Numbers · Chapter 10

And Hashem spoke to Moses, saying:

Make for yourself two silver trumpets; you shall make them of hammered work, and they shall serve you for summoning the assembly and for causing the camps to journey.

עשה לך MAKE THEE etc. — make לך, “for thyself” (on thy own behalf) suggests that they shall blow them in your presence, as before a king, as it is said, (with reference to Moses) (Deuteronomy 33:5) ויהי בישרון מלך “and he was king in Jeshurun”. עשה לך MAKE THEE — from that which is thine own and not from the common funds (Sifrei Bamidbar 72). עשה לך MAKE FOR THYSELF” also suggests: you make them and use them, but no one else. למקרא העדה [THAT THOU MAYEST USE THEM] FOR THE CALLING OF THE ASSEMBLY — i. e. when you wish to speak to the Sanhedrin and the rest of the people and you summon them to assemble unto you, you shall summon them by the trumpets. ולמסע את המחנות AND FOR THE JOURNEYING OF THE CAMPS — at the time of departing on the journeys you shall blow them as a signal. Consequently you must say that they used to travel by a three-fold call: by the command of the Holy One, blessed be He, by the word of Moses (cf. Rashi on v. 18 at the end), and by the sound of the trumpets (Boraitha d’ Mlechet ha-Mishkan s. 13). מקשה OF BEATEN WORK — from a block of silver you shall make them by hammer blows (Sifrei Bamidbar 72).

"Trumpets" (חֲצֹצְרֹת). This is an infinitive form with the tzadi dropped in pronunciation — yet it is written out [fully]. Similarly, "for summoning" (לְמִקְרָא) is an infinitive, and likewise "for journeying" (וְלַמַּסָּע) — or it is a noun, meaning: at the time of summoning and at the time of journeying. The first interpretation seems correct to me.

עשה לך שתי חצוצרות כסף, seeing that the immediate plan was for the people to journey to the Holy Land without delay, G’d gave the commandment for the trumpets to be used as “Royal trumpet blasts,” announcing the moving of the Tabernacle to a new location, or announcing the arrival of the Tabernacle at its next location. The trumpets would also be blown before battles, as we know from verse 9. והיו לך למקרא העדה, to assemble the people or their leaders in front of the Tabernacle. G’d wanted that the trumpets be used to render honour to the king.

עשה לך שתי חצצורות "make two trumpets for yourself." Why did Moses require trumpets to announce the journeys when all the Israelites could see the cloud move and this was their signal to commence packing and journeying? Perhaps the reason is that not all the tribes began their journey at the same time. The tribe of Yehudah was the first to break camp followed by the members of the clan of Gershon who carried the Tabernacle, followed by the camp of the tribe of Reuven, etc. The trumpets were required so that each group knew exactly when to start moving. When we questioned the need for the trumpets we could have also questioned why the trumpets were described as לך, "for yourself" i.e. for Moses. The fact is that just as G'd had paid Moses the compliment not to let the clouds move or come to rest without Moses telling it to, so G'd paid him the compliment of allowing him to give the signal to break camp by means of the trumpets. In that sense then the trumpets were Moses'. The word לך means that these trumpets would be at the exclusive disposition of Moses. Sifri on our verse understands the word to mean that Moses had to pay for these trumpets out of his own funds. Bamidbar Rabbah 15,15 suggests that only Moses was allowed to blow these trumpets. As there are 70 different ways to explain the Torah, all of these explanations are legitimate.

עשה לך [שתי חצוצרות], “make for yourself [two trumpets]” — for your own needs [or benefit, like other דרשות on לך]. So that you will not need to send out after them [the עדה].

עשה לך שתי חצוצרות כסף, “make for yourself two silver trumpets, etc.” According to the plain meaning of the text these two trumpets were made of silver, a single casting each as directed in our verse by the words מקשה תעשה אותם,”make them hammered out.” These trumpets had two functions 1) they served to call the people or the princes to an assembly. 2) They provided the signal for the people to break camp and commence their journeys. This is the meaning of the words: “they shall be yours for summoning the congregation and to cause the camps to journey.” When both trumpets would be sounded simultaneously this would be the signal to assemble the people; if only one of the trumpets was blown this was the signal that only the princes need assemble. This is the meaning of the words in verse 4: “when they will blow in one (trumpet), the princes will assemble to you, the leaders of the thousands of Israel.” Seeing that these people were special, unique amongst their peers, only a single trumpet was blown to call them to an assembly. The kind of blast blown was that known as tekiah, a smooth unbroken tone. The smoothness of the sound was a reminder of the attribute of Mercy, reminding people that G’d’s right hand is outstretched waiting to welcome penitent sinners. In order to make the camps start journeying the kind of sound blown was the teruah, shorter broken sounds, staccato-like. We know this from verse 6: “a teruah they are to blow for their journeys.” The reason, as we explained already, is that journeys called מסעות mean marching into war, i.e. involving the attribute of Justice. Basically, the journeys of the people of Israel were directed at dislodging the seven Canaanite nations from their homeland. It is the attribute of Justice which grants one victory in battle, and the Jewish people therefore alerted the attribute of Justice whenever they set out on their journeys. This is why in that connection you will always find the words 'על פי ה', “at the command of the Lord.” When the people got ready to journey the trumpets would be blown in each direction of the four camps seeing that the four camps faced the four directions (winds) of the earth. This is why we have separate verses describing the different camps breaking up at different times (verses 5-6). A Midrashic approach based on Tanchuma Behaalotcha 9-10: [In order to understand this one must remember that the word חצוצרות is related to חצץ which also means crushing stones into pebbles. Ed.] According to this Midrash there is a connection with Psalms 24,7 where Solomon prayed for the gates of the Temple to raise themselves, seeing they were too low to admit the Holy Ark. When the gates demanded to know who was going to enter that they had to change their posture, Solomon said that “the king of glory wants to come in.” This did not satisfy the gates and they demanded again who this king of glory was. Solomon replied that it was ה' עזוז וגבור ה' גבור מלחמה, “the Lord, mighty and valiant, the Lord valiant in battle.” This still did not prove enough to persuade the gates to raise their heads until Solomon added that the king of glory he spoke about was ה' צבאות הוא מלך הכבוד סלה, that it was “the Lord G’d of hosts, He is the king of glory, Selah.” Up until that moment the gates had threatened to crush Solomon. When they heard the latter description of G’d, they opened up immediately. Seeing these gates had shown this honor to G‘d, G’d in turn promised to reward them saying that if and when He allowed His Temple to be destroyed these gates would not fall into the hands of the enemy or into the hands of any other creature. You should know that when the Babylonians took King Yehoyakim into captivity together with most of the furnishings of the Temple (Daniel 1,2), the gates were hidden. This is the meaning of Lamentations 2,9: “its gates sunk into earth.” The reason G’d is referred to as the king of כבוד, “glory,” is because He shares some of His glory with His creatures. How do we observe this in practice? We know that G’d is called אלו-הים. We find that G’d accorded the title Elohim to Moses when He told him: “here I have made you Elohim for Pharaoh” (Exodus 7,1). We know that it is G’d’s prerogative to kill and bring to life. Yet we find in Kings I 17,23 when Elijah told the mother: “here your son is alive (again)” that G’d had transferred this power to revive the dead to the prophet Elijah. G’d is known as “king” as we know from Psalms 47,6-8 עלה אלו-הים בתרועה....כי מלך כל הארץ אלו-הים, “G’d ascends as part of the teruah; ....for the king is king over the whole earth.” Moses has also been accorded the title “king,” as we know from Deut. 33,5 ויהי בישורון מלך, “he was king in Yeshurun (the Jewish people). Just as people herald the impending arrival of a king by blowing trumpets so G’d told Moses to make for himself two silver trumpets that were to be blown at the time the Israelites would be assembled (compare verse 3). The words עשה לך, “make for yourself,” mean that they will be yours exclusively; you will make them and no one else is to use them. Even Moses’ successor and foremost disciple, Joshua, never used the trumpets to blow in but only ram’s horns, such as when he was about to capture the city of Jericho (Compare Joshua 6,3). In fact we have reason to believe that Moses hid these trumpets already during his lifetime as we read in Deut. 31,28: that Moses commanded the Levites to assemble the people to him so he could address them. If the trumpets had ben available at the time, why did he not sound the trumpets to assemble the people? Obviously, they had already been hidden in order to fulfill the statement in Kohelet 8,8 that there is no authority exercised by a ruler on the day he dies. [Deut. 31,28 quotes happenings on the last day of Moses’ life. Ed.] We find a verse in Chronicles II 29,26 discussing matters which took place in the Temple during the time of King Chiskiyahu. ”The Levites stood equipped with the musical instruments of King David and the Priests were (blowing) the trumpets.” In verse 28 of the same chapter we read והשיר משורר והחצוצרות מחצצרים, “and the song was sung and the trumpets were blown, etc.” This was in contrast to David personally who favoured playing the harp as we know from Psalms 57,9 “awake, O my soul (my glory), awake, O harp and lyre, I will wake the dawn.” We are told that he had a harp hanging over his bed and that as soon as midnight arrived and the North wind began to blow the harp would start playing on its own. As soon as this occurred David would rise from his bed and together with all the other students they would study Torah and chase the sleep from their eyes until dawn. According to the Tanchuma the reason the verse in Psalms speaks about “waking dawn” in connection with his soul awakening was to demonstrate that David’s personal כבוד was nothing compared to G’d’s כבוד, glory. David “woke” dawn not just for himself but he wanted to shake up people from their slumber. A more kabbalistic approach: the two trumpets symbolized the tekiah and teruah, i.e. the attribute of Mercy and the attribute of Justice. When G’d said to Moses “these shall be for you an instrument to call the congregation to journey,” this is equivalent to His saying to Moses: “they shall be for you as either tekiah or teruah.” If so, this is clear proof that the journeys and campings of the Israelites were subject to the two attributes mentioned, i.e. that the words על פי ה' יחנו ועל פי ה' יסעו את משמרת ה' שמרו which are written adjoining the paragraph instructing Moses to make the trumpets are conceptually closely connected, and that the words על פי ה' refer to both attributes, as the case may be. If we consider that Moses was entrusted with these two trumpets and what they symbolised you can appreciate his elevated status, i.e. that he could call upon either the attribute of Justice or the attribute of Mercy at will, so to speak. This proves his status as king. The reason the trumpets had to be made only of silver, and that no other metal was acceptable as a substitute (as opposed to the Menorah), is discussed in Menachot 28. The Talmud says that the silver used for their construction was a silver bar. Whereas smaller pieces of silver scrap were acceptable as the raw material, other metals were not. The reason there had to be two such trumpets was in order for Moses to be able to address and be addressed by the attribute of Mercy on a “face to face” basis,” as sort of a vision within a vision, there had to be two. The construction is described in the Torah as מקשה, “hammered, beaten work,” This is the mystical dimension of what is written in verse 3 ונועדו אליך כל העדה, “the tekiah element when blowing both trumpets” is the signal to assemble the entire congregation to be exposed to the communication from the attribute of Mercy which addressed the Israelites out of the fire. This is what Moses had in mind when he told the people in Deut. 4,15: “on the day the Lord spoke to you at Chorev out of the fire.” When the tekiah was blown out of only one of the trumpets this was the signal for the princes who were unique people to be assembled around Moses. Moses who was unique, would hear the voice of G’d who was unique. He was the only one who could understand the voice of the attribute of Mercy speaking to him. The teruah sound would be blown to signal that the people were to get ready to journey, part of their campaign to conquer the Holy Land. The fact that the attribute of Justice (symbolized by the teruah sound) was called upon is a compliment to the stature of the Jewish people. Seeing that no other prophet had attained the stature of Moses to be addressed both by the attribute of Mercy and the attribute of Justice on a “face to face” basis by means of the trumpets, these trumpets had to be “hidden,“ so that no one else would use them. The very words והיו לך, “they shall be yours,” which G’d said to Moses concerning these trumpets mean that only Moses would have access to these two attributes of Hashem in such a manner. Seeing these trumpets were so sacred they had to be hidden prior to Moses’ death. Do not wonder why they were made of silver (and not of gold). The manner in which they were hammered out of one piece made it impossible to construct them of any metal other than silver. The cherubs on the kapporet of the Holy Ark were also constructed in a similar manner, (out of gold). In the case of the cherubs the attribute of Justice was subordinate to the attribute of Mercy contained within it. Hence a soft metal, gold, was used. By the same token seeing that in the case of the trumpets the situation was the reverse, i.e. that the attribute of Mercy was subordinate to the attribute of Justice which was part of it, a hard metal, silver, had to be used to symbolize that concept. Joshua was not allowed to use the trumpets and he used the shofar instead to symbolize the attribute of Justice which was poised against his enemies, the inhabitants of Jericho. David also was not allowed to use the trumpets and used the harp instead which corresponded to his principal attribute, virtue. The author draws a comparison between the word כנור and the lake called ים כנרת, (sea of Galilee). The blue applied to the tzitzit is drawn from a fish in that lake, this is why his attribute is known as כנור דוד. (Rabbi Chavell found a source in the Zohar Beshalach 48 for this.) There are kabbalistic writings explaining why תכלת represents these attributes of Justice. [Remak (Rabbi Moshe Cordovero) quotes a saying that any color one sees in one’s dream is acceptable except techelet, as this represents the attribute of Justice in its full power. Pardess Rimonim discusses the colours and their mystical significance in a chapter called שער הגוונים. Ed.]. What we learn from the above is that every great historical personality was given the tools appropriate to his spiritual level to use in communicating with G’d or on behalf of G’d.

עשה לך שתי חצוצרות כסף, “make two silver trumpets for yourself!” The trumpets were to be made of silver instead of gold, in order not to remind Hashem of the golden calf each time they would be used. The sound, otherwise, would be associated with the loud noise the Israelites made when they danced around that idol. (Compare Exodus 32,18)

והיו לך למקרא העדה, these trumpets were to be Moses’ personal property to be used to alert the congregation in times of need by blowing in them. A second purpose would be to alert the encamped Israelites to get ready to move on. מסע, the word is a noun similar to נסיעה. את המחנות, as if the Torah had written למחנות, for the encamped communities.

When they sound them, the entire assembly shall gather to you at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

ותקעו בהן WHEN THEY BLOW WITH THEM — with both of them; and this (protracted sound, a “Tekiah” on both trumpets) is the signal for summoning the congregation, as it is said here, “then all the congregation shall assemble unto thee at the entrance of the tent of meeting”.

"And they shall blow them" (וְתָקְעוּ בָהֵן). The blowers [are implied as the subject, not explicitly stated] — as in "and he said to Joseph, whom she bore to Levi" [where the subject is similarly implicit]. The meaning is: if both [trumpets] are blown, the chieftains and the entire congregation shall assemble.

ותקעו בהן, in both of them.

And if they sound only one, the leaders — the heads of the thousands of Israel — shall gather to you.

