May 14th: B’midbar and Shavuot
THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
I was not at the “committee meeting” some 2000 years ago when the Greek names were given to the Books of the Torah. Whereas the Hebrew custom was to name a book by the first significant word in it, the Greeks chose titles that summarize the main themes of the book. Thus, the fourth book of the Torah is called B’midbar in Hebrew, based on the first sentence: “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai…” The Hebrew word for in the wilderness is B’midbar. The Greeks based the name Numbers on one of the first stories in the book, where God commands that a census be taken. If I had been at that committee meeting, I would have suggested that the Hebrew term is a much better summary than Numbers: Yes, there is a census, but it only takes up four of the book’s thirty-six chapters. The rest of the book tells about the forty years Moses and the Children of Israel spend wandering in the wilderness.
When Moses is commanded to take the census, God also appoints twelve men to supervise the count. Their names are recorded in the Torah (Numbers 1.5-15), but none of the other 603,550 non-Levitical Israelites’ names are recorded. (Separate census counts are ordered for the clans in the Tribe of Levi.)
It is interesting to think about all those people—and how their legacy is us. There is a chain, both physical and spiritual, that goes all the way from them to us, and we are all connected in a common covenantal commitment to holiness.
Another set of numbers we should remember this week are the Ten Commandments—the giving of which we celebrate on Shavuot, Sunday May 16th and Monday May 17th. Though God gives us many instructions on how to effect holiness in the world (some 613!), the ten in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 are considered the most important:
(1) I am the Lord you God, Who brought you out of the Land of Egypt, out of the House of Bondage:
You shall have no other gods besides Me.
(2) You shall not make any graven images or idols and bow down and pray to them.
(3) You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain.
(4) Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.
(5) Honor your father and your mother.
(6) You shall not murder.
(7) You shall not commit adultery.
(8) You shall not steal.
(9) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
(10) You shall not covet.
A number of years ago, there was a billboard campaign where each sign featured one of the Ten Commandments. Then it would have this question: “What part of commandment did you not get?” These communications from God are not suggestions; their moral intensity is much, much stronger. When we see the world and our lives through the lens of these ten Divine utterances, good and evil are defined, and we have a much clearer path. We should read them seriously many times a year.
This year, there is a new set of numbers for us to consider. They are not commandments, but they are very important suggestions or questions. When we read news stories about Israel—or anything else, should we just accept whatever is written or spoken, or should we consider the origin, orientation, and the perspective or perhaps lack of perspective in the report? The author of these Eight Tips for Reading About Israel should know of what he is speaking. Matti Friedman is a former editor for the Associated Press in Israel, and he has learned of the wisdom of listening carefully. Here are the titles of his Eight Tips, but I really encourage you to read his whole essay. It is published in the Sapir Journal, a new magazine by the Maimonides Fund, and, though written specifically about news coverage in the Middle East, it gives principles for all reading and all reports. Here is the hyperlink: Eight Tips for Reading About Israel – Sapir Journal
The Eight Tips for Reading About Israel:
(1) Does the source speak the language?
(2) Why are you telling me this?
(3) Are you sufficiently suspicious of shocking images and details?
(4) What are other countries up to?
(5) Is the scope rational?
(6) Is the regional context clear?
(7) Is the chronology straight?
(8) What else is going on?
As we plot our way b’midbar, through the wilderness of life, let us remember that we are part of a long line of path-finders—and that we have much wisdom to point us in good directions.