Ha'Iggeret ~ The Message

Sometimes (even though our Torah is a delightfully 70-faceted text, and our commentators are also delightfully diverse) I am running low on parsha email content. In these desperate moments, I have a very specific procedure.

Step 1: Open the Apple podcasts app.

Step 2: Wait to be inspired.

I cannot explain it other than Divine will, but every time I do this, I end up listening to exactly the right podcast to get me on the right track for writing.

That happened this week. I stumbled upon a podcast that featured social-science researcher Julia Galef speaking about the two frames with which we interpret information: scout mindset vs soldier mindset.

Galef describes the solider mindset as approaching situations with the sole intent of defending one’s own beliefs, shooting down any other conflicting information and seeing alternative approaches as the “enemy.” The soldier mindset tends to be based on emotions like defensiveness and tribalism.

The scout mindset, alternately, is driven by the desire to find the truth — to see what is real, no matter who or where it comes from. The scout mindset is based in curiosity, with a love of learning and solving puzzles. Scouts are grounded in their self worth, not basing it on how right or wrong they are about any particular topic.

If you can pick it up from the descriptors, we should all strive to be scouts. As Galef says in her own words, “[The Scout Mindset is] my term for the motivation to see things as they are and not as you wish they were, being or trying to be intellectually honest, objective, or fair minded, and curious about what’s actually true.”

That scout person is someone I’d like to be around!

Now why in the world am I bringing up soldiers and scouts? Great question — in this week’s parsha, we begin the book of Devarim, of Deuteronomy. Devarim takes place over the final 5 weeks of Moshe Rabbenu’s life. He’s recapping the events of the Torah from Avraham onward, with an important emphasis of a particularly eventful event that happened pretty recently in our narrative (but 38 years ago in the Torah timeline) — in parshat Shelach where we have the event of Chet HaMeraglim, the Sin of the Spies.

As a recap, as B’nei Yisrael approaches the land of Israel, some leaders become nervous about this new home of theirs. They ask Moshe if they can send some spies in to scout out the land and confirm that it’s an ארץ טובה - an Eretz Tova, a Good Land. In the first telling of the story, Moshe and G-d allow the spies to go into the land, but send them with specific instructions. One instruction sums up the rest - Moshe asks them to confirm if it’s a good or a bad land - using the words טוב and רע / Tov and Ra (Good vs Bad).

This word, “tov” for “good” is very powerful. To truly understand a biblical word, we can explore its other usages.

Get Julia Galef’s new book The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't here.

Cont’d…

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We are entering the final 2 parshiyot of Bamidbar (Numbers) with our double portion of Mattot-Masei!!! Crazy!!!

If you’ve been paying attention, the word we commonly use to refer to the 12 tribes of Israel is “shevet” (plural shvatim). Like Shevet Levi, Shevet Menashe, etc. But in the first of this week’s 2 parshiyot, the word used to refer to the tribes is “mateh” (plural Mattot - the name of the parsha). The parsha begins with Moshe speaking to the heads of the tribes (Rashei HaMattot) about the laws of making oaths or vows - nedarim.

Let’s look a bit deeper into the significance of these two words. Shevet or שֵׁבֶט can refer to tribe, yes, but can also also mean “branch,” as in the branch of a tree. Mateh, or מַטֶּה, can refer to tribe, yes, but it also can mean “stick,” or what an offshoot of a tree becomes when it dries out.

What’s the difference between a green offshoot (shevet) and a brown stick (mateh)? Well they’re both from the same source.

There is a nice idea that every soul that has ever and will ever exist was present at the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. That everyone who exists now is lit within by one of the 600,000 souls that heard G-d at Matan Torah. This inner spark is what we call the “Pintele Yid” or the essential point of Judaism. (When I first heard this, the image that came to mind a tiny Jew that, for some reason, looked like the Lucky Charms leprechaun, living within all of us). Ok so we all have this inner spark, lit by the source fire - G-d.

So a mateh and a shevet originated with the One Tree, but a shevet (branch) retains its vitality and flexibiliy while a mateh (stick) becomes dried out and brittle. Though a branch can be swayed by the wind, a stick stands strong through its trials.

The branch (shevet) still retains some of the lifeblood of the tree within it, and therefore represents a person who retains connection with G-d and recognizes G-d’s involvement in their lives. The stick (mateh), though, has been uprooted. The stick represents all of us in the diaspora, gallus / gallut — removed from G-d to an extent.

