There are a couple of pasukim in this week’s parsha that are very well known to us: ויהי בנסע הארן ויאמר משה קומה ה' ויפצו איביך וינסו משנאיך מפניך. ובנחה יאמר שובה ה' רבבות אלפי ישראל . - “When the Ark would journey, Moshe said, ‘Arise, Hashem, and let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee from before You.’ And when it rested, he would say ‘Reside tranquilly, Hashem, among the myriads and thousands of Yisrael’.” (Bamidbar 10:35-36). When the Jewish people set out on their travels and the Aron – the centerpiece of the Mishkan –began to travel, the people would recite a tefillah that Hashem should protect them and scatter their enemies.
This is an extremely appropriate and logical thing to say at such a time. While Klal Yisrael were travelling in the desert, their enemies in fact sometimes attacked them. The first case, of course, was the attack of Amalek in Refidim (Shemos 17:8-13). Many nations hated the Almighty and hated His people. Whenever they travelled it was a hostile environment and hence the tefillah, ‘Arise Hashem and let Your enemies be scattered’ was both a timely and appropriate tefillah each time Klal Yisrael set out on their journeys.
When Klal Yisrael arrived at their encampment and came to a place of rest, Moshe Rabbeinu said another tefillah: שובה ה' רבבות אלפי ישראל. The simple way of translating this is “Return, Hashem, among the myriad and multitudes of Klal Yisrael.” The first question we should ask is why was it even necessary to utter this tefillah? They are camping. They have arrived at a secure place. What is the need for the tefillah of שובה ה' רבבות אלפי ישראל ? More to the point, Rashi (Bamidbar 10:36) writes the following on the words שובה ה' : Menachem (ben Saruk) rendered the word שובה as expressing tranquility, as in the pasuk, בשובה ונחת תושעון – “In tranquility and calm you shall be saved” (Yeshaya 30:15).
Divrei Torah for the Shabbos Table
Without this Rashi, If I would ask, “What does שובה ה' mean?” chances are most people would translate “Return Hashem”. This means, we have been travelling, now Hashem return. This is in fact how Targum Onkelos interprets it (תוב ה' ) and this is in fact how the Targum Yonosan ben Uziel interprets it (תוב כדון מימרא דיי' ...). The simple translation is that the word שובה comes from the word שוב meaning return. Rashi, however, interprets differently. Based on the tenth century Spanish grammarian who Rashi quotes several times in his commentary, Rashi translates שובה as having the connotation מרגוע , meaning tranquility, peace and quiet, serenity. Rashi cites a pasuk in Yeshaya where the word שובה has that connotation.
R' Frand relates: I looked up two authentic English translations of Chumash and saw two different interpretations. The Samson Raphael Hirsch Chumash translates שובה as “Come home, again Hashem”. This is in line with the Targum Onkelos and Targum Yonasan, which is certainly the most common interpretation. However, the Art Scroll Chumash follows Rashi’s translation, which is “Reside tranquilly, Hashem.”
Why did Rashi take this approach to translating this expression and what is the real meaning of “with tranquility and calm”?
I saw an interesting observation in the sefer Ikvei Erev: When people are busy and occupied with important matters, most of the time they are too busy to get into arguments. People are too preoccupied with what they need to do so there is not much time for quibbling or argumentation. When the Jews were travelling, the only thing they had to worry about was an outside enemy. Therefore, the tefillah “Your enemies, Hashem, should be scattered” is appropriate. However, when they camped, they had an idyllic situation, a situation the likes of which we have otherwise never seen: There was no need to make a living! What was there to do? Their clothes did not wear out; every morning they went outside and collected their daily provisions (the mann); everything was taken care of. There was nothing to do. It was a seemingly tranquil utopian situation. No taxes, no traffic, no hassle, no nothing! What could be better?
In such a scenario – when people have absolutely nothing to do –they start to get restless and start carping at one another. That is why, “And when it (the Aron) rested, (Moshe) would invoke the tefillah of שובה ה' – based on the connotation of מרגוע , tranquility.
R’ Frand continues: I learned this truth several years ago and it took me a good part of my adult life to understand it: This idea is counter-intuitive and against the prevailing
