{"id":46092,"date":"2018-07-09T18:51:31","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T15:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-120\/"},"modified":"2022-07-21T08:06:04","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T05:06:04","slug":"wall-120","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-120\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Torah-Numbers-3"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"120","date":"20260212","book":"Numbers","chapter":"3","chapter_main_number":"120","books_group":"Torah","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"46394","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Numbers 3 - Judy Hammond ","post_title":"Numbers 3 - Judy Hammond","slug":"numbers-3-judy-hammond","old_id":"46394","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"120","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Numbers 3","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"read by Judy Hammond","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/numbers-chapter-3-read-by-judy-hammond","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"3","chapter_main_number":"120","date":"20260212","wall_id":"120"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"106528","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Logic Of Lineage ","post_title":"The Logic Of Lineage","slug":"the-logic-of-lineage","old_id":"106528","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"120","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Moses and Aaron at center stage\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

This is the line of Aaron and Moses at the time that God spoke to Moses on Har Sinai. These were the names of Aaron\u2019s sons Nadab the first born, Avihu, Elazar, Itamar (verses 1-2).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why does the introductory verse mention these are lines of Moses and Aaron, but then just mention the line of Aaron? Rashi explains that the sons of Aaron were called the sons of Moses because Moses taught them Torah. This introduces a principle that anyone who teaches Torah is like they are a parent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Gur Aryeh explains that the priests are given this distinction, and not all of Israel, because Moses taught the priests more. Another explanation is that later on the chapter will discuss the Levites, and Moses is representative of the non-priestly part of the tribe of Levi. This verse is an introduction of this entire section.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ibn Ezra focuses on the \u201con Mt. Sinai\u201d part of the verse. The reason Moses and Aaron are listed here is because the number of their offspring did not change from the time of the giving of the Torah until now, in the second year. It was at Mt. Sinai after the sin of the Golden Calf that God decided to give the priestly and administrative jobs from the first born to the tribe of Levi and to the priests.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Another possibility is that this verse is meant to connect to a verse back in Exodus. Back in Exodus chapter 16, in the midst of the exodus story, there is a brief interlude that discusses the lineage of the tribe of Levi. \u201cThese are the names of Levi\u2019s sons by their lineage: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and the span of Levi\u2019s life was 137 years\u201d (Ex. 6:16). What\u2019s interesting there is that the lineage is not complete. It is simply a vehicle to get to Moses and Aaron. \u201cIt is the same Aaron and Moses to whom God said, \u201cBring forth the Israelites from the land of Egypt, troop by troop\u201d (Ex. 6:16).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 3 of Numbers then picks up from where that story left off. This is another example of the transition between the exodus story and the upcoming entrance into the land of Canaan. The exodus story began with the lineage of Levi leading up to Moses and Aaron, and now the entrance to the land continues that lineage link.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":56407,"alt":"","title":"jud19-beham-hans-sebald-moses-aaron","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud19-beham-hans-sebald-moses-aaron.jpg","width":800,"height":563,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud19-beham-hans-sebald-moses-aaron-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud19-beham-hans-sebald-moses-aaron-300x211.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":211,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud19-beham-hans-sebald-moses-aaron-768x540.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":540,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud19-beham-hans-sebald-moses-aaron.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":563,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud19-beham-hans-sebald-moses-aaron.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":563,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud19-beham-hans-sebald-moses-aaron.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":563,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud19-beham-hans-sebald-moses-aaron.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":563,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud19-beham-hans-sebald-moses-aaron-597x420.jpg","home_baner-width":597,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Logic Of Lineage","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Moses and Aaron at center 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Descent Of Korah: Prelude To A Rebellion ","post_title":"The Descent Of Korah: Prelude To A Rebellion","slug":"the-descent-of-korah-prelude-to-a-rebellion","old_id":"106530","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":62571,"post_title":"Yaakov Bieler","slug":"yaakov-bieler","old_id":"62571","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Bieler ","description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University in 1974. 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":62572,"alt":"","title":"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","width":141,"height":180,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler-141x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":141,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium-width":141,"medium-height":180,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium_large-width":141,"medium_large-height":180,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","large-width":141,"large-height":180,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","1536x1536-width":141,"1536x1536-height":180,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","2048x2048-width":141,"2048x2048-height":180,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","post_full_size-width":141,"post_full_size-height":180,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","home_baner-width":141,"home_baner-height":180}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"120","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Familial jealousy? Political aspirations? Or something else?","post_main_content_content":"

