TORAH READING FOR 2 SIVAN 5784 June 7-8, 2024

June 7, 2024 by templekol

SHAZOOM ONLY 6:30 PM June 7, 2024

OUR HEARTS ARE WITH THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL AND ALL THE VICTIMS OF CONFLICT

YERUSHALAYIM SHEL ZAHAV

Jerusalem all of gold/ Jerusalem, bronze and light/

Within my heart I shall treasure/ Your song and sight.

By Naomi Shemer 1967, melody based on an old Basque Lullaby

PARSHA

From Reform Judaism https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/bmidbar

B’midbar (בְּמִדבַּר — Hebrew for “In the Wilderness”) – Numbers 1:1−4:20

On the first day of the second month, in the second year following the exodus from the land of Egypt, the Eternal One spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, saying: “Take a census of the whole Israelite company…” – Numbers 1:1-2

SUMMARY

God commands Moses to take a census of all the Israelite males over the age of twenty. (1:1-46)
The duties of the Levites, who are not included in the census, are detailed. (1:47-51)
Each tribe is assigned specific places in the camp around the Tabernacle. (1:52-2:34)
The sons of Levi are counted and their responsibilities are set forth. (3:1-3:39)
A census of the firstborn males is taken and a special redemption tax is levied on them. (3:40-51)
God instructs Moses and Aaron regarding the responsibilities of Aaron and his sons, and the duties assigned to the Kohathites. (4:1-20)

HAFTARAH

Hosea 2:1-22

RECOMMENDED READING

From Reform Judaism https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/bmidbar

Echoes of the Wilderness, Part I

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. NEXT week we will start studying Lamentations (אֵיכָה – Eichah), which is found in Ketuvim (Writings), and traditionally read on Tisha B’Av. Read this week’s Torah Portion at https://www.sefaria.org/Numbers.1.1-4.20, and Haftarah at https://www.sefaria.org/Hosea.2.1-22

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

במדבר B’midbar – Numbers 1:1-4:20

Contemporary Reflection – Rachel Stock Spilker, pp.810-1

THERE IS POWER in taking a census. When God commands Moses to do so at the beginning of parashat B’midbar, only male Israelites over the age of 20 who are able to bear arms are considered. In the text, Moses is told to tally up kol adat b’nei yisrael, literally “the whole community of the “Children of Israel.” But do able-bodied males over 20 years old represent the whole community? While adat is often translated as “community,’” it can also refer to an “assembly, band, company, or faction,” hence only one segment of the larger population. This nuance allows us to recognize all who are not counted: women, minors, the elderly, and the physically, mentally, or emotionally challenged. In Torah, these people are usually missing from numerations as well as narrations. Those who are counted have a special worth to the society, while those who are not may be considered less valuable and are, therefore, less visible.

There is also danger in taking a census. This parashah is all about enumerating people, as the English name of the book, “Numbers,” suggests. However, the Talmud asserts that “it is forbidden to count [the nation of] Israel even for the sake of a commandment…[because] whoever counts Israel transgresses a prohibition, as it is written, ‘The number of the children of Israel shall be like the sands of the sea, not to be measured’ (Hosea 2:1)” (BT Yoma 22b). Rashi explains that we must count something each person gives (like the half-shekel) rather than count actual people, because then “there will not be a plague among them, for the evil eye can affect that which is counted–and a plague may come upon them as we found in the days of David” (Rashi on Exodus 30:1). Is Rashi merely superstitious, or is he suggesting that it is dangerous to trivialize a person’s essence? His comment teaches us that we must value each human as one who is made b’tzelem Elohim, in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). A number can measure whether an army has enough people, but it can never measure the worth of the individual people in that army.

Today, American society is obsessed with numbers, censuses, and demographic studies. Now when we calculate our Temple membership, for instance, we include everybody: the women and the men, the young and the old, the “typical” and the challenged. We can look at sum totals, categories, and sub-categories of these studies; and while they provide valuable information, they still may not show us who or what really counts. Can we say that all people matter when our Jewish institutions are not accessible to every individual? Taking the synagogue as an example, do we value each person when a member in a wheelchair cannot come up to the Ark to take the Torah? Do we include everyone in worship services when we do not offer large-print prayer books or when we do not provide hearing aids to those who need them? Do we validate those with different learning styles and abilities when we hire inexperienced educators for our Religious School classes? If we compare our raw data with the facts within the synagogue walls, who really matters–the ones who are counted, or the ones for whom we take extra measures? While numbers may be essential, they do not represent the sum total of what is truly important. But what does?

