Divrei BaMidbar
Order
In this week’s parsha, the Torah spells out in detail the order and arrangement of the Dor HaMidbar. First is a list of the shevatim and their leaders. Then, after the appointment of the Leviim to be in charge of carrying and safeguarding the Mishkan, the Torah retells the order of Klal Yisroel, this time by degel. Each shevet is counted and put in its proper place. Hashem then commands Moshe to formally replace the firstborn, who were to perform the service in the Mishkan, with Shevet Levi. Moshe’s first task in this endeavor was to take a census of the Leviim, according to their three main families: those of Gershon, Kehas, and Merari. Moshe then counts every firstborn, makes the official transfer of responsibilities from the firstborn to Shevet Levi, and then redeems the excess firstborn, using a monetary pidyon. The parsha ends with yet another census, this one of the family of Kehas, and the allocation of their responsibilities.
To those of us who aren’t "numbers-people," this week’s parsha can seem dry. This is a mistake, however; Torah is never dry. Rather, it is dehydrated. The difference is huge. For example, if one tried to eat a spoonful of sweetened iced-tea mix, one’s stomach would most likely spew it out. Only when one mixes iced tea with water, can one make a delicious beverage. Likewise, the real accomplishment and pleasure of Torah does not come from learning it in a superficial way. Rather, one must plumb its endless depths, allowing it to reverberate in one’s mind and one’s neshamah – there lie the myriad treasures of truth. As the Mishnah in Avos (5:26) brings, "Ben Bag Bag says, ‘Turn it [the Torah] over, turn it over, for all is in it’" -- but only if one first makes the effort to turn. Even after one ends formal learning, this process does not stop, as the Ramban says in his famous Iggeres: "When you rise from learning, ponder carefully what you have learned; see what there is in it that you can put into practice."
Says HaRav Aharon Kotler zt"l in Mishnas Rabbi Aharon al HaTorah: this week’s parsha comes to tell us a key facet of success in life. The physical needs of the Dor HaMidbar were few, as the Torah bears witness: "Your clothes did not wear out." (Devarim 9:18) Still, the Torah found it necessary to delineate in detail the arrangement of every major group of Klal Yisroel, to teach the Jews of that time and of every generation in history that success in every spiritual endeavor of life requires organization – and the lack of that organization can not only nullify that endeavor, but it can even turn it over into a destructive force.
Where do we see this concept in the parsha? The posuk says, "Do not let the shevet of the family of Kehas be cut off from among the Leviim; [rather], do this for them, so that they do not die." (4:18-19) What was the danger? The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 3:11) informs us that every member of Kehas’s family desired to carry the Aron HaKodesh. Therefore, they were jostling one another; and when they came too close to the Aron HaKodesh, they began to die off, just as Uzzah and the residents of Beis Shemesh would later be punished for their trespassing the boundaries that the Aron HaKodesh required. This loss of life, from among the choicest members of the most elite branch of Shevet Levi, came solely from their disorganization.
Even for the love of a mitzvoh, says Rav Kotler, control and organization make all the difference. Chazal tell us (Gemara Yerushalmi Yuma 6:3) that regarding the division of lechem hapanim in the Basi HaMikdash, "The gluttons would grab, and the dignified ones would draw back their hands." Certainly, the Kohanim weren’t eating this bread because of any ravenous hunger. Rather, they were performing a mitzvoh, for the eating of the lechem hapanim is in fact part of the avodah, just as in the case of eating all korbanos. Still, any kohen whose natural zrizus for mitzvos has led him to grab at the lechem hapanim is derogatively tagged as a "glutton," for his disorganized approach has violated the Torah’s standards of dignity.
We can learn the importance of organization from ma’aseh Breishis as well. Chazal tell us (Sifri Parshas Nasso) "Great is shalom, for it is equal to ma’aseh Breishis, as Hashem proclaims, "[I am the One] Who forms light and creates darkness; Who makes peace and creates evil; I am Hashem, Maker of all these." (Yeshaya 45:7) Says Rav Kotler, shalom refers to an existence in which all parts stay in their places according to an appropriate order. We need only a starry night to see this concept in action. Chazal declare, "One star could burn up the entire world" (Bamidbar Devarim 2:12) if it left its predetermined path. We know that if the earth moved a bit closer or further from the sun, life itself would cease. Rather, every part of creation – from microscopic to majestic – strictly obeys its boundaries, limits, and trajectories. A walk in the woods provides overwhelming evidence: fallen leaves may be on the ground, and a layer of dirt covers everything, but if one stops, looks hard, and thinks, it becomes apparent that everything has its place, and that there really is a cosmic state of orderly neatness in the briah. Every so often, we are shown the terrible destruction which can come from a component of nature overstepping its boundary; the tsunami of 5765, in which the sea briefly trespassed on the land, instantly killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Our mitzvos, too, require order; sometimes, a mitzvoh done out of order can become an aveirah. The Torah commands us, "Do not take terumah before you take bikkurim." (Shemos 12:28) The Mishnah (Terumos 3:6) elaborates: "Anyone who takes terumah before bikkurim, ma’aser rishon before terumas ma’aser, or ma’aser sheini before ma’aser rishon, has transgressed a Torah prohibition." The lesson is powerful – here is a Jew, so in love with the mitzvos of giving his harvest to kohanim, leviim, and the poor that he cannot wait to give them until after he travels to Yerushalayim with his bikkurim basket. As he happily donates them prior to bringing the bikkurim, with all the best kavanos, he is committing a spiritual crime.
Our adherence to order in our lives reflects Hashem’s utter control of worldly affairs. Says Shlomo HaMelech: "Everything has its season, and there is a time for everything under the heaven." (Koheles 3:1) He has planned every event, large and small, from beginning to end, so that it occurs in a perfectly-set order. Nothing, nothing, nothing ever "happens;" everything possesses a set time. Says the Yalkut Shimoni on this posuk: "There was a set time for Adam HaRishon to enter Gan Eden, as it says, ‘And Hashem Elokim took the man and placed him in Gan Eden,’ (Breishis 2:15) and there was a set time for [Adam] to leave it, as it says, ‘And [He] banished him.’ (3:23) There was a set time for Noach to enter the teivah . . . and there was a set time for him to leave it. . . ."
Even in upper worlds, where there are no bodies in the sense that we can understand, this rule prevails, says Rav Kotler. Rather, Hashem "makes shalom among His uplifted ones," as we say in Kaddish. The Midrash says, "Michael is pure fire, and Gavriel is pure snow. Between them is only a hairsbreadth, yet they do not touch one another." (BaMidbar Rabbah 12:10) "From the their utter fear of the A-mighty, the malachim do not transgress their boundaries." (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 3:20)
From this week’s parsha, we see clearly the obligation of a Jew to organize every aspect of his or her life. A periodic closet-cleaning certainly is a good place to start, but it is only the beginning. In an age when mass-production is assumed, many of us have acquired items which we no longer need (or never needed). If a person went through his possessions and separated out the unnecessary clutter, he or she could give away what might be useful to others and throw away what has no future use. The benefits are tangible: on a physical level, one has cleared out space and made it available for good use. A greater gain, however, comes on a spiritual level. As the Slonimer Rav zt"l explains, kedushah is defined as the ability to transform the physical into the spiritual. (Nesivos Shalom Shemos Yisro) We are an am kadosh; we alone possess this power, and we are enjoined to constantly use it. What’s more, the more physical the act, the greater is the potential for kedushah, as the Chasid Ya’avetz explains in his commentary on Pirkei Avos (end of Chapter 3). In this light, taking our useless junk and turning it into chesed is in itself a tremendous act of kedushah.
How far can one go with this concept? When the sage Reish Lakish was nifter, he owned only one bowl of vegetables – and he regretted that he had not found a use for them.
