Beyond the Desert

This week’s Torah reading, Behaalotecha, describes the preparations for and the initial stages of the journey of the Jewish people through the desert after having camped at Mount Sinai for more than a year.

At Mount Sinai, the Jews received the Torah and soon after constructed the Sanctuary there. Yet, our people did not remain content with having achieved these spiritual heights. Rather than resting on their laurels and staying in the desert where G‑d provided for all their needs, they set out on a mission — to journey to Eretz Yisrael.

The desert is barren and desolate. Yet as the Jews traveled through the desert, they transformed it, albeit temporarily, into a settled land, a place where crops, trees, and even flowers grew. For the Jews did not travel empty-handed. With them, they took the Torah that they had been given and the Sanctuary that they had constructed. G‑d’s presence, which rested within the Sanctuary and is expressed in our lives, brought about these positive changes in the surroundings in which they lived.

The Baal Shem Tov explains that the journeys of the Jewish people through the desert are reflected in the journeys of every individual through life. Some of the phases that we pass through may appear barren and desolate. Nevertheless, we must appreciate that this is only the external setting in which we are placed. It should not reflect our inner state, for G‑d’s presence accompanies us at all times, and the Torah is with us in all surroundings. The Torah fills our lives with inner meaning and depth, which in turn empower us to be outwardly oriented. We can change the environments in which we live and cultivate their growth and development.

Shabbat Shalom!

Candle lighting time: 8:06 PM (NYC)