ואם באחת יתקעו AND IF THEY BLOW BUT WITH ONE TRUMPET (i.e. a “Tekiah” on one trumpet) — it is a sign to summon the princes, as it is said here, “then the princes shall gather themselves unto thee”. Their meeting place, too, was at the entrance of the tent of meeting. This is derived from a ג"ש in the Sifrei (Sifrei Bamidbar 73:1 from the use in both cases of the same expression ותקעו and יתקעו: not from ונועדו — ונועדו as erroneously stated.)

"But if only one is blown" (וְאִם בְּאַחַת יִתְקָעוּ). This means: if one trumpet is blown, the chieftains alone shall come. And if it is a teruah blast, the banner of the camp of Judah shall set out — even though the cloud [may still be] over the Tabernacle. According to the view of many, that is a different cloud, which travels before them.

When you sound an alarm, the camps encamped on the east side shall journey.

ותקעתם תרועה WHEN YE BLOW AN ALARM — The signal for the camps to set out on the journey was a Tekiah, a Teruah (a tremulous sound) and again a Tekiah. Thus is it derived in the Siphre from the apparently redundant verses (Sifrei Bamidbar 73:2; cf. Rosh Hashanah 34a).

"And the camps shall journey" (וְנָסְעוּ הַמַּחֲנוֹת). For they are three [camps that journey on the teruah signal].

ותקעתם תרועה ונסעו המחנות החונים קדמה, seeing that this flag also had the carriers of the Tabernacle in its wake.

החונים קדמה, “who were encamped on the eastern side;” the flag of the army group headed by Yehudah.

When you sound an alarm a second time, the camps encamped on the south side shall journey; an alarm shall they sound for their journeyings.

AND THE CAMPS THAT LIE ON THE SOUTH SIDE SHALL SET FORWARD. Scripture explained the purpose of the two t’ruoth, the first one being [the sign] for those encamped eastward to go forward, and the second one for those encamped southward to set out on the journey. And it states [in the verse before us], a ‘t’ruah’ they shall blow for their journeys, meaning that they should blow [this quavering alarm] for all their journeys, that is to say, they should blow a third t’ruah for the camps on the west side to set forth, and a fourth one for the camps on the north side to set out on the journey, for each standard journeyed by itself, as He explains: And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward; And the standard of the camp of the children of Dan set forward. And thus it is taught in the Beraitha of the Work of the Tabernacle. But in the Sifre the Rabbis have taught: “I might think that just as he blows for the camps in the east and the south to set forward [as Scripture clearly explains], so he is to blow for [those that were encamped in] the west and the north; Scripture therefore states [in the verse before us], a ‘t’ruah’ they shall blow for their journeys, that is, one blowing for the two [remaining standards]. And some Rabbis say that there were three [sounds, i.e., t’kiah, t’ruah, t’kiah] for [the camps in] each and every direction.” Thus far [the language of the Sifre], and such indeed is the plain meaning of Scripture, that they should blow [for the camps] in each direction, as I have explained. A ‘T’RUAH’ THEY SHALL BLOW FOR THEIR JOURNEYS. I have already explained in Seder ‘Emor El Hakohanim’ (Speak unto the priests) that the t’ruah alludes to the [Divine] attribute of justice, for so it is written concerning the journeyings that they were ‘al pi Hashem’ (at the commandment of the Eternal) by the hand of Moses, and it is that [attribute] which brings victory in war, as it is written, And when ye go to war in your land … ‘vahareiothem’ (ye shall sound a ‘t’ruah’). Therefore Moses said, and let them that hate Thee flee ‘mipanecha’ (before Thee), and I have already explained the secret of the panim (face) in the Ten Commandments. And similarly you see that the wall of Jericho fell to the sound of a t’ruah, for it is written, Ye shall not shout … until the day I bid you ‘hari’u’ (sound a ‘t’ruah’); ‘vahari’othem’ (then shall you sound it), and it is written, and the people sounded a great ‘t’ruah,’ and the wall fell down. It was for this reason that it [the city of Jericho] was declared cheirem (devoted) [to the Eternal, and prohibited for private use.]. But when the assembly is to be gathered together ‘tithke’u’ — they are deserving that the t’kiah be sounded, for the ‘p’shutah’ [plain long and continuous sound] alludes to the [Divine] attribute of mercy, for “His right hand is p’shutah (stretched out) to receive the penitent” [as it is stated at the Closing Service on the Day of Atonement — a time of mercy]. Therefore, wh...

"A second teruah" (תְּרוּעָה שֵׁנִית) — so that the banner of Reuben sets out. They do not sound again [a third teruah], because the Kohathites, along with the priests who are the blowers, journey before the banner of Ephraim. "They shall sound a teruah" (תְּרוּעָה יִתְקָעוּ) — the priests [blow] for their journeys, since [the camp of Ephraim] journeys after the banner of Reuben.

ותקעתם תרועה שנית, as a result of which the second “flag” would start journeying, the ones that were positioned to the south. This “camp” was accompanied by the Levites carrying the sacred vessels. תרועה יתקעו למסעיהם, this had to be spelled out as both the tekiah sounds and the teruah sounds would be blown by the trumpets in conjunction with the journeying of the camps. The former sounds to make sure the people would all be assembled in their assigned spots, the latter to ensure that the Levites were in position with their respective carts, etc. Just as the people in order to assemble were called by means of the tekiah, so the princes when they were to assemble were called by means of the tekiah blasts, without the teruah blast.

ותקעתם תרועה שנית, "and you will blow a second Teruah, (alarm) etc." One blast of the trumpets did not suffice to cause all the tribes to start moving. Sifri 2,73 states that the members of the clan of Gershon were occupied in dismantling the Tabernacle and had started moving before the tribe of Reuven. This made it necessary to blow the trumpets again to give a signal to the tribe of Reuven, situated in the South, to start moving following the clan of Gershon behind the components of the Tabernacle.

החונים תימנה,”who were encamped on the southern side;” the army group headed by Reuven and his flag. We might have thought that just as signals were blown for the eastern and southern army group to form in formation, so the trumpets would also be blown as signals for the army group in the west and the one in the north. By writing the word t’ruah, alarm, in the singular mode the Torah made clear that only two alarms were blown on these trumpets “for them to commence their journeys (pl).” There is another opinion which holds that separate alarms were blown on the trumpets for each army group. ותקעתם תרועה שנית, “you will blow a second alarm.” From this verse we learn that every time a t’ruah was blown it had been preceded by the signal known as tekiyah both before and after. ותקעתם תרועה שנית, Rashi comments on this line as follows: the signal to start journeying was to blow in this order: tekiyah truah tekiyah. If the trumpets were being used to call the people to an assembly, however, no t’ruah was blown. Our author continues with speculations about what appears to be repetition in this paragraph. As there will not again be an opportunity to reenact the procedure in reality, I have decided to save time and space and not translate his speculations.

ונסעו המחנות החונים תימנה, “and the groups encamped to the south shall start marching.” Nachmanides writes that the correct interpretation of our verse is that two blasts of teruah will be trumpeted, one to alert the people of the eastern camp to start moving, followed by another alerting the people in the southern camp to get moving. This is why the Torah wrote: תרועה יתקעו למסעיהם, after already having written ותקעתם תרועה שנית ונסעו המחנות וגו', “you will trumpet a second teruah and the camps in the south will get moving.” Apparently, there was a third teruah signaling the people encamped on the west side to start moving, and a fourth teruah when the time had come to signal to the fourth group, the ones encamped to the west of the Tabernacle to start moving and to make up the rearguard, as it were. Ibn Ezra writes that there was no trumpet blast after the easternmost camp had began to move. He offers proof for what he writes by pointing out that the Kehatites and with them the priests who did the blowing of the trumpets traveled ahead of the flag (army group) of Ephrayim. [How could they signal to army groups a long way behind them? Ed.] In the Sifrey the opinion is voiced that just as there were trumpets blown for setting the eastern army group and the northern army group in motion, the same may have been done in order to set the two other army groups to get moving. The author does not express a definitive view as to how many such teruot were blown to get the people moving.

But when assembling the congregation, you shall sound, yet you shall not sound an alarm.

ובהקהיל את הקהל וגו׳ AND WHEN THE CONGREGATION IS TO BE GATHERED TOGETHER etc. — Because it is stated, (v. 2) “and they shall be unto thee for calling together the assembly and for the journeying of the camps”, you must reason as follows: How is it in the case of “the calling of the assembly”? A Tekiah was made by two priests and on both of them (on two trumpets), since it states, (v. 3) “when they blow with them (cf. Rashi on that verse). So, too, is the setting out of the camps to be by means of both trumpets. One might, however, also reason as follows: How is it in the case of the “journeyings of the camps”? The priest sounds a Tekiah, a Teruah, and another Tekiah (cf. Rashi on v. 5)! So, too, in the case of “calling the assembly together”, he blows a Tekiah, a Teruah and a Tekiah, so that it follows that there is no difference between the signal for “calling the assembly” and that for the “journeyings of the camps”. Scripture, however, states here: “And when the congregation is to be gathered together, etc.” to intimate that no Teruah is sounded at the calling of the assembly (ולא תריעו), and the same rule applies to calling the princes. — Thus we have a different signal for the three occasions: “the calling of the assembly” is done by both trumpets, and that of the princes by one — but neither in this nor that signal is there a Teruah, whilst “the journeying of the camps” is done by both trumpets with a Teruah, a Tekiah preceding and following it (Sifrei Bamidbar 74).

ובהקהיל את הקהל, “but when the assembly is to be called together, etc.” on this verse Rashi comments: “seeing that we might have thought that seeing that the construction of the trumpets had been introduced as something that Moses was to do personally, and use by himself, that just as for breaking camp there would be a blast of tekiyah followed by a blast of t’ruah, followed again by a blast of tekiyah, the same would be the signal for a general assembly; However, if that were so how would the people have known the significance of these blasts? In order to prevent such a misunderstanding, the Torah in our verse specifically warns that when the trumpet call served to call the people to an assembly there would not be the alarming blast of the t’ruah.”

The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall sound the trumpets, and they shall be for you a perpetual statute throughout your generations.

ובני אהרן ... יתקעו AND THE SONS OF AARON … SHALL BLOW [WITH THE TRUMPETS] at the occasions of these (above-mentioned) assemblings and journeyings.

"And they shall be for you a statute forever" (וְהָיוּ לָכֶם לְחֻקַּת עוֹלָם). For the camps journey to wage war — do you not see the words of Moses when the Ark sets out? The meaning of this statute is that you shall do so: the priests shall sound the trumpets when Israel goes to war, to fight against the land of their enemies. Likewise: "When an enemy comes into your land, and you come to wage war against him."

והיו לכם לחוקת עולם לדורותיכם, “they shall be for you as a statute forever, throughout your generations. These (trumpets) will serve you as a statute. They were given to you as a statute, i.e. only to be used while in the desert; whereas all the other vessels used in the Tabernacle or in connection with it, were to be used also after the people settled in the Holy Land, i.e. “throughout your generations.”

And when you go to wage war in your land against the adversaries who oppress you, you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and your remembrance shall come up for good before Hashem your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.

"And you will be remembered" (וְנִזְכַּרְתֶּם). Because you have done what Hashem the Glorious commanded you. The teruah blast is also a reminder for the souls — to cry out to Hashem.

וכי תבאו מלחמה, “and when you go to war;” the Torah employs a variety of words when referring to becoming involved in wars, another one being והיה כי תראנה מלחמה, “it will be when war will break out” (Pharaoh to his people in Exodus 1,10) על הצר, “on account of the enemy that oppresses you,” (a defensive war) the preposition על, as “on account of” occurs also in Psalms 44.23: כי עליך הורגנו כל היום, “for on Your account we are being killed on any day;” ונזכרתם לפני ה, “you will be remembered before (the throne) of the Lord;” the Torah will proceed to explain how this scenario will unfold, i.e. you will be saved from your attackers.

וכי תבאו מלחמה בארצכם, “when you go to war against an enemy who has invaded your land, etc.” Onkelos translates this verse as וארי תעלון לאגחא קרבא בארעכון, “when you go out to fight a battle in your land, etc.” If that were correct, then the letter ל as the prefix to the word מלחמה would be absent in our verse and the meaning would be “if you go to war,” or “when you go to war.” This in turn would raise the question why the Torah here uses the word תבא instead of the word תצא that is standard for describing a war fought outside the boundaries of the Land of Israel. (Compare Deut. 20,1; 21,10; 23,10) Possibly, the Torah alludes to the fact that the trumpets were to be made use of in the manner described only in a war which is defined as מלחמת חובה, an obligatory war, not an expansionary war, a מלחמת רשות. All the wars described with the introductory words: כי תצא, are wars which are not obligatory, as proven by the fact that it was possible to dodge the draft and to return home after having answered the original roll call, as elaborated upon in Deut. In our verse the Torah speaks about an obligatory war, and this is why the term יצא is not mentioned here. This is also why the Torah adds the word בארצכם, “in your land,” i.e. you have been invaded. According to Sifrey our verse speaks of wars both within our borders or without, but in either case we are the victims of aggressive neighbors. The letter ו at the end of the word תבאו is therefore quite unnecessary and may be used in lieu of the missing letter ל in front of the word מלחמה.

And on the day of your rejoicing, and at your appointed seasons, and at the beginnings of your months, you shall sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over your sacred sacrifices, and they shall be a remembrance for you before your God. I am Hashem your God.

על עלתיכם [YE SHALL BLOW WITH THE TRUMPETS] OVER YOUR BURNT OFFERINGS — Scripture is speaking of a communal burnt offering (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 77; Arakhin 11b). אני ה׳ אלהיכם I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD — From here we derive the regulation that on the New Year Festival Biblical verses referring to God’s Kingdom (מלכיות) must be recited together with such as have reference to the blowing of the Shofar (שופרות), and to Divine remembrance (זכרונות), because it states here “ותקעתם” — which is an allusion to לזכרון" ;שופרות" — which is an allusion to זכרונות; and אני ה׳ אלהיכם — which is an allusion to מלכיות etc. (Sifrei Bamidbar 77; cf. Rashi on Leviticus 23:24 and Note thereon).

"And on the day of your rejoicing, and on your festivals" (וּבְיוֹם שִׂמְחַתְכֶם וּבְמוֹעֲדֵיכֶם). This refers to when you return from the land of your enemy or defeat the enemy that came against you — and you establish a day of joy, like the days of Purim and the seven days of Hezekiah (variant reading: Chanukah), [which are days of] rejoicing. The translators, however, explained "the day of your rejoicing" as the Sabbath, and [held that] the sounding is so that Israel will hear and know that the burnt-offerings are being brought, and will direct their hearts to Hashem.

ותקעתם בחצוצרות, “you will blow the tekiyah blasts with the trumpets, etc.” (the Torah speaks of joyous occasions) in order that the people will realise that the offerings on their behalf are at that moment being presented and they can tune in spiritually to the meanings of these sacrifices. על זבחי שלמיכם, “and over the sacrifices of your peaceofferings;” this is a reference to sheep offered on Shavuot, when the trumpets were only blown to call attention to communal mandatory offerings. והיו לכם לזכרון, “which shall be for you a memorial;” on those days blowing tekiyah will accompany the burnt offerings, whereas when the trumpets are blown on account of war, especially the t’ruah, alarming sounds, this was to bring your merits to the attention of the Lord so that He would help you prevail against your enemies.

