TORAH READING FOR 23 SIVAN 5784 June 28-29, 2024
OUR HEARTS ARE WITH THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL AND ALL THE VICTIMS OF CONFLICT
From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur” p.98
SIM SHALOM tovah uv’rachah, chën vachésed v’rachamim, alëinu v’al kōl Yisraël ‘amécha, [v’al kōl yoshvëi tëvël, v’imru: Amën.]
GRANT PEACE, goodness and blessing, grace, kindness, and mercy, to us and to all Your people Israel [and all who inhabit the earth, and let us say: Amen.]
PARSHA
From Reform Judaism https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/shlach-lcha
Sh’lach L’cha (שְׁלַח-לְךָ — Hebrew for “Send [Notables to Scout the Land]”) – Num. 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
RECOMMENDED READING
From Reform Judaism https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/shlach-lcha
Echoes of the Wilderness, Part IV: Better Think Twice
By: Cantor Josh Breitzer
STRUGGLING WITH TORAH and REFLECTION
We will continue to meet every other Friday for Torah Study to read and discuss selections from Ketuvim, the third section of Tanach (Hebrew Bible), which follows Torah and Nevi’im. Please see the NEW Torah Study-Shazoom schedule below. THIS week we will continue studying Lamentations (אֵיכָה – Ëichah), which is found in Ketuvim (Writings), and traditionally read on Tisha B’Av (this year August 12-13, 2024). Read this this week’s Torah Portion at https://www.sefaria.org/Numbers.13.1-15.41, and Haftarah at https://www.sefaria.org/Joshua.2.1-24.
From “The Torah / A Women’s Commentary” edited by Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, Ph.D., Women of Reform Judaism/The Federation of Temple Sisterhoods and URJ Press New York 2008
שלח לך Sh’lach L’cha – Numbers 13:1–15:41
Contemporary Reflection – Josee Wolff, pp. 888-9
WHEN MOSES SENDS the scouts to survey the land of Canaan, he gives them a list of very specific things to investigate. He charges them: “Go up there into the Negeb and on into the hill country, and see what kind of country it is. Are the people who dwell in it strong or weak, few or many? Is the country in which they dwell good or bad? Are the towns they live in open or fortified? Is the soil rich or poor? Is it wooded or not?” (13:17–20). Twelve emissaries go out and return after forty days, reporting on what they saw in this exotic new land. All but two of the scouts are punished later; victims of a plague, they die in the wilderness.
What is their sin? According to our tradition, they sin by not trusting God’s vision and not having faith: “How long will this people spurn Me, and how long will they have no faith in Me despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst?” (14:11). Furthermore, they sin because they “caused the whole community to mutter against him [Moses] by spreading calumnies about the land” (14:36).
I question not only the nature of their sin, but also Moses’ approach to their mission. Moses’ instructions divide the world into either/or categories that ignore the nuances within a complex reality. Instead of asking such specific questions, what if he had said to them, “When you return, tell us what you see. How did you experience this new place? What was the land like? How were the people?” Perhaps these kinds of open-ended questions would have led the scouts to bring back a different report. At least these sorts of instructions might have given them more room to develop their own stories in a less dualistic fashion; the scouts might have been inspired to bring back a different description of what they saw.
Or is it simply a matter of perspective? After all, the twelve emissaries all observe and experience the same things, and yet two of them return with an account that is entirely different from that of the other ten. What is it that enables Joshua and Caleb to see the Promised Land through different eyes?
In his book The Courage to Create (1975), Rollo May writes, “We are called upon to do something new, to confront a no-man’s-land, to push into a forest where there are no well-worn paths and from which no one has returned to guide us. This is what existentialists call the anxiety of nothingness…. To live into the future means to leap into the unknown, and this requires a degree of courage for which there is no immediate precedent and which few people realize.” He asserts that “if you do not express your own original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself. Also you will have betrayed our community in failing to make your contribution to the whole” (pp. 12–13).
The ten emissaries start their report with a positive statement about the land overflowing with milk and honey; they then switch to the negatively colored description of the fortified cities and powerful people (13:27–29). The Rabbis describe this as the way slanderers speak: “They begin with flattering and end with evil” (BT Sotah 35a). Or, in more modern terms: the pessimist observes a situation, generalizes about the bad aspects, and interprets them as a permanent and constant feature. In contrast, the optimist observes the same situation and sees the bad aspects, but particularizes them and interprets them as a temporary obstacle that can be overcome.
This then is the sin of the scouts: their failure to contribute to their community because of their negative attitude and narrow perspective. They seemingly lack the courage to leap into the unknown and confront “no-man’s-land.” Where the ten see potential failure and defeat, Joshua and Caleb see potential success and possibility. They had the courage to leap into the unknown and envision a new reality. While they acknowledge the challenges that lie ahead, they are able to “listen to their own being” and trust in the people’s ability to overcome those challenges with God’s promised help and protection: “The land that we traversed and scouted is an exceedingly good land. If pleased with us, יהוה will bring us into that land, a land that flows with milk and honey, and give it to us; only you must not rebel against יהוה. Have no fear then of the people of the country, for they are our prey: their protection has departed from them, but יהוה is with us” (14:7–9).
As Harvey Fields wrote, we too can “conquer ‘Promised Lands’ when we have regard for our talents and believe in our creative powers. The sin of the spies grows from their failure of self-love and self-respect…. Only Joshua and Caleb, who refuse to see themselves as ‘grasshoppers,’ are worthy of entering the Promised Land” (A Torah Commentary for Our Times, 1993, p. 42).