Both the branch and the stick have their points of strength, and both represent two different kinds of religious lives. A malleable branch will do just fine if in temperate weather, just as even the most tenuously connected Jew feels connection to G-d when in a place like Israel. And a stick, though in a Jewish desert such as [insert your city here] has learned to withstand the influences of those around us out of a sink-or-swim reality.

It’s no coincidence that we usually read Mattot during the saddest time of year for Jews - the Three Weeks (Bein HaMetzarim, between the straits). This is a period bookended by two fast days where we mourn the destruction of the First and Second Temples. Our exile from Israel began with the destruction of the Temples, so we associate gallut / the diaspora with this time. We enter the most intense mourning this coming week with the beginning of the Hebrew month of Av this coming Saturday - the Nine Days.

Cont’d…

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LINKS

Andy's sad as heck line

Final scene of the Office

Shira's Senior Spring Montage Memory Video

In last week’s parsha we read of Bilaam, the non-Jewish sorcerer’s, attempt to curse the Jewish people. If you remember, he wasn’t successful initially.

Bilaam fails and is only able to bless B’nei Yisrael and then suddenly his 15 minutes of narrative are done… or are they??

According to the Talmud (Sanhedrin 106a), Bilaam then goes to the king of Moav, Balak, and conspires to truly take down the Jewish people. Bilaam counsels Balak to entice Jewish men to commit some sexual immorality with the women of Moav and Midian. Immediately after the saga of Bilaam and his 3 blessings, we read that B’nei Yisrael settles in a city called Shittim, east of the Jordan river in Moav. They become engaged in what the Torah calls Liznot / לִזנוֹת or “straying” with the women of Midian and Moav, who have been encouraged by Bilaam and Balak to help with the downfall of B’nei Yisrael.

According to the Midrash, the Midianite and Moabite women also entice the Jewish men to commit avodah zara (idolatry) as well as gilui arayot (sexual impropriety) and things go a bit crazy. So crazy in fact, that one pair of consorting cavorters actually conduct some of their …. acts… in front of the Ohel Moed, the Tent of Meeting, and the leaders of B’nei Yisrael. Moshe and the other leaders freeze. They know the right thing to do (i.e. - stop them), but in the heat of the crazy moment, it eludes them.

In one of the more violent and descriptive events of our Torah, Pinchas (Phineas), grandson of Aharon, is the sole actor and impales the pair (Zimri of the tribe of Shimon and Kozbi, a Midiniate woman) when he sees them.

And then the parsha ends, kind of suddenly. At the beginning of this week’s parsha, Pinchas, Hashem bestows our previously aforementioned zealot a Brit Shalom, a covenant of peace, for his righteous acts.

Hmm… a covenant of peace for impaling two people? Interesting… And then, G-d also welcomes Pinchas into the priesthood, the kahuna.

“But Shira! Wasn’t Pinchas a descendant of Aharon??? And aren’t all descendants of Aharon kohanim (priests)???”

“Yes! You have been listening!”

Pinchas WAS a Levi (from the tribe of Levi) but he wasn’t a kohen. The legacy of priesthood was only given to Aharon’s sons and the sons that THOSE sons begot after being ordained. Pinchas was already born! So he wasn’t included in the descendants until now!

One question — why does someone who’s most famous act is impaling 2 people get a covenant of peace?? Well, there are different interpretations of what “shalom” - peace, really mean. Shalom is related to the Hebrew word “shalem” meaning whole or complete. To straight up quote from Wikipedia, “The meaning of completeness, central to the term shalom, can also be confirmed in related terms found in other Semitic languages. The Assyrian term salamu means to be complete, unharmed, paid/atoned. Sulmu, another Assyrian term, means welfare. A closer relation to the idea of shalom as concept and action is seen in the Arabic root salaam, meaning to be safe, secure and forgiven, among other things.”

Cont’d…

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To recap the end of last week’s parsha, Chukat —as B’nei Yisrael makes their way toward actually entering the Land of Israel, they have to pass through some “enemy” territory. They come across the land of the Amorites, east of the Jordan river. (So in modern-day Jordan). B’nei Yisrael sends emissaries to speak to the Amorite kings, asking for permission to simply pass through their lands, not even stopping to drink water from their wells or take produce from their fields. The Amorim refused, and so B’nei Yisrael battles the Amorim and succeed, settling their cities.

