THE TORAH READING FOR 25 SIVAN 5781 JUNE 4-5, 2021
JUNE BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERARIES, AND SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
Mazal Tov – Mazal Bueno to all those celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or significant event during the Month of June. If we were together at Temple Kol Hamidbar, we would extend a Tallit over you, recite a special prayer for you, and recite the following blessing (cf Num. 6:24-26):
o May the Eternal One bless you and protect you!
o May the Eternal One deal kindly and graciously with you!
o May the Eternal One bestow favor upon you and grant you peace!
KËIN YEHI RATZON (Let it be so!)
PARSHA
From ReformJudaism.org https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/bhaalotcha
SH’LACH L’CHA (שְׁלַח-לְךָ – Hebrew for “Send [Notables to Scout the Land]”) – Numbers 13:1−15:41
The Eternal One spoke to Moses, saying, “Send emissaries to scout the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelite people; send one man from each of their ancestral tribes, each one a chieftain among them.” – Numbers 13:1-2
SUMMARY
- Moses sends twelve spies to the Land of Israel to report on the inhabitants and the country. Despite the positive report of Joshua and Caleb, the people are frightened. (13:1–14:10)
- God threatens to wipe out the Children of Israel but relents when Moses intercedes on their behalf. To punish the people, God announces that all those who left Egypt would not enter the Land of Israel except for Joshua and Caleb. (14:11–45)
- Moses instructs the Israelites regarding setting aside challah, the observance of the Sabbath, how to treat strangers, and the laws of tzitzit. (15:1–41)
HAFTARAH – Joshua 2:1-24
From Wikipedia.org https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shlach
Both the parashah and the haftarah deal with spies sent to scout out the land of Israel, the parashah in connection with the ten scouts sent to reconnoiter the whole land, and the haftarah in connection with the two spies sent to reconnoiter Jericho. Joshua participated in both ventures, as a scout in the parashah, and as the leader who sent the spies in the haftarah. In the parashah, God complained about how the Israelites did not believe the “signs” (אֹתוֹת, otot) that God had sent, and in the haftarah, Rahab asked the spies for a true “sign” (אוֹת, ot) so that she might believe them.
Whereas in the parashah, the spies were well-known men, in the haftarah, Joshua dispatched the spies secretly. Whereas in the parashah, Moses sent a large number of 12 spies, in the haftarah, Joshua sent just 2 spies. Whereas in the parashah, many of the spies cowered before the Canaanites, in the haftarah, the spies reported that the Canaanites would melt before the Israelites. Whereas in the parashah, the spies reported their findings publicly, in the haftarah, the spies reported directly to Joshua.
STUGGLING WITH TORAH
From Wikipedia.org https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shlach
SH’LACH L’CHA (שְׁלַח or שְׁלַח-לְךָ – Hebrew for “send”, “send to you”, or “send for yourself”) The parashah tells the story of the twelve spies sent to assess the promised land, commandments about offerings, the story of the Sabbath violator, and the commandment of the fringes (צִיצִת, tzitzit).
[The triennial reading is Numbers 14:8-15:7. The first part, describes the people’s fear and response to Caleb and Joshua’s report. God threatens to punish them and make of Moses a great nation. Moses prevails upon God, quoting God’s self-description “slow to anger and abounding in kindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression.” God forgives but says that only Caleb and Joshua of all those who have seen God’s signs will see the Promised Land.
In the second part, God swears that all the men 20 years and older, except Caleb and Joshua, would die in the wilderness. The Israelite’s children would enter the Promised Land after 40 years, corresponding to the number of days the spies scouted the land. The Israelite’s set out for the Promised Land despite Moses’ telling them they would fail without God in their midst. The Amalekites and Canaanites defeat them at Hormah. God gives further instructions regarding offering flour mixed with oil and wine once they enter the Promised Land.]
