Dear Friends,
(Note: this Shabbat we read from Parashat Naso for a second week due to an oddity in the Jewish calendar in which the second day of Shavuot fell over Shabbat last week. Jews of the Reform Movement and Jews in Israel keep only one day of Shavuot, not two. So that the calendars of Reform, Israeli and all other Jews continues in sync, we read from Parashat Naso for a second week.)
Torah speaks of equality this week. I pray that so does all of America.
We read: when Moses completed constructing and erecting the ancient Tabernacle, there then followed twelve days of a wondrous pageant. Each successive day, the chieftains of each of the twelve tribes brought cartloads of gifts to be used in the service of God and the Tabernacle. And, here is what each chieftain brought to the Tabernacle:
If only it was true in America.
This week our nation has revisited its value system, reconsidering its respect for the value of every other citizen. This week, we have teared together, raged together, and been stunned together. We have been fearful together, and we have been hopeful together. But, we really have not been… together. Not yet. To achieve that, we should learn from the tribal chieftains in ancient Israel.
To truly be a fair and righteous society, one which serves God and our sacred institutions, we have to respect the value and equality of every other member of our wider community.
In truth, in every community there always will be those who have more and those who have less, those who know more and those who know less – yet Torah teaches that such does not license some to diminish the value or respect of another. And, in ancient Israel there were some tribes which were larger or more affluent, and others which were smaller and more modest. Yet, they gave equally, and respected one another just as equally.
Let’s learn from Torah this week.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
(Note: this Shabbat we read from Parashat Naso for a second week due to an oddity in the Jewish calendar in which the second day of Shavuot fell over Shabbat last week. Jews of the Reform Movement and Jews in Israel keep only one day of Shavuot, not two. So that the calendars of Reform, Israeli and all other Jews continues in sync, we read from Parashat Naso for a second week.)
Torah speaks of equality this week. I pray that so does all of America.
We read: when Moses completed constructing and erecting the ancient Tabernacle, there then followed twelve days of a wondrous pageant. Each successive day, the chieftains of each of the twelve tribes brought cartloads of gifts to be used in the service of God and the Tabernacle. And, here is what each chieftain brought to the Tabernacle:
- One silver bowl filled with choice flour
- One silver basin filled with choice flour
- One gold ladle filled with incense
- One bull, one ram, one lamb, one goat for burnt and sin offerings
- Two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs for a well-being offering
If only it was true in America.
This week our nation has revisited its value system, reconsidering its respect for the value of every other citizen. This week, we have teared together, raged together, and been stunned together. We have been fearful together, and we have been hopeful together. But, we really have not been… together. Not yet. To achieve that, we should learn from the tribal chieftains in ancient Israel.
To truly be a fair and righteous society, one which serves God and our sacred institutions, we have to respect the value and equality of every other member of our wider community.
In truth, in every community there always will be those who have more and those who have less, those who know more and those who know less – yet Torah teaches that such does not license some to diminish the value or respect of another. And, in ancient Israel there were some tribes which were larger or more affluent, and others which were smaller and more modest. Yet, they gave equally, and respected one another just as equally.
Let’s learn from Torah this week.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
