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Parsha Korach — 6 July 2024

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The Rebellion of Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32)

The book of Numbers, whether it reveals events given in actual sequence or not, reveals several rebellions of the people of Israel while still in the desert. There is the complaining about lack of water, then murmuring for “substantial” food other than the manna; there is Miriam’s doubting of Moses’ authority and her subsequent seven-day separation from the camp. There is the man who clearly gathered wood to build a fire on the Sabbath. Then follows the story of the evil report of the 10 spies and the consequent rebellion. Now we see another catastrophic uprising and revolt. Several Levites, cousins of Aaron’s sons, are offended that they should be excluded from the priesthood, and we see how this again stirs up the entire people of Israel. We see the way YHWH handles the rebellion, completely destroying those who instigated the chaos and their followers; Korach, Dathan and Abiram and 250 more who were leading men of the congregation. Afterward, a plague starts among the people and 14,700 more are destroyed. 

As I examine the accounts of these rebellions written one after the other, I see that Israel has a problem following their divinely-appointed leadership. One would wonder how any could become involved in revolt after so many years of slavery in Egypt, where under the whip, they took orders from evil task masters, and followed them precisely? Where, if they disobeyed, the result was death?  When, after a miraculous salvation from the hand of Pharaoh, they relax in an atmosphere of God’s mercy and protection and are led by His designated leader, Moses, who himself was willing to die for the people, they take on the attitude of spoiled, entitled children (much like society today) and rebel at whatever they assume has trampled their rights. They now refuse discipline, they are a stiff-necked people. What has made them this way is a mystery and continues in our world today. Why would anyone rebel when you have everything going for you? You were delivered from Pharaoh at the Sea of Reeds, you have food provided daily, you have protection from the sun and the cold by a cloud that follows you on your travels, you have a ready-made place of worship. You are given protection from Egypt and the other nations. Perhaps the only thing you do not have is hard labor. Maybe that is the problem or part of it. When they were slaves, they had no time to think, no time to grumble and complain. Maybe this is the reason for the Sabbath commandment that declares: “six days you shall labor,” which may be the secret of real rest. They had too much time on their hands and spent that time in doubting and complaining rather than building up their society. Bad choices lead to disaster. 

In today’s story, Korach a cousin of Aaron, and his two friends, Dathan and Abiram and On who were Reubenites, rebel.

“Now Korach, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:” (Num 16:1-2)

“And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and YHWH is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of YHWH? And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:” (Num 16:3-4)

The rebellion is swiftly dealt with, resulting in the death of not only Korach and his two friends, but the 250 others who were ordered to burn incense in fire pans. The ground itself opened up and swallowed the three ringleaders and all that they owned, including wives,, children and belongings. The 250 supporters were consumed by a fire from YHWH. 

It is easy to say that maybe the punishment was too harsh. How would we deal with it today, when almost every country has done away with the death penalty? Treason used to carry the death penalty. Maybe this is why the world has gone mad today! Let’s be kind to those who rebel, after all, their feelings matter too! But this was not the way God handled things–perhaps we’ve wandered a long way from God’s ways of dealing in this world. 

What really is surprising about this story, is that the rest of the people, with their history of rebelling, i.e., the manna, the report of the spies, and the rebellion of Korach, they staged a revolt, claiming that Moses and Aaron had killed the people of YHWH. 

“But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of YHWH. And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of YHWH appeared.” (Num 16:41-42)

How could anyone believe that the killing of the three ringleaders and their 250 cohorts was a maneuver trumped-up by Moses and Aaron to maintain their leadership? Were the people completely mad? How would Moses have made the ground open and swallow these ringleaders? How about the fire that came and burned up the 250? Where did that come from? Did they think Moses was a magician and that by rebelling they could get what they wanted and replace him? 

At this point, a plague began among the people and Moses commanded Aaron to intervene, going out among the people with his fire pan and incense. And the plague stopped after 14,700 had died. 

To finally show the leadership of Aaron the Cohen Gadol and his direct descendants, YHWH gives a sign. He tells Moses:

“Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod. And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you.” (Num 17:2-5)

“And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. … And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.” (Num 17: 8, 10).

But what do we see today? We have no holy temple, we have only synagogues. The majority of religious Jews have not truly accepted the Torah of Moses, but rather their own substitution, which they call Torah. Is this not again a Korach like movement to dethrone Moses and the God of the Universe? I believe the whole case of persecution of Jews ever since the destruction of the Temple has to do with a Babylonian learned Oral Torah and a rejection of the one true religion established at Sinai. But few know about what happened in Babylon and few, if any, care. Perhaps we need some earthquakes to open the ground again!

Parasha Shlaj

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30 June 2024

Números 13:1-15:41

La Parashá Shlaj comienza con una orden de YHWH a Moisés de enviar líderes de las tribus a espiar la tierra de Canaán. Observamos que estos son líderes del pueblo de Israel. Se dan los nombres de estos líderes tribales. Estos incluyen a Caleb, hijo de Jefuná, y Oseas, hijo de Nun. Menciono estos dos por su importancia en lo que sucede en la historia después de los 40 días en Canaán. Antes de emprender su viaje, Moisés cambia el nombre de Oseas a Yehoshua.
Este detalle es importante. Con el nuevo nombre, el significado cambia de “salvación” a “YHWH salva”.

¿Por qué se cambió el nombre de Oseas en ese momento?

*Oseas había sido un niño bajo el cuidado de Moisés, y ya era hora de que creciera.
*El significado del cambio de nombre claramente puso la responsabilidad de la salvación en YHWH, y no en Yehoshua.
*Parece que Yehoshua era el emisario personal de Moisés, YHWH quería señalarlo como líder y usar su nombre como mensaje a Israel.

Después de 40 días, los espías regresaron llevando un enorme Eshcol (racimo) de uvas que era tan pesado que tuvo que ser transportado en un poste entre dos de los hombres. Pero no todo es como se esperaba. Diez de los 12 llevan un informe alarmante. Su informe conmueve a la gente acerca de los gigantes de la tierra. Afirman que se les aparecieron a ellos mismos y a los que vivían en la tierra como “saltamontes”. Esta declaración muestra su falta de fe en Aquel que los envió. Muestra su idea de que ellos mismos estaban a cargo y que Dios no era parte de este viaje. Si su líder se llamaba Yehoshua (YHWH salva), entonces ¿de qué tenían miedo?

En ese momento Yehoshua y Caleb se levantaron, tratando de detener la locura.

“Y Yehoshua hijo de Nun y Caleb hijo de Jefone, que eran de los que reconocían la tierra, rasgaron sus vestidos, y hablaron a toda la congregación de los hijos de Israel, diciendo: La tierra por la que pasamos para reconocerla, es una tierra muy buena. Si YHWH se agrada de nosotros, entonces nos traerá a esta tierra y nos la dará como tierra que mana leche y miel; pero no os rebeléis contra YHWH, ni temáis. el pueblo de la tierra; porque ellos son pan para nosotros; su defensa ha sido quitada de ellos, y YHWH está con nosotros; no les temáis.” (Números 14:6-9).

Note que Yehoshua declaró que la defensa (protección) de esos enemigos (los cananeos, los anakim, los nefilim, etc.) les había sido quitada.

De hecho, ¿por qué tenemos miedo hoy cuando los descendientes de este mismo pueblo intentan destruirnos? ¿Dónde está Yehoshua? ¿No tenemos una promesa que nos mantendrá a salvo? ¿Somos el Pueblo de Alianza o no? Cuando vemos incendios que llegan pero no nos tocan, cuando vemos bombas que caen en campos abiertos y tan pocas han muerto, ¿por qué no podemos creer que se les ha quitado la defensa de Hamás y Hezbolá?

