Numbers; Counting

Today I encountered a most bizarre situation. I passed by a synagogue and someone asked me to join the prayer service. Right before the prayer service began, a person standing next to me pointed his finger at each person in the room and muttered some word...

Payment of a ransom is merely a transaction in this material world, but has far reaching effects in the spiritual domain.

In the eyes of G-d, counting Jews is far more than keeping score; it is, rather, His way of telling each and every one of His children: “You matter to Me. You’re not just a number. You’re on My speed-dial.”

How can inflexible digits chart the person-to-G-d relationship? And how can any method be standardized for all people?

To us on earth, looking with the unaided eye and perhaps not thinking too much about the matter, the stars seem tiny and insignificant. Yet each is a powerful and unique force.

Why the “countdown” to the holiday of Shavuot? What is the connection between numbers and counting, and the special gift which our nation received on this holiday?

There are times when we must wage an external battle, and there are times when we must safeguard our internal treasures . . .

A census is a “head-count.” The greatest of the great and the smallest of the small all count as one person, no more, no less.

A census achieves two contrary aims. By focusing on the total sum, it asks the individual to suspend his individuality; at the same time, it compels him to ask himself if he is worthy of contributing to the total...

The Torah reading of Bamidbar begins with G-d telling Moshe that he and his brother Aharon, the Kohen Gadol (High Priest), were to tally the number of the Jewish people.Bamidbar 1:1-3. The verse goes on to stateIbid., verses 48, 49. that G-d told Moshe “n...