Parshat Bemidbar; Numbers 1:1 – 4:20 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

As we begin a new book of the Torah this week, the book of Numbers or Bemidbar in Hebrew, focuses our attention to the life of the Israelites during their desert wanderings. The opening chapters record a census taken of all of the adult males, house-by-house, clan-by-clan, and tribe-by-tribe. This accounting of the Israelites is initiated by command of God. There are tribal leaders assigned to assist Moses and Aaron in this organizational structuring of the Israelites.

Why bother to count?

Previously in Leviticus and Exodus, the story of the Torah focuses both on the great miracles of the liberation, the laws/mitzvot and on the building and uses of the Tabernacle and the priesthood. Now with the book of Numbers it is time to organize the people and a nation. To get to the Promised Land the Israelites will encounter hostile nations and so they must be organized into an army ready to both protect and defend their wandering nation and GodÂ’s Tabernacle as well as be ready to conquer nations that stand in GodÂ’s way of delivering upon the Promise of Eretz Yisrael.

The Israelites did come together to build the Tabernacle. But that task is now complete and the centralized, portable sanctuary, the Mishkan, not only exists but serves as the place of GodÂ’s dwelling upon earth. The Divine encounter between Moses and Aaron and God takes place at the Mishkan. Offerings are regularly made. But the Israelite nation must be organized on an ongoing basis. The Israelites must be more than a loose knit group of slaves with a shared liberation experience. So this census is made as a first step.

Thus our portion records both the names of the leaders of the tribes and the numbers of eligible men, twenty years and up. They are organized into units and in Chapter 2 of Numbers, the overt military nuance is expressed as each tribe is organizes under a banner or flag of their tribe surrounding the central organizing force, GodÂ’s holy Tabernacle.

Thus this new “army of Adonai” begins to identify itself as more than just a group of slaves who left Egypt and experienced the miracles of the Red Sea and Sinai. This Israelite nation would be a force to be reckoned with. The census is a way to build a new kind of identity for this people—a unified identity and for each of the tribes a stronger connection one to the other. The Mishkan and God’s covenant provides the basis for the bond, the military organization providing the training ground and experience. Even though this group will not ultimately be the group that goes on to conquer the land, the foundation is being laid with these new organizing principles. Their identity as a people is being developed with a purpose, a central shrine, and even their own flag!

As we read these opening chapters of the book of Numbers we can’t help but reflect upon what are the ways in which we identify and organize as a Jewish community. How are we counted? How do we stand up for God? How do we organize ourselves? And how do we take the diversity of the Jewish people—and keep ourselves united as one people?

These are the great challenges of our time. We are no army. No Jewish conquering force—but we do increasingly face the challenge of finding ways to unify our people and purpose. This is why the synagogue is a place of such importance. Its sacred duty is to provide not just the space to worship God and to study, but also a unifying place to bring Jews together. The Synagogue is the great hope of the Jewish people regardless of theology, regardless of halakah- Jewish law, regardless of level of observance, regardless of denominational affiliation. The synagogue can be for our time the unifying and celebratory force, which unites Jews around the world! That is its importance in our day and time and why you should support and participate in the life of the synagogue! The synagogue keeps you connected to God and to your fellow Jews.

Posted by Lee at June 1, 2005 01:53 PM