Bamidbar
Parshat Bamidbar begins with the third official count of the Jewish nation. The term used in the Torah is that we should “count the heads” (1:2) of all the households, but the Hebrew word se’u could also mean “lift the heads.” Why would the Torah use such ambiguous language? Also, why were they to be counted according to their households, which had never been done in the past? Rashi informs us that prior to the census, each Jew was required to produce a book of their lineage. The Midrash adds that producing this book was also required to be able to receive the Torah. Why is receiving the Torah dependent upon having this book of lineage?
Rabbi Yochanan Zweig explains that a person who is the first in his family to receive a college education would be elated when he is accepted to a community college. However, a person from a family that boasts ten generations of Harvard graduates would be completely devastated if the only college willing to accept him is a community college. Surpassing the expectations that have been defined by one’s social upbringing is what gives a person a sense of accomplishment.
If a Jew were to identify his lineage, he might learn that his ancestors were people who took responsibility for themselves and had honorable standards. For the rest of the world, the very act of taking responsibility is in itself an elevating sense of accomplishment. However, behaving responsibly is not considered an accomplishment for God’s chosen nation. We are expected to behave differently than animals, to act responsibly, for our forefathers set a standard that makes anything less unacceptable. This explains why households were important enough to be counted.
The Ramban enforces the lesson of our parsha by explaining the use of the Torah’s language: The alternative meaning, “lift the heads,” can also be positive, but only if the body and its actions are lifted with it. Our heads and minds can lift us to greatness, so long as we have our actions to take us there!
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Parshat Bamidbar’s first verse says that God spoke to Moshe in Midbar Sinai (Sinai Desert). The Midrash (1:6) derives from here that the Torah is compared to three elements: water, fire, and sand. Rabbi Eliezer Kahan wonders how we can learn all three things from this one pasuk. Also, why would we need to compare the Torah to three elements? Couldn’t we think of one that would sum it all up?
A possible explanation could be that while water nurtures everything around it, it always moves to the lowest point, thus teaching us humility. While fire illuminates everything around it, its flames are always reaching higher. Although those two elements are essential to the Torah, it’s critical to both reach high and stay grounded, which is what sand does. You can’t build a castle with water, and you’ll never stay down with fire. But without the positive elements of fire and water, we wouldn’t necessarily realize the qualities of sand. That’s why we need each of them.
As well in our own lives, we have people around us that are very fiery (fire), and people that are very grounded (water). If we remain firmly grounded within our own limitations, while absorbing a fiery will to reach higher, we’ll grow our own “Sinai,” and nurture and illuminate all that’s around us!
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