5784 Parshat BaMidbar Dvar Torah by Ms. Tzipora Ross

While Parshat BaMidbar seems to be mostly a very technical recording of the counting and organizing of Bnei Yisrael, there is actually a key foundational idea hidden among the numbers. As each tribe is counted, we are given a total number of men over the age of 20 from each one, with the numbers varying from as low as 32,000 to as high as 74,000. These men, numbering 603,550, will comprise the future army of the Jewish people, ultimately conquering the Land of Israel. The only tribe not included in this counting is the tribe of Levi, as they have a special closeness to Hashem. As Hashem says: "והיו לי הלויים," "The Levites will be for Me" (3:12).

As HaEmek Devar by Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin says, the tribe of Levi will forever be connected to Hashem, unlike the firstborn, who can be exchanged. This is because, unlike the firstborn, the tribe of Levi did not participate in the sin of the Golden Calf.  

Interestingly, when the Levi tribe is counted, children as young as one month are included, unlike the other tribes, where only adults are counted. We would thus assume that the number of Leviim would be vastly higher than all of the other tribes, or at least comparable to the more populous tribes. And yet, we see that their total population was only around 22,000. How is it possible that they are by far the smallest tribe? The Ramban discusses the unique nature of this tribe, stating that they had a separate status dating all the way back to era in Egypt. He says that since this tribe was not forced into slavery in Egypt, they experienced only normal population growth, while the other tribes responded to the oppression by growing exponentially, exactly the opposite of what the Egyptians intended. This can give us an insight into why Hashem found it necessary to send Bnei Yisrael into slavery in order to create a nation out of them. Only when subjected to times of hardship, the כור הברזל, "the fiery furnace," were the Jewish people able to forge a strong connection to Hashem and thus be worthy of receiving the Torah and becoming the Chosen People.  

As we head into the holiday of Shavuot, we are reminded of the words Hashem spoke to us then, how we are all ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש, a kingdom of kohanim and a holy nation. As the Chosen People, whether we are from the tribe of Levi or not, we must live up to the standard Hashem has set for us to be an example for the nations of the world.  Wishing everyone a Shabbat shalom and a chag sameach!