Numbers

Why was a census of the tribes taken at this time?

The Israelites were about to leave Sinai for the land, so the census counted “all who are able to go out to war” (1:3), tribe by tribe, and set up the order of the camp (2). Rashi (on 1:1) explains that God counts them often out of love: after the Exodus, after the golden calf, and now, a month after the Tabernacle was set up (Exodus 40:17), when His Presence came to dwell among them. Ramban (on 1:45) adds that the numbers were needed for the coming war and for dividing the land.

How can this census by poll (1:18, 20, 22) be reconciled with Exodus 30:12 and other Biblical passages which proscribe a count by head?

Exodus 30:12 requires each person counted to give a ransom, the half-shekel, “so that there be no plague among them when you number them.” Ramban (on 1:3) reads the census this way: each man was counted through his half-shekel, giving his name as he brought his ransom, rather than being counted head by head. The half-shekels collected for the Tabernacle also came to 603,550 (Exodus 38:26), the same total as this census (1:46). The Talmud (Yoma 22b), citing Hosea 2:1, forbids counting Israelites directly and notes that Saul counted his army by means of lambs (1 Samuel 15:4); David’s direct census brought a plague (2 Samuel 24).

Explain the choice of the four lead-tribes in the march: Reuben, Judah, Dan and Ephraim. What is the logic of the formation of all the tribes that the Torah prescribes?

Judah camped on the east, Reuben on the south, Ephraim on the west and Dan on the north, with the Levites and the Tabernacle in the middle (2:2–31, 17). Each lead tribe had a claim: Judah, the largest tribe (1:27) and destined to rule (Genesis 49:8–10); Reuben, the firstborn; Ephraim, who with Manasseh took Joseph’s double portion (Genesis 48:5, 20); and Dan, the firstborn of the handmaids (Genesis 30:6) and the second-largest tribe (1:39). The camps group families together: Leah’s sons Judah, Issachar and Zebulun; Reuben and Simeon with Gad in place of Levi; Rachel’s descendants Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin; and the handmaids’ sons Dan, Asher and Naphtali. Rashi (on 2:2), citing the Midrash, says this was the order Jacob set for his sons when they carried his bier (Genesis 50:12).

This PARSHA seems to contain nothing of an inspirational or eternal character. How would you explain its significance?

Beneath the lists lie lasting ideas. Every person is counted “by the number of names” (1:2, 18), and Ramban (on 1:45) cites a Midrash that each was to pass before Moses with honor, not simply be tallied. The camp is built around the Tabernacle (2:2, 17), placing God’s Presence at the center of the people’s life, while each tribe keeps its own standard within one nation. Rashi (on 1:1) sees the very counting as a sign of God’s love.

Find the following in the HAFTARAH from Hosea for this PARSHA: a) a connection with the Torah reading; b) the name of a modern Israeli city; c) an expression to please advocates of women’s equality; d) a prayer used today.

The haftarah is Hosea 2:1–22. a) It opens, “The number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted” (Hosea 2:1), echoing the census. b) “The Valley of Achor for a door of hope,” petaḥ tikvah (Hosea 2:17), gave its name to Petah Tikva. c) “You will call Me Ishi, my husband, and no longer call Me Baali,” my master (Hosea 2:18). d) “I will betroth you to Me forever …” (Hosea 2:21–22), recited while winding the tefillin strap around the finger.

After fulfilling his vow, the NAZIR (one who committed himself to abstain from wine and cut his hair) was to bring a sacrifice. Which one?

At the end of his term he brought a male lamb as a burnt offering, a ewe lamb as a sin offering and a ram as a peace offering, with a basket of unleavened cakes and wafers and their meal and drink offerings (6:13–15). He then shaved his consecrated hair at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and put it on the fire under the peace offering (6:18). A nazir defiled by a corpse brought two turtledoves or pigeons and a lamb as a guilt offering, and began his term again (6:9–12).

Why do you think the Torah requires a NAZIR to bring a sacrifice?

The Torah does not say, and a sin offering (6:14) is puzzling for someone who has kept his vow. Rashi (on 6:11), citing R. Eleazar ha-Kappar, says the nazir sinned by denying himself the enjoyment of wine; Rashi says this of the nazir who became impure, and the Talmud (Nazir 19a) applies it to every nazir. Ramban (on 6:11) explains instead that he needs atonement because he is leaving a state of holiness, “holy to the Lord” (6:8), to return to worldly desires. The burnt and peace offerings express devotion and thanks for a vow fulfilled.

