Month: July 2016

Count Off – Parshat Pinchas 5776

Eve PosenLeave a comment

Count Off

When I worked in the day school world and we’d take the kids on a field trip, we had to keep track of the group throughout each portion of the excursion. That meant taking attendance about 100 times (at least it felt like that many). We’d check to see if we were all there when we got on the bus, when we arrived at a destination, and then when we got back on the bus (and in the evening and morning for overnight trips). It felt like I was constantly counting little heads. The counting was both to reassure me that all kids were accounted for, but also meant that the kids were responsible to each other for being on time for the count because no one liked having to count off multiple times.

The act of taking attendance is even a Torah commandment. This week we read parshat Pinchas. We begin with the story of Pinchas (identified as Aaron’s grandson) and the extreme action he took against those who defied the prohibition of idolatry. Then we move to the daughters of Zelophechad (Joseph’s great-great-great-grandson), who want to inherit land after their father’s death because he had no sons. Then Joshua is appointed Moshe’s successor, and we end with the sacrifices we are to make for Rosh Hodesh and the holidays.

Chapter 26 begins with a census of the Israelite nation. The book of Bamidbar (Numbers) itself also begins with a census, so it seems a bit strange to be engaging in another counting of the people when their location hasn’t changed. This census appears to come as the generation that left Egypt is dying out, thus its purpose is to learn about the land requirements of each clan and tribe. But more than that, according to Rashi, the situation is “Like a shepherd numbering his flock after wolves have attacked it.” In other words, after the mistrust and general bad behavior that had marred the fledgling nation, God is simply retooling, recounting the Israelites to see how many are left.

God is reminding us that, census or not, our responsibility is to look out for one another. Roll calls in general work this way. They help identify who is present and who is missing, but they also help a community gauge the state of its members. When we don’t see a familiar face we usually see, it signals us to follow up and check in on that friend. And as members of a community, counting each other is a way of counting on each other.

Laundry List – Parshat Balak 5776

Eve PosenLeave a comment

Laundry List

I can’t let things pile up. The first drafts of my High Holy Day sermons were done this spring. When I get home after a trip, I unpack immediately. I do laundry before the hamper is stuffed to overflowing. I don’t wait until the challah is finished baking before I start washing the measuring cups. If you know me, you know this is not to brag about any organizational skills. Rather, it’s about knowing myself well enough to know I don’t do well under pressure, and the fear of that stress keeps me checking things off the list before the list becomes unmanageable.

There’s a message in this week’s parshah about overwhelming tasks, but it usually takes a back seat to the more, shall we say, whimsical elements. This week we read a narrative filled with opportunities to do the right or wrong action and say the right or wrong words. Yes, you’re remembering correctly, this is the parshah with the talking donkey. Parshat Balak is the story of Balak, son of Tzipur and king of Moav, who solicits Balam the “prophet” to curse the children of Israel. God allows Balam to go to the land of Moav, but only if he will speak what God tells him to say.

On the way there, Balam finds himself frustrated with his donkey, which refuses to move. As it turns out, the donkey sees an angel of God in the road. The donkey can see the angel; Balam cannot. So Balam gets angry at his stubborn animal and beats the donkey. The donkey acts out, and ultimately rebuke is received.

As Balak is trying to get Balam to curse the nation, he says to him, “Come with me to another place from which you can see them – you will only see a portion of them; you will not see all of them.” One interpretation of this passage suggests that Balak knows how intimidating the entire Israelite nation would be, so he tries to help Balam see them piecemeal.

The Kotzker Rebbe, the great Polish Talmudic scholar, teaches that ordinary people combine to create extraordinary communities – sites of holiness and charity. The Jewish people, perhaps ordinary as individuals, are perceived by other religions and cultures to be extraordinary based on our commitment to each other, to doing good, and to healing our world. That perception is perpetuated today not because of our numbers (we are a minority by far), but because as a whole we are committed to the same ideals. May we continue to see ourselves as greater than the sum of our parts, and may that always lead us to strengthening our world by letting goodness and mercy shine from our hearts.

Heart and Soul – Parshat Chukat 5776

Eve PosenLeave a comment

Heart and Soul

As my dad wrote to me after I began my first year of rabbinical school:

You have to know that my love is unending whether I am physically present or in God’s hands.   You don’t have to be scared for me – this is our expression of faith. You don’t have to be scared for you – the material is easier or harder but you will find ways to reach your goals. Let us all learn to spend our time and our conversations expressing our love, respect, admiration and remember that we are indeed betzelem Elohim, created in God’s image. I will always be in your “inbox” and if the words are the same or similar it is because we always try to reduce all we know and feel into these funny bullets (hearts). The down side – it isn’t just a 45 minute ride to give you a hug.

This was an email in which my dad laid out what he hoped would be his legacy to me: a willingness to face fears and a determination to reach goals. He wanted me to know that who I am is largely because of where I came from and because I learned and grew in a house with values that shaped me.

Our parshah this week, parshat Chukat, is full of plot twists and new experiences for the Israelites. The lands of Sichon and Og are conquered, both Miriam and Aaron die, and we learn that Moshe will not be allowed to enter into the land of Israel. When Miriam dies, we are given one more water miracle on her behalf, with water flowing from the rock. We also learn that the reason Moshe and Aaron are not allowed to enter the land of Israel is because of the incident in which they struck the rock out of frustration instead of speaking to it as God had commanded. The text concludes with praise and thanks sung to God for the water of the well.

As Aaron dies, the text in chapter 20, verse 24 reads, “Let Aaron be gathered to his kin: he is not to enter the land that I have assigned the Israelite people, because he disobeyed my command about the waters of Meribah.” What does it mean that Aaron was “gathered to his kin”? Perhaps it’s suggesting that Aaron’s good qualities “enter” and be gathered into the souls of the living who knew him. Perhaps gathering to his people means being brought in so as they are forever a part of the lives of those who continue to love him and remember him after he is gone.

Like my father’s email to me, the Torah teaches us that the inherited qualities and shared love that came from those before us are always a piece of us. When we lose a loved one, we lose their physical presence, but not the unending guidance and love in our lives. Our job, like the Israelites with Aaron, is to carry on those lessons.