Dear Friends,
I guess you only count if you have a real address. If not – you don’t count. Or, maybe…?
At least, that appears to be a teaching from Torah – and perhaps in today’s day, no less.
The opening Parashah of the Book of Numbers, Parashat Bamidbar, reads that Moses was instructed to take a census of all the Israelites according to their ancestral clans. Each tribe was assigned a chieftain, and each registered the males from age 20 and above who were eligible to bear arms. Each of the twelve tribes participated – except for the tribe of Levi.
Torah records, “The Levites, however, were not recorded among them by their ancestral tribe.” (Numbers 1:47)
Why were the Levites excluded? They had plenty of men of suitable age.
Torah’s given reason was that the Levites were charged with a separate duty: to manage the holy property and the civil and religious affairs of the Israelites. They tended to the Tabernacle, made sacrificial offerings, and handled taxation. Hence, it would seem, they were exempted from military duties, as they bore other communal tasks.
Yet, a further rationale for their military immunity could be derived from the Torah and later writings. The Levites were not given a land allocation among the territory of the ancient Israelites when they crossed the Jordan to make Canaan/Israel their home.
Again, why? The given reason was that as the Levites had sacred and municipal obligations, they could not become farmers or sheep-herders. They could not own land which they could not tend. Rather, they were compensated by the offerings made by those from the other tribes (just like government workers today, who do not – or should not – keep other businesses while they serve in government positions).
Hence – the Levites did not receive land holdings but were accommodated in and among those from the other tribes. They were not counted in the census because they could not fight, but actually, because they would not have an address.
Similarly, today, one only counts if one has an address. Period. Imagine how many good people were not counted in antiquity and do not count today!
This merits rethinking in our own day.
Mark your calendars: Erev Shabbat, Friday, June 20, Temple Beth Jacob will join with HIAS and local partners for “Together in Welcome,” an interfaith Shabbat Vigil/Picnic at TBJ to affirm that our traditions stand together to welcome refugees and immigrants.
Why? Because beyond owning land, our tradition asserts – they DO count! And so do we!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
I guess you only count if you have a real address. If not – you don’t count. Or, maybe…?
At least, that appears to be a teaching from Torah – and perhaps in today’s day, no less.
The opening Parashah of the Book of Numbers, Parashat Bamidbar, reads that Moses was instructed to take a census of all the Israelites according to their ancestral clans. Each tribe was assigned a chieftain, and each registered the males from age 20 and above who were eligible to bear arms. Each of the twelve tribes participated – except for the tribe of Levi.
Torah records, “The Levites, however, were not recorded among them by their ancestral tribe.” (Numbers 1:47)
Why were the Levites excluded? They had plenty of men of suitable age.
Torah’s given reason was that the Levites were charged with a separate duty: to manage the holy property and the civil and religious affairs of the Israelites. They tended to the Tabernacle, made sacrificial offerings, and handled taxation. Hence, it would seem, they were exempted from military duties, as they bore other communal tasks.
Yet, a further rationale for their military immunity could be derived from the Torah and later writings. The Levites were not given a land allocation among the territory of the ancient Israelites when they crossed the Jordan to make Canaan/Israel their home.
Again, why? The given reason was that as the Levites had sacred and municipal obligations, they could not become farmers or sheep-herders. They could not own land which they could not tend. Rather, they were compensated by the offerings made by those from the other tribes (just like government workers today, who do not – or should not – keep other businesses while they serve in government positions).
Hence – the Levites did not receive land holdings but were accommodated in and among those from the other tribes. They were not counted in the census because they could not fight, but actually, because they would not have an address.
Similarly, today, one only counts if one has an address. Period. Imagine how many good people were not counted in antiquity and do not count today!
This merits rethinking in our own day.
Mark your calendars: Erev Shabbat, Friday, June 20, Temple Beth Jacob will join with HIAS and local partners for “Together in Welcome,” an interfaith Shabbat Vigil/Picnic at TBJ to affirm that our traditions stand together to welcome refugees and immigrants.
Why? Because beyond owning land, our tradition asserts – they DO count! And so do we!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
