Summary: A census of the Gershonites, Merarites, and Koathites between the ages of thirty and fifty is conducted and their duties in the Tabernacle are detailed. God speaks to Moses concerning what to do with ritually unclean people, repentant individuals, and those who are suspected of adultery. The obligations of a nazirite vow are explained. They include abstaining from alcohol and not cutting one's hair. God tells Moses how to teach Aaron and his sons the Priestly Blessing. Finally, Moses consecrates the Sanctuary, and the tribal chieftains bring offerings. Moses then speaks with God inside the Tent of Meeting.
Lesson: "It's not my fault!” We've all said it. It's not easy to accept responsibility when we make mistakes we make.
I have a favorite children’s story that reinforces how difficult it is to say “I’m sorry.” The story is called “The Hardest Word.” While searching for the hardest word a giant bird discovers a child who won’t say “Goodnight” because she doesn’t like going to bed. Later the giant bird discovers a child who can’t say “Spaghetti”. It's just too difficult. After many more unsuccessful attempts, the bird looks into its own heart and realizes that the hardest word to say is “Sorry”!
This story rings true as much for us as it does for children. And yet, our ability to say “sorry” is at the heart of what makes for a just society.
In our parasha this week we read: When men or women individually commit any wrong toward a fellow human being, thus breaking faith with the Eternal, and they realize their guilt, they shall confess the wrong they have done.
Our commentators recognized that this injunction was very similar to one we read several chapters earlier, in the Book of Leviticus. What distinguishes the statement in our parashah from what preceded it?
According to Rashi, one differentiating feature can be found in the words "they shall confess the wrong they have done," which do not appear in Leviticus. Rashi points out that according to our parashah, we cannot repent without a proper confession of wrongdoing. In his Talmud commentary, Rashi writes that a person cannot achieve true repentance without admitting guilt.
Thus, in cases of wrongdoing, Rashi and our parashah teach that justice can only be achieved, and amends can only be made when a guilty party publicly admits guilt.
In our world we see individuals, politicians and even corporations, accused of breaking the law. None of them seem able to say the hardest word: “I’m sorry.” Confession, admitting guilt, saying sorry, are sacred acts. They may be difficult, but they make it possible to live with others in society.
At the end of The Hardest Word, the giant bird reflects on recent events and remembers when he, accidentally, fell from the sky and destroyed a vegetable garden beside a synagogue. He determines that he will return to the scene of the crime bearing a basket of fruits and vegetables from his own garden because, "It was time to say the hardest word."
It's time for all of us, along with politicians and corporations, to learn how to say the hardest word too.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Donald Goor