Parshat Chukat, 4rd Portion, (Numbers 20:14-21), 7/13/2016

Edom Refuses Passage
14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: 15 how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. 16 And when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. 17 Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” 18 But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” 19 And the people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” 20 But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him.

So we tell our sad story and we say we’ll be good and we won’t stray, that we’ll just pass right through your land and we’ll pay for any water we use. And yet there is no mercy for the Israelites. Sometimes our path is easy, and sometimes it is difficult. Sometimes we beg and get what we want, and other times we do not. God helped the Israelites get out of Egypt (and one might ask why an all powerful God needed ten plagues to accomplish the escape). But life is hard and God is not making it easier.

We learn from this that we do meet obstacles. Mighty obstacles. Undeserved obstacles. What should be a short journey becomes a long journey? Sounds like I’m talking about life. What is the point of all this? Some people can’t take it and others thrive on challenges. Hopefully we learn from these difficult times. We grow up... or at least we try.

If we think of the Israelites as chosen people, we have to ask if their God is simply sadistic, making this journey so difficult. I think not. We are more our own people. We dug our own grave so to speak.

My friend N said that God punishes people for being human. Like killing Aaron’s sons because they were a little zealous, or not letting Moses into the promised land because he was a little zealous, or not letting the Israelites take the most direct path (because they are a little zealous).

Really, this is not God with puppet strings doing all this. If that were so, we’d quickly have to condemn him/her for creating such undeserved atrocities, from exemplary people having debilitating illnesses to millions of people being slaughtered by ruthless dictators.

Actually I’m starting to read the Torah to suggest that we aren’t “punished.” Rather life is full of trials and tribulations... we have breaks every once in a while, but it ain’t easy. Moses doesn’t get to the promised land because that is what happens in life. We don’t get there. Maybe our children get a little closer than we did. But in the end, we are Sisyphus, pushing the boulder up just to see it come down. All we can do is pluck the strawberry and enjoy it when we can.

Parshat Chukat, 3nd Portion, (Numbers 20:7-13), 7/12/2016

Sometimes we do what to us is a little thing, but to someone else, it is big.

God tells Moses to speak to the rock to bring forth water. Instead, Moses hits the rock with his rod and it spewed water. The result was good, but does the end justify the means? Apparently not, when the means is to disobey God. Saul Alinsky said, “If the end does not justify the means, what does?" 

It seems like it is the feminine side of God to tell Moses to speak to the rock. Speaking is hard for Moses. And he wanted to show his power (his rod) to his congregation.

The punishment for such an act is that Moses is told that he won't get to go to the Holy Land. This is his lifelong ambition. This is the task given to him by God, and now taken away. 

It was the gentle God that told Moses to speak to the rock. It is the mother who speaks to the child. It is the father that uses the rod. Moses was not ready to go to the promised land, because the Jews needed mercy as well as justice. God asked him to display mercy and gentleness toward the rock. Instead, he hit it. 

Parshat Chukat, 2nd Portion, (Numbers 19:18-20:6), 7/11/2016

We hear more in this portion about the procedure for the unclean to become clean. Some times it is an offering, sometimes waiting until evening, and sometimes both. In the Talmud there is quite a bit on the degrees of uncleanliness which deals with the effect of one unclean person or object touching or being in the room with another.

I’m forever curious about the reason for living with such laws. Does it improve our quality of life? Does it make the world a better place? Does it reduce suffering?

One positive aspect to the system is that it might encourage mindfulness. You might become very careful when you walking into a room lest their be a corpse there that would make you unclean.

Starting with Numbers, Chapter 20, we find that Miriam, the oldest sibling of Aaron and Moses, dies. She was a prophetess, and predicted as a child that her mother would give birth to the man who would free the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.

Then the people quarreled with Moses telling him that they wish they had died because now they are dying for they have no water.

Moses and Aaron, not knowing what to do, fell on their faces. Then “the glory of the Lord appeared to them.”

Parshat Chukat, 1st Portion, (Numbers 19:1-17), 7/10/2016

The Lord tell Moses and Aaron to get a perfectly red cow with no blemishes. This cow has probably never existed, nor will it ever exist. If it has two black hairs, it will be disqualified... and if it ever had a yoke, it will be disqualified. Some say that such an animal was born in 1997 in Israel, and that it is rumored that this is a sign that a messiah will come after it is born. Though a few Jews believe that the messiah has come, I haven’t heard of one coming since 1989.

