פרשת במדבר
Sefer Bamidbar opens with the counting of all twelve tribes and their respective princes and then all of the Jewish people. Rashi explains that the reason why Hashem counts the Jewish people is to show His love for them. A person who loves something, counts it often to show his love of that thing and to make sure that he doesn’t lose it.
However the Seforno raises an interesting problem with this verse. The verse says, “The names of the Jewish people were counted”. What is the meaning of this cryptic expression? The Seforno offers a fascinating explanation. He begins by saying that each and every person is made up of two parts. The first part is the physical materials which make up the organic composition of his body and the more spiritual components which make up his soul. These parts are generally static and given to a person at birth. But the second aspect of a human being is vastly different. This is the individualistic character which we choose to take on by the method we choose to mold ourselves and which ultimately will be what gives us our true name. Take for example a table. The raw materials which make up a table are just pieces of wood. But nobody points to a table and says look at that wood over there. Rather they say look at the table. This is because the forming of the table out of the raw wood is the primary process which determines its true nature. So the Seforno concludes by explaining that the reason why the verse says that the “names” of the Jews were counted is to show that each and every Jew in that generation managed to achieve a level of individuality which earned him the right to be called by his unique name, a right which is not given to a person who does not earn it by “forming” themselves into perfected human beings.
There is a Midrash Tanchuma in this week’s Parsha which says that Hashem counted the Jewish people because they were compared to kernels of wheat, whereas Hashem doesn’t bother counting the gentiles because they are compared to straw and hay. The reason why the Jews are compared to wheat is because wheat is something which gives a person pleasure and has value. Similarly, the Jews give their creator pleasure and he therefore desires to count them constantly. But this is only true if they choose to form themselves into developed human beings, just as the wheat kernels are each individual and worthy of counting. However, if they choose to remain unformed, they are no different than “straw and hay” and they don’t really deserve to be counted.
I believe that this concept of becoming a developed person appears twice in the Talmud. The first place is in Moed Katan (9a) where it says that if one wishes to receive a blessing, one should approach a “man of distinguished character”. And the second place is in Taanis where it says that if there are difficult times in Israel, and a fast day is declared, they should seek out a scholar, and if one cannot be located, they should ask “one of distinguished character” to speak and inspire the people to fulfill Hashem’s will.
I would like to discuss on a practical level what makes a person “a completed human being” and unique and raises him above the average person who has not attained such a status. We find that it is clearly not about one’s level of intelligence or the wisdom that he has acquired, because we find many intelligent people that are not developed. And furthermore, we see from the above quoted Gemorah in Taanis that in fact one can be a “distinguished person” without having necessarily amassed a great Torah knowledge. Rather I would like to demonstrate how this trait is really dependant on how successful a person is at inculcating what he learns into his heart and allowing his Torah knowledge to bring him closer to God. Only through this process of allowing one’s Torah knowledge to seep into one’s heart can one evolve into a fully formed human being.
There is a Gemorah in Eruvin (53) in which R’ Yochanan says, “Come and see how the hearts of the earlier generations (the Tanaim) where open as wide as a hall and the hearts of the later generations were open like a small room, and our hearts are barely open the size of a needle”. We find that R’ Yochanan didn’t feel that the Torah learning of his generation had necessarily diminished from that of his predecessors, rather the point which seemed to be his focus was the openness of their hearts – in other words – the ability to have the Torah learning and knowledge affect one’s heart and mold their personalities into those that strive to draw closer to their creator.
King Solomon said in Mishle, “The wisdom of a person will enlighten his face”. We see very often that when a person has reached this level in which he has managed to internalize his wisdom to the point that it alters his personality to that of a person who is constantly yearning to draw close to Hashem in all of his ways, that change can be seen on his face. Even his physical composition is affected by true change which takes place in a person’s heart.
Truthfully, we all have a responsibility to make sure that our Torah knowledge is not merely theoretical, but rather practical in every way. How do we do this? When a person is able to comprehend the vast knowledge of the Torah, he should consciously realize that this book could have only been written by the creator of the world and this should foster in him a strong desire to draw closer to Hashem and to mold his entire being into a machine that services God.
I would just like to conclude by saying that my father, who’s Yortzeit is this week, and who was known by many as a person who possessed a very unique presence, and was always referred to as a developed person, had one thing in common with every other distinguished person I know. Until his dying day, he learned Mussar every single day he always performed a Cheshbon Hanefesh, a spiritual accounting to determine that he was constantly molding himself into a person whose sole desire in every action was to draw close to Hashem.
May Hashem bless us to be successful in inculcating the Torah into our hearts and in transforming all of our actions to coincide with His will!