This Shabbat, we begin Parshat Bamidbar and the fourth book of the Torah. As is his practice with each of the books of the Torah, the Ramban explains what distinguishes Sefer Bamidbar. It is devoted to organizing the presence of the Shechinah among Bnei Yisrael. After the korbanot and laws of holiness in Sefer Vayikra, Bamidbar begins with the command to structure the camp around the Mishkan – much like the boundaries placed around Har Sinai when the Shechinah descended there. The Mishkan, as the dwelling place of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, is surrounded with careful safeguards and structure, reflecting its sanctity. The census, the order of the tribes, and the responsibilities given to each family are all part of this Divine architecture. While many Mitzvot in Bamidbar were temporary and specific to the wilderness, they reveal Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s love for Bnei Yisrael and the greatness of His presence among them.
Chazal (Bereshit Rabbah, 3:5) note that the five mentions of "light" (אוֹר) in the narrative of Creation correspond to the five books of the Torah. The fourth, וַיַּבְדֵּל אֱלֹהִים בֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחשֶׁךְ – And Hashem separated between the light and the darkness, is linked to Sefer Bamidbar. According to the Midrash, this Pasuk hints at the spiritual distinction that emerges in Bamidbar – namely, the separation between the generation that left Egypt and the one that would enter Eretz Yisrael. This is the separation between the light and the darkness, distinguishing between those entering the Land in the light of life and those who left Egypt to dwell in darkness.
This theme is expressed through the two censuses in Sefer Bamidbar – one at the beginning, counting those who left Egypt, and one later in Parshat Pinchas, counting those destined to enter the land. Bamidbar thus represents a moment of transition, of sifting, and of spiritual sorting between light and darkness.
We call this book “Chumash Bamidbar” because most of its matters deal with what happened to Bnei Yisrael in the wilderness. However, if we look at the words of Chazal, we find that the Gemara calls it חוּמַּשׁ הַפְּקוּדִים – the Book of the Counted, rather than Bamidbar. The Gemara (Yoma 68b) describes the actions of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur after reading the sections of אַחֲרֵי מוֹת and אַךְ בֶּעָשׂוֹר from the Torah:
וְגוֹלֵל סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה וּמַנִּיחוֹ בְּחֵיקוֹ וְאוֹמֵר: יוֹתֵר מִמַּה שֶּׁקָרָאתִי לִפְנֵיכֶם כָּתוּב כָּאן. ״וּבֶעָשׂוֹר״ שֶׁבְּחוֹמֶשׁ הַפְּקוּדִים קוֹרֵא עַל פֶּה.
And he rolls the Torah scroll and places it on his heart and says: “More than what I have read before you is written here.” He then read by heart the portion beginning with the verse: “And on the tenth,” from the book of Numbers.
The Gemara refers to the section of וּבֶעָשׂוֹר לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי as being found in Chumash HaPekudim, and Rashi explains this refers to Sefer Bamidbar, which begins with the counting of Bnei Yisrael. We find the same reference to Chumash HaPekudim in Menachot (45b) and Sotah (36b). Thus, there is a difference between how we refer to this book and how Chazal refer to it. Therefore, I would like to explore the meaning of the name of this sefer and try to understand the matter of the counting that appears here, as this counting seems remarkable and extraordinary.
Why is this counting a wondrous matter? Because it was done on the first of Iyar, in the second year after Bnei Yisrael’s departure from Egypt; and a little over half a year from the previous count! The previous count of Bnei Yisrael was conducted when Moshe Rabbeinu descended from Har Sinai on Yom Kippur with the Luchot in his hand, announcing to Bnei Yisrael that the sin of Cheit Ha’Eigel had been forgiven, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu was ready to restore His Divine Presence to the world. Accordingly, every individual was commanded to bring contributions for the Mishkan, along with a half-shekel contribution that had multiple purposes.
