The journey continues with part 13!
225. Rambam has, “The Nazirite must not come into contact with the dead”
“All the days of his separation to יהוה he does not go near a dead body. He does not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separation to Elohim is on his head.” (Numbers 6:6-7)
Being a Nazirite, whether for life or a specific amount of time, required an indomitable will and the self-disciple to remain faithful to the vow. One can imagine how difficult it would be to remain committed to the vow when having to be absent from the funeral of their loved ones. This command, however, is the same as number 224.
226. Rambam has, “The Nazirite must shave his head after bringing sacrifices upon completion of his Nazirite period”
“And when anyone dies beside him in an instant, suddenly, and he has defiled the head of his separation, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing – on the seventh day he shaves it.” (Numbers 6:9)
Selecting this verse to support this command may not be the best, as it appears to be about being around a dead body. I believe the following verse would work much better, as it is not connected to being defiled due to a corpse.
“And the Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the Tent of Appointment, and shall take the hair from the head of his separation and shall put it on the fire which is under the slaughtering of the peace offerings.” (Numbers 6:18)
This falls under love Elohim, cannot be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put “The Nazirite shall shave his head at the completion of his vow.”
227. Rambam has, “Estimate the value of people as determined by the Law”
“Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl (Israel), and say to them, ‘When a man separates a vow, by your evaluation of lives unto יהוה, when your evaluation is of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old, then your evaluation shall be fifty sheqels of silver, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place. when your evaluation is of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old, then your evaluation shall be fifty sheqels of silver, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place. ‘And if it is a female, then your evaluation shall be thirty sheqels; and if from five years old up to twenty years old, then your evaluation for a male shall be twenty sheqels, and for a female ten sheqels; and if from a new moon old up to five years old, then your evaluation for a male shall be five sheqels of silver, and for a female your evaluation shall be three sheqels of silver; and if from sixty years old and above, if it is a male, then your evaluation shall be fifteen sheqels, and for a female ten sheqels. ‘But if he is too poor to pay your evaluation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall set a value for him. According to the ability of him who vowed, the priest shall value him.” (Leviticus 27:2-8)
This command is about when a person is redeemed from their service to Elohim, working at the Temple. If someone was to vow themselves or someone else, like their child, to Elohim, and then wish to redeem them back. They had to pay the necessary price, based on the value found here in Leviticus 27. This cannot be fulfilled today in the manner/ circumstances detailed in Leviticus 27. Falls under love Elohim, and in my notes, I put “Evaluate the value of people as determined by the Torah.”
228. Rambam has, “Estimate the value of consecrated animals”
“And if it is a beast of which they bring an offering to יהוה, all such given to יהוה is set-apart. ‘He is not to replace it or exchange it, good for spoilt or spoilt for good. And if he at all exchanges beast for beast, then both it and the one exchanged for it is set-apart. ‘And if it is any unclean beast of which they do not bring an offering to יהוה, then he shall present the beast before the priest; and the priest shall value it, whether it is good or spoilt. According to your evaluation, O priest, so it shall be. ‘But if he indeed redeems it, then he shall add one-fifth to your evaluation.” (Leviticus 27:9-13)
The concept we need to remember when reading this command is that the animals presented did not necessarily need to be used in a sacrifice. As is the case when an unclean animal is given to the Temple. For example, a man may give the Temple a donkey (an unclean animal), not for use in a sacrifice or eating, but perhaps for transportation. This cannot be fulfilled today, falls under love Elohim, and in my notes, I put “Evaluate the value of animals gifted to the Temple.”
229. Rambam has, “Estimate the value of consecrated houses”
“And when a man sets his house apart, to be set-apart to יהוה, then the priest shall value it, whether it is good or spoilt. As the priest values it, so it stands. ‘And if he who sets it apart does redeem his house, then he shall add one-fifth of the silver of your evaluation to it, and it shall be his.” (Leviticus 27:14-15)
Same theme different item. This cannot be fulfilled today, falls under love Elohim, and in my notes, I put “Evaluate the value of houses gifted to the Temple.”
230. Rambam has, “Estimate the value of consecrated fields”
“And if a man sets apart to יהוה a field he owns, then your evaluation shall be according to the seed for it – a ḥomer of barley seed at fifty sheqels of silver. ‘If he sets his field apart from the Year of Yoḇel(Jubilee), according to your evaluation it stands. ‘But if he sets his field apart after the Yoḇel(Jubilee), then the priest shall reckon to him the silver due according to the years that remain till the Year of Yoḇel(Jubilee), and it shall be deducted from your evaluation. ‘And if he who sets the field apart ever wishes to redeem it, then he shall add one-fifth of the silver of your evaluation to it, and it shall be his. ‘And if he does not redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it is no longer redeemed, but the field, when it is released in the Yoḇel(Jubilee), is set-apart to יהוה as a dedicated field, to be the possession of the priest.” (Leviticus 27:16-21)
This cannot be fulfilled today, falls under love others, and in my notes, I put “Evaluate the value of fields gifted to the Temple.”
231. Rambam has, “Carry out the laws of interdicting possessions”
“However, whatever a man lays under ban for יהוה of all that he has, man and beast, or the field of his possession, is not sold or redeemed. Whatever is laid under ban is most set-apart to יהוה.” (Leviticus 27:28)
The word ban is used here to mean set-apart for Elohim alone, it is banned from common use if you will. I go back and forth on whether this could still be done today, as the references I find the scriptures all revolve around the Temple. While we could most certainly dedicate something to the service of Elohim, I don’t know if we could lay it under the ban for Yah as intended in the scriptures. One of the first examples that came to mind when reading this command was Hannah and Samuel, Hannah proclaimed to her husband, Elkanah, that their newborn son, Samuel, would work in the Temple all his life. She did this because she was thankful for Elohim opening her womb. This may or may not be able to be fulfilled today (I’m leaning that it is not), falls under love others, and in my notes, I put “Whatever is Set-apart to Yah, is not sold or redeemed.”
