You Count When You’re Counted

By Rabbi Nissim Lagziel

A Joke to Begin With…

One fine morning, two men came to shul to daven Shacharis. They quickly discovered that there was no minyan. They were the only ones that showed up.

“What will we do?” one asked the other. “How can we get a minyan together at such an early hour?”

“Don’t worry,” the other replied. “Let’s count again.

“You and me, me and you, the two of us together, we already have six. Now, if you count the same way I did, we’ll have twelve!”

“Wow, that’s fantastic. There are two extra people. Let’s go home…”

***

This week, we begin a new Chumash as we read Parshas Bamidbar. This fourth book of the Torah is called by our Sages “Chumash HaPekudim” – “the Book of Counting.”

In Chumash Bamidbar, the Torah tells us about the numerous times when the Jewish People were counted. In practical terms, most of this week’s parsha deals with this subject – a census of the tribes of Israel. Every male above the age of twenty (save for the tribe of Levi, whose members were counted from one month old) was required to be counted to determine the size of each family and tribe. Those supervising this massive project were none other than Moshe Rabbeinu, Aharon HaKohen, and the leader of each respective tribe.

Why? What possible reason is there for stopping a busy daily schedule with all the burdens of life – just to be counted? Did this census contribute anything? Did it hasten our entry into the Promised Land or perhaps did it serve as a means to attain some higher spiritual purpose?

The question grows even stronger in light of the fact that the whole concept of counting the Jewish People seems like a “pastime” on Hashem’s part. Every once in a while, we notice as we read along the Torah, Hashem commands Moshe Rabbeinu to gather the leaders of the community together and instructs them to count again. 

What’s the point?

Some of the commentators on Chumash explain that the repeated counting of the Jewish People was simply to know the number of soldiers it will have available for battle. Particularly then, on the eve of entering Eretz Yisrael, the leaders of the Jewish People had to start thinking about the upcoming wars and to prepare their strategy accordingly. Such plans would be impossible without a precise tally of the number of soldiers capable of fighting…

While this is a great reason, but it doesn’t explain the following Midrash (Bamidbar Rabba 2:11):

“Israel was counted in ten places … and one will be in the Future to Come, as is stated (Yirmiyahu 33:13): ‘The sheep shall again pass under the hands of one who counts them…’”

Why will Melech HaMoshiach have to count the Jewish People again in the future? Won’t we then be living in a period of eternal peace? Will there still be a need to know the number of men ready to go into battle?

If we take a good look into the Rebbe’s teachings, we find answers to all these questions.

The Rebbe explains that in this count, all are equal. Every Jew is counted equally; the smallest of the small has the same value as the greatest of the great. When taking a census, we don’t relate to a person’s individual qualities or characteristics, we don’t “count” his strengths, his talents, his intellect, or even his emotional attributes – we count him and him alone! The true essence of what he truly is – a Jew!

As a result, the concept of counting focuses on the essence, the essence of the Jewish soul found within each and every one of us. There’s no “more Jewish” or “less Jewish” – a Jew is a Jew, even if we don’t see that he has any practical connection to Yiddishkeit and Torah study. He is counted as one because he has an essential and unwavering bond with the One G-d! The power of this counting takes expression by revealing the inner essence, the pintele Yid, within every Jew.

Similarly, the Rebbe explains Rashi’s commentary at the beginning of the parsha (1:1): “He counted them at every hour because they were dear to Him.” The expression “at every hour” does seem a bit exaggerated. Granted, G-d commanded the counting of the Jewish People on numerous occasions, but not “at every hour”…

However, this expression alludes to the fact that the essential connection between Hashem and the Jewish People, the same essential relationship concealed within the counting process, exists “at every hour” – at every moment, at every second. It is eternal and unchanging, and therefore, it exists within us at all times, no matter where we are!

The essence is there, even if hidden, and the purpose of the counting is to reveal and activate the “Jewish spark” existing within every Jew, a little bit more each time. Now, on the eve of the Redemption, we are waiting for the tenth counting. The number 10 represents completion, and this tenth tally will represent the fulfillment of the concept of counting, a population census that will reveal the true (and essential) Jewish identity within each of us – in all its strength and fullness.

Let’s help bring about the “tenth counting” by doing everything within our power to reveal, here and now, the “essence” within each of us, by increasing in matters of Torah and mitzvos, and mainly through the study of p’nimiyus haTorah – the teachings of Chassidus. 

To conclude with a story

This amazing story illustrates how the true essence of every Jew is to be revealed at the coming of the Redemption. Here it is as was told by Rabbi Sholom D. Lipskar, the Rebbe MH”M’s shliach in Bal Harbor, Florida:

One evening in the mid-80s, my friends and I went into a gas station, where we met an elderly man. “Where are you from?” he asked. “We are representatives of the Lubavitcher Rebbe…“
The man looked shocked.

After he calmed down, the man told us this fascinating tale: “I learned in cheder in Poland, lived my life as a Chassid, and even got married and raised Chassidic children. During the Holocaust, my entire family was sent to the crematoriums, and not even one remained alive. I emigrated to the United States as a sole survivor with a burning hatred towards anything connected to Yiddishkeit. Over time, I bought this service station, married a non-Jewish woman, and had a family with her. The clumsy goy (his words…) that you see standing behind the counter is my son…

“One night, a couple of years back, I had trouble falling asleep. Like any other American, I turned on the television and started flipping through the channels. Suddenly, I see on the screen an impressive looking Jew with a white beard and a black hat speaking in Yiddish, a language that I understood well…

“There was a caption at the bottom of the screen that read: Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Lubavitch World HQ, Brooklyn, New York. I was still glued to the screen when the Rebbe said the following words: The Prophet Yeshayahu says: “And you shall be gathered one by one, O children of Israel.” The Rebbe asked: What does this come to teach us? Clearly, when the Redemption comes, all Jews will be united! What message does the Navi want to convey?

“Sometimes, there is a Jew with a special G-dly soul, a Jew who stood with all Israel at the Giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai, and he thinks to himself that he’s ‘running away,’ cut off, no connection whatsoever to the Chosen People from which he came. He feels emotionally and intellectually detached from the Jewish People. Comes the Prophet and says that even such a Jew subconsciously feels a deep longing and a connection to the source of his Jewish essence, and regarding him the Prophet is speaking when he says: ‘G-d Himself in all His Glory will literally hold each one by the hand in his place’ – no matter where he is…

“I was stunned. I said to myself: How can a Jew living in Brooklyn, New York, know what’s happening with me – somewhere in Jacksonville, Florida? Who told him that I had woken up in the middle of the night and decided to flip through the channels on my TV set?

“The next day, I called in my wife and kids and told them: ‘There’s something you should know – I’m a Jew.’ My children were shocked. I told them that this is not their problem, just mine. I’m the only Jew around here, as they are all Gentiles, and when the time comes to take me, they’ll be coming for me, not for them…’

“Now, when you came into the gas station, my Gentile son saw you wearing your traditional Chassidic attire. Recognizing its meaning, he came into my office and said, “’Hey, Pop, take a look, they’ve come to get you…’” ■

Good Shabbos!

Based on Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 8, first sicha on Parshas Bamidbar.