Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker tov, welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today. We have the privilege of beginning the fourth book of the Torah, of reading פרשת במדבר Parshas Bamidbar together. I want to thank our dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family for sponsoring the Parsha Perspective series for the year in loving memory of Becky's father David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מענדל l'ilui nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Mendel. Also this morning, I want to thank Lee and Danny Waxman of Cedarhurst, New York for sponsoring Parshas Bamidbar Parsha Perspective in loving memory of Danny's mother, Marilyn Waxman, מרים בת יעקב מאיר Miriam bas Yaakov Meir, whose eighth יארצייט yahrzeit is ראש חודש סיון Rosh Chodesh Sivan and whose נשמה neshama should have an עליה aliyah. Also this morning, we dedicate our learning to our brothers and sisters in Israel whom we cannot stop thinking about and checking in on as they continue to suffer and be targeted by a barrage of rockets by such evil, wicked, nefarious, unjust attacks. And we דאווענען daven for their safety, their security, and of course for peace.We are in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash, page 726 and we begin פרשת במדבר Parshas Bamidbar. וידבר השם אל משה במדבר סיני באהל מועד באחד לחדש השני בשנה השנית לצאתם מארץ מצרים לאמר Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe b'midbar Sinai b'ohel moed b'echad lachodesh hasheini bashanah hasheinis l'tseisam mei'eretz Mitzrayim leimor. Our book, our fourth book and our Parsha begin by telling us not only what was communicated, not only what was transmitted and said, but where it was communicated and where it was said, specifically במדבר סיני b'midbar Sinai, specifically in the in the desert. Here we are given the topography. Here we are given the climate of where the Torah was communicated. And the מדרש במדבר רבה Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah tells us, וידבר השם אל משה במדבר סיני, למה במדבר סיני? Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe b'midbar Sinai, lama b'midbar Sinai? Why is that important? Teach us our history. Teach us our ethics and morals. Teach us our laws. Why is it necessary or in what way does it help to be able to tell us where? So says the מדרש Midrash, במדבר רבה פרשה א סעיף ז Bamidbar Rabbah Parsha Aleph, siman zayin. מכאן שנו חכמים בגמל דברים נתנה תורה Mikan shanu chachamim b'gimmel d'varim nitnah Torah. We have three elements or three climates, three environments in which Torah was given: באש b'eish, with fire; במים b'mayim, with water; and ובמדבר uva'midbar, and in the desert. באש מנין, בהר סיני עשן כולו B'eish minayin, v'har Sinai ashan kulo. We know it is with fire because the description of הר סיני Har Sinai, which we are only days away from being back at together with the holiday of שבועות Shavuos, was entirely in smoke. It was in flames. ובמים מנין הלא תדעו כי גם שמים נטפו גם עבים נטפו מים U'v'mayim minayin hada d'ksiv gam shamayim natfu gam avim natfu mayim. ובמדבר, וידבר השם אל משה במדבר סיני U'v'midbar, vayedaber Hashem el Moshe b'midbar Sinai. So the cryptic מדרש Midrash leaves it there. This very cryptic מדרש Midrash simply tells us that the Torah, in order to receive Torah, the Torah is likened or the Torah was transmitted, נתנה תורה, באש במים ובמדבר nitnah Torah, b'eish, b'mayim, u'v'midbar, with fire, with water, and with the desert. And of course the question is what does that mean? What are these three elements have in common or how are they connected and in what way do they reflect different aspects of how we receive, how we learn, how we live, how we teach a sense of Torah.So, ר' מאיר שפירא זצ\"ל Rav Meir Shapiro, zatzal, the great ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva of חכמי לובלין Chachmei Lublin, ר' מאיר שפירא Rav Meir Shapiro was an extraordinary, extraordinary individual. I think we once did a people of the book. You could find online, we spoke about him, his history, his contribution. He was a member of the Polish Parliament, he was a community רב Rav, he was an אב בית דין Av Beis Din, he was a ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva. I don't know how he had time for everything, let alone introduced the world to the gift of דף יומי Daf Yomi. So he has a ספר on חומש sefer on Chumash called אמרי דעת Imrei Daas, a ספר on תורה sefer on Torah, and in it he says the following: אש מים ומדבר eish, mayim, u'midbar. What is the significance of these three? And he says, עם ישראל מיום היותו לעם Am Yisrael miyom heyoso l'am, the Jewish people from when we became a people, were תמיד מסירות נפש בעד תורתו ואמונתו tamid b'mesirus nefesh ba'ad Toraso v'emunaso. Living as a Jew took great self-sacrifice. You know, being a Jew doesn't come easy. It's expensive, it's costly, it paints a target on one's back. It's not a simple life. It demands מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh. It demands sacrifice, it demands service to live a life of faith, to live a life of Torah, even when in conflict and confrontation, even with tension with the moral values of a time, when in tension with enemies of the Jewish people. בני ישראל הלכו על הגרדום וצעדו על המוקד, נתנו צוארם לשחיטה Bnei Yisrael halchu al hagardom v'tzadu al hamoked, natnu tzavaram lish'chita. We marched to the altar and we put our neck out and throughout the centuries and millennia, there were people who slaughtered us simply because we remained steadfast and true to our convictions and our commitment to Torah. קפצו לתוך הים ומסרו חייהם כל אימת שהכריחום לפגוע בתורתם ואמונתם Kaftzu l'soch hayam u'masru chayeihem kol eimas shehechrichum lifgoa b'Torasam v'emunasam. We jumped into the sea and we jumped into the fire and we let ourselves, let our lives be taken, all in the name of our commitment to our אמונה emunah, to our מסורה mesorah, to our Torah. So where did this come from? Where do we draw the strength, the tenacity, the resiliency? Why are we willing to be מוסר נפש moser nefesh? Why are there countless young men, women, Israeli soldiers who right now are putting themselves on the line in order to defend Israel from its rockets, from its attacks? Just give up this Jewish dream, just assimilate and blend into the other nations of the world. Just be accepted and received. Why does the Jewish story matter? Where do we get the courage and the conviction to persevere? So it says ר' מאיר שפירא Rav Meir Shapiro, these are the three notions באש במים ובמדבר b'eish, b'mayim, u'v'midbar. בשלושה מאורות של דברי ימי העם b'shlosha me'oros shel divrei y'mei ha'am. These three elements reflect three times, significant milestones in our history, where we were מוסר נפש moser nefesh, where we were willing to sacrifice, where we were willing to make that effort. אברהם אבי האומה, אברהם אבינו Avraham avi ha'umah, Avraham Avinu, Abraham our forefather, our great patriarch, נזרק לכבשן האש בעד אמונתו הטהורה nizrak l'kivshan ha'eish ba'ad emunaso ha'tehorah, allowed and was willing to have himself thrown into the furnace, into the fire, before he was willing to compromise, and before he was willing to violate his most basic tenant, his most basic conviction, which was the existence of monotheism, the existence of one God. ובזה נטע כח של מסירות נפש בבניו אחריו u'v'zeh nata koach shel mesirus nefesh b'vanav acharov. And he planted within us that capacity and that strength, that even in the face of fire, a willingness to sacrifice in the name of our Torah. ואם היה זה יחיד סגולה נעלה מורם מעם V'im hayah zeh yachid sgulah na'aleh muram mei'am, and if this was an individual, Avram was one unique, one distinct individual, הרי בא מאור השני של קריעת ים סוף harei ba me'or hasheini shel Krias Yam Suf. We became a family, we became a nation, we became a people. And now we stood between the sea and the Egyptians. And we could have turned back to the Egyptians and said, take us back. We'll blend in, we'll assimilate, we'll walk like Egyptians, we'll be just like you. You're right. Never mind what were we thinking. But instead, ויסעו vayisu. God said walk and we did, right into the sea, right into that body of water, ready to give it all up, ready to lose it all. נחשון בן עמינדב Nachshon ben Aminadav led the way, from his ankles to his knees, to his waist, to his chest, to his shoulders, all the way up to his nose, he was ready to give it all up. And he planted within us not as the individual Avram, but as the people, as the nation, not with fire, but with water. And then lastly, the third, that was a that was a נסיון של רגע nisayon shel rega, that was a momentary test. The Egyptians behind us, the sea before us, and the momentary test would we immerse ourselves, would we walk in. But then, כאשר בני ישראל הלכו למדבר שממה ka'asher Bnei Yisrael halchu l'midbar shmama, then we went into a desert, a desert that was barren, snakes and scorpions, all kinds of dangers loomed. שורץ חיות רעות ונחשים ועקרבים. לא מזון ולא מים Shoretz chayot raot v'nachashim v'akrabim. Lo mazon v'lo