david

David’s Corner – June 20, 2022

by David's Corner

Woulda, shoulda, coulda.

It’s likely that the exodus generation

Invented this phrase.

Instead of taking the opportunity

To enter and fight for the Promised Land

They played on their own worst fears

Listening to the naysayer scouts   

Rather than listening

To the inner voice of possibility.

Their great reward:

A sentence of up to forty years

Wandering in a broiling desert

So they could drop dead 

Short of the Promised Land.

It’s been whitewashed

By commentators 

As the necessity of the older generation

To die  out so their children

Would enter the land.

What saints!

Don’t fool yourself.  

And don’t make the same mistake in your own life. 

 

 

 

David’s Corner – June 13, 2022

by David's Corner

It's Grumpy Time

The Israelites are complaining about 

 

Having to eat mana all the time.

 

Miriam complains about 

 

Moses’s new black bride from Cush

 

Aaron complains about Moses 

 

Getting all the attention from the Lord,

 

Acting as if he is the only person the Lord talks to.

 

The Lord hears all this and is chagrined.

 

How to get them all to shut up?

 

Up to now the Lord’s response was merely 

 

To zap the troublemakers.

 

But if the Lord keeps zapping Israelites

 

They will never choose the Lord 

 

Or the society 

 

The Lord is trying to establish for them.

 

So the Lord takes a step back and decides

 

On different strategies

 

If the Israelites won’t stop complaining about 

 

Their diet lacking meat,

 

He’ll give them so much meat 

 

They’ll be throwing up for days.

 

This works!  The Israelites shut up already.

 

As for Aaron, as high priest to the one God, 

 

The strategy is straightforward:

 

The Lord tells him that Moses is unlike any leader 

 

That the Lord has communicated with.  

 

The Lord doesn’t have to talk to Moses 

 

In riddles or dreams.  

 

For the Lord can speak directly to him, 

 

Knowing that Moses will immediately get it.

 

Chastened, Aaron shuts up immediately.

 

Handling Miriam is trickier.  

 

She is Moses’s beloved sister, 

 

Who had saved him from certain death as a baby.

 

You can’t zap such an important person, 

 

However insulting she.has been to her brother.

 

Besides, Moses himself begins 

 

Begging the Lord not to punish her.

 

Moses is a good boy, a good brother, 

 

But he has to understand

 

Miriam would be better served 

 

By retreating from the camp for seven days.

 

How do you do this?  

 

Well, you strike her with a skin disease,

 

By doing so, the Lord immediately 

 

activates one of  the laws 

 

That he has dictated to Moses:

 

With a skin disease, the victim must be held 

 

Outside the camp for seven days. 

 

To assure that Miriam will not be left behind 

 

By her impatient compatriots,  

 

Another law is invoked:

 

The  Israelites are not allowed to break camp 

 

Until the Lord signals them to do so.

 

This works too, but far better 

 

Than the way the other complaints were handled.

 

In this case, the Lord is appealing to justice 

 

By invoking laws.  

 

Even better, by applying this to one of Moses’s siblings, 

 

The Lord is providing a precedent that 

 

All Israelites can see for themselves.  

 

A law isn’t thus merely an abstract:  

 

It can be concrete and practical and, yes, 

 

Far more merciful than 

 

The one response of zapping all complainers.

 

The rule of law has been established.

david

David’s Corner – April 25, 2022

by David's Corner

Aaron

After the deaths of his sons Nadab and Abihu.

Aaron said not a word —

Not to his brother Moses,

Nor to his wife, Elisheba,

The mother of Nadab and Abihu,

Nor to his other sons, 

Eleazar and Itamar,

Who worried greatly about him.

Aaron awaited HaShem’s further wrath,

Entertaining fantasies of personal destruction,

Instead he awoke each day,

Astonished  he was still breathing.

Then one day 

Moses whispered  in his brother’s ear:

“You are not to die now.”

Aaron spoke as if for the first time:

“But how am I to live carrying so much guilt?”

“You shall follow HaShem’s commands to the letter,

You will atone for yourself, your family and then your people.

In so doing,

You will be a model of repentance for your people,

So that they can atone.

Aaron followed HaShem’s commands

Sending a goat to Azazel

Sacrificing a bull in purification

Confessing sin,

Making expiation for the priests and for

All the people of the congregation.