What blessing (that is said in our daily prayers) is mentioned in this week’s PARSHA?

The Priestly Blessing: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His face toward you and give you peace” (6:24–26). It is recited daily in the Amidah, by the kohanim or by the prayer leader.

What was the SOTAH and what ceremony was held?

The sotah was a wife whose husband suspected her of adultery, with no witnesses to prove it (5:12–14). He brought her to the priest with an offering of barley meal, without oil or frankincense (5:15). The priest uncovered her head and put her under an oath, to which she answered “Amen, amen,” then wrote the curses in a scroll, dissolved them in holy water mixed with dust from the Tabernacle floor, and made her drink it (5:16–26). If she was guilty, her belly would swell and her thigh sag; if innocent, she would be cleared and bear children (5:27–28).

What logical reason is there for placing the Priestly Blessing at the end of Chapter 6?

The very next verse tells of the day Moses finished setting up the Tabernacle (7:1), which Ramban (on 7:1) dates to the eighth day of the priests’ installation. That was also the day Aaron lifted his hands and blessed the people (Leviticus 9:22). The text of the blessing thus leads naturally into the account of that day. It also caps chapters 5–6, which clear impurity and sin from the camp; only then do the priests “put My name upon the children of Israel,” and God blesses them (6:27).

Moses did NOT suffer from jealousy. Show this from the PARSHA.

When Eldad and Medad prophesied in the camp, Joshua urged, “My lord Moses, restrain them!” Moses answered, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His spirit upon them!” (11:26–29). He had welcomed the spirit resting on the seventy elders (11:24–25), and when Miriam and Aaron spoke against him, the text records no reply from him, only that he was “very humble” (12:1–3).

People often don’t appreciate what they have. Illustrate this from the PARSHA.

The people complained about the manna: “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for free, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic; but now our soul is dried up, there is nothing but this manna” (11:4–6). The Torah at once describes the manna: like coriander seed, tasting like cakes baked in oil, falling with the dew each night (11:7–9). They longed for the food of slavery and forgot the gift of freedom.

One should not overdo praise of a person in his presence. Illustrate this rabbinic concept from the PARSHA.

When God rebuked Miriam and Aaron for speaking against Moses, He called the two of them forward, apart from Moses, to hear his praise: “with him I speak mouth to mouth” (12:5–8). Rashi (on 12:5), following the Sifrei, explains that one tells only part of a person’s praise in his presence and all of it in his absence; so God called Noah “righteous” to his face (Genesis 7:1) but “righteous and wholehearted” when speaking of him (Genesis 6:9). The praise of Moses’ humility (12:3) is likewise the narrator’s, not said to him.

Which of the 12 Tribes was separate from the rest of the tribes?

The tribe of Levi. God told Moses, “You shall separate the Levites from among the Israelites, and the Levites shall be Mine” (8:14); they were purified and dedicated to serve at the Tent of Meeting in place of the firstborn (8:5–19). Levi was also not counted with the other tribes and camped around the Tabernacle (1:47–53).

Which holiday is mentioned in this week’s PARSHA?

Passover. The Israelites kept it in the wilderness of Sinai in the second year (9:1–5), and those who were impure through contact with a dead body were given a second Passover on the fourteenth of the second month (9:6–14). The trumpets are also to be blown on “your days of rejoicing, your appointed feasts and your new moons” (10:10).

How did the Tribes know when to break up camp and when to march forward?

By the cloud over the Tabernacle: when it lifted they set out, and where it settled they camped, whether for days, a month or a year; “at the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they journeyed” (9:15–23). Moses also had two silver trumpets made to summon the people and signal the camps to march (10:1–8), and the Ark went before them (10:33–36).

What were the facts and what were the opinions in the report of the spies?

The facts: the land does flow with milk and honey, and here is its fruit (13:23, 27); the people are strong, the cities fortified and very large, the descendants of Anak are there, and Amalek, the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites and Canaanites hold the land (13:28–29). The opinions: “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we” (13:31); “it is a land that devours its inhabitants” (13:32); and “we were like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and so we were in theirs” (13:33). The turn comes with the word “however” (efes, 13:28), which changes a report into a verdict.

What was the counsel of Joshua and Caleb and the reaction of the people?

