Bamidbar Chapter 10

Bamidbar Chapter 10: The Silver Trumpets and the Command for All Generations

Introduction: Where the Travel Narrative Begins

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’dorot [a commandment for all generations], a mitzvah which will be for the generations, will be always, not only a mitzvah now. So unlike the entire order of the machaneh [camp], the order of the camps, where everyone should be which are mitzvot but not mitzvot that are always going to last, not mitzvot 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’dorot, 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 Tekiat Shofar [blowing the shofar] on Rosh Hashanah, 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.

The Command to Make Two Silver Trumpets

The Basic Instruction

So what we get is like this, we get as a command, Hashem speaks to Moshe telling him to make two chatzotzrot [trumpets], two, some kind of trumpet or horn or something out of silver, make mikshah [hammered work], so fully silver or it’s a style of making, we have it in Melekhet HaMishkan [the work of the Tabernacle], by the Menorah mikshah [the hammered Menorah].

Understanding Mikshah: Subtractive Manufacturing

Rashi always interprets this as being not poured, so not there’s a masekha [casting], masekha 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 masekha, 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.

The Two Functions of the Trumpets

And now these chatzotzrot will have two functions, two goals, two jobs. One is l’mikra ha-edah [to call the congregation], you will call together the people by this, and the second is l’masa ha-machanot [for the journeying of the camps], 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 asifah [gathering], 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 l’mikra ha-edah or you’re announcing l’masa ha-machanot. 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.

The Signal System: Different Blasts for Different Purposes

Both Trumpets: Full Assembly

And that’s what it says, v’taka’tem [and they shall blow], they will blow on these, they will use these trumpets, and kol ha-edah [the entire congregation] will come to you, the entire community, I’m not sure if kol ha-edah means literally every person, it might mean only something like, sometimes ha-edah means something like the important people, the representatives of the community, and they will come together to the petach Ohel Moed [entrance of the Tent of Meeting], 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-Ohel Moed, 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 tekiah [blast].

One Trumpet: Leaders Only

Then, v’im b’achat yitka’u [if they blow with one], so we just heard that there’s two chatzotzrot, 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-edah, but the nesi’im [princes/leaders], the leaders, the roshei alfei Yisrael [heads of the thousands of Israel], the leaders or the generals, we could call them sometimes, if alfei Yisrael 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.

Teru’ah for Travel

Then, it says that, so that’s the mikra edah, right, we’re calling that. Now, there’s the description of the masa machanot, how does the sounding of the trumpets work for masa machanot, so it says u’tka’tem teru’ah [and you shall blow a teru’ah], if you blow one teru’ah, and it might be a different sound, of course, Chazal [the Sages] interpret teru’ah by shofar as a different kind of sound, so they understand the taka’tem as one kind of a simple sound and teru’ah as a more complex sound, or there’s a, we famously forgot or don’t know exactly how to do it, but teru’ah as some kind of more complex sound, and that seems to be what it says here, because it says later that there’s tik’u v’lo tariu [blow but do not sound a teru’ah], it repeats itself, for the hakahal [the assembly], for the getting together, just the kios [blowing], some kind of simple sound, or we could just interpret as just making noise, just the sound, and then teru’ah as when there’s some kind of elaboration, some kind of complexity in the sound.

The Order of Travel Signals

And therefore there is, that is the sound that they made, it’s going to be a sign for the masa ha-machanot, 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 teru’ot, so there’s one teru’ah, and then the camps who are encamped in the front, Keidmah Mizrach [eastward], in the east will travel, they’re the first, then the second teru’ah, and then the camps encamping to the right, or Darom [south], or to the south, will travel, and it repeats itself, teru’ah yitke’u l’mas’eihem [they shall blow a teru’ah for their journeys], u’l’hakahal tik’u v’lo tariu [but for the assembly blow but do not sound a teru’ah], and we don’t have yet over here, the next two machanot, or the Mishkan, 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 teru’ah, or once everyone saw the first two goings, they follow along, they don’t need a teru’ah for that.

The Kohanim as the Blowers

Now there’s a comment, who is the one doing the blowing, who is the one doing the sounding, it’s Bnei Aharon [the sons of Aaron], it’s the Kohanim [priests], that’s their job, so interesting, they have this extra job, although this is not like a job of the Kodesh [holy things], it’s nothing to do with the Mishkan, seemingly, it’s their job to blow the shofar, and this will be l’dorotekhem [for your generations], this will work, this will be a law forever for their generations.

The Eternal Application: War and Celebration

In Times of War

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 machaneh as a preparation for war, and these tekiot [blasts], 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-tzar ha-tzorer etchem [against the enemy who oppresses you], for any enemy, you will blow with the chatzotzrot.

