APRIL 4, 2022 Leviticus 17:3-4 Whatever man of the house of Israel who kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, the guilt of bloodshed shall be imputed […]
APRIL 3, 2022 Leviticus 16:34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year. Today, I’d like to focus on the word “everlasting” and consider what it means. In my simplistic mind it means that something is intended to last forever — […]
In one cryptic passage from the Talmud, the sages discuss different theories about the potential name of the Messiah. Several schools of disciples offer different opinions. Each one has a theory about what the name of the Messiah will be. After the Talmud offers the list of opinions, it presents an authoritative ruling of the sages. The Messiah will be called “the Leper of the House of Rabbi,” a strange name indeed for the promised Savior King:
And the rabbis say: “His name is The Leper … as it is said [in Isaiah 53:4], ‘Surely our sicknesses he himself bore and our sorrows he carried, yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.’” (b.Sanhedrin 98b)
A word association between the leper and the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 involves the Hebrew verb nega which means to “smite.” The Torah refers to the condition of leprosy with the noun form of the same word which means plague, smiting, and affliction. The Talmud quotes Isaiah 53:4 where Isaiah uses the same word to describe the affliction of the suffering servant:
Surely our sicknesses (nagua) He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:4)
On the basis of these associations, the sages referred to the suffering Messiah son of Joseph as “The Leper.” The Messiah son of Joseph carries the suffering of the exile and the punishment of the Jewish people like a leper carries his affliction.
The sages understood the verse to mean that Messiah took on the nation’s leprosy, not literally, but figuratively. The title “Leper Messiah” sounds like a deprecation, and it contradicts the Bible’s own description of the Messiah: “Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted” (Isaiah 52:13). The Bible indicates that the Messiah will be the wisest of all men, exalted above Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and even the angels. His stature will exceed that of all the great men and kings of the earth.
Therefore, Chassidic teaching concludes that the Talmud hints toward some deeper meaning when it refers to the Messiah as “The Leper.” It indicates that the redeemer suffers the agonies and afflictions of Israel’s exile. He impatiently waits for the final redemption when He can purify the nation, but until then, He personally suffers the pain of Israel’s leprous-like affliction, the agony of the ongoing exile.
For as long as the exile persists, the Messiah is called The Leper. He Himself is essentially pure and perfect. His affliction merely reflects the condition of exile. The “day of his purification” refers to the moment of the redemption, when Messiah will be revealed and His true person and righteousness will become manifest to all.
Metzorah – מצרע : “Leper” Torah : Leviticus 14:1-15:33 Haftarah : 2 Kings 7:3-20 Gospel : Luke 9:51-10:42
APRIL 2, 2022 Leviticus 16:29-30 This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all […]
April 1, 2022 Leviticus 16:29-30 This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all […]
MARCH 31, 2022 Leviticus 16:23 Then Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of meeting, shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. There are several examples of how different articles, once used in the Sanctuary, are forever regarded as holy. Obviously, the furnishings […]
MARCH 30, 2022 Leviticus 16:21 Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable […]
MARCH 29, 2022 Leviticus 16:8-9 Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell and offer it as a sin offering. As I said in the previous devotional, Jewish tradition teaches that each of the goats used […]
MARCH 28, 2022 Leviticus 16:8-9 Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell and offer it as a sin offering. After presenting a sin offering for himself and his household, the next step in the service […]
