Transcript
Okay, בוקר טוב Boker Tov, good morning. Welcome back to פרשה Parsha Perspectives for today. Thank you for your continued flexibility. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem traveling for שמחות simchas, so I won't apologize, but I'm grateful that you are willing to ride this fun adventure of different days for the שיעורים shiurim as we celebrate these שמחות simchas. Our פרשה Parsha series is generously sponsored by Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מענדל leilui nishmas David ben Menachem Mendel. This morning's שיעור shiur is sponsored by Judy and Mitch Taragan and family in memory of Jerry Taragan, יהושע דוב בן רב עזריאל Yehoshua Dov ben Rav Azriel on his first יארצייט yahrtzeit. נשמתו שתהא בעליה Nishmaso shehav v'aliya. And by Lee and Danny Waxman of Cedarhurst, New York, זכות נשמת zechus nishmas Danny's mother whose 10th יארצייט yahrtzeit is ראש חודש טיוואן Rosh Chodesh Tivan, נשמה שתהא בעליה neshama she'rev v'aliya as well. Thank you so much to our generous sponsors. We greatly, greatly appreciate it. Okay, this week we have the privilege and pleasure of beginning the fourth book of the Torah, the book of במדבר Bamidbar. Page 726 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash.וידבר השם אל משה במדבר סיני באוהל מועד באחד לחודש השני בשנה השנית לצאתם מארץ מצרים לאמר Vayidaber Hashem el Moshe b'midbar Sinai b'ohel moed b'echad l'chodesh hasheni bashana hashenis l'tzeisam me'eretz Mitzrayim leimor. Hashem spoke to משה Moshe and here the Torah goes out of its way, deviates from its unusual practice to give us the topography of the land in which the message is delivered. Not only that Hashem spoke to משה Moshe, but where, the coordinates, the geography, the topography. It was in the desert. It was in the אוהל מועד Ohel Moed. באחד לחודש השני B'echad l'chodesh hasheni. It was on the first day of the second month in the second year from what count, based on what calculation, from when they left Egypt. לאמר Leimor, and he did so saying. He did so saying the following. Our book has several names. We know this book as the book of, if you were to tell people I went to a פרשה Parsha class today and we studied the פרשה Parsha and the beginning of the book of, it's not a trick question. You can all get it right, במדבר Bamidbar. חומש במדבר Chumash Bamidbar, the fourth book of the Torah. And that is the name mention in the מדרש בראשית רבה Medrash Bereishis Rabbah. However, among חז\"ל Chazal, we have different names for this book. This is all quoted in the אוצר תפלות התורה Otzar Tefilos HaTorah. He says, first of all, it's called ספר וידבר Sefer Vayidaber. There are several מדרשים Medrashim, בראשית רבה Bereishis Rabbah, מדרש תנחומא Medrash Tanchuma, פרשת כי תשא Parshas Ki Sisa who refer to it as the book of וידבר Vayidaber, the book of God speaking to משה Moshe and through משה Moshe to us. That's the name that רש\"י Rashi uses in several places. כנראה שנקרא ספר וידבר על שם התיבה הראשונה בספר זו Kaneireh she'nikra Sefer Vayidaber al shem ha'teiva ha'rishona b'sefer zu, similar to בראשית Bereishis, ויקרא Vayikra, makes sense. We have many books who are named after the first word of that book. The first word of this book is וידבר Vayidaber. It makes sense the book be known as וידבר Vayidaber. Alternatively, a third option, we have במדבר Bamidbar, we have וידבר Vayidaber, or חומש פקודים Chumash Pekudim. חז\"ל Chazal, our Rabbis, call it חומש פקודים Chumash Pekudim, which is the book of counting, the book of countings. It's mentioned this way in the משנה Mishna, משנה יומא Mishna Yoma, משנה מנחות Mishna Menachos, the תוספתא מגילה Tosefta Megillah, the זוהר Zohar, they call it the חומש פקודים Chumash Pekudim. This is the volume, the third book, the book of counting. שם זה נפוץ מאד בש\"ס Shem zeh nafutz meod b'Shas. It's mentioned several places in ש\"ס Shas and many מדרשים Medrashim because that characterizes the book, which we'll study in a moment, we'll see more in depth in a moment, the notion of counting, being counted, counting. Or a fourth option. So we have במדבר Bamidbar, וידבר Vayidaber, פקודים Pekudim or ספר הישר Sefer Hayashar. The ירושלמי Yerushalmi in מסכת סוטה Meseches Sotah quotes a פסוק pasuk in שמואל Shmuel, הלא היא כתובה על ספר הישר halo hi ktuva al Sefer Hayashar and the גמרא Gemara there asks, the ירושלמי Yerushalmi asks, what is ספר הישר Sefer Hayashar? And the גמרא Gemara answers, מחלוקת אמוראים machlokes Amoraim. One says the book of בראשית Bereishis, the אבות Avos were ישר yashar. You know, in Israel, if you get lost and you're looking for directions, what do they tell you? ישר, ישר Yashar, Yashar. ישר Yashar means straight. It's never, by the way, straight. It's never ישר, ישר Yashar, Yashar. That's another way of saying, I don't have time for you. ישר, ישר Yashar, Yashar. ישר Yashar means straight. Be straight, be honest, have integrity. Who were the first who taught us this? The prerequisite to the Torah, דרך ארץ קדמה לתורה derech eretz kadma l'Torah, even before you study and live Torah, first you have to live with דרך ארץ derech eretz, with good quality and good character. And who taught us that? The אבות Avos. So the first opinion in the ירושלמי Yerushalmi is that ספר בראשית Sefer Bereishis is called ספר הישר Sefer Hayashar. However, the second opinion is חומש פקודים Chumash Pekudim, ספר במדבר Sefer Bamidbar. The fourth book, what we call במדבר, פקודים, וידבר Bamidbar, Pekudim, Vayidaber, is ספר הישר Sefer Hayashar, straight and narrow. And that's what the קרבן העדה Korban Ha'eidah, the commentary on the ירושלמי Yerushalmi says, it's called ספר במדבר Sefer Bamidbar, ספר הישר Sefer Hayashar because the פסוק pasuk says, תמות נפשי מות ישרים tamos nafshi mos yesharim that appears in this ספר sefer. That a person should be included among those who are ישר yeshar, honest, integrity, straight, faithful, loyal, and so on. פרשת בהעלותך Parshas Behaaloscha perhaps is called the book of ויהי בנסוע Va'yehi Binsoa because we have in here what we sing when we take out the ספר תורה Sefer Torah, ויהי בנסוע הארון Va'yehi Binsoa Ha'aron. So we have many, many suggestions, many possibilities of what this book is called. He quotes here the חזקוני Chizkuni. The חזקוני Chizkuni offers another suggestion. How many were we up to? Four, five? חזקוני Chizkuni has another one. בלשון לטין Belashon Latin, נקרא ספר נומרי nikra sefer Numrei. נומרי Numrei means numbers in Latin, the book of Numbers, which really is a Latin translation of which word? פקודים Pekudim. The book of Numbers or the book of counting. בלע\"ז Belaz, מספרים Misparim, the book of Numbers in Latin נומרי Numrei. This is the book of, the book of counting because it's significant. Now, we call it במדבר Bamidbar, the desert, because that's the first significant word used. וידבר השם אל משה Vayidaber Hashem el Moshe, those are all important words, but not unusual or specific words. The first specific word that's used is במדבר Bamidbar. במדבר Bamidbar. Is it a coincidence that Hashem speaks in the מדבר midbar? Why do we care? The climate, the topography, the geography. It's the message that matters. Why is it, why is it where? You know if I want to quote an important conversation I have with someone, I quote the content of the conversation, not, 'We were in Starbucks.' 'Which Starbucks?' 'The one on Glades near the turnpike.' 'We sat outside.' 'It was a hot and humid day.' 'The land was very flat.' נו Nu, but what did you say? What was the content of the conversation? Who cares? Who cares where? Who cares the topography? Who cares the climate? Why does it matter? Why do we begin? So the מדרש Medrash gives a famous answer. כל מי שאינו עושה עצמו כמדבר הפקר, אינו יכול לקנות את החכמה והתורה Kol mi she'eino oseh atzmo k'midbar hefker, eina yachol liknos es ha'chochma v'ha'Torah. Because anyone who does not transform themselves, anyone who does not make themselves like a מדבר midbar, a desert. What does a desert characterized by? The core character of a desert is מדבר הפקר midbar hefker. It's barren, it's open, it is a wasteland. It's barren, it's desolate. It is ownerless. The prerequisite, the way to acquire the wisdom of Torah is that first you have to wipe your slate clean. First you have to purge all your preconceived notions. The Torah can't compete with you, with your view of the world, with your preconceived notions, with your biases that you approach the world with. If you want to truly receive Torah, what do you have to do? Transform yourself into a מדבר midbar. That's what the גמרא Gemara in עירובין Eruvin teaches. The גמרא Gemara says, אמר רב מסנה amar Rav Masna, מאי דכתיב mai d'chsiv, וממדבר מתנה u'mimidbar matanah? From the wilderness to מתנה Matanah, when it's telling us about the travels, אם משים אדם עצמו כמדבר זה, שהכל דשים בו, תלמודו מתקיים בידו, ואם לאו, אין תלמודו מתקיים בידו im meisim adam atzmo k'midbar zeh, shehakol dashim bo, Talmudoh miskayem b'yado, v'im lav, ein Talmudoh miskayem b'yado. You have to be willing to be a מדבר midbar, a tabula rasa. This is today was brought to you by Latin. And that's about all the Latin I know. Ex nihilo, that's another Latin phrase. That's it. I've exhausted all my Latin right there. But you have to be a tabula rasa, you have to be a blank slate, a clean whiteboard. You have to say, Torah, teach me. I'm not going to impose on Torah my preconceived notions, my biases, my predilections, my preconceived ideas. Torah, you teach me. You engrave and etch yourself on me. I'm willing to make myself into a מדבר midbar. I'm willing to make myself