Huqqat - Laws
Torah: Bemidbar 19:1-22:1
Haftorah: Shophetim 11:1-33
Suggested HaBerith HaChadashah Reading: Hebrews 9:11-28; John 3:10-21
Torah: Bemidbar 19:1-22:1
Num 19:1 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon, saying,
Num 19:2 “This is a law of the Torah which יהוה has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, that they bring you a red heifer, a perfect one, in which there is no blemish and on which a yoke has never come.
Num 19:3 ‘And you shall give it to Elʽazar the priest, and he shall bring it outside the camp, and shall slaughter it before him.
Num 19:4 ‘And Elʽazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting.
Num 19:5 ‘And the heifer shall be burned before his eyes – he burns its hide, and its flesh, and its blood, and its dung.
Num 19:6 ‘And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and throw them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer.
Num 19:7 ‘The priest shall then wash his garments, and shall bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest is unclean until evening.
Num 19:8 ‘And he who is burning it washes his garments in water, and shall bathe his body in water, and is unclean until evening.
Num 19:9 ‘And a clean man shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and shall place them outside the camp in a clean place. And they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl for the water for uncleanness, it is for cleansing from sin.
Num 19:10 ‘And he who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his garments, and is unclean until evening. And it shall be a law forever to the children of Yisra’ĕl and to the stranger who sojourns in their midst.
Num 19:11 ‘He who touches the dead of any human being is unclean for seven days.
Num 19:12 ‘He is to cleanse himself with the water on the third day, and on the seventh day he is clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day, then on the seventh day he is not clean.
Num 19:13 ‘Anyone who touches the dead of a human being, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the Dwelling Place of יהוה. And that being shall be cut off from Yisra’ĕl. He is unclean, for the water for uncleanness was not sprinkled on him, his uncleanness is still upon him.
Num 19:14 ‘This is the Torah when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent are unclean for seven days,
Num 19:15 and every open vessel which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean.
Num 19:16 ‘Anyone in the open field who touches someone slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, is unclean for seven days.
Num 19:17 ‘And for the unclean being they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for cleansing from sin, and running water shall be put on them in a vessel.
Num 19:18 ‘And a clean man shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, and shall sprinkle it on the tent, and on all the vessels, and on the beings who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, or the slain, or the dead, or a grave.
Num 19:19 ‘And the clean one shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day. And on the seventh day he shall cleanse himself, and shall wash his garments and bathe in water, and shall be clean in the evening.
Num 19:20 ‘But the man who is unclean and does not cleanse himself, that being shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the set-apart place of יהוה – water for uncleanness has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean.
Num 19:21 ‘And it shall be a law for them forever. And the one who sprinkles the water for uncleanness washes his garments. And the one who touches the water for uncleanness is unclean until evening.
Num 19:22 ‘And whatever the unclean being touches is unclean. And the being who touches it is unclean until evening.’ ”
Num 20:1 And the children of Yisra’ĕl, all the congregation, came into the Wilderness of Tsin in the first month, and the people stayed in Qaḏĕsh. And Miryam died there and was buried there.
Num 20:2 Now there was no water for the congregation and they assembled against Mosheh and against Aharon.
Num 20:3 And the people contended with Mosheh and spoke, saying, “If only we had died when our brothers died before יהוה!
Num 20:4 “Why have you brought up the assembly of יהוה into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here?
Num 20:5 “And why have you brought us up out of Mitsrayim, to bring us to this evil place? – not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.”
Num 20:6 Then Mosheh and Aharon went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the esteem of יהוה appeared to them.
Num 20:7 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 20:8 “Take the rod and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aharon. And you shall speak to the rock before their eyes, and it shall give its water. And you shall bring water for them out of the rock and give drink to the congregation and their livestock.”
Num 20:9 And Mosheh took the rod from before יהוה as He commanded him.
