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Nehar Deah
Bamidbar
The Census in the Desert and Other Censuses
The Torah portion that opens the book of Bamidbar deals in its entirety
with the census that took place at the foot of Mount Sinai “in the
second year after the departure [of the Children of Israel] from the land
of Egypt” (1:1), and from here we get the name of this book given
to the Sages: “Chumash [=one of the Five Books of Moses] HaMifkadim
[of the Censuses]” (see, for example, Mishna Yoma 7:1). In all the
cases in which there is mention of a census taking place, it comes as
the first stage in the preparations for a military campaign (such as the
conquest of the Ai [Joshua 8:10], the war between Benjamin and the rest
of the tribes of Israel [Shofetim 20:14-15] or Saul’s war against
the Ammonites [Shmuel I 11:8], et al), and thus it is with our case. The
children of Israel are organizing themselves as a military camp in preparation
for their departure from Mount Sinai and the march towards the Land of
Canaan. Every “male aged twenty and upwards, all who are able to
be part of an army” (verse 3) presented themselves, together with
the rest of the enlistees who had already enlisted “in the number
of names” (verse 2). The Levites were not included with the rest
of the Children of Israel due to their status as those that served in
sacred positions and their count was determined separately (1:47-54).
The total number of warriors that were counted in the census was “six
hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty”,
a number which fits the tradition of the “six hundred thousand men
on foot, excluding children” who came out of Egypt (Shemot 12:37).
From this number it seems - if we add in the women and a small number
of children - that the people who left Egypt numbered at least two million
and according to the opinions of most researchers, this is a monumental
sum, which does not have any basis. It may be that it comes to emphasize
the greatness of the miracle of the survival of the Ivri (Hebrew) shepherds
who fled Egypt to the great and harsh Sinai Desert. A tiny archeological
artifact reveals, to an extent, the true reality behind the description
of the censuses in the Bible. An ostracon (a pottery shard with an inscription
on it) from the end of the eighth or the beginning of the seventh century
BCE, which was discovered at Tel Ira in the northern Negev region, hints
at the manner in which censuses were commonly performed. The following
is the inscription: “Census. B[e]r[e]chyahu G[e]v[a]ch M[o]k[a]r
Shl[o]myahu”. It appears that the inscription can be interpreted
as a list of names of four people, who were probably members of one family
that took part in the census. A list like this was then given to those
responsible for the census and who then they could total up “in
the number of names” the number of members of each of the various
households and thereby reach a grand total of the members of each tribe
and thereafter of the entire nation.
A census is mentioned also in connection with the building of the Mishkan
(portable tabernacle, Shemot 30:11-16) and there we are told that every
person “who passes through the census” is commanded to give
a half shekel “a ransom for his soul to God, when you count them,
and there will not be a plague among them…” (Shemot 30:12).
From what is written is seems that the payment of the half a shekel was
more than just a levy that was meant for the building of the tabernacle.
From here we can learn a chapter in the belief system and views of the
ancient world. From the words “a ransom for his soul” it seems
that the actual performance of a census was seen as something dangerous,
as though knowing the exact number of people is likely to bring about
disaster, a thought which was probably not far from the mind of a soldier
who was about to be conscripted. It may be that the ancient peoples believed
that a the demonstration of power that was expressed by a census - a type
of hubris, the overweening pride which is known from Greek culture - brings
man to the attention of the divine power, and not in a positive manner,
and in order to save lives and defend against any evil that might befall
them, a half shekel is given as a form of a ransom for his soul”.
In light of what is said here we can understand the unhappy results of
the census that was later performed by King David (Shmuel I 24). At the
conclusion of an operation that took nine months and twenty days, during
which more than a million ‘men of valor’ throughout the land
of Israel were counted, David is struck with remorse that he counted the
nation knowing that this action was a sin against God. God does punish
David and inflicts the nation with a plague which causes many fatalities,
“from Dan to Beersheba, seventy thousand people” (verse 15).
It seems that David sinned in that he did not act with sufficient caution;
according to the precedent of the census undertaken during the wanderings
in the wilderness, he should have demanded a ‘soul ransom’
from those being counted and would thereby have avoided the catastrophe.
This is how Rabbi Eliezer (Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 62b) interprets
our story, and we can compare also the writings of the Biblical commentator
Rabbi Levi ben Gershom (the Ralbag) on this story: David sinned in that
he trusted in “the largeness of the nation (that is: the large size
of the nation that was apparent due to the census) and he should have
trusted only in God”.
