Parashat Bamidbar
Iyar 29, 5786 / May 15-16, 2026
Torah: Numbers 1:1 – 4:2
Haftarah: Hosea 2:1-22
Shavuot - Sivan 6-7, 5786 / May 21-23, 2026
Torah (Day 1): Exodus 19:1 - 20:23
(Day 2): Deuteronomy 14:22 -
16:17
Maftir (both days): Numbers 28:26-31
Haftarah (Day 1): Ezekiel 1:1-28; 3:12
(Day
2): Habakkuk 2:20 - 3:19
Additional reading: Book of Ruth
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This d'var torah is offered in memory of my beloved father, Martin Flom, whose yahrzeit falls on Sivan 7. Y’hi zikhro barukh – his memory is a blessing.
This d'var torah is offered in memory of my beloved grandfather, Jacob Slome, whose yahrzeit falls on Sivan 8. Y’hi zikhro barukh – his memory is a blessing.
-------------------------------------------------------
Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On May 18, we'll be reading and discussing Ramban's Commentary on the Book of Genesis. You can find the material here:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please
cite the source.
--------------------------------------
THE TEST
“The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on
the first day of the second month, in the second year after their exodus
from the land of Egypt, saying.” Numbers 1:1
This parashah, and the book of the Torah named for it, is
called “Numbers” in English. But in Hebrew, it is “Bamidbar”, which means “in
the wilderness”. The census taken in this parashah, the numbering, is done in
the wilderness. The wilderness is a fearful place, with dangers both physical
and spiritual. It is a place to be tested, to stand up and be counted.
The Wilderness of Sinai
The giving of the Torah will be commemorated on the
holiday of Shavuot next week. In the Midrash, Bamidbar Rabbah, it is
taught that the Torah was given in fire, in water and in the desert. In a
sense, this wasteland where our ancestors ultimately would spend 40 years,
serves as a forge. Just as a sword is hammered and shaped, plunged into
fire and water and sand, and tested for durability, so were the Israelites.
Often, people having a life cycle event, whether a
bar/bat mitzvah, wedding, graduation, or even a divorce or a death, feel they
have passed a test. While that may be true, it is not the end, but the
beginning. Now it is time to do something positive with the test results,
and more especially with the knowledge and experience by which the passing
grade was accomplished. It is life itself that is the ultimate test. And
the Torah, given to our ancestors and to us, is the study guide.
Good luck on your exams!
Shabbat Shalom! Chag Shavuot Sameach!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B’nai Hayim
הרחמן הוא יברך אותנו כולנו יחד בברכת אחוה, ובברכת אהבה,ובברכת שלום
May the Merciful One bless us, all of us as one, with the blessing of brotherhood, the blessing of love, and the blessing of peace.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My weekly divrei torah are available through free
subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail list. No salesman will
call!
Cyber Torah list management:
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail
from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with
the heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah”.
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail
from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with
the heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah”.
To dedicate a Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah
in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah, send an e-mail to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with
the heading “Dedicate Cyber Torah” and provide details in the message body.
