That's it. Last Shabbat we read (in Israel. Abroad it will happen next Shabbat) the BeHukotai Torah Portion, the last Portion in VaYikra (the Book of Leviticus), and we cried: "Chazak, Chazak V'Nitchazek!". This week we will start BaMidbar (Book of Numbers).
So what did we have here? 10 Portions with 859 verses dealing with: laws of sacrifices, purity and impurity, Kohanim, first born sons, Shemitah (sabbathical year for the Land), Lashon HaRa (evil tongue), gossip, birth, death, Shabbats and Jewish festivals, behavior towards the poor, the convert and the elderly, loans, charity, and much more. For a entire Chumash (Pentateuch book) we read also things that seem technical, very detailed, some of which are not even applicable today. We came across a word that is hard to explain in 2019 and repeats again and again in the Book - "sanctity". In an age in which we have to "relate" to everything and "flow" with things, we heard in detail about matters that do not always speak to us here and now. All of this - is a lesson in itself.
It is most fascinating to read the Book of Bereshit (Genesis) with the stories of our forefathers. Sefer Shemot (Book of Exodus), in whose center there is the Exodus of Egypt, is sweeping and moving. The Book of VaYikra is a test, and last Shabbat morning, the test was over.
Chazak, Chazak V'Nitchazek!
