Shalom All:

In the links provided by Donna Danna (5 July 2005)
"THE MYSTERY OF THE RED HEIFER: DIVINE PROMISE OF PURITY"
.. I read this in "The Oral Tradition:
Shedding Light on the Secrets of the Bible"
http://www.templeinstitute.org/red_heifer/oral_tradition.htm
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While Moses was on the mount, God taught him the Written Torah during the day, and the Oral Torah at night. This is how Moses was able to distinguish between day and night while he was with God, since "Moses entered the cloud where the Divine was revealed" (ibid. 20:18).

Thus when we speak of the Torah, we actually refer to "two" Torahs, which are one and the same: the Written Torah, known as the Tanach (from the acronym of the Torah - the Five Books of Moses, the Prophets, and the Writings, sometimes called the Old Testament) and the Oral Torah. Both are alluded to in God's words to Moses: "Come up to Me to the mountain, and I will give you the Torah and the commandments" (Ex. 24:12).
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Reminds me so much of how Paul Harvey would always give a story ... then after a commercial break, would give the "rest of the story" which always made the first part of the story understandable and explained the "mystery" of the first!

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The Oral Tradition is Committed to Writing

However, during the era of the Roman empire, decrees were passed which forbade teaching the Jewish faith and spreading knowledge of the God of Israel. The great sages of Israel were persecuted, tortured and killed for the crime of teaching. At this time, it was feared that all those who possessed this knowledge would perish, and it was decided that the traditions could be committed to writing. This vast body of information was compiled and preserved in the Talmud and Midrashim, but this entire area of knowledge is still referred to as the Oral Tradition.

Historical Background: Pharisees and Sadducees

During the era of the Second Temple, the influence of apostasy began to make inroads in Israel. The mainstream Pharisees (who held fast to the Oral Tradition of Bible interpretation) were opposed by the cult of the Sadducees. The former upheld the performance of the commandments as they were received by Moses at Mount Sinai, and passed down through every subsequent generation by the people of Israel. The Sadducees did not accept the traditions of Sinai; by opposing the Oral Tradition, they rebelled against God Himself - for it was He, in His ultimate wisdom, who decreed that this process should keep the Torah alive and bind it steadfast to His people through every generation and circumstance.

Instead, the Sadducees cut themselves off from this body of tradition, and translated and interpreted the Bible in a very literal sense. Thus, a classic example of the difference between the two groups is their opposing interpretation of the famous verse "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand... " (Ex. 21:24). The Sadducees interpret this verse, which deals with payment for personal damages, in a literal sense. However, the Pharisees received a tradition from Moses that these words are meant idiomatically and not literally - that is, full monetary compensation must be made for the loss caused by these injuries.
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And I see parallels in the below clips to Yeshua!
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Our sages explain that on a deeper level of understanding, Korach's claim against Moses was "how can one person be so many things at once? A Priest, a Levite, a king and leader... it is impossible to be all of these because they contradict each other; you could be one, but not all." Korach did not think it was possible for one human being to possess all these attributes together. Each one represents a different, contrasting spiritual power and it would be impossible for one man to include them all, since they work in opposition to each other.

It would be impossible... for anyone other than Moses. And this is the reason that the section of the red heifer appears after the incident of Korach:

For the Holy One responded to Korach, this is the secret of why Moses is able to be all these things at the same time... with no contradiction. Because he is the only man who can understand the secret of the greatest contradiction of all, the red heifer. The great mystery, the most enigmatic contradiction of the ordinance of the red heifer, is the fact that its ashes have the effect of both cleansing and rendering impure at the same time.
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Yeshua is the cornerstone.  One either builds on Him or is crushed by Him.  One's choice either cleanses or renders impure.

Dianne
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( Request a flow chart of Revelation Seals at  talsmawi@centurytel.net  )