Vayikra 16 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. 19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the children of Israel.
Shalom and welcome to Jewish Torah meditations. Your time fo the day to focus on the above, to help us in the here and now! Let’s zoom in on the last line. The altar needed to be cleansed, of past defilements, according to the great Rabbi Rashi. The blood is sprinkled on it seven times with the Kohen's finger. I have always heard seven means complete. I think of the 7 days of creation being a completed work. Now, it is clean!
Next, he will hallow it. In other translations, we read "sanctify." This is the part I think a lot of us skip!
Yes, we desperately need to be cleansed. Whether it is due to stress, that leads to bad choices, or bad choices, that lead to stress, we NEED to have it washed away. The dirt needs to go down the drain. We need to be made fresh and new again, to walk in the presence of the Great G-d of Yisrael.
After one is cleansed, it is important, we are sanctified! How does that look today? I personally, would say, skip the goat blood, even if you live in the country;)
Saying the Shema prayer is one way to center yourself. I like reading a posuk, verse, from the Tanakh. Whatever it is, just like the Kohen Gadol did for the people of Yisrael, we make a decision to seek atonement, to be cleansed, to be made holy again. It is wonderful to be cleansed, but do not skip the moment to sanctify yourself. Incorporate a sanctifying Jewish ritual that speaks to you and your neshama!
It is a process, that can happen once, or many times a day~ Like the medicine bottle says, “use as directed.”
The Torah shows us the way to be cleansed and made new today!
Affirmation: Today, I will try to trust Hashem’s ways.
Esther Mandella is a best-selling Jewish author, wife, and mother. Her greatest joy is to increase emuna (faith) in her readers. Check out her print magazine "Emuna Judaism Magazine" on Amazon by clicking here: Emuna Judaism: Walking On the Derekh: Learn to live the faith-filled and spiritual Jewish life!: Mandella, Esther: 9781075949524: Amazon.com: Books
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