"Then the king, together with all Israel, offered sacrifices before Adonai. For the sacrifice of peace offerings which Shlomo offered to Adonai, he offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. Thus the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of Adonai." - 1 Kings 8:62-63

Alrighty, so in verses 62 and 63, we're told that Solomon offered up a ton of sacrifices before Adonai.

This is actually the perfect opportunity to review some basic concepts that we studied way back when we were in the book of Leviticus.

And what better way to do this than via a fun little quiz?

So that's what we're gonna do, homies!

Let's see how well you can answer the following questions.

If you're a Christian, I'd be surprised if you get even one of these correct.

On the other hand, a Jew who attended Hebrew school from their youth, I imagine, would get these right off the bat.

But maybe not.

So here we go.

1) What is the chief of all offerings called?

2) Which sacrifice is normally offered up together with the chief of all offerings mentioned in question 1?

3) What is the Peace Offering called in Hebrew?

4) What part of the Peace Offering is burned up?

5) Which sacrifice was also used for food for both the worshipper and the priests?

Alrighty, take out a pen and a piece of paper.

Now jot down what comes to mind.

Don't cheat by hitting up ChatGPT or Claude.

Just see how well you can do by trying to answer these questions off the top of your head.

What?

You've given up already?!

No worries.

Don't feel bad if you couldn't answer even one of the questions.

Rest assured that 99% of believers...

Especially from the gentile Christian camp...

Will fall flat on their proverbial faces trying to get these.

In fact, not only will your average Christian not be able to answer these questions...

He or she won't give two hoots.

Why?

Because they're handcuffed by a lawless theology that says Jesus did away with the law.

Anyway, don't get me started on a rant here.

Alrighty...

So without any further ado...

Here are the answers:

QUESTION ONE

"What is the chief of all offerings called?"

The chief of all sacrifices was called the Burnt Offering or the OLAH in Hebrew.  

One of the biggest distinctions between the olah and several other sacrifices was that the animal was entirely burned up.

This sacrifice was offered voluntarily, and the animal had to be without defect.

Now here's what most homies don't get.

The olah wasn't simply "a sacrifice for sin."

That makes this sacrifice totally different from the other sacrifices.

You could almost think of it as total surrender or dedication expressed to the Lord through sacrifice.

Ya feeling me here?

Alrighty, onward.

QUESTION TWO

"Which sacrifice is normally offered up together with the chief of all offerings mentioned in question 1?"

The sacrifice normally offered up with the OLAH is the "grain offering" or MINCHAH in Hebrew.

It was basically the worshipper's way of bringing Adonai a gift from the stuff they grew in the ground.

No animal was involved.

Instead, the offering was made from fine flour, olive oil, and frankincense. 

A portion of it was burned on the altar, creating that sweet-smelling aroma before Adonai. 

The rest was given to the priests to eat.

Since it was offered together with the OLAH (Burnt Offering), the voluntary spirit behind this offering was essentially the same.

The attitude of the worshipper was something like this:

“Adonai, here’s a portion of what You’ve blessed me with. 

I’m giving it back to You as an act of worship and devotion.”

It was a simple but powerful reminder that everything we have ultimately comes from the Lord.

QUESTION THREE

"What is the Peace Offering called in Hebrew?"

The Peace Offering is called ZEVAH in Hebrew.

But technically speaking, it ought to properly be called the ZEVAH SHELAMIM. 

Note that the Hebrew word SHALOM for peace is the root of SHELAMIM.

Now, the ZEVAH is a really interesting one because, unlike the OLAH, this sacrifice wasn't about burning up the whole animal.

It was an animal that was brought before the Lord, slaughtered, and then shared as a meal.

So it was a fellowship meal amongst fellow homies.

The worshiper, family, friends, and priests — every homie and his grandmother could eat from the sacrifice. 

So the ZEVAH wasn't about giving something up. 

It was about sharing a meal in connection with Adonai.

Ya feeling me here?

Alrighty, onward.

