Towards the end of this week's parashah, wandering in the wilderness is starting to take its toll on the Israelites. Moses and his siblings, Aaron and Miriam, are no exception.
In Parashat B'haalot'cha, the Israelites have been wandering in the wilderness for about two years. This means that, as a people, they are transitioning from infancy to toddlerhood. It’s no surprise that they start complaining about the food!
The news headlines today are ominous. It seems wherever one looks, there is cause for concern and fear. We are living through a difficult time, where many things that we once believed to be certain now seem to be shifting under our feet.
In Parashat B'haalot'cha, Miriam is stricken with tzara’at, a skin ailment associated with punishment for slander. To recover from the illness brought on by her actions, and also for the community to move on, Miriam – not Moses or his wife, whom she slandered – had to leave the community. This is a lesson in radical inclusivity.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States this year, Rabbi Carole Balin, Ph.D., is sharing eight chapters of an "alternative Book of Numbers” designed to tell the stories of Jewish women who combined civic engagement with Jewish values in a 40-year
Torah Commentary
Echoes of the Wilderness, Part III: Resuscitating Relationships
In God We Trust?
No One Said This Would Be Easy
Build Longer Tables, Not Higher Walls
Siblings Squabbles with Purpose, from the Book of Numbers to the History Books
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States this year, Rabbi Carole Balin, Ph.D., is sharing eight chapters of an "alternative Book of Numbers” designed to tell the stories of Jewish women who combined civic engagement with Jewish values in a 40-year