Bemidbar. 19 May Sivan 5778 Shabbat ends London pm Jerusalem pm. In loving memory of Frida Mirel bat Chaim Simcha

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1 19 May Sivan 5778 Shabbat ends London pm Jerusalem pm Volume 30 No. 35 Bemidbar Artscroll p.726 Haftarah p.1180 Hertz p.567 Haftarah p.582 Soncino p.793 Haftarah p.810 Shavuot starts on Motsei Shabbat Candles should not be lit in London before 9.51pm, Jerusalem at 8.12pm Shavuot ends in London on Monday night at 9.54pm In loving memory of Frida Mirel bat Chaim Simcha God spoke to Moshe in the Sinai desert (Bemidbar 1:1). 1

2 Sidrah Summary: Bemidbar 1st Aliya (Kohen) Vayikra 1:1-19 On Rosh Chodesh of the second month after the Exodus from Egypt, God instructs Moshe and Aharon to take a census of men above the age of 20. (The Talmud adds that men above 60 were not counted). The leader of each tribe is to be present with them when his tribe is counted. The name of each leader is stated. The census is carried out as commanded. Point to Consider: What was the purpose of this count? (see Rashi to 1:1) 2nd Aliya (Levi) 1:20-54 The Torah lists the results of the census. The tribe of Reuven numbers 46,500; Shimon 59,300; Gad 45,650; Yehuda 74,600; Yissachar 54,400; Zevulun 57,400; Ephraim 40,500; Menashe 32,200; Binyamin 35,400; Dan 62,700; Asher 41,500; Naftali 53,400. This comes to a total of 603,550 men. The tribe of Levi is not counted with the rest of the tribes. They are assigned to dismantle and transport the Mishkan (Tabernacle) when the nation travels in the desert, as well as to guard the Mishkan when it is stationary. 3rd Aliya (Shlishi) 2:1-34 God tells Moshe and Aharon how to position the 12 tribes (other than Levi) around the Mishkan. They are to be organised into four groups of three tribes, each group led by one particular tribe. To the east of the Mishkan are the tribes of Yehuda, Yissachar and Zevulun, led by Yehuda. To the south are the tribes of Reuven, Shimon and Gad, led by Reuven. To the west are the tribes of Ephraim, Menashe and Binyamin, led by Ephraim. To the north are the tribes of Dan, Asher and Naftali, led by Dan. Question: What was the name of the leader of the tribe of Yehuda? (2:3) Answer on bottom of page 6. 4th Aliya (Revi i) 3:1-13 Aharon s sons are listed. God tells Moshe to bring the tribe of Levi to Aharon in order to assist him in his work as the Kohen Gadol. The tribe of Levi is to take over the role that had been designated for the firstborn, who were sanctified on the night of the Exodus from Egypt, when the Egyptian firstborn were killed and they survived. 5th Aliya (Chamishi) 3:14-39 God tells Moshe to count the men of the tribe of Levi, from aged one month upwards. The count is divided up into three main groups, according to the descendants of Levi s three sons, Gershon, Kehat and Merari. Each main group, whose constituent families are also listed, is given a different location in relation to the Mishkan. The overall number of Levi im counted in the census is 22,000. 6th Aliya (Shishi) 3:40-51 Moshe is told to count the male firstborn and to replace them with the Levi im. The firstborn number 22,273. The extra 273 firstborn (over and above the 22,000 Levi im) are to give 5 shekels each in order to redeem their status. 7th Aliya (Shevi i) 4:1-19 The specific role of each of the three main families is now detailed, one in this week s sidrah, two in next week s sidrah. The family of Kehat are to take down, transport and re-assemble the holy Ark (Aron), the Table (Shulchan), the Menorah, the Golden Altar (Mizbeach Ha zahav) and the vessels used together with these features of the Mishkan. Haftarah The prophet Hoshea compares the sinful Children of Israel to an unfaithful wife (see p.6 article). However, they will eventually return to 'their husband' (God), who will take them back with kindness and mercy. United Synagogue Daf Hashavua Produced by US Living & Learning together with the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue Editor: Rabbi Chaim Gross Editor-in-Chief: Rabbi Baruch Davis Editorial Team: Ilana Epstein, Michael Laitner, Sharon Radley Available also via US website United Synagogue To sponsor Daf Hashavua please contact Loraine Young on , or lyoung@theus.org.uk If you have any comments or questions regarding Daf Hashavua please rabbigross@theus.org.uk 2

