Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Hello, my friends, and welcome back to this week's episode of the Practical Parasha Podcast. This is Rabbi Shlomo Cohen, and I hope you are well.
[00:00:08] This week we continue with the fourth book of the Torah, the Book of Bamidbar, the Book of Numbers, as it's referred to in English.
[00:00:19] And the reason why it is called numbers, even though the Hebrew word is Bamidbur, which means in the desert, but it's referred to as Numbers, is because Bamidbar, right. The Book of Numbers is also known as Parshas Ha' Apekudim, the Book of counting.
[00:00:40] And that's because twice in the Book of Bamidbur, starting in this week's Parsha, which is also referred to as Parshas Bamidbar as well. The first of this book, the first Parsha in this book of Bamidbar is Parshas. Bamidbar starts off with the counting of the Jewish nation that God commands Moshe Rabbeinu Moses to count the Jewish people before they will enter the land of Israel. And there are different reasons that are given.
[00:01:10] And before we begin, as always, if you have any questions, comments, would like to reach out and say hello, please do send me email Rabbi Shlomokon kohnmail.com I'd love to hear from you. The Parsha continues with the count of each tribe as well as its leaders.
[00:01:30] And the Parsha also details to us clearly the formation of the Jewish people, the Jewish nation in the desert, when they camped and when they traveled. In regards to the position of the tabernacle, each tribe had a specific spot.
[00:01:47] And the Parsha tells us exactly where each tribe was positioned and who their neighbor was.
[00:01:54] And the Parasha finishes off with the Leviim, a special counting of the Levites, how they were counted, and the different jobs that the children of Levi had in regards to transporting and setting up the tabernacle. The first idea I want to share with you today really is a little bit about current events and current events not in the news, but in Jewish current events that this coming Sunday night is Shavuos is the holiday of Shavuos.
[00:02:28] And Shavuos is one of the three major, um, holidays. It's one of the Shloshe Regalim, which means that in times of the Temple and the times of the Beis Hamikdash, there was an obligation for Jews to go to Jerusalem to be by the Holy Temple. And that obligation would be for three times a year for Pesach, Shavuos and for Sukkos.
[00:02:54] Now Shavuos in our times, unfortunately It's a little bit of a lesser known holiday. Pesach is very known because you have the Seder and you have Matzah and Sukkos is very known because you have a sukkah and a lula of an estrog. You shake the lulav and Esrog. And obviously the other holidays as well, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
[00:03:14] But Shavu is a little bit of a lesser known holiday. And the reason why it's a celebration, what we're celebrating is the day that we receive the Torah, that we went out of Egypt, and 49 days later, on the 50th day, we received the Torah at Mount Sinai where G D revealed himself to the entire Jewish nation and gave us the Torah, which really makes us into a people.
[00:03:37] Without the Torah, then what are the Jewish people? We're not a race, right? Because there's all types of Jewish people. There's Jewish people that are white, there's Jewish people that are black, there's Jewish people that are Chinese, right? And we're all dispersed all over the world. We eat different things.
[00:03:55] Um, not everyone eats gefiltevish, right?
[00:03:58] Not everyone eats cholent, depending where you are and where you're from.
[00:04:03] Which part? Different Jews eat different things.
[00:04:06] So what binds us all together as a Jewish nation, which makes each and every one of us feel like brothers and sisters?
[00:04:14] And the answer to that is that it's not the land of Israel. Even though that is a part of the Jewish people living in the Land of Israel, that is part of the plan that God has for us. But for thousands of years, even before the State of Israel, we've only had the modern state of Israel for about 75 years, but we've existed before that. And even if there wasn't a state of Israel, we would still be in existence. So it can't be a common land that brings us together either.
[00:04:44] What is it?
[00:04:45] And the answer to that is that what makes Jews Jewish and what makes us a, uh, people is the Torah is the fact that we accepted the Torah from G D and that we use it and we live by it as our blueprint to life. And really just it's uh, very appropriate now that Parshas Bamidbur is always usually read before Shavuos.