But here there’s something new added, it says, v’nizkartem lifnei Hashem Elokeikhem, v’nosha’tem me’oyveikhem [and you shall be remembered before Hashem your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies], 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 Kohanim, that’s why the Kohanim 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.

On Days of Joy

And we see another thing, that this is not only for times of war, it’s also for times of happiness. U’v’yom simchatkhem u’v’mo’adeikhem u’v’rashei chodsheikhem [and on your days of joy and on your appointed times and on your new months], on days of happiness, it doesn’t give an explicit date when, or mo’adim, which are set days of happiness, right? We assume that this means yamim tovim [holidays], u’v’rashei chodsheikhem [and on your new months], Rosh Chodesh [the new month], you will blow the chatzotzrot, al oloteikhem v’al zivchei shalmeikhem [over your burnt offerings and over your peace offerings], on your sacrifices, on the olah [burnt offering], or on the shelamim [peace offerings], which are the main sacrifices, and also v’hayu lakhem l’zikaron lifnei Elokeikhem [and they shall be for you as a remembrance before your God].

Interpreting the Practical and Ritual Dimensions

Ibn Ezra’s Interpretation of Yom Simcha

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 [day of joy] might mean just the day where they leave, when they come back triumphantly from the war. So in the yom ha-tzarot [day of troubles] 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 mo’adim, the set yamim 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.

The Practical Function of Festival Announcements

Or even mo’adim, 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 dorot, as just another two instances of the tekiah, which is the, sorry, of the [blowing].

The Emotional Distinction: Teru’ah vs. Tekiah

And we can see the difference in teru’ah and tekiah, right, the teru’ah, which is l’masa ha-machanot [for the journeying of the camps], which is for war, so teru’ah is the, this is where we get the idea of teru’ah, 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 tekiah, and that’s where you have tekiah, and that’s the, like l’mikra edah, which is a happy occasion, it’s not a scary occasion, it’s not a tense occasion.

Rosh Chodesh as Announcement

And then we could also understand that these, in a celebration for a chag [festival], 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’hayu lakhem l’zikaron [and they shall be for you as a remembrance], 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 s’vara peshutah [simple logic], that the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Chodesh, and just, 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 Beit Din [court] decides that it’s Rosh Chodesh, at least that’s how we know from Chazal, it doesn’t say in the pasuk [verse], but it might be, that is over here, with the tekiah, and therefore we have to let everyone know that’s Rosh Chodesh, and that sets the dates for the chagim to come.

And then there’s an ending, there’s a

The Meaning of Tekiah as Celebration

And then the happiness, which is the tekiah [trumpet blast], and that’s where you have tekiah, and that’s like the Mikra Kodesh [holy convocation], 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 seder 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 Beit Din [rabbinical court] decides that it’s Rosh Chodesh, or at least that’s how we know from Chazal [the Sages]. It doesn’t say in the pasuk [verse], but it might be remez [hinted] over here with the tekiah. 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 [I am Hashem your God], like many parashiot [Torah portions] in Vayikra [Leviticus] and Bamidbar [Numbers].

The Travel Narrative Begins

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 [journey], and it gives us a date, the second year, the second month, the 20th of the month. So five days after Pesach. After Pesach Sheni [the Second Passover], na’aleh anan [the cloud rose up], the cloud went up from the Mishkan, and the people traveled after it from Midbar Sinai [the Wilderness of Sinai]. They went to Midbar Paran [the Wilderness of Paran], and this is where their first travel, al pi Hashem b’yad Moshe [by the word of Hashem through the hand of Moshe].

And it gives us, on the first trial, of course, we don’t get this repeat for every one. But in Parashat Masei [the Torah portion of Masei], 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 niggun [melody] to read it in the niggun v’shirah [melody of song], 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.

The Detailed Order of the First March

Degel Machaneh Yehuda — The Eastern Camp

We have Degel Machaneh Yehuda [the Banner of the Camp of Judah], which is led by Nachshon ben Aminadav [Nachshon son of Aminadav], together with Yissachar, with Netanel ben Tzuar [Netanel son of Tzuar], together with Zevulun, Eliav ben Chelon [Eliav son of Chelon].

The Mishkan Components Travel

And now we have the process of the Mishkan, right? So we discussed that the Mishkan had Gershon and Merari, 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 yeriot [curtains]. And then Kehat, which is in charge of the vessels, the internal parts of the Mishkan.

So first, the first step is the Mishkan gets taken down, and the Gershon and Merari travel with it, with their agalot [wagons], which we’ve discussed earlier. And then, so that’s first, right? First, the first machaneh [camp] is Degel Machaneh Yehuda, that’s the kedem [east], which we discussed, they go first. Then the Mishkan, number two.

