Beha’alotekha 5771

by Alex Hamilton, SWUSY 2011-12 Israel Awareness Vice President

So what does the Israeli Flag, the Thunder, the Sea, and tallitot have in common? They’re blue. Now when I was studying I came across the paragraph about making the Tallit. So I started wondering what does blue mean in Judaism. On the American flag the blue section or union is supposed to represent vigilance, perseverance, and justice. But after some of my research I realized that the blue in our tallitot aren’t reflective of anything even remotely American.

Now does anyone know the Hebrew word for blue? CaChol, that’s right. So if you will open up your siddurim to page 102 and tell me where in the paragraph that starts ,”vayomer hashem el Moshe Leymor” where is the word CaChol. Okay, that’s because it isn’t the regular blue. The blue isn’t actually blue, it’s the dye that was used called Tekhelet. The recipe for making Tekhelet came from an animal called chilazon, but sometime between the Byzantine and Islamic empires the recipe was lost. It is believed that the chilazon is the Murex truculus, a shellfish off the Lebanese coast. The same shellfish is also generally considered the same mollusk that produced the purple for the robes of the emperor of Rome. But recently it has been discovered how to change the naturally purple dye to blue. So hopefully we will be able to create the ancient recipe of Tekhelet once again.

But what does blue represent in Judaism. I looked up what blue in Judaism represents, I got that is the color of heaven, the color of HaShem’s throne, the color of the thread in many of our tzitzit, a feature on the tabernacle, and as a supernatural defense.

On the second day, HaShem created the two largest things, the sky and the sea, both are blue. So if you look to the sea, you see water and fish. The sea produces Tekhelet for one. The other is that water creates life. So blue would represent life and eternity. The one substance that HaShem didn’t create was water. Water was there, All HaShem did was separate the heavens and the sea. Maybe his blue throne was getting moldy. But furthermore, water is something that provides a sense of ecstasy. If one were to look at the water libation ceremony at the temple, one would really be dazzled. The idea was that on Sukkot to clean the alter. So after the alter was clean, there was a giant party, one that was said to rival all other parties.

Water is also the cause of much destruction and chaos. Think of the Flood and Moses striking the rock for water. But what is really a huge issue is the Leviathan. A giant ugly sea creature that is just awful. Sometimes the Leviathan is portrayed as a whale, and sometimes as a fire-breathing dragon. It is seen as a genius of the abyss that dwells at the center of the sea. He causes the rolling of the sea and it takes the water of the mighty Jordan River quench this dragon’s thirst. And according to Talmud, my friend on right Michael and my friend on the left Gabriel are gonna fight and overcome the Leviathan. Or something called a Behemoth is going to kill the Leviathan. Either way, he is going to end up for dinner as the entrée at the messianic banquet.

As for the sky, it is always blue in Israel. Everything spectacular is in the heavens; HaShem’s throne for example. HaShem rides upon clouds. Angels manifest themselves as clouds. The Pillar of Fire guided our ancestors very poorly as they wandered in the desert for forty years. The divine feminine presence at the Temple Mount, called Shekhina, hovered over the alter in a cloud of glory.

The other reason I am not so sure of, but if you go to the wonderful pilgrimage city of Sfat, one will see everything covered in blue. Handrails, doors, gutters. They are blue for two reasons, one is that blue is the color of the Messiah, which is fitting because Sfat is where he is supposed to appear. The other is because blue is anti-demonic. Jewish demonology is very long complex and not something I know much about, but Ashmodai the king of the demons and his evil consort, Lilith have found their way into the nightmares of the children of the past.

So the blue has a number of meanings in Judaism. And maybe the reason our Tallit is supposed to be blue is to remind us all at once of the moods of the sea, the breadth of the heavens, the Messiah, or the evil of the demons. That only HaShem can protect us with His signs of wonders, and that if we don’t put our faith in Him, then he might unleash the power of the seas on us, or send Ashmodai to haunt our dreams, or even to have a simple puddle of rain get our socks wet. Let this be a constant reminder of HaShem and his mighty power over everything.

Beha’alotekha 5771

by Josh Seed, 2011 USY Religion/Education International General Board

A poor Jew went to his rabbi for advice. “Holy Rabbi!” he cried, “Things are in a bad way with me, and are getting worse all the time! We are so poor, that my wife, six children, in laws, five grandchildren and I all have to live in a one room hut. We get in each other’s way all the time. Our nerves are frayed and, because we have plenty of troubles, we quarrel all the time. My home is so terrible that I’d sooner die than continue living this way!”

