Not one of my students!

Not one of my students!
Not One of My Students!

Welcome - Baruchim Habaim

Welcome - Baruchim Habaim
Welcome - Baruchim Habaim

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Torah Commentary - Korah

The Torah Portion, Korah, continues the theme of questioning and distrust of God's word by the children of Israel and their leaders. In previous Portions, rebellion and lack of faith have been met with divine punishment. God has commanded that the adult generation of complaining, disbelieving Israelites will not be allowed to enter the Promised Land of Canaan after their 40 years of wandering. Instead, Canaan will be the eventual home of their children. In addition, as a reminder of their holy commitment to follow God's commandments, the children of Israel are commanded to wear tzitzit.

However, there is still turmoil among the children of Israel. The Portion, Korah, opens with Korah (Moses' and Aaron's first cousin) assembling 250 prominent members of the community to challenge the leadership of Moses and Aaron.
"And they assembled against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, 'You have much! Because all of the congregation, all of them, are holy, and YHWH is among them. And why do you raise yourselves up over YHWH's community?' " (Numbers 16:3)*

Moses orders Korah and his 250 followers to join Aaron in burning incense in front of the Mishkan. God then orders the community to separate from the 250 in order to be spared as the earth opens up and swallows Korah, his followers, and their households.

Has the Israelites' faith in God's power been strengthened by seeing the fate of Korah and company? No! They turn on Moses and Aaron saying, "...You killed YHWH's people!" (Numbers 17:6)*
God sends a plague against the Israelites which Moses and Aaron halt through offerings of atonement.

God orders Moses to organize a further demonstration that Aaron is God's choice as High Priest. Each of the tribal chieftains, including Aaron, brings his staff to the Mishkan. God tells Moses and Aaron, " And it will be that the man I shall choose: his staff will bloom. And I'll decrease from me the complaints of the children of Israel that they're making against you." (Numbers 17: 20)*
An almond blossom blooms from Aaron's staff. Aaron's staff is kept on display by the Mishkan to remind the Israelites that God has chosen Aaron and the Levites as Priests.

The Israelites fear that they will die by coming close to the Mishkan. God tells Aaron the rules for who may safely approach the holiest sections of the Mishkan.

God further tells Aaron that the Levites won't have a portion of land in Canaan because their covetted task is to tend to the sacred rituals of the Mishkan. The Levites' needs will be met through offerings brought by the children of Israel.

Korah presents us with an opinionated, power-hungry leader who gathers an elite group of followers and purports to speak for the entire community. This ambitious leader confronts those in the highest positions of power and declares that the present leadership is not properly acknowledging the status of "the people;" that promises to "the people" have gone unfulfilled; and that "the people" are being dangerously led astray.

Sounds alot like an election year! Torah commentator Richard Elliott Friedman points out that "This is a battle for leadership, which is to say it is a political battle, which is to say it is a battle for power; and it dramatizes the danger of the power-seeking politician who is a skillful speaker." (page 482)*

While political manipulation and confrontation may succeed for a while on the human level, God is not a President, a CEO, or a legislator to be voted out of office.
The realm of the Eternal is so all encompassing, divinely generative, and infinitely powerful that while we can (and do) stumble and err, God is , by definition, "too big to fail" (to borrow a media phrase).

If it seems to us that sacred promises are not being kept, that our needs are not being met, that we are desperately struggling on our journey, it is our behavior, not Gods', that bears scrutiny and demands change.
We are certainly not too big to fail, but neither are we too small to learn, to improve, to have faith, to follow God's commandments, and to act as God's partners in the Covenant.

*From: Commentary on the Torah by Richard Elliott Friedman

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Shabbat Commentary - Sh'lach L'cha

This Shabbat, one of my daughters took her oldest daughter to the Bat Mitzah of a friend. My daughter was troubled by the Torah Portion, Sh'lach L'cha, specifically the account of the man who was stoned to death at God's command for collecting wood on Shabbat. (Numbers 15: 32-36)
"What kind of a God is this?" she asked angrily. "Maybe the man needed the wood for his family. A story like this could be used to justify violent , zealous acts. Remember when we lived in Israel and Dad and I got lost driving in Jerusalem and turned down a street in an ultra Orthodox neighborhood on Shabbat? They threw stones at our car and they could say they were acting according to God's commandment in Sh'lach L'cha!"

My response - "Yes." Yes, that story seems to contradict the image of God which Moses recalls in Numbers 14:18. "The Eternal! slow to anger and abounding in kindness; forgiving iniquity and transgression..."*
Yes, the Torah's teachings can be used to support wanton acts of violence. The Torah is not an "easy read." The Torah Text is complex, multi-themed, dense with layers of meaning, and a potentially powerful determinant of behavior.
As Jews, we are commanded to study Torah. As humans, we are wildly imperfect and easily led astray, but we are also endowed with reason, judgement, compassion, the ability to question and the overwhelming desire to seek answers - even about Torah Text.
The ongoing challenge - to strike a balance. Blessings and curses. Good and evil. God who is at once merciful and harsh, forgiving and punitive, all-powerful and yet able to be persuaded. It's all in Sh'lach L'cha and throughout the Torah!

Torah is not a sacred relic to be displayed behind glass and venerated. Torah, while Holy, is alive and through centuries of ongoing commentary and interpretation, eternally relevant. Torah is meant to teach, to build community, to inspire, to glorify God, at times to warn, and often to disturb.

I shared with my daughter that: "At his first session with new B'nai Mitzvah students, your Dad (a volunteer B'nai Mitzvah tutor) always asks them to read their entire Portion (in English) and to note any parts which are confusing, unclear, or disturbing. Invariably, his students identify such parts and this initiates the discussion of what will eventually become their D'vrei Torah."