mayim. There are no fruit trees, there are no vegetables, there's no wheat that grows in the desert. לתקופה ממושכת l'tkufah memusheches, and we didn't go, it wasn't a moment like when we walked into that sea, it was for 40 years. רק מתוך אהבתם ומסירותם לאלוקים ולנביאו rak mitoch ahavasam u'msirusam l'Elokim v'linevio, but זכרתי לך חסד נעוריך zacharti lach chesed neurayich, it was only because of our commitment, our love, our devotion to God and to his prophet, Moshe, that we walked right into that desert. And we didn't know where would that next meal come from before the מן man began to fall. We didn't know how would we hydrate ourselves. There is no water source in the desert, until we discovered and were gifted that באר b'er. And how would we be protected until we were given those clouds of glory. And God recalls nostalgically, he remembers, זכרתי לך חסד נעוריך zacharti lach chesed neurayich, I remember your חסד chesed, I remember that you came after me, אהבת כלולותיך לכתך אחרי במדבר ahavas kelulosayich lechtech acharai b'midbar, you followed me into the מדבר midbar, you followed me into that barren, desolate, dangerous because you put all your trust in me. You were willing, you were willing to take that risk.So it says ר' מאיר שפירא Rav Meir Shapiro, where do the Jewish people in תשפ\"א Taf Shin Pey Aleph, 2021, still in the state of Israel in our own homeland, need to face adversity in order to stand up for who we are and what we believe? Where does a Jew anywhere in the world who confronts anti-Semitism stay steadfast in what we believe, even if it means confronting אש, מים, or מדבר eish, mayim, or midbar, even if it means מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh with fire, with water, or the dangers of the desert? We get it from our own history. And that's what ר' מאיר שפירא Rav Meir Shapiro in the אמרי דעת Imrei Daas suggests, that's the meaning of this מדרש Midrash. That מכאן שנו חכמים בגמל דברים נתנה תורה mikan shanu chachamim b'gimmel d'varim nitna Torah. The Torah was implanted within us in three ways, אש, מים, ומדבר eish, mayim, u'midbar, and because our ancestors displayed and demonstrated that sacrifice, the מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh for Torah, and for Judaism, and for our faith with those three elements, they gave us that strength, they gave us that capacity that continues to be drawn from until today. That's the אמרי דעת Imrei Daas of ר' מאיר שפירא Rav Meir Shapiro.The כתב סופר Ksav Sofer, the כתב סופר Ksav Sofer, the son of the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, also has a suggestion in his פירוש peirush on the Torah. And he says the following. He says, נתנה במים, להורות מה שאמרו חז\"ל, למה נמשלו דברי תורה למים nitnah b'mayim, l'horos ma she'amru Chazal, lama nimshlu divrei Torah l'mayim. Why are Torah, why is Torah compared to water? גמרא תענית דף ז Gemara Taanis daf zayin. The גמרא, חז\"ל Gemara, Chazal, our rabbis say, Torah is compared to water. מה מים יורדים ממקום גבוה למקום נמוך ma mayim yordim mimakom gavoah l'makom namuch, water always flows to its lowest point. When there's a leak in the ceiling, it comes down through the wall and floods the floor. It makes its way if you live in a place that has a basement. כך דברי תורה מניחים למי שדעתו גבוהה עליו והולכים למי שדעתו שפלה kach divrei Torah menichim l'mi sheda'ato g'vohah alav v'holchim l'mi sheda'ato shfeilah. We spoke about this פרשת בהר Parshas Behar last week, we spoke about this. Water flows from the high point to the low point, and therefore water flows like Torah, it goes from not the high point, but to the person who is an עניו anav, the modest, the humble, the individual who does not arrogant, the individual is not driven by their ego or doesn't see themselves as superior. That's why we said at the beginning of פרשת בהר Parshas Behar, that's why Hashem gave the Torah on הר סיני Har Sinai, the most humble modest of all the mountains. That was the lesson, the message that Moshe received that, that משה קיבל תורה לא בסיני Moshe kibel Torah lo b'Sinai, he didn't receive the Torah geographically the coordinates at Sinai, משה קיבל תורה מסיני Moshe kibel Torah miSinai. He received the Torah of Sinai, and we on שבועות Shavuos are going to re-receive that Torah not at Sinai, but with the message and the theme of Sinai of humility. So that's water. The Torah was given with the element of water. A reminder that just like water flows to the lowest point, so too Torah will flow most authentically and most genuinely and in a most lasting way to those who are lowest in the sense of humility and modesty. Number two, says the כתב סופר Ksav Sofer, what's אש eish? What's fire? Torah is compared to fire. כי נר מצוה ותורה אור ki ner mitzvah v'Torah or. פסוק in משלי Pasuk in Mishlei. That a נר ner, a candle is a מצוה mitzvah, when one fulfills a מצוה mitzvah, it's like lighting a candle. And when one learns and lives Torah, אור or, that is the light. שמאירה לאדם שהחי דרך ילך בה she'me'irah l'adam she'chei derech yelech bo. That the Torah, the root of the word Torah is אור or, it illuminates the path. Torah doesn't change the reality, but it illuminates we're able to see and navigate our way through. That's what the גמרא ברכות דף י\"א Gemara Brachos daf yud aleph says. תריס חכמה תשובה ומעשים טובים ומצלת מן היצר הרע Tris chachmah teshuvah u'ma'asim tovim, u'matzeles min hayetzer hara. ומי שלומד ואינו הולך בדרך הישר מתחבט לו רע U'mi she'lomed v'eino holeich b'derech hayashar mit'chabet lo ra. So we're able to navigate this world. We're able to identify that's my יצר הרע yetzer hara, that's this obstacle, that's the pitfall. And because when we learn Torah, we turn the light on in the dark room called this world, it doesn't eliminate the obstacles and the challenges, it doesn't make everything easy or perfect, but it gives us the tools and the power to be able to navigate. That's what חז\"ל Chazal say in the מדרש תנחומא בראשית Midrash Tanchuma Bereishis. איש דעת למואל, תורה שנתן הקדוש ברוך הוא למשה היא כתובה אש שחורה על גבי אש לבנה Eish daas l'Moel, Torah shenatan Hakadosh Baruch Hu l'Moshe, hi ktuva eish shechorah al gabei eish levanah. The Torah that God gave Moshe was written with a black fire on a white fire, because the Torah is, gives life, it gives strength, it illuminates, it enables, it prolongs. And therefore, it gives us a life force. It is the fire that burns within us. It is the fire that generates the heat and the warmth, and the energy and the creativity. Torah is that fire that burns inside of us.And lastly, says the כתב סופר Ksav Sofer, נתנה במדבר nitnah b'midbar. The Torah was given in the desert. חז\"ל Chazal say in the מכילתא בשלח Mechilta b'Shalach, לא נתנה תורה אלא לאוכלי המן lo nitnah Torah ela l'ochlei haman. The Torah was only given to those who eat the מן man, meaning, those who weren't worried about where their next meal is coming from, those who are not living as if they are in control, they are in charge, but rather a person who puts their faith, a person who submits and surrenders to the Almighty and realizes אין עוד מלבדו ein od milvado, all there is is you, God. I take my initiative, I make my effort, and then I let go and I let God. The אוכלי המן ochlei haman let go and let God. Even though they didn't have a supply, even though they didn't have a Costco shopping amount of food to carry them in the next days, weeks and months, every day they got their portion for that day, but they let go and let God, with the confidence that they were going to get their portion the next day. That's what it was to walk through the מדבר midbar. בארץ לא זרועה b'eretz lo zruah. To be in a barren, desolate place, to be in a place where you didn't know where your next meal, you didn't know where your protection was coming from, and yet to submit and surrender, to put trust in the Almighty in the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam. So Rav Meir Shapiro in his אמרי דעת Imrei Daas says, what is the significance of במדבר Bamidbar? The whole במדבר Bamidbar is called במדבר Bamidbar. The whole fourth book of the Torah begins by telling us where the Torah was given and where the Torah is transmitted. What do we care? Isn't the, isn't the content, the text of the Torah what matters? Aren't its laws, its narrative, what, what counts? Why do we care about במדבר Bamidbar? Why do we care where? So the מדרש Midrash expands, it's not just במדבר Bamidbar, fire, water, and desert. Says ר' מאיר שפירא Rav Meir Shapiro, fire, water, and desert reflect the three places where we sacrificed, מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh, that embedded, it planted within us the capacity of fortitude and of resiliency, and of faith, and of convictions, and a willingness to stand up for our principles and our values, even if it means facing the fire, the water, or a desert. And the כתב סופר Ksav Sofer said it means no, it means that Torah is like water, it flows to the lowest point, the humble. It's like fire that it has to burn inside of us and it illuminates and lightens the world. And like a מדבר