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A Lesson of Priorities

Parashat Mattot: Numbers 30:2[1]-32:42

Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. (Numbers 32:1)

When we read the first verse of Numbers 32 in English it seems pretty normal. It tells us how the lush pasturelands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for the large number of cattle owned by the tribes of Reuben and Gad. If we look at the Hebrew behind the first verse, however, we will find a much more dynamic description of what is taking place. Once we discover this we will learn a valuable lesson in priorities.

In Hebrew, this verse should initially get our attention because it both begins and ends with the same word: mikneh, or "cattle/livestock." It also contains word repetitions and several emphasis words, such as rav (great), atzum (vast/numerous), and meod (exceedingly/much). If we were to try and translate this verse awkwardly into English to retain the emphases of the Hebrew, it might sound something like this:

Cattle-abundant-had the children of Reuben and the children of Gad-great and vast amounts- and behold, they saw that the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead-that place-was a place for cattle.

The Torah has a wealth of knowledge to offer on the mere surface level. Often, however, it desires to teach us a deeper lesson that we are not able to perceive through our translations without assistance. Sometimes there is a lesson waiting to be learned just below the surface of the text if we will take the time to unearth it. After all, it is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings to search it out.

The Bulls of Our Lips

Parashat Pinchas (Numbers 25:10-30:1)

This week's portion covers a variety of topics: the reward of Pinchas, a new census of the Israelites, a case of inheritance in regard to the daughters of Zelophehad, the succession of Joshua, and then the next two chapters is a series of laws regulating the types of offerings that were to be brought to the Holy Temple for various occasions. This last section is what I would like to draw our attention to.

It begins by describing the tamid (continual) offerings-two lambs every morning and late afternoon-that were offered up as whole burnt offerings in the Holy Temple every single day. God considered these daily offerings very special. In these passages He let's us know that He desires them at specific times of the day, instructing the Children of Israel about them saying, "you shall be careful to offer to me at its appointed time" (28:2). He said they are "my offering, my food for my food offerings, my pleasing aroma." He considered them personal gifts from the Children of Israel that He received twice daily, three hundred and sixty-five days a year.

Today, however, the Holy Temple does not stand in Jerusalem. Only its ruins remain. These offerings that are dear to the LORD can no longer be offered. So what can we do to ensure we are bringing to God what He has asked each day? With the destruction of the first Temple during the Babylon exile, the Jewish people had this same dilemma. How were they supposed to continue giving to God what He required without a Temple? Fortunately, they came up with a solution. The sages looked into the Scriptures and realized that God had already provided them an answer. Nearly two hundred years before, the prophet Hosea had written these words:

Take with you words, and turn to the LORD; say unto Him, "Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously, so will we offer the calves of our lips." (Hosea 14:2)

Looking for Loopholes

Parashat Balak - Numbers 22:2-25:9

The portion of Balak is filled with supernatural interactions between God and a Gentile prophet by the name of Balaam. From our portion, Balaam appears to have been renowned for his spiritual acumen, and seems to have a close relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yet in the end we find that he is dead set on destroying the Children of Israel. How did this come about? Let's take a brief look at Balaam's mistake.

When Balak's men came to Balaam and asked him to curse Israel, he realized that his services would fetch a large sum of money. He only had one problem. He couldn't speak anything more than what God would allow him:

"Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God to do less or more" (Num. 22:18).

How would he be able to bring a curse upon Israel? The sages tell us, however, that this was a mixture of truth and a lie. Truth, in that Balaam was indeed limited by what God allowed him to speak. But also a lie, in that his answer masked the greed hidden in Balaam's heart. Balaam's Achilles' heel was his evil eye-greed-as it is said:

The evil eye, the evil desire and hatred of his fellow creatures put a man out of the world (Avot 2:16)

How do we know this? Not only does Rashi and other ancient commentators mention this, but we also have the Apostolic testimony:

They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing (2 Peter 2:15)

Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. (Jude 11)

Divine Reversals

Parashat Chukat (Numbers 19:1-22:1)

This week's Torah portion contains one of the least understood passages in all of the Scriptures. In the beginning of our portion we have the instructions for the parah adumah—the red heifer—whose ashes are mixed with water to create the singular source of ritual purity for specific conditions described within the Torah. For example, it is only by the water mixed with the ashes of the red heifer that corpse contamination could be negated.

One of the mysteries about the red heifer is how purification through its ashes works. The cow is burnt completely along with cedar wood, hyssop and crimson wool. Then the ashes are gathered up and a small amount is mixed with a large volume of water. Now, by sprinkling this mixture on someone who is considered to have contracted the highest level of ritual impurity, it somehow has the power to transform the status of that person. How does it work? No one knows. That is why this ritual is called a chok, a decree or ordinance. It is a command that seems to make no sense to our human minds.

More puzzling, however, is the question of how coming into contact with these ashes makes a ritually pure person become impure. Everyone who comes in contact with the ashes—the priest who oversees the burning, the one who burned the animal, and the one who collects the ashes—becomes impure. This defies human reasoning. And yet the solution to the problem of one who has become defiled through the ashes of the red heifer is an immersion in water. Water, therefore, is a common denominator in transmitting ritual purity. However, we have an example of when water can be the opposite. It can also be a source of ritual impurity:

Latest Book Review

The Koren Ani Tefilla Siddur

The Magerman Edition

Author: Daniel Rose & Jay Goldmintz

Publisher: Koren Publishers

Year: 2014

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