Ten Minutes of Torah

with

Rabbi Chaim Weiner

Bamidbar- 5766

במדבר א

(ב) שְׂאוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת כָּל זָכָר לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָם:

Numbers 1:2

Take a census of the whole Israelite community by the clans of its ancestral houses, listing the names, every male, head by head.

Rashi

Because the are dear to him, he counts them regularly:

When they went forth from Egypt He counted them,

When many of them fell at the time of the Golden Calf, He counted them,

When He was about to make His Shechinah dwell amongst them He counted them,

Here again He counted them,

for on the first day of Nissan the Tabernacle was erected,

and shortly afterwards, on the first day of Iyar, He counted them.

Shadal

After the Tabernacle was erected and they were about to set off to conquer the land with God dwelling in their midst, they were divided to flags and to camps so that each man would know his place. The camp was organised properly, so that they would not appear like escaped slaves but like a people prepared for war. Therefore they were counted, to complete the organisation. Our sages were right when they said, “when the time came for his Shechinah to rest amongst them, He counted them”

QUESTIONS

How do Rashi and Shadal differ in their understanding of the reason for counting the Children of Israel at this time.

Answers to last week’s question:

Explain why Rashi brought only the two middle examples brought by the Mechilta. Why wasn't one example sufficient, and why did he reverse the order in he quoted them.

The Midrash brings 4 examples of mistreatment of a slave. They fall into 2 groups: those which are demeaning (such a washing feet) and those which are embarrassing because they are very public (such as carrying a chariot). In the Midrash, the order is from the most extremely demeaning action to the most public one. Rashi brings one example of each group. He brings the less extreme examples, because they make a stronger point. For example, we might all understand that it is demeaning for another person to wash our feet, but even tying shoes, which is less demeaning, if forbidden.

Rashi reverses the order because he goes from the more obvious case to the less obvious, i.e. we most not only guard the slave’s dignity in public, but also in private.

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Ten Minutes of Torah was prepared by Rabbi Chaim Weiner, based on the methods of Prof. Nechama Leibowitz. Rabbi Weiner studied and corresponded with Prof. Leibowitz for several years.

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Jewish Journeys

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With Rabbi Chaim Weiner

One Day Special

Girona - Spain

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Led by Rabbi Chaim Weiner

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Home of Ramban

Most important Jewish Centre in Spain

Fascinating history in beautiful Medieval city

Only £55.00 + flights

Book early to take full advantage of low airfares.

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