Rabbi Konigsburg's Blog

Being alone in the wilderness is a profound experience. Over the course of my life, I have been blessed with moments of solitude in nature, surrounded by the majesty of our universe. Whether on an endless beach alone in the early morning, a deserted trail on a forested mountainside, or on an outcrop beneath the blanket of stars in the Southern Negev of Israel, there have been a handful of moments where I have successfully encountered a infinitesimal fraction of our cosmos and existence. And in these moments, I feel a connection to the Israelites who similarly encountered the Divine in the wilderness, away from slavery in Egypt and the civilized world.

In Parshat Bamidbar, our sages explore why the Torah was given to the Israelites in the midbar, the wilderness. In Midrash Rabbah, the Rabbis teach that before God commanded from the Tent of Meeting, God spoke through the burning bush - a humble lowly plant. And even though God would speak to Moses from the lofty top of Mount Sinai, God comes down from the heights to the level of human beings to speak to the Israelites from the Tent of Meeting. The Rabbis see this as a humble act of God, who requires us to emulate such humility; as exclaimed by the prophet Micah, “And walk modestly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Thus, receiving the Torah in the wilderness too is an act of humility signifying that value of God’s commands stem not from the grandeur of their delivery but rather from the quality of the giver and the value of their content.

As we enter this Shabbat and continue into our celebration of the giving of the Torah with the holiday of Shavuot, let us emulate God and bring ourselves back down to the level of creation. Let us understand our place in the cosmos and feel the connection to the natural world around us. As we stay up late Saturday night learning as a symbol of our anticipation for the anniversary of the Revelation, let us humble ourselves so we can better understand God’s instructions for us. As our families celebrate together at our Ice Cream Social, let us feel the Divine presence that resides on this level of humankind. And as we join together for Yizkor and remember our loved ones, let us realign our values, shutting out the noise of civilization to be present with the memories of those who walked the Earth before us. Perhaps if we can successfully frame all of these moments, then we can experience a glimpse of the essence of God’s Torah and replicate the properties of a proper midbar.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach