- Harlem Shabbat Sing - June 6th
- Under the Bridge - June 19th
- High Holydays - Awakening Spirit. Awakening Soul.
Parashat Naso
Numbers 4:21-7:89
If you are in a rush, just scroll down and read the "stuff" in bold.
This Torah portion has got it all: Counting - Jealousy - Bitter Waters - Priestly Blessing - Nazarites - 12 Days of Dedication...
W - H - A - T??? I have read, re-read and read it again finding myself more confused and frankly more frustrated each time. This is one of those Torah portions, one of those weeks where I seem to have a lot less understanding and a lot less tolerance for the events in the Torah. I seem to have a lot less patience for making excuses for the time in which these events took place. "It" just doesn't make ANY sense. None of "it" makes any sense.
Maybe you can figure it out.
The Torah portion opens with God instructing Moshe to "take a census", a counting of many different groups of Israelites. Men, thirty to fifty years old get counted according to to their family/their tribe, and each group is assigned a special task in association with the Mishkan - the tabernacle (the moveable ark that houses the tablets).
An example;
Chapter 4:
And then...
... there is a section on what happens to a wife who cheats on her husband OR, and this is what's really shocking - a husband who feels jealous even if his wife hasn't cheated on him.
She is brought before the Kohen and forced to drink "bitter waters" (no idea what this is - bleach? Vinegar? Some kind of poison? And if she can stomach the toxic beverage then she is in the clear. If she cannot, which I doubt there was a woman who could, "the curse bearing waters shall enter her to become bitter and her belly will swell and her thigh will rupture. And she shall be a curse among her people." (5:27) Oh, the woman is supposed to say "Amen, amen" after drinking the "bitter waters".
W - H - A - T????? This is absurd, even for the Torah and frankly, it's completely abusive.
Did our ancestors really do this? Did God really command this practice? And THEN...
...God gives the instructions for a man who volunteers to become a Nazir. As far as I can tell, this is a man who dedicates his service to God and takes a vow to live a life very similar to modern day Priests.
W - H - A - T??? This seems absurd, even for the Torah (although I don't think it qualifies as abusive. It's a man's choice. Hence the smaller font. And THEN...
...God commands Moshe to bless the people with the following blessing - known as the Priestly Blessing, Birkat Kohaniim (this is the same blessing offered to B'nai Mitzvah, to couples under the chuppah/wedding canopy, and to the entire community in some synagogues every Shabbat morning).
It goes like this:
May God bless you and keep you.
May God's face be revealed to you and be gracious.
May God's face turn towards you and give you peace.
W - H - A - T??? This does not seem to fit with what preceded or what follows. The parasha closes with a detailed description of 12 days of dedicating the Mishkan via 12 different families offering 12 different kinds of sacrifices.
This Torah portion moves from harshness to tenderness to unreasonableness without pause and seemingly without any difficulty. God moves from one mode and mood to another effortlessly. At least that's how the text reads.
Remember, back in the beginning I wrote, "I have read, re-read and read it again finding myself more confused and frankly more frustrated each time."
When I get stuck, which happens quite a bit, I let the content linger. I don't let it weigh heavy but I don't dismiss it or push it aside. I find something that calls out to me and focus on that for the coming Shabbat. I am optimistic that at another time the pieces that don't make any sense will eventually have an impact. Thank goodness, we read the Torah every year.
So this week, I am choosing to focus on the Priestly Blessing, Birkat Kohaniim. I want this to be true. I want to believe that God's face is shining on me, being revealed and being gracious. I want to believe that God is turning towards me and with that turning, with that revealing, peace is the result.
I want to believe this and I do believe this happens often. God's face is reflected in the face of every human being. God's face is revealed in the face of every human being. God's face is turning towards me, turning towards you every time another human being turns his/her face towards me/towards you. Every human being holds God's face in his/her face. Which means, "IT's" ALL in our hands. We decide how God's face will be revealed. We decide when we reveal with grace. We determine when there will be peace (which incidentally is also connected to the word "shalem" - fullness/wholeness).
Mekor Ha'chayiim, Source of Life, as we move into Shabbat may we choose grace. May we choose to reveal God's face (often) through kindness, through compassion and through love. And may the result be peace and wholeness.
Shabbat shalom u'mevorach,
Laurie
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