This weeks Parasha, Mas’ey, begins with a travelogue, of sorts. Moses lists all of the places where the Israelites have encamped up to this point. It then switches gears and Moses relays God’s command to destroy all of the remnants of the Caananites in the land of Israel – both people and religious shrines. It then goes on to delineate the real estate ascribed to each tribe in the land. Special cities of refuge are to be created for people who accidentally commit murder. It concludes with both a geographic reminder of the current location of the Israelites – on the steppes of Moab – across from Jericho – and the conclusion of the story of the daughters of Tzelofchad who were granted the ability to inherit the land of their fathers – as long as they didn’t marry anyone from another tribe. Here is their story:
Zelophchad he had daughters five
Whose inheritance kept them alive
But to find a good man
They Must look in their clan
If Mennaseh was to survive
- Vayikra Limerick - March 14, 2013
- A new Purim Limerick for a divided Congress. - February 21, 2013
- A New Tu B’Shvat Limerick - January 25, 2013