BESHALACH: 23. So he said to them, That is what the Lord
spoke, Tomorrow is a rest day, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake whatever you
wish to bake, and cook whatever you wish to cook, and all the rest leave over
to keep until morning. 24. So they left
it over until morning, as Moses had commanded, and it did not become putrid,
and not a worm was in it.
HAFTORAH:
where he sank, there
he fell down dead.
Through the window
looked forth, the mother of Sisera [peered] through the window;
TALMUD SOTAH:
Daf 38 - The Blessing of the Kohanim
GENERATIONS FROM ADAM TO THE LAST KING OF JUDAH: Jehoshaphat
JOURNEYS IN
THE DESERT: They journeyed from Oboth and camped
at the ruins of Abarim, on the Moabite boundary
Week 38 is the last week of Sivan. Beshalach’s section for this week describes again how the sixth day
was special. It also describes the concept of preparing for the Sabbath - as
explained in Book 1, there is an idea about preparing for the difficult summer
months to come. That preparation must be made in Sivan.
The Haftorah verses continue speak of how Sissera sank and fell down
dead, and how Sisera’s mother were peering through the window. Again, taken out
of the context of Sisera’s death, the verse also seems connected to the Sinai
experience. Also, the mother peering through the window brings to mind the
verse of the Song of Songs which states that G-d peers through the window to
see their suffering, and that He is ready to return his Shechinah to its rightful place. Again, an apparent reference to
the coming months.
Daf Lamed Cheit (Folio
38) of Sotah is all about the blessing of the Kohanim, and how the blessings given outside the Temple
differentiated from the ones given inside. The blessing of the Kohanim, which
halachically must be given out of love (as the brachah the make before specifies) is the ultimate example of
brotherly love and peace amongst the Jewish people. The above verse of Shir HaShirim is also related to Birkat Kohanim.
Jehoshaphat,
the son of Asa, was also an extremely righteous king. His counterparts in
Israel were Omri, Ahab, and Ahaziah (1 year). Jehoshaphat’s name means G-d is
Judge. (In Book 2, the prophet for this week is Daniel, whose name also means
God is (my) Judge). Jehoshaphat’s one mistake was becoming overly friendly and
at times even sought alliances with the evil rulers of the northern kingdom of
Israel. This is the corollary to this month’s theme of brotherly love.One must
know when to keep one’s distance. Overall, Jehoshaphat was extremely righteous
and led the Jewish people for 25 years of significant peace and prosperity.
Contrast
Jehoshaphat’s name with Ahab’s name, which makes no reference to G-d, but instead
even suggests possible incest. His name means “brother-father.” Ahab himself
appears to correct this problem when giving the name of his own son, Ahaziah,
meaning, “one that holds on to G-d, which includes Hashem’s name; Ahaziah is also the name of one of the kings of
Judah. Unfortunately, Ahaziah followed in the evil ways of his father, was
involved in idolatry, and died after only two years of reign.
In the thirty-eighth week, the Jews
journey from Oboth and camp in the
ruins of Abarim, on the Moabite
boundary. Abarim comes from the word Aveirah. Because of our sins related to
the summer months of Tammuz and Av, our Temple lay in ruins. Rashi himself makes a parallel to Jerusalem
in his commentary to the verse that describes Abarim, one of the few comments he makes regarding the journeys:
the ruins of Abarim: Heb. הָעֲבָרִים עִיּי, an expression denoting waste and ruins, as“into a
heap (לְעִי) in the field” (Micah 1:6);“they have
turned Jerusalem into heaps (לְעִיִּים) ” (Ps.
79:1).
Moab was a nation known for its
immorality. Like Ahab, Moab’s very name suggests incest, and actually was given
for that reason. (It is worth noting that after Ahab’s death, it was Moab that
revolted against Israel) Moab means “from the father,” because the nation came
into existence when Lot had relations with his own daughter. It is our job to
fight such immorality, thereby elevating the sparks hidden in the kelipah of this nation.
The personal journey for this week is to
internalize the concept of staying connected to our roots and true to our
mission, and now focus on repenting from and fighting against the sins that led
to the destruction of the Temple.
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