After Moshe constructs the Tabernacle, the Ramban explains that Hashem commands that the impure should be sent out of the camp in order that the camp should be holy and fit for the Divine Presence to reside therein. As the pasuk says in our parsha “command B’nei Yisrael that they should send out anyone who is a metzora or a zav or who is impure through contact with the dead.” (Bamidbar, 5:2)

The Satmar Rebbe (1887-1979) asks (“Divrei Yoel,” Parshat Naso): Why does Hashem command B’nei Yisrael to send away these groups of people, instead of commanding those three groups themselves? What does this have to do with the general populace of B’nei Yisrael?

The midrash brings that Hashem said, “the same way I brought Adam Harishon into Gan Eden and he transgressed My Will and I judged him with‘gerushin’ and ‘sheluchin;’ so too, I brought B’nei Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael and they transgressed My Will and I judged them with ‘gerushin’ and ‘sheluchin’ (Bereishit Rabba, Chapter. 19).”

“Gerushin” means to drive away and “sheluchin” means to send away. Isn’t that basically the same idea? If so, why the repetitive language? The Satmar Rebbe suggests that “gerushin” is the idea of being sent away for the sake of being distanced. “Sheluchin” however, contains the emphasis of being sent to a certain place for a specific reason. Meaning, the place one is being sent to is for a purpose, i.e. there is something to be accomplished in that place. Hence, although a transgression can cause a “gerushin” from Hashem, yet, it also can contain a “sheluchin,” as in the case of Adam who not only distanced himself from Hashem, but was also sent on a mission — to go to a place outside of Gan Eden in order to rectify and accomplish specifically there, in that environment.

These three groups of people in our parsha that are being sent away from the camp were people who have a connection to the idea of misdeed. Yet, much like Adam, they weren’t sent out solely for the sake of being distanced, but rather were also sent on a mission that would take place outside the camp, for there is something there that they are meant to accomplish. The Torah speaks to the general populace of B’nei Yisrael to send them out, which represents the idea that these groups are being sent by Hashem and also by B’nei Yisrael to achieve this mission, and hence, they are acting on behalf of the rest of the nation —-like they were sent by them. It’s not just a personal mission, but one that also can greatly benefit the nation, and they are their representatives.

Based on this, perhaps, we can see from here that whatever bumps we may experience along our lives, as well as the detours that may come up at times — true, it may be due to certain wrongdoings that led us there, but also, there is another important perspective, namely, that we were sent there for a reason — for there is something specifically there that we are to rectify and accomplish. By approaching these moments with a spiritual outlook, and utilizing them to enhance our relationship with Hashem, it isn’t just positively affecting us, but also the rest of our nation.

On a broader level, sometimes, one may find oneself with certain constant and ongoing struggles and challenges in life, and these bumps and detours may seem more long-lasting. Yet, the same idea can apply…

Indeed, the midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah, 7:10) understands our passage of the three groups being sent outside the camp in a broader sense —as referring to B’nei Yisrael, as a whole, being sent into exile due to our wrongdoings. However, the Satmar Rebbe asks, if it’s due to our wrongdoings that we are exiled, then why does the pasuk use the terminology of being “commanded” to be sent out? It seems irrelevant to have a “command” associated with this, if Hashem will do it whether we like it or not!

The Satmar Rebbe explains that a person in “galut”” —in the exile we are still in — may want to find a way out of there. [After all, who really wants to be in exile?] However, this is incorrect and inappropriate — for we are here for a reason, for a purpose. There’s teshuvah to do, growth to be gained, good deeds to be accomplished. This is what Hashem wants from us right now, in this kind of environment, and it’s not our place to try to break free from this. Therefore, Hashem associates a “command,” which represents the idea of Hashem “commanding” us not to fight the system, but rather to go with this flow.

We can suggest that we see from here (and from the fact that the very idea of “sheluchin” is derived from Adam whose “shelichut” was long-lasting), that in our personal and longer-lasting “exiles,”i.e. the challenges and struggles that seem to be ongoing, there’s an idea that it may be that this is what Hashem wants from us, and that is exactly the place and environment from where Hashem wants us to serve Him and grow from. Hence, although our passage itself about these three groups being sent out may look solely like a short term “shelichut,” yet, according to this midrash, we can also perhaps perceive it in a longer term context.

We are each given a certain life setting and construct, designed and detailed from Hashem. It may come with many positive aspects, but may also entail some difficult ones. One approach may be a focus on constantly trying to break free from the challenges, while another approach is the focus on understanding where it’s coming from, accepting the “shelichut” – the mission, and making the most we can from it.

Binyamin Benji is a graduate of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan, and Wurzweiler School of Social Work. He currently learns in Eretz Yisroel, and is the author of the Sephardic Congregation of Paramus’ weekly Torah Talk. He can be reached at: [email protected]