Embedded in Numbers 3, is the basis of Korah\u2019s claim against Moses\u2019 administration in general: \u201cThe sons of Kohath by clan: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel\u201d (verse 19); \u201cThe chieftain of the ancestral house of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel\u201d (30).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rashi on Num. 16:1 spells out Korah\u2019s complex legal claim:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u2026And what induced Korah to quarrel with Moses? He was envious of the princely dignity held by Elizaphan the son of Uziel\u00a0 whom Moses had appointed prince over the sons of Kohath, although this was by the express command of God. Korah argued thus: \u201cMy father and his brothers were four in number \u2014 as it is said, (Exodus 6:18) \u201cAnd the sons of Kohath were Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uziel.\u201d As to Amram, the eldest, his two sons have themselves assumed high dignity, one (Moses) as \u201cking\u201d and the other (Aaron) as High Priest. Who is entitled to receive the next in line -\u00a0 Is it not I, who am the son of Izhar, who was the second to Amram amongst the brothers? And yet he has appointed as prince the son of his brother who was the youngest of all of them! I hereby protest against him and will undo his decision\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The question that arises is: was the issue of appointments just a pretext for Korah\u2019s rebellion, or was there something more to his position, particularly if he was unaware of God involving Himself in the people\u2019s particular affairs? Rashi can confidently state that God was the One making decisions: \u201cSo Moses recorded them at the command of God, as he was bidden\u201d (Num. 3:16). But Korah was obviously skeptical of this. It wouldn\u2019t be the first time, he would contend, that a religious leader would justify his personal decisions by claiming that God approves! Yet, should Korah have been so suspicious that he himself was overly influenced by his own quest for status and power? An individual clearly enamored of himself and his grievances can never acknowledge his own shortcomings.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Although Korah, according to Rashi, was upset over being passed over for the role of <\/span>nasi<\/span><\/i>, head<\/span> of Kohath\u2019s family, the continuation of the story, even after the rebels were put to death by a miraculous occurrence of the earth opening its maw to swallow them, is that Aaron\u2019s position of High Priest came under attack. Another Divine miracle was necessitated to quell this additional complaint (see 17:16-24).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the final analysis, God says this about the Israelites: \u201cNone of those involved\u2014who have seen My Presence and the signs that I have performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and who have tried Me these many<\/span> times and have disobeyed Me\u2026 None of those who spurn Me shall see it (the Promised Land; Num. 14:22-3).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

He unfortunately knew what He was saying.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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Political aspirations? 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Visit her online at www.bethkissileff.com. ","short_description":"Beth Kissileff is the editor of the anthology Reading Genesis (Bloomsbury\/ T and T Clark, 2016) , a journalist and teacher.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36664,"alt":"","title":"BethKissileff","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","width":3478,"height":3200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-300x276.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":276,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-768x707.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":707,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-1024x942.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":942,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1413,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1884,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-1200x1104.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1104,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-456x420.jpg","home_baner-width":456,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1047","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"We need to recount the tale, not just count the tally","post_main_content_content":"

A census can enable us to number particular things.\u00a0 Yet the numbers themselves can\u2019t tell the full story.\u00a0 As Avivah Zornberg reminds us in Bewilderments: Reflections on the Book of Numbers, <\/em>\u201cAs in English, the Hebrew words for counting and recounting are related: li-spor <\/em>and le-sapper <\/em>have the same root.\u201d\u00a0 We must tell a story alongside any counting so that the numbers themselves do not remain incomplete.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

So the census itself needs to be interpreted, needs a story told about it in order for us to understand both what it is about and why it is significant, as this is not the first census of the Israelites.\u00a0There has been a census prior to this in Exodus 30: 11- 16 when all those of military age are asked to bring a half- shekel to contribute, as well as a subsequent census in Numbers 26:1-65 that tells us \u201camong these there was not one of those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai\u201d (Numbers 26:64).\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

What the numbers in the census taken at the beginning of the book tell us is less important than the fact that none of those counted at the opening of Numbers survive to its end.\u00a0An entire generation dies during these wilderness years; the 603,550 men recorded in this first census differ from the 601,730 men in Numbers 26 (math by Jacob Milgrom in his JPS Commentary on Numbers) as all the earlier generation have passed away.<\/p>\r\n

Yet although there are rebellions, and complaints and lack of food and water and dissatisfaction in the course of the thirty-six chapters of the book of Numbers, it is also the book that marks the transition into the Promised Land.\u00a0Encounter with the wilderness makes the transition possible. Numbers of the people do not tell the entirety of their story.<\/p>\r\n

