We begin the fourth book of the Torah this week, the book of Bamidbar-Numbers. The commentators note that generally this book is commenced on the Shabbos immediately preceding the holiday of Shavuos. What is the unique connection between Bamidbar and Shavuos?
The Sfas Emes, Rabbi Yehudah Leib Alter, (1847-1905), points out that the first three books of the Torah represents our becoming a nation. Genesis discusses the building of individuals. Exodus paints the picture of the individuals agglutinating together as a nation, and Leviticus prepares the nation to carry out their mission as a light unto the nations. The book of Numbers is the litmus test to ascertain how the Jewish nation succeeds in their mission, and it essentially sings the praises of this fledging nation’s belief in G-d. As the Prophet Jeremiah prophesied “I remember the unfailing loyalty of your youth, the love you had for me as a bride. I remember how you followed me into the desert, into a land that couldn't be farmed.” We begin this book by recounting the loyalty of the Jewish people.
In the haftorah we take it a step further. The haftorah of this week’s parsha concludes with the prophesy in the book of Hosea. “I shall marry you (the Jewish People) to Me (G-d) forever; I shall marry you to Me with righteousness, and with justice, and with kindness and with mercy. I shall marry you to Me with fidelity; and you shall know G-d.” These verses are recited daily when phylacteries are donned.
What is this notion of marriage that we read about this week, and what exactly is our relationship with G-d in that regard? In the book Song of Songs, King Solomon discusses our relationship with G-d in the following terms, “Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and gaze upon king Solomon, even upon the crown wherewith his mother hath crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.” The Rabbis understand the verse to be discussing the Jewish nation’s unique connection with G-d. We find that our relationship is similar to that of a daughter, a mother, and a spouse. Elsewhere, our relationship is compared to a sister. What elements do a daughter, sister, mother, and spouse contain in regards to relationships, and how does it relate to G-d?
(In our relationship with G-d, we are considered the female. This is based on Maharal’s understanding that a man’s energy is in giving the form to the women’s matter. In a pregnancy process, the women have the matter, and she takes the male’s form-making potential and develops it into a higher entity. Similarly in this world, G-d gives us the potential for creativity and our mission is to develop that potential for spirituality and make into something concrete)
Rabbi Chaim Friedlander (1923-1986) in his work Sifsei Chaim, explains that this represents the natural progression in the world. For the female, she is first a daughter, then she matures and becomes a participatory sister, and only later does she become a spouse. After all of those stages she becomes a mother. Accordingly, our first level is to be a daughter who takes our parents desires and actualizes it. However this relationship is hierarchal; if a child rebels, the parent does not have nachas any more. The second level is to be a sibling to G-d; meaning, G-d is only revealed in this world inasmuch as we decide to reveal His presence. In the prayer of Shemona Esrei we praise G-d’s attributes of being Great, Mighty, and Awesome because Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob revealed those traits in the world. That relationship is like a sibling. Without us, G-d is not revealed in this world. The first two levels were achieved prior to the giving of the Torah. Only after the giving of the Torah did we achieve the next two levels: The third level is that of a spouse. We become as committed to G-d as He is committed to us. And finally, we are like a mother to G-d. This means that after the giving of the Torah, we were given the reigns to orchestrate the actions of this world. Just as a mother creates the future, we now have the ability to determine the world’s future. Our all encompassing relationship with G-d covers all the women in our lives. We connect to G-d in all ways possible, but our full commitment to G-d is most manifest in our marriage to G-d. That was when we committed to love and follow G-d in good times and in (seemingly) bad times.
In the haftorah the term marriage is mentioned three times. This represents our submission to this union with G-d in the way of intellect, emotion, and action. (Nesivos Shalom). This was achieved by our eloping with G-d into the desert. We demonstrated that we are completely committed to our new union. That is the connection between the book of Bamidbar, meaning desert, and Shavuos. This Shavuos we celebrate the anniversary of our marriage with G-d. Let’s reflect back on our multi-faceted relationship with G-d, which culminated in our marriage to G-d, and renew our vows once again!
