Dear Friend,

The Book of Bamidbar opens not with drama, but with silence. “And G-d spoke to Moses in the wilderness.” Before revelation, there is emptiness. Before direction, there is space.

A true and telling story is shared about Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe. When he was imprisoned by the Russian authorities, he was interrogated at length. One officer, who had clearly studied Scripture, asked mockingly, “Your Torah says, ‘And G-d called to Adam and said, Where are you?’ Surely G-d knew where Adam was. So what kind of question is that?”

The Alter Rebbe answered calmly, “G-d was not asking Adam where he was physically. He was asking, ‘Where are you in your life right now? After all you were given, where have you placed yourself?’”

The officer was shaken. The question, he realized, was no longer ancient or theoretical. It was personal.

Bamidbar teaches that G-d does not speak amidst noise, comfort, or self-certainty. He speaks in the midbar, the wilderness, a place without landmarks, where a person must confront themselves honestly. Only there can we hear the deeper question: Where are you?

Many of us avoid the wilderness. We fill our lives with busyness, opinions, and distractions. But the Torah reminds us that growth begins when we allow ourselves moments of quiet vulnerability, when we admit we do not have all the answers.

Bamidbar is not a punishment. It is preparation. When we make space, G-d’s voice finds us.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Zushe Cunin