Parshat Bahalotcha

The Unfinished Book

Rabbi Ari Kahn
The Parsha of B'ha’alotcha contains an idiosyncrasy which is unique in the Bible:
two verses enclosed, as if in brackets, by letters written in every Torah scroll
upside down on either side. The letters that are upside down are nuns and the
impression that they leave is that these verses are written parenthetically.

[When the Ark traveled, Moshe said: 'Arise G-d! Scatter your enemies, and
let those who hate you flee before you. And when the Ark rested, he would
say 'Return, G-d, the myriad of thousands of Israel!] (10:35,36)

The Talmud and Midrash provide insight into this phenomenon;

This section has signs above and below in order to inform you that this is
not the proper place (Shabbat 115b-116a)

According to the Talmud, these verses are indeed parenthetical, inasmuch as they
were extricated from their proper context and placed here. Generally, we find
different opinions among the various commentators to the Chumash regarding the
proper sequence of the events recorded in the Torah (or the more basic question
of whether there is any sequence at all). Be that as it may, even according to the
opinion that the Torah does not record events in sequence, it is curious that
specifically in this instance the Torah itself would leave a mark in order to indicate
the "emendation".

The Talmud, however, goes even further when it makes a suggestion that flies in
the face of one of the most widely held beliefs of Judaism, that there are 5 books
of the Torah:

Our Rabbis taught: ‘And it came to pass when the ark set forward that
Moses said, [etc.]’: for this section the Holy One, blessed be He, provided
signs above and below, to teach that this is not its place. Rabbi said: It is
not on that account, but because it ranks as a separate Book. The dictum of
R. Samuel b. Nahmani, in R. Jonathan's name, agrees: She [Wisdom] hath
hewn out her seven pillars: this refers to the seven Books of the Torah.
(Shabbat 115b)

The seven "pillars of wisdom" in the book of Mishlei refer to the seven books of
the Torah. This reference does present somewhat of a difficulty to those of us who
know of only five books in the Torah (and hence the name Chumash - from the
word five)!
The Midrash asks;1

1
This idea may also be found in Midrash Rabbah - Leviticus XI:3
 "Are there not five [Books of the Torah]? (B'reishit Rabbah 64:8)

… This corresponds to Numbers, which makes up the seven Books of the

Law. But surely there are only five? The reason for this statement is that Bar
Kappara counted the portion of Numbers from the beginning until ‘And it
came to pass, when the Ark set forward’ (Num. X, 35) as one book, ‘And it
came to pass, when the Ark set forward’ and the following verse as another
separate Book. And from the end of that section until the end of that Book
[Numbers] another separate Book. (Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXIV:8)

The Midrash explains that there are, indeed, seven books: 1-B'reishit, 2-Shmot, 3-
Vayikara, 4-Bamidbar - up to but not including these two verses, 5-these two
verse, 6-the rest of Bamidbar, 7-D'varim. To say that the Book of Bamidbar should
be divided into 2 sections is understandable - even if we lose the familiar "Five
Books" formula in the process. But how can two isolated verses be considered a
"book" by themselves? We must point out that the approach that opines that
these two verses form a separate book is neither singular nor antinomian. The
Mishna in Yadayim which discusses the ritual sanctity of Scripture teaches:

A scroll on which the writing has become erased and eighty-five letters 2
remain thereon, as many as are in the section beginning, ‘And it came to
pass when the ark set forward’…” renders unclean the hands. A single
sheet on which there are written eighty-five letters, as many as are in the
section beginning, ‘And it came to pass when the ark set forward’, renders
unclean the hands. (Yadayim 3:5).

The section from Shabbat cited above, which introduced the notion of Seven
Books, was the continuation of a Halachic question which the Talmud grappled
with, namely the type of scripture that may be saved in the event of a fire
breaking out on Shabbat. In that case, as well as in the discussion of ritual
sanctity of Scripture here, the conclusion is that the minimum required to be
considered a "book" is 85 letters.

We see, then, that these two verses are considered for some legal issues to be a
Book unto themselves. Our understanding that there are but “Five books of
Moses” is somewhat shaken.