midbar that we have to be willing to go to a barren, desolate place.Rav Druk adds a third opinion. I'll share with you what Rav Druk says. Rav Druk says there's something fascinating about these three, and they are in conflict, in contradiction. What does he say? אש ומים הם סתירה זה לזה eish u'mayim hem stirah zeh l'zeh. Fire and water are opposites. Fire extinguishes water. אינם יכולים לדור יחדיו einam yecholim lador yachdav. They do not coexist. They don't live together. Fire and water are opposites. שהמים מכבים את האש shehamayim m'chabim es ha'eish, either the water extinguishes the fire, או שהאש מלככת את המים o she'ha'eish m'lach'ches es hamayim, or the fire rages, dries out the water. אין להם קיום זה עם זה ein lahem kiyum zeh im zeh. They cannot coexist. They don't act together. הנה אש ומים שניהם אינם שייכים למדבר Hinei eish u'mayim shneihem einam shayachim l'midbar. And neither fire or water are relevant to a desert, שהוא מקום ריק ללא כלום shehu makom reik l'lo klum. The desert is barren, desolate. There's no fire, there is no water. ארץ ציה ועיף בלי מים eretz tziyah v'ayef b'li mayim, said דוד המלך David HaMelech. And רש\"י Rashi says ארץ ציה מדבר eretz tziyah midbar. אם כן המדבר סתירה לאש ומים im kein ha'midbar stirah l'eish u'mayim. הוא מקום ריק לחלוטין hu makom reik l'chalutin. The desert is a place that is absolutely, totally, entirely barren, empty, desolate. So water, fire and desert do not coexist, they are in conflict and contradiction with one another. And therefore the message that the Torah is given with the three is that no one has a monopoly on Torah. התורה עצמה אי אפשר לומר עליה כי היא שייכת רק לבני אדם בעלי תכונה מסוימת או לאנשים בעלי אופי כזה או אחר HaTorah atzmah i efshar lomar aleha ki hi shayeches rak l'vnei adam baalei t'chunah m'suyemes u'l'anashim baalei ofi kazeh o acher. The Torah is not the exclusive domain of those who are like fire or those who are like water or those who are like a desert. It doesn't belong to any one group. It doesn't belong to any one השקפה hashkafa. It doesn't belong to anyone who wears a particular יארמולקע yarmulke. לכל אדם, לכל הסוגים, כל אדם באשר הוא יש לו שייכות לתורה L'chol adam, b'chol hasugim, kol adam ba'asher hu yesh lo shayachus l'Torah. Every Jew, no matter where you're from, no matter your background, every Jew has a portion of Torah. מכאן תוכחה מגולה לאותם המשתמטים מעיסוק התורה Mikan tochacha m'gulah l'osam hamishtamtim mei'isuk haTorah. And this is a tremendous rebuke of those who say, look, I, you know, Torah's not for me. We don't believe in כולל kollel, we don't believe in learning, we don't believe in ישיבה yeshiva. You know, we're just Judaism light, we're just social Judaism, we're just this. No, every Jew has an obligation to Torah. Every Jew has a portion in Torah. Every Jew is entitled to Torah. It doesn't belong to any one group, and that's why three distinct elements that are in contradiction with one another, the Torah is given with all three to reflect that the Torah is given and is deserved for each and every member of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. The רמב\"ם Rambam writes on the commentary. בשלושה כתרים נכתרו ישראל B'shlosha ksarim nichtru Yisrael. The Jewish people were given three crowns: כתר תורה, כתר כהונה וכתר מלכות kesser Torah, kesser kehunah, v'kesser malchus. We're given the crown of Torah, the crown of the priesthood, and the crown of the monarchy, kingship. כתר כהונה זכה בו אהרן Kesser kehunah zacha bo Aharon. Aaron received the crown of Torah, of kehunah rather. כתר מלכות זכה בו דוד Kesser malchus zacha bo David. And מלכות malchus David HaMelech got. Who got כתר תורה kesser Torah? Who got כתר תורה kesser Torah? When the Rambam in his commentary, the Rambam in הלכות תלמוד תורה פרק ג' הלכה א' Hilchos Talmud Torah perek gimmel, halacha aleph, when the Rambam applies this משנה Mishna, it says there were three crowns, the crowns of priesthood went to Aaron, and the crown of monarchy, kingship went to David. Who got the crown of Torah? Who's the individual? I would have thought, crown of Moshe. Moshe is the אבי הנביאים avi ha'nevi'im. Moshe is the greatest prophet that ever lived. He is the ambassador of Torah. Nevertheless, the Rambam doesn't write that. He says, כתר תורה, הרי הוא מונח ועומד ומוכן לכל ישראל kesser Torah, harei hu munach v'omed u'muchan l'chol Yisrael. The crown of Torah is for every Jew. We can all wear and proudly put on the crown of Torah. תורה ציוה לנו משה מורשה קהילת יעקב Torah tziva lanu Moshe morasha kehilas Yaakov. So we see that while kehunah was given specifically to the offspring of Aaron, and the monarchy is given only to the dynasty of David, when it comes to Torah, every Jew, every Jew has access, every Jew has a right, every Jew is entitled.Our Parsha continues, פסוק ב' pasuk beis. שאו את ראש כל עדת בני ישראל למשפחתם לבית אבותם S'u es rosh kol adas Bnei Yisrael l'mishpechosam l'veis avosam. פרשת במדבר, ספר במדבר Parshas Bamidbar, Sefer Bamidbar begins with the census, accounting of the Jewish people. And רש\"י Rashi of course tells us, מתוך חיבתם לפניו מונה אותם תמיד m'toch chibasom l'fanav moneh osam tamid. When you love something, you count it. Some love their children and grandchildren, great-grandchildren, constantly counting. Some love their stock portfolio. Some love their baseball team's record. Some love their collection of stamps. Some love how many times they finished a מסכת masechta or ש\"ס Shas. You count, you review whatever you love. God loves the Jewish people. So he keeps counting us, and that's why we have another census. And and in the census it says, what is the manner and mechanism of counting? במספר שמות כל זכר לגולגולותם B'mispar sheimos, kol zachar l'gulgulosam. We're counted according to מספר שמות mispar sheimos, a number according to their name. By numbers of the names, every male according to their head count, which is peculiar. It seems to be a contradiction. מספר שמות mispar sheimos, the number and the names. Which is it? A number and a name signal very, very different things. On the one hand, a number reflects something that's impersonal. A number is just a number. And the Nazis, ימח שמם וזכרם yemach sh'mam v'zichram, wanted to dehumanize the Jews, when they wanted to make the Jews be depressed and despondent, they gave a number. They literally tattooed a number. You're no longer a name, you're no longer a person, you're just a number. A name, in distinction, a name is deeply personal. A name speaks of individual identity. A name is a description of who someone is. A name is the most personal thing about, that's why the חז\"ל Chazal tell us that parents are given an element, a level of נבואה nevuah, of prophecy, when they pick a name for their child. The name is not arbitrary, the name is not a label, the name is a description, in some ways the name is a predictor. The name is very, very important to get the name right. So the Torah here tells us the Jewish people are to be counted how? במספר שמות b'mispar sheimos, the name, the number. So which is it? A name or a number? It seems to be a contradiction. It seems to be contradiction.Moreover, the הפטרה haftorah of פרשת במדבר Parshas Bamidbar follows the same theme. והיה מספר בני ישראל כחול הים אשר לא ימד ולא יספר V'hayah mispar Bnei Yisrael k'chol hayam asher lo yimad v'lo yisafer. The prophet הושע Hoshea tells us the number of the Jewish people are like the sand of the sea. It can't be measured and it can't be counted. And the מדרש Midrash says, what do you mean? That's a contradiction. How can it be will neither be measured nor counted when it says, why are you doing it? Why are we doing this census? In order to arrive at the מספר בני ישראל mispar Bnei Yisrael. The whole goal is, what is the number of the Jewish people? So what do you mean a number that cannot be counted? A number strongly implies and suggests the notion of the number is you can be counted. So are we a number or numberless? Can we be counted or are we countless? Are we measured or immeasurable? Are we a name or are we a number? What is going on here? So the שפת אמת Sfas Emes, I think I've shared this before, but it bears repeating. The הייליגע שפת אמת heilige Sfas Emes, Rav Yehuda Leib Alter of Ger, says very beautifully, he says a number is raised to being transcendent, numberless, when we connect with a sense of unity. When things are apart, when they are disparate, when they are divided, then it's subject to being counted. But when something is united, when it is together, then it blends and it bleeds into one another. It's inseparable, it's indistinguishable, it cannot be counted, and it's rendered numberless. And so whether we're countable or not countable says the שפת אמת Sfas Emes is entirely up to us. And that's the meaning of these two metaphors in the ברכה bracha. You know, the ברכה bracha in in the prophet הושע Hoshea, the ברכה bracha Avraham Avinu got back in ספר בראשית Sefer Bereishis. On the one hand, we are likened to stars. Avraham is told, go outside, look up at the sky, and we're like count our count like the stars can't