Bamidbar בְּמִדְבַּר - In the Wilderness
Numbers 1:1-4:20
Torah Portion: Numbers 1:1-19
1:1 Hashem spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, every male, one by one, 3 from twenty years old and upward, all who are able to go out to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall count them by their divisions. 4 With you there shall be a man of every tribe, each one head of his father’s house. 5 These are the names of the men who shall stand with you:
Of Reuben: Elizur, the son of Shedeur.
6 Of Simeon: Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai.
7 Of Judah: Nahshon, the son of Amminadab.
8 Of Issachar: Nethanel, the son of Zuar.
9 Of Zebulun: Eliab, the son of Helon.
10 Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim: Elishama the son of Ammihud; of Manasseh: Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
11 Of Benjamin: Abidan, the son of Gideoni.
12 Of Dan: Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai.
13 Of Asher: Pagiel, the son of Ochran.
14 Of Gad: Eliasaph, the son of Deuel.
15 Of Naphtali: Ahira the son of Enan.”
16 These are those who were called of the congregation, the princes of the tribes of their fathers; they were the heads of the thousands of Israel. 17 Moses and Aaron took these men who are mentioned by name. 18 They assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they declared their ancestry by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, one by one. 19 As Hashem commanded Moses, so he counted them in the wilderness of Sinai.
Today’s Meditation:
In the Book of Numbers, we read about organization and leadership. This vast group of Hebrew people and mixed multitude will travel through some challenging territory to reach the Promised Land of Israel. They will need to be organized, demonstrate strong leadership, and follow orders. As we already know, the story is that some of the leadership fail, and some of the soldiers fail. Nonetheless, the structure is in place. Hashem, in all His perfect Wisdom, is starting to reveal His plan for success. And that is how it is today. He picks leaders for us to serve under, and through this, we are to follow His instructions. A thought for today is that we must respect the leaders Hashem appoints, whether we like them or not. We pray for them that they will hear from Adonai at all times. Remember, everything we do we do in service to Hashem.
Today’s Challenge:
Think about the leaders you have in your life. Are you respecting them? Are you following their instructions without grumbling or objection? Yes, if you have valuable input to offer, it is good to share it. But if, in the end, your leader chooses to go a different way (unless it violates Torah), you are to go with him/her. I am thinking about someone in leadership in my life whom I have not been respecting very well lately. I challenge myself to do better. And I challenge you to do the same.
