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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