Parashat Behaalotecha - When the Ark Traveled

ויהי בנסוע הארון

When the Ark Traveled

The Temporary Location

One who reads the Torah portion of Behaalotecha can't help but notice two verses enclosed on both ends by an unfamiliar symbol – an upside-down letter nun. They are familiar to us from our prayers, as we recite them when we open the Ark to remove and return the Torah Scroll.

The two verses are these:

וַיְהִי בִּנְסֹעַ הָאָרֹן וַיּאמֶר משֶׁה קוּמָה י-הוה וְיָפֻצוּ אֹיְבֶיךָ וְיָנֻסוּ מְשַׂנְאֶיךָ מִפָּנֶיךָ:

When the Ark went forth, Moshe said,
"Arise, O G-d, and scatter Your enemies,

and let Your foes flee before You."

וּבְנֻחֹה יאמַר שׁוּבָה י-הוה רִבֲבוֹת אַלְפֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:

And when it came to rest, he said,
"Rest Your presence, O G-d, on the myriads [and] thousands of Israel."
(Bamidbar 10, 35-36)

Clearly, the upside-down nuns before and after this passage render these two verses one entity. For what purpose?

Our Sages revealed to us that this short passage is actually not in its correct place in the Torah. In fact, its location here is just temporary, and one day in the future it will return to its natural place. As the Gmara explains enigmatically:

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: In the future, this passage will be uprooted from here and placed in its [correct] spot. And why was it written here? So as to divide between two passages of misbehavior... (Tr. Shabbat, page 115b)

And where is its correct place? The Gmara continues:

Rav Ashi says [that its natural place is] in the Passage of the Flags.

The Passage of the Flags is at the beginning of Bamidbar, where the Torah talks about the placement of the Tribes and their flags around the Tent of Meeting, the Ohel Moed. We will discuss this in greater detail below.

Two questions now present themselves:

1. What lies behind "uprooting a passage" and "placing it in its proper place"? Will the Torah be written anew in a different fashion?
2. What does the Gmara mean when it says that in its current location, the passage "divides between two passages of misbehavior"?

Leaving the Mountain of Hashem

The passage in question, Vay'hi binso'a ha'aron, comes between two events that the above Gmara calls "misbehavior." The second one – the fire that broke out amidst the Israelites following their bitter complaining – is described very clearly right after our passage:

וַיְהִי הָעָם כְּמִתְאֹנְנִים רַע בְּאָזְנֵי י-הוה, וַיִּשְׁמַע י-הוה וַיִּחַר אַפּוֹ,
וַתִּבְעַר בָּם אֵשׁ י-הוה וַתֹּאכַל בִּקְצֵה הַמַּחֲנֶה
The people began to complain, and it was evil in G-d's ears;
He heard it and was angered,

and His fire flared out amongst them, consuming the edge of the camp.
(Bamidbar 11,1)

Israel's baseless complaints, resulting in a fiery punishment, are the second incident of misbehavior. But what was the first? The verses that appear before the enclosed passage seem to provide no clue:

וַיִּסְעוּ מֵהַר י-הוה דֶּרֶךְ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים ...
The people traveled from the Mountain of G-d, a three-day journey...
(10,33)

What was so bad about this journey?

Let us compare this journey with how Bnei Yisrael traveled from the Red Sea after the great miracle there. The Torah states Moshe drove Israel from the Red Sea (Shmot 15,22), that is, Moshe led them away against their will. But here, when leaving Mt. Sinai, the Torah states The people traveled, on their own. At the Red Sea, the people were occupied with the wealth they took from Egypt and did not want to leave so fast; this is why Moshe had to lead them out. But after they received the Torah, they left on their own – Why? What reason did they have for leaving Mt. Sinai so quickly?

The Gmara asks this question, and states that when the Children of Israel traveled away from the mountain of G-d, it means they "strayed away from G-d." Further elaboration is found in the Medrash Yalkut Shimoni (also mentioned in the Ramban's commentary on the Torah, as well as the Tosafot's commentary on the Gmara), which states that the problem was that "they left Mt. Sinai happily, like a boy running away from school."

How are Bnei Yisrael leaving Mount Sinai to be compared to a child running away from school?

We must first analyze why a boy runs away from school. He does this because he does not like being given assignments, or told what to do, or forced not to do this and yes to do that! He hates feeling that he is losing more and more of his freedom with every minute that he remains in school.

The source of the problem is that he does not realize that the teachers want only what is best for him. He fails to see that they are trying to give him the tools with which he will be able to succeed in the challenges of life. And why does he not understand this? Because he has no trust in the educational system. He may not have the proper tools, or it could be that his teachers did not know how to engender his trust in them.

