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Parsha Korach : Revolution Summer (Num.16:1 – 18:32)

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Parsha Korach : Revolution Summer (Num.16:1 – 18:32)

For all intents and purposes Korach is the face for any Ancient Hebrew who took issue at some point with Moses’s style of leadership. Moses did not spend his formidable years like most Hebrews nor did he live an average Egyptian life. Moses was not one for public discourse and if you read between the lines may have had a hard time relating to those he was chosen to lead. Representative Democracy is not Hashem’s revolution His revolution is universal justice.

As a modern American I’ve only lived under the yoke of “crazy” liberals and ”a**hole” conservatives who only agree on time limited leadership roles. Competitive leadership is a machine running nonstop and with a presidential election in the United States a few months away that machine is running full force. This got me ah thinkin’ who exactly were Moses and Korach? I know who [Read more…]

Parsha Schlach : It’s a Little Something Called Chutzpah, Babe! (Num.13:1 – 15:41)

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Parsha Schlach : It’s a Little Something Called Chutzpah, Babe! (Num.13:1 – 15:41)

Twelve spies, one representative from each Tribe, are sent into the Promised Land to size up the real estate and its inhabitants in hopes of ending the ancient Hebrew’s desert Diaspora. The spies return with tales of a land flowing with milk and honey; providing proof for this claim they reveal to the people grapes so large two men must carry them. All but two of the spies lament of giants inhabiting the land and how a Hebrew presence there is impossible. The dissenting two, Aaron and Caleb, come down with a big case of the Chutzpah.

What is Chutzpah and how do we know Aaron and Caleb had it in Schlach? The answer to that is in two parts. First, Chutzpah is Yiddish for audacity (sometimes good, sometimes bad), and second Aaron and Caleb had the audacity to say [Read more…]

Parsha Behaalotecha: “Untitled” (Num. 8:1 – 12:16)

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I am going to cheat this week. I am cheating because like the ancient Hebrews in Behaalotecha I am literally living in a desert; but unlike those whose story unfolds in this portion it has only taken three years and seven months in the desert for this Jew to settle down in a permanent home or as I like to think of it in my own small piece of Zion. What resonates with me the most in this portion are the delicate intricacies involved when falling into a routine versus falling out of synch with that routine.

I am not picking sides because I am cheating this week. Like so many of us I love when things go smoothly, I love when word is kept, and I love when things start to change and lead toward a place I perceive to have greener grass (or I suppose browner sand in my case). [Read more…]

Parsha Naso: Curbing My Enthusiasm (Num. 4:21 – 7:89)

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Back in the 80s when I was a kid it was called being a worrier. I am a worrier. Then in the 90s worrying became crazy, not mentally ill crazy just crazy. I am a crazy. Now its jokingly referred to as someone who needs to curb their enthusiasm. I am a enthusiast. Naso is a portion many people find confusing. It is arguably sexist and what’s the deal with the ritual of bitter water…seriously what’s the deal with that. All head scratching aside this week’s portion is one where I can literally visualize myself walking around participating in. Not sure what that says about this guy but I just can’t picture myself as a slave in Egypt or as an eye witness at the parting of the Red Sea.

My DNA is programmed with a neurosis that manifests itself in the weirdest and often times the most ridiculous of ways. These [Read more…]

Parsha Bamidbar: Collect ‘Em All (Num. 1:1 – 4:20)

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Bamidbar is the portion where Torah’s fourth book begins. Also known as Numbers this book is all about counting and counting and you guessed it more counting. Where Genesis appeals to those of us almost religiously flawed with a great collection of triumphs and tragedies of our collective Patriarchs and Matriarchs, Exodus speaks to the patriotic of the tribe with the founding of the first Jewish state, and Leviticus provides an argumentative source for the politically minded. For those who love genealogy and a complete and thorough document of the past Numbers will speak to you.

It is easy to forget the history and circumstances which led the Ancient Hebrews to forty years in the desert. Passover is such an important holiday that it makes it easy for the modern mind to delegate the memory of slavery to the observance and rituals of the Seder. Parsha Bamidbar is the first portion in [Read more…]

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