Torah is interactive and confrontational. At every stage of life, we are aroused to ask, "What's going on here?" "What could this possibly mean?" We're impelled to dig deeper, to explore centuries of commentary, to discuss, to debate, to interpret, to respond.
Ultimately, as Jews, we come to inquire, "What is this Torah Text teaching me?" "How can these ancient words enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me on my journey through my wilderness?"

On this Shabbat, Sh'lach L'cha sparked a spirited discussion of Torah with my daughter - a memorable step forward on my path to lifelong learning and, hopefully, on hers.

Thank God for this special and unexpected opportunity to fulfill the Mitzvah of Torah Study.

Shabbat Shalom Rest and Renew

*Translation taken from The Torah: A Modern Commentary edited by W. Gunther Plaut

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Shabbat Commentary - B'haalot'cha

Travelling is stressful - especially with children. There are instructions to go over (and over!), rules to follow, schedules to coordinate. Mom and Dad are trying to pack the suitcases, load the car. "Did we take the boarding passes, the cell phone charger?" "Are the doors locked?" "Where is Junior's allergy medicine?"
And the kids have their own issues. "These snacks are yucky!" "We wanna go to Disneyland like last year." "Who made her the boss of me?"
Words are heated. Tempers flare. Someone's gonna get a time out - or worse!

Welcome to this week's Torah Portion - B'haalot'cha. God (through Moses) is preparing the children of Israel for their journey to the Promised Land. The Portion begins with God's instructions for mounting the lamps in the Menorah and moves on to directions for purifying the Levites for service in the Mishkan and some adjustments to the Passover observance. God reminds the children of Israel that the Divine Cloud's ascent and descent over the Mishkan will signal when they are to camp and when they are to continue on.

God commands the crafting of silver trumpets whose blasts alert the people that it is time to move forward, to assemble, to attack, to observe festivals, or to perform sacrifices.
God commands the tribal groups to set out in an organized manner.

Are the children of Israel pleased and grateful that God is carefully readying them for their momentous journey? No way! "The people took to complaining bitterly before the Eternal. The Eternal heard and was incensed: a fire of the Eternal broke out against them, ravaging the outskirts of the camp." (Numbers 11:1)
Moses prays to God and quenches the fire. Still, the Israelites have the chutzpah to weep, recalling the meat, fish, and veggies in Egypt, when all they have to sustain them in the wilderness is God's miracle food - manna!
Understandably, "...The Eternal was very angry, and Moses was distressed," (Numbers 11:10)*

To facilitate the departure, God assigns seventy "elders" to assist Moses and promises the whining children of Israel that they'll receive so much meat (quail) that it will be coming out of their noses! (Numbers 11:19-20) - plus a plague.
Everything ok now?
No! A youth tattles that "Eldad and Medad are acting the prophet in the camp!" (Numbers 11:27)*
Then, Miriam and Aaron start in. They complain to God about Moses that "...He married a Cushite woman!" (Numbers 12:1)*. They fuss about Moses getting God's special attention.
"They said, 'Has the Eternal spoken only through Moses? Has [God] not spoken through us as well?' The Eternal heard it." (Numbers 12:2)*
God points out Moses' unique relationship with God and punishes Miriam by giving her leprosy.

From sacred lamps, a Divine cloud, and silver trumpets to fire, a sickening glut of quail, plague, and leprosy, B'haalot'cha is just the beginning of the harrowing journey!

In B'haalot'cha, God emphatically teaches the children of Israel and us, their descendents, to be ever mindful of God's commandments, to be grateful for God's miracles. We are warned to stop complaining and to make our journey a positive one - or else!

So - fasten those seatbelts! Eyes on the road! Remember, God grants us only one chance to make the trip!
Are we there yet? Not even close!

Shabbat Shalom - Rest and Renew.

*All quotes are from The Torah: A Modern Commentary edited by W. Gunther Plaut

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Shabbat Commentary - Naso



In this week's Torah Portion, Naso, God seems to be singling out for special instructions, specific groups among the children of Israel. It's as though God is taking care of items on a cosmic "To Do" list:




  • Assign tasks for transporting parts of the Mishkan to the Gershon and Merari families (Numbers 4:21-49)


  • Send "impure" persons outside the camp (Numbers 5: 1-4)


  • Declare rules for guilt offerings and donations to the priests (Numbers 5:5-10)


  • Set up a procedure for determining a wife's fidelity (Numbers 5:11-31)


  • Teach how to be a Nazirite (Numbers 6:1-21)


  • Instruct the priests in the Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24-27)


  • Command altar dedication offerings from each Tribe (Numbers 7: 1-88)


  • Speak to Moses - directly (Numbers 7:89)


Thus, to strengthen the community of the children of Israel, God provides solutions to potential problems - how to transport the Mishkan; how to keep the community healthy; how to deal with jealous husbands; how to allow those outside the priestly families to share in the experience of holiness; how to recognize each Tribe fairly.



In addition, the Priestly Blessing is given to all of us and to each of us. God, the Problem solver, assures us of God's enduring bond with our community as a whole and with each individual within it. This Blessing, a moving part of our T'fila even now, brings us "face to face" with God.



In the final lines of Naso, we are inspired by the image of God "speaking" to Moses. We're left with the hope that if God spoke to Moses in ancient times, God will speak to us today if we are sufficiently attentive and consistently open to hearing God's voice.



Torah wisdom - Take it personally.



Shabbat Shalom Rest and Renew