Friday, July 25, 2025/29 Tammuz, 5785

Friday, July 25, 2025/29 Tammuz, 5785

Parashat Matot – Ma’sei Numbers 30:2–36:13 

Dear TBE Community,

This is an eventful Shabbat. First and foremost, because Levi Pickar is becoming a Bar Mitzvah. Mazal tov, Levi, we are so excited to celebrate with you and your family!

It is also an eventful Shabbat because on the Jewish liturgical calendar, a lot is going on: We close the Book of Numbers, the book of desert wanderings, with a long double parsha. Matot-Masei speaks of the tribes (מטות) and travels of the children of Israel. (מסעי בני ישראל). These last chapters of the fourth book of Moses review the most recent war the Israelites fought as well as all the 42 stations on their way to the banks of the Jordan River. Thus, Bamidbar, the book of Numbers, ends in limbo: no longer on the journey, not yet arrived.

This Shabbat is also Rosh Chodesh Av, the new moon, the beginning of a new month. A month that holds both grief and joy: The 9th of Av commemorates the loss of Jerusalem and the exile of the Jewish people. Yet the 15th of Av, only six days later, is sometimes referred to as the Jewish Valentine’s Day: It is a day of love and dancing. One of its roots might be that around this time of year, the grape harvest would begin, which is a joyful, even sensual period. Therefore, Av is a month in limbo – as the Jewish year is slowly coming to a close, it reviews the bitter past and looks ahead to a new season with new wine and song.

Finally, the limbo inherent to transitions is also expressed in the haftarot readings for this Shabbat, marking the new moon and the second of the Three Weeks. There’s a haftara for everything: Once again, we have Jeremiah rebuking idol worship and warning of impending doom. But the haftara for the new moon comes from the prophet Isaiah. It is filled with hope for a forgiving God, with the hope of new beginnings:

So says the Lord, “The heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool; which is the house that you will build for Me, and which is the place of My rest?

As we go into Shabbat, may we be able to hold both, our concerns and our joys, our past and future, trusting that the limbo we might feel can turn and build stability on every new moon, in every new month. 

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Julia Knobloch
rabbiknobloch@bethelsp.org

More Torah Tidbits

Hadas Cootware

Torah School Coordinator

Hadas Cootware has been teaching Hebrew and Jewish Studies for over a decade, joining our Temple Beth El Community in 2018. Born and raised in Israel with Hebrew as her native language, she previously served as a combat soldier and operations officer in the IDF. Drawing on her studies in acting and psychology, she published a children’s book in Hebrew, The Marshmallow Story, which focuses on delayed gratification. Outside of teaching, she is the proud mother of her son, Henry, and loves to travel.

TBEtorahschool@bethelsp.org

Ilan Davidson

Cantor

Cantor Ilan Davidson has been pleasing audiences with his singing since before he could read. At age five, he began singing with his Cantor, Philip Moddel, and hasn’t shut up since. At ten, he made his Operatic debut with the Fullerton Civic Light Opera’s production of Bizet’s Carmen, as a street urchin. Since then, he has performed roles in opera and musical theatre, performing, directing, and producing world-class productions.

Among his many accomplishments, Cantor Davidson is also known as a contemporary Jewish songwriter and performer, having delighted audiences all over the world, including Israel and Lithuania with the soulful sounds of his music. His recordings, Stained Glass (1995) and In A Hanukkah Mood (2007) are collections of original and covered songs by himself and many contemporary Jewish artists. His most recent recording, God Is In This Place (2020), is a collection of original liturgical pieces for the Friday night Shabbat Service, commissioned and written in honor of his 25th Anniversary as the Cantor of Temple Beth El.

Cantor Davidson left the stage and in 1995 joined the Temple Beth El family, in San Pedro, where, in his nearly 30 years of service, he has brought many new programs and much enthusiasm to all he does. Coming from a long line of Cantors, it must have been Besheret for Cantor Davidson, although talented in all areas of musical performance, to finally settle down into his career as Hazzan for Temple Beth El in San Pedro, California. In 2007, Cantor Davidson founded a new foundation, KindredSPIRITS, producing an annual world humanitarian aid event. KindredSPIRITS premiered on June 5, 2008 at Walt Disney Concert Hall, adding that prestigious concert hall to the ever growing list of venues around the world, where Davidson has performed. During the 10 years of humanitarian events, Global KindredSPIRITS, Inc., as an official 501©3, raised awareness and close to $500,000 for its beneficiaries over the decade.
As a past president of the South Coast Interfaith Council, Ilan fought for tolerance and understanding of ALL faiths in a difficult climate. For the past 7 years, Cantor Davidson has been service as an LA County Commissioner, representing the 4th District on the Human Relations Commission, where he currently serves as President. Whether it is raising his voice for justice, Hazzanut, Pop, Opera, Musical Theatre, or folk music, Cantor Ilan Davidson shares his soul and genuine love in every note.

When asked about his finest accomplishment, Cantor Ilan invariably responds, “After all the great concerts, services, and roles, my finest role in life is that of husband to my beautiful wife, Jodi, and daddy to my gorgeous daughters, Jordan and Zoe.”

cantor@bethelsp.org

Office: (310) 833-2467 Ext. 106

Skip to content