Rabbi Benjamin Yudin Discusses Parshas Bamidbar and Yom Yerushalayim (5786)

Good morning, good shabas everybody. Tomorrow we have the privilege of reading paras midbar. We start the fourth book of the Torah. According to the there are no mitzvos of the tarag in parasidbar. But most important everybody agrees that the para itself is such a strong hakana preparation for please God what is coming next Thursday night Friday and shabas for us the celebration of kabala and this is further enhanced today the 28th day of Eeyore for the day that we were privileged after almost 2,000 years to have Yushaim back in Jewish hands. The first thing that we have to address is why a midbar why was the Torah given in a desert? And while I'm sure there are many answers to this question, one of them is clearly the concept that when you're in the desert, you understand that you have literally no control over your environment. You are completely subject to survival. and survival in a desert is something which is unnatural. The fact that Boru a sustained us for 40 years in a desert. The fact that Buru gave us the Torah in a desert was such a powerful message as the novi says. And this is part of the the seven Toros that we read in the summertime. And the Nvi teaches us the beautiful pok the Torah and that is that with Torah a desert can blossom like Eden and without Torah and Eden becomes comes the desert. A wonderful idea to keep in mind to remind ourselves how everything quote comes together. So the Torah was given in a desert to teach us that it's not that oh if I was in Israel there I can keep the Torah. The Torah Bavka was not given in Israel to show that it could, should has. Thank God sustained us wherever the Jew has been. Furthermore, you find in parasidbar not just the counting of the Jewish people, the distinct counting of the tribe of Levy, but we are introduced to the whole concept of the dullib of the flags that each and every shet had its own flag and it was the identifying factor of that tribe. The rabbis teach us that the color of the flag resembled the color of that tribe on the breastplate of the Cohen God. At first glance, the concept of to gullim that each tribe has its own color and its own insignia and its own division where they camped together. One could look upon this as something which is potentially divisive and therefore revki sats in his sac asks a very interesting question. He says, "We know the Torah teaches in several places that we did not leave Egypt as prisoners, escaping from Mitzim, leaving in secret." Just the opposite. We left as the Torah teaches in the beginning of parasel the children of Israel were going out of Mitim with an outstretched arm. And how does Rashi learn that with great might and demonstration thereof? And so why is it that we did not have the dullim identifying each tribe until the second year as we find in the beginning of parasitar that it was the second month in the second year that we're introduced to this phenomena. of the golem and Ravi answers a beautiful thought and he says as follows. Since at first glance the dolim represents an issue of separateness individuality as opposed to a cohesive nation. He says, "Until the Mishkan was dedicated, there was no such thing as the Golan. There was one Jewish nation. But now that we have the Mishkan which was dedicated in Nissan of the second year, now we can have each tribe with its individuality, with its own unique character, with its own unique contribution. All of them encamped misiv Mishkan they're all focused and each one is acting and contributing something to the beneficial of Israel because it's all directed to the service of we're all facing the Mishkan and so the intellectual Jew and the emotional Jew and the Jew that's involved And the two that's involved in Torah in so many different factors, each one in their own way is contributing their personal character and making us the very special people that we are because each one with their own individuality comes together and there's a beautiful symphony which is emerging from the unity of the Jewish people. But what is uniting them? The Mishka, the sanctuary having a focus of a special location. The same idea is expressed very beautifully by Simon Schneita in his safer IM in parasa where the Torah speaks about that there was at the time of the construction of the Mishkan among the many miracles that the Jewish people had. The Torah speaks of at the beginning of paras that they were to have a rom beginning of truma. There were to be red dyed ram skins and there were to be as well takash skins. And what's a takash? So rabbis tell us that the takash was a beautiful multicolored animal that existed only at that time and then it became extinct and its hide was used to make a cover for the Mishkan. Now tell me about this particular skin of the takash. So listen carefully now. The rabbis tell us that was what was unique about the uh takash as enulus learns mash saz ga. What does that mean? It prided itself in its colors. It was literally a rainbow of colors on the back of this skin and it prided itself that it had these beautiful colors. Now, if you go to Schmos chapter 26 14, the Torah tells us that you shall make a cover for the tent of rye red, excuse me, dyed ram skins. Morose aim, again, red dyed ram skins. and a roast hashimal a cover of takash skins above the gimra in shabis tells us that there's a locus between and you learned that as the puss seems to imply there was or were rather two skins first there was the orim adim and on top of That was the orim mala above it and Rhuda learns no that there was one long cover and the cover was made half and half. Part of it was the skins of a rose aim. There was the red dyed ram skins and the other part was of takash and the mesh learns on this pul that when it says that the takash was mala what does it mean mala not above it but above the auron this was the covering which part covered the auron and he says very sharply from his father that it was the skins of takash the mult multi-cover skins which cover the auro meaning that this was most pleasant and desirable to that there should be diversity above the wa and it's because of this diversity that we have a greater appreciation of Torah because it all comes together it's all there And each and every individual has that great potential to contribute to not only the nation that this is what makes us great because we are one but this unifies us that we're able to each and every one of us direct our capabilities to the service of Hashem. And we do this each and everyone in our community serving Hashem. those who are accountants who volunteer their time to the yeshivos and the parts for their services and so we can go up and down each and every person making their contribution and the idea I'd like to just suggest the following that just as says to bil as we're going to read this coming Friday in the uh introduction to the zadbros in chapter 19 and what does say you have seen you've seen what I've done the great miracles that I performed and clearly bolstering their imuna their faith as a prerequisite for kabah how proud each and every one of us should be that we too we've seen in our own eyes the great miracles that perform for us in and through Jerusalem um I was told by a most reliable source that the late Zman Orbach said after the u Persian Gulf War and thinking back after the six day war as well. Had there been kazal at the time of the war, they would have instituted a sixth McGill. We have been privileged to see. Finally, let's remember how in our every day we pray for the restoration to return to come back to and what comes after that is and theor in Gila 17b teaches us that it's not a hodgepodge of the broles. that carefully thought out by anes that when we d about when we're privileged now to go when we're privileged to be the beneficiaries of kimonra that there's more learning of Torah taking place in wow than certainly ever was and thank God it's this pash throughout the Jewish Jewish world barakashem in so many so many ways. The idea is that the one follows the other. When we look to we should see the destiny not just the history of the Jewish people but the destiny of the Jewish people as well. And just know that the Gamarra in Brahos seventh per says that if a person uh says and he leaves out certain key parts of the braos. So what is the den? The den is that he has to be closer. He has to repeat. So if you didn't say you have to go back and if you didn't say between the tour and his brother says if you didn't say u if you didn't say you don't have to go back The T argues so they are inseparable based. We should be z only that the midbar should enhance our personal kabasa reminding us wo just like they have we have but we should also be upgraded by the privilege of having the first step towards our shimmer with you back in our hands and We should only be z to appropriately treat it and appropriately deserve and derive all the beautiful lessons there from. Shabbat shalom to