Our eldest daughter moved to Austin, Texas in order to manage a congressional campaign. Before she embarked on her drive, I did the typical dad thing. I told her to make sure to bring the car in for a going over, make sure that everything worked perfectly, and when she was driving, make sure that the indicator lights are functioning properly. Of course, her response was to roll her eyes and remind me that moving to a new city to work on a political campaign was not new for her or for me. She has been doing this for eight years. She has lived all over the U.S: north, south, east, west, coastal states, landlocked states, primarily agricultural states as well as big cities. Yet this move, from Boston to Austin, seemed different. It was different for three reasons. It was different because of the Covid 19 Pandemic, it was different because a video lasting 8:40 from Minneapolis shined a light on a racial pandemic that has burned for centuries. Her move was different because she was moving to Austin Texas. Make no mistake, Austin is a cosmopolitan place with a huge university, a thriving economy, a great music scene, and stereotypically has been a liberal-leaning place like most large cities in the north and on the two coasts. However, Austin is in Texas, and because of my bias and my being a history buff, I appreciate that Texas is just different. As a dad, my worries were and remain simple yet existential. She has moved to a place where the Governor’s desire to “open early” has resulted in a spike of those being stricken with Covod-19. She has moved to a state where putting a mask is a statement of politics rather than a statement regarding the sanctity of life. She has moved to a state that doesn’t seem to respect a women’s right to choose but protects everyone’s right to own a firearm. My daughter reminded me that was precisely why she chose to manage this particular congressional campaign. In terms of her car, the drive from Boston to Austin was uneventful. The car ran fine, and she paid attention to the warning lights.
This morning we read from Parsha BaHalotcha. This Shabbat we read from Parsha Bahalotcha. For the previous two Parshiot, Bemidbar and Naso, Bnai Yisroel has counted and prepared for their journey from Sinai to Eretz Canaan. This week, the final preparations are ordered and executed and the departure from Sinai begins. Aaron, Moshe’s brother and the Kohen Gadol, lights the lamp for the Mishkan, the entire Levite tribe is purified, offerings made and their service for maintenance of the Mishkan begins. Final instructions for observing Pesach under these new conditions, (they were not leaving Egypt anymore nor had they arrived in the land) were offered, including the case of coming into contact with the deceased and becoming spiritually impure. The narrative tells us the manner in which Bnai Yisroel traveled: sheltered by a cloud during the day and protected by a pillar of fire at night. Then the complaining begins. They complain about the Mannah. They complain about the food. They complain about Moshe’s leadership. Moshe’s sister complains about his wife.
As Bnai Yisroel finally begins its trek from Sinai towards Canaan, the Torah makes the following statement. Vayehi Binsoah Ha’Aron VaYomer Moshe, Kuma Adoshem VeYaFuTzu Oyavecha, VeYaNuSu Misanecha MiPanecha. U’vNucho Yomar Shuva Adoshem Rivvot Alfei Yisroel – When the Ark would journey, Moshe said: ‘Arise Hashem, and let Your foes be scattered let those who hate You flee from before You. And when it rested, he would say, ‘reside tranquilly, O Hashem, among the myriad thousands of Israel. (Num. 10:35) Today we say the first part of the verse while we take the Torah out from the Aron before we read the Torah, and we say the second part of the statement when we have finished reading from the Torah and are returning it to the Aron. In the Torah, this verse is enclosed by two brackets. The bracket is really an inverted letter, the letter “Nun”. The Talmud in Shabbat 116a teaches us Mipnei Sh’ Sefer Chashuv Hu Bifnei Atzmo – Because it constituted a book on its own. This is a rather cryptic statement since it suggests that there are more than 5 books comprising the Torah. We normally think of the Torah as comprised of 5 Books (Breishit- Genesis, Shmot –Exodus, Vayikra – Leviticus, Bemidbar-Numbers, Devarim-Deuteronomy). Now the Talmud is suggesting that there is another book?
Perhaps the brackets are the indicator lights. The verse within the brackets is the one section of the User’s Manual that will constantly be referred to during this one aspect of the journey. Originally this journey was supposed to be a few weeks or months at the most. B’nai Yisroel had not yet been punished with 40 years of “wandering in the desert’. Most of the Torah’s instructions were given in anticipation of B’nai Yisroel’s eventual arrival in Canaan. In the meantime, this is the verse that they will need to refer to, this is the section of the user manual that B’nai Yisroel will need in order to survive until their eventual arrival. In reality, this is the “Book” that they would use each day that they traveled, and each day that they would temporarily rest. In today’s reality, there are all kinds of warning lights. There have been warning lights in terms of Covid 19. Certainly, there have been warning lights regarding race. For my daughter, there were plenty of other warning lights on her drive down and even in Texas. There were protests in the various cities she spent the night: Louisville and Little Rock. While wearing a mask, she received looks and sneers. She saw people behaving as if there was neither racial tension nor a pandemic. Some people have chosen to ignore the warning lights. Yet ignoring the warning lights doesn’t mean that a problem does not exist. Thankfully, my daughter pays attention to all the warning lights, heeds them, and wants to fix the problems.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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