In order to understand this phenomenon, we must take a closer look at the

context in which these verses appear. As we begin reading the Parsha of
B'ha’alotcha we sense that the Children of Israel are nearing their goal, the
Promised Land. The Torah has been received, the Mishkan has been completed
and consecrated, all seems in place for the glorious march. But something tragic
happened on the way to Israel.

Let us consider the sections of the Parsha: First, Aharon is commanded regarding
the lighting of the candles. Aharon of course follows the Divine command;
2
Exactly the number in the demarcated section in B'haalotcha, has holiness, for a "book" remains.
 "Aharon did that (which he was commanded), lighting the candles to
illuminate the Menorah as G-d had commanded Moshe. (8:3)

Next comes the section of sanctifying the Levites;

"And G-d spoke to Moshe saying. Take the Levites from the midst of the
Children of Israel and sanctify them. (8:5,6)

What follows next are two sections which revolve around the celebration of the
Exodus. Moshe is commanded to repeat the rites which were performed in Egypt
on the eve of the Exodus. A whole year had passed, and the practices which were
instituted in Egypt on that night will now be repeated. A problem arose, for there
were those who were ritually impure and therefore could not partake of the Pascal
Offering. These individuals were told that they would have a second chance to
bring the Offering, in the following month; On the 14th day of the Second Month
they would have their Pesach.

Let us consider the chronology of events: The Jews, as we know, left Egypt on the
15th of Nisan- year one. Fifty days later, they stood at Sinai. The Jews sin in the
Golden Calf episode on the 17th day of the 4th month. Moshe prays for the nation
and is invited to ascend Mount Sinai for the second time on the first day of Elul,
the 6th month. Forty days later, on Yom Kippur, the tenth day of Tishrei, Moshe
comes down from the Mountain with the second Tablets, and with the instructions
to build the Mishkan. They collect the materials and start to build the Mishkan. On
the first day of Nisan in the second year the Mishkan is complete. The Twelve
Tribes, represented by their leaders, bring offerings, which brings us to the 13th
day of Nisan in the second year. The Jews will now observe Pesach. Those who are
unable to partake of the Pesach will have another opportunity on the 14th of the
second month.

We are now up to date. The second Pesach was observed. How would the People
know when it was time to march on? The Torah reports a Divine sign:

"On the day when the Mishkan was erected a cloud enveloped the
Mishkan.... and in the evening what appeared to be fire (enveloped the
Mishkan) until the morning. When the cloud would lift... the people would
travel, and in the place which the cloud would stop, there the people would
stop as well.(9:15-17)

One last law was taught prior to the beginning of the journey from Sinai: The
trumpets would be used in order to give commands regarding the march.

All now was in place. The march begins:

"In the Second year, on the 20th of the second month, the cloud arose...
The children of Israel thus began their travels from the Sinai desert (until)
 the cloud rested in the Paran Desert. This was the first journey; by the word
of G-d, via Moshe. (10:11-13)

The march begins, but where are they going? Moshe provides the answer when he
invites Hovev his father-in-law (or, according to some, his brother in-law) to join
them:

"We are traveling to the place of which G-d has said 'I am giving to you.'
Join us... (10:29)

Moshe speaks in present tense: "We are traveling." Moshe believes that the Jews
are about to enter the Promised Land! He believes that the promises of G-d to our
forefathers are about to come to fruition. The future is now. Let the trumpets blow
- let the conquest begin! Hovev declines, and the Jews continue alone; the destiny
of the Jews and other peoples of the world would not merge as of yet. Hovev will
travel a different road; his path to Jerusalem will have to wait for the End of Days.
The Jews are headed directly for Israel.

It is at this point that the two "parenthetical" verses appear.

"When the Ark traveled, Moshe said: 'Arise G-d! Scatter your enemies, and
let those who hate you flee from in front of you. And when the Ark rested,
he would say 'Return G-d the myriad of thousands of Israel'! (10:35,36)

As we know, the Jews do not enter the Land of Israel immediately. They travel
their own circuitous route for the next forty years. The facts in this case go
against the conceptual view of history. At this point, when all the prerequisites for
conquest of the Promised Land have been fulfilled, Moshe’s understanding is
correct. The Jewish People should begin their march at exactly this point. Yet the
linear view of history prevails. Moshe’s vision is overtaken by more mundane
concerns. The time has not arrived.

