This is a time of counting. We are fast winding down (or is it up?) to the magic number 50. On Shavuot, our journey towards liberation - physical and spiritual - that began on Pesach will come to a close. Have we made any significant strides? Have we risen higher, even just a tiny bit, on life's ladder?


Our parsha of Bamidbar also deals with counting, as Moshe conducts a census of B'nei Yisrael. Since, in parshat Pinchas, yet another census will occur, the entire sefer is called Sefer HaPikudim, i.e., the Book of Numbers.


The operative message here is: Everyone counts.

The Torah was created as "black fire upon white fire."



How many letters are there in the Torah? The Zohar says there are 600,000, corresponding to the 600,000 people tallied in the census. This is symbolized by an acronym using the first letters of the word Yisrael: yesh shishim ribo otiot L'Torah - there are 600,000 letters in the Torah.


Yet, a true count of the letters yields just 304,805 letters. How do we account for this major discrepancy?


One approach is found in the statement by the Ramban that the Torah was created as "black fire upon white fire." The letters are, of course, the black fire. The white fire consists of the blank spaces between the words and the chapters. Like a "pregnant pause," these spaces, too, have meaning. When you total it all up, it equals 600,000.


Another approach is to see certain letters of the Torah as composites of several letters: An Alef, for example, is made up of a Vav and two Yuds; a Heh is a Raysh and a Yud; and so on. Put them all together and you reach 600,000 people.


These two ideas have a deep message. First, not all people are alike. Some are outspoken, defined, visible and prominent, like the black fire. Others are quiet, reserved, modest, like the white fire. We need all of them to make a whole People - or to make a kosher Torah.


Furthermore, not every letter stands alone; some need "help" from a fellow letter to be complete. The Heh, for instance, needs the tall Vav and the small Yud. Likewise, we Jews need each other to make a People, to make a Torah. If even one letter is missing, if even one Jew is missing - or incomplete - the Torah-Israel is in need of tikkun. Let us remember that guiding principle at the Tikkun Leil Shavuot: every one counts.