I remember the first Shabbat meal that I hosted on my own. The set table, the lit candles, the dishes I worked so hard to prepare . . . It occurred to me with such clarity: I was no longer an extension of my family or a single girl, a guest at someone else’s home. Together with my husband, we now formed a new entity.

Before the Jews entered the land of Israel, G‑d commanded Moses to count the Jews, as a display of love to the Jewish nation. The Jews were not only counted as individuals, but as family units. Each family counted its own members, and only then were the numbers combined. Because when two people marry, they form a new entity, “the family.” And the sum

total of “the families” is the Jewish nation.

Thoughtstream: Today, I will recognize that the Jewish nation is built on the family unit.

(Adapted from El N’shei u’Bnot Yisroel, pg. 169.)