into a מדבר midbar. A מדבר midbar is a place of selflessness. No one has an ego. There is no arrogance in the מדבר midbar. The מדבר midbar, you're trying to survive. The מדבר midbar, all are created equal. And the idea is, Torah, you teach me. I'm not going to teach you. אין דברי תורה מתקיימין אלא במי שממית עצמו עליה Ein divrei Torah miskaymim ela b'mi she'meimis atzmo aleha, שנאמר זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל she'ne'emar zos haTorah adam ki yamus b'ohel. The גמרא Gemara in ברכות ס\"ג Brachos samech gimmel teaches, the Torah can only be etched and engraved and carved on a person who's willing to kill himself on it. So this means like we read last week, בחוקותי bechukosai, שתהיו עמלים בתורה she'tihiyu ameilim b'Torah, it means you can't sit back casually and learn Torah. You don't sit back in a recliner. You know what happens to the ספר sefer that you learn on a Friday night after the meal when you stretch out in the recliner? It ends up on the floor in a puddle of drool. That's what ends up with that ספר sefer. That's not Torah. Torah, שתהיו עמלים she'tihiyu ameilim. You got to work, you got to toil, you got to make effort, you got to break your teeth, you got to try. You got to kill yourself on it. You have to kill yourself to really acquire it. That which we receive casually, and that which we receive comfortably, it doesn't last. We don't remember it. That which we kill ourselves on, just think to your childhood. Think about what you worked hard on, which degree and which curriculum, which area of study, what you worked hardest on, you remember the most, and you have the greatest emotional connection with. And what you casually were a spectator to, you came, you listened, you're playing on your phone while you're also half listening, and by the time you left, you forgot the entire thing. מי שממית עצמו עליה Mi she'meimis atzmo aleha. I know in our youth we didn't have the phone to play on while we were in class. I got it. You doodled, what you were doodling with or passing notes to your friend on, whatever was the version we did when we were younger. But what we listened to casually, we don't remember. What we killed ourselves on became part of who we are. You have to be מית עצמו meimis atzmo. However, the בעלי מוסר Baalei Mussar come along and the בעלי מוסר Baalei Mussar say, what does it mean אין התורה נקנית ein haTorah nikneis, you can only really acquire Torah, מי שממית עצמו mi she'meimis atzmo. You have to be willing to kill your sense of self. That's עצמו atzmo. It's what are my preconceived notions? What are my biases? What am I imposing on Torah rather than Torah impose on me? You have to be willing to be מית עצמו meimis atzmo. You have to kill the sense of עצמו atzmo. You have to kill that sense of self if you want to really be willing to acquire Torah. It's not a coincidence, this שבת פרשת במדבר Shabbos Parshas Bamidbar always appears before the holiday of שבועות Shavuos. If you didn't get the memo, שבועות Shavuos is next week. Next Thursday night, next Friday and שבת Shabbos. That means that this שבת Shabbos, פרשת במדבר Parshas Bamidbar, is the שבת Shabbos before שבועות Shavuos. The ספרדים Sefardim refer to this שבת Shabbos as שבת הכלה Shabbos Hakallah. This is the שבת Shabbos of the bride, because שבועות Shavuos, we're getting married to Hashem. He lifts the mountain over our head like the חופה chuppah. שבועות Shavuos, we're going to have a marriage to Hashem. So before the marriage to Hashem is the אויפרוף ufruf, the שבת כלה Shabbos kallah, that's this שבת Shabbos. How do we prepare, how do we get ready? We read the book of במדבר Bamidbar, we start ספר במדבר Sefer Bamidbar. We're מית עצמו meimis atzmo. We kill our self sense of self. Like you're supposed to do before you get married. Before you get married, you don't entirely surrender your sense of self. Of course, you absorb your sense of self and you maintain and express your sense of self into marriage, but it means you can't be self-centered and self-selfish. The world no longer revolves around you. You have to be willing to compromise and integrate your life with another. This is the שבת Shabbos of our אויפרוף ufruf. This is the שבת כלה Shabbos kallah, the שבת Shabbos before שבועות Shavuos. We're going to get married to Hashem. It's the שבת Shabbos of במדבר Bamidbar. We have to be willing to make ourselves into a מדבר midbar. We've shared many times, when we get upstairs, the גמרא Gemara in שבת Shabbos tells us, we will be asked a series of questions. And one of the questions we're asked is, one of the questions we're asked is, קבעת עיתים לתורה kavata itim l'Torah? Did you set aside time for Torah learning? That's a question of שבועות Shavuos. We received the Torah, do we make time for Torah, do we make time for God? Do we designate time every day to learn and study his Torah? However, you could read it a little bit differently. Not only קבעת עיתים לתורה kavata itim l'Torah, did you make time for Torah, but קבעת עיתים לתורה kavata itim l'Torah or קבעת תורה לעיתים kavata Torah l'itim. Did you set aside time for Torah? Can mean קבעת kavata means to establish, to interpret. It could mean, did you see the world through Torah, or did you see Torah through the world? עיתים Itim could mean the times, the times in which we live. So you're trying to interpret, how do I make sense of everything happening around me? How do I interpret it? How do I make sense of it? What is true? What is right? What is just? קבעת עיתים לתורה Kavata itim l'Torah? Do I interpret the times based on the values of Torah, or קבעת תורה לעיתים kavata Torah l'itim? Or do I take what is the, what are the mores and the ethics, what is the zeitgeist of the time, and now I try to mold and shape Torah into my preconceived notions? במדבר Bamidbar, we have to turn ourselves into a מדבר midbar, that the Torah is molding us, we're not molding and shaping Torah to conform with our views. Do we conform with Torah, or do we try to manipulate and distort Torah to conform with our views? That's the beginning of במדבר Bamidbar, and that is how we prepare for the יום טוב yontif, for the holiday of שבועות Shavuos. However, back to the אוצר תפלות התורה Otzar Tefilos HaTorah.Why is it called שמות Shemos? שמות Shmos? The מלבי\"ם Malbim writes, במספר שמות בני ישראל b'mispar shemos Bnei Yisrael. Right, the second פסוק pasuk, שאו את ראש כל עדת בני ישראל se'u es rosh kol adas Bnei Yisrael. This is what Hashem said to משה Moshe in that מדבר midbar. שאו את ראש כל עדת בני ישראל למשפחותם לבית אבותם במספר שמות כל זכר לגולגלותם Se'u es rosh kol adas Bnei Yisrael l'mishpechosam l'veis avosam b'mispar shemos kol zachar l'gulgolosam. Take a census. It's called the book of counting, the book of numbers, because it begins with a census, begins with an accounting of all the Jewish people according to their families, according to their father's household. And here we have what seems to be a contradiction. במספר B'mispar means according to their number. שמות Shemos means according to their name. כל זכר לגולגלותם Kol zachar l'gulgolosam, every male according to their headcount. The מלבי\"ם Malbim says, במספר שמות b'mispar shemos. רוצה לומר שהספירה לא היתה באופן שסופר הגולגלות שבזה יש עין הרע. רק, שספר השמות, כל אחד כתב שמו ושם משפחתו, ועל ידי זה, שספר השמות ידע סכומם Rotzeh lomar shehasfirah lo hayisa b'ofen she'sofer ha'gulgulos she'b'zeh yesh ayin hara. Rak, she'sofer ha'shmos, kol echad kasav shmo v'shem mishpachto, v'al yedei zeh, sh'sofer ha'shmos yeda s'chumam. How do you count? Jews don't count people. What happens when we count people? עין הרע Ayin hara. It's an עין הרע ayin hara. We don't count people because that number, taking that pride in the number of people, shining a spotlight on the proliferation on the great number of people can welcome jealousy, envy, can welcome questioning of our worthiness, and therefore it can welcome the influence and the power of עין הרע ayin hara. So we don't count people, what do we count? Names. So they would fill out a piece of paper and they would write their name and then we would count the names, not the people, says the מלבי\"ם Malbim, in order to avoid the עין הרע ayin hara. The מלבי\"ם Malbim adds, and this is what happened with דוד המלך David HaMelech. Hashem told דוד המלך David HaMelech to count כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, יודע במספר שמות כדי שלא תשלט בהם עין הרע Yud b'mispar shemos, k'dei she'lo tishlot bahem ayin hara. Same thing, count the names. However, דוד המלך David HaMelech told יואב, שר צבא Yoav, sar tzva, he told his general יואב Yoav to count the people, and they counted the people and what happened? There was an עין הרע ayin hara and there was a plague that came and there was an entire problem that ensued, that ensued. And the רמב\"ן Ramban has an amazing comment here. The רמב\"ן Ramban says a name or a number, they seem to be a contradiction, they're two separate things. In fact, let's see the מגד יוסף Meged Yosef for a second before we look at the רמב\"ן Ramban, an amazing רמב\"ן Ramban. But the מגד יוסף Meged Yosef for רב יוסף סורוצקין Rav Yosef Sorotzkin wonders, לכאורה יש פה ניגוד וסתירה בין מספר לשמות l'chora yesh po nigud v'stira bein mispar l'shemos. We've shared this before in different people's names. This year we share it in the name of the מגד יוסף Meged Yosef. Similar idea. It seems to be a contradiction. Why is it a contradiction? Because the word number connotes, it suggests, what? You're a number. There's nothing specific, there's nothing individual about