Walk Through the Parsha by Rabbi David Walk

Emanations
B’ha’aloticha - 5768
June 13, 2008
I get by with a little help from my friends.  Sorry about starting my article this week with the word I, but I just couldn’t express the idea any better than the Beatles. This week we see Moshe setting up the apparatus of religious governance, and allow it to extend him some help in managing that whining group in the desert.  Judaism basically invented the concept of separate branches of
government. The king, Temple and Rabbinic court were separate, and sometimes competing, entities. In this week’s Torah reading Moshe appoints the 70 man council which will help him guide the Jews through the wilderness and into the Land of Israel. As all the presidential candidates are getting into trouble over appointees, it’s instructive to see how Moshe went about the process.

First of all the number of members of this august body is fascinating. There are certain numbers which recur in Biblical literature, and, therefore, are heavy with symbolic meaning. So, it’s no coincident that 70 is the number of the progeny of Noach (Genesis, chapter 10), the number of family members descending into Egypt and the figurative number of nations in the world (There are presently 192
member states in the United Nations).  What is the mystical message embedded in the number 70? This is a composite number. Seven is the number we use to represent the cycles and phenomena of this world. Ten and its multiples represent the presence of all possibilities. So, together seven and ten combine to mean all the possibilities contained in this physical world. In theory, anything beyond 70 is a repeat of a paradigm already covered. Therefore, we want a high court of 70 members to control all the situations with which the natural world can confront our nation.

So, we know how many members we want. How do we go about identifying the proper applicants?  There are two versions of how this was done. When you read the verses (Numbers 11:16-17) it seems that Moshe chose from the leadership cadre of each tribe. However, the Talmud (Sanhedrin 17a) says that lots were drawn to determine who should go to the convocation. In any case it appears that Moshe had one other rule. There should be equal representation of each tribe. The
trouble was that 70 is not an even multiple of 12. That’s why there were two left over nominees floating around the camp, Eldad and Medad.  Ultimately, these two recused themselves and seventy elders were in place to lead the nation.

Even though these men were experienced in positions of authority within their
tribes, how did they know how to function in this novel role within this brand
new institution? Here Moshe got a little hand from God. It says that God took from Moshe’s spirit and expertise to distribute these powers amongst these men. The word for took is atzilut, which gets translated as emanations in Kabbalah.
Atzilut is often translated as nobility.  Back in parshat Mishpatim (Exodus 24:11) the atzilei b’nai Yisroel are called the nobles of Israel. The mystical concept of atzilut shares an idea with the more mundane notion of nobility.  In atzilut the noble source bestows bounty on others without being adversely affected. It’s the idea of giving without losing as a result. The famous metaphor is that of the candle which lights another without being extinguished or even diminished. The
unmoved mover. This is why Onkeles (the authoritative Aramaic translation, circa 100 CE) translates it as marbi or increased. The sum total of judicial acumen has been spread and grown.

This is marvelous for the noble, infinitely gifted Moshe. He could just stand there and inspire others to greatness. But what about us? How can we pass on to others what is precious; that which we want to endure?  What can we do to insure the continuity of the institutions that we hold dear? Well, that question is answered by
a comment made by Rabbeinu Bachye (Bachye ben Asher, d. 1340) on this week’s Torah reading. He formulates his premise on the verse where the instructions are given to gather 70 sages (Numbers 11:16), and bases his position on a Midrash.  The whole picture develops from two verses written by King Solomon. In Proverbs, Shlomo Hemelch says, “Incline your ear and heed the words of the wise (22:17).” That makes it incumbent upon us to listen to them and their decisions, but what’s their role? In Ecclesiastes, we receive the Solomonic
instruction, “The words of the wise are like goads (12:11).” Okay, think cattle prods, gentle ones without the high voltage.

Rabbeinu Bachye then expands upon the Midrash which extends the agricultural
imagery. The scholars educating the next generation are like cowboys teaching the cattle. In Israel there weren’t great cattle drives. Bovines were used mostly for plowing. The first step in the process of teaching an ox how to plow required the goad or prod to firmly move the beast in the proper direction. Next came
training in how to pull the heavy plow blade through the sod. Finally the teaching farmer held the plow handle to gently guide the animal in the proper direction. We must follow the same formula in educating our replacements. Initially we must
firmly move our progeny in the proper direction. Then we must clearly instruct them in the proper behavior patterns. Hopefully, in the final stage all they require is tender guidance to remain on the straight furrow or path to success in life. And
what is this success? Just like in biology the greatest success is succession.  We measure our achievement by the degree to which those ideals we hold dear are replicated in our successors.

Even Moshe Rabbeinu found this enterprise exasperating, and he may not have even succeeded with his own children.  However, his accomplishments with the nation continue to this day. So, we parents and teachers must never let
the frustration level get to us.  Perseverance in the three steps of educating the next generation will pay off, because we get by with a little help from our friends and our God.