Parashas Bamidbar

This week’s parashah with Hashem’s commanding Moshe to count the nation: וַיְדַבֵּר ד' אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית לְצֵאתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לֵאמֹר: שְׂאוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת כָּל זָכָר לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָם, And Hashem spoke with Moshe in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first of the second month, in the second year of their leaving Egypt saying: Count the heads of the Children of Israel according to their families, by their father’s houses, with a reckoning of their names, every male according to their heads.

Why did the Torah find it important to tell us that this took place “In the Wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting”? Once we know when the census took place, we can figure out that it was during the period the Jews were in the Wilderness of Sinai? Additionally, although that seems to have usually been the case, we don’t find the Torah telling us each time that Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Tent of Meeting, why tell it to us here? Finally, what is the meaning of the phrase “בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת, with a reckoning of their names,” a phrase that does not appear when Hashem commands the next census, in Parashas Pinchos?

The term used to count the Jews isשְׂאוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ , literally: lift the heads. A common explanation for this is that one purpose of the census was for each Jew to realize that he was an important part of the nation.

We know (see, for example, Rashi to Bereishis 32:20), that a “name” indicates a person’s essence and mission.

Perhaps the Torah here is teaching us that wherever we find ourselves – be it in a wilderness, where there is nothing else physically or spiritually, or in the Tent of Meeting, the seat of holiness surrounded by others – we always have a unique “name,” a unique mission and purpose. Each individual is there for a reason, and our goal is to fulfill the role we were meant to fill.

May Hashem give each of us success in “being all the was can be.”

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Bechukosai

This week’s parashah begins with the Torah telling us the blessings we will receive if we toil in Torah and observe the mitzvos. We will be granted prosperity and peace; our enemies will be vanquished and Hashem will place His dwelling-place among us.

Then the Torah adds an interesting assurance: וְלֹא תִגְעַל נַפְשִׁי אֶתְכֶם, Hashem assures us that His Soul, as it were, will not reject (“purge itself of”) us.

But isn't it obvious that if we’re toiling in Torah and doing mitzvos Hashem wouldn't reject us? Why would we think that he would?

Perhaps this verse is not an assurance, however. Perhaps it is telling us how to succeed in having Hashem dwell among us and not reject us.

Chazal (Shabbos 105a) tell us that the first word of the Aseres HaDibros,אנכי , is an acronym for the words אנא נפשי כתיבת יהבית. The simple understanding of this phrase is “I (Hashem) Myself wrote this (the Torah) and gave it,” but the sefarim explain that this also means “I (Hashem) wrote and gave My Soul (through the Torah).”

People often want to “connect” to Hashem spiritually. They look for all sorts of unique and innovative ways to achieve this.

But Hashem’s “Soul,” as it were, isn't there; it's in the Torah and its mitzvos.

These pesukim tell us that there’s only one way to “connect”: בְּחֻקֹּתַי תֵּלֵכוּ וְאֶת מִצְוֹתַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם, through toil in Torah and observance of the mitzvos.

This is the only way to achieve וְנָתַתִּי מִשְׁכָּנִי בְּתוֹכֲכֶם וְלֹא תִגְעַל נַפְשִׁי אֶתְכֶם' that Hashem will dwell among us and not reject us.

 May we merit all these berachos, bimheirah b’yameinu.

Gut Shabbos.

A Quick Thought on Parashas Behar

In this week’s parashah, we are taught the laws of Shemittah – when every seven years farmers had to allow their fields to lie fallow – and Yovel – the 50^th year, when they had to do the same.

Essentially, every 50 years, they were unable to work their fields for two consecutive years.

The Torah goes on to tell us that if people ask, “What will we eat?” Hashem will provide them with so much produce in the 48^th year, that they will enough food to last through the following seasons, until the crop planted in the 51^st year grows.

A frequently-asked question is: We seem to be rewarding a person’s diminished faith. After all, it appears that this blessing will only come in response to the question, “What will we eat.” What about those farmers who have faith in Hashem and do not ask this question?

The Rebbe Reb Zushia of Hanipoli offers a beautiful insight:

Hashem knows what we truly need, what will bring us the most  blessing, what will offer us the fulfillment and contentment. Money is not always the answer; there are often other areas of life where we can better use blessing.

The Torah assures us that the farmer who worries what he will have to eat will be granted all the food he needs.

The farmer who has complete faith and reliance on Hashem, on the other hand, may have a hard time scraping by during those same years. But he will be blessed by Hashem’s bounty in those areas where he truly needs it.

May we all merit Hashem’s brachah in our own lives, in every way.

Gut Shabbos

Parashas Emor

This week’s parashah includes the mitzvah of Sefiras HaOmer,  as we count the 49 days from the second day of Pesach, when the Korban HaOmer – from the grain of the new harvest – was brought, until Shavuos.

These are days when we anxiously await receiving the Torah on Shavuos, and many ask why it is that we count “up,” rather than “down.” After all, when people anticipate an event, they generally count down the days remaining, rather than the days that have passed.

Another question is: Why is this called counting the Omer? What connection is there between the Omer, our counting, and the culmination of our count with the arrival of Shavuos and Mattan Torah?

The word “omer” has numerous meanings. One is a measure of 1/10 of an eiphah¸which is the amount of flour used for this offering. Another (as used in Devarim 24: 19) is a bundle of grain.

The lesson is that during this period, we are not to simply passively count down the days to Shavuos; we are to use each day to count “up,” to accumulate a spiritual bundle by making another improvement.

We start by counting days – we realize that every small accomplishment brings us closer to our goal. Then, as we amass more bundles of achievements, we count weeks, an encouraging sign that our small bundles are piling up in our spiritual treasurehouse – not so that we can sit back, but so that we are inspired to work even more diligently toward our objective.

The Jews had 49 days to be transformed from a slave nation at the 49^th level of impurity to the lofty nation prepared to receive the Torah. On the seventh day after they left Egypt, as they stood at the Sea, the angels looked down at the Jews and the Egyptians and commented, “This group is idolators and that group is idolators!” Seven days in – 1/7 of their spiritual journey – they looked the same! But they were not the same, they were in the process of sanctifying themselves.

Our achievements are incremental. Their effects are not always evident – even to us. But as the days and weeks pile up, though our efforts, prayers, and siyata Dishmaya our bundles amass, so that when we complete our 49-day count, we can reach the level of angels (see Shabbos 88a) and pronounce “Naaseh venishma.”

Gut Shabbos.