“On the day that Moses finished setting up the Tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it with and all its furnishings as well as the altar and its utensils. The chieftains of Israel, the heads of the ancestral homes, namely the chieftains of the tribes, those who were in charge of enrollment drew near and brought their offering before the lord...as the chieftains were presenting their offerings before the altar, the lord said to Moses: Let them present their offerings for the dedication of the altar, one chieftain each day.” (Numbers: Chapter 7 verses 1-2 and 10-11)
In Parshat Naso we learn about the offerings the Chieftains of Israel brought. The Chieftains being the heads of the tribes. The Torah gives us an ideal situation in which we have respect for one another and everyone is equal. Each offering the Chieftains brought was identical to the one before it and yet they each had their own day to bring it and be honored. It is also worth noting that there doesn’t appear to be an order for the tribes listed which implies that there was no higher status in who went first.
The Torah is showing us that we are all equal in the eyes of God. We know this because while each Chieftain is different and had their own day to be honored by God, the offerings that they brought were identical.
We can learn a lot by the way God treats the Chieftains. It is meant to show us this ideal moment where everyone is treated fairly regardless of what tribe they belong to. Human nature on the other hand looks for differences, we want to notice these differences. When we notice these differences we have two choices. We can embrace them or we can let them irritate us and ferment until we do things that are counter intuitive to our belief systems. This is a defining moment in history. Let the Torah be our guide to fight racism, so we can all come together during this time when we feel so raw. Let us not allow recent events to divide us and turn us away from one another.
Through Parshat Naso we can see how we are all from different tribes and races and yet are all equal and deserve to be loved and treated fairly. Let us embrace what makes us different and use it to better our society so that we are not just equal in the eyes of God but equal with the same rights and liberties in each other’s eyes.
Shabbat Shalom, Cantor Kowitz
UNDERSTANDING PRAYER ON YOUTUBE WITH CANTOR KOWITZ Want to explore new ways to connect to your spirituality? Tired of the traditional approaches to prayer? We will look at all different modalities of prayer and connecting with our spiritual bodies. Go to the CBO website and click on the Live Stream YouTube channel. Click on playlists to watch the video series.
As a reminder, Rabbi Bernstein and Cantor Kowitz are available to speak with you about anything that is on your mind.
For the month of June, each time a $2.50 reusable community bag Is purchased at Stop&Shop, located at 2450 Jerusalem Avenue in North Bellmore, or 702 Hicksville Road in Massapequa, $1 will be donated to the Alix Rubinger Kosher Food Pantry.
Please purchase these bags to help to enable us to continue feeding the hungry in our community.
CELEBRATIONS AND GRATITUDE
Mazel Tov to our former member, David Gollins who became a grandfather for the second time and to the proud parents, Daniel and Laura.
Please let us know if you have any celebrations, including anniversaries, birthdays, college acceptances, honor society, etc. that we can announce in our weekly blast.
Congregation Beth Ohr 2550 South Centre Avenue Bellmore NY 11710 (516) 781-3072 officestaff@cbohr.org
Affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism