If you're interested
Here's what I wrote for services tonight. I've been spending all my writing time on this (hence no LJ updates), but look for an update soon!
D’var Torah - 6/16 - Beha’alotcha
This week’s Torah portion is Beha’alotcha, Numbers 8-12. Tonight, I’ll be reading the last chapter of the parsha, which gives the account of Miriam’s and Aaron’s slander against their brother Moses. This is the paradigmatic story about the Religious School favorite, lashon hara, which literally translates to “evil speech.”
We all know that it’s wrong to gossip, but Jewish tradition places especial significance on not spreading stories about another person. Any communication that can possibly cause someone harm is considered lashon hara-gossip, rumors, slander, lies … even body language like a wink or a shudder counts. What’s more, it doesn’t matter whether the words are true - what matters is whether they’re harmful. Miriam speaks the truth, but her unbefitting attitude toward her brother, his wife, and his relationship with God earns her the affliction of leprosy. The message is clear: If your words are going to cause harm in any way, it’s in everyone’s best interest for you to keep them to yourself.
Of course, Jewish tradition makes exceptions in special cases. In the case of a teacher discussing a student’s shortcomings with his or her parents or in the case of a victim of thievery or forgery who wishes to warn others to avoid the criminal, it is permitted to share the negative report one has to give. But, it must be clear that a particular situation demands correction and that the only way to correct it is to utter what would otherwise be lashon hara.
It’s also important to keep in mind that this is the only exception; that is, no exception is made for Miriam, the leader of the Israelite women, or for Aaron, the high priest himself. Everyone is held to the same standard of responsible speech regardless of position, truth, or intention. So, just keep that in mind as you discuss tonight’s sermon during the oneg Shabbat.
Sermon - 6/16/06 - Beha’alotcha
This week’s Torah portion begins with God’s instructions for Aaron’s lighting of the Menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum that sits in the Temple. Moses relays to Aaron God’s words: “When you kindle the candles, toward the face of the Menorah shall the seven candles give light.” The word used here for kindle is b’ha’alotcha, which is surprising. We might expect the word l’hadlik, which is customarily used with relation to lighting candles and which we can hear in the blessing for the lighting of the Shabbat candles. Instead, we have a word that comes from the root ’alah, which means to “rise up” or “ascend.”
Thus, rather than simply burning, the Menorah is being described as giving rise to something greater. Aaron, the high priest, is performing an action that would normally be quite mundane and is able to transform it into something more. As we explore the pivotal events that take place in this week’s Torah portion, we may come to realize that this rising up is indicative of the spiritual maturity God expects of the Children of Israel and of us.
Chronologically, this Torah portion takes place one year after the exodus from Egypt. In that time, the People of Israel have escaped across the Red Sea, have been fed food and water by the power of God, and have received God’s instruction at the foot of Mount Sinai. The people have come a long way, and with the Levites consecrated and ready to assist the Cohens in their priestly duties, the people are ready to enter the land. Numbers 10:33-34 relates that the people “journeyed from the Mountain of Adonai a three-day distance, and the Ark of the Covenant of Adonai journeyed before them a three-day distance to search out for them a resting place. The cloud of Adonai was over them by day when they journeyed from the camp.” Thus we see the people, arrayed brilliantly in their ten tribes, hearkening to the call of Moses’ silver trumpets and marching with the presence of God into their new home, which rests only three days away.
However, as we all know, the people travel for much longer than three days before they reach the Land of Israel; and, in fact, the incident of the spies-which prevents the people’s entry to Israel-is about to occur in next week’s portion. Thus, we find ourselves at a critical point in the narrative, and it is here that we can learn both why the people were spiritually mature enough to ascend like the flames of the Menorah into the Promised Land and also why they were not.
As the people make their way through the wilderness, they are guided by the presence of God, which hovers over them as a cloud. The Torah makes extremely clear that the people march only when God indicates that it is time to do so. Sometimes they remain stationary for only a day, sometimes for a very long time, and they are always ready to leave at a moment’s notice. The sages remark that this teaches the Children of Israel three important lessons. They learn to be patient as they rest in an uncomfortable location; they learn to be content when they are forced to leave a desirable place; and they learn observant haste when they pack up their possessions the moment God tells them to do so.