Caleb quieted the people and said, “Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it” (13:30). Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes, declared the land exceedingly good, and urged, “Do not rebel against the Lord, and do not fear the people of the land, for they are our bread … the Lord is with us” (14:6–9). The people had wept all night and spoken of choosing a leader to return to Egypt (14:1–4), and now the whole community threatened to stone them (14:10).

What is the significance of the TZITZIT (fringes) [15:37-41]?

Seeing the fringes, with their thread of blue (tekhelet), is to remind Israel of all the Lord’s commandments and to do them, and not to stray after their own heart and eyes (15:38–39). The goal is holiness, “that you may remember and do all My commandments and be holy to your God,” tied to the Exodus: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (15:40–41). Rashi (on 15:39) notes that the numerical value of tzitzit (600), with its eight threads and five knots, makes 613, the number of the commandments.

Connect this paragraph (37-41) with an earlier episode in the PARSHA.

The verb in “do not go about after your heart and your eyes” (lo taturu, 15:39) is the one used for the spies who went “to scout” (latur) the land (13:2, 16–17, 25). Rashi (on 15:39) makes the connection: the heart and eyes are the body’s spies; the eye sees, the heart desires and the body sins. The spies trusted what they saw and felt over God’s promise; the tzitzit teach the opposite.

God tells Moses of His intention of annihilating the people. What was Moses’ reply?

He argued that the Egyptians and the nations would hear of it and say that the Lord was unable to bring this people into the land He had sworn to them, and so slaughtered them in the wilderness (14:13–16). He appealed to God’s own attributes, “The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in kindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression,” and prayed, “Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people” (14:17–19). God answered, “I have pardoned, as you asked,” though that generation would not see the land (14:20–23).

A man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath. What was his punishment?

He was held in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him (15:34). God told Moses that the man must be put to death, and the whole community stoned him outside the camp (15:35–36).

We are usually able to detect a logical connection between a PARSHA and those adjoining it. How is Chapter 16 in this week’s PARSHA connected with the two prior weekly readings (SHELACH LECHA and BEHA’ALOTCHA)?

The revolt follows a chain of challenges: the complaints and Miriam and Aaron’s challenge to Moses’ unique standing (11–12), and the despair after the spies (13–14). Dathan and Abiram’s taunt, “you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey” (16:14), after calling Egypt itself a land flowing with milk and honey (16:13),, throws back the spies’ report (13:27) and the decree that the generation would die in the wilderness (14:29–35). Ramban (on 16:1) argues that the rebellion broke out just then, after the deaths at Taberah and Kibroth-hattaavah (11:1–3, 33–34) and the decree after the spies, when the people were embittered. The Midrash cited by Rashi (on 16:1) also ties Korach to the tzitzit passage that closes Shelach (15:37–41): he mocked Moses with garments made entirely of blue.

Who was Korach, what did he do, and how were he and his group punished?

Korach son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi (16:1), a cousin of Moses and Aaron (Exodus 6:18–21). With Dathan, Abiram and On of Reuben and 250 chieftains, he challenged Moses and Aaron: “All the congregation are holy … why then do you raise yourselves above the Lord’s congregation?” (16:1–3). The earth swallowed Dathan, Abiram, their households and all Korach’s men (16:31–33), and fire from the Lord consumed the 250 who offered incense (16:35); their fire pans were hammered into plating for the altar as a warning (17:1–5). The sons of Korach did not die (26:11).

To which groups did Korach appeal?

To his fellow Levites, who resented Aaron’s priesthood: “Is it too little for you … that you seek the priesthood too?” (16:8–10); to the Reubenites Dathan, Abiram and On (16:1), descendants of the firstborn; to 250 chieftains of the community, “men of renown” (16:2); and finally to the whole community, whom he gathered against Moses and Aaron (16:19). Rashi (on 16:1) notes that the Reubenites camped on the south side next to the Kohathites (compare 2:10; 3:29), and so were drawn into the quarrel.

What did the KOHANIM (priests) get from the rest of the people? Name at least 3 items.

The most holy portions of the meal, sin and guilt offerings (18:9–10); the heave and wave offerings (18:11); the best of the oil, wine and grain, and the first fruits (18:12–13); everything devoted (ḥerem) (18:14); and the firstborn: the flesh of clean firstborn animals, and the redemption of firstborn sons, at five shekels, and of unclean animals (18:15–18). The gifts are called “an everlasting covenant of salt” (18:19).

