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Beit Midrash
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- Chemdat Yamim
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- Bamidbar
- Bamidbar
As alluded to, the encampment was based on a tribal division, according to the twelve tribes of Israel, with each tribe having a position and its own leader (listed in Bamidbar 1:4-15). The subsequently described census of the nation was also broken up on the basis of tribes. In the encampment, each direction had three tribes encamped in proximity to each other, with the Encampment of the Divine Presence in the middle. (To a great degree, these groupings were preserved in Eretz Yisrael, as surrounding the Tribe of Binyamin, where the Beit Hamikdash was established, there were on four different sides, the tribe-leaders of the four directions from the desert: Reuven, Yehuda, Ephrayim, and Dan.)
King David tried to unify the Nation of Israel around his capital, Yerushalayim, "the city that was not apportioned to any individual tribe" (Yoma 12a). While unifying the nation, he was careful not to undo the tribal distinctions. When he organized his kingdom (see Divrei Hayamim I, starting with perek 23), he appointed negidim, leaders of subgroups. These were actually tribe heads, as each one was from a specific tribe and for that tribe (see ibid. 27:16-22).
If we contrast this division of the leadership with the one that Shlomo did at his time (see Melachim I, 4:7-15), we will see that Shlomo took the approach of trying to erase tribal distinctions. He called his leaders nitzavim (representatives of the king), and he broke them up not by tribe but by geographical regions (which did not always coincide exactly with the tribal boundaries). Many of the nitzavim were from Shlomo’s family as opposed to being local representatives. This infringement on the rights of the individual tribes did not work and was involved in the division of the kingdom that took place during the reign of Rechavam, Shlomo’s son. This in turn impacted on the status of Yerushalayim as the center of the country. Rechavam did not even attempt to "mend the tear" in Yerushalayim but rather in Shechem, and in any case he did not succeed.
We see that David’s approach, of keeping the tribal distinctions, but unifying them in Yerushalayim, the city that was not apportioned to any tribe, was the right approach. In the upcoming week, when we celebrate the unification of Yerushalayim, the city that unifies the people, let us remember the special spiritual power of the Holy City.
Rabbis in Midrash
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The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