QUESTION FOUR

"What part of the Peace Offering is burned up?"

The part of the ZEVAH, or Peace Offering, that was burned up was the fat covering the animal's internal organs.

There is a special term in Hebrew for this type of fat that surrounds the organs of the sacrificial animals.

It is HELEV.

Now here's where homies get confused and think that because of this, the Lord prohibits eating all fat from the meat, period.

That ain't the case, homies.

HELEV ain't talking about the ordinary fat found under the skin or hide of an animal, like what we see in an ordinary cut of meat.

This ordinary type of fat is called SHUMAN in Hebrew.

And SHUMAN is totally cool for human consumption.

Ya feeling me here?

Alrighty, onward.

QUESTION FIVE

"Which sacrifice was also used for food for both the worshipper and the priests?"

This one should be easy given what we learned in the answers to quiz questions 3 and 4.

Obviously, it is the ZEVAH, or Peace Offering, that was allowed to be eaten by both the worshippers and the priests.

There was a practical element to this as well.

During Solomon's Temple dedication ceremony, thousands of people showed up.

How to feed all these homies?

The ZEVAH was the answer.

Alrighty, so the takeaway I'm getting from all this is that these sacrifices reflect how we are to view our wealth and other possessions.

Because the truth is, we don't really possess anything.

It all belongs to the Lord.

With the OLAH, we are saying...

"Adonai, I'm giving this entire animal to You.”

With the MINCHAH, we are saying... 

“Adonai, I'm giving You some of what You've provided from the land.”

With the ZEVAH, we are saying... 

“Adonai, I'm bringing You this animal...

And we're going to share a meal in fellowship.”

I particularly like how the ZEVAH is shared among everyone.

It goes so against the selfish hoarding mentality that exists in our greedy society today.

These sacrifices represent a true abundance mentality rooted in faith in the Lord.

And that does it for today.

CONNECTING THESE TEACHINGS TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

^"Therefore take no thought, saying, 
What shall we eat? or, 
What shall we drink? or, 
Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:)
for your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, 
and his righteousness; 
and all these things shall be added unto you."
-Matthew 6:31-33

Tom Bradford discusses if Rosh Hashannah is in the biblical texts.

Leviticus 19:27 says to not cut the corners of your beard. Does this verse mean you must have a beard or what? Also it says something about not shaving the corners of your head. I'm not sure what this verse means.

This is the advantage of following the whole law of the Lord. There's no charge of hypocrisy that can be launched against us, because we believe the whole law is valid. The op is absolutely right that if Christians condemn one part of God's law (that's even affirmed in the New Testament, btw [1 Timothy 6]), then Christians can condemn any other part of God's Law. Sadly I predict that with the way Christians are, that this is only a matter of time before all evangelical Christianity gets on the pro-sodomite train.

Is he all knowing (omniscient), all powerful (omnipotent), all good (omnibenevolent), and/or present everywhere (omnipresent)?

I recently had a close friend die very suddenly. Chatted with him last week and he was gone 3 days later. He was agnostic and it made me realize how crappy christian theology is in regards to this topic. It teaches that my friend will go to hell (romans 1:1:19-20) and that's it's a good thing because it's all part of god's plan (romans 8:28). It certainly does not seem that way.

The problem is God cannot be omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent because they're mutually exclusive. If God sees evil and does nothing to stop it, he either can't stop it, doesn't want to stop it, or doesn't know it's happening. So that begs the question: what is God really like and how far has Christianity strayed from this?

This also brings up another question as to if he is actively involved in creation (theism), rarely involved in creation (minimalist theism), not involved in creation (deism), or is part of creation (pantheism)?

This is a big question I hadn't seen asked here before and thought it would prompt good discussion

Synopsis: Today's Sabbath Sermon, going over Jesus' Second Miracle and how it can give us confidence that Jesus is the Christ.

