Rabbi's Derasha

The end of the book of Bamidbar represents a type of conclusion to the Torah.  There is another book of course but it has an intentionally repetitious aspect, which is why we call it Mishne Torah and the Septuagint called it Deuteronomy (both of which mean “repetition”)  So as we reach this conclusion, with what is the Torah leaving us?  

I want to suggest something based on two things from this last Parasha: a Halacha that comes up here and, literally, the last thing the Torah says in Bamidbar.

The Gemora tells us that each week we’re supposed to go over the portion twice, and then add the Aramaic translation.  Then it gives an example for the translation -- “even Atarot V’Divon,” two cities from our Parasha.  Why these examples?  Maybe because the translation is exactly the same as the Hebrew?  But that’s true of the names Reuven and Shimon, which also have no translation.  

R’ Yitzchok Hutner said an interesting idea related to this.  He pointed out in the name of the Vilna Gaon that we are used to defining things in terms of Kodesh and Tamei, things which are holy and things which are ritually impure.  But there are many things which are neither -- they are what we call Chol -- neutral or mundane.  There are examples.  The land of Israel has a Kedusha, a holiness.  The Gemora says in several places that the lands of the nations have an impure quality.  But there is a land that is neutral, what we call Ever HaYarden, the land just on the other side of the Jordan River.    

There’s another example in language.  We call Hebrew “Loshon Hakodesh,” a holy tongue.  The languages of the world are impure.  But Aramaic is neither.  

Atarot V’Dibon are two cities in Ever Harden.  Our goal in such areas is to bring them to Kedusha and not allow them to fall into something impure.  That is why these towns were the example in terms of translating the Torah -- we use Aramaic in a holy way as we talk about the land which we are also trying to make holy. 

And this is what our goal should be: to bring the neutral to a state of Kedusha.

Now, another point: The book ends by revisiting the case of the daughters of Tzelaphechad.  Their original problem was that their father died without male heirs.  The daughters did not want to lose their father’s ancestral land, so they asked Moshe how to retain it.  Moshe turned to Hashem and was told that it should go to the daughters and not to their father’s siblings.  

That was in Parashat Pinchas.  But at the end of the book, the Torah takes up the issue again, as others from the same tribe come forward with a worry about what will happen when the daughters get married.  The land they inherit could end up transferring to another tribe.  Hashem’s response was that they should marry anyone they choose -- that is a command.  Yet the verse adds, in what the Gemora in Bava Batra calls “advice,” that they should marry within their tribe.  A few verses later, the Torah calls their choice to marry within the tribe a fulfillment of what Hashem “commanded.”  That is, to do as Hashem “suggests” as advice is also called carrying out his commandments.

When the book ends with this episode, it leaves us with a remarkable complement to the imperative to make that which is mundane holy.  The Torah is highlighting the need to extend what the Torah commands -- extend the holy to new vistas and to take up not just what is commanded but also what is suggested.  That is the way to extend ourselves to do Hashem’s will.  

We have a well-known example of this type of seeking to fulfill Hashem’s will: The Mitzva of Tzitzit.  The commandment only comes into play when one is wearing a four-cornered garment.  A normal shirt does not need fringes on its corners.  The Gemora points out that one can avoid the Mitzva.  One must look for a four-cornered garment in order to do a Mitzva.  This is what it looks like to seek out Hashem’s will.  

Many have heard that throughout the war there has been a huge demand for Tzitzis. Large groups have gotten together to do nothing more than tie Tzizitz onto four-cornered garments for soldiers in Gaza.  They are seen as extra armor.  This stems from the Gemora we referred to before.  That Gemora says that even though there is usually no punishment for missing out on a positive Mitzva, there are times that there can be a consequence: At those times that are characterized by “Rit’cha,” or divine fury.  The war has been such a time, and Tzitzit are a guard against the fury.  

The final call of Bamidbar is to extend our efforts at holiness and to seek Hashem’s will not only in the regions of what is commanded but beyond.