| Behaalotecha 5761 - June 8, 2001 |
Tom's House and Harry's Car
Is there such a thing as "theft"? Can something that does not, in truth, belong to you, be taken from you?
Of course, G-d said "You shall not steal." Those are the rules of
the game. But maybe that's what it is -- a game. G-d is saying: "Let's make
believe that this house belongs to Tom. And let's make believe that this car
belongs to Harry. Now, Harry, you mustn't burn down 'Tom's house'. And Tom,
you're not allowed to use 'Harry's car' without his permission." Is that
what it amounts to?
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Behaalotecha
Numbers 8:1-12:16
Torah Reading for Week of June 2-9, 2001
Lamps and lamplighters, journeys and encampments, petitioners (who are rewarded) and complainers (who are punished), seventy new prophets and one loyal disciple, an elusive father-in-law and a critical sister... and what it all means according to sages and mystics from Moses to today:
The Parshah in a Nutshell
Full Parshah Summary with Commentary
More on the Parshah from the Chassidic masters
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Zahavah's Friend
"I have a friend called Sarah," said the woman on the other end of
the line. "She’s pregnant and says she can’t afford another child, so
she decided to have an abortion. I tried to talk her out of it, even sent
rabbis and experts to her, they talked to her for hours but nothing worked. Now
she says that the only thing that will change her mind is if the Rebbe of Chabad
himself calls her and personally tells her not to do it. That's why I called
you. You’re Chabad, right?”
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In Pursuit of Ignorance
It seems self-evident that ignorance is bad, knowledge is good, and that we
must eradicate the former by replacing it with the latter.
On close scrutiny, however, the situation is not that simple. Ignorance is a
complex multidimensional condition. There are at least four varieties of
ignorance (passive ignorance, active ignorance, essential ignorance, and
enlightened ignorance) two of which are beneficial; one of these actually
supersedes knowledge.
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Are you really planning to bring back those animal sacrifices?
I can see the experiential quality of it all -- an ancient temple with heavenly music and mystical song, priests in flowing robes deep in meditation, mesmerizing, choreographed ritual. But why the barbeque?
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Echoes
They entered and nested in a place that was waiting for them, like tiny pieces of a puzzle that found the space, or impression, that was carved exactly to fit their dimensions. Then they would snap together like little lego pieces, forming sentences and paragraphs and concepts. Mini-explosions would occur, small releases of energy that made my mind and body zing.
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