.

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Making Order
In 1824, Nicholas Carnot, a French physicist, formulated the second law of thermodynamics, which was the basis for Rudolf Clausius’ broader theory that the universe or any natural system in isolation devolves to a state of disorder, he said:     “The entropy [disorder] of the universe tends to a maximum”  A simple illustration of this is to consider an unattended field, over time the field is taken over by weeds and becomes unproductive, useless and disordered.  What Carnot and Clausius discovered is what God already knew - that the earth needed an outside influence to regulate and maintain order, and it is why God commanded Adam and Eve to “dress” and “keep” the Garden (Genesis 2:15). Arthur Hertzberg wrote in his book, Judaism, “To be like God…means to be His partner in ruling the world and in carrying forward the work of making order,…” (p. 178)). The concept of order is evident  in Adam and Eve’s mandate from God to management the earth but the earth also has a  built-in internal plan that God designed so the earth has a way of managing itself.  One of those ways or systems is employed in the animal kingdom where certain creatures process decay and the waste of living organisms.  These creatures God calls Unclean and by default these animals can be carriers of bacteria, toxins, disease and parasites.  God further indicates that these creatures are not food.  Simple logic should dictate that these creatures should not be eaten because they are the earth's natural garbage processors and would not be good for food.
 
A Spiritual Dimension
But the scriptures go further and add a spiritual dimension for not eating unclean animals.  Consider this video teaching by Rabbi Joel M. Finkelstein.

Kosher in the New Testament
Some advance the idea that these Kosher laws were eliminated in the New Testament.  Especially with Peter's dream in the tenth chapter of Acts.  This conclusion fails to look at the biblical context .  Consider this teaching by Steve Berkson.

Isaiah Chapter 25
Survivors of the earth’s catastrophic destruction sing praises when Jehovah does away with death.

Hebrew Study

Hebrew Communion Blessing

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​Torah Basis for Christian Communion

-	Torah	New Testament
Bread/Body	​Leavening in Bread is a living organism and when eaten represents the taking in of life.  We see this concept reflected in the feast of unleavened bread and in Shavuot where leavened  bread is consumed.	​In the New Testament, Messiah likens bread to His body and to remember it that in His bodily resurrection there is bodily immortal life for man.
Wine/Blood	We see the Torah teaching that life is in blood.  Leviticus 17:13-14	​Similarly the same concept is implied with Messiah in that there is life through His blood.
Blameless Sacrifice	Innocent Animal	Innocent Human Sacrifice in Yeshua

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Resource Links for this Week's Portion

TORAH: Leviticus 12:1-13:59
GOSPELS: Luke 2:22-35

Listen and Read the Portion
First Fruits of Zion

​​Commentary with Nehemia Gordon
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HAFTARAH: Isaiah Chapter 26

Commentary with Avraham Gileadi, PhD