This coming weekend (June 11 and 12), we will have at last finished the long Count of the Omer (Sefiras ha’Omer). On Friday night, we will make the bracha for the last time (this year) and proclaim: Today is the forty-ninth day – which is seven weeks – in the (counting of the) omer. Saturday night, being the fiftieth day of the count, will herald in the holiday of Shavuos:  the Feast of Weeks, Pentecost, Z’man Matan Toraseinu (the Time of the Giving of the Torah) – a Biblical holiday of major proportions on par with Passover and Succos (i.e. one of the Shalosh Regalim, the ‘Three Pilgrim Festivals’). In the Holy Land, they will celebrate the holiday for one day, while here in the Diaspora (Baltimore, in our case) we will celebrate an additional day beyond that, resulting in what we often refer to in galus as a “three-day Yom Tov” – Shabbos with two days of Yom Tov attached, coming either immediately before or after Shabbos.

Here is a trick question: Do you know (without even looking at a calendar) what is this week’s Torah parshah?

Even though this Shabbos is ‘attached’ to the upcoming holiday (which begins immediately on Saturday night,  following the end of Shabbos), nevertheless, this Shabbos still stands ‘alone’ and thus will have a scheduled Torah reading/parshah associated with it. The reason why this is a ‘trick’ question – and the reason why you don’t need to refer to a calendar to get the answer – is because Chazal (our Sages) had decreed long ago that the Torah portion which immediately precedes the holiday of Shavuos is always “Bamidbar” (the first parshah in the Book of Numbers) – no exceptions! [Parshas Bamidbar always comes out ‘around’ the holiday of Shavuos; to ensure that it is always read davka on the Shabbos immediately preceding this Yom Tov, the parshiyos leading up to Bamidbar can be ‘arranged’ in advance i.e. to be either a single or a double (combined) parshah. By the time we get to the Shabbos preceding Shavuos, we are right on schedule].

Why did Chazal make this enactment – that we read the opening verses to the Book of Numbers on the Shabbos which is as close as possible to the holiday of Shavuos, the time when the Jewish People received the Torah on Har Sinai, seven weeks after leaving Egypt? The answer to this question is embedded in the words of the following Midrash [Bamidbar Rabbah 1:7]:

“And G-d spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai”. Why in the “Wilderness of Sinai”? From here our Sages taught that through three things is the Torah given: through Fire, through Water, and through the Desert. How do we know that Torah is given through fire? From “and the mountain of Sinai was all full of smoke” [Exodus 19:18]. And how do we know that Torah is given through water? From “… also the Heavens, also the clouds dropped water (at Har Sinai)” [Judges 5:4]. And how do we know that Torah is given through the Desert? From “And G-d spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai” [Numbers 1:1].

But why was the Torah given through these three things? To teach that just as these things are ‘free’ for all the inhabitants of the world, so, too, the words of Torah are ‘free’ for all to learn, as it is written, “All who are thirsty, come to the waters…” [Isaiah 55:1]. Also (regarding the Desert): Whoever does not make themselves open and ownerless – like a Wilderness – will not be able to acquire (the wisdom of and receive the) Torah.

Commenting on the first part of this Midrash, R’ Meir Shapiro zt”l suggests that the concepts of “fire, water and desert” are allusions to a spirit of sacrifice that we Jews have always been willing to make for G-d and His Torah, even to the extent that many have been willing to die al Kiddush Hashem – for the sanctification of G-d’s Holy Name:

- Avraham Avinu was thrown into a fiery furnace because of his belief in G-d. This ability to remain loyal to

G-d even under the most trying of circumstances has been transmitted to all his descendants;

- On their way to receive the Torah at Sinai, the Jewish people jumped in to the waters of the Red Sea,

trusting completely in G-d’s Providence; and

- The Jewish people followed G-d into the desert on the journey to Sinai, oblivious to the dangers of harmful creatures and the harsh elements, even without any guarantee of food and water.

However, what exactly is a ‘midbar/wilderness’ and how exactly can one ‘make themselves like a midbar’ in order to ‘acquire and receive the Torah’? I think we are all familiar with pictures and descriptions of deserts and barren tracts of land – places which are nearly ‘empty’ and devoid of civilization and established inhabitants. But, do these virtual images and accounts really give us a feel for what a midbar is truly like?