The rest of this portion is about how the red cow (heifer) is a key part of the burnt offerings to purify ourselves were we in the midst of a corpse, had a seminal emission, experienced a menstrual flow, or afflicted with tzara’ath (disfiguring of the skin). 

The Lord sets a high bar defining a procedure for cleanliness—a bar so high that it is practically impossible. 

I see two reasons why the Lord might do that. First, if there were a perfect red cow then that would be another idol like the golden calf that the Israelites made in the desert when Moses didn’t return on time from getting the commandments from the Lord. Second, making a process impossible suggests that it is not completing the task that is important, but rather doing our best to try. 

“He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say: It is not upon you to complete the task, but you are not free to idle from it. If you have learned much Torah, you will be given much reward. And faithful is your Employer that He will reward you for your labor. And know that the reward of the righteous will be in the World to Come.” One of our rabbis in Austin used this below his signature on emails. 

Parshat Korach, 7th Portion, (Numbers 18:21-18:20), 7/9/2016

The inheritance for the Levis is that they get a tithe from the other Israelites for their service in the temple. From that, they give a proportion to Aaron, the priest/Cohen, who is in charge.

What is given is called Terumah, which means parsha. This is also the name of a particular part of the Torah (Exodus 25:1-27:19). It is also the name for the weekly parts of the Torah.

The Torah is the offering from God to Moses. The study of the Torah replaced the offerings after the destruction of the second temple. The priests were replaced by rabbis. The study and living of the Torah became the practice of Judaism.

Interesting how we give money to the temple, and the temple gives money to the rabbis. It is a parallel relationship where the Levis gave to the Cohens.

In the same way, we don't pay teachers directly, but rather pay money to the schools (or further removed, pay taxes in the case of public schools). I suppose there is some advantage here, because the teachers/priest have a certain freedom not being employees of the people. The degree of separation sounds healthy.

Different systems of taxation have different advantages and disadvantages. One could defend the idea that everyone give a fixed amount because the services that are delivered might be similar. Or one could defend the idea that the wealthy pay a larger percentage since they have so much money. Hence we have Bernie Sanders who wants to reduce the income gap or Donald Trump who doesn't see the income gap as a problem.

I understand that tithing is not to be confused with generosity. It is not a gift. Rather, it is an obligation. Giving is what is done beyond tithing. It is extra.

Parshat Korach, 6th Portion, (Numbers 17:25-18:20), 7/8/2016

The staff is placed in front of the tent to remind the rebellious ones of what happens when they lose faith.

What is faith? It allows us to walk down the street without the fear that the ground may crumble beneath us.

It allows us to completely and throughly trust another human being. This is completely irrational, yet without it, we cannot have a relationship. The opposite of faith is always being cautious that something bad will happen. When we don’t have faith, we believe that the sky will fall.

We read here about the responsibility and rewards of being a kehunah (Cohen). These priests should get offerings, but will not own or inherit land. This seems to be a good way to prevent the priests from straying from their job. They have to serve their people well to be fed. They will only acquire what is given to them day-by-day.

In a Buddhist temple, the ceremonial robes belong to the temple. The monks own a needle, a robe, and a begging bowl. That’s it. And they can’t store food. If they get too much for one meal, they have to share it.

This, as well, keeps the monks on their toes.

Parshat Korach, 5th Portion, (Numbers 17:16-24), 7/7/2016

We speak of the importance of the first 100 days of a president’s term in office. There is not time to linger when change is desired. Another revolution might ensue.

Staffs are obtained from the houses of each of the chieftains. Aaron’s name is on the staff for Levi house. It is also the kehunah (Cohen) house, but the Lord counts them as one.

God tells them to place the staffs at the Tent of Meeting. One of the staffs will blossom, and that will be the man God chooses. The Lord says he will calm down from the complaining when that happens.

Aaron’s staff blossomed fresh almonds, which are the fastest growing fruit. Again, there is no time to waste. Funny that people only believe miracles. And the miracles need to be magic. The Lord appears to many through miracles. I think either everything is a miracle, or that it is the ordinary where God shines brightest.

At the end of this portion, Moses takes each of these staffs and gave them back to the tribes. Did he give them back their manhood? Besides the phallus quality of a staff, it also makes the leaders taller than their followers.

Parshat Korach, 4th Portion, (Numbers 17:9-15), 7/6/2016

Yesterday the Lord “created a creation”... a opening in the Earth that buried all the Korah’s supporters.

Then the entire congregation complained to Moses and Aaron, complaining that they had “the killed the people of the Lord.”

