The Sabbath, the Land and the World to Come

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Shelach (שלח | Send)

Torah: Numbers 13:1-15:41

Haftarah: Joshua 2:1-24

Gospel: Mark 10:1-45

We can surely go up and take possession of it

(Numbers 13:30)

Sivan 22, 5777/June 16, 2017

"Send out for yourself men who will scout the Land of Canaan... " (Numbers 13:1) So begins perhaps the grimmest and most infamous episode in the lives of the generation of the desert, an episode so profoundly and existentially ill-fated that its ramifications and reverberations continue to impact the nation of Israel to this day. What went wrong?

A spy mission went awry and of the twelve righteous men chosen by Moshe to lead a reconnaissance mission into the land of Canaan and report back to the people, ten returned with an evil report, stating that the inhabitants of the land were too strong and their cities too well fortified, and that any attempt to dislodge them would surely end in disaster. Only Calev ben Yefuneh and Yehoshua bin Nun, of the twelve spies, categorically disagreed and emphatically stated otherwise: "We can surely go up and take possession of it, for we can indeed overcome it." (ibid 13:30) But their minority opinion was to no avail. The people's spirits were crushed by the report of the spies and they wept, cursing the day they left Egypt, even trying to rally their fellow Israelites to return en masse to the land that had enslaved them for more than two hundred years.

Malcontents

Some people are never happy unless they have something to be unhappy about.

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Beha'alotcha (בהעלותך | When you set up)

Torah: Numbers 8:1-12:15

Haftarah: Zechariah 2:14-4:7

Gospel: Luke 17:11-18:14

Arise, HaShem, may Your enemies be scattered

(Numbers 10:35)

Sivan 15, 5777/June 9, 2017

This week's Torah reading, Beha'alotcha, describes the very final preparations before the Israelite encampment, with the Tabernacle, in which the Shechinah - the presence of G-d dwells, located in the center and heart of the nation, sets out on its journey to the land of Canaan, the land promised them by G-d, the final destination, the land in which they will dwell forever.

Aharon kindles the menorah lights in the Tabernacle, the Levites are consecrated and silver trumpets are fashioned from pure silver that the kohanim (Temple priests) will blow to signal to the entire nation that it is time to strike camp and move forward.

The Priestly Blessing

The LORD bless you, and keep you; the LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Nasso (נשא | Take up)

Torah: Numbers 4:21-7:89

Haftarah: Judges 13:2-5

Gospel: John 11:1-54

A spirit of jealousy

(Numbers 5:14)

Sivan 8, 5777/June 2, 2017

As it has done many times before, Torah, in parashat Naso, takes us back, yet again, to the inauguration of the desert Tabernacle, adding new details to fill out the picture. These are, in fact, when combined with the opening verses of next week's parashat Beha'alotcha, the final details concerning the inauguration of the Tabernacle. After this Israel hits the road, finally setting out on its long anticipated journey toward the land promised them by G-d. The remainder of the book of Numbers chronicles their journey, with all its ups and downs. Oddly enough, parashat Naso includes in its verses two topics which seem to be incongruous diversions from the theme of the parashah. Concerning the matter of the sotah, the wife suspected by her husband of infidelity, and the nazir, the individual who takes a vow to abstain from wine (or any grape product) and cutting his hair for a prescribed period of time, we can ask the question: what are they doing here? Why does Torah mention these two "specialty" items among the final preparations of the Israelites before setting out on their journey? Are they placed here for lack of a better place in Torah to fit them in? or is there a reason for their mention specifically here?

In the wilderness of Sinai

(Numbers 1:1)

Rosh Chodesh Sivan, 5777/May 26, 2017

"HaShem spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting on the first day of the second month, in the second year after the exodus from the land of Egypt... " (Numbers 1:1)

Thus begins the book of Numbers, the fourth of the 'Five Books of Moses,' which we read this Shabbat. We recall that last week we concluded the book of Leviticus with the words, "These are the commandments that HaShem commanded Moshe to the children of Israel on Mount Sinai." (Leviticus 27:34) The children of Israel haven't yet moved their encampment in the interim between the two verses. Mount Sinai and the wilderness of Sinai are one and the same. Only the perspective has changed. The period of Torah transmission has concluded and the physical journey to the promised land is about to commence. Moshe is commanded by G-d to take a census of the children of Israel, after which the twelve tribes are organized into four flanks, surrounding the Tabernacle to the east, the west, the south and the north, each flank comprising three tribal encampments. The Tabernacle, which dwells in the center of the Israelite encampments, is surrounded by the family encampments of the Levites, who are responsible for the assembly, disassembly and transport of the Tabernacle from destination to destination. The nation is ready to move toward its final destination of the land of Canaan, the land of Israel.