3 Just Desert by Rabbi Nick Kett, Assistant Rabbi, Bushey & District United Synagogue It is interesting to note that while the Book of Bereshit and the opening parashiyot of Shemot span over 2400 years, the rest of the Torah takes place over a mere 40 years. The giving of the Torah is recorded in parashat Yitro, in the year 2448, and the Jews entered the Land of Israel at the end of the book of Devarim, in The entire Book of Vayikra spans a mere 8 days, and between the parashiyot of Korach and Chukat (in the Book of Bemidbar), 38 years of Jewish history is somehow glossed over - the story of Korach (Bemidbar 16-17) and his followers takes place 38 years before the death of Miriam, as recorded in Chukat (ibid. 20)! Such a large part of the Chumash takes place in the desert. It was there that the Jews became a nation, and were given the Torah, the Divine blueprint for life. This raises questions: Why was it necessary for the Torah to be given in the desert? Furthermore, the Talmud (Ta anit 26b) describes the experience at Mount Sinai as the marriage between God and His people. If so, one would think that a barren landscape would not be the chosen site for a chuppah! Furthermore, why was it necessary for the Jews to be in the wilderness at all, especially if the Torah omits so much of what happened there? One answer to these questions can be drawn from a Midrash which asks why the opening verse of parashat Bemidbar needs to mention that God spoke to Moshe in the Sinai desert (Bemidbar 1:1). The Torah does not usually specify where God spoke to Moshe. The Midrash answers that the verse is highlighting the unique importance of the desert. For one to succeed in learning Torah, one must make himself like a desert. This means to cultivate the awareness that we are essentially empty. God is the Creator and Source of everything we have in this world. Internalising this point is the basis for developing our love for Him. The Rambam (Maimonides d. 1204) writes that one should contemplate the beauty of God s creations. This will lead to an appreciation of His infinite wisdom, which will lead to being filled with love and praise for Him. One can only do this by freeing one s mind from other distracting thoughts. When our minds are open like a desert, they are free to contemplate the breadth and depth of His world, which will strengthen our relationship with Him. Additionally, if the Torah had been given in a particular city or community, people might try to limit its relevance to that particular place, culture, environment or time. It would be tempting to label the Torah as outdated or irrelevant. However, the Torah cannot be reduced in this way, since it embodies eternal truths about every part of life. It is as relevant now as it was then. A desert is unclaimed land. A desert is land, barren, timeless and disconnected from any culture. Therefore, it was the perfect location to transmit a document that is not associated with a particular time or culture. Finally, the desert is not owned by any single person. So too, the Torah is not owned by any individual. It belongs to every Jew, as well as to non-jews who wish to convert and take on its commandments; nobody holds any rights to the Torah. It is the guidebook for all of us, and contains teachings that can enrich every one of us, regardless of age and stage. The Israelites lived these messages in the desert, and the lessons still resonate with us today. In memory of Devorah Bat Avraham 3

