The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Bamidbar

The Rebbe says:

1. This week we begin a new Book in the Torah called Bamidbar, or as it is referred to as “The Book of Numbers”.

The first portion in Chumash Bamidbar (the Book of Bamidbar) is also called Bamidbar, and we read this Torah portion every year on the Shabbos before the festival of Shavuos (Shavuot),

2. The Rebbe begins discussing this:

The simple reason as to why the portion of Bamidbar is always read before the festival of Shavuos is to make a separation between the curses which were read in the previous week’s Torah portion of Bechukosai and the giving of the Torah (Shavuos). However, being that everything in the Torah is perfectly exact, indeed, our Sages learn out numerous laws from one “extra” letter in the Torah, we must say that there is a deeper reason why the portion of Bamidbar was specifically chosen to be the portion which we read before the festival of Shavuos and not any other portion which could have separated between the curses of Parshas Bechukosai and Shavuos.

In other words, the portion of Bamidbar must be a preparation for the giving of the Torah. Let us find out how the portion of Bamidbar prepares us for the giving of the Torah (Shavuos):

3. The Rebbe now lays the groundwork for the explanation:

The bulk of Parshas Bamidbar (the portion of Bamidbar) talks about counting the Jewish people, and this is actually why the Book of Bamidbar is referred to as “The Book of Numbers”.

Therefore, being that the main idea of Parshas Bamidbar is counting the Jewish people, and Parshas Bamidbar is a preparation for the giving of the Torah, we clearly see that counting the Jewish people is somehow a preparation for the giving of the Torah.

We must understand this; how is counting the Jewish people a preparation for the giving of the Torah?

4. As a side point, the Rebbe brings a proof that the idea of counting is a preparation for the giving of the Torah:

We clearly see that the idea of counting is a preparation for the giving of the Torah from Sefiras Ha’omer (the counting of the Omer).

5. The Rebbe now analyzes the idea of counting the Jewish people:

Question: Hashem obviously knew the exact amount of Jewish people; why did He command that they be counted?

Answer: Jewish law tells us that “something which is counted is never nullified or lost”. This means that since certain things are special to you, and therefore you count each one, they are never nullified or lost.

[Translators addition: Let’s take food as an example. If, for example, some non-Kosher rice falls into a huge pot of Kosher food, the non-Kosher rice is nullified to the amount of Kosher food and the whole pot is Kosher. This is because you obviously do not count grains of rice. However, if for example a non-Kosher piece of steak fell into a Kosher pot, no matter how massive the Kosher pot may be, the non-Kosher steak is not nullified to the Kosher food and therefore the whole pot is not Kosher. This is because you do count each piece of steak].

Therefore, says the Holy Shelah (Rabbi Yishaya Halevi Howrowitz) , the reason why the Jewish people were counted is because Hashem wanted the Jewish people to last forever and never be nullified to all the nations around them, as it says, “The Jewish people are like one sheep between seventy wolves”.

6. The Rebbe now questions this explanation of the Holy Shelah:

The meaning of the law that “Something which is counted is never nullified” is that since this thing is very special, so-much-so that you even count each one, it cannot be nullified. In other words, the counting of the object only shows us that the thing on its own was special; not that the counting itself makes it a special thing.

If so, we are back to our original question; why were the Jewish people counted? The Jewish people on their own, even without being counted, are a special thing (a special nation), so they wouldn’t have been nullified to the other nations of the world even if they wouldn’t have been counted!?

7. The Rebbe now explains why the Jewish people needed to be counted:

It is true that if the Jewish people weren’t counted they would still not have been nullified and lost to the nations of the world (because the Jewish people on their own are a special thing). However, the Jewish people would not have been able to change the physical world into a holy place which is proper for Hashem to dwell in.

To explain: If the Jewish people weren’t counted, their greatness would have stayed hidden in the spiritual worlds and their great strength would not have been able to come down into the physical world to affect it. However once the Jewish people were solidified in this physical world as a special nation, they are able to affect the physical world. And how did the Jewish people become a special nation even in the physical world? By being counted (because it is a physical action which shows the specialty of something).

8. The Rebbe now answers the original question of how the portion of Bamidbar is a preparation for the giving of the Torah and therefore we read it every year right before Shavuos:

The great accomplishment of the giving of the Torah was that Hashem broke the decree separating the spiritual and physical worlds as two separate things: Before the giving of the Torah the physical world couldn’t be permeated with Spirituality and Holiness. Even the Mitzvos (commandments) which our forefathers fulfilled couldn’t turn the physical object into a Holy thing. However, when Hashem gave the Torah and came down onto Mount Sinai, He gave us the ability to permeate physicality with Holiness and make this world into a proper dwelling place for Him.

Now we can understand why Parshas Bamidbar is the preparation for the giving of the Torah: Parshas Bamidbar is all about counting the Jewish people in order to make them a special nation which can even affect the physical world, and this is a preparation for the giving of the Torah which is the start of the Jewish people’s mission to change the physical world into a Holy dwelling place for Hashem.