And in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days… From these verses, our Sages learned that we recite Malkhuyot [Kingship], Zikhronot [Remembrances], and Shofarot [Shofar Blasts] on Rosh Hashanah, as is found in the Yalkut in this parashah (10:725). We need to understand why they saw fit to interpret these verses as referring to Rosh Hashanah. It seems that they derived this from what is said, And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you (Numbers 10:9). This was customary in Israel in former times that in every time of distress, they would decree a fast and would blow and sound the shofar and recite Malkhuyot, Zikhronot, and Shofarot, as is found in the Tur, Orach Chaim section 579. Perhaps their evidence is from these verses where it says, And when you go to war (Numbers 10:9). And from this we can infer that on every day when there is shofar blowing, they follow this order, and Rosh Hashanah is included. And from the fact that it says war in your land with the letter bet [preposition “in”], we can derive that it speaks of an oppressor who is within the land, and this is appropriate for Rosh Hashanah, when we blow the shofar to confuse Satan, the internal oppressor who is within the land, as opposed to a typical oppressor who is outside the land. Furthermore, what difference does it make whether the oppressor is external or internal? According to this, the order of Rosh Hashanah is beautifully alluded to in these verses.

And it came to pass in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, that the cloud lifted from upon the Tabernacle of the Testimony.

בחדש השני [IN THE SECOND YEAR] IN THE SECOND MONTH [THE CLOUD DEPARTED] — Consequently you must say that they spent at Choreb twelve months less ten days, since on the New Moon of Sivan (the third month) they encamped there (Exodus 19:1) and did not journey until the twentieth of Eyar of the following year.

"On the twentieth of the month" (בְּעֶשְׂרִים בַּחֹדֶשׁ). This was the day the marching of the banners began. They had thus encamped at Sinai for close to a year.

בחודש השני בעשרים בחודש, after the ritually impure had purified themselves and had brought their Passover offering on the 14th of the second month, the trumpets were constructed so that Moses could use them to call the people to mobilize for their journey away from Mount Sinai. The Torah informs us of the order in which the 4 army units and their flags were marching and how all this was organized with the help of the trumpets. It also describes the manner in which the trumpets were used on different occasions at the Temple and during times of war. When the cloud lifted off the Tabernacle it began its journey in the direction of Kadesh Barnea, which was the first town in the land of Israel which the Israelites encountered on that journey, described as the journey across “the great and awesome desert” in Deuteronomy 1,19, when Moses is quoted as recalling: “we arrived at Kadesh Barnea.”

בשנה השנית בחדש השני, in the second year in the second month, etc. In this instance the reason the Torah mentions the year before mentioning the month of the year was in order to establish a linkage between the paragraph describing the cloud lifting to the exact date on which this event occurred, i.e. on the twentieth of the month. [According to our author this is the preferred manner in which such matters are to be described. Ed.]

And the children of Israel journeyed on their journeyings from the wilderness of Sinai, and the cloud came to rest in the wilderness of Paran.

למסעיהם means, in accordance with the regulations set forth for the journeys of their divisions — which should be the first to set out and which the last. במדבר פראן IN THE WILDERNESS OF PARAN — The place “Kibroth-hattavah” (Numbers 12:34) was in the wilderness of Paran and there they encamped after this journey (cf. Numbers 33:16—17 with our verse and with Numbers 11:34—35).

"According to their journeys" (לְמַסְעֵיהֶם) — in the proper order in which they were to travel. "And the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran" (וַיִּשְׁכֹּן הֶעָנָן בְּמִדְבַּר פָּארָן). I will explain this further. Likewise [I will explain] "And they journeyed at the first" (וַיִּסְעוּ בָרִאשֹׁנָה).

וישכון הענן במדבר פארן, “and the cloud came to rest in the wilderness of Paran.” This region included the location which became known as Taveyrah, another name for Kivrot Hataavah, where the meat hungry people died from overeating as if ravenously hungry. Included were also the locations named Chatzerot, Ritmah, and Kadesh, all reminders of minor or major disasters. Proof of this is the fact that in Parshat Massey where all 42 way stations of the journeys of the people are listed chronologically, no mention is made of the wilderness of Paran.

They journeyed at the first, by the Word of Hashem, through the hand of Moses.

על פי ה, “at the command of the Lord;” by means of blowing the trumpets. [not verbal commands to Moses each time. Ed.] An alternate interpretation of these words: the command of the Lord was conveyed to the people when they observed that the lifting of the cloud over the Sanctuary and the Levites dismantling the Tabernacle.

The standard of the camp of the children of Judah journeyed first, by their hosts; and over his host was Nahshon son of Amminadab.

AND OVER HIS HOST WAS NACHSHON THE SON OF AMMINADAB. I do not know why He mentioned here the names of the princes of the standards, since He has already mentioned them. And if you answer that this was to hint that [on the twentieth of Iyar when they set out on the first journey from the wilderness] these princes were alive — this has already been alluded to in the section of the standards, since from the day of the census [on the first of Iyar] till the time of the journey [on the twentieth of that month] not one of all those who were counted died. Perhaps the verse comes to tell us that even when they travel on the way the prince is to go at the head of his host, who are to follow his command, and he is to dwell as a king in the army, and they are not to travel as sheep which have no shepherd, nor are they to appoint someone else for this purpose, as they do in the case of the priest who was anointed for war purposes.

ויסע דגל מחנה יהודה, “The flag of the camp of the tribe of Yehudah journeyed, etc.” Whereas the Torah writes the word נסע, when reporting the other camps as starting their respective journeys, in reporting that the camp of Yehudah began its journey the Torah wrote ויסע, using the inverted future mode. In terms of the respective numerical value of these two words, it results in Yehudah being shortchanged 40 as the word ויסע=146, whereas the word ונסע amounts to 186. This may be an allusion to the tradition that the bones of Yehudah were constantly in restless motion in their coffin throughout the 40 years that the Israelites wandered in the desert; a delayed retribution for his leading part in the sale of Joseph to the Ishmaelites. ועל צבאו, “and in charge of its army, etc.” Nachmanides writes that he did not know why the Torah at this stage mentions the princes in charge of each army group once more. If the Torah meant to tell us that all of these princes were still alive, we already know this from Numbers We have a tradition that from the day of the count reported in that chapter until the beginning of the journey of the Israelites from Mount Sinai not a single Israelite died. Perhaps what the Torah wanted to hint to us is that during the journey the respective prince always marched at the head of his army group and generally performed the functions incumbent upon him, issuing instructions to his tribe and ensuring that these instructions were carried out. Each tribal leader performed the function performed in later periods by the כהן משוח מלחמה, the priest anointed especially for duty during expansionary wars.

And over the host of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethanel son of Zuar.

And over the host of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab son of Helon.

And the Tabernacle was dismantled, and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the Tabernacle, journeyed.

והורד המשכן THEN THE TABERNACLE WAS TAKEN DOWN — As soon as the division of Judah was on the point of journeying, Aaron and his sons went in (into the Tabernacle), took down the Partition Vail and covered the Ark with it, as it is said, (Numbers 4:5) “and when the camp setteth forward (i. e. is on the point of setting forward) Aaron shall come, and his sons, [and they shall take down the Partition Vail, etc.]”; the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari then dismantled the Tabernacle, and loaded it on the waggons, and started off (so Berliner’s edition which adds ונוסעים). The Ark and the other holy vessels, the burden of the sons of Kohath (cf. Numbers 3:31), remained as they were, covered over, the latter hanging on poles, until the division of the sons of Reuben set out, and only after that did (v. 21) “the Kohathites set forward”.

AND THE TABERNACLE WAS TAKEN DOWN; AND THE SONS OF GERSHON AND THE SONS OF MERARI WHO BORE THE TABERNACLE SET FORWARD. The indication of the verses on this subject is as follows: After the standard of Judah had set forward, they would begin dismantling the Tabernacle, and the beginning of this dismantling was when Aaron and his sons came [into the Tabernacle] and took down the partition Veil, as it says, And when ‘the camp’ setteth forward, Aaron shall go in, and his sons, and they shall take down the Veil etc., that is to say, when the first camp [i.e., that of Judah] set forth. When they [the priests] finished covering the ark and all the holy vessels which were to be borne by the Kohathites, the Levites would take down the whole Tabernacle and load it upon the wagons; and the sons of Gershon and Merari then journeyed [with these wagons] after the standard of Judah, the ark and the holy vessels remaining covered and placed upon the staves until the standard of Reuben set forth. And the meaning of the verse Then the Tent of Meeting, with the camp of the Levites, shall set forward in the midst of the camps is that the Tent of Meeting together with all the camps of the Levites shall set forward in the midst of those camps perviously mentioned, for the Gershonites and Merarites journeyed between the standard of Judah and that of Reuben, while the Kohathites journeyed between the standard of Reuben and that of Ephraim, as He is to explain. He mentioned the reason [for the Gershonites and Merarites journeying before the Kohathites, namely] so that they might set up the Tabernacle before they [the Kohathites who carried the ark and the holy vessels] arrive [and thus they could immediately deposit the holy vessels therein].However, in the Beraitha of the Work of the Tabernacle I have seen the following text: “They blew t’kiah, t’ruah, ‘t’kiah, and the standard of Judah would set forth first, as it is said, And in the first place the standard of the camp of the children of Judah set forward. The sons of Aaron would then enter [the Tent of Meeting] and take down the Veil, and cover the ark with it, as it is said, And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall go in, and his sons etc. They then blew t’kiah, t’ruah, t’kiah, and the standard of the camp of Reuben would set forth. The sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari would immediately enter and dismantle the Tabernacle, and load it upon wagons and re-erect it [in the new resting-place] by the time the sons of Kohath arrived, as it is said, And the Kohathites the bearers of the Sanctuary set forward, that the Tabernacle might be set up against their coming. They blew t’kiah, t’ruah, t’kiah, and the standard of Ephraim would set forth. The sons of Kohath would immediately enter and dismantle the Sanctuary, and put it upon their shoulders, as it is said, And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the Sanctuary etc.” But perhaps the following is the correct interpretation of the Beraitha: “They ...

"And it was taken down" (וְהוּרַד) — the Levites take it down.

והורד המשכן, “The Tabernacle was dismantled.” The meaning of the paragraph starting with ויהי בשנה השנית in 10,11 is to describe the journey of the Tabernacle, i.e. the camp of the Levites traveling surrounded by the various army groups, as Rashi has outlined when he described that as soon as the army group of Yehudah had started marching the sons of Aaron would lower the dividing curtain in the Tabernacle and would wrap up the various sacred furnishings. When these had been wrapped, the Levites, i.e. Gersonides and Merarites, took apart the beams comprising the walls of the Tabernacle and loaded them onto the wagons, etc. These wagons with those Levites would be traveling behind the army group of Yehudah, ahead of the army group of Reuven.

The standard of the camp of Reuben journeyed by their hosts; and over his host was Elizur son of Shedeur.

And over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.

And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph son of Deuel.

And the sons of Kohath, who carried the sacred objects, journeyed; and they would set up the Tabernacle before their arrival.

נשאי המקדש means, the bearers of the holy articles (not of the structure of the Sanctuary itself for this was the burden of the sons of Gershon and Merari; cf. v. 17). והקימו את המשכן AND THEY SET UP THE TABERNACLE [BEFORE THEY CAME] — this means: The sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari who were in front of them (the Kohathites) travelling together with the two divisions, those of Judah and Reuben, set up the Tabernacle as soon as the cloud rested, and the sign for encamping became visible above the division of the camp of Judah (cf. Rashi on 9:17). Now when they encamped and whilst the sons of Kohath were coming after them with the two last divisions (Ephraim and Dan), the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari erected the Sanctuary. When the sons of Kohath arrived, they already found it in its proper place and they put into it the Ark, the table, the candelabrum and the altars. The following therefore is what the verse implies: והקימו, and they — i.e. those who had to erect the Tabernacle — erected it, עד before באם their arrival — the arrival of the sons of Kohath.

"The bearers of the Sanctuary" (נֹשְׂאֵי הַמִּקְדָּשׁ) — this refers to the Ark. "And they shall set up" (וְהֵקִימוּ) — the Gershonites and the Merarites erect the Tabernacle before the Kohathites arrive, so that the priests may immediately bring the Ark to its place.

והקימו את המשכן, “so that they would be able to erect the Tabernacle.” According to Rashi, the subjects in this verse are the members of the house of Gershon and Merari. There is a full stop here in Rashi’s commentary. When Rashi continues there with: “two army groups had already preceded them,” this does not refer to the ”Merarites and Gersonidides,”but refers to a different subject, namely the order in which the journeys proceeded. Rashi has to be understood as follows; “when did the members of the house of Gershon and Merari reerect the Tabernacle? After the first two army groups which had already preceded them and who in turn had preceded the Kehatites carrying the Holy Ark on their shoulders, had passed. The members of the house of Gershon and Merari had traveled as part of the first two army groups. When they observed that the cloud had stopped moving, this was their signal to reerect the Tabernacle. During that period the Kehatites arrived and found the Tabernacle ready to receive the Holy Ark.

The standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim journeyed by their hosts; and over his host was Elishama son of Ammihud.

And over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamliel son of Pedahzur.

And over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan son of Gideoni.

The standard of the camp of the children of Dan, which gathered in all the camps, journeyed last by their hosts; and over his host was Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.

מאסף לכל המחנת [THEN THE BANNER OF THE CAMP OF THE CHILDREN OF DAN SET FORWARD] WHICH WAS THE GATHERER OF ALL THE CAMPS — The Talmud Yerushalmi Eruvin 5:1 has the following statement: Because the tribe of Dan consisted of numerous troops (i. e. was more numerous than each of the other tribes, except Judah which marched on the front, cf. Chapter II), it marched in the rear so that if anyone of the other tribes lost anything, he (Dan) restored it to him. (מאסף לכל המחנת therefore means “the one who gathered in everything belonging to all the camps”.) — There is one authority that holds that they traveled in formation like a box (i.e. in a military square) and derives this from the text, (Numbers 2:17) “just as they encamp so shall they journey” , and there is another authority that maintains that they traveled in a straight line like a beam, and derives this from the statement that Dan was “the gatherer of all the camps”.

"The rear guard" (מְאַסֵּף) — in relation to the banners, for Naphtali is last.

