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Death, Wholeness and Cleanliness (Parshah Chukat)

June 25, 2014 by Patrick Beaulier

Yahrtzeit_candle
Death comes to us in many guises. Our dreams wither, our relationships falter, our work comes to an end. We witness those we love leave this world, while we remain behind. Death alters us. We are not the people we once were and certain treasures may never be reclaimed.

Any kind of death may leave us lost, adrift in the terrifying tides of uncertainty. It is possible to survive uprooted for a while, though just barely and devoid of the sustenance only an openhearted embrace of life provides. Death is necessary for new growth. We learn this from the seasons. We know this in our bones. Yet, we struggle to live through it. We have no instructions by which to make our way back.

It is not that we need to ignore death or transform it into something shining and beautiful. It is valuable as it is. But what do we do when we feel ourselves consumed by the nihilism that death sometimes incites? How can we cleanse ourselves of the rage that erupts within us after a death? What do we have to move us through the experience, so that we emerge purified and whole?

Parshah Chukat addresses ritual purity, a fact relevant to worship in Temple Judaism, but far less so today. For the Israelites, their worship involved tangible offerings and animal sacrifices. Ours looks much different. At its essence, worship is about stepping forward to meet the divine, infinite and unfathomable. Sincerity of such an encounter requires us to be fully present, perfectly attuned to the moment. In the words of Devarim, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). These words are simple and they are hard. Being present with God can be impossible when death has us hamstrung.

The ancient Israelites understood what it means to be fit for worship in an entirely physical sense. In this week’s parshah, they are told that anyone who comes into contact with a corpse is automatically unclean, preventing them from participating in the ritual worship of God. They were also provided a rite by which to cleanse themselves.

“…This is the ritual law that the Lord has commanded,” our Torah reads, “instruct the Israelite people to bring you a red cow without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which no yoke has been laid. You shall give it to Eleazar the priest. It shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting. The cow shall be burned in his sight – its hide, flesh and blood shall be burned, its dung included – and the priest shall take cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson stuff, and throw them into the fire consuming the cow. The priest shall wash his garments and bathe his body in water; after that the priest may reenter the camp, but he shall be unclean until evening. He who performed the buring shall also wash his garments in water, bathe his body in water, and be unclean until evening. A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the cow and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, to be kept for water of lustration for the Israelite community. It is for cleansing. He who gathers up the ashes of the cow shall also wash his clothes and be unclean until evening” (Numbers 19:1-10).

Anyone rendered unclean through contact with the dead could be cleansed with the “water of lustration.” They could, once again, become fit to meet God. We are not told why being in the presence of the dead causes one to be unfit to worship. We do not know the relevance of the red heifer, or why those preparing the water of lustration become unclean through the process. The rabbis tell us to take it on faith. Much like death itself.

In our western culture, most of us endure a relentless barrage of information. From Facebook to CNN to Game of Thrones to Pandora, we bombard ourselves with data. It’s a 24/7 experience that leaves no space for silence or stillness. We stuff our days to overflowing with errands, events, meetings, shopping, exercise, cooking, gossiping. We offer ourselves no breathing room to acknowledge our experience, and name the certain kind of death that may be dragging us under. Unlike the Israelites, we have no means to guage our fitness for worship or method by which to right our spirits.

Each of us will know many varieties of death. It is up to us to identify the practices we need to pull us into the present, when our hearts and our minds are caught elsewhere. When we cannot find our footing, when darkness surrounds, we may ask ourselves if we are fit to meet God. When we grope for meaning and come up emptyhanded, we may challenge ourselves to consider what we need in order to love God fully. In so doing, we may spark the internal process of healing. We may begin the work necessary to recover and live freely. Perhaps by consciously striving to bridge the gap between our own small lives and the infinite divine, we may emerge from many deaths whole and clean.

