8:2] How is the מנורה fashioned so the the seven lamps cast light towards it's face? Because the first image we have of the Menora is from a Roman victory arch.
n8:2] אל־מול פני המנִורה - Toward the face of the Menora
As explained in Exodus 25:37, the three wicks on the right and the three wicks on the left were all directed to the Menora's middle stem, thus concentrating the light toward the centre. Because it's light was not spread out...
I wonder how the light of the wicks was directed toward the centre, taking into account the manner in which the Menora is constructed, according to all the depictions, and Menorot around. How was it constructed so that it's light did not spread out?
One proposal was that it was actually lasers. However, it might have been constructed with some sort of shielding, or reflecting material around the wicks - though this has never been mentioned.
The "right" symbolises those who engage in spiritual pursuits, while the "left" signifies temporal activity. By having both sides give light toward the centre, the Torah teaches that all of man's activities should be directed toward the service of G-d. (Sforno)
8:7] There is the directive to shave them "pass a razor over their entire flesh", so I wonder if it included the eyebrows, and how strange that would look, if it were so.
n8:7] Washing with the water of purification, was the only way to cleanse yourself after contamination of corpse, something which we no longer have today.
8:8] "Take a young bull..." Regarding these bulls, was it 2 bulls per Levite, or 2 bulls for all the Levites?
8:10] "Children of Israel shall lean their hands upon the Levites". How is this done. There is some talk of laying of hands upon their heads. 600,000 hands upon the heads of 20,000 Levites, works out to about 30 hands per person.
8:11 & 21] "Aaron waved them as a wave-service". This concept has fascinated me for a long time, trying to work out what this waving is, and how can one man wave 20,000 people. That is to me some serious magic, though we don't accept magic. Thus it was strength? What sort of magical strength is that?
n8:13] "Life & wave". Aaron (and Moses) had the strength to life 22,000 Levites in one day, says Vayikarah Rabbah (26:9). Or did they perhaps lift them all at once? Which would have taken magic! Still that is lifting people all day long.
8:19] The Lord assigned the Levites to approach the Sanctuary, for it the Children of Israel were to approach it, a plague would fall upon them.
n8:19] So when the sacrifices and other services are performed, the people of Israel would be outside, because they cannot get too close to the Sanctuary, else they might fall ill? It also speaks of a hierarchy, Moshe, Rabeinu, Aaron and his family as the Kohanim, the Levites and then the Children of Israel. The people were tithed so that the Levites could focus on serving G-d. (Sforno) The Levites also sang a song during the service, as song is an essential part of atonement. Yerushalmi (Pesachim 4:1).
n9:1-5] This Pesach offering was the only one during the 40 years in the desert. So this commandment was one that only went into effect once the people were in Israel (Tos, Kiddushim 376). This is also so, because only circumcised Jews can partake of the Pesach offering, and most of the Jews were to be circumcised in Israel, as it was dangerous to circumcise in the Desert.(Yevemos 71b)
n9:8] Before Moses died, he asked Joshua to present any questions he might have. Joshua answered, "Have I ever left you for a moment and gone elsewhere..." meaning that he had no questions, for he had heard everything Moses had ever taught. Immediately, Joshua's intellectual capacity weakened, and he forgot three-hundred laws and was unsure of seven-hundred matter, but after Moses was gone there was no way for him to find the answers on his own. (Temurah 16a). When Moses offered to answer any questions, Joshua should have said, "You are my teacher. You already know what I am lacking and what I should be taught" (R' Yaakov Kamenetsky)
9:14] לכם לגר ולאזרח "One decree for you (the children of Israel), for the proselyte and for the native of the land". Who is this native of the land - especially since we were still in the wilderness? But even if and when in the land of Israel, who and how would one be called a "native of the land" - different from בני ִישׂראל?
However, it is heart-warming to see that this decree for all the people of the land, and not just to some or just for the Jews.
9:15] "Cloud by day, and the appearance of fire at night". It was not "true" fire, but only the appearance thereof. And the cloud was over the tent of testimony - אוהל העדות.
n9:19-23] The people marched and rested without complaint, according to the word of G-d as indicated by the cloud. When the cloud lingered, did not journey. When the cloud lifted, they journeyed. However, the world of G-d was not spoken, it was a cloud! Also there were the silver trumpets that also announced the movement.
10] The silver trumpets were only used during Moses' lifetime, after which they were "hidden" or buried. They were silver trumpets, not ram's horn. Long blasts, assemble at the אוהל מועד. Short blasts, east camps journey, then south camps. Or to wage war.
n10:9] Distress is a result of sin.
10:10] Trumpets were sounded for a day of gladness, at the festivals, the new moon, upon elevation offerings and peace offerings.
10:11] Journey from the Wilderness of Sinai to the Wilderness of Paran.
n10:29-32] The journey would have taken Israel to the Holy Land in three days, had it not been for the succession of sins described in the next several chapters. I thought that G-d had already said that the generation who performed the sin of the golden calf were not going to enter into the Holy Land, and thus would wonder the desert for 40 years so that they would all die out. So how come this piece interferes with that.
n10:29] לחובב Hovav, son of Reuel, one of the names of Moses' father-in-law, Jethro. Ramban conjectures that he took the name Hobab when he converted, in line with the custom of converts to adopt a new name when becoming Jewish.
n10:32] Moses' children remained
n10:33] "And the Ark journeyed before them".
n10:34] וענן ה’ The cloud of Hashem The Torah mentions the cloud seven times to allude to seven separate clouds that accompanied them. Four protected the camp in the four directions, one hovered above, one cushioned their feed against the hot, sometimes rocky, desert floor, and the seventh went ahead of them to ease their way.
n10:35-36] The new "book" of the Torah. Verses 35 and 36 are separated from the rest of the Torah by means of inverted letter nuns before and after them, to separate them from the rest of the narrative... for the ultimate mission of the Jew is to bring the Torah and its teachings into every iota of temporal life. I might have said to bring an awareness of G-d and His teachings...