The purpose of the book of Numbers is to chronicle both the struggles and the growth that enables the Israelites to continue on their journey, to move towards the land and society they wish to create.\u00a0Despite the tragedy of death in the wilderness, the Israelites are able to adapt and to follow God\u2019s laws, with lapses. Another way to see the book of Numbers is as a period of post-traumatic growth which has been defined by Melissa Glaser in the book Healing a Community<\/em> as \u201cthe belief that you can also achieve personal growth, encounter new opportunities, develop closer relationships, gain a stronger appreciation for life, and deepen your spiritual core in the wake of tragedy.\u201d\u00a0 These things, not numbers, tell us the most important story from the portion of Bemidbar and the book as a whole.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":105146,"alt":"","title":"-628ea104a7fca--628ea104a7fcdex30-count 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Parashat Bemidbar<\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/_SNliebNM6U","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Shabbat With a Schmear","tile_main_caption":"Bemidbar - Quite A Crowd","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Adam Mintz with Meredith Berkman (ShabbatMom)","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/_SNliebNM6U","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1047"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"}]},{"order":6,"id":"46476","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"What Counts? ","post_title":"What Counts?","slug":"what-counts","old_id":"46476","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34004,"post_title":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg","slug":"avivah-gottlieb-zornberg","old_id":"34004","first_name":"Avivah Gottlieb","last_name":"Zornberg","description":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg lives in Jerusalem where she has been lecturing on Torah since 1980. She reads biblical narratives through the prism of midrash, literature, philosophy and particularly psychoanalysis.\r\nShe was born in London and grew up in Glasgow, where her father was a Rabbi and the head of the Rabbinical Court. She studied Torah with him from childhood. Her PhD in English Literature is from Cambridge University, England. She taught English literature at the Hebrew University before turning to teaching Torah. She now teaches throughout the Jewish world, at synagogues, universities, and psychoanalytic institutes.\r\nShe is the author of five critically acclaimed books. Her latest book, Moses: A Human Life, was published by Yale University Press.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg lives and lectures on Torah in Jerusalem. She is the author of five critically acclaimed books. ","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34006,"alt":"","title":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","width":454,"height":359,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg-300x237.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":237,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","medium_large-width":454,"medium_large-height":359,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","large-width":454,"large-height":359,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","1536x1536-width":454,"1536x1536-height":359,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","2048x2048-width":454,"2048x2048-height":359,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","post_full_size-width":454,"post_full_size-height":359,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","home_baner-width":454,"home_baner-height":359}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"120","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Numbers mean survival, power, blessing. Yet each of us becomes a grain of sand","post_main_content_content":"

In our narrative, the census opens up two possibilities. In being counted, the Israelites enter a field of promise and peril, for to count is to say what counts\u2014that is, what fits, what matters, what belongs. It is to become part of everything that exists. But it is also to notice \"the nothing that is.\" <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In writing of \"the mystery of human numbers,\" the essayist Annie Dillard reports a story about Ted Bundy, the serial killer: \"After his arrest, [he] could not comprehend the fuss. What was the big deal? `I mean, there are so many people.' \u201c* What Bundy is in fact saying is that there are countless people\u2014why should a few more or less count? But to make his point, Bundy makes the futile gesture of counting. In this way, throughout Dillard's book, she brings statistics to recount the dizzying relations of the individual with the world she lives in. She cites the figures released by the Hubble space telescope: \"There are maybe nine galaxies for each of us\u2014eighty billion galaxies. Each galaxy harbors at least one hundred billion suns. In our galaxy, the Milky Way, there are four hundred billion suns\u2014give or take 50 percent\u2014or sixty suns for each person alive.\" \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

How can an individual count? The children of Abraham are to be like the sand on the seashore, or the stars in the heavens\u2014these are the analogies that God makes in the course of His promises to the patriarchs. Numbers mean survival, power, blessing. But they also carry an undertow of melancholy, as each of us becomes a grain of sand, less than a speck among the immensities of the heaven. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

And yet, in the face of that granular reality, the prophet Isaiah cries: \"Lift high your eyes and see: Who created these? He who sends out their host by count, who calls them each by name: because of His great might and vast power, not one fails to appear\" (Isa. 4o:26). A relation in which God names each star as He counts it is a relation of love, of appreciating its singularity. As in English, the Hebrew words for counting and recounting are related: <\/span>li-spor <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>le-sapper<\/span><\/i> have the same root. To tell a tale is to acknowledge the value, the connection, in things. The tale that God tells of that time is a way of relating what counts for Him in that history, what He reads in it\u2014which is precisely their unanswered\/to be answered wilderness desire. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

