Because that's where the people are

Dear Friends,

A journalist once asked a bank robber why he kept targeting banks.

If you were G-d, which place would you pick to meet the Jewish people to give them the Torah?

There are so many beautiful, scenic, and majestic places in Israel that would seem like fitting backdrops for the giving of the Torah.
So why, then, was the Torah given in a barren desert, rather than waiting until the Jewish people reached a more comfortable environment?

The Rebbe offers an incisive explanation: the Torah was given in the desert because that is where the Jewish people were at that time. The entire purpose of the Exodus was to receive the Torah, and the desert was their very first stop after leaving Egypt.

The Torah is called Toras Chaim—a Torah of life. Life cannot be suspended, not even for a day or an hour. Regardless of one’s circumstances or level of comfort, the moment is more important than the place, the scenery, or anything else.

Seizing the moment is essential not only because of what we use it for, but because the moment itself is priceless and irretrievable.

This week’s Parsha, Bamidbar, means “in the desert.” It is always read before Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah in the desert—emphasizing that no time should be wasted.

We count the 49 days from Pesach to Shavuos to impress upon us the importance of time. Time, on one hand, is constant: each day consists of 24 hours, each hour of 60 minutes, and each minute of 60 seconds. Yet once it passes, it is gone forever.

On the other hand, we have the ability to make every day—and every moment—eternal by filling it with meaning and purpose.

A fascinating story is told of Rabbi Dovid ben Zimra (known by his acronym RADVAZ), who lived in the 15th and 16th centuries. In his long life, he authored many works, but he is best known for the thousands of responsa he wrote to seekers, scholars, and laypeople alike.

Here was a tragic letter he received: A Jewish man was imprisoned because he had fallen behind on rent payments. In those days, if you didn't pay up to the local landowner, you were imprisoned. This unfortunate Jew was told he would remain in the dungeon until the debt was paid. Unfortunately, this man had to stay there for a while.

The landowner visited him in prison one day and said: “I am a humane person, even though I had to imprison you. To prove it, I will allow you to join your Jewish community for one day. You may choose which day.”

The man wondered which day to choose. Perhaps Yom Kippur, the holiest day? Or Rosh Hashanah, to hear the shofar? Or maybe Purim, to hear the Megillah? He wrote to the Radbaz asking which day he should choose.

The Radbaz replied: choose the day you receive this letter.

The message is clear: by all means, set up the best arrangements possible. But if for any reason you find yourself in a “desert,” the Torah still guides and illuminates that very situation.

Please make sure to be in shul next Friday to hear the Ten Commandments and to receive special blessings for your life. Click here for our Shabbat Garden Party and Shavuot schedule.

Shabbat Shalom/Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Yitzi Hein