These, to me, are the challenges of Sh’lach L’cha: First, the challenge to perceive the world in all its nuanced complexity–and not reduce it to simplistic either/or, black/white categories. Second, and more central to the parashah, the challenge of really loving ourselves and trusting our instincts, the challenge of not making ourselves into anything less than we truly are (since this would diminish the One in whose image we are created), and the challenge of living with the “anxiety of nothingness” in order to create a new reality.
As long as we see ourselves merely as grasshoppers up against giants, we will set ourselves up for failure. If we want to create anything new and to enter into the Promised Land, then we have no choice but to leap into the unknown, to believe in ourselves, and to trust in God’s faith in us. This voice of optimism and hope is what separates Joshua and Caleb from the other scouts. This is what–in spite of a long history filled with good reasons to see ourselves as grasshoppers and to give up–has enabled the Jewish people to continue and to thrive.
PRAYERS
FOR OUR COUNTRY p.376
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.
PRAYER FOR THE STATE OF ISRAEL p.552
O HEAVENLY ONE, Protector and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel which marks the dawning of hope for all who seek peace. Shield it beneath the wings of your love; spread over it the canopy of Your peace; send Your light and truth to all who lead and advise, guiding them with Your good counsel. Establish peace in the land and fullness of joy for all who dwell there. Amen.
FOR HEALING – El Na R’fa Na Lah!
We recite MI SHEBËRACH for the victims of abuse, brutality, conflicts, fear, natural disasters, pandemics, tragedies, violence of all kinds especially directed at individuals and specific communities including us, 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, conflict, disease, natural disasters, pandemics, tragedies, violence of all kinds, and war.
This coming week, 23 Sivan through 29 Sivan, 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 28, 2024. Please see the NEW Torah Study-Shazoom schedule below. THIS week we will continue studying Lamentations (אֵיכָה – Ëichah), which is found in the Ketuvim (Writings), and traditionally read on Tisha B’Av (this year August 12-13, 2024).
Zoom regularly updates its security and performance features. Making sure you have the latest version of Zoom, please join us online this Friday evening with wine/grape juice for Kiddush and Challah for Motzi.
Topic: Torah Study – Lamentations Chapter 2
Time: Jun 28, 2024 06:00 PM Arizona
and/or
Shazoom – Erev Shabbat Service
Time: Jun 28, 2024 07:30 PM Arizona
To join 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 – Gut Shabbos!
-Ruben
PS – About Lamentations (אֵיכָה – Eichah) and the NEW schedule through June 2024:
From Reform Judaism
https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/tishah-bav
https://reformjudaism.org/blog/how-should-reform-jews-observe-tishah-bav
https://reformjudaism.org/blog/tishah-bav-words-and-visions
https://reformjudaism.org/blog/tishah-bav-teaching-we-can-change-status-quo-our-divided-people
From The Torah.com
https://www.thetorah.com/article/an-introduction-to-lamentations
From My Jewish Learning
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/lamentations/
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-book-of-lamentations/
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-key-word-of-the-book-of-lamentations/
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-three-weeks/
From Jewish Encyclopedia
https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9596-lamentations
From Jewish Virtual Library [full text]
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/eichah-lamentations-full-text
From Encyclopedia Britannica
https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Lamentations-of-Jeremiah
From New World Encyclopedia
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Book_of_Lamentations#
From Sefaria
https://www.sefaria.org/Lamentations?tab=contents
https://www.sefaria.org/Kinnot_for_Tisha_B’Av_(Ashkenaz)?tab=contents
From JSTOR.org
https://www.jstor.org/stable/44088662
https://www.jstor.org/understand/work/bible-kjv/lamentations
From SephardicU
https://sephardicu.com/holidays/tisha-bav/#
From Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Lamentations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Weeks
NEW Schedule through October 2024 for Torah Study and Shazoom (Arizona Time Zone):
June 28, 2024 – Torah Study at 6 pm and Shazoom at 7:30 pm
July 5, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
[Rosh Chodesh Tamuz 7/5-7]
July 12, 2024 – Torah Study at 6 pm and Shazoom at 7:30 pm
July 19, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
July 26, 2024 – Torah Study at 6 pm and Shazoom at 7:30 pm
August 2, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
[Rosh Chodesh Av 8/4-5]
August 9, 2024 – Torah Study at 6 pm and Shazoom at 7:30 pm
Shabbat Chazon – Sabbath of Prophecy/Vision
[Tisha B’Av August 12-13]
August 16, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
Shabbat Nachamu – Sabbath of Consolation
August 23, 2024 – Torah Study at 6 pm and Shazoom at 7:30 pm
August 30, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
[Labor Day Weekend]
[Rosh Chodesh Elul 9/2-4]
[Rosh HaShanah LaBehemot (of the animals) September 3-4]
September 6, 2024 – Torah Study at 6 pm and Shazoom at 7:30 pm
September 13, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
September 20, 2024 – Torah Study at 6 pm and Shazoom at 7:30 pm
September 27, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
[Leil S’lichot 9/28 nightfall – preparation for High Holy Days]
October 4, 2024 – Torah Study at 6 pm and Shazoom at 7:30 pm
Shabbat Shuvah – Sabbath of Returning
October 11, 2024 – Erev Yom Kippur
Kol Nidrë
October 12, 2024 – Yom Kippur
October 16, 2024 – Sukkot
October 18, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
Shabbat in Sukkot
October 23, 2024 – Shemini Atzéret
October 24, 2024 – Simchat Torah
October 25, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm