This week's Torah reading deals with the laws of ritual purity, as well as the deaths of both Miriam and Aaron, and Moses's sin in striking the rock. All weighty topics, revealing the heavy moral burden of leadership.
The additional reading, from the book of Judges (11:1-33), is the story of Yiftach (or Jephthah), one of the most tragic stories in the Bible. It is the story of how a leader is trapped by his own vow -- forced, in effect, to sacrifice his daughter.
The two readings mirror one another, because they show that even the smallest words and gestures by leaders can have dire consequences.
But the story of Yiftach also has another curious element: that of the redeemed outcast.
Yiftach is an outlaw before he becomes a leader. He is cast out by his brothers because he is the son of a concubine and therefore illegitimate. He lives on his own, gathering a band of fellow misfits around him as a personal army.
Under threat of invasion, the leaders of Israel finally turn to Yiftach for aid. He makes them a deal: he will defend them, if they make him their leader. They agree to those terms, and Yiftach and his band of outlaws are vindicated.
There's a lesson there about leadership, too: just as leaders bear a moral burden, so, too, do the rest of us bear a responsibility to care for every member of society and treat each other with dignity -- not to cast anyone aside.
This is the portion that all journalists should love: the Torah tells the story of the 12 spies, only two of whom tell the truth when the other ten shade it in a negative away (perhaps to suit a political agenda that is opposed to Moses).
It's not that the ten "lying" spies misconstrue the facts about the Land of Israel; rather, they interject their opinions that the land is impossible to conquer, which strikes unnecessary terror into the hearts of the people.
We have many examples of such fake news today -- from the Iranian propaganda outlets spreading false claims that they are winning the war, to California politicians spreading false horror stories about ICE raids in L.A.
The people realize, too late, that they have been fooled, and once they are condemned to die in the desert, they try to rush into Israel -- only to be defeated by the inhabitants, as the spies predicted that they would be.
But as consolation, God gives the people new commandments -- focused on things they must ...
This week's portion discusses the procedure for lighting the menorah, the holy seven-branched lamp, in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). It also describes an episode where the people crave meat, and God punishes them by giving it to them in excess. We also read the story of Miriam, Moses's sister, who is punished with the spiritual skin blemish of tzara'at for speaking about her brother, thus violating the prohibition against lashon hara (evil tongue).
I heard a fantastic sermon this week about the lighting of the menorah: that while only the priests were qualified to clean and purify the menorah, anyone could light it. A reminder that each of us can inspire others along the way.
This week we study the vow of the Nazirite; a reminder that sometimes trying to be too holy is excessive, and the best we can do is to be the best that we are.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/aid/2495720/p/complete/jewish/Naso-Torah-Reading.htm
