Bamidbar
Numbers 1:1–4:20
Hosea 2:1–22
Any good cinephile knows that staging and choreography often tell half of the story. Whether it’s through strategically placed shadows or variances in height, the way characters are presented tells us much about who they are and what part they will play in the narrative.
In this way, Bamidbar, the fourth book of the Torah, opens with a cinematographer’s dream. The 12 tribes are assembled around four families within the Levites, with the tabernacle at the very center. While the organization may seem innocuous to the casual observer, this structure is indicative of both the lessons learned since the creation of the tribes in Genesis and the future trajectories of the parties involved.
Here is the structure of the tribes as found in the opening of our parashah. I am including each tribe’s maternal ancestor according to the keys of R (Rachel), L (Leah) RS (Rachel’s Servant) and LS (Leah’s Servant):
East: Judah (L), Zebulun (L) and Issachar (L)
West: Ephraim (R), Manasseh (R) and Benjamin (R)
South: Reuben (L), Simeon (L) and Gad (LS)
North: Dan (RS), Asher (LS) and Naphtali (RS)
Along the East-West axis, we find the descendants of Leah and Rachel, save for those who have been demoted due to the inadequacies first expressed by Jacob at the end of Genesis. Reuben is cursed by Jacob for sleeping with his concubine and Simeon (along with Levi) for the violent attack upon the inhabitants of Shechem following the rape of their sister Dina. Thus the cursed sons have been demoted to the lower rank of the children of servants.
The story deepens as we examine the placement of the camps of the Levites within the inner circle, around the tabernacle:
East (Sons of Leah): Moses, Aaron and Aaron’s sons
West (Sons of Rachel): Gershon
South (Disgraced and Servants’ Sons): Kohath
North (Servants’ Sons): Merari
Moses and Aaron are aligned with Judah, the seat of power (especially after the demotion of sons 1-3 by Jacob). Gershon, the eldest family of the Levites, stands opposite Moses and Aaron on the West. Just as the sons of Leah have superseded the sons of the favored Rachel, Moses and Aaron have superseded their elder Gershon.
The Kohathites stand to the South, linked to the disgraced sons of Leah, even though they are the very family from which Moses and Aaron descend. The placement of the Kohathites parallel to the disgraced sons of Leah surely presents a foreshadowing of the dishonor to come in Korach’s rebellion later in Bamidbar. Meanwhile, Merari, the most junior family of Levi, encamps to the North, parallel to the sons of Rachel and Leah’s servants.
Even the four poles of the compass have a story to tell. As the seat of the rising sun, the East is clearly the position of power within the camp. As the parashah reads, “Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, in front of the tent of meeting” (Numbers 3:38).
This orientation is only amplified over time as East comes to symbolize Jerusalem and the holy temple, which Jews face when praying. As the site of the setting sun and therefore a useful point for navigation, the West holds a level of power second only to the East. The North and South are less useful for navigation and therefore feature lower-tiered tribes and Levite families.
Finally, the activities designated for each Levite family underscore the lessons already learned. Moses and Aaron are set in charge of the tabernacle as a foreshadowing of the temple toward which future Jews will orient themselves. To the West, the Gershonites oversee the tabernacle tent and hangings. Meanwhile, the Kohathites to the South oversee the ark, sanctuary vessels and table. Finally, the tribe of Merari is in charge of the frames, bars, pillars, pegs and cords.
This hierarchy presents a descending order of centrality to the tabernacle.
Thus the book of Bamidbar opens with the full panoply of characters in proper position, expressing the history of the first three books of the Torah as well as the narrative to come. All that is left for us is to grab our popcorn and enjoy the show.
Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe is a rabbi at Reform Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco. He can be reached at [email protected].