The Rabbi pondered the matter gravely. “My son,” he said, “promise to do as I tell you and your condition will improve. Go home now and bring all of your animals into your house to live with you and God will help you. Keep them in the house for two days. At the end of the two days, let them go.”

The poor man was dumbfounded but since he trusted the Rabbi, he went home and brought all of the family’s animals into his house.

At the end of the two days, he let all the animals out of the house. A miraculous transformation took place. Not a day had passed before he came running again to the Rabbi. “Rabbi!” cried the poor man, his face beaming, “With all the animals out, the house is so quiet, so roomy and so clean! What a pleasure! My house is a treat. Thank you Rabbi you have made my life sweet.”

This coming Shabbat we will be reading Parashat Beha’alotcha. Among a number of topics that are discussed in the portion is B’nai Yisrael’s constant complaining. This can first be seen in the sixth aliyah. “The people took to complaining bitterly before the Lord. The Lord heard and was incensed: a fire of the Lord broke out against them, ravaging the outskirts of the camp.” (Bamidbar 11:1-2)

What were they complaining about? The commentators point us to the answer found just a few verses before. “They marched from the mountain of the Lord a distance of three days.” (Bamidbar 10:33) It appears that B’nai Yisrael was complaining about this three day journey. If not for the prayers of Moses, God’s fire would have likely killed everyone.

The next incident of complaining occurs shortly after. The people begin to grumble that all they have to eat was manna. They reminisced about their time in Egypt when they supposedly had fish, cucumbers, melons, onions and garlic to eat. Their complaining again brings a punishment from God. Quail fell outside the camp and whoever ate of it was stricken and died.

As the poor Jew in the story realizes, things can always be worse. Your house could be smaller, a terrible fire could devastate your people and you could be eating nothing but quail instead of manna which supposedly tasted like anything you want it to be! Parashat Beha’alotcha serves to remind us that we should be thankful for what we have. At a time when there are many people throughout the world who don’t have enough to eat, we must always be sure to consider our blessings before opening our mouths to complain.

This week’s mitzvah is to learn Torah and to teach it. (D’varim 6:7) Although the holiday of Shavuot does not carry any particular mitzvot like eating matzah on Pesach and dwelling in a sukkah on Sukkot, the holiday is special nonetheless. Shavuot celebrates the giving of Torah to the Israelites and it is therefore customary to spend the holiday studying Jewish texts into the wee hours of the night.

Naso 5771

by Jordan Bailey Brandt, Seaboard USY 2011-12 Regional President and 2011 Religion/Education International General Board

This shabbat, we read Parshat Naso, the longest parasha in the Torah. It covers various topics including a second census of the Israelites, the laws regarding a female adulterer, the laws of the nazir, and the identical sacrifices given by each tribe in honor of the mishkan. Even though this parasha covers a lot of topics and there are tons of commentaries and midrashim on it, I had a lot of trouble deciding on a topic … but then it hit me.

In Naso, we read, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: If anyone, man or woman explicitly utters a nazarite’s vow, to set himself apart for the Lord’” (Bamidbar 6:1-2). The nazir may not drink wine even eat anything from grapes, is not allowed to cut his/her hair, may not be near a dead person, and must give special sacrifices. I have taken multiple classes that have discussed the topic of the nazir and still and not sure if I fully understand the concept because I have the same reoccurring question. How is the nazir so incredibly holy when he completely separates himself from the community?

I am currently taking a class where we are discussing modern Jewish theologians like Abraham Joshua Heschel, Mordecai Kaplan, Neil Gillman, and Arnie Eisen who all stress the importance and holiness of community. Obviously, these are modern theologians and we no longer have nazirim, but the importance of community can’t possibly have changed very much.

As I was doing some research trying to find an answer to a question that seemed impossible to answer, I found some hints in the commentary of the Etz Hayim. “Is he or she a saint, aspersing voluntarily to higher levels of holiness, or a person with trouble controlling his or her impulses, who therefore has to impose limits on beyond what normal people do?…[Rambam], uncomfortable with the nazirite’s enthusiasm, urged the path of modernation in food, drink, and other matters.” While this isn’t the most straight forward answer, it did satisfy me for now. I completely understand Rambam’s perspective, which also ties in well with Conservative Judaism today.

We struggle between Torah/halachah and the modern world. Just like Rambam suggests, it is about moderation and striking a balance between the two. As for whether the nazir is truly holy, that is something you will have to decide for yourself.

Shabbat shalom!

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