Can the Desert Blossom?

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Can the Desert Blossom?

The name of the fourth book of thhe Torah is Bamidbar, which means ‘desert’. Why such a peculiar name?

Topics:

Desert; Wilderness, Bamidbar, Numbers

By Zushe Winner

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3 Comments

Rochel Singer Pittsburgh June 2, 2022

Rabbi Winner, this was more than just beautiful; you summed up so much about the parsha as well as our lives, particularly today's world, filled with 'snakes and scorpions' as we journey through. Thank you so much, good Shabbos and Yomtov to you and Esther. Reply

Z ushe Winner June 3, 2022

in response to Rochel Singer:

Thank you for your kind words.
With wishes for - an internalized
Kabolas Hatorah with joy ! Reply

Brenda Bell North Plainfield May 27, 2020

The (physical) desert *can* be a beautiful place (it's just a different type of beauty than that of the field or the city; remember Hashem has made the entire earth, and why would Hashem make something that is not beautiful?)...

Based on the rabbi's definition of a desert as a place of trial and danger, it is obvious that all of us go through many such metaphorical "deserts" in our lives. That said, I believe we don't "just find ourselves there" or create them, but rather that Hashem puts us there, so that we can make those deserts bloom, creating the oases that will help others make their own (similar) deserts bloom.

These metaphorical deserts, places of danger and/or evil, are the tasks and trials that the protagonists of every hero tale must traverse, the crucibles that forge their strength, their wisdom, their compassion. Not only do those trials pervade all cultures, all literature, and many rites of passage, but they are part and parcel of every person's life story. Reply