‘Parsha Growth Spurts’[1]
Rabbi Dani Staum
Parshas Bamdibar 5774
“From twenty years of age and up – everyone who goes out to the legion in Yisroel – you shall count…” (Bamidbar 1:3)
An army will generally count its soldiers prior to heading out to war in order to assess its strength, so its leadership can strategize and plan their military maneuvers.
At this juncture, B’nai Yisroel were not about the fight any wars. Furthermore, before Yehoshua led the nation into battle he did not count his soldiers. What was the purpose of their being counted now?
Rav Shimshon Pincus zt’l (Tiferes Shimshon) explained that after leaving Mitzrayim and receiving the Torah, Klal Yisroel was indeed facing an arduous battle – the battle against the forces of darkness and impurity which sought to undermine their elevated status.
In Shir Hashirim (3:7-8) Shlomo Hamelech stated: “Behold the bed of Shlomo, sixty warriors surround it, each one of them grasping a sword, skilled in battle, each man a sword on his thigh from fear of night.” Rashi explains that the ‘bed of Shlomo’ refers to the Mishkan, which was surrounded by ‘sixty’ ten-thousands (600,000), each skilled in the warfare of Torah, which they clung to out of fear lest they forget the Torah, which would cause great pain to befall the world.
Regarding that epic battle, no soldier was unnecessary. Every Jew was vitally precious and needed to spread light. That war commenced at the beginning of our nationhood and has continued unabated until today.
We are inundated by forces that seek to undermine Torah values. Our only recourse is to grasp the swords of spiritual war and plunge ahead in the battle to preserve holiness and sanctity.
Rav Pinkus concludes that it is incumbent upon us to not only worry about our own spiritual growth and commitment to Torah and mitzvos, but also the establishing of Torah institutions and the furtherance of Torah education for all of our brethren. We need every soldier we can draft to fight our perennial war to uphold the Word of Hashem.
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“For the sons of Yosef: for the sons of Ephraim…” (Bamidbar 1:32)
Ba’al Haturim explains that the pasuk does not simply say “For the sons of Yosef: Ephraim” but seems to separate Yosef from his sons. This was because Yosef – due to his royal position – did not carry his father’s coffin with the rest of his brothers. Therefore, the pasuk did not want to directly mention him in regards to the detailing of their formation and flags.
The Alter from Kelm noted that one should do all in their power to ensure that he fulfills every mitzvah as adequately as possible. Even if one has a legitimate exemption and will not be held culpable, nonetheless he had missed out on a priceless opportunity.
Yosef had a perfectly valid reason for not carrying his father’s coffin, yet because he didn’t do so he was not mentioned directly by the listing of the flags.
A student once told Rav Chatzkel Levenstein zt’l that he had a legitimate excuse for not learning well. Rav Chatzkel replied that there are two types of ignoramuses. One has no excuse for his ignorance while the other does. You may be from the latter category, but an excused ignoramus is still an ignoramus.
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“The B’nei Yisroel shall encamp, each man by his banner according to the insignias of their fathers’ household…” (Bamidbar 2:2)
The Medrash relates that when Hashem instructed Moshe about the nation’s formation in the desert and their flags, Moshe was afraid that it was cause disunity. Hashem replied that the nation already had a tradition about their formation. Prior to his death Yaakov instructed his son’s where to stand around his bed, and that is where they stood when they carried his coffin from Mitzrayim to Eretz Yisroel.
Ateres Mordechai explained that Moshe was concerned that the nation would not be able to maintain a disciplined formation in a desert which, by definition, is lawless and chaotic. Hashem’s response was that when Yaakov had instructed his children where to stand surrounding his bed, he was also instructing them to maintain that semblance of discipline in all situations. Even while attending to his coffin during a time of intense grief, the tribes were to maintain their positions. Therefore, it was already invested in the nation’s psyche how to maintain order even in a situation of external chaos.
It is a timeless concept. No matter what challenges and struggles life presents a person with, he must always maintain a sense of balance and discipline, always knowing his place and responsibilities.
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[1] This series was originally written for and published in Hamodia.