The nearby country of Moab / Moav hear of this conquest and become nervous. Balak, the king of Moav, enlists a non-Jewish sorcerer / prophet named Bilaam for help. The king wants Bilaam, a powerful prophet, to curse B’nei Yisrael so they don’t overtake Moav.

Dignitaries of the king of Moav go to Bilaam and convey the message. G-d communicated with Bilaam through dreams, so Bilaam says, “Let me sleep on it and I’ll circle back.” G-d comes to him in the dream and says, “No! Don’t curse B’nei Yisrael”

So Bilaam tells the dignitaries he cannot do it. So even more important dignitaries come, and Bilaam again sleeps on it. G-d answers in a puzzling way this time. G-d says something like, “Look, if people came to get you, go with them. But you’re only going to be able to say what I will allow you to say.”

So Bilaam arises the next morning and starts toward B’nei Yisrael on his donkey. G-d is still angry that Bilaam insists on going, so G-d sends an angel to stop him.

Like Dr. Sam Beckett’s true identity in Quantum Leap, the Malach Hashem, the angel of G-d, can only be seen by animals (and I guess kids too?), so Bilaam is blissfully unaware. The donkey sees the angel, who is there to kill / stop Bilaam, so she (yes it’s a she-donkey) turns away from the road. Bilaam has no idea what’s going on, so he’s enraged and strikes the donkey. The donkey keeps on. But the angel is still in the way! So the donkey runs into a fence. Bilaam, again strikes it. The donkey continues. And again, tries to save Bilaam because the angel is now blocking a narrow path so that they cannot get by. Bilaam is striking his relentlessly when G-d suddenly opens the mouth of the donkey who says something like, “Why are you such a jerk!!! Have I not been a loyal mode of transportation for you??”

Then G-d opens Bilaam’s eyes so that he could see what was actually impeding his way. The angel backs up the donkey saying, “I was in the way and would have killed you if the donkey wouldn’t have turned away these three times!!!”

Bilaam is chastened (maybe? the commentary says he just said what he needed to to get the angel off his back, but who knows) and the story continues.

Bilaam goes to B’nei Yisrael, but as G-d promised, Bilaam is only able to speak blessings upon the people. So, he blesses them 3 times and goes on his way.

That’s how the story is resolved, but the part that sticks out to me every time we get to this parsha is the genuine cluelessness of Bilaam when he’s being kept from his own death.

How many times have you missed a flight, a bus, lost a job opportunity, been turned down for a date, been left out of a social outing, or any number of other disappointing things? All the time!!! These kinds of let downs happen ALL. THE. TIME. And maybe it means nothing and the world is just an amalgam of random occurrences… OR these were all merciful redirections.

Cont’d…

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Between the events of last week’s parsha and this middle section of this week’s parsha, about 38 years have passed. As we learning in Parshat Shelach a few weeks ago, the population of B’nei Yisrael that left Mitzrayim (Egypt) did not merit to enter the Land of Israel. That group sent the Meraglim (spies) into Eretz Yisrael and then believed them when their reports were less than favorable.

So we know we wandered in the desert for 40 years, and about a year had passed since they were freed from Egypt at the time of Chet HaMeraglim (Sin of the Spies), so if a year had passed (before we were told we’d wander for 40 years total), and then 38 more passed, we’re at about 39 years out of 40 years. Meaning … one more year to go! And we still have the rest of Bamidbar (Numbers) and Devarim (Deuteronomy) to get through!! The Torah is Divine, but we never said it was an evenly distributed chronological document!

We begin the parsha with the details of the Para Aduma, the Red Heifer. The Para Aduma is always referred to as the classic example of a “chok” or a non-intuitive law. I have brought this distinction up before, but we can never do enough hazara (review)! So there are choks/chukim and then there are mishpats/mishpatim. The Talmud distinguishes that mishpatim are intuitive in the way that, had the Torah never been codified, we would have gathered logically. Laws against stealing, murder, and other non-ambiguous actions. Chukim, however, aren’t so naturally intuited. Sometimes we mistranslate a chok as a law that has no explanation, but this isn’t true either. A chok has an explanation, but it isn’t one we can understand or know. Or as the Rambam, Maimonides, Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon explains — the rationale of chukim are hidden from us while the rationale of mishpatim is more obvious.

