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![]() Shabbat Parashat Bamidbar 5784Parashat Hashavua: Positive Social StructureRav Daniel MannGovernments, especially local ones, need to do urban planning, on the macro and micro levels. In our parasha, the Torah “maps out” a structure for Bnei Yisrael’s encampment in the desert for what turned out to be 40 formative years. There are lessons to learn, some more obvious and some more subtle, from Hashem’s instructions to the young nation. The most obviously significant characteristic is that the center of the encampment was the Mishkan, with its Divine Presence, and the Levi’im, the nation’s spiritual leaders. This set the tone for the encampment and ensured that all of the tribes were essentially equidistant to the place of national service of Hashem. The encampment was broken up into four groups of three tribes each, with a lead tribe, in the four directions (Bamidbar 2:1-54). The groups were: Yehuda, with Yissachar and Zevulun, to the east; Reuven, with Shimon and Gad, to the south; Ephrayim, with Menashe and Binyamin, to the north; Dan, with Naftali and Asher, to the west. Ibn Ezra (ibid. 1:19) explains the significance of these groupings. They were, basically, according to the various matriarchs of Bnei Yisrael: Leah, Rachel, Bilha and Zilpa. This needed slight adjustments, as we will spell out. While Leah had six sons, which would seem to make two groupings, Levi was “lost” to the realm of the center-Mishkan region. So, while Yehuda was with two full brothers, Reuven “adopted” half-brother Gad, the first born of Zilpa, who was Leah’s maidservant, and whose children gravitated toward Leah’s children. This was followed by Rachel’s sub-encampment. Her firstborn, Yosef, was awarded two tribes, with the more prominent one, Ephrayim’s tribe, being the leader of Menashe and Rachel’s second son, Binyamin. Finally, Dan, the firstborn of the sons of the maidservants, led the final grouping with Naftali and Asher, after Gad was “elevated” to the Reuven group. Hagut B’Parshiyot Hatorah posits a practical and straightforward idea to explain the logic of the groupings – it was for unity’s sake, to keep together populations that were most likely to get along. This thesis may teach us something important about unity. While ideal unity entails getting close to those with whom he is least likely to be close, practical steps for unity and peace call for people’s closest association being with those with whom they are most likely to cooperate well and less contact with those with more challenging relationships. ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() We daven for a complete and speedy refuah for: Nir Rephael ben Rachel Bracha Ori Leah bat Chaya Temima Arye Yitzchak ben Geula Miriam Neta bat Malka Meira bat Esther Together with all cholei Yisrael
to the memory of: for our homeland Prof. Yisrael Aharoni z"l Kislev 14, 5783 Rav Shlomo Merzel z”l
Mr. Shmuel & Esther Shemesh z"l Sivan 17 / Av 20 Mr. Moshe Wasserzug z"l Tishrei 20 ,5781 R' Eliyahu Carmel z"l Rav Carmel's father Iyar 8 ,5776 Mrs. Sara Wengrowsky bat R’ Moshe Zev a”h. Tamuz 10 ,5774 Rav Asher & Susan Wasserteil z"l R' Meir ben Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld z"l & Mrs. Sara Brachfeld z"l Tevet 16 ,5780 R 'Yaakov ben Abraham & Aisha and Chana bat Yaish & Simcha Sebbag, z"l Rav Yisrael Rozen z"l Rav Benzion Grossman z"l R' Abraham & Gita Klein z"l Iyar 18, /5779Av 4 Rav Moshe Zvi (Milton) Polin z"l R' Yitzchak Zev & Naomi Tarshansky z"l Adar 28, 5781/ Adar II 14 5784 Nina Moinester z"l Nechama Osna bat Yitzhak Aharon & Doba Av 30, 5781 Rabbi Dr. Jerry Hochbaum z"l Adar II 17, 5782 Mrs. Julia Koschitzky z"l Adar II 18, 5782 Mrs. Leah Meyer z"l Nisan 27, 5782 Mr. Shmuel & Rivka Brandman z"l Tevet 16 5783/ Iyar 8, 5781 R' Leiser Presser ben R' Aharon Yitzhak and Bracha 24 Iyar and members of his family who perished in the shoah Al Kiddush Hashem
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