you, there's nothing distinct or distinguished about you. You are just a number. A number has no identity. In fact, the Nazis, ימח שמם וזכרם y'mach sh'mam v'zichram, one of the ways they dehumanized us was to tattoo a number on the arm. You don't have a name, you're not a person, there's no individualism, you don't have a destiny, you don't have a mission, you're not a name. All you are is a number. On the other hand, שמות shemos, a name, a name is a description. חז\"ל Chazal tell us that parents are endowed with a certain divine inspiration when they give a name to a child. Because a name is not an arbitrary label, a name is a description, a name is a prediction, a name is the character of the person. So which is it? מספר או שמות Mispar or shemos? מספר, הוא חלק מהכלל Mispar, hu cheilek mehaklal. A number, you're one of many. What number are you? You're one of many. When a person joins the army, they get their tags, and there are number in the army. שכן שני הוא רק שני ביחס לראשון Shekein sheini hu rak sheini b'yachas l'rishon. You're number two, number two is only relevant compared to, building upon number one. ועל ידי שהוא מקבל מספר נהפך היחיד לחלק מהכלל U'b'yadosho mekabel mispar nafkach yachid l'cheilek mehklal. By receiving, by accepting a number, you are that number relative to the number that comes before, the number that comes after. So when you get your dog tags in the army, you're a number in the army. You're a member of your unit or your platoon, you're a member of the army. מאידך Me'idach, however, on the other hand, שמות, הוא סמל לפרט וייחוד shemos, hu semel l'prat v'yichud. A name is individual, distinct. וזה היה חכמתו של אדם הראשון V'zeh hayah chochmaso shel Adam Harishon. Where do we see that? When God passes all the animals in front of אדם הראשון Adam Harishon, and he invites אדם Adam to give each one what? A name. And what is he giving them? A description, a label. ואף הספורנו כתב כאן כי אז כל אחד מיוצאי הדור נחשב בשמו המורה על צורתו איש את למעלותיו ועל דרכו בשם. וממילא אשר מטבע הדבר משגים שמספר ושמות צריך להיות תרתי דסתרי. V'af ha'Sforno kasav kan k'ya'az kol echad m'yotzei ha'dor n'chshav b'shmo hamoreh al tzuraso ish es le'ma'alos v'al derech b'shem. U'me'meila, asher m'teva ha'dvar m'sgim she'mispar v'shemos, tzorech l'hiyos tartei d'sasrei. So which is it? Which is it? Did Hashem tell משה Moshe to do a census in order to count the number, you're just a number, blend in, fall in, get in line? Or are you a name? Who are you? What's your description? What's your unique mission? What is your destiny? And he develops here, the answer is both. The answer is a ייד yid, a Jew, we are supposed to see ourselves concomitantly, simultaneously, we're supposed to see ourselves as both. On the one hand, I'm a number. Don't get too arrogant, don't be too focused on your ego, don't be too concerned with your name, your fame, you're a number. You're a member of a unit, you're a member of a platoon, you're part of Hashem's army, fall in line, do your job, report for duty, do what's meant of you. On the other hand, you're a name. You have a unique destiny, you have a unique mission, you are a unique person. And where else do you see this, says the מגד יוסף Meged Yosef, says רב יוסף סורוצקין Rav Yosef Sorotzkin. In the ברכות brachos that Hashem gives אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu predicting about his progeny, his children. What are the two ברכות brachos? Your children will number as great as the stars in the sky. On the other hand, they'll also be as many as the sands on the beach. Every grain of sand on the beach, does it have a name? No. A little grain of sand on the beach, it's negligible. Doesn't have a name, doesn't have a number, it's negligible, it's nothing. However, every star in the sky, every star has its own name. Astrologers, astronomers, they look to the sky and they count the stars and every star has its own name. They give a name. I think you can go online and like for a loved one you can buy a name for a star for their birthday, for their anniversary. Every star has, you can name a star. Every star has a name. So this too is the ברכה bracha Hashem was telling אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu. On the one hand, your children need to know they're stars. And we call it a superstar. A superstar. Someone who's an up and coming star, someone who's an up and coming superstar. On the other hand, the grains of sand on the beach, they're negligible, they're nothing. In fact, the grains of sand on the beach, one grain, if you take a piece of grain of sand and you put it on the tip of your finger and you look at your finger, you could barely even see it there. Does it have meaning? Does it have a purpose? Does it have a mission? It's nothing. It's only when you add up all the grains of sand together, that you have a beach. And now it's protecting the land from the sea. It's only when it falls into the many, it's only when it combines with the masses, now you have a beach, now you have protecting the land, but each grain of sand on its own is nothing. Says the מגד יוסף Meged Yosef, that is במספר שמות b'mispar shemos. We're a number and a name. Every ייד yid, every Jew is supposed to live simultaneously, בשבילי נברא העולם bishvili nivra ha'olam, the whole world exists for me. I have a mission, I have a purpose, I'm here for a reason. The world needs me. On the other hand, I'm just a number. I just blend in, I'm just serving Hashem, that is why I'm here, and that is what I am, that is what I am meant to do. That is the מגד יוסף Meged Yosef. So let's go back to the רמב\"ן Ramban, because I want to tell you an amazing רמב\"ן Ramban, an amazing רמב\"ן Ramban. The רמב\"ן Ramban says the following. טעם המצוה שנצטוה משה לדעת מספר שמות בני ישראל Ta'ama hamitzvah she'n'tztaveh Moshe l'nos mispar shemos Bnei Yisrael. Writes the רמב\"ן Ramban, ונצטוה משה ואהרן, שידעו מספר מפקד העם v'n'tztaveh Moshe v'Aharon, she'yeidu mispar mifkad ha'am. משה Moshe and אהרן Aharon were commanded they need to know the census. You need to know the data, the numbers of how many Jews there are. וידעו מספר כל שבט V'yeidu mispar kol shevet, know every tribe, כי כן דרך המלכים במנותם את העם ki chein derech hamlachim b'manosam es ha'am, because that's what elected officials, that's what people of positions of power, that's what kings do. You need a census of your nation. ולאבי נושא טעם המצוה הזאת, לא מצאתי בה קדוש ברוך הוא. כי הצורך שהיה יחס לשבטיהם בעבור הדגלים. אבל ידיעת המספר לא ידעתי, למה צוה שידעו אותו. V'lo'avei nosi ta'am hamitzvah hazos, lo matziva b'hakadosh baruch hu. Ki ha'tzorech she'hisi yachas l'shivateihem b'avur ha'degalim. Aval yediat ha'mispar lo yadati, lamah tzivah she'yeidu oso. Says the רמב\"ן Ramban, but why? Why do משה Moshe and אהרן Aharon need to know the number? Tribe, I understand. Each tribe, how many people are in the tribe in order to know the encampment, the logo, the emblem, the flag, which we'll get to, the דגלים degalim, I got it. But why do you need to know the census of how many people? אולי להודיעם, חסדו עליהם. כי בשבעים נפש ירדו אבותיהם מצרימה, ועתה הם כחול הים. Ulai l'hodiam, chansaso aleihem. Ki v'shivim nefesh yardu avoseihem Mitzraima, v'atah hem k'chol hayam. Maybe this is part of the expression of the miracle, of gratitude to Hashem. How many were we when we went down descended to Egypt? 70. And now we number like the sand of the sea. Over 600,000. Wow! Hashem's goodness, His graciousness, His kindness. Look at this population explosion. But then the רמב\"ן Ramban continues. ועוד, כי בעברו לפני אב הנביאים ואחיו קדוש השם, והוא נודע עליהם בשמו, יהיה לו בדבר הזה זכות וחיים. כי בא בסוד העם ובכתב בני ישראל, וזכות הרבים במספרם. וכן לכולם במספר שימנו לפני משה ואהרן, כי ישימו עליהם עינם לטובה, יבקשו עליהם רחמים. השם אלוקי אבותיכם יוסף עליכם ככם אלף פעמים, ולא ימית מספרכם, ושכן מקוף הנשמה שעושיכם. V'od, ki ba'alofnei av ha'nevi'im v'acheiv kadosh Hashem, v'hu noda aleihem b'shmo, yihiyeh lo b'davar hazeh zechus v'chaim. Ki ba b'sod ha'am v'b'ksav Bnei Yisrael, v'zechus ha'rav b'misparam. V'chein l'kulam b'mispar sheimim lifnei Moshe v'Aharon, ki yasimu aleihem einam l'tovah, yevakshu aleihem rachamim. Hashem elokei avoseichem yosef aleichem ka'achem elef peamim, v'lo yamit misparchem, v'ashkon mkof ha'neshama she'oseichem. When every Jew would pass in front of משה Moshe and אהרן Aharon and give his half שקל shekel, you know what would happen? משה Moshe and אהרן Aharon would put their eyes on that person and would make everyone who passed in front of them feel they count. They're not invisible, they're not inconsequential, they matter. They count, they make a difference. Says the רמב\"ן Ramban, Hashem is omnipotent and infinite. Hashem could have transmitted to משה Moshe, here's the census, taken instantly. Why do they have to go through this exercise of actually counting, painstakingly, each and every Jew? Because the goal was not to arrive at the final number. That Hashem could have delivered or transmitted easily, instantaneously. What was the goal? The exercise of counting each person which would result in making each person feel that they count, making each person feel that they count. The שפע חיים Shefa Chaim, who wrote the שפע חיים Shefa Chaim? The הייליגע קלויזנבורגער רבי Heilige Klausenberger Rebbe, the קלויזנבורגער רבי Klausenberger Rebbe, צאנז-קלויזנבורג Tzanz-Klausenberg. And this is what he writes in the שפע חיים Shefa Chaim. כבר הבאנו כמה פעמים את דברי הרמב\"ן בפרשת במדבר. ששגור בפי העולם שדברי הרמב\"ן הללו, הם רבי של