Creating a Desert to Receive the Torah

Shavua Tov. The Jewish calendar is set up so that פרשת במדבר always comes before Shavuot. Rav Shlomo Mann, זצ״ל gives an interesting reason why this is the case.

A מדבר, desert, is a desolate place. There is very little growth there. Weather conditions don’t make it so conducive to habitation.

This idea of a מדבר is connected to how we are meant to receive the Torah. We are to make ourselves like a מדבר, in the sense that we are to clear ourselves of all kinds of obstacles that might prevent us from accepting the holiness of the Torah.

We are to rid ourselves of our obsession with materialism and pettiness. We are to also clear ourselves of unwanted baggage that blocks us from being able to trust and have faith.

We then become like a desert in the sense that we are now able to become a כלי, a vessel to receive the precious gift of the Torah.

When we rid ourselves of haughtiness and other negativity, our ״מדבר״ that we have now cleared, has left space for the Torah to penetrate our lives.

This is the reason why פרשת במדבר is meant to prepare us for celebrating the great day of the Revelation at Mount Sinai, and the giving of the Torah.