Torah Portion: B'midbar; Numbers 1:1-4:20

This week's Torah portion, B'midbar, begins a new book of the Torah, the book of Numbers.  The Hebrew word for this book (the same as this week's portion) is B'midbar, which literally translates as "in the wilderness."  This name makes sense because this book tells the story of the Israelites wandering through the wilderness before they entered the land of Canaan.  So where did the name "Numbers" come from?

As our Bar Mitzvah student this week knows all too well, the book begins with a list of names and a counting of the young men of Israel who were eligible to serve in the military.  The name "Numbers" comes from the literal "numbers" of people the Torah counts.  The English name makes sense, but the content of the Torah portion begs the question--why do all these numbers matter?

I think they do matter, and here's why:
11.
That's the number of people who were killed when the oil rig caught on fire.
27.
The number of people who were killed in flooding in Tennessee.
5.
The number of people who were killed in yesterday's tornadoes in Oklahoma City.
1.
That is the number of one Rabbi, named David Forman, who passed away this week.  Rabbi Forman was ordained in 1972 and made aliyah to Israel that same year.  He was a founder of Rabbis for Human Rights, an incredible Israeli organization that works to secure human rights for all people, particularly in Israel and the West Bank.  Rabbi Forman was one person, but he made a positive impact on hundreds of people.

Each of the numbers listed above--eleven, twenty-seven, five--are numbers of individuals whose lives are lost, but who, I believe, made an immeasurable impact with their lives.  The numbers that run throughout the news these days are easy to dismiss as just numbers--just as we dismiss the numbers and lists of names that fill this week's Torah portion.  But the numbers are there for a reason - they are reminders of the impact of each person, each individual, who makes a difference with their lives.  May their passing remind us that each day we live is a gift which we need to use for good.  May they all be remembered for a blessing.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Annie