genealogy

I write to you this week from Israel. In this week’s Torah portion of Bamidbar, the Jewish people are commanded, while in the desert, to count a specific part of the Jewish population as they prepare for the possibility of war. This act of counting is why this portion is also referred to as “Numbers.” Why does God, who knows everything, need us to count the Jewish people? Yes, God already knows the answer, however, there are several spiritual takeaways for the Jewish people: When something is