BAMIDBAR IN THE WILDERNESS — במדבר
Regular readings above are often interrupted with special readings on Jewish holidays, special Sabbaths, and Rosh Chodesh. Refer to the current Torah Portion Schedule for all these variations, and special portions.
Portion Summary
The Hebrew name of the fourth book of the Torah (also the name of the first reading) is Bamidbar (במדבר), which means "In the wilderness." It comes from the first words of the first verse, which say, "Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai" (Numbers 1:1). The English title of the book is "Numbers," which is derived from the Greek Septuagint (LXX) version of the Torah. The book of Numbers tells the story of Israel's trek through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land, their failure at the edge of the land and the subsequent forty years of wandering. It concludes with the story of the second generation's triumphs over the first Canaanite resistance. The book ends with the Israelites poised on the edge of Canaan, ready to take their inheritance. Woven in the midst of these narratives is a significant amount of legal material.
The first reading from Bamidbar and the thirty-fourth reading from the Torah begin with a census of the tribes of Israel and the Levitical families just prior to the departure from Sinai.
Portion Outline
· Torah
o Numbers 1:1 | The First Census of Israel
o Numbers 2:1 | The Order of Encampment and Marching
o Numbers 3:1 | The Sons of Aaron
o Numbers 3:5 | The Duties of the Levites
o Numbers 3:14 | A Census of the Levites
o Numbers 3:40 | The Redemption of the Firstborn
o Numbers 4:1 | The Kohathites
· Prophets
o Hos 2:2 | Israel's Infidelity, Punishment, and Redemption
THE HOSTS ABOVE AND THE HOSTS BELOW
The unseen spiritual world above casts a reflection onto the surface of the material world. Sometimes we find that which is above in some other form down here below.
Earthly things reflect heavenly things. The Sanctuary on earth is a copy of the true heavenly Tabernacle above—the eternal dwelling place of the living God. The priesthood of the Sanctuary has a corresponding priesthood in the Tabernacle above; namely, the priesthood of the Messiah. Earthly institutions ordained by the Torah reflect heavenly realities.
If that which is below is a reflection of that which is above, then the hosts of Israel on earth must correspond to the hosts in heaven. This Torah portion offers a close look at the hosts of Israel. We see them numbered and counted. We see them divided into tribal identities. We see them encamped around the Tabernacle.
According to the sages, the encampments of Israel around the Tabernacle correspond to the placement of the angels around God’s throne. Likewise, the mustering of the hosts of Israel can be compared to the mustering of the hosts of heaven.
Revelation 19 offers us a glimpse of the Messiah as commander of the LORD’s hosts prepared for battle. He rides at the head of the host of heaven. As in the beginning of the book of Numbers, the hosts of the LORD are arrayed for war, ready to swoop into action. Angelic hosts will accompany Messiah into battle at the time of the second coming. Yeshua has twelve legions of angels at His disposal. The twelve legions correspond to the twelve tribes.
Revelation 19:14 describes “armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.” The reference to the fine linen suggests more than just angels. Revelation 19:7-8 describes the righteous bride of Messiah as those clothed “in fine linen, bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:8). The ranks of the heavenly cavalry, mounted upon the white horses, include the righteous of the generations.
HOUSE OF THE FATHER
If Gentile believers are grafted in to Israel, with which of the twelve tribes of Israel should the Gentile believer identify? Who’s your daddy?
The census in the wilderness illustrates the family structure and relationship of the nation of Israel. All the children of Israel were one large family. The hierarchical family relationships reveal the Bible's patriarchal worldview. The breakdown of the nation into tribe, clan and household demonstrates the strong central position of fathers.
The entire nation looked back to one common father. They were the descendents of Jacob. That's why they were called "children of Israel." (Israel is another name for Jacob.)
Each Israelite could trace his line of descent through one of the twelve sons of Jacob. That line of descent formed his or her tribal identity. Those who were descended from a common father were referred to as a tribe. The twelve sons of Jacob were fathers over the tribes. The tribes of Israel were further broken down into large extended families. The Hebrew word for "family" is mishpachah (משפחה). However, when used in the tribal sense, it does not refer to a nuclear family household; it refers to the large extended family of a common forefather within a tribe. A better English word is "clan." A clan is like a sub-tribe—a tribe within a tribe.
Every clan was composed of many households. The Hebrew word for "household" is beit av (בית אב), a term that literally translates as "house of a father." The father's household was composed of himself, his wife (or wives), children and grandchildren.
