Recap for 2 Sivan 5773 (Parsha Bamidbar)

This Shabbos, David S led a discussion of this week’s parsha Bamidbar, which begins the book of Numbers.  The Jews conducted a census, but it was different from the census we normally conduct in this country every ten years.  David W pointed out the purpose of the census, which was to determine our preparation to go to war and acquire the land of Canaan.  The Jews counted the number of male Jews age 20 or older who would be fit for battle.  The Levites were also counted, although members of this tribe would only be used for temple service.

We discussed the Torah prohibition against counting Jews, which is why the census had to be conducted by counting coins, rather than people.  This is also relevant today when counting things such as minyans.   We must find another way to determine how many are present.  One way this can be done is to visual determine whether there are 2 groups of 3 and a group of 4, without actually counting.

In the Parsha, there is also a description of how the Jews were organized by tribe.  Each tribe corresponds to one of the children of Jacob, who is also known as Israel.  A person’s tribe always depends on one’s father. To this very day, there are Jews who are a Levy and know this because their father is a Levy.  Alex asked an interesting question as to what would happen if a woman married a man who was non-Jewish or whose tribe could not be determine.  The children would definitely be Jewish, but to which tribe would they belong?  This must have created an interesting problem back then.

Elli brought up some interesting questions about how Hashem relates to us, and what is Hashem’s “mood” when he deals with us.  We discussed how Hashem does not need us to follow his commandments, but wants us to follow them because he loves and cares about us.  We discussed how Hashem uses reward and punishment, not so that we modify our behavior in a way that serves him, but modify our behavior in a way that is in our own interest and well being.  We discussed how this is similar to how we should raise our children.

David S led a discussion of how we do the yearly cycle of reading the entire Torah.  Every week, we read the Torah on Shabbos, Monday and Thursday.  David W pointed out that we read on Monday and Thursday because historically these were the days the Jews would be conducting business, and it was important that they did so in an ethical manner. The Torah puts a lot of emphasis on conducting business ethically. We discussed some of the airline and hotel companies today that do a good job at this, and others that do not.

On Shabbos there are 7 aliyahs, which are calling ups to the Torah.   Historically each person called up would read from the Torah, but today there may just be just one actual reader and the aliyah will consist of just reading the blessings and helping the Torah reader.  In Orthodox shuls, the entire Torah is completed once per year on Simchat Torah.  It is customary to give the first aliyah to a Cohen, and the second aliyah to a Levite.  Sometimes it is hard to determine who should get the third aliyah.  Ellie pointed out that in psychology what we remember most are the first and last aliyahs, so maybe getting the third aliyah should not be as important after all.  We discussed how it is ok for children, even if they are less than Barmitzvah age to do an aliyah.  We also discussed how in ancient times only the Torah was written in Hebrew.  Aramaic was the language that Jews would normally use.

Finally, we discussed what happens if the community misses a Torah reading, perhaps because of a storm or some other unexpected event.  In this case, there is to be a double reading when the community can next get together.  If someone is ill and misses a reading, they do not have to make it up.  There are differences between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews.  We inherit the traditions of our father.  When getting married, a woman inherits the traditions of her husband.

This is a summary of what we discussed this past Shabbos.  No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.