רמב\"ן. K'var heveinu kama pa'amonim, es divrei haRamban b'Parshas Bamidbar. She'shagur b'fi ha'olam she'divrei haRamban halalu, hem Rebbe shel Ramban. This רמב\"ן Ramban, this comment, this interpretation, is a רבי של רמב\"ן Rebbe shel Ramban. The רמב\"ן Ramban became a חסידישע רבי chasidishe Rebbe. שכל בני ישראל באו לפני משה ואהרן והזכירו עצמם לפניהם בשמם ושם אביהם She'kol Bnei Yisrael ba'u lifnei Moshe v'Aharon v'hizkiru atzmam lifneichem b'shmam v'shem aviham. Every ייד yid came in front of משה Moshe and אהרן Aharon and gave a קוויטל kvittel. They wrote down their name and the name of their father. ומשה ואהרן בביטם עליהם והשפיעו עבודתם תורה וברכה V'Moshe v'Aharon bibitum aleihem v'hishpiu avodam Torah v'bracha. And משה Moshe and אהרן Aharon would receive the half שקל shekel, and they would look at the name, and they'd give a ברכה bracha. ומכאן מקור לדרכי הצדיקים, שחסידים הזכירו עצמם עליהם לטובה U'mikan makor l'darkei ha'tzaddikim, she'chasidim hizkiru atzmam aleihem l'tova. This is the source of people going to a רבי Rebbe for a ברכה bracha and giving a קוויטל kvittel. When you go to the רבי Rebbe for a ברכה bracha, the רבי Rebbe may know you since before you're born. The רבי Rebbe could be your סנדק sandek. What are you still filling out your name, and the name of your mother, and then your children and your spouse and your parents? What do you have to give a קוויטל kvittel? The רבי Rebbe knows everybody. Based on this רמב\"ן Ramban, that you would appear to get a ברכה bracha before the רבי Rebbe, משה Moshe and אהרן Aharon were the original רב'ס Rebbes, and you'd write down your name. This also might be why you, when you go to give a name, why you also give פדיון pidyon. Why do you give some money? You give some money just like they gave the מחצית השקל machatzis hashekel with the original קוויטל kvittel to משה Moshe and אהרן Aharon. So similarly we're engaging in this practice. אוצר תפלות התורה Otzar Tefilos HaTorah has a long essay on the origins and the practices, the different מנהגים minhagim of what we write down, the mother's name, the father's name, which name we invoke, and the names that we're writing and what the צדיק tzaddik is looking at when he sees the name and don't, the מונקאטשער Munkatcher says, don't ask for too many things. The קוויטל kvittel shouldn't be too long. כתבתי רק בזה הלשון Kasavtirak b'zeh halashon, he says, חיים בן מרים להצלחה Chaim ben Miriam l'hatzlacha. Go for the ברכה bracha of הצלחה hatzlacha, ובברכת הצלחה נכלל הכל u'b'virchas hatzlacha nechlul hakol. Within הצלחה hatzlacha is everything. Don't write a whole dissertation. Write a קוויטל kvittel, להצלחה l'hatzlacha, that you want, you want success. Within success is everything. And here is a long, beautiful essay on it, if you want to know more about the מנהג minhag of קוויטלאך kvitlach. And then he quotes from מונקאטש Munkatch, there was a מנהג minhag afterwards, they collect all the קוויטלאך kvitlach and they burn them. They would destroy them. In Lubavitch, if you go to the אוהל ohel of the רבי Rebbe, you write a קוויטל kvittel, you can't hand it to the רבי Rebbe, he's no longer in this world, but you rip it and then throw it in, and somehow he accesses it, it's not burnt, it's ripped. Others have the מנהגים minhagim to to burn it. Very fascinating. But this is the רמב\"ן Ramban at the beginning of our פרשה parsha. And I think it's such a powerful, powerful רמב\"ן Ramban. The image and the description that the mission of leaders is to connect with people to make them count, that leaders should make people feel that they count, that they number, that they're consequential, that they make a difference. And the purpose of the census was not to arrive at the final number, that Hashem could have transmitted easily, miraculously. The purpose of the census was to go one by one and to say, what's your name? What's your family name? Pinch a cheek, give a little kiss on the קעפעלע keppa and say, oh, you count, you matter, you make a difference. The גרא Gra said that during the era of prophecy, when we had prophets, there was no need for anyone to determine his own purpose in life. You'd go to the נביא Navi, you'd go to the prophet, and the prophet would say, this is why you're here. This is your mission. This is what you matter. This is the difference you're meant to make. This is what your life is all about. And similarly, a person who came before משה Moshe, the אב הנביאים av ha'nevi'im, simply being in the presence of משה Moshe and אהרן Aharon, you felt you matter. You felt charged and pumped to make a difference. I've got to go change the world. I've got to go make my contribution. I've got to go make my my difference to this world. That's what the גמרא Gemara in סנהדרין Sanhedrin says, every Jew has to say, בשבילי נברא העולם bishvili nivra ha'olam, the whole world was created just for me. And maybe this, says רב וואלבע Rav Volbe, maybe this is why we're reading ספר במדבר Sefer Bamidbar, right before מתן תורה Matan Torah, before קבלת התורה Kabalas HaTorah, before the יום טוב yontif of שבועות Shavuos. Why does the book of במדבר Bamidbar come before the יום טוב yontif of שבועות Shavuos? Because every ייד yid needs to know I matter, I make a difference. If a person is not aware, if a person is not mindful or conscious of their own importance, you cannot begin your עבודה avodah in Torah. You can't receive the Torah. This past שבת Shabbos, we had רב חצקל וויינפעלד Rav Chatzkel Weinfeld. It was fantastic, amazing שבת Shabbos. He has a beautiful בית מדרש beis medrash from רמת אשכול Ramat Eshkol, ירושלים Yerushalayim, a huge תלמיד חכם talmid chacham, incredible personality. It was a beautiful שבת Shabbos. So he said on שבת Shabbos morning, the גמרא Gemara tells us that when משה Moshe went up on high to receive the Torah, the angels complained to Hashem and they said, 'What are you giving the Torah to these lowly, fallible human beings?' So Hashem turned to משה Moshe and he said, 'נו Nu, give an answer. Tell them why.' So משה Moshe says, 'Me? I I can't answer the question.' Hashem said, 'Grab onto the כסא הכבוד Kiseh Hakavod, hold onto my chair, hold on to keep you stable and you'll be able to answer the question.' So רב וויינפעלד Rav Weinfeld asked, 'Hashem was giving us the Torah, not משה Moshe. So it was for Hashem to answer the angel's challenge. Why did Hashem insist that משה Moshe be the one to answer?' And רב וויינפעלד Rav Weinfeld said, he says, because if you don't know why you deserve the Torah, then you don't deserve it. If you don't know who you are and why you deserve the Torah, you don't deserve the Torah. A person has to know they deserve, a person has to know who they are. You have to have self-esteem, self-confidence, self-awareness. You have to know who you are and why you're here, and the mission that you have. And then and only then are you ready to receive the Torah. And he says, the מדרש Medrash tells us that after the חטא chet of אדם הראשון Adam Harishon, after אדם Adam and חוה Chava ate of the עץ הדעת eitz hadaas, there was a זוהמא zuhama, there was a spiritual contamination that came to this world. And at מתן תורה Matan Torah, we were purged, we were cleansed, we were showered from that זוהמא zuhama, it was removed from us. What does that mean that it came when we ate of the עץ הדעת eitz hadaas, it was removed from us when we stood at הר סיני Har Sinai at מתן תורה Matan Torah? What does that mean? What does that mean? So רב וויינפעלד Rav Weinfeld says, When we ate of the עץ הדעת eitz hadaas, why did we eat of the עץ הדעת eitz hadaas? עץ הדעת Eitz hadaas? Because the נחש nachash, the snake, seduced אדם וחוה Adam v'Chava into believing, they wanted to be like the פסוק pasuk says, אלהים שיודע טוב ורע Elohim sheyodea tov vara. And the מפרשים meforshim, the ראשונים Rishonim say, what is אלהים Elohim? An angel. What happened? אדם וחוה Adam v'Chava said, we're not sure why we're here. Who are we? What's this world all about? Why are we here? They were uncomfortable in their own skin. So they said, I want to be like him. I want to be like the angel. When you're uncomfortable like your own skin, you only strive to be like someone else. I want to be like that influencer. I want to be like that famous person. I want to be like that neighbor of mine. I want to be like that family member of mine. We compete, we compare, we try to be someone else. אדם וחוה Adam v'Chava were trying to be אלהים Elohim, they were trying to be someone else. So they made a mistake, they ate of the עץ הדעת eitz hadaas. And what happened? When we left ים סוף Yam Suf, ויאמינו בה' ובמשה עבדו vayamina b'Hashem uv'Moshe avdo. says רב צדוק הכהן Rav Tzadok HaKohen, a person, what do you mean? You had faith in השם Hashem and faith in משה Moshe? That's not our religion. We only have faith in השם Hashem, we don't have faith in people. What does it mean ויאמינו בה' ובמשה עבדו vayamina b'Hashem uv'Moshe avdo? writes רב צדוק הכהן Rav Tzadok HaKohen, we had faith in השם Hashem, and because we had faith in השם Hashem and that we're each a צלם אלקים tzelem Elokim, we have to have faith in ourselves. משה Moshe is, משה Moshe is the person who's כולל kolel all people inside him. משה Moshe is the paradigm of all people. So what it means we had faith in השם Hashem and faith in משה Moshe is it means we had faith in ourselves. I'm a צלם אלקים tzelem Elokim. I'm here for a reason. I'm a divine expression. I'm a manifestation of השם Hashem. We had faith in ourselves. So in Egypt, we had a slave mentality. In Egypt, we just blended into one