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Torah Portion -
behaaloscha
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Written by d fine
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The gemarra (Shabbos 116a) cites an opinion that the 2-pasuk portion in our sedra (10:35-36) of vayehi binso’a ha’aron… is considered as a Chumash in its own right. According to this view, we have not five, but seven Chumashim (Bamidbar has three; one before 10:35, one after 10:36, and 10:35-36 itself). The Kli Yakar (10:35) asks the vital question here; why should this portion be a Chumash in its own right? After all, it has no mitzvos in it - it just tells of the journeying of Bnei Yisrael? The Kli Yakar answers that since pasuk 36 hints to us that the Shechinah will only reside amongst Klal Yisrael if we have 22,000 members, there is a reference to the first mitzvah in the Torah here; pru u’revu (having kids). This is one of the most important mitzvos, which is why these two psukim are dubbed a Chumash in their own right. The Nesivas Shalom offers a different approach. These two psukim tell of the closeness between us and HaShem; that He makes our enemies scatter and constantly protects us. Thus, since the end goal of the mitzvos is ‘to rejoice in HaShem and to enjoy His Shechinah’ (first line of Mesillas Yesharim), these two psukim remind us of the goal of the mitzvos - building a relationship with HaShem. This is why they are considered their own Chumash.
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