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What Parshat Bamidbar Teaches Us About Social Media, Politics, and the State of Our Society
A Torah scroll. Photo: RabbiSacks.org.
In the aftermath of World War II, Europe was a continent in ruins. Cities were flattened, governments had collapsed, economies were shattered, and millions of displaced people wandered through a landscape that looked like the end of the world. Entire populations had disappeared, and for many survivors, especially Jewish survivors, there was no home to return to.
One of the lesser-known but most extraordinary aspects of that period was the way military planners and logisticians became the unlikely heroes of reconstruction. Historians tend to focus on Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, or Eisenhower.
But behind the scenes were thousands of officers, engineers, transport experts, census officials, and administrators whose jobs were not very glamorous but absolutely essential. Their mission was simple: create order out of chaos.
The Allies quickly discovered — as many victors have discovered — that winning the war was only the beginning. Once the fighting stopped, they needed to feed entire populations, distribute medicine, relocate refugees, restore infrastructure, and prevent society from descending into complete anarchy. And to do that, they needed systems.
The US Army became particularly obsessed with organization. In an age before computerization and instant communication, they mapped supply chains down to the smallest detail. They categorized displaced persons by nationality, language, and destination. They created zones, divisions, command structures, and transportation networks.
Every truckload of food, every train carriage, every temporary shelter had to be accounted for. At one point, American military planners were handling more than nine million displaced people across Europe. Think about that number for a moment. Nine million people — all of them homeless, traumatized, and stateless — needing food, shelter, documentation, and direction.
And here is the fascinating thing. The people doing this work understood something deeply important about human nature: when people feel lost, they need more than food and shelter. They need orientation. They need to know where they belong.
One Holocaust survivor later recalled arriving at a displaced persons camp in Germany after months of wandering. What struck him most was not the food or the beds. It was the list on the wall assigning families to tents and sections. “For the first time in years,” he said, “someone knew where I was supposed to be.”
That sentence is incredibly powerful. Someone knew where I was supposed to be. Because human beings can survive deprivation far more easily than they can survive chaos. We crave order. We need meaning. We need structure. We need to know that our existence fits into a larger picture.
And that is precisely the message at the heart of Parshat Bamidbar. The parsha opens with census figures, tribal arrangements, camp formations, and detailed organizational instructions. The Jewish people are counted tribe by tribe. The camp is arranged carefully around the Mishkan.
Each tribe has a designated location, a leader, a banner, and a role. It sounds more like an administrative manual than an inspiring spiritual text. But if you think that, you’ve missed the point entirely.
The Torah is describing one of the most transformative moments in Jewish history. The Jewish people were no longer a family or just a collection of escaped slaves. The Jewish people are a nation. And nations require structure.
The Midrash points out that God did not simply throw the Jewish people into the desert and tell them to figure it out themselves. There was deliberate organization. Every tribe had its place. Every family had its role. The Mishkan stood at the center, surrounded by layers of order and meaning.
Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, in Haamek Davar, explains that the camp’s layout was not only about logistical efficiency but also about spiritual identity. Each tribe possessed unique strengths and characteristics, and their placement expressed their individual mission within the national whole.
And the desert was the perfect setting for this lesson. A desert is the very definition of chaos. Endless emptiness with no landmarks, or roads, or natural boundaries. If you wander too far in the wrong direction, you disappear. And yet specifically there — in the wilderness — God teaches the Jewish people how to build order.
There is something deeply relevant about this message today. We live in an age of astonishing technological advancement and — simultaneously — unprecedented social confusion. Never before have people had so much information and so little clarity.
Everyone is connected, but loneliness has become epidemic. Everyone has a version of freedom inconceivable to previous generations, but anxiety levels continue to rise. Everyone is encouraged to “be yourself,” yet countless people have no idea who they actually are.
Modern society celebrates limitless choice. But psychologists increasingly acknowledge that too many choices produce paralysis and instability rather than happiness. The late sociologist Zygmunt Bauman called modern life “liquid modernity” — a world where nothing stays fixed for very long. Relationships are temporary, careers are unstable, communities are fragmented, and identity itself has become fluid.
But the truth is: people need anchors. That is why routines matter, and families matter, and communities matter. And that is why religion continues to matter, despite endless predictions of its demise. Because religion does something modern culture struggles to provide: it tells people where they belong.
The Torah’s vision in Bamidbar is remarkably sophisticated. Unity does not mean sameness. Each tribe remained distinct. Every tribe had its own identity, its own flag, its own personality. But all of them encircled the same Mishkan.
That balance between individuality and shared purpose is one of the great secrets of a healthy society. A nation collapses when people lose any sense of collective mission. But it also collapses when individuality is completely crushed. The Torah’s model doesn’t believe in radical collectivism, nor does it subscribe to chaotic individualism. Rather, it is based on structured diversity.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch notes that the Mishkan at the center of the camp symbolized the idea that God’s presence must remain central to national life. Remove the center, and the entire arrangement loses coherence. That insight feels especially urgent today.
