Bamidbar: The Book Of Darkness

The Midrash Rabbah in the beginning of Berashis (3:5) says: אמר רבי סימון: ה' פעמים כתיב כאן אורה כנגד חמשה חומשי תורה ויאמר אלהים יהי אור כנגד ספר בראשית, שבו נתעסק הקב"ה וברא את עולמו ויהי אור כנגד ספר ואלה שמות, שבו יצאו ישראל מאפילה לאורה וירא אלהים את האור כי טוב כנגד ספר ויקרא, שהוא מלא הלכות רבות ויבדל אלהים בין האור ובין החשך כנגד ספר במדבר, שהוא מבדיל בין יוצאי מצרים לבאי הארץ ויקרא אלהים לאור יום כנגד ספר משנה תורה, שהוא מלא הלכות רבות.  Why is Sefer Bamidbar referred to as the book that is the difference between darkness and light?  Why is Parshas Bamidbar the intro. to the holiday of Shavuot?

Rav Tzaddok (Pri Tzaddik #2) says that Sefer Bamidbar is the beginning of the generation entering Eretz Yisroel.  The Gemorah in Babba Bathra says that פני משה כפני חמה פני יהושע כפני לבנה .  The generation that left Egypt is the generation of Moshe, direct contact with Hashem, it is light.  It is the תורה שבכתב  generation.  The generation entering the Land is the moon, it is surrounded by darkness.  It is the beginning of תורה שבעל פה.  The Nitziv (intro. to Bamidbar) that says the generation that left Egypt saw open miracles, the rules of nature were nullified before them.  That is light.  The generation coming into the Land is darkness, they are subject to the rules of nature.  This goes hand in hand with Rav Tzaddok.  It is Torah שבכתב that comes from Hashem, it is above nature.  It is the תורה שבעל פה that is produced through the work and toil of the person (based upon Shiveley Pinchas 5773.)

That is why Sefer Bamidbar is a apropos intro. to the holiday of Shavuot.  The main celebration of Shavuot isn’t the Torah that was given to us from Hashem, the earlier generations had Torah as well.  We are celebrating that the Torah was given to the human being’s mind to be able to add to the Torah and make decisions based upon his understanding (see intro. to Ketzos Hashulchan.)  It is the celebration of the תורה שבעל פה. 

The Magen Avrohom asks that the holiday of Shavuot is on the 6^th day of Sivan but the torah was given on the 7^th?  H explains it’s a hint to the second day of Yom Tov observed in the Diaspora.  That din is only Rabbinic?  We see built into the celebration of the giving of the Torah itself is the celebration of the power of the תורה שבעל פה, of man’s understanding of Torah.  The same idea is reflected in the count of the omer itself for the time of when one must start counting, ממחרת השבת is only understood through תורה שבעל פה.