Moshe's Children

In the Torah portion of Bamidbar the verse states:[1] "These are the children of Aharon and Moshe on the day that G-d spoke to Moshe on Mount Sinai. These are the names of Aharon's sons - Nadav, the firstborn, Avihu, Elazar and Isamar."

In commenting on the words "These are the children of Aharon and Moshe," Rashi notes: "He only mentions Aharon's children."

So why is Moshe included here?[2]

Rashi goes on to explain that Aharon's children are also called Moshe's children, inasmuch as "Whoever teaches his friend's son Torah is considered as if he bore him."[3] Since Moshe singled out Aharon's children for instruction before he taught the rest of the populace,[4] Aharon's children are considered as if they were Moshe's.

Rashi goes on to comment on the words "on the day that G-d spoke to Moshe": "They [then] became his children, for he taught them that which he learned from the A-lmighty."

What is Rashi adding to his previous explanation that by Moshe teaching Aharon's sons Torah they are considered his?

Rashi is addressing the following difficulty: The verse explicitly states "These are the children of Aharon and Moshe," i.e., they are Moshe's children to the same degree that they are Aharon's. However, these were Aharon's children in the literal sense and Moshe's only in the figurative sense - "Whoever teaches his friend's son Torah is considered as if he bore him." How, then, are they considered Moshe's children to the same extent as they are Aharon's?

This, Rashi says, is addressed when the verse goes on to state "on the day that G-d spoke to Moshe": It stresses, Rashi explains, that the Torah Moshe taught Aharon's children was identical to that which he learned from the A-mighty. This Torah study therefore caused such a mighty impact that "they became his children, i.e., Moshe's teaching transformed their spiritual being, and they literally became his.

The explanation is as follows. In preparation for Mattan Torah, G-d instructed Moshe to tell the Jewish people: "Now if you obey Me and keep My covenant, you shall be My special treasure among all nations ... You will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation to Me."[5]

Mattan Torah thus brought about a radical change within the Jewish people, to the extent that our very being underwent a fundamental transformation. Prior to this, we were a nation "among all nations," but through Mattan Torah we became exceptional and distinct - a "special treasure among all nations," "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

This is why Mattan Torah involved G-d revealing Himself to us with might, "mighty sounds ... flames ... and the blast of the shofar."[6] The Ten Commandments as well were heard by the Jews from "the mouth of the A-mighty."[7] This brought about a change in our very being.

Since our becoming a "special treasure" is connected with Mattan Torah and depends on "keeping My covenant," i.e., "observing the Torah,"[8] it is to be understood that the power that Mattan Torah has to change the being of the Jew was placed within Torah.

Rashi therefore emphasizes "for he taught them that which he learned from the A-mighty:" Since the Torah that Moshe taught Aharon's children was the Torah that he himself had learned from the A-mighty, it had within it the power of Mattan Torah, the power that can change the very being of a Jew. Aharon's children were therefore considered Moshe's own, for he truly bore them in a spiritual manner.

But wasn't this aspect of Torah already accomplished within all Jews at the time of Mattan Torah? What special dimension was added when Moshe later singled out Aharon's children for instruction?

Rashi provides the answer by stating, "for he taught them that which he learned from the A-mighty." In order to bring about a spiritual rebirth through Torah, it is not enough to merely hear the words, even as the Jewish people heard the first two of the Ten Commandments directly from G-d. Rather the Torah must be learned and absorbed.

This was accomplished when Moshe "taught them that which he learned from the A-mighty." Moshe not only related the other eight commandments to the Jewish people, he taught it to them in a thorough manner.[9] Since he learned with Aharon's children in particular, they in particular are considered his children.

Based on Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXIII, pp. 8-13.

   

Notes:

1. (Back to text) Bamidbar 3:1-2.

2. (Back to text) See also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XIII, fns. to pg. 9.

3. (Back to text) Sanhedrin 19b.

4. (Back to text) See Rashi, Shmos 34:32.

5. (Back to text) Shmos 19:5-6.

6. (Back to text) Ibid., 20:15 and commentary of Rashi.

7. (Back to text) Rashi, Shmos 19:19, Bamidbar 15:22.

8. (Back to text) Rashi, Shmos 19:5.

9. (Back to text) See also Devarim 5:24, and commentary of Rashi.

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In Preparation for Shavuos

The portion of Bamidbar is always read before Shavuos, the festival of the giving of the Torah.[1] One reason[2] for this is to interpose a Torah portion between the admonishments found in Bechukosai and the giving of the Torah.

Another reason for reading Bamidbar before Shavuos is that the matters discussed in the portion directly relate to one's preparations[3] for receiving the Torah.

The general content of Bamidbar is the census taken during the second year of our sojourn in the desert. So important was this event that the entire fourth book of the Torah is known as the "Book of Counting."[4]

The Midrash[5] explains that G-d commanded the Jews to be counted because they are of singular importance to Him: "They are likened to a mound of wheat. Just as wheat is counted before it enters the storehouse, so too G-d commanded that the Jewish people be counted often."

The Midrash must be better understood. A person counts his wheat in order to know exactly how much he has. G-d, however, surely knew how many Jews there were without a census. Why then did He ask that they be counted?

The Shaloh explains[6] that the very act of counting the Jewish people gave them importance and revealed their qualities; it made them "an object of numeration," and the law is that "an object of numeration cannot become nullified."[7]

But this too must be understood. The reason for the above law is because counting individual objects denotes their singular importance; they thus cannot be nullified. So it is not the counting itself that makes an object impervious to nullification. Rather, counting merely serves as an indicator that the object is truly important.

Since the Jewish people are worthy of being counted, being intrinsically an "object of numeration," even if they had not been actually counted their importance would have endured. Why then was the count necessary?

The effect of Mattan Torah, G-d's giving of the Torah, was to connect the spiritual with the physical. Commandments performed up to that time did not sanctify the physical objects with which they were fulfilled.[8] Mattan Torah empowered the Jewish people so that their performance of mitzvos would refine the physical world itself.

Since the Jews' service following Mattan Torah made the world holy, it follows that the qualities of the Jewish people needed to be revealed in a way such that the world became cognizant of them.

If the importance of the Jewish people - revealed through their being counted - had remained in a spiritual state, they would nonetheless have retained their importance and not been nullified. But their power would have been limited to the service of G-d as it related to them personally; they would not have been able to affect the world itself.

It was therefore necessary for the Jews to be actually counted, for their importance was thereby revealed in a way that was clearly perceived by the physical world. It then became possible for them to have a positive spiritual impact on the world as a whole.

This also explains the connection between the Torah portion of Bamidbar and the giving of the Torah:

By actually being counted, and thus having their importance revealed in a tangible manner, the Jewish people in turn were able to sanctify the entire world through their study of Torah and the performance of its precepts, transforming the world into a dwelling place for G-d - the ultimate intent of Mattan Torah.

Based on Likkutei Sichos, Vol. IV, pp. 1019-1020.

   

Notes:

1. (Back to text) Tur and Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 428:4.

2. (Back to text) Tosafos, Megillah 31b.

3. (Back to text) See Rambam, Hilchos Tefillah 13:2.

4. (Back to text) Yoma 68b.

5. (Back to text) Bamidbar Rabbah 1:4. See also Rashi at the beginning of the Torah portion.

6. (Back to text) 347ff.

7. (Back to text) Beitzah 3b and citations ad loc; Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 110:1; Shulchan Aruch Admur HaZakein, Orach Chayim 447:20.

8. (Back to text) See Shir HaShirim Rabbah, chapter one, on the verse, L'Reiach Shemonecha. See also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. III, section of Lech.