Chevre, the parsha this week (in Israel) is נָשאֹׂ (Nasso) followed immediately by שָבוּעוֹת (Chag Shavuot). A large part of Nasso is taken up with the offerings of the 12 Princes of Israel during the inaugruation of the Mishkan. Each one is identical except for the name of the Prince and the Tribe they represent. to me, this looks like a CloudFormation template with the details and details over and over. But we learn that the Torah does not waste words and so this repetition is for a reason. We read this section also during Chanukah, the re-inauguration after we defeated the Greeks and for the first 12 days of the month of Nissan (1 each day), which is when the actual inauguration in the desert. You may remember at the end of the book of Shemot that Moshe built the Mishkan, then we had the Priestly rules in Vayikra and now we are back in the desert and getting to work. This is the party after a great deployment and migration the cloud. This party lasted 12 days. How long do your migration parties last?
Then we immediately have Shavuot. This is the holiday (one of the 3 holidays where Jews went to the temple Aliyah LeRegel) where we commemorate the giving of the Torah on Har Sinai in the desert. The custom is to have dairy at night because we haven’t received the laws yet of meat. There is a discussion by the sages that in the 3rd Temple, that there will not be meat sacrifices. The other custom is to stay up all night learning and attending lectures. Honestly, I have succeeded doing this maybe once or twice since I became religious. We also read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot because it has the harvest in the story, which would have taken place around the time of Shavuot. This book has a special place in my heart because I can see the Moav Mounts, where Ruth was from, from my home.
May you all be blessed for a peaceful Shabbat and Shavuot. May you all receive the teachings of the Torah and grasp them. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach.
Nasso + Shavuot - 2022