The common denominator in all these family rankings is the central position of a father. In the biblical world, fatherhood was the essential ingredient for family and identity. Isn't that chauvinistic? Not from the perspective of the biblical woman. She regarded her father and husband as her prestige and her identity. They were the affirmation of her femininity. They provided her protection, sustenance and dignity. It's a different way of thinking from what we have today.
The patriarchal worldview explains why Paul was so eager to establish spiritual paternity for the Gentile believers. To be reckoned as part of the nation, the Gentile believers needed to come under the household of Israel's fathers. In Paul's theology, Gentile believers are adopted into the family of Israel.
Jew and Gentile alike, we all share in the person of Messiah and are fellow heirs, citizens in the Israel of God—the Kingdom of Messiah. We have all been brought near by the same atonement and given the same Torah.
Still, a Gentile believer might wonder which tribe of Israel he is to be identified with. Since the Gentile disciple's participation in Israel is only by means of faith in Yeshua the son of David, the Gentile's tribal affinity is naturally with David's tribe: the tribe of Judah.
THE WORLD WAS CREATED FOR ME
From HaShem's perspective, every single human being is a rare treasure, a completely unique creation, and something to be cherished and admired.
A census report makes for difficult reading. Working through the details of tribal and family tallies can be an exercise in monotony, but Rashi found a sweet message about God's love underlying the dry census data. He explained that God enjoyed counting the Israelites because of his special affection for each person. According to his interpretation, the census is a reminder that the children of Israel are not just a collective whole. Israel is a nation composed of individuals.
All the people of God are real people. Moses and Aaron counted them according to their "genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers' households, according to the number of names, head by head" (Numbers 1:20). This method gave every Israelite the opportunity to tell his name and be counted as an individual of worth. Each person is valuable and unique, a special treasure to God.
In the Talmud, there is a discussion about Adam, the first man and father of all humanity. Why does all of humanity descend from a single human being? "To teach you that whoever destroys a single person is regarded as if he had destroyed an entire world [of people] and whoever saves a single person is regarded as through he had saved an entire world" (b.Sanhedrin 37a). The meaning of this teaching is that each person is as valuable as Adam, the first man. Though Adam was only a single human being, he held within him the potential of all humanity. So, too, each person shares that same potential. No person should be dismissed as simply a number or a cog in the wheel. Every human being is a whole world.
Moreover, the same Talmudic discussion points out that every person, regardless of race, is part of the same human family. The Talmud says, "Adam was created for the sake of peace among men so that no one can say to his fellow, 'My father was greater than yours.'" We all have Adam as our common father. The same discussion points out that while we all come from the same prototype, we are all unique individuals:
[Adam was created] to demonstrate the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He. If a smith strikes many coins from one mold, they all look identical, but the most high King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, fashioned every man in the image of the first man, yet not one of them is identical to his fellow. Therefore every person is obliged to say, "The world was created for my sake." (b.Sanhedrin 37a)
Yeshua told a parable about a shepherd who noticed that one of his hundred sheep was missing. A one percent loss is not terribly serious, but this particular shepherd had special affection and concern for every sheep in the flock. He left the ninety-nine and went out seeking the lost sheep, rejoiced when he found it and carried it on his shoulders back to the flock (Luke 15:1-7). From God's perspective, we are not a nameless, faceless crowd of people. Each person is unique, special and beloved. God cares for you personally. He is concerned with your concerns and seeks your well-being.
JOURNEY THROUGH THE WILDERNESS
Life is a test... Actually, it's more like a long journey through the wilderness. With tests along the way. Lots of them.
The journey from Egypt to the
Promised Land goes through the wilderness. (Image © Bigstock)
The book of Numbers tells the story of the Israelites' journey from Mount Sinai to Canaan. Along the way, the children of Israel faced tests and challenges as they progressed toward their ultimate destination: the land of promise. They met both failures and triumphs and learned important, timeless lessons.
The journey from Egypt to the Promised Land is an apt metaphor for the spiritual journey through life. Just as Israel's journey began when God liberated them from Egypt, our spiritual path begins with a great salvation when we meet the Messiah. Just as God brought Israel to Mount Sinai, Messiah brings us to the revelation of Torah. Just as Israel's goal was the Promised Land, our ultimate destination is eternal life in the world to come. Between here and there we face tests, trials and all manner of adventures. Like the children of Israel, we may face warfare, temptations, discontentment and agonizing hardships. As with the Israelites in the wilderness, our success or failure is determined by our reactions to these trials.
