21 Iyar, 5783

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When anyone explicitly vows to the LORD the equivalent for a human being,

the following scale shall apply: If it is a male from twenty to sixty years of age, the equivalent is fifty shekels of silver by the sanctuary weight;

if it is a female, the equivalent is thirty shekels.

If the age is from five years to twenty years, the equivalent is twenty shekels for a male and ten shekels for a female.

If the age is from one month to five years, the equivalent for a male is five shekels of silver, and the equivalent for a female is three shekels of silver.

If the age is sixty years or over, the equivalent is fifteen shekels in the case of a male and ten shekels for a female.

But if one cannot afford the equivalent, he shall be presented before the priest, and the priest shall assess him; the priest shall assess him according to what the vower can afford.

If [the vow concerns] any animal that may be brought as an offering to the LORD, any such that may be given to the LORD shall be holy.

One may not exchange or substitute another for it, either good for bad, or bad for good; if one does substitute one animal for another, the thing vowed and its substitute shall both be holy.

If [the vow concerns] any unclean animal that may not be brought as an offering to the LORD, the animal shall be presented before the priest,

and the priest shall assess it. Whether high or low, whatever assessment is set by the priest shall stand;

and if he wishes to redeem it, he must add one-fifth to its assessment.

If anyone consecrates his house to the LORD, the priest shall assess it. Whether high or low, as the priest assesses it, so it shall stand;

and if he who has consecrated his house wishes to redeem it, he must add one-fifth to the sum at which it was assessed, and it shall be his.

Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, published by JPS
Copyright: JPS, 1985

Psalms 104

Bless the LORD, O my soul; O LORD, my God, You are very great; You are clothed in glory and majesty, wrapped in a robe of light; You spread the heavens like a tent cloth. He sets the rafters of His lofts in the waters, makes the clouds His chariot, moves on the wings of the wind. He makes the winds His messengers, fiery flames His servants. He established the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never totter. You made the deep cover it as a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. They fled at Your blast, rushed away at the sound of Your thunder, —mountains rising, valleys sinking— to the place You established for them. You set bounds they must not pass so that they never again cover the earth. You make springs gush forth in torrents; they make their way between the hills, giving drink to all the wild beasts; the wild asses slake their thirst. The birds of the sky dwell beside them and sing among the foliage. You water the mountains from Your lofts; the earth is sated from the fruit of Your work. You make the grass grow for the cattle, and herbage for man’s labor that he may get food out of the earth— wine that cheers the hearts of men oil that makes the face shine, and bread that sustains man’s life. The trees of the LORD drink their fill, the cedars of Lebanon, His own planting, where birds make their nests; the stork has her home in the junipers. The high mountains are for wild goats; the crags are a refuge for rock-badgers. He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set. You bring on darkness and it is night, when all the beasts of the forests stir. The lions roar for prey, seeking their food from God. When the sun rises, they come home and couch in their dens. Man then goes out to his work, to his labor until the evening. How many are the things You have made, O LORD; You have made them all with wisdom; the earth is full of Your creations. There is the sea, vast and wide, with its creatures beyond number, living things, small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan that You formed to sport with. All of them look to You to give them their food when it is due. Give it to them, they gather it up; open Your hand, they are well satisfied; hide Your face, they are terrified; take away their breath, they perish and turn again into dust; send back Your breath, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth. May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in His works! He looks at the earth and it trembles; He touches the mountains and they smoke. I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; all my life I will chant hymns to my God. May my prayer be pleasing to Him; I will rejoice in the LORD. May sinners disappear from the earth, and the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Hallelujah.

Psalms 105

Praise the LORD; call on His name; proclaim His deeds among the peoples. Sing praises to Him; speak of all His wondrous acts. Exult in His holy name; let all who seek the LORD rejoice. Turn to the LORD, to His might; seek His presence constantly. Remember the wonders He has done, His portents and the judgments He has pronounced, O offspring of Abraham, His servant, O descendants of Jacob, His chosen ones. He is the LORD our God; His judgments are throughout the earth. He is ever mindful of His covenant, the promise He gave for a thousand generations, that He made with Abraham, swore to Isaac, and confirmed in a decree for Jacob, for Israel, as an eternal covenant, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your allotted heritage.” They were then few in number, a mere handful, sojourning there, wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. He allowed no one to oppress them; He reproved kings on their account, “Do not touch My anointed ones; do not harm My prophets.” He called down a famine on the land, destroyed every staff of bread. He sent ahead of them a man, Joseph, sold into slavery. His feet were subjected to fetters; an iron collar was put on his neck. Until his prediction came true the decree of the LORD purged him. The king sent to have him freed; the ruler of nations released him. He made him the lord of his household, empowered him over all his possessions, to discipline his princes at will, to teach his elders wisdom. Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. He made His people very fruitful, more numerous than their foes. He changed their heart to hate His people, to plot against His servants. He sent His servant Moses, and Aaron, whom He had chosen. They performed His signs among them, His wonders, against the land of Ham. He sent darkness; it was very dark; did they not defy His word? He turned their waters into blood and killed their fish. Their land teemed with frogs, even the rooms of their king. Swarms of insects came at His command, lice, throughout their country. He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land. He struck their vines and fig trees, broke down the trees of their country. Locusts came at His command, grasshoppers without number. They devoured every green thing in the land; they consumed the produce of the soil. He struck down every first-born in the land, the first fruit of their vigor. He led Israel out with silver and gold; none among their tribes faltered. Egypt rejoiced when they left, for dread of Israel had fallen upon them. He spread a cloud for a cover, and fire to light up the night. They asked and He brought them quail, and satisfied them with food from heaven. He opened a rock so that water gushed forth; it flowed as a stream in the parched land. Mindful of His sacred promise to His servant Abraham, He led His people out in gladness, His chosen ones with joyous song. He gave them the lands of nations; they inherited the wealth of peoples, that they might keep His laws and observe His teachings. Hallelujah.

Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, published by JPS
Copyright: JPS, 1985

After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. When the centurion heard about Yeshua, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Yeshua, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” And Yeshua went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Yeshua heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Yeshua gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

The disciples of Yochanan reported all these things to him. And Yochanan, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “Yochanan the immerser has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell Yochanan what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

When Yochanan’s messengers had gone, Yeshua began to speak to the crowds concerning Yochanan: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,

  “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
    who will prepare your way before you.’

I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than Yochanan. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been immersed with the immersion of Yochanan, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been immersed by him.)

“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

  “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
    we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

For Yochanan the immerser has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Yeshua answering said to him, “Shimon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Shimon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Shimon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

(ESV)