The pathos of Moshe’s situation is palpable; before these two mysterious verses,
Moshe was in a marching mood, inviting others to join him in the Promised Land.
After these two verses, Moshe becomes, quite literally, suicidal. As shocking as
this observation may be, the verses themselves attest to the radical change in
Moshe:

Then Moshe heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent;
and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; and Moses also was displeased. And Moses said
to the Lord, ‘Why have you afflicted your servant? And why have I not found favor in your
sight, that you lay the burden of this entire People upon me? Have I conceived all this People?
Have I fathered them, that you should say to me, carry them in your bosom, like a nursing
father carries the sucking child, to the land you swore to their fathers? From where should I
have meat to give to this entire People? For they weep to me, saying, Give us meat, that we may
eat. I am not able to carry this entire People alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if you
deal thus with me, kill me, I pray you, at once, if I have found favor in your sight; and let me
not see my wretchedness. (11:10-15)
What precipitated the drastic transformation in Moshe’s outlook? Rabbi
Soloveitchik explained that at the moment the people demanded immediate
gratification of their needs, this desire for the hedone served as more than one
more stumbling block on the path to Israel. At that point Moshe understood that
the Land of Israel was more distant than he had ever imagined.

The shift in Moshe’s response was almost brutal: A mere ten months earlier Moshe
grappled with G-d to save his errant People from the death sentence G-d
pronounced following the sin of the Golden Calf3. Now, Moshe prays for his own
death. As Rabbi Soloveitchik explained, the difference lies in two different aspects
of idolatry—form versus content. When the people were guilty of the Golden Calf,
Moshe understood the offense as being the result of adopting Egyptian religious
practices. The problem was one of form; the question was how to worship G-d.
While this offense was considerable, Moshe felt that it was defendable. Once the
Jews accept the Torah, he argued, they would naturally shift the form of their
religious expression.

But now, upon seeing the People’s hedonistic character, Moshe realizes that the
problem is deep-seated within the collective consciousness of the community, and
the time and energy, which will have to be spent to cure the People of this
malady, will be vast. For the first time, Moshe realizes that he is not taking the
first steps of the final march to Israel; the effects of two hundred years of slavery
have made deep inroads into his People, and they are not as far away from Egypt
as he had imagined and hoped. Moshe had a premonition that neither he nor his
entire generation would cross the border into the Promised Land, and the weight
of this realization was crushing.

Moshe understood, all at once, that he would never enter the Promised Land, that
his mission would end prior to the conquest. He would not see the beauty of the
Temple in Jerusalem. For Moshe, like so many Jews in history, the Promised Land
would remain just that-- a promise.
3
As a response to the Golden Calf, Moshe is prepared to go to any lengths to secure forgiveness for the people. The
Talmud daringly describes: Now therefore let Me alone that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may
consume them, and I will make of you a great nation. R. Abbahu said: Were it not explicitly written, it would be
impossible to say such a thing: this teaches that Moses took hold of the Holy One, blessed be He, like a man who seizes
his fellow by his garment and said before Him: Sovereign of the Universe, I will not let You go until You forgive and
pardon them.(Brachot 32a)
See the expression in the Midrash:
Another explanation of AND MOSES BESOUGHT. What does this mean? Said R. Berekiah in the name of R. Helbo,
who said it in the name of R. Isaac: That he [Moshe] absolved his Creator of His vow. A proof? When Israel made the
Calf, Moshe began to persuade G-d to forgive them; but G-d said: ‘Moshe, I have already taken an oath that "He who
sacrifices unto the gods... shall be utterly destroyed" (Ex. XXII, 19). I cannot retract an oath which has proceeded from
My mouth.’ Moshe rejoined: ‘Lord of the Universe! Didn’t You not grant me the power of annulment of oaths by saying,
When a man vows a vow unto the Lord, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word
(Num. XXX, 3); That is, he himself cannot break his word, but a scholar can absolve his vow if he consults him. If a
scholar pronouncing decisions desires that others should respect his decision, he must be the first to observe it. Since
You,’ [continued Moshe], ' have commanded me concerning the annulment of vows, it is only right and proper that You
should annul Your vow as You have commanded me to annul the vows of others.’ Whereupon he wrapped himself in his
cloak and seated himself in the posture of a Sage, and G-d stood before him as one asking [for the annulment of] his
vow; for so it says, ‘Then I sat in the mount’ (Deut. IX, 9). [Midrash Rabbah - Shmot XLIII:4]
But what is it about these two verses, these 85 letters, which cause our Sages to
see an entire Book? The answer is obvious: These verses represent the book that
was never written, the book of the conquest spearheaded by Moshe, fought by G-
d. These verses represent the book that was to have been, but was not. The key
to understanding this teaching is a number of comments by the Seforno:

