Shabbat Be-ha’alotcha

Written by Irit Burkeman Friday, 01 June 2007

Parashat Be-ha’alotcha deals with a number of issues, including Pesach, making of the trumpets, and leadership. However, I was struck by chapter 9, v 15–23, which deals with the way the children of Israel travelled through the desert.

A simple system of “traffic lights” was put into action: red, the cloud, which meant they had to stop and camp, and green, the cloud appeared like fire. (In Exodus 13: 21– 22 there is a reference to a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire.) The choice of cloud and fire is interesting and befitting the desert climate. The children of Israel wandered through the desert, which is exceedingly hot during the day, so the moving cloud can be a glimmer of hope for a respite from the sun, providing a shadow when it will stop. At night the temperatures drop dramatically, so fire can be very warming as well as providing some light during the dark period. 

(Interestingly, these verses repeat and expand on those in Exodus 40: 36–38). 

Wandering in the desert is full of uncertainties. Where will water be found? Where will shelter be found? Will there be a sand storm? When will the end of the journey occur? The only certainty for the children of Israel was the cloud guiding and shielding them, and they had to put their total faith in God who guided the cloud. 

The mention of the length of time is also intriguing and very much like a story. Sometimes the cloud would rest from evening to morning (is this why we celebrate our chagim from the evening before?), or they would travel through the day and night, or a couple of days, or a month. The repetition of “or” in verses 21 and 22, adds to the uncertainty and emphasises the total commitment of the children of Israel to follow God’s instructions as and when they are given.  Within this short paragraph the phrase al pi Adonai, “according to God’s words”, appear six times (twice each in verses 18, 20, 23) like a refrain, reaffirming a binding of their will to God’s bidding.  

However, there appears to be no reason for the length of time of the cloud’s movements. It might be in response to the natural conditions or as a test to the Israelites willingness to obey God’s instructions.

The children of Israel travelled according to God’s instructions. They did not have regular times for stopping; rather, they were dependent on the cloud, their travel guided by God. As a Reform Jew, I ask myself why, if in the desert time seemed so unimportant and random, why has Judaism become so strict regarding times of Shabbat and chagim? 

Irit Burkeman