BESHALACH: 21. They gathered it morning by morning,
each one according to his eating capacity, and [when] the sun grew hot, it
melted. 22. It came to pass on the sixth day that they gathered a double
portion of bread, two omers for [each] one, and all the princes of the
community came and reported [it] to Moses.
HAFTORAH: At her feet
he sank, fell, lay; at her feet he sank (and) fell;
TALMUD SOTAH:
Daf 37- Covenants and Emunah
GENERATIONS FROM ADAM TO THE LAST KING OF JUDAH: Asa
JOURNEY IN
THE DESERT: They journeyed from Punon and camped in Oboth.
Week 37 is the third week of Sivan. The Torah section for this week
describes how each person took according to their capacity. There is also a
focus on “the sixth day.” The sixth day in Bereshit
is not only a reference to the sixth day of the week, but also a reference Shavuot,
which occured on the sixth of Sivan. The double
portion could be perhaps related to the two crowns of Torah. The fact that “all
princes of the community” came together appears to be a reference to unity, a
key theme of this month.
The Haftorah verses speak of how Sissera, sank (or knelt, “Karah”), fell, lay. It is remarkable
how many times these words are repeated in this verse (which includes part of
next week). In verse all of 27, the word karah
is repeated three times, and so is the word nafal (fell). In the section of the verse specific for this week,
an entire phrase is repeated “at her feet he sank, fell,” with the word “lay”
in between. Taken outside the context of Sissera’s death and placed in the
context of Shavuot, it is perhaps a
reference to the Jewish people’s experience
at Mount Sinai. There we bowed and fell, and lay, at the feet of the Shechinah.
Our souls left our bodies and we had to be revived.
Daf Lamed Zayin (Folio
37) of Sotah discusses the splitting of the Red Sea, including the
intiative and self-sacrifice of the tribe of Benjamin and of Nachshon ben
Aminadav. It also further discusses the evens at Har Grizim and Har Eival, including
a discussion of where the Levi’im and
the Kohanim stood. Finally, the daf also discusses the number of
covenants were made with the Jewish people (including the one at Har Sinai), and further discussion of
the blessings and curses said at Har
Grizim and Har Eival. There are
many parallels here with Shavuot: the
initiative and self-sacrifice of the Jewish people when saying “Na’aseh veNishmah!” (We will do and we
will listen!), as well as the covenant experience of Mount Sinai.
Asa, the son
of Abijam, was an extremely righteous king, returning the kingdom to the ways
of Hashem and ridding it of idol worship. He even removed his own mother from
her position due to her worship of Ashera
trees. He overlaps briefly with Jeroboam (2 years), as well as with all
those kings of Israel that fought for Jeroboam’s succession: Nadav(?), Baasa, Elah, Zimri, Tivni (who was
never an undisputed king), and Omri.
All of these kings ruled for extremely short times (Tivni didn’t even get to rule),
except for Omri, who ruled for 12 years. Asa reigned for forty-one years, and
except for a brief moment in which he showed lack of faith in dealing with
Baasa, he was extremely righteous and faithful, and led the kingdom of Judah on
a good path. It is therefore appropriate that this king be connected with the
week after Shavuot.
In the
thirty-seventh week, the Jews journey from Punon
and camp in Oboth. Rabbi Jacobson
explains that Oboth means “enemies.”
It also means necromancy, as in the practice of Ovoth and Yidonim. After
the giving of the Torah, we begin to be tested by our enemies, in an effort to
lower us from the lofty state we achieved. It is important to stay firm. Oboth also has the same spelling Avoth, the patriarchs. It was by
visiting Hebron, the Cave of the Patriarchs, that Caleb was able to stay faithful
to his mission and come back with a correct report.
The personal
journey for this week is to internalize the concept of being revived by the
Torah, and now focus on staying connected to our roots and true to our mission.
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