KORAH - NUMBERS 16:1 - 18:32

In this portion we find a major challenge to the leadership of Moses and Aaron. The reading details the rebellion led by Korah, a Levite, and two members of the tribe of Reuben, Dathan and Abiram. They accuse Moses and Aaron of unduly raising themselves above the community of Israelites, all of whom are holy. Moses tells the people that God will resolve the issue by accepting or rejecting an incense offering. He further declares that if the rebels die an unnatural death it will be a sign of vindication for him and Aaron. Following the test, Korah and his associates are swallowed up by the earth, and fire destroys 250 of the rebels. Aaron is further vindicated in a test involving his staff which sprouts almond blossoms overnight. With the roles of Aaron, his sons and the Levites in connection with the Mishkan firmly established, a list of emoluments is granted to them in return for their work. Thus, the leadership of the Israelites is made secure at a time when the people are still struggling to define itself and determine its destiny.

• Our Question For The Week •

Now Korah, son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi, betook himself, along with Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth - descendants of Reuben - to rise up against Moses, together with two hundred and fifty Israelites, chieftains of the community, chosen in the assembly, men of repute.(Numbers 16:1-2)

The portion of KORAH contains 95 verses. It is also the basis of nine of the 613 MITZVOT. There are six Torah portions (out of 54) that are named for individuals: NOAH, HAYYEI SARAH, YITRO, KORAH, BALAK and PINCHAS. What values are lived and exemplified —- or not —- by each of these salient individuals? Why would a Torah portion be named for an outright rebel? How does Korah become (or not) a role model for us as individuals and as a people? Is there anything positive to be learned from his behavior?

BEHAALOTEKHA - NUMBERS 8:1 - 12:16

In this portion the march to the Promised Land finally begins. Among the last details dealt with at Sinai are preparation of the lamps of the menorah, dedication of the Levites to their duties, observance of the Passover on the 14th day of the first month in the second year after the Exodus, establishment of a substitute Passover one month later for those ritually unable to offer the Passover sacrifice at the proper time, and the making of two silver trumpets to be sounded as a signal to assemble, to break camp or to take note of other special occasions. As soon as the people begin their march, they begin to complain. In response to Moses' cry for help, God instructs him to gather 70 elders to assist him in leading the people. Miriam and Aaron then challenge Moses' role as prophet and God vindicates Moses by punishing Miriam. These incidents of selfishness even in the face of God's miracles set a pattern that becomes a prominent theme of Scripture - the struggle to raise man above himself.

• Our Question For The Week •

And when a stranger who resides with you would offer a passover sacrifice to the Lord, he must offer it in accordance with the rules and rites of the passover sacrifice. There shall be one law for you, whether stranger or citizen of the country. (Numbers 9:14)

Is this concern that there be one law for the stranger and the home born punitive? protective? discriminatory? Why would it have to be stated in the first place?

In spite of the fact that most of us are from immigrant families, why do we still mistrust immigrants? Why are some Jews so suspicious of the sincerity of those who are "not from here", or were originally of a different culture/religion?

NASO - NUMBERS 4:21 - 7:89

In this portion, we continue the final preparations at Sinai for the resumption of the journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land. The numbering of the Levitical families and assignment of porterage duties for the Mishkan is concluded. Several laws dealing with the purity of the camp and the family are then promulgated, including a trial by ordeal for a woman suspected of adultery. These are followed by a description of the restrictions incumbent upon any person who takes a Nazirite vow as an act of special piety. Nazirites must refrain from drinking wine or alcohol, from cutting their hair and from coming into contact with the dead for a specified period of time. Moses is then instructed to teach Aaron a special three-fold blessing which he is to use in blessing the people. The portion ends with a detailed account of the gifts brought by the princes of the tribes on the occasion of the dedication of the Mishkan. The gifts were identical, yet they had different symbolic meanings for each tribe. The offering of identical gifts by the tribes, regardless of their size, emphasized the equality of each tribe and each person before God.

• Our Question For The Week •

When a man or woman commits any wrong toward a fellow man, thus breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, he shall confess the wrong that he has done. He shall make restitution in the principal amount and add one-fifth to it, giving it to him whom he has wronged. (Numbers 5:6-7)

PARASHAT NASO includes the commandment of confessing our sins as part of our process of TESHUVA (Repentance). However, when Maimonides lists the 613 commandments found in the Torah, this commandment of confession does not appear. Why isn't such a seemingly crucial commandment included in the list of "the basics"? Can confession be commanded? Can one truly repent (even if the behavior is corrected) if no confession of wrong is made?

