A lonely God – Mass’ei
It is all very well for the sidra to conclude, “I the Lord dwell in the midst of the Children of Israel” (Num. 35:34). If only it were completely true.
I think God must often feel lonely. It is not merely that He is HaShem Echad, the One, Unique God. It is not simply that by definition there is and must be an infinite distance between Creator and created, between King and subjects. It is quite likely that despite people knowing that in theory He “dwells in the midst of the Children of Israel”, they treat Him as if He didn’t exist.
He gives them a Torah and they don’t want it. He shows them how to live and they prefer to take no notice. He points the way to the heavens and they are more interested in the earth. He represents conscience but their choice is sensuality.
Forget the saying, “It’s hard to be Jewish”. It must be even harder to be God.
