Photo credit: Courtesy
It is not pleasant to read passages in this week’s parsha that describe problematic behavior on the part of our people. The same generation that leaves Egypt and receives the Torah at Mount Sinai forgets its many blessings and looks for a reason to complain. Despite many miracles and the daily manna from heaven, whose taste is what they desire, the people crave meat and desire to return to Egypt.
Why not delete those uncomplimentary parts of the Torah? Why not give these unfortunate events a “makeover”? Our commentators explain that it is forbidden to minimize its importance. The passages about our transgressions are part of the holy Torah and it is crucial to dwell on them and learn the lessons they teach.
His message to us is clear: in all of our lives there are mistakes and failures, both personally and nationally. Before Simchat Torah and after, there have been tragic examples of such failures. But instead of erasing the past, our mistakes and sins can become “Torah,” a word that means instruction. In other words, we can learn from our mistakes and see them as warning signs that can direct and guide us as we move towards a better future.
And so, as the nation, after egregious mistakes, continues its journey through the desert, may we also continue our journey. Behatzlacha.
Two special Bar Mitzvah celebrations
Rabbi Yaakov Naman of Kiryat Ono shared two special occasions that were celebrated last Shabbat at his synagogue.
The first was the bar mitzvah of Ben Amar, brother of observation soldier Shirat Yam Amar, who was murdered on Simchat Torah at her post in Nachal Oz. The family needed to gather additional strength to get out of their grief and celebrate Ben’s bar mitzvah. “In the end, everyone was able to rejoice,” Rabbi Naman said. “We felt like Ben’s sister was with us, and even the tallitot I commemorated her! (See the photos, which were taken before Shabbat.)
The second bar mitzvah “boy,” Menashe Hakak Halevi, is Amar’s neighbor, who recently celebrated his 60th birthday. No, that’s not a typo. When Menashe turned 13, his father was very ill and died shortly after, so he never had a bar mitzvah. Now, for the first time in his life, he learned to read the Torah.
During the shiva for Shirat YamMenashe helped the Amars in many ways. At the time, no one knew that they would still celebrate together, conveying a message of triumph of the Jewish spirit and connection to eternal values.
Yehoshua Siskin Translation
