Pent. Num 4:21-7:89
This week’s Torah portion, Naso, meaning “lift up,” begins by God telling Moses to take a census of the Levites. The Hebrew literally translates as, “raise the heads of the Levities.” The Levites’ job is to carry the Tabernacle through the wilderness; a job that physically weighs them down. But here they are told to “rise up.” Anne Ebersman, in The Torah: A Women’s Commentary explains, “From this we learn that the things that we carry-the things that weigh us down-actually raise us up. These are our most precious gifts.”