Bamidbar – Once Upon a Week

Read the transcript below, or watch a video of the teaching by Yehuda Bachana.

This week we begin a new book of the Torah. This book is filled with dramatic and painful events, pain and confrontations. We will learn about Korah and the sin of the spies. We will also learn about Balaam and Balak. Then we will learn about the brass serpent, and after which we will be blessed by the special Aaronic blessing.

The Torah Portion Bamidbar opens with the instructions for the census, where everyone is counted. It is easy to imagine the wilderness - a place with no clear borders, without rules. The census is the exact opposite and brings law, order and authority.

At the beginning of our Torah Portion, we read the list of names and numbers, organized by tribes. Every tribe has its special place in the camp and a specific marching order on their journey through the wilderness. All men are organized according to their tribe and family. They travel and stop under their own banner. And so, structure is made.

In a month and a half, we will read the Torah portion Balak. We get the impression that the system works. The children of Israel are well-organized and Balaam has a hard time finding a loophole in order to curse the people of Israel and cause division. Balaam moves from place to place, overlooking Israel from every angle from a vantage point; yet, all he sees is order. He sees Israel organized by tribes and families, every man under his own flag. Finally, Balaam blesses the people of Israel with the famous blessing:

It is very possible that the wilderness actually helped to unite and strengthen the nation. The book of Numbers shows order, organization, and mutual responsibility in contrast with chaos, rebellion and confrontation.

We were supposed to be in the wilderness for a couple of years, but then came the sin of the spies. During the first two years, God rebuilt the people of Israel. He instilled hope in them and taught them partnership and collective responsibility.

After all, Israelites were a nation of slaves. They were insecure people who lacked self-respect and the nation was stained by foreign culture and idolatry. How can this be fixed? By being in the wilderness! In a sterile area, a place between cultures, without any outside influence. It was in that very setting that God gave us a common project in which everyone was asked to participate and help building. The Tabernacle was the greatest national project and it led our people to unity and partnership.

In our Torah Portion every individual is counted. God shows that everyone is important and everyone matters. One man plus another and one more… together we become a nation. The census was not only done for the purpose of order. It also served the human need to belong and it helped to build people’s self-esteem.

The children of Israel were not counted as slaves or prisoners. Rather, they were counted by their clans, as part of the tribe they belong to.

The census helped build up our identity, because our initial identity lies within our family: the place we belong to in every way, as a primary source of our self-worth. We commonly say and hear phrases like: “My dad does so and so”, or “My grandmother immigrated from…”. These are phrases and stories told with pride, family pride.

The census instruction has an important addition: "Listing every man by name, one by one" (1:2) Some explain this by saying everyone would say his own name, which was then written in a book, and then these names were counted. If the names were indeed counted in such a way, the question arises why it was done in such complicated and inefficient manner. The answer is obvious, as each person has his own name, by which he is called.

Everyone was in unity, acting according to the command, either stopping and setting up the camp, or getting up and starting to march ‘under his flag’, the flag of his tribe. Each flag consists of elements that represent that specific tribe. Our rich tradition describes these flags.

For example, Reuben’s flag was red with a picture of mandrake, and Simeon’s flag was green with a sword and a gate of Shechem. Tradition also describes the flag of Levi with the priestly breastplate on a red and black background.More important than the color and symbols on the flags, was the sense of belonging that each flag gave to the people. The flags also granted self-esteem. Naturally, the tribes proudly waved their flags.

From my military service, I know the proud feeling of displaying our flag and emblems. We would also paint the army base with the unique colors of our unit. Today, as a reservist, I am proud to pass hats and t-shirts with the emblem of my unit to my kids and it fills me with pride to see them wear these. This is the pride of the unit.

I imagine that the same pride filled the hearts of the children of Israel in the wilderness, because the flag is very important. Today every country has laws about its flag and how it is supposed to be treated. Israel has the ‘Flag, emblem and national anthem law’, which defines how, when and where the flag must be waved. This law also states that it is a criminal offense to damage our national flag.

The importance of a flag as a national symbol, and its status, is expressed by Theodor Herzl, visionary the State of Israel, in his third letter to Baron Hirsch:

People live and die for their flag. A well-known Hebrew saying, literally translated as ‘called to the flag’, means to contribute, to give of yourself - and yes - at your own expense, for the sake of the vision and for the sake of the State.