And to this very day, the leader of a Jewish community

Models Aaron’s atonement, 

Not by actual animal sacrifice,

But by first reading aloud from the torah,

Each step of Aaron’s repentance

And then by confessing his own sins

As his congregation confesses theirs.

In this way, neither the leader 

Nor the congregation 

Carry their guilt into the indefinite future,

But are instead purified

And forgiven by HaShem.

David

David’s Corner – June 21, 2021

by David's Corner

Balak (Numbers 22:2 - 25:9)

Balaam is the unsung prophet of the Torah.  In the course of his appearance in the parasha Balak, Baalam transforms the perception of the Israelites from dreaded outsiders who are to be cursed, to a powerful people who enjoy HaShem’s approval.

Baalam’s contribution at first seems highly unlikely.  He has been hired, after all, by Balak, King of the Moabites, to curse  the Israelites and he doesn’t refuse the job per se.  Baalam does say, when approached by the elders of MIdian, that he awaits HaShem’s instruction.

HaShem, when told of the approach by these elders, tells Baalam not to curse the Israelites because they have been blessed.  HaShem allows Baalam to travel with the elders if they invite him, but that he must do whatever HaShem commands.

When Ballam does go with the elders, HaShem mysteriously changes his mind. An angel of HaShem puts himself in the way.  This causes the ass that Balaam is riding to bolt, and Balaam spends a great deal of time getting the recalcitrant animal to go where his master wants.  On three different occasions Balaam beats the ass.

Then the animal talks back!  In perhaps the only time in the Torah, a prophet is upstaged by a talking animal.  And Baalam is caught in the middle of a fight between HaShem and Balak.  What is he going to do?

If Balaam were anything like Jonah, he would try to flee.  But unlike the later hapless prophet who finds himself dumped overboard and swallowed by a whale, Balaam stays the course. He will do as HaShem commands.

Three times Balak tells Balaam to build an altar and curse the Israelites.  Three times Balaam follows through on the altars, but as for cursing, Balaam says he will only do what HaShem tells him to do.   

By the third time Balaam is not only refusing to curse the Israelites, but is actually blessing them.  They are to be the victors in the struggle with neighboring peoples.  The transformation complete, Balaam leaves the scene, unheralded and unthanked. 

david

David’s Corner – April 26, 2021

by David's Corner

Emor

Just as Achrei Mot and Kedoshim assert and command ways that the Israelites are separate from their neighbors (diet and behavior), so does Emor assert and command ways the Priests of Israel are separate from other Israelites.

One way that Priests separate themselves is by staying away from bodies of the dead, with the exception of their closest relatives.  They are not, further, to shave smoothe any part of their heads or their sideburns for this makes them unholy, not worthy of offering “food” of HaShem.

Other unholy acts that defile the priest include marrying a harlot or a divorced woman.  Only a virgin of his own clan may be taken as a wife.  Physical defects such as a broken leg or arm, or yes, crushed testes or any of the eruptions cited in previous parashot make a priest ineligible to participate in sacrifices.

Lay folks are not allowed to eat any of the sacred donations at all.  The only exception is a person who is the priest’s property (not an Israelite, though that is not mentioned specifically), or those born into his household.  If a priest’s daughter marries someone who is not a kohen, she may not eat the donations either, though if she is widowed or divorced and living back at home, she may.

As with other parashot in Leviticus, Emor is punctilious about sacrifices.  What is offered may not have a defect.  Newly born animals may not be sacrificed until they have spent a week with their mother.  In addition to regular daily sacrifices, there are special sacrifices on the Sabbath and extra special sacrifices for Rosh Hashana (though it is not mentioned by name); the Day of Atonement, and Succot, during which everyone is supposed to live in booths.  Israelites are expected to abjure work on the Sabbath, on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, and the first and last day of Succot.

In addition to maintaining the sacred calendar, it is the responsibility of the priests to insure a constant supply of olive oil to light the menorah and a supply of flour and frankincense, a token offering for the bread and a  display.  Lastly, the priest is to adjudicate whether someone has committed blasphemy, a crime punished by death.

david

David’s Corner- March 1, 2021

by David's Corner

Ki Tassa (Exodus 30:11-34:35)

The instructions from HaShem continue in this parasha.  The finest materials are now applied toward three elements:  the creation of the Priest’s vestments, the procedure for consecrating the priests, and construction of the altar for burning incense.