4 Enjoyment: The Key to Torah by Rabbi Shmuli Sagal, Sutton & District United Synagogue The Festival of Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah, and by extension our ongoing duty to delve into its study. Torah learning lies at the core of what it is to be a Jew. To study Torah is a mitzvah unparalleled by any other. The exalted status of Torah learning is evident by the fact we make two daily blessings over it (see green siddur p.14-17). In the first of these blessings we request, Please, Lord our God, make the words of Your Torah sweet in our mouth. Concerning no other mitzvah do we find such a request. Why is enjoyment such a crucial part of Torah study? Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner (d. 1980) writes that people relate to things external to themselves by connecting to them through various means. Through our sense of touch, we come into physical contact with objects. By using our sense of sight, we reflect images into our brain. Similarly, the sounds around us reverberate through our ear drums. How do we connect to intellectual ideas? How do concepts and knowledge previously unknown to us become part of our consciousness and personality? The bond which connects our intellect with a concept is enjoyment. When what we are studying piques our interest, it registers in our brains. When we are positively stimulated by an intellectual experience, we integrate it into our being. What light is for the faculty of seeing, enjoyment is for the faculty of thought. Taking this idea further, Shabbat is called a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever (Shemot 31:17). The Netziv (Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin d. 1893) explains why Shabbat, more than any other mitzvah, symbolises our deep relationship with God. Nearly all other positive commandments involve an object or an action. The matzah is eaten, the lulav is shaken and prayer is spoken. Through these conduits, we reach a higher spiritual plane. By contrast, Shabbat, in its essence, requires no act and involves no object. Shabbat is a concept in time, a state of being. The spirituality of Shabbat is generated not by a physical action or object, but by the Divine Presence itself. God, so to speak, makes Himself palpable on this sacred day. Yet how do we fathom this non-physical phenomenon? Like intellectual ideas, the answer is through experiencing enjoyment. We are commanded to enjoy Shabbat. The prophet Yeshaya instructs, Proclaim the Shabbat a delight (Isaiah 58:13). Oneg Shabbat, revelling in Shabbat s radiant atmosphere, is the means by which we can experience the Divine Presence embedded in this special day. Perhaps this explains why Shavuot has no specific religious activity associated with it. Pesach has matzah and Succot the Four Species, but Shavuot is a day when we do not need any objects or actions in order to attain a spiritual uplift. Like Shabbat, God s Presence is present in the Torah itself. On this Festival of Torah and Torah learning, it is simply through enjoying that pursuit that we can bring the Divine into our lives. Torah learning is an intellectual pursuit. For it to penetrate our minds and shape our personalities it needs to be an enjoyable experience. Therefore, in the blessing for Torah learning, we ask God to make it sweet for us. Finding pleasure in our Torah studies is not a bonus, but an indispensable part of it. In memory of Harav Avraham Yitzchak Yaakov ben Harav Nata Gershon 4

5 The Jews of England 1066 to 1290: Part 1 Crossing the Sea by Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence, Finchley United Synagogue On 18 July 1290, which was Tisha b Av (Fast of 9 Av) in the Jewish calendar, King Edward I of England commanded that the following proclamation be read in every city and town: Whereas the king has prefixed to all the Jews of his realm a certain time to pass out of the realm and he wills that they shall not be treated by his ministers or others otherwise has been customary, he orders the sheriff to cause proclamation to be made throughout his bailiwick prohibiting anyone from injuring or wronging the Jews the said time. He is ordered to cause the Jews to have safe conduct at their cost when they, with their chattels which the king has granted to them, direct their steps towards London in order to cross the sea, provided that before they leave they restore the pledges of Christians which are in the possession to those whom they belong. The entire Jewish community had just 105 days until All Saints Day, 1 November 1290, to leave the country or to be subjected to the wolf s head bounty, a euphemism for death. It is not clear exactly how many Jews were still in England in The expulsion followed several years of increasingly hard conditions, through which the Jewish community was systematically impoverished. Many had already sought to leave. Some chroniclers writing in the 17th and 18th centuries record almost 16,000 Jews drowning as they were stranded on sandbanks or crammed into unseaworthy vessels at the time of the expulsion. Apparently, those who trapped them and stole their property were subsequently caught and hanged. However, back in 1278, when Edward I had arrested all Jews on charges of coin clipping, charges were applied to a mere 680 families. Accordingly, more conservative estimates suggest that as few as 2,720 Jews remained in England to be expelled at the time of the order. The Jews had come to England with William the Conqueror in References to Jews present earlier, such as in a document in which Witglaff of Mercia (833) endowed the monks of Croyland with all the property that they had been given by any Christians or Jews are not contemporaneous and are unlikely to be authentic. When William invaded England, the local Anglo- Saxon population was around 2 million. He brought over only 10,000 Normans, appointing them to all the high offices, sweeping aside the entire ruling tier of Anglo-Saxons. He even had the Church replace five bishops with Norman appointees. His all-powerful control was delegated through the feudal system across the land, as documented meticulously in the Domesday Book. William of Malmesbury ( ) explains why the Conqueror [i.e. William] transferred the London Jews from Rouen. They satisfied William s three important needs. First, they were highly literate, fluent in his own language and adept at other tongues; connected with Jewish communities back home, they would be most helpful in commerce. Secondly, there was already a tradition of Jewish financiers and William needed these to pay for his troops. Thirdly, in using Jews as his tax collectors, he set them up as a buffer against the hostile conquered citizens. After 224 years, however, England s Jews had served their purpose. Marginal Illustration from the Rochester Chronicle 13th century In memory of Shmuel Nissim ben Yaacov 5