מאסף לכל המחנות, “the rearguard of all the camps. (army groups) Rashi comments that the reason why the tribe of Dan formed the rearguard was that it was very numerous. Anyone who had lost something during the journey would hand it in to members of that tribe awaiting the loser to claim it. This follows the opinion that the Israelites were moving in the pattern of a box. The camp of Dan was in a northerly direction as a matter of routine. [The land of Israel being situated north of the land of Egypt, this would be normal. Ed.] Seeing that they numbered so many soldiers they could spread out over a wide area so that the left flank would actually be partially in the west. It would therefore be appropriate to apply the term מאסף, “ingatherer,” to that army group headed by the Danites. If you were to argue that according to the text of the Torah, the army group headed by Yehudah numbered about 16000 more soldiers than that of Dan, what Rashi meant was that of the three tribes comprising the army group headed by Dan, the tribe of Dan itself was more numerous that the other two tribes that formed part of his army group. The members of the tribe Dan itself were the hindmost of all the tribes in the various army groups. מאסף לכל המחנות, “the hindmost of all the army groups;” if any member of any of the other army groups due to fatigue fell behind, they would all be included in the group headed by the tribe of Dan, so that they would not become lone stragglers. We find the expression מאסף having a similar meaning in Judges 19,18: ואין איש מאסף אותי הביתה, “and no one would be willing to give me shelter in his house.”

מאסף כל המחנות, “as the rearguard of all the camps;” the word מאסף, which literally means “ingathering,” was chosen here as this tribe was responsible to see to it that any stragglers who for one reason or another had not been able to keep up with the pace of the rest of the people, would not be left behind.

And over the host of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel son of Ochran.

And over the host of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira son of Enan.

These were the journeyings of the children of Israel by their hosts, and they journeyed.

אלה מסעי means: This is the order, of their journeyings (i.e. these words do not mean, “these are the stations”, as the introductory words of chapter Numbers 33:1, where the names of the stations are enumerated; here Scripture merely intends to state that this was the order which they had to keep when journeying). ויסעו AND THEY JOURNEYED means, on the very same day mentioned at the beginning of the chapter did they set off.

"These are the journeyings of the children of Israel" (אֵלֶּה מַסְעֵי בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל). The meaning is: thus they always journeyed throughout all the days in the wilderness.

These are the journeys of the children of Israel by their hosts; the Cloud of Glory was lifted up from above the tabernacle, and they went forward.

And Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses: We are journeying to the place of which Hashem said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us and we will do good to you, for Hashem has spoken of bringing good upon Israel.

חבב is identical with Jethro, as it is said, (Judges 4:11) of the sons of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses”. (Thus חתן משה in our verse is to be connected with חבב and not with רעואל המדיני immediately preceding). — But why then does it state (Exodus 2:18) “and they (the daughters of Jethro) came to Reuel, their father”, since he was their grandfather and not their father? It teaches us that children are in the habit of calling their grandfather by the term “father”. — He (Jethro) was called by several names: Jethro, because he added (it was through him there was added) a section to the Torah (viz., Exodus 18:21 ff.); Hobab (חֹבָב) because he loved (חֹבֵב) the Torah, etc. נוסעים אנחנו אל המקום WE ARE JOURNEYING UNTO THE PLACE — Immediately — within three days — we shall enter the Land of Canaan. They said this, because on this first journey after leaving Sinai they really set out with a view to entering the Land of Israel, only that they sinned at the incident of “those who complained” which prevented their further progress (Numbers 11:1). — But why did Moses include himself with them in the statement “ we are journeying” to enter the land? Because the decree that he should not enter it had not yet been made regarding him, and he was yet under the belief that he would enter (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 78:3).

AND MOSES SAID UNTO CHOBAB. I have already explained that Chobab [of the root chavav — love] was the new name which they gave to Jethro when he converted to the Torah of Israel, for such is the way of all proselytes, for he calls His servants by another name. Now Moses had begged him to go with them and had told him without explanation, and we will do thee good. But Chobab thought that they would give him of the spoil, silver and gold, garments, sheep and herd, but that he would not have an inheritance among them [in the Land]. Therefore he did not want [to go with them] and he answered, “But I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred, since there I have an inheritance, wealth and honor.” So Moses told him, “'Leave us not, I pray thee,’ for because of your familiarity with the wilderness thou shalt be to us instead of eyes [i.e., a guide] in the conquest of the lands, and you will show us the way by which we must go up, and of all that goodness the Eternal shall do unto us, the same we will do unto thee.” Moses thus hinted that he would be given an inheritance in the good Land as a reward for his trouble and help that he would extend to them in the conquest of the Land. In my opinion Chobab consented to this offer and he did so [as Moses requested of him], as I have mentioned there. And so the Rabbis said in the Yerushalmi: “The children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, bring first-fruits and read [the section of first-fruits, wherein it is stated, I have brought the first of the fruit of the soil which Thou, O Eternal, hast given me], because it is written, Come thou with us, and we will do thee good.”

We find that Zipporah was the daughter of Reuel, as it is written: "And he gave Zipporah his daughter" [Exod. 2:21], and further: "to water the flock of their father Reuel" [Exod. 2:18] — so Hobab is the son of Reuel, and thus the brother of Zipporah. By careful reasoning, he is Jethro, because of our encamping in the wilderness, and [the verse] speaks of Jethro, saying "when he came to the wilderness where he was encamped" [Exod. 18:5]. If someone objects that the text calls him "the father-in-law of Moses" — the answer is that it is the way of Scripture to call the father of the young woman and her brother "father-in-law," as evidenced by "Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses" — and it has already been established that Hobab was the brother of Zipporah, yet he is called "the father-in-law of Moses." And if one says: "father-in-law of Moses" is not connected with Hobab but with Reuel — the answer is [that the verse reads] "from the children of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses." Many, however, say that Hobab is Jethro, who was the father of Zipporah, and Reuel was her grandfather. They explain that Scripture says "their father Reuel" in the same way that [Jacob says] "the God of my father Abraham" [Gen. 28:13], and that Scripture calls her [Zipporah] "his daughter" just as Scripture calls Belshazzar the son of Nebuchadnezzar though he was actually his grandson. Our Sages said that Jethro had seven names, and [we may say that] there are seventy facets to the Torah.

נסעים אנחנו, "we are about to commence our journey, etc." Why did Moses use this introduction? Yitro knew that the Israelites were about to journey towards the land of Canaan! The Sifri on our verse, apparently aware of this question, says that Moses meant to emphasise that a single journey would suffice to bring the Israelites to their ultimate destination. We may see confirmation of this in Moses using the word אותו, "it," when referring to the place the journey would lead to. This word was quite unnecessary. Moses clearly referred only to to the land of Canaan seeing that G'd had never promised the patriarchs that the Israelites would inherit the lands of Sichon and Og. He meant to stress that there would be only that one journey. Another meaning of what Moses might have referred to was that the words אתן לכם referred to the lands of Sichon and Og which G'd would give to the Israelites of the present generation without having already allocated it to the patriarchs (compare what we wrote on Numbers 7,42). Seeing that at that time the Israelites were on the way to Canaan via the lands of Sichon and Og, Moses did not mention the land of Canaan by name but spoke vaguely about the land that G'd said He would give to the Israelites although he had not promised this to their forefathers. He had prophetic knowledge of this although G'd had not yet mentioned any of this to the people. This in spite of Sifri 2,289 describing those lands as having been appropriated by the Israelites themselves. The fact is that G'd approved of that conquest as a land the Israelites settled in after the event. Still another thought that Moses may have had in mind when he said the words אותו אתן לכם is that they were a hint that Moses personally would capture those lands and allow the two and a half tribes to inherit them. The singular אותו was an allusion to the fact that Moses would not conquer the land of Canaan on the West bank of the Jordan, but that G'd would give it to Joshua. לכה אתנו והטבנו לך. "come with us and we will treat you well." According to Sifri 1,132 Moses indicated that the land of Canaan would only be shared out amongst the ancestral tribes, excluding proselytes. A a result he could not promise his father-in-law a share in that distribution except as a gift rather than as an ancestral possession for all times. This is the reason Moses phrased his promise carefully, saying והטבנו לך, "we will do good for you." The implication was that the Israelites would donate some of their land to Yitro. Moses was afraid that there were five kinds of objections Yitro could raise, all of which would cause him to decline Moses' offer. As a result of Moses' concern for his father-in-law's sensitivities he tried to anticipate them when he made his offer. The five considerations Yitro could have were the following: 1) A recipient of a gift feels embarassed vis-a-vis the donor as we know from the Jerusalem Talmud Orlah 1,3 where this principle is applied to people eat...

נוסעים אנחנו, “we are about to embark on our journey to the Holy Land;” according to Rashi, Moses invites Yitro to become a partner to Israel. At this point Moses still believes that both he and the people are on the way to immediately enter the Holy Land and to settle there. When Moses had suggested to G-d that He send someone else to be the leader of the Jewish people, (Exodus 4,13), Rashi commented that the reason why Moses said this was that he knew that he himself would not get to the Holy Land. According to the plain meaning of what Moses is saying here to his father-in-law, it is clear that he included himself among the people who would get to the land of Israel. He reasoned that if the people were to know that the man who had taken them out of Egypt and performed all these miracles would not be allowed to enter the Holy Land, what possible chance would an ordinary Israelite have to ever to get to that land? [He therefore pretended that he would get there.] An alternate interpretation: Moses said this only to Yitro, as he reasoned that if he told or hinted to Yitro that he himself would not get to the Holy Land, surely Yitro would not believe that he would succeed where Moses did not, and therefore he would decline Moses’ offer. והטבנו לך, “we will treat you well.” He meant that Yitro would be allowed to share in the loot the Israelites would secure from the Canaanites. He had not been authorized by G-d to promise him an ancestral piece of land in the Holy Land.

ויאמר משה לחובב, “Moses said to Chovav, etc.” Nachmanides writes that the Chovav mentioned here is identical with Yitro, Moses’- father-in-law. He was given a new name when he converted to Judaism. It is customary to give converts a new name when they are accepted into the Jewish religion. This is what happened to Tzipporah’s father. Her grandfather’s name was Reu-el. This is based on Isaiah 65,15 that “His servants will be known by another name.” This is the meaning of Exodus 2,18: “the said to Reu-el their father,” i.e. to their grandfather. The reference to a grandfather as a “father” is not unusual; we have seen this already in Genesis 32,1 where Yaakov speaks about “the G’d of my father Avraham.” We also find that Belshazzar was described as the son of Nevuchadnezzar although he was the grandson of Nevuchadnezzar (Daniel 5,2). On the other hand, our sages in the Mechilta at the beginning of Parshat Yitro claim that Yitro had seven different names. When Yitro said in verse 30: “I will not go but I will return to my country and my birthplace I will go,” Moses had turned to him without specific proposals just saying the Jewish people would treat him well (verse 29). Yitro understood this remark in terms of the Israelites giving him money, that they were going to let him share in the loot to be gained as a result of the conquest of the land of the Canaanites. He did not think that Moses’ promise would include land in the conquered country. This is why he declined the offer. He pointed out that in his own country he was better of, owning inalienable pieces of land, enjoying prestige, etc. When Moses became aware of this he told him: “please do not abandon us, etc.” He implied that Yitro’s knowledge of the desert etc., made him invaluable to the Jewish people. He assured him that he would share in all the advantages that would accrue to the Jewish people. He hinted that there would be a proper heritage for Yitro and his family in Eretz Yisrael in return for his assistance in conquering the land. I believe that Yitro agreed to this proposal. Thus far the commentary of Nachmanides.

Come with us and we will do you good. Here the commentators ask: Since Jethro was not persuaded to go with them with the first promise, what did Moses add when he said to him a second time, And the good that the Lord will do for us, we will do for you? Furthermore, why did he call him Chovav now? Additionally, he said we are traveling and come with us — he should have said “we are going” or “you will travel with us.” And further, And he said, “I will not go, but I will go to my land” — why do I need go twice? And what is meant by he spoke good upon Israel — it should have said “to Israel.” It appears that the term “going” [walking] applies only to the movement of the legs, which transport a person from place to place. However, it’s possible that even when one goes to another place, their mind may still be connected to the place they left. But the term “ journeying” implies a complete transfer of both body and thought entirely. For this reason, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham, Go forth from your land (Genesis 12:1), because initially, most likely, his soul was still connected to his father’s house. Later it says (Genesis 12:9), journeying toward the south — first he was “going” and afterward “journeying” southward, because God had made him forget his father’s house entirely. This is what is meant by Moses said to Hovav — he concealed from him the name Yitro, because perhaps he thought that converts are as difficult for Israel as a scab (Yevamot 47b), since anything “extra” [yeter] is considered as if cut off, and this is why he was called Yitro. Therefore, presumably they would not welcome him properly, so Moses changed his name from Yitro to Hovav, hinting at what is written (Deuteronomy 10:19), You shall love the stranger, meaning that he should be beloved [chaviv] to them. Therefore, he asked him to go with them. And Moses said, We are traveling — because for us it is called “traveling” from the place we left, as we have no inheritance, vineyard, or family there. However, for you it would be called “going” from your land and your birthplace. Nevertheless, I ask, Come with us and we will do good to you, for the Lord has spoken good upon Israel. This means that He commanded us to do good to those who cleave to us, and it is fitting to say upon Israel in this context, as it is written (Isaiah 14:1), And the stranger will join upon them and they will cleave to the house of Jacob. For the term upon implies something added to the main body. And he said to him, “I will not go” — He was angry that Moses mentioned the term “going,” suspecting him of still having his thoughts wandering in his land and birthplace. For in truth, the Torah was so beloved to him that he had completely removed even his thoughts from his land and birthplace, and he had a complete desire to cleave to the Divine Presence. And regarding this he said, “Rather, I will go to my land and my birthplace.” This is called “going” when I go to my land to convert my family members, because then certainly my thoughts will always be wandering in this holy place to which my soul is bound. And [Moses] said, Please do not leave us. [Moses was saying:] I never suspected that upon returning to your home you would forget this holy experience, but I worried that since you see that these people are in a bad state, and all the encampments are filled with complaints, disputes, and grievances, perhaps because of this you would not want to return to us. This is why he said, Please do not leave us, for with the word us he concluded the whole matter, meaning to say: I fear that your abandonment would be because of us, for you know our encampment in the desert. As Rashi explained, referring to because you know our encampments, that all the encampments were filled with complaints against the Divine Presence, as they turned away from following God. Therefore, I worry that you will not return to us, and even as you travel with us, your thoughts will be on your native land, saying, Who will give me wings like a dove that I may fly away and dwell there in peace, unlike these encampments which are filled with complaints as mentioned. Therefore, I ask that you do not leave even us, for by this you will bring merit to the many, and the eyes of all Israel will be upon you to learn a kal vachomer from you: if you left your native land and your position of authority to cleave to the Divine Presence, how much more so should Israel. This is why [Moses] said, You shall be eyes for us, and the merit of the many will depend on you. And it shall be, if you go with us — for the main purpose of this matter is that you go with us while your thoughts wander to your native land as you see the disorder among us, and therefore we need you even more in order to bring merit to the many. And the good that God will do for us — for the uprightness of our deeds — we will do good to you — and from what is yours we will give to you, for since you will be the cause of the improvement of our affairs and the merit of the many depends on you, then who shall eat and who shall be concerned except for you? And then Yitro was silent and acquiesced to him, for the merit of the many is great. According to the simple meaning, initially he promised him physical benefits, saying and we will do good to you without mentioning God’s name, and he [Yitro] did not want to accept because he said, I will go to my own land, where he would have much good. Afterward, he promised him spiritual benefits, that he would be included among the Sanhedrin, who are called “the eyes of the congregation,” as he said, and you shall be as eyes for us. And he said, the good which the Lord will do to us — mentioning God’s name in connection with this spiritual benefit, because the Lord would put His spirit upon him. And he [Yitro] was persuaded, and so it was according to our Sages’ understanding (Sanhedrin 106a) that some of the descendants of Yitro merited to sit in the Chamber of Hewn Stone [where the Sanhedrin met], etc. And this was certainly from the promise and you shall be as eyes for us.

