(In the Desert)
Next Reading
Torah Reading
Numbers 1:1-4:20
Haftarah
Hosea 2:1-22
In this Torah portion, God tells Moses to conduct a census of all the Israelite men over the age of 20. Moses takes up a second census to count all of the Levite men. God gives specific instructions to the Levites about their roles in the Tent of Meeting.
Featured Commentary
How do we make sense of the census commanded in this Torah portion, which specifies only men be counted?
With uncertainty comes unparalleled potential for expanding our horizons.
Rabbi Dr. Bradley Shavit Artson
Transmitting Jewish culture by embodying Jewish practice is part of the responsibilities of Jewish parenting.
The open spaces of the wilderness can help us access inspiration.
We can transform the institution of Pidyon Haben to include all those who have had their childhood stolen.
The prohibition against the direct counting of the Israelites cautions us to remember the human faces behind abstract statistics.
Conducting the census by naming each Israelite teaches us the importance of recognizing the uniqueness of every individual.
The details of how the tribes camped around the Tabernacle teach us lessons about giving respect and honor to the people and causes we care about.
The stage of journeying through the wilderness is an essential part of the transformation from slavery to freedom.
The arrangement of the Israelites around the Tabernacle, as individuals and as a community, provides us with a model for pluralism.
Today's global migrants, like our peripatetic forebears, are suspended in the precarious place between a difficult past and a hopeful future.
There is more than one meaning behind the counting in Bamidbar.
For the Rabbis, the wilderness is actually a desirable place to be.
The lack of chronological order in Bamidbar allows expressions of God's love for Israel to precede the trials and tribulations of desert wandering.
Kohenet Rabbi Sarah Bracha Gershuny
The Book of Numbers is a gentle reminder to listen to the elders still among us.
When we build order into our lives, we begin to manage the seemingly overwhelming tasks.
Though betrayed by Israel's unfaithfulness, God will reconcile with the people like a husband who cannot stop loving his wife.
Moses conducts a census of the Israelites; God describes the unique duties of the Kohath family of priests.