1. The Way Bureaucracy Ought to Work
Parshat Bamidbar begins with G-d instructing Moshe to conduct a census of the Jewish people, counting all the males over the age of 20, which was considered to be the minimum age for military service. The Torah says, "G-d spoke to Moshe in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after their departure from the land of Egypt, saying: "Take a census of the entire assembly of the Children of Israel" (Chap. 1, verses 1-2). With the help of leaders from each tribe, Moshe and Aaron conducted the census, and the Torah again states that this was done "on the first day of the second month" (Chap. 1, verse 18).
The question: Why does the Torah repeat the date of the census in Chapter 1, verse 18?
The answer: The Ramban and other commentaries explain that the Torah repeats the date to emphasize that Moshe carried out G-d's request on the very same day that he received the Divine instruction. Thus, Chapter 1, verse 1 states that G-d instructed Moshe on the first day of the second month regarding the census, while Chapter 1, verse 18 repeats the date to indicate that Moshe fulfilled G-d's request promptly.
The lesson: Since the outbreak of the intifada last fall, the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo has repeatedly come under Palestinian gunfire from the neighboring village of Beit Jalla. Just this past week, several Gilo residents, including an 86-year old Israeli man, were injured in Palestinian attacks. On Thursday, Israel Radio reported that the homes in Gilo have still not been provided with all the bulletproof protection that is required, despite repeated promises dating back over six months to the previous government. We are often told that things in Israel take time, the wheels of bureaucracy move slowly, and change does not happen over night. While such cliches may be true, they are also little more than excuses. To accept them at face value is to confuse a descriptive statement with a prescriptive one - namely, just because things do in fact take time does not necessarily mean that they should take time. The census described in the Parsha is a good example. Moshe faced an incredibly challenging task ? to count the Jewish people without benefit of computer systems, identity cards, questionnaires or databases. He would have been perfectly justified in taking his time to set up the necessary infrastructure, recruit and train census-takers, create committees and define procedures. But because Moshe was infused with a sense of mission, with a sense of Divine purpose, he did not take the easy way out, offering standard bureaucratic excuses. Rather, he tackled his responsibility with alacrity, completing the task on the same day it was entrusted to him. If only the bureaucrats of today would follow his example, perhaps then the residents of Gilo (as well as the rest of the country) would feel more secure.
2. The Makings of a Good Soldier
The Parsha states that as part of the census, each person provided information regarding his genealogical background and family history. The Torah says, "They gathered together the entire assembly on the first of the second month, and they established their genealogy according to their families, according to their fathers' household" (Chap. 1, verse 18).
The question: What is the meaning behind the fact that each person counted in the census provided genealogical information about himself?
The answer: Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch notes that this is meant to demonstrate the difference between a Jewish army and the armies of the nations of the world. In other armies, soldiers are assessed based on their strength, heroism and even perhaps the number of "kills" they have made. But in the case of the census in our Parsha (which was intended to determine the number of Jews eligible for military service), the emphasis was on each person showing the type of family that he came from. The reason for this, says Rabbi Hirsch, is that there is always a concern in a case of war that a soldier may let his sword swing a little too freely, possibly killing innocent people in the process. By ensuring that Jewish soldiers are from "good stock", it increases the likelihood that they will be more sensitive and compassionate people, so that in the heat of battle they will be less likely to spill blood needlessly. Therefore, according to Rabbi Hirsch, the people counted in the census had to provide information about their family background because this was used to assess their ability to be good soldiers.
The lesson: The ongoing Palestinian violence of the past few months, and especially the cruel atrocities perpetrated against innocent Jewish children in places such as Tekoa and Hebron, have led to a growing chorus of demands to "hit 'em back hard" or "make them feel the pain too". Such sentiments are perhaps unavoidable in a war situation, particularly one in which the enemy feels no compunction about using terror to target Israeli civilians. Nevertheless, as Rabbi Hirsch pointed out, a Jewish soldier must rise above such emotions, even in the heat of battle, and ensure that when he strikes back at the enemy, it is indeed the enemy that is being hit, and not innocent civilians unconnected to the conflict. This is not to say that one must remain passive in the face of hostility. Just the opposite. Israel must do more to protect itself and its citizens. It must strike back often and hard against those who assault us, and it must do so not only once they have attacked, but before as well. The point, however, is that what differentiates us from them, among other things, is that we differentiate between the guilty and the innocent. If we fail to make that distinction, then we will only succeed in giving our enemies the pleasure of watching us stoop to their level.
