Summary of this Week's Parashá
Nasó
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Naso Gershon, Kehat, and Merari must fulfill the tasks given to them to the letter and exactly.
Men fit for service are counted through a census between the ages of 30 and 50, for a total of 8,580.
Those found to be unclean in any way were to be sent outside the camp. Four sets of statutes were enacted, as follows:
Laws were given regarding those who had taken ownership of another's property.
The Sotah woman, procedures established for addressing suspicions of adultery.
The vow of the Nazirites and the regulations established for them.
The Eternal grants a special blessing, which the Levite-Priests must bestow upon the children of Israel.
Two years after the departure from Mitzrayim, the Mishkan (the first of Nisan) is inaugurated. Each tribal representative, that is, the twelve leaders, donates 6 carriages and 12 oxen for the transportation of the Mishkan.
Although this is a short blessing, it encompasses three different blessings that encompass very interesting concepts.
Can a material and spiritual realm be encompassed in a single blessing?
When this blessing begins, it focuses on material prosperity, which is the least important.
But it comes first in the blessing!
This blessing progresses from less to more, and what's most interesting is that even though material things aren't necessarily the most important, they are still included as part of what the Eternal considers necessary for humankind.
This is because part of the tranquility in the life of a righteous person, reflected through material things, is intended to enable them to give Tzedakah.
In Gematria at Bash, צדקה is read the same on both sides, or up and down, implying that what is given has a consequence.
Secondly, the blessing alludes to the splendor of the face and reminds us of the episode where Moses descends after being with the Eternal One, and his face shone (Shemot 34:29-35).
This refers to man's closeness to God, since Moses' face shone not because of his own merit, but because of his closeness to the Eternal One. The very light of the Eternal One's face is seen in the faces of those righteous ones who draw near to Him.
Finally, when the Eternal lifts His face upon us and we receive Shalom. At this point, if the Eternal's gaze is lifted, it means that the Eternal is looking ahead, toward our future, and that is our peace, knowing that the future is in the Eternal's hands.
Now He ends with the following: "And they will put my name among the children of Israel, and I will bless them," implying that He is the beginning of our blessing, but also its end, as long as His name is the center of our lives.
Rabbi Israel Escalona
Bamidbar
First Aliyah (1:1-19): The order to census the children of Israel.
Second Aliyah (1:20-54): The results of the census. The Levites and their role.
Third Aliyah (2:1-34): The people of Israel and their encampment in the desert.
Fourth Aliyah (3:1-13): The condition of the Levites.
Fifth Aliyah (3:14-39): The census of the Levites.
Sixth Aliyah (3:40-51): The census of the firstborn and their replacement by the Levites.
Seventh Aliyah (4:1-20): The obligations of the children of Kehat and the precautions taken with them.
This week's portion has the same name as the Sefer "Bamidbar," which we translate as "in the desert." From the Sefer Shemot, we begin to see the Eternal's plan to free His people from slavery in Mitzrayim, and we cannot help but think about those things that catch our attention, such as: the Eternal brought our ancestors out of Mitzrayim through the ten "Makot," which we translate as "blows," shown in the translations as the 10 plagues of Egypt, and we see the full display of Adonai's power, humiliating each and every one of the Egyptian gods, shaking natural laws, and carrying out completely spiritual designs such as the death of the firstborn. Having said all of the above, it is difficult to understand how it is possible for the Eternal to bring a people out of slavery and lead them to the desert (a symbol of lack, desolation, dryness, and need).
All of this has a purpose, and it is to raise awareness among our people through their own experiences, given that it is written in Debarim 5:15, 15:15, and 24:28, "Remember that you were a slave in Egypt."
Now in the desert there is no food, no homes, no crops, and therefore no harvest. This causes the people who saw the power of their Elohim to now learn to depend completely on Him, given that everything comes according to Heaven's designs. There are no differences because everyone eats the same manna and drinks the water from the rock, and the promise given by the Eternal to Abraham Avinu is valid for everyone.
In addition to being the place where the people must depend on the God who brought them out of Mitzrayim, it is also the place where the people must unite and achieve Echad (unity), overcoming differences to reach the same goal of a good that is not individual but social and common to all.
Finally, we might think that the census would serve to count the entire people. However, not everyone is counted; rather, they are counted at specific ages to go to war and with the aptitudes to perform certain jobs, all with a single conscience focused on the fact that the well-being and safety of my neighbor is also my own well-being.
Rabbi Israel Escalona.
