By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant This week, we read a double Parshiot (MATOT-MASSEI), which consolidate to comprise the finale of the Book of NUMBERS. The contents of these Parshiot are remarkable for the discontinuity of the narrative, the paradoxical elements of God’s commandments and seemingly incoherent directives and laws. The first of the Parshiot […]
Posts with the Numbers tag
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: PINCHAS (NUMBERS 25:10-30:1)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant Last week’s Torah Parsha (BALAK) was somewhat fanciful and surreal; ending in tragedy, when thousands of Israelites lost their lives as a consequence of being lured into illicit relations with the Moabite women. Parsha (PINCHAS) transitions to more serious themes which include not just a diverse set of narratives; […]
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: BALAK (NUMBERS 22:2-25:9)
Parsha (BALAK) begins with the Israelites continuing their journey to Canaan. They have already defeated their enemies in many nations and have settled their next encampment on the border of Moab. Based on the victories the Israelites had achieved in other nations, Balak, the King of Moab, was justified in his fears and anxieties. He […]
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: CHUKAT (NUMBERS 19:1-22:1)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant In an almost imperceptible yet seismic shift, this week’s Torah Parsha (CHUKAT) jumps several decades ahead in the journey of the Israelites and its narrative reads like a riddle inside a riddle. The Torah Parsha begins: “This is the statute of the Torah which the Lord commanded…”(1), and proceeds […]
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: KORACH (NUMBERS 16:1-18:32)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant In last week’s Torah Parsha (SHELACH), twelve ‘spies’, after scouting the land of Canaan for forty days, returned with a blatantly exaggerated falsehood pertaining to the strength and size of the inhabitants. With the exception of Joshua and Caleb, the other ten men rejected the assumption that the people […]