Skip to main content

Parsha Poem: Masei / מַסְעֵי

בְּמִדְבַּר / Bamidbar / Numbers 33:1-36:13: Read ithear it; colour it.

Printable PDF version here.  Bonus:  “Hearing the Message”, a one-page poster summarizing the theme of each of the 5 books of the Torah (connects with the poem).  PDF downloads here:  Ashkenaz, Sefard.

 

No parsha narrative overview this week. 
Copywork and parsha activities available at this page – updated weekly.

image If any one of YOU should kill any one of THEM
They might come after you, so listen to Hashem
Set up six refuge cities, three and three in all,
And if you did not mean it, that’s where you’ll come to call.

But accidents do happen, the Torah will admit,
If that’s what really came to pass, the law will soon acquit.
The Torah says his life should be protected, so he flees,
Runs away as fast as you can ask for “justice, please!”

The way to the cities was risky – he had to flee so fast,
No stopping to ask directions or he’d wind up in a cast;
For the family of the dead man might take it in their hands,
Deliver justice, so they thought, in forsaken, hilly lands.

So the Torah says prepare the roads, making signs so clear,
With posts set up to show the way – “Refuge City here!”
But lest you think the Torah says to save a murderer,
Wise judges listened to his tale to see which ones concur.

If the folks involved were first and foremost enemies,
The murderer was taken in – policemen shouting “Freeze!”
But otherwise, he stays there safe for many, many years,
Until we hope he has at last no reason for his fears.

Inside the Refuge City, the killer will remain,
Living there and working far off from his home domain.
Until the Kohein Gadol dies, perhaps in his old age,
And then at last, the killer leaves and turns another page.

It could take years, so many years, until the Kohein dies, image
While the killer lives there, just hoping for his demise
So what our rabbis said to do so none can wish him ill
Is send a Jewish mother – a Bubby who brings goodwill.

But not just any mother:  the Kohen Gadol’s own,
To visit all the killers, with bagels and produce home-grown.
“Oy, vey,” they’d say, “we love her so, and wouldn’t want her sad,”
And so they’d hold off wishing him a fortune that was bad.

Though it might not seem fair to the men waiting there
The Refuge City reminds us all we always must take care,
Even if they’re not murderers, just accidentally nicked,
Not everything is an accident, and sometimes you can predict.

Stay far away from danger, guard your neshama so well,
These are the messages deep within this parsha, we can tell;
Safety comes first, avoid bad folks; always do steer clear,
Trouble WILL come and knock at your door, so remember:  don’t volunteer!

חָזָק חָזָק וְנִתְחַזֵּק!

May learning Torah make us strong!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

לימודי קודש/Limudei Kodesh Copywork & Activity Printables

Welcome to my Limudei Kodesh / Jewish Studies copywork and activity printables page.  As of June 2013, I am slowly but surely moving all my printables over to 4shared because Google Docs / Drive is just too flaky for me. What you’ll find here: Weekly Parsha Copywork More Parsha Activities More Chumash / Tanach Activities Yom Tov Copywork & Activities Tefillah Copywork Pirkei Avos / Pirkei Avot Jewish Preschool Resources Other printables! For General Studies printables and activities, including Hebrew-English science resources and more, click here . For Miscellaneous homeschool helps and printables, click here . If you use any of my worksheets, activities or printables, please leave a comment or email me at Jay3fer “at” gmail “dot” com, to link to your blog, to tell me what you’re doing with it, or just to say hi!  If you want to use them in a school, camp or co-op setting, please email me (remove the X’s) for rates. If you just want to say Thank You, here’s a

Hebrew/ עברית & English General Studies Printables

For Jewish Studies, including weekly parsha resources and copywork, click here . If you use any of my worksheets, activities or printables, please leave a comment or email me at Jay3fer “at” gmail “dot” com, to link to your blog, to tell me what you’re doing with it, or just to say hi!  If you want to use them in a school, camp or co-op setting, please email me (remove the X’s) for rates. If you enjoy these resources, please consider buying my weekly parsha book, The Family Torah :  the story of the Torah, written to be read aloud – or any of my other wonderful Jewish books for kids and families . English Worksheets & Printables: (For Hebrew, click here ) Science :  Plants, Animals, Human Body Math   Ambleside :  Composers, Artists History Geography Language & Literature     Science General Poems for Elemental Science .  Original Poems written by ME, because the ones that came with Elemental Science were so awful.  Three pages are included:  one page with two po

It's Heart Month: 3 days left to save lives!

Dear Friends & Family: Hi, everybody! Sorry I can’t stop by in person... you're a bit out of my area.  :-) We’re out walking up and down on our street on this beautiful afternoon to raise money for Heart & Stroke.  This cause is important to me (I won't say it's close to my heart , because that would be tacky!).  I hope you'll join me by donating online. Growing up, I watched as every single one of my grandparents' lives were shortened by heart disease and strokes, and my father had a defibrillator that saved his life on more than one occasion.  Heart disease and stroke kill 1 in 3 Canadians and are the #1 killer of women. Please click this link to be redirected to my main page at the Heart & Stroke website: http://tinyurl.com/AtlasHeart Thus ends my personal appeal.  Official information follows.  :-))) ----- Heart disease and stroke is the #1 killer of women - taking more women's lives than all forms of cancer combined. But no one is immune. Th