B'haalotecha 5783

Question: 11:30 implies that משה and the זקנים had been outside the camp. Yet previously they had gathered outside the (אהל (מועד?


Approach: the simplest explanation appears to be that the term מחנה relates to the area where the various tribes camped, excluding the inner circle of the אהל מועד and where the לויים lived. As such, משה and the זקנים had indeed been in the inner circle, and were now returning to the rest of the tribes, presumably to start their jobs of assisting to lead the people.

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