by Ellen Petracco In this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Balak (Numbers 22:2-25:9), Balak is the King of Moab, and the Israelites are camped on the border of Moab on their way to the Promised Land and are prospering. This worries Balak as he is afraid the Israelites, who are growing in numbers, will rise up and conquer his people and his land.

by Myra Feiger Parashat Chukat discusses the grim reality of death in the wilderness, the necessary succession in leadership, and the approach of the journey’s end. Repeatedly in this parashah, healing and new life follow death. The circle of our lives includes death, which follows life, not the other way around.

In preparation for this week’s message, I re-read Parashat Korach (Numbers16:1−18:32). As I read, I was reminded of the preparation for my adult Bat Mitzvah, which occurred on this same parashah. How interesting that the verses in Korach which caught my attention almost 15 years ago are not the same ones which resonate with me today.

Tucked at the end of this week’s parsha, Sh’lach L’cha, we find two mitzvot and according to Halacha, women are commanded to perform the first and in many circles, women are forbidden from doing the other. These are the commandments of chalah and tzitzit. In Numbers 15:17-21 we are commanded to set aside one piece of dough from each batch we make, “…when you eat of the bread of the land you shall set aside a portion for God.” The concluding section of the parsha describes the tzitzit and how they are to be worn and their significance. In Numbers 15:39 we read, “And it shall be to you for a fringe, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of Adonai and do them…” There is so much to say about these passages and endless d’vrei Torah have been written about them, but I would like to emulate the great commentator Rashi and examine what seems wrong to me here.

by Rabbi Michele Lenke Among the many gifts we find in this week’s Torah portion, B’haalot’cha, is the prayer for healing that Moses and Aaron offer to the Holy One on behalf of their sister Miriam. Her brothers pray “El Na R’fa Na La,” O God, please heal her! (Numbers 12:13). These five words are simultaneously simple and profound. Our siddurim are filled with prayers that use attribute after attribute, praise after praise in order to express God’s greatness, uniqueness and power, and yet what is so incredibly powerful here is that it takes just five words for two brothers to ask God for healing on their sister’s behalf.

by Marcy R. Frost When is the last time you saw Hamlet? After more than 400 years, it remains popular and poignant. I never cease to be amazed by how much of Hamlet has found its way into our modern language. Of course, there is the obvious, “To be or not to be” line. Ever heard that “brevity is the soul of wit” or that “conscience does make cowards of us all”? Hamlet was the first to tell his friend, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” There’s also “Good-night, sweet prince; and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest,” “The play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king,” and “The rest is silence.” Did you know that Hamlet is the source of the saying, “To thine own self be true,” “There’s something rotten in the state of Denmark,” and “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.”? If there is method to your madness, Hamlet had it first. If you call someone a “piece of work,” you are harking back to Hamlet’s famous speech about “What a piece of work is man.” “The lady doth protest too much,” “more than kin, and less than kind” “every dog will have his day,” “get thee to a nunnery,” “cruel to be kind,” and “sweets for the sweet,” are all derived from lines in Hamlet.

“Mothers love and mothers hold Mothers shape the world we know, mama, ima, mama Mothers worry mothers feel Mothers know too well what’s real, mama, ima, mama And these are the things our mothers teach us…” -“Limdu Heiteiv” by Beth Schafer (WRJ’s Centennial

by Lindie Henderson The combined readings of Parashot B’har and B’chukotai at the end of the Book of Leviticus provide rules for responsibilities and observances in specific time frames with reminders about blessings and curses. We can relate to “jubilee” celebrations during this WRJ Centennial year and consider how we will fulfill our obligations.

Last month I was incredibly fortunate to be part of the WRJ Centennial Trip to Israel and Berlin. What an amazing experience! I still haven’t finished processing all that we saw and did as we went to so many interesting places and learned so much about how WRJ supports the work of Progressive/Reform Judaism in Israel and Germany. I continue to bask in the glow of the memories!