From our earliest childhood, we have all been brought up to believe that all people are created equal, and that no single individual has more rights or privileges than anyone else. We have been taught to aspire to be a society that looks beyond social classes, and to look shamefully at other societies that have rigid social and/or racial class systems. These are among the foundations of the society that we live in.
In this week's parsha, Bamidbar, however, we find a different view altogether. The Torah describes the encampment of the Jewish people in the desert, each tribe occupying a specified position under its own banner. "The people of Israel did everything Hashem had commanded Moses," the Torah concludes. "This is how they encamped and this is how they traveled."
The question is obvious. Why make special mention of the compliance of the Jewish people with the divine instructions for encamping and traveling? What was so commendable about it? If separate sects of society and social divide is something to look down upon, why is this detail a helpful thing to mention?
The midrash explains that Bnei Yisrael was being commended for their compliance with Hashem's word. The Levites occupied the highest position of honor in the center of the camp, near the Mishkan, while the other tribes, many of whom were superior in wisdom and knowledge to the Levites, occupied encampments on the fringes. Nonetheless, to Bnei Yisrael's credit, they did not raise any objections or attempt to push the Levites aside. They submitted willingly to the wisdom of Hashem who had assigned roles to all the tribes according to his will.
But was this a fair system? Was it right that for all generations, no member of another tribe could take on to the duties of the Levites? How can this be reconciled with our previous concept of justice and fairness?
The answer lies in the difference between the Jewish attitude and the instinctive human attitude. In the instinctive view, the purpose of each individual's existence is for personal fulfillment. Therefore, if all people are inherently equal, their purposes are also equal, and no one should be allowed to take precedence over someone else.
In the Jewish view, on the other hand, all people are united in one common purpose; the fulfillment of Hashem's plan for the world. Each person in the world has a role which will allow them to contribute to the more universal effort to fulfill the will of Hashem. Some roles are, of course, more prominent than others. But in the greater scheme of things, everyone turns out to be of equal importance, since everyone's contribution is essential towards achieving the greater good and Hashem's plan.
As we prepare for Shavuot, these thoughts can give us new insight into the statement of the sages that at Har Sinai the Jewish people "encamped together as one man with one heart, ke'ish echad belev echad." The acceptance of the Torah brought forth a special unity among the Jewish people, because all their lives became focused on the single greater goal of fulfilling the will of HaKadosh Baruch Hu.
by Rabbi Yaakov Beker
In the beginning of this week's parsha, Hashem instructs Moshe to take a census of Bnei Yisrael in order to find out the population of each shevet. The census, according to the very first pasuk, took place about a year after they left Mitzrayim, on the first day of the second month of the second year after Yetziyat Mitzrayim. After the census was complete, Hashem gave instructions concerning where each shevet should camp around the Mishkan.
Then Hashem said that each shevet should have its own degel with "otot" or signs on it. Rashi says in his first p'shat that these signs were that the degel of each shevet was colored according to the shade of its stone on the choshen. Other mefarshim say that the signs were various symbols that somehow related to that shevet, for example, Yehuda's degel had a line on it representing kingship. Yissachar's degel had the sun and moon, representing their great Torah knowledge, and Zevulun's degel had a ship, representing its success in business and sea trade. In other words, these degalim represent each shevet's unique strengths and approach in serving Hashem.
Some mefarshim ask the following question: It seems from these psukim that the special formations and positions in which each shevet camped, as well as their unique dagalim, were only used beginning with the first day of the second month of the second year after yetziyat Mitzrayim. This begs the question that if so, how did Bnei Yisrael camp during the entire first year after yetziyat Mitzrayim?
Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky zt"l, in his sefer called Emet L'Yaakov, offers the following beautiful insight. Rav Kaminetsky claims that during this first year Bnei Yisrael had to camp all together in one large group and without their special individualized degalim. Why should this be? He explains that it is essential to have our own individuality and uniqueness, but this is not without danger. It is quite possible for this uniqueness to lead us away from each other since we are so different. It could even lead to jealousy, machloket, or bad feelings. What is the way around this?
When we all share a similar focus and a common goal, our differences and uniqueness work to our advantage, since we complement each other and help each other reach that common goal. For Bnei Yisrael, the focus and goal is serving Hashem in bringing down his Shechina to dwell among us, as represented by the Mishkan. So when the Mishkan was set up at the end of the first year we had our focus and common goal. The Mishkan became the center of our lives and we all camped around it. Our individuality and different approaches to serving Hashem no longer posed any danger. We were all working together, much like different parts of the same body. Can the eyes be jealous of the ears, or the arms jealous of the legs?
Perhaps this is why Parshat Bamidbar always falls before Shavuot. As a reminder that our receiving the Torah is what unites us as a nation. We are all individual instruments, playing our own unique melodies, and it is our shared Torah values which create the harmony in the symphony of the Jewish people.