Holding the Centre Together

This week’s parsha, Bamidbar, is one many people skim over. It starts with another census—tribes, numbers, flags, and positions in the camp. It’s easy to see it as technical, even dull.

However, the truth is that this parsha strikes at the core of where we are today as a people and a nation. In fact, I don’t think there’s a more relevant parsha to help us reflect on what’s going on in Israel right now.

Why Was the Torah Given in the Desert?

The Sages tell us the Torah was given in the midbar—the desert—because it is ownerless. Nobody can claim it as theirs alone. It’s open to all.

That tells us something important: the Torah doesn’t belong to any one group. Not to the religious, not to the secular, not to Ashkenazim or Sephardim, not to the right or left. It’s ours. All of ours.

But then, right after making that point, the parsha jumps straight into dividing the people into tribes, flags, and camp formations. Why?

Because difference isn’t the problem. In fact, difference is part of the design. Each tribe had a specific role, a designated space, and a specific direction. But what kept it all together was the shared centre—the Mishkan, the place of Divine presence.

That’s the message: We don’t have to be the same. But we do have to face the same centre.

Tribes Today: Diversity Without Unity

Fast forward to today. We still have tribes:

• Religious, secular, Haredi, Dati Leumi, Reform.
• Political left, right, centre.
• Cultural and ethnic differences—Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, Russian, Ethiopian.

Each group is holding on tightly to its truth. Often too tightly.

The problem isn’t diversity. The problem is when we stop seeing the bigger picture. When we don’t face the centre together. When every group thinks it owns the truth, and everyone else is the problem.

“I’m most worried about us”

I am sharing an excerpt from a talk given by Shai Babad, CEO of the Strauss Group (TASE: STRS), which articulates the challenge.

One of the things that concerns Babad, in addition to business continuity, is the division among Israelis. “Unfortunately, I see the same discourse of October 6 repeating itself, and the division and the rift and the camps: yes Bibi, no Bibi, yes reform, no reform, yes the head of the Shin Bet, no the head of the Shin Bet, yes the Chief of Staff, no the Chief of Staff. And you turn on the news and it looks like we haven’t learned anything.

“I’m not worried about Hamas, Hezbollah, or the Iranians. I’m most worried about us. In my opinion, the Iranians are sitting in Iran rubbing their hands and saying, ‘Listen, we can stop firing missiles at Israel. They’re destroying their own values in an excellent way. Their quarrels, division, and rift are finishing them off.’ That’s what scares me the most. In the months after October 7, there was insane mutual support here. Everyone got involved, everyone understood for a moment the magnitude of the hour. We put all the quarrels aside and simply got involved and understood that our existence really depends solely on our unity and our mutual support and our ability to live here together. We don’t really have to agree with all opinions, but we do have to accommodate and yes, we can love and yes, we can accept. And we did that for a very short period of time and it’s as if we’ve forgotten. And all that divisive discourse is repeating itself, and that worries me a lot. We need to be worthy of all the people who gave their lives and all the soldiers who are fighting.

Babad continued, “This is our behaviour as a people, and I am currently leaving the leadership out of it. It starts with our discourse and how we behave towards each other. It starts at dinners, at gatherings with friends, and it continues to the workplace, and it expands in larger and larger circles. We must strive to find the discourse that connects and unifies us to build mutual support and share our common story of why we are here.”

https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-strauss-ceo-were-committed-to-south-and-north-1001511339

Let’s try to get to the root of the problem – the elephant in the room – The Eruv Rav.

The Erev Rav – Then and Now

The Book of Bamidbar doesn’t name the Erev Rav directly very often, but their impact is clear. They first show up in the form of the asafsuf—the mixed multitude who complained about the manna and stirred the people into wanting meat. That one spark turned into national unrest and a deadly plague.

We also see their influence in Korach’s rebellion, which wasn’t just about equality—it was about ego and power, dressed up in spiritual slogans. And of course, the Erev Rav are blamed in the Midrash for pushing the people into the Golden Calf. That same confusion and instability shows up again and again in Bamidbar.