Akiva Yael is an enthusiastic participant in all that is holy, including Torah study, powerlifting, and the beauty of our world.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), LGBTQ & Women Tagged With: chukat, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, online conversion, parshah chukat, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, purity, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, ritual purity

Parsha Chukat: An Anthology Of What Is Wrong With Me (Num.19:1 – 22:1)

June 26, 2012 by Jeremiah

If Chukat is about faith in Hashem’s covenant to provide a home and good health to those who choose to follow him why has this week’s Torah portion done nothing but distract me during my meditation since early childhood? Why does it feed my naturally ingrown neurosis and “Jewish” flavored guilt? If I knew the answer to that then I would be a fully realized Jew and unfortunately for me I am light years away from being a fully realized anything.

For me personally, there is just way too much going on in Chukat that I can link directly to my life. First, Miriam dies in Zin meaning she never sets foot in the promised land. When I was young I used to have this recurring dream that I was at my Aunt and Uncle’s house, their last name is Zinn, in these dreams I am [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), Rants Tagged With: chukat, Circle Pit The Bimah, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, Guilt, jeremiah, miriam, Moses, numbers, online conversion, Parsha Chukat, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

Steampunk Torah: Shelakh Lekhah, Korach, Chukat

July 7, 2011 by Patrick Beaulier

The Jewish fantasy fiction series by Rivkah Raven and PunkTorah continues with chapters Shelakh Lekhah, Korach and Chukat. Click on the chapter titles to download and join the adventure!

Shelakh Lekhah

“It is time, now, Raven,”  he said.  Mari pushed her chair back from the tea table and gathered herself to rise.  She had already attached the menorah, which looked more like a small brass lantern, to the belt at her waist; she stowed the tiny silver ear-trumpet in the pouch that hung beside it.  She had no idea how these things would help her, but it gave her heart to feel their weight. 

Korach

Mari awoke all at once, abruptly, and with her temper in full flare.  She sat up quickly, her fists clenched, and said aloud, “Thatʼs enough.”   She was rested, she had water now and a little bit of food, and she felt energy surging through her veins.  She was thoroughly angry now.  When she had been tired, still in shock from so many changes all at once, she had let herself crumple and fall prey to fear.  Now, she felt it was time to make a change. She stood and stretched, moving her limbs to chase away the stiff, bruised feeling.  She splashed her face with water, took a long drink from the flask at her belt and refilled it at the sink.  Who knows when she would find water again? 

Chukat

Mari awoke to a wet, heavy slap on her cheek.  She tried to raise her head, but it was weighed down; she tried to move her legs, but her body was pressed with a cold weight that held her firmly. It was not uncomfortable, but she panicked.  She wrestled her hands flat under her shoulders, her elbows pointing up, and tried to raise her shoulders, pushing the back of her head up.  It was completely dark, and the air was dank and thick.  She could not remember where she was. 

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Media Reviews Tagged With: chukat, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, fiction, korach, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, raven, rivkah raven, Shelakh Lekhah, steam punk, steampunk

Is This All Made Up? (Parshat Chukat-Balak)

June 27, 2011 by Patrick Beaulier

Chukat-Balak is the kind of parshah that makes you think the ancient Hebrews were dropping acid while codifying the Torah.

The parshah in a nutshell, thanks to our bearded brethren at Chabad…with jokes and off-color commentary by Patrick Aleph:

After 40 years of journeying through the desert, the people of Israel arrive in the wilderness of Zin. Miriam dies and the people thirst for water. G-d tells Moses to speak to a rock and command it to give water. Moses gets angry at the rebellious Israelites and strikes the stone. Water issues forth, but Moses is told by G-d that neither he nor Aaron will enter the Promised Land.

The moral of the story is that even the greatest of leaders have a bad day. I love the fact that God puts up with every whiney complaint that the Hebrews through His/Her way, but the second that Moses gets angry, God punishes him. Totally. Unfair.

