Naso - Diamond 2008

We Are Learners and Listeners
June 7, 2008 / 4 Sivan 5768

Rabbi Mark S. Diamond
Executive Vice President
The Board of Rabbis of Southern California

Torah Portion: Naso
("Take a census"), Numbers 4:21-7:89
Haftarah portion: Judges 13:2-25

(This message is edited and adapted from a devar Torah I delivered on May 31st at Adat Ari El, Valley Village, in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of my nephew, Jonah Zarrow. I trust that it is relevant and timely for this Shabbat and for the forthcoming festival of Shavuot, the holiday that celebrates the gift of Torah.)

Parashat Naso expands upon the core themes of the opening chapters of the Book of Numbers--a census of the tribes of Israel and final arrangements for the erection and consecration of the Tabernacle. The narratives provide a detailed choreography of Israelite worship and encampment. The setting is both dramatic and highly regimented. 603,550 men of military age were arranged by clan and tribe in a set pattern around the Tabernacle. If we were to view the assemblage from above, we would see a set of quadrangles, one inside the other. The innermost quadrangle was the mishkan, the Tabernacle, and the ohel mo'ed, the Tent of Meeting. On the eastern side was the campsite of Moses, Aaron and the kohanim (priests). Three groups of Levites protected the ohel mo'ed on the southern, western and northern sides. Surrounding them were four groups of three tribes each guarding the sanctuary on the outside.

It sounds so logical and organized. Frankly, it's hard for me to picture a large group of Jews acting in such an organized manner. Can you imagine 600,000 Jewish men following orders and asking for directions? "Excuse me, I'm Pagiel son of Okhran, and I'm looking for the reserved seating and parking for the tribe of Asher. I've got a caravan of 41,500 men driving behind me. Where should we park our BMWs and Lexuses? By the way, our wives, concubines, children, sheep and goats are coming next. We'll need a couple thousand oversize parking spaces for vans, trailers, SUVs and RVs."

Lest you think I'm the only one who questions the accuracy of the Torah's account, the Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud Eruvin 5:1) records a debate between Rabbi Hama bar Hanina and Rabbi Hoshiya on the matter of how the Israelites marched in the wilderness. One says they moved like a tayva (chest), marching in a quadrangle just as they camped. The other says they marched like a korah (beam), proceeding in columns through the desert. I have a third opinion which I think more accurately portrays the reality of the trek. Half of the Israelites marched in quadrangular fashion, the other half marched in columns, and everyone kept bumping into each another. Did you ever wonder why we don't have marching bands at Jewish day schools, yeshivas and Jewish universities?

We may not have marching bands in our Jewish schools, synagogues and community. But we do have something else--the Torah, our most ancient and cherished possession. Throughout the centuries we have not been called "a people of mighty warriors." Nor are we known as "a people of great numbers," despite the fact that this is the English name of the Torah tractate we are now reading. Our people remains, in the words of the Torah, ha'm'at mi'kol ha'a'mim