Tag Archives: 11th century

Torah Portion Massei: The Borders of Israel

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“And you will have the corner of the Negev, the Wilderness of Zin by way of Edom, and this will be the border of the Negev to the edge of the Salt Sea to the East. The border shall go around from th South to the Scorpions Ascent and cross over towards Zin and it shall come out at Kadesh Barnea and it will go out at Hatzar Adar and Atzmona. And the border from Atzmona will go to the river of Egypt and it will go out West.  This shall be the Northern border: from the Great Sea and this shall be the Sea (Western) border.  This shall be the Northern border, from the Great Sea it shall turn to Mount Hor, it will come to Hamat and will go out to Zared …” (Numbers / Bamidbar 34: 2- 10)

This is an abridge version of the border of Israel as described in the book of Bamidbar (Numbers).  It is one of the divine descriptions of the Land of Israel (another is from Ezekiel, also shown on the map).

Divine Privilege (?)

Although there are many descriptions of Israel’s size and shape in the Bible they all focus on the idea that the size and shape is dictated by  God. In a post – modern world this seems to be a very backward concept.  We live ina world that despises divinely bequeathed privilege.

Duty

The earlier verse says :

“This is the Land that which fell unto you as an inheritance”

Why does it use the phrase ‘fell’ ?

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (11th century commentator) wrote:

” Being a land wherein many  commandments form its culture  and do not form part of the culture of the rest of the world necessitated the delineation of its borders, meaning to say ‘this is the land and inside it are its commandments”.

The bizzare term ‘fell’ coupled with the extensive description of the land indicates that it is  land where specific duties form its culture.

Moral Purpose

The inheritance here was not merely an inheritance of physicality but an inheritance of a moral purpose bound in the physical ‘clothing’ of land.

 

Torah Portion: Korach

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‘And behold, the staff of Aaron or the House of Levi had sprouted and blossomed and there were almonds.’ (Numbers / Bamidbar 17:24)

In this week’s portion we have the story of the rebellion of Korach where Korach’s leadership was called into question. The Eternal set a ‘competition’ between all the tribes to proves Aaron’s right to the Priesthood. They were all to take staffs and write their names on them and place them in front of the ‘Tent of Meeting’, all the staffs remained the same except for Aaron’s which sprouted almond blossoms.

The significance of almond blossoms is understood by Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (an 11th century Torah scholar) as being a sign of promptness, he says that ‘ with one who objects to the priesthood, his calamities shall be prompt to come’.

The image of the  almond is synonymous with judgement. I carry out the following experiment;

I found a wild almond tree that had produced fruit, it was easy to find as the almond tree is indigenous to Israel and a common site to see when walking in the forests and hills of Israel. I tried to open the fruit, but the nut was so tough it took a good whack with a rock. The effort was not that worth it, you got a tiny fruit, yet the taste was really bizarre. I’m used to the kind of almond that you get in the supermarket, the taste was really strong, really bitter and kind of sweet at the same time.

The message that I take from this is that the almond is a symbol of divine judgement, what is called in Hebrew, Din. Din is strong and powerful, like the taste of the almond and strength of its shell. Yet it is meant for the betterment of humanity, symbolized by the flowers of the almond and its sweetness.