3. Shavuot - Judging the Judges
The Book of Ruth is traditionally read on Shavuot and it tells the story of the righteous convert Ruth. The opening words of the book are: "And it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled ["Shfot HaShoftim" in Heb.]" (Chap. 1, verse 1).
The question: What is the meaning of the phrase "Shfot HaShoftim"? Why doesn't the text just say "in the days of the judges ["HaShoftim"]"?
The answer: The Talmud in Tractate Baba Bathra (15b) interprets the phrase "Shfot HaShoftim" as meaning that it was a generation in which the people judged their judges, as it were. That is to say, they were critical of the judges, rather than viewing them as worthy and fair in upholding the law. Commenting on the Talmud's interpretation, the Baal Shem Tov notes that the story of Ruth took place at a time of crisis for the Jewish people ("and there was a famine in the land" Chap. 1, verse 1 of the Book of Ruth). Thus, said the Baal Shem Tov, judges who torment the people at a time of national crisis rather than comforting them and participating in their sorrow are judges who are worthy of being judged. They are judges who deserve to be viewed critically because of their behavior.
The lesson: In recent years, Israel's Supreme Court has sadly become cut off from the realities of Israeli society and national life. The basic function of a court is to ratify and preserve societal norms, in the process ensuring that the rule of law is upheld. Unfortunately, some of Israel?s jurists seem to have forgotten this, preferring instead to reshape society by engaging in "judicial activism". And so, the High Court feels free to intervene in deciding whether parents may spank their children, or whether an entirely Jewish village in the Galilee must sell a home to an Arab family. Yet even as it trumpets its commitment to the rule of law, the Court will not order a halt to the Moslem Wakf's illegal destruction of priceless antiquities on the Temple Mount, nor will it intervene to enforce the fundamental right of Jews to pray there. Selective applications of the law, and unfortunate attempts to socially engineer Israeli society, have badly hurt the Supreme Court's reputation and undermined the public's confidence in it as a fair arbiter. As we see from Baal Shem Tov above, such judges should not be surprised if the public grows increasingly critical of their actions. For they have only themselves to blame for their decline in stature.
Parshat Bamidbar begins with G-d instructing Moshe to conduct a census of the Jewish people, counting all the males over the age of 20, which was considered to be the minimum age for military service. The Torah says, "G-d spoke to Moshe in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after their departure from the land of Egypt, saying: "Take a census of the entire assembly of the Children of Israel" (Chap. 1, verses 1-2). With the help of leaders from each tribe, Moshe and Aaron conducted the census, and the Torah again states that this was done "on the first day of the second month" (Chap. 1, verse 18).
The question: Why does the Torah repeat the date of the census in Chapter 1, verse 18?
The answer: The Ramban and other commentaries explain that the Torah repeats the date to emphasize that Moshe carried out G-d's request on the very same day that he received the Divine instruction. Thus, Chapter 1, verse 1 states that G-d instructed Moshe on the first day of the second month regarding the census, while Chapter 1, verse 18 repeats the date to indicate that Moshe fulfilled G-d's request promptly.
The lesson: Since the outbreak of the intifada last fall, the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo has repeatedly come under Palestinian gunfire from the neighboring village of Beit Jalla. Just this past week, several Gilo residents, including an 86-year old Israeli man, were injured in Palestinian attacks. On Thursday, Israel Radio reported that the homes in Gilo have still not been provided with all the bulletproof protection that is required, despite repeated promises dating back over six months to the previous government. We are often told that things in Israel take time, the wheels of bureaucracy move slowly, and change does not happen over night. While such cliches may be true, they are also little more than excuses. To accept them at face value is to confuse a descriptive statement with a prescriptive one - namely, just because things do in fact take time does not necessarily mean that they should take time. The census described in the Parsha is a good example. Moshe faced an incredibly challenging task ? to count the Jewish people without benefit of computer systems, identity cards, questionnaires or databases. He would have been perfectly justified in taking his time to set up the necessary infrastructure, recruit and train census-takers, create committees and define procedures. But because Moshe was infused with a sense of mission, with a sense of Divine purpose, he did not take the easy way out, offering standard bureaucratic excuses. Rather, he tackled his responsibility with alacrity, completing the task on the same day it was entrusted to him. If only the bureaucrats of today would follow his example, perhaps then the residents of Gilo (as well as the rest of the country) would feel more secure.
