Bamidbar Chapter 10

Okay so today we are reading Bamidbar chapter 10. Now what we have in this chapter is we can debate where really the chapter should have started or where this part of the book should start. But I think this is where the next part of the book starts which is the story of the actual travels in Bamidbar. We could have started this a little earlier. I think it probably starts in the middle of the previous chapter where we started to have the form of the travels with the cloud raising up and coming back down and staying. But now we have something framed as a mitzvah and also in some sense a mitzvah l’doyris, a mitzvah which will be for the generations, will be always, not only a mitzvah now. So unlike the entire order of the makhna, the order of the camps, where everyone should be which are mitzvahs but not mitzvahs that are always going to last, not mitzvahs that we do always. This is a mitzvah that although it has a very explicit, very interesting kind of mitzvah, precisely because although it has a very explicit source or framing in this story, it’s very explicitly timed there. On the other hand, it’s very also explicitly told to be a mitzvah for l’doyris, a mitzvah for the generations, for always. So this is something to think about why this is that. Maybe the only mitzvah that has this kind of framing connects of course to the mitzvah of Tikesh Sheifei and Hashashanah, although it’s not explicit here but we can understand that it’s connected. So that’s one place in which to connect it in something important. So what we get is like this, we get as a command, Hashem speaks to Moshe telling him to make two chatzayitzres, two, some kind of trumpet or horn or something out of silver, make mikshah, so fully silver or it’s a style of making, we have it in Melech Samishkan, by the Manoira Mikshah, Rashi always interprets this as being not poured, so not there’s a masecha, masecha is when you pour gold or some precious metal and you form it into something, a mikshah is when you do the opposite, so what’s known in modern terms as subtractive manufacturing versus cumulative or additive manufacturing. So a masecha, when you pour something that’s called an additive manufacturing, you add the material to some kind of form and make that, versus subtractive manufacturing which is where you have a material and you cut things off until it becomes like that, or you form it by itself into like that, and that seems to be the more beloved form by the Torah for whichever reason, mikshah, but anyways, or maybe it just might be that it was considered to be stronger or better that way. And now these chatzayitzres will have two functions, two goals, two jobs. One is le-mikr ha-ayda, you will call together the people by this, and the second is le-masecha ha-machnas, you will make the travel, and really they’re both the same, right, they both have the same function which is to, it’s a kind of alarm, it’s to let the people know that something is going on, you’re either letting them know that they could come together for some kind of a sifah, they’re coming together to learn the Torah or to hear some new command, or they’re coming together or hearing that there’s being traveling now, so it’s not really a difference, but it’s just a different thing that it’s being used to announce, either you’re announcing le-mikr ha-ayda or you’re announcing le-masecha ha-machnas. But as we’ll see, there’s a difference in the signal, they’re going to give a different signal based on these two things. And that’s what it says, v’sakibayn, they will blow on these, they will use these trumpets, and kol ha-ayda will come to you, the entire community, I’m not sure if kol ha-ayda means literally every person, it might mean only something like, sometimes ha-ayda means something like the important people, the representatives of the community, and they will come together to the pesach ha-almayed, which was the place set aside, so obviously this was done in advance, they set aside the place to come together, that’s called ha-almayed, means also something like a meeting place, so they might have, that’s where they had the meetings. Now, so that’s the regular, so that’s the first kind of tikkia. Then, feyim ba-achas iskoi, so we just heard that there’s two chatzaitzer, there’s two trumpets, and obviously we’ll be able to hear, even far away, or however far the people were, that there was, they were blowing with both, but if they blow only with one, then not everyone will come, not the kol ha-ayda, but the nesiyim, the leaders, the rosh ha-alfayisral, the leaders or the generals, we could call them sometimes, if alfayisral means like a military division, they will come to Moshe, that’s like a lesser, it’s not such a general assembly, it’s an assembly of the leaders. Then, it says that, so that’s the mikra-ayda, right, we’re calling that. Now, there’s the description of the ma-sa-a-machnas, how does the sounding of the trumpets work for ma-sa-a-machnas, so it says iskatem trueh, if you blow one trueh, and it might be a different sound, of course, Chazal interpret trueh