This Week In The Torah.



Parsha Beha'aloscha Bamibar/Numbers Ch.8-12

A Retirement Plan from the Torah
by Rabbi Yechezkel Fox

The principle of retirement from the workplace has long been accepted amongst the industrial nations of the West. In the U.K.,for example, men retire at 65 and women at 60. In Israel it was recently proposed that men should retire at 67 instead of 65. Is it possible that the ancient Torah would have anything to say about an issue which would seem to be so part and parcel of the modern world?

In this week's Parsha the Torah gives the age of retirement for a Levi working in the Tabernacle:

From fifty years age, he shall withdraw from the legion of work and no longer work. Ch.8/25

The Chofetz Chaim says that this law need not apply only to the tribe of Levi, but to all Jews. As we come closer to the end of our lives, we need to concentrate more on spirituality, learning Torah and doing mitzvot (Torah commandments) as a preparation for the World To Come. Obviously, this may be rather difficult where pensions will only be given out at 60, 65 or even 67; but at least once we reach 50 we should be trying to keep our workload to a minimum.

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"O Taste And See That It Is Good!"

"We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt free of charge; and the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic." Ch.11 v.5

There is a teaching of our Sages that from this verse we learn the obligation to light Shabbat candles.What possible connection could this verse have to lighting Shabbat candles?

Manna, which fell from the heavens each day, was the staple diet of the Jewish people during their wanderings in the desert. It had some very special qualities. One of them was that its taste followed the imagination of the consumer. One just had to think of chopped liver and one would be tasting it. So why did the Jews complain that they missed the fish and watermelons they ate in Egypt? The manna could taste like them without having to remove bones and seeds respectively.

The Sages say a blind man can never be satisfied with his food. His inability to see what's on his plate limits his enjoyment. For this reason the manna is even described in the Torah as an affliction ( see Deut.8.3), because although they could taste the food of their choice they couldn't see it. Therefore the Jews in the desert yearned for some real fish and some real watermelon.

On Shabbat we are supposed delight in our food. This is known as oneg Shabbat. The obligation to light candles is to ensure we have adequate lighting to see and enjoy our food. In fact, the candles are supposed to be lit in the place where we eat.

Now we can answer our original question. From the fact that they yearned for real food, the Sages understood it was the visual experience that they were missing. Therefore, to ensure we receive our oneg Shabbat we must have Shabbat candles, which at least guarantees that we will be able, in the words of the prophet, "to see and taste that it is good."

(Based on Sefer Ta'amei HaMinhagim.)

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Orthography of the Humble

Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any other person on the face of the earth. Ch12/3

How did Moshe manage to stay so humble when his wisdom was so great?

Back at the beginning of the Parsha the verse says: And this is the menorah, beaten out of gold, to its base, to its flower, it is beaten out; according to the image that G-d showed Moshe, so did he make the menorah. Ch.8/4

Rashi comments: For the Holy One,Blessed is He, showed Moshe with His finger how the menorah was made, for Moshe had difficulty with it. This is why it says And this.

Besides the menorah, there were two other situations where Moshe had difficulty understanding, and G-d had to show him: the minting of the half Shekel coin (see Shemos 30/13) and the sighting of the new moon (ibid.12/2).

These three times when Moshe was stuck are hinted to in his name, which is spelled with the Hebrew letters mem, shin, and hey. The mem alludes to the menorah which begins with a mem; the shin to the shekel, and the hey to the new moon, hachodesh.* Together they spell out Moshe. So whenever Moshe heard his name, it reminded him of those occasions where his own wisdom was insufficient to comprehend the matter at hand, and in this way he maintained his humility.

* This is the way the word appears in the verse in Shemos Ch.12/2.




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