Parashat BeMidbar
May 15, 2010
2 Sivan 5770
Vol. 19 No. 30

This week's Halachah File: The Torah's View of Gambling

This week’s issue has been sponsored anonymously in honor of those who advocated for Israel on Wednesday’s NORPAC Mission to Washington.

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The Grouping Effect
by Zachary Margulies

This week’s Parashah contains one of the many instances of Hashem counting Bnei Yisrael. Rashi (BeMidbar 1:1 s.v. VaYedabeir BeMidbar Sinai BeEchad LaChodesh) explains that the reason that Hashem is counting Bnei Yisrael now is out of his love toward them. Similarly, Hashem counted them when they left Mitzrayim and after Cheit HaEigel. However, the counting in Parashat BeMidbar is unique in that it focuses on the individual Shevatim of Bnei Yisrael. Why does the Torah specifically here feel the need to be so exact in recognizing the different Shevatim?
The answer seems to be based on an idea in this week’s Haftarah. The Haftarah begins with the Navi Hoshei’a saying (2:1), “VeHayah Mispar Bnei Yisrael KeChol HaYam Asher Lo Yimad VeLo Yisafeir,” “Yet the number of Bnei Yisrael shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor counted.” However, within this wonderful prophecy, there seems to be a major contradiction. The Navi says that Bnei Yisrael will have a number, yet they are uncountable. How can they possibly be both?
The Gemara in Masechet Yoma (22b) explains that when we do the will of Hashem, we have a number, and when we do not do the will of Hashem, we cannot be counted. The Sefat Emet explains further that when we have a number, it means that we are connected to our base of our Avot, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, who total the number three. However, when we are not doing the will of Hashem, we are not connected to our roots, the Avot, and we therefore cannot be connected to any number. Our prime goal is to always be connected to our roots, and only then can we be counted. To further this point, the Mishnah in Pirkei Avot mandates that every person know where he comes from, where he is going, and where he will eventually be judged. In order to get anywhere in life, a person must know his purpose – one can know his purpose only by knowing where his roots are, knowing where he comes from – and only then can he internalize the means to get to where he is truly supposed to go.
Through this understanding of the Haftarah, one can begin to understand the significance of counting every male Jew (over the age of twenty) in Sefer BeMidbar. Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky explains that the Shevatim are counted separately because Bnei Yisrael need to understand that the Mishkan is the focal point of their lives. Before this idea was introduced by having the Shevatim camped surrounding the Mishkan in the center of the camp, the Jews had no unifying force, and, therefore, there was a fear that the Shevatim would branch out and lack unity. However, now that Bnei Yisrael have this notion internalized, each Sheivet can be counted separately with no fear of it separating from the rest.
This fits perfectly with our understanding of the Haftarah. We explained that Bnei Yisrael may be counted only when they are doing Hashem’s will because at such a time, they are connected to the roots of the Avot. Similarly, Bnei Yisrael could be counted as individual Shevatim in Sefer BeMidbar because at this time, they were rooted and unified through the Mishkan. All of Am Yisrael could look toward the center of its camp, to the place that symbolizes that Hashem dwells among Bnei Yisrael, among His unified nation.
Today, we Jews don’t have a Mishkan or a Beit HaMikdash. However, we still have a unifying focal point in our lives. Whether it be via the physical city of Yerushalayim or the metaphysical connection we have through the Torah, Jews all over the world have many connections, which are the essence of their lives. We, Am Yisrael, must always be cognizant of our roots and recognize that those roots require us to live lives of Bnei Torah. By recognizing our roles in this world as members of Am Yisrael, we can hopefully live lives that are deserving of the rebuilding of our ultimate connection, the Beit HaMikdash, BiMheira VeYameinu.

