Dvar Torah Parshat Bamidbar

The names of the Sedra of the week are taken from the first significant word that appears in the first verses.  So, the word Bamidbar is different from all other sedras of the Torah, and so it appears as the name of the Parsha, and since it is the first parsha of the new book, it is the name of the book.  Bamidbar means in the desert.  Why is this significant? The people of Israel have already been in the desert of Sinai for two years!  What have they been doing?  They received the Ten Commandments, and Moshe was teaching the people the Torah.  What is going on here?

The first time that Hashem spoke to Moshe in this parsha, he uses the word "וידבר "   And he spoke, this is actually the very first word of the Parsha. Moshe is to count all the Israelites.  Didn't they get counted before? Why is this census so important? 

Later in verse 19, יט  Hashem commands Moshe with the word ,"צווה" to count the people of Israel. 

Why is Moshe commanded to do the very thing that he was told before? 

This parsha takes place after the incident of the Calf, the death of Aaron's sons.  Hashem wanted to count the people of Israel to show them that he still had confidence in them, and that they were able to still be close to Hashem. 

The word ,"צווה" in verse 19 still causes some confusion however.  In a family, when something needs to be done, the parents ask the children nicely.  But then for some reason, the task still didn't get done. So the second time, the request is formulated in a stronger tone. In the same way this is what is happening in this parsha.  Moshe has already started the count, and the command, ,"צווה" was to help him continue to do it. 

Many times in the Torah, Moshe is commanded to do something.  It is taken as self evident that Moshe will do what he is asked.  Following directions is supposed to be easy. But as we can see from our own lives, it is very difficult.

 Most people don't like to follow directions. Just go into any classroom.  Teachers have to coax the students to do their homework.  Who does the homework benefit?  Does the teacher benefit from the homework?  No, it takes lots of time for the teacher to check it.  It would be much less time consuming for the teacher, not to assign homework. The students benefit from doing homework by seeing and grappling with the material learned in class a second time.  This is borne out by experiments.  But do the students really understand that it is for their benefit?  Not really.  It is like pulling teeth to get them to do homework.   

Moshe Rabbenu was the prime example of a person who did what was expected of him.  Let us all follow in his footsteps.

Rachael Alice Orbach
www.lifecoachjerusalem.weebly.com
052-7500608