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Remember the last census in Greece? It happens every 10 years. The census collectors go from door to door to write down the residents’ personal information. Who are these people? What do they do the rest of their time? It seems that census collecting is not a very popular job.
Now imagine the big politicians knocking on your door to ask you for your personal information. Sounds surrealistic?
In the weekly Torah portion Bamidbar, we read about the counting of the Jews, one of the censuses that took place in the desert. Who were the census collectors? Moshe and Aaron in person, the leaders of the Jewish nation.
Seriously? I am sure they had more important stuff to do. The study and the teaching of the Torah, the services in the Mishkan, the leadership of the people… Why did they have to spend their precious time doing a job that anyone could accomplish?
Because they were counting souls.
Every single Jew is precious and has in him a G-dly soul. It’s a privilege and a pleasure for someone to be able to serve G-d’s people. Moshe and Aaron had the special ability to see and appreciate the individual value of every Jew, and to present this information to G‑d. That’s why they were the ones to make the census.
The opportunity to meet someone in his own turf, to become involved in their lives and learn about their pains and pleasures, is a unique gift. We can all become census takers for G‑d. To care, to make a phone call to a member of the community who’s not necessarily my best friend. To be there for them and to help them.
We should go out to find them, not wait they come to us. If G-d cares enough to ask for a census, if Moshe and Aaron had enough time to dedicate for that, then we could too care and help the others.
Remember that acts of good and care, except that they make our world a much more pleasant place and fill us with satisfaction, bring us closer to the perfect world that we all await, with the coming of Moshiach now!
Shabbat Shalom!
Hanna
Βασισμένο στο άρθρο του Elisha Greenbaum, Census Takers