Num 20:10 And Mosheh and Aharon assembled the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”
Num 20:11 Then Mosheh lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. And much water came out, and the congregation and their livestock drank.
Num 20:12 But יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon, “Because you did not believe Me, to set Me apart in the eyes of the children of Yisra’ĕl, therefore you do not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
Num 20:13 These were the waters of Meriḇah, because the children of Yisra’ĕl contended with יהוה, and He was set apart among them.
Num 20:14 And Mosheh sent messengers from Qaḏĕsh to the sovereign of Eḏom. “This is what your brother Yisra’ĕl said, ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us,
Num 20:15 that our fathers went down to Mitsrayim, and we dwelt in Mitsrayim a long time, and the Mitsrites did evil to us and our fathers.
Num 20:16 ‘And we cried out to יהוה, and He heard our voice and sent the Messenger and brought us up out of Mitsrayim. And see, we are in Qaḏĕsh, a city on the edge of your border.
Num 20:17 ‘Please let us pass over, through your land. We shall not pass over through fields or vineyards, nor drink water from wells, we shall go along the sovereign’s highway. We shall not turn aside, right or left, until we have passed over your border.’ ”
Num 20:18 But Eḏom said to him, “You do not pass over through me, lest I come out against you with the sword.”
Num 20:19 And the children of Yisra’ĕl said to him, “We shall go by the highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, then I shall pay for it. Let me only pass over on foot, without a word.”
Num 20:20 But he said, “You do not pass over.” And Eḏom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand.
Num 20:21 So when Eḏom refused to let Yisra’ĕl pass over through his border, Yisra’ĕl turned away from him.
Num 20:22 And the children of Yisra’ĕl, all the company, departed from Qaḏĕsh and came to Mount Hor.
Num 20:23 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon in Mount Hor near the border of the land of Eḏom, saying,
Num 20:24 “Aharon is to be gathered to his people, for he is not to enter the land which I have given to the children of Yisra’ĕl, because you rebelled against My mouth at the water of Meriḇah.
Num 20:25 “Take Aharon and Elʽazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor,
Num 20:26 and strip Aharon of his garments and put them on Elʽazar his son, for Aharon is to be gathered to his people and die there.”
Num 20:27 And Mosheh did as יהוה commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor before the eyes of all the congregation.
Num 20:28 And Mosheh stripped Aharon of his garments and put them on Elʽazar his son. And Aharon died there on the top of the mountain. And Mosheh and Elʽazar came down from the mountain.
Num 20:29 And when all the congregation saw that Aharon was dead, all the house of Yisra’ĕl wept for Aharon, thirty days.
Num 21:1 And the sovereign of Araḏ, the Kenaʽanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Yisra’ĕl was coming on the way to Atharim, and he fought against Yisra’ĕl and took some of them captive.
Num 21:2 Then Yisra’ĕl made a vow to יהוה, and said, “If You deliver this people into my hand indeed, then I shall put their cities under the ban.”
Num 21:3 And יהוה listened to the voice of Yisra’ĕl and gave up the Kenaʽanites, and they put them and their cities under the ban. So the name of that place was called Ḥormah.
Num 21:4 And they departed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Sea of Reeds, to go around the land of Eḏom. But the being of the people grew impatient because of the way.
Num 21:5 And the people spoke against Elohim and against Mosheh, “Why have you brought us up out of Mitsrayim to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our being loathes this light bread.”
Num 21:6 And יהוה sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people. And many of the people of Yisra’ĕl died.
Num 21:7 Then the people came to Mosheh, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against יהוה and against you. Pray to יהוה to take away the serpents from us.” So Mosheh prayed on behalf of the people.
Num 21:8 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole. And it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”
Num 21:9 So Mosheh made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole. And it came to be, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Num 21:10 And the children of Yisra’ĕl set out and camped in Oḇoth.
Num 21:11 And they departed from Oḇoth and camped at Iyĕ Ha-Aḇarim, in the wilderness which is east of Mo’aḇ, toward sunrise.
