Weekly Sidra: Korach (Korah)
Torah Portion: Bamidbar/ Numbers 16:1-18:32
Haftorah: Shamuel Alef / I Samuel 11:14-12:22

Bamidbar 17:23 And it was the next day, Moshe went into the Tent of the Assembly and behold the staff of Aaron of the house of Levi sprouted and sprouts, buds and almonds came forth from it. 

שׁקדים Shekedim Almonds – The שקד shaked/ almond, is first mentioned in the Torah in Bereshit 43:11 when Ya’akov sends a tribute to Pharaoh and Yosef. The almond blossom is also used in the design of the Menorah in the Mishkan and it was the symbol of authority against rebellion in the Korach. The almond tree is also called the “resurrection” tree. In Yermiyahu we see a play on words that will give us more insight into Hashem’s understanding of the Almond.

And the word of Hashem came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch (shaked).” Then Hashem said to me, “You have seen well, for I am hastening (shoked) my word to perform it.” (Jeremiah 1:11-12) 

According to George Edward Post, a well know scholar of life and botanicals in the Middle East, “The almond tree is a well-known symbol of the resurrection because it is the first tree to blossom.”

John A Tzedtness of Brigham Young University (BYU), says the Latin Text Glossa manga in Pentateuchum (210 C.E.), “Tells of a bone in the human spinal cord that never dies and that G-d would use this bone in the act of resurrection.

The bone was derived from “luz” an old Aramaic word meaning almond.”

The sages, of blessed memory, say that this bone, the coccyx, is the “nut” of the spinal column. They say that it could not be burned, softened, or crushed. The coccyx, in today’s medical terminology, is in the lower spine, and is a soft bone compared to the uppermost bone of the spinal column; know as the “atlas.” The “atlas” is the actual bone that the rabbis of blessed memory render “coccyx.” In anatomy, the Atlas (C1) is the topmost (first) cervical vertebra of the spine, nearest to the brain stem, and is named for the Atlas of mythology, because it supports the globe of the head is also the first vertebra to form, beginning at 7 weeks. It is where the stems cells reside after the spine is actually formed in a fetus very early within its development. The atlas houses the skull and brain within its unique cupped shape, and the brain is where the soul “resides.”

The atlas is unique and separate from all the other 32 vertebrae , and is likened to the מקום/makom(dwelling place) of Hashem within a person’s body. Ya’akov slept in a place called “Luz” on his way to find a wife. He had a dream of angels ascending and descending from a ladder which he called “Beit El” or House of God. The “Luz” is the house of Hashem (the brain) in the sense we are Dwelling Places of the Holy One, Blessed be He. All nerve activity/energy passes through the luz to get to the ladder (i.e the spinal cord). It is where we are physically connected to our spirit, and the Divine. It is where the physical and spiritual intersect.

Yeshua says He is that Gate, that Ladder that we must ascend. He was the physical manifestation of the Infinite.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. (John 10:1-3 ESV) 

If He dwells within us, and He is alive, surely He will build His house again. We who are alive in Him, who may sleep, will be rebuilt by the Master carpenter (tekton) and we will live with Him forever. 

The rod gave forth its almonds on the third day after it was placed into the Sanctuary and was the sign of Aaron being chosen as the High Priest. So to the resurrection of Yeshua, on the 3rd day, is the sign that He is chosen as Hashem’s Moshiach. He has the power of resurrection, symbolized by the sprouting almond branch, to put all rebellions away. No man can argue with a new life, whether physical or spiritual. When Yeshua, through the power of the Ruach, creates us anew, physically or spiritually, it is the evidence of His authority. We become living souls that house the Presence of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and we become new creations, He is given the glory. Ultimately, all will close their mouth and bend the knee, for He will raise up the living and the dead and judge them. When the world sees the resurrection of the dead, this sprouting of the almond branches, every knee will bow. To those who still don’t capitulate because they failed to accept the recreating of their soul while they were living, they will be “swallowed up” so to speak. There will be gnashing of teeth and eternal flame in “Sheol” as the earth swallows them for eternity, just as Korach and his companions did against Aaron, the Kohen Moshiach. (Anointed Priest)

Hashem is revealed in every fruit, tree, and blade of grass, if we have open eyes and a changed heart. Not that creation is G-d, but the revelation given to us by the Breath of His mouth during creation. The almond is only one of many things that will show us the evidence of Messiah and His character, mission, and life, if look into the Word for our answer. It helps us ready ourselves against those who would say the creation is G-d or that the earthly things have a power that is separate from the One Who Created. It also helps us encourage others and ourselves with the good news of the life, death, and resurrection of our Master and Savior, Yeshua HaMashiach, which is part of our commission as talmidim/disciples of the Master.

שבת שלום

Writen by The Jewish Carpenter (דוד בן גבריאל)