The Power of Teaching Torah
by Gavi Dov Hochsztein

In Parashat BeMidbar (3:1), the Torah announces that it will begin to list the genealogy of Moshe and Aharon. However, in the ensuing Pesukim, only Aharon’s children are listed. To explain the seemingly erroneous reference to Moshe, Rashi (3:1 s.v. VeEileh Toledot Aharon UMoshe) explains that Aharon’s sons were considered Moshe’s because Moshe taught them Torah. As a source, Rashi cites the Gemara (Sanhedrin 19b) in which Rabi Yonatan states, “Kol HaMelameid Ben Chaveiro Torah, Maaleh Alav HaKatuv KeIlu Yelado,” “Anyone who teaches the son of his friend Torah, the Torah considers it as if he gave birth to him.”
The Gemara cites many ways in which one can “be considered” someone’s child. However, the one most prominent is teaching Torah. The reason for this is the special status of the Mitzvah of Talmud Torah. The Gemara (Kiddushin 30a) states that learning Torah from one’s own grandfather is considered learning directly from Har Sinai (according to Maharsha’s interpretation of the Gemara). Torah study is considered “KeNeged Kulam” (equivalent to the rest of the Mitzvot) when compared to other Mitzvot, so it is already a quintessential Mitzvah. Furthermore, helping someone else fulfill a Mitzvah is considered the greatest charity one can give. When these concepts are combined, we see that teaching someone else Torah is perhaps the greatest act one can perform. This is why teaching someone else’s son Torah makes the child considered one’s own.
The Chafeitz Chaim explains that teaching someone else Torah is considered clothing the needy. One who is without Torah is considered bare and does not enjoy the normal comforts of a regular individual. By enriching the person with Torah, one gives the person the ability to feel part of the spiritual world instead of being cut off from it without Torah. The Chafeitz Chaim also quotes Beit Hillel, who say that teaching sinners Torah can remove the sin from them and cause their posterity to be free of transgression.
Torah learning may be the single most important mitzvah one can fulfill. In the same light, teaching someone else Torah may be the greatest action that humans are capable of performing. It is for these reasons that Torah is so important to the lives of Jews and that the Torah considers Aharon’s sons to be Moshe’s offspring as well.
Let this be a lesson to us all. May we merit to be great teachers of Torah and to teach our own children as well as those of others. The widespread teaching of Torah will be instrumental in fixing our society and bringing the ultimate salvation. Let it facilitate the coming of Mashiach BiMheirah VeYameinu.

Faith in the Future
by Eli Lehman

This week’s Parashah begins by recounting Moshe’s instructions in Midbar Sinai. The BeMidbar Rabbah, commenting on the first Pasuk of the Parashah, recounts that the Torah is given to us with fire, water, and desert. Rav Meir Shapiro explains that the Torah is given to us with these three things as a symbol of our intense belief in Hashem and our willingness to die for the preservation of the sanctity of Hashem’s name. The fire symbolizes Avraham, who, the Midrash states, is thrown into a flaming pit for believing in Hashem instead of the pagan idolatry of the time. The water symbolizes the faith Bnei Yisrael display in Hashem at Kriat Yam Suf, as they enter the sea despite the ever-constant threat of the walls of water crashing down and killing them. Finally, the desert represents the constant faith Bnei Yisrael have in Hashem during their forty years in the desert, years of painful living without a stable home.
Alternatively, the symbolism of fire can be interpreted in a different way. When we find ourselves lost and in the dark, fire lightens up the confusing darkness, illuminating a path through which to navigate. The Torah, which is compared to fire, similarly provides a beacon of light to help us navigate through the spiritual ventures in our lives.
Daily, we are bombarded with a barrage of information painting a bleak picture for Israel’s future. The constant threat of war, the continuous attempt at suicide bombings, and the always threatening missile attacks present a serious danger to the survival of Israel. Despite all of this, it is upon us to retain faith in Hashem and preserve a hopeful outlook for the future of Israel.
This past Wednesday, Am Yisrael joined together to celebrate Yom Yerushalayim. While we are thankful and joyful that we have Israel and Yerushalayim, we must never forget the thousands of brave men and women who gave their lives to ensure that we have an Israel today. Just as Avraham risks his life in the fire and Bnei Yisrael risk their lives in the Yam Suf and in the Midbar, these heroes were willing to sacrifice their lives for Hashem and His land. They never lost their faith in the future of Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael, and we must not either.
Throughout our lifetimes, we will face many obstacles. However, despite how difficult a challenge may be, we will always have the light of Torah to guide us through the difficult times and keep us on the divine path.