Num 21:12 From there they set out and camped at the wadi Zereḏ.
Num 21:13 From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the Arnon is the border of Mo’aḇ, between Mo’aḇ and the Amorites.
Num 21:14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Battles of יהוה, “Wahĕḇ in Suphah, the wadi Arnon,
Num 21:15 and the slope of the wadi that turns aside to the dwelling of Ar, and lies on the border of Mo’aḇ.”
Num 21:16 And from there on to Be’ĕr, which is the well where יהוה said to Mosheh, “Gather the people, and let Me give them water.”
Num 21:17 Yisra’ĕl then sang this song: “Spring up, O well! Sing to it,
Num 21:18 a well the leaders sank, which the nobles of the people dug with their staves, by the word of the Law-giver.” Then from the wilderness on to Mattanah,
Num 21:19 from Mattanah to Naḥali’ĕl, from Naḥali’ĕl to Bamoth,
Num 21:20 and from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the country of Mo’aḇ, to the top of Pisgah which looks down on the wasteland.
Num 21:21 And Yisra’ĕl sent messengers to Siḥon sovereign of the Amorites, saying,
Num 21:22 “Let me pass through your land. We shall not turn off into fields or vineyards, we shall not drink water from wells, but go by the sovereign’s highway until we have passed over your border.”
Num 21:23 But Siḥon would not allow Yisra’ĕl to pass through his border. So Siḥon gathered all his people together and went out against Yisra’ĕl in the wilderness, and he came to Yahats and fought against Yisra’ĕl.
Num 21:24 And Yisra’ĕl smote him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Yabboq, as far as the children of Ammon, for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.
Num 21:25 And Yisra’ĕl took all these cities, and Yisra’ĕl dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites – in Ḥeshbon and in all its villages,
Num 21:26 for Ḥeshbon was the city of Siḥon the sovereign of the Amorites, who had fought against the former sovereign of Mo’aḇ, and had taken all his land from his hand as far as the Arnon.
Num 21:27 That is why those who speak in proverbs say, “Come to Ḥeshbon, let the city of Siḥon be built and established.
Num 21:28 “For fire went out from Ḥeshbon, a flame from the city of Siḥon. It consumed Ar of Mo’aḇ, the masters of the heights of the Arnon.
Num 21:29 “Woe to you, Mo’aḇ! You have perished, O people of Kemosh! He has given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, to Siḥon the sovereign of the Amorites.
Num 21:30 “Then we shot them – Ḥeshbon has perished as far as Diḇon. And we laid waste as far as Nophaḥ, which reaches to Mĕyḏeḇa.”
Num 21:31 So Yisra’ĕl dwelt in the land of the Amorites.
Num 21:32 And Mosheh sent to spy out Yaʽzĕr. And they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there,
Num 21:33 and turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Oḡ sovereign of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Eḏreʽi.
Num 21:34 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, with all his people and his land. And you shall do to him as you did to Siḥon sovereign of the Amorites, who dwelt at Ḥeshbon.”
Num 21:35 And they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until no remnant was left to him. And they took possession of his land.
Num 22:1 And the children of Yisra’ĕl set out and camped in the desert plains of Mo’aḇ beyond the Yardĕn of Yeriḥo.
Haftorah: Shophetim 11:1-33
Jdg 11:1 And Yiphtaḥ the Gilʽaḏite was a mighty brave one, but he was the son of a whore. And Gilʽaḏ brought forth Yiphtaḥ.
Jdg 11:2 And the wife of Gilʽaḏ bore sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Yiphtaḥ out, and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in the house of our father, for you are the son of another woman.”
Jdg 11:3 And Yiphtaḥ fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Toḇ. And worthless men banded together with Yiphtaḥ and went out with him.
Jdg 11:4 And it came to be, some time later, that the children of Ammon fought against Yisra’ĕl.