Sabemos que el pueblo creyó el malvado informe de los 10 espías y estaban listos para apedrear a Yehoshua y Caleb. De repente, la presencia de Dios descendió sobre el Mishkán para mostrar su desaprobación por su falta de fe y el deseo del pueblo de matar a aquellos que permanecían en fe para la misión que su Dios había ordenado. Y los diez cabecillas de la rebelión, los espías que llevaban un mal informe, fueron heridos por una plaga de YHWH. Recordemos que estos eran los estimados líderes de las tribus. Sólo Yehoshua y Caleb se salvaron. En cuanto al resto del pueblo que murmuraba y se quejaba, estaban destinados a morir en el desierto, sólo sus hijos pequeños menores de 20 años subirían a poseer la tierra.

Y nuevamente, después de que Moisés les dijo que era inútil, un grupo de ellos se rebeló y se dirigió a la tierra de Canaán y fueron exterminados sumariamente por los amalakitas.

La parashá continúa con ofrendas por diferentes cosas, que no discutiremos aquí, pero luego habla de blasfemia y rebelión (capítulo 15:30-31) que se castiga con la muerte, y luego presenta el ejemplo del hombre que recogía leña en sábado. . Si se ve en contexto, el motivo de la lapidación no fue una obra accidental que alguien hizo, tiene que ver con la rebelión contra lo que el hombre sabía que estaba prohibido. Fue sacado y apedreado según la palabra de YHWH. Muchas veces los estudiantes de la Biblia no miran el contexto. En este caso fue claramente un acto de rebelión, ya que sigue el mandato de dar muerte a quienes blasfeman y se rebelan.

Los últimos versos de la parashá terminan con la orden de usar Tzitzit, un hilo azul en las esquinas de la prenda. Tienen que ver con aprender a seguir a YHWH y no a las intenciones del corazón:

“Habla a los hijos de Israel, y diles que se hagan flecos en las cenefas de sus vestidos por sus generaciones, y que pongan en la cenefa de cada cenefa un cordón de azul: y os será por flecos. , para que miréis y os acordéis de todos los mandamientos de YHWH, y los cumpláis, y no sigáis vuestro propio corazón ni vuestros propios ojos, después de lo cual os prostituís; para que os acordéis y cumpláis todos mis mandamientos, y seáis santos para vuestro Dios.” (Números 15:38-40)

Parsha Shelach

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Shabbat 30 June 2024

Numbers 13:1-15:41

Parsha Shelach starts with a command from YHWH to Moses to send out leaders of the tribes to spy out the land of Canaan. We note that these are leaders of the people of Israel. The names of these tribal leaders are given. These include Caleb, son of Jephunah and Hosea son of Nun. I mention these two because of their importance in what happens in the story after the 40 days in Canaan. Before they leave on their journey, Moses changes the name of Hosea to Yehoshua. 

This detail is important. With the new name, the meaning changes from “salvation” to “YHWH saves”.

Why was Hosea’s name changed at this time? 

*Hosea had been a lad under Moses care, and it was time for him to grow up. 

*The significance of the change of name clearly put the responsibility for salvation on YHWH, and not on Yehoshua.

*It appears that Yehoshua was Moses personal emissary, YHWH wanted to single him out as leader and to use his name as a message to Israel.

After 40 days, the spies returned, carrying a huge Eshcol (Cluster) of grapes that was so heavy it had to be carried on a pole between two of the men. But all is not as expected. Ten of the 12 carry an alarming report. Their report stirs up the people about the giants in the land. They claim that they appeared as “grasshoppers” to themselves and to those who lived in the land. This declaration shows their lack of faith in the One who sent them. It shows their idea that they themselves were in charge and that God was not a part of this trip. If their leader was named Yehoshua (YHWH saves), then what were they afraid of? 

At this point Yehoshua and Caleb stood up, trying to stop the madness.

