Dvar Torah: Parshat Bamidbar
by Yael Skydell, 8G
Did you ever wonder why your mom takes just you out for a ‘mommy and me’ day? Or one day makes time to just spend with you? I am child of seven in my family. It gets difficult to have a voice over five older siblings and one younger sibling. But I always find a way. Because once in a while my mom or dad takes me out of school and make a special day just for me. Whether it’s getting manicures and massages with my mom, or going out to hockey games, or having long talks with my dad, I always feel grateful and as though I matter a lot to them.
Hashem did the same thing with Bnei Yisroel. At that time, Bnei Yisroel were six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty people. And that is a lot! It was probably hard for each person to have a voice. So Hashem reminded Bnei Yisroel how much He loves them and appreciates them. He showed that each of them matter a lot and make a difference. So therefore Hashem commanded Moshe to count Bnei Yisroel and show them their own importance. Counting shows love because when you count someone, you show that they are important and special to you. Hashem shows that we all matter even though that it seems like we are small fish in a big pond.
Rashi writes that just like Hashem counts the stars over and over again because He loves them, so too Hashem counted Bnei Yisroel over and over again because He loves us. When a person loves something, he counts it many times. If a person loves his money then he will count it over and over. Hashem loves all of His creations like his stars and Bnei Yisroel.
We know the Torah doesn’t waste words. Therefore, if the Torah writes all the details of the counting, it must be important. We learn that Hashem really loves us and values individuality.
Also in this Parsha, the Jews are counted and instructed how to camp in the desert. The Leviim are informed as to how to dismantle the Mishkan before traveling.
Hashem commands Moshe to count all Jewish men of military age which is age 20. After giving us the numbers for each tribe, the Torah gives us the grand total: 603,550. This number, however, does not include the Leviim. Instead, the Leviim are assigned the following holy tasks: dismantling, carrying, and re-erecting the Mishkan whenever the Jews traveled and camped. Each tribe had a leader.
The Jews are instructed regarding their camping formation. The Mishkan was at the center of the encampment, surrounded by the Yehuda, Yissacher and Zevulun in the East. In the South there were Reuven, Shimon, and Gad. Ephraim, Menashe, and Binyomin were in the West and Dan, Asher, and Naftali were in the North.
The Ramban explains why each Shevet camped in their specific area. The east gives off light. Therefore Yehuda camped there because he was king and he influenced people. Yissacher gave off the light of Torah because he learned all day. Zevulan also gave off the light of Torah because he supported Yissacher and enabled him to learn. The South has dry weather and has a lot of dew. Dew is pure compassion from Hashem. The Ramban explains that Reuven needed compassion because he sinned when he moved Leah’s bed. There was sinning in Shevet Shimon so Shimon also needed compassion from Hashem. Gad was a soldier and all soldiers need G-d’s compassion when they go to war. The West is very hot or very cold – very extreme weather. Extremes show strength. Ephraim and Menashe symbolize strength because they grew up in Mitzrayim and were not influenced by the bad ways of the Egyptians. Binyamin shows strength because the Beit HaMikdash is in his portion of Land. The sun is hidden in the North so the North is dark. Dan was dark because he gave money to Avodah Zara and that darkens the world. However, Asher lightens the dark because he produced oil and oil gives light. Naftali was rich and he used his money for Mitzvot so he also lightens the darkness.
Also in this Parsha, the Leviim replace the first born. Moshe is now commanded to separately count all Leviim males from the age of one month and older. The three Levi families are counted, and a leader is appointed for each of the families. The total for this census: 22,000. Hashem then tells Moses to count all the firstborn Israelites. They are redeemed. The Parsha ends with describing the responsibilities of the Kohanim.
There are two intriguing questions on this Parsha: How were the Liivem special? Because they weren’t counted, because the Leviim were assigned to do the following holy tasks: dismantling, carrying, and re-erecting the Mishkan whenever the Jews traveled and camped.
Another interesting question is why only men over the age of 20 counted? What is so special about that number? 20 is the age that men are drafted to war. This is because in order to go to war, you need to be strong, confident, mature, and reliable.
From this Parsha I learned that all Jews are special and that we all mean something to Hashem. We are all individuals with different qualities and we are unique in our own ways. It is so special that a portion of the holy Torah is dedicated to show Hashem’s love for His people.