Parsha Diary--Tetzaveh, You shall command

The pointer and decorative "breastplate" that adorns the Torah scroll

Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let Your godly ones sing for joy. 

Psalm 132:9

Dear Parsha Diary,

This week I just loved reading Parsha Tetzaveh!  I learned so much from the Holy Spirit guiding as I enjoyed delving into the parsha.  I am continually in awe not only the beautiful details of the parsha in themselves, and especially, oh the priestly garments and the loving instructions from God to Moses on how they are to be made!! But also how everything points to our lives in Messiah Yeshua, and how alive His word is.  I know some people call this the "Old" Testament, but Lord this is all so new and alive and relevant to who we are in Messiah Yeshua!!! 

Make them holy in the truth.  Your word is truth.  John 17:17

Tetzaveh   You shall command

There is a commandment in the first line of the parsha for the olive oil to be brought to keep the light of the menorah burning forever before the LORD (Exodus 27:20~21).  After that, a good part of this parsha details the intricate and beautiful descriptions of the priestly garments God instructs Moses—though note that in this parsha Moses is not named—-to have made for Aaron and his sons.  Over and over in the tabernacle descriptions, God instructs that all be made by spirit-filled craftsmen  who are wise-hearted.  Each element of both the Tabernacle and the garments has special significance that speaks volumes about God’s heart and the love and meaning that is put into every detail of His word and instructions for our lives in service to Him, all for His Glory and to reveal His beauty!!

Our High Priest Yeshua is revealed in each item of garments, and the ministry of intercession that is our Messiah’s ministry is also passed down to us.   As a people, nation of high priests we are commanded to put on the Armor of God(Ephesians 6:10~23).   It is striking to read the passages in this parsha (for example the breastplate of judgement, Ex. 28:15) and to see how Paul's description of the armor in Ephesians is so deeply rooted in these instructions and all of the Torah.

True priests in service of Messiah always are to keep the light of God shining and lit, and to put on the priestly garments of justice, righteousness, truth and Salvation, always ready and with the Good News of Shalom to intercede and pray in the Ruach on every occasion (Ephesians 6:18)!  May we be clothed in Messiah Yeshua, shining our light and armed for intercession as we set out in our prayer time today!
  
Here is a prayer to pray for your child or loved one to be clothed in the armor of God! Put that person's name in the dotted lines in the prayer below.

May................................be strong in the LORD and in His mighty power.
May .......................put on the full armor of God so that ............................can stand against the schemes of the devil.  May.....................always buckle the belt of truth around his/her waist, and put on the breast plate of righteousness.  May .........................strap up his/her feet in readiness with the Good News of Shalom.  Above all, may...............take up the shield of faith with which he/she will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  And may...................take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.   from Ephesians 6:10~17

Readings from Parsha Tetzaveh:
Exodus 27:20 ~ 30:10
Ezeikel 43:10 ~27
Hebrews 9:6~14

Notes:  Ruach is the Hebrew word for Spirit, or Wind, here referring to the Holy Spirit.

Take ...unleavened cakes with oil mixed in....    from Exodus 29:2, note to myself, the word for cakes in Hebrew in this verse is "Challah"

Notice the "Challah" this week, it has an unleavened look to it, actually I tried making challah using rice flour that I got from a local rice grower, and was surprised at the result how it didn't rise.

I have a "souvenir" Torah Scroll from Jerusalem. I confess I can't really read it but I can follow along enough to see where we are and listen along to the Hebrew as I "read" it for each potion, and some words do "pop out" and it is good Hebrew study as well for listening and following along and seeing!!!

Parsha Tetzaveh

Meditating on God's splendor and majesty and His clothes of righteousness; and on being clothed in the Armor of God.

You shall make a breastpiece of decision, worked into a design; make it in the style of the ephod:  make it of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen.  It shall be square and doubled, a span in length and a span in width.  Set in it mounted stones, in four rows of stones.  

Exodus 28:15~17 

 

Postcards from Parsha Tetzaveh and from this morning

You are to make holy garments for your brother Aaron, for splendor and for beauty.

---Exodus 28:2

This morning in my prayer and praise time I was reading from the scripture 
"I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty and Your wonders", 
from the Psalms 145:5. 
 

During that time I got a call from my Dad from the US.   He asked what was I doing.  I said " I'm spending time in prayer with Yeshua,  meditating on the glorious splendor of His majesty and His wonders."
There was a time that I woudn't have just come out and said that, and if I did my Dad would not quite know how to receive it....but now I can and I am so thankful my Dad replied by asking if I was o.k. to talk.   I am so thankful that Yeshua cares so much about families,  I felt His presence speaking to us both at that moment, to me, saying, Yes, share your love of Me to your Dad, and to my Dad, He gave that heart of respect for me, as He  intercedes exquisitely to bring all our families and loved ones to Him.


Blessings in 
Yeshua, our High Priest Forever. 


Love,

❤️
Shayndel

The Ume Tree is back! notes

Praise God!
The ume tree is back and planted in nourished soil.
The workers who do the planting take such care of the garden work.
When I told my Japanese teacher about the gardeners, he said there is word to describe that in Japanese, Shokunin Kata-gi. 職人気質。He explained that it means  the spirit of a traditional craftsman.  

That word and the whole work of the gardeners and the blossoms and moving the tree reminds me of the spirit filled craftsmen we are reading about in the Parashat about the Tabernacle.
There are so many times the word "spirit filled craftsmen" is used in these parsha.

