It’s been a few months since we last visited the series, but we’re back and ready to discuss more of the commandments!
168. Rambam has, “Do not castrate any male (including animals)”
“And when a man brings a slaughtering of peace offerings to יהוה, to complete a vow, or a voluntary offering from the cattle or the sheep, it is to be perfect to be accepted, let there be no defect in it. ‘Those blind or broken or cut, or having an ulcer or eczema or scabs, you do not bring to יהוה, nor make an offering by fire of them on the slaughter-place to יהוה. ‘As for a bull or a lamb that has any limb deformed or dwarfed you do prepare as a voluntary offering, but for a vow it is not accepted. ‘Do not bring to יהוה what is bruised or crushed, or torn or cut, nor do it in your land. ‘And from a son of a stranger’s hand you do not bring any of these as the bread of your Elohim, for their corruption is in them, and defects are in them, they are not acceptable for you.’” (Leviticus 22:21-25)
The part of the verse that Rambam uses to justify his number 168 is underlined. This translation and other translations do not mention testicles, however, the Aramaic Targums do. Even so, this section of Leviticus is about appropriate offerings. This falls under love Elohim, cannot be fulfilled today (no temple, and the priesthood has been returned to the Melchizedek order), in my notes I put “Do not bring bruised, crushed, torn, or cut animal offerings before Yah.”
169. Rambam has, “The high priest must not marry a widow”
“And the high priest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is ordained to wear the garments, does not unbind his head nor tear his garments, nor come near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother, nor go out of the set-apart place, nor profane the set-apart place of his Elohim, for the sign of dedication of the anointing oil of his Elohim is upon him. I am יהוה. ‘And let him take a wife in her maidenhood. A widow or one put away or a defiled woman or a whore – these he does not take. But a maiden of his own people he does take as a wife.” (Leviticus 21:10-14)
Pretty self-explanatory, the High Priest may only take a virgin as a wife. The interesting thing here, is that Yeshua will fulfill this commandment as well. This is illustrated in the Parable of the 10 Virgins, 2 Corinthians 11:2, and Revelations 21. This falls under love others, cannot be fulfilled today, and in my notes I wrote “The High Priest must marry a virgin.”
170. Rambam has, “The high priest must not have sexual relations with a widow even outside of marriage.”
“And he does not profane his offspring among his people, for I am יהוה, who sets him apart.” (Leviticus 21:15)
This is a continuation from number 169, and does not match what Rambam wrote. This command states that the High Priest does not profane his children. Profane means to devote to the secular and not the holy, or to disrespect that which is set-apart. As this relates to the Levitical priesthood, well, the whole tribe was dedicated to serving in the temple. So, it makes sense, that it would be sinful to have a Levite operating in a role he was not meant to. This falls under love Elohim (though Rambam has it under love others), cannot be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put “The High Priest does not profane his offspring.”
171. Rambam has, “The high priest must marry a virgin maiden.”
“And let him take a wife in her maidenhood.” (Leviticus 21:13)
This is a repeat of number 169, and stands as another example that there really is not 613 commandments. If you’ve been following along with the series, you’ll notice that there has already been a few like this. Where Rambam makes two out of one or states something that is not listed where he referenced. In my notes I put “Same as number 169.”
172. Rambam has, “A priest must not marry a divorcee.”
“They do not take a woman who is a whore or a defiled woman, and they do not take a woman put away from her husband, for he is set-apart to his Elohim.” (Leviticus 21:7)
Yet another command we have already covered, if the High Priest can only marry a virgin, then it stands to reason that a woman how was once married is no longer a virgin. I don’t see this as another command but rather expounding upon one, and that seems to be where Rambam and I differ. In my notes I put “Same as number 169.”
173. Rambam has, “A priest must not marry a woman who has had a forbidden sexual relationship”
“They do not take a woman who is a whore or a defiled woman, and they do not take a woman put away from her husband, for he is set-apart to his Elohim.” (Leviticus 21:7)
I put in my notes “Same as number 169.”
174. Rambam has, “A priest must not marry a desecrated woman.”
“They do not take a woman who is a whore or a defiled woman, and they do not take a woman put away from her husband, for he is set-apart to his Elohim.”
I put in my notes “Same as number 169.”
175. Rambam, “Do not make pleasurable contact with any forbidden woman.”
“No one is to approach anyone of his own flesh to uncover his nakedness. I am יהוה.” (Leviticus 18:6)
This command is talking about having sexual relations with family, and has already been listed as number 144. In my notes I put “Same as 144.”
176. Rambam has, “Examine the signs of animals to distinguish between those which are kosher and non-kosher.”
“Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl (Israel), saying, ‘These are the living creatures which you do eat among all the beasts that are on the earth:” (Leviticus 11:2)
This verse is the preparatory statement that implies there are animals for eating, and some that are not. Following this verse, the signs to distinguish between clean and unclean is explained. This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put “Only eat beast which are clean.”
177. Rambam has, “Examine the signs of fowl to distinguish between those which are kosher and non-kosher.”
“Any clean bird you do eat.” (Deuteronomy 14:11)
The command here, that we may eat clean birds. Deuteronomy 14 covers which types of birds you may eat which ones we may not. Of course, you would have to know how to distinguish between clean and unclean. This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes I put “Only eat birds which are clean.”
178. Rambam has, “Examine the signs of fish to distinguish between those which are kosher and non-kosher.”
“These you do eat of all that are in the waters: any one that has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas or in the rivers, that you do eat.” (Leviticus 11:9)
This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes I put “Only eat fish which are clean.”
