"For adolescents to become healthy and constructive adults, they must find ways to reach the following goals: find a valued place in a constructive group; learn how to form close, durable human relationships; feel a sense of worth as a person; achieve a reliable basis for making informed choices; know how to use support systems available to them; express constructive curiosity and exploratory behavior; find ways of being useful to others; and believe in a promising future with real opportunities" (Andrew Malekoff, Group Work With Adolescents).
A
close reading of this passage a reveals a tension with which educators must
grapple when working with teenagers. On the one hand, teenagers need to
know that supportive adults are available for them when they feel they cannot
address a problem alone. On the other hand, teenagers also need to be
given the independence for adult mentors to be their 'guide on the side,' a
constant presence that can be called upon when needed, but not someone who never gives that teenager even an inch of independence. By extension, a successful
educative relationship between adults and a teenagers requires a balance
between support and independence, between remaining close and letting go.
A similar tension is found in how rabbis imagine the journey of the
Israelites to Canaan in Parshat Be'ha'lotkha. This parasha
describes the words that Moses would recite as the Israelites marched with the
ark in the wilderness, and one of these verses is recited each time we remove a Sefer
Torah from
the Aron Ha-Kodesh:
"And it came to pass, when the Ark set forward, that Moses said, 'Rise up, Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered; and let them that hate You flee before You.' And when it rested, he said, 'Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel'" (Bemidbar 10:35-36).
Examining these verses, Robert Alter argues that we should play close attention to the Torah's visual imagery:
""Rise," as several commentators have noted, also has a military sense of "attack," but the visual image of elevation is important- God, imagined as enthroned on the cherubim carved over the Ark, surges up like a warrior-king as the Ark is lifted to be carried forward" (Robert Alter, Numbers 10:35-36, The Five Books of Moses: A Translation With Commentary, 733).
The Torah wants us to see God in a dominant position when these words are
invoked. However, for our rabbinic commentators, the fact that the Moses
needed to recite specific words each time the ark moved in the wilderness seems
curious. After all, if God previously told the Israelites that he would
protect them, why does Moses need to ask for God's protection at all, much less
every time the Israelites and the ark moved forward?
Our midrashim disagree as to how we should interpret the verses from Bemidbar, and whether or not Moses' statements show a complete trust in God, or remind God not to forget the Israelites as they marched through the desert. Midrash Tanhuma takes the latter position, and argues that Moses' statement was a reminder to God to offer protection:
"Since the Ark used to go three days ahead to find them a resting place day and night – as it says: "The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord traveled in front of them on that three days' journey to seek out a resting place for them" (Num. 10:33) – at such time Moses would say, "Rise, O Lord, etc.," i.e., stand still and wait for us and do not leave us behind, for it says: "When the Ark was to set out, Moses would say: Advance, O Lord! May Your enemies be scattered, etc."" (Midrash Tanhuma, Parshat Vayakhel paragraph 7).
In this
midrash, when Moses recites the words from our parasha, he reminds God
not to forget the Israelites as they march through the dangerous wilderness.
Contextually, one sees the appeal in this commentary, as the Israelites
encountered many enemies throughout the wilderness, and each time Moses relied
upon God's protection to help the Israelites emerge victorious in battle.
In contrast, a midrash from the Sifrei asserts that the liturgy recited upon marching with the ark demonstrated the incredible trust between Moses and God, as opposed to reflecting Moses' need to remind God not to forget them:
"And Moses said, 'Rise up, Lord," and another verse says, "At the commandment of the Lord they rested and at the commandment of the Lord they journeyed." How can these two verses be reconciled? To what may this be compared? To a king who was going on a journey accompanied by his bosom friend. When he resumes his journey he says: "I shall not go forward until my friend gives the order, and when he halts he says: "I shall not stop until my friend comes along." This reconciles the verse "And Moses said, 'Rise up, Lord,'" and, "At the commandment of the Lord they journeyed..." (Sifrei on Bemidbar 10:35).
Comparing
the verse cited above with another verse in Sefer Bemidar, the Sifrei asserts that
Moses did not beseech God because he was worried that God would not protect the
Israelites, but rather because Moses trusted God so implicitly that he wanted
to ensure that God would remain with them on each stage of the journey.
Nehama Leibowitz argues that this midrash "graphically illustrates
the highest degree of communion and closeness between man and his Maker, and
the complete identity of aim" (Nehama Leibowitz, Studies
in Bamidbar, 90).
The above midrashim highlight an essential theological tension. Our rabbis asked how Moses would ensure that the Israelites could march through the desert unafraid, and should the Israelites invoke God's protection only when they felt alone and powerless, or should they invoke God's name because they felt extremely confident at all times? In Midrash Tanhuma, Moses implores God not to leave the Israelites behind, implying that Moses entertained the possibility that God might not remain with them for duration of their journey. In the Sifrei, Moses' calls to God indicate a supreme trust between humanity and God, for Moses cannot imagining taking any step their journey without God, and thus God's presence should be invoked at all times. However, it is most likely that the journey of the Israelites reflected aspects of each midrash, where sometimes the Israelites felt alone and called upon to provide immediate support, and other times the Israelites were content for God to be the 'guide on the side,' not always stepping in to fight their battles, but being a constant presence of support.
At Schechter, our students rely upon our educators and community members to play a similar in shaping their lives an emerging Jewish adults. Students of all ages, and especially teenagers, want to feel that they can work out problems for themselves, yet they also value the assurance of knowing that they will not be alone on an island, unable to find help when they face struggles they cannot fight alone. May each of us embrace the tension of guiding our children in lives as emerging adults and as Jews, knowing when to step up, step back, or simply watch, for each action is essential to building a community of passionate, healthy, confident, and resilience young men and women.
Shabbat Shalom!
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