Making it Count

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 plague 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?

Jubilee, Curses, and Rewards

Parashat Behar-Bechukotai
Leviticus 25:1 - 26:2 and Leviticus 26:3-27:34

Parashat Behar

Synopsis:

Moses speaks to the Israelites about some laws that are to take effect in the land that God will give them.

For six years, the people will be permitted to plant and harvest from their fields and vineyards.  But the seventh year is to be a year of complete rest for the land.  In the seventh year, the Israelites will not be permitted to work their fields, but they will be allowed to gather and to share whatever the land produces.  God assures the people that in the year before the Sabbatical year, there will be a bountiful harvest so that there will be sufficient food to tide them over until the harvest of the eighth year.

The Israelites are told to count seven times seven years - a total of forty-nine - and to mark the arrival of the fiftieth year with a blast of the horn on the Day of Atonement.  The fiftieth year is to be a Jubilee, a year of release for the land and all its inhabitants.

In the fiftieth year, the land is to lie fallow, property is to revert to its original owner, and all Hebrew slaves are to be freed.  Houses in walled cities are exempt from this regulation - they can be redeemed for only one year after their sale.  The houses of the Levites are to be redeemable forever.

The Israelites are to make special effort to redeem land or persons who have been forced to sell their holdings or bind themselves into slavery.  Israelite slaves are to be treated as hired laborers and are to be freed in the Jubilee year, whereas non-Israelite slaves are seen as property - they are not subject to the laws of the Jubilee year.

The portion concludes with a reminder to the people not to set up or worship idols, but to keep God's Sabbaths.

Parashat Bechukotai

Bechukotai begins with a promise and a curse.  If the Israelites follow God's laws and commandments, God will bless them.  Their land will be fertile and peaceful and their enemies will flee before them.  But if the people do not obey, God will spurn and punish them.  Their enemies will dominate them, their land will not produce, and they will live in fear.  At last, those who survive the punishment will repent, and God will remember the covenant with Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham.

The Book of Leviticus concludes with a section detailing three types of gifts which might be promised to the sanctuary.  The first type of gift consists of a promise to contribute a certain sum of money (specified in the text) equal to the valuation assigned to persons based on gender and age.  For example, the amount to be given for a male of 60 years is 15 shekels and, for a female over this age, 10 shekels.

The second type of gift involve the giving of animals or property.  Both were sold, and the proceeds went towards the maintenance of the sanctuary.  Animals without blemish could be specified by the donor for use as a sacrifice.  Gifts of this type are redeemable at their value as assessed by a priest, plus one-fifth.

The third type of contribution, which a person dedicated to God (be it man, beast, or land) cannot be redeemed; everything thus given is totally consecrated to God.

The Book of Leviticus concludes with several versus on tithes and the redemption of tithes, and with the statement: "These are the commandments that Adonai gave to Moses for the Israelite people on Mount Sinai."

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

For your Shabbat table:

• Behar details two different ways of marking significant amounts of time, both of which serve to be a "reset" - for the land and also for the people.  Why do you think it is important to designate time to let the land rest? 
• Behar talks about the Jubilee year, which occurs every fifty years as a way for the land and for its inhabitants to be "released" and to rest.  What are ways you create a fresh restart for yourself?  Are there other times of the year that are set aside as a Jewish way to give yourself a reset or a new beginning?
• Many commentators note that the blessings that follow observing the commandments are described briefly only in ten versus of Bechukotai, whereas the curses resulting from rejecting God's laws are 28 verses long.  Do you think someone choose to follow rules because of the rewards they might gain or the punishment they might get from breaking the rules?  What motivates your choices?

Sacred People, Sacred Time

Parshat Emor
Leviticus 21:1 - 24:23

Synopsis:
Moses is to inform the priests of the special rules which they must obey. The priests are to refrain from coming into contact with a corpse, they are not to shave smooth any parts of their heads, and they are forbidden to marry a divorced woman. The priests are to be scrupulous as they carry out their duties. Any priest who has a physical defect or is ritually unclean is forbidden to offer sacrifices to God. So, too, the Israelites are to take care to bring blemish free offerings to God. No animal less than eight days old is acceptable as a sacrifice and no animal shall be slaughtered on the same day as its young.

Then Moses speaks to all the people about the holy days in the year. Apart from the Sabbath, which occurs every seven days, the Israelites are to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread and, seven weeks later, a celebration of the harvest.

The first day of the seventh month, the people are to mark as a sacred occasion with loud blasts and the tenth day of the same month shall e a Day of Atonement.

The fifteenth day of the seventh month is the Feast of Booths. This holiday is to be observed for seven days, and the people are to mark the eighth day with a special sacrifice. On all of these holidays, the Israelites are told not to work at their occupations, and special observances are prescribed.

Moses further reminds the Israelites to bring clear olive oil for the regular lighting of the lamps in the Tent of Meeting. He then instructs them in the baking and displaying of the twelve loaves of display bread for the altar.

The portion concludes by describing an incident wherein a man born of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian man fights with another man born of two Israelite parents. The half-Israelite blasphemes God's name in the course of a fight. God tells Moses that the man is to be stoned to death as punishment. So Moses tells the Israelites of the penalty for blaspheming God or pronouncing God's name, and also of the rules by which restitution is to be made for crimes.

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

For your Shabbat table:

• The beginning of this week's portion describes the special rules for those people who are the priests. Why might they need to act different than the rest of the people? Do you think it would be difficult to be treated so differently in order to have such a special position among the Israelites?
• Part of this parasha explains the observance of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot and includes a reminder to leave corners of the fields untouched for the poor. What does this kind of action have to do with these holidays?
• How do you think your holiday celebrations are the same as in biblical times? How do you think they are different?
• It’s difficult to imagine that Jews have been observing and celebrating holidays such as Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot for thousands of years. Why do you think these holiday celebrations have survived for so long?
• What is your favorite Jewish holiday? What is it about that holiday that makes it so special for you?

And now... time for your favorite Torah cartoon: