Matos-Masai Excerpts

מטות-מסעי

Shabbat Shalom

We spent the week with the community at a Bungalow. I will never forget the summer of 2012. Worst vacation I ever had...

Can't have any fun around community, and then we vacation together. I stopped going to Bungalows now. The horrors.

Campfires...

And then some showed up at the wrong swimming hour and there was mixed swimming. You don't mixed swim at a bungalow in the Carskills. In a hotel, maybe...Bernie, not at a Bungalow.

I am going to vacation by myself this year. 

(32) Reuven and Gad want to stay on the other side. It is good for the cattle, so they want to stay. They think about their families. They think about how bad it can be with the rest of the Jewish people. Kind of like traveling in a can with the Schwarzingsteins to a bungalow...

But they still have to go in for the war, the war of conquering Israel. They can't get out of it. They have to join in the fight of their people.

How many of you have gone to Israel for war? Who was there for the 6 Day war? War of Independence? Bernie was not...

(33:54) The inheritance has less going to the lower number and more going to the higher numbers. The more people, the more land you get. And you all are against social welfare?

Dues in this shul should have more payment coming from people with more numbers, but the families with more people give less. More people in a family means you give more. It makes for a more social shul. A happier shul. One that cares for the welfare of all, including the single people...

(35:8) The cities with more people give more to the Levite cities in their area. The more you have the more you give. This does not mean that you donate a hideous ark cover for the Torahs and make us look at it all the time... 

(34:29) These (the leaders of Yehoshua Ben Nun and Elazar the Cohen and one leader from each tribe) are the ones who will inherit Israel for the people.

Leaders are important. When you take away their power, with a board, you inherit nothing. You end up killing everybody's summer with bad decisions.

(35:6) 6 of the Levite cities shall be cities of refuge for killers.

And people say the Levites have it easy, because we wash the Cohens' hands. Our cities are with a bunch of murders. 

(35:11) They say that they did it by accident...It is like Bernie talking by accident in the middle of the sermon and the Schwarzingstein family killing my summer of 2012...

We couldn't go swimming Bernie. They kicked out community out of the pool.

It is forbidden to swim this week...Apparently some people like swimming.

Tisha BAv is coming up. Have you joined in the plight of your people? Have you joined the fight? I am not talking about the fight that was caused when Sid said he wanted no air-conditioning and we had to pray in a 102 degree bungalow chapel...I am talking about war. Your people. Not this shul.

There is hatred.

(35:27) If the killer leaves the city of refuge and the avenger of the killed person kills the person who killed by accident, the killer is not guilty...There are places for people who do stupid stuff by accident...You killed my summer and what do I do? Do I avenge?