Numbers 6:2-9:35

 Rosh Chodesh

1. [6:9] “…and they didn’t listen to Moshe because of impatience and hard work”. If the Israelites had not been impatient and hadn’t worked so hard, they also wouldn’t have listened to Moshe, because their lives would have been easier. Under what conditions does an oppressed people listen to someone who wants to free them from their oppression?

2. [6:12] “…the children of Israel didn’t listen to me, so why would Pharoah listen to me…” The Riva (12^th century, France) explains the logic in the following way: The children of Israel didn’t listen to me , even though I came for their good, so why would Pharoah listen to me when I’m telling him something that’s not good for him? Some commentators say that this is faulty logic. What might be faulty about the logic here?

3. [6:14] In the previous parsha, the Torah gave us a list of the tribes. Rashi, our main commentator, says that this shows how much God loves the Israelites. Here the Torah gives us a list of the heads of the tribes. Why does the Torah write lists of names so often?

4. [6:30] Moshe does not want to be the leader of the Israelites, but God insists that he is the man for the job. What qualities does Moshe have that make him a proper leader? How are these qualities different from the qualities that we usually associate with leadership?

5. [7:19] In this parsha, 7 plagues are mentioned. They are: 1) the changing of the waters of Egypt to blood; 2) frogs everywhere; 3) lice; 4) swarms of flies; 5) disease on the cattle; 6) boils on the body; and 7) hail. The commentators try to find a pattern to the plagues. Do you see a pattern to the plagues?

Commentary

There are 10 words in the Torah for prayer. When the Israelites were in spiritual exile in Egypt, their power of speech—their prayer—was also in exile. (This is seen in everyday life when a person is depressed. The person’s full power of speech is lost—is in exile.) The 10 plagues that removed the exile restored the power of speech so that the Israelites could pray the 10 expressions of prayer.

—The Chiddushei HaRim–R. Yitzchak Meir of Ger (1798(?)-1866)

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

And to the memory of Sarah Beila Kummer bat Yitzchak and Chana, Chaim Yosef Yechiel ben Eliyahu Kummer and Eliyahu and Margaret Kummer