Venomous snakes attack the Israelite camp after yet another eruption of discontent in which the people “speak against G-d and Moses”; G-d tells Moses to place a brass serpent upon a high pole, and all who will gaze heavenward will be healed. The people sing a song in honor of the miraculous well that provided the water in the desert.

Here’s some insane Hebrew logic:

Idolatry is bad. God is the only God. However, if venomous snakes are attacking you, feel free to make an idol to them and you’ll be healed, Vatican Miracle-style. I think this might be the wrong religion?

Balak, the King of Moab, summons the prophet Balaam to curse the people of Israel.

Wow. Someone hates the Jews. Shocking.

On the way, Balaam is berated by his ass,

Hahaha…you said “ass”.

…who sees the angel that G-d sends to block their way before Balaam does. Three times, from three different vantage points, Balaam attempts to pronounce his curses; each time, blessings issue instead.

Balaam and I apparently have the same problem: we try to say one thing and the opposite comes out.

The people fall prey to the charms of the daughters of Moab and are enticed to worship the idol Peor. When a high-ranking Israelite official publicly takes a Midianite princess into a tent, Pinchas kills them both, stopping the plague raging among the people.

Murder is justified if it keeps people from gettin’ busy behind a tent. Unless of course you’re David, who had 400 wives and concubines. In that case, you’re a tzadik.

So you get the drift. All of the different elements of this Torah portion have a weirdly made up, hypocritical feel to them. And that’s totally OK with me. I can handle the fact that I am supposed to learn holiness from murderers, talking donkeys, and a God who has messed up priorities. None of this makes any sense. And guess what? Life doesn’t make sense most of the time.

Sometimes, you just have to follow the white rabbit down the hole and see where you end up. So turn on, tune in and drop out…you have my utterly non-rabbinic permission.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: balaam, balak, chukat, chukat-balak, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, D'var Torah, darshan yeshiva, online conversion, parshah, parshat, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

Parshah Chukat

June 16, 2010 by Patrick Beaulier

Parshah Chukat

Numbers 19:1-22:1

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xY6y27lHY8

Why do the same things keep happening to us over and over again? Why do we fall into the same relationships, same types of jobs, etc. etc. Sometimes life feels like a gigantic rerun that you can’t escape: a constant Bill Murray-style Groundhog Day.

Just like all the other Torah portions in Bamidbar, the same predictable plot happens:

1) The Hebrews wander the desert

2) The Hebrews get angry that they are wandering in the desert

3) G-d gets pissed off and performs a miracle

This time, we have snakes on fire, which to me sounds like a stoner metal band. At any rate, these venomous snakes bite the ankles of the Hebrews, and naturally they freak out.

So G-d says, “build a bronze altar with a snake on a pole. Stare at it, and you’ll be healed.”

Yay. Miracle. But pretty anti-climactic.

I guess you could say, “well, it all worked out for the Hebrews. They built a shrine to the snake and G-d healed them. Some lesson, huh?” But you have to remember that idolatry is a sin. G-d’s not letting them off the hook, G-d’s forcing them to do something that’s completely against their culture. It’s like a dog that pees on the carpet, and you turn around and rub their nose in it.

There’s a reason why life for the Hebrews stays the same: they keep doing the same things! It seems like a no-brainer, but perhaps if they adjusted their attitude a little bit, they wouldn’t be wandering around in the desert!

This is the way life works: you’re fat because you keep eating, you’re single because you keep going out with losers, and you’re an alcoholic because you keep drinking. It’s like my dad says, “if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”

Maybe it’s all the motivational posters at my gym, but I see this week’s Torah portion as an inspiration to quit whining and do something! Maybe then the snakes that are biting your ankles (bill collectors, a crappy boss, whatever) will leave you alone.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), Podcasts & Videos Tagged With: bible, chukat, Counterculture, darshan yeshiva, Jewish, Jews, Judaism, Parsha, parshah, parshat, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, Punk, punktorah, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, rebel, Religion, Torah

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