Sunday, October 12, 2014

Parshat Bamidbar, 7th Portion (Numbers 4:1-4:20), May 24, 2014

So my challenge with the Torah today is to figure out how reading it could possibly be a religious, spiritual, or useful experience.

In this portion, Moses and Aaron, prodded by the Lord, are counting the sons of Kohath to recruit them to work in the Tent of Meeting. But Aaron and his sons take down the dividing screen in front of the Holy of Holies. The Levite sons of Kohath only carry them.

Are we talking here about defining our “calling?” Each of us has a job, and all these jobs work together the betterment of the community.

The alternative is chaos. Or so we are led to believe.

“...so they should live and not die, when they approach the Holy of Holies. Aaron and his sons shall first come and appoint each man individually to his task and his load.” —Numbers 4:19

Are we seeing here the beginning of a very civilized society?

Are some things are so special that people will die if they see them? “They shall not come in to see when the holy [vessels] are being wrapped up, lest they die.” —Numbers 4:20

We saw with Aaron's other sons lose their lives because they did the wrong thing in the temple. This is a serious matter, what we do and don't do in our lives. Life can not be taken lightly. The community depends on you as an essential cog in the wheel.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for commenting. One cannot study the Torah alone.