*Anne Dillard, <\/span>For the Time Being<\/span><\/i> (New York: Knopf, 1999), 21.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: GrandeDuc\/shutterstock<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":46479,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_392569105","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105.jpg","width":4961,"height":4961,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105-1024x1024.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105-1200x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"What Counts?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Numbers mean survival, power, blessing. Yet each of us becomes a grain of sand","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":46479,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_392569105","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105.jpg","width":4961,"height":4961,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105-1024x1024.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105-1200x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_392569105-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"3","chapter_main_number":"120","date":"20260212","wall_id":"120"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"374","name":"Humanity","old_id":"774"},{"term_id":"689","name":"Census","old_id":"1089"},{"term_id":"789","name":"Numbers","old_id":"1189"}]},{"order":7,"id":"46501","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Meditation on Over-Enthusiasm, Self-Renunciation and the Holy ","post_title":"A Meditation On Over-Enthusiasm, Self-Renunciation And The Holy","slug":"a-meditation-on-over-enthusiasm-self-renunciation-and-the-holy","old_id":"46501","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33923,"post_title":"Jonathan Sacks","slug":"rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks","old_id":"33923","first_name":"Jonathan ","last_name":"Sacks","description":"An international religious leader, philosopher, and award-winning author of over 35 books, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks served as the International President of 929.\r\nRabbi Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth years between 1991 and 2013, and was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 2005 and made a Life Peer. Rabbi Sacks passed away on 7th November 2020, aged 72. He was one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the 20th century, who bridged the religious and secular world through his ground-breaking canon of work.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z\"k (1948-2020) was the former Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, and the International 929 president.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36222,"alt":"","title":"JSacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","width":437,"height":548,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-239x300.jpg","medium-width":239,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-768x448.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":448,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-1024x597.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":597,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","1536x1536-width":437,"1536x1536-height":548,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","2048x2048-width":437,"2048x2048-height":548,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","post_full_size-width":437,"post_full_size-height":548,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-335x420.jpg","home_baner-width":335,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"120","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Had Nadav and Avihu used their own initiative to fight injustice they would have been heroes","post_main_content_content":"

Celebration turned to tragedy. The two eldest sons of Aaron die. The sages and commentators offer many explanations. Nadav and Avihu died because: they entered the holy of holies; they were not wearing the requisite clothes; they took fire from the kitchen, not the altar; they did not consult Moses and Aaron; nor did they consult one another. According to some they were guilty of hubris. They were impatient to assume leadership roles themselves; and they did not marry, considering themselves above such things. Yet others see their deaths as delayed punishment for an earlier sin, when, at Mount Sinai they \u201cate and drank\u201d in the presence of God (Ex. 24: 9-11).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These interpretations represent close readings of the four places in the Torah which Nadav and Avihu\u2019s death is mentioned (Lev. 10:2, 16: 1, Num. 3: 4, 26: 61), as well as the reference to their presence on Mount Sinai. Each is a profound meditation on the dangers of over-enthusiasm in the religious life. However, the simplest explanation is the one explicit in the Torah itself. Nadav and Avihu died because they offered unauthorized (literally \u201cstrange\u201d) fire \u2013 meaning \u201cthat which was not commanded.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\r\n

To understand the significance of this we must go back to first principles and remind ourselves of the meaning of kadosh, \u201choly\u201d, and thus of mikdash as the home of the holy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The holy is that segment of time and space God has reserved for His presence. Creation involves concealment. The word olam, universe, is semantically linked to the word neelam, \u201chidden\u201d. To give mankind some of His own creative powers \u2013 the use of language to think, communicate, understand, imagine alternative futures and choose between them \u2013 God must do more than create homo sapiens. He must efface Himself (what the kabbalists called tzimtzum) to create space for human action. No single act more profoundly indicates the love and generosity implicit in creation. God as we encounter Him in the Torah is like a parent who knows He must hold back, let go, refrain from intervening, if his children are to become responsible and mature\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The holy is that point of time and space in which the presence of God is encountered by tzimtzum \u2013 self-renunciation \u2013 on the part of mankind. Just as God makes space for man by an act of self-limitation, so man makes space for God by an act of self-limitation. The holy is where God is experienced as absolute presence. Not accidentally but essentially, this can only take place through the total renunciation of human will and initiative. That is not because God does not value human will and initiative. To the contrary: God has empowered mankind to use them to become His \u201cpartners in the work of creation\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

However, to be true to God\u2019s purposes, there must be times and places at which humanity experiences the reality of the divine. Those times and places require absolute obedience. The most fundamental mistake \u2013 the mistake of Nadav and Avihu \u2013 is to take the powers that belong to man\u2019s encounter with the world, and apply them to man\u2019s encounter with the Divine. Had Nadav and Avihu used their own initiative to fight evil and injustice they would have been heroes. Because they used their own initiative in the arena of the holy, they erred. They asserted their own presence in the absolute presence of God. That is a contradiction in terms. That is why they died.<\/span><\/p>\r\n


\r\nFrom: <\/span>Fire: Holy and Unholy<\/span><\/i> (Covenant & Conversation, <\/span><\/i>Shemini <\/span>5773)<\/span><\/i><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":64970,"alt":"","title":"is6-holy-holy-holy","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","width":428,"height":425,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","medium_large-width":428,"medium_large-height":425,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","large-width":428,"large-height":425,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","1536x1536-width":428,"1536x1536-height":425,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","2048x2048-width":428,"2048x2048-height":425,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","post_full_size-width":428,"post_full_size-height":425,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy-423x420.jpg","home_baner-width":423,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"A Meditation On Over-Enthusiasm, Self-Renunciation And The Holy","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Had Nadav and Avihu used their own initiative to fight injustice they would have been heroes","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":64970,"alt":"","title":"is6-holy-holy-holy","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","width":428,"height":425,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","medium_large-width":428,"medium_large-height":425,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","large-width":428,"large-height":425,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","1536x1536-width":428,"1536x1536-height":425,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","2048x2048-width":428,"2048x2048-height":425,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","post_full_size-width":428,"post_full_size-height":425,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy-423x420.jpg","home_baner-width":423,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"3","chapter_main_number":"120","date":"20260212","wall_id":"120"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"354","name":"Rabbi Sacks","old_id":"754"},{"term_id":"480","name":"Holiness","old_id":"880"}]},{"order":8,"id":"46465","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Descendants, Biological and Spiritual ","post_title":"Descendants, Biological And Spiritual","slug":"descendants-biological-and-spiritual","old_id":"46465","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46169,"post_title":"Shanee Banafshe Michaelson","slug":"shanee-banafshe-michaelson","old_id":"46169","first_name":"Shanee Banafshe ","last_name":"Michaelson ","description":"Shanee Banafshe Michaelson is an attorney, teacher, and a long-time resident of Los Angeles.","short_description":"Shanee Banafshe Michaelson is an attorney, teacher, and a long-time resident of Los Angeles.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":46170,"alt":"","title":"shanee 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can be a way to take people from slavery to freedom, from oppression to liberty","post_main_content_content":"

From the first verse in Bamidbar 3 we learn that it will be all about the descendants of Moses and Aaron. Yet as the chapter gets underway, only the sons of Aaron are mentioned. Why then are they described as Moses\u2019 descendants? Shouldn\u2019t they have been referred to solely as Aaron\u2019s line?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rashi says that because Moses taught Aaron\u2019s sons Torah, they became his descendants. Moses, sometimes described as the great lawgiver, is said to be our greatest teacher. This exemplifies the high regard which Jewish tradition holds for teachers of Torah. Indeed, teaching Torah to children is Talmudically equivalent to having given birth to them (Sanhedrin 19b). Teachers can have an immense impact on their students.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Many people can remember the names of their childhood teachers, even after multiple decades have passed. The best teachers are not only learned in their subjects, but have a spiritual impact on their students. They teach enthusiasm and a positive attitude (or not). My high school art teacher taught me to have patience, my English teacher taught me to carefully value my words, and my childhood Hebrew teacher taught me to love the language in a way I have never forgotten. We have all had teachers who were so enthusiastic about their subject that they inspired us to want to learn more; and unfortunately we may also have experienced quite the opposite.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Teachers may also learn from their students, when they are themselves open to receiving wisdom. Perhaps Moses learned to be a stronger leader by teaching Aaron\u2019s sons, his nephews, during their meandering journey between Egypt and the Holy Land. Education can be a way to take people from slavery to freedom, from oppression to liberty. And one of those people can be your very own self.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Christian Chan\/shutterstock<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":46466,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_243736828","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828.jpg","width":5184,"height":3456,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Descendants, Biological And Spiritual","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Education can be a way to take people from slavery to freedom, from oppression to liberty","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":46466,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_243736828","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828.jpg","width":5184,"height":3456,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_243736828-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"3","chapter_main_number":"120","date":"20260212","wall_id":"120"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"366","name":"Commentators","old_id":"766"},{"term_id":"399","name":"Education","old_id":"799"}]},{"order":9,"id":"46531","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"First Born Second Fiddle ","post_title":"First Born Second Fiddle","slug":"first-born-second-fiddle","old_id":"46531","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33859,"post_title":"Avidan Freedman","slug":"avidan-freedman","old_id":"33859","first_name":"Avidan","last_name":"Freedman","description":"Rabbi Avidan Freedman is the Rabbi of Hevruta, the Shalom Hartman Institute's post high school program for Israelis and North Americans, and an educator in the institute's high school. He is an activist advocating for moral limits on Israeli arms exports, and on behalf of African refugees, and a proud husband and father of 5. He received his rabbinical ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York, and from the Israeli chief rabbinate.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Rabbi Avidan Freedman is the Rabbi of Hevruta, the Shalom Hartman Institute's post high school program for Israelis and North Americans, and an educator in the institute's high school. ","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33860,"alt":"Avidan Freedman","title":"Avidan Freedman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","width":856,"height":1024,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-251x300.jpg","medium-width":251,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-768x919.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":919,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-856x1024.jpg","large-width":856,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","1536x1536-width":856,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","2048x2048-width":856,"2048x2048-height":1024,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-351x420.jpg","home_baner-width":351,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"120","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The need to continually counteract the sense of entitlement","post_main_content_content":"