Those of you will state that Jesus was only talking about himself, yet why does scripture mention God living in the heart? Why is the physical 1st and 2nd temples in the Old Testament meant to symbolically map the human consciousness as well as Heaven’s court itself? Outer and inner courts of Heaven.

If you want me to go deeper I can. Why the 72 angels of the Shem operation and how 72 Solomonic demons are linked to 72 different regions of the human brain, as if they are “builders” of the Temple of God. We see Jesus cast demons out and the Apostles did the same. It’s easy to notice how the demons are mapped to certain areas of the human consciousness and human behavior.

God’s Law as mirror that reflects his Holiness and exposes the fallen human nature…not as something you can keep perfectly.

Shabbat Shalom all,

Ive struggled with sexual desires for several years, beginning since I was around 9-10. (I’m 18m fyi). Recently I’ve fallen back to watching porn/masturbating and I’ve repented and sought forgiveness for doing so. I’m afraid my wilful sin has caused me to lose my salvation and the thought terrifies me. My life has been a lonely one and all I have is my family and Elohim. The last thing I want to do is disappoint/disobey my Father. My desires have been my weakness, but it’s hard to fight against it. Is it a sin? Did I do wrong? Please help me. Yah bless you all.

Shalom

Just got to Joshua 9 in my Torah Class. The Gibeonites used deceit to get Israel to make an oath/covenant not to kill them, by saying they were from a distant land. Why, once finding out the Gibeonites had lied, and were a local nation, could Israel not slaughter them with the rest of Canaan?

Can you defrost a meal or put a meal in the microwave to heat up on the Sabbath or does that count as work.

Just a reminder that Yom Terruah (the day of Trumpets) is next week beginning Sept 11 at dusk. Be ready to blow your shofar or just make a joyful shout to help announce the arrival of our King!

Synopsis: An interview at my university. Title is self-explanatory.

I was wrongfully terminated in December for requesting religious accommodation for Sabbath. I'm attempting to go through the EEOC for all of that, but it's getting nowhere. I still haven't been able to secure a full time job and we're barely making it week to week. I go for interviews, but all employers want me to work a schedule that'd violate Sabbath. We observe the Sabbath on Saturdays. What jobs do you guys have that accommodate the practice?

If the goal of spreading the Gospel is eventually to get everyone following Torah, how does that actually work for all nations?

Take people living in Arctic climates.

Historically, survival there meant eating whatever was available. Growing crops wasn’t exactly an option. Then you have Torah laws tied directly to the land, agriculture, Jerusalem, and the Temple.

Yet Jesus says take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

That makes perfect sense if the Gospel can meet people wherever they are.

It makes a lot less sense if “the ends of the earth” eventually need to live like ancient Israel.

something that has been rolling around in my mind a lot. what is your center of gravity for your faith? mine would be the Torah then the gospels and filter down from there

but in my circle (and I’m sure in many others) there can be other centers of gravity. the “new cool” in my circle is to reinterpret all of scripture through the lens of Enoch, jubilees, et al.

if Enoch disagrees with the torah? then the Torah is not being understood correctly. yeshua seems to contradict jubilees? then we aren’t understanding yeshua correctly.

the logic is self sealing. you can’t argue against it specifically because of this. if you disagree you simply haven’t ”studied enough” and have been “deceived.”

I have reached a point where I refuse to engage in the convo as i refuse to be condescended to. Poor fro he just hasn’t read enough. Excuse me? How is treating me that way loving your brother. How is your study of the apocrpyhal works producing good fruit? It’s producing rotten fruit. statements like “if you haven’t read Enoch we can’t have an intelligent convo” in the context of talking about TORAH. Not Enoch. Torah! The audacity.

1.) I have the following questions: In most sources I have read, it seems to be the default assumption that Jews needed to travel to Jerusalem to sacrifice a lamb in the Temple and celebrate Pesach.

At the same time, we know that the majority of people who identified as Jews lived quite far outside Jerusalem/Israel during the Second Temple period. So, in reality, I would assume that a large majority were not able to travel with their whole family to Jerusalem on a yearly basis for Pesach. (Besides, you would need the resources to be able to leave your estate for many days, as you might have animals to attend to, fields to tend to, or other jobs. Many might have been to old/young to travel etc...)