[00:05:10] And one idea I think that ties in from Bamidbar, the Parshas Bamidbar to the holiday of Shavuos is that Parshas Bamidbar deals with the different tribes and the different formations.
[00:05:27] And it's very Interesting to know. We know that the Jewish nation is made up of 12 tribes. That's the breakdown.
[00:05:35] There's the 12 sons of Jacob, and that's what's referred to as the Jewish people, 12 tribes.
[00:05:43] Now, the question that could be asked is, why is it that, you know, that there's 12 tribes? Just make it that the descendants of Jacob are the Jews or Jacob's children are the Jewish people. Why is it necessary to emphasize 12 sons of Jacob, the 12 tribes of Jacob? And even, you know, when the counting, each tribe had their own counting, each tribe had their own encampment.
[00:06:09] And even if, to make this question a little bit stronger, and we'll dwell upon this a little bit now as we go into the Parsha, if you look into the verses, the verses don't just stop with the tribes. It goes even further to lamishpochosam, um, lebeis, avaisam, um. It talks about the families, the father's houses, and then it traces it back, meaning the counting is done to a very fine level. It's starts from the family to the larger family to the tribe, till it eventually comes back to the whole Jewish nation.
[00:06:46] And I think I want to combine the idea I saw from Rabbi Hirsch and Rabbi Torsky.
[00:06:51] We know that people sometimes think that religion is, you know, maybe even I could just speak about Judaism. There's this, I guess, stereotype out there that Judaism is a monolithic religion, that there's no room for individuality, there's no room to be who you want to be, right, or to be who you are.
[00:07:18] And I think we see from this week's Parsha, and especially from the way that not just in this week's Parsha, but just throughout the Book of Bamidbar, the Book of Numbers, how the different tribes are dealt with, you know, how each tribe is sort of on their own a little bit. Obviously, they're still considered one nation under Moshe Rabbeinu, under Moses, but they have their own leader, they have their own encampment. And even when the Jewish people enter in the Land of Israel, each tribe receives their own portion of land, right? It's not just they were given the land to the whole Jewish nation. Each tribe was given their own portion of land. And within each tribe, each family was given their share.
[00:08:00] So we see it split down even more than the tribes.
[00:08:04] And the question is, why was this necessary? And the answer to that is that Judaism is not monolithic.
[00:08:13] There is room for each and every person to be who they are. Now. Everything has limits to it. We have to follow the confines of. Of the Torah, which was given to us by Hashem, by God to the Jewish nation.
[00:08:28] We have to follow halacha. We have to follow Jewish law. We have those boundaries that we have to stay in. Just like anything, everything has boundaries. A person would never say that I can't be myself in the United States because of the laws of the land. Right? The laws of the land are.
[00:08:45] They're there, they're set in place. And within those, I guess, frameworks, you have the ability to be who you are, to be yourself and to express yourself and to be an exemplary citizen. And that's the motto of the United States.
[00:08:58] Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But it has to be within the framework of the rule of law of the land. Now, with religion and serving Hashem, we see from this week's parsha that, you know, which really just starts in this week about the different tribes and how the Torah portion delineates not even the tribes. It goes down to the families and the larger extended families that within Judaism, there's room for each person to serve God in their individual way, and there is a place for every Jew to serve God in their way. Obviously, again, it's within the confines of the Torah, but it's important to note that it's not that there's room for each and every person.
[00:09:49] Each and every person are needed to come together to create the House of Israel. And I think that's aside from having the different tribes, the fact that the Torah emphasizes the different families and it goes down to the individual shows us that in the scheme of things, the Jewish people are not just, uh, you know, some elites, that there's some elites making all the decisions. Each and every Jew is an integral part of this combined factor, this combined, um, this unifying people, that these groups of people that come together, each group is broken down to a smaller group and a smaller group, all the way to the individual. And it comes out that it's not just the people at the top. It's each and every individual comes together to make the nation. And I think this gives us, I think, two ideas we see from it. Number one is we shouldn't think that there's no room for us to be ourselves and to serve God in our unique way, number one. That's number one. And number two is I think we should come to the realization and recognition that every Jew is part of this mission and part of this plan, which is bigger than just us. But you're part of it, and you're needed and it's something that we have to keep in mind. And I think just reminds me that my Rosh Hashiva, of blessed memory, he used to always, you know, people used to thank him for the yeshiva that he created, a place where, um, Yeshiva Bachram could come and study Torah.
