Num. 1:1 - 4:20
Précis: B’midbar is an amalgamation of the narrative of wilderness wanderings (including the stories of the spies, Korach’s rebellion, Balaam’s donkey, and the sin of Moses), sacrificial requirements, the establishment of Israel’s moving camp, and census data.
As B’midbar (“in the wilderness”) begins, Moses is directed to take a census (“take the number”) from which the English name (Numbers) of the Book derives. A detailed listing of the numbers of each tribe follows; each tribe is apportioned to a particular location in the camp. A listing of the Levitical families then follows, together with the beginning of a discussion of their duties.
B’midbar, according to Rabbi Plaut, continues the narrative from Exodus (which was largely interrupted by Leviticus), and begins about a year after the liberation, covering the wandering in the desert. He notes that details are provided for only the first and last years, with the “middle” 38 left mostly to our imaginations. The focus of the Book appears to “point to this moment when Israel is poised to take possession of its inheritance.”
As is so often the case, Rabbi Sacks raises an interesting question (Rabbi Sacks Legacy, 5/29/25). B'midbar resumes the story as it ended with the Book of Shemot: the people have journeyed from Egypt to Mount Sinai, received the Torah, made the Golden Calf, were forgiven after Moses’ passionate plea, and built the Mishkan. Now, one month later, they are ready to move on to the second part of the journey, from Sinai to the Promised Land. But the narrative is curiously delayed. Ten full chapters pass until the Israelites begin traveling (Num. 10:33). There is first a census, then a long description of how the travelling camp is organized, followed by detailed descriptions of Levite roles. We even learn laws about camp ritual purity, the sotah (the woman suspected of adultery), and the Nazirite. Rabbi Sacks asks, why do we have this long series of seeming digressions?
The Torah is not history as a sequence of events but is about truths that emerge through time. The essential story of the Jewish People is the search for order in chaos. Repeatedly, God creates order and humans create chaos. Terrible consequences follow. Then God begins again. This is repeated in the Creation story, our familial ancestor stories, and in the stories of the generation of freed slaves and Revelation at Sinai, followed by the Golden Calf.
While previously the Torah showed God as a director of history and a giver of laws, the end of Shemot, the entire Book of Vayikra and the first ten chapters of B’midbar reveal God as a permanent Presence. Purity and holiness are demanded because the Divine Presence “dwells” in the middle of the camp, and whoever comes close to God must be holy and pure.
That long introduction to the next stages of the journey is all about creating a sense of order. Hence, the census, the detailed disposition of the tribes, and the lengthy account of the Levites. It is as if God were saying, “this is what order looks like.” Each person has a place within the family, the tribe, and the nation. Everyone has been counted and each person counts.
As B’midbar unfolds, we see that (once again!) the Israelites turn out to be their own worst enemy. They complain about the food. Miriam and Aaron complain about Moses. Then comes the catastrophe (the episode of the spies) in which the people, demoralized, show that they are not ready for freedom. There is chaos in the camp, and God decides once more to start again, this time with the next generation and a new leader (Joshua).
The Jewish people kept repeating the story.. God creates order. Humans create chaos. Bad things happen, then God and Israel begin again. Will the story never end? The central human challenge in every age is whether freedom can coexist with order.
The alternative to freedom with order is the rule of power, when the strong do as they will and the weak suffer. That is not freedom as the Torah understands it, nor is it a recipe for love or justice. We must create a freedom that honors order, and a social order that honors human freedom. There is no other way.
