The Bible

 

Yechezchial 44

Study

   

1 וישב אתי דרך שער המקדש החיצון הפנה קדים והוא סגור׃

2 ויאמר אלי יהוה השער הזה סגור יהיה לא יפתח ואיש לא־יבא בו כי יהוה אלהי־ישראל בא בו והיה סגור׃

3 את־הנשיא נשיא הוא ישב־בו [כ= לאכול] [ק= לאכל]־לחם לפני יהוה מדרך אלם השער יבוא ומדרכו יצא׃

4 ויביאני דרך־שער הצפון אל־פני הבית וארא והנה מלא כבוד־יהוה את־בית יהוה ואפל אל־פני׃

5 ויאמר אלי יהוה בן־אדם שים לבך וראה בעיניך ובאזניך שמע את כל־אשר אני מדבר אתך לכל־חקות בית־יהוה ולכל־[כ= תורתו] [ק= תורתיו] ושמת לבך למבוא הבית בכל מוצאי המקדש׃

6 ואמרת אל־מרי אל־בית ישראל כה אמר אדני יהוה רב־לכם מכל־תועבותיכם בית ישראל׃

7 בהביאכם בני־נכר ערלי־לב וערלי בשר להיות במקדשי לחללו את־ביתי בהקריבכם את־לחמי חלב ודם ויפרו את־בריתי אל כל־תועבותיכם׃

8 ולא שמרתם משמרת קדשי ותשימון לשמרי משמרתי במקדשי לכם׃

9 כה־אמר אדני יהוה כל־בן־נכר ערל לב וערל בשר לא יבוא אל־מקדשי לכל־בן־נכר אשר בתוך בני ישראל׃

10 כי אם־הלוים אשר רחקו מעלי בתעות ישראל אשר תעו מעלי אחרי גלוליהם ונשאו עונם׃

11 והיו במקדשי משרתים פקדות אל־שערי הבית ומשרתים את־הבית המה ישחטו את־העלה ואת־הזבח לעם והמה יעמדו לפניהם לשרתם׃

12 יען אשר ישרתו אותם לפני גלוליהם והיו לבית־ישראל למכשול עון על־כן נשאתי ידי עליהם נאם אדני יהוה ונשאו עונם׃

13 ולא־יגשו אלי לכהן לי ולגשת על־כל־קדשי אל־קדשי הקדשים ונשאו כלמתם ותועבותם אשר עשו׃

14 ונתתי אותם שמרי משמרת הבית לכל עבדתו ולכל אשר יעשה בו׃ ף

15 והכהנים הלוים בני צדוק אשר שמרו את־משמרת מקדשי בתעות בני־ישראל מעלי המה יקרבו אלי לשרתני ועמדו לפני להקריב לי חלב ודם נאם אדני יהוה׃

16 המה יבאו אל־מקדשי והמה יקרבו אל־שלחני לשרתני ושמרו את־משמרתי׃

17 והיה בבואם אל־שערי החצר הפנימית בגדי פשתים ילבשו ולא־יעלה עליהם צמר בשרתם בשערי החצר הפנימית וביתה׃

18 פארי פשתים יהיו על־ראשם ומכנסי פשתים יהיו על־מתניהם לא יחגרו ביזע׃

19 ובצאתם אל־החצר החיצונה אל־החצר החיצונה אל־העם יפשטו את־בגדיהם אשר־המה משרתם בם והניחו אותם בלשכת הקדש ולבשו בגדים אחרים ולא־יקדשו את־העם בבגדיהם׃

20 וראשם לא יגלחו ופרע לא ישלחו כסום יכסמו את־ראשיהם׃

21 ויין לא־ישתו כל־כהן בבואם אל־החצר הפנימית׃

22 ואלמנה וגרושה לא־יקחו להם לנשים כי אם־בתולת מזרע בית ישראל והאלמנה אשר תהיה אלמנה מכהן יקחו׃

23 ואת־עמי יורו בין קדש לחל ובין־טמא לטהור יודעם׃

24 ועל־ריב המה יעמדו [כ= לשפט] [ק= למשפט] במשפטי [כ= ושפטהו] [ק= ישפטוהו*] ואת־תורתי ואת־חקתי בכל־מועדי ישמרו ואת־שבתותי יקדשו׃

25 ואל־מת אדם לא יבוא לטמאה כי אם־לאב ולאם ולבן ולבת לאח ולאחות אשר־לא־היתה לאיש יטמאו׃

26 ואחרי טהרתו שבעת ימים יספרו־לו׃

27 וביום באו אל־הקדש אל־החצר הפנימית לשרת בקדש יקריב חטאתו נאם אדני יהוה׃

28 והיתה להם לנחלה אני נחלתם ואחזה לא־תתנו להם בישראל אני אחזתם׃

29 המנחה והחטאת והאשם המה יאכלום וכל־חרם בישראל להם יהיה׃

30 וראשית כל־בכורי כל וכל־תרומת כל מכל תרומותיכם לכהנים יהיה וראשית ערסותיכם תתנו לכהן להניח ברכה אל־ביתך׃

