SPIRIT
TORAH PORTION
A Unique Census Tally
I
idea put forth by the forn the Torah portion this mer chief rabbi of Great week, we are instructed Britain, the late Rabbi to count the Jewish peoLord Jonathan Sacks. He ple in a unique way. asks why it is that a counEach person must give a try takes a census? Why is half-shekel coin. When the Rabbi it important for them to coins are counted, we will Chaim Fink know how many people know how many people there are? The answer there are. To deviate from Parshat Ki invariably is based on the this and count the people Tisa: belief that the strength of a using a standard method Exodus can lead to calamity. 30:11-34:35; people lies in its numbers. I Kings The more people there This seems to be a 18:1-39. are, the stronger a nation strange command. Census is, both militarily and ecotaking is a normal thing nomically. A greater popufor any nation or country lation means more potential solto do, yet the Torah is telling us diers to be drafted into an army that for the Jewish people it is a dangerous endeavor. Why is it so and more tax-paying citizens. If the Jewish people shared dangerous to count the Jews? with the rest of the world that There are many explanations given, but here is a very beautiful our strength is in our numbers,
then we would fall into despair. We have always been a tiny nation. Toward the end of Moses’ life, in the Book of Deuteronomy, he tells the people, “It is not because of your numbers that Hashem has desired you and chose you, for you are the fewest among the nation.” Today, we stand at only one-fifth of 1% of the world population. If the power of a nation is determined by numbers, the Jewish people would have given up a long time ago. What then accounts for our strength? The Torah tells us in one word, v’nasnu, and they shall give. They should contribute the half-shekel coins and we will count the contributions and thereby know their strength. Though we are small, our contributions are vast. Look at what the Jewish peo-
ple have given to the world. The percentage of Nobel Prizes won by Jewish scientists, mathematicians and economists is starkly disproportionate to our size, with numbers like 20%, 30% and 50%. The values that the Jews have taught the world are of immense importance. Social responsibility as put forth by the Torah’s charity requirements. The importance of human life and education, and a belief in one God, are all ideas and contributions that the Jewish people have made. The lesson is clear. Our strength lies not in how many we are, but in how much we have given. It lies in all the contributions that we’ve made to the world and in our readiness to help those in need. Rabbi Chaim Fink is a rabbi and educator at Detroit Partners in Torah.
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