Parashat Bamidbar 5782

by Rabbi Margie Cella

Two years after leaving Egypt, God instructed Moses and Aaron to take a census of the men of fighting age (twenty and up) by tribe and family. Each tally is noted; the total is 603,550.

The Levites were not included in this census; God claimed them for service in the, mishkan, moveable Tabernacle. Charged with maintaining the physical structure, they were given to the cohenim, Priests, by God to take the place of all the firstborn, who had been consecrated to God when they were spared from death in Egypt. All were given specific duties, and instructions for dismantling, then reassembling, the tabernacle every time the nation moved camp. Moses warned them not to look at the holy things lest they die.

The setup of the camp was also described: with the Levites and the mishkan always at the center, three tribes each were designated for the the east, south, west, and north sides. They were to always maintain this formation, even when traveling.

Hosea prophesied during the eighth century BCE. Here, he begins with a prophecy of renewal for the nation, fostered by a reunification of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

Using the metaphor of a marriage to define Israel’s relationship to God, Hosea portrays the nation as an unfaithful wife, guilty of idolatry; he urges them to put away their false gods and recognize that everything they used to worship Baal had been given to them by God.  If not, God promises to punish and abandon (divorce) them.

Ultimately, God leads the people into the desert (Bamidbar) for reconciliation; when the people reclaim God as אִישִׁי (my husband), God promises to espouse them forever in justice, mercy, and faithfulness; thus, they will come to know God intimately. We recall these beautiful promises when we recite the last two verses each morning while winding the tefillin strap around our middle finger.

Both texts use the desert (מִדְבַּר) as the setting for the action; not only is it the name of the parashah, but the word also appears three times (verses five, sixteen, seventeen) in the haftarah. The wilderness represents a place of reconciliation, where we can renew our covenant and draw close to God. We, too, sometimes need to go to a metaphorical desert, a place without distractions, where we can experience an intimacy with our Creator and recommit ourselves to our special covenant relationship.

The central event of the parashah is the counting of the nation commanded by God. The haftarah promises that in the reunited nation, the people will be innumerable, like the sands of the sea—or possibly the sands of the desert?