What did the Levites get from the rest of the people? Why?

The tithe (ma’aser) of Israel’s produce, “in return for the service which they perform, the service of the Tent of Meeting” (18:21). They were to have no inheritance of land among the Israelites (18:23–24), and they in turn gave a tenth of their tithe to Aaron the priest (18:26–28).

What was the sin of Moses at the rock? List several possibilities.

The Torah says only that Moses and Aaron did not trust God “to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel” (20:12) and that they rebelled against His word (20:24; 27:14). Rashi (on 20:12): he struck the rock instead of speaking to it (20:8, 11). Maimonides (Eight Chapters, ch. 4), as quoted by Ramban (on 20:8): he lost his temper, “Hear now, you rebels” (20:10). Rabbeinu Chananel, which Ramban calls the most likely of the earlier views: he said, “Shall we bring forth water for you,” as if the miracle were theirs (20:10). Ramban’s own, esoteric explanation turns on his striking the rock twice (20:11).

Compare what Moses said in Numbers 11:11 ff to Numbers 20:10. Which sin was worse? Why?

In 11:11–15 Moses protests to God, “Why have You dealt ill with Your servant? … Did I conceive all this people? … Kill me, I pray”; at the rock he speaks harshly to the people and strikes the rock before their eyes (20:10–11). The first sounds bolder, yet only the second is punished. Rashi (on 20:12) makes the point with Moses’ question in 11:22, “Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them?”, a greater lack of faith but spoken in private; at Meribah all Israel was watching, and failing to sanctify God in public is the graver sin.

How, despite committing this sin at the rock, does it point to the greatness of Moses?

The Torah records its greatest prophet’s failure openly and judges him by a stricter standard than anyone else: for one lapse he is barred from the land (20:12). The demand was to sanctify God “in the eyes of the children of Israel” (20:12), which shows how much depended on his every word. He accepts the verdict and goes straight on leading, sending envoys to Edom (20:14), and he pleads to enter only in prayer (Deuteronomy 3:23–26).

In what ways was the Israelites’ battle with Og (21:33) different than its battle with Sichon? Why?

With Sihon, Israel first sent messengers asking peacefully to pass through his land, and fought only when he refused and came out against them (21:21–24). Og came out to battle at Edrei with no approach from Israel, and God told Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand” (21:33–34). Rashi (on 21:34) explains that Moses feared Og because Og was the fugitive who brought Abraham news of Lot’s capture (Genesis 14:13), and Abraham’s merit might protect him.

What was the red heifer (PARAH ADUMAH)?

A red cow without blemish that had never borne a yoke, slaughtered outside the camp before Eleazar the priest; its blood was sprinkled seven times toward the Tent of Meeting and it was burned whole with cedar wood, hyssop and crimson yarn (19:2–6). Its ashes, mixed with fresh water, were sprinkled on the third and seventh days on anyone who had become impure through contact with a dead body (19:9, 11–19). Paradoxically, those who prepared and handled it became impure (19:7–10, 21).

Balaam was hired by Balak to curse Israel yet God turns his curses into blessings. What was Balaam: a prophet (according to his own words) or a sorcerer (as written in the Book of Joshua 13:22)? How do you think Balaam differs from other prophets? What phrase does he use?

Balaam calls himself one “who hears the words of God and sees the vision of the Almighty” and insists he can speak only the word God puts in his mouth (22:18, 38; 24:4, 16); Joshua 13:22 calls him “the soothsayer” (kosem). Balak’s messengers came with “the fees of divination” (22:7), and Balaam sought omens until he saw that God wished to bless Israel (24:1). Unlike Israel’s prophets, he was hired, set out to curse, and received God’s word at night (22:8–9, 20). His phrase is ne’um Bil’am, “the oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened” (24:3, 15).

What verse mentioned in this week’s PARSHA is said upon entering a synagogue?

“How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel!” (24:5), the opening of Mah Tovu.

What do you think the connection is between Balaam and what happened with the Moabite women?

Israel’s harlotry with the Moabite women follows Balaam’s blessings immediately (25:1–3). Later the Torah reveals that the Midianite women led Israel astray “at the bidding of Balaam” (31:16), and he was killed with the kings of Midian (31:8). Rashi (on 24:14), following the Talmud (Sanhedrin 106a), reads Balaam’s parting words, “Come, I will advise you,” as that very counsel: since Israel’s God hates unchastity, entice them to sin. Having failed to curse Israel, he found a way to make them bring punishment on themselves.

