TorahParsha

How far must we push ourselves?

for Matot-Masei 

i

Utensils become impure whey they touch a dead body.

To purify them,

any thing which can withstand fire, you must pass through fire

and any thing which cannot withstand fire, you must pass through water.

 

ii

The tribes of Gad and Reuven had cattle in extremely great numbers.

And the East side of the Jordan River, before you enter the Land, is a very good place for cattle.

The tribes of Gad and Reuven ask of Moses: Do not pass us through the Jordan into the Land.

Let us settle here.

Let us be cattlemen here.

*
Moses says: you must pass yourselves…through the Jordan and help your brother-tribes settle the Land.

Then you may come back here, to the East; and you may settle here.

 

iii
Not everything is meant to pass through fire.

Not everyone is meant to  pass through the Jordan to settle the Land.

Some things are meant to pass through water.

Some people are meant to pass through the Jordan and then to turn back.

There are many ways in the world.

There are many ways to fulfill life.

 

 

______

Shabbat Shalom, Abe

If you don’t already receive my weekly thoughts on the Tower of Babel, I'd be delighted to add you to the list.

How to see

I’ve had trouble sharing my thought this week. How can I talk about anything but Israel at a time like this?

So I offer two wishes.

• To my friends in Israel who are dealing with war: I hope this thought helps, simply, to distract you. If only for a bit.

• To all of us: May the Torah we learn together, in its small way, be a prayer that God make our world better.

~a

 

_________________________________________

 

How to see

for Parshat Masei 

 

i

Some stories from Bamidbar:

 

ii

God’s cloud will guide the people on the way.

 

ii

The people’s sin: they see the Land’s huge, ripe fruit—and reject the Land, terrified. They do not see the fruit as promise.

 

iii

The people question the priesthood. When Aaron—the high priest’s—staff miraculously grows flowers, the people know they are wrong.

 

iv

Moses, the man of God, must speak to a rock to draw water.

 

Instead, he hits the rock.

 

He does not communicate with a stone.

 

For this, God bars Moses from Israel.

 

v

The people sin, they are attacked by snakes, they confess: We have sinned.

 

iv

Bilaam, the prophet, cannot see God’s Truth. His donkey speaks it to him.

 

vi

The families of Joseph ask God to clarify an inheritance Law, so it will not bring one tribe to gain another’s land. God grants this.

 

This story closes the book.

 

vii

We interact with God through His world, His creation.

 

Learning this, you can learn to communicate with God, also, through his other world: His Law.

 

And through His Law, God will hear you.

 

And God will respond.

 

This, perhaps, is Bamidbar’s lesson.

_____

Shabbat shalom,

Abe

www.TorahParsha.com

 

How do we forge our own path?

(for Parshat Matot / Masei)

 

i

God teaches Moses

the Laws of vows

and the Laws of oaths.

*

God speaks

of the role a husband may play

in the vows of his wife

and the role a father may play

in the vows of his daughter.

*

God says:

teach all this

to the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

 

ii

Through a vow

a person creates his own Law,

sets his own path.

*

God says:

let the path each person sets

be of the world of women with men

of parents with children

of fathers with daughters,

of interconnectedness,

of people within tribes within a nation.

 

 

_____

Shabbat shalom,

Abe

_____

We mourn  the passing of Torah giant Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, who passed away this week at the age of 102

www.TorahParsha.com

What can death offer us?

(for parshat Ma'asei)

i

The Fall of Man

brings death to the world

and the Couple moves

to the East of Eden.

*

Abraham’s father

dies in Haran.

God calls upon Abraham

to journey to the Land.

*

Egypt

was burying

the firstborn

whom HaShem

had struck

and Israel embarked

out, into the Desert.

*
God says:

When you come to the Land

establish cities

for a man to flee to

if he kills by mistake;

he will take refuge there

from the avenging family.

*

Death sparks a journey.

 

ii

Through death we know

there is not enough time

to wait to begin.

*

Through death we know

that life is so small,

life cannot contain

the journey inside of us.

We must journey out

beyond where we live

to let this journey take place.

*

So death sparks a journey:

it guides us to life.

 

 

____

In memory of Rav Yehuda Amital:

He lived through death

and journeyed  out

and built a world.

October 31 – July 9 2010

3? Heshvan 5685 -  27 Tammuz 5770

 

________

Shabbat Shalom,

Abe

 

Note that the start of the journey precedes Egypt burying its dead (see Num. 33:1-4). Still, I feel my point bears weight.

