God's Unlimited Abilities

Parshat Tzav 

 by Rabbi Avi Billet 

 Having given all the instructions for the Kohanim, in Chapter 8 we see Moshe being given precise instructions to set the stage for Inauguration Day.

 In one of the most immediate cause and effect episodes in the Torah, Moshe is told to gather the people at the Ohel Moed (Gathering Tent, the Mishkan) in 8:3, and in 8:4, “the community was assembled at the entrance of the Ohel Moed.”

Was the entire community really there to watch Moshe vest his brother and nephews in their priestly vestments (8:6-13)?

Ibn Ezra says the “entire community” refers to the “leaders of the tribes and the elders.” That would be a little over 80 people. The Rosh is of the view that 600,000 people were able to gather in a relatively small space to witness this momentous occasion. And the point, explains Chizkuni (based on the Midrash), is that everyone should learn to conduct themselves in a holy manner with respect to and when relating to the priests.

In support of Ibn Ezra, the Torah Temimah reminds us of the passage in Sanhedrin 2a that a High Priest can only be appointed by the Sanhedrin of 71. And that the term used to describe the community, “Eidah” certainly refers to a Sanhedrin which passes judgments. Thus while leadership must be present, the entire nation need not bother with coming to watch the dressing ceremonies.

Rabbenu Bachaye describes the gathering  in 8:4 as a “miraculous occurrence” and he gives a number of examples where the population that gathered defied all logical explanations, because their reality entered the realm of the supernatural. One example is the 22,000 chariots of angels that were present at Revelation at the bottom of Sinai. Where did they all fit? Other examples include: that when all of Israel crossed the Jordan to enter the land, they walked between the poles of the Ark; during the time of Resurrection when all the good people through the history of the world will return the living, there will be enough room for everyone.

On a purely rational basis, it is hard to understand some of these passages, and even more difficult to explain the physics. Surely, as a believer, I can accept that something did happen or can happen in the future, but it is hard to visualize, even if I believe its possibility is real.

I think looking at this passage from the vantage point of Purim, which was celebrated on Thursday, we can appreciate how truly miraculous events just defy explanation.

We are all familiar with the efficiency of the Nazi killing machine. Yet despite its organization, and the sheer numbers of how at their height, they could be murdering over 10,000 people a day, it still took them over 5 years to kill 6 millions Jews, and they were, thank God, unable to complete their diabolical plans of the destruction of world Jewry.

And Haman, their spiritual ancestor, was hoping to achieve the same goal in one day? How could he even think such a task was possible.

It would seem that owing to his beliefs in his powers, honor, and supernatural abilities, he felt that his lottery showed that his goal was divinely ordained. And he believed that his charm and his charisma would gather enough volunteers and haters to get to every Jew in Achashveirosh’s kingdom in one day.

But the real world doesn’t work like that. In Shushan alone, Esther needed to ask for another day for the Jews to confront their enemies. On the 13th of Adar, 500 Shushanites died, and on the 14th of Adar 300 more Shushanites died in the skirmishes. Relatively small numbers, it would seem.

And therein lies the difference between the plans of the man and the works of God. Man can only achieve what is humanly possible. God – using man, when He wants it to be such – can achieve things that go beyond reason and viable explanation.

Will there be peace in the Land of Israel? Will the Arabs stop hating the Jewish people? Will anti-Semitism ever end? Will the Messiah come – when so many Jews in the world do not live a life of Torah, do not observe the Sabbath, and in some cases, don’t even know what it means to be a Jew, or that they are even Jewish? In the realm of human achievement and possibility, all of these are far-fetched possibilities. But in the realm of God, they are attainable.

Of course from Ibn Ezra’s and the Torah Temimah’s perspective, there was a respectable but manageable-size crowd at the dressing-ceremony. But the other view is not to be discounted. And it is the person of faith who learns from what happened at the inauguration of the Mishkan, when 600,000 people fit in to a small space, that when God wills it, the seemingly impossible becomes as simple as filling the universe with billions of billions of stars and having none of them touch each other.

The Blessing of God's Presence

Parshat Bechukotai 

 by Rabbi Avi Billet 

 The beginning of Parshat Bechukotai paints an image of the kind of blessing we hope to receive from God. There are three conditions for Israelites to fulfill before they can enjoy the blessing of God’s bounty: a. walk in God’s decrees, which means to labor in Torah, b. observe the commandments – to guard them in one’s heart, through remembering what we learn, and c. the actual fulfillment of mitzvos.

 The message is a very logical one. The Torah makes it clear here that when the Jewish people fulfill their end of the deal, life in the land will be incredibly blessed.

 The blessing we ask of from God is for rain, crops, and produce, in overabundance.

 We ask for peace, for no dangerous animals to threaten, and for the sword to not even pass through the land.

We pray that enemies will be easily chased away, and large numbers of them will be defeated by very small numbers of us.

We embrace the blessing of people being fertile and numerous in the land.

 We accept the blessing that the Mishkan will last in the land and not grow tired of us.

All of this culminates with the most amazing promise of, “I will make My presence felt among you. Thus I will be a God to you, and you will be a nation dedicated to Me.” (26:12)

 Some of the commentaries describe these last blessings as referring to the World to Come. Others say it is a reference to what will happen in the Land of Israel when all of the Jewish people are fulfilling their missive as Jews who observe and keep the Torah and try to do as many mitzvot as they can.

Ramban talks about God’s presence here as the introduction to the concept of the “Shechinah.” He explains that the complete presence of God will only be felt when the heavens and earth can be complete, in the way they are meant to be. He cautions that these blessings were never achieved in their entirety – not by the masses nor by an individual, because their merits never added up.

Ramban concludes his commentary on this verse with a Midrashic quote that was expanded upon by Rashi who describes the image of God “making His presence felt amongst you” as “God strolling with us in the Garden of Eden like one of us.”

Imagine such a vision. Imagine taking a stroll with God. What to say? What to do? Shoot the breeze? Ask the deepest philosophical questions? Or just bask in the glow of that moment and cherish it forever because what more do we really need?

This is the ultimate blessing.

 There are many ways for blessings to manifest themselves. They can be given from humans to humans. They can be given from God to humans. People can feel blessed – by God or by the good turns their lives take. 

We can also be blessed to acknowledge God at all times, to be the ones to give blessings to others (as well as receive from others) and we can aim to see the blessing that Avraham received fulfilled in us – when he was first told to branch out on his own and make his way to the land that God will show him that he should BE a blessing to all who encounter him.

What an amazing life we would be living if we could only merit to be a blessing to all we encounter. And who knows? Perhaps if we lived life in such a way, we could merit to not have to wait for the Garden of Eden experience for God to be so closely among us. Perhaps we can achieve the “completeness” Ramban referred to, and thereby merit all the blessings of Parshat Bechukotai.