The Long Farewell

Parshat Nitzavim-Vayelech

This week's portion is actually a double portion - Nitzavim and Vayelech.  The Torah is divided up into 54 portions, so every once in a while we are gifted with a double portion.  This week is one of those.  There are only two more parshas before we reach the end of the Torah, at which point we roll it all the way back to the beginning and start again!

Synopsis: Nitzavim (Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20)

Moses continues his farewell to the people.  He tells them that this day they stand before God concluding their covenant.  Moses informs the people that the covenant is not only made with them, but also with those not present.  All Israel past, present, and future is bound to the covenant for all time.

Moses foretells of a future rebellion against God's covenant and describes the evils that will then befall the Israelites.  After a time, the people will repent and God will restore them back to the Land in blessing.

The portion closes with Moses telling the people that they have a choice between life and prosperity or death and adversity.  In choosing to obey God's commandments, the people choose life and will be able to enjoy the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Synopsis: Vayelech (Deuteronomy 31:1-30)

Moses explains to the people that he is old and is no longer able to be an active leader.  He appoints Joshua to be the next leader of Israel.

Moses completes the writings of the Teaching.  He gives it to the Levites, who carried the Ark, and to all the elders of Israel.  He charges them to read this Teaching every seventh year at the Feast of Booths.

God tells Moses and Joshua that the people will rebel shortly after Moses' death.  God instructs Moses to write down a poem that will serve as a witness, warning the people.

The portion closes as Moses prepares to recite the poem to the whole congregation of Israel.

Some questions for your dinner table:

1. In Nitzavim, we are told that the laws of the Torah that we are to know and observe is not beyond anyone's reach, that everyone is capable of knowing and understanding it.  How do you learn about Jewish tradition?  Do your classes in Religious School provide you with all the skills and knowledge you need to live as a Jew?  How else will you continue to learn?
2. At the end of Vayelech, Moses gives the Teaching (the Torah) to the Levites and to all the elders of Israel.  Every seven years, they were instructed to read the Teaching at the Feast of Booths (Sukkot), as a way of passing the Teaching down through the generations.  It wasn't only given to one person, but to many.  What is your role in this continuity?  How will you pass down the lessons you learn from the Torah?
3. According to the text, Moses spoke to the people, telling them he had reached the age of 120.  Even today, when we are wishing health and good fortune to people we know, we will often say "May you live to 120 years."  Why might we use Moses's age and not the length of the lives of other important people from our tradition?  

And now, two Torah toons for you:

Nitzavim:

Vayelech:

Blessings and Curses

Ki Tavo
Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8

Synopsis
Moses continues his review of the Law begun in the previous portion, Ki Teitzei.  He tells the people that when they enter the Land and settle it, they are to bring the first fruits as sacrifices.  The ceremony for bringing this sacrifice is detailed.  As part of this ritual, the priest recites a brief history of the Israelites - Abraham's/Jacob's wanderings, the experience of slavery in Egypt, the Exodus, and ultimately the occupation and possession of the Promised Land.

Moses concludes his review of the Law with instructions about tithing.  An individual's tithe is one-tenth of the harvest.  This tenth part is divided and distributed among the Levites, the strangers, the orphaned, and the widowed.

Moses gives his final instructions to the people.  Upon crossing the Jordan, the people are to set up 12 stones on Mount Ebal. The stones are to be covered with plaster and inscribed with the laws which Israel is to obey.

Ki Tavo concludes with a dramatic description of the recitation of the blessings and curses.  The tribes are divided into two groups with Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin on Mt. Gerizim reciting "Amen" after blessings are pronounced, which the Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulum, Dan, and Naphtali tribes on Mt. Ebal respond "Amen" after each curse.

Some questions for your dinner table:

1. Throughout the Biblical period, there was no real structure for prayer.  People mostly used their own words and style.  Ki Tavo, which means "when you enter [the Promised Land]," there is, for the first time, a specific structure and context given for a worship experience.  Which do you prefer?  Are you more comfortable with unstructured personal prayer, or do you prefer the structure of prayer found in a service led by a Rabbi or Hazzan?

2. Towards the end of Ki Tavo, there is a dramatic recitation of the blessings and curses.  Scholars see these as an ancient series of rules the people were to follow, with the blessings and curses being the way that they were enforced.  Are you ever in a situation where you have to make sure others are following the rules?  What is it like to be the one in this role?

