Month: July 2025

Parashat Matot–Masei and Rosh Chodesh Av
^{Numbers 30:2–36:13 (Matot–Masei), Numbers 28:9–15 (Rosh Chodesh), Isaiah 66:1–24 (Rosh Chodesh)}

The double portion Matot–Masei concludes the Book of Numbers. It addresses the laws of vows and recounts the war against Midian. It also describes the settlement of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh east of the Jordan. Then follow the listing of the 42 desert journeys, the rules for dividing the Land, the establishment of the cities of refuge, and the question of the inheritance of the daughters of Zelophehad.

In the haftarah, the prophet Isaiah portrays a messianic Jerusalem—a source of peace and a center of universal worship.

Numbers 33:33
וַיִּסְעוּ, מֵחֹר הַגִּדְגָּד; וַיַּחֲנוּ, בְּיָטְבָתָה
They journeyed from Hor‑Hagidgad and camped at Yotvata.

This verse names Yotvata^[2] among the 42 stations of Israel’s desert wanderings. When history takes root, the desert becomes fertile.
Kibbutz Yotvata was founded in 1957 by the Naḥal movement^[3], near Ein Radian—a major natural spring in the Arava Valley, 42 km north of Eilat—adjacent to the ruins of a Roman fort.
From its inception, Yotvata established the regional school Ma’aleh Shaharut^[4], which blends academic studies, environmental awareness, and civic engagement. The kibbutz also hosts a boarding program of Na’alé^[5].
In the 1960s, an agricultural center combined geological and agronomic research, irrigation innovations, and greenhouse cultivation. Solar panels now supply much of the kibbutz’s electricity, and wastewater is recycled for irrigation.
The Yotvata dairy^[6], founded in 1962, processes local milk into over forty products distributed throughout Israel.
Adjacent to the kibbutz, the Hai‑Bar reserve works to reintroduce biblical species to the Negev—onager, oryx, gazelle, and hyena.

^[1] Inyan ha‑yom – The subject of the day primes. When a special haftarah is prescribed (e.g., Rosh Chodesh, Hanukkah), it takes precedence over the regular weekly haftarah (Orach Ḥayim 425:1; Mishnah Berurah 425:7).
^[2] Deuteronomy 10:7 calls Yotvata “a land of flowing streams.” Some commentaries link its name to the Hebrew root T‑V‑B (tov, “good”).
^[3] Naḥal (Noʿar Ḥalutzi Loḥem) – “Fighting Pioneer Youth,” an IDF framework founded in 1948 to combine military service with founding agricultural settlements.
^[4] Ma’aleh Shaharut School serves about 600 students from the eleven communities of the Hevel Eilot Regional Council, including Yotvata. Under Israel’s Ministry of Education, it offers pluralistic academic, environmental, and civic education.
^[5] Na’alé (Noʿar Oleh Lifnei Horim) – a government program launched in 1992 bringing Jewish teens worldwide to finish high school in Israel before their families make aliyah.
^[6] The Yotvata dairy, operated since 2000 in partnership with Strauss Group, is renowned for its chocolate milk and dairy drinks.

Pin’has (פִּינְחָס)
Numbers 25:10–30:1 and Jeremiah 1:1–2:3 ^[1]

Pinchas receives a covenant of peace and the priesthood. Moses and Eleazar conduct a new census of the tribes. The daughters of Zelophehad are granted the right to inherit their father’s estate. Joshua is appointed as Moses’ successor. A description of the ritual sacrifices is given. The prophet Jeremiah evokes the bond between God and Israel, born in the wilderness.

Jeremiah 2:2
זָכַרְתִּי לָךְ חֶסֶד נְעוּרַיִךְ, אַהֲבַת כְּלוּלֹתָיִךְ, לֶכְתֵךְ אַחֲרַי בַּמִּדְבָּר
I remember the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, when you followed Me in the desert.

Near Gondar, on the road to the Simien Mountains, a handmade sign reads “Jewish village of Wolleka Falasha”. This village was home to an Ethiopian Jewish community—Beta Israel—whose religious tradition developed independently from rabbinic Judaism, without access to the Talmud or mainstream institutions. Their biblical and priestly customs, rooted in the desert, likely predate the Babylonian exile, making their history uniquely significant in the Jewish narrative.
Their spiritual life revolved around the qessotch ^[2], priests who led rituals and were responsible for reading the Orit ^[3], the sacred scriptures sung in Ge’ez ^[4] and transmitted orally across generations. In 1973, after an investigation by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef officially recognized them as “descendants of the tribe of Dan”.
In 1975, following this halachic recognition, the Israeli government extended immigration rights to Beta Israel under the Law of Return. Many Ethiopian Jews joined Israel through large-scale aliyot. Some crossed Sudan on foot at great personal risk, later being evacuated by air ^[5], while others were flown out directly from Addis Ababa ^[6].
Today, no Jewish residents remain in Wolleka, but the village bears testimony to its past: a clay synagogue built in 1942 with traditional artwork, a cemetery with blue-painted tombs, and a memorial honoring Beta Israel members who perished en route to Sudan. A local family holds the synagogue keys and charges a small fee for upkeep and visits. By preserving the site, the villagers reinforce its identity as a place of remembrance, rather than just a tourist destination.

