What is the Difference between Human and Heavenly Counting?

 Unity Engenders Healing on All Levels

Why is it so difficult for us to be united? Many families have split apart over trivialities. Children refuse to speak with their parents, siblings are fighting over inheritance, and more. Different factions of our people are vehemently opposed. The parties of our Knesset have not succeeded to form a government for years. Hashem brought us Corona to help unify us. He sent us vaccines to help save our lives. Yet, instead of coming together as one unified people, praising Hashem together, we have allowed corona, masks, the ministry of health’s regulations, and vaccines to tear us apart. I’m not saying that we all need to agree on these matters. I respect my sisters, who have a different opinion than I do. A respectful discussion and exchange of ideas is fine. Yet, the anger, the hatred, and the closedmindedness have gone overboard. Nowadays, everything seems to be controversial. You never know which conversation you can have with who and which of your friends may blow up, if you voice your opinion. Everything is taboo. Yet, our relationships can and must be deeper than our opinions. Mashiach is really close, but for us to allow him to be revealed we MUST be united. When we came to the Wilderness of Sinai, we were united. We learn this from the word וַיִּֽחַן/vayichan – “and they camped” (Shemot 19:2). Rashi explains, “[the singular form, denoting that they encamped there] as one man with one heart, but all the other encampments were [divided] with complaints and with strife.” Strife and contentions close the energy fields and cause spiritual, emotional, and physical blockage. There is no greater healing for each of us and all of us than unity. Just as we were united to receive Torah then, so do we need to be united now, to re-receive the Torah in a way that allows all of its light to enter and penetrate all of us, both individually and globally.
 

משנה מסכת עקצים פרק ג  משנה יב אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן חֲלַפְתָּא, לֹא מָצָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא כְּלִי מַחֲזִיק בְּרָכָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֶלָּא הַשָּׁלוֹם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים כט), יְיָ עֹז לְעַמּוֹ יִתֵּן יְיָ יְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ בַשָּׁלוֹם

Hashem did not find any better vessel to hold the blessing for Israel than peace, as it states, “Hashem shall grant strength to His people; Hashem shall bless His people with peace” (Tehillim 29:11; Mishna Uktzin 3:12).

 
Let’s decide to see past the differing opinions of our close ones and those around us, and work on truly respecting them for who they are. Through our efforts to bring shalom, may we be showered with blessings in abundance! Especially now, when we could all use them.
 
What is the difference between Counting done by Humans and by Heaven?
Parashat Bamidbar opens with a census of the Jewish people:
 

:ספר במדבר פרק א פסוק ב שְׂאוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת כָּל זָכָר לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָם

“Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by families following their fathers’ houses; a headcount of every male according to the number of their names” (Bamidbar 1:2).

 
Usually, counting people causes calamity, as when King David counted his people (II Shemuel 24:1-3) and brought about a plague: “So Hashem sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and there died of the people from Dan to Beersheva seventy thousand men” (II Shemuel 24:15). Counting is done by human beings usually emanates from pride and expresses an external show of strength – “look how many and mighty we are!” This is the reason a plague resulted from David’s counting. When people count and number a group of people, they can become subject to Ayin Hara (the evil eye) and disease may follow. Therefore, the Talmud lays down a clear prohibition against counting people: Rabbi Eleazar said: Whosoever counts Israel, transgresses a [biblical] prohibition, as it is said: “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured and numbered” [Hoshea 2:1]. Rabbi Nachman ben Yitzchak said: He would transgress two prohibitions, for it is written: “Which cannot be measured nor numbered” (Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 22b). If it is prohibited to count Jews, then why does Hashem command Moshe to count the children of Israel at the beginning of the Book of Bamidar? The continuation of the Talmud answers this question, by differentiating between counting done by humans and by Heaven. When we count people, each person is vulnerable to the grip of exterior forces, as he is being separated from the community by a number. However, Hashem is the great unifier. In His count resides the ties that bind and connect each individual with the community.
 