Degel Machaneh Reuven — The Southern Camp

And then Degel Machaneh Reuven [the Banner of the Camp of Reuven], which is teimana [south], on the right side, on the south, which is with Elitzur ben Shedeur [Elitzur son of Shedeur], the leader for Reuven, with Shimon, Shelumiel ben Tzurishadai [Shelumiel son of Tzurishadai], with Gad, Elyasaf ben Deuel [Elyasaf son of Deuel].

The Kehat Travel with the Vessels

And then after the second one, the Kehat, 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 Bnei Gershon and Merari are traveling with the building of the Mishkan, a step before, Bnei Kehat 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 Bnei Gershon and Merari will be setting up the Mishkan. And then by the time the Kehat arrives, there’ll be a Mishkan in which to put in the vessels of the Mishkan.

Degel Machaneh Ephraim — The Western Camp

Okay, and then we have the third one, Degel Machaneh Bnei Ephraim [the Banner of the Camp of the Children of Ephraim], traveling with Elishama ben Amihud [Elishama son of Amihud], together with Menasheh, with their leader Gamliel ben Pedahtzur [Gamliel son of Pedahtzur], together with Binyamin, Avidan ben Gidoni [Avidan son of Gidoni].

Degel Machaneh Dan — The Rearguard

And then the last one is Bnei Dan [the Children of Dan] in the back, and it gives us a title, me’asef l’chol hamachanot [the gatherer of all the camps], the gatherer of all the machaneh, so we can understand that something like the Bnei Machaneh Dan, 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 me’asef l’chol hamachanot, so Rashi says, like, people lost something, they would find it. In other words, it’s protecting their rear.

And together with their leader, Achiezer ben Amishadai [Achiezer son of Amishadai], together with Asher, with Pagiel ben Ochran [Pagiel son of Ochran], together with Naftali, with Achira ben Einan [Achira son of Einan], eileh masei Bnei Yisrael [these are the journeys of the Children of Israel], l’tzivotam vayisa’u [according to their legions, and they traveled].

The Dialogue with Chovav/Yitro

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, Chovav, the son of Re’uel. Of course, a new name. We’ve heard of him in Parashat Yitro, his name was Yitro. Here, his name is Chovav, 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 Yitro was their site guide in the desert. We learned also in Parashat Shemot, Moshe was taking the son of Yitro, achara hamidbar [behind the desert]. It seems like these were locations which the Midianites, or the people, Yitro was a leader of some sort, a Midian, a kohen Midian [priest of Midian], right? A priest of Midian must have known about how to navigate and so on.

So he says, where Yitro 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, hatovah asher ya’aseh Hashem imanu v’heitavnu lach [the good that Hashem does with us, we will do good to you], the good that God gives us, we will give to you good.

The Mystery of the Conclusion

It doesn’t give us the conclusion of this dialogue. Of course, in Parashat Yitro, it says explicitly that Yitro, which might have, yes, or not been the same as Chovav, has went home. Vayeilech lo el artzo [and he went to his land], over here, it seems that he stayed. And also in Sefer Yehoshua [the Book of Joshua], it seems like the children of Chovav, choten Moshe [father-in-law of Moshe], explicitly are said to get their prize. So this v’heitavnu lach, this that Moshe promised him a part in the land, was fulfilled in Sefer Yehoshua. So it’s not clear what’s the story with this dialogue. There’s some mystery in this.

The Ark Traveling Ahead — A Difficulty

Then we have a report. They travel from Har Hashem [the Mountain of Hashem], from Midbar Sinai, right, for three days. Aron [the Ark] is traveling three days in front of them. This is another kind of difficulty because a minute ago, we had the Bnei Kehat, who are the ones carrying the Aron, 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 anan Hashem [cloud 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.

Moshe’s Poetic Declarations

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 parshiot have things like this. They’re like somewhat fragmentary reports of the travels in the Mishkan, in the midbar [wilderness], 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 Bamidbar, that there is a story of the wars of Moshe and the desert on the way to Israel, 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 Aron was traveling, so Moshe had these two statements, two poetic, both are set in the meter of poetry.

When the Ark Travels

When the Aron travels, Moshe says, Kumah Hashem [Rise up, Hashem]. So that’s like Hashem represented in the Aron, stands up, v’yafutzu oyvecha [and let Your enemies scatter], and his enemies spread out, v’yanusu m’sanecha mipanecha [and those who hate You flee before You].

When the Ark Rests

U’v’nucho yomar [and when it rested, he would say], when the Aron sits back down or gets back to its place, Moshe says, Shuvah Hashem [Return, Hashem]. So rest, Hashem, or something, come back down, rivevot alfei Yisrael [to the myriads of thousands of Israel], along with the rivevot alfei Yisrael, with the armies of Israel, which are now resting.

So that’s showing how the Aron, with Moshe’s speech, is leading the wars, and they’re starting and stopping the traveling and camping of the Mishkan, of the midbar. So that is this chapter.