TORAH- FAX BEHAALOTECHA TORAH

DIALOGUE
BHAL74ED
BEHA'ALOTCHA - Numbers 8:1
(p. !" H#$ (p. 8%8 &$ (p. "'' H($ (p. ))' A&$
B* RABBI ED DA+I&
1. Our Sages comment that Aharon saw that the
compl ete dedicati on of the Altar among the twel e
tri!es of "srael did not include his tri!e# the tri!e of
Lei. Hence he felt down and $od addressed the
initi al paragraph of this parsha to uplift Aharon and
fami l %# noting their special uni&ue role in the rituals
of the Altar# in particular the lighti ng of the 'enorah.
" find it difficul t to accept the fact that Aharon felt
down and depressed as an outsider to the dedicati on
ceremon%. (he chapters precedi ng the dedication of
the Altar were highli ghti ng the role of the tri!e of
Lei and the essential position of the )ohanic fami l %.
" do not thin* it was necessar% for Aharon to !e
uplifted at this +uncture. " thin* that the (orah
focusing again on the lighti ng of the 'enorah was to
remi nd the entire nation that the piotal and central
position of the )ohani m was an integral part of the
national identi t%. (he tri!al princes could all
cele!rate the dedicati on of the Altar !ut the Altar
itself was placed in the hands of the )ohani m.
Lighti ng the 'enorah represented the teachi ng of
(orah !ecause at this stage from the )ohanic famil %
emanated the spirit of (orah throughout the entire
nation. ,-ED.

/. (he counti ng of the Leitical tri!e was from the
age of 1 month. (he ritual serice aaila!le to the
tri!e was from the age of 01# and in our parsha it
tal*s a!out the age of /2. (he first fie %ears was an
apprenti ceshi p !efore the Lei%i m were allowed to
full% partici pate as e&ual adul ts in these rituals. (his
fie3 %ear apprenti ceshi p is a model to learni ng
structures that we see in the 'ishnah and
elsewhere. (he 'ishnah sa%s that at the age of 2 the
child is introduced to learni ng the words of (a4a5H.
At the age of 11 he is introduced to the 'ishnah. (he
increments of fie correspond to the increments here
of fie. " also found it in the letters of -a 6it7cho*
Hutner allowi ng a student in the 6eshia to learn for
fie %ears in order to see whether he is of that
cali!er of (almudic student to deelop into a scholar.
"f he is not then after the fie %ears he should ma*e
sure that he is learning another su!+ect to allow hi m
to ma*e a liing. Similarl % -a Hutner menti oned
fie %ears learni ng in 6eshia !efore enteri ng
college. (his whole idea of the fie3 %ear incu!ator
period in certai n areas is model ed after what we see
in toda%8 s reading.
0. 9esach Sheini is introduced as an opportuni t % for
a person who was not a!le to o!sere 9esach in its
rightful time on the 12
th
of 4issan to !e a!le to come
to the (emple one month later on the 14
th
of "%ar and
hae a ma*e3 up 9esach sacrifice. He woul d eat the
sacrifice along with 'at7ah and 'arror without
eating 5hamet7 at the same time. 5hamet7 could !e
in e:istence in the house !ecause this was onl% an
opportuni t % to ma*e up the 9assoer sacrifice. (he
&uestion for us to ponder is one that our Sages deal t
with and it is two3 pronged. "f a person conerted
after 9esach should he !ring the 9assoer sacrifice
on the 14
th
"%ar; Similarl %# if a !o% !ecame Bar
'it7ah right after 9esach and was therefore una!le
to !ring the 9esach sacrifice at the right ti me# shoul d
he !ring a sacrifice for 9esach Sheini;
4. "t is in this parsha that we !egin the true
trael i ng in the desert. (he miracles inol ed with
the trael are not gien the fanfare that we would
e:pect. According to the 'idrash flashes of fire came
out from the staes of the Hol% Ar* and !urned
sna*es and scorpions on the road of trael. (he
clouds straightened the road and the% woul d !e a!le
to trael easil% in the desert ,Deari m -a!!ah 7<=..
