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Parshat Bha'alotcha

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

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Seeking the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

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"Master of the Universe! Fulfill the requests of my heart for good... and give us our portion in Your Torah, and grant us that Your Holy Presence rest upon us... and may we manifest the Scripture as it says, 'and a Spirit of HaShem shall rest upon him...' (Isaiah 11, 2)"

'The Spirit of HaShem' is translated by the Targum in Isaiah as 'the spirit of prophecy'. This prayer, said on the three festivals at the opening of the ark, is one of the only public prayers that quite explicitly asks for the advent of prophecy upon our People at large. Indeed, the Midrash interprets the episode of Yakov watering the three flocks of sheep when meeting Rachel as indicative of the unique spiritual 'watering' of the People with 'the holy spirit' (ruah hakodesh related to prophecy) at the three festivals.

One of these three festivals when this aspiration for prophecy is especially poignant is Shavuos, 'the Time of the Giving of the Torah', when the entire People were raised to a level of full prophecy at least for the first two commandments of the Ten Commandments. Not only on a historical level is this true, but also every year throughout Counting the Omer we rise spiritual heights culminating with Shavuos, when we can attain one of the highest spiritual levels of the year, according to the Arizal.

It is therefore not surprising that Shavuos is always close to or adjacent to this week's parsha Bha'alotcha, which describes Moshe's wish that all Israel be prophets. This is the time to remind ourselves, and not forget throughout the rest of the year, the tremendous spiritual potential of each and every one of us, capable of receiving prophecy. Our Sages in the Sifri teach us that this potential can only reach fruition in or in relation to the Land of Israel, stating that after the prophecy of Moshe Rabeinu prophecy is exclusive to the Land of Israel, either to be received within it or in relation to it. Commentators on Rambam's laws of prophecy also interpret the necessity that prophecy be 'according to the Godly Will', as Rambam calls it, that it be in the Land of Israel (in addition to worthiness of the generation).

Interesingly, it is Hebron, our People's roots to the Land of Israel, that strikes out as also being the root of 'proper' prophecy to our People, as it says in regard to Avraham: "And HaShem appeared unto him in Elonei Mamre (Hebron)". The Zohar says that only after Avraham was circumcised in Hebron did he receive prophecy in a level called 'appearance', beforehand receiving prophecy in significantly lower levels. The fact that the Torah links this 'appearance' and heightened level of prophecy to Hebron follows very well with Yitzhak's recognition of the Holy Presence resting at this location on a regular basis.  

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #73:

"For quite a while, my wife had been working on about minimum wage, making a meager salary. One time, we decided to financially support a divorced woman in distress for some time. Just then, my wife's salary tripled..."

Sources: Psikta Zutrta Vayetze 29, 3, Makot 24a, Shaar Hakavanot Shavuot, Mechilta Bo, p. 1, Seder Mishna on Rambam, Zohar I 97b, Zohar II 39b