The Torah shows our ancestors learning these lessons without difficulty. Though we often think of the Children of Israel as a rambunctious, difficult-to-please people, this Torah portion shows their daily obedience to God’s will. However, obedience alone does not qualify the People of Israel for their inheritance. Rather, in this week’s portion, we read that the people go above and beyond the call of duty and truly take ownership of God’s commandments to them. In Numbers 9, we read of a group of Israelites who are not able to take part in the Passover offering because of their recent handlings of dead bodies. The sages teach that they were either ritually caring for the dead of the Israelites or bearing the corpse of Joseph, whom the Children of Israel transported to the Promised Land for burial. These people say to Moses, “Why should we be diminished by not offering Adonai’s offering in its appointed time among the Children of Israel?” In other words, they ask, “Why should we be unable to participate in this commandment just because we were engaging in another commandment?” They come before Moses and declare that it isn’t fair that they should be excluded from their people; that is, they are asking for the opportunity to embrace yet another of God’s commandments.
Moses brings their case before God, and God institutes the practice of a “second Pesach,” which takes place exactly one month after Passover. God provides a solution, though not only for the people who approached Moses but for all the “generations” of Israel. In doing so, God shows God’s confidence in the people, and the Torah shows us that the people of Israel have attained the spiritual maturity required to enter the land.
However, it is not long before the people show that, while they have they have matured, they do not yet understand the responsibilities of independence. Numbers 11 begins with another complaint from the Children of Israel, though the object of the complaint is left unstated. God becomes very angry and sends fire to burn at the edges of the camp. The people cry out to Moses, who prays to God. God heeds Moses’ prayer, and the Israelites’ lives are saved.
Up until now this incident, the Israelites’ complaints have been understandable. The people need food, they cry out to God, and God provides food. The same goes for water. Until now, God has not killed any laypeople of the Children of Israel, not even after the incident of the Golden Calf. The people have truly been children to God, and God has dealt fairly, if firmly, with them throughout their relationship.
But now, the people have shown God that they can take responsibility for themselves, that they can be independent followers of God’s commandments. However, the people are here shown still to be complaining instead of providing for themselves. Moreover, they are not complaining about anything of importance - just complaining. God knows that the people are capable of more, and God’s anger can be seen to be caused by God’s disappointment in the people.
But disappointment turns to fury when the people complain not about nothing but about the gift of manna that God has provided them. We read of the people’s demands for meat despite the abundance of delicious manna at their disposal. When Moses hears the complaints, he, too, recognizes that the people are acting irresponsibly. He asks God why he is forced to deal with these people: “Did I conceive this entire people or did I give birth to it, that You say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a suckling, to the Land that You swore to its forefathers?’” This language clearly paints the Children of Israel as a sniveling infant, a role unfit for the recently proven People of Israel.
Thus, the Israelites have not lived up to their known capabilities, and they have not heeded the warning sent by God after their last complaint. At this point only does God send a terrible punishment to the people: the fulfillment of their wish. The people ask for meat, and God sends quail - so much quail that a full day’s journey would be required to reach the end of the food God provides. A portion of the Children of Israel gluttonously collect the quail, and while the meat is still between their teeth, not yet chewed, God strikes them dead. The place of this occurrence is named Graves of the Craving, and the castigated people move on without another word.
So we have seen that the Children of Israel showed their adult responsibility by willingly accepting the yoke of God’s commandment but also forsook that responsibility by spurning God’s gift to them. But we know that the people eventually make their way into Israel, so their maturity as a people does improve. What, then, is the lesson for us today, so many thousands of years later? How can we, who already have access to the land of Israel, show our spiritual maturity?
