IV-1 Bamidbar ONE OF A THOUSAND
IV-1 Bamidbar In the Desert 3-4 June 05 Shabbat
Torah: Nr 1-4:20 JPS
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jp...
Haftorah: 1Sam 20:18-42 JPS
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jp...
Aliyot:
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1. Nr 1:1-19
2.Nr 1:20-54
3. Nr 2:1-34
4. Nr 3:1-13
5. Nr 3:14-39
6. Nr 3:40-51
7. Nr 4:1-20
OVERVIEW:
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In preparation for leaving Mt Sinai, the male congregation over twenty years is counted once more. Midrash explains this tally was for military purposes as the Israelites would be open to attack in foreign territory. The Levites are not included for two reasons: dedicated as priests to God, they are defenders of the Mishkan, therefore exempt and also, unlike other Israelites, they are counted from the 31st day after birth. Inclusion would skew the statistics. Traditionally, the first and second aliyot are given to a Kohen and Levi for torah reading in the synagogue. Forbidden to accrue personal wealth, the Levites inherited no land but they were designated 48 cities. Organized under their banners, the tribes were positioned around the Mishkan according to Jacob's blessing and his burial procession closing Bereshit / Genesis.
IN FOCUS
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"Take a census of the whole Israelite community..." Lv 1:2 JPS
"The Israelites shall camp each with his standard, under the banners of their ancestral house; they shall camp round the Tent of Meeting at a distance." Lv 2:2 JPS
ONE OF A THOUSAND
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Before you do anything, something else always has to be done first. Life is an endless series of preparatory steps. To make progress at anything, we must be first organized. Before the Israelites departed from Sinai, they needed to regroup themselves systematically. Moving is complicated, even with only thirty boxes to ship from one place to another, you want to know where things are when you get there. According to Midrash, the Israelites organized themselves by clan and family in accordance to the blessing of Jacob and his burial procession. Each tribe had a banner which was the color of the twelve precious stones of the ephod worn by the Kohen Gadol.
Because the tribe of Levi took no part in the worship of the Golden Calf and were the first to act as defenders for Moses, they were designated to be the priests of God in lieu of the first born of every family. However, as priests, they also had no inheritance in the land with the exception of forty-eight cites and were forbidden from inheritance or accruing wealth. Their portion was to be servants of God and guard the inheritance of Torah for all generations. Unlike the other tribes, they were not given a geographical position to north, south, east or west, but encircled the Mishkan as they travelled the desert, being both its first and last defense.
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