“Hashem spoke to Moshe in the wilderness/ desert of Sinai in the tent of the Meeting on the first of the second month in the second year after their exodus from Egypt.” (Bamidbar 1:1)
The fourth book of the Chumash is called Bamidbar. While we might have thought that the desert is merely a location in which the events of this book occur, our Rabbis teach that the name “Bamidbar” has significance and it behooves us to understand its meaning and its lessons.
Midrash Rabba offers two explanations. First, the Midrash emphasizes the similarities between the Torah and the desert: “Just as the desert is accessible to anyone who wishes to enter it; so too Torah is accessible to all ''. I remember as a student we would take nature hikes behind my elementary school. We would occasionally come across a sign that said “Do not enter! Violators will be shot.” There are no such restrictions when it comes to Torah learning. Torah study is not only for Rabbis, nor is it only for those who attended Yeshiva or a Jewish day school. Torah is not the exclusive domain of those who make a daily commitment to learning. Torah is a Morasha, the natural birthright of every single Jew.
Second, the Midrash goes on to explain that not only is Torah comparable to a desert in terms of access, but each of us must imitate characteristics a desert in order to benefit from the Torah:
“”Anyone who does not make him/herself like a desert, ownerless- will not be able to acquire wisdom nor Torah.”
We must be like the desert in two ways: First, a desert is symbolic of humility as is evidenced from the lack of tall vegetation. A desert does not have much to brag about. Human beings must exercise a healthy degree of humility in order to accept the “yoke of Torah”. We must be willing to admit that we do not know everything. Just as a desert is open to all, so too we must be open to the Torah’s laws and explanations. Secondly, a desert is hefker, it is ownerless. It does not belong to anyone in particular. From this quality of a desert we can learn that we too must make ourselves “ownerless”. If we want to acquire the Torah then we must not be “owned” by any other ideas or preconceived notions that would hinder our efforts at studying Torah in an intellectually honest and receptive manner.
This Midrash helps us understand the symbolism of a desert for both ourselves and the Torah. However, the role of the desert in Sefer Bamidbar is more than symbolic. The fourth book of the Chumash is about survival in the desert. Are there any keys to surviving in the desert that can help us in our spiritual quest as Jews?
The first mistake people who die in the desert make is a mental one. They freak out and consider the desert a hostile environment that is conspiring against human life. The key to desert survival is learning to be part of the desert’s ecosystem. One is much more likely to survive if s/he considers the possibility that they and the desert can exist in harmony together. A practical example of this is extracting water from the desert cactus. To survive the desert, a person must learn to become part of the desert’s ecosystem and not view it as antagonistic.
This is such an important lesson for all of us. Not every tension, not every disagreement is necessarily antagonism. Friends can agree to disagree. Family members can have different perspectives on even important issues without it leading to all-out war. Difficult situations can be the breeding grounds for very positive outcomes.
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