“A ccording to their families according to their fathers’ houses by the number of names…” (Bamidbar 1:26).
How is a newly freed slave oppressed by many years of servitude taught to stand tall? How is a sense of self-worth and independence instilled into him?
How does a faceless mass of slaves with all sense of national and individual identity crushed out of them by cruel taskmasters learn to function as a nation?
The first step is to remove them from the nation that enslaved them and bring them to… the wilderness. A barren desert wilderness — in order to isolate them from the influences of other societies that have been living in relative freedom. Let them spend some time alone with themselves and enjoy the healing effects of this “spiritual retreat.”
