Mapping the Wilderness: Numbers.24

Mapping the Wilderness: Numbers.24

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

June 7, 2024

I have to admit—my interest in math dropped precipitously in 10th grade, when advanced algebra, trigonometry and calculus became the focus of the curriculum. My pursuits at the time were directed elsewhere, and honestly, I don’t regret my choices.

For many people, however, mathematics means more than balancing one’s checkbook or figuring out how much tip to leave. It’s a way of understanding the universe around us, a method for building bridges across time or place.  

Since the dawn of humanity, people have always loved numbers. They loved to play with them and learned to build with them. But in addition to helping us calculate and measure, numbers were given additional, metaphysical meanings. So, for example, in Judaism, the number 7 is especially meaningful, so much so that it embodies holiness. And in fact the Passover song Echad Mi Yode’a, (“Who knows One?”) connects numbers with important Jewish concepts and beliefs.

Numbers measure not only the physical world, but also unquantifiable values: In Psalm 90:12 we read, “Teach us to number our days.” We measure our lifetime with meaningful benchmarks: from birth to death, through holidays and anniversaries, birthdays and other life-cycle events.

The Mishna tractate Pirkei Avot (“The Chapters of the Fathers”) has this lesson for us:

   “[Rabbi Yehuda ben Teima] used to say: At five years of age [a child is ready to begin] the study of         Scripture; at ten, the Mishnah. At thirteen, he [or she] is subject to the commandments; at fifteen the        study of Talmud. At eighteen one can enter the bridal canopy; at twenty the pursuit [of livelihood].         At thirty, one reaches the peak of strength; at forty, wisdom. At fifty they give counsel. At sixty they        reach old age; at seventy, the fullness of years. At eighty, power; at ninety, a bent body. At one                 hundred, one is counted as good as dead and gone completely out of the world” [Pirkei Avot 5:21].

The Torah’s fourth book, Bamidbar (In the Wilderness), which we begin studying this week, is also known by its English title “Numbers.” That is because it begins with God commanding Moses to conduct a census of the Israelites at this point in their wanderings. But this title can be misleading, as there is so much more than just counting that happens in the story. 

While in the Talmud this book is sometimes referred to as Chumash Ha-Pekudim, “The Book of Counting,” its title in the Torah, Bamidbar, refers to the wider scope the book has: In the Wilderness. Having left Egypt, received the Torah and constructed the Tabernacle, the Israelites are now at the start of the longest part of their journey to the Promised Land. The wilderness is a region that is unmapped and unknown. It can be beautiful and inspirational (it is, after all, where Moses first encountered God and where the Israelites received the Torah). But it can also be deceivingly dangerous. That’s why the first thing Moses must do at this point is to measure the size and strength of his people. This knowledge will lead to the next step, organizing and directing them to specific functions and purposes. Some will serve in the military; others will become kohanim (priests) or Levites, whose tasks will involve the service of God in the Tabernacle.

To be fair, however, the English title of the book, “Numbers,” too carries more than just literal meaning. As in Psalm 90:12, to number also means to search for, and find, value and meaning.

In the end, both titles encompass more than meets the eye. Both stand for mapping unknown regions, including the many paths we take in life. More than only a geographical place on a map, the wilderness represents a state of being bound by the two landmarks of birth and death; it forms a bridge from ignorance to knowledge, from innocence to wisdom.

It would be a mistake to think that the Sinai Wilderness—the geographical setting of this part of our history—was unpopulated. Then as now, it has always been the bridge between two continents, on which material goods, culture and ideas went back and forth. Mystics and wanderers; outlaws and marauders; refugees and trade caravans from all corners of the world crossed paths in the Sinai Wilderness. The Israelites’ journey through it will test the people physically and spiritually. Their experiences here, the many lessons taught and learned, the encounters with different cultures and tribes, will define and strengthen them along their path. 

The ultimate teaching of this book of the Torah is that we can find purpose and meaning everywhere and at every moment. Each step we take counts. Every choice we make will carry consequences, leading us—hopefully—to the desired result. God has given us a goal: The Promised Land. Now it is up to us to chart the course.

© 2024 by Boaz D. Heilman