Parsha Yitro (Sh'mot (Exodus) 18:1-20:23)

 Parsha Yitro (Sh'mot (Exodus) 18:1-20:23)

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Weekly Stick of Joseph Torah Study (2/6/21)
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Parsha Yitro (Sh'mot (Exodus) 18:1-20:23)
Haftorah: Isaiah 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6
Stick of Joseph: Alma 9:6-10:2 (LDS 12:20-13:18)

This week's Torah portion deals with the giving of Torah at Mount Sinai. Our reading from the Stick of Joseph and our Torah reading each shed light on each other.

In our reading Antionah, a chief ruler of Amonihah poses a question about Torah:

What is this that you have said, that man should rise from the dead and be changed from this mortal to an immortal state, that the soul can never die? What does the scripture mean which says that Elohim placed keruvim and a flaming sword on the east of the Garden of Eden, (Gen. 3:24) for fear that our first parents should enter and partake of the fruit of the tree of life and live for ever? (Gen. 3:22) And thus we see that there was no possible chance that they should live for ever.
(Alma 9:6 (12:20-21 LDS))

Alma responds:

Now Alma said unto him, This is the thing which I was about to explain. Now we see that Adam did fall by partaking of the forbidden fruit, according to the word of Elohim. And thus we see that by his fall, mankind became a lost and a fallen people. And now behold, I say unto you that if it had been possible for Adam to have partaken of the fruit of the tree of life at that time, there would have been no death and the word would have been void, making Elohim a liar, for he said, If you eat, you shall surely die. (Gen. 2:17) And we see that death comes upon mankind, yes, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death. Nevertheless, there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent. Therefore, this life became a probationary state, a time to prepare to meet Elohim, (Amos 4:12) a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead. Now if it had not been for the plan of redemption which was laid from the foundation of the world, there could have been no resurrection of the dead. But there was a plan of redemption laid which shall bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, of which has been spoken.

And now behold, if it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of the tree of life, they would have been for ever miserable, having no preparatory state; and thus the plan of redemption would have been frustrated, and the word of Elohim would have been void,(Is. 55:11) taking no effect. But behold, it was not so. But it was appointed unto man that they must die; and after death, they must come to judgment, even that same judgment of which we have spoken, which is the end. And after Elohim had appointed that these things should come unto man, behold, then he saw that it was expedient that man should know concerning the things that he had appointed unto them. Therefore, he sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory. And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore, Elohim conversed with men and made known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world. And this he made known unto them according to their faith, and repentance, and their holy works.
(Alma 9:6-7 (Alma 12:19-30) )

Then Alma says:

Wherefore, he gave mitzvot unto men — they having first transgressed the first mitzvot as to things which were temporal and becoming as Elohim, knowing good from evil,( Gen. 3:5, 22) placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good — therefore, Elohim gave unto them mitzvot, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness. For on such, the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of Elohim. But Elohim did call on man in the name of his Son, this being the plan of redemption which was laid, saying, If you will repent and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through my only begotten Son. Therefore, whosoever repents and hardens not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy, through my only begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins, and these shall enter into my rest. And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest. (Ps. 95:11) And now, my brothers, behold, I say unto you that if you will harden your hearts, you shall not enter into the rest of yhwh. Therefore, your iniquity provokes him, that he sends down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation — yes, according to his word in the last provocation, as well as in the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word unto the last death, as well as the first.
(Alma 9:8 (12:31-36 LDS))

The Jewish commentator Ramban also comments on Gen. 3:22 saying:

…You may think the serpent was lying to her [saying “you shall be as gods”] (in Gen. 3:5), but our tradition admits he told the truth; and see “the YHWH Elohim said, ‘Now that the man has become like one of us knowing good and bad’” (Gen. 3:22).  The explanation that seems best to me is that man would have done what was naturally proper for him to do, just like the heavens and all their host, surely, reliably, and without emotion; but the fruit of that tree engendered will and desire, so that those who ate it could choose a thing or its opposite, good or bad.  That is why it was called “the tree of knowledge of good and bad,…”

 

 

Ramban refers back to this very insightful comment in his commentary on Deuteronomy 30:6

And YHWH your Elohim will circumcise your heart (Deuteronomy 30:6) It is this which the Rabbis have said, “If someone comes to purify himself, they assist him” [from on High]. The verse assures you that you will return to Him with all your heart and He will help you.

This following subject is very apparent from Scripture: Since the time of Creation, man has had the power to do as he pleased, to be righteous or wicked. This [grant of free will] applies likewise to the entire Torah period, so that people can gain merit upon choosing the good and punishment for preferring evil. But in the days of the Messiah, the choice of their [genuine] good will be natural; the heart will not desire the improper and it will have no craving whatever for it. This is the “circumcision” mentioned here, for lust and desire are the “foreskin” of the heart, and circumcision of the heart means that it will not covet or desire evil.”