The disappearance of any stable center has sent modernity into a tailspin. Politics has become entirely tribal, without any shared foundational values. Social media amplifies outrage without any sense of responsibility. And the institutions that once provided moral direction have either been weakened or have disappeared entirely. The result is a society filled with noise but lacking orientation.
Which brings me back to that Holocaust survivor in the displaced persons camp: “For the first time in years, someone knew where I was supposed to be.” To know where you belong is one of the deepest human needs. Parshat Bamidbar reminds us that Judaism is not only a religion of belief but also a religion of belonging.
Before the Jewish people begin their long march through the wilderness, God teaches them something essential: you cannot build a nation or an identity without order, and without structure, there is no future. It was true in the wilderness of Sinai. It was true in the shattered ruins of postwar Europe. And it may be truer now than ever before.
The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.
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US May Ask Israel to Put Palestinian Tax Money Toward Trump’s Gaza Plan, Sources Say
US President Donald Trump takes part in a charter announcement for his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, alongside the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
The US is considering asking Israel to give some tax money it is withholding from the Palestinian Authority to Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to fund the US president’s post-war plan for Gaza, five sources familiar with the matter said.
The Trump administration has not yet decided whether to make a formal request to Israel, said three of the sources, officials with knowledge of US deliberations with Israel.
The two other sources, Palestinians with knowledge of the deliberations, said that under the proposal a portion of the tax money would go to a US-backed transitional government for Gaza and other funds to the PA if it makes reforms.
The PA puts the amount of tax being withheld at $5 billion.
The prospect of the Palestinians’ own tax money being repurposed toward Trump’s Gaza rebuilding plan, over which their government has had no input, could further sideline the Western-backed PA even as Israel‘s withholding of the funds begets a financial crisis in the West Bank.
The PA exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank but has not had any sway over Gaza since it was exiled from the territory after a brief civil war with terrorist group Hamas in 2007.
Trump’s plan for Gaza, shattered after more than two years of war, has been held up by a refusal by Hamas to lay down their weapons.
‘MONEY HELD IN A BANK DOES NOTHING’
The Board of Peace declined to comment on whether a proposal to use Palestinian tax money was under consideration.
A Board official said it had asked all parties to leverage resources to support Trump’s rebuild plan, estimated to cost $70 billion.
“That includes the Palestinian Authority and Israel. There is no doubt that money held in a bank does nothing to further the President’s 20-Point Plan,” the official said.
That appeared to refer to the PA tax revenue that Israel has withheld from the body in a long-running dispute over payments it makes to Palestinians and their families for carrying out terrorist attacks against Israelis.
Under this policy, official payments are made to Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, the families of “martyrs” killed in attacks on Israelis, and Palestinians injured in terrorist attacks.
Reports estimate that approximately 8 percent of the PA’s budget has been allocated to paying stipends to convicted terrorists and their families.
Israel collects taxes on imported goods on behalf of the PA and is meant to transfer the revenue under a longstanding arrangement. The PA is supposed to use the funds to pay civil servants and fund public services.
The sources did not say how much of the tax money Washington was considering asking Israel to transfer to the Board.
The US State Department, Israeli government, and PA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The US and Israel have long pressured the PA to abolish payments to Palestinian prisoners and families of those killed by Israeli forces, arguing it encourages violence.
In response to US pressure, the PA in February 2025 said it was reforming the payment system, but the US said those changes did not go far enough. As punishment, Israel has withheld taxes it collects on the PA’s behalf, an amount that Palestinian officials say has reached $5 billion – well over half of the PA’s annual budget.
That has set off a financial crisis in the West Bank, with the PA slashing salaries of thousands of civil servants.
Israel accepted a US invitation to join the Board of Peace. The PA was not invited.
Under Trump’s plan, a group of Palestinian technocrats dubbed the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza would take control of Gaza from Hamas as the terrorists lay down their weapons.
Nickolay Mladenov, Trump’s Board of Peace envoy for Gaza, said during a press conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday that reconstruction planning was in advanced stages.
“We’re doing it sector by sector. We’re costing things. We’re coordinating with donors and we’re ready to begin in earnest once the conditions allow it,” Mladenov said, without mentioning the tax issue.
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UK Man Appears in Court Over Stabbing of Two Jewish Men in London
A police officer stands by a cordon at the scene, after a man was arrested following a stabbing incident in the Golders Green area, which is home to a large Jewish population, in London, Britain. Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay
The trial of a 45-year-old man charged with attempted murder over a knife attack during which two Jewish men were stabbed will take place next March, a London court heard on Friday.
Essa Suleiman, a British national who was born in Somalia, is alleged to have tried to kill two Jewish men on April 29 in north London‘s Golders Green area, which is home to a large Jewish population.
The incident was the latest in a spate of attacks targeting Jewish premises in the area, which have left Jewish communities fearing for their safety, prompting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to vow stronger action.
Suleiman is also charged with a third count of attempted murder, relating to an unconnected incident at the home of a former acquaintance earlier the same day, and with possession of a bladed article.
He appeared at London‘s Old Bailey court on Friday and was not asked to enter pleas to any of the four charges he faces. A date of March 1, 2027, was set for his trial, and he remains in custody.
