Parshat Beha'alotecha
June 20th-21st, 2003
21 Sivan, 5763

Moving from one locale to another is surely one of the most stressful events in life. You need a certain hardiness to be able to endure its travails--the packing, the shlepping, the unpacking, and so on.

Imagine what it would be like if over the period of, say, 40 years, you had to move roughly 20 times. And imagine further if you had no control whatsoever about how long you’d be able to remain in any location, or when it would be time to pull up stakes and hit the road again.

Guess what? Our biblical ancestors (the Children of Israel) experienced just this as they traveled throughout the Sinai Wilderness at the command of the Almighty--the ultimate (and Infinite) tour guide, you might say. Throughout the Book of Numbers (this week’s portion included), we learn some details about the logistics of their journeying.

Here’s an excerpt:

So it was always; the cloud covered it [the Tabernacle] by day, and the appearance of fire by night. And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the people of Israel journeyed; and in the place where the cloud abode, there the people of Israel pitched their tents.

According to the word of Hashem, the people of Israel journeyed, and according to the word of Hashem they camped; as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents.

And when the cloud remained long upon the tabernacle many days, then the people of Israel kept the charge of the Lord, and journeyed not.

And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the word of Hashem, they abode in their tents, and according to the word of Hashem they journeyed." [my emphasis]

Notice the repetition of the phrase, "according to the word of Hashem." As our commentators point out, this is not superfluous verbiage. The Torah wishes to highlight the fact that the Jewish people did not make their own itinerary. At every step of the way, they had to follow G-d’s directives, regardless of their own personal desire for rest or comfort, or their own personal feelings about the place at which they were encamping (or from which they were suddenly summoned to depart). You can imagine the kinds of things they sometimes were thinking: "I hope we stay a while at this oasis!" "The view in this place is the pits—why can’t we move on?!" But none of that mattered a bit. They went where G-d led them, and they moved on when G-d said it was time to go. Period.

There was a point to all this. G-d was not (and is not) interested in making people suffer. He is, however, interested in helping us to grow spiritually--to give us the opportunities to develop our capacities and perfect our character. Judaism teaches that this is a primary goal of our whole existence on earth! Therefore, we are sent challenges, and sometimes obstacles, to help us actualize our G-d given potential (which is vast). The exhausting travel schedule of the Jewish people in the Sinai desert was such a challenge. And, as the verses above show us, our ancestors rose to the challenge beautifully, moving on (or staying put) "according to the word of Hashem."

Back to our century, and to our lives. We, too, undertake journeys in our lives, and though we sometimes think (foolishly) that we are in sole control of everything, the older we get the more we realize how great a role "other factors" play in our travels. Some people give those factors, collectively, the name of "luck" or "chance," but we Jewish people have always known better. G-d is the One sending us those signals, offering us those opportunities, and opening (or closing) the doors…all for the purpose of helping us to grow spiritually. (Of course, though much is "determined" for us, we still maintain our moral free choice--i.e., the option of choosing good or evil.) Part of that spiritual growth involves the basic acknowledgment (and expression of thanks) that G-d is the One guiding us in our lives.

We can learn much from this week’s portion. The signals we get may not be quite so explicit as the ones given to our ancestors (we do not live in an age of prophecy), but G-d is communicating with us all the same. Both through the Torah itself, and through the happenings (not "coincidences") of our daily lives. And G-d is sure to send us "itineraries" that we never could have imagined would come our way. (Expect the unexpected in life, in other words…like this Yankee living in Savannah going on 8 years!) Our "test" is to see G-d’s hand, and to follow G-d’s will, in whatever circumstances…wherever we are.

In short, to travel through our lives according to the word of Hashem.

I wish you…no, I wish us all, a healthy and exciting and growth-filled voyage of discovery.

GOOD SHABBOS!

My e-mail address is yosefe@comcast.net

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Rabbi Yosef Edelstein, Savannah Kollel. Phone: 912-351-0469; fax: 354-9923