After concluding Sefer Vayikra, we can look back and feel how it is packed with weight: korbanos, tumah and taharah, kedushah, and structure. It is the sefer of rules, boundaries, and order, where everything is defined and has its place.
Then, when we open Bamidbar it feels like the weight slips away.
The parsha is technical and feels like reading a census report, with a history lesson on the formation of the encampments in the desert. There are a lot of names, numbers, flags, and instructions, without any drama or added stories. It feels dry and distant, so if you search for something to grab onto, it will be hard to find.
A friend pointed out that this is the whole point. After all, they were in a desert and there there isn’t anything to hold onto there, except oneself.
The midbar is more than a location, it is a spiritual condition where everything is stripped down to its most basic form. It is a stage where all we have is Hashem and the possibility of something new.
The midbar is the s…
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