12 Tammuz 5760 return For other texts or commentaries see the Parashah Archive Register to subscribe to Parashat HaShavuah for free. Send this to a friend Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz is the rabbinic fellow at the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Voices create relationship.
This notion of voice, or lack of voice, plays a central role in the first of this week's Torah readings, Parashat Hukkat. Not only does voice give us insight into Moses and Aaron's personalities, but more importantly, it gives us a window into the role of Torah and ourselves. In Numbers 20, God tells Moses and Aaron to ascend Mount Hor so that Aaron will die there. He climbs the mountain with Aaron and Aaron's son, Eleazar, strips Aaron of his priestly garments, and places them on Eleazar. Though elegant in its simplicity, the narrative leaves us thirsty for the voices of all those involved in this drama.