The Book of Numbers, Bamidbar, which we begin to read this Sabbath, tells of the long journey in the desert of our forefathers, the children of Israel. In the book of Exodus, we read about the first year of this journey, including the opening event of Revelation. Mount Sinai took place and preparations were made for the construction of the tabernacle – the temporary temple that accompanied the children of Israel on their journey. Leviticus is devoted to matters relating to the priesthood and the tabernacle; And the Book of Numbers describes the journey, from the end of the first year until the 40th year, when they reached the border of Canaan – the land of Israel.
The first stage of this journey, to which this week’s Torah portion “Bamidbar” is devoted, was the census of the entire nation, after which the Book of Numbers is named.
The Torah does not specify the purpose of the census, and commentators have made various suggestions.
Why were the Jews numbered in the Book of Numbers?
For example, Nachmanides (Moses ben Nachman, 12th century) interpreted that the census was of a military nature and was carried out in preparation for the conquest of the Land of Israel. On the other hand, Ralbaug (Rabbi Levi ben Gershon, 13th century) suggested that the census was done for social benefit so that each family would come together and family members would help each other. Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 11th century) saw the census as an expression of God’s affection for the children of Israel, and he counts them hourly because of that affection.
Rabbi Isaac Arama was a rabbi who led a yeshiva in Spain in the 15th century. In his time, Jews in Spain were obliged to attend church every Sunday and listen to Christian sermons. Aramas, noting the impact of these teachings on the Jews, began to preach Jewish teachings in a deeply philosophical style. His intention was to provide his audience with a strong foundation in the Jewish faith that would enable them to deal with the Christian theology they were being forced to hear.
These sermons became part of his book the binding of Isaac, a seminal work of sermons and biblical commentaries. He comprehensively addressed issues of human and national existence and produced philosophical essays based on the Bible, the words of saints, biblical commentators, and philosophical theories.
In 1492, Aram was one of the Jews were expelled from Spain, He fled to Portugal and from there to Italy, where he died two years after his expulsion. The tragic end of his life, which was part of the great national tragedy of the Expulsion from Spain, is somewhat comforted when we know that his book became a cornerstone of Jewish thought for centuries.
Arama provided a new interpretation of the census described in our parasha. He says that census has a double meaning. On the one hand, it shows equality. Every person is counted as equal to the other. In a census, there is no difference between the number 1 and the number 10,000. First and last are equal.
On the other hand, census counts individuals, not households or groups. In this way, Aram looks at the individual and unique aspect of each person, since “the quality of each one is different from that of his fellow man.”
He bases this on a Midrashic comparison between the children of Israel and the stars in the sky. When we look at the stars, it seems to us that they are all small dots in the sky. The star in the east is not more important than the star in the west. But we do know that each star has its own singularity in size, position and role in the celestial system.
Thus, says Arama, the children of Israel were numbered before embarking on the journey to inculcate these two important values: equality and uniqueness: among the people. For Arama, equality does not tolerate discrimination and provides equal basic status to each person; And inclusivity doesn’t assume that the individual is just part of a group—each has their own qualities and unique contributions to society.
The author is Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites.