July 19, 2014
p. 1100
Three portions ago the Israelites made their way to the shores of the Jordan River. All of these portions take place sequentially at the end of the journey through the wilderness.
30:2 Making a vow. This is a public vow and therefore a commitment in the presence of the community. But what does the text take for granted? Marshall McLuhan said that no one can write a completely original book – no one would understand it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_McLuhan
Accordingly, the text here reminds the listener/reader of what they already know. The father must abrogate the vow, if he is to do so, immediately. The footnote refers to vows pertaining to God. See page 1099 re a calendar of offerings – vows of women. Making a vow in the presence of witnesses implies enforceability. There is no longer a question of “he said” or “she said.” A vow made to the community and then not fulfilled is sanctionable. Note that this injunction is being imparted by God to the heads of the tribes.LL: This implies that they had a responsibility to enforce vows.
30:7 When and under what circumstances a woman may keep or have her vow abrogated. Does this reinforce the notion that woman are subject to their husbands. SF: But who can expiate the guilt of the husband? This is a heavy burden. In our society we each have virtually unlimited personal responsibility. Note also that if most obligations are associated with an offering such an offering may materially affect the estate by diminution. Woman today – who have their own property – are more akin to the widows and divorced woman referenced here. They have their own responsibilities. SF: Vows are made for a higher purpose. They are a form of connection to God. The movement away from being merely an animal to becoming something else is the primary lesson of Torah.
30:17 There are the laws that the Eternal enjoined…
31:1 Avenge the Israelite people on the Midianites. A great deal of slaying ensues. This is a cartoon that serves as an emotional release. It is the classic notion of the Zane Grey Western of good prevailing over evil. Baloch the Moabite is not mentioned although he has been previously identified as an evil person. There is a large section of Talmud discussing this problem . Ruth is consistently referred to as a Moabite so possibly a descendent of Baloch and hence David is also of that line. This logic is constructed by the rabbinical analysts out of the absence of any mention of Baloch.
31:9 The Israelites took the woman and children of the Midianites captive…
31:13 Moses became angry because they spared the females – who were the seductresses. A gory turn of events when he directs that they – except the virgins – be slain as well as the male children. This has been a divinely ordained battle – indicated by the presence of Pinchas among the troops.
30:19 You shall stay outside the camp seven days… the purification of anyone who has touched a corpse in battle. They are tainted even though they have been engaged in a war ordained by God. LL: Shouldn’t we be suspect of any wars that are supposedly “ordained by God?” It is very difficult to approach these sections with any reverence or to view them as sacred. PG: This is no more than an attempt to invest the soldiers with a motivation that is greater than death. Most of the military conflicts in the past two hundred years have been initiated on the basis of loyalty to one’s state. The rabbis ask the question: what are we to draw from this? The act of war is debilitating and demands purgation. Idolatry is the justification here because it “kills” and cannot be permitted. Note that the rabbis did not consider either the Christians or the Zoroastrians as idolatrous. They were monotheistic. There has to be a connection with God. William P. Alston talks about metaphor on this same basis of connection. http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2215404?uid=3739832&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21103991939201
Spinoza is quoted as saying that belief has to be examined through the lens of the universe. Note that he was a lens grinder.
See the following paragraphs on what happens to the spoils of war. Most of this is being read when the Israelites were under the control of the Babylonians. They had no army. LL: Clearly these accounts were intended in part to give heart to the downtrodden and discouraged Israelites in captivity – much like a film today with super-heroes.

July 12, 2014
p. 1074
25:10 This parsha must be read in the context of the previous nine parshas and the story of Phinecas. Phinecas took desperate action to stop the plague. “…he took impassioned action for his God…” Discussion of the ultra right wing actions in Israel which focuses on some of these passages. This rationale for violence is rebutted in the Talmud by the rabbis. In essence we are all idolaters in that we all thirst for an image of God. Maimonides argued that we cannot talk positively about God because to do so was to turn God into an idol. We need to be sensitive about crossing the line into something that is truly destructive. We have a natural tendency to categorize and identify small differences. This is part of creating order in the world. The worst breaking of order is the acceptance of a breach between the material and the divine. Consider John Badham’s 1983 cold war film “War Games” wherein they conclude that the only way to win is not to play. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGames
25:16 “Assail the Midianites and defeat them –“ Madness arises and abates but did we learn anything? The plague is over and thus the rationale for any more violence is gone.
26: 1 “Take a census of the whole Israelite company of fighters…” This is a second census. See the first one on page 900. Note the drop in population of the Reubanites.
26:8 A recap of the story of Korah which suggests that the drop of population in that tribe may have been associated with that conflict. Here the transgressions of Korah are not visited upon his progeny. They are not sanctioned but they are stuck with the infamy. Are the children of evil people evil? Nature vs nurture.AF: Why is the age of twenty set for the count of a fighter?
26:12 A sharp drop in the population of the Simeonites. Likely associated with the plague but see below..
26:15 et sec through 48. The tribe of Gad and Judah have increases as do some of the others. One clan had only daughters. Note that the Levites are not listed since they are not fighters. The total enrollment is 601,710. The first census was done at Sinai so this is about 40 years later as they are poised on the banks of the Jordan to enter the land. This is a whole new generation. Here the clans are named as sub-sets of the tribes. The first census was to make sure that everyone and the Mishkan was properly protected. The purpose here is a mustering for the invasion of the land and a determination as to how the spoils would be distributed – the land apportioned in shares. It is to be apportioned by clan and family. The big loser of men is Simeon – a tribe that ultimately disappears or is absorbed into the other tribes. The numbers for Ephraim are likely in error since they were a dominant tribe in the north. Ultimately there are only Judah (Jews) and Levites. In Deuteronomy it is said that there were no losses in battle and no miscarriages!! See the documentary of the Canadian-Israeli filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici on the lost tribes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jr_9EEjHk0
Both of the census counts are considered by scholars to be part of the same priestly document.