Israel and The Sin of Expulsion
The Implications and Consequences of Expulsion for the Jewish People
The Midrash Says, by Rabbi Moshe Weissman writes regarding Parsha Chukas (Sefer Bamidbar, pages 245-247):
There are numerous examples of chukim…. Since thet contain apparently contradictory elements, they are liable to be ridiculed by a rational thinker. The Torah advises the Jew to tell himself, It’s a chok; I have no right to question it.”
Nevertheless, chukim are not “laws without reasons”; rather their logic is Divine. The greatest among our people were able to understand some of them.
Parsha Korach may seem to the reader to be a logical continuation of Parsha Shelach as it would seem very much that Korach and his attempted power grab is a logical after-affect, a consequence of the denial of Eretz Yisrael by 10 of the 12 miraglim (spies).
In fact, Yehuda Nachshoni’s “Studies in the Weekly Parsha” (pages 1032-1033) cites Ramban’s view that the cause of the rebellions of our Parsha; Korach’s, Dasan and Aviram’s and the First Born’s was:
In observing the evolution of Israel’s political governmental scene today, this author’s memories harken back to one Yom Nora’im (High Holidays) the late-1980s in Philadelphia, in the years just prior to becoming Ba’al Teshuva.
The conservative synagogue attended for Rosh Hoshana and Yom Kippur had a practice of bringing in a young JTS (Jewish Theological Seminary) guest Rabbi to help and assist the synagogue’s long-time Rabbi who was getting on in years. This particular Yomim Tovim, they brought in a young fellow who proceeded to pitch the philosophies of Breira, one of the leftist-agendized predecessors of Shalom Achshav.
Commentators discussing our Parsha speak about the reasons for the separate section delineated by the inverted “nuns”:
“When the Aron (the Ark) would journey, Moshe said, ‘Arise Hashem, and let your foes be scattered, let those who hate you flee from before you.’ And when it rested, he would say, ‘Reside tranquilly, O, Hashem, among the myriad thousands of Israel.’” (Sefer Bamidbar, Perek 10, posukim 35-36)
Preceding these posukim are the posukim which speak about the journey of the Aron and of B’nai Yisrael from Har Sinai to their next resting place, “…a three day distance…” (Sefer Bamidbar, Perek 10, posukim 33 & 34).
The Sefer Shem Mishmuel (page 302) cites Rabbi Berachyah in Shemos Rabbah Perek 28, posuk 1:
“The Tablets were six tefachim (handbreadths) long — in some sense, Hashem grasped two tefachim, Moshe grasped 2 tefachim and 2 tefachim bridged the gap between them.”
Shem Mishmuel then explains (pages 302 – 304):
We can sub-divide all mitzvot, and indeed, all human endeavors into three spheres: thought, speech and action. There are some Mitzvot which require a Jew to think in a particular way. For example, the first of the Ten Commandments demands belief in Hashem.
With Shavu’ot coming 3 days after Shabbos Parsha Naso, there are various common threads between Shabbos Parsha Naso and Chag HaShavu’ot. There is the thread of national unity expressed by the Kohanim in the Birchat Kohanim, the thread of diversity and unique expression within unity exemplified by the 12 repetitions of the same offering brought by each of the Sh’vatim at the inauguration of the Mishkan, and the thread regarding the importance of caring for the Ger Tzeddik.
Our Parsha Bamidbar speaks of the spiritual beauty and innovation which results from diversity within a unity — within uniformity. This uniformity is well expressed by the Ohr HaChayim who mentions 3 prerequisites for unity, in Parsha Yithro:
Once getting past the numbers crunching of the census, our Parsha speaks of Degalim: the flags of the Sh’vatim (Tribes), as a paradigm of Unity, yet which expresses diversity within the various components, all of which play essential roles within a collective unity. Within a unity, there is room for integration and cooperation of diverse individual and group attributes, skills, strong points and actions when channeled toward the common goals of Unity, i.e. the common goals of B’nai Yisrael:
Our Parsha Bechukotai is but another in the series of Parshiyot usually paired with the one it preceeds, in this case Parsha Behar, as a doubleheader.
Therefore, yet another opportunity exists to emphasize, in another way, the connection between the Jew and Eretz Yisrael.
In Parshat Behar, Hashem instills in us to parallel the laws of Shabbos: six days you shall work and you shall rest, refrain from all manner of avodah on the seventh day… to keep it Holy, just as in emulation of Hashem’s creation of the universe; with the laws of Shemittoh: ‘I will command My blessing during the sixth year and it will provide produce for three years’ we see beyond the Hatam Sofer’s explanation that:
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Moshe Burt, Blog Author
Rashi asks a critical question on the very first posuk of our Parsha:
“Hashem spoke to Moshe on Har Sinai, saying…” (Parsha Behar, Vayikra Perek 25, posuk 1)
Rashi asks why the laws of Shemittoh are singled out as having been given at Sinai. Were not all of the Mitzvot said at Sinai?” He answers that just as all of the Mitzvot; their general rules and their specifics were taught at Sinai, so too were the general rules and specifics regarding Shemittoh taught at Sinai. Rashi then reasons that the posuk comes to teach us that every utterance said to Moshe, they were all from Sinai.