The Torah takes a census of men of military age. This, in case the nation has to go to war. Considering that the main job of the Jews at the time was learning shows that we are obligated to do our duty to the nation.
Category: Culture
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We All Have To Serve
When taking a census of the Jews in the wilderness the Tribe of Levi is not counted with the rest. The reason is that they are singled out for a special mission. They are to be the spiritual leaders of the people. That is why they were spread out among the people.
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We Are Moses’s Progenity
When the Torah states that these are the progenity of Moses & Aaron, it mentions Aaron’s descendants but is silent on Mases’s. The reason is that Moses’s descendants were not leaders. Aaron’s descendants were.
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We Get the Leaders We Deserve
The Torah warns us that if we do not have a moral society we will suffer as a nation. We will get leaders who are unjust and corrupt. Morality comes from the bottom up.
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Bring Responsible
The reason for a Jew to become a slave is that he is not able to pay his debts. But the Torah demands that he be set free in the 7th year. If he chooses to remain a slave he is punished because the Torah wants us to be free.
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We Are Still Here
Lag B’Omer is a festive day throughout the Jewish world. But the truth is we are celebrating that in spite of all their attempts to assimilate the Jews into Roman culture, we are still here as Jews and the Romans do not exist.
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Avoid Swearing In God’s Name
The Torah admonishes us not to take God’s Name in vain. Many will go out of their way so as not to swear in God’s Name. It is a common Jewish tradition to say “without an oath” when we promise to do something.
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We Need to Be Reminded
The repeats the holidays over and over again. The question is why. Isn’t once enough? The answer is that we have to remember why God took us out of Egypt and what our mission is.
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Make Time Holy
When we look at this week’s Portion, we see that the goal is to make the mundane holy. We do this by controlling our time. We should be cognizant of the limited time that we have and make the best use of it.