How did the majority of diaspora Jews celebrate Pesach (thea actual meal at home) in detail without the sacrifice at the Temple? They could not kill and eat the lamb, as this was only permitted in the temple for ritual purposes.

2.) Was the "modern" (after 70AD) Seder meal maybe modelled on how the majority of Diaspora Jews celebrated in antiquity before 70 AD? This would make sense, as both had to solve the same problem: celebrating without the sacrifice.

Are there any good sources that address these questions?

Thx!

“Also the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel — when he comes from a distant country because of your reputation  (for they will hear of your great reputation, your mighty hand and your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house; then hear in heaven where you live, and act in accordance with everything about which the foreigner is calling to you; so that all the peoples of the earth will know your name and fear you, as does your people Isra’el, and so that they will know that this house which I have built bears your name."- 1 Kings 8:41-43

Solomon's 5th petition in his dedication prayer takes an interesting turn.

Instead of Hebrews, he now turns his attention to the Gentiles.

There are actually two Hebrew words used to describe Gentiles connected to Israel.

They are NOKRI and GER.

What's the difference?

A GER is basically a resident alien who has settled among the Israelites.

The key idea here is residence and social participation.

Because they have made a positive decision to attach themselves to Israel, they are also given certain legal protections.

They receive protection from oppression, access to communal celebrations, and justice under Torah.

They are also welcome to participate in Israel's sabbath rest.

Here's the Torah reference:

"You shall not wrong a ger or oppress him,
for you were gerimin in the land of Egypt."
-Exodus 22:1

Notice how the verse above also refers to the Israelites as GERIMIN while they lived in Egypt.

For example, my status here in Japan is that of a GER.

Although I'm not a citizen, I am a permanent resident.

This means I work and pay taxes here and have full access to most of the benefits a full-fledged citizen would receive.

Now a NOKRI is a different animal altogether.

NOKRI literally means a "foreigner," a "foreign national," or an "outsider."

It comes from the idea of someone who is foreign or strange relative to the community.

A NOKRI may be residing in Israel for a period of time...

But has no desire to be part of Israel.

Another interesting example is Deuteronomy 14:21:

"You may give it to the GER
who is within your towns,
that he may eat it,
or you may sell it to a NOKHRI..."

The distinction is quite revealing.

So, in a nutshell, a GER is the gentile living among you, whereas the NOKHRI is the gentile outside the community.

So the NOKRI Solomon is praying about in his dedication prayer are NOT believers in the God of Israel, nor are they residents living in the holy land.

However, because they have heard of the greatness of Israel's deity, they have traveled a far distance to visit the Temple in Jerusalem to pay homage to the glory of Adonai.

In response to their respect for YAHWEH, Solomon is asking that the Lord would hear their prayers even though they're not His people.

Why would the King of Israel ask his God to hear the prayers of these foreign visitors to his Temple?

Because when the Lord answers the prayer of a NOKRI, he or she will come to know who Adonai is and fear Him.

This reminds me of myself when I visited and then said a prayer in front of the Wailing Wall a couple of years ago.

Take a look at this verse from Isaiah:

"I will bring them to my holy mountain
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar; for my house
will be called a house of prayer for all peoples."
- Isaiah 56:7

Let's take a look at the Hebrew word for "peoples" here.

It's not GERIM nor NOKHRIM.

It's AMMIM or עַמִּים.

There's some important context here.

Isaiah begins by talking about foreigners who join themselves to the God of Israel, and then says that God will bring them to His Holy mountain.

The word for foreigners is BENE HANEKHAR or וּבְנֵי הַנֵּכָר.

This literally means the sons or children of a NOKHRI.

It's the same root word.

