This year, the Fourth of July lands on Shabbat (Sabbath) — a day that each week celebrates how God sets people free and gives them rest. As we commemorate 250 years since the Declaration said we’re “endowed by our Creator,” we’ll explore what real, God-given freedom and redemption look like in everyday life.
The wording in this series of chapters differs from prior chapters. At this point, HaShem (the LORD) is addressing all the people, not just the priesthood. There is an intriguing link between the elaborations on not eating blood in Leviticus 17 and then those on not having sexual relations with blood relatives in Leviticus 18.