[00:11:25] He would turn it around and thank the students, the bakrim, that they had come to the yeshiva, because without the students, there would be no yeshiva. I think it's a similar idea here as well, that obviously we have a Jewish nation, but each individual is a part and parcel of this larger picture.
[00:11:46] And it comes out that each individual is important, and there's room and place for each Jew to serve Hashem in his unique way within the confines of the Torah. And just to bring this idea back to how it ties into Shavuos. Shavuos is the day that we became this people, we became this nation. We became special because we received the Torah. And it's a recognition that the Torah was not just given to the rabbis. It was given to every single Jew. No matter your background, no matter who you are, no matter where you came from, to the rabbis, to the plumbers, to the carpenters, to the truck drivers, every Jew has a portion in the Torah. And that's why this holiday is such an important holiday.
[00:12:32] It's the day we became a nation.
[00:12:35] And it's a day when we could recognize and remember that we have a portion in the Torah that it's meant for every Jew to study.
[00:12:44] Judaism is not a religion, but where it's just the clergy are the ones that study. Just the clergy are the ones that have the relationship with God.
[00:12:54] Every Jew has that relationship with Hashem. Uh, that's, I think, one of the fundamental differences with Judaism and other religions, that there's a stress on each individual making that relationship with Hashem, making that connection.
[00:13:11] And. And the way you do that is through studying Torah and doing mitzvahs. And that's something which is dependent on each and every person. I think this idea which ties together Shavuis accepting the Torah with this week's Parsha, which is also this idea of individuality and the importance of each person, each Jew, um, in the bigger picture, because what made us into a nation, it's the Torah. And it all, I think, ties together very beautifully.
[00:13:38] The second idea I want to share with you today maybe ties in a little bit to the first idea, but it takes it a step further.
[00:13:45] The first posse of the Parasha, it says, vayedaber hashem el um moishe be' Midbar Sinai be' oyo moyed M. Be' ech Alokhedesh Hasheni Beshona Hashenis letesa meret'mitzrayim Laymar. It says in the first verse in Parshas by Midbar, Hashem spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai in the Tent of Meeting on the first of the second month in the second year after the exodus from the land of Egypt, saying, Now, the Midrash brings down from this verse that M. Or the Midrash asks a question on this verse.
[00:14:23] It says, why was the Torah given Bamidbar Sinai? Why was it given in the desert? The Sinai Desert? Why was it given in a desert? You would think that the Torah, right? M, one of the most monumental events in human history, should be given, you know, in a beautiful area.
[00:14:44] Think about the most beautiful places on earth. I don't. You know, you pick it. Maybe the Grand Canyon, maybe some, um, beautiful. The Swiss Alps are beautiful, right? Flowers and the mountains.
[00:14:57] Or how about, um, you know, the prairie? Some type of beautiful field with flowers. Or maybe some botanical gardens, right? Why is it that the Torah God revealing himself to the Jewish nation happens in the desert?
[00:15:16] In the desert, there's nothingness. Nothing at all, right? I don't know if any of you have ever been to the Sinai Desert.
[00:15:24] It's just sand. That's all it is.
[00:15:26] Why was the Torah given in Sinai, right? Why couldn't God have brought the Jews to, you know, the Mesopotamia, where it was very fertile land? It'll be gorgeous.
[00:15:39] And the Midrash learns out from this, says, we learn from this that, uh, the Chachamim teach us three things.
[00:15:46] The Torah was given with three things.
[00:15:49] With fire, water and with desert.
