במדבר Bemidbar

My Musing
Everyone likes a good ending; it brings a feeling of resolution. You want the bad guy to get his just deserts and you root for the good guy to get some reward or achieve his goal. But in life are we supposed to see someone get punished? Look at the case reflectively. Would you want everyone to know you were punished?
But when something good happens all should share in your joy and good fortune and should feel good for you.
Hence the midrash explains that the paradigm of our punishment, Tisha B’Av , the date of the destruction of the Temple was never publicized, but the date of the Revelation at Sinai- which we will commemorate next week with the holiday of Shavuot is well celebrated.

מדרש תנחומא (ורשא) פרשת במדבר סימן א
(במדבר א:א) "וַיְדַבֵּר יְדֹוָד אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית לְצֵאתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לֵאמֹר"

“And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying”

זה שאמר הכתוב (תהלים לו:ז) "צִדְקָתְךָ כְּהַרְרֵי אֵל מִשְׁפָּטֶךָ תְּהוֹם רַבָּה אָדָם וּבְהֵמָה תוֹשִׁיעַ יְדֹוָד"
"צִדְקָתְךָ כְּהַרְרֵי אֵל" זה צדקה שאתה מביא לעולם מפורסמת היא על ההרים הללו.
"מִשְׁפָּטֶךָ תְּהוֹם רַבָּה" משפט שאתה עושה בעולם כתהום רבה.

This is what the scriptures say: “Thy righteousness is like the mighty mountains; Thy judgments are like the great deep; man and beast Thou preservest, O Lord”
“Thy righteousness is like the mighty mountains” this is the righteousness that was brought to the world and was publicized from the mountains.
“Thy judgments are like the great deep” is the judgment that You do in the world as unfathomable as the depths.

מה "תְּהוֹם רַבָּה" בסתר, אף משפטיך בסתר.

Just as the depths are secret so are God’s judgments.

כיצד?
כיון שחרבה ירושלים, בתשעה באב חרבה. וכשהראה לו ליחזקאל מראה לו בעשרים לחדש.
למה?
שלא לפרסם באיזה חדש חרבה.

How?
Since Jerusalem was destroyed, on the ninth of Av it was destroyed. And when God showed to Yechezkel, he showed him that it would happen on the 20th of the month. Why? To not publicize when the destruction would occur.

אבל כשהוא בא לגדל את ישראל הוא מפרסם באיזה יום, באיזה מקום, באיזה חדש, באיזו שנה, באיזו אפטיא.
באיזה יום? "בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ".
באיזה מקום? "בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי".
באיזו חדש? "לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי".
באיזה שנה? "בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית".
לאיזה אפטיא? "לְצֵאתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם".

But when God came to grant Israel greatness he publicized the day, the place, the month, the year, the event. Which day- First of the month, which place- Sinai, which month- the second month, Which year- the second year, which event- Exodus from Egypt.

מה אמר להם? (במדבר א:ב) "שְׂאוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת כָּל זָכָר לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָם"

What did he say to them” 'Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male, by their polls”