Recognising that Israel would always have foes and haters who strive to prevent submission to G-d from holding sway on earth, Moses began every journey with a plea that G-d protect His servants from those who seek to thwart the realisation of His will. And when the people, led by the Ark, were coming to rest, he prayed that the vast numbers of the nation and its future descendants would feel the Divine Presence, unopposed, in their midst. Thus understood, these two versus do, indeed, comprise a separate book, for the encompass the striving and final triumph of the Divine ideal.
11] The people complain, making HaShem angry, he sends fire against them.
n11:1-3] The complainers. When the people left Sinai, which was not far from populated areas, to venture into the great desolate and unknown wilderness, they grew frantic and wondered how they would be able to survive. They acted as if they were truly in pain and had a right to complain and bemoan their fate (Ramban) In their mood of rebellion and self-pity, they wanted G-d to hear and be angered; they succeeded and paid a heavy price. (Rashi). Sifre shows that the word ויהי, which introduces the passage, alludes to the recurrence of a previously existing situation. Thus, when they left the spiritually elevating atmosphere of Sinai, where they had experienced the Revelation, they reverted to the corrupt nature of their existence in Egypt.
n11:1] בקצה המחנה—At the edge of the camp The fire consumed masses of people, but was concentrated at the edge of the camp i.e. ערב רב the mixed multitude that attached itself to the people in the guise of sincere converts.
n11:4-10] Dissatisfaction with the Manna
11:4] The people crave meat, having gotten bored of the manna which tasted like dough cooked in oil. The people begin weeping, wanting their old life in Egypt with the food that was available to them. Hashem is angry at them, and Moses feels very burdened by their complaining.
n11:4] והאספסוּף—the rabble The mixed multitude now showed its true colours. They succeeded in influencing the rest of the nation. The new complaint was especially galling, for not only did they complain that their diet was insufficient—which the Torah testifies to be untrue (vs. 7-9)—they went so far as to say they preferred Egyptian slavery to the Presence of G-d (v. 20), and they tested G-d (Psalms 78:20) to see if He had the ability to satisfy their craving for meat (Sforno)
מי ִאכלנו בשׂר—Who will feed us meat? There was no shortage of meat; the tribes of Reuben and Gad had enormous flocks (32:1).
And I was under the impression that all they ate in the desert was the manna from heaven?
Also, there is a note that the meat was too expensive. This confuses me even more. Firstly, this means that the camp was like a moving city with trade and money changing hands. What did they earn money from, and who in the camp was able to afford the meat then?
n11:5] The food in Egypt was free from the obligation to perform mitzvot (Rashi, Sforno). Although it is a common practice to feed one's slaves/labourers.
11:7-9] The manna was like coriander seed and its colour was like the colour of the bedolach. The people would stroll and gather it, and grind it in a mill or pound it in a mortar and cook it in a pot, or make it into cakes, and its taste was like the taste of dough kneaded with oil. When the dew descended on the camp at night, the manna would descend with it.
n11:10] למשׁפחותיו—In their family groups To vent their resentment publically, entire families gathered outside their tents and wept. According to the Sages, the word families alludes to the underlying reason for their complaints: They were frustrated by the family laws that regulated permissable relationships (Rashi). This illustrates the extent of their fall since leaving Sinai. The commandments were a privilege; but to some they seemed an unbearable burden.
ויחר־אף ה’ מאד—And the wrath of HaShem flared greatly. G-d can be understanding if people are overcome by lust or seduction—but by saying they wanted to go back to Egypt, the people showed that they wanted to cast themselves headlong into the hands of the Evil Inclindation. This was intolerable. (Or Hachaim)
11:16] Hashem tells Moses to gather 70 elders, upon whom He will lay His spirit so that they may share Moses' burden.
11:18] He says that the people who crave meat will eat meat for a month. In fact, they will eat so much meat that they will be nauseated by it. It is a bit of a tirade. Moses has the audacity to question how G-d will do this.
11:24] Once G-d's spirit descended upon the elders, they prophesied. Though this was only once, with the spirit upon them. This speak of two things, firstly when the spirit of the Lord descends upon you, this is termed prophesy. The second is that it is unclear what is meant by prophesy, because we are not privy to what they prophesied.
11:26] There is a mention of two youths, Eldad and Medad who prophesied.
11:30] God provides the people with meat by causing quail to fall out of the sky. The people at their fill, and G-d's wrath fell upon them, and they died. "He called the place Kibroth-hattaavah, because they buried the people there, those who had been craving".
So let's get this straight. He provides those that craved meat the meat. Then He got angry with them, and killed them all? What about His promise to provide them with meat? What is this anger about?
12] Miriam and Aaron speak out about the Cushite women who Moses was involved with. Aaron claims he also prophesied, not just Moses. This arrogance is not pointed to, but rather Moses' humbleness is spoken of.
12:4] Here G-d appears in a cloud. The greatness of Moses is once again spoken of, in that G-d speaks only to Moses mouth-to-mouth. All other prophets Hashem appears to them in a vision or a dream.
Miriam is punished for her transgression, but not Aaron!