The Erev Rav today isn’t a group—it’s a mindset:

• Voices that claim to speak for morality while siding with those who attack us.
• People who stir division, reject responsibility, or push ideology over unity.
• Those who turn being Jewish into a tool for blaming Israel, while offering nothing constructive in return.

This mindset is dangerous because it weakens us from the inside. That’s what Bamidbar is warning us about. When we’re not clear about who we are, and we let false voices set the tone, we lose our way.

Bamidbar teaches us that each tribe can be different, but if we don’t share a centre—if we’re not grounded in purpose and truth—then we’re just wandering.

Certainty at the Expense of Unity

One of the most dangerous things I see today is ideological certitude.

• The far left is convinced peace is just a matter of trying harder, even when the facts on the ground say otherwise.
• The Haredi or Right-wing Religious Zionists are convinced their version of Torah must control the entire country, even if it tears society apart.
• The religious believe they have all the answers.
• The secular believe the religious are the problem.

Each side is locked in. No listening. No humility. No shared centre.

This is what breaks us.

Oslo and the Flawed Assumption

Take Oslo as an example. It was based on the belief that both sides wanted peace. That if we gave land and recognition, we’d get peace in return.

But we didn’t.

Instead, we got:

• The Second Intifada,
• Suicide bombings,
• Hamas after the 2005 Gaza withdrawal,
• And most recently, October 7th, where the illusion fully collapsed.

It’s not that peace is bad. Of course, we want peace. But peace built on false assumptions leads to disaster. Universal values are essential, but they need to be grounded in reality and responsibility.

The Slow Terror We’ve Gotten Used To

Even when there’s no war, there’s terror:

• Roadside shootings.
• Random stabbings.
• Cars ambushed with kids inside.

This is the background noise of life in Israel. And still, there are voices—both here and abroad—that say it’s all our fault. That we just need to try harder, give more, and apologise more.

That’s not universalism. That’s blindness.

Rav Kook and the Rejection of Vision

Rav Kook was one of the greatest Jewish leaders of the modern era. Deeply religious. Deeply spiritual. And also deeply open.

He believed in the Jewish people—all of them. He believed that our mission wasn’t just to survive, but to bring moral clarity to ourselves and to the world.

While Herzl wanted a state for Jews, Rav Kook wanted a Jewish State.

But he was rejected by many, especially by the ultra-Orthodox in his time and still today.

Why? Because he didn’t fit the box. He was too broad, too compassionate, too hopeful. He held universal values rooted in particularism, and that made people uncomfortable.

Carlebach and Sacks: Voices the World Still Needs

Two others tried to follow that same path.

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach

• He reached people no one else could reach through music, stories and uplifting singing in Shuls.
• He brought Torah to those on the margins.
• He believed in every soul but never gave up his own Jewish identity to do it.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt”l

• Chief Rabbi of the UK.
• A thinker who engaged with the world, without compromising on Torah.
• In his book “Future Tense: A Vision for Jews and Judaism in the Global Culture,” he wrote that Judaism must be seen not as a religion under threat, but as a source of guidance and meaning for the world.

Both men were grounded in tradition but weren’t afraid to bring Torah into global conversation. We need more voices like theirs today.

A Call to the Soul of Israel

There’s so much confusion in the world. Lies, distortion, double standards. People attack Israel with complete ignorance of who we are, what we stand for, and the values we carry.

This is where we must step up—not just to defend ourselves militarily or politically, but to speak the moral and ethical truth of who we are.

• Israel is not perfect, but it stands for life, for responsibility, for peace with security.
• Judaism is not just about rituals—it’s about a way of living that brings justice, meaning, and dignity.

We need to stop being afraid of our message.

Let’s stop arguing about who owns the Torah.
Let’s start living it—and sharing it.

Don’t Skip Bamidbar

Parshat Bamidbar isn’t just about numbers. It’s about structure. Mission. Responsibility. And the reminder that we can be different and still united—if we hold the centre.

So, let’s fix our eyes back on the Mishkan, on Jerusalem, on our shared values and shared destiny.

Let’s speak with clarity, not certitude.
With conviction, not contempt.
And with love, not just for our own, but for our fellow Israelis, and a world that so badly needs to hear what Judaism has to say.

The world doesn’t just need our security and innovation.
It needs our soul.