Rabbi Austrian considers the enigma of this verse: ‘If we are being routed by our enemies, then how can there be no pursuer?’ He cites the early sages who understood that the verse makes a distinction between enemies external to the community and enemies from within the community.
DetailsDr. Lehman considers the challenge of the textual distinction between Israelites and non-Israelites with regard to slavery. It is especially disturbing in light of the recent Exodus narrative; the narrative of Israelites being enslaved by non-Israelite taskmasters is now inverted. How do we reconcile with the text?
DetailsRabbi Sacks writes about the natural tendency towards radical economic inequality that results from the free market. He observes that while the objective of the Torah is not to abolish ownership of property, it does require equity, which implies some redistribution of property.
DetailsEthan Pressman writes about the Haftarah for Machar Chodesh, which tells of Saul’s rabid jealousy of David. The power of jealousy can be deadly, as this author points out.
DetailsRabbi Richman writes about the disconnect between the book of “Numbers” beginning with the census, which implies organization and communal protection, and the Hebrew name, “Bamidbar”, which implies chaos and disorder. By definition, the wilderness is untamed, yet it also reflects an intermediate place during a period of transformation.
DetailsRabbi Sacks writes about the connection between the Sedra and the Haftarah. Bamidbar is read on the Shabbat preceding Shavuot, which acknowledges the giving of the Torah, the living connection between the people and God. In the Haftarah, Hosea writes of love, his love for his wife who betrayed him, and God’s love the Israel, who betrayed Him.
DetailsAdina Gerver summarizes the parashah simply: God promises agricultural abundance during the 7th year, which should invoke compliance. If this promise is not adequate for compliance, Bechukotai provides the warning of what comes next. The poetic pairing of reward and punishment in our relationship with the earth continues. Today we find Talmudic loopholes that allow us to continue in our disregard for the earth. Yet the truth of climate change today poses a major threat to us.
DetailsRabbi Nevins writes that the capacity for humanity to ruin and be exiled from the earth was found millennia ago, in this Torah portion. In Leviticus, the land is a central character, even more so than the Sanctuary. In Leviticus 26:42, the text reads “…and I will remember the Land”, giving it a status similar to the 3 patriarchs. The Land is not just a place to live, but an intermediary to encounter God.
DetailsRabbi Sacks writes that reality has many dimensions, but we cannot grasp them simultaneously – they are too complex. But we can think about them sequentially. This is chronological imagination. The Torah presents a sequential worldview, which is aptly described by the shema – listen, hear, understand, respond.
DetailsLiora Ramati writes that the verb daber is reiterated 3 times, for present, future, and past. The reason is that Moses was instructed to command the kohanim about impurity in a whisper; the priests must be able to direct their hearts when blessing Israel. The Kohanim were held to a higher standard of holiness than the rest of the community.
DetailsThe rabbi writes about the challenge of ritual impurity, and the problems with translation of the term tamei. He challenges the concept of contamination from contact with a corpse, instead writing about the beauty of a peaceful death.
DetailsRabbi Sacks cites Rashbam, who interpreted Succot as a reminder of the humble origins of the Jewish people, an antidote to the risks of affluence. The real challenge to the Israelites was not the dangers of the wilderness, but the sense of wellbeing and security they would develop after they settled in the Promised Land.
DetailsDevir Kahan cites Rashi, who interpreted the commandment to avoid illicit sexual relations and sinful thoughts. He asks, why does Rashi rely solely on texts related to the kohanim, and why this interpretation here when the Torah prohibits illicit sexual relations in so many other parts? The answer lies in an analysis of the “fences around the Torah”.
DetailsProfessor Scheindlin comments on Chapter 19 of Leviticus, which comes with a temporary reprieve from the endless ritual instructions, and begins with the statement “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.” He is concerned with the difference between the commandment to “be holy”, rather than “to be moral”. Furthermore, the Torah commands us to beware of the holy, as with Nadav and Avihu.
DetailsRabbi Sacks observes that it is natural to feel aggrieved when someone has hurt us. How are we to fulfill the common “Do not hate your brother in your heart?” The Torah instructs us to interact; to speak, challenge, or remonstrate. The ultimate goal is to use the power of speech to sustain and mend relationships.
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