The Book of Numbers begins, as its name suggests, with a census of the Jewish people. But this isn’t merely about tallying heads. It’s a profound lesson in understanding who we are and what it means to belong to a unique community.
The weekly Haftarah adds to this theme with a dramatic declaration: "And the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor counted" (Hosea 2:1).
At first glance, it’s a beautiful, poetic thought—an image of abundance, of a people beyond measure. But then, we’re faced with a paradox. How can we speak of a number that can’t be counted? As the Talmud in Yoma 22b points out: If it will be impossible to count the Jewish people, how is possible to even speak of "the number of the children of Israel"?
The Talmud offers an answer: When the Jewish people live according to God’s will, they are indeed beyond counting. They are as countless as the sand on the seashore. But when they stray from His commandments, then they are just another people, limited, finite, measurable.
The Maggid of Dubno illustrated this idea with the following parable:
The Argument of the Two Boys
In a small town, two boys argued passionately about which of their fathers was the richest.
The first boy proudly declared, “There’s no one in town richer than my dad! His pockets are always full of coins—dimes, quarters, nickels—just jangling away like a marching band whenever he walks by!”
The second boy, not one to be outdone, laughed. “That’s true, your father’s got a lot of coins. But my dad? When he pays for something, he opens up his wallet, and it’s full of crisp, fresh ten-dollar bills! Sure, he doesn’t have as many bills as your dad has coins, but each of those bills is worth far more than all those dimes and nickels put together!”
Rare Jewels
The same holds true for the Jewish people. When we fail to follow God’s will, we become like a pocketful of coins—finite, counted, easily measured, just like any other nation. There is no special quality, no unique purpose.
But when we live according to our highest calling, when we align ourselves with God’s commandments, we transcend numbers. We are not simply counted; we are like rare, precious jewels, each of us beyond true measure. Even if we are counted, our worth can never be fully determined. Like valuable banknotes, each one is worth more than any sum of coins could ever represent.
