In the third aliyah of Parshat Bamidbar, we read about how the tribes would camp in relation to the Mishkan. They were supposed to encamp מנגד סביב לאהל מועד, “some distance from the Tent of Meeting” (Bamidbar 2:2). Rashi explains that this distance was a מיל, the same distance that a person may travel on Shabbat, שיוכלו לבא בשבת. On the one hand, we are distant, מנגד, and yet on the other we are never supposed to be too far that we cannot travel to the Mishkan on Shabbat. In this small detail, we glean a profound lesson: even when we are far way (or when we feel far away), God does not want to be out of reach. God has set up His relationship with us so that we can travel to Him when we need Him-- so that His laws do not keep us from Him. But ensuring that this distance is bridgeable is also our responsibility. We are finite beings who are constantly aware of our separation from the Infinite, from His Temple, from His ideal world. But simultaneously, we are also aware that it is our job to encamp around Him. It is our calling to make sure that the distance does not divide us and that we do not distance ourselves so much that He is out of reach. When we feel distant, whether we are in the midst of suffering or loss or if we are feeling lonely or apathetic-- we must remember that bridging the distance between the finite and the Infinite is a two-way street. Show up to shul for minyan when we are tired. Give tzedakah even when it is hard. Welcome the stranger davka when we feel like strangers. Let’s do our part and maintain the מיל, which is sometimes surprisingly walkable. And may God see our efforts and meet us along the journey.
