First Aliya: Aharon receives the instructions to light the Menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum that illuminated the interior of the Tabernacle. The Menorah was made in one piece, cast from pure gold. All the candles on the Menorah would incline towards the middle candle, while the middle candle would be directed towards the most sacred place, or Qodesh haQodashim.
Second Aliya: Moshe was ordered to get the Leviyim (Levites) ready for the religious service of the Tabernacle, The temple built in the desert. The Leviyim are installed in their sacred service. They would work in the Tabernacle from the age of 25 and they will retire from this service at 50 years of age.
Third Aliya: The people of Israel celebrated their second Pesach since leaving Egypt. The second Pesach, one month after the first Pesach, is established for those who were unable to bring the Pesach sacrifice at the appropriate time. Our sages say that the people who were impure at that time were the ones who had carried Yosef’s human remains. Yosef made his borders swear that they will bury him in the land of Israel. When the people in charge of Yosef’s body came to Moshe asking him what to do since they were impure and could not celebrate the first Pesach, Moshe did not know what to answer. Moshe then asked HaShem for instructions, because everything Moshe did or said was through direct communication with God
Fourth Aliya: This Aliya recounts the beginning of the long-awaited journey to the promised land. The Tabernacle or Mihskan was already finished and all the tasks related to it had already been assigned to the Leviyim and the Cohanim. Now, it was finally time to go! The Israelites needed now some kind of reference (a GPS!) to know when to leave and where to go. HaShem indicates to make silver trumpets to let the entire camp know when they have to leave. Furthermore, the cloud that hovered over the Tabernacle at all times would rise up and move in the direction they had to go.
Fifth Aliya: The Mishkan cloud rises on the 20th of Iyar and thus begins the journey that should have taken a few months and ended up taking 40 years. This aliya also tells us about Yitro, who joined us before the giving of the Torah and now, a year and a half later, he decides to return to his land in Midyan. Finally, the Torah shows that the Aron ha’Edut, the Ark of the Covenant, would always travel ahead of the people. This is a very interesting point because it indicates a solid principle: the People of Israel must always walk following the Aron, that is, the Torah.
Sixth Aliya: The famous verse “Vayhi Binso’a haAron” that we chant before taking the Torah out begins this Aliya. Later, the Torah describes the complaints of the people about the conditions of life in the desert. The Torah describes the “man”, the nutritious heavenly food that the people of Israel could gather in the desert, making it clear that they had enough food even though they were in the middle of the desert. This shows that those who complained were not doing so out of a real need. Moshe expresses his great frustration at the behavior of the people. God, however, promises this time to satisfy their wishes and sends the “selav”, or quail, to allow the people to eat meat. Moshe is instructed to appoint a court (Sanhedrin) to help him ruling the people and teaching them Torah. Moshe, the greatest prophet of all times, cannot lead an entire people alone. The message of the Torah is that a leader should always try to lead alongside other capable people.
Seventh Aliya: Quails descend on the camp in large numbers, so the people ate literally more than enough meat. Obviously this obsessive behavior with tasty food, having the “manna”, was not appropriate for the People of God. And after overeating huge amounts of meat, many die.
Aharon and Miriam talked about Moshe negatively (Lashon Hara) saying that Moshe was married to Tzippora, and he was too busy taking care of his responsibilities with the people that he was never in his house. Aharon and Miriam also thought that it was not correct that only Moshe had direct communication with God (prophecy), since they were also prophets and besides they had a normal life with their families! HaShem responds that they cannot be compared to Moshe. Moshe was a “full-time” prophet who was in direct communication with God twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It was not possible for him to have a normal family life. Of course, Moshe was the only exception in all history who was exempt from having a normal family life. And still, he was married and even had two children! Miriam is punished with a kind of leprosy for speaking against Moshe, but Moshe intercedes for her and she is cured
By Rabbi Jacob Bitt
First Aliya: Aharon received instructions to light the Menorah, a seven-branched candelabrum illuminating the interior of the Tabernacle. The Menorah was crafted as a single piece from pure gold. All the candles on the Menorah inclined towards the middle candle, which itself was directed towards the most sacred place or Qodesh haQodashim.
Second Aliya: Moshe was commanded to prepare the Leviyim (Levites) for religious service in the Tabernacle, a temple built in the desert. The Leviyim were then installed in their sacred service. They worked in the Tabernacle starting from age 25, and retired from this service at 50.
Third Aliya: The people of Israel celebrated their second Pesach since leaving Egypt. A second Pesach, one month after the first, was established for those unable to bring the Pesach sacrifice on time. Our sages say that those impure at that time were the ones who had carried Yosef’s remains. Yosef had made his brothers swear to bury him in the land of Israel. When those in charge of Yosef’s body came to Moshe, uncertain of what to do because they were impure and could not celebrate the first Pesach, Moshe didn’t know what to answer. Moshe then asked HaShem for instructions because everything Moshe did or said was through direct communication with God.
Fourth Aliya: This Aliya recounts the beginning of the long-awaited journey to the Promised Land. The Tabernacle or Mishkan was finished, and all the tasks related to it had been assigned to the Leviyim and the Cohanim. It was finally time to set out! The Israelites needed some sort of guidance (a GPS!) to know when to depart and where to go. HaShem indicated the creation of silver trumpets to signal when the camp should move. Also, a cloud that hovered over the Tabernacle would rise and move in the direction they needed to follow.
Fifth Aliya: On the 20th of Iyar, the Mishkan cloud lifted, initiating the journey which should have lasted a few months but ended up taking 40 years. This Aliya also discusses Yitro, who joined us before the giving of the Tora and now, a year and a half later, decided to return to his land in Midyan. The Tora illustrates that the Aron ha’Edut, the Ark of the Covenant, would always travel ahead of the people. This interesting point underscores a fundamental principle: the People of Israel must always follow the Aron, that is, the Tora.
Sixth Aliya: This Aliya begins with the famous verse “Vayhi Binso’a haAron” that we chant before taking the Tora out. Later, the Tora describes the complaints of the people about their living conditions in the desert. The Tora depicts the “manna”, a nutritious heavenly food the Israelites could gather in the desert, indicating they had ample food even in the desert. This clarifies that those complaining weren’t doing so out of genuine need. Moshe expresses his immense frustration at the people’s behavior. However, God promises to fulfill their desires and sends the “selav,” or quail, for the people to eat meat. Moshe is instructed to appoint a Sanhedrin to help him govern the people and teach them Tora. Moshe, the greatest prophet of all time, couldn’t lead an entire people alone. The Tora’s message is that a leader should always strive to lead alongside other capable individuals.
Seventh Aliya: Quails descended on the camp in large numbers, and the people ate more than enough meat. This obsessive behavior, given the availability of “manna,” wasn’t appropriate for God’s People. After overeating vast amounts of meat, many people died. Aharon and Miriam spoke negatively about Moshe (Lashon Hara), saying that Moshe was too occupied with his responsibilities to the people and never at home, even though he was married to Tzippora. Aharon and Miriam also thought it wasn’t right that only Moshe had direct communication with God (prophecy), as they were also prophets, and had regular lives with their families! HaShem responded that they couldn’t be compared to Moshe. Moshe was a “full-time” prophet who communicated with God 24/7, making a normal family life impossible. However, Moshe was the only exception in all of history exempted from having a normal family life. And yet, he was married and even had two children! Miriam was punished with a form of leprosy for speaking against Moshe, but Moshe interceded for her, and she was healed.
Rabbi Jacob Bitton
