׳׳שאו את ראש כל עדת בני ישראל למשפחתם לבית אבתם במספר שמות כל זכר לגלגלתם׳׳ במדבר א:ב
“Count the heads of all the congregation of the Children of Israel according to their families; according to their fathers house, by the number of their names, every male according to their head count” Bamidbar 1;2

At the beginning of this week’s Parsha, Hashem commands Moshe Rabbeinu to count all of the Bnei Yisrael. Rashi explains that Hashem wanted us to be counted at this time in order to rest His Divine Presence upon us. The Shelah Hakadosh (whose prayer for righteous children we have timely recited) expounds on this concept and explains why this census enables the שכינה to rest amongst the Bnei Yisrael. The Shelah writes that by being counted individually, each and every one of us will come to realize that we are part of an exact number and that each of us posses the power to weigh down the scale of the entire world. As Chazal teach us in Maseches Kiddushin, “a person should always look at himself and at the world as if they are half deserving and half undeserving. If a person will complete one mitzvah he is praiseworthy for he has favorably tipped his personal scale and the scale on which the world is judged. However if he commits a sin, woe is unto him for he has tipped the scales unfavorably. This personal understanding of the worth of each individual will bring us to repent which ultimately leads to השראת השכינה ; the resting of the Divine Presence amongst us.

The Ramban adds an additional reason as to why each person was counted individually. By taking the census in this personal fashion, each individual would have the zchus (merit) of passing before Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen and be known to them by name. This would empower the person and spiritually benefit them as Moshe and Aharon would daven for them. ׳׳ד׳ אלוקי אבותיכם יוסף עליכם ככם אלף פעמים ולא ימעיט מספרכם׳׳

The Shelah is teaching us that we should know and feel that we are important. Chumash Bamidbar is known as Chumash HaPekudim. It is the book of our counting. The fact that we are counted individually shows us that we are all necessary in the eyes of Hashem. This knowledge is an imperative foundation for us to build ourselves upon. It empowers us with a special strength to fulfill our unique purpose in the world and as a part of Klal Yisrael.

Moshe Rothenberg / MMHK