by Seufer as a different kind of sound, so they understand the katem as one kind of a simple sound and trueh as a more complex sound, or there’s a, we famously forgot or don’t know exactly how to do it, but trueh as some kind of more complex sound, and that seems to be what it says here, because it says later that there’s tisko, velosir, it repeats itself, for the hakolah, for the getting together, just the kios, some kind of simple sound, or we could just interpret as just making noise, just the sound, and then trueh as when there’s some kind of elaboration, some kind of complexity in the sound, and therefore there is, that is the sound that they made, it’s going to be a sign for the ma-sa-a-machnas, for the travel, and each, and then it’s described how the process of travel is sort of formed, is sort of led by these truehs, so there’s one trueh, and then the camps who are encamped in the front, Keidmo and Mizrach in the east will travel, they’re the first, then the second trueh, and then the camps encamping to the right, or Durem, or to the south, will travel, and it repeats itself, trueh yiskil ma-sa-a-m, over hakolah sakal, tisko velosir, and we don’t have yet over here, the next two ma-chnas, or the mishkam, which goes after them, we’ll see in the next part, in the next part of the chapter, there is a description of the full, all four or five parts of the travel, but here, it seems like it’s just, maybe we could understand ourself that later they will do another trueh, or once everyone saw the first two goings, they follow along, they don’t need a trueh for that. Now there’s a comment, who is the one doing the blowing, who is the one doing the sounding, it’s Bnei Haran, it’s the Kehanim, that’s their job, so interesting, they have this extra job, although this is not like a job of the Koedesh, it’s nothing to do with the mishkam, seemingly, it’s their job to blow the shoyfer, and this will be L’Dorei Sechem, this will work, this will be a law forever for their generations, and what will be the law? It says like this, when there will be a war, so here we can imagine that this is all about war, since we’ve been interpreting all of the story of the ma-chnas as a preparation for war, and these Tkia, as also, they need an alarm to get together the army, to come together, either for a gathering, or for the Masa, which is basically a war, so they’re saying that this will not only be here now, it will be everywhere, there will be a war in your land, al ha-tsar ha-tserezchem, for any enemy, you will blow with ha-tsar ha-tserezchem, but here there’s something new added, it says, v’niskartem lefnei Hashem lekeichem, v’nish’atem me’eveichem, so here it seems that this sounding is not only a practical thing, as we would have understood until now, but it has a ritual aspect, or it has a prayerful aspect, that also causes that they will be remembered by God, or in front of God, and will be helped from their enemies. And possibly this is also why it’s the job of the Kehanim, that’s why the Kehanim are the ones that have to do this, because they are the ones that are responsible for prayer, for things that have to do with receiving the blessing of God for what they’re doing. And we see another thing, that this is not only for times of war, it’s also for times of happiness. v’yemsem chaschem av me’adeichem v’rashech ha-tserechem, on days of happiness, it doesn’t give an explicit date when, or me’adeim, which are set days of happiness, right? We assume that this means yom ha-tovim, v’rashech ha-tserechem, anash chodesh, you will blow ha-tsar ha-tserezchem, al ha-tserezchem, v’azif ha-shmeichem, on your sacrifices, on the eule, or on the shlom, which are the main sacrifices, and also v’oylechem, nizekol nefnei lekeichem. We could still interpret these also as having some kind of practical effect, because of the reason, which is that firstly, we can understand one thing that Ibn Ezra says, that this yom simcha might mean just the day where they leave, when they come back triumphantly from the war. So in the yom ha-tserechem that’s described there as going out of the war, we could understand that yom simcha is just the return from the war, which is probably also, I mean, in reality we also see that all the me’adeim, the set yom ha-tovim, are basically days in which we came back from war, like in some sense Pesach, or the later holidays are more clear, Chanukah and Purim, which are not mentioned in Torah, but they also have the same structure, that we won a war, or some kind of war, and therefore we announced it. Or even me’adeim, even if they’re a set time, just like three times a year, we have a mo’ed, there’s still a need for announcing it, right, it’s just a gathering, it’s just one more instance of gathering. So we can understand these last two things, which are the doyris, as just another two instances of the tkiyya, which is the, sorry, of the, and we can see the difference in tru’a and tre’a, right, the tru’a, which is namas ha-machnas, which is for war, so tru’a is the, this is where we get the idea of tru’a, there’s a more sad or more