Devar/5770/Beha'alotcha
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< Devar | 5770
עברית
English
And when ye go to war in your land against the adversary that oppresseth you, then ye shall sound an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. (Num 10:9)
God commanded Moshe to make two silver trumpets, and He gave a general description of their use. They should be blown as necessary to gather in the people. And in time of danger they should be sounded as an alarm. In our verse, the Torah goes into some detail about the reason for alarms, and says: "ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God… ye shall be saved…".
But the next verse in the Torah gives a different occasion for which to blow the trumpets: Also in the day of your gladness, and in your appointed seasons, and in your new moons, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt-offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace-offerings; and they shall be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God (ibid. 10). The Torah lists two causes for these different trumpet blasts: because of war, and because of happiness. And for both of them the Torah gives the same reason: "remembrance" before the LORD your God.
We know that it is impossible that God forget anything, and therefore the idea of "remembrance" does not apply to Him at all, may He be blessed -- and therefore it must apply to us. That is, that we remember God at these times. When we are involved in battle for our lives, we sound the trumpets in order to awaken us to the fact that God is the one who saves us from danger, and we hope for His salvation. And during our festivals, we blow the trumpets to remind us that all the bounty comes from God, and to Him we must give thanks. May it be His will that we merit to only hear the trumpets of festival, and not hear the alarms of war.
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