Paul used a similar metaphor. He compared the life of faith to a race run by athletes. The competitors in the race keep their eyes on the prize ahead. Though Paul was a mighty apostle and confident in his salvation, he did not regard himself as if he had already arrived at his goal:
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet. ... I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in the Messiah Yeshua. (Philippians 3:13-14)
In his race metaphor, Paul declared, "I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it" (1 Corinthians 9:23). He was concerned that, after having preached to others, he would find himself disqualified from the race (1 Corinthians 9:27). If those were Paul's sentiments, how much more so should we be concerned with the prize that lies ahead!
The book of Numbers illustrates the hazards in this race. The generation of Israelites who left Mount Sinai never did reach the Promised Land. The journey through life's spiritual wilderness is fraught with difficulties and dangers. Paul said, "If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules" (2 Timothy 2:5). We need to be mindful of the Bible's rules for this journey. Each day we need to recommit ourselves to pressing forward and keeping our eyes on the goal that lies ahead.
This does not mean that if believers fail, God sends them to damnation. He never sent Israel back to Egypt. But it does mean that there are consequences for how we conduct ourselves, and there is rich reward for those who stay the course.
THE LAST TEMPTATION OF MESSIAH
When “the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). The opportune time came in Gethsemane.
Christ on the Mount of Olives, by
Paul Gauguin, 1889, in the Norton Museum of Art, [Public domain], via
Wikimedia Commons
Pressed in Gethsemane The Cup of Suffering
Under the light of the full, Passover moon, Yeshua and His disciples came into the olive grove of Gethsemane. The Master told the disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed” (Mark 14:32). He instructed them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Luke 22:40). What kind of temptation did He fear that the disciples might enter?
The Greek word for “temptation (peirasmos, πειρασμός)” might mean trial, testing, or enticement to sin. The Hebrew equivalent (nissayon, נסיון) has the same range of meaning. That night in Gethsemane, all those meanings applied. Yeshua knew that Satan was on the move against them, ready to pounce. He warned the disciples earlier, “the ruler of the world is coming” (John 14:30), and He told them, “Behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat!” (Luke 22:31). Iscariot had already fallen under the Adversary’s influence.
Years earlier, Satan had tried to entice the Master in a series of three temptations. When “the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). The opportune time had come. The “hour” was upon them, and an eschatological collision between the forces of light and the forces of darkness was about to take place. Yeshua urged the disciples to remain vigilant in prayer so that they might not fall into Satan’s schemes.
Leaving the disciples, He took aside Simon Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, the same three He had taken with Him onto the high mountain at the time of His transfiguration. Together they went a short way further into the grove. He began to feel the weight of darkness pressing in upon Him: “He began to be very distressed and troubled. And He said to them, ‘My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death’” (Mark 14:33-34).
Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? … O my God, my soul is in despair within me. (Psalm 42:6-7[5-6])
The Master felt the malevolent power of evil bearing down on Him. “And behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him” (Genesis 15:12). “The cords of death encompassed [Him] and the terrors of Sheol came upon [Him; He] found distress and sorrow” (Psalm 116:3).
In that hour, He did not want to be utterly alone. He told the three disciples, “remain here and keep watch with Me” (Matthew 26:38). He asked the disciples to stay awake, watch, and pray, but their eyes felt heavy; their heads swam. After a large meal and four cups of wine, the sweet, cool air of Jerusalem whispered to them of sleep. The Mishnah observes that dozing off at the seder meal was common. How much more, then, does a person feel sleepy after the meal is over.
“He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray” (Luke 22:41). As Simon Peter and the Sons of Zebedee tried to banish sleep from their eyes, they could hear the Master’s impassioned cries and shouts in the darkness.
Parashat Bamidbar - Numbers 1:1-4:20
The Big Picture
There is a distinct way of reading the Scriptures that is evident when we begin to peel back the layers of religious and cultural sediment that has accumulated in our minds. One of the ways to do this is by returning to the original language of the Torah. A prime example of this is found in the book of Numbers. In Christian tradition, the book of Numbers is so named because of the first four chapters which seems to be written by the Israelite Census Bureau. It appears to be entirely preoccupied by the numbers of the various tribes and subgroups within the Children of Israel. From the opening lines of, "Take a census of all of the congregation of the people of Israel by clans..." (1:2) until the end of chapter four, it appears that the Torah has little to offer us other than its obsession with the number of people in the various camps within Israel. But are numbers the only thing the Torah is trying to communicate to us in this parashah?
