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SHELACH
"Send yourself”
5
June 2010
Numbers
13:1-15:41
HafTorah
Joshua 2:1-24
Hebrews
3:7-19
Below
are the basic topics of this week’s Torah portion.
It starts with the command to send out spies to Eretz Yisrael and
ends with the commandment to wear Tzit-tzit, fringes.
13:1
The
command to send spies to Eretz Yisrael
Moses
prays for Joshua
13:27
The
spies report
Caleb
is shouted down
14:1
National
hysteria
The
people could not be placated
Israel
is threatened with extermination
Moses’
successful plea
G-d
forgives and decrees forty years of wandering
G-d
spells out the decree
A
chastened nation realizes too late
15:1
The
libations
15:17
Challah
15:23
The
atonement for public unintentional idol worship
Individual
idol worship
Intentional
idolatry
15:32
Sabbath
desecration in the wilderness
15:37
Tzitzis
and all the commandments
The
tzit-tzit are discussed in Numbers 15:37-41.
The Torah bids the Children of Israel to make fringes or tassels
(tzit-tzit) on the corners in the borders of their garments, throughout
all their generations.
This was so that when they are looked upon, ALL the commandments
shall be remembered.
As we read further about this, we see that these tassels are made
of 8 strings, or 4 doubled over to make 8.
They have 5 knots in each.
These strings and knots are to add up to 613, representing all of
G-d’s commandments.
The commandment to wear tassels is actually a commandment to wear
the commandments.
References to the wearing of tassels are Numbers 15:38; Deuteronomy
22:11,12; and Ezekiel 8:3.
The
wearing of these tassels, tzit-tzit, is to remind us not to rebel against
G-d’s commandments.
We are not to complain, grumble or have lusty cravings (Numbers
11:1-35).
Today,
we need to be careful not to let our everyday concerns and the pressures
of life draw us away from G-d (Matt 13:1-9; 18-22).
We must try to keep all of G-d’s commandments.
We have been given symbols, such as tzit-tzit, to rouse us from our
slumber and remember His commandments.
He wants us to live a holy life, separated from the world, and not
to follow after our fleshy lusts but to seek after Him (2 Cor 10:5).
We must be totally committed to our G-d.
Shavuah
Tov
Rabbi
Z.
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