So, the Para Aduma is always used as a prime example because it’s very specific and has to do with ritual impurity. The laws of Para Aduma are given, and then 38 years pass in the span of a single space button.

38 years after Chet HaMeraglim, the Sin of the Spies, B’nei Yisrael has settled in the area called Kadesh. And as we read, “There, Miriam dies and is buried there” - וַתָּ֤מָת שָׁם֙ מִרְיָ֔ם וַתִּקָּבֵ֖ר שָֽׁם

The very next line is, “And there was no water for the people” - וְלֹא־הָ֥יָה מַ֖יִם לָֽעֵדָ֑ה

The Talmud teaches that this quick pairing of Miriam’s death and then the loss of water means that it was in Miriam’s merit that B’nei Yisrael had water at all. I tend to associate Miriam with water — she watches over Moshe when he’s placed in the Nile, she leads B’nei Yisrael in song after Kriyat Yam Suf (the Splitting of the Sea), and then the well, too.

So right after Miriam dies, the well disappears. The people come to Moshe and Aharon upset, scared at the prospect of dying of thirst. B’nei Yisrael does come to Moshe and Aharon with complaints often — when they were thirsty right after leaving Mitzrayim, when the mahn (manna) was bland earlier in this sefer of Bamidbar, and now again without their water now that Miriam has passed away.

How is it possible that our lives parallel the parshiyot? For the past few weeks we haven’t had water in my apartment because of an issue with our fridge. This is a TINY issue, a TINY one and thank G-d we have a fridge!! Thank G-d I have time to think about whether or not I have enough water!!!! You get my point. Just want to cover my bases.

I am MISERABLE if I don’t drink enough water. #HydrateOrDie-drate

Whatever, I just really can relate to the desperation and frustration that B’nei Yisrael feels when Miriam passes away and the well disappears.

Cont’d…

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This week’s parsha is Korach, named for the antagonist of our narrative of the moment. Who is Korach? Korach is Moshe, Aharon, and Miriam’s cousin.

In short, Korach feels he was looked over for a spiritual promotion of kinds - the promotion of being chosen as the head of one of the Levi families. And so he incites a rebellion and (spoiler alert) is swallowed up by the Earth. A rather dramatic ending!

Maybe this next part will be annoying, but I feel like it’s always good to have context for who these people are to each other. So let’s do some (greatly abbreviated) genealogy.

Avraham > Yitzchak (Isaac) > Yaakov (Jacob) > Levi > Kehat > Amram and Itzhar

Amram is the father of Moshe / Aharon / Miriam, and Korach is the son of Itzhar.

Do you remember a few weeks ago we talked about the different families within the tribe of Levi? There was B’nei Gershoni, B’nei Kehati, and B’nei Merari, who each had different responsibilities. These families were named for their patriarchs - Gershon, Kehat, and Merari. If you glance back at my little list of our genealogy, Kehat was Moshe and Korach’s grandfather.

As kids of Amram, Moshe, Aharon, and Miriam were the children of the oldest son of Kehat.

As the kid of Itzhar, Korach is the oldest son of the second-eldest son of Kehat.

So what exactly had Korach been overlooked for? Moshe, Aharon, and Miriam were special - they were the Kohen Gadol (High Priest, Aharon), the general leader (Moshe), a righteous prophetess (Miriam).

Moshe / Aharon / Miriam and Korach have a younger cousin, Elitzaphan. Elitzaphan was given the leadership of Bnei Kehat.

Korach wanted that position, and if we’re going by hierarchy of genealogy, Korach was the next in line, not Elitzaphan. So, he’s (rightfully) mad.

But you only would know that Korach is mad about the specific appointment of Elitzaphan if you read the Midrash and other commentary on this parsha. If you just read the text, it seems like Korach is generally mad at Moshe and Aharon in general. Korach and his fellow mutineers say that Moshe and Aharon have given themselves too much power. They say, why do you guys get to be the ones in charge when we’re ALL special and ALL are holy? For the entire congregation is holy - כִּ֤י כָל־הָֽעֵדָה֙ כֻּלָּ֣ם קְדשִׁ֔ים

Based on this previous statement, you’d think Korach just has a grievance with there being any kind of leadership, believing we should be a nation that is 100% democratic. Except that ISN’T his real grievance. His anger is personal, and yet he corrals 250 accomplished men to accompany his complaint.

