This week in parshat Chukat we read that the Israelites have now arrived at the "wilderness of Zin in the first month." This is a bit vague, even for Torah.
Where is Zin? What month is the first month? How many years have the Israelites been wandering in the desert? Did they leave Egypt last month? A year ago? More?
The great 12th century Torah commentator Abraham Ibn Ezra argues that everything we read in the Book of Numbers (which Chukat is a part of) happened in the first year of the Israelites wandering in the desert. He argues that Chukat marks the beginning of the Israelites' 40th and final year in the desert. He points to the phrase "in the first month" to mean in the first month of their final year. But if that’s the case, what happened to the story of all the years inbetween? Did it get cut out?
Talmud scholar and teacher, Channa Lockshin Bob, asks, “Was it mind-numbingly boring to wander through a monotonous desert?" Is the Torah just sparing us from the boring details?
As you may recall, the generation of slaves were not permitted to enter the Land of Israel; only the next generation, who did not know what it was to be a slave, was allowed to enter. Lockshin Bob posits that perhaps instead of boring, it was simply too painful to recount the younger generation's wait time as the older generation died out before they could enter the Land of Israel.
It could be both. Life has a way of being monotonous and yet too quick. There is pain in recalling the passage of time. In the early throes of parenthood I remember many people saying, "The days are long but the years are short." Time has a way of catching up and while the days can feel long, as they do with a newborn, it is certainly true that life is all the more precious because it is not forever.
The Israelites' journey through the desert was a journey from slavery towards healing. What is the reason for our Torah’s years of radio silence? Perhaps those years of healing and transformation for the Israelites were too raw, too personal to each person; a time so intimate and personal that no one story could have held their vastly different experiences.
A good reminder that we all experience life in a unique way. We are all vulnerable to pain and in need of healing and connection. Perhaps remembering this more often can help us mend some of the fractures that tear us apart.
Before I go, just a note that you can always reach out to me by phone (267) 396-5760 or RabbiJanine@gmail.com. I also have a Calendly set up for scheduling times to meet. The only time I do not check my email or phone is on Shabbat.
I am excited to welcome Shabbat tonight with you. Services will be hybrid beginning at 7 p.m. Thank you to Sari and Aly Feldman for sponsoring our oneg. I hope you will join us.
Zay gezunt, be well,
Rabbi Janine Jankovitz She/Her
Kehilat HaNahar 85 West Mechanic St. New Hope, PA 18938
