Behaalotecha-Torah portion-El Na Refa Na La-Rabbi Yakira

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In a nutshell

Blowing the Trumpet at the Feast of the New Moon (illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible)

Parashat Behaalotecha, בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ‎ – Hebrew for “when you step up,” opens with G‑d’s instruction to Ahron to “raise light” in the lamps of the menorah in the Sanctuary, so that “the seven lamps should give light toward the face of the menorah” in the Tabernacle. Also the tribe of Levi is initiated into the service in the Sanctuary, the Second Passover is commanded, the telling of how a cloud and fire led the Israelites, the silver trumpets, how the Israelites set out on their journeys, the complaints of the Israelites over the Manna, the food that was provided daily, and how Miriam and Ahron questioned Mosheh and Miriam was punished.

The Menorah

The Torah, in Sefer Mishlei 20:27 compares the soul of man to a flame. The Prophete Zechariah 4:2 compares the soul of the Jewish people to the Menorah. When Aharon Hakohen lit the Menorah, he lit up the souls (flames) of the Jewish people (Menorah).

The Lubavitcher Rebbe

“The menorah represents the people of Israel, G‑d’s “light unto the nations.” Its many components attest to the fact that the Jewish nation is comprised of different tribes, and includes individuals from all walks of life. Although the menorah sheds its light with seven lamps, they must all be turned toward the central stem, in keeping with G‑d’s instruction to Ahron that “the seven lamps shall give light toward the face of the menorah.” This expresses the truth that although the soul of Israel shines not with a single light, but by means of a seven-lamp menorah representing the various prototypes of human character (the seven sefirot), at the same time all lamps of the menorah face the body from which they extend, emphasizing their singular origin and their singular goal.

In other words says The Lubavitcher Rebbe, we all come from the same place, and we are all oriented toward the same goal. The differences are only in order to better express our Source and to more completely achieve our goal. Which makes them not differences, but the ultimate expression of oneness.”

The Second Passover

The Giving of the Manna and Quail (Bible card published 1901 by the Providence Lithograph Company)

A “Second Passover” is instituted, the 14 of Iyar ( 2nd month of the Jewish Calendar) in response to the petition “Why should we be deprived?” by a group of Jews who were unable to bring the Passover offering in its appointed time, the 14th of Nissan, because they were ritually impure. G‑d instructs Mosheh on the procedures for Israel’s journeys and encampments in the desert, and the people journey in formation from Mount Sinai, where they had been camped for nearly a year. The people are not happy with their “bread from heaven” (the manna), and demand that Mosheh supply them with meat. Mosheh appoints 70 elders to assist him in the burden of governing the people.

Miriam

Mosheh’ sister, Miriam, speaks negatively about her brother’s marriage with the “Cushite woman” he wed. “Was it indeed only with Mosheh that G‑d spoke?” she says to her other brother Ahron. “Has He not spoken also with us?” And G‑d heard. Now the man Mosheh was very humble, more so than all the men that were upon the face of the earth. G‑d speaks suddenly to Mosheh, Ahron and Miriam, and summons them to the Sanctuary. There He appears in a pillar of cloud and speaks only to Ahron and Miriam:

Hear now My words: If there be a prophet among you, I G‑d make myself known to him in a vision, and speak to him in a dream. My servant Mosheh is not so, for he is the trusted one in all My house.
With him I speak mouth to mouth, manifestly, and not in riddles; and the similitude of G‑d does he behold. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Mosheh?

EL NA REFA NA LA

When the cloud departs, Miriam is snow-white with leprosy (the punishment for lashon hara, evil speech). Mosheh cried to G‑d, saying: “I beseech You, O G‑d, heal her now!”
praying for her healing, with five powerful words “EL NA REFA NA LA”. G‑d orders that Miriam be secluded outside of the camp for seven days, after which she will be healed, and the entire community waits seven days for her recovery. And after that the people journeyed from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

“There are prayers that are answered after a hundred years . . . there are prayers that are answered after ninety years . . . and there are prayers that are answered after seven days.”-Midrash Yalkut Hamachiri

Miriam waited a short while for Mosheh, as it is written (Exodus 2:4), “His sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.” Therefore Israel was delayed for her seven days in the wilderness, as it is written, “The people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.”-Talmud, Sotah 9b

Behaalotecha, lifting up the souls of the people of Israel, bringing them closer to G-d through the light of the Torah. When we say Modah Ani, upon awakening, and Shema before going to bed, when we recite Grace after meals, Birkat Hamazon, we bring light into our home, we share light with family and friends and hopefully inspire others to share and spread light as well. Healing and blessings to us all. Kol Tuv.

Check out YedidYah “The Priestly Blessing” Birkat Hakohanim. Music by Rabbi Yakira Yedidia https://youtu.be/YNE11QdEMN0

6 Mitzvot in Parashat Behaalotecha

To hear the Shofar on the first day of Tishrei (Rosh Hashanah) Num. 9:1
To slaughter the second Paschal Lamb Num. 9:11
To eat the second Paschal Lamb on the night of the 15th of Iyar Num. 9:11
Not to break any bones from the second paschal offering Num. 9:12
Not to leave the second paschal meat over until morning Num. 9:12
To afflict oneself and cry out before God in times of calamity Num. 10:9

The 613 Mitzvot

In The Torah there are 613 commandments, mitzvot, also known as the Law of Moses (תרי״ג מצוות‎, taryag mitzvot). The 613 mitzvot are first recorded in the 3rd century CE, when Rabbi Simlai mentioned it in a sermon that is recorded in Talmud Makkot 23b.

The 613 commandments include 248 “positive commandments”, to perform an act (mitzvot aseh), and 365 “negative commandments”, to abstain from certain acts (mitzvot lo taaseh). The negative commandments number 365, which coincides with the number of days in the solar year, and the positive commandments number 248, a number ascribed to the number of bones and main organs in the human body.

Though the number 613 is mentioned in the Talmud, its real significance increased in later medieval rabbinic literature, including many works listing or arranged by the mitzvot. The most famous of these was an enumeration of the 613 commandments by Maimonides, The Rambam.

Many of the mitzvot cannot be observed now, following the destruction of the Second Temple, although they still retain religious significance. According to one standard reckoning, there are 77 positive and 194 negative commandments that can be observed today, of which there are 26 commands that apply only within the Land of Israel. Furthermore, there are some time-related commandments from which women are exempt (examples include shofar, sukkah, lulav, tzitzit and tefillin). Some depend on the special status of a person in Judaism (such as kohanim), while others apply only to men or only to women. According to Rambam Organized by Parshah. based on Wikipedia and http://www.vaadrv.org/rambam613mitzvot.asp ONE BIG IMPORTANT NOTE WHEN USING THIS LISTING: This listing is not all inclusive. Rambam may site multiple sources for a mitzvah is his works but this list currently only gives one source for each mitzvah.

Check out YedidYah Psalm 96 “Yiram Hayam” Music by Rabbi Yakira Yedidia https://youtu.be/aTBD4i9nvXw

The Priestly Blessing

יְבָרֶכְךָ יהוה, וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ- May the LORD bless you and guard you
יָאֵר יהוה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וִיחֻנֶּךָּ -May the LORD make His face shed light upon you and be gracious unto you
יִשָּׂא יהוה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם- May the LORD lift up His face unto you and give you peace

Yevarechecha Adonai, V’Yishmerecha
Ya’er Adonai Panav Eleycha, ViChoneka
Yisa Adonai Panav Eleycha, V’Yasem Lecha Shalom
(Number 6:24-26).