I am observant, though I would not describe myself as pious. In a similar way, I enjoy the study of Jewish texts, though I am not a Torah scholar. Here is what I do on a daily and weekly basis.
Every day, I read a page of the Talmud as part of the Daf Yom program. I began doing this in late 2018, after a chance encounter with a former classmate. At this pace, one finishes in seven years.
I use the Artscroll edition and read most of the text in the English translation. When I have time, I tune into an online class in the evenings. Most often, I read the page in the early morning.
As you know from reading this blog, I also review (quickly) the weekly Torah reading before every Sabbath, and try to draw lessons and connections between the portion and what is going on in the world.
Since my Hebrew birthday on Friday, I have added daily study -- in Hebrew -- of a single chapter of Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, a summary of Jewish doctrine. At this pace, one finishes in 3 years.
I should also mention that I work daily -- for about 10-15 minutes -- on a play I am writing that tells the story of David and Bathsheba from the Second Book of Samuel. I find it endlessly fascinating.
This week'd portion begins the book of Numbers. Interestingly, the Hebrew name for the book is "In the Desert," not "Numbers." The portion, which happens to be my bar mitzvah portion, focuses almost as much on the names of the princes of each tribe as the number of soldiers it fielded. It also focuses on the configuration of the tribal camps around the central Tabernacle and the Levites.
So why "Numbers" instead of "Names" or "Places"? The numbers are, to be sure, a unique feature of the opening of this Biblical book -- but they are not the focus of the rest of the narrative. The Hebrew focuses on the place where the events in the book take place, because essentially this is the narrative of the Israelites' wanderings from Egypt to Israel, across 40 years. We move from the giving of the Torah and the construction of the Tabernacle in Exodus and Leviticus, to the final valediction of Moses in Deuteronomy -- Bamidbar is the story of wandering that happened in between.
The question of ...
This week's portion begins with the laws of the Sabbath and the Sabbatical year, and the Jubilee year that restores all land to its original (tribal) owners. It also explores laws of property and labor that will apply in the Land of Israel, and the laws of vows and inheritance.
The Israelites are presented -- not for the last time -- with the essential moral choice that they must face, and the rewards for choosing well, along with the consequences for choosing poorly.
We learn that doing good things will earn God's protection from enemies. That does not mean that victims of terror, God forbid, were sinful. But it does mean that we can respond to evil by committing ourselves to a higher path.
This week's portion describes the major sacrifices that are to be offered by the Jewish people, including those that are offered only by the priestly Kohen class, and physical requirements of the people (men) who serve in that role.
Inter alia, there are interesting commandments -- such as an injection to treat animals with respect and care, first, by letting a mother animal nurse her offspring for a week before being offered in any sacrifice; and second, by refraining from slaughtering an animal and its offspring on the same day.
The commandments regarding animals remind us of the purpose of those regarding human beings: to uphold a divine connection, through ritual.
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111878/jewish/Rabbi-Isaac-Luria-The-Ari-Hakodosh.htm
