Shabbat Shalom. This week’s portion, parshat Be-Ha’alotkcha, is a complicated parsha. It contains several different sections, which may not appear to be related to one another. 

      The parsha starts with the building of the first menorah. God instructs Moses to speak to Aaron to build seven mounted lamps. He tells Moses that the lampstand must be made of hammered gold.

      God then tells Moses to take the Levites and cleanse them by sprinkling purification water on them, shaving them, and washing their clothes. After the Levites have been cleansed, God tells them to perform the meat offerings, the burnt offerings, and the sin offerings by sacrificing three bulls. Moses gathers the people of Israel and the Levites together in the Tent of Meeting. The Israelites then lay their hands on the heads of the Levites as an elevation offering. The Levites are given to God, who assigns them to Aaron and his sons. Levites each work for twenty-five years, servicing the Tent of Meeting. 

      As the Israelites wander the desert, Passover comes. However among the Israelites are men who are unclean (from being on a journey or from being near a corpse). God tells Moses that even though these men are unclean, they should still observe the laws of Passover. Those who are clean but do not observe Passover are punished by being cut off from their families.

      The people of Israel are led around the desert by a pillar of cloud that hangs over the Tabernacle. The camp would follow the cloud, and when the cloud rests the camp does as well. The motion of such a large camp is organized by the blowing of silver trumpets, which sets the divisions in motion. The priests, sons of Aaron, blow these commands on the trumpets.

      The wandering in the desert causes many Israelites to begin complaining. They wish that they were back in Egypt where they ate meat instead of manna. The Torah tells us that manna was like a coriander seed that tasted like a rich cream and could be baked into cakes. The manna came with the dew and was delivered every day. At this point Moses grows tired of the complaining and asks God to take the burden of leadership off of him or smite him where he stands. God responds by ordering Moses to gather seventy elders who will share Moses’ burden. As for the Israelites complaining, God promises meat for a whole month. Moses is skeptical, how can God find the meat to feed six hundred thousand men plus women and children. God replies to Moses saying, “Is there a limit to the Lord’s power?” After showering the Israelites with quail, God puts a plague on all the meat eaters. 

      …..

      In my parasha, Be-Ha’alotkcha, the people of Israel take their freedom for granted. They complain to the Lord about the desert. They forget that it is a miracle within itself that they have survived in the harsh climate. That it is a miracle that manna has supported them. The Israelites long to be brought back to Egypt. They have forgotten that it was God who took them from their oppressors, and God who freed them when they were chained to slavery. 

      As if taking freedom for granted is not enough, the Israelites don’t appreciate all that Moses has done for them, the man who has so humbly led them through the desert. The people of Israel didn’t realize what the journey would have been like without him. They have been blind to the magnitude of his job. 

      Aaron and Miriam in particular become jealous of Moses and his personal relationship with God. They ask, “Has God not spoken through us as well as through Moses?” God hears this and replies, “Not so with my servant Moses; he is trusted throughout my household. With him I speak mouth to mouth, plainly and not in riddles, and he beholds the likeness of the Lord. How then did you not shrink from speaking against my servant Moses!” God orders Aaron and Miriam to never speak ill of Moses again. As punishment, Miriam is stricken with leprosy. It is now Moses who pleads for her recovery. God readmits her into the camp after seven days of illness and quarantine.

      …..

      The people of Israel take Moses for granted because they have no idea of the incredible greatness of his tasks. It was easy to overlook the accomplishments of Moses because Moses doesn’t draw attention to his power. Moses didn’t want power. 

      There is a Midrash which describes why God chose Moses to lead the people of Israel. Moses was a shepherd for Jethro’s flock. At the time a shepherd was a lowly job. When one of Moses’ lambs ran off, Moses followed, and carried it back to the flock, because it was tired. God chose Moses because of his compassion for the flock and for the lowliest individual lamb. God wanted Moses to tend to the people of Israel, God’s flock. 

      Moses leads the Israelites not for power but as a servant of God. The Torah says in this parsha, “Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any other man on earth.”

      And yet, Moses’ undertaking in leading the people of Israel, was a great, complicated and diverse task. The beginning of my parsha can be read as examples of the responsibilities that Moses had. There was the building of the menorah, which can represent the daily necessary work for life and religion. Moses had to supervise the physical tasks. There was the separating of the Levites, which is an example of the organizing of the people. There were the rules of Passover, where Moses was the judge and religious leader. And, there was the guiding of a million or more people through the desert, and communicating each movement. Moses was a rabbi, an administrator, a judge and a director. 

      …..

      Be-Ha’alotkcha deals with issues that are relevant in our lives today. We frequently take much for granted. We overlook many of life’s everyday necessities, how food arrives on our plates, how we dress ourselves, how we live in our homes, and how our bodies keep running every day. We often take our freedom and security for granted. As Jews, we have been persecuted throughout much of our history. This parsha is specifically in the Torah to make people realize the many things they should be thankful for that go unnoticed each day. 

      ……

      Today I am a man. I remember the last time I said that, it wasn’t the right speech. But today I am a man, really. I asked myself, if it was just today that I have become a man? Is the preparation needed to become a Bar Mitzvah really when you become a man? I think that the training up until the actual ceremony is just as important as the Bar Mitzvah itself. Over the past eight months prior to this day, I had many responsibilities that were imperative in order to be where I am at this moment. It took hard work, and a lot of time, to reach the point at which I stand now. The way that I have changed over the last eight months might be what a Bar Mitzvah is all about, a celebration of how far you have come and a landmark from which you want to go.

      From here I begin to assume the various roles of an adult. As I grow up I will gain independence and privileges. I can use my authority in two ways: one, for my personal pleasure, and two, for the benefit of others. Moses looks at power as another form of responsibility, instead of viewing it as an opportunity for personal gain. I hope that as I continue through adulthood, I will fulfill the commandments and responsibilities to my family, friends, and community, with humility, in the manner of Moses leading the Israelites.

      This day would not be possible without many outstanding people. First I want to remember with love those who could not be here, including my Aunt Rosanne and Uncle Mike in Israel and my grandfathers Samuel and Eddie. I would like to thank Rabbi Weiner and Cantor Fletcher for helping me get ready for the big day. I would also like to thank my friends, some of whom have already been Bar-Mitzvahed and gave me confidence that it wasn’t so hard. Next I want to thank the great Connie Heymann for making my Hebrew School experience the best it could have been. I want to thank all of my relatives for coming to this special occasion, some from as far as California. I would like to thank my brother Sam and my sister Rose who were very supportive throughout the long hours that I was working on my Bar-Mitzvah and occupying the attention of my parents. Lastly I want to thank my mom and dad. Dad, I want to thank you for your help in writing this d’var Torah. And mom, my tutor, the endless nights of practices at 10 and 11 o’clock have paid off. I wouldn’t have read the Torah and Haftarah half as well without you. To all my friends, family, and neighbors, thank you all for coming. Shabbat Shalom.