If the first-born had an advocacy organization, its first job would be to get some changes made in Numbers, chapter 3. The Torah explains what makes the first-born special; but it never explains why this special status, and the privilege of service that should come with it, is taken from them and transferred to the Levites.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Reviewing the last 120 chapters of the Torah actually reveals a consistent pattern of discrimination against the very children who by all rights have won the birth order lottery. Cain, Ishmael, Esau, Reuben, Aaron- the first born is doomed by the Torah to play second fiddle. The Torah's favoritism for the unfavored is chronic, and demands an explanation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps that explanation is hinted at by our chapter's opening, strangely, with the mention of the deaths of Nadav and Avihu. All of the explanations offered for their sin essentially can be boiled down to one thing. In Hebrew, it's the attitude of \"<\/span>magi'a li<\/span><\/em>,\"<\/span><\/i> a sense of entitlement which develops quite easily specifically among the first born. This attitude is anathema to religious worship, capable of corrupting a loyal civil servant with the power that his office brings.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Replacing the first born are the tribe of Levi- the quintessential middle child. Follow the verses in this chapter carefully, and you'll notice just how sandwiched the Levites are. In one verse, they belong to God, in the next, to the Kohanim, in the third, to the people. Perhaps their obligations to multiple masters are meant to hold their sense of entitlement, ego and power in check for. After all, although according to the classic understanding, the tribe was chosen based on merit, because of their decisions during the sin of the golden calf, once they have become the chosen tribe, the problem of biologically determined privilege, and hence, of 'magi'a li', returns.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Torah's replacement of the first born with the Levites hasn't completely solved the problem, but it has charted the course, a path which leads the sages to later say that a sage, even of problematic lineage, takes precedence over a priest, and that leads the Rambam, much later, to radically suggest that some aspects of being a Levi can be not only inherited by birth, but chosen.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":106546,"alt":"","title":"-62d85b0a86917--62d85b0a86919num3-violin 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Born Second Fiddle","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The need to continually counteract the sense of entitlement","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":106546,"alt":"","title":"-62d85b0a86917--62d85b0a86919num3-violin 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Fatal Gaze ","post_title":"The Fatal Gaze","slug":"the-fatal-gaze","old_id":"46470","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"120","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Another intriguing explanation of the untimely demise of Nadav and Abihu","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter begins by again mentioning the tragic death of two of the sons of Aaron. \u201c\u2026Nadav and Avihu died by the will of the Lord, when they offered alien fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai\u201d (Numbers 3:4). The question has often been asked: Why exactly did Nadav and Avihu die \u201cby the will of God\u201d? What it only because, with every good intention, they made an offering apparently of regular man-made fire? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Midrash (Numbers Rabbah 2:25, Leviticus Rabbah 20:10) offers an additional reason by first noting that Nadav and Avihu are specifically mentioned among those who, according to Exodus 24:1-11, ascended Mount Sinai and there \u201csaw the God of Israel. Under His feet, there was the likeness of a pavement of sapphire, like the very sky for purity\u2026they beheld God, and they ate and drank.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is specifically stated there that God did not, at that time, \u201craise His hand\u201d against those who partook of this extraordinary vision. But the Rabbinic sages connected the participation of Nadav and Avihu in this Sinaitic vision with their subsequent tragic demise. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

What could be meant by the phrase \u201cthey ate and drank\u201d while beholding God? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rabbi Hoshaia asks: Did provisions, like cakes, go up with them to Mount Sinai? No! Rather what must be implied is that they \u201cfeasted their eyes on the Shekhinah\u201d like one who discourteously stares at his fellow while eating and drinking together. Rabbi Tanhuma adds that they also uncovered they heads, stood on their feet and haughtily feasted their eyes on the Shekhinah. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin replies that Moses, on the other hand, resisted the temptation to behave in such a disrespectful manner, for it says that, in a previous similar situation at the Burning Bush, \u201c\u2026Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God\u201d (Exodus 3:6). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Midrash here teaches that taking advantage of mystical vision, by staring unrestrainedly at the Divine Presence, may eventually result in the most fateful consequences.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image by: agsandrew\/shutterstock<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":46472,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_775990204","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204.jpg","width":3600,"height":2700,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1536,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Fatal Gaze","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Another intriguing explanation of the untimely demise of Nadav and Abihu","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":46472,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_775990204","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204.jpg","width":3600,"height":2700,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1536,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_775990204-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"3","chapter_main_number":"120","date":"20260212","wall_id":"120"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"443","name":"See\/hear","old_id":"843"},{"term_id":"795","name":"Vision","old_id":"1195"}]},{"order":11,"id":"56966","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Parshat Bemidbar: In the Desert - Life During the Journey to Egypt ","post_title":"Parshat Bemidbar: In the Desert - Life During the Journey to Egypt","slug":"parshat-bemidbar-in-the-desert-life-during-the-journey-to-egypt","old_id":"56966","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37754,"post_title":"BimBam","slug":"bimbam","old_id":"37754","first_name":"","last_name":"BimBam","description":"BimBam sparks connections to Judaism through digital storytelling for learners of all ages.","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37755,"alt":"","title":"bimbam","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","width":218,"height":217,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","medium-width":218,"medium-height":217,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","medium_large-width":218,"medium_large-height":217,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","large-width":218,"large-height":217,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","1536x1536-width":218,"1536x1536-height":217,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","2048x2048-width":218,"2048x2048-height":217,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","post_full_size-width":218,"post_full_size-height":217,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","home_baner-width":218,"home_baner-height":217}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1047","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