2. The Makings of a Good Soldier
The Parsha states that as part of the census, each person provided information regarding his genealogical background and family history. The Torah says, "They gathered together the entire assembly on the first of the second month, and they established their genealogy according to their families, according to their fathers' household" (Chap. 1, verse 18).
The question: What is the meaning behind the fact that each person counted in the census provided genealogical information about himself?
The answer: Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch notes that this is meant to demonstrate the difference between a Jewish army and the armies of the nations of the world. In other armies, soldiers are assessed based on their strength, heroism and even perhaps the number of "kills" they have made. But in the case of the census in our Parsha (which was intended to determine the number of Jews eligible for military service), the emphasis was on each person showing the type of family that he came from. The reason for this, says Rabbi Hirsch, is that there is always a concern in a case of war that a soldier may let his sword swing a little too freely, possibly killing innocent people in the process. By ensuring that Jewish soldiers are from "good stock", it increases the likelihood that they will be more sensitive and compassionate people, so that in the heat of battle they will be less likely to spill blood needlessly. Therefore, according to Rabbi Hirsch, the people counted in the census had to provide information about their family background because this was used to assess their ability to be good soldiers.
The lesson: The ongoing Palestinian violence of the past few months, and especially the cruel atrocities perpetrated against innocent Jewish children in places such as Tekoa and Hebron, have led to a growing chorus of demands to "hit 'em back hard" or "make them feel the pain too". Such sentiments are perhaps unavoidable in a war situation, particularly one in which the enemy feels no compunction about using terror to target Israeli civilians. Nevertheless, as Rabbi Hirsch pointed out, a Jewish soldier must rise above such emotions, even in the heat of battle, and ensure that when he strikes back at the enemy, it is indeed the enemy that is being hit, and not innocent civilians unconnected to the conflict. This is not to say that one must remain passive in the face of hostility. Just the opposite. Israel must do more to protect itself and its citizens. It must strike back often and hard against those who assault us, and it must do so not only once they have attacked, but before as well. The point, however, is that what differentiates us from them, among other things, is that we differentiate between the guilty and the innocent. If we fail to make that distinction, then we will only succeed in giving our enemies the pleasure of watching us stoop to their level.
3. Shavuot - Judging the Judges
The Book of Ruth is traditionally read on Shavuot and it tells the story of the righteous convert Ruth. The opening words of the book are: "And it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled ["Shfot HaShoftim" in Heb.]" (Chap. 1, verse 1).
The question: What is the meaning of the phrase "Shfot HaShoftim"? Why doesn't the text just say "in the days of the judges ["HaShoftim"]"?
The answer: The Talmud in Tractate Baba Bathra (15b) interprets the phrase "Shfot HaShoftim" as meaning that it was a generation in which the people judged their judges, as it were. That is to say, they were critical of the judges, rather than viewing them as worthy and fair in upholding the law. Commenting on the Talmud's interpretation, the Baal Shem Tov notes that the story of Ruth took place at a time of crisis for the Jewish people ("and there was a famine in the land" Chap. 1, verse 1 of the Book of Ruth). Thus, said the Baal Shem Tov, judges who torment the people at a time of national crisis rather than comforting them and participating in their sorrow are judges who are worthy of being judged. They are judges who deserve to be viewed critically because of their behavior.
The lesson: In recent years, Israel's Supreme Court has sadly become cut off from the realities of Israeli society and national life. The basic function of a court is to ratify and preserve societal norms, in the process ensuring that the rule of law is upheld. Unfortunately, some of Israel?s jurists seem to have forgotten this, preferring instead to reshape society by engaging in "judicial activism". And so, the High Court feels free to intervene in deciding whether parents may spank their children, or whether an entirely Jewish village in the Galilee must sell a home to an Arab family. Yet even as it trumpets its commitment to the rule of law, the Court will not order a halt to the Moslem Wakf's illegal destruction of priceless antiquities on the Temple Mount, nor will it intervene to enforce the fundamental right of Jews to pray there. Selective applications of the law, and unfortunate attempts to socially engineer Israeli society, have badly hurt the Supreme Court's reputation and undermined the public's confidence in it as a fair arbiter. As we see from Baal Shem Tov above, such judges should not be surprised if the public grows increasingly critical of their actions. For they have only themselves to blame for their decline in stature.