Bamidmar: Returning to Hashem 

This week’s Haftorah contains a prediction of suffering for the Jewish people if they do not repent. However, it starts off with a prophecy of reassurance to the Jewish People concerning the time of Moshiach (Messiah) and the ingathering of the exiles.

To understand the connection between this comfort and rebuke we have to look at the nature of these two prophecies. The section of rebuke describes the story of the Jews in exile and reveals to us the purpose of their suffering. The prophecy is introduced with a call to repentance and goes on to describe the punishments to come if they do not listen. These punishments are not Hashem’s being indicative with us but rather reacting to our actions and directing His world towards fulfilling its purpose.

The sin about which the Jewish people are warned here is idol worship, which developed out of adopting the lifestyle and practices of their host nations. They also relied on these nations for comfort and security, thus losing their trust in Hashem as the One who truly provides for them.

Hashem’s reaction to this was firstly geared at effecting a change in lifestyle. Hashem took away all their luxuries, isolating them from the nations, and then even threatened their security through persecutions. Even as it became increasingly difficult for the Jews to follow their chosen lifestyle, they still searched for any opportunity to keep up their old practices until all such paths were blocked off. Only once it became practically impossible for them to assimilate did they call out to Hashem to save them and be forced back to His service.

Still, the people did not realize their sin in failing to see that they were not governed by nature, rather only by Hashem’s word. They assumed these disasters were purely natural without meaning. They still felt that even though all was lost, their precious security really had come from the nations, not from Hashem. Although they started to repent, Hashem knew that it was not complete and that they were only keeping their religion because they had no other choice; their heart was not in it. They wished they could still be like the other nations. Therefore, further punishments were necessary.

The next stage was for Hashem to show them that nothing can be under their own control and that their troubles were not the results of nature. Hashem brought about constant freak natural disasters as a result of which no one felt safe. A series of unpredictable, low probability accidents can ruin people’s livelihood, eventually forcing upon them the realization that their own efforts can never keep them truly safe. The reality is that that they are only under the focus of Hashem’s attention and only He can help them.

As soon as the people realized that Hashem is the One to serve and were committed to this decision, Hashem responded to help them put their hearts back into their service. He took them into an environment completely under His supervision and control, similar to conditions in the desert when the Jews left Egypt. There they would see that they do not need nature with all their comforts; they would see that Hashem provides for all their needs and gives them the greatest benefits. With an appreciation of the truth of Hashem’s Torah and seeing the greatness of appreciating Hashem, they will become more enthusiastic about serving Him.

Now we can understand the relevance of the beginning of the Haftorah which describes the Jewish People uniting and accepting the authority of their spiritual leaders, which will lead to the bringing about of the Final Redemption. The Torah says ‘while amongst the nations to which Hashem will exile you, you will take to heart to repent… then Hashem will return your captives.’ We bring about the redemption by putting our hearts into and arousing our interest in repentance and Torah study. The message of the prophets is that this can happen in two ways. Either we unite to accept Torah’s authority on our own accord or, if we don’t, we will be forced to do so as a result of these troubles. May the Final Redemption come about through curses, rather through blessings.