Bamidbar & Shavuot

The Torah Portion of Bamidbar:

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", 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). 

Chag HaShavuot:

"Moshe received the Torah from Sinai".  (Avot 1:1)

Why was it not written "at Sinai"?  The Bartenura explains that the intention is, from the One who was revealed at Sinai, and that is the Holy One Blessed Be He.  The Tiferet Yisrael explains that the word "Sinai" implies humility, since that mountain was lower than the other mountains, and that is why is says "from Sinai";  one needs to learn from Moshe who was humble and then he will have great success in the Torah.  The Sages say that the mountain of Moriah was removed from its place and came to the mountain of Sinai, in order that the Torah would be given on it, for it was worthy that the Torah should be given on the place where Yitzchak was bound (at the Akeidah). 

Megillat Ruth: 

Ruth, the Moabite woman, lived until Shlomo Hamelech as it was written "and Shlomo put a chair for the mother of the king", and that chair was for Ruth. Shmuel the prophet wrote Megillat Ruth in order to tell of the ancestry of David.   And the reasons we read Megillat Ruth on Shavuot are : 1) Because David was born on Shavuot and died on Shavuot. 2) Because the Torah is not given except through suffering and poverty, and that is similar to what Naomi and Ruth experienced. 3) In order to strengthen the Oral Torah, since it is written in the Torah "An Ammonite and a Moabite should not come into the congregration of Hashem", and the Sages said "An Ammonite man and not an Ammonite woman, A Moabite man and not a Moabite woman", and that is an example of Oral Torah.  And it is from this which we learned in the Oral Torah that Ruth the Moabite woman was permitted to get married to Boaz. 

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

Chag HaShavuot:  Two Torah Scrolls are taken out.  In the first, 5 men are called for reading in the Torah Portion of Yitro, "Bachodesh hashlishi".  In the second, the Maftir is read from the Torah Portion of Pinchas, "Uvayom habikurim".  Haftora: "Vayehi beshloshim shana" (Yechezkel 1) until "Kol midabair", then skipping to Chapter 12 verse 3.

L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor ben R' Chaim ztz"l

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!