serious kind of sound, because it’s the preparing for war, and then the happiness, which is the tkiyya, and that’s where you have tkiyya, and that’s the, like le’mek ra’ayda, which is a happy occasion, it’s not a scary occasion, it’s not a tense occasion. And then we could also understand that these, in a celebration for a haldeh, we also need to call the people, like you have to know if they come, so it could be understood in the same way, although it says when you scout them, v’nei shem lekech, which again adds the, we call it the vertical aspect here, the divine aspect, it still might have this simple function, also reshkhoidesh we could understand as a serendipity, that the blue sheyfra reshkhoidesh, and just, it seems like just to let people know that it was reshkhoidesh, since reshkhoidesh is something that the people have to know, the peasant decides that it’s reshkhoidesh, at least that’s how we know from chazal, it doesn’t say in the Pusik, but it might be, rem is over here, with the tkiyya, and therefore we have to let everyone know that’s reshkhoidesh, and that sets the dates for the haldehs to come. And then there’s an ending, there’s a

This is where we get the idea that there’s a more sad or more serious kind of sound because it’s the preparing for war. And then the happiness, which is the tkia, and that’s where you have tkia, and that’s like the Mekra’id, which is a happy occasion. It’s not a scary occasion. It’s not a tense occasion. And then we could also understand that these, in a celebration for a holiday, we also need to call the people. Like, you have to know if they come. So it could be understood in the same way, although it says, which, again, adds the, we call it the vertical aspect here, the divine aspect. It still might have this simple function. Also, Rosh Chodesh, we could understand as a Ser and a Mishnah, that they blew shofar at Rosh Chodesh. And it seems like just to let people know that it was Rosh Chodesh, since Rosh Chodesh is something that the people have to know, the Besan decides that it’s Rosh Chodesh, or at least that’s how we know from Chazal. It doesn’t say in the Pesach, but it might be Rames over here with the tkia. And therefore, we have to let everyone know that’s Rosh Chodesh, and that sets the dates for the holidays to come. So, and then there’s an ending. This is, there’s a signature in this, Parashani Hashem lakaichem, like many parashias in Be’ek Lava Midbar. Now we have, after all the laws, so this is why, this is another place where we could start the story if we want. After all the laws, we have the actual beginning of their travel. The first travel, the first Masa, and it gives us a date, the second year, the second month, the 20th of the month. So five days after Pesach. After Pesach Shani, Na’ale Onan, the cloud went up from the Mishkan, and the people traveled after it from Midbar Sinan. They went to Midbar Podan, and this is where their first travel, Api Hashem Be’ad Moish. And it gives us, on the first trial, of course, we don’t get this repeat for every one. But in Pesach’s Masa, we get something like 40 or 42 different stops that they made. We don’t get this one, this elaboration for every one. But for the first one, we get the whole exact process. And when we read it, it’s the minute to read it in the Nischa Vashira, because again, I think this is a poetic, it’s not adding any information, it’s just adding the poetry of the great celebration, sort of like they’re actually starting to travel. We have Degel Machan Yehuda, which is led by Nachish Man Minodav, together with the Esascha, with Nisaneh Ben Suar, together with Ezuel, Mosaleh, and Menchailen. And now we have the process of the Mishkan, right? So we discussed that the Mishkan had Gershon Amaruri, which were charged on, respectively, on the wooden parts, the hard parts of the Mishkan, the soft parts of the Mishkan, we can call them, the fabrics, the iris. And then Kahath, which is in charge of the vessel, the internal parts of the Mishkan. So first, the first step is the Mishkan gets taken down, and the Gershon Amaruri travel with it, with their Agolas, which we’ve discussed earlier. And then, so that’s first, right? First, the first Machan is Degel Machan Yehuda, that’s the Chayidim Kedmo, which we discussed, they go first. Then the Mishkan, number two. And then Degel Machan Reuven, which is Taimona, on the right side, on the south, which is with Elitza Ben Shader, the leader for Reuven, with Shimon, Shlemuel Ben Tzershadeh, with God, Eliezer Ben Deuel. And then after the second one, the Kahath, who carry the Mishkan here, means the vessels of the Mishkan travel. And then says, In other words, we can understand that the reason why this was split in two steps, in other words, the B’nai Gershon Amaruri are traveling with the building of the Mishkan, a step before, B’nai Kahath are coming after the next group of people with the vessels of the Mishkan, so that when they arrive at their stopping station, then the B’nai Gershon Amaruri will be setting up the Mishkan. And then by the time the Kahath arrives, there’ll