A2 The text sees worshiping other gods and the sun and the moon and heavenly host as very dangerous. This leads to the question of what would constitute legitimate study of the sun, moon, and heavens and what would be dangerous worship. #ParshaChat
Geographer by trade, and student of landscapes, urban and natural. Sketching, especially in line and wash. Judaism. And cats of course. I went hunting wild after the wildest beauty in the world — W Owen Also at @mappingcat@mastodon.art
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A2 The text sees worshiping other gods and the sun and the moon and heavenly host as very dangerous. This leads to the question of what would constitute legitimate study of the sun, moon, and heavens and what would be dangerous worship. #ParshaChat
A1 It's interesting how the instructions for baffling cases are to head to a designated place for the meeting with the magistrates. That is, certain places have special significance to God. Why is that? #ParshaChat
A0 Shabbat shalom, all! Looking forward to #ParshaChat.
A3 It's interesting that the text emphasizes that only one spot is to be used. Why couldn't there be sacrificial sites in each of the tribal territories? One reason might be the hierarchy of priestly expertise: the sacrifices may need to be supervised by the most senior priests. #ParshaChat
A2 It seems important to remember that many of the rituals of the Israelites are new ones, less than forty years old. There is the worry that the rituals are not ingrained enough if people start to learn about the practices already present in the place. #ParshaChat
A1 It's interesting that destroying all the altars in the land is emphasized a lot in the text. Is this injunction guarding against the risk that the Israelites will lose their identity otherwise? #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! It's been hot this past week - it's not fun to have the temperature in the 90s at sunset. #ParshaChat
A2 The verse seems to say even though you may have some accomplishments, don't be so proud of them, since they're always built upon the works of your greater community and ultimately God. #ParshaChat
I just looked at the Rashi commentary for that verse and was amused that he said that children's clothes kept growing with the child like the shell of a snail. #ParshaChat
A1 I'm struck by the description of a good land, where there is lots of water and fruit is growing on its own all over the place. This is obviously contrasting with the desert which has neither, but maybe it is also contrasting with Egypt, a place with river-flood irrigated agriculture. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! A quiet week here, but I'm still glad it's Shabbat. #ParshaChat
A3 It's a good instruction about the importance of keeping history alive by telling and retelling it, but it also speaks to the presence of forces that want you to erase your memory of events. #ParshaChat
A2 The instructions as laid out in the text are not detailed enough to follow all cases, so the injunction to keep the commandments of God may serve to give them the authority to interpret the instructions. #ParshaChat
A1 Moses is conveying that the Israelites need to follow God's instructions scrupulously for them to be safe, but beyond the details of the instructions Moses says it is important to follow in the path of God. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! Hot here and time to lay low for the afternoon. #ParshaChat
A3 Setting up the six cities of refuge seems to be taking the perspective of "what failed": it's setting up a systems-level response (adding places of refuge) to what is apparently a systemic problem (avengers taking matters into their own hands). #ParshaChat
A2 Six cities of refuge seems like a large number which makes me think this is for the protection of the person who committed manslaughter rather than their punishment. If it was for punishment, they might just have one city and be sure it was a miserable place. #ParshaChat
A1 The text is trying to distinguish between murder and involuntary manslaughter and protect against the vengeance of mobs as well as ensuring there is enough to find someone guilty of murder. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! We have cooler weather here too which given July extremes is something to be thankful for. #ParshaChat
I'm so sorry about your cat.
A2 Having the schedule of sacrifices spelled out in detail probably helps with safety around the animals since the community knew what is expected when. #ParshaChat
A1 The scheduling of the events is very familiar, with twice-daily services, Shabbat, and the festivals. But we have prayers rather than sacrifices now. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! A pretty quiet week here, aside from unexpectedly needing a new phone. #ParshaChat
A2 That's basically it. Balaam has built a career as a professional blesser/curser and he wouldn't have worked just with God since he'd be closely aligned with the Israelites if so. #ParshaChat
A2 Balak is worried about being conquered by the Israelites and the humiliation and degradation that would ensue from this. Balaam may be playing a game of balancing the demands of several deities at once and he is carrying lots of risk of backstabbing doing that. #ParshaChat
A1 It seems like an awful lot of work to build seven altars. Why wouldn't one altar just do? Maybe this is another way God is sending a message to Balak that God doesn't approve of the project of damning the Israelites. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! I've had a pretty quiet week and am having a quieter Shabbat. #ParshaChat
A3 The latter. They can't all get to the copper seraph at once, and some of them would have been seriously envenomated. #ParshaChat
A3 The copper seraph intervention worked after a while, since the Israelites were able to march on to Oboth, but probably a number of people still died before they were able to get treated. #ParshaChat
A3 The Israelites seek safety by turning at long last to the leadership of Moses. #ParshaChat
A2 The hazards listed are a potential attack by the Edomites, running out of food and water, and falling victim to poisonous serpents. #ParshaChat
