Parashat Hashavua: B’Midbar
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי, בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד (במדבר א:א)
God spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai, from the tent of meeting.
This week’s parasha, Bamidbar (meaning “in the wilderness”) is read every year as we approach Shavuot. The rabbis teach that the parasha is placed here because the relationship between wilderness and Shavuot is significant. “Whoever wants to receive Torah must become like a wilderness. (B’Midbar Rabbah 1:7).” According to this midrash, if we want to receive Torah – the central act of Shavuot -- the surprising prerequisite is that we first make ourselves like a wilderness. The rabbis use the word “hefker,” meaning ownerless, to describe the wilderness. The wilderness is also, as anyone who has hiked or camped in the Negev knows, untamed, desolate and even dangerous. What an interesting list of qualities to be necessary for receiving Torah!
And yet, if we think of great spiritual leaders, these qualities seem like a perfect list. Avraham responds to God’s command to leave his homeland to go to “the land that I will show you” -- his mind was not “owned” by the idolatrous beliefs of his society, so he hears God’s call and embarks on a dangerous, lonely journey to an unknown destination. Moses leaves Egypt on the run after killing a taskmaster who was abusing a slave. Seeing injustice, he acts on instinct. Untamed by the corrupt values of Pharaoh’s court -- that it is acceptable to abuse those who are powerless -- he escapes alone to the refuge of the wilderness.
We learn from the rabbis’ vision of wilderness that acquiring Torah requires risk and a willingness to stand alone, beyond the conventional boundaries of society. But what makes this insight even more interesting is its context. The content of parashat B’midbar is strikingly juxtaposed to the nature of wilderness. The parasha is devoted to a very precise description of the orderly and structured fashion in which the Israelite community, standing together, will march through the wilderness. The formation is set out in exact detail: first, the tribes who will stand on each side of the camp, proceeding inwards to the Levites’ formation.. At the very center, in the most protected and insulated place possible, is the Torah.
Parashat Bamidbar teaches that, while receiving Torah may require danger, solitude and an untamed spirit, transmitting Torah requires safety, community, and structure. For the Torah to safely accompany the Israelites on their journey, it must be surrounded by a community that is prepared to protect it. Its placement at the center, in addition to providing for its safety, serves as a sign to the people who are surrounding it of what their lives are all about, what their core values are.
As a Jewish community, we need both qualities: a willingness to take risks as well as safety, structure and the ability to stand together. We need inspired prophets to make that journey into the wilderness so they may bring back new insights of Torah. We also need people who will come together to build spiritually safe and nurturing communities with Torah at the center.
This year, may Shavuot be a revelation of the challenges we are called on to face and the safe structures we are called on to create.
Rabbi Anne Ebersman