Why didn’t Balak ask Balaam to simply bless Moab?

Balak did not want a blessing for himself but to weaken Israel, “perhaps I will be able to strike them and drive them out of the land” (22:6), because he dreaded their numbers (22:3–4). He believed in the power of Balaam’s word, “whom you bless is blessed, and whom you curse is cursed” (22:6), and thought a curse on the enemy would serve Moab better than a blessing. When Balaam blessed Israel instead, Balak asked that he at least neither curse nor bless them (23:25).

What did Pinchas do? What happened as a result?

When Zimri, a Simeonite chieftain, brought the Midianite woman Cozbi into his chamber before the eyes of Moses and the people, Pinchas son of Eleazar took a spear and pierced them both (25:6–8, 14–15). The plague that had killed 24,000 was stopped (25:8–9). God gave Pinchas “My covenant of peace” and an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God (25:11–13).

Why is a census taken again at this point and how does it differ from the method of counting the people at the beginning of BAMIDBAR?

“After the plague” (26:1), on the eve of entering the land, the new generation was counted, since none of those counted at Sinai remained except Caleb and Joshua (26:63–65), and the numbers would fix the size of each tribe’s portion (26:52–56). Rashi (on 26:1) compares it to a shepherd who counts his flock after wolves have attacked it. This time Moses counted with Eleazar, not Aaron, on the plains of Moab (26:3, 63); the tribes are listed by their clans (26:5–51); and there is no mention of tribal chieftains assisting (compare 1:4–16) and the count itself lacks the words “head by head” (1:2).

Labor is prohibited on the first and last days of each of the festivals mentioned in Chapters 28 and 29. What distinction is made with regard to working on Yom Kippur?

On the other festival days the command is “you shall do no servile work” (melekhet avodah) (28:18, 25–26; 29:1, 12, 35), but on Yom Kippur it is “you shall do no work” at all (29:7), together with self-affliction. The same distinction appears in Leviticus 23:7–8, 28–31, where Yom Kippur, like the Sabbath, forbids all labor.

The sacrificial offerings for all festivals are listed in Chapters 28 and 29. Which two holidays are not recalled by their names? Which festival has two of its names mentioned?

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: the first of the seventh month is called only “a day of blowing the horn” (yom teruah, 29:1), and the tenth of the month is given no name at all (29:7). Sukkot, too, is called only “a feast” (29:12). Shavuot has two of its names: “the day of the first fruits” and “your Feast of Weeks” (28:26).

What parallel is there between the story of the spies and the incident described in Chapter 25?

In both, a sin on the verge of entering the land brought death: the spies’ report led to a plague on the spies and the decree on a generation (14:29–37), and Baal Peor to a plague of 24,000 (25:9). Leaders were at fault in both, the tribal chieftains who spied (13:2–3) and Zimri, a Simeonite chieftain (25:14), along with the heads of the people (25:4). In both, a few stood against the crowd and were rewarded: Joshua and Caleb (14:6–9, 24, 30) and Pinchas (25:7–13). And Shittim, where the sin of Peor began (25:1), is where Joshua later sent out two spies (Joshua 2:1).

What was the complaint of the daughters of Zelophchad? How was it solved?

Zelophehad of Manasseh had died in the wilderness, not in Korach’s company, and left only daughters; they asked, “Why should our father’s name be lost from his clan because he had no son? Give us a holding among our father’s brothers” (27:1–4). Moses brought their case before the Lord, who said they spoke rightly, gave them their father’s inheritance, and laid down a general law: if a man dies without a son, his inheritance goes to his daughter, then to his brothers, his father’s brothers and his nearest kin (27:5–11). Later, to keep the land within the tribe, they were required to marry within their father’s tribe (36:1–12).

When Aaron died, for how long a period did the Israelites mourn? Can you guess why?

Thirty days: “all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days” (20:29), as they would later mourn Moses (Deuteronomy 34:8). Rashi (on 20:29) explains that “all the house” means men and women alike, because Aaron pursued peace, reconciling quarreling friends and husbands and wives. Aaron’s death is told in Chukat (20:22–29) and recalled in Masei (33:38–39), not in Pinchas.

The PARSHA begins with the laws of vows. Once again, we see the logical connection of material in this chapter with what proceeds it. How does Chapter 30 relate to the contents of Parshat Pinchas?