9. The Rebbe now explains how this also answers another question:
The Torah tells us that only the men who were twenty years of age and older were counted. Why is this so? If, as the Shelah says, the Jewish people needed to be counted so that they would not be nullified and lost in the world, why would this not apply to the men under the age of twenty?

However according to our abovementioned explanation everything makes sense:

There is a major difference between a Jew’s service to Hashem until the age of twenty and his service after the age of twenty. Our Sages tell us that until the age of twenty we must solely toil in learning Torah; not so that you could change the world, but so that you could acquire wisdom. On the other hand after the age of twenty the Torah commands us to “go out and do battle” to conquer the world.

Consequently, the Jewish men under the age of twenty were not a part of the census because their service was not to affect the world to become a dwelling place for Hashem; they were still at the stage where they were supposed to solely toil in Torah

10. The Rebbe now starts explaining a new, additional line of thinking:

As we mentioned earlier, the Book of Bamidbar is referred to as the “Book of Numbers”. A name of something usually has within it the point of the entire thing and this is especially so with regards to the Torah where everything is perfectly exact.

Therefore, being that we refer to the entire Book of Bamidbar as the “Book of Numbers” because of its first portion (Parshas Bamidbar), we must say that the main point of the first portion is counting; not counting as it is a means to an end, but the idea of counting in itself. In other words, not only is counting a proper preparation for the giving of the Torah because it gave the Jewish people the ability to change the world (as we explained in Part One), but the idea of counting in itself must have something so special about it that it is a proper preparation for the giving of the Torah.

A proof to this logic (that the idea of counting in itself is a proper preparation for the giving of the Torah) can be found from the counting of the Omer where we count even though it doesn’t have the abovementioned affect on the Jewish people.

2. The Rebbe explains the significance of counting and how it was a preparation to receive the Torah:

The unique thing about counting is that everything is equal. No matter how great or small the thing is, it is only worth one. In this aspect, both the counting of the Jewish people and the counting of the Omer are the same; no matter what level the Jew was on, he was only worth one; no matter what kind of day it was, whether it was a weekday, a Shabbos, or a Yom Tov, it was only worth one.

The fact that every Jew was only worth one expresses the essence of the Jew because only at our essence we are all equal, on the other hand at the lower external levels of a Jew there are differences between him and his friend. For example, one Jew can have more Chochmah (wisdom) than another Jew; one Jew can have more Chessed (kindness) than another Jew, and so on. However we all have the same essence; we are all a part of Hashem.

So too with the counting of the Omer; the fact that every day is worth only one also expresses the essence of the Jew because only at our essence is a weekday and a Shabbos day equal, however at our lower external levels Shabbos and a weekday are totally different things. In other words, when we are looking at things through the “glasses” of our essence we look at every day from the same angle- we are entrusted with a holy mission to bring G-dliness down into this world no matter what day it is and we are excited about it. However when we don’t look at things from the perspective of our essence we see a difference between Shabbos and weekdays; we are enthusiastic about Shabbos and less interested in weekdays.

Now we can understand how the counting of the Jewish people and the counting of the Omer are preparations in and of themselves to receive the Torah:

As we explained earlier (in Part One), when Hashem gave the Torah and came down onto Mount Sinai, He gave us the ability to permeate physicality with Holiness and make this world into a proper dwelling place for Him. Hashem said, “I am Hashem your G-d”; in other words, “I am your strength and your sustenance”; your whole day must be permeated with My presence, not only when you learn Torah and pray.

How do we do this? By revealing our essence. When we reveal our essence which is one with Hashem, we bring G-dliness everywhere, not only when we learn and pray. And this was the preparation of counting the Jewish people and counting the Omer- revealing our essence.

3. The Rebbe now explains the need for both the counting of the Jewish people and the counting of the Omer:

From the fact that it was not enough to just count the Jewish people or just count the Omer, we see that each counting has something that the other one does not have, and only through having both are we properly prepared to receive the Torah.

Counting the Jewish people has no strings attached; there is nothing else besides counting. On the other hand the counting of the Omer is exactly that- we count how many days have gone by since the service of the Omer offering.

In spiritual terms this means that the counting of the Jewish people represents the essence of our soul as it is perfect without needing to be worked on, it only needs to be revealed. On the other hand the counting of the Omer signifies our work with our attributes and characteristics so that they should be proper vessels for the revelation of our essence.

Now we can understand why each counting was needed to prepare for the giving of the Torah:

Our Sages tell us that at the giving of the Torah “the higher (worlds) came down to the lower (worlds), and the lower (worlds) ascended to the higher (worlds)”. Our preparation for this is to reveal our essence so that it can come down into our daily lives (“the higher came down to the lower”), and to elevate our attributes so that they are fitting vessels for the light of our essence (“the lower ascended to the higher”).

Translated and adapted by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos volume four.