Is Parashat Bamidbar a period of rebellion and complaints or is it, as stated in Jeremiah, about God and Israel’s honeymoon period?
Dr. David Frankel, Senior Lecturer in Bible at The Schechter Institutes, suggests that the parasha and the entire book of Bamidbar (Numbers), with its depictions of the Israelites in the wilderness, teaches us an important lesson. We are not entrapped by our past memory and history. We can forge our destiny by deciding how we want to see our future.
Watch the video below:
David Frankel is Associate Professor of Bible at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies. He has been on the faculty since 1992. He earned his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem under the direction of Prof. Moshe Weinfeld. His publications include “The Murmuring Stories of the Priestly School,” and “The Land of Canaan and the Destiny of Israel.” From 1991 to 1996, Frankel was rabbi of Congregation Shevet Achim in Gilo, Jerusalem.