Can a soul be valued by money?

Can a soul be valued by money?

This text speaks about vows that a person can do to give his soul for the maintenance and conservation of the Temple. And because one cannot give one’s soul, which is not material, one can give money instead, which symbolizes the value of a soul. But the value of a man’s soul is too high to be redeemed so that it will never see death, compare with Psalm 49:8-9. This is, therefore, a question of a symbolic price that the Torah puts on a person’s soul. If a person wants to give his life to the temple, he can give money which would represent his soul. The Midrash Tanchumah says, “If you give the value of a soul, I consider it to be as if you had offered it.”

The value that is determined here has nothing to do with the price that would be charged for a person if they were sold at a slave market. This is a question of a fixed price that the Torah establishes according to gender and age. Neither should we understand this as meaning that some people are more valuable than others, or that men are worth more than women because everyone is just as valuable to HaShem.

In order for a person to be able to give money that would represent his soul, he must do it in accordance with his ability to generate material possessions. Those who have more physical strength have greater ability to produce riches through physical labor. A man between the ages of twenty and sixty must therefore pay more than anyone else, since that is the age in which he has the highest capability to produce money through physical labor. A woman of the same age does not normally have the same physical capabilities. The Torah, therefore, does not require as much of her, so that she will not feel inferior to the man if she is not able to reach the same level of productivity. The Torah accepts offerings according to the ability of each person, as it is written in 2 Corinthians 8:12, “For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have.” (HNV)

This aliyah also teaches that when it concerns the value of a soul, a poor man is not considered less than a rich man, but all who are within a certain age group and are of the same gender are valued the same. If someone, who is poor, wishes to give money according to the value of his soul, he can do so for a smaller sum, according to the discernment of the priest, and in such a case HaShem considers him to have given the full sum, compare with verse 8.

The one who has given his soul for the service in the house of the Eternal will automatically give money to the work that builds up His house, both in heaven and on earth.

Blessings,

Who may walk upright?

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright.

(Lev. 26:13 NKJV)

Who may walk upright?

The Eternal brought the sons of Israel out of Egypt's bondage to give them a new status. Instead of walking with a low head under the yoke of slavery, He freed them to be able to walk with their heads upright. They went from self despise to self esteem.

Slavery is not the worst thing about a slave but his mentality, what he thinks of himself. A person with a low self esteem will always be a slave to others no matter how free he actually is. The Eternal's treatment towards the sons of Israel helped them become free of that mentality of slavery to be able to think of themselves in a different way. What we think of ourselves defines our behaviour and our relationship with our neighbour. The one who walks upright is self confident. Lack of identity or a false identity is one of the largest causes of irregular and illegal behaviour. What one thinks of oneself, that is him, as Proverbs 23:7a says: For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." (NKJV)

What strengthened the people's self esteem and identity was in the first place the impressive revelation of their Elokim's power. When they saw His mighty hand perform those miracles in Egypt, the Reed Sea and desert crossing, they felt highly motivated. They could say: See what an Elokim we have! There is no one as our Elokim!

Another factor that strengthened the people as people of the Almighty was the giving of the Torah and the covenant of Sinai. They were chosen to be head to the other peoples. The people of the covenant are a priestly nation with first hand access to divine revelation and the responsibility of transmitting it to all nations. What a task and responsibility! All this created an important identity within the people. Their self esteem was strongly strengthened in the desert so that they could walk upright.

Now, if the people of the covenant become exclusive and lifts a wall of despise and rejection against the other nations, they will not fulfill their role as mediators between the Eternal and the nations. On the contrary, they will cause hatred, envy and rejection from the non-Jewish nations. But if the chosen people understand their role as a channel of blessing so all the families on earth are blessed, then all the nations will be what the Eternal created them to be.

