What kind of book should the Torah be? Should it aggrandize the Israelites and celebrate their armies and their conquests? Or should it be a record of God's desires for human endeavor? This question once occupied the mind of the editors of the Torah. In this week's portion, we get a glimpse of their decision-making process.

What We Mean by "Torah"

 August 1, 2008
Rabbi Seymour Rossel

The Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, remind us that God supported our people in the wilderness. God provided the manna, that magical food that works like frozen yogurt -- it tastes like anything you want it to taste like, but always a little like frozen yogurt. God provided the water, with only a little tap from Moses here and there.

Not that we behaved like adults. When God served dinner, the people complained. Too much of the same thing. How many times in a row can you eat frozen yogurt and pretend that it's lox and bagels? When is God going to replace this water nonsense with Coca-Cola or Gatorade, or even better with Diet Coke? What if we all die of scurvy from not eating fruit? When can we expect God's delivery of lemons, limes, and oranges? And where are the luscious fish from the Nile, the birds we used to net by the dozens, and on and on. God was a fine creator, but the Israelites in the wilderness were never satisfied with God as a caterer.

Now we come to the very last portion of the Book of Numbers, Masei, the portion named "Marches." It begins with the words, "These were the marches of the Israelites who started out from the land of Egypt, troop by troop, led by Moses and Aaron." And it proceeds to list forty-two places that the Israelites encamped on the way to Canaan.

The Israelites camped at Succot, then at Etham. They turned around to camp at Migdol. Then, they "passed through the sea into the wilderness of Etham." They camped at Marah, then at Elim. "There were twelve springs in Elim and seventy palm trees." From Elim, they camped at the Sea of Reeds. Leaving the Sea of Reeds, they camped at the wilderness of Sin, at Dofkah, at Alush, and at Rephidim. "It was there that the people had no water to drink." Next, they camped in the wilderness of Sinai. The Torah says that this part of the march took one year.

Next, the Israelites camped in various places in the wilderness of Sinai and the wilderness of Zin. This part of the march took thirty-eight years.

After staying a long time at Kadesh, the Israelites marched to Mount Hor where Aaron died. They marched from Hor to Zalmonah, to Punon, to Ovot, to Iyim, to Dibon-gad, to Almon-diblataim beneath (Mount) Nebo, and climbed the steppe of Moab overlooking Jericho. This part of the march took place in the fortieth year. As soon as the list of places comes to an end, God commands Moses again concerning the conquest of Canaan.

This is a strange list. First, it is precise. If we knew exactly where these places were, we could connect the dots and draw a precise map of the wanderings. Second, the list mentions Mount Sinai, but says absolutely nothing about the great events that happened there. Yet, it carefully lists the places where water was found or where it did not exist. Third, it does not speak about the Israelites as a people. It talks about them moving "troop by troop," the way an army moves.

It was Bible scholar Graham I. Davies of Cambridge University who noticed that this section is very much like the lists of army movements found in ancient Assyria. Instead of describing the forty years of wandering, it is filled with army intelligence -- places where supplies were abundant, places where supplies were scarce, and so on. Another clue comes when the list states that, when the Israelites reached Moab, the Canaanite king of Arad, a fortified city of the Negev, was informed of their approach.

There were only two ways the makers of the list could know that. Only if there were Israelite spies sent ahead to infiltrate the city of Arad, or if the list was made later, after the Israelites settled in Canaan.

Davies also points out to Adonai's instructions at the end of the list, commanding the Israelites to drive out the Canaanites, destroy their idols, and demolish their places of worship. Do it thoroughly, God said, making sure to drive them all out; otherwise, they might continue to attack and "trouble" you -- and you will end up being driven out by them!

One more thing you should know here. Before Deuteronomy was added to the Torah, the Torah ended here and the last portion in Numbers told of the death of Moses. Later, Deuteronomy was added and the death of Moses was moved to the end of Deuteronomy where we today assume it belongs.

What does all this mean? The list is a military map for marching through the wilderness. There is no talk of holiness or mitzvot in this list, no sacrifices, no kindness to neighbors, no Ark, no priests. Adonai's instructions at the end are commands to the army of conquest.

The Israelites began their wanderings dependent on Adonai for manna and water, but ended as a self-reliant army. Some Bible scholars even speculate that the Torah used to include the Book of Joshua, that it is illogical for it to end outside Canaan. Without the conquest and with Deuteronomy and the three sermons of Moses, the Torah became a different book: a spiritual book, focusing on what happened at Sinai, its climax the death of Moses.

So the issue at the end of the Book of Numbers is what kind of Torah do we want? One that glorifies conquest or one that glorifies commandments? For a brief moment, in the days of the kings and the prophets, the Torah was like a drama with alternate endings. If the kings prevailed, the Torah would be a history of the kingdom of Israel. If the prophets prevailed, the Torah would remind us that God is our only true ruler.

Today, we look back in awe. We can probably thank the prophet Jeremiah for this little change in the Torah's ending, a little change that made all the difference in what we mean when we say the word "Torah." And let us say: Amen.