The Ten Countings of Israel

In nine occasions throughout Jewish history, the Children of Israel were counted out of their preciousness before Hashem and according to the needs of the time. The tenth counting will take place in the future era by Melech HaMoshiach or by Hakadosh Baruch Hu Himself.

The Ten Countings

In the Midrashim of Chazal, it is brought that the Children of Israel were counted ten times, and they are:

1. When the Children of Israel descended to Egypt (Devarim 10:22): "With seventy souls they descended."
2. When the Children of Israel left Egypt (Shemos 12:37): "And the Children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot."
3. In connection with the sin of the Golden Calf (Shemos 30:12): "When you take a census of the Children of Israel."
4. In the journey of the flags at the beginning of the Book of Bamidbar, which is therefore called 'The Book of Countings.'
5. In the days of Yehoshua during the division of the land, the command in Parshas Pinchas (Bamidbar 26:1).
6. In the days of King Shaul (Shmuel I 15:4) "And he counted them with lambs."
7. In the days of King Shaul (Shmuel I 11:8) "And he counted them in Bezek."
8. In the days of King David (Shmuel II 24:9): "And Yoav gave the number of the census of the people."
9. Upon their return from exile in the days of Ezra (Ezra 2:64): "The whole congregation together was forty thousand."
10. In the future era (Yirmiyahu 33:13): "The flocks shall again pass under the hands of him who counts them."

The Tenth Counting

The tenth counting that will take place in the future era, hinted at in the verse "The flocks shall again pass under the hands of him who counts them," will be either by Melech HaMoshiach according to the translation of Yonatan ben Uziel on the verse, or by Hakadosh Baruch Hu Himself according to the words of the Yalkut Shimoni on the verse.

In Chassidus, it is explained that the ten countings correspond to the ten Sefiros, and the tenth counting is through the level of Kesser (Crown). Therefore, it will be as understood from the commentators, either by Melech HaMoshiach or by Hakadosh Baruch Hu Himself. As the Yalkut Shimoni brings regarding this, that in the nine countings that the Children of Israel were counted, it was done by human beings, but the counting of the future era will be by Him alone, may He be blessed, who counts.

The Matter of Counting

The General Concept of Counting

Counting demonstrates Hashem's great affection for the Jewish people: "Out of His love for them, He counts them at every moment."

In the Shelah it states that the unlimited power of existence of the Jewish people is hinted at in Hashem's command to count the Jewish people in the desert. When counting something, it becomes "a counted item," and there is a halachic principle: "A counted item never becomes nullified." Counting gives it an importance that does not allow it to be nullified. By Hashem counting the people, the Jewish people became "a counted item," and therefore they can never be nullified.

The Rebbe explains that counting expresses the spiritual importance of the Jewish people even within the physical world.

Counting for Specific Needs

In addition to the general concept of counting, the Jewish people were counted out of Hashem's affection and for specific needs as follows:

The first counting was when they went down to Egypt, seventy souls, and the second counting was when they left, which expressed the great affection Hashem has for the Jewish people. The Midrash provides a parable: When a person sows wheat, he counts the number of seeds when planting them, and later when the crop grows, he counts them again. Similarly, when the Jewish people went down to Egypt, Hashem counted them, and when they came up from Egypt, He counted them again. This also fulfilled Hashem's promise to Avraham Avinu that his descendants would be numerous: "With seventy souls your forefathers went down to Egypt, and now Hashem your G-d has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven."

The third counting was at the beginning of building the Mishkan, when Hashem came to rest His Divine Presence among Israel after the sin of the Golden Calf and the plague that followed. The parable given is of "a beloved flock that was struck by plague, and when it ended, the owner said to the shepherd, 'Please count my sheep and know how many remain,' to show how beloved they are to him."

The fourth counting in Parshat Bamidbar was after the Mishkan was erected and Hashem rested His Divine Presence among Israel, which was an opportunity to express His affection for His children. Another aspect of this counting was for the military organization of the Jewish people as "those who go out to the army," and therefore those counted were of draft age, from twenty years and up.