The Talmud asserts that “it is forbidden to count [the nation of]
Israel even for the sake of a commandment … [because] whoever counts
Israel transgresses a negative precept [i.e. transgresses a commandment
which is phrased as “you shall not…”], as it is written
(Hoshea 2:1) ‘the number of the children of Israel was like the
sands of the sea, which can’t be measured’” (Babylonian
Talmud Yoma 22b). Therefore we have the age old folk tradition to avoid
the dangers inherent in counting by special means: in order to know the
exact count of a particular population, one does not count the people
but rather objects (of any type) which are given by every participant
in the census, and according to the total number of objects one can know
the count of the population. According to this, Rashi claims (in his commentary
on Shemot 30:12) that the census that took place in the wilderness was
carried out by counting the shekels that were given for the tabernacle
service: “When you wish to find the number of their counting, to
know how many they are, do not count heads, but rather each one should
give a half shekel and count all the shekels and know their counting,
and it will not be a detriment to them, since the evil eye has power over
their counting…” and this is also the case with the interpretive
tradition that deals with what is told about Shaul, who counted the nation
in “telaim” before the war with Amalek (Shmuel I 15:4). “Telaim”
is the name of a place, but the Midrash, in keeping with many of the traditional
biblical commentators, explains that it is speaking of counting the nation
by each person giving one ”taleh” (lamb, plural “telaim”):
“that he took from each one a lamb and counted the people by them”
(Rashi). Similarly we can mention what is told of King Agrippa (who lived
in the first century CE): “Once King Agrippa wished to know the
number of the population of Jerusalem [during the pilgrimage for the festival
of Passover], he said to the priests ‘separate for me a kidney from
every Passover sacrifice’. They separated for him six hundred thousand
pairs of kidneys, double those who went out of Egypt” (Eicha Rabbah
1:2). According to this there were 1,200,000 sacrifices offered on one
festival, and from here we can ascertain the number of people offering
sacrifices. However the Midrash continues and tells that each sacrifice
was offered by a group of at least ten people and according to the opinion
of Rabbi Chiyya “even forty and even fifty” and Bar Kapra
says “even one hundred”. It seems therefore that 1,200,000
was the minimum number of those who made the pilgrimage! According to
what the researcher of the ancient east, E A. Speiser, saw, the fear inherent
in being part of a census, found its way to a well known imagery found
in the prayers of Rosh Hashanah (New Year). This day is the Day of Judgment,
on which “all who dwell on the earth pass before him [=before God]
as a numerus (a platoon of soldiers waiting to be counted) and their fate
is determined for another year, who for death and who for life (Mishna,
Rosh Hashanah 1:2).
Professor Mordechai Kogen
Jewish History Department
Liturgical Poetry - Akdamut
The festival of Shavuot is celebrated on the sixth day of Nissan, which
usually falls in the week after the reading of the Torah portion of Bamidbar.
According to Ashkenazic custom, there is a special additional reading
connected with the festival which is read before the reading of the Torah.
It is a piyyut (liturgical poem) written in Aramaic, known by its opening
word(s) “Akdamut” or “Akdamut Milin”: “The
beginning of things and the opening of speech/I will first gain agreement
and permission” [translation based on Hebrew translation in the
“Rinat Yisrael” prayer book, page 510 onwards]. The piyyut
was written in the eleventh century by Rabbi Meir ben Yitzchak, who was
a renowned composer of piyyutim and shaliach tzibbur (prayer leader) in
Worms.
The liturgical poem “Akdamut” is made up of forty-five double
verses, which are ninety rhyming pairs which all end with the rhyming
syllable “-ta”. The first twenty-two verses (which are forty-four
rhymed pairs) are arranged as a double acrostic (e.g. AA, BB). In the
remaining forty-six rhyming pairs we find the name of the composer and
words of encouragement in an acrostic: Meir son of Rabbi Yitzchak will
grow in Torah and good deeds, Amen and be strong and courageous”.
The main essence of the poem is words of praise to God. At the beginning
of the piyyut there is an introduction in which the poet asks permission
to speak his words, meaning to write down the greatness of the acts of
the Creator, to glorify and praise Him. He opens with a description of
the creation of the lower world, the earth, and also the upper world,
the heavenly, who’s every dweller (e.g. seraphim, angels, etc) serve
God. After that a type of dialogue is described in which “Knesset
Yisrael” (the Jewish people in its entirety) is asked: “Who
and who is your loved one, the beautiful one, for whose sake you suffer
in the dens of lions?” “Knesset Yisrael” answers in
a lengthy speech during which the redemption and all the good it entails
for the nation of Israel, is described. This includes a description of
the abundant material and spiritual wealth which is promised to all in
general, and specifically to the righteous, in the days to come. In this
framework there is also a brief description, based on the Midrash, of
a terrible battle which will take place in the Garden of Eden between
the Leviathan and the Wild Ox, whose flesh will be used as a banquet for
the righteous.