3) Do you think God still sends blessings and curses? How?

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:

A Holy Nation

Parshat Kedoshim
Leviticus 19:1 - 20:27

Synopsis

In this portion, God tells Moses to instruct the entire Israelite community in the laws of holiness. The Israelites are to be holy because God is holy. Therefore, they are to observe the commandments and the laws of the sacrifices. They are to provide for the poor and the stranger, leaving the edges of the fields unharvested and the fallen fruits of their vineyards ungleaned, so that the needy can come and gather food.

The Israelites are told not to insult the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind and to show respect for the elderly. They are to be fair in judgment and in commerce and they are not to bear a grudge. Moses tells them further to love their neighbors as themselves and to love the strangers in their midst, for the Israelites were strangers themselves in the land of Egypt.

The Israelites are not to mix different species of cattle or seed and they are not to wear clothes made from a mixture of two kinds of material.

Moses also reviews the prohibited sexual relations and the punishments for these.

All these laws the Israelites are to observe so that they may be holy to God, Who has set them apart from other peoples, freed them from slavery in Egypt, and chosen them as God's people.

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

For your Shabbat table:

• God told the Israelites that they would be holy. What do you think it means to be holy? How are you holy?
• How can you act in a holy way?
• What are some holy things that your family can do together that you could not do by yourself? How can doing these things together bring you closer to God?
• In Parshat Kedoshim, we are told to respect the elderly. What does it mean to respect someone? How is it different from "honor"? Why do you think the Torah uses both these words? What word would you use to describe the ideal relationship between a child and a parent? Why do you think the Torah does not use the word "love"?

And now the parsha in cartoon form:

Yom Kippur... in May?

Parshat Acharei Mot 

Leviticus 16:1 - 18:30)

Synopsis: Parshat Acharei Mot

After the death of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, God tells Moses to instruct Aaron not to come freely into the Holy of Holies. Only once a year, on the tenth day of the seventh month, is the High Pries to enter the shrine behind the curtain. This is the day on which atonement is to be made for all the sins of the Israelites. No work is to be done on this day, and on it the Israelites are to practice self-denial.

On the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest enters the Holy of Holies, he is to wear plain linen robes and he is to make expiation for himself and for his household and then for all of the Israelites.

Then the High Priest is to take two male goats and, by lot, mark one for God and one for Azazel. He is to slaughter the goat marked for God as a sin offering and use its blood to cleanse the Tent of Meeting, the altar, and the Holy of Holies of the sins of the people. Then Aaron is to confess all the sins of the Israelites over the goat for Azazel, and the goat is to be sent off into the wilderness.

In this portion, Moses is told further to instruct the Israelites that all meat is to be slaughtered in a ritual way before the Tent of Meeting. The people are reminded not to consume blood, for blood represents life itself, and not to eat of an animal that has died or been torn by wild beasts.

Finally, Moses details for the Israelites forbidden sexual relationships. Relationships between blood relations are considered incestuous. The Israelites are told not to copy the practices of the Egyptians or the Canaanites; rather, they are to live by God's laws and rules.

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

For your Shabbat table:

• Elsewhere in the Torah, we read descriptions of a very fancy “uniform” for the priests, but in this parsha, they are told to wear a very simple outfit on Yom Kippur. Why might certain clothes be necessary for an important day like Yom Kippur?  Why do you think the instruction here is to wear something so plain?
• Why is it better to think something through carefully before doing or saying it?
• Do you believe that everyone deserves forgiveness?

And now.. the Torah portion in cartoon form:

Acharei Mot:

A Plague (?) On All Our Houses

Parshat Metzora 

(Leviticus 14:1 - 15:33)

Parshat Metzora - Synopsis

God speaks to Moses and instructs him in the purification ritual for a leper who has been declared clean.  Two clean birds are to be brought to the priest.  One is ritually sacrifices, and the other bird is set free in the open country.  After a week, the person to be purified shaves off all hair and bathes.  This individual then brings a guilt offering and a sin offering.  A rich person brings a large animal to be sacrificed; a poor person brings a small one.  The procedure the priest is to follow is explained in detail.