(he hot sun was shaded !% the diine dome of the
5louds of $lor% and the people were a!le to trael
effortl essl % through the desert. >ater and sustai ni ng
'anna was the diet that the% had which freed them
from mundane efforts of a normal part of life. But
this was not normal. (raeli ng in the desert was a
miraculous e:peri ence. 'a%!e it is not getti ng the
fanfare that one woul d e:pect !ecause the people
did not seem enthral led with these miraculous
eents. ?rom the middl e of toda%8s parsha for wee*s
on end we will see !itter complai nts that came from
the 5amp of "srael. One would hae to sa% that the
e:perience was not compl etel % successful. "t is
possi!le to ma*e an argument on !oth sides of that
&uestion. "t was more successful for some and less
successful for others in !onding Bnei 6israel to the
Almi ght % who protected them this wa% as the%
marched through the desert. $od could hae
transported them miracul ousl % through a @!eam me
up Scott%A t%pe of method. 5reati ng miracles that
are too supernatural would not hae the educati onal
effect of miracles that are closer to natural eents.
$od8s choice of transportati on for the people was to
!e instructi e and allow them to learn to depend on
the Almi ght % for ulti mate sustenance. (his would
proe to !e the greatest miracle of all that we# the
descendants of those who left Eg%pt# are still !ound
to the eternal $od who taught us to depend on Him
for all time. ,-ED.
2. -a!!i 6onatan E%!eschut7 wrote that some of the
pro!lems that the Bewish people had in the desert
were caused !% the creation of a societ% where all
people were !asicall % &ui te e&ual. "n the desert
eer%!od% ate the same thing and the diet did not
change due to social or economi c differences of the
people. (here were no poor and rich. Eer%!od% was
e&ual in their status when it came to material items.
-a E%!eschut7 did see this as somethi ng that the
people were not used to and could not accept. (he%
cried and lamentedC not so much for the things the%
had in Eg%pt !ut for the differences !etween them.
(he class disti ncti ons seemed to !e somethi ng that
the% were used to and could not lie without. -a!!i
E%!eschut7 lied in the 1D
th
centur% well !efore the
5ommuni st upheaal of the /1
th
centur%. Een in the
5ommuni st countri es we hae seen# as recorded in
literature# @all pigs are e&ual# +ust that some pigs are
more e&ual than others. A Een in a societ% that
promotes e&uali t% there can !e no real e&uali t%.
E. >e also see in this parsha the !eginni ngs of a
downward spiral for 'oshe -a!!einu8 s leadershi p.
>hen the Bewish people worshi pped the $olden 5alf
and $od said that He would destro% them# 'oshe
responded in a er% selfless fashion< "f this is what
was going to happen then $od should erase 'oshe8s
name from the (orah. >e find it again here when the
people lament and demand meat. 'oshe also calls
out to $od and sa%s# @)ill me. A "t is hard to hae
these instances occur without reali7ing the affect
that the% had on the leader of the people. 'oshe
must hae felt failure in some regard when the
people would complai n in this fashion# as the% would
later in su!se&uent parshiot which include the Sin of
the Spies and the -e!ellion of )orach. All of these
eents must hae hurt 'oshe personall % as he could
feel that his role as a leader was compromi sed and
ma%!e he thought hi mself ineffectual. >hen we read
these stories in the (orah we normal l % concentrate
on the complai nts of the people and how it is dealt
with !% Hashem. >e alwa%s ta*e into considerati on
the man in the middl e or the man on the spot F
'oshe -a!!einu. >hat did he feel li*e when all
these narrati es occurred; (he (orah does not gloss
oer it. "t does tell us in each case 'oshe8s response.
And we can see er% clearl % that 'oshe too*
eer%thi ng &ui te to heart and felt it deepl %. But
things do settle down for the duration of the 41 %ear
od%sse% in the desert. (here is a tremendous gap
that we reali7e in parshat 5hu*at where it seems 0D
%ears of the 41 are +ust s*ipped oer without
comment. "t is possi!le that Hashem did not hae
too much contact with 'oshe during that time
!ecause 'oshe had to feel defeated een though he
was the leader of the people all duri ng the time of
the traels in the desert. ,-ED.
