This week's Torah reading is very dramatic. It covers Jacob's wrestling with an angel; the fateful reunion between Jacob and Esau, the story of the rape of Dinah by Caananites, and the death of Rachel with the birth of Benjamin.
My favorite of these is the wrestling match. Jacob wrestles with an angel, with God, and also with himself. He is wounded, but earns a new identity: "Israel." This means "strives with God." It defines the essence of faith as a struggle.
The story of the rape of Dinah is a difficult one. Simeon and Levi take revenge on the local townspeople, tricking them into mass circumcision and then killing them. Jacob worries that this act will turn the peoples of the land against him.
But the opposite happens, in fact: the staunch defense of their only sister makes the people of the land fear and respect Jacob, who becomes respected and remains unbothered by the local population after the violent episode.
Here we have two classic positions on dealing with antisemitism: one suggests accommodation and persuasion, while the other suggests fighting hard. It is not always clear which is the best option, but it's a reminder that this is an old issue.
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
