34 June 13 • 2019
jn
T
he old cliché says that Eskimos
have 50 different words for
snow because that’s their
world.
We Jews have 50 different
words for guilt. And one for
“God help us:” Oy.
It’s like the story once
shared with me of the four
ladies playing bridge. As they
start picking up their cards
and looking at them, the first
woman said, “Oy.”
The second, she sees her
cards and says, “Oy vey.” The
third, “Oy vey iz mir.” The
fourth puts down her cards
and says, “If we’re going to
talk about our kids, I’m not
playing anymore.”
If we started counting, I
imagine we could find an
equal number of words for com-
plaining. After all, we’re known for
it; we Jews love to kvetch. We focus
on the losses and failures in our lives
and in our world. We think about
everything that went wrong.
This week’s portion, which also
contains censuses, instructions
for making restitution, the test for
determining guilt for adultery and a
description of who is responsible for
the Tabernacle (the traveling sanctu-
ary), also teaches us that instead of
complaining, we should strive to find
the beauty in our world.
We are taught this through the
blessing found in this week’s por-
tion that has come to be known as
the three-fold priestly benediction,
words that are traditionally said at
our Shabbat dinner tables and words
that are recited by the Kohanim
during our prayers: “May God bless
you and protect you. May God shine
upon you and be gracious to you.
May God bestow divine favor upon
you and may God grant you peace”
(Numbers 6:24-27).
These ancient words have been
interpreted in hundreds of
different ways. Rashi, a com-
mentator from about 1,000
years ago, broke each phrase
down. Each word had a dif-
ferent meaning. “May God
bless you” meant “May your
property increase.” It had to
do with material success.
Other commentators
believed that God'
s “blessing”
had to do with spiritual
enlightenment.
I would like to offer another
interpretation. When we say,
“May God bless you,” we’re
asking that God give us the
ability to recognize the good
that is in our lives. We’re asking that
we (or others for whom we recite
these words) be able to see beyond
any hardships and see the positive
that comes from a situation.
The Talmud teaches that we have
10 different words to express differ-
ent levels of wow. There’s simchah,
joy in its broadest sense. Then there
are different types of joy: like gila,
rina and ditza: joy that comes in
waves and moves us to singing, to
dancing or joy that comes from a
true sense of awe.
As we recite the words of the
priestly benediction this week, may
this be the blessing that we ask for:
May God give us the strength to
leave behind and not share our com-
plaints so that we can find the joy,
the wow and the awesomeness in our
lives. ■
Rabbi Daniel A. Schwartz is a rabbi at Temple
Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield.
spirit
torah portion
We Are Truly
We Are Truly
Blessed
Blessed
Rabbi Daniel
Schwartz
Parshat
Naso:
Numbers
21:1-7:89;
Judges
13:2-25.
Diagnostics $59
If you are unhappy
with your lawn care,
give America’s Nature
Safe Lawn Care a try.
You’ll be glad you did!
And don’t forget, “we
cure sick trees”.
If you are unhappy
with your lawn care,
give America’s Nature
Safe Lawn Care a try.
Lawn
You’ll be glad you did!
And don’t forget, “we
n’t forg
orget
et,
re sick trees”.
(248) 585-2600
Family owned and operated since 1900
Over 100,000 satisfied customers since 1900
BUY
•
SELL
•
I
NVEST
Throughout South Florida, Including Boca, Boynton, Delray,
Broward and Miami-Dade Counties
Nina Spinner-Sands
NinaSpinner-Sands@keyes.com
(954) 290-8293
Rita Morse
RitaMorse@keyes.com
(305) 609-7559
Let Old Friends be your
Michigan-Florida Connection
Estate Property Sales from
Listing to Clean-Out!
Keyes Real Estate
www.thejewishnews.com
Feature your business
with our new way
to advertise,
on our website.
Three sizes to
choose from
with affordable
pricing options.