Understanding Uniqueness
Naaleh.comSummary by Channie Koplowitz Stein
Parshat Bamidbar begins appropriately with Hashem's instructions to Bnei Yisroel on how to set up their camps as they travel through the midbar/desert to the land Hashem has promised them. The instructions are fairly detailed. Not only is each tribe given a specific position within the encampment, but "each man by his banner/flag according to the insignias of his father's household at a distance surrounding the Tent of Meeting shall they encamp." In other words, there was identity of each tribe, of each family, and even of every man. Why are all these details necessary?
Let us explore a beautiful medrash that will shed light on our question. When Hashem revealed Himself at Mount Sinai, He was accompanied by many legions of angels. Each group had its own flag. What is the significance of a physical flag for spiritual angels? The Nesivos Shalom offers an apt analogy. An army is comprised of many units, and each unit carries its own insignia that represents its unique function, whether it is tanks, parachutes, Navy Seals or another function. Similarly, the banner of each angel signified its unique mission and purpose. When Bnei Yisroel saw these flags, they too wanted their mission to be clearly defined. And while we may not have flags and banners today, each of us nevertheless has our own unique mission, and each of us was given all we need to fulfill that mission, explains the Chidushei Harim. Further, each unique mission is necessary for the entire Klal Yisroel to fulfill its mission.
Open your eyes and see what you can contribute. What are your strengths and talents, and what do you feel most fulfilled doing, suggests Rabbi Lieberman in Mishnat Yosef. Your mission lies within the circle within which lie those strengths and talents. Through working on your strengths, you will build a place where Hashem can reside. Realize your personal importance, writes Rabbi Scheinerman citing Rav Aharon Kotler. When Hashem judges us, He will not judge us according to anyone else's purpose in life, but according to our fulfillment of our personal task. Rav Tzadok Hakohein encourages us that just as we are commanded to believe in Hashem, we are also commanded to believe in ourselves and in our intrinsic greatness. Therefore, writes the Be'er Moshe, the Ozharov Rebbe, Rabbi Epstein, the Torah commanded Ish al diglo/each man according to his flag, and not each tribe according to its flag. The entire tribe is counting on me and on my contribution while it still maintains its own responsibility. As the Gemarrah says, my deeds, whether mitzvoth or aveiroth, are intertwined with the destiny of the entire tribe and the entire people, and can tip the balance of the world toward guilt or innocence. We will each be required to give a din vacheshbon, a report and an accounting. The Be'er Moshe explains that the "report" pertains to one's personal actions, but the "accounting" is the explanations of how those actions impacted others and the world as a whole, and shifted the balance, God forbid, to guilt. It is for this reason that the Hebrew grammar of the Ten Commandments directs the command to the individual, "I am the Lord, your (second person singular) God," "Thou (second person singular)shalt not..."and so on.
It is therefore extremely important, writes Rabbi Akiva Tatz in World Mask, that we discover our own uniqueness and, in so doing, find our unique mission. If we pursue the wrong goal, not only will we leave our task unfulfilled, we may also damage the entire world, much like a loose screw in a delicate machine that rattles around inside, damaging all the other cogs and wheels and eventually destroys the entire machine.
When Hashem came down to Sinai, we heard His voice bekoach/in strength. Rather than meaning that the voice overpowered us, this strength was adapted to each person's ability to hear His voice, just as His expectations of us are also geared to the capability He has instilled in each of us individually, writes Rabbi Wachtfogel.
This lesson is important, especially before Shavuot. We pray that Hashem gives us a portion in His Torah. Since we each have a share in the Torah, writes Rabbi Druck, we each must strive to live up to our potential according to Torah. However the yetzer horo tries to convince us that we have nothing to offer, writes Rabbi Eisenberger in Mesilot Bilvovom. Often, parents and educators contribute to this perception by focusing on the negative, on what our children lack, instead of focusing on their strengths and talents. Highlight their accomplishments and look for opportunities to compliment them. Don't forget to give yourself a pep talk in the process. Part of our preparation for Kabbalat Hatorah is to recognize vediglo alai ahavah/His banner of love is upon me. I am valuable. No one else is like me. No one can replace me. No one can fill my place and my purpose. If I am missing, the composite puzzle of the world cannot be completed.
