B’midbar (Numbers 1:1−4:20)

This Week’s Torah Portion: B’midbar (Numbers 1:1−4:20)

We begin the 4th book of the Torah, Numbers; its Hebrew name is B’midbar -“in the wilderness”.

The Torah was not given in the land of its mission (Israel). Learning the lessons from the Torah is not dependent upon a specific land. The Torah, in the words of the Midrash, was given “in public domain”, a place not subject to ownership, a place belonging to all. “Whoever wishes to take it, let that person come and take it.” Or, in the words of another Midrash: “Just as the desert is ownerless property, so are the words of Torah free for all to take.”