Naso
“Lift” is a delightfully elastic word. It normally means to make something go up.
In England it is a box that—with the help of pulleys and weights—can transport you to various floors of a building (interestingly, it can take you both up and down). In some parts of the world, it can mean a soft drink made by Coca-Cola (thanks, Wikipedia!). For a thief it means to pilfer something surreptitiously from a store (think “shoplift”). For a guy at the side of the road with his thumb out, it means a spot in the back of your car (think “can I have a lift?”). And to those with saggy faces, it can mean a chance to look twenty years younger (think “facelift”).
In this week’s Torah portion we learn about another sort of lift. In the midst of a nationwide census, G‑d tells Moses to count the Levite clan of Gershon, employing the words, “Lift up the head of the people of Gershon.” When each individual is counted, he is uplifted. No longer an isolated little guy, he is part of a tribe, a clan, a nation. He is one of the many individuals who together make up the 600,000 members of G‑d’s chosen people. And when the little guys are uplifted, the “head”—Moses and the other leaders— are given a lift as well.
Now, go and have an uplifting read.
Menachem Posner,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
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As Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa would say, “If people like you, G-d likes you too.”
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