Behaalotecha 5764 – Gilayon #344


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Parashat Behaalotcha

ON THE DAY THAT THE TABERNACLE

WAS SET UP, THE CLOUD COVERED THE TABERNACLE, THE TENT OF THE PACT; AND IN THE

EVENING IT RESTED OVER THE TABERNACLE IN THE LIKENESS OF FIRE UNTIL MORNING. IT

WAS ALWAYS SO: THE CLOUD COVERED IT, APPEARING AS FIRE BY NIGHT. AND WHENEVER

THE CLOUD LIFTED FROM THE TENT, THE ISRAELITES WOULD SET OUT ACCORDINGLY; AND

AT THE SPOT WHERE THE CLOUD SETTLED, THERE THE ISRAELITES WOULD MAKE CAMP.

(Bamidbar 9:15-17)

 

 

Patience, Waiting, and

Contending with Uncertainty as Expressions of Faith

But

the cloud was the Shepherd's crook by means of which God, the Shepherd of

Israel, announced His will to the People He was leading, where and when they

were to encamp, where and when to break camp. And, as is here described, the

will and the intention of this direction were absolutely unpredictable. Sometimes a long rest, sometimes just a few days. Sometimes

only a night or a day and a night, or two days, a month, year… it is not so

much the strain of lengthy wanderings as the patient endurance of the lengthy

stops which seem to be stressed as the real task of the tests. Nothing is

mentioned of the wanderings and their duration, but very definitely and

repeatedly we are told of standing fast in long rests… Clearly then their

exercising enduring patience is specially stressed. This is the more

understandable when one thinks of the inhospitality of the desert, and

remembers that the people knew quite well that the wilderness was not the end

of their wanderings, but that their goal lay beyond, and that every tarrying

anywhere in the wilderness only held them back from the Promised Land. These

were the exercises in that virtue of quiet and cheerful devoted and confident

enduring patience which the "People of God's guidance" require more

than any other in their Galut-wanderings through the "wilderness

of the nations," as the prophet calls it, during so many centuries of the

future, and which the word of the prophet so significantly renders as, Even

if it tarries, wait for it still (Habakkuk 2:3).

(R.

Shimshon Raphael Hirsch on Bamidbar

9:16-22, Levy translation)

 

 

On the Menorah

and Gratitude

Avigdor Sheinan

 

Our parasha

opens with a reference to the Menorah which stood in the Tabernacle, and later

in the Temple (and which eventually metamorphosed into the "Eternal Light"

of the synagogue): When you mount the lamps, let the seven lamps give light

at the front of the Menorah (Bamidbar

8:2).

The Sages grappled extensively with the issue of the Menorah's purpose. Midrash Tanhumah (Titzaveh 2) formulates the question in a sharp

tone:

The community of Israel asked God: "Lord

of the Universe…You illuminate the entire world, yet You

command us to set up an eternal light? We see light [only] through your light,

and you ask us to light lamps?"

Among the answers offered by the midrash to this question, we find "[God

answered] I did not [command you to light the Menorah] because I need its

light, rather in order that it give light for you" (Buber edition, Tetzaveh 4). Mentioning

the mechanism of human eyesight, which remains unfathomable to mortals, Rabbi Yohanan says [as if quoting God], "You do not

understand eyesight, yet you ask to understand My

ways? In order to avoid confusing you, it must be spoken of, lest you say that

He needs light" Rabbi Avin HaLevy

takes up the discussion and says, "You will find that people make windows

broad on the inside and narrow on the outside, so that they may draw in the

light. However, the Temple had windows that were wide on the outside and narrow

on the inside, so that light could exit the Temple and illuminate the world. Light

comes forth from My house, and I am in need of light! And

if you ask what the lamp is for, it is to give us [human beings] light!"

According to this view, the Menorah exists for people, and not for the Master

of the Universe; its light is the source of the whole world's illumination.

An alternative answer explains the

lighting of the Menorah in the Tabernacle as an expression of gratitude. It is

developed at length in another section of Midrash Tanhuma (Tetzaveh 1). This

relatively long drasha is constructed in an unusual

and interesting manner: it opens with a question of Jewish law. In order to

fully understand and enjoy this midrash,

a word must be said as to its style of construction. It seems that in the days

of the Sages it was customary for the preacher to sometimes begin his oratory

with the answer to a question raised by his audience. Such questions were

usually introduced with the formulaic phrase yilamdeinu

rabbeinu [teach us, our rabbi], and they could touch

upon various halakhic issues, usually drawn from

everyday life. The preacher had to somehow connect the question and its answer

in various ways to the first verse of the Torah reading which the congregation

had gathered to hear, i.e. the opening verse of the week's parasha,

of the festival's Torah reading, and so forth. The beauty of these

introductions rests in the surprising connections made between the resolution

of a halakhic question and an unrelated and

predetermined scriptural verse. Scholars disagree over the extent to which the

preacher had foreknowledge of the question to be asked. Some say that he "ordered"

the question in advance, reducing the exchange with the audience to mere

formality. Others claim – convincingly – that the question was posed to the

preacher for the first time as he stood before his audience, forcing him to

spontaneously improvise his drasha. We possess around

two hundred specimens of such drashot, which allow us

to peer beyond lifeless texts into vibrant world of the ancient beit midrash.