The portion next deals with houses which appear to be affected by a plague.  If, after a period of examination, it is determined that the house has a malignant eruption, the stones are replaced and the walls scraped and re-plastered.  If the eruption does not reappear, the house is declared clean.  A purification ceremony is detailed which includes the sacrifices of a bird.  If the plague does reappear, the house is torn down.

Metzora concludes with a description of impurity arising from discharges from the sex organs.  A man who has a discharge is unclean and this uncleanliness extends to any bedding he lies on, any object he sits on, anyone who touches his bedding or the objects on which he sat.  Earthen vessels he touches are to be broken and wooden utensils are to be washed.  Once the discharge is over, a period of purification follows ending with the bringing of a sin offering and a guilt offering.

If a man has an emission, he is to bathe and remains unclean until evening.  If a man and a woman have sexual intercourse, they are to bathe and they remain unclean until evening.

A menstruating woman is also declared ritually impure; this impurity lasts seven days.  Her uncleanliness extends to any bedding she lies on, any object on which she sits, anyone who comes in contact with her, and any objects she has touched.  If a woman has a discharge other than her usual menstruation, the same laws as for menstruation apply.  But in this case, she brings both a sin offering and a burnt offering.

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

Questions to consider:

1. Much of what is outlined in this parasha seems very foreign to how we live our lives today.  We don't often consider other people in categories of purity as they did in biblical times.  While we don't put people into categories of purity, who might be an "impure" person today?  
2. Part of what is behind the rules in these portion is the concern of containing disease.  This is certainly something we understand after the last few years.  What do we do to try and protect others from modern day "plagues"?  (hint: they could be illnesses, or it could be something else as well)
3. Nowhere in the text is there a suggestion as to possible cures for leprosy, although it does explore reasons as to why someone might be afflicted with it (some thought it was a punishment from God for malicious talk).  In your view, what percentage of the cure of any illness is in the hands of the individual? the physician? up to God?

 

Fins and Scales

Parshat Shemini
Leviticus 9:1-11:47

Shemini begins on the eighth day of the ordination ceremonies of the High Priests, Aaron and his sons.  Moses directs Aaron to bring a sin offering and a burnt offering, followed by a sacrifice of well-being.  At the conclusion of these sacrifices, Moses and Aaron enter the Tent of Meeting.  When they come out, they bless the people and the Presence of God appears to all.

Nadab and Abihu, Aaron's sons, put fire and incense in their fire pans and offer alien fire to God.  A fire comes forth from God and both die instantly.  Moses explains God's actions to Aaron, saying that the deaths of Nadab and Abihu demonstrate specifically the responsibility of priests to do only that which God commanded.  Aaron has no response.  Moses calls on Aaron's nephews to remove the bodies, but cautions relatives and the congregation not to mourn for Nadab and Abihu.

God commands Aaron and his sons not to drink intoxicants, for they must be able to carry out their duties of sacrifice and teaching.

Moses tells Aaron and his two remaining sons, Elazar and Itamar, where the various offerings are to be eaten.  Then he inquires about the goat of the sin offering and is told that it has been totally consumed by fire.  It had been commanded that a portion of this offering was to be eaten by the priests.  Moses is angry that Aaron and his sons had not eaten their portion of the offering, but Aaron responds that it would be unsuitable for the priests to eat the offering in flew of the events of the day.

God now speaks to Moses and Aaron regarding the laws of kashrut.  The Israelites are permitted to eat any mammal which has a split hoof and chews its cud.  Swine are specifically forbidden.  The Israelites may eat any fish which has both fins and scales.  A list of forbidden birds is given.  Four-legged insects are forbidden unless they have a pair of jointed legs with which they can leap.  A description of the laws of ritual defilement regarding animal carcasses is given.

The portion ends with an affirmation of the special relationship between God and the children of Israel.

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

For your Shabbat Table:

• This parsha gives additional rules for the priests.  What special characteristics do you think a High Priest should have?
• One of the additional rules for the priests was against intoxicants.  Why do you think it would be important to have a "clear head" as a priest?
• This parsha explains the rules of kashrut, keeping kosher.  While it gives all of the rules, nowhere in this section does it explain WHY we should keep kosher.  Is it important to know reasons for what you are asked to do?  What are some examples of things you do because you know it is the right or good thing to do?

And now.. this week's parsha cartoon!