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In this week’s parsha, we find one of the most mysterious features in the Torah: two upside down, backwards letter nuns bracketing the verses “Vayehi binsoa ha’aron…” (Bamidbar 10:35–36). The Rabbis teach that these verses form a book within a book.
Why isolate these two verses? This miniature “book” of the Torah describes the moments when the Aron, the Ark of the Covenant, sets out and rests. This process is a lasting symbol of Jewish mission, movement and return. These pesukim encapsulate the journey of the Jewish people through history. We carry the Torah, symbolized by the Aron, forward. We seek peace,”menucha” for our people, and we pray to God to protect us from those who would harm us.
The backwards nuns suggest that progress is not always linear. Our spiritual and national journeys often include setbacks, and doubts. Yet even these backwards steps are part of the Torah itself. No part of our story, no stumble or detour, is outside God’s devine plan.
May we take strength in knowing that even when things look bleak, we are still within the holy brackets of Hashem’s Torah.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Fink
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