Community Torah Corner - June 5, 2026 — Beha'alotecha

This week’s parsha is parsha בהעלותך . 

 וְהֵנִיף֩ אַהֲרֹ֨ן אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֤ם תְּנוּפָה֙ לִפְנֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה מֵאֵ֖ת בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְהָי֕וּ לַעֲבֹ֖ד  אֶת־עֲבֹדַ֥ת יְהֹוָֽה׃  

“Aharon shall wave the Levites as a wave offering before Hashem on behalf of the Children of Israel, that they may do the work of Hashem.” 

 

This commentary of the Pasuk means that the children of Israel (the Levites) shall dedicate themselves to the work of Hashem. The Torah mentions the wave-offering three times in this section. As Rashi explains, these correspond to the three Levite families: Kehat, Gershon, and Merari. Each family had a different role and level of responsibility in carrying the Tabernacle. 

 

At the end of the section, the Torah says that Aaron waved all the Levites before the Lord, to teach that all of them were worthy and beloved before God. This was interesting to me because I wondered if I don’t serve Hashem, does Hashem still have love for me as I’m still his people?

 

Throughout this Parsha, we learn many lessons from Hashem. We learn that we should honor him and that we belong to him. Or in other words, we should listen to Hashem’s commandments. We should follow in the Levites way and dedicate our lives to Hashem. In our lives today we can keep in our mind what we are commanded to do. It helps us recognize our past and what we should be working towards. 

 

This Parasha reminds me of school. We are given tasks we have to complete. They are similar to commandments; they are things we need to do/accomplish. Today, we receive commands from people in our own lives. For example, we get commands from our parents to put away our clothes and wash the dishes. We also get tasks from our teachers that must get completed similar to Hashem’s commandments . 

Not only should we honor Hashem, but we should honor our parents and teachers. This parashah reminds everyone how we should treat people when we are given a task to complete. For example, if my sister told me to do the dishes, I probably would not do them right away. But, if my mom or dad told me to do them, I would do it right away. This shows that people with greater authority have more control over us rather than people with equivalent authorities as us, and it is important that we take in everyone's thoughts and not just from the people who are greater than us. 

 

This parsha reminds us how praying every day is a great way of honoring Hashem and following in the Levites way. This could mean saying the Shema 3 times every day or being a little bit more vocal during T’filah. This parsha shows how everyone should show their true Jewish identity when honoring Hashem. For example, when we daven the silent Amidah I have recently been more connected with one simple phase that has taught me a lot,“ אתה קדוש ושמךָ קדוש וקדושים בכל-יום יהללוך סלה"” Which translates to “Holy are You and holy is Your name. Holy are those who praise you daily”.

When I first read this, it really stuck with me. I kept this parsha in my mind the whole day. I came to the conclusion that the deeper meaning of this line was that if we praise G-d we will receive praise from him as well. Kind of like the idea of good karma. When we praise Hashem, we not only receive his love and guidance in return but also become closer to our Jewish identities. As we continue with our Jewish journeys every day, may we honor G-d and move forward in the Levites way. 

 

Again, as we continue with our Jewish journeys every day, we can listen to what those have to say. 

 

Thank you and Shabbat Shalom!