Rabbi Lily Solochek serves in the Adas Yoshuron Synagogue in Rockland, Maine. They worked as a Jewish educator for more than a decade. Prior to starting rabbinical school, they served as the Director of Jewish Student Life at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Hillel and the Education Director at Beth Israel Center in Madison, WI.
This week’s Torah Portion – Parashat Beha’alotcha (Numbers 8:1-12:15) – begins with the lighting of the menorah and then goes on to describe the cleansing of the Levites and the first celebration of Passover in the desert. The Torah subsequently describes a series of bitter complaints made by the people of Israel about life in the desert, and the portion concludes with Moses’ sister Miriam speaking slander about Moses to their brother Aaron and getting punished for it with a terrible skin disease. Our discussion focuses on the people and their complains, on eating meat and on the story of Miriam and Moses.
Previous Talks on this Parsha
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