Growing Pains

Parshat Beha'alotecha
Numbers 8:1-12:15

Synopsis:
As the portion begins, Aaron prepares the lamps of the menorah as God had commanded Moses. Moses purifies the Levites, and then Aaron ordains them in the sight of all the Israelites.

The text then recounts the observance of Passover as commanded by God on the fourteenth day of the first month of the second year after the Exodus. For those members of the community who are unclean, and therefore unable to offer the Passover sacrifice, God ordains a substitute Passover to be observed on the 14th day of the second month.

The presence of God hovering over the Tabernacle as a cloud by day and a fire by night is described. God tells Moses to have two silver trumpets made. These are to be sounded by the priests to summon the people to assemble and to signal the time to break camp. The trumpets are also to e blown at times of war and on joyous occasions, festivals, and new moons as a reminder of God and God's acts of deliverance.

After Passover, the Israelites break camp and march a distance of three days from the mountain of God. The people complain before God, and God causes a fire to break out and destroy the outskirts of the camp. The fire dies down when Moses prays to God.

Again the people weep before Moses, contrasting the meat and their varied diet in Egypt with the manna of Sinai. Moses is upset by the complaints of the Israelites and cries to God that he cannot cope with such a people by himself.

God tells Moses to gather 70 elders to aid him in leading the people. The appointed leaders are told to advise the people that God will give them meat to eat for a whole month - until it becomes loathsome to them.

Two of the 70, Eldad and Medad, begin to prophesy in the camp. Joshua advises Moses to restrain them, but Moses rebukes Joshua for his concern saying, "Would that all the people of Adonai were Prophets, [and] that Adonai would set the divine spirit upon them!" (Numbers 11:29).

While the quail meat sent by God is still fresh, God strikes the people with a plague. The setting of these events is named Kivrot HaTa'avah (graves of craving) because the Israelites who craved meat died and were buried there.

At Hazayrot, Miriam and Aaron speak ill of Moses on account of the Cushite whoman he had married. They declare themselves to be prophets of equal stature with Moses. God rebukes Aaron and Miriam, reminding them that Moses is the only prophet to whom God speaks plainly, rather than through dreams or visions. As punishment for her slander, Miriam is stricken with leprosy.

Aaron pleads with Moses to intercede with God on behalf of Miriam. Moses does so, and God agrees to limit her punishment to seven days only. The Israelites do not leave Hazayrot until Miriam is readmitted to the camp. They next set up camp in the wilderness of Paran.

Synopsis courtesy of Teaching Torah, by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden

For your Shabbat table:

• Carrying the ark or crafting the silver trumpets were tasks that were very difficult, but being able to have those jobs gave a person much honor. What are some hard things to do that can bring us honor?
• What is frightening about change? What is frightening about staying the same? In what areas of your life are you “too comfortable”? What or who helped you gives you the courage to change?
• This parsha includes a bunch of different numbers that are important numbers in Judaism - two silver trumpets are made, Moses gathers a group of 70 elders, God limits Miriam's punishment to seven days. Where else do you see these numbers (or versions of these numbers - ie 70 by itself is not a number seen often in Judaism, but what is it a multiple of that is common and important?)? What are other important numbers in our tradition?
• When the Israelites only had manna to eat, they complained about their diet and wished for meat. In Beha'alotecha, they have their fill of meat, complain about the food, and lament for their days in Egypt when meals had more variety. Should they have been content with what they were given? Is it understandable that they were so upset? How do you think you would have reacted?
• If you were able to give Moses one piece of advice for leading the Israelites, what would it be? Is that a job you would want to have?

And now... time for your favorite Torah cartoon, from g-dcast.com:

Parshat Naso

With the Shavuot holiday, there's just enough time for a quick clip from g-dcast on this week's portion. Enjoy!

Two New Resources

As we inch closer to Shavuot, here are two more resources to help you get ready to celebrate this festive day.

HOT OFF THE PRESSES! Our newest Celebrating Holidays at Home Guide is published on our synagogue's website - Celebrating Shavuot. You can access it by clicking here. This resource takes you through the steps of welcoming in this spring holiday into your homes with the appropriate brachot (blessings) and rituals. The final page includes some ideas on fun Shavuot activities to do with your family, including some story books to read at this time of the year.

I recently discovered Challah Crumbs, a great new website created by mothers in North America and Israel, offering you and your family Jewish activities, crafts, and learning. It looks like each month there will be a different theme - this month, appropriately, it is Shavuot, and we have Shabbat to look forward to next month. Some of the Shavuot ideas that I think are particularly fun:

• In the Celebrating Shavuot guide (mentioned above), is information about bikkurim, in which we celebrate the agricultural background of Shavuot by picking first fruits. Around the DC area, one of the first crops to pick are strawberries (you can find local pick-your-own farms at this website - www.pickyourown.org), so here is a fun recipe for strawberry soup!
• Looking for an art activity? Emphasize the tie to the land of Israel during Shavuot by making magnets of the Shivat HaMinim - the seven species described as being native to the land of Israel during Biblical times (find out more here).

