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 […]
Posts with the Numbers tag
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: SHELACH (NUMBERS 13:1-15:41)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant In last week’s Torah parsha, Behaalotecha, we read about the Israelites turbulent saga of disillusionment with their way of life in the desert. This week’s parsha, Shelach, takes a new and momentarily promising turn with a look towards the future. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Send out […]
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: BEHAALOTECHA (NUMBERS 8:1-12:16)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant Shortly after a year after being rescued from Egypt, this week’s Torah parsha, Behaalotecha, provides a glimpse into Moses’ psyche, as well as the state of mind of the Israelites. The Children of Israel have just learned, via God’s instructions to Moses, that they will soon be leaving […]
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: NASO (NUMBERS 4:21-7:89)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant This week’s Torah parsha, Naso, begins with a continuation of last week’s parsha, Bamidbar, completing the census of the Children of Israel and assigning the intricate details of the tasks to be performed by each individual tribe in the transporting of the Tabernacle. With 176 verses, Naso is […]
A ‘Bissel’ of Torah: BAMIDBAR (NUMBERS 1:1-4:20)
By Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant Last week, we concluded the reading of the Book of Leviticus with the reading of parsha Bechukotai. This week, we begin the Book of Numbers with plans to dismantle the Tabernacle and to rebuild it further into the wilderness. In the second year of the Exodus, God spoke […]