11:30am Tefillah Class on Zoom; 6:00pm Family Kabbalat Shabbat Services on Zoom
Sat.
Jul 18
9:00am Spanish Services on Zoom; 10:00am Shabbat Services on Zoom
Sun.
Jul 19
9:00am Davening on Zoom; 9:30am Maimonides Class on Zoom
Mon.
Jul 20
12:00pm A Little Mishnah on Zoom
Wed.
Jul 22
12:00pm A Little Mishnah on Zoom
Fri.
Jul 24
12:00pm Tefillah Class on Zoom; Kabbalat Shabbat Services on Zoom
Sat.
Jul 25
9:00am Spanish Services on Zoom; 10:00am Shabbat Services on Zoom
Sun.
Jul 26
9:00am Davening on Zoom; 9:30am Maimonides Class on Zoom
This week, in the second of our two parshiot Masa’ei, Moses recounts in detail the journey of the Israelites from the Exodus to the bank of the Jordan near Jericho. It opens with the following words, “Moses recorded the starting points of their various marches as directed by the LORD” (Numbers 33:2).
On the surface, it looks to be a straight forward and exceptionally detailed account of the journey. Each step on the way is described by beginning with the verb Vayis’u- “they set out”, and remains consistent throughout the account. Yet other accounts of the Israelites travels do not use the same structure, nor do they always begin with where Israel is encamped but rather discuss where Israel is headed.
This could be explained easily as narrative variety, mixing up descriptions to help keep the reader from becoming bored. Yet there is another layer, pointed out to us by our commentators, which offer a richer explanation.
Rabbi Sforno, a 16th century Italian scholar, notes this variance between other accounts and the one in our parsha. He writes “The reason why we find sometimes the objective mentioned first and other times the place of departure, is due to the fact that sometimes the people were glad to get away from a certain place where unpleasantness had occurred, whereas other times they were merely glad to arrive at a new destination hoping for a pleasant stay in their new encampment.” In this reading, we can understand the variations in how the text describes Israel’s movements as relating to the state of mind and needs of the people- sometimes they were escaping an unpleasant location, sometimes they were looking forward to the place they would come to rest. Sforno expands on this idea further, though, by pointing out that regardless of the difficulty of starting and stopping their travels, or the uncertainties inherent in their journey following God’s cloud and fire, they never hesitated in packing up or settling in.
Rabbi Mecklenberg, a 19th century German scholar, comes to expand on Sforno’s understanding of the process of journeying we find throughout the Torah. He points out, rightly, that in many cases the locations that Israel travels toward are nameless until the Israelites arrive and engage in their business. Indeed, many of the names we come to learn for locations along the trip come specifically from the events that occur in those places. This is how Rabbi Mecklenberg understands the meaning of the words “Moses recorded the departures of their journeys”- that the places they start from can only be known in relation to what has happened to the people in those places.
From these commentators then comes a particular way of understanding our text in relationship to how we move through the world, and mark both the places we come from and the places we are going. Despite our current circumstances, where so much of the day to day and long term plans for “going out” have been sharply curtailed, one might feel a certain envy or longing to range as far and wide as the Israelites did before entering the Land. Yet the critical parallel for us is not in the distance they travelled, but their relationships to those places they left from and went toward.
Every day we may find ourselves in the same place in our homes, or limited to places to purchase necessities. Our circumstances, though, are not without the opportunity to make meaning and invest our time with purpose. Israel journeyed through the desert, we journey through our weeks. And so, as we continue to prepare for Shabbat, and the next, and the next, I encourage each of us to find ways to mark our journeys from one week to the next. We as a people have been blessed with a marker in time, Shabbat, to track our journeys. Where were you this week? And where are you going next week?
May we look back on this journey someday, and be blessed to see how far we have come.
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Aluminum can donations will help support our General Fund. Please place your CRUSHED aluminum cans (beverage cans only please) in the administration office mail room.
Please donate your used printer cartridges. Place your used cartridges in the box located on the counter in the Administration Office. We have been paying for most of our office supplies for several years through the money we get from recycling printer cartridges. Please help us keep this worthwhile endeavor going.
The Sisterhood of TBS-EV is collecting old eyeglasses and lenses to be donated to the Lions Club. There are donation containers waiting to be filled in the Sanctuary, Social Hall and Administration Office.
Save the Family has asked for help to transition families into homes. Current household product needs include: toilet paper, paper towels/napkins, shampoo & conditioner, toothpaste & brushes, deodorant, mouthwash, body lotion, body wash, diapers--particularly size 4, baby wipes, feminine hygiene products, all-purpose cleanser/comet/etc., laundry detergent/bleach/dryer sheets/fabric softener. There is a bin in the Office. Please help this worthy community service.
Prayers are needed for Chaim Laib ben Esther, brother of Walter Berkey; Alexander Moshe HaLevi ben Rivkah, father of Regina Fischer; Rivkah bat Rachel, grandmother of Regina Fischer; Brenda Carson, sister of Rebecca Toledo;Donnie Carson, brother-in-law of Rebecca Toledo; Roberta Rosenberg (Rivkah Fradel bat Sara);Shimson ben Etel, father of Florence Wibel; Irene Simpkins (Yocheved bat Miriam); Barbara Tricoci (Baila bat Rifka); Elazear ben Dreisyl; Eric Taylor; Sid Brodsky (Zundel Be'er ben Esther); Linda Heartquist;Allen Simon (Aaron Hirsch ben Ceil);Carol Osman Brown, friend of Linda Radke; Rijon Erickson; Chano Ruven ben Shaina Chaya; Matthew Werdean, friend of Regina Fischer; David ben Sarah, father of Rabbi Aberson; Jack Heller; Liba Yetta bat Tova; Ilana bat Bella, sister of Ruti Keren; David Ramirez, brother of Louis Ramirez; Pasha bat Fayge, friend of Gloria Windmiller; Moshe ben Hana, brother-in-law of Ruti Keren; HaRav Haim Baruch ben Chana; Raphael ben Rebekah, friend of Alan Sapakie; Jack Rosenberg (Ya'acov Avram ben Sarah Ruchel); Walter Berkey (Yossel Velvel ben Esther); Warren Stern (Binyamin ben Meyer Rav); Jennifer Dally, partner of Maggie Diamond; Rose Tufarelli; Sarah Caliandro (Sarah Nechama bat Leah); Ingrid Gallegos; Chaim Shneur Zalman Yehuda ben Hinda Yocheved; Alex Shekhel;Avraham ben Chaya Udel;Mordechai Shimon ben Sarah, brother of Roberta Rosenberg; Harve Kimmel (Herschel Yehuda ben Avraham Ya'acov HaCohen).
Seneca Barrios Garcia, father of Carol DeVane Abraham Eisenstein, great-grandfather of Amy McCracken Bernie Kaplan, father of Steve Kaplan Carol Kaplan, mother of Steve Kaplan Ned Etkin, father of Leslie Feldman and grandfather of Mark Feldman Abram Kamenir, husband of Karen Kamenir Edith Goldberg, grandmother of Jill Glickman Lola Goffman, mother of George Goffman
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Robert Edwin Skirboll(Rueven Asher ben Rivkah), brother of Phillip Skirboll.
The funeral took place in North Carolina. Shiva Services will take place on Sunday, July 19th, and Monday, July 20th at 7:00pm on Zoom.
Notesof Condolence may be sent to Phillip at 8314 S. Jentilly Ln., Tempe, AZ 85284. The family appreciates the thoughts and prayers of the community during this very difficult time.
