This week we begin our journey into the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar in Hebrew. Bamidbar means In the Wilderness, and this week's parsha begins with all the wandering people gathering on all sides of the portable Mishkan or temple they had set up. There is a mandate to take a census and all the tribes are named, counted, and assigned their different roles.
The words of Bamidbar and the images of the tribes amassed on the four sides of the Mishkan remind me of our son's Bar Mitzvah in late May of 2001, during the first year we had acquired, repaired, painted, and moved into our building. The sanctuary was filled with friends and family on all sides, many of whom had traveled from far away for the event, as well as community member friends who had worked together to create this new home for Nahalat Shalom. Bamidbar was our son's parsha, and it was almost Shavuot. He led the service with support and preparation from Rabbi Lynn and Cantor Beth. Following the service, the Community Klezmer Band played for dancing, with him on drum set. So much came together for us in Bamidbar.
Also, the images of the encampment in the desert take me back to the wilderness canoe trip I went on in August 2019, a week of canoeing and camping on the Green River in Canyonlands National Park with Rabbis Shefa Gold, Eli Herb, and six other trekkers. Living outside with sun and stars, carrying everything with us, moving on to the next place each day to set up a new camp, we were on a journey through time. As we proceeded downriver towards the confluence with the Colorado, the elevation continued to drop, revealing dinosaur footprints and strata from geological time that showed how relatively puny our "Anthropocene" era is. Spending Shabbat morning in the cool shade of a massive rock overhang, we pilgrims shared what we'd heard the wilderness telling us, its special Torah.
Another wilderness journey will culminate next week as we complete the forty-nine days of counting the Omer from Passover to Shavuot, from Liberation to Revelation. During this last week of Omer counting, we focus on Malchut, the Indwelling Presence invoked when we see that even what may appear to be a vast wilderness is a holy place, a place that can be transformed by blessing.
Join us this evening at 7:30 for our Chanting Kabbalat Shabbat as we welcome the Sabbath bride in the wilderness with chanting in community via Zoom.
Meeting ID: 819 8456 7580, Password: SHABBAT