The solution for this child will come when his faith in his teachers is restored. We must imbue in him the sense that everything they are doing is for his own future welfare. If we succeed in having him understand this, we can prevent his downhill slide into resistance, antagonism, and estrangement.

How does this relate to Bnei Yisrael after Mt. Sinai? They, too, ran away from Mt. Sinai, where they had received the Torah, all too eagerly – and the reason was because they feared that Hashem would add more commandments, prohibitions and restrictions. They simply did not have enough trust in G-d; they did not internalize the fact that all His commandments are for our sake.

The Gmara's comparison between Har Sinai and school teaches us to internalize the fact that the Torah and its mitzvot were given to us so that we will be able to earn eternal life. The commandments stem from G-d's love for us, and certainly not from the opposite, Heaven forbid.

Running away from Hashem and failing to grasp His love and concern for us – this is the first "misbehavior" that the Gmara was talking about.

As a Man Carries His Son

Moshe Rabbeinu made this same point when he rebuked Israel in the beginning of the Book of Dvarim. Addressing Bnei Yisrael as he was about to take final leave of them, Moshe said:

וַתֵּרָגְנוּ בְאָהֳלֵיכֶם וַתֹּאמְרוּ בְּשִׂנְאַת י-הוה אֹתָנוּ הוֹצִיאָנוּ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם
לָתֵת אֹתָנוּ בְּיַד הָאֱמֹרִי לְהַשְׁמִידֵנוּ

You complained in your tents, saying,

G-d brought us out of Egypt to be destroyed by the Emorites
because of His hatred for us.

(Dvarim 1,27)

We see here, quite shockingly, that the Children of Israel had lost more than their trust in Hashem; they actually felt that He hated them! It is almost inconceivable that they have deteriorated to such a distorted view of their relationship with Hashem! Moshe knows that this terrible mistake must be corrected in order for Israel to advance.

It appears incredible that Israel could actually have been under such a misimpression. Could any of them have really thought, after all the miracles and wonders that G-d did for them in breaking King Pharaoh's yoke upon them, rescuing them from torturous bondage, and bringing them to eternal freedom – that this was all just to wipe them out??

How could it be that just weeks and months after not a hair on their heads was harmed throughout the Ten Plagues that hit the Egyptians, and after the Red Sea split open for them as they evaded the pursuing Egyptian army – they would feel that G-d hated them?!

It was precisely this point that Moshe said when he prayed for them after the Sin of the Golden Calf. He asked that Hashem not destroy them, lest the nations say:

הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתָנוּ מִשָּׁם מִבְּלִי יְכֹלֶת י-הוה לַהֲבִיאָם אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָהֶם
וּמִשִּׂנְאָתוֹ אוֹתָם הוֹצִיאָם לַהֲמִתָם בַּמִּדְבָּר
"G-d was unable to bring them to the land He promised them, and because of His hatred for them He took them to die in the desert."
(Dvarim 9,28)

Perhaps the Gentiles might say this – but how can the Nation of Israel even think such a thing??

And what is the truth? How do we see that Hashem does in fact love us? The answer is that He carried us on His shoulders, so to speak, the entire way, out of total love and concern for us. The following story bears out this point with great clarity:

A man dreamt one night that he was walking along the seashore, together with an angel from the Heavens. He then sees a picture-history of his life. In each scene, he sees two pairs of footsteps in the sand - one pair left by him, and the other one made by the angel accompanying him. But he notices that in some scenes, those that represented the sadder and more difficult periods of his life, when he truly required extra help, there is only one set of footsteps. "What happened to my angel?", he wonders.  

The man turns to the angel and says, "You promised that you would walk with me and accompany me throughout my life. So why did you leave me all on my own precisely when it got hard and I needed you more than ever?"

The angel answered: "My son, I love you and would never leave you. The times when you saw only one set of footsteps - they weren't yours; that was me carrying you."

Similarly, Moshe assures Israel that Hashem is always with us and wants what is best for us. The footsteps in the wilderness are only those of Hashem. As Moshe tells us:

וּבַמִּדְבָּר אֲשֶׁר רָאִיתָ אֲשֶׁר נְשָׂאֲךָ י-הוה אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ
כַּאֲשֶׁר יִשָּׂא אִישׁ אֶת בְּנוֹ בְּכָל הַדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר הֲלַכְתֶּם
And in this desert in which you saw how Hashem your G-d carried you,

just like a man carries his son, all the way in which you walked.
(Dvarim 1,31)

But Moshe then adds this admonishment:

וּבַדָּבָר הַזֶּה אֵינְכֶם מַאֲמִינִם בַּי-הוה אֱ-לֹהֵיכֶם
And in this thing you do not believe in Hashem your G-d

(verse 32)

"This thing" that Moshe is referring to is exactly this point that we have been discussing, as the next verse continues:

הַהֹלֵךְ לִפְנֵיכֶם בַּדֶּרֶךְ לָתוּר לָכֶם מָקוֹם לַחֲנֹתְכֶם
בָּאֵשׁ לַיְלָה לַרְאֹתְכֶם בַּדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר תֵּלְכוּ בָהּ וּבֶעָנָן יוֹמָם
[G-d] goes before you to scout out a place for you to stay,

in fire by night to show you the way to go, and in a cloud by day.

