Kol Ramah Camp Ramah in the Berkshires

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Among the features in Parashat Naso [Numbers 4:21-89] are the passage about the wife suspected of adultery, the nazir [an individual who wishes to take upon himself additional restrictions, the priestly blessing, and the gifts the tribal chieftains bring for the mishkan. This series of gifts, which differ only in the name of the tribal chief, comprise the longest chapter of the Torah.
Since Tuesday night begins the observance of Shavuot, which for the rabbis is the season of the giving of Torah, most of our conversation was about Revelation and Torah, though we did manage to quote and discuss the last verse of the parashah. As Eliot mentioned at the end, you are invited to send us metaphors that you find particularly meaningful.
We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and grateful for the rescue of four of them by the IDF this past week, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force. May all the hostages be speedily returned to their homes; may the soldiers be removed from harm’s way. Chag Same’ach and Shabbat Shalom.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat B’midbar [Numbers 1:1-4:20] is the first parashah in the Book of Numbers, which deals in episodic form with the 40-year wilderness wanderings. As Jacob Milgrom notes in his JPS Commentary to Numbers, the book’s treatment of this time frame is uneven. The first section [1:1-10:11] takes place over 19 days in the second month of the second year, while the third and final section [21:10-36:15] occurs “within five months of the fortieth year”, leaving the middle section to take place sometime during the intervening 38 years.
As befits a book which we call in English Numbers, we spent most of our conversation talking about numbers and how we might make sense of them. We hope you enjoy it!
We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force. May the hostages be speedily returned to their homes; may the soldiers be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.

Parashat B’chukotai is the tenth and last parashah of Sefer Va-yiqra [Book of Leviticus]. Its main section is the תוכחה [tokhekhah, “rebuke”; Baruch Levine labels it “The Execration” (26:14-45)]. Preceded by the blessings (26:3-13) that will come to Israel, both the people and the land provided the people observe the mitzvot [commandments], the far larger part is devoted to the details of the punishments which will ensue should the people not observe the commandments. It can be difficult in 2024, given the nature of the text itself as well as all that is going on in the world and the Jewish world today, to make sense of this passage, and it is to this task that we devote most of our conversation. We also discuss chapter 27, which Baruch Levine entitles “Funding the Sanctuary”.
It is customary when we finish a Book of the Torah to conclude the reading in the synagogue with the words חזק חזק ונתחזק, chazak chazak v-nitchazek, let us be strong, let us be strong, let us be strengthened. May it be so for the community of Israel, whether they be in the Land or outside of it.
We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force. May the hostages be speedily returned to their homes; may the soldiers be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.

Parashat B’har [Leviticus 25:1–26:2], at 57 verses, is one of the shortest in the Torah. In his JPS Torah Commentary, Baruch Levine entitles it “Principles of Land Tenure”. The first section deals with the sabbatical year and jubilee year, and the second section deals with laws regarding people in straitened circumstances. We more or less followed this order as well in our conversation. We hope you enjoy it!
We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force. May the hostages be speedily returned to their homes; may the soldiers be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Emor [Leviticus 21-24] is sometimes the penultimate parashah in Leviticus, except in years such as this one, 5784, which is a leap year. As a consequence, there are no double paashiyot. While Leviticus can be read in as few as 7 weeks, this year, with each parashah a separate week, it will take ten weeks.
The parashah is best known for chapter 23, which in additional to the weekly reading, is also read on the 2nd day of Passover and the first two days of Sukkot, because of the festival calendar. There are also laws governing the priesthood, some of the perquisities for being a priest, some restrictions on marriage, and disqualifications from service for certain blemishes. The last aliyah, coinciding with chapter 24, includes the curious case of the m’kallel, the blasphemer, one of those rare cases that occur in the Torah where Moses must seek additional guidance from God to determine how to proceed.
Since we recorded on Yom Ha’Atzma’ut, Israel’s Independence Day, Israel was never far from our minds. Most of our conversation focused on the subject of blemishes and priestly service then and now. We hope you enjoy it!
We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force. May the hostages be speedily returned to their homes; may the soldiers be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Kedoshim [Leviticus 19-20] is, according to the rabbis, the central portion of the Torah, falling in the middle of the 5 Books of Moses. Chapter 19 contains a miscellany of laws which are sometimes compared to the Ten Commandments. Our discussion focused on this comparison. We spent some time also talking about the upcoming holidays of Yom Ha-zikkaron and Yom Ha-Atzma’ut [Israel’s Memorial Day and Israel’s Day of Independence]. Let us know what you think either here, below, or at parshatalk@gmail.com.
We are ever mindful of the hostages and their families, and the men and women who defend Israel as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force. May the hostages be speedily returned to their homes; may the soldiers be removed from harm’s way. Shabbat Shalom.