Summary

We begin reading the fourth book of the Torah this week. In English, the name of the book is Numbers, because it contains many census returns and other lists, and explicit details about them. Its name in Hebrew, Bamidbar, means "in the wilderness" which is where the people of Israel wandered for forty years.

The parasha begins with God's commanding Moses to count the Israelite people within their twelve tribes on the 13^th month after their Exodus from Egypt. Moses counts 603,550 Israelite males over 20 years old who are able to bear arms. (Women and children weren't counted because they did not serve in the army.) The Levi'im were counted separately because they were exempt from bearing arms, and because they didn't participate in creating and worshiping the Golden Calf. Originally, firstborn Israelites were consecrated to God since they escaped the plague of the killing of the firstborn in Egypt. Now God instructs Moses to appoint the Levi'im as priests instead of the firstborn. Moses counts 22,000 Levite males over the age of one month. (According to Jewish custom, a child must be at least a month old to be considered fully viable.)

The clans of Levi's three sons, Gershon, Kohath and Marari, are each given special jobs of assisting Aaron and his sons with their duties at the Mishkan (Tabernacle). A separate census is taken of the Kohathite clan of the tribe of Levi. The particular task of the Kohathites was to carry the sacred objects and furnishings on the people's journeys through the wilderness. The parasha ends with God's giving very explicit instructions to Moses and Aaron about how the Mishkan was to be taken apart and prepared for travel.


Commentary

• The literal Hebrew command to take the census is to "lift the head" of each Israelite. The Hassidic master Menahem Nahum of Chernobyl commented: "Let them hold their heads high in pride as they contemplate who their ancestors were." Another Hassidc master, Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev, connects the final total of 603,550 Israelites to the tradition that there are 603,550 letters in the Torah. Just as the absence of a single letter makes a Torah scroll unfit for use, the loss of even one Jew prevents Israel from fulfilling its mission.
  
  
• Ramban (Nachmanides) suggests three reasons why God wanted the people counted:

• Along the same line, Rashi comments that God commanded Moses and Aaron to perform this census as a way of exhibiting God's love for the people. Rashi notes that God enjoyed counting the people and did it frequently: when they left Egypt (Exodus 12:37); after the sin of the Golden Calf to figure out how many were left (Exodus 38:26); and in our current parasha when God was about to rest the Divine presence - the "shechinah" - among them.
  
  
  

Some Thoughts and Questions:

1. One way we mark growth is to measure or count. Think of ways you or members of your family have grown this year both physically and spiritually. How have you measured your growth? Your family's growth? How do you and/or your family generally mark growth? Do you have special family or personal rituals? Perhaps you can create special family growth rituals (e.g. growth trees for height, albums of pictures with pictures of the year's highlights, a dollar of tzedakah for each blessing).
   
   
2. An important role of the census, according to Ramban, was to recognize the people of Israel on an individual basis before Moses and Aaron (and God, too). Why do you think it was important for the people to be individually recognized by Moses and Aaron? By God? Think about a time when you received special recognition. How did it feel? Whom have you recently or might you recognize that you may not have noticed before?
   
   
3. The Torah forbids the counting of Jews directly. (In 2 Samuel 24, King David took a direct-count census, and as punishment, the nation was stricken by a plague.) Even today, when counting for a minyan we count "not-one, not-two .," or use a phrase with ten words, or count feet and divide by two. Perhaps this is because to actually count people is too much like counting their essence (I've got your number!), and that is not something that one should do lightly or in a routine way. Instead, according to Rashi, each individual was asked to give a half a shekel of money. Then the shekalim, not the individuals, could be counted to reach the final tally.
   
   Perhaps the reluctance to count Israelites, even when there is a good reason to do so, derives from the understanding that it is all too easy to make human beings into statistics. In recent history, the Nazis tried to dehumanize Jews by replacing their names with numbers. As we read about current events, how many million homeless, how many hundreds killed in drunk driving accidents, it is important for us to remember that each one of those numbers represents a human being.
   
   
4. Although last names are not always a reliable source of information, they can sometimes give us a hint of someone's family history. For example, names like Cohen, Kahn, Kaplan and Katz are often associated with Kohanim. Levy, Levin, Levine and Leventhal are often Levi'im. What do you know about your family's history? Does your family name tell of your biblical tribal connections, or does it come from a city or place many centuries later? Does it come from a profession? Find out what your name - and the names of your relatives or friends - can tell of your family histories. Did you get your last name from your father's or your mother's family? Do you or anyone you know use both family names? What is the significance of using both parents' names?
   
   
5. Numbers 3:1 begins "These are the descendants of Aaron and Moses..." and then goes on to name only Aaron's children. Sanhedrin 9a states that if someone teaches Torah to a child, it is as though the teacher is the parent of the child. Although Moses was the uncle of Aaron's children, he was their spiritual father since he taught them Torah. Have you ever had a teacher who was an important influence in your life? Who was it and what did he/she do that was different than any of your other teachers? What did you learn? Do you agree that this person was like a parent to you? Why or why not?