Counting
Counting is a Jewish exercise. Much of Jewish practices require counting up to them. However, it is not just a means to an end. Counting is intrinsically a holy experience. BAMIDBAR BAMIDBAR
A Jewish Exercise.
Counting is a Jewish exercise!
This week we start reading the fourth book of the Torah, known as Bamidbar, but also referred to as the Book of Counting, on account of the way the book begins with G- d’s directive to Moses to count the Jewish people.
We are always counting to see if there is a Minyan in the room in order to recite certain prayers. (Although we do not count people by saying one, two etc, but rather by reciting a ten word verse.)
But counting in the Torah is not restricted to counting people.
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We are now at the tail end of a process of counting days and weeks that lead up to the upcoming Holiday of Shavuos. Indeed, this entire period is known as sefirah, which simply means counting. And the Holiday of Shavuos, which means “weeks,” underscores the role of time in relation to this holiday.
We count—consciously or subconsciously— six days and then we observe the Shabbos, every week. We count twenty nine-thirty days in anticipation of the new month, seven years for the Sabbatical years and seven times seven for the Jubilee year. A woman counts seven days before going to the Mikveh and a child counts twelve/thirteen years before s/he becomes a BaS/Bar Mitzvah. And the Jewish people have been counting down towards the ultimate Redemption through Moshiach, calculating and counting, when will Moshiach arrive?
While some of these rituals of counting is done verbally—”today is one day, today is two days,” etc.—most of our counting is done mentally and sometimes subconsciously. But, either way, it is important to analyze the BAMIDBAR phenomenon of counting in general and why it is a prerequisite for the receiving of the Torah on Shavuos.
Accords Real Value and Guarantees Stability
One approach is that anything we count we acknowledge how precious it is. The Jews were counted by G-d in the desert to show how much He cared for each and every individual.
A second approach is that in accordance with Jewish law, something that is counted does not lose its identity even if it is mixed up with a much larger quantity of something else. In the laws of Kashrut, if a non-kosher substance falls into a much larger volume of kosher meat, if the ratio is sixty to one, the entire mixture is rendered kosher, because the non-kosher lost its identity.
However, if the non-kosher product is something that is usually counted it cannot be neutralized. The principle here is that a thing that is counted can never lose its significance.
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Similarly, the Jewish people were counted to demonstrate that no matter how much we are outnumbered by other nations, we will never lose our identity.
The Value of Time
The lesson we can derive from all of the above examples of counting is the importance of time itself. And here is where the uniqueness of Judaism can be seen.
Most people appreciate the value of their possessions, but hardly anyone treasures time. Why?
Time, to many of us, is not substantive. We only appreciate time when we have a goal and we need all the time we can get to achieve that goal. Now imagine someone who was able to achieve that goal within a much shorter period, they would not feel compelled to fill all the rest of time they have with anything meaningful, unless of course, they had multiple goals, or their ambition grows with their accomplishments.
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In Judaism, time serves two functions: It is the medium through which we accomplish our goals. Knowing, for example, that life is limited, makes us conscious of our responsibilities. Deadlines or due dates are always helpful in getting people to be more productive.
Intrinsic Value
But, in addition, to this conventional approach to time, Judaism also maintains that each and every segment of time has intrinsic value. Our task is to imbue time with meaning, not just utilize time to find meaning.
In truth, the same is true of all other aspects of life. We use objects to accomplish certain tasks. The object is perceived as the necessary instrument to reach our goal. In truth, the object has intrinsic value. Our job is to instill that object with meaning, so that it realizes its G-d given potential. But, whereas for other things, we are more capable of appreciating their intrinsic value, time is not so fortunate.
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Comes the Festival of Shavuos that is entirely made up of time and is named “Shavuos,” because it is all about infusing holiness into time.
No Fixed Date for Shavuos
We can now also understand why the Torah does not fix a date for this Holiday. Instead it tells us that we observe Shavuos after counting seven weeks, or fifty days. This is to teach us that Shavuos is not just a Holiday that relates to a specific day of the year, but it is about celebrating the very concept of time.
As we wait and anticipate the final Redemption, we must also realize that what is important is to fill each and every moment of the waiting period with meaning. Every moment that we are still in exile we must count the days and minutes, I.e., instill the spirit of holiness, peace and meaning into every moment, so that the moments of exile themselves are transformed into moments of Redemption..
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From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Bamidbar by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
