Journey in the Desert

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The Organized Journey in the Desert

TANAKH

The leadership and organization of the Israelites' journey from Egypt under Moses and Aaron's guidance is a testament to divine providence and human resilience. The fourth book of the Torah, Numbers, details the Israelites' 40-year journey in the desert, including their organization, challenges, and divine commandments.

These were the marches of the Israelites who started out from the land of Egypt, troop by troop, in the charge of Moses and Aaron.

Numbers 33:1

The Miraculous Manna

MIDRASH

The manna in the desert was a miraculous food that sustained the people through their trek in the wilderness. A midrash told in the Midrash Tanchuma explains that the manna adapted its taste to suit the needs and preferences of different groups of people.

R. Yosé the son of Hanina stated: If you are amazed at this remember, that the manna descended for each Israelite with a taste that varied according to the needs of each individual. The young men, for instance, ate it as bread, as it is said: Behold, I will cause to rain bread from heaven for you (Exod. 16:4); the elders ate it as wafers of honey, as it is said: And the taste of it was like wafers made with honey (ibid., v. 31); the sucklings, as milk from the breasts of their mothers, as is said: And the taste of it was as the taste of a cake baked with oil (Num…

Midrash Tanchuma, Shemot 25:6

Joy Amidst Wandering

COMMENTARY

Sukkot is paradoxically known as a festival of joy despite commemorating the Israelites' forty years of wandering, marked by insecurity and impermanence. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in his series 'Covenant and Conversation,' delves into the deeper meaning of Sukkot, exploring how joy can emerge from vulnerability.

This is starkly counter-intuitive. We could understand why Passover should be a festival of joy: it recalls our ancestors’ liberation from slavery. Similarly with Shavuot: it celebrates the giving of the Torah, God’s great gift to us as a people. But why Sukkot? It represents not a positive event, but forty years of wandering in the wilderness without a permanent home. A sukka is, by halakhic definition, a temporary dwelling. Sukkot, when we live for seven days in a hut with only leaves for a roof, exposed to the wind, cold, and rain, is the festival of insecurity…

Covenant and Conversation; Deuteronomy; Renewal of the Sinai Covenant, Re'eh, Insecurity and Joy 16

The Duality of the Wilderness Journey

COMMENTARY

The Book of Bemidbar presents a duality between the ideal of order and the reality of trials, essential for the Jewish people's preparation to enter the Promised Land. Rabbi Francis Nataf's essays explore this duality, incorporating midrashim and commentaries to provide innovative perspectives on the Jewish people's journey in the wilderness.

Now that we better understand the fourth book of the Torah in light of its rabbinic name, Sefer HaPikudim, or “the Book of Countings,” we should note that by the Jewish people largely ignoring this name, we can conclude that they had ultimately chosen a different approach. Rather they refer to it as the book of Bemidbar (“In the Wilderness”), which shows a greater focus on all of the troubles the Jews encountered and created on their trek toward the Promised Land. When we look at the big picture, we can easily think that the latter is the central subject of the book…

Redeeming Relevance; Numbers, CHAPTER 1 The Titleless Torah 49-51

Losses in the Wilderness

TOSEFTA

The three great leaders of the exodus from Egypt, Miriam, Aaron and Moses, all died during the journey through the desert. The Tosefta, a compilation of Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century CE, links their lives to miraculous assistance from God.

As long as Miriam was alive, there was a well that sustained Israel. Once Miriam died, what does it say, but (Num. 20:1-2), "Miriam died there ... And there was no water for the community," [meaning] that the well had disappeared. As long as Aaron was alive, the column of cloud guided Israel. Once Aaron died, what does it say, but (Num. 21:1), "And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who ruled the Negev, heard [that Israel was coming]." That same evildoer raised an army and came to wage war with Israel…

Tosefta Sotah 11:1

The Night of the Spies and Tisha B'Av

COMMENTARY

The journey in the desert from Egypt to Sinai and thence to the Promised Land would have been much briefer, had it not been for the incident of the spies, who scared the people away from entering the land of Israel when they had the chance. Rabbeinu Bachya traces the timeline and scriptural references to identify that unfortunate event as occurring on Tisha B'Av, which would become the day of other national tragedies.

ותשא כל העדה ויתנו את קולם, “The entire assembly raised its voice,“ According to the plain meaning of these words the people commenced crying in the evening and kept crying all night long. We know that the spies had returned close to nightfall bringing with them a special kind of darkness, similar to the one we experience on the night of the ninth of Av when we mourn the destruction of the Temple. The prophet Jeremiah (Lamentations 1,2) refers to the repeated crying of the Jewish people on that night…

Rabbeinu Bahya, Bamidbar 14:1:1

Miriam's Well and the Song of Thanksgiving

TARGUM

The need for water was frequently a source of stress and strife in the people's journey through the desert. At one point in the book of Bemidbar, they break out in song over a well of water, and the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, an Aramaic translation and interpretation of the Torah, expands on those verses based on a midrash that links the figure of Miriam to the supply of water in the wilderness.

