Rabbi
Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi,
Kehillat New Hempstead
Rebbe/Guidance
Counselor – ASHAR
Principal
– Ohr Naftoli- New Windsor
STAM
TORAH
PARSHAS BAMIDBAR
5776
“IN
PERFECT FORMATION”
A Paratrooper's Story
By Dr. Moshe
Amirav
On Monday, the 5th of June
1967, I arrived in Western Jerusalem as a
soldier in a paratrooper brigade. All through that night, we advanced
from house to house under heavy fire. The battalion advanced to the east;
I knew that it was in the direction of the Old City
and the goal was clear: the Western Wall. At the end of that night, which
was the longest in my life, we arrived in the area near the Rockefeller Museum.
I climbed up onto the roof of the adjacent building and in dawn's first light I
was able to see – Jerusalem.
A Jordanian shell exploded
on the roof of the building. As a result of the blast, I flew up in the
air. I felt a piece of shrapnel ripping my face and it felt as though it
was blowing up my head. Immediately, my face bled and all I heard were
screams of "Medic, Medic!" Ofer, the medic, stopped the
bleeding by bandaging me quickly and professionally. He calmed me down by
saying: "In a few minutes, a rescue jeep will get here and take you to the
hospital." I understood that for me, the war was over.
"But I have to get to the Kotel!" – I cried. Ofer looked at me
as though I'd lost my mind: "That's what interests you now, the Western
Wall?!"
A few hours later, I was
already at Hadassah
Hospital in Ein
Karem. I could hear the echo of shooting from the Old City.
The next morning, we listened to the broadcast of the Voice of Israel
reporter, Raphael Amir: "At this moment, I am going down the stairs toward
the Western Wall… I am touching the stones of the Western Wall…"
Sounds of gunfire could be heard in the background mixed with the elated cries
of the soldiers and the sounds of shofar blowing. I could not continue
listening to the broadcast. I got out of bed and told Motti, who was
lying in the bed next to mine: "I am going to the Kotel!"
I smile now when I remember
how I ran to the Kotel, holding Motti's hand since I could hardly see where to
go. We did not take our time – we ran quickly, past the Moghrabi Gate,
pushing forward in a hurry. Suddenly we stopped, thunderstruck.
Standing opposite us was the Western Wall: gray, huge, silent, and
restrained. I remembered feeling this awe-struck only once before, as a
child, when my father brought me close to the Holy Ark.
Slowly, I began my approach
to the Kotel, feeling like a shaliach tzibbur, a cantor praying for a
congregation; representing my father – Herschel-Zvi of Jerusalem and Lithuania,
representing Grandfather Moses and Grandfather Yisrael who were slaughtered in
Punar, representing my teacher and rabbi Mourner of Zion Menachem Mendel and
his entire family that was killed in Treblinka, representing the poet Uri Zvi
Greenberg whose poems I knew by heart and had sent me here.
Someone near me made the
"She'hechiyanu" blessing, but I could not answer
"Amen". I just put a hand on the stone and the tears that
streamed from my eyes were part water and part prayers, tunes, and longing of
generations of Mourners of Zion.
I came back to the hospital
later that day to undergo surgery to remove the piece of shrapnel from my head.
On Shabbos afternoon,
in the Mincha shemoneh esrei, we speak about the unity of Shabbos that will be
realized in the future Messianic world. “Avrohom rejoices, Yitzchok exults,
Yaakov and his sons rest upon it.” What is the meaning of these words? Why is
it particularly Yaakov Avinu together with his sons who rest on Shabbos?
When the prophet
extols the virtues of one who safeguards Shabbos properly he says,
“Then you shall delight in G-d, and I shall mount you astride the heights of
the world, and endow you with the heritage of your forefather Yaakov, for the
Mouth of G-d has spoken.” Based on this verse the gemara
comments, “Whoever delights in the Shabbos is granted a boundless heritage.”
The boundless heritage promised to one who delights in the Shabbos is the
portion of our patriarch Yaakov. What is the connection?
We find that Klal
Yisroel always maintained a circular formation in their encampments and
residence. When they entered Eretz Yisroel and the land was divided amongst the
tribes the Bais Hamikdash was in the heart of the land, surrounded by the city
of Yerushalayim,
which was surrounded by the tribes throughout Eretz Yisroel.
Throughout their
forty year sojourns in the desert they also maintained a unique encampment. At
the beginning of Chumash Bamidbar, G-d instructed Moshe, “The
Children of Israel shall encamp, each man by his banner according to the
insignias of his fathers’ household, at a distance surrounding the Tent of the
Meeting shall they encamp.” Three tribes camped in each of the four directions
surrounding the center which included the Levites camp as well as the Mishkan.
The Medrash notes
that when G-d commanded Moshe about the new formation of in the desert and that
each tribe would have its own flag, Moshe was concerned that it would lead to
dispute, as some tribes may not want to be placed where they were directed. G-d
replied that the tribes would have no such qualms because they were already
familiar with their positions. Their encampment in the desert was the same as
how each tribe stood around the bed of Yaakov Avinu just prior to his passing
when he instructed them how to escort his bier to Eretz Yisroel from Egypt
for burial.
