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Bamidbar
Introduction
What have we learned so far from the Holy Bible? Some very disturbing revelations about the human condition, to be sure. We have learned that man is prone to evil (Ex 32:22), that humankind as seen from G-dʼs point of view is blindly stubborn and recalcitrant against authority (Ex 32:9; 33:3,5; 34:9). Recalcitrant means hard to deal with and unyielding. But something more ominous has entered the picture in the book of Numbers. It turns out that the human condition is more depraved than we had seen in Leviticus, where out of corrupt human hearts had come sodomy (Lv 18:22; 20:13), bestiality, fornication, incest, and all manner of crimes worthy of death. But now in Num chp 14 we see man himself as a proud rebel who even has the arrogance to murmur and rise up in revolt against G-d his Creator and Savior. And for this crime the death sentence comes in Num 14:29, “Your corpses shall fall in this midbar.” The wages of sin is death. See Prov 14:12: There is a derech that seemeth yashar unto an ish, but the acharit (latter end, future) thereof are the drakhim of mavet. Mavet in the midbar! The guilty are condemned already. Already the ax is falling. Already the pit is dug. Already they are condemned. Already the terror of Mt Sinai is condemning the sinner, spearing the fornicator in his tent, executing the sodomites in their bed of iniquity. Already every mouth is stopped and the whole world is brought guilty before Hashem. There is none righteous, no not one. The man who fornicates in his heart with the harlot is guilty with the man actually in her bed. In Num chapter 25, we find a Hebrew man taking a Midianite woman into his tent to “shack up” with her there — that was the now very dated term once used before fornication became politically correct — “shacking up.” Instead of making the woman oneʼs wife, one makes her his whore. But in Numbers chapter 25, only Pinchas the son of El'azar the son of Aharon the kohen was indignant. However, G-d was indignant and G-dʼs plague was at the door of their tent, ready to strike the fornicators. In Numbers we see G-dʼs wrath is ready to rain down on an unclean people. Every pornographic, lecherous, unclean wanton, with lust in deed or even in the imaginations of the evil heart, stands condemned already. Today we look around the prison yard of this world and witness a modern arrogant population of fornicators and homosexuals and pedophiles, brazenly bold, shamelessly parading their perversion and lasciviousness. They are careless of the condemnation of the Divine order from on High, that those who do such things will receive the death penalty they deserve. Millions of aborted fetuses litter the alleyways of the worldʼs lust. With reprobate minds, modern rebels excuse their wantonness. Even though their evil deeds keep testifying against them, they remain uncontrite, unrepentant. They refuse to forsake their sin. Their wickedness should humble them, but, instead, they illegitimately accuse others, even G-d, and this goes on year after year, while they raise up an illegitimate generation of heathen offspring like themselves. And the generations of evil-doers are all the while oblivious of the fact that the death sentence has already come down from the Governor in Heaven. And the death sentence says to us one thing: condemned already! Mother and rebel daughter, condemned already! Father and rebel son, condemned already! The wrath of G-d is revealed from heaven against all fornication and debauchery. Jeremiah saw that a terrible burning fiery Holocaust of Exile was coming on his people and on Solomonʼs Temple. He saw the idolatry and spiritual harlotry of his generation, which was very much like our own evil generation. It overwhelmed him. He says, I sat alone, because of Thy hand, for Thou hast filled me with indignation. (Jer 15:17) Rav Sha'ul says to the Kehillah in Corinth, It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you. And you're not aghast! You're not indignant! Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Malchut Hashem (the Kingdom of G-d 1C 6:9-11)! But you are proud! Shouldn't you have rather mourned? Do you not know to shun the fornicator so that he will wake up and realize he is already condemned to the fire of Gehinnom and must therefore flee fornication? The heart of man is deceitful above all else and desperately wicked, who can know it? (Jer 17:9) And all our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isa 64:6). Sin is like a wanton woman. Her feet go down to death, her steps lay hold of hell. We are lured to her bed of fornication by our own lusts, but in the end, her lovers are in the depths of hell, and she is bitter as wormwood. We are abandoned to our evil desires, punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the L-rd. The wicked shall be turned into hell, into shame and everlasting contempt (Dan 12:2). Why will you die, O sinner? The sinners in Zion are afraid. Who can bear everlasting burnings? Moshiach is coming! He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Do you not know that Moshiach came the first time mercifully to drink your portion of the wine of the wrath of G-d, the wrath you deserve? He was wounded for our transgressions, for our stubborn rebellion and uncleanness. How can you resist the G-d Who loves you and pursues you? He wants to pull you out of the fire so that you will be able to pull others out of the fire! But you are resisting Him, not realizing you are already guilty, already at the point of igniting and bursting into flames, condemned already. The fires of G-dʼs wrath are already igniting in you, around you. Whoever has not believed is condemned already. Will you cry out for mercy, for clemency, for forgiveness? Do you realize and admit that you are a “dead man walking,” no matter how religious or pious you try to be? Do you understand that you deserve G-dʼs chastisement, and yet in the mercy of G-d, the chastisement that brought us peace was upon Moshiach Tzidkeinu? Remember Lotʼs wife. Instead of turning away in repentance and fleeing in remorse at sin, she looked back lingeringly at sin to her own destruction. Unless you repent you will all alike perish.