be counted. On the other hand, like sands at the sea. So which is it? So the שפת אמת Sfas Emes says, to resemble stars is to be impressive. They shine bright, they illuminate, the constellations are influential, but stars represent individuality. You describe someone as a shining star, someone is a rising star, someone is a star, an all-star. To blessed to be like a star is great. To be an all-star, a rising star, a shining star. But it means you're an individual, you're distinct, you're alone, you're apart. Sand has the opposite feature. Take one grain of sand, it's almost negligible. One grain of sand, it's insignificant, it's immaterial, that one grain of sand can't even do anything. The only value and benefit to sand is when the sand is united together with other sand and it forms a beach and it guards the dry land from the ocean creeping upon it. So the bracha to be like sand is the power of unity, of connection, of togetherness. So even those who feel insignificant or inconsequential alone, when you connect with others, you become a force to be reckoned with. Says the שפת אמת Sfas Emes that was the ברכה bracha, that was the ברכה bracha to Avraham and by extension to all of us. Be a shining star, be an individual, realize that individuality, shine bright, rise like a star, but also like the grain of sands and realize that you're inconsequential, you're insignificant if you're alone, be connected and be part of something bigger than yourself.My Rosh Yeshiva in Camp Yavne, Rav Yaakov Goldberg zatzal, he would apply this Sfas Emes to the mishna in Avos. אם אין אני לי מי לי im ein ani li mi li, if I'm not for myself, who am I? We're all meant to be a shining star and we have to figure out, and I think this is a theme of our parsha that we're going to get to momentarily, the notion of the logo, the emblem, the significance of having a, a flag. On the one hand, there's the individuality, but on the other, there's being part of something bigger than themselves. So אם אין אני לי מי לי im ein ani li mi li, if I don't represent my mission and my purpose, if I don't pursue why I am here, nobody else will. But אם אני לעצמי u'ch'she'ani l'atzmi, but if all I care about is being a shining star, standing out as a star, all I care about is my individuality, then מה אני ma ani, what am I? So the ברכה bracha we receive and our aspiration is to be shining stars, but simultaneously like the sands of sea, to realize our individuality, but to understand our unity of when we need to be together. Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincus zatzal, the great author שערים בתפילה Shearim B'Tefillah we studied together. Rav Pincus has a little ספר on חומש sefer on Chumash, a beautiful ספר on חומש sefer on Chumash. And in there he writes, how are we both a name and a number at the same time? He says, in as much as we're part of the covenantal community, we're part of צבאות השם tzivos Hashem, we're part of the army of Hashem, and we're charged with this mission to be this bright light in the world and to repair the world with Hashem's timeless Torah values, so we're a number. We're a number, we're a soldier in the army of Hashem, and soldiers have a number. We're a link in the chain of the מסורה mesorah. But on the other hand, we're also a name, we're an individuality, we have a uniqueness, we have a mission. So the stars and the sand, a name and a number. They're simultaneously true all at the same time. They're not in conflict, they're not in contradiction, but what we strive for is to reach and to meet both of them at the same time. That's part of the theme, a big part of the theme of our parsha. How do we simultaneously, people make the mistake in both directions. There are those who don't believe in themselves, they give up on themselves, they don't think they're worthy or consequential, they can make a difference, they don't think they're special, they're different or they're unique, they don't feel they have a mission, and so they therefore blend in and they surrender who they could be and the difference they could make. There are others who are so driven by their ego, all they care about is their own name, all they care about is their own honor and glory, all they care about is their own celebrity. And they don't recognize that they're here to serve something else. It's not about them, it's about the mission, it's about the cause, it's about the effort. And one of the themes of our Parsha is to find the blend between the two, to be able to recognize that we are meant to make a difference, that we do have a unique mission in this world, but at the same time, it's not to shine bright for our own sake, it's to represent Hashem, His Torah, and to repair the world in that image.Moving right along. פרק א', פסוק מ\"ו Perek aleph, pasuk mem vov. So you have all the names, you have the actual census right here, excluding the לויים Leviim, we've talked previously why we don't include the לויים Leviim. So skipping towards the end of the census. ויהיו כל הפקודים שש מאות אלף Vayihyu kol hapekudim sheish mei'os elef... On page 730, פרק א' perek aleph, chapter 1, verse 46. ויהיו כל הפקודים שש מאות אלף ושלושת אלפים וחמש מאות וחמישים והלויים למטה אבותם לא התפקדו בתוכם Vayihyu kol hapekudim sheish mei'os elef u'shloshes alafim va'chameish mei'os va'chamishim v'haLeviim l'mateh avosam lo hos'pakdu b'socham. So these were the countings of the children of Israel from 26 and up, everyone goes out to their legions, 603,550, and the לויים Leviim למטה אבותם לא התפקדו l'mateh avosam lo hos'pakdu. They were not counted in this census. The לויים Leviim were not included in this census. Now, we've spoken previously, I'm not going to repeat it, the beautiful insight of Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, why the Leviim were not counted. They are counted, but they're counted separately. So if we want to arrive at their number, if the census matters, why not include them in the overall census and then break it out? Know how many of the rest of the tribes and then how many are the Leviim? Why must the Leviim be counted separately? It's a beautiful שיחות מוסר sichos mussar of Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, we've spoken about many times. I want to share with you a different insight this year from Rav Druk as we continue to make our way through his magnificent איש תמיד eish tamid. צורך ביאור Tzorech biur, wonders of Druk, אחר שכבר סתם מניין והלויים למטה אבותם לא התפקדו בתוכם achar she'kvar istayem ha'minyan, v'haLeviim l'mateh avosam lo hos'pakdu b'socham. We just concluded the census, we gave the final tally, we gave the final number, and it did not include the לויים Leviim. מפי מה הוצרך הקדוש ברוך הוא לומר למשה שוב mipnei mah hutzrach Hakadosh Baruch Hu lomar l'Moshe shuv. So why does God have to end this section by saying and the לויים Leviim were not counted? We know they weren't counted. ראובן, שמעון, לוי Reuven, Shimon, Levi, we went through everybody. We said their number, we added it all up, we gave the final tally, and it didn't include Levi. So the reality is we counted everyone but Levi, we gave the final tally that didn't include Levi. Obviously, Levi are not included. So why do we need a follow-up sentence as if a concluding thought, and by the way, Levi were not included? We know that already. והנה איסא במדרש V'hinei isa b'Midrash, the מדרש במדבר רבה Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah says the following: והלויים למטה אבותם בא הכתוב לומר לפי שלא אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא למשה מתחילה שימנה שבט לוי V'haLeviim l'mateh avosam, ba hakasuv lomar, l'fi she'lo amar lo Hakadosh Baruch Hu l'Moshe m'tchilah she'yimneh shevet Levi. שכן אתה מוצא שלא מינה נשיא לשבט לוי בשעה שמינה את השבטים shekein atah motzei she'lo minah nasi l'shevet Levi b'shaah sheminah es ha'shvatim. השם, שלו אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא Hashem... she'lo amar lo Hakadosh Baruch Hu, Hashem did not tell Moshe to count Levi from the very beginning. While he instructed Moshe to count everyone else and the prince of each tribe was identified, the prince of Levi was not. Because God had made Moshe realize from the beginning. שכן אמר משה אילו חפץ הקדוש ברוך הוא שאמננו, היה אומר לי. לכך נאמר והלויים למטה אבותם לא התפקדו בתוכם shekein amar Moshe, ilu chafetz Hakadosh Baruch Hu she'emnenu, hayah omeir li. l'chach ne'emar v'haLeviim l'mateh avosam lo hospakdu b'socham, שלא רצה למנותם shelo ratzah limnosam. מיד היה משה עומד תמה, למה לא ציווה הקדוש ברוך הוא למנות שבטיו miyad hayah Moshe omed tamei'ah, lama lo tziva Hakadosh Baruch Hu limnos shivto. So God identified the leader of each tribe, and he said, now go count. But included, he did not include the head of Levi. So Mosha understood implicitly Levi was not meant to be included in this count. The count concludes and Mosha wonders, says the מדרש Midrash, why not? Why wasn't his own tribe? Mosha's from Levi. And Mosha's curious, he wonders his own tribe Levi, why wasn't it included? מייד פירש לו למה לא ציווה למנות Miyad peirash lo lama lo