In 1969-1970 (that’s 47 years ago!), I was a student in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, spending my ‘Junior Year Abroad’ in Israel/Jerusalem. At the tender age of 20, that was the year I began my serious journey into the world of traditional Judaism. At the beginning of that year, I decided to visit a friend of mine (we were both students from Rutgers) who was at Kibbutz S’de Boker in the Negev, learning Hebrew at an ulpan there. Although I had enough funds to take a bus to Beer Sheva, I decided to hitchhike the rest of the way, traveling farther south into the Negev Desert and eventually make my way to the kibbutz.

My first ride warned me that he was not going all the way to the kibbutz, but that he would leave me off at a crossroads and that I would ‘probably’ be able to get another ride from there. Sounded good to me (I know – sounds a bit crazy, but such is the optimism of youth!). And so, an hour later, far from the city of Beer Sheva and far from any other settlements, I hopped out of the back of the pickup truck – and got a crash course into the meaning of midbar.

This was what the landscape offered: the blacktop road – offset by the yellow-ochre color of the desert – stretched out like a T in 3 directions: where I had been, where I was going, and where the truck had gone. I stood in the middle of a sandy, rocky landscape stretching out as far as the eye could see – unbroken by tree or building – and an expanse of blue sky, dizzying when looking all around the 360^o panorama. There was not a single sound. Not a breeze. No one in sight. Being stranded in the midbar, it was both frightening and exhilarating. In the 30 minutes I was marooned there, the astonishing silence was broken only by 2 events: a lizard that made its way from one rock to another, eventually disappearing from view; and a Bedouin woman – who first appeared as a minuscule dot on the far horizon, then discernable as she approached, a bundle balanced on her head – who crossed over the road, and then disappeared into the distance, becoming a small dot in the other direction. No words were spoken. The silence and emptiness of that space in the midbar was almost palpable; the impression that it left quite remarkable.

Keeping these images in mind, maybe we can make some sense out of our Sages admonition to ‘make oneself like a midbar’ in order to receive and acquire the words of Torah:

First and foremost, Torah concepts are not the same as the concepts, standards and morality of the society in which we live. If a person is already ‘filled up’ with ideas and values that come from the surrounding culture – how will it be possible to learn, understand and otherwise incorporate the eternal values and teachings which the Torah has to offer? Before one can start to do this, it’s essential to first ‘clear the work space’ and at the very least open one’s mind and thoughts to what the Torah is presenting as a ‘tree of life’ and guidebook from the Creator on how to live. If you are a ‘know-it-all’ then it’s impossible to learn something new. Open up your mind to what the Torah has to offer, and you will be surprised and amazed at what you will learn.

When I think back to my experience in the Negev Desert, I am always reminded of this Midrash: “When the Holy One, blessed He, gave the Torah at Mt. Sinai, not a bird chirped, not a fowl flew, not an ox lowed, not an angel flew, nor did the seraphim proclaim, ‘kadosh, kadosh, kadosh’. The sea did not roll, nor did a creature make a sound. All of the universe was hushed into breathless silence . . . and the voice went forth, ‘I am Hashem your G-d!” [Shemot Rabbah 29:9].

In today’s modern world, we are surrounded and bombarded by a constant, never-ending stream of noise and data-bits; emails and instant news; cell-phone calls, texts and messages; face-book updates with likes and dislikes, friendly or unfriendly ratings; internet, radio, stereo, video, ear-buds and never-ever-ending messaging and entertainment. We simply don’t have time to think anymore! There is no down-time, quiet time – time to incorporate the timeless messages of Torah. Thank G-d for Shabbos Kodesh and Yom Tov and those Torah imposed islands-of-time and sanity in an otherwise insane world. We make sacrifices on theses Holy Days in order to connect with our G-d and our heritage; what about during the not-so-holy weekdays?

One of the first questions we will be asked after 120 years on this earth by the bais din shel ma’alah is “Did you set aside time for learning Torah?” I.e. even during the mundane weekdays, were you able to sign-off and check-out from a constantly plugged-in world, and immerse yourself in the quiet, therapeutic waters of Torah, that are guaranteed to “restore your soul” [Psalm 23].  Let us open ourselves to wisdom of our Torah, given to us by Hashem at Har Sinai – making ourselves like that midbar in which it was presented to us. Having fulfilled this pre-requisite, then we will be ready to receive the Torah and embark on the most rewarding journey ever, discovering the true meaning of life and living.