This week we start the book Bamidbar and read parshat Bamidbar (Numbers) 1-4:20.

Summary
Moses is instructed by Hashem to take a census of the children of Israel. The numbers are then listed. Next we are told where each of these families will camp and what order they will travel in. The tribe of Levi is then charged with serving the Kohanim in place of the first-born of all families (thus eventually the need for pidyon ha’ben).
A better summary may be found here.

Hebrew words of the week
במדבר – bamidbar – fourth book of the torah. “wilderness”. known as numbers in hebrew
מספרים – misparim – numbers

Questions
Why is it called Bamidbar in hebrew and Numbers in English?
Bamidbar is where the Jewish people will be for the next 40 years. Most of my seforim with english translate it as “wilderness” or “in the desert”. My hebrew is not good enough to challenge those or make a solid decision as to which is better. Numbers refer to the census that HaShem speaks of to Moses. As most of us know, names are full of meaning in judaism. I’m looking for a better explanation than I am drafting as to why the books and torah portions are named what they are. Please be patient.

This is not the first census as they were numbered prior to the building of the tabernacle (Sh’mot 30:11-16; 38:25-26). Why in this parsha is every little detail recorded such as the exact date of the counting? Nehama Leibowitz explains this by looking to Rashbam and his explanation that “those twenty years and up were to go forth in the army to battle”. Furthermore Nachmanides wrote that while he hadn’t understood the reason for the commandment, “perhaps the idea was to make known his lovingkindness unto them, that when their fathers went down to Egypt (Mitzarim) they numbered only 70 … and now theyw ere as the sand of the sea. And after every pestilence and plague He numbered them … in accordance with what our Sages said ‘out of an abundance of love for them He numbers them frequetnly’”. (Leibowitz pp 11-13 and Finkel pp 9-10) [nb: that is not the full quote!]

That is a lot of food for thought, but Nachmanides did not stop there.. he spoke about “numbers of names from the age of twenty and upwards by their polls“. These polls are perhaps to impress upon us “the personal value and worth of each and every soul which is a unique specimen of divine creativity and a world of its own”. (Leibowitz p 14 and Finkel pp 9-10).

Woah.

Further Thoughts
- Tanach.org on Bamidbar
- JOFA
- Rabbi Nachman Kahana (ou.org)
- Rabbi Riskin
- Rabbi Weis‘s Shabbat Forshpeis, “The Great Importance of Counting”

Shavous is next week.
This is when we received Aseres Hadibros. In preparation we learn all night and eat dairy! yay! ;) Er, well, here are a bunch of better links as to what Shavous is, why some of the customs exist, and other tidbits of wisdom. I have yet to actually get my act together to make cheesecake for shavous. I really hope I will this year. I like cheesecake.

general
- ou.org‘s lengthy list of articles
- torah.org
- chabad
- aish

specific articles which caught my eye
- Shavout to go 5767 Rabbi Josh Flug
“This year’s edition focuses on copyrights, wireless networks, and intellectual property from a halachic perspective.” (if you know me, you know this would interest me!)
- Let’s Make this Shavuot Like the First – With Everyone Included By Rabbi Mayer Waxman.
Likewise, this interests me.. I disagree a large part with the labels of disability and how many often assume those with that label cannot learn and have nothing to teach.
- ink and stone & reasoning the stone
- Keep your Balance
- velveteen rabbi

Some (? Anyone) say Tikkun Leil Shavous the first night. What is it? I’ve struggled to find “stuff” online today for you (this would have been posted two hours ago if I had succeeded!)

In keeping with the custom of engaging in all-night Torah study, the Arizal, a leading Kabbalist of the 16th century, arranged a special service for the evening of Shavuot. The Tikkun Leil Shavuot (“Rectification for Shavuot Night”) consists of excerpts from the beginning and end of each of the 24 books of Tanakh (including the reading in full of several key sections such as the account of the days of Creation, The Exodus, the giving of the Ten Commandments and the Shema) and the 63 chapters of Mishnah. This is followed by the reading of Sefer Yetzirah, the 613 commandments as enumerated by Maimonides, and excerpts from the Zohar, with opening and concluding prayers. The whole reading is divided into thirteen parts, after each of which a Kaddish di-Rabbanan is recited when the Tikkun is studied in a group of at least ten men.

This service is printed in a special book, and is widely used in Eastern Sephardic and Hasidic communities. There are similar books for the vigils before the seventh day of Pesach and Hosha’ana Rabbah. from (of all places answers.com and chabad.org concurs

Honestly I thought I’d find this easily online this morning and I didn’t. For me it’s printed in the back of my machzor. I tend to do other learning that night but always say I should do better on learning the whole tanach.

[updated @ 11:05 to add: i guess one could buy tikkun leil shavous here. Hebrew only.]

Other articles of recent interest
1) two results from askmoses.com: one and two
2) Allergies!

Made it this far?
Yes, I’m playing a bit with formatting as I figure out what I want to write and how I want to write it. I thank you for your patience and understanding. Sadly I did not get a large enough head start in drafting this post. *sigh*

Also, why am I not writing anything on the haftorah? I will iy’h try to get through writing about the torah portions for a year, then we’ll add more to the mix. Perhaps if I spread my learning out better throughout the week I’ll feel up to tackling them earlier. Bli neder.

I know I fell off the bandwagon of “sites which make me think” .. my head has been in overdrive for a bit so once it calms down and I can sort through and writing meaningful things as to why they make me think.. i’ll start it up again. bli neder. ;)

שׁבּת שׁלום !

–
Sources:
The Sapirstein Edition of The Torah, student size.

Finkel, Avraham Yaakov (translator). Rambam Commentary on the Torah – Bamidbar/Devarim : Selected Portions of Nachmanides’ Commentary on the Torah: Vol 4 Yesivath Beth Moshe, Scranton, PA. 2006. isbn 1-892692-15-5.
I’m not sure how it ended up on my bookshelf — we get many requests for tzeddekah as do my inlaws.. they tend to hand over the books to me. It is all in English.