Parshat Behalotcha- Appetite for Construction

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Weekly Mission: Parshat Behalotcha

Holy friends, this dvar Torah is meant for me as much as it is for you. So please, open your hearts…

Life is a rollercoaster. Sometimes we go up and sometimes we go down. Sometimes we reach high levels, but then we come crashing down. Throughout their existence, the Jewish people constantly lived this rollercoaster ride as the “stiff-necked-people.” We try and we fall. We try again and we fall again. How do we understand our failings and consistent struggles?

This parsha begins with the beautiful light of the Menorah and ends with the unfortunate slander which Moshe’s siblings spoke against him. What causes us to fall as individuals and as a greater community? Why do we all share, in some respect, an appetite for destruction and a battle for G-d-consciousness?

When the Jews begin journeying from Sinai, HaShem searches for a resting place for them. As they travel, the Clouds of Glory leave every moment utterly unpredictable. [i] Then, Moshe tells us some deep Torah:

When the Ark would journey, Moshe said: ‘Arise, HaShem, and let Your foes be scattered. Let those who hate You flee from You.’ And when it rested, he would say, ‘Reside tranquilly, O, Hashem, among the myriad thousands of Israel.’” [ii]

Our Sages teach us that the above verses are independent within the Torah. [iii] Moshe tells us this because he knew that we would be confronted with problems. He knew that we would try and fall, try again and fall again. Some may lock the Ark away and others may store it temporarily, but those who keep the Torah close to them will know nothing of this battle between false desires and real ones.

This appetite for destruction and battle for G-d-consciousness exists because the “foes, [which would] be scattered” initially overpowers us forcefully, and eventually we succumb willingly. The RaMBaM teaches us that when Moshiach comes, G-d-consciousness will flood the world and His existence will be clear. That is not to say that G-d is not in the world right now, but that G-d is currently hidden.

Friends, we all know that we want a deep connection to the Almighty. We all want to reach the highest of the highest, but at times, we feel that we cannot. The Torah is not meant to be examined and read solely during designated learning times. It is with us and should be with us at every juncture of our lives, regardless of how great our evil inclination may be. (This is not to say that scheduled Torah study is bad, in fact, it’s the BEST).

As the light of Shavuot guides us to the great holidays of Judgment, Atonement and Salvation, we must carry the Torah, we must fight for G-d-consciousness, and we must transform our desires for that which is de-structive to that which is con-structive.

This week I will try to: Pick myself up (again, again, and again). I will make the Torah my guide through everything, and I will realize that the foes and alien thoughts that enter our minds do so when the Torah becomes rote or when it is only evoked in isolated circumstances.

The Aleph-Bet: The Bet is the letter Reish with a firm base under it. The Reish represents high forms of spirituality with a base in the ground, which indicates that a home should share a strong and firm foundation in spirituality but also be firmly rooted with proper morals.

[i] Numbers 10:35-36

[ii] Numbers 10:35-36

[iii] Shabbos 116a

Edited by: Rachael B. Goldberg

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