The mitzvah of Challah is given immediately after the narrative of the 12 spies. The root for challah is the same as for ‘appease’ – as Moses appeased Hashem. The mitzvah is presented in this order as a sign of appreciation of the yield of the land, something that the spies lacked.
Rabbi Wolintz-Fields writes of the lessons learned in this parashah. First, to be a leader requires one to stand firm, alone if necessary, to maintain what you believe to be true. Second, the definition of an assembly is 10 people.
Rabbi Bouskila writes of Beethoven’s despair over his oncoming deafness. In the depths of this despair, he composed a powerful musical expression of hope. This symphony represents a musical metaphor for the hope amidst despair that is felt in Israel at this time.
The Talmud addressed the brevity of Moses’ prayer to God to heal her: prayer serves two function – to refine character traits and deepen awareness, and to express the words which already exist in the inner soul. In the case of Miriam, her spiritual and physical healing were complete, so only a short prayer was required. Please follow the link below to read the full article:
Moses has encountered pushback and complaints from the people numerous times. However, this time, he completely loses hope, and asks God to kill him now. Rabbi Sacks describes two different responses to challenges: first, leaders usually leaders grow stronger when they face challenges; second, leaders may instead lose control.
Dr. Laitman teaches that the Torah has both an internal and an external part. The internal part is the main concern in the kabbalistic perspective. He refers to the state of the desert: “one who has not corrected him or herself is…immersed in the …evil inclination”, also known as the desert. The desert is the place of klipot, or uncorrected desires. In the desert, we have nothing to revive us, or to give us spiritual life.
Read Rabbi Barenblat’s beautiful poem on the giving of Torah
Rabbi Sacks observes that Israel’s formative experience was in the desert; namely, that an ideal society is one in which everyone has equal dignity under the sovereignty of God. He cites the anthropologist Arnold Van Gennep who applied the term “liminal”, or threshold, the describe the state of transition between the old and new, in other words, the space between Egypt and the Promised Land. In the desert, Israel is reborn from a group of slaves to a kingdom of priests and a holy nation
On Shavuot we recite the Decalogue, commemorating the giving of Torah. Rabbi Sacks writes that the Decalogue itself, as moral principles, was not unique. It is their simplicity that makes it special. The states establish parameters of Jewish existence for all time.
Bamidbar is read on the Shabbat before Shavuot, and the rabbis have connected the two. One interpretation is that since the Torah was given in the open, in a place that is not owned by anyone, then anyone may come and accept it. Another interpretation is that the wilderness is free, so is the Torah free. However, the most spiritual reason is that the desert is a place of silence, with no distractions. In Kings, Elijah heard the still small voice because he was listening. However, Judaism is highly verbal, and silence is frequently seen in a negative light. But not all silence is bad.