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The first time that the word, “Messiah,” appears in the Bible, it is in reference to the “Messiah (Anointed) Priest” (Leviticus 4:3). By far, the most quoted Hebrew Bible chapter in the New Testament is Psalms 110. In this chapter, it clearly says that the Messiah is also a “priest.”
“The L-RD hath sworn, and will not repent: ‘Thou art a priest forever after the manner of Melchizedek.'”
-Psalm 110:4
What does it mean to be “a priest le’olam [can also be read, “priest for the universe”], after the manner of Melchizedek,” especially when we say that the Priests come from the tribe of Levi and the Messiah comes from the tribe of Yehudah?
Melchizedek was obviously not a Levite, but was a Priest by virtue of his being a firstborn. Originally, the Firstborn were the Priests and the Kings. This Kingship and Priesthood was passed from Adam, through Enoch and Noah, to his firstborn son, Shem, who the Sages say is the same person as Melchizedek (meaning, ‘my righteous King’), the King of (Jeru)Salem and the Priest of G-d. The Kingship/Priesthood was then transferred from Melchizedek to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and his sons (and with it, the inheritance of the Garden of Eden, Israel). Only after the sin of the Golden Calf was the Priesthood transferred from the Firstborn to the Levites.
“There is also the question of why the verse refers to “the priests, the Levites” instead of just “the priests.” It seems that there are two explanations for this. One explanation is that the Levites still earned the merit of being priests because they did not sin with the golden calf. Originally, the priesthood was designated for the firstborn, but when they sinned, the priesthood was given to the Levites. In the future, the sin of the golden calf will be forgiven, and the priesthood will return to the firstborns, as it is written: “Also I will make him firstborn [the highest of the kings of the earth,” Psalms 89:28] (meaning the Messiah will also be a priest).”
-Rabbi Yehonatan Eybeschutz, Ahavat Yehonatan, Haftarah of Emor
Rabbi Eybeschutz affirms what we learn from Psalms 110, that the Messiah will be a Priest, “after the manner of Melchizedek” (a Firstborn). The Messiah being Priest is also a sign that the sin of the Golden Calf is forgiven and the Priesthood has returned properly to the Firstborn. The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh also describes how the Messiah can be a priest, like Moses, even though he is from the Tribe of Yehudah.
“Do not be concerned at the fact that we divide this verse by applying part to the time of Moses and part to the time of the redemption at the time of the Messiah; you, my reader, are surely familiar with the words of the Zohar section 2, page 120, that Moses is viewed as the redeemer who redeemed our forefathers and as the redeemer who will lead their children back to the land of their ancestors as is written in Kohelet 1,9: “מה שהיה הוא שיהיה. The first letters of the first three words of that line form the acronym משה. Solomon alludes to the fact that he who has been a redeemer in the past will again be a redeemer in the future. Do not counter by saying that the redeemer of the future will be from the tribe of Yehudah and will either be descended from king David or will be king David himself reincarnate (compare Sanhedrin 98 based on Ezekiel 37,24: “and My servant David will be king over them”). In view of all these prophecies how could we say that the redeemer of the future will come from the tribe of Levi?
You must realize that the soul of Moses was composed of all twelve tribes of Israel, all the 600,000 being “branches” of it. David’s soul therefore was also a branch of Moses’ soul. This is also why you find that while in the desert Moses performed the duties of both king, priest, Levite, prophet, scholar and military hero. He was only able to perform all these functions because his soul comprised all branches of holiness. When the redeemer will appear in the future, it will be revealed that Moses was the root of all monarchy in Israel and that David will be perceived as Shiloh (numerical value of =345, ‘Moses’).”
-Or HaChaim, on Genesis 49:11:4
Since the Messiah, like Moses, is the collective soul of all Israel (specifically the Yechidah), we should not be at all surprised that he also serves in all roles as both King and Priest. Amazingly, the Gematria of, “the High Priest,” is exactly twice, “Yeshua” (the average value of each word together, 386). It is also the Gematria of, ‘Cross’ (where he made his ultimate sacrifice, 122). This also equals, ‘Moses, the Faithful Shepherd,’ and the Gematria of all of the figures who represent the five levels of the collective soul of Israel combined (David, Elijah, Moses, Adam, and Yeshu, 772). The Yechidah is especially associated with Yom Kippur, the only day that the High Priest brings blood into the Holy of Holies (the once-for-all sacrifice of the Messiah son of Joseph, symbolized by the Bull and Goat).