another. But we stood at קריעת ים סוף Krias Yam Suf and we said, oh, ויאמינו בה' vayamina b'Hashem, we had faith in השם Hashem, ובמשה עבדו uv'Moshe avdo, we started to believe in ourselves. So when we came to הר סיני Har Sinai with self-confidence, self-esteem, self-awareness, with a believe in our personal mission, now we were ready to receive the תורה Torah. It removed the זוהמא zuhama that came from the עץ הדעת eitz hadaas. When we tried to be someone else because we didn't know who we were, when we were uncomfortable in our own skin, we grew comfortable in our own skin. and says רב וויינפעלד Rav Weinfeld, maybe that's why what we say on פסח Pesach, אילו קרבנו לפני הר סיני ולא נתן לנו את התורה, דיינו ilu keirvanu lifnei Har Sinai v'lo nasan lanu es haTorah, dayeinu. If all we did was come to הר סיני Har Sinai but we never received the תורה Torah, דיינו dayeinu. What do you mean דיינו dayeinu? The whole purpose, the whole goal was to receive the תורה Torah. What was it? Would have been enough to be at הר סיני Har Sinai? It would have been enough just to have that self-esteem, that self-awareness, that knowledge of who we are, that worthiness. Just that feeling of our own worthiness would have been enough even if we didn't receive the תורה Torah. The fact that we were ready and prepared to receive the תורה Torah.So that רב וויינפעלד Rav Weinfeld said all this past שבת Shabbos. But רב וואלבע Rav Volbe writes on our פרשה Parsha in שיעורי חומש Shiurei Chumash on במדבר Bamidbar, he writes, why do we read במדבר Bamidbar before שבועות Shavuos? Because this message, this רמב''ן Ramban. Every person passed before משה Moshe. They wrote down their name, and they gave a מחצית השקל machtzis hashekel, and משה ואהרן Moshe v'Aharon pinched their cheek and gave them a kiss on כף kepeh and said, \"You're somebody. I'm so happy you're here. You are here for a reason, you make a difference. You make a difference. Every person is here for a reason.\" People need to know that. And we're only ready to receive a תורה Torah when we know that, when we realize that. You know, a few weeks ago, on Behind the בימה Bima, our marathon, global episode, one of the people we interviewed on that global episode, four-hour global episode, was רב קאליש Rav Kalish, רב דניאל קאליש Rav Daniel Kalish. You may recall he said something amazing. I was talking to him about חינוך chinuch, because he has a magic touch. He's able to reach people, inspire people, he's a such a special, special Jew. So we were talking about it and he said that he recently met a big rabbi. He obviously didn't share the name. A well-known, famous, prominent rabbi. And that rabbi said to רב קאליש Rav Kalish, \"Do you know, last year, how many teenagers do you think I spoke to?\" He said, \"I spoke to 2,000 teenagers.\" I forgot, 2,000, 3,000 teenagers. I spoke at all these ישיבות yeshivas and seminaries and all these schools and שבתונים shabbatones. I spoke to 2,000, 3,000 teenagers. And רב קאליש Rav Kalish looked at me in the interview and he said, he said, \"You know, I told that rabbi, I would have been much more impressed if you said, 'You know this past year? I listened to 3,000 teenagers.'\" This past year I listened to, I heard 3,000 teenagers. רב קאליש Rav Kalish was making the point that young people don't need to be spoken to. They need to feel that they're listened to. They need to feel they're heard, that there's someone listening. משה ואהרן Moshe v'Aharon, all these people passed in front of them and they listened. Said, נו nu, what do you have to say? Who are you? Who are you? What do you have to say? רב וויינפעלד Rav Weinfeld at my house Friday night, we had a beautiful טיש עונג tish oneg. He went around the whole room. \"What's your name? Where you from? Where were your parents from originally? Who do we have in common? נו Nu, what do you do? What are you up to?\" When you make a person feel they matter, they mean something, they make a difference, you've given them their life. You can't receive תורה Torah, and תורה Torah won't impress itself upon you, and you can't feel that תורה Torah is giving you your mission, if you don't believe that you matter, if you don't believe you're consequential. And that's what the רמב''ן Ramban writes, and that's why we read it before the holiday of שבועות Shavuos.Now the פסוק pasuk says, interestingly, לגלגולתם l'gulgelosam. The פסוק pasuk says, what is the פסוק pasuk? לבית אבותם במספר שמות כל זכר לגלגולתם l'beis avosam b'mispar sheimos kol zachar l'gulgelosam. All their names according to, what's גלגולתם gulgelosam? Head count. Why does the word גלגולתם gulgelosam mean a head count? It's a skull. It's a head. Skull, it's a head, it's a head count. But listen to this. The רמ\"ע מפאנו Ramami Pano. The רמ\"ע מפאנו Ramami Pano in his ספר עשרה מאמרות sefer Asara Maamaros writes, again the אוצר פלאות התורה Otzar Pilos haTorah dug this up, why does it use the word גלגולתם gulgelosam? It's kind of a crass word. We count them according to the number of skulls. Hey, dumb skull. Skull is not a used word we use in a usually in a positive context. So we count their skulls? Why are we using the word specifically גלגולתם gulgelosam? Listen to the רמ\"ע מפאנו Ramami Pano. He writes, quoting the ילקוט ראובני Yalkut Reuveni, משה רבינו ידע כמה פעמים יתגלגל כל אחד מישראל וזהו רז נגלה למי להמשכיל ורצה לומר לגלגולתם מלשון גלגול ועיבור Moshe Rabbeinu yada kama paamim yisgalgel kol echad m'Yisrael, v'zehu raz nigla l'mi l'hamaskeres v'ratza lomar l'gulgelosam milashon gilgul v'ibur. You know what משה Moshe knew? How many times each of these people would be reincarnated. And that's what he was counting. Not only counting their expression in this world, in this current experience, but how many times they would come back as a גלגול gilgul. How many times they would come back being reincarnated. The מקובל Mekubal, רב נתן נטע שפירא Rav Nosson Nata Shapiro in his ספר מגלה עמוקות sefer Megaleh Amukos writes, ענין גלגול נשמות הוא מצד מידת החסד של הקדוש ברוך הוא inyan gilgul neshamos hu m'tzad midas ha'chesed shel Hakadosh Baruch Hu. What is the idea of גלגול gilgul? What's the idea of reincarnation? It's the חסד chesed of השם Hashem. Every soul is put in this world, it's housed by a body, and for that short finite amount of time, certainly relative to eternity, it's meant to use that body as the vehicle, the instrument to express free will and to make choices in this world. And sometimes we make the wrong choices and we impress the wrong, we contaminate the soul because of the poor judgment of the body. And then the soul is extracted from the body. What do we do though? The soul didn't fully complete its purpose in this world. So the חסד chesed of השם Hashem is, he allows the soul to come back again and again until the soul gets it right, finally, and then the soul is able to return to its creator on high and in full. And therefore it's a חסד chesed of השם Hashem and that's what משה Moshe saw לגלגולתם l'gulgelosam, not only this expression of the soul in this body, but every future גלגול gilgul that the person would come back. Now not everybody agrees in גלגול gilgul. There are many including מקובלים mekubalim among them, it's a big מחלוקת ראשונים machlokes Rishonim, do we believe in גלגול gilgul? Do we believe in reincarnation all together? רב חיים ויטאל Rav Chaim Vital writes something wild. He says, only men come back in גלגול gilgul. נקבות לא באות ברוב בגלגול, רק לפעמים Nekeivos lo ba'os b'rov b'gilgul, rak l'ifamim. Only occasionally do women come back as a גלגול gilgul, but men, most of the גלגולים gilgulim, most of the reincarnated souls are men. And the חיד''א Chida brings this as well, גלגול הוא לזכרים והנקבות מקבלות עונשן בעולם הבא, ואם תתקלקל אשה בעבור בעלה, בסוד ויצאה אשתו עמו Gilgul hu l'zcharim, v'hanekeivos mekabelos anshan b'olam haba, v'im tiskalel isha b'avor ba'ala, b'sod v'yotzei ishto imo. Occasionally women come back as גלגולים gilgulim, mostly men. Now before you write me emails and accuse the תורה Torah of being sexist and biased, I interpret that to mean, because women get it right the first time, they don't need to come back. The pathetic lowly men, they need to try again and try again and try again. Women on רוב rov get it right the first time, they don't need to keep coming back. Now you may wonder as I do, one of the reasons that I struggle to accept the notion of reincarnation is, I think it creates more questions than it does provide answers, such as, what are the some of the questions that it raise raises? תחיית המתים Tchiyas hameisim. When we'll come back resurrected, which body? As a man, as a woman, young or old? In 2023 or the version of you from 1602 or the version of you from 2209? Which version of you is going to come back? Who will you be married to? Who will be your children? Who's the real you? So if it bothers you, it also bothered the נודע ביהודה Noda B'Yehuda. And in his צל\"ח מסכת ברכות tzlach Maseches Brachos, הנה יש כאן חקירה גדולה ועמוקה, קצרה השכל אנושי להשיגה, והוא כי ידוע מה שנאמר בספרים שיש גלגול נשמות, ונשמה אחת מתגלגלת פעם או שלוש, ובכל פעם הגוף הוא גוף אחר, איננו הגוף הראשון, ולעת תחיית המתים, איך יהיה תחיית הגופים hinei yesh kan chakira gedola v'amuka, katzra hasechel enoshi l'hasiga, v'hu ki yadua ma sh'ne'emar b'sefarim she'yesh gilgul neshamos, v'neshama achas misgalgeles paam u'shalosh, uv'chol paam haguf hu guf acher, einenu haguf harishon, v'le'as tchias hameisim, eich yihiyeh tchias hagufim. The נודע ביהודה Noda B'Yehuda was bothered by exactly the same question. So, he quotes here, we're not going to go through it now, but he has again a long essay with many answers of different possibilities. The בית יוסף Beis Yosef also was bothered by this. So maybe you come back in different versions of body. Maybe you come back in your original body. Maybe you have a new hybrid body that's made up of features from all the bodies that you once inhabited, combined together. There's an opinion that you come back in the גוף אחרון guf acharon, what was the latest one, the last one that you were in before תחיית המתים tchias hameisim. Again, a long essay about how you come back. גלגול Gilgul, but I thought it was fascinating. גלגלות לגלגלתם Gilgulos l'gulgelosam, לגלגלתם l'gulgelosam the פסוק pasuk is telling us not just counting according to the head count, but it is a reference to גלגול gilgul, counting based on the reincarnated stages that you're going to come back over and over again. You thought that was good? Listen to this next one. This is wild.פסוק א', פסוק ו' Pasuk Aleph, pasuk vav. לשמעון L'Shimon, now we're counting in the context of this census, we're naming the heads of the tribes, לראובן אליצור בן שדיאור l'Reuven Elitzur ben Shedeur, לשמעון l'Shimon, who's the head of the tribe of שמעון Shimon? שלמיאל בן צורישדי Shlumiel ben Tzurishadai. Listen to what the, he quotes here in the אוצר פלאות התורה Otzar Pilos haTorah, דבר נפלא כתב הגאון רב חזקיהו פייבל פלאוט בספר ליקוטי חבר בן חיים davar nifla kasav ha'gaon Rav Chizkiyahu Feivel Pleit b'sefer Likutei Chever ben Chaim. He quotes in the name of the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer. You ready? We count the 12 ניסים nisim that השם Hashem did for פנחס Pinchas when he killed זמרי בן סלוא נשיא שבט שמעון Zimri ben Salu, nesi shevet Shimon. There were 12 miracles that happened to פנחס Pinchas. You remember, we're going to read it soon. When פנחס Pinchas killed זמרי Zimri, you remember what happened? This disrespectful union that is trying to challenge השם Hashem, פנחס Pinchas rises, קנאין פוגעים בו kana'in pogim bo, and he drives a spear through the two of them. There were 12 miracles that happened in that time. וידוע שכל ישראל... לאדם שאין לו מזל טוב בשם V'adua shekol Yisrael... la'adam she'ein lo mazel tov b'sheim... What do we call somebody? Someone who has no מזל mazel. What do we call them? A שלומיאל shlumiel. שלמיאל היה גרוע המזל Shlumiel... garua hamazel. שלמיאל בן צורישדי Shlumiel ben Tzurishadai, this שלומיאל Shlumiel had no מזל mazel. And that's why we call someone with no מזל mazel, a שלומיאל shlumiel. שלומיאל Shlumiel. Happenstance incorporated. שלומיאל Shlumiel, it comes from, it comes from our פרשה parsha. שלומיאל Shlumiel. Not wild? Okay, you're not nearly as excited about that as I am. פרק א', פסוק י\"ט Parak aleph, pasuk yud tes. I thought that was pretty cool. Turn to page 728. So we have all the names, gather them, calculate them, כאשר ציווה ה' את משה ויפקדם במדבר סיני ka'asher tziva Hashem es Moshe v'yifkedeim b'midbar Sinai. As השם Hashem had commanded them, השם Hashem counted in במדבר סיני B'midbar Sinai, השם Hashem counted in the wilderness. השם Hashem counted. The גמרא gemara in מסכת סוטה Maseches Sota, those learning the דף daf we did this a few weeks ago, דף י\"ג daf yud gimmel. In the סוגיא sugya of משה's Moshe's death, the portion that tells us about when משה Moshe died, we find that משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu was called ספרא רבה דישראל Safra Raba d'Yisrael. What does that mean? משה's Moshe's name is, he is the ספרא רבה דישראל Safra Raba d'Yisrael. תניא, רבי אליעזר הגדול אומר Tanya, Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol omer, שנים עשר מיל על שנים עשר מיל כמחנה ישראל shneim asar mil al shneim asar mil k'machaneh Yisrael. בת קול משמיע ואומר, וימת משה, ספרא רבה דישראל bas kol mashmia v'omer, v'yamos Moshe, Safra Raba d'Yisrael. A heavenly voice went out to proclaim that משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu had passed, and משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu was nicknamed the ספרא רבה דישראל Safra Raba d'Yisrael. What does ספרא רבה Safra Raba mean? So the מהרש\"א Maharsha, מהרש\"א רב שמואל איידלס Maharsha Rav Shmuel Eidels, has two opinions. The first is ספרא רבה Safra Raba means סופר וכותב sofer v'choseiv, because משה Moshe wrote the תורה שבכתב Torah shebichsav. השם Hashem dictated it. משה Moshe wrote it. He was the סופר sofer. What we call a סופר sofer. When you go buy a תפילין tefillin, מזוזה mezuzah, ספר תורה sefer Torah, from whom do you buy it? A, a סופר sofer. Who was the original סופר sofer? Who put the the quill to the קלף klaf? The original סופר sofer was משה Moshe. So משה Moshe is the ספרא רבה Safra Raba, the original סופר sofer. But the מהרש\"א Maharsha quotes a second opinion. ספרא רבה שמנה מספרם של ישראל שתי פעמים Safra Raba she'mona misparam shel Yisrael shnei paamim. He took two censuses. Censuses? Is that a real word? Censuses? That doesn't sound like a right word. Senses. He took two times he took a census. Twice he took a census. So according to the מהרש\"א Maharsha, why is he called the ספרא Safra? מלשון Milashon, not a סופר sofer, a scribe, meaning a סופר sofer, a counter. Somebody who counts. The גמרא Gemara in קידושין Kiddushin tells us חז\"ל Chazal were called סופרים sofrim, not because they were scribes, they counted the letters of the תורה Torah. They knew exactly how many letters were in the תורה Torah and what was the middle letter of the תורה Torah and so on. So according to the מהרש\"א Maharsha, משה רבינו's Moshe Rabbeinu's nickname was the ספרא רבה Safra Rabba, and why was that his nickname? Because he counted. I see a beautiful insight in this מהרש\"א Maharsha. What's the beautiful insight in this מהרש\"א Maharsha? משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu understood, it's the same as the רמב''ן Ramban, the אלשיך Alshich, רב וויינפעלד Rav Weinfeld. What was משה's Moshe's greatness? In the end of the day, משה Moshe was a brilliant scholar. He went up on top of the mountain, he received the תורה Torah, and he transmitted it to us. משה Moshe is רבינו Rabbeinu. משה Moshe is the great scholar. משה's Moshe's great character traits. He's ענו מכל אדם anav mikol adam. משה Moshe is the most humble of all people. משה Moshe is an עבד ה' בכל ביתי נאמן הוא eved Hashem b'chol beisi ne'emanu. He's the most faithful, the most loyal. He davens the longest שמונה עשרה Shemoneh Esrei, he shuckles the most, he's the most spiritual. משה Moshe is the most, has the greatest empathy. He cares about a little sheep and he cares about every member of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. משה Moshe has all these character traits. But what comes out? His nickname is משה ספרא רבה דישראל Moshe Safra Raba d'Yisrael. Why? Because in the end of the day, he made every Jew feel they count. What is the greatest testament to a leader? To make people feel they count. You could publish books and you could write articles, you could have a huge following online and offline, you could be a brilliant scholar, you could be tremendously humble and have great character. But the greatest testament to a leader, משה רבינו's Moshe Rabbeinu's testament, the measure of his greatness, of his leadership, is ספרא רבה דישראל Safra Raba d'Yisrael. He's the greatest at making everyone feel they count. Not only the greatest counter of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, but the greatest at making everyone feel they count. He counted every letter in the תורה Torah. This is also consistent with the idea of making everyone count. Because we know we're told that there are 600,000 letters in the תורה Torah, which is not true. It doesn't add up, how you get to that calculation, you have to get creative. But there are 600,000 letters of the תורה Torah. And, כנגד שישים ריבוא keneged shishim ribo, כנגד keneged corresponding with the 600,000 Jews, corresponding with the 600,000 Jews. The word ישראל, יש שישים ריבוא אותיות לתורה Yisrael, yesh shishim ribo osiyos laTorah. There are 600,000 letters in the תורה Torah. ישראל Yisrael, for every Jew there's a letter in the תורה Torah. We've spoken about this several times. Could you just pass me those tissues? We've spoken about many times. That's why during הגבהה hagbah, you're supposed to look and find your letter. Thank you so much. The letter that begins your name, and you bow, because you find your place in the תורה Torah. A person is supposed to know, I have a place in the תורה Torah. I have a mission in the תורה Torah. The תורה Torah reflects me, represents me, the תורה Torah speaks to me. So every Jew should feel, I have a place in the תורה Torah. Now there's a הלכה halacha. And the הלכה halacha is, the letters of the תורה Torah require something called מוקף גויל mukaf gvil. What does מוקף גויל mukaf gvil mean? Every letter needs to be surrounded with parchment. If two letters are touching, the ספר תורה sefer Torah is פסול pasul. תפילין Tefillin is פסול pasul, the מזוזה mezuzah is פסול pasul. If two letters are touching, it's invalid, it's no good. Every letter needs to be surrounded entirely by parchment. Why? Because as much as each of us is a letter in the תורה Torah and we see ourselves as part of the greater 600,000, but every letter needs to be מוקף גויל mukaf gvil. It needs to be surrounded by parchment, it means it needs to stand on its own. We have to count and be counted and see ourselves as unique and distinct, and each one of us that we make a difference.Now the לויים Leviim were counted separately. פרק א' פסוק מ\"ז Perek Aleph, pasuk mem zayin. Turn the page. והלויים למטה אבותם לא התפקדו בתוכם V'haLeviim l'mateh avosam lo hispakdu b'socham. And the לויים Leviim according to their father's tribe were not counted among them. Why not? The לויים Leviim had their own census. That's a little elite of them, isn't it? Why are they breaking away? Why are they poreish min hatzibbur? Why are they counting separately? So Rashi tells us, why are the לויים Leviim counted separately? Because, otherwise, they would suffer the same consequence of the חטא העגל cheit ha'eigel. And they didn't participate in the חטא העגל cheit ha'eigel. So we count them separately. And רב חיים שמואלביץ Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz wonders in his שיחות מוסר Sichos Mussar, \"I don't understand. You're telling me that if we counted them among the rest of the census, they would have suffered the consequence of the חטא העגל cheit ha'eigel even though they didn't violate the חטא העגל cheit ha'eigel?