{"id":48875,"date":"2019-02-06T22:33:43","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T20:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=48875"},"modified":"2022-08-31T17:46:25","modified_gmt":"2022-08-31T14:46:25","slug":"desert-journeys-two-views","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/desert-journeys-two-views\/","title":{"rendered":"Desert Journeys: Two Views"},"content":{"rendered":"
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These are the journeys of the people of Israel\u2026 (33:1)<\/span><\/p>\n

As we end the book of Numbers the Torah presents us with a list of Israel\u2019s journeys on their way in the desert. At first glance the list appears exhausting, representative of the forty years of hunger, danger, rebellion and punishment. Rashi, however, provides a different picture.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy were these encampments recorded? \u00a0To indicate God’s great compassion\u2026 Do not think that they were in constant motion from one encampment to the next for the entire forty-year period and had no respite whatsoever. \u00a0In fact, there are only forty-two encampments listed here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rashi goes on to point out that fourteen of the journeys took place in the first year and the final eight took place in the fortieth year. He concludes: \u201cThus, over the course of thirty-eight years, there were only a total of twenty encampments (42\u201314\u20138=20).\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Many read the book as one of endless catastrophe with the narratives of the people\u2019s greed, the spies, and Korach\u2019s rebellion, amongst others, marring the journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rashi\u2019s insight dramatically challenges this approach. True, tragic episodes occurred. But considering the book as taking place over the span of forty years, these episodes were in fact relatively rare.<\/span><\/p>\n

As Jeremiah tells it, when God looks back on the desert experience, He says to Israel: \u201cI remember the kindness of your youth, your bridal love, how you followed Me in the desert, in a land unsown.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Numbers should thus be viewed as a period of harmony and intimacy. There is a wider lesson here too: the Jewish world can at times fill one with despair. If we take a few steps back however, consider the wider picture, then like the prophet Balaam, we might just say, \u2018How good are your tents O Israel\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

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