Shavua tov to all!!
I want to begin by taking a moment to thank our dear Cantor Mike Sirota. Needless to say, these last several months have been very, very trying on all of us and our families and friends and the entire community and beyond. And then, the intensity of the last two weeks with the death of George Floyd, the protests and the looting and now the very peaceful, world-wide marches on behalf of human rights for everyone to be treated equally regardless of gender or color or faith…it’s been quite an intense several months. Thank God we have a caring and loving community that comes together every Friday night and Shabbat morning to join in prayer and study and laughter. And now, thanks to Cantor Mike, we can also spend a few minutes every evening, Sunday through Thursday, at 7 o’clock, singing a few beautiful songs of peace, love and healing. If you haven’t yet joined us please get the Zoom info and be sure to join us from Sunday thru Thursday evening at 7 for some moments of peace and quiet and community. And thank you again Cantor Mike for bringing our community together…you are a mensch and we are very lucky to have you leading our community in song and prayer and peace.
And now, on to this week’s parasha B’ha-Alot’kha. I’ll admit that I don’t pay nearly enough attention to the book of B’Midbar, Numbers. I’m not sure why…maybe it’s because growing up I was usually at Habonim Camp or Camp Ramah and there was so much going on. Or, it’s the summer time and it’s time to relax and enjoy other things, I’m not really sure. But when I read it and study it, I come to the conclusion that Numbers is actually a pivotal part of the Torah story. It’s not just the connection between the events of Exodus and the final words of Moses in the book of D’varim, Deuteronomy.
B’Ha-Alot-kha contains so many important stories that teach us so many important lessons about the book of Numbers. We begin with God instructing Aaron, the High Priest, the kindle the menorah, the special candleholder in the Sanctuary. Many of our synagogues today still have 7-branched candleholders as a reminder of the Sanctuary itself.
Then, the Israelites celebrate the first Passover outside of Egypt, the first Pesah as a free people. They are still encamped near Mount Sinai and they celebrate the end of their first year as a free people. This leads to God’s instructions to Moses and the people that there will be a cloud over the Tabernacle. Whenever the cloud lingered over the Tabernacle, the Israelites would stay encamped wherever they were. The cloud would appear to be a fire that lit the night but still the people would not move on. Whenever the cloud would lift, morning or evening the Israelites would walk and walk and walk together until the cloud settled again upon the Tabernacle
As the parasha continues, we finally read that in the second year, in the second month on the 20th day of the month, the cloud finally rises up from the Tabernacle and the people begin their trek through the desert. We finally leave the wilderness of Sinai and begin what will eventually be a 40 year trek through the Sinai desert until we finally reach the Jordan River.
There are other important parts of this weeks parasha and I will discuss them on Shabbat morning. I hope to see many of you then. Have a peaceful week, keep healthy and strong.
Early Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Ralph