Parshas Beha’aloscha – first things first

In the middle of Parshas Beha’aloscha we encounter a phrase that identifies, with great specificity, when God presented a particular law to Moshe: “Adonoy spoke with Moshe in the desert of Sinai in the second year of their going out of the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying: The children of Israel shall perform the Passover sacrifice in it’s proper time…” (Numbers 9:1-2). One reason this identifying phrase is so striking is that it parallels another phrase, at the very start of the book of Bamidbar/Numbers: “And Adonoy spoke to Moshe in the Sinai desert, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year of their going out of Egypt, saying: Take a census …” (Number 1:1-2). One difference between the two identifiers is that the law in this week’s parsha was actually presented earlier, despite the fact this it is recorded eight chapters later.

Rashi notes in his commentary on this parsha that this unusual ordering of the commands teaches us an important principle: SheAin Seder MookDam OoMeh-OoChar BaTorah – There is no order of precedence or succession in the Torah. Put another way, we are not to assume that the Torah is always presented in a perfectly linear manner; rather, God arranged the Torah in a certain way so as to establish a number of important associations, at the expense occasionally of chronology.

One might ask: why was the injunction in this week’s Torah portion listed out of its chronological order? Rashi suggests that this was done to spare the children of Israel shame, because this was the only time they performed the Passover sacrifice in the 40 years they spent in the desert. With the aid of footnotes on Rashi by Rabbi Avrohom Davis we learn that God only commanded the Jewish people to bring the Passover sacrifice this one time, before they entered the Land Of Israel. God’s intention was that the Jews would proceed into the Land of Israel shortly after the giving of the Torah. Instead, the sin of the episode of the spies occurred, leading to a forty-year delay. To lessen the embarrassment that might arise through attention to the mitzvah of the Passover sacrifice - that the Jewish people lost for 40 years - might bring about, God reordered the chapters in Numbers.

One way we can apply the lesson of this out-of-synch injunction in our own lives is to consider how we approach a situation if we need to share with a loved one an instance where they acted in an unappealing manner. Do we quickly raise the indelicate matter, in the hope perhaps that candor and directness will lead to an apology or changed behavior? Or do we act more considerately (and with more emotional intelligence), by first discussing a few instances where our loved acted in a praiseworthy fashion and only then broaching the problematic episode? If we model ourselves after the way God structured the Book of Numbers, we forsake forthrightness and embrace a broader view of those we love, even in difficult moments.