I am constantly surprised each week at the parsha (weekly Torah portion) because there is always so much there. This week’s parsha is yet another example of this: there are the teachings I have learned in the past, two wonderful teachings I heard recently, and a few more that I discovered as I read the parsha. I don’t know yet which I will share here and now. let’s see and find out.

The parsha starts out with Aharon being told to raise up the candles of the holy menorah. It then shifts to the inauguration of the Levis into the service for haShem (god), taking the place for the first born. Next, we read of the first Pesach (Passover) since leaving Egypt, and what happened to those who couldn’t participate. After that we have the first journey of the tribes with the mishcan (tabernacle) and the stone tablets with the 10 utterances of god. Then, in the middle, we have two verses surrounded by upside down nuns (a letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and yes, every torah scroll has these two upside down nuns). From this point on, we see complaints: first about the lack of meat, then Moshe (Moses) complains he can’t do it all himself, and we conclude with Miriam and Aharon complaining against Moshe and Miriam winds up with Tzaraat. Wow!

So, what can we learn from all this? Well, one thing I heard has to do with Aharon being told to light the menorah. It is interesting that the text doesn’t say “light” the candles, but “lift up” the candles. In the torah, the soul of a Jewish person is referred to as a candle, and the body is each person’s temple. So, what Aharon is being told to do is to look inside of each Jew and find that menorah and raise up that spark of soul. In other words, look for the goodness in each person and focus your attention on that part of the person.

I now want to look at the bigger picture. One of the things that struck me is that before the upside-down nuns, we are shown positive interactions, and after the nuns, we are shown negative interactions. I think the parsha is trying to tell us there is a right way of asking for change and a wrong way. For example, the parsha talks of the first Pesach in the wilderness. Several people come up to Moshe and tell him that they really want to participate, but cannot because they have been in contact with a dead body and are tamae (not pure). Is there anything that can be done for them?

What is important to see here is that they phrased everything as a positive desire. The result it that haShem decrees a second Pesach, exactly one month later, for them and all future generations. Now contrast this with the complaints about the lack of meat and being tired of eating manna. Here the people complain saying how much better the food was back in Egypt, where they were slaves. They frame everything, not in a positive light, but in a negative light. And haShem’s response is interesting. I never understood it before; he basically tells Moshe that the people need to be weaned off this attitude. So, perhaps, if he gives them what they ask for IN EXTREME, they will learn their lesson. Digression time.

In the US, there is a day called “The Great Smoke Off.” The idea is on that day smokers are to smoke as many cigarettes as they can, with the idea of becoming so sick of smoking that they will not want another cigarette, and they will give up smoking starting the next day. I think this is the general idea haShem had in regards to eating meat.

Another teaching I heard has to do with the latter half of the parsha. In this parsha, everybody makes a mistake: the people complain they want to go back to Egypt, Aharon and Miriam complain about Moshe, and Moshe doesn’t believe that haShem can provide enough meat for all the people. In each case, something happens to each person or group of people. Really what everybody is complaining about is that they want to be like somebody else. They want what somebody else has. And the punishment for these type of complaints is that they receive a taste of what that other person has. After they receive that taste they realize that it was not for them, and they no longer want it, and they can now go back to wanting more of what is meant just for them. Let’s look at one example: Miriam and Aharon complaining that they were as much prophets as Moshe was. HaShem responds by giving them a taste of what it is like to talk to god like Moshe does, and they realized that they are not on a level to deal with haShem in that way. They were able to accept Moshe and themselves as they were, and they no longer wanted to be like Moshe. This is a very powerful teaching: each of us is unique and we can only fulfill our purpose by being and wanting to be ourselves and not trying to be or wanting to be another, or have what another has. When we focus on being who we are supposed to be, we can scale great heights and joy; when we try to get what is for another, we fall down into a negative and hurtful place.

I wish for everybody that we can learn to desire to be more of who we are, and desire less what is for another. Have a good week/Shavauh tov,

About the Author

Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.