(Bamidbar: 8:1-12:16)

(Haftara: Zecharia 2:14-4:7)

(Pirkay Avot, chapter 2)

1. [9:6] “And the people that were impure… were not able to do the Pesach sacrifice…” Pesach is the only festival of the year that demands ritual purity to perform one of its main commandments. Why is Pesach different from the other festivals in this regard?

2. [9:18 ] “…and when the cloud rested [on the mishkan] the children of Israel encamped.” Sometimes they camped for a long period of time, and sometimes they camped for a day. Either way, the mishkan was set up perfectly with all its parts and its furniture. What lesson for our own lives can we learn from this?

3. [11:13] “…give us meat and we will eat.” The children of Israel were not hungry. The ”man” was more than enough for food. What would the eating of meat do for them and what does it do for us?

4. [Zechariah 3:4] “…take off his filthy clothing…I have removed your sin from you…” Sin is considered an external piece of clothing and not part of the essential person. Are there sins which are more part of the essential person, and other sins that are like a removable piece of clothing?

5. [Pirkay Avot 2:3] “Be careful of the government people. They only get close to a person for their own benefit…but don’t stand by him in his difficult times.” Why would anyone expect anything different from the governing authorities? Is there any other vision of the relationship between governing authorities and the people?

Commentary

In the congregation of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev there was a prayer leader who had grown hoarse.

The rabbi asked him, “Why are you hoarse?”

“Because I prayed before the pulpit,” he answered.

“Quite right,” said the rabbi. “If one prays before the pulpit, he grows hoarse, but if one prays before the living God, then he will not become hoarse.”

This study page is dedicated to the memory of Gad Eliahu ben David and Kochava—Eli Zucker

And this study page is dedicated to the memory of Sarah Bella bat Yitzchak Kummer, Chaim Yosef Yechiel ben Eliyahu Kummer and Eliyahu and Margaret Kummer