Parshat Korach; Numbers 16:1-18:32 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Moses and Aaron face one of the greatest challenges to their leadership of the Children of Israel with this week’s Torah Portion. Korach, their cousin, along with Dathan and Abiram, challenge Moses’ and Aaron’s positions as head of the people. Korach passionately states: “For all in the community are holy, all of them and God is in their midst. Why then do you raise yourselves above Adonai’s congregation?” His words seem logical at first glance. Are not all the people “the chosen people?” Isn’t this an “am kadosh” –a holy people? Didn’t God tell us to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation? Korach rallied other leaders to his position and confronted Moses and Aaron.

And Korach is also of the tribe of Levi. He is of priestly caste himself and thus perhaps should have been considered as a possible leader of the people. In fact he is the son of Izhar, Kohath’s second son, while Moses and Aaron on the sons of Amram, Kohath’s first son. So in many ways Korach does have a claim to the leadership circle.

And yet, Korach forgot one important point. That the leadership displayed by Moses and Aaron was not self-appointed but God called both to leadership. God chose who would become the political leader and religious leader. It was not by election or by democratic process.

Thus Moses spoke to Korach and his followers, which numbered according to the text 250 chieftains of the Israelites. Moses challenges them in their challenge to see whose offering God will accept. But even this solution is not enough for Korach, Dathan and Abiram and their followers, they continue to needle and challenge Moses and Aaron saying, “It is not enough that you brought us from a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, that you would also lord it over us?”

Korach, Datan and Abiram’s shortsightedness and lack of understanding the power of God’s role is critical in this chapter. They and their followers are punished with death, the earth opens up and swallows them and the 250 followers became the Divine offering similar to the way Nadav and Abihu were consumed for offering an alien sacrifice.

But the story drives home yet again, the message of faith in God or rather the consequences of the lack of faith in God. Multiple time in the Torah just when we human beings think we know better and develop a plan that takes us astray from God’s plan, there are deep consequences for our actions. Korach paid a heavy price for challenging not just Moses’ and Aaron’s authority, but truthfully, challenging God’s plan for the people Israel and fomenting these ideas in other leaders.

In the book of Numbers we have already seen the consequences of the Children of Israel’s lack of faith, whether in Parshat Shelach-Lecha when the people believed the lies of the spies and ignored the faith and enthusiasm of Caleb and Joshua. Or now with Korach who openly revolts against God’s chosen leaders and are answered not by Moses and Aaron but by the Divine power.

The parasha concludes with an affirmation of Aaron’s leadership, by the miracle of his blooming almond staff thus reinforcing the idea of the priesthood and his selection by God.

Does this mean it is never okay to challenge authority? Never time to change gears or follow a different path? I don’t think so. But it does cause us to consider carefully who and how our leaders are chosen in this day and every day. Further it should give each and every one of us pause to examine our own faith and beliefs and for each of us to decide how our connection to the Divine plays out in our life. Are we willing to admit a role for God? Or have we shut out the Eternal from our lives? This indeed is part of the dilemma of Korach, Dathan and Abiram. For it appears that they shut God out of the equation of leadership of the people and to lead without belief is the ultimate idolatry.

Parshat Shelach-Lecha; Numbers 13:1-15:41 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

At the very end of this week’s Torah portion is the commandment to don the fringe. The Tzitzit, the threads attached to the corner of our garments or tallitot are symbolic reminders of our obligation to observe the commandments. Each thread, each knot, each twist and turn of the wrapping threads have become intricate reminders of the 613 commandments in the Torah.

The portion describes that there is a blue or aqua thread in the midst of the tzitzit we no longer utilize the blue thread in the fringe. Tradition teaches this blue thread came from the dye made of a sea animal called the chilazon according to Rashi. But the actual source is unknown to us. Although there are some who claim they know and some archaeological digs that have discovered heaps of shells of a certain sea creature. Thus occasionally today you will see individuals with a blue thread on their tallit. But traditionally for centuries the threads of the tzitzit of remained white.

Many traditions have their symbols of connections. Catholics pray the rosary with their beads. Muslims have their prayer beads called tasbih or subhah and Buddhist have their mala beads. Orthodox Christian from Eastern Rite Churches use prayer ropes called Komboschoinia or Chotki. These traditions use the beads or knots in the rope as a tool to help them recite various prayers or to keep track of how many times one has said a set of required prayers. Others utilize these symbols to help them recite the various names of their divinities.

We Jews have our tallit with tzitzit to remind us of the embrace of God and the covenant of our people and the details, 613 commandments that make up our relationship. We use the tzitzit in our prayers. During the Ahavah Rabbah prayer we take the four tzitzit and wrap them around our index finger in preparation for the Shema/V’ahavta prayer. We gather them together as we say the traditional words “to gather us from the four corners of the earth.” We leave the tzitzit wrapped around our index finger as then through the Shema/Vehavata prayer, which also speaks of the tzitzit. This symbolic wrapping is just reminds us of the ring that is placed upon the bride’s index finger at the wedding. For the Jew we are bound in relationship to God and the tzitzit help us symbolize that union.