I thought that was an interesting phrase. They were those without faith, so why were they “of the lord.” I suppose they were “the people” because they had been “chosen.”

In today’s portion, the Lord consumes those with a plague who complained that the complainers were devoured by the Earth. Aaron runs in the midst of the assembly with some incense and he atoned for them. Soon the plague stopped, but not before 2000+ were killed.

My reading of all this is thus: God doesn’t really cause harm on specific people. We cause harm on ourselves when we don’t have faith. When we want the world to be different than it is, disappointment and unhappiness set in. The plague is dissatisfaction.

The incense that Aaron ran with to stop the plague was his way of connecting to/appeal to God... but really, since I don’t believe in something that messes with nature, I think of the incense as Aaron’s way of showing that they will be taken care of by a merciful God, as opposed to the vengeful or just God who caused the plague to those who didn’t understand the importance of faith.

Parshat Korach, 3rd Portion, (Numbers 16:19-17:18), 7/5/2016

Numbers 16:21. “Dissociate yourselves from this congregation, and I will consume them in an instant.

22. They fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, if one man sins, shall You be angry with the whole congregation?”

I’m not sure if only one man sinned. The others followed Korah in his revolt against Moses. What is the lesson here? That you should not complain? That you should trust someone who says that they talk to God? That you should not revolt against the status quo?

Perhaps this is about faith. The followers of Korah had no faith. They only looked at their material wealth and complained because they wanted more. I think it is appropriate that the earth swallowed them up... a burial. The earth could represent material possessions, while the sky represents the spiritual realm.

Parshat Korach, 2nd Portion, (Numbers 16:14-19), 7/4/2016

In Exodus 3:8, God tells Moses, 8 “I have descended to rescue them from the hand[s] of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land, to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites.”

And now, out of Egypt, they continue to complain to Moses, “You have not even brought us to a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Even if you gouge out the eyes of those men, we will not go up.” (Numbers, Chapter 16:14)

Promises are tricky. We sometimes use promises to take a person to the next step in their journey. We don’t tell the whole story. We just tell enough to get a person to the next place in their journey. The entire story would be TMI (too much information).

But sometimes we pay for it, and the people remember what was said, and they revolt. They lack faith that they will find the land of plenty. Moses is distressed, which Rashi says is more grieved than angry. Though Moses tells the Lord that he has not harmed any of them, nor has he taken their donkeys, it seems that Moses knows that they are not happy.

It appears as well that Moses doesn’t know what lies ahead.

Parshat Korach, 1st Portion, (Numbers 16:1-13), 7/3/2016

“Is it not enough that you have brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert, that you should also exercise authority over us?” (Numbers 16-13)

Between the efforts of Moses and God, the Israelites had received their freedom. Yet they are complaining because they remember the benefits of Egypt but not that they were slaves. It reminds me what a dean used to say to us, “Careful what you wish for.”

Having gratitude is more a state of mind than the result of being the recipient of milk and honey. Some people have all they wished for and complain. And others have nothing and are happy.

They didn’t complain when Moses led them out of Egypt. But when they didn’t immediately go to the promised land, they were bitter. They questioned his leadership because they didn’t get what they wanted.

Giving people what they need and what they want are very different. The people were immature and only believed in God and Moses as long as they were getting what they wanted. The lesson here it is when things aren’t peachy when faith is tested... When the wheel hits the road, so to speak.

Moses’ authority came from God. When they question Moses, they really are questioning God.

As the Israelites mature, they hopefully will believe in God and follow Moses even when faced with obstacles and hardships.

Parshat Shelach, 7th portion, (Numbers 15:27-41), 7/2/2016

This portion starts with those individuals who sin inadvertently (by worshipping idols) and soon moves to those individuals who act highhandedly (intentionally).

One could say that not following commandments could either be by the community or by the individual. And they could be either intentional (highhanded in this parshat) or inadvertent.

When wrong is done, we can define the action in one of the four quadrants: 

We use such excuses as “I dropped the ball” to indicate that it was inadvertent. Or “everyone is doing it.”

We only take responsibility when it is individual and highhanded. And that is rare, from out own vantage point.

Actually we are all responsible. We don’t have to go along with the crowd. The crowd gossips. Do we need to gossip? The crowd doesn’t give first to God. Do we need to follow their action?