Just the facts, ma\u2019am. Reporter Helen Chernikoff digs into the statistics of the Israelite census and tells us some interesting stories about the people who were wandering in the desert - much more than just their ages and occupations. Take a look\u00a0 Bemidbar<\/a> - in a desert - and see what you can learn about people.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/FoTfQrg8q48","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"By: Helen Chernikoff ","tile_main_caption":"Parshat Bemidbar: In the Desert - Life During the Journey to Egypt","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A Bimbam Video","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/FoTfQrg8q48","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1047"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"},{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"}]},{"order":12,"id":"56969","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Bamidbar: Leading a Nation of Individuals ","post_title":"Bemidbar: Leading a Nation of Individuals","slug":"bamidbar-leading-a-nation-of-individuals","old_id":"56969","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42813,"post_title":"Covenant & Conversation","slug":"covenant-conversation","old_id":"42813","first_name":"","last_name":"Covenant & Conversation","description":"Covenant & Conversation: Family Edition is a new and exciting initiative from The Office of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Written as an accompaniment to Rabbi Sacks\u2019 weekly Covenant & Conversation essay, the Family Edition is aimed at connecting older children and teenagers with his ideas and thoughts on the parsha. Each element of the Family Edition is progressively more advanced; The Core Idea is appropriate for all ages and the final element, From The Thought of Rabbi Sacks, is the most advanced section. Each section includes Questions to Ponder, aimed at encouraging discussion between family members in a way most appropriate to them. We have also included a section called Around the Shabbat Table with a few further questions on the parsha to think about. The final section is an Educational Companion which includes suggested talking points in response to the questions found throughout the Family Edition.","short_description":"Covenant & Conversation: Family Edition is a new and exciting initiative from The Office of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":42814,"alt":"","title":"CCfamilylogo-693x457","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457.jpg","width":693,"height":457,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457-300x198.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":198,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457.jpg","medium_large-width":693,"medium_large-height":457,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457.jpg","large-width":693,"large-height":457,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457.jpg","1536x1536-width":693,"1536x1536-height":457,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457.jpg","2048x2048-width":693,"2048x2048-height":457,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457.jpg","post_full_size-width":693,"post_full_size-height":457,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457-637x420.jpg","home_baner-width":637,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1047","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

The central theme of the book of Numbers is the second stage of the Israelites\u2019 journey. Not only are they on a physical journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, but they must also adjust their mentality from slavery to freedom. This is their journey through Bamidbar.<\/p>\r\n

This parsha is about the preparations for that journey, the first step being to take a census. To inherit the land, the Israelites will have to fight. Hence the census, specifically of men between the ages of twenty and sixty (those eligible to serve in battles). The Levites were counted separately because it was their role to minister in the Sanctuary.<\/p>\r\n

Instructions were given as to the layout of the camp, which was to be a square with the Sanctuary in the middle. Three tribes were to set up their tents and banners on each side, while the Levites formed an inner square. The order in which they encamped was also the order in which they journeyed. The duties of the family of Kehat \u2013 which also included Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, who had other roles \u2013 were spelled out. It was their task to carefully carry the most sacred objects, the Ark, Table, Menorah, Altars, curtains, and holy vessels used in the sacrificial service, when the Israelites journeyed.<\/p>\r\n

Download the whole parashah guide for Parashat Bemidbar<\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":42816,"alt":"","title":"covenant and conversation - Sacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","width":723,"height":426,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-300x177.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":177,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","medium_large-width":723,"medium_large-height":426,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","large-width":723,"large-height":426,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","1536x1536-width":723,"1536x1536-height":426,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","2048x2048-width":723,"2048x2048-height":426,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","post_full_size-width":723,"post_full_size-height":426,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-713x420.jpg","home_baner-width":713,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Family Study Materials","tile_main_caption":"Leading a Nation of Individuals ","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"for Parashat Bemidbar","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42816,"alt":"","title":"covenant and conversation - Sacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","width":723,"height":426,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-300x177.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":177,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","medium_large-width":723,"medium_large-height":426,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","large-width":723,"large-height":426,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","1536x1536-width":723,"1536x1536-height":426,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","2048x2048-width":723,"2048x2048-height":426,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","post_full_size-width":723,"post_full_size-height":426,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-713x420.jpg","home_baner-width":713,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1047"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"}]},{"order":13,"id":"46463","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"'Blue Stripes' Bible: Levites Replace the First-Born - At What Price? 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This week we start a new book of the Torah! It is just a little over a year since Bnei Yisrael exited Egypt, 11 months since they received the 10 Commandments on Mt. Sinai, and one month since the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was erected in the desert. As far as anyone knows, the next step in their big journey is: entering the Land of Israel! This week\u2019s Interactive Parsha Experience comes from Aviva Lauer Golbert.<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0Download the newest Interactive Parsha Experience<\/a><\/p>\r\n