He manipulates 250 men of good repute into rebelling against their righteous leaders, all for the sake of his wounded pride. The scariest people are those who can make you feel emotions without you realizing they’re the ones putting those thoughts in your head.

If we believe the Torah was written in chronological order, last week’s parsha was a low moment. When the Meraglim (spies) came back and scared all of B’nei Yisrael into being afraid of entering Eretz Yisrael, the people lost a bit of their faith in the leadership of Moshe and Aharon. Korach saw that there was a vulnerable moment and he took advantage of it. So he’s a manipulating user with serious pride.

Not to mention — not only was Korach already a special member of B’nei Yisrael, as someone of Shevet Levi (the Tribe of Levi), he was also a member of B’nei Kehati — the most elite, spiritually heightened group within the already special group of the Tribe of Levi! And he’s mentioned as being smart, cunning, and wealthy! This guy has everything in the world, and yet he still isn’t satisfied.

Cont’d…

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Lashon haRa, literally meaning “the evil tongue,” refers to gossip. But the literal translation does get to the root of it… speech full stop holds immense power. And this extends to words we write as well (or include in Instagram infographics). Do yo know where I’m going with this? During the most recent conflict in Israel, while our brothers and sisters in the east were hiding in their bomb shelters, we were sitting in America arguing with acquaintances in the Facebook comment section. Social media became a *figurative* battle ground. Celebrities with millions of followers were sharing genuine lies — calling Israel an apartheid state, a colonizer, and an ethnic cleanser… even so if you now scroll Twitter, there are thousands of people with anti-Israel Twitter display names and even more anti-Israel Tweets.

The most harmful lies are ones that contain some semblance of truth, or at least wears the costume of truth. More on that later.

We learn a bit about that kind of evil speech in this week’s parsha, Shelach. This comes right after an event that happened in las week’s parsha, Behaalotecha, where Miriam is afflicted with the spiritual malady, tzaraat, which appears when one commits a certain transgression, including (you guessed it) - Lashon HaRa.

Miriam’s punishment (which we’ll get to) seems harsh (and I still feel like it is), but the Midrash gives us some context. Miriam noticed that Tzipporah, Moshe’s (Moses) wife, wasn’t living with him. In order to speak with G-d, one had to be ritually pure. Because Moshe was always “on call” to speak with G-d, he had to remain spiritually pure always, meaning he kinda neglected his wife. Miriam expresses sympathy for Tzipporah and goes to Aharon (Aaron) to discuss the matter. She also thinks it’s not good precedent to set, that the leader of the Jewish people doesn’t spend quality time with his wife. Miriam and Aharon are also prophets, and yet they live with their spouses! So Miriam brings this issue to Aharon, seemingly with very pure intentions. It’s not like she goes out and announces this concern to all the people… alas Hashem becomes very angry, viewing this speech as speech against Moshe. Yes Miriam and Aharon are prophets like Moshe, but they are not to the high level of prophecy that Moshe is, who is constantly speaking to G-d and must be constantly pure.

So Miriam is struck with tzaraat and then has to quarantine outside the camp for 7 days. Seems harsh for such a great tzadekus like Miriam… Miriam who is said to have told her parents to have another child because she prophesized that Moshe would be the one to redeem the Jewish people, Miriam who ensured that Moshe could lead the people by making sure he found a home after being placed in the Nile, Miriam on whose great faith and merit we had water in the desert… you get the point. But I read an interpretation that her rebuke was harsh because of how great she, in fact, was. I don’t know… I think she meant well, but I suppose the message is that offhand speech, even when it seems innocent can be dangerous. Or perhaps making any judgement about a life that is not our own is something that shouldn’t happen? I am going to continue thinking about this.

Cont’d…

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This week’s parsha has quite a few interesting storylines.

The parsha opens with the commandment of Aharon (Aaron), as Kohen Gadol (High Priest) to light the Menorah in the Mishkan (Temple) every day. The parsha’s name is taken from the command - Behaalotecha means “When you light” or literally, “when you cause to ascend.” Upward movement is very symbolic in Judaism. For example, no matter where geographically you’re coming from, when you go to Israel you are making aliyah, or ascending. And no matter where you go geographically when you leave Israel, you are making yeridah, or descending.