Jdg 11:5 And it came to be, when the children of Ammon fought against Yisra’ĕl, that the elders of Gilʽaḏ went to bring Yiphtaḥ out of the land of Toḇ.
Jdg 11:6 And they said to Yiphtaḥ, “Come, and you shall be our commander, and let us fight against the children of Ammon.”
Jdg 11:7 But Yiphtaḥ said to the elders of Gilʽaḏ, “Did you not hate me, and drive me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in trouble?”
Jdg 11:8 And the elders of Gilʽaḏ said to Yiphtaḥ, “That is the reason we have turned to you, that you shall go with us and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilʽaḏ.”
Jdg 11:9 And Yiphtaḥ said to the elders of Gilʽaḏ, “If you take me back home to fight against the children of Ammon, and יהוה gives them to me, am I to be your head?”
Jdg 11:10 And the elders of Gilʽaḏ said to Yiphtaḥ, “יהוה is witness between us, if we do not do according to your words.”
Jdg 11:11 Then Yiphtaḥ went with the elders of Gilʽaḏ, and the people set him over them, as head and commander. And Yiphtaḥ spoke all his words before יהוה in Mitspah.
Jdg 11:12 And Yiphtaḥ sent messengers to the sovereign of the children of Ammon, saying, “What is between you and me, that you have come to fight against me in my land?”
Jdg 11:13 And the sovereign of the children of Ammon said to the messengers of Yiphtaḥ, “Because Yisra’ĕl took my land when they came up out of Mitsrayim, from the Arnon as far as the Yabboq, and to the Yardĕn. And now, give back those lands in peace.”
Jdg 11:14 But Yiphtaḥ again sent messengers to the sovereign of the children of Ammon,
Jdg 11:15 and said to him, “This is what Yiphtaḥ said, ‘Yisra’ĕl did not take the land of Mo’aḇ, nor the land of the children of Ammon.
Jdg 11:16 ‘For when they came up from Mitsrayim, and Yisra’ĕl walked through the wilderness as far as the Sea of Reeds and came to Qaḏĕsh,
Jdg 11:17 then Yisra’ĕl sent messengers to the sovereign of Eḏom, saying, “Please let me pass over, through your land.” But the sovereign of Eḏom would not listen. And they also sent to the sovereign of Mo’aḇ, but he refused, so Yisra’ĕl stayed at Qaḏĕsh.
Jdg 11:18 ‘Then they went through the wilderness and around the land of Eḏom and the land of Mo’aḇ, and came to the east side of the land of Mo’aḇ, and encamped beyond Arnon. But they did not enter the border of Mo’aḇ, for Arnon was the border of Mo’aḇ.
Jdg 11:19 ‘And Yisra’ĕl sent messengers to Siḥon sovereign of the Amorites, sovereign of Ḥeshbon, and Yisra’ĕl said to him, “Please let us pass over, through your land into our place.”
Jdg 11:20 ‘But Siḥon did not trust Yisra’ĕl to pass over through his border, and Siḥon gathered all his people together, and they encamped in Yahats, and fought against Yisra’ĕl.
Jdg 11:21 ‘And יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl gave Siḥon and all his people into the hand of Yisra’ĕl, and they smote them. So Yisra’ĕl took possession of all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that land.
Jdg 11:22 ‘Thus they took possession of all the border of the Amorites, from Arnon to the Yabboq and from the wilderness to the Yardĕn.
Jdg 11:23 ‘And now, יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl has driven out the Amorites from before His people Yisra’ĕl, should you then possess it?
Jdg 11:24 ‘Whatever Kemosh your mighty one gives you to possess, do you not possess it? And all that which יהוה our Elohim takes possession of before us, we possess.
Jdg 11:25 ‘And now are you any better than Balaq son of Tsippor, sovereign of Mo’aḇ? Did he ever strive against Yisra’ĕl? Did he ever fight against them?