גֻלְגֹלֶת מַחֲצִית הַשֶּׁקֶל בְּשֶׁקֶל הַקֹדֶשׁ לְכֹל הָעֹבֵר עַל־הַפְּקֻדִים מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וָמַעְלָה לְשֵׁשׁ־מֵאוֹת אֶלֶף וּשְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים וַחֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת וַחֲמִשִּׁים׃
A half-shekel a head, half a shekel by the sanctuary weight, for each one who was entered in the records, from the age of twenty years up, 603,550 men.
An exact count is found here – of the men from twenty years old and upward – courtesy of the half-shekel, and just over six months later, Hakadosh Baruch Hu commands Moshe Rabbeinu to count Bnei Yisrael once more. The mefarshim ask: Why was this count performed specifically on the first of Iyar? If it was so important to count them, the best time would have been on the second of Nisan; on the first of Nisan, the Shechinah rested in the Mishkan, and the next day would have been ideal for a census! Why did they wait thirty days?
The Maharal (Gur Aryeh) explains, since the Mishkan was stood up on the first of Nisan, as long as a month had not passed, it was not considered that the Shechinah dwelt with Bnei Yisrael in the Mishkan. As learned in Massechet Nedarim, a vow concerning the residents of a city applies to anyone who has lived there for at least thirty days. After one month, it is considered dwelling. Therefore, once the Shechinah dwelt among them for thirty days, then they could be counted.
Another question requiring explanation is: Bnei Yisrael were counted immediately after Yom Kippur, as Hakadosh Baruch Hu asked Moshe Rabbeinu to count them again. The Torah says: שֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת אֶלֶף וּשְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים וַחֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת וַחֲמִשִּׁים – there were 603,550 in total. Why does Hakadosh Baruch Hu ask Moshe Rabbeinu to count them again? Does He not know the number of Bnei Yisrael?
Rashi says: מִתּוֹךְ חִבָּתָן לְפָנָיו מוֹנֶה אוֹתָם כָּל שָׁעָה – Out of His love for them, He counts them every hour. This means that Hakadosh Baruch Hu knew exactly how many members of Bnei Yisrael there were and had no real need for the count, but, because He cherishes us, He asked Moshe Rabbeinu to count us again. This is likened to a person who has a few thousand dollars in his pocket and knows the exact amount – yet it is likely that he’ll still count them every so often or at least touch them to ensure they’re all still there. Why? Because he cherishes them greatly! Thus, the counting of Bnei Yisrael expresses Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s love for us.
After half a year from the count made through the half-shekel, the Torah says: “And all those counted were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty” – exactly the same number as half a year earlier, without any change! The question arises: Could it be that no one aged during this period? Is it possible that those under twenty years old did not grow older?
The more difficult question is: Surely some people died during this period. We do not know how many, but we do know of two with certainty – Nadav and Avihu. If so, the Torah should have subtracted at least two people from that first count. Why did it not reduce the number?
One might say, the Torah does not count individuals, as in all the tribes they did not count the units, except for the tribe of Levi, where they did count. If we assume the Torah did not count those who died, where are all those who aged? According to Rashi’s approach, the count of those twenty years and older was not based on their birth date but on their year. L’havdil, this is similar to local authorities, where a person comes to register a child for kindergarten and is told: Those born between this date and that date will enter such-and-such class; one born a week after his friend will wait another year in kindergarten. This means that the date set was the date of the first count. Until the next year at that time, no one ages beyond twenty – they are all considered twenty years old.
The Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh explains the census results according to a different approach. There is a difference between the first and second counts, and what is the difference? The first count – 603,550 in Parshat Pekudei – includes Shevet Levi. In contrast, the count here – 603,550 in Parshat Bamidbar – does not include the tribe of Levi. This means there is really a gap of about 22,000! Immediately after the number, we read: וְהַלְוִים לְמַטֵּה אֲבוֹתָם לֹא הָתְפָּקְדוּ בְּתוֹכָם – But the Levites, according to the tribe of their fathers, were not counted among them.” Unlike what was written in Parshat Ki Tisa, where the Torah counted Shevet Levi, here in this count, Levi was not counted, so there is a gap of about 22,000. Those 22,000 account for those who died and those who passed the age of twenty.
