Numbers 1:1-4:20 – Hosea 2:1-22 – John 11:11-45

This week's edition of The Set Table contains:

Questions and Commentary on Shabbat Bemidbar
Chayyei Yeshua - A Devotional Commentary on the Besora Reading
In Summary
Looking Ahead

Questions & Commentary on Parashat Bemidbar

1. Why is Moses' name mentioned in Numbers 3:1 since his descendents are not even mentioned there? What is meant to teach us? How is it related to Messiah's Mandate in Matthew 28:19?

Rabbi Jason Sobel

Commenting on this question the Talmud says,

R. Samuel said in R. Jonathan's name: He who teaches the son of his fellow the Torah is regarded as if he had begotten him, as it says, "Now, these are the generations of Aaron and Moses" (Numbers 3:1) while further on it is written, "These are the names of the sons of Aaron," thus teaching us that Aaron begot them and Moses taught them; hence they are called by his name [i.e. Moses]. 

b. Sanhedrin 19b 

The point that the Talmud is making is that Moses became the spiritual father of Aaron's children because he taught them Torah.

The responsibility to act as spiritual parents by making disciples is not just limited to rabbis and religious professionals. In fact our Sages tell us that one of the questions we will be asked when we stand before Heavenly Tribunal after our death is "Did you work at having [spiritual] children?" (b. Shabbat 31a). The importance of raising spiritual children is also at the heart of Yeshua's mandate to us, "Go therefore and make talmidim (disciples) of all the nations," (Matthew 28:19).

Making talmidim out of the younger generations is absolutely essential due to the spiritual crisis that the American Jewish community is facing. As Eliot Abrams notes, American Jewry is facing a demographic disaster:

• One-third of all Americans of Jewish ancestry no longer report Judaism as their religion.
• Only 28 percent of children of intermarried couples are raised as Jews.
• Jews, who once comprised 3.7 percent of the U.S. population, have fallen to about 2 percent.

Elliott Abrams, Faith or Fear, 1

If we want to help our people flourish, as well as see our movement grow, we must make a greater investment in the training and discipleship of our young people. The following is a beautiful story that underscores this point.

A few weeks before Passover, a number of religious Jews in Bergen-Belsen requested flour to bake matza. Their Rebbe, fearing for his life, reluctantly approached the camp commandant for permission to bake matza in honor of Passover. Their request was forwarded to Berlin for approval. Surprisingly, a few short days before Passover arrived, their request was granted. 

In haste, they feverishly built an oven and baked the matza fearing the Germans might change their minds. Since they did not have enough for everyone, it was initially decided that the adult men in their group, would be given the privilege of fulfilling the mitzva of eating matza. One lone voice dissented arguing that the children should be given the mitzva to eat, for when God freed them from their current slavery; it was going to be the children who would ensure the survival of Torah and the Jewish people. In the end, everyone agreed that nothing was more important than teaching the children that Torah/Jewish life must even be observed in the Valley of Shadow of Death. At the end of the seder, the Rebbe kissed each child on the head and reassured them that Messiah was coming soon and therefore their freedom was close at hand. Today, those children who ate matza made with tears are Torah leaders in America, England, and Israel.

Adapted from Nosson Scherman, Path through the Ashes (Brooklyn: Art Scroll, 1986), 33.

Our situation is certainly not as dire as that of our brothers and sisters in Bergen-Belsen. But, our situation is severe. Therefore, let us prepare the matza of Torah for our children.  As we prepare for Shavuot this coming week, let us not only ready ourselves to receive the Torah anew, but let us also make the commitment to pass it on to future generations, by making the necessary sacrifices to raise a new generation of young Messianic Jewish talimidim for Yeshua.

2. What is the purpose of the census at the beginning of the book of Numbers, and why does the portion emphasize the encampment of the tribes of Israel around the Tabernacle?

Joshua Brumbach

This week's Torah portion begins the book of Numbers, named after the census taken at the beginning of the parasha. The act of counting individuals seems quite trivial and without meaning. In addition, the census seems to appear out of nowhere. As such, what is the purpose of the census? The Hebrew of the text provides an answer. The literal translation of the phrase, "take a census - se'u et harosh" is "lift up the head." According to Chasidic thought, the purpose of the census was to reach out to the core of the Jewish soul. When each person is counted, everyone is equal. No one is counted twice and nobody is skipped. The census was meant to even the playing field and show equality and value of every single individual. One life is not worth more than another. Each person has purpose.

This idea of holiness is emphasized in the encampment of Israel around the Tabernacle. The 13th Century Jewish sage, Ramban, noticed clear parallels between the mitzvot surrounding the Tabernacle and the Revelation at Sinai. As Sinai represented the place of God's manifest presence, so too the Tabernacle represented God's presence on earth. And just as the people camped around the base of Mt. Sinai, so too did the tribes camp around the Tabernacle, symbolizing the centrality of God's presence among the people of Israel. During the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai, the Jewish people entered into a profound covenant with God. The symbolism between a Jewish wedding and the giving of the Torah further solidifies this understanding.

By making the Tabernacle central to the people of Israel, geographically and conceptually, it solidified the Jewish commitment to the centrality of Torah. The centrality of Torah underscored the emphasis for the need of the Living Torah, dwelling in, through, and among the nation of Israel. May we too recognize that same obligation to make God's presence central to our lives, and may each of us never lose sight of our ultimate purpose. For no one is overlooked in the Kingdom of Yeshua. 

Dima Birman

John 11:25-36 - Resurrection and Life
 

In John 11:25-26, the narrative of the resurrection of Lazarus, Yeshua calls himself "resurrection and life."  The question is why he said "I am the resurrection" and not "I bring resurrection" or "I am the path to resurrection?" Isn't resurrection a concept, an event? It is understandable how one can be instrumental in bringing the resurrection, or being a symbol of resurrection, but how can Yeshua claim to be the event itself?   

What is resurrection and life? Arguably, by "life" Yeshua means eternal life, where eternal life and resurrection go together. According to the Torah, the definition of life, of being alive, is to be connected with the source of life that is God (Deuteronomy 4:4). In the past, the Temple was used to maintain connection between the Jewish People and God. 

Indeed, the Temple and its sacrifices were designed to ensure we will have covering for transgressions and the ability to be unified with the Creator. In our Torah portion, Bemidbar, we read of the formation in which the Jewish people were to travel. The formation was as follows: 3 tribes on each side of the camp, each group of 3 led by the main tribe and the Tabernacle in the middle.  The formation resembled a human body with the main tribes of Judah at the head (East), Joseph at the feet (West), Dan at the right hand (North), Reuben at the left hand (South) and Moses, Aaron, the Levites and the Mishkan at the heart (Center).  The concept of oneness of the Jewish people with the Temple - i.e. connection with God - meant we were alive and, as a result, resurrected from the fall of the first man. Indeed, the generation of the Desert heard the same gospel (Hebrews 4:2).

This way Yeshua demonstrated that he is this event of unification of all Israel in one body, appearing in  human form and taking away the sin of the world becomes that connection, between God and created universe, and the way through which godliness enters the world. This channel of godliness is resurrection; it brings us back to life from the death brought by the fall of the first man.  He infuses us with the new life by the means of his blood (the life-giving soul - nefesh - is in the blood). We should reaffirm daily, our connection, being alive through attachment to the Source of Life, who is our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Let us therefore today take part in Yeshua, our resurrection and life, being united into one body with all those who have obeyed God's call.

NEXT WEEK'S READINGS - PARASHAT NASO

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