Voices of WRJ: Parashat Sh’lach L’cha
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.