We may be able to find an answer in the last part of this week’s portion, which I read tonight. Miriam’s and Aaron’s slander against Moses is most often interpreted in the light of lashon hara, for the two siblings are unhappy with Moses’ marriage. However, God’s response to Miriam and Aaron doesn’t mention the Cushite wife - rather, God emphasizes that Moses is the greatest of all prophets, for God speaks with Moses “mouth to mouth.” Both Jewish tradition and God respond to the same general problem: Miriam and Aaron’s abuse of their words.
We learn that through Aaron’s plea and Moses’ prayer, Miriam is healed from her affliction, albeit after a seven-day period of humiliation. It is here that we see a responsible use of words - repentance and prayer. These words bring to life the internal divine spark and result in physical and spiritual healing.
It is this use of words to unleash the divine within us that calls out to us from this week’s Torah portion. Earlier in the portion, we read that Moses is not expected to care for the Children of Israel on his own; rather, seventy elders are selected to help him and are called to the Tent of Meeting to prophesy. Two of them, Eldad and Medad, perhaps because they feel unworthy of such honor, do not answer God’s summons. Of course, they speak the words of prophecy, and an indignant Joshua calls for the punishment of these men who supposedly disregarded God’s promise. However, Moses delights in the prophecy they are able to speak and declares, “Would that the entire people of Adonai could be prophets!”
In truth, God tells Moses’ siblings that his wish comes true. God tells Miriam and Aaron that God speaks to “prophets among you” in dreams and visions, thus providing opportunity for every Israelite, not just Moses and his family, to receive the divine inspiration necessary to speak holy words.
And so it is that we are taught about the infinite potential within each of us. God has created every human being in God’s image, and part of that creation includes the divine spirit that can influence our words and make them powerful. But we are also shown that this ability to speak divinely comes with a responsibility that we must prove and prove again. We must willingly accept the expectations of God, like the Israelites who ask to participate in the Pesach offering, and we must also conduct our lives in a divine and compassionate fashion, unlike the complaining Israelites and the slandering Miriam and Aaron. To achieve peace, we must be peaceful-in our words and our deeds. When we do so, we shall be able to rise up like the flames of the Menorah and dance with the light of our God.
D’var Torah - 6/16 - Beha’alotcha
This week’s Torah portion is Beha’alotcha, Numbers 8-12. Tonight, I’ll be reading the last chapter of the parsha, which gives the account of Miriam’s and Aaron’s slander against their brother Moses. This is the paradigmatic story about the Religious School favorite, lashon hara, which literally translates to “evil speech.”
We all know that it’s wrong to gossip, but Jewish tradition places especial significance on not spreading stories about another person. Any communication that can possibly cause someone harm is considered lashon hara-gossip, rumors, slander, lies … even body language like a wink or a shudder counts. What’s more, it doesn’t matter whether the words are true - what matters is whether they’re harmful. Miriam speaks the truth, but her unbefitting attitude toward her brother, his wife, and his relationship with God earns her the affliction of leprosy. The message is clear: If your words are going to cause harm in any way, it’s in everyone’s best interest for you to keep them to yourself.
Of course, Jewish tradition makes exceptions in special cases. In the case of a teacher discussing a student’s shortcomings with his or her parents or in the case of a victim of thievery or forgery who wishes to warn others to avoid the criminal, it is permitted to share the negative report one has to give. But, it must be clear that a particular situation demands correction and that the only way to correct it is to utter what would otherwise be lashon hara.
It’s also important to keep in mind that this is the only exception; that is, no exception is made for Miriam, the leader of the Israelite women, or for Aaron, the high priest himself. Everyone is held to the same standard of responsible speech regardless of position, truth, or intention. So, just keep that in mind as you discuss tonight’s sermon during the oneg Shabbat.
Sermon - 6/16/06 - Beha’alotcha
This week’s Torah portion begins with God’s instructions for Aaron’s lighting of the Menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum that sits in the Temple. Moses relays to Aaron God’s words: “When you kindle the candles, toward the face of the Menorah shall the seven candles give light.” The word used here for kindle is b’ha’alotcha, which is surprising. We might expect the word l’hadlik, which is customarily used with relation to lighting candles and which we can hear in the blessing for the lighting of the Shabbat candles. Instead, we have a word that comes from the root ’alah, which means to “rise up” or “ascend.”
