25 Iyyar 5781
|
“But they shall not come and look as the Holy Objects are covered, lest they die.” (Bamidbar 4:20)
The Sefer HaChinuch writes that Parshat Bamidbar does not contain any of the 613 Mitzvot of the Torah.
The
Baal Halachot Gadolot disputes the words of the Sefer HaChinuch and
says that Bamidbar does have one Mitzvah, the verse cited above. This
verse prohibits the Levi’im from staring at the utensils of the Mishkan
as they were being wrapped by the Kohanim in preparation for transport.
Once the Holy Objects were properly covered, it was the task of the
Levi’im to load them on their shoulders and carry them to the next
station in the midbar*.
The
Rambam in Sefer HaMitzvot says that the count of the 613 Mitzvot of the
Torah includes only those that were relevant and applicable forever.
Mitzvot that were one time occurrences, or short term for the midbar,
were not included. Had they been, there would be almost 300 additional
Mitzvot besides the 613 Mitzvot! Thus, Rambam agrees with Sefer
HaChinuch that there are no Mitzvot in Parshat Bamidbar because the
prohibition of the Levites from staring at the utensils of the Mishkan
was only applicable in the midbar therefore making it a temporary Mitzvah.
Rambam
bases his opinion on the Talmud, Makos 23b, which quotes the pasuk “The
Torah that Moshe commanded us is the heritage of the congregation of
Yaacov.” (Devarim 33:4)
The
gematria of the word Torah is 611, the number of Mitzvot that Moshe
himself taught Israel after the nation had heard the first two of the
Ten Commandments from Hashem Himself, thus making a total of 613.
Since
the Mitzvot are described as the heritage of the Congregation of
Yaacov, it stands to reason that the 613 Mitzvot are not one time
events, but permanent ones that apply forever.
This
would exclude the prohibition cited in the verse above, which was
applicable only during the forty years of the generation of the midbar.
***
* midbar = desert. Bamidbar, the Hebrew name for the Book of Numbers, means "in the desert."
More news on the La"G laOmer tragedy, and other topics, can be found on the right hand sidebar. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
UPDATE 20210508: Rivka Levy has a Meron video focusing on the bottom of the stairs and needs help figuring out what's happening there. More HERE.
Also a new UPDATE 20210509: Video from 'Area 42' where the crush happened.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I appreciate your comments and read them all. You are invited to visit again and, of course, leave comments. These are the rules:
1. This is a change brought about by my first foul, spam-worthy comment on the part of an anonymous commenter: I WILL NOT POST ANY MORE COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS COMMENTS. You MUST have at least a nickname at the end of your post, period. If you don't have enough courage to name yourself in some form or fashion, don't bother to comment here.
2. If you do not agree with content posted on this blog, please use polite ways of responding; make it easy for me to resolve conflict. Foul language, nastiness and attempts to convert me and my readers to other religions will be deleted. My blog; my call.
3. I, the blogger, reserve the prerogative to moderate comments, or not, without notice, for any reason.