31 כל־נבלה וטרפה מן־העוף ומן־הבהמה לא יאכלו הכהנים׃ ף

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #4171

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

4171. 'That which was torn [by beasts] I did not bring to you' means that evil for which He was not blameworthy resided with that good. This is clear from the meaning of 'torn' as death caused by another, and so evil for which He was not blameworthy. The evils present with man have many origins. The first lies in the heredity passed down to him by the series of transmissions to his father from grandfathers and forefathers, and then from his father, in whom evils have thereby become heaped up, down to himself. The second origin lies in what he himself makes actual, that is to say, in what a person acquires to himself by a life of evil. This evil consists partly of that which he draws from his heredity, as from an ocean of evils, and puts into practice, and partly of much more which he adds for himself to these. This is the source of the proprium which a person acquires to himself. But this actual evil which a person makes his own also has various origins, though in general there are two. First there is the evil he receives from others, for which he is not worthy of blame; second there is that which he adopts of his own accord and for which he is thus worthy of blame. That which anyone receives from others and for which he is not blameworthy is meant in the Word by 'that which is torn', whereas that which he adopts of his own accord and for which he is thus blameworthy is meant in the Word by 'a carcass'.

[2] This explains why, as in the Ancient Church so also in the Jewish they were forbidden to eat anything that had died naturally, that is, was a carcass, or to eat 'that which had been torn'. This prohibition is contained in the following,

Every soul - homeborn or settler - who eats a carcass 1 or that which has been torn to pieces shall wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; he shall be unclean until the evening, and then he shall be clean; and if he has not washed himself and bathed his flesh he shall bear his iniquity. Leviticus 17:15-16.

In the same author,

He shall not eat a carcass 1 or that which has been torn, to defile himself with it; I am Jehovah. Leviticus 22:8.

'That which has been torn' stands for evil that is a product of falsity, which is caused by the evil who are meant by the wild animals in the wood which tear to pieces, for in the Word those in hell are compared to wild animals. In the same author,

You shall be men who are sanctified to Me; therefore you shall not eat flesh torn in the field, you shall throw it to the dogs. Exodus 22:31.

In Ezekiel,

The prophet said to Jehovah, My soul has not been polluted, and from my childhood even till now I have not eaten any carcass 1 or that which has been torn nor has abominable flesh come into my mouth. Ezekiel 4:14.

In the same prophet,

The priests shall not eat any carcass 1 or anything that has been torn, whether bird or beast. Ezekiel 44:31.

This refers to the Lord's kingdom - that it is where the new earth is situated.

[3] All these places show what is meant in the internal sense by 'that which has been torn'; yet to make this plainer still, take as an example someone who leads a good life, that is, who does good to another because he wishes him well. Suppose that this someone then allows himself to be persuaded by another who is under the influence of evil that a good life contributes nothing to salvation for the reason that everyone is born in sins and nobody is able of himself to will good or consequently do it. And suppose he therefore allows himself to be persuaded by the idea that a means of salvation is supplied which is called faith, and accordingly that a person can be saved without leading a good life, even though his reception of faith were to take place at his final hour. If such a person who has been leading a good life allows himself to be persuaded by such an idea and then ceases to care about that life and also shows contempt for it, he is called 'one who has been torn'. For 'torn' is used in reference to good into which falsity is introduced, with the result that good ceases to be living any longer.

[4] Take as another example marriage, which a person thinks of as a heavenly institution. Then he - and perhaps his partner also - allows himself to be persuaded that marriage is instituted purely for the sake of order in the world, for the sake of the upbringing and proper care of children, and for the sake of inheritances. In addition he allows himself to be persuaded that the bond of marriage is nothing more than a kind of contract which can be terminated or modified by either partner if the other is in agreement. Once he has accepted these ideas he does not see anything heavenly about marriage. If this leads on to debauchery, then that which is called 'torn' is the result. So with every other example that could be taken.

[5] The fact that the evil are the ones who 'tear to pieces' - which they do by means of reasonings drawing on things of an external nature, into which things of an internal kind cannot be imported because of an evil life - may be seen from the following in Jeremiah,

A lion from the forest has struck the great men down, a wolf of the deserts has devastated them, a leopard is watching over their cities, every one going out of them is torn to pieces, because their transgressions have been multiplied, their turnings away have become firm. Jeremiah 5:5-6.

And in Amos,

Edom pursued his brother with the sword, and extinguished his own feelings of compassion, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever. Amos 1:11-12.

Footnotes:

1. i.e. an animal that has not been slaughtered but has died naturally

  
/ 10837  
  

Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.