Shabbat 116A

שאין זה מקומה. רבי אומר: לא מן השם הוא זה, אלא מפני שספר חשוב הוא בפני עצמו.

that this is not its place, as the previous portion does not discuss the nation’s travels. R' Yehuda HaNasi says: It is not for that reason that signs were inserted. Rather, the signs are there because this portion is considered a book to itself.

כמאן אזלא הא דאמר רבי שמואל בר נחמן אמר רבי יונתן: ״חצבה עמודיה שבעה״, אלו שבעה ספרי תורה? כמאן כרבי.

The Talmud asks: According to whose opinion is that which R' Shmuel bar Naḥman said that R' Yonatan said, that with regard to the verse: “With wisdom she built her house, she carved its 7 pillars” (Proverbs 9:1), these are the 7 books of the Torah? According to whose opinion? It is according to the opinion of R' Yehuda HaNasi, as by his count there are 7 books of the Torah: Genesis; Exodus; Leviticus; Numbers until: “And when the Ark traveled”; the portion: “And when the Ark traveled,” which is considered its own book; the remainder of Numbers; and Deuteronomy.

מאן תנא דפליג עליה דרבי ⁠— רבן שמעון בן גמליאל הוא. דתניא: רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר: עתידה פרשה זו שתיעקר מכאן ותכתב במקומה. ולמה כתבה כאן ⁠— כדי להפסיק בין פורענות ראשונה לפורענות שנייה. פורענות שנייה מאי היא ⁠— ״ויהי העם כמתאוננים״. פורענות ראשונה ⁠— ״ויסעו מהר ה׳״, ואמר רבי חמא ברבי חנינא: שסרו מאחרי ה׳. והיכן מקומה? אמר רב אשי: בדגלים.

Who is the tanna who disagrees with R' Yehuda HaNasi? It is Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel. As it was taught in a baraita that Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: In the future, this portion will be uprooted from here, where it appears, and will be written in its proper place. And why was it written here, even though it discusses the travels of the children of Israel, and the portion before it does not? It is in order to demarcate between the first punishment and the second punishment. What is the second punishment that appears immediately afterward? It is the verse: “And the people complained wickedly in God’s ears, and God heard and became angry, and the fire of God burned in them and it consumed the edge of the camp” (Numbers 11:1). What is the first punishment? It is the verse: “And they traveled from the mountain of God [mehar Hashem] for 3 days” (Numbers 10:33), and R' Ḥama, son of R' Ḥanina, said: That they turned from after God [me’aḥarei Hashem] and hurriedly fled Mount Sinai. The Talmud asks: And if so, where is the proper place for this paragraph? Rav Ashi said: In the portion of the flags, where there is a description of the manner in which the Jewish people traveled through the desert.