Seems like a prime opportunity for spiritual growth. But Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers, pulls no punches. It points out a rather glaring fact about the Pesach, the Passover sacrifice. We read in Numbers 9:5, "And they offered the Pesach in the first (month) on the fourteenth day of the month." Then the text curtly observes that, essentially, this was it. This was the only Passover sacrifice offered during the entire forty-year sojourn. Ouch.
The text goes on to say that Scripture speaks "in disparagement of Israel." It’s as if the Torah itself is a disappointed parent. Did they really only manage one Pesach in all that time? Amos 5:25 echoes this sentiment, asking, "Did you bring sacrifices and meal-offerings to Me for forty years in the desert?" It's a rhetorical question dripping with… well, you get the idea.
But wait! Before we write off the entire generation as spiritually lazy, Rabbi Shimon b. Yochai offers a fascinating counterpoint. He suggests that it wasn't all the Israelites who were slacking. He argues that the tribe of Levi were the exception.
How so? Well, Rabbi Shimon points to Deuteronomy 33:10: "They shall place incense before You and a burnt-offering upon Your altar." This verse, he says, indicates that the Levites did continue to perform sacrifices. While the rest of Israel may have stumbled, the Levites remained dedicated to their sacred duties. This is because, according to Rabbi Shimon, the rest of Israel served idolatry, while the Levites did not. Deuteronomy 33:9 says, "For they kept Your commandment ('You shall have no other gods')." This connects back to Exodus 32:26, after the Golden Calf incident: "And Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and he said 'Whoever is for the L-rd, (let him come) to me!' And there gathered unto him all the sons of Levi."
It's a powerful image: the Levites standing firm in their faith while others falter. They didn't give in to the temptations around them.
And it doesn't stop there. According to the Sifrei Bamidbar, Israel also neglected the practice of circumcision. Joshua 5:5 states that "all the people who were born in the desert … were not circumcised." Yet, Deuteronomy 33:10 states that the Levites kept "Your covenant (of circumcision)." This reinforces the image of the Levites as the upholders of tradition in a challenging environment.
So, are we left with a completely negative view of Israel in the desert? Not entirely. The Sifrei Bamidbar includes a final, almost apologetic, statement. Regarding Numbers 9:5 ("According to all that the L-rd had commanded Moses"), the text declares that this is "to declare the praise of Israel." Despite their shortcomings, they did follow Moses' instructions when it came to that one Passover sacrifice. "Just as Moses told them, 'thus did they do.'"
It's a small, but significant, detail. Even with their struggles, even with their lapses in faith, they still managed to obey at least once. Perhaps this is a reminder that even when we fall short, even when we feel like we're wandering in our own personal wilderness, there's always an opportunity to reconnect, to recommit, and to follow the path laid out before us. Maybe that’s the ultimate lesson of the desert: it’s not about perfection, but about the journey, the striving, and the occasional, hard-won victory.