Cry or Complaint?
“… you have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, ‘Who will feed us meat? For it was good with us in Egypt; therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. Ye shall eat not one day, not two, not even five days or ten or twenty, but a whole month, […]
Peace as War
The famous priestly blessing in Numbers chapter 6, verses 22-27, which forms an integral part of Jewish prayer to this day and is part of Christian liturgy as well, reads: “May the Lord bless you and watch over you, May the Lord look kindly upon you and deal graciously with you May the Lord look […]
Who is Israel?
On the surface the book of Bamidbar (Numbers) seems rather dull and incapable of telling much that is of value to contemporary lives. Chapters 1 to 4—this week’s reading—for instance, are, at first glance, a classification of Israel’s tribes and the cultic duties of the Levites with regard to the external care of the sanctuary. These […]