בהעלותך

Come with supreme joy and let us return to our brokenness, to further connect the section written in the portion of the Ark's journey. Thus it is written: "And it was when the Ark set out, Moses said, 'Arise, O Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You'" (Numbers 10:35). This passage is surrounded by inverted נו"ן (Nun) letters in the Torah scroll, at the opening and closing of this section, like this: ׆...׆.

Rashi, of blessed memory, mentions this: "He made signs for it, before and after, to indicate that this is not its place." The reason for this, as explained in the holy writings, is to separate between two instances of calamity.

The source of these matters is in the Talmud (Shabbat 115b), where it is stated: "Our Rabbis taught: 'And it was when the Ark set out' (Numbers 10:35) — the Holy One, blessed be He, made signs for it above and below, to indicate that this is not its place. Rabbi said: It is not from the name of the Lord, but because it is an important book by itself. As Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: 'She has hewn out her seven pillars' (Proverbs 9:1) — these are the seven books of the Torah." According to Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, who disagrees with Rabbi, this section is destined to be uprooted from here and written in its proper place in the future.

The first calamity is 'And the people were as murmurers' (Numbers 11:1), and the second is 'And they journeyed from the mountain of the Lord' (Numbers 10:33), which was a turning away from the Lord. Rabbi Chama bar Rabbi Chanina said: "Where is its place? In the flags."

Rabbi Chaim Vital, in his commentary on our portion, explains the dispute among the sages: "There are three opinions on this matter. The opinion of the Tanna is that the section 'And it was when the Ark set out' should have been written in the portion of the flags in Numbers 2, because there the Ark was in the camp of the Levites, and it was appropriate to write 'And it was when the Ark set out' there. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, made signs for it to separate it from the adjacent sections, to teach that this section is not in its place."

Rabbi's opinion is that this section is written in its place, as it is mentioned above at the beginning of the portion: 'And it was in the second year, in the second month' (Numbers 10:11), and the journey of the flags is mentioned. Therefore, he said, "It is not from the name of the Lord," meaning it is not in its place, but it is an important book by itself. Hence, the signs were made to distinguish it from the adjacent sections.

Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel's opinion is that this section is in its place for now, but in the future, it will be uprooted from here. The reason for Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel's view that this section will be uprooted in the future is because today we fear calamities, so we separate between the calamities. However, in the future, when the evil inclination will be removed from the world, there will be no more calamities, and therefore, there will be no need for this separation of 'And it was when the Ark set out.'

In summary, the opinions are as follows: 1. The Tanna's opinion is that this section is not in its place here, but in the story of the flags in Numbers. 2. Rabbi's opinion is that it is written in its place and will remain here forever. 3. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel's opinion is that it is in its place for now, but in the future, it will be uprooted from here and written in its proper place. The reason for Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel's view is that today we fear calamities, hence the separation between the calamities. However, in the future, when the evil inclination will be removed from the world, there will be no more calamities, and therefore, there will be no need for this separation.