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[BAMIDBAR]
1 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe in the midbar of Sinai, in the Ohel Mo'ed, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of Eretz Mitzrayim, saying,
2 Take ye the rosh (top amount, census) of kol Adat Bnei Yisroel after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, with the number of their shmot, every zachar by their head count; 3 From twenty years old and upward, all that are able-bodied to serve in tzava b'Yisroel (army in Yisroel); thou and Aharon shall number them by their tzva'ot (legions).
4 And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one Rosh of the bais of his Avot. 5 And these are the shemot haanashim that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuven, Elitzur ben Shede'ur; 6 Of Shim'on, Shelumiel ben Tzurishaddai; 7 Of Yehudah, Nachshon ben Amminadav; 8 Of Yissakhar, Netanel ben Tzuar;
9 Of Zevulun, Eliav ben Chelon; 10 Of the bnei Yosef: of Ephrayim, Elishama ben Ammihud; of Menasheh, Gamli'el ben Pedahtzur; 11 Of Binyamin, Avidan ben Gideoni; 12 Of Dan, Achi'ezer ben Ammishaddai; 13 Of Asher, Pagiel ben Okhran; 14 Of Gad, Elyasaph ben De'uel; 15 Of Naphtali, Achira ben Enan.
16 These were the called men of the Edah, nasiim of the tribes of their avot, rashei alfei Yisroel (head-men of the clans of Yisroel). 17 And Moshe and Aharon took these men which had been designated by their names; 18 And they assembled kol HaEdah together on the first yom of the second month, and they declared their family after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, according to the number of the shmot, from twenty years old and upward, one by one. 19 As Hashem commanded Moshe, so he counted them in the midbar of Sinai.
20 And the bnei Reuven, Yisroelʼs bechor, by their toldot, after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, according to the number of the shmot, one by one, every zachar from twenty years old and upward, all that are able-bodied to serve in tzava; 21 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuven, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.
22 Of the bnei Shim'on, by their toldot, after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, those that were numbered of them, according to the number of the shmot, one by one, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able-bodied to serve in tzava (army); 23 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Shim'on, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.
24 Of the bnei Gad, by their toldot, after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, according to the number of the shmot, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able-bodied to serve in tzava; 25 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty.
26 Of the bnei Yehudah, by their toldot, after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, according to the number of the shmot, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able-bodied to serve in tzava (army); 27 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Yehudah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
28 Of the bnei Yissakhar, by their toldot, after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, according to the number of the shmot, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able-bodied to serve in tzava (army); 29 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Yissakhar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.
30 Of the bnei Zevulun, by their toldot, after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, according to the number of the shmot, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able-bodied to serve in tzava (army); 31 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zevulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.
32 Of the bnei Yosef, namely, of the bnei Ephrayim, by their toldot, after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, according to the number of the shmot, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able-bodied to serve in tzava (army); 33 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephrayim, were forty thousand and five hundred.
34 Of the bnei Menasheh, by their toldot, after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, according to the number of the shmot, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able-bodied to serve in tzava (army); 35 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Menasheh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
36 Of the bnei Binyamin, by their toldot, after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, according to the number of the shmot, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able-bodied to serve in tzava (army); 37 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Binyamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.
38 Of the bnei Dan, by their toldot, after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, according to the number of the shmot, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able-bodied to serve in tzava (army); 39 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.
40 Of the bnei Asher, by their toldot, after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, according to the number of the shmot, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able-bodied to serve in tzava (army); 41 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
42 Of the bnei Naphtali, throughout their toldot, after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, according to the number of the shmot, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able-bodied to serve in tzava (army); 43 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.
44 These are those that were numbered, which Moshe and Aharon numbered, and the nasiim (princes, rulers, exalted) of Yisroel, being shneym asar (twelve) men, each one representing the bais of his avot. 45 So were all those that were numbered of the Bnei Yisroel, by the bais of their avot, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able-bodied to serve in tzava b'Yisroel (army in Yisroel); 46 Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. 47 But the Levi'im after the tribe of their avot were not numbered among them.
48 For Hashem had spoken unto Moshe saying, 49 Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the Bnei Yisroel; 50 But thou shalt appoint the Levi'im over the Mishkan HaEdut and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it; they shall bear the Mishkan, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall take care of it, and shall encamp round about the Mishkan. 51 And when the Mishkan setteth forward, the Levi'im shall take it down; and when the Mishkan is to be pitched, the Levi'im shall set it up; and the zar (stranger, outsider, unauthorized party) that cometh nigh shall be put to death. 52 And the Bnei Yisroel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own machaneh (camp), and every man by his own degel (standard, banner), throughout their tzva'ot (hosts). 53 But the Levi'im shall encamp around the Mishkan HaEdut, that there be no ketzef (wrath) fall upon the Adat Bnei Yisroel; and the Levi'im shall be shomer mishmeret (watch the watch, attend to, keep the charge, the reverence) of the Mishkan HaEdut.
54 And the Bnei Yisroel did according to all that Hashem commanded Moshe, so did they.

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