״הכהן הגדל״ (= צלב) = ״משה רעיא מהימנא״ = דוד (נפש) + אליהו (רוח) + משה (נשמה) + אדם (חיה) + ישו (= יחידה) = ישוע ישוע = 772
“… your light does not reach the level of the illumination of the World of Action (Asiyah)—which is akin to the soul of Sandal-fon [Eliyahu], the prince of Asiyah, nor the level of Metat-ron, prince of Yetzirah, nor of Akatrie-l, prince of Beriah—nevertheless, you merit the level of Atzilut, even to the Yechidah aspect that belongs to the side of Arikh, just as will be the case with our righteous Messiah, may it be soon with G-d’s help.”
-Mikdash Melech, Mikdash Melekh, RaMaZ Commentary on Zohar 3:113b:3
“Behold, my servant [the Messiah] shall prosper [to Asiyah], he shall be exalted [to Yetzirah] and extolled [to Beriah], and be raised [to Atzilut] greatly [to Adam Kadmon, the Yechidah]..”
-Isaiah 52:13, R’ Chaim Vital
Once the Levites became Priests instead of the Firstborn, the Firstborn (of the mother, like Joseph) must be redeemed with money from the Priesthood (just as Joseph was sold with money and for the same amount). Since Yeshua, as a firstborn, was sold back to the Priesthood, now he belongs again to the Priesthood and serves as Priest, but where does he serve?
Yeshua ascended to the highest heights of Heaven, as the Sages said about the Messiah, and he serves as Priest in the Heavenly Temple. Do we see any precedent in Judaism for this?
Yes, with Enoch, who also ascended alive to Heaven and became the archangel Metat(ron) serving as Heavenly High Priest (Olam HaYetzirah). Even Elijah ascended to Heaven and became, “the Angel of the Covenant” (Sandal-fon, Olam HaAsiyah).
“There were nine who entered the Garden of Eden alive, viz.: Enoch the son of Yered, Elijah, the Messiah…”
-Talmud Bavli, Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 1:18
In fact, Metat was even sorely confused with G-d as a “Second Power” in Heaven (Chagigah 15a:5), the same mistake that has been made, but incomparably more, with regards to Yeshua (R”l). The four Worlds in Kabbalah each correspond to the inanimate (Asiyah), plant life (Yetzirah), animals (Beriah), and human beings (Atzilut). By analogy, this means that the Messiah is as high above the angel Metat (Yetzirah) as a human being is above a plant, and even incalculably higher (beyond Atzilut in Adam Kadmon)! To equate the Messiah with an angel, even the loftiest of all angels, is actually an insult to his preeminent stature! No wonder then that the Messiah is so easily worshiped as equal to G-d and thereby becomes an idol (G-d forbid)!
“… And the house of David shall be like god, like the angel of the L-RD before them.”
-Zechariah 12:8
“Hereupon G-d commanded Metat-ron, the Angel of the Presence, to conduct Moses to the celestial regions amid the sound of music and song, and He commanded him furthermore to summon thirty thousand angels, to serve as his body-guard, fifteen thousand to right of him and fifteen thousand to left of him. In abject terror Moses asked Metatron, “Who art thou?” and the angel replied, “I am Enoch, the son of Jared, thy ancestor, and G-d has charged me to accompany thee to His throne…”
-Legends of the Jews 2:4:164
The Sages say that Metat, the Angel of the Presence “sacrifices the souls of the righteous,”
“Another matter: “Erecting the Tabernacle” – Rabbi Simon said: When the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel to erect the Tabernacle, he intimated to the ministering angels that they too should craft a Tabernacle. When the one below was erected, the one above was erected. That is the Tabernacle of the ministering angel Metat-ron, in which he sacrifices the souls of the righteous to atone for Israel in the days of their exile. That is why it is written: “The Tabernacle [et hamishkan], as another Tabernacle was erected with it. Likewise, it says: “The place You fashioned for Your dwelling, L-rd, the Sanctuary, my L-rd, that Your hands established” (Exodus 15:17).”
-Bamidbar Rabbah 12:12
Other Jewish sources say that it is actually the archangel Michael who serves as Heavenly High Priest,
“In the tractate “Menachot”, it is taught: Those who stand in the House of the Lord at night, meaning the altar is built, and Michael, the great prince, stands and offers a sacrifice upon it. Tosafot comments: There are differing Midrashim; some say the souls of the righteous, others say lambs of fire. This is referred to in the Amidah prayer, “And the offerings of Israel.” See the Tur on Orach Chaim. I saw in “Chacham HaRazim” that before the Temple was destroyed, Michael, as the high priest, offered sacrifices in the form of Israel’s offerings before the Holy One, blessed be He. After the destruction, G-d said to him: “Do not offer me the form of an ox, sheep, or goat, for I will not bring [them] into the Heavenly Temple until I build for My name a temple below,” but rather the souls of the righteous and the infants who have not sinned, and they ascend as a pleasing aroma. (Rav Pe’alim 128).“
-Otzar Midrashim, The Wise One of Secrets
Even though some Midrashic sources like Sefer Zerubavel identify Michael with Metat, is there a way to reconcile different archangels serving as Priests, if they are not the same figures?
