Shabbat Forshpeis
A Taste of Torah in Honor of Shabbat
PARSHAT BAMIDBAR
THE CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE
ULTIMATE MOMENT OF CONNECTING
MAY 30-31, 2003 / 29 IYAR 5763
Is there any significance to the Jewish people camping around the Tabernacle
during their wanderings in the desert? (Numbers 2:2)
We can best understand this through seeing the striking similarities between the way the Jews wandered and the revelation at Sinai.
When receiving the Torah the Jews encircled Sinai; in the desert the Jews encircled the Tabernacle. At Sinai Jewish leadership ascended higher up the mountain than the larger community to hear the voice of God; in the desert an inner circle comprised of leaders of the Jewish nation camped around the Tabernacle, encompassed in turn by a larger outer circle made up of the tribes of Israel. And, of course, the presence of God hovered over Sinai; in the Tabernacle, the spirit of God was similarly omnipresent.
It could be argued that when leaving Sinai the Jews felt disconnected from God and it was therefore necessary to create a kind of continuous Sinai experience. Benno Jacob points out this possibility when he states, "the Tabernacle was a mobile Sinai in the midst of them [Jewish people]."
Just as there was a simulation of the Sinai moment every day in the desert, we simulate the experience of the giving of the Torah in contemporary times where we read the Torah in public. After all, the reader could be seen as Moshe (Moses) reading the word of God, surrounded by two gabbaim (helpers), much like Moshe was surrounded by helpers when the Torah was given at Sinai. Indeed, for many the custom is to stand during the public reading of the Torah, just as the Jewish people did at Sinai.
No wonder that this week's portion, Bamidbar, is always read on the Shabbat prior to Shavuot. Shavuot is the day when we recall that moment when Israel was wed to God. What better way to prepare for the reenactment of that great experience than to gather as a community and read how we, as a people encircled the Tabernacle as we did at Sinai, symbolic of a bride walking around her groom. Just like a couple who renews their vows, it reminds us of that ultimate moment of the promises that we made to God and God made to us. We renew our covenantal relationship and pray that we continue to be betrothed to each other forever.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Avi Weiss
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