But what about mistakes? They fall in a continuum from completely unavoidable to avoidable. A brain surgeon goes drinking the night before a surgery and isn’t at his best. That is unavoidable. It is hard to think of a mistake that was not avoidable. If it was an act of God, like my house was taken by a tornado, and therefore I lost your papers… well, assuming that the tornado wasn’t expected, and you didn’t live in tornado country… that was a hard one to avoid. You can only be so careful. Car manufactures try to make their cars safe, yet they know that to make it even safer will cost too much and people will not buy the car. So they say, “what we’ve done so far will save X lives, and if we do more will save X + Y lives. But we can’t afford to do more, so some people will have to die that we could have saved. Sorry.”

What is the community’s responsibility when an individual does wrong? Did they adequately instruct the individual? Did they meet the individual on equal ground? Did they pick the wrong individual for the job?

If we pick the wrong candidate for president, and they screw up… are they solely responsible?

If our neighbor kids goes postal, are we responsible?

Many claim that they’ve washed their hands.

One might say that in a community you cannot do that.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel said in The Prophets,  “Few are guilty, but all are responsible.”

Parshat Shelach, 6th portion, (Numbers 15:17-26), 7/1/2016

I haven’t done my Torah blog for over a year. I stopped because I didn’t know anything. I’ve been studying the Torah for a year now, and wouldn’t say I know much more… but I do feel up for trying.

In this Parshat, the Lord, speaking through Moses, tells what must be done should people err and not fulfill the commandment that must be met when getting to the promised land.

The commandment is that you should give your first loaf of bread as a gift to the Lord. We tend to give what is left over. We call that generosity. This isn’t generosity. It is being grateful. And because it is a commandment, it is not something that we have a choice about. An error would only occur if we had forgotten to do it… something we all do.

I don’t remember other places where failing to fulfill the commandments might be attributed to an error. Still, there are offerings that must be done should that breaking of a commandment occur. It is interesting that the possibility of not fulfilling the commandments could only be due to an error. Will the Israelites, upon reaching the promised land, be so grateful that they will only break commandments inadvertently?

In the end, after the offering, all will be forgiven. Do we have the God of mercy rather than the God of justice?

Do we only break commandments because of errors? According to Socrates, people only choose the good. If they don’t “do good” it is simply an error in judgement. They are not sinners. They are not bad. Is this the Torah’s teaching as well?

Parshat Shlach, 5th Portion (Numbers 15:8-15:16), June 12, 2014

“14. If a proselyte resides with you, or those among you in future generations, and he offers up a fire offering of pleasing fragrance to the Lord, as you make it, so shall he make it.

15. One rule applies to the assembly, for yourselves and for the proselyte who resides [with you]; one rule applies throughout your generations just as [it is] for you, so [it is] for the proselyte, before the Lord.

16. There shall be one law and one ordinance for you and the proselyte who resides [with you].”
—Numbers 15

There is conception that Jews don't proselytize. Apparently this came after the Torah when such activity was forbidden. My experience of Reform temples is that they are welcoming to all, so at least in that respect, they are in step with the Torah.

The Torah says that proselytes should be treated like those born into Judaism, and they shall follow the same rituals. In other words, there is to be no difference between the two groups.

This suggests to me we should treat all people equally whether they were born Jews or not, and they are required to follow the same laws. I continue to be bothered that the Torah here and in many other places separates Jews from other people (sometimes by not mentioning others). For example, if I said you should be nice to baseball players I'd be suggesting that there are some you don't need to be nice too. Otherwise, I could just say, be nice to everyone. I'm sure there were reasons for the division of Jew and non-Jew in the past, but also suspect that this separation has caused some of the Jew's plight.

Parshat Shlach, 4th Portion (Numbers 14:26-15:7), June 11, 2014

Lord says to Moses, “How much longer will this evil congregation who are causing to complain against Me [exist]? The complaints of the children of Israel which they caused them to complain against Me, I have heard.” —Numbers 14:27

I see G_d as something not separate from us, but rather a conceptual fiber that connects all things. Given that view, which is a pair of glasses that I created and then put on, the idea being so upset that A complains about B doesn't make a lot of sense. But what I do get from this is what happens when people don't have gratitude, and/or when they don't connect with a spirit greater than themselves. They become lost in their belief that the world is just created to serve them. They are unable to love and unable to give. And because of this, they lead miserable life and need to wander for 40 years in order that they can grow up.

“Your children shall wander in the desert for forty years and bear your defection until the last of your corpses has fallen in the desert.” —Numbers 14:33

And this is what happens when we judge the world in terms of how it fulfills our every whim:

“The Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived on the mountain came down and smote them and crushed them [pursuing them] until Hormah.” —Numbers 14:45