Ki Tavo Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8

Ki tavo, "when you come" into the Promised Land and settle there, God tells the people, they are to bring a basket containing the first fruits of their harvest to the place that God designates. There, each person is to place the basket on the altar and recite a prayer of thanksgiving which recalls the history of the people from the time that they were slaves in Egypt, up until God brought them into the land of milk and honey. Every third year, they are to set aside one-tenth of their crop for the Levite, stranger, orphan and widow and recite another prayer, declaring that this commandment had been obeyed and asking for blessing. Moses and the elders instruct the people to observe all the commandments regarding a unique ceremony they are to perform once they cross the Jordan river. They are to set up two large stones, coat them with plaster, and write the words of the Law on them. These stones will be set on Mount Ebal. In addition, a stone altar is to be erected and sacrifices offered there. Six of the tribes (those descended from Jacob's wives Leah and Rachel) are instructed to stand on Mount Gerizim and six of the tribes (those descended from Jacob's wives Bilhah and Zilpah) are instructed to stand on Mount Ebal. The Levites will stand in the valley between the two mountains and proclaim the curses that will befall those who commit certain sins and the blessings they will receive if they observe God's laws. The blessings include having many children, large flocks, abundant crops and food, and protection from enemies. If they do not obey the laws, they are told, they will suffer curses including famine, disease, defeat at the hand of enemies, plagues, and slavery. The parasha ends with Moses reminding the people of the miracles that God has done for them during their wanderings for forty years in the desert - their clothes and sandals did not wear out, and all that they ate was provided for them by God.
If you safeguard the words of this covenant and keep them, you will be successful in all you do.

Given that we have nearly completed the Torah cycle for the year, I thought it was appropriate to give Moshe his time on the stage! This polymer clay sculpture entiled "With this staff" was created by honors graduate David Master. A recipient of many awards, David has exhibited at many venues, five of which were solo shows. David’s other artistic ventures have included designing logos for organizations, building prototypes for toy manufacture, and working as an artistic director and set designer for theater productions.

Beha'alotcha : Talk about a tough week!

This weeks parsha is from Numbers 8:1 - 12:16
This week's portion begins with one more instruction for the High Priest: it is his duty to light the menorah. The Levites undergo a final act of purification, and after a formal presentation to the entire community, they now begin to serve in their special role.
The Torah records the observance of the first anniversary of the Exodus from Egypt. In this connection the laws of Pesach Sheni, a "Second Passover" for those prevented or unable to observe Passover on its correct date, are introduced.
The Israelites now depart the Sinai wilderness, and Moses' father-in-law, Jethro (called Chovav here) departs for his home in Midian. The Israelites complain and rebel - first in a general expression of dissatisfaction and a second time complaining about the monotony of manna and the lack of meat. God sends huge flocks of quail to sate their hunger, but appalled by the people's gluttony, smites them with a plague.
These rebellions cause Moses to despair. In response, God causes the prophetic spirit to rest upon the seventy elders as a sign of their authority in assisting Moses with the leadership of the people. Eldad and Medad begin to prophesize as well; Joshua expresses concern about their activity but Moses welcomes their addition to the prophetic ranks.
At the next campsite Miriam and Aaron challenge Moses' leadership role, claiming parity with their brother. God rebukes them for their words; Aaron confesses his error and Miriam is stricken with leprosy. Moses intercedes on Miriam's behalf, and the Children of Israel continue their journey.

Ascalon Art Studios is under the direction of artist/designer David Ascalon. The studio collaborates with congregations to create wonderful worship environments. These are two of their wonderful seven branched menorahs.

More Miriam

I found this piece in Time Magazine... about how Moses truly loved his sister Miriam.
But the saddest interpretation is that Moses is penalized for mourning his sister. Few figures in Exodus are as vividly drawn, if infrequently featured, as Miriam. It is she who, as a child, saw to it that Pharaoh's daughter temporarily returned Moses to his natural mother to be breast-fed; it is Miriam who danced for joy at the crossing of the Red Sea. She is one of only four women the Hebrew Bible describes as a prophetess. Moses clearly loves her. At one point, she and Aaron complain about Moses' marriage to a "Cushite," which some scholars believe meant a black woman. But when the siblings challenge their brother's prophetic authority, God punishes Miriam with leprosy. Moses, however, intercedes on her behalf.

The incident at Meribah begins with the stark announcement, "Miriam died there and was buried there." The next sentence is, "The community was without water, and they joined against Moses and Aaron." This abrupt shift has fascinated scholars, including Hebrew Union College's Cohen. "His need is mourning," Cohen points out. "And do the people gather to comfort him? No. To complain. The same song and dance." Distraught, Moses strikes. With the blows, "he takes out everything," says Cohen. "He takes it out on the people, maybe on God, because he's lost his sister." And the Lord punishes him.

You shall die on the mountain that you are about to ascend and shall be gathered to your kin, as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his kin.

The wonderful Miriam's cup above is one that was made for the Women of Reform Judaism by the artist Linda Gissen. For lots of Miriam's cups take a look at this exhibit from the Oregon Jewish Musem.

He made it out of clay- not gold or silver, or lazuli...

I realized it had been weeks since I featured anything made with Polymer Clay. How dare I??? Well, to make up for that, here is a very apro pos polymer clay piece made by the incredibly talented George Estreich. There has to be one very proud Jewish mother out there!


This week's parsha is P'kudei from Exodus 38:21 - 40:38 and deals with the final construction of the tabernacle.

From a fellow blogger comes this commentary: This week, we finish the book of Exodus by reading about the completion of the Mishkan. "In the first month of the second year on the first of the month the tabernacle was erected" [40:2]. Interestingly, it was exactly one year earlier that G-d said to Moses “this month shall be the head month to you. It shall be the first month of the year" [12:1]. So the year Jewish calendar starts with both the physical redemption from Egypt and the spiritual redemption obtained by building the Mishkan both happened on the same day, the first of Nisan, the first day of the Jewish year.

Following the creation of the calendar (which is the first commandment given to the Nation of Israel), we get a series of commandments relating to Passover. In all of these commandments, the timing is very important. The law is not to refrain form eating bread for a week, it to refrain from eating bread on a specific week. Doing it a week early or late is not fulfilling the commandment. It’s not only in the stock market that timing is everything!

Rabbi Kelman says “Each one of us in our personal lives can easily fall prey to doing the right thing at the wrong time. Waiting too long to apologize, spending more time at home just as the kids are starting to move out, taking on religious stringency’s before one is ready, or even davening shacharit before dawn. We must learn to sanctify time by using it appropriately. It is the pathway to redemption.”