Welcome to Portion of Parsha

Shabbat Shalom!.

Chukat -Balak

Numbers 19:1-25:9

Torah Reading for Week of Jun 28-Jul 4,2009

Tammuz 6-12 5769

"Take the rod, and assemble the congregation,

you, and Aaron your brother, and speak unto

the rock before their eyes, that it give forth

its water; and thou shalt bring forthto them

water out of the rock; so thou shalt give the

congregation and their cattle drink."

(Bamidbar 20:8)

The Parasha begins with a lengthy description of the mysterious rites of the para aduma or red heifer a ceremony that restores a state of tahara or ritual fitness to an individual who has come into contact with a human corpse or grave. There are in many Torah commandments as in all dimensions of life, this aspect of "chok". The concept of "chok" (statute) is a law which cannot fully be grasped. The Midrash states that even the famously wise King Solomon once said,

“I have mastered everything but the exposition of the Parah Adumah [the law of the red heifer] has escaped my investigation.”

G-d spoke to Moshe and Aharon saying,

"This is the decree of the law which G-d commands you, saying,

'Tell the children of Israel to take a perfect Red Heifer ...' "

(BaMidbar 19:1)

We are to believe that sometimes one may not question why ,rather we are to believe that since Hashem made things happen, then this is the way it is suppose to be. This is where the term Emunah- Faith is important. Accepting these Chukim is a way of accepting the Divine.

As we continue,

"The people of Israel, all of the congregation, came to the wilderness of Zin, and the people dwelt in Kadesh. Miriam died there and there she was buried. The congregation had no water, and they gathered against Moshe and Aharon" (Bamidbar 20:1-2).

Rashi comments on the reason Miriams death is placed immediately after the Parah Adumah, (Red Heifer)is to teach us that, just as the sacrifices bring atonement, so do the deaths of the righteous bring atonement.

Rashi’s seems to state the obvious; that during the 38 years of wandering, the older generation between 20 and 60 had all died except for Yehoshua and Caleiv (the 2 Spies who were in favor of entering Eretz Yisrael). The generation that left Egypt, punished for its lack of trust, is replaced by the new generation poised to enter the Promised Land.

The well of Miriam was a source of spiritual and moral strength and attests to the leadership abilities of Miriam. It constantly reminded the Jewish nation of the faith in G-d Miriam exhibited when she convinced her father that he should stay with his wife when Pharoh had sworn to murder all Jewish baby males. As a result Moshe was born. It was in the merit of Miriam in response to her courage and enthusiasm which sustained our people with water throughout their desert wanderings.

Her death was a great loss for our ancestors as well as her two brothers. The Torah underscores this point by telling us that almost immediately after her death, Moses and Aaron are overwhelmed by the challenge to provide water for our people.The people of Israel, thirsty and impatient to embrace their new destiny, cried out for water and relief, and Moshe and Aaron were told by G-d to speak to the rock so that it might give water to the masses, but they impetuously physically strike it instead and G-d spoke to Moshe.

"Take the staff and gather the Assembly, you and Aharon your brother, and speak to the rock (selah) before their eyes and give from its waters; bring forth water from the rock to give water to the Assembly and their animals." (BaMidbar 20:7)

And in consequence, they too were doomed to not enter the land. The lesson was not lost on Israel. They had finally reached a certain maturity, where they would either remain who they were, or take responsibility for their own spirituality. This new generation was ready to enter the promised land.

Today, at many contemporary Passover Seders there is a new custom of placing a goblet of water table to represent Miriam's well. Its presence on the table provides an opportunity to talk about the significance of Miriam and the role women play in the Passover story and in the life of the Jewish people.

We are each given the opportunity to take an active role in Jewish life and especially in Jewish spiritual life. Water is a symbol of spirituality. Remember the fervent joy and belief at the Sea of Reeds, when Miriam led the women in song (Exodus 15:19-20) Miriam had so much to do with water. (Her very name, "

bitter sea," - indicates a connection with water, and has many Midrashic interpretations. )The Talmud and Rashi take note of the connection between the death of Miriam and the lack of water. Accordingly, it was due to Miriam's merit that the children of Israel had water through all the years of wandering. This source of water is the legendary Miriam's Well.

