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At the end of this week’s parshah, we read about the ending of Moshe’s (Moses’) career as leader of the Jewish people. In the same conversation that God tells Moshe about his impending death, God also tells Moshe to appoint Joshua as the new leader of the nation. The Torah then describes the whole ceremony in which Moshe assigns Joshua as the new leader of the Jews. Immediately after this, however, the next chapter seems to discuss something totally unrelated. At this point the Torah begins a long description of all the different sacrifices offered in the Temple at different times of the year (e.g. Sabbath and the Festivals). So, what is the connection between Moshe’s appointment of Joshua and the sacrifices?

Let us examine the chapter dealing with the sacrifices on its own. We may ask: Is there a particular order between the various sacrifices listed in this section of the Torah?

The chapter opens up with a discussion of the daily sacrifice brought to the temple. Therefore, once the Torah details the daily offering, it then goes on to describe the weekly (Sabbath) offering, then the monthly offering, and eventually the annual offerings that were offered during all the special days of the year. Clearly, the chapter discusses the sacrifices according to the gradual increase of time-spans throughout the year: Day, Week, Month, and Year.

Let us say that the focus of the chapter is its opening: the daily offering. And therefore, once the Torah has mentioned the daily offering, it then goes on to discuss the sacrifices associated to the other time-spans of the year. According to this assumption, the Torah juxtaposes Joshua’s appointment not to the sacrifices (in general), but to the daily offering (in particular). Therefore, to rephrase our above question: What is the connection between Moshe’s appointment of Joshua and the daily offering in the Temple?

The actual name for the daily offering is the Tamid offering. Tamid is Hebrew for “continual” or “constant”, which makes sense because the daily offering is brought continuously, i.e. every day. No matter what may happen, even when the Sabbath or a Festival occurs, the Tamid sacrifice is always offered in the temple. Therefore, we can say that the Tamid sacrifice symbolizes constancy; something that never changes.

The Torah clearly states “Never again will there arise in Israel a prophet like Moshe” [Deuteronomy: 34: 10] Moshe, by far, had reached the highest spiritual summit anyone could ever achieve, to the point where he literally spoke with God “face to face”. Losing a leader like Moshe was certainly devastating and it would most definitely serve a great blow to the nation, on both a national and individual level. There were certainly many who felt that losing a spiritual leader like Moshe would affect their service to God. They would no longer have that same role model in their lives as a living inspiration to help them grow spiritually and it would ultimately lead to a distinct change in their religious service.

However, this of course was untrue. Although the nation may have lost their leader, nothing should change in their connection to God. This is precisely why the Torah places the Tamid offering immediately after the transmission of Moshe’s leadership to Joshua. It was to represent that just as the Tamid sacrifice is a symbol for consistency and stability, so too the Jews would remain consistent and stable in their service to God even after losing their cherished leader.

Throughout our lives we gain great amounts of inspiration from family members, friends, and role models that we have established strong relationships with. But all too often, we have to move on from these special relationships due to many different reasons. However, we should never think that being without these people in our day-to-day lives forces us to change our characters and values in any way. Although, they may not be with us forever, the lessons they may have taught us and the tremendous influence they may have bestowed upon us will remain throughout our lives and ultimately lead us to increase our awareness and connection to God. May we all be able to recognize the true role models in our lives and seek inspiration from them on a continual basis.

Good Shabbos,

NZL

The bulk of this week’s parshah focuses, either directly or indirectly, on one theme: the end of Moshe’s leadership. In the concluding verses to this theme, Moshe requests of God to “appoint a man over the assembly” (Numbers: 27: 16) who will take his place as the new leader of the Jewish people. The Torah depicts God’s response as follows:

“Hashem (God) said to Moshe, ‘Take to yourself Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom there is spirit, and lean your hand upon him’ ” [Numbers: 27: 18]

As in other instances in the Torah, the “leaning of the hand” refers to leaning ones hand on the other party’s head. What is the meaning of this act? Is it merely a ritual that lacks any real importance, or does the “leaning ones hand over the head” contain deeper significance? And what intrinsic connection does it have to the theme of transmitting leadership?

The idea is quite simple. The “hands” represent the mode of action, while the “head” represents the mode of thought. On one level, the act of placing the hands over the head hints to the idea that “action” and “thought” are meant to be intertwined with one another. As humans, it is incumbent upon us to realize that our thoughts and beliefs parallel our actions in this world. As we all know, believing one thing but acting another is known as hypocrisy. We must live the belief! This is a very difficult feat, but with commitment and patience, it will surely come. Upon being inaugurated as the new leader of the Jewish people, it was crucial for Joshua to understand this concept and keep it on his mind (no pun intended) always. A leader’s deeds must follow his beliefs and values in order to truly have a lasting impact on his people.

Perhaps on a deeper level, the act of placing the hands over the head signifies the idea that action is superior to thought. Yes, we are meant to contemplate and meditate upon the greatness of God. Yes, we were given the Torah in order to expound it and break our heads over it. But if all our efforts only go as far as our own thoughts, we have missed the point. As Jews, we are meant to spread the light of Godliness and Torah throughout the world, and this can only be done by means of our outward actions. Moshe was commanded to convey the message to Joshua that becoming a leader is not about being the wisest guy on the block! A leader can only sincerely affect his people through his actions alone. (*see footnote*)

This idea runs throughout the Torah: Upon receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, we cried out “We shall do, and we shall understand”; the Jewish people understood that to truly accept the yoke of Torah, the “doing” takes precedence over the “understanding”. This can also explain why, when putting on Tefillin, we were commanded to put on the Tefillin for the arm first, and only then to put on the Tefillin for the head. This basic principle of Judaism is meant not only to run through the words of the Torah, but through our veins!

The term of “leaning ones hands” is also used nowadays for when somebody obtains a rabbinic degree (“Smicha” means “the act of leaning”). A Rabbi is supposed to view himself as one of the many leaders of the Jewish nation, and is especially supposed to develop a deep relationship between his thoughts and actions in order to influence his students. Whenever someone receives a blessing, it is very common for the other party to place their hands upon his head (one example is the widespread custom for fathers to bless their children on Shabbos night before Kiddush). Before reciting or receiving any blessing, it is critical to recognize that one of the greatest blessings is the ability to fuse ones thoughts and actions together and to truly understand how much greater our actions are than our thoughts. May we merit to receive this blessing and practice it forever.

Good Shabbos,

NZL

*It is very interesting to note that verse 23, which describes how Moshe carried out God’s command, says that Moshe “leaned his hands upon him…”. When God commanded Moshe, he to told him to lean his “hand” in the singular! Why the change? There are many answers to this question. One possible answer, which relates to our idea, is that action can be divided up into two categories: (1) Action, as we know it, and (2) Speech, which can be viewed as action as well. The Talmud discusses the possibility of speech being considered an action, and the idea is also brought down in Tanya as well. It is fairly obvious that the power of ones words can also seriously impact others, if not more. Moshe therefore leaned both his hands upon Joshua.

I only spoke about the precedence of action over thought in regards to man’s relationships to his fellow human beings. But the idea of course applies to man’s relationship with God. It is a common teaching of the sages that although we may not have the proper intention and concentration while performing the commandments, we must perform them nonetheless. The idea also applies to man’s relationship with himself; very often, one’s own actions are what accord him with feelings of accomplishment and self-worth.