G-d, Moses and the Trumpets
The Land of Israel is G-d’s special gift to the Jewish people. It is not ours to give away. Giving it away is not why we traveled this long, arduous journey. Being in Israel is also a mindset that encourages us to conform to G-d’s will. The phrase “Land of Israel” can be translated as “the land that expresses its desire to follow G-d’s will.” LIGHT FROM THE FUTURE ESSAYS ON PARSHAS BEHA’ALOSECHA
Three Leaders
One of the many themes in this week’s parsha is the commandment given to Moses to fashion silver trumpets. These trumpets were to serve several functions. The first few functions of the trumpets mentioned in the Torah were: to gather the people and their leaders, and to signal when they were to travel.
Commenting on this verse, Rashi states that the journeying of the children of Israel depended on three things: G-d, Moses and the trumpets. The Midrash (Beraisa d’Mileches Hamishkan) clarifies the role of G-d, Moses and trumpets. G-d, by forming the special Cloud into a ESSAYS ON PARSHAS BEHA’ALOSECHA pillar, and placing it above the tribe of Judah, indicated that Judah and the others were to travel. Moses, then, would tell the Jews in the evening to prepare for their journey the next morning. And finally, when they heard the sounding of the trumpets, they would start to travel.
What is the significance of these three influences in the journeying of the Jewish people in the desert and how can it be applied to our own journey through life?
Do You Know Where You’re Going?
On one level, our life’s journey is mapped out by G-d. The Psalmist declares: “Man’s footsteps are determined by G-d.” Wherever we go, and wherever we end up, has been determined by G-d.
There is a well-known story of a famous rabbi who was greeted by a powerful nobleman as he was walking down the street.
“Where are you going?” the nobleman asked the rabbi.
“I have no idea,” was the rabbi’s curt reply.
The nobleman was enraged at the rabbi’s evasive answer and had him thrown into prison.
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However, the nobleman was curious to know why the rabbi refused to divulge where he was going and decided to visit him in prison.
“Why didn’t you tell me where you were going?” the nobleman asked the rabbi.
To which the rabbi replied, “If you would have asked me where I was planning to go, I could have told you. But, when you asked me where, in fact, I was going, I truly had no idea. Did I anticipate that I would end up in jail?”
Lest one think that, since G-d determines where we are going and where we will end up, there is no need to seek guidance as to where we should go, the Torah informs us otherwise. We must consult Moses, or the Moses and spiritual leader of each generation, about where to go. But, more precisely, the spiritual guides are there to prepare us for our journey, telling us when and how we should travel.
And finally, there are times when the Moses of the generation asks the Kohanim, or his emissaries, to sound the trumpets to inspire us all to take the first step in the right direction.
In other words, our lives have to be informed by the realization that we are in G-d’s hands, and that ultimately, G-d guides our footsteps.
Moreover, we must realize that we depend on our spiritual mentors for
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specific guidance and that we must become the trumpeters that bring their message to the entire world community.
Our Destination
From the day we received the Torah at Mount Sinai, over 3,300 years ago, G-d has told us in general terms where we are to go. Our destination is the Land of Israel, where we would implement all of G-d’s teachings in our lives.
Had we, as a nation, heeded G-d’s commands as we made the Land of Israel our home, that would have been the final destination; the Messianic Age. But, alas, we were compelled to make that trip to the Promised Land following a circuitous route. First, we went through the desert for forty years and then, after the destruction of the first Temple, we returned to Israel by way of Babylonia and Persia.
Had we, as a nation, learned our lesson, after we returned and built the Second Temple, that era could have evolved into the age of utopia. But alas, that was not to be. We were forced to pack our proverbial bags and wander through the Diaspora for close to two-thousand years. But we know that our destination has not changed. Our journey in exile is intended to get us to return to the Land of Israel not just in the ESSAYS ON PARSHAS BEHA’ALOSECHA physical sense, but in the spiritual sense as well. This means that we are to realize what the Land of Israel represents.
The Gift, the Mindset and the End
First, we must recognize that the Land of Israel is G-d’s special gift to the Jewish people. It is not ours to give away. Going to Israel for the purpose of giving it away to others is not why we traveled this long, arduous journey.
Second, we must recognize that being in Israel is not just a geographic experience. It is also a mindset. A mindset that encourages us to conform to G-d’s will. Indeed, the phrase “Land of Israel” can be translated as “the land that expresses its desire to follow G-d’s will.”
Third, we must also recognize that the end of our journey is the complete Redemption of the Jewish people from exile and peace for the entire world. In the end scenario, we will see Moshiach building the Third Temple, which will be the medium by which G-d’s presence is revealed to the entire world.
The Pointers
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All the different cataclysmic and miraculous events of the past century, and particularly, the last few decades, are G-d’s way of pointing us in the direction we should go.
But not all signs that G-d gives us are as clear as we would like them to be. G-d, therefore, sends us sensitive spiritual leaders who pick up these signals and tell us what they mean. Throughout the past century, the greatest Jewish spiritual leaders have told us that we are living in the Biblically predicted “end days” that are characterized by the Talmud as the “Heels of Moshiach.” In the last few decades, the tempo has increased with the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s declaration that the “time of the Redemption has arrived,” meaning that we are in the most fitting time for us to end our journey.
But these leaders also tell us how we are to prepare for the last leg of the journey. They sound the “trumpets” to awaken us from our exile- induced reverie. Some of the historical clarion calls heard a little over a decade ago by the Rebbe include:
The Message of the Trumpets
“Learn Torah, specifically the teachings of the Torah concerning
Moshiach and the Era of Redemption.”
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“Live with the teachings about Moshiach.” This means we should live now the way we anticipate we will be living in the Messianic Age. We will perform more Mitzvos and perform them with more sincerity and integrity.
“Open our eyes” to see the new reality in the world around us. We should appreciate the changes for the good, even as we implore G-d to bring an end to the suffering.
“Prepare ourselves to welcome Moshiach.” We prepare for Moshiach by doing more acts of goodness and kindness, and, more specifically, by a more meticulous devotion to all of the obligations we have as Jews.
And last, but not least: Moshiach is associated with joy. We must think positively and try to instill that joy in all that we do.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Behalosecha by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