There's a vast difference in how the Torah is read, depending on your perspective. For the casual reader, making it through the first four chapters of the book of Bamidbar is nothing less than an endurance test. If we are oblivious to the big picture whose details are now being offered by the Torah, our current reading can seem like a waste of time. However, if we can zoom out and see the bigger picture that the Torah is trying to paint for us, then everything begins to come into focus. Let's briefly zoom out to take a look at one perspective of this.
The name of our parashah is Bamidbar. It is also the Hebrew name of the book of Numbers. But interestingly, the word bamidbar doesn't mean "numbers." The word bamidbar means "in the wilderness," from the word midbar, meaning "wilderness." It is taken from the first verse in our reading, "The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness [bamidbar] of Sinai..." From the onset of this new book of the Torah, we are given a reminder of the context of what we are about to read. The Children of Israel are no longer slaves in the land of Egypt, nor have they reached the Land of Promise. They are still in the wilderness on their way to Canaan-the land that they will one day call home. Although they are not yet in a time of war, the Lord is having them take a census in preparation for the many battles that lay ahead of them. Entering into the land will not be a waltz in the park; it will require a huge effort on their part. Now is their time of preparation. Now is their time for self-assessment. Now is their time to fine-tune their listening skills so that they can hear their Commander-in-Chief.
Sometimes we feel we are lost in the wilderness. Sometimes we can't see the forest because of the trees. Sometimes the big picture gets lost in the details of every day life. But if we realize that our Creator has an ultimate game plan, and that our lives are a thread in the tapestry of the Kingdom, we might just be able to zoom out and see the beauty of what He is creating. Just as a tapestry is made up of thousands (if not millions) of individual threads, so too is the tapestry of the Kingdom made up of billions of individuals working towards the purpose of our Creator. It's easy to get frustrated with thread number 3,986,105 and lose sight of the ornate beauty on the other side of the cloth. Are we looking at our lives as merely Numbers in a list or as a Midbar of preparation for our task that is in front of us? Parashat Bamidbar may help us to shift our perspective towards the proper direction if we take it to heart.
Parashat Bamidbar - Numbers 1:1-4:20
Parashat Bamidbar, the first portion of the book of Bamidbar, often gets a bad rap. The bulk of it is filled will the results of a national census, the arrangements of the tribal encampments, and the duties of the Levites and Kohanim. For many people this material doesn’t hold their attention. They are looking for something they can “sink their teeth into.” But reading the Torah and understanding its principles takes more than a casual reading. Parashat Bamidbar is one of these portions that beg us to peer deeper into it to see meaning and application. Besides the obvious and practical instructions given to the Children of Israel regarding their encampment and responsibilities, the fact that these seemingly mundane details were recorded and preserved for us in the Holy Scriptures should inform us of their importance. We have to stop and ask questions that help us dig into the text on a deeper level. One of the lessons we can learn from this week’s portion can be found in an interpretation of the midrash presented by the mussar masters. The midrash tells us:
When the Holy One, blessed be He, told Moses, “Organize them [Israel] under standards in accordance with their desire,” [Numbers 2:2] Moses began to feel distressed. He thought, “Now strife will arise among the tribes; for if I bid the tribe of Judah camp on the east side of the Tabernacle and he says, ‘I will accept only the south,‘ and the same applies to Reuben and the same to Ephraim and to each of the other tribes, what am I to do?” (Bamidbar Rabbah 2:8)
Mussar teachers use this example from the midrash to instill within their students the importance of order. Why did Hashem give them specific instructions about how to arrange themselves around the Tent of Meeting? Why didn’t He just leave the choice of the encampments up to the tribes without having to assign them each to a specific area? The answer has to do with the character of the LORD. It is in His very nature to rule the universe with order. He is the one who distinguishes one day from another, and sets the sun, stars, and planets in motion. He is the one who has created the cycles of life, the seasons of the year, and even the laws of the universe. Hashem is a God of order. Everything He does involves order and structure.
The reason Hashem assigns each tribe to a particular encampment is that He wants to teach the children of Israel about the importance of order. In this passage, Moses is concerned that when he assigns the tribes their encampment positions they will argue with him about their assignments. Why does he think this? Because it is human nature to resist imposed order. Although structure and order come natural from some, for most people it doesn’t come without a fight. However, when we work to have order in our lives, it has the ability to transcend the routine and produce spiritual fruit in our lives.
