Collectivity and Connectivity
Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein
With the Mishkan, the Tabernacle now complete, Hashem commands a new census be taken of Bnei Yisroel. The census is then followed by instructions on the pattern for the formation of the encampment around the Mishkan, a pattern that would carry through for all their travels and sojourn of forty years in the desert. With the Mishkan in the center, surrounded by the priests and the Levites, Bnei Yisroel were divided into four groups of three tribes each, each tribe under its own flag and banner under the leadership of one of the tribes of the group, and each group encamped on a designated side of the Mishkan.
This order was very specific, but it behooves us to trace its origins, first to investigate the idea of traveling under flags, and second to understand the specific order of encampment around the Tabernacle.
We will begin our discussion with the Medrash that says that when Bnei Yisroel were encamped at the foot at Mount Sinai and Hashem revealed Himself to them, Bnei Yisroel witnessed groups of angels descending, each with its own banner. At that moment, Bnei Yisroel also wanted to have flags like the angels, for the flags, according to Shir Hashirim, were the symbols of love between Hakodosh Boruch Hu and Bnei Yisroel. Here, at the instructions for the encampments, Hashem granted them that wish. But while this Medrash may present a source for the flags under which each tribe encamped, it does not provide any precedent to the pattern of the encampments. For this pattern, we must look to the funeral procession of Yaakov Avinu.
Obviously Moshe did not create this pattern on his own, for he was concerned that any pattern he would present would create strife among Bnei Yisroel. Perhaps one position was more desirable than another. Rabbi Frand relates the Midrash that before Yaakov’s death, Yaakov not only blessed his sons, the ancestors of the twelve tribes, but also instructed them on how they were to carry his coffin back to Eretz Yisroel to his final resting place. It is Yaakov’s instructions that acted as the model for the encampments of Bnei Yisroel in the desert and that predisposed Bnei Yisroel to accept this pattern willingly. It is Yaakov’s deep understanding of each of his sons and each one’s unique contribution to Klal Yisroel that serves as the basis for maintaining this pattern.
In Daas Torah, Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz notes that everything must have order. It is the order that gives value to objects, much like the knotted string between individual pearls gives order to the pearls, for without that seemingly worthless string, all the pearls in the strand would fall apart and roll away.
The tribes were encamped around the Mishkan according to the four points of the compass, each side designated in its relationship to the sun. Mizrach, east, where the sun Zorach, rises,maarav; west, where the sunlight and sundown get mixed, erev, into evening and night; darom, south, where the sun is at its highest, rom; tzafon, north, where the sunlight tends to be hidden,tzafun. If one tribe would want to change its position, perhaps to be closer to the sun and what that light could represent, it would be similar to trying to change nature itself. This is what Moshe was afraid of.
Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian uses this reasoning to explain why Moshe was afraid that Bnei Yisroel would quarrel over their positions. While Bnei Yisroel reached a level of great holiness, it was this very holiness that the yetzer horo would use to entrap the tribes. One tribe might claim that he is more worthy of a particular position and should be moved, not because he wants it, but rather because of the “principle”. How many arguments are started on principle, for the sake of Heaven, that masks one’s own desire for honor or for power. As great as that generation was, they were still human, and could fall for the reasoning of the yetzer horo. Therefore, writes Rabbi Yehudah Leib Chasman, the Torah praises the tribes for their immediate acceptance of their designated positions.
Nevertheless, what connection can we make between Yaakov’s funeral procession and the travels in the desert? Rabbi Frand notes that both were times of challenge. When the death of the Patriarch could unify the family in spite of the challenges and difficulties, the groundwork was laid for Bnei Yisroel to help, care for and support each other at other times of challenge, from the travels through the desert to the traumas of more recent history.
Now let us return to the concepts behind the flags. What was it about these flags that Bnei Yisroel so much wanted to have flags themselves? The Meged Yosef, Rabbi Yosef Yehudah Leib Sorotskin, explains the psychological motivation of Bnei Yisroel. Bnei Yisroel had just come out of slavery. What is a slave? Nothing more than a possession with no identity of his own. The flags that each angel carried represented that angel’s unique identity and mission. For Bnei Yisroel, physical freedom was not enough. They wanted an identity, a sense of mission. But Moshe was concerned that too much individuality would lead to conflict, but Hashem reassured him that that would not be the case, for just as Yaakov’s son could recite in unison, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One,” as a recognition of each one’s united mission and their unique contribution toward fulfilling that mission, so too would Bnei Yisroel accept the individuality of their positions relative to the center, the Ark of the Lord.
Just as the blessings Yaakov gave his sons delineated each one’s innate character and strength, and pointed to the ways in which each would contribute to the national character and directive, so too would the flags and their positions represent each tribe of the nation. To name just a few of the characteristics Rabbi Menachem Zachs articulates in Menachem Zion, there is holiness, or kingship, alacrity, and military acumen, business sense and Torah learning. When all the factors were together, there is strength in the nation and a unity of purpose. What was the unifying factor in the desert? Rabbi Weinberger points out that it was obviously the Ark, the Aron Kodesh. Yaakov Avinu urged his sons, and by extension his descendants, that just as there should be no dissension in the designated positions of carrying his aron, the ark bearing his remains from Mitzrayim to Eretz Yisroel, so there should be no dissension bringing the Aron Hashem, the Holy Ark, through that same desert from Mitzrayim to Eretz Yisroel.
