B'midbar 5770

Parshah B'midbar
Numbers 1:1-4:20 Hosea 2:1-2:22

(Note: This is not the Parsha for the week of 27 MAR to 2 APR 5771, I started attending in APR 5770 and didn't write commentaries for a month or so. My first commentaries were also very poor. I am therefore doing/redoing some short studies to complete my commentary when I convert in MAY 5771.)

B'midbar means "in the desert" or "in the wilderness." This is truly fitting as until the end of the Torah when they reach the promised land the Israelites will wonder. An entire generation will pass. The parsha consists of a great census of the tribes and more special duties and privileges for the Levites and priesthood. The census is for all men above 20 years of age (Some say and under 60). It yields the startling and much disputed numbered 603,550 thousand Israelites. (Which is only slightly more than today's estimates for Miami Florida! It is however highly, highly unlikely that all the Jews in Miami would ever decided to go camping at once :)

In B'midbar 1:52-2:34 G*d commands Moses to encamp the tribes in a special order on four sides of the Mishkan. Each are assigned duties, though according to the Rambam and other sources no commandments are discerned from the parsha. (That is not to say it isn’t influential in Rabbinic thought.)

to the East, or east side: Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun
to the South: Reuben, Simeon, and Gad
to the West: Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin
to the North: Dan, Asher, and Naphtali.

Then inside the ring of the tribes attending the Miskhan the Levities were arrayed by families of the son's of Levi.(3:11-17)

to the East side: Priests, Moses, Aaron, and Aaron's sons
to the South: Kohath
to the West: Gershon
to the North: Merari

(I don't understand this exactly because, Aaron technically is a descendent of Kohath but is the Kohen Gadol)


(I realized that Gershon is both the name of Moshe's firstborn and the name of the older brother of Moshe's Great Grandfather Kohath son of Levi).

Later in the text there are some other accountings decreed by G*d. The first born which are said to have been 22,273 in number and the Kohathites, (sons of Kohath son of Levi) whose number I don't know. The Kohathites bore the Torah, the ark, and had special responsibilities at the Tent of Meeting. 3:40-48 contain additional commands to Moshe.

• to take the Levites for God in place of all the firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of the Israelites’ cattle.

• to redeem the 273 firstborn over the number of Levites by giving the priests five shekels for each.

The haftorah is Hosea 2:1–22 which also contains a census.

With the parsha being so much like a ledger or history, my comments are not very interpretive. This parsha seems realistic; something like this had to occur for so many tribes to stay united. What united them was faith in one G*d. (Our L*rd and G*d of all generations now and forever.)

I noted that the 12 tribes are listed in three different orders though there was no mention of why.

I hope to do a better job with this parsha in years to come. It had a very beautiful pageantry. I long for G*d to dwell amongst us act directly like this. I pray for that one day again we shall order our society executing his perfect judgment and accepting his authority. Surely, he does guide us now but we blind ourselves and choke on our atrocities and own poor judgment. G*d have mercy and thank you for your mercy.

I found these citations from Wikipedia interesting:
"The Gemara noted that Numbers 1:1 happened in "the second month, in the second year," while Numbers 9:1 happened "in the first month of the second year," and asked why the Torah presented the chapters beginning at Numbers 1 before Numbers 9, out of chronological order. Rav Menasia bar Tahlifa said in Rab's name that this proved that there is no chronological order in the Torah." (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 6b.)"

R. Judah ben Shalom (Numbers Rabbah 1:12.) commented that Numbers 14:29 reports, "all that were numbered" died in the wilderness. Therefore the Levites (who were not numbered) could enter the promise land. (This was also/first? identified by a Rav Hamnuna in Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 121b.)