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BEMIDBAR SELECTED SHORTS Rabbi Eliot Malomet May 15, 2021 4 Sivan 5781

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BEMIDBAR SELECTED SHORTS Rabbi Eliot Malomet May 15, 2021 4 Sivan 5781 BEMIDBAR SELECTED SHORTS Rabbi Eliot Malomet May 15, 2021 4 Sivan 5781 Egypt He counted them (Exodus 12:37), when רבדמב א :׳ א׳ many of them fell in consequence of their having )א( יַ ו דְ ֵבַּ ר֨ 'ה ֶשֹׁמ־לֶא ה֛ מְ בּ דִ בְּ ַ ר֥ ניִ ס ַ ֖ י ֹאְ בּ לֶה֣ ﬠוֹמ ֵ ד֑ ֩דָחֶאְ בּ ֹחַל ד֨ שֶׁ שֶׁ ד֨ ֹחַל ֩דָחֶאְ בּ ד֑ ֵ ﬠוֹמ לֶה֣ ֹאְ בּ י ֖ ַ ניִ ס ר֥ ַ בְּ דִ מְ בּ ה֛ ֶשֹׁמ־לֶא 'ה ר֨ ֵבַּ דְ יַ ו )א( worshipped the golden calf He counted them to ִנֵשַּׁה י֜ ָנָשַּׁבּ ה֣ ִנֵשַּׁה תי֗ ָתאֵצְל ם֛ ֶאֵמ ץֶר֥ ַרְצִמ י֖ םִ ֹמאֵל ׃רֽ Numbers 1:1 ascertain the number of those left; when he was (1) On the first day of the second month, in the about to make His Shechinah dwell amongst second year following the exodus from the land of them, He again took their census; for on the first Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the wil- day of Nisan the Tabernacle was erected and derness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, saying… shortly afterwards, on the first day of Iyar, He So much information compressed in that first counted them. What’s the deal with all this verse. We are in the desert. It’s year two. The counting? Counting is a process of ordering. exodus is behind us. Rabbi jonathan Sacks notes Counting is organizing and shaping. Counting is the contrast between Numbers and Exodus. imposition of frameworks and structure. And Exodus is the “journey from”. Numbers is the counting is protection and love. רבדמב א :׳ ה׳ journey towards”. Breaking out of something“ )ה( ֵאְ ו ֙הֶלּ֙ מְשׁ תוֹ֣ ָ נֲאֽ ה ִשָׁ םי֔ ֶשֲׁא ר֥ ַ מַﬠֽ י דְ וּ֖ תִּ א כְ ֶ ם֑ רִל ֵבוּאְ ן֕ ציִלֱא וּ֖ ר has a totally different narrative configuration than ׃רוּֽאיֵדְשׁ־ןֶבּ making your way towards something. He offers that one is easier than the other. The drama of Numbers 1:5 revolution and disruption is easy; creating a (5) These are the names of the men who shall functioning, stable society is hard. Look at assist you: From Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur. history. Or better, look at the news. The book of BEMIDBAR, Numbers, is a book of Wilderness: The wilderness bewilders; it under- names, SHMOT. And the book of Names, mines the very ability to speak, to know one’s own SHMOT, is a book of numbers. Discuss. רבדמב א :׳ כ׳-כ״א experience. Its emptiness dwarfs the force of (כ) ַו ִיּ ְה ֤יוּ ְב ֵֽני־ ְראוּ ֵב֙ן ְבּ ֹ֣כר ִי ְשׂ ָר ֵ֔אל תּוֹ ְל ֹד ָ ֥תם ְל ִמ ְשׁ ְפּ ֹח ָ ֖תם ְל ֵ֣בית one’s imagination. It is the burial site of the great ָתֹבֲא ם֑ ַפְּסִמְבּ ר֤ ֙תוֹמֵשׁ גְּלֻגְל ָת¤ְ ם֔ ָכָז־לָכּ ר֗ ֶבִּמ ן֨ ִרְשֶׂﬠ םי֤ ֙הָנָשׁ enterprise of redemption that lies at the heart of ַמָו הָלְﬠ֔ ל֖ ֹכּ ֵ֥צֹי א בָצ ָ ׃אֽ )אכ( קְ פּ דֻ היֵ ֶ ם֖ מְ ל טַּ ֵ ה֣ בוּאְ ר ֵ ֑ ן שִּׁשׁ ָ ה֧ this book. (Aviva zornberg). Zornberg ... thinks םיִ֛ﬠָבְּרַאְו ףֶלֶ֖א שֵׁ֥מֲחַו ׃תוֹֽאֵמ )פ( of the Israelites’ 40-year journey through the wilderness as “a therapeutic experience. This Numbers 1:20-21 period of constant complaints, rebellions, and (20) They totaled as follows: The descendants of vociferous lack of faith is the nascent nation’s Reuben, Israel’s first-born, the registration of the collective cathartic experience. A core fantasy is clans of their ancestral house, as listed by name, being worked through.” Even as an entire head by head, all males aged twenty years and generation perishes in the wilderness, the people over, all who were able to bear arms— (21) those learns to speak of its subjective experience. (Beth enrolled from the tribe of Reuben: 46,500. And Kissileff). The Midrash likens Torah to a wil- we go on from here for a column of parchment derness: It has to be as ownerless as wilderness. listing all the populations of the tribes. Numerals Scripture says: “From the wilderness to Mat- are not present in biblical texts. Indeed, the entire tanah” (Numbers 21:18), which can be read as: way that we display quantitative information is “From wilderness, a gift.” (Sfat Emet). quite novel in human history. What if the Torah conveyed the populations of Israel in a chart like שר "י לע רבדמב א :׳ א׳ ?this )א( .