\" Are we sort of limiting השם Hashem? Is השם Hashem not able to, one census, streamline, consolidate, one census for everyone? Just don't hold the לויים Leviim accountable. Let them off the hook because they didn't do the חטא העגל cheit ha'eigel. So רב חיים שמואלביץ Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz in his שיחות מוסר Sichos Mussar has a magnificent and critically important idea. He says, you are who you hang out with. You are defined by who you are with. And if the לויים Leviim would have been counted among all of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, they wouldn't have been able to say, yeah, but we didn't do it, we're not among them. If that's your crowd, if that's your crew, then you go up and you go down with that crew. Whenever I show that רב חיים שמואלביץ Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, I always liken it to the stock market. The stock market is made of different sectors. The banking sector, the real estate sector, the biotech sector. You have different sectors in the stock market. A particular company, its market cap, its value can go up or down by billions of dollars when it did nothing. No new product, no new revenue, no new profit, and yet it went up by, went up in its market cap by billions. Or, no losses, no failed trial, and yet it went down, it plummeted by billions. Why? What sector does it belong to? All because of what sector it belongs to, it can entirely change your valuation, your identity, your worth. And what's true in the stock market is true for us. Who is our crew, who we hang out with, who we identify with, whom we associate with, that determines our identity and our value. Had לוי Levi been counted among כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, they would have been held accountable for the חטא העגל cheit ha'eigel. So therefore השם Hashem needed to separate them out and count them separately. And this maybe explains, why is it so important to daven with a מנין minyan? Why are our תפילות tfilos heard based on the מנין minyan that we're with? If you're פורש מן הציבור poreish min hatzibbur? Do you go to some breakaway מנין minyan of people who identify with, people who are rebellious, people who hate authority, if people who, if you're daven by yourself all alone and you don't even connect with nine other Jews, then השם Hashem says, okay, you're all on your own, let me check you out. But if you find a מנין minyan of righteous people, if you daven with others who are holy and trying hard, then you say, you know what השם Hashem, I'm not worth it, but I'm blending in. I want to be counted among. If you're, I want to be part of that sector. I want to be part of that crew. And if that sector is rising, let my value go up with them. And if you hang out with a sector that is descending, if you hang out with a crew that is going down, then you will, your identity goes down. That's why it's so important, רב חיים שמואלביץ Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz says, to decide what מנין minyan, what shul, with what group, where you sit in the מנין minyan. You're sitting with the talkers? You're sitting with the quiet people? You sit with those who will elevate your כוונה kavana? You sit with those who will distract you from your כוונה kavana? Because not only very practically, pragmatically will it impact the quality of your davening, but what sector you're with will impact entirely your identity and your value. We hung out according to our, according to our flag. פרשה Parsha continues with the formations. And this is very important. We've studied in the past, the notion of order and arrangements. Because השם Hashem says, each tribe had their own flag, their own emblem, their own logo. And this is part of the Boca Raton synagogue's mission statement. Valuing diversity, celebrating unity. On the one hand, we value diversity. We want to have 12 tribes. We have eight מנינים minyanim on שבת Shabbos morning. We don't all fit into one box. We don't try to make everybody conform to one way of being. We recognize differences and we celebrate, we value those differences. But the differences can't divide. The diversity shouldn't divide, just like the unity shouldn't lead to uniformity. We have to take the, the differences, the diversity, and we have to unite with a sense of unity. And what's the model of that? Our פרשה parsha, the דגלים degalim. השם Hashem didn't say one flag, one logo, one emblem, one encampment. He said, I respect the differences. 12 tribes, 12 encampments, 12 separate places. And in fact, the של\"ה הקדוש Shlah Hakadosh writes this explicitly. I've always believed this and felt this and preached this. But this year I found the של\"ה הקדוש Shlah Hakadosh. קדוש Kadosh writes, the של\"ה Shlah writes in the name of the אריז\"ל Arizal, איש על דגלו באותות לבית אבותם ish al diglo b'osos l'veis avosam, our פסוק pasuk, each man according to his flag, according to his household. The ארי Ari writes, כמו שיש ארבע דגלים, כך יש ארבע קצוות בישראל k'mo sheyesh arba degalim, kach yesh arba kitsos b'Yisrael. ספרדים Sefardim, אשכנזים Ashkenazim, איטליה Italia. The של\"ה הקדוש Shlah Kadosh quotes the אריז\"ל Arizal, that's what it means, Boca Raton synagogue. We have a נץ מנין Neitz minyan, השכמה מנין Ashkama minyan. We have a נוסח ספרד מנין Nusach Sefard minyan. אריז\"ל Arizal, we have a נוסח ארי מנין Nusach Ari minyan. We have the main מנין minyan. We have the חבורה מנין chabura minyan. We have the outreach מנין minyan. We have the teen מנין minyan. We have, what did I leave out? עדות המזרח Eidot HaMizrach, the Sefardic מנין minyan. We have, we have all these מנינים minyanim because איש על דגלו ish al diglo. איש על דגלו Ish al diglo is each מנין minyan has its own flag, its own emblem, but what's the key? That we were all together. Says רב יעקב קמנצקי Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, in his אמת ליעקב Emes l'Yaakov, everyone having their own flag, their own logo, their own emblem, their own encampment, isn't there danger of divisiveness, of מחלוקת machlokes, of division, of breakaway? Says רב יעקב Rav Yaakov, what do you notice if you look at our פרשה parsha? You had the encampments, you had the four sides, north, south, east, and west, each made up of three tribes. And what was in the middle? The משכן Mishkan. As long as you have the משכן Mishkan in the middle, then you can afford the diversity. If the diversity is all leaning, directed towards the משכן Mishkan, the shul, if it's all serving the community, if it's all worshipping the תורה Torah, if it's all promoting our shared values, then you could afford the diversity. If the diversity is all leading away, then you're going to have divisiveness. But if the diversity is all leading towards, then you're going to have unity, united by the משכן Mishkan at the center, united by the תורה Torah at our, at our center.Okay. פרק ב' פסוק ל\"ב Perek Beis, pasuk lamed beis. So we have all of these flags and logos and emblems. The תורה Torah on top of page 736 tells us, אלה פקודי בני ישראל לבית אבותם, כל פקודי המחנות לצבאותם שש מאות אלף ושלושת אלפים וחמש מאות וחמישים eileh pekudei v'nei Yisrael l'veis avosam, kol pekudei hamachanos l'tzivosam, shesh me'os elef u'shloshes alafim v'chameish me'os v'chamishim. These are the countings of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael according to their father's household, all the countings of the camps according to their legions, 603,550. 