Parashat Behaalotkha: Torah Reading
Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio

There are some unusual marks around two pesukim in our parashah (Bemidbar 10:35-36):

׆ וַיְהִ֛י בִּנְסֹ֥עַ הָאָרֹ֖ן וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֑ה קוּמָ֣ה ׀ יהוה וְיָפֻ֙צוּ֙ אֹֽיְבֶ֔יךָ וְיָנֻ֥סוּ מְשַׂנְאֶ֖יךָ מִפָּנֶֽיךָ׃ וּבְנֻחֹ֖ה יֹאמַ֑ר שׁוּבָ֣ה יהוה רִֽבְב֖וֹת אַלְפֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ ׆
[There are signs (inverted nuns) before (this verse) and after (the next verse) to indicate that this is not where these verses actually belong; they were inserted here to create a hiatus between one misfortune and another (see Shabbath 116a)] and it was, when the ark traveled that Moses said: "Stand [and wait for us (the ark preceding them a three-days distance)], O L-rd, and let Your foes [Your massed foes] be scattered, and let Your haters [the enemies of Israel (those in pursuit)] flee before You." And when it came to rest, he said: "Rest, O L-rd, upon the [two] ten thousands [and two] thousands of Israel," [the Shechinah not resting in Israel upon fewer than twenty-two thousand.]
These verses are about what Moshe would say when the אֲרוֹן (aron, ark) was being carried or set down. What are these backwards letter nuns doing here? There’s an early מַחְלֹקֶת (mahloket, debate) about this (Sifrei Bemidbar 84).
  • According to the first opinion, the marks tell us that these two pesukim don’t really belong here.
Rashi says that these pesukim would have fit better in Parashat Bemidbar. According to him, they are here in Behaalotkha to give us a break from all the bad news in our parashah. After hearing about Yitro leaving Moshe, and Benei Yisrael leaving Har Sinai (Bemidbar 10:29-34), it would be too sad and stressful to jump straight to Benei Yisrael’s complaints in chapter 11.
  • According to Rebbe (Rabbi Yehudah Ha-Nasi), these marks separate these two pesukim, making them their very own book of Torah. And this teaches us about the minimum size of a Torah scroll.
There are 85 letters between these two nuns. Therefore, if you have a Torah scroll that has fallen apart, but has even just 85 letters remaining, it still has its full holiness. You couldn’t read from it during the service, but you would need to treat it with respect, for example, by not throwing it away.