TORAH READING FOR 7 TAMUZ 5784 July 12-13, 2024

July 12, 2024 by templekol

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

From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur” p.178

SHALOM RAV al Yisraël amcha tasim l’olam, v’al kol yoshvëi tëvël, v’imru. Amen.

GRANT ABUNDANT PEACE to Israel Your people forever, [and all who inhabit the earth. Amen.]

PARSHA

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

Chukat (חֻקַּת – Hebrew for “The Ritual Law”) – Numbers 19:1−22:1

The Eternal One spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: “This is the ritual law that the Eternal has commanded: Instruct the Israelite people to bring you a red cow without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which no yoke has been laid.” – Numbers 19:1-2

SUMMARY

The laws of the red heifer to purify a person who has had contact with a corpse are given. (19:1-22)
The people arrive at the wilderness of Zin. Miriam dies and is buried there. (20:1)
The people complain that they have no water. Moses strikes the rock to get water for them. God tells Moses and Aaron they will not enter the Land of Israel. (20:2-13)
The king of Edom refuses to let the Children of Israel pass through his land. After Aaron’s priestly garments are given to his son Eleazer, Aaron dies. (20:14-29)
After they are punished for complaining about the lack of bread and water, the Israelites repent and are victorious in battle against the Amorites and the people of Bashan, whose lands they capture. (21:4-22:1)

HAFTARAH

Judges 11:1-33

RECOMMENDED READING

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

Echoes of the Wilderness, Part VI: The Original “Oy”

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 week’s Torah Portion at https://www.sefaria.org/Numbers.19.1-22.1, and Haftarah at https://www.sefaria.org/Judges.11.1-33.

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 חקת Chukat – Numbers 19:1–22:1

Contemporary Reflection – Carol Ochs, pp. 933-4

MIRIAM, LIKE MOSES AND AARON, was a child of Amram and Jochebed, both of the tribe of Levi. The prophet Micah recognizes all three siblings as Israel’s leaders when he proclaims in God’s name: “I redeemed you from the house of bondage, and sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to you” (Micah 6:4). Although the Bible preserves only a few direct references to Miriam, her importance to the Israelites’ story shines through even this leanest of biographical sketches. First, Miriam is called a prophet (in Exodus 15:20), although her prophetic teachings are not recorded. Second, she sings and leads the women in song to God following her people’s safe passage across the Sea of Reeds (Exodus 15:21). Third, she (along with Aaron) speaks out against Moses about his wife and his authority (12:1–2). Fourth, she is shut out of the camp when she is stricken with skin disease; tellingly, the Israelites refuse to move on until she returns (12:10–15). Finally, she dies and is buried in Kadesh (20:1), a place name that evokes the holy (kadosh). These few references to Miriam are but clues to the larger story of her life and importance.

Let us imagine that larger story by creating a midrash. Picture Moses as he climbed Mount Nebo to see the Promised Land he would never enter and to experience God’s drawing out his soul as gently as a kiss draws out the breath (Deuteronomy 34; on God’s kiss, see Post-biblical Interpretations, p. 932, at “Miriam died there”). What was he thinking at that moment? In the midrash we are creating we may imagine that this inspiring leader thought about the future of his people and about who would preserve the Covenant for future generations. First, he considered Aaron’s son Eleazar, who would carry on the priestly functions; he could reassure himself that the priests would preserve the teachings of the Torah. Indeed, for a time, the priests did maintain their role. However, following the destruction of the Second Temple, the priests no longer played a central role in the people’s observance of the covenant. Moses then thought of Joshua, who was chosen to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. He could reassure himself that through the land, the faith would be preserved. Yet for nearly two millennia, the people of Israel would live in exile from the Promised Land. Finally, Moses then thought of Miriam. But failing to recognize earlier what she had contributed to preserving the faith, he realized that he had made no effort to ensure that her function be taken up by someone else.

Was there a leadership role that was lost with the death of Miriam? If the Israelites were to remain true to their religion in the generations to come, it would be because the women passed their faith and traditions on to their children. Moses’ efforts had gone into legislating primarily for the Israelite men and had largely neglected to consider the roles of women, who were often invisible in the legal codes. In our midrash, however, Miriam had seen to the women and their education of the children. What qualifications would there be for Miriam’s successor? Eleazar was destined for his priestly role by virtue of his lineage. Joshua had been chosen because he was judged to be a capable military commander. But whoever was to succeed Miriam would have to qualify directly through God’s gift, because no one had thought to name a successor. Moses, in that one prescient moment, understood that a vital piece of the community might have died with Miriam.

But it did not die, although it became obscured. Miriam’s legacy, which we are just beginning to retrieve, models our capacity to care for those more vulnerable than ourselves (as she did for her infant brother), to intervene in history regardless of our position (as she did when she approached the princess and when she challenged Moses’ conduct and leadership), and to dance as well as to sing publicly as a form of worship.

In our parashah, we learn something else as well: “The Israelites arrived in a body at the wilderness of Zin on the first new moon, and the people stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there. The community was without water, and they joined against Moses and Aaron” (20:1–2). Rabbinic tradition, recognizing that something of major import was lost with the death of Miriam, found in the juxtaposition of Miriam’s death with the peoples’ crying out for water a powerful symbol for this loss. A midrash tells us that throughout the Israelites’ sojourn in the wilderness, a well followed them. With the death of Miriam, the well dried up. How can we best understand what Miriam’s Well represented?

Israel in the Bible had two main centers of practice: the Tent of Meeting (or Tabernacle, later replaced by the Temple) and the home. The rules governing the Tent of Meeting take up much of Leviticus, but the life that is to be conducted in the home receives relatively little mention. Moses, we might say, had focused on institutional religion. But in our midrashic rendering of the story, Miriam’s gift was to raise up the personal practices of the Israelites and to help the women of Israel recognize and claim their homes as a sacred place. Each woman’s own Sabbath table became like an altar. While Moses showed the Israelites the God who spoke to them from the top of Sinai, Miriam enabled the women to see that God could also be found around the cooking fires in their own tents.

Miriam also helped the women change their idea of holy space (from the set-apart Tent of Meeting to their own homes). In a time when the male leaders were focusing on all that was separate and distinct, Miriam taught the women to find the holy wherever they were open to it, whenever they could be responsive.

And just as her imagined teachings sought to move beyond separation, her own tradition is not to be found in a separate text but in the words that mothers have told their daughters and sons since then: God is found in and through all that we remember, all that we experience, all that we hope for. Miriam’s Well stands for what is nourishing and life-giving–it stands for the dining table, the cradle, and the welcoming embrace of our loved ones.

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, 7 Tamuz through 13 Tamuz, we lovingly remember:

Donald Annino

Father of TKH Lay Leader Doug Annino

Carmen Espinoza

Aunt of TKH Member Mary Caron

Jay Hertz

TKH Memorial List

Samuel Klein

TKH Shofar Donor

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, July 12, 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 3

Time: July 12, 2024 06:00 PM Arizona

and/or

Shazoom – Erev Shabbat Service

Time: July 12, 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: