Bamidbar, the fourth book of the Torah, is also known as Sefer HaPikudim, the book of counting, or numbers. Not only does our specific sedra open with a new census ordered by Hashem, but the larger message in all of this book is that each and every person is a crucial component in the collective body politic.
Chazal convey this idea via the metaphor of the Universe. While the Universe is composed of billions of stars, each star is a world unto itself, with its own suns, moons, planets, etc. So, too, the Jewish People is a proud and holy entity made up of many, many ?suns? (Or is that ?sons??). One might say that the nation as a whole is the neshama (soul); yet, that neshama contains within it each and every shem (name).
The Ramban offers five reasons why Hashem chose to count Bnei Yisrael again at this juncture. I would like to share two of them with you. First, he says that, from a practical aspect, it was necessary that Moshe know just how many soldiers he had at his disposal for the coming battle against the Amorites (only those who served in the Army counted, or rather, were counted). You may ask, he says, why does it matter how many soldiers we have? Don't we depend on Hashem for victory? Aren't we promised that "one of you shall chase a thousand"? (Yehoshua 23:10) Throughout our history haven't we, thank G-d, won wars - from Chanuka to the Six-Day War - with but a tiny percentage of the soldiers employed by the armies that we faced? Nevertheless, while Hashem ultimately grants us victory, we must arrive there by natural means and do our fair share. A nation of Hashem still has a government, an army, a normative pattern of life. Second, Ramban says, we were counted so Hashem could graphically show us that He had fulfilled His promise, "And I will make you a great nation." Having left Egypt with 70 souls and increased to a nation of three million, we could praise G-d with greater kavana (focus and sincerity).
So let us alive today also ponder: We began the State of Israel with 600,000 (an apt number!) and now, kayn yirbu (may they increase), we number 5.3 million. Isn't that a truly amazing bracha (blessing)? We (in Israel) have multiplied nine-fold! So let's not always fixate on the negative, despite the temptation. Let us appreciate our tremendous accomplishments, our gifts from Hashem, our growth in every way as a People.
Let us continue to always count for something unique and holy in the constellation of nations.
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Rabbi Weiss is Director of the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra?anana.
Chazal convey this idea via the metaphor of the Universe. While the Universe is composed of billions of stars, each star is a world unto itself, with its own suns, moons, planets, etc. So, too, the Jewish People is a proud and holy entity made up of many, many ?suns? (Or is that ?sons??). One might say that the nation as a whole is the neshama (soul); yet, that neshama contains within it each and every shem (name).
The Ramban offers five reasons why Hashem chose to count Bnei Yisrael again at this juncture. I would like to share two of them with you. First, he says that, from a practical aspect, it was necessary that Moshe know just how many soldiers he had at his disposal for the coming battle against the Amorites (only those who served in the Army counted, or rather, were counted). You may ask, he says, why does it matter how many soldiers we have? Don't we depend on Hashem for victory? Aren't we promised that "one of you shall chase a thousand"? (Yehoshua 23:10) Throughout our history haven't we, thank G-d, won wars - from Chanuka to the Six-Day War - with but a tiny percentage of the soldiers employed by the armies that we faced? Nevertheless, while Hashem ultimately grants us victory, we must arrive there by natural means and do our fair share. A nation of Hashem still has a government, an army, a normative pattern of life. Second, Ramban says, we were counted so Hashem could graphically show us that He had fulfilled His promise, "And I will make you a great nation." Having left Egypt with 70 souls and increased to a nation of three million, we could praise G-d with greater kavana (focus and sincerity).
So let us alive today also ponder: We began the State of Israel with 600,000 (an apt number!) and now, kayn yirbu (may they increase), we number 5.3 million. Isn't that a truly amazing bracha (blessing)? We (in Israel) have multiplied nine-fold! So let's not always fixate on the negative, despite the temptation. Let us appreciate our tremendous accomplishments, our gifts from Hashem, our growth in every way as a People.
Let us continue to always count for something unique and holy in the constellation of nations.
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Rabbi Weiss is Director of the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra?anana.