FOUR INTRODUCTIONS TO THE FOURTH BOOK
INTRODUCTION TO PARASHAT
HASHAVUA
**************************************************************
In memory
of Yakov Yehuda ben Pinchas Wallach
and Miriam Wallach bat Tzvi
Donner
**************************************************************
PARASHAT
BAMIDBAR
FOUR
INTRODUCTIONS TO THE FOURTH BOOK
By
Rabbi Yaakov Beasley
A.
INTRODUCTION
As
we begin the fourth book of the Torah, we note that like its name, the Torah
begins with the preparations of the Jewish people “in the desert." At least geographically, the name makes
sense. Even without knowing that
the Jewish people are destined to spend the next forty years in the Sinai
wilderness, clearly having completed the giving of the mitzvot at Har
Sinai, it is time to move forward.
In contrast, the English “Book of Numbers” shares the rabbinic
designation of our book “Sefer Ha-Pekudim” focusing apparently on the
opening census. This accounting,
with all its detailed minutiae, occupies the vast majority of our
parasha, so much that we read it almost disappointedly, expecting perhaps
more fanfare than it delivers. Last
week, we concluded Sefer Vayikra with the dramatic finale of the covenant
of Parashat Bechukotai. Now,
we are involved in what appears to be nothing more than bureaucratic blandness;
the ancient equivalent of reading the telephone book. What possible messages could the opening
parasha carry for us? To
answer this question, we will investigate the opening comments of four
commentators to the Torah’s fourth book.
B.
BATTLE READY
One
of the earliest
pashtanim, the Rashbam, sees in the preparations in the beginning of the
book as reflecting the Jewish people’s military arrangement for the upcoming
wars:
“Take
for yourself the count of the congregation of Israel” – the Almighty ordered
them to be numbered from twenty years old and upwards, when they could serve in
the armed forces, and on the twentieth of the month, the pillar of cloud rose to
lead them. Therefore, the Holy One
commanded them to begin the counting at the month's beginning. (commentary to
1:2)
This
idea, that the accountings and organization reflected security concerns and
military strategy, appears in later commentators as well, including Shmuel David
Luzatto of 19th century Italy:
After
the Mishkan had been erected, and they were proceeding towards Eretz
Yisrael to conquer it under Divine leadership, it was desirable for them to be
divided in accordance with their standards and groupings, so that everyone would
know his place and the camp would be properly ordered, so that they did not
appear as runaway slaves, but as a people ready for battle. They were therefore numbered as a part
of the policy of instituting order.
The
focus on the military aspects of the encampment bothered many others, especially
those who looked for the moral message inherent within the camp's
arrangement. Professor Nechama
Leibowitz caustically noted "the whole attempt to supply strategic or military
motives for the camp arrangement is not in consonance with, or at least does not
offer an adequate explanation for the complete understanding of that was
involved in the arrangement of the tribes around the Mishkan … indeed a
better understanding of the whole chapter can only be arrived at when we
remember that the focal point of the camp was the Mishkan …" (Studies in
Bamidbar, p. 5).
C. THE
RAMBAN
As
opposed to the Rashbam, who saw Sefer Bamidbar as preparation for
the future entry into Eretz Yisrael, the Ramban views Sefer Bamidbar as
the culmination of a process that began in Sefer
Shemot.
In
the third book, Sefer Vayikra, the Torah explained the laws of the
sacrifices. Now we are instructed
regarding the precepts connected with the Ohel Mo’ed. Hashem hedged the Mishkan around
with restrictions just as He did with respect to Har Sinai when His glory rested
thereon. Compare: “The stranger
that draws nigh shall be put to death” (Bamidbar 1:51) with “You shall
set bounds to the people round about, saying, take care of yourselves, that you
go not up to the mount, or touch the border of it, ‘Whoever touches the mountain
shall surely be put to death’ (Shemot 19:12). In Bamidbar 4:20 Hashem
commanded, “But they shall not go in when they see the holy things are covered,
or else they will die”; while in Shemot 19:21 it states “Charge the people –
lest they break through unto Hashem to gaze, and many of them perish." Regarding the Mishkan, it
states “And you shall keep the charge of the Mishkan … that there shall be no
wrath on Bnei Yisrael” (Bamidbar 18:5); just as by Har Sinai it
states “Let the Kohanim also, who come near unto Hashem sanctify
themselves, lest Hashem break forth upon them” (Shemot 19:22).
Sefer
Bamidbar
contains detailed instructions therefore regarding the charge of the
Mishkan, the order of the encampments, the standing of the people from
afar, only the priests coming near Hashem … all to enhance the glory of the
Mishkan, as the Rabbis stated: “The palace of the king which is
surrounded by sentinels cannot be compared to that which is not so
surrounded.” This whole book is
concerned with temporary precepts, commanded them for their stay in the
wilderness and the miracles performed for them, to relate the wondrous deeds of
Hashem … It relates that He began to deliver their enemies to them by the sword
and contains instructions how they were to divide the
land.
There
are few precepts of permanent validity in this book. It also finishes the subject of the
sacrificial laws begun in Sefer Vayikra. (Introduction to Sefer
Vayikra)
For
the Ramban, Bamidbar is a conclusion, not a beginning. The appearance of Hashem's presence was
the climax of the Exodus from Egypt; the rest of Sefer Shemot
dealt with the attempt to create a Mishkan to allow Hashem to dwell among
the people. Vayikra
developed the process further, with the rules regarding the Kohanim and
who may approach the Mishkan.