“And Yehoshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of them that spied out the land, rent their clothes: and they spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceeding good land. If YHWH delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it unto us; a land which flows with milk and honey. Only rebel not against YHWH, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and YHWH is with us: fear them not.” (Num 14:6-9).

Notice that Yehoshua declared that the defense (protection) of those enemies, (the Canaanites, the Anakim, the Nephilim, etc), had been removed from them.

In fact, why are we afraid today when descendants of these same people try to destroy us? Where is Yehoshua? Do we not have a promise that will keep us safe? Are we the Covenant People or not? When we see fires that come but do not touch us, when we see bombs that land in open fields and so few have actually been killed, why can we not believe that the Defense of Hamas and Hezbollah has been removed from them?

We know that the people believed the 10 spies evil report and were ready to stone Yehoshua and Caleb. Suddenly, the presence of God descended upon the Mishkan to show His disapproval of their lack of faith and the people’s desire to kill those who stood in faith for the mission which their God had ordained! And the ten ringleaders of the rebellion, the spies who carried an evil report, were smitten by a plague from YHWH. Let’s remember that these were the esteemed leaders of the tribes. Only Yehoshua and Caleb were spared. As to the rest of the people who murmured and complained, they were destined to die in the wilderness, only their young children under 20 years of age would go up to possess the land. 

And again, after Moses told them it was futile, a group of them rebelled and headed off to the land of Canaan and were summarily wiped out by the Amalakites.

The Parsha continues with offerings for different things, which we will not discuss here, but then speaks of blasphemy and rebellion (chapter15:30-31) which is punishable by death, and then presents the example of the man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath. If it is seen in context, the reason for the stoning was not an accidental work that someone did, it has to do with rebellion against what the man knew was forbidden. He was taken out and stoned according to the word of YHWH. Many times Bible students do not look at context. In this case it was clearly an act of rebellion, for it follows the command to put to death those who blaspheme and rebel. 

The last few verses of the Parsha end with the command to wear Tzitzit, a strand of blue on the corners of the garment. They have to do with learning to follow YHWH and not the intentions of the heart:

“Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of each border a cord of blue: and it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of YHWH, and do them; and that ye follow not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to play the harlot; that ye may remember and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.” (Num 15:38-40)

¿Un Nombre Pagano para El Eterno Dios de Israel?

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YHWH o Adonai?

Por Ariella Casey

Muchos judíos rezan al ETERNO en los servicios religiosos dirigiéndose a Él como Adonai. Este es el reemplazo hebreo del Santo NOMBRE en el Tetragrámaton YHVH. ¿De dónde viene esta práctica y tiene algo que ver con el nombre Adonis que fue utilizado por los fenicios, griegos, romanos, etc.? Si es así, ¿cómo llegó a ser un título respetuoso para el Di-s hebreo? Quiero aclarar que hay una advertencia y es cuando la palabra para “mi maestro” אדוני se usa realmente en el texto hebreo, pero a menudo también se refiere a gobernantes y profetas y es un título de posición más que un nombre. Lo mismo se aplica a la palabra SEÑOR, que los cristianos utilizan abundantemente para referirse a Jesús. Lo escriben como “SEÑOR” en su “Antiguo Testamento” dondequiera que el hebreo use el Tetragrámaton, y “Señor” en su Nuevo Testamento para referirse a Jesús.

“Etimología. Del hebreo אֲדֹנָי‎ (ādônay, “Mi Señor”); usado en lugar del Tetragrámaton YHWH como nombre del Dios de los hebreos durante la recitación de la oración.”(https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ Adonai -,Etimología,los hebreos durante la recitación de la oración.)
Entonces, según Wikcionario, Adonai es un reemplazo de YHVH. ¿Por qué elegiríamos reemplazar el Santo nombre con algo que suena parecido a la forma en que los antiguos paganos se dirigían a sus deidades? ¿Qué dice la Torá sobre el uso de los nombres de otros dioses como sustitutos?
Éxodo 23:13:
“Estad atentos a todo lo que os he dicho. No menciones los nombres de otros dioses; no se oirán en vuestros labios”.