232. Rambam has, “Do not sell interdicted possessions”
“However, whatever a man lays under ban for יהוה of all that he has, man and beast, or the field of his possession, is not sold or redeemed. Whatever is laid under ban is most set-apart to יהוה.” (Leviticus 27:28)
Same as number 231.
233. Rambam has, “Do not redeem interdicted possessions”
“However, whatever a man lays under ban for יהוה of all that he has, man and beast, or the field of his possession, is not sold or redeemed. Whatever is laid under ban is most set-apart to יהוה.” (Leviticus 27:28)
Same as number 231. If you’ve been keeping up with the series, you know we’ve come across several instances of this. This reinforces in my mind, that there are not 613 commandments.
234. Rambam has, “Do not plant diverse seeds together”
“Guard My laws. Do not let your livestock mate with another kind. Do not sow your field with mixed seed. And do not put a garment woven of two sorts of thread upon you.” (Leviticus 19:19)
Simple enough to understand, do not plant your watermelon seeds with your jalapeno seeds. This can be fulfilled today, falls under love Elohim, and in my notes, I put, “Do not sow your field with mixed seed.”
235. Rambam has, “Do not plant grains or greens in a vineyard”
“Do not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled.” (Deuteronomy 22:9)
The literal command here is not to sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed. Some might consider this to be the same command given in Leviticus 19:19, but it does make the distinction between a field and a vineyard. While a vineyard is specifically for grapes, a field could be for crops or fruit trees. Elohim likes unity and set-apartness, he chose Israel out from among the nations to be a peculiar people, and for them to be unified in their relationship with El Shaddai. The lessons these past two commands are giving, not to take away from the practical side of the command, are about not mixing with the world. You are like soil, accepting seeds from either the Father or the world, do not allow the enemy to place his seeds in your life. This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put “Do not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed.”
236. Rambam has, “Do not crossbreed animals”
“Guard My laws. Do not let your livestock mate with another kind. Do not sow your field with mixed seed. And do not put a garment woven of two sorts of thread upon you.” (Leviticus 19:19)
This command is not talking about mating other breeds of cows with another breed of cows. This is speaking about two different species being mixed, such as a donkey and a horse to create a mule. Something rather fascinating, is some researchers believe that the Nephilim did this very thing, but on a much larger and more complex scale.
“And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood.” (1 Enoch 7:5)
While this could mean that the giants simply started to eat all the animals, it could also mean that they crossbreed, hence the sinning against them. Some of the theories to spawn from this, are dinosaurs being the creation of the Nephilim through genetic experimentation (and this being why non were on the ark), and that the Nephilim are responsible for creating half-human/half-animal hybrids such as the minotaur.
This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put “Do not crossbreed animals.”
237. Rambam has, “Do not work different animals together.”
“Do not plough with an ox and a donkey together.” (Deuteronomy 22:10)
The surface-level understanding of this command is that an ox is simply stronger than a donkey, so the donkey will not be able to match the same pace or workload. This prevents potential injuries that might occur by forcing the two to work together. After all, each animal is better suited for different kinds of work. The drash or deeper meaning? It could be that people, like animals, are each suited for a particular purpose. For example, someone in the assembly might have a gift for writing music that is pleasing to El Shaddai, and another who is great at teaching. The one musician might not be the best teacher and vice versa, and the assembly would suffer by taking them out of their respected roles. This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put “Do not plough with an ox and a donkey together.”
238. Rambam has, “Do not wear cloth woven of wool and linen.”
“Do not put on a garment of different kinds, of wool and linen together.” (Deuteronomy 22:11)
Wool is geared more towards colder weather, and linen for warmer climates. It makes sense why you would not want to mix these two, it’s like trying to accomplish two distinct objectives at the same time. Consider, however, all these commands we have been going over that detail not mixing certain items or animals. And how that relates to the deeper understanding of these commands. We are to be set-apart as He is set-apart, not mixed with the ways of the world. I believe these commands are both practical and point towards a greater lesson. This falls under love Elohim, can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put “Do not put on a garment of different kinds, of wool and linen together.”
239. Rambam has, “Leave a corner of the field uncut for the poor.”
“And when you reap the harvest of your land, do not completely reap the corners of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. And do not glean your vineyard or gather every grape of your vineyard, leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am יהוה your Elohim.” (Leviticus 19:9-10)
Elohim wants us to take care of each other, especially those who are less fortunate than ourselves. He blessed us with plenty and expects us to give some of that back to those in need. This commandment could be fulfilled by donating the corners of your field. This falls under love others, and can be fulfilled today, and in my notes, I put “Leave the corners of the field for the poor.”
240. Rambam has, “Do not reap the corner of a field left for the poor.”
“And when you reap the harvest of your land, do not completely reap the corners of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. And do not glean your vineyard or gather every grape of your vineyard, leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am יהוה your Elohim.” (Leviticus 19:9-10)
Same as number 239.
That’s it for part 13, thank you for stopping by and giving it a read! Continue to test all things and may the Ruach Hakodesh lead you into all truth.
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