The commandment to wear the fringe comes at the end of the portion when God punishes the children of Israel by delaying the entrance by forty years to the Promised Land. The portion recalls the story of how 10 of the 12 spies sent to check out Eretz Yisrael exaggerate and lie about what they found there. The children of Israel believed them, despite the truths spoken by Caleb and Joshua. The Children of Israel revolt against Moses and Aaron and God loses patience with them causing Moses to plead successfully on their behalf. Thus the fringe is a reminder both to us and to God of the eternal nature of our covenant with one another. While our entrance to the Holy Land may have been delayed a generation—the fringes nevertheless remind us both of thread that binds us together.

So the next time you come to temple, put on a tallit and wrap yourself in the embrace of our people, our God and our covenant.

Parshat Behalotecha; Numbers 8:1-12:16 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

The parsha begins with the kindling of the Menorah, the great golden candelabrum by Aaron. At the end of the previous parsha—each of the tribal leaders came forward to dedicate the same exact offering to God as a dedication offering for the altar. Yet the tribe of Levi brought no offering. Since they are the tribe from which the priesthood comes. The Levites have a special role—they bring no offering but they themselves in this week’s parasha become a symbolic offering. They are purified and brought before the Children of Israel and a ritual of laying on of hands is performed. Thus they become a symbolic offering and can then participate in assisting the Children of Israel as they bring their sacrifices to God.

But the portion begins with the kindling of the menorah by Aaron, the High Priest. One Midrash even relates that Aaron was upset that each chieftain of the twelve tribes had a role in the dedication of the altar and yet—he and his tribe, the Levites had none. Thus God comforted him by allowing him the honor of preparing for and lighting the great Menorah.

RABMAN, also known as Nachmanides comments on this verse that this is not really about the kindling of the Menorah at the dedication of the altar but really a foreshadowing of Chanukah and the role the descendants of Aaron, the Maccabees will play in the rededication of the temple following its defilement by the Syrian-Greek forces of Antiochus. Nachmanides continues to quote Midrash Rabbah (15:5 Bamidbar Rabbah) “The Holy One, Blessed Be, said to Moses,” Go and tell Aaron- “Fear not! You are designated for something of greater importance than this. The offerings are brought only as long as the Sanctuary is in existence, but the lamps will give light in front of the menorah forever and all the blessings that I have given you with which to bless My children will never come to an end.” Nachmanides continues that even though the Sanctuary was not eternal and thus the sacrifices not eternal because of the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in the year 70 C.E., the menorah and the holiday of Chanukah is eternal even after the destruction of the Temple.

Thus the lighting of the Menorah for Aaron and the Levites was a special privilege.

For centuries it was the Menorah that was the symbol of the Jewish people. In ancient days it was the menorah that signified the Israelites. Although today the six-pointed Star of David is most often associated as a symbol of Judaism, truly the Menorah is a more ancient symbol of Judaism. And it is the Menorah which today stands as the Symbol of the State of Israel, gracing its formal seal.

The light of the Menorah, is symbolic of God’s divine light. With the menorah’s kindling, Aaron brings the Divine light into the Jewish people’s midst. This light whether from the ancient Menorah of the Temple or the light of the chanukiah, or the light emanating from a modern seven branched Menorah still shines upon the household of Jewish people, reminding us of our values, our traditions and our deep and abiding connection to God through Torah and covenant. The Menorah’s distinct design of seven branches reinforces the notion of the centrality of Shabbat—the seventh day and even the Chanukiah with it’s nine branches, to remind us of the eight day celebration of the Holiday of Chanukah reminds us that God’s presence is with us in darkness as in light.
Even when there are difficult hours of trial for the Jewish people, God’s Divine light remains constant. But it is up to each and every Jew to place ourselves in relationship to the Menorah—so that we can receive that light and warmth!

Parshat Naso; Leviticus 4:21-7:89 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

The end of parshat Naso describes the 12-day dedication ceremony for the Tabernacle. Moses anoints and consecrates the Mishkan and all of its sacred vessels and then each of the 12 tribal chiefs come forward on a separate day to bring special offerings. No tribe brings more than the other. In truth each offering is the exactly the same.

Each chieftain brings one silver bowl and one silver basin filled with flour and oil constituting the mincha offering. They bring in addition a gold ladle with incense, one bull, one ram, one lamb, as burnt offerings; one goat for a purification offering; and for a shlemim offering, two oxen, five rams, five goats and five yearling lambs.