 

 

Please pray for Ayelet Yakira bat Chaya Hinda Matel Nechama, a one-year-old who needs a bone marrow transplant, and get your cheek swabbed today.

For further reading on Torah and the Parsha, consider: Hirhurim – Jewish Ideas Daily - Rabbi Jonathan Sack’s writings –Pardes  - The Virtual Beit Midrash – Yeshiva University Online

www.TorahParsha.com

 

What is a home?

 

for Parshat Matot

 

i

Jacob’s sons ask Pharaoh

for a place in Egypt,

in the land of Goshen—

saying:

We your servants are cattlemen

as our fathers were;

and  the land of Goshen

is good for cattle.

So Israel

settles in Goshen.

*

At the entry to the Land

the tribes of Reuven and Gad

say to Moses:

this land is for cattle

and your servants have cattle;

let us settle here,

the other tribes will enter the Land.

Moses will hear none of this

(though later they come to agreement).

 

ii

Your servants are cattlemen

as our fathers were

and  that land

is good for cattle

means:

here is a place

for putting your whole very selves into.

*
This land is for cattle

and your servants have cattle

means:

here is a place for our things.

*

Only one of these ways of speaking

leads to settling a place.

Only one of these ways of speaking

creates a home.

 

 

____

Shabbat Shalom,

Abe

 

Please pray for Ayelet Yakira bat Chaya Hinda Matel Nechama, a one-year-old who needs a bone marrow transplant, and get your cheek swabbed today.

For further reading on Torah and the Parsha, consider: Hirhurim – Jewish Ideas Daily - Rabbi Jonathan Sack’s writings –Pardes  - The Virtual Beit Midrash – Yeshiva University Online

www.TorahParsha.com

 

Thought for Parshat Matot - Masei

Rav Yehudah Amital is a great leader of world Jewry, a Holocaust survivor, and a person who has influenced me tremendously personally and spiritually. He urgently needs prayers for a speedy recovery—please pray for HaRav Yehudah ben Devorah. This week’s thought is dedicated toward his good health.

­______________

 

How far must we push ourselves?

 

i

Utensils become impure whey they touch a dead body.

To purify them,

any thing which can withstand fire, you must pass through fire

and any thing which cannot withstand fire, you must pass through water.

 

ii

The tribes of Gad and Reuven had cattle in extremely great numbers.

And the East side of the Jordan River, before you enter the Land, is a very good place for cattle.

The tribes of Gad and Reuven ask of Moses: Do not pass us through the Jordan into the Land.

Let us settle here.

Let us be cattlemen here.

*
Moses says: you must pass yourselves…through the Jordan and help your brother-tribes settle the Land.

Then you may come back here, to the East; and you may settle here.

 

iii
Not everything is meant to pass through fire.

Not everyone is meant to  pass through the Jordan to settle the Land.

Some things are meant to pass through water.

Some people are meant to pass through the Jordan and then to turn back.

There are many ways in the world.

There are many ways to fulfill life.

 

 

______________

Shabbat Shalom, Abe

___________

If you enjoyed this thought, please share it with a friend.

Please continue to pray for Ahuvah Rachel bat Orah, and for Rachel Tovah bat Yehudit Esther.

www.TorahParsha.com

The Particular, the Nation

i
The people are about to cross the Jordan River, to enter the Land.

But the pasture is better on the close side of the River.

And the tribe of Reuven and the tribe of Gad have cattle.

These two tribes request of Moses that they be let to settle where they are.

The other ten tribes will continue on, into the Land.

*
Moses says: your fathers, too, did something like this, when they disheartened the Children of Israel from entering the Land...and HaShem’s anger burned.

And now you will also dishearten the other tribes from wishing to enter the land; you will live your fathers’ sin over again.

ii
The tribes’ request reflects their own particular need, for their own particular moment.

Moses speaks of the obligations of each tribe to the Children of Israel; he speaks of history; he speaks of God.

Moses says to the tribes: your own particular world is only a part of something much greater.

iii
People live lives in very small circles of the world. And their memories do not travel back very long. This can make many people short-memoried, short-sighted.

It is through the nation—that is very old, that has many interdependent people in it—that we gain our memories, our vision.

And so it is through the nation that we understand responsibility.

*
This is Moses’ argument to the two tribes.