Bulletin Behaalotcha

Torah & Haftarah Readings:
Shabbat Beha’alotcha: Numbers 9:15–10:34 (Cycle 2) (Etz Hayim p. 821)
1. 9:15-18 2. 9:19-23 3. 10:1-7 4. 10:8-10
5. 10:11-20 6. 10:21-28 7. 10:29-34 M. 12:14-16 (p. 835)
Haftarah: Zechariah 2:14–4:7 (p. 837)
Torah Commentary
D’var Torah:
Get Moving!
When we think about how we observe Jewish rituals, very often
we only think about using our minds, or maybe our mouths
uttering prayers. But we usually don’t think about other ways that
we engage our bodies in ritu-als. In Parshat Behalotcha we read an
interesting section describing how the Levites have to prepare to
carry the holy items in the Mishkan by both washing and shaving
their bodies. We typically would not think of shaving as a ritual
act, but here it was. And I think that our ancient ancestors would
be much more comfortable thinking about embodied rituals
because they did them a lot. When they prayed they moved their
arms in certain ways.
They had multiple different ways of bowing. When they brought
offerings to the Temple they would wave them or raise them up.
When they were in mourning they would put ash on their heads
and wrap their entire head in a turban. Those might seem strange
to us, but we don’t have to dig too deeply to remember that we
have some embodied rituals still in practice today. We still bow
when we pray, and for those who make a full prostration down
to the ground on the High Holidays, you know how different
that feels than just a knee bend. When we bless our children we
lay our hands on their heads. When we light Shabbat candles we
wave our hands three times and cover our eyes. And I’m sure that
you can think of more.
While Judaism may focus on the mind and spirit, we are still
connected to our bodies while we are alive, and we can use our
bodies to elevate our spirit. Each ritual that involves a bodily
action can help us understand that ritual that much more deeply.