Bamidbar/Numbers 9:15 tells us that “on the day of the establishment of the mishkan, the cloud covered it and at night…it appeared as fire.”
This section of parashat Beha'alotcha tells us that now, as the Israelites were finally ready to move beyond Sinai, with a completed portable sanctuary (mishkan), they would move only when the “cloud” moved and stay put when this cloud stayed. This cloud, which had been accompanying the Israelites since first leaving Mitzrayim, had come to be a symbol for the divine presence, comforting and protecting them as they journeyed toward liberation.
This week's celebration of Juneteenth and the celebration of Pride Month as well both mark days when collective bodies of oppressed populations were able to also move forward in their liberation. In one case, Juneteenth doesn't celebrate when enslaved Africans were freed by human authority, but when all enslaved Africans finally experienced freedom from enslavement. In other words, when the entirety of the people could move forward. The cloud covered the mishkan similarly, moving only when all the Israelites were able to move forward together.
And next week will mark the anniversary of the beginning of the Stonewall Uprising. While that act did not bring freedom to all LGBTQIA2s+ humans at once, it can serve similar to the Israelites cloud today – a symbol of the divine liberatory presence that appeared to support the liberation Stonewall sparked and now covers the sanctuary for Queer Pride which it helped establish.
We see that liberatory moments do not necessarily equate to liberation. The destination of liberation unachieved yet, we look to experience and have the presence of Liberation with us along the journey. Reading the Book of Bamidbar in this time reminds us that indeed most of the work is the journey – working to achieve liberation as we also move toward it – and acknowledging and building on the momentum of our ancestors.
As we honor seasons of intersectional liberation, may the divine presence surround us and our entire community as well. Providing shade and comfort by day, and warmth, light, and protection by night.
Shabbat shalom,
R’ David
This section of parashat Beha'alotcha tells us that now, as the Israelites were finally ready to move beyond Sinai, with a completed portable sanctuary (mishkan), they would move only when the “cloud” moved and stay put when this cloud stayed. This cloud, which had been accompanying the Israelites since first leaving Mitzrayim, had come to be a symbol for the divine presence, comforting and protecting them as they journeyed toward liberation.
This week's celebration of Juneteenth and the celebration of Pride Month as well both mark days when collective bodies of oppressed populations were able to also move forward in their liberation. In one case, Juneteenth doesn't celebrate when enslaved Africans were freed by human authority, but when all enslaved Africans finally experienced freedom from enslavement. In other words, when the entirety of the people could move forward. The cloud covered the mishkan similarly, moving only when all the Israelites were able to move forward together.
And next week will mark the anniversary of the beginning of the Stonewall Uprising. While that act did not bring freedom to all LGBTQIA2s+ humans at once, it can serve similar to the Israelites cloud today – a symbol of the divine liberatory presence that appeared to support the liberation Stonewall sparked and now covers the sanctuary for Queer Pride which it helped establish.
We see that liberatory moments do not necessarily equate to liberation. The destination of liberation unachieved yet, we look to experience and have the presence of Liberation with us along the journey. Reading the Book of Bamidbar in this time reminds us that indeed most of the work is the journey – working to achieve liberation as we also move toward it – and acknowledging and building on the momentum of our ancestors.
As we honor seasons of intersectional liberation, may the divine presence surround us and our entire community as well. Providing shade and comfort by day, and warmth, light, and protection by night.
Shabbat shalom,
R’ David
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