Moshe scolds Israel: "Precisely at the same time that you were running away from Him, for fear that He might add extra mitzvot, He was busy finding you a place to lodge! He is the One Who activates the fire and the cloud in order to guide you through the dangerous wilderness!"

The Torah's commandments are not in order to restrict and suppress us, but rather the opposite: They were given for our benefit, in order that we gain eternal life. This is the reason why there are so many of them. This cannot be emphasized enough, and that is why, just before we sanctify G-d's Name with the Kaddish prayer, we repeat so many times in our synagogue prayers this Mishna from Pirkei Avot (6,11):

1. Chanina ben Akashya says: Hashem wanted to benefit Israel, and therefore He gave them much Torah and many commandments.

Let us now return to the passage Vay'hi binso'a ha'aron. Just two verses before it, we read that the People of Israel traveled for three days when leaving the mountain of
G-d. What was Hashem doing during this period? The same verse that recounts how Israel "ran away" continues as follows:

וַאֲרוֹן בְּרִית י-הוה נֹסֵעַ לִפְנֵיהֶם דֶּרֶךְ שְׁלשֶׁת יָמִים לָתוּר לָהֶם מְנוּחָה
And the Ark of the covenant of the Lord was traveling before them
for three days, to find them a resting place.

(Bamidbar 10,33)

We see that precisely as Israel was so negatively misinterpreting G-d's intentions towards them, Hashem was seeking a resting place for them.

We can now understand much more clearly what the Gmara meant in saying that the Ark's travels were recounted here as a break between two passages of misbehavior. The first misbehavior was Israel's lack of trust in G-d's love for us, and the second was bitterness and complaining against G-d. The lesson is that if we would have put the brakes on our spiritual decline immediately after running away from Mt. Sinai, by learning from the Ark passage how Hashem loves us and wants only what is best for us, we could have prevented the second type of misbehavior: the sin of complaining against Hashem, which led to a furious fire amidst them.

By the same token, we would also have been able to prevent the sin of lusting after meat, which occurred right after the fire (Bamidbar 11,4).

This also explains the Gmara's words that in the future, the Vay'hi binso'a passage will be relocated to its proper place. It doesn’t mean that the Torah will be rewritten. Rather, the day will come when Israel will recognize Hashem's kindness constantly upon them; they will no longer stray after other gods, and consequently, they will not be punished. The task of the Ark of the Covenant will then be to fight Israel's wars and, from its position in the center of the Israelite camp, to unite them into "one nation in the land."

The Upside-Down Code

Where is the correct place for Vay'hi binso'a ha'aron? We saw in the Gmara above that it is in the beginning of Bamidbar, where we read about the manner in which the tribes encamped and traveled with their tribal flags. Rashi says that it belongs right after this verse:

וְנָסַע אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד מַחֲנֵה הַלְוִיִּם בְּתוֹךְ הַמַּחֲנות כַּאֲשֶׁר יַחֲנוּ כֵּן יִסָּעוּ אִישׁ עַל יָדוֹ לְדִגְלֵיהֶם
Then the Tent of Meeting shall set out,
[with] the Levite camp, in the center of the other camps.
Just as they camp, so shall they travel;
each person in his place, according to their flags.
(Bamidbar 2,17)

It makes sense that the verse describing the travel of the Ark would appear here. But why is the symbol for this dislocation an upside-down nun of all things?

Rabbeinu Bachye has a fascinating explanation. He says that there are precisely 50 Torah passages (paragraphs, beginning either on the same line [s'tumot] or on a new line [p'tuchot]) between Vay'hi binso'a's present location and its designated spot in the future, in Chapter 2 of Bamidbar. In numerology (gematriya), the letter nun is equal to 50 – and the upside-down version of the nun tells us that we must go backward 50 passages until we reach the proper location for Vay'hi binso'a ha'aron.

The Eighty-Five Letters

Let us continue to delve into these two remarkable verses.

Turning again to the above-quoted Gmara in Tractate Shabbat, we read there about what may and may not be saved from a fire that breaks out on the Sabbath. One is not permitted to save too much, for then he might lose control and put out the fire altogether, which is of course a Biblical prohibition on the Sabbath. Among the items permitted to be rescued are holy writings, including even a Torah scroll that is missing most of its letters, as the Gmara states:

A Torah scroll that is worn away, but has 85 letters that can be salvaged, just like in the passage of Vay'hi binso'a ha'aron, should be saved from a fire [that broke out] on Sabbath. But if there are not 85 letters, then it is not saved on the Sabbath.

