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FEATURING HINDY NAJMAN

SCHOLAR AUTHOR AND TEACHER
WHOSE INSIGHT MAKES ANCIENT JEWISH TEXTS COME ALIVE

The Continual
Battle For Peace

COMMUNITY EVENTS

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Wednesday, June 10 at 7:30 p.m. / Congregation Beth Shalom
Understanding Divine Wisdom In Today's World
A dessert reception will follow the keynote address
$12 in advance, $15 at the door

Parshat Bamidbar: Numbers 1:1-4:20;
Hosea 2:1-2:22.

A

s we begin the Book of
Numbers this week, the
Torah becomes even more
deeply focused on the journey toward
the Land of Israel.
The first step though,
as God commands, is for
Moses and Aaron to take
a census of those who will
fight in the upcoming con-
quest of Eretz Yisrael. This
Divine counting helps to
formulate the people into
a structured arrangement,
which they will need to be
successful throughout the
next 38 years marching
through the desert.
This is not only the
first formal Jewish army,
but it is also the earliest moment in
recorded human history that an army
was composed of an entire nation —
not merely of slaves or paid fighters.
Rather than hire or force someone else
to fight on their behalf, all Israelites
aged 20-60 years old were drafted.
Our parshah goes on to describe
that the formation of the Israelite
encampment itself was designed stra-
tegically for protection while serving
to deter various nations from attack-
ing them as they passed through the
desert.
Even though this desert arrange-
ment was supposed to give the impres-
sion that the Israelite nation was
militaristic in its demeanor, in Jewish
law, military force should never be
the primary option. In fact, the Jewish
army was specifically commanded
to "call out for peace" whenever it
approached a city, even though this
call for peace had the great potential to
cause profound internal harm because
the troops gave up the element of sur-
prise that they so needed.
In truth, the ultimate success of the
Jewish army stems from the fact that
the 603,550 Israelites made their way

through the desert as "one person with
one heart:' Unity was a prerequisite
for the emerging Jewish nation to
inherit the Land of Israel just as that
same unity was pervasive at Mount
Sinai when the people stood
together to receive the Torah
and spoke "in one voice" as
we will recall in the coming
week in celebration of the
holiday of Shavuot.
Rabbi Moses ibn Attar
puts forth that we are all
members in God's meta-
phorical army, explaining
that our sacred mission as
Jews is to ascribe to the forc-
es of goodness and virtue in
the global battle against evil
and immorality. The dark
forces that often seem so overwhelm-
ing can be defeated only with the
concerted efforts of God's entire army
which sometimes seems shorthanded,
unsupported by the masses and most
often in a defensive mode.
This week, as we prepare to once
again "march through the desert:'
we recommit ourselves to once again
becoming like Aaron the High Priest
— embodying the Jewish values of
rodefei shalom and ohavei shalom —
pursuers of cosmic peace.
Yet, we can only bring that true
and abiding peace about when we
consciously and systematically battle
against the forces that impede our
opportunity to experience safety,
security and tranquility in Eretz Israel
— our biblical birthright and our ever-
lasting inheritance.
Am Yisrael Chai — our people and
our Land endure in strength for all
eternity!

❑

Rabbi Joseph H. Krakoff is community

educator for the Jewish Hospice and

Chaplaincy Network and director of social

impact and philanthropic outreach for the

Bottle Crew.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
COHN-HADDOW CENTER FOR JUDAIC STUDIES

COFFEE AND CONVERSATION

Thurs., June 11 at 8:45 a.m. / Congregation Shaarey Zedek
The Woman of Valor: Perfecting the Soul
Co-sponsored by Congregation Shaarey Zedek

LUNCH & LEARN

Thurs., June 11 at noon / Congregation Beth Shalom
Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Picture of Ancient Judaism

$20 Luncheon

Reservations required

FOR INFORMATION: 248 547 7970 / cbs@congbethshalom.org

1991780

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One-on-One Tutoring Customized for Each Student.

Available in All Subject Areas. Assisting Students

from the Jewish Community for Over 20 Years.

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R LAC

WWW.RLAC.COM 800-732-3211

Tutoring Centers located throughout

the Metro-Detroit area, including

West Bloomfield and Bloomfield Hills.

2003460

May 21 • 2015

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