Rabbi Moshe Egbe in Chochmat Hamatzpun quoting the Midrash explains the wisdom behind the pattern of encampment. To the east with the power of the rising sun is the royalty of Judah which must be supported by the Torah of Issachar and the business acumen and wealth of Zevulun. The south, from where the dew emanates, represents the baalei teshuvah, led by Reuven who was the first to repent and thereby bring good to the world. His spirit must be supported by the strength and forgiveness of Gad and Shimon. Extreme weather conditions begin in the west and force us to overcome many challenges. It is through struggle against the yetzer horo that we bring God’s presence into the world, and therefore this side was under the flag of Binyamin in whose property the Holy Temple, the place of atonement, would be built. This camp included the two tribes represented by the sons of his brother Yoseph, Ephraim and Menashe. Finally, on the north side, a place of darkness, the tribe of Dan where King Jeroboam introduced idol worship again to Israel. However, this darkness must be tempered with hope, and with him were encamped Asher in whose fields grew olives from which the light giving olive oil for the light of the menorah was produced, and Naftali who is filled with blessing. When Yaakov Avinu set this pattern, he appreciated the essence of each of the tribes and understood how they could best interact with each other to accomplish the holy mission Hashem had set for them.
Rabbi Gamliel Rabinowitz stresses an important point in Tiv Hatorah. One does not lose one’s uniqueness and individuality by using those traits to benefit the collective. In fact, that individuality is actually enhanced by being used for the collective much as each unique color contributes to the beauty of a rainbow.
Nevertheless, the Shvilei Pinchas, the Belzer Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Pinchas Friedman, asks how could carrying Yaakov’s coffin have an impact on the behavior of Bnei Yisroel so many generations later? Rabbi Wolfson in Wellsprings of Faith begins to give us some insight into this phenomenon by relating that Elisha, Eliyau’s disciple, requested that Eliyahu impart double the amount of holy spirit on him that Eliyahu himself possessed in his lifetime. How could this be possible? Eliyahu answered that if Elisha would actually witness Eliyahu’s ascension to heaven, his wish would indeed be granted. And so it was.
How can this be understood? Rabbi Wolfson explains that at the moment of one’s death, tremendous holiness emanates from that individual, greater than all the holiness during his life. Therefore, when Elisha witnessed his master rising heavenward in a chariot of fire, holding on to his master’s cloak, that holiness that enveloped Eliyahu as he rose to each heavenly level was able to envelop the witnessing Elisha, and Elisha was later able to perform double the miracles and double the prophecy of his master.
Similarly, writes Rabbi Friedman, Yaakov’s sons who were present at their father’s death and who carried his bier from Egypt also inherited this tremendous level of holiness and accepted the wisdom of their father’s instructions in carrying his remains to their final resting place. This same spirit was then transmitted to their descendants as they finished the Tabernacle and encamped around it.
The moment of separation from a loved one is always a moment of great emotion and passion, for one wants to hold on to the loved one. It is this passion that then translates into the enhancement of those spiritual characteristics our parent or Rebbe meant to us, writes Rav Meir of ParMichilien. It is this longing for continued connection that enables one to hold onto the passion generated by the loved one, that enabled Yaakov’s spirit to be revived at the sight of the wagons that Yoseph sent him and that heightened the prophetic power of Elisha.
What was transpiring when Eliyahu and Elisha separated? They were discussing Torah when the fire that would lift Eliyahu heavenward descended, writes Rabbi Shabbtai Sheftil Weiss inMishbetzot Zahav. But the wilderness is a place of spiritual desolation. How would Bnei Yisroel be able to maintain their spirituality in this environment? Yaakov Avinu foresaw this danger, and ingrained in the ancestors of the tribes of Israel this formation of uniqueness, of collectivity and connectivity, from his final journey that would parallel the journey his descendants would take, for they would constantly come back to this same truth that they shared at the moment of his death,“Shema Yisroel – Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”
Shevelei Pinchas. continues by combining an idea from Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer with an idea from the Shlah Hakodosh. When we recite the prayers before sleeping, we mention four angels that surround our bed, reflecting the four groups of angels around the Throne of Glory. Then, citing the verse in Psalms, we are presented with an acronym that represents the flags that led each of these camps: “Hashem, our Lord, moh EDYR, how powerful is Your name in all the land,” Ephraim, Dan,Yehudah, Reuven. These were the camps accompanying Yaakov to Eretz Yisroel, and these are the camps that accompany the Ark to Eretz Yisroel. But there is a stronger connection, notes Rabbi Friedman. The Medrash also tells us that the image of Yaakov Avinu was engraved on the heavenly throne. In his life, Yaakov was God’s representative on earth, and at this death, when his sons surrounded him, it was as if they were symbolically surrounding the heavenly throne upon which his image appears. Throughout the travels in the wilderness, God’s presence resided among us in the Holy Ark, His earthly throne, which we then surrounded with the same pattern, proud to be accompanying God’s presence on earth.
Now we unfortunately no longer have a Mishkan or its successor, the Beit Hamikdosh. How can we now keep God’s presence at the center of our lives? We are told that the Shechinah continues to reside within the four cubits of Torah, wherever Torah is studied. This includes not just the written Torah but also the orally transmitted Torah, now transcribed as the GeMaRA, for true Torah study must include both the written and the oral traditions. Just as before we were presented with the acronym for the flags of the tribal encampments, here we are presented with an acronym for the very angels that descended at Sinai: Gavriel, Michoel, Refoel and A(U)riel. As long as we surround ourselves with a life of Torah study and mitzvoth, we will continue to have God’s presence in our midst, just as it was in the wilderness.
But while we each retain our special gifts, that is not enough. Each of us must realize that we are part of the collective of Bnei Yisroel, and each of us must connect to the klal and contribute in our own unique way. Then we will continue to merit Hashem’s presence among us until the time that we can build Him a permanent abode in Yerushalayim.