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Trump Leaves Beijing With No Major Breakthroughs on Iran, Trade
Chinese President Xi Jinping inspects an honor guard with US President Donald Trump during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China, May 14, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Pool
US President Donald Trump left China on Friday with no major breakthroughs on trade or tangible help from Beijing to end the Iran war, despite two days spent heaping praise on his host, Xi Jinping.
Trump‘s visit to America’s main strategic and economic rival, the first by a US president since his last trip in 2017, had aimed for tangible results to lift his sagging approval ratings before midterm elections in November. Xi will visit the US in the fall at Trump‘s invitation, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
The summit was filled with pageantry, from goose-stepping soldiers to tours of a secret garden. But behind closed doors, Xi issued a stark warning to Trump that any mishandling of China’s top concern, Taiwan, could spiral into conflict.
During a huddle with reporters on the way back to the US, Trump said Xi told him he opposed Taiwan’s independence.
“I heard him out. I didn’t make a comment … I made no commitment either way,” said Trump. He added that he will decide on a pending arms sale to Taiwan shortly, after speaking to “the person that right now is … running Taiwan.”
It was unclear if Trump was referring to Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te.
A direct conversation between a sitting US president and Taiwan’s leader would be unprecedented in the period since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979, and would likely anger China, which sees the democratically governed island as its own territory.
These were the first freewheeling remarks after two days in Beijing during which Trump stayed unusually restrained, with his off-the-cuff comments mainly focused on feting Xi‘s warmth and stature.
“It’s been an incredible visit. I think a lot of good has come of it,” Trump told Xi at their final meeting at the Zhongnanhai complex, a former imperial garden.
While Trump searched for immediate business wins, such as a deal to sell Boeing jets that did not impress investors, Xi talked up a long-term reset and pact to maintain stable trade ties with Washington, underscoring their differing priorities.
Xi pushed a new term by describing the relationship as “constructive strategic stability” – a sharp departure from the framing of “strategic competition” used by former US President Joe Biden, which Beijing disliked.
“Until now, China hasn’t proposed an alternative – now they have – if the US side agrees, that is progress,” said Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
NO HELP ON IRAN
A brief US summary of Thursday’s talks highlighted what the White House called the leaders’ shared desire to reopen the Strait of Hormuz off Iran, and Xi‘s interest in American oil purchases to pare its dependence on the Middle East.
But just before the leaders met for tea on Friday, China’s foreign ministry issued a blunt statement outlining its frustration with the war.
“This conflict, which should never have happened, has no reason to continue,” the ministry said, adding that China supported efforts to reach a peace deal in a war that had disrupted energy supplies and the global economy.
At Zhongnanhai, Trump said the leaders had discussed Iran and felt “very similar,” though Xi did not comment. On the flight back home, Trump added that he wasn’t “asking for any favors” on Iran.
Still, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had urged Beijing to use its leverage with Tehran to make a deal. But analysts doubt Xi will be willing to push Tehran hard or end support for its military, given Iran’s value to Beijing as a strategic counterweight to the US.
“What’s notable is that there’s no Chinese commitment to do anything specific with regards to Iran,” said Patricia Kim, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution.
BOEING SHARES SLIDE ON UNDERWHELMING DEAL
In another sign of a diminished scale of the summit, Trump’s readout did not mention the broad structural reforms on which previous presidents pressed Xi.
Unlike his previous trip in 2017, Trump did not discuss “structural reforms,” “global economic governance,” or the “international trading system” with Xi, according to the readout.
Even the deal touted as the biggest single deliverable from the meetings underwhelmed. Boeing stock fell 4% when Trump said on Thursday that China would buy 200 Boeing jets, significantly fewer than the roughly 500 that sources told Reuters had been under discussion.
He later added that the order could go up to 750 planes “if they do a good job with the 200.”
US officials said they had agreed deals to sell farm goods and made progress on mechanisms to manage future trade, with both sides expected to identify $30 billion of non-sensitive goods.
There were scant details of the deals, however, and no signs of a breakthrough on selling Nvidia’s advanced H200 AI chips to China, despite CEO Jensen Huang’s dramatic last-minute addition to the trip.
Trump also left without official resolution to the rare earths supply problem that has dogged ties since China imposed export controls on the vital minerals in response to Trump‘s tariff barrage in April 2025.
While the leaders struck a truce last October for Washington to lower tariffs in exchange for China keeping rare earths flowing, Beijing‘s controls have caused shortages for US chipmakers and aerospace companies.
When asked if the two sides extended the truce beyond later this year, Trump said he and Xi “did not discuss tariffs.”
Such an extension would be “the most basic benchmark” for the success of the summit, said Brookings’ Kim.
Xi‘s remarks to Trump that mishandling Taiwan, the democratically governed island Beijing claims, could lead to conflict, delivered a sharp warning during a summit that otherwise appeared friendly and relaxed.
Taiwan, 50 miles (80 km) off China’s coast, has long been a flashpoint in ties, with Beijing refusing to rule out use of military force to gain control of the island and the US bound by law to provide it the means of self-defense.
“US policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News. Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said Taiwan would continue to deepen ties with the US and like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific, adding that China was increasing regional “risks.”