The Theory of Quantity Qualified
Everyone possesses the potential for the highest quality. When we have the critical mass of positive energy, it represents the force that can fan the little flame into a blazing fire. Quantity generates quality. The ultimate force is the synthesis of the two.
Redundant!
Before Moses passes away, he instructed the Jews about the way they were to divide the Land of Israel. In one verse in this week’s parsha, the Torah states:
“To the large tribe you shall give a larger inheritance and to a smaller tribe you shall give a smaller inheritance, each one shall be given an inheritance according to its number.”
A question has been raised about the redundancy in this verse: Once it says that a larger inheritance shall be given to a larger tribe and a smaller one to a smaller tribe, why is it necessary to add “each one shall be given an inheritance according to its number?”
Not Just the Past
To answer this question it is first necessary to establish that the Torah’s discussion of the inheritance of the Land of Israel was not just a discussion of the past. And while we certainly believe that the narratives of the Torah are true to the most minute detail, the Torah has layers and layers of deeper meaning that are relevant and timely in the twenty first century as they were then.
Israel a Land and Experience
The Land of Israel is both a land and an experience and mindset. The word Israel, is Biblically defined as “mastery over nature.” To live in the Land of Israel is to attain selfmastery and mastery over the forces outside of us that seek to control us. To inherit the land is to instill this mindset and experience of Israel into one’s consciousness.
Our Sages tell us that every Jew has a share in the Land of Israel. Regardless of one’s level of observance, a Jew has an intrinsic connection to Israel—both the physical Land as well as the spiritual mindset it represents. This means, that even a Jew who has become so assimilated and influenced by the values and practices of the world around him or her, he or she, nevertheless, will always have the capacity to reverse direction.
What, then, is the difference between one individual and another with regard to their inheritance in Israel?
Nine Moses Cannot Make a Minyan
The difference is a quantitative one. For a tribe of many constituents, the portion of Israel it receives is greater. This means that the Jew, who expresses this “Land of Israel” potential in many diverse ways, on numerous occasions, consistently and repeatedly, will obviously have a larger share of the land. He or she will be able to feel more of their Israel potential than those whose quantity of the “Land of Israel” mentality is scant.
In other words, as much as we tend to emphasize the quality of one’s actions, a case can also be made for the value of sheer quantity. Nine Moses cannot make a minyan. But ten simple Jews can.
The logic behind the “theory of quantity” is that deep down; everyone possesses the potential for the highest quality. When we have the critical mass of positive energy, it represents the force that can fan the little flame into a blazing fire. Quantity generates quality.
At any rate, when the Torah states, “To the large tribe you shall give a larger inheritance and to a smaller tribe you shall give a smaller inheritance,” it wishes to emphasize the value and effect of doing many “Land of Israel” oriented things. This translates into performing those aspects of Judaism that might go against the grain. The more we swim upstream, the more we discover that we have the ability to withstand all pressures and influences that are hostile to our soul’s mission.
The Qualifier
However, the Torah qualifies this “theory of quantity” with the next part of the verse that appeared redundant: “each one shall be given an inheritance according to its number.” The Hebrew word for its number “pikudav” also has an alternate meaning: In some verses of the Torah the root of that word has the connotation of something that is either missing or diminished.
If we reinterpret that verse in light of this new translation it could be rendered thus: Notwithstanding the importance of quantity of “Land of Israel” related actions, there is a qualifying factor. When a person acts with self-effacing humility (pikudav-that which is diminished), the effect of even a few Mitzvos can be greatly magnified. Conversely, when we inflate the value of our actions, our selfimportance and look condescendingly at others who do less than us, it actually detracts from the value of our actions.
To avoid the trap of counting our many good deeds so as to place ourselves on a pedestal, the Torah exhorts us to realize the importance of humility in enhancing the value of our deeds. To be sure, the lack of humility does not negate the importance of each and every Mitzvah. Rather it is the glue that takes the many disparate aspects of good in our lives and unifies them into one powerful force of holiness. With this force, we cannot possibly lose our connection to the Land of Israel, literally and figuratively.
The emphasis on humility with regard to our right to the Land of Israel is echoed in the statement of the Midrash that when Moshiach will announce “the time of your Redemption has arrived,” it will be prefaced by the words: “Humble ones.”
This spirit of humility enables us to acquire the greatest benefit from all of our large quantities of Mitzvos and will be the catalyst for us to truly inherit the Land of Israel for all times.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Pinchas by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
