D'var for Bamidbar

Chazak Chazak v’Nitchazek! We have finished the book of Leviticus and are beginning the book of Numbers! In Parshat Bamidbar, we get a lot of the logistics of living in the desert. God tells Moses to take a census of Israelite men aged 20 and up so as to form an army. The census finds the population of each of the 12 tribes. The Levites don’t participate in the army as they take care of the Tabernacle. The setup for where the Israelites will encamp by tribe surrounding the Tabernacle is laid out. More logistics and censuses are laid out by God, and Moses and Aaron do as they are told.

D'var for Behar-Bechukotai

This week is a double parsha, Behar-Bechukotai. In Parshat Behar, God lays out the laws concerning the Sabbatical and Jubilee years. The land is given it’s own Shabbat, once every seven years for the whole year. People would not work with the land that year, but could eat what the land produced on its own. To accommodate this, God promises enough food in the sixth year to store for the seventh. Every 50 years was the Jubilee year. During the Jubilee year, land was returned to the people whose ancestors had owned it. More laws concerning property follow this.

In Bechukotai, God lists blessings for if the people follow God’s laws and punishments for if they do not, as well as other laws.

D'var for Emor

In this week’s parsha, Parshat Emor, God tells moses to tell the priests about the laws that they will have to follow, such as forbidding them from coming into contact with a dead body, excluding specific close relatives, (the High Priest couldn’t come into contact with any dead bodies at all,) forbidding shaving any part of their beards, who the priest could and couldn’t share the meat of sacrifices with, and others. Important parts of the Jewish calendar are layed out, including the holidays of Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanna, Yom Kippor, and Sukkot. The parshah ends with a story of a man who said God’s name in blasphemy, breaking one of the ten commandments. God declares that this man and anyone else blasphemed God would be put to death.

D'var for Achrei-Mot-Kedoshim

Looks like I forgot to do this last week. (A shame because last week’s double parsha, Tazria and Metzora are about diseases, very applicable to today.) Anyway, this week's double parshiot, Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, focuses on various other laws. In Acharei Mot, God explains the sacrificial rituals of Yom Kippur, such as the tradition of the two goats, one which is sacrificed, and the other sent into the wilderness. The parsha then describes what is now referred to as the “Holiness Code.” Oxen, sheep, or goats meant for sacrificing may not be slaughtered without being brought to the Tabernacle as an offering. Other laws described include being forbidden from consuming blood, forbidding various types of relationships. In Kedoshim, more laws are stated, and the 10 Commandments are repeated.