A1 It's interesting how Moses knew the remedy for the serpents - one has the sense that this wasn't something God told him about but it was something Moses intuited on his own accord. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! Despite the times we're in I enjoyed yesterday's holiday: there's a bike race downtown annually on the fourth of July here and I got to watch a bit of it. #ParshaChat
A3 I'm not sure if they'd consider the fire pans dangerous. On the one hand, fire pans may be an important part of their technological infrastructure and people are used to their hazards. On the other hand, 250 fire pans seem like a lot to have in one place: somebody might trip. #ParshaChat
A2 Two risks that Moses is trying to manage are Moses and Aaron being killed outright and Korach et al. taking power, and secondly having the rebellion spread to the general populace. #ParshaChat
A1 It's interesting that Korach is leading a rebellion of elites, this isn't the general populace. As Moses points out, these are folks who already have direct access to the Tabernacle. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! It's hot here (already 98° F at noontime) so it's time to lay low for awhile. #ParshaChat
A4 Moses is applying persuasion here. God will suffer a loss of reputation (certainly to the Egyptians, but maybe to the other deities?) if God lets the Israelites get slaughtered in the wilderness. #ParshaChat
A3 They've already known what slavery is like, but the annihilation of battle would be new to face. #ParshaChat
A3 The main thing they seem to be afraid of is being defeated in battle, with some people being slain and others being carried away as captives. #ParshaChat
A2 He may have been thinking that, but I wonder how many people knew Caleb outside of his tribe. #ParshaChat
A2 Caleb might be trying to protect Moses here. The people are agitated, and Caleb is worried about Moses' safety. #ParshaChat
A1 The point of sending the scouts is to establish how safe is the land they are traveling to, what particular cautions they need to take. It's interesting that this is a directive from God via Moses, suggesting that God doesn't know how safe the Israelites will find the place. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all - I'm having a quiet Shabbat here. The weather isn't too hot now, which is good. #ParshaChat
A2 In both cases they would be symbolically representing the sins of the entire people. #ParshaChat
A2 Somehow it seems like the Levites being the subjects of an elevation offering suggests they are standing in for the entirety of the Israelites. There's a parallel to the role of the scapegoat. #ParshaChat
A1 Perhaps there is a safety angle to the purification/decontamination of the Levites? If this wasn't done, would this somehow lead to the collapse of the Israelites? #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! I'm back from the #NoKings protest in our county seat, a town of 62,000. Our congressperson spoke, and I was heartened by the turnout. #ParshaChat
A2 Part of the theory of safety is that all the ritual objects have to be perfectly in order before the Kohathites are allowed to interact. #ParshaChat
A1 It's interesting how the Kohathites are counted in the census starting at age 30, which seems relatively old. They may need those years of experience to work with the most sacred objects. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! It's hot here, already 98 degrees at noon. I'm not sure how we got to Bamidbar already. #ParshaChat
A3 One way to think about the theology of following the instructions lest divine punishment ensues is that following the instructions provides a bias, maybe just a slight one, for good things to happen. There's no certainty in either direction. #ParshaChat
A2 Observing the laws and rules is important in the text's sense of safety, and one of the main dangers is will there be famine or not. #ParshaChat
A1 One thing that seems important is that this is a good example of long-range planning. The Israelites are early in their journey through the desert, but they are being given instructions for a jubilee to happen fifty years after they arrive in the land. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! I'm doing reasonably well, all things considered. Tomorrow we're planning to get together for lunch with family, which should be good. #ParshaChat
A3 Some people when they see a table filled with food are inclined to sample a morsel on the sly. #ParshaChat
A3 My reading of this is that too many of the Israelites are inclined to go play around with or start munching on the sacred offerings, and the priests are being alerted to look out for people who are straying too near the ceremonial table holding the offerings. #ParshaChat
A2 "Uncleanness" is a word that does not come up much in modern English usage, so I think I prefer using it as the translation since it retains the foreignness of what this concept is about. #ParshaChat
A1 The hazard this passage is trying to guard against is the name of God being profaned, but it's not clear what be the perils that would result from that. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! Lots of things going every which way for me, but a good week overall. #ParshaChat
A3 Maybe they could have used a board with incense samples on it? #ParshaChat
A3 Maybe what failed with Nadab and Abihu was there was no system in place to check that they had the correct type and quantity of incense in their fire pan? #ParshaChat
A2 What went right was that Aaron performed his series of offerings correctly and without incident. A question becomes how did he succeed in this? Was he meticulous by nature? Was he building upon an established ritual? #ParshaChat
A1 Every time I read the Nadab and Abihu story it feels like an incident where they misinterpreted the instructions, very much in line with our safety theme. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! It's overcast and a bit chilly here; glad to be hunkering for Shabbat. #ParshaChat
There was a large bird migration last night! #ParshaChat bsky.app/profile/gett...
