Sefer Bemidbar Archives | Page 7 of 15 | Academy for Jewish Religion

5 07, 2018

Pinhas 5778

By Bruce Alpert|2018-07-05T16:57:25-04:00July 5, 2018|

A D’var Torah for Pinhas
by Rabbi Bruce Alpert (AJR ’11)

Merely to have survived is not an index of excellence,
Nor, given the way things go,
Even of low cunning.
Yet I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a green bay tree.
And the good as if they had never been;
Their voices are blown away on the winter wind.

Those familiar with the old Reform mahzor, Gates of Repentance, will recognize these lines from the poem Words for the Day of Atonement by Anthony Hecht. They remind us that, even if lacking in other virtues, survival itself is the necessary component and, in times of distress, a lofty enough goal.

Mere survival is the underlying theme of this week’s parashah, Pinhas. The various threats to that survival that have arisen over time – the sin Read More >

21 06, 2018

Hukat 5778

By Rabbi Irwin Huberman|2018-06-21T13:34:35-04:00June 21, 2018|

Miriam’s Obituary:
A D’var Torah for Hukat
by Rabbi Irwin Huberman (AJR ’10)

“The Israelites arrived in a body at the wilderness of Zin on the first new moon, and the people stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there.” (Numbers 20:1)

The descendants of Miriam wish to advise you of the passing of our beloved ancestral mother, during the reading of this week’s Torah portion.

While the Biblical version of Miriam’s passing is limited to a short mention in this week’s parashah, we, the inheritors of Judaism’s oral tradition, would like to tell you more about her life and her legacy.

Additional stories, contained in the Midrash, Talmud and other commentaries, provide additional layers to her story. These teachings from our oral tradition are important, as we eulogize her today.

Miriam was born in Egypt during a time of slavery and persecution. Without Miriam’s intervention, it is conceivable that Moses, our greatest leader, may Read More >

14 06, 2018

Korah 5778

By Rabbi Isaac Mann|2018-06-14T10:14:15-04:00June 14, 2018|

A D’var Torah for Korah
by Rabbi Isaac Mann

The conflict between Moses and Korah, which occupies much of this week’s parashah, is usually seen as a struggle between right and wrong. Indeed the Torah itself warns us (Numb. 17:5) that we should not be like Korah and his followers (ve’lo yiyeh khe’Korah ve’kha’a’doto). In a similar vein the Rabbis in Pirkei Avot (Chapters of the Fathers 5:20) depict Korah and his followers as engaging in a mahloket she’lo le’shem Shamayim (“a conflict that is antithetical to Heaven”) and thus one that we should stay away from. In the Talmud (Sanhedrin 109b) it is stated, according to R. Akiva, that Korah and his followers have no portion in the World to Come.

However, a more nuanced reading of the Korah story leaves one wondering whether there was some merit in the arguments that he advanced against Moses’ and Aaron’s leadership – and to Read More >

7 06, 2018

Shelah Lekha 5778

By Cantor Sandy Horowitz|2018-06-07T08:14:10-04:00June 7, 2018|

A D’var Torah for Shelah Lekha
by Cantor Sandy Horowitz ’14

In the story of the twelve spies who scout out the land of Canaan in Parashat Shelah Lekha we experience several different leadership styles — from the spies, Joshua and Caleb, Moses and God.

God instructs Moses to send representatives from each of the twelve tribes, “everyone a leader among them”, to spy on Canaan, the land which God has promised to the Israelites. After forty days they return and ten of these tribal leaders produce an “evil report” with regard to the overwhelming size and strength of the Canaanite people. An eleventh, Caleb, expresses disagreement and suggests going right away to possess the land (Numbers 13:30). But his is a lone voice, as the ten continue their litany of fear and exaggeration.

In response the people “lifted up their voice and cried” (Numbers 14:1). They speak out against Moses, Aaron and God, Read More >

31 05, 2018

Beha’halotekha 5778

By Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD|2018-05-31T12:36:07-04:00May 31, 2018|

The Waving
A D’var Torah for Beha’alotekha
by Rabbi Jill Hammer

“You shall bring the Levites close before the Divine, and the Israelites shall lay their hands on the Levites, and Aaron shall wave the Levites as a wave-offering before the Divine…” Numbers 8:10-11

Among the many kinds of offerings we encounter in the Torah, the one that fascinates me most is the tenufah: the wave-offering. The root of tenufah comes from a word that means to flutter or undulate. A priest must wave the offering before God at the altar, rather than burning it. This waving appears to indicate that the entity being waved belongs to God. The wave-offering is then given to the priests to consume.

