Rabbi Jonathan Sacks tell us that the Book of Numbers is a key test to understand the forty years of the Children of Israel’s wandering in the desert as they make their way to the land of Israel. This narrative of “the long walk to freedom” shows that there is no quick way and no shortcut to freedom and one must pass certain tests in order to reach the goal. Numbers sets out warnings that are to be experienced before freedom can be achieved and therefore, even though we do not see much hope at first, we realize that this is indeed a book about hope. We are moving toward the end of the Torah just as the wanderers are moving closer to entering the land. They are no longer close to the narrow place and the oppression that they have left behind and must be prepared to enter the land while considering how it is to be governed.
If we look at a map we see that the distance but this time on the desert between Egypt and Israel is not great yet it is very important in that it gives the children of Israel time to forget the slavery and oppression of their former home. We begin to understand that this is why the journey takes so long. While the trek is arduous physically, this is also a psychological, moral, and spiritual journey Forty years is considered to be a generation during which people change. To achieve freedom after slavery requires adaptation and we see that we do not achieve freedom just by reaching it. Mindsets and habits must be changed and God wants us to be sure that we are ready for freedom and liberty. As the children of Israel become a nation, they have new responsibilities and these include dealing with self-restraint, courage, and patience. Without that, a journey of a few hundred miles can take forty years. We indeed understand that even as they enter the land, the journey is still at the beginning.
Like in his three other Torah commentaries, Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus, Rabbi Sacks provides several looks at each Torah portion and I feel that the has left no stone unturned. He provides us with a lot to think about and to me that is the beauty of the Five Books of Moses.
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