[00:15:52] And the Midrash brings verses to prove that the Torah was given with fire, with water and in a desert, Obviously. This week's Parasha, it says, Vaydaber Hashem el Moshe by Midbar Sinai. It says that Hashem, uh, spoke to Moshe in Mid Bar Sinai. And we learn from this that Har Sinai was in a desert.
[00:16:15] But the Midrash tells us one lesson from these three things.
[00:16:20] So why did G D give the Torah with these three things with fire, water and desert? And that's really our biggest question, why in the desert? It teaches us, just like these things are free to everyone who wants them. Kach d' ivre Torah Chinom heyim shnemar havi kot sam alchumayim. So too, the words of Torah are free, right? And there's different understandings as well, if you think about it, a desert, no one owns a desert. It's free for anyone to come into, right? There's nobody who owns a piece of land there. It's totally ownerless.
[00:17:00] And the idea is that when it comes to the study of Torah, each person, each Jew, has their ability to gain access to it. They have their portion in Torah.
[00:17:12] And it's not just like I mentioned before, not just for the select few, but it's for each and every individual, each and every Jew.
[00:17:19] And especially in our generation, when there's so much accessible for any person anywhere in the world, you could access Torah knowledge.
[00:17:30] And whether it be a podcast, whether it be English books of, you know, the Talmud, there's so many works that have been translated, there are so many things out there to make Torah accessible to each and every one of you and me. And that's something we learn from Mid Barsina. And additionally, another deep idea we see from is this idea of Anava is a desert has nothingness. That when it comes to the study of Torah, we have to have this certain level of humility to realize that what's, you know, what we're part of and what's coming into us is there's something greater going on. To have the humility that this is from the word of God, to know, to approach it with the right attitude, that I don't necessarily know better. This is the word of Hashem, this is the word of God, and I have to let it go into my heart. To let it process doesn't mean you can't have questions. In Judaism, we encourage questions, but there's a certain sense of humility that a person needs to have when it comes to the study of Torah, and that we also learn from the fact that Torah was given in a desert, in a place of nothingness. It teaches us this message that when it comes to studying Torah, to let it really get into our soul, we have to have this correct outlook of humility. Just like a desert is humble, there's nothing there. We have to have that similar humility to let the Torah go into our mind and heart so we could be the best we could be.
[00:19:03] The last idea I want to share with you today takes us to the Parshas discussion of the Leviim being put into the place of the firstborns. Now, before the sin of the golden calf, the firstborns, the oldest in each family, had the merit to be the ones that would serve in the tabernacle. The firstborns of every family would be the ones to do the avodah, to serve in the temple and the tabernacle.
[00:19:37] But since they sinned during the time of the golden calf, by the sin of the golden calf, they lost that merit, and it was transferred to the family of Levi, that the tribe of Levi became the exclusive family that merited to serve in the tabernacle, that the tribe of Levi, the Leviim, and also the Kohanim, which are from the tribe of Levi, they were the ones who got the job, the special job, to work in the tabernacle, to work in the Mishkan. And the firstborns would not have it anymore. They lost their opportunity, they lost their distinction.
[00:20:18] Now the question can be raised is we know that the golden calf, the sin of the golden calf, it wasn't a majority of the people that committed the sin of the golden calf, but rather it was a, uh, minority group of instigators that got everyone riled up and from that caused the sin of the egil Hazav, the golden calf. So the question could be raised is why is it that the tribe of Levi, they were the ones who merited to get the job to work in the tabernacle, Meaning the firstborns were supposed to be the ones to have the job, but they lost it since they were part of the sin, but the rest of the Jewish people, they weren't part of it as well. There were many Jews that weren't part of this sin, that majority of them. And how come it's only the Leviim, the tribe of Levi, who gets the job to serve in the tabernacle, to serve in the temple for all generations?
[00:21:24] And Rabbi Tversky brings down, he says, we know that when Moshe Rabbeinu and Moses came down from the mountain and he saw that the Jewish nation was, was a good portion of them, right, were committing the sin of the golden calf.
[00:21:39] He said, whoever is for God should join me.