Adonis proviene de la antigua mitología fenicia, griega y romana y se adaptó a la religión judía y otras religiones. Es una forma de decir “Maestro” o “Señor”.

“En la Biblia, al Dios israelita, Yahvé, a veces se le llama Adón, aunque el término se usa como un título, no como el nombre personal de Yahvé. Con el tiempo, la denominación “Adonai” (mi Señor) se convirtió en un nombre de sustitución para pronunciar en oración el nombre indecible Yahweh, que en el período rabínico temprano (siglos I y II d.C.) se había vuelto demasiado sagrado para pronunciarlo. Hasta el día de hoy, cuando los judíos encuentran las consonantes de “Yahweh” (YHWH) en la oración, la pronuncian “Adonai”. Quizás se sorprendan al saber que esta palabra de sustitución está relacionada con el fenicio “Adon” y el grecochipriota “Adonis”. .’” https://phoenicia.org/adonis.html

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Mystical Moments in Time and Space

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When and where was Sinai?

By Ariella Casey

Someone asked during a Parsha Bmidbar discussion: “Why did Hashem choose to give the commandments on Sinai and not in the land of Israel?”

I have a couple of thoughts on this.

YHWH chose Sinai because Israel had to leave idolatrous Egypt before they could have an atmosphere where they could hear the Voice of God. 

Israel needed to receive the commandments before they entered the land and learned to obey. If they had entered the land in their idolatrous state they would not have followed the instruction to wipe out the inhabitants of the land–they would not have had discernment to understand what was so bad about their practices and might have chosen to join them.

Israel needed to be a Holy Nation, they needed to learn to walk with God in the wilderness before they could walk with God in the Land. Unfortunately, there is no desert in the transition from the Diaspora today. And yes, there has been a lot of learned nonsense from the nations–nonsense that comes with the baggage of Aliya to Israel.

The desert of Sinai, a place completely desolate, was a place for learning. No distractions or false teachings. Only the voice of the Eternal could be heard. 

The wilderness represents the idea that these commandments are not location bound. They are for the entire world and, no, I don’t embrace Noahide laws.

Sinai, where the Eternal Covenant was made, was a place beyond time and space. Thus the Eternal Covenant is a Mystical Covenant. The 10 commandments are not limited to several thousand years for a certain people in a certain land. They are Eternal. 

The Covenant people had to be separate from those who were not willing to embrace the covenant. This took 40 years. The Covenant was not to be trusted to those who would not follow it–notwithstanding their Jewish (Hebrew) blood. The same thing goes for today. The idea of being a descendant of the Chosen People has nothing to do with obligational entitlement to blessings. It is mandatory that we spend time at Sinai and “become” the Chosen People. 

Lev 20:26 – “And ye shall be holy unto me; for I YHWH am holy, and have separated you from the peoples to be mine.”

So the Covenant of YHWH is given in a Place outside any nation and in a time that is not time-bound. No one knows the date of the giving of the commandments, other than an approximation.  

The Shavuot holiday also is a little bit mysterious. Each year in Israel we count the Omer rather than basing the Holy Day of Shavuot upon a set calendar. The Holy Days of Pesach and then Shavuot are determined each year after the Barley is seen and the New Moon of the first month opens the door to Pesach. From the day after the Sabbath of Pesach, we count day by day to determine Shavuot. It is a personal counting. And Shavuot occurs only around the time the 10 commandments were given, which are even more mysterious as to time relativity. Shavuot requires us to follow the real signs of the Heavens plus Torah specified math calculation to determine when it falls. There can be no preset calendar. The counting is an individual application, that without it, you would miss some of the mitzvoth of Shavuot. 

Then the day of commandments, which was never specified, happens a few days or weeks later. And that is why! Because it is for all time.

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