Bamidbar 5772

As a rule, on the Shabbos before Shavuos we read Parshas Bamidbar. Presumably there is some connection between the two, but even a cursory examination of Bamidbar leads us to question this assumption. The seemingly mundane topics of the Parsha – the census, the array of the camp, the redemption of the first-born – hardly match the thunder and lightning of the Sinai revelation which Shavuos celebrates.

Yet, if we look beneath the surface, there actually is a very deep connection between Shavuos and this Parsha. The Ramban, in his introductory comment to Sefer Bamidbar, mentions that the encampment of the Jews around the Mishkan – described in this Parsha with a wealth of detail – is actually reminiscent of the enclosures that were erected to fence in Mt. Sinai before the revelation. This, of course, reminds us of an earlier comment of Ramban (Shemos 25:1) that the Mishkan itself was designed to be the resting place of the Shechina which had appeared on Mt. Sinai. In other words: The Mishkan with its surrounding encampments was the perpetuation of the experience of Sinai in sanctified space just as the holiday of Shavuos is the perpetuation of the Sinai experience in sanctified time. The connection is thus self-evident.

The centrality of the Mishkan in the design of the encampment is symbolic of the centrality of Torah in the life and thinking of the Jew. This idea can be understood on two levels:

First, within the realm of our religious lives, Torah is first and foremost. Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin in his commentary to Pirkei Avos, Ruach Chaim, explains that although the world is founded on three pillars – Torah, Divine Worship, and Acts of Kindness – these three are not co-equal. Ultimately it is the Torah which defines the other two. Whether a given ritual practice – such as animal sacrifice in the absence of the Bais Hamikdosh – is a meaningful and valid act of worship or not will depend on definitions and guidelines provided by the Torah. As well, whether an interaction of two people – such as lending money on interest below market rates – constitutes an act of kindness or an act of abuse will depend on legal standards spelled out in the Torah. (Both examples are, in fact, prohibited.) Thus, Torah is central as it defines all other areas of religious life.

But, more importantly, Torah must be central to the entirety of a Jew’s life.

Many people live with a misconception. They believe that there are many diverse components to life; religion being just one of them. Others would include career, social life, community involvement, cultural and artistic pursuits, and so on. Life is viewed as a pie and each component is a slice of the pie. In this conception, the defining characteristic of the “religious personality” is simply the size of the slice.

A genuine Torah perspective calls for a different metaphor. To the serious Jew, religion is the baking dish; all the other aspects of life – slices of the pie – must fit into that dish. As the Rambam writes (Shemoneh Perakim Chapter 5), the ideal of Judaism is “Know Him in all your ways.” Every aspect of life has value only to the extent that it facilitates and serves as a means to the ultimate end of coming to know G-d. If a person was to integrate this ideal into his way of life, everything would be different. His eating, sleeping, recreation, work habits, relationships, and even his thoughts would be focused on the imperative of living a life totally devoted to the will of Hashem.

The centrality of the Mishkan is meant to convey the idea that Torah is not merely an important part of life and not merely the most important part of life. It is the pivot and the core around which everything must revolve.