Rav Scheinerman in Ohel Moshe, notes that if Rav Aharon M’karlin were asked to changed places with Avraham Avinu, he would not do so, for then who would be there to complete Avraham Avinu's mission and who would complete Rav Aharon mission for the glory of Heaven? People are not interchangeable parts.
When one understands the importance of each individual to the whole, one can truly understand the beauty of the angels who accompanied Hakodosh Boruch Hu and what Bnei Yisroel longed for. Rabbi Weissman in Siach Mordechai notes that Bnei Yisroel saw the respect the angels gave each other, asking each other for permission to join in singing the praises of their Master. Bnei Yisroel wanted the ability to work in unison even as each member of the nation had his own unique task, just as the angels did, signified by his individual flag.
There is yet another detail in the encampment that bears noting. Rabbi Kofman in Mishchat Shemen reminds us that each camp was organized according to families and according to tribes. Rabbi Kofman here urges us to remember that just as each of us is unique as an individual, our individual families and our tribal backgrounds are also unique, and each contributes towards the tapestry of the whole. The customs of Jews from different parts of the world differ, from how a couple stands under a marriage canopy to variations in the liturgy. Yet the fabric that underlies the entire design of the tapestry is the same, as each segment of our nation contributes its own stitches to the finished picture. Rabbi Kofman urges is to retain our family customs, for that too is part of our uniqueness and contributes to the whole.
Rabbi Dessler notes further that even though there were four major camps, each with its separate group of tribes and individual families, nevertheless at the center of the entire camp was the Mishkan/Tabernacle. All paths led to that center. Each camp had a different specialty, just as each unit in an army serves in a different capacity, but all serve Hashem and complement each other.
We generally read this Parsha right before Shavuot, writes Rabbi Frand, so that we will realize that serving Hashem requires both the unity of the nation as a whole and the diversity of the individuals and the groups that comprise the nation. We are meant to love each other, appreciate our diversity, and still work together in serving Hashem. Like a tree with many branches, leaves and fruit that all grow from a central trunk writes the Ohel Moshe, so is Bnei Yisroel around the Mishkan and the Torah.
Bnei Yisroel saw the angelic flags at Matan Torah, in the month of Sivan. Yet they didn't get their own flags until Rosh Chodesh Iyar, almost a full eleven months later. Why did it take so long? The Emes Yakov continues by explaining the necessity of building unity within the nation before focusing on the diversity. After Bnei Yisroel each contributed a half shekel toward building the Mishkan, and members of all the tribes had contributed more materials and many talents toward its construction, after they had learned to cooperate and appreciate each other, it was time to present them with flags of their own as they encamped around the Mishkan.
But within this framework, continues Rabbi Kofman, one must also recognize his own unique position and not try to be someone he is not. The humble disciple may someday become a great rabbi, but right now his position is as a student, and he must embrace it and move up one step at a time, or else the whole structure can fall. At Har Sinai Hashem set boundaries for each person and then each group. That way they formed a chain from Hashem to Moshe at the top of the mountain, through the elders to every individual. If anyone went beyond his boundary, not only did he personally risk death, but his link would be missing and the entire chain could be broken. Each individual must attach himself symbolically both to those above him and to those below him.
Along these same lines, one may note that a Sefer Torah is composed of many letters together. If even one letter is missing or cracked, the entire scroll is disqualified from use. Since each Jew is analogous to a letter in the Torah, if one Jew is out of place, missing, or not working in his unique mission, the entire nation is in danger of being faulty. Therefore, while we concentrate on our unique mission, we must not lose sight of our position in and our contributions to our families, our communities and to Klal Yisroel.
Let us pray that Hashem leads us along the right path to accomplish our unique roles for Hashem, Torah and Klal Yisroel.