Jdg 11:26 ‘While Yisra’ĕl dwelt in Ḥeshbon and its villages, and in Aroʽĕr and its villages, and in all the cities along the banks of Arnon, for three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?
Jdg 11:27 ‘So I have not sinned against you, but you are doing me evil by fighting against me. Let יהוה the Judge, judge today between the children of Yisra’ĕl and the children of Ammon.’ ”
Jdg 11:28 But the sovereign of the children of Ammon did not listen to the words which Yiphtaḥ sent him.
Jdg 11:29 And the Spirit of יהוה came upon Yiphtaḥ, and he passed through Gilʽaḏ and Menashsheh, and passed through Mitspeh of Gilʽaḏ. And from Mitspeh of Gilʽaḏ he passed on toward the children of Ammon.
Jdg 11:30 And Yiphtaḥ made a vow to יהוה, and said, “If You give the children of Ammon into my hands,
Jdg 11:31 then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall belong to יהוה, and I shall offer it up as a burnt offering.”
Jdg 11:32 Yiphtaḥ then passed on toward the children of Ammon to fight against them, and יהוה gave them into his hands.
Jdg 11:33 And he smote them from Aroʽĕr as far as Minnith, twenty cities, and to Aḇĕl Keramim, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were humbled before the children of Yisra’ĕl.
Suggested HaBerith HaChadashah Reading: Hebrews 9:11-28; John 3:10-21
Heb 9:11 But Messiah, having become a High Priest of the coming good matters, through the greater and more perfect Tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation,
Heb 9:12 entered into the Most Set-apart Place once for all, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, having obtained everlasting redemption.
Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the defiled, sets apart for the cleansing of the flesh,
Heb 9:14 how much more shall the blood of the Messiah, who through the everlasting Spirit offered Himself unblemished to Elohim, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living Elohim?
Heb 9:15 And because of this He is the Mediator of a renewed covenant, so that, death having taken place for redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called might receive the promise of the everlasting inheritance.
Heb 9:16 For where a covenant is, it is necessary for the death of the covenanted one to be established.
Heb 9:17 For a covenant over those dead is firm, since it is never valid while the covenanted one is living.
Heb 9:18 Therefore not even the first covenant was instituted without blood.
Heb 9:19 For when, according to Torah, every command had been spoken by Mosheh to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
Heb 9:20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which Elohim commanded you.”
Heb 9:21 And in the same way he sprinkled with blood both the Tent and all the vessels of the service.
Heb 9:22 And, according to the Torah, almost all is cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Heb 9:23 It was necessary, then, that the copies of the heavenly ones should be cleansed with these, but the heavenly ones themselves with better slaughter offerings than these.
Heb 9:24 For Messiah has not entered into a Set-apart Place made by hand – figures of the true – but into the heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of Elohim on our behalf,
Heb 9:25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters into the Set-apart Place year by year with blood not his own.
Heb 9:26 For if so, He would have had to suffer often, since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the offering of Himself.
Heb 9:27 And as it awaits men to die once, and after this the judgment,
Heb 9:28 so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to those waiting for Him, unto deliverance.
Joh 3:10 יהושע answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Yisra’ĕl, and do not know this?
Joh 3:11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, We speak what We know and witness what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.
Joh 3:12 “If you do not believe when I spoke to you about earthly matters, how are you going to believe when I speak to you about the heavenly matters?
Joh 3:13 “And no one has gone up into the heaven except He who came down from the heaven – the Son of Aḏam.
Joh 3:14 “And as Mosheh lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of Aḏam has to be lifted up,
Joh 3:15 so that whoever is believing in Him should not perish but possess everlasting life.
Joh 3:16 “For Elohim so loved the world that He gave His only brought-forth Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but possess everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 “For Elohim did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Joh 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not judged, but he who does not believe is judged already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only brought-forth Son of Elohim.
Joh 3:19 “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were wicked.