Thus, rather than simply burning, the Menorah is being described as giving rise to something greater. Aaron, the high priest, is performing an action that would normally be quite mundane and is able to transform it into something more. As we explore the pivotal events that take place in this week’s Torah portion, we may come to realize that this rising up is indicative of the spiritual maturity God expects of the Children of Israel and of us.
Chronologically, this Torah portion takes place one year after the exodus from Egypt. In that time, the People of Israel have escaped across the Red Sea, have been fed food and water by the power of God, and have received God’s instruction at the foot of Mount Sinai. The people have come a long way, and with the Levites consecrated and ready to assist the Cohens in their priestly duties, the people are ready to enter the land. Numbers 10:33-34 relates that the people “journeyed from the Mountain of Adonai a three-day distance, and the Ark of the Covenant of Adonai journeyed before them a three-day distance to search out for them a resting place. The cloud of Adonai was over them by day when they journeyed from the camp.” Thus we see the people, arrayed brilliantly in their ten tribes, hearkening to the call of Moses’ silver trumpets and marching with the presence of God into their new home, which rests only three days away.
However, as we all know, the people travel for much longer than three days before they reach the Land of Israel; and, in fact, the incident of the spies-which prevents the people’s entry to Israel-is about to occur in next week’s portion. Thus, we find ourselves at a critical point in the narrative, and it is here that we can learn both why the people were spiritually mature enough to ascend like the flames of the Menorah into the Promised Land and also why they were not.
As the people make their way through the wilderness, they are guided by the presence of God, which hovers over them as a cloud. The Torah makes extremely clear that the people march only when God indicates that it is time to do so. Sometimes they remain stationary for only a day, sometimes for a very long time, and they are always ready to leave at a moment’s notice. The sages remark that this teaches the Children of Israel three important lessons. They learn to be patient as they rest in an uncomfortable location; they learn to be content when they are forced to leave a desirable place; and they learn observant haste when they pack up their possessions the moment God tells them to do so.
The Torah shows our ancestors learning these lessons without difficulty. Though we often think of the Children of Israel as a rambunctious, difficult-to-please people, this Torah portion shows their daily obedience to God’s will. However, obedience alone does not qualify the People of Israel for their inheritance. Rather, in this week’s portion, we read that the people go above and beyond the call of duty and truly take ownership of God’s commandments to them. In Numbers 9, we read of a group of Israelites who are not able to take part in the Passover offering because of their recent handlings of dead bodies. The sages teach that they were either ritually caring for the dead of the Israelites or bearing the corpse of Joseph, whom the Children of Israel transported to the Promised Land for burial. These people say to Moses, “Why should we be diminished by not offering Adonai’s offering in its appointed time among the Children of Israel?” In other words, they ask, “Why should we be unable to participate in this commandment just because we were engaging in another commandment?” They come before Moses and declare that it isn’t fair that they should be excluded from their people; that is, they are asking for the opportunity to embrace yet another of God’s commandments.
Moses brings their case before God, and God institutes the practice of a “second Pesach,” which takes place exactly one month after Passover. God provides a solution, though not only for the people who approached Moses but for all the “generations” of Israel. In doing so, God shows God’s confidence in the people, and the Torah shows us that the people of Israel have attained the spiritual maturity required to enter the land.
However, it is not long before the people show that, while they have they have matured, they do not yet understand the responsibilities of independence. Numbers 11 begins with another complaint from the Children of Israel, though the object of the complaint is left unstated. God becomes very angry and sends fire to burn at the edges of the camp. The people cry out to Moses, who prays to God. God heeds Moses’ prayer, and the Israelites’ lives are saved.
Up until now this incident, the Israelites’ complaints have been understandable. The people need food, they cry out to God, and God provides food. The same goes for water. Until now, God has not killed any laypeople of the Children of Israel, not even after the incident of the Golden Calf. The people have truly been children to God, and God has dealt fairly, if firmly, with them throughout their relationship.