The teachers of mussar see the character trait of order like a clasp on a necklace of expensive pearls. Although the clasp is the least noticed and least appreciated component of the necklace, if it becomes detached and all of the pearls fall to the ground, its importance will be immediately recognized. However, if the clasp holds, the necklace is preserved along with its beauty.
One of our tasks is to imitate Hashem. There are certain things we can do that imitate Hashem’s character trait of order. For instance, when we light candles and say a blessing over wine and bread to begin Shabbat or a festival we are creating order. When we light a multi-wick candle, and say blessings over wine and special spices at the end of Shabbat to make a distinction between the seventh day and the rest of the week we are creating order. When we wake up and give thanks to our Maker before starting our day, we are creating order. There are a multitude of examples that can be listed. However, the principle is that any time we make space for order and structure in our lives we are able to see beyond the confusion and disorder of life and peer into the character of Hashem.
Parashat Bamidbar - Numbers 1:1-4:20
Disciples of Moses
Parashat Bamidbar begins our study of the book of Numbers. Chapter one starts off with the LORD’s command to take a census of the males among the Children of Israel who are of the age to go into battle. Every male twenty years old and older was to be counted. The Torah then lists out the census results according to each tribe. In chapter two, after giving the results of the census, the LORD gives Moses instructions for how the Children of Israel would both encamp and how they would travel. The Tabernacle and the Levites would be surrounded by the entire army of Israel. The tribal legions would be a buffer of protection for both the priestly tribe and also the holy house in the event of a military engagement. Chapter three, however, begins entirely different:
These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. (Numbers 3:1–3)
Chapters three and four of the book of Numbers cover the responsibilities of the Levites for packing up and transporting the Tabernacle and its furnishings when traveling. However, the Torah introduces this topic in a unique manner. It begins by saying, “These are the generations of Aaron and Moses.” In the original Hebrew, the word for generations is toldot. As we have discussed previously, the primary meaning of the word toldot is offspring. But if this is the case, why does the Torah only discuss the sons of Aaron and is completely silent regarding the offspring of Moses?
Rashi, referencing the Talmud’s interpretation of this passage (b.Sanhedrin 19b), has a beautiful answer to this troubling question. He says that it is because Hashem considers the sons of Aaron to also be the sons of Moses, because he has taught them Torah. Because the sons of Aaron were, in a way, disciples of Moses, he became a type of spiritual father to them. This Scriptural principle is extended to say that whoever teaches Torah to the son of his friend is considered as if he had fathered him. And sometimes one’s teacher may even take precedent over one’s physical father, because a person’s physical father “brought him into this world,” but his teacher, “who taught him the wisdom of Torah, brings him to life in the World-to-Come” (b.Bava Metzia 33a).
There are many adults in this world who have never and will never be able to raise physical children of their own. This chronic situation can be devastating. It can lead to bitterness, depression, and a complete lack of purpose to life. The late Chabad Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, and his wife, Chaya Mushka, were never able to bear children. Although hundreds, if not thousands, of people prayed for them to be able to bear natural offspring of their own, the vision was never fulfilled physically. However, the Rebbe is to this day one of the most influential Jewish figures in history. And although he had no physical children of his own, many thousands of people across the world would quickly identify him as their spiritual parent. His life and teachings have affected millions of people around the world for almost three quarters of a century. His state of barrenness did not limit his ability to invest into disciples and give birth to more children than he could have ever been able to physically.
Yeshua of Nazareth is an even more extreme example. Although he had no physical children of his own (unless you believe the conspiracy theories of the likes of Dan Brown and others), he has given life to literally billions of children over the last two thousand years. His spiritual family will continually grow in numbers, because he calls us to continue to produce spiritual offspring for him.
Neither the Rebbe, nor Yeshua, had the limiting belief that they could not bear children. They simply had a different perspective that we would do well to imitate. Although our physical children should be our first and primary responsibility to disciple and teach to the Scriptures, we should keep in mind that we also have the opportunity to be spiritual parents to others. Because we are called to raise up disciples, teaching them all that Yeshua has taught us, we have the opportunity to create spiritual offspring thousands of times larger than what we are able to simply through our physical offspring. If you feel that your child-rearing days are over, or if you have not had the privilege to raise children of your own, you still have an opportunity to turn a barren womb into a fertile environment for birthing spiritual offspring, as it says, “He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children” (Psalm 113:9).
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