And then there was the big screw-up on the part of some Israelites, or the big explosion on the part of HaShem.  Was the Golden Calf episode inevitable?

 

Consider this.  The Israelites had no real antecedents to the new laws of HaShem.  As we saw in past parashot, there was no conception of rights, in Egypt.  The Israelites were to obey the Egyptian overseers, period.

 

Now, they were out of Egypt and, according to HaShem, have only to obey the word of HaShem in order to be happy.  Perhaps, though, some Israelites feel they needed a break from obeying authority, even if that authority sounds more reasonable than the Egyptians, even if that authority is truly looking after their welfare.

 

Perhaps, too, after the excitement of fleeing Egypt, perhaps because of so many wonders in rapid succession, the Israelites expect Moses to pick up the stone tablets quickly and to skate down the mountain to deliver them to the people.  When Moses doesn’t return after some days, some of the people grow restless and revert back to old polytheistic ways.

 

The people are creatures of habit, creatures who have not fully integrated the new habits of worshipping only HaShem and the habit of keeping the Sabbath.  The key to understanding this is Aaron’s behavior in the midst of the Golden Calf episode.  Aaron provides to Moses the lame excuse that Moses took too long coming down the mountain. It might be inferred that Aaron’s old habit before the Exodus was polytheistic sacrifice.

 

Both HaShem and Moses are furious at the lapse in the Covenant.  HaShem understandably instructs the Levites to kill the offenders.  But Moses, once calm, gets HaShem to calm down as well, or at the very least to realize that his anger could destroy all the Israelites.  HaShem creates a distance between himself and the Israelites so this does not happen.

 

Questions to be discussed:  What does Moses get HaShem to understand about his wayward people?  How does this affect HaShem’s expectations regarding the Israelites?

david

David’s Corner – February 22, 2021

by David's Corner

T’tzaveh (Exodus 27:20 - 30:10)

The instructions from HaShem continue in this parasha.  The finest materials are now applied toward three elements:  the creation of the Priest’s vestments, the procedure for consecrating the priests, and construction of the altar for burning incense.

Nothing is improvised.  Every detail is to be carried out exactly.  To be created are a breastplate, an ephod (a long vest), a fringed tunic, a headdress, and a sash; priestly garb for Aaron and his sons to wear as they serve HaShem.  

The materials are exquisite.  Here are those used for constructing a breastplate:  absolutely beautiful yarns of gold, blue, purple and crimson are employed, as well as beautiful stones of carnelian, chrysolite, emerald, turquoise, sapphire, and amethyst among others. (28:15)

The vestments must be consecrated, as must their wearers, the priests.  Here the instructions deal with the procedure.  With each vestment there is a pouring on of oil.  Yet the exacting procedure is only beginning, for a purification rite demands that unblemished bulls and rams be led to the altar to be sacrificed.  The blood of these animals is dripped on the right ear of Aaron and his sons.  Aaron’s vestments, once consecrated are passed on to the sons, and the purification right repeated every day for seven days.  Only Aaron and his sons may consume the meat of the animals. (29:1-28)

The odor is strong, to say the least.  Perhaps this is why instructions are made to construct an altar of the finest acacia wood in order to burn incense.  Incense can help neutralize or sweeten the odor.  No foreign incense is to be used, nor is a grain offering or a burnt offering to be made on this altar. It is to be cleaned once a year. (30:1-10)

In this worldview, the care that is taken in fulfilling these instructions is a mark of holiness, and obedience to them is the highest spiritual discipline.

Questions to be discussed:  Does holiness have its place today?  Is obedience still considered a virtue?  If not, what has replaced it in importance, now that we no longer have temple to make sacrifices?

david

David’s Corner – February 15, 2021

by David's Corner

T’rumah (Exodus 25:1 - 27:19

The process of building a traveling Tabernacle is most impressive.  This week’s parasha, T’rumah, and next week’s parasha, T’tzavveh, contain HaShem’s instructions for the process.

The first really impressive element is unstated.  It is clear by its omission that the Israelites are not to turn their experience of receiving the law at Mount Sinai into a regular yearly event at Sinai.  Thus the intention behind having a mobile Tabernacle is likely that eventually it will find its more permanent home in the promised land once that land has been entered and conquered.