[00:21:44] And only the Leviim, the tribe of Levi, were the ones that stood up to join Moshe Rabbeinu to put a stop to this sin.
[00:21:57] Meaning even though this, the majority of the Jewish nation was not actively part of it, but yet at the same time, they didn't actively stop it.
[00:22:08] And because of that, they were held liable.
[00:22:11] And because of that, the tribe of Levi was rewarded.
[00:22:16] So we see a very powerful lesson here when it comes to injustice and standing up for what's right.
[00:22:23] When I was in yeshiva in Jerusalem, occasionally, you know, one of the fun things, I guess, or I shouldn't say fun things, but one of the things that happen in Jerusalem is that sometimes people make hafkanas.
[00:22:39] Hafkanas are protests. They make protests for different things.
[00:22:43] And I guess it's part of being a yeshiva Bach or yeshiva student in Jerusalem in different areas that there's certain factions that the way that they voice their displeasure about certain things the government is doing and maybe that they shouldn't be doing right or wrong, and I'm not condoning their behavior, is that they make protests. And the way that you make a protest in Jerusalem is that you take a dumpster, you light it on fire, and you put it in the middle of the street. And there's certain factions of people that do this to voice their protests and certain things that the government is doing.
[00:23:17] And what happens is that they light the dumpsters, they put it in the middle of the street, they block traffic, and the police come and chase them away. And this repeats itself until it's over. But one thing I always noticed is that it wasn't the people that were the instigators that necessarily got caught, right? It was the innocent bystanders who happened to be walking through there, and the police saw them and thought they were part of it, and they would get caught and locked up and thrown into the police car.
[00:23:47] And it reminds me a little bit of this idea. We're trying to say that the people who were doing the wrong thing by lighting the dumpster, they knew what they're doing was wrong, and they took off as soon as they saw the police. But the other people who are just walking through the neighborhood, they're like, I'm not doing anything wrong. Why would the police do anything to me? And they're the ones who got caught. They got caught up in it. But it sort of brings me to this idea in the parsha that when it comes to something wrong, an injustice, sometimes we need to stand up for what's right.
[00:24:23] And obviously, there's ways of doing things, and there's ways of doing things we should make to do things in the correct way. But it's very important. When we think of the Leviim, we think of the kohanim who merited this eternal reward of working in the tabernacle to be sanctified from among the nation, to be on a higher level than the rest of the nation. They have special mitzvahs, a special job. And the reason why they got that job is because they stood up for the honor of God, stood up for the honor of Hashem. You know, I read Rabbi Zlatowitz, who was the founder of ArtScroll, which, you know, he was, uh, a visionary who started this company that has sort of translated it. That is translated m good portion of the Torah, the Torah, the Talmud, so many different works, and has opened up countless works to Jewish people throughout the world. And he credited his success to the fact that somebody once said something negative about his Rebbe, about Ramosha Feinstein. And he stood up for the honor of his Rebbe, stood up for the honor of his Ramosha Feinstein. And he felt because of that zechus, because of that merit of standing up for a slight toward his rabbi's honor, he merited to have this success. And I think it matches up to this week's Parasha, because the Kohanim, right? Think about that. They stood up for Hashem's honor, the Leviim, and they merited that special relationship with Hashem. I think that's something we should think about when we see something that's incorrect. To know that sometimes we need to stand up for what's right.
[00:25:56] Fire is not caused by oxygen. It's caused by someone lighting a match. But we know if there is no oxygen, a fire cannot continue.
[00:26:06] And the idea here is that Rabbi, uh, Twersky brings down is that we know that bad behavior can only continue. Can only continue to exist if there's oxygen to support it. But if there's no oxygen, it's cut off. We don't let. We're not just okay with bad things happening, right? So then the evil cannot persist with that. I'm going to finish for today's podcast. I hope you enjoyed. If you have any questions, comments, or would like to reach out, feel free to send me an email at rabbishnomako and kohn@ gmail com. And we shouldn't think that the fact that we didn't. We're not taking part. We're not doing the bad action. That means we're absolved from standing up for what's right.
