The third chapter of the fourth book of the Torah begins with what appears to be a straightforward recounting of the history of the kahuna, the priesthood. It does so as an introduction to the detailed accounting of the tribe of Levi, having already recorded the enumeration and placement of the other tribes in the first two perakim. All of this counting is why the English title for the book is Numbers, but in Hebrew it is called Bamidbar, In the Wilderness.
Midbar, the Hebrew word for wilderness, is actually rather interesting in itself. The core of the word is devar, which means word or thing, and the prefix mem usually represents the idea of "from," as in having come from or having derived from. This becomes even more interesting when one realizes that Bamidbar leads to Devarim, the fifth book of the Torah, which has the same core root and means "words" or "things," and which is the sefer that recaps almost all of the Torah from the Exodus on, including the laws. (Devarim is often referred to as the Mishne Torah or Second Torah.) In order to get to Devarim, to the end of the journey and the place of Hashem's words. Bnei Yisrael had to get through the wilderness.
While it is true that there are some people who prefer life on the wild side, most people by nature desire basic structure and stability. We build homes and families so that we can go about our lives with a sense of security that there is a place where our basic needs will be met. Indeed, we agree to live by rules and laws and mores so that those homes will be protected. Sometimes, however, we end up in the wilderness, whether deliberately so as one heads to new ground or by wandering because one has lost their way. This fact, that life does not always follow the plan that we expect it to, need not weaken our movement to our final goal - to structure and stability and, ultimately, to Devarim, the words/things with which we serve Hashem.
This is a lesson we see in Bamidbar 3. Sefer Bamidbar begins with who (the specific counting of Bnei Yisrael) and how (the detailed directions on the organization of their encampment) Bnei Yisrael got through the Midbar - that is until perek gimmel (chapter 3), which begins:
"This is the line of Aaron and Moshe at the time that the Lord spoke with Moshe on Mount Sinai. These were the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadav, the firstborn, and Avihu, Elazar and Ithamar; those were the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests who were ordained for priesthood. But Nadav and Avihu died by the will of the Lord, when they offered alien fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; and they left no sons. So it was Elazar and Ithamar who served as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron" (3:1-4).
A quick summary of the Levites' responsibilities follows, and then "The Lord spoke to Moshe, saying:I hereby take the Levites from among the Israelites in place of all the firstborn, the first issue of the womb among the Israelites: the Levites shall be Mine. For every firstborn is Mine: at the time that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every firstborn in Israel, man and beast, to Myself, to be Mine, the Lord’s" (3:11-13).
Think about what the Torah has just pointed out! It was intended that Aaron and all four of his sons would be Kohanim, but Nadav and Avihu died. The firstborn were intended to be the ones to serve the Kohanim. Hashem even announced that He had sanctified them for this purpose, but they proved themselves unfit and the plan was "adjusted" for the tribe of Levi to assume that role. Slight shifts in the plan but all part of the ultimate journey through the wilderness.
Life often send us on unexpected paths, some times heartbreaking detours that drastically shift a structure of their life foundation. The path ahead seems less clear and perhaps there is a desire to throw one's hands heavenward and ask Hashem why. We who are on our journeys through the wilderness do not get to have the answers - and that is so very hard - but here in Bamidbar 3, Hashem does provide a guided response. The wilderness holds the unpredictable, but the journey must go on and so one must adjust. One must reframe their world and live it differently than expected, but one must always continue to move forward.
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