As we continue our double portion we continue with Balak. The Israelites have arrived at the final destination before entering the Promised Land. Balak, the King of Moab, and Balaam, the Moabite prophet, each see thousands of Israelite tents spread out over their land of Moab.

King Balak sent a delegation, asking Bilaam to come curse the Jews. That very night Bilaam asked G-d if he could go, and G-d said no.

"You shall not curse the nation, for they are blessed." [22:12]

Perhaps the message we take from both parshas Chukat and Balak is that we ourselves must be the guardianship of our survival. We must take a hard look at ourselves as Miriam did with both strength and belief in G-d giving us the water we could not live without, and the non-jewish prophet Balaak who reminds us of our distinctiveness as a people.

“There is a people that dwells apart, not reckoned among the nations.” …”Blessed are those you bless, and cursed are those you curse.”

These words force us to look at ourselves, our sense of identity, and the reason this parsha is entitled Balak, after a non-jewish prophet. To remind us that the outside world knows we are blessed ; not merely for ourselves, but for all humanity. This is who we are ,and we should not forget it.

Shabbat Shalom,

Miriam

Water- So how much do you need? Generally, you should drink six to eight cups a day. Although you can get by on less, drinking this much water is especially kind to your kidneys and colon, because it helps to flush toxins out of your body. In fact, drinking plenty of water may be the simplest of all disease-prevention tips.“Every conceivable kind of plant and tree sprouted in abundance,”and these trees, owing to the miraculous water, daily bore fresh fruits.” What better time of year to highlight fruits! Instead of a hot soup during these warm summer months why not try something refreshing and cool.

Chilled Cantalope Peach Soup

tastes like a smoothie

6 ripe peaches

½ cup dry white wine

6 tbl. Fresh lemon juice

3 tbs. honey

½ tsp. cinnamon

1 medium size ripe cantalope

1 cup fresh oranje juice

Peel, pit and slice peaches. Add to other ingredients except the

cantalope and OJ. Place in saucepan and heat to a boil. Lower

heat and simmer. Cover and let cook for 10 minutes. Let cool to

room temperature. Blend mixture and pour into large bowl. Using

¾ of the cantalope blend with the orange juice and add to peach

mixture. Mince the remaining melon and add. Cover and chill serve cold.

(4 servings)

Strawberry Smoothie Ice Cream Pie

Another refreshing recipe which uses a waffle cone crust!

1 package of waffle cones broke into small pieces

1 stick butter melted

¼ cup sugar

2 quart containers of vanilla ice cream(I have used strawberry or

even a cherry flavor)

1 quart strawberries no stems

1 pint blueberries

2 ripe bananas

½ cup powdered sugar

First 3 ingredients into a food processor until finely crushed. Firmly press mixture into bottom of a sprayed 10 inch springform pan

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Cool During this time let the ice cream thaw until slightly softened.

Process the strawberries with 1/3 of the powdered sugar, process the blueberries with 1/3 the powdered sugar

Mash bananas by hand with a fork and add remaining powdered sugar.

Mix strawberries into 1 qt. of the ice cream and freeze

Divide the remaining quart of ice cream into 2 different bowls and mix the blueberries with one and the bananas with one. Freeze separately.

To assemble: Spread half of strawberry mixture evenly into prepared crust in springform pan. Place pan and remaining strawberry mixture in freezer. Freeze 30 minutes or until strawberry layer in pan is slightly firm. Spread banana mixture evenly over strawberry layer in pan and return pan to freezer and freeze 30 minutes until banana layer is slightly firm. Repeat procedure with blueberry mixture. Spread remaining strawberry mixture over blueberry layer in pan and freeze 3 hours until all layers are firm.

Ratatouille quick and easy

2 tbl. olive oil

2 small eggplants

2 small zucchini

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

2 small onions

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes(or can of diced

tomatoes)

2 cloves garlic

1/4 teaspoon dried chilli or fresh chilli

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar