I had a chance to spend some
time with our 26 year old daughter last week. She
happened to have a few days off so we met and drove to Saratoga, NY to attend a
concert of my favorite band. As we drove to the concert site, and began seeing
more and more people on the road heading towards the concert, my daughter
casually pointed out that it looked like a pilgrimage. For some reason, I have
always wanted to share the joy of the music and the “scene” with my children as
they grew older. When we arrived at our
seats (actually our seats were on the lawn) there was a family sitting next to
us: parents and their two university age kids. The father and I spoke and we
both agreed that this was something that we wanted them to share because it was
important to us. Interestingly enough, this concert only included three members
of the original band. One of the new members of the band, (the lead guitarist
and vocalist) is substantially younger than the rest of the band, and his
appeal is to a younger generation, my children. However because the youngest
member of the band enjoys the music, plays the music exceedingly well, and does
so in a respectful manner that pays homage to the legendary leader of the band
who wrote the music for so many of the band’s songs and defined the band with
his guitar playing and mournful voice; older concert attendees, like myself, see
this “re-incarnation” of the original band, as a powerful message regarding the
transition of time as a journey.
This Shabbat we read from
Parshat Chukkat. The Parsha receives its name from the Chok, (the statute) of
the Red Heifer. The Kohen Gadol would take a completely Red Heifer, and offer
it on behalf of the people as a form of national atonement. The Parsha resumes
with the narrative of B'nai Yisroel’s wandering in the wilderness. However, the
narrative is 38 years later, towards the end of B’nai Yisroel’s wandering in
the wilderness. Now, the Torah shares the final year of B’nai Yisroel’s
journey. Miriam dies and the water dries
up. God commands Moshe and Aharon to speak to the rock in order to draw more
water for the people. However after
hearing more complaining, Moshe hits the rock out of frustration. Aaron and
Moshe are punished. The journey resumes, battles are fought, faith is tested
and sometimes B’nai Yisroel passes these tests and sometimes they fail and are
punished. The Parsha ends with B’nai Yisroel on the plains of Moab ready to
enter into Eretz Yisroel.
With each trial and tribulation,
B’nai Yisroel and its leadership must be able to find the blessings and
sanctify God. Even with the death of Aaron,
even the Edomites refusing Moshe’s request to travel through their lands and
thereby forcing them around on a longer route, this generation that was born in
the freedom of the wilderness still needs a shared common experience with the preceding
generation. VaYishmah Ha’Canaani Melech Arad Yoshev Ha’Negev Ki Ba Yisroel Derech
Ha’Atarim VaYilachem B’Yisroel Vayashb Mimenu Shevi – The Canaanite king of Arad, who dwelled in the south, heard that Israel
had come by the route of the spies, and he warred against Israel and took a
captive from it. VaYidar Yisroel
Neder L’Adoshem, VaYomar Im Naton Titen et Ha’Am HaZeh B’Yadi V’HaCharamtie et
Areihem – Israel made a vow to Hashem
and said, ‘If You will deliver this people into my hand I will consecrate their
cities’. Hashem heard the voice of Israel, and He delivered the Canaanite and
it consecrated them and their cities. It named the place Horma (Num.21:1-3). The
Midrash explains that the Amalekites lived in the Negev, and the Arad was
really from the tribe of Amalek. Knowing what happened to Amalek the last time
(nearly 40 years before); Arad had his army speak Canaanite even though they
were wearing Amalek uniforms. As a result B’nai Yisroel prayed for help against
“this nation”. In their vow, Israel wouldn’t keep the spoils but rather
dedicated it to the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Rashi points out that the vow wasn’t
realized until B’nai Yisroel formally entered the land under Joshua’s
leadership. Rashi continues to explain that the verse is here because of the
vow of consecration and an acknowledgment that over the passage of time, this
generation will ultimately fulfill the vow. Torah doesn’t refer to B’nai
Yisroel as “B’nai Yisroel”; instead it refers to them as Yisroel, This vow was
the first time that B’nai Yisroel tried to give back to God like their
ancestor, Jacob did all those centuries before when he also made a vow to God.
Some journeys are for a nation
and a people, they are centuries in the making and require tremendous trials
and tribulations. Some journeys are 40 years and require trials and
tribulations as a covenant is passed from one generation to the next. Some
journeys are between parents and children. Hopefully they don’t require forty
years, but the journey does require time. The journey also requires an awareness
that the journey itself is important, that an experience is to shared and even
if it’s not the exact same experience, it is similar enough to be worthy of
replication. No it wasn’t the exact same band that I saw thirty five years ago.
No the mournful voice that made a ballad sound so beautiful and so haunting was
silent. Maybe I felt it was a rite a passage, or maybe I thought it was a
powerful bonding experience. Maybe, as a parent, we want to share important
things with our children so that they either understand us better. However, as
I watched my daughter smiling, listening to the music, understanding the lyrics
and absorbing the scene, maybe she understood me just a bit better.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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