[TRADITION – Challah]
The Rabbis, seeking to preserve the commandment of separating a portion of bread (challah) for the priests in Numbers 15:17–21, created a symbolic observance under which a small portion of each batch of dough is to be twisted off and burned in an open flame. From this act of twisting a piece of dough comes the custom of braiding the Sabbath loaf as a reminder that challah was taken, and hence, also, comes the name “challah” for the Sabbath loaf.
ROSH CHODESH – Tamuz
Tamuz, the fourth month of the Jewish calendar, begins at sundown on Wednesday, June 9 and ends the evening of Friday, June 11, 2021. In the now-fixed calendar, with two exceptions, Jewish months alternate between having 29 or 30 days. If a month has 30 days (such as the current month of Sivan), then day 30 of that month becomes Rosh Chodesh, as does the following day, which is day 1 of the next month. If a month has 29 days, then the following month has just one day of Rosh Chodesh, day 1 of the month.
PRAYERS
From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur”:
ROSH CHODESH – FOR THE NEW MONTH p.519:
Our God and God of our ancestors, may the new month bring us goodness and blessing. May we have long life, peace, prosperity, a life exalted by love of Torah and reverence for the divine; a life in which the longings of our hearts are fulfilled for good.
FOR OUR COUNTRY p.516
THUS SAYS ADONAI, This is what I desire: to unlock the fetters of wickedness, and untie the cords of lawlessness; to let the oppressed go free, to break off every yoke. Share your bread with the hungry, and take the wretched poor into your home. When you see the naked, give clothing, and do not ignore your own kin.
O GUARDIAN of life and liberty, may our nation always merit Your protection. Teach us to give thanks for what we have by sharing it with those who are in need. Keep our eyes open to the wonders of creation, and alert to the care of the earth. May we never be lazy in the work of peace; may we honor those who have [served, suffered or] died in defense of our ideals. Grant our leaders wisdom and forbearance. May they govern with justice and compassion. Help us all to appreciate one another, and to respect the many ways that we may serve You. May our homes be safe from affliction and strife, and our country be sound in body and spirit. Amen.
FOR HEALING
We recite MI SHEBËRACH for the victims of brutality, abuse, fear, natural disasters, pandemics, violence especially against all minority communities including us, conflicts, and war; for all those at home alone or lonely; for all those in need of physical, emotional, and mental healing. “R’fuah sh’lëmah” – a complete recovery!
YAHRZEITS/ANYOS
We say KADDISH YATOM for those of our friends and families who have died and been buried this last week; those in the period of Sh’loshim (30 days since burial); those who have died in the last year; and those whose Yahrzeits/Anyos occur at this time; as well as the victims of brutality, disease, pandemics, natural disasters, war and all violence.
This coming week, the 25th of Sivan through the 1st of Tamuz, we lovingly remember:
Nicole Crutcher
TKH Memorial List
Elie Weisel
Holocaust Survivor, Author and Nobel Laureate
Those victims of the Sho’ah (Holocaust) who died at this time of year.
“ZICHRONAM LIV’RACHAH” – MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE FOR BLESSING.
TORAH STUDY AND SHAZOOM
We will meet as usual at the regular times for Torah Study and Shazoom this evening, Friday, June 4, 2021.
Zoom continues updating its security and performance features. Making sure you have the latest version of Zoom, please join us online this evening:
Topic: Torah Study – Triennial Reading Num. 14:8-15:7
Time: June 4, 2021 06:00 PM Arizona
and/or
Shazoom – Erev Shabbat Service
Time: June 4, 2021 07:30 PM Arizona
To join the Torah Study and/or Shazoom click on the following link [you may need to copy it into your browser]: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/72510500854?pwd=Z3VQZWF4U1BBZytNYmh3aHFTWkFDZz09
Meeting ID: 725 1050 0854
Passcode: 4NrMk0
Hint: The last character of the password is the number zero.
Shabbat Shalom – Buen Shabbat!
-Ruben
PS – Congratulations to all graduates, fathers, and those celebrating a wedding or anniversary in June.