Moshe’s fears still
seem founded. Why would the nation be willing to accept a formation based on a
funeral of hundreds of years prior?
The Ateres Mordechai
explains that it is relatively easy for people to be cordial and affable with
each other when things are serene. However, when times become more challenging
and tense people often become more aggressive and impatient with each other.
Moshe feared that when
the Jews were instructed to maintain a rigid formation in the desert they would
counter that it was an impossibility. A desert is by definition vast and
lawless and there cannot be normal and structured living in a desert. So how
could they be expected to maintain such disciplined order in their encampments?
G-d replied that
Moshe’s fears were baseless. Yaakov Avinu had ingrained in his children the
ability to maintain their faith and composure even under the most trying
circumstances. When each tribe was instructed where to stand, he was informed
what his role was, and what he had to accomplish. The funeral of Yaakov was
unquestionably a period of intense mourning and instability for the tribes. Yet
they traveled together and accomplished their mission in unison.
The ability of a Jew
to maintain his equanimity even in the most challenging situations dates back
to Yaakov Avinu’s funeral procession when each tribe maintained their dignity
despite the circumstances.
Rabbeinu Bachya
writes that G-d’s throne is surrounded by four gatherings of angels on each
side, as it were, to resemble Israel’s
four formations surrounding the Mishkan.
When Yaakov’s sons
surrounded him in proper formation it was representative of the ‘secret of "אחד" (one)’. The word echad is composed of aleph (numerical value of one) and
ches and daled (8 and 4) which combine to equal 12. Yaakov (the ‘one’ in the
middle) surrounded by his twelve sons, represent the idea of "אחד".
The Chofetz Chaim
noted that the Mishkan always had to remain in the middle of the camp, much
like the Tree of Life was in the middle of the Garden of Eden. This
is reflective of the Torah which must always remain our central focus. Every
other component in our lives must surround the Torah and subjugate itself
towards the dictates and laws of the Torah. The Torah must always remain the
epicenter of our lives.
The Chofetz Chaim
adds that since our continued life in this world depends on the beating of our
hearts which ensures the circulation of the blood the heart is in the center of
our bodies. The source of life – physical and spiritual – always remains in the
center.
When the tribes
surrounded Yaakov it represented "אחד", the ultimate unity, for they all subjugated themselves
toward their father, the righteous leader, in the center. When the Jewish
People maintain their focus towards their national heart, they are truly a
people who merit the accolade "אחד", a united, destiny-driven people.
Torah life entails a
perpetual focus towards the center. That center is the heartbeat of our
national existence, represented geographically by Yerushalayim, and spiritually
by the Torah.
As
long as the center point remains in focus, we can branch out and extend far
beyond our borders. The person who proclaims Shabbos a delight is the one who
is able to use all of the delicacies and pleasures of Shabbos to sanctify the
holy day. Such a person has G-d in his heart and is thus able to ‘branch out’
into the pleasures of this world and not forfeit his inner sanctity. His heart
and soul are ‘one’ just as the tribes were one surrounding the bed of their
father Yaakov.
Therefore,
one who proclaims Shabbos a delight merits the inheritance of Yaakov. G-d
promised Yaakov,
“You shall spread out powerfully westward, eastward, northward, and southward.”
Because Yaakov personified unity of purpose and mission in his unyielding
service to G-d he was blessed to spread out beyond his confines and borders.
On
Shabbos afternoon during our prayers we speak of the ultimate level of Shabbos observance,
i.e. the Shabbos of the future when all will recognize the ultimate truth: “You
are One and Your Name is One and who is like Your Nation Yisroel, one nation in
the land.” Klal Yisroel is one, united in heart and mission, because of their
omnipresent awareness that the One G-d remains the central focus of their
lives.
It is
specifically “Yaakov and his sons” who rest on Shabbos because the
depiction of Yaakov surrounded by his sons is the symbolism of perfect unity.
Throughout
their forty year sojourns in the desert Klal Yisroel camped in that same
formation, reminiscent of the harmonious spirit which their forefathers
possessed and instilled in them. When we entered the Promised Land we continued
to live with that same pattern, surrounding the center of our national heart of
Yerushalayim and the Bais Hamikdash.
Throughout
the exile when we no longer have the physical structure of the Bais Hamikdash
our hearts remained there. At the center and core of our nationhood is,
above-all, our adherence to the Torah, and also our pining and yearning to
return to Jerusalem
and the physical centrality of our people.
The
legendary words
“הר הבית בידינו – The Temple Mount is in our hands” must be revised to, “הר הבית בלבינו – The Temple Mount is in our hearts.”
“Surrounding the Tent
of the Meeting shall they encamp.”
“Who
is like Your Nation Yisroel, one nation in the land.”