ויאמר משה לחובב, “Moses said to his father-in-law Chovav, etc.” Ibn Ezra writes that Re-uel was the father of Tzipporah, as we know from Exodus 2,18 ותבאנה אל רעואל אביהם, “when they came home to their father Re-uel, etc.” Chovav was the brother of Tzipporah and he is identical with Yitro, for the Torah wrote that Moses said of him: (verse 31) ידעת חנותנו במדבר, “you are familiar with where we are encamped in the desert,” and it is also written in connection with Yitro (Exodus 18,5) אל המדבר אשר הוא חונה שם, “to the desert where he was camping” (Moses). If someone were to argue that Yitro was Moses’ father-in-law, the answer is that it is the custom of the Torah to refer to the father of the girl as well as to her brother as חותן, proof being the line לחובב בן רעואל המדיני חותן משה after it had already been made clear that Chovav was a brother of Tzipporah. Many commentators are of the opinion that Chovav and Yitro are identical, that he was the father of Tzipporah, whereas Re-uel was the grandfather. As far as the words אל רעואל אביהם is concerned, this is no different than when the Torah quotes Yaakov as referring to אלוקי אבי אברהם, the “G’d of my father Avraham,” when we all know that Avraham was Yaakov’s grandfather and not his father. Nachmanides writes that Moses pleaded with Chovav to accompany the Jewish people, saying to him in general terms והטבנו לך, “we will treat you well;” Chovav understood this to mean that the Jewish people would let him share in the spoils of war but that he would not receive a share of the Land of Israel as an ancestral piece of land. This is why Chovav replied that in that case he would prefer to return to a land that was his own, where he was not just tolerated as a newcomer to whom one had accorded a courtesy. When Moses became aware of Chovav having misunderstood the nature of his offer, he changed his approach by begging Chovav not to abandon him and the Jewish people, seeing that he had already become so valuable to them by having served as their eyes. He added that they would share with him all the good G’d were to do for His people on an equal basis. He hinted that Chovav would receive a portion of the land as an ancestral heritage. Nachmanides believes that Chovav accepted this offer and bases himself on the Jerusalem Talmud (Bikkurim 1,5) where the descendants of the Keyni, (Yitro’s offspring) are granted the right to refer to the land of Israel as their heritage and they read the passage about bikkurim just as does any natural born Jew whose ancestors had been slaves in Egypt. Their claim is based on Moses having said to Chovav לכה אתנו, “please join us,” in our verse above.

לחובב, another name for Yitro, as we know from Judges 4,11 מבני חובב חותן משה, “of the sons of Chovav, the father-in-law of Moses.”

And he said to him: I will not go; rather, to my own land and to my birthplace I will go.

אל ארצי ואל מולדתי [AND HE SAID TO HIM, I WILL NOT GO; BUT I WILL DEPART] TO MINE OWN LAND, AND TO MY KINDRED — (the Hebrew may be translated: but for my own land and for my own kindred I must go) — “I must go” whether for the sake of (אל) my property (ארצי) or for the sake of (אל) my family (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 79).

"To my own land" (אֶל אַרְצִי) — to the place where I dwell today and where I was born.

כי אם אל ארצי ואל מולדתי אלך, so that in his old age he would not have to adjust to the different climate and food in a country he had not grown up in.

כי אם אל ארצי…אלך, "but I will rather go to my own country." Why did Yitro have to say אלך, seeing he had already said that he would not go with the Israelites? Perhaps this can be explained on the basis of Mechilta in Exodus 18,27 where Moses let his father-in-law depart. Rabbi Joshua said that Moses allowed Yitro to depart from the most honoured place in the world [from the Presence of the Lord as displayed in the Tabernacle. Ed]. Rabbi Eliezer the Modai claimed that before he departed Yitro said to Moses: "light is effective only in a place of darkness." He meant that amongst the Israelites he was not needed to provide enlightenment seeing Israel basked in the light of G'd. In his own country, however, his new found enlightenment could be of benefit to his countrymen. There he might succeed in converting his countrymen to monotheism and then he would bring them to study Torah. In the event we might think that Yitro went home and did not convert his countrymen, look at what is written in the Book of Judges 1,16, where the members of the Kenite (Yitro's clan) are reported as haying come from the city of Jericho to join the tribe of Yehudah to live in the neighbourhood of Arad, part of the desert of Yehudah. It appears from the wording of the Mechilta that Rabbi Joshua was of the opinion that Yitro did not convert and that this was the reason Moses consented that he would leave the כבודו של עולם, the environment in which G'd's Presence predominated. On the other hand, Rabbi Eliezer the Modai believed that Yitro did indeed convert to Judaism. The extraneous word אלך can be explained satisfactorily according to either of these two views. According to Rabbi Joshua Yitro told Moses: "I will not go but I will go to my country; should you think this is only because I prefer my country over the land of Canaan, this is not so; even granted that what you have to offer me is attractive, nonetheless I will go (back to my country)." According to Rabbi Eliezer we must read Yitro's remark as follows: "I will not go (at this stage) but will return to my country (in order to convert my countrymen). At a later stage אלך, I will go (and join you) as per the report in the Book of Judges." The reason that Yitro mentioned both "my country and my birthplace" is that he implied that if he failed to convert all his countrymen to Judaism at least he was certain he could convert all the people in his hometown. [Our version has a different text entirely, such as that Moses showered his father-in-law with gifts. Ed.]

כי אם אל ארצי ואל מולדתי אלך, “but I prefer to go to my country and my birthplace” [to die there. Ed.] According to our author, Yitro preferred the evil he knew to the evil he did not know, i.e. he knew what awaited him in Midian, but he did not know what awaited him in the land of Canaan.

Please do not forsake us, for you know how we encamped in the wilderness, and the mighty deeds that were done for us you have seen with your own eyes.

אל נא תעזב LEAVE [US] NOT, I PRAY THEE — The word נא is an expression of entreaty. Here it means: I beg of you, not to leave usin order that people should not say, “Jethro did not become a proselyte out of pure love for the Jewish faith. He believed that the proselytes, too, would have a portion in the Land; now, however, that he saw that they will have no portion in it he has deserted them and gone his own way (Sifrei Bamidbar 80). כי על כן ידעת FOR THOU KNOWEST OUR ENCAMPMENT IN THE WILDERNESS] — For (כי) it is fitting for you to do this, because (על כן) you have known our encampments in the wilderness and you have seen the miracles and the mighty deeds that have been wrought for us. כי על כן ידעת — This is similar to על אשר ידעת, like (Genesis 38:26) “For (כי) she has acted rightly, because (על כן) I did not give her to Selah, my son”; (Genesis 19:8): “For (כי) this kindness please do out of respect to me, because (על כן) they have come under the shadow of my roof”; (Genesis 33:10): “For (כי) it is fitting and proper for you to accept my present, because (על כן) I have seen your face." והיית לנו לעינים — The verb is in the past tense and we have to understand it just as the Targum renders it: and all the mighty deeds that have been wrought for us thou hast seen with thine own eyes. Another explanation is that it is the future tense: whatever things will be hidden from our eyes, you will enlighten our eyes about it. Still another explanation is that the passage means that you will be held in affection by us as our “very eye-balls”. as it is said, (Deuteronomy 10:19) “and ye shall love the stranger” (Sifrei Bamidbar 80).

"Please" (אַל נָא) has the same meaning as "now" (עַתָּה) — and so does every instance of נָא in Scripture; it is inverted [in sense] in Arabic. "For therefore you know" (כִּי עַל כֵּן יָדַעְתָּ) — as in "for therefore I did not give her to Shelah" [Gen. 38:26], meaning: "since you know our encampment" — that is, you know the places where we have encamped. "Go with us and you will be eyes for us" (לְכָה אִתָּנוּ וְהָיִיתָ לָּנוּ לְעֵינָיִם) — to show us the way. Many say that "and you will be" (וְהָיִיתָ) is a past tense, alluding to the counsel [Hobab] had given Moses in showing him what he did not know — and this is the meaning of "eyes for us." The reason the verse says "And he said, 'Please'" is that [Moses] had already said this to him before and it had not helped.

אל נא תעזוב אותנו. At least allow your children to go with us, כי על כן ידעת חנותנו במדבר, for this was the purpose of your getting familiar with our ways in the desert. If your children depart also you will be desecrating the name of the Lord among the nations as they will say: “if Yitro would have seen any merit in this religion surely he and his sons would not have abandoned them!” Both Yitro and his sons agreed with this argument of Moses so that in the end only Yitro returned to his country, as we know from Exodus 18,27 “Moses saw his father-in-law Yitro off, and he went by himself back to his own country.” There is no question that his children remained with the Jewish people, as the Book of Judges testifies when writing about “the children of the Keyni, the father-in-law of Moses, having previously ascended from the city of palms with the tribe of Yehudah.” (Judges 1,16).

אל נא תעזב אותנו, "please do not abandon us, etc." According to Rabbi Eliezer Hamodai we must understand this verse as Moses asking Yitro not even to leave the Jewish people's camp temporarily. He alluded to this with the word נא. Regarding Yitro's argument that a light is quite superfluous during the time the sun shines, Moses did not accept that argument. He pointed out that Yitro's contribution to the Jewish people had already demonstrated that his presence was invaluable to them, i.e. ידעת חנותנו במדבר, i.e. when he told Moses to select heads of tens, etc. to help him judge the people he had proven that he had analysed the Israelites' problems in the desert correctly. Moses had demonstrated at that time that he accepted Yitro's advice thereby proving that Yitro's "light" could shine even while the moon or the sun were shining, i.e. while they enjoyed the Presence of the שכינה in their midst (Exodus 18,13-27). According to the view of Rabbi Joshua we must explain this verse as follows: The words אל נא תעזב mean that at this stage it was not appropriate for Yitro to depart. The reason it was inappropriate was that inasmuch as he was already familiar with the Jewish people's camp seeing their encampment was protected by G'd's cloud-and no one else knew their precise whereabouts-his knowledge was a security risk (compare Bamidbar Rabbah 19,20 in connection with Numbers 20,29 that Aaron had died). If he had never come to visit and had familiarised himself with the camp of the Israelites, Moses would not have minded his return to his homeland. According to the Midrash we referred to the whereabouts of the location of the camp of the Israelites remained a secret until the death of Aaron when the cloud enveloping the entire camp disappeared. Now that Yitro had been taken into G'd's confidence disappeared. Now that Yitro had been taken into G'd's confidence by knowing the whereabouts of the camp he should not depart. Another reason he should not leave was the fact that G'd had approved of the advice he had given to Moses and it had become part of the jurisprudence of the people. This is what he meant by describing Yitro as having become "the eyes of the Jewish people." If Yitro were to leave the Israelites after all this, this would be a desecration of the name of G'd. The Israelites would say that if a man who had participated in all their supernatural experiences and whom they had considered as on a high spiritual level could leave this could only prove that he had not been worthy to experience these miracles in the first place. Seeing that Yitro refused to remain, Moses expelled him from the proximity of the שכינה.

אל נא תעזוב אותנו, “please do not abandon us!” We have not been able to show you how well we can treat you thus far. (B’chor shor) כי על כן ידעת חנותנו, “for the reason you came here to see where we were encamped was in order to join us.” והיית לנו לעינים, “and you have become our eyes” this is to be understood as Genesis 18,3: אם נא מצאתי חן בעיניך “if only I will find favour in your eyes.” The word עינים is used in the same sense as פנים, “face, front.” An alternate interpretation: other potential converts to Judaism will look at you as the example that inspires them to follow his example. (B’chor shor)

והיית לנו לעינים, “you will act as our eyes,” to show us the way. Seeing that the Israelites had been journeying exclusively at the direction of the cloud and the cloud showed them the way, what need was there to employ the services of Yitro? The reason Moses said the words quoted was to reinforce the minds and hearts of the people whose faith in the miraculous guidance of the cloud was somewhat limited, people who preferred to rely on leaders of flesh and blood. Another meaning of the words: “you will be our eyes” was that they referred to Yitro testifying to the Gentiles what he had observed while traveling with the Jewish people. Yitro was to report all the miracles he had observed while traveling with the Jewish people. Upon hearing all this it was hoped that more Gentiles would be moved to convert to Judaism This is the approach of Onkelos who translates וגבורן דאתעבדין לנא חזיתא ויהי טבא ההוא יוטיב ה' עמנא ונוטיב לך, “the great deeds which have been done for us you have seen and the good that you have seen we will confer upon you.” A Midrashic approach (Sifri Behaalotcha 80) the words “you will be our eyes” mean that “anything which had thus far been concealed from our eyes you will reveal to our eyes.” Still another approach: “you (Yitro) will be as dear to us are our own eyeballs.” The background to such a sentiment is the commandment in Deut. 10,19: “You shall love the proselyte.”

כי על כן ידעת, while you have been with us in the desert you have become as indispensable as our eyes.

כי על כן ידעת חנותנו במדבר, “for you know how we can best make camp in the desert.” [Moses tries to make Yitro feel that his presence has become indispensable for the Jewish people. Ed.] He also implied that seeing that his father-in-law had become a witness to the miracle G–d performed daily for His people, how could he leave them at this juncture?

And if you go with us, then the good which Hashem will do for us, we will do good to you as well.

והיה הטוב ההוא AND IT SHALL BE THAT WHAT GOODNESS [THE LORD SHALL DO UNTO US, THE SAME WILL WE DO UNTO THEE] — What good did they actually bestow upon him (i.e. when did they redeem their promise)? They (our Sages) say: When the Israelites were parcelling out the Land the most fertile part of Jericho proved to extend over an area of 500 by 500 cubits; they left it unparcelled and said: He in whose portion of land the Sanctuary will be built shall take it as a substitute for giving up the land upon which the Temple was built. In the meantime, however, they gave it to the children of Jethro — to Jonadab the son of Rechab, [as it is said, (Judges 1:16) “And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up out of the city of the palm tree” (which is identical with Jericho; cf. Deuteronomy 34:3)] (Sifrei Bamidbar 81).

