Bs”d
Parshas Behaaloscha (5761)
By Mordechai Dolinsky
In this week’s sedra we find in the pasuk regarding the chatzotzros (10:5) “Usikatem Teruah V’nosu Hamachanos Hachonim Kaidma”. Rashi explains that these unique blasts were sounded to designate that the camps get into the traveling mode. It was the sound of trumpets blasting tekiah teruah tekiah to the contrast of other sounds that designated the assemby of the Nesi’im or of Klal Yisrael. These sounds are truly familiar to us—we blow them on Rosh Hashanah. The concept itself of blowing a horn to signal that a nation should encamp or mobilize was a standard practice. The extreme, striking aspect of this is the nature of the sounds. Rosh Hashana is the most important day on our calendar. It is when we declare and commit ourselves to the Malchus Hashem. We can pinpoint the exact act of proclaiming Hashem as the King of the Universe with the blowing of the shofar. This may very well be the most important act we do in the whole spectrum of avodas Hashem. The sounds that we produce to proclaim the Sovereignty of Hashem are tekiah teruah tekiah and they are the sounds that we are commanded to use to announce that we are about to be on our way. These sounds are extremely meaningful and infinitely deep. It is said that the most difficult subject in Kabalistic studies including the kisvei Ari Z”l is concerning these sounds. This reveals to us an amazing new perspective and insight concerning the horn blowing announcing the readiness of Klal Yisroel’s movement and the actual movement itself.
There is a message here indicating the spirituality of the travels of Klal Yisroel. What can there be about being on the move that can be considered to be on such a high plane? The answer is that Klal Yisroel’s every step, every movement, is navigated, bound, controlled and regulated by the Ribono Shel Olam Himself through the ananei hakavod. The thought of this, just keeping to the simplicity of the issue is in itself profound. The ‘kolos’ are shouting out how important it is.
When this idea is projected to its symbolic implications it magnifies a most important concept in our avodas Hashem and our lives in general. Everything in our avodas Hashem can be divided into two categories. One category is individual acts and the second is the general direction, the derech that we take. It goes without saying that a person must attempt to see that each individual act of his should be of the highest quality. It is imperative that our general derech be in accordance with the will of Hashem. The converse is likewise true; the biggest tragedy is when the whole derech is wrong. Of course it is possible for someone on the wrong path to squeeze out a right thing here and there. The biggest danger is that one can be ‘mehader’ in mitzvos and have something terribly wrong about his derech. This is the ultimate goal of the yetzer harah—to effectively influence masses with the wrong goals; wholesale catastrophe. This is echoed in Yeshaya 55:7 which we read on fast days: “Yaazov Rasha Darko”, the wicked should reject and change their path and approach.
On the other side of the coin if a person is on the right path he can fall into the trap of doing something wrong but if his derech is right he will probably get back in line.
Hareini Hashem es Darkecha.