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Torah Commentary by Laura Weakley בה

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July 29, 2011

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“What The Torah Teaches Us About Survival” (vol. 1)

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This week’s Parashah:
Massei
Numbers Chapters 33:1 -36:13

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The past, present, and future are all intertwined. We know Adonai sees everything simultaneously. To us, it feels like time is both linear and circular. (If you are pausing at the word ‘circular’, think of the seasons, and the holidays.) Our parashah this week utilizes all three tenses, as though making my point for me! Okay, I took my cue from the Torah, not the other way around.
We don’t study in a void, as our experiences and knowledge play a role too. Our actions, words, and thoughts both cause, affect, and are affected by time. Our past, present, and future work together in tandem. When the goings-on in the world around us appear chaotic, we need to take a pause, gather our breath, meditate, pray, and then try to look at the bigger picture. Subtlety isn’t my strong suit, and I don’t know that I’d even want to try here. I hope all members of the U.S. Congress read what I have to say this week, and take it to heart. As usual, it seems by design that we study the Torah portion we do in order for us to learn what we need to, and that it is relevant to our world today. Hopefully too, we are smart enough and wise enough to apply what we learn.
Our parashah includes several lists this week. Remember, we are now reading about incorporating what we - as in the Israelites (I didn’t write this by mistake) - learned in our wanderings with how to set up our new country. Moses speaks to the group because what we are being taught involves all of us, and was written for all of us - both the living and those who were there. Moses begins with listing all of the places the Israelites had been and some notable events that occurred. Moses then moves on to why we are inheriting Canaan, the division of Canaan between the tribes, who will be the decision-maker of each family’s inheritance for each tribe, and the Levites’ portion, the cities of refuge, capital punishment laws, and returns to the inheritances to clarify the inheritance laws regarding daughters.
You are probably thinking, obviously laws of inheritance regard present, past, and future, and remembering where you’ve been is about the past. You might then pose this question: How does the apportionment of land for the Levites, cities of refuge, and laws regarding murder and their relationship to capital punishment fit into your time category, and why are you writing about how all of this connects to teach the U.S. Congress an important lesson right NOW, when they are dealing with the economy at this particular juncture?
Glad you asked! Moses both recorded and spoke to the public as a whole because societies, cities, countries, etc., don’t work if everyone doesn’t work together. We are each individually, and as a group, responsible for the smooth functioning of society. While Moses appointed people to represent larger groups, and discussed the division of the land, he made NO distinction between the rich and the poor, or anyone who lays in between. He taught us that everyone is responsible for taking care of each other’s well-being.
Every time I read the Torah, different items grab my attention. This time, it struck me how the cities for the Levites were to be surrounded by 1,000 cubits of land for farming and their animals’ grazing needs, followed by reading about the need to surround this amount of land with another 1,000 cubits of land to remain uncultivated. I started drawing circles, and making some computations. Each tribe within Canaan was to set aside roughly 20% of their land for the Levites. Remember, the Levites are Adonai’s representatives tasked with nurturing the growth of the Jewish people’s souls, administering the rites within the Temple, and teaching the Torah, thereby ensuring the nation’s future. The Levites were not allowed to own land, only to reside upon it, but the amount of land they were assigned was decided by Adonai.
If you draw out divisions of land according to this parashah, there are circles within circles, which lay within other circles, etc. What I mean is there are places designated for the earthly needs of those who are not allowed to own land, i.e. those who are tasked with seeing to our well-being - it is symbiotic; then there are places surrounding those community members whose mission is to serve Adonai by taking care of the group surrounded by land essentially set aside for Adonai. The land surrounding those Levite cities which are left uncultivated are the ones we truly say are set aside for Adonai. Of course, we also know now about the need for grass, trees, and plants, etc., for the ecosystem to work.
The cities of refuge fall under the jurisdiction of the Levites as well. They are to be set up for those who accidentally kill others. People who murder intentionally, or murder due to utilization of items, even fists, i.e. any means by which the person knew could potentially cause someone’s death, were not allowed to live in these cities of refuge. Those individuals who comprise the second group were to be put to death, and this was permissible by either the families of their victims, or by the courts. We see again the necessity to put a stop to all evil. In our parashah, we are told about the necessity to “wipe out” the evil societies occupying Canaan at the time, and then those amongst the Israelites who are evil themselves. This is not about killing outsiders, it is about the necessity of stopping evil wherever it rears its ugly head.
This parashah teaches us that as long as we see to the needs of all, take care of each other, and protect each other, things will go well for us. If, however, we do not make certain everyone is treated with respect, has a roof to cover each person, food to eat, clothes to wear, and is protected from harm, euphemistically speaking, society will fall apart. How many ancient cultures worldwide could I highlight where this happened?! I could go on at length about the parallels to what is happening in the modern world, but hopefully I have given the “powers that be” - the human ones, that is - enough to think about. As long as greed and power are the gods people pray to, well. . .we see the results. Until we take the lessons of this parashah, not to mention the rest of the Torah, to heart, and apply them to action, the world as we know it will continue to spin out of control.
Okay, one more parallel! Take note of this fact: people who murder, or take the life of someone else, and do so with weapons they KNOW are capable of killing are considered murderers. I’ll be even more transparent: the wood the size of a fist could be interpreted as paper which has “weight,” which is the weight of the words upon the paper. Of course, we must bring the economy under control, but just make certain that in doing so, you aren’t taking away the basic needs of all who live today, or any whose lives are in the balance either. We don’t all have a right to mansions, fancy cars, boats, etc., but we absolutely have the right to a roof, food, and clothing, not to mention respect, healthcare, etc.
In planning for the future, don’t neglect the lessons of history, nor the needs of those living today. If the Torah wasn’t meant to be used for the lessons it teaches us about how to conduct our lives, specifically how to treat each other, why not only have it in writing, and why be tasked with sharing its words with the world?! It even states time and again, within its text, we must continue taking care of each other and this earth for all generations. We hinge on another precipice at this particular point in time - we must proceed carefully, thoughtfully, and with wisdom. Don’t forget the Levite cities surrounded by land to be left uncultivated. Adonai is, has, and always will be in control; understand this, however: we may help each other to achieve a brighter tomorrow, or we could destroy ourselves. Choose well.
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Spiritually Yours,
Laura Weakley

copyright© Laura Weakley, July 29, 2011

Contributing Editor: Kevin A. Weakley