A3 Three options might have been a) follow exactly what Moses is telling them to do, despite it being very scary b) disperse in small groups into the wilderness, with no overall coordination or direction c) return to Egypt. #ParshaChat
A2 This was a period of much fear throughout, but I think the Israelites were especially afraid when they were told to turn back and form an encampment closer to the Egyptians. #ParshaChat
A1 I'm wondering what the Israelites were thinking about the messenger of God who is alternately leading or behind the people. Did the presence of the messenger help the morale of the Israelites? #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! I'm hanging in there this Passover week - am looking forward to making some matzoh breis! #ParshaChat
A3 I think it would be one of these features that would be a marvel to behold but many people would get used to it in a hurry. #ParshaChat
A2 It feels like blessings would be given during the anointing process, but maybe they aren't elaborate enough to be described as blessings in their own right. #ParshaChat
A1 I'm wondering if nobody is able to enter the tabernacle while the cloud is present, or is just Moses excluded then? #ParshaChat
A0 Shabbat shalom, all! I guess it's time to start stocking up on matzohs! #ParshaChat
A3 There's an implication that Aaron shouldn't have abetted the people in their disorder by encouraging them to gather up their rings and trinkets of gold. #ParshaChat
A2 I'm thinking that because they had to slay kin, they needed a blessing from God to be restored to some level of decency. #ParshaChat
A1 One question I have is when Aaron was listening to the gathered people wondering where Moses was, did Aaron also have doubts at that point that Moses would be returning? #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! It has not been a good week on many levels but I was able to pick up some hamantaschen at the nearby bakery before they ran out, so there's that. #ParshaChat
Vera Rubin has been selected to be featured on the back of a quarter. She is the first astronomer to be honored this way. Read about her research on the Andromeda galaxy and how it led to the discovery of dark matter in this article written by Rubin herself. doi.org/10.1063/1.24... 🔭 #WomenInStem
A3 Consecration seems to be more about making somebody ritually fit for a specified role, whereas blessings seem much more open-ended as to what the future holds. #ParshaChat
A2 A big difference is the point in their lives when Isaac and Moses decide to pass things on to their family. Moses is very organized, but Isaac seems not to know what is going on with making his blessings. #ParshaChat
A1 For the grid of stones in the breastplate, the gems reflecting light in different ways and colors will make for a variegated pattern. It's a good metaphor for the diversity of the twelve tribes. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! I'm doing pretty well, all things considered. I'm thinking that the nearby bakery sells hamentaschen for Purim - I will have to take a look. #ParshaChat
A3 It feels more like stating the communications channel to tune into rather than a blessing. #ParshaChat
A2 This implies that God needs a quiet and restful place time and again. Or perhaps it's that God finds dealing with people to be so stressful that God needs a specially-arranged place to function at that task. #ParshaChat
A1 It feels like the instructions themselves to build the tabernacle are a blessing - it's like receiving a knitting pattern to make a beautiful sweater. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! It's really nice weather here right now, and I'm glad it's Shabbat. #ParshaChat
Universities that advertised their commitment to diversity in glossy brochures & fundraising campaigns now face a reckoning: was it real or just marketing? The admin bets they’ll stay silent to keep their funding. But the cost of inaction will be far greater. greencarelab.ucdavis.edu/how-universi...
A1 I feel like the messenger that was sent in 23:20 is a blessing of sorts. Maybe this is in the sense in which blessings mediate between humans and God. #ParshaChat
A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! I'm having a lazy Shabbat which is very much needed in these times. #ParshaChat
Our brother-and-sister kitties have an interesting relationship as well. Often they're very cuddly with each other but every now and then one of them looks at the other funny and they get into a full fur-flying spat.
Refuah shleimah!
What these nihilistic vandals are doing to dismantle science & medicine—generations of expertise & public service & life improving benefits—is cultural revolution level national self harm. No foreign foe could inflict such brutal damage & senseless suffering on US so fast & effectively & unresisted.
Not the same piece but the Robyn Archer version of the Brecht/Eisler song "Supply and Demand" is amazing as well. youtu.be/z1UCE4jHQ-g...
So, that halftime show made it clear, yet? REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS NEED ART It's the air and the fuel and the light and the map
A4 God might just be saying to Moses "Don't spend your time asking questions of me, get out there and talk to your people!" #ParshaChat
A3 I'm feeling like the courtiers might have a lot of responsibility here - they may be pushing back against Pharaoh's original decision to let the Israelites go, saying to Pharaoh "what are you doing, we need that labor force!" #ParshaChat
A2 I like the translation "make strong-willed" - it seems more psychologically understandable than "stiffen Pharaoh's heart". #ParshaChat
That's kind of a problem for us humans who seem trapped in linear time though. #ParshaChat
A1 What's striking me is how this is the point where God really steps up to the plate, leading the Egyptians into a trap through a display of awesome force. It only take God 400 years to figure out this is necessary - why the delay? #ParshaChat