THE WANDERING JEW
In the past two weeks’ Torah portions, we read about the Jews accepting the Torah. In this week’s Torah portion, the Jews have left Mt. Sinai and begin their journey through the desert. Let’s imagine, for a moment, if we would be traveling through the desert with the Jews. We would certainly be traveling by car. After all, if you can take a car, why go by horse or by foot?
What type of car do you think we would take? Someone proposed the following answer.
It would have to be an SUV, 4-wheel drive. Nobody wants to drive in the desert with a SEDAN; it would just get stuck in the sand. With that in mind, here are some possibilities:
1. Our Sages tell us that the Jewish people were the first slaves to ever leave Egypt in history. That would call for a Chevy TRAILBLAZER.
2. We began traveling in the desert Passover time. That would call for a NISSAN PATHFINDER.
3. Along our travels, we’ll be discovering many new places. That would call for a Ford EXPLORER.
However, I think that this answer is a terrible mistake. There would be absolutely no problem driving a small car in the desert. Why not? Because our Sages tell us that the Clouds of Glory accompanied the Jewish people for all the years that they were in the desert. The Clouds of Glory were above them and surrounded them on all four sides. More than that, the Clouds of Glory went underneath them, smoothing the ground for them. Can you imagine how the Jews felt? LIKE THEY WERE ON TOP OF THE CLOUDS!
Chana
says:I love the Parsha jokes – I look forward to reading them even the real corny ones !! Avie – your comment was rather “rye” !- good one !
Avie Gold
says:In your jokes for Terumah you write that a sedan would sink in the desert sand. But was the wilderness in which the Jews journeyed a sand desert? We know that it didn’t have any sand, because they complained that they had nothing to eat. If that desert has sand, they could have eaten some of the sand-which-is there?