"When the Ark traveled,’ - To enter the Land of Israel.

'Arise G-d! Scatter you enemies’- Had it not been for the Miraglim (spies)
they would have entered [Israel] without battle, for the inhabitants of
[Israel] would have fled. (Seforno’s comments on 10:35,36)

The Seforno explains that these verses are what Moshe said upon entering the
Land. But Moshe never did enter the Land! This, then, is what he would have said
had he entered, and the result would have been a peaceful conquest. When we
read the first comments of the Seforno to Bamidbar, we see this idea already
developed:

‘Count the heads of the community of the Children of Israel’ - To put them in
order, so that they can enter the Land immediately (Seforno’s comments to
Bamidbar 1:2)

The Jews were supposed to enter the Land of Israel at this juncture. However, due
to their own failures and failings, this generation does not merit the Promised
Land. With these two parenthesized verses, G-d leaves a sign, a reminder, of what
could have been, or more precisely, what should have been. Why, then, are a
mere two verses called a "Book"? There was supposed to be far more information
in this Book. The first verse was to contain the "beginning of the redemption"--
"When the Ark traveled, Moshe said: 'Arise G-d! Scatter you enemies, and let
those who hate you flee from in front of you. (10:35)-- while the second verse
represents the last verse of this book - And when the Ark rested, he would say
'return G-d the myriad of thousands of Israel'! (10:36). The end of the Redemption
would mark the return of all Jews to the nation, to the Land of Israel, to the Torah;
to G-d.

Indeed, these two verses represent a whole, incomplete book, the book of the
destiny of the Jewish People. Even when we fail, G-d will not allow us to forget our
mission. Even when we deviate from our destiny and stray from the proper path
as we did in the desert, even as we wander through the desert, reaping the bitter
fruit of our own sins, we are reminded of our mission. There is a portion of the
Torah, an entire book, dedicated to telling the unfinished story and encouraging us
to complete it.

"Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel taught; 'In the future this section will be
removed from here and written in its proper place" (Shabbat 116a)

Moshe was correct; this was the proper place for the conquest to begin, and he
was ready to fulfill what he saw as his most important task. Tragically, Moshe was
proven wrong, because the people were not ready to enter. Moshe's dream was
vanquished. In retrospect, but only in retrospect and in light of the shortcomings
of the people, this is not the proper place for this story of redemption to be told,
and if told, only hinted at but not completed. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel 4 assures
us that indeed this story will be completed, when the glorious march takes place
and the myriad of lost Jews return, to link with the missing letters of this book
which awaits completion5.

4
Rav Shimon ben Gamliel disagrees with the opinion that this constitutes a separate book, nevertheless he agrees that the
section is out of context here: ‘Who is the Tanna that disagrees with Rabbi? It is R. Simeon b. Gamaliel. For it was taught,
R. Simeon b. Gamaliel said: This section is destined to be removed from here and written in its right place. And why is it
written here? In order to provide a break between the first [account of] punishment and the second [account of]
punishment. What is the second [account of] punishment? — And the people were as murmurers, [etc.]. The first [account
of] punishment? — And they ‘moved away from the Mountain of the Lord’, which R. Hama b. R. Hanina expounded [as
meaning] that they turned away from following the Lord. And where is its [rightful] place? — In [the chapter on] the
banners.
5
See my notes on Parsha Bamidbar, where I discuss the number of letters in the Torah, and the interdependence with the
number of souls of the Jewish People.