Joining the Right and Left Pillar of Israel to Unite and Uphold the World
The Zohar further expounds upon the unification that takes place through the heavenly counting of the Jewish people. When Hashem’s illumination is awakened, everything is in love, in perfection, and in peace. After Yisrael left the land of Egypt, we achieved both the Torah –
corresponding to Ze’er Anpin (the six middle sefirot and the male archetype), and the Tabernacle – corresponding to the Malchut (the last sefirah and the female archetype). We need both of these pillars: Torah learning and Tefilah (prayer) to uphold the world. Together these male and female aspects perfect and complete the world. In order to engender shalom and harmony in the world, the right pillar (Torah) and the left pillar (Tefilah) must be perfectly balanced. The counting of Israel was for the sake of balancing and unifying both of these aspects of Israel: the legions of Zeir Anpin and Malchut:

 

זוהר חלק ג דף קיז/א-ב כיון דאורייתא ומשכנא אתוקמו, בעא קודשא בריך הוא ילוי דאורייתא, כמה חיילין אינון דאורייתא, כמה חיילין אינון דמשכנא: תא חזי, כל מלה דבעי לאתיישבא בדוכתיה, לא מתיישבא עד דאדכר בפומא, ואתמני עלה: אוף הכא, בעא קודשא בריך הוא למפקד חיילין דאורייתא, וחיילין דמשכנא, וכלהו הוו כחד, ולא מתפרשי דא מן דא, כלא כגוונא דלעילא,  דהא אורייתא ומשכנא לא מתפרשי דא מן דא ואזלין כחדא

Since the Torah and the Tabernacle were erected, the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to count the troops of the Torah. How many legions are there in the Torah? [ZEIR ANPIN] How many hosts are in the Tabernacle? [MALCHUT]. Come and behold: every item that needs to be settled in its place, [TO LINK PROPERLY THE BRANCH BELOW TO ITS ROOT ABOVE], does not settle until it is uttered by mouth and is counted. Here, also, the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to count the soldiers of the Torah and the soldiers of the Tabernacle, [TO TIE YISRAEL TO THEIR ROOTS ABOVE – ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT. And they are all united and are inseparable from each other. Everything is in a likeness of above, since [THEIR ROOTS], the Torah and Tabernacle, are inseparable from each other, and are in unison (Zohar 3:117).

 
Everyone of Us Counts
The Zohar further asks about the redundancy of the first verse of the Book of Bamidbar:
“Hashem spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert, in the Tent of Meeting…” Why does it mention both the “Tent of Meeting” and the “wilderness of Sinai,” since it is known that the tent of meeting was in the wilderness of Sinai? It explains that one is for the Zeir Anpin and one is for Malchut – the women, who were not counted in the census. The spiritual counting of both of these aspects included also those who weren’t physically counted, namely the women, the Levites and those younger than twenty years. For Hashem, we all count! None of us are left behind. Even those of us who are not mentioned – those who are less outspoken, and more in the background, each one of us is a shining star. When we practice looking at each other with this Divine perspective, we can learn to respect everyone – even people who are physically, emotionally, and spiritually furthest away from ourselves. We can even respect those who are diametrically opposed to our values. “As in water, the face reflects a face, so, too, the heart of man to man” (Mishlei 27:19). When we look with loving eyes at even those who are opposed to us, it will cause a ripple effect and bring about mutual respect. This way, we reverse the archetypal blaming carried down from Adam’s eating from the tree. Instead of critical reproach, we must forgive and approach others with love, which brings about conflict solving and peace.
 

Walking in the Path of Unity and Peace

זוהר חלק ג דף קיח/א וכד האי נהירו אתער, כלא הוא בחברותא, כלא הוא ברחימותא, כלא הוא בשלימו, כדין הוא שלמא דכלא, שלמא דעילא ותתא, הדא הוא דכתיב (תהלים קכב ז) יהי שלום בחילך שלוה בארמנותיך

And when this light, [and blessing], awakens, all are joined. Everything is with love, all is with perfection, and then it is all peaceful – peace above and peace below. That is the meaning of, “Peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces” (Tehillim 122:7); (Zohar 3:118a). Because human eyes can be cruel and discriminative, we are accustomed to only count people with loving eyes emanating blessings to each other. To this day, it is the custom not to count people in a regular fashion. Rather, when it is necessary to count a group of men, to know, for example, whether there is a minyan or not, the custom is to use the following Torah verse which consists of ten words of blessing:

 

:ספר תהילים פרק כח פסוק ט הוֹשִׁיעָה אֶת עַמֶּךָ וּבָרֵךְ אֶת נַחֲלָתֶךָ וּרְעֵם וְנַשְֹּאֵם עַד הָעוֹלָם

 “Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance; and tend them, and carry them forever” (Tehillim 28:9).

 
May we walk in the path of unity, and in this merit, may Hashem protect His people and remove the plague from among us, so that all the sick become healed, like at the Giving of the Torah!