This offering is used for the first omer/measure of barley at Pesah, the first fruits at Shavuot, as well as the two loaves of Shavuot (Mishnah Menahot 5:5-6). The lulav is Read More >

31 05, 2018

Naso 5778

By Rabbi Len Levin|2018-05-31T12:27:22-04:00May 31, 2018|

A Puzzling Law, Seen in Context
A D’var Torah for Naso
by Rabbi Len Levin

“I will not punish their daughters for loose behavior,

Nor their daughters-in-law for infidelity,

For they themselves turn aside with whores

And sacrifice with prostitutes” (Hosea 4:14).

Sometimes the Torah speaks to us as a timeless document, whose proclamations (“love your neighbor as yourself”; “you shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” — Lev. 19:18, Deut. 10:19) are as relevant to us today as when they were first uttered.

At other times, its laws seem situated in a culture and society so remote from ours, that to tease the universal message from its particulars is a frustrating and complicated task. The law of the ordeal of the bitter waters for the wife of the jealous husband is one of those cases.

The history of Read More >

17 05, 2018

Bemidbar 5778

By Rabbi Isaac Mann|2018-05-17T12:18:28-04:00May 17, 2018|

Seeing Those We Overlook
A D’var Torah for Bemidbar
by Rabbi Heidi Hoover (’11)

When we study our Torah portions, we often notice what’s missing, what’s not said. What happens during the three days between the time God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac and the time Abraham and Isaac arrive at the mountain where the sacrifice is to take place? What happens to Jonah while he is in the belly of the fish?

This week’s Torah portion, Bemidbar, the first parashah of the book of Numbers, is all about counting people. That’s where the name of the book in English, Numbers, comes from. (In Hebrew, Bemidbar means “in the wilderness.”) All the men from every tribe except Levi are counted, and in a separate count, the men from Levi are counted. A glaring absence in this Torah portion, something that we notice is missing, is any mention of women. Women are not in our Torah portion Read More >

26 06, 2017

Parashat Hukkat

By Rabbi Len Levin|2017-06-26T14:14:17-04:00June 26, 2017|

On the Threshold of Eternity
A Dvar Torah for Hukkat
by Rabbi Len Levin

“He who touches the corpse of any human being shall be unclean for seven days…” (Num. 19:11)

For an entire lifetime, one builds up a network of interactions with others in society, a network comprising commerce, family, edifices of knowledge, productive endeavor, life in the public square, a living, breathing complex of order, structure, creative output. When one dies, one takes leave of that world of social interaction and goes on a private journey to we know not where, a mysterious realm where all the bonds of this world are dissolved.

The mourner stands on the threshold of these two realms. Being touched by the recently departed, the mourner feels different. S/he cannot go back to participating at once in the activities of this world as if nothing has happened. S/he must linger a while in the liminal space between this Read More >

23 06, 2017

Parashat Korah

By Rabbi Isaac Mann|2017-06-23T07:48:28-04:00June 23, 2017|

by Rabbi Isaac Mann

Much ink has been spilled on trying to explain what motivated Korach and his followers to rebel against Moses and Aaron, which is the main story in this week’s Torah portion. Was it jealousy, envy, desire for honor or power, dissatisfaction with Moses’ leadership, or maybe all of the above?

Interestingly, as if the above are not enough, we also find other explanations of a more halakhic nature playing a role in the dispute between Korach and Moses. The Midrash (Midrash Tanhuma, beginning of the parashah), part of which is quoted by Rashi (ad loc.), suggests that Korach began his dispute with Moses by summoning the Sanhedrin (i.e. the religious leadership at the time) and asking them to rule on whether a tallit that is entirely dyed with tekheilet (a kind of bluish-purple dye) still needs tzitzit consisting of only one tekheilet fringe on each corner. When the issue was Read More >

13 06, 2017

Parashat Shelah

By Cantor Sandy Horowitz|2017-06-13T14:57:02-04:00June 13, 2017|

by Cantor Sandy Horowitz

What’s in a Name?

Parashat Shelah tells the story of twelve spies sent by Moses to scout out the land of Canaan that has been promised by God to the Israelite people. Upon their return, ten of the twelve report that the enemy is too great and the land unconquerable, thereby instilling doubt and fear among the Israelites. Only two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, remain faithful to God’s promise of a successful outcome.

The Torah portion begins by listing the names of the spies, representatives from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Joshua, future leader of the Israelite people, is an unassuming fifth from among the twelve: “From the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun” (Numbers 13:8).

Numbers 13:16 reads, “These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land; and Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua/Yehoshua.” Without Read More >

All shall unite to do God's will with an open heart.

All shall unite to do God's will with an open heart.

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