Lev. 9:6 NIV

Do we want to see the Eternal's glory?

The Eternal wishes to manifest His glory in His temple. To achieve that, the priest's family's sin had to be eliminated first, and then all the people's sin. Unblemished animals' sacrifices served the purpose of covering the sins of the people of Israel but couldn't eliminate them for good. Only the Messiah's sacrifice done once and for all for all human beings, from Adam on, is able to remove men's sin.

However, animal sacrifices are necessary so the Eternal's glory can be manifested in His earthly temple to prevent men, still with a sinful nature, from dying because of that glory.

The moment of starting the cult to the Eternal in the tabernacle had come. Sacrifices were not an end in themselves, but a means by which the Eternal's visible presence could manifest and remain among the people. That presence of His glory, that shechinah, was the goal of the tabernacle's cult and now was the moment of being able to experience the coming of that visible glory.

In verse 4 it is written that HaShem Himself was going to appear to the children of Israel, but in verse 6 it speaks about the glory of the Eternal. This teaches us that the glory of the Eternal is His presence – it is Himself manifested. He is invisible but He can manifest himself so that He becomes visible to the eye.

But not only that, the Eternal's glory's presence also affects the emotions. It's possible not only to see but also to feel the Eternal's presence. Nowadays, we can't see His glory among the people because we don't have the temple in Yerushalaim, but it is indeed possible to feel it and it is possible to live and walk in that feeling of His immediate presence in our personal temples.

That glory, that presence of the Spirit of the Eternal is more valuable than anything in this world. His closeness to our lives is more valid than anything else. Yearning for that glory is the highest aspiration a man can have and the Torah teaches us the way to be able to see, receive and live in that glory.

The Living Torah is the manifestation of that glory besides the Temple edified by human hands, as it is written in John 1:14: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling (literally: tabernacle) among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (NIV)

In the heavenly High Priest's prayer we also see the heaven's great wish to show the Eternal's glory to men, as it is written in John 17:22, 24: "The glory that you have given me have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one? Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world." (ESV)

Remission of sin is a very important condition in being able to see His glory. The other thing that the Torah teaches us is obedience to His commandments. The verse that we've highlighted today teaches us that in order to be able to see the Eternal's glory; we must do what He commanded to be done.

Do we want to see the Eternal's glory? Then we have to do what He has commanded us; and, this is not mainly an individual message, but a collective one. That's why it says: "to you" (plural, see Lev. 9:5).

Do we really wish to have the Eternal's glory among us? Are we willing to fight sin in all its forms and obey the Eternal in everything He commands?

Shavua tov,

Ketriel