And if you have older kids or teens, be sure to check out our\u00a0Parsha Discussion<\/a>\u00a0for a more mature conversation.<\/p>\r\n

To receive an Interactive Parsha Experience weekly email please subscribe with Pardes\u00a0today<\/a>!<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":45256,"alt":"","title":"pardes cover image","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Interactive Family Study Materials","tile_main_caption":"Bemidbar - Stand Up and Be Counted","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Download the study guide","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":45256,"alt":"","title":"pardes cover image","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1047"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"}]},{"order":15,"id":"46468","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Languages Of Faith And Mourning ","post_title":"The Languages Of Faith And Mourning","slug":"the-languages-of-faith-and-mourning","old_id":"46468","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36669,"post_title":"Yakov Azriel","slug":"yakov-azriel","old_id":"36669","first_name":"Yakov ","last_name":"Azriel","description":"Yakov Azriel, who lives in Israel, has published five books of poetry in the USA and hundreds of poems in journals and magazines. 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\"These are the names of Aaron\u2019s sons: Nadav the first-born, Avihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. These are the
\r\nnames of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests who were consecrated to be priests. \u00a0But Nadav and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered alien fire \u2026\" (Numbers 3:2-4)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

as a desert to a forest,
\r\n<\/span>is a Mir\u00f3 to a Rubens \u2014
\r\n<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 stripped
\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 of all frivolities,
\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 reduced
\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 to the necessities:<\/p>\r\n

here \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> a line
\r\n<\/span>there\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>a curve
\r\n<\/span>a point or two
\r\n<\/span>a leap of \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>movement
\r\n<\/span>and color<\/span><\/p>\r\n

so is the language of faith to human speech \u2014<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> stripped
\r\n<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 of articles, adjectives, adverbs;
\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 reduced
\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 to the essentials
\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span> a handful of nouns:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Man \u2014 God \u2014
\r\n<\/span><\/i>Trust \u2014\u00a0 \u00a0
\r\n<\/span><\/i>Hope \u2014<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

a few prepositions:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

up
\r\n<\/span><\/i>down
\r\n<\/span><\/i>between<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

and a verb or two:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

to fall
\r\n<\/span><\/i>and <\/span>rise<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

that's all
\r\n<\/span>the vocabulary
\r\n<\/span>needed
\r\n<\/span>for faith<\/span><\/p>\r\n

yet sparser still
\r\n<\/span>is the language of mourning:
\r\n<\/span>a Mir\u00f3 with no color, no movement<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> and without the leap;<\/span><\/p>\r\n

a barren white landscape<\/span><\/p>\r\n

with only lines
\r\n<\/span>and black dots<\/span><\/p>\r\n

no prepositions; no verbs;<\/span><\/p>\r\n

just nouns:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Loss \u2014
\r\n<\/span><\/i>Grief \u2014<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i> linked by<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Pain \u2014<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

can the vocabulary of faith<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> yet be transcribed<\/span><\/p>\r\n

into the untranslatable language<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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\u201cGod's (and the Israelites') Gender Trouble\u201d <\/span><\/a>by Rabbi Alexander Weissman: Explore perspectives on Biblical gender. <\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Numbers 3","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Click to get links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"3","chapter_main_number":"120","date":"20260212","wall_id":"120"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":18,"id":"106523","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points To Ponder: Numbers 3 ","post_title":"Points To Ponder: Numbers 3","slug":"points-to-ponder-numbers-3","old_id":"106523","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":false,"related_cahpter":"120","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    \r\n\t
  1. Priests and Levites<\/em>. Both are descendants of Levi, son of Jacob. But it\u2019s just Aaron and his sons who are \u201cthe anointed priests who were ordained for priesthood\u201d (3). All the rest - Levites.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. A painful reminder.<\/em> Of what happened to \u201cthe line of Aaron\u201d - in verse 4.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. The world belongs to the young<\/em>. The Levites are counted from a very young age: \u201crecord every male among them from the age of one month up\u201d (15), apparently because it\u2019s for life. Israelites, on the other hand, as the previous chapter describes were counted from the age of 20, the age of military conscription.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Army surplus?<\/em> In verses 46-49, the text deals with the question of what to do about the gap between the number of first-borns, and the number of the Levites who are meant to replace them.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. Sh-m-r.<\/em> This root - as in shomer<\/em>, \u201cguard\u201d or \u201cpreserve\u201d appears 16 times in the chapter. Which makes sense since the main subject is the people who are <\/span>shomrei mishmeret hakodesh<\/em> \u201cattending to the duties of the sanctuary.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Daily Summary","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder: Numbers 3","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"3","chapter_main_number":"120","date":"20260212","wall_id":"120"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/46092"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}