TORAH 4 TEENS

BY TEENS NCSY ISRAEL

Ian

Schwartz

Gush Etzion Chapter Director Come Together

We live in a time where unfortunately there is a lot of machloket within Am Yisrael. There are many huge and fundamental disagreements about what Medinat Yisrael is meant to be.

Sometimes it seems scary and unpredictable when we see the news of the massive protests going on in the streets and people throwing around words like “civil war”. It seems like achdut is very far from the reality that we live in. However, we have to ask, what is the true nature of achdut? Does this mean that everyone is supposed to agree about everything?

In our parsha we learn about the different flags and arrangements of the various tribes of Am Yisrael. Every tribe had their own flag, symbol, and expertise. 12 uniquely different groups made up the Jewish people. Reuven Jews are different from Shimon Jews, and Dan Jews are different from Binyamin Jews. Each with their own culture and lineage. Nevertheless all of the tribes are part of the Jewish people.

Hashem created the Jewish people to be diverse, this isn’t something to fear but rather something to celebrate. Rav Kook writes that the word םולש is often misunderstood to mean peace, however that is not the true essence of םולש. True םולש means completeness, when all sides despite their differences learn to work together.

One side does not have to change itself for the other, rather each must learn to appreciate the other, together this creates the beautiful tapestry of Am Yisrael. For each of us we should look to find the good in our friends and family, instead of feeling distance because of our differences. We can use it as a way to appreciate the other.

Developing this type of achdut is the only way we can properly receive the Torah this coming Shavuot, as Rashi says בלב דחא שיאכ

דחא, one person with one heart.

Shabbat Shalom

Koby Erdfarb 11th Grade, Efrat Count Me In

Parshat Bamidbar begins with Hashem commanding Moshe to count Am Yisroel. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks asks, why does Hashem want Am Yisroel counted? Hashem doesn’t know how many people there are?

In addition, counting people can be seen as devaluing the importance and uniqueness of each individual by saying that they are all interchangeable or unimportant. When an inmate is put into jail one of the first things that is done is that they are given an inmate number. This lesson was never clearer than in Auschwitz when the Nazi’s numbered the Jews as they arrived. You are no longer a person with a name, just a number. Yet, we know that Hashem values each and every Jewish neshama. So how do we reconcile these two competing ideas?

If you look carefully at the psukim, when Hashem commands Moshe to count the Jewish people, he tells him to count them while “lifting up their heads.” This unique language dictates that every Jew should feel proud to be counted among Hashem’s children. It instills in them the confidence that each and every one of them can contribute to society through their own unique gifts and talents. When Hashem told Moshe to count the Jews, he wasn’t devaluing them, rather the opposite, he was showing them how unique and important each and every one of them are to him.

Our lesson is to realize that even though we may have varying levels of observance or different political views, every Jew is important and has what to offer Am Yisrael and the world as a whole. As chag Shavuot approaches we need to internalize this lesson and celebrate receiving the Torah as we did at Har Sinai. K’Ish Echod Belev Echad, a united Jewish people and know that Hashem loves us.

Shabbat shalom