Friday Shabbat Shalom

The portion of Korach is named for the rebellious Levite Korach who started a dispute over the issue of kedushah. The concept of kedushah is central in Judaism, and its meaning can have profound impact on the environment today. Kedushah or the corresponding adjective, kadosh, are usually translated obscurely as “sanctity” or “holy”; its real meaning is: devotion to a sublime ideal.

In Parashat Sh’lach, we are told the story of the spies who investigate the Land of Israel before the people enter and settle there. They return and report that though the land is bountiful, the people who dwell within it are strong, terrible, and cannot be overcome. Despite the lone protests of Caleb, who insists that the Israelites can indeed possess the land, the people of Israel are paralyzed with fear, begin to weep and defame God, and then insist on returning to Egypt. It is this rebellion that is punished by 40 years of desert wandering.

We often translate d’var torah to mean, “a teaching,” but it literally means, “a word of Torah.” In this d’var torah, let’s examine an actual word, just one: “ruach.” The word ruach in the literal sense means, “wind,” but it also can mean “spirit.” And in this week’s portion, Beha’alotcha, we surprisingly find both meanings, in distinct contexts.

There are few texts from the Torah more ubiquitous, more universally invoked than Birkat Kohanim: the Priestly Benediction. We Jews use it all the time. At weddings. And bat mitzvahs. At preschool graduation ceremonies. At the Shabbat dinner table. Indeed, it has become an integral element of our liturgy incorporated into the conclusion of the Amidah as part of the Birkat Shalom, the prayer for peace. And within the non-Jewish world, the three-stanza blessing has come to be such a central part of the service that most worshipers presume it is indigenous to the Christian tradition. But it is not. It comes right from Parashat Naso.

Jewish time is a beautiful thing. This week, we welcome Shabbatby opening a new book of Torah, Numbers, with the reading ofParshat Bemidbar. As Shabbatconcludes on Saturday evening we begin the festival of Shavuot,celebrating the receiving of Torahat Mt. Sinai. Shabbat begins with opening a new book, and as it concludes we find ourselves at the base of the mountain ready to renew the covenant with the Divine. The Torah contains within it the story of how we came to be and the essence of what we strive to become. Within the pages, and verses are the stories of our ancestors and the guiding principles of what it means to be Am Yisrael, the people of Israel. At Sinai, we became a link in a chain of tradition extending from generation to generation. We recall the stories, teach the values, and guide our lives by the precepts.

Parshat Bechukkotai opens with a conditional statement: If you faithfully follow in God’s ways, then you will be blessed. If you reject God’s ways, then you will experience punishment and curse. These consequences are referred to by the rabbis as tochecha/ rebuke, and it is customary for the Torah reader to read the passages outlining the curses quickly and quietly as if to protect the congregation from the uncomfortable nature of the curses.

We officially live in an era and a culture where we all try to impress each other with how busy we are at every moment, how much we accomplish and how hard we work. And due to smart phones, we are available 24/7 and we can be in touch with the world 24/7 too. The problem is human beings were not designed for this level of activity.

The ritual of counting days has become a spiritual practice where we imagine ourselves on a profound journey towards Sinai. We are encouraged to take time out of our daily routine to pause, to count, and to anticipate how much closer we are to standing once again at the base of Mount Sinai with our hearts open. On this Shabbat, as we are at the halfway point, halfway to Sinai, we ask ourselves: “How will I receive the gift of Torah this year?”