Joh 3:20 “For everyone who is practising evil matters hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
Joh 3:21 “But the one doing the truth comes to the light, so that his works are clearly seen, that they have been wrought in Elohim.”
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Chukat Aliya Summary
General Overview: This week's Torah reading, Chukat, begins with a discussion regarding the laws of the red heifer. Miriam and Aaron die. When the Jews are in need of water, Moses strikes a rock – despite being commanded to talk to it. Waters stream forth, but Moses is banned from entering Israel. Amalek battles the Israelites and is defeated. Edom and Moab refuse the Israelites passageway to Israel. The Israelites battle Sichon and Og, and are victorious.
First Aliyah: The most severe of all ritual impurities is tum'at met, the impurity contracted through contact with a human corpse. This section details the purification process for an individual or object which has contracted this form of impurity. A red heifer is slaughtered and is burned together with a few added ingredients. Water from a stream is added to the ashes. On the third and seventh day after contracting tum'at met, this mixture is sprinkled upon the individual or object. After immersion in a mikvah (ritual pool), the person or object is freed of this impurity.
Second Aliyah: The abovementioned purification process is continued, along with an admonition that the impure individual not enter the Tabernacle or Temple until the purification process is completed. Miriam dies in the fortieth year of the Israelites' sojourn in the desert. With Miriam's death, the waters which flowed from the miraculous "Well of Miriam" dried up. The people complain bitterly about the lack of water.
Third Aliyah: G‑d tells Moses and Aaron to take a staff and gather the people in front of a certain rock. They should speak to the rock, and it will give forth water. Moses and Aaron gather everybody, and Moses strikes the rock and it gives forth water. In the course of this episode they committed a grave error, the conventional explanation being that they struck the rock instead of speaking to it. This caused G‑d to punish Moses and Aaron, barring them from leading the Jews into Israel.
Fourth Aliyah: Moses sends messengers to the King of Edom requesting permission to pass through his land (which is south of Canaan) on the way to the Promised Land. Despite Moses' promises not to cause any harm to the land whilst passing, Edom refuses the Jews passage. The Jews are therefore forced to circumvent the land of Edom, and approach Canaan from the east.
Fifth Aliyah: The Jews arrive at Mount Hor. At G‑d's command, Moses, Aaron and Aaron's son, Elazar, go up the mountain. Aaron removes his high priest's vestments and Elazar dons them. Aaron then passes away. The entire nation mourns Aaron's death for thirty days. The Amalekites, disguised as Canaanites, attack the Jews. The Jews pray to G‑d and are victorious in battle. The Jews complain about their food, claiming that they are "disgusted" by the manna. G‑d dispatches serpents into the Israelite encampment, and many Jews die. Moses prays to G‑d on the Jews' behalf. Following G‑d's instructions, Moses fashions a copper serpent and places it atop a pole. The bitten Jews would look at this snake and be healed.
Sixth Aliyah: The Jews journey on, making their way towards the eastern bank of the Jordan River. Encrypted in this section is a great miracle which occurred when the Jews passed through the Arnon valley. Tall cliffs rose from both sides of this narrow valley, and in the clefts of these cliffs the Emorites, armed with arrows and rocks, were waiting to ambush the Jews. Miraculously, the mountains moved towards each other, crushing the Emorite guerrilla forces. This section ends with a song of praise for the well which sustained the Jews throughout their desert stay -- and whose now-bloodied waters made the Jews aware of the great miracle which G‑d wrought on their behalf.
Seventh Aliyah: The Jews approach the land of the Emorites, which lies on the east bank of the Jordan River. They send a message to Sichon, king of the Emorites, asking permission to pass through his land en route to Canaan. Sichon refuses and instead masses his armies and attack the Jews. The Jews are victorious and occupy the Emorite lands. Og, king of Bashan, then attacks the Jews. The Jews are triumphant again; they kill Og and occupy his land too. Now the Jewish nation has reached the bank of the Jordan River, just across from the city of Jericho in the land of Israel.
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