Monday, May 25, 2015

Naso

Numbers 4:21−7:89

Rabbi Richard Hirsh for Jewish Reconstructionist Communities

The Nazirite


Jewish tradition teaches that the Torah yields 613 commandments, which are incumbent on the Jewish people. One would think that this daunting total would be sufficient for most Jews, yet this week's Torah portion, Naso, teaches of additional regulations which one could assume under the status of being a "Nazirite", one consecrated to the service of God. The haftara (additional) reading for this Shabbat narrates the story of Sampson, who according to the Bible was himself a Nazirite.

The biblical information about Nazirites is inconsistent, and the Torah and haftara portions for this week indicate the instability. In the sixth chapter of Numbers, the Torah teaches that one who wishes to become a Nazirite does so through the following rituals: the taking of a vow, the avoidance of grape products (especially wine), abstaining from cutting of the hair, and keeping adequate distance from a corpse (a prohibition normally only incumbent on Kohanim, descendents of the line of Aaron.)

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Monday, May 18, 2015

Bemidbar

Numbers 1:1−4:20

By Rabbi Steven Pik-Nathan for Jewish Reconstructionist Communities

Nachshon ben Aminadav


At first glance this week's parashah, Bemidbar, seems rather tedious. After all, it consists mainly of the names of the heads of all the tribes and how the counting of the first census in the desert took place about a year after the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. However, one name in the census jumped out at me when I was reading through the parashah. That name was Nachshon ben Aminadav, the head of the tribe of Judah. Nachshon is a very famous character in the Midrash even though he is barely mentioned in the Torah.

According to midrash when the Israelites were trapped between the Sea of Reeds and Pharaoh's army, and while Moses was praying to God for help, Nachshon decided to take matters into his own hands and leaped into the sea. Then God said to Moses (my translation) "Stop praying already! Turn around and look at what your friend Nachshon has done. While you stand here praying he is taking some action!" Only then does God part the sea so that the Israelites can cross.

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Monday, May 11, 2015

B'har/B'chukotai

Leviticus 25:1-26:2 / 26:3-27:34

Rabbi Howard Cohen for Jewish Reconstructionist Communities

Poverty


In the middle of Parshat Behar we read about our obligations towards our fellow Jews when they are reduced to poverty. The Torah uses the term "Collapsed" or "Clowered" (mem, vav, chaf). It also describes the person as having lost the means to deal with his obligations (u-matah yado Cimmakh). When this happens we are not supposed to protect the person from experiencing the logical consequences of poverty, nor are we to force him out of the community. In fact, we have an obligation to maintain this person within the community. In later text, Mishnah, Talmud, and Mishnah Torah, for example, it is explained in greater detail what it means specifically to "let him live by your side" (Leviticus 25:35).

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Monday, May 4, 2015

Emor

Leviticus 21:1−24:23

Covenantal Joy: What Sukkot Can Teach Us


Rabbi Shai Held, Mechon Hadar, Center for Jewish Leadership and Ideas
The Torah insistently connects the festival of Sukkot with the obligation to rejoice, and later Jewish tradition calls Sukkot
z’man simhateinu, the time of our joy.  Why is Sukkot of all holidays singled out as the time of happiness and delight?  Understanding the joy associated with Sukkot helps us gain crucial insight into the nature and dynamics of God’s covenant with the Jewish people.  (That is why it is useful to explore the meaning of Sukkot so soon after Pesah has passed:  Having just re
-enacted the Exodus from Egypt, we now learn about the nature of the covenantal journey that follows.)

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