There is yet another entire level of meaning to the Torah’s concept of orderliness. Our constant contact with the outside world has left us with all sorts of stray thoughts which at best are only taking up space. Often, they interfere with our avodas Hashem. Letting such thoughts be allowed to drift away with our power of forgetting, while replacing them with Torah thoughts, is a meritorious enterprise. How can we make ourselves forget? The best method is simply not to allow ourselves to be reminded. In this sense, it is incumbent upon every Jew to avoid putting him or herself in situations that will cause these old memories to be recalled. And should some unwanted memory or disturbing thought pop into one’s mind, the best cure is to force oneself to think of something else. (To that end, a useful piece of advice is to memorize some brief favorite Torah thought, even a song. Whenever one is afflicted by a bothersome thought, one can then bring up that Torah thought and replace the unwanted mental refuse. After all, our minds can only think of one thing at a time.
How far does orderliness go? Must every Jewish home be obsessively spic and span? HaRav Avigdor Miller was once asked, "How important is it that a home be neat and clean?" He answered, "During World War II, there was a certain female Nazi who took such pleasure in torturing the inmates that she earned the title, "The Beast of Buchenwald." At her trial in Nuremberg, her lawyers tried to polish her reputation with this fact: her kitchen was spotless! In other words, "the white-glove" treatment by itself does not guarantee greatness. Rather, one should do the best that he or she can, with the intent upon serving Hashem by emulating His universe of chesed. As Rabbi Miller put it, "If a guest is sleeping on the couch, the children are spilling all over the place, and you’re following along with a dustpan," that is success.
Still, there is no substitute for a walk under a starry sky. For as Dovid Hamelech exclaimed, "The heavens declare the glory of G-d, and the expanse of the sky tells of His handiwork. Day following day brings expressions of praise, and night following night bespeaks wisdom." (Tehillim 19:2-3) The sheer, utterly reliable precision of the super-massive orbs flawlessly playing their roles in the silent symphony of the cosmos (see v. 4) can only inspire us to bring this order into our lives and so endlessly enrich our avodas Hashem.
“Your Children” – These are the Students
In this week’s parsha, the Torah states, “And these are the offspring of Aharon and Moshe.” (3:1) Rashi there brings the Gemara (Sanhedrin 19b) which asks, “The Torah only mentions the sons of Aharon, not Moshe. How can Moshe’s nephews be his sons?” It answers, “They are also called the sons of Moshe because he taught them Torah. This teaches us that whoever teaches Torah to the son of his fellow Jew, the Torah considers it to him as if he had begotten him.” Throughout the many generations since Har Sinai, this special relationship between our sages and their students has played a leading role in the success of the mesorah of Torah, as the following ma’aseh (from Rav Wallach) demonstrates:
The Chazon Ish once related, “A wealthy man came to visit the yeshiva of Telz. Upon his arrival, he made his way to the Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Eliezer Gordon zt”l, and made clear the purpose of his journey. He had a wonderful daughter of marriageable age, and he was looking for a fine bachur to become her chosson. He was prepared to support the young couple for a long time after their marriage.
Rav took the man to the yeshiva’s bais midrash and told him, “Look around. Who looks promising to you?”
As the rich man gazed about, he saw hundreds of fine young men. Every one of them was learning Torah with great diligence. One, however, seemed to be learning with an exceptional sweetness. “Who is he?” he asked.
Rav Gordon replied with great emotion, “That one is my only son!”
Thought the rich man to himself, “Such a splendid young man! Still, I cannot dare to ask the Rosh Yeshiva to introduce my daughter to his only son. Surely he can find a better mechutan than me.” He looked around again. Another student caught his eye. “And who is this?” he asked Rav Gordon.
The Rosh Yeshiva warmly replied, “He is also my only son!”
The man seemed puzzled, and Rav Gordon explained, “I love my students so much, that I have four hundred “only sons” who learn in this yeshiva!”