AVROHOM YAAKOV
This week, the Torah starts with a census of the Jewish people in the desert. As part of the process “and they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the houses of their fathers, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.” (1:18)
Rashi explains that “They brought the records of their pedigree and witnesses to confirm the prevalent presumption regarding their parentage, so that each might establish his pedigree with regard to the particular tribe.”
The Jews showed documentation proving which tribe they belonged to.
When R’ Dovber of Mezrich, who would later take over the leadership of the nascent Chassidic movement following the passing of the Baal Shem Tov, was a young boy, the family home burned to the ground.
He noticed that his father, also a man of spiritual stature, was distraught.
Young Dovber asked his father why he was upset? After all, the family was safe and only physical objects were destroyed.
His father explained that the goods were truly of no consequence, but there was a document showing the family lineage dating back to King David. The loss of that document was distressing.
The future Chassidic leader comforted his father that he, Dovber, would create a new lineage to replace that which was lost.
The Talmud (Sanhedrin 21b) notes that there is a mitzvah for a king to write his own Torah scroll even if he has inherited Torah scrolls from his predecessors. This is because he should not rely on the deeds of past generations but must add something himself.
While Judaism represents the unbroken chain of links to previous generations back to the forefathers of our people, each of us needs to forge our own link in the great Jewish chain that is strong and secures the future generations that come from each of us.