tzivah limnos. So God explains why. אך את מטה לוי לא תפקוד Ach es mateh Levi lo tifkod. However, the tribe of Levi don't include, and the reason was they didn't participate with the חטא העגל chet ha'egel and so on.So wonders Rav Druk, what should be an obvious question on this מדרש Midrash? The מדרש Midrash tells us that from the beginning Mosha knew that Levi wouldn't be counted because no נשיא nasi was appointed to do the count. He did the whole count of everybody but Levi. He came to the final tally, the final number, the final conclusion, and only now is he wondering, why not? Why not, השם Hashem? Why not count Levi? Why didn't Mosha ask it from the beginning? Why didn't he start out from the top? יש לעיין מדוע רק לסוף אחר שכבר למנות כל העם משה רבנו תמה Yesh l'ayin madua rak l'sof achar shekvar limnos kol ha'am Moshe Rabbeinu tamah. Why is he only wondering it now? When there's a prince named for every tribe but Levi, why didn't Mosha say, השם Hashem, far be it for me to correct you, but I I think maybe you left someone out. What about Levi? When they're going through the count for each tribe, but not Levi, why not say, השם Hashem, what about Levi?So listen to Rav Druk's insight. ונירא שכתוב כאן יסוד גדול V'nireh shekasuv kan yesod gadol, there's a very, very important principle. כשהקדוש ברוך הוא מצווה לעשות משהו K'shehaKadosh Baruch Hu mitzaveh la'asos mashehu, when השם Hashem commands us to do something, צריך לעשות מייד ולא לעכב את המצווה tzarich la'asos miyad v'lo l'akev es hamitzvah. When God says jump, we say how high. When he says to do, we react immediately without delay. בלי לתמוה, בלי לשאול שאלות כלל Bli litmo'ah, bli lishol sheilos klal. Don't wonder, don't be curious, don't be puzzled, don't inquire. אפילו אם לא מבינים Afilu im lo mevinim, even if you don't understand. ורק לאחר שעושים בדיוק מה שהקדוש ברוך הוא ציווה V'rak l'achar she'osim bidiyuk mah she'HaKadosh Baruch Hu tzivah, and only after you complete according to the way God commanded, now, אפשר לנסות לשאול להבין efshar l'nasos lishol l'havin. Now you can explore, now you can be curious, now you can inquire. לכך כשהצטווה משה למנות נשיאים למנות בני ישראל L'chach k'shenitztavah Moshe limnos nesi'im limnos Bnei Yisrael, עשה מייד את ציווי של הקדוש ברוך הוא asah miyad es tzivui shel HaKadosh Baruch Hu, ולא היה לו כלל פנאי לתמוה v'lo hayah lo klal pnai litmo'ah. So that's why when God says do the count, he leaves out Levi, that's not the time to ask questions. When God says do, you do, and when you're done, now you can come back and ask.We see this when it comes to ערי מקלט arei miklat. Says Rav Druk. משה רבנו Moshe Rabbeinu, עבר הירדן ever haYarden. The Jewish people are east of the Yarden, they have not yet entered the holy land of Israel. And they're going to be ערי מקלט arei miklat, three east of the Yarden and three in Israel proper. And the Mishna tells us, להיכן גולין ערי מקלט L'heichan golin arei miklat, three east of the Yarden, three in Israel, but until the three in Israel were established, the three east of the Yarden were not up and running. So says Rav Druk, צריך להבין tzarich l'havin, we have to understand. מאחר ולא היו קולטות שלוש ערי מקלט שבעבר הירדן Mei'achar v'lo hayu koltos shlosh arei miklat sheb'ever haYarden, עד שנבחרו שלוש ארץ כנען ad shenivcheru shlosh eretz Canaan. So the three east of the Jordan were not up and running until the three in Israel were. So why did we need to set aside the ערי מקלט arei miklat east of the Yarden? הלא עדיין לא היה להם כל משמעות halo adayin lo hayah lahem kol mashma'us, they had no purpose. והיה צריך להפרישם רק אחר שיבחרו של ארץ ישראל V'hayah tzarich l'hafrisham rak achar sheyibacheru shel Eretz Yisrael. You should only choose the ones east of the Yarden once the ones in Eretz Yisrael are chosen. It didn't make sense. And yet, you see that Mosha jumped to do it and only asked questions after. This is a theme in the Torah that Mosha is a model, an example, a paradigm for all of us, not only in our relationship with Hashem, by the way, in all relationships. Your spouse asks you to do something, take out the garbage. You jump, take out the garbage. Why do you want to take it out right now? It's not coming till much later. The garbage, the garbage wasn't full yet. What was your thinking? When we're asked in a relationship that we're invested in, when a person expresses a need or a want, we jump to do it, and if we're curious to understand it, we reserve and we save that for later.שמעתי Shamati, says Rav Druk, I heard from רב משולם דוד הלוי סולובייצ'יק זצ\"ל Rav Meshulam David Halevi Soloveitchik zatzal who explained the idea of the עקידה akeidah in the same way, that even in the עקידה akeidah itself, you know, we think that a Jew doesn't ask. מירון Meron, 45 people didn't get on the bus, they didn't go home. What a horrific, horrific tragedy. כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, the Jewish people are still reeling from this tragedy. Absolutely horrific, absolutely still reeling from this tragedy. Two people were killed by rockets in אשקלון Ashkelon today. Horrific, innocent civilians, victims, murdered in cold blood, killed by evil wicked terrorists. How could you not be filled with questions? אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu is challenged by God, take your son and slaughter him on the altar. How could he not have questions? How could he not have questions? The מדרש Midrash says, ויקרא אברהם שם המקום ההוא השם יראה Vayikra Avraham shem hamakom hahu Hashem yireh. רבי יוחנן אמר, אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם Rebbe Yochanan amar, amar l'fanav Ribbono shel Olam, בשעה שאמרת לי קח נא את בנך את יחידך b'sha'ah she'amarta li kach na es bincha es yechidecha, oh God, when you told me, take your son, your only son, היה לי מה להשיב hayah li mah l'hashiv, I had something to answer that, you know, yesterday you told me כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע ki b'Yitzchak yikareh l'cha zara. Yesterday you told me that I would have continuity through Yitzchak, and now you're telling me to slaughter him. But, חס ושלום לא עשיתי כן chas v'shalom lo asisi kein, I didn't ask you. כבשתי רחמי לעשות רצונך kavashti rachamai la'asos retzonecha. Instead, I surrendered, I submitted, I held back my question, I silenced it in order to pursue your will. But what you see is right after the עקידה akeidah, ויקרא אליו מלאך השם מן השמים vayikra elav malach Hashem min hashamayim, and it calls Avraham, Avraham, and Avraham says הנני hineini. Don't strike the child. Don't strike the child. כי עתה ידעתי כי ירא אלוקים אתה ולא חשכת את בנך את יחידך ממני Ki atah yadati ki yerei Elokim atah v'lo chasachta es bincha es yechidcha mimeni. And Rashi says עתה ידעתי atah yadati, now I know. Avraham said, yesterday I could have made this comment and I didn't. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu says, I will never cancel my ברית bris with you. So I don't understand, Avraham's greatness is that he withstood the test. Why was he bringing up after the fact what he could have asked? So, רב משולם דוד הלוי סולובייצ'יק Rav Meshulam David Halevi Soloveitchik, or ראש ישיבת בריסק Rosh Yeshivas Brisk says, what you see is that first you persevere, first you overcome, first you fulfill, first you meet the test, and then you can ask whatever you want. And then you can ask whatever you want.The Jewish people are not a people that squash questions. We ask questions, and we explore questions, and we embrace questions. But the questions can't come in the way. The questions can't prevent or be an obstacle from doing what is the will of Hashem. First, we're מקבל עול מלכות שמים mekabel ol malchus shamayim. We accept that everything is from Hashem, אין עוד מלבדו ein od milvado. And then we can ask questions. And in truth, this is the essence of the holiday that we're about to celebrate. This is שבועות Shavuos. What did the Jewish people say when God gave us the Torah? We said נעשה ונשמע na'aseh v'nishmah. Why didn't we just say נעשה na'aseh? Why didn't we just say נעשה na'aseh, we will do. Tell us what to do and we'll do. You're God, you're omnipotent, you're infinite, you're all knowing. You say this is what's worthwhile to do. We'll do. Why נשמע nishmah? Why do I have to listen? So the מהרש\"א Maharsha says this, others say, the נשמע nishmah is נעשה na'aseh. I'm in. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do. But I also want to learn, and I also want to ask questions, and I also want to pursue, and I also want to explore, and I also want it to make sense for me. And so נעשה na'aseh, I'm in, do, but נשמע nishmah, the fact that I'm doing, I don't want to do it blindly. I don't want to do it as a robot. Now that I'm doing, נשמע nishmah, let me hear, let me explore, let me ask, let me understand. That is who we are. We ask and we seek to understand, but first we do. And only once we've done, then we want to understand and explore what is driving, what is the meaning, what is the mindfulness behind what we're doing. So you see that, says Rav Druk here, that's why, even though Mosha knew Levi wasn't going to be counted from the very beginning, he didn't ask about it then. First, he did the census, he took the count without Levi. And only when it was complete, did he say, hey, what's the deal? Why is Levi excluded? And that's consistent with the way we do things נעשה ונשמע na'aseh v'nishmah. Hashem asks us, not just in our relationship with Hashem, but in all relationships. First we do, and then we seek to understand what it is that we have done.