Bamidbar 5776 (Shabbat Mevorchim for Chodesh Sivan in Israel only)

Appetizers for the Torah Portion of Bamidbar   

Excerpted and Translated from the the Teachings of Rabbi Gershon Steinberg ztz"l
L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben Chaim ztz"l

The Chumash of Bamidbar is also called the Chumash of Counting (i.e. similar to the idea of calling it the Book of Numbers in English) because within it is written the number of all of the children of Israel.

"Their counted ones, for the tribe of Dan: 62,700"  (Bamidbar 1:39)

The Chafetz Chaim says that when we read in the Torah Portion of Vayigash "the sons of Dan, Chushim" (Bereisheet 46:23) , we pity him because he had only one son, but in the Torah Portion of Bamidbar we see that the tribe of Dan had the largest number after the tribe of Yehudah, and from this we see the great importance of one soul in Israel.

"Their counted ones for the tribe of Dan: 62,700" (Bamidbar 1:39)

It is said that Dan would always request from his father to pray for him, and Binyamin, who had 10 sons, did not request that he pray for him.  After the event of the Pilegesh B'givah there remained in the tribe of Binyamin only 600 people, and from this we see that a person always needs to pray.

"As they camped so they traveled".  (Bamidbar 2:17)

The Ramchal says, there are people who when they are in their homes act strictly with all the Jewish laws and when they go outside on a journey they take matters lightly.  And the opposite case is also true, there are people that when they are at home, take matters lightly, but outside of their houses they act strictly in front of the eyes of the public to show others that they are righteous.  Therefore the verse says, "as they camped so they traveled", that one should behave with the same behavior whether at home or outside.

Haftora:  

"And the number of the children of Israel will be like the sands at the sea".  (Hoshea 2:1)

 And in the Torah it is said also "like the stars of the heavens".  Stars of a necessity are separated one from the other because every star is a world unto itself, and if G-d forbid one star would crash into another, entire worlds would be destroyed.  In contrast to this, the sand at the sea is not able to exist unless every grain of sand attaches itself to another one, for each grain by itself would be washed away by the waves of the sea and made to vanish.   But the gathering together of all the grains of sand into one body generates a powerful opposing force to the waves of the sea.  Similarly for the children of Israel: if each one of them is like a complete world in and of himself, similar to the "stars of the heavens", on the other hand, they don't have any existence except when they are united together like the sand on the shore of the sea (Mayana Shel Torah - from one of the great Mussar sages). 

The Torah Portion of Bamidbar has 159 verses.  Haftora: "V'haya mispar yisrael" (Hoshea 2) 

This is Shabbat Mevorchim for the Month of Sivan (in Israel only). The Molad is Yom Rishon at the time 11:44.  Rosh Chodesh is on Yom Shlishi (Tuesday).

Pirkei Avot Chapter 6. 



May you all have a light-filled and happy Shabbat.  Shabbat Shalom.

L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben R' Chaim ztz"l, Nilkach L'Bait Olamo Yud Gimmel Tishrei 5772