As we end Bamidbar, the Torah presents us with a list of Israel’s journeys on their way in the desert. At first glance the list appears exhausting, representative of the forty years of hunger, danger, rebellion and punishment. Rashi, however, provides a different picture.
"Why were these encampments recorded? To indicate God's great compassion… Do not think that they were in constant motion from one encampment to the next for the entire forty-year period and had no respite whatsoever. In fact, there are only forty-two encampments listed here."
Rashi goes on to point out that fourteen of the journeys took place in the first year and the final eight took place in the fortieth year. He concludes:
"Thus, over the course of thirty-eight years, there were only a total of twenty encampments (42–14–8=20)."
Many read the book as one of endless catastrophe, with the narratives of the people’s greed, the spies, and Korach’s rebellion, amongst others, marring the journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in Israel.
Rashi’s insight dramatically challenges this approach. True, tragic episodes occurred. But considering the book as taking place over the span of forty years, these episodes were in fact relatively rare.
As Jeremiah tells it, when God looks back on the desert experience, He says to Israel, "I remember the kindness of your youth, your bridal love, how you followed Me in the desert, in a land unsown."
Bamidbar should thus be viewed as a period of harmony and intimacy. Perhaps the message that we can take at this moment is the bigger picture: even as we find ourselves in a moment of true distress and dislocation, to appreciate that on the wider canvas of 40 years, our experience is one that we should be profoundly grateful for.
-- Rabbi Joe Wolfson
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