והיה כי תלך עמנו, "It will be when you come with us, etc." Why did the Torah repeat the word והיה before coming to the principal message in the verse? Besides, the entire verse seems superfluous as it contains essentially what Moses had offered Yitro already in verse 29? We will try and explain the verse both according to the view of Rabbi Eliezer Hamadoi and the view of Rabbi Joshua. According to the view of Rabbi Eliezer we must look at the word והיה as being simply a continuation of Moses' offer in verse 29 as follows: "Seeing that you have already become "our eyes," you will continue to be so when you decide to remain with us. You will most certainly not be viewed as a proselyte whose new-found enlightenment can hardly be expected to illuminate at a time when the sun of enlightenment shines all around, etc." According to the view of Rabbi Joshua, Moses merely urged Yitro to retain the stature he had acquired while on visit with the Jewish people. According to Rabbi Eliezer the words והיה הטוב ההוא אשר ייטיב השם "the good G'd will perform with the Jewish people, etc." mean that Moses urged Yitro not to leave and to return at a later date seeing that Moses was interested that Yitro should share in the land at the time Israel would reach the land of Canaan. If he were present at that time it would be easy to grant him some of the most fertile land of that region. This could not be guaranteed if he would not be present at the time of the distribution. Actually, Yitro was persuaded by Moses argument and agreed to remain. When he found out later that the Israelites' entry into the Holy land had been postponed for 40 years, he decided to sit out this waiting period in his own country rather than in the desert. He used the interval to convert his countrymen and eventually returned to join the Jewish people and took them up on their offer. According to Rabbi Joshua our verse is also meant to tell Yitro not to view himself as inferior because he was "only" a proselyte. This is why Moses assured him that he would receive a full share of all the good G'd had in store for the Jewish people when the time came. Not only that, but he would receive of the most fertile soil that the land of Canaan had to offer.

אשר ייטיב ה' עמנו “the good that the Lord will do for us.” Moses refers to nations in addition to the seven Canaanite nations. He refers to Exodus 34,24: והרחבתי את גבולך, “I will expand your boundaries.” According to another view, Moses promised Yitro and his family the land belonging to the Kenites. This had been included as one of the ten nations whose lands G-d had promised to Avraham as being part of greater Israel (Genesis 15,19). This is why in future years the descendants of Yitro are usually referred to as Kenites, as for instance in Numbers 24,21, where Bileam prophesied about them. Compare also Samuel I 15,6 ויאמר שאול אל הקני, “Shaul said to the Kenite.”

And they journeyed from the mountain upon which the Glory of Hashem had been revealed, a journey of three days; and the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem journeyed before them a journey of three days, to prepare for them a resting place.

דרך שלשת ימים [AND THEY DEPARTED FROM THE MOUNT OF THE LORD] THREE DAYS’ JOURNEY — A distance of three days’ journey they miraculously travelled in one day, because the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to bring them straight away into the Land (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 82). וארון ברית ה' נסע לפניהם דרך שלשת ימים AND THE ARK OF THE COVENANT OF THE LORD WENT BEFORE THEM IN THE THREE DAYS' JOURNEY — This was the Ark that went with them whenever they waged war and in which the broken Tablets were placed. It traveled in front of them a distance of three days’ journey to prepare for them a proper place for encampment (Sifrei Bamidbar 82; Talmud Yerushalmi Shekalim 6:1).

AND THEY SET FORWARD FROM THE MOUNT OF THE ETERNAL THREE DAYS’ JOURNEY. According to the plain meaning of Scripture, the cloud [of the Eternal] journeyed and went before them for three days and the ark followed the cloud in front of the people, and it did not come to rest in that place until the night of the third day, when the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran, which was a good place for them to camp in. This is the sense of [the expression] to seek out a resting-place for them. And when the cloud rested they erected the Tabernacle and brought the ark into it. Scripture, however, did not explain whether they also journeyed at night.

In my opinion, the first journey alone was unlike all the other journeys. The verse that states the Kohathites journeyed after the second set of banners applies to all the journeys except this one — for here the Ark journeyed before them. This [anomaly] lasted only three days, and this is the meaning of "three days' journey" (דֶּרֶךְ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים). Similarly, "And they went three days in the wilderness of Etham" [Num. 33:8] does not mean they covered a three-day journey in one day. Some say they covered a three-day journey in one day; others say they covered a three-day journey [as measured] against the journeys they made when leaving Egypt, and the Ark was [kept] a three-day journey ahead of them. This is also the meaning of "and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran." And [some propose that] "and they set out at the first" [means] they journeyed at Moses' bidding because the cloud departed immediately — but this cannot be, since Moses would not have departed from the Ark, as evidenced by "When the Ark set out, Moses said..." and "when it rested, he said..." The interpretation I stated above seems correct to me. The meaning of "and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran" is a general term encompassing Taberah, which is Kibroth-hattaavah, and Hazeroth and Rithmah, and many journeys — as evidenced by the fact that the portion of "These are the journeys" [Num. 33] does not mention the wilderness of Paran [by that name]. I will explain this further. The meaning of "at the word of Hashem" (עַל פִּי ה') is: at the sounding of the trumpets.

דרך שלשת ימים, to the border of the land of Israel, for within the space of 3 journeys they had advanced to Kadesh Barnea opposite the desert of Paran. From there the spies were dispatched. As Moses explained in Deuteronomy 1,22 “you all approached me asking: ‘let us dispatch men, etc.’” This was the place where the Jewish people had been encamped in the desert of Paran which has been mentioned here in 12,15 after the delay due to Miriam’s having been afflicted with tzoraat. The spies had returned to that location at the end of their mission. (Numbers 12,16) [The fact that the place from which the spies were dispatched is described by Moses as הר האמורי, the mountain of the Emorite, proves that this was within the boundaries of the land of Canaan of which the Emorite was the leading tribe. Ed.] וארון ברית ה' נוסע לפניהם דרך שלשת ימים, during these three days that they spent on these three journeys through the “great and awesome desert,” (Deut.1,19) the Ark was traveling ahead of the Jewish people. The purpose was to remove any dangerous obstacles in the path of the advancing Israelites. However, during the remainder of the journeys the Ark was positioned within the center of the marching armies as described in Numbers 2,17. This was in line with the other holy artifacts transported by the Kehatites in that position of the marching order. לתור להם מנוחה, a safe and secure place for camping in this awesome desert.

ויסעו מהר ה, “they journeyed away from the Mountain of the Lord;” all this time the Israelites had still remained next to Mount Sinai. דרך שלשת ימים, “for a distance of three days’ march;” the Torah did not write simply “שלשת ימים “ for three days; but it wrote: “a distance of three days.” This means that when they had started journeying they encamped once before the incident with the quails for a distance of three days march. These dates were the 20th of Iyar, the 21st and the 22nd of Iyar. וארון ברית ה, and the Ark of the covenant with the Lord, etc.,” some people claim that Moses had been carrying it, just as has been written in Michah 6,4: “I sent ahead of you Moses, Aaron and Miriam.” In other words, Moses carried the ark he had made for the first set of Tablets, whereas the Ark that had been made by Betzalel was carried between the second and the third army group as described earlier.

ויסעו מהר ה, “they journeyed from the mountain of the Lord.” The Israelites journeyed away from Sinai, the cloud leading the way. The Ark was being carried by the Kehatites behind the cloud. The cloud did not stop moving until the evening of the third day as it had been searching for a suitable site to make camp. This is the meaning of the words לתור להם מנוחה, “to search out for them a place to rest.” Our sages in Shabbat 116 interpret the words מהר ה' as meaning מאחרי ה', that as soon as they left the environment of Sinai the people deviated from following G’d, they literally fled from the nearness of G’d. Different desires began to surface. These desires surfaced on the 22nd day of Iyar seeing that on the 20th of that month the cloud had risen from the Tabernacle and commenced to move. The first day of the three days which is mentioned here was the 20th of the month, the day the cloud started moving. The overpowering desire to eat meat surfaced on the 22nd of the month; the meat materialised on the same day and the people kept eating of the quail for 30 days until the 22nd of Sivan. Why did the sages in Shabbat have to interpret events in this manner? It was to teach us that as soon as the people moved away from Mount Sinai they no longer felt that they were under the immediate benevolent supervision of Hashem. They believed that this kind of supervision existed only right at the Mountain of G’d. The expression הר ה' as opposed to הר האלו-הים is so unusual that the sages felt the essence of the move was “away from the Torah element associated with that mountain.”

And they traveled from the mountain of the Lord, a journey of three days. Our Sages interpreted (Shabbat 116b, Tosafot s.v. “Punishment”), that on that day they turned away from following the Lord and fled from the mountain of the Lord like a child fleeing from school. Therefore, they fled out of fear lest He add more commandments for them. And the verse says: See how ungrateful they are, because even during this rebellion, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord traveled before them a journey of three days to seek out a resting place for them. They rebelled for a count of three days, and the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was benefiting them for a count of three days. Another explanation: According to what is written in the Hidden Scroll, “If you forsake Me for a day, I will forsake you two days” (Sifrei, Eikev 11:22). This is comparable to two people walking away from each other — one walks a mile eastward and the other westward, resulting in them being two miles apart from each other. Similarly, the verse is saying that they traveled away from following the Lord and turned back a journey of three days from the Divine Presence, and correspondingly, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord also traveled before them, distancing itself from them a journey of three days. Thus, there ended up being a distance of six days’ journey between them, in order to seek out for them a rest from the commandments which they had rejected. It is reasonable to understand that this is the secret of the inverted nun that appears between the word the camp and [the verse] When the ark set out. For the latter inverted nun alludes to their complaint we remember the fish, since nun means fish. But the first nun alludes to how Israel is compared to fish, whose primary life-source is in water. Therefore, every fish turns its face to swim into the water, to the place of its life-source, but does not turn its face toward the shore, for this would be considered departing from the place of its life-source. Similarly, regarding Israel it is said may they multiply abundantly like fish (Genesis 48:16). They should be like these fish, for their primary life-source is in Torah, which is compared to water, as in the parable that Rabbi Akiva related to Pappos ben Yehuda in tractate Berakhot (61b). And when Israel flee from the mountain of the Lord like a child running away from school, they are like an inverted nun fish, departing from the place of its life-source and turning its face toward the shore and outward. Likewise, Israel turned their faces away from the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, the place of their life-source. Therefore, the nun is inverted, for it turned its face away from the verse When the ark set out and its face toward the word the camp, alluding to the time when Israel retreated from the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and turned their faces toward the camp, that is, toward the people. This is due to their love of worldly matters which the members of the camp are capable of, and in order to find favor in the eyes of the camp, one turns their back to the Divine Presence and directs all their deeds toward becoming an important person in the camp or a leader and ruler over them. And this is the main sin among us that causes the prolongation of the exile, for most have turned their faces away from the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord toward the camp, to the extent that even all their virtuous deeds from Torah and mitzvot are not done for their own sake, but rather to glorify themselves before others, to find favor in their eyes. And such “guardians of the city” are actually the destroyers of the city, and everyone knows this is so, yet no one says “return,” until the Lord looks down and sees, and removes the spirit of harlotry from our midst. And there is no need to elaborate on this.

וארון ברית ה' נוסע לפניהם דרך שלשת ימים, “and the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem journeyed before them a three–day distance.” According to Rashi this was the Ark containing the broken pieces of the first set of Tablets. This Ark traveled ahead of the main body the distance normally covered in three days’ march. Nachmanides writes that according to the plain meaning of the text neither the Ark nor the cloud preceded the people at all in terms of physical distance; the Torah describes that the Ark and the cloud would move for three days uninterruptedly without taking time out to make an even temporary “pit stop” until the evening of the third day. On that evening the cloud came to rest in the desert of Paran, and this is the meaning of the words לתור להם מנוחה, “to espy a suitable resting place for them” in our verse. The people would not make camp until they had reached that location. They then proceeded to re-assemble the Tabernacle and they brought into it the various furnishings, first of all the Holy Ark. What is not clear is whether during these three days the people marched also at night. Ibn Ezra writes that when the Torah wrote in verse 21 that the Kehatites journeyed and erected the Tabernacle before the people arrived, refers to the Kehatites journeying behind the first two flags, (army groups) does not apply to the first time the people moved away from their 11 months encampment at the bottom of Mount Sinai. During that journey the Ark did travel a distance of three days’ march ahead of them.

'מהר ה, for the people at that time had still not moved from Mount Chorev in the desert of Sinai. This was after the Tabernacle had been erected, as I have explained in connection with Numbers 1,1 on the words מדבר סיני. דרך שלשת ימים, they walked for a period of three days, not making camp until the end of the third day. Seeing that this had been very strenuous, the people began grumbling, as we know from Numbers 11,1, a phenomenon which also occurred in the last year of their wanderings and is recorded in Numbers 21,4. At that point the mood of the people is described as ותקצר נפש העם בדרך וידבר העם באלוקים ובמשה, “the people’s soul was restive on the journey and they spoke out against G’d and against Moses.” וארון ברית ה' נוסע לפניהם, during these entire three days, looking for a suitable place for them to make camp; for the cloud was seeking out such a location.

וארון ברית ה' נוסע לפניהם, “and the Holy Ark of the Covenant with Hashem traveled in front of them. During each night the Divine cloud was resting above the Holy Ark. Clearly the Israelites had not been able to travel without resting for three days and three nights. Jewish law rules that if someone swears an oath that he would not three for three consecutive days, i.e. for 72 hours, he will be subjected to the penalty of 39 lashes, as he undertook something he knew he would not be able to fulfill. (Talmud, tractate Shavuot, folio 25.) The cloud would resume its position above the camp of the Israelites in the morning, and the Levites would make the necessary preparations before the main body of the people resumed travelling. This is the plain meaning of the words: נוסע לפניהם, “was travelling ahead of them.” The Holy Ark was a distance of three days’ walking on foot in front of the main body until the people came to Kadesh in the desert of Paran. (Numbers 13,3) From then on they travelled without the Holy Ark, as we know from Numbers 14,44, when Moses did not allow the ones who were then willing to try and conquer the land of Canaan to take the Holy Ark with them. The meaning of the words: דרך שלשת ימים , is “a distance of three days’ march. This construction is also found when the Torah describes G–d as having created the universe in six days, i.e. ששת ימים. (Exodus 20,11)

And the cloud of the Glory of Hashem hovered over them by day when they journeyed from the camp.

וענן ה׳ עליהם יומם AND THE CLOUD OF THE LORD WAS UPON THEM BY DAY — Seven times is the word ענן used in the account of their journeys alluding to four clouds which screened them on all four sides, one that was above them, one beneath their feet, and one in front of them which leveled the elevations and raised the depressions, and killed all serpents and scorpions (Sifrei Bamidbar 83:1; Mekhilta; Br. d’ Melechet ha-Mishkan 14). FROM THE CAMP — From the place where they encamped.

וענן ה' עליהם יומם, it was not traveling ahead of them as it did during the other journeys, seeing that the Ark was performing the task of seeking out a suitable spot for making camp. Instead, it positioned itself above the people.

