Bamidbar
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken
"Count the heads of all the congregation of the Children of Israel, by
their families, by the houses of their fathers, by the number of names,
every male by their heads." [Numbers 1:2]
Rashi, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, says that it is because of G-d's love for
the Jewish people, because of how dear they were to Him, that He counted
them constantly. When they went out of Egypt, He counted them, and after
the sin of the Golden Calf, He counted the fallen to know how many
remained. And now, in our portion this week, He counts them yet again.
So every Jew is precious -- but as we also see this week, we have many
different roles to play. The People were divided by their flags, their
tribes, and by their families. One person was part of the tribe of Dan, and
camped in the North, under the flag of his own tribe. Another was a member
of the tribe of Gad, which camped at the opposite end, in the South, under
the flag of Reuven. But each one was a crucial part of the whole.
As Rabbi Yisrael Meyer Kagen, the Chofetz Chaim, pointed out: the Tent of
Meeting, with the camp of the Levites, traveled in the Center. Because the
Torah was carried in the Aron, which was in the Tent of Meeting, it had to
be "inside" the camps. It had to be in the center, not close to one but far
from the other. The Chofetz Chaim compares the Torah to the human heart,
which must be in the center of the human body, pushing blood out to all the
extremities. So too, every Jew is nourished by Torah, and the Torah must be
accessible to all.
Torah is close to every one of us, and every Jew has a unique portion in
Torah. It is here for us to learn, and find spiritual nourishment within
it. As we approach the holiday of Shavuous, when we received the Torah, let
us take this opportunity to grasp hold of it, and fulfill our unique
spiritual missions.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Yaakov Menken
Text Copyright © 2002 Project Genesis, Inc.
The author is the Director of Project Genesis.