A further incentive is that HaShem appeals to the Israelites’ sense of participation in the construction of the Tabernacle by having Moses tell them to “bring Me gifts, and that Moses is to “accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him.” (25:2)

Let’s be clear, however.  No chintzy, cheap materials in the construction of the Tabernacle are acceptable.  Rather Moses shall accept “gold, silver, and copper; blue, purple, and crimson yarns, fine linen, goats’ hair; tanned ram skins, dolphin skins, and acacia wood.” (25:3-5)

The reason for these fine materials quickly becomes evident: “And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.”  (25:8) Daddy is joining the kids for this road trip.  

But lets not get too familiar, alright?  HaShem will instruct the Israelites as to which spaces are open to the people, and which are so sacred that only the Cohanim may enter, and then there will be a space that only Moses can be near HaShem.  This will be all by design, HaShem’s design.  (25:9)  

Questions for discussion:  Can the Israelites live up to HaShem’s expectations in the construction of the Tabernacle?  What happens if they don’t?

david

David’s Corner – February 8, 2021

by David's Corner

MIshpatim (Exodus 21:1 - 24:18)

The tone of the Torah changes with this parasha.  Whereas up to now the focus has been principally on narrative, the Torah now presents the rules by which the the Israelites are expected to live.

 Where to start? So much is necessary beyond the initial commandments which frame essential truths.  Now there is to be a Book of the Covenant which spells out in greater detail what those truths mean in practice.

 Slavery and the liberation from it has been the great cause of the exodus from Egypt.  So perhaps that is the reason the Book of the Covenant begins with slavery.  A clear precedent is established.  Unlike in Egypt, the status of being a Hebrew slave is not a permanent condition unless a slave formally requests it.  The slave is to be released after six years of service, and his wife, should he have one, can join him. (21:2-6)

 A female Hebrew slave who has been sold by her father cannot be freed after six years. But if her owner finds her displeasing, he must let her be redeemed.  And if he designates her for his son and he marries another, he is not permitted to withhold her food, her clothing or her conjugal rights.  However imperfect this appears to 21st century eyes, it marks a clear distinction to what previously occurred in Egypt, for unlike then, Hebrew slaves now have some rights. (21:7-11)

 From the discussion on slavery, the topic jumps to murder.  “He who fatally strikes a man shall be put to death.”  (21:12)    However, “If he did not do it by design, but it came about by an act of God I will assign you a place to which he can flee.” (21:13) Discerning intent thus becomes of paramount importance:  accidental or deliberate?   Certainly, as far as former Hebrew slaves are concerned, this is revolutionary.  No Egyptian cared much that Moses’s slaying of an Egyptian overseer was impulsive, with the intent of stopping the beating of a helpless Hebrew slave.


Questions for discussion:  Do you think that the intention of the Book of the Covenant is to draw a clear distinction between what the Hebrews had experienced as slaves and the new society of freedom?  If not, why not?  If so, were there other considerations as well?

david

David’s Corner – January 18, 2021

by David's CornerUncategorized

Bo (Exodus 10:1 -13:16)

The pharaoh knows it is time to let go, but he still won’t.  HaShem, we are told, has hardened his heart.

And look at what that has cost him after 10 plagues.  Not only has it caused the death of his first born, but the first born of all his people and their animals.  It has cost him Egypt itself.

Yet after that 10th plague, he says he is going to finally let the Hebrew slaves go.  He has at last admitted defeat.  But has he?  Not really.  He boards his war chariot and leads his army to overtake the Israelites at the sea of reeds.

There, after the Israelites have walked through a divided sea to arrive on dry land, the Pharaoh’s splendid army is drowned. 

With all of Egypt truly in ruins, why don’t Moses and the Israelites direct their attention to finding further ways to punish the tyrant Pharaoh for his excessive behavior?

Part of an answer might be that HaShem is well aware of the Israelites’ shortcomings.  Later he will call them a stiff-necked people.  They are hardly in a position to judge others as regards stubbornness and ego.

Also, however, after much celebratory partying, HaShem knows that the Israelites will awaken from their hangover and face a new challenge.  They must become a people, ready to enter their promised land, and have many trials and adventures ahead of them.

Questions for discussion:  Why does HaShem harden the Pharaoh’s heart?   What, if anything, do the Israelites learn about having a hardened heart?