וענן ה' עליהם יומם ולילה, “and the cloud of the Lord was above them both by day and by night. Regarding Rashi’s commentary that there were seven clouds during theIsraelites’ journeys, they were not all mentioned in a single paragraph, as pointed out in Torat Kohanim. Four enveloped them from the four directions of the globe, and two from above and below. The seventh traveled ahead of them. This latter one is the one mentioned here. The others are mentioned in Numbers 14,14, Numbers 9,19, Exodus 40,36 and 40,37. According to the view of Rabbi Yehudah, there were 13 such clouds, 2 in each direction of the globe, two above and two below, and one in front of them. According to the opinion of Rabbi Yoshia, there were only four clouds, whereas according to the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah hanassi, there were only two such clouds.

And it was when the Ark journeyed that Moses said: Be revealed, O Hashem, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee from before you.

ויהי בנסע הארן AND IT CAME TO PASS WHEN THE ARK PROCEEDED [THAT MOSES SAID etc.] — He (the Lord; cf. Shabbat 115a) made for it (for this section) dividing marks (inverted “Nuns”), in front and behind it, in order to indicate that this is not its proper place (it would more fittingly find a place in the section dealing with the march of the people in chapter Numbers II. after v. 17). But why, then, is it written here? In order to make a break between the narrative of one punishment and that of another punishment etc., as is stated in the Talmudic chapter commencing with כל כתבי (Shabbat 115b, cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 84:1). ‘קומה ה RISE UP O LORD — Because it (the Ark) was in front of them a distance of three days’ march, Moses exclaimed, “Stay and wait for us, and do not travel further away from us; this is to be found in Tanchuma 2:10:7 on Sedra ויקהל. ויפצו איביך [RISE UP, O LORD] AND LET THINE ENEMIES BE SCATTERED — i.e. those who massed for battle. וינסו משנאיך AND LET THOSE THAT HATE THEE FLEE BEFORE THEE, — this refers to the pursuing enemies (those actually engaged in battle) (Sifrei Bamidbar 84:3). משנאיך THOSE THAT HATE THEE — These are those who hate Israel, because whoever hates Israel, hates “Him who spoke and the world came into existence”, as it is said, (Psalms 83:3, 4) “[For lo, thine enemies are in an uproar] and they that hate Thee have lifted up the head” — and who are these that hate Thee? The next verse states this (v. 4): “They who have taken crafty counsel against thy people” (Sifrei Bamidbar 84:4).

AND IT CAME TO PASS WHEN THE ARK SET FORWARD. “He [the Eternal] made for this section [i.e., this verse and the following one] a special mark in front of it and behind it [by placing two inverted letters nun at the beginning and end of it] in order to indicate that this section is not in its proper place. Why then was it written here? In order to separate between [the narrative of] one punishment and that of another punishment, as is stated in the Chapter of ‘Any of the Holy Scriptures.’” This is Rashi’s language. But the Rabbi did not explain to us what is this [first] “punishment” from which it was necessary to separate [the later verses], for there is no “punishment” mentioned here in Scripture before the verse, And it came to pass when the ark set forward. The language of the Gemara there is: “The second punishment is [the section], And the people were as murmurers. The first ‘punishment’ is that which says, And they set forward from the mount of the Eternal, on which Rabbi Chanina said: This teaches us that they turned aside from the Eternal.” On this [statement of Rabbi Chanina] the Rabbi [Rashi] wrote there in his commentaries: “Within three days of their journeying the mixed multitude … fell a lusting complaining about the [lack of] meat, in order to rebel against G-d.” But these are astonishing words, for the “punishment” stated in the verse And the people were as murmurers [… and the fire of the Eternal burnt among them etc.] is written first, and that of the lusting is second, and they are both next to each other [so why did Rashi mention the sin of the lusting following upon their journeying as the first “punishment,” since that of the murmurers is closer to it]? Perhaps the Rabbi [Rashi] thought that these episodes were not written in their [chronological] order, and that He [already] alluded to the first [punishment] in saying, [and they set forward] from the mount of the Eternal, for perhaps they already intended to do so [to demand meat] from the time that they set forth on that journey; but He made a break [by writing the section of the ark], and then wrote the second [punishment, i.e., that of the murmurers], and afterwards He went back to [relate the actual realization of their original intention to ask for meat, namely] the first punishment. But there is neither rhyme nor reason in this [explanation].But the meaning of this interpretation [of the Rabbis that they set forward from the mount of the Eternal indicates a punishment, is based on that which] they found in the Agadah, that “they set forward from Mount Sinai with joy, just like a child who runs away from school, saying: ‘Perhaps He will give us more commandments [if we stay]!” This then is the sense of the expression, And they set forward from the mount of the Eternal, meaning that their intention was to remove themselves from there because it was the mount of the Eternal. This is the first “punishment” [i.e., the first sin, as explained further on], and then He int...

"Arise, Hashem" (קוּמָה ה') — in the manner of human beings who stand up to fight. The meaning of "and they will be scattered" (וְיָפֻצוּ): when they see that You have risen to make war, Your enemies will immediately be scattered. The word "those who hate You" (מְשַׂנְאֶיךָ) is from the heavy intensive binyan (piel) — and the nun is without dagesh, to ease pronunciation. "And they will be scattered" and "they will flee" (וְיָפֻצוּ וְיָנֻסוּ) — it is the manner of all prophetic passages to double [the idea] with varied words, as I will explain in the portion of Balaam.

ויהי בנסוע הארון proceeding to enter the holy Land; קומה ה' ויפוצו אויביך, if the people had not insisted on dispatching the spies the march would have been proceeding unopposed, the enemies scattering before the armies of G’d without offering resistance. Isaiah 17,9 phrases it thus: “In that day their fortress cities shall be like the deserted sites which the Choresh and the Amir abandoned because of the Israelites, and there shall be desolation.” וינוסו מפניך, lest the Israelites would wipe them out.

ויהי בנסע הארון, And it came to pass when the Holy Ark would journey, etc. This entire paragraph requires analysis. It may best be explained in connection with a kabbalistic concept (Eitz Chayim 332, chapter 1) I have mentioned repeatedly, i.e. that the reason the Israelites had to trek through the desert was to locate and rescue "sparks" of sanctity which were held captive by the spiritually negative forces whose domain is the desert and other inhospitable parts of the earth. We must appreciate that all these spiritually negative forces may be divided into two categories. One category is essentially a seducer who endeavours to bring his adversary to heel by luring him into immoral and unethical behaviour against man and G'd. The other category consists of various types of destructive forces which simply attack the body of a person trying to kill or to maim him. It is not the nature of this second category of spiritually negative force to engage in seduction of its victim. The words ויהי בנסע הארון refer to the Ark journeying while all kinds of these captive sparks of sanctity cleave to it. As a result of these "sparks" of sanctity establishing contact with the Holy Ark, their captors exploded. This is what is meant by the Torah writing קומה ה׳ ויפוצו אויביך, "Rise up O Lord and let Your enemies be scattered." The "enemies" the Torah refers to are the קליפות, the spiritually negative forces which up until then had held the sparks of sanctity in their grip. Now they would lose that grip. The word ויהי which usually introduces a paragraph containing a painful element refers to the pain experienced by these קליפות. As to the other category of spiritually negative forces, the seductive ones, the Torah writes וינוסו משנאיך מפניך, "let them that hate You flee before You." Here the Torah referrred to those forces who display their hatred of G'd indirectly by seducing G'd's servants into becoming disloyal to Him. The Torah describes these "enemies" of G'd in the plural as there are many such forces as we have learned in Yuma 69 that there are separate evil urges, one luring us to serve idols, another luring us to engage in illicit sexual relations, etc. All of this occurred בנסוע, while the Holy Ark was in motion. Whenever the Holy Ark was stationary the Torah used a different wording to describe how the Holy Ark reacted to such spiritually negative forces. When the Presence of G'd is limited to a specific site, i.e. when the Holy Ark is stationary inside the Holy of Holies, this is equivalent to a declaration by G'd that there are no such "sparks" of sanctity nearby which the Ark would have to search out by moving in their direction and passing such a location. When the Ark stopped moving and came to "rest," this was equivalent to a declaration that such sparks of sanctity had been located and that the Ark now had to come to "rest" on account of those "sparks." This is what Moses had in mind when he said: ובנחה יאמר שובה השם רבבות אלפי ישראל, "may G'...

ויהי בנסוע הארון, “It would be that whenever the Ark was moving forward, etc.” According to the Talmud in tractate Shabbat folio 116, quoting the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, this short paragraph in the Torah (which is bracketed) will be removed from the Torah scrolls at some time in the future and it will be rewritten in the appropriate place. If so, why was it not written in the proper place to begin with? It was meant to separate positive occurrences that the people experienced from negative ones, such as the ones we will shortly be reading about. What is the “appropriate” place that it should have appeared in? According to Rabbi Yossi, on the folio of the Talmud in Shabbat 116, it should have appeared when we read about the flags, immediately after verse 21 in our chapter, where the Torah describes the Kehatites as carrying the Holy Ark.' ויאמר משה קומה ה, “Moses said:” arise O Lord, etc.” He said so as the cloud appeared to have disappeared at the time when the people were on the march.