Then, behold, Israel sang the thanksgiving of this song, at the time that the well which had been hidden was restored to them through the merit of Miriam: Spring up, O well, spring up, O well ! sang they to it, and it sprang up:

Targum Jonathan on Numbers 21:17

The Consequences of Neglecting Torah Study

MUSAR

The accounts in the book of Bemidbar of events in the wilderness are accompanied by lists of names of locations where they camped. Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, known as the Chofetz Chaim, in his ethical work Shemirat HaLashon, derives homiletical meaning from one of the place names mentioned in connection with the attack of Amalek, in order to emphasize the importance of Torah study and the consequences of neglecting it.

And (Shemoth 17:1): "And they journeyed … and they encamped in Refidim," after which it is written (Ibid. 8): "And Amalek came." This is expounded by Chazal as: [Amalek attacked them] because their hand "weakened" ["rafu yedeihem" (like "refidim")] in Torah.

Shemirat HaLashon, Book I, The Gate of Torah 4:15

Commemorating the Desert Journey

GUIDES

The festival of Sukkot commemorates the entirety of the Israelites' experience in the desert, including the miracles of the Exodus and the clouds of glory. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s introduction to the tractate Sukkah in the Babylonian Talmud provides context for understanding the significances of the four species and the temporary structures (sukkot) used during the festival.

The sukka does not come to commemorate a particular event; rather, it commemorates the entirety of the experience of the children of Israel in the desert, the life of a people without a country, without claim to land, and without stability. This commemoration includes gratitude for all the miracles of the Exodus that transpired in the past, the clouds of glory, and the contrast between the life of a people wandering in the wilderness and the conclusion of the harvest of the produce of the fields and the trees in Eretz Yisrael…

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah, Introduction to Sukkah 4

The Soul's Struggles

CHASIDUT

The sages have identified a wanderer in the desert as one of the people who must give particular thanks to God for their survival. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov's Likutei Moharan explains this image of wandering in the wilderness as a metaphor for spiritual and emotional struggles.

He also said that all these things are tied to that which our Sages teach: Four are obliged to give thanks (Berakhot 54b)—elucidated in Psalm 107. What is apparent and understood from his words is that all these four—wanderers in the wilderness, prisoners, the sick, and travellers on the sea—allude to misfortunes of the soul. This is as explained above concerning the misfortunes of the soul that wanders about tired, hungry and thirsty in the wilderness; which corresponding to, “They wandered in the wilderness…” (Psalms 107:4)…

Likutei Moharan 163:1:17-18

A Sanctuary in the Wilderness

SECOND TEMPLE

The Israelites' collective effort and contributions in the wilderness symbolize their unity and dedication to God's presence among them. Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, details the materials, skilled architects, and divine instructions involved in the monumental task of constructing the Tabernacle.

Concerning The Tabernacle Which Moses Built In The Wilderness For The Honor Of God And Which Seemed To Be A Temple.
1. Hereupon the Israelites rejoiced at what they had seen and heard of their conductor, and were not wanting in diligence according to their ability; for they brought silver, and gold, and brass, and of the best sorts of wood, and such as would not at all decay by putrefaction; camels' hair also, and sheep-skins, some of them dyed of a blue color, and some of a scarlet; some brought the flower for the purple color, and others for white…

The Antiquities of the Jews 3:6:1

A Perpetual Reminder of Divine Provision

TANAKH

The commandment to preserve an omer of manna serves as a perpetual reminder of God's provision for the Israelites in the wilderness. In the book of Exodus, God commands Moses to preserve an omer of manna as a testimony for future generations.

Moses said, “This is what יהוה has commanded: Let one omer of it be kept throughout the ages, in order that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.”

Exodus 16:32

Moses Strikes the Rock

LITURGY

Moses striking the rock to bring forth water is a miraculous event that underscores God's provision for the Israelites. The 'Prayer for Rain' (Tefillat Geshem) recited during Shemini Atzeret references this miracle, marking the start of the rainy season in Israel.

he struck the rock and water gushed out.

Siddur Ashkenaz, Festivals, Prayer for Rain 41

Moses' Final Preparations

JEWISH THOUGHT

Moses played a crucial role in preparing the Israelites for their future in the Promised Land, offering laws, history, and inspiration. This text reflects on Moses' actions during the final year of the Israelites' journey, providing context for his leadership and teachings.

Why does Moses gather everyone together in the last year of this wearying journey? Any number of possibilities come to mind. He could be preparing them for life in the Promised Land, giving over laws that they have not had to keep thus far, but that would be critical as they neared the land – such as laws related to war, to agriculture and to the formation of a government – all matters that are discussed in this last of the five books. He could review history and offer his perspective on the past, which is certainly one way that this farewell speech is understood…

In the Narrow Places; Daily Inspiration for the Three Weeks, [Day Five] 21 Tammuz; Growth through Discomfort 7

La marche des Israelites dans le desert, Joly, Joseph Romain, 1715-1805, Paris. New York Public Library

Relatedראו גם

Parashat Beha'alotekha

The Exodus from Egypt

Parashat Matot

Generation of the Desert

Miriam

Journey of the Ark

Sheetsדפי מקורות

Related Sheets

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