The Torah's book of Bamidbar, which literally means "In the Desert," and which is known to English Bible readers as "The Book of Numbers," deals, as one would expect, with much of the history and practices of the Children of Israel as they sojourned through the desert. I have characterized this period in my previous blog entry as idyllic because there was nothing else for people to do but to relax and enjoy learning the ways of G-d from Moses and the Elders, and to bask in the spirit of G-d emanating from the Tabernacle, a Yeshiva which every Jew today would love to have attended.
The Generation of the Desert enjoyed freedom from all worldly cares like finding food, making a living, i.e., engaging in any form of business, trade, agriculture or hunting. Nobody had to pick out schools or worry about paying high tuition fees for their children, nor did they have big bills of any kind to pay, and, as I previously noted, they could breathe a proverbial, collective sigh of relief that they were off the hook for conquering the Promised Land, having shown a distinct lack of nerve on this issue in response to the report of the spies.
As enviable a situation as this was, things did happen, and when the Torah chooses from all of the things that happened to record some of them, we are to sit up and take notice, for everything in the Torah is there for us to learn from.
Through numerous incidents, three dramatically drawn personalities, and one seemingly routine set of instructions, the Torah teaches us in the book of Bamidbar, -- if we're at all attuned, -- an important principle, one that might seem very unlikely at first blush, but there it is:
G-d -- and Mashiach -- are -- sadly -- not enough. They are not the answer to everything.
Of course, many of us think Hashem is the answer to everything, and I would agree that, under the right circumstances, that, yes, He is. But many of us are waiting for Mashiach (The Messiah) to come to solve all our problems. Many of us are in pain; many of us are suffering individually, and we continue to suffer as a people. Surely, on that great day when Mashiach comes, we fervently pray, our pain will cease.
The Torah,in these chapters, tells us clearly that this is not likely to be the case.
If I have any purpose at all, it's to point out lessons from the Torah that many of us miss when we read it through -- even study the commentaries in depth -- because we often don't put two and two together.
This blog entry -- when G-d lets me finish it -- will have shown some cherished notions to be actually slightly askew. For instance, what is the real purpose of the mitzvahs, the body of commandments which are given in great detail in the Torah, and how do they tie in with the notion of Mashiach, and G-d Himself?
OK. How do we know G-d and Mashiach are not enough? There are numerous ways the Torah teaches us this but let's take the most blatantly obvious example.
The Generation of the Desert, had both Hashem and his Mashiach, Moses, dwelling amongst them. So what did they do? They rebelled; they complained; they fornicated right in front of Moses. Zimri, the leader of the tribe of Shimon, had relations right out in the open with a Midianite Princess named Cozby, just as other members of his tribe were cohabiting with Moabite women, and in return for sexual favours, worshipping their idols!
Hello.
Something's going on here, and you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones? (Bob Dylan).
How could they do this? In the presence of the Holy Shechinah dwelling in the Tabernacle, in Hebrew, "Mishkan," which actually means "dwelling" and has the root of the word "neighbour" in it, a merit which G-d had granted the people, as well as literally in the face of Mashiach, G-d's human representative on Earth, Moses, they were doing this?
Moses was struck speechless. He just stood there, and cried.
If G-d Himself and Mashiach were sufficient, would this scenario have happened at all?
When -- iyH -- I have the energy, this entry will also deal with the purpose of the mitzvot -- the body of all the commandments -- being quite different than what we might think, as shown to us by the narrative involving the dramatis personae of Korach, Bilam and Pinchas.
to be continued
