June 2022

Sh’lach L’cha – שְׁלַח-לְךָ (Numbers 13:1−15:41)

June 24, 2022/in Torah Tidbit

This Week’s Torah Portion: Sh’lach L’cha – שְׁלַח-לְךָ (Numbers 13:1−15:41)

“If I am I because I am I, and you are you because you are you, then I am I and you are you. But if I am I because you are you and you are you because I am I, then I am not I and you are not you.” (Menachem Mendel of Kotzk)

The lesson of this week’s Torah Portion, Sh’lach L’cha, it is to see ourselves for who we are and who we can become, and not simply as a reflection of the way others may see us.

Standing on the banks of the Jordan river, within sight of the Promised Land, the Children of Israel lose faith, they refuse to step forward and possess it. They have heard the report of the scouts who Moses has sent forth to traverse the land.

“All the people that we saw in it are men of great size… and we looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and so we must have looked to them.” (Numbers 13:32-33)

They saw themselves as they believed others saw them, as small and insignificant grasshoppers. They were still slaves in their hearts, unable to see the strong and powerful people they had become. With God’s help they had escaped Egypt and defeated the armies of Pharaoh, and still they could not believe. Had they looked beyond themselves alone, however small they may have seemed, they would have seen the people which together they had become: 600,000 men at arms, all told, many millions strong. No army could stand against them, and with God’s help, their size or numbers mattered little to insure their victory.

One grasshopper alone is a tiny thing. Millions of locust is a wonder to behold.

“If I am I because I am I, and you are you because you are you, then I am I and you are you. But if I am I because you are you and you are you because I am I, then I am not I and you are not you.”

We are more powerful than we think and together we can change the world.

B’haalot’cha – בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ (Numbers 8:1−12:16)

June 17, 2022/in Torah Tidbit

This Week’s Torah Portion: B’haalot’cha – בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ (Numbers 8:1−12:16)

This week’s Torah Portion, B’haalot’cha, contains a description of the famous pillar of fire and pillar of cloud which led the people of Israel through the wilderness on their journey to the Promised Land.

“On the day that the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the Tabernacle, the Tent of the Pact; and in the evening it rested over the Tabernacle in the likeness of fire until morning.” (Numbers 9:15)

Wait a minute! Were there two pillars or just one? “A pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night,” or just one pillar that encompassed them both? An earlier passage from the Torah may shed some light on this question. When the Children of Israel were fleeing from Egypt it says:

“The pillar of cloud shifted from in front of them and took up a place behind them, and it came between the army of the Egyptians and the army of Israel. Thus there was the cloud with the darkness, and it illumined the night, so that the one could not come near the other all through the night.” (Exodus 14:19–20)

In this case, we seem to be faced with a pillar of cloud that operated like a pillar of fire, illuminating the night. Rashi, in his commentary, insists that the pillar of cloud remained during the night only this one time – at all other times each pillar had its distinct function.

However, if there was only one pillar – fire surrounded by cloud – then all this makes much better sense. During the day, we see the pillar of cloud, and during the night, the light of the fire shines through. And, there is a lesson on our relationship with God. The pillar is a symbol of God’s presence in our lives, in light and in darkness God is with us through it all.

Naso – נָשֹׂא (Numbers 4:21−7:89)

June 10, 2022/in Torah Tidbit

This Week’s Torah Portion: Naso – נָשֹׂא (Numbers 4:21−7:89)

Naso, is the longest Torah portion in the Torah and the wordiness of all these words is due in large measure to a lengthy listing of gifts brought by the leaders of each tribe in honor of the dedication of God’s holy tabernacle, the great tent of meeting which the Children of Israel carried with them, throughout their wanderings, on their journey to the Promised Land. This listing of names and gifts alone occupies an 76 verses of the portion.

Taking a census is, by definition, a repetitive and tedious undertaking and this is not the first time the Torah has recounted such a listing in intricate detail. What is remarkable about this particular listing of names and gifts, is that each representative of every tribe brought the exact same collection of gifts. So, instead of repeating that same list of gifts 12 times over, why couldn’t the Torah have simply said: “And the leaders of every tribe brought these same gifts to the Tabernacle”?

Because even though the gifts were all the same, the givers were not.

By listing all these gifts separately, and including the name each giver, the Torah is teaching us the holiness of every human being and the uniqueness of each of our gifts.

B’midbar – בְּמִדבַּר (Numbers 1:1−4:20)

June 3, 2022/in Torah Tidbit

This Week’s Torah Portion: B’midbar – בְּמִדבַּר (Numbers 1:1−4:20)

Do you know your Hebrew name?
Is there a story to your name?

Torah Portions and Books of the Torah are named in Hebrew by their first significant word. Genesis is called in Hebrew B’reisheet, because the first word of the Bible is B’reisheet which means “In the beginning.” Exodus is called Shemot, “names,” because the first words of the book read, “these are the names,” and nobody wants to read a book called “These.”

Originally, the Hebrew name of this weeks Torah Portion was called Vayidaber, which means “And God said,” which tells us nothing because practically every Torah Portion begins Vayidaber, “And God said.” So the name of the Torah portion was changed to B’midbar “In the wilderness” which tells us not much more because Leviticus and Deuteronomy take place in this same wilderness.

In English we call this book Numbers, the English names of the books of the Bible were chosen to tell us what each book is about, however, if that was the plan, then this book should be called “Names,” because it begins and is filled with names. But, we already used that name for Exodus, Shemot. Most people skip over the names that begin the book of B’midbar, but names are important, names have meaning.

What’s in a name? Meaning. Take this name for instance, Nachshon. There is a story to this name. Nachshon is a name that appears on the listing of names of the Children of Israel who represented the tribe of Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab. But, Nachshon is more than a name.

There is a story about Nachshon, a midrash from thousands of years ago. When the Children of Israel stood at the shores of the Red Sea and the Egyptian army was charging towards them to take them back into slavery, Moses called to God and God called to Moses, to do something to save them. Someone needed to take the first step toward freedom. Nachshon placed his foot in the sea. Nachshon was the leader who decided we were not going to be slaves again, and the Children of Israel followed after him. And when God saw, the Red Sea split. That is how we found our way to freedom. Someone had to take the first step. His name was Nachshon.

Do you know your Hebrew name?
Is there a story to your name?
There will be. You are writing it right now.

Sh’lach L’cha – שְׁלַח-לְךָ (Numbers 13:1−15:41)

Parsha Sh’lach L’cha – שְׁלַח-לְךָ Torah Summary:

B’haalot’cha – בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ (Numbers 8:1−12:16)

Parsha B’haalot’cha – בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ Torah Summary:

Naso – נָשֹׂא (Numbers 4:21−7:89)

Parsha Naso – נָשֹׂא Torah Summary:

B’midbar – בְּמִדבַּר (Numbers 1:1−4:20)

Parsha B’midbar – בְּמִדבַּר Torah Summary:

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