B'haalot'cha, Numbers 8:1-12:16
Haftarah, Zechariah 2:14-4:7
SUMMARY
This week's Torah portion begins with God telling Moses to instruct Aaron about how to kindle the lights (
B'haalot'cha et ha neirot) of the Menorah. The Levites are told to cleanse themselves in a particular fashion and make a certain offering in front of all of the people so that they can assist the priests in the Tent of Meeting. Levites will work between the ages of twenty- five and fifty, at which time they will retire from service.
The Israelites are reminded to celebrate Passover on the 14th day of the first month. If anyone is unable to celebrate on that day because they are unclean or are on a long journey, they are allowed to offer their Passover sacrifice and eat unleavened bread and bitter herbs on the 14th day of the second month. Whenever the cloud of God covers the Tent of Meeting, appearing as fire at night, the Israelites make camp and settle in that spot. Whenever the cloud lifts, they resume their journey in the desert. As they start out and when they camp,
Moses recites special prayers to God. God commands Moses to have two silver trumpets made and then blown by Aarons's sons for a variety o f reasons. When their travels resume, the people begin to complain to Moses about having to eat manna. They crave meat and claim that food in Egypt was plentiful and free. Moses is overwhelmed and tells God that dealing with the complaints of the people is too much for him. God i nstructs Moses to appoint 70 elders to share the burden of ruling the p eople. God also says that people will have meat to eat every day for a month until they are sick of it. Two men, Eldad and Medad, begin to p rophesy (speak the word of God). Joshua asks Moses to restrain them, but
Moses says he wishes that everybody would speak the word of God. God sends quail for the people to eat and they gather the birds in great quantities. Everyone who eats them is struck dead by a plague. Aaron and Miriam criticize their brother Moses because he married a Cushite woman from Ethiopia. They also express their jealousy, claiming that God speaks to and through them as well as to Moses. God calls all three siblings out and speaks angrily to Aaron and Miriam, saying that they should respect Moses since he is God's trusted friend, to whom God speaks directly and plainly. As punishment, Miriam is stricken with the white scales of the disease tzara'at (see Leviticus 13:2-3). Aaron asks Moses not to let Miriam suffer.
Moses utters the shortest prayer in the Bible - El na rifah na la -"O God, pray heal her" (Num. 12:13) and God relents. Miriam is to be separated from the camp for 7 days, after which she is readmitted and the people set out on their journey again.
COMMENTARY
The two silver trumpets which God instructs Moses to have made are to be blown by Aaron's sons to assemble the people, to let them know when to move and in which direction, on festival days, at the new moon and on joyous occasions. The trumpets are also to be sounded when enemies attack so that the Israelites "may be remembered before God" and triumph over their enemies. The sound should remind the people that "I the Lord am your God" (Num. 10:10). Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut, in The Torah, A Modern Commentary, points out that the true word of Judaism is sh'ma - hear, as in Sh'ma Yisrael., Hear O Israel. When the cloud of God lifts and can no longer be seen, the sound of the trumpet remains to remind us of all that God has done for the people of Israel.
TABLE TALK
- The shofar, or ram's horn, is mentioned many times in the Torah as the instrument to be used to proclaim holidays, escort processionals, solemnize coronations and accompany other instruments at special times. It was sounded on Mount Sinai when the Ten Commandments were given. It was also the sound that brought down the walls of Jericho (see Joshua 6:20 in a Tanakh). Most people hear the shofar on Rosh Hashana. Have you ever heard it? How did it make you feel? Do you think that it is the "right" instrument to remind us about God or do you think that another instrument would have a stronger affect on those hearing it?
- According to this parshah, Aaron lights the Menorah exactly according to the directions that God relays through Moses. The Rabbis noted that it was remarkable for Aaron to do this task repeatedly with enthusiasm, day after day, in the precise and correct manner and never tire of it. Menachem Mendl of Kotsk said that Aaron's service was directed from his innermost heart, which made Aaron perfect for the job he held as high priest. Think of one important responsibility that you must perform day after day? What is it? Do you remember the first time you did it? Have your feelings about doing it changed as time has passed? Do you think about it anymore, or is doing it just an automatic thing? If you have kept your enthusiasm, what has enabled you to keep it? Do you think that consciously paying attention to it would change your performance?
- When the people complain about having to eat manna, they say "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish that we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons..." (Num 11:5). As slaves, they suffered many hardships in the land of Egypt, yet they idealized their past, remembering things that may not have really happened. Although they had their freedom in the desert, they hadn't yet learned that freedom means the beginning of taking responsibility. They didn't understand that the future is determined by choices made in the present. They complained and as a result, they were severely punished. Ask each person at your table to share stories about choices that they have made and the consequences of their actions.
- Moses feels that God has laid too big a burden upon him and that list ening to the people complain is too difficult for him to bear. God tells Moses to appoint seventy elders to share the burden of leadership. Using this advice as a model, we learn that by consulting others according to their age or experience in life, they can help resolve our problems more easily. How does your family make decisions about important matters? Are the elders in your family consulted? What do you do when you feel overwhelmed by things at school or with your friends? With whom do you share your burdens? What do you think are the benefits of talking to other people?
DID YOU KNOW... that in a traditional siddur, the same special prayer tha t Moses recited whenever the Israelites began to move the Ark of the Co venant is still said when the Torah is removed from the ark? " Advance, O Lord! May Your enemies be scattered and may Your foes flee before you!"
This week's Shabbat Table Talk was written by Faye Tillis Lewy, of blessed memory.