The drasha we

will examine opens with the query, "Teach us, our rabbi, at which age must

an infant be circumcised." It is hard to imagine that this would

constitute a genuine question for any Jewish audience. We must then say that

the real challenge of the question was not to merely answer it, but rather to

tie that answer to the first verse of the Torah reading, i.e., Command the

Israelite people to… to kindle lamps regularly (Vayikra 24:2).

The preacher spins out his words, first

responding to the question itself, and then expounding upon the basis of his

answer to it: "So learned our Rabbis: An infant is circumcised at eight [days].

What is the reason? Because our Father Isaac was circumcised

[on his eighth day]." >From this answer, the preacher moves on

to speak of how beloved is the commandment of circumcision:

Rabbi Shimon bay Yohai

said: Come and see that nothing is more beloved to a person than his son, yet

he circumcises him. And why does he go to such an extreme? Rabbi Nahman bar Shmuel said: In order

to perform the will of his Creator – he sees blood flowing from his son's

circumcision, accepting it joyously. Rabbi Haninah

said: Not only that – he puts himself out to make the day a joyous celebration.

He is not actually commanded to do this, but it accords with the verse, As for me, I will hope always, and add to

the many praises of You (Tehillim

71:14).

Not only this – a man goes out and borrows money, mortgaging property in order

to celebrate the day.

These words are surprisingly down to

earth. A circumcision is a joyous occasion, and a Jew will spend his money to

celebrate it, even if it is necessary take out loans and mortgages, all out of

love for his son and in recognition of the importance of circumcision. The preacher

continues and asks a question in the name of Rabbi Yudin:

Rabbi Yudin

said: When is a son beloved to his father? When he begins to talk, as it says: Truly,

Ephraim is a dear son to Me, an entertaining child

(Jeremiah

31:20)

When is a child entertaining? At three or four years, when he

begins to speak and entertains his father.

When a child begins to talk, he begins

to repay his father for all he has invested in him up to then. As someone who

can carry on a real discussion, who asks and replies, the child can give his

parents something in return. They entered him into the covenant of our Father

Abraham, into the world of Judaism, even at some expense to them, and now they

bask in their pride of him, of his words and personality which develop before

their eyes.

The preacher contends that this type of

relationship, which holds between one who bestows favors and another who is

grateful for those favors and seeks to return them in kind, also characterizes

the relationship between Israel and its God. The preacher continues his speech

with a crucial bridging sentence: "And Rabbi Bisna

said: God told Israel: My children, do unto me as I

have done unto you." The designation of Israel as God's children moves the

parent/child relationship into the metaphysical and historical realms. The

words "do unto Me as I have done unto you"

is an explicit demand that the Jew acknowledge that which he has gained by the

grace of God. So the preacher relates a long series of examples, some of which

derive from Ezekiel's prophecy regarding the female infant who was thrown out

to the field upon the day of her birth, only to be saved by Divine providence:

I fed you in the wilderness – and so

you sacrificed to me: You shall offer the one lamb in the morning, etc. (Shemot 29:39), I bathed you in water (Ezekiel 16:9) – and

you made me a basin, I anointed you with oil (ibid), –

parallel to the oil of anointing, I clothed you in embroidered garments (16:10),

parallel to the embroidered clothes [of the Tabernacle], and gave you

sandals of dolphin leather to wear (loc cit) – parallel to the dolphin skins

[used in the Tabernacle], and wound fine linen about your head (ibid) –

parallel to the fine twisted linen, and dressed you in silk [meshi] (ibid) – these are the clouds of glory, for

it is said, the pillar of cloud did not depart [yamish]

by day (Shemot 14:22) – parallel to the cloths of goat's

hair, I decked you in finery (Ezekiel 16: 11), that

is jewelry – parallel to the ark and its golden molding, I put a nose-ring

(Ezekiel

16:12)

parallel to the brooches and rings [of gold donated for the construction of the

Tabernacle and its vessels], and a splendid crown on your head (loc cit)

parallel to the cover and gold molding of the ark. I will rain down bread

for you (Shemot 16:4) – parallel to the show bread, the

Lord went before them by day… to give them light (Shemot 13:21) – parallel to Command the Israelite

people to… to kindle lamps regularly.

