Midrash About Food and Drink
In this week’s Torah portion, we read of the Israelites complaining about the food available to eat (Num. 11:4-6): מִ֥י יַאֲכִלֵ֖נוּ בָּשָֽׂר זָכַ֙רְנוּ֙ אֶת־הַדָּגָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־נֹאכַ֥ל בְּמִצְרַ֖יִם חִנָּ֑ם אֵ֣ת הַקִּשֻּׁאִ֗ים וְאֵת֙ הָֽאֲבַטִּחִ֔ים וְאֶת־הֶחָצִ֥יר וְאֶת־הַבְּצָלִ֖ים וְאֶת־הַשּׁוּמִֽים וְעַתָּ֛ה נַפְשֵׁ֥נוּ יְבֵשָׁ֖ה אֵ֣ין כֹּ֑ל בִּלְתִּ֖י אֶל־הַמָּ֥ן עֵינֵֽינוּ If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish that we […]
The Nazir’s Vow and Remedy
Introduction & Avoidances In this week’s parashah of Nasso, we encounter the curious instance of the nazir (Num. 6:1-21). This person – man or woman (Num. 6:2) – decides to avoid hair-cutting (Num. 6:5) and contact with corpses (Num. 6:6-8). This person also vows away all drinking – whether wine or beer (Num. 6:3) – […]
Nadav & Avihu Offering a Strange Fire
When we encounter the reference to Nadav’s and Avihu in this week’s Torah portion, we see something that is quite consistent with the way that their deaths are described, which is due to them offering a strange fire: “וַיָּ֣מָת נָדָ֣ב וַאֲבִיה֣וּא לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֡ה בְּֽהַקְרִבָם֩ אֵ֨שׁ זָרָ֜ה לִפְנֵ֤י יְהוָה֙ בְּמִדְבַּ֣ר סִינַ֔י וּבָנִ֖ים לֹא־הָי֣וּ לָהֶ֑ם And Nadav […]