Parshas Bemidbar 5767

Commentary by Rabbi Ephraim Nisenbaum

---

The second year after the exodus from Egypt, G-d commanded Moshe to take a census of all the Jewish men eligible for the army, those over twenty years old.

Although the Jewish people had already been counted earlier the same year, Rashi explains that this census was meant to impress upon the Jewish people G-d’s love and concern for them. A person counts and spends time with something that he loves and cherishes. The nation realized that G-d wanted them to be counted, each tribe by itself and each man by himself, in order to show how much He loves every Jew.

This was especially important after the sin of the Golden Calf, when the nation had fallen in disgrace before G-d. They needed the reassurance that G-d still loved them. For this reason the Levites were not counted. Since they did not sin by the Calf, they never needed that reassurance that the rest of the nation needed. (Although the Levites too would be counted later, it was for a different reason, to be able to redeem the firstborn Israelites who had sinned with the Golden Calf. Each firstborn needed one Levite to redeem him. The Levites were actually counted from thirty days old and older.)

The sum total of the census was around six hundred thousand people. Considering the fact that this number was approximately the same as the number of Jews that had first left Egypt, it was a comfort to them. Despite G-d’s anger and His punishment, they were not in any danger of being decimated.

The camp was arranged in a quadrilateral shape, with the Levites and the Mishkan in the center. A group of three tribes camped on each side, with one of the tribes serving as a leader for each grouping.

Each of the tribes had its own specific place, and it would occupy that place throughout the forty years in the desert, in order for the nation to be able to function properly. This represented the unique mission of each tribe. Each of the tribes was also situated equidistant from the Tabernacle in the middle. This showed that no tribe was more important than another, and that only in conjunction with one another could they accomplish their mission as a whole unit together.

“...We will do and we will listen...” (Exod. 19:8)

Rav Ezra Attia was teaching his students the section in the Talmud about honoring one’s parents. The students were very bright and the discussion was in-depth and quite lively.

The Talmud relates how the greatest rabbis would stand up for their parents and show them the great tremendous respect. Rav Attia asked one of the young men if he stood up when his mother entered the room.

“No,” the student replied, “My mother never asked me to.”

Rav Attias closed his Gemara and said gently, “We’ll stop here for today. With G-d’s help we’ll continue from here tomorrow—after you tell me that you have fulfilled the mitzvah of standing up for your parents!”

Did You Know...

Generally, if a food has flour in it, even if it is only a small amount, the blessing of Borei Minei Mezonos is recited. If the flour was not put in for taste but rather as a binder or thickener, such as in gravy, Shehakol is recited.

The blessing on cheesecake depends on the size of the crust. If it has a thick and tasty crust, the blessing is Mezonos. If it has a thin crust whose primary purpose is to hold the cake together without getting one’s hand full of cheese the blessing would be Shehakol. One can normally assume that the crust adds taste and only a Mezonos is recited. The blessing after eating the cake would be Borei Nefashos since one does not usually eat enough of the crust to recite Al Hamichya.