But now, the people have shown God that they can take responsibility for themselves, that they can be independent followers of God’s commandments. However, the people are here shown still to be complaining instead of providing for themselves. Moreover, they are not complaining about anything of importance - just complaining. God knows that the people are capable of more, and God’s anger can be seen to be caused by God’s disappointment in the people.
But disappointment turns to fury when the people complain not about nothing but about the gift of manna that God has provided them. We read of the people’s demands for meat despite the abundance of delicious manna at their disposal. When Moses hears the complaints, he, too, recognizes that the people are acting irresponsibly. He asks God why he is forced to deal with these people: “Did I conceive this entire people or did I give birth to it, that You say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a suckling, to the Land that You swore to its forefathers?’” This language clearly paints the Children of Israel as a sniveling infant, a role unfit for the recently proven People of Israel.
Thus, the Israelites have not lived up to their known capabilities, and they have not heeded the warning sent by God after their last complaint. At this point only does God send a terrible punishment to the people: the fulfillment of their wish. The people ask for meat, and God sends quail - so much quail that a full day’s journey would be required to reach the end of the food God provides. A portion of the Children of Israel gluttonously collect the quail, and while the meat is still between their teeth, not yet chewed, God strikes them dead. The place of this occurrence is named Graves of the Craving, and the castigated people move on without another word.
So we have seen that the Children of Israel showed their adult responsibility by willingly accepting the yoke of God’s commandment but also forsook that responsibility by spurning God’s gift to them. But we know that the people eventually make their way into Israel, so their maturity as a people does improve. What, then, is the lesson for us today, so many thousands of years later? How can we, who already have access to the land of Israel, show our spiritual maturity?
We may be able to find an answer in the last part of this week’s portion, which I read tonight. Miriam’s and Aaron’s slander against Moses is most often interpreted in the light of lashon hara, for the two siblings are unhappy with Moses’ marriage. However, God’s response to Miriam and Aaron doesn’t mention the Cushite wife - rather, God emphasizes that Moses is the greatest of all prophets, for God speaks with Moses “mouth to mouth.” Both Jewish tradition and God respond to the same general problem: Miriam and Aaron’s abuse of their words.
We learn that through Aaron’s plea and Moses’ prayer, Miriam is healed from her affliction, albeit after a seven-day period of humiliation. It is here that we see a responsible use of words - repentance and prayer. These words bring to life the internal divine spark and result in physical and spiritual healing.
It is this use of words to unleash the divine within us that calls out to us from this week’s Torah portion. Earlier in the portion, we read that Moses is not expected to care for the Children of Israel on his own; rather, seventy elders are selected to help him and are called to the Tent of Meeting to prophesy. Two of them, Eldad and Medad, perhaps because they feel unworthy of such honor, do not answer God’s summons. Of course, they speak the words of prophecy, and an indignant Joshua calls for the punishment of these men who supposedly disregarded God’s promise. However, Moses delights in the prophecy they are able to speak and declares, “Would that the entire people of Adonai could be prophets!”
In truth, God tells Moses’ siblings that his wish comes true. God tells Miriam and Aaron that God speaks to “prophets among you” in dreams and visions, thus providing opportunity for every Israelite, not just Moses and his family, to receive the divine inspiration necessary to speak holy words.
And so it is that we are taught about the infinite potential within each of us. God has created every human being in God’s image, and part of that creation includes the divine spirit that can influence our words and make them powerful. But we are also shown that this ability to speak divinely comes with a responsibility that we must prove and prove again. We must willingly accept the expectations of God, like the Israelites who ask to participate in the Pesach offering, and we must also conduct our lives in a divine and compassionate fashion, unlike the complaining Israelites and the slandering Miriam and Aaron. To achieve peace, we must be peaceful-in our words and our deeds. When we do so, we shall be able to rise up like the flames of the Menorah and dance with the light of our God.