^[1] Normally, the haftara for Parashat Pin’has comes from 1 Kings 18:46–19:21. However, when read after the fast of 17 Tammuz, it is replaced with the haftara of Mattot: Jeremiah 1:1–2:3.
^[2] Qessotch are Ethiopian Jewish priests, distinct from rabbis, who maintain ritual purity and lead religious practices in the Beta Israel tradition.
^[3] Orit is the Beta Israel’s version of the Torah, encompassing the Pentateuch, Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings), Writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Ruth, etc.), and some apocryphal texts like the Book of Enoch and Book of Jubilees.
^[4] Ge’ez is an ancient Semitic liturgical language used by Ethiopian Jews, once the official language of the Aksumite kingdom and the Ethiopian Empire.
^[5] Operation Moses (1984) was a covert evacuation of Ethiopian Jewish refugees from Sudan to Israel.
^[6] Operation Solomon (1991) was a massive airlift, bringing over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa to Israel in less than 36 hours.

Balak (בלק)
^{Numbers 22:2–25:9 & Micah 5:6–6:8}

Balak, king of Moab, summons Balaam, the pagan prophet from Pethor,^[1] to curse Israel—yet his mouth utters only blessings. “How beautiful are your tents,” he declares, unveiling the inner beauty of the people of Israel. The prophet Micah extends these blessings by affirming that true greatness lies in justice, kindness, and humility before God.

Numbers 24:3
נְאֻם בִּלְעָם בְּנוֹ בְעֹר, וּנְאֻם הַגֶּבֶר שְׁתֻם הָעָיִן
Oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the word of the man whose eyes are opened.

In 1967, a Dutch archaeological team uncovered at Deir Alla (in the Jordan Valley) an Aramaic inscription explicitly naming Balaam son of Beor. The text, written in black and red ink on a plastered wall^[2], begins as follows:

כתב בל[ע]ם בן בע[ו]ר איש חזה אלהין
“Text of Balaam son of Beor, man who saw the divine.”

In the first section, Balaam predicts that darkness will fall upon the earth and cover the world, a reflection of the cosmic disorder caused by human impiety.
The second section, highly fragmentary, sketches an apocalyptic oracle announcing coming calamities, and concludes with a divine command forbidding Balaam to continue his prophecies.

Deir Alla, known as “Tarʿala” in the Jerusalem Talmud (Sheviit 2:3), was destroyed around 800 BCE, likely during the earthquake mentioned in Amos 1:1. Some scholars identify this site with the ancient Sukkot^[3] in the territory of Gad, located east of the Jordan in the Jabbok Valley.

^[1] Pethor is mentioned in Numbers 22:5 as located “by the river” (the Euphrates), probably in present-day northern Syria or southeastern Turkey.
^[2] The plaster fragments were found scattered across the southeast chamber floor of the sanctuary, mixed with pottery shards and debris. They were painstakingly reassembled by the Dutch team.
^[3] Sukkot, cited in Joshua 13:27, should not be confused with the encampment of the Exodus (Numbers 33:48).

Parashat Chukat (חקת – “Decree”)
^{Numbers 19:1 – 22:1 • Haftarah: Judges 11:1–33}

The parasha begins with the mysterious law of the red heifer, then recounts the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, Moses’ sin, the episode of the bronze serpent, and Israel’s first military victories. The haftarah also tells of a victory: that of Jephthah over the Ammonites.

Numbers 20:28
וַיָּמָת אַהֲרֹן שָׁם, בְּרֹאשׁ הָהָר
“And Aaron died there, on the top of the mountain.”

Following God’s command, Moses ascends Mount Hor with Aaron and his son Eleazar. There, Eleazar receives the priestly garments. Aaron dies in silence atop the mountain.
Tradition identifies Mount Hor with Jebel Haroun – “the Mountain of Silence” – near Petra, Jordan. At the summit stands the Tomb of Aaron (Arabic: Maqam Haroun), built in the 14th century by the Mamluks.
Today, the site is under Muslim religious administration, and as in many such locations, Jewish religious practices (tallit, tefillin, prayers, singing, etc.) may be seen as provocative or even illegal.