“The words אשר יהיה בימים ההם, “who will officiate at that time,” may be understood in light of the Zohar who says that the “priests” (angels) officiating in the celestial spheres are subject to rotation. We have a statement to this effect in the Zohar Chadash Parshat Lech Lecha concerning the status of the archangel Michael. This is the reason the Torah wrote אשר יהיה בימים ההם. We are told there that this angel only attained the position of “High Priest” after he had offered the soul of King David thus enabling it to enter the celestial regions. This occurred after Solomon had built the Temple on earth.“
-Or HaChaim, Deuteronomy 26
This means that different archangels can serve in “rotation” in the Heavenly Temple and that especially since the destruction of the Temple, G-d specifically desires the sacrifice of the souls of the righteous. Now we can understand why the New Testament says that Yeshua, as Heavenly High Priest, offered his own sinless soul as a sacrifice once to atone for sins (since the Yechidah represents sinlessness).
“Another matter, “You shall craft the boards [for the Tabernacle].” It should have said only: ‘You shall craft the boards into a Tabernacle.’ What is “for the Tabernacle”? It is because it stands as collateral [ lemashken] as, if the enemies of Israel [*A euphemism for Israel.] become liable to be eradicated, it will be taken as collateral for them. [*It will be destroyed instead of them.] Moses said before the Holy One blessed be He:‘Are they not destined to have neither a Tabernacle nor a Temple; what will become of them?’ The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I will take a righteous one (Heb. “tzaddik echad”) from them as collateral on their behalf, and I will atone for them all their iniquities.’ Likewise it says: “He killed all who were delights of the eye” (Lamentations 2:4).”
-Midrash Shemot Rabbah 35:4
Here we can see that the death of “one righteous man” serves as an atonement for “all their iniquities” and in place of the Temple. But do we see a Jewish source that there is an archangel named, ‘Yeshua,’ who serves as Angel of the Presence?
“And for the one who understands the words of our Sages, of blessed memory, this distinction is clear: Balaam cried out seventy times, but the mother of Sisera cried out one hundred times. And the accounting is precise and proper — for Sisera came with greater power than Balak and Balaam, as is known to those who enter the gates of Torah, until the stars from their courses had to fight him.
Therefore his mother cried out one hundred cries — which alludes to a time of distress arising from the awakening of accusation. As it is taught in Tractate Shabbat, when a woman gives birth, accusation is awakened.
And so too it is taught in Midrash Rabbah (Emor, chap. 27): “And your deed from af‘ah” — one hundred cries that a woman cries: ninety-nine for death and one for life.
And the Midrash compares this to Israel against the nations.
Therefore, to nullify the accusation of the one hundred cries, we blow one hundred shofar sounds, to arouse divine supervision from the “windows” — corresponding to the windows of the accusers, as is written in the Zohar (Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 6): “He watches through the windows” — about which it is said: “Appease, please, the face of God,” etc.
And this is also the matter of Yeshua, the Minister of the Presence (Sar HaPanim), who is mentioned in the Yehi Ratzon (prayer) between the blasts.
It is hinted at in the verse: “Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, the salvation (yeshuot) of my face” (Isaiah 23), and “In all their affliction, He was afflicted, and the angel of His face saved them.”
And in the Zohar (Parashat Vayera 121a): “And he lifted his eyes and saw — behold, a ram,” etc. — and “the angel of His face saved them” — this is the Shekhinah.
And it is known that the ram alludes to the verse: “And it shall be on that day, a great shofar shall be blown,” etc.”
-The Radzyner Rebbe, Sod Yesharim, Rosh Hashanah 95
Now that the Messiah has offered his own sinless soul as a sacrifice once-for-all, he waits for his redemption from the Priesthood as proof that his People eagerly want the Messiah to return after his ascension. Once he returns, we will rejoice as when the High Priest came out “in peace” (= ‘2 million’) from the Holiest on Yom Kippur, proving that he has achieved atonement for us all.
“He washed his hands and feet, and undressed. They then brought his personal garments. He got dressed, and they would go with him to his residence. And he would make a feast for those close to him, for having exited the Holy [of Holies] in peace.”
-Mishnah Yoma 7:4
“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of G-d, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool [Psalm 110:1]. For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified… So Messiah was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for him he will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”
-Hebrews 10:12-14, 9:28
Eye To Zion 