Bamidbar - Shavuot 5782 ~ June 3, 2022

Our Torah reading for this Shabbat begins the reading of both a new book of the Bible and a new chapter with precisely the same Hebrew name במדבר  – Bamidbar, or literally “in the wilderness” or “in the desert.”

Can one truly imagine a world where living in a  ,מדברmidbar, a desert, might be more desirable rather than living in our technologically advanced world filled with the drama, challenges, and tragedy that unfolds each and every day? 

Most of us might say that even though we may be technologically challenged each to our own degree, we might find ourselves lost in the מדבר, midbar, desert, based on the many advances that have become not only commonplace, but made to feel necessary to our daily existence.

Moreover, when we use the term מדבר, midbar,  desert, we reflect upon more of an environment that is unfriendly to life, with winds blowing, sand and not vegetation, and only roaming bands of traders traveling with their goods from one country to another.

But on this weekend, as we celebrate both the Sabbath and the festival of Shavuot, the מדבר, midbar, becomes quite impressive and reminds us that the מדבר, midbar, might be reflective of what we miss in our lives, the open spaces, the ability to listen to nature and feel it and understand that is what truly makes our world so wonderful.  

And as we celebrate Shavuot, the festival of the Giving of Torah at Mt. Sinai, the Torah reminds us of the historical significance of God’s Revelation and where it  took place - on a mountain in the מדבר, midbar. God chose his revelation to Moses and to the Children of Israel on a mountain in the desert, not in an inhabited city. We received Torah at Mt. Sinai, not in the cities of Pharaoh, not in Jerusalem and not in Brooklyn or at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

According to several commentaries, that choice of places was not simply to provide this new nation with an ethical, legal and religious doctrine as they emerged from slavery to freedom. 

The place was chosen by God where they could sense the awesome nature of the world and all that could be achieved, even in the wilderness. It begins with being able to gaze upward to reflect upon what the Torah describes as the unnatural in the revelation, and what it can become when it is expressed, manifested and harnessed to fill our lives with fulfillment and joy.

We have that similar experience here in our shore area as we walk along the beach and we hear the waves, feel the wind blow upon our faces and sense the sand under our feet. I hear from so many of you how you appreciate those walks, when you can be at one with yourself and your emotions, and you listen to nature itself.

Could it be more than just a coincidence that the word במדבר,  bamidbar, ends with the three Hebrew letters דבר, and that which we will receive once again this Shavuot, are the Tenהדברות .

If we carefully define the message of the phrase, we understand that the title reflects “The” utterances, “the” things we are told or “the” items we should regard as important cornerstones of our lives.

While they are written in the form of commandments, they actually reflect a commitment to what our religious heritage מדבר, medaber^*, speaks about - that which is important in our personal life’s journey and experiences - a reflection of our own spiritual self since the first word of the Ten Commandments is אנכי,  Anochi, as in I am… as you define who the “I” is in your world. And once one comprehends that reality, then we can appreciate time, space, family, people and what is important to us and what we should covet in life.

I look forward to celebrating Shabbat morning with you at Temple Emanu-El and then once again in the evening on Zoom as we study Torah and welcome in the festival of Shavuot.  And then on Sunday morning, as we join together at Temple Israel, aka the Park St synagogue, we will sense the awesomeness of hearing the words of the עשרת הדברות, Aseret Hadibrot, in a place on our State’s Historic Record, as though we were at Mt. Sinai.

Shabbat shalom and Chag Sa-meach.

Rabbi K

^*Notice that simply changing the vocalization of the text provides us with the double entendre of the word מדבר can mean – either the noun “desert” or the verb “speak”.  It can also be vocalized as the one who speaks, medaber, as in how we might “speak” our lives.