You know that everything reminds me of the parsha, when I walk through the days.  I have mentioned before how I also love the description of the blossom crafted menorah.  I am just copying a part of it here, just to copy it and honor the beauty of it and in the season of blossoms and the work of the craftsman, to the glory of God. 

I also think of the scriptures about restoration  and re-building, from Jeremiah.

I am happy that the Ume tree is back.

God brings order to our lives.   He plants and He uproots.
And He rebuilds and restores.

Blessings and Shabbat Shalom!

Love,
♡
Shayndel

You are to make a menorah of pure gold, by hammered work.   Its base, stern, cups, bulbs and flowers are to be one piece.  There are to be six branches coming out of the sides, three branches of the menorah out of one side and three branches out of the other.  There are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms in one branch, each with a bulb and flower, then three cups made like almond blossoms in the next branch, each with a bulb and flower, and so forth for the six branches coming out of the menorah.  Whithin the menorah will be four cups made like almond blossoms, with bulbs and flowers.  Exodus 25:  31~34

Our home is our Mishkan!--Parsha Terumah, and Bread of the Presence

And on the table you shall set the bread of the Presence, to be before Me always.  Exodus 25:30

With this week's parsha Terumah in mind and heart, I felt inspired to make our Shabbat table like the "shulchan".  Shulchan is the table in the Mishkan on which the bread of Presence is set.  

Mishkan is the Tabernacle that God instructed Moses to have the children of Israel build for Him to dwell in soon after they received His commandments at Mt. Sinai.

I love this parsha for all the details of the instructions that God gives!! Look at the colors, the attention to detail in materials, the exquisite combinations of colors and the gold overlaying the wood.  One chapter is all on the curtains and their layering and specifics.  Oh it makes my artists soul just come to life and desire to create something, and to honor Him and invite His presence in our home!!

There is an expression, you've heard, comparing our homes to a castle, but for this week I really like the idea of "our home as a mishkan"!!!   I learned that one of the great Jewish sages made such a statement!! (*note below)

 And of course our LORD Yeshua is the living expression of that, that we ourselves should be a dwelling place for Him and our whole being becomes the "portable" dwelling place where His Holy Spirit lives in us.

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

1Corinthians 3:16 

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So here is my little shulchan at home with the breads of the Presence on it !

With the details of the Tabernacle, there is also an elaborate description of the menorah, another of my favorite descriptions for the BLOSSOMS motif and the branches.  So for the flowers for this Shabbat I picked a Cherry Blossoms branch, the shape of it nicely with two branches of three small branches each!

There are to be six branches coming out of the sides, three branches of the menorah out to one side, and three branches out to the other.  Exodus 25:32

The whole passage from Exodus 25:31~36 is a beautiful description of the menorah and its "cups made like almond blossoms, with bulbs and flowers" (25:34)

 I just noticed about the table, it is set with  two of my favorite things, Blossoms and Bread!
An exquisite offering, to be set out always!!

His presence (represented by bread) and Light (menorah) are eternal.


Even the Hebrew word for the Bread of the Presence is actually "Lechem ha panim", lechem meaning bread, and panim meaning "face".  Why "bread of faces"? Actually I am not sure exactly, but there is much we see in this representation that points to the Bread of Life, Messiah Yeshua, and His presence with us.   It makes me think of constantly seeking His face, acknowledging He is our everything and our Provider.
 We turn our faces towards His,  seeking always to observe all He commands. 

Your face Lord, I will seek.  Psalm 27:8b

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Of course by the end of Shabbat, there were a few less breads!

I made the 12 breads as  the "challah" this week. Whereas I usually divide the challah dough into 12 equal strands (6 for each challah) when I make two braided challot, this time I left the 12 portions of dough as rounds, and simply shaped them into the breads.

The actual breads of the Presence were unleavened cakes, or "Matza".  The ones I made are puffy and leavened.  And their actual arrangement was "stacked" vertically made with special shaped molds, and here they are laid out in horizontal rows.   So as to say, mine is not supposed to be a reproduction of the table and the bread, but to offer from my heart an expression of the parsha, and inviting His presence in a joyful way on this Shabbat!!

You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.  Psalm 16:11

The name of the parsha, Terumah, refers to the offerings that were given by the children of Israel to go into the making of the Tabernacle.

The word can translate as "offering" or "portion" though it is said to have no exact English equivalent.  "It implies a separation of a portion of one's resources to be set aside for a higher purpose."**    When we acknowledge that all that we have is provision from God and the wealth we have is that which God blessed us with, when we lift up or elevate a portion of it to give to God, we thus elevate the purposes of that which we are given, and acknowledge our desire to use all of it for His glory and purposes. 

In our spiritual being as well as our physical life in Messiah Yeshua, may we offer up all that we are and all that we have to Him!   Invite His presence,  and may we know the fullness of joy of abiding in Him!! Blessings and Shabbat Shalom!!

Love,
♡
Shayndel

Behold the dwelling place of God is with men, and He shall tabernacle among them.

Revelation 21:3

They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 

Revelation 22:4

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Notes--
  from in the post:
* I was inspired by this idea of *My home is my mishkan*  from a book called Parsha in Pink, a weekly inspiration from the Parsha to ignite the lives and hearts of women today, by Rebbetzin Mindy Bodner-Lankry

**ArtScroll Chumash

Being in God's presence! Scriptures HERE

A Song, In Your Presence, by Paul Wilbur  

Note:  and on Joanne`s Challah-cast channel, Parsha Terumah Challah-cast Here!  Please agree in prayer at the end that Japan will know Messiah Yeshua and become a Messianic Nation, and walk in the ways and days of the LORD!!!