Shalom JTF readers,
Once again I am starting to study the weekly sidrah, and would like to share the videos from Rabbis who teach the Torah in a way which imparts Jewish pride and instills the desire to do sincere Teshuvah.
Last week we finished the book of Vayikra/Leviticus. This week we start the book of Numbers, so called because of the fact that the portion starts with a census of the Jewish nation, counting the numbers of each tribe. In Ivrit the name of the book is Bamidbar/Wilderness (desert) because the first sentence contains the word Bamidbar.
Most of the portion is taken up by the counting, with some minor details which provide the real secrets to understanding the portion.
From Chabads Parsha in a Nutshell:
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/2121/jewish/Bamidbar-in-a-Nutshell.htm
In the Sinai Desert, G‑d says to conduct a census of the twelve tribes of Israel. Moses counts 603,550 men of draftable age (20 to 60 years); the tribe of Levi, numbering 22,300 males age one month and older, is counted separately. The Levites are to serve in the Sanctuary, replacing the firstborn, whose number they approximated, who were disqualified when they participated in the worshipping of the Golden Calf. The 273 firstborn who lacked a Levite to replace them had to pay a five-shekel “ransom” to redeem themselves.
When the people broke camp, the three Levite clans dismantled and transported the Sanctuary, and reassembled it at the center of the next encampment. They then erected their own tents around it: the Kohathites, who carried the Sanctuary’s vessels (the Ark, menorah, etc.) in their specially designed coverings on their shoulders, camped to its south; the Gershonites, in charge of its tapestries and roof coverings, to its west; and the families of Merari, who transported its wall panels and pillars, to its north. Before the Sanctuary’s entranceway, to its east, were the tents of Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons.
Beyond the Levite circle, the twelve tribes camped in four groups of three tribes each. To the east were Judah (pop. 74,600), Issachar (54,400) and Zebulun (57,400); to the south, Reuben (46,500), Simeon (59,300) and Gad (45,650); to the west, Ephraim (40,500), Manasseh (32,200) and Benjamin (35,400); and to the north, Dan (62,700), Asher (41,500) and Naphtali (53,400). This formation was kept also while traveling. Each tribe had its own nassi (prince or leader), and its own flag with its tribal color and emblem.
I will start with a short Shmuz from Rabbi Shafier:
Topic: Video Study for Parsha Bamidbar (Read 2849 times)