ויהי בנסוע הארון, “When the Ark would journey,” the Torah interrupted its narrative with these two verses. By rights the Torah should have continued writing here ויהי העם כמתאוננים וגו', i.e. the first verse of chapter 11 which would have made the proper continuation for the words בנסעם מן המחנה, “when they journeyed from the camp.” As long as the Israelites were encamped around Mount Sinai they were not far from civilization, whereas the direction the cloud traveled took them deeper and deeper into the desert. The people reacted negatively to this journey becoming afraid of the discomforts they expected to encounter. Seeing that chapter 11 is a direct continuation of verse 35 in chapter 10 there should not have been any interruption of the subject matter. The reason for this insertion of verses 36-37 according to the plain meaning of the text is this: we know that the terrestrial world is divided into three parts, i.e. sea, civilised areas, desert. Our sages in Pessachim 94 (Tossaphot) said: “one third of the surface of the globe is oceans, one third is land that is cultivated, and inhabited; one third is desert. When the Israelites entered the land of Israel they had already traversed all three kinds of the globe. The Israelites had had a visible manifestation of the fact that G’d created the world as something entirely new seeing G’d had demonstrated miracles both on sea, on land and the miracles which occurred when the seven Canaanite nations were driven out of the land of Canaan. Seeing that when one comes face to face in nature with high mountains, etc., etc., one forms the impression that these phenomena have existed for eons of years and have preceded man and G’d historically, it is necessary to counter such impressions among the people. This is why the Torah inserted the two verses 36-37 at this point as it had become aware of the impression that the wilderness had begun to make on the Israelites. The words ויפוצו אויביך וינוסו משנאיך, “may Your enemies scatter and those who hate You be put to flight,” are aimed at the people who believed that forces in nature are more powerful than G’d. The Torah which is deposited inside the Holy Ark testifies to the fact that G’d preceded all phenomena known to man. When the enemies of the Israelites are scattered this is the most potent proof of G’d’s having preceded all. This is the reason G’d performed so many miracles in the desert in order to demonstrate precisely in an environment which would otherwise lead people to believe that it had existed forever, that our G’d exercises full control over such phenomena. This is also the reason that the members of the Great Assembly who formulated most of our liturgy included a statement in Berachot 54 that benedictions are to be recited when one sees the ocean, the mountains, and deserts. The formula is generally: “blessed be the One Who created the universe.” The point of such a benediction is to confirm that in spite of appearances to the contrary the universe was created out of “nothing,” not out of pre-existing bodies of matter. A Midrashic approach by our sages in Shabbat 115 concentrates on the inverted letters נ in order to demonstrate that this paragraph is not in its proper place. Rabbi said that these inverted letters did not really belong here but that they signal that what is within them is really a whole Book by itself. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel does not agree with Rabbi seeing that he is on record as saying that in the future the Torah will be revised and these verses will be removed from here and be written at an appropriate place. The reason that they have been inserted here in the meanwhile is to provide a break between one disaster and the next. The first disaster was the fact that the physical departure from Mount Sinai coincided with a spiritual departure from what Mount Sinai stood for, something which occurred on the first day of the journey. The second disaster is the one commencing with verse 1 in chapter 11, that the people were looking for something to complain about. Thus far the Midrash. There are three opinions concerning this subject among our sages (according to Rashi on that folio). The first opinion holds that the appropriate place for these two verses would have been where the flags are described, adjoining Numbers 2,17. This is where the journeys are described for the first time. There the Torah mentions the Tent of Meeting, and the Ark about which these verses speak, was in the tent of Meeting. If the Torah inserted the inverted letter נ it was to alert us that these verses really belonged elsewhere. If you will count the number of paragraphs between where these two verses should have appeared and where they did appear you will find that there are fifty paragraphs between them. This is alluded to by the Torah employing the letter נ whose numerical value is 50 as the dividing symbol. The second opinion is that of Rabbi who holds that this short paragraph was written in its appropriate place in the Torah. Seeing that it is part of the journeys of the Children of Israel it is in its proper place. The paragraph had commenced with the words: “it was in the second year in the second month on the twentieth of the month that the cloud rose... and the people journeyed” (10,11). The Torah continues here to enumerate the order in which the flags were journeying. Rabbi said: לא מן השם הוא that the reason that these two verses are enclosed in these inverted letters נ is not because they appear out of context but because the message is so important that the two verses constitute a whole Book of the Torah by itself. Rabbi holds that by means of these inverted letters נ the Torah was divided into a total of seven Books, or the Book of Numbers into three Books. The Talmud in Shabbat 116 inquires who is the source for the opinion of Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmeni who reported in the name of Rabbi Yochanan that the words in Proverbs 9,1 חצבה עמודיה שבעה, ”she has hewn her seven pillars,” is a reference to the seven Books of the Torah. The answer given is that this was Rabbi’s interpretation of this verse in Proverbs. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel disagrees with Rabbi in a minor detail; he agrees that the two verses are in the right context, but believes that in the future, after the arrival of the Messiah, the sequence of these verses will be changed seeing there will no longer be any reason to recall all these disasters. Seeing that at that time the evil urge itself will have disappeared, recalling these disasters as a warning against the evil urge will no longer be necessary. The reason that these verses were inserted here in the manner in which they were inserted was to separate between one disaster and another. A kabbalistic approach: These two verses contain allusions to the entire history of this terrestrial universe, i.e. its existence of a total of 7,000 years. The hint consists of the seven times the letter א which is equivalent to אלף, 1,000, appears in these two verses. This is parallel to the very first verse in the Torah (Genesis 1,1) in which the letter א also appears seven times. [Actually in Genesis the letter א appears only 6 times in that verse, giving rise to the statement of the sages that the universe G’d created at that time was to endure in its present form for 6,000 years. (Compare Rosh Hashanah 31)]. After these 6,000 years there will be another 1,000 years during which the universe will be in ruins. We have to understand that seeing the entire Torah is built on the premise of creation ex nihilo, that just as the universe came into existence, had a beginning, it will also have an end. This is what is meant by Isaiah 44,6 quoting G’d as saying: “I am the first and therefore I am the last.” The prophet meant that just as G’d was first, i.e. before any creatures, so He will survive all creatures. This verse in Isaiah is proof that the terrestrial universe as we know it will have an end. If there would be a single surviving creature in the universe, how could G’d describe Himself as being the last? David explained this in greater detail when he said (Psalms 102, 26-27): “of old You established the earth; the heavens are the work of Your hands. They shall perish but You shall endure; they shall all wear out like a garment; You change them like clothing and they pass away. But You are the same and Your years never end.” The letter relating to the sixth millennium is the letter א in the word אלפי of the sequence רבבות אלפי ישראל. This is the sixth word in that verse. The seventh word, i.e. ישראל, in this instance alludes to a withdrawal of the forces which had kept the universe a going concern during the previous six thousand years, and a hint that during that millennium there would be ruin. This millennium is the one of which the Talmud said חד חריב, “one which is desolation.” We also find an interesting anomaly in Hoseah 9,12 where the prophet writes the word בשורי מהם spelling the word with the letter sin instead of with the shin. The idea is that the “turning away by G’d from Israel” will not be total. Seeing that the wordישראל can depict the absence of positive forces or the presence of positive forces depending on the context in which the word appears, it is possible that just as on occasion that word alludes to destruction, it may allude to reconstruction on occasion, i.e. a marshaling of positive, constructive forces. The word in our verse would therefore also allude to a rebuilding of the universe including the people of Israel. This is the mystical dimension of Psalms 24,2 על נהרות יכוננה, “He founded it on subterranean streams.” The psalmist did not write כוננה, “He founded it,” in the past, parallel to the word יסדה, in the same line where we read: “for He founded it on the oceans,” כי הוא על ימים יסדה, but יכוננה, “He will found it,” in the future. This reflects that at the beginning of this psalm David spoke about the fact that eventually the whole universe would return to the state it was in before the Creator created light. All of this proves that G’d had originated the universe not merely improved it or expanded it. You will also find that in the hymn dedicated to the Sabbath (Psalms 92,1) David said in verse 13: “the righteous bloom like the date-palm,” an allusion to an existence after the Sabbath (the seventh millennium). This is the mystical dimension of the verse in Genesis 2,3. I have already mentioned this concept when commenting on that verse commencing with the words ויכלו השמים והארץ, a verse which concludes with אשר ברא אלו-הים לעשות, “which the Lord had created in order to continue to perfect it.” The time when this will occur is “after the Sabbath,” i.e. after the seventh millennium. When David said in Psalms 72,7 that יפרח צדיק בימיו ורב שלום עד בלי ירח, “the righteous will bloom in his days and there will be much peace (well-being) until the cessation of the moon,” the meaning is that the world as we know it will continue until the great Yovel at which time the forces of nature as we know them will cease to exist. This cessation of the forces of nature will include the function of the sun and the moon. At that time the earth will revert to its state of Tohu Vavohu prior to G’d having given the directive: “let there be light.” As to the verse in Genesis 8,22: “as long as the earth will exist, seed-time, harvest-time, cold and heat, summer and winter, shall not cease” is concerned, this is merely confirmation that there is a time limit to the phenomena mentioned in that verse. The time set for these phenomena expires during the great Yovel, i.e. the seventh millennium. This is also the opinion of Solomon who said in Kohelet 1,4 “and the universe continues forever.” The word עולם used by Solomon in that verse is the עולם היובל, the “world” as perceived of as a cycle of seven Shemittah cycles followed by a year of Yovel as spelled out in Leviticus 25,8-10, where the microcosm is discussed, whereas Solomon referred to the macrocosm. All of this is due to the principle that things which have a beginning must be perceived to have an end. Solomon’s father David was of the same opinion as his son when he wrote about G’d’s handiwork perishing in Psalm 102, 26-7 whereas G’d Himself would endure. There are some verses in Psalms which at first glance appear to contradict the concept we have outlined, such as Psalms 145,1, 65-6 or Psalm 104,5 When the psalmist speaks about the phenomena mentioned enduring forever, he does not mean that they will actually endure forever but that they have been so constructed that they would not disintegrate on their own unless by an act of G’d. Seeing that we cannot perceive of the sequence of Shemittah cycles followed by the Yovel as being something which continues indefinitely, this small paragraph is encapsulated in the inverted letters נ, to indicate that such a progression as we experience will come to an end after 50 cycles. The great Yovel occurs at the end of 1,000 generations at which time the earth will revert to a state of chaos. The reason why the letter נ has been reversed is that just as when letters are written in the normal manner this is an indication of matters described by these letters continuing to exist, when you turn the letter upside down you are giving notice that what had been perceived as continuing indefinitely does in fact come to an end. In order to reinforce our appreciation of what these inverted letters mean the Torah wrote two of them in order to drive home the point, as well as in order to hint that not only earth as we know it will undergo the metamorphosis described but heaven will too. [After all, heaven was created on the second day, after the light. Ed.] The reason that the Torah wrote the word ויהי “it came to pass,” each time after one of these inverted letters נ appears is to convince us that there will be a new existence after the great Yovel during which this metamorphosis will occur. The Torah wanted us to appreciate these concepts. In order for this to become easier for us it legislated in the microcosm, i.e. in our life cycles the Shemittah and Yovel legislation concerning the sale of slaves, return of land which had been sold as the result of the owner’s distress, etc., etc. Once concepts such as Shemittah and Yovel, both of which represent different degrees of reversals of natural processes have become part of our daily lives, the macrocosmic principles which we described are much easier to visualize. Let me now try and explain to you the underlying reason for these cataclysmic events which will occur at the end of each cycle of 6,000 years and again at the end of 49,000 years. It is generally known that six of the ten emanations were active during the six days of creation. The first day was under the aegis of the emanation בינה, whereas the second day was under the aegis of the emanation חסד. The third day was associated with the emanation גבורה, and so on until the seventh day, the Sabbath, was under the aegis of the emanation יסוד. This emanation commenced its work which was to provide עונג ומנוחה, Sabbath entertainment and creative rest. The rest provided by this emanation was both in respect of the Sabbath itself and in respect of the preceding six days. When the emanation יסוד was at rest on the Sabbath, all the other emanations were at rest also. This is the meaning of Exodus 20,11 כי ששת ימים עשה ה' את השמים ואת הארץ וינח ביום השביעי, “for during (a unit of) six days the Lord made heaven and earth and on the seventh day He rested.” The words ששת ימים describe the six emanations which G’d created and employed to do His work; the “rest” occurred on the seventh day by means of the emanation יסוד. Something similar will occur at the end of the six thousand years when the cycle will repeat itself with the interval being a period corresponding to the rest of the original Sabbath. Each millennium will be under the aegis of the respective six emanations we already referred to. Seeing that every emanation has completed its work at the end of one thousand years, it follows that the world will then become chaotic seeing all the emanations are inactive. This means that in our terrestrial, or “lower” world, a world governed by the relatively low emanation בינה, continuity has come to an end, all the “lower” emanations striving to return to the emanation בינה, their immediate origin. Once this has occurred the cycle renews itself; this whole cycle of 6,000 plus 1,000 years repeats itself six times until at the end of the seventh such cycle we come to the “great” Yovel. One of the reasons that during the first six such cycles there was a relative חורבן at the end of each 6,000 years is that the emanations תפארת and כבוד which govern the orbits of sun and moon respectively, return to their immediate origin the emanation בינה, and terrestrial earth cannot function unless both sun and moon are active in their orbits. Nonetheless the seventh millennium during these six cycles does not mean total chaos, i.e. תהו ובהו, seeing that these forces will rejuvenate themselves forthwith after having received input from the emanation בינה. At the end of the seventh such cycle all emanations including the ones above בינה revert to the אין סוף, G’d’s essence, necessitating a return to total תהו ובהו in the process. This is what Isaiah referred to when he wrote: “all the host of heaven shall molder, the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll and all their host shall wither like leaf withering on a vine, etc”. Another verse in Isaiah 51,6 describes something similar happening to earth. The reason for these phenomena is the withdrawal of sun and moon, i.e. the emanation תפארת and כבוד. This subject was revealed to David in Psalm 24 where he speaks about “the earth being the Lord’s as well as all that it contains, the world and its inhabitants.” The author proceeds to show that verses 7 and 9 in that hymn describe the developments which we have been describing. [Since the author himself imposes restrictions upon himself in going into details, I will also refrain from translating the remainder of his comments on that psalm. Ed.]

And it came to pass, when the Ark set forward. There are some of our Sages who said (Shabbat 116) that these two verses constitute a book in their own right, and therefore they counted seven books in the Torah. And if you find it difficult to say: “Behold, the essence of the Torah was given for its commandments, and in this book there is no allusion to any commandment,” I will answer my portion and say that for the commandment of procreation He made a separate book, because the existence of the world depends on this commandment, and it causes the Divine Presence to dwell [among Israel], as our Sages said (Yevamot 64a): “Anyone who does not engage in procreation causes the Divine Presence to depart from Israel, as it is said, And when it rested, he said: Return, O Lord, the myriads of Israel’s thousands. This teaches that the Divine Presence does not dwell with fewer than 2,000 and 20,000 of Israel. For if Israel numbered 22,000 minus one, and this person who did not engage in procreation, it follows that they cause the Divine Presence to depart from Israel.” And this is the first commandment that Adam was commanded, for immediately after it is said (Genesis 1:27), And God created man, etc., it is written (Genesis 1:28), And He said to them: Be fruitful and multiply. So He made a special book for this commandment, to say that for the Divine Presence to dwell in Israel requires 22,000, and consequently every person of Israel should know to be careful with the commandment of procreation to fulfill this number. And there is great proof for our words from the section about the complainers which is adjacent to it, as will be explained shortly.

ויהי בנסוע הארון, “Whenever the Ark would journey, etc.” Rashi writes that this short paragraph that is bracketed within two inverted letters נ has been inserted here in order to separate one unhappy occurrence from the next one. According to his opinion the Israelites deviated from G’d’s path already during the three days of their very first march away from Mount Sinai. The group of people described as אספסוף, rabble, (11,4) already cultivated a craving for meat, thereby rebelling against the manner in which Hashem had fed the people thus far. Nachmanides has difficulty with Rashi’s interpretation, pointing out that the unhappy occurrence mentioned in verse 1 of chapter 11, preceded the craving of the people for a meat diet. This פורענות, is followed by the rabble’s craving for meat immediately, without any intervening verses in verse 4. Where then did the verses 35 and 36 in our chapter separate one unhappy event from another? Nachmanides concludes that what Rashi meant was that the moving away from Mount Sinai (verse 33) was the first of the unhappy events which occurred so frequently from now on. The Midrash describes the moving away of the people from the spiritually lofty environment of Mount Sinai as similar to a child turning its back on the books from which he is supposed to absorb useful information.

'קומה ה, seeing that during the period of their wanderings the Shechinah had been absent from its usual place above the kapporet.

'קומה ה' וגו, “rise up O Lord, etc.” this is a prayer that if enemies will gather to attack the Israelites they should be dispersed by G–d before carrying out their plans. If, for some reason they had already succeeded in massing, G–d should put them to flight. [In both instances Israel’s enemies are described as G–d’s enemies by definition. Ed.]

And when it rested, he said: Return, O Hashem; let Your Glory dwell amid the myriads of thousands of Israel.

‘שובה ה [AND WHEN IT RESTED HE SAID] שובה O LORD — Menachem ben Seruk renders it (the word שובה) by an expression denoting “rest”. Similar is (Isaiah 30:15) “In rest (בשובה) and tranquility shall ye be saved” (cf. Ibn. Ezra). רבבות אלפי ישראל [GIVE REST O LORD UNTO] THE MYRIADS OF THOUSANDS OF ISRAEL — This teaches us that the Shechinah does not rest upon Israel if they are less in number than twenty-two thousand (Yevamot 64a; Sifrei Bamidbar 84:5).

"And when it rested" (וּבְנֻחֹה) — when the Ark came to rest — written with a heh, like the heh of "to his tent" (אָהֳלָה), for the letters alef, heh, vav, and yod are interchangeable. "Return, Hashem" (שׁוּבָה ה') — Rabbi Judah, the first grammarian, said: every [form of] שׁוּב whose meaning derives from the root of return/repentance (תְּשׁוּבָה) is an intransitive verb in the kal conjugation; if its meaning is rest and tranquility, as in "In returning and rest you shall be saved" [Isa. 30:15], then likewise "Return, Hashem, to the tens of thousands of the thousands of Israel" means: may He grant them rest and let them not be vexed by the enemy. Know that "myriad" (רְבָבָה) is from the root רַב (many), and the sense is as in "I made you numerous as the grass of the field" [Ezek. 16:7]. It may be that ten thousand is so called because it is a very large number — therefore the word רְבָבוֹת is placed in construct with אַלְפֵי. Moses prayed that Hashem would give rest and peace to all Israel, even if they are many.

שובה, may Your rest be here with us, as per Psalms 132,14 זאת מנוחתי עדי עד, “this is My resting-place for all times.” Even though You will display Your presence in front of Israel in order to chase out their enemies, may the resting place of the Shechinah be in our midst. ה' רבבות אלפי ישראל, another description of an attribute of G’d, not unlike that of ה' צבא-אות אלפי ישראל. The reason why G’d is accorded the attribute “G’d of Hosts,” is only on account of the hosts (armies) of Israel.” The reason Moses said: רבבות אלפי ישראל, this is reminiscent of Psalms 68,18 רכב רבותים אלפי שנען, perhaps at that time the total number of Israelites including women and children amounted to that number.

ובנחה, “and when it came to rest, etc.” the spelling of this word appears defective and it is to be read as if it had been written with the letter ו at the end instead of the letter .ה ובנחה יאמר שובה,”and when it came to rest, he (Moses) would say: “return O Lord, etc.” This was necessary as the cloud had previously been inert. Moses wanted the cloud to actively “dwell” above the camp of the Israelites. רבבות אלפי ישראל, “unto the tens of thousands of families of Israel.” The expression means that Moses wished for the Presence of the glory of the Lord to be manifest in the midst of the tens of thousands of families comprising the Jewish people. רבבות, this is one of the words that loses the prefix letter ב, such as we find the first time already in Exodus 31,17: כי ששת ימים, which we would have expected to be: כי בששת ימים, “for during six days.” The author quotes a number of such examples, singling out: Genesis 38,11. An alternate interpretation: the meaning of the line: קומה ה' ויפוצו אויביך, “arise O Lord so that Your enemies will scatter,” is the standard prayer we ought to recite whenever engaging on a journey. The line commencing with: 'שובה ה, is the prayer to let the traveler complete his journey without mishap, so that when counting his companions he will find that none were lost during the journey. The author quotes Deuteronomy 30,3, ושב ה' אלוקיך את שבותך, “and the Lord your G’D will return with your captives, etc.,” to support his view. The word ושוב there is to be understood as if Moses had said: והשיב, “He will bring back.”

'ובנחה יאמר וגו, “and when it rested he would say, etc;” Moses would say when the cloud came to rest above the Tabernacle: ‘may the hundreds of thousands of Israelites rest in this place without diminishing in numbers. May their next departure find them without any of them being absent or missing.’ Compare (Deuteronomy 30,3)