Posted on July 25, 2022
Shalom TBAY!
This Shabbat I addressed the issue of Jewish law and abortion in Friday Night’s D’Var Torah: The Daughters of Tz’lof’chad – Pikuach Nefesh, Abortion and Religious Freedom after Dobbs. You can watch it on YouTube here. If you prefer to read it, you can do so here. This PDF contains links to the sources and organizations I mention in the D’Var Torah.
If you are interested in further study on this topic, I invite you to join me in person or online at the August 2nd and 3rd Yom Iyyun, Day of Study, “Real Torah / Real Life: Abortion, Beyond Law”, which will be presented by Hadar in partnership with a number of organizations. We will learn about these complexities and be wiser and better equipped to move forward together. You can learn more and register here.
On Saturday, we discussed the counting of the men in this portion as compared with at Sinai… and who was not counted. The counts only included men of a military age (20-60), so women and children were not considered in either count, so we wondered which of hose at the time of the first count were there for the second. Caleb and Joshua were in the first count, but not in the second, even though they were continuing into the land of Israel. And since the count only included men up to age 60, perhaps others who were there at Sinai also continued. What do you think? Here is a link to the Source Sheet.
Shavua Tov!
— Rabbi Rubin : )