Rashi, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, clarifies that “causing light to ascend” means you kindle the light until the flame is able to remain alight by itself.

Obviously this command does refer to the literal lighting of the Menorah, but the symbolic idea of raising someone or something up until capable to hold themself / itself up is really nice! It also definitely tracks with what we know about Aharon HaKohen, Aaron the Priest. In Pirkey Avot, we learn a famous quote — that a person should be like the followers or students of Aharon, “…loving peace, pursuing peace. Loving all mankind and bringing them closer to Torah” - “…אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת וּמְקָרְבָן לַתּוֹרָה”

The Torah is often likened to the source fire that lights the sparks within us all, so we can connect Aharon’s lighting of the Menorah to his interactions with all of mankind. We should all hope to encourage or brighten anyone we interact with, but also keep in mind to give them the tools to keep themselves encouraged once they’re on their own.

In this quote from Pirkey Avot, Aharon is described as loving mankind, and *then* bringing them closer to Torah. Maybe you have to love someone to want to share Torah with them? Or maybe unconditional love must precede any sort of agenda (no matter the purity of that agenda)? And the first part of that sentence, about Aharon loving and pursuing peace — you don’t desire and pursue peace in a vacuum. What would push a person to pursue peace and spread Torah? Loving peace, and loving mankind.

It’s also interesting to note that Aharon brings the people close to the Torah, not the Torah to the people. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson taught that just because you can’t teach the entire Torah overnight, it doesn’t mean you should water down concepts.

When we still had the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple, the Menorah would be lit every day. But like any candle that is burned, it makes a mess. So every day, a Kohen (priest) had to clean out and prepare the Menorah, but the actual kindling of the light could be done by anyone. While Aharon was alive, he would light it, but after his death, anyone could light the Menorah. How does this parallel with “lighting” our fellow humans? Ordinary people like you and me can share words (or podcasts!) of Torah with anyone. Just as an ordinary person could light the Menorah if it was prepared by a Kohen, ordinary people can also encourage the growth of others if prepared and secure in our own knowledge (or if under the guidance of someone who is!)

It’s a common expression to say that someone’s face, “lights up” when they’re happy or talking about something that gives them joy. If English isn’t your native language, you may wonder why someone’s face “lighting up” is good. Does it mean suddenly their eyes are suddenly emanating light? Or that you see a physical brightness? No, it’s a figure of speech! But I think you can imagine what kind of a reaction I’m referring to. 

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In last week’s parsha, we discussed a census taken of the Jewish people. As we discussed, it wasn’t a census of *everyone.* It was a census of men ages 20-50 from every tribe except the tribe of Levi, the Levites. (Yes, one group of the Levites are explained in last week’s parsha, but the final 2 groups are detailed here, in Nasso!)

So this week we ARE counting the Leviim / Levites! Some of the Leviim, from the tribe of Levi, who are direct descendants of Aharon, Aaron, are known as Kohanim, priests. But all of the Leviim have the distinct honor of serving some way in the Tabernacle, the Mishkan, or being general teachers of Torah for the Jewish people.

But why are they being counted separately? Because they’re more special than you, that’s why!!! Well we have a few different explanations — that with their special privileges they deserve to be counted separately (as aforementioned), that Hashem knew Bnei Yisrael (the Children of Israel) would make some mistakes that kept them from entering the Land later, but wanted to make sure the Leviim were not included in the excluded group (because they didn’t participate in the Golden Calf / Chet HaEgel debacle), and also that the Leviim have their specific tasks of caring for the Mishkan (the Tabernacle) so they wouldn’t need to be counted in a census that’s for the purpose of assessing how many soldiers we had.

Like making a good stir fry, you can’t just throw everything in the pan and hope for the best! You have to fry everything separately and THEN combine. (To be honest, that’s a tip I JUST leaned … I still haven’t made a satisfactory, restaurant-grade stir fry but that doesn’t stop me from trying)

So, like a stir fry, everyone was fried … I mean COUNTED separately. And yes there are the 12 Tribes, Shvatim within the entire Bnei Yisrael, but even within the Leviim / Levites there are our 3 further groups. Within the Leviim, we have Bnei Gershoni (the Gershonites), Bnei Merari (Merarites), and Bnei Kehati (Kehatites).