Pinchas ends with the festival offerings, to be brought “besides your vows and your freewill offerings” (29:39). Ramban (on 30:2) explains that having mentioned vows to the Sanctuary, the Torah goes on to vows of every kind, which must also be kept: “he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth” (30:3). The chapter’s concern with the vows of daughters and wives also follows the case of Zelophehad’s daughters (27:1–11).

Special mention is made in 31:8 to the slaying of Balaam. In verse 16, we are informed for the first time that it was because of his counsel to Israel’s enemies that the sinful actions at Baal Peor took place (Ch. 25). Why does the Torah reveal this fact here and not at the time of the incident?

At Peor the Torah tells the story as Israel lived it and puts the blame on Israel’s own sin (25:1–3); Midian’s “wiles” are only hinted at (25:16–18). The full truth is given when it bears on action: Moses rebukes the officers for sparing the women, the very ones who “at the bidding of Balaam” caused the sin (31:15–16), which explains why Midian and Balaam were punished (31:2, 8). Revealing it at the time might have let the people shift the blame from themselves.

If you study the proposals of the Tribes of Reuben and Gad to settle in Transjordan (32:16-19) and contrast them with Moses’ responses (32:20-24) you will find some subtle but significant differences. How does Moses transform the requests of the two tribes and elicit from them a more desirable attitude (32:25-27)?

The tribes spoke first of “sheepfolds for our flocks,” then of “towns for our children” (32:16), and promised to march “before the Israelites” (32:17). Moses reversed the order, “Build towns for your children and sheepfolds for your flocks” (32:24), repeated that they must fight “before the Lord” (32:20–22), and warned, “be sure your sin will find you out” (32:23). In their reply they adopt both changes: “our children, our wives, our flocks” come first, and they will cross “before the Lord” to battle, “as my lord says” (32:25–27). Rashi (on 32:16) notes that they cared more for their property than for their children, and Moses taught them to put first things first.

In Chapter 33, we come across 40 verses listing names of Israelite campsites. Beside its value to historians and archaeologists, what religious lessons does this list convey?

Rashi (on 33:1) gives two answers: the list shows God’s kindness, since of the 42 stations, 14 came in the first year and 8 in the last, leaving only 20 moves in 38 years of wandering; and, following the Midrash, it is like a king recalling with his son, on the way home, every stop of a journey: “here we slept, here you had a headache.” Moses recorded the journeys “by the command of the Lord” (33:2), marking every stage as guided by God, and the list recalls the events tied to many places: the crossing of the sea, the springs of Elim, the lack of water at Rephidim, Aaron’s death (33:8–9, 14, 38).

Where do we find that Mount Hor is in the Negev while another passage places a mountain of the same name in the Galilee?

Aaron died on Mount Hor “on the border of the land of Edom” (20:22–23; 33:37–38), in the south near the Negev (33:40). But the northern boundary of the land runs “from the Great Sea to Mount Hor” and on to Lebo-hamath (34:7–8), evidently a different mountain far to the north. That northern Mount Hor is usually placed in Lebanon rather than the Galilee.

In 33:16-18, the PARSHA mentions implements of iron, stone and wood that might inflict a mortal wound. What distinction is drawn between one of these and the other two and what significance do you attach to the difference?

The reference should be 35:16–18. For a stone or a wooden object the Torah specifies one “in the hand, by which a man may die” (35:17–18), but for iron it sets no such condition (35:16). Rashi (on 35:16), quoting the Sifrei, explains that iron can kill in any size, even a needle (compare Sanhedrin 76b), while with stone or wood the court must judge whether the object could cause death. The law thus weighs both the weapon and the intent before calling a killing murder.

What was the purpose of a city of refuge? Who could go there?

The cities of refuge, three east of the Jordan and three in Canaan, among the Levites’ cities (35:6, 13–14), sheltered one who killed a person unintentionally from the blood avenger until he stood trial before the congregation (35:11–12, 22–25). Israelites, strangers and sojourners alike could flee there (35:15). If cleared of murder, he stayed there until the death of the High Priest (35:25, 28); a deliberate murderer could not be protected (35:16–21, 31).

How many witnesses are required in order to convict someone of a crime?

At least two: “the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses, but one witness shall not testify against a person to cause him to die” (35:30). Deuteronomy makes the number explicit: “at the mouth of two witnesses or three” (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15).