be a Mishkan in which to put in the vessels of the Mishkan. Okay, and then we have the third one, Degel Machne B’nai Ephraim, traveling with Elishim Ben Amir, together with Menasheh, with their leader Gamil Ben Bedetzeh, together with Ben Yom Menahavid and Ben Gidoni. And then the last one is B’nai Don in the back, and it gives us a title, Ma’aseh B’tchola Machne, the gatherer of all the Machne, so we can understand that something like the B’nai Machne B’nai Don, that there’s a, this is called the vanguard and the rear, right? These are specific functions within a camp that travels. Then the first people have a certain function and the middle is like the main body. And then the rear has the function of taking care of whatever the rear takes care of. It’s called Ma’aseh B’tchola Machne, so Rashi says, like, people lost something, they would find it. In other words, it’s protecting their rear. And together with their leader, Achiez Menah Mishaday, together with Menasheh, with Bagil Ben Ochron, together with Naftali, with Akhil Ben Einan, these are Eileh Ma’aseh B’nai Yisrael, and Tzvai Samvai Yisrael. Now, there is two interesting, or three interesting pieces still in this chapter. One is an interesting dialogue between Moshe and his father-in-law, Khaivav, the son of Re’uel. Of course, a new name. We’ve heard of him in Pashas Yisrael, his name was Yisrael. Here, his name is Khaivav, the son of Re’uel. And Moshe asks him to travel with them. He says, we’re going to travel to the place where Hashem has promised to us, which He’s told us we’ll give it to you. Come with us and we’ll give you, we’ll be good to you, because Hashem has promised us good. And his father-in-law says, no, I will not go, I will go to my place, to my birthplace. And Moshe again begs him, please don’t leave us, because you have known our camping in the desert. In other words, it seems like Yisrael was their site of guide in the desert. We learned also in Pashas Shemois, Moshe was taking the son of Yisrael, Ahara Midbar. It seems like these were locations which the Midianites, or the people, Yisrael was a leader of some sort, a Midian, a current Midian, right? A priest of Midian must have known about how to navigate and so on. So he says, where Yisrael and I am, you’ll be eyes, in other words, you’ll be a guide for us. And if you come with us, He promised them, HaToivah, Oshiet, Vashemimon, Yitavnilach, the good that God gives us, we will give to you good. It doesn’t give us the conclusion of this dialogue. Of course, in Pashas Yisrael, it says explicitly that Yisrael, which might have, yes, or not been the same as Hoivoth, has went home. Vayadach le’al artzah, over here, it seems that he stayed. And also in Sef Yishua, it seems like the children of Hoivoth, Chayis and Moshe, explicitly are said to get their prize. So this Yitavnilach, this that Moshe promised him a part in the land, was fulfilled in Sef Yishua. So it’s not clear what’s the story with this dialogue. There’s some mystery in this. Then we have a report. They travel from Har Hashem, from Midbar Sinai, right, for three days. To Oren is traveling three days in front of them. This is another kind of difficulty because a minute ago, we had the Bnei Kahas, who are the ones carrying the Oren, and the Mishkan, as it said here, traveling in the middle. And here, suddenly, they’re traveling three days ahead. So there’s another mystery or question about what’s going on. And the Keralt of Hashem is on top of them as they travel another, how does this exactly connect with the Mishkan and so on? That’s another question. Now, we have the end. And I think that this is the way we should read all these, the next few chapters, the next few Parshis have things like this. They’re like somewhat fragmentary reports of the travels in the Mishkan, in the Midbar, of the wars that they had, of what’s going on. We don’t have a full account of this. This is why I said in my beginning of Sefer HaMidbar, that there is a story of the wars of Moshe and the desert on the way to Yisrael, which seems to not be entirely part of the story that we know. We’re missing something. We’re missing the basic narrative of the story. It seems to not be important. In any case, we get a poetic report, a very poetic report. And we say this, of course, when we take up the Torah. They even said, and when the Oden was traveling, so Moshe had these two statements, two poetic, both are set in the meter of poetry. When the Oden travels, Moshe says, Kuma Hashem. So that’s like Hashem represented in the Oden, stands up, V’futzevach, and his enemies spread out, and enemies run away from him. V’nustum Sanecham Panechah. V’nochi ha’imem, when the Oden sits back down or gets back to its place, Moshe says, Shuvah Hashem. So rest, Hashem, or something, come back down, R’vay Salf Yisro, along with the R’vay Salf Yisro, with the armies of the Eden, which are now resting. So that’s showing how the Oden, with Moshe’s speech, is leading the wars, and they’re starting and stopping the traveling and camping of the Mishkan, of the Midbah. So that is this chapter.