Man will return at that time to what he was before the sin of Adam, when by his nature he did what should properly be done, and there were no conflicting desires in his will, as I have explained in Seder Bereshit.

It is this which Scripture states in [the Book of] Jeremiah 31:30], ‘Behold, the days come,’ says YHWH, ‘that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers ..etc. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Eternal, I will put my Law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it.

This is a reference to the annulment of the evil instinct (yetzer ra) and to the natural performance by the heart of its proper function. Therefore Jeremiah said further, and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My People; and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying: ‘Know YHWH; ‘for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.’

Now, it is known that the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth and it is necessary to instruct them, but at that time it will not be necessary to instruct them [to avoid evil] for their evil instinct (yetzer ra) will then be completely abolished. And so it is declared by Ezekiel, ‘A new heart will I also give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will cause you to walk in My statutes.’ ” (Ezekiel 36:26)

The new heart alludes to man’s nature, and the [new] spirit to the desire and will. It is this which our Rabbis have said : “And the years draw nigh, when you shall say: I have no pleasure in them; these are the days of the Messiah, as they will offer opportunity neither for merit nor for guilt,” for in the days of the Messiah there will be no [evil] desire in man but he will naturally perform the proper deeds and therefore there will be neither merit nor guilt in them, for merit and guilt are dependent upon desire.”

 

 When Alma says:

Wherefore, he gave mitzvot unto men — they having first transgressed the first mitzvot as to things which were temporal and becoming as Elohim, knowing good from evil,( Gen. 3:5, 22) placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good — therefore, Elohim gave unto them mitzvot, 

 

He brings us to the subject of this weeks Torah parsha, the giving of Torah at Mount Sinai.  There is a similar connection between these two events:

...when Adam sinned, Elohim took from him the armour of the bright and holy letters with which he had been encompassed, and then he and his wife were afraid, perceiving that they had been stripped; so it says and they knew that they were naked. At first they had been invested with those glorious crowns which gave them protection and exemption from death. When they sinned, they were stripped of them, and then they knew that death was calling them, that they had been deprived of their exemption, and that they had brought death on themselves and on all the world.’
(Zohar 1:53a)

The Zohar elaborates saying:

R. Hiya said: ‘The world was in a state of poverty and misery from the time Adam transgressed the command of the Almighty until Noah came and offered up a sacrifice, when its prosperity returned.’ R. Jose said: ‘The world was not properly settled, nor was the earth purged from the defilement of the serpent, until Israel stood before Mount Sinai, where they laid fast hold of the Tree of Life, and so established the world firmly.
(Zohar 1:63b)

Alma continues saying:

9 And now, my brothers, seeing we know these things, and they are true, let us repent and harden not our hearts, that we provoke not YHWH Elohi to pull down his wrath upon us, in these his second mitzvot which he has given unto us; but let us enter into the rest of Elohim, which is prepared according to his word.
10 And again, my brothers, I would remind you of the time when Adonai YHWH gave these mitzvot unto his children. And I would that you should remember that Adonai YHWH ordained Kohanim after his Holy Order, which was after the Order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people. And those Kohanim were ordained after the Order of his Son in a manner that thereby the people might know how to look forward to his Son for redemption. And this is the manner after which they were ordained: being called and prepared from the foundation of the world, according to the foreknowledge of Elohim, on account of their exceeding faith and good works in the first place, being left to choose good or evil; therefore they, having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling — yes, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Ruach Elohim on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds (while, if it had not been for this, they might had privilege as great as their brothers — or in short, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brothers — thus, this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son who was prepared), and thus, being called by this holy calling and ordained unto the High Priesthood of the Holy Order of Elohim to teach his mitzvot unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest — this High Priesthood being after the Order of his Son, which Order was from the foundation of the world, or in other words, being without beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from eternity to all eternity according to his foreknowledge of all things. Now they were ordained after this manner, being called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and taking upon them the High Priesthood of the Holy Order — which calling, and ordinance, and High Priesthood is without beginning or end; thus, they become Kohanim HaGadolim for ever after the Order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father who is without beginning of days or end of years, who is full of grace, equity, and truth. And thus it is. Amen.
(Alma 9:9-10 (Alma 12:37; 13:1-9 LDS)

This brings us to a statement in our Torah reading:

[3] And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
[4] Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
[5] Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
[6] And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
[7] And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
[8] And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
(Ex. 19:3-8 KJV)

 

Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (Hebrew: אַבְרָהָם אִבְּן עֶזְרָא or ראב"ע‎‎‎, also known as Abenezra or Aben Ezra, 1089–1167) was one of the most distinguished Jewish biblical commentators and philosophers of the Middle Ages. His is one of the classic commentators included in the Miqrat Gedolot. He writes in his commentary on Exodus. 19:6:

A Kingdom of Priests. In my opinion, “priest” in the Bible means “one who serves,” just as the verbal form is taken in 28:41 to mean “serve me as priests.” Jethro is the “priest of Midian” (18:1) because he served God, as did Melchizedek of Salem, the “priest of God Most High” (Gen. 14:18). The same is true when David’s sons are called “priests” in 2Sam. 8:18. There would be no point in telling us that they were “princes,” for we know that a king’s sons possess high rank; this verse informs us that they served God. So telling Israel that they will be “a kingdom of priests” means, “By means of you, My kingdom shall appear, when you are serving Me.” But others understand it to mean “There is no kingship other than serving Me.”

Why does Alma call this "the Order of his Son?  In Exodus 4:22-23 we read:

[22] And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
[23] And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.
(Ex. 4:22-23 KJV)

And in Hosea:

When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
(Hosea 11:1 KJV)

 So this priesthood was of the order of the Son because it was of the order of Israel. And how did it point forward to Messiah?  Because Matthew quotes this verse (Hosea 11:1) which is pointing back to Exodus 4:22-23 to refer to Yeshua as the Messiah.  This is because there is an allegorical relationship between Israel and the Messiah:

[14] When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
[15] And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. (Hosea 11:1)
(Matthew 2:14-15 KJV)

Alma continues saying:

Now as I said concerning the Holy Order of this High Priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became Kohanim HaGadolim of Elohim. And it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before Elohim, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish. Therefore, they were called after this Holy Order and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb. Now they, after being sanctified by the Ruach HaKodesh, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before Elohim, could not look upon sin except it were with abhorrence. And there were many, an exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of yhwh their Elohim. And now, my brothers, I would that you should humble yourselves before Elohim and bring forth fruit showing repentance, that you may also enter into that rest. Yes, humble yourselves even as the people in the days of Malki-Tzedek, who was also a Kohen HaGadol after this same Order of which I have spoken, who also took upon him the High Priesthood for ever.83 And it was this same Malki - Tzedek to whom Avraham paid tithes — yes, even our father Avraham paid tithes of one - tenth part of all he possessed.84 Now these ordinances were given after this manner, that thereby the people might look forward on the Son of Elohim, it being a type of his Order, or it being his Order, and this that they might look forward to him for a remission of their sins, that they might enter into the rest  of YHWH.

Now this was a king over the land of Shalem, and his people had become strong in iniquity and abominations — yes, they had all gone astray; they were full of all manner of wickedness. But Malki - Tzedek, having exercised mighty faith and received the office of the High Priesthood88 according to the Holy Order of Elohim, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent. And Malki -Tzedek did establish shalom in the land in his days; therefore, he was called the Prince of Shalom, for he was the King of Shalem; and he did reign under his father. Now there were many before him, and also there were many afterwards, but none were greater. Therefore, of him they have more particularly made mention. Now I need not rehearse the matter; what I have said may suffice. Behold, the scriptures are before you; if you will turn from them, it shall be to your own destruction.
(Alma 10:1-2 (13:10-20 LDS))

When Alma says:

Therefore, they were called after this Holy Order and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb. Now they, after being sanctified by the Ruach HaKodesh, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before Elohim, could not look upon sin except it were with abhorrence.

In fact the Talmud records a tradition that the sprinkling with blood at Sinai was accompanied by a sprinkling of the waters of purification:

R. Johanan said to Resh Lakish: It is right according to me who infer from the Consecration; for this agrees with what we are taught: `On both of them [the Priests] we sprinkle throughout the seven days [water] from all the sin-offerings that were there’; but according to you who infer from Sinai, was there any sprinkling done on Sinai? — But according to your own reasoning, it would not be right either, for in the consecration [ceremony the sprinkling was done with] blood, whereas here with water? — That is no difficulty. For R. Hiyya taught: `The water takes the place of blood’, but according to you, was there any sprinkling on Sinai? — He answered: It was a mere additional provision.
(b.Yoma 4a)

Alma identifies the priesthood Israel received at the giving of Torah at Sinai with priesthood of Melchizedek. As we read in Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra's commentary on Ex. 19:6, the priesthood Israel received in becoming a "Kingdom of Priests" at the giving of Torah was  because they he served Elohim, "as did Melchizedek of Salem, the “priest of God Most High”" (Gen. 14:18)