SHABBAT- Beginning a New Book- NUMBERS

I spoke about "THE 2nd YEAR IN THE DESERT"-
All about the Journey through the desert and the challenges and value of Diversity. Yes, its all in the "numbers" as we begin with a detailed census.

“Take a census of the whole Israelite community by the clans of its ancestral houses, listing the names, every male, head by head.

WHO COUNTS?- Women are not included, only firstborn sons are important enough to be counted, the entire tribe of Levites is an elite class by itself that is exempted from the battles. Good or bad Jews have not all been the same, look at Israel.

"All of Israel is responsible for one another" To be Jewish means to be both an insider and an outsider at the same time; we belong to interconnected and diverse tribes. We are responsible for ensuring that each and every person counts.

We are a people of amazing diversity. We have always been a collection of distinct, but interconnected tribes-made up of different sizes, with different flavors and textures, but all formed by and linked through a shared, nourishing dough. It is that diversity that makes us the resilient and richly complex community that we are today.

How much do you know about Jewish communities other than the one that you are part of now, or perhaps were part of at another point in your life! Learn about Jewish denominations, cultures, FOODs and experiences different from your own. Does this change your understanding of what it means to be Jewish?Read more