To
My Dear Students,
The
Book of Numbers opens this week with the command
that Moses conduct a census of the Jewish people.
While the common Hebrew word for "counting"
is pakod, Torah employs an unusual phrase
for this census: s'eu et rosh,
"lift up the head." Everyone who
was numbered among the children of Israel was
to "lift up his head" with pride.
A
story is told about the Basques, a small but ancient
nation in Northern Spain. Long ago, the
Basques battled the Spaniards in a war that neither
could win. The exhausted Spaniards offered
a truce. They sent a messenger to the Basque
camp, requesting that the Basques send their noblemen
to negotiate a treaty. The Basques answered:
"We are all noblemen."
We,
Jews, too, are all noblemen, a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation. Greatness has been conferred
upon us. We must be worthy of it and live
up to it.
It
is a wonderful privilege to be numbered among
the Jewish people, a people who emerge out of
an ancient past to live in a limitless future.
Remember
that being Jewish is not an accident of birth;
it is a purpose for your life. Remember
that being Jewish is not what you happen to be;
it is what you are called to become.
Rabbi
Aaron of Karlow was once asked, "What is
the greatest sin?" He answered, "The
greatest sin we can commit is to forget that we
are children of G-d, the King."
S'eu
et rosh,
life your head in pride!
Shabbat
Shalom,
Your
Rabbi
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