Dear Friends;
I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parashat summary followed by a Dvar Torah;
” Parsha in a Nutshell “
Parshat Bamidbar, is primarily involved with the census taken of the Jewish people in the second month of their second year in the desert. After listing the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel, the Torah presents the totals of men between the ages of twenty and sixty for each tribe, the overall count being 603,550. The encampment structure is then described, with the tribe of Levi in the middle, safeguarding the Tabernacle and surrounded by the twelve tribes of Israel, each in their own designated area. The appointment of the tribe of Levi as the spiritual leaders of the Jewish people is presented, and their own census is taken, apart from the rest of Israel
The Parsha concludes with the instructions given to the family of Kehat, the second son of Levi, for their role in dealing with the most sacred parts of the Mishkan.
” Dvar Torah “
This week’s Parashat Bamidbar, which is also the start of the book of Bamidbar, begins with taking a census of the Israelites. That is why it is known in English as the book of “Numbers”. The first few chapters in particular are a statistician’s delight! It lists the number of army-age men in each of the twelve tribes, both individually and in the aggregate. This is the third time in span of a single year that Hashem takes the census of Benei Yisrael. He counted them when they were about to leave Egypt. He counted them after the sin of the Golden Calf to establish how many were left. And now that the building of the “Mishkan” was completed and He was about to cause His presence (Shechina) to rest upon them, He counted them again.
The question that comes to mind is why did Hashem count the Israelites so many times in such a short period of time? Surely one time would have been sufficient! Well, Rashi says that the acts of counting in the torah are gestures of love. When G-d counts the Israelites it is to show that He loves them. The more he counts us, the more he loves us!
But our sages tell us that it’s not good to count the Jews. The Torah itself warns us about the dangers of counting the Jews and advises us against it. We find the reason for it given in the book of Shemot where it says: “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each must give to G-d an atonement for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you count them.” This means that there is a risk involved when counting the Jews and we should try to avoid it as much as we can. We see that when centuries later, King David counted the people without the G-d’s approval, there was Divine anger and 70,000 people died.
So the obvious question that remains is: If counting is an expression of love, why is there a prohibition for us against counting the Jews? Why can G-d count the Jews but not us?! What is the significance of this prohibition?!
Well, there are many interpretations given by our commentators, but once again, the one that I liked the most is given by Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. He says that in taking any census, there is a tendency to focus on the total crowd and not on the individual. For example, here is a nation of 100 million people, or a company with 100,000 employees or a sports crowd of 60,000. Any total tends to value the group or nation as a whole. However, counting devalues the individual, and tends to make him or her replaceable. If one soldier dies in battle, another will take his place. If one person leaves the organisation, someone else can be hired to do his or her job. That’s why G-d tells Moses that there is a danger, when counting a nation, that each individual will feel insignificant. “What am I? What difference can I make? I am only one of millions, a mere wave in the ocean, a grain of sand on the sea-shore.”
But when Hashem counts us, it is different. He values each individual. The Hebrew word for “to count” is “lifkod” or “lispor”. But the Torah does not use these words for counting the Jews. Instead, the phrase used for counting is, “Se’u et Rosh” which means to “lift the head”. Hashem tells Moshe that when the people come to me for taking census, make sure that they each lift their heads up and be proud of who they are, because they each count and they matter as individuals to me! When Hashem counts, he doesn’t look at the aggregate number, he looks at each individual with pride and gives them the same number which is one!
Yes my friends, every soul is precious and dear to G-d. We each have different characteristics and a different role in life. Some of us are meant to be politicians, some are meant to be businessmen, some teachers, musicians, scientists, speakers or even writers. Some of us are meant to take care of the elderly and sick. Some of us are meant to raise children. Everyone has a purpose in life and contributes to the society. Each role is as important as the other. The Chachamim say that even the beggar has an important role in life, because if he wasn’t around, none of us could fulfill the mitzvah of giving charity.
The Torah teaches us that each individual counts, however, there is a world of difference between “individuality” and “individualism”. Individuality means that I am a unique and valued member of a team. Individualism means that I am not a team player at all. I am interested in myself alone, not the group. Judaism values individuality, not individualism! We need to belong to a community, but we each have an important role as an individual.
So remember my friends, we are all important individuals, but we are all part of a team. And the only way a team can succeed is when its members get along and respect each other!
Shabbat Shalom, Chodesh Tov & Regards;
Martin