Darash Chai Experiment

The time for Passover is upon us. Once again we celebrate the festival of our salvation and freedom. And as we approach this season it is all too common to hear a multitude of teachings on the Passov…

Numbers 12 is a short chapter. But as we dig into this chapter we discover something foundational that is presented. A way of reading and interpreting the Bible that is easy to dismiss. And yet this …

As we begin the second part of the book of Numbers, the text takes a sudden shift from organization and laws to narrative. And in these narrative portions of the center of the book we read of Israel’…

This week we reach the end of the first third of the book of Numbers. The bags are packed and Israel is ready to set out on the road.  But there are a few small items to go over before the trip begin…

As we open the book of Numbers we read of the characteristics that were to define Israel. Twelve distinct tribes united into one nation. Each warrior with honor. Everyone working together with a unit…

In Numbers 7 we once again encounter a chapter of extreme repetition. And yet, in this chapter there is a word that is used for the first four times in the Bible. Dedication. Hanukkah. A word that ha…

The Nazarite vow is a thing that is shrouded in mystery. What does it mean to be a Nazarite besides the thing that a person is to avoid? What kind of duties or benefit does the Nazarite vow give to a…

Numbers 5 contains a ceremony that has caused no end of confusion and consternation for quite a long time. A ceremony that not only seems barbaric to a degree, but also seems completely out of place …

We often hear the title Lord of Hosts applied to God. But what does this word mean? Hosts? Usually this word is translated as armies and we think warriors, but if we examine where this word is found,…

The book of Numbers begins as one of the more boring parts of the Bible to be found. Long lists of numbers and positions that really don’t matter today. What does it matter to us if the tribe of Zebu…

The last chapter of Leviticus contains some of the most counter cultural teachings in the Bible, as well as being one of the most confusing chapters. What exactly is going on with these valuations of…

At the end of Leviticus we read a list of blessings and curses. Things that the nation of Israel can expect to occur in response to obedience or disobedience to God’s Instruction. The blessings point…

Here in Leviticus we find a command that is given that embodies the ideals of justice, restoration, and redemption. Ideals that are at the heart of the Torah. And yet if we continue in scripture we f…

When we read through Leviticus 24 from a Western perspective, the chapter seems disjointed and out of place. What exactly is this chapter doing at this spot? It is an inconclusive answer to this ques…

The fourth movement of the book of Leviticus, the last part of the book that is all about communal worship, begins with the primary events that bind people together. Celebration. Holidays and remembr…

It is easy for a modern audience to look to the text of the Torah and point out how simple or backward it is according to our modern and enlightened view of the world. This passage in Leviticus is a …

At the beginning of chapter 19 we read a phrase that is repeated all throughout Leviticus, and in the New Testament. We read that we are to be holy because God is holy. Usually we take this phrase an…

The next few chapters of Leviticus once again feature a shift of topic. Now, rather than the text exploring the topic of clean and unclean. Now the text is exploring the ideas of holy and defiled. An…

Yom Kippur is a day that is unlike any other. It is the Day when atonement was accomplished in the Hebrew Scriptures, and it was on this day that the sins of the people were dealt with. But there is …

Uncleanness is a topic that contains very little in the way of application for modern audiences. It is something that only had any meaning in the context of the tabernacle or temple. But this does no…