A Count Of Love
The census that occurs immediately after the plague for the sin with Midian reassures the Children of Israel that they are still God's partners in the covenant.
By Rabbi Reuven Spolter. The following article is reprinted with permission from the Orthodox Union.
After outlining the reward that Pinhas was to receive for his zealotry, God commands Moshe to attack and punish the nation of Midyan for enticing the Jewish people to sin and for causing the plague that nearly consumed them.
Yet, immediately following this command, the Torah abruptly changes direction, stopping in mid-sentence to begin a new count of the people.
Several questions arise from this strange turn in the text. Why does the Torah end the story of the strife with Midyan so abruptly? What is the function of the new census? And why is it connected to (and then disconnected from) the story of Pinhas?
The answer to these questions lies in the curious language Moshe and Elazar utilize when initiating God’s command to count every male above age 20. Moshe and Elazar say, “Take the sum of the people from 20 years old and upward, as the Lord commanded Moshe and children of Israel who went forth from the Land of Egypt.” (26:4) After the miraculous excitement of the Exodus and the glorious revelation at Sinai, the nation of Israel suffered setbacks of ever-increasing magnitude, culminating in the punishment following the sin of the meraglim (spies), when God banished every male over age 20 from entering the Promised Land.
After 40 long years of wandering in the desert, the people were understandably full of doubt. Would God retain His relationship with them or instead move on? Would He maintain the closeness that began at Sinai or would He view the descendants of the original Am Hanivchar (chosen people) with disdain?
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