Rabbi Robert Leib
Parshat B’Midbar
The second chapter of B’Midbar, of Numbers, describes how the Israelites set up their camp in the wilderness. Each tribe was assigned a specific location relative to the Ohel Mo’ed, the Tent of Meeting. Verse two informs us that each tribe encamped (familiar word, nowadays?) “al-diglo,” under the “degel,” the banner, the standard, the flag of its ancestral house.
The Midrash (B’Midbar Rabbah 2:8) tells us that the very physical arrangement of the tribes was, itself, a reflection of the precise order of Jacob’s 12 sons when they brought his casket out of Egypt for burial in Hebron. Their respective positions were noticeable by the “otot l’beit avotam,” the “banners of their ancestral houses.” They weren’t necessarily objects or tangible symbols, per se, but rather a symbolic indication of Klal Yisrael, a discourse on the overall, collective unity of the Jewish people.
Nevertheless, the very sight of each tribe encamped around the Ohel Mo’ed, each with its own degel, its own flag, must have been an awesome and inspiring one to say the least!
Under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, synagogues throughout our region — after the atrocities of Oct. 7 — have proudly displayed large lawn signs depicting the words “We Stand With Israel” with a fluttering flag of Israel, beneath.
Our own degel outside of Old York Road Temple-Beth Am was vandalized in the early hours of Friday, Nov. 10 last year.
The young 19-year-old Penn State-Abington student — born in the West Bank town of Ramallah — spray-painted the Palestinian flag over the Israeli one and clumsily wrote “Palestine” over “Israel.” Though his misconduct was injurious enough to our fellow congregants, I did not consider it a desecration, per se. Had Hussein, for example, spray-painted a swastika, we wouldn’t have hesitated to contact TV stations and newspapers alike and brought serious charges against him.
Instead, for several weeks, we worked closely and quietly with both the Abington Police Department and a highly respected lay leader in the Muslim community who agreed to supervise Hussein’s internship: All parties agreed that if he successfully completed a minimum of 25 hours of meaningful community service, then all charges would be dropped.
At his hearing early last month, we were given a transcript fully detailing Hussein’s community work and counseling schedule, which included 3½ hours with a rabbi whose synagogue is in close physical proximity to the mosque where he reported for duty. As such, he learned some basic, important facts pertaining to the Jewish faith. We were satisfied that he had successfully accomplished all the requirements, and the charges against him were indeed dropped.
After the defendant publicly apologized for his indiscretion, I asked the judge if our synagogue president and I could spend some private time with him. She readily consented and allowed us to use her courtroom.
Though clearly nervous, Hussein was deferential, courteous and respectful. I wanted him to know that his criminal offense had occurred at a time of heightened sensitivity in our Jewish calendar — namely, the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the so-called Night of Broken Glass, the precursor to the Nazi Holocaust.
Furthermore, I told him that he had, in fact, targeted the wrong synagogue given our steadfast and uninterrupted commitment to interfaith dialogue and cooperation over 7½ decades throughout Abington Township and, in more recent years, with local Islamic communities in Willow Grove and Lansdale.
Finally, and most importantly, I took the time to explain to Hussein what the degel, the flag of Israel, meant to me. I respected the fact that in as much as he would wish to identify — for obvious reasons — with the Palestinian flag, my allegiance was to a flag that not only represented a proud, resolute, sovereign Jewish state but, even more importantly in my eyes, ultimately symbolized the fervent dreams, hopes and aspirations of the Jewish people throughout the world.
It was incumbent upon me to tell him that his offense was, to all intents and purposes, much more than just against Medinat Yisrael, the state of Israel. Rather, it was a transgression against Am Yisrael, the integrity, the viability, the very existence of the Jewish people everywhere.
I knew that intuitively thanks to an ancient midrash based on a biblical phrase from this Shabbat’s Torah portion. Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Robert Leib is the rabbi of Old York Road Temple-Beth Am in Abington and past chair of both the Abington Ministerium and rabbinic committee of the Old York Road Kehillah. The Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia is proud to provide diverse perspectives on Torah commentary for the Jewish Exponent. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Board of Rabbis.