Parashat Bamidbar

When reading a parashah like Bamidbar, one is often tempted to gloss over the detailed numbers and lists of the tribes of Bnai Yisrael or the specifics about how they arranged their tents. However, the Torah takes great pains to teach us ancient census results and desert zoning procedures precisely because our community’s values can be seen in these organizational details. At this point in the narrative, Bnai Yisrael has spent almost a year at the base of Har Sinai, where they have pitched their tents wherever they wanted to. At the beginning of this week’s parashah, God commands Moshe to take a census of the men who can serve in the military and to organize the camp based on its results. What values might the Torah be trying to instill through these organizational procedures?

Turning to the text, in the first aliyah we see that Bnai Yisrael were divided into networks of kin and tribe, and that some tribes were more numerous and powerful. The tribe of Yehuda, for example, could put together a fighting force of 74,000 men, while the tribes of Binyamin and Menashe each had less than half that number. In fleeing Egypt, the goal was to get to Har Sinai, and there was little time to organize the campsite. But now that Bnai Yisrael had completed the Mishkan, there was a risk that the more powerful tribes might pitch their tents wherever they please, perhaps claiming the best areas for themselves, or the ones closest to the Mishkan. In order to prevent this dynamic, God commands them to organize the camp around the Mishkan, positioning three tribes along each of its four sides. This policy helped guarantee that each tribe was given equitable access to its religious and communal services regardless of tribal power.  

The structure of the camp, with tribes equally distributed around the Mishkan, echoes an important paradigm shift in the book of Bereshit. In the first two generations of the Jewish family, only one child was included in the covenantal relationship. Avraham had several children who were not part of the brit, and Yitzchak and Rivkah had one child who was not a part of the covenantal relationship with God. However, all of Yaakov’s children have a share in the brit. The structure of the campsite is meant to highlight the inclusivity of the brit. While we may struggle with other aspects of inequality, God helps ensure that all of Bnai Yisrael are included in the covenant by giving every tribe equal access to the Mishkan.  

As a community, this parashah asks us to look at our Jewish community, both at school and at shul, and determine if we are living up to the Torah’s vision. Have we built Jewish institutions that make the covenant accessible to all? In order to fully take on the challenge posed to us in this parashah, we have to be willing to ask ourselves hard questions: Who isn’t here and why? If structural changes would open more doors, are we willing to make those changes?

On a more personal level, this parashah challenges me to think about whether or not I have built my life “around the Mishkan” in a way that makes room for others, and if not, then what are the changes that I need to make?

Shabbat Shalom.