Each tribe through their chief has their own day of initiation at the Mishkan. A special day, dedicated to each tribe builds a unique bond between God and that individual tribe. Not just one among the masses but each part of the Israelite people have a unique way to celebrate their connection to the Divine, a unique opportunity to participate in the dedication of the Tabernacle.

Because the Tabernacle was the realm of God and the province of the priests and the Levites there was always a danger that the Mishkan would not really be the central organizing force for the 12 tribes. But because there was a separate opportunity for each tribe to build their relationship to the Holy One through a special day of initiation, each tribe can see their tribal head as having a special and honored place and role in the sacred precincts of the Mishkan.

Today we have no Mishkan. We have no tribes. We no longer bring tangible offerings to God for sacrifice. But we Jews do need to nurture our connection to one another and nurture our relationship with the Holy One. We do need to see and build a bond with our God and our people. We do that today through our involvement in synagogue life and involvement within the life of the Jewish community. Our membership in a synagogue and our involvement in Jewish communal organizations like the Jewish Federation help us nurture our spiritual life and strengthen our ethical and moral fiber. In a world that seems to drift aimlessly, having a spiritual and moral core makes it easier to navigate.

When we disconnect ourselves from the organizing institutions of our people, there is a danger that we will distance ourselves from our relationship with the Divine and weaken our bond with one another. This is why affiliation is such a critical issue for our community. “Al Tifrosh min hatzibur,” teach the sages—Do not separate yourself from the community. This is remains good advice to this day. Being involved, being counted among the Jewish people strengthens our communal fabric, and surprisingly will strengthen the fabric of your being.

Our ancestors brought gifts to God. They brought sacrifices. Today we bring our words and our actions as our offerings. Let us bring our involvement and commitment as well.

Parshat Bemidbar; Numbers 1:1 – 4:20 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

As we begin a new book of the Torah this week, the book of Numbers or Bemidbar in Hebrew, focuses our attention to the life of the Israelites during their desert wanderings. The opening chapters record a census taken of all of the adult males, house-by-house, clan-by-clan, and tribe-by-tribe. This accounting of the Israelites is initiated by command of God. There are tribal leaders assigned to assist Moses and Aaron in this organizational structuring of the Israelites.

Why bother to count?

Previously in Leviticus and Exodus, the story of the Torah focuses both on the great miracles of the liberation, the laws/mitzvot and on the building and uses of the Tabernacle and the priesthood. Now with the book of Numbers it is time to organize the people and a nation. To get to the Promised Land the Israelites will encounter hostile nations and so they must be organized into an army ready to both protect and defend their wandering nation and God’s Tabernacle as well as be ready to conquer nations that stand in God’s way of delivering upon the Promise of Eretz Yisrael.

The Israelites did come together to build the Tabernacle. But that task is now complete and the centralized, portable sanctuary, the Mishkan, not only exists but serves as the place of God’s dwelling upon earth. The Divine encounter between Moses and Aaron and God takes place at the Mishkan. Offerings are regularly made. But the Israelite nation must be organized on an ongoing basis. The Israelites must be more than a loose knit group of slaves with a shared liberation experience. So this census is made as a first step.

Thus our portion records both the names of the leaders of the tribes and the numbers of eligible men, twenty years and up. They are organized into units and in Chapter 2 of Numbers, the overt military nuance is expressed as each tribe is organizes under a banner or flag of their tribe surrounding the central organizing force, God’s holy Tabernacle.

Thus this new “army of Adonai” begins to identify itself as more than just a group of slaves who left Egypt and experienced the miracles of the Red Sea and Sinai. This Israelite nation would be a force to be reckoned with. The census is a way to build a new kind of identity for this people—a unified identity and for each of the tribes a stronger connection one to the other. The Mishkan and God’s covenant provides the basis for the bond, the military organization providing the training ground and experience. Even though this group will not ultimately be the group that goes on to conquer the land, the foundation is being laid with these new organizing principles. Their identity as a people is being developed with a purpose, a central shrine, and even their own flag!

As we read these opening chapters of the book of Numbers we can’t help but reflect upon what are the ways in which we identify and organize as a Jewish community. How are we counted? How do we stand up for God? How do we organize ourselves? And how do we take the diversity of the Jewish people—and keep ourselves united as one people?

These are the great challenges of our time. We are no army. No Jewish conquering force—but we do increasingly face the challenge of finding ways to unify our people and purpose. This is why the synagogue is a place of such importance. Its sacred duty is to provide not just the space to worship God and to study, but also a unifying place to bring Jews together. The Synagogue is the great hope of the Jewish people regardless of theology, regardless of halakah- Jewish law, regardless of level of observance, regardless of denominational affiliation. The synagogue can be for our time the unifying and celebratory force, which unites Jews around the world! That is its importance in our day and time and why you should support and participate in the life of the synagogue! The synagogue keeps you connected to God and to your fellow Jews.