רבדיו רבדמב יניס דחאב שדחל .'וגו ‰וֹתִּמ ןָתָבִּח ויָנָפְל ויָנָפְל ןָתָבִּח ‰וֹתִּמ Reuben 46,500 Ephraim 40,500 נוֹמ הֶ תוֹא םָ לָ כּ ﬠָשׁ הָ — וּאְצָיֶּשְׁכּ ִיַרְצִמִּמ ם נְ מ אָ ,ןָ כוּ נֶּשְׁ פָ וּלְ וּלְ פָ נֶּשְׁ כוּ ,ןָ אָ נְ מ ם Shimon 59,300 Menashe 32,200 לֶגֵﬠָבּ ןָאָנְמ עַדיֵל ןַיְנִמ ,םיִרָתוֹנַּה אָבֶּשְׁכּ תוֹרְשַׁהְל וֹתָניִכְשׁ וֹתָניִכְשׁ תוֹרְשַׁהְל אָבֶּשְׁכּ ,םיִרָתוֹנַּה ןַיְנִמ עַדיֵל ןָאָנְמ לֶגֵﬠָבּ Gad 45,650 Binyamin 35,400 םֶהיֵלֲﬠ נְמ ,םָאָ דָחֶאְבּ נְבּ ןָסיִ םַקוּה ןָכְּשִׁמַּה דָחֶאְבוּ יִּאְבּ רָ נְמ :םָאָ Yehuda 74,600 Dan 62,700 Rashi on Numbers 1:1 Yissachar 54,400 Asher 41,500 (1) Because of His love for them, He counts them Zevulun 57,400 Naphtali 53,400 every now and then: when they went forth from Or in a pie graph like this? itself could be presented visually: Visual display has utility to communicate information efficiently. The function of Text - chanted, memorized, recited, is narrative, is to convey information socially. The visual leads to individuation; textual leads to community. And, there are other messages too. Note that all of the It is one thing to visualize camping around the tribal populations are chanted essentially with the Tabernacle. It is another thing to sing about it. רבדמב ג :׳ י״ב-י״ג same trope. Each tribe gets its own verse in the (יב) ַו ֲא ִ֞ני ִה ֵ֧נּה ָלַ ֣ק ְח ִתּי ֶאת־ ַה ְל ִוִ֗יּם ִמתּוֹ ֙‰ ְבּ ֵ֣ני ִי ְשׂ ָר ֵ֔אל ַ ֧תּ ַחת ָכּל־ .national song, sung to the same melody ְבּ ֛כוֹר ֶ ֥פּ ֶטר ֶ ֖ר ֶחם ִמ ְבּ ֵ֣ני ִי ְשׂ ָר ֵ֑אל ְו ָ ֥היוּ ִ ֖לי ַה ְל ִוִֽיּם׃ (יג) ִ ֣כּי ִל֮י ָכּל־ ֒רוֹכְבּ ֩םוֹיְבּ ִתֹכַּה י֨ רוֹ֜כְבּ־לָכ ץֶרֶ֣אְבּ ַרְצִמ םִי֗ ַדְּקִה יִתְּשׁ֨ יִ֤ל ֙רוֹכְבּ־לָכ רבדמב א :׳ מ״ו ֵאָרְשִׂיְבּ ל֔ םָ֖דָאֵמ הָ֑מֵהְבּ־דַﬠ יִ֥ל וּ֖יְהִי יִ֥נֲא ׃'ה ס( ) (מו) ַוִֽיּ ְהי ֙וּ ָכּל־ ַה ְפּ ֻק ִ֔דים ֵשׁשׁ־ ֵמ ֥אוֹת ֶ ֖א ֶלף וּ ְשׁ ֣¤ ֶשׁת פָלֲא ִ םי֑ ֵמֲחַו שׁ֥ שׁ֥ ֵמֲחַו םי֑ ִ פָלֲא Numbers 3:12-13 תוֹ֖אֵמ ִשִּׁמֲחַו ׃םיֽ Numbers 1:46 (12) I hereby take the Levites from among the (46) all who were enrolled came to 603,550. This Israelites in place of all the first-born, the first number is quite large. It is only the number of issue of the womb among the Israelites: the males above 20. What that meant in terms of the Levites shall be Mine. (13) For every first-born is total population is anyone’s guess. Some have Mine: at the time that I smote every first-born in suggested that the population of the entire people the land of Egypt, I consecrated every first-born was around 2.5 million. That would be quite in Israel, man and beast, to Myself, to be Mine, large and has raised many questions among scho- the LORD’s. The Levites are rewarded with lars. Is the number real, symbolic, are we inter- their position in lieu of the firstborn because of preting the words correctly? Is this a retrojection their behavior at the Golden Calf episode. But from a later period? All good questions. there’s probably something else going on here. Taking the first-born from every family disrupts רבדמב ב :׳ ב׳ the natural life of family and injures family continuity (ב) ִ ֣אישׁ ַﬠל־ ִדּ ְג ֤לוֹ ְב ֹא ֹת ֙ת ְל ֵ֣בית ֲא ֹב ָ֔תם ַי ֲח ֖נוּ ְבּ ֵ֣ני ִי ְשׂ ָר ֵ֑אל ִמ ֶ֕נּ ֶג ד ד and function. Not to mention relationships. It is a very ִבָס בי֥ ֹאְל ֵﬠוֹמ־לֶהֽ ד֖ נֲחַי ׃וּֽ Numbers 2:2 inefficient way of transmitting information: recruit- (2) The Israelites shall camp each with his ment, organization and education as opposed to standard, under the banners of their ancestral passing it down, father to son. The Levite system house; they shall camp around the Tent of preserves the institution of the family and creates an Meeting at a distance. The array of the Israelites efficient structure to serve the people. Shabbat Shalom! .
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