Value: Accomplishing difficult tasks. First, do all you can. Then, rely on God to help. At times in our lives, we are faced with tasks that, although are vital, appear impossible. In this week’s perasha the Torah teaches us that we must do all we can to accomplish the task in our own way. Only after we have done all we can, then we can rely on God’s miraculous assistance.

Text: Bemidbar 1:1-3

Context: Our perasha begins the book of Bemidbar. After building the Mishkan (end of Sefer Shemot) and receiving the instructions of sacrifices, purity and holiness (Sefer Vayiqra) Israel is now ready to march to the land of Canaan and conquer it. This might appear a daunting task for a group of escaped slaves. Of course, they had God helping them. The beginning of our perasha has God asking Moshe to count the children of Israel that are of fighting age. That is, every male from the ages of 20 to 60. Next, the perasha describes how the camp would be arrayed around the Mishkan. Counting the fighting force is typical of the first actions that a general would take before carrying out a battle. Arraying the camp is also a necessary step. Israel, even though they had God fighting their battles, behaved like any normal army-- counting its soldiers and arraying the camp for battle. This was the meaning of God’s commandment. We must do everything in our power to accomplish a task, only then should we rely on God’s miracles.

Discussion: This value has been embodied in the rabbinic statement of "Ehn somekhin `al hannes," which means, "we do not rely on miracles." Of course, our whole lives are a miracle. However, when we have a task to do we should focus on doing all we can to accomplish the task. Relying on miracles too early could lead us to forget an important step that God wanted us to do.

On the other hand, sometimes we face tasks that appear impossible, even though they are critical. We might be lead to despair because the task looks so difficult. We should take the steps that we can to accomplish the essential task, even though it appears impossible. Do not give up in the face of difficult tasks. Do all you can and then rely on God’s assistance.

The above point is also made in Rashi’s commentary on a verse that occurs later in the perasha. After counting the soldiers, God commanded Moshe to count all the male Levites from the age of one month.

This comment (from the Midrash Tanhhuma) expresses the same point. We are to do our part and not give up when we are faced with difficult tasks.

Historical Example: The aspirations of the 19-century Zionists (led by Theodor Herzl) appeared absurd. Never before in history has it happened that a people who had lost their national sovereignty and homeland thousands of years earlier, should come back to its land and regain its sovereignty. Yet, that is exactly what Herzl aspired to. Looking back on the accomplishments of these people and the state of Israel it is clear that there was divine help. The actions of the people served only as the "vessel" to receive the divine intervention. This was so apparent that even David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, was reported to have quipped, "In Israel, if you do not believe in miracles you are not a realist."

Applications: Our children sometimes have tasks that seem impossible in their eyes. We should teach our children not to give up. Show them how they can break down the task into manageable steps. Then make them see how they can do the small steps that will eventually lead to the accomplishment the difficult task. We should also teach them that when we do all we can, God would also help us (when what we are doing is in accordance with His will).

Application to current events: The present situation seems impossible. The deep-seated Arab hatred of the Jews is growing increasingly virulent with the daily incitement by the Arab leaders and media. Nevertheless, we must take the small steps necessary that we think would lead us to the critical goal of peaceful coexistence in the land. We must also pray that God help us achieve that essential goal.

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