Before we enter the main topic of our shiur, I would like to offer a brief introduction. Unlike the census in Parshat Ki Tisa, where every person from twenty years and older was required to bring a half-shekel and place it in a fund so that no one knew who contributed, in the census of our Parsha, Hakadosh Baruch Hu provides full guidelines: location, date, and what exactly to count:
וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית לְצֵאתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לֵאמֹר׃ שְׂאוּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ כׇּל־עֲדַת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת כׇּל־זָכָר לְגֻלְגְלֹתָם׃
Hakadosh Baruch Hu spoke to Moshe. Where? In the wilderness of Sinai. Where exactly? In the Mishkan. When? On the first day of the second month. Of what year? The second year after their departure from Egypt.
The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Bamidbar 683) does not understand the purpose of this count. If the Torah did not elaborate on the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash – showing Yechezkel a vision but not specifying on what day of what month the destruction would occur – why should it concern us when and where Bnei Yisrael were counted?
The Malbim writes: Since the previous count’s purpose was only to know their number, they were not identified by their families and tribes, as they all passed by the counter, deposited their shekels anonymously, and were not asked their names, their family, or their tribe, nor whether they were fit to go out to the army, let alone arranging the order of the banners around the Mishkan, or having their elders at their head. This time, however, Hakadosh Baruch Hu commanded that they be counted by their families and their fathers’ houses, requiring each one to be identified. They were identified from the bottom up: first, all family members identified themselves by their families, then the lower families to the higher families, then to the fathers’ houses, and then to the tribe. Each one stated his name, and they wrote it in a book, then counted the names to know how many people there were in total. Additionally, all the men passed directly before Moshe Rabbeinu, and were counted by head.
This means that each person from the nation passed before Moshe, and Moshe counted, “One... two... three...” – and not only that, the Malbim tells us, but Moshe also asked for their name and the name of their tribe. A person could come before Moshe Rabbeinu with 250 children – since in Egypt they gave birth to six at a time, and each could have more than one wife – and he would start reciting the names of his children, and Moshe would write them down!
Rabbotai, why such a big production? Why didn’t Moshe just ask each father to prepare a clear list of all the children and submit it to him for tabulation? The Ramban says, it is because it was forbidden for Moshe Rabbeinu to ask the father how many children he had! So, one by one, the Malbim says they passed before Moshe and Aharon, and Moshe and Aharon wrote them down. Why? So that they could bless each one of them, as is the custom today to pass before Rabbeim to receive their blessings.
Rabbotai, what is the essence of this counting? To understand what lies here, we first need to pose two more questions. The Midrash says (Bamidbar Rabbah, 2:3): When Hakadosh Baruch Hu revealed Himself on Har Sinai, 22,000 angels descended with Him: לֹהִים רִבֹּתַיִם אַלְפֵי שִׁנְאָן-רֶכֶב אֱ.
There is a dispute in the Midrashim whether 22,000 or 220,000 angels descended, as it is said: לֹהִים רִבֹּתַיִם אַלְפֵי שִׁנְאָן-רֶכֶב אֱ – The chariots of G-d are twenty thousand, thousands of Shin’an. רִבֹּתַיִם means two thousand, אַלְפֵי means thousands, implying that Hakadosh Baruch Hu descended with 22,000 angels. Therefore, the tribe of Levi numbered 22,000, corresponding to the camp of the Shechinah, as the Kli Yakar explains at length.
They were all arranged according to banners (דְּגָלִים), as it is said: דָּגוּל מֵרְבָבָה, and when Bnei Yisrael saw them arranged in such a manner, they too began to desire banners. Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to them: “How you have desired to be arranged according to banners, by your life, I will fulfill your wish!” Immediately, Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to Moshe: “Go and arrange them according to banners, as they desired.”