550. That same number, that same number is the same counting as the last counting, the last census. The אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra here says something amazing. The last census, this is the conclusion, this is the result of the whole census. Keep in mind that number, 603,550. And it should sound familiar, why? Because it's the same number as the last census. Which means what, says the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra? Even though the מדרש Medrish in קהלת Koheles says, אין לך כל יום ויום שאין עולם בשישים ריבוא, ומתים בו שישים ריבוא, ומה טעם דור הולך ודור בא ein l'chol yom v'yom she'eino ole b'shishim ribo, u'meisim bo shishim ribo, u'mah taam dor holeich v'dor ba. In this world and on this globe there's no day that 600,000 don't die and 600,000 aren't born. I didn't Google it, I don't know. If you look at the global death daily and the global birth rate daily, I don't know if they match, and I don't know if they're 600,000. But that's what the מדרש Medrish says. Every day a generation dies and a generation is born. I think in Lakewood alone every day a generation is born. They say there's a new grade born every week in Lakewood. Every week, every month a new school is needed. Just the birth rate, the masses, the numbers, it's mind-boggling. So, hopefully only born, not dying. But that's the nature, that's the way of the world. Says the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, אלה פקודי בני ישראל eileh pekudei v'nei Yisrael, here we have the same number, 603,550, as we did in the last census. Writes the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra in our פרשה parsha, you know why? לא מת אף אחד מישראל וזה דבר פלא Lo meis af echad miYisrael, v'zeh davar peleh. Because in the seven months between the last census and this census, over seven months, there wasn't one funeral. Not one שבעה shiva email. Not one שבעה shiva set up. Not one שבעה shiva call. Not one הספד hesped, not one eulogy. In seven months, nobody died. לא מת Lomeis, nobody died. And the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra says, זה דבר פלא zeh davar peleh, that never happened before in history and that never happened again. So why? Why is that important? The רמב''ן Ramban tells us כי כל ענייני האבות במדבר הם ניסים ונפלאות ki kol inyanei ha'avos b'midbar heim nisim v'niflaos. This was one of the miracles of השם Hashem. This was one of the expressions of the kindness and the generosity of השם Hashem. השם Hashem showed his love and his kindness, that for seven months we were all together. For seven months we were one. For seven months nobody died. Told us תולדות אהרן ומשה Toldos Aharon v'Moshe. These are the offspring of אהרן Aharon and משה Moshe, then we only list the offspring of אהרן Aharon, because anybody who teaches תורה Torah, it's as if he gave birth to them. We've talked about in the past. The רב שלמה קלוגר Rav Shlomo Kluger, does that mean if you teach someone תורה Torah, can you be יוצא פרו ורבו yotzei pru u'revu? If you pay someone's tuition but you don't have biological children of your own, can be יוצא פרו ורבו yotzei pru u'revu? When we say כאילו ילדו k'ilu yaldoh, it's as if you gave birth to them. שלמה קלוגר Shlomo Kluger has a חקירה, כאילו chakira, k'ilu. It's as if. Does as if mean you did? Or as if means as if? There's a big discussion how far do we take that? How far does that go? A lot more to say about that. בני קהת Beinei Kehas never turned their back. Let's end with uh... or a רב דרוק Rav Druk. We'll end with the רב דרוק Rav Druk. We had much more to say but we'll end with the רב דרוק Rav Druk. ויפקדם משה על פי ה' כאשר ציווה Vayifkedeim Moshe al pi Hashem ka'asher tzuva. Actually we'll end the way we started. It's a perfect bookend to the theme that we've been communicating all day. פרק ג' פסוק ט\"ז Perek Gimmel, pasuk tes zayin. Page 738. ויפקדם משה על פי ה' Vayifkedeim Moshe al pi Hashem, that משה Moshe counted them according to the word of השם Hashem, כאשר ציווה ka'asher tzuva, as he was commanded. Says רש\"י Rashi, אמר משה לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא, איך אני נכנס לבית כלם ולתוך אהליהם לדעת מספר יונקיהם amar Moshe lifnei Hakadosh Baruch Hu, heich ani nichnas l'veisei kulem ul'soch ohaleyhem ladaas mispar yinkeihem. How am I supposed to make it around all of their tents? How am I supposed to take this census? One man, supposed to visit all their tents? And I'm supposed to know how many children are inside each each tent? אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא Amar lo Hakadosh Baruch Hu, השם Hashem answered, עשה אתה את שלך ואני אעשה את שלי aseh ata es shelcha, v'ani e'eseh es sheli. You do you, and I'll do me. You do what you need to do, and I'll do what I need to do. הלך משה ועמד על פתח האהל והשכינה מקדימת לפניו Hahach Moshe v'amad al pesach ha'ohel v'haShechina mikdemes lefanav. So משה Moshe went next to the tent, but השם Hashem first went before him. ובת קול יוצאת מן האהל ואומרת לו, ואומרת כך וכך תינוקות יש באהל זה V'bas kol yotzeis min ha'ohel v'omeres lo, v'omeres kach v'kach tinokos yesh b'ohel zeh. And the heavenly voice went out and answered, this is how many children are inside each and every tent. Which leads רב דרוק Rav Druk to ask, הלא למעשה משה רבינו לא מנה את בני ישראל, רק השכינה היתה מקדמת לפניו halo l'maisah, Moshe Rabbeinu lo mona es b'nei Yisrael, rak ha'Shechina heisa mekademes lefanav. So who's really doing the census here? It's not השם Hashem, it's not משה Moshe rather. משה Moshe goes to each and every tent and a heavenly voice goes out from each tent saying, six in here, nine here, 12 children in here, four in here. So who really did the census? השם Hashem or משה Moshe? השם Hashem. So why are we attributing it to משה Moshe? אם כן, מה תועלת בהליכתו של משה V'im kein, ma toeles b'halichaso shel Moshe? Moreover, if השם Hashem, if you're doing the census, if a heavenly voice, a בת קול bas kol is going out of each and every tent, so why do I have to bother going around to each of the tents? Just השם Hashem, give me the final number, give me the total result, give me the, email me the spreadsheet. עוד יש לדקדק, מה אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא, עשה אתה את שלך ואני אעשה את שלי Od yesh l'dakedek, ma omar Hakadosh Baruch Hu, aseh ata es shelcha, v'ani e'eseh es sheli. And השם Hashem says to משה Moshe, you do you, you do what you need to do, I'll do what I need to do. What did משה Moshe do? So says Rav Druck here, בזה, שלמדנו כאן יסוד גדול בכל עבודת אדם בעולמו bezeh, shelamadnu kan yesod gadol bechol avodas adam be'olamo. There's an incredibly important life lesson here. We learn from here about a person's job obligation in their world. לעולם אין אדם זוכה לסיעתא דשמיא אלא אם כן הוא עושה את כל מה שמוטל עליו עד קצה גבול יכולתו le'olam ein adam zocheh l'siyata d'shmaya ela im kein hu oseh es kol ma shemutal alav ad ktzeh gvul yecholto. A person has to take initiative. A person has to start up. A person has to be proactive. A person has to do what they need to do. You go as far as you can go and then you let go and let God and השם Hashem does the rest. אז הוא מקבל שפע של סיעתא דשמיא בשביל שיוכל להמשיך את אשר החל Az hu mekabel shefa shel siyata d'shmaya bishvil sheyuchal lehamshich es asher heichel. What prompted the heavenly voice to come from each tent was משה Moshe arriving there. השתדלות Hishtadlus. השם Hashem designed and created such a world that we need to do השתדלות hishtadlus. You cannot sit back passively, casually on your couch and think the פרנסה parnassah is going to flow. You can't sit back and think the רפואה refuah is going to come. A person has to take initiative. A person has to be proactive. A person has to make an effort. We have to do what's incumbent of us, and then השם Hashem will meet us and will complete what's coming. So it's true הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu could have done it all, but that's not the way of the world. He could also make us better without going to a doctor, and he could also make money appear in our bank account without working for פרנסה parnassah. But that's not the way of the world. He wants us to make our effort, and he wants us to take our initiative. The way of the world is to exert ourselves. And that's what it means, the גמרא Gemara, יגעת ומצאת תאמין yagata u'matzasa ta'amin. Only יגעת yagata, only if we make an effort, then מצאת matzasa. Only believe the person who says I toiled, I made my effort. You don't trip and you don't come upon without making the effort. לפום צערא אגרא L'fum tzara agra, according to the effort is the reward. השם Hashem says, toil, because only when you work hard will it all be worth it. לא עליך המלאכה לגמור Lo alecha hamlacha ligmor, but ולא אתה בן חורין להבטל ממנה v'lo ata ben chorin l'hivatel mimena. It's not on you to finish the work, however, you also can't say then why bother getting started. Then רבנו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah writes on that משנה Mishnah that we have to do our part, and השם Hashem will meet us halfway. You see this בת פרעה bas Paro. He quotes here, he has a long essay, Rav Druck, on this idea, beautiful, quoting from all over. בת פרעה Bas Paro, ביה בת פרעה Bisyah bas Paro is in the river, she sees baby משה Moshe floating, she reaches out. Why did she reach out? Fool's errand. She couldn't reach, he was too far away. The answer is, she took initiative, she did her part, and then השם Hashem made a miracle, her arm outstretched and she was able to reach. And he brings many, many examples of this. We need to know, we have to take our initiative, we have to make our effort, we have to be proactive. And the result doesn't necessarily correspond with the effort that we make. When we make an effort, then the result comes, wherever it comes, corresponding with our effort or coming from left field. But we need to make our effort. What precipitated the catalyst, what prompted that בת קול bas kol coming from each tent, was משה Moshe first had to go to each tent. When he went to each tent, השם Hashem said, you do שלך shelcha, I do משלי misheli. You take your initiative, I'll make sure the result comes. Without your initiative, there won't be a result. You have to do your part, and then I will do my part, my part. There is no פרשה שיעור parsha shiur next week, not because I'm traveling but because next שבת Shabbos there's no פרשה parsha. Next שבת Shabbos is the יום טוב Yom Tov of שבועות Shavuos, so there's no פרשה שיעור parsha shiur next week. We'll resume בעזרת השם b'ezras Hashem the week after. Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, stay holy, and have
