כשפותחין ארון הקודש אומרים:
וַיְהִי בִּנְסעַ הָאָרן וַיּאמֶר משֶׁה. קוּמָה ה' וְיָפֻצוּ איְבֶיךָ. וְיָנֻסוּ מְשנְאֶיךָ מִפָּנֶיךָ:
כִּי מִצִּיּון תֵּצֵא תורָה. וּדְבַר ה' מִירוּשָׁלָיִם:
בָּרוּךְ שֶׁנָּתַן תּורָה לְעַמּו יִשרָאֵל בִּקְדֻשָּׁתו:
It happened upon the journeying of the Ark, Moses said, “Rise, Eternal,” and Your enemies were dispersed, and Your foes were put to flight from before You. For the Torah will come forth from Zion, and the word of the Eternal from Jerusalem. Blessed is the one who gave Torah to [the] people of Israel in holiness.
וּבְנֻחֹה יֹאמַר. שׁוּבָה יְהֹוָה רִבְבוֹת אַלְפֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: קוּמָה יְהֹוָה לִמְנוּחָתֶךָ. אַתָּה וַאֲרוֹן עֻזֶּךָ: כֹּהֲנֶיךָ יִלְבְּשׁוּ צֶדֶק. וַחֲסִידֶיךָ יְרַנֵּנוּ: בַּעֲבוּר דָּוִד עַבְדֶּךָ אַל תָּשֵׁב פְּנֵי מְשִׁיחֶךָ: כִּי לֶקַח טוֹב נָתַתִּי לָכֶם. תּוֹרָתִי אַל תַּעֲזֹבוּ: עֵץ חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ. וְתֹמְכֶיהָ מְאֻשָּׁר: דְּרָכֶיהָ דַרְכֵי נֹעַם וְכָל נְתִיבֹתֶיהָ שָׁלוֹם: הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ יְהֹוָה אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּבָה. חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם:
And when it rested, he would say: Return, Adonoy, to the myriads and thousands of Israel. Arise, Adonoy unto Your resting place, You and the Ark of Your strength. Let Your priests clothe themselves in righteousness, and let Your devoted ones sing in joy. For the sake of David, Your servant, do not reject Your anointed. For I have given you good instruction, do not forsake My Torah. It is a tree of life to those who grasp it, and those who support it are fortunate. Its ways are ways of pleasantness and all its paths are peace. Cause us to return to You, Adonoy, and we shall return; renew our days as of old.
When the Ark was to set out, Moses would say: Advance, O יהוה !
May Your enemies be scattered,
And may Your foes flee before You!
Return, O יהוה,
You who are Israel’s myriads of thousands!
Why do these two verses start and finish with an inverted letter nun?
Prof. Emanual Tov writing on TheTorah.Com:
Comparative evidence shows that the inverted nunim derive from the forms of the Greek letters sigma [Ϲ] and its reversed shape antisigma [Ͻ], known from the Alexandrian scribal tradition and the Qumran scrolls as parenthesis signs. The inverted nunim represented the closest forms to the letters sigma and antisigma that were unknown in the Jewish scribal tradition.
In this case, the scribes who included these signs were likely communicating to later readers that these verses are in the wrong place.[5] This seems to be how the 2nd century C.E. Tanna, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel understood the signs as well:
אבות דרבי נתן א פרק לד רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר עתידה פרשה זו שתעקר ממקומה ותכתב במקום אחר:
Fathers According to R. Nathan A ch. 34 Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: “In the future, this passage will be removed from its place and written in a different spot.”
She has hewn her seven pillars.
The Gemara asks: According to whose opinion is that which Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said that Rabbi Yonatan said, that with regard to the verse: “With wisdom she built her house, she carved its seven pillars” (Proverbs 9:1), these are the seven books of the Torah? According to whose opinion? It is according to the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, as by his count there are seven books of the Torah: Genesis; Exodus; Leviticus; Numbers until: “And when the Ark traveled”; the portion: “And when the Ark traveled,” which is considered its own book; the remainder of Numbers; and Deuteronomy.
In certain contexts, the passage ויהי בנסוע הארון is considered a separate book of the Torah. (See Rashi's commentary on the verse.) Since that passage contains 85 letters, any parchment with 85 letters can be considered a scroll.
So where are we?
- Numbers 10:35-36 are set off at the beginning and end by an inverted letter nun. Is this merely a scribe's notation, does it signify these verses do not belong here and should be moved, or does it signify that these verses are their own book?
- Counting this as a book and also counting the part of Numbers before these two verses and the part after these two verses as their own books, gives us a total of 7 (sanctity, perfection, completeness) books.
- The two verses also contain 85 letters; 85 letters is the minimum to require us, on Shabbat, to save a Torah from fire.
- But why are these two verses considered to make up an entire book of the Torah?
- And why are these two verses read during the Torah service when we take out and then return the Sefer Torah?
Numbers 10:35-36
When the Ark was to set out, Moses would say: Advance, O יהוה !
May Your enemies be scattered, and may Your foes flee before You!
And when it halted, he would say: Return, O יהוה,
You who are Israel’s myriads of thousands!
Rabbi Pesach Woliki (TheIsraelBible.com):
"According to these two verses, when the people of Israel traveled, the ark would precede them. Moses would utter this declaration, thus causing the enemies of Israel to scatter and flee. Moses would then make a second declaration when the Ark came to rest.
When did this ever occur? Numerous wars between Israel and other nations are recorded in the Torah. There is no conflict that appears to fit the bill. What exactly is being described here?"
Again from Rabbi Wolicki:
"The book of Numbers leading up to this point describes the ideal setup of the camp of Israel with the flags of each of the tribes, the inauguration of the Tabernacle, and protocol for travel. The final verse immediately preceding our two verses describes the beginning of the travel of the nation of Israel to the land of Canaan to take possession of it.
In the chapters that follow this two-verse section we read a series of disturbing stories. The nation of Israel complains about the manna from heaven. The spies sent by Moses return with a negative report about the land, leading the nation to lose faith. Soon thereafter we read about the tragic rebellion led by Korach and the plague that followed it."
One remaining question: why do we read these two verses in the Torah Service?
עֵץ חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ. וְתֹמְכֶיהָ מְאֻשָּׁר: דְּרָכֶיהָ דַרְכֵי נֹעַם וְכָל נְתִיבֹתֶיהָ שָׁלוֹם: הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ יְהֹוָה אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּבָה. חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם:
It is a tree of life to those who grasp it, and those who support it are fortunate. Its ways are ways of pleasantness and all its paths are peace. Cause us to return to You, Adonoy, and we shall return; renew our days as of old.