Filed under: Thoughts of the Week
This Shabbat, we studied the last chapters in the book of Numbers (particularly XXXIII, 50 to XXXVI, 13) and a haftorah from Jeremiah (II, 4-28, III, 4, IV, 1-2), in a double portion of Mattot and Massey – (tribes and stages of travel). The Torah reading focused on preparations for establishing a nation by organizing territories, cities for the Levites, the local priests who would live in 48 set-aside cities in the land, the development of cities of refuge for those who had accidentally killed another, and inheritance within tribes for women. The haftorah is a rant against idolatry and a promise that if the Israel returns to the Lord, “in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then shall the nations bless themselves by the Lord, and in the Lord shall they glory.”
The Torah portions this week included several intriguing topics, including the war against the Midianites, who were kindred peoples to the children of Israel, said to be descendants of Abraham and his concubine-wife Keturah. Moses had lived with a clan of the Midianites led by Reuel-Yithro and married Yithro’s daughter Tsipporah. Midian, which is said to mean either judgment or strife, lived east of the Jordan River from the Golan to theArabian peninsula. They had joined with the Moabites to attack the children of Israel, some say for hate without reason, probably to avoid the changes that would come from the influx of this large population into their environment. There was a discussion of what people may be allowed to survive after the war; it seems that only virgin females would survive. The portion also discussed what would happen if a man who owned land died without a male heir but with daughters. It was decided a daughter might inherit land but would have to marry a man from her tribe and who was her uncle’s son. This would allow for the holding of land within the tribe.
Our section begins with a discussion of the distribution of land according to the size of the tribes. Moses would remind the people that there would be ethnic cleansing for “those who remain of them be as thorns in your eyes and as pricks in your sides and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell.” The portion continues with a listing of the boundaries of the land – which does not include the Negev of current Israel, but does include the land between the Jordan and the sea. Two tribes – Reuben and Gad – and half of the tribe of Manasseh would live east of the Jordan. The Lord then lists the tribal leaders, princes, who would lead the people into the land, including Caleb and Joshua, who were the loyal spies who had urged entering the land earlier, 39 years before.
Instructions on establishing cities for the Levites throughout the territories were discussed, with the city surrounded by pasture lands of at least 1000 cubits on all sides. Six of these 48 cities would be cities of refuge for those who were involved in the intentional or accidental murder of others, 3 west of the Jordan and 3 to the east. If the accused had intentionally murdered another with iron, stone, or wood, or hitting out of hatred, an appointed blood-redeemer would kill him/her. If the death was accidental, the accused would be sent to a city of refuge to live there until the current high priest had died. If the murder was not resolved, then the blood of the murdered would pollute the land.
The portion closed with a discussion of the inheritance of land by daughters. To maintain the tribal lands, the daughters must marry into their uncles’ families. The names of the daughters of Zelophehad are listed, a rare time when women are noted by name in the Torah. The book of Numbers closes with this description of an attempt to provide some justice for women.
We also noted that today was la jour de la Bastille and Emmanuel, a French graduate student, explained to us that when the Bastille was liberated in 1789, there was only 10 prisoners remaining. This act represented the end of absolute power for the monarchy.
The establishment of cities reminded me of my understanding of the settlement of cities in the
United States, around a city center, church, and eventually school, surrounded by pasture lands. Counties in the Midwest, as well as states, were laid out in squares with their centers within travel distance for most of the settlers. Thes US centers also did not take into account the original inhabitants. Murders in our society are also either killed by state-sanctioned blood redeemers or sent to prisons, not quite city of refuge, and not only until the religious leader or a regime changes, necessarily. The emphasis on maintaining tribal lands suggests that more emphasis was placed on the tribes and their families, and not the decentralized federal government initially.
The reading from Jeremiah is filled with pastoral images of a people who have adopted the customs of their neighbors – accepting local gods, following the ways of strangers, every city with its own god. The Lord calls for change, a return to the divine, to truth, justice, and righteousness, for we would be a model for other nations.
Following our request for the Lord blessing for the upcoming new month of Av, a congregation leader and sociology professor from UCONN discussed the role of gender from these readings. She suggested that if we change that reading to represent youth instead of just virgin women, there is a clear emphasis on family and the maintenance of societal order.
We closed the service with some time for meditations. I tried to get the congregation to sing Adon Olam to La Marseillaise but no one else wanted to.
It was a very busy week, filled with growth among the future teachers in our summer institute, online courses, evaluating applicants for a campus search, orientation and advisement. Unfortunately, we went to the funeral of a friend’s son, who had died at 30 very suddenly. His motto was “30 is the new 20.” The reverend reminded us that it may not be the quantity but the quality of one’s life, the service one does. He quoted Job, “the Lord gives and the Lord takes, blessed by the name of the Lord.” The service, at the Liberty Christian Center International in the North End of Hartford was filled with the music of an organ, and electric piano, and drums, and a choir, and singers, and remembrances. It was a week to remember the importance of family, of solidarity within the tribe and the nation, and of hope and faith in the Lord.
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