We begin the book of Bamidbar with this week’s Torah reading, known as “Numbers” in English. It is known for its counting as the book and this week’s parasha begins with the census taken of Israelite men over the age of twenty.
This parasha is always adjacent to the end of the omer counting cycle just as Shavuot falls and perhaps doubles down on the idea of counting in this season. And thus, we might find this week as a good time to understand just how much we count – we matter – in our communities. A chance for each of us, perhaps, to double down on the fact that we matter, despite what we might have been led to believe or what voices or messages tell us to the contrary.
Shame and blame can be rampant when we aren’t sure that we count. When we aren’t sure if we individually matter in the collective. We can feel doubt about ourselves and/or take this doubt out on others questioning whether or not others of us matter.
This parasha can remind us that these are lies, that this is noise, that there is nothing more important than us being in community together. That we count.
As we begin the book of numbers in the first week of Pride Month, in the week of the anniversary of the 1967 Fat-In in New York City, in the week of the freeing of enslaved people at Combahee Ferry in 1863, fighting fascism in Normandy in 1944, and the complicating and devastating implications of the end of the June/6-Day War in 1967, there is a seasonal reminder converging on so many issues. Let us move into the culmination of our counting with Shavuot next week understanding that our contribution and presence not only matters, but is quite possibly what makes the difference.
You matter,
R’ David
This parasha is always adjacent to the end of the omer counting cycle just as Shavuot falls and perhaps doubles down on the idea of counting in this season. And thus, we might find this week as a good time to understand just how much we count – we matter – in our communities. A chance for each of us, perhaps, to double down on the fact that we matter, despite what we might have been led to believe or what voices or messages tell us to the contrary.
Shame and blame can be rampant when we aren’t sure that we count. When we aren’t sure if we individually matter in the collective. We can feel doubt about ourselves and/or take this doubt out on others questioning whether or not others of us matter.
This parasha can remind us that these are lies, that this is noise, that there is nothing more important than us being in community together. That we count.
As we begin the book of numbers in the first week of Pride Month, in the week of the anniversary of the 1967 Fat-In in New York City, in the week of the freeing of enslaved people at Combahee Ferry in 1863, fighting fascism in Normandy in 1944, and the complicating and devastating implications of the end of the June/6-Day War in 1967, there is a seasonal reminder converging on so many issues. Let us move into the culmination of our counting with Shavuot next week understanding that our contribution and presence not only matters, but is quite possibly what makes the difference.
You matter,
R’ David
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