Good Evening Yamon Ki Yesepar;
Leviticus 9:1 “And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;”
Verse 6: “And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commanded that you should do; and the glory of the Lord shall appear unto you.”
Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
“If you want joy you must clap for it,
If you want joy you must shout for it,
If you want joy you must dance for it,
The joy of the Lord is our strength,”
-Traditional Song-
Funny, I don’t see anything in Leviticus that mentions the glory of the lord will appear when you clap, shout or dance. Leviticus 9 suggests that when you follow the ritual for atonement of your sins, then the glory of the Lord will appear. Of course after Jesus died and rose from the dead, the ancient sacrificial ritual was ended. I wonder if there was some deeper meaning in Matthew 7:13-14 that the Jews who knew Oral Tradition would instantly picked up on.
Oral Tradition which preceded the appearance of Jesus on earth by a few hundred years and later embodied in what is now known as the Talmud, did a commentary on this passage in Leviticus.
Hundreds of years before Jesus came to the earth, the Jews were very familiar with a story told by Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananyah (Tractate Eruvin 53b) He told how he once came upon a place in a road which branched. He had a choice of going one of two ways to arrive at a city he was going to. He saw there a young boy. He asked the boy which way leads to the city. The boy said that they both did. One way was short and long, and the other way was long and short. Rabbi Yehoshua chose the way that was short and long. He quickly arrived at the city, but the path went into thick gardens and fields. Seeing that he couldn’t go further, he turned back.
The idea being taught in the Talmud (and this is how the Talmud expresses it) is that there are two paths placed before every person for him to choose. One is short and long, that is the way of the wicked. They will follow the easy way in the beginning and it will appear to them as if they are close to God, however, the end is suffering or destruction and they find a great (broad) expanse between them and God.
The second way is that of the righteous, it is long and short. In the beginning it appears to them as if they are very far from God, However, in the end it is easy for them to rise to a place of unity with God.
The Talmud further explains that people want to go in the short and long way. This is because the fulfillment of ones desires for the things of this world can be attained by a person immediately. The Talmud then concludes with its examination of Leviticus 9:1 “And it was on the eighth day…” This means; “woe to the one who does not inspire himself to do the work of God during the seven days (or the 70 years of his life). Only on the eighth day “Moses called.” The sages teach that it appeared to Moses for his whole life that he was serving God; however in his old age did he see his error and repent.
As this was a very common teaching for the Jews of Jesus day, I wonder what went through the minds of the Jews when Jesus said:
“Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
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