פרשת נשא וענייני קבלת התורה
The end of this week’s Parsha discusses the inauguration of the Mishkan and all of the twelve tribes’ respective offerings that were brought to commemorate this occasion. One can’t help but notice (being that this is the longest Parsha in the Torah) the glaring redundancy of the recorded offerings. The Torah literally repeats the same paragraph twelve times with a mere name change at the beginning of each paragraph. Would it not have sufficed to simply state that all twelve of the tribes’ leaders brought the same offering?
The Ramban offers two fascinating resolutions to this issue. The Ramban explains that if the Torah were to simply say that all twelve tribes brought the same offering, perhaps it would have offended one or many of the tribes that the Torah lumped them all together when each one of them worked so hard to make his offering special. Since we know that God chooses to distribute honor to those who fear Him, the Torah didn’t feel that it would be appropriate to simply record their offerings in one verse.
The second possibility that the Ramban suggests is that since each tribe’s leader put a unique intent into his offering, it would not be appropriate to list their offerings together in the same sentence. Each tribe put their exclusive talents and prayers for the future into their offering, making it only suitable for the Torah to list each one’s offering in a separate paragraph.
We may cull from this Ramban two solid foundations for all eternity. From the first explanation of the Ramban, we see to what extent the Torah takes into account people’s honor and how far Hashem goes to make sure that there is a feeling of equality between the Jewish people. Even for the smallest chance that one of the tribes may have felt slighted, Hashem put twelve extra paragraphs in the Torah. Obviously, we are expected to emulate Hashem in this way and to foster feelings of love and equality and go out of our way to make sure that these feelings exist in Klal Yisroel. This is not only true for the “big things”, but even for the small day-to-day interchanges, we should be sensitive to this quality, as we see from the Torah itself.
From the second point of the Ramban, we see that although it is inappropriate in Judaism to “stand out” and draw attention to ones self, there is a “kosher” way that one may, and indeed is required, to express his individuality – and that is through his mind! Although on the outside, we are all expected to perform the same commandments, with the same physical actions, each and every Jew has a unique mind which is capable of thoughts and depth that no other Jew before him or after him can accomplish. This is why each one of the twelve offerings, although seemingly similar on an external level, was indeed completely unique based on the intent that was injected into it. The level of holiness and purity which one puts into his personal thoughts during his service of God is what defines a Jew’s uniqueness.
The Midrash combines these two points of the Ramban into an exciting mélange which has practical applications in our daily lives. The Midrash explains that truthfully, the tribes were permitted to offer any kind of offering they desired for this particular occasion. Yet they, on their own, chose to each offer up the identical offering, fearing that anything special or different might in some small way, take away from the honor of their brethren. They did this at great personal self-sacrifice because ostensibly, it would mean them losing their sense of individuality. Perhaps this can be compared to the famous prayer of Channa, who prayed that she should have a child who would be not too stupid, but not too smart either. Not too ugly, but also not too handsome. This prayer seems strange. Doesn’t every mother want their son to be the most outstanding kid on the block? Yet we see that Channa was sensitive to this point that our existence as Jews is not meant to be a contest, but rather a collective project to serve God and that jealousy and resentment are detrimental to this project and ultimately, to the child himself. From this Midrash, we see both of the Ramban’s points illustrated beautifully. One is required to be sensitive to one’s friend and to the fact that if he is more successful then his friend, this might be hurtful, yet on the same token, one shouldn’t abandon his individuality, but should rather retain it on the inside!
Truthfully, this point of being a “team player” and making sure that you and everybody around you is working toward the same goal, is an integral component in Kabalas Hatorah. The verse says that all of Klal Yisroel camped around the mountain and the Gemora explains that they were all as one – meaning that their intent and their goals were identical. In the Sefer Chasidim, R’ Yehuda Hachasid adds that in fact, if this were to not be the case, the Jews would not have received the Torah! From here we see that unity in Klal Yisroel is so integral to the ability to comprehend the Torah, that it is indeed impossible to receive the Torah without it. The Sefas Emes adds that although each and every Jew has a unique portion in the Torah, and anyone who studies the Torah diligently will merit to see these unique Chidushim, one should not use these Chidushim to “show off” to his piers, but rather should reinvest those gifts that were given to him and consider how he can use his breakthroughs to serve the entire Jewish people. We should understand on a practical level, that our Torah learning is not a contest, to see who can outdo the next guy, but rather a collective effort to successfully serve God on a communal level. For example, if my focus is on Halacha, and the next person’s focus is on Gemorah, we are not merely going about our separate ways, but rather attempting to collectively do the necessary work for the entire Jewish people.
Obviously Shavuos is not about commemorating the reception of the Torah so many years ago, but rather a re-acceptance of the Torah each and every year, and it is therefore incumbent upon us to foster these emotions of caring about the success of our nation as a whole, and not merely our own personal success, (which is truthfully a failure), if we want to succeed in our “Kabalas Hatorah” this year
May God help us to feel care and concern for our brethren and for the success of our nation as a whole, and through that, to receive the Torah in all of its glory!