We’ve reached the fourth book of the Torah, Bamidbar, in which GOD tells Moses to take a census of every male from each tribe, from 20 years old and up, able to bear arms. God will begin to lead His newly formed nation on its journey through the desert toward the Promised Land. He starts with the formation of an army. Having been given the tools to fight the battles ahead, they would have to learn to use them. This is a picture of our lives. It’s like, after a baby boy is born, he goes through a period of weaning, learning to walk, falling, climbing, getting into trouble, crying for help, getting soothed by mother or father, who are hopefully close by, and starting over again. But there’s a difference between human parents and our heavenly Father…He is always close by. God would be showing His people that He would go before us every step of the way. Our part would be to do and obey, and in this process, we would learn to trust Him. Trust is the key to living a life of shalom, having inner peace.
The first chapter lists the names of the elected leaders beginning with the tribe of Reuben, the firstborn son of Jacob. Verse 20 states: “The descendants of Reuben, – בְּכֹ֣ר יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל bechor Israel, Israel’s firstborn”. This simple phrase, so easily passed over, gives me hope. Reuben had lost the right of inheritance when he had transgressed with Bilhah, his father’s wife, even if he had a good reason. But here, he is still recognized as Israel’s firstborn son. This shows us God’s compassion and forgiveness. Even when we know that we have fallen out of favor with GOD and like Reuben, we will suffer the consequences, but He will never abandon us.
This is also demonstrated in the names of every leader mentioned. Each name connected them in some way with the God of Israel. For example, Elitzur ben Shedeur, who was elected to lead the troops of Reuben’s clan – his name means “my God (Eli) is a Rock (Tzur)”. Shelumiel ben Tzuri-Shaddai was the second chosen; he was from the clan of Simeon, and his name came from Shalom–El, meaning “God is my peace” or “At peace with God”. Every man from these twelve tribes was counted, and their duties of bringing offerings to the dedication of the Mishkan and the leading of their troops are repeated for each one. How wonderful it is to know that every person is significant to God. The total number of men enrolled in the army was 603,550, close to the number of men who left Egypt fully armed. But at that time, their hearts were not yet ready to fight. They still had a slave mentality. Just because we hold a gun doesn’t mean we can fire it. Now, at the beginning of their second year of freedom, they were a little more prepared. God knows our hearts and slowly trains us for the battles ahead. He’s not like us; He never pushes, He guides.
Next, the tribe of Levi would be counted separately. Although everyone speaks of only twelve tribes, with Joseph having been divided into Manasseh and Ephraim, the Levites make up the thirteenth tribe. We tend to believe what others tell us, but we always have to check with the truth of the Torah. Perhaps it’s because there is such a stigma around the number thirteen, but for Israel, 13 is a good number. In fact, in Gematria, it is the number of GOD and the number of the men in the army, 603,550, in Gematria also adds up to 13.
The Levites alone would be in charge of the Mishkan and were appointed to serve Aaron and his sons in all the duties pertaining to the Tent of Meeting. Anyone on the outside who “drew near their duties would die”. What is the reason for this harsh ruling? God knows our hearts. He knows how we long for something that doesn’t belong to us. He wrote that in His Tenth Commandment about not coveting. God was showing this new nation that when they disobeyed His rules, there would be consequences, even if they happened hundreds of years later.
For example, in 2 Samuel 6, we are shocked to read about Uzzah’s sudden death after he reached out to save the Ark of the Covenant from falling off the cart. His quick reaction seemed like the logical thing to do, but Uzzah was from the tribe of Judah, while the responsibility for carrying the Ark belonged to the family of Kohath. Uzzah wasn’t coveting any position, but the fear and reverence of God had to be put into the heart of this fledgling nation so that it would become second nature not to desire to step into anyone else’s role. This can make us sick. Children don’t always understand why they have to abide by the rules, but the Torah is clear. There are consequences for disobeying His principles, and it is always for our good.
All the men of Israel were originally called to be a kingdom of priests (cohanim); their role would have been to make sure that the Ten Commandments were observed by the people, so that this nation could fulfill its role as ohr l’goyim, a light to all the nations. Our ancestors were being prepared for the most important position that anyone could fill –Messengers of the God of Israel, the one and only Creator of the universe. God had just handed us His precious Commandments, and if all nations would just follow them, peace and harmony would be restored to mankind. However, while waiting for Moses to return from being in the presence of GOD 40 days and 40 nights, our ancestors failed that first test at Mt. Sinai. The Levites were then chosen to take their place, and no one was to take that from them. This was not a privilege; it was a tremendous responsibility, for “to whom much is given, much is required”.
In the third chapter of Numbers, Moses is told to record the names and numbers of the Levites, listing their duties. Then, he records every firstborn male of the Israelites, as well as their cattle. There were 273 more Israelite firstborn males than the Levites, so they were asked to give Aaron five shekels per head as the redemption price for each of the 273 Israelites. Today, we have a Jewish ceremony called the Pidyon Ha-ben. Thirty days after the birth of the firstborn son, his father gives five silver coins to a cohen to symbolically purchase his son’s release from having the obligation of potentially serving as a priest.
Moses had to count the people, but of course, he couldn’t have done it alone. It was a huge task. Although he was in charge, it took the community to get it done. Several years ago, I hosted a Zoom get-together for my mother’s side of her family. Her maternal grandparents arrived in Montreal after escaping the pogroms of Kiev, Ukraine, in 1906. They sailed to Canada with 9 children, and today we have grown into a huge family. It took me weeks to track down family members, and we are nowhere close to the thousands in the original tribes. Sadly, today, we have lost the notion that we belong to a tribe and the importance of family and community. Most of us don’t know how many cousins we have, and others choose not to speak to some of them, for reasons we may not even know. Sadly, we are missing out on the joy and importance of belonging to a tribe, to a community. I believe that when we throw out God, the consequences are greater than anyone can imagine.
The Mishkan and its Sanctuary were specifically designed for our developmental stage. To rebuild them is like wanting to return to the years we were learning to walk. Being an adult has its challenges, which is why most prefer to remain a teenager. Those are the rebellious years in which discipline and training are the only things that will settle us down. That is the importance of building an army. Men who go through army training are stronger, more organized, more disciplined, and work better as a team than those who don’t. It’s interesting that the Levites were the tribe chosen to protect and carry the Mishkan. They were the ones who killed the men of Shechem whose prince raped and took Dina, Jacob’s daughter hostage.
The Levites were the men who stood with Moses after his descent from Mt. Sinai and obeyed the order to kill 3000 of those who had participated in the debauchery associated with the building of the Golden Calf. The Levites were not wimps or peacemakers. They had a warrior mentality and were the bodyguards marching in front of the army carrying God’s Ark of the Covenant.
All of us who have felt God’s call on our lives are like the Levites. Each day holds its battles and struggles, but let us remember that we are marching with God and that the Ark of the Covenant is implanted in our hearts. Like our ancestors, we have been given the tools to fight, so let us not be afraid to use them. God gave us faith that by action and obedience, we can turn to trust. He gave us hope that helps us march from battle to battle. He put us in a community, no matter how small or how far, so that we know that we are not alone. Like a tiny piece in a large mosaic, even when we feel unimportant, we know that we are not. The census shows that we each have value. We each have our own innate gifts and talents to help us fulfill our part, no matter how small, so we don’t need to want to be like anyone else. Let’s not be afraid to use them; that’s how we grow, and that is how we will experience the joy of living a fulfilled life.
Shabbat Shalom
Peggy Pardo