The piyyut is written in Aramaic, since it originally served as an introduction
to the reading of the Aramaic translation which accompanied the Torah
reading. It was common practice that on festive occasions, such as holidays,
the Turgeman, who translated the Torah into Aramaic, would ask for public
permission to do so, by reciting a special piyyut called “Reshut”
(permission). Ashkenazi communities continued to recite the piyyut due
to its renown and importance, even after the custom to read the Torah
accompanied by its translation ceased. In medieval times it was customary
to start by reading the first verse of the Torah reading of the festival
of Shavuot (which deals with the giving of the Torah [Shemot 19-20]),
and afterwards to pause and recite “Akdamut”. In later generations
this custom ceased, probably due to fears that people would err in thinking
that the piyyut was written as part of the Torah. Today it is customary
to recite this piyyut before the Torah reading (but it is accepted that
this is done after the first person , the Cohen [priest] already ascends
to the bima [platform]). The piyyut is recited to a special tune, and
the chazan (cantor) and the congregation recite the verses alternatively
(two rhyming pairs each time).
The World of the Bible - The Names of the Five Books of Moses
This Torah portion marks the beginning of a new Chumash (one of the Five
Books of Moses), Chumash Bamidbar, and this is a good opportunity to examine
the name of this Chumash and the names of the rest of the Chumashim. Today,
they are named (according to ancient custom) according to their opening
word. “Bereishit” (in the beginning) and “Vayikra”
(and He called) are the first words of the first and third books, while
“Shemot” (names) and “Devarim” (things/words)
are the second words of the beginning of the second and fifth books, however
it seems that in ancient times theses books were also called “Eilu
Shemot” (these are the names) and “Eileh HaDevarim”
(these are the things/words), so that here too we are effectively dealing
with the first words. The exception is Chumash “Bamidbar”
(in the dessert), since its name is the fifth (Hebrew) word which appears
in it (“And God said to Moses in the Sinai desert”), but it
is reasonable to assume that this name was chosen because it is the first
word that is not as commonly found as those preceding it. Despite, this
it must be mentioned that in ancient literature this book is sometimes
known by the name “Vayedaber” (and He said), a fact which
is testified to by one of the church founders, Hieronymus, who lived in
the land of Israel at the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth
centuries. Despite this, it seems that these books all had others names
in ancient times, and these names were given according to the topic they
begin with or according to the main topic focused on.
(1) The book of Bereishit was known among Hellenistic Jewish thinkers
by the name “Hithavvut” (=a state of coming into being, likely
connected to the world coming into being), relating to the first issue
discussed in this book. This is the name used in the Greek translation,
the Septuagint, and from there it reached the Latin translation of the
Torah and other European languages, in which it is known by the name “Genesis”
(=source/being created). In the Syrian translation of the Torah, the Peshitta,
this book is given a similar name, “Sifra Devriata” (Book
of the Creation).
(2) The book of Shemot is known in English as “Exodus”, after
the exodus from Egypt and similarly in Greek and in the Peshitta (“M’fakna”).
(3) The Sages commonly referred to the book of Vayikra as “Torat
Kohanim” (Torah of the Priests) due to its content - the laws of
the sacrifices which are meant for the priests. In the Peshitta it is
called “Safra d’Kahana” (Book of the Priests). In the
Greek translation it is known by the name “The Book That Belongs
to the Levites” (meaning the Priests who belong to the tribe of
Levi), and from here the English name for this book, “Leviticus”,
was eventually formulated.
(4) The Sages called the Book of Bamidbar “Chumash Pekudim”
(Censuses), and this is because it starts and ends with the description
of censuses taken of the Children of Israel. For the same reason, in the
Greek translation the book is called by the Greek word for “Numbers”,
and the Peshitta refers to it as “Safra d’Minyana” (Book
of the Count). From here we have the English name, “Numbers”.
(5) The common name for the book of Devarim in the literature of the Sages
is “Mishneh Torah” (literally “a copy of the Torah”),
and this is because it contains a repetition of many of the stories and
laws contained in the books of Shemot-Bamidbar. (The expression “Mishneh
Torah” is found, with a slightly different meaning, in the body
of the book. See for example Devarim 17:18.) The name is also reflected
in the Peshitta, “Tanin Namusa” (=the Second Law) and likewise
in the Latin and other European languages, “Deuteronomy”.
It seems therefore that the names of the Chumashim in the translations
of the Torah to Greek, Syrian and various European languages evidences
the existence of ancient Hebrew names, which were lost through the ages
due to the custom to name a book according to its opening words.
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