As long as there are at least 85 letters, we are permitted to save it. Where does the number 85 come from, and why is it the minimum number of letters rendering a Torah scroll holy? The answer is that it is the number of letters in the Vay'hi binso'a ha'aron passage, as can be seen here:

וַיְהִי בִּנְסֹעַ הָאָרן וַיּאמֶר משֶׁה קוּמָה י-הוה וְיָפֻצוּ איְבֶיךָ וְיָנֻסוּ מְשַׂנְאֶיךָ מִפָּנֶיךָ:
וּבְנֻחֹה יאמַר שׁוּבָה י-הוה רִבֲבוֹת אַלְפֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:

When the Ark went forth, Moshe said,
"Arise, O G-d, and scatter Your enemies, and let Your foes flee before You."
And when it came to rest, he said,
"Rest Your presence, O G-d, on the myriads [and] thousands of Israel."
(Bamidbar 10, 35-36)

The Ark of the Covenant, bearing three things – the Name of G-d, the name of Israel, and the Torah, i.e., the covenant between G-d and Israel – is that which must accompany Israel both when they come in and when they go out. It "escorts them out" to battle and on their journeys, and "brings them in" back home to their single, unified camp.

We thus see that G-d's Divine leadership over Israel is the essence of the sanctity of the Ark of the Covenant and of the Torah Scroll.

The number 85 is the sum of 63 and 22. What do these numbers symbolize? Let us begin with 22 – the number of letters in the last phrase of this passage:

שׁוּבָה י-הוה רִבֲבוֹת אַלְפֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:

Rest Your presence, O G-d, on the myriads [and] thousands of Israel.

In addition to these 22 letters, the meaning of the words myriads [and] thousands comes out to 22,000. This is because the minimum plural is two: two myriads equal 20,000, and two thousands are 2,000 – for a total of 22,000.

And the Gmara, in fact, notes that the Shechinah - the Divine Presence - only rests upon at least this number of Jews:

The Divine Presence does not rest upon Israel if there are fewer than 22,000 Jews (Tr. Bava Kama, 83a).

We see here a parallel based on the number 22, between the number of letters and the number of people. Not only that, but when Moshe counted the Levites, he found that they numbered 22,000 – for they, as leaders and guides of the nation, attained the minimum number required for the Divine Presence to rest upon Israel

As mentioned, the passage of Vay'hi binso'a ha'aron contains a total of 85 letters. If we take off the above 22, we are left with 63. What does this number hint at?

It hints at the total number of Jews in the wilderness - some 603,550. That is, 60 myriads and 3 thousands, in keeping with the first verse which mentions myriads and thousands.

Incidentally, this is one of the reasons why the people were counted three times in the desert: in the first year, then again in the second year after the Sin of the Golden Calf, and finally, in the 40^th year, after the original generation had died out. The total always came out the same – showing the significance of this number, which we know for short as shishim ribo, "60 myriads."

It therefore comes out that the passage we are studying - Vay'hi binso'a ha'aron - hints at both the total number of Israelites (63) on which the Divine Presence rested, and the number of Levites (22), including Cohanim, on which the Divine Presence rested, in recognition of their sacred service and teaching of the nation.

This is why this passage is considered a significant entity in and of itself, as the above Gmara continues:

Rebbe (Rav Yehuda HaNasi) disagreed and said: "The upside-down nuns are not for that reason [because the passage is in the wrong place], but rather because this passage is a book in and of itself." (Shabbat 116a)

That is to say, there are not five Book of Moses, but rather seven: B'reshit, Shmot, Vayikra, the first part of Bamidbar, Vay'hi binso'a ha'aron, the rest of Bamidbar, and Dvarim.

Based on this, the Gmara goes on to say:

1. Shmuel bar Nachman said in the name of R. Yonatan: "The verse in Proverbs 9,1 that mentions 'its seven pillars' refers to the seven books of the Torah." According to which Tannaitic teacher was that taught? - According to Rebbe [as we have just seen].

The Nation of Israel is a living and dynamic book in and of itself, with the souls of Bnei Yisrael serving as its letters. They are represented by a minimum of 85 scattered letters that remain in a torn and tattered Torah scroll, which allow the scroll to retain its sanctity.

In short:

This wondrous passage of Vay'hi binso'a ha'aron, set off by upside-down nuns before and after it, incorporates within it G-d's great concern for His People Israel. It describes how His Ark goes before them to fight their enemies, on the one hand, and to bring peace amongst them, on the other hand. The verses also allude to the very number of Jews in the nation. It is therefore clear why we ascribe such importance to these verses, reciting them in the synagogue when the Holy Ark is opened and closed.