7. >hen Hashem tells 'oshe to gather 71 elders to
comprise the !od% of leaders to help hi m ,the
origi nal Sanhedri n. he sa%s that he did not *now who
was worth% and who was not worth% of such an
appoint ment. (he 'idrash goes on to sa% that
Hashem told 'oshe that in Eg%pt# when 9haraoh
declared that the Eg%ptians would no longer proi de
the straw for the ma*ing of !ric*s# the people did not
fill their &uota of !ric*s. (he Eg%ptian oppressors
then proceeded to stri*e and punish the Bewish
oerseers. (hese men did not ta*e it out on their
!rothers# the Bewish slaes. (he% a!sor!ed the
punishment rather than ma*e things worse for the
wor*ing oppressed. Hashem now e:plai ned to 'oshe
that those people# the Bewish oerseers# earned their
positions of authori t% and leadershi p to !e among
this august !od%. (his teaches us that those who
sacrifice themsel es for the !enefi t of "srael earn the
honor# glor% and dii ne spiri t.
D. At the end of the parsha 'iriam spea*s ill of her
!rother and is punished along with Aharon. At the
same ti me the (orah tells us that 'oshe was the
hum!l est of men. 'oshe had the right to iew
himsel f as a person !e%ond the scope of normal man
!ecause he was chosen !% Hashem to !e the prince
of all prophets. 4eerthel ess he was a!le to retai n
his humil i t%. "n the introducti on to his Boo* of
-esponsa# the "grot 'oshe# -a!!i 'oshe ?einstei n#
7tAl# poses the &uestion F what gies him the right to
write -esponsa that other people should learn# read#
and accept; -a 'oshe ?einstein did not thin* of
himsel f as the greatest of all the ra!!is of the /1
th
centur%# !ut the &uestion is a good &uestion !ecause
writi ng -esponsa does demonstrate a certai n
amount of ego. -a 'oshe e:plai ns that a deep
sense of humi l i t % can !e the tool of one8s 6et7er
Ha-a F the eil inclinati on. -a 'oshe clai ms that
the onl% reason he pu!lished -esponsa is !ecause
people *ept as*ing him &uestions and the people
determi ned whether he was &ualifi ed to pu!lish
-esponsa. He felt that sa%ing no was the wrong use
of humil i t% in his life. ,-ED.
HAFTORAH
(p. ,! H#$ (p. 8") &$ (p. 8-, H($ (p. 118, A&$
.ECHARIAH
(he haftorah# a compli cated prophec% which
appears to address three or four unrelated matters#
contai ns seeral allusions to 5hanu*ah. ,"n fact# this
ma% !e the unif%i ng theme which ties together the
haftorahG s different sections.. "n the Hsecond partH of
the haftorah# Iechariah sees 6ehoshua# the )ohan
$adol# standi ng !efore an angel while weari ng
unclean garments ,0<0.. >hat did these clothes
represent; A!raanel and 'al!i m e:plai n< these are
6ehoshuaG s descendants# the 5hashmonai m# who
usurped the ro%al ro!es of the tri!e of 6ehudah and
anointed themsel es as *ings. ?or this the% were
seerel % punished# as -am!an notes ,Bereishi t
4=<11.< "The Chashmonai m were saints before God
and if not for them, the Torah would have been
forgotten from Israel. Neverthel ess, they were
punished for taking the throne which rightful l y
belonged to the ouse of !avid."
&HABBAT HALACHAH
"s there an o!ligati on to eat meat on Sha!!at
and 6om (o; (he -am!am ,Hil. Sha!!at 01<=3 11.
writes that eating meat on Sha!!at is considered
"neg #habbat # and it is appropriate to do so if one
can afford to. (he -a Shulchan Aruch ,Orach 5hai m
/4/</. writes that there is no specific re&ui rement to
eat meat on Sha!!at. -ather# since most people
en+o% meat it is appropri ate for them to eat it on
Sha!!at. (he -am!am ,Hil. 6om (o E<173 1D. states
that eating meat on 6om (o is a form of #imchat
$om Tov. (he BeiG ur Halacha ,2/=# DGHG )eit7ad.
sa%s that nowada%s that we donG t hae the Beit
Ha'i*dash# the re&uirement of Simchat 6om (o is
fulfilled !% drin*i ng wine. Howeer# since we donG t
hae the meat of #helami m, there is no o!ligati on to
eat meat on 6om (o. Howeer# one who does eat
meat on 6om (o fulfills the 'it7ah.