The fifth counting in Parshat Pinchas occurred after the plague that struck the Jewish people after they sinned with the daughters of Midian, and here too a parable is given: "Like a shepherd whose flock was attacked by wolves who killed some of them, and he counts them to know how many remain." Another aspect was that when the Jewish people left Egypt and were handed over to Moshe Rabbeinu, they were handed over with a count, and here as he returns them before his passing, he returns them with a count.

The Form of the Count

Who is Counted

In the first count when the Children of Israel descended to Egypt, the Torah details the list of participants in the journey to Egypt. The list contains the sons, daughters, and grandchildren of Yaakov Avinu (our father Jacob) of all ages (it does not include the wives of the tribes because they were not Jacob's daughters).

In the second count, upon their exodus from Egypt, only the men were counted, without the children and women.

In the third and fourth counts, which were both in the second year after their exodus from Egypt, Hashem commanded Moshe Rabbeinu to conduct a census of all the men among the Children of Israel from the age of twenty and above. The census was conducted under the management of Moshe, Aharon, and the princes of the tribes. The tribe of Levi also underwent a separate census according to Hashem's command, but unlike the general census, all males from one month of age and above were counted.

Similarly, in the fifth count that took place according to Hashem's command after the plague described at the end of Parshat Balak, when Moshe Rabbeinu was transferring the leadership to Yehoshua, they counted from twenty years of age and above.

How They Counted

In the third count, which was after the sin of the Golden Calf in Parshat Ki Tisa, it is stated: "When you take a census of the Children of Israel according to their numbers, each man shall give an atonement for his soul to Hashem when counting them, so that there will be no plague among them when counting them." This means that by collecting half a shekel from each of those counted, indirectly counting the coins, the counters would also know the number of people among the Children of Israel, thus preventing the evil eye from affecting those counted.

Many years later, when King Shaul wanted to know how many soldiers were in his army, he used a similar method. He asked each soldier to go to the king's sheep pen and bring one lamb, and when he counted the lambs, he knew the number of his soldiers.

King David, on the other hand, is said to have erred and conducted a census by counting people directly. The results were tragic, as the prophet recounts: "This was evil in the eyes of God for this thing, and He smote Israel... and Hashem sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell."

In the Talmud in Tractate Yoma, there is a practical application from the fact that King Shaul counted his men using lambs; they would count the fingers of the kohanim in the Temple and not the kohanim themselves. The Gemara adds, "It is forbidden to count Israel even for a mitzvah... whoever counts Israel transgresses a negative commandment, as it is said, 'And the number of the Children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured.' Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak said, he transgresses two negative commandments, as it is said, 'cannot be measured and cannot be counted.'"

Therefore, when counting Jews for a minyan and the like, it is customary to do so with a change, such as by reciting the verse "Save Your people, etc." which contains ten words, and similar methods.

Counting the Tribe of Levi

The tribe of Levi was counted according to Hashem's command separately from the rest of the Children of Israel: "But you shall not count the tribe of Levi, and you shall not take their census among the Children of Israel."

The reason for this, as brought in the Midrash, is that "the king's legion deserves to be counted separately." An additional explanation is that Hashem foresaw that a decree would be issued for all those counted from twenty years of age and above to die in the desert, and therefore excluded the Levites from this count as they did not sin with the Golden Calf.

Unlike the other tribes that were counted from the age of 20, in the count of the tribe of Levi, they were counted from the age of one month: "From the age of one month and upward shall you count them." The reason for this, as our Sages taught, is that this tribe was accustomed to being counted from birth, as Yocheved the daughter of Levi was counted at her birth between the walls upon entering Egypt among the seventy souls who descended to Egypt.

See Also

• The Tenth Song

External Links

• "A Counted Matter Never Becomes Nullified" - An adapted talk of the Rebbe from the book Shulchan Shabbat
• Why It Is Forbidden to Count Jews - On the Chabad House website