Celebrating Shavuot: Web Resources

It's amazing what you can find out on the web, and so many really great tools and resources have been created to reach out to families across the US and world to help making Judaism and Jewish holidays interesting and accessible. Here are a few fun links to get your family excited and in the mood for Shavuot.

• Having trouble remembering just which Jewish holiday Shavuot is, anyway? Buff up your knowledge over at My Jewish Learning - their section on Shavuot has a whole array of various articles about this holiday, including Why Dairy on Shavuot?, The Book of Ruth, and Recommended Books about Shavuot.


• Also from My Jewish Learning - an entire article on making Shavuot fun for your kids, including an evening sleeping out under the stars, a recipe for making a cake using Biblical quotes for your list of ingredients, and more fun stuff.


• In what month does Shavuot fall? What does the Hebrew word shavuot mean? Create your own Shavuot trivia game and quiz your family on their knowledge of this spring holiday. Need help coming up with questions? Visit the folks over at www.jewish-trivia.com - they have ready made quizzes that can be taken on the computer as well as a database of trivia questions if your little scholars want to create their own game.


• Courtesy of my favorite new Jewish website, Elijah Rocks, test your knowledge of the Ten Commandments with this game - www.elijahrocks.net/Shavuot.html.


• Another Elijah Rocks offering - a Shavuot word puzzle: www.elijahrocks.net/pdf/ShavuotWordPuzzle.pdf


• It is traditional to eat dairy food during Shavuot, so plan some fun recipes to make together. Take a look at a simple Cheese Blintz recipe, courtesy of Behrman House. Want to attempt something a little fancier? Here is a recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Blintzes. Don't forget the cake - especially Joan Nathan's cheesecake - the picture alone will make your mouth water.


• Take a look at the Shavuot page from Babaganewz, my favorite online Jewish kids magazine. Lots of different options to explore here, including a mini-movie of the book of Ruth, a Shavuot edition of Jeopardy, and even an arts and crafts activity.

If you know of other fun web-based Shavuot activities, post the information in the commens section. Enjoy!

Stand Up and Be Counted!

Parshat Bamidbar
Numbers 1:1 - 4:20


Synopsis:
On the first day of the thirteenth month following the Exodus from Egypt, God commands Moses to take a census of all the Israelite males over 20 years of age who are able to bear arms. Moses and Aaron and the heads of each tribe record the census. The total counted is 603,550.


The Levites, however, are counted in a separate census, since they are not to bear arms. Moses assigns to them specific duties for the care of the Tabernacle. They are to camp around the Tabernacle to guard it. The rest of the Israelites are told to camp in four groups of three tribes under their ancestral banners around the Tabernacle.


Originally, firstborn Israelites were consecrated to God, since they escape the plauge of the death of all firstborn in Egypt. Now, God tells Moses to appoint the Levites as priests in place of the firstborn. Twenty-two thousand male Levites over one month old are counted by Moses and Aaron. They are assigned to help Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar with the work of the Tabernacle.


Moses also counts all the firstborn males over one month old among the rest of the Israelite population - a total of 22,273. A redemption price of five shekels per head is collected and paid to Aaron and his sons for the 273 firstborn Israelites in excess of the male Levites.


A separate census is taken of the Kohathite clan of the Levites which is given the task of carrying the sacred objects and their furnishings on the journeys of the people. The Kohathites are cautioned not to touch any of the sacred objects or furnishings of the Tabernacle. Aaron and his sons are charged with the job of covering and inserting poles into all the objects in the Tabernacle in preparation for the Kohathite porterage.


Finally, Eleazar, the son of Aaron, is made responsible for the Tabernacle and all its furnishings.

Synopsis courtesy of Teaching Torah, by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden

For your Shabbat table:

• This portion is the first in the book of Numbers (Hebrew: Bamidbar) - one of the reasons it is called "numbers," is because it starts off with the counting of all of the Israelites - a census. Why might it have been important to take count of everyone, especially those males over the age of 20 who are able to fight?
• What makes you special as an individual? What special qualities do you add to your family?
• While this portion counts individuals, it also talks of larger groups of people - the families and clans within the Israelites. Even today our last names can give us information about our background - while some names have biblical tribal connections - Cohen, Kahn, Katz are often associated with Kohanim and Levy, Levine, and Leventhal are often Levites - others tell us of more recent connections in history, like where are families came from (city or place names) or the jobs they used to do. What do you know of your family history? Where do your names - first and last - come from?

And now... time for your favorite Torah cartoon, from g-dcast.com: