Parshat Bamidbar
by Rabbi Avi Billet
Now that the time has come to move from Sinai off into the wilderness, with the Promised Land as a soon-to-be-reached destination, Chapter 2 of Bamidbar focuses on how the Israelites were to encamp and travel, with Mishkan at the center, the families of Levi, the families of Aharon and Moshe directly on the four sides of the Mishkan, and three tribes in each of the 4 directions surrounding the Mishkan as well.
How were these divisions created – why this tribe with these two? Which group is in the north v the south, etc?
Perhaps for varying reasons, there are different ways the Midrash presents possible frameworks for how the Israeltites were placed in the encampments and travels surrounding the Mishkan.
One version appears in Midrash Rabba 2:3, and records that when God appeared on Sinai, 220,000 angels descended with Him and encamped around the mountain divided by flags. When the Israelites saw this (a miracle they merited to see), they wanted to eventually travel and encamp in the same manner of the angels. God then promised it would happen, and He later instructed Moshe to set them up thus.
This approach champions a very holy level of setup, unencumbered by any kind of debate – it is a simple mimicking of divine creatures, making the assignment and its follow through easy to understand without much fanfare, discussion, or drama.
However, the next two Midrashim follow a different approach, noting a connection to forefather Yaakov, and practical considerations as well.
A Midrash recorded in the Otzar Midrashim puts the setup in Yaakov’s mouth shortly before his death.
Here is a loose translation of that Midrashic narrative:
“God, with wisdom, founded the world” (Mishlei 3:19) – He created his world with four directions, east west, north, and south. From the East, light comes to the world. From the West are the storage-places of snow and hail, and from there emerges cold and hot for the world. From the North emerges darkness for the world. From the South comes rain and dew as a blessing.
"Just as He created four directions, so He crated four creatures around His throne, with His throne being above all of them.
“And so did Yaakov set his sons, in order, at the time he was instructing them to about the four future flags of wilderness [travel]. “Per this order you should carry my coffin…” and he told them that to the East would be Levi, Yehuda, Yissachar and Zevulun; to the South would be Reuven, Shimon, and Gad; to the North would be Dan, Naftali, and Asher; to the West would be Binyamin, Ephraim, and Menashe.”
This arrangement assumes Levi the son of Yaakov accompanied his father, while Yosef, son of Yaakov, was elsewhere, perhaps in front of everyone, but not directly around the coffin with his brothers, because his sons were in their positions alongside their Uncle Binyamin.
“This order was used for the four flagged encampments in the wilderness.
“East, from which light emanates to the world: Levi – the light of the Temple, Yehuda – the king of Israel, Yissachar – who [best] know the Torah which is referred to as אור (light), as the verse says “And the children of Yissachar are the best to understand wisdom” (Divrei Hayamim I 12:33)”
This does not explain the presence of Zevulun, nor how Levi was encamped later on in the wilderness. This will be addressed by the next Midrashic tale – from Tanchuma – presented below.
“South, from which blessed rain emanates: Reuven – who was a Baal Teshuvah (someone who had repented), because on account of the penitent God effectuates blessings to Israel, Gad – who is a master of strength, as blessed rain comes with strength, Shimon – is between them to bring atonement.
West, the storage-places of snow, cold, heat: Opposite that is Binyamin, Ephraim and Menashe. The Divine Presence is always in the west, as the verse says “The Lord's beloved one shall dwell securely beside Him; He protects him all day long, and He dwells between his shoulders.” (Devarim 33:12)
North, from which darkness emanates to the world: Dan – whose children brought darkness through bringing idolatry (Shoftim 18), with him are Naftali, and Asher – who bring light into the darkness as the verse says “He will be pleasing to his brothers, and immerse his foot in oil.” (Devarim 33:24)”
Beyond the absence of Yosef, and a lack of explanation for some of the later realities of the encampments, the above passage leaves much mystery, while it presents depth connected to larger workings of the world influencing the placement of the tribes – the sons of Yaakov specifically, and later their descendants.
There is another version of this Midrash which presents how Yaakov came to this positioning of the tribes. The verse tells us (Bamidbar 2:2): אִ֣ישׁ עַל־דִּגְל֤וֹ בְאֹתֹת֙ לְבֵ֣ית אֲבֹתָ֔ם יַחֲנ֖וּ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל מִנֶּ֕גֶד סָבִ֥יב לְאֹֽהֶל־מוֹעֵ֖ד יַחֲנֽוּ - The children of Israel shall encamp each man by his flag with the signs of their fathers' house; some distance from the Tent of Meeting they shall encamp.
The Midrash Tanchuma presents a question. Why does the verse mention “the signs” – wouldn’t the flag be sufficient? [The Midrash doesn’t state it directly, but it would seem that the narrative which follows references an old “sign” going back to what Yaakov instructed.]
The Midrash goes on to explain that when Yaakov was about to die, he told his sons that they, and only they (not any Egyptians, or even his own grandchildren who were children of Canaanite women), were to carry his coffin. The translation which follows is from sefaria.org
“How did he charge them? He said to them, “Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun shall carry my bier on the East; Reuben, Simeon, and Gad, on the South; Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, on the West; Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, on the North. Joseph is not to carry [at all], because he is a king; and you must impart honor to him. Nor is Levi to carry. Why? Because he will carry the ark (aron), and whoever carries the ark of the One who lives forever is not to carry a coffin (aron) of the dead. If you do this and carry my bier, just as I have charged you, the Holy One, blessed be He, is going to have you encamp by the various standards.”
“When Israel went forth from Egypt, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “Now is the time for them to make standards, just as their father had proclaimed to them that they were going to make standards.” Immediately the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “Make those standards for my name.” Immediately Moses began to be concerned. He said, “There is going to be dissension among the tribes. If I tell the tribe of Judah to encamp in the East, they will say, ‘It is impossible for us to encamp anywhere but in the South.’ And so each and every tribe [would act] like that one.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “What concern is that to you? They do not need you in this matter. They will recognize their dwellings by themselves. Why? Because their father's will was in their hand on how to encamp by the standards. I am not establishing something new. They already have their father's arrangements in their hands. Just as they have taken positions around his bier, so let them take positions around the tabernacle.” Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Numb. 2:2), “Each with his standard, under the banners [for their fathers' house].”
The Midrash then notes the blessing of having good neighbors. Because the eastern camp of Yehuda, Yissachar and Zevulun were closest to Moshe, Aharon and their families, they all became great in Torah. [Yehuda’s success is based on Bereshis 49:10, Yissachar’s - Divrei Hayamim I 12:33, and Zevulun’s - Shoftim 5:14 – a reference to the Zebulunites being scribes]
Then the Midrash notes the curse of having bad neighbors, since in the South, Reuven, Shimon, and Gad were closest to Kehat and, most notoriously, the family of Korach.
Rounding out the encampment - on the West were the Children of Gershon (son of Levi) with Ephraim, Menashe, and Binyamin being adjacent to them. And on the North were the Children of Merari (son of Levi), with Dan, Naftali, and Asher being adjacent to them.
In his Peninim Al HaTorah (vol 20), Rabbi Scheinbaum suggests there was no debate about the placement because debate only comes when a decision is made that benefits the decider. If there is no ulterior motive, except a fair and impartial judgment, it is easy for everyone to accept. Since Yaakov was not going to be alive when his children were to escort him to his final resting place, he had nothing to gain from their assigned locations, they accepted it – and their descendants were happy to follow it into their own times.
We could add to this that simply being around the Mishkan is enough of a blessing. Not everyone can be front and center! But we can make the best of our lot, embracing the opportunities we have as being part of the encampment of Israel. When we turn to the Mishkan and the Torah as our inspiration, and make every effort possible to include ourselves in our shared destiny, we earn the stripes of being part of the people of Israel. This is enhanced by surrounding ourselves with good neighbors.
As we come to the holiday of Shavuos this week, let us celebrate our connection to Torah on whatever level we are. But let us also take the inspiration from those who are more advanced than we are to remind ourselves that we can always be growing. Whether we sit (proverbially) in the back of the room, somewhere in the middle, or even in the front, our focus should be towards our center, our core, which is the Mishkan, the house of the Torah, and the service of God. When we remember the source of our inspiration, and put aside where we are at personally, we can bask in His goodness and remember that our lives are enriched by how much we challenge ourselves to grow in Torah and in our relationship with God.
