פרשת במדבר – ספר המדבר

And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying: ’The children of Israel shall pitch by their fathers’houses; every man with his own standard, according to the ensigns; a good way off shall they pitch round about the tent of meeting.

(Numb. 1:1:) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses.” Fortunate are you, Moses!²⁵Numb. R. 1:6; cf. Lev. R. 1:1. Six hundred thousand were present with the priests, the Levites, and the elders. They were all present there; yet out of them all, He only spoke there with Moses, as stated (ibid.), “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses.” (Ibid., cont.) “In the Sinai desert.” Why in the Sinai desert?²⁶Numb. R. 1:7. From here our masters have taught, “The Torah was given through three things: through fire, through water, and through the desert.²⁷Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Bashodesh 5. Through fire, as stated (in Exod. 19:18), ‘Now all of Mount Sinai was emitting smoke because the Lord had descended upon it in fire, and the smoke from it arose like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.’ Through water, as stated (in Jud. 5:4), ‘Lord, when You went forth from Seir, when You marched [from the field of Edom, the earth trembled, even the heavens dripped, even the clouds dropped water].’ Through (i.e., in)²⁸In Hebrew the prefix b used here can be translated either “through” or “in.” the desert, as stated (in Numb. 1:1), ‘Then the Lord spoke unto Moses in the Sinai desert.’” And why was it given through these three things? It is that, just as these are free for all who come into the world, so too are the words of the Torah free for all who come to the world. Thus it is stated (in Is. 55:1), “Ho, all who are thirsty, come to the waters (of Torah); even if you have no money, come, buy food, and eat. So come, buy food, wine, and milk without money and without cost.” “In the Sinai Desert.” Why in the Sinai desert? It is that whoever does not make himself ownerless like the desert cannot acquire²⁹The Hebrew verb also means “buy.” the Torah.³⁰See ‘Eruv. 54a; Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Bashodesh 1. It is therefore stated, “in the Sinai desert.”

And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that He might afflict thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no.

They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way; They found no city of habitation.

And afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said unto Pharaoh: ‘Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: Let My people go, that they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness.’

He found him in a desert land, and in the waste, a howling wilderness; He compassed him about, He cared for him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.

But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall be set alive before the LORD, to make atonement over him, to send him away for Azazel into the wilderness.

Oh that I were in the wilderness, In a lodging-place of wayfaring men, That I might leave my people, And go from them! For they are all adulterers, An assembly of treacherous men.