Lifted on a Miracle

Yeshua told Nicodemus, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up."

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Chukat (חוקת | Statute)

Torah: Numbers 19:1-22:1

Haftarah: Judges 11:1-33

Gospel: Matthew 21:1-17

This is the statute of the Torah

(Numbers 19:2)

Tammuz 6, 5777/June 30, 2017

"HaShem spoke to Moshe and Aharon, saying: This is the statute of the Torah which HaShem commanded, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and have them take for you a perfectly red unblemished cow, upon which no yoke was laid." (Numbers 19:1-2)

The statute of the red heifer possesses such spiritual consequence for the nation of Israel that it is literally mind-boggling. The centrality of this commandment to Israel's relationship with G-d is so significant that it has taken on almost mythical proportions over the generations. It is universally understood to be the most intellectually un-graspable commandment contained within the body of Torah. What is it all about?

How to Split a Congregation

If you're looking for an efficient way to split a congregation or otherwise damage the kingdom of heaven, take a lesson from the story of Korah.

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Korach (קורח | Korah)

Torah: Numbers 16:1-18:32

Haftarah: 1 Samuel 11:14-12:22

Gospel: Luke 18:35-19:28

Korach and his company

(Numbers 16:6)

Sivan 29, 5777/June 23, 2017

When we consider all the sundry personalities that populate the generation of the wilderness, none seems quite so familiar, quite so modern to us as Korach. He seems to have possessed all the maladies of our day. He was avaricious, egotistical, self-serving and manipulative. Unfortunately, these types are all too prevalent in our modern landscape. And possessors of these traits all seem to want the same things: power, wealth and prestige. Korach is filled with ambition and is prepared to stop at nothing to get what he wants. What he wants is the mantle of leadership over the entire nation and the crown of the High Priest. To get what he wants he takes on Moshe, Aharon, and G-d Himself, and all at the same time! This begs the question: If Korach was so ambitious, so brazen and so adept at demogoguery then why did he wait for this moment to strike? How come we have not heard his name before?

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?