What’s the difference you ask? Here we go!

Bnei Kehati had the most “lofty” service. They were tasked with transporting the Ark of the Covenant, the Aron HaBrit, which, as a reminder was this crazy golden covered wooden chest that contained the 2 tablets of the 10 Commandments, the Aseret HaDibrot, within it. They also were tasked with carrying the sacred vessels present in the sanctuary — the Menorah (for light), the Table (for the showbread), and the Incense Altar (for incense offerings). Even just the Ark must have been super heavy, with tons of gold, etc. But the work of Bnei Kehati wasn’t back-breaking labor — it was more spiritual. Our sages note in the Talmud that the Ark wasn’t a heavy object, but that the “Ark would carry its bearers.” The Ark existed in both our physical world, and in the spiritual world, which I guess means it only weighed half of what it actually did? Unclear, but that’s my hypothesis.

We also learn that the Leviim had the responsibility to serve as teachers, conveying Jewish teachings to the whole Jewish people. So when we learn that Bnei Kehati transmitted the Ark physically, they also transmitted its essence, too, through sharing Jewish teachings.

Now Bnei Merari - they actually were back-breaking laborers. They carried the boards and basic parts of the physical structure of the Tabernacle. If Bnei Kehati were the lofty group, Bnei Merari was the more tangible, accessible group.

Between these 2 is Bnei Gershoni. If the spiritual stuff is covered by Bnei Kehati, and the manual stuff is with Bnei Merari, then what does Bnei Gershoni do?

Cont’d…

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It’s crazy, but this week we begin reading from the 4th book of the Torah, Bamidbar (or Numbers).

Bereshit (Genesis) tells the story of the beginning of the world and of the Jewish people.

Shemot (Exodus) tells the story of the exit from Egypt, but the entrance in to a brit (covenant) with G-d.

Vayikra (Leviticus) tells us *how* to be in that covenant, with laws and guidance.

Bamidbar (Numbers) charts the journey for Har Sinai (Mount Sinai) to nearly entering Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. We make some mistakes, and end up spending a bit more time in the desert than we planned (hence the name, BaMidbar meaning “in the desert”).

And Devarim (Deuteronomy) … well we’re not there yet. Don’t want to spoil anything ;P

So now we begin our journey through Bamidbar, Numbers. The English name is Numbers because Moshe (Moses) is commanded to take a census at the beginning and the end of this sefer (book of the Torah).

It’s not like Moshe realized he needed an accurate census count so he could reapportion the House of Representatives… (which is one of the main reasons we have a census in the US). And G-d definitely knows how many people there are, so why take a census?

A census in general sees to it that all are counted equally. Rashi, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, comments that G-d continually counts the Jewish people out of fondness for us. Other commentary in the Midrash teaches that each person was like a precious pearl to G-d, all equally valuable and worthy like the feeling one has toward their children.

Aw well that’s lovely! Everyone being equal!! Our modern Western minds loooooove that!! Except that it wasn’t everyone counted equally… it was just men over the age of 20.

Ok practically we’re counting people who can be part of a fighting force, which women and children were excluded from in those times. But I can’t help but feel not-seen by this.

I have been feeling un-seen in relation to other things, too.

For example, the rampant false information that has been spread on social media in regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict this week. In that, I have felt very un-seen. Our modern western world is terrified of being considered not-progressive, and so they hop on the bandwagon of condemning a complex geopolitical situation they have no stake in.

It’s as if the very WHIFF of being considered un-woke is enough to push everyone to the other side of the conflict.

Though the majority of the progressive / left-leaning world has turned on Israel in the wake of this craziness, as is to be expected when you have no stake in the game… interestingly enough, Jews (on the whole) have remained steadfast. A Pew report came out this week https://www.pewforum.org/2021/05/11/jewish-americans-in-2020/ and had some interesting findings — 71% of Jews (total) identify or lean Democrat / to the left, so it’s not like everyone suddenly ticks a different box.

In regard to Judaism, progressive Jews, when reading parshiyot like the current one, can become uncomfortable. But at the WHIFF of female oppression do we denounce our Judaism? I feel like the answer is no.

Cont’d…

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opening theme: reCreation by airtone (c) copyright 2019 Licensed