What about me?
Other posts on Bamidbar:
Silence is golden
United we stand, divided we fall!
וַיְדַבֵּר ה’ אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית לְצֵאתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לֵאמֹר- Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Sinai Desert, in the Tent of Meeting on the first day of the second month, in the second year after tnhe exodus from the land of Egypt, saying. (1:1)
on which Rashi remarks:
וידבר. במדבר סיני באחד לחדש: וגו’ מתוך חיבתן לפניו מונה אותם כל שעה, כשיצאו ממצרים מנאן, וכשנפלו בעגל מנאן לידע מנין הנותרים. כשבא להשרות שכינתו עליהן מנאן. באחד בניסן הוקם המשכן, ובאחד באייר מנאם – The Lord spoke… in the Sinai Desert… on the first of the month: Because they were dear to Him, He counted them often. When they left Egypt, He counted them (Exod. 12:37); when [many] fell because [of the sin] of the golden calf, He counted them to know the number of the survivors (Exod. 32:28); when He came to cause His Divine Presence to rest among them, He counted them. On the first of Nissan, the Mishkan was erected, and on the first of Iyar, He counted them.
Rashi explains that Hashem counted the Jews three times over a year and two weeks, because they were dear to Him; when they left Mitzrayim, after the sin of the eigel, on Rosh Chodesh Iyar etc. Rashi states that the reason the Jews were counted after the sin of the eigel, was לידע מנין הנותרים -to know the number of the survivors.
Only 0.5 percent of the Jews perished after the sin of the eigel, which means that 99.5 percent ‘survived’. Why does Rashi use the word ‘survivors’ if the vast majority of the Jews did not perish? Are we ‘survivors’ of the swine flu epidemic?
The answer is that the Jews are like a puzzle. A puzzle is never complete unless all the pieces are in place, forming a picture. So too, the Jews are incomplete unless all the pieces are there.
There is another question asked, regarding this Rashi. The Torah does not mention the Jews being counted at Matan Torah – why were they not counted? Was this not the most fundamentally important day in history? The question is half the answer. Matan Torah was the most important, fundamental day in Judaism. G-d revealed His reality to us, all of us. All the past, present and future generations of klal Yisrael. We were all there; we were all equally chayav (obligated).
Why are we all obligated? True, our neshamos (souls) were there, but did we really have the option of saying no? Why should be be obligated due to the acceptance of the Torah on the part of the first generation of Jews?
When a family converts to Judaism, the children are asked at their bar/bas mitzva if they want to continue being Jews.
If they say no (and they can), then they are no longer Jewish and not bound to Judaism. Why weren’t each of us today offered a similar choice? No-one alive today can truly say they were offered the Torah and accepted it.
The reason it sounds like a good question is that we are all influenced by western culture, where the individual is the epicentre of existence; its all about you – your name defines you. This is untrue – your primary identity is your Judaism. Hitler knew that – and he was right. In addition, Hitler used the concept of collective responsibility. If one Jew stepped out of line, be it stealing, practising Judaism, escaping, or disrespecting a Nazi, all the Jews in that camp, city, or ghetto were punished. That concept comes straight from the Torah. Collective acceptance obligates everyone; you too.
Imagine taking a loan, gaining so much weight that you’re triple the weight you were at the time you took the loan, and then only paying back a third of the loan, as you were only one third of your current self at the time you took out the loan. The concept is ridiculous, right? That’s exactly what happened at Matan Torah. Only some of us were there in flesh and blood, but since we are a collective unit, we are all obligated by what “only” a part of us accepted.
There is a second answer to the first question we asked (regarding why we were not counted at Matan Torah). Two gemaras state, 1. K’ish echad blev echad, 2. ein minyan b’echad – like one man with one heart – that the Jews are one unit; and that you don’t count one (ie how many addresses do you live at?). Matan torah may be the greatest event, but love is unlimited. You can’t show too much love. Do your parents ever tell you they love you too much? Of course not! It’s something unlimited, something from inside, a special relationship between Hashem and klal Yisroel.