(Bamidbar 1:47)
Sefer Bamidbar, in English, is called Numbers, because the Jews were counted three times during their sojourn in the Wilderness. Our Parsha begins with Moshe and Aharon commanded to take a census of each Tribe, which was done via a half-shekel coin which each would provide.
The population of each tribe is recorded, and then this verse appears. It tells us that though they counted everyone else, they did not count the Tribe of Levi. Why not? Well, the next verses find Hashem telling Moshe that He doesn’t want the Tribe of Levi counted along with the rest of the Jewish People.
There are numerous reasons for this. First of all, as the vanguard of Hashem’s service, they deserved to be counted separately. Secondly, the decree of death after the sin of the Golden Calf would devolve on those counted from the age of twenty and above, and the Levites shouldn’t be counted amongst them so they be exempt from the decree for the sin they had no part in. Additionally, they would be counted according to their ages of existence and service.
But these pesukim apparently came AFTER the census. It seems that Hashem didn’t immediately tell Moshe not to count the Levites, so why did he not do it?
The Ramban explains that Moshe was given a tribal leader to assist in the counting of each tribe. When he didn’t get an assignment of one for Levi, he understood that for whatever reason, Hashem didn’t want them counted along with everyone else. Therefore, he waited for further instruction.
Then, when Hashem commanded him to count the tribe of Levi, and assigned Aharon to be the tribal head to assist with it, Moshe completed the census of the nation.
What we see from here is the behavior of a true “eved Hashem,” a real servant of G-d. It is a person who does what Hashem wants because that is what Hashem wants. He seeks to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of Hashem’s will, as we discussed in Parshas Bechukosai about toiling in Torah.
Moshe could have assumed he didn’t need another tribal head since he, himself, was a Levite. He could have understood that Aharon was the appropriate head, and he was already involved in the census, so Hashem didn’t need to appoint him further. But what Moshe truly understood was that he didn’t know exactly what Hashem had in mind, and therefore he did not take action until he was told what Hashem wanted from him.
Before the days when kids were taught Mah Nishtana in school, parents used to do unusual things at the Seder to get children to ask questions. One Seder night when the Imrei Emes was a little boy, his father, the Sfas Emes of Gur, started his Seder and waited expectantly for his young son to start inquiring about odd happenings. However, the boy sat quietly without the slightest hint of a puzzled look on his face. The Sfas Emes did all sorts of strange things in order to get the boy to ask, but to no avail.
Finally, the Sfas Emes asked his son if he noticed anything different about that night's meal. Avraham Mordechai said that of course he did. “Then why,” asked the concerned Sfas Emes, “did you not seem alarmed and ask any questions?”
The youth answered with pure innocence, “Because I know my father is smart and whatever he does he has a very good reason for doing. Why should I be the slightest bit disturbed?”
©2024 – J. Gewirtz
