Today we will discuss a thought on Parashat Bamidbar that relates to Shavuot as well.
Bamidbar starts off with a discussion of the counting of the Jewish people.
That’s why the Sefer Bamidbar is referred to with the secular term of Numbers. If one isn’t paying attention, it might just sound like a bunch of numbers.
Of course, that does not capture the essence, or the message of this Parasha at all. If anything, it is the opposite of this, because when we count the Jewish people, as the pasuk says, “Uplift the head of the Jewish people to their families, to the household of their fathers, in the number of the names.”
The term names indicates importance. The Parasha doesn’t just refer to numbers. Every Jew is made to feel important, and not as the term goes,
“just another number.”
Here, in Bamidbar, we see that you have a name, you have an identity, you have an importance, you have a mission. Each person met Moshe Rabbenu and Aharon HaKohen, and they were told, “Do you know who your family is? Do you know who your household is?“ Moshe was older than the 20-year-olds, and was able to tell them about their grandparents, who might not have been around at that point. He was able to tell each person where they came from, about their roots and about their importance.
We read this Parasha every single year, before Matan Torah, because as it says, the word ישראל Yisrael spells
יש ששים ריבו אותיות לתורה
There are 600,000 letters in the Torah.
If you count them, you may only count 300,000, but the rabbis give different answers for this. One is that each letter is comprised of other letters
(for example, an Aleph is made up of two yuds and a slanted vav If you count the letters-spaces, it’s about 600,000, and certain letters are comprised of more than one letter).
Regardless of how we explain it, the meaning behind this statement (sourced in the Zohar) is that every Jew makes up the Torah. Every Jew is part of the larger Sefer Torah of the Jewish people. Every person is necessary. Just as if one letter is missing in a Sefer Torah, the Sefer Torah is pasul/ disqualified, so too, every Jew is necessary. That is why we count the Jews, and make at importance of them. The Navi Hoshea talks about realizing how Hashem is watching over us, even in exile. It gives the mashal of a lady who ran out of the house, after having a fight with her husband. She left and spent time in other people’s homes, but after a while, she decided to go back home to her husband, because she realized she made a mistake.
Hashem says, ( perek ב pasuk י)
וְהִיא֙ לֹ֣א יָֽדְעָ֔ה כִּ֤י אָֽנֹכִי֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לָ֔הּ הַדָּגָ֖ן וְהַתִּיר֣וֹשׁ וְהַיִּצְהָ֑ר וְכֶ֨סֶף הִרְבֵּ֥יתִי לָ֛הּ וְזָהָ֖ב עָשׂ֥וּ לַבָּֽעַל
She didn’t know that I gave her the grain, wine and oil, a lot of silver and gold. And she gave to Avodah Zara.
The nimshal is that even when we go off, and we don’t rely on Hashem, He is still taking care of us. We are the lady that ran out of the house and does not realize that her husband is still paying the bills.
There is only one husband here; there is only one person that can pay the bills- and that is God. Regardless of what we do, He continues to take care of us.
The Navi talks about when the day will come that we will realize this, and reconnect to Hashem. It ends off with two beautiful pesukim that men say every single day when they put on their Tefilin. We wrap three rings around our fingers when we put on our tefilin, as if to indicate three rings of marriage, as if God is putting a wedding ring on our finger, every single morning. He is marrying us. And we say the words
וְאֵרַשְׂתִּ֥יךְ לִ֖י לְעוֹלָ֑ם
You will be betrothed to me forever
( ring one)
וְאֵרַשְׂתִּ֥יךְ לִי֙ בְּצֶ֣דֶק וּבְמִשְׁפָּ֔ט
You will be betrothed to Me through justice, law
וּבְחֶ֖סֶד וּֽבְרַחֲמִֽים
And with kindness and mercy (ring two)
And for the final ring, we say,
וְאֵרַשְׂתִּ֥יךְ לִ֖י בֶּאֱמוּנָ֑ה וְיָדַ֖עַתְּ אֶת ה׳
You will become betrothed to Me through your emunah
And you will know God.
We read these pesukim before Matan Torah because Matan Torah is referred to as a wedding day; a betrothal of sorts.
Another reason we read Bamidbar before Shavuot is that it starts off with saying that Hashem spoke to Moshe.
Where? Midbar Sinai.
The place? Ohel Moed
The date? Echad L’Hodesh etc
Just like on a ketubah, you have to write down the name, place, date, time, Bamidbar is like a ketuba before Matan Torah, between God and the Jewish people.
This connects very strongly to emunah and bitachon, in that we have to realize that Hashem is taking care of us and supporting us. He is the One to marry, so to say. At Matan Torah, we recommit ourselves to Hashem.
We will end off with a Segula that Rav Chaim Palagi brings down, for Erev Shavuot, which is this Sunday. He says that it’s a segula to give a denomination of 104 on Erev Shavuot. He says that this is double בן/son ( which is 52).
He says to give the money to a Torah scholar who is humble, and in need of money.
This can accomplish many tikkunim, one of which is a segula for people to have children.
Baruch Hashem, we have many Torah scholars that fit these qualities, and if you’d like to donate, click on the link below or send an email to yadyosef26@gmail.com with a pledge of any denomination of 104 that you’d like to give. It will be distributed this Sunday, Erev Shavuot.
https://secure.cardknox.com/yadyosefkollel
Everyone should have a Shabbat Shalom and a Hag Sameach.