Today we live under the flag of Israel. What is the idea behind it? What is the story of the Israeli flag? David Wolffsohn, who designed the flag of Israel, said:

Simply stated, the flag of our country is our prayer shawl.As followers in Yeshua, as Messianic believers, not only are we ‘called to the flag’, meaning, called to serve our vision. We are also called to be a flag, to be a lighthouse, to shine the light of Yeshua, the light of the Torah and bring people closer to faith. According to Yeshua’s words, in Matthew chapter five:

People are supposed to be inspired by us to improve their lives and come closer to God. Yeshua’s command here is very clear: people should see us: our faith, our joy, and our deeds, and through them come to know God.This means we should be kind and patient. We should also demonstrate love, joy, peace and purity, The New Testament even command to:

Now, how does a person achieve this joy?

Through belonging and mutual responsibility. We learnt these from our journey through the wilderness; however, the way to achieve true joy and peace is when our conscience is clean, without a spiritual debt to God or man. When our conscience is clean, we are at peace.

This is the reason for us as Messianic believers, to point to Yeshua. He has the power to clear our conscience. He is able to fill us with joy. And we are interested in sharing this knowledge and this joy. We want to help the entire humanity to find peace in Yeshua.

Is having faith in Yeshua like magic? I mean, if I accept Yeshua, will I automatically feel happy? In a sense, yes. Let's imagine a person lost in the dark. This person is not happy, but rather worried. As soon as this person finds the right path, his feelings improve immediately. He has not yet reached his destination, and still needs to walk and make an effort; yet, his spirit is filled with renewed strength. Faith, too, can renew our strength, enthusiasm and joy as Yeshua’s light shines on our path.

Of course, we still have to walk and strive to keep the words of Messiah. Yeshua is our rock. He is our confidence. As believers that confidence lies in the actual application of the Word of God. This is the purpose of the journey of Israel through the wilderness. To break away from the evil Egyptian culture and its idols. To flourish spiritually and physically and achieve success.

Faith is good, it is the foundation. Faith is perhaps the most important step in a person’s life, but the goal is to apply the word of God to our lives. It is not enough to be a member of a Messianic congregation, as it is not enough to be a regular participant in a synagogue.

Prayer in the synagogue or in the congregation ends quickly. The question is not how the person behaves inside his house of prayer, but how the person behaves outside. As Messianic believers our congregations are meant to equip our members with knowledge, to teach the Word of God and to equip people with life tools, which we can use in situations and problems that we all face. The local community is like the extended family where we help and support each other.

Yet, as in any extended family, we all need to participate. There is no such thing as taking without giving. That is unhealthy. Only through an active partnership and the feeling of ownership, we read about in the Book of Exodus, can we build a healthy and functional society.If anyone thinks that it is enough to go to the house of prayer from time to time and that that alone will make God happy with him, he is probably wrong.

The question is: do you use your talents to take care of your family and friends? If not, what are you good for? How can you add to the success of your family and your congregation? And, viewing the Messianic community as ‘our’ family: how do you contribute to the development of our community?

This question reminds me of the story about a rich uncle who owns a factory, and his lazy cousin. The cousin begs his rich uncle to give him a job. Obviously, no position suits the cousin, as he is unwilling to do anything. Finally, the rich uncle tells his cousin: "Okay, you can stay at the factory, but please do not interfere with the work, as you slow everyone down. All you have to do is not to bother the other workers. Just wait for the first of the month. Go to the accounting office and get your salary. That's it."

One day an inspector came to check the order of things and the efficiency of the factory. He asks everyone about his or her job description, receiving a detailed account of why that worker is important and contributes much to the factory. Obviously, each worker tries to show how important his work is and how much he contributes to the factory.

Eventually came the turn of the lazy cousin, explaining: “All I have to do is to hang around the factory doing nothing: not touching anything nor disturbing anyone. I just wait for the first of the month to get my salary.”

What will we answer when The inspector comes to check how we function, looking into our responsibilities, inquiring how we contribute to our surroundings? We need to think about this question, and preferably provide an answer. I think this is the reason why Messianic believers are so active at so many charities, helping and serving the sick and poor, soldiers, students, new immigrants and in fact nearly every group of people.

As believers in Yeshua the Messiah we are God’s workers and we need to participate in His work. Starting with our families, and from there growing and reaching out to the extended family: our congregations, our communities, and then to our tribe and country.

We belong to a certain tribe and its flag. We are required to serve the entire tribe, the entire community. In my case, I belong to the Messianic Jewish tribe of Israel. I am parked under the Messianic flag. I am part of this movement. And at the top, of course, is our national Israeli flag and our duty to respect and serve this flag, to pay taxes and when necessary, also to be called to serve the flag in military uniform.