It is clear that דְּגָלִים (banner) does not mean a piece of cloth on a stick that each one colors differently to make into their flag. If angels descend with banners, it implies a spiritual dimension to the term, but the question is: What exactly is a banner and what is the deeper meaning behind it?
The Midrash continues: אִישׁ עַל דִּגְלוֹ בְּאֹתֹת – Bnei Yisrael were holy and great in their banners, and all the nations looked at them and marveled, saying to them: “שׁוּבִי שׁוּבִי הַשּׁוּלַמִּית – Return, return, O Shulamite. Come join us, and we’ll make you rulers, governors, dukes, generals. Bnei Yisrael responded to them: “מַה תֶּחֱזוּ בַּשּׁוּלַמִּית – What will you see in the Shulamite? What greatness do you offer us? Can you give us the greatness that G-d made for us in the wilderness: the banner of the camp of Yehuda, the camp of Reuven, the camp of Dan, and the camp of Ephraim? Can you make such for us? Can you give us the greatness that G-d made for us in the wilderness, where we sinned, and He forgave us and said to us: וְהָיָה מַחֲנֶיךָ קָדוֹשׁ?”
Ashkenazi communities sing a piyyut every Leil Shabbat called Kol Mekadesh Shvi’i: כָּל מְקַדֵּשׁ שְׁבִיעִי כָּרָאוּי לוֹ. כָּל שׁוֹמֵר שַׁבָּת כַּדָּת מֵחַלְּלוֹ. שְׂכָרוֹ הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד עַל פִּי פָעֳלוֹ. אִישׁ עַל מַחֲנֵהוּ וְאִישׁ עַל דִגְלוֹ:
Whoever sanctifies the seventh day as befits it; Whoever preserves the Shabbat properly so as not to desecrate it— his reward is very great, commensurate with his actions; each man in his camp, each man with his banner.
We take pride in the fact that each one has a camp and a banner, but what exactly is this great joy? What is the deeper meaning behind these banners?
From here, I would like to reach the essence of the matter. Hakadosh Baruch Hu commands Moshe Rabbeinu to count Bnei Yisrael, and He changes the command given in Ki Tisa. Here, they must be counted בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת כָּל זָכָר לְגֻלְגְלֹתָם – by the number of their names, every male head by head. The question arises: What is “number” (מִסְפַּר) and what is “names” (שֵׁמוֹת)?
The first count of names we find in the Torah is with the stars. We say every morning: מוֹנֶה מִסְפָּר לַכּוֹכָבִים לְכֻלָּם שֵׁמוֹת יִקְרָא – He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. There are billions of stars, but each star has a name (Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, etc.) The Navi Yeshayahu says:
שְׂאוּ־מָרוֹם עֵינֵיכֶם וּרְאוּ מִי־בָרָא אֵלֶּה הַמּוֹצִיא בְמִסְפָּר צְבָאָם לְכֻלָּם בְּשֵׁם יִקְרָא.
Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these, that brings out their host by number, He calls them all by name.
The Tur says that we must read Parshat Bamidbar before Shavuot because it contains the matter of the number. The Tur writes (428): מְנוּ וְעִצְרוּ – Count and observe; First comes Parshat Bamidbar where Bnei Yisrael are counted and then comes the festival of Shavuot.
Thus, everyone has a name. But what is the significance of the names? If we understand that the issue of the number appearing in our Parsha is very important before Matan Torah, we can now approach an explanation to help us understand what lies here.
Every Jew recites Kiddush and sanctifies the Shabbat over a גָּבִיעַ – a goblet. One who does not have a silver kiddush cup uses a nice glass one or similar, but no one makes Kiddush using a plastic cup. Why is Kiddush specifically made on a fancy kiddush cup? The Sefat Emet writes (Bamidbar 5634): The root of Bnei Yisrael is three Avot, twelve Shevatim, seventy souls, six hundred thousand, and then without number.
שֹׁורֶשׁ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל ג' אָבוֹת י"ב שְׁבָטִים ע' נֶפֶשׁ ס' רִבּוֹא וְאַחַר כָּךְ אֵין מִסְפָּר.