BEMIDBAR - NUMBERS 1:1 - 4:20

In this portion, we begin the Book of Numbers. For about a year the Israelites have been camped at the foot of Sinai where they witnessed the revelation, built the Mishkan and were instructed in its operation. Now they are ready to resume the journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land. The people are organized into a military camp to enable them to undertake a march through hostile environments, both natural and human. The first order of business is a census of all males over 20 except Levites. The tribes are then assigned positions in a square surrounding the Mishkan. Finally, the Levites are assigned special duties in connection with the Mishkan and numbered separately. The physical arrangement of the camp will serve to remind the people on the march of the monumental events they have recently experienced. The Mishkan will become a "mobile Sinai," and its location at the center of the camp will provide focus for the Israelites on their journey.

• Our Question For The Week •

The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai (Numbers 1:1)

Why was it so important to mention where God spoke to Moses? What was so special (important?) about "the Wilderness"? Wouldn't it have been better if all the nations of the world had witnessed the revelation and learned of God's presence for themselves? When and where does God speak to us? Where is our "Wilderness" where we can hear God's voice and understand God's commands?

BEHUKOTAI - LEVITICUS 26:3 - 27:34

This portion concludes the Book of Leviticus. The Holiness Code ends with a promise and a curse. If the Israelites follow God's laws and commandments, they will be blessed with peace, prosperity and security. If they do not obey, however, a long list of the most dire consequences will ensue. The final chapter of Leviticus deals with providing funding for the Mishkan. Offerings may be made in silver equivalent to the value of a person, and a scale of equivalents is provided. Offerings may also be made in the form of animals and property. Finally, provision is made for tithes. Thus, the entire description of the sanctuary, its functioning and the type of life it is supposed to engender in the Israelites concludes with the establishment of a pattern of generosity toward our places of worship which continues down to our own time and become a basic element of community life wherever Jews settle.

• Our Question For The Week •

If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments - I will look with favor upon you. , and make you fertile and multiply you; and I will maintain My covenant with you. But if you do not obey Me and do not observe all these commandments, if you reject My laws and spurn My rules, so that you do not observe all My commandments and you break My covenant, I will wreak misery upon you. I will set My face against you: (From Leviticus 26)

When something bad happens, is your first instinct to blame someone (yourself, someone else, God)? Is life more meaningful (or tolerable when it is not!) if we can explain what happens with reasons? Can (do) we ever look at the world and just say to ourselves: "That is the way it is - no reason, it just is!"?

Rewards and punishments can help people learn how to do the right thing. What do you think is the best way to learn how to do the right thing for the right reasons - because it is the right thing to do rather than because you might get a reward or punishment?

BEHAR - LEVITICUS 25:1 - 26:2

In this portion, the Holiness Code continues with a group of laws that are to take effect when the Israelites enter the Promised Land. The people will be permitted to work the land for six years, but the seventh year is to be a Sabbatical year of complete rest for the land. In order to provide sufficient food, God promises that the crop of the sixth year will yield enough for three years. Further, after seven cycles of seven years, the 50th year is to be a Jubilee - a year of release for the land and all its inhabitants. There follow a series of laws concerning redemption of land and persons. The basic principle of land redemption is that all the land belongs to God, and human owners posses it only as land holding. It is not the owners' right to dispose of as they wish, and it cannot be permanently alienated. As for persons, if one had to indenture himself to work off debt, he was not to be abused and was to be redeemed as quickly as possible. The portion ends with a prohibition against idolatry and an admonition to keep God's Sabbaths.

• Our Question For The Week •

The opening section of this week's Torah reading prescribes a seven-year farming cycle in the Promised Land. Farmers are expected to work the land for six years and to let all the land lie fallow throughout the seventh year, which is known as the year of Shmitah. (Leviticus 25)

Farmers develop a special relationship with the land. The world around them usually pushes them to squeeze as much production as possible fromtheir land, year after year. (Nowadays this yield might be measured in bushels per acre.) All of this encourages the farmer to take from the land. The shmitah, the land's sabbatical year, encourages the farmer to appreciate the land at the same time that the land is given an opportunity to renew itself.

Just as the farmer depended on the land for sustenance, so do most of us depend on our own work to sustain us economically. Many employers, especially in the academic and nonprofit worlds, allow their staffs to take sabbatical leaves. Why would institutions encourage such leaves? Are there ways that the commercial sector could benefit from giving employees some time off? Should we, like the ancient farmers of Israel, take periodic opportunities to look at the world from a different perspective? Why or why not? How might a person go about implementing such a plan? What kinds of goals, personal and for an employer, might be part of a sabbatical leave plan?