פרק ב פסוק א Perek Beis Pasuk Aleph, we move over now. The census is complete, and now the Jewish people are going to travel through the desert. They don't know yet it's going to be 40 years, but 40 years through the desert. And they don't walk around chaotic and scattered. It's not random, but it is carefully choreographed. It's carefully curated. וידבר השם אל משה ואל אהרן לאמר Vayidaber Hashem el Moshe v'el Aharon leimor, איש על דגלו באותות לבית אבותם יחנו בני ישראל ish al diglo b'osos l'veis avosam yachanu Bnei Yisrael. Children of the Jewish people encamp each according to their banner, according to their insignia, the logo of their father's household. סביב לאוהל מועד יחנו Saviv l'ohel moed yachanu, all surrounding the אוהל מועד ohel moed. On page 732, פרק ב פסוק א Perek Beis Pasuk Aleph. פסוק א Pasuk Aleph. Rabbi Soloveitchik says, the OU rather, the OU Rav Chumash, on page nine. The Rav says the following, איש על מחנהו ואיש על דגלו ish al machanehu v'ish al diglo, each according to your camp, each according to your division. Listen to the Rav. The Torah spends a great deal of time discussing the demarcation of the various camps and where precisely each tribe should encamp relative to the others. Just as the רבונו של עולם Ribbono shel Olam has established specific varieties of plants in the botanical realm, which must remain separate and not be grafted together, so too each person has his own talents and role in society. In order for society to function harmoniously, each individual must play a specific role. We have men and we have women. We have Ashkenazim and we have Sefardim. We have Hasidim and we have Misnagdim. We have Reuven and we have Shimon and we have Levi. Some people delude themselves into thinking their abilities are endless, while others are so self-effacing they believe they can accomplish nothing. God wanted every Jew to realize where his strengths and weaknesses lie. Each man, איש על מחנהו ish al machanehu, ואיש על דגלו v'ish al diglo. איש על מחנהו Ish al machanehu, ואיש על דגלו v'ish al diglo. We each have our own mission. We each have our own brand, our own logo, our own difference we're meant to make. And don't forfeit, don't think you're inconsequential, you're insignificant. If you woke up this morning, רבה אמונתך rabbah emunasecha, God has great faith in you. If you woke up today, you are here for a reason. Now go figure it out. Now go make that difference. Now go become the person you're meant to be. איש על מחנהו ואיש על דגלו Ish al machanehu v'ish al diglo. Each of us have a logo, a brand, an insignia. Each of us are unique and distinct. Stop trying to live someone else's life. Stop trying to be someone else, stop trying to compete, or stop giving up on life and being and doing nothing and thinking that you're not meant to be here for a reason. Slonimer Rebbe says, you know, עבודה זרה avodah zarah is עבודה avodah which is זרה zarah. If you're doing someone else's עבודה avodah, it is זרה zarah to you, it's strange, it's foreign to you. We each have an עבודה avodah. We each have a mission. We each have a purpose. And this whole section of the דגלים degalim, which is not a short, short section, the whole section here of the flags, of the logo, of the encampment, of the insignia, it's all here for a reason, says the Rav. It's all here to remind us that just like each tribe met and camped under a banner, our families each have a motto. Our families each have a bumper sticker. Our families each have our vision and our mission statement of who we are, our flag that we are under. Have we articulated it? Are we clear to our children and our grandchildren? Have we left them not only a legacy of a will, but an ethical will, who we are and what we stand for, what we believe in and the difference that we want to make? Who are we? What is the flag that we plant and that we proudly wave and that we proudly stand under? And so this section, which is not short, about the encampment in the desert, and the logo, the insignia, is not just a part of ancient history. It's not arcane, archaic. It is informing and inspiring. It should, the way we live today. Rav Druk says similarly in his אש תמיד Eish Tamid. He quotes from the במדבר רבה פרשה ב סימן ג Bamidbar Rabbah Parsha Beis Siman Gimmel. The מדרש Midrash says, הביאני יום שבא יצאני הקדוש ברוך הוא על הר סיני יורדים מכוונים רבבות של מלאכים Hevi'ani yom sheba yetzani HaKadosh Baruch Hu al Har Sinai yordim mechavnim rivvos shel malachim. וכולם עשויים דגלים דגלים V'chulam asuyim degalim degalim. The angels all came down at Har Sinai and they all had a camp. שנאמר דגול מרבבה Shenemar dagul meirevavah. The נודע ביהודה Nodeh B'Yehuda, the יחזקאל לנדא'ס Yechezkel Landau's commentary on שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch דגול מרבבה dagul meirevavah. דגול מרבבה Dagul meirevavah, the מדרש Midrash says. The מדרש Midrash, the myriad of angels were דגול dagul. They each had a דגל degel, דגלנות daglanut. Each of the angels came down to perform their דגלנות daglanut. The angels were waving flags. Now the angels were not waving the one flag. דגלנות Daglanut is waving the same Israeli flag. כיון שראו אותם ישראל שהם עשויים דגלים דגלים התחילו הם מתאווים לדגלים Kevan shera'u osam Yisrael shehem asuyim degalim degalim hischilu hem mis'avim l'degalim. אמרו הלוואי כך אנו נעשים דגלים כמותם Amru halevai kach anu na'asim degalim k'mosam. So what happened here? The human beings at Har Sinai, we're going back there in less than a week. The Jewish people were standing at Har Sinai and they saw the angels came down. And the angels were each waving a flag. The angels like Bar Mitzvah boys today, each had their own logo, each had their own brand on their yarmulke. And so the Jewish people said, I want that. I want a logo. I want a brand. I want an insignia. And that's what Hashem provided, the דגלים degalim, and that's what's going on. And wonders Rav Druk, what does it mean that angels had flags and logos? And why were the Jewish people, why were they jealous of those flags and logos? What is the significance? What is the meaning? What is going on? Says Rav Druk the following. That's by the way we say in תהילים Tehillim, ובשם אלוקינו נדגול U'v'shem Elokeinu nidgol. In the name of God, נדגול nidgol, let us wave a flag. Let us wave a flag. What is this, the Israeli Day parade? In the name of God, נדגול nidgol. ובשם אלוקינו נדגול U'v'shem Elokeinu nidgol, ימלא השם כל משאלותיך yimalei Hashem kol mishalosecha. What's going on? Says Rav Druk the following. הנראה בזה שכל עניין הדגלים לסמל את ייחודיות התפקיד של כל אחד ואחד Hanireh b'zeh shekol inyan hadegalim l'samel es yichudiyus hatafkid shel kol echad v'echad. The whole idea of the דגלים degalim like Rav Soloveitchik just said, the whole idea of the flag of a logo, a logo is who are you? The wedding couple on their wedding invitation, sometimes on the dance floor, sometimes on the thank you notes, that logo is who you are. We're different, we're unique, we're distinct. This is our mission, this is our message, this is what we represent, this is what we stand for. What does it mean the angels each came down with a logo? What are angels? Angels are each a unique expression and manifestation of God, each here for a שליחות shlichus. Angels only come to this world in order to carry out an agency, in order to carry out an effort on behalf of God. And once it is complete, they disappear. אין מלאך אחד עושה שתי שליחויות ולא שני מלאכים עושים שליחות אחת Ein malach echad oseh shtei shlichuyos v'lo shnei malachim osim shlichus achas. No one angel does two efforts and no two efforts are done by one angel. כאשר המלאך מבצע שליחותו נתבטל אותו מלאך לחלוטין Kashar hamalach mevatzea shlichuso nisbatel oso hamalach lechalutin. כמו שחגיגה kmo shechagiga tells us that once the angel is completed their mission, the angel disappears, the angel self-destructs. There's no use or no purpose, no reason for that angel. So what's the idea that the angels came down with דגלים degalim? דגול מרבבה Dagul meirevavah, the myriad of angels were each waving a flag. It means an angel, it's clear, it's obvious for the angel, the logo why are they here? What is their שליחות shlichus? For each of us to have a logo is what's our שליחות shlichus? What's our message? What's your mission statement? What's your brand? Every one of us is a brand. What is your brand? What you do is who you are. What is your brand and what does it say about you? What is our brand? What is the logo that we wave? Who are we? And just like angels, בשם אלוקינו נדגול B'shem Elokeinu nidgol. Let's wave our flag, let's wave our logo, let's