How does the Jewish people’s journey through the desert shape our approach to Torah?
In this week’s episode, Rabbi Leon Morris and Rabbi Tzvi Hirschfield explore the theme of openness in Torah study, using the wilderness in the Midbar as a metaphor for the mindset required. Drawing from the Midrash and personal experiences, they explore the concept of being “hefker” or ownerless, and allowing Torah to guide us without preconceived notions.
These key texts help deepen your listening experience:
Torah Portion: Bamidbar 1:1-4:20
(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֨ר יְהֹוָ֧ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֛ה בְּמִדְבַּ֥ר סִינַ֖י בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד בְּאֶחָד֩ לַחֹ֨דֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִ֜י בַּשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשֵּׁנִ֗ית לְצֵאתָ֛ם מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרַ֖יִם לֵאמֹֽר׃
(1) On the first day of the second month, in the second year following the exodus from the land of Egypt, יהוה spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, saying:
(ז) וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי (במדבר א, א), לָמָּה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי, מִכָּאן שָׁנוּ חֲכָמִים בִּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים נִתְּנָה הַתּוֹרָה, בָּאֵשׁ, וּבַמַּיִם, וּבַמִּדְבָּר. בָּאֵשׁ מִנַּיִן (שמות יט, יח): וְהַר סִינַי עָשַׁן כֻּלּוֹ וגו'. וּבַמַּיִם מִנַּיִן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שופטים ה, ד): גַּם שָׁמַיִם נָטָפוּ גַּם עָבִים נָטְפוּ מָיִם. וּבַמִּדְבָּר מִנַּיִן וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי, וְלָמָּה נִתְּנָה בִּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הַלָּלוּ, אֶלָּא מָה אֵלּוּ חִנָּם לְכָל בָּאֵי הָעוֹלָם כָּךְ דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה חִנָּם הֵם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה נה, א): הוֹי כָּל צָמֵא לְכוּ לַמַּיִם, דָּבָר אַחֵר, וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי, אֶלָּא כָּל מִי שֶׁאֵינוֹ עוֹשֶׂה עַצְמוֹ כַּמִּדְבָּר, הֶפְקֵר, אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לִקְנוֹת אֶת הַחָכְמָה וְהַתּוֹרָה, לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר: בְּמִדְבַּר סִינָי.
(7) “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai” – why in the wilderness of Sinai? From here the Sages taught that the Torah was given with three elements: With fire, with water, and in the wilderness. With fire, from where is it derived? “Mount Sinai was all smoke, [because the Lord had descended upon it in fire]” (Exodus 19:18). In water, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Indeed, the heavens dripped, indeed, the clouds dripped water” (Judges 5:4). In the wilderness, from where is it derived? “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai.” Why was it given with these three elements? It is, that just as these are free for all mankind, so, matters of Torah are free, as it is stated: “Ho, everyone who is thirsty go to water” (Isaiah 55:1). Another matter: “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai” – it is, that anyone who does not render himself like a wilderness, accessible to all, is unable to acquire wisdom and the Torah. That is why it is stated: “In the wilderness of Sinai.”
Kate Light poem
And Then There Is That Incredible Moment,
when you realize what you're reading,
what's being revealed to you, how it is not
what you expected, what you thought
you were reading, where you thought you were heading.
Then there is that incredible knowing
that surges up in you, speeding
your heart; and you swear you will keep on reading,
keep on writing until you find another not going
where you thought—and until you have taken
someone on that ride, so that they take in
their breath, so that they let out their
sigh, so that they will swear
they will not rest until they too
have taken someone the way they were taken by you.
Aviva Gottlieb Zornberg in Bewilderments: Reflections on the Book of Numbers
“For the wilderness bewilders; it undermines the very ability to speak, to know one's own experience. Its emptiness dwarfs the force of one's imagination.”
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