From Rabbi Mordecai Miller
May 14, 2010 |
1 Sivan 5770 |
Getting organized! That's one big challenge and it's essential in order to survive in a complicated universe. Imagine trying to organize over two million people in transit! Add to that the complexities of providing for their needs in a journey taking them from Egypt to the Land of Canaan over the Sinai Peninsula . I suspect there weren't (and there still aren't) too many cities, towns or major pit stops along the way.
A fundamental step in "getting organized" is the process of taking into account all the details that one wishes to "organize." In a sense, the level, or degree of organization hinges on the extent of detail one takes into account. We start the book of Numbers with the command given to Moses to "lift up the heads" of all Israelite males twenty years old and up by their families according their "fathers' houses."
· The reason for "males twenty years old and up" as opposed to including the women and children: they were going to have to wage war against the current inhabitants of Canaan . They needed to organize their armed forces, which would have consisted of the males.
· "... by their families according to their fathers' houses" meant that in the case of a man from a certain tribe marrying a woman from a different tribe, their children would belong to their father's tribe.
· The phrase "lift up the heads..." is unusual. We would expect the text to simply say "count!" ChaZaL (our Sages, of blessed memory) see in this a suggestion of God's love for those Israelites. "Lifting the head" is an expression of being singled out for honor.
Of course, deciding to "get organized" is an indication of just how much one cares about a given situation. In the command to number the Israelites, we are given the sense about how much God "cares" about them.
That's a bit of background to the Book of Numbers.
Mazel tov to our Bar Mitzvah and his family this Shabbat. Coby Rothman has put his heart into preparing for this Shabbat. It's such a joy to see a young person take on his responsibilities in this way. Congratulations to Coby's parents, Andrea and Arnie; his brothers, Michael Rothman and Scott Keller and
his grandmother Harriet Biernbaum.
Congratulations, too, to our Confirmand, Micah Vriezelaar, son of Drs. Jaye Shyken and Stanley Vriezelaar. Mazel tov, too, to Micah's older brothers Noah and Seth and to his grandparents Charlene and Herman Shyken , we hope that they are all kvelling! Micah is a sincerely thoughtful person. When we were analyzing the first chapter of Genesis (B'reishit), he pointed something out to me that I'd never noticed before: that days one, two and three are in parallel with days four, five and six. For example, on day one, God created light; on day four God created the sun, moon and stars!
And a final bit of good news: the new Machzorim have arrived, in plenty of time for this coming High Holy Day season. I picked up a copy to start reading through. One gets the feel of a book lovingly crafted, from the cover to the layout on the page, to the way in which the content is presented. I do hope that you will find a renewed sense of spirit in using these books during the coming Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur services.
May you experience Peace and Joy throughout this coming Shabbat and into the week ahead.