6 Celebrating the Royal Wedding by Rabbi Meir Salasnik, former Rabbi of Bushey & District United Synagogue This Shabbat, we look forward to a royal wedding. This is not the first time that the Shabbat preceding Shavuot has been graced by a royal occasion. Exactly two years ago, in 2016, the Queen s 90th birthday was celebrated on the corresponding weekend, parashat Bemidbar. In the civil calendar, it was three weeks later in mid- June. Coincidentally, the haftarah today concludes with hopeful verses about marriage: I shall marry you to Me forever. I shall marry you to Me with righteousness, and with justice, and with kindness, and with mercy. I shall marry you to Me with fidelity, and you shall know God (Hoshea 2:21-22). These words will be recited in our synagogues only an hour or two before the royal wedding. These verses have a dual meaning. They refer to the relationship the prophet looked forward to having with his wife, but also to the relationship we should have with God. Whilst the message is optimistic, it followed a history of challenge between Hoshea and his wife that mirrors the ups and downs of the relationship between Israel and God at different times in history. These verses are also familiar since they are recited when wrapping tefillin straps around the fingers in the shape of the letters that spell out one of God s Names Shin (w), Daled (d) and Yud (y). It is in some way propitious that this royal wedding takes place on erev Shavuot, since Shavuot is the anniversary of God s marriage to the people of Israel. That marriage took place at Mount Sinai exactly 3330 years ago. One privilege that the present royal family has is that they are able to marry whom they choose, whereas in previous generations royal family members were expected to marry within a certain social framework initially, that meant only other princes or princesses, later also within the aristocracy. Royalty now has the same liberty of choice that many of us are blessed to enjoy. I have a different, personal link which this royal wedding brings to mind. Most of my own ancestors are buried in Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives. I am conscious that the Duke of Edinburgh s mother is buried in the Christian cemetery on the same mountain. This was not her initial burial place. After her death in 1969, she was buried in the Royal Crypt in St George s Chapel, Windsor Castle, the same castle where she had been born 84 years before, and the same chapel where her great-grandson Prince Harry is marrying his princess. Her life had been eventful. After an affluent upbringing, she experienced the wartime German occupation of Greece in the Second World War. During the War, she saved a Jewish family, for which she has been honoured by the Yad Vashem Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem. She flew to Sweden ostensibly to visit her sister, Louise, wife of the then Crown Prince of Sweden, and later to be Queen of Sweden. However, her real reason was to bring back medical supplies for the starving Greek population. Her inspiration, both in religion and care, had been her aunt Elizabeth, murdered during the Russian Revolution. It was her long-term wish to be buried near Elizabeth in Jerusalem, and this wish was eventually honoured in 1988, 19 years after her death. Like many other royals, Princess Alice devoted herself to acts of kindness, irrespective of her own safety. She is but one example of how the aboutto-be married royal couple follow in illustrious footsteps. May God bless Prince Harry and Meghan with every happiness and satisfaction, along with great accomplishments. The ceremony at Yad Vashem in honour of Princess Alice, 30 October 1994 In memory of Yaacov ben Shmuel Answer: Nachshon ben Aminadav 6

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