A thought on Parshas Bamidbar
"...ish al diglo b'osos l'beis avosam..."
"...each by his own banner with paternal family signs..." (2:2)
The camp of the tribes of Israel was emblazoned by a series of flags or banners, with the color and insignia on each one designating the position, role and symbol of each tribal household.
The word which needs clarification here is "osos" - signs or insignias. We can understand that each banner represented its tribe by way of color and symbol. This may be the meaning of osos. However, the word seems connected to the two words which follow, l'beis avosam - according to the fathers' houses. Is this hinting at something deeper?The Chezkuni introduces us to a mystical source which writes that the letters (another meaning of the word osos) of the three Patriarchs' names were also sprinkled across the banners! How so?
Our Patriarchs were Avraham, Yitzchak and Yakov. Think about the spelling of those three names. In Hebrew, Avraham has five letters, Yitzchak has four, and Yakov has four. That totals thirteen letters. There were twelve tribes of Israel, yet the tribe of Yosef included two factions, Ephraim and Menashe, his sons. That means that the twelve tribes had thirteen banners. Variously there were four encampment flags subdividing the entire camp into four sections. The first banner had the first letters of each name (alef, yud, and yud), the second had the second letter of each name (bais, tzadi and ayin), the third banner had the third letter of each name (reish, ches and kuf) and the fourth had mem, kuf and beis.
Now, what can we infer from this mystical source? What was the function of having paternal or patriarchal letters scattered across the tribal banners? I would offer the thought that whereas each tribe contained its personal traits and features, as we know from many sources in Chazal, and whereas each tribe had its individuality and uniqueness, it was important to know that despite the variance and differences, they all were products of the same stock. The presence of the Avos was noted on the banners. It was a matter of a drop here, a trace there, in the form of select letters appearing on select banners. This may have signified that despite the individual character of each tribe and its members, all needed to recognize the traces of the great Forefathers which were concurrent, if latent, features of our people. Signs of the Patriarchs were present among their descendants. They had left their mark on future generations.
And in our own times, we also have to remember this. We have developed into a nation of many facets. We have streamed from the East, arisen in the West, emerged from the South and appeared in the North. We have different accents, different skin tones, different customs, different diets yet...we all need to spot the Patriarchal roots which bind us together. We are all Jews. We are all bound to possess and emanate the qualities given down by our Avos, whose osios are etched upon our character. We must know this for ourselves and we must remember this about each other.
Come to think of it, twenty years ago this week, I used a similar theme at the seudas bris mila of my youngest son Yosef Ezra. May he carry our flag. May he carry his own banner. May there always be evident traces in him of his forefathers and of our Patriarchs. May HaShem continue to bless him with a complete refuah. Good Shabbos. D Fox
"...each by his own banner with paternal family signs..." (2:2)
The camp of the tribes of Israel was emblazoned by a series of flags or banners, with the color and insignia on each one designating the position, role and symbol of each tribal household.
The word which needs clarification here is "osos" - signs or insignias. We can understand that each banner represented its tribe by way of color and symbol. This may be the meaning of osos. However, the word seems connected to the two words which follow, l'beis avosam - according to the fathers' houses. Is this hinting at something deeper?The Chezkuni introduces us to a mystical source which writes that the letters (another meaning of the word osos) of the three Patriarchs' names were also sprinkled across the banners! How so?
Our Patriarchs were Avraham, Yitzchak and Yakov. Think about the spelling of those three names. In Hebrew, Avraham has five letters, Yitzchak has four, and Yakov has four. That totals thirteen letters. There were twelve tribes of Israel, yet the tribe of Yosef included two factions, Ephraim and Menashe, his sons. That means that the twelve tribes had thirteen banners. Variously there were four encampment flags subdividing the entire camp into four sections. The first banner had the first letters of each name (alef, yud, and yud), the second had the second letter of each name (bais, tzadi and ayin), the third banner had the third letter of each name (reish, ches and kuf) and the fourth had mem, kuf and beis.
Now, what can we infer from this mystical source? What was the function of having paternal or patriarchal letters scattered across the tribal banners? I would offer the thought that whereas each tribe contained its personal traits and features, as we know from many sources in Chazal, and whereas each tribe had its individuality and uniqueness, it was important to know that despite the variance and differences, they all were products of the same stock. The presence of the Avos was noted on the banners. It was a matter of a drop here, a trace there, in the form of select letters appearing on select banners. This may have signified that despite the individual character of each tribe and its members, all needed to recognize the traces of the great Forefathers which were concurrent, if latent, features of our people. Signs of the Patriarchs were present among their descendants. They had left their mark on future generations.
And in our own times, we also have to remember this. We have developed into a nation of many facets. We have streamed from the East, arisen in the West, emerged from the South and appeared in the North. We have different accents, different skin tones, different customs, different diets yet...we all need to spot the Patriarchal roots which bind us together. We are all Jews. We are all bound to possess and emanate the qualities given down by our Avos, whose osios are etched upon our character. We must know this for ourselves and we must remember this about each other.
Come to think of it, twenty years ago this week, I used a similar theme at the seudas bris mila of my youngest son Yosef Ezra. May he carry our flag. May he carry his own banner. May there always be evident traces in him of his forefathers and of our Patriarchs. May HaShem continue to bless him with a complete refuah. Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 9:50 PM
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