wave our emblem, בשם אלוקינו b'shem Elokeinu in the name of God. The emblem is not, you know, I'm the best investor in Bitcoin, I've got a Tesla, I've got the biggest house, the nicest car, I'm the best looking. The emblem, the logo that I wave is not all about me and this world. בשם אלוקינו נדגול B'shem Elokeinu nidgol. The flag that I wave, the logo that I proudly display is all about the name of God and advancing His mission here on Earth. It's why I'm here. במספר שמות כל זכר לגולגולותם B'mispar shemos kol zachar l'gulgolosam. The מספר mispar and the שמות shemos. This is the theme that we've been embracing all along. On the one hand, a uniqueness, a distinctiveness, a personal mission. On the other hand, part of a bigger, the star, the sand, the name, the number, numbered, numberless, counted, not countable. All of this is this duality that we're meant to live simultaneously. We're like a מלאך malach, we each have a unique mission. On the other hand, we're serving in the army with a greater purpose, part of something much bigger than ourselves, part of something so much greater. Maybe this is why, says Rav Druk, we read פרשת במדבר Parshas Bamidbar קודם עצרת kodem atzeres. We're reading the book of במדבר Bamidbar, working the parsha rather of במדבר Bamidbar before שבועות Shavuos. על פי המבואר עד עתה ניתן לומר, שיש עניין מיוחד שיידע כל אדם, שכל אחד ואחד יש לו תפקיד ייחודי שמיועד לו Al pi hamvoar ad atah nitan lomar, she'yesh inyan meyuchad sheyeda kol adam, shekol echad v'echad yesh lo tafkid yechudi shemeyuad lo. Everyone needs to know when we're going to come be at that mountain, and we're going to be united and unified, we're going to come to that mountain together to re-receive the Torah, we also have a number, but we have a name. We're unique and we're distinct. We each have a mission and a purpose, a שליחות shlichus here in this world. And that's what we say, שים חלקנו בתורתך sim chelkeinu b'Sorasecha. It's not just God, give us the Torah, give us some generic Torah. שים חלקנו בתורתך Sim chelkeinu b'Sorasecha, give us our portion. Each of us have our own portion. Each of us have our own difference. Each of us have our own interpretations and suggestions. Each of us have our own way to live and to manifest and to display Torah in this world and in our lives.Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky in his אמס ליעקב Emes L'Yaakov has, I'll share just a third on איש על דגלו ish al diglo and then move on. Says Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky, isn't there a big risk? Twelve tribes, three north, south, east, west around the encamping as they're making their way through the desert. Isn't there an enormous risk of color war? I'm not color war, but war. Isn't there an enormous risk they're going to be fighting? It's going to be conflict, there's going to be tension. So Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky points out, you know why you can be rest assured that won't happen? Because even though there's three tribes north and three tribes south and three tribes west and three tribes east, you know what's traveling right in the middle of them all? מנגד סביב לאוהל מועד יחנו Mineged saviv l'ohel moed yachanu. At the center of it all is the אוהל מועד ohel moed, is the ארון הברית aron habris, are the לוחות luchos, is the Torah. When the Torah and when Hashem are in the middle, then, uniting us all, our differences complement instead of compete. Our difference collaborate and complement and cooperate instead of compete, as long as the הקדוש ברוך הוא Kadosh Baruch Hu is in the middle. מנגד סביב לאוהל מועד יחנו Mineged saviv l'ohel moed yachanu. The אוהל מועד ohel moed has to be in the middle. And when it's in the middle and we unite around it, then we can be all together. It's so, so painful. After the tragedy in Meron, Jews all over the world felt united, connected. Nobody cared what the victims looked like. The two people killed today, nobody cares who they were, how they observed, or how they voted in the last four Israeli elections. Nobody cares. We are united in our pain, in our anguish, in our fear, in our uncertainty. We are united in our courage and convictions. But why does it take tragedy? And why does it take conflict? And why does it take loss of life for us to feel united as one? When the Jewish people, when that אוהל מועד ohel moed, when the תורה הקדושה Torah hakdosha is in the middle, then we can be differences, we can be different. But we don't have to פסל passel one another. We don't have to cancel culture one another. We don't have to be hypercritical of one another. The message of פרשת במדבר ספר במדבר Parshas Bamidbar, Sefer Bamidbar, at the very formation in our adolescence of becoming a people was stop fighting and stop having conflict. That doesn't mean you need uniformity. We had separate דגלים degalim. We had separate flags and logos and insignias. We encamped separately. We're allowed to have important differences. We can have respectful debates about השקפה hashkafa and in Judaism. But we have to be united, we have to be one. אוהל מועד Ohel moed, סביב אוהל מועד יחנו saviv ohel moed yachanu. We have to surround the אוהל מועד ohel moed, that whatever we wear or don't wear on our head or however we believe or act or conduct ourselves, we all have to be united as one. Last week we spoke on behind the bima, if you haven't listened, I strongly encourage you. We interviewed Rabbi Benji Levine, the grandson of Rav Aryeh Levin, the צדיק tzaddik of ירושלים Yerushalayim, who grew up in America, in Jersey City, actually went to YU. He spent his summers with his grandfather, living with his grandfather Rav Aryeh Levin, learning with him, with his uncle Rav Elyashiv, with his cousin, the Kanievskys. His story is just remarkable and he's a phenomenal storyteller. And he talks about walking around Nachlaot with his grandfather, Rav Aryeh Levin. He talks about, we just came off יום ירושלים Yom Yerushalayim. In the interview, he talks about taking his grandfather to the Kotel for the first time. His grandfather tore kria, said an emotional שהחיינו shehecheyanu back at the Kotel in '67, right after the Six Day War. But he talks about walking around Nachlaot, the lepers, the prisons. Rav Aryeh Levin, the צדיק tzaddik of ירושלים Yerushalayim, was uncompromising, unflinching in his convictions and who he was and what he stood for, but he loved every Jew. And every Jew felt that love, that אהבת ישראל ahavas Yisrael. Whatever tribe or whatever gate the others were choosing to walk through, the great Rav Aryeh Levin, the צדיק tzaddik of ירושלים Yerushalayim, loved and showered and smothered them with love. And he gave a first-hand description of what that was like. If you haven't listened, it's really, really worthwhile. Absolutely fantastic. סביב לאוהל מועד יחנו Saviv l'ohel moed yachanu, says Rav Yaakov, we can have different encampments and different logos, we can come to different conclusions and we can act differently. However, it has to all be united by our sense of Torah, our sense of loving Hashem.Okay, פרק ג פסוק א Perek Gimmel Pasuk Aleph. We're moving on to the next chapter. After the encampments. ואלה תולדות אהרן ומשה ביום דבר השם את משה בהר סיני V'eileh toldos Aharon u'Moshe b'yom diber Hashem es Moshe b'Har Sinai. These are the offspring of Aharon and Moshe on the day Hashem spoke to Moshe at Har Sinai. Says Rashi, אינו מזכיר אלא בני אהרן eino mazkir ela bnei Aharon. I don't understand, we're listing the offspring of Aaron and Moshe, and then we only list the offspring of Aaron. Yet, ונקראו תולדות משה לפי שלמדם תורה V'nikre'u toldos Moshe l'fi she'limdam Torah. The offspring of Aaron, Aaron's children are called the offspring of Moshe because he taught them Torah. And what do we learn from here says the גמרא Gemara in סנהדרין דף יט Sanhedrin daf yud tes: מלמד שכל המלמד את בן חברו תורה מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו ילדו melamed shekol hamelamed es ben chavero Torah ma'aleh alav hakasuv k'ilu yelado. This teaches us that if you teach someone Torah, it's as if you birth them. If you teach someone Torah, if you gave them a spiritual birth, a spiritual identity, it is as if you gave birth to them. Says Rav Soloveitchik, back to the Rav. Says the Rav, אלה תולדות אהרן ומשה Eileh toldos Aharon u'Moshe. Listen to this very, very powerful insight. We don't usually think about this. Listen to this powerful insight. We're all acquainted, you know, before we get to that. Revolver. Revolver gives us a practical example, not shouldn't say practical, but gives us an example in תנ\"ך Tanach of this, the notion that a teacher has to be devoted to a student like the student's their own child. This is a big lesson. Revolver, as כדרכו בקודש k'darko bakodesh, as he's want to do, Revolver extracts a lesson and a message for parents but also for מלמדים melamdim, for teachers, for educators. If when you teach someone's Torah it's as if you gave birth to them, it means that your student can't be a statistic. Your student can't be a number. Your student has to be your child. We love our children unconditionally, and we display an extraordinary supernatural patience for them. And a teacher, if that child is to be as if they gave birth to them by transmitting Torah, then a teacher needs to show that that superhuman patience and that love, the unconditional love to a student. Elisha referred to his Rebbe, אליהו הנביא Eliyahu HaNavi as אבי אבי avi avi. The גמרא Gemara in מועד קטן Moed Katan tells us on דף כו daf chaf vav that why did Elisha call אליהו הנביא Eliyahu HaNavi אבי אבי avi avi twice? My father, my father. One was my father and one was my mother. אליהו הנביא Eliyahu HaNavi, the great prophet, who was the teacher, the mentor of Elisha, Elisha says אבי אבי avi avi, my father, my mother. My spiritual guide and teacher, my Rebbe, is like my father and my mother has given me a spiritual birth. This notion that one who teaches Torah as if they gave birth, might even have implications הלכה למעשה halacha l'ma'aseh. ר' שלמה קלוגר Reb Shlomo Kluger in his ספר חכמת שלמה Sefer Chochmas Shlomo on אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, he wonders the following. What if you adopt a child? What if someone is childless? Someone is unable to give birth to their own, to conceive on their own, and they adopt a child and raise that child and teach that child Torah? Do they fulfill the מצוה mitzvah of פריה ורביה pru u'rvu? המאמץ יתום ויתומה בתוך ביתו מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו ילדו Hame'ametz yasom v'yesomah b'soch beiso ma'aleh alav hakasuv k'ilu yelado, that if you raise a child, an orphan, in a home, it's as if you gave birth. So how do you understand the כאילו k'ilu? So this is a מחלוקת machlokes between the דרישה Drisha and the ט\"ז Taz, יורה דעה סימן רמב Yoreh Deah Siman Reish Mem Beis. The דרישה Drisha is of the opinion that whenever it says כאילו k'ilu, it is, it's only making a comparison. It's as if. It's virtuous, it's noble, it's beautiful, it's as if. Whereas the ט\"ז Taz says, no, no, no, when חז\"ל Chazal say כאילו k'ilu, they mean we count it as, we count it that you did it. And what's the נפקא מינה nafka mina? So פוסקין paskins, the חכם שלמה Chacham Shlomo, this would be a נפקא מינה nafka mina. The נפקא מינה nafka mina is if you teach a child Torah, if you adopt and raise an orphan and you didn't have biological children of your own, with that, do you fulfill פריה ורביה pru u'rvu? With that do you fulfill the מצוה mitzvah? In other words, this notion, this sentiment is so significant and taken so seriously and so far that perhaps you even fulfill the formal מצוה mitzvah of פריה ורביה pru u'rvu. But the אור החיים הקדוש Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh, the אור החיים הקדוש Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh on our פרשה parsha says something, a big חידוש chiddush. Not only, Rashi said if you teach them Torah, it's as if you gave birth. If you teach them Torah, that's what Rashi understood. And the גמרא Gemara says, המגדל יתום ויתומה hamegadel yasom v'yesomah, if you raise them. But the אור החיים Ohr Hachaim quotes and goes even further, and he says, do you know why Aaron's children are counted as if they're Moshe's? Because Moshe did something else for them. Not only did Moshe teach them Torah, what else did Moshe do for them? כיוון שמשה רבנו התפלל בעדם לאחר חטא העגל Kevan she'Moshe Rabbeinu hispalel ba'adam l'achar chet ha'egel. After the חטא העגל chet ha'egel, Moshe דאווען daven for Aaron's children. As it says, ובאהרן התאנף השם להשמידו U'v'Aharon his'anaf Hashem l'hashmido. חז\"ל Chazal say, זה היתה תפילתו להציל את אלעזר ואתמר zeh haysah tefilaso l'hatzil es Elazar v'es Itamar. Mosha's, his heartfelt דאווענען davening for his nephews אלעזר Elazar and איתמר Itamar was so heartfelt, so genuine, that Moshe through his תפילה tefillah saved his nephew's lives. Says the אור החיים הקדוש Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh, you know what else makes somebody as if they're your children? If you דאווען daven so hard for them. If you דאווען daven so genuinely, so tirelessly for someone. If you דאווען daven for someone as an extension of yourself, it's as if you gave birth to them. So three different expressions. המלמד תורה hamelamed Torah is as if you gave birth to them. המגדל hamegadel, if you raise them, it's as if you gave birth to them, or המתפלל בעבורם hamispalel ba'avuram, if you daven for them, it's as if you gave birth to them. But I want to share with you this insight of Rav Soloveitchik and maybe, even though there was so much more to share, maybe nevertheless with this we'll end. Listen to the Rav. We're all acquainted with the עקידה akeidah and how Avraham performed, but we do not pay sufficient attention to an עקידה akeidah that was carried out by Moshe. Moshe's עקידה akeidah was perhaps more awesome and more terrifying than Avraham's. After Avraham offered Yitzchak, the two of them returned to Har Hamoriah with great happiness. But Moshe never experienced the satisfaction. In this case, the רבונו של עולם Ribbono shel Olam requested and received his sacrifice. What is the Rav talking about? The simple right to leave a last will and testament, to die in one's own bed surrounded by his children was denied to Moshe. Moshe died alone on a mountain. Before he died, he did not lay his hands on גרשום Gershom and אליעזר Eliezer, his sons, but rather on יהושע Yehoshua, the son of Nun. Moshe's power was bestowed on Yehoshua and not on his own progeny. More tragic still was the fact that Moshe's children do not appear in the book of Jewish genealogy. Moshe twice counted the children, sorry, Moshe twice counted the Jews and also counted the tribe of Levi. Initially, the Torah says, these are the descendants of Aaron and Moshe on the day that Hashem spoke to Moshe at Har Sinai. The Torah should have listed the generations of Moshe, his own children, along with the generations of Aaron. Yet, the subsequent pasuk ignores Moshe entirely and centers around Aaron alone. Where are Moshe's children? The Torah is silent. Where are the generations of Moshe? The Torah doesn't tell us. Moshe did not merit the normal satisfaction of flesh and blood, to be reborn through a child, to live again through the child, to feel the great joy that upon his own death his progeny will remain. Moshe had two children. Of course, he loved them both, the same way Avraham loved Yitzchak. The creator asked both Avraham and Moshe to give up their children, to sacrifice them on the altar. Unlike Avraham, no angel called to Moshe, don't stretch out your hand. The knife mercilessly tore apart the relationship between Moshe, Gershom, and Eliezer. In the book of שופטים Shoftim, Moshe's son Gershom was not designated as בן משה Ben Moshe but בן מנשה Ben Menashe, because Moshe's children no longer belong to him. For the receiver of the Torah, for the teacher of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, it's prohibited to have a connection to one's family. He's the father of Israel. Every Jew has an equal share in him. It's prohibited for one individual to have a closer relationship than another. Moshe's Torah must be inherited equally by all. The Torah is analogized to a desert in the sense that it is free for all for the taking. The receiver of the Torah in this sense is also a desert, belonging to everyone. At the burning bush, God told Moshe, take your shoes off. Take your shoes off your feet. Cast off any private matters, your human personal needs, because the place upon which you stand is holy. Your place in the history is filled with sanctity and purity. It's prohibited for you to involve yourself in private family life. What a powerful image. Never ever thought of it in that way before. That Avraham had an עקידה akeidah, but he got his son back. And Moshe had to live with an עקידה akeidah where he didn't get either son back. And was that cruel? It was the way it had to be. That Moshe belonged equally to all. And even though if it meant he sacrificed his sons, for Moshe to play that transformational role in the Jewish people, for Moshe to be that אב הנביאים Av HaNevi'im, for Moshe to be that father to all and transmitter to all, he couldn't be more connected to any other, and therefore he sacrificed his sons. And that's why it's an anomaly. Even though here we are delineating all the offspring and progeny, and we list those of Aaron, we omit those of Moshe because Moshe paid that price and Moshe made that sacrifice. What a powerful, powerful insight. There was much more to share, but we're out of time. Tomorrow morning, join us 8:15 for living for 10 minutes of meaning of מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim, and then 8:45 for our living with אמונה emunah. And then tomorrow night, we go behind the bima at 9:00 p.m. If you've not yet, subscribe to our YouTube channel, you'll be notified in real time every time we go live. Come learn with us, simply hit subscribe on YouTube and join us. Until next time, we daven for our brothers and sisters in Israel, safety. and security. May you stay happy, healthy, and holy.
