Seder-Order: The Measure and Ideal of Middot

Parashat B'midbar begins the fourth book of Torah, also called B'midbar, which means "in the desert," though the familiar English name is "Numbers." This name is based on the Gemara, which refers to the fourth book as Chumash HaP'kudim, "The Book of Counting." Indeed, the parashah starts with God instructing Moses and Aaron to "take a census of the whole Israelite company" (Numbers 1:2). Is counting and accounting such a central theme as to merit the naming of an entire book of the Torah?

The middah of seder (סדר, "order") permeates the entire parashah. After the taking of the census, the Torah describes the formation of the Israelites into encampments and marching formations. We then get more counting and the organization of Levitical duties to be carried out in the Tabernacle.
-Rabbi Avi Fertig

A person is like astrand of precious pearls, with many natural abilities, intellect, middot ("character traits"), and exalted qualities. Order is like the clasp that holds the strand of pearls together. Without order, all of a person's exalted qualities will be wasted and the person will be left empty.
-Rabbi Simcha Zissel Broide, Alter of Kelm

I consider myself a fairly organized person. My computer has thousands of files neatly organized into folders and subfolders. Yet the level of organization required in today's modern world sems to be ever elusive. How often do I forget where I put the password
to that site or account? One wrong character and my e-mail is not received. Living in Israel, I find myself having to schedule meetings in three different time zones. How often do I make a wrong calculation and miss my meeting? And what happens if, God forbid, my hard drive crashes, as it has done twice in the span of just three months?!
I get it. We need the middah of order to get us through our days in one piece, to remind us to back up our computer files! But the Alter is clearly saying more. Rabbi Broide is teaching us that an ordered life allows all of one's abilities to be properly expressed.
-Rabbi Avi Fertig

The separation of individuals and the separation of different groups prevents the reaching of goals. However, mixing them all together [into one unified mass] is also not good. Rather, the optimal system is when each individual uses their unique middot and abilities...directing these abilities to one purpose, to the whole...to reach spiritual wholeness each individual learns from one another.
-Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler

The camp of Israel had a clearly defined inner structure in which everyone knew their place and purpose. Each tribe, and every individual within the tribe, possessed a unique identity and unique qualities. As Rashi comments on the verse above: "Each banner had an insignia, a covered flag hung upon it, the color of one was not like the color of the other." At the same time, each individual Jew blended into the whole of Israel to be part of the purpose for which the entire Jewish nation has been called into covenant.
The Torah's unique description of the ordered encampments teaches us that while each of us is unique, we acquire and express our unique abilities precisely when we function as parts of a larger order. One's unique abilities and strengths are to be valued especially as they are given toward the greater community.
-Rabbi Avi Fertig

The deep lesson to learn from the Torah's seder is that every middah requires a careful balance. At times rigid attention to order is demanded, and at times we need the flexibility to allow for a break in that order. Be willing to be part of a larger order, but retain your sense as a separate individual. Know when to follow the "orders" of a system, and know when to take a stand against that system. Character traits are referred to as middot, which literally means a"measure," because in every middah we are charged to determine the correct measure.
Moreover, being a virtue depends on the purpose for which seder is used. Mussar teaches that middot are only virtues when they are aligned with the greater ideals of Torah. Organizing the Jewish people into a unified whole is not a virtue if it comes at the expense of losing individual identity. Counting is good when each individual does not become just a number. When we use order to be generous, to be kind, to do good in the world, to accomplish the mitzvot as directed by Torah, it is then a virtue and it is then that we emulate God.

Questions to Ask

• Which of your life goals become unreachable without seder? In what ways does seder allow you to live by your core values?
  
• When is it good to observe uniform order, and when should individual expression be the greater value? Do you think schools should have a dress code? Why or why not?
  
• What might be a circumstance in your life in which seder might prevent you from living by your core values?