Let us try to understand what he means. The structure of Bnei Yisrael is composed of three, twelve, seventy, six hundred thousand, and without number. This is what the Navi says in our Haftarah: וְהָיָה מִסְפַּר בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כְּחוֹל הַיָּם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִמַּד וְלֹא יִסָּפֵר – And the number of Bnei Yisrael shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered. It begins with the three Avot, moves to the twelve Shevatim, then to seventy souls, then to six hundred thousand, and from there to without number.
The first time the word גָּבִיעַ appears in the Torah is when Yosef’s brothers come to Egypt, and Yosef hosts them in his house. He places the goblet to his ear, claiming to hear various things, and arranges his brothers according to the order (of age) he supposedly heard from the goblet. Later, as is known, he commanded his son Menashe to secretly place that goblet in Binyamin’s sack.
Why did he specifically take a goblet and not another vessel? What meaning is hidden in this goblet? The Megaleh Amukot writes (Vayigash): גביע הוּא סוֹד מֶרְכָּבָה – the גביע is the secret of the Divine Chariot: three Patriarchs (ג), twelve tribes (י"ב), seventy souls (ע). Similarly, three flocks of sheep resting by it when Yaakov arrived in Charan, and when Bnei Yisrael left Egypt and reached Elim, they saw twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. The Torah tells us:
וַיָּבֹאוּ אֵילִמָה וְשָׁם שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה עֵינֹת מַיִם וְשִׁבְעִים תְּמָרִים וַיַּחֲנוּ־שָׁם עַל־הַמָּיִם׃
And they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there beside the water.
At the end of Chumash Bamidbar, in Parshat Masei, the forty-two journeys of Bnei Yisrael in the desert are recounted, amongst them אֵילִמָה, where the Torah says:
וַיִּסְעוּ מִמָּרָה וַיָּבֹאוּ אֵילִמָה וּבְאֵילִם שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה עֵינֹת מַיִם וְשִׁבְעִים תְּמָרִים וַיַּחֲנוּ־שָׁם׃
They set out from Marah and came to Elim. There were twelve springs in Elim and seventy palm trees, so they encamped there.
This is the exact same detail written earlier in Beshalach. In two places, the Torah emphasizes that in the place called Elim, there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there. Why was it so important for the Torah to emphasize in two places what was found in Elim?
Rashi explains that this corresponds to the twelve tribes and seventy elders. The Siftei Chachamim says it means Bnei Yisrael found these items there, but it should not be interpreted that they were provided for them as if they were newly created, as “There is nothing new under the sun.” Meaning, from the six days of Creation, these twelve springs and seventy palm trees were created in that place, waiting for their moment. The Ramban adds that from the day Hakadosh Baruch Hu created His world, He created there twelve springs corresponding to the twelve tribes, and seventy palm trees corresponding to the seventy elders, and the Torah recounts this because each tribe encamped by its spring, and the elders sat in their shade to praise Hakadosh Baruch Hu for preparing it for them in a dry land.
Thus, Bnei Yisrael begins in its essence with the ג of גביע, which reflects the three Avot; the י"ב of גביע, which reflects the twelve tribes; and the ע of גביע, which reflects the seventy elders. Therefore, when the brothers wanted to remove Yosef from the count of the shevatim, he specifically used a גביע – a goblet, to make his point: How can you remove me from the count of Bnei Yisrael!
With that, we can move to the next number – six hundred thousand. It was at this count that Bnei Yisrael left Egypt. (The Chafetz Chaim calculates that this is five million people in total.) The Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah, 70:8) says that if even one person was missing from the six hundred thousand, the Torah would not have been given, and there would have been no event at Har Sinai. Bnei Yisrael had to number at least six hundred thousand, and from there they could reach “without number.” But the roots of the souls had to be six hundred thousand!
The Yedei Moshe writes: Had Yisrael lacked even one more person, they would not have received the Torah. His explanation is that the letters of the Torah correspond to the...