The process completes with Sefer Bamidbar, with its emphasis on
the holiness of the entire camp. To
19th German commentator Benno Jacob, this transforms our
parasha into the climax of the Torah, finally uniting heaven and earth
themselves:
Hashem
transferred His presence from Har Sinai to the Mishkan, from Hashem’s
sanctuary that His hands have established to sanctuary that Bnei Yisrael
had made. Hashem would then onwards
to Moshe from the Ohel Mo’ed and indicate to the Jewish people by means
of the cloud when to journey, and when to encamp. The Mishkan was a mobile Har
Sinai in the midst of them … the heavens of heavens transplanted and brought
down to earth. (Benno Jacob)
D. THE
ABRABANEL
As
spiritual as the Ramban's interpretation is, it also suffers from the charge of
being almost anti-historical.
Clearly, while the ultimate purpose of the Torah is to fill the entire
world with Hashem's presence, the promises to the forefathers shout that this
was to begin in Eretz Yisrael, not the Sinai wilderness. The Abrabanel, in his introduction,
gives a decidedly historical bent to Sefer Bamidbar's
purpose:
The
first book of the Torah, Bereishit, traces the ancestry and origins of
Bnei Yisrael from the creation of the world until they entered the
Egyptian exile; the second book relates of their exile and redemption, in the
physical sense from the bondage of Egypt, and in the spiritual dimension, from
the idolatrous beliefs that they entertained and from which they were weaned at
Har Sinai, and how they were commanded to build the Mishkan so that the
Shekhina could rest upon them.
The third book initiates the Jewish people into sanctity and purity, and
into the service of the Mishkan, exhorting both the Kohanim and
the people to refrain from abominable and evil rites. The fourth book relates of the leading
of the people, their system of journeying and encampments, their vicissitudes on
the way, explaining why they were delayed forty years there, until the
generation that had left Egypt had died out, and what happened to Korach and his
company who rebelled against Moshe and Aharon …
This
book describes, in ten sections, how Moshe led and provided for the people when
they were in the wilderness, the acts of their power and might, order of their
travels and their encampments and their battles, and what befall them with Moav
and Midian, Balak and Bilaam and the with Sichon and Og the Emorite kings and
the granting of their lands to Reuven, Gad, and the half tribe of Menashe and
everything else that occurred until they came to their resting place and
inheritance (Eretz Israel). The ten
sections which comprise Sefer Bamidbar can be divided into two
parts.
Unlike
the other commentators, the Abrabanel differentiates between the two sections of
Sefer Bamidbar that clearly divide the book – the ideal, hopefully
beginning that would see the people begin what should have been their triumphant
homeward trek, and the unfortunate reality which saw them stumble and flounder
in the desert for a generation.
E. THE
NETZIV
Finally,
the Netziv, in his introduction to his commentary Ha-Emek Ha-Davar, develops the
distinction suggested by the Abrabanel above into a philosophic understanding of
how Hashem interacts with the world:
The
Tanaim (Mishna Yoma 7:1 and Sota 37b) referred to the book of
Bamidbar as "Chumash Hapekudim," the Book of the Countings. Why
did they base the title on the taking of the census? The counting of the people
seems to be two apparently minor episodes of a very exciting and dramatic book
[the Netziv lists several of the books more dramatic and apparently meaningful
episodes. Instead they highlight
the Sefer Bamidar's main theme, the shift in the type of Divine
Providence Israel experienced during its forty year journey]. The book of
Bamidbar chronicles the transition from the direct Divine Providence [the
Netziv uses the kabbalistic term 'tiferet'] of the early years to the
less blatant Divine Providence that followed as they approached Eretz
Yisrael. This is the meaning of the
Medrash that states that the verse (Bereishit 1:3) "And G-d divided
between the light and the darkness" refers to the generation that left Egypt and
the generation that entered Eretz Yisrael respectively … [this is also reflected
in the slight difference between the count in Parashat Bamidbar
and that of Pinchas.] In
Bamidbar, Efraim precedes Menashe, whereas in Pinchas, Menashe
comes first. Efraim, though
younger, was spiritually more developed than Menashe. The Parashat Bamidbar count is the
first step of arranging the camp of Israel as the Divine Chariot upon which the
Divine Presence rests. They will experience miraculous and intense Divine
Providence. Therefore, the more spiritual Efraim precedes Menashe. The
Pinchas count is part of, a more temporal, practical arrangement,
preparing for this-worldly life in the Land of Israel. Therefore, Menashe,
physically the first born, is listed first...
Ultimately,
Bnei Yisrael were responsible for the transition to less direct Divine
Providence . In Parashat Behaalotekha they lust for meat and complain
about the Manna-- saying, in effect, that they do not want to live with the high
spiritual level that accompanies it. Constant Divine Revelation established high
standards of behavior that the people were not necessarily willing to live up
to. The sending of the spies was an
indicator of the people's move towards less direct Providence. This
Israel-initiated shift in the intensity and openness of the Divine Providence,
the central story of the Book of Bamidbar, is illustrated by the slight
differences between the two countings. Clearly, our Sages understood the book's
deepest messages when they saw fit to call Sefer Bamidbar the Book of
Countings.