179. Rambam has, “Examine the signs of insects to distinguish between those which are kosher and non-kosher.”
“Only, these you do eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth.” (Leviticus 11:21)
Locust are the only insects, that I’m aware of, that we are allowed to eat. All others are unclean. This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes I put “Only eat insects that are clean.”
180. Rambam has, “Do not eat non-kosher animals.”
“Only, these you do not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have a split hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;”(Leviticus 11:4)
If we may only eat clean beast, then the fact we may not eat unclean beast is obvious. If A then not B, A therefore not B. However, I count this as a commandment, though if one wanted to, they could place all of these commands under a single umbrella. With the main one being do not eat unclean animals, and the rest acting as sort of subsection. This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes I put “Do not eat unclean beast.”
181. Rambam has, “Do not eat non-kosher fowl.”
“And these you do abominate among the birds, they are not eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the vulture, and the black vulture, and the hawk, and the falcon after its kind, every raven after its kind, and the ostrich, and the nighthawk, and the seagull, and the hawk after its kind, and the little owl, and the fisher owl, and the great owl, and the white owl, and the pelican, and the carrion vulture, and the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.” (Leviticus 11:13-19)
This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes I put “Do not eat unclean birds.”
182. Rambam has, “Do not eat non-kosher fish.”
“These you do eat of all that are in the waters: any one that has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas or in the rivers, that you do eat. ‘But all that have not fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, all that move in the waters or any living being which is in the waters, they are an abomination to you. ‘They are an abomination to you – of their flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses you abominate. ‘All that have not fins or scales in the waters are an abomination to you.” (Leviticus 11:9-12)
This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes I put “Do not eat unclean fish.”
183. Rambam has, “Do not eat non-kosher flying insects.”
“And every creeping insect that flies is unclean for you, they are not eaten.” (Deuteronomy 14:19)
This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes I put “Do not eat unclean insects.”
184. Rambam has, “Do not eat non-kosher creatures that crawl on land.”
“And every swarming creature – the one that swarms on the earth is an abomination, it is not eaten.” (Leviticus 11:41)
The verse following this one (Leviticus 11:42) provides some more detail, and seems to include a lot of creatures and animals. To include lizards, centipedes, spiders, rats, etc. This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes I put “Do not eat creatures that swarm upon the ground.”
185. Rambam has, “Do not eat non-kosher vermin.”
“For I am יהוה your Elohim, and you shall set yourselves apart. And you shall be set- apart, for I am set-apart. And do not defile yourselves with any swarming creature – the one creeping on the earth.” (Leviticus 11:44)
This is covered in number 184. In my notes I put, “Same as number 184”.
186. Rambam has, “Do not eat worms found in fruit on the ground.”
“Whatever crawls on its stomach, and whatever goes on all fours, and whatever has many feet among all swarming creatures – the ones swarming on the earth, these you do not eat, for they are an abomination.” (Leviticus 11:42)
I mentioned this verse in number 184, consequently, this is also the same as number 184. In my notes I put “Same as number 184.”
187. Rambam has, “Do not eat creatures that live in water other than kosher fish.”
“Do not make yourselves abominable with any swarming creature – the one swarming, and do not make yourselves unclean with them, lest you be defiled by them.” (Leviticus 11:43)
This is covered in 182, where the verse associated with it states we are only to eat that which has fins and scales in all waters. In my notes I put, “Same as number 182.”
188. Rambam has, “Do not eat of an animal that dies of natural causes.”
“Do not eat whatever dies of itself. Give it to the stranger who is within your gates, to eat it, or sell it to a foreigner. For you are a set-apart people to יהוה your Elohim. Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.” (Deuteronomy 14:21)
This would include old age, sickness, and of the like. What’s interesting about this command, is that while we may not eat of it, the stranger can. Meaning, at least from my understanding that it is not sinful for the stranger to eat that which dies of itself. Whereas , for example, if a stranger eats catfish is committing a sin. This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes I put “Do not eat of an animal that dies of natural causes.”
189. Rambam has, “Do not benefit from an ox condemned to be stoned.”
“And when an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall certainly be stoned, and its flesh is not eaten, and the owner of the ox is innocent.” (Exodus 21:28)
Pretty straight forward and easy to understand. This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes I put “Do not eat the ox condemned to be stoned.”
190. Rambam has, “Do not eat meat of an animal that was mortally wounded.”
“And you are set-apart men to Me, and you do not eat any meat which is torn to pieces in the field, you throw it to the dogs.” (Exodus 22:31)
This is very similar to number 188, however, being killed by another animal is not dying of itself. This is like coming across a dead deer in the woods or finding a cow in a field that was ravaged by predators. This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes I put “Do not eat an animal that dies from another animal.”
191. Rambam has, “Do not eat meat torn off a living creature.”
“Only, be strong not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, do not eat the life with the meat.” (Deuteronomy 12:23)
The actual command is not to eat blood, though to be fair if you ate an animal that was still alive there would be blood. This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes I put “Do not eat blood.”
192. Rambam has, “Do not eat blood.”
“An everlasting law throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you do not eat any fat or any blood.” (Leviticus 3:17)
Same as the one before it. In my notes I put, “Same as number 191.”
193. Rambam has, “Do not eat certain fats of clean animals.”
“Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘Do not eat any fat, of bull or sheep or goat.” (Leviticus 7:23)
The actual command is to not eat the fat of any bull, sheep, or goat. I know this might be hard for some people, I have a family member who really enjoys beef fat. But pray for the strength and I know you can break free! This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes I put, "Do not at the fat of bulls, sheep, or goats.”
This is all for this part 10, thanks for stopping by and being apart of the journey!
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