The sacrificial rite, the Tabernacle

and its parts, the show bread and the menorah – they are all means of

expression that a person living in the present may use to thank God for His past

kindnesses to His people. Upon this conception, the Menorah becomes but one of

many expressions of this idea. Today, when there is no Temple or Tabernacle or

holy vessels, when there are no sacrifices or priests performing the rites, now

prayer and the prayer book remain our way to say daily that "we thank you,"

reciting Al Ha-Nisim to recall the favors of

the past, of Purim and Hannukah.

These words are written a few days

after Yom Ha-Atzmaut and a few days before Yom Yerushalayim, and the obvious question is whether we have

found a way to properly mark these historical revelations of God's kindness in

our prayer services. I am not referring to the recitation of the Hallel on these days, or proposals to compose

special versions of Al Ha-Nisim. I am asking

simpler questions: How many congregations accepted Rabbi Goren's

suggestion, following the Six Day War, to make changes in the Nahem prayer recited in the minhah

service of Tisha Be'Av? How

many people identified with the call of several scholars and rabbis to replace

the expression "humbled soul" (aluvat

nefesh) used to refer to Jerusalem in the

blessings on the haftorah with an expression that

does not smack of ingratitude? The answer is clear and the implications are

troubling.

Prof.

Sheinan teaches in the Hebrew literature department

of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

 

 

Advance, O Lord! May Your

Enemies Be Scattered, and May Your Foes Flee Before You! Who is being referred to?

Moses

recognized that this Torah from its very entry into the world would have to

expect enemies, opponents, and foes, that people would hate it. Its demands for

justice and love are so very much in opposition to the dictates of force and

selfishness the curse of which is felt so keenly by the weak and needy. The

upkeep of these dictates against the laws of justice and love guarantees the

coalition of all the people in power who form a tacitly united front in the

world, of enemies, opponents to the Torah who form a barrier to the entry of

its influence into the world in general. And its demands for self-control and

sanctification of morals are so much in contrast to the allures of ignoble

passion that one finds in the breast of the ignoble masses in all classes, not

only enemies but foes, not only hate but persecution…

(R.

Shimshon Raphael Hirsch on Bamidbar

10:35-36, Levy translation)

 

If

there is one among your friends whose obedience to God is greater than yours,

whose actions for His sake are purer, and his efforts to draw near to Him

stronger, the instinct will make you hate him, saying, "All the effort

this man shows in obedience to God constitutes a clear failure on you part! Were

it not for him, God, as well as man, would think you the most pious of your

generation. Therefore you should offend him be jealous of him and angry with

him! Look for his faults and failures! Watch for his stumblings!

Observe where he is negligent, publicize it as much as you can, and revile him

for it. If it is possible to slander him for nothing, just to dishonor him in

people's eyes, go ahead and do it!" Your answer to him should be the

following: "How can I scorn somebody God loves and revile somebody he

favors?"

(R.

Bahya Ibn Pakuda's Hovot Ha-Levavot, Sha'ar Yihud Ha-Ma'aseh 8. Pp. 300-1

in Mansoor's translation)

 

Who were the Asafsuf?

Who

were the asafsuf ["riff-raff"]?

Rabbi Shimon bar Abba and Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya [spoke of this]. One said: They were the converts

who rose up with them from Egypt, for it is said, Moreover, a mixed multitude

went up with them (Shemot 12:8).

And

one said: The Asafsuf are the Sanhedrin, for

it is said, collect [esfa] for me seventy men (Bamidbar 11:16). What is [also] written there? A

fire of the Lord broke out against them, ravaging the outskirts [beketzei] of the camp (11:1) – the

kotzim [thorns, i.e. riff-raff] of the camp. And

how do we know that those elders who ascended Mount Sinai were burned? For it

is said, a fire blazed in their party [eidah] (Tehillim 106:18), and eidah

can only mean the Sanhedrin, for it is said, if this was done through the

inadvertence of the eidah [elders] (Bamidbar 15:24).

(Bamidbar Rabba 15:24)

 

And You Shall Purify Them – The Holy Service can be One's Downfall

It

repeats the warning about ritual purity, for just as the Holy Service can raise up one's heart in God's paths, so too it can trip one

up through pride over other people and the desecration of the Holy Name caused

even by a minor transgression – against these we must be warned. Also, the

greater someone is compared to his fellows, the greater is his inclination to

sin in unusual ways. So we find that proximity to holiness causes impurity, as

the prophet Haggai said, whatever they bring near is defiled (2:14)… Later

this actually happened to Korah and his followers

from the Levites – their greatness was their downfall – that is why they are

warned after they served in the Tent of Meeting, so that they will be warned

regarding purity in accordance with their rank.

(Ha-Emek Davar Bamidbar 8:15)

 

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