This Shabbat we read Parshat Bamidbar, the start of the fourth book of the Torah. We find the Jewish people wandering through the desert, starting their epic 40-year journey. But first, Moses and Aaron take a census of the Jewish people. This is the reason that the English name for this book is Numbers.
According to rabbinic commentary, the way in which the census is taken, head by head, instills a feeling of self-worth and pride in each individual person. Moses could have instructed the heads of each family to report their number to him. Instead Moses counted each of the 603,550 Israelite men. This method certainly does not seem to be the most effective means of counting. And yet we can see that it was an important way for Moses to connect with each individual in a personal way.
Rabbi Lerner of Hillel Wisconsin explains: ‘Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr., in their book, In Search of Excellence, wrote, “Treat people as adults. Treat them as partners; treat them with dignity; treat them with respect. Treat not capital spending and automation as the primary source of productivity gains. These are the fundamental lessons from excellent companies…” In other words, “If you want productivity and the financial reward that goes with it, you must treat your workers as your most important asset.” (A Torah Commentary For Our Times, p. 13, edited by Harvey J. Fields) Not only is this sound business advice, it is a very Jewish way to treat other people. So when we are involved in other people’s lives, let’s make sure our actions count.’
The Torah says,” These are the offspring of Aaron and Moshe on the day Hashem spoke to Moshe at Sinai: These are the names of the sons of Aaron…” Event though the verse begins by saying “These are the offspring of Aaron and Moshe” it only enumerates and identifies the offspring of Aaron. Rashi cites the Gemara in Tractate Sanhedrin which says that because Moshe taught Torah to the sons of Aaron they are counted as his children also. As it states, “If a person teaches Torah to his friend’s child it is as if he fathered that child.” Teaching Torah in this context means that the majority of the child’s Torah knowledge comes from his teacher and that the teacher is also the child’s mentor. Rabbi Kalatsky asks: “The question is why is this principle so important for us to know that the Torah needs to teach us it from the verse dealing with the offspring of Aaron and Moshe? The answer is that the only way that Torah itself can be transmitted and internalized is through a rebbe. Just as the sons of Aaron became the sons of Moshe only through the transmission of Torah from Moshe so too the student becomes the son and the extension of his rebbe through is teaching and mentoring. It is only through this transmission that Torah can impact the individual and transform his essence. Therefore the verse in Pirkei Avos, “Make for yourself a rebbe and acquire a friend” is more than just “good advice”. It is a fundamental aspect of Judaism and the transmission of Torah from generation to generation. ”
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
