Bais HaVaad on the Parsha, Parshas Bemidbar

Lion’s Milk

Excerpted and adapted from a shiur by Rav Yehoshua Sova

May 18, 2023

Those who encamp to the front, at the east, shall be the division of the camp of Yehudah according to their armies…they shall be the first to journey.

Bemidbar 2:3,9

Why was Sheivet Yehudah first? Yehudah is king of the shvatim, compared by Yaakov to the lion (Bereishis 49), king of the animals. The king takes the lead and shoulders responsibility for the kingdom. To properly fulfill this role, Yehudah had to be in front.

The Shulchan Aruch opens with the directive that a person must awaken in the morning with the strength of a lion. A lion uses its strength for immediate and effective implementation of the tasks it must perform. And a person must awaken in the morning with the strength and determination to serve Hashem immediately.

One reason for eating dairy on Shavuos is because after Matan Torah, Klal Yisrael wished to celebrate immediately with food and did not have time to study the halachos required for eating meat, like shechitah and basar bechalav (Rama, O.C. 494). Why should what we eat on Shavuos be determined by the fact that Klal Yisrael wanted to eat immediately? The answer is that here too, we are highlighting the importance of taking immediate action.