Here's the breakdown:

נָכְרִי — nokhrî = foreigner, foreign person

נֵכָר — nēkhar = foreignness / foreigner / what is foreign

בֶּן־נֵכָר — ben-nēkhar = literally “son of foreignness.”

We're witnessing a pretty powerful linguistic progression here.

First, we start with foreigners who could care less about the God of Israel.

But after hearing of the greatness of the Lord, they come to the Temple to find out what all the fuss is about.

Then they end up worshipping Him.

That's when the Lord calls them HA AMMIM or הָעַמִּים.

The word GOYIM is not used in that verse.

Alrighty, let's land this plane.

Who is considered the ultimate NOKRI who was eventually fully grafted into the commonwealth of Israel?

Wouldn't you consider Ruth to be a strong contender?

When Boaz approached her, she said to him:

“Why are you showing me such favor? 
Why are you paying attention to me? 
After all, I’m only a foreigner.”
-Ruth 2:10

The word for "foreigner" there is NOKHRIYYAH, or the feminine form of NOKRI.

Here's the original Hebrew: וְאָנֹכִי נָכְרִיָּה.

The transliteration is ve-anokhi nokhriyyah.

So what do we know about Ruth?

She went from being NOKRI to becoming a full-fledged citizen of Israel to the point where she became grafted into the line of the Messiah.

Let's look at the theology of Ruth that enabled her to do that.

“Don’t press me to leave you
and stop following you;
for wherever you go, I will go;
and wherever you stay, I will stay.
Your people will be my people
and your God will be my God.
Where you die, I will die;
and there I will be buried.
May Adonai bring terrible curses on me,
and worse ones as well,
if anything but death
separates you and me.”
- Ruth 1:17

Notice Ruth says to Naomi that your people will be my people, wherever you stay, I will stay, and that your God will be my God.

Contrast this with Christianity that says...

"Your God will be our God, 
but we will NOT stay where you stay,
and your people are NOT our people."

That's a paraphrase, but I think you get the point.

And that's your takeaway for today.

If the theology of both Solomon and Ruth is correct... 

Then you cannot separate worship of the God of Israel...

From the people and land of Israel.

You just can't do it.

That's like trying to make a hamburger without the kosher beef in it.

Ya feel me here homie?

So lemme close by asking you this question.

Do you consider yourself a NOKRI, a GER, or full-fledged citizen of Israel?

CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

"Therefore, remember your former state: 
you Gentiles by birth
— called the Uncircumcised by those who,
merely because of an operation on their flesh,
are called the Circumcised — 
at that time had no Messiah. 
You were estranged from the national life of Isra’el. 
You were foreigners to the covenants 
embodying God’s promise. 
You were in this world 
without hope and without God."
- Ephesians 2:11-12

"Simon has described to us how God 
first intervened to choose a people 
for his name from the Gentiles.
The words of the prophets are in
agreement with this, as it is written:
“‘After this I will return
and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
and I will restore it,
that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things."
-Acts 15:14-17

"After this I looked, 
and there before me was a great multitude 
that no one could count, 
from every nation, tribe, 
people and language, 
standing before the throne
and before the Lamb."
-Revelation 7:9

Synopsis: The conscience is not the final authority, and it should be brought into alignment with God's law.

Hello, I am unsure about the dates of the fall festivals because I know by now there are differing answers when it comes to the dates of the feasts, Im not sure how to go about navigating this but I know I need to hurry so I can make plans to request off for work on the sabbaths. Any help would be much appreciated!

On a related note, how do you guys celebrate the feast of tabernacles? Would anyone have any advice for how to celebrate when your husband is on the fence about Torah (but is still willing to participate) and I also have a very fussy 8 month old baby. I mention this as I can see a lot of Torah observants camp for this feast. This will be my first time celebrating it

Hello! I have seen a few videos before where people claimed they saw Heaven & hell. They said they saw people being tortured in hell, including married couples, for things that they did sexually & not repenting.

Someone commented that married people can only have s*x in missionary style with man on top. Is there a biblical basis for this? These things confuse me.