In B’midbar, one could argue that the number of troops is what really counts, since they are the ones included in the census. But when we read between the lines, when we ask who is not included, we can see how the untold stories of the unmentioned people matter too. For instance, what about the woman who might have wished to fight? Or how about the 19-year-old man, just months short of his 20th birthday, eager to serve God and his people? And how about the 23-year-old male Israelite who can count the right number of years but not the right number of limbs since one of his was lost in a childhood accident? And the pregnant soldier’s wife who calculates the number of weeks until her baby arrives, knowing that the baby’s father’s days may be numbered? There may be contextually legitimate reasons why these people are omitted from the census, and, ultimately, from the Torah text, but their exclusion means we miss the opportunity to see what they can offer the community.

We all hear stories about those who lose one thing and gain something even greater through their loss. There is an urban legend about violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, who taught that lesson by happenstance when he played a concerto at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City with a broken string. One might think it impossible to play with just three strings a concerto written for violin, but Perlman did it and did so with great fervor. Upon completing his dazzling performance, he (so the story goes) said humbly to the audience, “You know, sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.” Perhaps this is true for all of us, not only artists. Losses can lead to inner strengths and life changes that we did not dream were possible. We are more than the sum total of our parts.

The Israelites may have needed parameters for whom to include and whom to exclude from the census described in B’midbar, but we must remember why even those not tallied do, in fact, matter. Today we may count every individual in our community, but may still discount how much they have to offer. The missing members in this parashah can teach us to reconsider what it means to count. As the numerous stories in the Bible and in our lives remind us, even those not included are important, and all those we now seek to include genuinely are individuals with much to gain from and offer to our communities.

COUNTING OF THE ‘ÓMER 2024 / סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר 5784

Counting of the ‘Ómer (or Sefirat Ha’ómer, Hebrew: ספירת העומר) is a verbal counting of each of the forty-nine days between the Jewish holidays of Passover and Shavuot. [The ‘Ómer is counted each evening.]

We began counting on the evening of the second night of Pesach: Tuesday, 23 April 2024, corresponding to the 16th of Nisan, 5784. The counting concludes on the night before Shavuot: Monday, 10 June 2024, corresponding to the 5th of Sivan, 5784.

Today, Friday, day 46 begins this evening at sundown. Before the ‘Alëinu, after stating that one is ready to count the ‘Ómer, the following blessing is said:

Baruch atah Adonai Elohëinu Mélech ha’olam, asher kid’shánu b’mitzvotav, v’tzivánu ‘al S’firat Ha‘Ómer.

Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to count the ‘Ómer.

After the blessing, one recites the appropriate day of the count. If after the first six days, one also includes the number of weeks that one has counted. For example:

“Hayom shishah v’ar’ba’im yom, shehëm shishah v’arba’ah yamim la‘Ómer/ba‘Ómer.”

“Today is 46 days, which is six weeks and four days of/in the ‘Ómer.”

PRAYERS

From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur”:

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

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, 2 Sivan through 8 Sivan, we lovingly remember:

Jerome Behrstock

Father of Bob Behrstock

David Miller

Memorial Board, Founding Member

Paul Miller

Friend of the Caron Family, TKH Members

Those victims of the Sho’ah (Holocaust) who died at this time of year.

“ZICHRONAM LIV’RACHAH” – MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE FOR BLESSING.

SHAZOOM ONLY

We will meet for Shazoom ONLY this evening, Friday, June 7, 2024. Please see the NEW Torah Study-Shazoom schedule below. NEXT week we will start studying Lamentations (אֵיכָה – Ëichah), which is found in the Ketuvim (Writings), and traditionally on Tisha B’Av.

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.

Shazoom – Erev Shabbat Service

Time: June 7, 2024 06:30 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 – An early Chag Shavuot Sameach!

PSS – About Lamentations (אֵיכָה – Eichah) and the NEW schedule through June 2024:

From Reform Judaism

https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/tishah-bav