Since Ishmael and Esav didn't understand or didn't accept the purpose of their brothers' (Yitzchak and Yaakov) election, they filled their heads with all kinds of concepts of themselves and their brothers which produced very negative results, which is also the largest cause of nowadays' world's conflicts. Ishmael's envy is fertile ground for the power of Islam and Esav's envy is fertile ground for Christianity. Both religions have been created based on rejection against the chosen people and both claim to be the chosen people instead of the Jews. Their lack of knowledge of the chosen people's role and their lack of identity and self esteem within their own calling is the main cause of their hatred against Judaism and Jews.

There are two songs in the hearts of the Christian and the Muslim: "We have it, they don't" "We are the chosen people, the others are not" There is also another song in the hearts of some Christian and non-Jewish Messianic groups: "They are the people, but we are too". These are attempts to falsify what the Eternal has done with the Jewish people.

Now, what is the solution for these groups? That they find the love of the Elokim of Israel – which is also the Elokim of the whole world – and that they understand that they have also been chosen to receive blessings from heaven, but not apart and in rebellion against their Jewish brothers, but submitted to them and in close relationship with them, without taking from the Jewish people what is not for them.

The lack of identity among those who left Christianity and embraced Jewish faith without becoming Jewish is a grave problem nowadays. They feel they are too Jewish to be accepted by Christians and too Christian to be accepted by Jews. In many cases they go through deep loneliness and suffer from anguish because they don't know who they are and how to identify themselves.

In a situation like this it's easy to feel inferior or rejected when receiving teachings about the Jew having more commandments than the non-Jewish in the Messiah, about the Jew being able to do things that a non-Jew can't do, and that the non-Jew can do things that the Jew can't.

This is an issue to present in prayer before the Eternal. The Eternal not only can but also wants to deliver this group from the feeling of rejection and lack of identity so they can also walk upright without being a threat to the Jew or taking a false identity of replacement and despise.

I am convinced that one of the keys for this to happen is that they have a revelation of what they are in heaven in the Messiah. Being a priest in heaven, being co-citizen in heavenly Yerushalayim and being a member of Elokim's family is more than belonging to a chosen people on earth. The one who succeeds in understanding his identity in heaven thanks to Messiah Yeshua will be totally free of any kind of rejection. The one who understands that being a son of Elokim is more than anything in this world can walk with his head upright, without envy or rejection, with full respect to the role of the Jew and the non-Jew in this world. They are both part of the Eternal's plan for the redemption of the world.

What causes economic prosperity?

Leviticus 26:3-5

‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.'

(Lev. 26:3-5 NKJV)

What causes economic prosperity?

Economic prosperity is not produced in the first place by making an effort at work, even if it's one of the most important ways to obtain support and material wealth. Economic prosperity is not produced in the first place by tithing, even if that's the key to have open windows in heaven towards one's life and economy. Economic prosperity is not produced in the first place by having faith in the promises and proclaiming them with our mouths, even though it could be helpful to activate the Eternal's blessings. Economic prosperity is not produced in the first place by donating money to charity even if it may cause blessings.

Economic prosperity is produced by walking in the Eternal's statutes, keeping His commandments and performing them.

If you want to prosper economically, be obedient.

When will the seventh millennium start?

You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary:
I am the LORD.

(Lev. 26:2 NIV)

When will the seventh millennium start?

The Eternal says that the seventh day, Shabbat, is His. The Sabbath is the day of the Lord. The seven days of the week are a prophetic sign about the history of the world.

The Talmud teaches (Sanhedrin 97a, 97b), based on Hosea 6:2, Zechariah 14:9, Psalm 90:4 and Psalm 92:0, that the world's history is divided in 2000 years in desolation, 2000 years with Torah, 2000 years of the Messianic age and 1000 years of remission after which the world will be renewed.

This gives us cause for thinking that the Messiah will come 2000 years after his first appearance. When he came for the first time, the world had already been through 4 days of the week, that is, 4000 years. Then, another two days, or 2000 years, were still missing for the day of rest, until the Messianic kingdom Millennium. There is a difference between the Messianic age and the Messianic kingdom.

In Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8 it's written: “For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.”… “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (NIV)

The first resurrection of the dead will happen after two days, that is, 2000 years after the first coming of the Messiah, as it is written in Hosea 6:2: “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.” (NIV)

When Yeshua started preaching, around year 27 C.E. (Daniel 9:25-26) he said that the time had come (Mark 1:15, Galatians 4:4). I think he was talking about the 4000 years from Adam and the beginning of the Messianic age.

On November 24 of year 29 C.E. (3790) there was a total eclipse in Israel and soon after that, on December 9 the same year, there was a partial lunar eclipse in which half of the moon turned into blood. Two days of thousand years, that is, 2000 years we come to year 2029 (5790), which corresponds to the year of jubilee, according to the calculations we mentioned in Manna 32-1.

According to prophet Joel 2:30-31 the sun will have to turn dark and the moon turn to blood before the day of the Eternal comes.

With help of astronomical calculation programs we can find future solar eclipses followed by lunar eclipses in which the moon turns red, all visible in Israel. The first one will happen on August 2 of year 2027 (5787) around 1 PM. It will be a total eclipse that will be seen in Morocco, Spain, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia. It will be seen in part, in Africa, Europe, Middle East, Western and Southern Asia. It will be almost total in Jerusalem. The sun will turn to darkness. In that moment, there will be 2000 years since Yeshua started his public service.

Then, there will be three consecutive lunar eclipses visible in Israel. The first one will be on July 6 of year 2028 (5788). It will be barely seen in Jerusalem.

However, on the following year, which will be a sabbatical year, there will be two lunar eclipses in Israel. Around 7 PM on December 31 of year 2028 (5789) there will be a total eclipse seen in Jerusalem in which the moon will turn completely blood-red. On June 26 of year 2029 (5789) there will be an almost total lunar eclipse, the moon will be almost totally turned to blood.

The prophet said that the day of the Eternal would come after this phenomenon. This fact also points to year 2029 (5790).

If this calculation is correct it is possible that year 2029 (5790) is year 6001 after Adam, when the Messianic kingdom will be established on earth.

According to the rabbinical year count it would be on year 5790, which gives us a difference of 211 years. This difference in years is due to the fact that Rabbis count 210 years of the sons of Israel in Egypt while the Torah speaks of 430 years (Exodus 12:40), which yields a difference of 220 years (430 – 210 = 220). Besides, the calculation of the period of the Persian Empire is uncertain.

The Jewish year 5790 will begin on September 10 of year 2029.

Will that be the moment of the Messiah's return? I don't know. It's possible that he returns before that to make arrangements for the establishment of the kingdom on that date. The interesting part is that with the counting of the years of jubilee, and the last two millennia since the first coming of the Messiah together with the signs of the sun and the moon, we have three witnesses that speak of the same. They all point to year 2029.

It is also possible that these witnesses don't speak of the beginning of the seventh millennium. That's why I give each one of you the freedom to believe it or not, and the responsibility to keep researching on the truth of these facts.

Is there not one law for all?

You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. You can will them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.

(Lev. 25:45-46 NIV)

Is there not one law for all?

This text shows that there are different kinds of foreigners that may live among the sons of Israel.

On the one hand the Torah sais that there is only one law for the native of the land and the foreigner (Ex. 12:49; Lev. 24:22; Nm. 15:15-16, 29), but on the other hand, it says that there are different rules for a native and for the foreigner.

The native can't eat flesh from an animal that died of itself but the foreigner can (Deut. 14:21). This text says that slaves purchased by the sons of Israel from the foreigners that live among them may be their possession forever; but the sons of Israel that were sold as slaves would have to be delivered in the years of remission and jubilee.

Then, when is there one law both for the foreigner and the native of the land? Or to what kind of foreigner does the same law apply as to the native?

The answer is: when the foreigner has undergone an official conversion to become part of the covenant of circumcision, the same law that applies to the sons of Israel will apply to him. Only the foreigners that are in the covenant of circumcision in the flesh have the obligation of fulfilling all the commandments of the law, just as Rab. Shaul also teaches in Galatians 5:3: "I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. (ESV)

The foreigner who lives in the land of Israel is not obliged to fulfill the whole law of Moshe. Only the foreigner that has taken part in the covenant of circumcision in the flesh is in the category of those of which the Torah says: “You are to have the same law for the alien and the native-born."

If a foreigner who lives in the land of Israel is not obliged to fulfill all the law, let alone those who don't live in Israel!

Dear disciple of the Messiah: don't be fooled by those who claim that there is only one law for Jews and gentiles who received life through the Messiah. They are causing confusion among the in grafted ones and rebellion against Jewish authorities, laying upon those who weren't called to be Jews a burden that's not meant for them.

What is the best protection against the enemy?

Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land.

(Lev. 25:18 NIV)

What is the best protection against the enemy?

The Eternal has established spiritual laws for all men. One of these laws is found in this verse. If the people of the covenant are careful to obey the statutes and keep the laws of the Eternal, practicing them, then they will be protected against all things that may cause insecurity. This law also applies to the rest of the nations, groups of people and to certain degree, also to individuals. The one who obeys will be protected and will live safely in the land.

Therefore it's more important to take care of one’s soul regarding the commandments of the Eternal and fulfill them to be able to sleep peacefully and not to fear this world's calamities, than to feverishly seek all kinds of things to bring us safety. The one who trusts the Eternal and is loyal to Him, will be protected and if something bad happens to him, it is because the Eternal has a good plan behind it.

Dear disciple of the Messiah: Be obedient and you'll live safe in your land.

When is the next year of jubilee?

Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD... 'Count off seven sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan.

(Lev. 25:2, 8-10 NIV)

When is the next year of jubilee?

The year of jubilee that the state of Israel proclaimed on the 50th anniversary of its foundation is not a year of jubilee from the Torah. The Torah speaks of another kind of jubilee when all the tribes go back to their possessions and the land is restored to its original state according to the borders established through Moshe and conquered under the guidance of Yehoshua.

After the dispersion of the ten tribes of the north in the year 722 B.C.E. there has been no way of celebrating the year of jubilee. However, sabbatical years were counted during the time of both temples. During the time of the second temple the years of jubilee weren't celebrated but they were counted.

After the destruction of Yerushalayim and the beginning of the Diaspora caused by Rome there has been no keeping or counting of the year of shmitah – sabbatical year – or the year of yovel – jubilee – in the land of Israel.

According to Maimonides (1137-1204), in the future, a new counting of the years of shmitah and jubilee on the third return (from the Diaspora by Rome) will start, just as it was done on the second return in the time of Ezra.

In the year 1881-1882 (5642) the first aliyah of the third return was made. The following year was counted as the first year of the seven year cycle of the sabbatical years. Then the first jubilee of the third return was in the year 1931-1932 (5692). The next jubilee was in 1980-1981 (5741) and the next one will be on year 2029-2030 (5790).

The first year of Yeshua's public ministry 27-28 (3788), was a sabbatical year according to ancient historical sources. He also said that his ministry started during a sabbatical year when he cited Isaiah 61:1-2, recorded in Luke 4:16-21. The prophesy in Isaiah 61 speaks of the Messiah's coming during a sabbatical year and a year of jubilee.

If his first coming was during a sabbatical year, it is highly probable that his second coming will be on a year of jubilee. It's also possible that he comes before the year of jubilee to put an order in all the world and restore the twelve tribes so that the thousand year messianic kingdom can start on the next year of jubilee.

Time will prove if the counting that started from 1882-1883 (5643) is correct so that the next year of jubilee falls on 2029-2030 (5790), which would be the beginning of the messianic kingdom.