Shemini “Eight”
It is customary for religiously practicing Jews to read from an annual cycle of weekly Old Testament readings called Torah Portions. This is said to be the same reading schedule that was taught every Sabbath in the Synagogues during the times of Jesus in the first century.
As Christians who profess our faith in Jesus, we study the Old Testament to understand the historical, cultural, and contextual background of the history of our heritage in Jesus. This is commonly known as the Messianic teachings of Christianity and is a part of our Saturday Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Dallas, TX.
While customs are not commandments, there is beauty for believers in Jesus (Yeshua) to understand their identity as grafted into the covenants with Israel. As descendants of Abraham, all Christians are heirs according to the promise given to Abraham even before Sinai. Christians should study and learn the Torah and show respect for their Jewish brothers and sisters. It is through the study of the law that we see another level of greatness in Jesus who is the lawgiver and the greatest Torah teacher of all time.
Shemini also known as Sh’mini is the Hebrew title for “Eighth” and is the name for the weekly Torah portion reading for the Book of Leviticus starting in chapter 9 verse 1 and going through chapter 11 verse 47.
It is also important to point out that along with the Torah portion readings and teachings, there are what are called Haftarah portions which are readings from the Bible in the books of the prophets. This week’s haftarah readings come from the book of Ezekiel in chapter 45 verse 16 through chapter 46 verse 18.
The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of Luke in chapter 22 with verses 1 through 13.
As Christians exploring the Torah portion cycle we must maintain a balance of including the Old Testament, the prophets, and the gospels in our weekly bible study.
Torah Portion Overview-
The twenty-sixth Torah Portion reading comes from Leviticus. The Torah Portion title Shemini means “eighth,” and comes Leviticus chapter 9 verse 1 which says “Now it came about on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.” The Torah Portion goes on to describe the eight day after setting up the Tabernacles, the tragic incident and the powerful worship. The Torah Portion then concludes with the dietary laws.
Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-
Leviticus 9:1 Aaron’s Priesthood
Leviticus 10:1 Nadab and Abihu
Leviticus 11:1 Clean and Unclean Foods
Leviticus 11:24 Unclean Animals
Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-
Ezekiel 45:16 Temple Special Offering
Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-
Luke 22:4 Judas betrays Jesus
Luke 22:7 Unleavend Bread and Passover
The Book of Leviticus “Vayikra” which means “He called Out.”
The Old Testament is commonly referred to as the Torah. It is considered the most sacred of all of Israel’s Scriptures. Most of our modern Bibles include the Old Testament “Torah” as the first five books in the Bible. The name for the third book of the Bible, Leviticus, is called Vayikra in the Hebrew. The name “Vayikra” comes from the opening phrases in the book of Leviticus which means “He Called Out.”
Leviticus flows directly out of the stories in the previous book of Exodus and continues the story of their gathering by God to enter into a covenant relationship with the Hebrew God known as Adonai, Yahweh, Hashem, and many other titles. The book gives an telling of instructions and testimonies of how the Hebrew people wrestled to become bond servants while shaking off the slave mentality.
As Christians, we find the book of Leviticus and the stories therein, as a historical account of how we as believers are grafted into the covenants and promises of God with our forefathers and how we can learn to walk and learn from their actions as God establishes His people and nation by teaching them how to be bond servants not slaves.
To Watch an overview of this week’s Torah Portion CLICK HERE
