Mindful Torah...and more

In this week's parashah /portion is Eikev ( D'varim / Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25), Moses continues to address the people in preparation for his death and their entry into the land of Canaan. He recounts for them what occurred at Sinai, including the incident of the Golden Calf. In addition, he continually reminds them of the blessings that they will receive from God if they obey the commandments and the curses that shall befall them if they do not. He then recounts the miracles that God performed for them in the desert and the promise that God will slowly, but surely, dislodge the inhabitants of Canaan so that they can inherit the land promised to their ancestors. For my commentary I would like to focus on two specific passages: 1) "Remember the long way that YHWH, your God, has made you travel in the wilderness these past forty years, that God might afflict you as a test in order to discover what is in your heart and whether or not you would keep God's commandments...

This week's parashah /portion is Va'etchanan ( Devarim /Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11). This portion contains within it some of the central ideas and texts of the Torah and of all of Judaism. The portion begins with Moses saying to the people: “And I pleaded [ va'etchanan ] with God at that time....” The time of which he is speaking is when he pleaded to God to be allowed to enter the Promised Land together with the people. God had forbidden Moses to enter the Land and Moses pleaded with God to be allowed to cross over the Jordan River with the people. But God did not grant Moses's plea. And so now Moses is speaking to the people as they prepare to be led across the Jordan by Joshua. And so, Moses begins to recount what happened during the 40 years of wandering. For those about to cross into the Land were either children or not yet born when the journey began some 40 years earlier.  The words of the parashah reminds the people that the Eternal is the only God in he...

This week's parashah /portion is the double portion called Matot-Maasei , which brings to a close the book of Bemidbar /Numbers. I will focus on the text of Matot , in the beginning of the parashah we read that if a man makes a vow it is binding on him. However, if a woman makes a vow while still living in her father's house and her father becomes aware of the vow and agrees to its terms, then the vow remains in effect. However, if he does not approve of the vow, then he may render it null and void. The same applies if the woman is married and her husband discovers the vow. If her father or husband do annul her vow, the woman is not to be held as guilty for not fulfilling the vow she has made. However, if her husband agrees to the vow upon discovering it and later changes his mind and annuls the vow, then there is guilt, but it is to be upon the husband's head. Viewing this text through 21st century eyes, it is yet another example of how women had little or no contro...

This week's parashah/portion is Pinchas (Numbers / Bemidbar 25:10 – 30:1). It begins by recounting an incident from the end of last week’s parashah where Pinchas, son of Eleazar the priest, slays an Israelite man and Midianite woman after they enter a tent to have sexual relations. This takes place after the text tells us that the Midianites have led the Israelites into whoring, both in terms of women and also after other gods (especially the Midianite god Baal Peor). And so this act involving two people, represents what is happening on a greater communal level. At the start of this week’s parashah we are told that after Pinchas slew the “offending” couple the plague that was ravaging the camp ceased. Furthermore, God gives Pinchas a brit shalom /covenant of peace as a reward for his zealousness. After Pinchas receives this covenant, God instructs Moses to take a census of all the male members of the tribes. This is followed by it the plea of the five daughters ...

The early 20th century Jewish existentialist philosopher Franz Rosenzweig believed that the knowledge of our mortality is the ultimate negative force in our lives.  The fact that we know we shall eventually die hangs over us like a cloud, if we let it.  However, it is love that is the ultimate positive force in our lives.  It is the existence of love that allows, and even compels, us to live life in spite of the knowledge of our mortality. Hopefully, most of us don't spend our lives constantly thinking about our ultimate end.  Rather, Rosenzweig believed that the ultimate goal is to live a life dedicated to the love of God.  This goal is achieved, in good part, by loving our fellow human beings.  In loving,  we are able to find goodness and hope.  I agree with Rosenzweig in the power of love to create meaning in our lives in spite of the knowledge that we will die.  However, it is also true that we all eventually begin to face our own mor...

Mistakes do happen. I accidentally posted a commentary for last week's Torah portion earlier today instead of this week's. please accept my apologies . I hope you will find this one enlightening anyway. Pun intended :-) shabbat shalom

This week's parashah is Be'haalotekha (Numbers/ Be'midbar 8:1-12:16). At the end of the last parashah , immediately following the completion of the building of the mishkan / sanctuary, God spoke to Moses from between the wings of the cherubim that hovered over the Ark. In the opening line of Be'haalotekha Moses God tells Moses that he must instruct Aaron concerning his ascent to kindle the lights of the seven-branch menorah in the mishkan . The light of the menorah represents, among other things, the light of the Divine. The Kabbalists/ mystics imagined that the seven branches of the menorah represented the seven lower sefirot /divine emanations or attributes that human beings can experience in this world. Light as representing God's presence is also found in the image of the fire enshrouded in the cloud that hovered over the mishkan signifying God's presence. According to the text, the fire/presence of God would be seen within a cloud over the mishkan...